Sergeant Johnson's New Gig

Outside Sugar Cube Corner, battle raged in the streets of Ponyville. With a half-sincere nod of respect to her longtime chaotic draconequus caretaker, the entity occupying the Iron Skull had taken every liberty possible to make her vacation away from Discord as enjoyable as possible. The ants inhabiting this tiny backwater of a settlement had simply refused to let her loiter about in peace like any normal piece of decor, so now Iron spared no expense in drowning Ponyville in a mire of antics, both dangerous and ridiculous, to sate her boredom.

Iron had been enchanted in ages long past, to cast failure jinxes, forced immortality, frustration, and task repetition upon her nation's (or owner's) foes, so she detected such things automatically. The bakery the alicorn and her human and pony cohorts were approaching positively reeked of failure and task repetition.

Before her antagonists could reach it, the Iron Skull diverted a squad of soldiers to attack the establishment, just to spite them. The patrons inside were seemingly oblivious to the ruckus outside, as they were in the midst of a Pinkie Pie-scale party.

“I can't believe how long it took to clean up all that ghost goop,” Mr. Cake said, relieved.

Mrs. Cake watched as Pinkie Pie's friends and other customers took part in the festivities.

“It would have taken double the time if Pinkie hadn't been around to help, dear. That girl has almost as much energy as you, me, and the twins combined!” Mrs. Cake whispered in Mr. Cake's ear.

Her husband nodded as they both observed Pinkie Pie dancing on top of a table, wearing a crazy grin on her face. Applejack was to her right, looking up and giggling so hard that she occasionally made snorting noises. Fluttershy was standing a considerable distance away from the dancing revelers, watching Pinkie Pie and Applejack awkwardly. Rarity stood next to her, also observing the earth pony duo, with her eyebrow raised. She levitated a glass of punch beside her.

“I suppose you're right, honey,” Mr. Cake chuckled. Both of them shared a laugh. A sharp ding then issued from the kitchen.

“Ooh, I think the big cake is finished!” Cup Cake exclaimed, as she rushed in to check the ovens. Mr. Cake smiled and followed in after her. When they opened the oven, a large black puff of smoke greeted them, comically covering their faces in soot.

“What...but how?” Carrot Cake sputtered. The cake for Pinkie Pie's ongoing party now closely resembled a large lump of solid coal. “We set the timer to the correct time, didn't we, dear?”

“To the millisecond,” Cup Cake answered, absolutely flabbergasted.

“Great, now what?”

“I guess we'll just have to start over again. Quick, fetch me the eggs! I'll get ready to start some new batter.”

Carrot Cake nodded and headed towards the fridge. As he opened it, the Cakes' metal mixing bowl and the frosting mix can suddenly burst into flames. “How! Why?” Cup Cake said with alarm, reeling back and twitching her eye in disbelief.

Mr. Cake giggled nervously. “How about I just go and fetch another mixing bowl, huh?”

Back in the front room, Pinkie Pie's hyper-dancing had caught some attention. A small crowd had formed around her table, eager to see what else their host could impress them with.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie! Can you juggle?” Applejack asked, still giggling slightly.

“Are parasprites cute, deadly, and have permanently hungry tummies? That's a silly question, AJ!” Pinkie giggled. “Watch this!” She produced seven items from the air and began to juggle them with her forehooves. Rarity stepped closer, with Fluttershy following. Her face was worrisome.

“Pinkie Pie, darling....Are you quite certain you should be juggling all those things like that?”

“Don't worry, I'm a super-duper master at this! See? Tada...” Before Pinkie Pie could finish, the table collapsed beneath her, causing both her and her items to topple over. A rubber chicken, three straw dolls, an inactive bomb with messages scrawled on it, a black unicorn horn, and an ominous-looking little brown cloth sack all fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

Nearby, some customers who attempted to eat their sundaes or drink their smoothies soon discovered, much to their extreme dissatisfaction, that their glasses inexplicably slipped out of their grasps and were shattering on the floor. They were not alone; some of the other party goers also began suffering from sudden memory loss, forgetting their own favorite dance routines. The whole open floor space was soon full of confused dancers who fumbled into each other and various furniture, causing further commotion.

