“We’ve all got the power in our hands to kill, but most people are afraid to use it. The ones who aren’t afraid control life itself.”

-Richard Ramirez, “The Night Stalker”

Morana Region

UTN Donnerschlag

Rear Admiral Kertz von Haeften

3rd Imperial Fleet

“Did we lose them?”

A blue male unicorn scientist stepped out of the bridge and looked behind their ship but couldn’t see anything but fog. It was merely an exploration expedition. While most who dare enter the Unexplored Regions enter further south where the seas were calmer and warmer, few came through the north. They specifically brought with them an icebreaker to deal with the icebergs that have dealt in so many.

“Ach, I can’t see a damn thing through the fog.” The captain, a brown male earth pony commented. “Got anything on radar?”

A red female pegasus continued to bang her monitor.

“I got nothing cap, our radar’s jammed.”

“Can’t be natural. That radar’s never malfunctioned before in the many years I’ve sailed the seas. Somepony’s jamming us on purpose.”

“But why though?” The scientist asked reentering the bridge.

“Call me crazy, but maybe there’s a reason nopony’s ever returned from the Unexplored Regions.” The pegasus said.

“Aye.” The captain said. “Only fools enter the Unexplored Region unprepared to fight.”

“But you’re not?” The scientist responded.

Wordlessly, the Captain pulled an assault rifle from a gym bag lying next to him.

“I’m always prepared son.”

They continued to sail for the next several minutes through the thick fog. The rest of the crew, scientists, and journalists kept a lookout from the outside.

“Ha!”

The two stallions looked at the pegasus manning the radar.

“I think the radar’s finally working!”

“Well you see anything?” The Captain asked.

She stared intently at the screen.

“I’m detecting multiple faint radar signatures, I can’t tell what they are.”

“Fog’s clearing up!” They heard a unicorn journalist yell from the bow of the ship.

“Somepony take the wheel.” said the Captain walking towards the door with his AR. “Whoever they are, they’re the reason we’re lost.”

He shoved through the crowd until he was in front of them.

“Show yourself!” He yelled, aiming his rifle at the clearing fog.

The fog started dissipating slowly, showing very large shapes in front of them. He aimed his rifle, but then his eyes widened and he lowered his rifle slowly.

Once the fog cleared, they were met with an awe inspiring sight. In front of them, an entire fleet of warships laid in front of them. They could clearly see a very large aircraft carrier directly in the rear of the fleet.

“Who-who are they?” The journalist asked.

No one answered him.

“Behind us!”

They all looked back at the thick sea of fog, making out a large shape coming towards them. Finally, the bow of a titanic warship emerged, its main batteries trained directly at them.

“Oh my, I was definitely not prepared for this,” The captain muttered.

Onboard the bridge of the Devastation-class Battleship Donnerschlag, Rear Admiral Kertz von Haeften of the 3rd Imperial Fleet looked at the icebreaker from his binoculars with a grin.

Using the fog, they tailed the icebreaker from a safe distance, jamming both their radar and communications.

“What’s the call from NAVCOM?” Haeften asked the Captain, a tall man of Nordic descent.

“Miyagi said sink the bastards.”

“Heh, I thought so.”

After half a minute, the 15 in. forward batteries of the Donnerschlag took aim at the Icebreaker. The crew could see the ponies on board the Icebreaker start running around in panic. A group of unicorns gathered at the stern of the ship. Their horns glowed, but suddenly fizzed out.

“Pitiful.” Haeften said.

A 15 in. gun fired a single salvo directly at the stern of the icebreaker. As expected, the HE shell hit the icebreaker midship causing a massive explosion that sent ponies and pieces of the ship everywhere. The force of the explosion caused the ship to split in two.

“Well that was boring.” The Captain said.

Haeften shrugged.

“I mean it is just an icebreaker. Make sure there’s no survivors.”

The Captain nodded.

“Yes sir.” He said walking away to give out orders.

Haeften thought about the recent changes in the invasion plans. Due to the locations of the fleets, the 3rd and 7th Imperial fleets would exchange roles. The 3rd will assist in the invasion of the Frozen North and the 7th will assault Manehatten. This was also due to the fact the 3rd spent much of its time in the Morana Region and the 7th was scheduled for an exercise in the Drake Archipelago.

For reasons undisclosed to many officers, the invasion plans were delayed as well. Disappointment flooded the minds of many officers as they were all itching to fight the Equestrians. Humans were a prideful species, and they hated the idea of their kin being used as slaves for so long. They were seen as inferior to the ponies, and that was unacceptable.

From what he’s heard from intel reports, the Crystal Empire, their main objective, used to be ruled by a brutal king and was cursed where it disappeared for a thousand years. It came back several years ago and was integrated into Equestria under the rule of Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor.

“Eh, lets make them suffer more.” He muttered to himself.

“I would rather betray the world, than let the world betray us.”

-Emperor Maximilian Vorenus VII

Princess Celestia Galaxia

Royal Medical Ward, Canterlot Palace, Upper Canterlot

Princess of the Sun

Celesita looked on sadly from behind a window in the medical ward. Twilight and her friends conversed happily as the medical staff checked on Spike, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom after their escape from Ponyville. They couldn’t provide them with any substantial information on the rebels except for one thing that made Celestia’s blood froze.

They had tanks.

The CMC may just be minors who don’t know anything, but Spike’s been with Twilight when they watched military parades, demonstrations, and inspections of military bases. Spike knew what a tank sounded like and he heard the unmistakable engine of one.

Matthew on the other hand, just stood nearby the door of the room watching them. Guards arrested him the moment he arrived in Canterlot, but Twilight put in word that he was with them the whole time so he was let go.

In another room, Luna laid unconscious on a bed. Nothing was wrong with her body, but the doctors could not diagnose what was wrong with her. It all started when she saw the drawing of the flag from the unknown battleship. Celestia thought back to when Luna returned. Back when Luna had PTSD and was nearly driven insane.

8 Years Ago

Luna looked almost mad as she bounced everywhere around her room. Drawings hanged everywhere on her walls of what she called a “Spaceship”, individuals in some kind of suit, specific Human names that were repeated over and over again, but what stood out was multiple drawings of a black flag with a golden eagle on it.

Her hair was a mess, her eyes were bloodshot, and coffee mugs laid everywhere. She talked so fast Celestia could not understand what she was saying. Celestia looked on from the door in worry. In her mind, she should’ve thought of this. Of course being imprisoned for a thousand years with absolutely nopony to talk to would make her go mad.

“Are you sure about this Princess?”

Celestia looked to her left where a group of guards awaited her orders.

“If it means keeping her from going insane, then yes. It’s immoral to do so, but it’s also immoral to let her be. Nopony wants to kill her either.” Celestia sighed.

“At your orders your majesty.”

She rubbed her forehead in frustration before walking up to Luna who was concentrating on drawing another picture of the flag.

“Luna?”

Luna looked up with a grin on her face.

“Sister! I'm so joyous thou art h're! Oh the many things i wanteth to bid thee. Such fascinating things!” Luna clapped.

She then noticed the group of guards behind Celestia.

“Sister?”

“I’m sorry about this Lulu.” Celestia shook her head. “But this is for your own good. We can’t have you going insane.”

Immediately, the guards jumped Luna who let out a shriek. She struggled before one of the guards slipped an inhibitor on her horn.

“What art thee doing? i'm not insane!”

Celestia walked up to her sister, her horn growing brighter and brighter.

“I’m so sorry Lulu.”

“Waiteth! Thee needeth to believeth me! The things I saw-”

A bright white beam hit Luna directly on the forehead. Her eyes rolled before she slumped.

“Is she okay?” Celestia asked the guards. The guards heard a light snore coming from the Lunar Princess.

“She’s sleeping your majesty.” A guard said.

“Good, I’ll have the maids watch over her. Put her on the bed and,” Celestia ordered the guards before looking at all of the drawings. “Burn the drawings. All of them. I don’t want anything that can trigger her memories.”

