Harmony: Heroes of Gimlé - Arc I: Rainstorm

Planet Gimlé, Equestria, Canterlot (Canterlot Palace - Celestia's room), April 21st, year 2, Reformation era, 11:50 AM -

"So it turns out that it was just Luna messing with me using some cat toy laser pointer she got from a little colt in Ponyville! Hahaha!" Princess Celestia cackled as she finished telling Rainstorm about another one of her and her sister's infamous 'prank offs', however, Celestia had been the victim this time, though she didn't seem to mind. Finally, she calmed down enough to address Rain. "Oh Sweetie, lighten up, will you? With all the money you'll be making from this, I'm surprised that you're not hopping up and down with joy," Celestia said, having noticed he had been looking around the room angrily with his arms crossed. Celestia's room was a large, bright, immaculate white chamber with a big comfortable bed, personal study, and a balcony overlooking the city. There were a few dozen or so knickknacks here and there on display and a couple of bookshelves, the contents of which ranged from romance to horror, to comedy, and everything in between. In the middle of the room was a small table with a bowl of chocolate-covered cherries and a couple of chairs around it, two of which were occupied by Celestia and Rainstorm.

"Oh yea, this is the greatest fuckn' day of my whole goddamn life - being stuck babysitting 'the princess of friendship' for what could be years, Celestia - years!" Rain said angrily.

"Oh yes, how dare I pay the mighty Rainstorm an exorbitant amount of bits to watch over eight beautiful single mares along with a team of elite soldiers, two of whom also happen to be beautiful, single mares - one of whom even happens to be a childhood hero of yours I might add - all of which are very successful, in a town with a nearly four-to-one female population - a good number of which I'm willing to bet are single as well! Oh yes, I'm sooo cruel to you, aren't I?" Celestia retorted mockingly.

"Ok, first of all - I do NOT want or need the closest thing to a mother I've ever known trying to get me laid - and I sure as hell don't need to think about it!" Rain said with a noticeable shutter, "Secondly - as for the 'beautiful, single mares', aside from my obvious disdain for princess purple-ass ruling her out, I think at least one's a lesbian, one seems so stuck-up that I think I'd rather put my dick in an anthill then spend any more time with her than I have to, two straight-up hate me, one's waaaay older than I am and probably wouldn't go for me, two are complete airheads, two - from what I've read in the dossier - have a tendency for recklessness that would likely get me killed if I were to try to date them, and finally, when pray tell do you suppose I'll actually have any free time to try my luck with anyone else in Ponyvi- why are you snickering?" Rain had finally noticed Celestia's attempts to conceal her snickering.

"Princess purple-ass," Celestia chuckled, though she immediately regained her composure once she saw Rainstorm looking daggers at her. "Don't look at me like that, you knew full well I was listening. Can you really blame Applejack for not liking you after you deliberately tried to offend her and her friends? Same with Belizna, as for Rarity, she can seem a bit stuck-up at first, but there's a reason she's the element of generosity. Pinkie Pie isn't an airhead, she's actually fairly smart, as for Trixie, she...uh well... Starlight and Rainbow Dash may live...dangerously, but they're also quite capable of getting themselves and those around them out of trouble - not to mention you're a fine one to talk about being reckless! Changelings are among the longest living races on Gimlé, many capable of living more than a thousand years and Chitny from what I can tell is more than willing to date younger stallions and come on Rainy, she's a shapeshifter!" Celestia said with a wink. She clearly knew both Rainstorm and the others well enough to know exactly who he'd been referring to. She took a sip of tea before continuing. "Also, you don't have to worry about being able to get some rest and free time here and there. You and the task force will be joined by a detachment of thirty guards and use Twilight's Castle as your base of operations during this mission, allowing each of you to take the occasional break. Now as for Fluttershy...have you ever considered getting a sex-change?" Celestia finished, again snickering to herself as she took another sip of tea. as she did so, she barely noticed a chocolate-covered cherry bounce off her head.

"You know, I got those for you to eat and not to pelt me with?" Celestia said as she looked up at Rainstorm.

"Yea, well maybe I'm not feeling hungr- !" before Rain could finish his sentence he was cut off by Celestia.

"Eat the damn candy, Rain," Celestia ordered just before sipping more tea. Though she maintained a fairly calm tone of voice, he could detect the barest hint of irritation within.

"Yes, mam," he relented, pulling down his balaclava to pop a cherry into his mouth. They had been his favorite snack as a child and Celestia knew this.

"In all seriousness though..." Celestia started, her voice taking on a more earnest tone, "Perhaps after this mission’s over you should consider trying to get to know somepony, maybe settle down and start a family?" she asked. Rain was quiet for a long time as he mulled over her words. Him a family man? After what felt like an eternity of silence he finally responded.

"Sorry...been there, tried that, and we both know that didn't end well for anyone either time..." his voice trailed off.

"I know what happened at Fort Jagged must still haunt you, but Morning Dew and Wallflower would want you to move on. It's been so long..." Celestia said, trying to reason with him as he stood up.

"It's more than just that," Rain said as he pulled his balaclava back over his face, "And no, it's not just about Dee Dee either."

"Does it have anything to do with that bandit you killed the other day?" Celestia inquired, causing Rain to stop dead in his tracks. "Don't look so surprised, Rain. I don't need a familiar to have eyes and ears in far-off places, I know what happened on your last mission. I know you feel guilty about Rockjaw, but you can't let that lead you to become the very kind of monster yo- !"

"That's not it Celestia!" Rain shouted at her, "...I...I..." Rain struggled to find the words he needed, but needn't have bothered.

"...I see...the changes to the way you talk, the sudden quantum surge in sophistication to your weapon designs, the way you've been getting more and more distant with everypony..." Celestia said, a look of dawning comprehension forming on her face, "...How much...how much do you remember?..." Celestia asked, her voice barely audible.

"All of it..." Rain said.

"...What happened, what was it like over there, how did you end up here, and when did your memory come back in the first place?" she asked, half dreading what she might hear.

"...I think you already know when it was that my memories came back," Rain said to Celestia, avoiding eye contact with her as he spoke. It was true, in her heart of hearts she'd known the moment it had happened.

"Lord Tirek," she said as she tried to brace herself for what she might hear, but nothing could have ever prepared her for the story she was about to be told...

Planet Gimlé, Equestria, Canterlot (Canterlot Palace - hangar seven), April 21st, year 2, Reformation era, 11:58 AM -

"What!?" Rainbow Dash shouted in surprise at what she'd just been told, "He's Celestia's son!?"

