Agent Kirtan Loor

Level 1313, Coruscant, Inner Rim

ISB Agent

*CRASH*

Loor stared at his adversary with an impassive look on his face. The young man with white skin and blonde hair wore a black uniform, standard for ISB Agents. His opponent breathed heavily, cuts and bruises all over his body as he laid on the remnants of a glass table after Loor threw him. Meanwhile, Loor wore black combat boots, black pants, a black and orange leather jacket, black leather gloves, and a gas mask.

“I’m honestly surprised, not on your lackluster fighting ability of course, but your intel gathering was better than even some veterans I knew.” Loor said.

The other ISB Agent looked at Loor with fury in his eyes.

“I always knew something was up with you. The fact you casually bad-mouthed the Emperor in the bar and how you liked trashing other high-ranking officers.”

Kirtan Loor rolled his eyes.

“And what else?”

“You-you’re working with conspirators to remove the Emperor. That alien trash Thrawn and the other Grand Admirals. Didn’t think someone like you would hang with alien filth.”

“Heh,” Loor let out a laugh. “If you think it’s because I like Thrawn, then you’re clearly mistaken. Think, how would you feel if worked for so long and dedicated almost fanatically, but your career stagnates?”

He was met with silence.

“Of course you don’t know. You’re the son of some snobbish noble born with a silver spoon up your rectum. Everything was given to you until you decided to become an agent.” Loor said and then pointed at the open balcony. “You could’ve become something else in the outside world but you got seduced by the propaganda. Stupid kids like you stick your nose in places where they don’t belong.”

The other agent snarled.

“General Cross will know something’s up.”

Loor took out his blaster.

“Cross sent me as well rookie.”

He smirked when he saw the eyes of the young agent widen.

“But...but…”

“We have people everywhere. From the Grand Admirals, to ISB Generals, to the lowest ranking Stormtroopers. If things go well, maybe now I can finally move up the food chain instead of being in the shadow of Isard. I did have an interest in you. When I first saw you and your record, I thought I can turn you to help us like some of the other rooks that joined with you-”

As he was monologuing, the young agent took a sharp piece of glass and hurled it aiming for Loor’s face. The veteran agent sidestepped and noticed his adversary charging him. Quickly, Loor fired his blaster, hitting the rookie agent on the stomach causing him to stumble and fall.

“You sly dog, you tried to get me as I was monologuing!” Loor said laughing. He ignored the painful groans from the rookie who was clutching his stomach. “Good attempt, but not good enough.”

A single blaster bolt rang out, before the building fell into silence.

1 Hour Later

Leaning on the wall of a building, Loor now without his gas mask but replaced with a black helmet, goggles, and a scarf around his neck, watched as the fire crew fought the blaze that engulfed the building he killed the rookie agent in. He made sure the body was vaporized, after putting it on top of a pile of explosives and incendiary grenades.

Other civilians watched the situation nearby, none suspecting the perpetrator was literally next to them.

“Hmph, sneaky brat.” Loor said. He walked down an alley where his speeder bike waited for him under a tarp. However, he felt he wasn’t alone and froze.

“Your work?” said a female voice behind him.

“I admit, you’ve got guts to be here Tano.”

Loor turned around, meeting the gaze of the former Jedi Padawan who wore a black cloak that covered her entire body.

“The Emperor and...Vader are not on the planet. The only times I can come here.”

The ISB Agent eyed her get up.

“Please tell me you’re wearing clothes under that cloak. Last agent I met was really annoying. Hired her from a brothel or something?”

Ahsoka blushed.

“She was...quite unorthodox, but she does get her job done. Currently spying on some rich businessman on Malastare.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Of course she’s slutting around. Can’t really argue since Cross gets intimate with a lot of women. Anyways, yeah it was my work. Had to keep someone from ratting us out.”

“And the info?”

Loor held out a datacard.

“6 of Isard’s lackeys, the location of an Admiral in Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus’ staff who’s on shore leave, and a biochemical research facility under the command of General Evir Derricote.”

Ahsoka reached for the datacard but Loor pulled it back.

“Our deal?” Loor asked not amused.

The former Padawan sighed. She paused and took out a datacard.

“Locations of 12 bases under Garm bel Iblis’ faction and the location of the remnants of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans.”

“But not Garm bel Iblis himself?”

“Give me Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik’s location then.”

Loor smirked.

“I’d give you Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus’ location but that would be too suspicious.”

They exchanged datacards and looked at each other.

“I know what you’re thinking Tano.” Loor said. “Yes you can hold me prisoner and extract every last bit of intel, but remember that the only reason why Cross hasn’t ordered the destruction of every single one of your bases on the frontlines and paving the way for an Imperial offensive is he and the others want to take out the bad apples first. I’m also sure you don’t want Jan Dodonna’s head on a spike either.”

The Agent got on his speeder bike.

“I know where Ezra Bridger is.” Ahsoka blurted out making Loor pause.

“Yeah, I tapped into Thrawn’s coms. Quite unfortunate Hera Syndulla was too late.” He said, but noticed Ahsoka seemingly looked desperate.

“Who else? What other jedi does Thrawn have and why couldn’t you tell us the locations of the Inquisitors? I thought you wanted to eliminate them?”

“Sorry Tano.” Loor sighed. “I’m too valuable for this operation. If we start eliminating Inquisitors, they’re gonna get suspicious. We want to stay as low as possible.”

The alley fell into silence until he turned on his speeder.

“As for what other jedi, you’re right. Thrawn does have another jedi. Why he has two captive Jedi without the knowledge of Palpatine I have no idea. I do know who she is though and you do too.”

“I do?”

“Of course.” Loor said smiling and revving his speeder. “She did cause you to leave the Jedi Order after all.”

Before she could respond, Loor sped past her and turned out of her view. She looked down in thought.

“Thrawn’s not keeping them for no reason.” Her eyes widened. “He’s trying to learn how to defeat the jedi.”

The Togrutan ran down the alley with her holocommunicator in hand.

“Fulcrum to Command. I have a priority message Alpha.”

Twilight Sparkle

Nirauan, Empire of the Hand

SCAR Squad Operative

Twilight hummed to herself as she held a marshmallow over a campfire. Around the fire, Spike, SCAR Squad, Niriz, and Thrawn himself did the same.

“Aw shit.” said Shrap holding out a burnt marshmallow. The squad all had their helmets off.

“So this is how we’re spending the rest of our downtime eh?” asked Kreel.

“I like it honestly.” said Mic holding out a stick with 5 marshmallows. “It’s peaceful, quiet, and we have the wilderness around us.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” said a grumpy Misty. “We’re not even five feet outside of the fortress walls. In fact, we’re still inside the fucking compound. We even have Parck and Fel watching us.”

The group looked up at the Hand of Thrawn fortress where Admiral Parck and General Fel looked down on them from a balcony.

“Don’t pay attention to us.” shouted Fel. “Just keep doing what you’re doing!”

“This is ridiculous.” Misty grumbled. “At least set up camp in the wilderness and not here!”

Thrawn looked at Niriz and nodded.

“That can be arranged.” They both said.

1 Hour Later

“This is not what I had in mind.”

Misty looked up at the wall that surrounded the research facility where the Bottomless Pit was located. A lone Stormtrooper looked down on their little campfire group.

“Suh dude.” She said before walking away.

The sniper sighed and his eyes laid on Mic who had his helmet on, his visor glowing blue.

“What’s Mic doing?” He asked. The rest took notice when they heard him giggle. In response, Zuke pulled the helmet out of its owner.

“Hey!” The pilot protested. “I was watching the latest episode of Depravity Falls!”

“Isn’t that the one rated M cartoon that belongs to the evil Laugh-O-Gram Corporation?” Niriz asked.

“Well, what don’t they own these days? They probably own this entire galaxy and we don’t even know it. Imagine how stupid it would look. All black and white instead of morally gray like it really is.” Shrap said.

Thrawn lifted up the bag of marshmallows and noticed the corporation’s logo imprinted on the back, tiny enough where most wouldn’t notice it.

