Ballad for the Medicpony

Chapters

Welcome to the Warzone
Combining Strength
War Council
Infiltration Goes BOOM
In a Column of Fire

Welcome to the Warzone

Author's Note

This story is dedicated to the memory of all those who have died in the wars, and in honor of all those who have survived and live to tell their tales.

Welcome to the Warzone

Pinkie Pie looked out the window. "Are we there yet?"

Twilight sighed. They'd only been in the air for a few hours, but Pinkie was not a pony who enjoyed just sitting around and waiting. From her own seat behind the pilot, Twilight could see through the windscreen of the airship Celestia had given them. Down below, the landscape zoomed past, plants and rocks appearing blurred as they sped by. Sitting behind her were Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, as well as a whole company of ponies from the Canterlot Royal Guards, as well as several dozen from the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia, along with Luna and Cadance, had dispatched these soldiers to join the Equestrian Army on the border of the San Palomino desert, where a war was going on.

Just a few weeks earlier, a number of objects had been shot over the Macintosh Hills into Equestria, landing in the barren areas surrounding the western town of Appleloosa and exploding destructively upon landing. A quick letter to Canterlot alerted the Princesses of the possibility that some new foe has arrived, seeking only to terrorize the residents of Equestria. Following this event were multiple attacks on Appleloosa and Saddle Arabia, ending up all the way near Vanhoover and Manehatten. Adding to this was the discovery of who was behind the attacks: a terrorist organization made up of ponies who care not for peaceful lives, seeking only to use their energy and discoveries to threaten those who live in harmony. Upon hearing of the threat, Prince Shining Armor took command of the Equestrian Army and went down to the south to combat the terrorist ponies, but they needed reinforcements and supplies, so Twilight and her friends had offered to go with the troops to help in any way they could. Now, Twilight was beginning to regret that decision.

"We're almost there, Pinkie," she told the pink pony. "We've still got a bit left to go."

"Actually, Princess," the pilot called over his shoulder, "it's just below us."

"Really? We're here?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Cause I don't know how much longer I'll be able to sit still."

The pilot flicked on his headset microphone. "Everypony, please make sure your seatbelts are fastened. We're beginning our descent." With that, he pulled the airship into a steep but slow dive, throwing everypony back against their seats.

Rarity immediately found something to complain about. "My hair! Somepony please tell the pilot to slow down!"

"Oh Rarity," Fluttershy said calmly. Her mane was also flying behind her. "You'll be able to fix your mane when we land, won't you?"

"I guess your right," Rarity sighed. "But really, this is ridiculous. Do we have to go so fast?"

"Lighten up, Rare!" Rainbow yelled happily, enjoying every second of the descent. Her mane looked like a multicolored comet tail. "This is so cool!"

"Wheeeeeee!" shrieked Pinkie Pie, bouncing in her seat behind the restraints. "I could fly like this forever!"

"You'd best enjoy yerself while it lasts," Applejack said, "cause it's almost over."

The pilot pulled the dirigible up, slowing the dive until they were hovering mere meters above the ground. He carefully lowered the airship down until it bumped against the surface beside a pitched military base made up of several dozen tents. He cut the engines and announced, "Alright everypony, we're here. Thank you for flying with Equestria Airways. As always, please make sure your personal belongings are not left behind. If you have any questions, I will remain here for the duration of the upcoming battles. Welcome to the warzone."

"Very motivating speech," Rarity commented as she and the other mares exited the large gondola.

"Ah'm sure he didn't mean to sound that way," Applejack said, stepping off the ramp and onto firm soil. "Aah, that feels good."

"You mean the dirt?" Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk.

"Ah jus' feel more secure on the ground, that's all."

"Come on girls," Twilight said. "Let's go find Shining." The six friends left the airship behind and entered the base, followed by the Royal Guards. One look around the base told them everything: the soldiers were tired, their food and ammunition was running low, their unit leaders were falling. Twilight kept her eyes open for her brother, hoping to see him somewhere within the crowd of military ponies waiting for their orders. Finally they arrived at the command tent, where the battle plans and decisions were made. Excited and anxious, Twilight rushed into the tent only to find nopony inside. She looked around the interior of the tent, but didn't find anything aside from a couple of mattresses and a table covered with papers and maps.

Applejack and the others joined her inside. "Do you think Shining Armor was even here?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know. He's been away for so long, I just hope he's not hurt." Twilight looked at the maps laid out on the table. "Look girls, here!" She pointed out a spot on the map, where a shield and several other symbols were drawn "That's Shining's cutie mark! He must be over here somewhere!"

"But where is 'there' exactly?" Rarity wondered.

"Looks like we'll have to ask around," Applejack concluded. "In the meantime, we should probably get them supplies out. These ponies look like they could do with a good meal."

Nodding in agreement, the mares left the command tent and instructed the Royal Guards to start unloading. Some of the soldiers were so eager, they offered to help too, thus speeding the process along. When all the supplies had been unloaded, Twilight and the others started to distribute the food amongst the soldiers present. They ate with great enthusiasm, relishing in their much-anticipated provisions.

One solider, a pegasus stallion with a light tan coat, stepped forwards and greeted the new arrivals. "Thank you for coming," he said gratefully. "We sorely needed these supplies. After we lost our last commander, we were very depressed."

"It was no trouble," Twilight replied. "How's the war going?"

The pegasus frowned. "Not too well. Our enemies have firepower like nothing I've ever seen before: their carriage are made of metal, they aren't pulled by anything and seem to move around on their own accord. These vehicles have long cannons on them that fire cannonballs that explode when they land. We've also seen enemy troops holding similar but smaller cannons in their hooves. It was thanks to our commander that we discovered another weapon of theirs: exploding shells, planted in the ground, that detonate the moment somepony steps on one." He sighed. "Blade Singer didn't stand a chance. All we found was a lock of emerald green hair floating in the dust."

Twilight shivered. "Who are these ponies?" she asked. "Where did they get such weapons? Why are they attacking us?"

"Nopony knows," the pegasus replied. "They appeared out of nowhere and rain their arsenals down upon us. The Princesses formed an alliance with the griffons and the dragons so we've got a lot of help. The problem is that none of us know where to start with these explosive monsters."

Twilight looked around. Several hundreds ponies in military camouflage sat around eating and mumbling, waiting for a commander to lead them. They had been at war for several weeks now and while casualties were low, each one came as a heavy blow to some family in the land. Twilight decided the try and encourage them and climbed up onto a pile of empty crates. When they saw the alicorn princess above them, the troops immediately stood at attention, saluting smartly. Twilight paced in front of the battalion of soldiers.

"At ease, everypony," she commanded.

The troops lowered their raised hooves en masse, some of them shooting bewildered glances at each other. Their other commanders were sharp, loud and fierce, especially on the battlefield. This alicorn was calm and quiet, with a smart but kind look to her. Hopeful and eager to please her, several ponies smiled. These put Twilight and her friends at ease, knowing that these soldiers were family ponies, fighting for their children, spouses, friends and homes. "Okay, which of you is the second-in-command?" Twilight asked

A unicorn stallion stepped forwards. "Colonel Dynamo Shot, your highness," he barked.

Twilight stepped back in surprise. She hadn't expected such a loud response. "Okay colonel," she said. "Please tell us the orders you were given from Prince Shining Armor, if there were any."

"Of course, Princess." Dynamo waved to his companions and they brought out a map, a larger version of the one in the command tent. He pointed to a star on the map. "This is where we are. The Prince took a company of soldiers and went to meet up with a flock of griffon warriors. They were intending to strike at the enemy's base once they'd found it, but we haven't heard from them yet. Our orders were to wait here and keep anypony from entering Equestria. Nothing more."

"We've sat here like statues," a soldier called out, "watching the horizon until we were drowsy. Nothing happened except a drop in our supplies, which you so kindly replenished for us."

"It was out pleasure," Twilight replied. She pointed at the corner of the map, where she had seen Shining's cutie mark on the inside one. "So Shining Armor's somewhere over here?"

"Over here is pretty vague, your highness," Dynamo explained. "That's uncharted territory. Banished ponies and escapees often run to there and are never seen again. We have no idea what lies there in wait."

"So what are we waiting for?" Rainbow Dash declared. "Let's go out there and blow those bad guys sky-high!"

A few stallion nodded at her statement, but Applejack stepped in. "Recklessly throwin' ourselves into the fray is a bad idea," she pointed out. "An' besides, the Prince said the troops gotta stay here."

"But they're not doing anything!" Rainbow argued. "They could be out there, helping to win the war!"

"Not if the enemy gets in through here," Rarity objected, standing next to Applejack. The forces were beginning to divide themselves among the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Fluttershy and a group of soldiers agreed with Applejack and Rarity, saying that their place was sitting and guarding the border, while Pinkie leapt to Rainbow's side with the other ponies, arguing that Shining probably needed backup out there. Twilight just watched them all, shaking her head. This kind of fighting wasn't going to get them any closer to finding her brother OR ending the war. Just when she was about to step in and grab everypony with her magic, Twilight saw a shadow appear in the sky. As it drew nearer, she distinguished it as a griffon and when it landed on the boxes beside her, it indeed was one.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle?" the griffon asked. She had a dark-blue coat and head feathers the color of a night sky. She wore an official-looking uniform and her claws were sharp and stained.

"Yes?" Twilight replied cautiously.

The griffon held out a scroll. "The name's Zeal. I was asked by the Prince to fly here and give you this."

Twilight took the scroll in her magic and glanced at Zeal. The griffon stood at her side patiently, waiting for her to do something. Twilight looked down at her friends and the soldiers, who were about to start a hoof-wrestling match to settle the argument. So, in a loud and well-practiced Canterlot Voice, taught to her by Princess Luna, Twilight yelled, "STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!"

Rainbow Dash and Dynamo Shot looked up, as did everypony else. Then, quite ashamed, they separated and resumed their previous stances, Rainbow and her other friends standing at the sides while the troops stood together in the center. "Thank you." Twilight unrolled the scroll and read, her eyes growing larger with each line her eyes scanned.

"What's it say, Twi?" Applejack asked.

"What does the Prince want us to do?" Dynamo inquired.

"Could you please read it so we can all know?" Fluttershy said quietly. "If you're okay with it, that is...."

Looking up from the scroll, Twilight examined the ponies before her. She glanced over at Zeal, who merely nodded in agreement. With a sigh, Twilight read the scroll out loud.