"More like her unofficially adopted son," Twilight went on to explain as they and the task force continued to work. The elements and the task force as well as Starlight, Trixie, and Spike were in a large airship hangar, busy loading a few crates of supplies onto one such vessel. The hangar was a massive industrial-looking chamber filled with various machines ranging in all sizes and shapes including several massive mechanical arms for repairing and refitting different types of airships such as the one they were loading up. It was a medium-sized carrier capable of transporting twenty people comfortably while still having room for supplies, it was silver in coloration and appeared to have seen some dogfights in the past as evidenced by the numerous pockmarks and scars. The top was covered in thick and sturdy yet lightweight armor plating protecting its envelope and on either side two disc-like structures with large stone discs made of enchanted tourmaline in the center of each one. There were several large guns mounted at various locations, including two adjoined to the front of the cockpit and on the side of the vessel the words 'Quicksilver' stood out in bold blue ponish print.

"Even though she raised him from an early age, for whatever reason, she never formally adopted him," Twilight explained as they carried more small crates onto the ship.

"Gee, it can't have nothin' to do with his charmin' personality could it?" Applejack said sarcastically as she placed a rather large crate inside the airship.

"I take it you're not a fan, darling?" Rarity inquired as she too placed a much smaller crate down next to it.

"You heard the way he talked to everypony, Rarity! Ben' as disrespectful as he could, talkin' down to Twilight like he did, and threatenin' ponies left and right like it weren't nothin'!" AJ said with an angry snort. "If y’all ask me, he needs a good buck to the teeth! Besides, I just don't trust mercs," she finished.

"Why, did one say something bad about apples or something?" Trixie asked, having decided to place her crate down on the ground to use as a makeshift seat while she listened to the others talk.

"Let's just say my family and I have had some bad experiences with them in the past and we'll leave it at that, alright?" AJ said, a frustrated tone in her voice.

"Ok..." Trixie complied, noting Applejack's evident foul mood and turned to Boris to ask him some questions instead. "So Boris, right? - What's the deal with mercenaries and what did they have to do with this Evermourn virus thingy?" she asked. Borus, having just loaded the last of his crates onto the ship and noticing the only one left was the one Trixie was using as a chair, decided there was no harm in them taking a short break while he gave them a quick history lesson, especially if it meant it might help them to better understand - and thus perhaps better get along with - Rainstorm.

"Alright, we got some time before we're due to head out," Boris said as the others gathered around him to hear what he had to say. "Well like I said before, with Evermourn having left our military in such a lousy state, the EPU had to draft most anyone and everyone what had combat experience just to keep our enemies from deciding to launch a full-scale invasion, which lead to a major spike in crime. Fortunately, there were a few vet's here and there who for one reason or another weren't drafted and were able to help out some, of course, they couldn't be expected to fight crime all across Equestria by themselves so they started trainin' civilians how to fight and over time, they formed militias," Boris told the group as they listened intently. "In the beginning, there were seven major militias that formed up; the Crusaders of Light, the Sky Demons, the Battle Corps, the Shǒumén Rén de Xīwàng, the Bone-crushers Society, the Shaded Legion, and the Oath of Magnus. It didn't take long for these seven militias to get big enough and skilled enough to eventually beat the criminal element back down to manageable levels and Equestria to get back to some semblance of peace. Of course, they knew if they just disbanded that the crime rate would start rocketing back up again, but at the same time, the upkeep for these militias was startin' to get pricey - until folks started insisting on paying them for their services that is. At first, the militias refused, but as time went on and the bills started pilin' up, they eventually had no choice but to accept."

"I take it the EPU wasn't exactly thrilled to hear about that?" asked Starlight.

"Heh, you could say that...'' Boris said as he began to continue. "At the time mercenary meant in Equestria what it still means in most of the world, glorified mass murderers for hire, and our laws reflected that. When the militias started accepting payment for their work, the government labeled them as mercenaries and ordered ‘em to disband, to which the militias - as well as most of the civilians - told them to go screw themselves. You have to understand, it's not like the civvies and the militias held any ill will towards the government or the military either one for the draft, they understood full well that they didn't have any other choice in trying to secure our borders, but to label good men and women criminals after everything they'd done for our country? No, that was too much for most folks. Eventually, they decided 'if they’re gonna call us mercenaries, then fine, we'll take that label and make it our own!' and started doing just that, mostly just to mock their detractors, which only pissed off their biggest critics out of all of em' - the government and the EPU - even more," he explained to Twilight and the others.

"The 'mercenaries' kept doin' what they do best, protectin' people and solving problems the EPU were too busy to deal with and normal law enforcement were either too understaffed or ill-equipped ta take on," before Boris could go on, he noticed Spike looked as if he wanted to ask something, "Go on kid, I can tell something's buggin' you. Go ahead and ask, I promise I don't bite! Ha-ha!" Boris's hearty laughter and pleasant demeanor seemed to ease Spike enough he felt comfortable addressing him.

"Well...it's just if they wanted to help protect ponies, then why didn't they just join the EPU or the police?" Spike asked, only to be answered by Rainbow Dash instead.

"Even the most ground-level law enforcement agencies have high standards that can require rigorous mental, physical, and mystical training in loads of different fields - and that's just to qualify for acceptance into an academy or other training facilities for one of those agencies," Dash said to Spike, "It's even harder to get into any branch of the EPU! I had to work my butt off ever since I was a teenager just so the Wonderbolts would give me a chance to try qualifying for the reserves!" she explained.

"That's right Spike. I remember Shining started his military training shortly after he turned fourteen," Twilight added.

"That's right. Ya see the folks that were drafted weren't sent straight to our borders, they were sent to what training facilities that had either survived or had been established to replace the ones that hadn't," Boris continued. "We'd had a pretty strong military presence throughout the land, but with our forces thinned out so much, we had to divert everyone we could from their various posts throughout Equestria to our borders to deter would-be-invaders."

"So what you're saying is, there wasn't much time or very many options, right?" Spike asked.

"Right kid, or to put it another way, we were damned if we did, but even more so if we didn't," Boris went on, "Of course, the mercs still couldn't get the officials to admit the country needed them until... Well, let's just say one of the bandit gangs got...ambitious..."

Planet Gimlé, Equestria, Canterlot (Canterlot Palace - Celestia's room), April 21st, year 2, Reformation era, 12:00 PM -

"...So you see, that's why I have no right to have a family of my own..." Rain said, finishing his story as he pulled up his balaclava and turning his back to Celestia, his eyes not once meeting hers. Celestia had a hand over her mouth, tears running down her face as she slumped down to her knees and using her free hand to support herself, Rain could just barely make out what she was saying as it was little more than a whisper.

"No, no, no, no..." Is all she could say, the shock of what she'd just learned leaving her all but speechless. How can this be? Why him? Why my little Raindrop? Celestia thought to herself, trying desperately to wrap her mind around what the man she'd raised since childhood had revealed to her about his origins, but to no avail. She was so lost in thought she didn't even notice Rainstorm open the door and leave. He hated leaving her like this, but he didn't know what else he could do, after all, it's not every day you hear something like that - least of all from a loved one. Rain figured the best thing for her was to just give her some time to herself to process the information, but he had no sooner shut the door to the princess of the sun's bedroom than he heard a familiar voice next to him.