Frustrated mumbling began filling up the bakery, followed by alarmed gasps as the front entrance doors were rudely kicked open. Pinkie Pie was quick to notice the party's shift in tone. “Hey, what's the big idea?” she inquired, getting up and shaking wood debris off her coat like a dog.

“What in tarnation has got you all so...” Applejack stopped short when she noticed what was staring at her and the others, over at the door. “Uh-oh. Things look like they're bout' to get a little hairy!”

“Hey guys, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, those ghosties are back again,” Pinkie Pie pointed out in agitation, her ears flat. She did not appreciate buzz-kill undead coming out of their way just to crash one of her famous parties like they had a few days ago. “I don't think they brought a magical cranium with them this time.”

“That's fine, dear, just be sure to tell them to clean up after themselves this time, and don't scare away our customers!” Mrs. Cake called back from the kitchen. Mr. Cake sighed in frustration, while a new smoke cloud drifted out from their door.

The newly arrived ghosts scanned the crowd slowly. Their apparent leader, judging by his armor stature and tall elaborate helmet, drew dual wielded pistol-like weapons from his hips when the smoke cloud from the burnt cake in the kitchen drifted over to him. In gruff, thickly accented Equestrian, he shouted, “I smell failure!”

All of the ghost commander's subordinates started to mumble in both their exotic tongue and small strings of badly pronounced Equestrian. When all of them noticed Fluttershy, Crescent, Thunderlane, and other pegasi present, they too drew their hammers and ranged weapons.

“I see winged ground trotters!”

“I see dead people...”

“Equinoki!”

"I shout random words in Legendary Folk language!"

“Must defeat cloud trotters!”

“Akra! Attack!” Ghost commander barked, waving his pistols forward.

By now, Applejack and the others had finally noticed what was going on past the ghosts, in the streets outside.

“Oh my!” Rarity gasped, Fluttershy tensed up and instinctively backed away behind her.

“Girls, Ponyville's under attack!” Applejack exclaimed rapidly, giving the intruders a death glare. “Let's deal with these varmints, then find Rainbow, Twi, and that human soldier Ah've been hearin' so much about. Whatever is going down, together we'll put an end to it!” Pinkie and Rarity grunted in agreement, while Fluttershy let out an uncertain squeak.

Their ghostly foes were approaching at a slow, menacing pace, before Pinkie Pie chirped loudly, “Let's get em'!”

“Look, I think something's going down at Sugar Cube Corner already!” Twilight Sparkle said, pointing towards the bakery down the road.

“Quick, we better hurry up and get in there, before more of Bonehead's squads follow us,” Johnson replied, holding Twilight’s experimental rifle in the air, barrel up. His most recent hostile lay in both a thick puddle and smoking crater beside him. It would seem not even the ghost of a long-dead dragon warrior was any match for a determined legendary marine and his faithful blunderbuss, of which was currently secured to said marine's back once again.

The market plaza they were in, the one in front of the Corner, was currently clear of active ghosts now, but also empty of any bystanders or town defenders, whom were currently occupied in other neighborhoods and districts. Ectoplasm pools and random abandoned weapons lay scattered about the cobblestone and grass, all indicators of the Iron entity’s implied martial incompetence, as well as her chaotic nature as one of Discord's prized possessions.

Rainwater was already beginning to wash the ectoplasmic goop away into the drainage grates along the streets.

“Applejack is tough, she and the others can take care of whatever skull-ghosts that are dumb enough to attack Sugar Cube Corner a second time.” Rainbow Dash declared. She finished pummeling the ghost she had a grip on with her hooves. The armored humanoid fell limp, then disintegrated. “Let's go!”

The trio sprinted towards the bakery, with Rainbow and Johnson carefully scanning the alleyways between the houses and shops for ghosts or ponies. They spotted a few brawls here and there, whose outcomes were not seen.