"Dear Twilight

If you're reading this, chances are you've arrived at the border base and the troops have gotten the meal they deserved and enough to last them. There was a reason I had them all hang back and guard Equestria: they needed it the most. The soldiers with me agreed that the ones with you were the hardest fighters and deserved an easier job. Thank you for giving them hope.
The war isn't going too well. We've met up with the griffons and have seen the dragons doing their part, drilling along the edge of the Badlands. The enemy's weaponry is truly terrifying but our troops are strong and we haven't lost as many ponies. The price of others' hate is horrifying though.
I was actually hoping that you would join the battle with your friends. You have proven yourself to Equestria may times in the past and have inspired others to work harder to protect the ones they love. If you were to lead them, the spirits of our forces would be lifted, everypony will be overcome by hope and the chances of our ending this war will be far higher.
If you agree to this, write your reply and give it to Zeal. She will then take it to another base a few miles away, hidden in the cliffs. You will then take half the soldiers at the border base, leaving the other half to defend, and join the troops in the second base, taking command of them and increasing your force. Choose which ponies will fight under your friends. I know Rainbow Dash would be a good choice for aerial commander and Fluttershy would do better sending out medics and guiding the other teams. Also, take the airship. It's loaded with the newest weaponry from the Canterlot armories, even some prototype cannons.

Good luck and I hope to see you soon
Shining Armor.

Twilight rolled up the scroll. Some of the ponies before her now looked apprehensive. Twilight knew that they were the ones who should be left behind. "Dynamo," she said quietly. "I want you to take command of these ponies—" She pointed out the uneasy-looking soldiers, "—and stay here on the border. You've got the supplies. Guard our homeland."

Dynamo saluted, a relaxed smile on his face. "At once, Princess. Thank you." He trotted over to the soldiers and led the platoon away, every one of them looking content.

Twilight addressed the remaining soldiers. "You will all be joining us on our mission to the cliff base," she told them. "We'll divide you into teams on the way. Now go pack your things. We leave in ten minutes."

"Yes, your highness!" the soldiers replied, and all ran off to their tents.

Rarity and the others approached Twilight as she wrote down her reply on a separate parchment. "Are we really going to war?" Rarity asked worriedly.

Twilight gave the sealed scroll to Zeal, who nodded once more and flew off into the distance. "I'm afraid so. Shiny's right: we have inspired ponies to do better. Everything we've done has taught others how they can be better at what they're good at. If we did go into battle, everypony and everybody would be motivated and energized, the will to win made stronger within them all." She looked around at her friends, who all smiled at her in agreement. "I just hope we're not making a mistake by agreeing to this."

'Shoot, no," Applejack dismissed. "We're all in this together, no matter what we're going up against."

"We'll fight 'em and beat 'em!" Rainbow yelled.

"A war's no party," Pinkie said seriously, "but that doesn't mean I won't be able to make the most of it."

"I suppose we're doing the right thing," Rarity agreed.

"And we'll be protecting everypony and all who live in Equestria by doing so," Fluttershy finished. "Even if it will be a bit scary."

Twilight smiled happily. Her friends were without a doubt the best companions a pony could ask for. "Well girls," she said, new and old feelings erupting inside her, "we'd best get ready too. We've got a long journey ahead of us and I don't want to go into battle unprepared like we have before."

Combining Strength

The Friendship Battalion moved forwards, covering the land like a patch of rainbow Poison Joke. On the front, Twilight walked with a number of unicorns, Equestrian standards raised over there heads. Behind them, Applejack marched with a squad of Earth ponies while Pinkie hopped alongside them with her own team, light weapons trailing behind them. Rarity took up the rear, carefully watching the surrounding areas with her own hoof-picked battle-mates. Above them, Rainbow Dash flew with the pegasi, trying to keep together while directly behind them, the airship hovered steadily along, Fluttershy with the medics, aids and supplies safely inside.

After giving a few last-minute objectives to Dynamo Shot at the border base, Twilight and her company left the edge of their homeland and made their way towards a line of cliffs ringing the battlefield, where they were to find the rest of the Equestrian military. Now, with their destination in sight, they all began to wonder exactly what awaited them on the battlefield.

"I haven't been in too many battles," admitted a unicorn guard from Canterlot. "I was in the changeling invasion, but I was taken out good and quick. You though, you and the other Bearers battered them left and right. You were amazing."

"Thank you," Twilight replied. "I'm glad you're here. You must know quite a bit about combat."

"Just enough to know how not to die," he said.

Rainbow Dash flew down from her formation. "Cliffs are right up ahead, Twi."

"Great. Let's get right on over and see who's there." She turned around to her friends and troops. "Attention, everypony! We'll be picking up the pace a bit so we can get to the base a little earlier. Let's trot!"

The ponies cheered and put on a burst of speed to comply with Twilight's wishes. Grateful for her longer legs, Twilight sped alongside her companions. One of the stallions allowed Rarity onto his back so that she could stay with them, as she had been falling behind. Applejack and Pinkie had no trouble keeping up. Rainbow Dash flew to the front of her squad and led them forward, Fluttershy and her crew aboard the airship close behind.

Within minutes, the ponies had their first glimpse of the cliff base. It was built into a huge wall of rock with small holes pockmarking it. Upon the stone face of the cliff they could see colorful specks: ponies who were on guard duty.

"All right, troops!" Twilight called. "We're almost there. Just a bit further and—"

BOOM!!!!

An earthshaking crash cut off her words. A pillar of fire exploded in front of the Friendship Battalion, spitting rocks and debris everywhere. Twilight opened her wings and flapped them in an attempt to blow the fire away from her troops. Rainbow Dash and a number of her pegasi flew in and, with a few spins, killed the fire.

But by then it was too late. From over the nearby hills, huge metal machines rolled into view, bearing long cannons on their tops. Ponies in tattered outfits mounted these machines. One pointed at the Battalion and yelled, "Let's get 'em!"

At once, there were five loud bangs and five large projectiles flew out of the cannons towards Twilight and the others. Twilight quickly lit her horn and threw up a shield, deflecting one of the projectiles. Further along, the other unicorns were doing the same, employing force-fields to protect their comrades.

More bangs issued from the vehicles and more heavy projectiles battered their shields, but the rain of metal didn't cease. From her rear position, Rarity saw wild-looking ponies clamber over the hills beside the machines, all of them waving around long poles, not at all like spears. These they stuck into the ground and aimed at the Battalion. The enemy ponies pulled on their strange weapons and small metal shells came flying at Rarity and her team.

"Out of the way!" the stallion carrying Rarity shouted, flinging her off with a jerk of his back. He quickly conjured a force-field that blocked the bullets, all except one which pierced the shield and sank into his chest. The stallion cringed but held his position.

Rarity was horrified. Seeing the soldier take the blow for her was painful to watch. Glowering, she hoisted a spear from one of Applejack's weapon carts and hurled it at the enemy. The spear hit one of the miniature hoof-held cannons, causing it to shatter in the enemy pony's face. Pulling the spear back on a magic chain, Rarity quickly called on her team to assist her. The unicorns lobbed spears with magical links so that they could reel them back, and the earth ponies threw rocks so as not to waste any weapons.

Up above, Rainbow Dash was encountering similar problems. Enemy pegasi had flown out of the clouds towards them, their backs laden with odd metal barrels full of holes. Rainbow had dismissed these barrels as a problem for her airborne team, until tiny shards of tapered steel came flying out of the barrels towards her.

"Move, Rainbow!" somepony shouted and Rainbow Dash was pushed aside. The bullets whizzed past her, instead piercing the left wing of the mare who had just pushed her out of harm's way. The wounded pegasus smiled at Dash sadly, then closed her eyes and plummeted.

"Oh, no you don't!" Rainbow muttered, zooming after the falling pony. She quickly caught up and scooped up the mare. It was then that Rainbow Dash recognized the pony: it was Abby Gale, one of her friend from the Wonderbolts Academy.

Enraged by the wounds inflicted upon her ally, Rainbow Dash smashed into the offending pony, knocking him out and out of the air, then sped off the save her companion. She took her straight to the airship so that the medics could get to work immediately. "They're shooting us down like weeds!" Rainbow yelped. "We need assistance."

"We'll get to work right away," one of the medics said. "You should get back to your team."

Nodding, Rainbow Dash turned towards the helm. "Fluttershy, we'll need your help fighting these guys. You're in control of the airship. Shoot 'em down!"

Fluttershy looked frightened. "Sh-sh-shoot them?" she stuttered. "I don't know if I could do that..."

"Listen." Rainbow Dash pointed at the injured pegasus. "Abby was just hurt by these guys. They're not your friends. They're not like Discord. They can't change. All they want is to destroy harmony and ruin peace. You've got to fight them, Fluttershy."

The yellow pegasus gulped. "I'll.... I'll try."

Rainbow nodded. "Good. now if you'll excuse me, I've got a fray to reenter. Good luck!" She leapt out of the airship opening and back into the battle. Tides were turning back and forth between the Friendship Battalion and the terrorist ponies. Twilight and the other unicorns had managed to destroy one of the enemy machines and were now pummeling another from behind their shields. As Rainbow Dash rejoined her flying squad, a loud call echoed across the plain: the undeniable roar of a dragon.

Turning her head, Rainbow bared witness to a most amazing sight. The cliff began to split open like a cracked walnut, a jagged line appearing in the solid rock. Like a sliding door, two sections of the cliff pulled apart, revealing a huge cavern inside, taken up mostly by a huge red dragon. When Dash looked at it a second time, she realized that it was the same dragon who had taken a nap on the mountain just outside of Ponyville, the one who Fluttershy had convinced to get up and sleep elsewhere.

The red dragon emerged from the cliff, running towards the battle at a frightening pace. On its back, several ponies were clinging to its scales like bronco riders trying to stay on. Rainbow Dash hurried down to Twilight. "Reinforcements are on their way!" she reported.

"Huh?" Twilight turned her head and when she saw the approaching dragon, a smile crossed her face as she became sure of their victory. No amount of firepower could stop a rampaging dragon.

The enemy had noticed the reptile too. "Incoming!" one of the terrorists yelled. He turned his cannon towards the dragon and fired, but the projectile missed by several feet, blowing a crater in the ground. The dragon, further enraged by the attempt to pacify it, leapt into the air and crashed down on top of the machine, flattening it like a metal pancake. The other enemy vehicles turned and fired as well, but the dragon wove like a shuttle on a loom, clawing and blasting fire at the invaders until there was only one remaining. The single terrorist pony was galloping as fast as he could away from the almost-ended battle, but a pegaus on the dragon's back gave the cloud she was holding a swift and well-aimed kick, causing the cloud to produce a bolt of lightning which struck the escaping pony in the back, knocking him to the ground.