"Ancestors...just when I thought I'd seen and heard everything in this line of work... *cough*," the figure said just as he started to cough. He was a light-brown stallion with short, slicked-back salt and pepper main, wearing pitch-black sunglasses which concealed his eyes and a black suit and tie.

"I take it you heard everything, Agent Furlong?" Rain asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Every word... I wish there was something I could say or do, but all I have to offer right now are my condolences," Furlong said. Agent Furlong was chief of the top-secret black ops agency known as the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria - or "S.M.I.L.E." for short - and Rain had had dealings with them before.

"I thought S.M.I.L.E. CC was in Manehattan, what are you doing here?" Rain asked.

"Classified," Furlong responded, "Had some time to kill before I headed back to Central Command though and wanted to see if I could catch you - say hi, but I never expected..." Furlong's voice trailed off. Though Rain believed the agent did care, he knew better than to take his word that this was nothing more than a social call.

"No offense Furlong, but cut the crap. I know you want something from me and considering I've already helped you and your agency out a bit with your tech - in spite my better judgment I might add - I'm not really in the mood to give away any more secrets, nor am I willing to change my mind about joining you," Rain said, with a matter-of-fact tone.

"After what I heard today, I don't blame you for your position on either of those, but that's not why I'm here," Furlong said. "Look Rain... after the way you helped agent's Heartstrings and Sweetie Drops during the changeling invasion and given the work we've done together in the past, I'v- *cough* I've come to respect you. This attack... It happened on our watch Rainstorm, our watch and in our own backyard no less! *sigh* I guess what I'm trying to say is... Please Rainstorm... Keep them safe, ok?" Furlong asked pleadingly.

"Of course I will, it's what I was hired to do," Rain replied.

"Heh, don't know why I bothered asking," Furlong gave a light chuckle as he turned to leave, "Of course you'll protect them, it's what you do best - *cough*," he said, coughing as he waved goodbye to Rain. As Rain turned to head in the opposite direction, toward hangar seven, he was greeted by two more familiar faces.

"Hey Rain, we were hoping to run into you!" Cadance said as she walked up to Rainstorm, Shining Armor close behind her.

"Who was that guy?" Shining asked as the two stood on either side of Rain, looking in the direction Agent Furlong had gone off in.

"Oh, just someone I know," Rainstorm said calmly as he then just as nonchalantly elbowed Shining in the gut without even looking in his direction, causing him to stagger back clutching at his stomach with both arms and gasping for air.

"Ugh, what the hell!?" Shining yelled at Rain, a mixture of pain and confusion in his voice.

"That's for strong-arming me into babysitting your little sister and her stupid friends ya douche bag!" Rain snapped at his friend.

"Oh, for the love of Celestia, you're still mad about that!?" Shining asked incredulously as he straightened himself up.

"Yes, yes I am!" he replied, turning to face Shining Armor. "Aside from the history between Twilight and me, what on Gimlé made you think it was a good idea? I mean come on man, you know my specialty is search-and-destroy! By Cerberus's nine balls, I can't guard so much as a peanut butter sandwich and you know it!" Rain yelled at Shining.

"Alright, first of all, the only reason you failed to guard my peanut butter sandwich that time when we played royal guard as kids is because - like a jackass - you ate it once my back was turned!" Shining snapped back at Rain, "Furthermore, it wasn't my idea, it was Celestia's."

"What do you mean 'it was Celestia's'?" Rain asked in surprise, "I thought you'd asked Celestia to convince me to watch over your sister?"

"Don't get me wrong, I meant what I said back in the throne room, I trust you to protect Twily more than I trust anyone else to, but when Celestia told me she wanted you to head Taskforce Sigma and help guard everypony, I actually tried to convince her to send you after these rogue mercs instead, however, the princess insisted on you being on guard duty," Shining Armor explained. Why? Why would she push so hard to get me assigned to this mission though? Rain thought to himself. It really wasn't just the fact he hated Twilight which made him such an odd choice for this mission, in fact, now that he thought about it, there was something very strange about the whole situation. The report in the dossier he'd read stated the mercs who hadn't escaped weren't able to be analyzed due to their bodies being destroyed by what was described as some sort of 'greenish-yellow and black flames' which had erupted from a seal which had appeared on them. The report had also stated no finger marks, blood, psychic imprints, arcane residue, hair, or fibers had been found and on top of that, the weapons and bullets had yielded no discernable evidence either.

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to cover their tracks..." Rain said, thinking out loud. It's not like Twilight and her friends haven't made their fair share of enemies, but... this seems... different somehow..."

"I agree, I've never heard of magic that worked like this," Cadance said. "And I can't think of anypony that might be able to cast magic like this that would use this sort of tactic - employing mercenaries like this," she wondered aloud.

"Well, if anything goes wrong, I'll just blame it on your wuss of a husband," Rain said matter-of-factly to Cadance, causing a look of confusion and offense to mark Shining's face.

"Hmm...I guess he is a bit of a wuss now that I think of it..." Cadance replied, causing Shining to be even more shocked and offended.

"Hey, what the Hell’sup with that you guys!?" Shining protested.

"Oh, don't get all triggered Shiny. It's not your fault you're a wuss," Rain teased him.

"Yeah babe, it's alright. I mean look at it this way, you may be a wuss, but you're my wuss!" Cadance cheerfully stated as she threw an arm around her annoyed husband's back to draw him in for a one-armed hug.

"*sigh* Why is it that both my best friend and the love of my life are both trolls?" Shining Armor asked with an exasperated tone. This caused Cadance and Rainstorm to shoot each other a mischievous look. Cadance quickly released Shining from her grasp and backed away. Before Shining could ask her what was wrong, Rain put a hand on his shoulder and spoke.

"Shining...all this time...why... WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR TRUE FEELINGS!?" Rain shouted as he embraced Shining in a crushing hug, his face getting uncomfortably close to Shining's. Shining turned to Cadance in confusion, only to see her mock-crying.

"How could you!? Waiting to friendzone me until after we'd already been married for more than a year - for the love of Celestia, we had a child together!" Cadance wailed as her obviously fake crying continued, much to Shining's dismay.

"Don't listen to her my darling! Let’s run away together!" Rain proclaimed in an overly-dramatic tone. "We'll elope and live out our days among the yaks, just as we always dreamt!" Rain said as he got right in Shining's face and batted his eyelashes at him. This resulted in Shining trying desperately to push Rain away, all while Cadance laughed at the image before her.

