Eclipsed

Three days had past by since their arrival at the crystal empire. The soldiers from Canterlot that had escaped were being healed back to health, and the crystal empire soldiers were preparing for any attacks from the south. So far as Twilight knew none of Equestria's allies had responded to the calls for aid yet, whether it was because they had been delayed or because Umbra's army had already gotten to them nopony knew.

Twilight and her friends had healed up rather well, especially Rainbow Dash. The doctors were actually going to allow her to leave her bed today upon her insistence and after a lot of healing magic and pain relief. Twilight and her friends had all agreed to meet at Rainbow's room in order to see how she was doing.

Twilight trotted down the crystal hallway, accompanied by Spike and Starlight. They had all been helping out with tending to the soldiers however they could, since Luna told them it was too dangerous to head out of the empire's borders just yet. But now that things were getting more stabilised around the crystal empire, the girls could relax a little now, well as much as they possibly could with what's happened.

As they approached the door to the room Rainbow was being treated in, they noticed that the other girls were already inside with Rainbow and a doctor who was having Rainbow sign a form. Twilight, Starlight and Spike entered the room and approached the group.

"How's the patient doing, today?" Twilight asked.

"She's far better than when she came in, almost back to her regular self completely" the doctor answered "she's cleared to leave the hospital wing so long as she doesn't do too much too quickly" the doctor explained before he left the room.

"Finally" Rainbow said as she sat up, only to be halted by Rarity's hoof.

"That doesn't mean you can go and take flight immediately or anything like that" Rarity told her.

"Fine" Rainbow nodded before getting out of the hospital bed.

Rainbow then stood up, taking a few steps forward with assistance from Fluttershy before she was able to walk on her own. The long thin scar across her stomach was visible to the rest of the group, reminding them of what could happen if they made even a single mistake in the days and possible weeks to come.

"How's the scarring? Is it bad?" Rainbow asked the others.

Each of the group began shaking their heads, saying how the scars were barely even noticeable. Twilight, however, was the only one who hadn't said anything.

She couldn't help but think, what would've happened if Rainbow hadn't actually died? They may of faced dangerous threats that would wish great harm to them, but none of them actually got that close to ending one of their lives. They could've lost one of their closest friends, all because of a family feud that spiralled out of control over a thousand years ago.

She could have lost a close friend because of Celestia and Luna failing to finish something they had started, again.

"You okay, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie said, catching Twilight's attention.

"Oh, yes, I'm just...a bit tired is all" Twilight said, shaking her head slightly "but I'll be fine"

Pinkie gave a nod before turning back to Rainbow Dash.

"So, what's the plan?" Rainbow asked the rest of the group "what's our next move?"

"Actually, once you were out of bed we were going to ask Luna" Twilight said "she's been trying to contact Equestria's allies but so far we haven't heard back from any of them"

"Then what are we waiting for, lets go see what's happening" Rainbow said as she walked over to the door.

The girls and Spike all nodded and followed Rainbow Dash out of the hospital ward.

Twilight and the others arrived at the crystal empire throne room, where they had heard Luna was currently with Cadence and Shining Armour. The halls were even more empty than normal, due to the crystal empire guard having to watch the borders as well as the walls to ensure Umbra's army doesn't get too close.

The first thing Twilight heard was a grunt of annoyance. The group looked and saw Luna reading one of several letters. She also noticed that Luna was wearing the alicorn talisman around her neck, most likely to keep it safe.

"Manehatten, Griffonstone, Cloudsdale...all of them!" Luna slammed the letter down "every settlement and city from the east to the west is either being invaded...or has surrendered to Umbra's rule"

"What? But they can't have just given up that easily" Twilight said as she hurried over and picked up one of the letters, reading it over.

"Some of them haven't, and that's why they cannot send us aid, because they need everything they have if they're going to stand a chance of pushing Umbra's army out of their cities" Luna sighed "the changelings said they will attempt to assist us if their borders are clear, which doesn't sound good considering Umbra's full blown invasion spreading across Equestria"

"So all we have is the crystal empire guards and what remains of the Canterlot guard" Shining Armour said as he read a report "in all about a force of two thousand, two hundred of which are still being treated in the hospital wards"

Twilight read over the letters that Luna had put to one side. The same thing was written on almost every single one, either they needed the supplies to fight back or they had surrendered to a far too large force to combat.