Twilight and the other unicorns dismissed their shields ad cheered with everypony else. The Friendship Battalion had succeeded in their first battle, even if they had some help. One stallion jumped off the dragon's back and walked towards Twilight. "You're the reinforcements from the camp, aren't you?"

"That's us."

"Thanks for coming." The stallion looked back at the dragon. "Okay Braith, we're done here!"

The dragon grinned a fanged smile, nodded, and turned around to reenter the cliff. By the time the stone walls had closed behind him, the rest of the Friendship Battalion had gathered around Twilight and the stallion. "We've been waiting for you," the stallion went on. "The war grows more fierce with every passing day. The enemy's weaponry is like nothing I've ever seen before."

"It's beyond anything the Equestrian Technology department has ever done," a grey unicorn with a green-and-black mane added. "We've given them what little of the weapons and ammunition we could pick up from the fray to them in hopes of increasing knowledge of our foes."

"Thankfully, dragons are far better than any destructive machines they've cooked up," the stallion said gratefully. "Come, Princess. Bring your battalion inside and we'll bring you up to speed on the war."

"That's a good idea," Twilight agreed. She turned around and called to her comrades. "Friendship Battalion, forward!"

The ponies, their carts and the airship all moved towards the cliff. As they drew closer, dark spots appeared on the rock. These were the disguised entrances the Equestrian Army used to get in and out of their hidden base. The Friendship Battalion entered through a number of small tunnels while the large opening the dragon had used opened to accept the airship.

Twilight and the other Element Bearers followed the stallion along a dark tunnel lit with various types of lamps, from fireflies in jars to wooden torches to modern solar lanterns. The end of the tunnel opened up in a huge chamber dug out inside the cliff. Forges were set up and ponies were busy working at them, smithing and repairing swords, spears, shields and armor. Fletchers worked beside the forge-ponies, mending arrows and carving shafts for more. The red dragon was curled up in a corner of the chamber, being attended to by several ponies. The base was like a beehive, with ponies bustling about doing everything imaginable.

"My goodness," Rarity exclaimed. "There are so many."

"Are they all fighters?" Applejack asked the stallion.

"The Equestrian Army called in everypony available," he explained. "Even residents who aren't ponies but served in the past were brought in. The Princesses and the dragons reinstated an old alliance from a past war, eliminating any controversy concerning their inclusion."

"You must go through a lot of food," Pinkie speculated.

The stallion lowered his head. "More than we had available. We've been asking the natives for supplies, ponies who prefer a quiet life to living in a society, and they generously offer what they have, only asking us to end this war."

"There are ponies out there in the crossfire?" Fluttershy blubbered, shaking from the thought.

"Our enemy doesn't care about who or what they harm," Twilight snarled in realization, her anger causing sparks to fly from her horn. "They intend to use whatever they have to cause as much destruction as possible."

"That's awful," Rainbow Dash muttered earnestly.

"More than you know it, dweebs," a voice said from behind them.

The Bearers of Harmony all swung around to find the speaker. It was none other than Rainbow's old Junior Speedster Flight Camp friend, Gilda the griffon. She looked much more worn than the last time the ponies had seen her, even for a griffon. She wore a red bandana around her feathery head and her lion's tail tuft was partly gone.

"I gotta say, it's gratifying to see some familiar faces," Gilda announced.

"Gilda!" Pinkie and Rainbow Dash yelled together. The two mares exchanged looks, but shook off their surprise. "What are you doing here, Gilda?" Rainbow inquired.

The griffon shrugged. "Saving Equestria. What else?" Then she turned to the stallion. "General Mandate, Braith was injured in that last skirmish. He'll need a whole night's rest before he's fit to fight."

"Faust, damn it," the stallion hissed, clopping the floor violently. "We were going to attack their base tonight. Braith was an integral part of the plan. Now we need to delay it."

"Why's that so bad?" Rainbow asked, gesturing to the military ponies around them. "Putting the attack off sounds like a good idea. These ponies could use some rest."

Gilda and the general gave each other sad looks. "Come with us," the General insisted. He walked towards another tunnel with Gilda at his side.

Confused and curious, the six friends followed after them. This tunnel was shorter than the last and led to a brightly lit cavern. Scattered across the floor were pieces of furniture, and lying on each sofa, bed or mattress was a pony or a griffon. They all bore a variety of wounds and injuries, ranging from cuts to broken limbs to mental pains that left them groaning aimlessly. Several healthy ponies trotted back and forth between the patients, checking on them or tending to their wounds.

"This is why we can't delay," General Mandate informed, waving a hoof at the injured creatures. "With each passing hour, more soldiers are hurt and we lose valuable griffon-dragon-horsepower. There may not be many terrorists, but they haven't a care in the world what happens to them."

Upon seeing the underground hospital wing, the Element Bearers fell apart. The mostly-peaceful life they knew so well seemed like a fanciful dream when ponies and griffons were out here fighting for Equestria and the safety of all its citizens. Twilight stopped beside an earth pony with two broken legs. "What happened to you?" she asked the prostrate mare.

"Explosion," the pony gasped, her voice hoarse. "Was galloping with my platoon... Got over the hill, the terrorists right below us.... I charged them, up on my hind legs, waving my spear like a madpony.... Then I hit it: a detonating cap. They were planted everywhere... The enemy saw what happened. One of them jeered, called the device a 'mine'...." The mare rolled over and looked Twilight in the eye. "Be careful where you step out there, Princess Twilight. If those ponies aren't stopped soon...." Her voice drifted off.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Twilight insisted, putting a gentle hoof on the pony's chest. "I won't abandon Equestria to these monsters. I'll fight them with everything I've got. You rest up now. You've served our country well."

The earth pony nodded and closed her eyes. General Mandate stepped over. "Come, Princess. There is one more thing you must see."

Twilight took one more look at the wounded pony, then followed the general down another short tunnel. This one ended in a smaller chamber, but its contents were more horrifying than even the emergency room she'd just been in. This room was littered with crystal blocks, and lying on top of these slabs of mineral were bodies: ponies, griffons, even dragons. They lay side by side, their arms crossed over their chests and their eyes closed.

Her friends milled about cautiously, looking at the still forms with unimaginable regret. Twilight joined Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy by the body of an orange dragon. Fluttershy looked up, her eyes filled with tears.

"Dead," she whispered, sobbing into her hooves. "Every one of them...... a casualty of this war."

Gilda walked over, her claws clacking against the stone floor. "Every day, more of us succumb to the war. Some were shot down by enemy fire, others were blown out of their home territory, be it earth or sky." The griffon looked down at the ever-sleeping dragon. "Even the most rugged of us has a chance to fall in battle."

Mandate tapped the ground and the six ponies walked up to him. Nopony was smiling. No eyes were dry. Misery was all they felt. Even Pinkie Pie had deflated upon entering the room of the dead. Without a word, the general led the ponies and Gilda out of the deceased chamber, passed the emergency room and back into the main chamber. From there, he took them through another tunnel lined with doors, the sleeping quarters for whoever absolutely needed it, and all the way to a medium-sized cave with a large table dominating the center.

The war council room.

War Council

When everyone had gathered around the table, Mandate pointed to the map on it. "Shining Armor left me in charge of the base after taking a battalion of troops further south, to use both as a distraction and to cut the enemy off from any possible suppliers. We got a pegasus messenger from him the other day."

"You did?" Twilight exclaimed, her wings flaring up. "What did he say? Is he all right? Did he stop the terrorists?"

"Jeez, calm down, Princess," Gilda said, picking up a scroll from the table. "His message is right here. Read it out loud if you want."

Twilight frantically grabbed the scroll and opened it up. She quickly scanned it, her glowing smile slowly fading into a small confused line. Her five pony friends looked on. "Well, what's it say, Twi?" Applejack asked.

The purple alicorn was quiet. Then she took a a breath began to read.

"To General Mandate

We have successfully crossed the land and are now positioned behind the enemy's base, which is built into a mountain several miles from the shore. So far, we've had no disturbances coming from behind us. The terrorists have apparently brought everything with them in one trip. We're still on our guard though.
I've sent ponies to scout the area surrounding the enemy base. We believe that a small team can enter the base, strategically plant what explosives we've recovered from the battlefield, and detonate them from a distance. The resulting blast would not only destroy the enemy's base, but leave them with virtually no spare weapons or supplies.
For this mission, choose the ponies you believe are best suited for entering an armed fortress unnoticed. Take the rest of the troops to the front line and distract the enemy. We'll close in on them from the the rear as soon as we know the attack has begun.

Good luck
Prince Shining Armor."

Applejack whistled. "That's some plan."

"We were going to do it tonight," Mandate said, pacing on his side of the table. "But we can't face the terrorists head on without Braith. He's the biggest dragon we've got. The others are either too far away to help or too lazy to try and save Equestria, which they migrate through every generation."

Gilda huffed. "Ingrates."

"Now we have to hold off the final mission. Another day for ponies, griffons and dragons to fall to the merciless terrorists." Mandate sighed and put his head in his hooves. "I just don't know what to think anymore, ladies. After the last war, I thought I had hung up my uniform for good. Now here I am facing an unpredictable foe and unable to stop my comrades from falling to their technology. I'm beginning to think this is the end."

Silence rippled through the war room. The Element Bearers watched as the military leader fell apart before their eyes. It was horribly depressing. Twilight looked at the map's marked positions, then at the message from her brother, somewhere out in enemy territory. She forced herself to remember the wounded soldiers in the emergency room and the still bodies of the dead. Then it came to her.

"I'll do it."

General Mandate looked up suddenly, his expression shocked. "You what?"

"I'll go on the mission."

"Twilight, you can't be serious!" Rarity insisted.

"It's a huge mess out there!" Applejack reminded, waving her hooves around to emphasize. "An' firin' an' bullets an' exploding caps an' who knows what else."

"If anypony's gonna go on this deadly mission, it's gonna be me!" Rainbow Dash declared, hovering over the table. "I'm the fastest here!"

"Also the one with the biggest head," Gilda commented, giving the pegasus a friendly nudge.

"No, Rainbow Dash," Twilight held. "I'm not going to allow any of my friends to take this responsibility. I likely have more magic than any of the ponies in this war on either side, and I can utilize that magic to its fullest." She turned to the general. "Mandate, I ask you to let me lead the attack on the enemy's base and to carry out this mission."

General Mandate stared at Twilight in silence, his face frozen in a state of horror. "Princess, I can't possibly authorize such an action. If you were to die, Faust forbid, what would the Prince think? What would your brother think?"