Upon reaching the entrance, Twilight and Johnson had to dodge out of the way, as the serene-looking pink-painted door burst open without warning.

“Incoming!” Twilight cried out.

“What the fudge!” Johnson exclaimed.

One of the spectral fiends went flying out the threshold, coming to a solid stop as they collided loudly with a row of metal trashcans. “...rosebud...” the transparent soldier murmured, before going limp and dissolving.

“THAT'LL TEACH YA!” a rurally-accented voice shouted.

“Applejack,” Rainbow Dash explained, beaming as her friend appeared at the doorway. Pinkie Pie and the others were close behind her. “Johnson, meet Applejack. AJ, meet Johnson.”

Applejack glared intensely for a moment at the row of trashcans. Her and the rest of the girls were covered in ghost ectoplasm, and AJ's mane had come untied. Her glare melted into a huge grin when she turned her gaze to the human. “Well howdy, Sergeant Major!”

She sounds like friggin Stacker, Johnson thought. He gave her a quick wave. “A pleasure to be of your acquaintance, ma'am. Hey Pinkie!”

“Hi Johnson!” Pinkie Pie answered back sweetly.

“Ditto.” Applejack said. “Hey Johnson, lemme introduce ya to...”

“Not to be rude, everypony, but we'll have to save the introductions for later,” Twilight interjected urgently. She pointed to something in the plaza, then prodded the satchel of grenades at her side. “We've got company!”

A large lance of around fourteen ghosts were jogging in a triangle pattern, moving up the plaza and heading straight towards them.

“Oh no, not again.” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Covering fire!” Johnson declared. “If you're gonna fight, get a position, if not, take cover inside pronto!” He opened up with the Mark I. A single round impacted a ghost at the head of the group, dropping them instantly. “Hey, bastards, I got each of you a lead-flavored ticket straight back to...wherever your people go when they die.”

A follow up shot effortlessly put another of the specters down for the count. The others started murmuring in anger, as they took cover from the Sergeant Major's attack. They were now suppressed.

“Twilight, conjure up some of yer fancy magical shields, Ah think a few of these rascals have got themselves some kind of newfangled firearm I ain't ever seen before!”

“Good thinking,” Twilight agreed. The alicorn fired up her horn, while Fluttershy shook nervously next to Pinkie Pie. “Hmm, now I saw this arrangement in an ancient Unicornian battle-tactics manual. Here goes...”

Twilight continued to prepare her shields, while Pinkie Pie flashed the still whimpering Fluttershy a reassuring grin. She then pulled two old Royal Army combat helmets out and put one on each of their heads. Both were identical, made of the silvery metal called mithril, and topped with blue corinthian plumes. Fluttershy's plume and helm overall was in fair condition, but Pinkie Pie's plume was ragged, and the metal left unpolished. The head gear dinged quietly as the heavy raindrops above impacted their tops. While Twilight’s shields cropped up in tactically prudent positions, Rarity's mane was being laid siege to by the armies of pouring rain.

She donned a third helmet from Pinkie Pie after some encouragement from the latter that one cannot have super-duper fun, when their hair and mane is wet and they're super-duper miserable.

Pulling grenades out of her satchel bag, Twilight distributed them to everyone. “Those ghosts are taking cover in clusters, like over at that house. These creations of mine should clear them out.”

“So...we...we have to toss bombs at living creatures, now?” Fluttershy ask, not savoring the thought in even the tiniest bit as she cautiously held the explosive in her hoof.

“Eeyup.” Sergeant Johnson replied.

“If it's of any consolation, Flutters, these are ghosts. They're not alive. Not only that, they're evil ghosts, attacking our homes. Try to think of them as you would Changelings, if ya have to.” Rainbow Dash instructed.

“That's more than enough for me!” Applejack said.

“Yea verily!” Pinkie Pie agreed.

“Okay everyone, get ready to toss on my...” Twilight began.

“No time, darling! Abrakasomething!” Rarity cried out suddenly as she primed, then telekinetically blind-threw her own grenade out from cover.