"Surely somewhere hasn't been invaded yet" Twilight said.

"What's the situation with Canterlot? We could try and sneak in if Umbra's army is being separated across Equestria" Rainbow suggested.

"Heavily guarded, both day and night, by whole legions of soldiers even with his invasion spreading out across Equestria" Luna answered "clearly, with both Celestia and the elements in Canterlot castle, Umbra doesn't want to risk loosing either"

"What about Cloudsdale? Or Manehattan?" Twilight asked.

"It appears as though Umbra's forces are merely planning on using Manehattan to block our access to fresh soldiers from Stalliongrad, which they may also being planning to attack" Shining Armour answered.

"Stalliongrad?" Rarity asked.

"Stalliongrad is the training grounds for the Equestrian military, it's where all guards and soldiers are trained" Luna explained.

"Have we heard any news from there?" Twilight asked "do they know they might be attacked soon?"

Then the throne room doors opened up, revealing general Spearhead as he entered the room, his armour repaired and cleaned up. He approached the rest of the group with an official look on his face.

"General, have we any news from Stalliongrad?" Luna asked Spearhead as he approached.

"Yes, princess, they are preparing troops to head for both Manehattan and Griffonstone" Spearhead answered "once they manage to clear out Manehattan, they shall send us aid in the form of ground troops and supplies"

"What about the Air Force, do they not have any units available?" Luna asked.

"No, it would seem that they're all being held up at Cloudsdale, which is under heavy siege from an armada of pegasi and airships which Stalliongrad spotted overhead a few days ago" Spearhead explained.

"Airships? I didn't see any airships in the skies over Canterlot" Applejack stated.

"It would appear that Umbra's forces have repurposed regular boats to sail through the skies, and have sailed them straight up in preparation for invading Cloudsdale" Spearhead told Applejack before turning back to Luna "these airships are carrying both unicorns and earth ponies from what pegasi scouts managed to see"

"How is Cloudsdale holding up?" Rainbow asked.

"Honestly, it's not good" Spearhead said bluntly "the majority of the Air Force has been grounded, and captain Spitfire has had to resort to guerrilla tactics just to keep the fight going"

"We must get aid to Cloudsdale" Luna stated "only to evacuate any and all ponies who could help us liberate Manehattan if we can't push out the invasion force"

"I'll set up a rendezvous with Spitfire and take a strike team up to Cloudsdale" Spearhead said.

"Very well, set out when your team is assembled and ready" Luna told Spearhead, who saluted as a response.

Twilight began to think of what was being said so far. Griffonstone, Manehattan, Cloudsdale and Stalliongrad are the most important locations currently within their reach. Canterlot was a no go zone for now while Umbra's army was stationed there.

If Spearhead's team managed to free the Air Force, then they'd be able to assist in Manehattan and with defending the empire, and in turn the alicorn talisman. But then again if Spearhead's team failed, then they would loose a high ranking military leading and Umbra's forces may attack the empire in retaliation.

She and her friends wouldn't be able to get very much done if they stayed together, not without the elements. If they went off in groups to different places, then maybe they'd be able to get more done quicker. Less time means lower casualties, right? Twilight wasn't sure herself, but it had to be worth a shot.

"Maybe we should split up in order to cover more ground" Twilight suggested to her friends.

"Nexus said that Umbra was looking for you, are you sure that it's a good idea for any of you to leave the crystal empire right now?" Spike asked.

"Honestly, I think Umbra might declare my capture as being secondary compared to dominating Equestria's cities" Twilight said as she looked at Spike "although I think you should stay here for a while after that run in with Nexus"

"Oh yeah, right" Spike nodded understandingly.

Twilight smiled slightly, happy that Spike was still safe after all that's happened over the last couple of days. She still couldn't believe that Spike actually stepped in and spat fire at Nexus to protect her.