"He would know that I gave my life for Equestria, our home."

Twilight's friends glanced at one another speechlessly, silently informing one another of their unanimous disagreement with her decision. Gilda watched the princess curiously, wondering if there were any personal reason behind her wanting to lead the mission. General Mandate sighed. "Even not taking the Prince into account, Princess, that still leaves numerous other problems that would—"

The five Element Bearers quickly burst into protest, not even giving the general a chance to finish.

"You savage! Have you no respect for royalty?!"

"Pfffffffffffft!"

"Ah'm not having no friend o' mine leadin' a possible suicide mission!"

"Oh.... my... please, no..."

"What about meeee?"

"Silence, all of you!" General Mandate slammed his hoof on the map table, pacifying the mares' complaints. "Firstly, I won't have you all flipping out in our most crucial moment. We need fighters, not foals. Show a little control and stay calm!"

"Secondly, who said I was okay with letting the princess—"

"I said, Mandate," Twilight spoke up. "And I'm doing it, with or without your permission."

The stallion opened his mouth to retort, but Twilight continued. "I've now seen the results of war, the casualties that come from it. With this in mind, I will never be able to sit at home calmly and chronicle friendship as I once did. Not unless I put my mind at ease by helping to end this violence myself firsthoof. If you don't allow me, then I'll take this mission anyway. With my friends."

"Ha, yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

Mandate looked back and forth between Twilight and her friends, his expression blank. He glanced at Gilda, who laid one claw on the map table and the other on Rainbow's hoof, surprising the pegasus. Finally, Mandate sighed. "As you wish, Princess."

Twilight sat back down, a confident smile splayed across her face. Rarity looked over at her friend. "Twilight darling, I really must object."

"Rarity's right, Twilight," Fluttershy said, doing her best to speak at all. "We care about you too much to lose you to the war."

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a smirk. "We're all going out on a mission to stop the terrorists. The Elements of Harmony, off to save Equestria again!"

"That's where you're mistaken, Dash," Gilda announced.

The cyan pegasus spun around to face her griffon friend. "What's that supposed to mean, Gilda?!"

Gilda blinked slowly, her face unreadable. "Isn't that right, General?" she called over.

"Indeed, it is," the stallion concurred. "Princess Twilight will go on the infiltration mission, but the rest of you will not. Because," he added, upon seeing Applejack and Rainbow Dash's outraged looks, "you'll be joining the main forces and each have your own unit to lead in the battle. It's a crucial part of the mission. The terrorists will have to be distracted by our forces if the princess is to succeed."

The war room became quiet again. Rainbow Dash was still overjoyed, maybe even more so at the thought of leading troops herself. Rarity was muttering about all the uniforms she wanted to spruce up. Applejack and Pinkie said nothing. Fluttershy was shaking from head to tail. "Um, G-g-general?" she stammered. "Maybe it would be best if I, you know, stayed at the base and.... watched over things?"

Mandate raised an eyebrow. "I believe the best place for you, Ms. Fluttershy, would be in charge of the airship. You skillfully deployed the medics aboard it in the last skirmish. I know you will do an outstanding job commanding the airship in the coming battles."

"I-I don't know," Fluttershy muttered, running her hooves through her mane. "I don't think I can take a responsibility like that, one that holds so many ponies', dragons' and griffons' lives on the line."

Gilda moved over to the trembling pegasus. "Listen to me, Fluttershy. War isn't a game, we all know that, and we'd all just as much prefer to be home right now. But peace isn't a gift simply forked over. It's a reward, and the price is war. War turns the simplest of ponies and griffons into grim battle-worn stormtroopers, and sometimes they don't go back to the way they were, ever after the war is over. That's why we need ponies like you, full of fierce determination yet brimming with compassion for her comrades. Such ponies are truly a gift and their friendship a valuable possession, in both daily life and combat."

Rainbow Dash whistled. "Wow, G. That was some deep stuff. Are you sure you're not getting soft?"

"Pfft, only as soft as your little pony head, Dash."

"All right, you two, that's enough." Mandate dragged his hoof along a perimeter line on the map. "Ms. Applejack and I will lead the rest of the ground forces against the enemy. Ms. Pie, you will be leading the artillery teams among the hills. With your speed, you'll be able to move through your troops fast enough to command them efficiently. Ms. Rarity will be in charge of the long-ranged unit. Without Braith, though, you'll have less firepower and defense than normal."

"This is gonna be one heck of a fight."

"I'm confident we'll manage, General."

"Mmhmm!"

"Dash, we'll be leading the air division together." Gilda then addressed the others. "Everypony, each of the teams we're being given command of contains a mixture of ponies, griffons and dragons. It's up to us to focus all the enemy's forces on us so that Princess Twilight and her team can blow their base. Prince Shining Armor will eventually join us and we'll crush the enemy in a vice. Everypony clear?"

The Bearers all nodded their heads. Mandate pulled out several badges and slid them across the each of the mares. "These represent your commanding rank, girls. In a minute, we'll introduce you to your units, which have already been acquainted with the Friendship Battalion you've led thus far. Together, they shall make the greatest army Equestria has ever seen!"

Army, Twilight thought dismally as the others began to file out, her friends admiring their officer rank insignia. This whole war business is so painful. If it weren't for all the lives being threatened, I'm sure I'd be locking myself up in my castle with Spike, away from all of this.

"Yo, Princess."

Twilight looked up, finding herself alone in the war room with Gilda. "Yes?"

"I know how you feel."

"Y-you do?"

"Yeah. Griffonstone was one of the first settlements contacted for drafting. We became aware of the threat early on and, being griffons, answered the call quickly. In battle, we're tough and strong, capable of fighting for great lengths of time. But even so...." Gilda turned and a shadow crossed her face. "War isn't a game. It's not like a scuffle or a brawl. You can't back out of it, smile and shake with your opponent. It's full-on all-out fighting to the death, and victory goes only to one side.

"You're worried for yourself, but also for your friends. At the first sign of violence, you'll feel like you never have before and wish you never had felt it. But that feeling eventually numbs and all you feel is the strong will to protect all you care about. That is what determines the winner of war, Princess Twilight, and our enemy has none of it."

Twilight looked at the gold horseshoe insignia in front of her, slowly curling a hoof around it as she took in Gilda's words. "You're right. Together with our friends, we will defeat those monsters."

Gilda clapped the alicorn's back. "That's what I want to hear. Now come on." She steered Twilight toward the door and down the hall. "You've got a few hours to eat, rest, learn the ropes and meet your team. Then it's all up to you."

"Yeah. I guess it is."

Infiltration Goes BOOM

Several hours after the meeting ended, Twilight was running across the San Palomino desert with her strike force, intent on fulfilling their mission of blowing up the enemy base, dubbed Operation Friendship Explosion. The commander had introduced Twilight to her four comrades, and while she wasn't be able to call them 'friends' as she would have liked, she knew she could trust them and vice versa.

First was Raffle Tan, a turquoise earth pony who was acting as Twilight's assistant and guide. Raffle was a veteran and had been in enough fights that he had developed an in-battle perception that allowed him to read an opponent's move before they executed it.

Next was Hinny Sense. She was a hippogriff, born of a male pony and a female griffon, faithful to her allies and dispiriting to her enemies as the other soldiers claimed. Eagle-eyed and over-aware, Hinny was the team's eye-in-the-sky, watching for anypony else nearby.

Then came Ploy Rind, a unicorn engineer from the coast. He was quick and industrious and had been given the job of bomb maintenance, carrying the knowledge of how to use the explosives. Ploy showed grit and confidence in his work.

Lastly was Altar. A dragon from a southern band of mixed reptiles, he had been charged with carrying the bomb, being the only one resistant to fire. Mandate had decided that, although they wouldn't have Braith in whatever combat would erupt, Twilight should have at least one fire-breathing lizard.

That was her team and Twilight was content with them all.

"So," Hinny began, flying a few feet away on Twilight's left, "Princess—"

"Please, just call me 'Twilight'."

Hinny surprised, but regained her composure. "Okay, um... Twilight. Have you been in any battles before?"

"My friends and I have had to fight on occasion and we've used the elements of Harmony against many enemies, but generally I like to think that I've participated in few battles."

"As you should," Raffle snorted. "A ruler who revels in war is a step away from tyranny."

"That's a bit harsh," Altar huffed.

"Raffle's just being honest," Twilight defended. She turned to look at Raffle. "Right?"

The earth pony shrugged. "Honesty, a warning, a joke. Whatever you take it as, make sure it doesn't deter you from the mission." Raffle hurried forward with Hinny above him as a scout.

"He's kind of grim about it all, isn't he?" Twilight whispered to Ploy once Raffle was out of earshot. "I mean, I know we're at war, but he's taking it more seriously than I'd imagined."

"He's tired, Twilight," the engineer replied. "He just wants the fighting to be over. The threat's been preventing us from leading our normal pony lives. Raffle just wants all this fighting to be over. That's partly the reason he asked to join the strike force."

"You mean he volunteered?"

Ploy nodded. "Mandate lined up all the veterans and briefed them about our mission. The second he finished asking who would, Raffle stepped forward and offered himself for the job."

"Wow." Twilight looked forward at Raffle as he led the team up another dune. "His devotion is admirable."

"As long as it doesn't get him killed," Altar commented, "but I doubt it would. Raffle's a survivor."

He's becoming more impressive with everything I hear about him, Twilight thought to herself.

The team continued through the desert, climbing and descending the seemingly endless sand dunes. Finally, Raffle had the team stop under a rocky overhang that gave them cover from the enemy's direction. Hinny flew to the dune atop the overhang, did a three-sixty and joined the team. "All clear, Raffle."

"Good work, Hinny." Raffle gathered the others. "All right, everyone. The enemy's base is just a mile west of here. It's a fortress built into the side of mesa, hewn right into the rock itself. Reports from our scout squads tell us of the enemy's ponies disappearing into the sand like dogs. This has led us to believe that they have a network of tunnels beneath the dunes which they use to traverse the desert."

"When you say "like dogs", do you mean diamond dogs?" Twilight asked.

"I... guess you could say that."

"So the enemy is using abandoned desert diamond dog tunnels?"

"I don't know about 'abandoned'," Altar remarked. "More like 'took over' or 'moved in'. Why do you ask?"

"Think about it: what would diamond dogs be doing in a desert?"

The rest of the team feel silent as they contemplated on Twilight's question. Ploy caught on first. "Of course! Gemstone mining!"

