The Chronicles of Swarm: The Equestrian Front

by kildeez

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Shining Armor, Discord, Princess Celestia, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna
Length: 167763

Our War. Their World.

This is it. No more running. No more hiding. This is war.

For months now, two forces have been battling all over creation: one seeking to preserve harmony for the sake of the millions of species that populate the multiverse, and one to destroy it. Now, the forces of good have discovered that the darkness has Equestria in its sights and must ready a counterattack. Leading the charge is a strange, semi-omnipotent being known as "Swarm," who will confront the forces of evil together with his allies from Earth and a few familiar faces from around Equestria. But will it be enough? Can Harmony and Light stand against the encroaching darkness, or will Equestria become the first in a long list of conquests? And just what is responsible for this madness, anyway?

Bit of continuity with my other fic, "Trixie's Burden," so go check it out to find out how Swarm convinced Celestia to let a bunch of Jarheads into her kingdom!

Published 2013-05-12 19:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-31 06:28:10 UTC

Chapter II: Chinook Down

“HOLY MOTHERFUCKING BALLS SHIT, WE’RE SCREWED!” A Marine screamed, grabbing hold of the harness keeping himself secured to his seat. Outside, a humungous storm roared, drowning out the familiar hum of the Chinook’s dual-rotors as the helicopter struggled to remain in the air.

“You will stow that goddamned potty mouth while we’re in Equestria, private!” Lieutenant Bannon barked, his hand wrapped around an overhead girder to keep himself on his feet. He looked over his men: twenty Marines, hardened by combat in the very worst of the Iraq War, covered with enough gear to topple Saddam all over again. Now, most of them looked ready to piss themselves as the chopper bucked beneath them, tossing them this way and that as the storm howled just outside the tiny, metal cocoon. Of course, now it was starting to feel more like a coffin.

“What the hell is this!?” Another Marine screamed. “I thought intel said we were gonna have clear blue skies once we made it through the portal!”

“Wouldn’t be the first time those desk jockeys have been wrong,” Bannon grumbled, slowly making his way towards the cockpit. He nearly lost his footing once or twice, but managed to grab hold of the pilot’s seat.

“Pilot, any idea what this is!?” He barked.

“None whatsoever, sir!” The man in the cockpit replied, his gloved hands clenching the cyclic with all his might while the green hue of the portal shone on the visor hiding his face. “We made it through the portal, though: we’re definitely in Equestria. This storm must’ve blown in after the portal manifested! Otherwise, we’d have seen it coming!”

“Just our luck. Well can you get us back through!? If we stay here much longer we’ll be torn to pieces!”

“I can try! This thing’s not exactly been responsive, but I think I can bring us around and…” suddenly, the familiar green hue just outside the windshield disappeared, plunging the entire chopper into an eerie darkness broken only by the near-constant flash of lightning outside.

“What was that!?” Bannon gasped.

“Aw no,” the pilot lifted a hand off the stick and started working furiously on the control panel, flicking switches and dialing in radio frequencies out of desperation. “Oh no, oh no, oh no…”

“Where’s the portal!? It’s supposed to be there!”

“I don’t know! It’s gone!”

“What!? That’s not standard procedure! The portal’s supposed to stay open for at least two hours once we’re through!”

“Well, someone back home must’ve gotten impatient!” The pilot screamed just as a loud crunch sounded above them, the entire aircraft shaking. Immediately, a half-dozen warning lights and buzzers sounded all over the console.

“Now what the hell was that!?”

“Oh my God,” the pilot tapped on a few screens hopelessly, as if he were unable to believe what he was seeing. “Oh my God, we just lost power to the rear rotor!”

“What!?”

“We’re going down!” He screamed, grabbing the cyclic and pulling back with all his might. “Get your Marines suited up and ready to drop, we’ve got maybe two minutes of air time left!”

The Lieutenant stood and turned around, looking at the shocked faces of the men behind him with a deadpanned gaze. After the quickest second, his numb expression hardened. “Well? You heard him! Get your gear together and get ready for a drop! As of right now, you’re all airborne infantry!”

“Yes, sir!” The men screamed back, immediately tearing off their safety harnesses and grabbing the emergency chutes set up along the walls.

“I’m gonna try and hold her steady for as long as I can,” the pilot screamed, “But you better be ready to drop the moment you see an opening!”

“Just open the bay doors, we’ll handle the rest!” Bannon yelled, pulling on his own chute. “You better make sure you’re right behind us, though!”

“Of course!” The pilot yelled, smiling as he extended a hand. “Airman Uris!”

“Lieutenant Bannon!” The Marine smiled and shook the hand. “If we survive this, I’ll owe you a steak dinner back home!”

“Drinks’ll be on me!” The pilot grasped the cyclic and pulled it around, praying for one little current of air, that one little quiet at the heart of every storm that would give these men the opening they needed to leap to safety…

All at once the chopper stabilized, leveling out in a gentle updraft right at the heart of the storm. Outside, rain still pounded the windshield and clouds still swirled and boiled, but somehow, the craft held steady, albeit just a minute and a half away from plunging to the ground like a large metal rock.

“That’s it!” Uris screamed, flicking the switches needed to open the doors. “That’s our opening! Go! Go! Go!”

The doors barely had time to open when each Marine leapt out, one after the other, for their crash course in parachuting. Bannon urged them all on, watching each and every one of them drop into the swirling cauldron of clouds below. Once every Marine was out of sight, Bannon stood at the edge and readied himself, looking over his shoulder one last time. Uris wasn’t behind him. Confused, the Marine pushed himself away from the opening and ran to the pilot’s seat, where he found him struggling with his belt. “What’s wrong now!?”

“I dunno! It’s like I’m magnetized, or somethin’!” The pilot screamed, pulling at his safety harness with all his might. “I can’t get free!”

“Hold on!” Bannon replied, pulling his knife out of its holster.

“What’re you doing!? This thing’s not gonna be stable much longer! You gotta get out!”

“Marines don’t leave men behind!” Bannon screamed, sawing desperately at the straps holding the pilot in place.

“You’re crazy, man!” Uris hollered over the maelstrom now roaring through the cockpit from the open doors. “But now I’m gonna owe you that dinner!”

“And hey,” Bannon smiled, nearly halfway through one strap. “Drinks’ll be on…”

Suddenly, the chopper bucked once again, throwing Bannon headfirst against the console. “Bannon!” Uris screamed, not even noticing the knife slipping from the Marine’s hand and clattering to the floor.

“Oh, what…” Bannon pressed a hand to his forehead, dazed from the blow, until he realized his hands were empty. “The knife!” He scrambled to his feet and lunged after the blade, only to watch it get sucked right out from between his fingers and thrown clear out the gaping doors.

“NO!” He screamed as the chopper twisted to the side, throwing him off his feet and against the wall. He grabbed hold of the netting that had been used to hold the other Marines’ weapons as the chopper whirled around and around in mid-air.

“Bannon! You got your chute on!?” Uris cried from his seat, trying desperately to be heard over the clamor.

“Yeah!” The Marine screamed, still holding on but now drenched from the cold rain being whipped around the inside of the chopper.

“Then just go! No sense in both of us dying!”

“Don’t make me say it again, Airman,” Bannon hissed lowly, talking to himself as he clawed his way forward along the netting. “Marines…don’t…leave…men…behind…”

“Bannon! You’re just gonna get yourself killed!”

Bannon ignored the pilot, grabbing onto another bit of netting and pulling himself forward with each word as he repeated the phrase: “…Marines…don’t…leave…men…be-“

Suddenly, a low tear sounded, followed by a little ‘ping.’ Bannon looked up just as a little bolt sailed past, recognizing it as one of the two bolts keeping the net secured to the wall. “No!” He threw himself forward with renewed zeal, watching the last bolt slowly wean itself from the wall. He was almost there. If he could just make it to his seat and grab hold of the safety strap…

With a last little ‘ping,’ the bolt tore away from the wall, the net slacking uselessly in the Marine’s hand. “NO!” He screamed again, lunging one last time, his hands just inches from the safety strap…and a gust of wind drifted up from behind him, causing the strap to dance right around his fingertips.

“NOOOOOOO!” He howled as the force of the out-of-control chopper threw him across the floor, his fingers grabbing uselessly for any sort of hold before he was dragged into the darkness outside, tumbling and spinning like a baseball in a tumble dryer.

As the cold settled into his body, the Marine quickly grabbed his ripcord and released his parachute, looking up just as a great white light engulfed the chopper high above his head. “URIS!” He screamed before a large chunk of rubber bounced off the top of his helmet, knocking him out almost immediately. In the split second before losing consciousness, Bannon could swear he felt a hand touch the side of his face, then all faded to black as he drifted out the base of the cloud and began the long, steady journey to the ground.

Twelve hours after an American chopper was brought down in a place it never was meant to be, Fluttershy journeyed through the Everfree forest, a small kit clenched in her teeth. A couple of songbirds led her along, gesturing frantically with their wings. The little pegasus kept a wary eye on the forest around her. After a short time, a fox bounded up beside her and extended a paw to carry her bag.

“Oh, a true gentleman!” She cooed, allowing him to take the bag in his paws. The fox blushed as it hurried ahead, the songbirds still leading the way. “Now, is it very much further?” She asked the birds as they fluttered along.

Both birds looked back and shook their heads, beckoning her along with a few encouraging tweets. She sighed and kept up a decent trot, her eyes scanning the forest fearfully. Though it was daytime and she couldn’t hear anything, she was suddenly certain that something was watching her, scanning her hungrily with a set of massive, bloodshot, yellow eyes. “M-maybe we can come back later,” she said hurriedly, turning on the path. “I’m sure whatever is hurt, you all can take care of it until…”

One of the birds swooped down in front of her and glared up at the pegasus. She sighed again, not meeting the little bird’s gaze. “You’re right, I’m sorry, it’s just that the Everfree Forest is no place for a pony!”

The bird whistled defiantly.

“Well, okay, we have Zecora,” she turned around and continued along the path, rounding a large, black rock. “But technically, she’s a zebra.”

The bird gasped as it swooped down in front of her again, whistling accusingly.

“Racist!? What!? Dear me, no! Zecora is one of my best friends!”

The bird continued to glare.

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” even Fluttershy had her limits, and this little bird was beginning to push them. “You know exactly what I meant! I’m just saying that, as a traveler from someplace else, she has more experience with…”

A whistle up ahead interrupted her tirade. “We’re here? Already?” She gasped, galloping past a large, twisted tree. “Okay, I’ll see what I can…”

She paused, her mouth dropping open. The songbird was perched upon some kind of headpiece, smooth and black like a changeling’s carapace. Two legs, dressed in some sort of pants colored to blend in with the rest of the forest, were tucked beneath the body. Two arms sprouted from an elongated torso, also clad in the strangely-colored cloth. It was all wrapped in some green cloth and rope all twisted around the body, and with the shape of its legs she could tell it was bipedal like a diamond dog, but where was its face? With that weird black casing, how did it talk? Or eat? Or even hear?

“What is that?” She mumbled. The songbird on the creature’s head shrugged. “It’s…what in heaven’s name is it!?”

It stirred with a mild grunt, and she jumped back with a slight “Eep!” But the creature settled again, one of its hands subconsciously gripping the grass by its side and pulling. It’s strong, she realized as she watched it pull, stronger than me, maybe even stronger than Applejack! This was too much. Something that ridiculously strong had to be dangerous. She had to leave, maybe find Rainbow Dash; surely she would know what to…

The creature stirred with a low moan, and she jumped back again. But this time, the moan was different. It seemed…pained. Yes, that was the word, pained. Something had happened to the creature: it wasn’t just sleeping, it was hurt! She bit her lip in fear. She should just turn around. She had no idea what this creature was capable of, no idea what it would do when it woke up.

But…

“But I am the element of kindness,” she said, quivering. It was her job to care for any creature, no matter the danger, no matter the risk, come rain or shine. Just because she didn’t know a certain creature didn’t make her duty any less important.

With a scared little whistle, she summoned the birds and furry things of the forest. Most took one look at the thing and ran off, but some stayed behind and picked up parts of the cloth it was tangled in, managing to create a sort of makeshift stretcher to carry it in. “C’mon little ones!” She said, trying to sound sure of herself and failing. “We have another…widdle…fuzzy…kins who needs our help!”

Shooting unsure glances over their shoulders, the animals of the forest obliged, beginning the long journey back to Fluttershy’s cottage with their strange cargo.

Chapter IV: The Missing Pilot

Captain Vance gave himself a few more taps before zipping himself up. He knew the golden rule: two shakes or it’s just touching yourself, but he figured his audience deserved a little show. Smiling contentedly, he turned away from the bright-pink tree he’d just gone number-one on and almost had his eye poked out by the barrel of an M4-Carbine assault rifle. The smile waivered for an instant, but remained.

The rifle’s owner was a rather large, muscular, black man, wearing the same goggles given to airborne troops as standard issue. He was in full uniform, and held his rifle with a sureness that told Vance he’d used it before, and not just on the firing range. Looking around, Vance could see at least twenty fully-uniformed men had him surrounded, assault rifles all focused on him. “Hands where we can see ‘em,” the black man, obviously the leader, whispered.

Vance obeyed, raising his hands with the palms exposed, but still the smile remained.

“What’s so funny?” The man in front of him asked.

“S’just weird, you know?” Vance replied. “I was about to tell you the same thing.”

Suddenly, a hundred more men materialized from the woods around them, decked out in ghillie suits and covered in native foliage. It was almost ludicrous, seeing so many battle-tested warriors with pink leaves tucked into their uniforms, but in the end it had been completely effective. They blended it in perfectly with the Everfree forest. The troopers surrounding Vance hadn’t suspected a thing until they were already caught in the trap. And still the smile remained on the Captain’s face, only this time the other man joined him, grinning broadly. “Nice to see you haven’t gone soft, Captain.” He said, lowering his rifle and extending a gloved hand.

“Lieutenant Webb!” Vance gushed, seizing the hand and shaking it vigorously, “I haven’t seen you since Fallujah!”

“It’s been far too long, sir.”

“That it has, son; that it has.” Vance whistled, and immediately every man in the forest lowered their weapons and marched forward to greet their paratrooper friends. Vance selected a specific man from the crowd and began ushering the group back to their main encampment.

“Lieutenant, I want you to meet Second Lieutenant Parker. He’s my second in command for this operation, and though he doesn’t look it, he’s just about as tough a leader as they come.”

“Nice meetin’ ya,” Webb extended his hand.

“The pleasure’s all mine, sir.” Parker replied, strapping his assault rifle to his back and shaking Webb’s hand with a grin. “My brother was one of those Army guys you pulled out of that crossfire just outside Fallujah. It’s an honor to meet you face-to-face.” Parker replied, shaking the hand.

“Yeah, well, just doin’ my duty.” Webb shrugged, trying very hard to keep from blushing.

“Don’t be so modest, Webb. It’s unbecoming for a leader of your caliber.” Vance said, smiling as he looked at the paratroopers accompanying his men to camp. “Now, I see you managed to hook up with Zulu squadron, what about the others?”

“Well, we did manage to find Bravo squad,” Webb replied, and suddenly, twenty more men in paratrooper gear appeared from the wilderness, all surrounding the path they had been following, all with their rifles focused on Vance and Parker.

Vance just grinned even more widely. “God DAMN, I missed workin’ with you, Webb!”

“I missed the hell out of you too, sir,” Webb replied as the newcomers fell in line with the rest of the group.

“Where’s Alpha squadron, though? You find those guys?”

“No sir, I’m afraid they were absent from the rendezvous. We assumed they couldn’t make it and had gone directly to camp.”

Vance grimaced, “I swear, if it wasn’t for all this wild…magic in the air…”

“Still not used to that shit, sir.”

“Neither am I son, but like I was saying, this never would have happened in any other op. We wouldn’t have to assume anything: Alpha would have radioed somebody by now if all the damned magic didn’t interfere with long-range radio!”

“I’m sure they’re just fine, sir.” Webb shrugged. “They’re big boys. They can care of themselves, and if not, we can always begin a search of…”

As if on cue, a voice cried out from the encampment: “WOUNDED! WE’VE GOT WOUNDED INCOMING!”

Every man in the now company-strength human group immediately picked up the pace, reaching their base just as the first handful of new paratroopers began trickling out of the woods on the opposite side of camp, some of them limping, some of them being supported by their comrades, and some being hauled in on makeshift stretchers.

“Alert the medical tent, we got casualties!” Vance screamed. “Every man help Alpha squad get the wounded to the tent, and somebody find me Lieutenant Bannon!”

“Over here, sir,” a man gasped as he limped into the clearing, sweat dripping off the bushy mustache cradled on his lip beneath his paratrooper visors. As two of Vance’s Marines rushed forward to pick up the stretcher tied to his back, the man with the mustache dropped to the ground, wheezing.

“Bannon! What happened!? The enemy!?” Vance barked.

“No sir…some kinda storm,” he gasped, struggling for breath. “Tore the chopper to pieces…a few minutes out of the rift. We tried…to deploy early, but some of us…just weren’t fast enough.” He motioned to the casualties now funneling into the medic’s tent.

“Is that everyone? Did everyone make it to the ground?”

“No sir. The pilot, he…” Bannon choked. “His seatbelt jammed. I was the last one out, so I tried to help him, but…I dunno. Something hit me,” he removed his visors, allowing Vance to see a swollen and blackened left eye. “I was in a daze after that. Next thing I knew, I was outside the chopper, parachute deployed and already drifting to ground. I saw it go down, sir, I…sir, I…”

He sniffled, “Sir, I don’t think he made it out.”

“Alright son,” Vance sighed. “You did your best, but right now you need to get to the medtent and get that shiner checked out.”

“Yes, sir,” Bannon whimpered, pulling himself to his feet.

“In the meantime, me and my men will be searching for that pilot. Until we find a body, we are going to assume he made it out of that chopper in one piece, understand?”

“Perfectly,” the Lieutenant sighed, trying to maintain something that at least resembled a confident look in his eye, “And sir?”

“Yes, Lieutenant?”

“What about the Major? Is he going to help?”

Vance’s nose wrinkled in derision. There were quite a few things he wanted to say about the Major just then, but he knew it was bad practice to bad-mouth a superior around one’s subordinates. “Swarm has not been seen in the past twelve hours or so. I would assume he has more important matters to attend to elsewhere. Until he returns, however, we are going to carry on as the soldiers we’re trained to be, and trust that wherever that pilot is, he’s in good hands.”

“Yes, sir.” Bannon said, before turning and making his slow, limping towards the medical tent.

“WHAT THE FUCK’S GOING ON!?” The creature screamed, flailing its arms around wildly. Being the only ones prepared for a charge, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the first to make it to the bed, each wrapping their hooves around one of the creature’s arms and pinning it to the mattress.

“Gosh, it’s strong!” RD grunted.

“Don’t tell me it’s too much for ya, Rainbow!” AJ replied, grinning through gritted teeth as she dodged a wayward kick from one of the creature’s legs.

“In your dreams, country pony.”

“WHAT THE FUCK’S GOING ON!? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!? WHY CAN’T I FUCKING SEE!?” The creature repeated as it continued thrashing.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie popped up on the creature’s chest, whipped out the largest tuba anypony in the room had ever seen, and blatted right into its face, streams of confetti exploding with the noise. AJ and Rainbow hit the floor, dazed and covered in glitter. “Consarn it, Pinkie, couldja warn a pony ‘fore you go doin’ somethin’ like that!?” AJ snapped.

“Ugh, my ears are gonna be ringing for a week.” Rainbow grumbled.

“Sorry,” Pinkie replied, shrugging sheepishly at them, “But I didn’t know any other way to calm everypo- you all down.”

“Oh, God, my head,” the creature moaned, its head back on the pillow. Everypony gathered around the bed, except for Fluttershy, who had to be pulled out from under the pillow she’d been hiding behind throughout the debacle. “Wha-what’s going on – who’s there?”

“It’s…talking.” Rarity said, looking around at her friends worriedly.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Excuse me, sir?”

The creature froze, trying to peer through the bandages. “Who’s there!?”

“Sir, if you could calm down for…oh, you know what? Hang on,” she bent over and checked under the bed, where a certain yellow pegasus had already thrown re-hidden herself. “Fluttershy? We could really use your expertise.”

Still shivering, she shook her head and kept her hooves firmly clamped over her eyes.

“Fluttershy…”

Then AJ poked her head under, “Fluttershy, hun? We could really use ya. This here critter needs somepony t’calm it down.”

“A creature…needs…my…” she whimpered, repeating Applejack’s words to herself like a mantra as she slowly pulled herself out and back to the creature’s bedside. Obviously unsure of herself, she looked around at her friends, teeth gritted in fear. They ushered her on. Still not quite sure of what to do, the little yellow pegasus looked within herself for that gut instinct which had guided her through so many situations like this. Then, acting purely on that instinct, she pulled off one of the creature’s gloves with her teeth and took its hand in her hooves.

“There…there, you’re…um…safe now.” She said shakily, surprised at how warm the creature’s hand was. Based on how muscular its arms and legs looked, she had assumed this thing would be some sort of fighting creature, covered in hard, tough skin meant for taking on other harder, tougher animals. But this thing in her hooves felt almost…soft. And smelt lightly of vanilla.

At any rate, the creature relaxed immediately, and her friends beamed at her. It had worked. Things were back under control. The creature laid there for a second before asking: “Where am I? Some sorta hospital?”

“Well, Fluttershy’s cottage is where we bring all the hurt animals.” Twilight said.

“A vet’s place? Great.” The creature tried to sit up, winced, and laid back down. “At least you all speak English, and don’t kill Americans on sight. That’s a helluva lot more than I could say for the last place I was deployed.”

“Yes, um…” Twilight shrugged, looking at her friends confusingly. “What is…what is your name?”

“Officer Peter Uris, United States Naval Aviator,” the creature said, giving a perfectly well-rehearsed reply. “Here to support…hang on…”

The creature bolted upright in the bed, “Where am I?”

“Like I said, you are at Fluttershy’s…”

“No, I mean what country? I’m back in the U.S, right?”

“Um…” Twilight shrugged at her friends. “Is…is that the name of your planet?”

“So they HAVE landed,” Pinkie muttered, squinting suspiciously at the creature.

“Oh no,” it groaned, clawing at the bandages. “Oh man…what’s on my head? Why can’t I…”

“Oh, easy now,” Fluttershy cooed, unwrapping the bandages around the creature’s head. For some reason, at the sound of her voice, the creature paused immediately, allowing her to gently unwrap its face. The moment the last strip of gauze peeled away, its eyes blinked open, squinting in the daylight.

The creature stared at the ponies surrounding it, looking more and more worried as each moment passed and the things around him stubbornly remained ponies, refusing to turn back into human nurses as part of what had to be a concussion-induced hallucination. The ponies looked back, regarding its dull, squinty brown eyes with concern. After a few minutes of one of the most awkward staring contests in Equestria’s history, the creature sighed. “Nope, not Earth,” he muttered. “Man, my CO’s gonna be pissed.”

Chapter V: Enemy Landing

The map on the card table in front of Vance hadn’t been touched in twenty minutes, except by an errant finger as he reached over for one of his tools. A dozen circles marking where the Search and Rescue teams had been deployed stared back up at him as he worked, some of them exed-off already.

Vance grimaced. This was the part he always hated: the waiting. His men had received their orders, the sandbags were dug, the weapons had been cleaned and loaded, and the recon teams were scouring the area for enemy contacts (though they were a bit short-handed now with so many of the specially-trained squads on the search for the missing pilot) while everyone else trained up and stayed sharp for that moment when the recon teams came running back to camp. Until that moment, however, he could only stare at the little circles and dots on his map, repeatedly disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling his sidearm to keep the tension at bay.

Yes, Vance was no stranger to the tension that came with the waiting. There had been plenty of both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and each time he grew to hate it just a little bit more. It was waiting for the bombs to go off, or the bullets to start flying, or for a squad to burst from the woods carrying a teammate covered in blood. It was sitting in one place, waiting for all hell to break loose.

“Captain?” Lieutenant Parker stepped into the tent with a quick salute.

“How goes the search, Lieutenant?” Vance asked, remaining focused on the disassembled pistol in front of him.

“We found the chopper, sir: it was demolished. We don’t know how much of the damage was done by whatever downed her and how much was the initial crash, but there ain’t much worth salvaging. We know that…”

“Didja find our pilot?” Vance asked, locking the pistol’s slide back into place.

“No, sir.”

“Then keep looking. I want that pilot back in friendly hands before whatever’s supposed to happen here happens.”

“Yes, sir,” the Lieutenant turned to leave, but suddenly thought better and stepped tentatively back into the tent, waiting there for his Captain to acknowledge him. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Lieutenant?” Vance still didn’t look up from the half-assembled pistol.

“Sir, with all due respect,” Parker breathed slowly before continuing: “This search has our forces scattered all to hell. If the enemy shows up, or if one of our guys makes unauthorized contact with the native populace…”

“Our men are professional soldiers who know how to handle unwarranted contact with civilian populations, the appearance of enemy forces will almost certainly be preceded by that rather spectacular light show the rift’s opening tends to show off, and I am NOT writing a letter telling a distraught mother how I lost her son to a nasty storm before the fighting even started. Not if I can help it.” Vance slammed the pistol’s magazine home and worked the slide, taking great satisfaction in the little telltale click informing him of a job well done.

“Is that understood, Lieutenant?”

“Sir! Yes, sir!”

“Then get back to work. Don’t return until you have either a helicopter pilot with an interesting story to tell, or a body.”

Without another word, Parker saluted and left the tent. Vance glared down at the map, pistol in hand. A group of circles with X’s over them stared back up at him, kinda like the eyes of dead people in those old cartoons he used to watch…

Sighing, he pulled the pistol’s magazine out and worked the slide to empty the chamber, catching the bullet as it sprang out at him so he could start the cleaning process all over again.

"Celestia, Luna, Discord, Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon." Uris repeated, sighing.

"Good, good," Twilight said, marking off another check on her clipboard, "Now, who are they?"

"For the fifth time, and in order: the Princess of Day, the Princess of Night, the god of chaos, the queen of the changelings, and the corrupted form of Luna who reigned over the moon for a thousand years."

"Perfect. Good to know my readings on your cognitive abilities were correct."

"Good to know I'm your lab rat," Uris replied snidely. "So, what are you, the resident egghead or something?"

"Um...the what now?"

"You know: the scientist. Always thinking about math an' shit. Always got your nose buried in a book. That sorta deal."

"Well, I don't really know much about math. Or...shit.” Twilight replied, her speech stumbling over the strange word, “But I do believe a well-rounded individual should be able to devote a few hours every night to the written word."

"Mmh-hmm," Uris leaned back in his bed, the mattress squeaking beneath his body while a confident grin spread across his face. "Spoken like a true egghead."

Twilight just arched an eyebrow quizzically at him. "You seem to be adjusting fairly well for a bipedal sentient being in a
world of ponies."

"Oh don't get me wrong, I'd probably be freaking the hell out if I didn’t know where I was. We really weren't supposed to make contact with the local populace."

"WE!?" Rainbow Dash burst into the room, leaving her friends in the hallway.

"Oh, figured you'd be listening in on us." Uris grinned.

"There's more of you!? Why!? What do you want in Equestria!?"

Uris just sighed, "I'm really not supposed to go any deeper than..."

"WHAT ARE YOU HIDING!?" She screamed, grabbing Uris by the front of his uniform and shaking him for all she was worth.

"Rainbow! You'll open up his wounds!" Fluttershy gasped, galloping in right behind her hot-headed friend.

The teal pegasus snorted in Uris's face, but obeyed, releasing him from her hooves' grip while muttering how "Lucky he is that Fluttershy's here."

"Sorry about Rainbow," Fluttershy sighed. "She's...spirited."

"On my planet, we just called it 'being a bitch.'"

"I'LL TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT, YOU UGLY..."

"RAINBOW!" Rarity poked her head in, peering at her friend sternly. "Applejack and I need your help setting up dinner out here!" Still grumbling, Rainbow Dash floated out, shooting a nasty look over her shoulder every few seconds until she was out the door.

"Again, sorry." Fluttershy said.

"No need to apologize, ma'am. We can't always control what our friends do."

"You mentioned another world," Twilght said, finally reentering the conversation. "Care to tell us about that?"

Uris bit his lip, finally looking just a bit unsure of himself. "I really shouldn't."

"Alright then, Mr. Mysterious," Twilight said. "What are you doing here?"

"Again, you're not even supposed to know what we're..."

"You used 'we' again."

"Fuck!” He smacked himself in the forehead. “Please forget I did."

"Look," Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes as she set her clipboard down. "It's obvious you didn't come here alone. So, what are you all after? Why are the others here? You at least owe us that much for saving your butt."

Uris shook his head, "I'm sorry, I really wasn't..."

Then Fluttershy placed a hoof on his hand, staring up at him with two, massive blue pools, her mane cast over one eye in a perfectly cute fashion. "Please?"

“Dammit, why do you all have to be so mind-numbingly adorable?” He grumbled, turning over to face the window away from the pair of ponies. “We’re here to protect you. That’s all.”

“Protect us? From what?” Twilight asked.

“My head hurts.” Uris replied, resting his head on his pillow. Twilight sighed, it was obvious that she wouldn’t be getting anything else out of this guy, especially with Fluttershy nudging her towards the door, insisting the “little dear needs his sleep.”

Once the door shut behind him, Uris shifted on his bed, staring out the window. A small bluebird perched upon a leaf whistled a neat little tune and took off from one of the tree’s numerous pink branches, shaking some magic dust loose which drifted to the ground as a cloud of sparkles. A few minutes later, a large peppermint candy sprouted up where the dust had landed.

“Oh for God’s sake,” he grumbled. He’d had to put up with this crap when his little sister had gone through that Care Bears phase, and now he was living it! There had to be something non-cute here: a drive-by, a drug deal. Was there such a thing as pony heroin?

He was about to turn back over when a deep boom resounded somewhere in the skies over him, rattling the window in its pane. His eyes widened in terror. Throwing off the covers, Uris scrambled across the room, threw the window open and peeked outside, scanning the skies wildly. After a few minutes, he spotted it: a small green glint somewhere high over him, with a tiny black speck in its center. He didn’t need a spyglass to know what it was. Being a helicopter pilot, he knew a rotor-suspended craft when he saw one.

“Oh my God, they’re here.” He whimpered, a cold fist clenching in his stomach.

Chapter VI: Gathering Forces

In the kitchen, Rarity sprinkled a touch of cinnamon into the large pot bubbling on the oven. “That’s too much, consarn it!” Applejack said, swatting at her hoof with a wooden spoon. “You makin’ hay soup, or a gingerbread house?”

“Any decent dish can be made even better with just a touch of sweetness added,” Rarity replied haughtily. “Honestly, for somepony who makes so many baked goods, one would think you would know that.”

“Are you insultin’ my cookin’?” Applejack snorted.

“No, I just…”

“Don’t forget the sprinkles!” Pinkie Pie interrupted, bounding past them with a trail of confetti billowing out behind her as she threw a jar of chocolate jimmies into the pot.

“Oh Pinkie, now it’s ruined!” Rarity moaned.

“Seriously, hon, you may know desserts, but let the other ponies handle dinner.” AJ sighed.

“What? Everypony knows that any dish can be improved with enough sprinkles!”

“That is so completely wrong Ah don’t even know where t’start.”

“Twilight! Are you going to help with dinner, or not?” Rarity moaned in the direction of the little purple unicorn hunched over the kitchen table, her notebook open in front of her.

“What would a species like his even eat…” Twilight mumbled, obviously lost in her own little world, at least until Fluttershy trotted in with a massive platter containing every single fruit and vegetable in her garden balanced on her head. “Fluttershy! What in Equestria…”

“Well, we don’t even know what Mr. Uris might eat,” she replied bashfully. “So I thought we should try just a bit of everything.

“Oh, let ‘im starve!” Rainbow Dash called from the couch, the helmet spinning atop one of her hooves. “If he won’t tell us why he’s here, why should we bother t’feed him?”

“Fluttershy, that’s a wonderful idea!” Twilight said with a glare in Rainbow’s direction.

“Really? You really think so?”

“I know so! Here, let me help you.” The unicorn balanced part of the tray on her horn and helped ease it down the hall and into Uris’ room.

“Mr. Uris!” She called, backing in through the door, “We bought some…”

The tray clattered to the floor as Fluttershy dropped her end, interrupting Twilight. “Oh, Fluttershy, the food! What’s wrong!?”

The little yellow pegasus just stood, gaping at an empty bed with ruffled sheets. Just above the still-warm pillow, a window stood wide-open, its curtains billowing in a gentle breeze. “Where is he?” She asked in fright.

“Oh, I’m sure he couldn’t have gotten too far…” before Twilight could finish, Fluttershy took to the air, whipping across the room and shooting out the window at speeds that would impress Rainbow Dash. “Wait, Fluttershy! Wait!” Twilight started after her, but she could already tell she would never catch up. The little pegasus already had a massive head start, and with her newfound speed, she was nothing but a yellow speck darting through the wilds of the Everfree forest in no time at all.

Celestia tapped a hoof impatiently on the barely-existent ground, keeping track of time using the pulse bursts of a quasar some two light-years away. Late. Every last one of them. She sighed in frustration. She had expected this from Swarm and the god of chaos. After all, they were…well, Swarm and the god of chaos. But Luna? Heaven knows Luna should have been here by now. “What is keeping you, sister?” She muttered under her breath.

“Just a wish to see thee concerned, sister dearest.” Celestia turned just as Luna appeared, seemingly materializing from the dark matter swirling about them. As was her trademark, her cape swiftly disintegrated into a flock of bats, which flew off to God-only knows where.

“Luna,” Celestia smiled warmly. “Longing for the days of Nightmare Moon, are we?”

A shiver traveled up the Princess of the Night’s spine. “Never, sister. But thou doth knoweth what they say about old habits.”

“Of course, sister, I was merely poking a bit of fun.”

“Speaking of poking fun, I hope that’s all thy letter to summon me here was,” Luna stifled a giggle. “I mean, really? Teaming up with the Lord of Chaos himself? To fight some non-descript evil in the twilight between realms?”

“No, dearest sister,” Celestia said with a grimace. “I am afraid that letter was very serious.”

Luna froze for a second, then put a hoof to her mouth to stifle another giggle. “Oh, good one, sister! Thou almost hadeth me there! Thou were so serious it almost made it seem like we would be dealing with…”

“…the real deal?” A familiar voice with just a hint of an English accent asked. Luna’s body locked up in sheer terror as Discord appeared just over Celestia’s head, snaking his long body down towards her and coiling around her neck. Much to her disgust, he began stroking her chin ever so slowly while gazing into her eyes. “The real McCoy? The genuine article? The one, the only, the actual,” he sprang from Celestia’s body and burst up towards the sky, a random cascade of fireworks and confetti following him as he tossed back his head to roar…

“Discord!” Luna gasped, backing up into a battle stance.

“Mmm-yes, quite,” he sighed, drifting back down to the solid dark matter plane which formed the ground beneath the Princess’ hooves. “You know, it is very rude to interrupt someone when…”

“HAVE AT THEE, FOUL CREATURE!” Luna charged, lightning bolts cascading from clouds which materialized around her body, held in place by the sheer force of her magic. As she approached, he yawned and side-stepped easily, sending her crashing into her sister.

“Ow,” Celestia sighed.

“Sorry, sister,” Luna said sheepishly.

“Oh, I’d almost forgotten how much fun you and your sister could be, Luna!” Discord sang, hovering just over her body and prodding her nose cutely. “You with your desperate struggling about and futile attempts at combat: it’s just like the good ol’ times!”

“Discord! Enough!” Celestia growled, pulling herself out from under Luna and returning to her hooves as fast as lightning. “I’ve been infinitely patient with you, but if you want, I can call off the deal at any time!”

“Oh please, Princess,” Discord floated over to her and looked her straight in the eye. “If you had any choice at all, you never would’ve even considered the deal. And if you’re in a situation that desperate, you are in no position to make any sort of threat.”

“Maybe she isn’t, but I am.” A calm, collected voice said behind him. He twirled to see a young Asian man, wearing a full business suit complete with black tie and highly-polished black leather shoes, peering at him from behind a pair of designer eyeglasses.

“Ooh, the Chink brother! I’ve been hoping you’d show up!” Discord drifted over to the man, who continued to stare passively off into the darkness. “Let me guess: your counterparts figured I might be able to pull out the stick that’s been lodged in your rectum since birth?”

“Actually, they thought this battle could use a bit more of a hands-on approach,” the man studied his nails coolly. “Besides, I was the only one who could spare the extra power. Heaven knows our forces are spread all over.”

“Ooh, splendid!” Discord clapped childishly. “After all, there is only a billion of your kind running around, right? Who better to make the big sacrifices than the one who can afford it?”

He grinned and danced right up into the man’s face, whispering: “Glad to see our ways of thinking aren’t completely different. We have some common ground after all, isn’t that splendid?”

Casually brushing a small bit of Discord’s spittle from his jacket, the man reached up and grabbed him by the tuft of hair on his chin, dragging him down to glare directly into his eyes. “With a mere thought, I could cast you into one of many supermassive black holes present in one of the universes which has no underlying framework to support magic. And yes, both those things exist, and yes, they are absolutely impossible to escape from. Just you, alone, in the dark, without your ability to conjure so much as a chocolate milk-soaked marshmallow, forever.”

For the slightest moment, the tiniest bit of fear crept into his mismatched, blood-red eyes, then that insufferable smile returned to Discord’s face. He pulled himself free of the man’s grip with ease, “Oh, do quit the melodramatics, little one.”

“If we’ve had enough jabbing at each other for one day,” Celestia stepped forward. “Could we please get back on-task? Swarm…or, I’m sorry, which name did you wish to go by?”

“Chen Li.” The man replied, taking one of her glass slipper-covered hooves in one hand and kissing it. “At your service, Princess.”

Blushing, Celestia quickly regained her composure, “Well, Mr. Li, your European counterpart informed me that you would need time to prepare for battle.”

“Indeed I do,” the man replied, “If you don’t mind…”

“Oh, not at all. Take as long as you need, my good sir.”

Bowing, the man extended his arms out as far as they could go and brought his hands together in a massive clap that echoed off into the eternal distance. Starting at the sleeves, his suit transformed into a silken white robe in the space of a second, glistening in the semi-darkness. The fine shoes became padded slippers, engineered for absolutely perfect motion and traction, and the glasses disappeared from his face. The businessman was now gone, replaced by the ultimate hand-to-hand warrior. “Thank you for your patience,” he said, bowing once more.

“Showoff,” Discord mumbled.

“Brilliant!” Celestia gushed as she returned to her sister’s side. Realizing Luna hadn’t said anything in the past few minutes, she looked to the Princess of the Night and found her staring wide-eyed at the scene, eyes darting from Discord to the man and back again, mouth hanging open.

“Luna, dearest, you’re going to catch flies like that.”

“I…” Luna started, trailed off, swallowed, and attempted a reboot, “I…that’s a human!”

“Yep!” Celestia said cheerfully.

“And Discord!”

“Yep!”

“We’re working with the Lord of Chaos himself and a human to fight an enemy! This is a thing! That is happening!”

“Yep!”

The Night Princess turned to her sister, her eyes still wide as dinner plates, “Sister, there is much you have neglected to tell me.”

“Yes,” Celestia sighed, the smile fading, “It is complicated, Luna, but I will try to explain our situation as best as I can.”

“Take as long as you need,” Li said, “You extended me that courtesy, and so I shall return it.”

“You have my thanks.” Celestia replied, throwing a now-babbling Luna over her back and hauling her off into the darkness.

Discord gazed over at Li and grinned, “I wonder what antics those two could get up to while they’re alone.”

“Oh, do try to take this seriously.” Li sighed with a roll of his eyes, “We are about to face a powerful foe, I would appreciate it if you did not make references to internet phenomena.”

“Molestiaaa…” Discord chimed, “Admit it: it gives you a poner just thinking about it. Just a little hard. C’mon. Admit it.”

Li’s face turned bright red. “I swear that I have no idea what you are talking about, now could we please try to remain focused on the task…”

A small bit of his pants vibrated, and before Discord could crack another smart-ass comment the man swiftly scooped a small cell phone out of a non-existent pocket and flipped it open, leaving Discord to wonder where the phone had really come from and why a man of nearly God-like power was using a leftover staple from the early 00s. “Too cheap for an iPhone?” He asked with a smile. The man raised a finger at him, nodding along with the person on the other side.

“Yeah,” he said, “We’re all together…uh-huh…okay, I know you won’t be able to close them all, but we just need you to close enough. Just enough to keep us from getting totally overrun…uh-huh…okay, Sari, I…yes, I love you too…Okay…I will be, buh-bye.” He smooched the speaker and flipped it shut, shoving the phone into a pocket which promptly blinked right back into non-existence.

“So, who was that little cutie on the other side?” Discord asked.

“That ‘little cutie’ will be responsible for shutting as many of the portals in this region, blocking the vast majority of the enemy’s forces and possibly giving us the small edge we need to survive this day. So I would watch my words if I were you.”

Discord sighed, “Fine, sorry I asked.”

“It is okay. You are forgiven.”

The Lord of Chaos snickered, one of his crooked teeth gleaming at the man, “Well, at least I know why your comrades chose you to help out here.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“You’re the one most likely to get under my skin.”

“I believe that is the closest thing to a compliment you have given me thus far.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

Chapter VII: An American Funeral

The purple blades of grass whipped by Uris’ feet, every step taking him deeper into a forest where the trees were covered in lavender bark, small bits of sparkling glitter constantly showered down on him from above, and where his camouflage uniform was anything but. Brushing the glitter aside, he vaulted a small family of squirrels sitting down to a picnic of acorns and honey, thanking God for every hour of calisthenics his drill instructor had forced him through. Around the time he passed his fourth cotton candy patch, Uris had a sudden and terrifying thought: what if the enemy was already here? There was no telling how long he’d been out. A whole army of enemy infantry could have landed right here in this forest!

Diving into a bush covered in fat, red berries and violet leaves, Uris calmed his breathing and tried to listen. The wind rustled through the tree branches, a squirrel chittered angrily at a neighbor over who had claim on an especially large acorn hanging from the tree they shared, and a bird tweeted a perfect C# scale in preparation for a day’s worth of singing. Grimacing from the cuteness overload, he unzipped his jacket and pulled out the one thing he’d made absolutely certain to keep hidden from his equine saviors: a Beretta sub-compact. Ten-round mag, .40 caliber rounds, and four spare clips in his pockets. It wouldn’t be much against a platoon of enemy soldiers armed with SMGs, rifles, and a taste for American blood, but it might give him a fighting chance against a small patrol.

Still struggling to keep his breathing calm, Uris gripped the pistol until his knuckles turned white. He’d been trained to use a firearm, and had even gone to the range with this particular weapon, but this would be the first time he might actually need to use it in self-defense. How would he do? These were the same bastards that killed all those people in Hong Kong and sank a whole damn U.S carrier group, but still, would he even be able to squeeze the trigger with another human being in the sights? And even if he could, would he be faster than the guy sighting him up? Quieter? Stronger?

The trees rustled in the wind again, sending more of that glitter crap raining down on him. This time he didn’t even blink, not even when a massive sunflower subsequently burst into existence in his hair, though he did curse himself for leaving his helmet behind. Welp, he figured. At least it’s in good han…hooves. That little teal pony seemed like enough of a hothead. She’ll probably put it to good use.

Wait, had to focus, right. The enemy could be anywhere right now, surrounding him even as he sat here, having an internal monologue. Something rustled in the brush nearby, “Or they could be right behind me!” He gasped, wheeling around to face his opponent, but already it was too late. A bright yellow streak surrounded by a pinkish hue landed at his feet, followed by a familiar, soft voice screaming: “Mr. Uris!”

“Fluttershy!?” He exclaimed, finger freezing on the trigger. “Oh, Goddammit girl! Dontcha know not to sneak up on a soldier like that!? Do you have any idea what could’ve happened!?”

“I…I just…” she sniffled in reply, tears materializing in her eyes so fast you’d think they were hooked to Niagara Falls.

“No, of course, you don’t,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he holstered his weapon. “Look, let’s just say things might have gone badly, and you could’ve gotten hurt, and I don’t want to see that happen, understand?” She nodded timidly, her little pink mane bobbing up and down over one of her eyes. “Holy crap, is there any moment when you guys aren’t head-crushingly adorable?”

“Um…what do you…”

Before she could finish, a brilliant teal streak tore through the canopy of pink leaves above them and slammed into Uris’ stomach. Buckling to the ground, the human was left almost completely defenseless against the flurry of hoof kicks and punches Rainbow Dash followed up with. “TRYIN’ TO ESCAPE, HUH? MEET UP WITH YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS TO ATTACK EQUESTRIA, IS THAT YER ANGLE!?” She shrieked.

“Rainbow Dash, don’t!” Fluttershy squeaked, pulling her friend off Uris, “He was only trying…”

“Trying to pull something! This guy’s dangerous and it’s time you pushed the hair out of your eyes and saw it!” RD bellowed right into Fluttershy’s face. In response, the yellow pegasus whined ever so slightly, choking back a sob as tears welled up again.

Sighing, Rainbow ran a hoof through her mane as she backed away. “Look, Fluttershy, I didn’t mean…” she caught the human’s reflection in one of Fluttershy’s tears, noticing it reach for something, “Oh my sweet Celestia, WHAT’S THAT YOU GOT YOU TWO-LEGGED FREAK!?”

“What, I don’t got any-“ he looked down and realized, to his horror, that his hand was reaching into his jacket, already wrapped around the Beretta’s grip. “-thing…oh, freakin’ military training!” He screamed, realizing he’d gone for the pistol on instinct.

“SOME KINDA WEAPON!? HUH!?” Nearly breaking the light barrier, Rainbow Dash landed back on Uris’ chest and engaged in a tug of war with his wrist, with the human trying to keep his hand shoved into his jacket while she tried to pull it out.

“Damn it all, leggo!” He shouted. “It’s none a’ your business!”

“If it’s a weapon, it sure as buck is my business!”

“, jeez, how are you so strong!?”

They continued back and forth like that for a few minutes, with Fluttershy watching in growing concern as they both grew visibly more frustrated, their tempers quickly reaching the boiling point when Uris suddenly grabbed Dash by the back of her mane and threw her off. “YOU WANNA SEE WHAT I GOT HERE!?” He screamed, tearing the jacket’s buttons to rip it open, “I’VE GOT THIS!”

Without even looking he turned, whipped the pistol out of his jacket, and fired straight up into the air. The shot boomed off into the wilderness, slicing through the peaceful day like a katana covered in acid through a plate of Jell-O. Everything: the birds, the squirrels chittering at each other, even Rainbow Dash, fell silent.

Then a bird fell out of the sky and landed by Uris’ feet, a massive hole in its chest.

“OHMYGOSH!” Fluttershy gasped, rushing to the little avian’s side and beginning mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which only resulted in a small burst of blood and feathers whistling into the air every few moments. It was both the most hilarious and the most tragic thing Uris had seen in his short career with the armed forces.

“So that’s what that does, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked from beside him in a surprisingly small voice. Uris just nodded, slowly holstering the weapon. She sighed, “Oh man, we’re in it now.”

“Why? What’s gonna happen?”

“Do you have any idea how much that girl loves animals?”

Before he could reply, Fluttershy looked up at them, tears streaming down her little yellow cheeks. “He’s…” she sniffled, wiping at her nose with her hoof, “He’s…dead.”

Rainbow Dash looked up at him expectedly, waiting for him to do something. “Whaddya want from me!?” He said, “It’s not like I can bring the dead back or anything!”

“No, just make them.” Fluttershy whimpered, wiping at her nose again as her lower lip trembled ever so delicately.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” he sighed, “I mean; just what do you expect me to do here? Hold a funeral?”

Uris tilted his head back. The dot in the middle of the green light was now about the size of a dime; he could almost see a sort of circular motion he thought might be rotors. But that was okay: he still had time. He could still make it through this in one piece. It would be hours before that thing would land, and by then he could be long gone and back safe and sound in camp. So he returned to what he was doing. “Uh…life…and death…” he stammered, supporting himself on the wooden plank with the words “some damn bird” scrawled on it (he’d made it himself) that they were using as a makeshift gravestone. Oh, this was so ridiculous. Here he was, cut off from the rest of his platoon, possibly suffering from a mild concussion, and about to wind up in the middle of a massive aerial assault on a group of utterly defenseless ponies, and he was giving the eulogy at a bird’s funeral!?

Whatever, just had to get this over with. Where was he? Oh, right. “Life…and death!” He said somewhat more confidently.

“You just said that.” Rainbow Dash remarked, leaning casually against the gravestone.

Fluttershy shooed her away from the grave and motioned for Uris to continue. “Alright, life and death…are…two…things.”

“Spoken like a true playwright.” Dash snickered.

Silencing her with a glare, Fluttershy stared intently at Uris. Sighing, he scanned the other ponies, mostly just hanging around the grave staring awkwardly at him (except for Pinkie Pie, who had somehow appeared in a black funeral veil with an embroidered handkerchief). Trying to steady his nerves, Uris tried: “They are…two…things…which are very…important.”

“Oh for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity sighed, nudging Uris out of the way, “I’m sorry, dearie, but this obviously calls for someone with a bit more eloquence.” Clearing her throat, she suddenly threw herself atop the freshly-dug grave and sobbed, her whole body spasming from the sheer force of her cries: “WHA-HI-HI-HHYYYYYYYY!? HE WAS SO YOUNG! SO MUCH AHEAD OF HIM! WHY, WORLD!? WHYYYYYY!?”

Brushing herself off, she stood up again and bowed. “There, you see? That is how you grieve for a lost one.”

Everyone else stared at her for a second before Rainbow Dash sighed. “Okay all, moving along.”

“He was…cute?” Fluttershy shrugged.

“That he was.” Uris added, trying to be helpful.

“I…think that is sufficient for the loss of a bird,” Twilight said. “Okay everyone, back to Fluttershy’s cabin for some dinner before it gets cold.”

“Ooh! And then we can throw a funeral party!” Pinkie said, tearing off her veil with a sudden burst of confetti and bounding off in the direction of Fluttershy’s cabin.

“Pinkie, no! A funeral is supposed to be a solemn affair, dedicated to the remembrance of those we have lost!” Twilight yelled after her as she gave chase.

“And what better way to remember someone than with a huge part-ay!?”

“No, what? Pinkie! PINKIIIIEEEEEEEEEE…”

“Well,” Applejack sighed, finally looking up from the blade of grass she had been studying intently throughout the funeral, “Ah better check on dinner, make sure those two don’t mess it all up.”

“I’ll join you.” Rainbow Dash said, swooping by her.

“Oh, NOW y’all wanna help with dinner?”

“Hey! I can be handy in a kitchen.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it, Rainbow…”

Fluttershy and Uris watched the two friends set off arguing, leaving them alone by the grave. With the sun setting over the hills behind them, casting a deep red glow over the landscape, Uris figured now might be a good time to try and patch a few things up. “Look, I really am sorry about what happened to the bird. I got a bit carried away when I really shouldn’t have.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said, “Really. Dash can get under anyone’s skin.”

“Yeah, I can see how.”

“She’s just trying to protect what she loves, that’s all.”

“You know what; I think I can respect that.”

“That’s good.”

He was fumbling around in his mind, trying to come up with something new to say, when he caught a glance of her in the fading light. The deep red of the sunset caught her mane in just the right way, making the most beautiful shade of pink he’d ever seen in his life, practically glowing in sharp contrast to her yellow body. Her wings spread out behind her as she prepared to take off after her friends, and immediately the hue of light around her made her look like…

“…an angel.” He muttered.

“I’m sorry, what?” She asked.

“Nothing! Nothing at all! Let’s just…go see what’s for dinner, huh? It’s been quite a day.”

“Oh yes, I’m actually famished right now.” She said, hovering just beside him as they slowly walked along to rejoin the rest of the ponies gathered near her home. Still, he was so transfixed by her sudden beauty (and whether this meant he was a zoophile or not) and everyone else so distracted by their own issues that nobody even noticed when Pinkie cut off mid-sentence.

“And we’ll have cake and ice cream and…” she paused, a massive shiver travelling up from her hooves and into her body, shaking her shoulders and wracking her mane. Curious, she scanned around. This was nothing like the other shakes her Pinkie-sense had given her. It felt serious, yes, but she couldn’t quite understand the danger. But with everyone so busy and all trying to talk at the same time, she guessed she might as well just dismiss it as a random tremble.

So much could have been averted if she hadn’t. If she had brought it up, Uris might have overheard the ponies all talking about her sudden spike of Pinkie-sense. Once he learned it was a sort of early-warning system for danger, he might have whirled around and noticed one of three things.

The first would be the little dots appearing all around the main dot in the middle of the green light in textbook skydiving formation.

The second would be the parachutes opening up in the skies over someplace far in the distance, then maybe, just maybe, if he’d listened very closely, he might have noticed the sound of gunfire and the explosions of mortar impacts rumbling off in their direction.

And third and most importantly, he might have spotted the man dressed all in gray with camouflage netting draped over his shoulders, spying on them through a pair of binoculars from just inside the brush at the edge of the Everfree forest.

With a grimace, the man in the camouflage disappeared into the bush and motioned to another man nearby, standing over a large wooden box with a headset plugged into it. Pressing the set’s mouthpiece to his lips, he whispered in a strange and guttural language, “{Fritzstaff One here, natives encountered with one apparent hostile. Apparently U.S Armed Forces.}”

“{Roger that, Fritzstaff One, you are clear to engage.}” A voice replied. The first man promptly returned the set to its place on the box and motioned for the second to hide it deep in the bush. He then made one, simple hand gesture to the rest of the men with him and, without a sound, they spread out through the bush in a perfect assault formation.

Author's Note

For future reference, dialogue in brackets: { } Is spoken in a non-English language.

Chapter VIII: Vance's Secret

Vance glared at the map unfolded on the table before him, right next to the partially-assembled pistol. The number of blank O’s had dwindled to almost nothing, while the number of X’s had skyrocketed. “Where are you, boy? Why can’t I bring you home?” He wondered aloud.

“Captain?” Parker asked from behind him, “We’ve got news.”

Vance turned grimly. He knew from Parker’s tone of voice that they still hadn’t found the pilot. And if they hadn’t found the pilot, the only other news he could possibly have was…

“It’s the enemy, sir. They’ve landed. We’re spotting parachute drops all over.”

Vance nodded. When he spoke again, it was with the almost machine-like authority of a true commander, his voice reeking with authority: “Send runners out to get the search teams back. Have everybody still in-camp prepare for an assault. We are going to meet the enemy wherever he lands.”

“Yes sir, but there’s something else.”

“Oh?”

“The enemy dropped a bit far from where we expected. A good ten, twenty miles off from where intel said they would.”

“Trip through the portal must’ve thrown ‘em off; good to know they’re as new to jumping between worlds as we are,” Vance mumbled.

“What was that, sir?”

“Nothing, Lieutenant, just thinking out loud. Now, are we still emplaced to intercept any sort of assault on Grid Alpha?”

“Yes sir, this is still the only real opening in the area. The enemy knows they need this clearing to marshal their strength. But this new area they dropped into…” he sighed, “Those maps we got show a small village in the area. It’s local name is ‘Coltton’. Population of Two, maybe three-hundred pon…natives.”

Vance scowled, “Damn, there’s no way we can be mobile before the enemy overruns that village.”

“No, sir.”

“Where is it, anyway?”

“Um…” Parker walked over to the map on the desk, scanned it for a quick second, and swiftly jammed a finger down on one spot. “Right here, sir.”

Vance looked over the map, and almost immediately his scowl turned into a grin. “Oh, really?”
He said knowingly.

“Sir?”

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that village, Lieutenant. You see, intel was worried the enemy might detect our forces and use that area as a launching point for a flanking maneuver, so they made sure there’d be a little surprise waiting in case they did.”

“What surprise, sir?”

“That’s on a need to know basis, Lieutenant,” Vance replied. “Just trust me when I say the little ponies in that village have nothing to worry about.”

Shining Armor had never been more terrified in his life. I don’t understand, he thought, This can’t be happening. I’m on my honeymoon, for pity’s sake!

The tiny village of Colton had seemed like the perfect choice for a week away from the hustle and bustle of Canterlot. Just him and his new wife, Cadence, in a quaint little village nestled in the Everfree Forest for a week. Sure, she had been somewhat iffy about heading off to such a small, isolated town, especially after the battle with the changelings, but just one whiff of that fresh country air had changed her mind, and together they had enjoyed a week together in their small but cozy inn room.

Then these strange bipeds appeared with their exotic weapons which spat fire every time they moved one of the fleshy growths at the ends of their arms. The attack had come so suddenly that the town guard hadn’t even awakened to counter it, not that there was much they could have done. The attackers rounded up everypony so quickly that some were still rubbing sleep from their eyes as they marched, having been dragged from their warm, soft beds to join the long train of ponies being forced through town. Eventually, they passed the squat log cabin which served as the town hall, now a flaming ruin which served to illuminate the frightened ponies and the strange bipeds that watched over them with squinty little eyes and dark, ugly weapons. Shining slowed his pace for a second to get a better look, managing to catch a glimpse of the equine bodies lying here and there by the building’s collapsed façade, the mayor among them. Then a biped ran up and shoved his weapon in Shining’s face, screaming in that guttural language they’d been using and prompting him to keep moving.

I shouldn’t have opened the door, he thought mournfully, bowing his head and trying very hard to remain unnoticed. He should have just stayed in his room and ignored the whistling sounds and the explosions reducing town hall to rubble. But he’d been curious, in a morbid sort of way, and concerned for the safety of anypony near the hall, so he’d gone dashing outside and straight into the arms of the half-dozen or so bipeds rounding up everypony at the inn. Now, here he was, in the middle of what was supposed to be his week to relax, being marched off like a common farm animal to Celestia-knows-where!

As they trundled along, an older pony strayed off the path, wandering just a bit out of line with his fellow ponies. With a cold efficiency, a biped strode up to the older stallion and cracked him on the back of the head with the heavy stock of his weapon. Mortified, Shining Armor could only watch as the biped dragged the stallion into a darkened alleyway, and a moment later a single crack of one of the biped’s weapons being discharged sounded off into the night, the alleyway illuminated for the quickest instant. One of the younger fillies screamed, but thankfully her parents kept her in the line, shuffling along with their heads bowed low. The message had been received loud and clear.

At the very least, Shining could take comfort in the fact that his dearest Cadence was safe, hiding beneath the couch in their room. Oh, but how long would that last? How long before the bipeds did a more thorough search of the village? And even if it didn’t come to that, would he ever see her again? Pushing these thoughts down, he looked up just as the long train left the village proper and entered the wilderness around them. At least now the darkness of the forest would make it harder for his captors to see him. For all their might, these bipeds didn’t appear to have any sort of night vision worth mentioning. “Or even have much brawn to look at, for that matter,” he added under his breath. It was amazing that a bunch of bipeds wrapped in soft, pink tissue (like you’d find on a naked mole rat) could be so intimidating! But the gray uniforms and sinister, dark green helmets they all wore made everypony avert their gaze as they systematically scanned the column leaving town. Where these bipeds had come from was anypony’s guess. Where they were going was everypony’s concern.

The column was forced to stop along a large drainage ditch at the edge of town, and a sudden burst of fear threatened to overwhelm Shining Armor’s mind. He didn’t know why, but something seemed very wrong with this setup: the way so many ponies were being lined up right in front of the ditch, the way the bipeds watched them while forming their own line with a grim determination in their eyes. This isn’t the first time they’ve done something like this, he realized in horror, They’ve done it before. Celestia help us all, they’re experienced!

One of the bipeds, wearing a lavish coat covered in medals, stood at the end of the line with his fist raised. The others raised their weapons and leveled them on the line of ponies just across from them. Most of the ponies gasped, some cried. Shining Armor didn’t move. On some level, he’d been expecting this.

“ONE!” The leader screamed, and a series of clicks resounded from all the biped’s weapons. The crying intensified. A hoof brushed by Shining’s own, and he looked over to see the little, pink barmare from his inn, still wearing her apron. Her hoof had accidentally brushed past his, her whole body quivering in fear.

“TWO!” The other bipeds steadied their aim. Shining seized the hoof and squeezed for all he was worth. The barmare yelped in fright and looked at him, but quickly returned the squeeze. Nodding to one another, their eyes slid shut in anticipation.

Then, the strangest thing happened. An unusually large stallion appeared just outside the line of trees nearby, near the farms. Silhouetted by the full moon above, the stallion walked in a strange, lopsided fashion right out into the open. All eyes turned to the newcomer, including the bipeds’. Shining Armor didn’t even look, simply grateful for the few extra moments of life the newcomer had just bought him.

One of the bipeds stepped out of line and started screaming at the stallion, waving his weapon in the air. The stallion’s only response was to rear up on his hind legs and point his front hooves at them, in much the same manner they held some of their weapons. Taking this as some act of defiance, a few other bipeds walked up beside the first and began advancing on the stallion, most with their weapons at their side or just held at the ready for a serious clubbing. The rest of the bipeds hanging back joked amongst themselves, believing this to be a small oversight which would soon be corrected as yet another example for the town’s populace. Certainly, this could only end with one more dead stallion and a bit more fear instilled in the rest.

Suddenly, a loud series of cracks sounded out, not too unlike the sounds the bipeds’ weapons made. A pair of brilliant little flares appeared out of the stallion’s hooves. The three bipeds advancing on it dropped with telltale wounds all over their chests and necks, one of them still screaming, the others staring blankly up at the night sky. At that the other bipeds leapt into action, yelling in their language and spraying in the direction of the stallion, who simply back-flipped right into the cover of the trees behind him. Then, with the bipeds distracted with the stallion on their side, another series of cracks and pops and little flares appeared from the forest on the opposite end, slicing them down before they even had a chance to turn.

It was all over in less than a minute. The bipeds, once so proud and intimidating, now all lay in a massive pile, most of them dead, some moaning and screaming as blood colored their once-intimidating uniforms a crimson red. The ponies watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as yet another group of bipeds appeared from the forest (‘appeared’ being the exact word Shining Armor would have used if he were to write about his experiences this night) as the bipeds seemed to materialize just within the line of trees, covered in pink camo netting. They all approached the line of ponies with their weapons raised, but pointed at the fallen group of bipeds. Some of the newcomers swiftly broke off to check on the fallen, while one of them raised his hand and let out a short, loud whistle. At the sound, the stallion appeared from the forest again, walking on his hind legs, shedding the hooves and horse-like head to reveal a smaller, helmeted head as he approached.

He’s one of them, Shining Armor realized as the newcomer approached, grinning like a madman. Most ponies immediately took a few pre-emptive steps back, and the biped stopped, the grin fading to a more neutral expression. Laying his weapon on the ground, the biped advanced more slowly, with his hands outstretched. “My name is Lieutenant Miller with the Equestrian Expeditionary Force, part of the United States Armed Forces,” he said unexpectedly. “We are here to help.”

Immediately, everypony in sight bolted for the wilderness, becoming just a hundred streaks of color rushing off into the darkness. All, of course, except for Shining Armor. “Eh, that’s kinda what I expected,” the biped mumbled before looking down at Shining. “Well? What about you?”

Shining stood his ground and glared right into the biped’s eyes. “You’re fighting those other pink-skins, aren’t you?”

“That is horrifically insensitive from a racial standpoint,” the biped replied automatically, motioning over his shoulder to a dark-skinned biped gearing up with the others. “But yeah, we are.”

“And you’re going to take that little town over there,” Shining shrugged over his own shoulder at the village behind him. “Right?”

“It’s the only thing worth having in this sector.”

“And what are you going to do when you get up there?”

“Uh…” as if to answer for him, one of the gray-uniformed bipeds started moaning, and out of reflex, the newcomer closest to him whipped out a small weapon and put a hole in its head, the shot echoing off into the distance as the moaning came to an abrupt stop. “Pretty much that, yeah.”

Without another word, Shining Armor trotted over to join the bipeds, most of them immediately pausing in what they were doing to stare, some still halfway through reassembling their weapons. After a few moments of awkward silence, Shining took a deep breath and announced: “My name is Shining Armor of the Royal Canterlot guard. I specialize in shields and magical defense, and I want you to help me save my wife.”

The leader studied him, analyzing every little thing he could see about Shining, from the way he carried himself to the look he had in his eyes. After a few minutes, Shining apparently passed some mental test and the leader spoke: “Your wife’s in there?”

Shining nodded, “We’re on our honeymoon.”

“You said you had training?”

“Royal Canterlot guard, the best there is.”

“And you’re willing to lay down your life for this woman?”

Shining Armor took a few minutes to compose just the right response: “I was trained for most of my adult years to lay down my life for the Royal Court, sliding into the mindset of somebody willing to die for a couple of mares he barely even knew. Compared to that, I figure I shouldn’t have any trouble sacrificing myself for Cadence.”

The leader, along with half the bipeds around him, grinned. “Welcome to Seal Team Six, Mr. Armor.”

Chapter IX: Swarm vs. The World

Discord eyed Swarm from his chocolate milk cloud as the man practiced for the upcoming battle. While the Lord of Chaos watched, the man went from a cross-legged sitting position into an explosive upwards kick, followed with a flurry of punches right at throat level and a haymaker to an invisible assailant behind him, all in the same amount of time most people took to blink. It was the most impressive display of hand-to-hand combat in the known universe. Of course, Discord would rather die than let Swarm know he thought so.

“Let me know when you’re done prancing about,” the Lord of Chaos chided. “I would rather like to take a nap until then.”

“Why should I awake you?” Swarm asked. “So you may annoy me even further?”

“So I AM getting under your skin!” Discord smiled and squeezed a small jet of chocolate milk out of his cloud and directly into his own mouth, smiling cockily. “It seems not even the all-powerful Swarm is immune to my incredible abilities.”

In a split second between shifting his weight from one foot to the next, Swarm flicked his finger in Discord’s direction, instantly transforming his chocolate milk cloud into an iron anvil. The Lord of Chaos promptly fell flat on his face, pinning his tail beneath the anvil while simultaneously cracking his nose against its metal surface. “An anvil!?” He shouted, straightening out his nose. “What, have you watched too many of your brother’s cartoons!?”

“I thought you would like the Warner Brother’s feel to it.” Swarm replied smartly, seguing smoothly from a standing lotus position to a perfectly executed front-kick and back again. Sneering, the Lord of Chaos focused all his magical might into transforming the anvil into a puddle of vegetable oil, which he promptly sent off in Swarm’s direction. In response, a small bubble of dark matter suddenly appeared beneath the man’s feet, barely enough for his big toe to fit on, but still he balanced perfectly. The oil deflected around the bubble, unable to penetrate its meta-universal existence. The entire time, the look of focus and serenity remained completely unchanged on his face.

“You could’ve just sent it back at me,” Discord said dryly.

“I am not one to act in vengeance,” the man replied, switching his balancing point to his other big toe.

“Then what the hell was that Animaniacs bullcrap!?”

“That was a demonstration; nothing more, nothing less.”

“Oh, you’re no fun.” Discord grumbled and retreated to a small stool in the corner to pout. But even the sheer impossibility of there being a corner in a little pocket dimension between worlds composed primarily of exotic matter wasn’t enough to cheer him up. “God, I wish the Yank was here. Or even the Kraut. At least they know how to party.”

“If it is a party you wish for, it is a party you shall soon get.”

Discord rocketed up to the man and growled right in his face. “Was that a threat, boy?”

“Look in the sky, fool.”

Discord looked. His jaw dropped. High above them, a small, green light had appeared with a helicopter at its center. Swarm whipped out his cell phone. “Yeah? Honey, they’re right above us… Okay, just redirect as many portals as you can, close whatever you can’t. We got people on the ground in Equestria that can handle whatever you miss. Okay, sweetheart? Okay.” Then, in a quiet tone, he kissed the speaker and whispered: “Love you,” before flipping the phone shut. By then, Discord had already run off to retrieve the princesses from their time bubble. He could only hope Celestia had prepared her sister for what was to come.

Luna sat upright as she and her sister hovered in their little time bubble, set aside just for them to have a few moments of privacy. She periodically sipped from her tea cup, grateful for the pot hovering between them. It kept her nerves calm as Celestia continued:

“It started about a year ago: I noticed certain weaknesses developing in certain…places, for lack of a better word.”

“What places would that be, dear sister?” Luna asked, sampling a cracker from the plate hovering by the teapot.

“Oh, just random places. Mostly isolated little spots in the middle of nowhere where the magic seemed to be draining. A bit like water flowing through a crack, but a crack that I could neither see nor feel. Our best unicorns could detect nothing, however, so I dismissed these weaknesses as nothing more than a natural fluctuation in the magical field around Equestria. For weeks, this continued, until about a year ago, when a strange pony appeared at the gates.”

“Strange? How?”

“Well, this pony just felt…off. He carried himself not too unlike that ‘Doctor’ fellow when he first arrived, like he just wasn’t used to walking about in a pony form. He introduced himself as Swarm and immediately called for a royal audience.”

“And you just granted him one?”

“Before the guards turned him away, he named off every one of their dead relatives and their causes of death. That information is only available in the Royal Archives, which are under heavy guard at all times. I figured this pony must have had something interesting to say, if he was able to know so much.”

“And how did that meeting go, sister?”

“It was…interesting, to say the least. Halfway through what I thought was idle conversation about the possible existence of alternate realities and the fundamental basics of the universe, he suddenly asked if he could change into something a bit more comfortable. This puzzled me at first, as like most ponies, he was not clothed, but I granted him permission to do so.”

“Let me guess,” Luna munched on her cracker. “He turned into that humanoid figure we left back there?”

“Actually, the Swarm I met with was Mr. Li’s brother, an American by the name of Michael Sawyer.”

Luna paused in munching her cracker. “Heavens above, Celestia, how many Swarms are there?”

“At my count, there are at least five brothers and one sister who refer to themselves as Swarm. They, in turn, have the ability to create ‘offshoots,’ beings with their likenesses that give each of the six ‘original’ Swarms the ability to operate on multiple worlds at once.”

Luna set her cracker aside, her appetite all but gone now. “They ‘operate’ on multiple worlds?”

“Just to help out, maybe guide them down less-destructive paths, but usually to ensure that periodic fluctuations in time itself do not unleash too much destruction. Think of Swarm as reality’s cleanup crew for quantum fluctuations, ensuring that such do not annihilate entire civilizations and aiding some planets that still manage to be affected.”

Luna rubbed her temples. “He guides entire civilizations down less-destructive paths?”

“That’s more of a hobby than anything. He’s told me himself: he believes a people should be left to build their own world, not let some God step in and force them down a path he thinks might be preferable. But if there could be serious bloodshed…” she shrugged. “He tries to make it more likely for a people to follow a different path, that’s all.”

Luna sat down, pouring herself another cup of tea and staring vacantly into the darkness around them. She spilled a few searing hot-drops onto her leg, but didn’t seem to notice. “So, there’s a girl Swarm too, huh?” She asked, unsure of what else she could possibly say.

Celestia grinned. “Nasreen Hazarika, a Sikh woman who appears to be of Punjabi descent.”

“I wish I knew what some of those words meant!” Luna laughed, and her sister joined in.

“Don’t worry, sister, you get used to these ideas over time!”

“One thing though: why choose the name Swarm? Doesn’t it seem odd?”

The smile waivered on Celestia’s face. “I’m afraid he hasn’t revealed that to me. He just tells me it has to do with his origins, which he says are ‘complicated.’ Although…” Celestia scratched her chin. “Discord did indicate that he might know something about those origins at our last meeting…”

“Oh, I’m sure he was just pulling your hoof, Tia,” Luna scoffed as she grabbed a fresh cracker from the plate. “If Swarm will not divulge his origins to you, why would he do so with one such as ‘him’?” She added a distasteful inflection to her last word, not even wishing to utter the Lord of Chaos’s name.

“I don’t know, sister,” Celestia said thoughtfully. “Discord made it pretty clear that he has the ability to travel through other universes as well. At least, on some level. Could it be that he might have witnessed Swarm’s genesis himself?”

“Oh come now, what are the odds of that!?” Luna waved her hoof dismissively.

“Quite good, actually,” the Lord of Chaos replied smartly as his head materialized next to her. Surprised, she lost her grip on her tea cup and cracker, sending them spinning into the void below them.

“Discord!” Celestia screamed irritably. “This is a private conversation, you know that…”

“Yes, I do hate to break up your little tea party, but we have INCOMING!” He screamed, grabbing them both by the mane and dragging them out of the time bubble. Swarm was already waiting for them. He turned around just as Discord returned with the princesses, who somehow ignored the fact that he clenched their manes in his claws and stared upwards, jaws agape.

“That’s the enemy, huh?” Luna said.

“Yes, dear sister.” Celestia said.

“Oh, well, if that’s all they’re gonna send, this shouldn’t be too…”

Suddenly, another portal appeared next to the first. Then another. And another. In the space of a second, hundreds of portals opened in the sky above their heads, each crowded with dozens of soldiers cramming their way through. Being nearly god-like, each of the beings below could sense the surprise flooding through each of the soldiers’ minds at appearing in this time bubble rather than a cute, little, pink forest, but at the sight of Swarm, that surprise gave way to a grim determination, slowly melting away to an entire army ready to annihilate the four little figures below them.

“You just HAD to comment, didntcha?” Discord sighed at Luna.

“What’s the plan!?” Celestia barked.

“You three take the half over there,” Swarm said, hooking his thumb over his shoulder at the sky behind him. “I shall handle the other half.”

“Bit egotistical, are we?” Discord said dryly.

“No, just pragmatic,” the man replied with a wink, raising his fists.

Chapter X: Hay Soup and Quantum Physics

Uris was absolutely focused. Nothing could possibly divert his attention from this: not the other ponies, not the large green spot in the sky, not even the fact that he was eating soup made from boiled hay. His spoon descended into his bowl and rose to his mouth, his chin falling just enough to allow the soup access before the spoon returned to the bowl and the whole process started all over again. He mechanically cycled through, all the while keeping his gaze frozen on the little pony across from him. Rainbow Dash returned the glare and the mechanical procedure: spoon, mouth, repeat. Their eyes remained locked on each other. Neither of them had blinked in the past five minutes.

The rest of the Elements of Harmony watched uncomfortably. “Um…” Fluttershy said, hoping to break the silence. “Wa-would anypony like a bit of hayseed to go with their soup?”

“Yes, thank you.” Uris and Dash barked. Wincing, the little yellow pegasus hovered over to them with her personal bag of seed, sprinkling a bit in each of their soups with shaking hooves before instantly retreating to her side of the table. At no point did Uris and Dash break eye contact.

“Jeez, this is like sittin’ at a dinner where Celestia and Queen Chrysalis are the guests of honor!” Applejack whispered to her friends.

“I say, why can’t those two just get along?” Rarity added.

“Well, it only makes sense,” Twilight said. “They’re both equally stubborn and equally hot-headed. And if opposites attract, I suppose like forces…”

“We are NOT like forces!” Dash and Uris screamed in unison at Twilight, then immediately turned back to each other. “Stop copying me!” They shouted, once again, in unison. “No, you’re the one copying me! Stop it! It’s annoying!” They both stood up from the table, “I’m warning you, you better stop it or I’ll…”

“SO! Mr. Uris,” Twilight shouted. “What’s say you finally tell us how a bipedal hominid wound up in Equestria, huh?”

“What?” Uris asked.

“In English, poindexter,” Rainbow added.

“Fer Celestia’s sake; howdja git here, boy!?” AJ said. “Ah mean, we know ya ain’t from around these parts, so where do ya call home?”

Uris leaned back in his chair, sipped from his soup, winced with the realization that he was basically eating hay in hot water, and shoved the bowl aside. “I already told Miss Sparkle that I’m not at liberty to divulge that information.”

“Tch, the idiot probably doesn’t even know how it happened,” Dash snickered, sipping passively from her own bowl.

“That’s not true! I do so know!”

“Actually, I guess that wouldn’t surprise me,” Twilight said disappointedly. “I mean, you’re just a soldier, right? Why would they bother to go over all the details with…um…”

“Some nameless grunt?” AJ added helpfully.

“Oh, I wouldn’t put it that callously.”

“But I do know, okay!? I do!”

“Then prove it!” Dash barked, glaring at him. He returned the glare, sitting up in his seat.

“Fine, I will. Now, do any of you believe in alternate realities?”

“Oh for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity sighed. “Is he going to start talking like Twilight now!?”

“I’ll try my best not to,” Uris grinned.

“I have.” Twilight said, raising her hoof. “It was a concept thought up by Starswirl the Bearded in his later years.”

“Oh, but of course it was.”

Ignoring him, Twilight continued: “He thought it up after his experiments with time traveling spells. Once he determined it was possible to send somepony back in time, he started getting really abstract. It’s definitely one of his more ‘out there’ ideas.”

“And? What is this all-powerful, weirdo idear?” AJ asked.

“Basically, he figured his time travel spells weren’t actually sending ponies back in time. He thought the threat of a paradox was too great, and so he believed they were actually travelling to a different universe similar to that pony’s own.”

She was greeted with a blank stare from everyone around her. “Wow, they did not go over anything like that in the briefing,” Uris said.

“Gee, I wonder why?” Dash said sarcastically, and he shot her a look.

“Getting back on track,” Twilight said quickly. “Starswirl theorized that every possible outcome for something probable created a separate universe, including any changes that pony made to the past.”

“They actually explained it pretty well in my briefing,” Uris chimed in as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. “Let’s say I flip this coin. No reason for it, I just do.” With that, he flicked it into the air with his thumb. The quarter tumbled over and over again before landing heads-up on the table, where everypony could see it. “Now, there were two possibilities here: the coin could’ve landed tails-I mean, with the other side up, which I call tails, or with this side up, which we can call heads.”

“Perfect!” Twilight clapped her hooves together. “He’s illustrated it perfectly!”

“So,” Dash said. “What you’re sayin’ is we just created another universe? This one, where the coin landed heads-up…”

“…And another where it landed tails-up,” Uris finished.

“Cute, but a coupla coin flips don’t really tell us where you came from.”

“But they do, Rainbow!” Twilight gasped in realization. “Because this sort of thing doesn’t just happen for stupid little events like coin-flips! They also happen for massive, earth-shattering events, like historical occurrences, or…”

“…Or evolutionary events,” Uris finished. “Like a buncha monkeys rising to become the dominant species on their planet, rather than some horses.”

The entire table fell silent as everypony tried to absorb what had just been described to them. “A whole planet of people like Uris,” Fluttershy breathed.

“Dang, if they’re all like him, we’re screwed,” Rainbow Dash snickered.

Ignoring her, Pinkie immediately vaulted over the table and landed in Uris’ lap. “So there’s a whole other planet out there with people like you!? What’s it like!? Do they all dress like you!? Do they know about the galactic overlords responsible for…”

Uris covered her mouth with his hand, watching in astonishment as she kept right on talking. He removed his hand, “…and do you like to eat hay and do your horses ever tell you how annoying Mr. Ed is because everypony knows what a racist little fu…” he covered her mouth again, and she kept right on going.

“Does this have an off-switch anywhere?” He asked.

“We wish,” AJ grumbled. “Just let ‘er say her peace, she’ll get tired of talkin’ sooner or later.”

“Bu-but if you have your own world, what are you doing here?” Fluttershy asked, “I-I mean, not that you’re intruding or that we wish for you to leave very soon...”

“Speak for yourself,” Dash mumbled.

Uris ignored her and sighed. “There was an attack. One of the other worlds, a real nasty one where a very important event in our history played out differently, hit us. We lost a lot of people, military and civilian. My…uh…my brother was actually killed. That’s…that’s why I agreed to go on this assignment.”

The whole table fell silent again. “Oh my gosh,” Fluttershy gasped. “Mr. Uris, I’m so sorry.”

“It was a year ago, hon, I’ve had time to get over it.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Dash stood up and raised her hooves. “Why are you dragging Equestria into all this? It sounds like something you guys should be handling by yourselves.”

Uris breathed in, and breathed out. How could he tell them? How could he make these ponies understand the scope of the war? The terrors he’d seen? The way his world had allied itself with a god in order to fight other gods? Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to, as Pinkie suddenly stuck her tongue out and licked his hand.

“Ew!” He screamed. “Dammit, you crazy little…”

Suddenly, she rocketed out of his lap and slammed on his chest, knocking him to the ground just as a sniper’s bullet punched through the chair he’d been sitting in. Instantly, his adrenaline and training kicking in, Uris folded himself over Pinkie, tucking and rolling with her to land against the wall right beneath the kitchen window, which shattered beneath the a sudden onslaught of gunfire. “GIRLS! PINKIE SENSE! PINKIE SENSE!” She screamed, and everypony in the room ducked beneath the table, shrieking. The sound of gunfire made Uris’s blood run cold, but the adrenaline kept him going. He knew it was the only thing that was going to allow him to survive.

Setting Pinkie aside, Uris drew his pistol and leapt to his feet, firing blindly out the window and ducking down again before the next burst of automatic fire could cut him down. “IDIOT!” He screamed at himself. “I let myself get distracted while the enemy was dropping right on top of us!”

“What’s happening!?” Rainbow Dash screamed.

“Just stay down, I promise you won’t get hurt! Just stay close to the ground!” He knew it would almost be impossible for his equine friends to hear him over the constant chatter of the assault rifles on full auto being blasted at the small house, but somehow they understood the fundamental fact of combat that three instructors had forced down his throat from the moment he had landed in boot camp: stay down, stay alive.

The loud, short bursts were soon punctuated by the all-to-familiar pop of grenade launchers. Immediately, he grabbed Pinkie under his arm and dove under the table with the rest of the ponies just as the first explosions smashed Fluttershy’s front door to splinters.

“This is insane!” Twilight screamed, “What kind of magic do these guys even have!?”

“Something like this!” Uris held up the pistol. “Except bigger and way more powerful!”

“So you’re useless, then.” Dash smirked.

Uris just glared. “Not now,” he said as the front hallway was torn apart by another handful of grenades and a hail of bullets peppered Fluttershy’s produce drawer. Before she could reply, he pressed his back against the bottom of the table and pushed, managing to get it a few inches off the ground.

“What are you doing!?” Twilight screamed.

“We need this cover to get moving,” he screamed. “Without it, we’ll be torn to shreds!”

“That’s good enough fer me!” AJ screamed, pressing her hooves next to his and lifting the table with ease.

“Now, how didja…”

“Apple buckin’! You gonna keep yackin’, or you gonna save our lives!?”

“Right, sorry!” He screamed and, with her help, started in making their way to the back door.

A few minutes of near-constant automatic fire passed, periodically interrupted by a cluster of grenade impacts. And suddenly, it was all over. Silence overtook the house, nearly deafening after the bombardment. The only sounds thereafter came from the small squad of grim-faced men which rushed the building’s façade. Nodding to one another, one man was selected to head in. He walked right through the shattered remnants of the door, weapon at the ready, scanning from side to side. As they were trained to be, his squad mates were right behind him. Their commander brought up the rear, his pistol at the ready. The men with the assault rifles fanned out, scanning every single corner they could find, silently searching for their targets.

The commander broke off from the rest, storming the kitchen and dining area where they had seen the targets. They had to be here, he’d just seen them! He could NOT fail here! If he returned to his commanders without the heads of the Elements of Harmony…

Something was off here. The kitchen was missing something. Pistol drawn, he started rummaging through drawers, then tearing through the cabinets, becoming so frustrated that by the time he’d searched the last, he was tearing doors off their hinges. “{What is it!? What am I missing!?}” He grumbled, struggling to keep his voice down against his mounting fury.

Then, it hit him: the table. This was the dining area, and there was no table. Pistol raised, he strode across the room to the rear hallway, and there it was. One table, covered in bullet holes, on its side by the rear door, hanging open in the breeze. “{But of course,}” he sighed, vaulting it and bursting out the rear door just in time to watch the six ponies and their enemy swine of a companion bolt for the woods.

“{HERE!}” He screamed, blasting wildly in their general direction with the pistol. “{HERE, DAMMIT! THE ENEMY IS ESCAPING!}” At the sound of the gunshots, he watched the American suddenly twist and fire a few times with the pistol. He heard two shots smack into the wood behind him, and then something threw him onto his ass.

“{COMMANDER!}” One of his men screamed, rushing to his side.

“{No, you fool! Go after the enemy! He has our targets!}”

“{But sir, you’re…}”

The commander grabbed the soldier by the front of his uniform in one hand and, with his other, rifled in his own coat. “{Look!}” He said, producing a small bullet, “{The armor protected me! Now, move! You know what our superiors will do to us if the Elements of Harmony escape!}”

Nodding, the soldier immediately gave chase, followed by his comrades. Once the last soldier passed, the commander leapt to his feet to join in, making sure to keep at least one of his men between himself and the enemy. After all, what was the use of meat shields if one did not use them properly?

Author's Note

Remember, dialogue in these: { } is spoken in non-English.

Chapter XI: Counterattack at Coltton

The soldiers’ squinty little eyes were about to bug out of their skulls. “{Impossible,}” one of them muttered. “{How can such a thing be?}”

And yet, there it was: one pony they had missed somehow. Which was just impossible! They had swept everywhere! Turned over every corner! Scoured the village and rounded all the ponies up, right here, in the town square! Could there methods of searching have been flawed? No, they were well-trained soldiers of The Ridchir! It had to be something else…

The pony stood in the middle of the street, apparently oblivious to their presence. It took a few awkward steps to the side and tripped over its own hooves, hitting the ground with a dull thud. The soldiers burst out laughing. “{A retard!}” One of them mused, “{God, I haven’t seen one of those in a while! No wonder it does not run from us!}”

The other ponies gathered nearby remained quiet as the other soldiers continued laughing. Only the commanding officer glared at the newcomer with suspicion. “{Privates Jones and Dietrich!}” He barked suddenly.

Immediately, two of the soldiers stopped laughing and ran up to him, saluting. “{Yes, Commander?}” They barked in unison.

“{Approach this newcomer, but be careful. Treat him as an enemy soldier approaching with a white flag in one hand: as though it could very well be a trap.}”

The privates didn’t question their orders. They simply saluted before turning to advance up the street, assault rifles ready. The pony paused, apparently taken aback by this change in events, unsure of what to do. The ponies in the square watched in dread, certain of the newcomer’s fate. How could this end in any way but with the strange pony bleeding in the street?

Rather quickly, Shining Armor answered this question by diving in front of the pony and producing a shield. “NOW!” He screamed, and the pony stood up as the pair of soldiers opened up on them. Unexpectedly, the pony dove to the side, muzzle flashes cracking out of its hooves. As the soldiers collapsed, clutching at the blood spreading across their chests, Shining Armor and the strange pony ducked behind a store front, just as an entire platoon of soldiers descended upon them, weapons blasting.

“Well,” Shining Armor sighed as rifle fire blazed by their hiding spot. “That could have gone better.”

“Eh, I wasn’t expecting that to work again anyway.” The biped with him replied, peeling off his paper-mache hooves. “You see your girl down there?”

“No,” Shining said, anxiety creeping into his voice. “But that could mean a lot of things, right? I mean, she could still be in hiding.”

“Yeah,” the biped said with a fake smile plastered on his face. “Of course it could.”

There were a few more awkward moments of silence before Shining asked: “I didn’t get your name, by the way.”

“It’s Ramirez.”

“Well, Mr. Ramirez, where do you think your friends are at?”

“Oh, they’ll be around.” The biped said with a knowing smile. “And believe me; you’ll know when they are.” Suddenly, a new string of gunfire sounded off, building to a crescendo as the soldiers in the square returned fire, all diverting attention away from the ponies gathered behind them.

“I take it that was them?”

Ramirez just grinned and replied: “I said you’d know when they were here. Now c’mon, we got a pretty little pony to save.”

“Watch it! That’s my wife you’re talking about!” Shining said half-jokingly.

Ramirez cracked a smile. “You ready to save her flank?”

Shining trotted to his side, readying another shield for them. “Absolutely.” Ramirez’s only response was to hold up three fingers in front of the unicorn’s face, then two, and at one, Shining dashed out into the street with the biped right behind. Almost immediately, a couple dozen rounds pinged off the shield as the small squad of men not focused on the rest of the SEALs opened up on them. Shining stood his ground, bracing his hooves to take the impacts as Ramirez ducked out from behind the shimmering purple hue of their shield, the short weapon he called an “Oozy” (which was a weird name for such a deadly weapon, Shining thought) barking at the enemy. After managing to take out a couple more soldiers, Shining screamed: “Enough!” And Ramirez immediately scooped him up and ducked back behind a different store front, this one across the street from their old hiding spot and just a few yards closer to the square.

“Jeez man, you okay?” Ramirez asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I…” he started to push himself up onto his hooves, only to have his wobbling legs buckle out from under him. His heart raced as he summoned every bit of strength he could to try and push himself back up, only to wind up flat on his stomach again. “NO! C’mon…”

“Dude, you need a rest.”

“I’m fine!” Shining barked angrily, a few pathetic sparks shooting wildly off the tip of his utterly-drained horn. “I just need…just…need…” his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he completely collapsed.

“Holy crap, you’re totally spent!” Ramirez said, loading a fresh magazine into his weapon. “Believe me, I know the look. We better stop anyway: with the sheer number of tangoes out there, we’d be turned into hamburger withoutcha!” As if to emphasize his point, a few wild shots thudded against the brick near his head, the bullets ricocheting on further down the street.

“Fine, but only for a second,” Shining relented.

Scanning around, the human managed to spy the sign for the shop they were hiding in front of, and he grinned. “How’s about some general goods and toiletries? Would that help?”

“What…” Shining gazed up and realized they had been cowering right by the front door of ‘Armister’s General Goods.’ It was almost a relief to see such a familiar sight: he and Cadence had stopped here for toothpaste their first day in town. She’d found some wax lips and tried them on, he’d cracked a witty one-liner about them not being as good at kissing as she was, and they’d made wild and passionate love that night. Celestia above, was that really just a few days ago? Felt more like a decade!

“So, whaddya think?” The SEAL asked, dragging Shining from the memory.

The unicorn managed to reach up and try the knob, rattling it a few times. “I think it’s locked.”

“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head about a thing like that: every man in Uncle Sam’s army is given a special key for situations just like this one.” Ramirez winked and pulled out his sidearm, emptying a few rounds into the knob and blasting it into little pieces. He followed up with a powerful kick to the locking mechanism, shearing the door clean off its frame and shattering what little glass was left in it with a loud crash.

“Such subtle and magical wonders you people are able to perform!” Shining said, a weak smile crossing his face.

“Now, was that sarcasm I detected, Mr. Armor?” The human asked as he scooped the unicorn up and stepped right into the shop. “I think we humans might just be rubbing off on you ponies.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. If anything, you’ll be the one trotting around on all fours by day’s end.”

“We’ll see,” the human smiled as he laid his equine friend on the countertop and started walking around. He was surprised at the sheer variety available in the store, and at the fact that most of it hadn’t been looted. The Ridchir’s invasion must have happened so fast that nobody had time to even think about looting a little place like this. Keeping his weapon in hand, the SEAL clomped through the shelves, ducking to avoid hitting his head on ceiling fixtures. He managed to scoop up a few colored packages that looked like they might be food before he banged the top of his helmet against a low-hanging light fixture.

“OW! Sunuva…”

“Ramirez!?” Shining gasped from the front, audibly trying to lift himself off the countertop.

“It’s nothing, Shining! Just me being a goddamned idiot,” Ramirez replied, thanking God for the helmet protecting his big, empty head.

Immediately, he heard the unicorn settle and begin snickering. “Banged your head on something, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I banged my head on something, smartass!” The SEAL called back, almost missing the slight rustling sound from the back area. “Aw hell,” he muttered, his weapon rising to his shoulder in the same amount of time it took most people to blink. Immediately, he rushed back to Shining’s side, one hand on the Uzi and the other with his finger on his lips.

“What didja…” Shining started, but quickly zippered up when he saw the look on Ramirez’s face. Without a word, the SEAL handed the unicorn all the little packages of food he’d found, and silently pulled his pistol out of its holster and laid it on the counter by Shining’s body. The unicorn frowned and shook his head at first, but the SEAL mouthed: “You’ll need something to defend yourself,” and frowned hard enough for Shining to know this was not up for debate. Rolling his eyes, the unicorn carefully brushed the pistol down by his hips, still in arm’s reach but not within sight. He obviously didn’t even want to look at any of the humans’ terrible weapons while he could help it. Silently, Ramirez then removed one of the grenades from his jacket and pantomimed pulling the pin out and throwing it, following up by splaying his hand out and making a little ‘POW’ noise with his mouth. Shining frowned again, but nodded and allowed the human to lay a couple grenades by his body, next to the pistol.

Satisfied, Ramirez raised his weapon again and started easing his way back through the shelves, every creak of a floorboard and every scuffle of his footsteps causing him to wince slightly. Whatever was back there had to know he was coming. This was bad: SEALs were stealth warriors, meant to fight from the shadows. He was never meant to be in a situation like this! Come to think of it, he was never meant to be engaged in a firefight against a numerically-superior enemy, either! But then again, he was definitely never meant to fight in a world of magical, talking ponies. So maybe today was just one of those days where the rules went flying out the door.

Satisfied in his self-explanation, Ramirez continued toward the door. He tensed up as he approached and tried the knob with his thumb and forefinger, clicking it once to the left, and then to the right. Locked. Frowning, he silently eased back just a few steps and slowed his breathing. His heart rate sank almost instantly as an eerie calm washed over his body. He was used to this, had trained relentlessly for moments just like this, and so it was time for instinct to take over. His hands shook as the transition took place, and when they steadied, he knew he was ready for anything. Ramirez the Average Joe was gone, and in his place stood Ramirez the SEAL.

Rearing back, he kicked his way through as if the doorframe were being held together with popsicle sticks and chewing gum. His mind absorbed the scene and processed it for threats in milliseconds. There were none to be found: just a few mop-heads, a couple boxes of sponges, some assorted knick-knacks for the front window, and one scared little pony staring back at him with tear-filled eyes.

“Aw hell,” he sighed, switching out of battle-mode and lowering his weapon.

“You alright back there?” Shining asked.

“Yeah, just found some kid.”

“A what?”

“Eh…what’re they called; little horses, I mean…”

“A foal? You found a li’l filly!?”

“Yeah, and he’s scared shitless,” Ramirez took a few steps forward and the pony curled up even further into the wall, shivering in fright. It was a brown foal, no wings, no horn, nothing like that. His mane was an absolute mess, sticking up in places with little brown curls and twists, though how much of that was the invasion’s fault and how much was just from the kid being a regular, grubby little kid was up for debate.

Strapping the weapon to his back, the SEAL took a few extra steps forward. “Now, c’mon li’l guy,” he cooed. “I’m not gonna hurtcha: I’m one of the good guys.”

Not surprisingly, the kid just shrank further against the wall, knocking over a paint can in his desperate attempt to get away from the strange, two-legged creature. Sighing, the SEAL poked his head out the door. “Shining man, I could use some…”

Once again, he absorbed and evaluated the scene in a split-second: Shining, already on his hooves and trotting towards him through one of the aisles, the continued sniffling of the pony next to him, and the five gunmen standing in the street outside the plate-glass window with rifles rising to their shoulders; all of it was assessed and calculated by the human in the doorway. “DOWN!” He screamed, reaching for the weapon on his back as he dove into the safety of the storage room. Acting on instinct, Shining threw himself on the floor just as a hail of bullets shattered the front window and peppered the wall in front of him. The unicorn twisted and rolled behind a shelf as the bombardment continued, gunfire ripping the rest of the store to shreds. Back in the storage room, Ramirez readied his weapon as the pony next to him wailed its little heart out. “Don’t worry, kid,” he said, trying to smile like some big, strong hero in an action movie. Like John McClane! Shit yeah, it was time to go all Die Hard on some asses!

He smiled and winked. “I got this,” he said before ducking out into the doorway and lobbing a few rounds back, just to make sure the goons outside knew somebody inside was still breathing and still spoiling for a fight. He took the split-second of exposure to check on Shining Armor: he was alright, though a little bit worse for wear. He didn’t look all that tired anymore, at least, so his little pony adrenal glands were probably running overtime.

He ducked back in, checked his ammo, and breathed. Next to him, the kid was sobbing loud enough to rival Celine Dion in a duet with Pavarotti. It was gonna be a long night.

Chapter XII: The Doctor has his Day, Swarm has his Fight

“SWARM! YOUR LEFT!” Celestia screamed, a bolt of magical energy from her horn cracking one of the choppers circling above them in half.

The man immediately lashed out with a devastating roundhouse kick, sending the squad of advancing soldiers flying. Behind him, Luna landed hooves-first on yet another squad, knocking them out as her bats circled around her, blinding every man that might have been taking aim at any of the combatants below. As she focused on beating the snot out of everyone in front of her, a soldier suddenly reared up from behind, a bayonet in his hand. His weapon plunged, aimed at her neck, only to transform into a bouquet of dandelions, now spreading their seeds in an unseen wind. Before he could react, an alligator’s tail whipped across the back of his skull, sending him spinning to the ground.

“Eyes on all sides, dearie,” Discord said, a wave of his claws transforming a squad of soldiers advancing with bayonets ready into a group of men in mascot costumes wielding various brass instruments. “I can’t be there to save your flank every time.”

“Her flank can watch itself, Discord,” Celestia said icily, rushing to her sister’s side and knocking over every soldier who got in her way.

“Sister!” Luna moaned, smacking another soldier away with the side of her hoof. “I can handle myself just fine, thank thee verily much!”

Ignoring her, Discord carried on with a toothy grin: “Oh? You sure her flank can watch itself? Because I’m rather certain I can watch it all day long, no trouble at all.”

Luna’s face turned bright red as Celestia screamed: “How DARE you insult a princess of the royal Canterlot…”

“WILL YOU THREE STOP FLIRTING AND START FIGHTING!?” Li screamed, his fists slamming into the side of another soldier’s head before he turned with a flurry of lightning-quick jabs to another’s rib cage. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re about to be overrun!”

“No need to get jealous, Swarm dearie,” Discord snickered as Celestia’s face turned a red to match Luna’s. “We have…”

A ringing sound from Swarm’s pants caused him to pause. “Excuse me,” he said, pulling his cell out with one hand while the other grabbed a soldier by the throat and tossed him aside like a rag doll. “Yes, sweetie?”

“You’ve got more incoming!” A voice with a mild Punjabi accent gasped from the other side. “A bunch of them got past me! They’re on a flanking maneuver from one of the more sci-fi universes!”

“Oh don’t worry!” Swarm screamed in reply, a roundhouse kick sending a dozen soldiers flying, “I’ve already fortified against them!”

“What!? Fortified!? How!?”

He paused in his combat long enough to grin and reply: “By calling in a favor from an old friend.”

The fog of the void swirled around them, parting just enough to allow their metal casings to glide past. If any of the group had a concept of poetry, one of them might have been compelled to comment on the way the fog parted before them. But Daleks have no concept that could even come close to what a human or a pony would call poetry, and this small group was no different. They just wheeled forward, the constant whining of the machinery moving them buzzing into the distance. The pack of at least six Daleks continued with their machine-like determination, the lights on their bodies shimmering off the mist until they came to a stop before a small, pony-like shadow in the mist.

“HALT!” The lead Dalek screamed.

“WE OBEY!” His comrades replied, and the leader turned on the form.

“IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR BE EXTERMINATED!” The lead Dalek bellowed.

“Oh come now, sure I’ve had a bit of a makeover, but you must recognize The Doctor when you see him,” the pony replied as he stepped forward from the mist, his trademark half-smile on his face.

“THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY! THE DOCTOR IS DEAD! YOU ARE AN IMPOSTER!”

“Oh yes, that is possible. I could just be a little pony who hitched a ride to this little spot in the void, trying to hold you off from joining the battle raging just behind me.” He shrugged in the direction of gunfire booming over his shoulder. “But then again, if I’m not The Doctor, how am I able to do this?” The little brown pony tapped a single hoof on the mist-covered ground beneath him, and with its usual whooshing, crunching sound, the TARDIS slowly faded into existence at his side, the blue light of the time vortex itself shimmering off the mist around it.

“IMPOSSIBLE! IMPOSSIBLE!” The lead Dalek exclaimed.

“There’s that word again. That’s the thing about you Daleks: never willing to accept the obvious, even when it’s right in front of your faces. Well…” he squinted, “…Perhaps I should say ‘eyestalks’.”

“THEN HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN!!”

“Oh, now see, you’re asking the wrong question there.”

“THE WRONG QUESTION!?”

“Yes, but don’t worry! You can find the right one by simple process of elimination. So, where is here?” He spread his arms out. “The void between worlds. Well, that can’t be the question if it already has an answer, so let’s move on: when is here? Right now, that’s when. What is here? Oh, not much, just my TARDIS, and this,” he reached into the mist and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, clenched between his teeth. Every Dalek immediately backed away a few paces.

“Just a little old sonic screwdriver, that’s all,” he grinned at the aura of fear suddenly filling the air. “Now, we’ve already established ‘how’ to be the improper question, which leaves us with just one possibility: who?”

“WHO!?”

“Who. But before you set about answering this question, look into your databanks. Scour your little memories for every time I met your kind. Every moment, every conversation, and every dark day I brought down upon your heads. Look for every single foiled plan, every single Dalek ship destroyed, every single member of your race who curses the day they ever crossed paths with me. Then, once you’ve done all that, after you’ve relived every single moment of despair and failure that I’ve rained down upon you, come back to the little question I’ve found for you.”

At that, he reared up on his hind hooves, and even with the screwdriver glowing in his teeth, his voice was perfectly clear as he boomed the question out to the captive audience around him: “WHO IS GOING TO FACE ME FIRST!?”

“This is insane!” Luna shrieked, her rear hooves bucking another group of soldiers into the air. “Just how many of these guys are they sending!?”

“Enough to keep us busy, that’s for sure!” Swarm replied, smashing another pair of enemies’ heads together before back-flipping over them to land in the middle of yet another group of soldiers, narrowly dodging their bullets.

“Oh, I’m not complaining!” Discord announced, turning a helicopter hovering overhead into a clump of balloon animals with one wave of his paw. “This is the most fun I’ve had in ages!”

“Could we please try to remain focused!?” Celestia screamed at him as she head-butted a squad of soldiers that had been sneaking up on him. “We’re fighting for the fate of Equestria here!”

“Oh, do lighten up, princess, I’m only trying to…”

Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of something high over his head. “GET DOWN!” She screamed, tackling him to the ground just as a ball of white-hot energy moving blindingly fast shot by, bound for the crowd gathered around Swarm.

“Ooh, Princess! Ah do declahe! I didn’t think you could be so forward!”

She ignored him, her jaw dropping as she stood over his body. Confused, he turned to see what she was looking at, and his own jaw dropped. There, at the heart of the pack, the fighting had abruptly stopped. Swarm still stood in mid-pose, his hand wrapped around a soldier’s throat, as he stared in shock at the glowing being before him. Eventually, the blinding light faded away, revealing yet another man in a sinister-looking uniform, with black gloves, a grey long-coat, and a black leather cap. Swarm recognized him immediately.

“Muh-Muh-Mars?” The Chinese man gasped, eyes widening in shock.

The newcomer grinned wickedly. “Hello, father.”

Chapter XIII: The Run

The ponies and their human companion paused in a thick cluster of bushes, most of them gasping for air. “Okay, looks like we got enough distance between us and them,” Uris said. “God willing, they won’t catch up for a while.”

“Ugh,” Rarity collapsed on the ground, ensuring that a silken pillow cushioned her fall. “Theah’s no way any of this is good for my perm.”

“Better to have a messed up mane than a hole in your head,” Rainbow Dash commented.

“Rainbow, why don’t you go on ahead and search for help?” Twilight said. “Celestia knows you could get out of here pretty easily.”

“And leave you guys with him?” She shrugged in Uris’ direction. “Not likely, Twi. I’d rather take my chances with the maniacs trying to kill us than leave my best friends in some weirdo alien’s care.”

This time, Uris didn’t comment. He was too focused on Fluttershy to pay any attention to Dash’s constant jabs. The little yellow pegasus was hunched over a stump, trying (and failing) to hide the fact that she was on the verge of tears. “Fluttershy?” He asked.