Present Day

“Oh Luna. If only I had remembered.” Celestia said putting her hand on the window.

She glanced to her right to see Director Jackpot Star walking up to her.

“How goes the search for the missing Nightcrawlers? What about the defector in Manehatten?”

Star crossed his arms and looked utterly pissed.

“You know damn well that was yours and Luna’s fault those Nightcrawlers are missing.”

Celestia was not in the mood however.

“Director-”

“No, you damn listen well. After Ponyville, you’ve been giving out orders out of pure emotion. You’re not thinking straight. Nopony will listen to your orders after those Nightcrawlers went missing, at least not until you calm down.”

Whatever Celestia was going to say, she swallowed it to not anger the already pissed off Director.

“And the Manehatten operation was a damn failure. Never should’ve sent former S.M.I.L.E. agents. Now I’ve got multiple dead agents, one dead informant, a missing experienced agent, and the only agent who made it out is all alone until I send more. But I’m not here to talk about any of that.”

Celestia’s raised an eyebrow.

“Well what is it then?”

“Yesterday at 0800, a pair of explorers found a ship, frozen and trapped in ice on the west coast of the Frozen North. They found the name Event Horizon on the ship, but that name doesn’t come up in any registries. Not even Caribou which is why I wanted to inform you.”

The princess thought for a second.

“I’ll have scientists sent there and alert Princess Cadence to send scientists as well to set up a base for an investigation.”

She looked at Twilight who was holding Spike’s hand as he told his story to the others.

“You’re not thinking of sending Princess Sparkle are you? Not after Ponyville?”

“She would’ve found out with or without me. Probably a good way to keep her mind off of Ponyville as well.”

Jackpot Star bit his lip.

“Then I advise you be careful your majesty. I just don’t have a good feeling about this.”

2 Hours Later

The Celestial diarch stood over a map of the Frozen North along with pictures of the frozen ship.The ship looked it had been there for a while, but she could clearly see the words “Event Horizon” on the bow of the ship.

She wondered how a ship like this didn’t end up in any registries.

Her thoughts were broken when she saw Twilight and her friends walk into the meeting room.

“I only asked for Twilight to be here.” Celestia said.

“Yeah, but Director Star told all of us and well, the girls didn’t want me to come alone.”

Celestia rubbed her forehead and sighed in frustration.

“Of course he would do that.” She muttered before looking at the Elements. They were mostly still distraught from Ponyville as evidence from their neutral faces including Pinkie Pie’s straightened hair.

“There’s something I need you to do Twilight.” Celestia pressed a button on her remote which turned on a projector. Behind Celestia on the wall, a picture of the frozen ship was shown.

“This is the Event Horizon. Yesterday, a pair of explorers discovered it stuck in ice on the west coast of the Frozen North. The mysterious thing about it the ship doesn’t appear in any ship registries. Not ours, the Griffons, the Minotaurs, not even the Caribou.”

“Wait, how is that possible? That’s a pretty big ship.” Rainbow Dash commented.

“Exactly. Most likely, it’s in a registry under a different name. Possibly used in illegal operations. Possibly aiding the Rebels. It could give us clues about them.”

The last part made them perk up.

“The Rebels you say?” Rarity asked.

“Indeed. At first, I was going to send Twilight with a team of scientists and investigators, but it seems all six of you want to go as a group. Cadence has already sent a team of her own to build a base of operations and should be ready for all of you. I’m also sending guards with you as a precaution. If the ship was indeed involved in illegal operations with the Rebels, then the Rebels couldn’t be too far behind us. They’ll try to wipe out evidence so we need to be quick.”

The six looked at each other before nodding.

“Fine, it’ll at least keep us busy.” Twilight muttered.

Celestia nodded.

“We need to know everything about the ship. A plane will wait at the airport for you and will take you to the Crystal Empire. The team should already be at the airport. Good luck all of you.”

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

-George Orwell

Colonel Darren “Warlord” Winslow

Rebel HQ, Everfree Forest

Legionnaire Colonel

“And you got this when?” Winslow asked. He was in the command room with Widow, Batista, and the other Legionnaires who were manning computers. On the table in front of them was the map of the Frozen North and the picture of the Event Horizon.

“An hour ago sir.” said Neptune, a Britannican Legionnaire. “Cipher and Enigma intercepted the info.”

Winslow looked at the picture of the frozen ship in thought.

“We can’t have the Equestrians find the contents or the info inside. That means we need to sink the ship.”

“The Emperor needs to be notified.” said Batista.

“Of course.” Winslow said before looking at Widow. “Get me Brute, Tundra, Drift, Crosshairs, Zero, Frostbite, Santa, Winter, Freeze, Blizzard, and Jaeger. We need to move fast.”

“Alea iacta est.”

-Julius Caesar

Few Days Later

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Research Base Echo

Twilight glanced out of the windows of the Vortex, a new transport they utilized to reach the research base as quickly as possible. Vortex was part of Project Skymaster, a project with the intention of giving Equestria total air dominance over every other country. The lavender alicorn herself was against the idea, but this was a very expensive project that was already started long before she was a princess.

The group of six was mostly silent throughout the trip aside from some small talks amongst themselves. They were dressed in very thick winter clothing, but that still wasn’t enough to keep Fluttershy warm. Pinkie solved that problem by giving her a mug of hot chocolate she got from somewhere.

Unlike them, the guards, the investigators, and the scientists seemed to be very chatty throughout the whole trip. Most of the conversations were about the effects of the attack on Ponyville. Ever since the attack, the economy took a dip and companies started bailing out of Equestria. Most notably was Fancy Pants and Azure Blueblood who began the process of moving their factories to the Griffon Empire.

Speaking of the Griffon Empire, Emperor Red Talon was still missing for the Equestrians. Any high-ranking members of the Griffon Imperials have been tight lipped on the whereabouts of their Emperor.

In other countries all over the world, there were widespread celebrations for the Rebel “Victory”. Pictures and videos circulated throughout the Worldnet of Humans, Changelings, Minotaurs, Griffons, and Zebras hanging effigies of Celestia and Luna, burning Equestrian flags, and crowds throwing trash at the Equestrian embassies. It got so violent that riot police had to step in before it got worse. The one picture that kept popping up in everyponies’ minds was a picture of a Human man above a crowd of rioters holding a burning Equestrian flag and pointing at an Equestrian embassy.

We’ve underestimated their will. Twilight thought.

Many high-ranking politicians and military commanders announced their support for the Rebellion and some Generals and Admirals announced their soldiers are ready to raze Canterlot. Immediately world leaders stepped in to prevent the powder keg from exploding.

The thought worried many ponies greatly. Many ponies began to believe Equestria was surrounded by enemies and turned to their “saviors”, Luna and Celestia. Groups of fanatical ponies have called for the diarchs to use the Sun and Moon to reduce every other country to ashes. Wisely, the princesses ignored them, but Twilight wondered for how long before these groups grew in power. What angered Twilight was how law enforcement did nothing as mobs of ponies murdered Humans in the streets in retaliation. Only when companies started losing their slaves to these mobs did law enforcement step in.

Meanwhile, the Naval Brass were in panic after the loss of a battleship. An old battleship that has yet to be fitted with the latest missiles, but a significant loss nonetheless along with one of Twilight’s allies to end the usage of slaves. Before she left, she heard some Admirals running past them in the palace. Something about a small fleet of Coast Guard ships going missing.

So a scientific research ship, an old battleship, and a few Coast Guard ships? Ships and planes have disappeared for a long time, and any efforts to launch anything into space failed. Could’ve given us a look into the Unexplored Regions. To top it off, Luna doesn’t even remember anything. It’s like fate’s preventing us from finding what’s there. Twilight thought.

“Something in your mind darling?”

Twilight looked to her right where Rarity saw wearing a thick white coat. Her hand held a half-full mug of hot chocolate.

