A Thousand Year Peace

by AdmiralKew

Rating: mature
Tags: Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Other, Princess Luna, Original Character, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 47821

A modern Equestria is faced with problems both inside and outside the country, namely an upstart warlord, a plot against the Elements, and a rapidly changing social climate.

A lot has changed since Twilight Sparkle's ascension. They say its the beginning of a new era, the start of a new and modern Equestria as it rides the wave of a scientific and technological boom set in motion centuries beforehand. However, all is not quite well as unrest brews in the cities. Add to that, the difficulty of adapting to a fast-paced, modern society and the entire situation becomes a disaster waiting to happen.

The Elements of Harmony have been apart for quite a while due to circumstance and personal obligation. But it seems that they simply will not be allowed to rest as there are some who would wish to see Equestria's last, best hope of a peaceful resolution completely powerless.

Trouble brews in the East as a powerful warlord rises from the ashes of a broken Empire. He is ruthless and ravenous, always thirsty for blood, and he will stop at nothing until the country he blames for his empire's downfall is in ruins.

Cover image is one of my 3D models.

Pre-read by Jioplip.

Published 2013-09-07 23:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-06 15:19:59 UTC

01. Reunion

Google Docs Version

So much had changed in the past few years since her ascension. The Elements had split up, if temporarily, to fulfill their personal obligations.

She wondered how Rarity's new fashion line was doing. She'd left in such a hurry, and without Spike to carry her bags, loading her things onto the New Yoke train had become a group effort. She'd been gone for over a year now.

AJ was slightly closer, but the demands of the Apple Family business had left them with little time to get together. She had heard rumors that the Flim Flam Brothers were at it again, and while she really wanted to help, she couldn't act until there was proof of their misdeeds.

All the rest were far away.

Pinkie Pie was in Prance, working with world renowned chefs and bakers. Twilight hoped she was having a grand time there, but she also felt sorry for her colleagues. She laughed, imagining Pinkie Pie's hijinks.

Fluttershy was operating a flying hospital for foals and animals in the Griffon Confederacies. She volunteered after hearing the way things were in the area. She hadn't heard from her since the day she left two years ago. At least she brought Angel with her.

Rainbow Dash was off being the "totally awesome captain of the Wonderbolts", so she wrote in her last letter two weeks ago. Rainbow also told her that they would be escorting the flying hospital Fluttershy worked with for the last leg of its journey.

And then there was Spike.

"Oh, Spike." She sighed, blinking tears away.

Spike had left with the dragon migration again, this time on a mission to learn more about dragon culture and practices, as well as the adults' physiology. He wrote almost weekly, but she missed him nonetheless. He had grown quite a bit too, and she knew it wasn't the greed-induced growth. She levitated a recent picture of him wearing a bomber jacket and shades in front of her, smiling wistfully.

"See you soon, Spike."

And that left her, Twilight Sparkle, in Ponyville. She sighed gently. The city lights mirrored the star-studded night. The small town had changed too, after her coronation. It became her seat of power, hers to direct. And so she built a university with the goal of making education accessible to everypony.

The University grew quickly, attracting students from all over. The town grew as businesses and residents flooded in. Soon, Ponyville sported medium rise apartments and dormitories, shopping centers, and all the other things urban life had to offer. Yet, it wasn't the same without her friends by her side.

Thunderous bass rippled out of a small warehouse on the edge of town. She had been invited by Vinyl Scratch to a college party, but she declined on account of her teaching. But maybe she should reconsider.

She took off her royal garments and folded them neatly on her bed. The Princess wouldn't be attending the party, but Twilight Sparkle would. She spread her wings, relishing in the way the bones and muscles worked together, and she jumped, laughing at the panicked look the guards made as they rushed into her chambers.

The wind clawed at her starry mane -- which glowed faintly with the hints of an impending dawn -- as she flapped her wings with powerful strokes. She alighted on the sidewalk rather clumsily, nearly barreling over a couple of ponies that hadn't been looking. She'd been thinking again. She offered a sheepish smile to the bystanders.

"Sorry everypony. I'm just thinking too much again." At least it wasn't like the time she walked into a wall in front of her class. She grimaced at that.

Her hooves clicked on the concrete as she walked towards the warehouse.

A crowd pressed at the entrance. Some yelled at the bouncers over the music, waving money in front of their faces in exchange for entry. One such mare was a mint green unicorn named Lyra Heartstrings. Lyra saw her and gave her a sheepish smile as she walked away.

Twilight was about to say something when a familiar pony caught her eye. She was a unicorn mare with deep violet hair and a snowy white coat. Her gait spoke of sophistication and elegance, but the mare had a short cut mane like Lyra's, only better coiffed. She had to see her cutie mark...there! Three gemstones!

"Rarity?"

"Yes? I am a very busy -- oh my stars! Twilight!" Rarity outright hugged her, eyes wide in delight. "How ever have you been? We have so much catching up to do! We simply must get together!"

"Aren't we getting together now?"

Rarity laughed, "My, my Twilight. You've gotten better with your comebacks."

While she wasn't yet as tall as Cadence or even Luna, she had certainly grown over the years since her ascension to the point that the tip of Rarity's horn was just at eye level, filling her with a certain apprehension.

"Twilight, are you alright my dear?"

"What? Oh! I was just thinking. How are you, Rarity?"

"Oh it was marvelous!” Vinyl's music was so loud they could barely hear each other, even while standing away from the entrance. "There were so many fashion stars I couldn't possibly keep count of them all! There was Photo Finish, Hoity Toity, and even Elegant Secret!"

"Well I'll be!" An orange, Stetson-wearing pony walked up to them, "Twilight! Rarity! How're ya doin' pardners?"

"AJ!" Twilight ran up to muzzle her friend, and Rarity did the same afterwards.

"I had a feeling I'd see you fellas around here." AJ smirked, "so, how's the party Twi?"

"Oh we haven't been inside yet." Rarity spoke up, "Have you, Applejack?"

"Nope. Not yet at least." She smiled up at them. "But we can get goin' right now if you don't mind."

"That would be great!" Twilight grinned, eager to dance off the stress.

"...now listen here, bucko!" A scratchy voice yelled over the din. "I'm captain of the Wonderbolts! I'm a bucking VIP and you know it, so let me in already!"

Twilight looked over and saw a wild, rainbow colored mane rising from the crowd. The cyan pegasus it was connected to stared challengingly into the muscled bouncer's eyes. She tapped Applejack on the shoulder and pointed.

"Well how-dy! If it isn't Rainbow Dash!" Applejack cried. She tipped her hat politely to them. "I'll be back in a jiffy, Twi, Rare."

Twilight watched with a smile as AJ and Rainbow Dash met on the sidewalk, getting into a playful scuffle as if they were just foals. Minutes later, the two of them met with Twilight and Rarity.

"Hey, c'mon Twi!" Dash begged on her wings, "You're a princess right? Can't you just tell these mooks to let us pass?"

Twilight shook her head, smiling. "No Rainbow." Rainbow's head drooped, and she opened her mouth to say something. "What I can do is get free drinks."

"You are so awesome!" Rainbow hugged her.

"...so anyway, I said 'I know what you are but what am I'?" Rarity finished her account of her travels.

They all laughed at that. Rainbow Dash knocked back a shot of whiskey and poured herself another one as she chortled at one of Applejack's stories.

"Now, Rainbow Dash darling, where is Fluttershy? Last I heard she was coming home with you."

"Oh." A look of sadness replaced her grin as she turned to Rarity. "She said she wanted some time alone. Wouldn't talk to me about it."

"Then we simply must go there and cheer her up! I know just the thing!"

"No, Rarity." Rainbow Dash sucked in a breath, tears welled up in her eyes. "Something happened to her while she was in the Confederacies. When I asked her about it she just--she just snapped! We need to give her time."

Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack exchanged uneasy looks. Something really bad had to have happened for Fluttershy to snap. Rainbow Dash fluttered away to get something stronger, drunkenly bumping into a couple of partygoers along the way.

"I say we go and help her."

"But Rainbow said--" Twilight tried to get a word in but Applejack cut her off.

"I know what she done said, but I'm not the kind to sit by while a friend needs our help. Now ya'll comin' or what?"

"She's right, Twilight." Rarity spoke softly.

Rainbow Dash returned to an empty table.

02. Recollection

Google Docs Version

The path to Fluttershy's cottage was as still and quiet as it had been when she left it. Twilight had repeatedly barred offers to develop the land here, insisting it be kept as a nature preserve. The corporation that wanted the land took the matter to Princess Celestia, and were dismayed that the answer remained the same.

Curiously, there were no animals there to welcome the cottage's resident back. Twilight knocked on the door.

"Go away." Said a quiet voice.

"Fluttershy, it's me, Twilight. I'm here with Rarity and Applejack."

Applejack stepped up to the door, "C'mon sugarcube, don'tcha miss us?"

"I said, go away." Sobbing. "I'm--I'm a monster. I'll just hurt you!"

"Don't you wanna talk about this?"

The door creaked open, showing an aged rabbit with concern in his beady eyes. It opened further, revealing a sight that sent a painful stab into Twilight's heart. Rarity gasped. Fluttershy sat in the center of her living room, her mane, tail, and wings in a disheveled state. Tears collected into a puddle under her head.

"Fluttershy?"

"Please get out. I don't want to hurt you. Please, please..." Her voice dissolved into a quiet whimper.

Twilight nuzzled her and placed a wing around her shoulder. "Fluttershy, we're here to help."

Fluttershy sobbed into her shoulder, whimpering. Twilight turned to Applejack, who had tapped her on the shoulder. AJ was holding a bottle of hard cider in her teeth. Twilight levitated it and gave her a questioning look.

"It'll help her loosen up." Applejack whispered. Twilight sighed.

"Here ya go, sugarcube. Why don't you take a drink, it'll make ya feel better."

Fluttershy accepted the bottle without complaint and took a sip. She coughed and spluttered, then proceeded to drink the rest. She'd stopped crying by then.

"Whoa there nelly!" Applejack gently pulled the bottle away, "Ya feelin' better, sugarcube?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"Now would ya mind telling us why ya think yer such a monster? I remember Fluttershy bein' the sweetest, kindest pony in all a' Ponyville."

Fluttershy shrunk behind her mane, "I killed somepony. You all think I'm a monster now, do you?"

"Now, now Fluttershy. We all know that's not the whole story. You're not the kind to be goin' around and killin ponies left and right, so something musta' happened to make ya'll do that."

She sighed.

"It happened in the hospital, five months ago. We were landed in the Badlands to treat some foals when they arrived."

"Now, this might hurt just a teensy tiny bit, but it'll help you feel better." Fluttershy gently stabbed the antibiotic needle into the minotaur kid's arm.

She gave him the proper dose for his size and weight, and then she cleaned up the injection site and placed a bandaid over it.

"Thanks Miss Fluttershy!" The kid bleated happily and walked out of the clinic.

Fluttershy followed him to the entrance to greet the next patient personally. She came face to face with a griffon, and while he looked uninjured or sick in any way, she still offered aid.

"Good morning sir, how may I help you?"

The griffon raised a wing, revealing the rifle strapped to his chest, "Come with me."

Fluttershy felt her wings lock up, and she squeaked, retreating back into her mane. She backed up as the griffon stepped forward.

"Come with me or I'll shoot."

She looked around and saw the other crew members in similar predicaments: held at gunpoint by either minotaurs or griffons. The kid she had been tending to just a while ago was struggling in an even larger griffon's grip. Suddenly, the kid bit down on the griffon's foreleg, eliciting a yelp.

"Why you little shit." He growled. "I don't need you alive anyway."

The griffon's claw ruptured the minotaur kid's head like a melon. Fluttershy screamed, rushing forward. The last thing she saw was a wing rushing towards her.

Rarity's face was green, and she struggled to keep from retching. "The barbarians!"

Fluttershy was crying again, and it looked for a moment that she was going to stop when she opened her mouth to speak. She barely got a word out when a solid thump sounded outside the door.

"You!" Rainbow Dash was livid, "I told you to give her some space and this is what happens!" She blurred forward, knocking Applejack off her hooves.

"Hey! Fluttershy is our friend too, ya mule! We're jus' tryn'a help!"

"Rainbow Dash, it's okay." Fluttershy whispered.

The sound of hooves smacking into flesh echoed into the still confines of the house.

"You can try to help by staying the buck away!" Rainbow's wings flared out as Applejack pushed her off. "She needs time!"

"She's had enough time to keepin' this to herself already!"

"Look at how hurt she is! You--you motherless--!"

Murderous intent flashed across Applejack's eyes as she snarled, "Don't you dare bring my parents into this! I'll clip yer wings, if I ever hear ya say that again!"

Twilight was stunned. She hadn't seen her friends fight like this since Discord. Twilight reached out and seized them with her magic before the two could come to blows again.

"That is enough!" Twilight screamed over their verbal abuse. "This isn't your time to argue. If you want to do that, take it outside while we try to help our friend over here!"

Suitably chastised, she dropped the two ponies unceremoniously to the ground. "Sorry Twilight." They said in unison.

Fluttershy woke up in a damp cell, illuminated only by an old incandescent. The sight of that kid burned in her mind, and it took a lot of effort to stop from retching, even more to banish it at least temporarily. Near the door was a bowl of foul-smelling stew. It was cold, gray, and seemed to have fish bones mixed into it. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"You awake." Said a figure by the door. "Good."

"Excuse me mister. Where are we?"

"We in Warlord Ravenous camp. We break ponies and sell them. You make good toy for warlords."

Fluttershy bit back the urge to vomit and the panic that was seeping its way into her chest as she implications of what the guard said hit home.

"You nice and shy. That good. Easy to break. But first we break foals."

She felt it then, that anger, that other her rising into her consciousness. She tried to fight it, but the guard's glib explanations of their plans only encouraged the other self. It spoke to her, told her that it would not let that happen. It made every kind of sense. It was the only way she could escape. It was the only way she could stop this atrocity.

"Please stop." She said. The guard was taunting her, teasing her. He...it was calling her weak, powerless.

"Stop it, please."

She felt a sharp pain in her thigh as the guard poked her with his spear, the steel point glinting dully in the light. The point came away stained with blood. The guard laughed and tossed a broken rabbit -- Angel! -- into the cell. His breathing was shallow, and yet he crawled weakly to her. That was the final straw. She allowed it to surface.

She glared at the guard, who was watching her curiously. "I said stop!"

This time the guard did stop. She felt its consciousness at the edge of her own, and she dived in. She tore and ripped and sundered, dragging its worst nightmares and greatest fears kicking, screaming to the surface. She brought forth the full power of her gaze, reducing the minotaur to a whimpering, crying, sweating whelp.

It was the guard's turn to beg. Its pleas fell on deaf ears. It was afraid of heights. It was afraid of death. It was afraid of her.

"Open the door." She commanded, crushing the resistance that festered in its mind. "Open the door!"

A shaking hand brought the keys up and inserted the correct one into the lock. It twisted, unlocking the door. The minotaur swung open the door. Fluttershy flapped her wings, ascending until she was at eye level with the object.

"Kill yourself." She commanded. It was a sound decision. It would alert the others the moment she let it go.

"Please...no!" The minotaur whimpered.

Nevertheless, it raised a knife and shakily drew it across its throat. Crimson poured out of the sliced veins, and it choked and gurgled on its blood. The body crumpled to the ground in a growing pool of its own fluids as its consciousness guttered out.

Satisfied, the Other retreated into the depths of her own nightmares, leaving Fluttershy to the task of freeing the other prisoners.

Fluttershy's crying had renewed as she brought the recollection of her experience to a close. "You all think I'm a monster now, do you? It's okay if you think I am. I understand."

"Fluttershy...why?" Hurt, concern shone in Rainbow Dash's eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Fluttershy offered her a sad smile. "It's because you're my closest friend. I thought you'd think I'm a monster...I -- I don't ever want to lose you, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash reached over to embrace her. "You're not a monster, Fluttershy."

"If there are going to be monsters, it shall be that Warlord Ravenous fellow and his lackeys!"

"But I--I killed--"

"You saved those ponies and Angel, that's what ya done did!"

Twilight spoke softly, so that only she could hear. "You did the right thing, Fluttershy." She leaned in even closer and whispered. "I've learned over the years that sometimes doing that is very hard and sometimes it'll give you nightmares, and it might make you feel despicable. You are not alone here. But Fluttershy, promise me...promise us that you'll only use The Stare when you really have to."

She wrapped both wings and forelegs around Fluttershy, holding her close.

"What matters is that you're safe now. You're with your friends, and whatever happens, we'll be there for you."

"I promise, Twilight." She whispered into her ear.

"Thank you, all of you." Fluttershy broke the embrace, smiling. And then she yawned. "I think I'll go to sleep now, if you don't mind. Come on, Angel Bunny, it's time for bed."

"It's alright sugarcube. If ever you need help, jus' holler and we'll be there."

"Damn straight! And if ever somepony tries to take you away, they'll have to get through me!" Rainbow Dash jabbed at the air.

"And me!" Rarity chipped in.

"Me too." Twilight's horn flared. "But girls, I think we should go now. Fluttershy needs her rest."

Angel waved at them with a thankful look in his eyes as they filed out of the cottage.

"Woo-wee! What a night!" AJ exclaimed, startling a squirrel out of her nest. "Sorry y'all! First time seeing four of my friends in a long time."

"And speaking of which." She turned to Rainbow Dash, twisting her Stetson uneasily. "Rainbow, I'm mighty sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean it. I was so caught up I'm the--"

"I know. I'm sorry too, AJ." Rainbow Dash sighed guiltily. "It's water under the bridge."

"Friends?"

Rainbow Dash hugged her. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"And now I really could use a drink! Who's with me?" Rarity took the lead in trotting back to Ponyville.

"I'll drink to that!" Applejack laughed.

Author's Note

With that out of the way, lets have a few lighthearted episodes and a tour of modern Equestria before we move on to the various problems.

I'm calling this 'Other' Darkershy in discussion, if you don't mind.

03. Class Act

Google Docs Version

Twilight Sparkle was wrenched from peaceful slumber by her alarm clock's insipid ringing tone. The local radio had been playing a horrid composition by a certain Buckinghamite colt-band for weeks on end, proving that it had indeed sunk to a new low in order to increase ratings. She lashed out with her magic and pulverized the annoying thing, tossing the remains into the corner where it lay with its mutilated fellows. She swore that if the Principality ever returned to an absolute form of government, she would have that band exiled and the radio station shut down.

That said, a hangover pounded its way into her cranium like a dozen angry diamond dogs. She cracked an eye open and gazed at the wall clock. It was 8:10. Just twenty minutes until the start of her class. The sudden realization hit her with the force of a freight train and banished all thoughts of sleep from her mind. She leapt out of bed, glad that she hadn't gone to sleep with somepony else, and galloped to the bathroom, where she had a quick shower. With that done, she cast a spell to dry herself off and got dressed. Royal garb. Professor's ID. Tiara. She set her mane and feathers straight with a spell, missing the days when she didn't have to worry so much about appearances.

She burst out of her sleeping chambers and into her study, nearly provoking the Twilight Sentinels guarding the door into action.

"Stand down!" They quickly returned to their posts, paling at the gravity of their faux pas.

Fifteen minutes. Still enough time for paperwork. She looked at the stack of paperwork on her desk and ran an indexing spell. The papers separated into three stacks, each with a different priority. She glanced at the ones marked 'Priority Red' and stuffed the rest into a drawer.

There was a request to have a new wing of the Library-Museum grown to make room for the artifacts from Saddle Arabia that were coming in. She approved that. There was a request for a meeting with the College of Arcane Sciences involving the possibility of creating portals to other worlds. She approved that too, making note to set conditions. She didn't want a repeat of that incident. And there was a request for muffin-related materials from a certain wall-eyed mare. What the hay. Her muffins are good. She approved that too and sent them off to the messaging flame.

She glanced at the wall clock. 8:31. She was late! That would make a very bad first impression! She called up a teleport spell and put her lecture hall in mind. She felt static electricity wash over her skin as space tore in a flash of light.

She reappeared behind an orator's stand. "Sorry everypony! I had some paperwork!"

"Hi Princess!" The hall's only other occupant waved from the back.

"Horsefeathers." She breathed, putting a hoof on her face.

The class, as it turned out, was tomorrow, leaving Twilight with some free time to do buy groceries and chat with a few of the other professors. She passed by Professor Lyra Heartstrings as she made her way to her cryptobiology class.Twilight had been one of her main opponents concerning humans, but after the incident with the Mirror, she felt that she should make it up to her. The two had become close friends and partners as a result. Her computer, a projector, and several physical models levitated above her head.

"Lyra, mind if I take a look at that?" Twilight gestured to one of the models.

Lyra passed one of the models, a study on human hand articulation, to Twilight. She took it and held it up in front of her so she could compare the model to her memories. It was pretty spot on, but the thumb rotated too far to be humanly possible.

"So Twilight, how did class go?"

"Pretty well." Twilight smiled, "I teleported into an empty classroom."

Lyra giggled, "Wrong room?"

"Nope. I was late already, and there was nopony there. And then I remembered my class was tomorrow! Talk about being excited!"

They shared a laugh, but then whatever they had to say was cut short by Lyra's arrival at her lecture. Twilight returned the hand model to her.

"Oh, yeah." She whispered, "Lyra, you might want to present your work on hands at the MIST Conference next week. I've got a feeling it'll be a great help. I'll even get you a place."

"You really think so?" Lyra's eyes widened.

Twilight nodded. "Think of all the ways they could be used!"

"You know what, Twilight?" Lyra smiled, sighing dreamily. "I think you're right." She snapped back to reality. "We'll, I've got class! See you later, Twi!"

They waved at each other as they parted. Twilight hummed the tune to 'Winter Wrap-up' as she trotted happily down the wide corridors of the University of Ponyville, passing by and greeting ponies, griffons, minotaurs, and even dragons. Spike had never, ever been the only civilized dragon on Equs. It had only seemed that way because the dragon civilizations had locked themselves in due to certain circumstances. Spike was really happy that he wasn't alone.

She emerged into the University Plaza. Couples walked past, displaying their affection towards each other in various ways. Pegasi and griffons danced and played in the air. Groups and communities of all sorts gathered in their nooks and crannies. A steady stream of visitors and borrowers came in and out of the Golden Oaks Library-Museum.

It was almost time for the Running of the Leaves, and this time she would be hosting it alongside the Mayor. She sat down after ordering some pastries from Sugarcube Corner's takeout, organizing her lecture notes and plans as she ate. Suddenly, a hoofball came sailing in on a trajectory to her head. She caught it with her telekinesis and returned it to one of the players, who looked mortified in that they may have irked somepony who could make life hay for them on so many levels.

"Oh, um. We apologize, Princess Twilight." Said a minotaur, smiling nervously.

"It's alright." She smiled reassuringly. "There's no harm done."

The minotaur quickly returned to the game, tail tucked behind his legs. Twilight didn't know if she should chuckle or feel annoyed. She was a princess, yes, but she wasn't a petty tyrant like that Blueblood.

She had just finished organizing her notes when a slip of paper fluttered to the ground. She picked it up and held it out in front of her.

"Ask shiney, Luna about 'Warlord Ravenous'."

The note read in a drunken scrawl. That character had come up in Fluttershy's story, and he sounded like he was trouble. She returned to her quarters and wrote down a letter to addressed Prince Armor and Princess Luna. They were both away on diplomatic business with the Lizans and the Diamond Dogs to the West, so it would take them at least a few days to respond.

Twilight Sparkle spent so much time ruminating on this new figure and the implications of his business that she almost missed her appointment with the CAS.

Elsewhere, Rainbow Dash flew with not a care in the world. She relished the way the wind whistled in her ears and clutched at her hair as she propelled herself faster and faster with powerful wingbeats. She thundered upwards, breaking the cloud cover and emerging into bright sunlight. The earth stretched out below her.

The ominous depths of the Everfree lay south, the deep Rambling Rock Ridge to the west, and the tall towers of Canterlot to the north. Her own Ponyville lay underneath, the crystal waters of Saddle Lake beckoning her to take a dive. She flared her wings, killing her momentum as she rolled until her nose pointed to the ground. She grinned.

A powerful stroke sent her screaming to the earth, the vapor in the air condensing into a fine prismatic trail behind her. She pushed herself faster and faster. She could feel it, the ether building up in her body, as she approached the sound barrier. The waters of Saddle Lake parted, vaporizing into a fine mist as she passed.

Suddenly, there was silence.

That silence was soon shattered by an earth-shaking boom accompanied by a wave of multicolored light and a towering spray of water. Rainbow Dash cheered, extending her wings to slow down, twisting them to put her into a spin, arching her back to pull upwards so that she spiraled around the collapsing spray.

All the while, she was oblivious to a tubular device pointed at her from the edge of the forest. The pony manning it pulled a trigger, and the end of the device flashed.

Rainbow Dash felt a sickening lurch as the magic that allowed her to fly suddenly dissipated. Her momentum could only carry her so far, and her frantic wingbeats did little to slow her down as the water's surface approached. She thought she heard noise from the forest. A black blur rushed at her as she fell, slamming into her side with breathtaking force. She cried out in pain as the bones in her wing broke.

The darkness took her.

Author's Note

I actually feel quite guilty about doing this to RD, especially after what happened with Fluttershy. But I'm sure she'll recover.

Next chapter will feature more Lyra.

04. Correspondence

Twilight Sparkle felt an odd disturbance in the Ether. It was as if somepony had used magic that was not magic. She made a mental note to look this up when she got back. It could have been a simple mishap with one of the students. Celestia knows how many times that had happened since the past few days. It did have the feeling of a failed spell, but just to make sure...

But first, she had to allay the paranoia festering in her mind. Several high-ranking nobles, eminent scientists, sightseers, and prospective students of her grand university were taking a tour of the campus tomorrow after her 8 AM lecture.

It just so happened that many of these ponies were unicorns.

While she hadn't become prejudiced towards her original race due to her ascension, the growth following her ascension meant that the tip of almost everypony's horns hovered dangerously at eye level. Considering that ponies had huge eyes in proportion to their skulls, Twilight wondered why optometrists everywhere weren't making a killing in eye-reconstruction surgery. A cold shiver ran up her spine.

The thought of seeing so many sharp objects ready to plunge into her eyeball with just a clumsy bump filled her with dread. She had to find a way to remedy this before she went insane.

Luckily, she had a plan.

Twilight levitated her etherphone out of her saddlebags and dialed an expert's number.

The phone rang twice. "Twilight! What may I do for you?"

"Rarity, I need your help with something."

"Why, what is it, darling? Do you have a suitor? I'll tell you what. You can come over and you can tell me all the juicy details over a cup of tea."

"It's nothing as...serious as that." Twilight had to bite her lip. "I need some eyewear."

"Either way, you simply must come over! I shall do what I can to help you!"

Twilight bade her thanks and ended the call, marching carefully out of her quarters. She was alert, ready to gently neutralize the threats to her sight. She had to be careful. A small voice inside her head was screaming at her to see her psychiatrist. Of course, all of the Elements had one. It was pretty much a job requirement, given their business of saving the world from corruptive, reality-warping, parasitic, or omnicidal threats on almost a yearly basis. She made a note to go do that too.

Thankfully, the company of friends, tea or cider, and relaxing sessions at the spa kept the terrors at bay.

She then realized that she had drifted off. And while she scolded herself, she realized that her eyesight -- and everything else, except perhaps her sanity -- was intact. Her third realization was finding out that she was now in front of the Carousel Boutique. It had been renovated with the income from Rarity's sales, giving it a posh minimalist modern look. It was now also staffed by more than one seamstress, and while most of the clothes were now mechanically produced, Rarity herself still worked on special commissions and prototypes.

Case in point, her saddlebags and winter coat. Both items were formally stylish, the bags an excellent complement to her the coat. She took a moment to admire her friend's handiwork, noting that the black, purple, and orange had just the tiniest hint of sparkle to resemble the twilight constellations. She wrenched her mind back to reality.

She steeled herself and entered.

The lobby very nicely done, if a bit too posh for her tastes. The receptionist was a teenaged filly named Diamond Tiara. The only noticeable change she had undergone over the the years, save for her growth, was the extravagance of the eponymous tiara. Twilight recalled her being one of Sweetie Belle's bullies.

Nevertheless, Twilight put a polite face on. "Good afternoon, Diamond Tiara. I am here to see Miss Rarity."

"She's busy." The filly gave her a fleeting glance before working a file over her hoof. "You have to wait for her to come down."

Twilight fought the urge to stamp a hoof. "Excuse me, but this is an urgent matter."

"I said she's busy. You'll have to wait until she’s done.”

She ground her teeth and opened her mouth to say something when a third pony interjected.

"Diamond Tiara, I am appalled!" Rarity stepped out of an elevator. "Is that how you would speak to royalty? Have you no shame?"

This time, Diamond Tiara did take her eyes off her hooves, snapping up to meet Twilight's steady gaze. Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks and she shuddered fearfully, shrinking into her seat as she gibbered an apology.

"S--sorry Prin--princess!"

"It's alright, Diamond Tiara." Twilight spoke before she could even think of it. "But I do hope that you will consider others more politely in the future. I will go see my friend now."

Twilight joined Rarity in the elevator and rode to the top floor.

"My, my, Twilight!" Rarity chuckled as she led her into her workshop. "You handled that like a real princess. I am proud of you for having come such a long way."

