Flying into town wasn't a very long flight, in fact, it was quite the opposite. This was primarily due to the occasional scare I would pull on unsuspecting ponies as I flew. As I circled Ponyville Townhall, I noticed that the sun had barely started making it's decent to make way for the beautiful night Luna had planned for this particular night. However, I couldn't help but notice how still the air felt... how the wind died to an eerie stillness, how the birds ceased their singing, and how even the insects ceased to chirp. Something wasn't right, and it sent a very icy chill down my spine. Luna did a damn god job at setting Nightmare Night up this year.

Upon landing next to the Princesses and the Mayor, I couldn't help but notice that something was definitely wrong. The three Alicorns and Earth Pony stood around a young Unicorn mare, her silky white fur, and fuchsia colored mane and tail were stained dark red from the blood covering her. A large cut was obvious on her forehead, just under her cracked horn. She was gasping for breath, her legs visibly shaking as if she had run for her dear life. Princess Celestia was already speaking when I got close enough to hear them. "What do you mean by mechanized monsters, my dear? Please tell us what you remember."

The mare's voice was weak; sad, and broken. Tears ran down her face as she recalled what had transpired. "It happened so fast. S-so many died, Manestown was burning when I ran. I... I don't know if any others survived."

Luna stepped up and spoke as calmly as she could a hint of worry and the slight sound of fear in her voice. "But what about these machines that you talked about? Aurora, whatever you can tell us will help protect the other towns."

"They were huge... larger than any animal I have ever seen. Bodies the size of a large elephant, menacing red eyes, bolts of fire shooting from their mouths."

"The Behemoths," I said under my breath. By the Gods, what have the Minotaurs done?

Aurora's head turned towards Celestia as more tears formed in her eyes, flinching when some of Twilight's medics started treating the mares wounds. "Please... I... *gasp* I don't wanna die! My foals... my herd needs me. I... I lo... love... th-" The rest of her words fell silent as her eyes closed and her body went limp. A single tear fell off her cheek and silently landed on the ground. Luna shook and started sobbing as a medic felt the mare for a pulse, slowly shaking her head as she covered the mare with a white sheet. I turned away and called one of the Thestral Guards that stood nearby.

"Find Princess Ruby and bring her here, after that, send Midnight and her best scouts to Manestown, if there are any signs of hostiles then return immediately. Am I understood?" The guard saluted and nodded in acknowledgment before galloping away. Turning back to the Princesses I prepared myself for what was sure to come next. "Your Highnesses, given the situation I highly suggest that we consider evacuating Ponyville and getting you someplace safe." Six sets of eyes were on me as I took a seat next to Aurora's body. "This mare speaks of The Behemoths, a terrible weapon developed by the Minotaurs. So terrible that my ancestors ordered their destruction after the Empire conquered the Minotaur Capital. The armor is virtually indestructible, and the armor is heavy enough to survive dragon fire. If they show up here, it will be a losing battle. Once the scouts return we can plan a course of action." At this time a particularly large crowd had formed around us, worried murmurs and opinions echoing throughout. Ruby had since made her way back to her Luna's side, shaking under one of her mother's wings as she stared at the bloodied sheet.

The princesses turned to each other and nodded in silent agreement, however, my gut told me this night wasn't going to end without more bloodshed. My feelings became more solidified when the sounds of galloping hoof steps and flapping wings sounded behind the crowd. Royal guards moved to create a lane for the scouts and Midnight as they came to the town hall. Gasps could be heard as the Ponyvillians noticed the shape the scouts came in. Fewer numbers and almost every single one was either burned or wounded. Midnight landed next to me, earning a worried look from Ruby, and proceeded to report what had happened.

She was one of the worst looking of the scouts; hair disheveled and matted to her forehead, her armor had visible scorch marks and burns littered all over. What really caught my eye was the cut that ran along the left side of her armor, deep enough that it pierced the armor and left one of her wings torn. Blood from an unseen injury on her head had run into her right eye. She spoke sporadically, her lungs unable to keep up the required oxygen needed to breathe and talk at the same time. "We got ambushed. Three dead. Rest of us escaped." She paused to take a few deep breaths in before continuing, "Sir, there are four machines heading this way, along with a small group of warriors." She looked at me straight in the eyes and I saw a great fear in them. "They bare the mark of the Enclave!"

Ruby's ears perked at the name, "Who's the Enclave? I've never heard of that faction before."

Twilight stepped forward and spoke up, "The Enclave was a radical group of idealists. They sought to cleanse the world of those they deemed tainted by 'lesser species,' and were seeking a world ruled only by Ponies. This often lead to the destruction of entire villages, and one known mass extinction. Thestrals, Zebras, Dragons, Griffons, Minotaurs, Humans, even Changelings, are just a few examples. I thought the Enclave was disbanded centuries ago, after the raid on their headquarters in Zebrafica."

"It seems not all of them was willing to surrender. If the Enclave still lives, then we must hurry with the evacuation and save as many lives as possible and figure out how they gained Minotaur tech." Nods of acknowledgment were all the support I needed, "Midnight, you and a small squad need to stay by the princesses side... protect them at all cost."

"But, Mast- er, Legionnaire, I can still fight!" She looked at me with a pleading look in her eyes, but I shook my head as I lowered to her level.

"I understand your eagerness, Midnight, but you and your scouts are in no condition to do anything else other than help with the evacuation and protect the princesses. I need you to be there for Ruby and Luna." I turned towards Twilight, "Princess Twilight, how many guards do you have stationed here?"