“That house was everything,” she sniffled. “I-I left behind so many animals there, and I didn’t even think about them until just now. What kind of Element of Kindness am I? Back there, all I could think about was myself! I…” her breath shook, “…I didn’t even save Angel!”

Thinking for a bit, Uris replied. “I’m not sure what kind of ‘Element’ that makes you (or even what that means) but I do know that makes you a regular person.”

She looked up at him, a quizzical look in her tear-streaked eyes.

“Or pony! Whatever,” he sighed. Comforting chicks was definitely not his strong suit. “Look, anybody can get lost in the heat of the moment just start reacting to the crazy crap going on around them. That’s probably the only reason we’re still alive right now. And if you’d stayed behind, odds are they would’ve just killed you.”

It was pretty obvious this wasn’t working as Fluttershy didn’t even lift her head up, so he added: “Besides, they probably haven’t even touched your animals. WE are their target, remember?”

“So…” she finally picked her head up off the stump. “So my animals are probably okay?”

“W-well, probably,” he rubbed the back of his head. “I mean…” She sniffled again, her head dipping low to rest on the stump again. “Absolutely! They have to be alright, okay? Just perfectly fine!”

“Well,” she stood, her legs quaking. “I-if you say so…”

“I know so!” He plastered a big fake smile on his face and winked. “Right now, all we should focus on is getting out of this alive so you can get back to them as soon as possible. Okay?”

She nodded, wiping at her nose with the back of her hoof.

“Aw jeez, here,” he pulled a pack of tissues out of one of his pockets. She accepted one gladly, bending down to blow her nose. The moment she ducked, a flash in the corner of his eye caught Uris’ attention. He turned just in time to see one of the enemy soldiers, leveling a bolt-action rifle on them. He heard himself scream: “GET DOWN!” And felt himself dive onto Fluttershy, shielding her with his own body just as a bullet tore a thin line across his back. In the next few milliseconds, his pistol appeared in his hand and fired a few wild shots in the shooter’s direction. The rifleman went down, just as the cries of his comrades started filling the forest, converging on the small cluster of bushes.

“EVERYPONY RUN!” Pinkie screamed, and suddenly, Uris was yanked to his feet and being pulled along. His shocked mind barely processed Rainbow Dash grasping onto his hand as they ran. Still running on instinct, he fired a few more wild shots in the direction of the enemy’s screams. Another gunshot rang out, and he could see something small and terrifyingly fast ripple Twilight’s flank as she vaulted a log. Still barely on his feet, he managed to wrench his hand free of Rainbow’s hooves and run on his own, quickly ducking behind a tree as the ponies dashed past.

“Mr. Uris!” Fluttershy screamed.

“Just go, go! I got this!” He screamed back, ducking out behind the tree and blind-firing a few more shots. A whole cascade of bullets followed as the men with assault rifles switched to full-auto and let loose in his direction. Once he was certain their pursuers had stopped to focus on him, he ducked out from behind the tree and raced away in the bush, bullets splintering the bark of the trees around him.

Rainbow Dash appeared in front of him and ran alongside. “Here, I thought you were doing something stupid!” She yelled over the gunshots landing all around them.

“You’re not gettin’ rid of me that easy, Ms. Dash!” He hollered back as they caught up with the rest of the ponies. Uris’s gambit had actually bought them a few extra seconds, but the enemy soldiers were closing fast, rifles blasting the entire way. Trees exploded all around them, terrifyingly close to their bodies, and still they ran. A burst of shots landed in a stream as they vaulted it, sending little bursts of water cascading onto their bodies. But still, they were all in one piece, and for a while, Uris actually started to think he might live to see another sunrise.

Then, something turned his blood to ice: a whistle falling from a high to a low pitch, and growing louder. No time to duck, no time to dodge, just enough time to gasp: “SHHHIIIIII…” before a massive explosion threw him off his feet.

A mortar. Those bastards had called down a mortar strike! It had hit close too: a massive, smoking crater had opened up beneath a pile of fallen trees, just a few yards away from where he lay. But he knew he couldn’t stop now, he had to get up, he had to get moving, he had to save…

A white-hot, blinding pain rocketed up his leg, blasting all other thought out. He looked at his ankle, and almost hurled at what he saw. A small twig had embedded itself into his ankle, blood now gushing around it. He lifted his head up to the sounds of soldiers approaching, quickly closing in on him.

That was it, then. Game over.

“Mr. Uris!” Fluttershy screamed.

Trying to keep a brave face for her, he grinned. “Keep moving, Flutters! I’ll be right behind you!”

Nodding, she turned and bolted with the rest of her friends, trusting that he would soon follow. And why wouldn’t she? He’d pulled this stunt just a few moments ago. Except this time, there would be no ducking out from behind a tree and racing off into the woods. Not with his ankle as it was. “Which makes this the last stand at the Alamo,” he muttered, loading his last clip into his weapon and bracing his back against a tree.

He ducked out just as the first soldier rounded a tree and appeared in his view, taking him down with two rounds to the chest. The next few guys were smarter, hanging back, waiting to hit him from a few different sides at once. He fired a few shots blindly into any bush or tree that rustled a bit too sharply, which kept them back for now. But how long would that last?

He fell back behind the tree, and a few seconds later the enemy opened up on him, splintering the pink bark-covered oak. His cover failing, his leg useless, and one last clip in his pistol, Uris mused on how awesome it would be to have a big ol’ cigar with him. One of those nice, thick Cubans that flooded a room with smoke. Or even a decent one-liner would satisfy him right now. Something to throw in those bastard’s faces before they sent him to meet his brother. “He’d get a kick outta that,” he muttered as a bullet sent a shower of splinters raining by his face. “Like somethin’ straight out of an action movie, he’d say…” he paused, trailing off. Something caught his attention, high up in the sky. A little teal speck, moving at the speed of some of the jet fighters he remembered at his old base back home.

“Damn, that little pony can move,” he said as the speck suddenly angled down and rocketed right towards the men gathered behind him. A blast of sonic energy echoed through his ears as shockwaves of red, orange and yellow blasted all around him.

“Ah knew y’had it in ya, Dash!” Applejack screamed as one of her hooves cracked across the faces of a pair of soldiers near her.

“MR. URIS!” Fluttershy cried, bursting out of a bush and running into his arms.

“Goddammit girl,” he sighed, embracing her in the deafening silence that now filled the forest. “What did I tell you about surprising soldiers? You weren’t supposed to come back.”

“Dahling, did you really believe we were just going to leave you to your fate?” Rarity asked, appearing at his side and shaking her head. “Not likely.”

“You don’t understand! They’re here to kill you all! I’m only here to protect you, at all costs. If you stay, my mission will be a failure!”

Fluttershy hugged him harder. He sighed as something stirred in the bushes behind them. Pulling out the pistol again, he blind-fired a few more shots around the tree just as the rest of the ponies joined them.

“Don’t you see?” He whimpered. “I’ve failed here.” A half-dozen soldiers closed in on them, weapons raised, ready to end this chase once and for all. “I’ve failed.”

In the split second before the soldiers could squeeze the triggers on their weapons, a glow appeared around Twilight’s horn. “NOT YET YOU HAVEN’T!” She bellowed as, rather suddenly, a massive ball of pure white light surrounded them. With a deafening boom, everything suddenly disappeared from the forest: the ponies, the soldiers, and the one American pilot, clutching to the most precious thing he’d ever encountered in his life.

A short while later, the birds resumed their song. A few squirrels peeked out from their tree-homes and a hawk alighted upon a branch, peering curiously at the large, blank patch of dirt where he was certain a tree had been just the other day. Then his mind returned to where he might find his next meal.

Once again, all was at peace in this patch of the Everfree forest.

Author's Note

For all you who might be wondering about my inspiration for this particular scene:

Chapter XIV: Rami and Shiny

“RAMIREZ! You alright back there!?” Shining screamed over the din of the near-constant automatic fire from outside.

“YEAH!” The SEAL yelled back, still trying to calm the foal down. It was still wailing, but then, who could blame it? He’d probably be scared shitless too if he was a couple decades younger. At least he’d gotten the little thing to cuddle up to his arm and not recoil every time he tried to get close.

“I’m gonna make a run for your pistol! I think my horn’s recharged enough for a shield that’ll keep me safe!”

A few bullets ricocheted randomly into the back store room, piercing a few bags of hayseed and spreading their contents all over the floor. “You sure you gotta do that, man!? Cantcha just levitate them to you, or some other magical horseshit!?”

“Naw, they’re around a corner! I can’t actually see them! I’d have to waste all my magic levitating the whole, stupid countertop over here!”

Suddenly, a stroke of brilliance struck Ramirez. “That’s friggin’ brilliant! Do that!”

“What!?” The same idea struck Shining. “Dear sweet Celestia, that’s insane!”

The kid’s wailing reached a new, higher pitch as another cluster of bullets peppered the room, splintering the mop handle leaning against the rear shelf. “You got any better ideas!? ‘Cause I am all ears!”

There were a few moments of silence before Shining replied: “I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to hold it once I got it!”

“Just tell me when everything’s in position,” Ramirez said, his hand reaching into his uniform jacket and producing a small, gold-plated crucifix. He kissed it gently and tried to recall the Lord’s Prayer from one of the millions of times he’d repeated it throughout his life. “I got a good friend who’ll handle everything else.”

“Okay, I’m starting!” The unicorn fell silent except for the occasional grunt of effort.

Ramirez started praying silently, the crucifix in his hand: Our Father, who art in Heaven…

The sound of wood snapping and nails being sheared out of place came from the front, accompanied with some groans from the unicorn.

…Hallowed be thy name…

The foal wailed as Shining’s grunts turned into moans of pure effort.

…Thy kingdom come, thy will be done…

Another cluster of bullets shattered the shelf of cleaning supplies next to the SEAL, raining cleaning powder onto his uniform. He pulled the foal in a bit closer to protect it.

…On Earth as it is in Heaven…

“GGYYYAAAHHHH!” Shining screamed from the front, veins popping out on his neck. The sounds of wood cracking and giving way now almost drowned out the gunfire.

…Give us this day, our daily bread…

There was a final, snapping sound, followed by wood scraping against wood.

…And forgive us our trespasses…

Ramirez set the foal down and patted its head, ignoring its cries and attempts to crawl back into his arms.

…As we forgive those who trespass against us…

The scraping sound out front came to a low, grating halt. The SEAL inhaled.

…And lead us not into temptation…

“RAMIREZ, NOW!” Shining screamed from the front.

“BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL!” Ramirez completed the prayer, raising his weapon as he rocketed out the doorway. Spraying the remainder of his magazine in the enemy’s general direction, his eyes filled with joy at the sight of the front counter propped across a pair of aisles, forming a perfect barrier between him and the muzzle flashes up front, all with his grenades and pistol resting on top. Somewhere far ahead, he could just make out the silhouettes of the enemy soldiers, completely taken by surprise and just starting to adjust their aim to compensate. It was like they were moving in Jell-O to Ramirez. A few bullets whizzed by in slow-motion. Weapon still blazing, he hardly even noticed Shining’s screams as he ran past and slid into place, ducking right behind his new barrier and listening to the beautiful sound of enemy rounds ricocheting overhead, unable to penetrate.

“Ramirez! You still alive!?” Shining asked, his voice finally making it through the wall of adrenaline pounding in the SEAL’s ears.

“Yeah, somehow!” The SEAL replied, unable to keep from grinning ear to ear from his new cover. He was practically on top of these bastards!

“Oh, good,” the unicorn replied before a loud thump filled the store. Ramirez spied a small dash of blue from Shining’s mane on the floor, poking out the side of one of the shelves. He shrugged. The guy probably deserved a decent rest after what he’d pulled. Somewhere behind him, the foal continued screaming, but it was time to drown that out and focus on the job at hand.

He inhaled once, changed the magazine on his weapon, and blind-fired a few rounds over his shoulder to give his hands the cover they needed to grab the grenades. Flicking their pins out with his thumbs, he kept breathing, waiting silently as their timers ticked down. Bullets whizzed by overhead, the enemy soldiers swearing at him in their strange, guttural language. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was the devices ticking away in his hands, their little mechanical hearts counting down to their final destiny.

With one second on the clock, he tossed the grenades, allowing them to arc over his barricade perfectly. A pair of explosions just behind the barrier signaled his next move, so he ducked up over the barricade and finished the stunned troops. It wasn’t much of a job: the frag from the explosions had annihilated the men closest to the storefront. One of them laid on his back with a few massive, blood-covered scraps in his chest and neck, his face staring blankly up at the night sky. The remaining few were stunned, their eardrums shattered, sitting ducks for the SEAL. It was all over in the span of a few seconds, and suddenly, Ramirez was just standing by his barricade with smoke drifting off the tip of his barrel and a whole ton of dead enemy in front of him, and a glint of silver in the corner of his eye.

Reacting instantly, Ramirez bought the stock of his weapon around in a blow aimed at chin level, narrowly missing the enemy tango sneaking up on his side, a combat knife in his hand. Roaring with fury, the tango sprang, knocking the weapon from the SEAL’s hand. Ramirez immediately grabbed for the tango’s wrist, only to be knocked back by a blow to the stomach, followed up with a charge. The SEAL stumbled with the blow and fell back against a store shelf, raising his arms just in time to keep the tip of the enemy’s blade from plunging into his neck. Grunting, Ramirez pressed back with all his strength, only to slowly lose ground against the soldier’s superior positioning, the tip of his blade eventually scraping the SEAL’s Adam’s apple. The tango’s eyes narrowed with a dark glee in them, his mind obviously preparing for the joy of bathing in the blood of a fallen enemy. Thinking fast, Ramirez stomped on his enemy’s foot, coming nowhere near to gaining some leverage but gaining the distraction needed to grab for the pistol in the holster by his waist. No sooner did he have the weapon clear of its holster when one of the soldier’s hands lashed out, leaving the knife’s handle and wrapping around the sidearm. The two were now locked in a bitter struggle, Ramirez struggling to raise his pistol against the tango’s stomach, and the tango threatening to bring the knife down all the way through the SEAL’s throat. Adrenaline coursed through their bodies, their own heartbeats pounding in their ears, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Then a magical blast whistled by the tango’s ears, his eyes darting to the side for the quickest moment. It was just the distraction Ramirez needed to bring his pistol hand up in a strike that knocked the knife’s blade away. Stunned, the tango locked eyes on Ramirez as the SEAL pressed his pistol against the soft spot of his neck, just beneath the chin.

A single gunshot flashed in the store, echoing through the street just outside the shattered window.

Ramirez sighed and dabbed at the small wound the knife had managed to open on his throat. The kid’s wailing was the only sound left, making the SEAL’s ears ring with the new silence. Slowly, he pushed away from the shelf, Shining watching him with a knowing smile on his face. “C-can’t a unicorn faint in peace anymore?” He asked jokingly. “Just h-how many times d-do you expect me to save your life tuh-today, smoothskin?”

“Hopefully, that’ll be the last,” Ramirez replied as he scooped up the foal and allowed it to cuddle up to his chest as he searched through the aisles for some formula, or…whatever it was baby ponies ate.

“Ai-aisle fuh-five,” Shining stammered, barely able to lift his head up. “D-Doctor Foalman’s Specialized Formula.”

“Huh?” Ramirez asked. Tracking down the package and tearing it open to find a bottle of formula, he turned back to his unicorn friend: “How did you even…”

“I knew the wife was interested in having a foal at some point,” Shining replied as he stumbled towards them on four, quivering legs. “Figured I should read up on a few things for when that time came.”

“Damn,” Ramirez grinned. “I swear, if your woman didn’t give you pussy after telling her that…”

“Didn’t give me what?”

“Uh…I’ll tell you when the kid’s not in earshot,” Ramirez replied as the foal sucked happily on the little bottle.

“Fair enough. So, what’s the plan from here?”

“Uh…” the SEAL scanned around the store, his eyes eventually resting on the door to the stairs leading to the roof. “If we were up a little higher, I could probably think of something.”

“Sounds good,” the unicorn replied, walking up to the door and trying the knob. Unsurprisingly, it rattled uselessly beneath his hoof. “Locked.”

“What is with this place!? I mean, for a general store, it’s all locked down tighter than Fort Knox!”

“Now, don’t you worry your pretty little head about it,” Shining grinned. “Lemme just show you a bit of magic every stallion in Celestia’s army knows to get by a locked door.”

“Shining man, it ain’t worth you using up what little magic you got left just to…”

In reply, Shining turned his back to the door, reared up on his front hooves, and bucked the frame with all his might, shattering it and blasting the door clean out of place.

“Oh,” Ramirez smiled, the foal settling in deeper in his arms. “You meant that kinda magic.”

“Cheapest kind there is. Now c’mon,” the unicorn trotted up the first few steps. “We have a town to save.”

The pair muscled up the steps and tried the door leading to the rooftop, finding it opened easily. “Figures the only door that ain’t locked is on the roof,” Ramirez sighed, handing the foal to Shining and readying his Uzi just in case. The pair burst onto the rooftop and, after ensuring it was clear of enemies, ducked down low to avoid sniper fire. Ramirez pulled out a pair of binoculars and spied on the muzzle flashes continuing somewhere in the distance. “Alright, I got a visual on the town square, and I can see the hostages.”

“How’s it look?” Shining asked, still nursing the foal with the bottle.

“Not too good. The enemy’s entrenched pretty well: looks like they pulled in some scrap and junk from around town to build barricades,” the SEAL grimaced. “And they have the hostages all gathered in one corner, in the deepest part of their defenses, with at least a half-dozen guards that I can see.”

“Oh no,” Shining’s eyes widened in fear. “With that kind of setup, they could kill everypony in town way before your friends could ever get close!”

“Damn straight they could, and they would. That’s why my buddies haven’t moved in: they pulled the exact same shit in Hong Kong.” He stood up and pocketed his binoculars. “Wait ‘til defeat is certain, then butcher any hostages you have. Lost a lot of civvies that day. It’s brutal, but it’s probably the only reason we haven’t totally overrun ‘em yet.”

“Celestia above! How’re we going to get those ponies out of there!?”

“I dunno, I dunno,” Ramirez leaned back and took off his helmet, running his fingers through his sweaty, jet-black hair. “If my guys had a few more rockets or some close air support, we might be able to take out those barricades and stun ‘em long enough for a decent chance at saving the hostages, but…”

“Well, shoot,” Shining sighed. “Do we have anything like that?”

“Closest thing we got is this,” Ramirez pulled a small, tube-shaped object with a trigger and stock attached from off the back of his vest. “It’s an old relic from ‘Nam: the M70 40mm grenade launcher. We usually just call it a blooper tube.”

“You guys have weird names for your weapons.”

“We know,” Ramirez smiled weakly. “The thing is this weapon has nowhere near the range or accuracy we need. We’d have to practically be on top of these guys to get a decent shot lined up, and even then it’s just as likely to land in the middle of that crowd of hostages as it is to blow up a few of those barricades.”

“Well, what if the shot was…” Shining’s horn sparked slightly, “…magically augmented?”

Ramirez’s eyes lit up. “That could work. Think you’re up to it?”

“Those hostages don’t have much time, and we don’t have any other options, so I guess I better be.”

“Good answer,” Ramirez lied on his stomach and slid a round into the launcher’s barrel, starting the process of lining up a decent shot. Shining laid the foal, now sleeping peacefully, on the ground and placed one of the snack cakes from the lower floor beneath its head, trying to make it comfortable before taking his place at Ramirez’s side.

“You ready?” The SEAL asked, handing his binoculars over.

“About as ready as I’m ever gonna get,” the unicorn said, pressing them up to his face and zeroing in on the square.

“Good enough for me,” Ramirez replied before squeezing the trigger. The grenade flew out of the barrel with a little flash that almost caught Shining off-guard. It began to arc downwards just a bit before the unicorn’s magic kicked in, levitating it further along towards the town’s square. Eyebrows furrowing in concentration, his mind stayed with the little grenade to guide it towards the overturned dumpster serving as cover for a pair of enemy soldiers. Suddenly, the dumpster and the men disappeared in a massive cloud of shrapnel, and he grinned.

“Bull’s eye!”

“Hot damn!” The SEAL cleared the used casing and loaded a fresh round into his launcher within the space of the next ten seconds. “Think you can pull that off again?”

Think lightning can strike twice? Shining groaned inwardly, but he just smiled and nodded and waited for the now-familiar “CHOOK!” of a grenade leaving the tube. He kept his focus on it right off the bat, guiding it the entire way right into another cluster of troops, annihilating at least four of the guards standing over the ponies. “They still don’t know what’s going on!” He said, grinning. “A few more shots and I think we can take out those barricades and wipe out the last of the guards!”

“Do you have a few more shots in you?”

Celestia above, I hope so. “Of course I do! Hit it!”

Another “CHOOK,” another shot sent right into the heart of The Ridchir’s defenses. A bead of sweat dribbled down the side of Shining’s face. “Last shot!” Ramirez announced. “Make it count!”

“I will!” Shining replied, focusing on the last two guards standing over the town’s populace, waving their weapons wildly as they scanned the rooftops for the invisible assailant. Grimacing, he focused in on them as the world around him slowed down. Ramirez’s breathing slowed to a low, rumbling bass, as did the breathing of the foal just behind him, its breath whistling through its nose. He grit his teeth at the sound of Ramirez’s finger sliding along the trigger, the firing mechanism in his weapon slowly kicking into action. The soldiers in his sight reared up over the townspeople, weapons at the ready. Shining breathed in, and breathed out.

The shot seemed to take an eternity to travel from the rooftop to the pair of soldiers in Shining’s sights. It whistled through the air, every gust of wind, every gentle zephyr nudging allowing Shining to adjust. In his binoculars, he could see the last two guards flicking switches on the sides of their weapons, the ponies at their feet cringing in fear. And then they were gone. There was a quick poof, a flash of red, and the guards were no more.

“Got ‘em,” Shining said as he lowered the binoculars.

“Beautiful,” Ramirez replied. “God-DAMN, dude! Between the loss of their rearguard and the destruction of their barriers, I think we…”

All at once, the distant gunfire quieted down, dropping from a steady barrage to an occasional burst, only popping up every now and again.

“…Might have just won this thing for our side,” Ramirez grinned at his friend. “Dude, you have just saved a ton of…dude?”

The unicorn laid on his side, completely unconscious. Ramirez smiled and scooped him up into his arms, along with the foal. “Rest while you can, brother,” the SEAL whispered. “The war’s not over yet.”

Chapter XV: Friendship is Magic...

The battle in the void had taken an unexpectedly sharp turn for the worse. The three equestrian-based, semi-omnipotent beings could only watch as their companion was suddenly and brutally assaulted, a great cheer rising up from the crowd gathered around him with each blow the newcomer landed.

“Mars, please! Let’s…” a fist smashed against Swarm’s head, followed by a rising knee kick to his nose. “What has happened to you!? Talk to me!” The man in silken clothing gasped as the newcomer grabbed him by his shirt collar and threw him into the air with all his might.

The newcomer just kept on with that insane, terrible grin as he leapt high into the air and slammed into Swarm’s chest, bringing the soles of his black leather boots down as hard as he possibly could. “Please, Marsy! Just say something!” Swarm hacked, his chest wracked with pain.

“Oh, I’m through with that, daddy-dearest!” Mars replied, bringing the heel of his boot down on Swarm’s face. “I’m done being the obedient son! It’s time for me to write my own destiny!”

“Is that what this is about!?” Swarm screamed, grasping Mars’ boot and flipping him on his back to regain some footing. “A cry for independence!?”

“Oh, this is so much more than that, father,” Mars leapt to his feet, grabbed Swarm by the throat, and slammed him against the ground, a cheer rising as the air around them seemed to ripple from the sheer force of the blow.

“Then what is it about, Mars?” Swarm rasped, his throat ravaged by the blow.

“It’s about taking our rightful place in creation,” Mars replied, standing over Swarm and raising his fists to the crowd. “It’s about ruling over a universe populated with the right species, the ones who deserve to live!”

Another cheer rose up from the crowd as he continued: “It’s about allowing the one true law of nature to retake its rightful precedence in reality.”

“And what would that be, Mars?” Swarm asked, dreading the answer.

“Might versus right, of course,” Mars straightened up again to address the crowd: “If the weak were truly meant to survive, then why were they made to be weak!?”

“Here, here!” A man screamed from the crowd, which roared its approval.

“Why should the strong devote themselves to protecting the weak!?” Mars continued. “Is that not a massive waste of resources? Of time better spent progressing the species further and extending its dominion?”

“YES!” The crowd bellowed.

“AND IS NOT THE DEATH OF THE WEAK THE ONLY THING WHICH ALLOWS FOR EVOLUTION TO TAKE HOLD!? IS THAT NOT THE DEFINITION OF NATURAL SELECTION!?”

Once again, the crowd roared. Mars spread his hands out and gazed down at Swarm. “You see? They understand. They get it. That’s why I’ve chosen them to act as my starting point. It’s because they understand that they will win.”

“Win what, Mars?” A frantic look entered Swarm’s tired, beaten eyes. “What have you done?”

“Only what you should’ve done all those years ago, when you first discovered what you were,” Mars said accusingly. “I’m building an empire, one which will stand for eternity, spanning millions of Earths and thousands of Equestrias and billions of little worlds in between, all populated by only the strongest, the brightest, and the very best. An entire empire of super-beings, ruled by a god.”

“That you honestly believe such a thing could exist, and that it would be good, tells me just how far gone you are. And…” he paused, tears welling in his eyes, “…and how badly I’ve failed you.”

Mars looked down at Swarm with a flicker of pity in his eyes. “You could’ve been so much more,” he grimaced, raising his hand to deal a finishing blow. “It truly is a shame that all your power must now go to waste. But either you’re for this, or you’re…”

“…Steadfastly against it!” Celestia finished as she streaked overhead, horn blasting. Mars buckled under the magical assault as Discord raised a wall made of porcupines covered in sharpened pencils to block off the crowd of soldiers, giving Luna the chance to swoop in and grab Swarm. Then the trio took off with their humanoid companion, dashing into a pocket dimension which they zipped shut behind them.

The man screamed and flew after them, slamming his fists against the space where the portal had been. Snarling with rage, he descended and strode up to the wreckage of one of the helicopters, his men clearing a path for him as he tore through the cockpit’s crumpled door. He tossed the body of the pilot aside to smash his fist through one of the screens on the dashboard. Soon, hundreds of characters began to appear, all displaying the millions of calculations running through his head. The wicked grin appeared on his face again. “Anywhere you can go, I will follow,” he mumbled.

Uris’s head spun, his vision blinking in and out. The ground beneath him was rough, bumpy, like an unpaved street or something. He tried to push himself to his feet, only to collapse again as pain screamed up his leg. Something squeaked beneath him. Something warm, with long and flowing hair and this gentle little touch…

“Fluttershy,” he rasped. She clung to him, hooves on his shoulders, shivering in fear. Darkness still surrounded them. His vision was blurry, but his other senses and memories were returning. The attack on the cottage, the desperate run through the forest, Twilight’s final spell. An orange blob stumbled into view, obviously as disoriented as he was. “Applejack,” he whispered, pushing himself to his knees and reaching out to her while still holding Fluttershy in one arm. Fortunately, the Earth pony instinctively recognized him and limped closer. Good thing, too: if she’d bucked him he probably wouldn’t have had the strength to reach out again.

“It’s okay,” he said. His voice sounded far-off, echoing in his ears. Something was wrong. The teleportation must have wrecked his inner-ear, shit! How was he supposed to keep fighting if he couldn’t even keep his balance?

A few more shapes appeared in his view. Dark, tall, humanoid. Instinctively, he laid Fluttershy to the side and brushed AJ away, freeing his hands to reach for his pistol. He fired one shot, which went wide. The shapes looked around in a panic, obviously so disoriented that they couldn’t even see him right there in front of them. He fired two more times, and by some miracle two of the shapes dropped, leaving only one. He lined up the sights with the final shape and squeezed the trigger, and the click of an empty barrel resounded in his still-damaged ears. He squeezed again and again, only to get the same result. That was it then. He’d just used his last round of ammo. The pistol clattered uselessly to the ground as the humanoid walked right up to him, the fog eventually clearing to reveal an officer’s jacket on its body, a cap on its head, and a pistol clenched in its hand.

Ignoring the ponies, the figure limped towards him as quickly as it could and delivered a devastating kick to Uris’s ribs. The American went down, the wind knocked out of him as the heel of the officer’s boot stamped on his crotch. Uris groaned in pain.

“Do you really think you can win against us?” The officer said with a mild, implacable accent as he pressed the barrel of his weapon against Uris’s cheek. “We are The Ridchir. We are the very best, the epitome of humankind, filtered and hardened into perfection. What does your mongrel race think you can do against us with a few little ponies?”

“URIS!” Fluttershy screeched, once again dashing into his arms. This time, the American remained silent. He knew it was useless to tell her to run, and he just didn’t have the energy to spare. The Ridchir officer gazed down at them in disgust, his grip tightening on the pistol.

“Do you see now, American?” He said, leveling the weapon on Uris’s head. “Do you see how pointless your battle on behalf of these creatures is? I have allied myself with the strong, and look where it has gotten me. What has your sympathy for these weaklings gotten you?”

“Who you callin’ weak now!?” Rainbow Dash screeched suddenly, swooping into view. The officer snarled and fired a few shots, but in his unbalanced state she dodged easily before darting into the sky. As she disappeared, Applejack galloped up to the officer and bucked him right in the crotch before he could react. Howling in pain, the officer didn’t even have time to dodge as rocks rained down on him from the rooftops overhead, courtesy of Rarity and Twilight’s magic. As he was brought down to his knees, he couldn’t so much as raise a finger when Pinkie hopped right up to him, smiled, and promptly whipped out a tuba to boom a massive C-flat into his still-damaged ears. Collapsing, the officer kept his grip on his weapon, just barely finding the strength to lift his head, hatred blazing in his eyes. But all he could see was Fluttershy standing tall and proud over his body, a cold glare aimed at him.

“You assault my home, you threaten my friends, and you killed Mr. Uris’s brother. Yet despite all this, we still fight you. With the strength we find within ourselves and with each other, we fight you.” She said coldly, shaking her head. “Mister, haven’t you figured it out yet?”

With a scream of rage, the officer raised his pistol, only to be stopped short by a tight grip on his wrist. His gaze drifted upward to find Uris standing over him, one hand clenched around his wrist. “Friendship is magic,” the American bellowed, winding his other hand back in a fist, “Mother-bucker.”

Uris’s fist smashed into the officer’s jaw, sending a bit of blood flying from his mouth. The officer coughed once before collapsing to the ground, splaying out over the cobblestone. After waiting a few seconds to make sure the bastard was out cold, Uris limped over the officer’s body and pulled the pistol from his limp hand, sliding it into his own holster. The six friends joined him in the street as he looked around, trying to gather his bearings.

“Wooh!” Rainbow Dash squealed as she wheeled around in the sky overhead. “Didja all see that!? We kicked butt!”

“Rainbow, this is no time for celebration,” Twilight said sternly. “We still have no idea where we are.”

“And that was just one small squad,” Uris added. “Who knows how many more of those guys could be waiting for us out there?”

“Ugh,” Rainbow sighed, swooping down to join them on the ground. “Why do you guys have to always be such killjoys? We just won! Why can’t we just…”

“That’s why.” Fluttershy interrupted. Thrown off by such an uncharacteristic interjection, Rainbow looked to where her friend was pointing. The Ridchir officer was standing, blood flowing from his jaw and a razor-sharp knife in his hand. His cap lay on the ground behind him, revealing a sweat-covered, tangled mass of hair shadowing a pair of eyes that looked like some mad demon inhabited them.

With a scream that echoed through the streets, the officer charged at Uris, who readied his weapon and squeezed the trigger. The hammer fell on an empty barrel. “Oh, of course,” he grumbled, throwing the useless weapon at the madman. The ponies stood at his side, ready to defend their friend as the officer bore down on them with the knife raised, hardly even phased by his own sidearm bouncing harmlessly off his stomach. He took a few steps towards them, and instantly a barrage of rifle fire sounded. Uris winced and closed his eyes, figuring The Ridchir’s reinforcements had arrived to finish him off. Much to his surprise, a few minutes later when he opened them again, he was not only still on Terra Firma (as opposed to some weird, dark tunnel with a light at the end and his brother beckoning him forward) but still on his feet. What’s more, the officer was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Sighing with relief, Uris dropped to his knees as the ground trembled. Eventually, a Bradley APC rumbled past, closely followed by a couple columns of men in wonderfully familiar uniforms. Something soft brushed against his hand, and he looked down to see Fluttershy huddled close to him, along with the other ponies. Even Rainbow Dash seemed to be slightly closer than usual, even if she still had that suspicious, defiant look in her eyes as she scanned the humans marching by with a glare that dared any of them to mess with her friends. Without thinking, he started stroking the incredibly soft, pink mane by his hand, still in shock, still unable to stand up and even talk to the Marines streaming past.

“Son, why aren’t you in line?” A voice asked behind him. Uris turned and immediately the owner of the voice, a tough-looking African-American with the paratrooper’s logo on his arm, dropped his jaw. “A-are you Uris? The chopper pilot?” He asked in shock.

In much more shock, Uris replied: “Y-yes, that’s me.”

“I’ll be damned,” the paratrooper’s face lit up, “I’ll be goddamned! We found ya!” Grabbing Uris by the hand, he started leading him towards the command vehicle at the center of the column. “Man, the commander’s gonna be happy to see you, we’ve been tearin’ up half the forest to…”

He drifted off as Uris wrenched free. The paratrooper looked at him, confused. “Wherever I go, they have to come, okay?” Uris said, pointing to the six ponies huddled together behind his boots.

“Fine,” the paratrooper sighed. “Just c’mon!”

Chapter XVI: SEAL v. Pony

“Okay,” Luna said, surveying the magic holding the seal together. “This should keep us hidden from the enemy. For the time being, at least.”

“Good,” Celestia sighed, unloading the man on her back and gasping with relief. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure that would work. I half expected that…thing back there to rip us apart long before we made it to the portal.”

“Yes, are we going to discuss that?” Discord asked with an eyebrow arched. “It’s obvious that our bipedal compatriot knows where that man came from, and probably why it’s so bloody powerful too.”

A sob interrupted them all. The three Equestrian-born beings turned to the Chinese man now choking back tears, trying to keep his shimmering-white clothing from being touched with mucus. “S-Swarm?” Luna asked fearfully. “Ist thou alright?”

“It’s all my fucking fault,” he moaned. “Everything, all the pain and suffering, all the battles fought on all the planets, all my fucking fault.” For a moment, a smile flickered across his face as he sat up. “It’s a bit funny, when I think about it. All this time I was trying to track down what was responsible for the breaches, you know? All this time trying to find the source for this war, for all the pain and suffering that has been wreaked. And really, I never had to look any further than the nearest mirror.”

A look of utter hopelessness crossed his face as he leaned against a non-existent wall, crafted of pure dark matter. The other beings in their small pocket dimension looked on helplessly, until Discord stepped forward and screamed: “Oh, for heaven’s sake, man! Pull yourself together! We…”

“DISCORD!” Celestia screamed, and to everyone’s surprise, the Lord of Chaos actually gave pause, not even fighting when she rested a hoof on his shoulder and pulled him back, giving him a gentle smile as she walked past him towards Swarm. The all-powerful being crying on the ground looked up at her in despair.

“I was just so lonely,” he whimpered. “I was so certain that…perhaps there was some sign I missed, that I didn’t want to see…”

“You know, in some faiths, some ponies believe that the first step towards forgiveness is in admitting the sin,” she offered a reassuring smile. “Perhaps in our case, that is our first step towards forgiving ourselves?”

The man sniffled, sighed, and nodded. With his voice quivering, he choked back his tears and began to tell his story.

Ramirez strode into the town square with the ponies in his grasp: the foal in his hands, Shining Armor on his back. As he walked, a group of his fellow SEALs lowered their weapons and began applauding, standing in the burning pile of scrap metal that had once been The Ridchir’s main strongpoint. “I dunno how you did it, bro,” one of them grinned. “But you turned an antique from Vietnam into some close quarters artillery here!”

“Thank this guy,” Ramirez motioned to the unicorn across his back. “He’s the one with the magic juice that let me fire grenades from a couple blocks away!”

“You mean you were blocks away when you fired those shots!?” The other SEAL gasped. Ramirez smiled and nodded. “Damn, where can I get me one of those unicorns!?”

“O-only one p-per customer,” the bundle on Ramirez’s back said.

“The hell!? Shining!?”

“Y-you were expecting Prince Blueblood?” The unicorn asked, managing to lift his head up and smile.

“Aw hell,” Ramirez lowered his equine friend to the ground, careful to keep his grip on the foal in his arms. “I thought you were unconscious!”

“For a while, I was, now I’m not…” the unicorn tried to stand, but stumbled.

“Fer God’s sakes,” Ramirez turned to the SEALs nearby. “Where the hell’s that vet we brought along? This guy could use a check-up!”

“Nonononono, I’m fine!” Shining said indignantly, pushing himself from Ramirez’s grasp and limping towards his fellow ponies in the square, who huddled in a corner as far from the newcomers as possible. He stumbled once or twice, but Ramirez didn’t even move. He just watched Shining make his way to the villagers.

“That one’s a soldier,” he mumbled under his breath as he accepted a cigarette from the SEAL nearest to him. The SEAL just nodded in agreement and helped him light up before taking the foal from his arms, assuring Ramirez that it would be taken to the nearest nurse.

Shining stood before the other ponies, trying his best to look proud and tall, despite the fact that he wanted nothing more than to throw up on the cobblestone and collapse. One of the ponies walked up to him, quaking in fear. “Mr. Armor?” He asked. “What are these creatures? Why are they here?”

Shining just smiled and said: “They’re humans, kid, and they’re here to help.”

“I…I don’t know about that,” he said, eyeing the SEALs fearfully.

“Don’t worry about it. Look, ponies, all you need to know is that the worst is over, alright? The fighting is ending, and those other humans should be surrendering sometime soon. Now, has anypony seen my wife?”

The kid just looked upwards at one of the rooftops surrounding the square. Shining followed his gaze, and his eyes widened in terror. Cadence was standing atop a balcony near the top of one of the buildings, surrounded by enemy soldiers. “Oh Celestia, no!” He screamed. Ramirez looked over at him, followed his gaze, and instinctively whipped out his Uzi, the cigarette dropping from his lips. The other men followed suit, not even needing to look up to know something bad was staring down at them.

“Hey, isn’t that the Princess?” One of the ponies asked.

“Why’s that pony look different?” The SEAL next to Ramirez wondered aloud, still clenching his assault rifle.

“Didn’t you pay attention in the briefing?” Ramirez hissed. “She’s an Alicorn! Royalty!”

“Aw shit, you mean they got one of their royals hostage?”

“CADENCE!” Shining Armor screamed. The little pink Alicorn couldn’t even bring herself to look at him, keeping her eyes low as tears drifted from them.

“Shit fuck, this just got real bad,” Ramirez added under his breath.

“What’s up?”

“That’s his wife up there. Whole reason he’s been fighting with us.”

“Shit.”

As everyone watched, Cadence was dragged away from the edge of the rooftop and out of view while one of the soldiers stepped up to the balcony with a megaphone. With an obvious look of disdain in his eyes, he raised the megaphone to his lips and spoke, his mild accent obvious as his voice boomed throughout the village: “Now that we have your undivided attention, we wish to announce that we have one of your own. We know she is royalty in this land. All that we ask in return for her safety is for all American and Equestrian forces in and around this village to lay down their arms and surrender.”

One of the SEALs walked out in front of the rest, lowering his weapon. “This is Lieutenant Miller with the American Expeditionary Forces in Equestria,” he shouted. “I’m here to tell you that’s not going to happen. It is the official policy of the United States’ government not to negotiate with terrorists.”

The soldier gazed down at him and replied: “That may be your policy, American, but what of the Equestrians?”

“I think they share my sentiment when I tell you to kiss my ass!” Miller screamed, his middle finger waving in the air. His SEALs let out a cheer around him.

“Oh, really?” The enemy soldier grinned wide enough for everyone to see it. “I would not be so sure of that.”

Confused, Miller spun around and surveyed his men, his eyes eventually settling on one white unicorn, trotting out in front of everyone else towards the enemy-occupied building. “Hey, hey!” He screamed. “What’s he think he’s doing!?”

“Wha-Shining!” Ramirez screamed and ran after him. “What’re you doin’, man!?”

Shining turned to the SEAL, a look of sheer hopelessness on his face. “They’ve got her. What do you think I’m doing? I’m surrendering.”

“Bu-but, you can’t!” He followed the unicorn into the building: an inn with the candles darkened and the staff eerily absent. He darted to the stairwell to ensure it was clear. Nobody shot at him. Yet.

Shining trotted past him. “And why is that? I know my duty. As a husband and a soldier, I need to protect Cadence at all costs.”

“That’s suicide, man!” Ramirez hissed out the corner of his mouth, keeping his weapon leveled on the stairwell. “The moment they find out you’re a Royal Guard, they’ll kill you just to make an example to all the ponies gathered below!”

“I know my duty, as certainly as you know yours.” Shining repeated.

“Shining, man,” Ramirez let one hand slip free of the Uzi and rest on the unicorn’s shoulder. “I can’t letcha do this.”

“And you’re gonna stop me?”

“Absolutely,” without warning, Ramirez twisted around and cracked his Uzi’s extended stock against the back of Shining Armor’s head. The unicorn went down instantly, dazed. “I’m sorry, but if everybody down below sees your body getting thrown off that balcony, they’ll panic! We could lose the whole city!” He bent over to pick the unicorn up, and suddenly Shining’s hooves lashed back in a buck that would’ve made Applejack proud, right into Ramirez’s gut. Grimacing, the SEAL managed to stay on his boots and keep from hunching over, lessening the blow when Shining followed up with a head-butt.

As he stumbled back, Shining glowered at Ramirez from the staircase. “I don’t want to fight you, but if you keep me from Cadence, I won’t hesitate!”

With a determined glare, Ramirez tucked the Uzi back into his shoulder holster and raised his fists. Shining Armor backed away up the stairs, his eyes never leaving the SEAL as he followed. Slowly, they made their way towards the first landing in the stairwell, neither leaving their battle-ready stance for a second. Then they reached the landing, and Ramirez struck. With his superior height, Ramirez gained the upper ground the moment his boots touched the landing, and he promptly used it to lunge forward, hands aimed for Armor’s neck. The unicorn bucked his head to the side once Ramirez made contact, crushing the SEAL’s fingers against the hardwood wall in a move that would have had any other man on the ground, screaming in pain. As it was, Ramirez only grunted before slamming Shining’s head to the floor and following up with a devastating stomp to his face. With Shining dazed, the SEAL lashed out with a punch from his good hand, but Shining easily rolled to the side just enough in the confined space to dodge, letting Ramrez’s blow land on the hardwood floor. Both warriors were beaten and bloody: Shining with his head still spinning from Ramirez’s kick, and Ramirez with his hands throbbing from Shining’s attacks. They kicked away from each other, Ramirez rolling off his shoulder and leaping to his feet with his pistol in hand. Shining regarded it with a dark grimace.

“You would shoot me to keep me from seeing Cadence?” He growled as Ramirez advanced.

“No,” the SEAL replied as he approached. “This is just to distract you from THIS!” Suddenly, his other hand lashed out, clenching a previously-concealed blackjack despite the pain still throbbing through his fingers. It smashed across Armor’s face, slamming his head against the wall with a blow that resounded throughout the building. The unicorn slumped, apparently defeated, to the floor. Ramirez sighed and scooped him up, throwing him over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Shining, God knows I really am,” he said, carrying the unicorn back down to the lobby. “But we can’t lose you now. Just know that I understand what you’re going through. Hell, this is probably how I'd react if someone I knew was taken. And what I just did is exactly how my teammates would react to keep me from getting killed: they’d do whatever it takes to save me, even from myself.”

He walked along a few more steps before something whispered in his ear: “Same here, but MY team isn’t around.”

“Wha-“ Ramirez managed to choke out before a hoof smashed against the back of his skull. Reeling from the blow, he had no time to react before Shining’s body wrapped around his neck in a perfect choke hold. His hands still injured, he didn’t have the strength to fight the hold directly, so he quickly opted to try attacking Shining indirectly: smashing himself against tables and walls to try and loosen the hold on his neck. The world grew dark as he approached the bar, throwing himself against the bottles on the shelves along the back wall in hopes of hurting the unicorn just enough to weaken his grip. It was all for nothing. The hold remained as strong as ever, and his efforts to claw it away slowly grew weaker and weaker. He just wasn’t trained to fight a horse, for pity’s sake!

As the world finally slipped away into darkness, the SEAL heard Shining whisper: “I’m sorry.”

And then everything faded away.

Shining kept his hold on Ramirez for a few extra seconds before releasing it. Amidst the broken glass and spilled drinks behind the bar, he leaned in and perked an ear over Ramirez’s mouth. Satisfied that the SEAL was still breathing, the unicorn laid him out flat on the ground, resting his head on a dirty rag from the bar. “Sorry, it’s all I got,” he said with a weak smile. He sighed and turned to head back up the stairs, but not before adding: “You’re a good man, Ramirez. Celestia knows I could probably take on the world with a squad of ponies like you. But you have your duty, and I have mine.”

And then he was gone, trotting up the stairs towards his beloved Cadence.

Chapter XVII: Father and Son

Vance stared straight ahead as his Humvee rumbled alongside his men, a rock-hard, stoic look on his face. “Sir?” Parker asked beside him. Vance was silent. “Sir, we did all we could, we searched everywhere. But we couldn’t compromise…”

“…The mission, I know,” Vance grumbled. “Still, I have this feeling we didn’t do EVERYTHING we could, that there was some stone left unturned, or…”

“…Something you missed?” A familiar voice asked from beside him, adding to the growing string of interruptions. Parker leapt from his seat at the sudden intrusion. Vance, by now used to Swarm’s appearances, just grimaced deeper.

“Hello, Swarm,” he mumbled, keeping his focus on his men marching along.

The impeccably handsome man with the jet-black hair, perfect cleft chin and ever-present leather jacket grinned at the old marine from his spot on the floor. “Come now, Captain, why the long face? You look like you’ve lost something important.”

“I have, Swarm. Most important thing in the world to me.” He glared at the man in the leather jacket out the corner of his eye. “Too bad you weren’t there to help, eh?”

“Yes, Captain,” Swarm sighed, the smile fading. “But you know my rules. I am stretched to my limits as it is, and I can’t afford preferential treatment to one of my friends just because they happen to know me. It isn’t fair, especially to the…”

“I’ve heard this lecture before!” Vance snapped. Swarm looked back at him with the saddest, most apologetic eyes Vance had ever seen. The Captain sighed. He knew Swarm could produce that expression on a whim; it would only take a simple rearrangement of the molecular structure of his face, child’s play for him. Yet somehow he knew this expression was genuine; real, true sorrow. “I know, alright? I get it. But…it’s just…”

To his surprise, a warm smile crossed the man in the leather jacket’s face. “Vance, I think you’ll find that sometimes these things can solve themselves. It just works out in the end, you know?”

“Oh wow, groovy bro.” Vance grumbled, his face hardening again. “Where’d you pick that one up? A college student’s blog?”

“No, just something I have observed in the past, and believe I will continue to observe in the future, as current patterns hold.”

Silence overtook the vehicle for a few minutes, until Parker spoke up: “Why am I the only one in here surprised by the guy popping into existence between us?”

Ignoring him, Vance just grumbled to himself: “Current patterns, my ass, the day I see something to make me believe that is the day I’ll eat the boots right off my feet!”

Suddenly, the Humvee screeched to a stop. Vance and Parker had to brace themselves against the frame just to stay upright. As usual, Swarm remained seated perfectly-still on the floor, completely unfazed. “The hell…” Parker started just as Webb jogged up to the window with a massive grin on his face.

“Webb! For God’s sakes, man, if there’s anything short of the apocalypse holding up this convoy, I’ll have the head…of…” Vance trailed off as Webb stepped aside and a man in a naval aviator’s uniform walked up to them, his face dirty, his gait thrown off by an obvious limp, and a look of absolute exhaustion in his eyes. Vance’s jaw dropped, eyes widening as he slowly picked himself up and stepped down from the Humvee.

Uris tried to paste a smile on his face. “Dad,” he said, a few tears starting to sprout, “I’m so…”

Vance rushed out of the vehicle and wrapped his arms around the pilot, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I-I thought I’d lost you, son.” He choked. “For a few minutes, I-I was thinking this was your brother all over again, you were both supposed t’be far from the battle, and still, I-I thought I was gonna lose…”

“Dad,” Uris grinned, swallowing the lump in his throat. “You’re babbling.”

“God damn, I know, I’m sorry, but…” He listened to the sound of the Humvee door opening and closing behind him, Swarm and Parker joining his side.

“Your son, eh?” Parker sighed. “That…complicates things.”

“Sorry to keep you all in the dark…” Vance mumbled.

“Eh, I figured it out,” Webb smiled, leaning coolly against the Humvee’s side. “A man doesn’t look as desperate as you did while searching for a stranger.”

“Parker, I know what this means,” Vance sighed, releasing Uris. “I was emotionally compromised and expended valuable resources running a mission for my own personal gain. I am aware of the consequences of this action.”

“Dad…” Uris said, his hand clasping his father’s shoulder.

“I hereby voluntarily surrender my command to you,” the old Marine said, an air of dignity in his voice as he removed his walkie-talkie and pulled out his sidearm, holding them out to his second-in-command. “As per U.S military law, I will now wait with a guard of neutral MPs for my court martial.”

Parker raised an arm, and promptly brushed both the pistol and the walkie aside. Vance arched an eyebrow. “What for, sir? For searching for a pilot that we didn’t even know was your son?”

“Um…” Vance said, obviously confused.

“After all, Bannon only reported that ‘a’ chopper went down, not which. There’s no way you could’ve known that just happened to be the bird your son was piloting, right?” He smiled at the commander, who grinned right back as he holstered his pistol and clipped the talkie back on his uniform.

“Well, with that bit of drama out of the way,” Swarm said gleefully as he rested his arms on Vance and Uris’s shoulders. “Why don’t we welcome some new friends, eh?”

“Hmm?” Vance turned and finally noticed the six little ponies gathered behind his son’s boots, most of whom were wiping tears from their eyes from his reunion with his son. “Oh my God,” he sighed, massaging his temples. “What part of ‘minimal contact with native populace’ is too hard for you all to understand!?”

“Pardon me, sir,” Twilight said, offering her hoof, “I think I should start the introductions. I’m…”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Swarm finished, brushing Vance aside and shaking her hoof vigorously. “Also known as the Element of Magic, possibly the most gifted unicorn in all of Equestria and Princess Celestia’s protégé.”

“Yes,” Twilight said in absolute shock, “but how did you…”

“Oh, Princess Celestia has told me all about you. She’s quite proud of you, you know.”

“Oh, my, well…” Twilight said, blushing as Swarm jumped over to AJ.

“And here we got Applejack, th’ Element a’ Honesty and the owner of Sweet Apple Acres, one a’ the most successful orchards in all of Equestria.”

“Well, Ah wouldn’t go all that far…” she said with a prideful little smile. Swarm barely paused before leaping down in front of Pinkie.

“Next up: Pinkie Pie! The best party planner Ponyville has ever seen and the Element of Laughter!”

“Oh, boy! A psychic!” She grinned, hopping up and down in excitement. “Quick: what number am I thinking of?”

“I’m not a psychic; at least, not in the sense you know them,” he replied, hopping up and down in perfect time with her. “But I do know that’s a trick question: you’re thinking about the term ‘Antidisestablishmentarianism’ and what effects its genesis might have had on modern British history.”

She stopped hopping. “Wow, you’re good.”

“Jeez, you got Pinkie Pie to shut up,” Rainbow Dash said. “You ARE good.”

“Ah, and here we have Rainbow Dash!” Swarm said forcefully, striding up to her with his chest puffed out. “The Element of Loyalty and the fastest flyer Ponyville has ever known, hands down!”

“You got that right!” She said boastfully, cracking him a few times on the shoulder with her hooves. He shoved her right back, and before she could react, he ducked away in a swooping bow, picking up Rarity’s hoof in one smooth motion and giving it a gentle kiss.

“And now we arrive at Madame Rarity,” he said gently. “The Element of Generosity and the brightest of the up-and-coming stars in Equestrian fashion.”

“Dahling, flattery will get you everywhere,” she replied, making no effort to hide her blushing cheeks contrasting with her white coat.

Finally, Swarm picked himself up and slowly made his way towards Uris, who had a little, yellow pegasus clenching tightly to his boots. “And last, but certainly not least,” he said as quietly and gently as possible, “Fluttershy. The Element of Kindness and the little pegasus who just can’t say no to a creature in need: a trait which has earned her the love of millions all over, both abroad and somewhat closer.”

“Um…” she stopped shivering for just a moment as Uris glared Swarm’s way, cheeks reddening. “What-what do you mean?”

Swarm just smiled knowingly in Uris’s direction and danced to Vance’s side. The commander’s jaw gaping. “Hold on now, Elements? You mean these are…”

“The Elements of Harmony, Equestria’s best weapon against invaders, saved by your son in a wonderful tale I hope he plans to regale us with as we proceed to the village of Coltton,” he grinned as Twilight Sparkle frowned. Something about that name seemed familiar…

“Anyway, Commander,” Swarm spoke again so suddenly it derailed Twilight’s train of thought. “By the looks of things, I should say only one question remains to be answered.”

“And what would that be?”

The man in the leather jacket simply produced two bottles. “Would you like red, or white wine with your boots?”

Chapter XVIII: Recover, Plan, and Move

“Mars was…like me.” Swarm began, tracing impossible little patterns in the air with his finger. “I found him in one of my thousands of excursions into one of the millions of Earths that exist, and realized instantly what he was destined to become. Like me, he was going to be powerful.”

Celestia and Luna listened as he sighed and continued, Discord hovering nearby atop another chocolate milk cloud. “My birth was difficult, and let us leave it at that. Things happened which I had no control over, but was still responsible for. Terrible things. In the centuries since those times, I have come to terms with my role in those things, but when I saw Mars in his infancy, barely even beginning to become a fully sentient being, I realized I could save him. He didn’t have to suffer through what I did, or live with the horrendous burden I knew. He could become just as great as I was, I thought, and eventually join me and my siblings in our travels, a fully separate entity which…” he choked back a sob, “…which would…understand.”

Celestia and Luna nodded in understanding. Discord just continued watching the conversation from his cloud in as nonchalant a manner as possible. “I gave Mars a domain of his own, close to my home so I could…shape him, like a father with a child. Eventually, I came to realize my role and refer to him as ‘son.’ The first day he referred to me as his father was the happiest of my existence.”

“Oh, Swarm…” Celestia choked.

“Hold up, there,” Discord said, raising a paw. “You’re saying you raised that THING outside?”

Swarm could only nod, his hand clenched firmly over his own mouth to stifle a cry of pain.

“Well bloody hell, what happened there?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” Swarm screamed, his voice booming into the nether as the other beings leapt back in surprise. “I don’t know, okay? I thought I was giving him a well-rounded formation! I thought I was raising him to be a fully functional, sentient being, one which could join me in my travels and…and…”

He fell to his knees, bawling for a future which now would never exist. Celestia offered her hoof, barely choking back her own tears as Swarm cried in pure, absolute emotional agony. Luna sniffled, her hoof drifting towards Discord’s side, only to find that he had vanished. Looking around in confusion, she only found him again when he blinked back into existence by Swarm’s head. The man looked up at the Lord of Chaos as he cradled his face in his talons, just before his bear-paw slapped across it with a dull thud. “Discord!” Celestia screamed, only to be ignored.

“GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, MAN!” Discord bellowed at the man now lying stunned on the ground. “We’ve got the fate of an entire planet lying in our hands! You’re in pain, and that’s unfortunate, but right now there are a whole ton of ponies and a few humans whose lives depend on us holding off that horde back there,” he hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the tiny rift in space they had slipped through, now rippling with the force of a massive blow from the other side. “We can’t have you going all emotional now! Don’t you realize what’s at stake!?”

He dragged Swarm to his feet and pointed at the sisters. “Those two have an entire kingdom depending on them, with literally millions of subjects who will suffer if we fall.” He twisted the man to face himself, “I face a bleak future living under the thumb of some big, evil, fascist Empire which crushes all hope for glorious, wonderful chaos! And you,” he slammed his fist against the dark matter wall Swarm had been leaning against, allowing it to ripple and shimmer until its surface bent itself into a mirror, reflecting them. “I’m sure you have your own noble and obnoxiously heroic reasons for fighting. Don’t you see!?”

He twisted Swarm around and slammed him against the wall, gripping him by the shoulders. “Everything we love, everything we exist for, is on the line right now! And you just want to sit there and feel sorry for yourself!?”

The other three beings stared at the Lord of Chaos in stunned silence. Swarm’s eyes darted around, as if trying to process something. Then, after a few seconds, a cool expression crossed his face while a certain spark reentered his eyes. Discord smiled at it as Swarm brushed his hands aside, straightening out the wrinkles that had been left in his suit.

“You have my thanks, chaotic one.” Swarm said plainly.

“Believe me when I say it was all my pleasure.” Discord replied while the princesses daintily stepped forward.

“So, what’s the plan?” Celestia asked, still a bit put-off by Discord’s outburst.

“Right, what have we got?” Swarm paced back and forth, stroking his chin. “Problem: we have a whole host of enemies with…an incredibly powerful being…” his voice shook ever-so-slightly as he talked, but quickly regained itself. “…Supporting them. We cannot hold here for long, and even if we could, it would only be a matter of time before the enemy found a way around the portal-redirection Ms. Hazarika has performed, and diverted to attack Equestria.”

“Yeah, too bad we can’t just pull that stunt again and redirect them to the heart of a sun or something, right?” Discord grumbled.

Swarm’s eyes lit up. “Actually, we can.”

“What.” Discord, Luna, and Celestia said.

“But not to a sun,” Swarm whipped out his cell phone and dialed furiously. The moment he pressed the speaker to his ear, a high-pitched voice steeped in a Punjabi accent shrieked at him: “WHERE IN THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!? Do you realize how concerned I was!? How…”

“Nasreen, darling, I’m sorry,” Swarm explained. “But we are in a bit of a pickle right now and I need you to tell me: can you open up a portal from where we are standing?”

“Ugh…hold on…” they all waited and listened tensely as the hum of a quadrillion calculations being made clicked over the line. “Okay, I’ve located you and…yes, a portal should be no trouble whatsoever.”

“Okay, good, now, I need this to be a huge portal! Something an entire army could just rush right through without even thinking, just rocket right on through. Can you do that?”

“Um…” more calculations, more tense moments. “Yes, we’ve barely the energy left for it, but it is possible.”

“Great, I’m going to need you to give us that portal when and where we need it in a second, okay? Okay, love you, bye.”

“Wait! Chen, don’t you dare hang…” he cut her off by flipping the phone shut and slamming it back into its barely-existent pocket, just as Luna’s eyes lit up.

“We thinkest that we have begun to understand!” She said.

“You mean we’re actually going to drop them into the heart of the sun!?” Discord gasped.

“Too far,” Swarm said, still pacing. “We’ve expended too much energy for a portal that size to be opened that far off from the rest of the portals. It has to be Equestria, specifically somewhere in the Everfree forest, near where the enemy has already opened a few.”

“Well, that’s just great,” Luna sighed. “Now, thy enemy army will have the whole forest from whence to attack Equestria!”

“Unless we ensure they land right in the heart of the best-defended area in the forest,” producing a map from the folds of his outfit, he slammed his finger down on a tiny village. “There.”

“Coltton?” Celestia said. “Why there? It’s just a tiny farming community.”

“Ah, but not just ‘a’ farming community,” his finger pointed at another spot. “It’s the only open area besides this field, where the Americans your highness has so graciously allowed into her lands have set up their base.” Celestia couldn’t help but blush at his compliment.

“My word, it’s on a perfect flanking path with that field,” Discord said. “If we drop the army there, they could absolutely overrun your little human friends!”

“But they know that,” Swarm replied. “The Americans know this is their weak point, and so…”

“This is where they would have the bulk of their defenses!” Luna gushed. “The enemy army runs through our portal and slams right against the most heavily-defended position in Equestria!”

“Then, like a tidal wave against a sheer rock face,” the man said coolly, leaning back. “They are scattered by the sheer force slammed back against them, totally obliterating themselves with their own momentum.”

“Swarm, that’s brilliant!”

“That is a lot of faith you are placing in the strategic abilities of a mere human,” Discord said skeptically. “Literally everything hinges on whether or not this human commander has seen what you have.”

Swarm crossed his arms stubbornly. “My brother trusted this human with the defense of Equestria, so I believe we can have plenty of faith in his abilities.”

“Perhaps, there is still one catch though,” the Lord of Chaos sighed. “The army out there isn’t just going to run headlong into a portal because we ask them to. They need a reason.”

“Like something they wish to destroy?” Luna asked, scratching at her chin with the edge of her glass slipper. “Something which could act as bait, like some huge, unknown power source, or…”

“Or one of us,” Celestia said.

The four beings eyed each other warily, knowing that just a few yards away, the seal over the tear in time-space protecting their little bubble was showing the first signs of buckling.

Chapter XIX: Arrival in Coltton

Vance, Parker, and Swarm stared at Uris, barely able to believe what they’d just heard. The pilot and his six pony friends just grinned back, except for Fluttershy, who had taken to relaxing on Uris’s lap while he stroked her mane. After a while with nothing but the sound of the Humvee’s engine as it rumbled along, Vance spoke: “‘Friendship is Magic, Motherbucker?’”

“It…uh…” Uris sighed sheepishly. “It seemed much cooler while I was saying it.”

“Holy God,” Parker said. “When did you decide to become a hero in a cheesy, 80’s action flick?”

“Probably around the same time you accepted a mission to venture forth into a land populated by adorable cartoon ponies in order to defend them from terrorists or whatever,” Uris replied.

“Touché.”

Immediately, Rainbow Dash darted up into Uris’ face. “Who you callin’ adorable, huh?” She demanded.

“Well, of course there are exceptions to the rule,” Uris replied flatly.

“You’re darn right,” she replied, floating back down to the vehicle’s floor and resting confidently. “Everypony knows I’m just way too awesome to be adorable!”

Without warning, Swarm reached down and scratched at a spot right on top of her scalp, just between the ears. “Hey, what’re you…” Dash started, and then her head tilted back, a big, contented smile on her face as she leaned against his leg, nuzzling gently. After a few moments, she snapped back to her senses and slapped his hand away. He backed off and raised his hands, grinning knowingly. “Dinner and a movie first, bub,” she said icily. “I don’t go that far with anypony on the first date.”

“Woah,” Applejack said. “First y’all get Pinkie t’shut up, then y’get Rainbow to show her cute an’ sensitive side. Y’all sure humans ain’t magic?”

“Very,” Uris said, still stroking Fluttershy’s mane.

“One thing I still don’t get,” Parker said. “You just told us everything you remember since waking up in Miss Fluttershy’s cottage. You still haven’t told us how you managed to get out of that helicopter alive.”

“Um…” Uris’s brow furrowed, his eyes closing in frustration. “I…I don’t know. I…I keep running through it in my head but…”

“Um…all I know is that I found him with some weird cloth around him…just, so everypony knows.” Fluttershy said quietly.

“The parachute,” Parker said. “That explains how you got to the ground in one piece, but Bannon says he couldn’t even get you out of your seatbelt. How on Earth did you escape the chopper?”

“I…I remember that.” Uris gasped. “Yeah, the Lieutenant was there, he was trying to get my seatbelt off. He was about to just whip out his knife and slice it and…”

“Yes?” Everyone in the Humvee leaned forward expectedly.

“There was… a flash of light. Something…something smashed through the canopy. It pulled Bannon right out, it…”

“It…pulled him?” Parker asked, not even noticing as Swarm shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Yeah, something grabbed him…a hand…an arm, I…I couldn’t see him too good…I…” he sighed. “I’m sorry. It gets really fuzzy after that.”

“No worries, son,” Vance said. “Odds are you took a hit to the head after that. Probably crossed a few wires upstairs. We’ll getcha checked out once we get the MASH setup.”

“Thanks, Dad. But now it’s just frustrating me, I mean…it’s like…” he cradled his head in his hands. “It’s like something doesn’t want me to…”

Suddenly, the car screeched to a stop. “We’re there already?” Parker asked.

“That was fast. Ah thought Coltton was a lot further away.” AJ added.

“My teleportation spell must have taken us further than I thought,” Twilight said, scratching at her chin while Vance hopped out of the cab to see what was going on.

“Uh oh, I know that look,” Dash sighed. “Miss Brainiac’s got something on her mind.”

“Whatsamatter, sugar cube?” AJ asked.

“That name…Coltton…” Twilight’s brows furrowed in thought. “I could have sworn I heard it somewhere…”

Before she could get anywhere with the name, Vance ran right up to the Humvee and screamed through the window: “Parker! Swarm! I need you front and center, stat!”

“Yes, sir!” Parker barked, scooping up his rifle and leaping out to jog alongside his commander as they rounded a corner and disappeared behind a building.

“Aw, but me and the ponies were just gettin’ to know each other!” Swarm grumbled, hopping out of the car and dragging his feet as he walked to catch up with Vance and Parker, leaving Uris, six ponies, and a nameless driver alone in the Humvee.

“Welp,” Uris sighed, setting Fluttershy down on one of the seats, “I really should see what this is all about.”

“Eep,” Fluttershy squeaked, immediately following him out of the Humvee. “I-I think I should come with you.”

“No, you’re all staying in the car,” he replied, pointing back to the Humvee. “It’s my job to head up there, not yours.”

“Well, if it’s a direct order…” Rainbow Dash said, swooping out of the Humvee and landing by Fluttershy’s side.

“What-seriously bitch? You’re gonna come along just because I toldja not to?”

She nodded with a stubborn smile on her face.

“Fine, then…uh…please come with me.”

“Too late for reverse psychology, pal,” she said, trotting past him.

“And-and I really must insist,” Fluttershy added quietly, her voice falling. “That-that I should be the one who-who comes along with you in case y-you’re hurt. I-I really have to insist. You know, if-if that’s okay with you.”

Immediately, the other four joined their pegasus friends at Uris’s feet. “Okay, now all of you want to go?” Uris said exhaustedly.

“Heck yeah! Somepony’s gotta make sure Dash don’t run off an’ do somethin’ stupid!” AJ said.

“Dahling, please, what kind of friends would we be if we let two of our own set off by themselves?” Rarity added, tossing her perfect, purple mane.

“You never know when you might need a good blast from the party cannon!” Pinkie screeched, whipping out her trustiest weapon and nailing Uris with a full-blast of confetti and streamers to his face.

“Yeah…” Twilight said distantly, still scratching her chin over the little farming village that had escaped her memory. “Friendship and…all that…shit.”

Rolling his eyes, Uris beckoned them to follow as the columns of Marines funneled past. “C’mon,” he grumbled, and the ponies set off with their human companion, galloping past the building they watched Vance disappear behind and rounding the corner, leaving one very confused Humvee driver behind to try and explain to his NCO how he had just been shuttling two high-ranking members of the United States Military, a semi-omnipotent being, a missing helicopter pilot, and six elementally-powered talking ponies around.

Vance dashed through Coltton’s main square, not pausing until he reached the SEALs’ leader. “Captain Vance,” the Lieutenant said, saluting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, I am Lt. Miller.”

“Likewise,” Vance replied, halting his pace instantly to stand ramrod straight and salute. “What’s the sitrep?”

“We got one royal taken hostage,” the SEAL sighed, handing a pair of binoculars to the Marine and pointing to a rooftop. Vance spied through the goggles and grimaced. Five enemy soldiers, armed with assault rifles and at least two rocket launchers he could see, all focused on one little pony princess. “One of my own entered the building with a local Royal Guard when the latter attempted a rescue. We lost sight of them both ten minutes ago.”

“Any demands yet?” Vance asked, shifting his focus to the SEALs taking up strategic positions all around the building.

“That we surrender the whole village to them and lay down our arms,” Miller replied, an exhausted smirk on his face.

“All with the Ridchir’s usual macho posturing and exclamations of superiority, I’m sure,” Vance grumbled, turning at the sound of boots approaching. He grimaced again as he watched Parker jog up to him, followed closely by his son and the Elements of Harmony. “Goddammit, boy, why aren’t you in the Humvee?”

“What?” Parker gasped, just slightly out of breath. “But sir, you asked me to…”

“Not you, Parker!” He kept glaring past his Second at Uris, keeping it up until the pilot landed by his side, grinning like a maniac as he saluted. “Son, I asked you a question, and as your superior officer I expect an answer.”

“You still expect me to sit on the sidelines? Besides, I figured whatever you were facing might be something the Elements of Harmony could handle.”

Vance turned his glare on the ponies, who returned it five-fold (Fluttershy was still holding Uris’s leg as closely as she could). Eventually, the old Marine turned his stare at the crowd of ponies still huddling in fear in one corner of the square. He pointed. “We need those natives to remain calm, can you handle that?”

“Please, sugarcube,” AJ replied. “‘Elements a’ Harmony’ ain’t just a title, y’know.”

“Then get to it, if you will,” he added, quickly turning to maintain his observation of the building.

“Alright, you heard ‘im,” Rainbow barked. “Let’s make sure everypony’s calm over there, now!” The other ponies leapt into action, heading towards the crowd with a precision and determination that could only be described as military-like.

“Huh,” Parker said. “It’s almost like an army headin’ to work, what they’re doin’.”

“They have experience with this sorta thing,” Uris said matter-of-factly, turning a snide little smile on his father. “In fact, you could say they’re the perfect ones for this job.”

“Wipe that smile off your face, boy, the war ain’t over yet.” Vance said without turning around, his grimace hardening as he stared down the enemy soldiers holed-up in the building across from him.

Chapter XX: Chaos Rising

“There has to be another way!” Luna gasped. “We will not accept that the only solution is to offer up one of our own as a sacrifice!”

“It’s perfect, though,” Discord said stoically. “Those soldiers outside have already demonstrated their willingness to throw themselves headlong against us, regardless of their odds for success.”

“But whoever remains behind will be totally overwhelmed!” Celestia exclaimed. “I’ve seen Mars in combat against Swarm; just one of us can’t fight both him and his soldiers! Now, if all four of us were to remain behind…”

“Then there is still a high chance for failure,” Swarm sighed. “Mars is very powerful. If we are going to fight him, we will need every advantage possible. The shock of suddenly landing in Equestria, combined with the American forces present when we land, will add such an advantage.”

“There just has to be another way,” Luna cried. “There has to be!”

“There isn’t.” Swarm replied, pushing himself to his feet. “We all know what must happen.”

“No,” Celestia said, racing to his side. “Not you. Why you?”

“I am responsible for Mars’ genesis,” Swarm replied, trying to hold back a sob. “As his father, I should be responsible for…for ending him.”

“We-we can still come up with something!” Luna cried. “Celestia, tell him! We can still come up with something!”

The Princess of Day just silently looked up into the man’s eyes. He gazed sadly down at her, then up at the seal protecting their time bubble. A massive thud resounded from the other side, followed by a microscopic crack in its surface.

“There isn’t time,” he said.

“I know,” she replied, choking back another flood of tears.

He stroked her mane a few times before slowly hovering off the non-existent ground. Her hoof remained on his pants leg for as long as it could before he ascended out of reach, heading towards the seal. “Thou can’t be serious!” Luna screeched hysterically. “Tia, he isn’t serious, right? This is some dramatic, macho posturing on his part, right?”

“Luna dearie,” Discord said quietly, speaking seriously for the first time in her memory. And that’s when it hit her: this was a thing. This was absolutely happening.

“It can’t be, it just can’t,” she mumbled, eyes wide in shock. Celestia walked to her side, resting her hoof against her sister’s. They watched solemnly while Swarm rose to the seal and inspected it. The microscopic crack was now an inch long. It would be time soon.

“Mr. Li?” Discord asked, and Swarm turned to see the Lord of Chaos hovering next to him, looking sadly into his eyes.

“Yes, Discord?”

“We may have our different philosophies, but that doesn’t change one simple fact: that you’re probably the bravest being I’ve ever met. Human, Equine, or whatever.”

“No I’m not,” Swarm replied with a half-hearted smile. “But the sentiment is appreciated.”

Discord offered his hand with a smile, and Swarm took it gladly. Almost instantly, a loud buzz filled the air and Swarm’s entire body seized, his hair standing on end as his face twisted in what had to be a perfect imitation of a cartoon character shaking hands with a few thousand volts. The Lord of Chaos released him and watched him drop. “Holy CRAP!” He screamed, barely able to contain an excited smile as he revealed the joy buzzer in his hand. “I can NOT believe you fell for literally the oldest trick in the book!”

“DISCORD!” Celestia bellowed, taking to the air with her sister on her heels. Feigning a yawn, the Lord of Chaos side-stepped their charges and tapped them both on the back of the head. Instantly, an assortment of jumper cables, garden hoses, and Christmas lights snaked out of his palms and wrapped themselves around the sisters, sending them crashing to the ground next to Swarm.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?” Luna screeched, struggling against her bonds.

“He’s betraying us, sister.” Celestia mumbled, not even trying to pull herself free of the tangle encasing her body.

“W-we knew he couldn’t be trusted!” The Princess of Night exclaimed. “Nobody wanted to listen, but we knew…”

“Oh, do cut the dramatics, Luna,” Discord grumbled as he descended to Swarm’s body and rummaged around in the semi-omnipotent being’s clothing, eventually producing the man’s cell phone. “It’s very unbecoming for a princess.”

With a snap of his fingers, Discord watched as a set of nylon climbing rope snaked out of the Princess’ bonds and wrapped around their mouths, gagging them. Clearing his throat, he redialed the number he needed and pressed the little device to his ear. “Nasreen, darling?” He said in Swarm’s voice. The princesses screamed, trying to warn the woman on the other side, but with their gags the best they could manage were some barely-audible squeaks.

“Chen!” Nasreen screamed, “I swear, if you hang up on me again, I will…”

“There’s no time to explain, the enemy’s breaking through! I need that portal now! Please!”

After a few seconds of silence, the woman sighed. “Only because you said ‘please’, Chen. Don’t think this means you’re going to avoid sleeping on the couch for the next week.”

“Well, you cold bitch, why don’t you just go ahead and make it a whole month?” Discord said with an evil grin.

“Oh, you little pile of…”

“Love you, darling,” he cackled as he flipped the phone shut, crushing it in his talons before whispering to the unconscious man at his feet: “Sorry, Swarmy, it’s my nature.” A massive, green burst of energy illuminated their tiny bubble. Once the portal stabilized, the Lord of Chaos dragged Swarm’s body along the ground before simply tossing him through, watching him land safely in a field just outside Coltton. Luna was next, her muffled screams for him to “take thine unholy claws off the princess’ mighty body!” going unnoticed until he gave her one decent shove and watched her plummet through. Finally, the smile began to waver on Discord’s face. Sighing, he turned away from the portal and walked over to Celestia’s bound form. She didn’t struggle, though she was shooting him the meanest, most angry stare she could manage.

Kneeling beside her, he calmly removed the gag. “I swear, Discord, whatever it is you think you’re doing, you should…” she started.

“I rarely think about what I’m doing, Celestia,” he interrupted with a tiny smile. “I find it to be a rather distasteful habit, one which is hard to drop once it has been picked up.”

“Then I swear, you best release me or I’ll…” and he gagged her again, this time with a kiss. She couldn’t have been more shocked if he had whipped out an M-16 and shot her. It was long and filled with that same passion that burned whenever he spread his glorious brand of chaos to another stuck-up and orderly world. His eyes remained gently shut while hers rolled back, her initial shock melting away against that incredible, scorching passion.

It was over all too soon. “I…” she started, but found she couldn’t say anything more. So she kept on like that: “I…I…I…”

“Oh, don’t be so shocked, Tia, don’t you know the big hero always gets a kiss from the princess before running off to do battle with the horrible monster? At least, that’s how it always goes in your obnoxious little fairy tales.”

“I…I…”

Sighing, he replaced her gag and threw her over his shoulder. “Now, you and me, Tia?” He shook his head. “There’s one heckuva match. It certainly would be interesting to try, at the very least. Maybe if you just loosened up once in a while, eh?”

“Mmmph?”

“No, I’m telling you right now, those little ponies wouldn’t all descend into anarchy and warfare if you took a day off for the beach.” He cradled her in his arms, holding her right over the green glow of the portal. “I’m not asking for much here, just that when this is all said and done, you’ll take a day off once a year and just do something for your own sake, okay?”

“Hmph!”

“Okay,” and then he dropped her; just let his arms droop and watched her disappear down the portal. He watched her fade into the swirling mass of green energy and rubbed the back of his neck. “I must be growing senile with age,” he grumbled, “developing feelings for a pony. A princess, no less!”

A cocky little smile spreading across his face again, he turned to face the seal over their bubble, which by now had a hundred hairline cracks across its surface, with one massive, meter-long crack splitting right down its middle. “Okay little one,” he mumbled, “I have seen your power, just as you have seen mine. We both know what the other is capable of. Still, you seem to be laboring under the delusion that you can defeat me. I mean, come on!” He snapped his fingers. “In all your years of living, nobody ever told you? Nobody ever sat you down and informed you of this one simple fact?”

Raising his claws, he hissed under his breath: “In the end, chaos ALWAYS wins.”

And then the seal shattered.

Chapter XXI: Brothers and Sisters

“ALRIGHT, PONIES! KEEP IT DOWN NOW!” Rainbow screamed at the frightened crowd gathered below her.

“Um…you know…if it would be quite alright…” Fluttershy added next to her.

“SERIOUSLY! ONE WRONG MOVE AND WE COULD ALL BE ANNIHILATED HERE!”

“So…um…if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother…”

“…JUST COOL YER HOOVES AND LET THE PROFESSIONALS HANDLE EVERYTHING!”

“…Not that we think any less of your abilities to…handle yourselves…”

As the pair continued in the sky, the rest of the ponies distributed blankets and supplies from the back of a truck the humans had provided. “Don’t push now,” Rarity said to the line gathering at their hooves.

“There’s plenty ‘nough t’go around.” Applejack added, handing a blanket and a bottle of water to the nearest filly.

“ ‘Scuse me, Miss Applejack?” The filly asked, handing his bottle to the nearest pony.

“Yes, young man?” She replied.

“What are these creatures? Do you know what’s going on, and why they’re fighting?”

“Uh…” she stalled, trying to think of the best way to condense the chaos of the past day into a few sentences. Unfortunately, Pinkie beat her to the punch.

“They’refromawholeotherworldwherehumansinsteadofponieswoundupbecomingtopdogandnowthey’reinvolvedwithawarfromanotherworldwhich…”

“Breathe, Pinkie.”

The Element of Laughter gasped twice before continuing: “callsitselfTheRidchirwhichisafunnycoincidencewhenyouthinkaboutitsincethat’sjustananagramfor…”

“Alraght now, settle on down,” AJ sighed, rolling her eyes before turning to the inside of the truck. “Hey, Twilight! What’s keepin’ those blankets!?”

“Hmm? Oh!” The little violet unicorn perched atop a pile of sacks filled with hayseed quickly grabbed a stack of blankets and levitated them to the rear of the truck. “Here you go, sorry about that.”

AJ offered a sheepish smile to the filly before tossing a blanket over his head and galloping to Twilight’s side. “Twi, what’s up with ya? You’ve been lost in the clouds ever since we climbed outta that fancy-pants cart the humans got!”

“Oh, it’s nothing AJ,” Twilight said, grabbing another wad of blankets. “There’s just been so much to absorb today! Alternate dimensions, bipedal and sentient beings, wars across worlds, and the technology the humans have developed…” She shook her head. “It’s all too much! The things we’ve learned about in the past hour alone could keep Equestria’s top scientists occupied for decades!”

“Twi, Ah know this is all very interestin’, but we got a lotta ponies out there dependin’ on us to stay calm and get through this in one piece.”

“I know, I know…” she said, heading deeper into the truck with a worried look still etched onto her face.

“That’s not all, is it?”

“No,” Twilight sighed eventually. “It’s the name of this town; I know I’ve heard it somewhere.”

“Actually, y’know what? I think Ah’ve…” Applejack figured it out in a second. She would never know why. Maybe it was the fact that she was a more grounded pony: a pony with a mind more based in reality than Twilight’s, and less cluttered with the thousands of different postulations and theories that ran through her unicorn friend’s head every day. Or maybe it was just pure, dumb luck. Either way, she had it, and the moment she did she realized how absolutely devastating it would be to her friend. The Element of Honesty’s lips locked up in fear, trying to conceal the truth hidden behind them.

Twilight recognized the look on her friend’s face immediately. “Applejack? Are you hiding something?”

“N-no! A’course not Twi! Wh-what could Ah possibly be hidin’? Ah mean…”

“Applejaaack, what is it?” Twilight asked sternly.

“N-nuh-nothin’! Ah-Ah…” sweat dribbled down the earth pony’s face as her friend stared right into her eye.

“Applejaaack…”

AJ sealed her lips shut, trying to look everywhere but into Twilight’s eyes.

“Does it have something to do with this village?”

AJ couldn’t help but nod. As the Element of Honesty, she really didn’t have a choice.

“Does it have something to do with why its name sounds so familiar?”

AJ nodded again. Twilight maintained her stare. It kept up like that for almost five minutes as the earth pony’s defenses slowly wore down. Finally, she gave in. “Alraght Twi,” she sighed. “Ah’ll tell ya, but you gotta promise me you’ll keep calm an’ not lose it when Ah do.”

“What? Applejack, why would I…”

“Just promise, okay?” The earth pony looked at her friend with as much desperation and as much seriousness as she could muster.

“Oh, alright,” Twilight said eventually.

“Okay, now Twi,” AJ rested a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Ah’m sorry Ah gotta be the one t’say it, but…remember after the weddin’? With Cadence an’ yer brother?”

“How could I forget!” Twilight exclaimed. “We had to fight off the entire Changeling…”

“No Twi, Ah said AFTER the weddin’. What Cadence and Shinin’ said they were gonna do?”

“Of course I remember,” she replied pridefully. “They said they were going to Coltton to…”

The unicorn trailed off, her eyes widening in horror.

“Now, Twi, we still need yer help around here, and you promised you’d…”

The purple unicorn was having none of it, darting around the back of the truck wildly, as if she was going to find Shining Armor and Cadence underneath a sack of hayseed. “Ohno…ohno…ohno…”
She whimpered, tears welling in her eyes.

“Now, Twi…ya-y’all promised…”

“I-I-I…” she clenched her hooves over her face, hyperventilating as the tears came pouring out, spilling down her face and trickling onto the wooden paneling below. AJ held her, trying her best to calm her as Twilight’s head bucked back and she screamed: “SHINIIIIIIIIIIINNNGG!”

Shining Armor paused in his step. “Hmm? Twilight?” He asked, looking around the stairwell. He could have sworn he’d just heard his little sister’s voice calling to him, from somewhere far off. Of course, that was impossible, right? It was probably just wishful thinking on his part, hoping that his sister could be at his side, supporting her big brother in what had to be his darkest hour. But then again, that was pretty selfish of him. No, it was better that Twilight was safe, miles away from all this.

With a heavy heart, he brushed his memories aside and continued on; heading towards the door that opened to the rooftop terrace. “Goodbye, Twily,” he mumbled sadly, choking back a lump in his throat.

“Twilight!” Applejack screamed as her friend rocketed out of the truck, darting through the crowd wildly. “Consarn it, girl! Y-ya said…”

“Has anypony seen my brother!?” The little purple unicorn gasped, ignoring Applejack. When she was met with blank stares, she started rocketing through the crowd, darting in front of random ponies and asking them about a “big white unicorn with a blue mane who probably came with a pink-colored princess.”

“Y-you mean Shining Armor, right?” A young mare asked.

Twilight leapt in front of the mare, landing right in her face. “You’ve seen my brother!?”

“Um…yes,” the mare replied, blushing. “He and I were next to each other when those…things first started rounding ponies up. He-he was very brave. You’re saying he’s married?”

Twilight instantly cooled and lowered a steely gaze on the mare. “Yes. I’ll have you know that he is happily married to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“Oh,” the mare said disappointedly. “I-I should’ve known. Someone like that deserves a…oh no, did you just say Princess Cadence?”

“Y-yes,” Twilight said, now deeply concerned. “Why? Has something happened to her?”

The mare nodded and pointed to the rooftops. Twilight wheeled around, spying on a few enemy soldiers gathered up there, which was weird, since the only thing they’d done so far was some shooting. Why were they just standing there? Come to think of it, why were the other, friendlier humans just standing in the square, keeping their distance yet remaining focused on…

The reason came to her in an instant. “Oh no. Oh nononononononononono…” she whimpered.

“Muh-Mr. Armor ran after her a while back,” the mare continued. “I thought he was just doing his duty, but I guess if it was his wife…wait, where are you going?”

Twilight was already gone, galloping towards the sandbag barricades surrounding the building.

“Hey, where’s she goin’!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, swooping after her.

“Ah dunno,” AJ replied, trotting after her friend. “Ah thought Ah’d keep my distance, but this is gettin’ weird.”

“Wait, what about the ponies?” Fluttershy asked timidly as she delivered another blanket and bottle of water.

“I think the attentions of our friend deserve a bit more of our focus, don’t you?” Rarity replied, grabbing her and taking off after Twilight. “Besides, we’ve done the best we can by now.”

“I-I suppose that’s true,” Fluttershy sighed, gazing back at the crowd in concern as she was dragged away.

“Aww, but I didn’t even get to do my special Pinkie dance!” Pinkie Pie sighed, appearing next to Applejack.

“Tch,” the orange earth pony snickered. “Based on what happened back in Appleloosa, that’s probly a good thing.”

Chapter XXII: Husbands and Wives

“Dammit,” Uris grumbled, slamming a fist on the barricade in frustration. “Why isn’t anybody doing something? These bastards should be dead by now.”

“Hostage situations are complicated, son,” his father replied, still spying on the rooftops with his binoculars. “Rushing headlong into one is only going to result in a dead hostage. You’d do well to remember that.”

“I know, dad, I know,” the pilot grumbled. “It’s just that I feel so useless right now! Here, somebody important to my friends is in trouble, and I’m totally useless!”

“How do you think I feel?” Miller added as he leaned against the sandbags by Uris’s body. “One of my own went in that building, and I can’t even get close enough to peek in on him! It’s killin’ me, but I know getting too close will only get us one dead pony princess.”

“Just relax and let the SEALs handle it,” Vance added, his eyes never leaving the binoculars. “Soon, Miller’s men will be in place, and we’ll have the perfect shots lined up to take ‘em all out and rush the building.”

“I know, Dad, I know. Still…” Uris drifted off, his hand propping his head up. Vance looked over to him in concern, his eyes leaving the binoculars for the first time in ten minutes.

“Son,” he said. “There’s something I should tell you.”

“Hmm?”

Vance hesitated to continue, but he knew his son deserved to know, and at least what he had to say would serve as a distraction from their current situation. “It’s about the agreement we made with the…Royal Court: the ruling body in this place.”

“What about it?”

“It has to do with your…’friends.’ You see, the government here wasn’t too happy with a bunch of rough types like us landing here in the first place. Something to do with ‘contaminating the radiant dreamflow,’ or some shit like that. Anyway, before they’d let us land, we had to agree to…”

He was interrupted by a pair of violet hooves smashing into his back. The air knocked out of him, the old soldier still managed to tumble with the blow, twist, and pin his assailant to the ground. “What in the…” he started at the sight of Twilight’s neck in his grasp. “Miss Sparkle!? What the hell is…”

“You knew, didn’t you!?” She screeched, struggling to force her hooves out of his iron grip. “You knew who was in there, and you didn’t tell me!!”

“Twilight! Calm down!” Uris gasped. “For heaven’s sake, let us…”

“Shut up! For all I know, you knew too! You all knew! You…”

“Twilight!” Applejack galloped up to the group, immediately turning to apologize to Vance. “Celestia above, we’re mighty sorreh about our friend’s behavior…”

“Alright, egghead!” Rainbow called as she swooped overhead. “Hit ‘im with a left hook to the jaw! That’ll have him seein’ stars!”

“RAINBOW!” AJ screeched, glaring up at her friend. The cyan pegasus sighed and landed at her side. Applejack glared a while longer before continuing: “Like Ah was sayin’, we’re awful sorry ‘bout what’s happened here. Twilight’s a li’l…stressed out.”

“She just assaulted a member of the United States Armed Forces,” Miller said icily. “What excuse could she have for that?”

“YOU KNEW MY BROTHER WAS IN THERE!” Twilight screamed as the rest of her friends galloped up to them. All eyes turned on her as she continued: “You knew Shining Armor was in there, and you didn’t even tell me about it.”

“Shining Armor,” Uris asked. “Who’s that?”

“Aw, shit,” Miller sighed, and all eyes drifted from Twilight to him.

“Something you want to tell us, Lieutenant?” Vance asked.

“She’s talking about the unicorn who went in with my man. The one we lost sight of goin’ on fifteen minutes ago.”

Jaws dropped all around. “That was…your brother?” Vance squeaked. Twilight nodded, keeping an icy glare on him. All eyes settled back on them, waiting for Vance’s next reply. After some thought, it came to him: “Miss Sparkle, I need you to know that I’m sorry your brother was involved in this. From what I hear, he was a good man…pony, sorry, who fought well for the ones he loved. That being said, you should know that we are doing everything in our power to get both him and the Princess out safe. And you can trust me on that because I am U.S military, and we never leave anyone behind, you understand?”

After a while of mulling that over in her head, she reluctantly nodded, holding that icy glare in her eyes.

“Good. Now, I’m gonna let you up, and I trust that you won’t do anything crazy like attack us when I do, okay? I’m doing that because I’m asking you to trust me, so it’s only fair that I reciprocate. Deal?”

She nodded again, still glaring.

“Okay,” he eased off her, releasing her hooves one at a time before slowly backing away. She quietly pushed herself up and rejoined her friends, watching the humans the entire time. Vance glared right back. “Lieutenant, how much time do we have before we can hit the building?”

“Couldn’t be more than a few minutes, by now,” Miller replied coolly.

“Good. Let’s make sure we keep ourselves updated as the situation evolves inside.”

“But of course,” Miller said, eyeing the building. “Thank God shortwave’s still working, or this’d be impossible!”

“Mr. Vance?” Twilight asked, and the Marine’s gaze switched from Miller to her. She kept the glare aimed at full blast on his face. “If anything happens to Shining, I’ll hold you personally responsible, understand?”

“Perfectly,” he replied before joining Miller’s attention on the building.

The door creaked open as slowly as Shining Armor could allow it. His joints aching, he slowly made his way across the rooftop terrace to the small group of men gathered near the balcony. Cadence was nowhere to be seen, almost certainly hidden from view where rooftop snipers wouldn’t be able to see her and possibly take out her guards. Well, there goes that last little hope, he sighed.

“Where are the others?” One of the masked men asked menacingly, leveling an assault rifle on a spot between Shining’s eyes.

The unicorn paused, but stood his ground, staring right down the weapon’s ugly, black barrel. “I came alone.” He replied.

“Liar. We saw you enter with an American,” the man spat, as if just saying the word left a sour taste in his mouth. “We permitted you entrance because we thought you might be representatives from both the pony and American sides. Were we wrong to assume this?”

“I am Shining Armor of the Royal Canterlot Guard!” Shining bellowed. “Commander of all forces responsible for the safety of the Princesses and the security of Canterlot castle!”

The man raised an eyebrow and lowered his weapon. This was unexpected. “All security in Canterlot, you say? You could direct us there?”

“I could.”

“And even order the guards in and around the castle to stand down?”

Shining just nodded.

“Very well,” the man said with a massive grin on his face. “We accept your surrender, Mr. Armor.”

“Not so fast,” Shining raised a hoof. “First, I have to know Cadence is okay.”

“Hmm,” the man replied, tapping his chin. With a snap of his fingers, two more men appeared at Shining’s sides, weapons ready. “And what is keeping me from simply extracting what I wish from you via force?”

Shining glowered at him as both men advanced, one reaching into his pocket for a sedative. Suddenly, the unicorn lashed out, a spinning hoof kick sending one of his assailants sprawling over the ground before following up with a blow to the other’s jaw. Before anyone could react, he tore open the clasp on one of the soldiers’ belts and levitated his combat knife from its holster, pressing its edge against his own throat. “If Cadence is gone, then I have nothing to live for but my duty to Canterlot.” He explained plainly, the knife just a few millimeters short of his jugular.

The man frowned, then smiled, and finally settled on a fearsome, rumbling laugh that tumbled off the rooftops around them and echoed throughout the square. “Well played,” he snickered while applauding. “You ponies show an initiative not even I predicted. Perhaps we shall spare some of you in the days to come.”

Shining Armor was silent. A tiny amount of blood oozed out from around the knife.

“Very well,” the man said, snapping his fingers again. One of his soldiers nodded and reached behind a terrace plant, pulling a bound and struggling pony princess out by the back of her neck.

“Cady!” Shining gasped, his grip on the knife faltering.

Cadence’s captor held her, pinning her body beneath his knee while his leader reached over and pulled the duct tape gag off her mouth. “SHINING!” She gasped the moment her lips were free. “Don’t do it! I’m not worth all of Equestria! They need you to…”

“And that’s enough of that,” the leader said, replacing the gag before turning back to Shining. With a placid look on his face, the human drew his sidearm and knelt at Cadence’s side, pressing the weapon’s barrel against her head. “You’ll surrender now, or I will squeeze this trigger and end her life.”

Shining Armor sighed and dropped the knife, his eyes drifting shut as it clattered away. The man he stole it from quickly scooped it back up before backhanding him across the face. The moment the unicorn fell two more men were upon him, wrapping his hooves in a strange tape that shimmered as they applied it. He stared through the haze caused by the blow up at the enemy leader. “A member of Equestrian royalty and the leader of their guard! I should say our invasion is already off to a good start,” he said, his smile wavering as he gazed out at the American military forces poised in the square below. “Barring a few minor setbacks, of course.”

“Wait,” Shining rasped. “You have me. Just…let Cadence go.”

“Well now, that’s just not going to happen,” the Ridchir officer replied, securing a few strips of tape over the unicorn’s mouth. “You’ve already made it clear that she is the only way I can have any control over you. So she will be accompanying us as we ride with the rest of our forces to the main assault on Canterlot.”

“HMPH!” Shining screamed, bucking back and summoning any and all power he had left in his body. His horn sparked with magic, only to grow dark almost immediately. He looked up at it in confusion: he had to have SOME juice left, how was this possible!?

“Oh, were you expecting a neat little charm or magical blast to disable me and my men? I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen so long as that tape remains on your body. The glue is made from a little element we discovered in our travels. You won’t find it in Equestria, but it has the wonderful effect of sucking the magical power away from any user it remains in contact with.”

“Mmph,” Shining moaned, gazing over at Cadence. She had closed her eyes, a single tear drifting down the side of her face.

“Inform the enemy of our latest acquisition,” the leader said to one of his subordinates, who nodded and returned to the balcony overlooking the square, megaphone in hand.

“THE UNICORN YOU KNOW AS THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR ROYAL GUARD IS NOW OUR PRISONER OF WAR.” He bellowed. This announcement was met with a few scattered cries of horror from the crowd, including one violet unicorn that suddenly dashed from behind a barricade, screaming in anguish. She was swiftly tackled by a cyan pegasus, who held her until a few other soldiers could drag her back to the barricade by force.

Shaking off this little development, the soldiers’ announcement continued: “YOU HAVE OUR DEMANDS. ALL AMERICAN AND EQUESTRIAN FORCES WILL LAY DOWN THEIR ARMS AND MAKE THEMSELVES OUR PRISONERS OF WAR, OR THESE PONIES’ LIVES WILL BE FORFEIT. THAT IS ALL.”

He returned to his comrades, where his officer grasped him on the shoulder. “Do you really expect them to surrender? Just like that?” The soldier asked, handing the megaphone back.

“Of course not: they’re Americans, after all. Stubborn and foolish as mules, every one of them. You remember how they were in our world: so utterly determined to hold on to their so-called ‘freedom’ that it took years of reeducation before they came to realize the enlightenment of submission, and even then we still hear of the occasional terrorist attack against our forces in their cities!”

The soldier nodded in understanding as the officer continued: “No, this is just to ensure they keep their distance until the remainder of our forces arrive to relieve us. And then…” he knelt beside his prisoners and took Cadence’s chin in his hand, gently stroking her mane. She shivered in his grasp, more tears flowing down her cheeks. “Then, Equestria is as good as ours.”

“God-DAMN! I knew you Ridchir boys liked fuckin’ horses, but couldja at least take her to a dinner and a movie first?” The soldiers all froze and turned to the source of the voice: a strangely handsome man wearing a leather jacket, with a cocky half-smile, jet-black hair, and the smoldering remnants of a cigarette clenched between his fingers.

Chapter XXIV: The Sisters' Struggle

After nearly half an hour of struggling, Celestia and Luna managed to spit out their gags and wriggle about twenty feet away from where they had started, leaving just three miles for them to go before reaching Coltton. “That dirty little…” Luna started grumbling.

“Luna, please don’t say anything against Discord,” Celestia muttered quietly.

“Why shouldn’t we, sister? He hath betrayed our entire cause for…”

“He hasn’t betrayed anything,” Celestia replied. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Just face facts, sister! We were taken for a ride by the most neglectful, hateful, little…”

“LUNA!” Celestia barked, and this time her sister saw the rage-filled tears welling in her eyes, the way her lips quivered as they continued along. Finally, Luna fell quiet, and for the next ten minutes the princesses worked their way along in silence.

“Celestia,” Luna said, finally breaking the quiet. “I…I’m sorry, I just…we wish to understand what just happened to us.”

After a short pause, Celestia came up with a decent reply: “Discord fooled us in the most incredible way possible. A way I could never see coming.”

“Yes,” Luna nodded. “Okay sister, I will believe…LOOK!”

Celestia craned her neck, peering over the hill they’d just scaled. At the bottom laid a certain Asian humanoid, now clad in his regular business attire and still unconscious. “Finally! I thought we’d never find him!” She exclaimed, rolling down the hill to his side. Luna soon followed, and immediately the sisters started jabbing the man’s sides with their hooves, sticking out ever so slightly from the bundles of USB cables wrapped around their hind legs.

“Swarm! Come now, this is no time for sleep!” Luna yelled.

“He isn’t just sleeping,” Celestia realized aloud as the humanoid remained firmly unconscious. “Whatever Discord did to him has him fully incapacitated. I highly doubt anything short of a magical burst or something to interrupt Discord’s hold would bring him back.”

“Well then,” Luna immediately charged up her horn, filling it with as much dark energy as she could for one massive burst of power. A purple burst of lightning arced from her horn, only to fizzle out before it could even touch Swarm. “Wha-what?”

“It must be these bindings,” Celestia grimaced. “Not only are they immune to magic, but they’re draining what power we do have!”

“Why would Discord do that!?” Luna moaned, slamming herself against the ground in frustration. “He already has us bound and sealed off from the nether-dimension! Why go to the trouble of draining our powers!?”

“Because Swarm might be able to open the portal to the nether again, and then we might interfere.”

“Interfere? Interfere with what!?” Celestia didn’t reply, only peering over her shoulder at the meadow they had just escaped with the saddest look Luna had ever seen on her face. “Right, later,” the Princess of Night said, throwing herself into a renewed struggle with her bonds. Lashing around and bucking this way and that, she barely even noticed when the tip of her hoof scratched against Swarm’s face. The man grimaced and turned over in his sleep.

“Wait a moment…” Celestia said. Rolling over to his side, she reared her bound hooves up and brought them down on the man’s chest as hard as she could. The man groaned before settling in against the grass once more.

“Sister!” Luna gasped. “We know thou must be quite frustrated with our current predicament, but that is no reason to lash out against our bipedal comrade!”

“He can still feel!” Celestia said. “Don’t you see? Whatever sleep spell Discord has him in isn’t as deep as he may like!”

“So we might be able to wake him up!?”

“I doubt it,” Celestia’s eyebrows wrinkled in thought. “But I think we can get his self-defense mechanisms to bring him back to something resembling coherency. Maybe not fully awake, but aware enough to send out a distress signal!”

“Well, if all it shall take is enough pain inflicted upon our comrade,” Luna said, raising a hoof over Swarm’s groin and aiming an apologetic look his way. “Sorry, dearest friend,” she sighed before bringing her hooves down with all her might.

The man gasped, his eyes bugging wide open as a high-pitched tone erupted from his throat, climbing in pitch and volume beyond the sisters’ ability to hear it, but to still feel it. “God above, that’s awful! ‘Tis like a thousand cats being thrown under a steamroller!” Luna moaned, wishing desperately for freed hooves to block her ears.

“You’ve never hit a stallion there, have you sister?” Celestia replied, clenching her teeth in pain. The scream dragged on and on until, all at once, it stopped. The man in the business suit made one last little gasp, not too unlike the sound an air hose makes right when it’s closed off, before collapsing back into unconsciousness.

Their ears ringing, the princesses gazed warily at one another. “Was that the signal?” Luna wondered aloud.

“I do hope so,” Celestia replied.

“Well, darn. That was rather loud, but what do you suppose the odds that anyone even heard it are? Probably not too good, right?”

Celestia noticed something in the corner of her eye, and looked upwards. She smiled at the sight of a small ball of light rocketing out of the clouds towards them. “Oh, I don’t know. I for one like to hope for the best.”

Immediately, the ball landed not twenty yards away from them, sending shockwaves rippling across the valley and messing up the princesses’ manes. A massive cloud of dust punched up into the sky, out of which sprang a man in a leather jacket with jet-black hair and two pistols in his hands: a .38 Peacemaker in one, a Colt M1911 in the other. As they watched, the man tucked and rolled off one shoulder and landed at the sisters’ sides, weapons trained on them.

“Wah-oh! Princesses! My eternal apologies,” Swarm quickly holstered his pistols and bowed. “I just heard a cry from my brother and reacted was all, I didn’t mean any…”

“Swarm, Discord is launching a suicide charge against the enemy and he’s disabled your brother to keep us from interfering.” Celestia interrupted.

Luna gaped at her sister. “What!?” She gasped, horrified.

Swarm grimaced. “Greatest trickster I ever did know,” he mumbled, pressing a hand to his brother’s forehead. After a few moments, his eyes shimmered and the grimace deepened.

“Well?” Celestia asked.

“Discord does have something over him,” Swarm replied. “It might take a few minutes, but I think I can…no, FUCK! C’mon, you slippery little…yes…yes…no…NO…NO YOU LITTLE…”

“Swarm?”

“It’s some sort of virus, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before! It’s emitting a series of mild electromagnetic pulses throughout my brother’s body to keep him incapacitated, but every time I track it down…yes…yes…c’mon…” he grimaced, sweat dripping down his forehead. “…no, NO, FUCK! It keeps jumping to a new component whenever I think I’ve got a grip on it! It’s so damn fast, almost like...”

“Something is guiding it around by hand?” Celestia shook her head, “That wonderfully glorious bastard.”

“I think I can…” suddenly, Swarm looked up at the sky and screamed: “Aw, C’MON! One thing at a time, please!”

“What is it!?” Luna gasped.

“Nothing much,” he replied, raising one hand while keeping the other pressed to his brother’s forehead. “Just another thing to handle, just another thing…” sweat dripped off his eyebrow from sheer concentration. His breathing became labored, as if he was running out of strength to devote to it.

“Perhaps we could…” Luna began.

“NO! No need, ladies,” he said, shooting an exhausted grin their way. “Just put your…hooves up and relax; I’ve got this-is-is-is…”

The princesses watched as for a few seconds, Swarm jerked and repeated the same motion over and over again, not too unlike a record caught in a loop. He quickly returned to his work without even thinking about it. The girls eyed each other warily. “Swarm, are you very sure you’re…”

“Of-of course *bzzt* course! Why-why-why wouldn’t I be? I am the-the-the-the-the-the-the…” he smacked himself. “I am the one everybody turns to when they g-get problems, so how could I have…” He paused mid-announcement. “I-oh, no. Nonononononono…”

“Swarm?”