"No, you can't make me live with the yaks, I won't!" Shining yelled as he was finally able to break free of Rain's grasp. He turned around to see both Rain and Cadance were in hysterics, the two of them laughing to the point of tears. "Grr, screw you two weirdos!" Shining said as he marched off in a huff.

"Don't worry, he's not as mad as he seems," Cadance said to Rain as their laughter finally died down and she turned to look at him.

"I know, I know. If he was gonna stop being my friend over a bit of teasing, he'd have done so a long time ago," Rain said to Cadance. Then the look in his eyes became more intense as he turned to face the Princess of Love. "In all seriousness though, I am worried about the both of you, and Flurry Heart as well. If someone is gunning for Twilight and her friends - whether it's political or personal - then there's a damn good chance they'll be going after you too," he said.

"Don't worry. We've called on a couple of old friends to look after us until this whole mess is settled," Cadance explained.

Planet Gimlé, The Frozen North, Wendigo Waists (Last Tomb of the Geokin - Entrance Chamber), April 21st, year 2, Reformation era, 12:00 PM -

In a massive, frozen ruin, located within a recently discovered cave, a unicorn stallion with chiseled features 'sat' meditating and floating a couple of feet off the ground. His skin was a deep-dark grey, he had pitch-black sideburns with a matching mane which was smoothed back, and though closed at the time, he had dark green eyes which seemed to bore into one's very soul. He wore fine black robes, silver greaves, armbands, and circlet which bore a smooth green stone on the front, as well as a deep crimson cloak draped across his shoulders. Sombra had once been driven to monstrous acts against the ponies of the Crystal Empire by visions shown to him by the Crystal Heart - the literal and metaphoric core of the empire - which had depicted so. However, when his best friend Radiant Hope proved their fates were not set in stone, he made the ultimate sacrifice to save the Crystal Ponies and their empire, only to then be rescued at the last minute by Twilight along with the other three princesses.

Feeling indebted to the princesses - especially Cadance - he and Hope had gone in search of the fragments of Queen Amore, who was the first ruler of the Crystal Empire, and whom Sombra had turned into black crystal, scattering her shattered remains across the world. They'd hoped to restore her, but had made a few discoveries which had forced them to shift their focus toward other concerns for the time being. Now the former dark lord was deep in meditation as his shadow expanded across the floor in a wide circle until it was roughly eight-feet in width. Slowly, but surely, small orbs made of shadow rose up from his own enlarged shadow, hovering in the air like semi transparent black bubbles until they numbered in more than a dozen. As the exercise continued, Hope, who - while suspended from a harness - had been examining ancient symbols on the top of one of the large pillars, watched her friend 'taking a break' from all the hard work he'd been doing, exasperation reflected in her dark-blue eyes.

"*sigh* He's going to work himself into an early grave if he keeps this up," she said to herself as a cold breeze hit her face, causing her to shiver slightly and feel grateful for the clothes Sombra had bought her for their journey. The dark-pink unicorn had on a thick purple winter coat with matching pants and a toboggan with a pink, white, and black striped pattern going from top to bottom which mostly concealed her long whitish-blue mane, without which, she'd have quickly frozen to death. She couldn't help but feel bad for Sombra, who didn't have any winter clothing, having said it was unnecessary for him as his Umbran nature allowed him to easily survive the harsh cold even without the proper equipment. "I know he has enough umbra in him to not freeze to death, but I also know he has enough pony in him to where this much cold has to be painful to him," she said out loud to herself again, wishing she'd been able to convince him to get some warmer clothes for himself as well. She knew Sombra was determined to push his limits and become stronger since the odd events that had begun to unfold around them started. Since shifting focus in their investigation, on multiple occasions they'd had near-fatal 'accidents', had every single lead they'd pursued - including researchers and experts - vanish without a trace before they could find them, and through it all, neither could shake the feeling someone or something was following them.

Suddenly the sound of something moving from a small pile of rubble several feet to the right of Sombra caused him to immediately snap his head in its direction and his shadow orbs to lengthen, thin out, and crystallize into multiple sharpened crystals, all of which were aimed at the source of the sound. A second later, a small white mouse with red eyes poked its head out from behind the rubble before scampering off in the direction of the cave's mouth, after which, Sombra let out a sigh of relief and his shadowy constructs returned to their original shape. "Dude, you nearly skewered an innocent little tundra mouse. You really need to chill - uh, so to speak," Hope said as a smile crossed her face due to her unintended pun.

"Yes...you're right. Perhaps it's time that we both take a break - a real one," Sombra said, uncertainty clear in his voice. He hadn't been startled by the noise the mouse had made so much as by the presence he'd felt. For a brief second, he'd thought he'd sensed a malicious, dangerous presence in the ruin with them, but it was so fleeting he was unsure if it had just been his imagination, or something else. His body lowered down to the ground allowing him to sit normally, just as he heard what sounded like a soft, yet loud 'blerp' in the distance. A small, white, fuzzy, snake-looking creature with feathery wings flew in from the direction of the cave's entrance, the end of its long tail wrapped around a thick, round, manila tube, "Ahh, Snowy's arrived with our mail from town," Sombra exclaimed as the creature dropped the package into his outstretched arms.

"Mind if I read the sports section while you read the funnies?" Radiant Hope asked as she started heading back down the pillar she was on.

"Sure thing!" Sombra replied happily as he opened the package to discover both a copy of the Canterlot Chronicle and a letter bearing the royal seal of the Crystal Empire. It was then the headline on the newspaper caught his eye, causing his stomach to lurch, "Oh, no..." Sombra said, his words a barely audible whisper.

"What's wrong, Somb- !", Hope, who had just reached Sombra's side, stopped mid sentence when she saw the headline on the front page. "Why would someone want to hurt Twilight!?" she asked as she took the paper from Sombra, clearly distressed by the news. Sombra then opened the letter and quickly read it before handing that too to his friend.

"I'm not sure, but Cadance and Shining have asked us to return to the Crystal Empire to protect them and Flurry Heart. We should leave for the empire at once," Sombra said.

"Before you go..." a voice sounded out from the other end of the ruin, "...I could really use your help with something, guys!", said an armor-clad figure walking towards them. The two turned to look at the figure headed in their direction, confused as to how they could have gotten in there as they'd been the ones to open the millennia-old ruin and no one could have gotten past them without them noticing, with or without teleportation.

"Who are you, and how did you get in here!" Sombra demanded, putting himself between Hope and the figure. The figure put his hands up to indicate he meant no harm and came no closer.

"I'm a friend, trust me, Sombra," the figure answered him, "As for how I got in here...well...that's gonna take some explaining..."

"...I'm listening..." Sombra said, not being able to sense any ill intent from the stranger and wanting to at least hear him out before deciding what to do next.