“A lot of things.” Twilight answered. “What do you think about the Unexplored Regions Rarity?”

Rarity looked up in thought for a second.

“Well, I do find it odd that every efforts to explore and get a look at it ended up in failure, but I usually pass it off as fate telling us to keep out.”

“Yes but why?”

“You tell me dear. What’s in your mind?”

Twilight shut her eyes in thought before opening them up again.

“This may sound crazy, but what if there is land in the Unexplored Regions belonging to a civilization actively keeping us out?”

Rarity laughed.

“Dear, you’ve been reading too many sci-fi novels.”

“I’ve had my suspicion Rares. There’s some Humans I’ve found pretty odd. Blueblood’s dad’s servant, some servants in the Palace, Matthew-”

“Surely you don’t think Matthew is a spy or something?” Rarity asked glancing at the Human down the aircraft playing cards with Pinkie Pie.

“I like him Rares, as a friend. We’ve been through many adventures right? Have you noticed how unusually intelligent he was for a Human slave in Equestria? Have you seen the few times he fought? He beat both Applejack and Dashie in a spar at the same time.”

“Maybe he used to be in a fighting ring? Maybe foreign trained perhaps?”

“I thought so for a while too.” Twilight glanced at her longtime Human friend. “But he rarely ever talks about the Unexplored Regions and tends to change the subject.”

“We’re landing in 1 minute. Everyone strap yourselves in.” said the pilot on the intercom.

The passengers stopped what they were doing and sat in silence as they felt the aircraft descend. Fluttershy looked sick while Pinkie and Matthew comforted her. Applejack happily chugged down a mug of hot chocolate, and Rainbow Dash was fidgeting, no doubt wanting to get out.

Finally, they felt the Vortex touch down and the ramp began to lower, before they heard a bang and the ramp slammed into the ground.

“Shit, looks like the eggheads needs to fix up this heap of junk.” One of the guards said.

In front of the ramp stood a very tall black stallion unicorn with a blue mane wearing a winter BDU, a white scarf around his neck, and a black tactical vest with black boots. He had two holsters on either side of him.

He snapped into attention as the passengers got up and bowed at the sight of Twilight.

“Your majesty! Welcome to Research Base Echo. I’m Captain Galaxy Sword of the Daybreakers.”

Twilight inspected him while the rest of her friends were busy with Rarity’s unnecessary amount of baggage.

“I was not aware Princess Celestia sent Daybreakers.”

Looks taller than Big Mac. Twilight thought.

“Unfortunately your majesty, Princess Celestia suspended all Daybreaker and Nightcrawler operations after the Ponyville and Everfree fiascos. I was sent to be your personal bodyguard in the meantime.”

She then noticed he was still in attention.

“You can relax Captain. I don’t like it when my guards are so strict.”

Sword relaxed and let out a breath.

“I’ll be honest your majesty, that was probably why they lost so badly in Ponyville.”

He saw Twilight’s eye twitch for a split second before she sighed.

“Perhaps Captain, but I was there and I don’t believe there was anything more they could do.”

“I apologize if I offended you Princess. Now if your group will allow, I will show you where you will be staying.”

“That will be very much appreciated Captain.”

Galaxy Sword then noticed the mass amount of baggages Twilight’s friends plus her Human dragged towards them. His eyebrows rose as the group finally noticed him.

“Is this, um, all of your baggage your majesty?”

Twilight pinched her nose.

“No, it’s not actually.”

The group glared at Rarity who pouted and looked away.

“It’s fine your majesty. I’ll have some guards bring them to your rooms.”

He walked up to Matthew who glared up at the towering Daybreaker.

“I won’t have problems with you will I?” He asked the Human.

Matthew gave him a smirk.

“Try me pretty boy and we’ll see.”

“I’ve got no problems with Humans, but I do have problems with troublemakers.”

“And I’ve got problems with prima donnas who wake up every day as if they took one in the ass. I’ve dealt with guys bigger than you.”

“What about a Daybreaker?”

“Wanna spar then?”

“ENOUGH!” The two looked at Twilight who glared at the two. “Captain Sword, Matthew is a friend of mine. He won’t cause any problems unless you give him a reason to. Is that right Matt?”

“Sure Twi. I promise to be a good boy.” Matthew said still smiling. Applejack and Rainbow Dash snickered when they saw he had two fingers crossed behind his back.

“There, now be nice you two. Last thing we need is both of you in the infirmary.”

The two glared at each other once more before Sword walked away to lead them to their rooms.

“For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never worn.”

-Ernest Hemingway

Naval Base Zhang He, Drake Archipelago, Codename Orpheus’ Gate

Captain Wilhelm Kretschmer

The Commander of Naval Base Zhang He took a breath of fresh air as he took in the view of Drake Archipelago from the top of Mt. Lowe. Captain Kretschmer, Colonel Isaac Dartmouth of Sakai Air Force Base, Lieutenant General Petar Nedic of Fort Murphy, and Brigadier General Thomas Horace of Marine Corps Base Padilla worked together to turn the Drake Archipelago into a well defended archipelago.

Elsewhere along the MDZ Border, Emperor Vorenus started a very ambitious project to build artificial islands all over the border to act as a “wall” against the other nations. The string of islands would create a circle around Imperial territory stretching from near the Northern Pole to the Southern Pole. Members of the hierarchy are also considering expanding to the Southern Boreas Region and building bases. Talks of building an underwater submarine base there was floated around several times. This was a plan drawn up by Maximilian Vorenus once he became Emperor to solidify the Empire’s position on the top and offer nations multiple trade routes, though controlled by the Empire of course.

If they can pull this off and draw the other nations to use the new trade routes, the Empire can strengthen the economy further and be able to choke other economies should they turn hostile towards Humanity.

From the highest peak of Drake Archipelago, Kretschmer could see ships of the Imperial 7th Fleet docked at the Naval Base, Gigants taking off from the air base off in the distance, and patrolling Flankers and Hornets flying by.

Drake Archipelago was the closest Imperial territory to Equestria, and the furthest from Terra. Anything that entered the MDZ from Equestria, the bases on Drake Archipelago would be the first to detect them. They detected the Equestrian Thunder, and more recently, a small fleet of Coast Guard ships. Generator #82 which projected a field that negated magic and took up a large chunk of the MDZ’s border, laid right in the middle of Fort Murphy.

On the west side of the archipelago on the largest island sat the city of Gardena. Once a town built to accommodate the families of military personnel, now a sprawling city and a popular tourist destination.

The white sandy beaches, the clear waters, untouched wilderness, wildlife activity in the jungles and underwater, and the shipwrecks from past battles attracted people from all over the Empire.

Cruise liners docked in the city’s harbor and Kretschmer could see passenger planes coming and going from the airport. 747s, 757s, 767s, 777s, 787s, A330s, A340s, A350s, and a few A380s all came, either full of tourists arriving, or bringing them back to their homes.

Right in the center of the archipelago, the UTN Titan along with some Cruisers and Destroyers anchored. Helicopters and boats come and go between the ships and the Naval Base. Some of the beaches were reserved for military personnel and he could see a few relaxing there for their breaks.

Kretschmer looked to his right into the open ocean where two Persuaders flew by in formation, no doubt after making sure the Equestrian Coast Guard ships were taken care of.

At the mouth of the harbor, a fleet of fishing trawlers dragged the body of a Kraken.

Those fisherman gonna get paid really well. He thought knowing the kind of money fisherman were paid for catching the extremely difficult Krakens and Island Whales.

“Sir?”

The Captain turned to the officer behind him who stood in attention. Not far behind him was another group of officers in a conversation with some Nomads nearby.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Radar detects a bogey entering the MDZ. About 300 kilometers from here and around 300 meters above sea level sir.”

“How big?”

“Slow moving aircraft, about the same size as a four-engine passenger plane. Most likely not a passenger jet but an Equestrian search plane looking for the missing ships.”