She didn't know how she would've reacted if Spike had of actually...killed somepony. If he'd of killed Nexus, that would've been bad, right? Celestia always said that you should try to talk your enemies down instead of just striking them down. But then again, if Celestia and Luna had have killed the likes of Sombra or Tirek the first time they fought then the ponies of modern Equestria wouldn't have suffered their wrath.

But if Twilight had have just slaughtered all of her opponents instead of speaking to them, then she wouldn't have made friends with the likes of Starlight, Discord or even Sunset.

"Sunset!" Twilight almost shouted in realisation, startling and grabbing the attention of the whole group "she was suppose to visit Canterlot for the celebrations"

"She'll probably be in Canterlot if she made it there, with the other civilians that couldn't make it out" Luna said to Twilight "we can't risk getting caught to go and get her and you'll be recognised immediately if you go"

"But she could help us based on what I've read about her, she trained under Celestia so she must know some kind of strong magic" Spearhead said "it'd be a great risk for an even greater advantage"

"Yes, but Nexus was also Celestia's student before Sunset, and served as such for far longer" Luna stated "compared to Nexus, Sunset's power is very little"

'Great, another evil former student of Celestia's' Twilight thought in her head before she heard Starlight speak up.

"What if I were to go?" Starlight asked, getting Luna's attention "send me to Ponyville so I don't get caught and I'll make my way to Canterlot to search for her, I'll make my way back once I've found her"

"But you can't go alone, you could be captured" Twilight said as she looked at Starlight.

"I could come with too" Pinkie Pie suggested "two ponies will still be hard to notice will that's going on"

"If we are going to attempt to recruit Sunset to our cause, Starlight and Pinkie Pie's plan is the best course of action" Luna said as she looked at Starlight "a pair of ponies in a crowd is indeed harder to spot than a group of ponies watching each other's backs"

Twilight knew where Luna was coming from with what she was saying, she just couldn't believe how...official she'd made it sound. Obviously, she had never been in a war before like Luna had, but she didn't know that saving a friend from possible danger was now simply securing an asset.

She couldn't help but think back to when Luna mentioned about their past. Could Luna have treated Umbra as nothing but a soldier? She found it quite hard to imagine Luna as the motherly type, especially prior to her transformation into Nightmare Moon.

After all, why didn't Luna do more to help her son after he was denied his prince title?

"Okay" Twilight said after a moment, realising that the others were awaiting a response. "But make sure you're safe" she said to Starlight.

"I will be, won't go standing off against two extremely powerful stallions at once again any time soon" Starlight said.

Twilight smiled warmly, and nodded. She didn't like the idea of her friends separating across Equestria. But Umbra had Canterlot, and by the way things were looking he would have a lot more land before this was over, so they'd have to spread themselves out wherever and however they could.

"I was also thinking about going somewhere" Fluttershy suddenly admitted, getting everypony's attention "I was thinking of asking Discord to help us"

"I've already tried to call for his help, but he hasn't answered back at all" Luna said to Fluttershy.

"Exactly, he would have made at least one appearance to inquire about something this big going on" Fluttershy explained "he might be in trouble"

"Very well, Fluttershy, if you are able to get Discord to join our cause, see if he can help Manehattan at all" Luna said, to which Fluttershy nodded.

"I'll go with Fluttershy, it could be dangerous" Twilight said.

"I'll come along too" Applejack said.

"I'll head off with Spearhead" Rainbow Dash said to the group "help them out up in Cloudsdale if I can"

"Are you sure that's a good idea, leaping into another fight so soon?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, Cloudsdale needs help and I'll do my part" Rainbow nodded "I've been patched up, Umbra's most likely not up there, so I'm ready to go"

"Well, that doesn't mean you can just go off galavanting with some soldiers across a battlefield" Rarity said, concerned "surely there's some kind of regulations to follow"

"Well, actually if you want to be legal about it all, I'm a reservist" Rainbow said "I'd show you my forms but they're back in Cloudsdale"

"Since when did you enrol in the army?" Rarity asked, clearly surprised by the information.

"I spent three years in the cadets when I was younger, although we normally practiced fighting each other in training rooms" Rainbow explained "after that I signed up as a reservist, but since war in Equestria was far too rare, I wasn't ever really needed. But the point is, I legally can serve as a soldier"

"She's right" Spearhead commented.