“Hmmm, reeling corporations like them in needs to become part of our agenda later on.” He muttered to himself. “Can’t have them going around like this.”

His communicator beeped and he took it out as SCAR Squad paid no mind, debating things that didn’t concern Thrawn.

“Thrawn here.” He said. His holocommunicator showed his fellow Chiss Admiral Ar’alani.

“Thrawn. Am I interrupting something?” She asked.

The Grand Admiral looked up to see Zuke and Mic were fighting over Mic’s helmet.

“Nothing important. Report on the new planet with the shattered moon?”

“Things went well on the negotiating table. They chose autonomy but will be under our protection. We believe this planet was once used for research by scientists of the Eternal Empire. I’m leaving a scientific team and a flotilla while I explore more planets. Star Charts should be updated soon with this planet designated Remnant.”

“Good, I look forward to visiting when I have time.”

“You said the exact same thing to me when we were supposed to go to a dance in our youth. You never showed up.” Ar’alani smirked as she crossed her arms.

“We never saw each other that way remember? And I did make up for it by getting you tickets to that concert you always wanted.”

Ar’alani laughed.

“Just teasing you. Yeah I remember. You’ve come so far from that shy and nerdy boy. Now you’re a cold, ruthless Grand Admiral.”

“I have a heart too you know. I can be cold when I want to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have a girlfriend wouldn’t I?”

“Then I’ll be looking forward to your wedding when this is all over.”

“Wai-” Ar’alani disconnected before Thrawn could respond, causing him to huff in annoyance. “Typical.”

“Is it true?” Niriz asked.

“About the wedding or…” Thrawn said looking at Niriz while putting the communicator away.

“Talking about the shy bookworm you used to be.”

Thrawn looked up into the night sky and sighed.

“Yeah, I was. Thrass was the brawn while I was the brain. We would always get into trouble by stealing and pulling pranks. Half of my childhood was spent reading in libraries. Now that I think about it,” Thrawn looked at Twilight who was laughing at a story Misty was telling to the rest of the squad. “I was kind of like Miss Sparkle here in my youth.”

“-so there we were, stuck in the middle of the forest after slaughtering this whole pack of black wolves. Fucking Aero here went to take a piss on the brush right? Turns out, this girl with this black outfit and red hood was spying on us. Had this giant scythe and everything.” Misty said telling Twilight and Spike one of their adventures. “Her other friends were spying on us too. Only when the girl jumped out of the bush did we find out Aero just pissed on her. Turns out the blondie in their group was her sister or something. You know what Aero said before he got decked by her for pissing on her sister?”

“What?” asked both Twilight and Spike trying to contain their laughter.

“Hippity hoppity, this girl is now my property.”

SCAR Squad roared in laughter while Niriz covered his mouth, barely containing his laughter. Meanwhile, Thrawn allowed himself a smirk.

“Oh yeah, imagine the awkward conversation when their headmaster or something asked Thrawn via holocom why one of his soldiers pissed on one of his students.” Zuke said pointing at Thrawn.

“I assure you, our conversation was civil.” Thrawn said.

“Wait a minute.” Zuke continued stroking his beard. “Does this mean Aero is a pedo? She was a minor.”

“I did not have sexual relations with that girl.” Aero stood up and declared. He pointed at Zuke. “I did not get turned on nor was it on purpose.”

“Admittingly, she was kind of cute.” said Kreel. “Kind of like a small puppy. Give her a cookie and she’s all over it.”

“Well Twilight, Spike.” said Shrap. “We shared with you one of our adventures. Mind telling us one of yours?”

Twilight looked down.

“Well, we had a lot of adventures with our friends. Too many to count.”

“Anything specific?” asked Spike to the squad.

“How about how you ended up on that planet? What led you to defect?” asked Mic.

The alicorn sighed and looked at Thrawn and Niriz. Thrawn nodded at her.

“You already told us. I think it would be beneficial if you told your own squad as well.”

Twilight sighed before looking at her newfound friends.

“Fine, I suppose we start with the subjugation of Aroncia.”

Aroncia, Edge of Celestial Alliance space

Princess Twilight Sparkle, Commander of Twilight Force

(SONG)

Aronicia was a beautiful, forested planet. Its population of dog-like creatures who stood on their hind legs were the dominant species of their planet. They were largely pacifist, but ferocious if attacked. Their society was completely about nature. Despite having advanced tech, their cities were located in forests, they built their buildings by hand, still catch their food themselves, but they also created holograms, laser-based weapons, and power armor.

In short, they were the perfect friends for the former scientist and rebel leader Starlight Glimmer.

All was peaceful in a forest, that is until two blurs flew by knocking animals to the ground from their breakneck speed.

“Gotta be faster than that Twi!” Rainbow Dash yelled. She was wearing green camo pants, black boots, a gray tank top, and goggles.

“Why must everything be a race!” Twilight yelled while dodging trees. The alicorn was wearing black combat boots like Rainbow, but also wore black pants, a green poncho over her gray shirt, and carried a green backpack. “This is just a recon mission!”

They had intel that a small party of rebels were retreating to an evac point after the fall of the planet’s capital. Starlight Glimmer was among them and she seemed to have created a giant rock golem. Both Twilight and Rainbow opted to scout and see what they were dealing with.

“Loser has to try out Rare’s new dresses for a week!” The pegasus yelled narrowingly missing a tree branch.

Twilight thought about the things she needed to do and grimaced at the thought of wasting so much time being Rarity’s model. She grinned when an idea popped up and she flew up into the sky. The Princess gritted her teeth as she flew through the foliage, passed formations of surprised birds, and into the clouds.

Beautiful. Twilight thought. All she could see was clouds and the enormous forests through the holes among the clouds. No time to waste, she quickly dived down towards the forest. Her eyes stung a little from the speed she was going. At the very last moment before the ground, Twilight pulled up and raced at incredible speeds to overtake her friend.

Meanwhile at the spot the alicorn pulled up, a rabbit laid on the ground after a major heart attack.

Almost there! She thought. Twilight saw the outline of her friend leisurely weaving through the trees thinking she was far ahead of Twilight.

“Hey Rainbow!” Twilight yelled.

Rainbow Dash looked back just in time as Twilight flew at speeds that disoriented the pegasus.

“YES!” Twilight yelled finally coming out of the forest and into a clearing where her forces set up camp. Some dropships were in the air and a single low flying corvette was overhead. She stopped in the air to gather her breath. “I finally beat Rainbow!”

Without warning, Twilight was tackled on her side and grunted in pain when she landed on the ground.

“OHMYGOSHWASYOURMISSIONASUCCESSDIDYOUSEESTARLIGHTANDWHATISWITHTHERABBITTHATHADAHEARTATTACKSHYWASTALKINGABOU-”

Twilight quickly covered the mouth of the pink menace.

“Tackling me hurt you know Pinkie?” said an unamused Twilight.

Present

“Wait wait timeout.” said Mic.

“What for?” asked Twilight as the rest looked at Mic in confusion.

“Doesn’t this Pinkie remind us of someone?”

Zuke stroked his beard.

“Now that I think about it, she does.”

“I can think of two.” said Misty.

Flashback-Remnant

“ICANNOTBELIEVEYOUGUYSAREALIENSAREYOUGOINGTOPROBEMYBRAINANDINVADEUSHAVEYOUBEENTOOTHERPLANETSALLHAILTHESANDVICH-”

Aero tried to cover the girl’s mouth but was unable to because she was hopping at inhuman speeds.

“All in favor to never let her drink any caffeine say aye.” said Kreel. Immediately, SCAR Squad and the group of what they called super-powered teens plus a third wheel blonde boy said aye.

“I always make sure her coffee are decaf.” said the boy in a green shirt. The girl then appeared next to him and poked his cheek.

“WHAAAAT? Ren you traitor!”

A riot baton then activated from Mic’s left arm.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to do that.” He said sheepishly as he put it back.

“Alright.” Misty said calming everyone down before patting the head of a shy girl with bunny ears. “We’ll meet your...Headmaster or whatever he is. First though, we gotta get back to our crashed ship to get supplies and the rest of our weapons-”

“WEAPONS?” A short girl with black hair that graduates to dark red, silver eyes, a black long-sleeved dress, black waist clincher, black stockings, black combat boots, and a red hooded cloak appeared right in front of the sniper “Can I see them?