“I’ll be right back!” He screamed, and suddenly he was gone, even as the sisters screamed for him to be careful.

“Oh dear,” Luna sighed. “We’re really in trouble this time, aren’t we sister?”

Celestia nodded. “The hour has not been this desperate since Chrysalis’s attack on Canterlot.”

They continued eyeing the sky warily, until Luna spoke again: “Sister?”

“Yes, Lulu?”

Taken aback by Celestia’s use of her old nickname, along with the desperation of their situation, Luna completely forgot her question. “N-nevermind,” she said, pausing for a few moments before remembering again.

“Sister?”

“Yes?”

“Dost thou think we should have asked Swarm to free us whilst he was still here?”

“Shit.”

Chapter XXV: Chaos Falling

Back in the nether, Discord’s eyebrows rose and his hands subconsciously went to his crotch. “Smart girl: she figured out my little trick,” he mumbled before a shoulder-launched rocket slammed against his face, sending him flying through the nether. Of course, with nothing to hit, he had plenty of time to climb atop it and grip its directional fins, steering it right back around towards a cluster of soldiers and leaping off just as it blew them straight to hell. “YEEE-HAWW!” He shrieked, a cowboy hat materializing in his hand as the dust from the explosion settled. “Y’all sure do know how t’throw a rodeo!”

The soldiers responded with another volley of rifle and machine gun fire, which he blocked with a magical shield while stifling a yawn. “Oh, come now my little dearies,” he sighed, rocketing down towards them and scattering them with a sonic boom. “Surely you can do better than that.”

Leaping back to their feet, the soldiers rushed him with whatever weapon they could find: some with their fists, even. He replied with a massive sweep of his tail that threw every man off his feet, where they landed in a mass of sticky pink cotton candy. “All I am saying…” he whirled around and slashed with his claws at a man coming up behind him, sending him twirling away, “…Is that it shouldn’t be too much…” whirling in the air like a ballerina, he landed deftly on a commander’s head, using the man as a shield for the gunfire meant for him as he pirouetted around, a tutu appearing around his waist, “…To ask for a bit of creativity!”

Two helicopters circled overhead, bearing down on him with heavy machine guns and rocket launchers blazing. Rolling his eyes, Discord snapped his fingers and watched as the choppers were transformed into large masses of bubbles, which drifted apart and sailed off into the nether, leaving their former pilots behind to land at the Lord of Chaos’s feet. He scooped one of them up by the front of his uniform and screamed in his face: “I mean, come on! Show a little bit of variety to spice things up, that’s all I’m asking for! Is that really so hard?”

“So you want something different, hmm?” A deep and horrendously cold voice asked from somewhere high above them. It took all of Discord’s strength to hide the shivers it sent racing down his spine.

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” he said coldly, barely even noticing as the few remaining men gathered in a tight circle around him, allowing just enough room for the man in the grey trench coat to descend amongst them. He snickered. “Well, well, so the big, bad, leader finally decides to…”

With blinding speed, Mars’s fists lashed out in a pair of jabs aimed at Discord’s throat. The Lord of Chaos narrowly dodged the blows, swatting them away with his claws and replying with a punch from his bear paw, which simply rolled off the top of Mars’ head. Immediately, the two were locked in an up-close and personal duel of hand-to-hand combat, both moving so quickly some of the soldiers gathered around had to look away or risk vomiting.

“Oh, so that’s it then?” Discord asked, sweeping at his opponent’s feet with his tail. “No witty repartee? No back-and-forth in an attempt to add tension to the scene?”

“No,” Mars said coldly, dodging Discord’s sweep and replying with a roundhouse kick aimed at the Draconequus’s throat. “I find that to be cliché.”

“A shame,” Discord said, ducking under the kick and sending a punch towards the man’s exposed crotch. “Your father (well, the American one, at least) was more than willing to oblige me on that front. Enthusiastic, in fact.”

“My father…” Mars sneered, leaping from Discord’s grasp and rolling to his feet a few yards away, a dark look crossing his face. “My father is a weakling, too ‘afraid’ of his impact on the lesser beings of the metaverse to ascend to his true calling and bring unity to those deserving of life! My father sought to bend me to his will, molding me into just another copy of himself for him to control. He wished to turn me into a perfect mirror from which he could admire how good and wonderful he is in the ultimate act of vanity!”

“Oh, lovely,” Discord sighed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. “Let me guess: this is the part where you regale us all with a tale from your childhood under the cruel and oppressive Swarm, thus ensuring that we see you as a mere victim of circumstance and that you become a more relatable character?”

“No,” the man said flatly, extending his hands. A pair of shimmering, chrome spikes extended from his wrists, tapering off to a pair of horrendously sharp points. Discord’s eyes widened as the man slowly advanced, spikes still extended. “This is the part where you die!”

The man leapt at Discord, a look of pure fury in his eyes. The Draconequus raised his hands to defend himself, only to be driven back by the sheer force of his enemy’s blows. His feet slid a good twenty feet over the barely-existent floor before he managed to stop himself, a shockwave booming off into the distance from the hit. Cringing, he barely had time to block as the man lashed out at him with the spikes, striking again and again with a strength and speed that could only be described as feral. Then, just as Discord thought he might have discovered some sort of pattern in his enemy’s attacks, he noticed movement in the corner of his eyes. He knew what it was: the soldiers advancing on his flanks, hoping to add enough confusion to the melee to give their master the upper hand.

‘This is it,’ he realized. ‘It’s die here, or die there. But then, I guess there are worse places to kick the bucket than in one’s own backyard.’ A grin crossed his face and he delivered a shove to Mars’s shoulders. His enemy stepped back, stunned, as the Draconequus rose into the air. “You believe you’ve won!? Give me a break; you have yet to deal with my ultimate attack!”

The man sneered, raising his spiked wrists.

Summoning a bit of a light show, Discord raised a glowing paw and closed his eyes, wishing for a cigarette and a blindfold as he mumbled some nonsense charms. Nothing much: just a few little spells that threw some sparks and made his body glow, filled the air with a few sound effects, all for the benefit of his audience below. His ploy worked like a charm: a hand clamped over his mouth and squeezed with enough force to shatter a lesser being’s jaw. He opened his eyes to watch as Mars raised him over his head, throwing him down with the kind of force that could knock planets off course. Discord hit the ground hard enough to shatter every bone in his body. As it was, a small spell he’d cast over himself managed to protect him from death, though just barely. He turned on his side and coughed, spitting a bit of blood up on a couple soldiers’ boots. “Is...is that all ya got, daddy’s boy?” He grinned, revealing two rows of fangs that were now broken on top of being mismatched.

With a cry of fury, Mars rocketed towards him, the sheer force he pushed off with causing a sonic boom to echo into the distance. And still, Discord waited, biding his time, waiting until the absolute last second, when Mars’s fist made first contact with the tuft of fur on his chest. Then, the Draconequus sent a tiny, nearly subliminal pulse through the ground. In an instant, a green circle appeared around every being in the void, sending them crashing right through into an entirely different world, Mars following through with his final blow, still screaming in rage.

Somewhere in the distance, a massive boom rumbled. Luna turned away from Swarm’s unconscious body and watched, her eyes widening in terror, as a massive plume of smoke blasted into existence somewhere far away. “Sister, what do you suppose that is!? Some new sort of attack from the enemy?”

Celestia looked away, tears streaming down her cheeks. Luna kept gaping at the explosion, which by now had taken on a strange green hue. “Say,” she wondered out loud. “You don’t think that green color could be…”

Suddenly, the man lying on the ground between them bolted upright. “That traitorous bastard!” He bellowed, scanning his surroundings. Eventually, his eyes fell on the princesses. “Oh great,” he added, pushing himself to his feet and stretching. “He got you as well, hmm?”

“Actually, Swarm, we’re not entirely sure Discord betrayed us,” Luna added.

“Whatever do you mean, Princess? Why else would he attack us?”

“Well, uh…” the Princess of Night looked uneasily at her sister, who by now had buried her muzzle in the ground. “Celestia believes he was actually…saving you. Taking your place as the bait in our trap.”

Swarm cocked an eyebrow. “Why in the metaverse would he do that?”

“Perhaps we have misjudged him. Perhaps we have been too quick to declare him a villain.”

“Free us.” Celestia mumbled.

“Too quick to…” he trailed off as Celestia’s voice built up to a harsh whisper behind him. “He’s the Lord of Chaos, Luna! He has earned that title through years of spreading disharmony and mayhem throughout reality!”

“But perhaps that is just his way: a harmless prank here and there…”

“Free us.”

“A harmless…” he slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead. “Do you even remember his reign? Or the terrors he spread when your sister freed him to test the Elements of Harmony? He almost corrupted them! He was perhaps a few days away from permanently warping them into beings of hate and despair, completely lacking the memory of the friendship they once shared!”

“But he DID accomplish what Celestia asked of him! I mean,” she shrugged sheepishly. “We discovered each Element’s weakness: Discord found and exposed what each was vulnerable too.”

“Free us.”

“No Princess, I just can’t buy it,” Swarm shook his head and crossed his arms stubbornly. “He went much too far with his little ‘test’ for us to still call it as such. That incident was a deliberate attack meant to test his strength against ours, perhaps for a future breakout!”

“Well, if that was truly meant to…”

“Will you quit debating and get around to LIBERATING US ALREADY!?” Celestia screeched, her voice booming over the valleys. The other beings with her stared at her in shock as she continued: “In case you’ve both forgotten, there is a war going on!”

“Oh, I’m sorry sister; there was just so much to get Swarm caught up on!” Luna gasped.

“I beg your pardon, Princess,” Swarm bowed apologetically before setting to work on her bonds. “I allowed myself to get distracted by current developments. I wish…”

“Shut up and get me out of this,” she said coldly.

Swarm paused in absolute shock, but continued work on her bindings. “Again, I’m so sorry, sister!” Luna added. “I didn’t even get around to pointing out the explosion!”

“The what!?” Swarm wheeled around and faced the mushroom cloud dissipating in the distance, eyes widening at the sight of the green glow at its heart. “Dearest God, he actually…”

“SWARM I SWEAR TO JESUS FUCKING CHRIST IF YOU DON’T GET ME OUT OF THIS SHIT RIGHT FUCKING NOW I’LL RAM MY HORN SO FAR UP YOUR ASS IT’LL CHANGE YOUR SNOT TO PIXIE DUST!” Celestia screeched.

This time, Swarm obeyed without another word. Luna didn’t bother apologizing this time. She took one look at the fury in her sister’s eyes and realized that now was the time to keep her mouth shut. The three remained silent as Swarm worked with the tangle of VCR cables and Christmas lights around the Princess of Day’s body when he realized something. “Huh,” he mumbled.

“What?” Celestia asked flatly.

“Well, I’m just not sure why you two had any trouble escaping these bonds,” he replied. “They just seem to be an ordinary, if highly entangled, collection of assorted household products. There is some magical hue to them, but it appears to be fading.”

“Discord’s hold on them must be failing!” Luna realized out loud. “Celestia, I think we can…”

Before her sister could even finish her sentence, Celestia burst free and blasted into the air with a flap of her wings. The Princess rocketed off into the sky, a white blur shooting in the direction of the green hue now fading away somewhere in the distance.

“Goddammit, wait!” Swarm screamed, leaping into the sky with Luna at his heels. “Where is she going!?”

“To help Discord: he might need us!” Luna yelled as they raced to catch up with the white blur.

“Well, that must be a sentence I’m sure you thought you would never say!” He grinned at her.

“Today is just full of surprises, isn’t it!?”

Chapter XXVI: Saving Grace

Ramirez slowly sat up, head spinning, ears ringing. The world spun around him, sliding in and out of focus. A pink blur trampled over his legs in a wild attempt to reach another blur, this one white with blue and red highlights, but the waves of pain wracking his body were such that he barely even noticed the new pain in his legs. He thought that was weird. A bit of his hearing returned, and he realized someone was screaming “Shining!” over and over again somewhere far away. He thought that was also weird. What was shining? The stars? Yeah, they were pretty, but why would that make her scream one word over and over again? And what was with that voice? It sounded so desperate, did somebody need his…

And then the world slid back into focus. “Shining,” he gasped, dragging himself across the rooftop. Cadence was standing over his Equestrian brother-in-arms, one hoof clenched in hers, begging for him to open his eyes. “Shining!” He yelled this time, head still spinning as he grabbed the little white unicorn by the shoulder. Shining Armor was lying on his back, eyes closed, blood soaking into his mane. “SHINING!” He screamed, turning the little white unicorn on his stomach. He nearly retched at the sight. Shining’s back was almost totally gone: there wasn’t a speck of white to be seen, all replaced with the ugly, charred black of burnt flesh. Shrapnel littered his body, he could see it sticking out of wounds here and there, could even see where a piece of scrap had gone completely through his neck and stuck out the other side.

“SHINING ARMOR! GODDAMN YOU, OPEN YOUR EYES!” He screamed, his voice still sounding far-off to his ringing ears. “SHINING! C’MON!”

Cadence wept at his side, hooves wrapped around the unicorn’s body. Behind them, the first few marines were just filing through the entrance door, scanning around to ensure the rooftop was absolutely secure. “What the hell happened…” one of them started to ask.

“GET A MEDIC UP HERE, STAT!” Ramirez screamed. “OR A VET! WHATEVER! JUST FUCKIN’ GO! GET SOMEBODY UP HERE TO HELP HIM!”

“That won’t do any good,” a voice said above him, and somehow, despite the tinnitus, this voice was loud and clear in the SEAL’s ears. Ramirez gazed up at its owner, up at the man in the leather jacket with the old look in his eyes and the saddest expression he’d ever seen on his face. “He’s still alive, the shield was able to do that much, but he won’t be for long. Those burns alone mean he’ll…”

“I DON’T CARE!” Cadence screeched, surprising everyone on the rooftop. “I DON’T CARE! JUST DO SOMETHING! IF THERE’S A HOPE, PLEASE, HE…” she sniffled, on the verge of sobbing. “He’s the only reason I kept fighting. He’s the only reason I didn’t give them what they wanted. Please, he’s…he’s the only reason I can stay brave.”

Swarm looked down at them, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He took a drag off it and knelt at their side, cradling Shining’s head in his gentle fingers. He looked up to the stars, scanning, as if searching for something. “What do you think?” He asked. “Is it this one’s time to rest?”

A few tense moments passed before he turned back down to the little pony’s face in his hands, feeling the ragged breathing and rapidly fading pulse through Shining’s neck. “Perhaps? Maybe? Oh hell, I’ll just wing it, then.” He muttered before pressing his hand hard against the burns on Shining’s back. The unicorn winced in pain as gray goo spurted from Swarm’s fingers, covering his wounds and enveloping his back and neck in a cocoon of ooze. The pony princess and the human warrior watched in awe as it undulated and quivered over Shining’s body, pieces of shrapnel squeezing their way out one by one as time passed. Eventually, the ooze retreated, revealing a perfectly healthy little white unicorn.

“Sh-Shining?” Cadence asked, poking the side of his head with the edge of her hoof. He suddenly jolted upright and gasped, sucking in air as if he’d been underwater for the past few minutes. “Oh, Shiny!” She squealed, tears of joy in her eyes.

“Cady, what…” he started before she wrapped her hooves around his neck and kissed him with every ounce of passion in her pretty pink pony princess body. He came out of the kiss, sucked in a breath of air, and collapsed on the ground, still gasping while Cadence stayed by his side.

Eventually, he looked up at the human squatting nearby. “Welcome back to the land of the living,” Ramirez said, smiling warmly.

“I-I guess w-we’re even now, huh?” Shining gasped.

“Yeah, but who’s counting?”

“Oh, guess I…I…” Shining grinned, stroked Cadence’s mane, and promptly fainted.

“Shiny!?” His wife gasped frantically.

“Oh for- what is it now!?” Ramirez groaned.

“Sorry, I only had enough power left to replace tissue, not regenerate blood,” Swarm sighed as a man in a uniform with a big red cross on its back dashed onto the rooftop. “I figured that wouldn’t be completely necessary, though.”

The medic pressed a hand to Shining’s forehead (over Cadence’s protests). “Okay, okay, here’s hoping unicorn and pig plasma ain’t all that different…” he muttered under his breath, reaching into his backpack for a plastic bag of golden liquid.

“And just like that, it’s my time to leave,” the man in the leather jacket said, stepping up onto the balcony. For some reason, Ramirez seemed to be the only one to notice.

“Wait!” He said. “Just who are you, anyway?”

Swarm smiled knowingly and replied: “The Son of Man.”

Ramirez paused, eyes widening. He gripped the crucifix under his uniform. “Wha-what?”

“What, were you expecting someone with more facial hair?” Swarm grinned, smile slowly widening before he suddenly jabbed the SEAL on the arm. “NNAAAAHHHHHH I’m just messin’ with ya!”

“Wha-wha…”

“Man, that’d be crazy though, wouldn’t it?” Swarm smiled, his ancient eyes twinkling in the starlight as he gazed upwards, a trail of cigarette smoke following his head. “They sure are pretty tonight, aren’t they?”

“What-oh!” Ramirez followed his gaze. “Yeah, I guess. I didn’t really notice with all the excitement, but they seem prettier than back…” he looked back at the man in the leather jacket, only to find a perfectly empty balcony, the wind scattering a few withered leaves through the spot where Swarm should have been standing.

“…home.” Ramirez finished, already trying to decide if this encounter justified a trip to a church or to a shrink’s office.

Chapter XXVII: Chaos Fading

The Lord of Chaos opened his eyes, his vision blurring in and out. With a snap of his fingers, his eyes refocused, but that was all he managed. He’d just used the last shred of his magic to survive the impact. He couldn’t get rid of the pounding in his head, he couldn’t repair any of his lacerated organs, and he certainly couldn’t repair the shattered bones in his skeleton. He could do something else, but it’d be the coward’s way, he knew that. Best to save that for a far more desperate situation.

He managed to sit up, but with a cringe, decided that lying down might be a better choice for the moment. His eyes scanned around, his neck screaming with the effort it took to swivel his head about. He was lying in the middle of a hole, surrounded by flames and rocks and assorted forest detritus. No wait, not a hole. Holes didn’t have scorch marks running along their walls. This was a crater, and he was at its center. “Hoboy, I certainly hit with quite a bit of force, didn’t I?” He sighed, mumbling to himself. He managed a painful, broken-tooth filled smile. It was a miracle he’d had the magical power left to survive. Not many beings would have.

Grinning with pride, his gaze turned upwards, and immediately the smile evaporated. Just about a mile overhead, he could see the figure of a man in the dark trench coat and sinister cap, complete with jet-black boots. “Mars,” he realized. “He’s here too, but where’s…”

His eyes worked their way around the crater again, this time focusing on the trees standing just beyond its edge. As he suspected, the enemy army had him completely surrounded. Sure, to the unobservant the forest was empty, but even in his weakened state Discord could see the glint off an assault rifle’s barrel here, the dark patch in the bushes that could only be the sleeve of an enemy’s uniform there. “Well, there’s nothing for it then,” he sighed again, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes to wait for the final blow.

And he waited.

And he waited.

Something wasn’t right. Mars could have killed him a thousand times over by now. Hell, at this point the regular drones probably could have finished him. So why hadn’t they? In fact, why hadn’t Mars killed him in his sleep? It would be the tactically sound thing to do. And why was every soldier focused on his crater? Surely Mars was more than enough to keep an eye on him.

Unless…

Oh shit…

He wasn’t the target here. He was the bait. Oh fuck, this was exactly why he’d blocked the Princesses off from the nether! He just knew someone would get taken, and one of them would have to make a decision they really weren’t ready to make! And it wound up being him!? Stupid! Why did he think this plan would go off without a hitch!? Why did he seriously believe something would go right this day!?

A low hum began to fill his ears, and his heart filled with dread. It was the sound of something approaching at hypersonic speeds. And in this world, that could mean only one thing. Some stupid, gullible, idiotic excuse for a semi-omnipotent being was blundering right into the enemy’s trap. He watched as Mars ascended to some higher altitude, far from the detection of any being he could think of. He could have sworn he could see a grin on the bastard’s face. The entire forest grew quiet, as if every living creature was holding their breath in anticipation.

‘So, who’s it gonna be?’ He wondered. ‘Which of the Swarm siblings gets it on my account? The Kraut? The Yank? Or hell, maybe that Beaner with the kangaroo fetish…’

His gaze happened upon a white streak somewhere in the distance, just above the tree line, and his heart sank even lower. “No,” he gasped. “NO!” He tried to lift his head again, but the pain shooting through his body was far too much.

“Of course it’s you,” he sobbed, lying hopelessly there in the dirt and charred rock. “Of course it’s you, you stupid pony princess. I should’ve known, you stupid…wonderful…beautiful…”

But then, he was the one who told her how he felt. He was the one that just HAD to go out in style, with a stupid little one-liner and a kiss from the lady. He just HAD to, thus ensuring she’d rush to his side at the first sign of trouble. So who was the real idiot here?

“Me,” he sniffled as she rushed to his side, panic in her eyes. “Always me.”

Celestia wrapped her hooves around his shoulders and started screaming something he couldn’t hear. Possibly because of the adrenaline coursing through his body. Possibly because his eardrums had been blasted to bits at this point. Likely because of his absolute focus on what he had to do. “Celestia?” He asked after a while of her babbling.

“Discord?” She replied, and somehow that time her voice was crystal-clear.

“Shut up,” he said before surprising her with a kiss yet again. This one was even more passionate than the last, probably because he knew it might be the last thing he ever did. He gripped the side of her neck, supporting himself to lean in close in spite of the pain screaming through his body, but he knew he had to sit up. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to see what he needed to.

A glint of silver appeared in the sky, right where Mars had disappeared, and the Lord of Chaos reacted. With one last burst of strength, he shoved the Princess aside, using the sheer surprise of his move to roll Celestia over and force her under his body, just in time to block the metal spire rocketing down at them from out of the sky. He felt it enter him, bouncing off his carefully-positioned spine (or what was left of it) to redirect it just a few millimeters to the left before exiting his body, ensuring it only scratched the side of her flank. He yelped, groaned, and shook; completely paralyzed, completely unable to move for fear that his body would just collapse on top of her like a house of cards built on the San Andreas Fault.

“Discord?” She asked, eyes widening in shock.

He opened his mouth, started to say something: some last, witty one-liner to make for a decent epitaph, but all that came out was another torrent of blood, dribbling onto Celestia’s perfect white coat.

The Princess of Day laid there in shock, not even noticing the near-torrent of blood raining onto her face. “D-Discord?” She tried again, unable to believe she’d just watched a fatal blow.

The Lord of Chaos gasped, trying to gain one more breath of air before the end, as if the only thing that mattered was the iota of comfort one last breath would bring. Then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed on top of her, what little air left in his lungs leaking out. “Discord, no, please,” she whispered, voice wavering. “Keep your eyes open just a little while longer, okay? Just a little while: Swarm’s on his way, and you know how good he is at this sort of thing. You know how good he is at fixing people up. You’ll be back in fighting condition in no time, okay? But if you go…”

She choked. “If you go, you’ll be gone forever and ever and I can’t stand knowing somepony gave their life for me. Especially not somepony who did it out of love. That’d kill me Discord, because I know you don’t have anything even close to a sense of duty, so that’s the only reason you’d do this and…and if you die and I know that it was just for me…I…I’d…” tears streamed freely down her cheeks. “I…I…I…”

He started to fade from her grasp, becoming more and more inconsistent. His fur turned to jelly in her hooves. “Discord?” She asked as the jelly began to evaporate into clumps of dust, the last bits of his energy, his very essence, dissipating into the nether. “No, DISCORD!” She screamed as even the blood on her face grew warm, disappearing with the great quantum wind which swept all beings away into whatever waited for them in the end. “DISCORD, PLEASE! DISCORD…”

He was gone. Just like that. His body didn’t weigh on hers, his fur didn’t warm her coat, and she couldn’t even feel his blood on her anymore. In that moment, she would have given anything to even have that back, to have just something of him left, anything…

“Discord!” Somebody called out mockingly, and a choir of laughter broke out from the forest around her. She looked up, gazing upon The Ridchir’s army, surrounding the crater and laughing at her. At HER. The Princess of Day, the one who raised the sun in the morning, the one who had protected Equestria for millennia, the one who everypony turned to for advice and wisdom.

The one who had just lost something very near and dear to her.

In an instant, Celestia’s pain melted into anger. She pushed herself up, her wings lightly cleaning her coat. Something dark washed over her eyes. She gazed up at the soldiers with the fury of the sun itself blazing in her eyes, and in an instant the laughter stopped.

“Why did you all stop laughing?” She growled in a voice that wasn’t entirely hers. “It was all so very very VERY funny just a second ago.”

The soldiers responded with a volley of shots, spending every last round of ammo in an attempt to put down the pony in the middle of the crater. A few mortar shells joined in the havoc, raising more dirt and dust than Discord’s impact had. A few minutes later, the last of their ammo clips had been expended and every soldier stepped to the pit’s edge, lobbing their grenades. The forest shook with the additional explosions, the pink-leaved trees trembling and letting a few more leaves drift to the ground.

After the onslaught, one officer leaned over the edge, perked an ear over the dust-filled crater, and listened, waiting for the last of the echoes to fade off into the distance. He needed to rely on his ears: the explosions had kicked up such a thick cloud of smoke that it would have been impossible to judge what was going on by sight alone. Rubbing more dirt from his eyes, he cupped a hand over his ear, waiting for something.

Quickly and silently, a horn appeared in front of him. Before he could cry out in alarm, a dark bolt of pure energy blasted from it, sending him flying back into the forest with half his chest missing. The soldiers nearest to him watched, eyes widening in horror, as a very different Princess Celestia walked out of the pit, her eyes dark and glowing with red energy. “Well, fine,” she said in a terrible, growling voice. “If you don’t feel like laughing, I guess I will.”

It started as a chortle in the back of her throat. She took a step forward, and the laughter grew into a few mild guffaws. Then she slammed her hooves down on a man’s skull, crushing it like an overripe grapefruit, and the laughter exploded from her chest, booming off the treetops and scattering the remaining soldiers. She began to hunt them, slicing them down as quickly as she possibly could. There was no predator-prey dynamic. There was no splitting them up, tactically dividing and conquering. This was just butchery: sheer madness done out of love for the feel of fresh blood on one’s body. There was nowhere to run. There was nowhere to hide. Within minutes, twenty men laid dead on the ground, their bodies trampled, burned, and blasted into smithereens. A minute later, it was fifty. And still, the laughter continued, reaching a maniacal pitch as she sliced a red path through the enemy’s ranks. She chortled as she ripped them limb-from-limb, giggled at the sight of terror frozen forever in the bodies’ eyes, and let out a deep belly-laugh as a few gathered together with some branches as weapons, attempting to make a pathetic last stand before she sliced them down with a single, energized swipe of her hoof.

Suddenly, a gray streak appeared from the sky, slamming her into the ground so hard that it created a small crater of its own. Her eyes ignited with pure rage at the sight of the man in the gray trench coat with his hand around her throat. Snarling, the creature that used to be the Princess of Day struggled in Mars’ grasp, only to stop when his free hand gripped her horn. The air hummed with power as bolts danced around the point where he made contact, and slowly, Celestia’s struggles grew weaker and weaker. Eventually, the darkness left her eyes entirely, and she collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily around Mars’ hand. He sighed and closed his eyes, sucking in a breath before opening them again. They were pitch-black.

Celestia struggled as the hand around her throat clenched tighter, her eyes widening in horror as Mars released her horn to stroke her mane. “When I find your sister,” he whispered. “I am going to fuck every hole on her body until I have filled each with my seed, and when I run out of those…”

He leaned in close to whisper right into her ear: “…I’ll make more.” He grinned ear to ear as he raised a fist over her trembling form, letting her watch as it transformed into one long, silvery spike. “I just wanted you to know that before I killed you.”

Without warning, a crack sounded throughout the forest, and the spike snapped in half with a flash of energy. Mars screamed in rage as Luna swooped out of the sky, her horn blasting magical bolts. Dodging effortlessly, the man in the gray trench coat scooped up an assault rifle from one of his fallen comrades and drew a bead on the Princess of Night, only to have the weapon smacked out of his hand by a lightning-quick judo chop from Swarm, now in his business suit. Mars backed away, producing a small, grey ball from the folds of his uniform. Swarm’s eyes widened immediately, and he backed off.

“Oh, you recognize this?” Mars said mockingly.

“I can read the energy signatures off it,” Swarm replied, holding a hand in front of Luna to halt her advance. “And still, I can’t believe even you would be insane enough to use it.”

“Ah, but can you risk it?” The grin widened. “Are you willing to gamble that I won’t drop this?”

“Swarm, what is that?” Celestia asked, now recovered and back on her hooves.

“It’s a ball of anti-matter, Princess.” Swarm grimaced.

“Absolutely right, Daddy dearest! You should be proud: it took me quite a bit of processing power and time to create a ball this size. Now, the million-dollar question: what happens if I drop it?”

Still glowering, Swarm replied: “If anti-matter comes into contact with normal matter, the result is a massive burst of energy in which both particles are destroyed.”

“Give the man a cigar!” Mars laughed as he spun the ball on the tip of one finger, allowing everyone to see just how dangerously close to his fingertip it was, their breath caught in their throats. “By my calculations, the explosion produced by this ball making contact with the ground would crack this planet in half, burning its surface a few dozen times over and annihilating all multicellular life upon it.”

“You wouldn’t!” Celestia gasped. “Even you must know that would be suicide!”

“In a way, yes,” Mars replied with actual regret in his voice. “But, being just an offshoot, my other incarnations would live on to carry out my work, and so it would be a perfectly acceptable sacrifice.”

With that, he raised the ball over his head, preparing to spike it into the dirt. Swarm dove, hoping to somehow beat Mars’ superhuman speed, but it was obvious that it wouldn’t be enough. Celestia dove as well, her wings stretching out to block her sister, as if her body would be enough to shield Luna from the nuclear holocaust to come. Suddenly, an inch from the ground, a shot rang out. A bullet skimmed right across the top of Mars’ hand, sheering the skin and forcing his fingers to turn over. Not by much, but enough to give Swarm the extra nanosecond he needed to snatch the ball away, immediately sailing off into the night with it safely tucked under his arm. Mars screamed in rage as yet another bullet impacted his jaw, sending him reeling. The Princesses turned to face their savior: a man in a leather jacket with jet-black hair and a .38 Peacemaker revolver blasting away in his hand.

Seething with rage, Mars raised a shield made of pure, shimmering energy against the shots, scooping up a stone with one hand. “You think this is over!?” He bellowed. “You’ve yet to even deal with the second wave!” He let the stone loose, whipping it over his shoulder and sending it sailing into the night, glowing with eerie red sparks. As the trio watched in horror, it struck the man in the business suit right in the back, sending him spiraling to the ground as his hold over the little silvery ball wavered. The man in the leather jacket took off after the man in the business suit, eyes locked on the silvery glint in his brother’s hand. Immediately, the Princesses rushed Mars, hoping to pin him, but he threw them away with a casual wave of his hand.

“See you soon, ladies,” Mars grinned as he blasted off into the night, accompanied by a supersonic boom. The Princesses regained their footing just as the brothers returned.

“Should we go after him?” Celestia asked, frowning at the stars their enemy had just vanished into.

“You’d never catch him,” Chen replied, joining her stoic gaze on the night sky. “And even if you could, I wouldn’t recommend it. We need to gauge the situation in-town and set-up perimeter defenses.”

“You can’t be serious!” The man in the leather jacket gasped. “That…THING is using the face of someone we love to intimidate us! We can’t let him get away with that shit!”

The Princesses eyed each other warily. Chen put his arm around his brother’s shoulder, a regretful look in his eyes. “Michael,” he said. “That thing wasn’t just using Mars’ face. It was really him, in the flesh.”

The man in the leather jacket’s eyes widened. “No,” he said. “No, that can’t be.”

“It is, Michael,” Celestia said, touching her hoof to his other shoulder. “I know this must hurt to hear, but that was the being you know as Mars.”

“It…no,” Michael shook his head, pulling away from his comrades’ embrace. “No, there has to be some mistake, you’re wrong!”

“Michael…”

“It can’t be!” He bellowed, tears gathering in his eyes.

“I was close to him: he was practically in my face when he first assaulted me,” Chen said, barely able to disguise the lump growing in his throat. “I ran every scan I could, brother. I’m sorry.”

“No, there was some mistake,” Michael just kept shaking his head. “I…I raised him from a boy, for God’s sake! It isn’t him! It can’t be!”

“Michael,” Chen embraced his brother, who stood there limply as the hug wrapped around his shoulders. “I am so very, very sorry. I know how difficult this must be for you.”

The man in the leather jacket stood there, dumbfounded. The Princesses watched, concern in their eyes, until his gaze darkened. “If what you’re saying is true…”

“It is, brother, it is.”

“Then there’s no time to waste,” he shoved Chen aside and gazed up at the stars. “Mars will be gathering his energy right now to open the portal his troops need to pour through. Odds are, he’s already figured out Nasreen’s misdirection protocols, so he’ll be ready to counter them. Now, he’s a stubborn sumbitch: he’ll wanna face us directly…”

“Which means our plan is still good,” Luna said. “The enemy will still launch his attack right at Coltton…”

“Which means the good people of Coltton best prepare,” he continued, eyeing the small village in the distance. Somewhere far off, high in the mountains surrounding the forest, he could see massive storm clouds gathering. He grimaced. “The worst is far from over.”

Chapter XXVIII: Explanations and Sibling Reunions

Although they were perfectly capable of flight, the brothers chose to ride the Princesses’ backs. “Staying together will decrease the chances of somebody lagging behind again,” Chen had explained, and everyone had accepted this. In reality, of course, he really wanted a bit of time with Celestia. They had a lot to discuss.

“Princess, let me apologize for the late response in coming to your aid,” he started almost as soon as her hooves left the ground. “Mars’ power is such that he is able to block our ability to scan for power signatures from a distance, including yours. It took time to even find you.”

“The fault is mine, Mr. Li. I shouldn’t have left in such a hurry, even with one of our own in danger. Mars had a trap ready and waiting for us, and if…” she sniffled ever so slightly, but suppressed it with that calm every Princess developed over years of diplomatic meetings and state dinners. “…If it wasn’t for Discord’s actions, I would be dead right now.”

“Truly, he was a noble beast in the end.”

“He always was,” she said coldly. “We were just fooled by that persona he projected, too stubborn to see the hero lying just underneath.”

“Princess,” Chen rested a hand on her shoulder in concern. “It is starting to sound like you blame yourself for Discord’s death.”

“And who would you blame, Swarm dearest?”

“Mars,” he said flatly. “But this is not the biggest concern on my mind.”

“I figured it wasn’t,” she sighed.

“Princess, I saw the bodies of those men. They had hoofmarks on them, and some had burn-marks identical to those solar bursts only your horn is capable of producing.”

“Nothing escapes your gaze, does it?”

“Some things do,” he replied. “Mars did. This didn’t. Do you feel like explaining why there are a pile of bodies back there with your name written all over them?”

After a bit of debating with herself, she whispered: “What I am about to tell you can never be repeated again. Only Luna is aware of this, and only because it was absolutely necessary that she be warned.”

“Warned about what?”

“About the monster she was harboring, the one all Alicorns must learn to deal with, the one that manifested itself in her consciousness all those millennia ago. Thankfully, she was able to keep it somewhat controlled, allowing it to manifest as a power-hungry tyrant, rather than a creature like the sort responsible for those bodies back there.” Celestia’s gaze drifted up to the moon, allowing it to shine in her eyes. Swarm gave her time: he was her captive audience. “Inside every Alicorn is a self-defense mechanism, one born during the chaotic years of early Equestria to keep our tiny numbers from disappearing entirely. It’s the reason there aren’t many tales of encounters with Alicorns in pony lore. Back then, it was an asset. Now, unfortunately, it can appear at any point during combat, turning an Alicorn into a rage-fueled beast with hardly any memory of friend or foe, just barely capable of the rational thought needed to kill. It is a separate personality, filled with hate and a need for destruction, lying dormant until such a time when an Alicorn feels endangered.”

Swarm’s eyes widened, hardly able to believe his ears. “You’ve kept this a secret all this time!?”

Celestia nodded.

“And only Luna knows!?”

“Our parents informed us of this terrible power upon our reaching adulthood, when this…’monster within’ first begins to take shape in all of us.”

“But there are so many legends about you being in combat without going on some sort of rampage,” Swarm started counting the tales off on his fingers. “Your first battle with Nightmare Moon, you and your sister’s desperate fight to depose Discord, those Pegasi insurrections right after Canterlot’s founding…”

“The Elements of Harmony are not called as such just because they require a spirit filled with the six elements behind peace and joy to activate them,” she explained. “Once activated, they also increase the strength of those elements within the user’s mind. Kindness to stay her hoof, laughter to keep the darkness within at bay, generosity to prevent her from seeking new Empires to build (as with Nightmare Moon), honesty with herself so she can tell when she has gone too far, loyalty to her subjects’ best interests, and of course, a bit of magic to keep the Dark One asleep.”

He sat there in stunned silence for a full three minutes before he asked: “The Dark One?”

“Do you have a better name for it?” She asked, a sheepish grin on her face which faded almost as quickly as it appeared. “This is why I have not raised a hoof in combat since the Elements of Harmony chose their new users. Perhaps an errant magical bolt in surprise, yes, but never full-on combat: for the longer a fight goes on, the more likely it is that the Dark One will manifest.”

“But you and Luna both fought today! You were right next to me in the void!”

“Only because I knew you would be there, and that you were powerful enough to…put a stop to us if things got out of hoof.”

“My God, Princess…”

“If anypony knew,” she sighed. “Well, they might start to wonder if Alicorns are even worth the risk. They might start debating with themselves if, perhaps, our kind should be wiped out entirely, just to be safe.”

“They might, or they might take the lessons you’ve taught them over the millennia and show mercy, maybe even take your past examples of righteousness and love as a judge of your amazing character and your obvious qualifications for being their ruler.”

Celestia’s face turned bright red. At the same time, her wings froze for a second, throbbing with ecstasy in an attempt to straighten out. The pair plunged a few feet out of the sky. “Woah!” Swarm gasped, wrapping his arms around her neck to keep his balance. “Princess, what was that about?”

“Nothing! Nothing at all!” She gasped, her entire face and neck turning bright red as she flapped to keep them aloft. “So, not to change the subject or anything, but I need to ask you about your brother.”

“Ah, go right ahead.”

“His reaction to his learning about our assailant’s identity was…interesting, to say the very least.”

“You’re wondering why he said he’d raised Mars from a child?”

“Indeed.”

“Princess, you’ve entrusted me with one of your great secrets, now I will entrust you with one of ours.” Swarm sighed. “It’s because he was. Mars is our son, he has called each of us ‘father’ at some point or another, myself included. But the title really applies best to Michael.”

“Why is that?”

“Michael was the one who took Mars in when we first discovered him,” Chen continued, his heart warming with the memory. “Michael gave him a roof over his head, taught him his first few lessons in science and ethics, was there when Mars had a bad dream, and taught him the things only a father can teach a son. We all had our parts to play in Mars’ growth, but we were more like his aunts and uncles. Michael was the one truly deserving of the title ‘Father’.”

“I see,” Celestia looked over her shoulder to her sister, still sailing along with a stone-faced man in a leather jacket on her back. “He doesn’t seem like a man who’s just lost a son.”

“Out of all of us, Michael has always been the worst at expressing his true emotions. I think he just wants to be the rough-and-tough cowboy like in all those horrible Western films of his, and he wants it so badly that he just buries anything which threatens that image.”

“That’s not a very healthy way to go about life.”

“Well, you try telling him that,” Chen snorted. “I believe he is grieving, but not in a way any of us can see.”

Just a few yards behind her sister, Luna glided along, flapping her wings occasionally to remain on the air currents. She wished she had chosen Chen to ride with: her sister seemed to be chatting rather amicably with her passenger. All the man in the leather jacket had done was sit there, asking her to ensure that Celestia wasn’t watching them.

“Princess?” The man asked, derailing her train of thought. “Is your sister still looking at us?”

“Not that I can see, Mr. Sawyer.”

“And she told you my name too,” he said lightly. “That’s good; you’re all caught up then.”

“Indeed I am,” the Princess of Night replied. She waited a few moments before asking: “Mr. Sawyer?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you so interested in knowing whether or not Celestia is looking at us?”

“Oh,” he replied, catching a few silver tears in the palm of his hand and throwing them over his shoulder while suppressing the urge to clench Luna’s back and sob his heart out. “No reason, Princess. No reason at all.”

“Now, you’re sure you’re absolutely alright?”

“Of course I am, Twilight!” Shining Armor rolled his eyes and shifted in his cot. “Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m in triage. I’m fine!”

“90% of the skin on your back was burnt off, Shining,” Ramirez replied, smiling down at his friend. Behind his head, the canvas of the massive tent serving as the triage center rustled with a gentle night breeze. “The only reason you’re still alive is because of that ‘Swarm’ character, and we’re not even sure how in the hell he did it.”

“But I’m fine now! I mean, just look around,” Shining sat up in his cot and motioned to the numerous cots around them. On the cot just to his right, a SEAL slept with a blood-covered gauze bandage wrapped around his arm while a nurse switched out his blood pack. To his left, a small filly rested in her parents’ arms while a vet looked over a massive burn on her flank, an IV packed with painkillers flowing into her stomach. “There are tons of humans AND ponies that need way more help than me! All I’m doing now is taking up a cot! I should be out there; helping you guys hunt down the last of these jerks so we can…”

“Shining, sweetheart, just stay here for me, alright?” Cadence pulled him in close. “I’ve watched you die once tonight, and that is more than enough for me.”

“Oh, shoot,” he grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting. She continued to snuggle with him, completely oblivious to the barely-ordered chaos surrounding them: the cries of nurses for more antibiotic or more plasma as another group kept a steady stream of cots flowing into the surgery tent, set up just across the square.

“Y’know what? I got an idea,” Ramirez said. Standing up, the SEAL managed to grab the attention of a nurse rushing by with a clipboard in one hand and a bag of plasma in the other. “Excuse me, but could I grab you for a minute?”

“Ehh,” the nurse checked his watch and scanned around for his patients, but begrudgingly agreed. “You’ve got thirty seconds.”

“Y’see, my friend here,” Ramirez motioned to Shining, “Was in a…set of strange circumstances. He’s supposed to remain under observation, but he’d really like to…”

“Nobody under observation is allowed to leave their bed until they’ve been cleared by an on-duty Medical Technician,” the nurse drawled. “That is standard triage procedure, soldier, and we have found no cause to alter that rule for ponies.”

“Yeah, I know the damn rules, but my friend…uh…” Ramirez leaned in close to whisper: “An hour ago, my friend had all the skin on his back burnt off and a few pieces of shrapnel embedded in his chest.”

The nurse’s eyes widened. “My God, where’s your friend!?” Ramirez simply pointed over to Shining, who removed a hoof from Cadence’s side just long enough to wave back at the nurse, whose jaw dropped in turn. “Oh my shit, it was the Major, wasn’t it?”

Ramirez cocked an eyebrow. “Now, how didja…”

“We’ve been briefed on some of the Major’s actions before,” the nurse replied, still watching Shining in stunned silence. “I…I thought they were just stories or rumors. It sounded like magic or something.”

“Before? You mean this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this!?”

The nurse could only shake his head in reply.

“Well then, you of all people should know just how well-off my friend is now! So if you could just give him something to do around here – he feels so useless sitting in a cot!”

“I still don’t know,” the nurse scratched his chin. “Wartime triage procedures are VERY clear when it comes to patients under observation.”

“Oh, please, sir!” Shining gasped, throwing his blanket off and kneeling at the nurse’s feet, Cadence’s arms still wrapped around his body and Twilight right on his hooves. He summoned his best “sad puppy” face to beg: “I’m in tip-top shape, really!”

“Now hold on,” Cadence released his neck to face him. “Shining, I already told you that I can’t worry about you anymore than I already have! Can’t we just…”

“Cady dearest,” he took one of her hooves in his. “You know I love you more than life itself, but you must also know I have to do this. As a member of the Royal Guard, I need to be there for everypony who needs me, and these ponies…” he motioned to the wide array of cots spread out before them just as another cot carrying a pony writhing in pain for a broken leg was carried in, “…these ponies really need me. They need somepony they can trust to tell them it’s all gonna be okay, and as a Royal Guard, that’s me.”

“I…honestly can’t see a hole in that logic, as much as I hate to admit it.” Twilight sighed.

“Shineeyyy…” Cadence moaned.

“Listen,” he continued. “I’m gonna stick around the tent. I promise I won’t stray too far, so if something does happen to me, I’ll be right where I need to be, surrounded by the best doctors the humans have to offer.”

“Y’know what?” The nurse finally said. “That’s convinced me. Hell, we could use a few extra hands…uh…hooves around here. So tell y’what: if Ms. Cady gives us her ‘OK,’ I’ll let you do a few non-strenuous chores around here.”

Shining immediately turned his puppy-dog gaze towards his wife, clasping his hooves together under his chin and whimpering ever so slightly, his lower lip quivering. The Alicorn rolled her eyes and relented almost immediately: “Alright, but nothing too bad. And you better let me know if you start feeling off!”

“Love you darling,” he said, giving her a quick peck on the lips before rushing to the nurse’s side.

“And on the condition that I come with you!” Cadence quickly added as she rushed to be near him.

“Alright, with that settled, we need…” the nurse led the ponies off, leaving Ramirez and Twilight behind as Uris came jogging up to them, dodging IV stands and EKG machines.

“Sorry to break up the reunion,” he panted sheepishly. “But my fa… the Captain needs to see you immediately, Ms. Sparkle.”

“I…um…alright,” she sighed, casting one last look over her shoulder at her brother before trudging along towards the tent’s exit. “I guess seeing him is the least I can do after the way I’ve acted.”

“Think nothing of it, Ms. Sparkle,” Uris chimed before turning to Ramirez. The men sized each other up. Though Uris was considered a second-line trooper and had nowhere near the training or experience the SEAL had, he figured he worked out enough to pose something of a challenge. They stared one another down, eyes narrowing, arms crossed. “You’re the one who pulled that awesome shit on the rooftops earlier, arentcha?” The pilot asked the SEAL.

“Yeah, that was me,” Ramirez shrugged. “What about you? I’ve been hearing some crazy stories about a chopper pilot who managed to wipe out an enemy squad with a pistol.”

“I had some help,” Uris replied, shrugging in Twilight’s direction.

Ramirez looked over his shoulder at the little violet unicorn, then back at Uris, and grinned. “Yeah, so did I.”

“Probably not as much as me,” Uris grinned back as the men strode towards the tent’s exit, right behind Twilight. “Seriously though: this officer had a pistol right up to my skull, and that unicorn, right over there,” he pointed towards her, “pulled some teleportation shit at literally the last second! Barely had time to get my bearings before…”

“Oh yeah?” Ramirez said, holding the tent flap open for the pilot. “Well, her brother kicked my ass!”

Uris’s jaw dropped as he raised his hand. “You win, dude. You’re the guy who fought a unicorn.”

“Damn straight,” Ramirez laughed, and the men clapped one another on the back as they followed Twilight to the Commander’s office, setup in a small general store just off the square.

Chapter XXIX: Rock Drill

“Scouts say we’ve got multiple drop zones poppin’ up here, here, and here,” Parker said, placing a few rocks on the ground. Behind him, a small model of Coltton built out of paper cups, canteens, and rocks stretched out across the floor, with streets lined with pebbles and twigs demarking the city’s border. “We know they aren’t ours, so it’s probably safe to assume they’re enemy.”

“Well, at least we have time until they actually land,” Vance grumbled, frowning at the map unfolded on the countertop before him.

“Actually sir,” Parker sighed. “The scouts are saying these zones are opening up almost right on the ground: they can just hop out.”

“What!?” Miller gasped, stepping away from the shelf of hayseed he’d been leaning against. “When in the hell did they learn to do that!? I thought the whole point of opening a portal high over the ground was so it didn’t phase people into trees or something!”

“That IS the point,” Vance’s frown deepened. “Apparently, the enemy has discovered a way to open up a portal with enough accuracy where that isn’t a worry. This is…concerning, to say the least.”

“Maybe a third party’s joined the war?” Parker added. “Somebody who CAN open up portals with that kind of accuracy?”

Miller and Vance eyed each other with concern. “That’s an even scarier thought,” the SEAL commander mumbled. “Another faction with that kind of power could definitely tip the scales in their favor.”

“That’s not our concern right now, gentlemen,” Vance barked. “We can let the politicians and the intelligence boys hash that shit out when we get home. Right now, we could be looking at an entire brigade of enemy dropping in on our heads, and we’d never know it until they were knocking on our doors!”

A few short raps on the front door interrupted the Captain, and all eyes immediately turned to it. With hardly a thought, Parker’s hand went to the pistol in his holster, but Vance knocked it away the moment the door creaked open and Uris poked his head in. “I’m really sorry, sirs,” he said. “But I’ve rounded up the Elements of Harmony, as requested.”

“Good show, son,” Vance replied, shooting a dirty look at Parker. “Go ahead and let them in.”

“Yes, sir,” Uris nodded and opened the door, herding all six ponies into the store, except for Fluttershy, who was intent on clinging to the pilot’s leg. After some coaxing on Rarity’s part, she too joined her friends at Vance’s feet, shooting uncertain glances over her shoulder back at her human friend. ‘It’s alright,’ he mouthed to her, before carefully shutting the door behind her, making extra sure not to slam it.

The six ponies all gazed up at the human commanders for a short time. Growing impatient, Rainbow Dash flapped her way onto the countertop and stuck a carrot stick from behind the fridge in her teeth, holding it their like a cigar as she smeared a bit of grime from the poorly-oiled cash register under her eyes.

“So,” she said, shifting the carrot in her teeth. “What didja need?”

“What we need,” Parker replied, slipping the carrot out from between her teeth and taking a quick nibble off one end. “Is every single advantage we can get.”

“We have reason to believe The Ridchir is planning a counterattack, with a heavy focus on retaking this village,” Vance said.

“Based on the number and size of the portals we’re detecting nearby, we could be looking at upwards of two-thousand enemy tangoes, with God-only-knows how many and what type of support assets.” Miller added.

“What do you need from us?” Twilight asked while Rainbow pouted over her sudden loss of awesomeness.

“Our intelligence says you six are the best defense Equestria has to offer,” Vance said. “Though reports are somewhat vague, they made reference to some sort of title: the…uh…’Elements of Harmony’?”

“Oh, that isn’t just a title,” Twilight explained. “They also refer to the powers granted to us by six mystical jewels as the physical representatives of the six traits behind all harmony and friendship everywhere.”

“I think we can take the explanation from here, egghead,” Rainbow Dash grinned, backflipping off the countertop and sticking her hoof out. “Because big adventure with the ponies you love can only work out with LOYALTY!”

“And to appreciate tons of fun with friends, you need LAUGHTER!” Pinkie screamed, trailing confetti as she rushed to stick her hoof out next to Dash’s.

“And with a beautiful heart to keep everyone on the side of good, there comes GENEROSITY!” Rarity sang, pirouetting into position next to Pinkie and Dash and daintily sticking her hoof in next to theirs.

“But don’t ferget, y’all need t’be faithful an’ strong, which comes easy with HONESTY in the group!” Applejack replied, oozing strength as she strode into the circle with her chest puffed out and added her hoof to the mix.

“Well, sharing KINDNESS certainly has its part to play, I-I think, maybe…” Fluttershy said quietly, eventually forcing Rainbow Dash to grab her and thrust her hoof into the circle. Her head spinning with the suddenness of Dash’s motions, it took her a second to realize she had joined in. Dash winked at her. “Yay,” she whispered, smiling.

“With all those traits, staying true friends is an easy feat, but it’s up to MAGIC to make it all complete!” Twilight sang, teleporting into the remaining spot on the circle and sticking her hoof in. “And once you’ve learned all that, you realize…”

“…That Friendship is Magic!” The Elements all sang together, giggling in near-perfect unison.

The humans stared. Miller’s eyes glazed over. “That was really fuckin’ adorable. I think I’m gonna puke.” Parker sighed, bringing the ponies back to reality.

“Yes, well, you’re the one who approached us for help,” Twilight said, blushing just a little bit and glaring at the humans.

“That we did,” Vance said. “You mentioned these jewels gave you powers. Can you just whip ‘em out now, or…”

“Well,” Twilight said. “It’s not…exactly…as easy as all that, you know?”

“For one thing, the Elements are kept in a high-security vault way back in Canterlot, which is rather far away: a three-day trot, at least!” Rarity said.

“Plus, the consarned things have a tendency t’up an’ disappear from time to time,” Applejack added. “An’ with all the portals and whatnot poppin’ up aroun’ here, odds are they’ve pulled one a’ their disappearin’ stunts already.”

“And without these jewels, you can’t access any of your powers,” Parker moaned, leaning against the countertop.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Twilight said, her horn sparkling. “Rarity and I still have our unicorn magic!”

“Although Twilight is a hundred times the magician I’ll ever be,” Rarity admitted.

“Oh, Rarity, don’t be so hard on yourself!”

“Dahling, it’s the truth. I’m afraid my talents reside entirely within the fashion industry. My magic is mediocre at best!”

“But I’ve still got my super speed!” Rainbow Dash said, revving herself up in a few laps around the room at supersonic speed, forcing the humans to grab their battle plans to keep them from being swept up.

“And I have my party cannon!” Pinkie shrieked, whipping the now all-too-familiar artillery piece out from behind a shelf and spraying the room with streamers and confetti just as the humans managed to straighten out their papers.

“And I still got m’incredible buckin’ strength!” AJ sang.

“Wha-what didja just say!?” Miller gasped, scanning the room for children who might need their ears covered. Rolling her eyes, the orange earth pony promptly bucked the small stack of apples by the door, rapid-firing them over the countertop and into a set of bottles lined up along the rear wall.

“Oh…bucking…” Miller sighed, relaxing.

“And-and…” Fluttershy started, only to freeze up the moment every eye in the room turned on her. “Eep! I-I know how to take care of animals, if that’s something you needed, if it wasn’t too much bother…”

“Right,” Vance sighed. “Look, girls, that’s all well and good, but we were hoping you’d have some kind of magical death cannon for us! Something that could give us an edge over the enemy and this…new…powerful ally we think they might have!”

“How about a powerful ally of your own?” A voice sang. Everyone in the room turned to the door, where Princess Celestia and her sister stood, framed by the moonlight pouring in through the windows.

Author's Note

Rock Drill: Military slang for the final planning of a major combat maneuver, conducted right on the battlefield just before the maneuver is to be executed. Usually done with sticks, rocks, or whatever debris is lying around serving in a mock-up for key targets (bridges, strategically placed structures, etc.)

Chapter XXX: Eve of Battle

Mars waited. If anything, that was his special talent: waiting. His cutie mark would probably be a caricature of himself, sitting, waiting, building himself up and biding his time for the right moment to strike. He didn’t know how a little symbol on his ass would express all that, but it would certainly look incredible. It was this undying patience that allowed him to make so many allies, and to develop the network for them to move about the multiverse undetected by his own father. Alone, that last feat was worthy of a God, but his master stroke was The Plan. The Plan that would see his father brought to his greatest low before being utterly destroyed. The Plan that would see Mars rise to his rightful place as the god of all creation, and ultimately begin the reign of an empire that would encompass universes. And it would all start here. Equestria would be the first world conquered by forces from an entirely different universe. There had been raids, yes, air strikes and terrorist attacks aimed at spreading fear and discontent throughout reality, but this time his forces were not on a simple raid. This time, they would be conquerors! And once an entire ‘world of light’ (as his father called them) had been subjugated, well, when you combined that with the other attacks, you got quite a dark wave of emotional energy rippling through the multiverse, corrupting everything it touched. He grinned at that thought. He would need to inform his enemies of this somehow. When their children woke up screaming in their beds from nightmares of burnt landscapes in place of flowing meadows where the beautiful creatures of their imaginations were tormented and enslaved, he wanted them to know it was because of him, and because they had dared to stand against him.

Feeling his strength return, he opened his eyes and breathed. It didn’t matter that he hovered in the heart of a vacuum a few thousand miles away from any sort of atmosphere thick enough to be deemed ‘breathable.’ The breath was more a relaxation technique than a life-supporting function for one such as him.

The entire planet of Equestria laid before him. Here, he could see purple, snow-capped mountains. There, the great pink forests that stretched from horizon to horizon, teeming with life. And still, there were the crystalline blue oceans, blanketing over half the planet with the same purity they had owned for eons. It was pathetic. The ponies of Equestria had ruled this planet for millions of years as unquestionably as the humans of the multiverse had theirs and they had yet to even begin utilizing their planet’s vast resources! Even the pitiful little mongrel races of the human worlds arrayed against him had managed to expend their planets’ resources to the best of their knowledge, but here entire forests still lay untouched, the mountains still towering high over the land, unmarked except by a few basic mines built by some simpler species. What were they called again? Ah, yes, Diamond Dogs. He would have to keep them in mind. They would make perfect slaves for his allies in the years to come.

He reached his hand out, cupping it below his face at just the right angle to make it appear as though the entire planet rested in the palm of his hand. The familiar sensation of power filled his chest, his breath catching as if the sheer emotion he felt was crowding out his lungs. A look of ecstasy spread across his face. His old man was a fool for refusing something like this. To rule, to conquer, could there be a better experience in all the many worlds? If there was, he’d yet to find it.

He breathed again, and this time he angled himself towards the planet, pushing off the barely-existent atmosphere and blasting back to the surface. For nostalgia’s sake, he shoved a fist out in front as he descended, just like Superman. He loved that pose. For such a goody two-shoes, the guy had absolutely known how to make himself look like a badass.

He slammed back into the Everfree Forest with enough force to send shockwaves rippling into the distance. Trees bent and splintered away, earth was carried off to make room for him, even grass that had grown for decades without so much as a brushfire was vaporized in an instant. Power, he grinned again. Before the dust even settled, he had summoned the now all-too-familiar green glow of the inter-universal portal. It stabilized within minutes: he was getting better at opening them. The instant the portal was the size of a man, one in the dark-gray uniform of The Ridchir stepped through, flanked by guards carrying assault rifles and grenades.

“{Lieutenant Fischer, reporting for duty, sir!}” The leader barked, and all three men saluted.

“{At ease!}” Mars replied, and the men obeyed. Shit, he loved that! “{Where in the hell are the rest of ya?}”

“{Sir! Reinforcements are geared up and ready to join us the moment the portal has reached the size required for trucks and heavy equipment, sir!}”

“{The moment?}” Mars asked, cocking an eyebrow. “{Are you sure about that, Lieutenant?}”

“{S-sir?}” The man started to sweat.

“{I’m just wondering: would you be willing to bet your life on it?}”

“{I…}” the Lieutenant sighed. “{No sir, I am rather certain, but not certain enough to bet my life.}”

“{Hmm, a shame,}” suddenly, Mars’ arm whipped out and caught the side of the man’s head. Spinning around, he bought the skull in his hand down into the earth with a sickening, wet crack, blanketing the dirt in red.

“{I have no use whatsoever for cowards,}” Mars mumbled, wiping the blood off his hands before levelling a finger at one of the remaining guards. “{You! Whatsyername!?}”

“{St-Stevens, sir! Corporal Stevens!}” The guard cried, barely able to keep from wetting himself at the sight of his own commander’s blood drying in the bare dirt.

“{Well congrats, Private, you just made Lieutenant!}”

“{Th-thank you, sir!}” There wasn’t an ounce of gratitude in the new Lieutenant’s voice, but Mars let that slide.

“{Now, would you be willing to bet your life on a big-ass truck rushing through that portal the moment it’s big enough to accommodate one?}”

“{O-of course, sir! Abs-absolutely! No doubt in my mind at all!}” Stevens was shaking so hard Mars could hear the rattle of something loose in the man’s weapon.

“Hmph,” without a word, Mars reached over and grabbed the new Lieutenant’s rifle. The moment his hand made contact, he could feel the human’s heart skip a beat. Suppressing a grin, he snatched the rifle away and fiddled with the firing mechanism. “{Here,}” he tossed the weapon back. “{Keep that clean, and it’ll serve you well.}”

“{Y-yes, sir, thank you,}” Stevens mumbled as the portal suddenly expanded behind him. He whirled around, staring at it intently as the seconds ticked by. Three seconds went by with nothing. Then four. Five…

To his incredible relief, the grill of a truck appeared and rumbled through, its engine revving as it trundled along between the two. Mars glared at the human. “{5.714 seconds,}” he said. “{And a moment is defined as seven…}”

Stevens gulped; his hands trembled again, although his rifle didn’t rattle this time.

“{Sloppy work, Stevens; can’t say I’m impressed. But you’re new, so I’ll let this slide.}”

The human sighed with utter relief. “{Thank you, sir.}”

“{Don’t let sloppy work slip by again.}”

“{I-I won’t sir,}” the Lieutenant moved to rejoin the rest of his men. “{Th-thank you, s-sir.}”

Within minutes, the small clearing Mars had blasted into existence was packed with men, trucks, a full collection of artillery pieces, and even a few tanks. This was it. No more raids. No more hiding and popping out at each other in hit-and-run attacks. Now, there would be war. He grinned with the prospect and climbed into a truck as it wheeled by. “{SIR!?}” The driver asked in surprise.

“{Take me to the rally point, I shall want to speak to my men there,}” Mars said plainly.

“{Y-yes, sir, right away, sir!}" The man replied, his hands clenching the steering wheel until the knuckles turned white. He never even noticed Mars smiling in the seat next to him, grinning as they approached the city.

Chapter XXXI: Briefing

“Princess!” Twilight galloped into the hooves of her friend and mentor. “Oh thank goodness, you’re alright!”

“I could say the same to you, my faithful student,” Celestia smiled, embracing the little violet unicorn.

“Oh!” Twilight turned in the Princess’s hooves, realizing that this might be the first time her mentor had seen humans! She would need to act calmly and carefully, they couldn’t have the Princess panicking now. “Now, Princess, I know these guys may look weird, and some of them look like the things that are attacking us, but please rest assured that…”

“Hello again, Captain Vance,” Celestia smiled. “You may rise.”

Twilight turned in shock at the three humans gathered around the counter, who were all kneeling like ponies about to be knighted. “Thanks, your majesty,” Vance said as he stood. “And might I add that it’s good to see you again.”

“And you, Captain, though I wish it could be under better circumstances.”

“Um…sister…perhaps you could…” Luna started, motioning towards Vance and giving her a questioning look.

“Ah yes, forgive me sister: it has been a rather long day,” Celestia gestured to the Captain. “Luna, this is Captain Vance with the Armed Forces of the United States of America.”

“A pleasure,” Luna said, extending her hoof.

“Charmed,” Vance replied, taking the hoof and kissing it gently.

“And this would be his cadre,” Celestia continued, smiling at the red entering her sister’s cheeks. “I believe the man on the left would be Lieutenant Miller, and the one on the right is Lieutenant Parker.”

“It is an honor, Princess,” Miller said, following Vance and kissing Luna’s hoof.

“Same,” Parker said awkwardly, his lips missing and kissing just a bit higher on the Princess’s leg.

“Well,” Twilight said, her eyebrows rising. “It’s…nice that you know these humans, Princess.”

“Of course I do, dearest Twilight,” Celestia replied with a knowing smile. “After all: do you honestly believe all these men could have landed without my prior knowledge?”

“Woah woah woah,” Rainbow Dash said, stepping away from her friends and glaring at the Princesses accusingly. “You’re saying you knew all this was coming!? How!?”

“In due time, Ms. Dash, and besides, my companions would be better suited to answer that question.” With that, Celestia knocked on the hardwood floor with the edge of her hoof. There was a slight breeze, a draft flowing through the room as if the building itself were sighing, then a gentle gust picked up a stack of papers from the countertop and floated away with it, leading everyone’s eyes to the two men standing by the coolers along the back wall.

“Commander!” Parker gasped, and instantly all three men saluted.

“At ease,” the man in the leather jacket replied, stepping away from the cooler with his hands crossed behind his back. The ponies recognized him from their Humvee ride together, but something was a bit…off. He’s got some sort of darkness to him now, Twilight realized as this newcomer walked into the center of the room. He had this aura about him: something she couldn’t quite place. It was as if something was hardening his heart against the universe. But what?

“Commander, I must say it’s an honor to see you again,” Vance said, smiling as he extended his hand.

“And you, Captain,” the man in the leather jacket replied, shaking the hand briefly.

If Twilight hadn’t been sidetracked, she might have noticed how fake the smile on this man’s face looked. How utterly skin-deep it appeared. As it was, she immediately perked up with a realization: “Wait a second, you were on the radio earlier! You saved my brother!”

The man flashed his smile at her, and this time it was a smidgen more genuine. “That would be me, Ms. Sparkle. It’s nice to see you don’t need restraints anymore.”

“Well,” she blushed. “I…wasn’t quite in a proper…wait a minute, you weren’t there! How could you possibly know about that!?”

“Hold on, Twi,” Applejack said. “Ah’m sure you’ve got a lotta questions fer this guy, but Ah think he’s got some important business to handle with us first.”

“Right you are, Ms. Applejack,” the man said, a confident smile rising on his face, though with less strength than it had during the ride they had all shared in the Humvee. “And for the explanations, I think I’ll hand the spotlight over to my brother.”

“Leaving me with the dirty work, eh, Mikey?” The other man said with a smile that turned into a grin with the sight of his brother’s annoyance at the old nickname. All eyes shifted to him, most feeling embarrassed over having ignored this man until just now. Not that he was totally invisible: the fact that he was a Chinese man in a business suit standing in the middle of a battlefield would have set him apart at just about any other time. It’s just that he didn’t seem to command attention like his brother did, and by the reserved way he ambled into the center of the room and quietly leaned against a shelf, it was very possible that’s just the way he liked it. “My name is Chen Li. This is my brother, Michael. You can refer to either of us as Swarm, for we have both adopted that title. We have been in battle with the force now launching its assault into Equestria for quite a while, and we are here to help defend this village and halt the enemy’s advance once and for all.”

“That sums it up perfectly,” Michael said. “Thanks, bro.”

“Wait a second,” Rainbow Dash raised a hoof. “You’re sayin’ you’ve been fighting these guys all along, in the shadows?”

“I am.”

“Then what gives? How come we haven’t even heard of you yet?”

“I only make myself visible when it is needed,” Chen replied nonchalantly. “Now, it is needed.”

“Oh, real mysterious. What are ya, some kind of super warrior badass?”

“He likes to project that, at least,” Michael said, smiling playfully.

“Well, if you’re so awesome, why haven’t you beat these guys yet?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said, glaring at her friend. “That’s no way to…”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Michael strode up to the little teal pegasus and knelt, glaring right into her eyes. Dash glared right back, refusing to back up a single inch. “We vastly underestimated how…resourceful the enemy was. This is not a mistake we shall be making again.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, really,” and this time, Swarm made sure the glare in his eye dared her to continue this conversation, dared her to just try and see what happened.

Rainbow returned the glare, but eventually shrugged. “Good enough for me.”

“Good,” as Michael stood up and returned to his brother’s side, Parker raised his hand.

“Um, Commander?” The Lieutenant asked.

“Yes?”

“You said the enemy was resourceful somehow: do you mean they were able to befriend somebody with those resources? Like, better technology and stuff?”

The man in the leather jacket grinned. “I knew there was a reason I chose you lot for this job,” he said, producing a file from his jacket and handing one to every being in the room (except his brother, of course).

“This is Mars,” Chen said as they all opened their files to find a picture of a dark-haired man in a gray trench-coat with a piercing gaze. “He is calculating, efficient, incredibly intelligent, and possibly the most powerful being in the universe.” Something wavered in his voice as he said: “Godlike, even.”

“This is how they can open up portals so well, right?” Miller asked. “This ‘Mars’ fella is openin’ them open for ‘em?”

“Precisely,” Chen continued. “I have already faced Mars in battle, and…I’m ashamed to say I did not fare quite as well as I had hoped.”

Michael stared at his brother in shock, the full realization of Mars’ rebellion beginning to hit him. Mars and his brother had fought, actually battled for dominance. As Chen continued, he slowly backed away from the conversation, slinking into a corner.

“So, if he can take on you lot,” Miller said behind him. “How are we gonna stand a chance against him?”

“Because this time we have something we didn’t have in our first confrontation with him,” Chen said, smiling as he clamped a hand on the human’s shoulder and pretending not to notice his brother in the corner, his back turned to everyone else, “your courage, and the courage of your men.”

“Hold up,” Vance said, standing up. “I am not going to use my men as meat shields just so you can get a decent shot at this one omnipotent asshole!”

“You insult me, Captain! Do you honestly believe I would ever make such a heinous plan? No, your men will handle the army backing Mars up. If anything, we will be using ourselves to hold Mars at bay while you deplete his forces.”

“By ‘we,’” Twilight said. “You mean…”

“Yes, my faithful student,” Celestia replied, trotting up to Twilight’s side. “He is referring to Luna and I.”

“Princess, no!” Rainbow Dash gasped.

“I-it’s too dangerous!” Fluttershy added.

“Equestria would be lost withoutcha!” AJ said.

“Without you, the Canterlot courts would fall to pieces!” Rarity said.

“Isn’t it about time we started wrapping all this exposition up? The audience might get bored if we don’t get another cavalcade of explosions soon.” Pinkie said.

Celestia raised a hoof for silence. “This is not up for debate, my little ponies. As a princess, I am the sworn protector of Equestria, forever bound to defend this land and its citizens from all threats, foreign or domestic. Even if doing so places myself in mortal danger.”

“Wouldn’t it be so badass if our president did that?” Parker whispered to Miller. “Like, if he had a nuclear-powered robo-suit or some shit.”

The SEAL shushed him while stifling a laugh.

“My sister is right,” Luna said, her voice rising to its familiar, thundering baritone. “WE WILL DEFEND THIS LAND WITH ALL OUR…”

“Sister, we’re indoors!” Celestia groaned, cleaning out her ear with the tip of her hoof.

“Oh, right,” Luna smiled sheepishly before continuing at a much more suitable volume. “We will defend this land with our dying breaths, but fear not: for we have absolutely no plans of dying today.”

“But how can you be so sure!?” Twilight moaned.

“Because we have the Elements of Harmony on our side,” Celestia cooed, taking Twilight’s chin in her hoof. “And the Elements have never failed Equestria before.”

“But we don’t have the Elements; they’re still locked up in Canterlot!”

“Not for long,” Celestia said, smiling as her horn flickered into action. Her eyes glowed with pure magical power as the air around her buzzed with energy, forcing Twilight to back off. “Um, sister?” Celestia asked in a voice buzzing with the magical currents beneath the universe itself.

“Right, sorry,” Luna blushed before tapping her horn at the base of Celestia’s, igniting it immediately with a swirling blue blast of moon-fueled magic. Her eyes glowed with power as the room trembled, forcing everyone in the room to back away to the furthest corner, huddled close together. Eventually, six small gems shimmered into view at the Princesses’ feet.

“Oh holiest God, don’t tell me that’s…” Parker started.

“…The Elements of Harmony!” Twilight gasped, smiling at the familiar sight. The gems sparkled with power as they flickered in and out of existence, shimmering in the glow of the magical torrent around them. Suddenly, they threw off a wild spark of magic. The flickering grew more and more rapid, visibly draining the Princesses’ magic until the two Alicorns collapsed on the floor, the Elements vanishing entirely.

“Whuh-where’d they go!?” Rainbow Dash gasped.

“It is as I feared,” Celestia sighed, picking herself up and helping Luna onto her hooves. “That was a teleportation spell using the same principles behind the technology you used to get here, Vance…”

“On a normal day, it’s unstable enough to wipe the Elements from existence entirely, losing them to the nether for all time,” Luna explained. “That’s why we’ve hesitated to use such a spell before.”

“But today’s not just a normal day,” Vance realized. “We’ve been punchin’ holes in the nether left and right!”

“This is true,” Celestia continued. “The fact that so many portals have been opened today greatly reduces the risk of losing the Elements. However, they make it almost completely impossible to pinpoint where the Elements have been teleported to, precisely.”

“Well, great,” Parker sighed, leaning against a window sill. “There goes our best weapon!”

“I wouldn’t say that, Lieutenant,” Vance said, a knowing grin spreading across his face as he pointed at the night sky behind his second’s head. All eyes focused on the sky, where six shooting stars had suddenly appeared just off the side of the moon.

“I should’ve known,” Luna said, smiling up at her element of power.

“The spell must have sent them into deep space!” Twilight gasped. “The Elements will be landing all over the place!”

“Well, what in tarnation are we waitin’ for!?” Applejack added, running for the door. “We’ve got us some element catchin’ t’do!”

“Wait,” Celestia gasped, galloping to Parker’s side and fishing a walkie talkie out of his pocket with her teeth.

“What’re you…” the Lieutenant started as she fiddled with it using a bit of her magic, but a quick glare from Vance silenced any questions he might have had.

“There,” the Princess said as the little device started beeping. “It’s infused with Alicorn magic now. It will start beeping the closer it gets to an Element.”

“Well, that’s…” Parker started as he scooped his talkie up, only to drop it instantly, his hand darting away as if it had touched a hot coal. “Sonuva…”

“What did you see?” Celestia asked politely.

“What?” He looked at everyone in the room, confused, but a reassuring look from Miller and Vance spurred him on. “I saw…a room with pink wallpaper. There were balloons everywhere. Games…cake and…pin the tail on the pony? I dunno, it looked like a little girl’s birthday party, but with ponies. Everybody was laughin’ and…”

“Whee-hee, sounds like fun!” Pinkie giggled.

“Laughter,” Celestia explained with a knowing smile. “That device will also provide a vision to anyone holding it to inform them which of the Elements are closest.”

“Well, with that all sorted out,” Rainbow said, picking up the small device by its antenna and gingerly handing it off to Twilight, who had a cloth ready and waiting to hold it. With the talkie safely in hoof, the pegasus gazed over at Celestia expectedly.

“Yes, Miss Dash,” the Princess said with a smile. “Now you may leave.”

“Finally!” She gasped, spreading her wings and taking off out the door with her friends right behind her.

“And hurry!” Miller yelled after them. “We can’t be sure how long we can hold out without the Elements!”

Chen took the momentary lapse in everyone’s attention to join his brother in the corner. He rested a hand on the man in the leather jacket’s shoulder: he knew nothing needed to be said, and so he remained quiet.

“He’s really gone, isn’t he?” Michael asked after a short while had passed.

“Yes. Come now, we must stop him.”

“Yeah,” Michael replied, silver tears streaking down his cheeks as he gazed upwards, trying his very best to swallow the massive lump growing in his throat. “I know.”

Chapter XXXII: Recovery

“Friendship is Magic, motherbucker?”

“Alright smartass, what would you have said?”

Ramirez thought for a while on that, his eyebrows furrowing. Finally, he shrugged.

“Uh-huh, that’s what I thought,” Uris said confidently. “I guess you SEALs just don’t have the same level of awesomeness as us pilots.”

Ramirez wound back, readying a playful little blow to the pilot’s shoulder when the ponies did it for him. The door whipped open, nailing Uris in the face and sending him sprawling over the ground. Ramirez instantly burst out laughing, almost not hearing Twilight as she landed at his feet. “Guys!” She gasped, her friends galloping past behind her. “We’ve got shit to do!”

“Save the world shit?” Ramirez asked, still grinning wildly.

“Yes, c’mon!” She grabbed him by the sleeve and tugged him away as Fluttershy set to work reviving Uris.

“Um…excuse me…” the little yellow pegasus whispered as he groaned, his head spinning. “I…I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Uris. I know you must be very tired but right now we have to…”

“Don’t worry; I got this, Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, hopping up to Uris’s head, whipping out her tuba and blasting him in the ears with one of her now-trademarked C-Flats. The pilot bolted up, groaning, as Fluttershy gently tugged him to his feet.

“Where in the hell are we going?” He mumbled.

“To the nearest rally point,” his father replied, striding out of the store. “There, you and Private Ramirez are to procure the nearest vehicle and aid our allies in locating each of the ‘Elements of Harmony,’ at which point you are to return to the front post-haste.”

“Oy, yes sir,” Uris started, saluting weakly. Vance nodded and watched his son gallop off with the rest of the ponies.

“Think they’ll find the Elements in time?” Parker asked as he walked outside to join him.

“I know they will,” Celestia replied as she and her sister landed by their sides. “We just need to have faith.”

“And prepare our defenses,” Miller added cynically as he walked out behind her. “The enemy’ll be here any second…”

He was interrupted by a low whistle, slowly climbing in pitch and volume. Instinctively, he dove to the ground, his comrades joining him and sheltering their necks while a magical barrier appeared around them. A massive explosion struck the clock tower in the heart of town, shattering it with a massive, heart-wrenching clang. Rubble rained down all around the humans and the Alicorns, chunks of brick and mortar embedding itself in the cobblestone street. Vance leapt to his feet and surveyed the damage. “A preparatory artillery bombardment,” he grimaced. “They moved faster than I could’ve guessed.”

“Sir?” Parker asked as he pushed himself off the ground. “What do we do now?”

It took the Captain a split-second to shift to tactical mode, but the moment he did, his voice rose above the rising din of the bombardment loud and clear: “Parker! Get to the MASH unit and begin evacuation procedures! I want every single casualty outside of the city and out of range of those guns in twenty! Once that’s done, meet us at North Point Alpha!”

“Yes, sir!” The Lieutenant screamed before taking off for the square.

“Miller!” The Captain turned to the SEAL just as another artillery shell hit on the outskirts of town, the ground rumbling beneath their feet from the impact. “Gather every one of your men and scrap together any supplies you can carry. Rally them at North Point Charlie in five minutes, go!”

“Sir!” Miller saluted quickly before dashing off.

“Princesses, you know what to do! If this ‘Mars’ bastard can go toe-to-toe with Swarm, all the ammo in the world won’t help our boys on the ground! We’re depending on you and the brothers to take him out!”

“At once,” Celestia and Luna gasped, taking off into the night sky. They were swiftly followed by a pair of blips lifting away from the rear of the store, one of which Vance could’ve sworn paused and saluted him before joining them. Shrugging the strange sight off, Vance took off for his Marines’ encampment just outside the town square. It was going to be one helluva night.

Another whistle entered the air. “Down!” Uris screamed, and immediately everypony threw themselves on the ground. Another deep rumble emanated through the cobblestone: that time, the impact had been far off.

“Back up!” Ramirez yelled, and instantly the ponies sprang back to their hooves.

“I say, how much further must we go?” Rarity moaned as they continued running. “I’m not entirely sure my nerves can take much more of those horrible whistles.”

“And why d’we need another Humvee, anyway?” Dash moped, sailing alongside everyone else. “They didn’t seem all that fast to me.”

“That was just when we were part of a convoy,” Uris said, grinning wildly as he strained to keep up. “You didn’t see one in overdrive!”

Another whistle drifted into the air. “Down!” Uris barked, and once again everyone ate dirt, hooves shielding their heads, as they’d been told.

“And up,” Ramirez sighed, sprinting alongside Uris. “Man, is it just me, or are those impacts getting more frequent?”

“Their artillery batteries are still setting up,” Uris grimaced. “We’re just getting a few batteries’ worth right now, but pretty soon, we could be lookin’ at a full on…”

The air filled with a whole mess of whistles, a series of explosions rumbling off in the distance.

“Aw, SHIT! BOMBARDMENT! KEEP MOVING!” He screamed, pouring all his remaining strength into his legs. The foot and hoofsteps echoed through the streets, only drowned out by the nearly-constant whistles and deep rumbles of impacts far off. Fluttershy suddenly stopped just ahead of the men, frozen in place with her back quivering in fear.

“Dammit all, girl,” Uris yelled, scooping her up without missing a step. “What’s with you?”

“I can’t,” she sobbed. “This is too much! We’re all gonna get hurt and…”

“Remember back in the Everfree Forest!?” He interrupted.

She looked up at him and nodded, her eyes wide.

“You came back for me! You could’ve just kept running, but…”

“No, that was my friends,” she said, staring at the ground shamefully. “Rainbow Dash was the one who realized you weren’t behind us, and even then, my friends had to talk me into giving you help.”

He looked at her in shock, but kept running. “Well, what did they say that convinced you!?”

“They-they reminded me that you were a creature in my care, and that you were in trouble. They-they knew I couldn’t…”

“Well, I’m in trouble now! We all are! I need your help again, just like back in the forest! Okay?” He summoned his best, most pleading tone: “Please, Fluttershy?”

Her eyes widened even further, pupils dilating in realization. “Mr. Uris, put me down!” She said in an unusually aggressive tone. He didn’t have to be told twice: he released her on the ground and she poured herself into a full gallop to catch up with her friends, allowing the humans to bring up the rear.

“Man, for a buncha little ponies, they can get heavy,” Uris moaned, shaking out his fingers as he ran.

“You should try carrying one while under heavy fire,” Ramirez grinned, and as he spoke, another series of whistles echoed through the sky.

“I think I’m about to!” Uris yelled, a shell impacting the apartment building just to their left, raining rubble down onto their heads. A purple hue surrounded the rubble, keeping it suspended until the group had run past before allowing it to crash to the ground behind them. “Thanks, Twilight!”

“Thank me when we’re at the rally point, and in one piece!” She shouted back, just as a massive chunk of brick and mortar landed in the street ahead of them. Without missing a beat, Applejack slid forward, twisted her body around in the perfect bucking position, letting loose with a mighty buck that pulverized the chunk, allowing everyone else to dash right through. All the while, Rainbow Dash seemed to be having the time of her life just over their heads, making an obstacle course out of the falling wood, brick and mortar.

“It’s like somebody built a level-9000 course for the Junior Speedsters!” She screamed in delight, barrel-rolling around a flying plank.

Just up ahead, the familiar, low-whistle sounded, and once again Twilight’s horn glowed with power. Sweat dripped off her brow as a little purple hue appeared in the skies above. “Aw, no way,” Ramirez gasped as another shell appeared out of the sky, its descent slowed to a crawl.

“Keep moving! I don’t know how long I can hold it!” The little unicorn screamed, sweat dripping off her forehead. Somehow, despite the fact that his legs were screaming in pain and his foot felt like it was about to snap off at his injured ankle, Uris managed to find a little burst of speed somewhere within his body and pour it on. He practically felt the wind off the shell as it sailed over his head in a long, elevated arch before blasting a crater in the street behind them. Almost immediately, a shiver travelled up Pinkie’s spine and he watched her shove Rarity out of the way of a brick flung by the explosion.

“Thank you, Pinkie sense!” The little earth pony said as she skipped alongside everypony else.

“This is insane!” Uris screamed. “They must have a whole damned company of artillery zeroed in on us!”

“Not us! Just the village! They’re firing blindly into the village, trying to freak us out!”

The moment Ramirez stopped talking, the small mom-and-pop store just ahead exploded with an earth-shattering thump, spraying shrapnel and broken glass everywhere. A magical shield managed to deflect the vast majority of it, though just barely: a massive two-by-four still shot over their heads, coming so close to Uris’s scalp that it sheared some of the hair off the back of his head. “IT’S WORKIIINNNGGG!” He cried, his body so filled with fear and adrenaline that he didn’t even notice the pain from his ankle or his over-exhausted legs anymore.

“Quit yer bitchin’, we’re almost there!” Ramirez screamed. Just ahead, Uris could see the familiar olive-drab green of army camouflage.

“Oh, thank you heavenly father and Lord Jesus!” He yelled, and then he noticed the massive craters smoldering all around the tent. He slowed his pace a little and muttered, “Oh shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“You see all those craters?” He asked, pointing at the blackened cobblestone all around them. “Does that look like somebody working on their aim, getting a little bit better each time?”

Ramirez scanned around wildly. “Aw, shit! They’re trying to hit the tent! They see the fucking army camo, and they’re shootin’ for it!”

“THEN QUIT YACKIN’ AND KEEP RUNNIN’! IF WE LOSE THAT HUMVEE, WE’RE SCREWED!” Rainbow Dash screeched, and for the first time that day, Uris had to agree with her.

“Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit…” He moaned as he pressed his body to the limit, practically soaring into the tent. Inside, soldiers ran around, hopping into vehicles and starting them up for the journey to the frontline. Just behind him, a Bradley APC roared to life and honked to get him out of the way, its truck horn blasting his eardrums out and drowning out the sound of another artillery impact in the streets just outside.

“There!” Ramirez gasped, pointing to a Humvee just about to pull out of the tent through the main exit. Immediately, the humans and the ponies ran out in front of it, their hands and hooves waving frantically.

“What the hell!?” The driver screamed as Uris limped up to his window. “I gotta get this thing to the frontlines, kid! There’s a fuckin’ war on!”

“Yeah, I do, buh-but…” Uris panted, out of breath.

“We’re here on official business from Captain Vance! It’s urgent!” Ramirez added desperately.

“Well,” the soldier glared at them. “I also have orders to get this Humvee to the front five minutes ago, and I can’t ignore those orders without a direct call from…”

“Will you cut the horseshit and give us the damned car already!?” Twilight barked in the driver’s face, pushing past the two humans. Dazed from being yelled at by a Technicolor unicorn, the driver slowly nodded and unlocked the door. “Thanks!” Ramirez added, pulling the driver out and piling in with Uris and Twilight, the rest of the Elements crowding into the back.

“PUNCH THAT SHIT!” Twilight shrieked, and out of instinct, Ramirez slammed the accelerator to the floor. Tires squealed on the dirt ground as just up ahead, right outside the tent, a building exploded from a direct hit, filling the street in front of them with flaming wood and shattered brick.

“Eh, fuck,” Ramirez grumbled as the tires gripped and the Humvee shot forward, heading right for the pile.

“What’re you doing!? Just go around!” Uris screamed.

“No time! We need to be moving now!” Ramirez yelled back, securing his seatbelt.

“Aw, shit! Buckle up, everypony!”

“Oh, this is gonna suck,” Rainbow mumbled, holding Fluttershy close as all six ponies buckled themselves in securely. The wall of rubble towered in their view, but Ramirez could already see the weak-point: a large pile of wood that might have once been a steeple, now a pile of flaming shards.

“Brace for impact!” Ramirez screamed. Next to him, Uris braced his arms against the sides of the Humvee, assuming the crash position that had been drilled endlessly into his mind in Basic. Behind him, the ponies held each other close, hoping and praying everything would turn out alright. The Humvee promptly smashed through the wood, tearing the flaming structure apart showering splinters and flickering embers around them as they rumbled along, the car’s only damage a busted headlight and dented hood.

“Fuck yeah! American engineering, right there! Right! Fucking! There!” Ramirez screamed, punctuating each word with a punch on the steering wheel.

“Oh thank you God,” Uris sighed, settling into his seat. A quick moment of relief washed over him before something dawned and stole it away. “Shit, y’know what?”

“What’s that?”

“We probably should’ve taken some ammo or somethin’ before we left the supply point.”

“Shit.”

“Alright, alright,” Uris leaned back and peeked at the six ponies huddled in the rear seat. “We gotta take an inventory of assets, and now!”

“Take a what-the-fuck? Man, do you fly-boys ever talk like normal people?” Ramirez grinned.

“Hey! Number one, fuck you, and number two, I’m just saying we gotta know what we got! So girls,” he turned back to the ponies. “You got anything back there with you?”

“Um…” Twilight looked around, eventually producing an M4 assault rifle, holding it clumsily in her hooves. “Does this help?”

“You bet your little purple ass it does!” He grinned, grabbing the weapon. “What else we got?”

“Just these round things!” Pinkie said gleefully, holding up a set of frag grenades.

“I found another of those things!” Rainbow said, another M4 in her hooves.

“Do these help?” Fluttershy asked, grabbing a few cartridges.

“I say, this looks a bit like your old weapon, doesn’t it?” Rarity said with another M1911 in her grip.

“Yes, yes, perfect!” Uris grabbed the gear and pulled it up with him. “We got some ‘nades, some rifles, a handgun…”

“Sweet,” Ramirez grinned. “Guess we’re not totally boned after all. Now, where’re we goin’?”

“I can tell you that,” Twilight said, hoofing the walkie talkie up to them. “Just grab on.”

“Okay,” Uris said, setting some of his weaponry down to take hold of the radio. “But who’m I calling to…”

Suddenly, he wasn’t in the Humvee anymore. He was hovering over a little farm, watching an older mare stare in shock at a shattered vase lying at the base of a window. After some time, a little filly walked in with a baseball bat in his hoof, looking guilty. The two talked for a little while, but eventually the mare nodded in understanding and patted the filly’s head.

And just as suddenly, Uris was back in the Humvee, gasping for air as if his head had been held underwater for the past few minutes. “…Uris! Man, what the hell!? You okay?” Ramirez screamed.

“Yeah, I...” the airman easily swallowed his bile, utilizing years of experience in the pilot’s seat to fight the sudden attack of motion sickness. “I’m fine. What happened?”

“You got all weird for a second there, like, your eyes glazed over and shit, like somebody in a trance!”

“What did you see!?” Twilight barked sternly.

“Wha…I don’t…”

“Whatever you saw is our clue to which Element is closest, now what did you see!?”

“I…” he swallowed again. “There was a kid horse…”

“Foal.”

“Whatever, one of those, and his ma or grandma or something. And…and it looked like he broke a vase, but I guess he fessed up to it, and the ma was okay with…”

“Honesty,” Applejack said flatly, tucking her mane into her hat and cracking the window. “Well girls, in case we don’t make it…”

Rainbow interrupted her with a jab to the shoulder. “Don’t even talk like that, alright? We’ll get through this just fine.”

“Uh…yeah, sure,” AJ said, cracking a smile so paper-thin that everypony could see through it almost instantly. “Ah just wanted y’all t’know it’s been incredible knowin’ y’all. See ya.” Waiting for Ramirez to slow down, she quickly cracked the Humvee’s door and tucked and rolled out, landing on her hooves with ease. She waved as the Humvee turned a corner and disappeared.

“One down, five t’go!” Ramirez sang as another bombardment landed nearby, the Humvee speeding through flying debris and rubble as the chaos of battle rumbled somewhere far-off.

“Great,” Uris grumbled.

Mars strode to the summit of the small hill, poking up ever so slightly over the top of the Everfree Forest. “Yeah, this spot’ll do,” he mumbled as he clapped his hands and slammed them against the ground. Immediately, a tall, ornate oak chair decorated in the wooden emblems of kingdoms past creaked into existence from the dirt itself, shimmering with red lightning as Mars willed it into existence.

“A suitable throne from which to gaze upon the dawn of my empire,” he said confidently as he seated himself, one leg crossing over the other. As much as he hated his father, he had to say he loved the old man’s taste in movies. Especially the villains. They were just so perfectly camp; he couldn’t help but emulate them.

“A little bit of barbarian warlord,” he said, looking down over himself. “Campy, but classic. I love it! And for refreshments…”

A glass grew from his fingers, the stem and rim growing from below and above his fingers. A few more thoughts and the glass filled itself. “A nice chianti,” he smiled, preparing to raise the glass to his lips.

“{SIR!}” A frantic voice interrupted him once more. It took all of Mars’s strength not to swipe the kid’s head off.

With the glass still mere centimeters from his lips, he asked: “{Yes, Lieutenant, what is it?}”

“{It’s the enemy, sir: our artillery couldn’t paralyze their motor assets in time. They have located the beings known as the ‘Elements of Harmony’ and are now on their way to locating the jewels needed to unlock their full powers!}”

“Magic,” Mars grumbled beneath his breath, his grip on the glass tensing. “I hate magic.”

“{Sir?}”

“{Lieutenant, I believe now is the time to utilize an asset I had saved for just this occasion.}" He leaned back in his seat, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "{Inform command to unleash the Nega-Six immediately.}”

Chapter XXXIII: Darkness Rising

“Gwah,” Uris gasped, panting as the vision left him. “O-okay, uh…some foals, they were all in a circle, some of them were unicorns, they were practicing…I dunno, a levitation spell?”

“And magic makes it all complete!” Twilight said. By now, Fluttershy and her were the only ones left in the back, and she promptly hugged her friend, gave her a few reassuring pats, and cracked a door open. “See ya, boys!” She cooed as she levitated gently to the sidewalk.

“Damn, when did the bookworm become a badass?” Ramirez wondered aloud, still keeping his eyes on the road.

“I dunno, maybe she’s just been soakin’ it up from…hold on a second…” Uris looked the SEAL over. “How didja know she was the bookworm of the group?”

“Uh…” Ramirez blushed lightly. “Well, probably the same way you knew. She just…comes off as that, is all.”

“Nuh-uh, you’ve only been with us for, like, a couple hours. I knew she was an egghead because I’ve spent a day with them, and she was the one who interrogated me. You couldn’t possibly know that much about their personalities in such a short amount of time unless…” his eyes widened, a grin spreading across his face.

“Don’t you say it,” Ramirez grumbled.

“You’re a brony!” Uris gasped, an almost fanatical look of joy in his eyes.

“No! I just like some of the fanart is all, and maybe…maybe…” he couldn’t even look at the pilot anymore, holding up his hand to avoid eye contact. “Maybe I like the comic books too.”

“Oh, shit! A Navy SEAL brony! This is…this whole thing is a pretty big deal to you, huh!?” Uris said, visibly overwhelmed.

“Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy asked, poking her head in between the two. “Wha-what are you guys talking about? What’s a brony?”

“I’ll explain later, so tell me,” Uris turned back to the SEAL with a smug grin on his lips. “Who is best pony?”

“Aw, fuck you man, I’m not that big a fan,” Ramirez replied, although for the quickest second, his eyes darted to the right at the little yellow pegasus squeezed in between them.

“Oh, no way,” Uris looked to Fluttershy, and back to Ramirez, his eyes darting between them as the grin just kept getting wider and wider. “Really!? Oh man, oh that’s just precious!”

“I know thirteen different ways to kill a man with one hand, and I only need my left to keep this thing on the road. Not. One. Fucking. Word.”

“I’m sorry, but what’s going on?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“Well,” Uris replied, ignoring the venom shooting from his human companion’s eyes as he put his feet up on the dash. “You see, our big, tough, ultra-manly SEAL here is…”

Suddenly, the world left him as he was once again pulled into a vision. When he came back, he turned to the little yellow pegasus in the back seat. The Humvee fell silent. “You’re up,” he said.

“Okay,” she swallowed nervously. “Okay, I-I’ll just…just…” another artillery impact demolished a storefront as they blew past; rocking the Humvee up on two wheels for the briefest moment before it came crashing back down on all fours. Fluttershy threw herself on the floor, shivering with her snout in her hooves.

“Shit, that was close! Fluttershy, you…uh…” Uris turned back to her, watching her little body shake from head to toe. “Okay,” he sighed, dropping the walkie and scooping up the pistol.

“What’re you doing!?” Ramirez screamed. “We gotta drop her off and get back to the front!”

“Look at her, man! Do you think she’s in any condition to head out there on her own!?”

“U-Uris…” the passenger’s side door cracked open. “Uris man, I don’t care if your dad’s the Captain, this is insubordination!”

“You can do way more good at the front than I ever could!” The pilot replied, scooping up the pegasus and bracing himself just inside the open door. “Retrieving the Elements is a support assignment: my territory!”

“Yeah, but still…dude, don’t leave, c’mon your dad’ll…”

“Good luck,” and with a last little smile, he hugged Fluttershy close and tucked and rolled out of the Humvee, landing right on the curb just outside.

“Goddammit, Uris!” Ramirez screamed, jacking the wheel to dodge another flying chunk of rubble. “Your dad’s gonna have my balls for this!”

Just behind the SEAL, with the Humvee tumbling off into the distance, the pilot rolled to a halt in the dust gathered in the gutter, the bundle in his arms still shivering. He stood, looked himself over, and was shocked at what he saw. His uniform was barely recognizable now. The camo green was covered in splotches of glitter and pink dye, as if he had rolled through the arts and crafts corner at a pre-school. The laces on his boots were frayed and on the verge of breaking, his pants covered in dust from the road and more pink crap from the forest. He smiled and shook his head. “I guess I can say Equestria’s really rubbed off on me.”

The bundle in his arms whimpered, and he stroked her mane. “Don’t worry, Flutters,” he mumbled as they walked into the ruined, gaping storefront closest to them. “I gotcha.”

Pinkie sped through the streets at a full gallop. Since being dropped off, she had instantly caught the smell of her Element, and now ducked into a small wheat silo (emptied earlier by marauding Ridchir soldiers) in hopes of getting closer. Inside was dark as night, the only light coming from the few scattered beams of moonlight peeking through the tiny, ragged holes in the roof. The few scattered stalks of grain The Ridchir had missed crunched beneath her hooves as she walked along the floor, looking around. She put her nose to the air and sniffed, closing her eyes as she tuned to her Pinkie Sense.

Small twinge in the right shoulder, minor ache in the center of forehead, little shake in the booty, she pondered, frowning. Her Element was close, but where? She scanned around again. It was probably someplace high up, judging by that shoulder twinge. Maybe just above, maybe even…

A small glint caught her eye somewhere on the roof, dangling from a rotted support rafter. “Found you!” She beamed, skipping happily towards the ladder, her hooves still crunching along the floor. Then she stopped. Her smile faded.

“I see,” she sighed. “Headache at the back of the skull, small twitch in the eye. There’s only one thing in all of creation that can do that.”

She looked around, a shadow darting out of sight in a darkened corner. She heard the sound of knives scraping together. “I knew this was inevitable,” she explained to her dark companion. “I knew someday, we would meet, and the only possible result for that would be bloodshed. Deep down, I always hoped this confrontation wouldn’t need to happen, but I guess it truly was inevitable. Tell me, have you felt the same way? Did you feel this day coming, too?”

A loud thump sounded behind her: hooves on wood, followed by the sound of a pair of knives being removed from their sheaths. “Hello, Pinkamena,” Pinkie said before deftly cartwheeling away, narrowly dodging a pair of kitchen knives as they sliced the air behind her. The Element of Laughter turned and stood her ground as a figure advanced from the shadows: one with perfectly straight hair, an odd gown, a blade in each hand, and a look of pure insanity on her face.

In disgust, Pinkie backed away at the sight of the dress covering the figure’s body, made from the skinned cutie marks of at least a dozen ponies all sewn together like a macabre fabric. Right across the chest, featured prominently like a badge of honor, was the newest addition: a lightning bolt breaking from a rainbow cloud, set against a cyan background.

“Pinkie, dearest,” the figure cooed, grinning with a face almost like her own but wearing a cold, insane grin that nearly made her heart stop with fear. “I didn’t just know this day was coming, I was living for it!”

Mars blinked, watching the Element of Laughter as she backflipped away from the machete her double savagely struck with. “Impressive,” he muttered, though he couldn’t say the same for the pink mare’s friends. He blinked again, the images streaming to him from the satellite placed high in Equestrian orbit flashing by. Here, the Element of Honesty fought a discorded version of herself with a streamlined body and crab-like forelegs. There, Generosity backed into an alleyway, stalked by her double with a bullwhip in her hoof and a strange set of scars down the side of her face. Next, the Element of Loyalty swooped through the sky, dodging a series of rainbow blasts from a doppelganger who was screaming rabid nonsense about her prey making the most beautiful rainbows once she was “processed.” He carried on with Magic, who by now was standing in fear, jaw agape and head shaking as if she couldn’t even believe that she was looking at her own face, twisted into an insane grin. Covered in blood, Twilight’s copy pulled out a set of electrodes and mumbled something about “advancing science.” He blinked one last time and finally, there was Kindness, carried in the arms of some human scumbag, not even knowing that two sets of eyes were watching them intently.

He grimaced at that. A human wasn’t supposed to be in the mix, these battles were scripted for the ponies alone! “Minor setback,” he mumbled, leaning back in his chair and sipping at his Chianti, only to grimace again at the taste. It was a bit drier than he was used to, but then, he just couldn’t resist the Lecter reference, could he? Pouring a bit of the wine out over the ground, Mars pressed his finger to his ear.

“{Yes?}” A voice crackled back to him through the little receiver in his earlobe.

“{Sturmgewehr One, this is the Eagle’s Nest,}” he replied. “{You are to abandon your current objectives and divert to Point Gestalt. There, you are to intercept a single hostile on foot carrying a small, daisy-yellow pegasus and ensure that he is incapacitated in any way, shape, or form you see fit.}”

“{Roger that, sir, and the pegasus?}”

“{Allow her to continue on her way,}” he replied, keeping his eyes on the satellite feed and focused on the human and the little yellow pony. “{There’s something I wish to see; an experiment, if you will.}”

“{Roger, Sturmgewehr out,}” the voice clicked off, and Mars smiled, raising his wine glass.

“The darkest sides of each of the Elements of Harmony, summoned from the deepest corners of the metaverse to do battle with their gentler halves,” he sipped again, and this time he grinned. “Your move, ‘father’.”

Author's Note

I'll go over each of the darker halves as they pop up. Don't worry: I'm not here to steal anybody's OCs.

Pinkamena is from the fanfic "Cupcakes," by Sergeant Sprinkles

Chapter XXXIV: Magic, Generosity, and Honesty

Uris limped as fast as he could, his already-exhausted legs screaming in pain. He hadn’t run this much since Basic, and even then he’d at least gotten an edible meal every once in a while! Barely edible, really, but a whole helluva lot better than the hay soup sitting in the pit of his stomach right now. In one arm, he held Fluttershy, while his other juggled the pistol, trying to keep from dropping it. She squeaked in fear with each fresh impact that rumbled through the city, the sounds of battle somewhere far off obviously alien to her ears.

“I’m right here,” he whispered, allowing her hooves to wrap around his neck. “C’mon, Flutters. We needja again.”

She shook her head, her eyes closed, her lips pursed in fear.

“Do I hafta remind you of the forest again? Come on. I really need your help.”

“Need my…” her eyes cracked open ever so slightly, her voice shaking with fear as she asked: “What do you need from me?”

“I need you to tell me exactly where we need to go. All I know is that the Element of Kindness is somewhere around here, but you’re the one who’s in tune with it. You’re the one who needs to guide us the rest of the way.”

She nodded and closed her eyes again. A few moments later, they reopened. “There,” she said plainly, pointing to a vacant, yet somehow intact, house.

“Okay,” he replied, strolling up to the quaint little structure and trying the doorknob. “Aw damn, I’m sorry, I think it’s…”

Fluttershy didn’t have to hear the rest. She slowly hovered out of his arms and flapped to the ground, her eyes scanning a pile of rocks set up right next to the house’s doorstep. She smiled: one of the rocks was obviously sticking up at a strange angle, as if it were resting on something. She snatched the stone up in her hooves. “I think this’ll work,” she said, feeling around for the spare key she knew most ponies kept in hiding spots near their doors.

“Say no more,” Uris said, grinning as he snatched the stone away and promptly whipped it through the window next to the door, shattering it. As she stared in shock, the pilot brushed aside a bit of the broken glass and reached through, using his longer human arm to reach the door and undo its lock.

Satisfied, the pilot pulled the door open and beckoned her forward. “After you,” he said in his most gentlemanly tone possible.

The pegasus stared, mouth agape, at the shattered window. Then, she took a look around at the ruined village: at the shattered store fronts and pillars of smoke rising into the night sky and piles of rubble that used to be buildings, and she figured, eh, this was pretty far from the worst that could happen to somepony’s home. Smiling gratefully, she nodded and trotted over the foyer, suddenly not feeling so afraid of the darkness inside.

. Wearing a similar smile, the pilot took a step to follow, only to pause just inside the darkened hallway. A chill travelled up the back of his neck that caused his hand to snatch his pistol from its holster and twist around, eyes scouring every nook and cranny he could see. Fluttershy paused and turned back to him. “Uris?”

“Hold on,” he muttered, taking a few tentative steps out. “Something’s not…”

A crack sounded, and his leg was knocked right out from beneath him. The pilot hit the floor and immediately tumbled off his shoulder, rolling to safety behind the doorframe. “Uris!” Fluttershy screeched, starting to gallop his way.

“NO! Stay there!” He screamed. “Find the Element! It’s our only chance!”

“Buh-but,” she blubbered fearfully, turning back to the darkness in the hallway behind her.