"You're not helping" Rarity muttered as she looks at the general.

"I'll be fine, don't worry" Rainbow said.

"Okay then, I'll come as well" Rarity said, surprising Rainbow.

"You sure about that? You don't really seem the type to be in a war zone" Spearhead said as he looked at Rarity.

"Trust me, general, she's tougher than she looks" Rainbow said to Spearhead.

"Very well then, get suited up and I'll come to get you two once my team is ready" Spearhead told Rainbow and Rarity before turning around and trotting back towards the door.

"Starlight and Pinkie Pie shall head to Ponyville in search of Sunset Shimmer. Fluttershy, Twilight and Applejack shall attempt to reach Discord. And Rainbow Dash and Rarity shall assist general Spearhead with the Cloudsdale campaign" Luna listed off as she looked at each of the assembled teams "does anypony here have anymore to say on the matter?"

A moment of silence filled the room as Luna awaited for anyone to say any different on the matters at hand.

"Very well then, we shall proceed with the plans set out by Twilight and her friends, after which we shall meet back here if possible" Luna said "we could be Equestria's only hope of restoring the harmony Umbra has tainted"

The group collectively nodded in agreement, acknowledgement and understanding at Luna's last statement. A statement that made Twilight question whether this was all actually happening. They were actually going out to gather allies to fight a war against an alicorn with power to rival Celestia who possesses an army that is ever growing by the hour.

Speaking of which, how did Umbra even manage to get in a position where he could build an army? If the eclipse zone he was sealed away in was the perfect prison, then how did he get out?

Was it simply the arrogance of the two sisters causing misplaced confidence? Did Umbra's power allow him to escape the inescapable prison? If the latter was the case, how would they be able to combat that kind of power? But if the former was true, how much have the princesses really changed since then?

"Come on, let's suit up and get ready to set out for Cloudsdale" Rainbow said to Rarity before leading her to a doorway.

"We should also take a saddlebag of supplies, we don't know how long we'll be gone" Starlight said to Pinkie Pie, who nodded in response.

"Luna, could I ask you something?" Twilight asked Luna "in private?"

Luna looked at her for a moment before nodding and gesturing for Twilight to follow her to another room. The two alicorns trotted off to the other room once Twilight told her friends to go off ahead and that she'd catch up. Once the two of them were alone, Luna spoke up.

"What do you need?" Luna asked.

"Well, I have a question...concerning Umbra" Twilight said, making sure only Luna could hear her.

"Yes...what would you like to know?" Luna asked, slightly concerned while also keeping its official tone.

"How do you think he escaped the eclipse zone?" Twilight asked "could he have generated enough power in there to have broken the seal?"

"I don't know how powerful he is exactly, but I do know that it wouldn't have mattered in terms of the eclipse zone" Luna said, her face showing quite a lot of thought "the reason Celestia called it the perfect prison was because the seal can only be broken from the outside"

"So, someone would have to have released Umbra from the outside?" Twilight said.

"Yes, most likely during the last time the eclipse celebrations occurred" Luna said "Celestia and I noticed that the eclipse zone's barrier is at its weakest when an eclipse forms in our world, and thus easier to break if you know how to"

"But if the eclipse zone's barrier becomes weaker when an eclipse forms, then why do you summon an eclipse once every fifty years?" Twilight asked.

"To serve as a reminder of mine and Celestia's greatest failure" Luna answered.

Twilight looked up at Luna, straight into her nocturnal eyes. She could tell immediately that Luna was genuine when she said that. She wondered if Celestia looked up at the eclipse for the same reasons or whether she merely did it to give her subjects something pretty to look at. Celestia was the one who raised the eclipse for the past one thousand years, this was Luna's first time since being freed from the moon.

"Was there anything else you wanted to ask?" Luna asked Twilight, noticing the look on her face.

"No, I'm fine now" Twilight nodded slightly before thinking again "well, there was one question I had..."

"Yes?" Luna asked.

"How did you react when Umbra was denied his prince title by Celestia?"