“Sorry edgy shortstack.” Misty said messing with her hair. “They’re off-limits.”

“Please?” The girl pleaded with puppy eyes.

“Part of our special training was to hang around a race with puppy eyes and resist them so that tactic won’t work.” Misty deadpanned.

All of a sudden, flames appeared around them and the girl’s eyes turned red.

“SHOW ME YOUR WEAPONS OR YOU WILL SERVE IN THE COOKIE MINES FOR ALL ETERNITY!” said a deep, demonic voice from the girl’s mouth.

Just as quick as it appeared, the flames disappeared leaving behind the same innocent looking girl. SCAR Squad backed away in a mixture of surprise and fear. Her friends did the same thing who were also in shock.

“Why are you guys backing away from me?” The girl asked innocently.

Present

“Interesting.” said Thrawn. “Looks like I will stop by Remnant when this is all over. The last part however just sounds like a figment of your imagination. Unless of course this girl has the ability to make you hallucinate.”

“Nah, that’s not her power...or whatever they call it there. Kind of forgot.” said Shrap. “This other girl does have that power, but she’s a baddie so Zuke punted her out of a stadium.”

“We’ll tell you guys our adventures there later. Can we come with you sir if you go to Remnant?” asked Kreel.

“The entire time you wouldn’t stop petting Blake and her mom you fucking furry.” said Mic.

“Oi ya little shits.” yelled Misty. “Let Twi finish the story alright? You wankers keep bringing up Remnant, we can talk about that later.”

They all looked at Twilight to continue.

“Anyways, flash forward to the meeting…”

Flashback

“-priority is Starlight Glimmer. Capture her alive, the others are fair game.” said Twilight. She stood in front of a holotable surrounded by various officers of Twilight Force along with Celestia and Luna. General Iron Wall was present as well.

“Clearly, they believe their rear guard was sufficient to hold us back. Give them props however, Admiral Tidal Wave has done an excellent job in securing their evac point and keeping our fleets from bombarding them.” said General Iron Wall. “I highly suggest your forces leave immediately otherwise we lose Starlight Glimmer again.”

“A traitor does not deserve praise General.” said Luna.

“I disagree.” Countered the General. “Tidal Wave was one of the best among us. He led your personal fleet to many victories. Tell me, do you hate him because he disobeyed your orders many times and ended up being right, or is it because you had an affair with him?”

“That’s irrelevant.” Luna snarled. “I suggest you hold your tongue.”

“I suggest you keep your temper in check then. Last thing we need is for you to send your own forces out in anger only for them to get slaughtered.”

“Enough.” Celestia said. “General, please stop antagonizing my sister. Luna, he’s right. Keep your temper in check. And Twilight? I assume your task force is ready?”

Twilight nodded.

“Twilight Force is converging here soon. While I lead the forces I have here, the rest of the fleet and ground forces will arrive soon. From there, we can prepare for the fight against the Chiss we’ve heard about.”

“Very good Twilight.” Celestia smiled. “Now go, bring us Starlight Glimmer in chains.”

The youngest princess looked at those who were gathered.

“It will be done. We’ll return with Starlight Glimmer before dark.”

She along with officers from her staff took their leave.

“Your majesty.” said Captain Wind Blast, one of her best aces. “Are you sure you won’t require air support?”

“I agree.” said Lieutenant Lime Light, another ace. She was a blue pegasus mare with a white mane. “What if they have air assets?”

“This operation requires speed and stealth. If we sent up any fighters and bombers, the radars at the Rebel evac points will detect them and alert Starlight Glimmer.” Dismissed Twilight. “However, I want you all to be ready if this operation goes south.”

“Makes me wonder, why didn’t Glimmer use a transport to reach the evac point?” wondered Wind Blast.

“Same thing.” answered Lime Light. “If she did, we would’ve detected them and shot them down. Intel says her party didn’t have speeders at hand when they slipped through our lines last time. For them, going by foot is not the fastest, but it is the stealthiest.”

“Correct. And now we will use our speeders to track them down.” Twilight said.

They stopped in front of a speeder bike. Behind it were the rest of the Elements plus a large group of soldiers of the Twilight Force on speeder bikes. At least, those who are able to ride them unlike larger dragons.

The Princess got on her bike and looked at the two aces.

“You really buying the idea of Magia Regnum Princess? I thought you were close to the Deer and King Firehoof. If I’m the first, then let me be the first to say I did not sign up to commit genocide. We all heard the rumors of the other species we pacified.” blurted out Wind Blast.

Twilight looked down on her bike with a sad look on her face and then sighed.

“I know, I’ll conduct my own investigation later. Something this large can’t be hidden forever and I refuse to believe Celestia would allow something like this to happen.”

“Everypony has their own faults Princess, even Celestia.” said Lime Light. “Whatever’s really going on, remember that we of the Twilight Force will have your back.”

The alicorn nodded with a small smile on her face. Pulling up next to her on a bike, an officer held up the flag of the Twilight Force which depicted Twilight’s cutie mark with a pair of white wings on either side and a white sword pointing up in the background.

“TWILIGHT FORCE!” The officer bellowed.

“OORAH!”

“ONWARDS!”

Nearly a hundred speeders shot forward. All over the base, troops stood aside and cheered on the task force.

“YEEHAW!” They all heard Applejack. Twilight looked back at her friends with a concerned look on her face. All of them in a way, benefitted from Magia Regnum and the rapid expansion of CA Colonies. Every planet taken meant a new settlement. A new settlement meant more customers for the Apple family’s products, a new boutique for Rarity’s rapidly growing clothing line, a new bakery under the Cake family’s name with Pinkie having a large share, and for Fluttershy, more nature preserves and animal hospitals. She couldn’t tell if they knew what was really going on, or worse, they knew but money talks.

Fluttershy did say she wanted to have a family after marrying Big Mac and securing the future for their kids, and Applejack’s home was no longer under threat from being seized ever since the CA’s expansion started. Ever since Granny Smith passed, Applejack slowly began to ignore that her produce was feeding settlers on stolen land when she was finally able to send Applebloom to the Canterlot Institute of Technology, one of the most expensive and best universities.

They entered the forest on a dirt path when Rainbow snapped her out of her thoughts.

“What’s wrong Twi?” She asked. Fluttershy was sitting behind Rainbow, holding on to her tightly while shaking.

She was silent, thinking of what to say.

“Do...do you think what we’re doing is right?” Twilight asked.

“Whaddya mean?” The pegasus asked.

“I mean, we’re taking all these planets and then settlers come in and reap the benefits. What happened to the natives? I keep hearing they were shipped off somewhere but where?”

“Wherever they send those without magic.” Rarity dismissed pulling up next to her.. “Besides, who cares? Look at us, almost free of problems and the standard of living has shot through the roof!”

“No more debts, feeding everypony, and Applebloom’s gone to college!” Yelled Applejack.

Whatever Fluttershy tried to say, none could hear because she was speaking too quietly.

“See Twilight?” said Rainbow. “Nothing to worry about. We capture Starlight and we’re home free!”

She looked at her smiling friends. Applejack was wearing her regular stetson plus a white, button up shirt, blue jeans, brown boots, and a duster. Fluttershy was wearing a green sweater, white pants, brown shoes, and a pink backpack with a bunny’s face on it. Rarity was wearing a black sweatshirt, white pants, and brown boots from some expensive brand Twilight never bothered caring about. Finally, Pinkie Pie was wearing a blue and white shirt, a pink tutu, blue jeans, and blue sneakers.

Most would have second thoughts having this group of apparent civilians join them in battle, but their constant adventures toughened them all and now they all display exceptional skills.