Twilight blushed at the compliment. "You've come a long way too, Rarity. What with all this!"

"It's nothing. But pleasantries aside, I understand you are suffering from Horn-Eye Syndrome. It's quite common among ponies actually, and I can sympathize. Celestia knows how many times I've had to watch out for Sweetie Belle's horn."

Rarity levitated a trolley containing various styles of sunglasses over and provided her a selection to choose from. Many of the lenses bore the adaptive polarization technology pioneered by Direct Light. They spent quite some time just choosing the shape of the frame and the color of the lens, so they decided to have some dinner after the transaction concluded.

Twilight settled for something that she liked and moved to open her coin pouch.

Rarity clicked her tongue. "Twilight! You're my friend, I couldn't possibly take money from you for a favor!"

"But--"

"No buts!"

Defeated, Twilight closed her coin pouch. Rarity was just about to invite her for a cup of tea while displaying next year's gala gown when her phone rang.

"Fluttershy, how are you my dear? What?" Rarity's eyes widened in surprise, and then concern. "You can't be joking...are you?"

She pulled the phone away before looking at Twilight. "It's Rainbow Dash. She's suffered an accident! We're to meet her at Ponyville Medical, there are some complications you might want to look at, they said."

Rarity returned her attention to the phone, "We are on our way, my dear!"

A flash of light heralded their arrival at Ponyville Medical. Applejack galloped up to them just a few seconds later. She looked like she'd come all the way from her farm with all the sweat dampening her fur.

"You and yer fancy magics." She panted, fanning herself with her Stetson. "Where's Rainbow Dash?"

"I dunno, Applejack. We just got here." Twilight pushed the nausea accompanying a long-range teleport away.

"Then what're ya'll waitin for? C'mon!"

The three of them walked into the lobby where Nurse Readheart greeted them at the reception desk.

"We're here to see Rainbow Dash, is she awake? What happened to her?" Twilight asked the nurse.

A grizzled-looking unicorn stallion in a medical gown walked up to them. "I haven't seen anything like it before." He said.

"Like what?"

"Follow me. I am Doctor Condition by the way. Watchful Condition." The way he introduced himself sounded like he was ripping off a spy movie, and it didn't really work what with the gravely voice. That and the way he contradicted himself cast doubt on his competence.

"Pleased to meet you, Doctor." Twilight said as the three mares followed the doctor down the hallways.

They were inside Rainbow Dash's room before long. Machinery surrounded her, monitoring heartbeat, body temperature, and even brainwave activity while emitting a cacophony of beeps. X-Rays of her broken wing were lined up on the wall. Fluttershy sat by the bedside, exchanging whispers with Rainbow Dash. The smell of antiseptic lingered in the air, and Twilight found it hard not to wrinkle her nose.

Rainbow Dash waved at them as they entered. "Hey guys! Glad you're here!"

Twilight waved back, and then turned to the docto as the others gathered around her.

"Doctor, can you please tell me why you have this much equipment inside for a simple fracture?"

"That is only one part of the problem. Try to cast a spell on her and you will see."

Twilight was irritated by this enigmatic doctor's refusal to explain what was going on. Yet, something was off about Rainbow Dash. She had no magic. Not one quantum of it. The spell she'd cast simply washed around her, as if she was not connected to the Ether.

Rainbow suddenly pointed a hoof at Doctor Condition. "The doctor over here kept talking to me about some egghead horseapples I don't even understand!"

The doctor opened his mouth to say something, but Twilight stepped in on his behalf.

"You still play that Dungeon Adventurer MMO, right?"

The doctor glared daggers at her for being interrupted, and then backed off.

"Yeah, but what does this have to do with anything?" Rainbow asked.

"Okay, imagine that in the Ether, we're all players. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies are regular users." Twilight continued.

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"And we all interact with the environment in certain ways. Now, the lesser Alicorns like Princess Cadence and I are like moderators. We have access to more powers and abilities than regular players. The elder Alicorns like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are administrators. They have such a command over the game that they're almost godlike."

"I get it." Twilight saw the gears in Rainbow's head turning. "So I've got something like a de-buff or curse right now, right? So I can't fly."

Twilight swallowed. "It's more like somebody pulled the plug on your Ethernet connection."

Rainbow Dash froze as that sunk in. "You can reconnect me, right?" She stared at her with hopeful, pleading eyes.

"I could." Twilight smiled reassuringly. "I just need to know what method was used to disconnect you in the first place."

"Thank you!" Rainbow Dash leapt up and wrapped her forelegs around Twilight's neck. "You're the best egghead ever! D'ya know that?"

"I'm going to have a nice long talk with whoever did this." Fluttershy wiped fresh tears from her eyes, her small voice carrying a steely edge.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise." Twilight placed a wing around Fluttershy's shoulders.

"Doctor, can you excuse us for a moment," she said to the doctor with just enough of an edge to her voice to let him know it wasn't a request.

"Of course." He bowed out, closing the door behind him.

Twilight cast a silencing spell on the room, preventing eavesdroppers from listening in.

"Now hold on just a minute!" Applejack stepped forward. "You want to take on somepony who can take away ponies' magic just like that? D'you have any idea what he could do t'ya, Twi? When word gets out that they took down a princess, all sorts a' hay's goin' to happen. Remember what happened last time?"

Rarity spoke. "Applejack has a point. We are not going to risk your life, or your magic, to take down this... hooligan. Do you remember Chrysalis? I recall Blueblood setting up a coup after that!"

Twilight frowned as repressed memories bubbled up to the surface. She pushed them under. "Of course. Which is why we're not going to take him on directly."

"I have a suggestion." Fluttershy shrank behind her mane when everypony turned their attention on her, and then straightened up. "If we could take a look at where it happened, maybe we'll get some clues."

"That's true." Twilight levitated her phone, "I'm going to make a quick phone call."

Twilight knew this was going to result in a fiasco either way. There was a force out there that could cut ponies' connection to the Ether without so much as a trace. That strange not-magic a while ago might have been the culprit, but there was no way to find out until they met up with the forensics team.

"Rarity, did you feel anything odd earlier?" Twilight asked.

"Now that I think of it, I did. It was as if the Ether started spasming." Rarity shivered, "It was just so odd."

They stopped at the lakeshore near in a small, empty clearing. To their surprise, Princess Luna was there waiting for them. She was back from the diplomatic talks, apparently.

"Twilight Sparkle." They bowed to each other. "I had hoped we could meet in much more pleasant times. I trust you have debriefed your friends on what has happened."

She motioned towards a tent. "What has just happened represents a major threat to national security. I would ask all of you to swear to never speak of this to anyone not authorized. If you feel that you cannot do this, I would ask you to leave."

Nopony backed down.

Luna nodded, and suddenly, the area teemed with activity. Forensics teams worked over every square centimeter of dirt in search for potential clues. Twilight noted two covered lumps on stretchers and frowned.

"A hiker reported gunshots in the woods after feeling a strange energy in the area. We came here to find two bodies and a strange device. When word reached us that Rainbow Dash had lost her magic of flight in this area at around the same time, it became clear that the two events are interconnected."

"May I see the device?" Twilight asked.

Luna pointed to a small tent near the edge of the clearing. "Of course. It is being held in that tent."

"Uh, Princess?" Applejack cut in, "Might I ask what happened to the ponies who found Rainbow?"

"Please, call me Luna," she said as she turned to Applejack. "And it shames me to have done this but their memories have been scrubbed. They are under the assumption that a pegasus was hit by a wayward lightning bolt from the Everfree Forest."

"Oh, alright." AJ clearly looked uneasy.

"And by the way, where is Pinkie Pie? I have missed her parties." Luna glanced at Rarity.

"She is still in Prance, last time I have checked." For a moment, longing shone in Rarity's eyes. "I wish I could have gone with her."

"I shall send somepony to check on her then." Luna turned back to Twilight. "And as for your letter, this is my correspondence. Read it only when you have encountered my agent."

She gave her a sealed packet.

Twilight levitated the cylindrical device in front of her and broke it down to its component parts. She could see that the batteries and the power control matrices were burned out, but she figured she could replace them. What did intrigue her were the components themselves. She ran some analysis spells and found out that the enchantment matrices contained a material that had been banned from Equestria for centuries: Magnite.

Magnite acted as an amplifier in certain configurations, a conductor in others, and as a hybrid sink-insulator in rare others. That, and its material signature, was all that she knew of the subject. She levitated a sheet of message paper and a ball pen over, writing down a letter addressed to somepony who might know more.

She terminated the spell and reassembled the device. She rigged a power converter to the unit, plugged in the correct batteries -- ones from the defunct Griffon Empire -- and toggled the power switch. The device hummed and small LEDs built into its side flashed, possibly indicators of a diagnostic sequence. She couldn't understand the labels though.

She hummed. "Let's hope this works."

She aimed the device at an enchanted target and depressed the trigger. A wave of nausea passed over her as a bright light burst from the end of the tube. The scent of ozone stung her nose and it took all her effort not to retch. She gently lowered the device, noting that the target had stopped glowing.

"Okay. Phase one complete. Initiate phase two."

She tried to re-enchant the target, and the spell simply refused to work. A satisfied smile crept onto her lips.

"That was reckless." Luna stood in the tent's entryway.

Twilight realized what she meant and lowered her head. "Sorry."

"Nevertheless, we have found what we are looking for." Luna spread a wing over Twilight's back. "I suggest you might get some ... shut eye. It is almost dawn."

Twilight stepped out of the tent and into a twilit landscape. "Horsefeathers."

Author's Note

I'd like to say thanks to my pre-reader, Jioplip for pointing out the various errors and plot holes I've made writing this chapter! I suggest you check his stories out too.

So, this will be the second to the last chapter of the prologue. I shall post an interlude, and then the real fun can begin.

05. Radiance

Google Docs Version

Twilight glanced outside the window, watching the scenery flash past at an amazing rate. She yawned, feeling the lack of sleep catch up to her. Finding a way to reconnect Rainbow Dash, the tour, putting up with the nobles and their stupid parties, and the lack of correspondence from Shiny had been keeping her up until the wee hours of the morning. She reassured herself for the nth time that he was fine, and it was just some small buckup that was causing the delay. Then again, Spike hadn't written in as well.

She yawned again. Maybe a little nap would be nice.

"Princess." A hoof prodded her softly. "Princess, it's time to wake up."

She groggily cracked an eye open. "Wha? Are we in Manehattan?"

"Yes we are, and we're already thirty minutes behind schedule."

Twilight blinked. And then she realized the gravity of the situation.

"Oh no! I am so sorry!"

"It's alright, Princess," the conductor smiled gently, "I can tell it's been a tiring week for you. We'll just pass it off as an equipment failure. Come now, let's get up and ready to go."

Twilight thanked the conductor and teleported away before he could refuse the tip, reappearing right inside the one of the fillies' rooms at Grand Central. A few ponies reared up at her sudden appearance, and then bowed as they realized that they were in the midst of royalty. Twilight took a step backwards as a unicorn bowed, the tip of her horn passing too close to her face for comfort.

She splashed herself with cold water and walked away with a little niggling feeling in her head that she'd forgotten something.

"Right." She poked her head back into the washroom and said, "Please all rise."

The various mares and fillies inside went back to their business. She'd forgotten that Manehattan was very much different from Ponyville, despite the fact that they now felt so very much alike these days. She cantered down the marble tiled hallways until she got to the main concourse, and was lost in a sea of noise.

Her baggage had already been moved to her hotel suite, so the conductor told her. A locator spell told her that was the case for all of the items, especially for a certain device left in her care by Princess Luna. She shut down the spell and walked through the crowd as it parted around her, various mathematical and Etheric formulae clicking together in her head. That was until she bumped into somepony, landing flat on her rump.

"With all due respect ma'am. We've got to stop bumping into each other like this."

"Flash?" Her eyes widened as he helped her up.

"Yep. I've been assigned as your plainclothes Sentinel apparently."

"Now I wonder who did that." Twilight chuckled, bringing the image of a certain foal-sitter in mind. "Do you have your conference ID?"

"Yep." Flash opened his saddlebags and extracted the ID with a wing. "The rest of the Elements are already settled in, by the way."

"Some friends they are." She scoffed.

Flash shrugged. "They told me the smelling salts didn't work."

A bright flash blinded them both. The two of them recovered just in time to see a paparazzo run around the corner.

"If only..." Twilight growled.

"Let them, Twi." Flash nuzzled her.

The Hotel Mareiott was way too grand for her tastes. It brought back unpleasant memories involving Prince Blueblood at the Gala. That, and she preferred a lodging closer to the Manehattan Institute of Science and Technology, which was a dozen or so kilometers out from the city proper. The Royal Suite did have a nice view of the city-seascape though.

But it seemed that Rainbow Dash wasn't having any of it. Twilight walked up beside her, looking out over the city.

"Hey, Rainbow. How're you holding up?" Twilight gave her a concerned smile.

"I feel terrible." That much could be seen. Her hair was a mess, and the the fire in her eyes was missing. "You're close to getting it down, right?"

"Yeah. I just have to decompile one last matrix and I can start working on a counterspell."

"I have no idea what you just said, Twi. But it makes me feel a lot better."

"That's what friends are for. You up for some cider? Applejack managed to sneak in a whole barrel." Twilight put a teasing lilt into her voice.

"Really?" Rainbow's eyes widened, and then she smiled. "Betcha can't drink me under the table."

"You're playing a dangerous game here, Rainbow Dash." Twilight grinned, "You know that alicorns have a hundred times the alcohol tolerance of normal ponies."

"And one hundred times zero is still zero, Twilight." Rainbow grinned back.

"Touché."

The night passed quickly as they drank to their hearts' content. Fluttershy surprised them all by drinking Rainbow Dash and Applejack under the table and by flirting with Rarity and Rainbow Dash, in no particular order. The fashionista was taken aback by her friend's sudden change in demeanor and was about to rebuff her when Fluttershy suddenly fell asleep on the table.

The morning however, passed agonizingly slowly. The mother of all hangovers pounded in Twilight's head, and even the smallest sound only aggravated the migraine. Thankfully, the conference started at 1:30 PM. She checked the wall clock and found that she only had one hour to shake off the hangover. She rummaged in her saddlebags for Zecora's hangover cure and popped a pill.

"Twilight?" Rarity asked as she sat up in her bed, "You didn't sneak out last night and have your way with a stallion, did you?"

Twilight's cheeks burned, "No. This is Zecora's hangover cure."

"Oh. Could I have a pill, then? My head is killing me."

"Sure." Twilight passed the container over and sat back down as the pounding reduced to a tolerable level.

"Don't tell Dash or AJ."

"Oh, I won't." A mischievous gleam twinkled in Rarity's eyes.

"Good morning!" Fluttershy said cheerfully as she walked into the room, pushing a small trolley, "I am sorry about what I said last night, Rarity. I wasn't in the right state of mind."

"Oh, it's alright Fluttershy, I'm sure we all have our moments."

Twilight showered, brushed her mane with help from Fluttershy and Rarity, and summoned a cab to take her to the conference area. The taxi wound its way through Manehattan's labyrinthine streets as skyscrapers towered over them on either side. Flashing lights and advertisements dazzled her as surely as the mixture of peoples journeying the crowded streets. Griffons, minotaurs, zebras, deer, even buffalo and small dragons walked among the ponies, who showed no signs of fear or nervousness at all.

The taxi broke free from the traffic and sped down a massive bridge, wove through New Yoke's similarly complex city grid, and then emerged into suburbs and finally, forest. Giant redwood trees stood on either side of the road as forest animals frolicked in the underbrush. The road turned gently and they emerged from the forest and into a massive scientific complex built on top of a wide plain.

The taxi came to a stop at a security box and armed guards inspected the vehicle, running various sensors around it, before they opened the gate. There was a significant military presence too, understandable given the fact that hundreds of the best scientists were gathered in one place. Armsponies saluted her as she walked past.

Twilight forced a squeal down as Ad Astra and Enigma walked by, chatting amicably as they escorted a wheelchair-bound Stephen Hawkwing to the gardens. Famous physicists, astronomers, chemists, and even biologists were everywhere. It was like a dream come true. Twilight had so many questions to ask and so little time!

"Yo, Twilight!" A mare's voice sounded beside her, "Stop freaking out, you just got here."

Twilight shook her head and turned to address the mare beside her. Her cutie mark -- a bright flash -- almost glowed against her inky black coat. Her mane had alternating stripes of the same color and a bright yellow. Her bright smile was contagious. Stark white bandages wrapped across her chest and barrel.

"Radiance!" Twilight grinned, hugging her excitedly.

"In the flesh! Now if you could please stop squeezing so tightly."

"Right. Sorry."

Radiance Cloppenheimer was one of the top nuclear physicists under the throne's employment despite her young age. She was also an earth pony, making her stick out like a sore thumb against the unicorn-dominated field of science.

"What happened to you anyway?"

"Some mooks tried to mug me or something, somepony in a black suit chased them off."

Twilight had a feeling that she knew who the black suit was affiliated to.

"By the way, I received your letter. What can I do to help?"

"Let's find somewhere more private though."

"Hey, take it easy! We've only just met!" Radiance grinned.

Twilight laughed despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Twilight sure must be having fun at her conference." Applejack mused. "She's not answering any of my calls."

"Why are we here again?" Rainbow Dash winced as Fluttershy cleaned the feathers on her broken wing.

"We'll, I've business in a few days here, so why not?" Rarity spoke up.

"Same here." Said AJ.

Fluttershy placed some down feathers in a bowl. "I think it would be nice to have a change of pace every once in a while. And besides, I think Twilight wants to cast her counter spell as soon as possible."

"Well, we're here and we're not doing anything. 'Sup with that?"

"Dash here has a point, what say ya'll we tour the city? I'm gotta visit Aunt and Uncle Orange first though, haven't seen them in quite a while."

"That's alright, Applejack. Why don't we go with you?"

"Aw shucks, why not?"

Fluttershy gaped at the sights as they rolled down Mane Street. High-class restaurants, movie theaters, and other establishments advertised themselves on either side. There was a small plaza in the middle of five-way intersection decorated with a monument to Princess Celestia, an oversized timepiece hanging from her mouth.

"Which one, miss?"

"Take the fourth one on the right and go right on Cannon. Ya can't miss it."

"Righto."

The crowd in front of the Oranges' property certainly didn't as well.

"Down with Tyrant Celestia!" A scruffy-looking mare wielded a sign with that statement as she screamed into one of the windows.

The other ponies cried in assent, raising their banners and signs up high. Many of them were throwing rotten fruits and eggs at the house. One of the activists held up a sign depicting a shiny toilet, the words 'Princess Toilet Sparkle' written under it. Applejack growled.

"How uncouth!" Rarity noted.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash made their way to that pony only to be pulled back by Rarity's telekinesis.

"What in hay was that for?" Applejack yelled over the noise.

"Two of you against fifty of them, I don't think that will end well for the both of you."

"Don't you notice something?" Fluttershy said, "Look at them. They're mostly earth ponies, ad almost all of them look poor and underfed. They're desperate."

As if to prove her point, a skinny mare was held aloft by a set of hooves. "While the nobility hosts parties in Canterlot, wastes money on the military, and indoctrinates our children in Ponyville, we starve!"

Applejack fumed at the accusation directed towards her friend, but she held herself back. They were just about to leave and try the back door when two very familiar ponies climbed up onto a stage and started pandering to the crowd.

"Why, lookie here, Brother!"

"Yes indeed, Brother! It's Princess Celestia's attack dogs! The Elements of Harmony!"

Applejack barked, "This all your doing, Flim, Flam?"

"No sir-ee, we're just here to deliver a message from our Benefactor." Said Flam, "If you would so kindly stay and listen, maybe you would also be enlightened to their condition."

"I have nothin' to do with you." Applejack lowered her voice, "I'm just here to visit my family."

"Well, we certainly can't deny her that, Brother." Flim said.

"Perhaps you're right."

"C'mon girls." Applejack motioned towards the door, "let's go before they change their minds.

Applejack dismissed the apologetic look Flim gave her as a figment of her imagination.

"...you mean to say that somepony has a viable stockpile of Magnite?"

"Yes." Twilight spoke in a hushed whisper, "Radiance, if your team is using it, please tell me because this is a matter of national security. I fear that what happened with Princess Celestia may happen again, and this time more frequently."

Radiance sighed and hung her head down. "Yes, we were experimenting on Magnite. But thing is, Princess Luna authorized us to use it."

"You mean to say we've been keeping a secret stockpile?"

"Yes."

"For how long?" Twilight glared.

"Ever since Chrysalis. We very nearly lost Canterlot because that shield used up so much power. The nail in the coffin was when Sombra returned, remember how Cadence struggled to hold up her barrier? It was never meant to be used as a weapon, Twilight."

"So how did it end up as a weapon?"

"A couple of years ago, a few grams of Magnite went missing. We and the OSS were never able to track it down. Whoever stole it must have used the Magnite as a seed crystal."

Radiance pointed at the device, "And I'm sure that you'll be seeing more devices like this. It kinda needs a name too, how about 'disruptor'?"

Twilight sighed. "Disruptor sounds good. Can you help me make a counter?"

"Yes. Let's get to my lab."

Applejack sighed tiredly as she settled onto the couch, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. Riots were happening in the larger cities, even in Canterlot. Princess Luna was becoming more and more public as Princess Celestia started hiding herself away in the palace. And there was even news of war brewing in the East between Saddle Arabia and one of the griffon warlord clans.

On the other hand, a certain purple princess had been caught nuzzling a certain guard pegasus stallion in Grand Central. No doubt Twilight was going to explode on this one. Twi wasn't much for titles, and she had once told her that she'd rather be respected for what she did than be respected for being a princess. While AJ was quick to point out that, essentially one of those things led to the other, she got the point.

Rainbow Dash stretched catlike, flapping her wings as she worked out the stiffness in the muscle. Fluttershy was helping her with the recovery exercises and Applejack noted that the two of them were spending a lot of time together, more so than they usually did.

"I'm back!" Twilight bounded into the room, clearly very happy about something, "Rainbow, I've got the counter spell!"

"Really?" Rainbow dashed over, leaving Fluttershy in a cloud of down. "Can you do it now?"

"Yep. Just let me prepare a matrix." Twilight levitated over a box of chalk.

She drew a spell circle on the carpet and told Rainbow Dash to stand in the center.

"It's still in beta, so it's not that portable yet." Twilight explained, more to herself than to them.

Rainbow Dash hopped excitedly, "I don't care! Just cast it already!"

"Here goes." Twilight's horn glowed as she charged the spell.

Applejack stepped backwards as the circle, and then Rainbow Dash began to glow. Odd beeping sounds filled the air, followed by a multitone screech and a flash of light. She blinked the stars away and saw the residual energy arc over Twilight's horn.

Rainbow Dash looked at her hooves with wide eyes. She flapped her wings, almost immediately leaping up into the air, blowing away the smoke with the downdraft. She settled down onto the floor, still looking shocked.

"I can fly..."

A smile broke out on her face as the full weight of the realization hit her.

"It worked Twilight, it worked! I can fly!" She laughed, bouncing off the walls and ceiling in a convincing facsimile of Pinkie Pie. "I can fly! I can fly!"

Rainbow Dash leapt out onto the balcony, preparing to jump off the building. She had just cleared the railing when Twilight yanked her back inside with her telekinesis on Fluttershy's behest.

"Not so fast, missy." Fluttershy frowned, "Your wing hasn't fully recovered yet and you're molting. You can test your wings out later."

"But -- "

"Later."

"Fine."

Rainbow Dash slunk back inside as a knock on the door sounded.

"Housekeeping!" A pleasant voice called.

"Ooh! My eclairs are here!" Rarity bounded over and opened the door, letting a gentle old mare and her service trolley inside.

"Thank you, dearie." The old mare smiled, "I also have a message for Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight put down her book, "Yes, ma'am. What is it?"

"Princess Luna says to open the packet."

Twilight was silent for a moment, "You're her agent?"

The old mare's voice suddenly sounded very different, "Yes."

Green flame enveloped the pony, the illusion giving way to gleaming black carapace.

"Changeling!" Rainbow Dash leapt into the air, preparing for a fight.

Twilight was faster, slamming the changeling against the wall while silencing the room with her magic.

"Why are you here?"

"I told you. I'm Luna's agent."

Twilight's eyes narrowed, "Prove it."

The changeling rolled its eyes. "Trolley, look in the garbage. You will find a black case. Password is 117649. Inside is my ID and Princess Luna's seal."

"AJ."

Applejack kept an eye on the changeling the entire time as she walked towards the trolley. There was indeed a black suitcase inside the garbage, and it was indeed unlocked by the numbers 117649, and there was indeed an ID and the seal of Princess Luna. She deposited the things in front of Twilight.

"AJ, Dash. Hold it down while I check the seal."

Rainbow Dash saluted and helped Applejack restrain the changeling, who surprisingly did not try to fight. Twilight's horn glowed and the seal crumbled into dust.

"The seal's legit. It's telling the truth."

"I'm watching you." Rainbow Dash glared as she walked away.

"Was there ever any doubt?" The changeling stood up and shook itself off. "I am Agent Midnight Specter, Office of Shadows and Secrets. I prefer the pronoun, 'he', and I have important news."

Specter looked evenly at the five of them, "Pinkamena Diane Pie has been kidnapped."

Author's Note

So, my prereader is on break for the week. If you spot anything, feel free to comment it.

This chapter officially ends the prologue. It's time for the real fun.

Interlude I

Despite Their Royal Majesties' best efforts, poverty still had a foothold in Their realm. He and his brother were a testament to that, having survived the slums of Manehattan only through sheer wit and mettle and a shared love of of invention and mechanics. Their education and shelter was provided by the crown, and little else. They had no certificates of birth, no papers or titles to speak of, not even names. They were only known as The Brothers at school, or as the Little One or the Big One if they were spoken to as individuals.

The most damning fact about them though, were their horns. They were viewed with either pity or contempt for being 'discards of high-society', and were treated as such by their peers. One of the few who didn't outright bully them was a lavender filly, the protege of Princess Celestia, but even then, she ignored them.

As they grew, their inventions grew in both size and complexity. They sold them for mere pittances, not realizing their true value until it was too late. And when they defended their claims, they were simply laughed out of the debate. After all, who would listen to a pair of outcast street rats?

So they had to be shrewd, sometimes ruthless even, to get by. Every step could have spelt disaster for their business, every step determined whether or not they got to sup. The Brothers made a name for themselves as door-to-door salesponies who brought untold opportunity. And then they received direction from a barrel of cider, thoughtlessly discarded as excess from a noblemare's party.

"Fresh Cider from Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville" The label read.

"Brother?" Little One looked at his hero, as he drank a mug of the sweet liquid, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could drink cider like this every day? If only it weren't so expensive, then maybe we could even share it with everyone!"

"That it would, Brother. That it would." Big One smiled, a dreaming look in his eyes.

That dream was the start of their journey. They worked hard, even sneaking into the library at night to learn about the secrets of cider pressing. They set aside some of their little money to buy Sweet Apple Acres cider to compare against. They refined their blueprints, manufacturing in secret lest their invention be discovered.

The weight of every failure and every theft began to weigh on Big One's shoulders with every passing year. He became less and less the kind, caring brother Little One knew, and more of the ruthless, exploitative stallion everypony else knew. Little One could only continue to wear the mask they had made for themselves, hoping that his Big Brother would come to his senses and see what he -- they -- had become.

It all came to a boil the night after the Flim-Flam Brothers were run out of Ponyville by its residents.

"You worthless, sniveling, naive foal!" Flam roared, striking a hoof against Flim's muzzle as his voice took on a mocking tone, "'It doesn't have to be that way' my arse! You have to be cunning, ruthless to survive! Haven't those years taught you anything?"

"They've taught me how to be clever, Brother, not how to be a monster! There's a difference there." Flim recoiled as his brother struck again.

He didn't care if he was crying. "We've gone too far, admit it! It's only right that we've been run out of that town, and its only right that we take responsibility of what we've done."

"You ingrate! After everything I've done for you!"

"You're the one who's wasting all of the good we've done." Flim levitated his baggage, "I'm leaving you to rot."

"And where do you think you're going, huh? Your reputation is just as bad as mine, and you don't know anything except how to be a con! Face it, you won't even survive a week alone!"

Flim stopped in his tracks, grudgingly accepting the point in his brother's words. Their actions had earned them the ire of a lot of ponies. He was sure by now that word was spreading throughout Equestria, and they would have to live with being outcasts.

"So, what now, Brother?" He set his bags down.

Yet, Flim held on to his ideals.

I 01. Discussions

"Pinkamena Diane Pie has been kidnapped." Specter said, a consoling look in his luminescent eyes.

Rarity gasped, covering her mouth with a hoof, "That's terrible! Who in their right mind would do such a thing?"

Everypony else agreed to that sentiment, and then Rainbow Dash added, "Y'know, I actually feel kinda sorry for the kidnappers."

Specter blinked, not expecting the reaction. "What?" He quirked an eyebrow, "Does this have to do with her 'Pinkie Sense'?"

"That, and other things. Anyway, let's go over these data and make up a plan." Twilight opened the packet Luna gave her and spread out its contents.

Twilight picked up a piece of paper giving a short biography of Warlord Ravenous.