Luna looked at thought she were caught off guard by the question, but nodded understandingly as she looked at the smaller alicorn. "I was surprised at first, surprised that after everything Umbra had done Celestia still denied him his title, but I was also...disappointed" Luna admitted.

"Disappointed?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, my pride made me feel disappointed that my training was not enough for Umbra" Luna said "I asked Celestia what he didn't do right, and she simply said he wasn't meant to be a prince"

"So, wouldn't that mean that the fate of the rams is...Celestia's fault?" Twilight asked slowly as she looked up at Luna "as well as everything that's happening now"

Luna was silent for a few moments in deep thought at Twilight's words. Twilight wondered if she should have kept her thoughts to herself. Did she really just blame Luna's sister for a total genocide of a species in front of Luna herself.

"You shouldn't think like that. Celestia may not have helped the matter in the past, but Umbra chose to try and force things that simply weren't to be, and to take his anger out on the ram kingdom" Luna said after a moment "and if blame is to be given, then it is mine to bear for how I treated Umbra in the past"

Twilight looked up at Luna, wondering what exactly she meant how how she treated Umbra. She couldn't press the issue too much now, she had already been told far more than Luna would have to. She merely nodded in response, unsure of how else to respond.

"I should catch up with Fluttershy and Applejack" Twilight said, breaking the silence.

"Very well" Luna said as she nodded "if you have any more questions anytime at all, ask me whenever they come to mind"

"Okay" Twilight nodded "what will you do while we're all gone?"

"I will remain here to help Cadence and Shining Armour organise the empire incase of attack from Umbra's army" Luna said "I will also make sure that Spike is safe while you are all gone"

"Thank you" Twilight smiled as she went to leave.

"Twilight" Luna said, getting Twilight's attention "be careful"

"I will" Twilight gave a small nod before she opened the door and left.

Twilight trotted down the length of the crystal empire throne room to catch up with her friends and also attend to some other things before she left for Discord's dimension.

Rainbow Dash and Rarity trotted down the hallway as they approached the crystal empire's barracks. While Rainbow seemed to appear as though she raring to go and help Cloudsdale, Rarity was trying to hide her utter terror at what she had just signed herself up for.

What was she thinking? Offering to come with Rainbow Dash and a team of highly trained soldiers to a war torn Cloudsdale. She had no place in a combat zone, and she especially didn't have a place inside of a suit of armour. She didn't know why she did it, she just heard Rainbow say she was going and blurted out things she really wished she'd kept in her head.

But she couldn't back out now, and she certainly couldn't leave her friend to charge into unseen dangers thousands of feet in the sky. For now she pushed the thoughts of hesitation to the back of her mind as the pair approached the armoury.

"So, umm...what kind of stuff should we get suited up in?" Rarity asked Rainbow since she knew far more about this kind of thing than Rarity did.

"Well I was gonna grab some standard pegasi armour, I'd suggest maybe lightweight armour for you since you aren't use to the weight of the regular stuff" Rainbow answered.

"Ah, okay" Rarity nodded as they approached a section adorned with rows upon rows of all different kinds of armours, Rarity having no idea how to tell any of them apart from one another.

"Don't worry, I'll help you find a good fit" Rainbow said as she reached up and grabbed a suit of silver plated armour, examining it.

Rainbow looked over the suit of armour in her hooves. It was good for her but far too heavy for Rarity. She examined further, checking all over until she arrived at the underneath of the metal suit. She was taught back in cadet school that a soldier is only as good as the equipment they carry.

Rainbow paused for a moment as she subconsciously thought back to the long obvious yet faded scar running across the underneath of her torso. She shook her head slightly and grabbed another suit of silver armour with some bronze coloured plates running along the legs, one which had metal plating on the underside as well and which also supplied some protection for her wings.

"Perfect" Rainbow said as she set the armour down for herself.

Rainbow looked back at the lines of armoured suits and spotted one she figured Rarity could walk around in which would also provide actual protection in battle. It was a darker shade of silver than Rainbow's armour, with a helmet that would lock around a unicorn horn to insure it wouldn't come off. It also born a light blue insignia of the crystal heart on the sections where the wearers cutie mark would've been visible.

