Edward rushed to the armory with several Overwatch personnel in tow. Angela, Genji and Jesse immediately left for their posts. Had he known this would happen he would have kept his armor on.

At the same time, multiple missiles struck the buildings nearby, causing massive fiery explosions, incinerating everything and everyone unlucky enough to be caught in the radius.

The blasts were followed by five black Talon aircraft jetting above their heads, continuously spraying their auto cannons and firing salvos of high-explosive ordinances against Watchpoint: Gibraltar's anti-air defenses. Thanks to their advanced stealth technology, air-to-ground missile batteries were having a hard time targeting them. However, not completely.

An EMP missile hit one of the Talons' aircraft, burning out every single electronic component within, causing it to crash into the rocky cliffs below. Also, a pulse auto-cannon destroyed the wing of another, sending it spinning in flames to the front of Winston's lab.

Edward met Reinhardt in the armory, and stepped into the docking pads to don their armors.

"Have you ever been in life or death situations before?" Reinhardt asked as armor pieces were being fitted on his large frame.

"A couple of times helping Stuttgart's finest in hostage rescue," Edward replied nonchalantly as his' were screwed on.

"Then we shall prove ourselves in glorious combat!"

"Don't get yourself killed old man." He chuckled as he put on his helmet. It's orange visor lit up as the suit's power surged up to it and AEGIS reported that the suit was combat ready.

"A squad of Talon troops are deploying right outside of the armory!" ATHENA reported.

The operatives were clad in black body armor, complete with helmets and face-obscuring ballistic masks; Regular Talon rank-and-file grunts.

"Good! Let's crush these bastards head on!" Edward exclaimed as he took his rocket powered Lucerne hammer from it's storage.

"But remember, the team's safety is our primary concern. Do not charge in if you will compromise your team," Reinhardt advised, a lesson he learned the hard way. Edward nodded in reply.

"We're ready, sir," said Sergeant Zhou as his men finished arming themselves.

The Crusaders deployed their large blue energy barriers from their left arm shield generators, safely shielding themselves and the men behind them.

"ATHENA, open the door," Reinhardt commanded.

As the armory's large metal sliding double doors opened, they were barraged with rockets and machine gun fire. However the ordinances were rendered useless as they impacted the Crusaders' energy barriers.

As most of Talon operatives ceased fire to reload, the Crusaders advanced with men behind them, returning fire at their Talon attackers. Several hostile operatives were killed while others were incapacitated.

Edward, seeing a cowering Talon operative, grabbed him by the head and hurled him towards three of his still firing comrades, knocking them down like bowling pins and effectively silencing the Talon assault towards the armory.

Back in their days, the Crusaders fought against omnic combatants whose bodies were made of metal. And so, humans encased in hard bulletproof suits of armor would be nothing compared to them.

Volleys of "don't move" and "drop your weapons" were heard. What was left of the Talon squad then surrendered. After Sergeant Zhou assured them that they will handle the rest, Edward and Reinhardt proceeded to where cries for help were heard most.

Lightning stood in front of Canterlot Castle's Throne Room with Princesses Luna and Celestia, waiting for Twilight and Fizzlepop to arrive. It was very early in the morning, and so the castle was very quiet. Sometimes there were the occasional chirping of birds and other sounds of nature, but other than that, silence.

Lightning was wearing a black tinted version of the Royal Guard armor. Aside from the color, another difference was the helmet was without it's signature blue tassel. A dagger was also strapped to the armor's side, stripped of all decorations, and crafted only for battle or explorations. With his trusty spear and supply-packed saddlebags, Lightning was ready to depart.

Luna was also clad in her own armor. Her armor was made of midnight blue steel with radiating purple gems adorning several areas. She carried her own saddlebags and a longsword was strapped to her hip.

"So, have you prepared everything for the mission, Captain Lightning?" Luna asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Everything is ready on my part, Princess."

"I mean, everything. Do you still have any unresolved internal issues? Doubts perhaps? As I told you before, some of us might not come back. If you haven't, it's best for you to do so now."

A cold chill crept up Lightning's spine. Had Luna overheard him stating his suspicion last night? Despite his unease, he decided it would be best to bottle up his baseless accusation for now.

"No, Princess. Everything is settled."

Twilight and Fizzlepop arrived shortly. Their backs strapped with saddlebags containing a mountain of items inside, suitable for a long journey.

A contrary to Twilight, who wore nothing other than her usual, Tempest wore her old dark purple armor, although the Storm King's crest was already removed. She also carried a longsword on her back.

"Hello. I assume you have everything ready?" inquired Celestia.