"Ok, where to start?..." the figure said, more to himself than anyone else and rubbing the back of his head as he searched for the right words to say. "So...what do you two know about 'interdimensional travel'?" asked the figure, causing both Hope and Sombra to exchange perplexed looks, "Yeah...that's what I was afraid of..." the figure said with a groan.

Planet Gimlé, Equestria, Canterlot (Canterlot Palace - hangar seven), April 21st, year 2, Reformation era, 12:07 PM -

"'Ambitious'?" Trixie repeated, "What, did they rob a bank or something?" she asked.

"Oh, they aimed ah bit higher than that, kid..." Boris replied, "Pack of bandits took over a little village built where the old Everfree Bootcamp used ta be, 'place called 'Daisyberg' back in 836 Sol, slaughtered every man, woman, and child there and used it as a base of operations, and that was only the beginnin’. Bastards attacked a royal caravan and killed everyone, everyone that is 'cept for Prince Shining Sapphire, nephew ta none other than Princess Celestia herself and instead, took him as their hostage!"

"I can't see that going over too well," Starlight said.

"Not in the slightest," Boris said, shaking his head. "Mind ya now, it wasn't as simple as sendin' in the EPU to clean the place out. Our military had recovered quite a bit by then, but we were still tied up at the border for the most part, and the closest thing ta local law enforcement was the royal Canterlot guard, who couldn't just up and leave Canterlot ta go chasin' down crooks without the go-ahead from parliament, and that's where we hit a snag. Though they've gotten a bit better about not draggin' their heels on every little matter, at the time, they couldn't agree on nothin' - not even this! Half of them wanted to send in the military and just mow down everyone in sight until they found the prince, 'other half wanted to try ta negotiate with them out of fear the prince might get harmed, and because it was family, Celestia had ta recuse herself from the voting so, she couldn't break the deadlock. It gets worse though," he paused to take a sip of water from a hip flask he'd pulled out from a pouch on his armor.

"'Worse'? How could it get worse?" Spike asked as Boris put the flask away.

"Well, ever since Evermourn tore our military strength a new one, our rivals had been keepin' close eyes on us, lookin' for any chinks in our armor so ta speak. This was the first time in centuries that anyone had actually posed a real threat to a member of the royal family and up till now the idea that Celestia and her bloodline are of divinity and can't be overcome save by one of their own had deterred anyone from invading outright. If word got out that a mess of bandits got the upper hand on a member of the Solstice bloodline and neither Celestia nor the EPU could do anything about it, it could be taken as a sign of weakness - an open invitation for every other nation ta invade. It could have led us inta full-scale war, and on multiple fronts no less," Boris explained.

"But didn't Equestria have any friends back then? They wouldn't have let Equestria get taken over by anypony, right?" asked Spike.

"Of course we had 'friends' back then," Boris further explained, "In fact, some of them were such good friends that they would have assumed control over Equestria for us - just until things had settled and we were 'fit' ta govern ourselves again, of course. We have plenty of well-meanin' allies, but between how strategic our country's location is, as well as our resources, magic, and technology, no one in their right mind would risk all of that fallin' inta the wrong hands, I mean, if the day came that Saddle Arabia's Sultan claimed this land as Saddle territory and gained access ta it all, he'd declare war on the rest of Gimlé the very next day! In truth though, we weren't worried as much about losin' Equestria as much as what the cost of preventing that would be. Sure, we'd win, but not without a lot of casualties on both sides."

"Well maybe if a certain sun goddess wouldn't sit on her plot all day..." Trixie said under her breath, but not quite quietly enough to go unheard as evidenced by everyone turning their heads to look at her. "What!?" she said defensively.

"There's a very good reason why the Two Sisters rarely participate in combat themselves when they can avoid it," Belizna responded, "Though Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both have alicorn bodies, bonded to each of their souls is a spark of divinity. It is why they do not age, do not get sick, and have no direct blood heirs. Even though they are only demigods, the little divinity they have gives them unimaginable power. Power that even their alicorn bodies can barely contain - which is why they emit a constant aura, even after going to such great lengths to control their power, some of their spiritual energy is constantly escaping and is intense enough to be visible to the naked eye. The whole reason Celestia lost to Queen Chrysalis during the Green Wedding was that she held back just a bit too much, and Chrysalis was merely lucky. If Celestia had used more power than that and lost control, a large portion of the country may have been destroyed. That is why the princesses are so often forced to rely on your friends," she finished, still giving Trixie a cold stare.

"Oh..." Trixie said, mortified.

"And that's why it really started getting folks nervous when some of the politicians started floatin' around the idea that maybe Celestia should handle it herself," Boris continued, "On the one hand, she could easily take down the lot of them all by herself and save her nephew - remindin' the world why Equestria's ruler is not to be trifled with, in the process, but on the other hand, if she weren't careful, not only might Sapphire have been killed in the process, but given Daisyberg's proximity ta Canterlot, if she'd made one mistake, she could have done real damage ta the nation's capital - not ta mention any other important locations. That's when our military forces positioned just outside Daisyberg got one helluva update; from prince Shining Sapphire himself - in person! While everyone had been hemmin' and hawin' 'bout what ta do, the leaders of the first seven mercenary guilds had snuck in and not only rescued the prince, but once they'd gotten him ta safety, they'd then gone back in and sabotaged their defenses, booby-trapped their armory, and planted various other traps and pitfalls throughout the village - all without anyone noticin'! In short, they crippled the bandits completely without them even realizin' it and offered them up ta the EPU all gift-wrapped and everything. Left defenseless and without a single bargainin' chip ta their name, the EPU invited the merc forces that had been stationed nearby to join them for the rest of the op, and side-by-side, the mercs and the EPU swept in and razed the whole damn village to the ground. Over four-hundred bandits were occupying the village at the time, but with a combined force of just over a hundred mercs and soldiers fightin' together, every last bandit was dead in less than six minutes with not a single EPU or mercenary casualty and just a few minor injuries," Boris said before retrieving his flask for another drink of water.

"...But why? …Why kill the bandits if they were no longer a threat!?" Twilight asked, a hint of anger in her voice.

"Cause they called inta question whether the government or the military was in charge of the country," Boris continued, "Like I said, all eyes were on us, and not just abroad. Lots of folks mistake ‘mercy’ for ‘weakness’. If these bandits hadn't been made an example of it could have emboldened others ta try ta get away with more and more. This could have easily snowballed inta an even worse situation than what we were dealin' with at the border, and potentially lead ta a full-blown coup attempt. Sadly, sometimes the best way for rulers ta avoid having ta shed an ocean of blood is ta show that they won’t think twice before sheddin’ a lake of blood. We had ta remind both the criminal element and the world that we were still under control of our own homeland or risk things gettin' even bloodier down the road," he said glumly. Twilight didn't respond, instead opting to just stare at the ground silently. I hate to agree with Rainstorm, but he may be right about the Princess of Friendship being too soft... Belizna thought to herself as she observed Twilight's reaction.