Kretschmer nodded.

“Alert all stations and get a Prometheus to shoot it down. I want it done immediately.”

“Yes sir.” The officer said saluting before heading back to the Nomads.

The Captain sighed and went back to observing the archipelago.

In the event of an enemy force landing, they had tunnels burrowed into the islands for the defenders to utilize. Midget Submarines moored in hidden sea caves ready to ambush Naval forces, and trucks carrying SAM and Anti-Ship Missiles sat hidden in caves always at the ready. Every MBT assigned to repel invaders were each given spots for them to hull-down, SPAAGs, MANPADS, ATGMS, both Infrared and Radar guided missiles, etc. all placed in strategic positions to rain hell on invaders. Skyshield, Iron Ram, and even Naval Artemis Defense Systems coupled with the Prometheus, Swatter, and Smashers dotted all over the archipelago created what the soldiers dubbed, the “Legion of Boom”.

The ground forces assigned to defend the beaches were called the “Steel Curtain”, forces assigned to reinforce the “Steel Curtain” if defenses were falling were called the “Gritz Blitz”, the forces defending the “Legion of Boom” were nicknamed the “Dome Patrol”, Midget Submarines assigned to attack enemy naval forces were called “The Big Blue Wrecking Crew”, and the soldiers hidden in the tunnels to harass enemy forces if surface units falter were called the “Doomsday Defense”.

Kretschmer smiled at how the soldiers came up with the nicknames. Despite being the closest to Equestria, Drake Archipelago was one of the most sought out places for servicemen to be assigned to. With how forces in Rapture can reinforce them, Drake Archipelago was called “The most well defended place on Earth.” It was also called the “Gateway to Hell” considering how every invasion plan consists of their forces converging on Drake Archipelago first before sailing or flying to Equestria.

It was also nearly untouched by the Insurrectionists, with the only incident being a team of Sea Wolf defectors tried to sneak into the archipelago. Other than that, it’s been mostly catching poachers, illegal fisherman, crimes dealt with by the local police, and the occasional drunkard trying to get in one of the bases.

As of now, the population and the military personnel relaxed and many were in a celebratory mood. Imperial might is closing on the last stronghold of the Insurrectionists, people stayed glued to their TV screens or smartphones, waiting for confirmation that David Graves and the Insurrectionsts have either surrendered or were wiped out.

To senior military commanders, politicians, and others on the top of the Imperial hierarchy, know this isn’t the end. The Emperor made a promise to free their brothers and sisters in Equestria and if there’s one thing people know, is the Emperor always keeps his word.

Speaking of the Emperor, he’s always had a particular interest for Drake Archipelago not because of its location and military presence, but because of the stories that keep spreading from fisherman, divers, ship captains, etc. He’s always had an ear on this place as well as the Enigma Forest and other locations. The media and most people dismissed it as just the Emperor’s childhood fascination for mysteries and the paranormal.

Unknown to most people, some like Kretschmer knew many of these “mysteries” were true. He was there when they snagged the torn remains of a “mermaid” from the propellers of the Devastation-class Battleship, Donnerschlag. ISB and TIB of course came by to collect the remains and made everyone who saw it swear in secrecy with the punishment of death should they talk.

One Ensign couldn’t hold it any longer and told everything to his family. The next day, he and his family were found dead in their homes, much to the annoyance of agents from the Department of Internal Security (DIS) who knew who was responsible but could not apprehend.

The many instances of DIS agents not able to arrest TIB agents due to immunity earned them the nickname “DIS-appointment Agents”. Of course, when a member of the TIB steps out of line, then DIS will gladly step in to find dirt on them just like the case of Katherine Gina, Chief of the exposed TIB Black Site Alecto.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a Prometheus missile launch vertically into the sky from, Sakai Air Force Base in the distance, before turning and shooting into the horizon.

Kretschmer smiled.

They won’t know what hit them. He thought.

Unknown Bogey, 300 Meters above sea level

Target identified as four-engined aircraft, similar in size to an Airbus A340

300 meter above sea level at a slow cruising speed was a four-engine aircraft belonging to the Equestrial Royal Navy. It used to belong to an airline company before they went bankrupt, in which the Navy acquired some of their planes and modified them for multiple purposes.

This aircraft in particular, was used as a Marine Patrol Aircraft and was on a routine patrol when they received orders to search for some missing Coast Guard ship. Normally, a dedicated search plane from the Coast Guards would be sent, but they were all too far away so in the meantime, a four-engined MPA would have to do.

Inside the aircraft, the crew searched the ocean, hoping for any sign of the missing ships. The pilots, a female Pegasus and a male Unicorn looked around in frustration.

“This is dumb, we’re not suited for this crap.” The co-pilot unicorn muttered.

“Just be patient, we have 30 minutes before proper search planes arrive.” The Pegasus captain said.

“Yeah, but still…”

They were interrupted when a male Earth Pony crewmember stumbled into the pilot looking sick.

“What happened to you?” The unicorn asked.

“I-I dunno guys. Me and a few others just...felt weak all of a sudden.” He said.

“Others?” The captain asked.

“All Earth Ponies. Can’t be a coincidence right?”

The trio stopped when they heard a beeping sound from the plane’s computer.

“Radar lock? Who’s locking on to us from all the way here?” asked the co-pilot.

“There shouldn’t be any warships in this area. I’m turning around, we’re getting out of here!”

The plane banked left in the direction of Equestria when the constant beeping turned into something that made their hearts skip a beat.

“SOMEONE’S FIRED A MISSILE?” The co-pilot yelled in fear.

“Quick launch countermeasures!”

The co-pilot flipped a switch launching their countermeasures.

“That should do it.” He said. But their relief turned to horror when the warning didn’t go away.

“Haven this is Bugeye 1, we ‘ve been-bzzzt”

The captain was cutoff as the missile hit their plane, turning it into a hail of flaming metal pieces falling to the ocean.

“Bugeye 1 do you read?”

…

“Crown, this is Haven. We’ve lost all contact with Bugeye 1.”

“Kill one man, and you’re a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you’re a conqueror. Kill them all and you’re a god.”

-Hean Rostand

Wreck of the MV Ocean King

Amateur Diver Arnold Talbert

Drake Archipelago

Arnold scanned the inside of the bridge. Everything was covered in sea life just like the guides said. Nonetheless, he was fascinated and smiled when a school of fish swam out the otherside.

“This is amazing.” He said via radio.

“Hell yeah. Hey, you see anything valuable here?” His brother Eric asked who was exploring the bow of the ship.

“You know the cops will just arrest us right?”

“Heh, just playing with you bro. Yo I’m gonna check Grandpappy’s room. Wanna come with?” Eric asked referring to the Captain’s quarters.

“You go on ahead, I’m gonna go swim down the bottom and see if I can find anything interesting.” Arnold said swimming out of the bridge and heading to the bottom where pieces of the ship lay strewn on the floor.

He couldn’t help but marvel at the ocean liner. The MV Ocean King was a famed cruise liner known for the many famous and wealthy passengers it carried, even a few members of the Imperial family. Their grandfather was the last Captain of the Ocean King when it was moored in Drake Archipelago. However, a Category 5 hurricane caused several ships in the harbors to break free. The famed liner met the unfortunate fate of getting rammed by the Titan-class Aircraft Carrier Devastation, again by the Vindication-class Destroyer Chimera, and finally the Leviathan-class Battlecruiser Tormentor.

Devastated by the rammings, the sinking Ocean King sailed out of the harbor but luckily, it didn’t sink in deep waters. The crew and passengers were left stranded, but at least Drake Archipelago found itself a new attraction for tourists.

And this is where the Talbert brothers were now, to explore the famed ship their grandfather captained.

Arnold heart skipped a beat when he found personal belongings on the ocean floor, but remembered nobody was on the ship when it sank. The wildlife flew all around him, not bothered by the exploring Human. He swam closer to one of the ship’s largest hulls and started exploring.