With a sharp bang, the magma grenade detonated, spewing white-hot lava out in a designated radius. It melted a massive portion of a water tower's wooden base, causing it to collapse towards a nearby house. It collided with the side, tearing down a wall on the second floor and revealing the inside, while destroying all the ghosts that had been caught in the falling rubble and water below.

A pony had been casually bathing in his tub, until he realized that his exterior wall had been forcefully transformed into a massive window. “What the hell!” the bather shouted.

“...signal.” Twilight finished, with her mouth agape. "Sorry up there!"

“Ooh, I wanna try too!” Pinkie Pie got excited, tossing her grenade as another group of ghosts began to advance again. “Everypony duck!”

“No! Pinkie Pie, please wait for my signal...”

Almost all of them were obliterated, the few stragglers sprinting back to cover, farther away. Twilight sighed, and gave Johnson a hopeless look. He chuckled and shrug apologetically. “Greenhorns' energy. You could power a starship with it.” he remarked.

“You know what? Just go ahead and toss em' all, you guys. Try not to burn down a building, or me and Mayor Mare will have to have a longer chat when this is all over as it is.” The princess deadpanned.

“Ah yeah, hotsy-totsy!” Rainbow exclaimed with pseudo-psychotic glee.

All remaining grenades left their positions at the entrance of Sugar Cube Corner. Each one detonated near a group of hapless ghosts. After the grenade barrage, the entire lance of soldiers were now nothing more than glowing green goop, slowly being swept into the sewer system.

Avery Johnson was beginning to feel pumped, like on the fateful day he was the first human to kill a member of the Covenant above Harvest. “Girls, if you were human, there would be a place of honor for each of ya within my Beloved Corps. If it weren't for Discord's skulls, I don't see how you'd be needing me around here. You may or may not have the discipline, or the training of a soldier at the moment, but ya definitely have the hearts of heroes!”

Suddenly, without any warning, lightning struck nearby and Iron cackled like a madwoman. Her skull icon flashed in the periphery of Johnson’s vision. It was accompanied this time by the magically conjured words: Checkpoint...done.

“Heroes indeed, heroes indeed!” she laughed again. “It's so easy, isn't it? How you cut through my battalions like a scythe through wheat.”

Rainbow took flight and searched the stormy sky frantically. “Show yourself, Bonehead! We can take anything you throw at us! Just stop wasting everyone's time and surrender already.” Lightning increased in intensity as the pegasus uttered her taunt to the storm.

“Where's the fun in that?” Iron challenged. “Prepare for more of my soldiers! Behold, a boon for making it this far.” A dozen sleek, advanced-looking energy rifles resembling the style of weaponry the ghosts wielded fell from the sky and landed within reach of the group. Curiously, all of them were surprisingly solid, and not ethereal or transparent like their counterparts.

Upon a brief inspection, Applejack discovered that bundles of small, glowing cylinders had fallen with them, likely ammunition of some kind.

“Princess Twilight!” A voice urgently called out from an adjacent street. “Princess Twilight!” It was a contingent of Twilight’s Royal Guards. “We've cleared our assigned district of any and all hostile ghosts, Your Highness,” The squad's leader explained. “With no no civilians to evacuate, we decided to report to your side, at once!”

“Good timing.” Twilight responded, with relief. “Get your marksman in position, and have your spell casters create more barriers like mine.” The rubble from the collapsed water tower had formed  extra cover further out in the plaza. Twilight's guards immediately got to work fortifying it for a prolonged attack, erecting shields and digging in.

“Rise my army! Rise and crush the winged ground trotters, and any who support them!” The Iron Skull laughed once more, then her presence faded away back into the storm from whence it came.

“More ghosts, coming in from the forward alleyways. We got what look like marksman up on some balconies...I got em!”

A trio of rifle-wielding humanoids on the balconies fired plasma bolts down at them, but the storm stifled their aiming severely. Three rifle shots from the Mark I later, and the balconies were clear. “Goddamn amateurs.”