He had been one of Emperor Strongheart's closest friends and most trusted advisors. However that didn't prevent them from having disagreements regarding foreign policy, especially regarding the Principality. Ravenous believed that Equestria was making the griffons weak and diluting their culture through trade.While he wasn't in favor of complete separation, he wanted that the trade between the nations be focused on arms and technology rather than cultural items. Strongheart believed the opposite.

Unfortunately for the Empire, Strongheart hadn't yet been able to name a worthy successor before his assassination during a diplomatic visit to Equestria. The power vacuum and the political infighting that resulted fractured the Empire, reducing it to a collection of ruinous states colloquially dubbed the Confederacies. Ravenous had broadcast a message to the Equestrian government promising revenge and vanished into thin air.

Fluttershy's encounter was the first news of him since the disappearance. It had only gotten worse from there. The Warlord, true to his title, had already conquered several of the Chancellorships that made up the area and integrated their forces into his. He had also reclaimed a significant portion of the former Empire's industrial infrastructure and was using it to build weapons and equipment for his troops.

Twilight knew enough by the end of the bio to know that a storm was brewing. He was a charismatic figure who had stirred his people into a nationalistic fervor, and he would stop at nothing to see Equestria crumble.

Hours passed until it was almost dawn. Fluttershy and Rarity had already gone to bed, leaving Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Specter to go over the minutiae. Pinkie Pie was supposedly being held in a compound within the Sandtalon Desert. Unfortunately, the number of possible targets lay in the hundreds, ranging from simple camps built from prefab modules to massive fortresses that were hundreds of years old. Twilight frowned.

"Look for anything involving baking and party goods."

"Why?" Specter asked.

Realization dawned in Rainbow Dash's eyes.

"Because Pinkie Pie, that's why." She said.

Sharp Sight yawned as she looked out of her R.3 Raven's cockpit, wondering if anything interesting was going to happen. She'd already spent several hours in the air taking pictures of convoys and encampments. The most exciting thing that happened during that time was when a SAM site almost managed to get a lock on her. Given that she was at the upper edge of the stratosphere, she didn't think it would be able to shoot her down. Better safe than sorry, nonetheless.

She stretched her wings and reconnected them to the controls, turning around in a wide arc as her patrol ended. She was just about to key in the autopilot when she saw flares rise from a small four-building encampment at the base of a mountain. And then she realized that those weren't flares, they were fireworks.

Sharp Sight panned her cameras onto the target and zoomed in. She blinked. Were they partying?

"Huh. That's strange."

Fluttershy was dreaming, as far as she knew. The images were blurry and disjointed. One moment she could have been playing on the beach with her father. The next, she was watching him descend into the ground in a black box, leaving her alone with mother. Her beautiful, cold, heartless mother. The next, she was being forced to the clouds by bullies as they mercilessly ripped the feathers from her wings. She was a skinny, helpless foal. She was grown up, but her friends had turned against her after she slit a throat she shouldn't have. Her friends lay in pools of their blood all because she had refused to end their attacker.

Her mother taught her how to fight and hunt and kill to protect herself, and without her father's words of kindness, she broke. Nightmares plagued her mind as she imagined losing control and using her skills to take away the lives of her peers. She became reclusive, increasingly terrified of herself. The bullies did not relent and she longed for an escape from the accursed gift of her bloodline.

And then she found Ponyville.

There, she could be free from her mother's training and the nightmares it brought. She lived among the animals and taught herself how to read and write, how to take care of her new friends and survive in the forest. And she pushed her darkness down, deep down into the depths of her mind.

There, in Ponyville, she met Rarity. She had been collecting herbs when she came upon a pure-white filly with purple hair. The filly's knee was bleeding. It was but a simple operation. They met each other the next day, and then the next, and so on. She had two friends now, and she didn't think she would have any more.

She was wrong.

She had so many now.

A smile crept onto her lips.

Twilight decided that the news was terrible as she nursed a mug of coffee that was as black as the night. Applejack was already up and about, despite the fact that it was just six in the morning.

The television in front of her displayed images of crowds in front of government buildings and the homes of high-profile personalities. They were chanting calls for change and justice, for the deposition of the royalty and the end of corruption.

Celestia was incompetent they said. Six major threats in three years, all of them defeated by six mares barely out of their teens. The guard had been useless, even in defending Canterlot. Those six mares were just trouble, said the speakers, one of them in particular was capable of brainwashing an entire town with an enchanted doll. And her reward was dominion over that town she had previously brainwashed. Celestia was setting a dangerous precedent.

She had allowed the military to wither until it was a vestige of its former might. A mistake that would soon come to haunt them.

The most chilling fact however, was that their arguments made sense.

At least until they started calling her a warmonger, now that recruitment and military spending had stepped up in response. The rally leaders spouted off made-up statistics, creating a strawpony world where the slippery slope made healthcare, education, and social support commodities for the rich. Twilight laughed. She kept track of the budget reports. There was no way in Tartarus that was happening.

"This is simply horrid, isn't it?" Rarity spoke, startling her, "Such hypocrites!"

"I couldn't agree more." Twilight shook her head.

Twilight changed the channel, coming upon Air Force General Glacia Winterheart's live press release. The tall, graceful pegasus mare had just tucked in her massive wings as she bore into a reporter's soul with her ice-blue eyes. The black and gold uniform provided a nice contrast against her snow white coat and pale blonde hair.

"Air Force recruitment is up by ten percent." Winterheart said, "We will be at minimum combat strength by next month, full strength within five. As for the crew problems on our airships, we will be resolving that by adding more unicorns and earth ponies into the crew mix. Does that suffice?"

"Um, yes. But what about equipment?"

"I cannot tell you the details, but I can assure you that the Royal Armories and Forges are working around the clock to turn out arms and armor for our little ponies."

"One last thing, General Winterheart." The reporter raised a camera, "Could I have a shot for my boss?"

The General considered for a moment, and then she shrugged. "Very well."

She turned to face the camera. The reporter pressed depressed the shutter and the camera shattered into hundreds of shards of glass and plastic with a resounding bang, blinding him. The guards tackled him to the ground as the rest of the journalists scattered. The image degraded into a wild, shaking view as the General's aides helped her to her hooves, blood staining the immaculate white of her wings and chest.

"You." Winterheart glared into the camera, a soul-chilling look in her eyes, "Turn that off."

The camerapony complied.

"What jus' happened?" Applejack stared at the now-blank screen.

"I don't know." Twilight shook her head, "And frankly, I don't want to find out."

Flim felt the thunderous applause as his brother worked the crowd to a frenzy, encouraging them to chant and sing. That in itself didn't trouble him. What did was that he was spewing treasonous rhetoric and lies directed against the Princesses and the government. They'd been doing this for weeks now, traveling from city to city to set up cells and attract supporters for the Equestrian Democratic Front.

The EDF promised a bright future with the common pony at the helm, of a free system where birth or social status didn't matter in the eyes of others. They promised a strong nation, protected by competent soldiers armed only with the best. They promised change and reform on a massive scale, and all they had to do was get the Princesses out of the way. Itwas all a con.

He knew, of course. The EDF promised all those things but didn't provide a way of getting to them. Except for one thing. To open up a brighter future, the Princesses and their 'pets' had to be removed at all costs. The idea sickened Flim. This was rebellion!

Even more disturbing was that ponies who entered Flim's tent, no matter what their views were beforehand, emerged in complete agreement with the EDF's propaganda. He doubted that his brother was that charismatic. They'd been run out of Ponyville, after all. And there was that strange amulet he always wore. Something fishy was happening.

But what else could he do?

The soldiers arrived at noon with orders to escort them to Fort Equinox for an emergency meeting. They were crammed into unmarked vans, a high-speed train car with no windows, and then another set of vans that wound their way into Mount Avalon's heart. They passed through dozens of checkpoints, each of them marked by a massive set of blast doors. Finally, they were chaperoned into the labyrinthine underground complex's heart: a massive conference chamber.

The lights came on with a resounding snap as television screens winked to life.

Shiny wasn't kidding. Twilight thought. It really does look like the one in that WarGames movie.

They all took their seats at their appointed places, waiting for the rest of the ponies to file in. The seat reserved for Laughter was depressingly empty. The rest of the Elements wore contemplative looks as they pondered the ramifications of being requested to attend a top-secret meeting under a mountain in silence. Tension and a foreboding feeling weighed down the air.

Suddenly, the doors hinged open and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stepped in. Twilight looked closely at Celestia. Cake crumbs stuck to the sides her mouth, and an odd feeling radiated from her that hovered at the edge of her consciousness.

"Greetings." Luna said, "Welcome to the seat of my power."

"If only we could meet in happier times." Celestia said more to herself.

They took their seats opposite each other. Twilight noticed that they were seated along the cardinal directions. Celestia sat due east, Luna due west, and herself due north. That meant Cadence would seat to the south. There were also seats for the various generals as well. This was going to be a military affair, why involve the Elements?

Twilight had just opened her mouth to speak when Celestia cut her off, "All will be answered in due time."

The answers came thirty minutes later, once all of the staff had taken their seats. Surprisingly, General Winterheart was also in attendance. Twilight swore the room temperature dropped a couple of degrees upon her entry. Her heart sank when she noticed that Shining Armor's seat was unoccupied. She saw the look Fluttershy had when Winterheart entered and made a note to ask if she was alright later.

"Greetings, Everypony." Celestia said, "We will skip the formalities as we have grave matters to discuss. The first of which is what will be done with the Elements of Harmony in these dark times." She turned to her sister, "Luna?"

Princess Luna's horn glowed, and a map of Equestria appeared on the largest screen. Red dots and crosses overlaid various locations on the map, most of them clustered around large cities and government centers.

"It has become clear to us that the events today," Luna nodded at Winterheart, "are part of a concerted effort to erode the public's confidence in the government, which was already shaky before, might I add due to various circumstances at the turning of the millennium."

At that, a shameful look briefly crossed Celestia's face. Luna cleared her throat, bringing attention back to her.

"The red crosses are targets that have already been hit, such as Lord Fancypants's estate in Seaddle, MIST, and recently, General Winterheart's conference in Stalliongrad."

Winterheart scowled, glaring at her bandaged wing.

"The dots," Luna continued, "represent planned targets. They may or may not be hit, but we must be cautious about this... Which brings us to the second matter at hand."

Another map, this one of Ponyville, appeared on another screen. "If you would study the map, Elements, you would notice that the dots correspond to your places of residence or places of work. To ensure your safety, my sister and I have decided to induct you into the Office of Shadows and Secrets, Section 4."

Rainbow Dash jumped out of her seat, "You mean we get to be spies? Do we get fancy gadgets? This is gonna be awesome!"

"In a manner of speaking. You will serve as the public face of the Government." Luna held a calculating look.

"Excuse me, Princess." Twilight raised a hoof, "Aren't we princesses already the symbols of the government?"

"Yes, but we need symbols the citizenry can relate to. We need them to see that ponies from all walks of life can be united under our government, not just under this so called 'Democratic' front."

"Ah get it." Applejack placed her hat on the table and ran a hoof through her mane, "Ya need us to get the bourgeois, the proletariat, and the petty-bourgeoisie on our side instead of those...hooligans. And that's where our personalities come in...

"Indeed, Applejack." Luna smiled, "Though we wouldn't use those terms."

Twilight was surprised, and a little bit proud, at how fluent Applejack and pronounced those terms. She chuckled softly as Rarity blinked away the disbelief on her face.

"But how...?" Rarity whispered.

"Marketing, Rares." Applejack grinned.

"I still don't see how a bunch of foals playing tinker, tailor, soldier, spy is going to help is get the situation under control." Said General Salt Rock, a stocky stallion wearing Army insignia, "We should just send in the troops and be done with it."

"You imbecile." Winterheart said flatly, "You would only be adding fuel to the fire. Have you even read the reports our agents have sent on the EDF, or even the news?"

Winterheart's eyes narrowed. General Rock shrunk back for a moment, and then scoffed, tearing his eyes away from hers.

"A show of force is often enough to cow them into submission." Rock continued.

"Enough." Princess Celestia had a hint of steel in her voice, "We do not want to cow our citizenship into submission through brute force. We want them to feel safe under our leadership, prevention before cure, as some may say."

"Can't we do both?" Admiral Silent Hunter whispered, "Many of our little ponies are scared. If we send some crowd control in, no provoking the protesters into action of course, they would probably feel safer. And at the same time, we show them that we do care."

"Something scares me about that 'probably'." Twilight mused.

"Indeed. But it is a risk we might have to take." Luna sighed, "There seems to be an increasing trend of violence in these protests, having security forces on station will help alleviate the nervousness our little ponies will feel."

Celestia cleared her throat, "Carrying on. One Element is already missing. We have decided to provide additional security and a safe place to stay for the meantime." The distaste in her voice was almost palpable, "I take it you've met Agent Specter?"

The Elements nodded, "Will we be meeting more like...him?"

"Yes."

"That said, we will not waste the Elements' talents by hiding them away." Winterheart declared, "We need to get our military ready and keep the citizens calm at the same time, and they are the right ponies for the job." She looked each one of them in turn, "Applejack and Rarity, I want you to coordinate with the Royal Armories and Forges and Princess Twilight on manufacturing." Applejack nodded.

"Commander Dash, we are returning you to duty. It will be your job to train new recruits."

Rainbow Dash saluted. "Ma'am!"

"Lieutenant Fluttershy, you will tend to our larger air assets." Fluttershy shrank back, and then set her jaw as she nodded, realizing what Winterheart meant about that.

"And, Princess." Winterheart's unblinking stare chilled Twilight's soul, "We need you to organize the war effort's production and logistics and research." She tilted her head, "Don't worry about working alone. We have expert staff on hand."

Twilight gulped, realizing the responsibility this entailed and the work it would bring, "Of course. Thank you, General."

Heavy Metal yawned. Border patrol was always boring, even on the old griffon border, even at night. The warlords usually spent too much time fighting among themselves to even think of invading Saddle-Arabia. That was good too, since the Protectorate couldn't really put up much of a fight if they did.

"Isn't that right, Betty?" He patted the magically-enhanced steel under him.

The Mk. 1 Stalwart was a little under a hundred years old, kept in good condition in the hands of Col. Wrench and his team of mechanics and enchanters. If anything, Betty had a nice low profile and a killer depression angle on her 75 mil so they could hide behind something and plink the attackers off. Unless it was one of those Emperor tanks.

Metal had seen an Emperor only once, and that was when he visited the Royal Arms Museum in Equestria with his parents, but the memory of it still inspired awe. That what was when he got his stud stamp too. He actively refused to call it a cutie mark, it was demeaning to his stallionhood.

The Emperor was a fortress on four treads, bristling with guns and covered in thick armor. The griffons didn't have magic so they made do with their technical prowess, and the result was a wonder to behold. Emperors had a listed top speed of 60 kilometers per hour on good terrain, and could turn on a bit in under ten seconds.

He was just about to close his eyes and drift off to sleep under Princess Luna's night when the radio crackled to life.

"Metal, is that you?" The voice sounded frantic, pained, "I've got a whole armored column moving down the pass. They've got triple-A and fighter support. I'm the only one who made it." A cough, clattering in the background, "They've got Emperors! Oh shi -- " static.

Metal sat up and stared at the horizon. A long plume of dust was approaching, lit from the inside by hundreds of lights. He grabbed his binocs and zoomed them all the way in. His blood froze. It was indeed an armored column, and it wasn't friendly.

The tanker popped red flares and woke his crew mates, slamming the commander's hatch behind him.

"What's wrong, Boss?" The Loader, Lieutenant Magazine, rubbed her eyes as she woke.

"Griffons."

The rest of the crew was awake in seconds, and the tank's engine joined them soon after. Comsat spread the word and soon, the border was abuzz with activity as ponies prepared for the fight of their lives.

The bulkhead in front of Metal disappeared, replaced by an augmented reality view of the outside. It was the newest thing in the tank, having been installed five years ago. The display was fuzzy and crackled sometimes, but it still worked.

"All systems checked and ready."

"All armor units, fall to defensive positions." Metal barked, "Load sabot, select individual targets."

Mechanical sounds filled the cabin as the auto loader got to work. Magazine levitated a new shell into the loader's hopper and waited, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. "Up."

"Contact! Range twenty-one hundred metres, two-zero clicks per hour. Bearing twelve o'clock."

Metal counted down the seconds until they were in effective range. "...three, two one. Fire!"

"Away!"

The tank recoiled as the 75mm sabot spat out of the barrel at ten times the speed of sound, wrecking a Swiftclaw light tank in a burst of flame and smoke. The rest of the armor fired as one, sending hot tungsten barreling into the enemy formation in a thunderous cacophony. The shells did good work, reducing six more light tanks to scraps and disabling a Reaper medium, in just as many hits.

The column ground to a halt almost instantly, barrels training upon the outnumbered defense force. The Emperors' turrets rotated ponderously, bringing massive 125 millimeter cannons to bear, shrugging off hits that would have disabled lesser tanks with contemptuous ease.

They spoke.

The world shattered.

If the ponies' fire was a thunderclap, the griffons' answer was a storm. Two dozen tanks of all classes fired in a staggered salvo that broke more than just armor and flesh. Twelve Stalwarts were reduced to nine, and then six, finally three.

Cover wasn't taken into consideration because it simply ceased to exist. Retreating was suicide. There was only one thing left to do.

Minutes later, only the birds were left to watch the column thunder into the horizon, leaving behind wreckage and corpses.

They had adjourned for the night to reconvene the next morning. Now, they sat glued to the screen as the recorded events unfolded on television. Fluttershy watched on in growing horror, yet she found herself unable to tear her eyes from the screen. Memories of nightmares flashed unbidden into her mind and she fought to banish the images before she snapped.

"...You can literally feel the thunder of the guns from here, and quite frankly, it scares me." Said the reporter as gunfire and explosions raged in the distance behind her, "Roughly eight hours ago, the griffon First Army rolled into the city of Bagdad, crushing any and all opposition in a hail of bombs and gunfire. Five hours later, they are here at our doorsteps in the city of Oil Sands. This is Flash Report, Al-Poneera News, signing off."

Images flashed into a montage of devastation. Everypony was silent, a mix of emotions warring on their faces. Great plumes of black smoke rose into the sky, shading the sky red like blood amidst shattered buildings and the wrecks of vehicles. Corpses from all races littered the streets. A proud skyscraper collapsed as griffon bombers poured missiles into the retaliating structure. Fires burned everywhere amidst the flashes of nighttime gunfire.

Rainbow Dash cheered silently as a pegasus struck down a griffon and moved to rejoin his flight, only to be ripped apart in mid air by a stream of tracers. Her heart sank. Applejack wore a horrified, slack-jawed look as infantry were crushed underhoof by tanks and armored vehicles as their weapons thundered. Fluttershy stared blankly at the screen, uncomprehending at the level of death and destruction. Rarity had long since fainted and moved to the infirmary.

How could anypony do this? Fluttershy thought, images from her hellish training flashing into her mind.

She pushed them down. She wouldn't break down.

"Enough." Celestia whispered just as an image of ponies lined up against a wall flashed onto the screen.

The screen mercifully blacked out.

"We will reconvene in one hour. I believe we all need time to come to grips with what we have seen."

General Winterheart said as everypony filed out, "Fluttershy, I would like to speak with you, in private."

Fluttershy reassured her friends that she would be fine and sat down across the general. Rainbow Dash shot Winterheart a dirty look, and then the doors slammed shut with a resounding boom.

Fluttershy whispered, lowering her hair so that the General couldn't see her. "You asked to speak to me, mother?"

Author's Note

Thanks again to Jioplip for pre-reading!

What do you think of the OCs?

Originally, I'd planned Winterheart as a standalone character but then the way she looked at people go me thinking. Gen. Salt Rock's name is actually a pun on a certain ingredient on a certain basic explosive.

I 02. Mobilization

"They've forced our hoof!" Luna's voice was close to breaking into Royal Canterlot territory, "we cannot stand for this!"

"And we will not, dear sister." Celestia replied, "But first we need to make a statement. We must make this state of war between us official, as they have not given us that courtesy."

Twilight glanced at Fluttershy, who seemed more relaxed, more confident than she normally was. She no longer seemed to be afraid of General Winterheart.

"Indeed, Princess." Winterheart nodded, "An invasion of the mainland is on the horizon and we must do all that we can to prepare. If you will, I have already drafted letters of request from our allies. I just need your command to send them."

"I have to object to this." Rock hissed, "This is our fight and we will fight it alone!"

"And how do you intend to do that, Rock?" Hunter sneered, "With sticks and stones and swarm tactics? We lack in numbers and training, my dear thick headed stallion. All we can leverage is our technological advantage." He threw a glance at Twilight, "How is the Manehattan Project going on, Your Highness?"

"I was going to check on that when the meeting was called, Admiral." Twilight fought to keep the dread at bay, "So I do not know it's status now. However, it was well underway the last time I was in contact with Radiance.

"She and her team are making good progress, by the way. She told me all sorts of -- "

Celestia coughed to get everypony's attention, "Twilight, do all that you can to maintain that advantage. We will need it in the coming months."

Two Days Later

Princess Celestia stood radiant on the stage, her ethereal mane flowing in an invisible current. Dozens of spellwards crackled and spun around her in a buzzing protective honeycomb. The reporters, capitalizing on this development, asked her if this meant that she was expecting trouble of any sort. Celestia gave them a look that said it was a stupid question.

It was a live broadcast as well. Local and foreign news agencies already had their equipment set up and transmitting to millions of viewers and listeners all over the globe. Hundreds ponies filled the square, all of them whispering and theorizing amongst themselves. She hated to break their hearts like this, but it must be done.

She stepped up to the microphone and cleared her throat.

"Fillies and gentlecolts. I bear a grievous announcement. The thousand year peace has come to an end. I say this to you in this solemn hour -- as sovereign ruler -- in the life of our country, of our empire, of our allies, and above all, the cause of Harmony, that we are in a state of war.

"Last night, the Commonwealth of Saddle Arabia was attacked by the forces of a Warlord known only as Ravenous. Last night, nearly five hundred ponies died. Last night, the Commonwealth surrendered after its leadership was slaughtered to a mare. Last night was the end of an era.

"Saddle Arabia is now under griffon control and is being exploited for its labor and its oil. Its citizens suffer under an iron yoke, toiling in the desert sun under a warlord who will stop at nothing to see our country in ruins."

The crowd whispered among themselves, stunned at the declaration. Many of the ponies bore expressions of horror, some anger, mostly sadness. But there lay an undercurrent of determination.

"We will not let this transgression stand.

"The Royal Principality of Equestria formally declares war on Warlord Ravenous in response to the unprecedented attack on the Commonwealth of Saddle Arabia. We have failed through diplomacy. It is now time for force. Let it be known that we will not relent until he is brought to justice!"

Thunderous applause shook the city square.

Two Weeks Later

It was time to make good Celestia's promise. And what was a better way to show that the Realm would not sit idly by than to launch the Air Force flagship in front of a massive crowd, transmitted to the television and computer screens of millions? The Cumuloseum was as good a place as any.

Twilight watched as the the work crews knocked away the chocks that held the Prince of Steel in place. A low hum filled the air, no doubt the massive airship's powerful engines, as the warship began to move. The gleaming hull reflected the sun's rays as the Equestrian colors flapped in the Cloudsdale wind.

This was Equestria's proud flagship, an old hull bought from the griffons before their Empire collapsed. It had taken five years to refit everything for ponies and to modernize and replace incompatible systems. And everypony thought it was the pinnacle of Equestrian military technology, almost everypony.

Almost everything had been replaced. An Etheric reactor now powered the warship's powerful jets. Improvements in detection and electronic countermeasure systems meant that that the sensors suites had to be replaced. The griffons no longer made ammunition for the guns, so they had to make do with 155 millimeter guns modified from ground-based Shatterer artillery. A smattering of air defenses and light weapons completed the mix. There was talk of outfitting the Prince with VLS cells, but the project had been scrapped due to a lack of funds.

There was no doubt that Ravenous didn't have to work around that limitation.

The hum built up to a loud roar and bright pillars of Etheric flame shot from the airship's belly thrusters. The crowd erupted into wild cheering as the warship ascended, breaking free from the slips to join its cousins, Eclipse and Dawn, Equestria's only carriers.

The Prince took the lead, its massive turrets slewing around until they were perpendicular to the ship's axis. A series of thunderous booms sounded over the cheering as smoke and flames burst out of the gun barrels by way of salute.

Seven blurs shot out of a hangar. Six of them trailed dark stormclouds interlaced with flashes of lighting. The seventh, in the center of the v-formation trailed a band of rainbow. The fliers moved with exacting precision and unmatched elegance in the air, looping, rolling, weaving as they dropped off from the formation in pairs until only the rainbow trail remained. It leveled with the Prince, accelerating. A shock cone formed ahead of the pegasus, bleeding Etheric energy in prismatic waves.

Suddenly, silence.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

Three rings of rainbow-hued energy expanded along the rainbow trail as the flier slowed, allowing its her wing-mates to fall into formation.

Twilight smiled, pride welling up in her heart as surely as the tears in her eyes. Rainbow had worked for months to perfect that stunt.

"You cryin', Twi?"

"Nope, it's liquid pride. Totally different thing."

"I kin agree with ya on that."

Twilight watched the rest of the ceremony with little interest. The crowd and the camera crews had already pulled out, but some of the photographers had stayed to gather more shots. Hopefully

Mothballed airships were being pulled out of the yards, refitted, and pressed into service as soon as the upgrades could be finished. On the other hand, weapons and vehicles designed and developed only to appease the brass's concerns were being put into mass production at Royal Armories and Foundries plants all over the country. Even the designs that didn't look so good on paper were being put through another round of development, a second lease at life so to speak.

One of the airships being rolled out was an old Meteor-class, refitted from the griffon Wingblade. It looked decidedly non-aerodynamic with its blocky superstructure and blunt nose. A failure in one of its burners as it cleared the slips resulted in it rolling over and nose-diving into the clouds. Thankfully nopony was hurt. The warship, however, was a write off. Twilight decided to bump up the contract for new Vindicators by five as work crews levitated the wreck to the repair yards.

A batch of F.4 fighter exoskeletons turned out defective and were returned to the Foundries for replacement. Thankfully, new units were being sent over from Neighpon, Stalliongrad, and Stirrup. Germaneigh was also sending old bomber exoskeletons. Flockheed-Maretin and Northclop-Grucolt had been contracted to take up the slack, and were due to deliver their first batch of F.16 Dart and F.14 Mustang exos in the next week. All that was needed were the ponies to pilot them.

Rainbow Dash spent a couple of hours sizing up the new recruits and ten minutes yelling at them for making a remark about her flank. Twilight didn't know whether to be amused or insulted, so she decided to be both.

They'd gone down to Ponyville for lunch and reviewed the Royal Air Militia's equipment. A quarter of the armor units were in sub-optimal condition, some of them almost laughably so. There weren't enough combat harnesses and machine guns to go around as well, since most of them were handed over to the army and militia. Hamstring & Kolt had promised to make up for the deficiency, but an industrial accident and the resulting fire delayed the schedule.

Twilight gritted her teeth and canceled the contract as soon as she got into her study. There were dozens of guards now. They wore full combat armor instead of the traditional ceremonial gear, almost making them look like the museum displays downstairs.

However, appearance was as far as the similarities went. The armor, despite being a ten year old design, was still capable of stopping a 7.62 mm sniper round, light enough to prevent fatigue, and even assisted the wearer in carrying itself and other loads. The helmet was packed with electronics, cramming a sophisticated augmented reality display, sensors, and communication gear into a fully-enclosed, lightweight package designed to fit comfortably on a pony's head regardless of the horn.

She couldn't help but admire the sophistication and hard work that had gone into engineering this protective marvel.

Strangely enough, the Democratic Front had gone quiet despite the build-up. This was the perfect excuse for them to increase their activity, so why were they just laying low?

Twilight decided she wouldn't like the answer.

"All elements in position, starting mission clock. Oracle One, fire when ready."

Stormbearer surveyed the compound through her scope, safely tucked away inside a cumulus. The optics highlighted the targets, placing red diamonds over their figures as additional equipment transmitted their positions to her teammates. There, on the western side was Strike Two, composed of an earth pony and a unicorn, Adamant and Midnight Glimmer respectively. On the eastern side was Strike One, a pegasus and a unicorn, Thunderclap and Magic Bullet. Oracle Two was nestled in his nest on the mountain due north.

[MISSION CLOCK: 0:00:05.2]

Stormbearer sighted one of the compound's sentries, a minotaur reading a magazine as he sat in his watchtower. She started her breathing, visualizing the trajectory of the bullet as it made its way into the minotaur's body. She exhaled, squeezing the trigger.

The firing pin moved forward, igniting the primer charge which in turn ignited the propellant, driving out a 45 gram Tungsten-carbide slug at roughly nine-hundred meters per second, delivering around nineteen-thousand Moules of kinetic energy to the target. The minotaur's torso ceased to exist in the time it took for the blowback to work the reloading mechanism, readying a similar round for firing. Overkill? Yes. Satisfying? Buck yeah!

The cloud had an added bonus of nullifying the noise her rifle made, keeping her safe from detection for the while.

[MISSION CLOCK: 0:00:06.25]

She and partner picked off targets of opportunity with contemptuous ease, reducing the compound's exterior patrols from ten to zero in roughly the number of bodies they had created.

"Go, go, go!" She whispered.

"Go, go, go!" Stormbearer's voice filtered over the headset.