“Find anything cool?”

“Aside from some personal belongings the passengers left behind, nothing really.” He responded.

“Cool, I think it’s about time we head back before we ru-”

“Wait!” Arnold said when he saw what appeared to be a large tailfin disappear behind a corner. “I think I see something!”

“What did you see?”

He was silent as he swam closer. The young man rounded the corner, and his face paled when he was met with a face, a pony face.

Arnold screamed as he swam back in panic. Whatever the yellow pony thing was, it screamed as well swimming out of a hole. He saw the pony had a fishtail but to his utter shock, the hybrid was followed by a manatee and another hybrid, this time with a human upper half.

“AHHH WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?” He screamed.

“What? What did you see?”

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT I SAW! WHAT THE FUCK GET DOWN HERE ERIC!”

“Stand amongst the ashes of a million dead souls, and ask the ghosts if honor matters.”

-Emperor Maximilian Vorenus VII

Imperial Palace Gym, Agatha, United Terran Empire

Emperor Maximilian Vorenus VII

“COME ON! DO IT! THAT’S 28!”

Max lifted 225 lbs of weight before he struggled. The Imperial Guard he assigned to help him lifted the weight off of the Emperor.

“That’s 29 sir.” The guard said.

The Emperor shook his head.

“Record was 31. God I’m getting old.” He said getting up. The 6’5” 260 lb man looked at himself at a nearby mirror. His body was soaked in sweat after working out all day to stay in shape. Every Sunday, he would set all work aside to workout, be with his family, or just have fun. He stood out among the rest of the Imperial family considering how fit he was from his time in the military and his consistent workout routine.

One of his uncles used to be his trainer when he was young, but the 6’7” man got old and thus, stopped working out. Since then, Max has relied on his own guards to help him with his workouts. Sundays usually start off with him jogging for 3 miles, followed by a few hours in the gym, an hour of meditation in the gardens, and then either playing with his kids or going out with his wife.

Max threw a towel over his shoulder, but then an Imperial Guard ran in and stopped in front of the Emperor.

“Sir, Colonel Winslow has left a message. The Equestrians have found the Event Horizon.”

He sighed thinking he would be free of work all day.

“I suppose he’s sent Legionnaires to do something?”

“Yes sir, he’s deployed a team to sink it.”

Max nodded.

“Good. Notify me of any updates. I’m gonna go shower if you don’t mind.”

He walked towards the showers thinking of what would happen if the Equestrians find classified info on the ship but shook it off.

The Legionnaires got this. He thought.

“The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls.”

-Edgar Allen Poe

Rebel Medical Ward, Everfree Forest, Equestria

Lieutenant Lee “Wizard” Stanford

“Interesting. So their strong legs make them gifted runners and are the reason why the princess don’t have leg problems due to their height?” Wizard asked.

“Precisely.” Doc said inspecting the body of a male earth pony that was cut open. “Should also mention male ponies naturally have a bigger penis than a-”

“I already know that, thanks Doc.” Wizard rolled his eyes writing notes on his journal.

The door to the ward was kicked open with a bang as a cart full of knives and bottles of chemicals was wheeled in by a Britannican male wearing goggles.

“Alright Doc, got everything you need here. Couldn’t find Chemo or Joker so I asked Scarecrow and Jigsaw to pick the chems. Sup Wizard.”

“Hey Gadget.” Wizard responded.

“It’ll do.” Doc said inspecting the chemicals on the cart.

“So what are you trying to do with the bodies anyway?” Gadget asked.

“Experimentation mostly.” Doc replied picking up a needle with red liquid inside. “What’s this?”

“Oh, Jigsaw said that’s a toxin he found while stationed in Rebirth Island. Something about some scientists wanting to unleash it on Banoi to test it or something.”

Wiz looked up from his journal when he heard what Gadget said.

“Wait a minute.”

Doc didn’t hear Wizard as he plunged the needle into the arm of another dead pony, a pegasus this time.

Instantly, the eyes of the Pegasus opened and it sat up.

“What the fuck?” Gadget muttered.

With a roar, the Pegasus lunged at Doc who held it back by the neck.

“Kill it! Kill the fucking thing!” Doc yelled.

Wizard took out his pistol and shot its head. Its body crumpled into the floor.

“Thought they’d have yellow glowing eyes.” Wizard muttered not realizing Doc and Gadget heard him.

“You dealt with this shit before?” Gadget asked pointing at the dead body.

Wizard’s mind raced thinking of an answer in panic.

“Rebirth.” He answered.

“Ah that explains it.” Doc said buying his answer as did Gadget who nodded his head. “Probably best if you make sure Jigsaw doesn’t have anymore of these. I don’t want to live through a cliche zombie movie where the military loses.”

Wiz chuckled before walking to the door.

“Fucking zombies. Next thing we know, a lumberjack ghost comes to kill us all.” Gadget said nudging the dead body with his foot.

Unbeknownst to him, Wiz rose an eyebrow at his comment from the door but shook his head.

“You have no idea buddy.” Wiz whispered.

“Give me five minutes and I can get your closest friend or relative to rip you to shreds.”

-Director Vassily Azarov

Research Base Echo

Frozen North, Equestria

Captain Galaxy Sword

Daybreaker

After the base’s personnel finished bringing their annoyingly large amount of baggage, the group got to work to make themselves comfortable. Galaxy Sword watched over them from the door to the trailer on a desk while studying some maps.

“Hey is there connection here?”

Sword glanced up and looked at the other side of the room where Matthew and Rainbow Dash were busy setting up a gaming console with a television.

“You’re not allowed to use the Worldnet here, Rebels will be able to track it.” Sword announced.

Matthew and Rainbow Dash looked at each other.

“Split-screen survival.” They said at the same time before going back to set up their gaming console.

The Captain shook it off before going back to the map. Event Horizon was stuck in a very open area, meaning the Rebel’s can’t sneak up on them unless there’s a blizzard. However, they could be in trouble if the ice starts breaking up.

What worried him greatly was the snow covered hills that surrounded the base. Even when they have sentries guarding them, the chance of being infiltrated is still very high. While many thought of the Rebels as low, he was trained to never underestimate his enemies. The attack on Ponyville and the disappearances of many Nightcrawlers proved there has been changes among the Rebels.

They hardly ever operate in the Frozen North considering the Crystal Empire is considered a safe Haven for Humans and the neutral Yaks don’t utilize slaves nor do Humans live with them. That’s the one thing Galaxy Sword believes will be the downfall of the personnel of the base. They’re too confident.

He looked out the window at one of the hills.

Perfect place to watch the base and we’re too stupid to take them seriously. Galaxy Sword thought.

“Curiosity will one day kill me, and I will welcome it with a smile.”

-Doctor Heinrich Steiner

Lieutenant Vikar “Brute” Isleifsson

Near Research Base Echo

Legionnaire Lieutenant

“Doesn’t see much to me.” Brute commented from the very same hill Galaxy Sword was staring at. He was looking at the base through his binoculars while prone. Next to him, Sergeant Lenni “Crosshairs” Ketola looked through the scope of a suppressed S-35.

“I see a platoon sized force, but that guy who greeted the princess has gotta be a Daybreaker or a Nightcrawler. Considering the platoon’s commander saluted him, I’m guessing he’s someone of higher rank. I’m marking him as an HVT.” Crosshairs said.

“No armored vehicles other than that new transport and several snow trucks. Did you see that Human with the princess?”

“Yeah.” Crosshairs said shifting to the window, watching the Human playing a video game with one of the ponies. “Probably that missing agent we were told to look out for.”

They watched for the next several minutes, marking targets.

“Lets head back to the others. I think I have a plan.” Brute said as they got up and walked back to a pair of snowmobile behind them.

“Live positively and you will live longer. Keep thinking negatively and you’ll see yourself to an early grave.”