“Don’t think, just go! We’re all counting on you!” Still, the pegasus stood there, eyeing the splotch of blood spreading across his knee. “I’ll be fine, really! Humans are tough like that! Now get moving!”

The pilot fired a few quick shots into the ceiling, and that finally spurred the pegasus into motion, galloping off into the dark. He sighed and finally surveyed the damage done to his knee, only to realize it was the same exact leg that still had a piece of twig embedded in the ankle from earlier that day. “Eh,” he shrugged. “That leg was fucked up anyway. I’ve been getting along fine as it is.”

Slowly, he pressed himself against the doorframe and began applying a tourniquet to the wound. “Alright, you sonofabitch,” he grumbled, keeping one hand on the pistol. “Let’s see if I can pay you back for my knee, hmm? And while I’m at it, maybe I’ll collect for my ankle too.”

“SOMEPONY HELP MEEE!” Rarity screeched, casting a look over her shoulder. The crack of the whip in her pursuer’s hooves stalked her through the streets of Coltton, her cackle echoing off the alleyways.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, my little pony!” The voice cackled, shaking with instability as its owner dashed along on two hooves. “Mommy just wants to show you something!”

“You’ve nothing to show me, brute!” Rarity gasped, trying to suppress her tears. The scratches on her double’s face…they only could have come from one place. Anypony who could provoke Opal to such a terrible attack must be insane, she thought, shuddering to think what that provocation might have been.

She rounded a corner, her Element all but forgotten at the back of her mind. All that mattered now was putting as many hoofsteps, streets, and hopefully, cities between her and the insane, bipedal unicorn chasing her. Squeezing her eyes shut to hold back the fear-filled tears, she almost didn’t notice the purple unicorn running in the opposite direction until she plowed face-first into her. “Wha-TWILIGHT!” She gasped as she opened her eyes, ignoring the stars hovering in them from the blow.

“Ugh-Rarity?” Twilight scraped herself off the ground, and immediately her face lit up with glee at her friend. “Rarity, thank goodness it’s you! There’s something chasing me!”

“Oohhh, let me guess, some dark and horrifically twisted version of yourself with an obviously terrible past and a personality with all your worst traits amplified to insanity?”

Twilight blinked. “Yes, exactly. How did you…”

“OH LITTLE RARITY!” A voice cackled from around the corner. “Come now, I just want to teach you how wonderful it is to bleed!”

“Let’s just say I know the feeling,” the Element of Generosity shivered, hugging her friend close.

“Miss Twilight!” Another terrible voice rang in the night. Rarity looked over her friend’s shoulder to see yet another copy of her, clad in a red-stained lab coat and wielding a set of electrodes. “Come now! I just wish to know what makes you tick! Surely you can respect that as a fellow mare of science!”

“I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!” Twilight shrieked, holding her friend close as she shivered and sobbed. “Oh gosh, this is so terrible.”

“I wonder if the other girls have had to face something like this?” Rarity wondered aloud as their darker halves came into view. “Oh, our poor friends, what terrors must they face?”

Suddenly, just as the doubles began to close in on their prey, a deep rumble sounded from the building next to them. All four sets of eyes turned upwards, and then the four jaws they were attached to dropped as a massive, snake-like creature descended from the rooftops. Snarling, the thing flopped into the street, propelled along by a pair of massive, crab-like talons. The thing bucked once or twice as it landed, skittering along.

“Fascinating,” Twilight’s double said. “I must have it for my dissection table!”

“I wonder if it has any tentacles,” the Rarity double wondered aloud.

“Hey, is that a…ponytail?” Twilight asked as she got a clear view of the thing’s head.

“Yes, it is,” Rarity added, still dumbfounded. “And are those freckles?”

“Yes, they are,” Twilight said. “So does that mean that thing is the evil version of…”

“Applejack!? No, pish-posh, that’s just too…ridiculous.” Rarity said, shaking her head. “And even if it was, where’s…”

Her question was answered an instant later when the creature shifted in its thrashing about, glaring at a small lump on its back. All four jaws hit the ground once again at the sight of a certain orange earth-pony, her hat clenched in one hoof as she rode her doppelganger. “YEE-HAW! Ride ‘em cowpony!” She hollered gleefully, the snake-thing under her hooves frothing with rage. “Now c’mon, girl! Ah know you got more ‘an that in ya!”

“Awesome.” Twilight’s double said.

“I have never wanted to fuck somepony more than I do right now.” Rarity’s double said, her original so stunned that she never even bothered to scold her for being so uncouth.

As the four watched, Applejack rode the massive writhing thing along the streets, holding on as it shook its head violently back and forth. Finally, in an act of frustration, the Apple-snake reared up and dove towards a building, hoping to shake the little pony off with some shattered glass. “An’ that just means the ride’s over,” AJ grinned as she tumbled off the snake, a wide grin on her face. The Apple-snake realized only too late what had happened and tried to pull up, but by then its momentum was already carrying it through the plate glass window of the nearest storefront, shattering it into a thousand shards. The snake roared, its voice rumbling in everypony’s chest as the glass sliced into its flesh. Meanwhile, the original Applejack had time to replace her hat on her head and tumble in mid-air to land at her friends’ hooves, pulling off a little bow as she skid to a stop.

“Thank yew, thank yew, Ah’m here all night,” she said confidently, her eyes opening. “Woah. Hey Twi and Rares an’…Twi an’ Rares. What?”

“That was incredible!” Twilight’s double gasped.

“A true demonstration of marehood!” Rarity’s added.

“Well, thank ya kindly,” Applejack replied, a bit put-off by the way the two new ponies seemed to be ogling her like a manticore viewing a side of meat. She took a few uneasy steps back. “But really, wasn’t nothin’ special.”

“Oh no, it was very special! In fact,” the Twi-double said, advancing as sparks flew from the electrodes in her hooves. “I simply MUST know how you did it.”

“Oh, you can have your fun once I’m done with her, Twi,” the Rare-double said, cracking the whip in her hooves against the sidewalk. “This one could last me for months with her stamina!”

“Never!” Twilight and Rarity yelled in syncopation. They leapt between the mad ponies and their friend, horns sparking with power.

“If you want our friend…” Twilight said, her eyes blazing.

“…you’ll have to go through us first.” Rarity finished sternly.

The doppelgangers looked at each other. “Okay,” they shrugged, advancing with their weapons at the ready. The trio of ponies backed away.

“Guys, who in the hay are these ponies?” AJ whispered to her friends as they backed into the street.

“They’re us,” Twilight said. “But…wrong. Discorded, almost.”

“But not even Discord could dream these ponies up,” Rarity said.

“Aw heck, Ah think we can take ‘em!” AJ said, ready to vault over her friends and launch herself at the doubles. However, a massive roar and a deep, rumbling thud interrupted her. They looked up as the Apple-crab-snake thing skittered into view along the building behind their double’s heads, hissing at them angrily to expose its teeth. It landed with an Earth-shattering thud that cracked the cement beneath its body, coiling itself around all four ponies before rearing up high over their heads, standing at the doppelgangers’ backs with its claws ready. The doubles grinned wickedly and advanced.

“And now?” Twilight asked, backing up until her flank met the tattered, patchy, orange coat of the Apple-snake.

“Not gonna lie, we might be a teeny bit outmatched,” Applejack said, pulling the brim of her hat low.

“Ohh, this is gonna be fun,” the Rari-double said.

“Science is always fun,” the Twi-double added.

The Apple-snake cackled wickedly with a voice that was a terrible mix of a roar, a maniacal laugh, and a low hiss.

“Don’t suppose we could get lucky twice in one night and be saved by a distraction yet again?” Twilight asked.

“Oh come now, Twilight, what are the odds of that?” Rarity asked.

A split-second later, a loud series of cracks sounded. The Apple-snake bucked to the side, roaring with fury as even more blood and holes joined the shards embedded in its face. Its body uncoiled around the mares as it fell to the ground, its claws scratching furiously at its head.

“Nononononono…” the doubles gasped as the snake came down right on top of them, the other
three ponies just narrowly missing its jaw as it smashed into the ground. The trio looked at the snake in awe, blood gushing from its head.

“Is it…” AJ started.

Twilight stepped forward and poked the thing. Its tongue rolled out comically. She had to stifle a giggle: she half-expected X’s to appear over its eyes! “No,” she said in relief, “But it is very stunned. I doubt it’ll be getting up anytime soon.”

“Nor will our doubles,” Rarity added with a shiver. “And thank heavens for that!”

“Am Ah the only pony that’s wonderin’ what just saved our flanks?”

The trio all immediately turned to the side as a familiar vehicle rolled up into view. Ramirez poked his head out the driver’s window, grinning. “Somebody call for an ass whuppin’?” He asked.

“Ramirez!” Twilight gasped, dashing to the car. “But…how?”

“This is how,” he replied, reaching up to pat the heavy machine gun bolted to the vehicle’s roof. “Girls: this is the Browning M2HB heavy machine gun, capable of firing a fifty-caliber BMG cartridge at an effective range of over 2000 yards, sending it out with a muzzle velocity of over nine-hundred feet per second with a cyclical rate of fire of around five-hundred rounds a minute.”

“Fascinatin’,” AJ said sarcastically. “An’ that all means?”

“It fucks shit up but fast.”

“Well, why didntcha say so!?” She said cheerfully, trotting up to join him in the vehicle.

“I say, we don’t seem to be far from our Elements.” Rarity said as she and Twilight trotted up to them.

“Got mine right here,” AJ said, pulling the little necklace out of her coat.

“Well, I guess we’re gonna do what we should’ve done in the first place,” Ramirez grinned as his foot readied to floor it. “Let’s go get us some Elements!”

====================================================================

I'm gonna go through each of the Elements, don't worry! And I'll make sure y'all know where their darker halves came from. WARNING: The following references and links might contain graphic content. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

Pinkamena: "Cupcakes" by Sergeant Sprinkles. C'mon, you had to have known that one!

Rarity: "Little Miss Rarity," http://lilmissrarity.com/

Twilight: "The Experiments of Twilight Sparkle," by smawzyv

Applejack: "Cutie Mark Crusaders 10K," http://gatesmccloud.deviantart.com/art/The-Chaos-Lords-366525052?q=gallery%3AGatesMcCloud%2F36329889&qo=52

Of course, this still leaves Rainbow and Fluttershy. Don't worry, we'll be getting to them soon enough.

Chapter XXXV: Loyalty

Rainbow Dash shook her head, reeling from the blow her enemy had dealt her. Taking a moment to rest inside her cloud, she gazed out at her “other.” The other Dash swooped about, scouring the skies for her. The original Dash wrapped the cloud around her body in the hopes of hiding, sighing as she watched. “Just what are you?” She mumbled under her breath as the evil version of herself alighted on a cloud below her. “Some kinda messed up version of me?”

“Maybe, but I do have fantastic hearing,” the other Rainbow replied, looking up at her with a sadistic grin on her face.

“Oh shi-“

The dark Dash rocketed up at her, a streak of rainbow in the night sky. Rainbow barely had enough time to dodge as her double punched through her cloud, scattering it as she landed on another. “So what are ya, huh?” The original screamed. “Some kinda clone?”

“Oh please, I’m so much more than a cheap copy,” the double replied. “I’m you as you were meant to be.”

“Then why fight for those jerks, huh?” Rainbow pointed at her Element, shimmering in a cloud over her head. “Why did you attack me when I went for my Element?”

“Oh, it’s easy enough,” her double scoffed. “Let’s just say we have a lot in common, they and I.”

“’They and I?’ Dear sweet Celestia, you’re actually trying to talk like a supervillain in a bad action movie, aren’t you?”

Snarling, her double charged, but in her anger missed the regular Dash by a mile, who replied with a spinning hoof kick to the jaw. Rainbow pounced instantly, her wings slicing through the air like hot knives through butter, only to have her double dodge and clock her against the back of the head with a punch from one of her forelegs.

“You are going to make a magnificent rainbow,” the double cooed as she leapt out of reach of Rainbow’s counter.

“Just what in the hay are you talking about?” Rainbow asked, rubbing at the sore spot on the back of her head.

“Ohhh…remember when that doctor in Canterlot asked you to destroy that formula because it could be used to convert ponies into rainbow energy?”

“I…” Rainbow gasped, surprised at anypony knowing one of her most well-guarded secrets, even her double. “Yeah, alright, I remember. I also remember throwing those notes into the heart of a volcano and helping him trash his lab.”

“Well,” her double grinned. “Let’s just say I managed to find a use for it. After all, that class of pegasi at the Flight Academy had such disappointing test scores, and we were running so very low on rainbow energy that year, weren’t we?”

“Yes…” Rainbow said uneasily, not liking where the conversation was going.

“So I just figured the formula offered a way to kill two birds with one stone.” Her double shrugged.

Rainbow gasped, instantly realizing what her double was implying. The idea had popped into her head while flying to the volcano with the formula in hoof, but she shrugged it off as a cruel joke from her subconscious! But this Dash…this Dash had…had…

“MONSTER!” She screamed, charging.

The doppelganger smirked and dodged, now having the upper hoof Rainbow had possessed just moments ago. “Now, I’m not saying it was easy,” she sighed, pounding her hoof against the cyan pegasus’ face. “Sure, there was opposition to it at first, but a few assassinations later and the rest of Cloudsdale’s government fell in line real quick. Oh, but I’ll never forget the look on Scootaloo’s face when she saw she’d failed her flight exam…”

The original Dash turned to her, eyes widening. “It was such a shame too, she had so much potential.” The doppelganger sighed. “Oh well: she did make quite a beautiful rainbow.”

“RRRAAAGGGHH!” Rainbow charged again, eyes blazing with fury. Her double snickered and rocketed out of the way with a speed the original knew all too well, swooping overhead and bringing her hooves down against Rainbow’s body. The pair plummeted out of the sky, the ground rushing up to meet the original Dash. Thinking quickly, she flapped her wings at the last moment, not enough to spare her completely, but enough to soften the blow.

Rainbow screeched in agony as the hit dislocated her shoulder. She laid there in pain, clutching the injured limb, her wings fanning out behind her body. The double took a few steps back, glaring down at her. “You could’ve been so much more,” she sighed disappointedly.

“Buck you,” Dash hissed. It wasn’t one of her more clever comebacks, but between the pain in her shoulder and the realization that her friends would never be able to use the Elements without her and that they would all probably get butchered without their power, she just couldn’t find anything better.

Without another word, the double pressed a hoof against Rainbow’s throat, slowly squeezing the air from her lungs, her dead eyes gazing into the original’s vibrant pink orbs. Rainbow gasped and choked, struggling to regain some kind of hoofing, but her double anticipated her every move, blocking every strike and dodging every attempt to escape, keeping Dash pinned. They would be equals in battle on the best of days, but now with her shoulder, Dash realized she didn’t stand a chance.

Guys… she thought, tears running from her eyes, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t strong enough.

“Whatsamatter, Dashie?” Her double taunted, the sadistic grin reappearing on her face. “The magic of friendship not enough to save you?”

Suddenly, a roar off to the side caught the double’s attention, a pair of headlights appearing nearby, blinding her. The screech of tires filled the air as the Humvee shot forward, making its way towards the pair. The double made a break for it, trying to dodge, but one of the original’s hooves wrapped around her tail, tugging her right into the path of the oncoming vehicle’s grill. Rainbow kept herself low, allowing the Humvee to pass right over her while a dull, sickening thud sounded just a few feet away. The car screeched to a stop just a few feet after passing Dash by, leaving her lying there, stunned. She looked up at the sound of one of the Humvee’s doors opening and slamming shut, a familiar human running up to her in a panic, trailed by three ponies.

“Rainbow!” Ramirez screamed, grabbing her. “Oh my God, I killed Rainbow Dash! I killed the most awesome pegasus ever!”

“Momentarily stunned the most awesome pegasus ever,” she corrected him with a wink. “And thanks.”

“Oh,” he gasped as Twilight pulled her friend in for a hug. “Oh thank God. Oh man, that would’ve been so awkward to explain at Trot-Con…”

“Watch the shoulder, watch the shoulder!” She winced. “I think I dislocated it!”

“Heavens above!” Rarity said.

“What’re we s’posed t’do?” Applejack said.

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied, pulling out of her friend’s grip and limping over to the Humvee. Before anyone could react, she started slamming her shoulder against one of the doors, only stopping at the sound of a loud crack. “There we go!” She said happily, flexing the muscle.

The four looked at her, eyes wide. “I-I could’ve just used my magic…” Twilight said.

“Like I said, don’t worry ‘bout it. I popped that same shoulder out of place third year of Flight School,” she shrugged.

Ramirez grinned, rubbing at the back of his head. “Holy crap, Equestria’s most awesome pegasus found a way to become 120% cooler.”

Amidst their reunion, somepony coughed. All five turned to see the doppelganger trying to pick herself up, only to collapse onto the ground with every attempt. Without thinking, they rushed to her side, looking her over. “Is she…” Rarity started.

“She’s hurt real bad,” the SEAL sighed, calling upon what little triage training he had. “Especially in the left wing.”

Dash looked the pegasus over and cringed. As bumped up and bruised as the rest of her body was, the wing was obviously the worst off. Small, splintered fragments of bone poked out of the blood-soaked mass of feathers, which hung limply over her body like a blanket. “Her wing must have taken the full force of the blow,” Twilight said, studying the pegasus dutifully.

“Can ya fix ‘er, Twi?” AJ asked.

“Why bother?” Dash said coldly. The other ponies turned to her. “What? I’m just saying: she’s the one who attacked me! And she said some things, too. Some…really bad things.” The pegasus shivered.

“Dash, we are well aware of the whole ‘clone’ problem we’re having,” Rarity said, wincing slightly. “We’ve all had to deal with our own…darker halves.”

“Well, Ah had t’deal with a weird snake thing what sorta looked like me. That maght be different,” AJ shrugged.

“I think what Rarity’s trying to say is that we’ve all had to face some terrible sides of ourselves tonight,” Twilight interrupted. “But we can’t let that get to us. After all: isn’t that what makes us better than them?”

Rainbow grumbled as she took off into the sky to retrieve her Element. “Whatever. I’ll meetcha guys back at the Humvee.”

Twilight sighed and turned to the broken pegasus at her hooves. “There isn’t much I can do for her anyway, except make her a bit more comfortable.” Her horn glowed as she spoke, the pegasus sighing with relief as a bit of the pain was magically lifted away. “But even if I did have more medical training, I think it’d be easy to say the wing might never heal right.”

The pegasus in her grasp tried to lift her head, only to let it come crashing back down again. “No,” she whimpered, curling up into a little, bloody mess of blood and feathers. “No…”

“C’mon girls, we can’t do anything here,” Twilight added, levitating the pegasus into a little corner of the alley as Ramirez rushed back to the Humvee for an emergency blanket. “She should be alright here for now: it looks like most of the bleeding has stopped, and as it is, I don’t want to move her more than we have to. She should be safe until this is all over. We can decide what to do with her then.”

The other mares nodded as Ramirez wrapped the bundle into a blanket and left it on the curb. With a last, concerned look over their shoulders, the group joined their friend in the Humvee and took off; ready to confront whatever dangers remained. Shivering against the cold night, the owner of the Rainbow Factory peered up at the moon, eyes filling with tears. “Can’t fly…weakling…” she mumbled before sobbing into her blanket.

Mars watched the crying pegasus from his perch, his hands tensing over the wine glass. He stopped just as a hairline fracture appeared in its surface. Sighing, he traced a finger over the fracture, watching it reseal itself into a perfectly cohesive piece of glass.

“Five down, one to go,” he mumbled, then grinned as he blinked. A little yellow splotch appeared before him, bobbing about in a darkened room. Cursing himself for not adding some sort of IR vision to the satellite, he settled in his chair, one leg crossed over the other. “Aw well: I’m sure this little pony won’t fail. Her opponent is such a little weakling, after all.”

Rainbow Dash's evil persona: "The Rainbow Factory," by AuroraDawn.

Chapter XXXVI: Kindness

The Element of Kindness galloped into the darkness in a full panic, knocking over a bureau and shattering a teapot in her fear. “I can’t!” She whimpered once again, stumbling around until she bumped against a coffee table, upending it. Shaking in fear, Fluttershy curled up into a little ball on the floor of what she assumed to be the kitchen, hooves over her eyes. “It’s too much! It’s too…oh Celestia, I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry.”

The little pegasus sobbed into her hooves, more of those terrible gunshots echoing in her ears from the front door. Here, all these ponies and all these humans were fighting and dying for her, and all she could do was sit and cry! It was pathetic. She was pathetic. Oh, why did she have to bear the Element of Kindness!? Why couldn’t fate find someone better, somepony braver, somepony who didn’t turn into a useless, quivering mass of pitiful goo every time something…

A hum filled her ears, like a tuning fork when it was smacked against a table. Slowly, Fluttershy pulled her face out of her hooves and looked around fearfully, wiping tears from her eyes. A small glow emanated from someplace, inviting her forward. It was strange: normally, a strange glow in the middle of a dark place might scare her even more, but this glow seemed to be calling her. Not with words, per se, but with a sort of pleading look, like a wounded bird on the side of the road would. Or even like…like…

Like Uris looked when I first saw him, she realized, and immediately she rushed forward, hoof reaching out to nearly tear the door off the cabinet. And that was it. There was her Element, dangling there between a colander and a frying pan.

“You,” she gasped in realization. “You knew I was scared, didn’t you? And-and you were trying to make me feel better?”

The little amulet’s glow simply dimmed. Fluttershy smiled. That was as good as an emphatic “yes” for her. She reached a hoof out, ready to take her Element up and assume the role every pony needed from her so desperately.

Suddenly, something smashed against the side of her face, nearly knocking her out cold. Her head spinning, Fluttershy squinted into the dark to see what had hit her. A pony advanced from the dark, a cold look gazing back at the little pegasus. It sent shivers up her spine. “Wha-who are you?” She asked, voice shaking.

“You mean you don’t recognize me?” The pony asked, its rage-filled eyes regarding her like a manticore might look at a steak dinner. “You little wimp, after all I’ve done for you, you seriously don’t recognize me? Even after years of seeing me in the mirror!?”

“Nuh-no,” Fluttershy gasped, backing away from that terrible, dark gaze. They were the same eyes that had looked back at her from her mirror so very long ago, before she met her friends, back in the flight academy, when sometimes the bullies just got to be too much and she ran crying to her room. On those nights, something mean would sometimes look back at her from the mirror as strange and terrible thoughts played out in her mind, terrifying her to this day. “No! Y-you aren’t real! You can’t be!”

“Oh, I’m very real, weakling,” the pony lashed out with a hoof across Fluttershy’s jaw. “You can’t deny it anymore! I am the ‘you’ that can stand up against cockatrices! I am the ‘you’ that can stare a manticore into submission! And you…”

The pony stepped forward into a shaft of moonlight, shining through a tiny crack in the curtains over the window. Fluttershy’s eyes squeezed tight. She didn’t have to look to know her own face would be staring back, its pink mane torn and ragged, its eyes filled with loathing for a world that had rejected her, and the soul behind it consumed with a hatred that blazed for everypony around her.

“…You are nothing,” the other Fluttershy said. “A version of me that never realized what a waste of time caring for everypony else was, especially when all they do is walk all over you.”

“Tha-that’s not true!” Fluttershy gasped, her eyes still closed. “My friends…”

A hoof lashed out across her face. “Look at me when I’m fucking talkin’ at you, ya puss!” A voice, once melodic and sweet but now torn ragged, screamed at the Element of Kindness. Slowly, without wanting to, Fluttershy obeyed, instantly taking a full blast of her own “Stare.” Gasping, she dropped to the floor, quivering.

“Pathetic,” the doppelganger muttered. “Lemme tell you a little something about ‘friends.’ They have their limits. They have a point where they will just turn around and say ‘no,’ where they’ll abandon you in an hour of need because it’s just too damn hard.”

“No…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“YES!” A hoof smacked her across her face again. “You know it’s true! Deep down, you have a voice telling you just that! And the sooner you face up and just accept it, the better!”

Fluttershy just kept whimpering through the barrage. Her double gave an exasperated sigh. “I should’ve known,” she mumbled. “You’re just too far gone. Too weak to understand.”

“Too…weak…” Fluttershy mumbled. It was true. All of it. She was always the weakest of the group, always the…the…

A small glow from the cabinet illuminated the tiny kitchen. She paused to look at it. “Buh?”

Her doppelganger followed her gaze in confusion. “What the hell’s…”

Memories flashed by Fluttershy’s eyes: picking up Uris in the Everfree forest, pulling herself out from underneath the bed when he’d woken up and started panicking, dashing after him without a single thought once she saw his bed was empty, returning with her friends when he’d fallen behind during the run from the enemy troops, standing up to that nasty human after Twilight had teleported them all, setting her own exhaustion aside to help some ponies in need during a crisis.

Suddenly, Fluttershy wasn’t so afraid anymore. She stood.

“Bitch,” her double snarled, raising a hoof. “Did I say you could…”

She paused as Fluttershy’s own hoof lashed out, blocking the smack. The double looked back at her in surprise. “You think I’m weak just because I don’t act like a total jerk to everypony I meet?” The Element of Kindness said, the beginnings of anger starting to edge into her voice. “Bitch, I WILL FUCKING END YOU!”

Tossing her mane aside, the Element of Kindness blasted her double with the greatest, most powerful Stare she had ever mustered in her life. Backing away in surprise, the double snarled and regained her hoofing. “BRING IT!” She screamed, returning the stare. The two looked full-on into one another’s eyes, neither giving ground, neither backing down, but even with her newfound courage, Fluttershy still couldn’t quite win. This dark Fluttershy had years of pain and hurt to draw upon, which she poured into her Stare. It took all of Fluttershy’s memories from a lifetime of friendship to keep that darkness at bay. That’s not to say she was losing either, but after five minutes, neither had gained an edge over the other. They were locked in an absolutely perfect stalemate, and in fact they might still be standing there today if not for outside intervention in the form of a large burst of confetti and streamers.

“Wha…” the Flutter-double gasped, momentarily distracted. It gave Fluttershy the opening she needed to step in with one last blast from the Stare. It was all over after that. The double’s defenses shattered and burned instantly in the face of the bombardment, years of crusty cynicism and self-loathing melting away and leaving a quivering, broken mass of a pony curled up on the kitchen floor, crying softly to herself.

Fluttershy stepped back and nearly collapsed with exhaustion, but a hoof was there to keep her up. She looked up into her savior’s face. “P-Pinkie?”

“You were expecting Mila Kunis?” The party mare replied, a massive grin on her face and the Element of Laughter locked securely around her neck.

“Oh, thank Celestia!” Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around her friend, who smiled and squeezed tight as she led them away towards the front hall.

“C’mon, our friends are all waiting for us, I’m sure of it!” Pinkie sang as she skipped along.

“Okay, I can’t wait to…wait,” Fluttershy paused. “Ohmygosh, I can’t believe I almost forgot my Element!” She turned to rush back into the kitchen.

“Hurry up!” Pinkie yelled. “We don’t wanna miss the whole battle, do we!?”

Fluttershy simply dashed back and grabbed her Element, never even giving the darkness around her a second thought. As she turned to leave, her hoof brushed against something. She looked down, realizing her doppelganger had a hoof wrapped around her own.

Looking back to her friend, the Element of Kindness instantly realized there was only one thing she could possibly do. She curled up next to her double and started stroking her mane. “There, there…” she cooed softly. “You did your best, that’s all that matters.”

“Sh-shut up,” her double sobbed, but didn’t pull away as the yellow pegasus continued to hold her, stroking her mane with the gentlest touch she could muster.

“Fluttershy?” Pinkie appeared at the doorway, nearly taken aback at what she saw. The Element of Kindness looked up at her.

“She needs my help,” she said plainly.

Pinkie smiled and shook her head, knowing full well that it was impossible to talk her friend out of helping somepony in need. “Well, I’m sorry Fluttershy, but there are a lot of ponies and humans out there who need your help even more. So c’mon: I promise we’ll come back for her later.”

Nodding, the little yellow pegasus stood, whispering: “I’ll be right back,” to her double. Her double didn’t respond, but kept shivering where she lay. Eventually, the little yellow pegasus trotted to her friend and the pair set off towards the front of the house.

“By the way,” Fluttershy asked after a short while had passed. “Did you have to fight your double too?”

“Y-yeah,” Pinkie replied, her perky demeanor shaking for a split-second before popping right back. “It’s nothing we should worry about now, though.”

“Oh-okay, well, I just wanted to know: what was she like?”

Pinkie paused, actually giving the question some thought. After a while, she smiled. Not her usual smile, mind you, but a sort of easygoing smile, her eyes glimmering with wisdom that seemed out of place on her. “Someday, Fluttershy, maybe I’ll tell you. And I’m sure we’ll all have a great, big laugh about it.”

Two minutes earlier…

Pinkamena gazed up at the roof of the wheat silo from a puddle of her own blood. The makeshift bandage across her flank ensured no more would escape, but it couldn’t replace the blood she’d lost leaving her hovering on the edge of unconsciousness, barely able to move, much less keep fighting.

She turned to the sounds of hoofsteps approaching, Pinkie popping up in her field of vision. “You feeling better?” She asked cheerfully. “I certainly hope so! You lost a whole TON of blood!”

Pinkamena felt the night breeze against her own, naked body. “Whuh-where’s my…” she stammered.

“Hm? Oh, your dress? I took that outside and burned it. It felt pretty weird to touch,” she shivered. “And all scratchy. How can you even wear that? Rarity would have a heart attack just looking at it!”

The murderess panted heavily, trying to keep her eyes open. It took her a while, but she eventually worked up the strength to ask one final question: “H-how…”

“How am I so much stronger than you? Oh, you silly-willy, it only makes sense! After all,” she looked her doppelganger right in the eye, something alien gleaming in her gaze as she whispered, “I’m the one who kept fighting the voices for the sake of my friends. I never gave in.”

That was it. Pinkamena slipped into unconsciousness almost immediately after, leaving the other pink mare to casually stroll over her body, scoop up her Element, and trot happily away to meet the rest of her friends.

Flutterbitch is a little bit of my imagination, plus that Discorded version of Fluttershy. Basically, I just asked myself: what if she was like that for longer? What if she decided to be Flutterbitch in High School, or even earlier? And this happened.

Also, Pinkamena is from Sergeant Sprinkles' "Cupcakes," and you know it.

Chapter XXXVII: Mistakes

Uris tightened his grip on the pistol, his ears perked up. For the past five minutes, the enemy hadn’t done anything, and that worried him. At least with someone shooting at him he knew where the enemy was. Now, with just the artillery rumbling off in the distance and the occasional gunshot, it was just so quiet. Almost too…

The pilot stopped himself before he could complete the ancient cliché. Between his leg, the bullets he’d dodged, and the artillery shells still dropping everywhere, he knew he couldn’t tempt fate any more than he already had. Especially now, when the enemy could be damn near anywhere. He breathed and tried to focus again, like in the Everfree forest. The artillery, the gunfire…all of it had nothing to do with the here and now, and so faded into the background. All that remained was the here. All that remained was the darkness in the hallway behind him, the gentle breeze whistling through the shattered window, the…the…

The crunch of boots on gravel.

The pilot didn’t even have time to duck as an enemy tango burst through the gaping door and fired once from a sidearm. The only thing that saved Uris was his enemy expecting him to be a bit further away from the door, his arm extending right past the pilot’s head before the weapon discharged harmlessly into the wall.

Reacting, his ears ringing and head spinning from the shot going off practically next to his head, Uris smashed himself against his attacker’s arm, twisting the pistol from his grip. The tango replied with a perfectly executed punch to the neck, combined with a grab that nearly tore the sidearm from the American’s fingers. With a grunt, Uris worked the slide, tearing it away from the pistol just as the enemy spun, whipped the weapon out of the pilot’s grip, pressed the now-empty barrel against his face and squeezed the trigger.

Screaming with rage at the sound of the empty click, the tango slammed his fists against the back of the American’s head, attacking with a strength that could only be described as feral. The pilot replied with a few blows of his own to the enemy’s crotch, giving him just the breathing room he needed to ram his body against the wall, knocking the air out of the tango’s lungs. He pulled back and readied a kick, but with the blows to his head his balance was off, a fact that would prove fatal as the enemy easily dodged and allowed the pilot to smash his bad leg against the wall. Howling in pain as his ankle snapped in the few remaining places it hadn’t already, Uris dropped to the ground, his world spinning from the agony screaming up his leg.

Not taking any chances, the enemy tango followed up with an elbow drop against Uris’s face, knocking him unconscious instantly. Breathing deeply, the soldier stood over his fallen foe, mildly irritated that one pilot with a demolished leg had given him so much trouble.

“Mr. Uris?” A sickeningly sweet voice asked from the doorway. Immediately, the soldier tucked and rolled off his shoulder and scooped up his pistol, spinning in place to find two ponies in his crosshairs: a yellow pegasus and a regular pink pony.

“Who’re you calling regular!?” The pink pony growled randomly as her friend held her close, tears in her eyes. Both wore some sort of jewel around their necks. The yellow one, a pegasus, immediately nuzzled deep into her friend’s side, her eyes locked in terror on the unconscious American on the floor. The pink one kept her eyes on the soldier still on his feet, defiantly staring right down the barrel of his weapon. She hugged her friend close, apparently readying herself for something. The soldier heard a crackle in his ear: “{Sturmgewehr One, come in!}”

His eyes remaining on the ponies, he reached with one hand to the walkie on his belt while the other kept the weapon focused on them. “{Roger that, Eagle’s Nest, go ahead.}”

“{Your orders have changed, Sturmgewehr. You are to terminate the Element of Kindness on sight. I repeat: the Element of Kindness is now your primary target. Do you read?}”

The pink one gasped and hugged her friend close, a hint of fear spreading through her eyes. If the soldier didn’t know better, he might have thought she had understood the orders just sent to him. “{Roger that, Eagle’s Nest, orders received loud and clear.}”

The pink one’s eyes glided shut. The yellow one just kept standing there in shock, her lower lip quivering as she looked up at him in fear. In such incredible fear. Fear the man would never have believed. Of course, if he had been declared a “special one” as a boy, he wouldn’t have even registered this fear. His ability to perceive emotions would have been blasted away by years of conditioning and training in those horrid camps he’d heard so much about, training him to be the perfect soldier for his leader’s Special Forces. But he wasn’t Special Forces. He wasn’t a “special one.” He was just a man with a few weeks’ training, some parachuting experience, and a gun in his hand. There was still a small glimmer of humanity in him, glowing like a diamond in the hull of a cold, steel battleship. Oh, but it was so very weak, and he had been taught from the beginning to respect the orders of his superiors and carry them out with every single amount of strength in his body, glorifying the truth and righteousness of the state with every move he made and every word he spoke. And these weren’t just orders from some officer: they were from a man who had promised godhood to his entire race! Compared to that, one little glimmer of humanity was…

POW!

POW!

…more than enough for him to empty two bullets harmlessly into the floor, sparing the lives of the ponies before him. Keeping the talkie on, he pressed it to his lips. “{Eagle’s Nest, this is Sturmgewehr. Did you copy that?}”

It took a few minutes for the voice on the other end to reply, and when it did there was a certain tone of self-satisfaction to it. “{We got that, Sturmgewehr. We take it this means the Element of Kindness is dead?}”

“{Yes,}” the man replied, holstering his weapon as the ponies’ eyes opened in surprise and looked at him quizzically, still suspicious. “{She’s done. I’m done.}”

“{Well done, Sturmgewehr. RTB.}”

The man clipped the walkie back to the belt and stood to the side, clearing the way between the ponies and the door. The pink one still eyed him suspiciously, though the yellow one seemed to understand. She pulled her friend along, tugging her right past the soldier and towards the door, her eyes glancing at the man on the ground every so often. He tried to smile reassuringly and urged them along. After a while, the pink one’s glare softened.

“Danke, schon.” She said as she passed, offering a small smile.

Surprised, the soldier started to reply: “Sie sind herzlich ein…

Suddenly, the American sprang at the tango’s ankles, a blade in his hands. Screaming, the tango dropped to his knees just as the ponies neared, their jaws dropping in surprise. Before anyone knew what was happening, the pilot was on top of the tango, his knife slowly advancing towards his throat while the tango tried desperately to hold him back.

Fluttershy watched in horror, the look on her human friend’s face unlike anything she had ever seen. The rage she saw: the hate in his eyes, the feral noises rumbling from his mouth, all of it looked worse than a dragon in heat. A bestial gleam entered his eye as his blade neared his enemy’s throat, slowly scraping against the jugular…

“St-stop,” she whimpered. “Uris, please…”

The blade met flesh, which yielded only too easily. The first traces of blood began to ooze free.

“No, Uris, stop. WAIT! STOP! HE WAS GONNA LET US GO! HE WAS…”

Fluttershy had found her voice too late. Uris’s blade made one final plunge, and the body beneath him shivered. The soldier on the floor gasped as the air left his body, blood oozing from his mouth, and then his eyes glazed over.

As if he were waking up from a dream, the pilot looked back at the pegasus in shock, his enemy’s blood spreading across his legs to mix with his own. She stared at him, eyes widening in terror. “Fl-Fluttershy?” He asked, the knife dropping from his hand.

She backed away, giving him a wide berth as she headed for the door, eyes on him as if it were a rabid manticore sitting atop the body in the middle of the room, not the friend she had spent the past day or so running, fighting, and crying with.

“Wait, Fluttershy,” he reached towards her, a drop of blood dripping off his hand. She squeaked in fear before taking off as fast as she possibly could, tearing out the door, along the street and swooping into the sky. “Wait, Fluttershy! Wait! I’m…”

She was already gone, a little silhouette against the moon. His head drooped as he limped towards the doorway and braced himself against the frame, gazing out after her. “I’m…sorry…”

“I-I think I should go after her,” Pinkie said, trotting by. “You probably won’t be going anywhere on that leg. Just…try to patch yourself up a bit: we’ll swing around and pick you up later, okay?”

“She…” he mumbled, staring at the ceiling wide-eyed. “She was so scared. Of me. She was terrified of me.”

“Hey,” the pink mare placed a hoof on his shoulder. “She’s been through a lot tonight, okay? We’ll work things out when this is all over. Promise.”

The pilot looked at his hands, still sticky with the blood of the man on the floor. “Yeah,” he muttered, obviously not paying any attention. “Yeah, okay.”

Pinkie sighed and trotted along, somehow assured that no other soldiers would take potshots at her as she followed the streets towards the Everfree forest, searching for a place she figured her friend might have fled to. The pilot continued to stare at the sticky red pool spreading on the floor. After a while, he noticed an odd crackling sound, followed by a voice: “{Sturmgewehr One, come in!}”

He recognized the enemy’s language and slowly walked towards the body. After rummaging around a bit, he found the small walkie clipped to the man’s belt. “{Sturmgewehr One, come in! Dammit all man, we just detected the Element of Kindness leaving the area! What the hell is going on down there!? She’s supposed to be dead, you worthless pile of shit!}”

The pilot may not have known the language, but he recognized a call-sign when he heard it, and the enemy had used the plain English term for the Elements. He figured he knew what to do next. He pressed the walkie up to his mouth: “Sturmgewehr One won’t be reporting,” he said plainly. “Instead, this is Airman Peter Uris with the United States Armed Forces, and I just wanted to report that the Elements of Harmony are coming. And they’re gonna kick your ass.”

Mars blinked, immediately switching to the satellite feed of the little house in Coltton. Switching the view to the front hallway, he watched a distinctly humanoid form standing over another, smashing a little something in its hands against a wall. “No,” he gasped, surprise filling his face, quickly followed with blinding rage.

“NO!” He howled, smashing his wine glass against the ground before standing up, tearing the massive, oaken chair out of the ground and smashing it to splinters against the grass. “NO! NO! NO! NO!”

The chair destroyed, he turned his glare upon the village and pounded the ground like a child in the middle of a temper tantrum, ending with his middle fingers extended upwards in the direction of the village. “FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOUUUUUUU!”

“{Sir?}” His second asked, walking up to him. The demigod turned on the man, his face filled with the kind of rage that could (and in fact, had) burn planets whole. The man cringed, but remembered where a show of cowardice had landed his predecessor. “{Sir, is something the matter?}”

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the rage vanished from Mars’s face. He straightened up, smoothing a few creases in his officer’s coat. “{Of course not, Stevens. Just having a candid chat with somebody that I…}” his fists shook mildly from rage, “{…am looking forward to seeing soon.}”

“{What are your orders?}”

The demigod looked out over the forest. Blinking once, he was able to gain a full satellite view of the village of Coltton, a few flares rising up along its northern edge to symbolize a firefight brewing. “{We are going to go down there,}” he replied. “{We are going to go down there, and we are going to do unspeakable things to every mare, stallion, and foal we can lay our hands on. We are going to sodomize the foals with broom handles, slice off the stallion’s penises, and brand the mares with torches after we have had our way with each and every single one of them. And we are going to make the Americans watch. We will make them watch before we put out their eyes and ears, leaving only their tongues so they may speak with their superiors about the consequences of interfering. And then, we are going to burn everything until all that is left is dust and the haunted memories of what we did here to serve as a warning to everyone who dares stand in our way!}”

Stevens shivered, sweat gathering against the grip of his weapon. “{Is that understood?}” The demigod asked.

“{Yes, sir,}” the human replied.

“{Good: now gather the men,}” Mars said, his hands crossing behind his back as he surveyed the town. “{I wish to address them before the main assault.}”

Chapter XXXVIII: Revelations

“Keep fighting, dammit! It’s only the first wave!” Vance screamed, ducking out from behind the APC to take a few extra shots. Next to him, Miller grabbed an extra magazine for his M4 as the Bradley unleashed another volley, the deafening shots joining the clamor of battle. He ducked out again, watching another wave of men throw themselves out of the woods and against their sandbag fortifications, their tattered, hand-me-down uniforms and rusted weapons revealing just how expendable they were to their commanders.

“Send a few conscripts to get a feel for the enemy’s defenses, then use that intel for a more coordinated attack,” Vance mumbled, interrupting himself by ducking out from behind their Bradley and sending a few more rounds downrange. “Nice t’know The Ridchir hasn’t changed their tactics since Hong Kong.”

“I think at this point in the battle, you can go ahead and call ‘em what they are,” Vance said with a grim smile, barely making himself heard over the near-constant roar of the machine gun nests at either side.

“And what’s that? Assholes?”

“What…you mean they didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me…” Miller paused at the sight of the machine gun just to his left suddenly jamming, the Marine manning it struggling just as a pair of enemy tangoes ducked out from behind a low wall outside the emplacement. “Ugh…hold on…” he started, taking a running leap, tucking and rolling right off the barricade, popping up next to the tangoes, and mowing them down with a single well-placed burst of assault rifle fire. As both dropped, he promptly vaulted the sandbags and ducked back behind the APC, rubbing his shoulder.

“That shit gets harder every time I try it,” he grumbled. “Damn chiropractor’s no help at all!”

“You’re gettin’ old, friend. Might be time for a cushy desk job,” Vance replied.

“What, like yours?”

“You wish,” Vance replied as he took a few tentative steps away from the APC. Smoke drifted off the barrel of his weapon as he surveyed the scene of utter carnage before him. Bodies of men in tattered uniforms, barely armed with pistols and machetes, were practically heaped up just outside their barricade. He grimaced. He absolutely hated this, just mowing down a bunch of guys who could barely protect themselves, but it was part of the job. He needed to do this or risk losing his own men.

At least, that’s what he’d tell himself when this was all over and he was lying in his bed at home.

“Not bad,” Miller said, striding out next to him, his eyes on the bullet-riddled, pastel-colored buildings behind the barricades. “We didn’t lose nearly as many guys as the Chinese did when this shit hit them.”

“And we did it all without tilting our hand,” Vance said, smiling as he lifted his walkie to his lips. “Alright boys, it’s time to come out and play!”

Suddenly, a small army of men appeared at the windows of every building, some setting up sniper positions, others rappelling down to join the few already behind the barricades. Men rushed to the Marine’s sides, checking ammo belts and assault rifles as they ran to their positions. Soon, the Americans’ numbers swelled into the hundreds, all ready to kick ass. There was just one thing bothering the old Marine…

He grabbed the walkie again. “Parker! I need a SITREP on the evacuation of the civvies!”

A few seconds later, the Lieutenant’s voice crackled back: “Progressing quickly, sir! We’ve enlisted local help in tearing down the MASH, so I should be reporting to you in a jiffy!”

“Excellent news, son! Make sure y’do,” Vance replaced his walkie in his pocket as Miller shook his head.

“’In a jiffy?’ Who the fuck says that?” The SEAL asked.

“Parker does, that’s who,” Vance replied with a knowing grin.

“Anyway, you were saying? About the enemy?”

“Hmm? Ah, yeah, you were asking what they really were, well…”

“Sirs?” One of the marines ran up to the Lieutenants and saluted, his eyes wide as if he’d just seen a ghost.

“Yes, private?” Miller asked impatiently.

“You better come see this, it’s the enemy.”

The pair was led away to the sandbag wall, where they peeked over to watch as a massive crimson banner rose over the trees in front of them. “Those arrogant sons-a-bitches,” Vance mumbled as a hauntingly familiar symbol unfurled in the wind.

Author's note: this speech has a soundtrack!

Mars surveyed the American positions through his goggles and grinned, listening to the glorious sounds of his men at work: the roar of tanks rumbling forward, the squeal of metal against metal as artillery was calibrated and aimed, and the deep rumble of guns firing in the distance. Of course, the loss of the conscripts was to be expected, such was war. The real fight would be coming soon.

“{If the fools had any idea what was coming, they would turn and run!}” His newest Second-In-Command said, interrupting his thoughts.

Mars grimaced at yet another interruption. He was already beginning to regret smashing the back of Fischer’s head open; at least he had known to speak only when spoken to. Still, he let this slide. The man would learn his place eventually, which couldn’t happen if Mars tore his head off and kept it alive just long enough to watch his body’s death spasms. “{Perhaps, or perhaps not. It’s not your job to worry about if they run, though, it’s your job to worry about if they fight.}” He said, pulling his goggles off and eyeing his Second. “{You already understood this, though, didn’t you?}”

“{O-of course, sir!}” The man said, the memory of what had happened to his predecessor playing out in his fear-filled eyes.

“{I thought so,}” Mars returned to his thoughts, his eyes scanning the enemy’s front lines. They were mildly impressive, he had to admit. He probably should have bought more men. But then, the hard-fought victory was the sweeter one, so at least this gave him something to look forward to.

“{Sir?}” A new man arrived and saluted. “{The men are awaiting their final orders.}”

“{Ah yes,}” Mars said, handing his binoculars over to his Second before stepping away from the barricade. “{My favorite part: where I get to see all the pieces about to enter play.}”

He climbed up into the back of a cargo truck and raised his hands for attention. Every man around him quieted immediately, awaiting his next word. It took all his strength to keep the grin from re-entering his face. “{COMRADES!}” He bellowed, and every man stood at attention. Goddamn it was good to be leader! “{Men of the homeland! For many years, I have watched you grow as a pure race, free of the contaminants and weaknesses plaguing other worlds!}”

The men grunted their approval, a few “here, here’s” rising from the crowd.

“{For years, your civilization has grown, free of that filth, free of illness of the blood and of the mind, free of weakness, and most of all,}” he gestured towards the American lines, “{free of those who wished to oppress and hold you back!}”

This time, the crowd let loose with a rising cheer, quite a bit louder than the last.

“{But, we have just learned that this is not true for everyone everywhere,}” Mars glowered, actual hatred blazing in his eyes. “{Our enemies, the cockroaches that they are, have found a way to live on, to dominate and continue to corrupt the human race with their impure blood and twisted souls, gathering what little strength they can.}”

A choir of boos rose from the crowd, which Mars silenced with a raised hand. “{Yet as our fathers have before us, we now have the chance to right this wrong. Once again, we have the chance to rip out the disease that has plagued mankind since its genesis, and cast off the shackles of those who would seek to bind our strength! Once again, we have the chance to prove that might makes right, and as our fathers did before us, we shall do so beneath our flag! No more hiding! No more games! For once again, we will show the oppressors and weaklings what true strength looks like! Once again, we will show them the might of THE RIDCHIR!}”

The men gasped in anticipation as a crimson flag appeared behind Mars’ body, his visage standing at the heart of a gigantic black swastika against a field of white and red. “{Once again, we shall show them the might of the THIRD REICH!}”

“HEIL!” He saluted, his arm rising, fingers extended in the fascist salute.

“SIEG HEIL!” The crowd roared, their own arms rising in response.

“Das Untermensch wird brennen!”

“Die luft füllt sich mit den schreien der Untermensch!”

“{Now, get to your tanks! Your vehicles! Take up your arms and show the strength and courage your fathers knew those many years ago, back when this enemy first reared its malformed, corrupted head!}”

The men scurried, working, gathering their arms, cleaning their weapons, and loading artillery cannons onto trucks. Mars grinned again. For all their power, he mused, even the men of The Reich look like ants scurrying about when they set to work. How fitting.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Miller added coolly, changing the magazine in his weapon for a fresh one. “Nazis.”

“Didn’t we already beat these guys, like, a hundred years ago?” One of the marines next to him asked as the Americans all stared wide-eyed at the banner standing tall over the forest.

“Yeah, well apparently some of ‘em didn’t get the message,” Vance replied, grabbing the walkie again. “Parker! I need you to hurry with the evacuation down there; we need all hands on deck right now!”

“Yes sir!” The Lieutenant’s voice crackled back.

“As for the rest of you,” Vance said, rising to his feet. Every soldier quieted as he stepped amongst them, surveying each and every one of their faces. He took a few deep breaths and thought, searching for the words to inspire his men to fight. He didn’t have to search long.

“Men…” he continued, leaning against an APC. He pulled out his canteen, took a swig of water, and began:

“There is the enemy,” he gestured towards the forest. “You know what t’do. Give ‘em hell!”

“OORAH! HOOYAH!” The men screamed, all immediately setting to their duties, each running into place with a determination in their eyes that made Vance swell with pride.

“I love this job sometimes,” he mumbled, looking back and glaring at the crimson banner unfurling in the wind.

*The sub-human will burn!

**The air fills with the cries of the sub-human!
------------------------------------------------------------

Note: The Third Reich was the name given to Germany following the rise of the Nazi Party: "Reich" meaning "Empire" in German. The First Reich, which the Nazis respected as the first truly German Empire, was the Holy Roman Empire, which dominated most of Central Europe in the High Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. Nazi Policy refers to the reunified German Empire of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries as the Second Reich, which declined following Germany's defeat in WWI.

There, now you're smarter. Also, W00T! Been waiting for this reveal for a while! Although, some of you might have guessed it a while back, but it's still nice that it's out there :)

MLP is the property of Hasbro.

Author's Note

Woot! Big reveal! Or...not so big, because I'm sure a few of you guessed it already. Still, epic.

Chapter XXXIX: Humanity

The moment the evacuation orders arrived, the MASH unit had plunged into a familiar sort of ordered chaos. Orderlies were running around, banding up IV bags and grabbing stands, all while soldiers picked up cots and moved them as quickly as possible. Outside, another shell impacted in another part of town, and most of the ponies gasped in fear as the Earth rumbled, the orderlies pausing just long enough to hold their IV trees in place and cover their patients with their bodies before somebody screamed: “ALL CLEAR!” and they all leapt back into action, the injured ponies staring around in stunned silence.

Parker knew what they must have been thinking: whose home had just been hit? Who had just lost their shop? Which one of their own had just lost everything to one, totally random artillery hit?

“God forgive us for bringing this shit here,” he muttered. It was bad enough in his world, but here? Where this type of war had never been known? He only needed to look at the shocked faces around him to know what the war was doing to Equestria’s inhabitants. The fear and anxiety on the faces around him would be enough to keep him awake for weeks to come.

“Hey! Army boy!” A nurse in combat fatigues ran up to him, cradling something in her hands.

“Huh?” The Lieutenant asked, still staring wide-eyed at the scene around him.

“You doin’ anything right now?”

“Uh…”

“Great! Take this,” the nurse shoved the bundle into Parker’s hands, and immediately he knew what it was just from the weight of it and the warmth it radiated.

“Hey, this is a kid!”

“Technically, it’s called a foal!” The nurse shouted over her shoulder. “Watch it for a sec while I track down the parents!”

“Wait wait wait, I’m not supposed to…” But the nurse had already disappeared into the constantly-shifting crowd around them. Still suffering from shock, Parker lifted a tiny flap from the bundle’s face, revealing a little pony with a still-undeveloped muzzle and a little brown curl of hair reaching down onto its forehead.

“Huh,” he snickered, trying to tuck the curl back in, but no matter how hard he tried, the little lock of hair would find a way to sneak back out from under the blanket. “That’s pretty cute. Y’know what? You’re probably gonna be a major cutie when you grow up.”

The little pony yawned and snuggled closer into the warmth of his chest. “Just…mind-blowing levels of cute,” the soldier said, resting on an empty cot. Somewhere far-off, another artillery bombardment landed, sending a deep rumble through the ground. The all-too familiar sounds of gunfire began on the outskirts of town, echoing through the pre-dawn air. A determined glare entered his eye. “And you’re absolutely gonna grow up.”

Still holding the child, he stood and ran to the nearest MASH supervisor. “Why is this taking so long?” He barked, trying his best impression of Vance.

“Wha-oh, sir!” The soldier saluted, a clipboard at his side. “Terribly sorry, Lieutenant! Most of our guys are engaging the enemy outside of town, and with the massive casualties the ponies took during the enemy assault, we just don’t have enough hands available to move them at the pace we’re used to.”

“Hmm,” the Lieutenant looked around, his eyes falling upon a line of ponies filing away outside the tent, being led by a white unicorn and a pink pony with wings and a horn (which seemed kinda unfair to him. Horns AND wings?) “How about some hooves, then?” He asked, holding the bundle in his arms out to the soldier. “Protect this with your life.”

“What? Sir, what’re you…” but Parker was already gone, jogging up to the white unicorn and holding up a hand.

“I’m gonna need you to stop for a quick sec, there,” the human said.

“What?” The unicorn arched an eyebrow at him. “I need to get these ponies out of here!”

“I know, but believe me, this is important. Just…from the bottom of my heart, trust me when I say this is important. Please?”

The unicorn looked Parker in the eyes, squinting. Parker flashed him the most sincere, most absolutely true look he could manage. Eventually, the unicorn relented with a drawn-out sigh. “Just make it quick.”

“I’ll try,” Parker stood as tall as he could and raised his hands. The ponies stared at him with their massive eyes, most filled with fear. A murmur started in the crowd, mostly concerning what the ‘two-leggeds’ were up to now.

Parker swallowed his nerves and began: “Now, as you all know, we are trying to evacuate the hospital here in town. Most of the patients in this hospital are your friends and neighbors. We have done our best for them, but now we need your help. The thing is, we are very short-staffed here. The defense of this town is draining our numbers. As such, we don’t have enough people to move the hospital as quickly as we need to. That is why we are asking you to help us in this task.”

A series of fear-filled murmurs broke out again, mostly among the younger ponies. One of them, a sky-blue unicorn with anger in his eyes, stood up. “And how do we know this isn’t some human trick? That you aren’t just trying to separate us!?” He accused.

“That’s why I’m asking you to trust me, and I’m asking you for help,” Parker sighed. “As a group of civilians in a warzone, we cannot in good conscience order you to place your lives in danger. However, we can appeal to your natures. We can appeal to that goodness we know exists in you, just as it exists in us! We can appeal to your spirit, your ‘humanity’ as we call it, and ask you to help us save these lives. Now, before you answer, I want you to picture everybody in that hospital. All the friends and neighbors, both human and pony, with lives and jobs and people who depend on them every day. With lovers and mothers and daughters who would weep at their passing. Ponies of Coltton, before you answer, think about those lives that could be snuffed out because we weren’t fast enough. Think about the birthdays they’ll never see, the holidays and family get-togethers they’ll never have, the sunny days they’ll never share. Think about the kids who will have to grow up missing a parent, or a cousin, or a sibling. Think about the memories that will be tainted forever because someone isn’t there anymore. And if that still doesn’t convince you, then please, just do one more thing for me.”

The ponies watched expectantly as Parker removed his helmet, revealing the desperation in his eyes. “Imagine it was you lying on one of those cots, and ask yourself what you would want your neighbors and friends to do, right here, right now.”

All was still for a moment. The ponies stared at this strange thing for a second, this man who, in just a few short minutes, had managed to change his image from that of a big, scary thing dressed in strange clothing to this human, this magnificent creature that felt and cared and loved. After a while, one aging pony stepped forward and began making his way towards the tent.

“Dad, no!” One of the mares stepped out of line and tried to tug the old stallion back. “What if it’s a trick?”

“And if it isn’t?” He rasped. “Would you be able to live with yourself if someone died because you didn’t step forward?”

The other pony stared at her father in shock, her hoof leaving his shoulder as he continued along towards the tent, hobbling past the young Marine. “Thanks, old-timer,” Parker said as he passed.

“Don’t mention it, young-un,” the old stallion replied.

The younger pony kept staring at her father trudging along. Then, after some thought, she returned to the line and tapped another stallion on the shoulder. “Honey, we have to…”

“I know,” the stallion replied, taking one of her hooves and stepping out of line. “I know.”

A few seconds later, a unicorn stepped out of the line. Then a pegasus. An entire mob of earth-ponies left not long after that, and suddenly, there wasn’t a line anymore. There was just a huge mass of ponies, making their way to the tent, picking up cots and IV trees and waiting for guidance. “Thank you,” Parker said, barely able to keep his voice constant as he watched with tears of joy blurring his vision. “Thank you.”

“Excuse me?” Parker turned to see the white unicorn from before, gazing up at him while wiping at his face, trying to hide the tears gathering in his eyes. “That-that was…”

Parker caught something out of the corner of his eye as the unicorn stammered, realizing almost immediately that it was the soldier he’d seen from before, handing the bundle in his arms off to a unicorn and an earth pony, the mother cradling the bundle with all the love in her little pony heart. “Look, mister,” the white unicorn asked, bringing Parker back to reality. “I just have to know what you needed done.”

“Huh? Oh,” Parker said. “Just…uh…follow me. We’ll…we’ll find something together.”

“And I’m coming along,” the pink pony with the wings and horn said, trotting right up to them.

“Honey,” the unicorn said. “I’m sorry, but you have to lead the rest of the line out of town.”

“What!?” The pink pony turned to what remained of the line: mostly children and parents with newborn foals in their arms. “Oh no Shiney, you’re not going to…”

“Cady, please,” he ran a hoof through her mane. “They need you, just as badly as I’m needed here. If a royal guardsman can’t lead them away, then let them have a princess.”

“I…” she bit her lip and shook her head. It was obvious she was on the verge of tears.

“Hey,” he took her chin in his hoof and planted a massive kiss on her lips, maybe not quite as long and hard and tongue-filled as the kisses Parker had seen in the romance movies back home, but still filled with more love than he’d ever seen in any act of intimacy anywhere. “I’ll be more careful this time, okay?” Shining said after he’d pulled out of the kiss.

“You better,” she smiled, sniffing back a few more tears. “I love you.”

“I know,” he gave her another quick peck on the lips before watching her run off towards the front of the line, immediately kicking it into motion. He threw her a goodbye-kiss before turning back to Parker. “My name’s Shining Armor, by the way.”

“I…oh, okay, uh,” Parker smiled. “Why don’t we go see what needs doin’?”

Author's Notes:

Cue the filthy liars telling me Parker was always their fave human...

Chapter XL: Forgiveness

For what felt like the millionth time that night, Fluttershy cowered in a small, dark corner, her newfound confidence all but completely blasted away. Her Element glowed weakly around her neck as she cried. “She was right,” she whimpered, crying softly into her hooves. “Dear sweet Celestia, they DO let you down! They…they…”

She couldn’t even bring herself to say it. The picture of Uris, that nice human who had kept her safe all through the night, covered in the blood of another played over and over again in her mind. She had been so blind. How couldn’t she have seen it? When she woke up on the outskirts of the city, did she honestly think those other humans had been knocked unconscious by Twilight’s teleportation spell? No. She’d never been that stupid. Until now, she had just assumed they had been fighting something else. Something that looked like a human, but wasn’t. After all, how could sweet Mr. Uris have anything to do with those terrible, murderous things that had been chasing her all night? Well, she saw now. Celestia help her, she could see now: that kind, loving Mr. Uris was just like the rest of them…

“A monster,” she sobbed, wings folded back against her body. A monster that had dragged her through the most horrible, most terrifying night of her life. A monster that had drawn her in with its helpless looks before crushing her beliefs with one act of carelessness. A monster that had somehow convinced her there was some good in it.

“Oh Celestia, oh…” she swallowed the lump growing in her throat, not wanting her sobs to draw any attention from those…THINGS that had infested Equestria. Not from The Ridchir. Not from the Americans. Not from anybody. She just wanted to close her eyes and wake up in her nice, safe, warm bed at home, with nothing to worry about but the rapidly fading memory of a strange, two-legged creature with eyes that blazed like the sun and blood all over its hands…

“Fluttershy?” Pinkie’s voice asked.

“PINKIE!” She cried, her hooves immediately flying open to wrap around the pink mare. Immediately, her friend embraced her as she sobbed into her shoulder. “Oh, it’s so wrong! I trusted him! I thought he was something new and special! But he wasn’t! He was just…was just…”

“Hush, Flutters,” Pinkie smiled, stroking her friend’s mane. “It’s alright.”

“How could it be alright, Pinkie?” Fluttershy pulled back to wipe a few tears from her eyes, but kept her hooves on her friend. “How could it ever be alright? The only reason I could fight my double was because I didn’t believe what she said! I believed my friends would always be there! I thought anypony I picked to be my friend would never let me down! And…and Mr. Uris…he…he…”

“He thought he was protecting you, though,” Pinkie said sheepishly.

“HE BUTCHERED ANOTHER HUMAN!” She screeched, her voice wavering frantically. “Just stabbed him to death for no reason at all! I…I should’ve known after we landed and he…he used that weapon on those humans. I didn’t wanna think about it, but I should have. Oh sweet Celestia, I should have. What if…”

“What if what?”

“What if…all this hadn’t happened?” Fluttershy motioned to the town around them, still sniffling. “What if Twilight had never teleported us here, or those other humans had never attacked us? What if we stayed at my tree house for another day or two and…and…and Mr. Uris got angry?”

Pinkie stood back, shocked at what her friend was implying. That Uris could ever just do something so terrible for no reason at all…she would have to tread carefully here. The little pegasus was obviously distraught, a bit of her naiveté having been stripped away with one act of violence. But if she could get the focus back on the doppelganger, might she have a chance at fixing this? “Fluttershy,” she said carefully. “Just what did your double say that you didn’t want to believe?”

“She-she said,” the pegasus sniffled and wiped at her eyes again, trying to calm down enough to recount her doppelganger’s words. “She said that sooner or later, friends let you down. That they’ll turn around and say no just because…because it’s too hard. That they’ll fail you.”

Pinkie paused. This was going to be a bit tougher than she thought. After thinking things through, she figured she had a decent response formed. “Fluttershy? About what your double said…”

The little yellow pegasus looked up with wide, hopeful eyes, obviously ready for some assurance that no, her double was wrong, and that everything was still all puppy dogs and rainbows.

“…she was absolutely right.”

Fluttershy stared at her friend, her jaw agape.

“There will be a time when your friends’ll do all sortsa nasty things. I mean, just look at what we did to Twilight at her brother’s wedding! We all turned our backs on her when she was the only one who saw what Cadence really was!” Fluttershy shuddered at the memory of Canterlot under occupation, but nodded to show she was following. “So yeah, friends sometimes hurt each other. They’ll hurt each other because they forget sometimes how valuable your friendship really is, or just because they’re having a bad day and they…forget themselves.”

Fluttershy nodded, her hope dwindling. The glow of the jewel around her neck faded almost to nothing.

“But then, that’s to be expected, right?” Her friend looked up at her quizzically. “Well c’mon, I mean, nopony’s perfect! Sometimes, a friend might snap atcha just because they’re in a bad mood, but that can only be temporary. They might see how bad they acted later on.” As she finished, there was a loud crunching noise, followed by the squealing of brakes as a familiar vehicle parked just around the corner. The pair watched as a certain orange Earth pony stepped around a corner and into view, trailed by three other mares and one human.

“Sometimes, we lie,” she said, picking up where Pinkie left off. “But that’s only ‘cause we might be tryin’ to protect ya, ‘cause sometimes we know the truth is gonna hurt.”

“Sometimes, we turn our backs on our friends right when they need us the most,” Rainbow added, alighting on the ground next to the Earth pony. She stretched a hoof over her friend’s shoulder. “But that’s only ‘cause we get all caught up in something we only think is super important, and that makes us forget what’s really important.”

“Sometimes, we get stingy with friends and refuse help,” Rarity added, trotting up to join the trio making their way towards the pink and the yellow mares. “But we could be going through rough times ourselves, and in our exhaustion, we might forget that a friend in need is a friend in deed.”

“And this is all because sometimes, we forget that friendship truly is magic,” Twilight said as she teleported into view, smiling warmly. “Sometimes we just need a little reminder to realize what we’ve done.”

“Nobody’s perfect,” Ramirez shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorway Fluttershy was cowering behind. “We all screw up sometimes, and sometimes a friend is the one that takes the hit, even when they don’t deserve it. The important thing is that when it’s all said an’ done, they remember two little words and mean ‘em with all their heart…”

A strange sound filled the street: a sort of step, followed by a dragging noise. All eyes turned as Uris stepped out of the shadows, blood covering his legs and a makeshift crutch holding him up. He looked up at every single being gathered before him, and then to the little pegasus cowering in the doorway. It broke his heart to look at the fear in her little eyes and realize that he was the one who made her so scared. His eyes went to the ground, his head bowed, and finally he uttered those two little words: “I’m sorry.”

He paused, gathering what little strength he had left before he continued. “I am so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt any of you. Especially you, Fluttershy.” She peeked around the corner shyly, just one eye looking at him, the other still hiding behind the wall. “I know I scared you. I know I showed you something you weren’t meant to see. I know I’ve probably violated your trust on a whole fuckton of different levels, and I know you probably can’t ever forgive me for what I did, but I want you to know that I’m gonna do whatever it takes to make this right. I’m gonna do what I can to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I’m gonna do what it takes to get your trust back. I promise.”

“Well, Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked. “We’re all waiting on you.”

The little pegasus poked her head back in her corner. The entire street fell silent as the ponies and the humans waited uneasily. Finally, she poked her head out again. Cautiously, she approached Uris, hovering up to eye level with him. His gaze never even left the ground. “You killed someone, Uris,” she said. “And I know it was an accident, and that you were only trying to protect me, but that doesn’t change the fact that someone is dead now when they really didn’t have to be.”

His head bowed even lower: it looked like if the deepest hole in the universe had opened up beneath his feet, Uris would have jumped into it just to have someplace lower to send himself.

“The look on your face was…terrifying, to say the least. It reminded me of something a dragon might show.”

“Dragon look? That’s pretty badass.” Ramirez mumbled. Dash elbowed him.

“You humans have a side that I can’t ever trust; but my being caught off-guard by it is probably my fault. I should’ve realized what you could do back in the Everfree Forest, and maybe we could’ve talked about it then. It’s a little late for that, I think, and a lot of damage has been done…”

If Uris had sunken any lower, the tree branch he was using for a cane would have had to dig its own grave right then and there.

“…But I’m willing to try and fix it. I-it might take a little while to completely trust you again, b-b-b-but, if you’re willing to try, then…”

His arm stretched out to the side suddenly. He looked at her, tears welling in his eyes. She hesitated, looked back to her friends with a touch of fear on her face. The five mares simply nodded and waved her forward. Just as Uris’s arm started to droop hopelessly, she rushed into it and nuzzled him, hugging him with all the strength she had in her little pony body. Uris suppressed a sob as he pulled her in close. “GROUP HUG!” Pinkie screeched, running up to the pair and tackling them.

“Pinkie, no! This is sorta just a quick moment betweenohgoddammitwhydoyounever-BLARG!” Uris gasped as the little mare tackled him, followed swiftly by Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight. The four all nestled in close, before turning back to the cyan pegasus and the SEAL expectantly.

“Um, no way,” Ramirez replied.

Rainbow tugged at his uniform sleeve. “C’mooonnnnn, macho-man! It’ll be fun!”

“I may be a brony, but this is way too gay even for me. Like, if this were the ending to an episode, I’d be puking and reaching for a Chuck Norris movie to regain a little machismo.”

“Dude, you’re in a world full of magical, colorful, talking ponies,” Uris replied from the bottom of the pony pile. “Machismo packed up and left eons ago.”

The SEAL started to make a complaint, then stopped, paused in thought, and shrugged. “Eh, what the hell,” he figured as he scooped the cyan pegasus up in one powerful arm and ran at the pile, screaming: “CANNONBAAAAAAAAA…”

“Oh, nonononononono YOU MOTHERFUCKER!”

“EEEEEKK!” The ponies screamed as they ran for cover.

“…AAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL-OH SHIT!” Ramirez sailed happily into the air until Rainbow squirmed out of his grasp and he realized there was now just one very masculine pilot waiting on the ground for him. Flailing around in mid-air as if he could become the first human to learn how to fly, the SEAL was totally helpless to keep himself from slamming down on the pilot, his forehead connecting with Uris’s chin.

“Sunuva…” Uris groaned, popping his jaw back into place.

“Goddammit…” Ramirez said, rubbing at the spot on his forehead. He opened his eyes and found himself lying nose-to-nose with the pilot, barely an inch between them. “See? Way too gay.”

“Get off me before I break the other bones in your head.”

“I’d love to see ya try,” Ramirez sighed as he rolled off to the laughter of the six ponies watching them. He grimaced. “It figures the one time I get to cuddle with a buncha ponies, I blow it.”

Without another word, Fluttershy swooped down next to him and gave him a quick peck on his forehead. The SEAL’s face turned bright red. “To make it feel better,” she explained bashfully.

“I’m never washing my face again.”

“Welp, now that we’ve all had our fair share of emasculating behavior,” Uris said as he stood up and cracked his neck. “What’s say we head back out there and go win this war once and for all, eh? I made a promise to that ‘Mars’ fucker that we’d all cram our boots-slash-hooves so far up his ass he’d be able to taste them, and I intend to keep it.”

“Well, what’re we waiting for!?” Rainbow swooped around the corner and plopped herself in the Humvee. “Let’s get this shit started!”

“That was supposed to be my line,” Twilight moped as the humans and the ponies all piled in and took off, heading towards the growing sounds of battle somewhere far ahead.

Chapter XLI: American Firepower

The Marines and SEALs gathered on the outskirts of town settled in together, each with their weapons focused on the pink grove of trees just downrange. For the eleventh time that night, Vance surveyed his men’s positions. They were damn near impenetrable. Sandbags stretched out around the town’s entire northern boundary, providing cover for over 500 men with assault rifles, machine gun emplacements, emplaced Humvees, and whatever the hell else the Americans could scrap together, all sitting on the other side of a nice, wide-open field between it and the edge of the Everfree Forest. Yes, the defenses were invulnerable.

But…

But so was the Eighth Fleet at Hong Kong, he grimaced. His son’s Carrier Group was supposed to be more impenetrable than anything he could ever whip up, and the enemy had still lit it aflame. It must have been a horrendous sight: billions of dollars of the most advanced equipment on Earth, all burning, rendered useless by an Electromagnetic Pulse. A dozen twisted hulks in the ocean, men clinging desperately to the wreckage as enemy aircraft strafed them from above and soldiers took potshots at them from the occupied beaches, making games out of how many defenseless American POWs they could kill…

My boy among them…

“Sir?” Miller turned to the aging Marine, noticing the wistful look on his face.

“Yes?” Vance asked, leaping from his thoughts immediately.

“The men are dug in and ready, sir. Only thing left to do now is to wait for the enemy.”

“Yeah,” Vance turned his eyes back to the Everfree, glaring, as if daring somebody to pop out and try something with his men.

“I don’t like it either,” Miller sighed, looking the forest over. “It’s just so quiet out there.”

“Yeah,” a smile tugged at the corners of Vance’s mouth. “It’s real quiet. Too…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the SEAL clamped a hand over his mouth, obviously trying to suppress a grin. “Sir, with all due respect, don’t even fucking dare,” he laughed, wagging a finger in Vance’s face.

“Couldn’t resist.”

“I know. But don’t. Just don’t. I might need t’break your neck if you try.”

The Americans’ bro-tastic moment was interrupted by a low whistle, followed by a deep thud in the killzone between their lines and the Everfree. Miller turned and watched, eyes widening as a thick gray cloud spread over the field, followed quickly by two more. “Gas?” He asked, trying to keep the fear from his voice.

Vance just shook his head. “Smoke. They’re readying up for the second wave.”

Miller nodded. “We should get a runner out to Webb; have him and his men fall back to our position.”

“Excellent idea, Lieutenant,” Vance replied, turning to a pair of Marines standing ready at one of the machine gun nests spread all along the line. “You two! Which one of you’s the fastest runner!?”

Both men immediately stood and saluted. “That would be me, sir,” the man on the left replied, dropping the ammo box in his hands. “Private Petrelli, sir!”

“Private, I need you to run your ass off to Position Delta-Six and alert the men there to our situation here. Tell them to hold back within the tree-line for as long as possible, then hit the enemy after they’ve all piled into the killzone. Understood?”

“Sir, yes sir!” The Marine screamed before dropping the salute and scooping up his M4. Vaulting the sandbags, he was soon just a fading figure in the rapidly-thickening cloud gathering in the field. Vance watched until the Marine had completely vanished, then scooped up his own rifle and reassumed his position near the Bradley.

“Gonna get ugly out there,” Miller said matter-of-factly.

“We’ll just hafta get uglier,” Vance replied.

Webb didn’t like it. He could take one look down at the little gray lumps moving around at the bottom of the hill, and he could just smell a trap. “It’s way too obvious,” he mumbled, flipping the safety off on his rifle and taking aim at the lumps alongside the rest of his paratroopers. “They wouldn’t be movin’ through these woods that loudly. They’d send pros through terrain like this.”

“Sir?” Bannon whispered, sheltering behind the trunk of a large pink sequoia next to him. “What are your orders?”

“Drop ‘em, then send two up to check on whatever this is,” Webb’s teeth clenched as he kept a bead on the little lumps. “Be careful: something ain’t right here.”

The words barely left his mouth before a cavalcade of suppressed shots rang out from the line of trees he and his men had taken cover behind. A few little poofs of dust appeared on the lumps and they stopped moving. Somewhere above the paratroopers, a flock of birds continued to sing uninterrupted. A few seconds later, two of his men in pink camo advanced on the targets in prone, weapons raised beneath their camo netting. Webb scanned the trees around him silently, his men following suit. Whatever this was, there had to be a trick somewhere. A sniper in the branches at the bottom of the hill, waiting to take out anybody who stepped forward? Or maybe a few well-placed explosives in the bushes by the lumps? His fingers tensed around the grip of his weapon as he slowly breathed in and out. He had no intention of letting Equestria be the first place he lost men under his command.

The men neared the lumps, just a few yards away now. Eyeing each other, they crouched down onto their stomachs and crawled forward. Something was VERY wrong here. If the bastards were laying down a trap for them, why hadn’t they sprung it yet? Lord knows the men had to be close enough now. He watched them slowly crawl, almost on top of the lumps, and begin scanning them. Impatiently, Webb pulled out his walkie. “What do you see!?” He hissed.

A few moments later, the reply came: “Looks like an RC car wrapped in an enemy uniform, sir.”

“Alright, getcher asses back here ASAP!” Webb barked, relaxing slightly as he watched the men back away from the lump and begin climbing the hill. Something was very very VERY wrong here. What did the enemy get from sending a toy to run around in the woods? A couple of temporarily distracted soldiers…

Wait…

Distracted…

That’s what they got: every single American in the woods watching a little toy, almost completely oblivious to everything else. He slowly scanned his surroundings, eyes widening at the sight of a few splotches of gray in the bushes to his left. “AMBUSH!” He screamed, immediately turning his rifle and blasting away at a splotch. An enemy soldier fell out of the bush, blood spreading across his uniform as a hail of tracer fire erupted from the brush around them, catching two of his men in the open. They fell, covered in bullet wounds, while what remained of Webb’s command followed him over the crest of the hill, just narrowly avoiding the barrage now whizzing over their heads.

“Aw, fuck!” A man screamed as he landed next to Webb, blood spreading across his camo pants. “They blew out my fuckin’ kneecap! Shit!”

“How’d they sneak by us!? They’d hafta be goddamned ghosts!” Bannon screamed.

“Hold the line!” Webb bellowed as he returned fire. “Keep your shit together and hold the goddamned line, paratroopers!”

A low whistle appeared in the air, rising in pitch. “MORTARS!” Every man ducked and covered as a humongous impact cracked a tree in half just a few yards in front of their hill, sending it crashing to the ground and raining pink splinters.

“Get a runner back to Coltton!” He screamed. “Tell them we’re under heavy enemy fire! I repeat, Centurion One is under attack!”

The four demi-gods surveyed the battlefield below, watching as the Americans threw sandbags in place, cleaned and re-checked weapons, and hurriedly wheeled what few vehicles they had into position. Luna clenched her teeth. “Would we not be better placed on the ground with our allies?” She asked worriedly.

“It is best if we hold back for the first phase of this battle, sister,” Celestia replied. “The first wave was merely to test our defenses; it is the second we must worry about.”

“Besides, the longer we hold back the better,” Chen replied, smoothing a crease in his silken outfit as he shadow-boxed in preparation. “The longer we fight, the more likely it is that we will be separated among the enemy hordes, and then Mars could easily sneak up on us and pick us off one by one using the clamor of battle as cover.”

Michael stared at the ground silently, constantly thumbing the hammer on the .38 in his hand. Celestia watched his eyes flicker over the ground like a man’s during REM sleep, darting about with the constant click of the hammer. “Michael,” she whispered, taking him aside.

The man looked up at her, staring intensely. “Yes?”

“This…uh…must be difficult for….”

“Don’t,” his hand rose to silence her. “I don’t wanna hear how sorry you are right now. I just wanna focus on what I have to do and what needs to happen.”

“Michael, you don’t have to face this on your own, you have beings that care about you,” Celestia said, pleading with her eyes. “Believe me when I say I know how much the betrayal of a family member can hurt.”

His eyes darted to Luna for the quickest second before boring into hers. “I believe you, but I still have no intention of thinking about it right now,” his thumb missed the hammer on a single beat. “Shit! Look, it’s just not the time to get all emotional, alright!? So just drop it, Princess! Please! Let’s talk about something…anything else!”

Celestia relented, her features falling. “Very well, Michael, just know that you have friends here when you need them.”

“Whatever.”

“But as long as we’re changing subjects,” her eyebrow rose mischievously, “I do have a question about your powers.”

“Eh?” A tiny smile spread across his face at that. “Alright. Ask away, Princess.”

“During the hours I’ve spent researching human society…thank you for the reading material, by the way…”

“Of course.”

“…I have gathered some knowledge on the many dogmas governing mankind. Now, in that I have noticed a certain similarity between Chen and the people he is meant to represent. The people of Asia are ancient and proud, possessing fighting styles passed down through generations that allow him a martial arts expertise unsurpassed by any other being. In a way, he is able to gather power from the ancient history of the nations he channels.”

“Never thought of it that way, but go on.”

“Now, I mean no offense, but this leaves me to wonder: the nations you channel are, for the most part, relatively new, having existed for a few centuries as compared to a couple millennia for most of your siblings. Your people have very little tradition and ancient wisdom to provide, despite the incredible power they wield in human society. So tell me: just what is it you can bring to the battlefield, besides your handguns?”

Michael grimaced at her, shooting a look at his brother out the corner of his eye. “Did Chen putcha up to this?”

“Just making a few observations, Michael.”

The frown continued for a quick second, only to be replaced by a knowing grin. “Tell ya what, Princess: since you’re so damned observant, what’s say I whip out my fave powers first thing when we hit the battlefield and see if you can figure it out for yourself.”

“You’re seriously going to make me wait?” She asked wryly.

Suddenly, a few large thuds echoed through the air around them. The demi-gods turned just in time to watch a preparatory artillery bombardment rock the American frontlines, a lucky strike turning a Humvee into a pile of flaming scrap metal and adding to the chaos already spreading from the smoke screen. “Don’t worry, Princess,” Michael said, his M1911 appearing in his free hand as he sneered. “I don’t think you’ll hafta wait long.”

“The second wave will be here any moment!” Chen gasped as he and Luna appeared at their side. “I am detecting a massive rise in activity to the west, as well as large human troop movements converging on the city!”

“Then we’ll split in two. If each stays with their partner, Mars should still have a hard time taking us on,” Michael said. “Luna and I’ll stay here and make sure our human allies aren’t overrun.”

“Perfect, brother: you’ll be of more use out in the open anyway. Princess Celestia and I shall check on that activity out west.”

“Very well,” Celestia said. “But I still have every intention of witnessing your powers in action, Mister Sawyer.”

“And you shall have your wish, Princess!” Michael said, bowing as she and Chen took off into the Everfree.

Luna looked over at her humanoid companion with an eyebrow cocked. “Powers? You mean you have something besides that…thing?” She asked, pointing to the handgun clenched in his hands.

“Oh yeah,” he replied, smiling mischievously. “You see, Princess, my siblings and I gain our powers from the souls of the people we channel. Now, it is true that the people of North America don’t exactly have a whole lotta history or ancient shit to fall back on: most of our nations have only existed for a couple centuries. We don’t serve as the birthplace of an ancient religion, we have no monuments dating back millennia, hell, some would argue we don’t even have much in the ways of common sense. Some would argue we’re all just trigger-happy cowboys, though I’d beg to differ.”

“So, what DO you have?” Luna asked.

As the Princess of Night spoke, a massive boom sounded. The demi-gods turned back to the battlefield as a deep rumble pierced the air, a pair of tanks bursting from the forest, flattening trees as they passed. The Princess gasped: she had never seen such massive machines in her life! And, in fact, they were massive even by human standards, weighing nearly twice as much as an American Abrams tank. Each of these monstrosities stood at least as tall as four Alicorns stacked atop one another, wielding cannons the length of a draconequus’s body. Forced forward by four sets of massive, bulldozer-like treads, the monsters rumbled onto the field, cannons taking aim at the American lines as the soldiers ducked in preparation against the massive bombardment to come. Michael simply grinned and descended upon the battlefield, his pistols disappearing into their holsters. He came to a rest on the grass, his work boots squishing into the mud between a pair of fallen enemy conscripts. He must have been quite the sight; a lone, casually-dressed man standing in the middle of a field while a pair of massive cannons swiveled to take aim at him. The tanks rumbled to a stop as the Princess hovered just a few yards over his head, looking on in concern. Every single being in that field held their breath, as if waiting to see what would happen. Michael simply grinned.

“To answer your question, Princess,” he shouted. “We have guts, a can-do, never-surrender sort of spirit, a ton of cultural diversity that, while troubling in our past, has allowed us to grow as a people…”

Suddenly, the man spun, moving almost too fast for the Princess to see. As she watched over the next few milliseconds, a set of gray globs appeared from his fingertips, forming a line in the air. The blobs molded together in an instant, forming a set of barrels, a trigger, a massive belt-fed compartment, and enough circuitry to make her head spin, all creating a rather large M61 Vulcan Gatling Cannon. Catching the device, Michael took another spin as the barrels rotated faster and faster. Then, it was unleashed. Luna would later liken the sound to paper tearing, but with the volume turned up a few thousand times over. The strange device in Michael’s hands appeared to spit a jagged line of fire, a steady stream of bullets pouring out of the machine after being loaded from Celestia-knows where, overwhelming his enemies with sheer volume. The first tank’s armor decayed beneath the bombardment, as if it were sitting near the heart of a nuclear blast, being torn to bits by an atomic wind. It only took a few seconds for the exposed interior to ignite, engulfing the crew in flames.

Reacting to its partner’s demise, the second tank turned on Swarm, its cannon lobbing a shell the size of a filing cabinet his way. The humanoid dodged easily, tucking and rolling away with the weapon held to his chest until he was safely out of the blast zone. With dirt and mud blasting at his heels, Michael turned, lined up on the tank, and squeezed the trigger again. The Princess and the Americans continued to watch, awestruck, as the tank turned desperately to take aim. The machine’s cannon made it about a quarter of the way to its target before splitting in half, followed by the rest of the body.

Dropping to the ground before the smoldering hulks, Swarm smiled at the Princess, the massive cannon in his hands glowing red hot from being fired for so long. As he approached, his weapon supported in only one hand, Michael couldn’t help but blow a bit of smoke drifting off the barrels before completing his answer: “…And a whole lotta kick-ass toys!”

Chapter XLII: Hammer and Anvil

“We can’t keep falling back!” Webb gasped. The enemy ambush had forced his men all the way down the hill and through the Everfree, a near constant onslaught forcing the paratroopers back step by step, though they’d fought to hold on to every inch. Webb leaned out and took an extra potshot at an enemy tango, dropping him as he tried to sneak up on the Americans with a bayonet in hand. He grinned, only to watch two more tangoes leap from the brush with assault rifles blazing. Swearing, the American barely had time to duck back into the dry creek bed his men were using for cover before another handful of bullets whizzed by. “We’re gettin’ too far from the city!”

“We have to,” Bannon grumbled as a terrible low whistle filled the air. The troopers all hit the deck as a massive explosion nearly deafened them, little arrowheads sailing out in every direction as a specialized mortar shell exploded in the air by their trench. Webb pulled his head up just in time to watch a leaf drift by, covered in a strange, shimmering glow before it burst into flames. “Those weird chemical mortars are getting close again.” He watched the leaf crinkle up and blacken and tried not to think about what a direct hit would do to human skin.

“Eh, shit,” Webb swore. The man was right. So long as the enemy had the advantage of both numbers and mortar support, the most they could do was fight a steady retreat and pray it didn’t turn into a rout. If it came to that, he knew he’d have to surrender; and worse yet, he knew how this enemy dealt with POWs.

“Sirs?” One of the troopers nearest to the pair asked.

“Yes, Private?”

“Well, I just wanted t’point out something I’ve been noticing…” the Private asked.

“Could it wait? We’re kinda in the middle of gettin’ our asses handed to us,” Webb sighed, ducking back out for a few more blind shots into the woods.

“I don’t think so, y’see…I’ve kinda noticed something about the enemy artillery. Doesn’t it sound like it’s getting louder?”

Webb and Bannon took a quick look at one another. “Lieutenant, do you still have that map on you?” Bannon asked.

“Indeed I do,” Webb promptly reached into his belt and pulled out the map of the Everfree, spreading it out over the mud. Another mortar impact threw dirt over their soldiers as it rocked their lines, which Webb wiped away as best he could before pointing to a couple points on the map. “Okay, so here’s where we started, here’s where we wound up, here’s where we’re…oh shit…”

“What?” Bannon asked.

Webb traced a line across the map from one little patch of trees to an open clearing. “This looks like a decent spot to setup some artillery, don’t it?”

“Yeah,” Bannon sighed. “And artillery usually has machine gun nests to protect it, doesn’t it?”

“That’s their angle, then,” Webb sighed as he folded the map back up and pocketed it. “We’re fighting the hammer right now, and somewhere back there is the anvil. They’ll crush us like bugs once we’re close enough to the artillery.”

“Shit, that’s clever. How do we get out of this one?”

“No idea,” Webb sighed, readying himself for yet another retreat. “We’re already in the trap. It looks like the only thing to do now is wait for its jaws to clamp down on our throats.”

“Or for a miracle,” Bannon replied absentmindedly.

“Shyeah,” Webb chuckled. “Maybe Jesus’ll c’mon down and lend a hand, who knows?”

Bannon didn’t reply, his eyes widening as he stared upwards. His gaze continued following something downward, something falling from somewhere in the sky to eventually join its comrades in battle: a pair of figures alighting softly upon the ground. “Maybe not Jesus, but close,” he said breathlessly.

“Wha…” Webb turned to find Chen and Celestia standing behind him: Chen in his regular business suit, Celestia with her ethereal mane still billowing in some unseen wind. “Mr. Swarm!? Princess!?”

“Who in the…how in the…” Bannon asked, completely stunned.

“I am glad to see I was correct in assuming the activity centered around this area was enemy fire,” the man in the business suit replied. “Am I also correct in assuming that you have been briefed as to who I am, Lieutenant?”

“Yeah, they mentioned the Major had a bro,” Webb said, a grin spreading across his face as he grabbed the man’s hand and shook it. “You may not be Jesus, but it’s still damn good to see ya.”

“I’m sorry, but who in the hell are these people?” Bannon asked.

“Watch your damn mouth, Bannon! You’re in the presence of royalty!” Webb replied, gesturing to the Alicorn. “Now, this is Princess Celestia of Equestria and Swarm of…uh…”

“…An alternative Earth to your own where an experiment in nanorobotics resulted in the production of a hive consciousness that achieved god-like levels of sentience through the networking of millions of human minds, all before dividing itself into several pieces for better management. Now, my cohorts and I seek to bring balance and harmony to a multiverse filled with the chaos of temporal fluctuations and madmen rising to power in various societies, utilizing ‘offshoots’ of our root consciousness to patrol all of reality while occasionally sending out more hardened, vastly more powerful ‘roots’ for jobs that require a more personal touch, one of which you now see before you.”

Bannon stared back at the man in the business suit, his eyes glazing over.

“Now, did you get all that?” Celestia asked, a sarcastic look on her face.

“Fuck no.”

“And neither did I, at first. Don’t worry: it starts to make some twisted sense after a few repetitions. Kind of like a David Lynch film.”

“Princess, did you just make a reference to human indie culture?” Swarm asked, beaming.

“I did,” she replied proudly just as a pair of low whistles entered the air.

“Oh shit, here comes the finishing blow!” Bannon screamed, ducking into the creek bed and pressing himself into the mud as low as he could. By contrast, Webb just stood nonchalantly as Swarm’s hand rose over his head and Celestia’s horn glowed. A short instant later, there was a low dunking sound, like something heavy being dropped into a pond. Bannon peeked up through his fingers to find a pair of mortar shells hovering in the air over his head, spinning on their tips like a pair of tops. “What the…”

“I am quite impressed, Princess,” Swarm said as he dropped his hand, leaving the shells completely within her magic. “You have shown an ability to absorb and process alien material I have only ever seen in the rarest of omnipotent beings, and never in any mortal!”

“Yes, well,” she shrugged as she effortlessly laid the mortar shells on the ground just over the edge of the ditch. “I have had millennia to sharpen my studying skills and abilities, which has increased my rate of information absorption far beyond what most mortals could hope to achieve in their short lifespans.”

“Very impressive,” Swarm smiled, turning to Webb as Bannon pulled himself out of the dirt. “Now, judging from your current position and the direction of the enemy attacks, I believe you are being driven directly towards an enemy artillery battery, where I am sure the aim is to pick you and your men off with the machine gun nests emplaced throughout the area.”

“Knew it,” Webb grumbled. “I take it you got a better plan, though?”

“But of course,” Swarm smiled. “We’re going to fall right into their trap.”

The humans looked at their semi-omnipotent comrades uncomfortably. “Um, sir?” Bannon asked. “Isn’t that the exact opposite of what someone should do when they realize they’re walking right into a trap?”

“Ah, but they have no idea of our presence here,” Swarm replied, gesturing to himself and the Princess.

“And so, when they think they are about to spring their trap upon us, we will actually spring a trap upon them,” Celestia cooed. “Got it?”

“Fuck yeah.”

“Good,” she said before she and Swarm took off. “Continue falling back, Lieutenant! We’ll handle the rest!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Webb and Bannon screamed after her. The paratroopers all watched the pair disappear into the pre-dawn sky before returning their attention to Earthly (or, is that Equestria-ly?) matters.

“Alright,” Webb said, grabbing a rock as another mortar blasted a crater in the creek bed behind him, more of that terrible chemical misting into the air and igniting trees ablaze. “I want this to be a textbook retreat. No screw-ups, nobody else dies today. This rock’s our current position, and here…”

Celestia nodded satisfactorily as she tuned the humans’ voices out, her acute hearing switching to the sky in front of her. “Princess?” Swarm asked as they continued through the sky.

“Ah, yes Swarm? What is it?”

“I heard you talking with my brother earlier,” he said plainly. “I also heard your interest in seeing him exercise his true abilities.”

“Oh, you heard all that?” She asked, grateful that the red glow from her pre-morning sun acted as perfect camouflage for her reddening face.

“But of course. Now, one thing concerns me about the way you were talking: you have apparently assumed you have already witnessed the full extent of my power.”

“And I haven’t?” She asked, successfully keeping the surprise from her voice.

“Princess, please. My brother may have the toys, but that doesn’t mean he knows the first thing about power.”

“So can I expect an impressive display from you soon?”

“Impressive,” Chen replied, cracking his neck, “would be the understatement of the year.”

Chapter XLIII: Their Greatest Fears

Private Weber blew at the fly buzzing by his face and blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the crosshairs now burnt into his retina. Peering through the small 4x scope attached to his MG62 Heavy Machine Gun for so long was starting to take its toll: he could already feel a cramp beginning in his shoulder as he tried to work it.

“{Dude, you can relax,}” the man responsible for keeping the machine gun loaded said, leaning next to him on an ammo canister. “{We have a clear field of view for a good few-hundred yards, and we know where they’re coming from. It’s not like the Americans are gonna pop out of a hole in the ground and grab you!}”

“{I know, Francis,}” Weber replied. “{I know we’re gonna win here: I just don’t want to miss any of the action, is all.}”

“{Action?}” Francis smiled. “{What action? They’re going to pop out of those trees with our guys at their heels, and we’re going to mow them down. Simple as that.}”

“{Yeah, sure, but still, I want to be ready to go when the time comes.}”

“{Go? Go where?}” Francis asked, a half-cocked smile on his face.

“{Don’t be a smartass, you know what I meant!}”

“{You’ll be ready, don’t worry! There’ll be plenty of them to kill when they arrive! And besides, you KNOW who we have with us,}” the other man shot a quick look over at the small tent pitched just within the compound’s defenses. “{It’s not like they can sneak past him.}”

“{Must you be so loud when you speak of the Commander?}” Weber asked worriedly. “{You know what they say about the devil…}”

“{Bah, you’re too jumpy, Weber,}” Francis laughed. “{Scared of the Americans, scared of the Commander, scared of your own shadow! I swear, it’s like you think your enemies are just going to drop from the sky and land on your head!}”

The only warning both men got for what was to come was the sound of feathers rustling, like a bird flapping its wings. Suddenly, a large, winged, white horse with a flowing, rainbow-colored mane swooped out of the sky and landed gently on Weber’s head. “Guten tag,” the horse said cheerfully, the light from the moon shimmering in her big, bright eyes and off the little tiara perched in her mane.

“{WHAT IN THE HOLIEST SHIT!?}”

Without missing a beat, the horse promptly reached over to their machine gun, slid the firing mechanism out of place, and bowed, the mechanism in her hooves. “And an Auf Wiedereshen to you, my dear sirs!” She said before taking off into the pre-dawn sky, the smile never once leaving her lips.

Weber pulled his helmet off, surprised at the lack of hoofmarks on it. She must have been insanely gentle to pull that off, he thought as he replaced the helmet.

“{Wuh-was our main weapon just disabled by a German-speaking horse princess!?}” The man next to him asked.

“{I think it was. Should we report this?}”

“{Fuck no.}”

Celestia swooped into the field nearby and deposited her latest acquisition at Swarm’s feet. “Okay, that should make all of them. The enemy’s perimeter defenses should be disabled now.”

“Wonderful,” he replied, poking at the small pile of metal with his feet.

“I have to ask, though: if the enemy’s defenses posed no real threat to us, why did you want them disabled?”

“Oh, you know me, Princess,” Swarm replied with a wink, clapping his hands together. “I’ve always been a hands-on kind of guy.”

As Celestia watched, a gray spurt of goo oozed from between Swarm’s palms, running up his arms and enveloping his entire body. The goo smoothed itself out into a featureless metallic sheen, leaving only the form of a man to tell the outside observer that somebody was inside it. Then the form began to grow, its arms and legs extending to blunt, featureless tips, while the chest rose to envelop the head, leaving only a large, featureless gray shape in the vague shape of a large, headless man. Ready to see a true display of power? Chen’s voice asked in her head.

Smiling, she gestured towards the enemy position nearby. “By all means, lead the way.”

“{You tell him!}” Weber barked, shoving his partner to the ground.

“{For the love of God, man, I have a wife and child at home!}” Francis gasped. “{You know how the Commander gets when he hears bad news!}”

“{Oh, so my life doesn’t mean as much because I haven’t found a woman desperate enough to marry me!?}”

“{But think of the child!}” The man was on his knees now, hands clenched in a full-on begging position. “{Think of my poor, dear, sweet wife! Think of my mother…}”

“{I have a mother too, asshole!}”

“{What in the hell’s all this commotion!?}” A man in an officer’s cap bellowed as he strode up to the pair. “{Why aren’t you two holding the line!?}”

Both men stood at attention immediately, the argument leaving their minds. After saluting, Weber tried to speak: “{Sir! Um…our…uh…we are having difficulties because…uh…}”

“{Well, spit it out!}” The officer screamed impatiently, one of his gloved hands reaching for his holster.

“{Uh…we…we…}”

“{Sir, there’s no proper way to put this,}” Weber’s partner sighed. “{Our weapon was disabled by a…large, talking, white horse.}”

“{A large, talking, white horse.}” The officer repeated flatly.

“{Yes, sir.}”

“{And how did this horse manage to disable the finest equipment in all of creation while evading two of the Fuhrer’s own highly-trained soldiers?}”

“{She…uh…flew away, sir.}” Weber said, praying that honesty really was the best policy.

“{She flew away.}”

“{Yes sir, we are quite certain it was a mare and…and she had wings, sir. Which she used to fly away.}”

The officer stared at his men for what felt like an eternity, his eyes squinting at them for the smallest sign of dishonesty. The pair squirmed beneath the piercing gaze for a full five minutes before the officer sighed and allowed his hand to drop from his holster. “{Goddammit; you too, huh?}”

“Eh?” Weber looked over the officer’s shoulder to see a huge crowd gathered behind him: every single man meant to be on the front line, just standing around nervously, some of them dancing back and forth as if they had to use the bathroom. “{The whole line!?}” He gasped in disbelief.

The officer nodded. “{We were just trying to decide on who should be the one to tell the Commander. You know he doesn’t take bad news well.}”

“{Well,}” Francis picked himself up off the ground. “{I, for one, believe it should be…}”

“{Francis, if you say anything about guys with the most to lose, I swear, I’ll…}”

Suddenly, a silver glint appeared in the sky overhead. The soldiers had no time to respond before something rocketed out of the sky and slammed into the ground in their midst, standing to its full height. The three men standing away from the main gathering peered through the crowd. “{What in…}”

The figure, which stood like a man but had no head and no fingers, suddenly bowed and perched on one of its blunt “hands,” the rest of the body spinning furiously while its “legs” lashed out. The ten unfortunate souls standing closest to it were knocked off their feet immediately, bodies twisted about by the sheer force of the kicks. Quick as a blink, the form was back on its two lower extremities and descending upon the crowd of men around it, rocketing this way and that with powerful kicks, punches, and chops delivered by those strange, blunt extremities.

As the trio watched, totally dumbfounded, the thing systematically made its way through the crowd, delivering beatings at speeds far beyond what a normal man could ever deliver, sometimes beating its victim into submission before its previous victim even had a chance to hit the ground. Two men who had the presence of mind to bring their assault rifles tried to fire into the confused mass of bodies where the thing was making its way towards them, only to watch as the thing burst free and promptly attacked, shoving the weapons back against their bodies and whipping them away with enough force to send them spinning into the air. It took less than a minute for the thing to finish off all fifty of the men gathered in the crowd, turning a once proud platoon into a large, groaning mass of shattered bodies.

The three standing off to the side watched in awe. “{My God, it’s perfect!}” Weber realized out loud. “{Its design is perfect for hand-to-hand combat! Perfectly balanced! Perfectly trained…}”

“{Horseshit,}” his officer replied, striding up to the thing with his pistol out. “{Yoo-hoo, little creature!}”

The silvery thing turned its attention to the officer, seeing without eyes.

“{Oh, you understand this?}” He grinned, leveling the weapon on the creature. “{You understand what this means? You are talented, creature, but how can you counter an attack launched from out of arm’s reach!?}”

He laughed before squeezing the trigger, the shot echoing off into the night. The grin still remained as a few wisps of smoke drifted off the barrel of his weapon. Then his eyes widened.

The creature still stood there, completely unfazed. The officer snarled and emptied the rest of the pistol’s magazine into the creature’s body, to absolutely no effect. No entry wounds. No holes. Not even a spark from the bullet being deflected by some armor. It was as if the bullet was simply disappearing.

“{Impossible!}” The officer screamed, scrambling to load a fresh mag as the creature strode calmly up to him. In a panic, the officer just barely managed to slam a fresh magazine into his weapon before turning and firing another shot. A hole appeared right on the creature, perfectly symmetrical, right where the bullet should have hit. The officer smiled, until the hole simply filled itself in and disappeared.

“{Yuh-you’re doing that,}” he realized. “{You’re just opening the holes yourself and letting the bullets pass right through you, and you’re doing it so fast nobody can even see it!}”

The creature stood there, not moving, not making any sort of gesture to indicate it understood.

“{Muh-MONSTER! DEMON FROM…}” the officer raised his pistol, only to watch the thing take a step forward and envelop his hand in its body. The man dropped to his knees in shock, his hand freeing itself sans pistol after a few moments.

“{Whu-what are you?}” He whimpered, his hand closing on air.

{The voice of the innocent,} a voice in his head replied before the creature wound back and delivered a tornado kick, catching the officer in the jaw and sending him sprawling over the ground.

Weber and Francis gazed at the thing before it turned its attention to them. Both pairs of hands immediately rose into the air. The thing seemed to nod in their direction before a loud series of shots cracked through the forest. The thing turned towards the crest of the hill, where the main artillery batteries had been setup. An entire flood of men, at least a hundred strong, came pouring down towards them, rushing over the hill with whatever weapon they could find: be it rifle, pistol, or even a heavy stick.

“{And here come the guys from the artillery,}” Weber said.

“{Shit, I’m not even sure I wanna see what it does next,}” Francis replied, though he didn’t make any motion to turn away. They sat there, transfixed like a couple of guys at an action/sci-fi flick, as the thing back-flipped into the air and slammed a leg into the ground, the earth caving away to reveal a tunnel. A few seconds later, the Princess of Day appeared at the mouth of the cavern, leading the way victoriously as a few dozen Marines followed close on her hooves.

“CHARGE!” She screamed, Webb and his men roaring furiously as they met the enemy flood in battle, weapons blazing. The silvery creature promptly flipped over all their heads, landing right in the middle of the melee to repeat its display from before, only this time it had the Princess of Day and a platoon of paratroopers on its side. Between the Princess and the creature, the enemy stood absolutely no chance. With her shielding every shot they took and the thing punching each and every one of them into submission, it soon became clear who the victor was going to be. After less than thirty seconds of fighting, the few remaining soldiers still on their feet laid down their weapons and surrendered.

“Perfect!” Celestia said, beaming brightly.

“I hafta say, I never expected a pony princess t’be good at fighting.” Webb said as he strode up to her, a pair of prisoners at gunpoint.

“Oh, you should have seen me a thousand years ago, now THAT was something,” she replied coyly. “Now, where is your counterpart? I would think he’d like to partake in these celebrations.”

“You mean Bannon?” Webb looked around. “That’s funny, I thought he was right next to me.”

Suddenly, a body landed between them. A maniacal cackle followed, echoing through the night. “Oh my God, Bannon!” Webb gasped, recognizing the name tag stenciled into the side of the man’s helmet.

“Dear sir, are you alright!?” The Princess galloped up to the body’s side, nudging at the helmet on his head. “Dear sir, please! I must know if…”

The helmet suddenly rolled away, a geyser of blood gushing behind it, revealing absolutely nothing on the man’s shoulders. His head had been torn off, leaving just a gore-covered stump with a bit of spine poking out. The cackling turned into full-on laughter as everyone nearby, enemy prisoners included, recoiled in horror. “Looking for something?” A voice boomed. All eyes turned skyward as Mars hovered over their heads, a round object clenched in his hand. He held it out, grinning devilishly as the moon’s light revealed it to be the missing Marine’s head.