Applejack was the tank, able to use heavy weaponry and her punches and kicks were enough to crack standard armor. Rainbow Dash with her obvious flying skills, was an excellent skirmisher who utilized hit-and-run tactics to chip away numerically superior forces. As a fashion designer, Rarity had excellent eyesight, allowing her to spot small details most would miss. Converting that skill to the battlefield, Rarity was their best shot which was why she had a sniper rifle. For Pinkie, it would be impossible to explain. She would always popped in random places and had this weird tendency to blow things up or start a fire to distract enemies. Finally for Fluttershy, the sight of an ally getting wounded was enough to throw her into a fury. The normally pacifistic pegasus would charge the enemy, dodging incoming fire like she had a sixth sense, and beat the hostiles with her fists. Surprisingly, they hurt as evident from the broken personal armor found on wounded enemies.

The six were a force to be reckoned with. For the five, things were alright, but the peace known as their friendship was on thin ice on the eyes of the sixth. Twilight can only hope the rumors of the natives they displaced weren’t being killed off were wrong.

30 minutes later

In a large clearing, a group of around 50 defective CA soldiers with a giant rock golem in the middle marched towards the evac point in a spread out formation. In the lead, Starlight Glimmer wore the purple armor stolen from a dead soldier from Twilight Force and wore a black beanie.

“Evac’s point not that far.” She radioed to the rest of her group. “Keep an eye on our six in case they catch up to us.

“Anypony hear that?” asked a female griffin in the coms.

They turned around and heard the sounds of speeders getting closer and closer.

“INCOMING!” Starlight yelled. Right on cue, a horde of speeders flew out of the brush and right in front of the pack, was the youngest Princess.

Caught by surprise, many rebels were instantly taken down. The giant rock golem let out a roam, before scooping a handful of dirt from its giant hands and threw them at the soldiers of the Twilight Force. 7 troopers were hit, causing them to fall off their bikes or in one case, cause one to serve and crash into another bike.

Starlight pulled out a blaster pistol and started firing at any enemies coming towards her. She nailed a bike’s engine causing it to explode and sending its driver flying.

“Surprise!” Before she could react, a bat hit her face which sent her sleeping.

“WOOOOO! I got her guys!” Rainbow Dash yelled on her speeding bike while raising a bat into the air.

“Focus on the golem!” Twilight yelled. She saw the golem was already proving to be a threat as it grabbed a passing speeder and threw it far into the dense forest. There was a distant explosion which Twilight could only hope its driver survived. Next, the Golem slammed a hand down, causing two speeders to collide with it and explode. Nothing seemed to work as blaster bolts and rockets were merely shrugged off.

To the element’s horror, the golem grabbed Rarity from her speeding biker causing her to shriek.

“LET GO OF ME YOU BRUTE!” Rarity yelled. The fashionista took aim with her sniper rifle and began firing at the golem’s face, trying to find a weak spot.

“WE NEED TO HIT ITS MOUTH!” An officer yelled.

Thinking fast, Twilight conjured a spell that took hold of the golem’s hand causing it to let go of the unicorn. It roared at her but the princess pulled. Catching on, other unicorns used their magic and sent beams at the golem’s legs which roped around them. Now panicking, the golem used its free hand to try and sever the beams and found to its dismay that he could not touch them.

“PULL!”

At once, the unicorns used their magic to pull the legs and causing the golem to fall backwards. The ground shook as the giant rock golem fell on its back.

“I got it!” Pinkie yelled. She was now curiously wearing a helmet with a mortar round stuck to it, carried a rocket launched, and wore these weird looking boots. The eldritch abomination pointed the launcher on the ground and fired. To those around, they were slackjawed to see the Earth Pony fly into the air from the ensuing explosion.

“SCREAMIN EAGLES!” They all heard from Pinkie as she flew straight into the air. Pinkie landed upright on the golem’s chest with a sickening crack that didn’t affect her at all.

“You were loud and ugly and now you’re DEAD! Amen.” Pinkie said. She reached behind her and took out a wrapped up present which she threw into the golem’s mouth. A huge explosion blew the rock golem’s head into pieces which caused all around to jump to the ground.

“Pinkie?” Twilight called out while getting up. When the smoke settled, they found Pinkie still on the golem’s chest, but she was sipping a mug of coffee with one leg on a cardboard tombstone she erected.

“Today’s a good day.” She said looking off into the distance.

“Who are you talking to?” asked Rarity looking up at her friend. Pinkie looked down at Rarity who was covered in dirt after being dropped and let out a gasp.

“Son, your fashion sense has gone AWOL!” Pinkie said pointing at Rarity. Out of nowhere, she pulled out a hose and blasted Rarity with water.

“PINKIE!” Twilight heard Rarity yell. The alicorn chuckled and shook her head at her friends’ antics. She looked down at the unconscious and bloodied Starlight Glimmer, thinking about what made the former scientist rebel.

5 Hours Later

“Where did you even get those?” asked Rainbow Dash behind the door with Pinkie.

“Oh it’s easy Dashie!” chirped Pinkie. “I met this wizard with a talking book and I guess he got annoyed or something so he sent me to hell! Somehow he teleported me to this fancy room where the devil was making some kind of deal with this doctor before the devil sent me back to the world of the living with all these cool stuff and here I am!”

Twilight rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s story and continued to stare at the imprisoned Starlight Glimmer who was behind a cell. The unicorn’s limbs were shackled, her horn had an inhibitor, and her clothes were replaced with an orange jumpsuit.

“Why?” Twilight asked.

“Why what?” asked a dejected Starlight.

“You know why. Starlight, you were one of the most brilliant scientists out there. As immoral as it was, you also spearheaded our super soldier program. You could’ve lived a life of fame and luxury. Why did you rebel?”

Starlight looked down on the ground before her face morphed into pure anger.

“You don’t know? Are you that ignorant?” Starlight asked. She was only met with silence. “You will find your answer on the planet Nexus V.”

Twilight looked at her in confusion.

“Nexus V? There isn’t any planet named Nexus V.”

The unicorn scoffed.

“Of course you don’t. Celly and Lulu like to keep secrets from you. Ask Director Jackpot Star, he knows where it is.”

Twilight’s eyes fixated on Starlight. She could see the unicorn was full of anger but not particularly at her.

“How do I know you’re lying?”

Starlight smirked.

“If you don’t believe me, then so be it, but Director Star has no reason to lie and you know how he is. He didn’t get to where he is by being close to the rich like many others.”

The alicorn couldn’t find no fault. Director Jackpot Star, while having a habit of scooping up dirt on others in his free time, was highly critical of Magia Regnum and on the Council. He gained attention when in a televised conference, the Intel Director shouted down the other leaders but especially on Princess Cadence and Ember for being so soft on Magia Regnum despite their calls for peace. However, the unicorn was loyal to the bone. He could not be bribed, and was always critical of the elite.

Director Jackpot Star and Admiral Tidal Wave were a formidable duo, but only the Admiral had the guts to rebel. Losing both would deal a severe blow to the CA’s Command Structure and they worked hard to not harm anypony close to him. Jackpot Star was a dangerous individual indeed, but he is teetering between open rebellion and loyalty to the CA’s leadership.

It also didn’t help that his cousin, Field Agent Sunset Shimmer, went missing in action and he had strong suspicions on her fate.

Twilight sighed and looked down.

“Yeah, you’re right about that. For the record, I never hated you. Especially when I learned of how you created the super soldiers.”

Starlight’s face grew depressed.

“My biggest mistake. I worked so hard to appease Celestia only to find out who my children were going to be fighting.”

Twilight backed up and knocked on the metal door behind her.

“You’re gonna have to live with that. See you in court.”

The door opened lighting up the room. Twilight backed out before shutting the door, bathing the room in near darkness once again. It was all quiet before sobs could be heard.

Outside, Twilight sighed as she put her palm on the door.

“I see your conversation with her has ended. Was it beneficial?” asked a voice behind her. She turned and met the gaze of the Head of the Alliance Intelligence Division (A.I.D.). He was a red unicorn with a brown mane, wore aviator glasses, and wore a black business suit with a blue tie.

“Where are my friends?” Twilight asked thinking Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie was waiting for her.

“Went to get some chow. You look like you want to speak to me about something? Starlight probably told you some secret Celly’s been hiding.” He asked.