Hinny looked confused. "Gems? In the desert?"

"Yes," Altar clarified. "Although they're mostly found in the mountainous regions of Equestria, certain kinds of gemstones do form in the harsh desert environment. While the San Palomino isn't as unrelenting and inhospitable as a desert can be, the conditions are just right for the forming of both spessartine and demantoid garnets, as well as emeralds, opals and diamonds."

"If there are gemstones in the desert, then for sure there would be diamond dogs mining for them," Twilight deducted. "I can use a spell that I learned from my friend to detect the gems. It could help us find their tunnels and, from there, the enemy's ex-diamond dog base."

Altar grinned. "If we could get into the terror tunnels, this mission will be practically made!"

"We can't be hasty," Ploy cautioned. "The terrorists are likely to have a surveillance system of sorts."

"If that's all they have, then we can bypass it no sweat," Hinny said confidently.

Raffle studied the faces of the team members, stopping on Twilight. "Can you scan the area for gem tunnels now?" he asked her.

"I'll give it a try; it's been quite some time since I last used this spell."

Twilight activated her magic and stared at the ground, the spell allowing her to see phantom images of gemstones protruding from the soil and rock. She swept her horn back and forth, pacing under the overhang and looking out onto the dunes. After a minute more of probing, the aura around her horn started pulsing.

"Over there!"

The others looked to where Twilight was pointing, but all they saw was the never-ending sands of the San Palomino. "Uh, I don't see anything, Twilight," Ploy stated.

"It's definitely there," the alicorn insisted, waving her hoof in the same direction. "About forty-five feet north from here. There are gems clustered together, poking out into a tunnel."

"That's good enough for me," Altar remarked, bending down into a runner's position. "Just give the word, Raffle, and we'll make a break for it."

"Hm... Guess it's all or nothing. Everyone, get ready. Altar, you get there first and see if you can dig it out. Twilight, help him. As along as we're out there, we're sitting ducks for any enemy sentinels."

"It's all clear out here, Raffle," Hinny reported, coming back down from her peek around. "We can hang around the hole for a bit longer if necessary."

"Okay then. Rephrasing: don't rush too much, but don't laze about."

Altar nodded. "Got it. Come on, Twilight!"

The dragon and the alicorn darted off for the indicated spot, with the other three coming up behind them. Twilight skirted the spot to give Altar space and the dragon went to work, digging furiously at the sand with his strong claws. Within seconds, he had unearthed a blocked tunnel and set about lifting the obstructing boulder, which swung open like a trap door at his touch with barely a sound.

"No wonder we can never track them," he exclaimed, peering down into the dimly-lit tunnel. "These things can be opened and closed super fast, like slippery eels."

"And now we'll slip in after them," Raffle said. "Hinny, go down slowly and see if there's anyone around."

"Aye aye." Hinny grabbed the ladder attached to the side of the tunnel and climbed down head-first. While they waited for her to report back, Twilight and the others gazed around the area, watching for any enemy ponies. Nothing happened in the time Hinny was down and she was back before they realized it.

"It opens into a small antechamber," the hippogriff announced. "As far as my ears can tell, the connecting tunnels are empty for about a hundred feet."

"Good work, Hinny. Okay, team, into the hole."

Hinny ducked back down as Altar and Ploy joined her. As she waited for there to be room on the ladder, Twilight continued her scan of the area for other ponies. She hoped and didn't expect to see anything, so she was very surprised when something ran over the dunes nearby, kicking up sand in a very indiscreet way.

"Raffle! There's somepony out there!"

Without hesitating, Raffle grabbed Twilight and shoved her unceremoniously down the hole before leaping in after her. Needless to say, things got very crowded and very uncomfortable very fast as the whole squad collapsed onto each other in a pile at the base of the ladder.

"Ugh, that was not well-thought-out," Altar grumbled, rubbing his spines.

"We can lick our wounds later. Twilight, come up with me and show me the terrorist."

"Okay." Twilight followed Raffle up the ladder and squeezed in beside him, looking out on the land. "There," Twilight whispered, pointing at the scrambling pony among the dunes. "That's the one. What do we do, Raffle?"

The veteran's hard expression softened in the dim tunnel light as he beheld the figure. "It's one of the refugees. We're fine, Twilight."

"Refugees?" Twilight repeated as she and Raffle joined the others in the tunnel.

"When the terrorists began their wave of destruction, they ended up displacing dozens of ponies who lived in the desert; nomads and hermits and others as well," Ploy explained, Raffle and Hinny looking down the tunnels around them. "They've had to abandon their small frugal homes and hide away, some retreating into Equestria. But many of them still live in the desert, hidden away, waiting for the violence to end."

Twilight felt her heart go out to all those displaced ponies. The terrorists have done the unthinkable over and over again. The moment she thought she'd had enough of their inequinity, they add another act of evil to their ever-damning crimes. That's why I'm here, she thought to herself. Me and the others are going to make it so that the terrorists will have nowhere to go. It will be their end.

"This way!" Hinny whispered, pointing down one of the branching-off tunnels.

Raffle took the lead. "This tunnel should go on for a couple hundred feet before arriving at the underground levels of the terrorists' base. We may encounter enemy ponies as we go along, so if it's not any of us, take it down quick and quiet-like."

"You mean like this?" Ploy asked, pointing to the freshly KO'd rag-dressed pony beside him. The terrorist wore a look of shock, as if he couldn't believe the small team of Equestrians had found their way into the tunnels. Or that he was taken out by a wimpy engineer.

"Yes, just like that, Ploy. Let's go, onwards!"

With that, the strike force continued through the sandy underground mining tunnels, on the road to their goal.

The door to the base was a twin set of huge steel sheets. It towered over Twilight and her team, its cold surface etched with frightening symbols. No sounds came from any direction and although going undetected was what the strike team wanted, the bleak silence was unnerving.

"The place should be crawling with terrorists," Altar snorted. "We haven't seen a single one since Ploy's."

"Maybe he woke up and warned them all to stay away," Ploy joked, waving a hoof threateningly.

Raffle frowned. "I fear it's worse than that. The terrorists must either all be on the surface fighting Shining Armor or cooped up in here." He gestured to the mammoth door. "If they are inside, then our mission just got a lot harder. This door won't open quietly."

"I know a silencing spell," Twilight said. "Then we could open the door without a squeak."

"Not gonna work, Twi." Hinny, who was examining the door, traced one of the symbols. "They've got anti-magic runes all over this thing. They'll negate any spell and alert every terror pony within the base.

"Oh." Twilight's face fell. "That sure sets my plan aflame."

"We can't give up, guys," Ploy insisted. "We have a mission to complete and we can't let this hunk of metal best us."

"What do you want us to do, Ploy?" Altar inquired, barely able to keep sarcasm out of his next sentence. "Wait for the enemy to open the doors for us?"

CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK

With a deafening almighty groan, the huge metal doors began to open outwards. Another sound, a deep rumbling, echoed through the slowly opening doors. Twilight squinted, trying to see what lay beyond the portal that was making the noise, but Raffle realized first and found a big problem with it.

"They're coming out, in force!" he said, just loud enough that the team could hear. "We have to hide!"

Ploy swung his head around. "Where?"

"Behind the doors, between them and the walls!" Hinny called, rushing off to hide there.

The others quickly followed suit, Altar and Ploy joining Hinny behind the left door, while Twilight and Raffle ducked behind the right one. And not a moment too soon; the second Altar pulled his tail in, a mob of terrorists galloped through the doorway: stallions and mares, wearing a mixture of rags and belts which Rarity would have fainted at the sight of. Some of them carried the strange tubular weapons, while others lugged the heavy rockets or clenched their teeth on cracked blades. They made for a fearsome sight, flooding out of the base in what could only be a charge.

It felt like forever until the last terrorist ran out through the doors, the battalion of ponies disappearing down the tunnels. Twilight and her team stumbled out of their hiding places, sweat running down their shocked faces. Twilight's heart raced, keeping up with her thoughts. So many. There were so many of them. Did they spot Shining Armor and his forces? Is that why they all ran out?

"That was one of the most discomforting experiences I've had," Raffle muttered. "And I've seen Tartarus."

Ploy's knees were knocking together. "Not me. That was my first Tartarus."

"Pony up, Ploy," Altar said, hoisting the unicorn off his hooves until he stopped shaking. "We can't let this case of rats and a sinking ship deter us. We're so close."

"I'll say." Hinny peered into the base beyond the doors. "The place looks deserted; looks like they've all cleared out."

"That'll make our job easier," Raffle deduced. "We've got to find the central control room. That's where they do all their plotting and send out communications. We take it out, they're cut off."

Twilight walked over to Hinny and put a hoof around the hippogriff's shoulder. "Then let's get searching."

They plunged into the terrorist hideout and began hunting for their quarry. Staying close together, they barged through the rooms and corridors that made up the enemy base, not encountering a single soul as they explored the rat hole and steadily made their way downwards.

"Why are we going down?" Raffle questioned as they turned yet another inclined corner. "Any good communications room would be higher to better send signals."

"Well sorreee, this place only goes down," Hinny grumped at him.

"I don't get it," Twilight said. "It feels like we're going in circles and moving deeper into the ground, yet from outside we could clearly see upper floors. There should be a stairway or ladder to take ponies up there."

Ploy opened another cupboard and, finding more of the terrorists' strange weapons, promptly closed it. "If there is, we haven't found it yet. But jeez, these freaky thugs sure love their toys. This is the sixth cabinet with just weapons so far."

"Let's hope it's not an indication of how much firepower they actually have," Altar muttered. "Probably is, though."

"I just wish we'd find somewhere to plant these stupid bombs," Hinny complained, waving at the load on Altar's back. "I keep getting this tingly feeling from being too close to them, like they're about to go off any second."

"Our engineers have done a stellar job reverse engineering the explosives we've acquired from the last skirmishes," Ploy said through gritted teeth. "They will go off precisely when we tell them to."

"As soon as we find someplace to put them, you mean."

Growing tired of her teammates' bickering, Twilight trotted past them and peeked into the next room, her eyes widening at her find. Beyond the doorway she'd picked was a huge underground parking lot, lit up by lanterns made of thin slices of amethyst and jade. Parked in mostly neat rows were vehicles like the ones the terrorists had ridden in Twilight's first fight before Equestria's cliff base. Beside these were smaller, less heavy-looking vehicles and even smaller ones resembling bicycles, all of them mounted with various sizes of cannons.

"Equestria, help us."