Midnight Glimmer responded by teleporting himself and Adamant over to the compound gates. Adamant plastered the breaching charge onto the sheet-metal and nodded to him. He tossed a couple of flashbangs over wall and heard cries of surprise. Bang! Bang! Pained cries. Adamant detonated the charge and they rushed in, dispatching the stunned minotaur and griffon guards with deadly efficiency.

A griffon tried to leap into the air, but a burst of rounds perforated her wings, and ultimately her head. Blood and guts sprayed from a minotaur's torso like red confetti as he raised his rifle. The minotaur collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

It was over in seconds.

[MISSION CLOCK: 0:00:15.7]

It was a shame that the minotaurs had to be roped into this. But that was the consequence of sharing borders and allegiances with the griffons. Many were deeply patriotic towards the old griffon-minotaur Empire and saw Ravenous as a way to bring the times of glory back.

Midnight scanned the area. To the left, south, was a barracks and a motor pool. To the north was the mess and the command building judging from the numerous antennas poking from its roof. A griffon wearing an ornate uniform blearily stumbled out of the command building. Their eyes locked for a moment, surprise being the dominant expression on the griffon commander's face, and then his head exploded as a 1.27 centimeter round passed through the skull.

A mixture of griffons and minotaurs burst from the barracks, some of them quite literally, and fired wildly in their direction. He threw up a barrier as they retreated behind cover. Adamant reared up behind the shipping containers, hefting Bertha -- his heavy machine gun -- into a firing position. He pulled the trigger. Brass casings littered the sand as the 1.27 centimeter slugs reduced bodies to mincemeat, forcing the tangoes to find their own cover.

Midnight saw a grenade sail towards them and swatted it back with his telekinesis, only to watch in surprise as the magic slipped off the explosive. Adamant dragged his sorry ass into cover just as the grenade exploded. A fragment clipped off the top of his left ear and he screamed, throwing a bunch of grenades over in retaliation.

The explosions sent dirt and guts showering over them. And suddenly everything was silent.

“Strike Two clear."

The griffon went down as magically accelerated projectiles pierced into his brain. Magic Bullet pulled the Neighponese throwing knives out, cleaned them on the sand and held them ready to strike as they rounded the corner. The gunfire from Two meant that all of the attention was directed away from One, allowing them to sneak around and compromise the situation from behind. But it didn't hurt to be prepared.

"Strike Two clear."

Thunderclap grinned as Midnight's voice filtered over the comms, partly because his friend was still alive, and partly because he sounded like he'd been caught on the wrong end of a wyvern. They linked up at the command post, checking every room for a sign of the pink mare they were looking for. An hour passed with the mare still missing and Thunderclap was considering terminating the mission when Magic tripped over a rug, exposing a trap door.

"Of course." Thunder rolled his eyes. "There always has to be a cellar."

Midnight and Magic pried open the door and dropped a magelight in, illuminating a small space. Thunder took point, flicking the light switch as he descended. The room was clean for one, none of the blood and shit that could normally be found in a captive's cell. Second, there was a pink cake, a couple barrels of cider, and a bunch of balloons. Thunder blinked.

"What -- "

A pink blur suddenly appeared in front of him, making him rear up and let out a surprised whinny "Hi! I'm Pinkie!" It said.

Twilight jolted awake as the explosion shattered the midnight silence. Lights all over the city flickered on. She jumped out of bed and rushed to the balcony, where she saw the plume of black smoke rising out of the commercial district, backlit by a blazing inferno. The guards burst into the room and swept it for threats. Once confirming that she was safe, they moved to take her to the safehouse.

"What is the meaning of this? What happened?" She asked.

"Somepony set off a bomb in Commercial, in front of the Carousel Boutique I think."

"What?" Twilight's heart leapt into her throat, "No! Get me an escort! I'm going."

"Your Highness, I don't think th -- "

"I don't care! Just do it!"

"Right away!" The guard galloped off as Twilight put on the protective vest she'd been given.

The vest could stop even large-caliber rounds, provided they got past the barrier enchantments and spell-wards first. The small battery built into the garment could be recharged and supplemented by the wearer's reserve, providing additional protective capability for as long as the wearer could hold out.

Twilight packed her combat magic books into the safe and closed it, placing an additional layer of security with a quick flurry of spells. If anypony tried to open it without her permission, she would be alerted and they would be knocked unconscious until she cast the counter.

A phalanx of pegasus guards took formation on the balcony.

"Your Highness."

Twilight flapped her wings and launched into the air, "Let's go."

The storefront across Carousel Boutique was in ruins. Fire ponies were already hard at work dousing the flames while forensics and explosives disposal teams moved around the crime scene. An ambulance sat by the corner, its lights flashing as a bunch of first response ponies treated whoever happened to need it. She landed beside the ambulance and nodded to a paramedic, and then began her search for Rarity.

Twilight found the marshmallow-colored mare sitting at the back as she was treated for a wound on her foreleg. There was a faraway look in her eyes.

“Rarity!” She rushed over, “Are you alright?”

The mare in question shook her head, her eyes focusing on Twilight. She was silent, and then tears welled up in her eyes as she sobbed. “Twilight! It-it was horrible!”

The paramedic nodded as he finished bandaging her up and stepped aside, letting Twilight comfort her friend. She reared up and wrapped her forearms around Rarity’s neck and gently ran a hoof through her mane. The white mare’s tears soaked into her coat and mane as muffled sobs racked her body.

“Th-there was a stallion!” She managed to choke out between sobs, “He just-just blew himself up! He was yelling horrible things about us, and you, and the princesses!”

Twilight blinked. The calculating, strategic part of her mind branched off even as she soothed her friend. Terrorism of that sort meant undying devotion to a cause. The cause in question was obvious, going by the information Rarity gave her, but for there to be a sudden escalation in the level of violence, either a massive change in mentality or a division in the ranks had to occur. Either way, more data was required before she could come to a conclusion. Either way, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Rarity had fallen asleep in her legs. Twilight motioned to a paramedic and asked her to be brought to a hospital as she gently laid her down on the floor. She fought to keep herself from crying in front of her subjects.

“Captain Watch,” She barked. Now wasn’t the time for tears, “send for a detachment of Sentinels to escort the Element of Generosity.”

“Your Highness!” The guard captain saluted and relayed the orders into his headset.

Twilight turned to inspect the scene of the crime. A blackened crater marked the site of the explosion, and judging by the damage inflicted it was a small explosive. Whoever wanted Rarity dead would have used much more explosive than that, so something might have gone wrong with the explosive. Her assumption was proven correct when a unicorn in a bombproof suit levitated a piece of tattered cloth – part of a vest – with gray blocks plastered all over it.

A team of specialists worked to disassemble the bomb and neutralize the explosive. To do that, they had to detonate it. The unicorns in the team placed the explosives inside a container and cast an inverse shield dome around it. Twilight peeked into the Ether and copied the spell matrix before decompiling it, saving the results in her mental library. She already knew thousands of spells, including ones that were either currently too difficult for her or illegal for civilians to cast, one more was just a drop in a bucket.

A loud THUD emanated from the box and the unicorns sat down, panting. One of their team members passed around bottles of water and unsealed the box. Smoke poured from the open lid as another set of unicorns upended it, shaking out the particulates inside into an evidence bag before returning the box to the truck it came out of.

The ambulance turned on its sirens and sped away, carrying the wounded to Ponyville Medical for further treatment, leaving her in its wake.

A feeling pricked the back of her mind. She was being watched. Twilight didn’t bother to look around as she ran a scanning spell, finding the stalker hiding in a back alley. She sighed, put on her best threat look, and pulled the pony out of the alley with her telekinesis. It was a lanky pegasus stallion with brown hair, a cream-colored coat, and a camera around his neck.

Twilight sighed again, “Featherweight. Those pictures are government evidence.” She said evenly, feeling a pang of sympathy as he shuddered, sniveling at her hooves, “If you surrender them now, I’ll let you go.”

Featherweight took out the camera’s memory card and hoofed it to her with a sheepish but thankful smile. A red tint crept onto his face as their hooves touched for but a moment. If Twilight had a reaction, she didn't let it show.

“Is that everything?” Twilight wasn’t taking any chances with the media, not after a certain cake incident.

The stallion gulped and removed two more memory cards from his camera bag and gave them to her.

“Thank you for your service.” Twilight bowed, levitating the crystalline devices over to a forensics pony, who placed them in an evidence bag.

Twilight decided she needed a good, hard drink while she mulled this over. Time to call Applejack and the rest of the girls.

“Strike, be advised. You have inbound hostiles on your position. Suggest you finish whatever you’re doing there and exfil. Will meet up at designated EZ.”

Midnight swore, choking on the cupcake he was currently in the middle of inhaling. He initially didn’t want to eat, but the pink pony had insisted so profusely that it was the only way to get her to move out that he gave in. The fact that they were so damn good didn’t help at all, and one cupcake led to another, leading him to the current situation.

He cleared his throat, “Copy, Oracle. What is force makeup?”

“Five trucks, four Mikes each minus driver and shotgun, some with heavy weapons. Five Golfs flying overwatch. LAV convoy lead, looks like HMG kit.”

He turned to Pinkie, who was twitching all over. Adamant and Magic were panicking like a pair of recruits at the spectacle. Midnight found it hard not to slap them. Thunder facehoofed.

“Why did I sign up for this?” Thunder sighed as he finished the last slice of pie, a contemplative look on his face, “Quite good though.”

“Oh boy! It’s a doozy!” Pinkie stopped twitching, “It’s an excessively-explosively-ebullient-echelon-of-enemies-coming-from-the-east kind of doozy!”

“What.” Midnight shook his head, “Let's, pony up! Let’s go go go!”

Pinkie saluted, “Okie-dokie-lokie sir!” She hopped upstairs.

“Adamant! Magic! Stop horsing around; get us a ride out of here!”

The four of them followed their objective into the motor pool, where Midnight saw a pink blur disappear into a Swiftwind Infantry Fighting Vehicle’s command hatch. He was about to drag her out when he saw her operating various levers and buttons on the control panel from her seat at a breakneck pace as the beast rumbled to life.

“Works for me.” Thunder shrugged as he manned the gunner’s station, loading a fresh belt into the 50. caliber machine gun.

Midnight put away his reservations on how this civilian knew how to start up a military vehicle, let alone one that belonged to the enemy. The time for questions would come later, now was the time to survive.

Magic and Adamant clambered into the rear compartment and strapped themselves in while Midnight squeezed into the modular weapons station underneath Thunder and did a quick once over of the controls. They were similar enough to that of the Chariot’s and seemed to be intuitive enough for him to work out the differences where they differed.

“Everypony strapped in?” Pinkie called out, “This is gonna be a wild ride!”

“Tell me about it.”

Pinkie cheered as the war machine barreled out of the garage, crushing a jeep underneath its oversized wheels as it turned onto the road.

“Incoming!”

The minotaur manning the Light armored Vehicle's gun mount threw away the disposable launcher as the rocket barreled towards the commandeered Swiftwind. Normally, either Magic or Midnight would have deflected the projectile, but their frantic screaming about how their magic wasn’t working told lots about why they didn’t.

“Hold on!” Pinkie cried, turning the IFV into a six-wheeled drift.

Thunder screamed as he was pressed against the side of the station. So did the two other passengers. Midnight’s head slammed against the wall, causing stars to burst out across his vision as the rocket flashed past with mere centimeters to spare! The crazy civilian driver righted the vehicle with a whoop.

“Buck me.” Magic groaned.

Midnight swiveled the turret around and let loose a burst from the 2cm autocannon. The heavy rounds punched right through the LAV’s armor in showers of sparks. The vehicle stayed steady, then swerved, and finally crashed into a convenient rock outcrop that resulted in a thunderous shower of smoke and flame. Debris rained down all around them.

Thunder ducked as a barrage of rounds cracked overhead, and then retaliated with a stream of fire that sent a couple of minotaurs tumbling off their open tops. The IFV hit a bump, nearly throwing him out of the turret. Midnight shoved him back in with his telekinesis, confirming his theory that only the RPGs were now somehow immune to magic, and that his horn wasn't broken.

He filed that away and blasted a truck with 2cm rounds, wrecking its front and sending it barreling end over end into a fiery conflagration.

The hay is going on with all these explosions? He thought.

Somehow, the wreckage caused a pileup of explosions, leaving them with only one pursuer. The vehicle then proceeded to suddenly and inexplicably blow itself up slow motion as the gunners unloaded a burst of fire into its engine compartment, leaving the ponies to ponder just what was inside their bullets as they rode into the sunrise.

Author's Note

Thanks to Jioplip and Migs for going over this and pointing out my atrocities!

I 03. Crossword

XWRD. Experimental Weapons Research Division. Crossword, as it was pronounced.

It was more than just another mound of paperwork on her desk; Twilight was sure of that. It was the fate of the realm. Every innovation, every technology, every new piece of equipment that would come out of Crossword's labs was a life saved, an advantage gained over their enemies, and a step closer to victory.

Therefore, it was imperative to push the boundaries of science and magic both to bring the very best to Equestria’s soldiers. It meant giving birth to the strongest shields, the most efficient of spells, and the most destructive of weapons. The yoke had been thrown, and it was time to answer the challenge.

Twilight sighed. Could I really do all this?

At least she had some of her friends at her side.

Applejack and Rarity handled Crossword's material and pony resources. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy liaised with the military and handled testing procedures, and she oversaw the research. Lyra and Radiance, as well as their teams, were on the project as well, pitching and developing ideas in their respective fields.

Everything was running at optimum. Major projects like Black Widow and Manehattan were delivering results past expectations, and were set to deliver their first units in two weeks. The first ACE suits were on their way to selected Army and Airborne Infantry units for field testing. Development for the Knight MBT project was looking up, with combat testing scheduled in a couple of months.

Director Twilight Sparkle was proudly emblazoned on her desk's nameplate after she'd replaced the previous director. She made a point to finish his projects before moving on to her own ideas. It was the least she could do.

And yet, she didn't feel so proud. This was the business of war, and they were dealing in its number-one commodity: death. She wasn't a merchant, she was the manufacturer. She felt her gut twist as she thought of how the wonderful adventure of discovery and science had taken a dark turn in time with these events.

She had been standing for what seemed like hours in front of the mirror, the faucet spewing water into the sink unattended. Could I look at myself in the mirror after everything's said and done? She asked herself.

The answer came to her as she stared into her reflection's violet eyes. The sun broke over the horizon, sunlight streaming into the tiny window.

12 down: firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end. - Mareiam-Webspinner Dictionary

Applejack set the crossword puzzle down on the table as she sipped her morning coffee, pondering the latest turn of events. Two days had passed since the blast in front of Rarity's and they were now caught up in a sickening world of secrets and deceptions that were, for all intents and purposes, necessary to uphold.

They had to mislead friends and family of their whereabouts, deny involvement and affiliation in front of the public as reporters clamored for information marked classified. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Disaster would come if she told the truth about what really was happening at Apple Industries, and her heart would be ripped apart if she kept it up.

She was living a double life. She, Applejack, Bearer of Honesty, Head of the Apple Clan, President of Apple Industries, Owner of Sweet Apple Acres, and XWRD Director of Engineering couldn't take any more of it. She just wanted to find an escape from the turmoil, both within and without.

She considered having a changeling appear in her stead in public.

"Consarnit!" she hissed, bringing a hoof down on the table so hard that the mug shook. "Why can't everything be just like the good old days?"

"Things change, sugarcube." A warm presence enveloped her, bringing with it the voice of her father. "The world changes, and every time it does, it brings with it new challenges to overcome. Sometimes they won't be easy, and sometimes you'll make mistakes, but I know you're strong enough to keep holding on. You've never given up before."

"This is different, Pa," she whispered to herself. "Ponies are gonna die if Ah do, ponies are gonna die if Ah don't."

"My advice is to be honest with yourself." Applejack's father rustled her mane. Then the presence was gone.

Applejack didn't notice the hot tears streaming from her eyes as they stained the newspaper underneath, or if she did, she didn't care. She reached over and cradled her father's hat, sobbing into the leather. It's musky scent did much to comfort her, and soon the tears stopped flowing.

Her father was right, though. She had to be honest with herself. She had to accept the reality of the situation they were in and face it head on. Yes, good ponies were going to die, but she' be damned if she didn't at least try to help them survive the coming storm. The Apples never got by running away from their problems, and they certainly wouldn't start doing it now.

One thing leads to another. Her actions now would help the determine the course of history further on, and she was loathe to see it end in flames.

The final word was 'determination.'

"Twilie! Happy Birthday!" Shining grinned widely, and then rubbed a hoof behind his neck apologetically, "I'm sorry I couldn't meet you today. You know how my duties are."

Twilight sighed, "Yeah... Well, at least we can see each other now. Telephone sucks."

Shining nodded sagely, and then a sudden lag spike caused the screen to distort. Another window popped open as CrystalPrincess294 joined the conversation.

"Cadance!" Twilight smiled.

"Sunshine, sunshine! Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" The two princesses chanted.

Shining had on a soft smile, "Well, it's good to see my family. How are you dear?"

"Same-old, same-old, dear." Cadance returned the smile, "I miss you, you know that?"

"Love, I'm only going to be in Vanhoover for three days."

"And it's three days without you. In any case, aren't we supposed to congratulate our birthday girl?"

"That we are." Shining put on a big apple-eating grin. "You're twenty now, right?"

"Twenty seven." Twilight deadpanned. Cadance laughed.

Soon, all of them were laughing, their worries melting away like fog under the sun. Twilight wished it would last forever.

“Gunslinger 1-1, this is Cloudbase Tower. Be aware that you are entering Vanhoover airspace, please copy. Over.”

“Copy that, Cloudbase Tower. Over,” Lieutenant Sprint spoke into his mic.

It was a milk run. Just take out the birds for a spin and come back to mares and alcohol in return for service to the crown. The sun shone brightly and there were hopes that the riots in the West Coast were calming down.

The F.16C’s single engine roared behind him, muffled only by the insulation around the cockpit and the helmet he wore. The recent hardware and software upgrades worked perfectly, it seemed. Various symbols and statistics were overlaid on the view from his visor. Heading, speed, armament status, IFF tags, and even potential threats in the sector were displayed in emerald green.

“Gunslinger 1-1, this is Rodeo 1-1.” The associated tags appeared at the 11 o’clock mark, outlined bright emerald as five aircraft broke the cloud cover. “If you do not turn away from Free Equestrian airspace, we will be forced to shoot. Over.”

Sprint chuckled, “Nice one, Rodeo. We’ll just finish our milk run and we’ll be out of your tail. Over.”

, or we will open fire.”

“Jeez,” Gunslinger 1-2 whispered, “what a hardass, first he jokes 'bout treason and now he's driving us off?”

A series of beeps cascaded onto his ears as the word <> appeared on his visor. Sprint saw the smoke trail coming in and popped his flares, rolling away as his flight broke apart to escape the incoming ordnance.

Rodeo’s tags were now red and they were bearing down upon them. The missile had gone for one of the flares and detonated in a burst of flame. But there were more inbound.

“Cloudbase Tower, this is Gunslinger 1-1. We have rogue birds in the air!”

“Copy that, Gunslinger. Lasso and Buck flights are inbound to assist. ETA is one-zero minutes.”

“Gunslinger, fangs out!”

Sprint flipped a switch, activating the fire control systems. A soft warble filled his ears as he lined up with a rogue, waiting for the radar to get a proper lock. The confirmation came a moment later as a high-pitched beep.

He let fly. "Fox One."

The missile accelerated to Mach-5 within seconds of its launch, propelling a twelve-kilogram explosive warhead jacketed by a pineappled steel fragmentation shell. The seeker unit estimated the target's position as it closed in and aimed for a point ahead of it. The estimation proved correct and the warhead detonated mere meters from the target's metallic body, tearing it apart in a storm of heat and shrapnel.

Sprint watched the fireball tumble to the ground with a heavy heart. The pilot didn't eject.

"Damnit!" he hissed."Why didn't you eject?"

The first casualty of the war was a pony-on-pony strike.

The shrill tones of a hostile infra-red lock broke his train of thought. He jinked, cutting power to the engines as he turned the aircraft into a rolling dive. He jammed the flare button rapidly, hoping to drive the missile to a futile self-destruction. The cessation of the warning tone, a small thump heard through the cockpit, and the fact that he was losing airspeed quite rapidly served as a prompt to jam the throttle forward and bring the jet out of its dive.

The Dart was a small, nimble craft unsuited for prolonged engagements. He threw a glance to the fuel gauge and swore. He was almost at bingo fuel. He swung around and searched the area. Rodeo flight had either been driven away or destroyed entirely.

That wasn't the same for their reinforcements however.

Rainbow Dash let out a string of curses as the pounding at he door tore her from her sleep.

"Yeah, yeah," she groaned, groggily making her way downstairs, "gimme a minute."

The pounding only intensified. Dash put on her best hostile look, not quite an effort due to the circumstances, and threw the door open.

"What?"

Her glare sublimated immediately into an expression of pure terror. Fluttershy's mom--no, General Winterheart was standing at her door with a look that could only be matched by the coldest of winters.

"Uh... I-I apologize, ma'am." She rubbed the back of forehead, wearing a sheepish smile.

"No need. Captain." Winterheart's voice was only slightly warmer than her expression. "May I come in?" She stepped inside immediately and motioned for Dash to shut the door.

"Close the windows, too," she continued, looking around the living room. "You have good taste."

"Permission to speak candidly, ma'am?" Dash worked up the nerve. After all, the general's presence here was certainly uncalled for.

"Granted."

"Is there trouble? A general just doesn't appear at my door for casual visits," Dash said, trying not to stutter as Winterheart's eyes pierced into her soul.

The general's shoulders drooped for a bit as she sighed. Her back straightened and grim determination blazed in her eyes.

"There is. Lieutenant," she said. "I cannot tell you here."

Dash nodded. She had just turned around to get her uniform when Winterheart spoke.

"No need for that. A new one will be supplied at the base. We must leave quickly."

Dash quickly turned off the lights and unplugged the appliances, then locked the door as a stealth transport seemed to materialize out of thin air above the street. The general snapped her wings, launching herself into the transport's rear compartment after motioning for Dash to follow. She shook the midday sun out of her eyes.

With a similar--though flashier--maneuver, Dash jumped into the transport as the ramp closed and the transport engaged its engines with a soft rush of exhaust. Winterheart shook herself, green flames burning off the facade as a metallic undertone crept into the changeling's voice.

"So far so good," Specter said, "That should throw them off the trail."

"Who?" Rainbow Dash glared daggers at Specter for his deception.

"Right. I have some explaining to do."

"You mean we're now in a state of civil war?" Twilight asked incredulously. "Do you know what this means? We'll be off schedule! The rebellion will draw efforts away from developing and building equipment for our soldiers! That will lead to..."

Twilight began hyperventilating as she explained the slippery-slope consequences of the rebellion to her brother and her in-law. Her mane was in disarray and a manic look gleamed in her eye as the stress of getting XWRD and the College of Combat Magic up and running compounded the problem. Her Royal facade cracked.

Shining Armor's previous calls for attention had gone unnoticed as Twilight rambled and he was forced to raise his voice. "TWILIGHT! FOR LUNA'S SAKE, CALM DOWN!"

Twilight's ears folded backwards and she cringed, apologizing in a way that would have rivaled Fluttershy's meekness. Shining's expression softened.

"Twilie, overreacting like this isn't going to help any. And besides, you're my LSBFF, I know you can overcome this."

Cadance nodded in agreement. "You can do this, Twilight. Your special talent is saving the realm, after all." She said with a wink.

"Thanks, you two." Twilight smiled, and then frowned as muffled thumps and staccato gunfire rang out behind her brother.

Shining turned around as a pegasus wearing combat gear barged in and whispered into Shining's ear. Her brother's eyes widened, and he swore, levitating his combat armor onto him.

"Twilie. I have to go," he said, a look of fear and concern crossing his face. "Get your fri--"

Shining's window dissolved into static and then cut to black, leaving Twilight and Cadance alone and feeling terrified for her brother.

The warning sirens erected over Ponyville wailed to life, casting their haunting cry for kilometers around as black shapes descended from the clouds. Gun and spell fire reached for the bloated, malformed bodies of the outcast dragons as they bore down upon her city. Twilight's heart skipped a beat.

Twilight quickly assembled and compiled a spell matrix for a dome-shaped barrier, inputting the variables that would make it cover the city. She tied the spell into Ponyville's power grid, something that normally required a technician to do so, and cast it. A shimmering lavender dome sprang up around the city, repelling the dragons that touched it with arcs of lightning. The lights flickered, and the entire city went into a rolling blackout before stabilizing as the shield pushed the power plants to their limit.

Police swarmed into the streets, urging everybody to stay calm and keep indoors for the duration of the attack. Thankfully, the drills concerning Contingency 1-Gamma had paid off, despite the low chance of a dragon attack actually happening at the time it was devised.

She picked up the hotline and dialed a number.

Soarin' guided his F.22b35 into a firing position against the hostile airship. Things around Vanhoover had gone from bad to worse as rebel airships arrived on the scene. The wyverns were still twenty minutes away, and the airships were posted on the East Coast because that was where everypony thought the fighting was going to begin.

Something bugged him, though. The Air Force ponies were the best of the best, and certainly the most loyal. Whoever was behind this would be hard-pressed to find recruits from the RAF. So why did they have so many exos?

He scolded himself for falling into a trance. Now wasn't the time for thinking about the big picture.

He corkscrewed around a line of tracer fire and unleashed a barrage from his Helix-64 rocket pods onto a rogue airship. The rockets tore gaping holes into the airship's upper deck in gouts of flame and debris. Something important was caught in the blast and exploded as well, adding to the chaos that ripped the airship apart in midair.

He quashed a thrill of horror as the wreckage pitched downwards and cantilevered into the ground kilometers below. He was trained to deal with dragons, griffons, and even Discord, but how could expect traitors in a time when Equestria had to be united? How could he kill fellow ponies?

He shook his head.

A hostile lock tone alerted him to an incoming missile. The tone of the warning reminded him that it was radar-guided. The automatic chaff dispensers thumped as he maneuvered to throw the missile off even further. The warning stopped and a red-orange fireball blossomed behind him.

The rest of the Wonderbolts were caught up with the enemy, exchanging gunfire and missiles in a deathly tango, to buy time for him and Spitfire to take out the airship. With that accomplished, Soarin’ and his wing mate leapt back into the fray.

He sighed as his last missile streaked off its mount, tearing apart the rear third of an enemy F.4.

The Lizan High-Priest bowed graciously as the meeting closed, securing a treaty with the Lizan Hegemony to the south as a military and economic ally in these trying times. His head frills bent downwards and the skin on his forehead turned a mottled blue, signifying reverence and respect. Princess Celestia returned the bow and escorted the delegates down the familiar hallways of Canterlot Castle, allowing her mind to wander.

Both countries relied heavily on magic to sustain their industries, but while Equestria melded its arcane with the technological, the Hegemony shunned any form of technology more advanced than clockworks and steam engines in favor of high-level elemental and physical magics along the lines of the classical elements: Earth, fire, wind, and water.

There were the igua, the 'earth benders' of the Hegemony's caste system. They were in charge of mining, building, farming, and all other things 'earth' related. All of them could manipulate soil and rock to some extent, while few were able to master their art enough to be able to bend metal to their will.

And then there were the salamanders, which lived near volcanoes and other geological hot spots. They had special glands that allowed them to spit a cross between napalm and thermite over long distances, as well as summon intense flames and lighting with their magic.

Celestia saw their transport waiting ahead and bid farewell to the delegates as they boarded. It was manned by volans, the Lizan fliers. They looked superficially like dragons and were sometimes mistaken for young noble dragons. But while dragons were mostly bipedal, the Lizans were quadrupeds, not excepting the volans. She noted that they lacked the head crests of the other Lizan races.

She watched with interest as the Lizans took to the sky in their airship. It resembled an old wooden-hulled ship except that instead of using a gas envelope to stay in the air, it flew by way of magical crystals mounted in pods on its sides and ventral surfaces. Celestia made a note to see if Twilight's teams could imitate the design on their airships. The Lizan craft looked especially maneuverable after all.

The last of the Lizan races were the naga, amphibians capable of manipulating water currents and molecules with ease. Some of them could even manipulate the water vapor in the air! They lacked rear legs, and their skin had a slimy look to it.

Celestia ventured back inside as the airship left to join its escorts, REAS Windrunner and REAS Cutlass. She made a point to borrow a cake from the kitchen and returned to her musings as she ate.

Lizan magic was very gestural and required complex bodily movements in order to perform. It was as much dance as it was martial art, and quite frankly, very beautiful to watch. They could even channel it through their weapons and armor with graceful sweeps of the claw or steps of the feet. They, much like the griffons, were a martial species with great history and culture as well as vast amounts of knowledge on the art of war. It would be good to have them as allies.

Luna emerged from the shadows, as she often did. Celestia smiled at her and she returned it, but the grave look didn't disappear from her eyes.

"Lulu, what's wrong?" She wrapped a wing around her sister, "Bad date with Big Mac?"

"'Tis not the time for jokes, mine sister," Luna admonished. "I bear grave news from the West Coast."

She continued, now that she had Celestia's attention. "Several cities have ceded from the Realm and now fly the flag of the 'Free Democratic Republic of Equestria' and have engaged unprovoked hostilities against our forces. We are now in a state of civil war."

Celestia's scream could be heard all over Canterlot.