Either I’m that readable, or he’s scary good at his job. She thought.

“On point, think we can talk somewhere privately?”

“Well Princess,” huffed Director Jackpot Star. “You’d have to buy me dinner first.”

He saw that Twilight was not amused.

“Kidding, kidding. Come with me then.” He turned around and walked towards the base’s entrance with Twilight following him. The guards did not stop them as two of the most powerful individuals in the Celestial Alliance walked past them.

“Why out here?” She asked gazing around the huge empty field. “What if we get ambushed?”

“Well Princess, I believe the Ardent Prayer is enough protection as it is.” Jackpot Star looking up at the low hanging Corvette.

“Your ship?” She asked.

“No, Point of No Return is in drydock so I’m stuck with the old Seeker of Truth. Anyways, you wanted to speak to me about something?”

Twilight at first hesitated. Jackpot Star could easily rat her out and alert Celestia that she knows something she shouldn’t.

“Take my word, I will not say a thing to Celestia. She can fuck right off for all I care.” He assured. “What did Starlight Glimmer tell you?”

“Nexus V.” Twilight blurted out.

Jackpot Star froze before looking down.

“I...see. For the record, I never supported the idea but if word got out…”

“What’s on Nexus V Director?” Twilight demanded.

“Nexus V is um...a barren world. Barely habitable. Apparently it once was the home of a civilization before they went extinct. Now it’s...hell.”

“Hell?” Twilight asked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Are you familiar with the term genocide your majesty?” He asked with a nervous look on his face.

“Of course, what do you mean by...that?” She trailed after catching on to what he was implying.

“Nexus V is a planet specifically used for camps housing any species that cannot use magic like we can. Work camps, or extermination camps. The fit are sent to work camps to make whatever Celestia, Luna, and the others order. If they’re not, they’re sent to the extermination camps.

I’ve seen many disturbing things, but this takes the cake. Old and young, shot to death, burned alive, eaten by animals, raped by guards, experimented on, you name it.”

“And Celestia and Luna authorized this?” She asked, her face horrified.

“The camps are guarded by both Solar and Lunar Guards. They were also the ones to show me.”

“Who else knows?”

“Well, every member of the Council except for you.”

Twilight gripped her chest and her eyes gazed downwards.

“Cadence? Shining Armor? Ember? Thorax?” She seethed.

“They all knew, but chose to stay quiet. None dared to cause more division.”

“And you?” The alicorn asked as she looked up with fury in her eyes.

Jackpot Star backed away.

“I may have dirt which I could very well use on them, but I would like myself and my family to live as well.”

“Then show me. SHOW ME THE COORDINATES!” Twilight yelled.

Pious-class Supercarrier Emerald Princess, Flagship of Twilight Sparkle

In orbit over Nexus V

“Yo-your majesty. It’s a pleasant surprise.”

In the bridge of the Emerald Princess, Twilight looked at the hologram of the garrison commander of Nexus V. Her eyes, full of fury, bore deep into the Solar Commander’s soul.

“Is something wrong Commander?” asked a furious Twilight. Spike then walked up beside her in his purple armor with a poleaxe in hand.

“It’s just...it’s just…”

“It’s just what?”

“You’re not...supposed to be here?” asked the very nervous Commander.

“And why, am I not supposed to be here?”

“The Council said you’re not allowed to be here, let alone know about the planet.”

“I AM the Council and I ORDER you to send me all information about the camps. How many have been killed, how many are working, and who visited the camps. Unless of course, you want me to come down there?”

“Dear Celestia. Okay okay, I’ll send everything.”

Canterlot Palace, Canterlot, Equestria, Equis

Deep in the palace in a war room, a meeting between the Council and the High Command concluded with frustration. Efforts to trap the Dreadnought Sublime Transcendence, the flagship of Admiral Tidal Wave, was fruitless as the force sent to ambush Tidal Wave under Admiral Red Talon ended up defecting. An entire fleet consisting of the Dreadnought Impending Revenge and an escort fleet of around 300 warships consisting of Supercarriers, Assault Carriers, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Destroyers, Frigates, and Corvettes joined Admiral Tidal Wave’s fleet of 400 ships including the Dreadnoughts Sublime Transcendence and Divine Retribution.

This was the second time an ambush on Tidal Wave’s fleet resulted in total failure. The first time Admiral Tidal Wave lured a fleet into a gas giant where missiles were launched into the core by one of the rebel ships before quickly escaping. This resulted in the gas giant going nova and destroying nearly 300 Celestial Alliance ships. Since then, High Command have grown cautious of Admiral Tidal Wave’s ability to eliminate large forces.

The loss of so many ships was a concern because of two things: while they recreated their own “Star Forge” using the first designs drawn up by the legendary Infinite Empire which allowed them to build ships at a fast rate, but large amounts of materials would be needed to replace the lost ships and they don’t come cheap. Secondly, the loss of so many experienced officers and veteran soldiers was a big blow as well.

Celestia looked down on the holotable with frustration. Their fleets were massive, but the Rebels with defected warships numbering in almost a thousand plus an unknown number of civilian ships converted to fighting the war was nothing to be laughed at. They can keep replacing ships, but not the experience of those killed or defected. As far as she’s concerned, Twilight Force is the most experienced unit in the Celestial Alliance.

Used as their primary weapon in their subjugation campaigns and battles against the Celestial Rebellion, they were battle-hardened. However, even then High Command isn’t confident in them. They fought multiple Celestial Rebel fleets, but never Admiral Tidal Wave’s personal fleet who always held them in reserve unless they were after a very important target.

Especially the fact that Twilight Force would be severely outnumbered and lacked a Dreadnought thanks to the enemies Twilight made with members of the High Command, Celestia silently thanked any diety out there she hasn’t fought the Admiral yet.

She looked up after hearing yelling. Through the crowd of officers piling out of the room, Princess Twilight Sparkle strolled in with the fury of a thousand suns. This time, Twilight wore her purple armor with a hooded cloak. She roughly shoved a General out of her way and glared at Celestia.

“All of you, out of the room.” Twilight said. “Except for Princess Celestia.”

A Minotaur General scoffed.

“We don’t take orders from you little mare.”

Twilight’s eyes glowed white and computers, chairs, etc. started floating in the air.

“I SAID NOW!”

Immediately, every officer scrambled out of the room. None wanted to see for themselves what a furious alicorn would do.

Once the room was cleared, Twilight dropped everything to the ground. Celestia on the other hand, seemed unfazed. Internally, she was surprised to see Twilight this angry.

“Is there a reason you came here, trashed this room, and had everypony else run in fear?” Her mentor asked.

Twilight calmly walked up to the table and threw a datapad in front of Celestia.

“What’s this?”

Celestia picked up the datapad. She sighed and looked at Twilight.

“Luna did say it’s a mistake to hide it from you.”

“Why?” Twilight asked. “I don’t appreciate being used as a weapon of genocide. Me and everypony of Twilight Force, we all fought for the good of the Celestial Alliance. We all thought they were simply being moved to other planets, NOT PUT ON DEATH CAMPS!”

“You weren’t even born yet when the Grysks and their allies invaded! The horrors we lived through was nothing you could ever imagine Twilight. The only reason we survived was because we found ancient plans, the first designs of the mythical Star Forge. Not as powerful as what the legends say of the actual one, but it served our needs.” Celestia took a deep breath. “That’s why the Celestial Alliance was born, so all of us could thrive and to make sure we’re no longer the underdogs.”

“So that’s the idea of Magia Regnum? An excuse to condemn any civilizations we encounter to death? Are we really any better than the Grysks?”

“You don’t understand Twilight. Many that we encountered are the same ones that allied with the Grysks and devastated our homes.”

Twilight slammed her fist on the table.

“We are not gods! What right do we have over all the others?”

Celestia crossed her arms.

“Other species don’t possess magic like we do. We have them for a reason, to bring peace to a galaxy that knows nothing but war.”

“But there won’t be peace this way!”

“Unless of course, we’re the only ones standing.”

The younger princess looked down and sighed sadly.

