1
"Spike, take a note," said Twilight. "Tell codename Helios we have successfully captured the refugee camp a few miles away from Ponyville. I have lost contact with one of my rescue teams. Our numbers are thin and I am requesting reinforcements. Codename Dusk." Spike, a now five foot tall, humanoid dragon, quickly jotted down Dusk's, or Twilight's, words on an old piece of paper. With a puff of his breath, the paper disappeared. Twilight and Spike trotted down a dimly lit hallway of the Resistance's safe house. She passed by a small amount of different ponies. Some were civilian, but most donned titanium alloy armor, signifying their role in the Resistance. As she entered the main room, many ponies lay still or we curled up on gurneys, groaning and weeping. Twilight's last rescue attempt nearly ended in a disaster. Her pace quickened making her way to the briefing room.
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It had been fifteen years since the griffin rule. All of Equestria had fallen into the griffin's talons, better known as the New Regime. They had fully controlled Equestria in just under a month. The Princesses had went into hiding with many ponies following. Twilight and her friends were split up, either taken away into the unknown or controlling their own network of freedom fighters.
The New Regime had been more advanced with their technologies compared to the ponies. They had developed larger mechs and faster ships. Even the griffins themselves received augmentations. The ponies never stood a chance. Though there are a few who believe they could stand up to this New Regime and liberate Equestria.
A small but growing network of ponies known as the Resistance remained hidden, lurking in the shadows. They had been slowly picking at the New Regime by liberating small towns and stealing griffin technology. The New Regime has been hunting them down for years, but have always come up short. The Resistance leaves little to no trace of their location. It has proven to be a difficult task for the New Regime. But, they are slowly gaining more control.
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Twilight has been struggling for the passed few weeks with getting civilians to safety. Her last rescue team set out days ago but never came back. Twilight had feared the worse.
"Lightning," she called out. "What's the sit-rep with Charlie Team?"
A yellow colt Pegasus with a cyan mohawk turned away from a computer monitor to speak to her. "Charlie Team hasn't spotted anything out of the ordinary ma'am. Still no word from our rescue team Zulu."
"Damn! I sent word to Helios. Maybe we could get a few more colts and find them."
"I fear the worst." Lightning had been a loyal Pegasus from the start. He was one of the first to join Twilight's division in the Resistance. He was also one of the few to vanquish a large amount of griffin. Though his fighting days were over after his right wing was severed by a rain of shrapnel. He now spends his days as Twilight's communications relayer.
Twilight sighed and continued to a small desk. Spike stood next to her desk, ready for orders. Twilight began reviewing a map of all possible locations that could be established as another safe zone. She looked to Ponyville, once her gorgeous, peaceful home, turned into an utter massacre and nightmare. She couldn't forget those that were shot down once the griffins had set talons on Ponyville. Though it was an ideal safe zone and refuge, she couldn't get over the traumatic experience she had. She shed a small tear. Her tears eventually turned into a light sob. Spike understood her emotions. Though he hadn't been through what she had. He silently comforted her. Lightning had heard her silent cries. "Ma'am?" He asked. "Are you okay?"
She wiped her eyes with her hooves. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. Just brought back some bad feelings."
Lightning had a smirk across his face. "Oh don't get soft on me Commander Dusk."
Twilight laughed. "Never have and never will."
As Lightning turned back to his computer, he noticed an encrypted message had reached them. "Commander," he exclaimed. "We have an encrypted message from codename Paragon!"
"Paragon?" Spike asked. "We haven't heard from her in months! Decrypt it, quickly!"
"Spike..." said Twilight. "Lightning, see if you can decrypt that message and get it to me ASAP." Spike sighed. He had been worried about Paragon for months. He has tried not to show it, but sometimes, his feelings slip through.
"Yes ma'am!" said Lightning. He quickly decrypted the message. It was embedded within the New Regime comms. "Jesus, Paragon tried to hide this message good. Don't worry I got it. Playing it out loud." Lightning put up the message through a small speaker for the three of them to hear.
"Twilight!" said Paragon in the message. "Er... Dusk, ack! Damn these protocols! Twilight, it's me Rarity, my colts and I were taken to a camp not far from Ponyville. I managed to sneak my transmitter in. Time has probably passed a bit too far than I had hoped. I am hopeful you'll get this message before we are transferred again. Please, if you can help us. This message will have the coordinates from where I had my transmitter. Please, hurry."
The message had ended. Spike had listen anxiously to the message. He was very eager to leave. "Hurry! We need to go, now!"
Twilight halted Spike. "Now hold on Spike, I know you're eager to save Rarity but we don't even know for sure if she's still there."
"I know she is! I can feel it! C'mon, we're wasting time!" Spike dashed out of the room, bringing with him his rifle and pistol.
"Spike! Lightning keep me updated, tune into our personal frequency," said Twilight before leaving the room. Lightning nodded and continued to work on the computer.