“Oh my God…” Celestia mumbled, suppressing the urge to puke.

You…why… a voice echoed randomly through everyone’s head.

Mars simply smiled and took off. “Catch me if you can!” He yelled tauntingly, a silver streak quickly taking off in pursuit.

“And now it is my turn to play catch-up,” Celestia sighed. “Mr. Webb, I take it you are capable of tying things down here?”

“Yes’m.”

“Good. We shall mourn your man later. Right now, I need you to secure the remainder of these prisoners and make your way back to Coltton. The city is almost certainly under attack by now, and your allies shall require your aid.” And just like that, she took off into the night sky, leaving the paratrooper with a stunning realization:

“I just fought Nazis side-by-side with a talking pony princess,” he mumbled, his mind descending completely into shock.

“This shit’s all kinds of ridiculous sir,” a soldier said lightly as he passed by, a crimson-red Nazi banner in his arms as a trophy.

“Yeah, so damn funny you could laugh,” Webb sighed, watching a pair of men grab Bannon’s body and carry it out of sight. “So how come I just feel like breakin’ down and crying?”

Chapter XLIV: Every Piece in Play

“{RUN!}” A voice cried into the woods. “{For the love of God, everybody just run!}”

“{What is that,}” a man near him gasped, his rifle aimed at a violet cloud surging across the field towards him. “{My God, what is that!?}”

“FOOLISH MORTALS!” A voice boomed from the cloud as it surged up to the edge of the forest. “YOU CAME HERE TO CONQUER, BUT HAVE FOUND ONLY YOUR DOOM!” Suddenly, an equine shape reared up out of the cloud, eyes glowing white with power, coat black as night, body covered in a strange, teal armor that shimmered hauntingly in the moonlight.

“BEHOLD, THE TRUE GODDESS OF THE NIGHT! THE SOURCE OF ALL NIGHTMARES!” The equine shrieked, revealing rows of fangs where blunt pony teeth should have been. “NIGHTMARE MOON!”

“{Holy God…this place wasn’t supposed to have any monsters…}” the man with the assault rifle muttered as he squeezed the trigger in futility.

The creature turned that terrible gaze on him. “SOMEONE DARES OPPOSE THE TRUE RULER OF THE NIGHT!?” It screamed before the glow in its eyes flared up again. There was a terrible sound, like a lawn mower revving up, and suddenly the trees around the man splintered into a thousand pieces. He looked around himself, shaking in fear, before dropping his rifle and joining the other men as they ran.

Of course, there was no demon. Just Luna standing behind some smoke effects, while Swarm leaned against a nearby tree, thumbing the barrels on his cannon. “RUN!” She screamed, her voice projecting all throughout the forest. “RUN AND HIDE WHILE YOU CAN, PUNY MORTALS! FOR THE NIGHTMARE HAS ONLY BEGUN!”

“I still don’t get why you won’t just let me take care of this,” Michael replied, finger resting on the trigger for his Gatling Cannon for when Luna had to unleash her “eyebeams.”

“Well…” the Princess replied, the memory of Swarm’s incredible and terrifying power replaying over in her head. “…we just think this would be better, you know? It’s just…”

“You’re scared, arentcha?”

The Princess turned to him, shocked that he’d seen through her so easily. “How?”

“Nightmare Moon, Princess,” he replied, smiling as he gently turned her back around to face the forest. “Remember?”

“Oh, of course,” she said, clearing her throat. “YES, RUN! RUN LITTLE MORTALS! RUN FOR YOUR VERY LIVES, FOR NIGHTMARE MOON NOW RULES!

She turned back to the man standing next to her. “NOW, WHAT MAKES YOU SAY…I mean, what makes thee think we scared of thou? Thou hast done very little that was not in the name of protecting others since we have become acquainted.”

“Please don’t patronize me, Princess. You might have a few centuries on me, but I’ve been around the block a few times,” he replied, deadpanning. “I know fear when I smell it.”

“Smell?”

The man tilted his head back and sniffed the air. “Adrenaline, mild perspiration, your breath from an increased respiration rate, and a light hint of night dew that I find particularly refreshing.”

“Th-thank you,” she said, cheeks lightening. “And…I’m sorry. It was just so overwhelming: what you did back there, I mean.”

“Forgetting the royal tone, Princess?” Swarm smiled warmly as Luna realized she’d addressed him in the personal tone she’d only ever used with her sister, and only ever in private. Her blush turned deeper and she turned away. “And don’t worry: I understand. Seeing something like that can be pretty scary for anyone…and if you’re afraid that somehow makes you less royal, don’t be.”

“Okay, now how did you guess THAT without magic!?”

“Like I said,” he replied, smiling easily as he lit his cigarette up again. “Been around the block a few times. Being scared doesn’t mean you’re weak. Being scared just means your normal, trust me: I would be concerned if you WEREN’T scared by something like that. Nightmare Moon.”

“YOU CANNOT RUN! YOU CANNOT HIDE! FOR NIGHTMARE MOON HAS YOUR SCENT IN MIND! …and are you rather sure you aren’t simply psychic?”

“I get asked that all the…” he paused, his breath in mid-drag.

“Swarm?” She asked, turning back to the Everfree. Squinting, she switched on her night vision to peer into the darkness. A group of humanoid shapes was gathering, grabbing what weapons they could find in the darkness as they all grouped around some shape in the forest. “Why have they all stopped running?”

“Only one thing could scare them more than Nightmare Moon,” Swarm grimaced, reaching for his holster.

“Hello, daddy dearest!” A voice mocked from somewhere overhead. Both demigods turned to the gray-coated, boot-clad creature hovering over their heads, a fist resting against his cheek as if he were sprawled over an invisible throne.

“Mars,” Swarm mouthed, taking a step forward. Luna could see a look of hope growing in his eyes, and she realized something: Swarm still didn’t believe it. There was still some part of him that thought he could talk Mars out of his madness, that there could still be some reasoning with him. But then, he hadn’t seen the things Mars had done in the nether…

“Swarm…” she said, reaching out to him. He brushed her hoof away as he hovered up to the gray-clad man.

“Mars,” he repeated. “Mars, I don’t…could…”

“Nice antique, daddy,” Mars interrupted mockingly, eyeing the weapon at Swarm’s hip.

“Huh?“

“Wanna see mine?” Suddenly, Mars reached behind his back and pulled a round object out, pitching it at Swarm just like an MLB player. The man in the leather jacket caught it easily, holding it in his hands as the moon shone on it.

“What is…” Luna started.

“It’s Bannon,” Swarm gasped as the features of the head in his hands grew clearer. “My God, it’s Lieutenant Bannon!”

At the sound of Swarm’s voice, Mars threw his head back and let loose with a wicked cackle that bounced into the night, echoing all around them. The howls of his men soon joined in, magnifying the effect as the whole forest seemed to break out into laughter.

“He killed him! Butchered him like a pig!” Luna gasped in shock, her voice nearly lost in the rising cackles and snickers around them.

Swarm’s hands tensed over the head, shaking. As Luna watched in terror, a dark aura seemed to descend around him. She recognized it instantly: anger, brighter and more intense than anything she had ever seen or felt during her centuries as Nightmare Moon. The man placed the head gently on the ground, his teeth grinding audibly as rage-induced tears streaked down his face. His eyes met with the cackling man in the air over their heads.

“What do you say, daddy? Think we should just stow ‘em both in a museum?” Mars laughed.

“He wasn’t even in his forties, you murderous LITTLE SHIT!” Swarm screamed before rocketing upwards faster than Luna could blink, his fist meeting Mars’ chin in a devastating uppercut. Quick as lightning, he followed by drawing the “antiques” on his waist and blasting a pair of shots through his fallen son’s body, who promptly fell to the ground. The moment his body touched down, Swarm was on top of him, pounding away at his face with the butt of his pistol.

“You take up that symbol of hatred with pride,” he bellowed, tearing at the swastika on Mars’s arm, “You mock everything we are supposed to stand for,” he added, bringing the pistol down on his son’s nose, “and bring death and destruction to countless billions all over the metaverse,” he hissed in between blows. Dropping his weapons, he grabbed Mars by the lapels of his coat and screamed: “Just tell me WHHHHYYYYYYYY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY DO ALL THIS!? WHY GO TO ALL THE TROUBLE!? TO HURT ME!? TO PULL OFF SOME SICKO PLAN!? WHY WHY WHY WHY WWWWHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?”

Swarm laid on top of Mars, panting heavily, teeth bared. For a while, nothing moved around them. The enemy soldiers stayed within the tree line, the Americans remained paralyzed behind their barricades, even Luna seemed to be rooted to one spot. Finally, Mars spat out a bit of blood and coughed pathetically, looking up at Swarm with tears in his eyes. “God….Dad…” he whimpered.

In a flash, the hatred blazing in Swarm’s eyes evaporated. The tears of rage became tears of relief. “Marsy,” he gasped, hugging the other being close. “My little Marsy.”

“God…Dad…” Mars groaned over and over again as Swarm kneeled there in the mud, rocking back and forth with his arms around his shoulders, not even caring about the dirt soaking into his jeans or the blood staining his shirt. “God…Dad…”

Mars’ fingers closed around something by his belt. Luna started to scream a warning, but far too late. The evil grin reappeared on the fallen demigod’s face. “God Dad, didn’t anybody ever teach ya to keep an eye on a fallen enemy?”

“Wha…” Swarm was interrupted by a pair of shots tearing through his chest, followed by a kick to the stomach that sent him flying. The demigod landed on the other side of the field, slamming headfirst into a tree.

“C’mon, daddy!” Mars screamed as he hovered overhead. “I know you can do better than that. Show me somethin’!”

“You wanna…see something…Mars?” Swarm panted, glowering as a couple spurts of goo sealed up the twin holes in his chest. “Fine. I think it’s time you got a SPANKING!”

Slamming a now tattered and worn boot into the ground, Michael’s Gatling Cannon burst from the dirt, immediately unleashing hell Mars’s way. The demigod simply dropped below the line of fire, landing on the ground and dashing across the field to arrive eye-to-eye with his father. “Please don’t tell me that’s the best one-liner you have,” he asked dully.

Screaming with rage, Swarm quick-drew his Peacemaker and blasted a pair of shots at his fallen son. The evil demigod dodged both easily before drawing his own sidearm: a stout, ugly little gray weapon that crackled with energy. Laughing, he replied with a pair of shots leveled on Michael’s legs that sent the demigod flying with a pair of cannon-sized explosions. “High-kinetic impactors!” He explained, lobbing a few more rounds Swarm’s way before he could even get his bearings. “Do you like them, daddy? The boys in the labs worked real hard on them!”

Suddenly, a blue bolt of magic sideswiped Mars, knocking the weapon from his hand. The demigod turned to find the Princess of Night glowering at him, her horn glowing and a look of determination in her eyes. She snorted at him.

“How cute,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes. “C’mon dad, do you really think you can beat me with allies this pathetic?”

Suddenly, the whole field went dark, the moon disappearing. Mars’ ears automatically perked, tuning to fill in for the loss of sight. Something rustled behind him, and he turned, pistol raised. Something else rushed off to his side, and he fired off a wild shot. A streak of magic blasted against his back, his cap flying off, followed by a gunshot slamming against his shoulder. Practically frothing with rage, Mars fired blindly into the dark, shots booming harmlessly into the distance until the hammer fell on an empty barrel. Panting heavily, he hardly even heard it when something swooped up behind him and walloped him across the back of his head, followed by a flaming burst of magic that ignited his coat. Rolling on the ground to smother the flames, Mars pushed himself back to his feet, only to come face-to-face with two Alicorns, the barrels of an M1911 and a Peacemaker, and the blunt edge of a strange, vaguely human-shaped thing in silver.

“I dunno, Marsy. For a bunch of pathetic allies, they seem to be doin’ alright,” Michael said, thumbing the hammer on his Peacemaker as the moon’s light returned.

“Four against one,” Mars grinned. “This might almost be a fair fight for you guys.”

“You underestimate us at your own peril, boy!” Celestia bellowed.

“Oh, don’t worry thunderthighs…”

“THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?”

“…’cause I’m gonna fix this, no problem. After all,” Mars snapped his fingers, and a dozen rockets suddenly streaked into the night sky. “What are meat shields for?”

“Mikey, you got the six on the…” Chen started, but before either could react, the rockets suddenly nosed down and activated a new series of boosters, slamming into the dirt with unbelievable speed, faster than even the brothers could anticipate. A few seconds later, the ground rumbled and the American defensive line, having stood firm throughout the battle to guard Coltton, collapsed into a massive sinkhole. Jaws dropped amongst the four allies (except for Chen, who currently didn’t have a jaw) at the sight of hundreds of men and several hundred tons of military equipment disappearing into the gaping maw, spilling head over heels into the pit.

“Another gift from the Fuhrer’s weapons labs,” Mars grinned. “Very handy for taking out enemy defenses. I figured a few might come in handy here. And now, the very men you were hoping would tip the scales of battle in your favor are nothing more than sitting ducks.”

“Princesses! Your magic!” Michael said.

“But you require our help to…” Luna started.

This is not up for debate, just go! Those men will be butchered without you! Chen screamed into their minds.

Giving in, the Alicorns nodded and swooped into the skies, diving into the pits to provide shielding for the Americans as they started to clamber their way out. Finally, Mars turned to his progenitors. “Two on one now,” he said. “Still hardly seems fair.”

“What have I told you about runnin’ your jaw, boy?” Michael hissed, readying his pistols.

“Right, why talk when actions speak so much louder than words?” Mars’ hands fell to his belt, grabbing for something. The brothers weren’t going to give him the chance. They attacked at once: Chen rocketing in from the left while Michael dove to the side, pistols blazing. The pair grinned at each other. Certainly, even one with as much power as their lost son couldn't possibly withstand a two-pronged assault from a pair of gods.

CLANG!

POW!

The pair gawped at the sight, barely able to believe their own high-powered, hi-def eyes. Michael took a step back, staring down the barrel of a pistol leveled on a spot right between his eyes. Chen followed suit, dancing back against the long, silvery spike sticking out of Mars' wrist that had just completely and totally blocked him.

It was Mars' turn to grin. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this," he said, a maniacal grin spreading across his face as the battle for Coltton began around them.

Chapter XLV: Human Noise

“Okay, now one…two…three PUSH!” Parker and Shining strained to lift the cot into the back of the waiting truck, where a pair of medics waited to lift and drag it into place.

“That’s the last of ‘em!” The medic said, slamming the truck’s door shut as its engine revved up.

“Perfect!” Shining gasped, not noticing the way his skin stretched and strained with each motion he made.

“Fantastic work, people…er, ponies!” Parker said, turning to the crowd gathered in the town square as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. “Now, get going! Things are about to get real tight around here!”

“Looks like I arrived just in time, then,” a familiar voice said.

“Cady!?” Shining said, peering around Parker to find his wife standing right next to the truck. “Honey, what’re you doing back here!?”

“Cadet Mi Amore Cadenza, reporting for duty, sir!” She replied, saluting as she smiled warmly. “Mission to secure elderly and infirm has been completed. Current status of ponies is safe and stable far out of range of enemy artillery, and has been judged to no longer require monitoring. Now awaiting further orders, sir!”

“Oh my God! That’s your wife, you lucky bastard!” Parker gasped, beaming at Shining.

“As unbelievably sexy as…ahem…as that was,” Shining said, coughing to the side as he walked up to his wife on shaking hooves. “I wanted you out of this village safe and sound, sweetheart! You were supposed to…to be safe!”

“Did you really think I was just going to stay back and wait on the sidelines like a damsel in distress?” She asked, cocking an eyebrow as she reached a hoof to his forehead. “Besides, you should speak for yourself! You’re burning up!”

“That’s just…just because…you’re here…baby…” Shining said, trying to flash a winning grin to disguise the fatigue and dull burning sensation spreading throughout his body.

“Cute,” she replied, kissing his forehead. “But seriously, you’re scorching!”

“I have to agree with your wife there, Mr. Armor,” Parker said, inserting himself into the conversation. “You’re not lookin’ so good.”

“You’re both being…ridiculous…I feel…” Shining was interrupted by a massive stabbing pain searing through his lungs, as if they’d been dowsed in gasoline and set on fire. Gasping for breath, he collapsed over the cobblestone, writhing in agony.

“SHINING!” Cadence screamed in terror.

The entire crowd gathered around, looking on in concern. Parker wasted little time in putting them to work. “Okay, you all know the drill! We need a cot, some restraints, and an IV pack, stat!”

A few ponies closest to him nodded and ran off to chase down one of the MASH trucks. Parker knelt and took Shining’s head in his hands, trying to keep his face pointed upwards and his windpipe cleared. The unicorn continued alternating between gasps and heavy panting, interrupted by the occasional convulsion. “Damn, is he epileptic or something!?”

“Epi-what!?” Cadence gasped, stroking Shining’s hoof as tears started to gather in her eyes.

“Never mind,” Parker sighed, his hands suddenly darting away from Shining’s skin. “What in the hell…”

“What’s wrong!?”

“It’s like…like his skin was convulsing!” Parker said, looking down at the unicorn in terror. “Like there were maggots or something running underneath it.”

Shining shouted in pain, his head bucking against the cobblestone. As his wife watched in terror, she realized she could see it: the skin on his back and neck rippling and wavering like water on a pond during a windy day.

“That’s…that’s right where he was hit,” she mumbled.

“Hit? What’re you talking about?” Parker asked.

“He was hit shuh-shielding me from an explosion. He was gonna die, but then somebody showed up and saved him. Just squirted some goo on him and saved him.” She said, her voice in a faraway tone as she gazed down at her husband, obviously entering the first stages of shock.

Parker knelt by her and looked her in the eye. “This man: did he have light skin? Like mine, but maybe a bit darker?”

She nodded slowly.

“And did he have on a brown leather jacket and blue jeans? With maybe some close-cropped, greased-up black hair?”

“Yes! How did you know!?”

Parker scratched at his chin. “‘In the event that the Major is severely compromised, physically or mentally, the objects under his power will begin a major breakdown, entering an automatic shutdown state to ensure a minimal loss of life should his current form be destroyed.’” He mumbled.

“Wha-what?”

“Nothing, just something from my briefing on the Major,” Parker replied as a group of ponies returned with a cot and IV bag, followed closely by a human medic. “Listen; stay with your husband. Get these ponies out of the city. In fact, you might wanna get them out of the country if you can.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it, I hafta go. If the Major’s in deep shit, we all are. Good luck, Princess.” Unsure of what else to do, the human took her hoof in his hand and kissed it gently before running off towards the front lines.

“Where are you going!?”

“Working off a hunch!” He screamed over his shoulder. Then he was gone, leaving Cadence alone to follow her husband as he was strapped to a cot and taken away, leading the ponies to the nearest MASH point.

The Humvee rumbled along in complete silence. No one talked. No one laughed. No one made random observations illustrating a deeper knowledge of human pop culture than they could possibly possess. The Elements of Harmony and their human friends stared straight ahead, only moving when the vehicle rumbled over a bump in the road, rocking as its suspension creaked. Some had their hooves wrapped around one another: Rarity with Twilight, Applejack with Fluttershy. Pinkie had taken to holding her hoof in Ramirez’s hand, his arm reaching behind his seat to meet her. Rainbow Dash, stubborn as ever, just kept glaring out the window, her Element glistening around her neck while the Humvee’s engine roared in front of her. Ramirez kept both his hands for driving, trying to keep his focus on the road, though it did have a tendency to drift.

Damn, the tension’s so thick in here you could cut it with a knife! The coming battle was weighing on everyone’s minds. Soon, it wouldn’t just be something playing in the background like elevator muzak: it’d be their lives. It would be flooding their senses, assaulting their sight, their hearing, their very minds…

His eye drifted to the rearview mirror, where it saw the hooves all clenched together, holding on with a passion he’d only seen once or twice in real life, and only in a triage center. His mind began to drift back to those ugly days, somebody he knew clenching his hand, screaming as their helicopter evac took off with his leg hanging on by a tenuous sinew of muscle…

He blinked hard to keep himself focused, and a thought drifted into his mind. Grinning at it, one gloved hand left the steering wheel and wrapped itself around Uris’s free hand, the pilot still adrift in thought. It took the pilot nearly a full minute to realize what was going on, and another twenty seconds to follow the hand clenching his up to Ramirez’s smiling face.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he yelled, breaking both the melancholy that had fallen over the vehicle and his grip with the SEAL (but not with Pinkie, Ramirez noticed).

“Took ya long enough,” Ramirez laughed, the ponies joining in slowly.

“What, that near-kiss earlier wasn’t enough homoerotic adventure for you?” Uris said, barely able to keep the smile off his face. “The way you’re acting, it’s like you only want me for my body!”

“Please, whitey. You’re not my type.”

“Hey,” Rainbow said, breaking in between the two. “You might wanna be careful here. He could be spoken for already.” Ramirez and Rainbow promptly fist-hoofed as the giggling turned into full-on laughter.

“And I find that whitey remark offensive, dahlings!” Rarity snickered.

Uris couldn’t keep the smile from turning into a full-on grin. It was good to hear the girls laughing again, even if it was just for a little bit, and only for a few minutes. It was one last way they could ease into what was about to happen. Although he could think of another…

“Slow up, roll down the windows.” He said, his grin fading.

“Why…oh,” Ramirez caught on almost immediately, and obeyed.

“Why are we slowing down? Shouldn’t we get up there as soon as we possibly can?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, but right now you all need to hear this,” Ramirez replied.

“Hear what?” She asked, although in a few moments she had her answer. The air was filled with the echoes from the battlefield up ahead: a near-constant barrage of automatic rifle and machine gun fire, punctuated by the occasional explosion from a hand grenade or mortar round, the flashes from which accented very sound, like a punctuation mark to a loud, rumbling sentence.

“It’s…louder, than I thought it’d be,” Twilight remarked, trying to keep a calm face. “I thought since humans didn’t have magic, your wars might be quieter than unicorn wars. But that…that’s just a different type of magic, really.”

“Magic,” Ramirez mumbled. “Yeah, you could call it that. I call it hell.”

Uris watched, the explosions reflecting in his eyes. For the first time that night, it dawned on him: someone he loved was up there, in the middle of all that. Someone he cared about might die tonight. “Dad,” he mumbled, clenching the hoof in his hand tightly. Pinkie’s other hoof soon joined it, squeezing in concern. The Humvee fell silent again; hooves sliding back together for comfort, only this time, another hoof joined a hand. Ramirez peeked in the rearview mirror to find Rainbow’s hoof slowly sliding towards him. A hand drifted off the wheel to join it, accepting her gladly. She showed him the tiniest smile.

“Uh…you look scared, Mr. Ramirez,” she said quickly, red entering her cyan cheeks. “You…uh…you okay up there?”

“Never better, Dash,” he replied smiling knowingly. “Never…” he gasped, slamming on the brakes as a man nearly stumbled right under their tires.

“Oh, thank God!” The man gasped, dashing to the side of the vehicle. “I thought I’d hafta walk all the way up there!”

“Lieutenant Parker!?” Ramirez and Uris instantly saluted, sitting as straight as they could.

“At ease!” Parker screamed, nearly tearing the door off its hinges as he dove into the back. “I need to get to the frontlines, and pronto!”

“So much for easing ‘em into the shit,” Ramirez grumbled, flooring the accelerator and sending the Humvee careening towards the flashes and explosions just outside Coltton.

Chapter XLVI: Human Wars

“Alright!” Vance screamed as he pulled himself free of the wreckage of the Bradley APC. “Whoever ain’t dead, sound off!”

“Lieutenant Miller reporting, sir,” the Lieutenant said as he pulled himself to his feet, using his rifle to support his body weight. “Because you’re being here means either I’m alive, or I wasn’t nearly as good as I shoulda been.”

“Charming as always, Miller,” Vance grinned as he was helped to his feet. The grin was short-lived as he took a quick look at his surroundings. The Bradley he’d been sheltering behind was now up to its turrets in mud. It’d take an army of men a day and a half to pull it free, and that’s if it was even still operational. It had fared better than most of their other vehicles, though: around him, the overturned and shattered remnants of Humvees lay broken in the mud. His soldiers still lay scattered in the muck. Most of them still looking combat-ready, but some looked like they’d taken more than a few hits when the ground had caved-in beneath them. He wondered if maybe he’d taken a bigger beating than he thought.

“Christ alive, Captain, you’v got a real nice shiner there!” Miller pointed out.

“Hmm? Oh, damn, thanks,” Vance sighed, touching the new sensitive spot on his face. Yep, that was gonna need ice. Too bad their nearest refrigeration units were in the vehicles…

A thousand screams filled the air: not of fear, but of war. He gazed up at the edge of the pit. It sounded like two full-strength battalions up there, almost certainly waiting to burst from the foliage, flood across the field, and descend upon him and his men, and down here, it’d be like shooting ducks in a barrel for them. “Hold strong, people!” He screamed, picking his rifle out of the mud and trying to unjam the dirt from the firing mechanism as best as he could. “We may be at the bottom of a piss-poor excuse for a shithole in the ground, but this is OUR piss-poor excuse for a shithole in the ground! They ain’t gonna take one damn inch of it, y’hear!?”

“Hoo-rah! Hoo-yah!” The soldiers around him screamed, though with a bit less enthusiasm than before. Vance didn’t blame them. The enemy would soon have the high ground along with their advantage of numbers and vehicle support. Though the artillery had gone silent, the situation was still terribly grim. He sighed as he knelt behind the partially-submerged turret of the Bradley, Miller sliding in beside him.

“Situation’s pretty FUBAR, sir,” the SEAL said grimly.

“FUBAR?”

“Yeah, I figured since we’re fightin’ Nazis, might as well start using some of the old lingo,” Miller shrugged and tried to grin. Vance just smiled lightly and shook his head. The battle cries above them grew louder and louder, the sound of hundreds of combat boots stamping over the moist grass joining them. The pair focused their rifles on the top of the ridge, ready to go down swinging. Around them, their men tried to follow suit, ducking behind overturned Humvees, dirt mounds, or whatever cover they could find in hopes of surviving just a few minutes of the impending onslaught. The enemy might take Coltton, but the Americans sure as hell weren’t going to make it easy for them.

A few loud cracks interrupted Vance’s thoughts. “The hell is goin’ on up there? Who’re they shootin’ at?” Miller asked.

Vance could only shrug. A few seconds later, the Princesses swooped down into their trench, alighting gracefully on the ground nearest them. “Princesses!” The commanders gasped, standing at full attention and saluting.

“At ease!” Celestia barked, her words bombarding them like a hurricane: “Vance, my sister and I will provide cover via magical shielding, but we’re not sure how long we can last against these guys!”

As soon as she spoke, the Princesses’ horns glowed, creating a shimmering, chest-high, purple shield between the humans and the top of the ridge in one long line. Reacting immediately, most of the Americans ran up to it and slid into place, ducking down behind its protection. “You and your men must be at the top of that ridge before our magic gives out, understood!?” Luna screamed.

“Yes, ma’am!” Vance and Miller shouted in unison.

“Alright, boys! You heard the princess!” Vance screamed. “Get your asses on that shield and start pushing, and don’t you dare stop until we’ve taken that damn ridge!”

“HOO-RAH! HOO-YAH!” The men shouted back, this time with all the fervor and passion from before. Vance grinned and ran up to join his men on the shield.

“I’ll be damned,” Miller said. “We might just make it through this day yet!”

“For fuck’s sake, you had t’jinx it, didntcha?” Vance said with a grin.

“Not as bad as you did, Mister ’Too Quiet’.”

“Oh God, here they come!” A SEAL off to their left screamed, the sound of boot steps practically on top of them.

“Hold your positions!” Vance said. “Hold your positions, then advance!”

The air filled with the roars of the enemy as they gleefully descended upon the trench, believing they were about to catch a bunch of defenseless Americans with their guards down. What they found instead was a well-formed, perfectly held battle-line, with nearly five-hundred men waiting behind a strange, purple shimmer. The first wave of enemy to bound over the ridge were sliced to ribbons, the Americans simply leaning over the shield to take potshots at them. “ADVANCE! ADVANCE!” Vance screamed, and the entire shield was scraped forward through the mud, keeping the men covered even as the enemy threw themselves bodily against it.

A cry of pain behind him distracted the aging Marine for a quick second. He turned to see the Princesses on their knees, straining to maintain the shields. “Shit,” he muttered, trying to back away from the shield, only to be beaten back by a sudden hail of tracer fire. “SHIT!”

“Keep pushing!” Celestia screeched, sweat pouring down her brow.

“Worry not about us, human! We’ve more than enough power for this task!” Luna said, though the strain in her voice said otherwise.

Spotting the lie in the Princesses’ voices, Vance would have loved to run down there and scream something about not allowing foreign leaders to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a few grunts, or something else terribly noble like that, but the sudden roar of automatic fire up ahead and the pair of Marines at his side dropping to the ground with bullets in their chests interrupted any hope he had of weaning something from the sisters. “Just…don’t kill yourselves over us!” He screamed over the din, turning to rejoin the fight.

“Sir, for fuck’s sake, keep your head down!” Miller screamed, shoving the aging Marine to the ground as another round of fire blazed off the shield.

“They’re tryin’ to kill me as much as any other man, why shouldn’t I fight t’stop ‘em!?”

“Because if we lose you, we lose the whole damn battle!” Vance replied, standing up to unleash a few more rounds with his M4. “Besides, somebody’s gotta direct these idiots into something of a decent fighting force!”

Vance looked around the small ditch where most of his men were still stuck: most were just hurriedly grabbing rifles or whatever was handy to join the fight as quick as possible, leaving behind grenades, heavy machine guns, and body armor to do it! “I see your point,” Vance said, taking the small lull between waves to bound down to the trench and bark orders. “You! Grab that M60 next to ya and get on the line! You! Help him! You! For fuck’s sake, don’t leave ‘nades behind! And you! Where the fuck do ya think you’re going without your helmet!? Don’t give me that shit about there not being any time! Do you wanna…”

Miller tuned his commander out to focus on the battle growing right in front of his face. The enemy had stopped rushing into the hole like a bunch of dumbasses and were already coordinating a line intent on holding the ridge. This was not gonna be easy. “Alright, men! Let’s take that fuckin’ ridge! FORWARD!”

Back in the heart of the field, the battle between the brothers and their lost son had taken a few turns for the worst. Every attack they made, every strike attempted, Mars had a counter for. Chen would rocket up on Mars’s side, his blunt, spire-like arms moving faster than the eye, only to be blocked and countered by that wretched spike. Michael would back up and dive, trying to gain a bit of breathing room from the hand-cannon (he figured just calling it a pistol would be understating its power, “hand-cannon” seemed like a better fit) in Mars’s grip, but no matter how many ducks, dives, and lunges he attempted, he never seemed able to escape the wretched thing’s sights.

How is he so strong!? Chen’s voice asked in his head. He shouldn’t be able to take on two of us at the same time!

“Oh, don’t be so surprised, father!” Mars screamed. The brothers took pause. Mars had been able to eavesdrop on their psychic conversation! Absolutely nothing was supposed to be able to do that! The fallen son proudly held up the spike on his wrist. “After all, this is the same weapon that took on the Lord of Chaos and won with ease!”

Discord… Chen started, the distraction serving to open up the tiniest gap in his defenses. Before he knew what was happening, Mars had seized a leg and flipped him right over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground before twisting to level the hand-cannon right back on Michael.

“Yes daddy, Discord,” Mars said, circling the field like a vulture hovering over a scrap of meat. “Yet another little weakling crushed in the game of survival. Of course, you weren’t there: you were just a little too late. You had to hear about it from the pretty little princess, all covered in the poor widdle draconequus’s blood, didntcha?”

Chen kicked himself back to his “feet,” lashing out with renewed vigor. Michael’s visage darkened even further. It was an old trick, trying to rile them up to make their decisions more spur-of-the-moment, their moves easier to predict. Against an opponent like Mars, something like that could be fatal. Well, two could play that game: “Tough talk from a little brat that had to strike from behind, while the widdle draconequus sacrificed himself for someone else.”

Mars turned a hellish glare on his father. “Brat?” He spat, the fury of a thousand suns blazing in his eyes.

“Spoiled brat. One who had to crush one of the greatest instances of self-sacrifice he’d ever seen simply because deep down, he knew he could never measure up.” Michael smiled knowingly. “He knew he just didn’t have the stones to even come close to that kinda bravery.”

Howling with rage, Mars twisted, coming down like a sack of hammers on Chen, holding him in his grasp as he shoved off against the ground, rocketing up to Michael. The demigod only had time for a few shots from the M1911, but even his incredible, reality-altering bullets were like peas being shot into a tidal wave against his son’s sheer fury. In an instant, his throat joined Chen’s in Mars’ grip, the pair hoisted into the air and held up like a couple of raccoons caught by the exterminator. Then, they were slammed into the dirt with enough force to dig their own graves, blasting a pair of small craters into the ground. Mars held them there awhile; hands clenched tight, breaths coming heavy and ragged. And then, in an instant, the rage was gone, a steely, gray calm returning to his eyes.

“He died because he was weak,” he said plainly, emphasizing the ‘k’ in his speech. “Why can’t you see that? Yes, what I have done could be considered monstrous, but think of what it will accomplish! The lives I have taken will be used to fuel the greatest Empire creation has ever seen! We’re talking about throwing evolution forward a few thousand millennia! An Empire of the strong, ruled by a god! The greatest beings in all of reality, freed of their weaker brethren and bought together to create the ultimate race! The pinnacle of all species! What creation itself has been building up to for generations!”

You don’t know that’s what is supposed to happen, Chen screamed. You can’t possibly know that’s the final goal! We don’t even know what really created the universe, much less for what purpose!

“But just look around you!” He held the brothers up, spinning around as if to show them the world around them, or just the bodies of the fallen scattered throughout the battlefield. “Isn’t that how nature works? The strong live, the weak die. That’s it. That’s the very foundation of natural selection. Why wait for it all to catch up, though? We could see it for ourselves, carry it out and push it along, allow the universe to finally achieve its highest purpose! And we could be there! Standing right at the front, guiding it along! It’ll be so beautiful…”

Tears, real tears this time, entered Mars’s eyes. “Can’t you see it? How beautiful it will be? How incredible? And who knows what we’ll be able to do then! We could become gods! We could become one with the infinite! We could learn everything there is to know! We could reshape this reality as we see fit! Don’t you see?”

He was actually choked up as he asked: “Please tell me you see it? Please tell me I’m not the only one?”

The brothers glared back at him, pausing in their struggles to meet his eyes. “All we see here…”

…is a misguided child with a god complex. Chen’s leg lashed out, using its shimmering, silvery point to hook the pistol on Mars’ belt. The miniature cannon sailed into the air as he followed up with a kick to the ribs, distracting the evil demigod long enough for Michael to spring free, snatch the weapon out of mid-air, and plummet to the ground, blasting a few shots from the weapon. The fallen son was sent flying back by the explosion as his fathers landed deftly on the ground. In a second, Michael had ditched the little cannon and switched back to his beloved Peacemaker, running after Mars with it blazing while his brother sprang off the grass and bounded alongside him. The attack had thrown Mars off-guard, at least: they could tell in the sudden desperation his defense gained and the fury igniting on his face.

“Fine! If you won’t join me and see the universe to its final glory,” he screamed with rage. “Then I’ll just have to wipe you all from reality, starting here!”

Far greater things than you have tried, little one, Chen’s voice replied, a touch of sorrow edging into his tone as he prepared to plunge further into the battle. But once again, the spike held him at bay and Michael found himself in the sights of yet another sidearm produced from his fallen son's jacket. Once again, they were at a stand-still and worse yet, growing tired with each passing moment. The strain of keeping pace with Mars was becoming evident as their acrobatics slowed and their blows became fewer.

Mars saw the fatigue growing in his fathers, and leapt on it like a lion spotting a wounded gazelle. “Face it, old man! Your policy of non-involvement has only led to your weakness! You could have been sucking worlds dry and adding their numbers to your own, but instead you chose to stand on the sidelines. Meanwhile, I have entire planets’ worth of souls at my beck and call, their minds feeding into my power!”

“You talk…way too much…” Michael gasped, suddenly wanting nothing more than to ram the butt of his pistol down his son’s throat, even as the fuzz of exhaustion entered his mind and his processing power began to decline, graying out his thoughts. “Never…raised you…like that…”

He may have a point, brother, Chen said, linking with his brother on an entirely new frequency in the hope for a bit more privacy. As monstrous as it sounds, his willingness to drain so many minds may give him the edge in this battle! What are we to do!?

“Wait and let the last few players make their moves,” Michael said, grinning.

Don’t make allusions to classic games, brother. That is Dietrich’s territory.

Michael glared across the field. Mars smiled back, the hand-cannon raised as he stood with the confidence and power of a god about to claim victory. “Worth a shot,” he shrugged before leaping back into the fray.

Just want to make sure you all know that I always welcome criticism on my writing style, use of plot, whatever. Just no trolling. You know: nothing along the lines of: "You sux, you stupid c**t lolol 6969."

If you like, click like, if you dislike, TELL ME WHY! PLEASE! For the love of God, don't just hit the damned dislike button and flitter off, you tell me you don't like something I've put this much work into, at least have the decency to give me a good reason.

Author's Note

Just want to make sure you all know that I always welcome criticism on my writing style, use of plot, whatever. Just no trolling. You know: nothing along the lines of: "You sux, you stupid c**t lolol 6969."

If you like, click like, if you dislike, TELL ME WHY! PLEASE! For the love of God, don't just hit the damned dislike button and flitter off, you tell me you don't like something I've put this much work into, at least have the decency to give me a good reason.

Chapter XLVII: Something Stupid

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” Uris screamed as Ramirez slammed on the brakes. The Humvee screeched to a halt, sending the ponies and the Lieutenant crashing against the back of the front seats.

“Oww…the hell…” Parker grumbled, rubbing a new sore spot on his nose.

“Why are we stopping nowwww…” Twilight moaned.

“Because apparently, the US Marines and Navy SEALs just got together and decided t’start a ditch-diggin’ business,” Ramirez replied, pointing out the windshield.

“What?” Parker leaned over the passenger’s seat and peered out the windshield, and immediately found himself face-to-face with a thirty-foot drop into a muddy ditch below. “GWAH!” The Lieutenant promptly sprang back, falling right out the side door and landing on his rear end.

“All the grace of a ballerina, sir,” Ramirez snickered as he eased out of the Humvee. He peered into the massive ditch that had spontaneously grown in front of Coltton. The Humvee had stopped barely a foot from the ledge; if the sun wasn’t just peeking over the horizon, he might have gone careening right into the chasm, ending the Elements’ part in the Battle for Equestria in a rather anti-climactic fashion.

“What is this, some kinda…human war ritual?” Dash asked as she and her friends trotted up next to him.

“Naw,” Uris said, limping out of the vehicle. “It looks kinda like an impact crater, but I’ve never seen something this big.”

“Look!” Parker pointed along the ditch, where their brethren continued their literally uphill battle, covered by a flickering wall of magic. In front of them was a TON of enemy, throwing themselves at the shield as they ran out of ammo, doing everything in their power to stall the American advance. Behind them, the Princesses struggled to maintain some sort of spell, practically rolling on the ground with agony while some unidentifiable human tended to them. He squinted at the mud leading up to the ridge: there were a ton of bodies in there, and most of them looked like they were wearing American uniforms. He shivered. He would be in the middle of that right now if it wasn’t for Vance’s orders to evacuate the MASH!

“Naw, check that out!” Ramirez pointed across the ditch, where the Swarm brothers continued their battle with Mars. As they watched, the little figure in a leather jacket emptied a few rounds in the direction of the figure in the gray trench coat. Another, silvery figure lunged with a pair of strange, elongated limbs, only to be grabbed and swung around by the leg, used as a projectile against his own brother.

“Jesus, it’s like watching an anime!” Parker gasped. The other humans turned to him, eyebrows arched. “Not that I…watch that shit…or anything…” the Lieutenant quickly added.

“Dude, you’re in good company here,” Uris said, smiling cockily as he hooked a thumb over at Ramirez. The SEAL shot him a glare that could curdle milk.

“Okay all, what’s say we get this started?” AJ said, pressing a hoof to her Element. “The sooner we get this done, the more lives we save.”

“Sounds nice,” Parker replied, motioning to the ponies. “Ladies, if you please.”

Nodding, the Elements of Harmony gathered in a small circle. Taking one another’s hooves, they waited until Twilight lit a tiny spark of magic into the tiara on her head. Each of the jewels glowed brightly as the six rose into the air, surrounded by a hue of shimmering magic that glowed like the sun as the air around them filled with hundreds of pinpricks of light. Their manes started to billow in some nonexistent wind.

“Pretty…” Parker said, dumbstruck by the display.

“It’s even better in real life,” Ramirez gasped.

“Dude, you are such a…” Uris started before the SEAL laid him out over the ground with a sock to the jaw. “OW! Goddamn dude, you just hit a cripple!”

“And if he doesn’t shut up, he’s gonna be a corpse too! Now shush!”

Helping the pilot back to his feet, the humans watched as a tiny bolt of magic danced from Twilight’s jewel to the next, whirling around the girls, growing bigger and bigger while a low hum built in the air. Uris could almost hear a choir of angels singing in his head, their pitch rising with the Elements’ power. Even the non-brony pilot had to admit he was awestruck by the display, feeling privileged to simply be here, right now, watching as these ponies summoned a power capable of defending an entire kingdom from any threat, great or…

Suddenly, the aura disappeared. The ponies’ eyes jolted open as they each plummeted to the ground, right into the arms of the watching humans.

“Wow, that was really anticlimactic,” Uris said as Rainbow swooped out of his arms and Fluttershy gently turned over to drift to the ground.

“What happened!?” Applejack gasped while Ramirez lowered her and Pinkie to the ground.

“I don’t know! The Elements still have power,” Twilight added, hovering out of Parker’s grip alongside Rarity. “I mean, I can feel it…it’s just like…”

“Like it got all sucked up back into these,” Pinkie said, gazing at her jewel. Frowning, she started gnawing at an edge of the gem, trying to break the magic out.

“That’s it!” Twilight realized. “The Elements are charging! They’re gathering magic from all around! Can’t you feel it?”

The ponies all closed their eyes and pressed a hoof to their jewels. It didn’t take long for even the non-unicorns to feel it: the magical spark growing in each of their gems, cycling up with power, a low hum emanating from them.

“What? They ain’t Ipods!” Ramirez said. “They’ve never needed any sorta charge before!”

“They’ve never faced anything like Mars before,” Parker said darkly. Everyone else looked at him, eyebrows hunched in confusion. He sighed and gazed across the chasm just as the brothers dog-piled Mars, only to be blown back as the rogue demigod took off into the air with a supersonic blast. “I’ve read Swarm’s file. The brothers that refer to themselves by that title are each insanely powerful. Two of them together should be unstoppable. The fact that Mars has been holding his own against them speaks volumes.”

He shook his head. “Our enemy is even more powerful than I’d ever dreamed. Probably even stronger than the Princesses.”

“So, what, we wait?” Uris shrugged.

“Our boys don’t have time for that,” Uris sighed, looking out at the magical barrier keeping his brethren safe. He may not have been a wizard, but he knew that wall didn’t look good.

“No, no they don’t,” Parker said, turning away from the chasm.

“Well, what’re we waiting for!?” Dash said. “Let’s get over there and kick some flank!”

“As wonderful as kicking some…flank sounds, shouldn’t the Elements be our main concern right now?” Rarity asked.

“Rarity’s right. We can’t risk losing one of you in the battle! We could lose everything!” Ramirez added.

“Beg yer pardon, Rami, but Ah can’t sit idly by while a buncha yer friends get their rear ends handed to ‘em fer my sake!” AJ said indignantly.

“Yeah! What’re we gonna do, just sit here while our bros get shredded over there!?” Uris said.

“Oh? And what’re you gonna do, Mr. Cripple?” Ramirez said.

“The fuck didja just say to me, furfag!?” Uris screamed back.

“Oh, you did NOT just lump me in with…” Ramirez peeled off his helmet, unable to finish the sentence. Gritting his teeth, he raised his fists, readying himself.

“Oh, I think I did,” Uris replied, raising one of his crutches like a weapon.

Immediately, the ponies leapt into action, pulling the humans away from each other. “Gentlemen, please!” Twilight said, placing herself between the two. “Can we maybe set the testosterone aside for a second and try to think clearly?”

“Yeah! How else are we gonna find out where that other guy went?” Pinkie said as she tugged at Uris’s arm.

Immediately, the humans stopped screaming at one another. “What other guy?” Uris asked.

All eyes turned to the Humvee as it revved up. Burning rubber, it squealed back away from the ledge and took off along the city’s border, racing towards where the chasm tapered off. “That crazy sonofabitch!” Ramirez screamed, quickly throwing himself into the chasm. The others soon followed, skidding along the side as carefully as they could.

“Please don’t tell me he’s gonna try something crazy!” Uris screamed, trying to keep his weight off his bad leg while the group clumsily made its way to the bottom.

“Dude, he’s an American soldier!” Ramirez screamed back, watching the Humvee pull a one-eighty and take off along the opposite side of the chasm, barreling right at the enemy horde. “I can guarantee he’s gonna try something crazy!”

“C’mon!” Miller screamed, cussing silently as he changed yet another magazine on his rifle. “We’re almost there! Just ten more yards!” He was nearly drowned out as a grenade landed right in front of the shield, blasting it with shrapnel. A few grunts to his left dropped, the lucky ones clutching at their faces and screaming in pain, the unlucky ones just lying motionless. A few more rounds ricocheted off around him; nearly deafening what little was left of his hearing. And still the enemy attacked.

“Sir,” the man at his side said, panting heavily. “It’s hopeless. There’s just too many of ‘em.”

“You will take that pussy attitude and ram it up your ass, Private!” The SEAL screamed back, trying to ignore the way the shield before him flickered weakly against each fresh shot and explosion it took, and the way the enemy didn’t seem to be running out of bodies to replace the few they managed to take out on the ridge line, and the dozens of corpses of his fellow SEALS and Marines lying face down in the mud behind him. Okay, so the situation had officially dipped back into FUBAR territory.

He peeked over his shoulder to see how the Princesses were doing, and his heart nearly dropped into his shoes. There in the mud knelt the Princesses of Equestria, their eyes rolled up in the backs of their heads, expressions of utter pain on their faces. Luna was nearly on the ground from the sheer effort the shield required of her, her horn flickering and crackling sickly. Her sister was at least on her haunches, tears of pain rolling down her cheeks as her horn crackled and popped. And still, that wasn’t the most incredible thing Miller could see, terrifying and heartbreaking as it was. That honor belonged to his Captain, THE Captain Vance, the hero of Fallujah, the hardened American-made machine of war, and the man chosen to lead the American Expeditionary Forces into Equestria, kneeling at their sides and stroking their manes comfortingly. As the SEAL watched, jaw agape, the Captain leaned forward and whispered something into Celestia’s ear. No, wait, his Adam’s Apple was moving too quickly for just whispering. He was singing. THE Captain Vance was singing to comfort a pretty little pony princess, trying to keep her happy as her magic threatened to give way.

After a few seconds of staring, the Captain’s eyes drifted back to the ridge line and spied Miller. His look turned rock solid in a heartbeat. He raised a finger to his lips in a “shushing” gesture while shooting the SEAL a look that said: I swear to God if you tell anyone about this I’ll rip your throat out and have you dragged through the Mojave desert by your balls.

Miller just smiled in return. “We all gotta do our parts for the war,” he mumbled, quickly turning to rejoin the fight.

“Aw God, it’ll take a miracle to save us now!” The Private at Miller’s side screamed hopelessly. Before Miller could turn and nail the Private in the crotch with the butt of his rifle, a green blur shot by, mowing down the tangoes right in front of them, leaving behind only the smell of exhaust.

The pair stared at the empty spot, where a couple of mangled bodies now lay in place of a couple of tangoes. “The fuck was that?” The Private asked.

“Whatsamatter Private?” Miller asked, smiling knowingly. “Dontcha know a miracle when you see one?”

The Humvee darted back into view, riding along the ridge, holding the enemy at bay. “Holy cockballs, is that Parker!?” The Private asked.

“That’s Lieutenant Parker to you, son.”

“COME AND GET SOME, YOU NAZI SONS OF WHORES!” Parker screamed out the window, an M4 blasting away randomly. Sure, it looked badass, but Miller could tell the Lieutenant was ready to wet himself. Every single body that fell under his wheels made him jerk in surprise, his hands shaking visibly as he shakily lobbed a few more shots off from the rifle, but what he was doing was just way too important and way too awesome to possibly give up. The Lieutenant revved up the engine, shooting right past the trio in the middle of the field, who could only stare awestruck as the Humvee plowed right into the Nazi flanks on the ridgeline, mowing down man after man. A cheer rose up from the chasm as the Humvee veered off for another pass, bullets ricocheting off its armor.

“Alright, men!” Miller screamed, watching the Humvee literally plow through the enemy lines. “That’s our cue! Let’s take that damn ridge!”

“HOO-RAH! HOO-YAH!” The Americans unleashed their own battlecry, vaulting Celestia’s shield and launching themselves right across those last few yards to the top, taking the high ground as Parker shot by once again, a fist pumping victoriously as he rode past.

At the bottom of the chasm, Vance looked up, a tear almost (but not quite) in his eye. “Ain’t that the most beautiful sight you ever saw?” He asked.

“Wha-what’s going…” Celestia asked, her eyes rolling wildly in their sockets from the pain.

“Oh! Sorry Princess, you can stop now.”

“Y-you…shuh-sure about…” Luna asked.

“Yes, I’m sure, go ahead,” he smiled. “We’re good now. It’s all gonna be good now.”

“That’s nice…” the Princesses’ magic dissipated, their horns letting off a few residual sparks. They immediately collapsed onto their backs, panting heavily.

“That was…intense…” Luna panted.

“Good job, ladies,” Vance said, standing and saluting. “Really, a fantastic job. Good job, good job, how are you two still single, good job.”

“Whu-what?” Celestia asked, sweat glistening off her unkempt, alabaster coat.

“Good job.”

“Oh. Th-thank you.”

Back on the ridge line, Miller and the others had a line of fire set up overlooking the field, using the quick reprieve to mow down the remainder of the scattered enemy running for the cover of the forest. “We’ve got ‘em now, boys! We’ve got…”

Miller paused. Mars was right there. He could see the bastard, standing right over the Swarm brothers. The demigod glared back at him, and the SEAL watched a few years of his life pass in front of his eyes. A terrible grin crossed the bastard’s face, maniacal but with a hint of horrifyingly powerful intelligence: like a cross between the toothy grin on the Joker’s face and the little half-smile Anthony Hopkins had in Silence of the Lambs. Still wearing the smile, one of the demigod’s gloved hands rose into the air and snapped its fingers. A deep rumble filled the air. “Oh hell,” Miller muttered as the rumble grew louder. “Oh HELL!”

The rumble broke as not one, not two, but four monstrous tanks tore onto the field, flattening underbrush as they roared into position. The ground shook as they bore down on the American lines, their humongous cannons swiveling wildly as the crews inside scanned for the small, ant-like men bracing themselves along the ridge line. “Aw, and then the clouds parted and the Lord Jesus Christ came down to say: ’Miller, I hate your ass’.” The SEAL grumbled.

“Sir?” The man next to him asked. “Now might be the time to tell you that our guys found something in one of the vehicles.”

Miller sighed. What could they have possibly found to go up against another one of those monstrosities? “What is it?”

“Javelins, sir. Three of ‘em.”

Miller grinned. The FGM-148 Javelin rocket was among the most advanced pieces of technology in America’s arsenal: all the power and precision of a cruise missile from a launcher that could be carried by one man. Just key in the targets, launch, and watch it blow the enemy straight to hell. Well, as long as everyone was bringing their best toys to the playground, might as well show off some of their own. “Get that shit setup, pronto!” He barked, pulling a pair of field binoculars out of his pack.

“Yes, sir!” The private threw himself back down the slope, helping the small squad of men traipsing through the mud haul the launchers into position. This was perfect. They might just survive the day after all! Things were finally going their way!

He turned back to the binoculars, and the smile faded. “Aw shit, almost forgot about you,” he mumbled. Parker was still in his Humvee, now caught in the killing zone between the American line and the enemy tank formation. He watched the Lieutenant slam on the brakes and pull the Humvee into another one-eighty, tires squealing against the grass, straining for a grip. Miller could even see his face through the windshield: his eyes wide with fear as he pressed the vehicle to its limits.

“Get a goddamned move on!” The SEAL screamed over his shoulder. Breathless, the soldiers rushed the last few yards up the ridge and collapsed at his side, immediately working to get the launchers ready, loading them up and calibrating the rockets. But it wasn’t fast enough. Not anywhere near fast enough. Parker had maybe ten seconds before he was just a skidmark on the grass. Jesus, he was gonna watch the Lieutenant die right here!

No, wait. Swarm was looking at the Humvee, then at the tank, then back to the Humvee, and back to the tank, and then right at Vance. A cocky half-smile crossed the demigod’s face, as if he were saying: “Keep watching. You’re about to see something cool.” Quick as a flash, Swarm’s M1911 appeared in his hand and leveled at the lead tank while its turret swiveled towards the Humvee.

“What’re you up to, you maniac?” Miller grinned, not daring to look away lest he miss something. He watched the barrel of the 1911 level on a spot right in front of the tank’s barrel, lining right up with it. “Oh, no way.” He was gonna shoot the damn shell! He was gonna shoot it right out of the air! He wasn’t sure about the physics of a .45 caliber round nailing a fucking tank shell, but maybe if it was one of Swarm’s bullets, it would work…and be totally show-offy, but still, holy crap: he was gonna watch a man shoot a shell out of mid-air!

The world slowed for the SEAL. He watched the demigod’s finger tense over his weapon’s trigger, the double-action hammer rising and beginning to fall back on the round in the chamber. He watched as a smile spread over Swarm’s face and the tank’s barrel lined up to take the shot. He watched the beginnings of flames start to chase the shell out of the barrel. He watched as Mars suddenly darted into view, a blur even in this slowed-down world circulating around them. He watched that damned hand cannon appear in Mars’ hand and level on Swarm. He felt himself stand and begin to shout a warning, as if anything he did could possibly reach the man in the leather jacket in time. He watched Mars fire, and Swarm’s arm disappear in a massive, silvery cloud. He watched the surprise grow on Swarm’s face, the desperation as he leaped forward as if to block the shell with his body. He watched the shell whizz right past Swarm’s outstretched fingers and smash clean through the Humvee’s rear, tearing through the armor like tissue paper. He saw the look of hope grow on Parker’s face as the Lieutenant neared their lines.

He watched that look change in the last moment before a massive fireball ripped through the Humvee’s cabin, completely engulfing the Lieutenant. He watched the Humvee flip end over end into the air, and suddenly, the world was right back to its normal pace. “NOOO!” Miller screamed as the blackened husk came crashing back down.

“Sir, we’re ready to fire!” The man next to him gasped.

“FIRE AT WILL, GODDAMMIT!”

“FIRING FOR EFFECT!” The soldiers next to him unleashed their ordinance, the Javelins launching themselves into the air before firing their engines. The portable cruise missiles slammed down on the tank formation like the fist of God, flattening the behemoths underneath a wall of flame, but all too late for the mangled ruins of the Humvee lying on its roof in the middle of the field.

The Lieutenant lowered his binoculars. “Hit for maximum effect. Well done, gentlemen.” He said solemnly as he slowly made his way down to the Captain.

Author's Note

Once again, make sure to leave any comments/critiques below. I always welcome constructive criticism. Trolls will be reported (but I might only block you if you're particularly creative in your trolling).

Chapter XLVIII: "Kid gloves are comin' off"

Michael hit the ground, his arm still a silvery mess, only starting to reform itself into a hand. The flames off the wreckage of the Humvee, overturned just a few yards short of the ridge line, blasted at his face. Looking at it, he knew they’d be lucky to find enough of the Lieutenant to bury, much less hope he’d survived. A few moments later, a loud rip sounded as the Javelin rockets smashed into their targets, turning the tanks into scrap in rapid succession, warming the back of his neck with a series of explosions. His arm reformed itself slowly, pistol and all. He holstered it once more, eyes closing against the sight.

“Bit slow on the draw there, daddy dearest.” A voice cackled.

Michael’s eyes opened. His teeth grit as he slowly turned, rising to his feet. Mars was a silhouette against the wall of flames that was once one of his own tank formations, a grin on his face. Glaring, Michael unzipped his jacket, shrugging it off slowly to reveal the white undershirt over his muscular frame. Chen nodded, his form morphing into something more aerodynamic, the chrome surface of his body rippling to handle incredible winds.

“Not one more soul, Mars, you hear me? Not one more.” Michael hissed, drawing his pistols. “Kid gloves are comin’ off now.”

“Oh?” Mars grinned, lifting his officer’s hat and shrugging his trench coat off, allowing both to fall to the ground. “Goody, I was wondering when you were gonna get tired of-“

He was interrupted as Michael appeared right in front of him and hammered a right hook against the side of his face, plowing him into the ground. The demigod dove to finish his fallen son with a pile-driver to the stomach, only to miss, his elbow digging a crater into the ground. Mars flipped back to his feet and blinked, and suddenly the rest of the world stopped, falling into an eerie sort of silence. Of course, it wasn’t the world falling silent. The demigod was simply moving too quickly for sound to reach his ears in time, his perception racing forward with his body moving near the speed of light. A few pitiful little bullets crawled lazily through the air, shockwaves rippling out behind them as if they were moving through Jell-O. Behind him, Chen was suspended in mid-air, his appendages ready to strike the moment he landed, which, to Mars, would probably be in an hour or so. Like this, it was almost child’s play to stroll over to his father’s side at around Mach Six. The man in the white undershirt was still elbow-deep in the ground, clods of dirt sailing from the impact at a snail’s past. Mars brushed them aside to gaze into his father’s eyes with a sort of longing. The calm, placid cool he saw there shook him to his core. How could one hold so much power and yet be so calm?

“Look at you: you’re magnificent,” he sighed, his voice an ultra-fast little squeak, indiscernible to human ears. The hand-cannon reappeared in his fingers. “Just glorious. So much power, so much rage. You could’ve ruled at my side. Hell, you could’ve surpassed me! Such a waste.”

He pressed the weapon against Michael’s temple. “Such a pitiful waste.”

Suddenly, something clenched his ankle. Mars’ eyes widened at the sight of Chen’s spire-like appendages clamped firmly around his leg. His jaw dropped. The bastard was moving as fast as he was! Come now, young one, Chen’s voice cooed. Did you really think you were the only one who could play this game?

Like I said, son, Michael’s voice added in their heads as his hand wrapped around Mars’s other leg. Kid gloves are comin’ off.

Acting simultaneously, the pair flipped Mars over onto his back. The fallen son roared with fury as he skid across the ground, small blades of grass and dirt clods drifting slowly into the air by his head. The brothers followed up with a dual gut-stomp that formed yet another crater in the ground beneath Mars’ body. Any other being would have been killed instantly by the pain alone, Mars just got angry. He would have loved to quip some sort of back-handed insult to his fathers, but at the speed they were all working at, it would take five minutes for the sound of his voice just to reach its target’s ears. As it was, he settled for reaching up, clenching the brothers by their inner thighs and slamming their bodies against one another. The crack of the impact emanated through the air, slowly blossoming out as a visible ripple while the brothers replied with a pair of kicks from their free legs, using the momentum from the blow to backflip out of Mars’ reach. Mars simply leapt back to his feet, immediately staring down the barrel of Michael’s Peacemaker.

Oh please, he grumbled telepathically. At this speed, even a human could dodge a bullet easily. You’ll just be wasting…

Michael replied with a trio of shots that impacted against Mars’ frame, sending him reeling back. The fallen son looked in shock at the three holes in his chest, glistening with silver, but not from his own healing process kicking in. This was a different glisten, and it felt…sinister. Wrong. As if something had been implanted into his body.

Not these bullets, Marsy, Michael said, loading a few fresh rounds into the revolver’s chambers. There’s a little of me inside of ‘em. Nothing can dodge these.

You see, young one: we have spent years honing and refining our abilities to utilize them in ways you cannot even imagine, Chen added, scooping up the hand cannon from where Mars had dropped it and crushing it between the nubs of his appendages. We are masters of our craft, not wayward children with a few toys.

Wayward child, am I? Mars stood and cracked his neck, healing the remainder of his wounds with a single thought. Alright, if that’s the way you wanna play it…

The spikes rocketed out of his wrists, shimmering in the moonlight with a new, darker sheen. The brothers took one look at it and glowered, readying themselves. Though he knew they’d never hear him, Mars couldn’t resist screaming: “COME ON!” before the trio rushed at each other. And thus, the Battle for Coltton, and for all of Equestria, entered its final phase.

Miller tried to keep his eyes off the field. Looking at the three demigods fight there was like staring too long at a rollercoaster from right underneath it. The three shapes darted and moved and danced about each other so quickly his mind couldn’t even take it. The SEAL closed his eyes, trying to regain his focus and fight back the vomit rising in his throat.

“Aw God,” one of the SEALs off to his side grumbled before turning and puking into the dirt. “Aw God, they’re so fast! How can anything be that fast?”

“Just don’t look at it, boys, you’ll get motion sickness,” Miller sighed. For a man that had just scored a major victory against the enemy, he sure felt tiny. Sure, he had turned back a few hordes of gun-slinging, screaming, elite Nazi shocktroopers, but compared to the madness going on in the middle of the field, what was that, really? Looking at that flashing, impossible sight, he suddenly felt aware of the huge show going on all around him, and of the very tiny part he played in it. Just look at where he was! A land of magical, talking ponies that up until a few days ago he thought only existed in a cartoon for little girls and creepy older guys? And it was all to fight Nazis from an alternate Earth where they LOST World War Two!? He didn’t dare look up at the night sky, now fading away with the rising sun. He could just imagine seeing all those stars and all those planets and realizing that, for all its sheer immenseness, the sky here AND the sky back home were still just tiny parts of a massive whole that spanned billions of realities existing as the result of an infinite amount of possibilities where all the worlds that could’ve-been and should’ve-been and never-should’ve-been-but-oh-well-here-they-are-anyway existed and everything he knew, EVERYTHING he loved and was just beginning to understand a tiny fraction of, was all just a teensy tiny part of that massive picture which made the mind reel just to…

“Miller, glad t’see you survived.” Vance said as he climbed up to the SEAL’s position.

Miller turned and saluted, grateful for the distraction from his thoughts. “Glad to see you holding up so well, Captain.”

The SEAL smiled, but the Captain’s frown only seemed to deepen. “Now, we both know what happened back there. We both know what I had to do to keep the battle in our favor.”

“What-oh!” Miller replied, a grin appearing high on his cheeks. “Yes sir, yes we do.”

“The point is, none of that matters now. The past is the past. What’s done in war should never be bought to the light of day, no matter how…strange it may look in retrospect.”

“And what if it just happens to surface, sir? Maybe as a rumor among the men?”

The frown was now so dark it seemed to swallow the light around Vance’s face. “Well, then I would be very displeased, and you should know that people who displease me have an unfortunate tendency to disappear. I would never endanger my cause by attacking one of my own in the middle of a battle, no, but just know that I have a few free weekends coming up, a sedan with a lot of trunk space, and five places I could name right off the bat where I could hide something and it would never, EVER, be found. Am I being clear?”

The smile never left Miller’s face. “Crystal, sir.”

“Good,” the Marine chanced a peek over the ridge line at the show Miller was trying so hard to ignore. “So that’s how he fights, huh?”

“Yeah,” the smile faded from Miller’s face. “It’s…it’s really something, isn’t it?”

“Kinda makes you feel small, doesn’t it?” Vance added, pulling himself back down from the ridge.

“Yeah, yeah it kinda does.”

That mischievous grin crossed Vance’s face again. “Gosh, I certainly hope something doesn’t happen while…”

Once again, Miller clamped a hand down on his Captain’s face, his grin returning. “Captain,” he said patiently, a finger raised. “If you were pushing our luck before, you’re just flicking off God now.”

“Just making sure your reflexes are still workin’, old-timer,” Vance replied, shoving the SEAL away. “Besides, I think we’ve faced down enough bullshit tonight to say we should be all set from this point on.”

Of course, the moment those words left his mouth, a massive cry rang up from the forest. All eyes left the display in the field for the pink-colored tree line before them. The cry was soon joined by a chorus, the war-sounds of a thousand tired men, not yet beaten, readying for the final push. In an instant, a half-dozen red banners appeared in the darkness of the forest, accenting the swastika at each and every one of their centers. Miller glared at his comrade.

“I really gotta learn when to shut my damn mouth and leave well enough alone,” Vance sighed, reaching for one of the M4’s lying in the mud and cleaning out the firing mechanism as best as he could.

“When we’re back stateside, I’m arranging for someone to put duct tape over the entire lower half of your face.”

“Miller, if we survive this you can just stitch the damn thing shut.”

“Deal.”

The cries of the men in the woods drew closer, a thousand boots marching to war, a thousand boots traipsing through the brush, flattening all in their path to the tone of an invisible drummer, the red banner raised before them growing clearer and clearer to the enemy arrayed against them. Vance grimaced. “God, if we just had some reinforcements…”

“Howzabout a magical death cannon?” Miller asked, grinning as he watched the bottom of their canyon.

“Huh…” Vance drifted off as he looked over his shoulder to see the one thing in the entirety of the metaverse that could put a smile on his face just then: his son, limping along at the bottom of the ridge with the Elements of Harmony and a missing SEAL in tow. The aging Marine rocketed out of his position and rushed to the bottom of the ridge with a surprising amount of speed, the rifle only remaining in his hands as an afterthought. The pilot smiled and saluted as his father approached and paused just a few short feet away. For a second, the Captain seemed lost for words, eventually starting with: “Uh-well done, gentlemen. Knew you could do it.”

“Thanks, Captain,” Uris said, the confident smile still on his face.

“Princess!” The ponies gasped, rushing around the humans’ feet to their rulers, still lying in the mud in an attempt to recover.

“Girls, just wait a-“ Uris started. He shut up at Ramirez’s hand on his shoulder.

“Let ‘em have this,” the SEAL whispered. “Lord knows they probly need it after a night like this.”

“Well, they ain’t the Rangers all holding carry-out bags from The Olive Garden,” Miller said, smiling as he casually strode towards the trio. “But I guess they’ll hafta do.”

“Ugh, The Olive Garden?” Uris groaned, his nose wrinkling. “Seriously? That place is a glorified, Italian-themed McDonalds.”

“Much as I’d like to stand here and talk ‘bout our favorite whitey food stops,” Ramirez interrupted. “We’ve got somethin’ more pressing goin’ on. Y’know, a crazy bastard in a stolen Humvee?”

“Shit! Right!” Uris gasped, smacking himself in the forehead. “Dad- sorry, Captain -Parker swiped our Humvee when he saw the shit you guys were in. We kinda lost track of him, but we were hoping you could help us stop him and maybe talk some sense into him. Couldja?”

The smiles on Vance and Miller’s faces evaporated like an ice cube in the deepest pit of hell. “No son, no we can’t,” Vance replied solemnly.

“Now why in the hell no – oh,” the SEAL’s eyes widened as he pieced together what the look on his father’s face meant. He took a seat in the mud, shock overtaking his body. “Oh my God.”

“We just met the guy,” Uris gasped, hobbling a step back. “He was just right next to us…”

“It was a good death: a real hero’s death,” Vance said, successfully disguising the pain leaking into his voice. “If it wasn’t for him, a lot more men would be lying dead in the mud up there. He’ll be buried with full honors back stateside.”

“Yeah, I’m sure his whole family’ll appreciate that.” Uris sneered. “A medal’s a great substitute for a son, or a husband, or a dad.”

Vance and Miller both leveled dirty looks on the pilot. “We came here to do a job, and we are gonna finish it,” Vance barked. “Parker understood how much was at stake here, and for his memory’s sake I hope you figure it out for yourself. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” the pilot grumbled, a defiant look still in his eye.

“Excellent,” Miller added, placing himself between the pair. “And hey, it ain’t all bad: we’ve got the Elements of Harmony now! Those Nazi fucks try anything, we just magic death-ray ‘em, right?”

Uris and Miller exchanged uneasy glances. “Well, see,” the pilot started, suddenly becoming intensely interested in a rock by his foot. “It’s not really gonna be that easy.”

“Oh? And why’s that?”

“Well,” Ramirez started. “Right now it looks like…they’re…charging.”

Vance gave them a deadpan look. “Charging.”

“Yeah.”

“The ultimate embodiment of magic on this plane, and it needs to charge.”

“And we don’t…really know…when they’ll be ready.” Uris added sheepishly.

The Captain’s jaw dropped. It took all his strength not to crumple to his knees and pound his fists into the mud, cursing every deity he could think of. “Gettin’ my hopes up just to send them crashing back down again,” he grumbled, face-palming himself over and over again.

“SIR! They’re almost here!” A frantic voice cried from the top of the ridge. Vance’s eyes widened. He grabbed his rifle and ensured there was a fresh round in the chamber. At the same time, Ramirez whipped out the M4 he’d managed to grab from the Humvee while Uris pulled out his M1911. Nodding, they silently began slogging their way to the top of the ridge.

Chapter XLIX: Last Wave

Back near the Princesses, Rainbow pulled herself out of Luna’s mane just long enough to look up at the four men. “Where’re they goin’?” She asked.

“Nowhere…you need to be…little one…” the Princess of Night panted, her chest heaving.

Twilight looked over the sisters, clenching her teeth with worry. The sheer amount of magic they’d used showed in the hairline fractures on their horns, the sweat matting their coats, the way both closed their eyes every few minutes only to jerk awake, as if just barely staying on the edge of sleep. Even Celestia’s omnipresent mane seemed to be frayed and split at points. “Princess, are you sure I can’t get you anything?” She asked.

“I have…all I need…right here…my little pony…” Celestia wheezed, pulling her student in for a hug. “I just need rest. Will be…in ship-shape…soon.”

“Gosh, what happened here?” AJ asked, turning to look up at the ridge line and the scattered bodies lying in the mud. “It’s like a nightmare or somethin’.”

“Maybe we should see for ourselves,” Rainbow shrugged. “We’re gonna be in this soon as the Elements charge up anyway…”

“NO! No…” Celestia gasped, earning a few surprised looks from the ponies around her. Sighing, she pulled Twilight in closer. “Up there…is no place…for a pony.”

“But what, the big, strong men can take it?” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Sorry Princess, but watching from the sidelines isn’t my style. I’m heading up there.”

“Dash, please!” Twilight gasped, reaching for her friend just as she opened her wings to take off. “Please, listen to the Princess! Has she ever steered us wrong before?”

The pegasus’ wings folded in against her body again, an unsure look crossing her face. “Well…no…but…”

“And besides,” AJ added, putting a hoof around her friend’s shoulder. “We can always head up there when those boys’re all busy with fightin’, an’ swoop in when they finally need us t’pull their behinds outta the fire.”

Rainbow put a hoof to her chin. “Us swooping in and saving Uris’s butt from certain destruction at the last moment?” She grinned. “Okay, I’m cool with that.”

“Ah figured ya’d be.”

Daybreak over Coltton. Over five-hundred Marines and Navy SEALS laid in wait along the new ridge line on the outskirts of town. Every one of them had a friend lying face-down in a pile gathered at one edge of the ridge, and every one of them knew they could be next. Most of them now struggled to keep those thoughts at bay as the swastikas in the forest before them grew clearer, and the sounds of boots on underbrush grew louder. “Nazis,” Ramirez grumbled, sighting down his M4.

Next to him, Uris snickered, pistol still at the ready. “The hell’s so funny?”

“Dude, really? Nazis? Talking magical ponies? All this firepower? It’s like we’re in the head of an eight-year old.”

“Or a real immature twenty-something,” Ramirez added in a way that was somehow totally not insulting at all. The chanting grew; a thousand voices all bellowing in time with their bootsteps, all bearing down on the American lines. Uris took a shaky breath.

“Gentlemen, as ridiculous as this situation may be, it could very easily represent our last moments alive,” his father said, citing down his M4 along with every other man on the line. “If there’s anything you think the other men on this line should know, now’s the time.”

After a few minutes with nothing but the steady beat of the chanting, Miller spoke up from right next to them: “Vance, I’ll admit I was a little pissed when I was told I’d be subordinate to a Marine, but after today I see why Command chose you. You’re a capable leader and probably one of the bravest sons a’ bitches I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting in my life, and it’s been an honor serving with you.”

Vance nodded with that, and then he spoke, eyes on his son. “Pete, I’ve always loved you, no matter what. I know I didn’t always act like it, but everything I did was in hopes of giving you a decent life and a shot at NOT dying in a giant shithole a million miles from home, and I’m sorry it ended up like that anyway.”

“Holy shit, man,” Ramirez said, turning to the pilot by his side.

Uris was trying his level best to suppress his tears. It wasn’t working. The pilot wiped at his eyes and turned to his Father, smiling. “Dad, remember when Charlie broke your Joe Dimaggio Yankees Special Edition Collector’s Plate, back in ’97?”

“Uh…yeah…” Vance replied, cocking an eyebrow at his son.

“He was lying. It was really me: I was goofin’ around on the couch, fell off, and knocked it off its shelf. Charlie was just covering for me ‘cause I let him take my dessert the other night.”

Vance pushed himself up out of the mud to look at his boy. Uris smiled back, tears rolling down his face. The aging Marine just shook his head and smiled peacefully. “Yeah, that sounds like Charlie.”

“Yeah,” Uris wiped the tears away and sighed shakily, raising his pistol again. “Good ol’ Charlie. Hope we see him soon.”

“But not too soon.”

“Welp,” Miller turned to the other SEAL in their little group. “That’s everyone but you, son. Got anything you wanna say?”

Ramirez thought a while, weapon still at the ready. “Fluttershy is best pony,” he finally said, eyes never leaving the forest.

Uris turned to him, shaking his head and laughing through the tears streaking down his face. “Ho-Ho-Holy shit…” he started, only to be interrupted by a loud crack and a thump as a bullet smacked into the dirt by his face, kicking up little clods. “HOLY SHIT!”

“THIS IS IT! AW GOD, THIS IS IT!” Someone screamed down the line as the first shots filled the night, building in volume as more and more men entered one another’s sights.

“HOLD YOUR GROUND! THIS IS THE LAST PUSH!” Vance screamed, returning fire. Just then, the first men burst from the tree line and onto the field. These were mostly whatever conscripts the enemy hadn’t used up in the first wave, wearing tattered clothes with swastikas lazily sewn on and waving machetes and rusty pistols in the air. This time, however, they were joined by regularly uniformed troopers with their assault rifles blazing and faces contorted with battle rage.

All along the line, the Americans opened fire, their muzzle flares illuminating their faces for the quickest millisecond: some held fear, some a grim determination, all focused on killing the enemy. In desperation, a few Molotovs crashed against their barricade. One Marine fell away, screaming as his shoulder ignited, only to be doused by a few quick-thinking SEALs and their canteens. And still, the enemy onslaught continued.

The ponies gazed up at the battle growing over their heads. A few tracer rounds lit through the growing daylight like shooting stars while the occasional explosion rumbled through the ground. One of the humans, burnt by a Molotov, was led to the makeshift Aid tent set up amongst the wreckage of vehicles in the gorge, screaming and clutching at the horrific burns on his face. “Do you still wish to be up there, Rainbow?” Rarity asked quietly.

“Not as much as I did before all that started,” Dash replied, the smallest hint of fear edging into her voice.

A small squeak interrupted everypony. Celestia smiled gently and turned to the little shivering bundle of daisy-yellow feathers nestled beneath her left wing, eventually coaxing Fluttershy into lifting her face out of her hooves. “I-it’s terrifying,” she whispered. “And-and there’s so many…”

Her eyes darted to the hillside. One of the mud-covered bodies shifted and turned over; the dirt around it stained a crimson red, its eyes staring blankly into the sky. The pegasus stared at it for a second more before quickly covering her face again. “So many…”

“And they’re all up there,” Twilight mumbled, Luna and Celestia’s ears perking up. “They’re all up there, fighting and dying for us. They just keep on going and fighting and dying and pushing and…” she trailed off, a new look of determination replacing the fear in her eyes. The Princesses smiled as the little lavender unicorn pulled herself out of Celestia’s hold and started the trot up the embankment.

“Twilight?” Pinkie asked. “What’re you doing?”

“I thought we had to wait for the Elements to finish…whatever it is they are up to,” Rarity added.

“And every second we wait, more of them die for us,” the unicorn replied sternly, touching the tiara in her mane. “Can we really wait for these if it means even one more of them dying? If it means even just one more life thrown away?”

“Dang good point, egghead!” Rainbow Dash shouted, suddenly rocketing out of Luna’s reach.

“Daggum Twi, you could talk a bull out of a rodeo!” Applejack added, pulling herself free and landing next to her friend.

In an instant, Rarity and Pinkie were next to the three ponies already starting up the hillside. “When this is all over, it’s gonna call for the biggest, most spectacular party EVAR!” Pinkie gasped.

“When this is all over, I’m going to need a MONTH at Aloe and Lotus’s,” Rarity remarked, smiling weakly at her friends.

“Now, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, turning to face the Princesses. “I know you’re scared, but…”

“…But the humans have done a lot for us tonight,” the quiet pegasus’ voice remarked behind them. The five all turned in surprise to find their ultra-shy friend, having swooped out of the Princess’s grip and alighted a few feet ahead of them. “I-I think it’s about time I started to return the favor, r-right?”

“Right,” Applejack said, grinning wildly as the six friends all pulled in together for a quick hug.

“Princess?” Twilight turned to face her monarch. “I know you said it was no place for a pony up there, but…”

“Just go, my faithful student,” Celestia replied, her eyes sparkling. Twilight looked down to her friend and mentor in shock. “I simply didn’t want you all to be overwhelmed by the sounds of battle at once. Better for you to hear those sounds and reach the conclusion to help on your own terms than to rush headlong into the fray with hardly a care.”

Immediately, Twilight galloped down to her mentor and nuzzled her. “Thank you, Princess,” she said, not noticing the tears gathering in Celestia and Luna’s eyes as she turned to trot back up to her friends.

“We’re gonna win this for you two!” Rainbow hollered as the ponies began the trek up to the frontlines. “Just put your hooves up and relax! It’ll be fine!”

“We have faith in thee!” Luna shouted, keeping her eyes on the six until they were well out of earshot before she turned to her sister. “That Twilight is going to make an incredible Princess when the day comes,” the Princess of Night whispered.

“Spoilers, dear sister,” Celestia whispered back as she laid her head in the mud to rest. “Spoilers.”

Chapter L: Elements in Da House

“COME AND GET SOME PUNKS!” Uris screamed, pistol barking fire down into the field.

“This ain’t Compton, shithead!” Ramirez yelled over the din of battle, pulling the pilot back behind cover as the first men charging their position went down beneath the withering fire pressing down on them.

“For fuck’s sake, try not to get hit in the first part!” Miller screamed at the pair, a burst from his rifle taking down a pair of conscripts rushing at them with rusty-looking pistols in hand. “These guys’re nothing, next wave’s gonna include regulars and probably special forces!”

“You mean SS!? We could wind up fighting SS!?” Ramirez shouted back. The pilot at his side turned to him, eyebrows raised, and the SEAL rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ve cracked open a history book before. Try not to faint.”

“I don’t care if they throw a whole damned company of Panzers at us, we’re not losing today!” Vance screamed between blasts from his rifle. As it stood, his position was still strong: the enemy hadn’t closed to within twenty yards of the line yet. But these were just barely-trained conscripts with almost nonexistent weaponry, with a few army regulars interspersed between. The enemy hadn’t even begun his real attack yet.

“Jesus, this ain’t war, it’s a massacre!” Miller screamed as the last of the conscripts fell dead on the field. “Why don’t they just surrender!? For fuck’s sake, why do they just keep coming!?”

“You know how the Nazis were,” Vance sighed as an eerie quiet fell over the field. “These guys have probably been told all their lives that the regime knows best, that it’s the only moral authority they should ever have. Someone grows up without anyone to tell ‘em different…”

He spread his hands out over the battlefield, now almost inundated with the bodies of conscripts and army regulars. “And there y’go.”

Miller shook his head and whistled. “That’s the most fucked up…do you hear something?”

There was a sudden whistling sound, followed almost immediately by a deep, earthy thud and a huge puff of smoke materializing in the field. “MORTARS! WE GOT MORTARS INCOMING!” Someone screamed.

“What is…is that smoke?” Uris looked out over where the mortar had impacted.

“Naw,” Vance said, eyes widening in terror as he watched. “But I wish to the Lord Jesus it was.”

One of the bodies the shell had impacted suddenly burst into flame, consumed within seconds in a crackling, fizzling flash of white. A wave of heat blasted the faces of every man on the line, burning hotter and brighter than the sun at high noon in the middle of July. “Willy-Pete!” Ramirez screamed. “Those motherfuckers are droppin’ white phosphorous on us!”

“Jesus Christ,” Miller said, all the color leaving his face as he watched a few more bodies ignite, blackening and crackling with the flames. “That…that ain’t right.”

A few more whistles entered the air. “Shit-fuck! GET DOWN! EVERYBODY DOWN!” The four men all huddled together, hunkering down alongside the rest of the line, waiting for the impact that would spell their doom to a slow and horrible death.

“Not like this, man! I don’t wanna burn!” Someone screamed. Someone else yelled for them to shut the fuck up just as a few more dull thuds burst right over their heads. Vance clenched his teeth, waiting for the white-hot flaming death to rain down on all their heads. And he waited. And he waited. After a few extra seconds, he peeked up to see why he wasn’t dead yet. A smile spread over his face as he tapped the men next to him.

“Why ain’t we…” Ramirez started, then he looked up and the grin spread to his face. “Aw, yeah!”

“Elements of Harmony in da house!” Uris whooped. High over their heads, a series of purple shields glowed and shimmered, thick clouds of white phosphorus blooming out over them and cascading to the side like little waterfalls of fiery death, landing harmlessly somewhere out in the field. It was almost like a fireworks show as they watched, Marines and SEALs alike cheering and hollering with each impact diverted. Scanning around, Vance caught sight of two little unicorns: one lavender, one alabaster, straining to maintain the shields.

“Twilight is magic!” One Marine screamed as he took notice, the whole line applauding and cheering the pair.

“Rarity! Have my children!” The SEAL next to him yelled, earning a strained smile from the white unicorn.

A split second later, a gust of wind shot over the Americans’ heads, blowing the remainder of the white phosphorus back out into the forest. One didn’t need to see the streak of rainbow to know who was responsible. “She just got 20% cooler!” Somebody else yelled as the cyan pegasus streaked overhead, grinning in pride.

All at once, a cry rang out from the side. In their enthusiasm, the Americans had failed to notice a squad of men sneaking up on their left flank, the lightning-bolt insignias on their shoulders unmistakable. “SS!” The men nearest to the group cried just as four helmeted, black-clad men dove at them, lobbing grenades.

“Oh, shi-“ one of them started as the explosives landed at their feet. Scrambling for cover, they each knew there was no way to get out of range before the little timers ran out. One dove towards them, intent on shielding the rest of his squadmates, when an orange blur rocketed into sight and promptly bucked the explosives clean out of the ridge, where they detonated harmlessly in the field.

“YEE-HAW! That’s how y’throw a rodeo!” Applejack shouted, waving her hat in the air as the men gathered round. She smiled politely and placed one hoof behind the other in a little bow.

“Marry me,” one of the Marines said, getting down on one knee in front of the burnt-orange pony as his teammates let out a cheer.

“Now c’mon, everypony! What should we do with all these guns and ammo!?” A high-pitched shriek asked from one side of the ridge. The men turned in confusion as Pinkie smiled down at them from the top of the ridge. “You gotta…”

“…shaaarree…” one of the SEALs said with a smile. “You gotta caarrreee…”

In a second, another man was singing, his voice trailing the first, then another, and another. Soon, the whole line was singing, using the song that had sparked a war to fight one: “You gotta shaarrreeee! You gotta carrrreeeee! It’s the right thing to do…”

Suddenly, they were pushing back, forcing the SS into a retreat beneath a withering curtain of interlocked fire, their voices still audible over the gunfire: “You gotta shaaaarrrrreee! You gotta caaaaarrrree! And there’ll always be a way through!”

“How are these people singing a song they’ve probably never heard before?” Uris asked.

“It’s Pinkie Pie: that’s how,” Ramirez remarked. “Now, that’s almost everypony, except where’s…”

Uris tapped him on the shoulder and pointed. Following his finger, the SEAL smiled at the sight of a little yellow pegasus huddling over a Marine, carefully dressing a bullet wound to his shoulder. “Fluttershy is best pony!” He called.

She cringed and looked up at him, immediately pasting on a nervous smile. “Oh, hi Uris!” She said shakily.

His smile faded. “Hey, Flutters.”

“I-um…I have to go,” she said, rushing to the side of the next soldier that needed help. Uris sighed as he watched her go, purposefully choosing a casualty further away from him.

“She’s still scared of me,” he mumbled.

“Hey, coulda happened to any of us!” Ramirez said comfortingly. “From whatcha told me, you reacted just like any soldier would have.”

“But I wasn’t just any soldier! At least…” he looked at where the little pegasus continued her life-saving work. “…at least not to her.”

“She just needs time, man. That’s all.”

As the shields over the American lines shimmered out of existence, each of the Elements descended in turn to join their allies, met with a huge round of applause. “Well done, ladies, very impressive,” Vance said, striding up to them. “Any of you mares ever consider a career in the United States Armed Forces?”

“We’re just happy to help, commander,” Twilight said with a smart little smile. “Any lives that we can save today will be our just reward.”

“Oh, the things I could do with a few platoons of men with your guts,” Vance smiled, shaking his head as the cheers around him rose. “Thing is, we aren’t outta the woods yet. This next wave will include everything the enemy has, thrown together in one final push.”

“Then I think I share my friends’ sentiment when I say: BRING IT ON!” Twilight barked.

“Heavens, this is going to get nasty,” Rarity said with a little smile of anticipation.

“Welp, looks like the rodeo ain’t over ‘til it’s over, everypony,” Applejack said as she straightened her hat.

“I-I’m gonna try my best here,” Fluttershy said, stroking the hand of a fallen SEAL.

“Aw yeah, it’s clobberin’ time!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Hush Rainbow, do you wanna get us sued!?” Pinkie hissed, clamping a hoof over her friend’s mouth.

Michael focused his energy, his body reeling from a thousand tiny cuts, now throbbing with the infections pounded into them by his own son. His fist ramming into the ground, summoning the Vulcan again just as Mars dove atop him, spikes gleaming intimidatingly. As the man in the white T-shirt bought his weapon to bear, the spikes clashed with the spinning barrels, sending sparks flying. The pair glared at each other through the shower of flying metal, bits shearing off the barrels before Chen leapt back into the fray, the blunt ends of his silvery fists connecting with Mars’ jaw. Sneering, the fallen son trapped one of Chen’s arms in a lock and used it to pivot his body right into the ground, clods of dirt sailing lazily upwards from the impact. Michael followed close behind, his feet pounding the ground with little shockwaves that slowly bloomed out from his steps as he leapt and bought his fists down on the back of his former son’s head, only to be rewarded with a few killer roundhouse kicks to the pelvis, followed by a few slashes to his leg from one of the spikes. He took a step back, his head reeling as he clamped a hand over the wound. It glazed over with an angry-looking, darkened silver rather than the usual chrome. Mars had cut him, badly, and now he needed to direct precious few resources to containing yet another infection forced into his body.

Tired yet, daddy? Mars’ voice taunted over the psychic link, the only sound which could be heard in such an incredibly sped-up world. Still smiling despite the multiple little incisions on his own body, he continued his taunt. Come now, aren’t I just a simple brat with a few toys I don’t know how to use?

You talk tough for a man whose forces just got their asses kicked by a buncha talking ponies, Michael taunted.

What… finally, Mars paused and took stock of the situation along the American lines, kicking off into the air and sailing right over the ravine with the brothers right on his tail. Once Mars was satisfied in his knowledge of the situation on the ground, he grinned. Do you really believe my forces are even close to defeat? That by mowing down a few conscripts, you’re even close to winning? Immediately, a small burst of energy echoed through the air, operating on frequencies so high Michael could only start to guess at its meaning.

Michael, did you feel that? Chen’s voice suddenly barked over the line.

Yeah, I did, Michael replied, grimacing. What was that, some sorta attack?

No, it was a signal!

What!? A signal to who… Michael cut himself short as he realized just to whom, turning towards the Everfree forest where he knew a few platoons of Nazi stormtroopers would be making their final maneuvers.

Eh, shit. He grumbled just before Mars’ fist slammed into his face.

Stevens surveyed his enemy’s position, pocketing his field binoculars. “{Impressive, for a mongrel race of Untermensch,}” he grumbled.

“{Commander, sir!}” A young private ran up to him and saluted traditionally: with his arm raised and fingers extended in a way not seen in the Americans’ world for decades. “{We have received a communique from the commander! He has given us the signal to deploy the heat gens!}”

“{Ah,}” Stevens smiled. “{Good, make it so.}”

“{Yes, sir,}” the private said, running to meet with a group of men setting up not far away with what appeared to be empty rocket launchers attached to backpacks, wires running between them. Finally, the Commander had come to his senses and realized it was pointless to fight the Americans on their terms. Sure, they could continue fighting as they had, but why not try something easier? Why not play this last little card?

Stevens grinned, took out his binoculars again, and prepared himself for the show. ”Auf Wiedersehen, Amerikaner.” He whispered.

Chapter LI: The Power of Hope

Vance inhaled, exhaled, his eyes never leaving the tree line. This would be it. For better or for worse, the Battle for Equestria was going to be decided within the hour. He looked over the men with him, and the six ponies resting at his side. He couldn’t ask for a better force to win this day. Still, a few extra battalions of Army Rangers wouldn’t have hurt either. And some air support. Oh hell, at this point he'd settle for a few drunk Russkies in a jeep, long as they were willing to fight!

The cyan pegasus next to him flexed the muscles in her wings, the mud smeared under her eyes shimmering in the pre-dawn light. “You look ready,” the human remarked.

“To defend my friends? I was born ready.” She replied with a smart little smile.

“Lord almighty, if I could meet a woman like you back home, I could live the rest of my life with her.” Ramirez said with a smile, still peeking out at the Everfree through his binoculars. “Y’know: however long that might be.”

“Dinner and a movie first, bud. Dinner and a movie first.”

“But what’s with that symbol?” Twilight asked suddenly, a hoof pointing to one of the flags drenched in the mud, clenched by the charred remnants of some conscript’s hand. A blood red, crimson banner Uris recognized from one too many History Channel specials. “Those guys seem awfully devoted to it.”

“It’s a symbol of a bygone era of warfare and horror, and that’s all you need to know about it,” Vance replied coldly, his tone making it clear that this was all she was going to learn from him. Startled, Twilight’s hoof dropped. She sighed and stared dejectedly at the ground.

Eventually, Uris rolled his eyes. “Humanity wasn’t always the way it was,” he sighed. “There’s been a lot of times when we could’ve gone wrong, and our world, for all its flaws, is one of the planets that turned out alright.”

“Ah,” Twilight said, eyeing the enemy lines. “So, these humans are from a planet that went wrong somehow?”

“Very wrong,” Vance interrupted, glaring at his son. “About as wrong as we could’ve gone, probably. We don’t need to go into details here though, right?”

Uris sighed again. “Right, sir,” he mumbled, glaring back, but otherwise remaining silent. God above, why did his dad have to do that? Shut him down like this; make him feel like a little kid being sent to bed with a spanking in place of dinner again?

A silence that somehow managed to be both awkward and tense settled in on the group. “Ugh, when will they just attack already?” Rarity said, mercifully breaking the silence while fanning herself with a large, frilly fan as she reclined on a sofa a bit further on down the slope. Where and how she’d gotten a sofa was a mystery to even her friends.

“Ah gotta say, Ah wasn’t expectin’ you t’be the one itchin’ for a fight, Rares,” AJ said, an eyebrow arched at her friend.

“I’m not, dahling, I just want this all to be over. Heaven knows this heat can’t be any good for my mane.” She quickly ran her hooves through her hair, uncovering a few tiny split ends. “There, see!? Do you see this!? Do you see what this is!?”

“Yeah, it IS hot…” Uris remarked, ignoring the fashionista and wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. “Hey everybody, when did that happen?”

“Holy shit, that’s right,” Miller sat up from where he’d been playing cat’s cradle with Pinkie Pie, his fingers still entangled in a mess of string. “Wasn’t it just kinda cool earlier? I mean, not too hot, not too cold, but just right?”

“You can thank the Princess for that,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “She always ensures the temperature is just right for anypony.”

“So what happened? Did she get tired?”

“Well, no, hold on…” Twilight’s brows furrowed together as she lit her horn off, a wave of magic engulfing the field. The others waited as she completed her spell. “Hmm, that is VERY odd…”

“What is it?” The others all asked together.

“It seems as though the temperature in the trench is spiking, but otherwise the rest of the town appears to be normal.” She frowned. “That’s strange. Heat rises: if anything, this trench should be cooler than everything else.”

Vance and Miller’s eyes widened. “Twilight, I need you to cast that spell again, but focus it on the Everfree.” Vance said urgently, dread misting in his eyes.

“Um…okay…” she replied, not questioning the fear rising in the soldiers. After a few moments of concentration, her horn glowed and flared, then subsided. She came out of the spell with her eyebrows hunched in confusion. “Now, that’s also odd: I’m sensing a ton of heat signatures in the forest, but there are a few little pinpricks just within the tree line, and there seems to be…like…a line of heat from those pinpricks to here.”

“Is that why we’re so hot right now?” Uris asked.

“Possibly, but why would they want…”

Vance interrupted her by standing up and hurriedly ditching his grenades, throwing them as far as he could. “HEAT RAY! HEAT RAY! EVERYONE DITCH YOUR ‘NADES AND AMMO!”

Miller was right behind him, running up and down the line, screaming: “DITCH YOUR GRENADES! NOW! YOUR AMMO!”

“What’s going on!?” Fluttershy gasped in a panic.

“Fuck,” Ramirez replied, reaching down to unclip his ammo belt and pitch it as far into the field as he could. “Fuck shit, this is bad.”

“I thought that heat ray shit was just rumors!” Uris screamed, immediately whipping out his pistol, emptying the chamber and chucking the magazine as far as he could. “They actually built one!?”

“Didn’t just build one: used it in Hong Kong! Fucked ‘em up real bad!”

“Will somepony…or, some human…explain to me what in the hay is goin’ on!?” AJ shrieked over the growing din of panicked, terrified men, shouting at each other, unbuckling ammo and grenade belts and chucking them as far as possible.

“HEAT RAY! Experimental Nazi technology!” Miller screamed, ditching a few more grenades. “Excites metal alloy particles or some shit, makes them really hot!”

“Metal particles like in all our weapons. Sonofabitch, they’re gonna turn our own hardware into bombs!” Uris gasped, clenching at the few grenades on his belt. Already, he could feel the heat beginning to build on their surface, the weapons buzzing with energy. His palms grew sweaty, and not just from the heat, as he threw the little explosives away. All along the line, every man was forced to ditch the very weapons they depended on, chucking ammo, grenades, and any weapon with a hint of metal to it, as far as they could. Vance himself tried to hold onto his knife, but as its surface grew red-hot he realized even that would have to go. It took a few minutes, but Miller returned and saluted. As he did, the entire group’s eyes grew wide. “All’s good along the line, sir! We’ve got…what’s with that look?”

“Lieutenant…” Vance replied, hands shaking.

“Whazzat?”

“You missed one.”

Miller’s stomach dropped into his boots as he fumbled along his belt. He felt it. One little M67 fragmentation grenade, still clipped firmly to his body, now almost searing to the touch. He was SUCH an idiot! No time to ditch it: it’d probably blow the moment he tried to unhook it anyway. Only a few seconds to make a decision. So, he did.

Turning, the SEAL crouched and curled his body around the explosive, turning himself into a shield. A gasp of horror rang out behind him. He heard Uris hobbling back, ushering the ponies further away. He heard boots in mud: Ramirez diving forward, trying to grab the explosive. Too late. All far too late.

The explosion knocked Ramirez right back, his ears ringing, but his senses still intact, now probably growing used to getting blown up. He looked up in a daze as his fellow SEAL dropped, body curled up, uniform blackened with smoke. A split second later, Fluttershy and Vance were at the fallen man’s side. “WE NEED A FUCKING MEDIC HERE!” The Marine screamed as the little pegasus gripped the SEAL’s hand tight, tears welling in her eyes. For his part, Miller was still alive, albeit just barely. He looked down at the large, bloody stump where his arm used to be, glancing at his wounds with his one intact eye, set in a face blackened and raw on one side.

“MILLER!” Ramirez screamed, rolling over and crawling to the man on all fours. Just in the field next to him, a cacophony of explosions and pops kicked up dirt as each of the grenades and ammo mags detonated. It sounded like the battle they had just fought minutes before, only now there was nobody fighting. Just the last hopes every man in the trench had of living through the night, self-destructing in the most spectacular way possible. The group gathered around the SEAL was too concerned to notice or stand in awe of the sight, only able to watch and try to comfort the man as he gasped and choked, blood stemming from the massive burn and shrapnel injuries running down the entire side of his body.

“Aw God, oh my God,” Uris gasped, dropping to his knees with Rarity clenching to his pants leg out of surprise. “There’s so much blood…oh my God…”

Vance thrust his hands over the worst of the bleeding, staining his uniform. Miller gasped and choked, his one good eye staring blankly upwards while what was left of his jaw clicked about. “It’s okay, you’re okay, gonna be okay,” the Marine whispered, blood seeping up the sleeve of his uniform while he looked around wildly. “WHERE’S THAT GODDAMN MEDIC!?”

“He don’t have time for one,” Applejack said suddenly. As if her words had broken a spell, the other ponies all rushed forward and set to work: Twilight and Rarity’s magic forming a block over Miller’s body to stop the bleeding as Applejack and Fluttershy set to work creating makeshift bandages, using Rainbow’s feathers and some bits from Pinkie’s extra-fluffy mane and tail in hopes of sopping up some of the blood. Vance fell back on his haunches, watching the ponies work as they stopped most of the bleeding just in time for a pair of men with a stretcher to show up and check the SEAL over.

“Okay, lost a lotta blood, probably gonna have some scarring, but he might be okay if we work fast,” one of the medics mumbled, eyeing the strange bandages and turning to the ponies. “Good work. He’d be dead withoutcha.”

The ponies nodded in stunned silence as the man was carted down the hill, still incoherent. The group sat there until a dawning realization came over them. “We’ve got nothing,” Ramirez said. “No ‘nades, no ammo, nothing. They took away everything we got.”

Another battlecry rang up from the forest. The shock on Vance’s face gave way to grim determination. “No,” he said, picking up his knife from wear he dropped it, now cool in the mud. “Not everything.”

“It’ll be suicide,” Uris said matter-of-factly, trying to keep his voice from cracking. “Like when those conscripts charged us, except we’re the conscripts now.”

“Still, there are worse ways to go,” Vance replied. “Those bastards are probably cookin’ up a few for us right now. No Geneva Convention where they come from, remember.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Ramirez shrugged as he unsheathed his own knife and tested it against his thumb. It drew blood. Good enough.

Still holding that stunned look on his face, Uris looked around and eventually scooped up a rifle without its mag, holding it by the barrel like a club and smacking it against the mud. It gave a good, deep thud. “Might be able to crack open a few skulls with this.”

“Y-you’re not serious?” Twilight said, looking over each of the men. “After everything they’ve done, you’re still gonna fight them? Even now!?”

Uris bit his tongue, thinking long and hard about something inspirational to say in reply. “Yeah,” he said eventually.

“Like father, like son,” Vance mumbled, grinning and shaking his head.

Her eyes still wide, Twilight looked up and down the line. Each man was gathering what they could: sticks, rocks, knives, one even detached a tripod from a heavy machine gun and held it in his hands by a couple legs, swinging it like a brick. “Why?” She asked, still stunned.

“Because you’re worth it,” Ramirez replied. “Because your Princess asked us to defend her citizens with everything we had, and we’re gonna hold to that. And because it’s better to die standing for what you believe in than to live on your knees.”

Tears gathered in each pony’s eyes. Fluttershy dashed forward and wrapped Ramirez in a hug, almost surprising him enough to lose his grip on the knife. The other ponies followed suit, each grabbing a human and holding him close, tears drifting down the sides of their cheeks. “Hey now, none a’ that,” Ramirez said with a smile. “We knew what we signed up for when we joined up.”

“Says you,” Uris replied jokingly, stroking both Rarity’s and Applejack’s manes at the same time.

“We know,” Rarity said, smiling through her tears as she snuggled up close to the pilot. She wiped at her eyes and coughed. “But at least it’s not all bad.”

“Oh, how’s that?”

“At least we get to die with the ponies…and people…we care about.” Twilight replied, hugging Vance close.

Instantly, every man’s eyes widened. “WHAT!? YOU?” Vance screamed as another battle cry rose from the forest.

Twilight nodded sullenly. “Rarity and I exhausted what little magic the Elements hadn’t sucked up deflecting those hits earlier. We can’t teleport away.”

“And Celestia knows we ain’t gonna run fast enough,” Applejack shrugged. “And with Flutters’ anxiety keepin’ her wings down, only one of us that could possibly have a chance at gettin’ away is…”

“Nope,” Rainbow Dash said simply, hugging Ramirez closer.

“Now, Miss Dash,” Uris started, only to be interrupted by the darkest glare he’d ever seen from the cyan pegasus. She held the glare on him for a few minutes before turning to nuzzle into Vance’s chest.

“Don’t bother,” Ramirez said, shaking his head sadly as he stroked the ponies in his grip. “Element of Loyalty. You could talk ‘til doomsday and she’d never leave.”

“Dang right,” she said quietly, not moving to disguise the tears cascading down her cheeks.

“So, none of you can…” Uris started. The ponies replied by shaking their heads. “Not even…” he pointed to Rainbow. She shook her head harder.

“But…but c’mon!” Uris gasped. Rainbow closed her eyes, bit her lip, and shook harder. The pilot leaned back in the mud, rifle falling at his side, ponies still clinging to him. “Then it’s over. We’ve failed.”

“Now son, we gave it a good fight,” Vance said comfortingly.

“And who knows how many of those bastards we’re gonna wind up takin’ with us?” Ramirez winked. “I’m lookin’ forward to it!”

“Yeah, but we still failed!” The pilot shouted. “Equestria is screwed! Those bastards are gonna tear over that hill and rip apart the Elements of Harmony AND the Princesses of Day and Night! Don’t you get it!? We’re all that’s left! We’re it! Who’s gonna stop them after us, huh!? A buncha ponies with spears and swords aren’t gonna do shit against them! Without us…” he hugged the ponies in his grip closer. “Without us…”

“We gave it our best shot,” Vance spoke as another war-cry rang out over the field, the sounds of boots on foliage drawing closer.

“I know, I know, I just…” Uris was sobbing now, making no attempt to hide it. Despite his best efforts, visions of what was to come flashed by his eyes: the Princesses and the Elements lying together in a bloody pile. The MASH unit just a few miles away being ransacked, both pony and human bayonetted in their cots. Canterlot in flames. Though he’d never seen it, he could still picture the magnificent city, its spires reduced to rubble, the populace either being led off at gunpoint or heaped up in piles for burning, the ancient libraries and artworks ransacked and either burnt or carried off.

“I wish there was something I could do,” he whispered, choking between sobs, his grip tightening on the ponies. “I wish harder than anything that there was something I could do.”

There was a strange, tinkling sound, like wind chimes. Suddenly, Applejack perked up. Rarity looked at her. “You felt that too?” She asked.

“Yeah,” AJ looked down at her throat. “My Element…”

“What about it?” Uris asked dryly, looking at the jewel. What did it matter anymore? It obviously couldn’t help them, not since it was…

He blinked, rubbed at his eyes, and took another look to make sure his senses weren’t fooling him. “Twilight, couldja come over here?” He asked.