-Air Chief Marshal Jonathan Kuhn

Emperor Maximilian Vorenus VII

Imperial Palace Gardens, Agatha, United Terran Empire

Emperor of the United Terran Empire

Max’s mind was completely calm. He sat in a meditative pose on the grass, wearing a simple white t-shirt and black shorts.

Being the Emperor was an extremely stressful job, watching over billions of lives and making sure everyone was clothed, fed, and happy. So far, he’s on his way to fulfill his promise thanks to his ministers.

Expanding green energy by building more windmill and solar farms was welcomed by many. The bountiful resources the Empire has was being utilized to its full potential though some areas was restricted. He hated the idea of animals and plants going extinct due to unregulated deforestation. Humanity still used oil, lots of oil, but green energy was becoming mainstream.

The contributions made by people such as Elon Musk ensured Humanity would be ahead of the other countries by decades at its current rate.

Conflicts have been resolved, crime was in a steady decline including poverty, and there’s been news of scientists being able to clone extinct species. Max knew they had the ability to do so for a while but refused to reveal to the public when the scientist who found a way wanted to build a theme park full of cloned dinosaurs. The idea was shot down since the scientist refused to share his knowledge unless he got his park.

At least he chose to before he passed which Max was eternally grateful. Now they just need to make sure a scientist doesn’t go too far with the new knowledge.

Other than that, things seem to be good, but one of the things that lingered was that the Continental Slave Trade still existed and every day, Max began to believe Deputy Director Beria had something to do with it. Impossible for such operations to flourish under the TIB’s and DIS’s watch unless they had someone in the inside.

There was a long list of suspects within the Empire’s hierarchy with Beria on the very top. Unfortunately, the man had many allies and his contributions to take down many criminal warlords, rebel leaders, etc. was perceived positively by many.

What was even harder was he was not part of the Order of the Golden Eagle, meaning he was not part of their vast network and harder to track his activities. Luckily, TIB agents have gotten leads lately that may put a stop to the operations.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

Max’s meditation session was interrupted to his annoyance by a dark skinned old man standing in front of him in a black suit and violet tie.

He sat on the grass in front of him.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about our meeting?” The man said with a deep voice.”

The Emperor sighed, forgetting about the scheduled meeting.

“Sorry, I forgot all about it. Had many things in my mind.” He commented.

“I see, Equestria?”

Max nodded.

“Just wish things were much more simpler Omir.”

Omir laughed.

“Don’t we all?”

Omir Steindorf was the CEO of Ares Defence and one of the richest people in the Empire. He was one of Max’s earliest allies in his rise to power. The 6’3” 235 lbs man was considered one of the humblest men Max has ever met. Refusing to associate with the nobility, using his own money to build homes for the needy, an early supporter for alternative energy, he was everything Max wished the nobility was.

The two would often converse along with other allies in the hierarchy, but one of the things Max was kept an eye with was Omir’s massive ambitions.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Max asked.

“Equestria.”

Max’s eyebrow rose.

“Equestria?”

“Precisely. I want to make sure Humanity stays above the others in ways they could never imagine.”

“Ah I get what you’re saying. We’ve studied the magic they utilized Omir, and found we cannot wield their magic.”

“But surely-”

“I’m not finished.” Max said stopping him. “The ponies, according to what was found in Site #32, utilized a corrupted form of magic. Something the Human body can not handle.”

“So what are you saying?”

Max smiled.

“If you can find a way for Humans to use a purified form like what ISB said once existed long ago, then we will be one step closer to becoming the true apex predators.”

Omir gave him a toothy grin.

“Where do I start?”

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

-Albert Einstein

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Research Base Echo

The Next Day

The following morning, the group except for Rainbow and Matthew sat on a table in the makeshift cafeteria eating. So far, their stay has been uneventful except for Matthew and Rainbow constantly raging while playing video games. Pinkie Pie’s hair was no longer straight which was a good sign, but she still wasn’t talking as much as usual.

“So what’s your story?” Twilight asked Galaxy Sword who was too busy looking at maps and reports while eating. Seeing there was nothing else better to do, the others listened in to their conversation.

“That’s something personal princess.” Galaxy Sword responded his eyes still glued to the maps and reports.

“Well, can’t you at least say something?”

The Captain stopped and glanced at Twilight.

“Celestia and Luna are stupid.”

“Whhhhaaaat?” Pinkie said suddenly popping up next to Twilight. “You can’t say that about them. They’re super nice!”

“And every fucking problem we have today is because of them. They’ll be the end of us.” He said going back to his food.

“But you’re a Daybreaker are you not?” asked Rarity. “Shouldn’t you be loyal to them?”

“I’m loyal to the country, not some thousand year old princesses who are too busy sucking rich people’s dicks. I’m not having this fucking conversation again.” He said getting up and gathering his papers.

The other’s glanced at each other.

“What’s his problem?” Applejack asked.

Galaxy Sword walked away angrily, but the moment he opened the double doors leading outside, he was instantly pelted by a hail of snowballs.

“ACH, what the fuck?” He yelled. Outside, Rainbow Dash and Matthew giggled behind a snow truck before they snuck away.

They ran through the vehicles together, making sure they put the trailers and the infuriated Captain between them.

Both couldn’t react in time as an arm appeared out of a corner and clotheslined the two. Dash and Matthew groaned in pain, with the Pegasus holding her forehead and the Human holding his jaw.

“Hmph, serves you right.”

The two looked up to see the smug Captain looking down on him before walking away. Rainbow Dash sat up and looked at her watch.

“It’s almost time to go Matt.” She said but got no response. “Matt?”

Next to her, Matthew continued to stare into the sky with a smile on his face.

“Game on asshole.”

30 Minutes Later

“Everyone on board lets go!” Galaxy Sword yelled.

Scientists, investigators, Royal Army soldiers, and Twilight’s hopped on to four snow trucks. Most were in a happy mood, except for Twilight’s group of course because they were the only ones present affected by the Raid on Ponyville. At least Rainbow Dash and Matthew tried to lift things up with their usual shenanigans.

“Why didn’t you guys cover the trucks?” Rainbow Dash asked sitting between Matthew and Twilight.

“Beats me.” Matthew said. “So what do we need to know about where we’re going?”

The trucks surged forward out of the base and into the nearby ice sheet.

“The ship’s broken in half.” Galaxy Sword announced to the group. “Nobody’s tried going inside, but it doesn’t look like a normal cargo ship. My guess is it’s military, but we don’t know who it belongs to. Obviously though, it’s been there for a while.”

“Anything else we need to know?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, the ice is getting thin so it’s now or never. Be careful what you do, one wrong move and the ice will start breaking apart. The ship won’t be the only ones taken by the waters.”

The rest shivered at the thought of falling into the freezing waters.

For the rest of the ride, Rainbow Dash and Matthew poked at each other to irk the other, unknowingly annoying Captain Galaxy Sword in the process, and Pinkie Pie decided to sleep with a smile on her face. Something Matthew always found creepy and could never get used to seeing.

“Boop.” Matthew said booping Rainbow’s nose.

“You wanna go there Matt?” She asked.

Matthew stared at her in silence, before poking her on the belly causing her to laugh. In response, she did the same causing him to laugh as well. However, his laugh was caught short when he noticed something in the distance.

“Is that it?” He asked.

Galaxy Sword looked at where Matthew was staring at and nodded.

“That’s it.” He said getting everyone’s attention.

“Whoa that’s bigger than I thought.” An investigator said.

Well, now I just gotta figure out how to sink it. Then again, Winslow’s Legionnaires should’ve been here by now. Matthew thought.

The convoy stopped near the starboard side of the ship where a large crack down its middle allowed them an entrance.

“Everyone off!” A soldier on another truck yelled. Everyone proceeded to comply, though Matthew and Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate to start sliding on the ice with their backs.

“Can you two be serious for one minute?” An annoyed Galaxy Sword said.

“Where’s the fun in being serious?” Matthew asked.