Twilight lauded Johnson's accuracy, then seized the momentary peace the marine officer had bought by issuing orders to her friends. “Fluttershy, keep inside the bakery, make sure everyone in there stays calm and doesn't try to run out.”

“Oh my, right away!”

“Rainbow, I need you to mount the roof of Sugar Cube Corner and be our spotter. If you can fire that thing, pick a couple off if possible, too.”

“On it, Twi!”

“AJ, I want you and Johnson to join my guards up there, hold the plaza.”

“You got it, Princess,” Johnson nodded.

“What about you and Rarity?” Applejack inquired, worried.

Before Twilight could answer, Rarity was already following the young alicorn's train of thought. “These look like some kind of ray gun energy weapons from those sci-fi movies Spike talks about sometimes, darling. Why, I'd wager that with a sufficient addition of magical energy, we could potentially double the damage output of these barbaric instruments of warfare!”

“Exactly!” Twilight agreed, smiling. “So, what do you think?”

AJ had arose onto her hind legs, and had one of the rifles held in her hooves. She cocked a mechanism on the rifle's side. “Well, Ah'd reckon we'll be swimming in a sea of ectoplasm, then. Let's go, Sergeant Major, if you'd be so kind.”

“Right behind ya.”

Her tilted posture confused Johnson greatly. Out of the corner of his eye, she looked almost identical to a Kig-Yar marksman, without their shield gauntlets. That same awkward crouch-stance, the distance from the chest to the rifle, the tilt of Applejack's head, it positively screamed jackal.

Fortunately for Johnson's sense of ease, Kig-Yar did not have vibrant coats of fur, their hind legs didn't end in hooves, nor had any Johnson encountered, ever sound like a female version of Marcus Stacker. He sighed, lit a Sweet William under the shelter of his hat, then hurried after the golden earth pony.

“Hey! What about me?”  Pinkie Pie asked, upset that she had not been given a task like the others.

Twilight had to pause and think for a moment. “I...suppose you could join Johnson and Applejack out there in the plaza, me and Rarity aren't leaving the stoop, here. We need to stay and focus our magic.

“Okay!” Pinkie chirped, darting over next to Johnson, who tilted away from her for a second in surprise.

“Man, it's gonna take ages getting used to that,' he said. “Hey Pinkie Pie, how in the heck is Applejack able to be using that rifle? Your guys' own hoof-operated rifles and muskets already seem a bit too fantastic to believe.”

Pinkie Pie paused, looked over at AJ, who was watching the alleyways, then look conspiratorially back at Johnson. She held out her forehooves, grinned, then sprouted four stubby pink digits out of them. The Sergeant Major stared at her, positively slack-jawed.

The human's expression remained as the fragile-looking fingers disappeared back into Pinkie Pie's hooves, a term Johnson was now not entirely sure was one hundred percent accurate to describe the equinoid alien's appendages.

“Retractable fingers, silly. They're an ancient earth pony secret! A lot of ponies don't even realize we have em'.” Pinkie Pie explained with an excited whisper, giggling. The strange duo then linked up with Applejack.

From his new vantage point, Sergeant Johnson could now make out in full, the size of the ghost attack force Iron had just sent against them. "Lord have mercy." There must have been at least two hundred in the small space of both the alleyways, and the main street. They were forming into rows, likely readying to commence some kind of wave-based offensive.

While Pinkie Pie enthusiastically gave some of the energy rifles to the various guards, telling them jokingly that they were now in the middle of a real-life science fiction film, Applejack and Johnson got into comfortable positions. Twilight and Rarity succeeded in amplifying their magics, and Rainbow Dash provided valuable tips and cover from up high. Inside the bakery, Fluttershy even managed to convince the unicorns near her to lend their own energy in to help Twilight.

With this potent combination, the waves of ghost attackers in the plaza didn't stand a chance. In just a few short minutes, everyone was already gathered out in the middle of the plaza, cheering and wiping an ocean's worth of glowing ghost goo out of their armor and fur, the rain being an ally in that endeavor.