“The Grysks made you and all the others that xenophobic huh?” Twilight asked. She turned around and started walking towards the exit. “From now on, my forces will no longer take part in your campaigns.”

Twilight walked out of the room and into the hallway where Spike waited. He also wore purple armor with a black kama. His poleaxe was strapped to his back and carried a heavy blaster on his arms.

“Where to now?” he asked.

“The Infinite Luck. It appears we have an ally.”

Infinite Luck, Over the Sea of Tranquility

“Your majesty, welcome.”

Twilight and Spike stepped off the Manticore transport and onto the hanger of the Infinite Luck. Awaiting them was a Griffin servant in a black suit. The ship was an old Celestial Alliance Corvette, decommissioned and stripped of any vital parts. Before it was scrapped, it was sold to the Celestial Empire’s most powerful media mogul who turned the ship into both a pleasure yacht, and his personal headquarters. Currently, the ship hovered over the Sea of Tranquility with many nobles and elites on board for a party.

“Take me to Director Jackpot Star.” Twilight ordered.

“As you wish.” The Griffin bowed. He turned and led them across the hanger. Many personal crafts lined up the hanger. Some just arrived, dropping off their ultra-elite passengers.

They were led through a hallway with entrances to various rooms, including a restaurant, a strip club, and several shops.

“Reminds me more of a shopping center.” Spike whispered to Twilight.

“Well, the elites like to hang around the elites. Considering how many visitors this place gets, I’m not surprised.” Twilight whispered back.

The Griffin led them to a huge casino where the celebrities, businessmen, nobles, etc. came to enjoy themselves. She even spotted some dragons who were small enough mingling around. High up on a balcony, Twilight spotted a big dragon two heads taller than Spike looking down on the visitors, no doubt a member of the security. There was a device attached to the orange dragon’s head that seemed to act as some kind of binoculars.

Probably on the lookout for cheaters as well. Twilight thought.

Finally, they came upon a poker table full of disgruntled elites along with a happy and familiar spymaster who had amassed a pile of poker chips.

Director Jackpot Star laughed in the faces of the nobles around him.

“Ha, a commoner beat up a bunch of snobs in a game they play regularly, eat shit losers!”

A unicorn noble slammed his head on the table.

“I played against a guy who’s name is literally Jackpot Star. Somepony kill me.” The noble muttered.

The Spymaster got up behind the brooding noble and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“In due time my friend.” He then spotted Twilight and Spike approaching him. “A lot closer than you think.”

“There a reason you called us here?” Twilight asked.

The Intel Chief smirked.

“Come, we have a meeting with a very important pony.” He said before straightening his suit and leading them to the stairs to the balcony.

The dragon up on the balcony looked at who dared entered a restricted area, but quickly averted his eyes when he saw a princess and the Intel Chief. Jackpot Star led them to a lavish hallway where two of his agents awaited them, a female Changeling and a male Zebra.

“Status?” Star asked the agents when they fell in line.

“Two guards in front of his office and he’s by himself. He’s expecting you. Security cameras will be on a loop and we have a team ready to extract us just in case. We have a window of about 15 minutes.” The Changeling said.

“Good.” He reached out to Twilight. “And the info from Nexus V?”

Twilight was in thought as she handed a datachip before her mouth formed into a small smirk

“Oh I get it now. You’re gonna expose the death camps.”

Star smiled.

“That’s Phase 1.”

“And Phase 2?” Spike asked.

“I’m gonna blow this ship with everypony on it.”

They came upon a wooden door guarded by a male unicorn and a male pegasus.

“He’s here.” One of the guards said into a mic. They opened the door to let the guests in. Jackpot Star snapped his fingers and his two agents stopped in front of the door.

The trio stopped as the door closed behind them. Before them, a lavish room full of expensive paintings awaited them. In the middle of the room, a fat, grinning unicorn in a business suit sat behind his mahogany desk with a computer.

“Ah, welcome your majesty and Director Star to the-”

Before the unicorn could finish, Director Star took out a suppressed slugthrower pistol and shot him on the head.

“Shut the fuck up you obese bastard.” Star said putting his pistol back in his blazer.

“Was that necessary?” Twilight asked looking at the body, the face frozen in shock.

“Tub of shit needed to die anyway.” Star scoffed. He walked up behind the desk and inserted the datachip to the computer. Twilight and Spike watched as he typed away. “Light security. Fuck me sideways for not believing my own intel. He really did get that cocky.”

“You can broadcast everything from that computer?” Twilight asked.

“Everything.” Jackpot Star laughed. “Bastard wanted power so he had the power to broadcast anything he wants at the tip of his fingers.”

“But for what purpose?” Spike questioned which Jackpot Star shrugged.

“In case anypony fucks with him, even Celestia and Luna, he can broadcast any dirty secret he knows. He was an asset of mine, but I only wanted to get close to have easy access to him.”

The two looked at each other, noting the potential he had to help, or even hurt them.

“Annnnnnd done.” The Director said looking up at them. “Everything about Nexus V and the Death Camps will be broadcasted to every screen in 15 minutes. So lets unfuck this part of the galaxy eh?”

He walked past them and opened the door. Behind the door, the body of a guard tumbled into the room with blood seeping out of their mouth. His agents nodded at their boss before walking down the hallway with the trio following them.

“Say nothing, do nothing. No matter what you see, just act like nothing’s wrong.” Star said to Spike and Twilight.

“Why?” Twilight asked.

“Just do it.”

When they were further down the hallway, the Griffin servant from before exited a room with two guards pointing their blasters at them which caused them to halt.

“Halt, what was your business back there Director?” A minotaur guard asked.

“Just...good business.” Star smirked.

Before the two guards could react, the Griffin servant pulled out two knives and slashed both guards on their neck from behind.

Twilight and Spike looked in shock as the bodies hit the floor.

“You’re-” began Spike.

“An agent? Of course, why would the good director entrust a random servant to guide you?” The Griffin responded.

“Come, we’re wasting time here.”

The Griffin fell in line with them, but Twilight and Spike began to look around, wondering who else was an agent.

“Had this placed bugged for years. Not a single camera on board can see us. We might as well be ghosts.”

When they came upon the balcony, the dragon from before was gone. However, none of the guests seemed to notice as they continued to gamble and drink. Twilight spotted a security guard looking up at them and nodded. Said guard turned around and quickly walked towards the exit leading to the hanger.

“None will leave this place alive.” Jackpot Star said. “Lets go.”

The group descended the stairs. Most of the guests didn’t seem to even acknowledge their presence as they were too busy gambling or were too drunk. Almost to Twilight’s and Spike’s surprise, the male Earth Pony dealer from the table the Director was gambling on stopped shuffling the cards and join their group.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Asked a noble wondering why the dealer just left them behind.

“I owe you one.” Star whispered to the dealer.

“No need. It was a pleasure seeing their frustration.”

Next, they passed a table where a Minotaur businessman was celebrating with a large pile of poker chips. On either side of him, a female unicorn and a female pegasus acknowledged them and join their posse without the Minotaur noticing.

“See? Going to the casino was useful after all.” The pegasus whispered to the unicorn.

Exiting the casino and going through the hallway to the hanger was surprisingly uneventful as no more agents joined them. The hanger was quieter than before however. Only a few technicians walked around checking the many transports. Right next to their Manticore, the dragon guard from before stood next to it, yawning.

“Oi!” Jackpot Star yelled. “Is the transport ready?”

The dragon pointed at a transport not too far where a male unicorn with a green flight suit and goggles was tinkering with some electronics.

“It is, but our pilot has something stuck up his ass so I stayed away from him until you guys were done.”

“Hey you fucks!” The pilot yelled at the group. “I’d been sitting on my arse waiting forever! Some stupid shit scratched the paint of my baby while ya’ll were sitting on a dick gambling away!”

Jackpot Star chuckled before turning to Twilight and Spike.

“Well, this is where we separate. Best we leave now before things get hairy.” Twilight and Star shook hands. “In the meantime, I’ll try to stay in contact while you go off doing what you need to do.”