“Oooh that looks fun!” Pinkie Pie said joining the duo.

Meanwhile, Twilight looked up at the bow where the name of the ship could be seen. She quickly took out a notebook and started writing it down.

“ISBV Event Horizon. What does that mean?” She asked nobody in particular.

While the scientists and some investigators unloaded equipement from the trucks, the rest approached the ship cautiously. Some investigators snapped pics of the ship on the way.

Leading the group, Galaxy Sword entered the ship using magic to emit light from his horn while holding a revolver. Seeing nothing was in the hallway, he motioned for the group the all clear.

“Not gonna lie, this is very creepy.” Applejack said.

“I have a very bad feeling about this.” Rainbow Dash said. “What about you Matthew?”

Matthew’s eyes inspected everything in case there was a hazard. After all, the people on the ship did go mad after being exposed to the toxin.

“Me too Dashie. I feel like we shouldn’t be here. Nothing good ever comes from disturbing the dead.”

“Th-the dead?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet.” Galaxy Sword said looking at him with a cocky smile.

“Call me superstitious, but there are things we shouldn’t disturb. The dead is one of them.” Matthew responded thinking back to the several times he was present at some ISB archaeological sites.

“Door ahead.” An investigator said.

A soldier moved ahead of them and tried turning the wheel.

“It’s stuck, somepony help me.” He said.

Applejack stepped up and gripped the wheel. They turned it slowly, meeting a lot of resistance. Finally though, the hatch opened up slowly.

The entire group stepped back in shock when they found behind the door, was the frozen body of a Human hanging from the ceiling. A chair sat overturned near the body.

“What in the world?” A scientist muttered.

Seeing nobody was stepping up, Matthew came up to the body and poked it a few times.

“Frozen solid. Been here for a long time.” Matthew said.

The dead Human wore what used to be tanned BDUs, a black tactical vest, and black boots. He couldn’t tell what skin color the man had anymore, but Matthew could tell from the facial structure the man was an Afrikan.

Insurrectionist. He thought.

“Why is this guy dressed like a soldier?” Galaxy Sword asked inspecting the body.

“Could be Griffin, could be Minotaur. Who knows. Almost every country has Humans in their militaries.” Twilight said checking the arm to look for a patch. She then noticed one she could barely read.

“Fight for Freedom, Never Surrender.” Twilight said reading the patch. The patch depicted a hand choking the life out of a golden eagle. “Do you recognize this unit?”

Galaxy Sword inspected the patch Twilight pointed out but shook his head.

“Never seen this patch before. Could be Black Ops, a Tier 1 Operative. In that case, one of the governments have been conducting operations behind our backs.”

“Oh please, as if the Equestrian Government hasn’t done the same. Trying to insert troops against the Caribou worked out SO well huh?” Matthew said.

The Captain rolled his eyes.

“We need to keep going, maybe we’ll find anything else useful here.”

“Uh. About that.”

They looked at a Pegasus investigator who was shining her flashlight down the hallway behind the body. Their faces went pale when they were met with the sight of more frozen Human bodies littering the hallway.

“Lets-lets just keep going. Get this over with.” said Galaxy Sword now feeling nervous.

The group carefully walked by the bodies. Each one, Twilight mentally took note of. Some were dressed like the man who hanged himself, some wore Hazmat suits, some wore lab coats, and some wore uniforms with blue camouflage.

“They’re all Humans.” Twilight said getting their attention. “These can’t be Rebel. They have uniforms, Hazmat suits, and some look like scientists.”

“That means a they’re funded by a foreign government. Somepony needs to answer for this.” A soldier said.

“I’ve never heard of Human scientists though.” Another soldier said. “Soldiers yes, but not scientists. And why would this ship be crewed by only Humans?”

“To make sure they couldn’t be traced back probably?” answered an investigator.

“But crewed by Humans though? I’ve heard of Humans in other navies, but never a ship crewed by only Humans.”

“Men are basically smart or dumb and lazy or ambitious. The dumb and ambitious ones are dangerous and I get rid of them. The dumb and lazy ones I give mundane duties. The smart and ambitious ones I put on my staff. The smart and lazy ones I make my commanders.”

-Erwin Rommel

Lieutenant Vikar “Brute” Isleifsson

Wreck of ISBV Event Horizon

Legionnaire Lieutenant

“How long do you need?”

Brute looked down from a catwalk where Zero and Santa were setting up explosives on the containers holding the “Mad Hatter” Toxins, weapons, and racks full of 105mm and 155mm HE artillery shells.

“I’ve got a severed det cord. We’re gonna need ten mikes to get the trunk rigged and the EBC primed over.” Zero radioed back.

“We don’t have time. Get it done in five mikes.” Brute answered back. “Crosshairs, anything on your end?”

“Research Base is lightly defended. Looks like a squad or two. We shouldn’t be long.” said Crosshairs. “I’m seeing some kind of VTOL transport. Spooks never mentioned anything about this. Any ideas what we should do to it?”

“For now, don’t destroy it. If you can remove any trackers, steal it. Maybe we can get something out of it.”

“Copy that.”

“Warlord, Crosshairs spotted some kind of VTOL transport at the Equestrian Research Base. Does Shaw know a place we can hide it?”

“Give me a sec.” answered Warlord.

Brute started shifting nervously waiting for an answer, knowing the Equestrians were on the way here.

“Brute, Shaw says there’s an old cave used by the Diamond Dogs big enough to hide it. Rebels have been using it as a hidden hanger of some sort. It’s located on the northern slope of a mountain 30 clicks from the Crystal Empire. Be advised, Equestrian and Yakyastani militaries have radars situated on the top of the mountains. He advices to fly low and between the mountains. Other than that, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Copy that Warlord. You hear that Crosshairs?”

“I hear that. Tundra will check it out and Blizzard will fly it to the rendezvous. Drift’s flying the rest of the way though. Remember last time we let Blizzard fly something?”

“Don’t worry, we all remember.”

“Sorry to ruin this happy moment, but Equestrians closing in on you guys. My drone’s tailing them.” interrupted Freeze.

“Shit but it’s not primed yet!” said Zero.

“We’ll buy you some time, just keep working on it. Jaeger, get ready. Remember to not kill the Elements.”

“Got it.”

Brute hid behind a crate on the catwalk, while Zero and Santa moved some crates and racks to barricade themselves while they work on the explosives.

“Freeze, Frostbite, Drift, where are you guys at?”

“Frostbite’s hidden somewhere monitoring his sensors. I’m on the top deck monitoring my drones and Drift’s with me.” Freeze answered.

“Bout to lay down the hurt on these motherfuckers.” Jaeger said.

“Shhh, everyone be quiet.”

“Sugar is just gay salt.”

-Random Twitter user

TIB Field Agent Matthew Harlow

Wreck of ISBV Event Horizon

Here it is. Matthew thought. They entered a large storage room full of containers littered everywhere.

“Whoa, what is all this?” Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight looked up and froze. Hanging from the ceiling was a tattered flag.

“What kind of flag is that?” asked a soldier getting the rest of the group’s attention who looked up.

“Never seen that flag before.” said Galaxy Sword looking at the blag flag with a golden eagle on it.

“I know I’m not suppose to say this, but we saw a flag similar to that back at Canterlot.” Twilight announced. “Director Star showed it to us when two Pegasi Royal Guards spotted a mysterious ship while searching for the Equestrian Thunder. Princess Luna saw a drawing of the flag on the ship, and passed out for some reason.”

They were all silent before it was broken by Galaxy Sword.

“We can worry about that later. There’s bigger problems to worry about. Look at the containers, some of them have Biohazard Warnings on them and it’s making me uneasy.”

A soldier opened up a container and stepped back.

“Whoa.” She said.

They looked inside to find something that made them pale.

“Those are High Explosive artillery shells.” Galaxy Sword said. “That’s it, we are leaving. I’m calling in a bomb disposal squad and until then, nobody’s getting on this ship.”