Twilight walked into the lot, followed by the other Friendship Explosion operatives. "Sweet Celestia," Ploy breathed. "All those terrorists gone and they still have these monster trucks tucked away?"

"They must have taken at least some of them," Altar noted, pointing to several empty spots in the lot. "Still, all these other ones could mean that there are more ponies left manning the base and we should remain cautious."

As Raffle and the others looked over the vehicles and watched the exits, Twilight examined the room and its designs. Since figuring out that the terrorist base was built inside mining tunnels, she'd struggled to recall everything she knew about diamond dog architecture, hoping that some part of it could help with the mission. As she gazed at the sparkling purple-and-green lanterns, realization dawned and an idea came to her.

"Guys, huddle up!"

At her request, Raffle, Ploy, Hinny and Altar gathered with her in the middle of the lot, curious to hear what the princess had cooked up. "I just figured something out," Twilight began. "The lanterns on the walls are a special kind which diamond dogs use in only one place throughout an entire mining facility: the storage chamber."

"That's nice, Twilight," Altar said, "but how does it benefit us?"

"The gem chambers were always constructed as a center of the tunnel system, and always dug jutting out of the surface. This way, even if the tunnels collapsed, the gems would be safe in the overground storage."

Raffle nodded, scratching his chin as he tried to figure out where Twilight was going with this. "The terrorists' mesa is the only outcrop in its area. No other place would suit a gem storage. So that means—"

"The gem storage is in the foundations of the base!" Hinny cried. "We could blow the place up from down here. It'll be perfect!"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Altar said, holding up the only fingered appendages in the group. "We can't deviate from the plan like that. This pack of explosives has to be set off in the communications room to prevent further contact between the enemy's current troops and any others they may have."

"But this will be more efficient! If we take out the bottom, the entire mesa will collapse. The terrorists will have nowhere to run and their vehicles will be smashed, to boot."

"No. We're blowing the bomb in the control room and that's final."

Hinny and Altar continued to argue, claws slowly showing and gestures becoming wilder and potentially dangerous. Twilight, Raffle and Ploy exchanged looks, unsure of what to do. All opinions were changed, however, when a section of the ceiling flapped open, a ladder shot down and a rag-dressed pegasus came sliding into the lot.

"Why are you still here?" the pegasus demanded, not even noticing who he was talking to. "You should have gone out with the others! The Crystal Prince and his forces are close and we need every pony—"

The pegasus stopped talking when at last he realized who was in the room. His eyes went wide as he beheld the clearly-enemy stallions, the puffed-up hippogriff, the dragon with the bomb on his back and, last and certainly the most shocking, the purple alicorn. For several seconds the terrorist pony only stared, his mouth hanging open, but then came the screaming.

"THE ENEMY'S IN THE BASE! THEY'VE GOTTEN IN!"

Altar was first to react, belching a glob of liquid fire at the blaring pegasus but the terrorist rolled out of the way, the fireball blowing a hole in one of the armoured vehicles. The enemy pony scampered for the ladder, dodging magic bolts from Ploy and Twilight, and disappeared up the shaft in a flurry of feathers.

"We can't let him get away!" Twilight shouted, spreading her wide wings and leaping into the shaft after the enemy. "Come on!"

Hinny followed quickly, using her front claws to scale the shaft as it was too narrow for her wingspan. Raffle jumped onto the ladder and turned to the other guys. "Ploy, help Altar set the bomb. Six minutes; we'll grab that guy and take out whoever else is in here before then."

"Bu-but what if there's more and it'll take longer than six minutes?" Ploy challenged as Altar unshouldered his load.

"Six minutes!"

With that, Raffle followed the girls, leaving Ploy and Altar to set the explosives. At the head of the hunt, Twilight was gaining on the lone terrorist, swiftly turning corners and leaping over obstacles the target took longer avoiding. Soon she was only a few feet away from him and the enemy was clearly tiring out.

"Come back here!" Twilight shouted. Then added, "Come here and face justice!"

The terrorist looked over his shoulder, his eyes full of fear. "Work on your catchphrases!" he called back, kicking over a barrel. Twilight was going too fast and knocked into it, losing all her momentum. As the alicorn princess collapsed onto the floor, Hinny shot around the corner towards the barrel and its spilled contents.

"STOP!"

Hinny somehow managed to open her wings just enough to lift her over the assortment of tubes and caps scattered across the floor. This sent her careening into Twilight, making a mess of feathers and fur. Raffle, who had issued the order, bent down and inspected one of the items.

"More explosives. They have these everywhere. This place could blow up without our help." Raffle tiphoofed around the bombs and Twilight and Hinny untangled themselves. But in all the commotion, the terrorist had escaped.

"He's gone now," Twilight muttered. "How do we find him now?"

Hinny cocked her head toward the other end of the hallway, twitching as she listened. "There's a door swinging further along, he must have taken it."

"Then let's go!"

The chase resumed, not as fast as before but with just as much purpose. True to Hinny's word, they found a door swinging slightly from an entry. Twilight felt nervous as they approached it. Now they would finally apprehend one of the enemy. Maybe they could learn the motives of the terrorists at long last and find out why they sought to destroy the lives of innocent ponies.

"On three," Raffle said, hunkering beside the door with Twilight and Hinny. "One..."

"Two......."

"Three."

Hinny bucked down the door, knocking the thing off its damn hinges and into the wall. Raffle rolled into the room, crossing half of it in seconds, and Twilight leapt in behind him, horn glowing dangerously. Inside the room, their quarry shook and shuddered behind the large table in it, much like the one in the war council room. On the far side of the table, a unicorn watched the Equestrians break and enter. He showed no reactions or emotions except for a slight disappointment.

"So, you've arrived," he said in a cool voice. "I wondered how long it would be before it happened."

The first terrorist gaped at the other. "It was inevitable, to be sure," the unicorn continued. "I mean, how could a ragtag group of ponies possibly hope to hold out against the full might of the great nations of Equestria? After all, friendship is magic, isn't it?"

Twilight glared at the other pony. His tone was mocking, but she couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or openly insulting Equestria. "Who are you?" she demanded, pointing her glowing horn at him.

The unicorn merely raised an eyebrow, not at all fazed by the royal weapon of mass destruction aimed at his mug. "Nothing more than a simple pony, sharing a goal with others just like him."

"Threatening to destroy a country?" Raffle scoffed. "Hardly a worthwhile use of time."

The pony turned away from the table, ambled over to a window at the end of the room and looked out it. "As bright a thought as the rest of them. It's about time such a high opinion was snuffed out."

Raffle looked furious. "Come on, girls. Let's take these scumbags and make ourselves scarce."

"Oh yes, girls." The unicorn turned his cold eyes on Twilight, his unrelenting stare making her flinch. "The legendary Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. My my, we must really be something to have drawn the queen bees from their hives."

"You killed innocent ponies, gryphons and dragons!" Hinny roared, her feathers puffing up into a threatening mane that forced a squeak from the timid terrorist. "You'll be lucky the Princesses don't banish you to a hydra's stomach!"

The pony barked with laughter. "What a pleasant songbird you are. Wouldn't it be nice if all gryphons shared your passion, your equine determination and resolution?

Hinny let out a harsh squawk and leapt at the unicorn. He didn't even defend himself as the twice-his-size hippogriff crashed into him, claws and beak first. When Hinny finally did let him go, the terrorist pony was unpleasantly marred, blood dripping from multiple lacerations and holes in his body. But still he continued to smile, like the Mane-iac.

"That was the best beating I've gotten in my life!" he declared.

Twilight was both horrified and disgusting by the pony's new look and his demented behavior. Nothing he did made any sense: his motives, his actions, they got him nowhere. What was his game?

"Why are you doing this?"

"Twilight, don't bother—"

"It's a waste of time, they won't ta—"

"Why are you doing this?" Twilight repeated, her rationality bubbling to the surface. She had to know why. "You don't stand to gain anything from this war. Your troops die needlessly in this conflict, far outnumbered by Equestria's nations united. What is it you're after? Is it revenge? The throne? A magical artifact? Freeing older evils? What could you possibly want that you would wage all-out warfare against the entire country?!"

The terrorist looked surprised, but his snide expression returned almost instantly. "What do we want? It's not exactly simple, princess, far from it in fact."

"Then what is it that you want?" Twilight repeated, desperate for the answer.

"What we want is.... nothing."

Tension snapped and disbelief took root. Hinny's wings fell loosely to the ground. Raffle froze, feeling like his whole world was a lie. But Twilight took it the worst. In her heart, she'd always dreaded the possibility of there being somepony out there, as evil as any of the villains she'd faced, but with no true drive or ambition, their only want being total annihilation of everything around them. Her worst fears had come true.

"We don't want anything, princess. We don't care for money, for clothes, for friendship. We don't care about anypony else. In fact, we don't care so much, we're ready to do away with you all. That's what our organization is about."

The unicorn turned, showing his profile and his cutie mark. "From the start, I knew I was destined for setting events into motion. I was one of the contributing factors to our movement, the movement that would mark the end of Equestria as all knew it. My cutie mark is a trigger, the same mechanism used to activate cannons and firearms, and even explosives."

The terrorist turned dramatically toward the window and gazed out onto the battlefield in the distance. A blood-red aura swirled around his horn. Suddenly, a plume of fire and earth exploded in the distance, accompanied by a ground-shaking boom. The strike force members could hear cries of anguish coming from the site.

"Look how easy it is!" the unicorn declared gleefully, turning back to the room occupants. "You're all blown away by a little fire and a pinch of black powder. Right now, your comrades are seeded with fear and beginning to doubt themselves and their chances."

"Why are you doing this?" Twilight questioned yet again. She'd gotten the answer, but still she didn't believe it.

"I will say it once more," the terrorist said. "We want nothing, nothing to do with you and nothing to do with your government. The purest way to deal with that is by removing you all."

"You're disgusting!" Hinny snarled.

The unicorn flashed his teeth, showing the holes where the hippogriff had knocked some out. "So?"

"Enough of this." Raffle walked towards the terrorist, pulling out a rope from his belt. "You're coming with us as a prisoner. Then we will, as you put it, 'remove' your base."

"Oh, you mean with that lovely pack of stolen explosives."

Raffle froze, his face became a mask. Twilight and Hinny exchanged mortified looks. "Oh, I know all about it," the unicorn went on, slowly walking towards the other still-quaking terrorist. "The higher-ups send an able team to plant a bomb in the enemy's base, destroying it and the only place we have left to hide in.