“And what about you?” asked Twilight.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll do more good here without them suspecting a thing.” Jackpot Star took out a paper note and put it on Twilight’s hand. “Use this to contact Tidal Wave. I’ll holler if I need your help. Now run along. Save the galaxy from this madness.”

10 Hours Later

Emerald Princess, in orbit over Equis

Twilight and Spike watched with suspicion from the bridge of the Emerald Princess as the armada that was supposed to defend the capital of the Celestial Alliance jumped to lightspeed in different directions. Behind them, the holotable showed multiple feeds of ongoing riots throughout Alliance space.

Within a few hours after exposure of Nexus V and the death camps, a portion of the population took to the streets and rioted. Buildings were burned to the ground and law enforcement were overwhelmed by the rioters where many stole transports in an attempt to join the Alliance. Sensing the opportunity, Rebel fleets attacked in multiple fronts, either raiding convoys or providing distractions to allow those seeking to join them to escape the authorities.

What saddened Twilight was when one news feed showed Sweet Apple Acres burning. Everything from the Apple family’s home to every single tree in their property. Such fond memories, but to Twilight, they mean nothing compared to all the lives lost because of her forces.

As soon as the news spread, many members of Twilight Force attempted suicide for inadvertedly helping a genocide to occur. Luckily, Twilight thought ahead of time and had those who were the most troubled kept an eye on.

“Where are they going?” Spike asked.

“No idea, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” The two walked up to the table where Twilight gave an order to the comms officer. “Send traffic.”

“But your majesty.” said the male pegasus comms officer. “We don’t have any direct connections to the Sublime Transcendence.”

“Then use an open channel. No need to hide it anymore.”

Secured Bunker, Below Canterlot Palace

Princess Celestia Galaxia

“Ummm, your majesty?”

Celestia looked at an officer manning a computer in the bunker.

“What is it?”

“A message was sent out on an open channel by one of our own ships. You may want to listen to this.”

A whistle was heard the instantly made everyone in the bunker pause.

“One of ours is defecting?” asked a female Griffin officer.

“Which ship is defecting.” Celestia asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

The officer took a good long look before his eyes widened.

“It...it’s the Emerald Princess.”

Instantly, the room was filled with a mixture of shock, sadness, and anger.

“Tw-Twilight?” asked a very shocked Celestia.

Emerald Princess

“It is done.” Twilight said. “Surely Tidal Wave heard that.”

“Ma’am!” Yelled an officer who ran up to her with a datapad. “I just received two conflicting orders.”

“Go ahead.”

The male zebra squinted his eyes.

“One of our orders was to position our fleet behind the moon by orders from Admiral Sun Strike. Our second order is from Princess Celestia herself. She’s ordering us to hold position?”

Twilight nodded.

“That means Sun Strike probably didn’t hear our message. Good news for us, but that means they’re planning to ambush Tidal Wave.”

“Again?” Spike muttered.

“I mean, it’s certain. His fleet was spotted in the next system over. Any competent Commander would attack Equis when the majority of forces are too busy handling the unrest.”

“YOU! YOU MONSTER!”

Twilight looked up to see the rest of the Elements walking up to her, with a seething Applejack leading them.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY ID-” Using her magic, Twilight shut Applejack’s mouth which made her angrier.

“No need to yell.” Twilight said, her voice indicating she was tired. “I know what I did and I have no regrets. I’m gonna guess Celestia told you about Nexus V.”

“Yeah she did!” Rainbow Dash said. “But you couldn’t stay quiet couldn’t you? You had to ruin everything for everypony! Look at how everypony’s prospering.”

“Oh so all those in the death camps don’t count?”

“As horrible it may be, you could’ve done things more subtle.” Rarity stepped in. “Make changes more peacefully instead of all this madness. Sweet Apple Acres was burned down, many of my boutiques and the Cakes’ bakeries were ransacked or burning,”

“Mr. Cake’s in the ER after a crowd beat him.” said Pinkie Pie who looked like she was about to cry.

“What I’m saying is Twilight, you should have more patience.”

Twilight’s eyes glared right into Rarity’s.

“Patience? PATIENCE?” Twilight marched right up to Rarity’s face. “I was deceived this whole time after so many campaigns subjugating planet after planet. They told me they were being moved elsewhere, to a different planet. I was used as a tool for genocide! Every second, a prisoner in the death camp falls dead and you want me to be patient?”

The rest of the Elements backed away, never seeing Twilight so angry.

“There will be no more waiting. We have become the very thing the Celestial Alliance was against and all of you are benefitting from it! Rarity, Applejack, both of you are filthy rich! For Celestia’s sake, rebuild! Pinkie! The Cakes have money like you! Mr Cake will be fine with the healthcare they can afford.

Rainbow, you’re finally going to command your own squadron regardless of what happens. Stop whining! And Fluttershy, I admit I don’t even know why you’re here to begin with when nopony’s attacking your nature preserves and pet hospitals.”

“Oh, I’m just tagging along.” Fluttershy said quietly. “Big Mac messaged me too. He said he’s confused why he has orders to arrest you.”

The bridge was then bathed in silence. Even Twilight froze as her magic that kept Applejack’s mouth shut fizzled out.

“I’d say you deserve it.” The Earth Pony said.

Twilight shook her head.

“At this point, I don’t care. I’m more disappointed with the fact that you, my so called friends, are okay with this.”

None of the Elements responded as she continued.

“Look at yourselves. We went on many adventures together when we were younger. Forces of good as what others called us. Now look what happens when the cash rolls in and you get what you want. ‘I got what I wanted so screw others’ is the message you five have adopted huh?”

Twilight reached into a pouch on her waist and took out her crown.

“Take it.” She said as she tossed it at Rainbow Dash who caught it. “If I knew this was how it was going to be, I would’ve destroyed the Elements when we first found them. Now go.”

“We’re not going anywhere.” Rainbow said.

Crewmembers and soldiers in the bridge pointed their weapons at the five.

“That’s not a suggestion.” Twilight said before turning her back on them.

Reluctantly, the five walked out of the bridge surrounded by soldiers of Twilight Force.

“Seems harsh don’t it?” Spike asked standing beside her. He took out his datapad and allowed a chuckle. “Not even out of the ship yet and Rarity’s begging me to convince you to reconsider. Even pulled the Spikey Wikey card.”

“Your majesty?”

They turned around to see the comms officer standing at attention.

“Admiral Tidal Wave wishes to speak to you.”

Twilight nodded.

“Put him through.” She said as they got back to the holotable. The holotable lit up, depicting a tall green unicorn with a blue mane. He wore a black naval officer’s uniform with his ribbons on. A golden medal depicting half sun, half moon symbol was right below his neck indicating his title as “Hero of the Alliance.” The Admiral also wore black boots, black gloves, a black cloak, and a peak cap.

“I see her majesty was graced me with her presence.” The deep voice of the Admiral said as he gave a little bow. “For the record, you’ve always been my favored Princess. So, this has to be important. No reason for you to strike up small talk with me.”

“I come with a warning Admiral.”

Tidal Wave rose an eyebrow.

“Oh? Please go ahead.”

“It’s another trap. Admiral Sun Strike has positioned 5 fleets a jump away from Equis. They’ll encircle you the moment you enter the system.”

“5 huh? My intel said 2 fleets. I’m not prepared to fight 5 fleets simultaneously. Judging by how you contacted me, you want to join us?”

Twilight nodded.

“I do. Me and all of my forces. Starlight showed me...things that horrified me. Your ‘friend’ also helped me. If you want to know where Starlight is, I’m sorry to tell you this but she’s now in Princess Luna’s hands.”

“Somepony with your status in open rebellion is unprecedented unless you count Nightmare Moon. Nonetheless, your actions have been a pleasant welcome for us. We will send you coordinates where we can rendezvous. From there, you can prove your worth by assisting the Chiss. Now if I were you, I’d get moving. You did announce your defection through an open channel after all.” Tidal Wave said with a smirk which Twilight replied with a nod.

“Thank you Admiral. I look forward to our meeting.”

The hologram disappeared, returning Twilight back to the silent bridge.

“I’ve received the coordinates your majesty.” One of the officers said.