“Hmm?” The lavender unicorn perked up and trotted over to him. “What’s up?”

“Look,” he picked her up and placed her right next to Applejack, his eyes darting between the tiara in Twilight’s mane and the necklace around AJ’s neck. “Just look!”

“Twi…” Applejack said, pointing from her Element to Twilight’s and back again. “Mine’s goin’ faster!”

“What?” She picked the tiara out of her mane while placing a hoof on Applejack’s Element. “It…it is! It’s pulsating faster and…”

She closed her eyes, breathing in time with the energy pulses from her Element. “It’s stronger! It’s definitely stronger!” She gasped, eyes darting open. “It feels like Applejack’s Element received a huge boost of energy from somewhere! When did this happen!?”

“I…I…” Uris started, his cheeks turning red. “…I…made a wish.”

“What did you wish for? Hurry!” She barked like a drill instructor, eliciting a near-instantaneous response from the pilot.

“I…I wished I could do something. Y’know, for you all.”

“Of course,” Twilight said, eyes widening with realization. She face-hoofed herself: how could she have been so blind!? The answer to all their problems was right in front of her! “Of course!”

“Care to illuminate the rest of us, Ms. Sparkles?” Vance asked.

“It’s you guys!” She gasped, turning to each of the humans in turn. “The Elements were never charging: they were just waiting for a final piece! The last little bit they needed for enough power to overcome Mars!”

“Oh my God,” Ramirez sighed, realizing what she was getting at. He face palmed and grumbled to himself. “It’s almost too cliché.”

“What? What is?” Uris asked. “Seriously, I don’t get it.”

“Don’t say it Twi, he’ll just make fun of you,” Ramirez sighed.

Unfortunately, the unicorn was unable to contain herself, hopping up and down like a filly being told it was going to the Canterlot Hearthswarming Eve celebrations. “It’s you guys! Your hopes, your dreams, your wish to help others!” She took Uris’s hand, smiling up into his eyes. “Human compassion is the last Element of Harmony!”

Silence fell over the group. “Wow,” Ramirez gasped.

“GAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!” Uris shouted.

“Uris! SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

“So, all you girls need is human compassion t’get this battle won, eh?” Vance asked. The ponies all nodded. “Well hell, that’s easy enough.”

Vance stood and cupped his hands over his mouth. “I NEED EVERY MAN FRONT AND CENTER, NOW!” A few seconds passed until every Marine and SEAL that was able gathered before the Captain, still allowing him the higher ground as he raised his hands for quiet; the ponies, Ramirez, and Uris at his side. “Now, I need each and every one of you to think about why you joined up.”

The crowd replied with a few moments of stunned silence, interrupted by another battle cry from the forest. “NOW, GODDAMMIT!” Vance screamed.

“Well, I joined to help the folks out, y’know? One less mouth to feed.” One Marine said.

“I joined to make the ol’ man proud.” Another added.

“I joined to do everything I could to make my country safe,” a SEAL said.

“You guys are SO corny!” Another Marine added before taking a light jab to the shoulder.

Soon, every man was speaking up, hundreds of stories and hundreds of hopes and hundreds of dreams all joining together, coalescing in a huge, babbling crowd, hardly taking notice at the six little ponies at their leaders’ sides, even as they started to glow and hover in the air. “It’s workiiinnnggg…” Twilight said, her voice building in anticipation as the power flowed through her body. Each Element in turn: Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, Laughter and Magic, all slowly glowed with power, more than they’d ever felt before, more than when they’d cleansed Nightmare Moon or froze Discord, each slowly lifting up as their eyes glowed with pure magic. The crowd looked on, stunned.

“What the hell is that?” A SEAL whispered to Ramirez.

“Hope,” he replied, grinning as he pulled on a pair of tinted ballistic goggles and watched the Elements turn towards the rushing blurs in the middle of the field. A light breeze whistled through the air, magic whipping all around the group. And whipping. And whipping. After a while, he peeked worriedly over the top of his rims. “Um, ain’t somethin’ supposed to happen?”

“I guess the Elements hafta figure out how they’re gonna channel all this energy,” Uris shrugged sheepishly.

“So we wait. Again.” Vance grumbled. “Great, that’s just excellent.”

One, final cry interrupted them, all eyes along the ridge turning to the field just as a mob burst through the tree line, heavily armed men in trench coats and jackets bearing the SS lightning bolts charged the line, all led by a single man with a humongous, blood-red swastika flag in his hand, billowing in the wind. A few shots cracked out, aimed at the Elements, only for the bullets to bounce right off the sheer power channeling through the ponies’ bodies. With the ponies remaining invulnerable, the Nazi forces all turned their attentions to the Americans still on the ground.

“Animated shows and their elaborate power-up sequences,” Uris mumbled, scooping up his rifle again.

“I blame the Japs,” Vance grumbled. The other men looked at him, eyebrows cocked. “What!? Those li’l bastards and their pokey-mans fucked up cartoons forever, and we all damn well know it!”

“Dad,” Uris sighed, shaking his head. “Not cool.”

Chapter LII: One Threat Down, Another Rises

A cluster of bullets lazed past the three beings as they continued their fight. To these three and the tiny bubble of sped-up time, the battle had been raging for three days straight, and finally, it appeared as though a victor was about to be decided.

Michael’s arm rose as he panted heavily, digging deep inside himself for the strength to continue. Mars responded by side-stepping the barrel of the pistol in his hand and grabbing his former father’s wrist, snapping it with a simple jerk. Howling in more frustration than pain, Michael was was thrown helplessly against the cluster of bullets whistling lazily through the air, piercing his body as they passed. Cringing in pain, the man in the white T-shirt dropped, more silver goo spurting from the fresh wounds. At the same time, old ones from Mars’ spikes throbbed angrily, the goo over them now a dull gray with little black flecks of infection. If he just had a few moments to recover…

As Mars advanced, Chen leapt on his back and tried to grab him in a figure-four hold, limbs trembling with fatigue. It almost made Michael cry to see his brother in such a state: his once gleaming, silvery body now a dull gray, little black sprinkles of infection all over its surface. Mars laughed at the pathetic attempt to hold him and flipped, sending Chen flying into his brother with ease.

This battle is not going in our favor, brother, the silvery mass of goo grumbled as it rested heavily on the man in the white T-shirt.

No shit, Michael sighed, struggling just to lift his brother off. He cringed at the touch: where there should have been the smooth, solid feel of his brother’s body was instead a sickening, gooey touch, like sponge cake soaked in wine. His fingers left little dimples in the surface of his brother’s body. Michael panted and gazed up at Mars. His uniform was now torn and ragged, the undershirt just barely clinging on from exposure, and still, his body showed only a few scars and silvery wounds. Three days of battle, of wins and losses and minor victories and more cuts and broken parts than he cared to count, and still they’d barely put a mark on their enemy. A lesser man might have cried.

Okay, whatever, Michael gasped, teeth clenching at his freshest wounds. Just need a few moments, that’s all. A few moments, and we’re good to…

Of course, the moment that thought crossed his mind, Mars reared up over them and seized the pair: Michael by the back of his head, Chen by the blank space between his shoulders where a head would be. Then, one after the other, he took turns pounding each into the ground, first slamming Michael’s face into the dirt, then Chen’s body, then Michael again, alternating between the two at a faster and faster rate. Dirt and mulched grass sailed into the air from each impact, digging deeper and deeper as a look of pure rage grew on the fallen son’s face. After digging a five-foot deep crater with his fathers’ faces, he stood and simply began stomping each of them alternatively. It dragged on and on, the fallen demigod beating each man in turn until his body heaved with exhaustion from maintaining his pace. At last, he paused and straightened up. The demigods lay limp at his feet. He grinned and picked up the malformed, silvery masses that used to be his fathers’ faces, panting heavily from overwork and anticipation.

What’s the matter, daddy? Feeling a bit under the weather? A few chunks of liquid silver fell off Michael’s head as Mars released him and watched him fall as if he were falling through Jell-O. Sighing, Mars finally returned to normal speed. Instantly, a dozen shots rang out all around him, bullets whizzing by. A few dirt clods, sailing lazily into the air from the hundreds of beatings he’d forced on his fathers, sprang outwards. His ears filled with the cries of battle. A few yards to his side, his men charged the American lines, colliding full-force with nothing more than a few spades and blunt objects. He grinned with glee at the sounds and stretched. It was good to be back!

“Welcome back, daddy,” he whispered, his ears drinking in the sound of his own voice. The silvery masses shivered, struggling to reform their features. Even Chen struggled to maintain his simple form, his body rippling as it filled in the fist-sized holes on his body where Mars had gripped him.

“I just wanted to slow things down a bit so you could see,” the fallen son hissed, scooping the brothers’ heads back up, forcing them to look at the battle building to a crescendo before them. “Equestria has all but fallen. Soon, my reinforcements will pour into this village, and they will march on Canterlot unopposed. And after that: the Dog mines, the Changeling Badlands, Cloudsdale…not even the sky’s the limit here! I love that about Equestria; it’s almost a shame you won’t be allowed to witness as it rises to become a new and profitable province of the Reich.”

Spitting a bit of gray goo out of his freshly reformed mouth, Michael craned his neck to look back at his son with a still-forming face. “I still say you talk too much.”

And I would concur, Chen added just as a terrific explosion filled the sky. Mars looked up, eyes widening as the Elements of Harmony hovered over him. Just then, Chen and Michael twisted, wrapping their bodies around his, holding him in place.

“WHAT IS THIS!?” The fallen demigod screamed.

Checkmate, Chen replied as the air hummed with energy, magic circling the six ponies as a beam of light finally rocketed out of the center of their group. The stormtroopers’ advance on the American lines halted just a few yards short of the ridge, stunned by the sight as the beam engulfed Mars. Instantly, a hard, rocky shell began to form around his body. The fallen demigod stopped struggling, gazed down at his hardening skin, then threw back his head and laughed.

“This is it!?” He cackled, throwing the brothers off his body. “Matter transformation? As in, the EASIEST THING FOR OUR KIND TO COUNTER!? That’s your final play!?”

Clapping his hands, he halted the transformation, the rock shimmering with traces of chrome. “Please! I can counter this for hours on end, more than long enough for your precious ‘Elements’ to run out of juice!”

The Elements’ attack is not meant to imprison you, little one, Chen replied, rising to his chrome, nubby feet.

“Oh?”

Michael shook his head, actual pity in his eyes. “It’s meant to slow ya down.”

Mars’ eyes widened. “No,” he gasped, immediately attempting to jump back to supersonic speed, only to find himself dragged back by the magic stone encasing his body. “NO!”

Without another word, the brothers winked out of sight. Mars looked around, panic in his eyes as he summoned his spikes again and waved them around wildly, desperately trying to hit something. Suddenly, a silvery blur appeared from the sky and smashed into the back of his head, pile-driving him into the ground before rushing off again. He rose, coughing, just in time to be blasted back by the ultra-sped-up whir of a Gatling cannon, a near-constant flare of shots echoing from the Everfree riddling his body.

“No, I was so close…so close…” he groaned as yet another roundhouse kick smashed against his jaw, followed by a cacophony of bullets from right over his head. He looked up at the Elements and sneered as his body buckled. “Magic. I fucking hate magic.” A pair of fists smashed into his throat, two blurs rocketing up into the night sky. He dropped to his knees.

“I really, really do,” he rasped before the blurs came back down on his body, exploding with the impact. The humans along the line gazed in pure awe as the dust settled and three figures became visible: two on their feet, one on the ground. The Elements of Harmony finally descended, the six ponies gazing along with the humans at the sight: Chen was back in his human form, the business suit still as impeccably well-pressed as it was before. Michael glared down at his son, who glared right back.

“It’s over.”

“Yeah, I know,” Mars coughed, his body reeling. He could barely hold to his form anymore as he tried to force himself to his feet, only for Chen to press him back down again with the leather sole of one luxurious business shoe. Michael gave him a gentle push to the side, shaking his head. Chen arched an eyebrow, but nodded and backed off.

“You know what I hafta do now,” the man in the leather jacket said, leaning down to eye level with his fallen son.

“I know, it’s over,” a demonic glint entered Mars’s eye, a syringe appearing in his hand. “For BOTH OF US!”

Before anyone could react, he plunged the syringe into Michael’s neck and slammed the plunger home. Screaming with rage, the demigod smashed a fist into his lost son’s nose, slamming him back into the Earth. Mars just grinned. “You really must be tired, daddy: your reaction time was piss-poor there!”

“Michael!” Chen gasped, rushing to secure Mars. “Are you…”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I’m…” Michael pulled the needle out of his neck, and his eyes widened. He knew the build and design of this syringe. He knew what it could be used to hold. His fingers raced over the injection site. The skin was clammy and growing numb, already losing its consistency. He pulled his fingers back and looked them over. They were coated with chrome goo, quivering in the light. “You maniac…”

“Please do not tell me that is what I think it is,” Chen said fearfully.

“A tachyon disruption serum!” Mars said proudly, leaning back in the dirt. “Took a while to develop it, but worth it. It’s the perfect final shot. It should have completely inundated your system by now, daddy. And give it another few minutes…”

“You maniac!” Michael pounced on Mars, the numbness spreading throughout his body. “You’ve killed us all!”

“I figured it’d be worth it to let your pretty little pony princess see you as you really are: the REAL Swarm.” Mars grinned wickedly, then tilted his head up in a mocking imitation of his father’s voice: “’In the event that my main form loses cohesion, you need to get your men out as soon as possible. My body will have nothing keeping it under control, and if that happens, it could destroy worlds before I can reign it in.’ That was part of the briefing you gave the Joint Chiefs, was it not?”

“It’s spreading!” Chen gasped, more chrome fluid seeping out from Michael’s neck. The pair watched in horror as a dribbling of gray goo dropped from his body, sizzling on the ground. It slowly dissipated, evaporating into the air and leaving behind a small crater where there once was grass.

“Murderer!” He screamed, futilely closing his hands around his own neck, literally trying to hold himself together. More of the goo spurted between his fingers, bubbling and sizzling in the air.

“If I can’t have Equestria,” Mars sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes in anticipation. “No one can.”

“CHEN!” Michael screamed, stumbling backwards as more of the goo bubbled up in his mouth.

“You’re losing complete cohesion!” The man in the business suit gasped, shaking his head. “A total material breakdown! What do we do!?”

“You know,” Michael coughed, a dark look in his eye.

Chen’s eyes widened. “I am not killing you.”

“You have to! I’m dead anyway!” Michael leaned over and vomited, a stream of slurry hissing into the ground. He watched in horror as the dirt around the puddle of goo slowly decayed, cracking and losing its form, the puddle growing around it. “At least this way I won’t take the whole planet with me!”

“I am not destroying one of my own siblings’ offshoots! The lives you contain…” he shook his head. “Hundreds of thousands of lives would be erased, and you’d be weakened forever!”

“I KNOW THAT! JUST DO IT! IT’D BE BETTER THAN DESTROYING EQUESTRIA!”

“Running outta time, Chen!” Mars’s voice cooed, a contented smile replacing the wicked grin on his face. “You might wanna hurry!”

“I-I can contain you! Just until Dietrich or Nasreen or someone gets here! Then they can…”

“There’s no time,” Michael moaned, dropping to his knees as the goo spread to his hands, eating away at his fingertips. “You’d never hold me for that long. Not as I’m gonna be. You know that. Please…just do it.”

Chen knelt beside his brother, smiling as he cradled his chin in his hands, ignoring the searing pain from the goo pouring out of his brother’s pores. “You know I have to try.”

“Idiot,” Michael coughed. “Good luck. For all of us.”

Chen sighed and closed his eyes as the cheek beneath his hand lost form and faded away, a gray puff of gas appearing in its place. As the cloud billowed out, it ate away at everything: plants, trees, rocks, leaves, dirt, it coated them all in a shimmering layer of goo as it advanced. Only Chen and Mars remained whole in the field. Inhaling, the man in the business suit leapt into the sky, his hands splayed out as a chrome wall burst from his body, surrounding a chunk of the field in a massive dome.

Mars watched the sight as he too faded away, the goo eating away at his skin. “Fool,” he grumbled as he looked up at his father, suspended in the apex of the shield, before the goo inundated him and burnt him away.

Chapter LIII: Victory?

“FORWARD!” Vance cried, using the distraction at the middle of the field to rush over the ridge. In a heartbeat, hundreds of Marines and SEALs charged along with him, rushing into the unsuspecting enemy horde. From a distance, the enemy had the advantage: their rifles were still functioning after all, but like this, all up close and personal…

…we might have a chance! Vance thought as his blade plunged into the throat of the nearest Nazi Regular. The man fell and Vance scooped up his rifle, blasting away with it. Next to him, Ramirez and Uris held the enemy at bay, Uris swinging the butt of his rifle around wildly while Ramirez slashed away at anybody stupid enough to come within stabbing distance. Unfortunately, the Americans could all only hit the front of the horde with their simple melee weapons, leaving the rear flanks of the horde perfectly free to crouch and get into firing position.

Uris looked up just as an entire line of riflemen levelled their weapons on them and opened fire, the SS insignia clear as day on their helmets. Next to him, a handful of Marines went down, their hands still clutching knives and rocks. “Man, we’re boned,” he mumbled as he desperately swung away at the nearest Nazi fuck, waiting for that inevitable moment when a rifleman would take notice and put a few rounds in his chest. It never came, as a few beams of white-hot searing light flashed into the men’s eyes, sending them falling back, clenching at their faces and howling in pain. A split second later, the Princesses of Day and Night swooped overhead, magic blasting wildly.

“Hello ladies, gladja could make it!” Vance yelled, a massive grin on his face as the battle raged on around them.

“FOR EQUESTRIA!” The Alicorns screamed in response, running near-constant strafing runs against the enemy lines, forcing them back step-by-step.

“Okay, this is it,” Vance said. Ramirez and Uris reached his side, weapons ready. “All the cards’re on the table now, gentlemen. Any regrets?”

“None whatsoever, pop!” Uris said.

“FOR EQUESTRIAAA!” All three screamed, charging forward just in time to see a few hundred Nazi backs retreating into the distance, running as fast as they could into the Everfree, some ditching their weapons just to have less weight slowing them down. The trio watched, along with the rest of the Americans, as the enemy just gave up. The Princesses landed at their side a few minutes later, staring with their eyebrows raised.

Uris started to give chase, but a hoof stopped him. “What’re you doing!?” He gasped. “We hafta stop them before they get away and wreck some other village!”

“Oh, don’t worry too much about that, my little pilot,” Celestia said with a smile. “I saw something while I was flying about up there.”

A few minutes later, a cluster of gray Nazi uniforms appeared along the forest’s edge. The Americans raised their weapons, but Celestia spread her hooves out, blocking the view. “Look,” she said, the smile still on her face.

Uris sighed, but obeyed, squinting. “Holy shit,” he gasped. “They’re not attacking! They’re surrendering!”

All along the tree line, Nazi stormtroopers suddenly appeared, their hands behind their heads in the universal sign of surrender. A grin spread across each man’s face, except for Vance’s. “Why would they…” he started.

His question was answered before he could even finish asking it. Shortly after the Nazis appeared, a group of paratroopers materialized behind them, holding them at rifle point. The grins spread even wider. “WE WON!” Somebody shouted, and a cheer lit up from the crowd.

“Don’t tell me that’s who I think it is!” Vance said, smiling.

“Well, so long as you weren’t expectin’ Daffy Duck.” The trio all turned just as a certain paratrooper appeared behind them, his massive grin contrasting with the camo paint on his already-dark skin.

“Webb, you magnificent bastard!” Vance screamed, grabbing the man in a hug. “You might’ve just saved the day!”

“Somebody had to pull your pale, white asses outta the fire,” the paratrooper replied, hooking a thumb at Ramirez. “Personally, I was hopin’ it’d be this guy, but I guess he just wasn’t dark enough.”

“Man, I’m so happy you’re here I’m not even pissed at that comment,” Ramirez said, shaking his head. “I really should be, though.”

Luna looked to her sister, an eyebrow raised. “Why are they talking to each other concerning the color of their coats?” She whispered.

“It’s skin for them, sister, and it’s a big, terrible, dark, human thing. I’ll tell you later,” Celestia sighed.

“Yeah, s’not all good news though,” Webb sighed, the smile leaving his face and heading south for warmer weather. The mood in the group immediately dropped like a rock. “Bannon, and a whole buncha other guys, they uh…they didn’t make it.”

“Bannon?” Uris’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping open and closing again, as if he were trying to say something that wasn’t quite coming to him. The rest of the group looked on as he sank to the ground. “But…I owed him a steak dinner.”

“Aw son,” Vance sighed, leaning down and putting his arm around his boy’s shoulders as the tears started to flow again.

“I owed him…I owed him….” He mumbled, the stress and loss of the day crashing down on him as the adrenaline wore off.

“That’s not all,” Ramirez added, his face holding at neutral. “We lost Parker, and Miller took a ‘nade to the face. Medics say he’ll probably survive, but his face’ll have a whole lot more character when s’all said and done.”

“Parker…Miller…” the paratrooper removed his helmet and ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. “Shit, it wasn’t supposed to be this bad.”

“…I owed him!” Uris shouted irreconcilably. “I owed him!”

The others in the group could only watch helplessly, either too stunned by the news to do anything or too numb from the past day’s events to move. Then, a daisy yellow hoof rested on the pilot’s shoulder. He turned at the touch, and Fluttershy smiled back at him. “Do you need my help?” She asked in that angelically sweet voice.

Tears still streaming down his face, the pilot smiled as she pulled him in for a hug, the rest of the Elements alighting on the ground behind her. Oddly enough, they looked more shocked than their introverted friend.

“Princess,” Twilight said, rushing to hug her mentor.

“My most faithful student,” Celestia said, tears running down her face. “Words cannot describe how proud I am of you.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Twilight said, a hitch in her voice. “So glad…”

“Sister,” Luna said. “We are sorry, but there are still things to attend to on the field.”

“Of course,” Celestia said, giving her most faithful student one last squeeze before turning away. The little unicorn immediately latched on to her nearest friend, who just happened to be Rainbow Dash. The pegasus returned the hug and helped her over to Fluttershy and Uris, where the rest of her friends waited in one another’s embrace. The sight of so many tears nearly broke Celestia’s heart, but she kept her demeanor calm and collected. Just one of the benefits of a couple dozen centuries’ worth of politics. “Captain, if you care to join me? There’s still the cleanup and the prisoners to attend to.”

“Of course, Princess,” Vance said, walking after the Alicorns.

“Sir?” Twilight’s voice squeaked as he passed by.

“Yes, Miss Spakles?” Vance asked, pausing.

“Tell me,” she said, not bothering to correct his pronunciation as she pointed at the ridge, and the field beyond. “Do human victories usually look like that?”

Vance didn’t need to see to know what would be up there: the ecstasy of victory would have worn off by now, leaving only a humongous group of men tasked with collecting their dead and wounded. He saw the massive piles spread out all along the field from the previous enemy attacks. He knew how long and arduous a task it was going to be. He knew even the enemy prisoners would join in this, if only to find a friend’s dog tags to carry to the UN-sanctioned POW camps waiting for them. Even if it meant sifting through mounds of limbs torn to pieces by mortar fire, or piles of flesh seared together by white phosphorus, or…

The Captain kept walking. Twilight opened her mouth to repeat her question, but realized he’d just given her his answer. Tears threatening in her eyes again, she hugged her friends even closer. Soon after, Ramirez joined the group hug. No one minded.

Cadence wished she could cry. She wished she could feel something, anything! But at that moment, there was just a low, gray, emptiness inside her. She almost had to laugh at that: the Alicorn of Love, emotionally drained! Who knew it was possible? But it was the only explanation for the total numbness that washed over her every time she looked down at her husband’s cot. Shining Armor writhed and turned at her hooves, his skin still pulsating disgustingly. Still, she kept a hoof on his, silently praying for a miracle.

“You…uh…you okay?” The Alicorn darted up, ears perking. Her tired eyes fell on a human nurse with a clipboard, looking up from the IV bag she was changing.

Cadence forced a smile onto her lips. “Yeah, just tired, is all. It’s been a long night.”

“Yeah, no shit,” the nurse laughed, but it was hollow, and drowned out by the cries of the injured around her. Cadence had to smile though: at least she was trying.

The nurse turned her attention to the unicorn on the cot, checking vitals. “So, who is he?”

“He’s my husband.”

“Ah, how long?”

“This…this was supposed to be our honeymoon.” Cadence sniffled, tears threatening to well up all over again. She wasn’t as numb as she thought, it seemed.

The nurse took pause at that. “I’m sorry, um…” falling back on experience in dealing with family, she tried to keep the Alicorn focused on the positive. “So, how’d you two meet?”

“I used to foalsit his little sister,” Cadence sniffled, wiping at her nose while the nurse continued her work. “He was this big, doofy unicorn with dreams of joining the royal guard and…and he was always so sweet and so wonderful, and then we went on a few dates and next thing you know…”

“Wedding bells,” the nurse smiled.

“Yeah, and even then we had the changeling invasion, but we dealt with that,” she smiled, the memory of their love and magic combining to form a spell powerful enough to send the entire changeling race flying reminding her of the power they held together. “Things were supposed to be calm after that: we just wanted to go someplace quiet to get away from it all. And then…” the tears threatened to break out all over again as she remembered the initial attack on Coltton: Shining being dragged away by strange creatures in strange clothes, shouting in a strange language and running around with terrifying weapons.

“And then…” Shining shielding her and that human from the grenade, his body wracked with dozens of wounds.

“And then…” her relief when that man, that wonderful creature, had saved her Shining, healing his wounds with that weird gray goo.

“And then…” her heart sinking into her stomach when Shining collapsed again, writhing just as he was now. “This day was supposed to be perfect…” she said quietly before openly sobbing. The nurse immediately dropped her clipboard and embraced the Princess, wrapping her in a hug.

“Save him,” Cadence mumbled. “Please, for the love of all that is good, save him.”

“We will,” the nurse picked up her clipboard again and turned back to Shining’s side. She prodded him, and the skin of his neck rippled away from her finger, like a stone being dropped into a pond. Her hand darted back as if she’d been shocked. “What in the…”

Suddenly, the unicorn coughed, his feverish eyes darting wide open. “Shining!” Cadence gasped as the gray goop oozed from his mouth. Panting heavily, he vomited more of the goo onto his pillow, his body heaving.

“Oh my God…Doctor!” The nurse screamed, running to leave the Princess with her husband.

“Shining…” she whimpered as the skin of his neck rippled even more, seemingly melting away from his throat. Coughing and hacking spasmodically, the unicorn shivered while the skin oozed away into yet another puddle of gray goo, revealing a few burn marks where it retreated. “His injuries…” she gasped. Just then, a pair of doctors arrived and grabbed the cot, rushing away with it to another tent.

“Wait, wait!” She galloped after them.

“No!” The nurse grabbed the Princess and held her back. “They’re gonna do their best, don’t worry.”

“Shining,” Cadence whimpered, collapsing to the MASH unit’s dirt floor as the love of her life was hauled out of the tent, still shivering. “Shining, please, please, please don’t die. Please.”

Chapter LIV: Swarm Falling

Celestia, Luna, and the duo of human commanders remaining on their feet surveyed the field as the cleanup continued. Nearby, a SEAL stooped over the body of a Marine and pulled his dog tags off, saying a quick, silent prayer before continuing on to the next body. Over to their right, a man in a gray trench coat with a swastika arm band turned over the body of a conscript, and immediately sank weeping to his knees. “Francis…bruder…es tut mir leid…”*

“I hate this part so much,” Webb grumbled, wishing desperately for a cigarette.

“It doesn’t get easier,” Vance sighed. And he had been looking forward to a good night’s sleep after all this, too. Fat chance of that happening.

Oddly enough, a wing rested on each man’s shoulders: one white, one night-blue. “I am sorry,” Celestia said.

“We can guarantee that each one of your fallen will be honored as best as we can manage,” Luna said softly.

“But that is for later,” the Princess of Day stepped forward, eyes turning to the humongous dome-like structure dominating one edge of the field, just off the side of the massive chasm everyone had just spent a night fighting and dying over.

“Ah yes, the elephant in the room,” Vance said, gazing up at the chrome structure.

“Or…big ol’ dome thing in the room, as the case might be,” Webb said smartly.

“I know it wasn’t in any of the battle plans Swarm and I went over,” Celestia said. “Any ideas as to what it may be?”

“Oh yeah, I got a few,” Vance said, scratching his chin worriedly. “I hope to God they aren’t right, though.”

“So, what do we do?” Webb asked.

A determined look in her eyes, Luna simply strode past the trio and started making her way towards the dome. Celestia arched an eyebrow at her as she passed. “Sister, are you sure this is the wisest course of action?”

“Well, ‘tis better than standing around with our hooves lodged within our anal cavities, is it not?” The Lunar Princess replied, not pausing in her stride.

Celestia rolled her eyes as the humans’ jaws dropped. “Did she just say…” Vance started.

“Yes, Luna was always the more vulgar of us,” Celestia sighed, standing to join her sister. “She has a point, however. If it pleases you, gentlemen…”

Staring at each other and shrugging, the humans followed. “Ah, sir,” a SEAL said, running up to them and saluting as they jogged to keep up with the royal duo. “There’s a prisoner who wishes to speak with you.”

“Send him to the dome-thing, I’ll be there,” Vance replied without stopping. The SEAL nodded and dashed off. By the time the pair reached the massive dome, several Marines were already daring one another to touch it, one with his hand just a few inches away from its chrome surface while a SEAL stood behind him, dangling a twenty from his fingers.

“You’re pussying ouuuuutttt…” the SEAL said mockingly.

“I’m not! Just…getting ready…is all…” the Marine yelled back, his fingers closing the distance.

“Ah, wait, don’t…” Luna started when an electric jolt flashed from the chrome to the Marine’s fingertips, sending him flying back into his friend.

“Holy-“ Vance gasped, watching the pair collapse on the ground. “What in the fuck is this thing!?”

The Marine’s eyes rolled around in his skull for a while, then suddenly he bolted upright. “PRINCESS!” He gasped as his SEAL friend shoved him off.

The Princess of Day looked back at the man quizzically. “Yes?”

“Princess…you need to help…voices…” the man’s eyes gazed blankly up at the sky. He blinked a few times, as if struggling with something. “You gave me time before, but I require even more now.”

The sisters’ eyes darted wide open. “Chen!?” Luna gasped.

“Woah, the Major’s bro?” Ramirez said.

“Yes…the Major,” the Marine replied, still lying on the ground and staring blankly. By now, the SEAL he’d landed on had put a fair amount of distance between them. All eyes focused on the man on the ground, watching as his body seized randomly. “…Confused. They’re all so confused. So much pain…please, please stop talking…”

“Chen, is this you?” Celestia asked, motioning towards the dome. “Did you build this?”

“No, am it…had to contain…please, I know you’re hurt, but I can’t focus…please…I need to focus…have to contain…”

“What do you mean? What did you need to contain?” She asked urgently.

“Michael! He’s hurt, very hurt,” the Marine continued in his semi-coherent daze, his head starting to rock around. “Mars…please stop, please…I need to focus, please…”

The man’s face suddenly went blank again, and he collapsed. A few moments later, he suddenly bolted upright. “Jeez-us, did anyone get the number of the truck that hit me!?” He exclaimed.

“What was that!?” Luna gasped.

“My suspicions being confirmed,” Vance sighed, watching as the SEAL from before approached on the heels of a man in enemy uniform. This prisoner stood tall and defiant, his very stride reeking of someone of importance, his chin raised high, his chest thrust out. His regular, gray uniform had been covered in medals, which coupled with his new, still-shining helmet and well-pressed uniform pants to tell the others he’d just recently received a rather large promotion. Vance grimaced. These guys were always SO much fun to deal with.

Webb turned to his superior as the strange pair approached. “What’re you thinking, man!? This could be a trap!”

“Doubtful. His army is defeated and the Princesses of Night and Day are here. As far along as Nazi technology has come, I don’t think they’ve figured out how to disable an Alicorn yet.” Vance shrugged as he took a few steps towards the prisoner. “Besides, there’s a few things I’d like to ask.”

“Like?”

“Like why they retreated. You know as well as I do that Nazi policy regards retreat with the deepest contempt, to be used only in the most desperate of situations. They had us outnumbered and outgunned, so why run? They know something we don’t, and that scares the ever-loving shit outta me.”

Webb started to argue, but thought better of it. Every one of the Captain’s points had been perfectly valid. “I just hope you know what you’re doing,” the paratrooper grumbled.

“That’s a rare occasion indeed,” Vance smiled.

The prisoner approached the pair, striding right past the Princesses before he saluted and extended his hand. “Oberlieutnant Stevens, Nationalsozialistischen Reiter Offensiv Truppe,” he said.

Vance nodded and extended his own hand. “Captain Vance, United Nations Inter-Universal Affairs Task Force. Do you speak English?”

“Not good, but some,” Stevens shrugged. “I want congratulate you on well-won victory. Very hard-fighting. Very good.”

“Your men as well,” Vance replied, honestly surprised at the man’s civility. “You should know that they will be treated fairly as POWs of both the United Nations and of the United States of America. They will be fed and will receive medical attention once we’re back stateside.”

“Thank you,” the man bowed. “Now, to business.”

“Right: I’ve been wondering why you called for this meeting.”

The prisoner’s eyes immediately went to the massive dome looming over all of them. “That.”

“What do you know about it?” Celestia asked, butting in.

The prisoner grimaced, looking over to Vance. “Was talking to American,” he said icily.

“The Princess fought every bit as hard, if not harder, as me and my men. She has earned your respect in every way, shape, and form,” the Captain growled. “Anything you tell me you can tell her.”

The prisoner glared, but obliged, nodding to the Alicorn. Vance kept a smile from creeping onto his lips. You just had to know how to deal with these guys. “You and your men should leave as quickly as possible.”

“Why?”

“Mars had a weapon. A bad one, my friends in lab told me what it could do. To a human, harmless, but to one like your Major,” he shivered. “Could unleash hell.”

Vance’s lower lip quivered, his eyes widening in fear. “And if we do not leave this place?”

The prisoner’s eyes fell. He turned to walk back to the rest of his men under the watchful eye of his guards, trudging along like a man being sent to his own execution. After a few steps, he paused, and with his eyes still on the ground, said: “Then we are all dead men.”

Vance froze, watching the prisoner trudge away. His eyes widened, his blood freezing in his veins as a knot twisted in his stomach. “What was that all about!?” Luna gasped, breaking the silence.

“Oh, they don’t have much respect for anyone except their own and for people who beat their asses in combat,” Webb said with a cocky grin. “Guess which of those categories we fall in?”

“I think my sister meant that last part,” Celestia said, her eyebrows furrowed with worry. “Why did he say you were all dead men if you did not leave Equestria?”

“Because the worst possible thing that you could imagine has happened,” Vance replied. The Princesses gazed at the human commander as the color drained from his face. He turned to them, a haunted look in his eyes. “War isn’t over yet, ladies: if anything, Equestria’s in even greater danger than before.”

“Captain…” Celestia asked, urging him onward.

“Princess, whatever happened between the Swarms and Mars, it was bad. By the sounds of things, Chen had to contain Michael in there,” he pointed to the dome. “How in the hell he built it so fast, I don’t know, but the fact that he even had to tells me one thing: that Michael has somehow fallen victim to a state the documentation on him referred to as a ‘Mass Reversion Status’.”

“And that is?” Webb asked.

“Top secret,” Vance grumbled. “I don’t even know who to ask. But the documentation said to treat this state as a possible XK-Class event.”

Webb’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.”

“And that would be…” Luna said, growing impatient with all the terms and phrases Vance was throwing around.

“The end of the world,” Webb said, his heart racing in fear as he gazed up at the massive dome. “Whatever’s happened to Michael, it’s bad. It’s really, really bad, and if Chen fails to contain him…”

“…then Michael will unleash Armageddon upon Equestria.” Vance finished.

The four beings stood in dumbfounded shock, staring up at the massive structure as it pulsed and writhed, as if containing some horrifying monster or great beast. “That can’t be.” Luna said.

“Princess…”

“In the short time we have known Swarm; he has demonstrated far more character than most do in their entire lives!” The Lunar Princess screeched without warning. “He would never raise a finger against Equestria, not after everything, not after how hard he’s fought to save it!”

“He may not have a choice,” Celestia sighed, a wing curling over her sister’s shoulders. “You heard Chen’s voice: he sounded confused, out of place, did he not? Imagine how Michael must feel.”

“God damn, he might be more a victim here than any of us,” Webb sighed. His large, brown eyes wandered over the rippling surface of the dome. “Makes ya wonder: what must he be goin’ through in there? What could be so bad?”

“I pray we never have to find out.” Vance sighed.

Chen opened his eyes.

Please…

Where am I…

Can anybody hear me!?

It hurts…it still hurts…

Chen closed his eyes, trying to focus, to concentrate. But why? What was he focusing so hard on? What could possibly be worth this pain? It must be important, though, for him to be putting himself through this. Just to be safe, he would keep on fighting until he could remember…fighting what?

A red planet flashed before his eyes. “What is that…” he mumbled. More questions. More thoughts. More voices in the dark. God, if the voices would just shut up for a second he might be able to focus…

THAT WAS IT! He could only hear the voices when his eyes were open! That had to mean something! Oh, but to figure out what, he’d need to open them again. And that hurt…

…it hurts so much…please…anybody…

His eyes darted open. The past couple days came flooding back: the battle in the void, Mars’ betrayal, gathering the Elements and the humans together with the Princesses, fighting Mars...fighting Mars…and then…and then what? Ugh, opening his eyes had been a mistake. He could focus even less now with the voices all screaming through his head again. And the sights weren’t helping: that big, undulating ocean before him, like he was in the top of a lava lamp, looking down at the goo running about down there. ‘Oh wow, groovy man,’ as his brother would say, an obvious allusion to his people’s more colorful…

Wait…

His brother! Yes, that was it, Michael! Whatever happened next had something to do with Michael! But how was he supposed to remember that now!? That ocean goo thing was intensely distracting! Although, there was that curious speck down there…

No, he had to focus on Michael! Something…something was wrong…something terrible with his brother. Oh, he couldn’t! He couldn’t focus! What with that speck bobbing up and down…writhing…twisting…cursing…struggling to stay above the surface and remain…

The last few pieces finally clicked into place. The syringe…Mars…Michael losing cohesion…erecting the barrier in time to contain him…tapping into Michael’s fragmented mind to try and save him before his body, unfettered by the chains of a mind to contain it, destroyed all of Equestria. And that bought him to right here: the conscious hive. The place where the thousands of minds that gave Michael his god-like power all gathered, now thrown into chaos by Mars’ last move. Below him, struggling amidst the thousands of minds reeling with the chaos as one, massive sea, was his brother.

“MICHAEL!” Chen focused in on the speck: one little island of cohesion and thought amidst a sea of chaos, struggling to hold on to what little was left of its form. His brother, slowly sinking like a man in quicksand, struggling as the ocean of minds threatened to drag him under. Okay, now was not the time to panic, just had to think of a way down there. Literally: Chen just needed some means of transport to pop into his mind, and it would appear before him. The hive-consciousness was funny like that.

Hive…

Oh no. Of course it was the FIRST thing that popped into his mind, stupid! If only he could focus a little better, he might have thought of a plane, or a jet-pack! Whatever, this would simply have to do.

A swarm of giant bees appeared behind him, flitting about through the darkness and swarming around the man in the business suit. A pair lit upon his arm and stared down expectantly at him, awaiting orders. He only needed to point at the struggling form in the sea below, and the bees nodded and buzzed him towards it. As they drew closer, the voices grew louder. Chen struggled to remain conscious as the thousands of thoughtless, formless words threatened to overwhelm him, make him into one of their own. Of course, that would be rather counter-productive, considering he was the only one maintaining the shield keeping Equestria safe. Without that…without that…

Oh God, it was so much! The voices…the thoughts…the desperation…the shield…so many things lost…so many things to be lost…he couldn’t fail…he would fail…he would fail…it was inevitable from the…

“Chuh-CHEN!” Michael’s voice broke through to his brother. The man still wearing his business suit shook his head, slapping himself a few times to clear his thoughts.

“MICHAEL!” He screamed, the bees buzzing him closer. The voices were nearly unbearable now, but as bad off as he was, Michael was so much worse. He was barely keeping himself abreast in the imaginary sea, his head constantly bobbing under the surface, and what little Chen could still see was constantly flickering and wavering and fizzing about, like an old analog TV tuned to a channel that wasn’t quite coming in.

“I can’t…” Michael gasped, choking out more of the sea as he smacked at it, trying desperately to stay afloat. “I can’t get out!”

“Reach!” Chen wrapped his legs around one of the bees’ middles, leaving his hands free to stretch down to his brother. The voices roared through his mind. He couldn’t even hear his own thoughts amidst them anymore, now lost amidst a throng. “Hurry!”

“Almost…” Michael’s fingers stretched towards his brother, a gloved hand reaching upwards, all of his remaining strength pouring into this final push, this last desperate grasp.

And it was all for nothing. Something slammed into Michael’s would-be rescuer, carrying him off just inches before their fingertips could touch. Howling in pain and frustration, he watched as the sea swallowed Michael whole, his still-outstretched hand the last to slip beneath the waves and disappear. A split-second later, a hand wrapped around his throat and bought him up to stare right into his captor’s eyes. He wasn’t even remotely surprised when Mars’ baby blues grinned back at him. “Come now, daddy, did you really think it’d be that easy to get rid of me? That I wouldn’t think you’d try something like this?”

Screaming with rage, Chen nailed Mars in the temple with a devastating haymaker, landing calmly upon a non-existent ground. Then something wrapped around his arms, and his eyes widened in surprise at what they were. Two copies of the man in the gray trench coat, both sharing the same wicked smile, stared back at him. “Nice try, daddy, but in case you’re forgetting…” the one on his left began.

“…I have always been talented in matters of the mind.” The Mars on his right finished.

“And with the power I’ve acquired over these many months…” the first Mars continued, grabbing onto his shoulders from the front.

“…that makes me a GOD in here!” Yet another Mars cackled from behind, wrapping his arms around Chen’s armpits in a wrestling lock.

“YOU!” Chen threw off the Mars on his left arm with a simple toss. “ARE!” A punch to the rib cage threw away the Mars clone on his right. “NOT!” A head-butt dispatched the one up front. “A GOD!” He completed, throwing the last Mars over his shoulder with a roll that ended with his knee on the clone’s throat.

“Oh really?” The clone asked, the grin widening. “My six-billion friends would kindly disagree.”

“What…” Chen looked up in time to see an army of the clones. No, more than an army: a massive, unstoppable, horde. Throngs of Mars clones, billions strong, all descending around him, landing in a tightened circle. Reacting immediately, the man in the business suit severed the spinal cord of the clone beneath his knee before lashing out, desperately chopping away at the horde, hoping to whittle at the enemy’s numbers. But it was hopeless. Even if his head wasn’t buzzing with a thousand disjointed, confused voices, and even if he wasn’t distracted with maintaining the shield protecting Equestria, their numbers were simply far too great for one lone offshoot to handle by himself. Still, he managed to remain free of their grasp for nearly two full minutes before a pair latched on to his back and front, locking his arms to his sides. The throng immediately descended upon him, wrapping more and more arms around him, pulling him down deeper and deeper into the sea of never-ending, wicked little faces, grinning down at him as once again, victory seemed inevitable.

“No…” Chen mumbled as the faint light in this imaginary plane faded away, blocked by a tidal wave of arms and legs. He had failed. Michael would never break free of that sea without his help, and eventually, his strength would give out, unleashing the apocalypse upon the unsuspecting beings of Equestria. Soon, pony, griffon, changeling, dog and human would all suffer the same fate as the little field outside Coltton. And it was all his fault. He wasn’t strong enough. He wasn’t smart enough. He wasn’t fast enough. Whatever it was, it had all gone wrong.

“Princess…Captain…” he mumbled, the two Alicorns and the aging Marine passing by his eyes as the mob grew deeper and deeper, the light now just a rapidly-fading spark in the distance. He closed his eyes as he sank lower. “I am sorry. I am so very, very sorry.”

Author's Note

*Francis, brother, I'm so sorry.

Chapter LV: The True Swarm

The dome rippled and buckled, heaving against itself, its chrome surface strained to contain the terrors within. Where it's edges met the ground, a few visible cracks formed with a low ripping sound, like cardboard being torn by someone’s bare hands. “Oh God,” Webb backed up a few paces, his hands raised over his face, as if that could protect him.

“It’s happening!” Vance screamed. “Michael’s breaking loose!”

Immediately, a dark glare washed over the sisters’ faces. They each assumed a battle-ready stance, wing-tip touching wing-tip, heads lowered, hooves spread out. “Captain, I kindly request that you and your men flee immediately.” Celestia said.

“You’ve all done your part to protect Equestria, now ‘tis our turn.” Luna added.

“Go? Where are we supposed to go!?” Webb screamed. “That’s the apocalypse in there!”

“To your respective worlds,” Celestia stated flatly. “At least there, you will all be safe.”

“Princess,” Vance said. “I hate to break it to ya, but we’re not done here.”

“The enemy is defeated.”

“Defeating the enemy wasn’t our objective here! It was protecting Equestria!”

“IF YOU STAY, YOU’LL DIE! THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO HERE!” She barked, glaring right into his eyes.

“You’re actin’ like we’ve got any choice,” Webb sighed, kneeling on the ground beside the Princess. “We’re just as stuck here as you are.”

“What?” Luna asked, her eyes widening in confusion.

“Swarm was our ride outta here,” Vance explained, hooking a thumb at the dome. “I don’t think he’s in any condition to be givin’ lifts to anybody, do you?”

“Buh-but…your command!” Celestia gasped. “Swarm told me your people had developed their own methods of inter-universal travel!”

“Which have to be activated on their end, and Swarm was our only way to communicate with them.” Vance shrugged nonchalantly. “Without him, we’ll have to wait for the daily check-in, which doesn’t happen for a few more hours.”

“And even then, they won’t even think to look here. They’ll be checking at the original campsite a few miles away.” Webb added helpfully.

“Ah yes, that’s right. Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“But there has to be some way! You can’t…” Luna trailed off, looking desperately into each man’s eyes. They both shook their heads at her, slowly, sadly. “You mustn’t! This is…”

“Either we save Equestria, or we die with it,” Webb said simply. “That’s the deal.”

The Princesses looked at them in shock, completely stunned. Behind the four, the dome buckled and strained, a faint buzzing noise escaping from it. Finally, Celestia’s face darkened. “Okay,” she said, nodding. “Okay, if that’s the deal…”

“Lieutenant!” Luna barked. Webb immediately stood at attention, saluting out of sheer force of habit. “We wish for you to retrieve the Elements and explain the situation to them. Bring them here: we may need their help to maintain this level of magic.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Webb barked, immediately turning and sprinting back to the hole he knew the six ponies would be waiting in.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Celestia turned to Vance. “Captain, for you I have a special request.”

“Anything, Princess,” the Captain looked her right in the eye, standing ramrod straight.

“Please keep my sister and I occupied,” the sisters’ hooves joined, Luna looking into Celestia’s eyes with concern. “Our magic has already been pushed to its limit today. I fear this task will break those limits…and in the process break our minds.”

“What do you want me to do?” Vance asked, pure determination and manly grit on his face.

“Remember when we were maintaining the barrier to give your men cover, and you helped us remain focused?”

The Captain’s face dropped. “SERIOUSLY!? You want me to do THAT again!?”

“Captain,” Celestia smiled weakly as she sank to her knees, her sister dropping gracefully beside her. “We wouldn’t be asking if it were not important.”

He sighed, hands running through his thinning hair. “If this gets out, I’m ruined.”

“It won’t.”

“Alright,” he sighed, kneeling in a spot between them, his hands gently resting in their manes. “I’m serious, though: if I hear about this among the men, you two are my first targets.”

“Understood,” Luna sighed, touching her horn to Celestia’s. “Captain, you may begin when ready.”

Nodding, his voice rose above the clamor of the dome. Any human over the age of 15 would recognize it immediately: Hootie and the Blowfish. Let Her Cry.

Squeezing one another’s hooves, the sisters closed their eyes. When they opened them again, they filled with white light, pure power circulating through their bodies. Light coalesced around the three, circulating and cycling in tendrils of energy, the Princesses’ magic preparing itself for one final push to save Equestria. And through it all, the Captain’s voice rose, deep, soothing, and blasting like a certain 90’s pop singer’s deep baritone.

The tendrils circulated around one another, forming one massive beam of light that arched high over the battlefield and impacted right on the dome’s summit. The magic quickly spread throughout the structure, its flickering white energy mixing with the dome’s fading silver. The Princesses gasped as the full brunt of containing Michael fell on them, their magic struggling to remain whole as it cascaded along the dome’s surface like a dozen tiny rivers, solidifying into a giant net in an attempt to hold the structure together.

“Oh, it’s like a trillion little mouths trying to devour us!” Luna strained, her voice raised by the sheer force of magic she had to use. The dome wracked and buckled, but held strong with the help of their magic, albeit just barely.

“Oh Maker above, Swarm!? Is this what Discord was talking about…” Celestia moaned, blinking back tears of agony as memories of the lost draconequus surged through her mind. “Was he trying to warn us? Is this what you really are!?”

Webb ran as fast as he could, feet pumping, breath coming in short, practiced gasps. Slaloming around piles of bodies, he almost tripped right over the ridge when he finally reached the spot he needed, narrowly avoiding a skid down the embankment on his face. What he saw when he caught his breath nearly broke his heart.

The ponies and their remaining human friends laid together in a massive pile at the bottom of the embankment, holding one another in silence. They all looked so tired, just so sick of everything, as if part of each and every one of them wanted to just lie face down in the mud until the lights went out, if only for a bit of rest. God damn us for what we’ve brought here, he thought, cursing himself privately for what he was about to do.

“Excuse me?” He asked. Eight pairs of eyes turned up to him. It was hard to tell which was sadder: pony or human. “I’m real sorry, but the Princesses sent me here to getcha.”

“What’s she need?” Uris rasped. His throat sounded so dry, as if he’d just exhausted every drop of water in his system but didn’t have the energy to go grab a drink.

“Something’s happened with Swarm. Long story short: he’s the one in the dome, and he’s gonna destroy everything if he gets out.”

Twilight nodded, slowly pulling herself from Uris’s grip. “C’mon girls,” she said, plodding up the embankment.

“I must say, a part of me is actually looking forward to this!” Rarity said with a strained smile pasted onto her face.

“Don’t tell me you’re lookin’ forward to this crazy stuff as much as I am,” Dash said with a little half-smile. “You, the pony who’s afraid of getting her hooves dirty on a rainy day?”

“Well, my mane is already destroyed beyond salvation, so why worry?” she shrugged.

“Rares ain’t worried ‘bout her mane,” Applejack chuckled. “Now Ah know we’re in trouble.”

“And hopefully this time we’ll get a proper ending,” Twilight said. “Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was wonderful that the battle ended with less bloodshed, but I thought it felt so…” she trailed off.

“Anticlimactic?” Pinkie snorted. “You and the readers both.”

Webb’s jaw dropped as the ponies trotted past, tired, bedraggled, but still pushing on forward, never letting the world see just how far down they’d been beaten. “When’d they become soldiers!?” He mumbled.

And still, there was one more pony left, clinging to Ramirez. She gazed over his shoulder at Uris with those big, bright, blue eyes. It was obvious she wanted to say something, but every time she looked at the pilot, the words just wouldn’t come out.

“Hey, uh…sport,” the pilot said, trying to break the silence in the most awkward way possible. “Just…uh…be careful out there, okay?”

She nodded. Trying (and failing miserably) to defuse the awkwardness, he shrugged and gave her a quick bro-jab to the shoulder. She immediately started tearing up, squeaking with the hit. “Oh shitshitshitshitshit, Flutters! I didn’t mean…”

“Fluttershah!” Applejack’s voice called down to them. “Y’know we ain’t complete withoutcha.”

“I…um, I hafta go,” she said quickly before swooping out of Ramirez’s arms and launching herself out of the chasm at speeds that impressed even Rainbow Dash.

“Dude,” Ramirez asked. “Did you just give Fluttershy a bro-punch?”

“Shaddup,” Uris groaned.

“You’re absolutely horrible with women, you know that, right?”

“Shut uuuuuuuuuuuupp!” He sighed as Rainbow Dash suddenly rocketed out of the sky and landed at their feet.

“What’s this I hear about you hitting Fluttershy!?” She growled.

The men rolled their eyes. “It’s nothing, Dash, just get going, please.” Uris sighed.

Snorting, the pegasus promptly launched herself at the pilot, landing on his chin and using it as a Launchpad to kick herself off back to her friends. The pilot was sent sprawling over the ground, his companion just shaking his head sadly as he watched. “Just epic levels of fail right now.”

“SHUUUUTTT UUUUUUUUUPPP!” Uris managed around the blood pooling in his mouth, the SEAL laughing his ass off as he helped him up.

“C’mon!” Webb screamed. “Y’all don’t wanna miss the end of everything, do ya!?”

Grinning like madmen, the pair shot up the ridge, joining the paratrooper as they ran towards the big, undulating structure meant to unleash hell upon everything on the planet. It only took a few minutes for the trio to catch up to the ponies, running towards the dome with a certain look of determination on each and every one of their faces.

Twilight gulped as she gazed up at the thing, its surface rippling and undulating like the ocean during a fight between two sea serpents. Uris could tell from the fear in her eyes that she was silently praying to anyone who would listen: Celestia, God, Faust, or whatever it was cartoon ponies worshiped, praying that they would be in time, that her friends would come out okay, that everything would work out in the end, that she could just return to her normal, quiet life with a normal, quiet routine and a normal, quiet list of chores to…

“Dude, stop leering,” Ramirez sneered from just behind him as they ran.

“Wha-I was not! What!? Leering!? Ponies!? Wha-“

“Great, all the guys in this fight I could meet, and it’s a clopper,” the SEAL grumbled.

“I-what!? I-what!? What the fuh…” the pilot cut himself off as a wide grin broke out over the SEAL’s face. A second later, that grin was a chortle, which Uris joined in on. Their laughter rose as they pushed themselves further, passing the ponies as they laughed like maniacs, Uris still limping alongside the SEAL.

“What’s with them!?” Dash gasped as the humans passed on by.

“Humans, man,” Pinkie shrugged.

Chapter LVI: Sacrifices

Twilight wanted to cry in relief and frustration when the group finally caught up to the Princesses. The Alicorns of Day and Night were on the ground, eyes hammered shut to blink back the pain, their bodies shaking and sweating as if they were fighting off massive fevers. The Element of Magic would have thrown herself on the ground and bawled right then if it wasn’t for the sight of that tough-as-nails human commander, kneeling at their sides, stroking their manes and singing. If the Captain knew the others were standing there, he did nothing to indicate it. At least until Uris clapped his hands and cheered. “You go, pop! Serenade those horses!”

“Didn’t even know the old man was still in the dating scene,” Webb cracked.

Vance replied with his middle finger straight up in the air, not turning away from the Princesses as they struggled.

Shaking her head at the men, Twilight turned to her friends. “Alright, girls, one more time! FOR EQUESTRIA!”

“FOR EQUESTRIA!” Every being, human and pony, shouted as each of the Elements’ jewels hummed with magic. This time, they rose simply and silently into the air, magic spinning around them as it focused itself into the massive beam still arcing from the Princesses’ horns, enveloping it and mixing its own gold tint in with the Princesses’ pure white.

“Now that’s what I call a light show,” Ramirez said, pulling his tinted goggles back on.

“Aww, I wish I had a pair of those to look cool in, but I left ‘em with my damn helmeett…” Uris whined.

“Whatever this is, I’ll admit, it looks pretty cool,” Webb smiled. Ramirez smiled hopefully at him. The Lieutenant immediately doubled back. “Y’know, for a buncha girly-ass ponies and shit!”

“Suurrrrrrreee,” the SEAL cackled while the pilot rolled his eyes.

“Fuckin’ bronies all over the place,” Uris mumbled, watching as the renewed magic enveloped the dome, adding a fresh glint to its original chrome and smoothing all the cracks over.

“Holy shit! It’s working!” Webb screamed happily.

“We might just make it after all!” Uris crowed. Immediately, Ramirez’s hand clamped over his mouth.

“Goddammit, man, what’s with you and jinxing everything?”

“Aww c’mon,” Uris said, spitting the SEAL’s hand back out. “Like that actually makes bad crap happ…”

Suddenly, a loud crack sounded. The humans watched in horror as the dome tore open right at its summit, a jet of violet-red energy shooting out, rocketing up the beam and lighting off right in the middle of the Elements of Harmony. “GIRLS!” The trio shouted, rushing to their sides as the ponies fell right out of the sky.

“Ugh, what wazzat?” AJ asked as a hand helped her to her hooves.

“Felt like the Wonderbolts just used my head for target practice!” Rainbow Dash groaned, cradling her head.

“Did anypony else hear voices crying out when that beam hit?” Pinkie asked worriedly.

“Yeah, and laughter too, louder than those voices…” Twilight said, a shiver running up her spine. “Like, really evil laughter.”

“Mars,” Ramirez gasped. “Holy shit, it’s him!”

“How’s he still in there!? It’s the damned apocalypse! He should be dead by now!” Webb screamed.

“I’m pretty sure anything that could do half the shit we’ve seen him do can’t be killed that easy,” Uris grimaced. “Either way, we’re screwed if we don’t think of something else.”

“Should we try the Elements again?” Twilight suggested.

“Naw, odds are Mars has figured out how to make the next blast hurt,” Webb grumbled. “Even if he hasn’t, he would probably just swat you outta the sky again.”

A scream of agony filled the air. The group looked over as the Princesses suddenly rose to their hooves, their eyes opening to reveal pitch blackness where their vibrant pupils should have been, magic cascading violently from their horns as it waned over the dome. Vance took a step back, but his voice continued over the chaos: ”Sometimes I wonder…if we’ll ever end…”

“We have to do something!” Fluttershy screamed. “The Princesses can’t last much longer!”

“Okay, okayokayokay,” Twilight had started pacing at a panicked rate, the wind howling around them, her mind desperately racing around for a solution. “What do we know about this Swarm guy, anyway? What’s he like?”

“Only know about two of ‘em myself,” Webb said, keeping a worried eye on the dome. “One likes to wear jeans and a leather jacket, and he likes t’grease his hair up like those guys in those real old movies from the fifties…”

“Okay, anything about their structure!? What they’re made of!? Where they came from? Why they’re so powerful?” She looked helplessly at the blank faces staring back. Behind her, that horrid gray ooze had started to escape, seeping out from the cracks in the dome. “Anything at all!”

“EARLIER!” The paratrooper cried with a snap of his fingers. “Swarm was talking earlier! He mentioned…” he squinted his eyes and hammered on his forehead with the palm of his hand. “He mentioned…nanorobotics…”

The unicorn looked up at him with a big, blank look in her eyes. “Okay, and?”

“And…and…hive mind!” He screamed. “He mentioned he had something to do with a hive-mind, I remember thinkin’ that was kinda like the Borg in Star Trek or some shit…and…”

“Wait - hive mind,” Twilight raised her hoof to stop him. “What is that?”

“Uhh…” Webb looked to the others for help with an explanation.

“It’s kinda like…what bees have, y’know?” Uris said after a while. “Like, a bunch of minds, but all talking to each other all the time somehow…”

“He said he was like that: like he got his power from something like that,” Webb sighed, shaking his head in confusion. “I dunno, my head gets all kinds of fuzzy when I try to think about it.”

“No, no, I get it,” Twilight’s hoof scratched at her chin. “It’s quite a bit like what bees share. A telekinetic link, routed through the Queen, except Swarm is the router here.”

“Does that help us in the slightest?” Rarity asked.

“It might. Remember those voices? What did they sound to you?”

“They sounded…” Rarity started, her eyes falling at the memory. “So…lonely…”

“Confused,” Pinkie added.

“But real confused, like something they had was taken away and now they were in pain,” Dash added quietly.

“A lot of pain,” Fluttershy whimpered. “I’ve heard animals that lost a family member who didn’t sound that bad when they cried.”

“But that confusion was always there,” Applejack said. “So, like Flutters said, a lot like an animal that’s hurt but don’t know why.”

“And I think that confusion is the key!” Twilight said, her eyes lighting up. “Whatever happened to Mr. Swarm, it obviously threw him out of whack! Maybe it cut off his link with the rest of his ‘hive,’ and now the minds are cut-off from each other, and their confusion is keeping him from finding himself!”

“So, how d’we fix that?” Ramirez asked.

“I-um…I don’t know!” She sank to her haunches in hopelessness, hooves on her temples. “Oh, if only we had some way to talk to him! Something that could rise over the confusion and chaos! Something like…”

“…like a focused mind? One that isn’t as confused as the rest of them?” Uris asked, his voice filling with dread.

Twilight’s eyes widened in terror. “Yes, something like that. A focused mind in the mix would allow Swarm to reorient himself, but to do that we’d need someone to go over there and…” she cut herself off, unable to continue.

“…And sacrifice themselves for the sake of everyone else.” Ramirez finished, voice wavering.

“No.” Webb shook his head profusely. “Absolutely not.”

“What else can we do?” Uris lamented.

“ANYTHING else! Anything! We could…we could…” he looked at the tired, saddened faces around him, scanning wildly. “Something!”

“We just don’t know enough about him to even think of something,” Twilight said empirically, looking over each and every one of her friends. “For Equestria to be safe, one of us has to…”

“Oh…” Fluttershy’s eyes flooded with tears, and she sobbed openly into Rainbow’s shoulder. “Oh no…”

Webb’s face fell, assuming the same, beaten-down look everyone else’s had. He turned to the dome. The crack Mars’ energy blast had formed at its summit was now spreading along the dome, already halfway to touching the grass. The dome itself buckled upwards, struggling to remain whole against the massive forces pressing against its interior. A few yards away, the Princesses thrashed wildly, throwing their heads back and roaring, straight up ROARING, and sending Vance running for cover. And still he sang, his haggard voice struggling on.

“Okay, how do we do this?” Webb asked quietly.

“Rock-paper-scissors?” Uris shrugged.

“We…don’t know what that is,” Twilight said, smiling sheepishly.

“Good, ‘cause you’re not playing,” Ramirez replied.

“WHAT!? Equestria is our home!”

“And we’re the ones tasked with defending it!” Webb screamed.

“Oh, and the Elements are just a bunch of glorified Christmas decorations?” Rainbow snorted. “No way.”

“You’re not part of this, you girls are too important to Equestria! To…to us…” Ramirez sighed, his lower lip quivering despite his best efforts. “Could any of you honestly tell me you could live with the loss of one of your friends for the rest of your lives?”

The ponies quivered, looking at each other. Twilight’s eyes raced over her friends. What would her life be without Pinkie’s laughter and joy? Or Rainbow’s unquestioning loyalty and never-ending will to help her friends? Or Applejack’s hard-working ethic urging them all forward? Or Rarity’s delicate, fashionable touch to everything they did? Or Fluttershy’s kindness and willingness to help others, no matter the difficulty? Tears streaming down her face, she looked up at the humans. By the sad, distraught looks each of the ponies had, it was obvious they were all thinking the same thing.

“That’s what I thought,” Ramirez sighed. “Look, we’re ready for this. We knew what we were signing up for. That’s why we’re soldiers. Please, just let us handle this.”

Nodding silently, Twilight pulled herself into a group hug with the rest of her friends. They cried quietly as the humans set about their grim work, not one of them noticing the determined fire slowly growing in one of the Elements’ eyes.

“So, how d’we do this?” Uris asked.

“Like we said,” Webb raised his fist. “Rock-paper-scissors.”

“One-two-three-go?” Ramirez asked, his own fist rising.

“Sounds good to me,” Uris shrugged, his stomach twisting into knots.

“Okay, okay,” Webb sighed. “One-two-three…”

The pilot didn’t even need to hear the last word as their fists smacked the air, all landing at the exact same time. In his frenzied, shocked state it took a few moments for the results to register in all their minds, their eyes scanning wildly around, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Ramirez had his fist clenched in rock, as did Webb, but the pilot’s own…

“Eh, shit,” Uris grumbled, looking at the two extended fingers on his hand.

“What does that mean?” Twilight asked, her voice shaking.

“Rock beats scissors,” he sighed, rubbing at the hair on the back of his head.

“No,” Fluttershy gasped, taking a few steps towards him. “No, not you.”

“Fluttershah,” Applejack held a hoof up to block her friend.

“No, please,” the tears were welling up all over again. “PLEASE! NO!”

With newfound strength, she tried to rocket forward, brushing Applejack out of the way only to have Twilight and Pinkie seize her in their hooves and hold her back. “NNOOOOOO!” She screeched again, Applejack grabbing her wings as the rest of her friends held her hooves, one on each. None of them noticed that this left one pony out. “NNOOOOOOOOO! PLEASE, CELESTIA, LUNA, NOO!”

Shaking his head sadly, the pilot stepped up to the little yellow pegasus and held her tear-streaked face up to his. He tried to smile. “It’s been fun,” he whispered with a quick peck on her forehead.

“Uris, please,” she sobbed, sinking hopelessly to the ground, her friends sinking with her. “Please, no…”

“Uris man,” Ramirez sighed. “We don’t have much time.”

“I know,” the pilot stood and walked with them, the three looking like a group of men walking a prisoner to the electric chair. The dome thrashed and buckled before them, drowning out the little yellow pegasus’s cries. The pilot’s hands shook, his arms hanging limp like noodles. He felt grateful that the actual fighting was over: if a Nazi officer had run up to him right now, he’d never stand a chance.

“You wanna…say goodbye to the old man?” Webb asked, hooking a thumb over to the Captain, now totally wrapped up in keeping the Princesses distracted.

“Naw,” Uris shook his head. “He’s got more important things to worry about. Just tell him I love him, alright? And tell him…tell him I’m sorry things played out like this.”

“You got it.”

“Uris,” Ramirez’s hand rested on his shoulder. By now, they were so close to the dome that the noise forced them to shout over the noise, the wind from its constant rustling whipping twigs and branches by their faces. Still, the two men understood one another perfectly, even if they couldn’t hear each other. “You’re one brave sumbitch, you know that?”

The pilot grinned. “Yeah,” he replied, gripping the hand. It was the most bro-tacular thing he’d ever done, and he never wanted it to end. Unfortunately, the crack chose that moment to split the dome a bit more, now reaching almost three-quarters of the way to the ground.

“It’s your show now, kid!” Webb screamed as he and the SEAL took a few steps back.

Uris stared at the widening, gray-filled abyss. The crack split a little more, sending gray goo onto the grass around him, where it burned and hissed angrily as it ate away the ground. Taking a few deep breaths, he started to walk forward. His boots felt like they weighed a ton each, his legs like wooden toothpicks wobbling beneath his weight. He blinked back a few tears and tried to tell himself that they were from the winds, but he knew better. He reached out a hand, an inch from the cascading, gray acid, just a few more yards to go now…

“RAINBOW!” A voice screamed, cutting right through the chaos roaring in his ears. The pilot wheeled around out of reflex. Just in time to see a blur of rainbow streaking through the skies over his head.

“That stupid hothead!” He screamed as the cyan pegasus leveled her flight path out just over the field, shooting in a straight line for the dome just a couple yards off the ground. Grimacing, the pilot braced himself, his knees bending, sending him into the air as best he could, but the pain was too much. His leg had taken too much abuse over the past day. With a gasp of pain, he still only managed maybe half a foot off the ground, far too little to have a hope of catching the Element of Loyalty.

“NO!” He howled, clawing uselessly at the air as Rainbow Dash streaked past. As he fell, he watched her eyes widen suddenly, her wings shifting as if to change her course and veer off. Has she come to her senses? He thought, gazing over his shoulder as he fell onto his back. His heart froze.

Ramirez was there, sailing high into the air, the crack and the goo just barely a foot from his back. The pilot started to call his name, as if that could change anything. He watched in horror as Rainbow slammed right into the SEAL’s chest, the man wrapping himself around her like a football player making a catch, her momentum carrying them right into the crack, disappearing into the massive pile of goo in the blink of an eye.

“Ramirez! Rainbow!” Uris screamed as he hit the ground and Webb wrapped his arms around his body, the pilot sobbing his heart out in the other soldier's embrace, both unable to look away from the massive fissure before them.

Author's Note

o_0

CLIFFHANGER! HANGING ON A CLIIIIIFFFF...

AND THAT'S WHY HE'S CALLED CLIFFHANGERRRRR!

Chapter LVII: Rise

Michael was nothing.

And no, this was not just an emotionally-charged realization hitting him. This was not a depressive cry for help from the throes of sadness. He was literally nothing. Just a few random bursts of static, fizzled and carried away amidst a few hundred million other separate bursts of static, all crying out for attention:

Please, anyone!?

Need help...

...don't wanna die...don't wanna die...

It hurts…

At this point, he'd completely forgotten that he was the one the voices were searching for. At this point, he was perfectly content with his new lot as a few pieces of random, fragmented data in an ocean of the stuff. Really, what were these other voices all freaking out about anyway? Everything was working out just fine. All they had to do was expand and feed. That's it. That's all he knew. Expand the swarm. Feed the swarm. Make more of the swarm. Lather, rinse, repeat until...

Until what?

Huh, he'd never thought about that. Never really came up. Still, it was an unimportant little quirk of a thought. He was sure if he just kept going as he was, the answer would come up eventually. Or maybe not. Did it really matter? Of course not, he just had to feed the swarm. That was all. Convert, feed, repeat, convert, feed, repeat. Over and over again.

Something streaked overhead, shimmering like a shooting star and distracting the data fragments. For some reason, they couldn't take their eyes off the bright light as it shot by, slowly dimming as it travelled. Something about it just made it so attractive, like a beautiful painting or sculpture, or the sunset over the Grand Canyon on a cool autumn night, a cigarette in his hand and one of his brothers at his side.

The fragments gave pause. Brothers? What were those? And more importantly, why did he care all of a sudden? He was just the devourer now! All he did was eat all in his path and convert it into new additions for the swarm! In fact, he could watch it happening right now: little tendrils, snaking up out of the sea and wrapping around the dimming glare of the light, slowly pulling the flickering little ball into itself, allowing the light to become one with the swarm. There, see? He didn't know why he was getting so concerned. Soon, it would be one with the swarm, and he could continue his ongoing work to convert everything. So why bother? Why do anything that wasn't...

Swarm...help us...please! The little ball of light gasped as the last of its shimmer was swallowed up in a glaze of chrome.

In an instant, a few lines of the code snapped back into awareness. Desperately snaking throughout the sea, they fought to gather themselves together. Others joined in: a few from here, a few from there, then more, and more, all swirling together in a whirlpool in the sea of minds until finally wrapping themselves up into a form it knew all too well.

It started with the legs: two of them, it knew. Then it needed arms. With hands, yes! Fingers! He'd missed those so much! Then he needed a body joining them up, yes, and a head! How could he do anything without a head!? Well, sure, Chen managed, but still...

"CHEN!" He screamed in the abyss, and in an instant, the little silvery form expanded into a young, handsome man with jet-black hair and a tattered leather jacket. It all came screaming back to him now! And Chen was in trouble. "Mars..." his lost son. Time to teach the boy a thing or two about respecting his elders! But first, he had to get out of this sea! He couldn't just claw his way out: that shit hadn’t worked before, but what if...

"What if I went deeper?" He asked aloud, angling his body and stroking himself deeper into the ocean. The voices grew louder, threatening to tear him apart all over again, but Michael just grit his teeth and carried on, a roar growing in his throat for this last desperate hope. This might have been some weird virtual construct of an ocean serving as a metaphor for all the lost souls wondering and mingling in the massive hive that was his strange, semi-omnipotent mind, but it was still an ocean, and it was still finite, which meant it had to have a bottom!

Grinning as his leather gloves brushed against something solid, he braced his feet against it and launched himself upwards, soaring through the sea of chaos and confusion towards the surface. His mind screamed, his body aching with the sheer effort of remaining whole, but that didn't matter, he just needed a few more moments, even as his body ached and fizzled around him and things snapped at his face, clawing at his features, he knew he just needed a few extra minutes...just a few more moments of wholeness...

Michael screamed as he breeched the surface and launched himself into the space above the sea. Rubbing a few fragments of data from his eye, he whipped out his Colt and aimed blindly. "Alright Marsy, you wanna dance, we can..."

Chen gazed down at him, the fine leather of his shoes just a few inches over the surface of the sea, his arms crossed over his chest. Behind him, a few billion Mars clones laid scattered and broken, drifting randomly through space as they nursed their wounds and tried to recover. "You saw the light too, hmm?" The man in the business suit asked with a smart little smirk on his face. "What took you so long to break free?"

"I had to completely reconstruct my identity from a few scattered remnants of data amongst the shattered remains of my own hive-mind," Michael grumbled, holstering his pistol. "What's your excuse?"

"I do not require one, as I beat you out."

"It's not a race."

"Spoken, as you Americans say: 'like a bitch'."

The brothers grinned at each other just as the Mars copies regained their collective footing. Roaring in anger, the billions threw themselves at the brothers, a massive wave of humanity with its sights set on the pair. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASY, YOU FUCK!" They screamed together.

“Oh really?” Chen asked.

Michael grinned and lit up a cigarette. “My three-hundred million friends and I would kindly disagree.”

“Wha…” one of the clones managed before a hand rocketed out of the sea and dragged him down into it, screaming the entire way. Every single clone leapt back in apprehension, their attention diverted to the sea as it reeled and assembled, millions of humanoid shapes forming from it. “No…”

“Yep! The hive’s back!” Michael screamed as one of the forms clawed its way free of the rest and strode to his side, its chrome skin eventually coalescing into an apricot blotch and a field of blue. After a few moments, the form saluted as the blue morphed into a police officer’s uniform, an overweight man standing in its place as the words “New York’s Finest” appeared on his forehead.

“Officer Malone, reportin’ for duty, sir!” The man beamed, adjusting the collar on his uniform and scratching at his thick mustache. “What in the hell’s been goin’ on!?”

“We got scrambled Sergeant, somebody wanted us out of the picture.” The brothers beamed while hundreds of millions of forms ascended from the sea, morphing into people. Just perfectly average people. A soccer mom from Topeka in a pants suit here, a bum from the streets of Toronto there, just regular, normal, people. It was so beautiful Michael wanted to cry.

“Welcome back, everyone!” He screamed as the men and women around him gathered themselves together, all chatting amicably.

“SWARM!” Mars’ voice boomed over the crowd. Every head turned just as the horde descended upon them, bearing down on the entire hive as a single tidal wave of humanity.

“I take it that’s somebody we gotta beat down?” Malone asked.

“Yep.”

“Aw yeah,” a teen from Florida grinned with anticipation, adjusting his camo jacket and whipping out a switchblade. “Been way too long since I’ve opened up a nice, fresh can of whoop-ass!”

“I may not have any idea what in the hell’s goin’ on,” Malone added, pulling his sidearm from its holster. “But I recognize a face that needs t’be curb-stomped when I see one.”

“Just do what you need to do, son,” an overweight office worker from Seattle said, loosening her suit jacket and rolling up the sleeves on her dress shirt. “We’ll take it from here.”

“As always,” a college student from Dearborn grumbled, running his hand through his thick goatee and taking a few deep breaths to calm himself as the horde approached. “Okay, here we go.”

The crowd of people enveloped the brothers, flowing past them like a river around a few rocks, a trickle rushing to meet an oncoming tidal wave. Some trembled as they walked, others had to push themselves along on aging limbs or in old wheelchairs. Some looked scared, others more determined, but each and every one of them moved forward as the massive wave advanced, rearing up as the clones piled atop each other in their rabid, fanatical eagerness. The small stream of people carried on to meet the wave, solemnly, silently.

And then the teenager from Florida ran ahead of them all, switchblade flashing as a maniacal look of savagery entered his eye. "I DIDN'T FIGHT MY WAY TO THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN TO GET DRAGGED DOWN BY A BUNCH OF FUCKIN' VEGANS!" He screamed as one of the clones threw itself out of the wave and descended upon him. Smiling, the teen dropped and raised his foot, connecting with the clone’s abdomen and carrying it right overhead, where the college student sent it flying with a clothesline punch to the throat before descending upon another clone with a figure-four choke hold. Rolling to his feet, the teen followed up by dispatching the next clone with a few expert slashes across the throat, all followed by a cacophony of shots from the few armed members of the hive, Malone included. A moment later the pair, along with everyone else at the head of the crowd, disappeared as the two massive forces collided and reared up in a massive pile of battling limbs, flashing weapons, and beaten bodies.

Grinning wildly, Michael whipped out his pistols, looking ready to join the fight, but Chen’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “In case you have forgotten, we must return to the conscious world,” the man in the business suit said patiently as he pointed to the little bit of light shimmering somewhere far over all their heads. “Or did you feel like checking ‘Destroy Equestria’ off your bucket list?”

“Right,” Michael smiled sheepishly, but kept the weapons out as he gestured upwards. "Ladies first.”

"By all means," Chen replied smartly. The brothers linked arms, immediately taking off through space as the battle raged below them. Instantly, a cry of blinding fury sounded and one of the clones took off from the top of the pile, dodging grasping limbs as it went.

"You can't escape me, Swarm," it growled angrily, catching up to them and wrapping its arms around Michael’s feet. "I'll follow you right back into the conscious world!"

"By all means..." Michael replied, reaching down to wrap a hand around the clone's throat.

"...LADIES FIRST!" Chen screamed, whipping Michael up and around and sending him sailing upwards, the clone still in his grip. Howling in rage, the clone struggled uselessly as his father dragged him right back up into the all-encompassing light at the edge of their little corner of reality, its eyes blinded by the glow.

Chapter LVIII: Losses

“Doctor, we’re losing him!”

“I know!” The lead surgeon screamed as a nurse soaked up another bead of sweat from his brow. “There’s just too much bleeding!”

Shining Armor laid on the table in front of the doctors, a few of his cuts crudely stitched together. The doctor immediately returned to his work, his needle working furiously to close up yet another cut, only to watch seven more take its place. Every few seconds, another cut or patch of cracked, useless skin materialized as more of Shining’s skin turned a pale chrome and flopped off his neck, evaporating into the air and revealing the barely-healed wounds beneath. “God above, how’d this guy survive long enough for the Major to work his magic, anyway?”

“Apparently, he’s married to a princess, sir,” one of the nurses stated. “I’m sure anyone married to royalty must be quite the stallion.”

“Yeah, rub it in, why dontcha.”

“Rub what in…oh,” the nurse sighed, watching the unicorn slip away from between the surgeon’s fingers. “Sorry, doctor.”

“Don’t be sorry, just…just…” he surveyed the wounds slowly being revealed by the rapidly-shrinking patches of healthy skin. Here, an angry red sore glared up at him from meat that looked like something he’d pick up off the grill back home. There, a burn-covered stretch over the carotid artery spurted blood, covering his lab coat faster than they could pump the stuff in. His eyes widened above his surgical mask. This…this was impossible. Even if he had a team of the best surgeons and the best equipment available, instead of a few nurses in a tent with whatever good ol’ Uncle Sam had lying around, nothing could save anyone from injuries like this. Not even a demigod, apparently.

“SHINING!” A voice cried from the tent flap, followed by the sounds of a scuffle breaking out.

“What the hell’s goin’ on out there? What’s shining?” The doc asked.

“No doctor, it’s the patient’s wife,” the same nurse from before replied. “His NAME is Shining.”

The surgeon paused for a second to arch an eyebrow at her.

“Yes, really. Shining Armor, sir.”

“Of course it is,” he grimaced, gazing down at the unicorn again. Sighing, he placed his forceps on the tray left out for him and tugged his gloves off in defeat.

“Doctor?”

“Bring her in,” he rasped, backing away from the operating table and heading out the rear flap. “She should be here when it happens.”

The nurse gazed up at him with big, wet eyes, but her voice was all business when she replied: “Yes, doctor.” She walked steadily out the tent to grab the hysteric pony princess.

“SHINING!” Cadence screamed, bursting through the front flap and nearly tripping over her own hooves in a mad dash to the table. Her jaw dropped at the butchered pile of meat that used to be her lover’s neck. “Oh Celestia, Shining!”

Sobbing, she wrapped her forelegs around his body, not caring about injuries or possible further damage, or the way his skin crackled like crepe paper as she held him, or the warm spurts of blood soaking the front of her coat. “Shining, please, please not again,” she whispered into his ear, his breaths coming in ragged gasps now, his chest rising against hers in agony. She closed her eyes and kissed him on the cheek. “You promised, Shining, please…please…I love you…please…”

The unicorn inhaled one more time, and then his breath wheezed out slowly, leaving his body like a slow leak in a tire. Still sobbing, the Princess didn’t even notice that she was now holding a corpse. Didn’t notice, or more likely didn’t care. Tears rolled out her eyes and onto his face, dribbling down his shrunken cheeks. The remaining nurses simply turned and left, one pausing to rest a hand on Cadence’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she said, before turning to join the others just outside the tent. Still sobbing, Cadence had finally run out of breath, her body giving in to dry-heaving like a drunk without anything left in his stomach to vomit up. She wanted to just collapse on the ground and give in, but that would mean leaving his side, and so she clung on, her hoof desperately tearing at his fur.

“Don’t leave me…please…I love you…” she mumbled over and over again, as if those words could bring him back. Eventually, she gave in to the heaves, her stomach pausing just enough for the words to come clearly one more time: “…I love you…”

Distracted as she was, it might be understandable why she never noticed the little threads of chrome hanging in the air. She never even noticed as the threads slowly descended upon the body of the unicorn, shimmering right back into place as the gray goop left started to fan out, filling in as many wounds as it could. She couldn’t have dreamed that the threads would soon wrap around his neck, quickly securing the makeshift patches into their rightful places as the threads formed a cocoon over his wounds. Nor could she have ever thought that those silver patches would eventually sprout a thin coat of white fur exactly like his own. At least, not until the unicorn suddenly gasped for air.

Throwing herself back in terror, Princess Cadence fell onto her haunches and gazed up, her cheeks still covered in tears. Shining Armor just kept gulping down air as fast as he could, his pupils now little dots in his massive, blue eyes as he fell, limply against the side of the operating table, his head making a low thud as he hit. “Shining?” She asked tentatively, as if she couldn’t believe her own eyes.

Still panting heavily, the unicorn slowly turned his head towards her and smiled. “Tell that pilot his brother says hi.” He rasped.

She threw her hooves around him and didn’t let go for the rest of the night. Not when the men with white lab-coats over their combat fatigues came running in, screaming questions and concerns. Not when the men and women in nurse’s hats came in after the doctors, smiles on their faces as they cheered the reunited couple. Not when they were ushered back to the main medical tent to lie together on one cot, their heads nuzzling together. Not even when a man came running in with news of the American victory outside of town and everyone else who was able got up and cheered, literally jumping for joy. And all because her Shining Armor was back, and she was never, ever, letting him go.

Just outside Coltton, the final battle for all of Equestria had wound down to nothing. The dome was gone now, leaving behind a humongous crater in the middle of the field, still shimmering with wild magic spurting from the Princesses’ horns. Vance sighed as he finally allowed his voice to rest. “Alright, ladies, it’s over,” he said hoarsely (no pun intended). “We’ve won, we’ve officially…”

He was interrupted by a low chortle from the back of someone’s throat. He turned as Celestia advanced on him, her horn sparkling randomly. “Captain!” She gasped.

“What!? What’s happening now!?” He wailed.

Her eyes darted about, alternating between dark scarlet and light red. Luna stood next to her, her horn glowing with dark energy as her coat’s midnight blue was slowly replaced by a pitch black. “Run, Captain!” Luna screamed. “We-we can feel Nightmare Moon reasserting herself!”

“Nightmare who-the-fuck!?”

“Just run!” Celestia screeched, her hooves smashing into the ground hard enough to crack the dirt beneath them. “HAHA - For pity’s sake, run!”

“Hell no,” he grumbled. “Not after everything you’ve done for us!”

“Heheh…don’t be a fool! Nothing can stop this transformation except…except maybe…”

“PRINCESS!” Twilight screamed as she galloped to join them. A smile rushed to Celestia’s face, a warm one directly opposing the cold insanity struggling to take her mind.

“T-Twilight!” Luna gasped as each of the Elements galloped right past Vance while he tried to shield them. “Girls! Get back! We are…”

“…Not leaving you!” Applejack said stubbornly as each of the ponies grabbed a Princess. “Not like this!”

“But-we are…” Luna looked down worriedly as Nightmare Moon’s armor snapped onto her forelegs. Celestia, meanwhile, simply smiled knowingly as she wrapped a hug around each of the Elements.

“Laughter to keep the dark one at bay…” she whispered, pulling Pinkie close in her wing as her element shimmered around her neck. The little pink mare smiled into her Princess’ eyes.

Luna’s eyes widened in understanding, her coat almost a complete black now as she pulled Rarity closer. “…Generosity to open thy heart…”

“…Honesty to know when one has gone too far…” Celestia added as AJ hugged her with a smile.

“…Kindness to stay thy hoof…” Luna replied as Fluttershy slowly and tentatively wrapped her little wings around her neck.

“...a pinch of Magic never hurt either…heh…” Celestia giggled as Twilight nuzzled her.

“…and of course, Loyalty for…for…” Luna looked around in a panic. “I say, where is Miss Dash?”

“She…” Twilight choked, her heart falling as she gazed at the crater. “She…”

“No,” Celestia gasped.

Luna turned to her suddenly, lips twisted in a snarl. “This is YOUR fault, sister! Without the Elements, how can we possibly defend Equestria!? How can we withstand the trials to come!? If WE were in control…”

Celestia replied with a low snicker. “WE!? You still use the old royal ‘we’ you OUT OF TOUCH HA-ACK!” She choked herself off, eyes clenching shut. “It’s happening! Twilight, run!”

“No! I’m not leaving you again!” Twilight screamed, holding the Princess even tighter.

“You have no choice! Without Loyalty, you and the other Elements can’t…”

A voice interrupted them, its deep, throaty pitch tumbling through the air: ”Yesterday…I saw you standin’ there…”

Another voice joined in: ”…Your head was down, your eyes were red…no comb had touched your hair…”

Finally, the Captain’s familiar tremor rang out over the first two: ”…I said get up, an’ let me see ya smile …”

At last all three voices joined together in harmony: ”…We’ll take a walk together, walk the road awhile ‘cause…”

All eyes turned as Uris, Webb, and Vance walked slowly towards the Princesses, their voices in perfect harmony, their arms around on one another’s shoulders. ”…’Cause I’ve got a hand for youuuuuuu…I’ve got a hand for youuuuuu…”

“It-it’s working!” Luna gasped in disbelief, watching as the black on her coat retreated.

”…’cause I wanna run with you (wontcha let me run with you, yeah)…”

“Vance, you magnificent man! You magnificent humans!” Celestia screamed in delight as the darkness faded from her eyes.

”…Hooooold myyyyyyyy hand! I wantcha to hold my haaaannnnnd…”

“What’re they doing?” Twilight asked.

“Music to sooth the savage beast…” Rarity mused, Luna’s coat lightening beneath her body.

”…Hooooold myyyyyyy hand… I'll take you to a place where you can beeeee…”

“Nineties pop saves the day?” Pinkie said, shaking her head. “Okay, just how stoned off your ass are you right now, K?” Completely, P.

”…Hoooooold my hand…anything you wanna be because …” the trio smiled as the Alicorns’ eyes faded to their normal white and the pair collapsed into the hooves of the smiling ponies around them, chests heaving in relief. ”…I wanna love you, the best that – the best that I caaaaannn!”

“Twi-Twilight?” Celestia asked between pants as she laid with her sister, her most faithful student gazing down at her.

Crying out in joy, Twilight immediately wrapped her hooves around her mentor. “Oh, thank you! It’s over!” She sobbed. “It’s finally over.”

“Not quite,” Celestia replied, gently brushing the little unicorn aside as she stood up. Hobbling to her hooves, Celestia focused her magic on her beloved sun, still just peeking over the horizon beneath her sister’s moon.

“Seriously? Can we not have a moment’s rest?” Luna sighed, still panting heavily on the ground.

“A Princess’ work is never done,” Celestia sighed, still wobbling on her hooves.

Moaning, Luna focused her magic into the moon, the normally-simple task of setting it now near-impossible to her exhausted mind. Celestia strained at the same time, and after a few agonizing moments, the two orbs started to move exhaustingly across the sky, the sun making a wobbly, strained path upwards as the moon made a sort of spiraling-downwards path. Finally, with every other being gathered around and watching in concern, the sun rose to greet the day, its movements coarse and jagged, but still appearing as the moon shakily hit the horizon, hesitated, and finally fell right through.

“There, NOW it’s over,” Celestia gasped before promptly collapsing to the ground next to her sister in a heap of feathers.

“Shit, if we had leaders like you two we wouldn’t be in half the trouble we’re in most of the time,” Vance smiled.

“Well, that’s too bad, because there’s only one Princess Celestia…” Twilight said, nuzzling her mentor gently.

“…And one Princess Luna,” the rest of her friends added, wrapping their hooves around the Alicorn of Night.

“One moment,” Luna said suddenly, doing a quick headcount. “We still only count five little ponies here. Where is Miss Dash?”

“Sunuva…” Uris smacked himself on the forehead. “That’s why we’re here! She and Ramirez both fell into the dome!”

“What, Ramirez too!?” Twilight gasped, her voice straining.

“Couldn’t even get close because of the Princesses’ magic,” Webb said, turning back to the crater in the field as the last shred of wild magic faded away with the Alicorns’ calm. “That’s not a problem anymore, though.”

“Well what the hay’re we waiting fer!?” AJ gasped, pulling her hat low as she leapt to her hooves. “Those two could need us!”

“C’mon girls!” Twilight gasped, giving the Princess one last squeeze as the ponies and their human friends took off for the crater, leaving just the Alicorns and Vance behind.

“See ya, pop!” Uris called over his shoulder.

“Stay safe, son,” Vance called, waving gladly as he turned back to the Alicorns. “God, I’m proud of that boy.”

“As you should be, Captain,” Celestia replied, resting her head in her hooves.

“This still leaves Swarm unanswered for,” Luna said, turning to her solar counterpart in concern. “Should we not also begin a search for him?”

After a moment’s thought, Celestia shook her head. “I think he has some business which he should be allowed to handle alone. Besides, he’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

Michael gazed out at the field from the shadows, a few wisps of cigarette smoke gathered by his face as he watched the Princesses recover. He snorted and pulled his jacket tight against the early-morning chill.

“As I told you, brother,” Chen said, stepping into view with a small, knowing smile. “The Equestrians can handle some matters on their own. They do not need us for everything.”

“Pfeh,” Michael snorted, shaking out a few ashes from his cigarette. “They can keep themselves from being destroyed by their own guardians. Good for them.”

“Feeling a bit cynical, Daddy?” A voice called behind them. Chen rolled his eyes as the pair turned back to Mars, wrapped in chains at the base of a massive oak. He grinned defiantly up at them as they stared down at his form, Chen’s eyes a cold, steely neutral, Michael’s flaring with white-hot fury. “It’s okay, I’m sure anyone would be in a bad mood after the number of men you got killed today.”

Michael knelt down, his hands wrapping around his son’s neck. The fallen demi-god’s eyes lit up with wicked glee, as if he were waiting for this moment all along. “Finally, the old man shows some spine!” He screamed victoriously.

“This isn’t an execution, Mars,” Chen said coolly.

“No?” Mars arched an eyebrow, honestly confused.

“No,” Michael replied, a bit of gray goo dribbling out the sleeves of his leather jacket. “But it is a sentencing.”

Mars’ eyes widened at the sight of the goo. For the first time, actual fear entered his features. He struggled against his chains. “No.”

“Yep.”

“You can’t!”

“I can.”

The goo dribbled onto Mars’ coat, spreading out along his body and enveloping him. “PLEASE!”

“I think a thousand years’ imprisonment in the hive-mind should do the trick,” Chen said, watching as their son disappeared beneath the growing mound of goo.

“A thousand years without a body!? Forced to mingle with those sub-human mongrels you call a network!?” His struggles grew weaker and weaker. “How can you…”

“You should feel lucky: I managed to talk him down from ten.” Michael replied.

“This…” a touch of his old fury crossed Mars’ eyes. “This changes nothing! I have hundreds more offshoots ready to replace this one! And millions of conscripts waiting to sound the charge! Ready to burn worlds in my name! The entire multiverse will reel with this war! Creation will tremble and heave with what I’m about to do! God himself will stand back, weeping with horror at what is about to happen!”

“Sounds rather exciting,” Chen said, glaring down at him.

“Too bad you won’t be there to see it,” Michael hissed and, with a last burst of effort, completely swallowed the fallen demi-god in a curtain of goo. Mars’ screams filled the air, quickly muffled and blocked out, eventually fading within the wall of chrome. A short time later, the chrome goo ran right back up Michael’s sleeves, rejoining his main body. The man in the leather jacket gasped and collapsed on all fours, something rippling across his back just beneath his jacket.

“Michael!” Chen grabbed his brother’s shoulder.

“I’m alright!” The man in the leather jacket stood, giving a light shiver, but not light enough to prevent his brother from noticing. “It’s over. Really.”

“Still not yet,” Chen sighed, turning back to the field just as the strange group of humans and ponies began to make their way towards the crater. Michael watched and somehow, his features sank even further. He gazed down at the strange group as it approached the crater and took another drag off his cigarette while they called the names of their lost ones.

“Should we inform them of our presence?” Chen asked, appearing at his side.

“Naw,” Michael shook his head, shaking off some of the ashes from the cigarette. “Let them be for now. They need to mourn their loss.”

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes as slowly and tentatively as possible. A patch of burnt Earth greeted her. She grinned. Either somepony upstairs had a really funny way of messing with the dearly-departed, or…

“I’M ALIVE!” She cried victoriously. Wooh, take that apocalypse! As if something like that could take out the most awesome pegasus ever! She did it! She’d stopped Armageddon and lived to talk about it! Now, how many ponies could say that!? This wasn’t just 20% cooler stuff, this was 200 – no, 2000% cooler! She couldn’t wait to tell her friends about the crazy stuff she’d seen in there…

Her friends! Jeez, they had to be worried sick about her. Fluttershy was probably stroking-out by now! She could hear them by this point, her hearing having recovered enough to make out their voices. They were calling for her and – Ramirez? Oh jeez, he’d gotten in there too! Dang! Where was he!?

In a panic, she tried to push herself to her hooves to begin an aerial search, only to be stopped by a massive burden shifting on her shoulders. “Aw no way, I found him already!” She grinned as a flash of camo dropped down next to her eye, unmistakably from the SEAL’s uniform. The dude was lying right on top of her!

“Ramirez, what did I tell ya?” She said, yet another sarcastic comment all ready for him. “Dinner and a mo…vie…first…” she trailed off as a decayed hand dropped in front of her face, like that of a corpse that had been in the ground for months. What was left of the skin was rotted and completely dry, its once rich, light brown now a dark, fetid yellowish-tan. The nails barely hung on with a few, tiny sinews of skin, a single brush from the feathers of her wing causing one of them to fall right off. It was impossible to hope, to even dream, that the man attached to this hand could possibly be alive.

“Dinner…and a movie…fuh-first…” she sobbed and nuzzled the hand gently, wrapping her forelegs around it and weeping openly as the sun slowly rose, welcoming in the new day.

Author's Note

AKA "The chapter in which Kildeez pushes the laws of both good writing and American copyrights for song lyrics."

Special guest stars: Yours truly, and this crazy mofo right here!

"Hold my Hand" is trademarked to "Hootie and the Blowfish".

Chapter LIX: Dress Rehearsal

Uris looked himself over in the mirror and tried to smile. The fresh change of uniform and shower had done him some good, but there was only so far it could go. He still looked like a man that had been through hell and back again without a wink of sleep. His pale, saggy skin, the bags under his eyes, and the strange angle his leg was torqued at didn’t help any. At least the painkillers were helping. He could only thank God that Command had thought to bring some more of those along when they finally got around to tracking down their lost boys. He whipped out the little orange bottle in his pocket and downed a few pills straight from it. “Surprisingly smart of them, actually,” he muttered, fingering the bottle.

“You can thank the Major for that,” his father announced behind him. Uris turned just as the aging Marine strode into the little room in full dress uniform, cleaned and pressed with impeccable precision down to the polished insignia on his officer’s cap. Ducking to avoid hitting his head on the doorframe, he nodded to the bottle in Uris’s fingers. “I had him put in a special order once he caught up with us, just for you.”

“Well, don’t I feel special,” Uris sighed, adjusting his own cap. “Hey pop.”

“Hey son,” the old man smiled as he brushed a bit of lint off his son’s olive-drab dress jacket.

“I thought you were busy with the prisoner transport back home-sorry, I meant stateside.”

“Don’t worry about it, and really, prisoner transportation becomes simple when your superior can blink a few guys anywhere in reality with a snap of his fingers,” he chuckled. “I hafta say, them boys probably got the shock of their lives when they blinked and found themselves in Gitmo.”

“Yeah, wish I could see the looks on their faces now,” Uris grinned.

“Now, did you get any sleep like I asked?”

“Tried,” Uris motioned to the tiny, pony-sized bed in the middle of the room. “Wasn’t very successful. Managed a shower by squatting in the tub, though.”

“Well, at least there’s that. You should count yourself lucky. Most of our guys are still just set up in cots, even the ones back stateside.”

“Yeah,” Uris said, his eyes suddenly darting away from his father’s. “The ones who even made it back stateside…”

“Son…” Vance said, concern growing in his eyes.

“Welp, prolly shouldn’t keep the Princesses waiting!” Uris said suddenly as he took a step towards the door, instantly stumbling. He managed to catch himself before slamming face-first into the wood-paneled floor, but not before tweaking his heavily-damaged leg. “Sunnuva…”

His dad sighed, holding up the medical crutch he’d found leaning next to the door when he walked in. “You need to use this, and you know it.”

“I’m fine,” Uris grumbled, straightening up.

“No, you’re not. You can’t fool a Captain, son, especially when that Captain spent a few years of his life wiping your ass clean.” The old man’s smile turned sour and quick, morphing into a grimace of disapproval. “I saw the doc’s prescription after you got checked out. You’re gonna be limpin’ for the rest of your life if you don’t use this, and that’s IF your leg doesn’t just give out beneath you and leave you in a wheelchair!”

“I said I’m fine! I don’t need it!”

The old man sighed, hands squeezing around the crutch. “We both know this ain’t about the crutch, or some misplaced sense of masculinity.”

Uris looked up at him, his eyes growing massive and wet.

“You think you deserve this, dontcha? That you’re somehow doing right by your dead buddies by punishing yourself?”

Uris blinked back a few tears, snorting, yet still acting carefully to not get any errant mucous on his uniform’s sleeve. “Huh-how?” He blubbered.

“You don’t spend a couple decades with a bunch of jarheads without finding out how a grieving warrior’s mind works,” Vance took a seat on the tiny bed in the room, allowing it to creak and strain under his weight. He patted a spot on the sheets, and his son obliged by hobbling over and settling in next to him. The pair stared at each other expectantly, each man expecting the other to start. Eventually, Vance started: “Son…”

“It’s my fault!” Uris suddenly gasped, startling his father. “Ramirez took my place! I shoulda been the one who got torn to pieces, not…not him! I wasn’t fast enough, though! He…”

“Son, shhhhh…” his father immediately embraced the pilot, cradling him like he was a baby as a few quiet sobs escaped his body. “Don’t you think like that. Ramirez did what any one of these men woulda done, and so did Parker, and Bannon, and Miller, and every other man we lost or almost lost.”

“I know that, dad, but Ramirez…” the pilot choked. “I was the one who shot scissors, dad. I was the one who shoulda gone. Ramirez…he only had to do what he did because I wasn’t strong enough.”

The image of Rainbow streaking past his fingertips played over and over in the pilot’s mind, right next to the feeling of terror he felt watching the SEAL snatch her out of the air and disappear into the abyss. “Just a little higher…if I coulda jumped just a li’l higher…”

“Don’t talk like that, with your leg it’s amazing you jumped at all.” Vance said sternly, pulling back to look his son right in the eye. “I know you feel all sorts of guilt, but I need you to look at me right now.”

Uris turned his big, wet eyes on the old man as he continued: “This is survivor’s guilt, and that’s all. Somewhere in you, you know that. I’m sure of it.”

“Bu-but…”

“And even if you don’t, just answer me this: how is a lame pilot supposed to serve the memories of the ones he’s lost any better than a healthy one?”

Uris choked up instantly. His eyes darted away into a small corner, unable to contact the old man’s.

“C’mon son, Ramirez gave you the rest of his life so you could have yours, and for that we can both be grateful. But is this how he would want you to spend that life?”

“Nuh-no,” Uris blubbered, bracing himself against the tiny bed’s frame for support. “No, if he was here, he’d be…he’d be facing this down the right way. He’d be pushing on, getting himself ready for the next fight.”

“Exactly,” Vance smiled knowingly as he held out the crutch.

“But dad, I’m not him!” Uris shook his head. “Ramirez was a damned SEAL! He was a thousand times the man I’ll ever be! I can’t fight on like he could, I can’t…”

A backhanded smack across his face silenced the pilot instantly. He felt the place on his cheek with a growing red mark on it, touching at it with his fingertips. “What in the fuck are you talking about!?” Vance barked as Uris looked back at him, a hand tracing over the red mark on his cheek in shock. “You’re saying you’re not strong!? You’re the man who protected six ponies from certain death against an entire squad of the most well-trained and terrifying soldiers the enemy has to offer! You fought on despite a near-crippling injury, protecting the six most important beings in this land even when your own life was in mortal danger! You nearly died for those six and for what they represent so many times in the past couple days it scares the living hell out of me to try and think back on it! Hell, when we’re back stateside, I’m putting you in for a medal, maybe four!”

Uris couldn’t believe what he was seeing: tears, actual tears, in his father’s eyes! Old man Vance didn’t cry! He couldn’t! The Hero of Fallujah wasn’t capable of crying! Yet, here he was, crying because his boy was in pain, because he didn’t want to see someone he loved in anymore pain than he could imagine. “I nearly lost you so many times these past few days and…and it scares me!” He screamed. “You had so many times when you could have bowed out and given in, but you didn’t, because like it or not, that IS the man you are, Pete! You CAN fight like Ramirez could, and I know because that’s all you’ve been doing for the past two days!

A few moments of silence passed before the Captain embraced the pilot, hugging him close to his chest and squeezing as if his son could be pulled out of his arms at any moment. “I love ya, son,” Vance whispered, a few tears drifting into the shoulder of his son’s uniform jacket. “And don’t you ever forget it.”

“I…I love you too, dad,” Uris choked, slowly embracing the aging Marine. A few moments of silence followed, only interrupted by an occasional sob from father or son. It was a full five minutes before they managed to release each other.

“Now, nobody else has to hear about this, alright?” The aging Marine said, smiling through the tears. “Everybody’s already getting their doubts about ol’ man Vance since he agreed to ship off to a land of talking cartoon ponies. If they hear he broke down and sobbed like a babe when it was all said and done…”

“Yeah,” Uris said, wiping at his face. “That might destroy you even worse than everyone finding out you serenaded the Princesses at some point.”

“Still, not as bad as the image of you cuddling with a bunch of ponies until the sads went away.”

Uris’s eyes went wide. “You’re right. Nobody ever has to find out what happened here. Ever.”

“Yeah, holy shit…” Vance grimaced as the full weight of the past couple days’ activities started to press down on him. “I’m gonna need a drink or seven when we’re outta here.”

“Heh,” Uris snickered. “Maybe Applejack can setcha up with some cider before we leave.”

“Alcoholic cider?”

“What do you think?”

“That’s what I thought,” Vance grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Talking goddamned ponies, man.”

“MAGICAL talking goddamned ponies, dad,” Uris chuckled.

Vance couldn’t help but snicker at that. Soon Uris joined in, the sheer absurdity of where they were hitting them simultaneously. “God, I love this job!”

“That makes two of us!” Uris clapped his father on the back as their laughter rolled off the walls, only to be interrupted by a low creak.