"Here, put this on" Rainbow passed Rarity the set of armour before beginning to slide her metal boots on.

Rarity nodded and began to gear up in the set of armour which was snug yet steely on her skin. Sliding her boots on, attaching the armour plating to the different sections of her body Rainbow's assistance and finally putting the helmet on, which her horn slid into swiftly.

The entire suit of armour fit perfectly once she was finished. The only issue she really had was that the helmet flattened her mane inside of the metal dome.

"I'm going to have some serious helmet hair after this" Rarity muttered as she adjusted the helmet slightly. "Now what do we do?" Rarity asked as she looked at Rainbow.

Rainbow thought for a moment as she looked at Rarity. She then approached a rack of weapons and pulled out something small. She trotted over and attached it to Rarity's right foreleg, making the other mare flustered slightly as Rainbow touched her leg to attach whatever it was she was attaching.

Rarity looked down once Rainbow moved away and saw that it was a small scabbard with a dagger slid into it. It was secured tightly to her leg, so there was no way of it falling off.

"Just in case anypony gets too close" Rainbow said.

"Thanks" Rarity said meekly at the idea of having to use it against somepony "what about you?"

Rainbow then walked over to the weapons racks again, pulling out a standard spear before turning back to Rarity. "This'll do for now" she said "let's go see the others off on their missions before General Spearhead calls for us"

Rarity nodded and followed Rainbow out of the armoury and the barracks. The two armoured mares walked side by side as they moved back up the hallway.

"So how bad do you think things are gonna be in Cloudsdale?" Rainbow asked Rarity.

"Honestly, I have no idea" Rarity admitted with slight nervousness.

"You don't have to come if you don't want? Don't feel that you have to" Rainbow told the other mare.

"No, it's just...nerves that all, I'll be fine once we're up there" Rarity said before adding "well about as fine as you can be with possible death around every corner, that is"

Rainbow chuckled slightly before wrapping a hoof around Rarity's shoulder. "Thanks, Rarity, for coming along" she said.

"You can thank me by watching my back when we're in Cloudsdale" Rarity said with a smile.

"For you? Anything" Rainbow smiled before continuing back up the hall with Rarity alongside her.

Twilight hurried down the crystal empire hallway to where she and her friends had agreed to meet up before they went off on their separate missions. She had spent far more time with other things, worrying things.

Twilight had finished up with some work she promised to help the doctors around the hospital with, lightening their load slightly while they attended to the wounded as quickly as they could.

She also made an appearance at where the Canterlot refugees were currently being housed. She checked to make sure everypony was alright and safe and helped a few of them out. But that's when she noticed something.

Her parents weren't among the refugees that had escaped from Ponyville.

She searched around three times over, barely managing to keep her panic and fear hidden from the ponies she passed by in search, but she couldn't see them anywhere. They were still in Canterlot, where Umbra could choose to harm them to get to her if he were to ever discover their identities.

She was considering asking Starlight and Pinkie to search for them, but she couldn't ask them to do that, could she? It'd be a bit selfish to ask them to pull her parents out of Canterlot while dozens of others were separated from their loved ones. But she could just ask them to make sure they were safe, right?

She slowed down once she spotted her friends gathering together not far from where the crystal heart was. She approached and spotted most of her friends there: Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Starlight were all accounted for, as well as Spike who'd come to see them off as well. Rainbow and Rarity must've still been getting ready to head out for Cloudsdale.

Starlight and Pinkie both had saddlebags that they had packed for the trip. She was still unsure about letting just the two of them head deep into what was now enemy territory in order to search for Sunset.

"Hey girls" Twilight said once she was stood in front of the group "you all ready to head out?"

"Yeah, ready when you are" Applejack nodded, Fluttershy nodding in agreement with Applejack.

"Yeah, once Cadence comes to send us to Ponyville through a wormhole, we'll begin the search for Sunset" Starlight nodded, Pinkie Pie having pulled out a magnifying glass for emphasis on the searching they'd be doing.

"Great, but could I ask you to do something else if you manage to reach Canterlot?" Twilight asked Starlight.