"So, what happened after that?" asked Spike.

"The rest, as they say, is history," Boris continued. "With the astoundin' results the mercenaries produced, the newfound respect and support of the EPU, the glowing endorsement from Prince Shining Sapphire, and the gratitude of both the whole royal family all the way up ta Celestia herself and parliament, the mercs finally got what they'd always wanted; respect and recognition. Parliament, with plenty of advice and input from both the EPU and the mercs, drafted and passed The Mercenary Militia Concordance in a record-breaking forty-five minutes, regulating mercenary guilds, squads, and solo freelancers, in essence, makin' them a new pseudo-branch of civil defense somewhere between Law enforcement and military. Now if you want ta be a lawfully recognized merc, you need to take a brief trainin' course and become registered," Boris finished as he sat up, "Oh, and you have ta take the oath of course."

"What oath is that?" asked Spike as he and everyone else except for Trixie - who was now busy fidgeting with the clasp on her cape - began to get up as well, but before Boris could respond, another voice from behind them answered Spike for him.

"'To defend all Equestrian citizens from evil, be it foreign or domestic. To fight with all my being and stand against the oncoming storm. To carry my charges on my back and my fallen comrades in my heart across a blood-soaked battlefield to a brighter future. Until my dying breath, I shall not yield.'," Rainstorm said, having just arrived with Shining and Cadance in toe. "It's an oath all mercs - myself included - take deadly seriously."

"How good are y'all at keepin' that there 'oath' though?" Applejack asked, more as a slight against Rainstorm than a real question, something which caught everyone present by surprise, except for Rainstorm himself, who after a pause responded.

"...Not as good as I wish..." Rain said, but before anyone could inquire as to what he meant, he walked up to Trixie, who was still messing with the clasp on her cape, and in one fell swoop, snatched the box out from under her, causing her to land unflatteringly on her backside with a light “thud”.

"Ow!" Trixie exclaimed, shooting Rainstorm a dirty look as she got up, rubbing her behind as she did so.

"This is the last package, right? Where's the captain, is he ready? I want to get on with this ASAP!" Rain said.

"I am kapitan of this ship and I have been ready for while now!" barked a gruff voice belonging to a gnoll man standing almost six-foot-tall with medium length dark-cool grey fur with strands of white here and there in it. The gnoll wore a blueish-white vest and jeans and a pair of brown work boots on his feet, though, perhaps his most prominent feature was a vicious-looking hook where his right hand should have been. "My name is Bezuchastnyy Moroz and if these motornyye rty are done holding us up, I'd be more than happy to take off!" he said happily as he took the box from Rain.

"Sorry, starshiy brat," Belizna said apologetically to Moroz.

"Bah!" he replied as he playfully bumped into her before turning around to re-board the Quicksilver. "I'll be in cockpit, waiting for your word, so, you just let me know when ready for takeoff, da?" he said before heading back inside the ship. As Twilight said her goodbyes to her brother and her sister-in-law, the rest of the group headed inside the ship except for Rainstorm, who seemed to be waiting for something, but soon the two found each other, the only ones still not on board. The two stared at one another for what felt like the longest time, both dreading the coming months, finally, the awkward silence was broken by Celestia's arrival.

"Take care, Rainy," Celestia said to Rain, her eyes still red and puffy from where she'd been crying, something Twilight didn't pick up on at first until Celestia pulled her over to one side to whisper something to her, "Please, be patient with him. I know he's rough around the edges, but he's only that way because of what he's had to go through." Twilight started wondering if Rain had said something to make Celestia cry and in her frustration and confusion, thought maybe what her former teacher was referring to was the incident from their childhood, but before she could ask, she heard a distinctive caw as Huginn swooped down and landed on Rainstorm's shoulder.

"About damn time, you godforsaken goth-chicken!" Rain snapped at Huginn, who in turn began to angrily caw back at him in what appeared to be some kind of argument with Rain, "Oh, you're right, you're more of an emo-turkey, than a goth-chicken!... No! Your mother!... Like I've never been called a mother before!... Yes, I have called myself a mother before!... Well, technically I guess I have slept with a few actual mothers before... One, you don't have a sex drive, and two, even if you did, there's plenty of birds for you to bang so, go ahead and go a bird-bangin' for all I care - no one's stopping you!... Oh, God no! Why would you even threaten something like that!?..." This bizarre interaction continued as Rainstorm and Huginn boarded the airship together, much to the dismay of Twilight, who had witnessed the whole display, causing her to arrive at what she felt was a sound conclusion.

"Oh, holy Celestia, he's insane..." Twilight said under her breath as she reluctantly followed behind him. Soon after, the thrust discs on the airship began to light up and moments later, the Quicksilver took off like a bullet into the blue sky.

"It's about time for us to head home too, Shining," Cadance said to her husband as they turned to leave the hanger, leaving Celestia alone, but not for long as her shadow began to bend and warp as Luna rose from it to join her sister.

"Darn it, I didn't get to say goodbye!" Luna exclaimed disappointedly, she then looked around to see if anyone else was within hearing distance and then used her magic to scan the area one last time for any prying eyes or ears before whispering to her sister, "I still think we should have told them everything," she said, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"'Everything'? Such as?..." Celestia asked, frustration evident in her voice as well.

"Well, for starters, there's the truth!" Luna snapped at Celestia, eliciting a harsh glance from her sister, "I know you think you're protecting them - especially Rainstorm - but this will only lead to further complications down the road," she said, trying to reason with Celestia.

"But, the truth could devastate him," Celestia explained to Luna, "He's been through so much already... I...I just can't bear to see him hurt anymore..." she said as her voice trailed off. Luna let out a sigh as she turned to walk away, knowing full well there was no reasoning with Celestia at this point.

"He'll find out sooner or later..." Luna said glumly before leaving the Princess of the Sun alone with her thoughts, unaware that not only had their whole conversation they'd just had, been observed the whole time but everything that had taken place at the palace had been observed from far, far away, where neither Luna's shadows nor Celestia's foresight could reach...

~~Where the screams gather~~, ∞, year Null, N/A era, 0 -

Somewhere, neither here nor there, in a dark space filled with a low, indiscernible noise, lit only by the distant flicker of greenish-yellow energy amongst a pitch-black void, on a massive rocky formation, near the very edge of it - a mere speck by comparison to the rest of the formation - sat a figure on a large, battered-looking throne overlooking a sunken nine-foot wide well with more of the sickly-looking energy glowing within it. This figure wore a massive, black, tattered cloak which covered his entire body, but failed to hide the faint light of, what were presumably, his eyes, which too matched the light in the well. "Secrets and lies, secrets and lies, all you fragments really are, are miserable, worthless piles of secrets and lies..." the figure mused to himself, struggling to keep from laughing out loud. The figure had watched everything that had transpired in Canterlot Castle as reflected in the light of the well and was quite amused by everything they'd seen and heard, "No matter how many times we do this, it never ceases to be humorous... How easily they are manipulated... I'd almost feel sorry for them, were it not for..." there voice trailed off as they noticed a new figure join them.