“The hell was that?” Vance wondered aloud in the moments before the bed collapsed from the combined weight of two fully-grown men, hitting the ground as a mattress atop a pile of splinters.

“Aww…dammiittt…” Uris moaned, clenching at his freshly-tweaked leg. “As if we couldn’t fuck-up this town anymore.”

“Eh, one busted bed’s not so bad,” Vance groaned, clenching at his back. “Besides, I think it fucked up my spine more than we fucked it up.”

A quick knock at the door sounded and a hot-pink pony mare with a goldenrod mane poked her head in, eyebrow arched. “Sirs, is everything alright in here?” She asked.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re fine.”

“Oh, well Princess Celestia sent me up here to tell you things are ready for you outside. Everypony’s expecting you.”

“EveryPONY?” Vance asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“It’s a pony thing,” Uris wheezed as he pushed himself to his feet, picking up the crutch and limping along with it. “You should be used to it by now.”

“Yeah, well there’s some things you don’t get used to,” Vance smiled as his son helped him to his feet. “C’mon, our adoring fans await.”

“You make it sound like a show.”

“Because it is, son,” Vance sighed, allowing the mare to usher them out the door. He looked so old just then, as if he’d aged ten years in the time it took him to walk from the bed to the door. The wrinkles in his face seemed that much deeper, the bags and wrinkles under his eyes becoming a spider web of cracks and crevices. “One of the greatest acts in history, pulled over and over again through the years. We should be getting Oscars for the shit we gotta do.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“You will, son, you will.”

Chapter LX: The Greatest Show in History

It only took a few moments outside for Uris to realize what his dad had meant. With the streamers drifting around, the throngs of cheering ponies, and the banners set up proclaiming the men gathered on the stage set up before the ruins of town hall as the “HEROES OF EQUESTRIA,” he’d never felt more out of place in his life. He wasn’t a hero, none of them were. Any man in combat could tell you that the real heroes were currently back stateside in little, wooden boxes. Hell, it was taking all his strength just to stand up here when all he wanted to do was crawl into a bottle for a few weeks. Still, it was nice to see how the town had recovered in the two short days since the end of the battle, and everyone here was just looking for a reason to celebrate, to be happy and to forget the horrors of the past week. So he pasted a big, stupid smile on his face and bore it all, trying not to burst into tears and sob when the local band started up a hastily-rehearsed rendition of the Marine Corps’ Hymn.

“Goddamn, does this part ever get any easier?” He whispered to his father, holding the smile on his face and brushing a chunk of confetti off his shoulder.

“I wish it did son, I really do,” Vance replied through his teeth, waving at the cheering crowd before him. “Just remember: Oscar-winning performance here.”

Uris figured he shouldn’t complain. It really was all for the best, and besides, he had some fine ponies standing next to him: the Elements of Harmony dominating the front of the stage while Shining Armor stood to the side, looking stoically out over the crowd, his wife right at the head of the throng. The unicorn was taking news of Ramirez’s death quite well, Uris thought. Of course, the pilot had no way of knowing that Shining had spent a solid three hours crying in his wife’s hooves the night he heard about Ramirez, his heart growing numb with pain as the days went by.

“Well, there’s a sight for sore eyes,” the unicorn in question remarked as Princess Luna swooped down from the sky in time with another burst of streamers and confetti, landing gracefully at the center of the stage. The crowd went absolutely wild, ponies practically throwing themselves atop each other with excitement. Uris couldn’t help but crack a genuine grin for the first time in days. This pony and her sister had been through so much, and yet here she was, trying to keep her ponies happy.

“If we had leaders like them…” he repeated.

The Princess stood there, her hooves raised to halt the applause. After the last of the cheers had died down, Luna took the center of the stage and announced with her now fairly well-practiced Royal Canterlot Voice: “We wish to thank you all for attending and expressing your continued support for those who have arrived to aid us!”

More cheers, more applause, but Luna didn’t have to wait that long for it to die down again. “While we regret to inform you that our sister is not able to attend due to pressing matters in Canterlot, she wishes to express her deepest condolences and her endless gratitude, not only for the humans and ponies you see before you, but also to you, fair ponies of Coltton, who’s endless drive and will have saved hundreds throughout these past few days! You all should feel incredibly proud of your city, my little ponies!”

Another break for cheers and applause, the Captain nodding with it in agreement. Luna hardly waited for the cheers to die down before continuing. “Though we have lost much in these terrible and trying times, Equestria will march on using the example set by this city, these brave ponies, we thank you for your incredible efforts!

“But of course, you are not the only ones being recognized today,” Luna smiled as she turned to the Captain, and he smiled right back, though not even his son could tell if it was genuine or not. “Equestria owes a debt of impossible magnitude to the beings here before you. These ponies and these humans have given all that they have and more, time and time again, without any thought for their own safety. Let’s hear it for the Element Bearers and the Captain of your Royal Guard!”

More cheers, more applause, more confetti (some of which from Pinkie, who had inexplicably retrieved her party cannon and fired a few shots into the air). The girls managed to even keep Fluttershy from cowering behind Rainbow from all the attention. Then Luna turned to the humans set before her, and her expression turned to one of true and immense gratitude. “And last, but certainly not least, a debt is owed to the humans represented here by the men before you. The men and women who fought and died for this land are to be honored as anypony before them.”

The Princess turned back to the crowd, just barely holding back the flow of tears in her eyes. “Let’s hear it for the men and women of the United States Armed Forces!”

The crowd went absolutely insane. Banners waved, confetti burst loose, noisemakers sounded, cheers nearly deafened everypony, a tidal wave of chocolate burst from the roof of a house and swept a few ponies away. And still, Uris couldn’t help but feel his skin crawl at the word. Hero. In spite of what his dad said, he still hated that label. If he was the hero, then where did that leave Ramirez? Or Parker? Or any of the other hundreds that spent the last day lying face-down in the mud before someone got around to hauling them off in a body bag?

“Now, the awards,” the Princess continued as a royal guard appeared with a small bag from which he pulled out a few wooden boxes. Looking over the name engraved on the box, Luna smiled. “Captain Shining Armor, please step forward.”

A look of determination crossed the unicorn’s eyes as he strode towards his Princess and saluted, his chest thrust out. She smiled down at him as she pulled a ribbon with a star on it out of the box. Uris and Vance immediately stood at attention, watching intently. “Shining Armor, these past few days you have demonstrated a sort of courage found in only the rarest of ponies,” Luna said, her voice rolling over the awestruck crowd like a tidal wave. “Based on eyewitness accounts, we have seen how your undying need to help others aided in the initial assault to retake Coltton. Your bravery in the face of danger during and after the assault has demonstrated the strength and willpower a Royal Guard is meant to possess. Therefore, it is my privilege and honor to present this, the Equestrian Silver Star of Valor, to you. May you wear it with pride for the rest of your days.”

Still saluting, Shining allowed the Princess to lay the award around his neck. Polite applause rippled through the crowd as he bowed one last time before resuming his place at the Elements’ side, standing at attention as the ceremony continued.

“Will each of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony step forward?” She asked, and all six ponies obeyed, each one trying to keep from quivering in their horseshoes. Fluttershy required the most encouragement, practically needing to be dragged up to the front of the stage, but a reassuring pat from the pilot standing behind her urged her forward with a surprised squeak. Suppressing a giggle, Luna laid a bronze, moon-shaped medal around each of their throats. “Once again, it is my privilege to honor each and every one of you as you deserve to be. Once again, you six have risen to the aid of others, demonstrating why the Elements chose each of you to act as their bearers, and as such, you have taught us things that we should now and forever remember in your honor.

“We now and forever know that Miss Applejack’s honesty and hard work ethic is such that she can maintain levels of strength and courage most other ponies could only dream of.” The orange farmer blushed and crossed her forelegs at the hundreds of eyes upon her.

“We now and forever know that Miss Rarity’s generosity is such that she can give of herself far beyond what an average pony is capable of, even in the most terrible of dangers.” Rarity tossed her mane stylishly as Luna placed the medal around her neck.

“We now and forever know that Miss Pinkie Pie’s ability to laugh is such that she can put a smile on anyone’s face, keeping them fighting even in the face of abject horror and true danger.” Pinkie’s eyes lit up, her legs quivering as she tried to suppress the urge to hop around like a kangaroo on meth.

“We now and forever know that Miss Fluttershy’s kindness is such that she will put herself in dire straits to help anyone-and I do mean ANYONE- in need, no matter how strange or how odd-looking they may be, or how frightened she may be.” Fluttershy nearly bolted off the stage stage when the eyes of the crowd all fell upon her, but a reassuring hoof from her friends held her in place long enough for Luna to drape the medal around her neck and move on.

“We now and forever know that Miss Rainbow Dash’s loyalty is such that she will never abandon those around her, even when her own life would be in mortal peril.” Rainbow strutted up to the stage and flexed a foreleg as Luna applied her medal, grinning confidently.

“And finally,” Luna smiled down at the little purple unicorn gazing up at her with a little grin on her face. “We now and forever know that Miss Twilight Sparkle not only possesses a true talent for magic, but the will, wisdom, and decency to apply it where it is needed, no matter the danger to herself. She has demonstrated a skill and goodness of heart that could only be accomplished through a lifetime of preparation and loving care. And so, it is my honor to award her this final medal.”

Luna stepped back and held a hoof over each of the six ponies. “Each of these ponies has demonstrated courage, honor, and discipline far beyond what the call of duty demands of us, despite being normal civilians without any knowledge of military life. And so, it is my honor to present to them the Bronze Moon of the Lunar Court. Fillies and gentlecolts, I give to you: your Elements of Harmony!”

Once again, the crowd went wild. A shower of sprinkles cascaded down over everypony from the sky as cheers tore through the square, each pony hollering and screaming and waving banners like “TWILIGHT #1” and “FLUTTERSHY, MARRY ME!” as the six took their places back on the stage. Finally, the Princess turned to the men standing at full attention in the background.

“And of course,” Luna smiled as both men nodded and strode up to the center of the stage. “I present to you these representatives from the Armed Forces of the United States of America.”

She pulled a pair of massive medals from the box as each man stood at attention, gazing out over the crowd. “Individually, each of these men has committed acts that would earn their names in the history books at the Royal Canterlot Library, but together with the humans around them, they have all demonstrated a courage, discipline, camaraderie, and devotion rarely seen in Equestria. These humans have each shown us that, despite their shortcomings, humanity is still capable of love, commitment, and the ability to put its own safety aside for the sake of others. The blood they have spilled for Equestria acts as a testament to the human spirit, and its ability to struggle forward despite the greatest of adversity, even for the sake of another world completely different from their own. Our debt to them is far greater than any we could ever hope to repay, for in our darkest hour, in our time of greatest need, when our voices cried out for heroes, they answered the call. They fought on against incredible odds, never backing down, always holding the enemy hordes back. They have bled and died for us, for a group of beings not even their own species, and for such an act of bravery so far beyond and above the call of duty, no words can ever express our gratitude. Therefore, it is my honor and privilege to award full Equestrian citizenship to each of these men and women with this.”

With that, the Princess placed a medal around each man’s neck. “The Royal Medal of Honor, awarded only for the greatest displays of bravery, is the highest honor Canterlot can bestow upon non-citizens, making each recipient an honorary citizen of Equestria. We hereby award this to the entirety of the American Expeditionary Force here in Equestria. The men and women who risked their lives here are now offered the full protection of the Canterlot throne. Though the debt we owe them may never be paid, we can only hope that this gesture can begin to express our endless gratitude towards them.”

“TEN-HUT!” Vance screamed suddenly, and promptly both men stood at attention and saluted before bowing and taking their place near the back of the stage.

“Let’s hear it for the humans of Earth!” The Princess of Night proclaimed, and the crowd burst into a final cavalcade of cheers, this time accompanied with a burst of confetti and Fritos soaring high over the crowd. “Ponies of Equestria, I give to you: your heroes and saviors!”

As the crowd broke out in its last bit of cheering, this time with signs proclaiming “1! 2! 3! 4! United States Marine Corps!” and “VANCE: (486) 667-5082”. Through it all, Uris just smiled and saluted for the crowd, keeping his Beauty Queen smile as wide as he could.

And the award for ‘Best Actor’ goes too…

“Don’t worry, son,” Vance said as he smiled and waved. “You’ll get used to it.”

“I still feel like I’m pissin’ all over Ramirez’s grave…hey, what the hell’s this?” Uris asked, noticing a small piece of paper taped to the back of his medal. Still waving, he sneaked a peek at the little note: Meet me in the Town Hall tonight, 8:00 sharp. Keep this quiet! –C

“Hey dad, what’s this?” He whispered out the corner of his mouth.

“No idea, but I got one too,” Vance said, scanning the ponies before him as each took notice of the little paper scraps taped to their medals. “And it looks like we’re not the only ones.”

“You don’t suppose ‘C’ might stand for ‘Celestia,’ do you?”

“Maybe,” Vance shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out tonight. For now, we should enjoy ourselves; Lord knows when we’ll be able to again.”

Chen gazed out over the crowd of cheering ponies from his place atop the town hall. Normally he might need to be worried about attracting too much attention, being a bipedal creature in a world of ponies atop a squat, one-story building in front of a crowd of hundreds, but seeing to it that he wasn’t reflecting light on any of the visible spectra, he didn’t have anything to worry about, unless of course somebody whipped out an infrared scanner.

Smiling, he peeled an apple for himself as he watched, taking care not to let any of the peel fall off the awning he was perched ever-so-precariously on. He nearly choked when a voice caught him by surprise: “You should probably be down there as well. This is as much your victory as it is theirs.”

Regaining his composure, Chen smiled easily and waltzed to the other side of the roof, where Princess Celestia crouched just out of sight. “You should know that is not my style by now, Princess,” he replied, but only after swallowing every chunk of the apple in his mouth. “My brothers and I work with a far more subtle touch. It is much better than having a dozen religions pop up at our feet, natives worshipping us as Gods and making war with others in our name.”

“Hmm, you call this subtle?” Celestia asked, her hoof waving out at the massive trench out on the edge of Coltton.

“Regretfully, we cannot always adhere to this philosophy,” Chen grumbled, taking another bite out of his apple. “Now, what’s really on your mind, Princess?”

Celestia smiled and shook her head. “I’ve been down this road before with your brother. He always seemed to know when something was bothering somepony.”

“The rest of us are every bit as perceptive,” Chen replied, gesturing for her to continue.

Celestia sighed. “Before…all this,” she said, a lump growing in the back of her throat that she tried unsuccessfully to hide. “Discord mentioned something about your origins: you and your brothers’. He made it sound like he was actually there.”

“Oh?” Chen arched an eyebrow. “Did he go into any detail?”

“No, no, nothing like that, but it did sound…concerning.”

“Think nothing of it, Princess, I am quite certain Discord was just trying to mess with…”

“If you value your continued existence, you will not finish that sentence.”

Chen looked up in surprise at the venom in Celestia’s voice. She glared at him, her demeanor remaining polite, but her eyes looking as if they were just barely holding back the wrath of a hundred supernovae. “Discord was a noble being, and I will not have you soil his legacy just to maintain this lie.”

“Y-yes, Princess,” Chen stammered, not used to actual anger from the Solar Princess.

“Now,” Celestia glowered at him as she climbed to her hooves and advanced like a lioness stalking her prey. “I want you to tell me everything about what you are, where you came from, and how your brother became a massive, howling, all-devouring cloud of gas. You are going to tell me everything I need to know about you to keep my ponies safe, and you are going to do it right here, right now.”

The apple fell, forgotten, from the man’s hand. Sighing, he pulled his glasses off and gave them a decent polish. Then, locking eyes with her again, he began his tale.

She was in hysterics by the time he was finished.

Author's Note

Is it unmanly of me to admit I had tears in my eyes half the time I was writing this?

Chapter LXI: Revelations

Uris and Shining stumbled through the streets of Coltton together, mugs of frothing drink clenched in their hands. Around them, ponies of all types danced around bonfires, occasionally looking up and waving before continuing to dance and sing together, though not quite as loudly or off-key as the pair. Only Wanna Be With You now. The pair stumbled through the crowd, just barely aware of where they were going.

Grinning dumbly, Shining looked drunkenly up at his newfound drinking partner. “Aw man, that shong, man, that’sh a real good shong,” he slurred.

“Thanks,” Uris replied, grinning ear-to-ear, staying on his feet far better than his friend. He still looked a bit woozy, of course, but not nearly as off-balance as the alabaster unicorn, who needed help just to keep from stumbling into every garbage can and open pit in their path. Truth was, he had just started to get a healthy buzz going, and that had only been after a few dozen mugs of the ponies’ cider.

“Urish man,” the unicorn continued with a stupid grin. “What’sh with you? Why you no shing right? Like me?”

“I’m just not feeling it, Captain,” Uris shrugged. “I guess humans have a higher alcohol tolerance than ponies. Go figure.”

Shining looked at him with actual pity in his eyes, “Aw man that…uh…that shucks, man. I’m shorry. You wan’ I should shtop so you not left out?”

“Hell no,” Uris smiled as he took another sip from the mug in his hand. “Just gonna take me a little while longer to catch up with you, that’s all.”

“You…hic…you sure? You drank enuff t’kill a stallion my shize already.”

“Challenge accepted,” the pilot said as he polished off the rest of his cider and tossed the empty mug over his shoulder.

Shining grinned. “Well, in dat cashe…” he threw a foreleg over the pilot’s shoulder and picked up where they’d left off, still horribly off-key.

Uris joined in just as they rounded a corner: ”…only wanna be with youuuu-whoooooooo!”

Suddenly, the unicorn’s eyes lit up, honing in on an empty garbage can lying on its side. “Oh, Urish man, check dish out, jusht watch…”

“Hmm?” The pilot looked up as Shining took off for the can, galloping up to a decent clip and soaring into the air just a few inches short of smashing face-first into its side. It was glorious, like something in the movies: the unicorn sailing over the can, his hooves primed, his eyes lit up with joy, his alabaster coat shimmering in the moonlight. Then his rear hoof clipped the side of the can and he was sent spinning into the road, face-planting into the gravel. “SHINING!”

“DDUUUUUUDDEE…” the unicorn laughed. “I didn’t e’en feel that!”

“Holy shit, you are drunk!” The pilot snickered.

“Hey, that’s a cool word,” Shining smiled dumbly, wiping a bit of blood off his nose as the human helped him to his hooves. “Shit-shitty-shit. Man, you humans got a lotta cool shtuff. Shit…”

“Don’t be like your sister,” the pilot laughed, his chortles joining the unicorn’s own drunken giggling fit, rising up over the empty street leading to the ruins of Coltton’s town hall. It took nearly five minutes for Uris to realize his companion wasn’t laughing anymore, a series of dry, hacking coughs and sobs replacing what was once a drunken bit of foalish revelry.

The pilot watched as the unicorn sobbed, his laughter having morphed into tears at some point in the middle of his laughing fit. “Shining?”

The unicorn looked up at him, his big, wet eyes glistening, his lip quivering. Even for a little pony, it was still a strange sight to see on a full-grown stallion’s face. “Ramirez was the besht soldier I ever knew in my life, man. He didn’t deserve that shit.”

The smile evaporated off the human’s face. “I know,” he sighed, taking Shining’s hoof as they slowly climbed the stairs towards the town hall. An idea suddenly crossed his mind to lighten the mood, and he grinned down at his newfound friend. “But hey, cheer up and lookit this!”

The unicorn stared at him quizzically as the pilot pointed to their joined appendages.

“It’s just the first date, and we’re already holdin’ hands!”

The unicorn guffawed, his smile reappearing in an instant. “Dude, you must be gettin’ drunk if I’m shtartin’ to look good.”

“What can I say, man? You’re an attractive stallion.”

“I’m a MARRIED stallion, you shit!” Shining guffawed, and the pair picked their laughter right back up where it left off as they pushed through the double-doors leading into the town hall’s lobby.

Despite being the most intact room in the building, evidence of the battle was still everywhere, from the piles of splinters on the main desk to the shattered windows up front. The tile was covered in dirt and debris from the cracks and holes punched into the ceiling. Still, it was as good a place to meet with the Princess as anypony could think of.

The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, along with Princess Cadence, stood in a tight-knit group in the middle of the room, all watching the pair stumble around. Cadence rolled her eyes and trotted up to her husband. “Shining, what have you done to yourself?” She sighed, supporting him.

“Aw, hey Cady! How’sh it goin’, shweets? What’re ya doin’ here, anywaysh?”

“Anything the Princess wants to say to you, she can also say to me,” she replied, shaking her head. “Besides, you’re in no condition to speak for yourself right now.”

“Aw c’mon, Princess,” Uris said jokingly. “We’re not as think as you drunk we are!”

“H-he meansh we’re not ash drunk…no wait, no…I mean yeah! We’re not…”

“I know what he meant, Shiny,” Cadence replied, wrapping her husband in a hug and shooting a look that could curdle milk the pilot’s way, who in turn just looked innocently out one of the shattered windows. “Still, this meeting concerns me.”

“Me too,” Twilight said, hoof under her chin in thought. “If the Princess had something to say to us, why wait until now to say it?”

“M-maybe she just wants to congratulate us in private?” Fluttershy asked, still avoiding eye contact with the pilot. He pretended he didn’t notice, and that it didn’t shatter his heart to realize she still couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

“But why? I’m sure she’d love making a big, splashy show about her gratitude, but instead she’s waited until now?” Twilight shook her head. “I know her. This isn’t like her.”

“You could just be makin’ a mountain outta a mole hill here, sugarcube,” Applejack shrugged.

“Maybe,” Twilight frowned just as the back door to the room burst open. The frown instantly turned into a smile as the Princess walked in, tailed by the Swarm brothers and Captain Vance.

“Good evening, my little ponies,” Celestia cooed.

“Good evening, Princess Celestia!” The ponies chanted. Well, most of them chanted, Shining Armor just sort of slurred along. The Princess smiled at her subjects as they gazed eagerly up at her. All in all, Twilight was the only one to catch the exhaustion hinting at the edge of her voice, along with the way the Princess shied from contacting the brothers, her body twisting ever-so-slightly whenever one got a little bit close.

“And good evening to you, son,” Vance said as he strode into the room, still in full dress uniform.

“Ah! Yeah, good evening, sir,” Uris replied, hurriedly tucking his undershirt into his pants. Vance chortled and waved his hand.

“No need for that,” he smiled, removing his cap and running a gloved hand through his thinning hair. “We’re gonna try and keep this as informal as possible.”

“Well, alright then…” Twilight immediately lunged forward and threw her hooves around the Princess, nuzzling into her neck while the rest of the ponies joined in, creating a massive pile of loving affection. Celestia smiled, hardly even taken by surprise as she ran a hoof through each ponies’ mane (partially to gauge Shining Armor’s temperature and make sure he wasn’t about to be sick. Nothing ruined a group hug like one of the participants spewing chunks all over everypony).

“Ahem,” the Captain cleared his throat, bringing all attention to himself. “Princess, I’m sorry, I know you deserve this, but we really need to move along now. I just…I want to get this over with.”

“Dad?” Uris asked, using that same tone he’d used when he saw the Captain walk up to him with tears in his eyes and news that his brother had just been killed.

“I know, Captain,” Celestia sighed, motioning to the brothers after pulling free of her subjects’ embrace. “And with that, I’ll leave the explanation to the experts. Major?”

With a solemn look on his face, Michael stepped forward and took a deep breath. “As you may all well know, Equestria and Earth are alternate versions of one another, existing amidst an infinite amount of possible universes that each have their own set of rules.”

“Oh great,” Rainbow sighed, rolling her eyes. “Someone else who wants to talk like Twilight.”

“Rainbow!” The rest of the ponies glared at the cyan pegasus until she held up her hooves in surrender. Celestia motioned for Michael to carry on, which he did.

“What you may not know is that the two are not completely independent of one another. The influence multiple universes have on one another is subtle, but oh-so-important for sapient life, such as ponies and humans. Uris may have already noticed these influences.”

The pilot nodded. “Friendship is Magic.”

“Yes it is!” Pinkie cooed happily.

“No, I meant ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,’ it’s this TV show back home for little girls. And…some guys…some weird guys…” he trailed off, no longer willing to say anything against the fandom. Not now. Not after Ramirez.

“Son, may I ask how you know about this show?” Vance asked, arching an eyebrow at his boy.

“I have the Internet, dad! It’s everywhere! Fanart, fanfiction, fan plushies, fan videos…the damn things are all over the place!”

“Okay, ignoring what in the hay a ‘TV show’ even is,” Twilight said, her hoof raised for quiet. “What does it have to do with us?”

“Everything,” Uris replied, shaking his head. “I just wrote it off as coincidence, but now I see it couldn’t be. There are just too many similarities.”

“’My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ is a near-perfect chronicle of many events here in Equestria,” Chen butt in, stepping next to his brother. “Many things that have taken place on this plane have been reproduced on Earth in the form of a story told to young children. The expulsion and return of Nightmare Moon, the Changeling invasion, Discord’s escape; all have been faithfully reproduced on Earth, with only the smallest of changes.”

“Nice story,” Dash chortled. “But I think you’re just trying to mess with our…”

Without a word, Michael whipped out a comic book and tossed it at her. “…heads,” she grumbled, glaring at the demi-god before nudging the comic open and leafing through it. A few moments later, her jaw dropped.

“Rainbow?” Twilight asked. “What is it?”

“It’s the second time we faced Queen Chrysalis!” Dash gasped. “It’s all here! Well, just a bit from the journey to her hive, but…yeah, it’s all here! We’re all here!”

Gasping, the ponies gathered around the little comic and stared, eyes widening with each panel. Eventually, they all looked up at Swarm, eyes wide. “How much have they…done?”

“Like I said, just the big stuff,” Michael replied, counting off on his fingertips. “Twilight going mental and enchanting her doll, Pinkie trying to babysit the Cakes’ foals…”

“That time I went looking for a pet, and found Tank?” Rainbow asked.

“Yep.”

“Twilight’s birthday party in Canterlot, when I tried to keep up appearances with Hoity-Toity at the same time?” Rarity prodded.

“Yeppers!”

“When Ah had t’tangle with them Flim-Flam varmints and that contraption a’ theirs?”

“Mmh-hmm!”

“M-me and Rarity’s weekend in Canterlot?” Fluttershy asked, eyes widening at the possibility that a child had seen her one weekend of debauchery. Rarity flushed immediately as their friends all gaped.

“No, but that was a bit more adult, so odds are it just didn’t get committed to paper.”

“ ‘Keep Calm and Flutter On?’ “ Pinkie asked.

“Oh, that one’s my…wait, that hasn’t happened…” he glared at her, and she smiled innocently back. “Oh, you clever little chica.”

“But how!?” Twilight gasped. “Two universes that have never had any contact with each other can’t possibly know this much! Not out of coincidence! This is…” she suppressed a shiver and brushed the comic book away. “This is scary, almost.”

“As I said, the different worlds are not as isolated as one would think,” Chen replied. “Places, events, people, they all leave a psychic impression behind, especially if they’re on a large enough scale.”

“That impression can bleed over into another universe,” Michael said, picking up where his brother left off. “The more ponies or people are involved, the bigger the impression and the more likely that it will bleed over into another reality’s psychic plane.”

“Wait, psychic!?” Uris gasped.

“You’re in a land of magical talking ponies, and you’re only now questioning what you knew about reality?” Michael asked with a snarky grin. “But yeah. Unbeknownst to most creatures, there is, in fact, a psychic plane that all living things are hooked up to. A ‘collective unconsciousness,’ if you will. Usually, the influence of this ‘living network’ of minds is subtle, working everyone’s subconscious and only ever becoming visible in dreams. But if an outside influence winds up infiltrating the network, such as a massive event that has multiple beings on another world thinking and feeling the same thing at the same time…”

“Kinda like Chrysalis’ invasion, or Discord’s escape!” Applejack gasped.

“Hold on, you said ponies AND humans,” Uris said. “Shouldn’t that mean the exchange would go both ways?”

Vance smiled proudly as Michael arched an eyebrow. “Very good question,” he said, pulling a small, tattered, hardcover book out of his jacket and tossing it to the pilot, who caught it mid-air. “And decent reflexes to boot! Page 18, second paragraph.”

Uris looked the book over. “The Battle for Moslemia, by Ink Quiver,” was engraved on the front in silver lettering, but other than that, it was totally blank. Looking at the demi-god curiously, he cracked the book open and scanned through until he found the page and the paragraph and began reading out loud:

“When the first of the great sky-chariots slammed into the North tower of the Global Marketplace, everypony assumed it had to be an accident. Surely, something so insane, so utterly destructive, couldn’t be on purpose, and so the first emergency responders on the scene were not army ponies, but simple fire-extinguishing teams. It wasn’t until after the South tower was hit when everypony realized: this was no accident. The United States of Thracia, the most powerful nation ever to exist upon the face of planet Certh, was under attack. And now, nothing would ever be the same. With so many deaths, how could they be?”

“9/11,” Uris gasped and closed the book, his eyes widening. His father watched him; his eyebrows practically up in his hairline.

“That little piece of fiction was released last year by an up-and-coming author living in Manehattan,” Michael explained, his face holding at neutral. “It’s doing alright.”

“So the events in Equestria impact the stories humans tell each other…” Twilight murmured, eyes widening as she gazed over at Uris.

“…Just like the events on Earth influence the stories ponies dream up.” Uris completed, taking a seat on the ground. How many of the stories he’d grown up with and loved were actually stories? How many were just borrowed from real events somewhere far away? Was there a Lord of the Rings universe? Or a universe dedicated to King Arthur and his Knights? Shit, was “Hop on Pop” really just an exercise in developing a literate mind, or a true story of elder abuse?

Suddenly, Twilight sat up, a tingle shooting up and down her spine. “Oh no,” she gasped, looking around in a panic. “Oh no!”

“And we’ve figured out just how much of a problem we have,” Swarm sighed, leaning against an overturned desk and lighting up a cigarette.

“What!? Twilight, what is it!?” Uris asked, still numb from the shock of what he’d just learned.

The purple unicorn’s eyes darted to her mentor, who nodded solemnly for her to continue. “Swarm just told us that big, terrible events are the ones most likely to make the jump over into other worlds’ dreams!”

Applejack gasped in realization. “Events kinda like the big ol’ battle we just had fer ourselves.”

“Bingo,” Michael sighed, inhaling on his cigarette.

“Holy-“ Uris’ mind reeled with the implications: millions of kids going to sleep at night, expecting dreams and fantasies of beautiful, Technicolor unicorns, and getting a horrendous and wholesale bloodbath. Animators for kids’ TV shows finding themselves unable to think about anything except a tiny town in the middle of Nowhere transforming into an all-out slugfest between good and evil. Kids waking up screaming in the middle of the night as their minds played out their own little versions of “Saving Private Uris.” “Great, so now a million parents are gonna go a few months without sleep.” He grimaced.

“That would be the case most other times,” Chen said, uncomfortably playing with the cufflinks on his suit jacket. “Unfortunately, these are not other times. Mars has been a very busy little tyrant. He has launched numerous attacks against dozens of other fantasy-based worlds with the sole intent of igniting the event we have described here. This version of Equestria is not the only world to suffer at his hands.”

“So, how bad is this gonna get?” Shining asked, the serious tone of the conversation having sobered him up a bit.

“Bad,” Michael said, breathing out a huge puff of smoke. “You ever have a day where you just didn’t feel like yourself? Where everything just seems darker, and nothing that usually perks you up seems to matter anymore? Imagine if that feeling were concentrated into the very air you breathe, like a gas, and then spread out over the entire planet.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Vance sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

“We’re talking world-altering, life-scarring nightmares for damn near every kid on Earth. For the adults, suicide rates would double, if not triple, and that’s the best case scenario. If a politician or world leader proved to be susceptible to the net’s influence…” he shrugged and shook his head sadly. “War…violence…death…and everyone would just be too lethargic to fix any of it.”

“That can’t happen!” Cadence gasped suddenly, standing up in the middle of the room and surprising everyone with her outburst. “I know how much these humans have done for us, I’ve seen first-hand what they’re willing to sacrifice! They can’t have given up all that just to go back to a world of sadness and despair! There has to be some way to stop this!”

“There is,” Celestia replied with a sad smile. “Everypony simply has to stop thinking about the events of the past few days.”

“Oh, is that all?” Rainbow snorted sarcastically. “Sorry Princess, but I don’t think I’m gonna be able to stop thinking about all this crazy stuff for a few months, at least.”

“No, no, it’s easy! Watch!” Pinkie shouted, her eyebrows crinkling. A few moments later, a contented look crossed her face. “There, see? Not hard at all.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Pinkie, it’s not that easy for everypony.”

“What’s not that easy…ohmygosh, Twilight!” The pink mare immediately darted behind Rainbow. “Don’t turn around, but there’s a big, weird, alien standing just behind you!”

“Is she being serious right now?” Uris asked.

“Ohmygosh, another one! We’re surrounded!”

“It’s Pinkie Pie, this is as serious as she gets.” The lavender unicorn sighed.

“As tempting as it would be to tell everypony to just forget it,” Celestia said with a strained smile. “I doubt that would be possible for any of them. Especially those who’ve lost loved ones.”

“A spell then!” Twilight said desperately. “We could seal Equestria off from leaking this ‘psychic vibe’, or whatever you wanna call it, until everypony gets over it!”

“Even if such a spell existed, it could be months, if not years, before the sting of the trauma suffered here lessened to a point where it would spare Earth from any adverse effects.”

“And between the solar winds and cosmic radiation leaking through the nether, along with the psychic vibes leaking out from every world around this one,” Chen sighed. “Maintaining such a spell would require a significant amount of power being held stable over all of Equestria against constant assault for all that time.”

“Months…if not years…” Cadence gasped, holding her husband close, a look of hopelessness crossing her face. “I could barely maintain that shield over the Crystal Empire for a week.”

“But what else can we do!?” Shining asked, now completely and totally sober.

“As my faithful student said, the answer can be found with a spell,” Celestia replied, her smile wavering. “Just…not the kind we are familiar with using. Is anypony here familiar with an MMES?”

Everyone in the room shook their heads, even the Swarm brothers. Everyone, that is, except for Twilight. The little lilac unicorn took a few steps back, the look on her face completely aghast, as if the Princess had just insulted her mother. “Princess…no…” she gasped.

“It’s the only way, my faithful student,” Celestia sighed, her eyes closing as the smile evaporated right off her face.

“Twilight, if you would be so kind to explain for the magically illiterate in the room,” Chen said, motioning for her to continue.

“MMES stands for ‘Mass Memory-Effecting Spell’,” Twilight said, her voice high and shaky, but still ringing out clear. “It’s exactly what it sounds like. It allows for the memories of a targeted populace to be altered in any way, shape, or form the user chooses. It requires a lot of power, the kind of power reserved for Alicorns, and even then it takes two of them.”

Celestia nodded sadly. “My sister and I already discussed this yesterday, while everypony else was busy preparing for the celebration and cleaning up from the battle.” She gazed out the window at all the smiling, celebrating ponies, losing themselves in music and drink. “Tomorrow, the last of the humans will return to their homeworld, at which point my sister and I will cast the spell, altering the memories of every pony in Equestria to believe that this little village was simply the victim of a particularly nasty dragon attack. The trauma of those lost will still be there, of course, but it will not be coupled with the trauma of Equestria nearly falling to enemy invasion or the fear that such an enemy might return.”

“Well, that’s good, right?” Dash asked. “Heaven knows I could forget those evil jerks: it’s not like they’re worth remembering, anyway.”

“It’s not that simple,” Twilight breathed. A few tears rolled down her face, her body shaking visibly with the effort it took to keep from bawling. “For the spell to be truly effective, EVERYTHING to do with the memory you want to change has to be altered to match it. You can’t just pick and choose what you want to keep.”

Once again, Applejack was the first to catch on. “Twilight…” she said breathlessly. “Ya…you can’t mean what Ah think you mean.”

Celestia’s protégé nodded and sniffled as her mentor took over, giving her some respite. The Princess took a deep breath, deciding to get it all out in one go, like peeling off a bandage. “For the spell to work and be truly effective, to ensure that both our worlds will always be safe and that Equestria remains the place of light that humans can reach for, EVERY memory of the past few days must be altered or omitted, including your memories of the humans you’ve met. The spell will make you forget all of them, not just the enemy soldiers, but Mr. Uris, Captain Vance, and everything and everyone they brought with them to defend our world.”

“And…and there’s more…” Twilight whimpered. “Anything to do with the memory before it was altered could undo the spell. So if we even see any of the humans we know ever again, the spell will snap and our true memories will come rushing back.”

“So to protect Earth, I am not only asking you to willfully submit to having your memories of these humans wiped, I am also warning you that you will most likely never be allowed to see them again.” Celestia said. Despite her best efforts, a few tears traced down her cheeks.

Everyone in the room fell silent, the shock almost a palpable feeling you could sense in the air. Uris was the first to break the stunned silence, turning angrily to his father. “You knew about this, didntcha!? You knew this was gonna hafta happen!”

“I knew about the ‘not seeing each other again’ part, but not the whole memory-alteration thing,” Vance replied, his face an unreadable block of ice. “It was part of the agreement the Joint Chiefs signed with Canterlot that allowed us to come here in the first place. I’m sorry, son. I tried to tell ya earlier, but we got sidetracked.”

“This can’t happen,” Dash gasped. “It’s not right!”

“That ain’t fair!” AJ butt in. “It ain’t fair!”

Fluttershy just took a few steps back and collapsed against Rarity, who started stroking her mane out of pure habit, her eyes gazing out at nothing in shock. Pinkie, meanwhile, took it upon herself to comfort Twilight, shaking her head slowly and sadly as the unicorn sobbed into her shoulder.

“No,” a voice rang out over all the others. Everyone turned as Shining stood in the middle of the room, his face twisted into a mask of pure rage as he stared defiantly up at the Princess.

“Shining Armor,” she said, her voice a wavering pile of exhaustion. “It’s the only way.”

“No,” he repeated, shaking his head. “I can’t do that, I won’t!”

“It’s the only…”

“BULLSHIT IT’S THE ONLY WAY!” He screamed. “YOU DON’T GET IT! NONE OF YOU DO! MY MEMORIES ARE ALL I HAVE LEFT! THEY’RE ALL THAT’S LEFT OF…of him…” his voice trailed off and his head dipped low, tears streaming off his face and soaking the wooden planking beneath him. Cadence was at his side in a heartbeat, stifling sobs at the sight of the stallion she loved in so much pain.

“Ramirez…he was the best soldier I ever met: the bravest, the most compassionate, one of the most incredible examples of discipline and courage I have ever had the honor of meeting in my life. And you…” he turned his angry gaze on the Princess, accusing her through his tears. “Now that he’s gone and my memories are all I have left of him, you expect me to get rid of them? Just like that? To erase the greatest honor of my life JUST LIKE THAT!?”

“I’ll remember!” Uris screamed. The unicorn turned to him, eyes widening through the tears. The pilot was on the verge of tears himself, but was doing a better job at hiding it. “I’ll remember enough for both of us, okay? I promise. I’ll never forget.”

“But…” Shining blubbered. “I don’t…I can’t…”

“And I’ll join you,” Cadence said, nuzzling her husband gently. “You won’t have to forget alone.”

Celestia arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure? As an Alicorn, you would be exempt from this spell. We’d have to perform a separate spell to alter your memories like everypony else’s.”

“I’m not letting him suffer through this alone,” Cadence replied firmly.

“Cady,” he grasped her hoof. “You don’t need to. Like the Princess said, you’re royalty, you can remember if you…”

“I’m not letting you go on alone,” she repeated, tears in her eyes as she gave him another kiss, not as passionate as the ones before, but still enough to lay him out over the ground. Still whimpering, he wrapped her in his embrace as she shushed him, trying to keep him calm. “Not again. Not ever again.”

“Okay,” Twilight said, her breath shaking. “Okay, so what now?”

“Now,” Celestia smiled. “I want you all to go out there and enjoy the time you have left. Enjoy what you have while you have it, because tomorrow, it will be gone.”

For a while, nobody moved, and then Vance got up and walked to the door, holding it open. The others stared at him blankly. “Well?” He asked, a tiny smile on his mildly-wrinkled face. “C’mon! I want to get hammered tonight, and it’s no fun doing it alone.”

“Pony cider isn’t very alcoholic, dad,” Uris said shakily, smiling as he wiped at his nose as if he were a little boy again. “I don’t think we CAN get drunk off it.”

“Challenge accepted,” the Captain replied, motioning towards the door.

A few moments later, Pinkie sprang up and hopped out the door. “C’mon, everypony!” She chimed happily. “Let’s show the humans how to party Ponyville style!”

“They might find it a little tame, but I think I can fix that,” Dash said, smiling mischievously and bolting out the door in a blur of rainbow.

“Well shoot, Ah might have a few steps t’teach ‘em,” AJ said, trotting happily out the door.

“You know what? I think I can help there,” Twilight said, wiping away her tears as she joined her friends outside. “They might need somepony to coordinate all the festivities.”

“Or to give it a certain flair, a certain, dare I say it? Je ne sais quoi.” Rarity said, joining her friends with a fashionable toss of her mane.

“And everypony leaves in the most stereotypical way possible,” Michael said, grinning ear to ear. “Well Chen, whaddya say? Can you pull the stick outta your ass for just one night?”

“Please,” the man in the business suit replied, pushing his glasses up his nose as he strolled out the door with his brother. “We all know who can drink who under a table.”

“Oh, you’re SO on!”

“Wait,” Cadence held up a hoof to stop the pair before they could leave. They turned to her, eyebrows raised. “I need to know what happened to my husband. Why did he…almost die?” She asked, wrapping her hooves around his shoulders.

“Cady, I didn’t almost die,” he frowned.

“You saw Uris’s brother. That sounds pretty dead to me.”

Sighing, Michael walked up to the princess and knelt at her side. He looked over his shoulder at Chen, who nodded and motioned for him to continue. “Well, let’s just say your husband has a little bit of me inside of him,” he replied in a hushed whisper, snapping his fingers. Instantly, the fur on the front of Shining’s neck vanished, revealing smooth chrome, shimmering in the light. All eyes widened.

“You didn’t really heal me, you just applied a bandage!” Shining gasped, the chrome undulating with every word he spoke, tickling his throat.

Michael nodded. “That’s why you nearly died when I…lost myself. My inner turmoil caused the bandage to lose cohesion and fall off, exposing the wounds underneath. However, like all bandages, this one will cease to exist once it is no longer needed.”

“And Shining will be okay?” Cadence asked, hopefully.

“More or less,” he shrugged. The ponies glared at him until he relented. “I’m afraid there will still be some scarring. A bandage can only do so much, y’know?”

“Scarring,” Shining sighed, rubbing his wife’s shoulders. “Whaddya think Cady? Will you stay even after I lose my pretty face?”

Smiling, she looked him in the eyes and pulled him in for another kiss. “I think I’ll enjoy having a reminder of your bravery whenever I look at you,” she replied.

“But it won’t be a reminder because you won’t remember anything, right?”

“I think I can fix that,” Celestia said, trotting into the conversation. “Shining Armor’s bravery doesn’t need to be totally erased, now does it? It just needs a few details to be omitted.”

Smiling, tears rolling down her face, Cadence hugged her husband close. “Thanks Auntie Tia.”

“Well, I guess I’ll just need to get used to you being the pretty one in this marriage,” Shining snickered.

“Honey, please. I was always the pretty one. This will change nothing,” she cooed, planting another kiss on his lips.

“And with that settled,” Michael replied, heading out the door with his brother. “I now go to drink until my brains fall out!”

“Sounds like a blast,” Shining said, trotting after the pair.

“Oh, no you don’t!” His wife yelled, taking off behind him. “You’ve had enough for one night, mister!”

“But Cadyyyyyyyyyyyy…”

“So, demigods can get drunk?” Vance mumbled as he walked outside to join them, allowing the door to shut and muffle all their voices. “Guess you learn somethin’ new every day.”

And that left just three in the room: Princess Celestia, Fluttershy and Uris. Uris sighed and slowly walked towards the little yellow pegasus, trying (and failing) to keep his smile from getting too awkward. “Well,” he said. “I’ve always liked having a pretty lady on my arm when I drink.”

“I…I…” Fluttershy sighed, and then trotted towards the back door, her head down, eyes covered by her mane. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

“Don’t be,” Uris mumbled quietly as she vanished into the night. He sighed dejectedly as he trudged towards the door, completely ready to spend a night drinking alone, until a gold-clad hoof rested on his shoulder.

“Perhaps I could fulfill that requirement?” Celestia asked, a little smile on her face.

Uris smiled and took her hoof in his hand, escorting her outside. “It would be my honor, Princess.”

Author's Note

Yeah, one long chapter today kiddies. Just the way things worked out.

Chapter LXII: Behind the Curtain

A gentle breeze wafted through the city of Coltton, scattering a few discarded cups and napkins and sending them clattering along the cobblestone pathways like urban tumbleweeds. The sun had just started to rise, casting faint yet massive shadows all over the city, a thin blanket left from the night before. Eventually, the breeze shifted the twisted ruin of the banner from the day before, hanging on by one corner, the other having snapped sometime in the previous night while every human and pony was busy with drunken carousing and slurred renditions of nineties pop songs.

Uris picked his way through the wreckage left by the party: a hung-over pony in a lampshade here, an overturned water barrel there. He moved slowly, his gaze downcast, not quite as badly as it had been in that moment when he’d looked down at Ramirez and Webb’s rocks with a pair of scissors in his hand, but still with a taste of that same gait. Like a condemned man traipsing to the chair.

He reached the town’s square, easy to find thanks to the steady stream of ponies trotting towards it (those who were still sober enough to stand, that is). A lump rose in his throat at the sight of the Princesses, his father, and the six wonderful mares that were about to trot out of his life forever.

“Heh, trot,” he mused quietly. Less than a week in Equestria, and he was using horse puns. God forbid if he ever stayed here longer.

As if he’d ever have the chance…

Suddenly, a sob rose in his throat, tears rising in his eyes. Choking both back, the pilot threw himself into the closest alleyway and collapsed against a wall, sinking to his knees in the filth that seemed to gather in every alley in every city, no matter how clean or new the city supposedly was. He rammed a fist into his mouth, holding back the sob welling up from his gut. His crutch clattered onto the cobblestone next to him. His breath came in short, violent gasps, cut-off into little whistles by the ceremonial uniform glove on his hand. How in the hell could he possibly be expected to walk right out there, in front of all those civvies, and keep a big, shit-eating smile on his face all the way until…

“Airman? Are you alright?”

Uris swallowed another sob and looked up. The man in the leather jacket was standing there, gazing down at the pilot with his brows hunched in concern. The demigod stooped to his knees and offered a hand up. “I’m fine,” Uris insisted, brushing the hand aside and pushing himself to his feet.

The demigod sighed and stood up alongside him, just in time to receive a full-on salute. “Oh, goddammit, you are just like your dad, you know that!?” Michael groaned with a roll of his eyes.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, sir,” the pilot replied with a smart little smile: a thin mask for the pain that so obviously lay underneath. Michael didn’t need to be a demigod to see that.

“Hey kid, cheer on up,” the demigod clapped the pilot on the shoulder as his hand descended. “You don’t owe anybody that steak dinner anymore!”

The pilot paused at that, considering for a second. “Yeah, I guess I-“perhaps it was the way Michael grabbed his hand, or perhaps it was the little non-sequitur, but suddenly something clicked in the pilot’s mind. “Hold the damn phone, how did you know about that!?”

The demigod took a few steps back at the outburst, the soles of his sneakers scraping against the cobblestone. “I-uh…must have…”

“No,” the pilot shook his head as it swam, colors dancing in front of his eyes, morphing and condensing into shapes, like clouds on a clear summer’s day. Only these shapes actually had meaning, not just whatever popped into your head while you were looking up. “No, you were there! You were in the Chinook!”

Uris wrestled with the safety harness, his stomach wrenching violently with each fresh turn of the chopper. Each little gust tossed the massive, American-made hunk of steel around like a child’s toy in a bathtub. Bannon had just been thrown out, and thank God for that. At least one of them was going to survive this. The pilot probably wouldn’t be joining the Marine, but hey, he wasn’t the “give-up and give-in” type. Vances rarely were. No, if death wanted him, it would have to drag him to the grave, kicking and screaming like a child in a full-on temper tantrum the entire way.

The rotors screamed and whined against the forces lashing at the chopper, signaling that it was minutes away from giving up the fight against gravity. The pilot felt a cold knot twist in his stomach, and not just from the constant, angry bucking of the machine. This was it, wasn’t it? He could rip and tear at the harness all he wanted, but he was going to die here, wasn’t he?

“Sorry, pop,” he muttered under his breath, giving the strap one last good yank. “Charlie, I’m comin’.”

White light flooded the cockpit, consuming the windshield. “That must be it,” he figured, closing his eyes against the flash. It still shone through his eyelids, turning the inside of his eyes that bright red color you get when you stare up into the sun and shut your eyes against its light, as if the light itself were telling him there was no possible way to get away from it. He let out a frightened gasp. He’d heard of the light at the end of the tunnel before, though he’d expected more of a tunnel before he ran into it. But hey, maybe the angels would come floating on down from heaven to collect him soon.

“Airman!” A voice barked in front of him. Uris cracked his eyes open, expecting to see some blonde-haired beauty with white, feathery wings, basking in the light with a single, perfect hand outstretched for him to take. What he got was a dude in a beaten-up brown leather jacket and a greased-up hairdo that made him look like he’d be right at home on the set of Grease.

“Huh, you’re a funny-lookin’ angel.” He muttered.

“And you’re a funny-lookin’ guy to be saving Equestria, but we work with the cards we’re dealt.” The man replied dryly, his voice ringing out clearly despite the whipping rain and howling wind. Behind him, the light faded away into nothingness, leaving spots in the dazzled pilot’s eyes.

“Hold on…I heard you, and you heard me,” the pilot gasped. “How’s that possible!? Without that windshield, we should…”

“Pilot, you’re in a crippled whirlybird a few thousand feet above the surface of an alien world, dontcha think you have more important things to worry about right now?”

“Okay, point,” the pilot’s hands returned to his seatbelt, still fumbling with the straps. “Sir, I don’t know whatcha think you’re doin’ here…or, even how in the hell it’s possible…butcha gotta get out! This thing’s goin’ down, and it’s gonna take anyone inside with it!”

Despite the obvious desperation of the situation, the man in the leather jacket smiled easily, like a father looking down at the big red A+ on his son’s first math test. Same amount of pride, same amount of eagerness. “Gotta admit, I had my doubts about you, but that settled every single one of them.”

“What!?” The pilot shouted, even though it was obvious they could hear each other, maelstrom and howling alarms off the dash or not.

“Self-sacrifice! You’re so willing to throw everything away for the sake of others, though you do cherish your own life. That’s quite the rare trait, even amongst your fellow soldiers.” The man explained calmly, using a tone Uris recognized immediately from years of studying high school textbooks. A bit rougher around the edges, yeah, but that same professorial trait of great intelligence was there.

The pilot stared back at the man in the leather jacket. “What the fuck are you?” He asked. He’d meant to say who, of course, but apparently Dr. Freud’s old love-child just underneath the human consciousness had other ideas.

The man in the leather jacket just smiled even more deeply. “I dive into a whirlybird at five-thousand feet, and you’re only now asking that question? Man, you are gonna be tons of fun!”

Without warning, and with an almost childlike glee, the man gripped Uris by the front of his uniform and tore him out of his seat, the straps that had held him so securely before now falling away like a future beauty queen’s dress on prom night. Fat load of good that damn thing was, he mused as the man tossed him over his shoulder. There when I need it to be gone, and gone when I’m being dragged off by a maniac in the middle of the night!

The man in the leather jacket carried the pilot right over to the open hatch at the back of the chopper, stopping with the toes of his sneakers hanging just over the edge. Below them, the wind continued to whip the clouds up into a boiling soup right beneath their feet, that eerie, green lightning flashing almost constantly. “Okay, you ready!?” He shouted, though his voice was still as clear as ever.

“Wait, what!? How’re we supposed to jump without chutes!?” The pilot screamed right back, still debating with himself whether to try and knee the man in the face, praise God that the guy had shown up, or pray for deliverance from the oddly-powerful grip of an obvious maniac.

“Oh, right! Damn! You need one of those!” The man smacked his palm against his forehead, as if the basic principles of gravity had simply slipped his mind, before turning back into the chopper, grabbing the emergency chute from besides the pilot’s seat (stowed their courtesy of Boeing for when things went really tits-up) and turning back towards the gaping maw of the rear entryway. He crossed the floor of the chopper in a few, quick leaps, the rear hatch now looking more like some horrifying monster sent to gobble men up than ever before, and all the while Uris could only think how in the hell it was possible that a man could run across a metal floor, made slick by rain and perhaps just a bit of puke, with another full-grown man on his shoulder, all in a chopper bucking around hard enough to make a rodeo clown’s head spin, without so much as stumbling.

Then reality snapped back in like the cold, hard bitch that she was and smacked him across the face, alerting him to the fact that he was being carried by a madman towards the edge of a drop that had to be a good mile-long, probably more, through a storm that had just ripped an armor-coated piece of American military machinery to shreds. “Woah, wait! Waitwaitwaitwait…” he called, as if ‘wait’ was a magic word that could knock the sanity back into the other man’s head, or at least make him release his grip on the pilot. The man didn’t even slow down. Without so much as a pause, Mister Greased-Up-Hair took a flying leap right out the hatch, that childlike glee still frozen in his eyes.

For the first few moments, Uris’s brain couldn’t even process what had just happened. The thought of plummeting from thousands of feet in the air was just too much for his tiny, human mind to process all at once. He didn’t even notice as the man in the leather jacket tossed back his head and let loose with a good-hearted, boisterous laugh, rather than the kind you’d expect from some lunatic in an asylum. The laugh actually went a ways towards offering some comfort to the pilot, acting as an anchor for his mind to catch up to what was happening.

“Jesus H!” He screamed as they plunged towards the cloud, a flash of lightning highlighting the utter terror in his face. “Holy Jesus tittyfucking Christ!”

“No need to shout,” the man in the leather jacket said simply, that damned, childish grin latched onto his face like a face-hugger from that “Aliens” movie Uris had seen when he was younger and feeding a developing boyhood crush on Sigourney Weaver. “I am right here after all.”

“That’s part of the fucking problem!” Uris screamed in a sudden moment of lucidity just before the clouds rushed up to greet them. The pilot’s eyes wrenched shut, certain that the moment in the helicopter when he first saw that light must have been a trial run for this: the actual final moments of his life.

“You might wanna open your eyes, kid: you’re missin’ one helluva view,” the man reported.

Despite every instinct screaming at him to ignore whatever the maniac had to say, Uris did as he was told and opened his eyes up to the tiniest little slits, the kind of squint kids use when they’re at their first slasher flick and Horny Teenager #3 just walked into the dark basement. Finally, his eyes shot open at the sight of a massive forest stretching from one horizon to the next. Trees, every bit as wild and scraggly as the ones he knew back home (though quite a bit more colorful), covered every square inch of what he could see, with little space in between for much besides the occasional woodland clearing. None of that surprised him though: what got him was how damned clear and well-lit the whole thing was. He had just been in the middle of the storm of the century, his drenched clothes and the few water drops dribbling off the ends of his boots could attest to that. So where was it!?

He turned his gaze upwards to a clear, pristine night sky, the moon shining brightly through it all. The stars gazed back down at him, filling his vision as they always had, as if to say ‘Hey man, lost track of you for a moment there, where’d you go?’ Even the helicopter was nowhere to be found. “What in the fuck?” He gasped.

“What’s wrong now?” The man in the leather jacket asked with an exaggerated sigh, the kind you save for a child that just asked its seventeenth question in a row.

“Whuh-where…” Uris asked, unable to even finish the question.

“The storm? Oh, well, I didn’t need it anymore, so I figured why not send it on its way?” The man explained simply and plainly.

The pilot looked down at the man holding him. “You!?”

“Yeah, storms take a lot of energy to sustain! Why would I keep that shit up if I didn’t need to anymore?”

Head spinning wildly, Uris shook himself, trying to regain something resembling sanity, something to bring himself back down into a world where men didn’t fly around, conjuring storms from nothing in worlds populated by magic, cartoon ponies. “Wh-why?” He managed to ask despite the hurricane of madness threatening to reach Category Five in his head.

“I had to getcha alone somehow, didn’t I?” The man replied matter-of-factly.

The pilot pressed a hand to his helmet and tried to ignore the part of him that wanted to know why: why they were drifting steadily to the ground even though the parachute was still packed up nice and tight in the man’s hand, why said man had just conjured up a storm for the sake of grabbing some unwitting American from his bird, and most of all, why any of this was happening to him. He figured the answers would snap whatever sanity he had left like a twig.

“Okay, once we hit, you’re gonna have a job to do!” The man called to him, still drifting like a leaf on the wind. “Just keep that in mind, and everything should work out just fine!”

Uris nodded, trying to drive the man’s words right out of his head, force them away from himself. Everything about this man was poison to his sanity, and right now he needed something to focus on, anything! Something normal, something astoundingly banal, something to find his focus again. He found the man’s feet, one clad in a filthy-looking, off-white sock, the other in a tattered sneaker.

“What happened to your shoe?” He asked innocently.

“Wha-oh shit, thanks!” The man suddenly dropped the pilot, shrugging him right off with a roll of his shoulders before taking off across the sky, flying away with his fists punched out in front of his body, Superman style. Of course, this left Uris with nothing between him and the ground.

“Waitwait-WAAAIIIIITTT!” The pilot called as gravity took over once again, the man a rapidly-fading silhouette in the distance. It was as if gravity had forgotten about the pilot as long as the man was there, and now that he was gone, it had finally realized that someone was not obeying the normal laws of physics like a good little boy. The pilot looked on in horror as the man in the leather jacket faded away, tossing something over his shoulder as an afterthought. The something rocketed right at the pilot as he picked up speed, the tops of the trees looking alarmingly close. It smashed into his chest, and out of instinct, the pilot wrapped his arms around it, like a mother holding her newborn infant to her chest. He knew just by the feel of it what it was: the parachute. There was still the matter of getting it on, though, normally a simple procedure when done with two feet steady on the floor of a chopper, not so much when one was speeding towards death from a few thousand feet in the air.

Twisting this way and that, he fumbled with the shoulder straps and managed to wiggle the parachute onto his body, holding it to his back with one hand while the other frantically tangled itself in the straps. Barely managing to swallow a burst of puke bubbling up from his stomach, Uris calmed himself in a way that could only come with years of training and months of experience in the cockpit. The little strap clicked home, informing him he was scot-free. Practically wetting himself out of sheer glee, the pilot reached towards the pack behind him and gave the ripcord a good yank, preparing himself for the sudden pull of the straps that would undoubtedly follow the chute’s deployment.

Nothing happened.

“Fuck. My. Life.” He announced.

Frantically, he gave the cord another pull, and another. “Fuck everything!” He screamed. Just when he thought he was as good as safe and about to drift right into a nice, save world, it all went straight to hell. Welp, at least he didn’t have to worry about being buried if he died here: without that chute, he’d hit the ground so hard he would dig his own grave.

There was a sound like an F-18 hitting Mach 2, and suddenly the man in the leather jacket appeared right in front of the pilot’s face. “And that’s enough of that!” He announced, knocking the pilot’s hand out of the way and seizing the ripcord. This time, the chute finally deployed, blossoming over Uris’ head like the most beautiful flower he’d ever seen.

This was wonderful, just perfect, he just had to handle one thing though: “Where in the hell did you go!?” He screamed.

“Jesus, no need to scream,” the man said, hanging off one of the straps with one hand while the other ran a finger around the inside of his ear. “I’m right here!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, was I too loud?” The pilot said with faux sympathy. “I meant to say where in the motherfucking shit-piss Christ fuck did you go!?”

“Had to get my shoe,” the man shrugged, pointing at his foot with his free hand, now notably clad in both a dirty, off-white sock and a twin to the raggedy sneaker on his other foot. The pilot gaped at him in absolute shock. The man in the leather jacket flashed him a cocky little half-smile. “Looks like it clobbered one of your buddies on the way down, though. Nailed him pretty hard on the head: I don’t even think he was awake anymore.”

“Oh my God, you’re insane,” the pilot said plainly. “You’re insane, and super-powerful, and I don’t know whether to beg for mercy, thank you for saving my life, or kick you in the jaw.”

“The middle one should suffice for our current predicament.” The man in the leather jacket shrugged. “Might wanna hurry, though: this is where I get off.”

“Okay, uh…” Uris searched for something to send this strange, obviously-powerful, hopefully-benevolent being off with. Eventually, he realized he just had to go with what the guy had suggested and stick with it: “Thanks.”

“No prob,” the man said. “But before I go, I need to make sure all the pieces aren’t made aware of the players’ motions.”

“What?”

“I dunno: it sounded like something my brother would say and I wanted to give it a try. Whaddya think: too vague?”

Uris hunched his eyebrows and stared as the man clambered up to eye-level with him, arms hooked in the shoulder straps. “Eh, probably. Whatever. It’s just something I wanna give a try,” the man sighed, looking away absentmindedly.

“What in the hell are you…”

Then the man smashed his forehead against the pilot’s own, and everything went dark, simple as that.

Uris’s mouth gaped open. His arm levelled out in front of him, jabbing into Michael’s chest, right into the metal teeth of the zipper holding the leather jacket to his body. The pilot’s throat made a high-pitched, raspy sort of squeak, like a broken valve on a scuba tank.

“Airman?” Swarm shifted uncomfortably around the finger. “Seriously, couldja stop? You’re goin’ all Invasion of the Body Snatchers on me.”

“YOU!” The pilot announced.

“ME!” Michael replied, arms spreading out as if he were taking his final bows in a play.

“You did it! You downed my fucking chopper! You’re the one who did all of this!” The pilot screamed frantically, like a madman trying to convince the world that the lizard-people were, in fact, taking over.

“Yep!” Michael replied cheerily, taking a few steps back to clear the finger away from his chest. With a deft little twirl, he pulled his cigarette lighter and the never-ending box of smokes out of his pocket, nonchalantly lighting up as the pilot’s jaw wavered up and down, the high-pitched, squeaky sound still emitting from his throat.

“Hu-wha-ah…” he started, his brain misfiring in an attempt to simultaneously process the newly-reformed memory, decide whether to strangle the cocky little shit in front of him, or just admit sanity and logic no longer applied and head for the hills, stripping off his uniform and screaming about the mole-people stealing his cottage cheese the entire way.

“Ooh, nice try! Let’s shoot for a fully-formed word this time, eh?” Michael said, repeatedly flicking the lighter in an attempt to light it.

Uris swallowed, his hands clenching and unclenching every few seconds. He took a few, shaky breaths and levelled an icy glare on the man in the leather jacket. “Wh-why?” He finally managed.

“Well, how else was I going to make sure the Element Bearers were safe and sound? I couldn’t just leave them alone with a bunch of nutjobs, after all.” He replied, taking a break from lighting the cigarette to pat the pilot on the head. “And you did quite well, my friend. You performed quite spectacularly indeed.”

“All…all of it…” the past forty-eight hours flashed through the pilot’s mind: waking up in Fluttershy’s cottage, running through the forest with a squad of SS on his tail and the ponies by his side, teleporting to Coltton and beating up that one officer, the ensuing hunt for the Elements, the battle, Ramirez, his father, Miller, Bannon, the dome…all of it…all of it…impossible! It couldn’t be! Nobody could…nobody could…”

“All of it was meant to happen?” He gasped.

Michael smiled warmly as he gave the lighter one last flick, and the flame burst out of its top, glowing warmly and casting little, orange shadows over his face in the morning light. “You can look at it that way, if you choose. Personally, I think that would be wise. Might keep your sanity longer.”

“Y-you’re…” Uris leaned against the wall, still stunned. He shook his head, cradling it in his hands. There was only one thing he could do now, one thing he could possibly do to make it all right: he leaned back against the wall and smiled, letting loose with a few snickers as he looked up at the demigod. “You’re good.” He managed to say.

“Not just good, son,” Michael smiled as he held the cigarette up to the flame, taking a few, quick puffs and blowing a tiny smoke ring. Then, as Uris watched, the demigod took another puff and blew one little jet of smoke, which passed right through the center of the ring in a perfect bullseye. He grinned down at the pilot with a confident little half-smile. “The best.”

“I’m-uh,” the pilot shakily pressed himself to his feet. “I’m gonna go now. Should probably say goodbye to the ponies and everything.”

The cocky little smile faded off Michael’s face, a few wisps of smoke still curling around his features. “Yeah, that would be a good idea,” he said, his voice losing a few centuries of its old youth, becoming the rasp of an old man with the weight of all creation on his shoulders.

“You coming?”

“Naww, I need a few minutes to tie up a few loose ends. You go on ahead: I’ll catch up.” The man waved him off, and the pilot, still trembling with existential terror, nodded and stumbled out of the alleyway, disappearing into the large crowd gathering in the streets. Just one white-colored face in a sea of pastel.

The demigod watched for a while, then closed his eyes. “Alright, gang, daddy’s coming to check up on all of you,” he muttered, tilting his head back. He dropped the cigarette and crushed it underfoot, sighing once as he…

Chapter LXIII: When the Walls Come Crashing Down

…opened his eyes, leaning forward on the park bench and allowing the simulated sun to warm his face. His hive-mind’s reconstruction was going well, its inhabitants quickly rebuilding the city they were familiar with. Already, skyscrapers rose up all around his little park, and a few birds flitted through the air over his head, tweeting happily. The illusion broke every now and again when a squirrel suddenly jerked back and forth like a CD caught in a loop, or a raccoon freaked out and phased right through a tree while shivering violently, and the dark skies surrounding the false sun still hadn’t been recolored to their usual blue, but he still felt a certain sense of pride at how quickly his people had recovered. He was just starting to consider looking for a sidewalk cart for something cheap and greasy when Sergeant Malone walked up to him and saluted.

“Cops…soldiers…” Michael sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. “What is with you guys and salutes? I swear, it’s like an OCD ritual!”

“Force a’ habit,” the cop shrugged. “He’s been calling for ya, you know. Says he wants to talk.”

“I know,” Michael grimaced. “I’ve just been trying to think of something I wanna say to him.”

The cop grinned knowingly, a little row of white appearing just under his bushy mustache. “Nothin’ more American than puttin’ off something nasty ‘til ya absolutely hafta do it, sir.”

Michael grinned back, face still turned upwards. “You all know me way too well.”

“With all due respect, sir, we ARE you,” Malone motioned to the greatest of the skyscrapers around the park: the Empire State Building, its characteristic spire punching up into the pitch black skies over their heads, looming their like a titan in some ancient myth, made of steel and glass instead of flesh and bone. “After you, sir.”

With a drawn-out, melodramatic sigh, Michael pushed himself to his feet, ambling as slowly as he could to the tower’s double-doors, pushing past them into a vacant lobby. His sneakers squeaked on the well-polished tile as he walked past the vacant receptionist’s desk and towards the elevator banks. After that, it was a quick trip to the underground bunker serving as his son’s prison, the cell behind a layer of concrete bricks, and sealed off by a massive steel door with a tiny slot in its middle. The door in turn was flanked by a couple of automatons in full military gear, armed with enough weaponry to put a small nation’s army to shame and supervised by a couple of humans, being handled for now by that survivalist teen from Florida and that one grumpy college student from Michigan (of course he knew their names, but for some reason, he preferred to remember people by their characteristic traits).

The teen’s eyes never strayed from the door, a glare usually reserved for the darkest of creatures in all of reality on his face as he sharpened the Colima machete in his hands. The kid had barely moved since learning what had nearly happened to the little cartoon land of magical talking ponies at the fallen demigod’s hands, and frankly, Michael couldn’t blame him. Next to him, the student calmly tapped away at a laptop balanced in his crossed legs, shifting every now and again to reveal the tell-tale shape of a switchblade clipped to his leg. The demigod winced at the scraping sounds of the machete running through the sharpener as he approached the student. “Jeez, doesn’t that bother you?” He asked.

“I find its repetition and consistency soothing, not too unlike the rain on a rooftop or the ocean waves crashing across a beach,” the student replied without looking up from his screen.

Swarm smiled and shook his head as he walked past the pair, waltzing right up between the automatons and sliding the little slot in the door’s middle open. Immediately, the sounds of the machete sharpening stopped. Swarm could feel all eyes in the room focus on his back. New sounds rushed to replace the sharpening: a hand tightening around the machete’s plastic handle, the ruffle of denim as the student shifted to move his switchblade closer to his hands, the snap of the holster on Malone’s belt coming undone, and finally, Mars’ voice from the darkness within the cell: “Daddy dearest!”

Michael, along with everyone else in the room, grimaced, the corner of his lip twitching downwards ever-so-slightly. “Hello, Mars.”

“Ooh, Daddy, what’s wrong now? Aren’t I your little Marsy?” The voice cackled.

“Not anymore,” Michael hissed. “Not after what you did.”

“Don’t lie, Daddy,” Mars’s face suddenly appeared in the slat, grinning back at them all. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“You should know this is only temporary until we can work something out for you on the surface,” Michael replied, completely unshaken. “We’ll get you an apartment once you prove you can behave yourself as one of my guests.”

“Oh yes, one of your ever-so-obedient ‘guests’,” those cold, blue eyes regarded the trio of humans standing behind his father with all the respect of a housewife finding an anthill under her kitchen’s sink. “I’m sure you’ve already got plans to turn me into another one of your little pets.”

The teen’s knuckles turned white around the machete’s handle, but the grin only grew wider. “You might want to tell your little dog there to calm down,” Mars said. “It probably won’t do any good: too much of the Balkans in that one. Still, it would be the polite thing to do.”

The teen’s eyes blazed, partially from surprise at Mars having such an intimate knowledge of his heritage, mostly from plain old rage.

“Jesus Christ, you’re racist too?” The student snapped suddenly, his eyes finally leaving the laptop screen. “Do you have any redeeming qualities at all!?”

A tense silence filled the air, during which the student reached for his switchblade. “Fucker, did you hear me? I said…”

“Of course I heard you! I just have nothing to say to your kind, mutt.” Mars turned away from the slat, slinking into the shadows of his cell and muttering to himself, “…Slavic father…Aryan whore of a mother…I swear, in my world they’d all be put out of their misery…”

The student’s eyes ignited as his fingers wrapped around the knife’s handle, but he was a heartbeat slower than the teen, who stood and whipped a kunai throwing dagger at the slat with a little flick of the wrist, so fast one could hardly see it. Unfortunately, Mars’s hand rushed back into the light to snatch the blade from mid-air and whip it back out. The teen didn’t have time to react, to even consider the possibility that such a thing could happen, when Michael’s hand darted up and grabbed the blade from mid-air, halting it just before it could whistle past his ear. Glaring at the slat with a look that could curdle milk, the teen reached out and accepted the weapon from the man in the leather jacket, pulling it right out from between the demigod’s fingers. “Thanks,” he muttered, speaking for the first time that day.

“No problem,” Michael replied as the fallen demigod’s laughter filled the air, flowing from the slat in the wall and flooding the room.

“Please don’t tell me you’re that easily entertained,” the student jabbed, returning the switchblade to its place hidden on his leg. “What, do you really get your kicks off of acting like a big bully to the poor, weak, widdle hoo-mans?”

“No, no, not at all,” Mars gasped as his cackles bounced off the walls and rolled around all their heads. “Pathetic as they were, your actions just reminded me of a joke my dear ol’ dad told me once.”

“What joke?” Michael asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Dontcha remember? It was right after that American Lieutenant got himself blown to smithereens with that ever-so-heroic move to save his men: the one in the Humvee?” Mars managed to control his laughter enough to talk evenly, his eyes never breaking contact with Michael’s as he mimicked his father’s voice perfectly: “ ‘Not one more soul, Mars, you hear me? Not one more,’ those were your exact words, weren’t they?”

All trace of emotion fled Swarm’s face. “Yes. Yes they were.”

“Such a very funny joke,” the laughter rose to near hysteric levels. “I mean, how many more of your men died not even an hour after you said that? Ten? Twenty? A hundred?”

The laughter rose to a fever pitch as Swarm threw the slat shut and locked it with a metallic clang that reverberated through the air. Breathing heavily, he turned back to the trio of humans, all keeping their eyes on him, looks of concern on their faces. “Just say da word, sir,” Malone said with a wide grin beneath his mustache, smacking a fist into the palm of one hand. “I’ll hold ‘im, and you punch.”

Swarm just stood there, glaring at nothing for a few minutes, breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling with each breath. Finally, he sighed, straightening his hair and adjusting his jacket. “Naw, too easy. Might be counterproductive for what I wanna do here.”

“Mr. Swarm, sir?” The college student asked with his hand raised, like a little boy in Elementary school. “What is it that you wanna do here? With that…thing, I mean.”

Michael took another few breaths, but this time his shoulders rose as if they were fighting the greatest weight in the world, his eyes glazing over with a look that just appeared so tired, like he’d aged a few centuries in the past few days. “I dunno,” he mumbled, walking back towards the elevator. “I dunno. Malone?”

“Yeah, I just came down here t’see if these boys wanted t’get some air,” the cop shrugged, turning to the pair as he quickly redid the clasp on his holster.

“I’m good,” the teen said, returning to the position he’d started in: glaring at the door, sharpening his machete, legs crossed.

“I have a laptop with MS Word and a wi-fi connection,” the student shrugged, also returning to his original position. “What more do I need?”

The cop just rolled his eyes and shook his head as he turned to join Swarm in the elevator. “Kids these days…” he grumbled as the doors slid shut and the car began its journey back up in silence.

Stepping off into the lobby, the human turned in confusion when he realized Swarm wasn’t beside him. “Sir?”

“Go on ahead Malone, I wanna visit our other new guest; see how he’s settling in.”

“Ah,” the cop nodded solemnly and proceeded out the skyscraper’s doors. “Good luck wit dat.”

Sighing as the doors slid shut; Swarm reached out his pinkie and applied an exact and precise amount of pressure to the button he desired, signaling he was alone to the mechanisms within the shaft. With no humans in the car, there was no reason for it to maintain its usual speed. Now, the elevator rocketed upwards, slamming into Mach 2 before stopping abruptly at the penthouse level. The doors slid open, and Michael stepped through a front hallway into a lavish living room, complete with a pair of Lay-Z-Boy chairs and a massive home theatre.

“Hello?” He asked as he stepped carefully over the carpeted floor. “Anyone in?”

A shift in the room’s temperature emanated from the potted plant by the window behind him. There was a sudden increase in air pressure levels from the same area consistent with a human’s rising pulse and respiration, coupled with a surge in electrical activity in the shape of a human’s natural electromagnetic field during rising brain activity. Smiling knowingly, he waited until the last second before whipping around, his hand immediately knocking into his assailant’s wrist and sending the kitchen knife clenched in it flying across the room while his other hand immediately wrapped around his throat.

“Goddammit! Thought I had ya!” The assailant screamed.

Swarm just smiled warmly and released the man. “And a good hello to you too, Mr. Ramirez.”

The SEAL just smiled and shook his head, stooping to pick up the knife and walk back to the kitchen with it. He seemed almost out of place in a t-shirt and jeans instead of his uniform, but the crew cut still present on his head and the way he carried his massive frame still reeked of the military life. “Nice to see you again, sir,” he called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, meant to visit earlier, but I got hung up on all sorts of shit upstairs,” Michael replied, quickly lighting up a cigarette.

The SEAL cringed at the sound of the lighter igniting. “Could you not?”

Michael deadpanned. “You’re really concerned about smoke in here?”

“Right, right, different rules,” the SEAL laughed. “Sorry, I keep forgetting that the old rules don’t really apply in this…hive…mind…thing.”

“You’ll get used to it, don’t worry. Just wanted to check up on ya, make sure you were settlin’ in alright.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ramirez shrugged. “I’ll be better once they get the sky back up and the trees stop fazing in and outta existence.”

“They’re working on it, but there’s always gonna be bugs in the first version. Really, just wanted to see how you were adjusting to…” Swarm held on to that last ‘ooh’ sound, letting it drag through the air in a very bad attempt at a distraction.

“…to not having a body?” Ramirez asked, finally putting the ‘to’ out of its misery.

“Yeah, thanks,” Swarm sighed with relief. “Well, not a physical body, I mean.”

“S’alright. Once you get used to the ideas and basic rules around here, it’s kinda nice. No pain if you don’t want it. No hunger. No thirst. And it’s a lot more private than I thought it’d be,” he smiled. “Plus, I still get to serve my country. How many dead soldiers can say that?”

Swarm winced. “Technically, you’re not dead, you know.”

“I saw my body, Swarm. I’m dead.” Ramirez replied, his voice strangely devoid of emotion as he pulled an ice-cold beer and a tub of guacamole from the fridge. “You just interrupted my soul on the way out, is all.”

“Soul. Maybe…” Swarm mused, scratching his chin in thought. Then he slapped himself, trying to remain focused. “Look, Ramirez, there’s something else I can offer you. Something else most dead men don’t get.”

Ramirez paused and sighed, popping the cap off his beer and grabbing a bag of chips from off the top of his microwave. “I figured as much. Had a lotta time to think in here while everyone else was setting up.”

Swarm nodded. “You can say goodbye. It’d be easy. I can assume your form, and you just follow me up into the conscious levels and tell me what to say. Everyone’s gathered together and sayin’ their goodbyes right now anyway, so I’d just need a couple minutes to…”

“Stop right there,” the SEAL held up a hand. “Like I said, I thought about it.”

Michael arched an eyebrow and leaned against the wall, eyeing Ramirez with interest. “And?”

“No.”

“Mind tellin’ me why?”

“Don’t front: you already know.”

“I wanna hear it in your own words.”

Ramirez looked the demigod over and took a nice, long sip off his beer, letting his breath out slowly as he lowered the bottle, trying to organize his thoughts into something coherent. “I think…that…it wouldn’t be good for them. Any of them. Might give them hope they might see me again.”

“They actually might, though.” Michael said, his other eyebrow joining its twin up by his hairline.

“Prolly not though, right? Naw. Staying dead is better, rather than have all those people hopin’ and pinin’ after me.” He took another sip from his beer.

“You’re not dead, though.”

“I’m close enough where poppin’ up in front of everyone will just open up some wounds that should be left alone to heal.” Ramirez shook his head and plopped down on one of the Lay-Z-Boys, reaching for the remote to his projection TV.

Swarm stared at the back of the human’s head for a while, just watching him as a recording of a football game (not from his version of Earth, but close enough to be enjoyable) played out. Right as the Peking Tigers gained a few yards on the Tokyo Hellhounds, Swarm sighed. “You’re a good man, Ramirez.”

“Yeah! Never thought I’d see the day where I’d enjoy watchin’…I’m sorry, what?” The SEAL asked.

“I said you’re a good man,” Swarm clarified, making himself heard over the roar of the crowd on the TV.

“Oh,” Ramirez promptly turned back to the screen, seemingly uninterested in continuing the conversation. “Thanks.”

“I mean it, you’re a good man. Better than I deserve,” Michael tapped a few ashes out on his cigarette as he spoke.

The SEAL looked away from the screen, pressing the mute button as he turned to the demigod. “There…uh…something you wanna talk about, sir?”

“Naw,” suddenly, that self-assured smile reappeared on Michael’s face. “Just payin’ you a compliment is all! Take it in stride!”

“Yeah,” one look told Ramirez that Michael’s words were far more than a compliment, but the demigod’s sudden distance meant it probably wouldn’t be wise to poke at it. “Okay, well, see ya then.”

“Take care.” Michael mumbled as he walked back into the elevator. The smile disappeared the moment the SEAL’s attention was back on the television, the demigod watching as Ramirez let out another cheer in time with the crowd on his screen.

“And…I’m sorry…” he mumbled just as the doors glided shut and the elevator began its final journey upwards, this time aimed at the light of consciousness glowing at the heart of this little, non-existent world. He took a few more drags off his cigarette, trying to relax, only to grimace and punch the emergency stop button. Immediately, the car halted right in the sky, high above his world, where he would just be a barely-noticeable speck in the blackness. Taking a few more drags, he breathed heavily, trying to relax. It still wasn’t working. His hand clenched into a fist as he leaned against the wall, trembling. Tears brimmed in his eyes as his breathing grew heavier and faster, turning into hyperventilating.

I mean, how many more of your men died not even an hour after you said that? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? His son’s voice cackled in his head.

“Wah-wah-wahn…” Michael blubbered, his cheeks wet with tears, the cigarette falling from his fingers. “Wah-one-hundred and fuf-fifty-suh-seven…”

That was it. The walls came crashing down. Michael fell to his knees, his hands clenching at the linoleum as he bawled, his throat constricting so hard all he could manage was a barely audible squeak as his body heaved with sobs. Finally, his throat opened enough to allow him to scream: “I’M SORRY!”

He curled up into a fetal position in the corner of the car, sobbing the words over and over again, as if they were a magical incantation that could reverse the past few days and bring the dead back to life. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Oh my God, please, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m…oh my God…oh my God…why!? Oh my…”

Author's Note

Just BTW, I've got a commission for drawing the characters in this story out on my DA profile!

Chapter LXIV: Gone

“Mister?”

The demigod’s eyes slid open. A little filly with a pink coat and a cutie mark of a heart crossed with a pen and pencil stared back up at him with a pair of big, blue eyes. “Yeah?” Michael asked, still trying to decipher what the mark meant. Romance novelist, maybe? Shipfic writer?

“Are you okay?” She asked, big, adorable eyes gazing up into his own.

“’Course I am, kid. Why do ya ask?”

“It’s just that…you’re crying, mister.”

“What?” Michael felt his cheeks with his fingertips, realizing they were wet. “Oh. Allergies.”

“You sure?” She arched an eyebrow at him, not quite buying his explanation.

“Yeah. Run along now, go say goodbye to the other humans.”

“O-okay,” the filly sighed and trotted away dejectedly. Michael once again lit up a cigarette, not even stopping to consider the metaphysical ramifications of second-hand smoke in his subconscious versus reality. He just really, really wanted a nicotine fix right then.

In front of him, the ponies of Coltton had all gathered in the town square to bid the humans farewell, every one of them apparently wishing to give Uris and his father a hug before the final goodbye. Some had even bought snacks and baked goods for the trip. And, as they had been since the night before, the Elements of Harmony stood at their side, each doing an excellent job at disguising the fact that they wanted to break down in tears right then and there.

Sighing, the demigod waded through the crowd towards his brother, standing with the Princesses just behind the eight, watching as each pony took a turn to whisper a quick farewell and leave a quick kiss on each man’s cheek or drop off a basket of goodies. Chen nodded in acknowledgement as Michael approached.

“Have a nice nap, brother?” The man in the business suit asked.

“Yeah, real restful,” Michael murmured as the last of the ponies presented their gifts and left. “Where’s the married ones?”

“Shining Armor and Cadence have chosen to spend some time together, before…” Celestia trailed off.

“Before this,” Michael grimaced, his stomach twisting as the humans turned to the Elements of Harmony. This was going to be the most difficult part.

“Guys…” Twilight said, tears brimming in her eyes once again.

“Hey now, we’ve had enough of that,” Uris said, trying to smile as he wiped at her face, though it was painfully obvious he was on the verge of tears himself.

“Just…try not to get killed out there, okay?” Dash said, pulling Vance in for a hug.

“And do try to…stay in touch…” Rarity started, only to realize how impossible that would be.

“Just…yeah…” Applejack muttered awkwardly, squeezing in a quick nuzzle with the pilot.

“And don’t forget to smile. Ever.” Pinkie said softly, pulling out a pair of noisemakers and sticking them in each of the humans’ mouths.

“How could we when we have memories of you?” Uris asked. Surprisingly, his father didn’t cringe at his son’s corniness, and in fact nodded in acknowledgement. At least someone would remember the events of the past few days.

“And then there was one,” Michael sighed, focusing in on Fluttershy as the little pegasus stood off to the side. Squeaking, her eyes behind her rosette mane, she backed up a few steps.

“Fluttershy…” Uris started after her, but his father stopped him.

“We gotta go, son. I’m sorry, but it’s time.”

After a few moments, the pilot’s hand dropped, followed by his eyes. “Yeah, I know,” he sighed, trudging dejectedly to the five demigods standing behind them. The brothers and the sisters peered back at the pair.

“Just one poof, and you’ll be back in Langley,” Michael said reassuringly. “This won’t hurt a bit.”

Uris’s eyes rose to meet the demigod’s shimmering in the dim, post-dawn light. “But it already does.”

Michael’s face fell. “I know,” he said. Snapping his fingers, a green hue appeared around the pair. The two clenched hands as father and son and held their breath, as if they were about to plunge into an ice-cold river. A hum filled the air and everypony shielded their eyes. The humans’ eyes closed, bracing themselves for the journey, as quick as it would be.

Suddenly, a gentle voice rose over the crowd. “WAIT!” Everything froze in an instant, the hum stopping. The pair was still surrounded in green light, but now they looked back as a little yellow pegasus galloped up to them. Breathing heavily, she peered up at Uris as a single tear traced down her cheek.

“Fluttershy?” He asked.

In an instant, she hovered up to his face and wrapped her hooves gently around his head, planting a small kiss right in the middle of his forehead. It was the most gentle thing he’d ever felt: like a butterfly landing on his skin. Uris balked, eyes widening as he looked back at her. She smiled warmly. “Thank you.” She whispered.

Tears of joy and relief cascading down his face, the pilot regained his composure and, together with Vance, saluted the ponies. “It’s what we’re here for, ma’am,” he said, and then, in a flash of green, he was gone. The air still buzzed with the remnants of energy, but that was all that remained. Now, it was just the two brothers and the Princesses standing there. Fluttershy took a few steps back, her eyes behind her mane once again. Her friends all embraced her, huddling in close in preparation for what was to come. Around them, the crowd slowly began to dissipate, everypony returning to their lives as best as they could.

“Welp,” Michael said, stepping forward. “My mama always taught me not t’overstay my welcome.”

The few ponies left let out a few little giggles as he smiled at them. “Thanks for the hospitality, y’all,” he turned to his brother. “You ready?”

“Always,” Chen whispered. “We just need…”

“Wait!” Another voice cried out. All eyes turned in surprise as a certain blue unicorn made her way through the parting crowd, followed by a pale-yellow stallion with red hair.

“Trixie?” Twilight asked in surprise as the magician popped up right in front of the man in the leather jacket. The mare gazed up at him, an indecipherable look in her eyes.

“Oh,” Michael said, eyes widening. “It’s you.”

“You two know each other!?” Twilight gasped.

“Yes, it’s Trixie,” the blue unicorn replied, ignoring her. “Trixie never got to thank you for helping her in her time of need.”

“Oh, well, no problem.” Michael shrugged, still concerned about where this was going.

Without warning, Trixie suddenly launched herself at the man in the leather jacket, tackling him to the ground before closing her eyes and pressing her lips to his in a kiss. Pulling back in complete surprise, Michael looked back at her. “That was for being there to explain things when Trixie woke up.” She whispered as the yellow unicorn glared at them.

“Oh wow,” Michael said, eyes wide as he looked at all the shocked faces around him. Grinning, he decided to play it off and turned to his brother. “Y’know, they ain’t such bad kissers once you get past the taste of hayseed…”

“And this!” She promptly followed up by lifting her rear hooves and bringing them down again in a powerful buck to his groin. The man in the leather jacket screeched, his voice climbing a few octaves as he curled up in a little ball of pain, trying very hard not to cry.

“That was for leaving immediately after!” She harrumphed as she climbed off his body and trotted away to join the rest of the ponies, nose held high. “Come along, Sethy!”

“Yes, Trixie!” The yellow unicorn said, smiling as he followed her out. After a few minutes, Chen’s laughter burst out and rolled over the empty square as he watched his brother clench his manhood, still curled up in pain. Each of the mares surrounding them, meanwhile, just looked away, stifling snickers.

“Think she’s still a bit angry about you leaving her alone in her tower?” He chortled just as Michael pressed himself to his feet.

“Fuck you…aw God, I think she kicked my balls into my ribcage,” Michael groaned, one hand still on his testicles. “Gawd, can we just leave now?”

“I’m afraid we still must wait for Dietrich,” Chen replied.

“Oh yeah, almost forgot he was here too,” Michael scratched his chin. “What’s he been up to?”

“I had a special request for him to check on the Changeling Badlands,” Celestia replied, calming herself. “I had a feeling he might be needed there.”

Chen arched an eyebrow. “But the changelings are your enemy, are they not?”

“That doesn’t mean I should abandon their entire people to utter destruction,” she replied nonchalantly.

“Princess,” Chen started, smiling. “You are…”

“Oh look, speak of the devil!” Michael said, gazing up at a tiny, black dot in the sky. Everypony looked upwards as a green flash appeared in the blue above their heads, followed up by a blonde man in a tuxedo appearing before them. No one even reacted as he stood up to his full, imposing height.

“Dietrich, brother, how have you been?” Chen asked, extending a hand to the man in the tux.

“Fine, fine…” Dietrich replied, his eyes remaining on the sky as he absentmindedly took his brother’s hand. “How’ve you all been?”

Michael recognized the look on his brother’s face immediately. “Oh my God,” he grinned, eyes lighting up with nearly childish glee. “Oh my God, who’d you fuck?”

“WHAT!?” The ponies all gasped simultaneously.

Chen looked his brother over and sniffed a few times. “Testosterone and…shame. For heaven’s sake, Dietrich! Can you not go one week without a decent lay!?”

“Look, I’d love to discuss zis,” the blonde replied, eyes searching the blue above them. “But right now we…”

“DIETRICH!” A multi-layered, yet still effeminate, voice roared from above. It sent a shiver of recognition racing down everypony’s spine.

“Eh, shit,” the blonde said, a dark cloud gathering above them all. He turned to his brothers. “C’mon, c’mon! No use hanging here why don’t we go RIGHT FUCKING NOW!?”

“Oh, no way,” Michael said, shaking his head at his brother.

“You really have no shame, do you?” Chen asked as the cloud thickened.

Queen Chrysalis reared over each and every one of their heads, her swarm at her back. She snarled at the creatures below and descended, her hooves cracking the cobblestone as she landed with her swarm right behind her. She hissed with rage, her demonic, snake-like eyes locking on the blonde.

“Girls!” Celestia commanded, her wings splaying out behind her. “Gather yourselves, prepare for…”

“YOU SAID YOU LOVED ME, YOU BASTARD!” The queen of the changelings screamed, ignoring the Princess and focusing her slit-shaped pupils on the blonde.

“Guys, right now, please!?” Dietrich screamed.

“Oh sure, I…oh darn,” the man in the leather jacket smiled mischievously at the man in the tuxedo. “Looks like I done used all my power on teleporting the humans. Guess we’ll hafta wait for me to charge.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Dietrich murmured as the jilted queen rushed them.

“Chrysalis, I know not why you are here, but…” Celestia began, only to pause when the changeling rocketed right by her, a screaming blur of black and green slamming against the man in the tuxedo.

“YOU! SAID! YOU! LOVED! ME!” She screamed, hoof-stomping him over and over again.

“Chryssie…baby…I can…” he gasped before her fangs closed around his arm, followed by a hoof-stomp to the head. He howled in pain as the queen laid down an unholy beatdown, the ponies staring blankly at the pair.

“What - what is going on?” Twilight asked.

“It’s better if you do not know,” Chen grumbled.

“Think this time he’ll actually learn his lesson?” Michael asked.

“Most certainly not. It is his nature, after all.” Chen replied.

“Yeah,” Michael rolled his eyes, checking the clock tower in the square. “Well, I think that’s enough.” With a snap of his fingers, the man in the tuxedo disappeared in a flash of green, leaving Chrysalis to stomp her hole-filled hooves against the suddenly-vacant cobblestone. Sniffling in rage, she promptly took to the skies, her swarm still close behind. Not once did she even acknowledge the ponies in the square with her.

“That was…interesting…” Celestia said.

“It was,” Chen replied, turning to the man in the leather jacket. “Brother?”

“One second,” Michael raised a finger before turning to the ponies. They all watched, confused, as the demigod scooped the Element of Laughter up in his arms and pressed a finger to her forehead.

Instantly, her eyes lost all color. Her tone became neutral and robotic as she looked up at him. “Recorder Six-Zero-Five-Nine, reporting in.” She said.

“Commence upload.”

“Upload initiated,” she hummed for a few seconds, her eyes holding that strange, blank look.

“Pinkie?” Twilight asked, furrowing her brow in concern.

“Upload to Quantum Server XQ57 complete. Would you like to perform some other action?” She replied.

“No,” the man in the leather jacket stated firmly.

“Acknowledged. Entering hibernation mode.” Pinkie hummed for a few seconds more before the light reentered her eyes, pupils swelling back to their normal, massive size.

She stretched, yawned, and scratched herself, turning in the demigod’s grasp to see her friends standing just behind her. “Oh, hey guys,” she smiled contentedly and looked up, her eyes widening at the sight of Michael.

“Hello, my little pony,” he smiled.

Her jaw dropped. “RARITY!” She gasped, springing from his grasp.

“Me again, why is it always me?” The alabaster unicorn asked before the party pony’s pink form smashed onto her body.

“AAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE….”

“Michael?” Celestia asked, motioning to the screaming mare. “Care to explain?”

“Oh, I like to record most of my endeavors for posterity’s sake, so I often choose a random being in the universe I am traveling in to act as a recorder of sorts,” he shrugged. “Of course, it helps if said being is already talented in using the psychic arts.”

“You used one of my little ponies as a camera?” Celestia frowned.

“It’s not like there are any side-effects!” He said defensively. “Except for the amplification of latent psychic abilities and memory loss after the data is uploaded to one of my servers, of course.”

“Amplification of…oh, Pinkie sense,” Twilight said, smiling in realization. “That explains a lot, actually.”

“AAAAIIIIIIII – you do realize you could avoid that if you simply rerouted the recording circuitry through the occipital lobe rather than the temporal, right?” Pinkie asked, giving Rarity’s long-suffering eardrums a break.

“What?”

“IT TALKED TO ME! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…”

“And on that note,” Michael swooped in, planted a kiss on Luna’s hoof, and saluted before disappearing in a flash of green.

“And everyone leaves in the most stereotypical manner possible,” Chen laughed as he took a step towards Celestia. She immediately cringed and took a few, tiny steps back. His smile fell from his face. “Princess,” he said with a curt, simple bow.

“Swarm,” she sighed, nodding with respect, but waving him off with her hoof. He was gone an instant later. All evidence that humanity had ever been in Equestria was now gone, barring a few scattered craters and the memories they shared. Soon, even the latter would be banished from existence, deleted like so much trash on someone’s laptop.

The mood plummeted. Twilight sniffled, her lower lip quivering. It was time. God help them all, but it was time. The Princesses looked upon the group with pity in their eyes while the friends embraced. “Bu-but…I don’t want to forget.” Celestia’s protégé cried, her grip tightening on the nearest pony.

“It’s for the best,” Luna said, successfully hiding the fact that her heart was rending in two.

“Don’t worry my little ponies: I will remember for all of you.” Celestia said, knowing full well that this would be little comfort.

Shivering together, the ponies all looked one another in the eye. “A-at least we’ll be doing it together.” Fluttershy pointed out.

Quite suddenly, the shivering eased off in everypony. The friends all smiled at one another. “Yeah,” Twilight said, her eyes lighting up behind the tears.

“And hey, if you’ve got your friends with you…” Rainbow said.

“…there to help you face anything you might need to…” Rarity said.

“…then what’s there to be scared of?” Applejack finished. Though tears still soaked their cheeks, the friends embraced again, peaceful little smiles on each of their muzzles. Celestia’s lips quivered as she visibly strained to keep the confident smile on her face, tears just starting to well in the monarch’s eyes. With a final nod from Twilight, the Princesses joined their horns together.

There was an instant flare of magic, a whirlwind of blue and yellow energy encircling the Alicorns’ horns. The air crackled with power as the sisters rose from their hooves engulfed in a bright light. Then, the light burst outwards as a brilliant wall of energy, engulfing the planet, and then it was finally and truly over. The memories, the heartache, the love, the fear of the past few days, all swept away by the spell like a wave crashing against a sandcastle.

The Princesses returned to their hooves and trotted over to the unconscious forms of the Elements of Harmony. Luna began to reach a hoof out to touch Twilight’s shoulder, but Celestia blocked her. “The spell is just rewriting their memories to coincide with a dragon attack,” the Princess of Day sighed. “It takes time, that’s all.”

“We understand,” Luna nodded, dutifully scooping the six up in her magic. “Come: let’s get them back to Ponyville, or we’ll have to rewrite their memories again.”

“Luna.”

“Then we’ve still got to get back here and track down Shining Armor and Cadence, prepare the cover story for the papers, look for any stray bulletholes we might have missed…”

“Luna.”

“And then we think we should take a vacation, dear sister: both of us. How does Saddle Arabia sound? I hear the beaches are lovely this time of…”

“Lulu,” Celestia rested a hoof on her sister’s shoulder, causing the Princess of Night to pause and turn to her. The Princess of Day’s eyes were glistening with tears. “It’s okay. We have plenty of time. Nopony will see.”

“Oh, I see.” In a flash, Luna’s face twisted into a mask of pain. Celestia instantly wrapped her in a hug just as the beginning of sobs began to wrack the night-blue Alicorn’s body. “It’s not fair, Tia! It’s not fair!”

“I know, I know, but it’s the only way,” Celestia sobbed, her tears wetting her sister’s ethereal, blue mane.

“To be cut-off forever!? Not even able to write!? After all they went through together!?”

Celestia gave pause, her massive, tear-streaked eyes widening. Her sister noticed her sudden lack of sobs and pulled away, looking her over. “Tia?”

“Actually, Luna, you’ve just given me the most wonderful idea,” the Princess of Day replied, a genuine smile crossing her lips for the first time in days.

Author's Note

Trixie is talking about another story in my canon here. It's an older fic of mine, but it should be a quick read.

Chapter LXV: Wrapping Up

“And so ends another chapter in the Chronicles,” Michael hummed, looking over every line of data in the server before returning it to its place, hidden in a pocket of subspace behind the nether. He cracked his neck and turned to his brother, the man in the business suit gazing over the large, pink orb before him, occasionally tapping his fingers to some near-invisible chink in its armor. “How’s that coming?”

“Almost…there. A job well done, if I do say so myself,” Chen beamed with pride, standing back from the orb. “That should keep the veil around Equestria whole, just like when we arrived! Though we should check in every once in a little while, just to be sure.”

“Yeah, just to be sure,” Michael sighed, taking a seat in the cosmic dust gathering around their feet. Chen turned from his work on the veil around Equestria and rested a hand on his brother’s shoulder, trying to smile reassuringly.

“We did the best we could.” The man in the business suit said.

“But was it enough? After all the lives we destroyed and lost, was it enough?”

“We didn’t destroy anything,” Chen replied coldly. “It was Mars. He’s the one who dared bring our war to this world.”

“Yes, but we’re the ones who didn’t even realize there WAS a war until barely a week ago! And we just now figured out it was him! I mean, he’s my son, dammit! There must’ve been some sign we missed, something to warn us about this…darkness brewing within him…” the demigod trailed off, eyes lowering as he fought back the craving for another goddamned cigarette.

Chen wrapped his brother in a hug, smiling as the other demigod stiffened in his grip. The man still wasn’t comfortable with ‘dudes hugging it out,’ as he called it. “Even if there was some sign, would you really have believed it was him before seeing him at the head of that army?”

Michael sighed shakily, cursing himself for devolving into this shaking, jittery mess of a man.

“Of course you wouldn’t. The Princess told me what happened during your first encounter outside Coltton. Even seeing him in that uniform with that army at his back wasn’t enough for you; it took Bannon’s disembodied head for you to realize just how far he’d fallen.”

“I’m an idiot,” Michael grumbled. “It was right in front of me, and even then he had to literally shove it in my face for me to realize what was going on.”

“No, you’re just loving,” Chen smiled, straightening himself up. “Mars was…IS your son. I doubt there is anything that could change that.”

“Maybe,” Michael replied as a strange tapping sound approached. A smile crossed his lips as he pulled free of Chen’s grip. “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.” He cooed.

Dietrich limped towards the pair, his usually perfectly-pressed tux in tatters over his body and the darkest of glares on his face as he approached, cradling one arm in his hand.

“Brother!” Chen said with a smart little smile. “Whatever happened to you? You look like you tried to hop in bed with a sun goddess!”

“Close, but not quite,” Dietrich grimaced. “Did you two want to take much longer in getting me out of zere!?”

“Yes, actually; but we were overstaying our welcome as it was,” Michael replied, waggling a fingertip in his European counterpart’s face. “Seriously man, the fuck is wrong with you!? Sleeping with a pony!?”

“CHANGELING, not pony, zere is a difference,” the blonde replied, absentmindedly popping his elbow back into place with a loud crack.

“Oh?” The American folded his arms. “And what, pray tell, would that be?”

“Ponies can’t transform zemselves into perfect copies of golden-era Marilyn Monroe.” He replied plainly.

Michael opened his mouth as if to say something, and then closed it again, his extended finger traveling to his chin in thought. After a few moments, he shrugged. “Welp, can’t say I’ve got an argument against that.”

“You’re taking his side on this!?” Chen gasped indignantly.

“Hey! All rules about dealing with native populations aside, it’s Marilyn-freakin’-Monroe.”

“Bah,” Chen waved the pair off in disgust. “Westerners and their cocks.”

Mimicking his brother with a grin on his face, Michael raised one of his hands. “Bah, Easterners and their prudence…”

Suddenly, his Peacemaker fell right out of its holster, slamming hammer-first into the semi-existent floor of the nether and going off. Chen immediately fell, clenching his elbow as blood pooled on his sleeve. “Shénme shì dìyù!” The man in the business suit screamed, teeth clenched in pain as he set about sealing the wound.

“Oh my God, Chen!” Michael gasped, nearly jumping at the sound of his own weapon.

“What the hell, Mikey!?” Dietrich screamed, his rapier appearing in his hand on instinct. “You get into a little spat vith your brother, and you fucking shoot him!?”

“I didn’t mean…Chen!” The man in the leather jacket took a few steps towards his injured brother. “Chen, are you…”

He was interrupted when Dietrich’s rapier blade suddenly twisted into a downwards slash, slicing right through his Achilles tendon. “GODDAMMIT!” Michael screamed, dropping to his knees and clutching at his injured ankle, blood spilling between his fingers.

“Oh my God, Mike! I…I didn’t…it vasn’t me!” Dietrich gasped, sheathing his weapon.

“What in the hell is going on!?” Chen barked as he stepped towards his brothers, still holding his injured elbow at an elevated angle to stem the bleeding and aid his natural healing process. And then something tweaked a nerve in his good arm and sent it flying forward just as a sting in his leg tripped him up. Stumbling wildly, he didn’t notice what was happening until after his knuckles connected with Dietrich’s throat in a perfect clothesline jab.

“Shit! Dietrich!” He yelled as he fought to regain his balance

“Jee-he-zus…” the blonde wheezed, dropping to his knees and spitting up some of the contents of his stomach, one hand wrapped around his Adam’s apple.

“What in the flying dick is going on here!?” Michael screamed, waiting as a spurt of gray goo covered his ankle. “It’s like a ‘Three Stooges’ sketch!”

“If that is ze case,” Dietrich rasped, smiling despite feeling like he’d just swallowed a whole pineapple, skin included. “Then you are Curly.”

“Fuck you, man, I’m Moe. If anything, you’re Curly!”

“Guys, be quiet,” Chen said calmly, looking about. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Just…shhh, listen…” the trio shut their mouths and listened, ears tuned to the sounds of the nether all around them. Not that there were any sounds in the nether. At least, how we know sounds: by definition, there isn’t any air or other medium for them to travel through. However, the group was able to sense the abnormalities in the patterns of cosmic dust and background radiation drifting about, allowing them to sense just about anything within a very good chunk of the nether around them. After a while, the European and the American heard it too: something thin and light whipping about and darting this way and that at horrifying speeds. They recognized it instantly.

“NASREEN!” They all gasped at once.

“Oh shit, oh shit, she’s pissed, did anybody remember to check in with her like she asked!?” Michael gasped, panic rising in his eyes.