“Good.” She replied. “Send them to the rest of the fleet. We’ll go there imme-”

“ALERT! Admiral Sun Strike has just jumped into our sector!” An officer yelled.

The holotable lit up, now showing 5 total fleets jumping in to intercept the Twilight Force.

“Do not engage!” Twilight ordered. “I want all power to the engines now! All crew to their battlestations!”

“GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS! ALL CREW TO YOUR BATTLESTATIONS!” The speakers blared as the klaxons were activated.

Twilight gripped the holotable hard. She stumbled as the ship shook, taking a hit from a missile from a bomber.

“Jump now!” Twilight yelled. “All ships jump now!”

“Ma’am! There’s a frigate in front of us!”

The alicorn looked at the viewport at a frigate they were closing in on quickly.

“Ram them!” She ordered.

Without any indications of slowing down, the Emerald Princess rammed the smaller Frigate. Crumpling like a piece of paper, the Frigate broke in half violently with a huge explosion. The Supercarrier continued on, undaunted. Around the Supercarrier, ships of Twilight Force disappeared as they entered lightspeed.

“Route is clear! Initiating jump now!” yelled an officer.

Twilight and Spike stood side by side, watching from the viewport as their flagship entered lightspeed, forever leaving its home behind.

Present day

“From there, we Admirals Tidal Wave and Red Talon. They welcomed us with open arms and commented on how they were ecstatic of having an experienced and very mobile fleet. To prove our worth, they sent us to a Chiss planet to warn them and prepare for the eventual invasion.

Not going to lie. Negotiating with the Chiss leaders was so frustrating. They carried this aura of arrogance and didn’t listen to me. Only when the invasion force arrived and we assisted in the defenses did they finally listen. We lost the Emerald Princess that day and I personally cut Big Mac’s arm off in self-defense when his squad joined the boarding parties.

Our crew escaped fortunately, but the two of us were captured. Roughed us up in prison and the council sentenced us to exile on Tartarus. You know the rest.”

Around the campfire, the rest of the group sat in silence taking in the story.

“That…was fucking badass holy shit!” Mic said.

“I’m sorry?” Twilight asked.

“It’s just that, you rose against the system despite the risks and I visualized that ram which is godly. You Twilight, have balls of steel. Well, your a girl though so, unless you’re not? Are you both?”

“Mic?” Zuke said.

“Yeah?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“This, Jackpot Star. Think he’ll help us?” asked Cav who sharpened a knife.

“Likely.” Spike responded. “But we haven’t been able to contact him so we’re not sure how things are at his end.”

“We’ll cross the bridge there.” Kreel said. “In the meantime, I’m glad you two opened up to us. We’re a squad now. We’re family. We hunt together, heal each other, know each other-”

“Suck each other’s dicks.”

“-No we don’t Aero. I swear I’m gonna murder you.”

“Jolly bunch eh?” Niriz said.

“Oh fucking estatic.” Misty said. “Between Mic’s and Aero’s bullshit, Kreel being a furry, Shrap not knowing how to cook since he burns everything, Cav being a perpetual asswipe hogging all forms of media for watching sports, and Zuke’s overprotection and love for kids he’s basically borderline pedo-”

“Hey!” Zuke yelled in protest.

“-so yeah Captain. You can say we’re a jolly bunch. Only ones who are sane are Twilight and Spike, even with Twilight literally being that kinky librarian stereotype as I’ve found out walking into the Admonitor’s library and Spike trying to bite shit that looks like gems when they’re not.”

“Oh and what about you Mr. Edgelord Supreme?” Jumped in Mic. “Considering you’re a farmer, you’re probably into that beastiality or naturist shit.”

“No, that shit’s weird.”

“You know, there is this video that strangely looks like Mic streaking through a town.” Aero said with a smirk knowing it’s a lie. The rest of the squad caught on quickly.

“Oh yeah, there was also a package the other day. Strangely, there was a dildo shaped like some kind of animal’s in it addressed to Mic specifically.” Kreel said.

“He also has a contact on his list named ‘daddy’ thought you guys should know.” Cav added in.

“Also makes some weird self-insert fanfictions of him getting ganged up on by a group of brolic black dudes-” Shrap butted in.

“OK ENOUGH!” Misty yelled.

The rest of SCAR Squad laughed loudly at their sniper’s expense.

“Hey come sit with me little brother Spike!” A jolly Zuke said. Spike happily got up and sat next to the titanic man who went on about a life story of his. Twilight watched with a smile on her face. Truly, she felt she found a new family.

When nobody was paying attention, the alicorn got up and quietly walked into the brush contemplating her thoughts. She leaned on a tree as tears began falling. Deep inside, leaving everyone she left behind still hurt her, but not more than the fact she assisted a genocide.

“When we first met, you told me a different story.”

Twilight jumped with a yelp and looked behind her. Thrawn stood with his hands behind his back.

“So, which story was true?”

She didn’t answer as she choked up.

“Twilight?”

“THE SECOND ONE! The one I just told was the real story okay? I was afraid to tell you the truth because-”

“Because in a way, you were responsible for the genocide happening.”

Twilight nodded sadly. Thrawn put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

“Remember that you have a family here now in the form of SCAR Squad. If you have issues, don’t hesitate to ask for their help. They WILL help you. I and the others worked hard together to pull Captain Niriz out of his depression and I don’t want you to fall into the same pitfall he was in. Understood?”

The former Princess nodded.

“Good. I expect you to be more truthful. No more hiding.” Thrawn looked back and could see the rest of their group were still enjoying themselves. “Let’s go back. The night’s still young, is it not?”

Paradise, Empire of the Hand

“Whoa!” A little boy said. He and a group of friends full of Humans and non-Humans stood on top of a hill looking down a valley. Down on the bottom, they could see the crash site of an Imperial Prison Barge and a Star Destroyer. Pieces laid everywhere with fires here and there.

“Come one! Let’s check it out!” A Twi’lek boy said supported by a young Wookiee child who roared in agreement.

“I’m not sure about this.” The boy said.

“What could go wrong?” A little Zeltron girl said. “It’ll be fun!”

The rest of the children ran down the hill to explore the crash sites leaving the boy behind.

“Ah screw it.” He said running down the hill.

Unknown to the rest of the kids, they passed a piece of the Star Destroying leaning on a tree. I black lettering, the piece of durasteel had the words “Vector”.

General Kron Dorst, Hand of Thrawn, Sanctuary, Empire of the Hand

“Interesting plan. Considering how much of the populace are former Separatists, this might be seen in a positive light.” General Dorst said.

In his personal quarters, General Dorst convened around a holotable with General Mohc who was showing Dorst the droids he plan to produce with the nearly completed droid factory.

“And with the funds available, we can produce an army.” Mohc said. Various droids from the Clone Wars-era were planned to be produced including droid starfighters alongside Mohc’s Dark Trooper program.

“But strictly for planetary defense.” Dorst commented.

“Indeed, the Rebels won’t expect it if they do show up here. Now,” Mohc turned off the holotable and pulled out a datachip which he stored into his pocket. “I need to make sure things run smoothly. Destiny awaits us Kron.”

Mohc turned and walked towards the door.

“Take all the time you need Mohc.”

Once the door closed behind Mohc, green flames engulfed Dorst and the Human was then turned into a Changeling.

“Take all the time you need.”

Author's Note

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I'll be very honest, Twilight's explanation in the 3rd chapter to Thrawn was literally something I pulled out of my ass so I came up with a better backstory here. Yes I did base the Celestial Alliance Navy out of Halo. I love Halo so no hate (Unless it's directed at 343). Also, yes I did hint of a prequel I plan to work on. Not MLP related so most likely it'll be in Fanfiction.

Let me know if you guys have issues. The reason for lack of dialogue for the rest of the Mane Six is because I've always had trouble writing them. Only Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash I have no issues.

I really hope Rise of Skywalker delivers but I have doubts. Now if Marvel can stop being douchebags and credit artists for their work when they steal them for Star Wars.

Riders of the Dawn by Twilight Force just fits so well for the Mane Six.

MayTheForceBeWithYou

FightOn✌