"Of course, anything you need" Starlight nodded.

"Well, if you reach Canterlot, could you please check to see if my parents a okay?" She asked.

"They didn't make it out of Canterlot?" Starlight asked, to which Twilight lowered her head as if to say no "yeah, of course, I'll make sure they're safe"

"Thank you" Twilight smiled and raised her head back up "but make sure you stay safe, same goes for all of you"

"We'll be safe alright"

The group turned around when they heard Rainbow's voice. They saw Rainbow Dash and Rarity both wearing suits of armour, Rainbow Dash carrying a spear on her back. The rest of the girls and Spike looked amazed at both of them, and almost shocked that Rarity was actually wearing a suit of armour.

"What do you all think? I'd say we both look pretty awesome" Rainbow said as she patted Rarity in the back, clanking the armour against her boot.

"Looking 'awesome' is the least of your concerns, though I will say you've both picked good sets of armour"

The girls looked and saw general Spearhead had approached the group, obviously to come and collect Rainbow and Rarity.

"We'll be taking a hot air balloon to hide ourselves from enemy eyes, so we're setting out for Cloudsdale while the northern winds are strong" Spearhead told the pair.

"Yes sir" Rainbow and Rarity both said with nods.

"We'll see you soon" Twilight smiled at the pair.

Rainbow and Rarity both said their goodbyes to the group and then trotted off alongside Spearhead towards a hot air balloon in the distance that had four soldiers stood around geared up and ready for their mission, three pegasi and a unicorn.

"I hope they're both okay" Fluttershy said quietly once the three armoured ponies were out of earshot.

"They'll be fine, they're as tough as the armour they're wearing" Applejack assured Fluttershy.

'But none of us have been in a war before...' Twilight thought to herself before turning around upon hearing more hoofsteps.

The rest of the girls and Spike turned around to see that Cadence had stepped out of the palace. She approached the group accompanied by eight robed unicorns, the robes they wore signifying their high level of talent in sorcery.

"Luna helped me open the first wormhole, but she is otherwise preoccupied with other matters, so I'll be opening the wormhole with the help of my best sorcerers" Cadence explained as she gestured to the unicorns accompanying her "who will be going first?"

"We'll go first" Starlight said with Pinkie Pie bouncing to her side "best that we get started in our search before it gets too late"

"Okay, step into it once I tell you too" Cadence told Starlight and Pinkie before she gestured for her unicorn mages to begin channeling their magic.

The eight unicorns nodded and ignited their horns with different coloured auras of magic. Cadence shot a beam at the open ground as a small orb of bright blue began to form.

The other unicorns added their own magic to the growing influx of arcane mastery. The small bright blue orb began to grow in size as eight more colours swirled in the growing vortex. Soon it was about the size as the portal that took Twilight and her friends from Ponyville.

"Go on through when you're ready" Cadence told Starlight and Pinkie before continuing to focus her magic onto keeping the portal open.

Starlight and Pinkie turned to the others, saying their goodbyes and hugging their friends before they turned back around. Looking at the portal.

"Woohoo!" Said Pinkie before she leaped through the swirling portal.

"We'll meet back her as soon as we can" Starlight said as she looked back at the group one last time before she also stepped through the portal.

After a few moments of silence, except for the vortex's unnatural sounds ringing out, Cadence and her mages ceased their magic and the vortex closed up and disappeared entirely.

"Next up, Discord's dimension" Cadence said as she looked at Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack.

As Cadence and the group of powerful unicorns worked to open a second vortex, Twilight turned back around to Spike with a warm smile.

"You sure about me staying here, I could still come along" Spike said.

"As much as I'd love to keep you close, but I don't want risk you getting hurt" Twilight smiled softly "it's best if you stay here"

Twilight and Spike moved closer to each other and held one another in a loving hug. Twilight hid her actual feelings of how this could be the last time she sees him if anything goes wrong. After a few moments they heard Cadence tell them the portal was ready.

"Just be careful" Spike said.

"We will be" Twilight smiled before turning to Applejack and Fluttershy "let's go"

Without any more being said, Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy all stepped through the wormhole into Discord's dimension.