"But what you don't realize is that it, like so much in this world, doesn't matter. We don't need the base to continue this war. Our ponies will continue to fight, ready for the end of it all. Where our guns fail, our swords shall triumph. Even if Equestria does somehow mange to defeat us, which can only be accomplished by taking lives, the scars from the wounds we've inflicted shall never fade.

"Now, where'd that bomb go?"

The unicorn started looking at the floor, the aura around his horn throwing out blood-red rays of light. Twilight realized what he was doing; he was looking for the explosives that they'd brought with them, that they intended to use to blow up the terror base. That Ploy and Altar were arming in the lot.

"RUN!"

Though Twilight herself took her time, Hinny and Raffle obeyed and bolted from the room in seconds. Raffle whipped out his short-distance radio device and shouted into it. "Ploy, Altar, get into the tunnels, as far away from the bomb as you can! Get away from it!"

A great deal of scuffling was heard over the radio. "Why?" Ploy called back, panting as he ran. "It's not set to go off for a few more minutes."

"The enemy's detonating it, remotely!"

The unicorn terrorist's eyes suddenly sparked and the rays of his magic shone intensely through the floor. "Bingo."

"You won't get away with this," Twilight said bravely.

"'Get away with this?' My little highly-educated-but-ignorant pony, I'm doing so much more than just 'getting away with this'. In all their folly, Equestria actually let one of their four princesses go on a dangerous mission that she may not return alive from. Wait, let me correct myself: will not return from alive."

The ignorance insult slipped off Twilight, as it paled next to the terrorist's second comment. She never anticipated the possibility of her life ending or even thought about it. As an alicorn she was destined for long life, but never had she imagined that it would be cut short. Yet this war held that very prospect, making the possibility of Twilight Sparkle's death very, very real.

No.... no....

"Yes, yes, YES!" The unicorn shouted, as though he'd read her mind. "So long, Equestria!"

A second later, the tide was turned.

Author's Note

There's nothing quite like having your mother review your fanfiction
Thanks, Mom

In a Column of Fire

Shining Armor bent low over the map, staring at it intensely. On his right knelt the dragon officer, Pauldron, and on his left sat Zeal, who had returned from her delivery. Behind the dune which the trio hunkered by, thousands of ponies, gryphon and dragons waited for a signal, a sign which would call them back to arms.

After several days of strategic military maneuvers and tactics, Shining had managed to lead the division to the desert west of the terrorists' mesa base without detection. They'd encountered small teams of enemy ponies but even after they'd been defeated, reinforcements did not hound them. It would seem that despite their drive to fight, the enemy lacked the level of coordination necessary for successful warfare.

"How long until Mandate's team blows the mesa?" Pauldron asked Shining Armor.

"I don't know. I expect they were sent out earlier this evening. They should finish the operation before midnight."

"That's not for hours, Your Highness," Zeal said. "We could be sitting here all night waiting for them, fighting off wave after wave of enemy ponies."

Shining sighed. "I wish it would happened already. I want to end this war and go home, watch over my kingdom, with my wife by my side..."

"We all have things were fighting for," Pauldron declared. "Though I will admit, most of the dragons prefer waiting this war out in their caves, sitting on their hordes. Fortunately, young dragons are spunky creatures, always looking for a fight."

"Too young," Zeal muttered. "Dragons may live for long periods of time, but most of the ones fighting are practically teenagers. They shouldn't be fighting in a war."

"None of us should," Shining said, rolling up the map and stowing it away. "But war has come and we must meet it, lest it swallow Equestria in blood and darkness."

Pauldron grunted. "Jolly."

"Sirs!"

A unicorn teleported before Shining Armor and the others, appearing without a trace of magic. It was one of the sentries posted between the corps and the mesa. "We've sighted Mandate's troops! They're about ten miles east of the mesa and fast approaching."

Pauldron pumped his fist. "Finally."

"How many are there?" Shining inquired.

"They number close tho forty thousand strong: ponies, gryphons and dragons. Infantry, rangers, mages, light weapons and the new airship from Canterlot."

"That'll leave a dent in the enemy's heads," Zeal said, grinning.

Shining nodded. "That is indeed good news. Zeal, tell the troops to get ready; we may need to charge at a moment's notice. For now, we just have to wait for the strike team to carry out their mission."

Whump.

A cobalt-blue dragon, another of the sentries, landed beside the military commanders. "Prince Shining Armor, the enemy is exiting the base!"

Everyone present stared at the sentry. "How many are there?" Shining questioned.

"I-I couldn't be sure, they were all so close together. I'd say at least several hundreds, maybe a few thousand. They've got their weaponized vehicles too, all rattling the ground, a couple dozen of those."

"That is a lot more bloodthirsty haters of civilization than I want to deal with," Pauldron hissed.

"Nevertheless, we can't be intimidated by them. We outnumber them forty to one." Shining donned his helmet. "Pauldron, get the bareback brigade up and Zeal, alert the rest of the troops. The time to execute the plan has come. Tonight, we end this war."

"But what about the bomb mission?" Zeal asked. "The terrorists will retreat to their base if it's still there."

Shining looked up at the mesa, behind which he could see the moon. After their own cliff-built base, the mesa was the next most secure fortress in the desert. If the enemy did return to seek refuge there, then the entire night's efforts would be for naught. It wasn't helping that he was getting a strange unexplained feeling. "We have no choice but to wait," he said, dreading the words as he spoke them.

Fortunately — and also unfortunately — the waiting was over.

BOOOOOM!

A column of fire exploded out of the mesa, blowing it apart and sending chunks of rock raining down on the desert. Shouts of pain and anger came from all around as the enemy was pelted by their own base. Already, Shining Armor's unit of the United Equestrian Army was stirring and the soldiers preparing to march onwards.

"They did it!" Zeal cried out. Pauldron grinned, flames curling out of his mouth like a fiery mustache.

"Then it's time we joined. Pauldron, order the colonels to get their men up and moving; the enemy approaches and we shall meet them head on. Zeal, notify whoever's leading Mandate's troops to attack at once; any terrorist that comes their way, take them out like a flood. We'll crush the enemy between the might of a united Equestria!"

The sentries cheered at the Prince's command but even as Zeal and Pauldron went their separate ways, Shining Armor felt a twinge of discomfort, the kind of twinge he felt whenever he thought of the ponies closest to him and of trouble they may be facing. He looked up at the ruined mesa, wondering for all the world how his LSBFF was doing.

Twily, stay safe.

The detonation of the UEA's reverse-engineered bomb sent the upper floors of the mesa fortress shooting upwards, cracking thems and knocking about anypony standing on them. Twilight spread her wings to keep her balance, casting a shield spell around herself as she searched for her comrades.

"Raffle! Hinny!"

Even as the giant shifting stone walls flew around her, the Princess of Friendship struggled to move about, hoping to save the others from being crushed under the collapsing mesa. Twilight had watched as the unicorn terrorist was punched through a window by a hunk of rock, taking the maniac out of her life. The enemy pegasus had leapt through the hole, desperate to escape the base's destruction.

"Guys, where are you?!"

"Over there, Twilight!"

Twilight looked past the collapsing ceiling and caught sight of the earth pony and hippogriff. Raffle was struggling to find footing, lacking wings to balance him out. Hinny was having a hard time too, her larger size making avoiding the falling rubble difficult.

"Hold on!" Twilight teleported over to Hinny and Raffle and cast a sphere of protection around the three of them. A chunk of debris smashed into the sphere, shattering into dust and causing a ripple to spread along the magical protection's surface.

"I don't know how much longer I can hold this!" Twilight groaned, a drop of sweat sliding down her face.

"Can you cushion us if we roll this thing out of the mesa?" Raffle asked.

"I-I think so."

Hinny didn't wait a moment longer. She pushed herself against the side of the sphere, changing the weight division and causing the entire thing to tilt. Being the center of the sphere, Twilight merely floated in its middle, but Hinny and Raffle found themselves spinning round and round as the sphere bounced through the breaking hallways of the collapsing mesa.

"Faster, faster, faster," Raffle muttered in between bumps. "There's bound to be a second explosion, what with all their extra ammunition storage."

"I hope I can block the blow," Twilight said. "Maintaining the shield is already taxing. I don't know if I'll be able to take another explosion."

"Look, there!" Hinny pointed to a section of the wall, weak from the explosion. "We can bust out through there."

"Alright then. Brace yourselves, guys. We're going to—"

BOOOOM

A second explosion shattered any remaining bits of the mesa and rocked the trio of Equestrians. The blast threw Twilight and company clear of the crumbling fortress but it also badly battered the Princess's shield, causing the magical sphere to dissipate.

Panting, Twilight raised herself with her front legs. Behind them, the mesa no longer stood, the area where it once was filled with giant chunks of rock. To both the west and east, Twilight could hear the enemy's emphatic shouting and the low rumbling of their vehicles.

"They've split up," she gasped, looking back and forth between both directions. "It looks like they've spotted Shining Armor's troops as well as the rest of the Army and are going out to meet them."

"This is it," Raffle said with relief. "As the Prince and the Commander lead our forces together, the enemy will be crushed between the two like a gemstone in a dragon's maw."

"Dragon..." Hinny looked back at the stump of the mesa. "We don't even know if Altar or Ploy made it out of there, wounded or otherwise."

"I'm confident they'll have made it into the tunnels and escaped the brunt of the blast," Raffle replied, putting a hoof on the hippogriff's shoulder. "But for now, we have to get back to our side, either to Prince Shining Armor or Commander Mandate."

"But both of them are far away. There's at least half a dozen kilometers between us and either of the units, and there's the enemy in between all of that." Twilight sighed, feeling her eyes water at the thought of being unable to return home. The unicorn terrorist's words had indeed left a lingering impression on her, despite the fact that the evil mouth that said them was gone. "Do you really think we can get back?"

Raffle sat down beside the alicorn. "Listen, Twilight, I've been fighting battles for most of my life. You've seen one, you've seen em all. When I heard that creep talk, I felt like my whole world shattered and this war that's costing us so much is a waste of time, assets and lives. But all the fights I've been through have told me one thing: never give up, never surrender, never stop the fight until you're all home safely. And that's what we're going to do."

Twilight blinked away the small tears that were forming. "But... but it's all so hope—"

"Uh uh uh, don't say that word," Raffle insisted, putting a hoof to the princess's muzzle. "We don't need any of that running through our heads."

"And we don't have to hear it either!" Hinny popped up between the two ponies, front claws bared to the sky. "We'll break through the terror troops and gallop into our friends' waiting hooves!"

The alicorn and the earth pony stared at the hippogriff, each struggling for a response. "That... is crazy," Raffle finally spluttered. "How in Equestria will we manage to break through the hundreds of enemy ponies out there?"