After everyone had taken several moments to catch a breather, converse, and either stow or finally get used to their strange new weapons, Rainbow Dash looked approvingly around, then nodded at Johnson. “Alright, everypony’s together, and we've taken care of Iron's hordes of ghost losers in this area. Now it’s time to get the heck over to Sweet Apple Acres, and make sure there aren't any brush fires out in the boondocks from all this lightning!"

“You’re tellin’ me!” Applejack exclaimed, positioning herself closest to the door. “Who knows what those ghosts might be doing to mah orchards, and also the lightning! We need to clean out every part of town before they cause anymore damage than they already have!” She watched as distant fights continued on between guards, armed citizens, and ghost soldiers several blocks away.

“And make the streets safe again, so nopony else can get hurt,” Fluttershy added with a gentle murmur.

“Great plan, wipe all these dumb undead bugs right off the map for good!” Johnson agreed. “After you, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight nodded. However, she then oddly remained in place. Instead of leading everyone to rejoin the fight for the rest of Ponyville, she turned towards Rainbow Dash, and stared at her with a weird, expressionless face.

Rainbow returned her gaze with bemusement.

“What are you doing, Twi?”

Everyone else nonchalantly stood idle and fiddled with their possessions, while facing the direction of Sweet Apple Acres and awaiting Twilight’s move. Rarity levitated her firearm at her side, and fussed over her rain-soaked coat, while Fluttershy stood awkwardly and started whistling a familiar melody. Twilight however, did not respond to Dash, and just kept staring.

"..."

Rainbow Dash blinked at her. “Hey, do you have a pair of socks I can borrow?”

"…"

She stared at Fluttershy, who started back wide-eyed. “Umm....uh, it's not that I'm too afraid or anything...it's just if I chase a ghost, then I catch it, and then I don't know what to do....eek! Ghosts!" the pegasus buried her face behind her mane.

“...”

Twilight then turned and stared at Applejack with the same expression. AJ looked annoyed. “Dear diary...creepy Twilicorn is starin’ at me again,” she muttered. “Let's jus' go.”

Twilight smiled pleasantly, seemingly back to normal. “Okay...after you, AJ!”

“The ponies in this town must be real crazy sometimes.” Johnson muttered, as he and the others followed Applejack over to Sweet Apple Acres.

Pinkie Pie nudged him as they went along. “You don't know the half of it,” she whispered. “I swear, that gray pony who stands on the marble block near town hall all day has it out for me! Always staring and standing still whenever I'm around trying to say hi...”

While the denizens of Ponyville fought against the latest bout of Discord’s pesky pernicious skulls, perhaps the most dangerous of them yet, one of the area’s more reclusive residents watched the raging storm clouds the entity named Iron had summoned to aid in her arena-based chaos scheme. She did so with a more far more subdued composure than her vibrantly-coated counterparts outside the reaches of the sprawling forest would have.

Rainwater from the dense forest canopy drizzled down and formed a mist around her black and white mo-hawked-mane. The liquid left the fine hair wet and glistening as she stood on the damp ground, ground that threatened to turn to a sodden muck the further one ventured from her forest hut.

Zecora was not usually known for outward displays of celebration, quite unlike the pink-furred pony back in town she happened to know. However, Zecora was aware of what the raging storm meant for Ponyville. And witnessing the rapidly moving slivers of steel-gray sky that could be seen through breaks in the trees, would normally be enough to keep a placid expression on her face, were it not for the unwelcome pair of guests the zebra had standing in her yard before her. Her intense, cyan-blue eyes narrowed as she returned her attention to them from the roaring skies and waterfall-esque tree limbs above.

“Well, West Islander, are you willing to do this service for Caesar or aren’t you? Roam rewards those who serve her quite generously,” One of the two strangers declared, growing impatient the more the rain soaked through her cloak and cowl. The loose black linen garment concealed herself and her colleague’s identities well, but it incidentally did little to hold back the torrential rain of the Everfree.