Everything was not going as planned.

The outcasts had attacked too early, and an overzealous lieutenant in Vanhoover had revealed the extent of the rebellion by attacking a flight from Canterlot. Months of subverting the loyalties and moralities of her little ponies may have been wasted. They were supposed to be the trump card that broke Celestia’s back as she fought against the griffons, not the prelude to war. It reeked of sabotage or gross incompetence, maybe even both.

He sighed, the act causing saliva to drip from the left side of his mouth. That bitch Sparkle had taken away his beauty five years ago and left him with disfigurement even the most powerful magic couldn't repair.

Extra care would need to be taken in order to prevent them from failing even more spectacularly. Ravenous would not be pleased, and neither would their Benefactor.

But perhaps there were advantages to be gained in this turn of events. One thing led to another, after all.

He pushed a chess piece forward. “Your move, auntie.”

Author's Note

And now back to our regular programming.

I 04. Raid

The bells of apocalypse tolled above Ponyville.

A veritable horde of dragons darkened the sky over the small city, pounding at the barrier with single-minded determination. They used their heads and claws to impart tremendous physical force to the shimmering violet bubble. Thousands of drakelings, the non-sapient offspring of dragons, swarmed on the ground, awaiting the impending collapse and the feast to follow.

Streams of tracers lanced into the sky, tearing into flesh and scale as the dragons pressed on through the hail of bullets. Nearly a dozen of the great, misshapen dragons were dead, but dozens more continued to pound at Twilight's spell.

The streets were deserted save for the occasional guard patrol and militia unit. A steady stream of trucks circulated between the militia armory and the anti-air emplacements scattered around the city. A group of mortar teams and a small detachment of Shatterer mobile artillery units tried to thin the swarm of drakelings lurking beyond the dome's reach.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and dragonfire. Dusk was fast approaching, and there seemed to be no end to the fighting. Much of the city had gone dark, plagued by rolling blackouts as the shield drew increasingly more power from the power plants. The contribution she and the unicorns in the city provided was barely enough to offset the drain.

The princess sighed, nudged open the door and headed for the dining room, which served as a makeshift war room for the duration. Twilight fought the rising bile and panic back into its cage. Her subjects needed her to be strong.

"Your Highness." Commander Vigilant Watch bowed. He then returned his attention to the large screen mounted above the fireplace.

Twilight looked at the screen, taking a moment to decipher the military iconography and shorthand displayed.

The West Coast was embroiled in a brutal aerial battle-cum-rebellion, tying up any reinforcements from Canterlot while the East mustered forces to aid in their defense. That would take several hours at best. However, a battalion of tanks and armored cavalry was already on the way from New Yoke while Royal Militia from Fillydelphia and Baltimare were marching under heavy resistance. Times of arrival were twelve hours, six hours, and five hours respectively.

Appleloosa and Dodge had been bypassed entirely as the dragons headed straight for Ponyville. Twilight ran it through her mind and came to a conclusion. Ponyville was strategically important. The two towns were not. It made sense. Crossword and Twilight’s residence were in Ponyville, and the city was large enough to serve as a forward base for a push to Canterlot.

"What can we do, Captain?" she said.

"I really can't say, Highness. We don't have the forces to repel the dragons and the drakelings, and reinforcements are several hours away. We could be looking at a ghost town by nightfall. The Elements could help tip the balance in our favor, but...you know."

Twilight drew in a breath. "Have all the civilians moved to the bomb shelters and prepare for a fight."

"Highness?"

"The barrier won't hold any longer, and we all know it." She glanced at a smaller screen, which displayed the situation around Ponyville.

"Gather the Elements in Basement Level E-2. I'll meet them there."

Shining Armor ducked under a fusillade of lead, levitating his commandeered light machine gun above his cover to suppress the enemy, firing short bursts as the troops he'd mustered advanced. A rebel F.4E crashed into the tarmac outside the hanger, exploding into an oily fireball that engulfed one side of the enemy position. Bits of debris skipped off Shining's barrier, trailing smoke. The distraction proved to be the final blow to the enemy position, and the survivors were detained.

The inbuilt display on his visor marked a squad of Aviator troopers as they descended from the Prince of Steel to reinforce their perimeter. A sudden burst of gunfire from the observation tower accompanied by an FiM-10 Stinger missile scattered their formation and sent one of them tumbling into the roof of the hangar, where he landed with a wet smack.

One of the Aviators twisted in mid-air, shooting a smoke grenade into the tower as he did a series of evasive maneuvers before landing behind a parked truck. Red smoke billowed out of the broken window for a few seconds before close air support took care of the problem. Two of the aerial infantry troopers retrieved their critically injured teammate and began administering what aid they could before a medic took over. Shining’s mind wandered.

It was supposed to be just a routine inspection: nothing more, nothing less. Just another day. So why the buck did it have to be a rebellion? What crime had he committed to warrant this kind of punishment? They were ponies, for Faust's sake! He even knew the names of some of the rebels--some of the ponies he'd watched die.

These were not happy times.

Something felt wrong about this--something fundamentally wrong. The rebels, all of them, seemed to have no remorse gunning down their friends and colleagues--no "it pains me to do this, but I must" motivations in the ponies he questioned and absolutely no love for the Princesses. It was as if a switch had been thrown.

"Why did he do this?" A nearby pegasus shuddered as her teammates comforted her. "We were just talking about video games and stuff, then he spaced out. When he--he snapped out of it, he tried to kill me! And--and I had to kill him!" Tears rolled down her eyes as she moaned pitifully, "What did I do?"

Shining's ears perked up. He walked over and said gently, "Can you repeat that, Private?"

The mare swallowed, trying to curl into a ball, but she recounted the experience to the best of her ability, breaking down again halfway into the into the recollection. Her teammates shot him dirty looks as she did, and Shining took the opportunity to explain himself.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he said, "I know this won't bring your friend back, but we'll get to the bottom of this. I promise."

The pegasus nodded and gave him a weak salute.

"Take some rest while you can, Private." he said quietly, almost to himself. "We're not quite out of this yet."

A charcoal mare stepped out of her hotel suite with apprehension twisting in her gut. The Royal Canterlot Orchestra had been scheduled to play at Salt Lick City, but recent events prevented them from leaving for the duration of the rebel-imposed lockdown. Free lodgings, unlimited food, and free reign of most parts of the city had been extended as apologies by the mayor, an ardent admirer of classical music, to the members of the Orchestra.

And while Octavia was loath to look a gift horse in the mouth, increased exposure made the discovery of her true intent to visit Salt Lick City all the more likely. She was a celebrity after all. Nevertheless, she took it in stride. The bellcolt came with her cello, the mid-range one she used for practice and outdoor performances, and left after she gave him a tip.

A white mare with a messy, electric-blue mop for a mane joined her a few seconds later, the insufferably loud cacophony of her creation called 'dubstep' somehow audible over the background noise despite her headphones.

"'Sup, Tavi?"

"Good afternoon, Vinyl. I take it your besieging of the kitchen has gone well?"

"Eeyup." The unicorn DJ licked a spot of mushroom sauce from her lips. "Gosh, that's the best food I've ever tasted."

"You said the same thing of the dishes at Prince Armor's wedding." Octavia gave her a mischievous smile. "I take it you are going to tour the red light district next."

"Only after you do your thing at Liberty Park. It's been a long time since I heard your classical crap." Vinyl grinned.

"I needn't mention that I can hear your noise over the traffic." Octavia smiled as she hailed a taxi.

The conference room at the center of Fort Equinox was packed with the finest military minds Equestria had to offer. Analysts, strategists, tacticians, generals, and the like sat around the massive table, delivering their presentations and answering questions regarding recent events.

Princess Luna now knew, for example, that the rebels were using stolen military equipment and had many defectors among their ranks, something which troubled her very deeply. Another development was that two of the recruiters had also starred in Applejack's friendship report as the main villains.

"General," she said, "are these photographs of the Flimflam Brothers recent?"

"If you mean a couple of months old, yes. But we do have a recent photograph of the younger. He had apparently turned himself in to two of our operatives in Salt Lick City."

"Can we see it?"

General Winterheart nodded to her aide and the image projected on one of the screens changed to that of a bruised apple-colored pony.

"Are these injuries recent?"

The pegasus general caught her drift and shook her head. "No. He was found with these injuries, as well as multiple stab wounds in the chest. His brother had stabbed him and left him for dead, so he tells us," she said with visible disgust, as shocked gasps from some of the staff present filled the air.

Luna felt that fratricide was a concept that belonged in stories and torts courses.

"In any case, we are working on extracting data from him using less... traumatizing means, and he has proven to be very cooperative."

An analyst in the back raised a hoof. "How are you so sure that he isn't wasting our time?"

General Winterheart gave him a look. "Trust, but verify. We are going through his statements with a fine toothed comb to separate the facts from fallacy."

They quickly moved on to other topics like the equipment and strategies to be employed in the campaign and updates on the military buildup. Luna was quite pleased to know that the Black Widow program was proceeding at full steam, and was set to deliver its first service aircraft within two weeks of the completion of Crossword's facilities in Ponyville, which was due today.

It was then that a messenger relayed the news.

Ponyville was under attack.

Robotic arms clicked and whirred as they assembled her combat armor around her body-suited form.

Twilight’s legs were now encased in armor. Rarity's eyes widened as she said, "Twilight! Surely you're not thinking of going into combat, are you? Please think about it!"

Truth was, Twilight had already thought about it. She'd already shot down the reservations of her captain, who was now snorting and shaking his head as he pawed at the ground. She'd already set her mind. If other ponies were going to risk their lives for her subjects, she would as well. The idea of sitting while others sacrificed was uncomfortable to her at the very least. The arms moved on to her flank and barrel.

"Rares," Applejack said, "you know Twilight's not the kind to sit by and do nothin'."

"But Twilight's important to the realm!" Rarity countered. "If we lose her, we’ll lose the Elements. We’ll lose a princess. We'll even lose a friend!"

"But at least she'll be doin' what's right!" Applejack spat.

"Enough," Twilight said, locking eyes with her friends. "This isn't any different from the other times we've been called upon. Nightmare Moon, Discord, the dragon, the ursa, Chrysalis, Sombra, and all the rest. We risk our lives every mission; what's so different about this?"

"The blood…," Rarity trailed off, staring into empty space.

Twilight remembered the changeling invasion, hay, every other time some threat came along. The foal's show on television really downplayed the gravity of the events. She still felt the hemolymph on her hooves after she'd stomped one of them on the head. Twilight's chestpiece locked in over the exoskeleton with a resounding clank, snapping Rarity out of her trance.

"The point is, girls," Twilight said, "it's our job."

Fluttershy had a pensive look, and as Twilight's neck plates locked into place, the yellow mare spoke up.

"Twilight's right," she said, setting her jaw as she stepped onto the dais marked 'Kindness.' "I'm not going to be scared when they need us to be brave."

"Good ta have you with us, sugarcube." Applejack said. "Ya in or what, Rares?"

Tears welled up in Rarity's eyes as she stripped off her clothes and jewelry. "Let it be known that I'm proud to have you as my friends, and I always will." She stepped onto the dais marked 'Generosity.' Twilight's helmet sealed with a hiss as Rarity nodded.

The arms worked quickly, dressing them in carbon fiber/kevlar undersuits with smart-fluid padding designed to prevent chafing and provide a final layer of protection. Next came on the exoskeletons (with enhanced versions for Applejack and Twilight) and inbuilt computer systems, as well as the batteries, miniature Etheric reactors, spell amplifiers (for Rarity and Twilight), maneuvering thrusters (for Fluttershy and Twilight), and first aid systems.

The confines of the helmet were quite claustrophobic, at least until the suit powered up. The forward display flickered on, giving the illusion that the faceplate was transparent, as the life support systems clicked into full gear. Filtered air filled her nose. Lines of diagnostic text scrolled across the lower right corner.

[LIFE SUPPORT: ONLINE]
[REACTOR: ONLINE]

The reactor powered up with a rising whine. Twilight felt a brief spell of static electricity on her skin and energy seemed to flow into her horn. The arms finished suiting the others up and retracted.

[EMERGENCY POWER: STANDBY 100% CAPACITY]
[SENSORS: ONLINE]

Twilight looked around, the sensors and fire control systems placing tags on the augmented reality display.

[WEAPONS: ONLINE]

The wingblades and magic amplifiers hummed with energy.

[SLEIPNIR/HARMONY1.MAGIC: ONLINE]

"I must say," Rarity said, "we do look rather intimidating in this getup."

"Seconded!" Applejack exclaimed. "Twi, you look like somethin' outta Dashie's video games!"

Twilight spread her wings, the artificial flight surfaces extending over her primary feathers to assist her in flight. She tested the rotational limits to the exoskeleton assisting her wings and found them satisfactory. The leading edge blades flared as energy coursed down their length. She'd seen similar technology on some types of combat knife.

The armor itself was dull charcoal with identifying stripes on the fetlock and faceplate. It was constructed mainly with radar-defeating angles in mind, giving it a crystalline appearance.

Twilight lifted the faceplate and nodded to her friends as they moved around. She flapped her wings, expecting difficulty in flying, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the armor had a lightening charm.

A Royal decree from long ago held that the Princesses and the Elements must be capable of holding their own in a fight and that the Elements be given special equipment to help them in their missions, especially in times of war. The Princesses as well had to be fitted with special battle armor to assist them in battle. That decree had never been repealed, and with the aftermath of the changeling invasion, the battle armor was modernized and the Elements placed in combat training.

"Rainbow Dash would love this, I bet." Twilight smiled to herself. "I wonder where she is?"

Vigilant Watch was the eye of the storm. Noise and ponies whirled around him as he stood in the middle of Ponyville's militia command center, surveying the large map displayed on the smart table in front of him.

"Okay. Our engineers are working on putting up barricades to funnel the drakelings into killzones here, here and here," his second-in-command said while he outlined several main thoroughfares in red and tapped the Open Market, Sunflower Garden, and Starswirl Park. "We have twelve machine gun nests and at least four armored vehicles in each zone, as well as various traps along the way to thin out the swarm.

"We have troops ready to move in in case the barricades are breached.... Thank Celestia we got those Sturzstrom IFVs in time. Uh, we've also got a pair of Glacier heavy tanks and twenty Stalwarts so if we run into anything heavy, I think we can cope."

Vigilant nodded. "What about air defense?"

"We've got squads with PONPADS scattered all over the city, NOBLE missile launchers and Sleet Triple-A at critical points, and a section of Pegazeus PZSU mobile guns from Stalliongrad at Horseshoe and Starswirl Parks." The officer paused. "We need air support badly, Sir. Those dragons can take hits from a Noble and still keep fighting."

"I know, son. But we've got to make do with what we have. Status on the artillery?"

"Shatterers are running low on ammo. It'll take them at least an hour to restock, four-five mikes if we stop now. Mortars are all set up to begin firing once the Princess lowers the dome."

"Have the mortars on standby, then." Vigilant rubbed his forehead as the officer relayed the order. "Now we just have to wait."

The doors slid open and the command center fell silent. He looked at the armored figures walking into the chamber and bowed. Vigilant fought the urge to sigh and remind her why this was a bad idea, but she was dead set on running into combat with her friends. Elements of Harmony or not, this was still a war zone.

"Have all the civilians been relocated?" Twilight said, her voice distorted by her full-enclosure helmet.

"We're still working on it. Estimate two hundred more civilians." He sighed, "Highness, I understand why you want to do this. Hay, I even respect you all the more for that, but...please...leave the fighting to us."

"Hey now,” Applejack spoke up, "we can handle ourselves better'n most folk, if Ah say so myself."

Vigilant really hated to do this. "Miss Applejack, listen. Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you can take a life at will? That you can see ponies you know get chewed up like some dog's toy? Can any of you tell me that? We're keeping you away from the frontlines so you can sleep easily at night, not because we doubt your capabilities!"

Applejack's faceplate hinged open, revealing narrowed eyes and a set jaw. "Yes. Ya think those missions Celestia gives us are just a walk in the park? Just twenty darn minutes, clap yer hooves, fire the Friendship Beam, and we're done? We saw ponies die, Captain. Hay, Fluttershy here even had to put one of 'em to rest because we weren't gonna make it out alive if we didn't!"

"That still doesn't make you ready to face this, ma'am. War is--"

Something in Applejack’s mind broke. "Don't you dare lecture me on ‘grisly!’ You didn't see changelin’ bits plastered all over the walls of Canterlot like some bug on your windshield! You didn't see entire families reduced to lifeless husks! And you didn't sit idly by when you knew you could have made a difference!" She snorted, stamping her hoof hard enough to crack the concrete. "With all due respect, Captain, you and your stallions haven't gone through the Tartarus we have, so don't you dare speak to me about sleeping soundly at night!"

Vigilant took a step back. Being faced by an angry mare clad in half a ton of power armor did that to a pony, hardened soldier or not. Even then, he fought back his rising anger and impatience, unwilling to push them even further. He looked at the eyes of the four mares and saw determination--even in the pretty white one, even in the cute yellow one. The Princess laid a calming hoof on the farmpony, who relaxed and whispered an apology. She was right. They had faced down treats that could literally drive a pony insane, defeated deities, helped decimate an army, gone insane themselves quite a few times too, and came back alive.

"Look at your soldiers, Captain," the yellow one said softly. "They're just scared teenagers barely out of high school--or even college. Please let us go out there and do what we've always done: give hope."

"We'll compromise, Captain," Princess Twilight spoke up. "It's your call when to pull us out."

Vigilant nodded, regaining his composure. "Very well, Your Highness. Report to grid Kilo-Niner: that's our weakest spot. We need heavy firepower there. Faust, Celestia, and Luna guide you on your way."

"You too, Captain."

"I just don't get it," Magic said, holding up a 20mm round from the Swiftwind. "They're all solid!"

He'd used his magic to cut the round in half, expecting to find a high explosive charge and a trigger mechanism for said charge in the shell. Instead, he found solid steel. He'd dissected several more rounds with little to show for it. The mystery behind their explosive escape was still just that, a mystery. Pinkie's words did little to soothe him as well.

"Oh! The author wanted some light-hearted action before he moved on to the really grimdark stuff. Would you like a cupcake?" She pulled said pastry out of her mane in an intact condition, frosting and all. "I really, really like cupcakes! But muffins and pies are good too! And speaking of pi, every work of literature ever written is encoded in the number pi! Even this one! We just need to find the right cypher!"

Midnight held up the folder containing Pinkie Pie's data sheet. Now he knew why the notes cautioned them in big black all-caps to not ask her any questions...EVER. Frankly, he needed an aspirin. In any case, the sun had already gone down. It was time to move out.

He grabbed his pack, readied his weapon, and took the lead. The Swiftwind had run out of gas halfway to the EZ, which the group soon found was already crawling with hostiles. They had to make a detour around a griffon-held forward base that had once belonged to Saddle-Arabia. The burned out Stalwart husks and half-eaten corpses only confirmed that. In any case, they were halfway to the secondary extraction point, a small town near the city of Bagdad.

Minutes later, the strike teams and Pinkie met up with Oracle One and Two. Somehow, the pink mare had conjured new ghillie suits for the snipers to wear as they scouted ahead. Suddenly, Stormbearer held up a hoof, using her rifle's scope to take a closer look. Midnight dashed forward, hooves throwing up small puffs of sand, and lay down beside the sniper mare. It had been an hour since they last made camp and fifteen minutes since they encountered something.

"What do you see?"

"Small patrol. Three Golfs, four Mikes. I can take them."

"Let them pass unless they get too close."

"Aight." The sniper gently racked the charging lever.

Midnight gave the rest of the squad the signs for 'find cover' and buried himself in the sand. They waited a few tense minutes before the patrol came into view. Everypony held their breaths.

"Well, lookie here," a gravel-voiced griffon said with a sneer, "a pretty pink plushie party pony."

Midnight's heart skipped a beat, and he prepared to open fire.

"Sarge!" a younger griffon whined, looking like he was on the verge of tears as he clawed at the stuffed toy.

"Leave the plushie alone, Whitewing," a griffon with the ornate uniform spoke. "It's all he has left. It's all we have left…."

The eponymous Whitewing handed back the battered toy with a sneer and turned away. One of the minotaurs tripped over something. Silence reigned as Magic emerged from the sand. He and the minotaur stared at each other, surprised looks on their faces.

"Shit! Shit! Open fire!" Midnight yelled, firing a burst of rounds at the surprised minotaur.

Chaos reigned.

Adamant rose from the sand, Bertha spitting out hot lead at four hundred rounds a minute. The fallen minotaur didn't even have time to scream as the heavy rounds jerked his body around like a marionette. Midnight punched a pair of bullets into the leader's chest, sending him sprawling to the sand. Bullets snapped past Midnight’s ear, one of them managing to take off the very tip. He hissed in pain and fired a short burst, perforating a minotaur.

Suddenly, he was on his back. A heavy weight pinned him down. Whitewing was poised to claw his throat out.

He didn't. Blood spattered on Midnight's chest and muzzle as Oracle Two’s sniper round ripped apart the griffon's innards. Midnight got to his hooves and spun around, coming face to face with the young griffon at three o'clock.

The griffon clutched at his toy, big tears falling from his eyes, as he whimpered pitifully. He was shaking. The uniform and armor he wore were at least two sizes too big. Midnight hesitated, staring into the griffon's silver eyes. There was a wet patch on the sand underneath him, between his hind legs. He was just a fledgling, not older than eighteen.

"Go," Midnight mouthed, taking his hoof off the trigger.

The griffon dashed off and clumsily flapped into the air. There was a blur of movement on top of a sand dune, and the young griffon spiraled into the ground as a tracer passed through his chest. Midnight swore and galloped towards the griffon, only to find that Oracle One had beaten him there. The pegasus raised a pistol and shot the wheezing griffon once through the head.

"Storm! What the hay was that for?" Midnight yelled, coming up beside her.

"It was necessary," Stormbearer spat, a disgusted look on her face.

"Whaddaya mean ’necessary?’"

"He would have reported to his superiors, who would then send out forces after us. We would have been discovered, captured, and perhaps executed. Mission failed. Elements of Harmony unusable.” Storm sighed. “I didn’t like doing this either, but the risk is too high."

It was always the mission. Midnight wanted to punch her because she was right. Midnight blinked hot tears out of his eyes as Storm took the toy out of the griffon’s claws, regarding it and the name tag for a moment before gently inserting it in a pocket on her own bags. Storm then turned the griffon face-up, closed his eyes, and placed a coin over each.

Then, Storm took an incendiary grenade, interlaced the griffon’s claws over his heart, and placed the explosive underneath. She pulled the pin and stood back.

She had been whispering a poem in Griffish the entire time.

The grenade did its work. Flames engulfed the young griffon's body as the two soldiers joined their squad a few dunes away and moved on.

"His name was Orion," Storm whispered just loud enough for Midnight to hear.

Pinkie Pie bounded towards them. "Where's the griffon boy?" she asked, seemingly without a clue in the world.

Midnight spoke. "He's--"

"In a happy place," Storm finished. "His name was Orion, and...he--he wanted you to have this." She passed the plushie to Pinkie.

Midnight looked at the column of smoke. For a moment he thought he saw a griffon spread his wings and soar into the clouds.

The sight was gone just as quickly.

Author's Note

PONPADS: PONy Portable Air Defense System
Sturzstrom: Heavy AFV/IFV from Germaneigh.

Note on Traditional Griffon Burial Practices:
Tradition dictates that griffon bodies are cremated with coins over their eyes. If the cause of death was an aggressive act, then the killer must give something from their victim to the closest friend or family member and light the pyre.

I cried.

I 05. Veils

"Consarnit!" Applejack hissed as the Sturzstrom that had dropped them off at grid coordinates Kilo-Niner, otherwise called Forward Base Alpha, rolled into the vehicle bay to pick up a fresh load of troops.

Twilight shook her head, snorting in a mixture of amusement and frustration. Vigilant's words had amounted to a mathematician's answer, one that was logically correct but was of no use otherwise. To elaborate, by the time preparations were finished, Alpha would be almost deserted until reinforcements arrived, and it would take at least four hours for the nearest units from Baltimare to get to Ponyville.

"We could help in other ways," Fluttershy said. "I could help heal the wounded. Rarity and Twilight can organize the, um, things going on. We don't really need to rush into combat."

Fluttershy unfurled her armor's manipulator arms, displaying the wide array of grippers mounted on the ends to prove her point. She used a similar set of arms to treat animals. Twilight found the way the arms moved a bit unnerving, but they did their job quite well despite that.

Civilians gawked at the armored mares as they walked into the base proper.

"Hey, isn't that Princess Twilight?" one of the gawkers said.

The stallion beside him squinted. "Hey, yeah! Princess Twilight's here! She's fighting for us!"

The crowd murmured in assent. Word spread that the Mane Six (it wasn't public knowledge that the Bearers were incomplete) were on the field and ready to set things right. Civilians bowed, thanking Twilight and her friends for their service. Some of them took pictures while Elements helped the soldiers corral the growing crowd into the space reserved for refugees headed to the bunkers.

The PA system crackled to life, reminding refugees to proceed to the bunkers in an orderly manner. The announcement gave Twilight an idea.

She found Commanding Officer Steel Wall seated in front of a tactical display table and whispered in his ear, "Captain, would you mind if I borrowed the PA and some cameras?"

Captain Wall nodded, catching her drift. "Not at all, Your Highness. Celestia knows we need a morale boost, and you're just the mare to give it."

"Thank you, Captain." Twilight gave him a small bow and flew off, making a quick inspection of the base.

Assorted variants of Chariot light trucks, dozens of Sturzstrom infantry fighting vehicles, Tephra mortar carriers, old Steadfast medium tanks, their younger Stalwart brothers, Shatterer self-propelled guns, and one Glacier heavy tank were lined up on the mall parking lot that served as Alpha's vehicle depository. Their crews went through their checklists and drove to their positions. She watched as a convoy of Sturzstroms and Chariots peeled out of the lot and drove into the city.

Refugees crowded around a makeshift processing center, waiting to be loaded onto trucks that would bring them to underground shelters. Soldiers formed into neat formations before marching out of the base in another section of the parking lot. Air Militia circled overhead in their combat exoskeletons, machine guns and light autocannons mounted under their chests, using the mall's rooftop as a landing pad.

She pitched downwards, landing gently on top of a Sturzstrom parked in front of the infantry. She cleared her throat and keyed in the PA system. Cameras locked on to her, beaming the images straight to the broadcasting array, where they were cast out for everypony to watch.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Twilight said regally, a hint of determination in her voice, "we stand here today in defense of our homes, friends, and families."

Television screens inside the refugee bunkers lit up, showing the princess with spread wings and a determined expression on her face. Mares, stallions, and foals alike stopped to watch. Parents whispered to their children and dried their tears.

The princess was going to save them.

"Many of us may not be coming back. Many of us may not live to rebuild our city. Many of us may never see our children grow up. But let it be known that nopony here has failed to give their utmost in defense of what they love."

Chaplains conducted the services of their respective religions. The zebras and ponies of the Tenebrist sect in the force were especially reverent. It was as if Tenebra, Lady of Dawn and Dusk, was speaking to them in everypony's time of need. They watched the screens, unblinking--attentive.

"Let it be known that nopony here has turned their back on those who need them the most. And let it be known that if this is our final stand, we will have stood together!"

Twilight's horn flared. A pillar of light and darkness lanced into the sky, illuminating the dark clouds before dissipating them to reveal a full moon. The crowds burst into wild cheering. The various militia units chanted their mottos and anthems in a melodious cacophony. A few of the younger soldiers raised their rifles and fired, only to be chastized by their superiors.

"The dragons have shown us their fire. We will show them ours."

The Baserunner command vehicle was abuzz with activity. Officers and their subordinates worked at their stations, trying to make sense of the unfolding developments on the enemy front as militia units moved to their positions in the defense line.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends stood around a map table, the storm of controlled chaos flowing around them as they discussed the plan.

"Okay," Twilight said, pointing to the defensive positions, "the operation is made up of three phases. Phase One is codenamed Onslaught: it will be mainly artillery bombardment and strafing runs from RAM flyers when possible. Rarity and I will be in action during this phase. She’ll help direct the artillery while I organize the Air Militia. Applejack and Rarity will assist in organizing the resupply units. Fluttershy will be working with the base medical personnel."

She then tapped the icon to display Phase Two's force deployment, "Phase Two, codenamed Rising Tide, will commence once enemy forces enter firing range, regardless of Phase One status. Phase Three, Mop Up, is our cleanup phase. Soldiers will scour Ponyville and the surrounding areas for remaining hostiles."

She continued, looking at her friends. "The four of us will be fulfilling auxiliary and support duties in these two phases unless Vigilant gives us the order to pull out. Our transport for the duration will be Sturzstrom callsign Harmony Zero, attached to Beta Troop, 1st Ponyville Armored Cavalry. If we are pulled out, we will be given assignments in Alpha Base facilities."

Twilight passed around the data files listing their assignments during the operation and made sure they were read. She shut off the display table and levitated her weapons into their holders. The Baserunner's rear ramp hinged downwards with a hydraulic whine and thumped on the pavement, allowing the four to disembark.

The violet, barrier-filtered moonlight was darkened and obscured by heavy cloud cover, which would have made it almost impossible to see if not for the floodlights, vehicle headlights, and personal flashlights that illuminated the forward lines. Trenches and barriers were being set up behind minefields, fougasses, rows of razor wire, and the occasional automated turret. The rumble of diesel engines and jet turbines drowned out the constant pounding of dragons on the barrier. It was almost soothing, if not for the fact that the trained ear could make out the sound of breaking glass that accompanied each hit.