"By working together."

Twilight surprised the remaining members of the strike force with her answer. "We may have only met because of this war and it hasn't been very much, but I consider you my friends in full. It's friendship that's gotten us through all our famous ventures and saved the country time and time again."

"I thought it was the Elements of Harmony that did that," Hinny remarked.

"The Elements only worked because of our friendship; without it, they would be little more than gem-inlaid accessories." Talking about the Elements and the Bearers, her friends, gave Twilight a burst of hope and confidence. "With my friends by my side, friendship has won the day for us in the past and I'm sure, if we work together now, it will save us tonight."

Raffle heard the princess out and nodded. "She's right. I've witnesses the Elements at work and, more importantly, the ponies behind them. I may not be the most chummy of ponies, but perhaps I can give friendship a try. For our sakes."

"Don't think it'll work if you don't really mean it," Hinny joked, "though I've already taken a step and feel ready to put my trust in a friendship. You've got me by your side, Twilight."

"And I as well."

Twilight looked up at her companions, feeling their accord ring in the air as though their smiles generated the magic itself. At that point, she was positive they could make it out together. "Then let's be off, for home!"

Reassured and revitalized, the three Equestrians fled the destroyed mesa, turning to the east in hopes of reuniting with the main body of the army as well as Twilight's friends. They scampered over the dunes, through the darkness, hoping to go unnoticed by the enemy who were undoubtedly all around them. As the minutes ticked by and the sound of all-out warfare grew louder, the trio became more excited and more careful.

Upon cresting a particularly tall dune, the highest point for miles, Raffle called for a rest. The three friends slumped down on the gritty summit, taking in deep breaths of night air. Hinny raised her head and peered about the place. "I think I can see the battle taking place," she said, pointing further east. "Look, you can see lights flashing."

"Those lights can be both unicorn magic and enemy fire," Raffle remarked, passing his binoculars to Twilight. "I'm becoming less and less sure of joining the fight from this side of things. That's not to say I don't think we can; I'm merely suggesting a detour for our safety."

"He's right," Twilight agreed. "No sense in being taken down just because we couldn't go around."

"But we could strew so much chaos through the enemy ranks if we just come at them from behind," Hinny argued. "It would be a missed opportunity."

"Hinny, please," Raffle insisted, using an underused pleading tone. "We must return to the Commander and report, and we can't do that if we're missing in action."

"We're already missing in action, but point taken. Fine, we'll go the long way around."

Twilight looked north of the battlefield and caught sight of a crescent of dunes ringing the north side of the battlefield, stretching into the darkness until she couldn't see it. "Over there! If we follow that line of dunes, it could take us all the way behind our own forces, thrust right into safe hooves." She hugged herself, the mere though of it giving her a warm feeling.

"Best plan we got for our goal," Raffle stated. "But we'd better hurry; the enemy could pop out at us from practically anywhere."

Even from beneath.

A cry came from the bottom of the peculiarly-high sand dune Twilight and her friends were sitting on; a rough "Equestrians in our midst!" that wasn't the only thing that shook the trio. The entire dune began to rumble, the center of the peak steadily rising, mammals and waves of sand rolling off. From a hidden compartment within the dune, a strange contraption emerged, reminiscent of the mounted cannons of the enemy vehicles, complete with a pony sitting astride it.

"What is that thing?" Twilight gasped, too shocked by the sudden appearance of the machine to pay attention to the quickly-approaching terrorists.

"Who cares?" Hinny replied, drawing a huge scimitar from the sheath on her back. "We've got opponents right in front of us!"

"No, wait!" But the hippogriff didn't hear Twilight's call, instead charging towards the four terrorists running towards them. With a wave of her giant weapon, Hinny knocked aside the lot of them, quickly turning to the rest of the oncoming enemy mercenaries.

"Ha HA!" she bellowed, disarming and disabling terrorists left and right in a flurry of feathers. "Come on! Is that the best you can do?"

At her words, Raffle turned his eyes to the contraption stationed above them and watched as it turned its giant barrel towards the battlefield. With a wild shout from the pony mounting it, the machine began to rattle loudly and a series of loud bangs issued from the open ends, launching dozens of glittering projectiles into the battle.

"Sweet Celestia."

Twilight, too, caught sight of the new weapon and bore witness to its destructive power. Fear pounded within her as the huge cannon swiftly turned towards them, its barrel aimed right at their hippogriff companion.

"HINNY! LOOK OUT!"

Hinny looked up from her now-unconscious target just in time to see the giant weapon turn downwards, aiming its immense barrel at her. With a frightened squawk she leapt aside, right before a hail of bullets peppered the place where she'd stood,

"Go, go, run!" the hippogriff shouted. "I'll distract them!"

"But Hinny—" Twilight tried to object.

"GO!"

Raffle didn't need to be told twice; he was already nudging and pushing Twilight along, although the alicorn was clearly more concerned about their hippogriff friend. Once a bullet whizzed over her head however, she was a lot more compliant and joined Raffle in fleeing the area as fast as possible. An enemy earth pony attempted to pursue, but Hinny would have none of it.

"OH, HELL, NO YOU DON'T!" She grabbed the terrorist by the scruff of his neck and tossed him into a knot of troopers. "Everypony pays attention to MEEEHEEEHEE!"

Hinny flew up to the giant cannon, landing on the edge of the barrel, right in front of the gunner. The pony was quite surprised to find the large hippogriff so close to him and froze. Hinny grabbed the shocked terrorist and ejected him from the seat, letting loose with an animalistic roar.

"Quick," Raffle gasped as he and Twilight galloped away. "We have to get as far away as possible while they're still distracted."

"But we're going the wrong way!" Twilight blurted, struggling to speak while galloping. "The whole plan his falling apart, we'll never get back home like this!"

"Don't give up, Twilight! We can do this. If we keep running—"

Slash

"URGH!"

Raffle pitched forward, blood spraying from a long cut reaching from his shoulder three-quarters of the way down his left front leg. The pony holding the sword responsible grinned around the hilt, the red liquid spilled on the blade dripping down the weapon and staining his teeth.

"Raffle!" Twilight turned and hurried over to the earth pony's side, taking out his attacker with a quick magic bolt. "How bad is it?"

"Uhh.... it won't kill me." Raffle tried to stand, but collapsed almost at once.

"We've got to get you out of here." Twilight levitated Raffle onto her back, glad for the extra power the alicorn magic gave her body. She ran around the dunes, doing her best to keep turning northeast, but the enemy kept cutting her off and forcing her back. With Raffle on her back, she couldn't use her wings and break free of the ground's pull, and Raffle knew it.

"Twilight."

The princess ducked behind a rockslide as a number of enemy troopers ran by, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. "Wh-what is it, Raffle?"

"Leave me."

The suggestion only made Twilight redouble her efforts. She leapt out of their hiding place and downed the passing terrorists with a fan laser burst. "Don't say that. Don't you dare say that. Don't even think it."

"There's no other way," Raffle insisted as Twilight ran, huffing and puffing around and over the dunes while taking out the enemy. "You've got to get back to the troops, to your friends."

"No.... No!"

An ambush of armed terrorists were smacked down with a violent explosion of magic. Twilight gritted her teeth, panting heavily. "We can't... not after all this... so far.... so close..." Tears welled up in her eyes, even as she felt the warm, wet hoof touch her shoulder.

"I'm not incapacitated. I can still take care of myself. If anything, I'll be able to buy you some time."

Twilight slumped, sliding Raffle onto the sand beside her. She cared not for the blood the earth pony was dripping onto her coat. After losing most of her team, she couldn't bear to part with the last one still with her, especially willingly. "When I agreed to this mission, I was aware I'd be sent into enemy territory, surrounded by ponies who would rather see us dead. I thought I was ready for it, for war and its horrors, but after tonight.. after tonight, a-and the morgue and..."

Tears spilled down the purple alicorn's face, mixing with the blood on the sand. Concealed beneath the eroded rock, Twilight relaxed and let her emotions flow free, no longer caring for the madness surrounding herself and her remaining comrade. The pains of war had finally become too much, the harsh reality knocking down her last wards to remain composed. But then, in the middle of her breakdown, she felt a warm touch against her wet cheek.

"Hush now, Sparkle. Cry your fears away. Fortify yourself; there is yet for you to do."

Twilight gave a broken laugh. "Words of wisdom from a war veteran. I never imagined I'd be getting such from a pony like yourself."

Raffle gave her a weak smile. "Then it's fate. Magical, friendship, Equestria-blessed fate. Our country is worth fighting for, Twilight Sparkle, and certainly worth dying for it. While no one truly wants to die, they know they would rather go this way than falling into a volcano or being eaten by plants."

"I almost went that last way," Twilight recalled, grinning in spite of herself.

"But you didn't give up then, did you?"

"No. My friends came and saved me."

"And I'm sure they'll do it time and time again. But that means you have to go."

Twilight took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. Raffle was right; she had to go on, to continue the fight. She didn't like it and felt somewhat selfish putting herself above others, but her new rank demanded it of her. With a sigh only Raffle would hear, she stood up and spread her wings, giving the wounded veteran one last look.

"Don't give me that," Raffle said, waving one hoof at Twilight while stemming the blood from his wound with his the other. "Get going."

"Stay alive, Raffle," Twilight begged. "Find the others and keep them alive."

The earth pony nodded. "To the best of my abilities."

As his last words registered in her mind, Twilight took off, sailing high over the scurrying terrorists as they searched and ran towards either of the UEA forces bearing down on them. Twilight touched down on a high ledge overlooking much of the San Palomino, in particular the area where the battles were about to take place.

From the east and Equestria came Mandate's corps, a huge line of equine, avian and draconic power, barely shadowed by the airship flying above them. To the west came Shining's troops, a swift wave of military strength ready to wipe out any enemy in its path. Caught between the two distant forces were the terrorists, barely visible being spread out so thinly on the desert floor. In her heart, Twilight felt victory pounding its way to the end of the war. There was no chance for the enemy once friendship reigned over the land.

That's enough sideline viewing for me, Twilight said to herself. It's time I got back to my friends.

Twilight spread her wings and prepared to dive, but when she tensed her legs beneath her for a spring, a burning force propelled her into the air faster and sooner than she'd intended. Waves of pain racked her body as she arced high over the desert, and then began to descend, gravity guiding her body down to the merciless cliffs far below. The sudden rush of feelings were overpowering all her senses and barely left space for thinking as Twilight slipped into darkness.