"My, my! Someone certainly seems to be enjoying their handiwork," said the new arrival with a long drawl. He wore an all-white, fairly snug one-piece suit with a hood pulled up over his head, nearly obscuring his head and face completely, save for his pail nose, mouth, and chin. This new figure seemed quite human in both height and shape, though oddly, his exposed human-looking hands lacked any fingernails.

"Ah, Weiss my dear friend!" exclaimed the cloaked figure, "So, anything of note to report?" he asked, to which Weiss responded with a grin.

"That Sombra is definitely one to be wary of. He actually sensed me for a second there, and I was forced to run off to avoid detection," said Weiss. "And in spite of destroying as many leads as I could find, those two still managed to find an old geokin ruin we missed, one that for some reason seems to be generating some sort of quantum interference. *yawn* Other than that though, it seems to be rather unremarkable," Weiss said as he stretched and yawned, folding his hands behind his head to use as support.

"Well, if I recall correctly, isn't that where Loki took his own life at the end of their world's last age?" asked the cloaked figure.

"Ah, yes! I remember now!" Weiss replied, "Has it really been fifty-million years already? You don't suppose he was making one last attempt to 'save the world', do you?" Weiss inquired.

"If so, it failed like all the others," the cloaked figure responded, "His people were dead, his world was for all intents and purposes dead, and Ragnarök walked the world, cleansing it for the next age. There was nothing left that he could do so, he likely merely wished to end his own life on his terms," the cloaked figure surmised.

"Mortals, demigods, even full-fledged gods themselves; they truly are all hopeless, aren't they?" Weiss asked with an obvious air of amusement in his voice.

"Still, you should return to the site as soon as possible and destroy it, just to be safe," the cloaked figure advised Weiss, but before he could respond, a light erupted from the well and the translucent image of a dark-grey unicorn with dark-green eyes, a short, messy main, wearing glasses and a tattered brown cloak appeared before them.

"M-master, I-I know I should have reported back sooner, b-but there were c-complications and- !"

"Don't waste the master’s time with your pitiful excuses little brother!" shouted another cloaked unicorn who had just appeared several feet away from the well. This one was light-grey, had a messy, shoulder-length dark-brown main and deep-crimson eyes. "You failed to kill the Princess of Friendship and her friends and were just too scared to face the master's wrath. It's as I tried to warn those fools, you're nothing but a pathetic coward," the second unicorn stated with a sneer.

"S-shut up, Furyin!" demanded the first unicorn.

"Both of you, be silent!" the cloaked figure said to both unicorns calmly, but with authority. "Furyinvoke, you berate your younger brother for his failure, yet, did you even once offer any form of aid - if not for his sake, then for the sake of our goals? No, you merely sat safely in the bushes and watched the carnage unfold, and as a result, Twilight Sparkle saw you!" he said, causing Furyin to look down at the ground as he rubbed the back of his head through the hood of his cloak as the first unicorn dawned a smug expression, though, it was short-lived as the cloaked figure turned his attention to him next. "And you, Sightshroud! You were to report back immediately after the attack on the Friendship Express was over, yet instead, you not only abandoned the train the moment it seemed like you might have to do any fighting yourself, but then hid for several days - not from the authorities, the elements, or even your eldest brother, Shadow Lock - but from me! As if you could ever hide from me!" the cloaked figure snarled before revealing a long, humanoid finger with a long, sharp, sickly-yellow fingernail at the end of it. He then made a quick curling motion with his finger, only to slowly uncurl it to reveal a small amount of blood on the end of it. Sightshroud then lifted his hand up to his face and realized there was a fresh, bleeding scratch on it. "Furyin is correct, you are a coward!" the cloaked figure snapped at him.

"F-forgive me, my master!" Sightshroud pleaded with the cloaked figure before they raised their hand to silence him.

"Allow me to make something inescapably clear... I don't mind competition between the two of you. In fact, I even encourage it, as only one of you shall be chosen to become my heir and inherit all that is mine, but I must draw the line at this sibling rivalry interfering with our plans! If this becomes too regular an occurrence then I shall put an end to it myself. Permanently! Understood?" the cloaked figure asked with a coldblooded tone of voice.

"Yes, master," the unicorn brothers said in unison.

"Good... Now, be gone from my sight - the both of you!" ordered the cloaked figure, and the two unicorns obeyed as the hologram of Sightshroud vanished and Furyinvoke disappeared in a flash of orange light.

"It's so hard to find good pawns these days, eh, master?" Weiss asked amusedly

"You have no idea, Weiss..." the cloaked figure said, slowly shaking his head in the process, "Perhaps it's time for me to start getting directly involved again myself?" they pondered.

"Are you sure that's wise in your current condition, master?" Weiss asked.

"Well, if all goes according to plan, that shouldn't be an issue for much longer. And if not?... Well, there's a reason I keep those two idiots around," the cloaked figure explained.

"*sigh* Very well, master," Weiss sighed as he relented, "So, how do you intend to proceed then?" he asked. The cloaked figure thought for a moment before spinning his throne around and looking off into the distance at a massive sphere of white light. He could just make out six figures suspended near the perimeter of the sphere, surrounding a much larger creature in the center, all seven of which seemed frozen in time.

"I have a few ideas..." mused the cloaked figure.

Planet Gimlé, Equestrian aerospace, The Quicksilver (en route to Ponyville), April 21st, year 2, Reformation era, 12:29 PM -

"Are we there yet!?" asked Pinkie Pie excitedly, much to Rainstorm’s disdain.

"Saints preserve me, for the billionth fucking time, it takes a little over a half-hour to get from Canterlot to Ponyville via roc-class airship so, now we should have about..." Rainstorm snapped as he angrily yanked a pocket watch from his left pants pocket, "...Ten to fifteen minutes left before we hit town, so, shut the Hell up because if you ask that damn question one more time, I'll rip both your legs off and shove them down your throat!" he finished yelling at Pinkie, who seemed mildly upset by his reaction.

“Well! I see that someone isn’t Celestia’s Cheery Little Sunbeam today.” Pinkie said.

"Well, at least she ain't hollerin' at her pet bird like some bloomin' eejit!" Applejack snapped back at Rainstorm in defense of her friend. As everyone else had already been sitting in the back of the Quicksilver when Rainstorm, Huginn, and Twilight boarded, they'd all heard Rain seemingly having a one-sided argument with the bird on his shoulder.