A Stalwart Mk.6 thundered past, its turbine engine whining greedily as it emptied the tank's fuel stores. The 120mm rifled gun gleamed dully as the numerous periscopes swiveled in tandem with the machine guns and the CIWS mounted on top of the turret. A large red earth pony sat in the loader's station, checking the ammunition belt of his machine gun.

"Big Mac?" Applejack yelled over the noise.

"Eeyup!" The red stallion waved as the tank drove away, slotting into position at Starswirl Avenue.

A Sturzstrom rolled gently to a halt beside the four mares, the words "Harmony Zero" painted on the bulky vehicle's flank on top of a Neighponese-style mecha. If Twilight recalled, it was from that weird one with the robotic tentacle monsters. She shuddered, wondering what Fluttershy found so appealing about it.

"Ah, Harmony Zero Twilight Eclipse Z." A scrawny white stallion with a shock of blue and red hair sidled up to them, "Best series, Indigo-Mike-Hotel-Oscar."

Fluttershy was the only one who understood the mishmash of words and letters. "Nuh-uh. HZ Everfree Destiny was the best."

Blue-and-Red's heterochromatic eyes bugged out. "Woah, Iron Mare here likes the classics! They were too..."--he coughed--"...intense for my tastes, but eh. To each their own!"

"Anypony mind explainin' what all that was about?" Applejack interjected, raising an eyebrow.

"Just talking shop." Fluttershy and the thin pony said simultaneously, though the orange mare noticed a hint of a flush on her butter-colored friend's cheeks.

Blue-and-Red, suitably distracted from his fanboying, shook his head and held out a hoof. "Oh yeah! Pleasure to meet you all. Name's Max Driveshaft; just call me Max!"

Twilight and the others bumped hooves with him, exchanging greetings and receiving welcomes to the Harmony Zero family. A russet mare with brick-colored hair and gold highlights poked her head out of the open turret hatch.

"That's Bean Cannon," Max leaned in and whispered. "Clerical error when she had her name changed. She's just waiting until she can get another chance."

"I can have that name changed right away, actually," Twilight said. "Well, at least when this operation's done."

The russet mare grinned thankfully and disappeared back into the turret as she remembered something. The four mares and their new friend entered the Sturzstrom through the back hatch as Max got the drift. Bean Cannon had set up a digital camera on a tripod and was motioning for them to squeeze together. The armored mares obliged and folded up their helmets, smiling brightly while their new friends clambered on top.

"Cheese!"

Yelling and screaming over the main battle frequency filtered through her headset, followed by a general announcement over the same channel. Twilight snapped away from her thoughts and focused on the transmission. As she looked at her friends out of the corner of her eyes, she noted that the atmosphere had gone from warm and jovial to grim and dark in an instant.

"Attention all forces, we have a localized breach forming in sector Echo-Niner. Barrier appears to be collapsing. All forces to battle stations."

The ponies threw glances at each other and strapped themselves in. Max revved the engine and thundered down the street. Things weren't going according to plan. Twilight grimaced. I guess I'll have to wing it.

"All right!" Max yelled over the engine's noise. A split second later, he had a better idea and connected into the squad frequency. "Twilight, we're dropping you off at Grid Echo-One-One, rally point for First Ponyville Air squadron. ETA, five minutes."

Twilight double-checked the hardpoints on her armor and steeled herself for what was to come.

Octavia ducked into an alley, making sure that she wasn't followed. While the Hide Me charm she wore would have reduced the chances of that to almost nil, it was best to make sure. She looked around; the dead drop was around here somewhere. The informant could have picked a better place than the back of a dress club, though. She walked around a condom, shaking her head in disgust.

"I swear to Luna,” she muttered, “the next time we get a mission, I’m letting Vinyl do the dirty work.”

Heavy bass blasted out of the building, a sure sign that Vinyl was keeping attention elsewhere. Still, Octavia made sure her silenced pistol was tucked into the holster she wore under her vest. She pressed herself into the shadows.

“Horseapples!” she whispered to herself. A lanky stallion drunkenly burst out of the rear exit with his partner, who hung onto him and tittered girlishly. Octavia was just beginning to get out of sight when the reverse-ecdysiast locked eyes with her.

Octavia froze.

The bar fly’s partner nodded drunkenly and looked away, resuming her tittering.

Octavia sighed in relief; she realized that the choice of venue made a convoluted kind of sense. The informant was known to have a rather perverse hobby, and a place like this would have worked to her favor. To add, she would have only been spotted if the dresser wore the correct counter-charm to her Hide Me, and that meant that the informant had just exited the building.

Octavia found what she was looking for behind a smelly dumpster. Octavia slid the dead drop into a secret compartment in her saddlebags, lifted her phone to send a text to Vinyl, and walked to a corner she had picked out. She turned off her charm and waited.

“Hello, lady, want to help a stallion have a good time?" a passing motorist began to tease. Octavia scolded herself silently; she realized the idiocy of waiting at a corner like this at night. The motorist stopped and walked to her, soliciting for services she did not give.

“Sorry, that isn’t my thing,” the cellist replied. “Maybe you’d have a better time if you used your own mouth instead.”

Thankfully, Octavia didn't have to suffer that sort of malarkey for much longer as Vinyl pulled over in a taxi. She got in quickly, and the taxi sped off, leaving the motorist in a plume of exhaust.

“Oh, thank Celestia.” Octavia slumped into the car seat. “What took you so long?”

“Just another scuffle,” Vinyl said from the front seat. Octavia could see her wipe some blood off her mouth through the rear-view mirror.

“Ugh, again? Did you blow our cover?”

“Don’t worry, Tavi; those guys are hammered." The DJ waved dismissively. "They won’t remember a thing. Anyway, ya got it?”

“Yes, it’s right here,” Octavia took the dead drop out of her bag.

“Coolio.” Vinyl turned to the driver. “Joe, tell the boys we have the package.”

“Roger that…, and my name’s not ‘Joe.’” The driver pressed a switch on the radio and relayed the confirmation to the garage as Octavia passed the drop to him.

Vinyl reclined her seat and smirked. “So…, who was that dude in the chopper--your special somepony?”

Octavia heard the driver snickering from the front and rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up.”

Back at the suite, the cellist planned on a quick shower to wash off the smell, some dinner, and a short practice session before she went to sleep. She had just finished the shower part when she heard two knocks on the door.

“Room service!” a voice called out from the hall. Octavia quickly dried herself and opened the door.

The bellhop decided it was a brilliant idea to shoot her dead. The cellist whirled around and delivered a solid buck to the bellhop's cart, crushing the assassin against the wall. He must have thought he was screwed, given the look in his eyes. She quickly banished the thought from his mind, as well as all others, by driving her cello's stand through his eye.

An earsplitting blast of sound from Vinyl's room told Octavia that her friend was in the same predicament.

Just another day at work.

Vinyl's door exploded. A 'bellhop' crashed through, blood leaking from his ears. A white mare with a wet mane strode out, dripping water onto the carpet as she wielded her 'bass gun' with her telekinesis. The attacker groaned and tried to stand up when another sonic blast caused the stallion to go still. The mares nodded at each other and galloped for the fire exit as the elevator pinged open and disgorged a squad of suit-wearing gunponies.

The DJ seized Octavia's cheap cello with her telekinesis and flung it at their assailants, buying enough time for the two to escape. They charged into the stairwell and headed downstairs to the kitchen, where their emergency equipment was stashed.

"Damnit!" Octavia hissed as she realized she'd left something behind. "I should have taken my guns with me."

"Here." Vinyl levitated a Hock 9mm out of her saddlebags, complete with the fetlock clip, and passed it to her friend.

Octavia slammed in a magazine, racked the slide, and held it at the ready as they charged down the stairs, the cellist with a three-legged gait. One of their pursuers opened the door a few floors down and took aim, sending a burst of rounds over their heads as they ducked. Vinyl blind-fired as she ran, and a grunt of pain and the sound of a body hitting the floor confirmed that she'd hit somepony. Another assailant opened the door right in front of them.

The cellist jumped up as she ran, extended her rear legs, and smashed the door into him. The stallion collapsed with a groan and a bloody face, allowing the mares to step over him without any difficulty. They got to the first floor stairwell without further incident and shot the door open, startling prospective guests (of which there weren't very many) and unaware staff. Octavia fired her gun into the air to get them to put their heads down, allowing Vinyl to pick off an attacker at the other end of the lobby with a precision shot.

All three elevators pinged open, vomiting a horde of goons into the lobby. They took a moment to scan the area and found the musicians attempting to sneak inside the kitchen. The leader yelled, and the goons fired in their general direction. Vinyl swore repeatedly and strained her magic, tossing couches and pottery at the shooters.

Octavia remembered the dead-mare switch they'd put in the equipment boxes at their suites and nodded satisfactorily. An explosion shook the building, cutting the power, setting off the fire alarms, and causing a stampede that prevented the shooters from getting good shots at them. The two made it to the kitchen and slammed the door behind them. Octavia found a length of pipe and shoved it into the handles.

She and Vinyl breathed.

"That was fun," the cellist said with a sarcastic note.

"Tell me about it."

A third voice joined in. "This hotel isn't a cocktail, mare," the chef said as green flames engulfed him, "so shaking it up is out of the question."

"Nice to see you again, Chammie." Vinyl walked up and bumped a hoof against his chitin-plated shoulder.

"In any case, we've been compromised." Chammie, or Chameleon as he was formally known, ignored the DJ's friendly gestures. "We already have the data we need, so we'll just get out of the city. The vehicles are in the parking lot."

Octavia looked outside the door, noting that their attackers had set up in front of it. "There is just one problem. How do we get to the garage?"

A devious smile formed on Chameleon's face. "I've got an idea."

"Oh man," a militiapony said, looking out at the plaza where the Air Militia assembled. "That's everything? That's all we have?"

Fifty pegasi stood in v-formations of five each, awaiting the order to take flight. All of them wore combat harnesses of varying levels of condition and technology, a testament to just how underprepared Equestria was for war. It would be a slaughter if they went up against the dragons. They needed more planes, missiles, and anti-air guns; the current Triple-A coverage was much too thin to be optimally effective. It didn't take a military genius to consult a coverage map.

Just then, a Germane IFV rolled into the plaza and disgorged a phalanx of heavily armored ponies. He was about to pass it up as a futile gesture when he saw the shimmering, dawn-colored hair flowing from the lead's helmet and rear plates. He looked down his scope to take a closer look and saw the wings and horn. His eyes widened, and he nudged the mare beside him.

"Look at that!" He passed the rifle to her and pointed downrange.

The mare looked down the scope. "Is that...?"

"It well and truly is, folks," a deep voice rumbled out behind them. "Princess Twilight's goin' ta fight with us."

They turned around and saw a huge, red, unfamiliar stallion with a respectful smile on his face as he viewed the unfolding scene from his Stalwart.

"Isn't that dangerous?" the mare asked.

Big Red shrugged. "Eeyup. But that's never stopped her before."

Shouts and cheers from the plaza drew their attention back to the air combatants. Twilight reared up, swung her hooves, and shot a pillar of light into the sky as she flared her wings in a grand gesture. One by one, the formations flared their wings and shot into the sky.

"A brave and headstrong a mare as any, if'n you ask me," Big Red said as he disappeared into the hatch. "Just like mah sister. Practically family...."

The militiapony and his partner hunkered down. A spark of hope flickered in his heart, fanned by the backwash from the Princess of Magic's wings as she rose triumphantly into the the air like one of the generals of old.

Twilight switched her display to flight mode and nodded as the altitude, heading, and attitude indicators came up in vivid green. Her armor highlighted and outlined nearby contacts, placing symbols over those further away to provide her with a clear picture of where everypony was. She swiveled her head around looking for wing leader Jet Stream, personnel tags unfolding as she centered in. She found the white and blue stallion at the point of his formation and slotted in behind him.

She saw the breach forming up ahead. Etheric lightning flashed on the expanding gap in the barrier. The sound of breaking glass and an unearthly thoom echoed out every time the dragons butted heads against it, bringing the local integrity down at a dangerous rate. The pegasi conjured up clouds and waited, checking their weapons one last time before the engagement.

The princess landed gently on a cloud and inspected the linked pair of 12.7mm machine guns mounted on either side of her chest at belly height. She had roughly 500 rounds and a spare cooling sleeve for each gun. Mounted on her underbelly was a Braytheon lance projector, which fired an intense burst of magic for use against hardened targets. It was a stopgap measure designed to fix the lack of heavy munitions for non-pilot pegasi, but it was also useful if an alicorn wanted a little something extra. The battery was good for ten shots and could be recharged by unicorns or transmission stations if they were available.

To give them extra lift, several of the pegasi also had metallic surface area extenders clipped to their exoskeletons' wing actuators. Some wore a weaponized version with extenders capable of slicing through plate steel with ease using channeled Ether. Twilight checked her own wing blades and nodded satisfactorily as the telltale hum pierced the air. The blades glowed magenta and sang as she moved her wings and then faded to their regular polished look as she cut the power.

If anything, they were as prepared as they could ever be. That didn't banish the lump in her gut though, and she was thankful for it. There were so many possibilities: so many things that could go wrong--or right--depending on the roll of the cosmic dice. There was simply no time to take all of them into account. Years ago, she would have panicked at even the hint of that. But now, she just gritted her teeth and hoped for the best.

A large chunk of the barrier suddenly gave way as a dragon slammed into it, disintegrating into tiny shards before finally dissipating into pure energy. The dragon that created it grinned ferally and clambered into the hole as it expanded, growing until the dragons could enter in pairs.

"Heads up all units, be aware that the barrier has been compromised," the Mission Control officer announced. "Friendly air units are vectoring in to intercept; weapon status is free. How copy? Over."

"Copy; clear."

"Five bandits crossing barrier threshold. Birds affirm." Target lock indicators shaded the red diamonds on Twilight’s display. "Ten seconds until blue-on-blue probability too high. Your call, Magic. Over."

That was her callsign, earned during an assignment to the Fillypines some years ago.

"Uh...." She searched her memory for the correct terminology, then decided to get to the point. "Open fire. Over."

"Copy. Birds away," the officer announced. "Keep your heads down for frags. Out."

Five missiles streaked from the launch units scattered around the city and intersected with the incoming dragons, dealing massive damage to their armored hides. Two of the beasts corkscrewed out of formation after the missiles impacted, spraying wide arcs of blood before they crashed into the ground. Another missile hit dead-on, decapitating the unfortunate dragon. The other two missed completely and exploded ineffectually in the air.

Jet Stream grunted satisfactorily as the smoke clouds dissipated. "Gamma and Beta wings are go."

Ten pegasi leapt off their clouds, diving down towards the unaware dragons.

"Guns! Guns! Guns!" they chorused, opening up with streams of brilliant blue tracers that broke through dragon scale and punctured flesh alike.

A dragon twisted around and sent a blast of flame in their direction as its partner looped around to bracket the pegasi between them. Beta wing broke off and whirled around to face the second dragon, their lance projectors flaring with actinic light.

"Fox five!" Searing plasma thundered through the air like lightning and speared into the dragon's hide, causing hideous burns and a bone-rattling roar of agony as it clawed futilely in the air with a wing missing at the joint, crashing down in front of a Glacier, which put it out of its misery with the squeal of treads and the crunch of bone shattering under three hundred tons of 'fuck you.'

"Bandit down. Beta re-engaging."

The other dragon fell just as quickly as the five pegasi rejoined their siblings-in-arms, blasting it with lance fire while Alpha distracted it. The plasma lances exploded its chest, showering bits of cooked meat onto the defenders below.

"All bandits down. Returning to positions."

It wasn't over yet. A wing of smaller dragons dive-bombed the formation, smashing into the pegasi with lethal results. Screams tore out of Twilight’s headset as the stricken ponies spun and fluttered to the ground. The formation split apart, their individual elements wheeling around to open fire, but the dragons were already out of firing range. A wing of rescue ponies tried to catch the falling bodies, but it was too late. Five ponies were dead.

The silence lasted but a moment. "All wings. Go! Go! Go!"

Twilight joined Alpha wing in the assault, much to Jet Stream's displeasure. Her wing-blades flared with magenta light as she charged several offensive spells and placed them in her armor's multicast slots. Several encounters with dragons had taught her several valuable lessons alongside those taught by combat flight training camp. One of those was to never approach a dragon from the front. Another was that a dragon's wings, like every other flying creature's, were major weak points while the creature was flying.

She sighted a dragon as it attempted to clamp its jaws around a pegasus, firing a short burst of lead into its wings near the joint. The bullets shattered bones and tore apart the wing membrane. The resulting loss of lift on one side and the sudden shifting of the center of gravity due to the wing's dismemberment caused a fatal, unrecoverable spin along the forward axis, terminating in a crash into City Hall and collapsing five hundred tons of building on top of its head and neck.

A reddish blur shot at her from behind as her hackles rose. She whirled around in midair and released the spell in Slot-1, named Starfall. The amplifiers built into her armor glowed with magenta energy, channeling the reactor's output into capacitors that lined the surface extenders. The capacitors released energy in the form of a spread of Etheric missiles that radiated from the extender primaries and curved towards the target. At the same time, she canceled her alicorn flight magic and the gravity nullifier charms on her armor.

She fell like a rock, missing the dragon by a meter as the miniature plasma lances speared into her attacker's head and neck. A pained roar rumbled out behind her as she spread her wings and willed herself to fly. Her gut lurched as she pitched up, powerful wing strokes lifting her out of her dive. The dragon reversed direction, barreling towards her for another pass as two more fell into position beside it.

She released Slot-4, Solar Flare. A beam of superheated plasma lanced from the tip of her horn, illuminating the night with the intensity of the Sun. The beam gouged a long, cauterized wound into the lead dragon's flank as she jinked to the side. The plasma stream guttered out as the dragons passed. Grayness encroached on her vision, and she could feel her heart in her throat. That was Etheric fatigue creeping in. The princess gritted her teeth and sent a long burst of Magic Missiles at the dragons to drive them away, a feat accomplished by linking the Magic Missile to a Repeater utility spell, effectively turning the one-shot spell into the equivalent of a machine gun before alighting on a rooftop to catch her breath.

"You all right, Princess?" a passing pegasus asked.

"Yeah," she replied, gulping air. The scraping at the edge of her mind alerted her to the imminent collapse of a powerful spell.

The barrier was about to give way.

The dome shattered in a rain of Ether shards. A spike of pain lanced into her mind. She screamed in agony; her wings locked up; and her knees bent as the grayness expanded. The barrier shattered like a Hearth's-Warming bauble, throwing out jagged shards of ether.

It was as if Tartarus had been unsealed.

She gritted her teeth and rejoined the fray.

The plan involved explosions. Lots of them.

The idea had been to ignite the stock of fireworks reserved for Fall Wrap-Up and escape in the ensuing chaos, but Chameleon had misjudged the stock's explosive potential and blasted a good chunk of the storage area to pieces. The fire alarms blared once again and sprinklers sprayed water onto the building's occupants as they ran about in the circles panicked ponies were known to follow until brave souls ushered them out of the building.

Chameleon and two other changelings disguised themselves as a young family, then handed out Color Shift charms to the ponies. Octavia grunted in distaste as the charm shifted her colors to that of her fiddler cousin in the Apples. Vinyl on the other hand took on a radioactive green color palette. She smiled pleasantly.

"Cool," the DJ remarked, looking herself over in the mirror.

They joined the stream of evacuating residents and narrowly avoided a couple of armed thugs posing as guards. The cellist wondered why the building hadn't been evacuated when the shooting started. She shoved the thought into the back of her mind; now wasn't the time to ponder on that. Once outside the hotel, they sneaked back into the parking lot and climbed into their getaway vehicles as the fire services arrived.

Vinyl grinned as she keyed in the engine, listening to its eager growl while Octavia assembled the carbine hidden inside the glove compartment. The cellist slammed a magazine home and racked the bolt with a satisfying click.

Vinyl put on a headset. "Team One, this is Team Two," she said. "We're good to go."

"Copy that, Two," Chameleon replied as their vehicle rolled out of the parking space. "Uploading nav coordinates now. Take the lead."

The route appeared on the GPS system mounted on the dashboard, and Vinyl took the lead in her sports car. She took them through a winding path designed to lose whatever pursuers they may have picked up.

Octavia looked through the window. "Oh, good: I think we lost them."

Suddenly, a black SUV opened fire on them as they turned in to the freeway.

"You were saying?" Vinyl grunted from the front.

She swore as bullets slammed into the aluminum oxide windscreen. She twisted the steering wheel. The tires screamed in protest before being silenced by the crash of metal-on-metal. The sports car slammed into the SUV's rear flank and forced it out of its path. The enemy driver recovered, but it was too late for him. Octavia's steady hooves ensured that the 7.62mm round pierced into the side of his skull. The SUV's occupants scrambled to retake the wheel but by the time they regained control of the vehicle, they had already drifted into the opposite lane. Death came for them in the form of a Rockbilt semi truck.

Another SUV rammed the sports car in the side, knocking them around in their seats. Octavia lifted her gun and emptied the magazine into its doors and wheels. One of the tires burst and the rim scraped across the asphalt with a long spray of sparks. The driver shot at them with a pistol, the big rounds punching holes into the car's shell. Octavia reloaded and fired a burst into the driver, ending him.

That SUV careened out of control, missed Chameleon's vehicle, and flipped over, spilling its occupants out onto the pavement. Vinyl wiped sweat from her forehead with a fetlock and sighed deeply.

"That couldn't go any worse!" Vinyl breathed.

A burst of rounds from above eviscerated the engine in a shower of sparks and a plume of smoke. Octavia shot her friend a long, hard glare and huffed.

"You were saying?" The irony wasn't lost on both mares.

Helicopter rotors thumped above them, a spotlight glaring into their faces. The engine sputtered out, and the car lost speed, finally coming to a stop in the middle of the freeway, where a horde of black vehicles and armed ponies surrounded them. The pony on the helicopter's machine gun kept the weapon trained firmly in their direction, just in case.

"Get out of the car and put your hooves on the hood!" the helicopter's loudspeaker boomed.

They had no choice. Octavia unbuckled her seat belt as Vinyl climbed out with a severe scowl. The cellist followed her friend over to the front, where a pair of rebels bent them over the hood and locked hoofcuffs around their fetlocks.

"Damnit!" Vinyl hissed, "So close!" The hoofcuffs and magic inhibitor ring clicked loudly as they were secured.

"Wait," Octavia noticed that a very large, brightly colored detail was missing from the picture. "Where's Chameleon?"

A jaunty tune blasted out of the changelings' hippy van as it slammed into one of the pursuit cars, knocking it aside like a toy. The van drifted laterally until its long end faced them and sprouted a variety of weapons from hidden ports.

"Buck me kindly," Octavia whined as the explosions began.

The conference room was a scene of absolute chaos. High-ranking military officials and their various aides argued with ministers of parliament over recent events, collectively ignoring the scholars. Commander Armor was trapped in Vanhoover, Ponyville was under attack, and a rebellion was underway in the West Coast. Not to mention that Minister Rapid Growth had no tissue paper in his quarters.

"Minister." Winterheart glared at the stallion as he aired his complaint. "The adults are talking," she said icily.

Rapid Growth cringed and his ears folded back, an embarrassed blush spreading across his forest-green cheeks. Princess Luna looked at the assembled ponies with mild amusement and extreme irritation, wordlessly airing out her displeasure at their behavior.

"I do apologize for my dear brother's behavior," a purple pony spoke up. "He's been under quite a lot of stress."

Princess Luna nodded. "It is none of your fault, Sustainable. Now, let us go back to business."

Winterheart coughed. "Yes. You may have noticed that the rebel soldiers have had no remorse shooting down their former friends and comrades at a moment's notice. This is not because we are harboring millions of psychopaths in our midst." She gestured towards the center of the table, where a holographic display activated. "This is something far more sinister." She tapped an icon on the table.

A spell matrix suddenly hovered above the table, casting violet light into the room. Its various components and sub-matrices were highlighted and labeled, indicating their function in the spell's design.

Luna took the lead. "This is a variation of the Turncoat spell pioneered by Nightmare Moon during the Lunar Rebellion. However, this is not the one I am familiar with. Despite this, I know that this is a very dangerous spell because of its simplicity and...contagiousness."

"So it's like a virus then?" Admiral Hunter spoke up.

Luna searched her mind for the meaning of the term. "Somewhat--it requires a caster to spread. Given that, it is a fairly low-power requirement spell as it draws most of its energy from the castee rather than the caster, which also gives it ontological inertia, if ever the caster is killed. In addition, another component instills in the infected to spread the 'disease', as I must call it, especially to other unicorns."

She glanced at everypony. "Make no mistake. The rebels are inflating their numbers as quickly as possible. We must act quickly lest we too fall to this plague." She looked over the assembled, gauging them. "What are our options?"

Hooves were raised immediately, shouting over each other in a bid to be heard by the princess. Luna raised a hoof, silencing the cacophony. General Winterheart cleared her throat, catching the cue.

"I foresee two solutions. Either we deploy a countermeasure, or we kill them all."

Most of the ponies gave her shocked looks.

"This is not a fairy tale we are living in." She said. "Maybe in some other universe, there is an innocent Euqestria where everything can be solved by magic jewelry, but it is not ours. This ‘plague,’ as we may call it has to be cured...or else...."

She let the sentence hang in the air like a guillotine blade. "I am telling you this so you will know the consequences of failure. We must not fail, but we must not waste time pursuing pointless ventures. I will ask the princess's question again. What are our options?"

"We believe that we can create a wide-area counterspell. The power requirements, though…," Bright Mind, the Minister of Education, stroked his goatee as he pondered the problem at hoof.

"Not possible." Luna shook her head. "Even if we had a magical store powerful enough to inundate a city-wide area in an instant, the sheer power of the release would obliterate the city and everypony in it. However, a localized variant could theoretically be delivered via mortar shell or projector."

"Shouldn't Princess Twillight be handling this?" one of the Ministers asked. "She knows quite a lot about magic, and she's got her hooves in almost every research center in Equestria."

"She is...indisposed at the moment," Winterheart said without looking up from the report on the table. "I believe I may have a solution." She tapped an icon on her display and a teleconference window popped up on the large screen, showing a steel gray pony with fire-themed hair.

"This is Fire Arrow of Braytheon Missile Systems Research and Development. He is currently working on a compounds deployment platform based on Cloudsdale's weather factories." She nodded to the stallion on the screen. "Elaborate please."

"Yes. Um...." Fire Arrow manipulated the console on his end, bringing up various schematics and research reports. "Project White Cloud aims to revolutionize the deployment and dissemination of any chemical agent using artificial meteorological conditions, allowing these agents to affect wider areas than ever before."

The more well-read ponies blanched as they pondered the implications. General Rock looked at the scientist with a mixture of derision, irritation, and confusion. "Equish please," he growled.

"What he means is that they're developing a warhead that can deploy chemical weapons via artificial weather," the Minister of Defense spoke up. "Am I right, Mr. Arrow?"

The engineer gulped. "Um... Yes, Minister Warmblood?" he said cautiously.

Rock grinned eagerly. "What are we waiting for, then? Kill 'em all, I say!"

Winterheart scowled, muttering, "Shut up, Rock."

"You cannot be considering this General's proposal, Princess!" Warmblood was livid. "This could possibly be a breach of both the SALT IV and Hippeis Convention treaties. We risk losing all our allies!"

"I am," Luna said. "We will have to explain in very clear terms what we plan to do, and only then as a last resort before we are unleash the hounds, so to speak."

"Then I--"

"Despite her coldness--no offense, General--I do not believe that she is planning a mass murder of ponies whose only failure is to have fallen under the thrall of an upstart tyrant. General, what are you thinking of?"

"None taken Princess." The general cleared her throat. "If I remember correctly, I believe that there is a Zebra concoction that takes on the effects of whatever spell it is primed with, including one that breaks the control of whoever has over those little ponies. If we produce it in large enough quantities and deploy it via an artificial rain storm or fog bank, we can remove around a third of the Rebel force from action."

"Just a third?" Rock raised an eyebrow.

"Haven't you read the memo? The rebel faction is subdivided into three groups: the Thralls, who are under the control of this spell; the Freedom Fighters, who are fighting on their own volition; and finally, the Pacifists, who believe that discourse and diplomacy are the most effective way to effect change."

"All the same to me. Only good rebel's a dead one."

She took a breath, resisting the urge to punch her fellow general. "How we handle the Thralls and the Freedom Fighters will either make the Pacifists amenable to us or force them to take up arms. We must move quickly, but carefully."

"I believe it is possible to enlist the other rebel factions' aid against the Thralls." The Minister of Public Relations had a pensive look on her face, "There does appear to be significant tension between the Thralls and the other two after all. If we tell them the truth, then maybe they'll help us out."

Luna hummed. "My agents do seem to have data that correlates to this. Perhaps this is viable."

"You're thinking of joining forces with these rebels?!" Rock protested. "Not on my watch!"

"Simmer down, son." Admiral Hunter set his cup of tea down. "We're trying to avoid pointless bloodshed, not provoke it, so get your head on straight and contribute."