"Physically and mentally, Princess." Twilight grinned.

The group then entered the Throne Room. Once they got to the room's center, in exception for Celestia, the group formed a circle at Luna's behest. Not only did it ease her to share Seek Guidance, teleportation between worlds requires immense magic to perform. One of the methods would be to combine a concentrated arcane energy to teleport away. This also need extraordinary focus from all participants, because should one get distracted, the teleportation will not succeed.

"Now, I am about to share with you all the Seek Guidance spell. This spell requires no concentration to receive nor to cast. However, there will be pain when you receive this spell. So close your eyes, and try to relax."

Luna closed her eyes and horn started glowing with magic. Soon, tendrils of blue light reached for the horns of everypony in the circle.

Soon, pained cries were heard.

"Stay with me, it will be over soon."

Fizzlepop and Lightning felt their heads were being squeezed like grapes, and just when the pain reached its climax, it disappeared as fast as it had surged. The two crumpled to the floor as the world around them began to spin, while Twilight didn't even flinch. Alicorn perks maybe.

Celestia rushed towards them and cast a healing magic to ease the pain.

"There, there. The pain will go away soon." She smiled. True to her word, the pain subsided.

Lightning quickly recovered, but he noticed Fizzlepop was still on the floor; shaking her head to get rid of the sensation.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just a bit dizzy. It'll clear up in no time."

But Lightning took his initiative. He offered his hoof which Fizzlepop accepted, and helped her up.

"Thanks." The mare smiled.

"Don't mention it."

At his heart, Lightning was still a bit distrustful towards Fizzlepop after the things she had done towards those he'd sworn to protect. However, as his former drill sergeant always said:

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."

And also:

"Destroy your enemies by befriending them."

Plus, he also trusted Twilight's judgement as both his cousin and one of Equestria's leaders. If she trusted her, then so should he. Other than that, he believes that everypony deserves a second chance. Still, should she try anything that will endanger Twilight or Luna...then he will do what's necessary.

"Pardon me, Princess Luna, but I do not feel any wiser regarding the Spark's location," Fizzlepop commented.

"Oh, that is to be expected. The spell will work once we arrive on Earth to avoid anomalies here, such as giving false locations and so on," Luna explained. "That being said, is everypony ready to go?"

"Let's."

Celestia hugged her younger sister and kissed her forehead.

"Be safe out there. Take care of each other."

"Fizzlepop, since you can't teleport, you can hold on to me." Twilight smiled.

She gratefully accepted her offer and did what she was asked to do. Their horns were charged with the arcane, which grew stronger with each passing second, and in a flash of bright light, the ponies vanished.

Edward charged through a swarm of Talon operatives advancing towards the Watchpoint's launch pad, laughing loudly at the sight of humans being hurled aside after colliding with his massive and heavy armor. He grabbed an operative by his head, scraping him against the floor before tossing the barely alive man into another crowd of operatives firing behind cover, successfully knocking them down and smashing the last one with his rocket hammer, turning him into a puddle of gore like other Talons who were unlucky enough to face the punishing weapon.

Those who did not face the rocket hammer suffered from broken bones, internal bleeding, fractures, dislocations, and other serious injuries that will render them useless in battle.

"Just like cracking eggs." He chuckled. "All clear!"

Several Overwatch soldiers popped their heads behind their makeshift cover of metal containers and saw that they were no longer being fired upon.

"Still alive old man?" Edward laughed as Reinhardt skated next to him, propelled by his rocket engine.

"Heroes never die!" he boomed as he took his helmet off.

By then, the Talon gunships were either shot down or retreated as they were being overrun by Overwatch's retaliation.

"That's my line!" Angela replied as she flew in with the help of her Valkyrie Suit with Genji, Jesse, and Lena "Tracer" Oxton in tow. "Are you two hurt?"

"Ah it's just a scratch. Help those in--"

Reinhardt was cut off as an explosion of bright light engulfed the surrounding area. Everybody present shielded their eyes in order not to lose their precious eye-sights. After the brightness subsided, the humans couldn't believe their own eyes as four multicolored ponies layed on the ground. What's more, they were stirring awake.

"Angela, what the hell did ya put in my drink?"

Author's Note

Well, it's that time of the year again folks! Gathering together with your loved ones, getting all cuddly in winter (tbh I don't know what winter feels like since I live in Indonesia), exchanging presents with each other, while also eating so much until you cant feel your faces

Maybe it's a little late, but regardless; Merry Christmas to you who celebrate! I wish that all of you have a blessed one this year .

I am updating the next chapter ASAP.

As always, big thanks to XIII Hearts for editing this chapter !