"Fifty altogether, I sent twenty with my friends to start evacuating Ponyville and to open the underground passage to Canterlot." I gave a nod and turned to Luna. We only made brief eye contact, but everything we needed to say was silently spoken, along with a hug from Ruby. "Don't worry, I'll be alright. The rest of you, move towards the northern fields, we'll distract them for as long as we can before we escape."

The northern field shone brightly under Luna's moonlight, the full moon acting as our personal sun as we awaited the approaching threat. The guards lined up behind me in their traditional phalanx formation; fifteen Earth Ponies formed the main body of the phalanx, protecting five Unicorns dedicated to keeping telepathic communications, medical, and arcane bolt support, the rest were a mix of Pegasi and Thestrals ready to take the fight to the air with me. As the sound of the approaching Behemoths grew louder, we began to feel the ground beneath us start to shake. I turned back to look at the stallions and mares, seeing a mask of determination over their fear. A Thestral spoke beside me as we prepared to attack.

"What's the plan, Sir?" I recognized her as Eclipse, a young sergeant who had lots of potential within her.

"All we need to do is buy enough time for Ponyville to be evacuated, so I don't want any lone wolf heroics. before they clear the treeline I will use my Dragonfire to slow them down. Flight Squadron and I will then focus on keeping the Behemoth's attention off the phalanx. With luck, we can slow their progress down enough for the Archmages to fire several spells to dwindle their numbers. Once we hear the sound of the bell ringing in Ponyville, we make our retreat. Guards, it's been an honor serving you, and for those that don't make it; the Gods will welcome you back home." A loud cheer rang out in the night sky as the guards raised their spears.

"EQUESTRIA! EQUESTRIA! EQUESTRIA!" The guards shout over and over as I took off in night sky towards the trees. As I neared the treeline and prepared to spew my flame on the ground, a Behemoth stepped out of the forest and into my flight path. With nothing else to do, I let my Dragonfire free towards the head of the beastly machine, its armor immediately glowing red hot from the heat. The ground around and underneath instantly began to burn as my flame covered the ground and incinerating anything unlucky enough to be in its path. Two more Behemoths emerged from the foliage as I flew back to meet with Flight Squadron, the unmistakable sound of cross bolts and arrows screaming in the air as we dodged what we could.

Suddenly there was a thunderous boom and a bright red arcane bolt flew past me, just missing us by inches. The bolt, although missed us, it passed close enough to tell me that the heat on my scales wasn't from the moon, that explains how Manesville was burned. As we flew, the Thestrals and Pegasi fired their mounted crossbows at any target they could, then that's when a voice screamed out in our minds.

"Legionnaire, you have incoming pegasi from the west."

Eclipses voice rang out next, "I see them, Hawk, you and Twitch make your run. I'll cover for you."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Star, you got one on your tail!"

"I can't Shake him!" I scanned the air after making another pass of Dragonfire on the ground, the behemoths moved forward without stopping, quickly clearing the flames. My eyes caught sight of what must have been Star trying to lose an Enclave Pegasus. Bright red arcane bolts flew past us and even came from the weapons the pegasi were using. I sped towards his direction hoping that I'd get there in time.

"Star, head East, I'm on my way."

"Yes, Sir!" His voice sounded panicked, I needed to hurry. My claws readied themselves as I passed Star, tackling the Enclave Pegasus in the air. The menacing eyes on the mask the pegasus wore stared deep into my soul as I fought with him to disable his weapon. As we fought in the air, one of my claws tore his mask off his face. The Enclaver screamed in pain as his hooves work to cover his face, forgetting to keep his wings flapping and falling to the flames below. After watching the pegasus get consumed by flames, I turned back to the battle and listened to the voices of my guards.

"Hawk, you're too close to the machines, get out of there!"

"I would, but I'm getting caught in the crossfire."

"Swing by the front, Hawk, I'll pick you up." Eclipse's voice called out.

"Don't worry about me, I managed to get an arc caster and am gonna slam dunk it in one of the machines."

I let my opinion heard as I sped towards Hawk's location. "I don't like your tone, Hawk."

"Then you're not gonna like this, Sir. YEAAAARGH!" Immediately after, one of the Behemoths started to blow up from the inside. Starting from the head of the machine and making its way back. Fire and smoke billowed from the machine in heavy torrents as it started to fall to the ground. The sound of bells started to ring from Ponyville, causing us to take our attention away from what had happened.

"Fall back! Fall back!" I called out, making sure the survivors started flying or galloping back to Ponyville. Arcane bolts from the Behemoths started firing at anything that moved, the phalanx broke apart after a bolt took out part of their left flank. The crystal castle came into view, along with its open doors ready to receive us. Upon entering the town I felt a solid thud hit one of my wings, causing my flight path to lurch. Even though my wing was screaming for me to land, but I needed to make sure the survivors made it. Waiting at the door I took count of how many survived and how many I needed to pick up. The last guard came into the castle panting heavily and gave me a final count; seventeen dead, and fourteen survived. Before I turned for the escape tunnel, I turned towards the northern part of town in time to see the Behemoths firing upon the houses, setting fire to Ponyvile.

Author's Note

Sorry about the wait, but here's the next chapter. Hopefully, the longer chapter works as a solution. Pretty obvious that I've been watching Star Wars a lot recently. Look forward to the next chapter; The Enclave has become a threat and it's up to our heroes to find out why.