"Let's get back on topic." Luna said, turning to the bewildered engineer on the screen. "By the order of the Sovereign Lunar Crown, the Royal Principality of Equestria has granted your project a sum of fifty million bits to accelerate the completion of the White Cloud deployment platform, to be used in OPLAN: Liberty Bell. However, once the operation is complete, all research documents, prototypes, excess units, and additional information and equipment are to be destroyed, including that which resides in you and your staff's minds. White Cloud is not to fall into the wrong hooves, now or forever after. There will be no bargaining on this. A breach of this contract constitutes high treason, and is punishable by death."

She ended the teleconference and returned her attention to the meeting. "Now. On to other matters..."

Applejack and Rarity made a great team, it seemed.

Rarity's attention to detail allowed her to distinguish AP from APFSDS and HEAT from HESH from the alphabet soup of military designations. Applejack's big-picture mentality, on the other hand, allowed the items to get where they were needed in record time. The disorganized jumble of ponies running about had been transformed into a well-oiled resupply machine under their management.

Everything was right on schedule. The guns were being resupplied as fast as they could fire, allowing for a steady barrage of shells that kept the dragons and their drakeling cannon fodder at bay, in turn allowing tanks to snipe at them from a distance while infantry and air support harassed them from behind.

Despite all that, holding through the night was proving to be very costly.

Applejack watched as stretcher after stretcher was unloaded from a Swiftrunner heavy truck and placed inside the base medical facilities, which had expanded into the parking lot as staff from Ponyville Medical and other clinics lent their hooves and expertise. She and Rarity, in turn, made sure that a steady flow of medical supplies reached the ponies working there as their own way of contributing to the effort.

A heavily damaged Stalwart rolled into the makeshift vehicle bay covered in deep scratches and dried blood as its engine smoked and sparked like a fireworks show gone wrong. The tank gave one last squeal before gurgling to a halt, the bent and twisted barrel drooping limply. Mechanics immediately got to work as its crew evacuated the dead vehicle.

"We're writing this one off. Ma'am," the crew chief said, looking sadly at the battle-worn vehicle. "Could probably replace it with two Steadfasts, but we're running low on them too. We won't make it unless those reinforcements get here right quick."

"Thanks fer tellin' me, Crankshaft," Applejack said with a glance at the chief. "Get those Steadfasts prepped for battle. Celestia knows the boys up front need all the help they can get."

She looked at the line of battered vehicles outside. Many of them were covered in soot and sticky dragonfire residue, emitting a burnt meat smell. Others were covered in splashes of dark crimson, their treads caked with red-black gunk and powderized scales, giving the cleaning crews a hard time hosing them off. One Sturzstrom had been peeled open like a banana, its occupants torn to shreds in their harnesses.

Applejack jumped as the alarm klaxons went off, underscored by the rattle of gunfire at the base's periphery. A whistling shriek reached her ears, and then a watchtower exploded as a black blur rushed past it. Her hoof went to her holster as the drakelings surged over the chain-link fence like a tidal wave, her heart rattling in her chest like a machine gun.

"Apples."

Reporters homed in on Luna like sharks the moment the doors shut behind her back with a resounding boom. They bombarded her with questions she was not permitted to answer. She elicited a sigh as she tried to escape the throng of rabid reporter ponies surrounding her.

She missed the days before her banishment, despite the luxury and relative peace these modern times gave her. She was in her element then, leading soldiers to battle while her sister played nice with her words. The Princess of the Night was the mysterious 'bad cop' to her counterpart's 'good cop', to use a modern term.

Nowadays, though, Luna appeared in the sunlight more often, holding meetings with important figures and conducting ceremonies while her sister lurked in the shadows, offering advice when it was needed. She turned the corner, the reporters still hounding her while she thought. These days, the only thing her sister did was hide in her room and manage her country in the dark, sending the occasional letter or text message should it be an urgent matter.

So this is what it was like to rule alone.

"Has Princess Celestia renounced her throne? Who will replace her? How come nopony sees her these days? Is she on vacation?"

That remark about the vacation ignited her temper. "Enough!" She reared up and flared her wings, her hooves falling hard enough to crack the marble tiles. Her eyes blazed white, and her voice took on a deep echo as it grew to weaponizable volume. "I will not have you asking such things about my sister! Is that clear?"

The reporters blanched, their ears folding back. Celestia was many things, enigmatic and convoluted yes, but a lazy pony she was not.

"Now away with you! All of you!" Her voice drove the journalists back. "Lest I throw you all in the dungeon!"

The reporters fled like the carrion birds they were. That was uncouth of them, yes, but behind their interrogating lay an important question.

Just what had happened to her sister? She hadn't been seen in public since the declaration of war, and she had become increasingly reclusive after.

Luna decided that it was time to find out for herself. She gritted her teeth, flew up to Celestia's balcony, and struck open the curtain-shielded doors. What greeted her nearly broke her heart.

The entire room was in disarray. Papers lay everywhere. Glass shards glittered on the carpet. Priceless artifacts lay around like mere toys among discarded pizza boxes. A bookshelf had been tipped over, aged tomes and scrolls scattered around it. In the center, on a pile of bean bag chairs, sat a white figure huddled in a midnight blue blanket. The faint sound of sniffling mixed with the soft scratch of a quill on parchment reached Luna’s sensitive ears. Something was very, very wrong.

"Tia? Sister?" Her anger ebbed, replaced with concern. "Is everything all right?"

"Lulu." The miserable mare whispered. "Close the door please."

Luna walked in, careful not to step on the glass, and shut the door behind her with her magic. She flicked open the lights, illuminating the room in a harsh fluorescent glare, her carpet-muffled hoof steps sounding all too loud as she walked towards her sister. Luna cleared a space beside her sister and lay down in it, placing a wing around Celestia's shoulders.

"Why are you acting like this, Tia?" Luna said gently. "What has gotten you so miserable?"

"Have you ever felt that everything you've worked to build is about to come down on your head, and you can't do a thing about it?" Celestia gave a choking sob. She never did cry gracefully. "I'm powerless, Lulu! I can't do a damn thing about this war. I can’t even save my ponies! I'm pathetic!"

Celestia sniffed, then continued.

“They say 'the road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions,' and I'm the prime example of that. ‘Demilitarize Equestria to show that we are a progressive, peaceful nation!’ Look where I’ve gotten us into. The last major battle we fought before this was a wargame for Second's sake. Now we can't defend ourselves like we used to! And yet...they all still look up to me to save them! Their Guiding Light, their Radiant Sun...these titles don’t mean anything anymore! If only they knew...."

Celestia was rambling.

Luna decided it best to break her out before she shut down like what had happened when their parents….

She shook her head. It was not the time to delve into such dark memories, not now when her sister needed her.

"What ever happened to the mare who promised me that she would wait a thousand years if it could bring me back, and then a thousand more, and a thousand yet if it didn't even as her Perfect Weapon did its terrible work?"

She remembered the events of that night with perfect clarity. She remembered forgiving her sister for what she was about to do even as the Nightmare kicked and screamed, desperate to avoid its doom. The combined thaumic release had been enough to vaporize Unity City, leaving only ruins of its once-glorious palace and a fine layer of ash behind.

"What ever happened to the mare who stood at Canterlot Pass with her soldiers while I lay waste to the city she founded with her own hooves?"

That too, she remembered. She--as Nightmare Moon--drowned Celestia's Radiant Legion in blood while she unleashed terrible energies with the help of an ancient artifact, warping pony minds into twisted mockeries of what they once were. Celestia had never faltered then, slicing down the Corrupted with Sol Invictus like a farmer did wheat.

Luna's voice cracked slightly. "What ever happened to the pony who always gave her all, no matter the gravity of the issue?" She near-whispered, a hot tear rolling from her eye. "Where is the Celestia I know?"

Celestia gave her a sad smile and whispered, "She's gone." Her body flickered like a corrupt video and then dissolved away into floating shards of thaumic energy.

What lay underneath the illusion of a whole alicorn was seared white-hot into her memory. A gruesome webwork of burn scars criss-crossed the right side of her body, leading up to a downy stump of a wing, a cloudy eye, and finally a shattered horn.

"Do you remember the Coup?" she asked softly. "My nephew had been lucky enough to catch me defenseless, but I won the first encounter. I had him at hornpoint, but I spared him.... I remember waking up like this…." She shook her head. "He did this to me."

"I can't be their anchor anymore, Lulu. Not like this. I can barely even go out in public anymore."

Luna threw her forelegs around her sister's neck. "Who else knows?"

"Twilight. She came after him, and then she did what I couldn't. She was strong enough to do what was needed of her. She was strong enough to fight, and she's still fighting. She can be their rock. I'm sorry, Sister." Her voice cracked. "I can't go through another war."

This wasn't the sister Luna knew. This in front of her was a broken mare running from her responsibilities because she thought she wasn't up to the challenge. She knew the consequences of this string of events, should it come to pass. She knew it firsthoof. And yet, if the populace were to find out about her secret, the ensuing chaos would be disastrous.

Luna gently turned her sister's head so that they locked eyes. "Look at me, Tia. Strength is not measured by magical potential, wing power, or physical capability. I know a simple, wall-eyed mailmare who has defied the constraints of space and time for her family. I know a certain student of yours, who forgave me for my actions even when I couldn't and befriended me when I thought I was beyond redemption."

She looked straight into her sister's eyes. "And I know a mare who has forged and prospered a nation from the ashes of war and watched over it for a thousand years...and will watch over it for a thousand more.

"Strength lies in the heart, Tia." Luna placed her hoof over Celestia's chest. "You're not alone anymore. And you never will be."

Celestia didn't say anything. She didn't need to.

An aura of gold light shimmered around her body, which transformed into a glowing mosaic before resolving into the image everypony was familiar with. She nuzzled her lunar sister and stood up, sliding open the curtains with a burst of magic.

"Rest now, sister." Celestia said, fixing the mess in seconds despite the lack of focus her broken horn gave her. "I will raise the sun in a few hours. I'll take care of your moon too."

Author's Note

I had fun writing this chapter, despite having had to do it over again twice and junk a few promising scenes because they did not go with the flow I had in mind. (Though I think I have a bad sense of flow to begin with.) I hope you have had fun reading this as well. If you want to, please leave a comment below.

A colleague of mine from college is also now working on finding and pointing out mistakes and inconsistencies, but if you spot any feel free to point them out.

Thank you!

ED: Fixed a plothole involving Specter and the two espionage musicians.

A bad picture of the Glacier II and the Baserunner (guess the reference)

The Fleetfoot APC, Stalwart MBT, and Glacier I

And some old renders:

Equestrian Airship, Destroyer Class.

And the Prince of Steel.

I 06. Element Down

It was chaos.

Hundreds of fighters and bombers sat in Fort Clouderdale, awaiting takeoff orders, lining up on the runways, or taxiing to their hangars and outdoor pads for combat outfitting. Dozens of squad transports sat on either side of the runways, loading and unloading vehicles, ammunition, equipment, fuel, even ponies. An old Battlecry-class Cruiser and several troopships lay in makeshift berths. Stalwart and Glacier tanks rolled slowly into the whale-like transports while gantries loaded large-caliber shells and missiles onto the Battlecry. Somewhere, logisticians were racking their minds in an effort to make sense of all this.

Rainbow Dash watched from the passenger shuttle’s window, inspecting an SF.22 Strike Fury's VTOL intakes as a ground crew loaded missiles and equipment pods onto its external hardpoints. A quick peek into the internal weapons bays showed her why they even bothered to use the external points at all. There was no way the Fury could take off vertically with all that ammunition. Further down the line were eleven other similarly loaded Furies and their crews. Even further down were four jet black, alien-looking aircraft with much more numerous service crew than usual. Her pegasus eyes even allowed her to pick out ponies wearing lab coats from this distance.

She took a deep breath, watching pieces of altocumulus billow onto the wheels of her shuttle. Normally, altocumulus came in patches too unstable to drive or even walk on, but thanks to magic and superdense cloud engineering, Fort Clouderdale could serve not only as a pegasus deployment barracks, but also as a forward base for aircraft and land-based cavalry. Rainbow Dash looked down and slid deep into thought.

She had wondered why they went through all the trouble to get her here with a stealth transport when a simple letter of summons would have sufficed, but the world of black-ops often worked in convoluted and incomprehensible ways. Specter had explained to her that it was a way to confound any attempts to intercept her en-route to the base, but after some thought, Rainbow Dash declared that it was only a partial explanation. Specter nodded and blocked further questions by supplying small-talk of his own.

A sudden jolt broke her out of her reverie. "Slot Echo-3!" The bus ground to a stop along the four aircraft and unloaded the last batch of pilots, Wing Leader Dash included.

With time to spare, the ponies saluted as she approached. She returned the gestures and went back to inspecting the planes. They had diamond-shaped wings and a noticeable lack of separate horizontal and vertical stabilizers, which had been combined into a pair of diagonal "v-tail" stabilators instead. She made rough size estimates as she paced around the craft, coming up to a figure roughly twenty percent larger than the Furies' dimensions.

"Black Widow," she whispered to herself as she read the airplane's nameplate.

She did a wing-assisted hop and landed on top of one of the plane’s walkable surfaces. The massive VTOL manifold's cover flap had a bright red hourglass painted onto it by way of unauthorized markings. Rainbow Dash decided to overlook the fact and keep the marking. It was unloyal to a plane to take away its namesake after all.

The crew chief called to her from outside the marked triangle in which the plane sat, waving around a checklist holder. The wing leader joined him on the ground.

"'Sup?"

"The sky." The chief grinned good-naturedly. "Everything's all green from here. Just need to wait for the fuel, and you're good to go."

Dash smiled back and nodded. "Okay. Thanks 'Lane."

"No prob." The stallion nodded back and moved off to manage his crew.

The rainbow-maned pilot flexed her wings and adjusted her flight suit, deciding to look around to pass the time. The other pilots of her wing were talking with their crew chiefs or sitting in their cockpits waiting for the fuel to arrive. Clouderdale's fleet of trucks had been so overwhelmed by the sheer number of planes being put into the air that they were having trouble keeping things on schedule. A quick look at the fuel-hungry AC.5 gunship sitting on the tarmac and the half-dozen trucks clustered around it was a testament to that.

Thankfully, the Furies were all fueled up and ready to fly, allowing the trucks to attend to the Widows next to them. She watched technicians hooking up large hoses carrying liquefied Arcanite (Magnite's more benign cousin) as she climbed into the cockpit, initiating the APU so she could lower the bubble canopy. The pilot hooked herself up to the oxygen, triple-checked the restraints, and went through the whole checklist as her plane was fueled.

Thunderlane rapped on the Widow's hull as the techs finished fueling her up, giving her the go to light the fires. Dash did so eagerly, grinning as the twin turbojets came to life with a loud roar. She coaxed the engines back to a low whine and waited for permission to line up with the runway. Normally, she would have taken off vertically but the red 'no VTOL' warning in the bottom corner of her display-in-visor system told her it would be a bad idea to do so. She was loaded with enough munitions to make the knights of old green with envy a hundred times over.

The ground crews left the four Widows to wait, catching a ride on a passenger shuttle to wherever else they were needed. Rainbow Dash watched as an AC.121H "Windigo" lumbered off the runway, takeoff assistance rockets flaring out as it rose into the air. The AC.5 "Astral" she'd seen earlier joined it a minute later, its wake disturbing the superdense clouds alongside the runway. A trio of bat-winged B.3S "Specter" bombers climbed wraith-like into the air and shimmered out of existence as they vectored into their assigned flight path.

Eventually, four slots had been cleared in Runway 5 and they were ordered to taxi in, exchanging the appropriate radio chatter per-procedure, sometimes with a hint of humor. The Wonderbolt expertly manipulated the controls, lining up with the centerline as the last of the Furies took off on full afterburn.

“Queen Actual, Tower. Requesting takeoff. Over.”

"Clouderdale Tower to Queen Actual, runway clear. Takeoff is go. Clear skies and safe winds! Over."

"Queen Actual, Tower. I copy, thanks. Over."

Rainbow Dash grinned, jamming the throttles forward so she could feel the delightful kick in the guts sudden acceleration of this sort gave her. The engines roared as she trailed flame down the runway, reaching takeoff speed in mere seconds. She pulled up, and the Black Widow sliced into the air, invisible against the night save for its exhaust. Her wing mares joined her as she vectored in towards Ponyville.

There was no way in Tartarus she'd leave her friends hanging.

“Queen Actual to all, on me. Prepare for supercruise transit to mission area. Over.”

Twilight Sparkle hissed in pain as the dragon whirled around in the air, catching her in the barrel with its club-like tail. Her personal defense barrier flared, letting out a cascade of sparks as it absorbed the club’s kinetic energy. The alicorn righted herself and decided not to close the distance. Another hit would shatter the barrier completely and leave her defenseless; the generators needed a minute to reconstitute it, and a lot could happen to kill her in a minute. She allowed a trickle from her prodigious reserves to supplement the reactor’s output, reducing the recharge time by half.

She righted herself, flaring her wings out and twisting them to cancel her rotational momentum and allow her to proceed with controlled flight. She noted that she had lost around a hundred meters of altitude, a trifle compared to her current altitude of 1.295 kilometers. A fresh burst of static-laced audio describing the chaos of ground combat reminded her that she had to finish this quickly.

“Magic to any available. Am leaving area, please move in to secure. Over.”

“Affirmative, Magic. 1-1 Kingfisher and 2-1 Skysweeper moving to secure. Over.”

The alicorn poured energy into her horn, summoning a brilliant lance of stellar matter that shot towards her target with a thunderous crack! The bolt missed by a longshot, but that was the intention. She canceled the illusion and hit the dragon with her real weapon, a long burst of fire from her machine guns, into his open mouth. The heavy rounds ripped into its palette and reduced its brain to paste as they bounced around inside the thick skull. The dragon jerked like a puppet with cut strings and fell into the clouds. She took a moment to survey the area and catch her breath.

Thick plumes of black smoke roiled into the midnight sky, blotting out the stars like ink. The base of the plumes glowed with hellish red light as fires consumed entire city blocks. Weather ponies braved the dangerous sky, maneuvering heavily-laden clouds into position to try and douse the flames. Wreckage was everywhere. Burned-out tanks and armored vehicles lay alongside the blasted corpses of dragons and bits of drakeling matter.
This was her city, her Ponyville. She watched it grow over the years, first as its librarian and one of its protectors, and then as its ruler. She had watched it transform from a town on the cusp of city-hood into a bustling center of learning.

And now...this.

An angry grimace worked its way onto her face.

She wondered if this was what Celestia had felt all those centuries ago as Nightmare Moon burned the city she held dear.

“Can anypony hear me? We’re at grid kilo-two-three, request immediate assistance.” There was a burst of gunfire in the background, and then a muffled, anguished scream accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh. “I—I repeat, grid kilo-two-three, request—.” Twilight tuned them out. She had heard enough.

She swooped down towards the beleaguered defensive emplacement and unleashed a rain of explosive spells at the ground dragons and drakelings assaulting it. She had been too late to save the crew of a Chariot as a clutch of drakelings ripped it apart to get to the ponies inside. She heard them screaming in terror over the radio. Only when the last occupant had settled into the drakelings’ gullet did the merciful static come. She avenged the crew with an explosive blast of stellar matter, reducing the voracious predators to cinders in an instant.

Another call for help sounded in her ears, this time coming from behind the main lines. This time, it came from Forward Base Alpha.

“Honesty to anypony who can read me, we’re trapped inside the Barnyard Bargains! Requesting assistance!” The cowpony continued even as Twilight’s heart leapt into her throat. “Swarm a’ drakelings came rolling in from the south with a buncha’ dragons. Big ones too! They’ve got fancy armor jus’ welded onto them or something!”

Applejack!

“Hold on, AJ!” Twilight banked hard, powerful wingstrokes pushing her into the sound barrier as she rushed to her friends’ aid. “I’m on the way!”

Please be alive when I get there, AJ.

Some time ago…

Applejack ripped the gun from its holster and snapped it up as she got into a bipedal firing position, her hoof tightening around the trigger. The thought that this was a bad idea struck her, and she lowered the tiny 9mm and tucked it back into the holster. She watched the drakelings crash against the inner wall as machine gun emplacements poured fire into the advancing horde, supported by grenadiers and a few mortar units.

Vigilant's voice crackled in her ears from the command channel. “All units, fall back to secondary defensive positions. Noncombat personnel must fall back to the University. All casualties must be evacuated there also."

The armored cowpony calmly rejected that directive and substituted her own. She couldn’t look at herself in the mirror if she up and ran without putting up a decent fight. She rushed off the observation platform to the ground floor, where Rarity was calmly enunciating orders to get everything organized and packed up. The white mare had kept her faceplate up throughout the evening.

“Rares.” Applejack approached the fashionista. “Ya know wh—?”

“I know what you’re thinking, Applejack,” Rarity said calmly, interrupting her friend, “and I don’t quite agree with it. But I also do know that you won’t be able to live with yourself if you do otherwise. The weapons are over there.” She pointed towards the stack of crates at the far end of the supply depot. “Just let me delegate these orders to somepony else, and I’ll join you in a few.”

Applejack closed her mouth and cantered towards the stack of storage crates at the far end of the depot. The acronym-labeled crates only served to dazzle and confuse her until Rarity, true to her word, sauntered up beside her.

“Rarity, ya mind making sense of this?” She waved a hoof towards the containers.

“Of course, darling.”

The fashionista opened a few of the crates with her telekinesis, revealing all sorts of high-tech, high-firepower weaponry such as automatic grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and infantry spell projectors nestled snugly in protective foam padding. Opening the smaller crates revealed the ammunition for the weapons beside them. Applejack spent a few seconds considering her options and pointed to the grenade launcher, the 12.7mm machine gun, and a caseless ammunition carbine. Rarity levitated the weapons out of their boxes and set them aside while she took out her own selection: a shotgun, a pair of caseless ammunition submachine guns, and—to Applejack’s surprise—a micro-rocket launcher.

They grabbed the requisite ammunition for their weapons and set about helping each other secure the heavy weapons to their combat harnesses. Applejack watched as the weapon status tabs appeared on her HUD, displaying the weapons’ heat levels and ammunition stock. She had 500 rounds for the machine gun, an extra 250 in a box magazine, and 50 grenades on the belt she had loaded.

Applejack tested the aiming system, the weapons tracking on their swivel mounts to follow her head as she looked around. No doubt Vigilant was going to blow a fuse once he found out they hadn’t pulled out, but she would cross that bridge when she got to it. She heard a few mechanical sounds as Rarity connected the launcher to the mount on her armor and loaded it with her telekinesis.

Rarity closed up her helmet and racked the slide on her guns in turn. “As they would say in the movies, Dear Applejack, ‘Let’s do this!’”

Rarity gritted her teeth as she sidestepped a drakeling, following it with her SMGs as she locked the armor into an upright walking position for better agility. The drakeling jerked around as anti-armor fletchettes from her SMGs did their work, puncturing thick scales and armored carapace alike. Applejack ducked under another drakeling’s charge and sent a powerful thrust into its belly with her hind legs, launching it into the ceiling. It crashed through the plywood and flattened against the upper floor’s concrete base with a wet smack.

The farmer mare rolled to her hooves and locked into an upright combat stance. A pair of drakelings bracketed them; hissing and shrieking like hellhounds straight from Tartarus. Applejack’s eyes narrowed behind her faceplate. She gave her opponent the universal ‘bring it’ gesture with her hoof. The drakeling launched off its claws, aiming for her throat, but got a good one across the muzzle for its trouble. Rarity preferred the more elegant approach. She extended the saber built into her armor’s right foreleg and flourished it challengingly. Her opponent replied like its partner and leapt at her, snarling as the sword—which now shimmered with sapphire energy—lashed at its leg, slicing the limb clean off.

Both drakelings landed with a heavy thud. The dismembered one yowled pitifully, and Applejack placed a round into its head with the machine gun, which now peeked over her shoulder. The one she had punched in the face was done, however. Her machine-augmented strength had shattered its skull like a vase, killing it instantly. Applejack gave her hoof an uneasy look and wiped it clean on the carpet.

“Man,” Applejack remarked, looking at her opponent’s corpse, “talk about overkill.”

Rarity let out a disgusted groan as she looked at the mess on the floor.

“C’mon, Rares. Let’s link up with the troops,” Applejack spoke up. “Hopefully, they’re holding out.”

The first few minutes of combat proved to be a rather gory affair with the amount of firepower the two brought to the field. Applejack’s machine gun and automatic grenade launcher brought the drakelings down in droves while Rarity’s micro rockets proved to be a devastating weapon against the lesser dragons in the mix. For a time, it had seemed that Alpha Base could actually hold out against this onslaught.

Murphy’s Law sure had a way of asserting itself.

Three dragons with strange, rune-covered armor grafted onto their bodies dropped from the sky and laid waste to everything they could see with claws, dragonfire, and terrifyingly..., magic.

That broke the defenders’ backs, forcing them to retreat into cover or pull out entirely as the defense line collapsed all around them. Rarity, Applejack, several soldiers, and a dozen civilian medical volunteers had been trapped in the Barnyard Bargains ever since, waiting for the break that would allow them to escape. The two armored mares and an accompanying soldier were currently weaving their way through the wrecked rooms to link up with the bulk of the trapped forces in the other side of the building. Occasionally, light air support or a flight of choppers would engage the dragons in an attempt to drive them off. That only managed to irritate the dragons. The armor that had been grafted onto them had proved to be impenetrable to mundane weapons, and that knowledge was paid for in blood.

Thankfully, the dragons didn’t really seem to care that there were trapped ponies in the mall...or thought that they had died during the last wave of drakelings. Caution dictated that they probably didn’t want that to change.

“Hold it.” Applejack stopped abruptly, causing Rarity to bump into her with the clink of armor plate.

“What is it?” Rarity whispered.

“Big hole. Big Red might see us.”

Rarity muttered an unladylike curse and shook her head. “Applesauce! How are we going to get past?”

“We could go across all stealth-like, but I think it’s better to jus’ teleport.”

The white mare considered. “I think not, unless I can eliminate the flash.”

The soldier that accompanied them sighed. “For Luna’s sake, just cast an invisibility spell, Generosity.”

“Right.” The white mare resisted the urge to put her hoof on her face and went to work.

A few seconds later, the three ponies sneaked across the gap and slunk back into the winding maze of the ruined Barnyard Bargains. It was one of those quiet intermissions between waves that set everypony on edge. A scuttling in the ruined cafeteria made them flinch and then laugh uneasily as it turned out to be a rat making full use of the buffet set out for it and its comrades. A lanky blue rat even seemed to be cooking a nice tomato soup. It waved towards them and offered a bowl. Rarity declined with as much politeness as she could muster and hurriedly led the other two ponies away.

“That was weird,” the tagalong said as they quickly made their way out of the cafeteria.

They’d managed to find their way into a clothing store, one that belonged to Rarity’s general clothing company ‘Generous Designs.’ The fact that all of the ponykins had been gnawed upon bode darkly on the three. The tagalong switched off his flashlight and turned on his Night-Eye charm, his eyes taking on a catlike appearance in response. He grimaced and rubbed his eyes. Rarity switched the display to night-vision mode and assumed Applejack did the same.

Rarity sniffed. “All these clothes...ruined!”

“Well, at least they aren’t the Elusive or Rarity lines,” Applejack snarked.

Rarity almost broke down at the thought of her premiere collection in tatters, but she remembered that she had to keep her composure. That didn’t keep her from snarking back, though.

“Yes, and I’m sure Sweet Apple Acres is having a wonderful time out there with those fire-breathing...things.”

She bit her lip as Applejack's ears folded and her tail went limp. The socialite unicorn knew she had struck a nerve.

“Applejack,” Rarity sidled up to her, “I’m sorry about that remark. That was rather uncouth of me.”

“S’alright, Rares,” the farmer replied, “I shouldn’t have said that about your clothes. Guess we’re all worked up….”

Her head shot up, ears straight. “Shoot! I shouldn’t have said that thing about clipped wings!”

“Clipped wings?”

“Ya remember when me an' Dash fought at Flutter’s house? I said somethin’ about clipping her wings or somesuch, and then she was fallin’ outta the sky like...like….” Her voice broke, and she sat despondently. “I was so torn up. I still haven’t apologized.”

Rarity opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Instead, she placed a hoof on her withers. Applejack hung her head, made to wipe tears away, and then remembered that she was encased in armor.

“Uh…,” the tagalong’s voice echoed out beside them, “girls…. It’s a soft, fluffy moment and all, but we’ve got a much sharper problem at hoof….”

The two mares’ heads whipped around. A clutch of drakelings had decided to make an appearance, and they weren’t alone.

“Well, if it isn’t the namby pamby ponies playing dress-up in lame armor.” Big Red sneered from the window.

“Well, I never!” Rarity replied. “If it isn’t the rude one. Are you going to run from us like you did last time, or do I have to send you back to your mother?”

"As far is I recall, it was you losers who ran!" The red dragon said, "And don't talk about that bitch! So, what's it gonna be, ponies? Surrender and die sorta-quickly, or fight and make me mad?"

Rarity was silent as she braced herself.

The rocket launcher swiveled into a firing position and unleashed a salvo of rockets, which corkscrewed wildly as they homed in on the drakelings. Brilliant explosions rocked the building to its foundation. She reared up, lifted her submachine guns out of their holsters and fired them into the smoke as Applejack unloaded 12.7mm rounds at the dragon’s boxy head, forcing him to withdraw to a safer vantage point. Gunfire strobed, making it seem like one of Vinyl’s parties was taking place inside.