“It also so happens, that the Empire frowns heavily upon zebras who would choose foreigners, Equestrians, before their own kind. You can either help us and fulfill your duty to your Caesar in the process, or bring trouble down upon not only yourself, but also the entire town of Ponyville in the near future,” The other, a male, added with a hint of venom in his voice. “That is, assuming those infernal apparitions haven't destroyed it already.

Here now, were two Roamans, not only intruding onto her property and demanding her service without even the slightest effort of a polite greeting, but whom also went so far as to threaten her and those she cared for? Zecora would not have it, not even in the slightest. Her voice came out low and dangerous, and her muzzle pulled into a displeased frown, one even more bitter than the last. “Beware, agents of Caesar. Beware!”

Zecora pointed a hoof at them both. “Obedience and service you shall never receive from me. Not even for your greatest fee!”

At this point the herbalist had taken a step forward, causing the pair of Roaman agents to instinctively retreat a few paces back, leaving their jagged hoofprints in the mud. The cloaked mare slowly reached for the circular grip of the gladius at her side hidden under the cloak, anticipating a fight.

“Never again dare to appear in my sight, or else you’d better prepare for a fight! Now begone, agents of Caesar. Leave now, with your talk of empty threats and daggers in the dark. Leave this forest, lest its beasts leave upon you, their ghastly mark.”

The Roamans shot the lone herbalist the nastiest sneers they could muster, before darting away towards the rainy mist and green of the surrounding overgrowth. “With haste, sister!” The stallion urged, taking the lead. “Let us be off to the port at Baltimare. When the embassy there closes soon, all the triremes will leave for home. If we’re not present in time, we’ll be stuck here in this land of barbarians and rampaging spirits!”

“Coming brother! Gods curse these unfaithful Islanders...” The zebra mare growled before she too vanished into the thicket.

Zecora shook her head in contempt and surveyed her property to ensure it was truly clear, then she disappeared into the candlelight glow of her tree hut’s interior. “Never before, have spies come knocking at my door.” She said, now sitting and perusing over the many recipes of one of her alchemical volumes. “Clearly things in Roam have gone must sour, for that duo was most dour.” Zecora tossed some ingredients into a potion she was concocting. Each one hissed, smoked, and popped as they made contact with the brew. “I must warn Princess Twilight of these rogue zebra folk at the earliest hour!”

A final toss of ingredients into the mixing cauldron produced a large, ominous green cloud. Zecora peered into the churning cloud’s contents, and what she saw struck her with much discomfort. Ghostly green wisps coalesced into the form of a primate’s skull, clutched by an imposing silhouette of a cackling serpentine being with mismatched chimerical limbs.

It was a quite horrifying rendition of the Chaos God himself.

“Be these portents of Discord, that I see?” Zecora exclaimed. “Indeed, my eyes do not betray me!” She felt her body tense, and her every hair stood alert.  Zecora’s voice dropped low and uneasy, as she watched the vapors of the cloud dissipate harmlessly back into the air. “Things grow ever stranger. Clearly, Ponyville and this world are in grave danger.”

Upon arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack rushed up ahead of the group, eager to get to the house and check up on the rest of her family.

As expected, the orchards in the surrounding valley were indeed on the target list of what remained of Iron's ghost army. Scores of the phantom soldiers were running amidst the trees, knocking down apples from the branches with their hammers and stealing them. Only two squads of the Ponyville town guard were present to stop the ghosts, and they were hopeless to stop them all. There simply wasn't enough bullets, unicorns, and black powder between them to do it.

Twilight, Johnson and company instinctively rushed over to lend some assistance to their guard comrades. Before they could reach them, loud, thundering footsteps shook the ground and caused them all to grind to a halt. Each step was enough to cause each of them to bounce a few inches off the ground.

"Uhh..,guys...Johnson?"

"Yeah, Rainbow?"

"Don't those type of steps sound...familiar? Remember, back on the mountaintop?

Johnson and the others all turned slowly around.

"Ah...fudge"