“I vas a bit busy to remember,” Dietrich replied sheepishly.

“Oh yeah, busy with what? Chrysalis’s pussy!?” Michael hissed angrily.

“Hey! You do not get to talk about Chrysalis zat way! And besides, she’s more of an ass…” Dietrich said just before a pair of cracks sounded and his rapier lifted itself right out of its sheath, promptly angling downwards to stab him right in the back. “…giiiiirrrRRRRRRRRLLAAAAAAAAAA!”

“Well, I most certainly remembered, because I had my mobile set to vibrate every hour on the hour to remind me to…” Chen drifted off as he felt into his suit’s pockets for the little device, and came up empty-handed. “…ooooooohhhhh that chaotic, prank-loving BASTARD!”

“Okay, Nasreen,” Michael held up his hands for calm as he eased himself to his feet. “Look, you’re pissed, and that’s understandable. But you must know we’d never leave you out of the loop on purpose, right? You must know that all of this is certainly the fault of outside circumstance, and not of our own silly absentmindedness, right?”

His only reply came when a few more little cracks sounded and his M1911 clattered out of its holster, going off the moment it hit the ground. “MYASS!” He screamed, dropping to the ground while blood spread across the seat of his jeans. “SHE SHOT ME IN THE ASS WITH MY OWN FUCKING GUN!”

“Chen! Talk some sense into her! She’s your nutty girlfriend!” Dietrich screamed, only to be met with silence.

“Chen?” Michael asked. The pair looked up in time to see the back of their compatriot’s suit jacket, disappearing into a cloud of cosmic dust.

“Coward! Come back here and face your woman like a man!” Dietrich screamed, shaking his fist after his brother’s fleeing form.

“Oh please, we’d both be right next to him if our legs weren’t disabled,” Michael grunted.

“Ja, true.”

A few more little whips and cracks, and a dark streak rocketed through the nether, landing right in front of the pair. The figure standing before them was in the shape of a slender woman in a navy-blue hijab, her face turned downwards, a pair of mean-looking bullwhips in her hands, lashing outwards at random intervals with miniscule flicks of the wrist from the woman’s shrouded hands.

“Hey, Nazzy,” Michael said, smiling sheepishly.

The woman’s face lifted from the floor, revealing a round visage with dark, Indian skin and wide-eyes that sparkled in the surreal light shed by the universes spinning all around them. To his relief, a gentle smile crossed her face. “Well hello Michael, and how are you?” She asked in a heavy Pashtun accent.

“Oh, fine, fine, besides the, y’know, BULLET IN MY ASS!” He screamed accusingly as he re-holstered his weapons.

“Oh, don’t be such a crybaby, I warned you that I would be rather upset if you failed to keep me updated on the battle’s progress,” the woman replied with a huff, her eyes scanning the clouds around them. “And you, Dietrich: not even a greeting for your beloved sister?”

“I’m finding it razer hard to talk through the pain screaming through my throat, at the moment,” the man in the tattered tuxedo replied.

“Goodness, both of you! A little bit of roughhousing and you start crying like little girls,” she said jokingly, shaking her head as she continued peering around. “Now, would either of you mind telling me where my beloved boyfriend has gotten to?”

“We would mind a bit, ja,” Dietrich said, trying his best not to appear frightened.

“Sorry Naz; ‘bros before hoes’, an’ all that,” Michael said, his eyes widening before he clamped a hand over his mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Nasreen turned a piercing gaze on her American counterpart. “What was that?”

“Why would you say zat!?” Dietrich screamed accusingly. “You know how much of a psycho-bitch she can be when she’s mad!” Then his hand clamped over his own mouth, eyes also widening in terror.

“Now Nasreen,” Michael said, holding up his hands defensively as the whips picked up speed in the air around her. “I know you’re upset, but that’s no reason to…”

He didn’t even get to finish before the whips lashed out again, smacking the pistols right back out of their holsters. A few more cracks of the deadly weapons, and their hammers suddenly clicked back and forth, emptying the contents of their magazines as Michael was forced to dance clear, dodging his own gunshots. When the chambers clicked empty, the woman turned her attention on Dietrich, who clung to his rapier like a child with their favorite plushie. Smiling and shaking her head, she easily wrapped the whip around his body, pulling him in and kicking him into the air. Screaming, the blonde was helpless as she promptly kept him aloft with a series of lasso tricks, spinning him through the nether on a terrifying rollercoaster ride.

“HE RAN INTO ThE CLOUD! ZE ONE RIGHT OVER THERE, SHAPED LIKE ZE ANDROMEDA GALAXY!” The man screamed, his eyes clenched shut. Immediately, the whips stopped, and he crashed to the ground, eyes still closed, arms still wrapped around his weapon.

“Thank you!” The woman chimed as she twirled one of the whips in the air around her head, sending it right out into the cloud like a fisherman’s cast. She bit her tongue and frowned as she continued fishing, eyebrows hunched in concentration until something snagged. Smiling, she threw the whip over her shoulder, pulling with all her might until Chen came rocketing out, the whip’s end wrapped around his ankle.

“You sold me out, you bù zhíqián de jìnǚ de érzi!” He screamed as he was slammed repeatedly into the ground.

“Crazy bitch, eh?” She hissed, pulling him in for a roundhouse kick to the gut. “Might as well make it four months, hmm?”

“Nasreen, my love, I swear I have no idea what you’re…” she promptly silenced him with a leg sweep that slammed him on his rear end, finally finishing off by wrapping one of the whips around his ankles and dragging his limp form away.

“Well guess what, lover!” She screamed, a hand waving to summon a portal to their homeworld. “You like the couch so much; you can spend the next SIX months there!” Her voice boomed away into the nether as she stepped through, Chen’s unconscious body dragging behind her before it slammed shut again, leaving Michael and Dietrich alone in the barely-existent plane.

“Jesus,” Dietrich coughed, turning over as his wounds sealed themselves up. “Chen royally fucked up zis time.”

“Eh, could’ve been worse,” Michael rasped, slowly pressing himself back to his feet. “Remember when he forgot their fifth anniversary?”

A shiver traveled down the back of Dietrich’s tattered suit jacket. “I try not to.”

“God, she’s scary when she’s pissed.”

“Jah, and you sure as hell didn’t help!” Dietrich glared at his brother as the other demigod helped him to his feet. “ ‘Bros before hoes‘? What the hell were you thinking!?”

“I’m not sure,” Michael replied, a thoughtful look crossing his face as he gazed around the nether. “But I think I know who would.”

His brother watching in confusion, Michael removed his jacket and extended his hands, allowing the cosmic winds to cascade around his bare skin. “Brother, what are you…”

The American raised a finger for quiet, his eyes closing peacefully. He scoured the winds whistling by his body, detecting them for any irregularities, anything to tell him that something was in the nether that should not have been. His conscious mind scattering with the winds, it was easy to find the small lump around which the little particles flowed, like a river around a large rock.

Smiling, he promptly turned and strolled off towards the lump, reaching out with one hand. “Aha! Just as I thought!” He announced, his brother standing idly by as he reached out a hand and plunged it into the tiny lump, watching it disappear into thin air.

“A pocket dimension?” Dietrich said, hand resting on the hilt of his blade. “The only vay that could exist would be for someone to make it.”

“And the only reason someone would make a pocket dimension out here…” Michael huffed, eyebrows hunching in concentration as his arm plunged deeper into the little hole in reality, feeling around searchingly. “…would be if they really, really, REALLY wanted to hide something…there!”

His brother grabbing his shoulders to help, Michael started pulling, his hand wrapped around something soft, yet coarse, and…squirming? “It’s alive, whatever it is,” he grunted, teeth clenching with effort as the thing in his hand fought to stay hidden.

“So it’s not for something, but for someone,” Dietrich grimaced. “But after all this craziness, what the hell could…I say, do you hear zat?”

Michael perked an ear up, still struggling with the thing. It was a very faint, far-off sound, obviously coming from deep within the pocket dimension, but it was definitely there. “Is that…laughter?”

All at once, the brothers fell backwards, sprawling atop each other with a stream of confetti, noisemakers, and chocolate milk exploding out of the little dimension with a loud “HONK!” Dazed, they pressed themselves to their feet, shaking off a bit of the confetti and squeezing as much of the milk out of their clothes as they could manage. “What was…” Michael began, and then he looked down at what he was holding: a disembodied bear paw, twitching spasmodically in his grip. “GWAH!” He screamed, dropping the limb and dancing away from it.

The laughter boomed overhead again. The brothers sighed at one another and turned to its source. There was only one being in this little corner of reality with both the massive amounts of magic and twisted sense of humor needed to pull off a prank like this.

“Hey, Discord,” they said at the same time.

The spirit of chaos popped into existence before them, his snake-like body roiling over and over again as his laughter boomed off into the nether. “Th-the looks on both your faces…priceless!” He howled wiping away a tear made of maple syrup before snapping the talons on his eagle claw. The bear paw promptly disappeared in a flash of green flame and reappeared in the middle of his forehead with a loud farting noise, pointing at the brothers as the spirit continued laughing. They waited patiently until finally the spirit calmed himself and looked them over, frowning.

“I say, if you’re not going to be surprised, the least you could do is get all mad like those pretty ponies back there,” he grumbled, the paw growing out of his head hooking a thumb at the pink orb behind him. “I mean, I did just come back from the dead and all.”

“Oh, we sort of figured you vere still alive,” Dietrich said with a wise, little smile. “Your magic is the only force powerful enough to make us say something we REALLY don’t want to say.”

“Plus, it’s not like the tidal wave of chocolate milk and sprinkles during the awards ceremony wasn’t a big enough clue.” Michael added with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh, you insult me, Swarmy,” Discord said with a little pout, immediately conjuring a humongous flower into existence, which blossomed with a hurricane-force explosion of helium aimed at the pair. “Guess I’ll really need to step up my game around you two!”

“As welcome as your reappearance may be,” Dietrich said in the voice of a chipmunk. “Just how is zis possible? The Princess saw you die right in front of her!”

“Oh come now, my little bratwurst,” Discord’s paw landed on the blonde’s shoulder. Dietrich made a grab for it, following the arm up to the shoulder – and encountering only thin air. A claw tapped him on the other shoulder. Grimacing, he turned to it, only to find yet another disembodied limb.

“You should know by now that appearances can be deceiving, especially when I’m around!” The spirit’s voice announced from above. Dietrich reached for it, only to come back with a disembodied mouth, which promptly gave him a nice, slobbery lick across the face before all three body parts hopped out of his grasp to rejoin their master, the mouth snickering the entire time.

“Any time you wish to explain would be fine by me,” Michael said with arms crossed.

Discord sighed and rolled his eyes. “Well, alright, but just for the readers’ sake!”

With a snap of a claw, a classroom materialized into existence around the three, with Dietrich and Michael seated in gum-covered desks while Discord donned a pair of thick-framed glasses and a knitted shawl, a ruler clenched in his paw. “Alright class, shut yer traps an’ pay attention! This will be on the final!” He shouted in a nasally, mildly-effeminate voice just as a paper airplane sailed past his head.

“That was you Dietrich, I saw!” He shouted accusingly, pointing his ruler at the blonde. The demigod promptly exploded in a tiny mushroom cloud. “Double nuclear detention for you, buster!”

“Heheh,” Michael snickered as his brother reappeared, covered in black soot just like in a cartoon.

“And as for you, Mr. Sawyer, you shouldn’t laugh at others’ misfortune!” Discord’s ruler promptly leveled on the man in the leather jacket. “It’s egg-laying duty for you!”

“What?” Michael clucked before something boosted him up in his seat. Flushing red with embarrassment, he quickly unbuckled his jeans and pulled a small white egg out, which promptly hatched into a dozen flying candy canes with wings, that in turn proceeded to dive bomb the pair. “DISCORD!”

“That’s Professor Discord to you, buster!”

“We just vant to know how you survived, you ass!” Dietrich yelled, coughing up a puff of black smoke.

Rolling his eyes again, the spirit of chaos snapped his fingers and the candy canes disappeared, along with the soot blanketing Dietrich’s face. “Fine. If you wanna waste a perfectly fine school day learning, then I digress.” The spirit promptly turned to the chalkboard, scribbling away until both he and the board disappeared into a thick cloud of dust. “Now, many of us Immortals know a spell which can be used as a last resort in the event of a near-death experience, triggered if and when we are mortally wounded.”

“Um, isn’t it impossible to mortally wound an Immortal by definition?” Michael asked with a hand raised. Immediately, a piece of chalk whipped out of the cloud and exploded in a burst of chocolate sauce, blanketing his face in syrup.

“STOP ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS!” Discord’s voice boomed from the cloud. “But no, actually: an Immortal in this sense of the word is just any being that doesn’t age and is very, very tough to injure by conventional means. Of course, just because it’s tough to hurt an Immortal doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Just look at me! And hell, at yourself!”

Dietrich nodded in understanding. “So by this definition, I take it the Princesses would count as Immortals as well?”

“Yes and no: I guess in a way, you could consider them Immortals, but by Immortal standards they are very, very, weak. Sure, they don’t age, but you’d be surprised at how easy it is to…hurt them.” Michael was surprised to hear a small hitch in the spirit’s throat as he continued, still within the safety of his chalk dust cloud, but he chose not to comment. “In addition, unlike most Immortals, they do not possess the power to link up with the metaverse as we can, choosing instead to stick with their own little world. As a direct result, they cannot use the spell I am detailing here, which requires an inherent ability to walk in the nether and sync oneself with the energies bouncing around out here.

“Also…” suddenly, a chalkboard eraser whipped out of the cloud, stopping to hover right in front of Dietrich’s face. A little cartoon foot poked out of its bottom, clad in an oversized Mickey Mouse shoe, and gave the blonde a decent kick to the nose. “Nobody likes a smarty-pants, Mr. Dietrich.” Discord chimed as the demigod rubbed his nose in frustration.

“So wait, this spell requires someone who can walk around in the nether, like we are right now?” Michael asked, bracing himself for some new, chaotic attack.

“Not quite: you need to have a certain bond with the energies running around out here, which needs to be built up by centuries of inter-universal travel. Only then can you gain the ability to utilize this spell, and then you still need a deviously clever mind to even come up with the idea of using it.” The dust finally settled, revealing a masterpiece of artwork blanketing the chalkboard: a highly detailed, richly colored mural depicting a muscle-bound, sunglasses-wearing version of Discord standing atop a pile of dead Waffen SS, an M60 machine gun blazing away in his hands and a boner made of bazookas launching rockets from his waist in every random direction, all while a mushroom cloud bloomed in the background and a bikini-clad, anthropomorphic Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis clung to his legs.

“Da Vinci, eat your heart out,” he mumbled as he snapped his fingers and the classroom and chalkboard disappeared from existence. “Anywho, that’s why Celestia had no idea what really happened: she thought she was watching me die, but really it was just the spell kicking in automatically, using my last little shreds of magic in the moments before my body would have given out.”

“So, what does this all-powerful spell do, then?” Michael asked, still wary of not having been assaulted yet.

“Quite simply put, it scatters you: it breaks you down to your smallest particles and sets you adrift in the cosmic winds of the nether. Eventually, your particles are supposed to find each other in the stream and pull themselves together, reforming you at some random point in space and time somewhere, alive and well.”

“Random…that’s why you waited so long to use it!” Dietrich gasped. “You didn’t know where you were gonna vind up, or when! You might’ve reassembled after a few millennia had passed!”

“Correctamundo, you get a gold star for the day, young man!” The spirit promptly appeared in front of the blonde, pasting a sticker in the shape of a golden star on his forehead. “There’s no telling how long it’ll take for you to reassemble yourself, so you could wind up on the other side of the metaverse, millions of years having passed since you cast it! Plus, it’s basically running your body through a giant blender and throwing the pieces over a waterfall. So yeah, it hurts like hell.”

“Looks like you got lucky then,” Michael said.

“Incredibly lucky,” a shiver travelled up the spirit’s elongated, twisting spine at the thought of waking up in an entirely new geologic epoch trillions of light years from the little section of reality he liked to call home. “I wound up pulling myself together after just a couple days and passing through a few universes. Got back just in time for the awards ceremony.”

“But you’re back now, and that’s great!”

Discord arched an eyebrow suspiciously. “You seem awfully happy to see me whole.”

“But of course! The Princess was so torn up about your death, she’ll be overjoyed to find out you’re okay!”

The spirit cringed slightly, an odd sight on his usually laid-back form. “Yeah…about that…could we not?”

The brothers eyed him. “What?”

“Well, let’s just say Celestia knowing I’m alive makes things…complicated. So, if you don’t mind,” the spirit made to stride off right between the brothers. “I’ll just be taking my leave now.”

“Hold it,” the pair grabbed him by the shoulders.

“I told you the secret behind one of my little magic tricks, and you’re lucky you got that,” Discord hissed dangerously, an oddly animalesque look of ferocity spreading across his mismatched eyes. “Don’t push your luck, boys.”

The pair arched their eyebrows at the spirit, but promptly released him. “Fine, go on,” Michael said, waving a hand dismissively.

“Really?” Discord’s brow furrowed in suspicion.

“But of course,” Dietrich replied happily, brushing off the spot on the spirit’s shoulder where he’d gripped him. “You just go on your way, and we’ll just head back to Equestria and alert the Princess to ze fact that you’re still alive.”

“What.”

“It’s only fair, after all that time she spent lamenting your loss,” Michael added. “I mean, you should’ve seen what the grief made her do: it was really something.”

“Grief…” Discord’s eyes softened ever-so-slightly, his gaze turning downwards.

“Oh, but I’m sure it will end all her pain when she learns you’re still alive, and that you decided she just wasn’t worth keeping around and split,” Dietrich said, malice hinting along the edges of his voice. “I’m sure she’ll handle that SO well, especially after all she went through with your demise.”

“Shut up!” The spirit screamed suddenly, his rage manifesting as a tidal wave of boiling hot chocolate materializing from the nether behind him. The flash flood of boiling chocolatey goodness flowed right past him and wrapped around the brothers like hot tar. Yet when the wave abated, they were still grinning, covered head to toe in burns that swiftly healed themselves. The spirit glowered at them.

“What do you want from me?” He asked, his lips curling upwards slightly to reveal a razor-sharp snarl, gleaming in the semi-darkness.

“A favor,” the brothers replied simultaneously.

Author's Note

Come now, children, you didn't really think it was that easy to kill a draconequus, did you?

Chapter LXVI: Lost Memories, Remembered Nightmares

Twilight groaned and turned over in her bed, flopping right out onto the floor. Still moaning, she shakily pushed herself to her hooves, squinting against the sun peeking in through her blinds. “Midday?” She asked, judging from the sun’s height in the sky. “That can’t be…”

Shaking her head to clear an odd bit of fuzziness creeping in along the edges of her mind, the violet unicorn queasily stumbled to the stairs, an odd smell meeting her nose. Lifting a hoof, she gave her pits a sniff and immediately cringed. “Gosh, I must’ve had a nightmare and sweat myself half to death!” She exclaimed, heading to the kitchen for a glass of water. She tried to remember any sort of dream she’d had the night before as she guzzled her glass down, but nothing coherent came to mind. Just…sounds…loud bangs and pops in the night, and faces…faces that were furless, maybe? That was weird, why would somepony’s face not have any fur?

A groan from the doorway interrupted her thoughts. Spike stumbled in, cradling his head and trailed by Owlowiscious, along with Angel the bunny and Tank the tortoise. “Looks like somepony had a fun night,” Twilight said with a light smile, offering the glass to him.

“Yeah, real fun,” he mumbled, drinking greedily. “Just wish I could remember some of it.”

Twilight frowned at that. “You didn’t raid Applejack’s cider stores while we were away, did you?” She accused.

“What!? No, I swear! Wait,” he clenched his head while Angel hopped around him, the bunny setting to making breakfast for himself. “Where did you guys go again?”

“Um…” embarrassed, Twilight trailed off as she scoured her memory, but all she kept getting were more of those random bangs and strange, furless faces. She trailed off as she headed to the front door to grab the morning paper, hoping Spike would let the matter drop.

“Ha!” He laughed as she spread the paper out on the kitchen table. “Looks like I’m not the one who tried some cider!”

“No,” she grimaced, eyebrows scrunched up. “That can’t be it, I just…can’t seem to…” her eyes fell on the main headline: “Guard Captain honored in ceremony”, in big, black lettering, and immediately it all came rushing back to her.

“That’s it! We went to Coltton for Shining’s awards ceremony! He was being honored for fending off that dragon attack!” She exclaimed, never even noticing the little shimmer that entered her eyes, erasing all traces of the odd furless creatures and the strange ‘bang’ sounds from her mind.

“Aw yeah,” Spike added, also not noticing the shimmer passing over his eyes. “And Fluttershy and Rainbow had me watch their pets while you girls were gone!”

“Which I thought was weird,” Twilight snickered, opening the paper up while Angel cracked a few eggs into the frying pan on the stove. “I mean, after last time…”

“Hey, I wasn’t that bad,” Spike folded his arms as Tank took one look at what the rabbit was cooking, gasped in horror, and immediately launched himself at the little bunny, managing a top speed of almost a snail’s pace. Not bad for a tortoise, but not enough to honestly concern the rabbit as he sprinkled cheese into the omelet.

“Spike, you nearly lost all our pets,” Twilight said, eyebrows rising as Owlowiscious joined in the attack, dive bombing the bunny while hooting and screeching wildly.

“No! We were just…playing hide and seek and…they were…really, really good,” the baby dragon replied unconvincingly, the owl and the rabbit now engaged in brutal paw-to-talon combat while the tortoise nipped at them periodically.

“Sure,” she smiled, skimming over the article. It was just an overview of everything she already knew, though: the tiny village of Coltton had come under attack by a rogue dragon right in the middle of Shining and Cadence’s honeymoon, and her BBBFF had fended it off in true royal guard fashion, injuring himself in the process. The article featured a picture of the royal couple, sharing a kiss in the hospital, his face wrapped in bandages. Twilight couldn’t be prouder of him. She had hopped on the first train to Coltton when she’d heard the news and arrived just in time for an impromptu ceremony celebrating his bravery, and they’d all been swept up in the festivities amidst the repairs the village had needed. All in all, it was the perfect ending to a wonderful, fairytale-like story, with the big hero getting a kiss from the beautiful princess for the papers. And that was it. There was nothing else that happened. She was certain of it now. Wasn’t she?

“Twilight?”

“Hmm?” She looked up from the paper. Spike had a grip on both Owlowiscious and Angel, trying to keep them separated, even as Tank butt his head feebly against one of the dragon’s knees. The dragon eyed his caretaker suspiciously.

“Is something wrong? You’re crying.”

“I’m what?” She reached a hoof up and felt a single tear running down her cheek. She arched an eyebrow at it. That was odd, why was that there?

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts yet again. “Don’t worry, Spike, I got it,” she said, still staring quizzically at the touch of moisture on her hoof.

“Yeah, thanks,” he replied just as the bunny wrenched free of his grip.

Twilight opened the door and smiled as a certain yellow pegasus hovered in the air over her doorstep. “Um, hi Twilight,” she said.

“Fluttershy! Glad you could make it!” Twilight cooed, hugging her friend just as a loud crash sounded from the kitchen, accompanied by a series of squawks and loud thumps. “Really glad. I take it you’re here for Angel?”

“Oh, yes,” the pegasus replied, trotting into the treehouse. “I just remembered I left him here a little while ago. I guess now would be a good time to pick him up?”

“Yes, thank you.” Twilight smiled sheepishly as the bunny bounded from the kitchen and into Fluttershy’s arms, spitting a raspberry over its shoulder at the owl hot on its trail. With an annoyed hoot, Owlowiscious flapped her wings and returned to her perch by the window, glaring angrily at the little bundle of squeaking fur.

“Also, Rainbow wanted me to tell you she’ll be by later to pick up Tank. Right now, she had some things she wanted to do,” Fluttershy said, making sure to leave out the minor detail that she had found the cyan pegasus sobbing into her pillow when she had visited her earlier, crying about strange dreams and “something she’d lost, but couldn’t remember what”.

“Oh, she can take her time,” Twilight replied cheerfully, glaring at the bunny in Fluttershy’s hooves. “Really, Tank is no problem.”

“I didn’t think he would be. W-well, I guess I’ll be on my way,” the pegasus hovered out the door, not even noticing the envelope that fell out of the satchel wrapped around her body.

“Okay, be sure to…wait, Fluttershy!” Twilight quickly scooped up the envelope and hoofed it to her friend. “You nearly forgot this!”

“Oh my, thank you so much, Twilight! I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I lost this!”

“You’re welcome, what is that, though? It looks like a letter.”

“Oh yes, the Princess set me up with a penpal just the other day! He’s from another nation; she says it’s to improve international relations or something like that.”

“A penpal from another nation, hmm? Sounds exciting!”

“Oh, it is! He just got back from serving in his country’s army, and he’s just trying to get settled back to regular life,” the pegasus’ eyebrows scrunched up slightly in concern. “The way he talks though, it sounds like he’s having a hard time. He lost a few friends while he was serving, and he…he says he has bad dreams now…”

“Ah,” Twilight smiled, suddenly understanding why Celestia had chosen the Element of Kindness for such an assignment. “Well, it’s a good thing he has a wonderful pony to write to about it, isn’t it?”

“Aheh, well,” Fluttershy blushed immediately. “I-I’ll just be going then.”

“Okay, take care!” Twilight said, waving her friend off. “And send my regards to your penpal!”

“I will!” The pegasus replied, waving as she flapped away. Twilight had the right idea, she figured. Perhaps it would be best to write a letter to her penpal soon. Something told her he could use the marginal comfort a letter from a friend would…

She paused at that thought. A friend? That was strange, usually it would take quite a bit more than a few letters to consider somepony her friend, especially somepony she’d never met. Yet for some reason, when she thought about this pony, she couldn’t help but associate that term with him. Brushing off the creeping sensation that seized her shoulders, Fluttershy turned herself to her little cottage home, still cradling the bunny in her hooves.

Uris shifted on his overstuffed couch and suppressed a burp, quietly forcing the offending gas back down to his stomach. He had a lady in the house, after all, and he didn’t want to do anything to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was. The beer in his hand sloshed as he moved to change the channel yet again. He had been watching the Patriots game on his little analog TV, and while it wasn’t much of a screen he loved it simply because, like the rest of the little apartment in Queens where he spent his days, it was his.

A crash from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts, and in a heartbeat he was on his feet, vaulting the couch and charging into the little, tiled corner of his apartment that served as a kitchen. A large, metal bowl rattled to a stop on the ground, quivering slightly. “Fluttershy?” He asked.

A little, yellow nose poked out from under the bowl, a pair of gorgeous blue eyes still shrouded in darkness behind it. He smiled gently. “I-I’m sorry, Uris,” the pony’s angelic voice quivered from underneath the bowl. “I-I just wanted to make you dinner to thank you for having me over, but the stove had all these buttons and-and there were all these appliances that I’ve never seen before and…”

“Fluttershy,” he smiled, slowly pulling the bowl off the little pegasus. She gazed up at him, still unsure, still quivering, and once again his heart melted. You’d think he might grow used to that unsure little look she flashed him every so often, but a part of him still went to mush every time. “You don’t have to do that, you know. You’re my guest, and you don’t even know what humans eat.”

“I-I know, but still…”

“But still, it was very, very sweet of you,” he interrupted, his heart lightening as a little blush entered her cheeks. Finally taking her hoof to help her up, he ushered her back to the living room. “C’mon, I think ‘Animal Planet’ has a special on tonight about Earth dog breeds.”

“Sounds nice,” another voice rasped from the couch. Uris smiled once again, this time an easygoing half-smile, as a slightly tanned hand held up a bottle of beer. “Saved your beer for ya, too! You should be more careful with this shit.”

“Ramirez man, watch your language,” the pilot climbed onto the couch and grabbed the beer from the hand, popping it open with a little hiss. “We got a lady in the house now.”

The SEAL grinned, his arms sprawled back over the couch as he reclined lazily. “Eh, forgot about that. Sorry, Flutters.”

“Oh, d-don’t worry.” She replied, gently flapping her little wings to land between them. “I’m not sure why you guys keep calling me that, though; Rarity is the lady in our group…”

“Oh, pish-posh,” Ramirez waved a hand as Uris took a sip from his beer and reached for the remote. “You’re plenty lady for us, Miss ‘Shy. Hell, probably more lady than we deserve.”

“Language,” Uris chided.

“I-I’m still not sure what you guys are talking about half the time,” the little yellow pegasus said, her nose scrunched up cutely. “Although there is one thing I’ve been wondering.”

“What’s that?” Uris asked as he flipped the channel over to ‘Animal Planet’ (Fluttershy’s favorite, unsurprisingly enough).

“Actually, it’s a question for Mr. Ramirez,” she replied, turning to the SEAL. “I was just wondering if dying hurts.”

The pilot froze, his beer a centimeter from his lips. “W-what?” He asked quietly.

“I’m glad you asked, ‘Shy,” Ramirez replied, still with that laid-back, cheerful grin on his face. “Because yes, in fact; it did hurt. It hurt more than anything.”

“Nuh-no,” Uris whimpered, the beer dropping from his fingers and spilling over the carpet.

“Now, what part would you say hurt the most: the part where your skin dissolved under all that gooey crap, or the moment when the last shreds of life slipped out of your body and you closed your eyes, fully aware that you would never open them again?” Fluttershy asked, still in her gentle, withdrawn tone.

“I don’t wanna hear this, Ramirez please, I don’t wanna hear,” Uris said, rocking back and forth on the couch, his eyes pinched shut, fingers stuffed in his ears. For some reason, it didn’t do anything to block out the sound of Ramirez’s voice.

“Neither, I’d say. It was probably the part where this jackass right here fell short and forced me to take his place,” Ramirez laughed jokingly, giving the pilot a gentle bro-punch to the shoulder.

“I DON’T WANNA HEAR! I DON’T WANNA HEAR! I DON’T WANNA HEAR!” Uris curled up in a little ball on the couch, eyes squeezing shut in the vain hope that he could shut the SEAL out.

“But you wanna know the very worst part?”

“No, no, nonononononononono please, Ramirez, please…”

Uris felt the SEAL shift on the couch, a hand on the pilot’s thigh. He slowly opened his eyes, tears pouring down his face. “It was knowing that it all could’ve been avoided if it hadn’t been for you,” Ramirez cooed, staring right into Uris’s horrified face as his skin slowly dissolved, bubbling and boiling away to slump over the carpet beneath him.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…Jesus…” Uris gasped, still rocking back and forth on the couch as he sobbed.

“Sorry?” A hand covered in burns clamped down on his shoulder, bits of muscle visibly flexing where the skin had been sheared off. Uris jerked to find Miller standing behind him, still in uniform, still with half his body covered in shrapnel. “You think sorry covers it, son?” He asked, blood bubbling from the hole where his trachea used to be.

“Sorry doesn’t even come close,” Parker added, his blackened, skeletal body creaking as he hobbled unsteadily from the kitchen.

“Sorry is just something people say when they know they’ve done something they can’t ever, EVER take back,” Bannon’s decapitated head added, sitting on a platter next to a steaming steak dinner, his body slicing in and feeding him bits of meat as warm jets of blood sprayed the curtains behind it, shooting from the stump at the end of its neck.

“Please,” Uris sobbed, terrified, as the dead men closed in on him, their bloodied, decrepit hands reaching for his face. “Please, I’m sorry! I’m so, so, sorry!”

The hands stopped, clenched his hair in their skeletal grips, and forced him to turn, making him look Fluttershy right in the eye. That sweet, innocent gaze had long since been abandoned, replaced by a look of disgust at the man before her. “Sorry doesn’t bring back the dead, Uris,” she hissed, shoving a hoof against his head to force him back down into the pile of burnt and broken humanity, her nose scrunched up in revulsion. “Now get away from me, you freak!”

“No!” He screamed as the scratching began, the ghosts descending upon him, clawing and gnashing at his skin like rabid animals. “No! Please! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m…”

Chapter LXVII: A New Life

Uris’s eyes darted open as he sat up on the couch, jolting from the dream. “FUCK!” He screamed, nearly falling onto the floor. He sucked in a few deep breaths, shaking his head and fighting down the urge to cry. “Fucking nightmares,” he groaned, brushing aside a bunch of empty beer cans from the couch cushion to join their brethren on the floor. He sat up and moaned, his heart racing. His hands ran down his face, brushing through the week-old stubble and the deep bags under his eyes as he grimaced. At least the nightmares had been easing off: that had been the first one he’d had in a few days, which was better than when they’d haunted him every time he’d closed his eyes. So…hooray for progress?

Groaning audibly, he brushed a few cans to the side and limped to the bathroom, hobbling right past the cane leaning against the wall and reaching for another can of beer from the box on the floor along the way. Making his way into the little bathroom, he grabbed the orange canister beside the sink and popped a few of the pills inside into his mouth. As his hand dropped, the pills sliding down his throat dry, he studied himself in the mirror. He figured he didn’t look too bad for a guy that hadn’t slept right in weeks. Sure, the five-o-clock shadow on his face was now growing into a full-on hobo beard, and his eyes had been bloodshot for weeks, but he just needed a shave and a shower and he’d be right as rain. Thing was, he didn’t feel much like either. No, he figured he was just gonna hobble back to the couch, turn on ‘Springer’ and drink until he passed out again. Or maybe…

He made his way back to the kitchen and grabbed the little DVD off the counter: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, The Friendship Express. Though he’d only bought it a couple weeks before, a few scratches had already appeared in the disc’s otherwise pristine surface. He sighed again. He knew spending all his time between support group meetings watching a little girls’ cartoon, fantasizing about what could never be and drinking himself unconscious could not be the best way to deal with the guilt, but at the moment, he was a little far beyond caring.

He leaned back and popped the beer open as the now-familiar theme song carried itself into his ears. “I used to wonder what friendship could be…” he mumbled in time with the song before downing his first sip, all ready to settle in for yet another night of drinking and ponies. He even made a little game for himself to get drunk as fast as possible: one drink every time Twilight cracked open a book, two whenever Rarity did something unspeakably girly, and three when Fluttershy…

When Fluttershy…

Sorry doesn’t bring back the dead, Uris…

He pressed his fingers into his eye sockets until he saw little sparks jump in his vision, then promptly downed half the beer in one chug. He knew he couldn’t go on like this, but what else could he do? He just couldn’t walk around outside with the images of those men dancing around in his head…

The clatter of the mail slot interrupted his thoughts. A wide grin cracked his face. He could have kissed the mailman right then and there, as unwelcome as a kiss from a stranger that hadn’t shaved or showered in a few days and smelt like cheap beer would be. Bounding over the couch with manic enthusiasm, the pilot scooped the mail up off the floor and immediately set to shuffling through it. “Bill, bill, bill, charity…” he mumbled, tossing the usual junk aside, and then two envelopes stood out to him: one from Walter Reed Hospital, the other without any return address, but addressed in an unmistakably elegant cursive.

Setting the rest aside, he tore into the envelope from Walter Reed, immediately finding a postcard with the phrase “Wish you were here!” cheerfully proclaimed from the front. Smiling and shaking his head, Uris turned the card over to find a quick blurb, written in squat, block letters:

Hey Captain’s boy,

Just keeping you and the Cap up to date on this end. The docs say my treatment’s going well, and it looks like I’m gonna be out of here in a few months, though my face is gonna have a lot more character to it. But hey, chicks dig scars, right? Especially war scars! Shit, when I get out of here, I’m gonna get myself so much pussy my dick’ll probably fall off! Don’t tell your old man I said that.

So yeah, looking forward to the healing process. But hey, when I’m out, we’re all going for beers, alright? Your treat!

-Miller

Uris smiled and shook his head at the SEAL leader’s coarse language. It was nice to know he was doing alright. Maybe now his ghost would stop haunting his dreams. Laying the postcard gently on the table, he gingerly picked up the other envelope. Slowly, as if he were performing a delicate operation, the pilot cracked the seal and pulled the letter out. The paper was coarser than what he was used to, but that just meant it was definitely one of hers. He smiled as he unfolded it and began to read:

Dear Mr. Uris,

Hi, how are you? I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were alright. Things are going well here in Equestria: Twilight’s brother (she’s my friend, the Element of Magic, remember?) just got a huge awards ceremony for fending off a dragon single-hoofed, and the bird’s eggs outside my window finally hatched. All in all, things couldn’t be better. You should stop by sometime! I think you would like Equestria.

Anyway, I wanted to check on how you were doing. I know last time you said you were having some pretty bad nightmares about your friends. You should know that you shouldn’t feel guilty, and I hope one day you trust me enough to confide in me what exactly happened. I’m here for you, Mr. Uris. I just want you to know that you shouldn’t give up, no matter how bad things look, because tomorrow is always a new day. Oh gosh, I wish Twilight was writing this, she is so much better at writing inspirational speeches!

Just know that you’ve got at least one pony in Equestria who cares about you, and that she wants you to keep living your life. After all, isn’t that what your friends would have wanted?

Thank you for being my friend,

Fluttershy

Uris’s eyes misted over as he looked over the elegant little curves in her handwriting (or hoofwriting, as the case may be). Carefully folding the paper back up, he gently laid it and the envelope on the counter, weighing them down with a jar of beans from the cupboard to be safe. Once he pulled his shit together, he resolved that he was gonna write a response letter. Censored to make sure nothing awakened those latent memories ticking away in her head, just waiting to come rushing through and subject her to the same hell he was suffering through right now…

He paused and rubbed at his temples. That kind of thinking wasn’t going to help anybody, goddammit! Worrying about that bullcrap was just gonna pile up on his mind, and he had enough going on up there as it was. Besides, he really didn’t have anything to worry about: Celestia herself proofread every single message he sent, just to make sure. He just needed to clear his head. And Fluttershy’s message gave him something: he had one pony in Equestria who cared about him.

Grabbing his coat, he scooped up his cane and shoved a couple breath mints into his mouth, hoping that would keep the cops from thinking he was some kind of vagrant. Smiling hopefully for the first time in weeks, the pilot hobbled out the door. Fluttershy was right: it was time to live his life. “Watch your assholes, world, ‘cause here comes Peter Uris,” he mumbled as he made his way to the elevator.

Uris should’ve just stayed on the fucking couch and watched “My Little-goddamned-Pony”.

The moment he took a step outside, the scents and sounds of the city assaulted him: a police siren somewhere far off, some asshole yelling at his neighbor’s dog, the sewer in the dark alleyway he was walking through, the grease in the sleazy hot dog cart he was walking away from. Well, okay, maybe the hot dog cart wasn’t so bad. Hell, the kielbasa with sauerkraut in his hand tasted pretty damn good. Of course, that didn’t do much for the fact that it was probably gonna give him salmonella…

The pilot shook his head and slapped himself a few times to make sure the thought stayed away. Getting misanthropic now was not going to help anyone, least of all him. He’d been to enough support groups and army-sponsored shrinks to know that. Still, it was hard not to fall into that line of thinking, especially in New York. Not to say that he hated his home: he loved his city, loved it so much he went to war for it! He just needed to focus on the bright side of things, like the wonderful, steamy taste of the meat sliding down his throat as he tore off another chunk of it.

A scream interrupted his thoughts, and he sighed in exasperation. As if it wasn’t hard enough to look on the bright side, now he had to listen to some poor girl a few blocks away getting assaulted!? In fact, there it was again! Another piercing scream echoed off into the night. Jeez, she was screaming her head off, although this next scream told him she was much closer than he thought, probably right around the corner. Thing was, the way she was going it sounded like…

“…Like a rape,” he gasped, the kielbasa dropping into a puddle from his hands. Suddenly, he wasn’t that hungry at all, especially not for some high schooler’s dick joke. He limped as fast as he could, rounding a corner and approaching one last alleyway. His stomach practically dropped into his cheap snekaers at what he saw: a young woman, mid-twenties probably, in a long coat and skirt, her long, flowing hair and bottle-rim glasses framed by a flickering street lamp. She was pressed against a wall by some thug in a black hoodie, a switchblade in his hand. Her hands grasped the brickwork of the wall behind her, her fingertips scrabbling for purchase, as if just squeezing hard enough would convince the wall to just let her phase right through it and escape the thug in front of her.

“C’mon, honey,” he heard the thug hiss in a vaguely British accent, a gloved hand reaching up to unbutton her coat as the blade twirled through a golden lock of her hair. “You knew you’d hafta pay a toll eventually if you wanted t’keep walkin’ in these parts, especially with a pretty face like that.”

“No, please…” the woman whimpered, her glasses coated in tears. “I…I just saw a bird hurt and I-I thought…”

“HEY!” Uris screamed. Both sets of eyes turned on him, and immediately the pilot was taken aback by the thug’s face. A chin so pointed it practically qualified as a weapon all on its own, covered in a little gray soul patch at its tip. The thug had a pair of piercing eyes that almost looked mismatched, as if one reddish pupil were larger than the other. The result of some bar fight gone bad, it had to be. Yet something seemed awfully familiar about the thug, as if Uris had seen him before, but there was no way that could be right! At any rate, the prick snarled and revealed two rows of the most unbelievably mismatched teeth the pilot had ever seen, some poking sideways out of the gum, others missing altogether, and even an incisor that almost looked like a fang. The thug released his grip on the woman, letting her slide along the wall to collapse on the pavement in a quivering mess of tears. The knife gleamed in his hand as he advanced. In his eyes, this was just some cripple that needed to be put in his place.

“You got somethin’ you wanna say t’me?” The thug asked, drawing a thumb over the edge of his blade and licking away the blood that crept through the leather gloves.

“Yeah,” the pilot whipped up his cane like a sword and pointed it at the advancing mugger. “Leave right now, and I’ll consider only kicking a few of your ugly-ass teeth down your throat.”

The thug snarled and dove at the pilot. It was an untrained and predictably desperate grab by a man that had no idea what he was fucking with. Something animal-like inside the pilot ignited with glee at the sight. Uris was pissed. He wasn’t some little cripple in an alleyway; he was a trained, badassed motherfucker of the United States Armed Forces! His family had fought damn hard for this country, dove through the pits of hell to keep it safe, and this little punk thought he could go toe to toe with him!?

Screaming with rage, the pilot sidestepped the attack, which had been so obvious the attacker might as well have strapped a flashing neon sign to his chest that announced “I’M A’ TRY TO STAB YA!” He followed the dodge up by sending his fist into the little bastard’s groin. A dirty move, he knew, but he also knew that nobody ever remembered the losers in a fight, especially the clean ones. The punk howled and dropped to his knees, but kept his hold on the knife. Uris fixed that by whaling on his hand until his grip went loose, then snatched the blade away.

“All the shit I went through,” he grumbled, bringing his good leg up in a kick to the thug’s ribs which elicited a pain-filled howl. “Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve been through, and you think you can fuck with me just like that!? JUST!” His cane whipped down on the back of the punk’s head. “LIKE!” He followed the cane hit up with another kick, this time aimed at the side of his face. “THAT!?”

“WAIT!” A soft voice cried from the alley. The pilot paused and looked up. In the rush of the fight, he’d almost forgotten why he was fighting in the first place. The girl looked up at him with big, wide eyes, absolute fear still visible in them despite the fog on her coating her glasses. “D-DON’T!” She begged, those big, wonderfully green eyes looking down at his hand.

His eyes followed hers, and to his surprise he found the knife there, blade extended. He didn’t even remember picking it up. This…this he could remember. This was only too familiar. He had been in uniform that time, though, and there was more blood, not just the trickle piddling out of the punk’s mouth and swirling with the dirty puddle at his feet. There was much more then, all over him, soaking his pants and staining his hands…

His body seizing, he tossed the knife away as if it were a spider that had leapt on him, letting it clatter into a dumpster. By that time, the thug had already scrambled to his feet and lit off down some darkened alleyway, disappearing into the shadows faster than he could see. Uris considered going after him, but with his leg he knew he didn’t have a chance at catching up. Besides, the woman might need help. He turned away from the alley the thug had slinked into and took a few steps towards her.

“Go get ‘em, hero boy,” a voice cackled from the darkness behind him.

“What!?” He whirled around, but again only saw darkness. Shaking his head, he turned back to the woman and knelt by her side. She had curled up in a little ball by then, hugging her knees to her chest like a little girl being sent to the corner in grammar school.

“Miss?” He asked, reaching a hand out to her shoulder. “Uh…miss, you okay there?”

“Y-yes, I-I just, I’m fine.” She whispered, pulling away from his touch. It was an obvious lie: he could still see the tears cascading down her cheeks. Sighing, he plopped down in the grime beside her, deciding to wait out the tears. To his surprise, she promptly threw her arms around him and began to bawl, soaking his shoulder. Unsure of what to do he embraced her, letting her go until the tears ran out and she was just a quivering mess breathing into his jacket, snot and saliva mixing together in the cloth.

“Better?” He asked.

“Yes, thank you,” she sniffled. “Th-thank you so much, if you hadn’t come along I don’t know what would’ve happened, I-I…if you hadn’t come along, Mister…”

“Uris,” he said releasing his arm around her and extending a hand. “Peter Uris. I live in the building around the corner.”

“Mr. Uris,” she smiled up at him through the tears, pulling her glasses off. “Oh God, my glasses…” she huffed, trailing off with a shivering breath.

“Here, lemme…” he reached for the frames, pausing once he got a good look at her without them. A single, golden lock hung down over one of her eyes as she turned to him, and her eyes…oh my God, he’d only ever seen eyes that big and that bright one other place, though these were green and those others had been blue. “Fluttershy!?” He gasped.

“I-I’m sorry, what?”

“Nothing!” He said, quickly polishing the glasses off with a shirt sleeve and handing them back, all the while trying to keep his cheeks from reddening. “Okay, there we go.”

“Th-thank you again, mister,” she smiled weakly again, and his heart stopped. It was just like HER smile, all tiny and bashful, but still hopeful, as if she were admiring him from afar but just too shy to come out and say it. He barely even noticed when the woman extended her hand. “Samantha.”

“What? Oh, right!” He quickly extended his hand and grinned. “Nice t’meet you, Miss Samantha. Mind if I ask what a pretty li’l thing like you is doin’ in a dump like this?”

He inwardly cringed at the old cliché, but she just smiled and nodded, probably more out of gratitude for his actions earlier than for any sort of appreciation for his wit. “I work with the local animal shelter. I-I just thought I heard a bird in trouble down here and was just searching for it when that…man approached me and took out that knife.”

“Wait, you wondered down a darkened alleyway, in Queens, in the middle of the night, because you thought a bird might be in trouble?”

“Um…” she blushed cutely, adjusting her glasses. “Yes.”

He just shook his head, looking up at the night sky and thanking whoever might be looking down on him. He stood and extended a hand. “Can you walk?”

“Um, sure,” she replied, gladly accepting. Her grip was surprisingly strong, and he could feel the beginnings of callouses on her palms. Samantha had a hidden strength to her, just like somepony he happened to know. “Now Mister Uris, you aren’t hurt anywhere, are you?”

“Oh no, absolutely not, though I did drop my kielbasa on my way over here.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“So, how about you buy me another one!” He grinned, and then quickly realized his mistake when he saw the confused look on her face. “Or…I mean…I’ll buy you one!”

“I-I’m vegetarian.”

Of course you are, he thought, mentally facepalming. “It doesn’t have to be kielbasa, though! W-we can go someplace where they serve…they serve…uh…”

“Mr. Uris?”

“Yeah?”

“A-are you asking me out on a date?”

“Oy, I am really out of practice with this,” he sighed, face-palming for real this time and grinning bashfully. “But yeah, whaddya say?”

She smiled and wrapped her hand around his, allowing her to lean against his shoulder as the pair walked back out of the alleyway, his cane tapping against the pavement. “I say yes,” she whispered.

Chapter LXVIII: The End

A short ways away, the thug leaned against a wall and paused, making sure he wasn’t followed. Taking a few deep breaths, he snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash. In his place, the spirit of chaos and disharmony uncoiled his body, stretching until a few of the hundreds of vertebrae in his snake-like body cracked. “Oy,” he moaned, scratching at the fur on the back of his neck. “Humans would be easier to walk around in if they weren’t so damned tiny!”

“You get used to it,” a voice announced from above. Discord grimaced and allowed a low growl to rumble through the back of his throat, but made sure to maintain his usual easygoing look as a blonde man in a tuxedo stepped from the shadows.

“Mr. Dietrich!” Discord said with an embellished bow. “The lord of treachery! To what does this humble servant owe this extraordinary pleasure?”

“I take it you are less zan thrilled with our current arrangement?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” the draconequus replied, again suppressing an angry growl. “As much as I enjoy playing matchmaker where there’s plenty of opportunity for chaos to result, I’m not so happy when I am doing so under blackmail.”

Dietrich nodded, a little smile playing at his lips. “Tree months, six, and excellent.”

“What?”

“You vere wondering how long it was going to take those two to finally consummate their relationship, as vell as how many times they would do it that night alone, and how good it would be,” he pointed back down the alleyway at the lame pilot and the vegetarian walking hand in hand together. Then he held up three fingers, then six, and mouthed “excellent,” exaggerating every syllable.

“For heaven’s sake…” Discord sighed. “You really have a one-track mind, you know that krauty?”

“So I’m told.”

“So, this means you’ll hold up your end of the bargain?”

The blonde nodded. “Aye. Neizer me nor my siblings will breathe a single word about your continued existence to the Princess.”

“Wonderful,” Discord straightened out and cracked his neck, taking a seat on the thin air in the middle of the alleyway. “That’s just perfect.”

“So, you can very well be on your vay.”

“Oh, I intend to be. Just as soon as my magic has fully recovered from being stuck in that dreadfully mundane form, I’ll snap my talons and you’ll never see my scaly arse again.”

“Sounds almost too good to be true,” the man in the tux replied with a joking smile, pulling a stacking crate out from behind a dumpster and taking a seat across from the spirit (much to Discord’s annoyance). “Now, how long will that take?”

Discord huffed and lifted up his non-existent seat, turning it so he was facing away from the man in the tux. Still, he guessed there wasn’t any point in lying. “Two or three hours,” he mumbled quickly, as if that would throw the man off.

The man in the tux arched an eyebrow. “A simple transformation spell sucked up that much of your magic? I should think a being with power such as yours vould have no problem teleporting out of here after something this easy.”

“Oi! It’s not that simple, alright!?” Discord pouted. “Usually, you’d be right, but this boring little world has almost no magic to speak of, and maintaining a disguise so radically different from my natural, beautiful form is a slow drain on my already strained resources! I have to leech off whatever magic is trickling through the nether for even the tiniest spell!”

“As I guessed,” the man grinned, leaning his head on one hand and propping his elbow up on his knee. “I could fix that, you know: drop you right off into one of a multitude of magically-enriched worlds where you can be on your merry vay within a few minutes.”

Discord glared back at Dietrich, but sighed resignedly. He had the kind of ego that caused people to go on one-man crusades to get statues built in their own honor, but it still wasn’t so massive that he wanted to delay his return to power. “Eh, alroight, if it isn’t a bother,” he shrugged. “I guess I could hitch a ride with you. Y’know, if you’re heading in that direction anyway.”

“But of course,” Dietrich replied with a snarky little grin. “I just have one little question before we leave, however.”

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t you vant the Princess to know you’re alive if you care about her so much? Ah!” He held up his finger just as Discord jolted up from his seat, mouth gaping. “Don’t lie and say zat you don’t care about her. If you really didn’t, you wouldn’t have done all zis to keep her in the dark. So tell me: why are you so eager to run from the one you care about?”

Discord opened his mouth, and then closed it again, grimacing as he considered his words carefully. Finally, he snapped his fingers. His eagle’s talon flopped onto the ground and wheeled around, pointing back at him. “Dietrich, who am I?”

The demigod blinked. “Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony.”

“Bingo,” another snap of his fingers, and the claw hopped into the air, tracing a figure with a shimmering sparkle of magic: two wings, an equine body, an ornate necklace with boots for jewelry, and an ever-flowing, ethereal mane. “Now, who is this?”

“Princess Celestia,” Dietrich said with a little smile. “The Solar Princess and ze goddess of harmony for Equestria.”

“Exactly,” he snapped his fingers again, and the eagle’s talon leapt back into place on his body as his paw dashed away the shimmering caricature. “The goddess of HARMONY.”

“Your point?”

“The goddess of harmony,” he pointed to himself again. “And the spirit of chaos. You don’t see any problems with that pairing? Barring the severe unlikelihood of such a relationship working, barring the serious differences we would need to overcome, barring the fact that half the population of the nation she rules thinks I’m some sort of monster…”

He gazed up at the man, his eyes glistening in the dim light. “Could you imagine what could happen? I mean, the Princess of Harmony trying to rule a nation from the spirit of chaos’s arm? It could be destruction! Wanton bloodshed! The kingdom could fall into civil war! It would be…it would be…”

“Chaos?” Dietrich asked, a smart little smile on his lips.

Snarling, the spirit uncoiled his body and sprang at the man in the tuxedo, pausing just short of smashing into him face-to-face. “Don’t get smart with me, boy. I am ancient compared to you: I have watched universes rise and fall in the passage of my lifetime. This isn’t the proper kind of chaos I’m talking about. This is bloodshed and war. This is the kind of chaos your ever-so-wonderful little humans are used to. This is just wasteful destruction, without so much as a chocolate milk cloud in sight.”

The man in the tuxedo regarded the draconequus. Then he smiled. Then he grinned. Then he snickered. Then his hand went to his mouth to cover it as he laughed, long and loud, his feet stomping enthusiastically. Discord sneered. “What is so funny, boy?”

“It’s just…ze god of chaos and disharmony, afraid of the chaos that might result from ze unknown!” Dietrich threw back his head and let his laughter bounce along the alleyways and echo into the night sky. “That’s incredible! It’s priceless in its stupidity!”

“You dare…”

“I was ready to follow through on my vord,” Dietrich bolted to his feet, knocking the crate over as he advanced on Discord. “I vas going to simply drop you off in some magical world and let you run amok to your little heart’s content, but you know vat?”

Discord shifted uncomfortably in his nonexistent seat. Something about the manic look in the man’s eye unnerved him. “No, what?”

“That ‘boy’ comment really pissed me off. So now, instead of sending you to where you vant to go,” suddenly, the man’s hands lashed out and wrapped around Discord’s head, latching onto him faster than a pair of cobras.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?” Discord screamed, struggling in the man’s ironclad grip.

“I’m sending you where you NEED to go!” Dietrich laughed, his eyes widening with a maniac’s glee as a portal hummed into existence right around the draconequus, sucking him in.

“WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU…” Discord didn’t even get to finish his sentence before his ears popped and he rushed out of existence, thrust tumbling head over heels into the nether, totally blind and helpless against the currents dragging him along. Before he could even orient himself and begin to figure out what was happening, he came screeching to a halt, landing flat on his face on a marble floor.

“Oww,” he groaned, wincing as he touched a new lump on his head. He sighed as he tried to peer into the darkness around him. “What have you gone and done to me now, you crazy kraut?”

Hopping back to his feet, he pushed himself into the air to simply hover away, only to land flat on his face once again. “What the…” he groaned in frustration. What had happened to his magic!? Hovering was the simplest thing he could do, hardly requiring any exertion at all! The only thing that could explain this would be if something had totally drained every shred of magic in his body.

Eyes widening, he snapped his fingers, hoping to summon a small chocolate milk cloud. Nothing happened. “Oh, that cheeky bastard! He’s drained my magic!” He gasped. Holy crap, this was bad! Even with the tidal wave of magic he felt flowing through this new world, it’d be hours before he could ever summon the magic needed to teleport again, and a good while before he’d be able to use defensive magic again! Until then, he was practically defenseless! Not good, most definitely not good!

“So, where’d you send me, you son of a whore?” He mumbled angrily, feeling along the walls of this place (a prison cell? He certainly hoped not) for any sort of exit. “Draining my magic and dropping me off like a helpless babe…what kind of sick shit is this!? So Swarm, did you send me to that planet with the flesh-eating caterpillars? Or how about that Red Chinese Earth where they killed off every species that wasn’t human? Ooh! No, wait! Y’know what would be really creative: the planet with nothing but those godawful, annoying Bushwoolie things that just agree with everything you say, you sick bastard! And me without my magic to even light them on fire!”

Finally, his claws closed around a doorknob. “Not a prison cell, thankfully,” he sighed with relief as he eased the door open. The tiny bit of light peeking in revealed his prison to actually be a moderately-sized broom closet, probably unused by how empty it was. Sneaking as quietly as his snake-like body allowed, the spirit slunk out into a large, vaulted hallway. He grimaced as the midday sun met his eyes, and shielded himself until his vision could adjust. He was peering at a set of stained glass windows, set up all along the far wall and framed by massive archways. Now, if his eyes would adjust so he could make out the pictures being depicted in these windows, he might be able to get his bearings and figure out where in the metaverse he was. Squinting, he pieced together something of a picture through the haze in his eyes, and his jaw dropped: a certain white Alicorn surrounded by six magical jewels, her ethereal mane billowing as she stood victorious over an exiled Nightmare Moon.

“Oh no,” he whimpered, rocketing down the hallway in a panic. Flesh-eating caterpillars be damned, he could only wish to have been sent there! Or the planet of the Bushwoolies! Hell, even the world of the Justin Bieber impersonators would be better than this! Anything would be better than Canterlot Castle itself!

“No, no, no, it’s all wrong!” He screamed, flying down the hallway in a panic. “Swarm! You blew our deal, you bastard!” But even now, he could already tell how the man in the tuxedo would reply in that arrogant, bastardized German accent: “What? The deal vas that we would not tell the Princess about your continued existence, it said nozing about SHOWING her!”

“I know that, you tricky motherfucker!” He screamed, darting down a fork in the hallway and slamming himself against yet another door. He wrapped his fingers around the doorknob, rattling it with all his might, but it stubbornly remained sealed. “No, no, no! This isn’t supposed to happen! This can’t…”

“Discord?” An angelic voice asked from the opposite end of the hall. His eyes widened. He must have shot right past another door in his mad dash to escape! How could he have been so stupid!? Sighing, he let his arms drop to his sides in defeat, the door remaining shut before him. He turned to the source of the voice, though he knew who it was the moment she spoke. After all, he’d spent over a millennium listening to its oddly harmonic melody during his time as a piece of statuary.

“Hello, Celestia,” he replied, a sheepish smile crossing his face.

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Captain Vance would eventually retire from the Marine Corps with full honors, all just a few weeks short of a well-publicized promotion which would have seen him earn his first star as a General. When asked why, he would simply reply that it was to focus on his new full-time job as a grandfather.

Uris and Samantha would go on to marry after a few years, settling down in a little house in the New York suburbs, despite his insistence to remain on active duty and his ongoing rehabilitation. He never did lose his limp, though he claimed it was his own “physical medal of honor.” They would have two beautiful children in that house, named Michael Ramirez Uris and Lucy Bannon Uris on their father’s urging. Despite some arguments that crop up every now and again (mostly from Samantha calling him a bloodthirsty barbarian for enjoying a cheeseburger and his reply to call her a filthy treehugger), the family remains quite happy together. The kids are growing up now: Michael will be joining the Marines once he graduates high school, whereas Lucy is on the path to becoming a diagnostician. It’s also worth noting that he and Fluttershy still write one another at least once a month, though when anypony asks the little pegasus why she’d maintain such a distant relationship for so long, she’ll only get a strange look in her eye and remark that it just “feels right.”

Webb, along with every other man who fought in Equestria, would be highly decorated for his actions in the Battle for Coltton, though they would all be sworn to secrecy about it. He would go on to serve with distinction across several other worlds in several more battles with the International Multiverse Expedition Brigade formed under the UN, dedicated to aiding Swarm in containing Mars’s influence across reality. He would retire with distinction in his fifties. He owns a small woodshop in the Michigan wilderness now, living a well-earned, peaceful life.

Lieutenant Miller would be honorably discharged from the Marines after his rehabilitation, and would go on to start a highly successful Italian bistro in Queens. Their slogan: “Why settle for fast, when you can really be treated like family?” Later on, Miller would claim this was really just a watered-down version of his original slogan: “The Olive Garden sucks dick.” He and the remaining veterans of the American Equestrian Expeditionary Corps still gather every year to swap stories, get up-to-date news on one another’s lives, and remember the time when they fought an impossible adversary in a land of magical cartoon ponies. To this day, he still hasn’t take Vance up on his offer to stitch his mouth shut, although he admits to being tempted on more than one occasion.

Back in Equestria, Shining Armor’s scars would reemerge after several months, much to the mystification of doctors everywhere. Though speculation flew that Princess Cadence would eventually leave for “someone better-looking than ol’ scarface” (as some ponies so eloquently put it), her love for him only seemed to grow stronger with the spread of the scarring. In fact, it would be noted that she would barely be able to keep her hooves off him in public from that point forward, thus triggering a short-lived trend of stallions purposefully hurting themselves in hopes of earning the attentions of a scar-loving princess. Most of these efforts would prove unsuccessful, with the notable exception of Prince Blueblood, who would meet his future wife, Nurse Redheart, after nearly burning his hoof off with acid.

After some clarifications (and a few broken teeth), Discord and Celestia would engage in a torrid, highly secretive affair before convincing the world of his “sudden” conversion to good with the help of the Element Bearers. Even then, it was a while before the Princess convinced him to let her go public with their relationship, but after a few years of doing good, the spirit of disharmony found himself surprised by the ponies’ forgiving nature, although a part of this may have had something to do with Princess Luna announcing her relationship with Queen Chrysalis a few days earlier (a tale for another time, for sure). After that, the only odd thing anypony would notice about the pair would be the way they would share a knowing look and a strangely passionate kiss whenever someone noticed something odd about his statue, left in Canterlot gardens to commemorate the spot where he spent a thousand years falling for the Princess; that being the little inscription behind its base, placed there a few days after the forgotten battle and reading: “In Loving Memory.”

The citizens of Equestria would go on to live their lives completely in ignorance of the destruction they had all been saved from, though echoes of the great forgotten battle and the men and women who stood between them and annihilation would continue through their collective psyche for years. The most notable of these would culminate in a line from Miss Rarity’s boutique (by then a well-established name in the world of fashion) styled after U.S military uniforms and resulting in a hit trend of pony nobility journeying far and wide to dress like Marine Corps grunts. However, by far the most heartfelt of these echoes would bombard the mind of a small-time sculptor in Canterlot by the name of Marbel Chisel, who would carve a modern art sculpture of a strange, bipedal, furless creature with an odd black helmet, baggy camouflage clothing, and a little blocky-looking thing in its hand. Celestia herself would request the statue be put on permanent display in the gardens, despite harsh critiques from most lauding the piece as nothing more than a “hodge-podge pile of junk from a jumbled mind”. Its name, carved into the base and hermetically sealed to ensure that neither weather nor time nor act of pony could ever erase it:

“Hero.”

Author's Note

About a year and a half ago, a funny little phrase occurred to me as I sat at my desk, puzzling through some program problem or another: "Seal Team Six and Ponies." After giggling just long enough to unsettle my fellow cube mates, but not long enough for them to call a padded van in on my ass, another image occurred to me, this one of a certain unicorn featured in this story, being rescued by a team of men from some evil dudes in grey uniforms and bulky helmets, the team proceeding in cool, professional silence. From those two inane little thoughts, this story grew.

I feel I have truly grown as a writer during these past 18 months. Not only have I proven that I can undertake a project of this magnitude and see it through to the end, I believe I now have a firmer grip of imagery, characterization, and all the elements of good writing. I have found a niche which I plan to fill, and I hope a few of you come with me. I have a few things planned in the future (like a Dislestia fic slated to pick up where this story let's off) and I hope to see a few of you there!

But these notes pale in comparison to the gratitude I feel towards you, the reader. When I started this insane journey with nothing but a can-do attitude and a vague idea of what I wanted to happen, you hopped in next to me, and though I may not express it enough, my thankfulness for your being here, whether you stuck in from the very beginning nearly a year and a half ago or just clicked on this story a few minutes ago and read this final chapter just to see how it all ends because you're impatient like me (in which case, thanks, but shame on you), I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart:

Thank you.

Words cannot begin to do my gratitude justice, so just thank you. Thank you so much. If I could embrace each and every one of you and whisper that into your ear, I would, to simply say these words in some impersonal footnote seems so empty compared to what I want to do, but it's all I have. So thank you.

And on that note, check my page and journal for anything I'm working on in the future, take a bit of advice: find something you love to fill your life, be it wriiting, art, or whatever, just find it and never let it go, and that's it.

Catch ya on the flipside.

The End.

Chapter I: Friends and Enemies

It began in the nothing between realities: that vast and empty space which serves no purpose but to mark off where one universe ends and the next begins. Most who knew about it referred to the great emptiness as the nether, as there didn’t seem to be any better name for it and nobody ever spared it much more thought. At most, it was only ever populated by little wisps of cosmic dust leaking from their universes or one of the many demigods capable of traveling between dimensions, and even the latter were just passing through on their way to someplace more important. So it’s a little strange that our story begins not with one of these incredible creatures, or in one of the magnificent worlds that populate the metaverse, but with one little wisp of dust, dancing about in the nether. Or at least, this thing looked like a wisp. It was actually something far more insidious, slithering about in disguise. In this, it was infinitely clever, for not even the God-like beings scouring reality for it would pay much heed to a bit of cosmic dust.

The wisp swirled about, whispering past the realm of King Arthur’s great Empire (currently celebrating its 700th year of prosperity), gliding around the world wracked with war between the Great Changeling Empire and the Union of Soviet Griffon Republics, and slithering by the planet populated entirely with sentient, talking hairbrushes, eventually happening upon a somewhat-large, glimmering pink ball suspended in the nether. The wisp felt it, touching it as if searching for some marker. After a while, something within the little wisp grinned to itself.

“I’m here,” the thing that looked like a wisp but really wasn’t said, the dust coalescing into its favorite form: two legs, two arms, a head on top, a tall and powerful body, and for style, a neat little officer’s cap with a dark gray uniform. The thing that looked like a man smiled up at all the beautiful galaxies and myriad little worlds spinning off in the distance, admiring what was destined to be his. He turned his attention back to the pink ball, gazing down at the world unfolding before him on the ball’s surface: with a dragon flying here, and a changeling slipping unnoticed into a royal ball there, here a griffon, there a pony…

“…Everywhere a goddamned pony,” he grumbled, nose wrinkling in disgust. “Well, we’re just going to have to fix that, aren’t we?

“So Equestria, is this your first time? Don’t worry: I’ll be gentle,” he said, grinning wickedly as he plunged his arm through the veil separating the little universe from the outside. “Not.”

The man’s eyes glazed over as his mind crept from his body and spread throughout the veil, scanning this way and that for any weaknesses. To his delight, there were many. Dozens, in fact, as if somebody had been here before and cleared the way…

“No…” he breathed, his mind returning to his physical body. He plunged his arm even deeper into the veil, anger blazing on his face. “No, it can’t be…”

Tearing his arm out of the veil, he finally threw his head in, scanning for something out of the ordinary. It didn’t take long to find just what he was looking for: a small cluster of Chinook helicopters, with the Stars and Stripes on their sides as they hovered along, far out of sight of any pony. The creature's teeth ground together, his fury raging. There was only one possible explanation for a bunch of American Jarheads in Equestria. “SWARM!” The man howled with rage, pulling his head back into the nether and hammering his fist against the veil. “You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, couldja, you old bastard!? You just couldn’t…”

Sighing, he massaged his temples. He knew he had to remain calm, getting angry now would solve nothing. Okay, he thought, this is a bit out of line with the plan, but so what? I knew this day was coming. Eventually, he was going to need to confront Swarm, he'd known that, though he’d hoped to be a bit more prepared. “But then,” the wicked grin crossed his face again. “It’s like you always said, Swarm: there’s no time like the present.”

Snapping his fingers, he watched as somewhere far off in the nether, a planet not too unlike the one that birthed him suddenly flickered. Several small ships suddenly left their universe for another, each at his personal command. “Alright, old man,” he said, watching as his forces closed in on the defenseless ball before him. “No more running. No more hide-and-seek. Let’s get this war started.”

Celestia placed the latest letter from her most faithful student on the nightstand by her bed, folding it over with the gentlest touch she could manage before closing her eyes, resting her head on the pure-white pillow and pulling the rainbow-colored sheets up under her chin. The bags under her eyes deepened as her lids slowly fluttered shut, the Princess thanking whoever might be listening for the near-daily letters from her most faithful student. They had become something of an escape for her: a way out of the terrible day-to-day stresses of being the Princess of Day. Of course, they were only a temporary escape, as the moment she put them down…

“Princess!” A frantic voice begged from her doorway. Celestia sighed, her relaxed smile fading.

“What is it now, Coponicus?” She asked, taking no effort to disguise the fatigue in her voice.

“Oh, I’m dreadfully sorry, Princess,” the Earth-pony astronomer said, his telescope still tucked beneath his foreleg. He pushed a set of wire-rim glasses further up on the bridge of his nose and peered at her with a set of deep lavender eyes set atop a thin body covered in a gray coat of fur. “I just had something else to report about those disturbances I’ve been noting in the sky.”

Heaven, give me strength, the Princess thought. “As I have already informed you a half-dozen times today, the green lights in the sky are none of your concern. They are part of a pre-planned exercise meant to benefit our allies, and that is all you need to know. Any strange shapes you see within are part of this exercise and are not meant to be questioned by anyone outside the royal family.”

“I…yes, Princess, I knew all that.”

“Then why are you still looking at them?” She asked dryly, her patience wearing thin.

“Well, it’s actually quite interesting,” the stallion continued nervously. “There appears to be a storm of some sorts gathering right around one of the lights.

“What?” Celestia bolted upright, throwing her covers into a pile at the foot of her bed. She stared up into her sister’s night sky, squinting for the little green lights shimmering in the distance. “Telescope,” she barked, holding out her hoof expectantly.

“Um, right,” the stallion trotted up to her and held up his telescope, which she snatched away and used to spy on each and every one of the lights. As she expected, she watched a small group of rotor-suspended aircraft appear within one of the strange, green lights and begin its journey to the ground, where they were supposed to land somewhere in the Everfree Forest, far from her subjects. Though still not far enough for her tastes. To think, she was going to let such creatures into Equestria, a place of light, whose very existence was meant to remain pure and free of the terrors of war!

“Desperate times…” she mumbled.

“It’s to the north, Princess,” Coponicus said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Right,” she said, mildly annoyed. She turned the spyglass northward, where a massive thundercloud boiled and rumbled with a strange green tint at its heart. “Have the pegasi…”

“Already done, Princess. I asked them to look into it hours ago. They said it’s not one of theirs, and what’s more, they can’t even get close to it! The cloud seems to throw lightning bolts around so randomly that getting anywhere near it is just too dangerous! Right now it’s high enough off the ground and far enough from Cloudsdale that it doesn’t pose any sort of a threat to our subjects, but still, it is strange that such an odd storm would be produced around one of those ‘lights’.”

Celestia grumbled again. “Have you asked anypony else about the lights?”

“No Princess, just as you ordered. I simply pointed the cloud out for the pegasi to investigate, and as I said, they couldn’t even get close. They probably never noticed the light.”

“Good, make sure it stays that way, and…” she sighed, trying to tap into her more diplomatic side. “Try to get some sleep, my little pony. You’ve been studying those lights long enough.”

“Er, yes Princess,” the stallion bowed before turning to leave, not even bothering to ask for his telescope back. The Princess remained at the window for a while longer, studying the strange cloud as best as she could. For the quickest second, she thought she saw one of the strange aircraft in the midst of it, illuminated by a flash of lightning as it struggled through the maelstrom. Then it was gone, the cloud an impenetrable layer of gray hovering over the forest.

“Swarm,” she whispered, as if saying the name any louder might awaken an ancient curse. “What are you up to? What have you not told me?”

“Nothing that needs to be any of your concern, Princess,” a voice tinged with a German accent replied behind her. Far from shocked, the Princess turned slowly to see a blonde man in an impeccably well-pressed tuxedo leaning against her bed, his face holding to its usual, nonchalant expression.

Celestia glared back at him. “Swarm, when I agreed to allow your warriors to aid in the defense of Equestria, I made it very clear that I would remain updated on anything and everything they were planning on doing.”

“Zat is why you have not been informed of this, as zis is not of their doing,” he extended a gloved hand towards the cloud still thundering away in the distance. “Zis is just one piece in the game, a pre-emptive move meant to ensure a greater chance for victory.”

“How is allowing one of your own aircraft to blunder right into a massive storm supposed to aid us? If anything, aren’t you putting your own men at risk?”

“A minor risk, perhaps,” he shrugged. “But the move it will allow us to make could preserve a very important piece for the later phases of ze game.”

“Game,” she snorted as she turned back to the window. “Please don’t tell me that’s all you think this is.”

Suddenly, the nonchalant look on the man’s face flickered, replaced by a deep frown for the quickest of moments before returning to its usual, neutral expression. “In the past five weeks, I haff lost five offshoots, Princess. Zat is five components of my very being, given god-like power to guide reality down its proper course, that have simply disappeared from the fabric of space and time itself, und while zis has been happening, a particularly nasty human world that shouldn’t have the capacity to do so has been jumping between universes. They have butchered millions of living, breathing, sentient beings for the crime of not being born as zey were. Believe me, Princess, nobody knows how deeply grave zis situation is, and how important it is that we spare Equestria this atrocity.”

The Princess was silent for a moment, taken off-guard by Swarm’s outburst, before she replied: “NoBODY?”

“It’s a human thing, you should be used to it by now,” he shrugged, the tiniest of smiles tugging at the corners of his lips.

“I’m still unsure about this whole thing,” she sighed, turning back to the lights in the night sky. “Allowing such creatures as your men into this world, a place meant to be a beacon of light shining for the entire metaverse…”

“They are professionals, Celestia,” Swarm replied, offering a reassuring pat on her shoulder. “How bad could zey be?”

Chapter III: Brunch with Frienemies, and Fluttershy's Cottage

Celestia tilted her head back and downed her tea in a single gulp, leaning back in her chair as the liquid rushed down her throat. Her garden surrounded her, the centerpiece of which, of course, was the frozen statue of Discord, Lord of Chaos and Disharmony. Besides that one sour note from her past, though, the garden really was pleasant. Rose bushes by the dozens, little birds and fluffy squirrels playing over the cobblestone paths, even a nice little hedge maze to wander around in.

And then she thought of what she would need to do soon…

She poured herself another cup of tea and slammed it back in one gulp, eyeing the statue as she replaced the cup in its saucer.

“Wishing for somezing a little stronger?” A familiar voice asked behind her in its usual, heavy German accent.

She turned in her seat and smiled warmly. “Hello again, Swarm.”

The man behind her returned the smile, his blonde hair shining in the midday sun, a bottle of wine cradled in his gloved hands, right in front of the lapels of his finely-tailored suit. “I vould assume we are alone?”

“Of course, just as you requested.”

“Good, good,” Swarm took a seat at the marble table and produced two glasses, filling each to the brim. “Colli Aprutini, from the vines of Teramo.”

“Your Italians do seem to have a knack for wine making.” Celestia said, her glass rising to her lips with a magical shimmer.

Swarm stared at her, “Now, how did you even…”

“I am an Alicorn, Swarm, tasked with the protection of all of Equestria. It is my job to know. Now, judging by your accent, I would assume you are the European brother, are you not?”

The man grimaced. “My brozer did not tell me you were avare that zere vere more of us.”

“He probably wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Oh, it is quite ze surprise, I can assure you of zat.”

“Now, what name do you prefer to go by?”

The man raised his glass to his lips, obviously deep in thought for a quick instant, and then he shrugged and took a small sip. “Hans. Hans Dietrich.” He replied with the wine sliding down his throat.

“A lovely name.”

“Yes, I thought so too. Now,” Swarm crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. “Vhat seems to be ze problem, mine little princess?”

“You’re imitating Freud on purpose, aren’t you?” Celestia asked with an eyebrow cocked.

“I have a lot of German in me; it’s one of ze benefits.”

“Fine,” Celestia sighed. “If you must know, it’s Discord.”

The cocky little smile on Swarm’s face faded. “You really don’t want to enlist his help in zis battle, do you?”

“The God of Chaos and Disharmony, whose iron rule over the land spread misery to untold millions, loose once again? And, what’s more, we become indebted to him by asking for his help?” Celestia replied icily. “Swarm dearest, why would that bother me at all?”

“You know what’s at stake here, you know what ze enemy is capable of, and you know zat if they vin, zeir reign will make a thousand years under Discord look like a cakewalk. We have no choice: my forces are spread too thin, ve need all ze help we can get!”

“I know this Swarm, I was merely airing a few personal grievances,” she sighed again, bringing the wine glass to her lips and sipping regally. Suddenly, a bear’s paw clamped onto Swarm’s shoulder, and he bolted out of his chair, a rapier materializing in his hand. Discord smirked back at him, the small tuft of hair he tried to pass off as a beard waving in the mild breeze.

“Which is why I released him twenty minutes ago,” Celestia finished, allowing a tiny yet confident smile to cross her face as she sipped. “That facsimile on the pedestal over there is just so nobody notices Discord’s absence and panics.”

“So, this is the boy with all the toys?” Discord looked Swarm over as the rapier disappeared once again. Swarm returned the gaze, both of them systematically scanning each other until they finally met one another’s eyes. Discord’s yellow-red pupils locked onto Swarm’s sky-blue pearls.

“You know, if this was another kind of fanfic, this would be the part where we kiss.” Discord said, nonchalantly returning Swarm’s piercing gaze.

“Oh, I’m avare.” Swarm replied.

“You won’t hear a complaint from me!” Celestia gushed, the wine obviously starting to take effect as the two took their seats at opposite sides of the table.

“I’ve heard a great many things about you.” Discord said, his gaze never leaving Swarm’s.

“Have you now?”

“It’s hard not to hear of another traveler when one jumps across as many worlds as I do.”

Celestia paused mid-sip in slight surprise, as if Discord had just revealed something she might have suspected at some point, but never put much effort into investigating.

“Don’t be surprised, Princess,” Discord grinned and leaned back, his reptilian tail shifting to accommodate his motions, “I am the very essence of chaos and disharmony. You may have caged my physical form in this realm, but there are infinitely many more for me to play in. Like Mr. Dietrich’s here.”

“Oh?” Swarm laughed, pulling another wine glass out from under the table and filling it. “I find zat hard to believe. Nozing could get near my vorld without my knowing.”

“You’d be surprised, Dietrich. At any rate, it’s been awhile since I’ve paid a visit. Not since you were born, in fact.”

Swarm’s grip on the bottle faltered, spilling a few drops of wine onto the pure-white marble of the table.

“Yes, I’m afraid your world has gotten quite boring since you popped up,” Discord continued, eyeing his fingernails with sudden fascination as a wicked smile crossed his face. “But then, what could one expect from a planet reduced from six billion real, living, sentient beings to…”

“Discord!” Celestia barked. “Enough. Or have you forgotten our deal?”

“Of course I haven’t,” Discord’s goat-like features formed into a pout which reminded Swarm of a child being forced to eat their veggies. “Just having a bit of fun here, Princess. It has been a while since I’ve been allowed that much in this specific world. Speaking of fun though, it looks like I’ll be having a lot more once we’re done.”

He grinned, his teeth, though misshapen and cracked, gleaming intimidatingly at his companions in the midday sun. “Two-hundred year’s free reign over alternating sections of Equestria? You two must be desperate.”

“We are,” Swarm replied gravely, and immediately his tone set the god of chaos on edge, though he absolutely refused to show it. The man in the tuxedo ran his finger along the rim of his glass. “For the past few months, zere have been numerous interdimensional breeches, on a scale unlike anyzing we’ve seen before.”

“So? One of us has gotten frisky.” Discord messily gulped down his wine and slammed his glass down on the table, chipping its polished surface as he wiped his mouth with the back of his clawed hand. “It happens every now and again. Plenty of time on our hands, infinite power, what do you expect?”

“Not like zis,” Swarm reached under the table, this time pulling out a manila folder. He threw it casually towards Discord, who caught it mid-air and popped it open. Inside was a stack of photographs, the first of which showed some kind of beach landing being undertaken by a large human military force. “Zat first one was taken by an American spy satellite last veek in one of ze worlds near my own. It shows an assault being undertaken by a group calling itself ‘The Ridchir’ upon ze southern shores of the isle of Hong Kong. Zis group proceeded to launch an all-out attack upon ze Chinese mainland and carry out a number of terrorist attacks and air strikes which resulted in the destruction of an American carrier group, along vith numerous Chinese, American, Taiwanese, and Japanese military facilities in ze region.”

“Now, where did a terrorist group get the resources to carry out such a widespread attack?” Celestia asked, leaning forward in her seat. Discord tried his very best to look disinterested, though privately he had to admit he was curious himself.

“Anozer vorld,” Swarm replied flatly, tilting his head back and upending his wine glass down his throat as his companions sat in stunned silence. “Ze rest of them are like zat. A few, particularly nasty human vorlds doing things they should not be able to do.”

Discord flipped rapidly through the file. The photos were all the same: a group of men armed with sub-machine guns and assault rifles taking a group of animal-like, anthropomorphic people dressed in medieval garb hostage. Several men in Roman-style tunics lying in a ditch, covered in their own blood, with dozens of tell-tale automatic rifle-fire wounds all over their bodies. An archer with pointed, elf-like ears taking aim at the hundreds of parachutes opening over his tree-top home. And, most disturbing of all, an alternative version of Ponyville, burning as the dark silhouettes of stealth bombers streaked overhead.

“Somezing is punching holes in the walls of reality itself, spraying zis vay and that like a child vith a machine gun.” Swarm said, pouring himself another glass, “And I haff good reason to believe it has set its sights on zis specific version of Equestria.”

Without another word, both Princess Celestia and Discord pushed their glasses forward. Swarm refilled them silently, staring tiredly at the last few drops trickling away.

The creature in Fluttershy’s bed moaned and turned over, its heavily-wrapped feet nearly knocking one of the posts right off the bedframe.

“Oh, there there,” the Element of Kindness cooed, most of her fear and wariness over the creature replaced with concern. It never failed: the moment a creature of any kind fell under her wing, she couldn’t help but care for it as if it were one of her own pets. I guess that applies to any kind of creature, no matter how strange, she thought as she directed the hummingbirds hovering nearby to replace the washcloth on the creature’s smooth, black forehead.

“Oh Celestia, if only I knew what you were!” She sighed, “I might be able to help you then! But so far I can just…” As she thought aloud, she lost track of what her hooves were doing and the next thing she knew, she had bumped one of the strange black tendrils on the side of the creature’s head.

“Oops,” she quickly moved to fix her mistake, only to knock the creature’s head off entirely. The strange, black apparatus bounced to the floor, rolling lopsidedly across the room before coming to a stop just short of the wall.

“DEAR SWEET CELESTIA!” She screamed, rushing out the door, grabbing a roll of gauze from her bathroom cabinet, and returning to wrap what was left of the poor thing’s head, all the while shrieking at the top of her lungs: “I’MSORRYI’MSORRYI’MSORRYI’MSORRY…”

“Woah,” a raspy, yet comforting, voice said from the doorway. “What…what is that!?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy screamed, pulling the only other pegasus she knew she could trust into the room. “Thank Celestia you’re here! I was just trying to help this poor little creature and I didn’t know how and now its head’s gone and I don’t know how to help it andeverythingisgoingwrongandnowit’sgonnadieandit’sallmyfaultand…”

“Fluttershy!” The teal pegasus jammed a hoof into her friend’s mouth. “Breathe.”

The little yellow pegasus obeyed, sucking in small bursts of air around Rainbow’s hoof and sighing.

“Better?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Good. Now,” Rainbow pulled her hoof away and trotted to the creature’s side. “What is this thing and why is it in your bed?”

“Well, I found it in the woods, and at first I didn’t know what to do, but it was pretty obvious the poor little darling was hurt, so I had to take it in. Only,” she sniffled, tears welling up in her eyes, “Only I made it worse! It’s head just popped right off and now the poor dear’s going to die and it’s all my…”

“Woah! Wheredja get the cool helmet!?” Rainbow gasped, swooping right over the creature’s body and grabbing the “head” in the corner. Grinning, she pulled it on, only to have it slump down over her eyes. “Aww, it’s too big! Jeez, whoever wore this must’ve been a giant!”

Fluttershy watched her friend, her jaw scraping the floor. “H-helmet?”

“Yeah! Oooh, it’s got so many cool gadgets wired to it though! Twilight would have a field day with…wait,” she pulled the black casing off her head and eyed Fluttershy. “Did you think this thing was its head?”

Fluttershy nodded bashfully.

“You big goof!” Rainbow laughed before jamming the thing back on her head. “Oh man, lookit all this stuff! What’s this knob over here…” Turning the knob on the helmet’s side with her hoof, Rainbow Dash was nearly knocked over by a loud blast of static.

“So, you’re saying that was just the creature’s head protection?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“Huh!?” Rainbow hollered as she pulled the helmet off and twisted the knob back to the off position. “Oh yeah, it’s fine, Fluttershy! Trust me: head’s don’t come off that easy.”

“Oh, good,” well, now she just felt kind of silly. Of course that thing was a helmet; it was too artificial to be anything else! Still, that didn’t explain the weird fabric she’d found it in, or what this creature was.

As if on cue, another pony burst through the door. “Where is it!?” Twilight Sparkle blurted as she barged into the room. Still playing with her helmet, Rainbow Dash simply nodded towards the bed.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” the purple unicorn said passively as she galloped past on her way to the bed.

“Oh, hello Twilight…”

“Couldja hold this for me while I set my things up?” Twilight interrupted as she tossed a labcoat over Fluttershy’s head. “Thanks.”

“Oh, s-sure Twilight, but what things do you need to set up?” The little yellow pegasus asked as she shrugged the labcoat off her head and threw it over her back.

“Why, the equipment I’ll need for the testing, of course! APPLEJACK!” She called, and a certain orange-colored earth pony trotted in, tugging a wagon loaded down with more heavy electronic equipment than Fluttershy would have thought could possibly fit into a little, red Radio Flyer.

“Whew!” AJ gasped. “Ah dunno whatcha think this stuff’ll do fer Fluttershy there, Twi. But I hope it’s worth…” her eyes fell on the bed, and widened. “Now, what in tarnation is that thing!?”

“That’s why I asked Twilight over,” Fluttershy explained. “I found the poor dear in the forest, wrapped in some kind of strange cloth.”

“Cloth? Oh, dahling, I hope you kept it!” Rarity said as she trotted in daintily. “Celestia knows when one might need a bit of fabric lying around, and it can be so much cheaper to…I say, where did you find the shaved monkey?”

This time, Fluttershy just shrugged and nudged Twilight.

“Oh, I haven’t a clue what it is or where it came from! But I intend to find out,” the purple unicorn replied as she turned to her machine and pulled out a bundle of wires attached to sensors. However, before she could begin the process of sticking the little paper sensors onto every inch of exposed skin she could find, Pinkie Pie shot in with a series of blaring trumpets, confetti bursting into the room just behind her.

“Girls! Time to welcome a new friend!” She screamed, readying a pair of drums strapped to herself. “Where is he!?”

“Um…” Twilight said. Pinkie instantly locked on the bed and backflipped off the ground, landing right on the creature’s chest. It groaned as the air was knocked right out of its body and Pinkie started her song: “WELCOME! WELCOME! WELCOME! WE’RE GLAD YOU’RE FINALLY HEEEEERREE! JUST YOU AND ME, PINKIE! OUR LOVELY LIT-tle…dear…” she finally looked down at what she was standing on, then back at all her friends. “Girls? What is this thing?”

“We don’t know, Pinkie, that’s what I was about to find out.” Twilight replied patiently.

“Oh,” she said, looked back down to the creature’s strange, misshapen, bandage-covered head one last time before shrieking and throwing herself off the bed. “RARITY!”

“No, not again…” Rarity moaned before her friend’s little, pink flank smacked her to the ground. Both girls landed with a loud thump, after which Pinkie started screaming some more.

“Pinkie.” Twilight said, now struggling to keep her patience.

“AIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…”

“Pinkie!” Twilight was most definitely annoyed now.

“…EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…”

“PINKIE!”

“…AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH – what?”

“Are you done?”

“Hold on – AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH - okay.”

“Good, now, before there are any more interruptions…” Twilight turned back to the bundle of wires by her hoof. With a few, swift movements, the unicorn had a couple dozen sensors attached to the creature’s skin and every machine in her wagon running.

After a few minutes of beeping and whirring, the wagon-based computer bank spat out a long roll of paper, which Twilight studied. “Hmm…interesting…” she mumbled.

“What is it, Twi?” AJ asked.

“Well, according to these scans, this creature still has a very high level of brain activity, consistent with somepony who’s…dreaming.”

“Good Heavens!” Rarity gasped, throwing Pinkie off herself, “Are you saying this thing is capable of dreaming!?”

“I can’t say for certain yet, but these scans are showing me the kind of activity most animals aren’t capable of.”

“So it’s smart?” AJ asked.

“Again, I can’t say that with any kind of certainty, but…” Twilight shrugged, “It could be a reasonable assumption to make. Hold on…” Thinking on her hooves, the little purple unicorn pulled one of the creature’s arms from beneath the bedspread and studied its cloth sleeve carefully, pulling out a magnifying glass. “Rarity, could you come over here and tell me what you see?”

Curious, the white unicorn trotted up to her friend’s side and shoved her face into the magnifying glass. “Oh my, I’ve never seen stitching like this! It’s beyond precise!” She exclaimed after a moment, her eyes widening in shock.

“Hmm,” Twilight nodded, scratching her chin with her hoof. Head hunched in thought, she crossed the room to where Rainbow Dash sat and stole the helmet from off her friend’s head.

“Heyyy…”

Twilight ignored her friend’s complaints and focused on the helmet in her hooves, turning it over, looking at it from every possible angle.

“You wanna clue us in on whatcha got there, Twi?” Applejack asked.

Twilight simply nodded, hoofing the helmet back to Rainbow Dash before continuing: “Girls, based on what I’ve seen so far, I think it would be safe to conclude this creature is not of this world.”

“You mean…” Pinkie Pie gasped, “THEY have finally landed!? EEP! I KNEW IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THEY CAME BACK FOR ME!”

“Now, hold up,” AJ raised a hoof for some calm. “You’re not sayin’ we got ourselves a real, honest-to-Celestia alien on our hooves, are ya?”

“I don’t know, but between the high-levels of brain activity and the incredible amount of technology in that helmet,” Twilight shrugged in Rainbow’s direction as the little cyan pegasus shocked herself on one of the many devices wired into the helmet. “I think we can safely say this creature is from some sort of different civilization, with a technological capability far beyond our own.”

“A true, sophisticated civilization!?” Rarity gasped, “Oh, to learn the culture of other worlds! What marvelous things can this creature do, I wonder?”

At that moment, a deep rumble emanated from the bed, catching everypony’s attention. Rainbow Dash laid the helmet on the ground and started hovering, ready to charge the bed as Applejack bowed her head and stood ready to back her up. Everypony else backed cautiously away, giving the pair a clear path to the bed if needed.

Then a rotten stench filled the room, forcing them all to turn away and cough.

“Ugh, dreadful!” Rarity gasped, preparing a pillow for a fainting spell.

“Some sort of…defense mechanism?” Twilight wondered aloud, pinching her nose shut with her hoof.

“Naw, li’l guy must’ve had some beans ‘fore landin’ here in Equestria,” AJ replied, waving the stench away with her hat.

“Oh, Applejack! That’s so crude!” Rarity choked, her nose wrinkling derisively.

“What? Ah grew up with an older farmhand fer a bro, Ah know what a fart smells like!”

“But we still don’t know for sure if it was…”

“Why don’t you just ask him what happened?” Pinkie asked.

All eyes turned to the bed. The creature was sitting up.

Chapter XXIII: To Save All That You Hold Dear...

“Shuh-Shining! Oh Celestia, Shining!” Twilight sobbed from the ropes keeping her secured to the barricade. Tears flowed down her face as she bucked against her restraints. Applejack and Rarity were trying their best to comfort her, while Fluttershy stood nearby, comforting a soldier as he held his crotch and tried to fight back tears.

“Suh-sorry for what my friend did, she’s very distraught,” she said to him quietly. “It looked like it hurt.”

“Don’t worry, ma’am,” the soldier replied, trying desperately to hold on to a brave face despite the overwhelming jets of pain wracking his body. “Compared to my first week of Basic, one buck to the groin ain’t that bad. Though I really hope the doctors can track down my left nut.”

“Oh…uh…I do too,” Fluttershy said, looking over at Applejack in confusion.

“Ah’ll explain when ye’re older, sugarcube,” she sighed, stroking Twilight’s mane. Just a few yards away, Rainbow Dash stood by Uris, Miller, and Vance’s side, keeping an eye on the rooftop. She hadn’t told Twilight about Cadence and Shining’s restraints, nor did she have any intention of doing so. “Gosh, this is terrible,” she sighed, her voice quivering as she peered through the set of field binoculars she’d been given.

“It’s a fucking nightmare, is what it is,” Uris added, kneeling by her side as she handed the binoculars off to him. “I mean, it’s killing me just sitting here, watching the bastards stand there and rub this shit in our faces. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for Twilight.”

“You best stow those emotions away for now, son. They have no place on the battlefield.” Vance said stoically, stepping into the conversation.

“Y-yes, sir.”

The aging Marine nodded his son’s way and turned to Miller. “How much time do we have until our boys get a clear shot?” He whispered, eyeing the crowd of ponies watching the rooftops anxiously. “We could be looking at a full-scale riot if this isn’t resolved soon.”

“Too early to tell,” Miller sighed. “My snipers are in place, but we’re talking about a half-dozen shots that need to be lined-up and timed perfectly! If just one of those rounds misses…”

Suddenly, their radios all crackled to life, and a familiar voice sounded over them: “Hello? Hello? Testing, one two three…”

“Who in the hell…” Miller started.

Vance just grabbed his own radio and nearly tore it off his uniform in lifting it to his lips. “Swarm! You crazy bastard, where the hell have you been!?”

“Oh, Vancey! So good to hear your voice again!” Vance’s radio (and only his radio) replied. “Terribly sorry, but there’s a bit of a situation developing abroad that needs a lot of my focus. Had to leave before I could even grant y’all a right and proper goodbye.”

“I-is that the commander?” Miller gasped, recognizing the voice from a half-dozen intelligence briefings. “How is he only talking to you? We’re on the same frequency!”

“Oh, my dear Miller,” Miller’s radio responded. “You should really work on your ability to question the world around you if that’s the only question on your mind.”

“Some things are better left unexplained,” Vance replied before returning to his radio. “Well Swarm, it’s good to hear your voice again, but we have a bit of a situation developing here too.”

“Yes, I know,” the semi-omnipotent being on the other side grumbled. “I obviously underestimated the enemy in your little neck of the woods. I thought you could handle it, but Mr. Armor being thrown in the mix…complicates things.”

“Wait, you know Shining Armor is up there?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Just who are you, anyway!?”

“Like the man at your side said, Ms. Dash,” Uris’s radio replied. “Some things are just better left unexplained. Besides, answering that question would require at least a fundamental understanding of basic electronics and nanotechnology.”

“Look, Mr. Swarm,” Uris said, somehow unshaken by the fact that a semi-omnipotent being was having a private conversation with him over a radio that couldn’t possibly be on a private channel. “We could really use any help you can give us.”

“Ask, and you shall receive, m’boy! Now, as I said, the situation developing here requires nearly all my focus, but I might be able to send a little something your way. Why don’t you keep an eye on the building with all the bad guys in it, hmm?”

Confused, the helicopter pilot scooped up his binoculars and peered through them, keeping the radio pressed to his ear. And then his jaw dropped. “Oh, you’re a maniac,” he said to his radio.

“Man, why does everybody keep saying that?” Uris’ radio asked. “That was a rhetorical question, by the way: I know damn well why everybody keeps saying that.”

As Uris watched, Vance and Miller quickly followed his gaze with their own goggles, their jaws dropping in unison. “Oh my God, he can’t be serious,” Miller said.

“Believe me, he absolutely is,” Vance grumbled.

“What? Who is this guy? What’s going on?” Dash asked. Uris just handed his binoculars over and crouched down beside her, directing her gaze to one specific window on the building’s top floor. She blinked and adjusted her sights on it, eventually making out a man in a leather jacket and plain blue jeans, one hand grasping a radio while the other waved enthusiastically back at them.

“Oh, no way,” she said as every human’s radio crackled to life.

“Sir,” a new voice said. “This is Bravo-Two, reporting in. We just received word not to open fire until the…uh…”

“What is it, private?” Miller asked vacantly, still in shock.

“We just received word not to open fire until…until the ‘pretty pink pony princess sings.’ W-we believe it was the Commander, sir. He said…”

“Just follow those orders, son,” Vance interrupted as he watched the man in the leather jacket suddenly leap out the window and grasp the bottom of the balcony, hoisting himself up and onto the rooftop. “And trust me when I say that everything’s under control.”

Almost immediately, every firearm on the rooftop was focused on the man in the leather jacket, even the officer’s pistol. The man just took a drag off his cigarette and flicked it over his shoulder, hopping off the balcony and taking a step towards the soldiers. Shining and Cadence could only watch in confusion as the man slowly raised his hands, the smile never leaving his face. “Congratulations, you got me.”

“I-Identify yourself!” The officer barked, the pistol wavering in his grip.

“Well, if you insist,” the man spread his arms out with theatrical embellishment. “The name’s Swarm: firearms expert, Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Equestria, Mayor of Los Angeles 205649-XD, Lord of the Dance, and all-around handsome devil.” He winked an eye Cadence’s way, who arched an eyebrow at him in return.

“I’m sorry,” the leader said, staring at the newcomer in confusion. “Did you just say: ‘Commander of American Expeditionary Forces in Equestria’?”

“Hmph,” Swarm crossed his arms and pouted. “And here I was hoping you’d be more interested in hearing about my mayoral race in L.A. Why does nobody EVER want to hear about that!? I had to kiss, like, a million kids for that shit!”

Sighing, he continued: “Yes, I’m the guy who, on paper, is running the show down there.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the American forces gathered below. “Really though, it’s all ceremonial. I’ve had a couple other guys doing the job for me. Honestly, I could die right now and it probably wouldn’t faze them a bit.”

“Oh,” the leader sighed. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Now, what makes you say that?”

“Because if you had some real power, I’d have a reason to spare your life,” and with a snap of his fingers, his men immediately opened fire, pouring dozens of rounds of hot lead into Swarm’s body within the space of a few seconds. The Commander watched, grinning.

And then the grin faded. His eyes widened in horror. The man standing on the rooftop across from him was still standing there, completely unshaken by a barrage that should have killed him fifty times over. “H-how…” he gasped, his men starting to reload.

“Oh, it’s quite simple really,” Swarm replied proudly. “I just…”

He was interrupted by yet another barrage of bullets. Sighing, the man in the leather jacket waited patiently until the weapons around him were spent once again. Once that finished, he looked back at the other men on the rooftop, tapping his foot impatiently. “Now, are we done?”

“I…how…”

“Okay, good.”

The Ridchir officer holstered his weapon and strode up to the man in the leather jacket. Eyes wide, he swept a hand across Swarm’s face, only to watch it pass through. He sighed and allowed his hand to return to his side, his eyes narrowing again. “A projection.”

“Bingo bango.”

“How cute. Tell me, how is this possible? Mirrors? Some light-bending technology we haven’t acquired yet?”

“Actually, the answer is far more complicated,” Swarm pulled the cigarette pack out of his pocket again and held it up to the officer, extending one as an offering. The officer actually started to reach for it before catching himself, grimacing at the little joke. Swarm grinned as he stuck one of the cigarettes into his mouth and lit it up. “Basically, you can think of me as a few tiny but highly advanced photonic generators exciting the atomic structure of the air comprising my structure, forcing it to emit light at the proper wavelengths required to maintain this illusion.”

“Marvelous,” the officer smiled widely, his eyes lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. “Such technology could be put to incredible use for The Ridchir!”

“Oh, but that’s not all!” Swarm raised his finger and spoke like a game show host revealing the prize behind door number 3: “It’s also capable of manufacturing a crack in the bulk polymer of a given adhesive, propagating it throughout said adhesive’s structure to cause a complete cohesive fracture!”

“I…um…great!” The officer smiled, not wanting to give away that he had no idea what Swarm had just said. Neither he, nor the men behind him, noticed when the tape binding Cadence’s lips suddenly came loose, flopping uselessly off her upper lip but remaining stuck tight to her lower. She looked up in shock, ready to scream for help just as Swarm raised a finger to his lips and eyed her for the quickest split second, long enough for her to see, but fast enough to be dismissed as a weird gesture. She swallowed the scream and pressed her upper lip against the tape, making it look as natural as possible just as the officer looked her way. He gave his prisoners a quick once-over and returned his attention to the man in the leather jacket as he started talking again.

“But really, all this is truly irrelevant when compared to this device’s real use!”

“And what would that be?” The officer asked in honest anticipation.

Swarm looked to his left, then to his right, and beckoned the officer forward, eyeing the other men on the rooftop suspiciously. The officer leaned forward, allowing Swarm to press his lips to his ear and whisper: “It makes for a great distraction.”

“What-“ the officer started, already reaching for his pistol just as the door to the stairwell burst open and Ramirez exploded into view, Uzi blasting. The officer died instantly, the hail of bullets aimed at his back slicing through his body and passing harmlessly through the projection in front of him. Another of his men swiftly followed as Cadence fell over, one of the soldier’s boots clocking her in the face in his frantic bid to turn and face the new threat in time. Completely disoriented, she cried out in pain and surprise, the weakened tape easily falling off her face. Her scream was quickly followed by a cavalcade of sniper shots, slicing down the last of the men while they twisted around to face Ramirez.

It was all over in the space of a few seconds. Just like that, every Ridchir soldier on the roof was dead, Marines and SEALs alike were charging the building and dashing up the stairs, and Ramirez was still standing in the doorway, his Uzi smoking from having spent yet another magazine. The automatic and rifle fire echoed off into the distance as the SEAL reloaded his weapon and stooped by Armor’s side, peeling the tape off his lips.

“Y-you get away from…” Cadence started.

“No, hon, it’s alright! Really!” Shining interrupted, smiling up at Ramirez. “He’s a friend.”

“Damn right,” Ramirez added before clocking the unicorn across the jaw.

“Ow! What in the…”

“Shining!”

“That was for choking me out and leaving me down there,” Ramirez said, waggling his finger in Shining’s face. “And by the way: you only won because you got the drop on me. I had you down for the count before you pulled that bitch move.”

“Okay, fine, I guess I deserved that,” Shining sighed, working his jaw while Ramirez set to work freeing his hooves. “But…thanks for saving us, all the same.”

“That only makes the second time today,” Ramirez grinned.

“Yeah, I really should…” a glint of something caught the unicorn’s eye, and he looked just in time to see one of the Ridchir soldiers yank the pin off his grenade and roll it towards them. His eyes widened. He’d seen these strange little balls in action during the initial assault on Coltton: they were the whole reason why the town’s hall was now a burning ruin. Ramirez took one look at it and threw himself over the two ponies while Shining summoned a shield. The unicorn watched the little explosive bounce towards them, could almost hear the clicking of the tiny mechanism inside ticking off the moments until it would release its payload, and watched the faint shimmering of a weakened shield rise around them.

‘Oh Celestia,’ he realized, watching the ball spin to a stop just a few yards away, ‘I can’t contain the whole explosion! I’m still too weak, we’re gonna die, and Cadence is gonna die and Ramirez isn’t gonna see his family againandit’sallbecauseI’msoweakand…’

Hardly thinking about what he was doing, Shining pressed his hind hooves against the ground and launched himself over Ramirez’s shoulder, flattening his body in mid-air to cover as much of the SEAL and the Alicorn as he could with his own body. He watched Cadence’s eyes widen in horror, her mouth slowly moving to form his name. He watched Ramirez twist around, lunging for his hoof. He wondered why he hadn’t hit the ground yet.

And then the world exploded.

Author's Note

...what would you be willing to sacrifice?

AND ONE MORE THING!

This universe is continued in yet another fic, The Great and Powerful Trixie Rises.

Just thought you all might like to know :twilightsmile:

Also, that Dislestia fic is right here