There was one scientist however, who broke away and was continuing to analyze the bodies. He then noticed a door left slightly ajar and approached it.

His heart skipped a beat and his skin went pale when he found on the other side, was a soldier with a creepy mask pointing a shotgun right on his forehead.

A loud bang resonated in the room as a the scientist’s head disappeared in a plume of blood and gore.

“Contact!”

Before any of them could fire, the unknown took cover behind a wall.

Up on the catwalk, a Human stood up from behind a crate and fired his rifle immediately riddling three of the Equestrian soldiers with bullets.

“Contact on the catwalk!” Another soldier yelled.

“No! Fall back now!” Galaxy Sword yelled as they started backing away. The first man then broke cover and fired his shotgun at the nearest soldier, causing the poor stallion to get riddled with pellets.

The group wasted no time in running out of the room, with the soldiers firing back as they ran to slow down the two unknowns.

Inside his mind, Matthew was glad the Legionnaires got to the ship first, but was now worried about getting hit in the crossfire.

“Look out!”

As they reached the end of the hallway, the ceiling collapsed. Matthew and two Equestrian soldiers jumped to the left, while everyone else avoided the debris by jumping to the right.

“Matthew, you okay?” He heard Rainbow Dash yell from the other side of the wall of debris.

“Yeah we’re okay!” He yelled back. “Can someone lift the debris?”

“Give me a sec.” said Twilight. “We need to r-”

She was interrupted when there was a burst of gunfire.

“Contact! We need to get out of here!” yelled Galaxy Sword who was returning fire.

“But Matthew-” pleaded Rainbow.

“Now! Get out!”

More gunfire could be heard from the group before it faded to nothing.

“Ah really? We’re stuck with the Human.” One of the Equestrian soldiers said getting up from the floor.

“At least we’re not being chased right?” The other soldier said. They then noticed a hole on the wall next to them covered by a tarp.

“What’s in here?” One of them asked lifting up the tarp.

All of a sudden, the soldier’s eye exploded causing Matthew and the other soldier to stumble back in shock.

“Oh shit!” The other soldier said fumbling with his rifle. Matthew heard the sound of a suppressed gunshot followed by the soldier falling backwards with a thud. Wasting no time, Matthew called out to whoever was in the room.

“The Sun shows all her glory.” Matthew said.

“But the shadows show all her sins.” responded a male voice.

Lifting the tarp, Matthew was presented with a Legionnaire wearing all white clothing, including his tactical vest carrying a suppressed SMG.

“So you’re the spook Shaw’s been trying to contact huh?”

“Things got complicated alright?” Matthew said approaching the Legionnaire.

“So why don’t you come back?”

Matthew shook his head.

“I can’t. I’ll do more good by Princess Sparkle’s side. Look, can you just tell Shaw to find another way to contact me? Tell him I’m alright too.”

The Legionnaire nodded.

“Will do.”

“And uh,” Matthew said looking around. “Can you direct me to where the ponies are?”

“Teachers are the one and only people who save nations.”

-Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Captain Galaxy Sword

Outside of the Wreck of the ISBV Event Horizon

Frozen North, Equestria

Daybreaker

“Move! Get on the trucks!” Yelled Galaxy Sword. He and a few soldiers scanned the ship for any hostiles to find none.

“Matthew’s still in there!” Yelled Rainbow Dash who was being carried on to a truck by some soldiers.

“No time!” He said getting on the truck. “GO!”

“Wait for me!”

They all turned to the hole on the ship where they saw Matthew running towards them.

The trucks started moving so Matthew made a jump for it. His arms were caught by Galaxy Sword and he was lifted up.

“Thanks for that.” Said an exhausted Matthew who was being checked for injuries by Twilight and Rainbow.

“Don’t mention it.” Galaxy Sword responded. The trucks started moving away and leaving the ship behind to the bitter disappointment of those who wanted to find out its secrets.

*BOOM*

There was a huge explosion on the ship causing debris to fly into the air.

“By Celestia’s ass, what happened?” He said while the others looked on in shock.

“What’s that?” asked Pinkie Pie pointing at something heading towards them.

Galaxy Sword squinted his eyes trying to make out what he was seeing before his eyes widened.

“Shit, hostiles!” He yelled pulling out his revolver. The other soldiers in the convoy did the same with their rifles.

Four snowmobiles were approaching them quickly. He could tell they were the Rebels that ambushed them on the ship.

To his horror, one of the Rebels from the back of a snowmobile carried some sort of rocket launcher.

“Everypony get down!” He yelled.

The Rebel fired the rocket launcher, hitting the rear of one of the trucks causing it to overturn along with its occupants of soldiers, scientists, and investigators.

On the other snowmobiles, the Rebels fired their weapons at the exposed occupants of the trucks. One investigator on their truck was hit on her head, causing Rarity to shriek.

“Shoot back! Shoot back dammit!” Galaxy Sword yelled in the coms.

Another rocket was fired, this time hitting the bottom rear of another truck sending it flying.

He fired his revolver at the nearest snowmobile, but his vision was hampered by the snow hitting his face and the snowmobiles were swerving to avoid returning fire.

One of his bullets must’ve hit its mark as one of the drivers on the snowmobiles shook one of their arms and peeled back to the rear of their pack.

The Rebel with the launcher fired again, hitting the tracks of the last truck besides themselves causing it to swerve before turning over and sending its occupants flying.

To their surprise, the Rebels peeled off. The surprise on Galaxy Sword’s face turned into realization.

“Where are they going? What was the point of all that?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I thought they wanted to kill us.” Rainbow said holding Matthew’s hand.

“That’s because they never wanted to kill us.” Galaxy Sword said. “They were sending a message.”

30 Minutes Later

The last surviving truck of the convoy slowly rumbled into Research Base Echo, at least what’s left of it.

“What happened?” A scientist yelled.

All around them, the dead bodies of Equestrian soldiers assigned to guard the base laid in body bags. The trailers that formed the base were all set aflame and the VTOL they used for transport was gone. Now there were reinforcing soldiers with helicopters on the ground searching for the perpetrators.

They disembarked and were approached by an officer.

“Where are the others?” He asked no one in particular.

“We got ambushed.” Twilight said.

The officer nodded.

“Well when you were all gone, base got raided. We got an SOS call and got here as fast as we could. As you can see though,” He said looking around. “We were too late. Took the Vortex too.”

The exhausted group did nothing but continue to stare at the officer.

“Look,” He began. “I’ve got orders to take you all back to base. From there, it’s a one-way trip to Canterlot. Her majesty couldn’t stop calling to make sure you’re all safe.”

Meanwhile in the rear of the group, Matthew’s face showed no emotion, but inside he was in turmoil. As an agent of the Empire, it was good to see the Equestrians suffering such losses, but hated seeing his friends hurt as well. He quickly dismissed it.

Ignore it. Just meet with Blueblood as soon as we get back. Don’t complicate things further. He thought.

Author's Note

I just love writing this fic too much, the flashbacks especially since I was inspired by some badass shows on how they'll go.

Probably made some mistakes here and there, but I'm too excited to write flashbacks and I need something to make me relax, feel happy once in a while. Need it honestly with the stress I'm dealing with.

Galaxy Sword belongs to Galaxy of Equestria, he'll have a bigger role.

Omir Steindorf belongs to fellow author in Fanfiction.net EZB. Read his story "The Return to Gravity Falls" where Omir's a character there. Trust me, story's worth the read. Just hope all's fine at his end since he's disappeared for a few months now.

And yes, this chapter is inspired by the mission "Project Nova" from Call of Duty: Black Ops. When I created the ship Event Horizon in one of my blogs, I literally had this one particular mission in my mind.

Also, anybody get a chance to listen to "Bismarck" from Sabaton? What a badass song.

Can't believe it took me this long to find the Horizontal Rule. I'm hella retarded.

Oh and my first 100k fic? Ay lets go bois!