"Oh, go take your opinions and shove them up your ass, 'eejit'!" Rain said the last word with a mock country accent.

"Now, y’all listen here, ya sumah-bitch!..." AJ shouted as she rose from her seat and started stomping over to Rain.

"Now stop it, both of ya!" shouted Boris as he got up and stood in between the two. "I know neither of ya are none too thrilled about this arrangement, but we all have a job ta do. Rainstorm, it's our job ta protect them all, and for that, ya need ta keep a level head about ya. The enemy could attack us at any minute and if yer all wound up or upset, it just makes their job all the easier. Yer in charge. Ya can't afford ta be losin' yer cool and gettin' inta fights with the people ya swore to take care of, and you -" Borus then turned to address Applejack, "- I don't know what yer problem is with Rainstorm or mercs in general, but you and yer friends need ta let us protect ya, and if yer gettin' inta fights with any of us, it makes our job that much harder. I know ya don't like how Rainstorm talks ta yer friends, I can't blame ya, and he may not be one of the friendliest folks around-".

"Hey!", Rain said defensively, cutting Borus off, though he paid him little heed as he continued talking to Applejack.

"-But I've fought alongside him before, and I can tell you from personal experience, he's good people...once ya get ta know him anyways. All of ya, just ask yerselves this; just like ya've got what ya feel are valid reasons for the way ya feel, maybe the other guy - or gal - has their own valid reasons. Nothin' happens in ah vacuum," Borus finished before sitting back down. After a minute, Applejack took a deep breath, then exhaled before speaking again.

"I'm...sorry..." she said reluctantly before sitting back down.

"*sigh* I'm sorry too - to both of you," Rain said, as he addressed both AJ and Pinkie.

"Where's my apology?" Trixie asked in a huff.

"Don't push it," Rainstorm warned before Moroz' voice came in over the intercom.

"We are here, but we are having slight problem!" Moroz announced, prompting both Rainstorm and Belizna to march up and into the cockpit to see what was up.

"What's wrong, starshiy brat?" Balizna asked as she entered the cockpit with Rainstorm close behind her.

"These idioty forgot to mention this gaudy thing is lacking airship hangar!" Moroz said irritably while gesturing out the window toward the massive structure below. It was an enormous crystalline tree with a large door which appeared to be made of solid gold at the base of the tree's trunk, and whose many branches held up a large castle made of crystal and gold.

"This is where the Princess of Irritation lives?" Rain said, trying not to burst out laughing, "Goddamn, karma's a bitch, huh? No damn wonder the show only lasted three seasons..." he said more to himself than anyone else.

"Hum?" Balizna asked, having not quite heard the last statement from Rainstorm.

"Oh, nothing," He said, hand waving the subject.

"Well, what in Tartarus are we going to do? There is no way I'm parking my pride and joy on the grass!" Moroz said stubbornly.

"The extra guards should be here before too long. They likely have a prefab landing pad ready to set up once they get here," Rain reasoned.

"Well, they'd better hurry up, befo- !" Moroz was cut off as Jasper poked his head in wearing a concerned expression on his face.

"Uh...sweet-peas, you might want to come take a look at this..." he said as he headed back toward the others, with Rainstorm and Belizna right behind him. When they returned to the rear of the ship, they saw the elements of harmony glowing brightly, their crests shining through their clothing.

"What's going on now!?" Asked a surprised Rainbow Dash before Moroz spoke over the intercom once again.

"You are not going to believe what I am seeing..." Moroz said, bewilderment clear in his voice.

"For fuck's sake! What do I look like, a fuckin' yoyo?" Rain complained as he and Belizna rushed back to the cockpit to see what was happening now. The two arrived just in the nick of time to see some of the branches toward the back of the now glowing Tree Castle start to extend and change shape as a new dome-like structure took shape. Moments later, a new airship hangar had formed with a mostly transparent crystal dome over it, which then opened itself for the Quicksilver to land.

"Krov' Pervogo Volka..." Moroz said under his breath as he initiated the landing procedure. Several minutes later the group was walking through the castle, looking for rooms to call their own.

"Now, once the guards arrive, ya ladies will be free ta return to yer homes if ya wish," Boris explained, "Jasper, yer with Rainbow Dash, Balizna's with Applejack, Chitny's with Rarity, Mángdán will keep watch over Fluttershy, and I'll keep an eye on Pinkie Pie," Borus finished.

"Aww, I wanted to go with Rarity!" wined Jasper, "Not that I have anything against you, sweet-pea! It's just that it's not every day you get to call one of Equestria's premier fashionista's your roomy!" he quickly explained to Rainbow, as to try to avoid insulting her. "I was really looking forward to trying on some cute new clothes..." Jasper's voice trailed off sadly.

"Sorry, but as Boris said earlier, we can't afford any distractions - that includes drooling over fashion," Rain explained. Seeing his disappointed expression, Rarity walked next to Jasper and whispered to him.

"Don't worry. Feel free to come by the shop whenever you have a break," Rarity said with a wink, causing Jasper to beam.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave Twilight and Rainstorm alone?" Starlight asked, having noticed the cold looks the two had been shooting each other since they'd boarded the Quicksilver.

"Pfff! Don't worry Starlight!" Pinkie chimed in, "Borus and I talked about it, and I've decided to sleep over here until this is over so, you have nothing to be afraid of!" she exclaimed happily.

"Thought it was best ta keep the Cake clan out of this if at all possible," Borus explained, "We've also decided ta have Trixie postpone all her magic shows and have her sleep here as well for the time bein'."

"Great, just what I needed," Rainstorm groaned as he struggled to pry open what he thought was a door to one of the spare bedrooms, "Not only am I stuck living in the biggest eyesore on Gimlé with Twilight, but I have to live with her two most annoying frien- Geahh!" he screamed as he finally succeeded at opening the door, only to realize it was actually a small broom closet completely packed with teacups, which had at that point erupted forth, burying him.

"Whoopsie..." Trixie said sheepishly as Rainstorm stuck his head out from under the pile of teacups while nearly everyone else just stared at the peculiar scene with perplexed looks on their faces, except for Jasper, AJ, and Rainbow who couldn't help but to snicker at Rainstorm's misfortune. Meanwhile, Spike and Starlight both exchanged nervous looks as they hadn't gotten the chance to explain what transpired at the castle the day of the attack given all the chaos over the last few days. As Rain sat amongst the pile of teacups with only his head and right arm sticking out, he rested his face in his hand and stared daggers at all of them.

"Fuckin' -" he flinched a bit as he was cut off by another teacup toppling out of the broom closet, only to bounce off his head and join its fellows in the pile,"- Reee," Rain finished, already coming to the conclusion whatever Celestia was paying him, it wouldn't be anywhere near enough to make up for what he was going to have to endure.

Chapter 4: Finished