Suddenly, a massive claw burst through the wall and turned a good-sized section of the building into rubble, allowing moonlight to negate the strobing to some extent. The remaining drakelings charged, zig-zagging to avoid the same fate as their fallen clutchmates. Three of them pounced, trailing saliva from their mouths...and then crashed painfully into a shimmering blue plane of energy.

Rarity’s horn flickered out and the barrier disintegrated as she unloaded the contents of her magazine into the squirming drakelings, painting the carpet red with blood. Another of the draconic hound dogs caught her from the side, sending her tumbling into a clothes rack. The guns clattered loudly to the floor, out of reach. Her energy saber rasped out of its sheath in a spur-of-the-moment decision, extending to full length as azure energy flowed from its edges as she sliced apart the obstructing clothes. By the time she was free, the drakeling was already in the air.

She twisted her body and let the monstrous creature fall onto her blade. Flesh sizzled and crackled as she extracted the built-in weapon and retracted it back into its sheath on her fetlock.

The dragon just stood there, watching as they fought.

A series of thumps, followed by explosions shook the building, blasting out walls and cratering the floor as drakelings were reduced to mincemeat. Applejack’s machine gun thundered, the barrel’s tip glowing red hot. Hot brass clattered at her hooves as she panned the big gun around in wide arcs. Another five-round burst shot from the AGL, obliterating a countertop and the clutch of drakelings around it.

Both weapons then clicked empty.

Rarity saw Applejack bite down on the bit triggers a few more times, each with an accompanying click.

She spat the triggers out. “‘Sarnit!”

Undeterred, Applejack detached both weapons and whirled around. Her hind legs pistoned into a drakeling’s head, snapping it upwards with a loud cracking noise. Another drakeling took a one-two to the face, and a third was crushed under her weight, armor and all, like a bug. Rarity moved to pick up the slack while Applejack loaded the shorter belt into the MG, swinging both weapons around in wide arcs. Her weapons stopped firing just as suddenly. The white mare reached out with her magic for magazines that weren't there.

“Out!” Rarity called, tossing away her guns and extending both built-in sabers with a flourish.

A sudden realization hit Applejack like a 12.7mm round as she slid the belt in. “Shoot! Dragon’s a smart one!”

The dragon bellowed in victory and swiped them up with a massive claw.

Twilight landed hard enough to break the asphalt, the trailing shockwave only adding to the blast of debris that whirled around her. Time flowed like molasses as she analyzed her prospective opponent. Scanning spells radiated from her horn as she took in vital statistics and compared them with what she knew.

Gamma-class dragon, capable of flight but focused primarily on brute strength rather than agility. Etheric readings indicate additional defensive and offensive enchantments on worn armor…. That’s not right…. It’s been grafted into him! Digression. Addendum, drakolithic glyphs in conjunction with etheric outflow on armor plate indicate the presence of draconic power runes. Effects unknown. Caution advised.

All pretense of that conclusion was thrown to the wind the moment Twilight saw what it grasped. Two mares struggled in its massive claw, trapped in crushed armor plating as it snacked on the remains of a soldier stallion like he was some delicacy to be enjoyed.

Applejack! Rarity!

The armored princess ripped the turret from a wrecked tank and separated the gun barrel from the base as she charged, hurling the turret at the dragon. She wielded the barrel like a baseball bat in her telekinesis. The dragon turned around just in time to deflect the projectile with a swipe of its other foreclaw. At that point, her impromptu weapon had just broken the sound barrier twice over at the apex of her swing and slammed into the dragon’s head with enough force to send it crashing into the Barnyard Bargains.

Twilight grabbed her friends with her telekinesis and teleported them someplace safe as the dragon clawed its way out of the rubble.

“Well, if it isn’t the namby-pamby purple princess pony,” he sneered, wiping blood from his mouth. “Oh, this will be fun!”

Images of Spike’s disastrous first attempt at integrating into dragon society rushed from the depths of her memory. Spike had just barely escaped the beating the outcasts gave him after he refused to crush the phoenix eggs. She was lucky to have arrived when she did.

“Not if I can help it,” Twilight replied, tensing up for another swing.

She noticed the wispy tendrils of energy that coalesced around a power rune as the dragon’s claw shot out, intercepting her weapon mid-swing and yanking it out of her telekinetic grasp. Calculations concluded that there was no way a dragon of his size and weight could move fast enough unless there was an unconsidered variable. She deduced that her opponent was under the effect of a Haste-type spell or enchantment. It would be fortuitous to break that enchantment as quickly as possible.

The dragon lashed out with his claw and she nimbly dodged out of the way, partly due to the fact that she was under a Haste spell of her own making. Normally, Hasting was a spell under the Temporal school, but she realized she could mimic the effect by instead increasing the rate at which a pony perceived the world and reinforcing bodily structures to compensate, in effect giving her a spell with the same effects for much lower energy consumption than as usual.

Her horn glowed and a rain of astral swords fell from the stars, forcing the dragon to duck and weave between the falling blades to get to her. She dodged out of the way of another clumsy swipe and lashed out with her club. The tip broke the sound barrier just before impacting across her opponent’s snout, sending him careening to the ground before he regained his balance.

“I hate this,” he growled, spitting out a tooth.

“And I hate what you’ve done to my city.”

“Oh, it’s just revenge, pony princess. Besides, the nobles cast us out. You should be blaming them in the first place.”

“That’s like blaming the butterfly for the hurricane on the other side of the world. But I digress.” Twilight swung the club hard enough to shatter it like glass as it slammed into the dragon’s chin. She took the fragments and used them to perforate its wing membranes, making it roar in fury as she took away its capability for flight, at least for the moment. She could already see the healing energy collecting around the tears in the membrane.

That also precluded any help the dragon may have had. “Get her!” The red dragon roared as Twilight flew out of range.

Two dragons punctured the clouds. One was small and scrawny, but the wicked gleam in his wild, unfocused eyes and the way he twitched and shivered told her that he would be a challenge despite that. The other dragon was stocky, built like a tank, and probably as dense and impenetrable as one too. They were unarmored, but she could feel similar spells at work.

Twilight extended her wingblades and channeled arcs of coruscating energy along the leading edges, making it seem as if she was trailing magenta light as she flew. To many, it was a beautiful display of the newest princess’s raw power. It was also the harbinger of death. She feinted as the fast one dove from above, attempting to bracket her between himself and his compatriot.

Instead of attempting to maneuver out of the way, she merely teleported into a point opposite the scrawny purple dragon and sent a rain of energy bolts his way. To her credit, he was able to weave past the barrage and get into flame range, but she had already anticipated that. A violet plane of energy materialized right in front of the dragon, crunching his muzzle painfully. He roared in outrage and attempted to skirt around the barrier, only to find another one in his path.

Thus distracted, he never saw the fast approaching princess as she homed in for the killing blow. It took no effort to create a force plane with definite length but zero width and thickness and align it so that it acted as a blade rather than a shield. In fact, that was exactly the concept behind the wing blade system pioneered for combat harnesses in recent years. Older models had to do with lightweight materials such as carbon fiber held straight by a force field, but they tended to snap if the force behind the swing exceeded a certain threshold.

What Twilight didn’t expect however, was for the dragon to disappear just as she passed. She flared her wings and fell into a hover, turning around in mid air to search for her opponent’s whereabouts.

“Huh --?” Pain flared across her flank as a massive tail slammed into her.

The world spun and her stomach voiced its protest as the sky and the ground whirled around another in a sickening tango. She could have sworn the sky was empty a while ago, and anyway, she didn’t have time to punish herself for her inattention. The ground was rushing up to meet her. She flared her wings, grimacing as the wind resistance almost threatened to pull the limbs out of their sockets, and stabilized her trajectory with some trouble, landing on an apartment rooftop some distance from the BB Mart.

She briefly opened her helmet and released her stomach’s discontent before taking a sip from the built-in hydrator to wash the bad taste out. The princess did a quick diagnostic on herself and the armor, noting that the armor plate on her left side was cracked. That dragon had taken down her barrier with one hit, and it was not something she wanted to repeat again. Twilight removed the ruined machine gun and stretched her injured wing. Her horn glowed as the bone knit itself back together.

She hadn’t expected the dragon to teleport. Twilight cursed and spat some blood onto the floor.

Fat Brown burst out of a cloud of smoke at the 9 o’clock position, its massive belly undulating with each wingstroke. Skinny Violet joined the large dragon a few moments later, vibrating with hyperactive energy as they called out taunts directed at her. Twilight cast an invisibility spell on herself and gently glided down to street level.

“Come out, come out wherever you are! We just wanna play!”

She ripped a bent 220mm cannon barrel off a wrecked Glacier and burst out of hiding as the dragons passed overhead. The dragons looked down in shock, and then the big one received a haymaker to the face. Teeth and blood flew out of the dragon’s maw while he spun around. She didn’t let up. The makeshift bat cracked into its chest. The force of the impact made the fat dragon ripple like a water balloon. Another blow into the back of the head sent it tumbling down, dazed and possibly unconscious. It gouged a trench into the asphalt below.

By then, the fast one had recovered from its shock and charged her, opening up with a blast of flame. The alicorn vanished in a flash of light and reappeared in the opposite direction with a dozen astral swords at her side. The Swords Like Stars spell was very useful, as the etheric constructs could be charged with different effects. These exploded after embedding themselves into the target. She let loose, the constructs trailing magenta light as they accelerated towards their target.

To its credit, the skinny dragon managed to dodge all but one of the swords, which scored a glancing hit across the barrel. However, the distraction served to allow the bat to maneuver into a suitable angle. She slammed one end into its gut just underneath the ribcage. The sudden outflow of air nearly blew her off-course, but she adjusted her angle of attack to compensate even as her weapon swung in to hit it across the back. Several of the dorsal spikes shattered, and blood flowed from the wounds caused by the shards entering its flesh.

Something else broke too, judging by the way the dragon suddenly lost control of its wings and rear half. The dragon flailed around in the air as Twilight assisted its downward acceleration by slamming the end of her bat down onto its chest.

They'd be back in a while: a powerful healing contingency spell had been placed on them, and there were no signs of it faltering just yet. Of course, that left the red one. Twilight raised her altitude to half a kilometer and hovered in place to scan for her main opponent. Movement in the four o'clock snapped her head in that direction.

She barely even had time to react before a massive blow sent her spinning out of control. Alarms blared in her ears as the sky and the ground rapidly switched places in her vision. A spike of pain lanced into her back and stars exploded in her vision as she crashed into a warehouse’s thick outer wall. She felt something break as she slammed back-first into the concrete, gouging out a narrow trench.

Twilight groaned in pain and was about to run another healing spell when a dragon burst through the wall.

“Well, that was bucked,” Vinyl said as they charged through the White Tail Woods with reckless abandon, shots from their pursuers snapping all around their heads. Sporadic return-fire from the infiltrators only bought so much time.

“Tell me about it,” one of the changelings intoned. She then craned her head to yell at them. “If you wanna put more holes in me, try harder!”

“Don’t tempt it!” Octavia hissed, slowing down a bit so she could fire her SMG into their pursuers' general direction. A scream of pain sounded out somewhere behind her.

“Bah!” the changeling spat. “That’s just a load of horseapples!”

“No!” the two musicians hissed.

As if to prove their point, a bullet sparked off the tip of the changeling’s horn, eliciting a pained cry as she held a chitinous hoof over it while running three-legged. Another changeling wasn’t so lucky. A bullet shattered the carapace on her left flank and sent her tumbling to the ground. Somepony picked her up and carried her, even as she yelled for them to leave her behind. Chameleon dug his hooves into the dirt and shouldered a rocket launcher.

Thump!

The rocket blasted away on a plume of smoke, exploding in a bright flash somewhere in the trees. The volume of fire coming from their pursuers dropped considerably, and another rocket followed just to make sure. Chammie dropped the dual-shot launcher and caught up with the small band, jumping over fallen trees with aid from his dragonfly wings.

Eventually, the gunfire stopped and the thunder of hooves chasing after them faded into the soft chirping of crickets and other sounds of various woodland animals.

“Okay, I think we’ve lost them.” Octavia said.

Vinyl butted in. “Yeah, after last time, I hope they are….”

Octavia rolled her eyes and continued after scanning the area with her ears. “Anyway, let’s form up and find that boat quickly.”

They spent the next half an hour walking in relative silence; hooves are not very conducive to stealth, especially on leaf-strewn, twig-littered ground. Eventually, they came to a small lake by a clearing. A ring of stones sat in the center, indicating that a fire had burned inside it some time ago—and quite recently judging by the heat radiating from the ashes.

One of the signs that evac was near….

Innocuously, Octavia gathered a few good stones and decided to skip them across the placid surface. The first stone skipped only once before disappearing under the surface. The second, twice. And as she drew back her hoof for a third attempt, Vinyl’s voice broke her concentration.

“What’cha doin’, Tavi?”

“Skipping stones,” Octavia replied. “Would you care to join in?”

“Sure, why not?” Vinyl levitated a nice set of stones and tossed them one by one, failing miserably to hit the surface at the right angle. One such stone managed to make an ominous metallic booming sound as it hit the water’s surface.

Vinyl's eyes widened. “What was that?”

Her question was soon answered as a sleek, metallic shape rose out of the placid lake water like a long-forgotten aquatic predator. The mini-submarine was still for a minute, and then a hatch popped open, disgorging a trio of ponies who deployed an inflatable boat and rowed out towards them.

“’bout time you buggers showed up,” the wizened figure wearing the Navy Captain’s unifom drawled. “Since there are eight of you, Ah suppose Ah would hav’ta make two, three trips.” He squinted at the two ponies among the changelings, “You first, ladies. Hop along now, one two!”

“He reminds me of my grandpa.” Vinyl quietly observed, more to herself than to anyone else. She sniffed. “Smells like him too!”

“What’s that now, little Miss?”

They’d been walking for hours across the desert, braving freezing conditions and a general lack of morale. The guilt of the deed they’d done to the griffon fledgling bore heavily on their shoulders. Ideally, it should have been foal’s play to keep the truth about Orion a secret, but Pinkie’s constant questioning made that a very difficult task.

“Come on, guys! Why won’t you tell me?” Pinkie said, popping up from the top of Storm’s point of view as the sniper trudged through the sand. “Maybe it’s a surprise? I sure love surprises! But it’s funny because I usually do the surprising. Oh well! I’d love a change of pace! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!”

“Pinkie, now isn’t the time,” Midnight cautioned. “We have to get moving.”

Storm rolled her eyes. She had always loved going lone wolf, and now she knew just exactly why. She wondered how Midnight managed to retain his sanity when Pinkie focused her interrogatory carpet bombing on him a few minutes ago. The scowl on Storm’s face grew steadily as Pinkie continued to bombard her with questions.

“Pinkie….” Midnight’s plea was unheard.

Thunder elbowed Oracle Two and pointed at Storm. The sniper dug a hoof into the sand as she leveled an ugly glare to the Element of Laughter. She snorted and assumed the classic pegasus threat posture: extended wings, digging hoof, and flattened ears. The other sniper moved to rein in his partner.

“You know, I just thought of something! He wanted me to have this, right?” Pinkie pulled out the plushie from her mane and gave it a tight hug. “Why don’t I give him something too? It’s like exchange presents!”

Oracle Two never got the chance.

“Shut up!” Storm turned to Pinkie, flaring her wings in rage. Oracle Two stepped back as a wing slapped painfully against his muzzle. “This is all just a big party to you, isn’t it? You wanna know so badly? Do you? Well, fine! He's dead! I killed him! I had to because if I didn’t, you and everyone else dragging your sorry rump back to Equestria would probably be dead!"

Tension hung in the air, suffocating noise and freezing motion. Even the wind had gone still.

“H-How could you?” Pinkie broke the silence, a look of hurt, sorrow, and betrayal etched clearly onto her face. Her hair literally deflated, hanging from her head and rear like a limp sheet as tears pooled in her eyes. She walked a little further from them now, and every time Midnight or Storm tried to talk to her, she simply just hid behind her mane and continued walking.

“…the shattered aegis of innocence,” Oracle Two said. “’tis not an easy thing to witness.”

“Now’s not the time for poetics,” Midnight said quietly. “EZ’s just above that dune. Hopefully, our ride’s still there. Let’s go.”

The V.23A Grasshopper was in fact, still there inside its cave. Only a griffon camp had sprouted around it. The military ponies quickly ducked behind the sand dune, and Magic had the foresight to tell Pinkie to find cover.

“Okay,” she said, trudging behind a rock.

Midnight frowned, wondering how he could make amends, but he set that aside for later to focus on the now. “What have we got, Storm?”

The sniper sucked in a breath and peered down her scope. “Dozen golfs, twice that in mikes. Probably more in the prefabs. Got a GE patrol airship nearby, no crew yet.”

“No direct attack possible then?”

“Nope. Don’t have to anyway.” Storm added, her ears twitching, “They’re all wearing the old uniform. You know, before Ravenous. They’re cussing him out too, and not in the way ponies cuss out their boss.”

“Deserters?”

“Strongheart Remnants. Friendlies.”

“How do we play it then?”

Storm whispered into his ear.

Minutes later, the soldiers had thrown down their arms in front of a bunch of surprised servicehens, asking to see the leader of this detachment. They were soon escorted inside the cave by a squad of Imperial Guards wearing Strongheart’s pattern. They noticed, though, that the tags read “Gilda Strongheart” instead of Gunter. Pinkie Pie darkened a bit when she saw the banner proclaiming the Empress’s name, and she had just opened her mouth to speak when a sleek griffon exited the command tent with a yawn, running a talon through her messy feathers. Midnight’s eyes almost buggered out when the Imperial Guards genuflected.

“Sup, boys?”

“My lady, the Equestrians have come to see you,” the squad leader rose.

“Oh? They’re finally kicking Ravenous out?”

“No, my lady,” he continued, “they require use of the Grasshopper to evacuate one of their heroes.”

“It’s the missing Element then. Gimme a sec.” The Empress finished rubbing her eyes and worked the kinks out of her back with loud pops. “Damn, that feels good…. You!”

Her eyes locked onto Pinkie’s despondent form, and then she remembered her composure. “Whisperwind, leave your guys outside. I’m going to have a talk with our guests.”

“Your will be done, my lady.”

The griffons left them waiting by the Grasshopper. Empress Gilda spoke up after a tense moment. “Tent.” She held the tent flap open as the ponies filtered in. She stepped in front of the pink mare as she made to enter.

“Pinkie Pie?” Gilda said, wringing her talons. “Hey, I’m sorry about what happened in Ponyville….” The tent flap fell closed, muffling the undoubtedly private conversation.”

This wasn’t happening! She was the Element of Magic for Celestia’s sake, so why was she losing against a trio of dragons with magic powered armor?

Twilight was becoming more and more frustrated. Each engagement had ended in a loss or a draw for her.

They were playing with her, and she knew it.

It was time for drastic measures.

She grasped pieces of rubble with her telekinesis and sent them hurtling at Big Red while she harried Fat Brown with a storm of swords and boxed in Skinny Violet with a force field. The red dragon, to par, was still moving too fast for its size and weight class, but then she figured she wasn’t thinking large enough. She grabbed both dragons with her telekinesis, added all of the debris she could find, and tossed them at supersonic speeds towards her main opponent.

If that wasn’t drastic enough, she summoned nearly a hundred astral blades, set them to explode on contact, and sent them on their way. Her head swam a bit as the exertion made itself known, but she pushed the discomfort aside and focused on the matter at hoof.

It turned out to be exactly the break she needed. The Haste enchantment overloaded in a fantastic display of arcs and light as Big Red tried to weave through the hail of projectiles, only for Skinny Violet and Fat Brown to slam into his chest and send the three of them tumbling uncontrollably into a mid-rise apartment building, collapsing it in a plume of dust. The blades slammed into the rubble and exploded, illuminating the dust cloud with strobes of violet light. The nimbus around her horn faded. The very tip glowed red-hot, and smoke rose from within the spirals.

Twilight wanted to say that nopony could have survived that, but she believed in double and triple-checking her work. The princess rained down all manner of offensive spells on the ruins. That said, she was very surprised and admittedly very scared, when movement appeared in the rubble before she could finish draining her reserves. Three very angry, very hostile dragons burst from the rubble and took the air, bellowing their rage and hate in between flak-like blasts of dragonfire that buffeted her as she tried to find a place to land. One such burst came very close to singing off the feathers on her wing.

They had been playing with her.

And now, the games were done.

A small clearing up ahead beckoned to her, and she tucked in her wings to expedite her descent.

But safety was not meant to be had. Skinny Violet intercepted her mid-fall with a headbut, sending her careening uncontrollably into the ground. The dust cleared, revealing her prone form lying in a personal crater. Twilight coughed, watching as blood spattered onto the faceplate and blocked the fuzzy, static-laced display. Pain alerted her to something badly broken in her leg as she tried to stand up. She lay down and ran a diagnostic spell. One of her cannon bones was fractured, and a tibia was broken completely.

She breathed, summoning the last of her reserves into a healing spell that would at least partially repair the bone. It was a wonder that she'd survived blows like this, but she chalked it up to her armor and dumb luck.

And they were both going to fail sooner or later.

She was tired. Tired of all the fighting and the dying and the flying. She' lost track of how many living beings she'd seen die since the sun fell. This was a feeling she was intimately familiar with, having almost failed Discord's mind games.

Its name was despair.

And there was no room in her heart for it….

...Not while she had friends to live for.

She gritted her teeth as the bone knit together. It felt like an army of ants were crawling into her body and eating her from the inside-out. The spell completed its work after eight agonizing minutes. She stood up, shaking off the dust and debris from her failing armor. The suit felt heavy, sluggish, and claustrophobic as she struggled to remain on her hooves. A window on her display flickered into existence and spat out a few error-filled readouts before finally printing something legible.

[4RMOR AT 25.6% 1NTEG@$(%!. SHIELDS OF@!(NE: INSUFFICIENT POWER]

[ACTUAT0RS DA&%@ED: STRENGTH AUG OFFLINE.]

"Could be better; could be worse." She shrugged, extending her wings to deploy the blades. Hopefully, she'd finally get around to using them properly before the sun rose.

[3:42 AM. RE>CTOR @!!LINE: AUX PWR 99.2x]

[REBOOOTING OS…3…2…1…COMPLETE]

“Attention all units, be advised friendly reinforcements inbound, forewarn noble dragons entering battle zone. Weapons tight. ETA, two-two mikes. Over.”

While ten seconds for this was asking too much, even for Rainbow Dash, 22 minutes was a reasonable goal. She coughed suddenly, droplets of blood sliding down the faceplate's interior. Internal bleeding caused her chest to rattle, and her body ached like never before. It was strange, really. Who would have thought that an unassuming unicorn librarian would be the one making a last stand against a horde of dragons?

She laughed almost bitterly, but it was more of a resigned laugh. Those three dragons that had beaten up Spike all those years ago? They were after her. They were playing with her. And even as an Alicorn, she was hopelessly outmatched. Whatever, whoever, had done this to them—fusing metal armor into flesh, even bone—was clearly very powerful and clearly very unhinged. It was like Sombra and his Crystal Golems all over again.

Twilight forced the grayness out of her vision and tapped into her armor’s emergency batteries. She wouldn’t need the charge where she was going anyway. A magic flare launched from the tip of her horn and lingered in the sky, before gently falling back to earth.

Twilight’s tail swished from side to side in anticipation as she searched the air.

A crimson blur shot from the sky and collided with the ground, sending up a cloud of dust that obscured her vision. Pieces of asphalt pinged off her armor as a shadow emerged from the plume, radiating uncontrolled hate and anger. Heavy footsteps marked its leisurely advance. Twilight stared into its hateful amber eyes. The dragon’s lips split in a toothy, ugly grin and spoke.

“Still alive, pony?”

“Oh, I don’t need to be. Not for long anyway,” Twilight said, disengaging the locks that held the battered pieces of armor in place. Heavy battle plate thudded on the pavement. The collection of pistons and actuators underneath came off, leaving her in just the undersuit and its power package. “Think you can take me in twenty minutes?”

Twilight took off before the dragon could answer, and a furious roar bellowed out behind her. She grinned, summoning a baker’s dozen of astral blades using power from the batteries. They hovered in the air for a second, and then shot towards her opponent. Now that the haste enchantment was gone, each of the blades found their mark and left red-hot furrows in the battered armor. Encouraged by the success, Twilight followed up with a trinity of plasma lances. That slagged the chestpiece entirely and left the surrounding scales a vibrant cherry red.

A small part of her noted the folly of using solar matter against dragons, but she justified it with the fact that she hadn’t yet gone past the basics of other schools of War Magic. Instead, she had to make do with what she had.

The dragon responded by clawing at her. When that proved unsatisfactory, it whirled around hoping to score a decent tailwhip. Twilight vaulted over that and gained distance with a few flaps of her wings. Her leg throbbed in protest as she landed, but she ignored it and launched a collection of debris into her enemy’s wing membrane. A dumbbell shaped collection of concrete and rebar tore a particularly large hole into the leathery skin. Instead of going after her, the red dragon just called for its lackeys and licked its claws.

Skinny Violet landed close by and joined the fight with a flurry of claw swings. One swing in particular trimmed the tips of her primaries in her left wing, but otherwise left her unharmed. The barrel of her spell projector glowed and she braced herself for the recoil as the blue-white energy rushed towards the skinny dragon, lancing into its side. The dragon howled painfully and collapsed, struggling to stand. It failed; the energetic projectile had burned into the spine, paralyzing it from the waist downwards. Another shot, timed for when the violet dragon opened its mouth to roar, reduced the cranium to burnt meat and slivers of bone. Dragons were just as soft and vulnerable as any creature under their scales.

[3:46 AM. REACTOR OFFLINE: AUX PWR 52.2%]

Her hackles rose, and she rolled to the side as a club-like tail slammed into the ground where she stood just a second ago. She had to admit a bit of awe and respect for Fat Brown: he was quite stealthy for something that big and heavy. Her horn glowed with a nimbus of magenta light, and an uprooted street light became a makeshift javelin traveling at half the speed of sound.

It wasn’t meant to go into something vital--just a pin to hold down the suitably froglike dragon down for dissection. Twilight flared her wings as she jumped over the dragon and extended the blades, which glowed brightly as they cut into scales and flesh with contemptuous ease. She had never been a good bladesmare, but she made up for it in improvisation. The blades weren't long enough to hit anything vital, but she knew something that was.

Another street light was rammed into the chink created by her previous attack, surrounded by a nimbus of magenta energy. She felt the pole snap as it came up against the dragon’s sternum, but it was enough. Fat Brown roared in agony as she stirred the pole around, convulsed and then went still as its boxy head crashed into the pavement. Twilight took a running, wing-assisted leap towards Big Red and threw another street lamp at him. The dragon reared up and caught the projectile with his claw. It looked at the street lamp for a moment, and then grinned evilly.

The weapon lashed out, whizzing past Twilight’s head with only millimeters to spare. The sonic boom blasted painfully in her ears and she reacted on instinct, pressing her hooves against her ears. That proved to be a nearly fatal mistake. Everything went black for a moment, and when her vision returned, she found herself partially buried in a pile of rubble that used to be a storefront. The dragon tossed the dented street lamp over his shoulder and loped toward her on four legs.

[3:50 AM. REACTOR OFFLINE: AUX PWR 10.1%]

“Gotcha,” he grinned.

She gave up trying to be objective; she was about to die anyway.

He tossed her to the ground in front of him. Her vision darkened as pain exploded in her wing. The area extensions fell away, clattering loudly on the asphalt. The helmet split apart and she saw several of the batteries scattered along her trajectory.

The world spun and stars exploded in her vision. She couldn't move. Something was broken…; everything was broken. She couldn’t feel her back legs. Her wings only twitched when she tried to move them.

“I love to play with my food,” he mused, and then sucked in a breath. "Oh well, break time’s over...."

It was the kind of inhalation that stole the air from her lungs in a rushing blast of sound and wind.

It was the prelude to fiery death.

Twilight closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

Heat bloomed over her back, but there was no pain--no feeling except for the gentle warmth of a fireplace on a cold winter night. She didn't feel her flesh burn away, and the smell of charred meat never filled her nose. Death never came.

“Don’t touch her!” a deep, unknown yet familiar voice rumbled, the promise of danger evident in his tone.

Twilight forced her eyes to open, trying to see through the gray haze that obscured her vision and burning it away through sheer willpower. She wavered, but managed to hang on long enough to catch a glimpse of the voice’s source. She saw shimmering purple scales, forest green crests, and green eyes burning with concern tinged with anger. The dragon reared up in challenge and loosed a stream of emerald flame, blackening the scales of her primary tormentor.

They were still for a moment, and then the duel began.

“Spike…,” she croaked, watching her little brother lay onto the red dragon with the fury of a hurricane.

It wasn’t enough. A claw tore a trio of bloody gashes across his face. The young dragon fell as his opponent stomped on his tail. Her heart thundered in her ears and darkness encroached on her vision. She felt warm somehow, almost radiant. The feeling spread through her even as everything faded to black.

So this is what it's like….

[ACTIVATING FAILSAFE]

The world went dark.

Author's Note

So, here we go! I had difficulties writing this chapter, but I think the finished product's good enough. So, tell me what you think. :pinkiesmile: