The Harmony Crusade

Chapters

Tales around the fire
The invasion of the sphinx kingdom
Attack from the deep desert and the elements awaken
The purging of the Sphinx Kingdom-the slaying of Apep
A long dead enemy returns
The purging of the Sphinx Kingdom-laying low of Sutekh and the flight of Ozymandias
A triumphant return
The crusade begins: Rearming, new allies, old enemies, new threats and gathering forces
Broken brass: The first battle for harmony and blooding the crusade
Broken brass: blood flows like wine and the earth shakes
Side chapter: New Unicornia
Side chapter: Tramplin' wiff da hogz
Side chapter: Lights in the heavens pt. 1
Side chapter: Lights in the heavens pt. 2
War against New Unicornia part 0: Prelude to conflict, building up and moving out
War against New Unicornia part 2: A year into the war, preparations for the final push and a bigger threat looms
War against New Unicornia part 3: The final push and capitulation
Hoof and tusk, steel and savagery part 0: The Crusade and Da Hogz prepare to meet one another
Side chapter: Ponies in the tunnels
Side chapter: The Griffonstone resistance
The purging of the Sphinx Kingdom-the defeat of Hakkahn
War against New Unicornia part 1: The invasion and the battle of The Shattered Walls

Tales around the fire

As the sun set over over the village of Apple Orchard, old stories had said it had a different name but it was long lost to time, ponies patrolled along the wood and stone wall or came in from the fields carrying baskets of apples, carrots or corn to simple sod huts among the apple trees and fields. Outside the wall, nameless creatures howled or roared in the growing stillness of evening causing the ponies patrolling the wall to tremble in fear. The smell of apple and vegetable dishes began to gently waft out of the sod huts. Parents called for their foals to come and eat. In the center of the village stood a stylized wooden carving of their five goddesses, made from a single log. Hanging from the carving were scrolls of parchment containing the village's prayers to the goddesses, at the base of the carving were offerings of small bowls of food, small shiny stones found in the field or bolts of cloth, in the hopes it would appease the goddesses and protect their village from the monsters outside the walls, attacks from bandits and famine.

As evening gave way into the blackness of night, the moon rose above the horizon and the stars winked into being. Firewood was stacked near the carving in the center of the village for a bonfire. Ponies gathered near firewood, when the bonfire was lit, they sat on the ground and began reverently singing, "May the goddesses watch over us, may the goddesses watch over us, ah-ah-ah-ah." Once a few rounds of the olden hymn had been sang, an old unicorn stallion withered with age was led out in front of the crowd and sat on an old log, his once vibrant teal coat was dulled with age, his mane was white and wispy, his eyes were milky. He reached out with a trembling foreleg, a simple carved wooden charm in the shape of an alicorn hung from his hoof. The ponies in the crowd bowed their heads, waved a sacred symbol with their hooves and whispered prayers. "May the blessings of the five goddesses be upon us.", he said reverently. "May the blessings of the five goddesses be upon us.", the crowd echoed softly.

The old stallion sat upright, well as upright as his old bones would allow him. He looked out across the crowd in his dim vision, though a sparkle still gleamed in them. Putting the wooden charm away, he rubbed his hooves together and asked, "So what story should I tell on this eve of summer?"

"Tell the story of how Gemstone defeated the tunnelers with just a word, Lore keeper Lulamoon!", an earth pony filly with a white coat, blue mane and golden eyes said excitedly.

"Lore keeper Lulamoon! Lore keeper Lulamoon!", a tan pegasus with magenta mane and blue eyes shouted, "Tell how Rainboom painted the skies!" His wings buzzed with excitement.

"Tell how the butterfly maiden rebuked dragon!", a bright yellow unicorn filly with pink mane and sapphire eyes shouted.

"Tell how the six champions defeated the pony of eternal night!", a purple unicorn colt with lavender eyes and magenta mane shouted.

Lore keeper Lulamoon gave a small laugh. "Ah the excitement of foals warms my old bones.", he said to himself smiling. Clearing his throat, he said, "All good stories. But I think I shall tell you of the story of the summer sun." Clearing his throat he began to recount the tale, "A long time ago this land used to be lush and green, no pony knew of hunger, fear or hardship. It was said that a pony could travel the length and breadth of this land without fear of bandits, warlords, mutants or monsters, as the five goddesses and their six champions protected all of ponykind. It was an age when love, peace, prosperity and harmony ruled the land. Then one day the great calamities came. Some say that the ponies began to blaspheme the goddesses and drew their anger, others say that ponies grew complacent and in their hubris to become like the goddesses, they turned to the dark arts, others say that the evil ones found a way to sneak into this world and brought death. What truly happened nopony knows as none who lived in that time are alive. What is known is that great plagues poured out of the mountains, gigantic mushrooms burst forth in an instant then vanished, night turned to day in a flash as the land was scorched and magic went wild warping all who were caught in it." Lore keeper Lulamoon paused covering his mouth with a hoof as he gave a raspy cough.

Once his coughing fit subsided, Lore keeper Lulamoon continued, "Terrible black rain fell for three days poisoning the land, the very ground shook and the cities burned as ponies to numerous to count died. Then the great storms came and plagued the land for three moons, some of torrential rain, some of wild magical lightning, others of dust that blocked out the sky. During that time, friendships were forgotten as pony turned on pony, terrible beasts came out of the forests, mountains and ravines to feast on the flesh of ponies, horrible mutants came out of the poisoned deserts that used to be fields and the ash strewn wastes that used to be cities to ravage the lands. The six champions charged forth to try and save ponykind. One by one the six champions died defending the innocent. The first to fall was the great wizard, Mistress Star, it was said she was cut down by the claws of a great fire belching beast. The second to fall was Gemstone while she was defending a caravan of wagons filled with young foals. The third to fall was Rainboom when a pack of mutants whose flesh was like wood pounced on her. The fourth to fall was Bouncer when a great beast made of smoke strangled her. The fifth to fall was Mistress Butterfly when gang of bandits ambushed her, it was said that the broken god whom she had tamed went mad with grief and burned them to ash. The sixth to fall was the founder of out village, Orchard when twin warlords attacked the village riding a great beast with metal for flesh, when it was just her family and a few other ponies here, it is said she fought the twin warlords for three days before she slew them then died from her injuries shortly after." He began coughing again and a pony passed him a cup of water.

After Lore keeper Lulamoon finished drinking the water, he passed the cup back. "Thank you.", he said kindly, "Now back to the story. After the six champions fell, the five goddesses vanished. Some said that they left because of the sins of ponykind. I personally think they went out into the world to hunt down the evil ones." He pointed a hoof to the sky to six constellations that formed a ring. The ponies turned their heads skyward to look at the six constellations, the first was in the shape of an apple, the second was in the shape of a balloon, the third was in the shape of a diamond, the fourth was in the shape of a lightning bolt, the fifth was in the shape of a butterfly and the sixth was in the shape of a six-pointed star. Lore keeper Lulamoon continued, "Before the five goddesses left, they put the souls of the six champion in the skies to watch over us all. Before fifth goddess left, she gave a prophesy. On the longest day of the thousandth year, she shall come back from a cross the great sea to heal the land. She shall resurrect the six champions and reawaken her fellow goddesses. Before she shall lead a great host to drive the monsters and mutants from this land. The five goddesses shall walk among ponykind again, with an outstretched hoof they shall condemn the wicked, with a voice that shall make the mountains tremble, they shall smite those whom worship evil, with a glare, they shall immolate those who seek to feast upon the innocent."

Lore keeper Lulamoon went into another coughing fit, before hocking a wad of phlegm and spitting it upon the ground. He looked up in his dim vision. "Do not fear for me my friends. I have grown old and sick and I feel I shall not see the end of another summer with you all." Sniffles came up from the crowd. "Dry your eyes my friends and weep not for me my friends. When I pass, my soul shall go to join the goddesses in the vault of heaven." He gestured with a hoof, "Come forth Apple Pie." A young earth pony mare with a golden coat, red mane and lavender eyes walked up to the lore keeper. He placed his wooden alicorn charm around her neck, "You are now the lore keeper for Apple Orchard. It is now your duty to remember our stories, lead your fellow ponies in prayer and protect their souls until the goddesses call them home."

"Why me? I'm not worthy Lore keeper Lulamoon.", Apple Pie said dejectedly.

The now former lore keeper booped Apple Pie gently on her nose with a smile. "Ah! But you are worthy my little pony.", he said in a kind tone, "You know our stories as well as anypony here. You proved yourself worthy last year when you risked you life to help repel the slavers who attacked our walls. And this past spring the goddesses deemed you worthy when you found that ancient book written by the very hooves of the six champions." He held up her hoof with his and exclaimed, "Long live Lore keeper Apple Pie! May she safe keep our stories and guard our souls against evil!" When the crowd echoed him, Apple Pie blushed.

Lulamoon turned to Lore keeper Apple Pie, "I have one last request Lore keeper. Take my remains to lay with my ancestors at the vault of the two lovers."

"Of course.", Apple Pie said, he voice cracking.

In the sky above the village of Apple Orchard a red bird flew silently through the night towards a mountain with a cave up high that overlooked the village, a scroll clutched in one of its talons. The bird landed at the mouth of the cave and gave a soft chirrup.

A massive pair of green eyes opened slowly in the darkness of the cave and a deep yawn rumbled out. "Philomena?", a deep rumbling voice asked. Philomena chirruped again. A massive purple clawed hand reached out of the darkness, extending a finger gently and Philomena hopped onto it. She gave a chattering squak. "Well it's been a thousand years, give or take. You didn't think I'd stay small forever? When she left, I was nearly as tall as she was.", the deep rumbling voice replied. Philomena chirped. "No I haven't seen her in eight hundred years. I think she's still locked up in the castle." Philomena tilted her head, then trilled. "The last time I was up that way she was still crying over Shiny's grave. I was up that way about two hundred years ago and the surviving crystal ponies still kept that old statue of me." Philomena ruffled her feathers before trilling again. A deep rumbling laugh filled the cave before the deep voice responding, "Yeah. I guess I did kinda let that title get to me head." Philomena clacked her beak before squawking. "It's been a decade since I last looked, but she's hold up in the old castle, even though Ponyville has long since crumbled to dust." Philomena squawked again. "No, ponies don't go near it, they call it the Crystal Spire and they think it's haunted." Philomena warbled. "I saw her six months ago flying high up in the sky near the ruins of Cloudsdale. I think she waiting for her mother or Twily to show up." Philomena gave a stuttering trill. "Really?! It will be good to see my sister again." Philomena waved the scroll in her tallon while squawking. Another massive hand came out of the darkness and gently gripped the scroll betweet two claws. "Yes I think I remember how to send letters. Just give me a moment." There was a pause before a puff of bright green flame lit up the cave revealing a massive purple dragon with green spines going down its back. The two watched as green sparkling smoke curled and twisted towards the mountain in the distance. "You can stay here and rest for the night if you want." Philomena chirruped. "Okay, I understand. Take care." Philomena took to the air and swooped towards the Crystal Spire. The purple dragon gave a smile in the darkness. "It's about damn time Twily." He yawned and rolled over, going back to sleep.

It the city formerly known as Canterlot, now known as The Dead City, the tarnished spires of the old castle still stood high above the ruins of the city. In the halls of the castle, the dead silence was interrupted by the soft clicking of hooves on stone or the occasional sad sigh. An ancient white alicorn, as big as a draft horse walked through the shadows of the throne room, her hooves the only thing disturbing the layer of dust on the floor. The dim light of the moon slipped in through a hole in the roof dimly illuminating the white alicorn mare, her violet eyes glistened sadly in the pale moonlight, her flowing pastel rainbow mane blew on an ethereal wind. She noticed a piece of stained glass on the floor. A golden aura surrounded the piece of stained glass as it levitated back up to the window and was gently put back in place. A white hoof gently caressed the stained glass image of a young lavender alicorn mare as a sniffle came from her. As a tear rolled down her cheek and splashed onto the floor, disturbing the dust when she felt a familiar magic. A scroll appeared above her, bounced off her head and landed on the floor, disturbing the dust. Lifting the scroll in her aura, she looked it over and her eyes went wide when she saw the six-pointed star seal. She broke the seal, quickly unfurled the scroll and read it, "To my former teacher and first friend, I'm coming. Signed, your former student" Tears welled in her eyes, a smile slowly spread across her lips and a sound came out of her mouth that she had not heard in centuries, laughter.

Philomena landed on the balcony of the Crystal Spire and gently tapped on the door with her beak. A deep blue aura surrounded the aura the door as it opened and she flew in. An ancient midnight blue alicorn mare was tending to boxes of flowers when Philomena landed on her back. "Greetings Phimomena. We are glad to see thou back.", the alicorn said. Philomena chirped. "We guessed it was thee as our ponies never come here anymore." Philomena cocked her head in confusion. "We she was coming when we saw her dreams. Does sister know?" Philomena chattered. "So she has an army? It is about time we revealed ourselves again." Philomena squawked. "Hubris, dear Philomena, that and we all have wallowed in our grief and guilt for an age for far too long." Philomena chirruped. "Nay, we do not think she shalt have an audience with thee, where as sister and we have wallowed in our grief, she has been drowning in it since her husband was cut down, though her daughter may treat with thee." Philomena gave a series of stuttering chirps. "The last time we saw her, was some time ago. We believe she is living in the Clouded City or the ruins of our old castle in Everfree." Philomena chattered. "If thou must. Stay just above the treetops so the beasts below do not waylay thee or the brigands pelt thee with their slings and arrows." With a ruffle of wings, Philomena flew off the alicorn's back and out the Crystal Spire.

Flying over the treetops of what ponies now call the Cursed Forest, Philomena heard the growls and roars of of the predators below. Banking high over a ridge, she saw the ruins of a castle. She banked downwards and landed on the top of a ruined wall. She squawked in shock and surprise when a light yellow aura surround her, pulling her inside the ruined castle, a split second later the paw of a heavily mutated manticore swiped across the top of the wall. When it tried to force its way into the ruins, a blast of yellow energy vaporized its head, sending the bulk of it crashing back outside. Philomena found herself levitated down in the light yellow aura face to face with a light pink alicorn with light purple highlights on its wings. Philomena protested with a chorus of squawks and chirps. "Philomena?!"

Author's Note

First chapter of a new story.
Thank you all for reading.
I hope you all enjoy.
Feel free to comment or offer any criticisms.

The invasion of the sphinx kingdom

Just beyond the desert irradiated and blighted by unrestrained magic, sitting atop the bones of a once great and prosperous kingdom sits The Kingdom of the Sphinxes. Though none of the ponies who live there would say it out loud in public, their five sphinx overlords are cruel tyrants who work their subjects to death in the fields or mines and take everything for themselves, leaving their subjects with barely enough to survive. When not working their subjects to death, the sphinxes send out their minions to take by force the most beautiful fillies and mares from their families to enslave them in their pleasure halls.

In a small village on the edge of the shore as the sun rises, a small group of ponies march out to the edge of the water with casting nets draped across their backs, under the watchful eyes of heavily armed minotaurs and centaurs. They uncover small boats, shove them into the water and climb into them.

A minotaur grabs the lip of one of the boats and in a gruff voice says, "Alright you filthy serfs, Hakenshut wants a ton of fish for his dinner tonight."

The ponies lower their eyes in fear and respects. "Yes my lord.", one of them says.

The minotaur sneers. "And I want thirty pounds so me and my boys can have a nice supper too.", he says, "We don't want a repeat of last month, do we?" He gestures over to a rotting corpse of a pony locked in a bronze cage, the sea birds sporadically swooping between the bars to land and peck as the decaying flesh.

"N-no my lord.", the pony in the boat replies with a shiver.

With a laugh, the minotaur shoves the boat out into the surf.

The ponies spend the morning casting their nets out into the water and pulling them in, emptying the fish into the bottom of the boats. They toss the undesirable fish back into the ocean. As they pick the seaweed out from the fish, they occasionally look to the shore to see if the minotaurs and centaurs are watching, then hastily stuff some of the seaweed in sacks under their seats. When the sun reaches its zenith, the nets are pulled in and the ponies pull put small wrapped bundles. The bundles are quickly unwrapped revealing some small citrus fruits, dates and baked clay jugs of water.

As the ponies begin eating their small meal, one of them says around a mouthful of food, "You know Beruz, I keep wondering why we have to do all the work and see none of the benefits?"

"Shh! Keep it down Aziz,", Beruz shushed, "If they hear you, we'll all count ourselves lucky if it's just you that winds up getting flayed. But I agree with you, we do all the work and it's the sphinxes and their minions who receive all the benefits. And they aren't just happy with the labor of our hooves, they also have to go and take our mares by force." He shrugged. "But what are you gonna do? The sphinxes move the heavens and protect us from the horrors that live in the desert."

"We could always rise up.", Aziz retorts nonchalantly, causing Beruz to cough and sputter. "You know the old stories, it's the goddesses, not the sphinxes who move the heavens."

"Becareful who hears you say that!", Beruz scolds, "Your tongue might get us all executed for blasphemy, or worse, banished into the desert to the south."

"Look!", a pony from another boat shouts, pointing a hoof to the horizon, "Strange black clouds coming this way! Must be a storm!"

The ponies all stood in their boats facing the horizon, placing a hoof over their eyes. Aziz and Beruz squint their eyes, peering through the midday haze, the black clouds were in massive columns. They saw along the horizon the black specks of ships in the water and in the gaps between the strange clouds black dots of air ships.

Beruz quickly sat back down in the boat and pulled out a pair of oars. "Quickly! Back to shore!", he shouted.

The small boats landed on the shore, their hulls digging deep into the sand. As Beruz jumped up to get out of the boat, a minotaur stormed over and snatched him up by his neck. As the thick meaty fingers of the minotaur dug into the his neck choking him, Beruz found himself lifted of his hooves roughly and brought face-to-face with the bull beast. The minotaur drew a wickedly curved sword and placed it to Beruz's neck. "Why have you whelps returned?!", it growled dangerously.

Aziz leapt out of the boat and bowed low to the ground. "Forgive us my lord!", he exclaimed trembling, "There are strange ships traveling towards us under the cover of strange storm clouds!"

The minotaur looked to the horizon seeing the black columns of clouds, then threw Beruz roughly to the sand. It pulled out a spyglass and looked out to the horizon. Adjusting the focus on the spyglass, the minotaur made out the shapes of a fleet of wide, flat barges, the black columns of clouds came from them. It quickly swung the spyglass up to the airships and adjusted the focus again. Putting the spyglass away, he turned to his fellow minotaurs and centaurs, "Put them in irons and bring them before god-king Hakenshut."

***

A massive fleet of barges crashed across the surf, their roaring engines belched columns of black smoke. Above the airships flew with the droning of propellers. Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns dressed in simple white tunics swapped the decks or tended to the riggings. Ponies sat in the crow's nests or on the bows of of the airships and barges looking out to the narrow sliver of land on the horizon through field glasses, strange weapons with long metal tubes were strapped to their backs or sides.

Ponies larger than the rest walked across the decks of the barges and airships, some were wearing thick heavy armor with their features concealed beneath helmets with face mask that had narrow red glowing slits, others wore flowing robes, the occasion nozzle or metal connector could be seen beneath their robes. As the large ponies would pass on the decks, the smaller ponies would step aside and bow.

In the engine rooms of the barges and airships, ponies wearing flowing deep blue robes with silver trim walked around the engines swinging smoking censers of incense from metallic limbs or rubbed myrrh on the moving parts. Some of the robed ponies would hold a silver medallion of wrenches in their hooves, offering prayers in a strange crackling language before performing maintenance. In the holds of the barges stood massive four-legged machines bristling with strange weapons, scores of the strange robed would kowtow before the massive machines offering static-laden prayers or would perform maintenance. In the armories of the airships and barges, the robed ponies would perform crackling chants as they tightened screws or applied oil to weapons and armor.

At the head of the fleet flew an airship which stood out from the rest, its deck and balloon were decorated with gleaming ivory, amethyst wreaths adorned its riggings. On its deck stood an ancient lavender alicorn mare as big as a draft horse wearing a simple flaxen robe. Her deep purple mane with magenta stripe blew counter to the wind on ethereal winds. She closed her eyes and opened her wings, feeling the wind blow across them. Behind her, standing as still as statues, were thirty massive ponies wearing magenta armor, their faces concealed behind nearly featureless masks, golden tassels flapped in the breeze from the peaks of their helmets, they each held in their hooves a massive silver halberd.

An earth pony stallion wearing a red tunic, with a light grey coat, teal mane, green eyes and a cutie mark depicting a pair of crossed quills hurried up behind the alicorn and bowed. "Your majesty!", he said with a visible tremble, "We will make landfall by tomorrow evening."

The alicorn opened her violet eyes and looked at the looked to the bowing attendant, "Very good. Put the armies and legions on high alert. Have my armor readied. Send the order to awaken the war machines. Have all batteries ready by sundown."

The attendant rose. "By your command your majesty." He turned and left to relay the orders.

The alicorn looked back to the sliver of land, closed her eyes, placed a hoof to her chest, took in a deep breath and let it out extending her hoof. Opening her eyes, a stern look spread across her face as she turned to go below decks, flanked by her bodyguards.

***

In a great city of polished sandstone stood a massive onyx pyramid, the temple-palace of the sphinx Hakenshut. All around the cities stood bazaars, the merchants were hawking their wares in loud singing voices, selling everything from amphorae holding wines and oils to sweet smelling bread to idols of all sizes depicting the five sphinxes to pens of slaves.

A column of minotaurs and centaurs led a group of eight stallions towards the pyramid when a griffon approached them.

"You have some fine work stock here.", the griffon said in a smooth, smarmy tone, "I'll give you two satchels of gold for the whole lot."

"These aren't meant for you.", the lead minotaur said shoving past the griffon, "They have an appointment with God-king Hakenshut."

The griffon jogged in front of the column. Holding up a talon, it said, "Well maybe I can interest you in some of my choice wares? Yes?" He gestured with a talon and two other griffons brought over a young trembling filly. He gestured with a talon, "Turn around my dear." The filly hesitated for a second before turning its flank forward and the griffon grabbed her dock, lifting her tail. "I offer you this sweet, youngling. Guaranteed a virgin and has yet to experience her first heat. She can do for you whatever you want, cook, clean, or for those cold nights, 'companionship'. You can have her for twenty gold."

The minotaur pushed aside the griffon and began walking forward again, the column began following him.

The griffon ran in front of the minotaur and shouted, "Wait! For you, fifteen gold."

The minotaur shoved the griffon aside and continued walking.

"Okay, okay! Ten gold! But I'm taking a loss here.", the griffon shouted.

A centaur walked up to the minotaur and whispered in his ear, "Come on sir, it's a good offer. You know how long it's been since we've put our dicks in something that young and sweet? I'll even offer up the gold and we can all pass her around. Besides, once we grow tired of her, she'll make good eatin'."

The minotaur sighed, though the desire to violate something so pure and innocent delighted him, he'd never let the creatures under his command see it. "Very well, pay the merchant. But if she slows us down, I'm loping her head off."

The centaur gave a twisted, lust-filled smile as he tossed ten gold to the griffon. The griffon attached a bridle and rope to the filly and handed it over the centaur. The centaur tugged the rope saying, "Come along sweet one, you'll have the pleasure of serving under us."

As the column continued, the stallions grit their teeth and bristled at the display of unabated vulgarity.

In his temple-palace, Hakenshut stood at the end of an alabaster swimming pool. Dozens of fillies and colts gathered around the edges. Slipping his immense mass, the shade of desert sands at noon into the cool water of the pool, he said, "Come in my little minnows and give me nibbles." As he swam through the cool water, the foals slipped in swimming along side him, gently biting and nibbling him. His eyes fluttered in perverse pleasure as he paddled in the water, occasionally he would reach out with a paw or wing to fondle the privates of a foal. He paused in the water and floated, a groan passed his lips as his "minnows" nibbled him while they paddled around in the water.

Once Hakenshut grew tired of the "minnows", he sent them away with a gesture of his paw. Rising from the pool, several attendants flocked around and dried him off with soft terrycloth. He laid on a polished marble table as several female creatures came up and anointed his body wit sweet smelling oils. A massive shimmering silk robe was draped across his body and a golden headdress covered in exotic feathers was placed on his head.

Hakenshut sighed in contentment as he rose from the marble table and walked into his bedchamber. Laying on his massive, fluffy bed covered with the finest silk sheets and down-filled pillows, his weigh sunk into the bed. Picking up a gilded decanter of wine, he poured rich crimson liquid into an exquisite goblet carved from a massive diamond. Picking up a date from a nearby silver platter, shoved it into his mouth. Groaning in pleasure at the sweetness of the date, he rolled it around in his mouth and took a swig of the wine, gargling the liquid, before swallowing it.

Feeling a familiar tingle in his nethers, Hakenshut raised his paws and clapped them together. The servants opened the door to and lead in a trembling filly on the cusp of marehood. He licked his lips as he drunk in the sight, she had a chestnut coat, black mane and golden eyes, her slender not-quiet-a-filly-not-quite-a-mare curves were barely concealed under a shimmering garment made of red and gold silk, silver tinkering bells hung from finely wrought silver chain. He patted a paw on the bed saying, "Come on up and lie down. I promise you're safe here with me."

As the young pony struggled to climb up onto the bed, Hakenshut reached out with a paw and helped her up. As she lowered herself onto the bed trembling, he extended a digit from his paw and gently caressed her cheek. "Ssh. You have no reason to fear me my desert rose, I won't bruise you petals...yet.", he cooed seductively. He lowered his head to her rump and gave a deep sniff, his top curled up in pleasure as a deep growling purr rumbled softly in his throat. He gently drug a claw along the filly's back and undid the cords holding the silken garment on. "Here, let me help me help you get more comfortable.", he purred as he gently slid the silken garment off the trembling nearly-a-mare's body.

Reaching over with a massive paw, Hakenshut picked up the silver platter holding dates, nuts and grapes. "Where are my manners?", he asked, "You must be famished. Would you care for something to eat?" He laid the silver platter on the bed, the not-quite-a-filly-not-quite-a-mare looked the platter hesitantly as her mouth watered and her stomach growled. The hunger getting the best of her, she scooped up hoof fulls of the fruits and nuts, scarfing them down. He poured some deep crimson wine into a small silver cup and offered it to her. The filly on the cusp of being a mare grabbed the cup in her hooves and began greedily chugging the red liquid. "Careful.", he said softly pushing down on the cup, "This wine is quite heady and we don't want you to become inebriated too soon. We have all day to enjoy ourselves." He he gently drug a fuzzy digit along the filly's belly and spread her hind legs, fondling her privates. A perverse smile spread across his lips as he untied the front of his robe and opened it up, exposing his privates.

The young filly on the cusp of marehood's eyes went wide with shock and fear. Hakenshut gently guided her hoof to his privates and made her caress his testicles and slowly engorging penis. A hiss of vile pleasure escaped his lips at feeling the trembling hoof caress his nethers and he ran his rough tongue across her neck.

A knock on the bedchamber door interrupted his pleasure. Hakenshut gave a huff of frustration, before a gentle smile dripping with perverse venom crossed his face. He moved the filly's hoof to her privates and said, "A God-king's duty never ends. Keep it warm for me." Rising from the bed, he cinched the robe around himself and walked to the bedchamber door. Opening it, he saw three of his palace guard with a group of minotaurs and centaurs, leading a group of eight ponies shackled together. When the group knelt, he said, "What can the great God-king Hakenshut for for you loyal servants of mine?"

"Oh great God-king Hakenshut, may you life forever.", the minotaur at the head of the group replied with his eyes lowered in reverence, "These loyal servants of yours spotted an enemy fleet approaching under the cover of strange clouds. At first we thought it was a pirate raiding party, but the fleet is too big."

Hakenshut tapped a fuzzy digit to his chin. "Really? How many ships are we talking about?"

"At least three hundred barges and one hundred airships, though the number of airships were hard to determine as they were among the strange clouds.", the minotaur replied, "I counted them myself."

Hakenshut drummed the digits of his paws on his lips in thought. "That is most...disturbing." His eyes drifted across the group and they widened in pleasure seeing a young trembling filly. A bridle and rope lead to the hand of a centaur. "What do we have here?" He gestured with a fuzzy digit. "Come here young one so I can look at you better." When the terrified filly rose to her feet, Hakenshut gently grazed a fuzzy digit across her back and under her tail. When the filly gave a small terrified whimper as the fuzzy digit grazed her privates, he gave a perverse chuckle. "I take this delicious little thing belongs to you?", he asked. "So tender, so sweet.", he said wiping a small amount of drool from his lips.

"Yes my God-king.", the centaur replied keeping his eyes lowered, "We bought her just today from the bazaar."

Hakenshut gave a smile as his eyes gave a perverse glint. "Worry not, I shall not take her from you. I am a merciful God-king and will not deny my loyal subjects and worshipers their simple pleasures.", he said, "In fact I'll reward you all for such loyalty." Snapping the digits on his paw, he summoned a guard captain. "My good captain, these loyal subjects are to be rewarded.", he said gesturing to the minotaurs and centaurs, "Give them an extra day's ration of wine and a few hours in one of the finer suites to enjoy the 'company' of that young minnow." He tapped a paw on his chin, "As for these loyal worshipers, give them a bath and a good meal. When they have eaten their fill, take them to the commune, geld them and induct them into the fanatics. Their reward shall be the right to revel in the slaughter of my enemies."

"You are a kind and merciful God-king." the lead minotaur said as the group rose from the floor, "May you live forever."

After the guards had lead the group off, the guard captain turned to Hakenshut and asked, "What of the enemy fleet my God-king?"

"Send the southern army to test their might along with a vanguard of one hundred jannisarries and a company of fanatics. We shall show that they are little more than pirates that come to plunder our shores.", Hakenshut replied, "Now if you excuse me, I have some pressing matters to attend to." As the captain bowed, the spinx closed the door to his bedchambers.

Hakenshut discarded his extravagant headdress and silken robe, he stepped into a dark room with a black orb on a pedestal. Slipping on ceremonial gold armor and a golden headdress with a stylized snake's head on it. Picking up a container of black make-up, he then painted on dark eyeliner onto the bottoms of his eyes and an ankh on his cheek. Holding a paw over the black orb, he summoned his magic. The avatars of four other sphinxes manifested in the dark room, the first a deep purple, the second pitch black, the third a sandy orange with dark spots and the fourth a deep red.

"Welcome my fellow God-kings and brothers, Hakkahn, Sutekh, Apep and Ozymandias.", Hakenshut said in mock pleasantries, "I'm sure your spies have already informed you of what I already know."

"That and much more dear Hakenshut.", Hakkahn replied.

Hakenshut raised an eyebrow as Sutekh spoke up, "My mystics have revealed whom the leader of this fleet is."

Hakenshut, Hakkahn, Apep and Ozymandias each raised an eyebrow. "Don't leave us in the dark, Sutekh.", Ozymandias quipped.

"The leader of the fleet is a mare who lead the country to the north across the desert.", Sutekh said coldly.

"Alicorn!", Hakenshut snarled, "I though their kind vanished centuries ago."

"I say we practice caution.", Ozymandias interjected, "They have proven difficult to injure in the past and downright impossible to slay. Where there is one, the other's shall not be far behind."

"How do you advise on how to handle this new threat?", Hakkahn asked.

"Hakenshut, you call forth your armies to hold this alicorn's forces at bay.", Apep replied, "They have been reluctant to take lives in the past, that may be the secret to victory."

The five sphinxes looked back and forth to each other before coming to an unspoken agreement. "Gather your forces and come quickly my brothers.", Hakenshut said, "I shall hold as long as I can. May we all live forever." After the avatars of the four sphinxes vanished, he took off the ceremonial garb and cleaned the make-up from his face. The meeting with his brothers and this new knowledge had put him an ill mood, but he wasn't about to deny himself the supple sensuality of the filly in his bed, he mused in his mind that after taking her innocence, it may put him a better mood.

Hakenshut licked his lips in anticipation as he approached his bed. "I take it you have eaten your fill?", he asked the filly laying on his bed. Scooping her roughly in a paw, he took a second to revel in her frightened gasp before speaking, "I had wanted to take my time and get the most pleasure out of this my desert rose. But seeing as important issues have popped up last minute, I can forgive myself for bruising you petals." He lifter her tail with his other paw and sat on his haunches. As Hakenshut lowered her rump to his engorged member, she shivered in fear as the tip brushed against her marehood and her breaths came in panicked gasps, he allowed a tingle of perversity to run up his spine for a moment. "You can scream if you want to. In fact I would prefer it if you did as it would be music to my ears.", he said his voice dripping in perverse lust. He gave the filly a short thrust downwards, allowing the tip of his member to enter her. As she screamed in agony, he groaned in pleasure.

"No! No! Please stop! It hurts!", she begged, "Pleasepleaseplease! Pull it out! No more! It-AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"

Hakenshut gave a groan of pleasure in her tightness and agony as he forced himself into her, stopping when he hit her cervix. As tears streamed down her face, he said in a mocking tone, "That's it! Cry, scream and beg for my pleasure!" He pulled out slightly and thrust back into her, making her scream again. His eyes fluttered in perverse delight at her agony. He began to thrust in and out of her as she screamed in agony. He felt a pressure build and thrust into her one last time, pushing past her cervix and into her womb. A roar of perversity exploded from his lips as he emptied himself into her. Gasping for a few moments, he allowed tingles to run up and down in his spine as he listened to her whimpers. Extracting himself from her and tossed her roughly onto the bed.

As the violated filly curled herself into the fetal position trembling, Hakenshut took a moment to visually drink the blood and semen seeping out of her, he couldn't restrain a pleased groan of pleasure as he licked his lips. Patting her on the flank, he said, "Keep it warm for me. After I handle this little problem, I shall call upon you again. And don't worry my little bruised rose, you will learn to love it, they all learn to love it." He left the bedchamber and entered into his bath to clean himself up. After the servants help him into his armor, he made his way into the hallway.

***

After three days, the massive fleet came to a halt just offshore of the Sphinx Kingdom. Twilight stood in her quarters methodically donning her armor, when the last piece was attached, the power cells activated causing arcs of energy to crackle across the surface. She levitated a massive hammer and attached it to the side of her armor by powerful magnets. Leaving her room, she entered a small room where several ponies with metal limbs, wearing blue robes with silver edging were tending to a small chamber holding a golden-coated unicorn with a red and blonde mane, a cutie mark of a red and yellow sunburst adorned her flank, floating in yellowish liquid.

"Are the preparations in place to deactivate the preservation chamber?", Twilight asked.

The lead pony gave a crackling response before adjusting the translation device covering its face. "Yes your majesty."

"Good. Revive her when ready."

The robed pony nodded before issuing static-filled orders to its underlings. Crackling chants were ushered as sticks of incense were lit and waved. Metallic limbs and tendrils brushed gently across the machinery as it shut down slowly. The fluid drained out out of the chamber, causing the unicorn to slowly float down to the floor of the chamber, the preservation field shut off with a crackle and the walls of the chamber lifted with a hiss. As the unicorn slumped limply to the floor, two of the robed ponies caught her and a third took out an electrified rod, then touched it to the side of her barrel.

The unicorn mare's snapped open as her sides heaved in violent coughing, expelling the last of the fluid from her lungs, before her eyes rolled up in her head.

"Lay her down.", Twilight ordered, "Easy! Easy!"

After the unicorn mare was laid down on the floor, the head robed pony extended a metallic tendril with a medical scanner on it and touched it to the side of her barrel. It turned to Twilight and said, "She is well and will awaken shortly."

As if on cue, the unicorn groaned and batted away the tendril with a hoof. Slowly opening her eyes, they looked around unfocused. "Did somebody get the number of that truck?", she said weakly. She slowly raised her head and blinked the focus back into her eyes. "Twilight?"

"Yes Sunset, it is me.", Twilight replied softly, "Take it slowly, you've been in preservation for a thousand years. How do you feel?"

Sunset rubbed a hoof to her temple before responding, "Other than a headache like I've just woke up from a week long bender, I feel icky and need a shower. Please tell me they still have aspirin, coffee and hot showers."

Twilight chuckled before responding, "To answer your question. We have something that resembles coffee, though to be honest, it tastes like it squirted up the ass of a sick pony and sprayed back out. We have something that works better than aspirin and hot showers still exist. When you're feeling strong enough, you can catch a quick shower and then get you something for your headache. I'll have a requisitions officer fit you for an exoskeleton, we have a war to prosecute."

After several moments, Sunset got to her hooves shakily as Twilight extended a hoof to help her up. She looked around, "Wow, the cyber-eunuchs have changed a lot."

The mechanical eyes of the robed ponies whirred and clicked in a manner that could be interpreted as offence.

"I think you offended them, Sunset.", Twilight whispered, "These are the tech-monks of the Ponyhood of Steel."

Sunset blinked in surprise. "Many apologies good monk."

The head pony waved it off before going back to its duties.

Sunset leaned to Twilight and whispered, "I didn't know esoteric orders had merged." She rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, "I guess a lot has changed in the last thousand years since my little nap."

"I had a hoof in that.", Twilight whispered back, "There was a threat of a civil war in my ranks because they started arguing over who had what claim over what tech."

"I guess I'll get that shower now, then maybe get some of that ass coffee and an aspirin, or what passes for aspirin now.", Sunset said. As she went to walk off, her legs trembled and she would have fallen if Twilight hadn't caught her with a hoof.

"Help the Grand Maestro to the showers.", Twilight ordered. Sunset blinked and Twilight looked do her, "Yes Sunset, you heard me right. You're the Grand Maestro of the Ponyhood of Steel." Twilight snapped her head to the robed ponies and ordered, "Recite for the Grand Maestro the sacred duties of the Ponyhood."

"Discover lost technology. Preserve lost technology. Innovate. Protect the divine spark of the machines from corruption.", the robed ponies recited as one in their robotic voices.

Sunset looked to Twilight who laughed nervously, "I, uh, I kinda let a few odd religions exist under the condition that it does not interfere with anypony's duties. I found that giving them hope helps to focus their minds."

"Uh-huh, next you're going to tell me that the ponies worship you as an infallible goddess.", Sunset said skeptically.

Twilight hemmed and hawed uncomfortably, "I...uh...I...er...um...discourage the term infallible." She closed her eyes expecting a torrent of scolding.

Sunset just chuckled knowingly, "Well considering that you started off as a mortal before becoming an alicorn, that is understandable. I bet they see me and the ponemarchs as some kind of demigods."

"They see you as a saint and the ponemarchs as archangels." Twilight winced uncomfortably.

Sunset gave clucking laughter at the ridiculousness of it all before turning to the tech-monks, "Show me to the showers."

Twilight shook her head frowning. "I didn't ask to be seen as a living goddess.", she said to herself, "I'm just glad Sunset didn't see the atrocities fanatical ponies committed in my name, it would have broken her heart when I had to purge the fanatics."

After Sunset had gotten out of the shower, a cup of standard caffeinated beverage number three was given to her along with two pain killer tabs. Popping the tabs in her mouth, she took a sip of the beverage to wash them down. She scrunched up her nose at the awful taste. "Fuck! Twilight wasn't lying when she said it tasted like somepony sprayed caffeinated diarrhea in a cup." She braced herself before downing the whole cup in one dreadful swallow, before giving a disgusted shiver. "Ugh! If I find the pony who thought this was a good idea, I'm going to dig up their body and shoot their corpse in the head!" She made her way to the armory where the requisitions officer was waiting on her.

He pointed to a machine with several spools of metal wire. "Stand here and hold as still as you can so a mesh under-suit can be woven for you."

Sunset stood in the ring and felt very uncomfortable as the machine wove the mesh under-suit around her body. A few arms extended with nozzles attached and chill ran across her body as gel was injected between the layers of the mesh weave.

The requisitions officer walked over once the machine had finished and draped a hood across her head and attached it to the mesh weave suit. "This will feel a little weird.", he said as he attached several small wires to her horn.

Sunset winced as she felt a sudden jolt of energy crackled across her horn. "What was that?!"

"It helps to magnify a unicorn's magic, while preventing unwanted spell backlash and bleeds of excess magic to prevent magical burn-out.", the officer replied. He pointed to a frame with several mechanical claws, holding pieces of exoskeletal armor, "Step onto the boots and hold still until the servos have a chance to compensate to your strength, you don't wanna accidentally shear a limb off."

Stepping into the boots, Sunset said, "I know how to an exoskeleton. I helped design them after all."

"That was the old outdated S-one exoskeleton, this is the new s-eight m-three exoskeleton. It has much improved servo compensation to prevent catastrophic movement injuries as long as you let the servos and comp-unit adjust to your strength.", the requisitions officer said before turning on the machine.

Sunset closed her eyes as the machine clamped the exoskeleton around her body. She listened as bolts were tightened, then the servos whirred and hissed. Once the power cells activated, she relaxed her muscles as she began to feel lighter. Opening her eyes, she raise one of her forelegs, hearing the servos whir and click, the lowered it again. Taking a few steps, she listened to the sound of the armor.

"Any discomfort, pain or complaints?", the officer asked.

"The servos on the left hid leg feel slightly out of alignment.", Sunset replied.

The requisitions officer hooked up a diagnostic module to the armor. "Well I'll be...the hind left servos are out of alignment.", he said surprised, "Let me adjust those for you. Hold still please." He flipped a few switches of the diagnostics module and picked up a tool in his hoof. Inserting the tool into a small socket, he gave it few twists while looking at the lights on the diagnostics module until they turned green. "Better?"

Sunset kicked her hind leg a couple of times, the hopped up and down a few times. "Much."

The officer clipped a metal band around Sunset's head and slipped the helmet on her head, the mag-locks clanked as the filtration unit hissed.

Sunset blinked a few times adjusting her eyes as the sensor units flickered to life inside the helmet. She quickly darted her eyes across the HUD as each reading came up green. She looked around as the sensors identified each object in the room. "Everything looks good in here.", she said into the speech unit, "How's it look on your end?"

The requisitions officer gave the hoof's up then asked, "Is there anything else you need?"

"Just help me get the weapon's system sighted in.", Sunset replied, "I'm feeling extra saucy today. Do they still make plasma casters?"

"Forty watt, eight watt or a hundred twenty watt range?", the officer asked as he hooked the sighting mechanism to the shoulder of the armor.

Sunset flicked her eyes zeroing in the sights before replying, "Eight watt range. I don't wanna get too cooked on my first combat in a thousand years."

The officer nodded as he hooked the plasma caster into the socket, the power cells whined as they glowed bright blue. "Give the cell..."

"Give them two to three seconds to to vent or they'll overheat and cook me in the armor.", Sunset interrupted, "Is there anything else?"

"Everything looks green. You are free to go Grand Maestro.", the officer replied.

With an eye flick, Sunset set the plasma caster into safe position. As the weapon shifted close to the armor, the cells went dark powering down. She left the armory and made her way to the deck of the airship where Twilight, her bodyguards, the ponemarchs, several transequine marine officers and several generals waited. She reached up and removed her helmet, clamping to a mag-lock on her flank as she approached.

Twilight glanced at Sunset as she walked up, then back to the beach with a stern look on her face. Two pony marines landed on deck of the airship and took off their helmets. Twilight turned to the two transequine pegasi and ordered, "Report."

The pony marine pegasus mare with a pink coat and short-cropped white mane said, "Looks like they've brought an army to throw us a welcoming party."

The pony pegasus stallion with dark grey coat and shaved mane spoke up, "Their army is a mixture of ponies, minotaurs, centaurs and griffons. They also have a hundred of elite heavily armored elite troops and about a company's worth of ponies juiced out of their minds."

Twilight and Sunset noted the fresh scratches and dings in the paint of the two pony marines armor indicating the army had ranged weapons.

"What condition is our army in?", Sunset asked.

"Bored, green as sapling, but champing for a fight.", a general replied.

"Are they up to fighting force?", Sunset asked.

"Yes Grand Maestro.", the same general replied.

"I say we let the infantry and the Ponyhood set up a beachhead.", Sunset said, "They could use the combat experience to shake off the raw off. Pomum Ligni and Zoccoli di Pietra, your legions will support the infantry and plug any gaps in their lines. Vent Rapide and Papilionem, your legions will offer flanking support to the infantry. Adamantem, Aster, Mica, Empresario and Divinos, your legions will hold back with the war walkers in case everything goes south."

The ten ponemarchs looked to Sunset then to Twilight. To the average pony their genders were undefinable, but to Twilight and Sunset, they knew not only what gender they were, but also what ponies the original genetic material was taken from to form the original genetic seed, though that ultimately didn't matter.

The ten ponemarchs gave a quick nod to Sunset and Twilight who had served as their mothers, teachers and first friends when they were young, before putting on their helmets and walking off to give commands to their respective legions.

Twilight smiled as she clucked her tongue in thought at how quickly Sunset had quickly slipped back into her role as commander.

As the engines on the barges roared to life, massive lifts raised from their holds hoisting the massive four-legged walking war machines and hundreds of the pony marines. The ponies in the infantry readied long-barreled rifles as they gathered in groups of three behind tall wheeled shield on the decks of the barges. Massive artillery guns were angled into position on the airships.

As the barges crept closer to shore, the artillery guns on the airships roared to life, sending great shells screaming through the air towards the enemy army gathered on the beach. As the shell exploded among the ranks of the enemy army, the air filled with with shrapnel, screams and broken bodies as the amassed army of creatures was forced to fall back under the heavy bombardment.

A split second before the ramps dropped on the barges, the artillery guns on the airships went silent and the last of the shells went silent as the last of the shells exploded among the rear ranks of the falling back army. The pony infantry rushed forward shoving their heavy wheeled shields as officers carrying pistols or sabers goaded them forward. The Ponyhood of Steel troops in their exoskeletons rushed up into ranks behind the infantry. Two legions of earth pony marines formed up ranks in reserve behind the first two ranks.

As the last of the heavy shields into place, several infantryponies took out shovels and began trenches or foxholes. The enemy army made a reverse wheel maneuver as the infantryponies were digging in. The enemy brought forth arquebusiers to their front ranks and leveled muskets, firing volleys. The heavy lead balls shattered against the heavy wheeled shields or glanced harmlessly off the thick army of the infantry, but several ponies fell to the ground screaming where the lead balls slipped through gaps in their armor. The infantryponies leaned out from behind the heavy shield to snap off shots, before ducking behind to cycle the bolts on their rifles. The Ponyhood of Steel ranks marched forward leveling the weapons mounted in shoulder sockets in their armor, the lead balls shattered harmlessly against their exoskeletons, they returned fire in controlled bursts, cutting down scores of the enemy arquebusiers.

As the arquebusiers moved to the rear ranks of the enemy army, catapults and trebuchets were wheeled up. Heavy boulders were hurled through the air, ponies in the assembled army tried to scramble out of the way of the stones, many were crushed leaving bloody streaks and broken bodies on the ground. Some of the boulders sailed towards the assembled ranks of earth pony marines. The massive transequine warriors calmly moved out of the way of the boulders, a few were crushed by the heavy stones and the marines seemed unfazed by their losses as the closed up ranks. A few boulders scored hits among the airships, sending them crashing into the water, the air fleet spread out as bubble shields were raised. A few of the boulders sailed towards the berges, forcing the massive war machines to step forward firing their immense weapons vaporizing the boulders in the air, a score of boulders slammed into the bubble shields of the war machines, most shattered harmlessly against their bubble shields, the few the passed trough the shields shattered against the heavy armor of the war machines, leaving minor dents or superficial gouges.

Transequine pegasi legionnaires swooped down from the sky and around the flanks of the enemy army. They landed among the siege weapons, cutting down their crews with the sharp blades mounted on their wing armor or planted explosives on the siege machines, silencing them. The transequine earth pony marines stepped into the breaches of the infantry, leveling massive short-barreled guns mounted in shoulder sockets or holding massive-bladed swords with crackling blades in their teeth.

The enemy army drug the company fanatic ponies forward. Their handlers activated the collars around the fanatic ponies necks as the shoved them forward. The collars injected a cocktail of psychotropic, stimulant and pain killer drugs into their bodies. Within seconds the ponies became frothing, crazed maniacs as they charged forwards heedlessly. The air filled with bullets, blasts of energy and mass reaction rounds. As the fanatics were cut down by the bullets, incinerated by the energy blasts or ripped apart by the mass reaction rounds, they rushed forward in a mindless, drug-fueled rage, taking no heed to their numbers killed or the injuries sustained. The pony marines counter-charged the raving maniacs, smashing with hooves and slashing with crackling blades, easily overpowering the fanatics. Reloading their weapons, the pony marines began marching forward in lockstep.

As the transequine earth ponies marched forward firing their weapons in winnowing volleys, the pegasi marines swooped down into the ranks of the enemy army, slashing with their wing blades. As the enemy army began to waver, several minotaurs and centaurs in an acts of desperation crushed dark magic-infused jewels in the hands, within second they mutated into hulking, loping beasts, claws, talons and tentacles erupted from their bodies. They grabbed any transequine pegasi they could, ripping their bodies apart. A squawk of comms devices was heard in the pony marines helmets, the earth ponies knelt down as the pegasi rapidly took to the air. The war machines leveled their weapons, deep thrums vibrated the air as colossal beams of energy lanced forth. The air above the enemy army turned to white-hot flames, the flesh of the massive beasts boiled and the bodies of the creatures turned to ash in an instant. Out of the hundred thousand creatures that made up the enemy army, only five hundred survived. Most fled as dozens threw down their weapons and laid on the ground, placing their forelimbs one their heads in surrender.

The pony marines gathered up the prisoners as the infantry finished establishing the beachhead. As the prisoners were interrogated and shot in summary executions, the airships landed disembarking more troops. As the command airship landed, Twilight and Sunset stepped off flanked by a knot of massive transequine bodyguards in magenta armor. Medics rushed among the field hospitals treating the injured and easing the passing of the dying. Casualty and troop readiness reports were brought to Twilight. She ordered those too injured to march back onto the barges and airships to be treated in the medical bays. Graves were dug for the soldiers and marines. Pits were dug and the bodies of the enemy army were tossed in, flamethrowers whooshed to life spraying the pits with flames hot enough to slag steel turned the bodies to ash. When the last of the war machines strode ashore, maintenance bays were erected to house them. Barracks were erected to hold the soldiers and marines as a forward command bunker was erected for Twilight, Sunset, the ponemarchs and generals. Banners depicting two stylized alicorns entwined were erected over the camp. Transequine pegasi and mortal pegasi were sent out on scouting flights.

In the morning camp was struck as the army gathered in a massive crescent. Marching across the land for miles, they liberated dozens of villages and towns for the next two days, before congregating in a massive camp, preparing to invade the first major city.

***

Hakenshut was beside himself in rage as he paced back and forth in grand hall of his palace-temple. "HOW COULD AN ARMY OF PONIES UTTERLY DEFEAT AN ENTIRE ARMY?!", he roared. Before any soldiers could answer, he slashed out with his claws, vivisecting three of them. He pressed the first two digits of a paw to the bridge of his nose and said in a calmer tone, "Now tell me about this pony army and how they wiped out one of my armies."

A centaur knelt trembling, fearing the sphinx's wrath. "My God-king, may you live forever. According to the reports of survivors, their airships bristled with siege machines that belched fire and turned to air to death as they ripped our troops to shreds. Their pony soldiers wore thick armor and had strange repeating muskets. Among their ranks there were massive pony soldiers who had repeating muskets that blasted our soldiers and fanatics bodies apart. They held in reserve massive iron beasts that turned the air to fire in white flashes. They have marched across the land unopposed for two days and your loyal subjects have turned against you. According to our scouts, the pony army masses a dozen miles from the city with intentions of invading in the morning."

Hakenshut let a predatory growl escape his lips. "Has there been reports of an alicorn?"

"An alicorn my God-king?", the centaur asked flipping through the reports.

"A large pony with wings and a horn!", Hakenshut snapped.

The centaur pulled out a report. "There has been a report of an...alicorn leading the a pony army, my God-king. A purple one."

Hakenshut turned with a snarl, "So she has returned! Ready my weapons and armor. I shall personally lead my armies against against this pony army. When it done, I shall carve the wings and horn from that bitch. Then I shall drag her broken body through the streets and hang it from the top of my palace-temple. All will see what happens when you try and challenge a true god."

The centaur bowed again and backed out of the great hall.

In the morning banners flapped in the breeze and airships sailed overhead with a roar of propellers as the pony army crested a series of hills overlooking a city made of polished sandstone, with a massive onyx pyramid in the center. On the plain before the city were arrayed armies of creatures of all types, with a massive sphinx at its head. As the pony army came to a stop atop the hills, hoof signals issued silent commands to the ranks of soldiers and pony marines. As the massive pony army spread out setting up ranks, wagons on magic suspensors containing the armored caskets holding the shattered bodies of transequine warriors, levitated across the dunes the dunes. The armored caskets were lifted in magical fields or by heavy machinery and lowered into the awaiting cradles on large walking machines with thick squat legs. Tech-monks attached power cables and tightened massive bolts as various large weapons were mounted into sockets. As the large squat-legged walkers were activated, the sleeping pony marines woke up and began willing the machines to move. Pegasi soldiers and marines concealed themselves atop the clouds, poised to strike a a moment's notice.

The gargantuan four-legged walking war machines at the far back of the pony army began striding to the far right flank, the very ground trembling with each step they took. Twilight took to the air, hovering high above the ground, she turned to face the pony army and summoned the royal Canterlot voice, "MY FRIENDS! AS WE STAND HERE GATHERED TO LAY LOW THIS TYRANT WHOM PRESUMES HIMSELF TO BE A GOD! BRACE YOUR RESOLVE AND STEEL YOUR SOULS AGAINST THE HORRORS AND DARK MAGICS THIS GREAT PRETENDER BRINGS TO BEAR! WITH OUR WEAPONS, MIGHT AND MAGIC, WE SHALL BRING PURIFYING LIGHT TO BANISH THE SHADOWS OF SUPERSTITION AND DOUBT!" She levitated the hammer from her side, hoisted it in her magic and continued, "BY THIS WEAPON I SHALL LAY LOW THE RANKS OF MURDERERS AND HERETICS! WHO AMONG YOU WILL RAISE YOUR WEAPONS ALONGSIDE MINE?" Ponies up and down the ranks raised their weapons as they gave a great shout. Twilight landed, still hoisting the hammer in her magic, energy crackled across her armor. Turning her head to a general, she said, "You may commence bombardment when ready."

On the airships, the massive barrels of the artillery guns were leveled. Flashes of fire erupted from their muzzles in thudding booms as the shells screamed through the air and landed among the ranks of the enemy creatures, filling the air with shrapnel that shredded nearby bodies. For several minutes the artillery guns roared, sending their lethal payloads into the rank and file of the enemy creatures. When the airships had expended the last of their shells, they pulled back as the army began marching forward.

Rank upon rank of enemy arquebusiers stepped forward, leveling their muskets. In the rear ranks, scores of catapults trebuchets and mangonels were slowly wheeled into place. Pegasi soldiers swooped down from the clouds snapping off shots from the short weapons strapped to their forelimbs. As they swooped over the enemy siege weapons, the pegasi grabbed bombs attached to the armor and hurled them to the ground. As the bombs exploded, shrapnel filled the air ripping through the bodies of the crews or shredding the ropes on the siege weapons, rendering them useless. The pegasi made another swooping pass, hurling another volley of bombs. The remaining crew members scattered trying to avoid the sprays of shrapnel as the siege weapons were further damaged. Enemy griffons took to the air, wielding spears and straight-edged swords.

The pegasi marines swooped down from the clouds, activating the crackling energy fields on their wings blades. Tipping their wings, the wing blades easily cut trough the armor and flesh of the griffons. The pegasi marines and griffons swooped, rolled and spun in aerial melee. The griffons stood little chance against the transequine pegasi. The hits scored against the thick power armor of the pegasi glanced off harmlessly, though a few lucky strikes managed to penetrate the joints of the power armor, the pegasi knocked the weapons loose as one would flick an offending insect away, seeming to take no regard to any injuries sustained. The pegasi marines cleaved apart the griffons with their wing blades or crushed their bodies with their powerful hooves. After several minutes of intense aerial melee, the few dozen surviving griffons scattered in a panic. The pegasi soldiers hurled the last of their bombs before their officers ordered them to fall back and rearm. The pegasi marines swooped among the enemy creatures harassing their ranks.

The enemy arquebusiers fire their muskets in massive, clouds of white smoke fill their air as lead balls sailed forth. Pony soldiers duck behind the heavy wheeled shields, a few fall to the ground screaming as the soft lead balls slip through gaps in their armor. Soldiers lean around the shields and snap of shots, before ducking back into cover cycling the bolts on the rifles. The Ponyhood of Steel step forward in their exoskeletons, covering the infantry and returning fire with the weapons mounted in the shoulder sockets of their armor. Unicorn and earth pony marines march forward unfazed by the volleys. Lethal blasts of magic and mass reaction rounds tear through the air, shredding the bodies of the arquebusiers in sprays of gore.

As the arquebusiers pull back, crazed shrieks come from the enemy creatures as fanatics charge forward in wave after wave in drug-fueled rage. The pony marines rush forward cleaving the fanatics with large crackling swords held in teeth, piercing with metal-sheathed horns or simply crushing them under powerful hooves. After the last of the fanatics were slain, the pony marines reload their weapons and begin marching backwards.

Hakenshut steps forward roaring a challenge, a massive bronze blade held in a paw, his gilded armor gleaming in the sun, ten thousand heavily armored jannesaries flanking him. Twilight marches forward in an unspoken challenge, a magenta aura surrounds the heavy hammer as arcs of electricity leap from it as the energy field activates, ripples of energy run across her armor and violet eyes burn with intensity.

As the two close on each other, Hakenshut points his sword and shouts, "You think you can stand before a true god? Hah! Know now alicorn, I shall sheath this blade in your blood!"

"Hear me now...", Twilight snarled, "...I shall cast you low and all shall see that you are no god, but a mere mortal. As for sheathing that in my blood, you have to find it first."

Hakenshut snarled as he flicked his chin, the heavily armored jannesaries moved to surround Twilight. Thirty massive transequine bodyguards in magenta armor charged, swinging their silver halberds in arcs faster then they eye could track, easily cleaving armor and flesh. Though greatly outnumbered, the transequine warriors fought in in silence, each one worth easily worth a company of mortal warriors. Several of the bodyguards flipped their halberds around, aiming the spike on top and beams of heat shot forth. Before any of the jannesaries could scream, their flesh erupted in flames and leapt to their nearby compatriots. When the flames extinguished, all that was left behind was scorched armor and blackened skeletons.

Hakenshut and Twilight circled each other as the melee raged around them, looking for openings to exploit. As Hakenshut prepared to charge, he halted as the ground trembled. Looking over, he saw twenty massive four-legged walking war machines. They leveled their massive weapons and with deep resonating thrums, massive lances of energy fired forth. Entire swaths of Hakenshut's forces vanished in white-hot flames. Over the hills stomped stubby-legged walkers with armored caskets mounted in cradles, mounted weapons roared to life and steel-jacketed rounds as big as the trunks of saplings or fragmentation shells twice as big as a hoof, screamed through the air, ripping apart the bodies of creatures.

Twilight smirked. "Surrender sphinx, your army lies shattered and you are outclassed."

Hakenshut roared swinging his massive bronze sword. Twilight swung her hammer, shattering the blade of the sword into fragments. He leapt forward extending his claws seeking to overpower her, she rolled backwards, slamming her powerful hooves into the gut of the massive sphinx. As Hakenshut tumbled on the ground, Twilight sprung up to her hooves and slammed the hammer down onto his armor. Blood erupted from his mouth as the hammer made the armor dent and crack. As the sphinx tried to drag himself away, Twilight slammed her hammer down again across his back, severing the spine. Hakenshut wheezed and gasped as blood filled his lungs. Before you kill me, I have but one request.", he said weakly, "Might I know the name of the one who has defeated me?"

"Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Hakenshut spat out bright red blood and mucus as he laughed, "Of course it's a fucking princess!"

Twilight brought her hammer down on the sphinx's neck, crushing it. Its body let out a hissing gurgle as the last of the air seeped from its lungs.

The enemy forces shattered and fled in a panicked rout. The pony army charged forward in a massive shout. Most of the creatures threw their weapons away as they fled in all directions, many fell to the ground begging for mercy but were shown none, a few pockets chose to fight to the bitter end and were cut down under withering fire. Twilight rested the head of her hammer in the ground, watching the fleeing enemy forces loose all cohesion and discipline. She sent forth orders for the army to regroup before marching on the city.

Over the next two weeks the remaining knots of enemy creatures fought desperate battles street-to-street and building-to-building. As soldiers and marines armed with flame throwers marched up to flush out the dwindling pockets of dug in forces, most threw down their weapons surrendering. In the pyramid that once served as the palace-temple of the now dead sphinx, pockets of elite enemy forces barricaded themselves into hallways and rooms, having to be cleared out. Once the last pockets of resistance were eradicated or contained, Twilight entered the pyramid. Walking through the hallways, she did her best to ignore the smells of burnt flesh. Twilight paused at a fresco depicting the sphinx committing various depraved sexual acts, disgust and bile swelled in her throat, swinging the hammer, she smashed it into dust.

Twilight paused at a massive door leading to a bedchamber, hearing the scuffle of hooves inside, she reared up and smashed the door to splinters with her armored hooves. Expecting to find an enemy soldier, she was caught off guard seeing a filly on the cusp of marehood, curled up in a corner trembling. Twilight relaxed and a warm smile as she crossed over to the filly. As she slowly approached the filly, Twilight gently extended a hoof. The filly screamed and curled up tighter into a ball. A sad expression went across her eyes realizing the filly was traumatized from abuse.

Laying on the floor, Twilight laid the hammer aside gently and whispered, "It's okay my little pony, I'm not going to hurt you. I know I kinda look scary in this armor, but I'm a pony, just like you." She watched as the terrified filly peek an eye at her from behind her forelimbs. "My name's Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?"

"D-d-dewdrop.", the filly whispered in a wavering voice.

"I think that's a pretty name, Dewdrop.", Twilight said smiling, "Now I want to ask you a question, you don't have to speak if you don't want to. You can tap a hoof one time for yes or two times for no. Did some pony or creature hurt you?"

Dewdrop hesitated for a moment before tapping a hoof once.

"Did the sphinx hurt you?"

Dewdrop tapped her hoof again once.

"Would you please point to where he hurt you?"

Dewdrop extended a shaking hoof and pointed to her tail.

Twilight frowned for a second before letting the gentle smile cross her lips again. "I want you to know that I killed that sphinx, he can't hurt you again."

Dewdrop peeked from behind her forelimbs. "R-really?"

;Twilight made the gestures of a Pinkie Pie promise. "As a very old and dear friend once would say, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. That's an unbreakable promise."

Far away in the village of Apple Orchard, Lore keeper Apple Pie paused as she felt her mane twitch. She turned looking to the southwest in confusion.

Twilight gently extended a hoof to Dewdrop. Dewdrop extender her hoof shaking and touched it to Twilight's hoof, before recoiling it then slowly reached out again. Twilight helped the filly to her hooves. "Can I look and see how he hurt you? I promise I won't do anything inappropriate."

Dewdrop paused for a few moments, before before nodding her head. Twilight gently lifted the filly's tail and frowned seeing tearing to her vagina indicating sexual abuse.

"Climb on my back, I'll take you to somepony that can help you.", Twilight said softly. After Dewdrop climbed on her back, Twilight rose to her feet and clamped the hammer to her side. As she walked down the hallway with the filly on her back, Dewdrop gently touched a hoof to one of Twilight's wings. Ruffling her wings, she said softly, "It's impolite to touch somepony's wings or horn without their permission."

"S-sorry.", Dewdrop apologized, looking down blushing.

"It's okay this time, you're just not used to seeing ponies with wings or horns. Someponies get very mad if you touch certain parts of their bodies." Exiting the pyramid, Twilight walked over to one of the bazaars that had been turned into a hospital, she levitated the filly onto a cot and turned to a medic, "This filly has been sexually abused. Give her a full examination and any treatment she needs. You may also want to inspect the other recently freed prisoners for signs of abuse, sexual or otherwise."

Dewdrop jumped off the cot and wrapped her forelimbs around Twilight's leg. "Don'tgodon'tgodon'tgo!"

Twilight gently across Dewdrop's mane, "I have to go Dewdrop, there are other fillies and colts I need to rescue from the bad creatures that want to hurt them. I promise I'll come visit you and when I go home, I'll even bring you along with me to meet my old teacher, a dear friend of mine, my sister-in-law and my niece. Okay?" When Dewdrop nodded, Twilight placed her gently back on the cot.

Twilight walked over to a general and pointed a hoof at the pyramid, "As soon as you can spare the ponies to do so, I want that shrine to debauchery and filth torn down block-by-block."

The general bowed saying, "Yes your majesty."

Author's Note

Okay a little bit into my thought process here, I decided to model the sphinxes after some of the most infamously debauched rulers in history who surrounded themselves with opulence and every pleasure of the flesh they could, while most of their subjects lived in squalor.

I decided for better or worse to give two of the sphinxes vaguely middle eastern names, two of their names I took from Khemetic mythology and one I took from the title of a poem.

The difference between power armor and exoskeletal armor, at least in my mind, is that power armor ties into your nervous system so it requires fewer compensators to keep from accidentally shearing off a limb.

The genders of the ponemarchs are irrelevant, so you can either apply what ever gender you want or no gender to them.

The pony marines draw from both mares and stallions.

In the future I will go more into the ponemarchs and their respective legions.

I couldn't think of a pony-themed name for the transequine bodyguards that protect Twilight, maybe in the future I'll come up with one.

If you're expecting chaos gods, daemons of the warp, super mutants or deathclaws, they ain't there, though you can expect magically mutated creatures that can be seen as any of them.

The reason I had the guns mounted in shoulder sockets on the exoskeletons and power armor is that I needed a reason for them to be able to maintain an effective field of fire while still being able to run at the full speed.

I modeled the way the standard pony infantry advances off of pavise crossbowmen.

I know that aquebusiers fired aquebuses, not muskets, but I figured eh, my story my rules.

Please feel free to give any comments or criticisms.

Thank you for reading.

I hope you all enjoy.

Attack from the deep desert and the elements awaken

It had been a month since the defeat of the sphinx Hakenshut, the pony had taken up residence in the city, rearming and refitting. It was more time than Twilight was comfortable with, but she had no choice as her forces need time to shore up their supply lines. The pony forces had not been idle, the Ponyhood of Steel had set up forges across the city to refit the military or dismantling the barges to reconstruct them into mobile forges and field hospitals, the army had been reinforcing and fortifying the city, the pony marines had been selecting foals to replenish not only the losses they suffered, but to also to have the reserves for the battles to come, even with their genetic and magical engineering techniques, it would still be months before the first of the foals would be ready to join the ranks of the legions. Scores of pilgrims flocked to the city, which had been renamed Ascension's Landing.

Twilight walked through the streets, flanked by her thirty transequine bodyguards in magenta armor, known as the Nebula Guard. She paused at the half demolished onyx pyramid, most of the former slaves had volunteered to tear it down and Twilight had sent orders to have them properly compensated, just like in Equestria of old, there would be no need for slavery in her plans for the new kingdom. She continued down the street, past the flayed skeleton of the sphinx and onto the recently reconstructed gallows and chopping blocks. Twilight sighed as she detested executions, but knew they were sometimes necessary.

Sunset stood under an awning, slipping on robes while reading the files on what the cases she had to preside over. Looking over, she saw Twilight walk up and smiled.

"What's on the docket today?", Twilight asked.

After adjusting her robes, Sunset levitated several files over. "Other than the usual petty thefts and simple batteries, two days ago our forces intercepted a slaver caravan just a few miles from here. I was going to defer the thefts and batteries to lower courts so the arbitrators can can pass judgement, while I handle the slavers. Unless you want to sit in judgement."

Twilight waved a hoof, "I'll not supersede your authority as long as your judgments are not overly cruel."

Sunset nodded, "Fair enough."

Twilight and Sunset took their respective seats as the trial began. The affair was carried out as a military tribunal and the arguments were over in an hour.

After Sunset listened to the arguments and looked over the evidence, she ordered a fifteen minute recess to consider her judgment. After the tribunal was reconvened, Sunset took her seat, taking in a deep breath, she passed judgement, "For the act of actively participating in slavery, I pronounce upon thee...death by firing squad.", she paused before continuing, "If any of the condemned are willing to part with any information that shall lead to the liberation of more slaves or the strengths of our enemies, they shall be offered amnesty and given a prison sentence instead, otherwise the executions shall begin posthaste." She waited to see if any of the condemned creatures would speak up, when none did, she clapped a hoof on the arm of her wooden chair, "May the stars have mercy on your souls. Adjourned!"

The slavers were tied to stakes, while soldiers readied their rifles. With a loud report, the slavers were killed in a volley of bullets and their bodied were thrown into a pit to be incinerated.

Sunset walked back to the awning while Twilight followed her and took off the robes, placing them in a simple trunk. "I don't know about you, but I could use something cool to drink."

"Sounds good to me."

Sunset and Twilight sat in a tent, the former sipped on a goblet of while, while the latter sipped on a cup of water, she had sworn an oath long ago that alcohol shall not pass her lips until she stood upon the soil of her homeland again.

Twilight raised an eyebrow when she heard snickering outside. Through the canvas of the she saw the silhouettes of Vent Rapide, Zoccoli di Pietra and several foals. Smiling, she pointed a hoof, "Be careful when going outside. I think there's a prank fixing to happen."

Sunset looked over her shoulder and said, "I think those two have two much Rainbow and Pinkie in them."

A second later as an officer walked out of the tent, there was the splash of water, a thump of a bucket and a shout of surprise.

"Ba-hahahahaha!", Vent Rapide laughed out loud, rolling on the ground.

"Heeheeheehee!", Zoccoli di Pietra giggled, jumping up and down.

The foals rolled on the ground, squealing in laughter.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way.", Twilight said chuckling.
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It was dark when Hakkahn, Apep, Sutekh and Ozymandias gathered atop an obsidian butte.

"It has been a month since our brother was slain by that alicorn." Hakkahn said, with a growl rumbling in his throat.

"Patience brothers.", Ozymandias said, gently drumming the digits of a paw on his shoulder, "We must first consolidate our forces or we will be undone."

"And while we drag our paws, this pony army gathers its full strength!", Apep snapped, "I say we strike now before the enemy has a chance to mobilize!"

"Calm yourself, Apep!", Sutekh snarled, "Remember that rushing forward unprepared was the folly of our brother. Their iron beasts will incinerate our armies before they even have a chance to attack. We must find a way to neutralize them."

"Let's not forget that their massive armored ponies.", Hakkahn quipped, "They sally forth without even showing fear or concern for their injuries or losses. I say we find Tirek again and press him once more into our services. He defeated the alicorns once before, he can do it again."

"No!", Ozymandias growled, "If you remember the old tales, one alicorn and five mortal ponies defeated him, then they entombed in stone alongside the dethroned queen of changelings and a magic thief. Besides you know as well as I that he swore vengeance on us after we took his essence from him to breed our centaur warriors."

"As much as I hate to agree with Ozymandias, he's right.", Sutekh said. He produced a pawfull of dark magic-infused jewls. "I'll have my mystics create more of these for our minotaurs and centaurs to use. Once they become hulking dark magic mutants, they can take the fight to the iron beasts."

Apep pressed the digits on his paws into a pyramid in contemplation. "I can send a small portion of my forces into the deep desert to drive before them the raiders, death cults and mutants before our forces and into the camp of the pony army."

The four sphinxes glanced back and forth in silent agreement, before vanishing into the shadows. Standing atop a neighboring butte, silhouetted against the night sky was a a four-legged creature with a cloak draped over it was watching the four sphinxes. After the sphinxes had left, it turned and left.
********************************************************************************************************

Twilight held one of the new rifles the Ponyhood of Steel tech-monks had created for the army in her magic. She pursed her lips in though, it had been a week since the last of the mobile forges and med-bays had been constructed and were well on their way to the city, their progress had impressed her. Rolling the weapon over in her magic, she pulled out the ten round magazine from the receiver and slid the cocking lever back into the locked position, so she could better inspect the chamber and bolt. "What are these new rifles designated?", she asked looking over to one of the tech-monks.

The tech monk adjusted its interpretation device before answering in a static-laden voice. "This is designated the series-one repeating rifle your majesty. It will give each soldier improved firepower." It slid a few bullets into a magazine with a metallic hoof. "Would you like to test fire it?"

Twilight took the magazine in her magic and inserted it into the receiver. She took another second to inspect the weapon, before releasing the bolt from its locked position. Bracing the rifle against her shoulder, took aim down the impromptu firing range at few few amphorae, slid a hoof to the trigger and snapped of several shots. "impressive.", Twilight said passing the rifle back to the tech-monk with her magic, "How many of these have been created?"

"So far fifty thousand, your majesty.", the tech-monk replied, "By the end of the month we shall have another fifty thousand."

"So just enough to start out with arming the elite veteran soldiers.", Twilight said tapping a hoof to her chin, "As soon as you're able, I want production doubled. I want every pony in the infantry to have access to one by the time we finish scouring the sphinxes from this land."

"Yes your majesty."

Twilight turned to a new set of infantry armor with thicker plates hanging on a dummy. "Now tell me about the new armor."

Before the tech-monk could respond, a mare wearing a blue coat, the stripes designating she was a colonel, ran in and bowed, Twilight took notice of the metallic section of the mare's lower jaw. "Your majesty!", the mare exclaimed rising, "I've been sent to report that the scouts have spotted gangs of slavers and mutant moving towards the city!"

"Very good colonel.", Twilight said, "You can go." As the mare hurried out, Twilight turned to the tech-monk. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to continue the inspection the of new equipment later." She clamped the hammer to the side of her armor and left.

Twilight made her way into the command tent. The place was a flurry of activity as officers scrambled about, swapping reports as they talked over one another. Looking about quickly, she saw Sunset standing at a table reading reports and relaying orders. "Report.", she said walking up to the table.

Sunset plugged a crystal into a data slate and passed it to Twilight. "The pegasi scouts reported that several gangs of slavers and mutants are moving in from the deep desert. It will be a day before before the first of the gangs get here."

Twilight looks over the data slate, then looks over to a nearby map and matches up the information. "Has there been any information from the villagers that has flocked to our flags about gang attacks this big?"

An officer looks over older reports. "No your highness, there hasn't been any mention of them this big before."

Twilight rubbed her chin in thought. She looked over the data slate again. She clicked her tongue thoughtfully.

"I know that look.", Sunset said, "What have you got planned?"

Twilight levitated the data slate onto the table. "Though they have the numerical advantage, they appear to lack any cohesion. They appear to be little more than loose bands of gangs. Summon the ponemarchs."

Pomum Ligni, Zoccoli di Pietra, Vent Rapide, Papilionem, Adamantem, Aster, Mica, Empresario, Divinos and Apricus entered into the command tent.

Twilight turned to face the ten ponemarchs. "As I am sure that you ten have been debriefed on the situation as hoof, I shall skip that part. In the morning just before the sun rises, the legions shall march out to meet these gangs with myself and the Nebula guard in the forefront, maybe a show of force will convince them to turn back. Before we march, I want the city fortified. Adamantem, your legion shall be in charge of ensuring the defenses are prepared. Pomum Ligni, Zoccoli di Pietra, Empresrio, your legions shall equip their super-heavy armor and heavy assault weapons to serve as the anchor for our lines. Aster, Mica, Divinos, Apricus, have your legions prepare defensive spells for any dark magic they may have."

"Permission to speak frankly?", Mica said.

"Of course, we are all equals here and I will hear anything that needs be said."

"Have any of us considered that this is a ploy by the sphinxes to try and weaken us?", Mica asked.

Twilight smiled gently. "I have. Vent Rapide and Papilionem will each choose a company to stay behind to bolster the city's defenses and send scouts to us in the event this is a feint by the sphinxes."

"I think this a probing tactic by the sphinxes.", Aster said, "They send slavers and mutants from the deserts to test our defenses so they can better assess our strengths and weaknesses."

"Well they're going to be severely disappointed.", Vent Rapide said smugly, "My legion has no weaknesses."

"Don't count your ammunition before you've loaded it.", Pomum Ligni said.

"What of the city? If it is a ploy by the sphinxes and they launch an attack, how will the city defend itself?", Papilionem asked.

"I will be in charge of the city forces until the legions return.", Sunset said, "With the Ponyhood of Steel at the head of the defenses, any attacks on the city will at the very least be held up long enough for the legions to reinforce."

"Are there any further questions or comments?", Twilight asked. When none of the ponemarchs said anything, she continued, "You have your orders. Strength through harmony."

"Harmony through victory.", the ponemarchs replied before leaving the tent.

As the sky to the east began to slowly brighten, Twilight, the Nebula Guard and the ten legions stood gathered outside the city gates. A slight northern breeze bringing wispy clouds of dust high in the air gave the promise of an oncoming storm. She took one look at the city of Ascension's Landing before giving the order to march, Adamantem's eye for detail and skill at fortification never ceased to amaze.

Sunset stood atop the parapets in full exoskeletal armor watching the massive column march off as the pegasi marines too to the air. Descending the stairs, the sound of some soldiers shouting caught her attention and a young filly on the cusp of marehood ran past her with two soldiers in hot pursuit. She raised a hoof to stop the soldiers, "I'll handle her." Walking up to the parapet, she stopped by the filly who was watching the last of the column march away and took off her helmet. "Dewdrop, you you're supposed to be with the other foals. If Twilight finds out, she'll be upset and you might be in trouble."

"I don't care.", Dewdrop said, "I'm mad at her. She didn't even say goodbye."

"That's because she'll be back. She's just going to deal with some bad creatures.", Sunset said gently, laying an armored hoof on the wither of the filly. "Let's watch them march off and then I'll take you back to the shelter. This will just be our secret, okay?"

Dewdrop nodded without looking away.

After the last of the pony marines marched off into the distance, Sunset picked up Dewdrop with her magic and placed the filly on her armored back. Entering the shelter, she dropped Dewdrop off at her bunk and noticed a piece of metal with some cloth wrapped around one end sticking out from under the mattress. "What's this?", she asked levitating the crude shiv out and inspecting it.

Dewdrop cast her eyes downward and gave a sheepish chuckle.

"This won't do!", Sunset said tossing the shiv into a nearby scrap metal reclamation bin.

Dewdrop's heart sank seeing the shiv sail into the bin. She just knew she was in big trouble.

Sunset placed her hoof under Dewdrop's chin. "I know you want to defend yourself and all these other good ponies, but you need a proper weapon to do so." She levitated a dagger from a hidden compartment in her armor and gently placed it on the bunk next to the filly. "I'll want it back after Twilight returns with the legions. Don't worry, I'll help you get your own."

Dewdrop blinked in amazement and Sunset placed the sheath in the filly's hooves. "Lash the sheath to one of your legs and keep the dagger in it until you need it.", the unicorn mare said before leaving.

As the sun slowly rose overhead, Twilight, the Nebula guard and the ten legions came to a stop on the top of a small rise overlooking the camps of the loose assortment of gangs.

"No discipline.", Pomum Ligni said.

Twilight tapped the comms device on her armor. "Papilionem, send one of your troops to send the order for them to disperse and go back to where they come from or we will use force."

A pegasus marine flew to the largest camp to deliver the message. Soon a scuffle broke out and the pegasus marine cut down several gangers with its hooves before taking to the air.

"I think they said no.", Vent Rapide said over the comms device.

Twilight tapped her comms device, "Keep the channel clear. No idle chatter. Forward and hold your fire until you're in point-blank range. I want as many of those motherless curs cut down as possible." With a nod she ordered the Nebula guard to spread out and she lifted her hammer in her magic.

Igniting the power fields on their wing blades, the pegasi marines took to the air as the rest of the pony marines charged forward. As they closed ranks on the camp, Twilight loosed a blast of magic, turning several of the creatures into pink mist. A split second later the air filled with mass reaction rounds, steel-jacketed bullets, explosive shells and blasts of energy, cutting down scores of the slavers. The few that survived tried to flee, only to be cut down by the wing blades of the pegasi marines. The skirmish was over in a few minutes as the pony marines crushed the slavers who were injured or trying to surrender under their hooves.

Raising a hoof, Twilight silently called for the pony marines to cease forward movement and reform ranks. The column began marching towards several columns of smoke coming from the top of the ridge, indicating several camps.

Sunset walked through the streets of Ascension's Landing inspecting the defenses and ordering groups of defenders into different positions to set up better fields of fire. The sensors on her armor picked up a filly shimmying up a drain pipe, the sensors quickly identified the filly as Dewdrop. She shook her head chuckling softly. The comms unit in her helmet chirped to life with an incoming message.

"We've got what looks like slavers and mutants moving in from the west.", an officer shouted over the open broadcast.

Sunset scowled as she flicked her eyes bringing up map of the city on the HUD with red pings showing the last reported positions of the advancing gangers. With a flick of an eye, she opened up a channel to air command, "How long until the airships are position for support?"

"The first ones will be in position in fifteen seconds, Grand Maestro.", air command responded.

Sunset flicked her eyes adding the airships and pony army to the HUD map. She opened a channel to the war machines division, "How long until the first of the striders are awakened?"

"At least thirty minutes Grand Maestro.", a robotic voice responded.

Sunset cursed under breath. She cleared her throat and sent an order, "Awaken them as soon as you can. Put triple ammunition for their close defense systems, the enemy will be too close to the city for their main weapons."

"Understood.", a robotic voice chirped back.

Sunset quickly ascended one of the battlements and began surveying the area around the city. The sensors on her armor combined with feed from aerial reconnaissance showed the combined force was an estimated thirty thousand strong, but lacked any real overall unit cohesion. She quickly flicked her eyes across the HUD bringing up information on their weapons, outside of having primarily crude melee weapons, they only had a smattering of ranged weapons, consisting mostly of slings and javelins, though there was a small collection of muskets and crossbows.

Sunset scowled inside her helmet as she looked over the intel. With a flick of her eyes, she opened a channel to the commanders of the pegasi marines, "Choose five of your numbers and go alert Princess Twilight of our situation. It appears the main force has arrived and is arrayed against the city." Two quick clicks of confirmation was all Sunset received through her comms units. The sensors on her armor picked up seconds later ten pegasi marines flying off at speed.

Sunset turned her attention upwards as the first of the airships were pulling into position above the city. She quickly flicked her eyes across the HUD pulling up squardons of pegasi soldiers and marines taking to the air from the ground and the airships. She quickly opened a to air command, "Inform the airships and pegasi that they can commence their attack when ready."

"I hear and obey, Grand Maestro.", air command replied.
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In the air above what was once called the Everfree Forest, now called the Cursed Forest, a massive magical storm was brewing as crackling green arcs of lightning ran along the bottoms and sides of the clouds. The storm made a strange groaning sound as hot wind blew. An errant bolt of green lightning streaked towards a ruined castle, only to be deflected by a golden dome.

As the storm began to boil and swirl, a bright flash of multicolored light caused the clouds to dissipate almost instantly. Six dancing lights rose from the nearby canyon and flew towards the ruined castle.

Inside the crumbling throne room Flurry Heart raised an eyebrow quizzically that the storm fueled by wild magic suddenly dissipated. Philomena gave several concerned chirps.

"I know.", Flurry said, "Normally a storm like that that doesn't dissipate for days."

Philomena gave a series of squawks.

Flurry went to reply, only to be distracted by by six flashes of light. Quickly turning, her jaw dropped six familiar mare standing before her. The first was a young alicorn made of magenta light, the second was a unicorn made of purple light, the third was a pegasus made of red light, the fourth was an earth pony made of orange light, the fifth was a pegasus made of pink light and the sixth was an earth pony made of blue light.

Flurry Heart blinked her eyes several times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. "Auntie Twily?!", she said in a stunned tone.

"No.", the six mares said in one voice, "I am the tree of harmony and it is time I awaken."

"I know Auntie Twily is coming to bring harmony and order back to Equestria, are you going to bring the elements to her?", Flurry asked.

"No.", the six mare said as one. Five of the mares faded away leaving only the pegasus made entirely of red light.

The pegasus made of red light walked forward as it's form shifted to a pegasus stallion wearing armor. "I once embodied bravery." It's form shifted to a familiar pegasus mare. "Then I embodied loyalty." Its form shifted to a ball of swirling red light. "Now I represent self-sacrifice and I depart to find my bearer."

Flurry watched as the swirling ball of red light became a glowing red gem and flew off through a hole in the roof.

In the village of Apple Orchard several ponies who were working in the fields harvesting vegetables or apples stopped their work, gawking as a streak of red light flew high into the air from the Cursed Forest and sailed off to the southwest.

Lore-keeper Apple Pie leapt into the air with a whoop. "The first champion returns!", she shouted ecstatically, "The goddesses will return and walk amongst us soon!" She sprinted to the shrine depicting five stylized alicons in the center of the village, knelt before it and began whispering a prayer of thanks.
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As the gangs of slavers and mutants began rushing towards Ascension's Landing, the massive guns on the airship began roaring to life. Shells landed among the knots of gangers, filling the air with shrapnel and broken bodies. Pegasi soldiers hurled bombs and dropped explosive satchels, further breaking up formations. Pegasi marines swooped down, picking off leaders or cutting apart the larger of the mutants with their wing blades.

Sunset looked over the battle as the first wave seemed to completely falter and crumble, leaving only a few stragglers for the soldiers to pick off with their rifles. As she scanned across the battlefield strewn with broken bodies of gangers, her attention was drawn to several large forms coming over the top of a rise.

Teams of hulking mutants shoved forward frames made of bone on crude wheels, holding massive gongs, bells or altars, covered with dark magic runes. Standing on each frame were ponies, goats and griffons, wearing ornaments made from skulls and bones, wielding obsidian blades in their hooves or talons. Swarming around the frames were hundreds of creatures wearing dark robes. More gangs of mutants shoved forward cages filled with terrified creatures.

The hulking mutants grabbed creatures from the cages and tossed them upon the altars. The robed creatures held the terrified creatures down on the altars, as the creatures wearing bones raised the obsidian blades up high and plunged them into stomachs of the terrified creatures, causing blood to flow over the altars. Perverse chanting filled the air as the gongs and bells were struck. Crackling arcs of black of energy leapt across the battlefield, causing the dead bodies laying strewn about to twitch and spasm. With moans and snarls, the bodies of the dead gangers rose and began marching forwards.

"Bring them down!", Sunset shouted into her comms unit, "Bring up plasma casters, heat beams and flame throwers! Tech monks! Bring up teams of rail weapon snipers and volley guns! Marines! Bring down those structures! Airships! Switch to phosphorus shells!" She quickly switched the channel to the tech monks awakening the walkers, "I need those war walkers awake asap!"

"We are working as fast as we can Grand Maestro.", a tech monk replied, "If we awaken them too fast, it could anger their divine sparks and they could rampage."

"I don't care!", Sunset shouted back, "I need the first walkers awake now! If any of them rampage, I'll take full responsibility! We aren't dealing with regular gangs here! They can reanimate the dead! I need what ever ones you can awaken first to have their incineration and bombardment cannons brought to full charge!"

Twilight slammed her hammer into the skull of a mutant, turning it into mush and brought a hoof down across the neck of an injured mutant trying to crawl away. Her comms unit crackled to life as the ten pegasi marines that were dispatched from the city flew into range, shouting the warning of a massive force attacking the city. She hissed in anger through clenched teeth. Twilight quickly turned her head sensing dark magic. She cursed under her breath before opening a general channel, "Vent Rapide, Papilionem! Take your legions and hurry back to Ascension's Landing. Aster, Divinos! Form your legions into a vanguard make for the city at haste. Pomum Ligni, Mica! Your legions will form a rear guard. We make for Ascension's Landing posthaste!"

Twilight watched as the two legions of pegasi marines took to the air and flew at speed back to Ascension's Landing. As the remaining legions began forming up, she summoned the Nebula Guard with a gesture. "I'm teleporting you all to the city. Bolster their defenses and throw back the attackers." All thirty Nebula Guard bowed their head in silent confirmation. Lighting the magic in her horn, Twilight teleported the Nebula Guard.

As the first of the undead gangers reached the base of the wall and began scaling it, the first of the soldiers with flame throwers reached the battlements. With loud hissing whooshes, cones of flames hot enough to melt steel rushed forth, turning scores of the undead gangers scaling the walls into ash and blackening the ground. Soon forces with plasma casters and heat beams made their way to the battlements. The very air began to shimmer with heat as cones of flames, narrow beams of heat and solid balls of plasma went forth. The air shook as the airships began firing, the shells exploding above the ground, showing the undead horde in white flames, still they shambled forward without regard for their loses or damage to their bodies.

As an undead ganger scaled over the top of the battlement, Sunset leveled her plasma caster at it, vaporizing the top half of the formerly living creature. Using an armored hoof, she knock the still twitching bottom half from the wall and took a moment to survey the situation. Though the heat-based weaponry was reducing the numbers of the undead, there were spots where the formerly living creatures had managed to scale the wall, forcing the earth pony soldiers to fight them off in hoof-to-hoof combat and the unicorn soldiers to cast offensive spells. She took a moment to look out across the battlefield and her breath caught in her throat for a split second as hundreds of dark-robed creatures began charging headlong at the city.

From the highest points in the city, rockets from volley guns and streaks of silver from the rail weapons launched into the charging horde, accompanied from shell raining white fire from the airships. The robed creatures charged forward screaming unintelligible curses unabated, as white flames, silver streaks of supersonic metal and rockets slammed into their ranks, they seemed to take no notice as their ranks were turned to chunks or ash. Pegasi marines swooped down on the structures and the hulking mutants took no heed as they continued to trike the bells and gongs or place sacrifices on the altars. The hulking mutants only stopped what they were doing when the pegasi marines began attacking the structures or the creatures wearing bones, to fight them off. From above pegasi soldiers hurled bombs or snapped off shots of plasma into the charging masses of robbed creatures.

Sunset gritted her teeth in determination when she saw the bodies of the creatures not incinerated or turned to chunks stand back up with crackles of dark magic. She braced herself as the first waves of robed creatures reached the base of the wall.

The robed creatures hurled grappling hooks with long ropes attached to the top of the battlements and began scaling. Cones of flames, beams of heat and balls of plasma ripped through the robed creatures, but they climbed on screaming curses. The pegasi marines were driven back by the hulking mutants who seemed to take no heed of the injuries and losses they had accrued. The pegasi marines took to the air to launch a series of swooping charges at the structures, the hulking mutants paused to take swats at them with deformed limbs as they began to slowly push the structures forward.

Sunset paused for a split second as the first of the robed creatures climbed over the top of the battlement, their features were grotesque from being horribly mutated or disfigured with ritual scars or appeared to be multiple creatures fused into one. She fired her plasma caster, turning the top half of the nearest robed abomination into a smoldering stump and shoved another one from the top of the battlement with her armored hooves into its waiting comrades below. A magenta flash caused her to leap with a start. Looking over she saw the thirty magenta-armored Nebula Guard.

The Nebula Guard rushed forward in silence, hacking the robed abominations to pieces with their silver halberds. Many flipped their halberds around and fired beams of energy from the spikes at the top, sending cascading flames leaping leaping from robed abomination to robed abomination, turning their bodies into blackened skeletons. Once the top of the battlements were cleared, the Nebula Guard leapt from the top of the wall silently, their armor loudly thumping on the ground as they landed. All thirty of the magenta-armored transequine warriors spread out through the ranks of the abominations effortlessly cutting them down, each one fighting as a company.

Sunset stared on, no matter how many times she had seen the Nebula Guard fight, it still awed her. She turned her attention towards the structures being slowly pushed towards the city walls, though some of them had been destroyed by the pegasi marines, most were still intact.

As the first of the structures neared the wall, lances of dark magic were unleashed by the bone-clad creatures, blasting gaps through it.

Sunset tumbled to the ground amid a shower of rubble. The impact gel and compensation mechanisms in her exoskeleton kicked in immediately, protecting her from serious injury. As warnings flashed across the HUD in her helmet, she rose to her hooves, the plasma caster in the shoulder socket and most of the sensors were damaged. Around her were the dead and injured forms of the soldiers that were standing at the top of the wall with her.

As the hulking mutants leapt off the structure and began walking forward in an unnatural stride, Sunset disengaged the safeties form her plasma caster with an eye flick and fired a super-charged blast. The mutant's flesh exploded into blue-white flames as the ball of plasma impacted its chest. An alarm screeched in Sunset's helmet alerting her that the overloaded weapon was about to detonate. With flick of her eyes, Sunset tried to engage the ejection mechanism, only to find it had malfunctioned. Reaching up with a hoof, she snapped off the overheated plasma caster and hurled it at the bone structure. The plasma caster exploded in a white-hot flash, instantly incinerating the bone-clad creature on it and turning the massive gong to slag.

Several crackles of dark magic reanimated the bodies of the dead soldiers, forcing Sunset to engage in hoof-to-hoof combat to protect the nearby injured soldiers. Six hulking mutants charged through the gap in the wall, snatching up the nearby wounded soldiers, one swung a massive club downwards into Sunset. The servos on her armor whined in protest as the impact gel and compensation mechanisms kicked in, her face mask cracked under the weight of the blow. The mutant rake a clawed paw across Sunset's face mask, ripping it away and then snatched her up. Sunset lit the magic in her horn and cast a fire bolt into the face of the mutant. The mutant howled in pain as the flesh of its face caught fire, as it staggered away, it dropped Sunset.

Landing on her hooves, Sunset went to scramble away from the fight, only to have another mutant snatch her up immediately. She bucked out with armored hooves trying in vain to break free. A supersonic silver streak screamed past her head from the top of a spire and slammed into the neck of the mutant, sending its head sailing through the air in a pink mist of gore.

A lance of dark magic slammed into the top of the spire, sending a shower of dust and rubble through the air, silencing the sniper. Sunset scrambled to her hooves to scramble away, only for another mutant to grab her. A stallion wearing a goat's skull on it's head and carrying an obsidian blade in its hoof walked through the gap in the wall. It paused at one of the wounded soldiers and held the obsidian blade to the soldier's neck saying, "May your blood serve as a beacon, may your flesh serve as a bridge, may your death summon him back to this world." With a cruel flick, the stallion cut the soldier's throat. He stopped at each soldier, repeating the mantra, cutting their throats one by one.

The stallion stopped in front of Sunset, who glared back defiantly. She lit the magic in her horn and prepared to cast an immolation spell, only to find that her spell fizzled when obsidian blade crackled with dark magic. The stallion cackled cruelly, "You have a brave heart. It will do well to summon my god. Crack this one's shell." Sunset winced as the mutant holding her slammed her into the ground hard, the claws on its paw dug deep into her armor and ripped it away.

Sunset glared defiantly up at the stallion wielding the obsidian blade and spat in his face. As the stallion raised the obsidian blade, Sunset noticed a shadow descending on him from above.

Dewdrop saw a mutant pinning Sunset on her back and a stallion standing over her with a raised obsidian blade. She faltered for a moment, saying to herself, "This is crazy!" Drawing the dagger from its sheath on her leg, she leapt from on top of the wall onto the back of the stallion and plunged the dagger into his eye.

Rearing up, the stallion bellowed in pain and shook the filly from his back. Knocking the dagger from his eye socket, he glared at Dewdrop and pinned her on her back with a hoof. Leaning close to the filly as blood dripped from his ruined eye, he said, "You have a stout heart young one. Maybe yours will summon my god." Leveling the obsidian blade at her chest and preparing to make a cruel incision, he began reciting the mantra, "May your blood serve as a beacon, may your flesh-AUGH!"

A red light exploded from Dewdrop, causing the stallion to scream in pain as his flesh was blasted into smoldering chunks. The nearby mutants writhed on the ground as the flesh boiled and their eyes burned in their sockets. Dewdrop levitated off the ground, her eyes glowing with power, a necklace with a red lightning bolt gem appeared around her neck bathing the area in purifying light.

Sunset wriggled free from the ruined armor and shielded her eyes as the red light coming from Dewdrop began burning away the flesh of the mutants and undead around her. Once the light began to dim, Sunset stared stunned at the necklace with the red lightning bolt gem around the levitating filly's neck. As the stopped in Dewdrop's eyes, they rolled up in her eyes as she lost consciousness and began to fall out of the air. Sunset galloped forward as fast as she could and grabbed the unconscious filly out of the air.

Twisting in the air, Sunset landed hard on her back, the impact driving the air from her body as she cradled the unconscious form of Dewdrop. Looking up to the sky, she gave a sigh of relief as the two legions of pegasi filled the air and began taking the fight to the attackers.

Twilight ran fast and hard with the eight legions of pony marines on her heels. As the city began to come over the horizon, Twilight saw a streak of red light head towards the city. Opening a channel on her comms device, she shouted, "I'm going ahead to the city! Catch up as soon as you are able!" In a flash of magenta light, she teleported to the city. Appearing in the city, Twilight quickly looked around and saw two hulking mutants holding a soldier between them as a goat wearing bones was raising an obsidian blade in its hoof. Without hesitation, she unleashed a blast of magic, turning one mutant to ash and leapt in the air, bringing her hammer down on the other. The goat attempted to flee the wrath of the alicorn, only to find itself grabbed in a magenta aura and be brought face to face with her.

The goat steeled itself, trying to push the the fear from its mind. "You have failed ancient one!", it taunted, "We will summon our god!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "How about I send you to him?", she said through gritted teeth. Before the goat could respond, she hurled it high into the sky with her magic until it vanished. Running through the streets, she began smashing undead, mutants and cultists with her hammer, while rallying forces for a renewed push. The ground began to rumble and Twilight looked up seeing a solitary war machine towering over the city, its close defense weaponry laying down blistering fields of fire.

Over the top of a hill came a new wave of cultists and mutants pushing bone constructs. The solitary war machine turned and leveled its main weapons. With a deep thrum, twin beams of white-hot energy slammed into the top of the hill, instantly melting it into magma as the air above the hill became white fire, consuming and obliterating the new wave. A lance of dark magic fired from the battlefield and pierced the shield of the war machine. As the dark magic dissipated across its chassis harmlessly, the war machine gave a mechanical roar of rage and leveled one of its main guns at the battlefield, firing. The field outside the city erupted in a massive white fireball as the ground turned to glass. The cultists seeing that the battle had completely turned against them, sent the undead forward in a rush as they attempted to retreat under the cover of the chaos. The enraged war machine catching sight of the fleeing cultists, took off after them in full stride, firing its weapons wildly.

As the last of the fleeing cultists and mutants were slain by the rampaging war machine, Twilight too to the air to calm the machine. She teleported into the command module, where the tech monks and princepts were trying to calm the angered spark. "It's okay. It's okay.", Twilight spoke directly to the spark, "You did good. The bad creatures are gone." She began softly humming a tune and the war machine came to a stop, powering down as the spark went to sleep. Teleporting to the city, Twilight quickly found Sunset. "Who's responsible for waking a war machine too quickly?!", she shouted, "We all know they can be temperamental! I'll have the robes of whoever's responsible!"

"I ordered one of the walkers to be awakened quickly!", Sunset snapped back.

Twilight was taken aback as Sunset continued, "When I saw that the gangers could reanimate the dead, I had to make a snap decision. You can have my armor or what's left of it after I get Dewdrop to a medic, until then you can kiss my ponut!"

Twilight paused, it had been a long time since Sunset had talked to her like that, in fact it had been back when they first faced off all those centuries ago on the other side of the mirror portal. "I'm sorry.", Twilight said kicking some rocks with her hoof, "I shouldn't have shouted like that. Sometimes I forget what it's like being mortal."

Sunset let out a sigh, blowing out the anger in her body. "Look, it's okay. You were off leading the legions against what you thought was a main force of gangers, only to find out that the main push was coming from another direction. We all make mistakes."

Twilight paused feeling humbled. Her eyebrow quirked seeing the necklace with rd gem around Dewdrops neck. "Is that an element of harmony?"

Several hours later Dewdrop woke up in a soft bed, the sounds of the battle long gone. Sitting up, she looked around, seeing a medic sitting in a nearby chair.

"Ah, it's good to see you awake. The princess will be glad to see you up.", the medic said in a pleasant tone, slowly rising to her feet, "The princess wanted me to take you to her after you woke up and don't worry, you still that pretty necklace on."

Dewdrop blinked in confusion. "What are you..." Her words were cut off as she felt the necklace with a hoof.

Dewdrop stood outside the room where Twilight and Sunset were talking, she strained her ears listening.

"They were Grogar worshipers.", Twilight said, "They think they can summon him back from the void beyond the stars with blood sacrifices. Fortunately they didn't have the bewitching bell or things would have...I think we have an eavesdropper." Twilight's tone became much more pleasant, "Come in Dewdrop."

Dewdrop entered the room blushing. "Sorry.", she said, casting her eyes downward, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Twilight smiled gently. "It's okay Dewdrop. From what I understand you risked your life saving Sunset and one of the elements of harmony chose you."

Dewdrop blushed as she touched the element around her neck. "You know what this is?"

"Considering I used to be an element bearer myself a long time ago. The tree of harmony chose you to be one of the its element bearers."

"Did you bear this element?", Dewdrop asked.

"No, I bore the element of magic.", Twilight said smiling, "A very good friend of mine named Rainbow Dash bore that element. A thousand years ago it was called the element of loyalty."

"Rainbow Dash?", Dewdrop asked.

"Yes.", Twilight said smiling, "She was the greatest flyer anypony had ever seen. She could fly so fast that she could create a sonic rainboom."

"Sonic rainboom?", Dewdrop asked, "Was your friend related to the hero of the five goddesses called Rainboom who could paint the skies?"

Twilight rubbed her chin. "Well I've been gone for a thousand years to raise enough forces take back and purify Equestria, maybe just like in my time with the stories of Nightmare Moon and Tirek, the princesses and the element bearers have become something of legend." Her expression turned dour as she recalled the day plagues poured down from the mountains and magic went wild, blighting the land and killing many. Memories ran through her mind as she remembered each of her friends dying while trying to save as many ponies as they could. Tears flecked her eyes for a moment before she gathered herself.

A sudden realization came over Dewdrop and she prostrated herself before twilight, pressing her hooves together in religious reverence. "Forgive me goddess! I thought you were just a normal pony."

Twilight rested a hoof gently on Dewdrop. "I'm no goddess to bow and scrape before. I'm a pony just like you." Twilight helped Dewdrop back to her hooves and tapped the gem with her hoof. Her eyes went wide as twin images of Flash Magnus and Rainbow Dash manifested in red magical light. "Element, what do you call yourself?"

The twin images of Flash Magnus and Rainbow Dash spoke as one, "I used to be the element of bravery, then I was the element of loyalty, now I am the element of self-sacrifice." The twin imaged faded.

Twilight walked over to a window that was facing north and worked her jaw in thought.

"I know that look.", Sunset said, "What are you planning?"

Twilight turned back to face Sunset and Dewdrop. "The tree of harmony stirs once again and has chosen its first bearer. We finish prosecuting our war here against the remaining sphinxes and then we find the safest route back to Equestria so the other five bearers can be found."

Author's Note

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy.

The tree of harmony awakens, the elements stir and the first bearer is chosen.

I will try and take any comments and criticisms as constructive.

The purging of the Sphinx Kingdom-the slaying of Apep

Twilight sat in her private quarters on the command airship as it flew over the desert towards the next city. She split her attention between the intelligence reports gathered the pilgrims and refugees about the four remaining sphinxes, equipment reports on how many of the new self-loading rifles had been made and Dewdrop's reading lessons, it had appalled her at the illiteracy rate of the ponies of this land, of course most of them had been born into chattel slavery or sex slavery and it made sense on some level to keep the lowest tiers of society ignorant, but it still filled her with disgust that some had ignorance forced upon them. She let out a frustrated sigh, lest her anger boil over and turned her attention to a nearby writing desk where she was writing up from memory kindergarten-level reading and mathematics books.

Brushing off what she had written with a hoof, Twilight looked the completed books over. It felt wrong on some level, Dewdrop was what, about twelve years old, she couldn't read outside of few small words and could only do the most basic counting. Twilight paused thinking back to when she was a filly, by the time she was three she could read, do mathematical equations and comprehend scientific principals that other ponies years older than her were still struggling with, she even had a competent mastery of basic telekinesis, she had even at the age of four, she was the youngest unicorn be accepted into Celestia's academy, even becoming the princess' own personal student. But it was unfair to compare her foalhood to others, she was fortunate enough to be born in Canterlot during Equestria's golden age, she was also fortunate enough to be born to be born to minor nobility, landless nobility, but it was nobility none-the-less and through her families stipend it had afforded her access to materials other ponies didn't have, such as the best reading materials, private tutors, she even had a young princess as her foalsitter.

As Twilight began working on the binding for the books for Dewdrop, she twitched an ear hearing Sunset and Dewdrop walking up the corridor talking. Straining her ear, she listened in on the conversation.

"That's right Dewdrop.", Sunset said, "I wasn't always the good pony you see today. I was a bad pony. The first time I met Princess Twilight was many, many years ago in a place called the Crystal Empire where her Sister-in-law, Princess Cadance and her older brother Prince Shining Armor ruled. I had snuck back into Equestria through the mirror portal and had stolen her crown which contained the element of magic."

"Whoa!", Dewdrop gasped, "What happened?"

Twilight chuckled as she reached out with her magic and opened the door to greet the two. "I'll tell you what happened.", she said as Dewdrop practically jumped out of her fur, "I chased Sunset through the portal that led to a world inhabited entirely by intelligent, ape descended creatures called humans. To make a long story short, I made some new friends who were the human equivalent of my pony friends. I managed to take my crown back. Sunset and I did battle where she tore the crown from my head and put it on, transforming into a demon."

Dewdrop gasped as she stared wide-eyed in astonishment. "Then what happened?"

Sunset chuckled dryly. "It wasn't the proudest time of my life. Twilight and her five new friends tapped into Equestrian magic and they blasted me with the magic, purifying the evil from my body. As I lay in the crater crying over the harm I had done, Twilight reached out to me with her hand and forgave me."

Dewdrop screwed up her face in confusion. "Hands? Like on a minotaur?"

Twilight grinned. "Yes, humans have hands, similar to minotaurs. They also don't have fur, having only hair on their heads and a couple of other places. But that will have to be a story for another time. Look what I made for you." She levitated the books over to Dewdrop. "I'm going to teach you how to read and do math."

Dew drop stared at the books, her eyes becoming dewy. "I'm going to learn to read? Like a noble?"

Yes, Dewdrop.", Twilight said, "Every pony and creature should know how to-oh!" Her words were cut off as Dewdrop ran up and hugged her with happy sobs. Reaching out with a hoof and stroked the filly's back.

A few hours later Dewdrop was sitting at a desk reading out loud as Twilight sat next to her. "Th-th-the b-bi-big d-d-do-dog r-r-ra-ran a-a-af-aft-after th-the b-b-br-bri-briguhut r-r-re-red b-b-ba-ba-ball. The big dog ran after the briguhut red ball."

"Close...", Twilight said in an encouraging tone, "...let's try that again."

Dewdrop laid her head down on the desk and groaned loudly, "Ugh! I'm never gonna to get it right. My head is too stupid for this."

Twilight lifted Dewdrop's chin with a hoof and said gently, "Don't say things like that. You're not stupid. You just made a mistake. If we didn't make mistakes, we would never learn. Now let's try again and remember told you about sounding out your words and the basic rules of reading."

Dewdrop nodded and started reading out loud again, "The big dog ran after the bri-brgu...GAH!"

"Come on, you're doing good.", Twilight encouraged.

"Bri-brigu-bright!"

Twilight beamed at Dewdrop.

"The big dog ran after the bright red ball." Dewdrop began bouncing happily in her seat. "The big dog ran after the bright red ball!" She began skipping around Twilight's quarters. "Yesyesyesyes! I did it! The big dog ran after the bright red ball! What color was the ball? It was bright red! What size was the dog? It was big! Woo-hoo!"

Twilight chuckled at the filly skipping happily around her quarters after reading her first sentence on her own. She remembered Celestia doing the same when she would skip and prance around after learning something on her own. "Before you know it you'll be reading Shakespony and Neightzsche."

Dewdrop stopped skipping and raised an eyebrow. "Who are they?"

"Some famous writers from before I was born. Now let's continue with the lesson."

Dewdrop groaned as she sat back down.

The sun was dipping below the horizon as Twilight laid the sleeping Dewdrop down in her room, the filly was still clutching the reading book. "The big dog ran after the bright red ball. Pretty pink and purple ponies prance proudly. The silly snake slithers sneakily through the spout. The colt threw the shiny ball.", Dewdrop muttered in her sleep.

Twilight grinned proudly at her newest student as she tucked her in and gently stroked her hoof across her mane. Walking up on the deck, she faced north, closed her eyes and thought, "If you could only see such a desire for learning Dewdrop has princess."

As the sun rose above the horizon, Twilight sat in her personal quarters with Dewdrop eating breakfast.

"Sho what are ve goppa lewn chooday?", Dewdrop asked with a mouthful of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full Dewy.", Twilight scolded gently, "But to answer your question, I'm not going to be physically around to teach you until later, so I will have a teacher assigned to you."

Dewdrop looked up at Twilight with big, sad puppy dog eyes, she let her lip quiver. "But how will I learn without you there?" She pressed the look again.

Twilight was forced to turn her head to avoid those puppy dog eyes. "Just like the CMCs.", she thought to herself. "Look Dewdrop, you will do fine. Just listen to what Miss Print says and show her the same respect as you would me in regard to your lessons."

"Okay.", Dewdrop said dejectedly as she turned back to her plate.

As Twilight finished eating, there was a soft tap at the door. "Come in.", she said pleasant tone.

The door opened revealing a yellow coated pegasus mare, her sea foam green mane was pulled back in a tight bun and her cutie mark was a book and quill.

"Ah, Miss Print, come in please.", Twilight said in a bright tone. "Have you finished eating Dewdrop?" When the filly nodded, she gathered up the plates and placed them in a nearby dumb waiter. "Alright Dewdrop, I'll be back later today and remember..."

"Treat Miss Print with the same respect when it comes to my lessons.", Dewdrop interrupted.

Twilight gathered up several files and walked out into the corridor. "She acts just like she's my daughter.", Twilight said to herself before pausing, "Was I the same way with Princess Celestia? Probably. Definitely." She chuckled to herself as she made her way to the meeting room.

Twilight walked up to the table in the meeting room where Sunset, the ten ponemarchs and several generals stood waiting as they looked over data slates and maps. "Sorry I'm late."

"Actually you're right on time.", Sunset said.

Looking at the clock, Twilight wanted to argue that she was two minutes late, but decided to drop it. "What reports do you all have?"

The discussion of intelligence reports, troop readiness reports, weather predictions, reports on all known movements of the gangs and cults were openly discussed. As the hours ticked on, the discussions became debates and heated arguments.

"Enough!", Twilight snapped as she pressed a hoof to her head where she was developing a migraine, "I understand your concerns. It is concerning that the sphinxes used the gangs of slavers and mutants along with these Grogar cults to try and test our resolve. Now they know what we are willing to do not only to protect our gains, but also defend the civilians. We are three days out from Ascension's Landing and are pressing for the next stronghold of the sphinxes. Even with our engines at full it will be another three days before we reach our first destination, but we have to maintain a speed that the mobile forges, medical facilities and war strider bays can keep up, otherwise we leave them vulnerable to attack from the gangs and cults. Which means we add another three days minimum to our transit times.", she paused sighing, "Before any of you raise you voices again about keeping the soldiers and marines on the airships, we don't have any other available space to house them as we haven't had time to build any mobile barracks." She looked around the room. "Are there any more questions and statements?"

"I still think it s a mistake to give that war walker a name and rewarding it with a plaque,", General Whippoorwill spoke up, "It will only sow distrust among the other striders."

Sunset spoke up, "None of the tech monks or princepts have told me otherwise, general. The spark of the striders are more than just thaumato-tech, they are also made of the combined consciences of their previous princepts, they are fully conscious beings in their own rights and you will refer to Ascension's Salvation properly lest you anger it and its siblings. As they earn their own names, they shall be referred by it." She gave a harsh glare to General Whippoorwill, just as the ponemarchs viewed her and Twilight as their mothers, the war striders also viewed them both as their mothers.

"Alright everypony, calm down.", Papilionnem said in an annoyed tone, "General Whipoorwill, my nine siblings and I have served as military commanders longer than you've been alive. The war striders have marched forth more times against our enemies than you've had hot breakfasts. If your tone implies that you'll lose faith in the war striders because they earn a reward for their valiant service, does that you mean that you'll lose faith in my sons and daughters when they get rewarded for their valiant efforts because it might cause some of them to get jealous?" The ponemarch slammed a hoof down on the deck plating, leaving a dent.

Every pony in the room shrunk back. It was rare for Papilionem to get angry, but when the ponemarch did, you had best give the transequine warrior ample room.

Twilight cleared her throat. "I think we can adjourn for now." As the ponies in the room began to depart, Twilight spoke up one last time, "General Whippoorwill, you had best watch you tone in the future, I would hate to put such a talented general on reprimand." She turned and left the room before he could respond.

Over the next few days she split her time between teaching Dewdrop and planning the next attack. One evening she was in the kitchen for the main mess hall with her young student washing stacks of dishes with their hooves.

"Ugh!", Dewdrop groaned, "Why do we have to wash dishes?! Aren't you princess and goddess? You could make anypony do this for you?"

Twilight booped Dewdrops snout with a sudsy hoof. "I insist on doing menial chores because just like you, I'm just a pony. Yes I am an alicorn and am far more powerful than anypony, but we all must do our fair share of the work here, lest we become complacent. Remember, there might be a time when there aren't another pony around to do things for us and if we don't know how to do things for ourselves we'd be in serious trouble. Now if you keep complaining, we'll spend the whole day peeling potatoes, cooking, serving food to the other ponies and cleaning the kitchen." As she turned back to washing the dishes, a thought drifted through her mind, "If you could you hear me now Princess Celestia, would you laugh that I'm practically repeating your lessons word for word?"

Dewdrop grumbled softly as she rinsed off and stacked the clean dishes, while Twilight softly chuckled.

Twilight stood on the bow of the airship as a massive gleaming city made of polished, dark marble slowly rose above the horizon. The ten ponemarchs stood in resolute silence, looking over the city as they made strategies and counter strategies. Sunset stood quietly relaying orders through her comms unit or talking with the gathered generals. Dewdrop stood between her legs, an armored cape draped across her back.

Twilight closed her eyes and extended her wings, feeling the wind blow across them. Opening her eyes, she placed a hoof to her chest, took in a deep breath and let it out, extending the hoof.

"Why do you do that?", Dewdrop asked.

Twilight looked at the filly and smiled. "You'll find that as you spend more time with me and the other princesses, that we aren't the perfect being most ponies make us out to be. We actually have many anxieties, phobias and insecurities."

"Some more than others.", Sunset snarked with a snicker.

Twilight shot Sunset a quick glare before continuing, "I actually have a lot of anxiety issues and phobias. When I close my eyes and extend my wings to feel the wind blow over them, it helps to calm me. When I do my breathing exercise, it helps to settle my mind."

Dewdrop stared in amazement. Her mind tried to wrap around that a goddess could have problems like a mortal.

"When we commence our attack, I want you to stay in your quarters."
********************************************************************************************************

On a hill overlooking the city and the advancing pony force stood a withered four-legged creature wearing a dark cloak. A hand rubbed its chin under the hood. "So Princess Twilight, you return leading a great host and the sphinxes underestimate you. I hope you are ready to meet an old friend.", the creature said to itself before turning and walking off.
********************************************************************************************************

As the airships prepared to land, spindly lines of silver lightning crackled across the horizon to the north announcing the coming of a coming sand storm. Twilight watched as the lightning dissipated and the first tan clouds of dust flew high in the air and frowned. She opened a channel to air command, "As soon as the troops are disembarked, gain as much altitude as you can to get over the oncoming storm.", she switched the channel to war strider command, "Prepare to awaken the walkers, they're going to have to provide us with close fire support." She closed the channel. "Dewdrop, get below, there is a storm coming."

"But..."

Twilight pointed a hoof, "No back sass, young mare!" After the filly stomped below decks, Twilight exclaimed, "I'm becoming my mother!"

Sunset just snickered.

Apep stood with with his forces hidden in the city as he weaved dark magic to hurry the storm along.

A griffon hurried up to him and bowed, "My god-king, may you live forever! I am here to inform you that the last of the oil casks have been set up around the city as you have commanded."

"Good.", the sphinx rumbled, "In the event that I am slain or we are overrun, the city is to be put to the torch."

"I hear and obey my god-king.", the griffon replied, too scared to defy the sphinx's commands, "May your victory be swift and brutal." The creature hurried off.

Apep slipped on his blackened armor made from the bones of hundreds of slain enemies and picked up a massive axe with a curved blade. "Come find your death alicorn.", he growled, "My armor could use a new helmet and your skull will do just well."

As the airships landed, thousands of pony soldiers, exoseketon-clad Ponyhood of Steel troops and pony marines disembarked. Twilight's command airship landed, she, the ten ponemarchs, Sunset and the generals disembarked. The soldiers slipped on enclosed helmets as the wind slowly began to pick up.

Casting a protective shield over herself, Twilight opened a general channel. "Everypony keep the general channel open on your comms devices so we can coordinate in this storm." She gave a satisfied grunt as she heard crackles come through her comms device.

The ramps on the mobile garages came down with loud thuds as the massive war walkers strode forth, making the ground tremble with each step.

A centaur wearing heavy armor walked out from the city with a company of similarly creatures behind him. He held his hands up to his mouth and shouted, "Ponies! Throw down your weapons and you will be well treated!" A mass reaction screamed through the air and slammed into his chest, penetrating deeply, a split second later it exploded, showering the ground with gore.

"Come claim them yourselves!", Pomum Ligni shouted.

The insolence!", Apep snarled. He looked to the generals near him, "Order the attack."

As clouds of dust were whipped up by the ever increasing wind, teams of creatures began shoving forward ballistaes and mangonels. Brief shadows from above was all the warning they got as pegasi marines descended on them with wing blades crackling. Dozens of creatures were cut down before they could even shout a warning. As the last of the creatures manning the siege weapons were cut down or fled into the dust clouds, the pegasi marines planted explosive charges, then flew off looking for new prey to hunt.

Pony soldiers dug trenches and foxholes with shovels as ranks of earth pony and unicorn marines or ranks of exoskeletal-clad Ponyhood of Steel troops covered them. Once the last of the earthen entrenchments were dug, the pony marines marched forward, heavily armored hooves impacting the ground being the only sounds they made.

From the tops of buildings on the edge of the city, ponies, griffons, minotaurs and centaurs wielding muskets, fired off massed volleys. Mass reaction rounds and blasts of magic shredded the tops of the buildings. From inside the buildings more massed volleys unleashed hails of lead balls, more mass reaction rounds and blasts of magic ripped chunks out of the walls. Clouds of dust and smoke obscured the edge of the city.

Out of the clouds of dust and smoke came shrieking fanatics, their drug-addled brains filled with rage and blood lust. A wall of mass reaction rounds quickly turned the mindless fanatics into bloody heaps.

Apep began weaving dark magic as he cast a spell. Up and down the lines of entrenchment, unicorn soldiers felt the incoming dark magic and cast counter spells. The counter spells held for the most part, though in a few places where the unicorns were either too slow on casting, their spells fizzled or rebounded, the dark mutating magic made its was through. Several pony soldiers shrieked in pain as their flesh warped and bubbled, forcing officers and fellow comrades-in-arms to dispatch them with sabers or quick shots. A handful of pony soldiers who were hesitant to dispatch their mutating friends soon found their now former friends transformed into mindless, warped abominations that began rampaging through their lines. The mindless mutants were much harder to dispatch as round after round from rifles and slash after slash from sabers were required.

Twilight growled in frustration as she summoned her magic and incinerated the last of the mutants. "Out of trenches!", she shouted into the comms unit, "Push forward! If any get mutated, don't hesitate to cut them down!"

Apep seeing the magenta glow of Twilight's magic through the the ever thickening dust clouds, picked up a bow and launched an arrow. Twilight seeing the arrow at the last split second, attempted to throw up a defensive shield, only to find herself shoved out of the way by a magenta-armored Nebula Guard. She snarled in anger as the arrow shattered harmlessly off the armor of the transequine warrior, loosing the hammer from her side, she shouted, "FORWARD!" Twilight bounded through the dust clouds with the Nebula Guard fast on her heels.

Wheeled shields were set up on the ground as pony soldiers gathered into teams of three and began moving forward through the increasing wind. The sky went dark as the sand storm descended upon the battle with a deafening roar.

Apep ordered the gathered Grogar cultists along with the conscripts forward through the storm. As he scryed sensing the cultists and conscripts, he ordered the bulk of his forces back to more defensible positions in the city. His eyes went wide with shock as a massive beam lanced through the storm and exploded at the edge of the city, turning the air to white fire. Lances of magic and swarms of mass reaction round filled the air, cutting down troops nearest to the sphinx. Unicorn and earth pony marines charged out of the roiling wind, Apep ordered the troops to fight street to street and building to building as he took to the air.

Several minotaurs, centaurs, griffons and ponies in Apep's army crushed dark magic-infused gems. Their bodies rapidly mutated into twisted monstrosities. Through the storm Zoccolli di Pietra saw a mutant charging, the ponemarch grinned and took aim with the massive weapon mounted in the shoulder socket. A volley of mass reaction rounds filled their air and ripped into the mutant's flesh, blasting chunks from it. The mutant charged onward unheeded and the ponemarch counter charged with a shout of "FOR HARMONY! FOR PONYKIND! FOR THE PRINCESSES! FOR EQUESTRIA!" Postequine warrior and mutant slammed into each other, armored hooves and clawed limbs struck out seeking purchase. The mutant grabbed the ponemarch up in massive clawed hands, lifting the armored warrior off the ground and bit off the pony's forelegs with a massive fang-filled maw. As rapidly clotting blood sprayed across the mutant's face, it tossed the maimed ponemarch to the ground laughing.

Apricus stepped forward through the storm, face behind helmet twisted up in rage and charged forward to avenge its maimed sibling. The mutant laughed mocking, prepared to face the unicorn ponemarch. As it went to barrel forward, pain blossomed from one of its foot and it bellowed in pain. Looking down, the mutant saw Zoccoli di Pietra, the postequine warrior having shed its helmet, biting down hard on its foot. The momentary distraction was all Apricus needed, the ponemarch leveled its head and buried the metal sheathed horn deep into the chest of the mutant, with a crackle of magic, the mutant disappeared in a flash of flame.

As the sand storm raged, silvery flashes of lightning occasionally illuminated the blackness of the storm, revealing Twilight, the Nebula Guard and the pony soldiers steadily advancing. Occasional flashed of orange sparks revealed where wind-blown debris or lead balls struck armor or steel shields. Flashes of red fire showed where muskets from Apep's army fired, white flashed from the rifles showed where the pony soldiers returned fire. Through the storm, Twilight sensed several mutants charging towards her. Lifting her hammer high, the lavender alicorn used her magic to summon ligtning from the storm and directed it towards the mutants. In a blinding silver flash, the bodies of the mutants flew to pieces.

Apep flew through the storm. He banked hard, narrowly dodging a bright lance of energy that super-heated the air and singed his fur. He paused in the air, flapping hard against the wind and watched where the lance of energy had exploded. The sphinx snarled seeing the pyramid he had called his temple-palace melt into slag. Turning back, Apep saw a war strider advancing on him. He raised his axe and shouted defiantly over the storm, "IRON BEAST! YOU THINK TO CHALLENGE ME, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE APEP?! I HAVE LAID LOW LEGIONS AND ENSLAVED MASSES!"

The sphinx sputtered with indignation as the gargantuan war machine waved its weapons in a challenge. raising his axe, Apep charged forward with a war cry. The curved blade of the axe bounced off one of the massive guns with a shower of sparks. The sphinx rolled out of the way of one of massive guns trying to bludgeon him. A heat beam from one of the close defense weapon turned the head of the axe into slag almost immediately. Apep wove dark magic and bolts of black lightning leapt from his paws. The war machine gave a mechanical roar of pain as one of its guns exploded in a flash of white and a shower of sparks.

On the command deck of the strider, alarms blared as tech monk scrambled. The princepts, directly wired into the command chair, writhed in pain.

"The spark in enraged!", one of the tech monks shouted, "We're losing control!"

The princepts, a pegasus, face twisted up in rage as spark of electricity leapt from its eyes. The pony opened it mouth as hundreds of voices shouted as one.

Apep found himself shoved back as the enraged war machine shouted in a deep basso voice, "DIE!" The sphinx rolled and twisted in the air as the war strider swung at him wildly. Apep tumbled though the air as the remaining massive gun bludgeoned him.

"Gluck!" Was the only sound that came out of Apep's mouth as a broken weapon support impaled through his chest. The war machine lifted the dying sphinx up to the view port. Apep looked in seeing the pegasus wired into the command seat glaring at him. He laughed and spit a gob of blood onto the heavily armored glass as a last act of defiance. "The city dies with me.", he mocked before the air left him in a gurgle.

The princepts looked out at the city seeing fires beginning to sprout across the city. Hundreds of voices in the pegasus' head all screamed to save the innocents in the city and the princepts willed the war machine forward, flinging the dead body of Apep off its ruined limb.

The body of the dead sphinx landed in front of Twilight, looking up, she saw the war machine going forward full stride towards the city. With Apep dead, the dark magic that was fueling the storm began to dissipate and the sky began to slowly lighten. The lavender alicorn allowed her gaze to drift towards the city and she saw flames beginning to leap up. "Save the innocents in the city!", she shouted into the comms device.

As the strider stomped through the city creating firebreaks and using its close defense weaponry to kill any creatures wielding torches, on the command deck, the princepts groaned in pain as the pegasi pushed itself in concert with hundreds of minds and the spark to save as many innocents as possible. A trickle of blood ran out the pony's nose as blood vessels began to rupture from the physical and mental strain. Coagulants, stimulants and pain killers flooded into the princepts' body in an attempt to keep it alive.

"Too much strain!", a tech monk shouted, "We're loosing the princepts!"

As several tech monks rushed forward to disconnect the princepts, a shield surrounded its body, deflecting the metallic limbs of the tech monks. The princepts glared at the tech monks momentarily before going back to willing the machine to save as many innocents as possible.

"Princess!", a tech monk exclaimed into the comms device in its mask, "The princepts has locked us out! We're loosing her!"

"Acknowledged.", Twilight responded, "I'm coming up." With a flick of her wing, she directed the Nebula Guard to save as many innocents as possible before teleporting to the command deck of the war strider. "Cloudy Day!", she shouted to the princepts behind the shield, "You're killing yourself! Stand down! Our forces have taken the city!"

The princepts coughed up blood and said in hundreds of voices as one, "Too late princess. The damage to this body is too much. All this individual can do is save as many before it expires."

Twilight pressed a hoof against the shield. "I'm sorry." Tears began to run down her face.

The princepts smiled weakly at Twilight. "This individual is not. Peace through harmony."

"Harmony through victory.", Twilight replied as she watched the princepts slowly die.

"Princess, this individual has one last request."

Twilight nodded.

"The spark wants to be named Hope's Champion."

"You have earned your name justly.", Twilight said as tears leaked down her cheeks.

"Thank you.", the princepts whispered, closing her eyes as the machinery of Hope's Champion wound down. The shield dropped as Cloudy Day slumped forward, all the lights dimmed for a moment on the command bridge.

The tech monks unhooked Cloudy Day from the command chair. "The princepts has expired, princess." a tech monk, its green mechanical eyes flickering in what could interpreted as sorrow.

"And she lives on.", Twilight said gently stroking the command chair, "Join your predecessors. May they accept you with open hooves and open hearts." Twilight teleported out of the command deck and down to the city.

As the storm continued to dissipate and the skies continued to lighten, as bullets, blades, armored hooves and mass reaction rounds ripped the remaining loyal elements of Apep's army apart. In the midst of the bedlam, the armored lavender alicorn appeared in a flash of magenta light. Twilight effortless swung her hammer too and fro, smashing apart soldiers of the sphinxes army as she waded through the fight.

In a slave pit, several ponies, griffons, centaurs and minotaurs dumped casks of oil onto the chain up terrified creatures. The minotaur slave master, holding a lit torch in his burly hand, laugh derisively at the terrified slaves, "Now you all burn!" The minotaur hurled the torch, only to gawk stunned as it levitated in a magenta field and then extinguish. The creature turned seeing an enraged lavender alicorn glaring. A magenta field forced the minotaur to its knees as the rest of the slavers were hurled high into the air, their screaming forms careened towards the ground, impacting with wet thuds.

Twilight used her magic to break the chained up slaves from the wall, levitate shivs to each one and forced the key to the locks down the minotaur's throat, into its stomach. She shoved the slave master into the center of the slave pit and said in a loud voice, "Fellow creatures, the key to you salvation rests in your former master's innards. All you need to do is retrieve it and you'll be free." She walked away with a smirk as the freed slaves descended on the minotaur, stabbing and slashing with the shivs.

As the day passed, the final pockets of resistance were dug out. Riots broke out as the newly freed slaves attacked the remaining members of Apep's forces that had went into hiding. Twilight hovered above the city and with a loud blast of concussive magic high in the air, she brought the riots to an end. She sent out orders for all for the sphinx's forces in hiding to be rooted out in an orderly fashion, if any resisted, they were to be summarily executed. After a week, the city, which Twilight renamed personally Hope's Victory, was finally fully pacified.

As a the process for selecting a new princepts for Hope's Champion was going on, Twilight hung a bronze plaque on the war machine in a ceremony officially granting it's new name. A simple stone sarcophagus was created for Cloudy Day and place on the spot where Hope's Champion had slain Apep. The civilians and recently freed slaves who had either lost family member in the fires or had their families saved, placed small offerings of food and trinkets on the simple sarcophagus.

Twilight and Sunset stood in the surgery theater where Zoccoli di Pietra was being operated on to be fit with cybernetic forelegs. Though the fully conscious ponemarch held a stoic face, the two could see pain playing across the eyes of the transequine warrior as tech monks used sterilized grinders to shape the crystal and metal reinforced bones down. The tech monks lifted two mechanical limbs from a nearby tray, giving static-filled chants in the process. Metallic tendrils delicately attached wires to nerves and servos to muscles. With a loud crunch, the mechanical legs were fused to the bones.

Several tech monks pressed down hard on the ponemarch as two other tech monks produced hex wrenches. The tech monks chanted prayers as sacred oils were spread on the hex wrenches and mechanical limbs. The hex wrenches were inserted into small sockets in the mechanical limbs, with a sharp twist the nerves were connected. Zoccoli di Pietra gave a lurch, nearly knocking the tech monks back, as pain from the newly connected connected nerves exploded into the ponemarch's brain. Zoccoli di Pietra looked at the mechanical limbs, giving the new limbs several testing flexes before the tech monks helped the transequine pony to its hooves.

The ponemarch staggered a couple of times before getting used to the cybernetic limbs, then trotted off into the the corridor.

"The operation is a full success and the ponemarch will be back to full strength in twenty-four to thirty-six hours.", a tech monk said to Twilight and Sunset bowing.

"Very good.", Twilight replied, "Though I wouldn't be surprised if Zoccoli di Pietra isn't already bouncing around and pulling pranks."

Author's Note

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy.

A tiny spoiler for the next chapter Ahuizotl resurrects a long dead Cabillaron and Cozy Glow using dark magic. But things go awry as Cozy Glow does not serve.

I will attempt to take all comments and criticisms as constructive.

A long dead enemy returns

In the crumbling ruins of the once great city once known as Manehattan, a gang of bandits prowls through the shadows. They pause under the cover of of a crumbling wall and the ponies warily heft rusty, improvised weapons as some unnameable monstrosity howls in the distance. The bandits brace themselves as some rubble falls from a nearby pile, over the top staggers two figures silhouetted against the sky and the bandits quickly snap off several shots from their crude weapons. A frightened squeal comes from the second figure as the first figure tumbles to the bottom of the rubble pile, revealing it to be an earth pony mare, dressed in the rags of a scrap hunter. The bandits quickly rush out and surround the frightened earth pony colt, holding rusty blades to its throat.

The earth pony colt trembles with fright as several bandits picks through the pouches on its dead mother. "Just scrappers picking what they can off the long dead bones of this city.", one bandit says as it pulls the metal spikes and barbs from the corpse. "Just junk.", the second bandit says tossing the rifled contents of the pouches aside, "Not enough here to even trade for a days worth of rations." "Though this one could get us a month's rations on the slave market.", the third bandit says running a hoof under the chin of the trembling colt. "We've got a cart back here!", a fourth bandit shouts.

"Kill the foal, take only what we can use from the cart and burn the rest.", a larger pony bandit says, "No witnesses and no delays. We were payed good coin to find a particular body."

"But boss...", one of the bandits start to protest.

The larger pony pulls out a weapon and aims it at the bandit's head, "No questions! Kill the foal, take only what we can use, or you'll join them."

A bandit slits the throat of the colt, as the others loot the cart finding an improvised crossbow, a couple of crude knives and a small pouch of gold coins. As the group of five bandits head out across the ruins, they leave behind a plume of smoke and circling carrion birds.

The bandits find a partially standing building to make camp in for the night. The leader takes out a crudely hoof-drawn map. He notes their approximate location before looking out in the fading light at a mostly standing ruined high rise. "Alright boys...", he says, "...if I'm reading this right, we should be there by tomorrow evening."

As the first pale rays of the morning sun break over the horizon, the five bandits break camp and make their way across the ruins, they keep sharp lookout for signs of predators, monster, mutants or other ponies.

"Boss?", One of the bandits asks, "I don't like this. The old stories said that after the goddesses disappeared, one of their enemies called the magic thief came to this city just before it was destroyed. You don't think the guy who hired us sent us here to find this magic thief?"

"Oh come off it!", the lead bandit said, "Don't tell me you still believe those old mare's tales. We were sent here to find a specific building. Our employer said there was something of value to him in it. He said we'd know it when we see it. I figured if it's that valuable to him, we can make him pay more for trade. If he refuses, can can wack him and trade it ourselves."

The bandit that had asked the question waved a strange symbol with his hoof.

As the shadows began lengthening, the bandits reached the building and cleared out a place on the ground floor to camp in. Several of them pocketed some unlooted shiny objects for potential trade, while the boss read the notes on the map. "Alright ya flesh crawling maggots!", he called out, "Rest up for in the morning we've got about six levels to go up."

In the morning they began climbing up the dilapidated stairwell. "Watch out for weak spots and cave-ins.", the head bandit whispered, "Last thing we need is for us to be trapped under a ton of rubble." At three levels up, the stairwell for two levels were gone, having long crumbled and the bandits were forced through the third level. They came across some good fortune when they found where a section of the ceiling had collapsed, making a ramp to the fourth level.

As the bandits crossed the fourth level, they found their way blocked by rubble. "Boss!", one of the bandits called out, "I found a vertical shaft that leads all the way up!" The lead bandit investigated it, seeing it was mostly clear of rubble. The five bandits hurled grappling hooks with ropes up the shaft and carefully shimmied upwards. Upon reaching the sixth level, they retrieved their grappling hooks while the lead bandit double checked the notes on the map and pointed down the corridor. "Keep an eye out for a door with the numbers six-one-six on it.", the lead bandit whispered.

After several minutes the bandits found the door in question. When the went to push the crumbling door open, they found it stuck fast. Two of the bandits bucked in the door while the remain three posted guard. After several kicks, the door broke loose of the frame. The five bandits walked in the room, weapons drawn and began searching. At first they only found only the long decayed mattress and the long decayed furniture, in the far corner they found the long dead body of a pegasus. The flesh on the body, though withered and mummified from the lack of scavengers picking at it, was still intact. Several puncture wounds riddled the flesh of the corpse, the decayed remains of arrows gave testament to what had killed the pegasus. A few strands of curly blue hair clung to the head of the pegasus and a few ragged pink feathers still clung to its wings, by a long withered hoof there was the heavily rusted remains of a knife and above it scratched into the wall was a message that read, "I will have my revenge!"

The lead bandit pulled out a crudely made flare, a length of pipe and a flint and steel. After making a few sparks, the fuse on the flare lit and he aimed it out the window with the length of pipe. "Ready up boys, not only did our employer see that flare, but every scrapper and mutant for miles around."

After several hours of waiting and no sounds of anything, the five bandits began growing bored. One bandit took out a small oval paper capsule and broke it open, revealing a white powder, holding it up to his nose, he sniffed the powder up. Another bandit took out a syringe containing an amber liquid, he pushed the needle into a vein and slowly injected the liquid, his eyes fluttered with a sigh. The lead bandit took out a small tin holding some little white pills, he popped a couple in his mouth chewing them up before putting them away.

After a while the bandits heard some shuffling in the corridor and they took up position ready to fight whatever came up. A strange creature with the hind legs of a dog, forelegs like a monkey, a long thin tail that ended in a monkey-like hand, it head was dog-like, sharp teeth filled its mouth, its eyes glistened with malice and dark magics, its flesh looked like it was dried leather, but still pulsed with dark magic.

"I take it that you are the rusty knife gang I hired?", Ahuizotl asked.

"Yes...", the lead bandit replied, "...we found the body for you, now where's our pay?"

"Pay?!", Ahuizotl chortled, "Who said anything about pay?"

The bandits raised their weapons and fired. Metal barbs and spikes pierced the undead, dark magic-corrupted flesh of Ahuizotl who simply snapped the hand on the end of his tail. Several skeletal cats charged in the room, pinning the five bandits on their backs. A pony covered in dull brown robes walked slowly in behind the cats and pulled out an obsidian knife, hoofing it over to Ahuizotl.

"Thank you Dr. Caballaron.", Ahuizotl said, taking the obsidian knife. He walked over to the first bandit and began chanting in a strange, esoteric tongue. With a quick flick, he cut the throat of the bandit. As the blood flowed onto the floor, Ahuizotl touched his hand to it and began drawing a strange circle. Dark magic began to crackle in the bloody circle as the next bandit had his throat cut.

The lead bandit looked to the pony that had been name Dr. Caballeron. He saw under the hood of the robe a nearly skeletal face, orbs of unnatural green light glowed where the eyes should have been. The lead bandit shivered as he prayed, "Goddesses forgive me. I allowed myself to be blinded by greed and ambition."

Ahuizotl paused when he heard the lead bandit's prayer and chuckled maliciously. "Yes, pray to your goddesses. But tell me, where have they been all these centuries while their little ponies suffered?"

"The six champions will return and the goddesses shall walk the land again!", one of the surviving bandits shouted, "They will purify the land and burn the filth away."

"What if I told you little pony that your goddesses never went away?", Ahuizotl asked, "That they are just hiding and have refused to lift a hoof to save your hide? That your champions are long dead?"

"You lie!", the bandit snarled, "It was the fault of the ponies that the land was scorched and our sins that the goddesses left across the great sea. But they will return!"

Ahuizotl leaned down into the face of the bandit. "I have met your so called 'goddesses' before, I can tell that they are not divine and in their own hubris they did not see magic go wild until it was too late. But now after centuries, I have surpassed them."

The bandit snarled and spit in Ahuizotl's face, who simply took no notice and cut his throat. The body of the long dead pegasus began to twitch as the dark magic along with the life forces of the sacrifices began reviving it. Ahuizotl cut the throat of the fourth bandit. With a final crackle of dark magic, the body of the pegasus fully reanimated and rose to its hooves.

"Welcome back Cozy Glow.", Ahuizotl said with with a triumphant laugh. He gestured to the last bandit, "Feed!"

"Stay away demon!", the lead bandit shouted as the newly reanimated Cozy Glow stalked towards him.

Cozy Glow lowered her face down until it was level with the bandit's and opened her mouth. The bandit tried to lean away, but found himself immobilized as Cozy Glow began sucking the life force out of him. After several minutes the bandit was a lifeless, wither husk. Cozy's eyes ignited with baleful green energy.

Ahuizotl looked down at the dead bandits before turning and walking out. "Come along."

Cozy Glow snickered to herself quietly before walking out.

Over the weeks the three of them trekked across the ruined land, stopping occasionally to wreak havoc on a small village or a passing caravan of travelers. After more weeks, they stopped on the outskirts of an overgrown forest. "Wait here. I shall return.", Ahuizotl said.

After Ahuizotl had left, Cozy Glow turned to Caballeron, "Why do you do everything he says?"

"I owe him for giving me life anew.", Caballeron replied, "You owe him too."

As the sun set, Ahuizotl had no returned. Cozy Glow noticed the light of a campfire glowing in the distance, she immediately had a wicked idea. Quickly she put on her best innocent act. "Look over there Doctor, there are some ponies. I bet we could have some fun with them."

Caballeron looked over at the campfire in the distance. "The master said to stay here."

Cozy changed gears, the innocent act wouldn't work, so she'd use Caballeron's loyalty to her advantage. "It would be such a shame if those ponies spotted us. They'd probably put a damper on Ahuizotl's plans. They'd probably attack us and him and try to destroy him."

Caballeron worked his undead jaw. It would be a problem if they tried to interfere in Ahuizotl's plans. "Stay here, I'll go check it out. If Ahuizotl returns before I get back, tell him where I am."

Cozy Glow tapped a withered hoof to her forehead in a salute, "Can do!" She waited until Caballeron was a good way off before taking to the air, though she had few feathers left on her wings, she still could fly. Down below she watched as Caballeron stalked around the camp, just outside of the firelight. When he sprung onto the first of the travelers, she swooped down.

Caballeron easily tackled the first traveler and crushed his throat under his hoof. He lunged forward and bit into the neck of another traveler, ripping it open, blood sprayed across his face as he spat out the ragged wet chunk. A mare screamed as he stalked slowly forward, right as he was about to lunge, a blur slammed into him from above and he tumbled into the campfire. Caballeron let out an unholy howl as the flames licked at his undead and withered flesh.

Cozy Glow bit into the neck of the whimpering mare and ripped out her throat. As the mare died gurgling, Cozy began digging through the travelers possessions, she found an amulet made in the depiction of an alicorn's head.

Caballeron managed to flop out of the fire. "Help me Cozy Glow."

Cozy Glow put on the amulet, immediately even more dark magic flowed into her body and a small horn made of dark magic sprouted from her head. She rubbed her chin mockingly, "Hmm...no." Summoning up dark magic, she shoved Caballeron's body into the campfire and held him there, once his body was reduced to ash, she removed the amulet and stashed it in a cavity in her body, then made her way back to where Ahuizotl had left them.

As the sun came up, Ahuizotl made his way out of the forest. He paused seeing Cozy Glow hiding behind a tree. "Cozy Glow! Where is Caballeron?"

Cozy Glow jumped in mock fear and turned around. "Well you see...there were these ponies with torches that came around. The Doctor tried to fight them off, but they hit him with the torches, tied him up and drug him back to their camp." She pointed to the thin line of smoke curling up in the early morning air.

"Stay here, I'll go check it out.", Ahuizotl said as he made his way to the camp with the skeletal cats, while Cozy Glow snickered quietly to herself. About half an hour later he returned. "It looks like after they destroyed him with their fire, some predators or mutants attacked their camp. Such a waste of valuable rescources. No matter now, come along."

Cozy Glow followed along looking for the opportunity to take Ahuizotl out. They walked for several hours before coming into a clearing where a long collapsed cottage was, a single weather-worn gravestone stood next to the collapsed structure.

"Behold! The resting place of my nemesis, Daring Do!", Ahuizotl shouted triumphantly, "Now you get to witness my ultimate revenge when I resurrect her and enslave her to my will!"

Cozy Glow reached into her body cavity and pulled out the amulet. Putting it on, she said, "Really?! That's your great plan? Resurrect somepony who is your greatest nemesis and enslave her?"

"Well I think it's a pretty good plan."

Cozy Glow summoned up the dark magic and pinned Ahuizotl to the ground. When his skeletal cats charged her, she smashed them to dust with dark magic. "I stole the magic of Equestria! I held the bewitching bell of Grogar! I stole the power of Discord! I brought the princesses to their knees!" She began stripping the various amulets and charms off his body.

"Cozy Glow! I demand that you release me now!", Ahuizotl bellowed.

"No!"

"Excuse me?"

Cozy rose herself up to her full height. "I am Cozy Glow! I do not bow to weak minded fools like you! I am Cozy Glow! I shall have my revenge on the princesses for entombing me in stone! I am Cozy Glow! This land will bow before me! I am Cozy Glow and I do not serve!" She sucked the dark magic out of Ahuizotl's body, then smashed him to dust. She then put on his amulets and charms, further bolstering her dark magic. Taking to the air, she began planning on where to strike first.

Author's Note

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy.

Don't worry, the next chapter will see a return to crushing the sphinxes.

I will try and take all comments and criticisms as constructive.

The purging of the Sphinx Kingdom-laying low of Sutekh and the flight of Ozymandias

In a darkened chamber, the sphinx who fashioned himself god-king, Ozymandias, held his paw over a black orb, focusing his dark powers. An image of another sphinx, another self-declared god-king, his brother in all but blood, Sutekh, manifested. "Ah brother, so good for you to arrive.", Ozymandias said in a smooth and slimy tone.

"Your scheming tone is most unwelcome, Ozymandias.", Sutekh growled, "Our brothers lay dead at the hooves of this alicorn whom presumes herself divine and still you do not mobilize your armies. The slaves and serfs of our domains rise up in open revolt, hailing the righteous fury of their so called 'goddess', all the while you sit upon your throne growing fat and complacent in the city of our first enemy."

Ozymandias placed a paw to his chest in faux insult. "You wound me so dear brother, Sutekh, the master of dark magics, weaver of flesh, master of the darkness..."

"Enough of your empty platitudes!", Sutekh interrupted, "Though they may taste sweet as honey, they turn to vinegar in my ears."

Ozymandias allowed a gentle smile laced with bile to spread across his lips, as his voice filled with a syrupy sweet tone, "You know we cannot stand against the encroaching army of ponies lead by the alicorn. But I have managed to divine her name, origins and intentions."

Sutekh perked his ears up with intrigue as Ozymandias continued, "Her name is Princess Twilight Sparkle. She intends to conquer the lands that her sisters once ruled."

"Alright, you have my attention brother. So what are your schemes on this?"

Ozymandias allowed a smug and pleased tone to enter his voice, "We cannot stand this army as shown by our brother's deaths, but there is another option than fighting her head on. Turn your city to ash and leave with me, we shall ravage the alicorn princess' homeland."

"Hakkahn was right!", Sutekh snarled, "You are a coward who will flee at the first sign of struggle. I am through with this conversation! Flee if you feel you must! May you die a thousand deaths!" With a gesture, Sutekh dispelled his image.

Ozymandias glowered at the empty space in the darkened chamber where the image of Sutekh one stood, a soft, angry growl rumbled in his throat. "You have chosen death, dearest Sutekh.", he said to the empty air where the image one stood. Turning he left the darkened room and entered into the rest of the pyramid. Opening a small cabinet in his personal chambers, he reached in and removed a shard of black stone. "When you reach your home, I shall be waiting there to pierce your heart with this." He picked up a scrap of burlap and wrapped the shard up in it, then placed it under a wing.

Walking out into the hallway, Ozymandias called out, "Guards!" When several guards hurried to him, he continued, "I leave to bring ultimate defeat to our enemy. After I leave the city, destroy it. Leave no stone upon another, put the population to the sword and burn the remains. When the foul alicorn and her army arrives, I want them to claim ashes and ruins."

The captain of the guard, a unicorn mare with a tan coat, knelt and placed a hoof on her chest. "As you command my god-king, it shall be done."

Ozymandias chuckled to himself as he entered the vault of his pyramid. Walking past ancient scrolls, paintings and golden treasures, he stopped in front of an ancient statue of a pegasus mare wearing a simple headdress. Dragging a claw along the statue, he said to himself, "You may have defeated mother and renamed the city may have been renamed in your namesake, but I hope your spirit sees the death I'm bringing to your beloved princess." He slashed his claws across the statue, defacing it, then smashed the head off. He called for several servants, when they hurried in the vault, he ordered them to move the defaced and beheaded statue into the middle of the city.

Walking outside, Ozymandias spread his wings and took to the air, flying to the north.
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For days the pony army pushed through the desert. The floor of the desert slowly went from sandy to rocky. On the airships, ponies standing on the bows and atop the riggings, were scanning the horizon through spyglasses, as pegasi soldiers and marines flew out in all directions in scouting patrols. Several pegasi scouts flew back to the airships broadcasting alerts of of multiple armies gathering.

Twilight stood in a gymnasium as Dewdrop was running around the track. "Take your time.", she called out, "Don't tire yourself out. Pace yourself. The first time I ran a race, I came in fifth because I paced myself until the end."

A stallion hurried in to the gymnasium, holding a clipboard with report in his teeth. "Your maffesty!", he said around the clipboard, "Redorpsh osh an army!"

Twilight levitated the clipboard out of the stallion's mouth and called out, "Dewdrop, you can rest for now and get some water." Looking over the reports on the clipboard, her brow furrowed. "How recent are these reports?"

"I just received them several minutes ago.", the stallion replied.

Twilight looked over the reports again. "You are dismissed." She looked over to Dewdrop drinking water from a nearby fountain, "Go to your quarters and get a shower. Afterwards put on your armored cloak and get your saber."

Dewdrop's face lit up. "Am I going to ride on Fluffy again?"

Twilight chuckled softly. "It all depends on how Fluffy feels. Remember they are much more than just automata, they are living, thinking creatures with their own identities." After the filly had hurried past her, she headed to her own quarters. Opening her personal armory, she pulled out the ponyquin that held her armor and removed the massive hammer, placing it on the deck with a loud clunk.

Twilight stepped into the shower letting the warm water cascade over her, weighing down her ethereal mane and tail. Grabbing a bottle of shampoo, she quickly scrubbed her mane, tail and coat. Stepping from the shower, she dried herself off with her magic, then began methodically potting on her armor. Snapping the last pieces of armor on her wings, she closed her eyes as the power cells came to life, energy from the power cells and her magic crackled across her fur and the outside of the armor, before flying off in small sparks at the ends of her feathers. Reaching out with her magic, she lifted the hammer, mag-locking it to the side of the armor and opened the door to the corridor.

Heavily armored hooves rang out on the deck plates as crewponies stepped aside to bow or salute as Twilight passed with her magenta-armored Nebula Guard. Entering into the briefing room, she looked around, Apricus, Mica and Sunset, along with a few generals were waiting on her. Soon Vent Rapide, Pomum Ligni, Zoccoli di Pietra, Aster, Empresrio, Divinos, Papilonem and Adamantem, along with the rest of the generals entered the room.

Sunset laid out a topographical map drawn up from reports from the scouts, she used her magic to mark out enemy positions. "The enemy forces are moving towards this natural depression and setting up positions in the hills on three sides of it."

"They're trying to lure us into a natural amphitheater.", a general said rubbing his chin, "Not much cover there. It would make the perfect killing ground."

"Only to mortals.", Pomum Ligni replied. The transequine warrior gestured with a massive hoof. "They will have made their siege weapons nearly useless."

Twilight looked at the map in thought. "What are your thoughts Pomum?"

Pomum Ligni gestured with a massive hoof. "The earth pony legions can easily push though the center of the depression with support from the unicorn legions, while the pegasi legions keep the enemy busy along the flanks." The ponemarch gestured with a hoof, "The earth ponies and unicorns of army can land among the hills to their north, south and east and push in, while the pegasi soldiers drop bombs on siege weapons and targets of opportunity with support from the airships. The soldiers and tech monks of the Ponyhood drop in on their rear to throw their ranks into a panic. The war striders can split into two columns to provide heavy fire support."

"What if they have dark magic that can resurrect their dead?", a general asked.

"The airships can bombard their ranks with phosphorus shells while my legion is equipped with heat beams and heavy plasma.", Zoccoli di Pietra replied, "The exoskeleton-clad Ponyhood soldiers should be equipped with plasma caster and high yield lasers. It will be hard to resurrect bodies into lifeless shamblers if their remains are ash."

Twilight looked around the room as the gathered ponies nodded in agreement. "Very well, if we are all in agreement, send the orders to out forces with how they should prepare. Peace through harmony."

"Harmony through victory.", all the ponies in the room replied.

Sutekh stood in his personal tent as attendants helped him into his elaborate scaled bronze armor. A smile spread across his face hearing the first droning of the propellers of the airship. After the attendants finished the final adjustments of his armor, he put on an elaborate headdress and picked up a bronze staff topped with a snake's head. Leaving the tent, two dozen heavily armored centaurs followed him out. He scanned the fleet of airships as they landed, disgorging thousands upon thousands of heavily armored pony marines, his gave went upwards trying to track the vast numbers of pegasi soldiers and marines flying in the air. He followed several score of airships as they ascended high into the air, then flew to the south, north and overhead to the east. "Clever ponies.", he rumbled in his throat, "Send orders to reinforce our rear ranks.

Sutekh continued to scan the skies, watching several airships circle the edge of the depression. "What are you planning alicorn?", he said softly to himself. A flash of magenta light caught his attention and he caught sight the lavender alicorn in magenta armor, flanked by two and a half score heavily armored body guards. Walking down to the center of the massive depression, flanked by his two dozen heavily armored centaur bodyguards, he took to the air and shouted out a challenge, "Alicorn! I know who you are! Come forth Twilight Sparkle and face your better!"

Twilight walked into the depression, wings splayed in a regal manner. She reached the center of the depression as the sphinx landed. Sutekh gestured for his bodyguard to hold their positions and Twilight returned the gesture with her Nebula Guard.

As the two met in the center of the depression depression, Sutekh rose to his full height, towering over Twilight by at least two body lengths. "Surrender now and you shall be allowed to keep the land you have stolen.", he said smugly, "Know now that I am Sutekh the black, master of the dark arts, weaver of flesh, lord of the storms, god-king over all I see."

Twilight stood proudly, her chin held high and her face a calm, regal mask. "Know this now sphinx, I am Twilight Sparkle, princess of Equestria, one of five rightful rulers of all ponykind, chosen by the tree of harmony to be the element of magic. I vanquished Nightmare Moon, turned Discord Lord of Caos to stone, laid low Lord Tirek twice, defeated Queen Chrysalis of the changelings and defeated the Pony of Shadows. I saved the world a dozen times before I was thirty. I have returned to free Saddle Arabia from your and your kind's corrupting influence before I return to my homeland in the north. Lay down you weapons, disperse your army, surrender your lands and you shall live on in banishment."

Sutekh laughed at the counter proposal. "Look here little pony, while you play at divinity, you stand in the very presence of a true god."

Twilight gave a wry smirk. "If you are true divinity, then I'm not impressed, for I have already laid low three other sphinxes who claimed to be gods."

Sutekh growled softly in his throat, this alicorn was getting under his skin and beginning to annoy him. He calmed himself, took a breath and said, "Seeing as you won't surrender, none of our armies have to die. I challenge you to single combat, the winner is the one who decides the fate of the other's army." He raised the bronze staff high over his head and brought the butt of it down on the ground with a loud crack. "May the best creature win."

Twilight flared her wings in aggression, levitated her hammer into a ready position and cracked her neck. "She already has."

Sutekh snarled in indignation and raised his free paw, lightning streaked forth from his digits. Extending an armored hoof, Twilight redirected the lightning into the ground. Lighting her horn, she summoned a massive black mass of swirling clouds, a massive silver lightning bolt streaked towards from the bottom the clouds towards the sphinx. Sutekh narrowly dodged out of the way of the massive lightning bolt, it impacted the ground sending shards of rock and clouds of dust into the air.

Sutekh wasted no time and charged forward swinging his staff. Twilight counter-charged, swinging her hammer. The magically-enchanted bronze staff collided with the thaumatotech head of the hammer. The disruptive field of the hammer, along with the spells both stored in it and being channeled into it, caused the bronze staff shatter with a blinding flash of light. As Sutekh blinked the spots out of his vision, Twilight rushed forward, hammer held high, as she swung her hammer, he brought up a paw and caught the haft in his paw. The two powerful creatures struggled for a moment in a test of might. Sutekh found himself being pushed back, his strength and mass were no match for the armored lavender alicorn. He dug in the claws on his hind feet trying to hold ground, but to no avail as his claws dug furrows in the ground.

In a move born more out of desperation than anything else, Sutekh swiped the claws of his free paw across the side of Twilight's face. Golden blood leaked from the wounds on Twilight's cheek and Sutekh wrenched the hammer from her magic, immediately the weight of the hammer overwhelmed him as the enchantments on it refused to recognise the sphinx as its master and it plummeted from his grip. Golden droplets fell from Twilight's face as the wounds closed over, small patches of flowers and grass immediately sprang from the ground where each drop fell.

Sutekh took a few steps back and took to the air. Twilight leapt up into the air, flapping her wings in chase. The two clashed in the air and the sphinx soon found himself overwhelmed by the alicorn. Twilight flipped Sutekh over her body and stamped all four hooves, sending the sphinx sailing to the ground. Sutekh hit the ground with a hard thump and Twilight landed near him, hoisting her hammer in her magic. As she raised the hammer, he shouted for the guards and two dozen heavily armored centaurs charged forward, weapons raised. Sutekh used the cover of his elite guards to slink away.

"Stand and fight coward!", Twilight bellowed as she swung her hammer, smashing several centaurs aside. The Nebula Guard rushed forward, hacking the centaurs apart as Twilight charged after Sutekh, shouting a savage war cry.

Seeing Sutekh behave in a cowardly manner, many of the creatures under his command threw down their weapons and abandoned the cause, as earth pony and unicorn marines stampeded forth into battle. The massive guns on the airships roared to life, sending shells creaming through the air, white fire erupted in the air like deadly flowers just above the enemy army as flaming phosphorus rained down. Pegasi marines swooped down on the flanks of the enemy army, the energy fields of their wing blades crackling as they cleaved through bronze, flesh and bone like a sharp knife through wet paper. Explosions rang out amongst the ranks of the enemy army as pegasi soldiers hurled bombs at the ground.

Sutekh ran through the bedlam as fast as his long strides could carry him, trying to put as much space betweeen himself and the armored alicorn in hot pursuit. From above ponies in exoskeletal armor and cybernetic ponies leapt from the circling airships into the ranks of the army, further adding to the confusion. Sutekh found his flight impared by the newest addition to the battle, as he ducked and dodged not only shrapnel and burning phosphorus, but also balls of plasma and laser beams. At the last minute he leapt over a line of arqubusiers hastily forming up.

Twilight held up an armored wing in front of her face as the hastily formed line of arquebusiers fired a volley from their muskets. Sparks flew from her armor as lead impacted it. This did not slow her pursuit and she lowered her head, pointing her horn. Dozens of broken bodies flew away from her armored bulk as she charged through.

Sutekh ran as hard as he could as he broke through the rear ranks of his army. Skidding to a stop as he saw lines of heavy wheeled shields rolling forward. Flapping his wings hard, he took to the air. Loud snaps and bright flashes filled the air and pain blossomed across his limbs and body as bullets tore into him. Landing hard on the ground again, he coughed up blood as Twilight finally caught up and loomed over him. Grabbing clumps of dirt in his claws, her hurled it into her face and summoned up dark magic, teleporting away in a swirl of shadows.

Twilight stamped a hoof in frustration before turning back to the sounds of fighting. Though the sphinx had fled in cowardice, his army still needed defeating. Raising her hammer high, she shouted a rallying cry and charged. Her hooves rang loudly on the ground as she galloped into the rear of the enemy army. Through the smoke, shrapnel and burning phosphorus she charged, coming upon a crew hastily trying to wheel a siege weapon in place. Her armored bulk smashed aside two creatures and she swung her hammer down hard into the siege weapon with a loud crash. The weapon shattered into as the hammer impacted it. She quickly bucked her hooves into a panicking member of the crew, sending its shattered body flying away.

Twilight charged towards a knot of ponies, griffons, minotaurs and centaurs forming up a spear wall. At the last minute she leapt over the spears and landed amongst the creatures. Her armored bulk crushed three creatures underhoof and she splayed her wings wide, sending the rest of the creatures tumbling away. She readied her hammer as several creatures rose back to their feet or hooves respectively. Their bodies flew apart as mass reaction rounds ripped into them from behind. Tapping the head of her hammer to her chest in salute to the approaching transequine marines, she made her way through the quickly dying bedlam to the Nebula Guard. Giving a quick head count of the Nebula guard, she counted twenty-nine. "Where is you last sibling?"

A member of the Nebula Guard pointed to cleared part of the battle where a lone transequing warrior in magenta armor was escorting Dewdrop, her sword coated in blood.

Twilight nodded to the Nebula Guard in silent thanks and made her way over to the filly. She quickly looked over Dewdrop, finding her was unharmed other than a small scratch on her left ear and a bruise on her right cheek, in the air a column of smoke rose in the air. "What are you doing out here?! Don't you know it's very dangerous?"

Dewdrop pointed to the column of smoke with her saber. "A massive arrow came through your airship, goddess. If it wasn't for big guy here, I'd still be trapped in the wreckage."

Twilight looked up to the lone Nebula Guard. "You have my thanks lance captain."

The lone Nebula Guard simply nodded its head in silent response.

"Return to the battle.", Twilight said to the other twenty-nine members of the Nebula Guard. She then made her way over to the wrecked airship where the crews and tech monks from the other airships were picking through the remains, pulling bodies, living and dead from the remains. Kicking one of the broken amethyst wreaths that had adorned her airship, she quickly took of her armor to help with retrieving survivors and bodies from the wreckage.

Sutekh appeared in his pyramid. "Curse her!", he shouted, spitting out a gob of blood. Quickly stripping his armor, he called for surgeons. Quickly arriving, the surgeons began looking him over. When the lead surgeon asked him how he received his injuries, he replied, "The cursed pony army shot me with their strange muskets." The surgeons quickly lead the sphinx over to a table and an attendant offered him a bottle of thick opium wine. Hastily drinking the thick, syrup-like opium-laced wine, Sutekh soon found himself slipping into a fuzzy haze as the surgeons began the work of removing the bullets his body.

The sun hung low in the sky, the enemy host either laid dead as ponies shoved the corpses into pits or had scattered in all directions. The last of the survivors and bodies from the command airship had been recovered. The survivors had been taken to the mobile medbays while graves were dug for those who had died. Twilight sifted through the wreckage, many of her books, scrolls and parchments were heavily scorched, but that's not what concerned her. Lifting a partially crumpled bulkhead, she found what she was looking for, an old lock box, magically enchanted to withstand the ravages of time. opening the latch on the lock box, she flipped the lid up and found her most prized treasures were unharmed, photographs of her friends, family, Celestia, Luna, Flurry Heart and Cadance, yellowed with age.

Levitating the photos out, Twilight looked them over. Tears trickled down her cheeks from the happy memories captured in them. Though all in the pictures were long dead, with the exception of the alicorns, Discord and Spike, they still lived on in the pictures and her heart. Returning the photos to the box, the flipped the lid closed and locked it back. Holding it to her chest, she let the last of the tears roll down her cheeks.

"Why do you cry goddess?", Dewdrop asked walking up.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes, Twilight turned her head to face the filly. "I'm just remembering some friends from long ago. Don't worry, I'm not sad, I'm remembering the good times with family and friends. When we get a break from this war, I'll share them with you." Rising to her full height, she gestured an officer over. "I want a full report by morning." The officer saluted and hurried off. Levitating the lock box onto her back, she looked down at Dewdrop. "Come along, we must select a new command ship and pursue the sphinx."

Sutekh rolled in his bed uncomfortably. The stitches and sutures where the surgeons had removed the bullets from his body ached. An ear flicked as he heard the droning of propellers. Rising from the bed, the sounds of hooves and taloned feet rand out in the hall way.

"My god-king...", the guard captain said kneeling, "...the pony army comes!"

Looking out a window, Sutekh saw that the sun was beginning to rise high in the sky. "How long until they arrive?"

"At the speed their airships are moving, the bulk of their force will be upon us in less than two hours."

"Send orders, all remaining forces are to hold at all costs. If need be, they must fight to the last. We will make them pay in blood for every step they take!", Sutekh ordered. As the guards rose to convey the orders, he gestured for the guard captain to hold, "Pull back every elite troop we have to my palace-temple. If they break through, we will make our last stand here."

"As it is commanded, so shall it be done my god-king.", the guard captain replied.

Twilight stood on the deck of the airship that served as her new command ship. The report from early this morning still rand in her head, a conduit feeding power ton one of the thaumatotech shield generators has burned up in an unforeseeable power surge and it was simply a lucky shot that a balista had managed to penetrate the engine room and carry through into the balloon, puncturing it. It was a combination of pilot skill on the command deck and a bit of dumb luck that there weren't more deaths.

As the city slowly loomed closer, Twilight looked behind from the deck of the airship, seeing the dust columns of the war striders moving, she turned her gaze upwards and observed pegasi marines and soldier hiding among what clouds they could gather or create. Closing her eyes, she went through her calming routine. Blowing the air from her lungs and extending a hoof, she looked over to Dewdrop who was also blowing out air while extending a hoof, seeing this made a smile smile spread across her lips. "Dewdrop, when the fighting starts, I want you to stick close to me and the Nebula Guard until we clear out a safe place for you to hide. Once we find you a safe place to hide, you will stay there until myself, a Nebula Guard or a marine comes to get you."

"Yes my goddess.", Dewdrop replied.

"Yes ma'am or yes princess will suffice, I am not a goddess, I'm just a pony just like you."

"Yes g...princess."

Twilight levitated Dewdrop onto her back. "I want you to hang on tight when we make the drop."

After the final airship pulled into a holding pattern, they began to spread out as the guns were cranked into position. With a nod to the Nebula Guard, Twilight leapt off the deck spreading her wings, the transequine bodyguards followed her down. Dewdrop shouted with excitement as she waved her saber over her head. Twilight flared her wings, landing gracefully on the ground, as the heavily armored hooves of the Nebula Guard impacted with heavy thumps. As enemy troops swarmed into the streets, dozens of airships flew over the city. Earth pony and unicorn marines leapt from the airships, landing on the roofs and in the streets of the city. More airships swooped low to the ground and walkers holding heavily armored caskets strode off the sides and began their slow advance into the city. The air of the city filled with the deep thuds of mass reaction rounds, the high-pitched whine of heat beams, the crackle of plasma casters and the the heavy growl of multi-barreled cannons. Near deafening booms echoed overhead as the airships fired their guns, send shells screaming towards the city, black puffs of smoke blossomed in the air as shrapnel rained down.

Flashes of red and puffs of white smoke blossomed from windows in the buildings as muskets filled the air with lead balls. The marines seemed to take no notice as the lead balls sparked off their armor. The ground began to shake as the war striders arrived, surrounding the city. Fur stood on end as the war striders activated their bubble shields with loud whining crackles. Airships landed behind the war striders, using the as cover, masses of earth pony and unicorn soldiers disembarked in teams of three, two armed with rifles, one armed with a flame thrower. Wheeled shield were shoved off the sides and the teams of pony soldiers gather up behind them, advancing forwards. Officers carrying sabers or pistols shouted orders over the din of battle. Tech monks dropped from airships ahead of the pony soldiers or amongst the marines, some fired screaming rockets from volley guns blowing holes in the sides of buildings while others scrambled over to plant small charges on doors, blowing them off their frames.

As muskets ripple fired from buildings, pegasi soldiers swooped from the clouds and hurled bombs, blowing holes in the roofs of buildings. Pegasi marines dove through the gaps in the building with their wings folded in, sounds of fighting and screams came from with in, moments later they emerged, shaking blood from their wing blades. As the enemy forces were being driven into tighter and tighter knots, Twilight began advancing forward with Dewdrop on her back, as the Nebula Guard formed a wedge around her. As a pegasi marine emerged from a nearby building confirming it was cleared, Twilight ushered Dewdrop into it. "Keep your head down and stay away from the windows!", she shouted over the roar of battle. She passed the filly a emergency beacon. "If you find yourself in trouble, activate it and somepony will come find you."

After confirming Dewdrop was safely hidden, Twilight barricaded the door frame with a table and sprinted off into the battle, with the Nebula Guard in tow. Soldiers kicked in the doors or blasted them off their frames with their magic, flamethrowers whooshed to life as they filled the buildings with with fire hot enough to slag metal, enemy forces not immediately overcome by the flames leapt from windows or gaps in walls, only to be cut down by bullets, turned to ash by beams of heat, hollowed out by balls of plasma, vivisected by steel-jacketed bullets or ripped apart by mass reaction rounds. Exoskeleton-clad troop of the Ponyhood of Steel dropped into the streets to relieve soldiers who were exhausted or out of ammo. Occasionally a soldier or marine would grab a small metallic cylinder off their flank with a hoof, smack the top of it against their helmet and hurl it into a building or over a low wall, a few seconds later it would explode ripping apart enemy forces with a spray of shrapnel. As the pony army pushed through the city, the occasional lead ball would slip through the armor of a soldier, sending it falling over with a scream of pain or a single lucky lead ball would penetrate the fuel tank of a flamethrower, causing a fiery explosion.

Groups of enemy troops scrambled through the streets, trying to escape the bedlam, only to be cut down with volleys of bullets and mass reaction rounds. Sutekh looked out the window gritting his teeth as he watched his forces either being cut down wholesale or scattering before the nigh unstoppable might of the pony army, he ducked away from the window as a stray mass reaction round struck the frame, showering him with dust and stone fragments.

As the last of the resistance was forced into a few buildings, pony marines began forming a perimeter around the pyramid that served as the temple-palace for the sphinx who fancied himself a god. As they began slowly tightening the perimeter, puffs of white smoke erupted from the window as muskets fired. Lead balls whizzed through the air like angry hornets, most glanced off the heavy armor of the pony marines, a few impacted on the sensor strips, cracking the refracting lenses. Balistae hidden behind barricades unleashed massive bolts in a deadly hail, marines ducked or leaned out of the that of the massive projectiles, a few huge bolts pierced the heavy armor of the marines, pinning them to the ground, trees or buildings. Walkers holding heavily armored caskets trundled up with heavy steps, they leveled multi-barreled cannons and massive guns, walls of steel-jacketed bullets and fragmentation shells filled the air, shredding the barricades, balistae and crews operating them.

As the dust settled around the base of the pyramid, Twilight strode forward, the Nebula Guard marching in a crescent formation behind her. Opening a channel on her comms unit, she spoke into it, "Take the pyramid, eliminate any who refuse to surrender and check your fire, there may be slaves being used as living shields." Several crackles came through her comms unit in confirmation. Loosing the hammer from her side, she began marching inside the pyramid. Inside the main hall of creatures hid behind overturned furniture leveling muskets, as they fired a volley, Twilight held an armored wing in front of her face. Lead balls sparked harmlessly off her armor, a split second later the Nebula Guard charged around her hefting silver halberds. The creatures holding muskets swung the butts of their weapons at the magenta-armored transequine warriors and they shattered harmlessly off their thick armor. A few seconds later the last of the musket-wielding were effortlessly hacked apart and the Nebula Guard rejoined Twilight.

As the sounds of the armored hooves of the pony marines filled the pyramid, Twilight gave a quick flick of her wings in a silent order to the Nebula Guard and they scattered throughout the pyramid in teams of twos. Walking through the corridors of the pyramid, she slammed her hammer or hooves into creatures that leapt out at her with axes, spears and swords, breaking their bodies. From behind a hastily constructed barricade a few creatures fired poorly aimed shots at her and she unleashed a blast of magic at the barricade, sending broken bodies into the walls. Onward she trudged, her armored hooves ringing out on the hard stone floors as creatures fled from her.

Sutekh, hearing Twilight's hooves coming closer, grabbed a cowering slave and a bronze dagger. Chanting an esoteric ritual, he plunged the dagger into the stomach of the slave and jerked the blade up to its throat, cutting through ribs like they were balsa wood. He quickly drew out various shapes and lines with a blood drenched claw as the sound of armored hooves came to a stop outside of the doors to the chamber. As Twilight smashed in the doors with her hammer, Sutekh plunged his paw into the body cavity of the now dead slave and flung the blood from it at her. Dark magic crackled across the globs of blood flying in the air, turning into sharp iron shards. Twilight quickly threw up a shield around herself and the dark magic-infused shards bounced off harmlessly.

Dropping the shield, Twilight walked forward saying, "Surrender. Your army is defeated, we control your pyramid and your are trapped, if you do so, I can ensure that you are banished to Tartarus for all eternity."

Sutekh laughed mockingly. "You are a fool if you think you have won." He gave a quick gesture and tapped the esoteric symbols with a paw. The dark magic created sprung to life as they became tendrils of blood, they whipped out and grabbed Twilight by her armored limbs, pinning her in place. He rose to his feet, towering over the armored lavender alicorn, laughing derisively. Hefting the dagger in one paw, he said, "They said you alicorns are immortal, let's put that to the test." Reaching her, he was blinded by a magenta flash and when his vision cleared, was surprised to find the empty suit of armor and hammer falling to the floor.

Twilight immediately materialized behind Sutekh in a magenta flash, her wings flared in aggression. "Do you think your pathetic dark magic parlor tricks can defeat me?", she growled, "I who was once chosen by the tree of harmony to be the element of magic, have forgotten and relearned more cantrips than you'll ever master."

Sutekh quickly turned to face Twilight and raised the dagger over his head. A magenta bolt of magic strick the blade, causing it to heat up and he hurled it from his paw. "You are no longer in your armor little pony and you'll find I'm stronger than you are.", he rumbled softly.

Twilight narrowed her eyes and grinned slightly. "Bring it!"

The two creatures straight out of myth an legend charged at each other. Though the sphinx was larger and heavier, he soon found himself overpowered by the alicorn's greater strength. "This can't be!", he shouted as he found himself pushed backwards, "You're outside your armor and you should be weaker!" "I've always found it to be uncomfortably restrictive.", she said as she brought up her forehooves across the sphinx's face and sent him tumbling across the floor, "It always dispersed some of my magic and slowed me down." As Sutekh stood to his paws, Twilight charged him again and he summoned up his dark magic. The dark magic tendrils uncoiled from the armor and began lashing towards Twilight, who effortlessly dispelled them.

"I am the master of the dark arts!", Sutekh roared, "Behold my power!" Green and purple swirled of dark magic seep from the corners of his eyes and dark crystal encased Twilight's hooves.

With a flex of her muscles, Twilight shattered the dark crystals. "Really?", she said nearly laughing, "You think to use Sombra's magic against me? Allow me to show you how it's supposed to be used." Dark purple swirls poured from the corners of her eyes and Sutekh tried to recoil as clear crystals encased his feet, growing across his body and wings, pinning him to the floor. Retrieving her hammer with her magic, she said, "My sister-in-law showed me when I was much younger how to truly use crystal magic."

Sutekh glared up at Twilight. "Heh heh heh! Though I fall at you hooves Twilioght Sparkle, know now that you have lost for my brother heads north as I speak to burn your homeland and slaughter your little ponies."

"You lie!"

"Do I?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the sphinx, summoning up six pieces of parchment, six quills and six ink wells, she simultaneously wrote letters to Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Flurry Heart, Spike and Discord. After the letters were written, she sent them to their respective parties in six lavender wisps of smoke. "You'll find that your brother, what was his name again? Oh right Ozymandias! You'll find that Ozymandias will find a reception waiting for him. Better if Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Flurry Heart or Spike finds him first, as they'll just slay him. If Discord finds him first, I don't even want to think about that." A crooked smirk spread across Twilight's mouth as she brought the head of the hammer down on Sutekh's head, ending the existence of the sphinx.

Twilight quickly put her armor back on, mag-locked the hammer to her side and grabbed the corpse of the sphinx in her magic. Blasting a gaping hole in the side of the pyramid with her magic, she hurled the deceased body of Sutekh out onto the streets below. Leaping out of the gaping hole, she took to the air and unceremoniously the sphinx's body high above the city. The few remaining knots of enemy troop holding out in the city, upon seeing the remains of their ruler either threw down their weapons and surrendered or turned their weapons on themselves.
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Luna crystalline building once know as the Castle of Friendhip, now called the Haunted Spire by locals, inspecting rows of potted flowers, as she watered and pruned them. A magenta flash appeared in the room and a hastily rolled up scroll bounced off her head. Unrolling the scroll, she quickly read it and her eyes went wide. Lighting her horn, she summoned an ancient suit of midnight blue armor and an ancient battle axe, as she hefted it in her magic, hoarfrost spread across the blade in a crinkling sound.

As Flurry Heart walked along the halls of the ruins of the Castle of the two sister, repairing or restoring the walls, windows and banners to their former glory, a scroll materialized above her head in a magenta flash. Catching it in her magic, she unrolled it and unrolled it, reading it. A small gasp escaped her lips. Holding out a foreleg for Philomena to perch on, she quickly said, "Go alert Auntie Celestia, I'll deal with mom." Philomena gave a few chirrups before Flurry tossed her through a hole in the ceiling. Watching the phoenix fly off at speed, Flurry Heart vanished in a yellow flash.

In the city of Canterlot, now called the Dead City on the Mountain, lights were seen in the windows for the first time in centuries, if there were any still living ponies to actually to see them. Inside dozens of brooms, feather dusters and rags were levitating in golden auras cleaning the palace from top to bottom as Celestia trotted through the halls, humming a tune as she repaired windows, doors and stairwells. A magenta flash appeared above her head and a scroll fell to the floor. Levitating the scroll, she unrolled it and began reading. The golden aura disappeared from around every cleaning implement, causing them to fall to the floor. An ancient suit of gilded battle plate appeared before her in a flash. As Celestia put on the last piece of armor, she summoned an ancient long sword, still in its scabbard, drawing the blade from it's housing, yellowish-orange flames flickered to life across the blade. "It's been too long old friend.", she said before returning the sword back to its scabbard and hung it from a belt on her flank. A familiar squawk drew her attention and she looked up seeing a familiar phoenix flying through a still-broken window.

In a massive cave on the mountain overlooking the village of Apple Orchard, a magenta flash lit up the gloom of the cavern for a split second, revealing the huge purple form of Spike drowsing. The scroll bounced off his massive snout, rousing him from his slumber. Gingerly picking up the scroll between two huge claws, he unrolled the scroll and read it. His gargantuan purple snout crinkled up as his brows furrowed over his two huge green eyes. Rising to his clawed feet, he stretched, his joints popping like the sound of thunder, he flapped his wings to limber them up. "Don't worry Twi, your number one assistant is on the case."

A cottage made from a single mighty oak tree, surrounded by unspoiled greenery and hidden by a magical field, stands untouched by time and the ravages of the catastrophe. Rabbits, song birds, butterflies and bears lounge lazily in the shade, in small birdhouse or amble in and out of the cottage. Inside sacks of food float over to small wooden bowls and pour their contents into them, while small houses holding various small critters levitate lazily across the interior. A beam of light illuminates a chunk of crystal encasing the body a pegasus mare with a buttercup yellow coat lays in gentle repose as if sleeping, the lines on her face and the once pink, now wispy white mane and tail denote her age when she died.

The serpent-like form of Discord stood in the shadows, centuries of grief, still fresh to him, shown in his mismatched yellow eyes. Reaching out his eagle's talon, he gently brushes some dust away from the crystal. A shiver runs down his body and he reaches up his lion's paw to snatch the scroll right before it materializes. Unrolling it, he reads it, a smile runs across his mouth and with a snap he pops outside. Holding up two digits of his eagle talon to his mouth he lets out a loud whistle and a large fluffle of rabbits gather up. With a snap, he grows the rabbits to pony-size in an instant.

"Alright sons and daughters of Angel Bunny, this is what we have been training for all this time!", Discord says sharply as a green army helmet appears on his head, an officer's crop appears in his lion's paw and a general's uniform with medals and ribbons appears on his body, "An outside threat is on it's way. It will be a tough fight and some of you won't come home. But remember that each and every one of you is part of the Angel Bunny legion. You are the avenging angels of Fluttershy and you shall know no fear!" With a snap of his fingers, armor appeared on the bodies of the now pony-sized rabbits.

"I failed failed you once my friends, I won't fail you again.", Discord said to himself. Turning to the fourth wall he said, "Now that this part is taken care of, let's go to the melodrama of Floofy Bug trying to convince Caddles to mare up and fight."

In the far north in the center of they city once known as the Crystal Empire, stood a castle with a single massive spire, the few ponies who still lived there avoided castle, old superstitions said it was haunted by a grieving spirit. Inside the castle, the sounds of mourning sobs echoed across the empty, dust-strewn halls. In a yellow flash Flurry Heart appeared in the dust-covered throne room. She allowed her eyes to drift across the dust covered room to the two empty throne. With a flick of her ears, she easily picked up the sounds of crying. Flurry followed the sounds of crying, knowing where they were leading her.

Flurry tentatively walked down the steps that lead to the catacombs that held the remains of all the past ruler of the empire. Her hooves clacked loudly on the crystal stones as she walked past the elaborate sarcophagi. In a small rotunda lit by candles, laid the weeping form of a pink alicorn mare across a sarcophagus, her flowing pale pink mane laid matted to her neck from who knows how many years of not being washed. As she approached the weeping form of her mother, she saw the unread scroll laying on the ground nearby. Reaching out a hoof, she laid a hoof on her mother's wither. "Mom, it's been a thousand year. How long are you going to lay here and cry?"

"Why have you come back Flurry Heart?", Cadance said softly between sobs, "The last time you talked to me, you said you couldn't watch me cry any more and you were going to protect as many ponies as you can."

"And I have been protecting as many ponies as I can.", Flurry retorted, "I've been watching over a village for the past two hundred years that popped up on the ruins of Sweet Apple Acres, called Apple Orchard." She gave a dry chuckle. "You know the surviving ponies worship us as goddesses. But that's not why I've come here. Aunt Twilight's in the far south fighting sphinxes and one is on its way to Equestria to make war."

Cadance shifted slightly and mumbled something unintelligible.

Flurry Heart gritted her teeth in frustration. Lighting the magic in her horn, she grabbed Cadance in a yellow aura and brought her face to face. "So you're just going to lay here like a bump on a log and do nothing but cry? Our ponies have been in trouble for a long time. Have you forgotten your oath as a princess of Equestria and the Crystal Empire?!"

Cadance looked her daughter in the eyes. "Why should I do anything? Twilight abandoned us all those centuries ago. Celestia hides in the ruins of Canterlot. Luna has vanished to who knows where. Spike has probably long returned to the dragon lands and Discord is nowhere to be found."

Flurry Heart tossed her mother roughly to the ground with a disgusted scoff. "Fine! Be a coward! If dad could see you now, he'd be disgusted in you!", she spat, "At least he stood for something he believed in, even if it cost him his life." Turning to leave, she paused momentarily, "Auntie Twily calls for aid, I'm going to the armory to face the threat. You can join me and reclaim your rightful title as princess of the empire, but if you choose to wallow here in your grief and self-pity, then you're dead to me." With that she stormed off.

Cadance watched as her daughter stormed off. Reaching out with her magic, she picked up the unopened scroll and read it.

Reaching the armory, Flurry Heart flung the doors open, before her sat rows of ancient crystal battle armor. Cadance appeared before her daughter in a flash of pink light and struck her across the cheek with an hoof. "That was for thinking you can stallionhandle the rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire! And this...", she pulled Flurry in for a tight hug, "...is for giving me the kick in the rump I needed. You're so much like your father. If he was here, he'd be so proud of you." Levitating over a guisarme and a suit of crystal battle plate, she hastily donned them. "Let's go face this sphinx."

Flurry Heart rubbed her cheek where her mother had struck as a wry smile crossed her lips. "About time you got the Tartarus up and did something." Putting on a suit of crystal battle plate, she grabbed a spear in her magic.
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Twilight sat in under the shade of a date palm with Dewdrop, sipping on a sweet and slightly bitter citrus drink as she watched over the pony army repairing the town and tearing down the pyramid. Though it had been days since she defeated Sutekh, his last words still weighed heavily on her mind.

An officer ran up and bowed. "You majesty, our patrols came across a group of slaves in the desert nearly dead from thirst and hunger. They said the sphinx named Ozymandias ordered his city to be destroyed and every creature to be put to the sword."

Twilight rose from her seat. "Take me to them." As the officer lead her to the makeshift hospital, Dewdrop followed close behind. Entering the hospital, she looked over at the small group of three ponies, two griffons and one goat, all showed signs of severe dehydration and malnutrition. On a nearby bed, a nurse was shaking her head as she pulled sheet over the lifeless body of a withered centaur.

Upon seeing Twilight, the six escaped slaves immediately scrambled out of their beds, prostrated themselves on the ground, holding their hooves and talons over their heads in worship.

"There's no need to worship me, I'm just a pony.", Twilight said, "You're embarrassing me. Get up." As the six creatures rose, she rolled her eyes as they kept their gaze down. "You can look at me, I promise that you won't be stricken blind or smite you." As the six creatures rose their heads, she noted that the griffon had purple markings that made her think of Gilda, though the crown of feathers were different. "What are your names?"

The griffon stepped forward and swallowed hard. "My name is Gerald, goddess. The three ponies are called Date Palm, Saguaro and Silver Ingot. The goat is called Darius. The centaur that was with us was called Scorpius."

Twilight mulled over the three names in her head for a couple of seconds. "Saguaro, you're from Mexicolt aren't you and Silver Ingot, unless I'm mistaken, you're from Equestria?"

Saguaro lowered his eyes for a moment before answering in accented ponish, "I no not of a country called Mexicolt, though my abuela Castanet often told stories of a land of that name when I was a colt." "My mother Silver Nugget was taken from a village called Apple Orchard when she was pregnant with me.", Silver Ingot said casting her gaze downwards.

"Apple Orchard.", Dewdrop said rolling the words in her mouth, "My mother used to speak of our ancestor who was supposed to come from somewhere near there."

Twilight quirked her eyebrow at that. "Who is your ancestor supposed to be, Dewdrop?"

"She was supposed to be a winged pony, a mighty and fearless warrior, one of the six champions, coat as blue as the sky on a clear day, mane with all the colors of the world. It was said she could fly faster than death himself and her eyes burned with a savage fury that would make the shattered god tremble with fear."

Twilight took a step backwards in surprise, the filly had just described Rainbow Dash nearly to a T, other than the gaze. Taking a breath, she shook the thought from her head and summoned a map of the area compiled from captured enemy maps and the descriptions of the scouts. "Can any of you show me on this map where the city you all escaped from?"

All the creatures hastily pointed to the same spot on the map, a city that would be at least a week's march if a creature pushed themselves with rest day and night. Putting the map away, Twilight looked to the six creatures, "Thank you all for your help." She looked to Gerald and Darius, "I never asked where from originally."

Gerald lowered his gaze sadly. "I was taken as a chick when the great horde raided our village high in the mountains." "My father sold me into slavery when I refused to worship the false god and spread the word of you and your sisters goddess.", Darius replied, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground, "Lo here am I a slave, the lowest of the low have been granted an audience by one of the five goddesses. Here am I an unworthy goat in the presence of true divinity. Goddess, you have returned to walk among us lowly mortals once again. You come to wage war against evil with righteous fury and heal the land!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as all six creatures began kowtowing before her. "Stop!", she snapped, "I'm not a goddess. Please don't worship me, I'm just a pony." She reached out with a hoof and gently pulled the six up to their feet and hooves respectively. "Don't grovel in the dirt before me, I'm no divine being. Touch me, if I was a divine being, your limbs would burn away. I'm no goddess, I am a princess of Equestria and I have returned to all freedom loving creatures to their rightful places. No longer will you have to suffer under the lash of pretenders who call themselves gods. You are free creatures who have the right to determine their own fates. Now if you will excuse me, I must leave." She turned to leave.

The six creatures whispered among each other "Only a true goddess worthy of worship does not demand we lesser beings grovel before her!" and Twilight facehoofed. "Great! I try and discourage them from praying to me and they pray even more to me! I must work to convince them I'm no goddess.", she whispered to herself.

Attaching the last piece of armor to her, Twilight summoned Vent Rapide and Adamantem. "Gather your legions! We are on a mission of rescue and recovery. I don't know how many are dead or if there are any enemy forces or bandits and cultists in the area." She opened a channel on her comms unit, "Air command! Gather the third pegasus division and the eighth infantry division. Tell them to prepare to mark bodies for burial. Until I return, Grand Maestro Sunset Shimmer is in charge of operations here."

After the two marine divisions had gathered in the main square, along with the Nebula Guard, she lit the magic in her horn preparing a mass teleport spell. "Brace yourselves! This will feel...weird!" With a blinding magenta flash and a lurch in the ground, the two legions, thirty Nebula Guard and lavender alicorn teleported. The group materialized outside the ruined and smoldering city with a lurch. Twilight slumped forward slight in over exertion and two Nebula Guards reached out to brace her with their forelimbs. "I'm fine! I'm fine!", she wheezed righting herself, "I just winded myself. It's been a long time since I teleported that much mass."

Twilight looked out across the ruined city, her heart felt as if it stopped beating, other than the massive pyramid, not one stone was left standing on another, bodies laid strewn about the ruins and plumes of smoke curled up in many places. Without a word said or an order needing to be issued, the pony marines entered the city or took to the air to survey the destruction. Twilight gingerly stepped over rubble and her heart broke as tears trickled down her cheeks. Creatures of all kinds, male and female, younglings and old alike, laid about the ruined city where they had been hacked down by weapons. About the city, survivors who had managed to hide, ambled about with hollow gazes in their eyes, starving younglings nudged the motionless bodies of their parents as they begged for them to wake up. Every which way she looked revealed more and more horrors. Reaching the center of town, she found a true horror, infants and younglings hung from from trees and makeshift gallows by roped around their necks or were pinned to walls with spears. All this became too much and Twilight raised her head to the sky, letting out a scream of anguish that echoed across the countryside.

"Flee while you can Ozymandias!", Twilight growled, "Pray Celestia finds you before me, for she will show mercy!" Hearing a whimper from a nearby partially ruined building, she bounded off towards it. Bursting through the makeshift door, she was greeted with a new vision of horror, eight mares and fillies lay around the room, their throats freshly cut, three minotaurs held down a ninth mare, violating her from both ends as they laughed in perversity. A primal roar erupted from her throat and she grabbed the three minotaurs in her magic, pulling them away from the mare, who flopped to her side with screaming sobs. Dragging the minotaurs outside, she shot a glance to the Nebula Guard, "Tend to the surviving mare and prepare the others for a proper burial." As the Nebula Guard bowed their head and went off to carry out the order, she drug the three minotaurs to the edge of the ruined city. Lifting the first minotaur off the ground, she set him ablaze and hurled his blazing body into the desert, raising the second minotaur, she slowly crushed his body until it was just bloody mush. Turning to the last minotaur, she cut his horns off, curled his fingers backwards as they made wet crunching sounds and slammed an armored hoof into his leg, breaking it, then shoved him into the desert. Walking away, she opened a channel to the pegasus marines, "Send a company to follow him. If he makes it back to his comrades, kill them all and free any slaves they have."

Twilight walked back to the center of town and began cutting down the bodies of the infants and younglings. Laying their bodies gently on the ground, she began cleaning them up and laying them in gentle repose. She began moving around the ruined city, gathering any survivors she could find, stacking up a wall to give shade to those too sick, weak or injured to take care of themselves, she sent orders to the marines to find any clean food and water. As the hours wore on, the survivors who were strong enough helped her search for bodies or survivors, against her insistence. As late afternoon rolled in, hundreds of bodies were placed in in center of town and Twilight began the meticulous process of cleaning them, then placing them into gentle repose. Out of a city of thirty thousand, only ninety survivors were recovered. As the sun began to slip low on the horizon and the sun began turning red, the deep buzzing of propellers of the airships were heard. The first of the pegasus soldiers landed and Twilight directed them to the survivors.

As the shadows began to lengthen, flares were dropped around the perimeter of the ruined city to mark where massive spotlights were to be set up. Through the night Twilight diligently picked through the ruins, looking for bodies or any trapped survivors, as the sun began to rise, her steps began to falter from exhaustion and when the Nebula Guard tried tried to gently nudge her to rest, she shoved back against them and they lifted her onto their backs, carrying her to a tent and placed her on a cot to rest. Twilight glared up from the cot at the thirty tranequine warriors who served as her bodyguards, each time she tried to get up, they gently pushed her back onto the cot. Sighing, she finally relented, though she had designed them to perfect warriors, she had also trained them to have the best interest of all ponies and none of them served her against their wills. "Thank you.", she whispered wearily before laying her head down. Sleep came upon her fitfully as her dreams were plagued with the sights and sounds of the slaughtered creatures all calling out to her for help.

Twilight snapped awake from her nightmares and help her face in her hooves, weeping for all the needlessly slaughtered creatures. It took two weeks for he city to be cleaned up and all the bodies recovered and properly buried. Once the last of the bodies were buried and the last stone cleared away, Twilight ripped the massive blocks from Ozymandias' pyramid and ground the to dust. A massive plinth of black marble was erected with the known names of all the dead. Twilight laid a wreath of flowers at the base of the plinth. "Let all those who pass here lay flowers for those who were slaughtered so their souls will know that none will have forgotten them.", she said in a wavering voice. She then repaired the defaced statue of Somnambula with her magic and placed it facing the plinth. "May you guide the souls here to the great herd beyond."

Boarding the airship, Twilight looked over reports. The company of pegasi marines she sent to track the mintaur back to his comrades turned up five thousand enemy troops hiding in an oasis, interrogations had turned up dozens more camps, all of which were wiped out to the last creature, three thousand slaves were free from the enemy soldier camps or passing slaver caravans. She gave a weary, but satisfied sigh before walking to the communications room and opened a long range channel to Sunset, telling her of the news.

As the airship returned the city that had now been named Vengeance's Reach, Twilight frowned as reports began reaching her of a cult of the five goddesses popping up not only in the city, but all the recently liberated cities and towns. Stepping off the airship as it landed, her eyes went wide as she was greeted by three hundred wearing makeshift armor with stars, suns and moons painted on various parts, their manes were bleached white, they held sharpened farming implements in their teeth or hooves, led by a stallion in purple robes holding a staff with a topped with an image of five alicorns carved from crystal. "What's all this?"

Sunset hurried over, looking decidedly frazzled. "I'm sorry Twilight, they've come from all over lead by preachers. They call themselves the Husbands of the Goddesses. I wasn't what to do. If I used force, it'd probably trigger a riot and that was the last thing we all needed, especially after pacifying all those areas."

Twilight smacked herself so hard in the forehead with a hoof that it left a bruise. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright, summon all the ponemarchs, generals and Ponyhood commanders, we must figure out how to deal with this."

After the group of ponemarchs, generals and Ponyhood commanders gathered in an administration buiding, Twilight looked around and sighed, "Alright, how do we deal with this without causing a riot?"

Several murmurs went around the room before Papilionem spoke up, "They seem intent on fighting for you. Though I'm not thrilled about it, I say we give them some training." Every eye in the room looked to the ponemarch as the transequine general coninued, "Even a crudely sharpened stick is better in a fight than a blunt one."

"How would we arm them? We don't have enough rifles and armor constructed to outfit even an elite corps.", the Ponyhood constructor-general said in a robotic voice.

"We have enough captured muskets that haven't been meted down.", Zoccoli di Pietra said gesturing with a cybernetic limb, "We could modify them with bayonet lugs and make old fashioned wedge-shaped bayonets, that should cover any ranged and CQC weapons for them until we get a more permanent base of operations. As for their armor, we can gather up all the available scrap and construct simple battle plate that will protect them from most projectiles."

Twilight looked down at the reports as a pit formed in her stomach, she was not enthused about a cult worshiping her or any of the other princesses as deities and even less so about a group of armed fanatics following her army, but if she refused to train or arm them, they would just get slaughtered at the first battle they encountered. "I want to officially go on record here that I'm not happy about a band of fanatical ponies both following our forces and fighting battles alongside us. But if we do nothing, they will follow us anyways and get murdered in the first fight they encounter. I will not risk dividing us and call for a secret vote." Murmurs went about the table before she raised a hoof, "If there are no objections, we will cast a secret vote, a white ball means yes and a black ball means no." She summoned up dozens of black and white marbles, enough for each individual to cast a yes or no vote, then placed a small box in an alcove.

One by one, each individual dropped a marble in the box and threw the other in a nearby bucket. Once the last vote was cast, the box was place on the table and each marble was counted, ten votes for no and the overwhelming majority for yes. Twilight puffed up her cheeks as she blew out air in frustration, "Very well, the yes votes carry it. Before I see one weapon placed in their hooves, I want them trained and drilled until they puke. Train them and drill them until you can weed out those not fit for duty, I want a corps of no more than three thousand. I want bored into their heads what we fight for. Peace through harmony!"

"Harmony though victory!", the room replied before dispersing.

"I want daily reports on their progress!", Twilight called out.

Over the next few days Twilight combed through the reports on the new group being trained. She picked up a data slate and played the video of a group of the recruits training with sandbags draped across their bodies and mock-up weapons. She watched as they were being trained to fight in basic infantry formation in groups of three with heavy wheeled shields. A stallion kicked the shield over and shouted, "Faith is my shield!", then charged forward to the training dummies with a shout, the rest of the stallions followed suit. She quickly flipped other files on the data slate about their day-to-day life away the training grounds. Her face screwed up as she read about them going through physical training even in their barracks, followed by prayers and feeding the hungry. They all ate meager meals as one in the mornings and evenings, followed by singing hymns. "What have I got myself in to?"

After two weeks of training, two weeks that though Twilight wasn't exactly happy about waiting in this place, but it gave the army time to consolidate, rearm, refit and repair. Twilight's command airship hung low over the parade ground as the group calling themselves the Husbands of the Goddesses, she decided to do away with that name as she looked over the last report on their training and numbers, out of the nearly five thousand that had showed up, their numbers were down to two thousand two hundred. Looking up, the stallions cheered and Twilight held up a hoof to silence them. "I am proud of you elite corps of volunteers who have made the cut. You shall not known the Husbands of the Goddesses", she said in a loud voice. when murmurs came from the group of stallions, Twilight clacked her hoof against the deck plate to silence them. "Look to your left, now to your right, now look to your front and to your back. I don't see husbands who would be vying for the attention and affection of a wife, I see brothers who are willing to stand with each other and fight for harmony. From this day forward you are a fraternity...", she waffled for a few seconds as she had been winging this speech, "...your name from this day forward shall be...the Fraternity! Take now your weapons and armor your have earned." After the muskets and battle plate were passed out and the stallions donned the, she shouted, "Peace through harmony!"

"Our lives for harmony!", the stallions of the Fraternity shouted back.

Stepping away from the edge of the airship, Twilight rubbed the back of her head. "Sweet Celestia! I guess I'm in it now."

Author's Note

This chapter ran longer than anticipated as I kinda got into a weird groove and decided to add a new element to the Equestrian forces.

Next chapter Twilight makes her triumphant return to Equestria.

Place your bets now! How do you all think the other princesses, Spike and Discord will respond the heavily armed pony army, the transequine pony marines, the ponemarchs and the transequine Nebula Guard?

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

I will try and take all comments and criticisms as constructive.

A triumphant return

Ozymandias had spent weeks traveling along the paths and trails in the desert that few remembered and even fewer traveled. He only rested when he found a cave, ruin or rocky outcrop that could conceal his massive bulk. Each night that he rested, his ears would flick at the sound of shuffling limbs or the howls of mutants and monsters in the distance. Many ties he was forced to dig a hole for refuge when storms fueled by wild magic raced across the land.

One one hot day as the sun made the air dance and shimmer, Ozymandias landed with a flap of his massive wingspan on a high cliff overlooking a jagged and broken ravine. Looking forward his sharp vision caught along the horizon like a gray-green line that indicated the southernmost reaches of the ancient kingdom of Equestria. Looking behind him he saw the smoke and dust rising into the air like strange storm clouds. Among the clouds of dust and smoke flew airships in a wide wedge formation.

"Yes alicorn! Follow me! Pursue me! Know that I am a true god-king! I am Ozymandias! I will fall upon your ancestral land like fire from the sky. You may think you know grief when discovering the ruins of my city, but I shall magnify that grief a thousand fold when I soak your kingdom in blood! Come! Pursue me! You will truly know grief and suffering before I plunge this blackstone shard into your heart!" After he finished pontificating to no creature in general, Ozymandias took to the air with a flap of his massive wingspan.

Soaring across the desert, Ozymandias caught an updraft. Circling, he climbed high into the atmosphere until he could nearly see the curvature of Equus itself. With his sharp vision, he scanned the northern horizon, a lone massive mountain stood in the center of a vast rolling plain, an ancient city precariously perched on the side. On the plain to the south of the mountain, nestled in a wide valley stood a single crystalline spire and a village surrounded by a wall, nestled up against a dark forest. "There! That is where I shall wound you!" Tipping his massive wings, he banked towards the north.

Ozymandias landed and immediately scrambled for cover under a nearby twisted tree, an immense purple dragon with green spiked frills flew overhead. He watched as the dragon flew in a wide arc over the dark forest in the distance. Crouching low to the ground, he prepared to slink towards some nearby ruins when a blast of pink magic slammed in the bough of the tree, sending flaming splinters showering to the ground. The sphinx narrowly rolled out of the way as the top half of the twisted tree fell to the ground.

Cadance leapt from the patch of clouds she had perched in and alighted on the ground. Hefting the guisarme in her magic, she took a step forward to challenge the sphinx. "In the name of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, surrender and you will be banished!."

Ozymandias glared down at the alicorn before him and laughed. "You think to face me?! I could be a great ally to you. There comes an alicorn leading a great host bent on conquest and murder. Only together can we save what i left of your kingdom from this tyrant." A yellow, dark blue and golden flash caught him off guard as three more alicorns materialized.

Celestia stride forward, her ancient gilded plate mail gleaming in the rays of the sun. "You dare to call my former student and friend a tyrant, Ozymandias?!" When the sphinx gasped in shock, she continued with a flourish of her armored wings, "Yes, we all know who you are and the atrocities you and your brothers have committed."

Luna stepped forward, her ancient plate mail the color of the sky at midnight. "Yield and We shalt ensure thou art banished to the moon with the chance to be released after ten centuries upon the condition of favorable behavior."

"And if I refuse?", Ozymandias challenged.

Luna slapped the face guard on her helmet down before continuing, "We certainly hope thou dost not yield. It has been too long sine Winter's Bite hast tasted combat." She hoisted an ancient battleaxe in her magic, hoarfrost made a crinkling sound along the edge of the blade.

Ozymandias took a few steps backwards, flexing his massive wings in preparation to take flight. A massive wind like unto that of the greatest storms blew and the ground gave a great heave that nearly knocked his off his paws. Looking behind him, he saw the most massive dragon he'd ever seen, its purple scales shimmered and its green spiked frills glimmered, its claws that gripped the soil were like scimitars, its teeth were like unto the spears of a great host. "Are you here for conquest or are you a slave to these alicorns?"

"I am Spike the brave and glorious, champion of the Crystal Empire, Friendship Ambassador, younger brother and number one assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle and defender of the last remnant of Ponyville."

Ozymandias reached under his wing and pulled out the shard of blackstone, gripping it in his right paw. Gripping a clump of soil in his left paw, he imbued it with dark magic and hurled it at Spike. The clump of dirt turned into several gleaming black shards, Spike easily shattered the shards with a swipe of his clawed hand. Ozymandias spun and using his dark magic, hurled several black lightning bolts at the four alicorns. Celestia easily countered the dark magic and Luna took to the air, flapping her wings she called forth a thunderstorm. A massive silver lightning bolt crackled in the air as it sped towards Ozymandias, in turn he held up the blackstone shard, which made the lightning bolt dissipate.

"How didst thou come into possession of a shard of Chrysalis' throne?"

Ozymandias smiled wickedly. "That's my secret."

Spike bounded forward, the ground shaking beneath his clawed feet like an earthquake and swiped at the sphinx, who took to the air to avoid the attack. Cadane took to the air in pursuit, she spun the guisarme in her magic and swung it at the head of the sphinx. Ozymandias dove, narrowly avoiding the attack as it clipped the tufts of fur at the tips of his ears and climb, tackling her out of the air with his greater bulk. The two wrestled on the ground for a few seconds, hooves hard as stone and claws sharp as steel struggling to make purchase. Ozymandias, using his great bulk and strength, pinned Cadance on her back, raising the shard above his head, he prepared to plunge it downward.

"Do your worst!", Cadance shouted in defiance, spitting a gob of saliva into the face of the sphinx.

As the sphinx began to plunge the blackstone shard downwards, a blast of yellow magic connected with his right forelimb, causing him to drop it and a light pink blur slammed into his side, sending him tumbling away. Flurry Heart used the combat skills her father taught her as she thrust the spear over and over at the sphinx, keeping him off-balance while she herded him towards her two great aunts.
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Twilight stood on the bow of the command airship, scanning the horizon with a pair of magically-enhanced field glasses. While alicorn vision wasn't quite as sharp as some predatory species, it allowed her to see much farther than most mortal creatures and the field glasses simply assisted in making out much finer details. As soon as all the airships, forges, war strider garages and mobile medbays were gathered, they set forth at full speed. One of the major advantages her army had over the sphinx was that the machines didn't have to rest or hide from marauding bands of mutants, cultists or slavers.

Taking the field glasses from her eyes and looked around. The airships flew in a wide wedge formation so the spotters on the decks and observation ports had the best opportunities to spot any on incoming threats. Massive columns of black smoke belched from the massive tracked vehicles that carried the huge structures that contained the war striders, forges or medical personnel. Pegasi soldiers and marines flew in wide patrols around the formations of airships and ground vehicles.

On the decks of many of the airships, the stallions of the Fraternity that were on duty, their short-cropped manes and tails bleached stark white, hung battle standards of the pony army, the transequine marine legions and Nebula Guard from the sides, rigging and balloons, while others hung banners of Equestria bows and sterns. Commanders of the Fraternity, clad only in drab robes of burlap and sack cloth, lead their battle herds, as they called their regiments, in the singing of hymns as they tirelessly worked. It was the hymns that made Twilight frown, they sang of the divinity of the princesses of Equestria, especially of her own divinity, which she vehemently denied.

As Twilight put the field glasses back up to her eyes, she thought back to a recent argument with one of the herd leaders. "Do not pray to me. I am not a goddess nor any other kind of deity." "But only goddess truly worthy of our praise and worship would deny their divinity." " Here, pinch my forelimb between your teeth. See? I am flesh and blood like you. If you strike me, do I not bruise? If you prick me, do I not bleed? When I am sad, I cry. When I'm tired, I sleep. When I'm hungry, I eat." "But do you not bleed the golden ichor of immortals?" " Well...yes, but that's normal alicorn adaption to having a much higher magical reserve in our thaumic organ." "Are you not also the rightful ruler of all ponykind?" "Only because I was crowned a princess of Equestria by princesses Celestia and Luna." "Only a goddess can rightfully raise another goddess to rule not only the heavens, but also serve a wardens of our souls and guide us to the rightful land of our ancestors." "B-but I don't rule the..." "I thank you goddess for deeming me worthy to test my faith! Though the path laid out before me may be covered in broken glass and overgrown with thorns, I shall gladly walk it! Peace through harmony! My life for harmony! *internal screaming*
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Ozymandias slashed the claws of his forepaw across the breastplate of Luna's armor and up the neck plates, two snagged just inside her face guard. The sphinx ripped the helmet off her head, revealing her flowing mane that looked like a starry sky on a clear midnight. Pain blossomed across Ozymandias' back, as he fell to the ground, one of his wings fell away, the point where it was sliced off cauterized and smoking. Celestia stood over him, her blazing sword pointed down at the sphinx's face. Ozymandias knew he was outnumbered and outmatched, a desperation maneuver ran though his mind that if it worked, would give him a chance to escape. As Celestia raised her sword to strike, Ozymandias sprang forward and clamped down on her neck with his massive maw. Golden blood poured from Celestia's mouth and nose as a long, sharp canine pierced into her neck through a gap in the armor. Ozymandias shook his head violently around until he felt the white alicorn go rag doll in his mouth. Summoning up his dark magic, the sphinx cast a blinding flash of light, followed by a cloud of pitch black smoke.

Ozymandias fled, running as fast as his loping strides could carry him, carrying the unconscious alicorn in his mouth. His desperate plan had gone off better than anticipated. He ran past a village of small huts built among an orchard with bright red fruits being gathered in in simple woven baskets, a wooden wall made from logs, standing nearly as tall of him surrounded the village and orchard of trees. Ponies standing watch at the top of the wall spat curses at him as arrows and javelins whistled past his ears. How dare they try to harm the one true God-king of this world. He should devour this alicorn in front of them, then turn that village to ash and hang their foals from the trees.

A dark blue blast of magic exploded next to Ozymandias. As he tumbled away from the impact, the unconscious form of Celestia fell from his mouth. Luna, her eyes blazing with fury, dove down at the sphinx from above at full speed, her hoarfrost-covered axe hoisted over her head. Ozymandias used the last of his momentum to roll out of the way of the attack, the battleaxe bit into the ground, freezing a chunk of soil solid where it impacted. He leapt into the midnight blue alicorn wearing the ancient battle plate colored the shade of the sky at midnight and the two of them began brawling.
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Twilight scanned the horizon along the gray-green line that denoted the southernmost reaches of Equestria with the field glasses. Seeing several shapes moving moving, she adjusted the focus on he magically-enhanced lenses, making out four familiar alicorns dressed in full battle armor, a familiar massive purple dragon, fighting a running battle against a sphinx, she panned the field glasses over to what she remembered as the Everfree forest. She observed several swirling multicolored lights in its depths. Before she could ask what she had seen, a red aura surrounded the airship and it took off at great speed, leaving a rainbow trail in the air behind it.

Twilight hurried below deck and saw Dewdrop standing in the corridor with a bewildered look on her face, the golden necklace with red lightning bolt gem around her neck was glowing with a bright red light. "Don't be afraid. The tree of harmony summons us. Go put on your armored cape and saber."

Dewdrop stared bewildered, not registering any words. Twilight nudged the nearly grown filly, "Dewdrop, get your battle gear!" The earth pony filly looked at the lavender alicorn and nodded before running off to her cabin.

Twilight strode to her quarters and started putting on her magenta armor. Once the last piece was snapped into place, she mag locked the massive hammer to her side. She hurried out into the corridor, the heavy deck plates groaning under the impacts of her heavily armored hooves. Above decks Dewdrop was closing the last clasp on her armored cape as the Nebula Guard gathered around them both. Twilight watched as an orange orb of light shot high into the air, she took note of ever-so-slight shift of transequine bodyguards posture, they had seen it too and it confused them. "The next element awakens!"
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Luna and Ozymandias brawled, claws sharp as steel and hooves hard as adamant found purchase against flesh. The two near-mythical creatures parted panting, Ozymandias spat a gob of bright red blood and a few broken teeth onto the ground, golden blood dripped from the gaps in Luna's armor, flowers and green grass sprang up where the gold drops fell to the ground. Celestia stirred and slowly rose from the ground, a massive patch of wild flowers, brilliant green grass and creeping vines spread from where her blood had soaked into the soil. Ozymandias braced himself for a final stand as the four alicorns surrounded him and the massive purple dragon circled overhead.

A foul stench filled the air and deep howls rang out, a pack of timberwolves bounded out of the Cursed forest, attracted by the sounds of battle and the smell of blood. A deafening roar echoed off the trees and hills, trees with the forest trembled, cracked and fell with great crashes as an Ursa Major barreled out hungry for the flesh of pony, sphinx, timberwolf or anything else it could consume. The four alicorns broke off the fight with Ozymandias to fend off the timberwolves as Spike landed to fend off the Ursa.

As Ozymandias started to use the distraction of the terrifying creature to sneak off, a bright red flash appeared overhead. All ponies and creatures paused their fight for a few seconds to take in the airship that now hung in the air above the wall of the village. The sphinx took advantage of the short lull to summon up his dark magic and hurled a green fireball at the airship, a magenta shield manifested around it, harmlessly dispersing the fireball.

Twilight gave a quick flick of her wings and all thirty of the Nebula Guard leapt off the side of the airship, their armored forms impacting the ground with loud thumps as their armored hooves sinking slightly into the soil, silver halberds at the ready. Grabbing Dewdrop in her magic, Twilight levitated the nearly grown filly onto her back and leapt off the airship, spreading her wings.

Twilight banked towards the sphinx who was trying to flee and before she could react, Dewdrop drew her saber and leapt into the air. "For harmony!", the filly shrieked out a battle cry. The last thing Ozymandias saw before pain exploded across his face was a chestnut-colored earth pony filly on the cusp of marehood descending towards him. As Dewdrop slammed into Ozymandias' head, she plunged her saber into his right eye. The sphinx howled in pain and as he tried to shake the filly off, she chomped down on his ear.

As Spike grappled with the Ursa Major, another roar announced the arrival of a heavily mutated manticore. As twisted bat wings flapped, the mutated creature flew through the air, its twin scorpion tails lashed about in anticipation and oversized paws with crystalline claws reached out seeking to make purchase with flesh. Spike lashed out with his claws, the size of scimitars split the manticore like an overripe melon. The Ursa Major took advantage of the split second diversion and shoved its weight into the midsection of the purple dragon and he fell over, crashing into the wall surrounding the village of Apple Orchard, the logs shattered into splinters

Luna took the precious few seconds the Nebula Guard bought her to assess the situation as eight of them formed a semicircle around her. The pack of timberwoves bound towards the transequine warriors and they hacked them apart with their silver halberds like they were made of rotten matchsticks. As the wooden creatures started pulling themselves back together, she shouted, "Smashing them avails us not! Use fire!" The eight Nebula Guard aimed the spikes at the top of their halberds at the freshly reformed wooden monsters and beams of energy fired forth. As the bodies of the timberwolves burst into flames and they began to leap to the bodies of the other monsters, they wooden predators fled away from their burning pack mates instinctively.

As the ponies of Apple Orchard fled in a panic to hide from the Ursa Major now bounding forward through the shattered hole in their wall, Lore keeper Apple Pie ran forward holding the wooden medallion depicting five stylized alicorns high in her hoof. "Back demon of the Cursed Forest! As the goddesses fight to protect us, I shall too stand to protect my friends and family!" As the Ursa Major moved forward to make a light snack of the young earth pony mare shouting at it, Spike reached out with a massive clawed hand and grabbed the immense starry bear by one of its hind legs, causing the nightmarish magical apex predator to fall flat onto its belly. The Ursa Major quickly recovered and got back to its feet, raising a paw as big as a house, it swung downwards with claws a massive as the the greatswords at the earth pony mare.

A bright orange flash came from Apple Pie and the Ursa Major's claws rebounded off an orange shield. Ghostly images of two other earth ponies made from orange magical light manifested next to her, one wielding a shovel and the other wearing a stetson. As the massive bear prepared to strike at the earth pony mare again, Twilight descended from above and slammed her hammer into its skull with a shout. As the apex predator staggered backwards, Spike rose to his full height and unleashed a roar that shook the very foundations of Equus. The purple dragon drug the the huge starry bear backwards and with a might shove, he sent it tumbling backwards into the forest. Sucking in a deep breath, he breathed a massive cone of flame that turned a swath of the Cursed forest into ash. The Ursa Major rose to its paws, smoke curling off its hide and decided that flight was preferential to fighting.

Ozymandias plucked Dewdrop from his face with a paw and held her in front of his face. As blood trickled from his now ruined eye socket, he snarled saying, "Little pony! You think to strike the true Go-AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHH!" Dewdrop plunged the point of her saber into the pastern of the sphinx, the blade slipping between the bones. Celestia summoned her sword and charged forward. In a fit of rage, Ozymandias slammed Dewdrop down to the ground, pinning her under his paw. A bright flash of red light from the filly and the sphinx recoiled with a roar of pain as the flesh of his paw burned away to the bone. Celestia slipped the blazing blade of her sword between the ribs of the sphinx.

Ozymandias gasped in pain and shock as he collapsed to the ground, freeing the earth pony filly. Dewdrop drug herself across the ground towards her saber that had come loose from the sphinx's pastern. A pink magical aura surrounded the filly as Cadance drug her to safety. She quickly checked the chestnut-colored pony over and gave a small sigh of relief when she found the filly on the cusp of marehood only had a broken hind leg.

Celestia withdrew the blazing sword from Ozymandias' ribs and stood over him. "You should have surrendered when you had the chance."

Ozymandians spat a gob of blood and saliva into the face of the white alicorn. "May you die the thousand deaths." Those were his last words before the flaming sword swung across his neck, sending the sphinx's head rolling away.

The last of the timberwolf pack turned and fled into the Cursed forest, most of their pack turned into ash by the coruscating flames turning most of their numbers into ash. Surveying the now silent battlefield, Twilight opened a channel on her comms unit to the Nebula Guard, "Form a perimeter around the breach in the wall until we've got a chance to properly repair and reinforce it."

The Nebula Guard placed an armored hoof against their chest in salute. Several of them leapt over the wall and took up position, forming a silent magenta-armored barricade with their bodies. Four of the transequine warriors formed up in front of Twilight, halberds at the ready as Spike flapped over the wall and landed. She dismissed them with a flick of her wings, then stepped towards her now not so little brother, friendship ambassador and long time number one assistant. "It's been too long Spike. I almost didn't recognize you."

Spike lowered himself so that he could be face-to-face with Twilight, who in turn in turn pressed her muzzle against his massive snout and reached out with an armored forelimb to embrace him. "You've changed a lot too Twily.", he said in a deep rumbling voice, "Your height is the same, but it's the look in your eyes that are different."

"I spent a thousand years preparing to my army to reclaim our home. I would have been back a few centuries sooner, but the out of control magical storms blighted the land."

Putting away her sword, Celestia walked over and hugged Twilight. "It's good to see you again my friend and former student." Parting from the embrace, she runs her hoof across Twilight's armor, noting the occasional crackle of energy across its surface. "I've never seen battle plate like that. Is it heavy?"

Twilight smiled as she looked in Celestia's eyes. "This isn't battle plate, it's powered armor. It not only protects me from physical harm, it also protects me from out of control magics." She gestures her hoof to two glowing cylinders behind her hind legs. "As long as the power cells hold a charge, it enhances my strength and speed as well as dispersing any errant thaumatic energy in the event of a spell rebound, at the cost of maneuverability. Once my forges arrive, I'll start making suits for you, Luna, Cadance and Flurry Heart."

"Auntie Twily!", Flurry Heart shouted as she ran up to the lavender alicorn and nuzzled her.

Luna frowned as she looked south. "There are strange clouds moving north and what looks like several airships using a storm as cover. We are being invaded!"

Twilight looked up in the direction Luna was looking. "That's not an invasion force, it's my army. From the looks of it, Sunset's ordered both the airships and ground vehicles to push past the red line. The engine sparks will have to be put into hibernation for at least a month, if they're not already planning to revolt and the tech monks will probably scream at me for a month, if not longer as they realign the machinery. That's a problem for future Twilight." She reached back with a hoof and tapped a spot near her flank. A compartment on her armor opened and she levitated out a small box. "For now let's tend to the wounded."

Trotting over, Twilight knelt down next to Dewdrop and placed the box on the ground. "How bad are her injuries?"

"The worst is a broken hind leg, other than that her injuries are minor. She's lucky they aren't worse.", Cadance said looking Twilight in the eyes.

"Thanks for tending to her Cady.", Twilight replied. She opened the small box and took out several medical instruments. Placing small white object between the filly's teeth, she said, "Dewdrop, I need to set the bone. Bite down on this and try to stay still for me, okay?" After Dewdrop nodded, she looked to Cadance, "Help hold her still." The filly took in a deep breath as Twilight gripped the broken leg in her magic in her magic field.

With a pop, the broken bone was set back in place, Dewdrop bit down hard on the object between her teeth and gave a loud grunt in pain. Cadance held the chestnut-colored filly in place gently with a hoof and Twilight jammed a syrette as into the broken leg, injecting the pain killing drugs with a squeeze. She placed a collapsible splint on the broken leg, wrapped it in gauze, then opened a package of gel and squirted it around the site of the break, within seconds it hardened into a makeshift cast.

The gate to the village opened with a loud creak, drawing the attention of all five alicorns. The villagers, a collection of mostly earth ponies, but also a collection unicorns and pegasi, mostly dressed in simple, well-worn cloaks to protect them from the elements and provide themselves with crude camouflage, gathered in a crowd carrying woven baskets of apples and vegetables.

Twilight levitated Dewdrop onto her back as the villagers laid the baskets on the ground before all five alicorns as offerings. Apple Pie walked forward wearing a fresh robe, the wooden amulet prominently displayed, the gleam of the orange apple-shaped element of harmony still clasped around her neck. "Please bless this humble village goddesses. Though we are poor, our offerings meager and our souls unworthy, we have persevered, making this blighted land prosperous."

The ground began to rumble and the villagers huddled on the ground in fear. An army of pony-sized bunny rabbits, wearing pastel yellow armor, a trio of pink butterflies on their helmets hopped forward in formation, with Discord at the head blowing a tune on a bugle. He stepped forward as the bunny hot stopped. "Sorry to be late.", he said looking at an upside-down map, "I think I took a wrong turn at Albrayquerky."

The villagers shivered and they huddled on the ground. "Save us from the wrath of the Broken God!", Apple Pie cried out.

"Discord, you're scaring the villagers.", Flurry Heart said, stepping forward.

"Quite right. Sorry my little ponies." Discord snapped his lion paw, the armored pony-sized bunnies turned back to their regular unarmored size and scampered away. A bowler appeared on his head and a bouquet of daisies appeared in his eagle talon, walking over to the trembling form of Apple Pie, he presented the flowers to her. "I beg your forgiveness. It wasn't my intent to scare you." Looking up he fixed his eyes on a few members of the Nebula Guard. "What do we have here?"

Appearing in front of one of the magenta-armored transequine warriors in a flash, Discord extended a paw. "The name's Discord, lord of chaos. What's yours good sir?" The Nebula Guard didn't utter a word or shift its stance. "I apologize. How do you do madame?" Again the armored pony didn't respond and he waved his eagle talon in front of the face plate "Helooo?! Anypony home?" When the armored pony didn't respond again, he tapped his knuckles on its helmet and the pony raised an armored hoof, knocking the draconequus away.

Discord picked his fang up off the ground, dusted it off and screwed it back in. "I don't think those ponies are very friendly.", he said appearing next to Twilight with a snap.

The Nebula Guard's training only allow an alicorn to touch them, unless they are ordered otherwise.", Twilight replied.
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In the ruins that was once the kingdom of Griffonstone, a young griffon slunk through the sparse scrub and ruins of the once-noble aeries, avoiding the patrols of centaur horde as they drug adult and chick griffons by thick, heavy chains. His heart boiled with rage and the purple-tipped feathers on his crown bristled in anger as a nearby female griffon begged and pleaded for a group of centaurs to not smash her eggs. Steeling himself, as he knew there was no way to save them with getting himself killed and continued to to slink away to a cave at the bottom of the cliff.

Deep inside the cave sat an old male griffon, surrounded by the bones and rusted armor of innumerable generations past of great warriors and champions, most of the feathers on his crown had fallen out. "Ah, come in young Gabriel."

Gabriel nervously walked in and pulled out a small bundle of food, unwrapping it he laid it before the old griffon. "Grandpa Golden Beak, why do you stay here surrounded by these old bones and rusting armor?"

Golden smiled before picking up a small bit of food and eating it. "Who would keep warden over our fallen brethren, keep them company and sing to them when their spirits are angry?" Picking up a stick, he began scratching in the dirt. "Long ago the five goddesses of the pony lands took into their possession the ancient war spear of Queen Gabby the great, with the promise of returning to the rightful leader of all griffonkind."

Gabriel looked down at the six images the old griffon had scratched in the dirt of the cavern floor, a stylized sun, moon, two hearts and a starburst, all surrounding a stylized shield. "But those are just old myths and legends. The pony lands are blighted and dead. Only monster, raider, mutants and slavers roam that land now."

"Are they now?", Golden Beak said with a smile, "My eyes and my ears might not be as sharp as they used to be, but even distant rumors reach them. There is talk of one of the goddesses in the deserts to the south leading a great host in war against the tyrants that live there."

"Probably just another warlord trying to lay claim to what little treasures lay there.", Gabriel snapped.

"Perhaps.", Golden said with an enigmatic smile, "If that were the case, then the centaurs wouldn't be wouldn't be so nervous. Many rumors reach the old ears after all."

Gabriel walked to the mouth of the cave before turning back. "I really hope you're right Grandpa. I'm going down into the valley below to hunt for some food for Gilda, the centaurs have smashed her clutch and she'll need the help she can get." With that he left and crept away.

"Fair the well Gabriel! May the fortune of Grover be upon you!", Golden Beak called out. Some of the suits of armor rattled and dim lights shown about the bones. "Just rest a little longer brothers. If he is the one to bring freedom to us once again, he must first discover his destiny."

After reaching the bottom of the valley, Gabriel stalked among the stunted scrub, tracking a rabbit. As he went to pounce, the rabbit spooked and fled. The griffon spat a curse and hurled a small stone at the ground, above some loose stones shifted and triggered a landslide. Gabriel ran for his life as massive boulders started crashing down into the narrow valley. Taking to the air to avoid the rockfall, he circled catching updrafts. As he scanned the cliffs for a place to perch before continuing his hunting, a metallic glint caught his eye near where the landslide started and he swooped towards it. Landing, his breath caught in his throat seeing an old strongbox.

Gabriel picked up the strongbox and placed it on the edge of the cliff. Wiping the dust and dirt away from the box, he ready the name etched into it, "Gabby". Grabbing a stone in his talon, he smashed the old padlock away and opened the box, inside were an old pair of leather saddlebags, long decayed from time, but the pair of shields, three stripes of magenta, light pink and violet with a stylized cup, still gleamed as if they were new.

Golden Beak cackled as Gabriel rushed back into the cave and tossed the two small shields onto the ground. "Grandpa! Tell me what you know of this!"

Grandpa Golden Beak caught his breath before replying, "Have I ever told you about Queen Gabby the great when she joined a crusade?"
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Twilight walked where Ponyville once stood, the buildings long collapsed and rotted away, the only sign that a settlement even stood there was the occasional cobble sticking up through the soil and the spires of her old castle in the distance. But she didn't see the empty expanse that was once the town she called home, only the ghosts of her memories. She could still smell the baked good from Sugarcube Corner, see the ponies at their stalls selling their goods, she could hear the hooves of the CMCs as they inflicted another overzealous plan to find their cutie marks on the citizens.

As the ghosts of the past faded, Twilight found herself standing before the long crumbled ruins of the old fountain. Tears glistened in her eyes as she remembered her long dead friends, as much family to her as her parents, her brother, Cadance or Flurry Heart. Turning back towards what was once called Sweet Apple Acres, now called the village of Apple Orchard, she began slowly walking. Coming to the old, now dry creek that flowed through town, she turned heading towards where a familiar cottage once stood.

Twilight paused as she saw the shimmer of a magical field. Pushing through, her breath caught seeing Fluttershy's cottage completely untouched by time. The grass still verdant and green as the first day she met the shy pegasus, small animals scampered around as butterflies fluttered in the air. Walking up he path, she pushed open the door and a small gasp escaped her lips. A beam of light shown through the darkness of the cottage that was made from a single mighty oak trees, where the light ended laid a single slab of crystal, inside preserved against the decay and corruption of time laid the body of Fluttershy in a pose of gentle repose. The mare looked the same as when Twilight had seen her last, the same butter-yellow coat, the trio of pink butterflies for a cutie mark, the mane and tail, once a soft pink were white and wispy, lines on her face denoted her age. It looked as though the pegasus, one of her oldest friends, would sit up and offer her tea or talk about how Angel Bunny was behaving.

"It was too late when I found her.", Discord said sadly from the shadows as he gently brushed his lion's paw against the crystal, "Crazed mutants had already killed her just outside Manehattan. But she gave her life so that a wagon of scared ponies could get away."

"Why bring her body here?", Twilight asked, "Why not keep her preserved in your realm?"

"Fluttershy deserved to be buried somewhere she was familiar with, somewhere close to her animals." Discord sniffled softly. "If only I had been faster, she wouldn't have died at their hands."

"The magical feedback and storms made all forms of magical transportation nearly impossible.", Twilight replied. Walking over, she gently laid a hoof on Discord. "Out of all of us, some would argue that she not only learned the most, but also taught the most, after all she was the first to reach through to you."

Discord nodded quietly. Before he could respond, the ground trembled, drawing both their attention. "What the devil is that?!"

"The war striders are awake!", Twilight exclaimed as she dashed for the door, "They're looking for me, if we're lucky!"

"And if we're not lucky?!", Discord called out behind her.

Bolting out the door, Twilight leapt, spreading her wings and flew towards where the war striders were stomping, only three of them had arrived, their main weapons were powering up. Spike had risen to his full height, roaring a challenge at them as Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Flurry Heart had taken to the air. "STOP!, she shouted in the Royal Canterlot voice.

"Twilight! Stay back! Well deal with these steel monsters!", Cadance shouted out.

Twilight teleported on top of of the lead strider and banged her hoof on the sealed hatch."Stand down! They are friends!" Fluttering down in front of the armored canopy, she shouted to the princepts, "Send the message to your brothers to stand down!" When the princepts gave her a panicked look, she teleported into command deck, ripped the armored cover from the spark chamber and shouted, "Stand down! Those are my friends and family!" When the spark flickered at her, she shouted back, "Don't talk back to me!" She sighed. "Fluffy, that village over there is full of scared ponies who've never seen you or your brothers before and if you fire a lot of innocent ponies will be hurt. Dewdrop is in that village, when we took down the last sphinx, she got hurt." The spark flickered a few times again. "Yes I'll tell her you came looking for her. I know you all are tired and cranky, I would appreciate it if you told your brothers to stand down." As she went to return the spark chamber cover, it flickered again. "No, I'm not mad. Just concerned for everypony's safety." The spark flickered once more. "Thank you." She returned the chamber cover and teleported back out of the command deck.

Spike and the four princesses stared dumbfounded as Twilight had shouted at the steel beast, then teleported inside one of them. When she reappeared, he and the four princesses rushed forward. Twilight held up a hoof to stop them shouting, "Back up! Give them space! The sparks are tired and agitated, they've been running at full stride for days on end."

Celestia quickly looked her student over for signs of injury. "You know what those creatures are?!"

"They are three of my war strider legion. I raised them all from when their sparks were just a single consciousness.", Twilight replied, "The only ones who know them better than me are Sunset and the princepts that are assigned to them."

"Twilight Sparkle? Art thou sure it is safe to have thine gargantuan war weapons to just stand around?", Luna asked.

"Of course, the only things that could challenge a war strider is an adult dragon or an Ursa Major.", Twilight replied, "Once their garages get her and they're properly housed, I can introduce you to their sparks." She looked up at her airship. "Sunset's probably been screaming for days into the comms unit, I need to see if she's tried to make contact. I'll send on a repeating loop the coordinates for her to direct their forces to. Oh and you'll all want to make sure your armor is polished and repaired."

"Why?", Cadance asked.

"Inspection of military forces. It fares for naught for the commanders to present themselves in a disgraceful image.", Luna replied.
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The roar of propellers on the airships and the rumble of the tracks on the massive ground vehicles filled the air. It had taken a little over a week since Twilight made contact on her airship's comms unit. Many of the ponies from her airship served as ground crew for the approaching force, they lit flares and scattered them across the ground to mark off safe landing zones, others placed strobes on long poles to mark off safe zones of approach for the ground vehicles. The five princesses stood in a line, their armors polished and gleaming, weapons presented, face masks of perfect stoicism. Dewdrop stood, her broken leg still bothering her, leaning against a Nebula Guard. Apple Pie, as the representative of Apple Orchard stood uneasy, he face and eyes full of apprehension. Spike had even polished his scales, standing looking at the approaching army, eyes glittering in wonder.

One by one, the airships landed. The forces disembarked and stood to attention. Each legion stood, their armor polished to the bright gleaming of unadorned metallic adamant, at stiff-legged attention, their respective ponemarch at their head carrying the battle standards draped with commendations and trophies. The soldiers of the Ponyhood of Steel, their ,dark armor polished to a high mirror shine, marched in lock step, Sunset Shimmer at the lead and stood to attention. Four of the princesses bristled slightly at the clearly cybernetic tech monks, their brilliant blue robes recently cleaned and their limbs polished. The ground forces of the pony army marched out in three pony shield teams, their officers counting cadence as the golden tassels on the epaulets swaying. The pegasi of the air regiments flew in tight squadrons and landed in staggered formations, their officers shouting orders to attention. Lastly the Fraternity marched into position, they showed the least discipline as their officers quickly lined them up into proper formations and adjusted their stances for proper attention.

Twilight strode forward and innumerable hooves rang out against armored chest plates in salutes. "Peace through harmony!", she shouted.

"Harmony through victory!", voices thundered back.

"Stand and prepare for full inspection!", Twilight shouted in command.

"Yes your highness!"

Twilight gestured to the massive army standing at attention. "The forces of Equestria stand ready for inspection and approval!"

For the next three days the four princesses went over the gathered pony forces with a fine tooth comb. At different times the four princess glowered at a soldier who had pushed the muzzle of a rifle away their face until they were told that it was dangerous to point the weapon at themselves. Celestia and Luna harshly scolded the officers of the Fraternity for their lack of total discipline, telling them that the lack of discipline of those under their command reflects badly upon them, to wit the officers threw themselves onto the ground, begging for forgiveness.

Once the inspections were through and the forces had met with approval, Twilight stepped forward and dismissed the forces. Temporary structures were set up and the five princesses gathered inside the building marked as forward command. As the five sat around a table, Twilight showed how to use data slates.

Celestia flipped through the various videos of the forces training and stopped on several videos of the Fraternity. "It seems you have gathered a group of fanatics."

Twilight rubbed the back of her head and laughed sheepishly. "About that, until recently they were ponies who had only known slavery and subjugation under the sphinxes. When they first showed up, they were little more than peasants armed with little more than farming and mining tools, calling themselves he husbands of the goddesses, being led by preachers."

"We fully understand Twilight Sparkle.", Luna replied, "When Celestia and We were crowned, there were many priests and firebrands who had stirred up the fervor of legions who ran willingly into the teeth of monsters screaming their devotion and gladly died, it took time for us to properly temper their zeal into proper steel. But worry not, thou hast something we never had."

"What is that?"

"Us.", Celestia replied, "Luna and I have the experience on how to turn their raw, unrefined iron of the Fraternity and turn it into the razor sharp steel of professional warriors. As much as any of us might not like it, we must first separate the wheat from the chaff on the threshing room floor of combat."

Author's Note

Next chapter, refitting, restructuring and the beginning of the pacification of Equestria and the lands beyond.

Also somewhere in the shadows old enemies and unlikely allies hide.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Fell free to leave comments, criticisms, throw shade or pure bane.

The crusade begins: Rearming, new allies, old enemies, new threats and gathering forces

It had been over a month since Twilight along with her army had landed at the walled village of Apple Orchard, scattered groups of ponies made their way to the encampments and village as traders seeking to buy or sell their wares or pilgrims coming to worship. One mobile forge had been completely reconstructed into a stationary structure and started working at full capacity, two forges were retooled into semi-permanent structures. The sparks in the striders and the engines on the airships were re-awoken after their long hibernation. All around the forges and Apple Orchard semi-permanent buildings serving as barracks, cybernetics facilities, hospitals and weapons depots were erected using collapsible metal walls and ceilings.

As the forge that had been reconstructed to be a permanent structure belched clouds of sparks day and night, new walls and floor were erected adding new levels to house even more manufacturing. Deep inside the forge, inside the sanctuary the sounds of hammers ringing out intermingled with the sounds of machinery and crackling, static-laden binary hymns. Around several anvils, four of the alicorn princesses alternated between striking plates of armor with hammers and heating them with their magic, while tech monks marched tirelessly around the sanctuary chanting waving censors of incense and anointing the hammers and plates of armor with sacred oils.

Cadance wiped sweat from above her eyes with a fetlock. "This would be easier if they weren't marching around chanting, waving incense and rubbing oil on the hammer or armor plates every time I put them down."

The eyes of several tech monks flickered. "I think you offended them, Cadance.", Twilight admonished, "Most of the Ponyhood of Steel believes that a piece of the souls of the ponies who built the tools or machines reside within them and it's their sacred duty to ensure that they keep those souls happy."

Flurry Heart gestured for a chisel and a smaller hammer. She quickly gave her thanks to the tech monks who brought her the freshly anointed tools and started carving swirling spell diagrams along the armor plates.

Celestia looked over at Flurry Heart carving the spell diagrams in her armor, then looked to Twilight and gave a small grin. "I see my former student taught her niece well." She laid out the pieces of her nearly completed armor to inspect it. "Bring me the die I carved and a sledge hammer.", she said, raising a hoof to several of the tech monks.

As the tech monks brought out a cylindrical piece of metal with a raised stylized sunburst carved into one end, Celestia directed two of the tech monks to place it over one of the flank plates. As two of the tech monks placed the die over the flank plate, she used her magic to heat both until they glowed with a soft orange light and raised the sledgehammer in her magic. With a loud clanking crash, the heavy hardened steel of the hammer's head impacted the die, sending off a shower of sparks as a stylized sunburst was permanently indented into the armor, they quickly move over to the other flank plate and repeated the process. Opening a pouch, she levitated out a cloud of gold dust, super-heated it with her magic until it was a blob of molten gold and placed a thin layer on the outside of the armor plates until they gleamed as if covered with sunlight.

"Always gold plating everything, sister?", Luna teased as she mixed powdered onyx into clear lacquer and applied them to the armor plates until they looked like they were covered in liquid midnight. She embedded pieces of mother of pearl into the around the collar that depicted the phases of the moon.

"Says the mare who literally paints everything black.", Celestia teased back. "One last piece.", she muttered to herself as she shaped a piece of armor into the likeness of a phoenix and welded it to the chest plate, then quickly painted it with scarlet lacquer.

Cadance flopped to her haunches and wiped the sweat from her face. "Whew! Finished! Now I just need to add one or two adornments." Grinding up star garnets, she levitated the pink cloud and magically fused it with the thick armor plates, she then attached a stylized crystal heart to the chest plate.

Flurry Heart looked over the armor plates she had finished carving the spell diagrams into. She twisted up her mouth in thought about what adornments to apply. In the end she decided only to add a layer of ice blue lacquer to match the color of the glaciers that clung to the tops of the mountain range that partially encircled the Crystal Empire.

Twilight showed her fellow princesses the inside of her armor, which was laced with swirling silver and gold wire, infused with powdered crystal. "Now comes the hard part."

After two weeks the alicorn princesses inspected their armor and weapons. Two small silver-colored cylinders for all four sets of armor were inserted into a pair of small ports on the sets of armor. "Alright, now that the power cells are inserted, it's time to put on your armor. Now remember, this isn't like old battle plate, the cells siphon off a small part of our magic to power them. Not only does the armor protect us from injury, but it also amplifies our magic and even holds a small reserve in the event we overexert our wellsprings. Once the power cells activate, relax your muscles and allow your bodies to adjust. When you've worn them long enough, it'll become second nature."

Once the princesses attached the last pieces of their armor and the power cells activated with high-pitched whines, shimmering energy crackled across the pates. Cadance and Flurry Heart magically attuned small crystals and inserted them into the hilts of weapons they had been constructing, the former was a rapier carved from the purest crystal, the latter was a mace with a head consisting of sharpened flanges. Energy fields crackled along the rapier and mace as the weapons attuned themselves to their wielders "In three days time we'll fully reveal ourselves.", Twilight said. "Why in three days?", Cadance asked. "That is the first day of autumn.", Luna replied, "A most fortuitous date as it is a time when farmers harvest their grains. It is a signal to those who would prey on our little ponies that we shall cut them down like wheat and leave their bodies lying behind like the chaff on the winnowing floor."

After the alicorns hung their armor and weapon on nearby racks, Celestia turned to Twilight, "Just as you have taught us about new technologies and will teach us about new way to wage war, Luna and I shall teach you how to take the raw iron of the religion that worships us as goddesses and turn it into honed steel." Celestia and Luna summoned scrolls of parchment and blank sheets of paper, then started writing on them or drawing photo-realistic images. After they finished writing and drawing, they used their magic to distress and artificially age them. "When the sun sets, Sister and We shalt go among the worshipers and travelers in disguise to place the writings and tell stories. Most of our work has been done as our little ponies hast already taken most of thy deeds and the deeds of thine friends and turned them into legends and created religions based on them."

As the sun set, a light fog rolled in. Traders and pilgrims, whom had been drawn by the stories of a great host and rumors of goddesses, sat around small campfires or slept in tents and bedrolls. Concealed by the dark of night and the light fog, a blue mist slunk close the ground, slipping close to the campfires. It occasionally swirled around a sleeping pony or a saddle bag, depositing a scroll. Tasks finished, the mist retreated back to the Castle of Friendship, slid up the crystal walls and pooled on the balcony. Luna materialized from the mist, closed her eyes and slipped into the dream realm. She combed through the dreams of the sleeping traders and pilgrims, subtly modifying the dreams of those dreaming of the five alicorn princesses.

A earth pony stallion whose coat was the color of burnt orange with an electric blue mane and tail and a cutie mark depicting two crossed bugles, snapped awake and scrambled out of his bedroll. "Dawn Flare! Stormfront!", he shouted, "I just had a vision!"

Dawn Flare, a unicorn mare with a dusty pink coat and silver and black two-tone mane and tail looked over at the stallion. "Go back to sleep, Marching Tune. It was just another dream."

"You know Marching Tune, always thinking his dreams are something significant.", Stormfront, a dark gray pegasus stallion with a two-tone black and white mane and tail snarked, "Just like when he said his dream showed him that there was buried treasure underneath that ancient graveyard. Go back to bed, we've got to gather as much supplies as we can so we can try and find a caravan to join."

"No, I'm serious!", Marching Tune exclaimed, "I was standing on an open field when I saw the goddesses descend on a nearby hills. They smiled at me and then spoke, saying they would reveal themselves in three days."

Dawn Flare and Stormfront snorted derisively. When they went to retort, their ears twitched at the sounds of other ponies at the other small encampments or around other campfires exclaiming they had visions. "Let's stay just three more days.", Marching Tune pleaded, "If I'm wrong, I'll give you two all my trading vouchers. Deal?" Marching Tune's two companions looked at each other for a second. "You got yourself a deal.", Dawn Flare said , "The hard part will be what to get with all those vouchers." The three ponies bumped hooves to seal the deal.

Just outside the light of the campfire, the three ponies heard something rustling. They quickly reached in their saddlebags to pull out knives constructed from scrap metal. Out of Dawn Flare's saddlebag fell a weather beaten scroll. "What the shit?! I don't recall picking this anywhere." Dawn Flare quickly unrolled the scroll and the three looked it over.

A white earth pony mare with a pink mane and tail, a cutie mark depicting stylized sun rays staggered up to the edge of the firelight, her coat speckled with dirt and other filth, an old, well worn saddlebag strapped to flank. The three ponies raised their knives in their hooves. "If you're looking for trouble, you'd better look somewhere else!", Stormfront snarled waving the knife menacingly and flared his wings.

The white earth pony mare held up a hoof and spoke calmly, "Easy, I'm not here to cause any trouble. I just arrived and looking for a place to knock some of the chill off." She placed a hoof to her chest. "My name's Sunbeam."

Dawn Flare gestured to herself, then to her two companions. "I'm Dawn Flare, These two are Marching Tune and Stormfront. If you're just looking for a place to get warm, you can sit by the fire. Just know that I'm watching you, had too many scouts for bandits try and scope us out before."

"Fair enough.", Sunbeam said sitting down by the fire. She raised an eyebrow and pointed her hoof. "Is that a sacred scroll?"

Dawn Flare glanced down at the scroll then back to Sunbeam. "I don't know about it being sacred, but it seems to interest you. Maybe you'd like to trade for it."

Sunbeam waved her hoof. "No, I would never commit such a sacrilege by buying or selling an ancient scroll. I have something I'd like to show you." She dug around in her saddlebag and pulled out an old worn out photograph, yellowed from age. "I found this in an wrecked wagon several moons ago." She passed the the picture of the six element bearers standing in front of a still standing Golden Oaks Library.

Stormfront took the picture from Sunbeam and to take a closer look at it. "The six champions!", he whispered.

Sunbeam gave a small smile. "What does your scroll say?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! Lemme read it.", Dawn Flare said. Clearing her throat, she read out loud, "By the light of the sun, moon and stars I saw the rightful rulers descend and declare that they have come to free the land from madness. I then saw the rulers march forth with a great host to claim the land once again. -the last prophesy of... The last part is too smudged to read."

As the three companions looked over the picture and scroll, Sunbeam said softly, "In three days time, look to the rising sun and you shall see the salvation of this land." When Marching Tune, Dawn Flare and Stormfront looked up to ask Sunbeam what she said, they saw she said, they noticed the was gone.

The next morning the small encampments of pilgrims and traders were abuzz with conversations about old scrolls and sheets of paper that none recalled ever picking up before, prophetic dreams and odd visitors in the night. The five princesses watched from within the Castle of Friendship as the ponies that had nestled in small encampments around Apple Orchard or the military bivouac traded their goods for travelling supplies or gave them away to the villagers or to the scattered military patrols. New depots were quickly erected to house the goods that were traded or given away to be sorted. Most of it was scrap or crudely constructed weapons that were sent off to the forges to be melted down. Among many of the goods housed were bits of ancient machinery, mostly parts of old machines used for construction, logging or the trimming of bushes and trees, all of which were far too rusted and corroded to work any more. Marines and tech monks picked through the old machinery.

Aster looked over a few pieces of machinery back in the barracks. What drew the ponemarch's interest the most was a couple of longs rusted chainsaws, a few hedge trimmers and a small chainsaw-like tool that was originally used to prune trees. The transequine general sat in thought sketching out a few ideas. One finished, the heavily augmented pony looked over the drawings, crumpling a few up, tossed them into a nearby recycler and started expanding on a few drawings. Once finished, the ponemarch gave a grunt of approval, them made its way to a forge to start working. After several hours, the tranequine general looked over the three finished products, the first was an armored hoofguard with a chain that ran around the outside of the armor plating with several highly sharpened triangular blades attached, the second was a pair of chainsaw blades mounted horizontally on a bar that could be held in a mouth or mounted to a helmet, the third, which was designed form an 'ah-ha!' moment, was an armored hoofguard that had three blades, the length of short words, that flipped down from a housing and locked in place.

Aster gave the three finished weapons to a tech monk overseer along with the schematics. "Forge as many of these as you can so my sons and daughters can field them. Also offer them to my siblings so their sons and daughters can fight more efficiently."

The tech monk overseer took the weapons and schematics in its mechanical tendrils and bowed. "As you command, so it shall be done."
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In the desert among the buttes, mesa and canyons near where Appleoosa once stood, two great nomadic war hosts of hogs squared off. The porcine creatures wore armor made from crude plates of metal that was strapped or bolted to their bodies. The weapons the hogs had strapped to their armor, held in their mouths, had embedded in their bodies or replaced sections of or even the entirety of their jaws were made entirely of crudely cobbled together pieces of scrap metal. Leading the two war hosts were two massive hogs, the size of manticores, one had sections of its jaw replaced with a bear trap-like mechanism, called a 'uge chompah, consisting of plates of metal, the edges of which were ground down into jagged blades, two long sword-like tusks were bolted to the lower part of the contraption, the second massive hog had its jaws replaced completely with a massive contraption powered by pistons, called powah jawz, several crude ax blades were bolted or welded to the contraption.

"Give it up ya dossy squellah! Dere ain't no boss hog biggah an' baddah dan Gore Tuskah!" The hogs in Gore Tuskah's war host start chanting his name over and over.

The second hog started laughing derisively. "Izzat s'posed ta shook me ya l'il pig?! All da boarz knowz dat Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha is da biggest an' baddest boss hog dere is!" All the hogs in Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha's war host started chanting his name over and over.

The two boss hogs snorted, grunted, pawed the ground with their hooves, then charged at each other and their war hosts followed close behind, with loud bellows, grunts, squeals and shouts of "OINK!" As the two war hosts slammed into each other, there was no strategy to be recognized as they body blocked, battered with hooves, bit with powerful jaws, gored with sharp tusks or chopped with crude blades carried in their mouth called hakka slashahz. Other hogs wildly fired crudely cobbled together guns called bangahz, soopah bangahz and soopah doopah big bad bangahz or lobbed crudely constructed explosives from small catapults strapped to their armor called bom-throwahz. Other hogs drove crude vehicles powered by pedals or treadmills called kartz and wagonz in and out of brawling knots while hogs that had pilled up on the backs of them leapt into the brawl. Kartz and wagonz would ram into each other with little regard for which war host they were actually with, sending riders and drivers alike sailing through the air and leaving the vehicles lying in ruined heaps.

Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah chomped down on the barrel of a hog with his powah jawz, slicing it in half. Gore Tuskah bit down on the head of a hog with his 'uge chompahz, crushing its skull. The two boss hogs locked their eyes on each other and charged with loud shouts. Gore Tuskah took the early advantage when he sunk one of the sword-like tusks made from scrap metal into the chest of his opponent, it plunged in deep, when he tried to pull it out, he found it was stuck fast. Taking advantage of the opening, Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah bit down on Gore Tuskah's left foreleg with his powah jawz, severing it easily. As Gore Tuskah lost his balance, Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah bit down on his opponent's barrel and started thrashing his head. The scrap metal tusk broke away from Gore Tuskah's 'uge chompah and Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah mauled the enemy boss hog before throwing him to the ground.

Reaching up to his chest with a hoof, Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah ripped the scrap metal tusk free. Walking over to the mauled form of Gore Tuskah who was trying to get back to his three remaining hooves, Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah plunged the sharpened piece of scrap metal into his fallen opponent's eye, then bit down the hog's neck with his powah jawz, severing his head.

Skull Krunchah bellowed in triumph, "Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah is da biggest and baddest boss hog dere is!" He began biting chunks of flesh and scrap metal from the fallen hog's body, eating them greedily. A strange, swirling green glow surrounded his body as he grew in height and mass. With a loud bellowing cheer, the massive disorganized brawl came to stop as the now newly unified war host gathered together. Several of the smaller hogs tried to run away, only to get pummeled by bigger hogs until they fell in line.

Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah looked around at his now massive war host and shouted, "'Oo's da biggest and baddest boss hog dere is?!" "Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah!", the war host shouted back. Looking around as he clacked his powah jawz happily, he saw a massive plume of dust in the distance indicating a column of buffalo. "Get ya munch-n-krunch on, den get all dem bits-n-bobs! Weez gonna show dem tramplahz dat da hogz are da best dere iz!", he shouted, pointing a hoof.

Several hogs tore the wrecks of kartz and wagonz, others tore the weapons and armor off the dead bodies. after the scrap metal was tossed into heaps, they then threw the dead bodies into a heap. The hogs started eating the bodies of their fallen compatriots, some greedily chewed up and swallowed chunks of scrap metal. As the impromptu camp was filled with the sounds of sloppy eating, Skull Krunchah Mashah Thrashah made his way into on of the hastily erected tents where the mekk hogz were working.

"Wut ya want?", one of the boss mekk hogs asked.

Skull Krushah Mashah Thrashah looked around at the various weapons, armor and enhancement cobbled together from scrap metal. "Gimme da razah bakk!"

"Dat'll be one hunert an' fity tuskz!"

Skull Krushah reached inside his armor with a hoof and pulled out a filthy pouch, tossing it to the mekk hog, who quickly counted them. "Oi! Wa's all dis 'ere now?! Ya two tuskz short!" Skull Krunchah reached up with forehooves and snapped the boss mekk hog's tusks off, then dropped them in the pile. "Dere, now I iz paid up!" The boss mekk hog nodded and gestured to the mekk hogz under him. As Skull Krackah laid on a filthy table, several mekk hogz lowered three massive plates of metal onto his back, welded them together, bolted them straight into his flesh and then welded several sharpened blades made from scrap metal to it.

Skull Krushah rose from the table, gave a few stretches and walked out the mekk tent. As he walked through the ragtag camp, a hog firing super-heated rivets from a weapon called a rivitah wildly while laughing caught his attention. "Give dat 'ere!", he shouted, snatching the rivitah away and strapping it to his armor. When the hog gave an angry squeal, Skull Krushah snapped his powah jawz at it, making the former owner of the weapon reconsider his argument. As he walked through the camp towards the meat pile, he snatched bangahz, soopah bangahz and bom-throwahz from various hogs, strapping them to his armor until he was bristling with weapons pointing in every conceivable direction. Stopping the the meat pile, he punched several large hogz out of the way and snapped up chunks of meat, greedily swallowing them down.

After the hogz had eaten their fill, pits were dug, the excess meat was thrown in and left uncovered. Hogz strapped weapons to their armor or hastily built the ramshackle kartz and wagonz. Skull Krushah Mashah Thrashah pointed his hoof towards the horizon, "Da tramplahz 'ave gone dat way. Let's go boarz! Da hogz are da best! OOOOOOIIIIIIINNNNNNKKKKKK!" With bellows and shouts of "OOOOOOOOIIIIINNNNNNNKKKK!", the massive war host of da hogz trampled out across the desert.

Proudhoof walked around the bivouac where his fellow buffalo had camped, setting up tepees and lodges. Calves laughed as they ran around and tumbled on the ground roughhousing. Turning to the horizon, Proudhoof saw what he thought was at first a storm cloud, though it was moving against the wind. He squinted his eyes to better peer through the midday glare and gasped when he saw uncountable numbers trampling along the desert floor. "Get everybison up and pack up the camp! We've got hostile creatures coming!", he shouted. A few seconds later vibrations could be felt through the ground, making pebble bounce and skitter. As the buffalo started gathering up the camp supplies and their young, sounds of bellowing and oinking were carried on the wind.

"Hogs!", several buffalo shouted. Proudhoof's wife, Wind-In-Her-Fur ran up to him, "We can't fight all of them!" "I'll stay behind with several warriors to try and buy some time. Leave everything behind that can't be carried and get as far away as possible. You, along with everybison need to follow the river to where the apple trees grow, then make your way south to the old iron trail. If the rumors are true, then the pony goddesses walk the world again. Find them and ask for protection.", Proudhoof said. "What if the rumors are false and there are no pony goddesses?", Wind-In-Her-Fur asked. Proudhoof set his jaw. "The big sky has never lead us astray. Get yourself, Stoutheart and as many buffalo to the south as you can. Follow the old iron trail once you get past the apple trees." Wind-In-Her-Fur nodded, ran to the tepee she shared with her husband, gathered up their infant daughter, Stoutheart, in a bundle and strapped her to her back. She joined the groups of buffalo that started stampeding away. Proudhoof joined several bull and cow warriors that chose to stay behind so that the rest of the herd could get away. As the hogz started getting closer, their numbers seemed uncountable. The buffalo warriors snorted, pawed the ground with their hooves, lowered their heads and charged.

As the hogz saw the buffalo charging at them, Skull Krushah Mashah Thrashah shouted, "Show deez tramplahz dat da hogz are da best dere iz! Smash 'em! Crunch 'em! Stomp 'em! Bash dere 'eads in! Let's go boarz! OOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIINNNNNNKKKKK!" The air filled with bellowing shouts of 'OOOOOOOOOIIIIIIINNNNNNKKKK!' as the hogz slammed into the buffalo warriors. Guns fired in every direction as hogz laughed with giddy glee, filling the air with bullets of every size, super-heated rivets and bombs. Rocks, dead trees, cacti, dried bones, scores of hogz and two buffalo were shredded by the deadly hail. Buffalo warriors gored and trampled hogz. Kartz and wagonz swerved through their own ranks, crushing hogz under their wheels who were too slow or stupid to move out of the way. Buffalo slammed into the ramshackle vehicles, flipping them over or plowing through them, sending scrap metal and hogz flying through the air. Several of the ramshackle vehicles crashed into each other in crazed high speed combat, hogz leapt back and forth between the vehicles gleefully brawling with each other.

Proudhoof saw one of the wagonz crash into one of his fellow buffalo out of the corner of his eye, crushing the bison under its wheels, hogz leapt off the back of the vehicle, chopping at them with hakka slashahz, firing weapons wildly or goring with tusks. For an hour the buffalo put a valiant and brutal, but ultimately futile fight. Eventually the vast numbers of hogz overwhelmed them and the buffalo were cut down one by one.

Proudhoof was the last buffalo still standing, he fought on despite his many injuries, forcing most of the hogz into a circle around him. Skull Krushah Mashah Thrashah pushed his way through the crowd and squared off against the buffalo and taunted, "Oi! Dis one 'ere t'inkz heez da biggest an' baddest dere iz!" Proudhoof spat a gob of blood at Skull Krushah in defiance. "The goddesses of the ponies walk the world again. They will crush you into the dust and restore order to the land." Skull Krushah laughed. "I ain't shook by no poneez goddisiz! I iz biggah an' baddah den some ponneez! Now fight me tramplah soz I can show ya dat I iz da biggest an' baddest dere iz!" The buffalo and the boss hog charged at each other. As Proudhoof collided with Skull Krushah, he bit down on the bison's head with his powah jawz, crushing the buffalo's skull, with a quick twist of his head, the bison's neck made several wet pops. Proudhoof slumped to the ground as his body twitched in death throws, then went completely limp. "I iz da biggest an' baddest dere iz!",Skull Krushah Mashah Thrashah shouted. Biting down on the body of the dead bison, he ripped several bloody chunks of meat away and gobbled them down, swirling green energy surrounded him as he grew in size and mass. He tore the horns off the body of Proudhoof's. Snatching up a crude hammer and some nails, he attached the horns to his head.

After the hogz ate their fill of the dead creatures, they dug pits and tossed the uneaten meat in. After gathering armor, weapons and ripping apart the wrecked vehicles, they built new ramshackle vehicles, bolted the armor to their bodies and strapped the weapons to their armor. "Let's go an' find doze poneez goddisiz and bash dere 'eads in roit proppah!", Skull Krushah shouted. The massive war host trampled across the desert to the northeast, occasionally coming across small bands of hogz. Some of small bands some joined willingly, others were pummeled until they joined the war host.

For days the massive war host of hogz trampled across the desert, stopping at pits where their ill-tempered young, called pigz, were waking around, eating anything and everything they could chew up or scrambling out of the pits. The hogz kicked, pummeled and stomped the pigz before tossing them among the war host. As the war host traveled across the desert as it slowly became scrub, varying sized groups joined them. Slowly their numbers grew until they reached a critical mass and their behavior changed, becoming one part massive ravening horde, one part holy mass brawling pilgrimage.

Reaching the base of several jagged mountains, the hogz formed a huge camp. Huge walking and rolling constructs were built from scrap metal. The ones that walked around on massive legs, resembling muscular hogz were called stompaz, ones that moved on heavy rollers, that resembled fat hogz were called crushaz. Among the hogz, preechaz sprang up giving sermons. The preechaz sermons consisted of shouting about their twin gods, Oinkah, the brutally kunnin' and Gruntah, the kunnin'ly brutal, and bashing hogz over their heads.
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On the autumnal equinox the pony military gathered before the Castle of Friendship that the locals had called the Haunted spire. The ranks of the military formed up, snapping to attention into rows and columns. Pilgrims and travelers squeezed where they could or climbed trees to get a better look. The doors on the balcony snapped open, the first two Element Bearers, Dew Drop and Apple Pie walked out wearing new armor, the five alicorn princesses strode out after them, wearing their gleaming powered armor. Shouting cheers filled the air, echoing off trees and mountains, the ground shook with stamping applause.

The crowd went silent as the princesses spread their wings and took to the air, hovering in place. Taking deep breaths, the five alicorns spoke as one in the Royal Canterlot voice. "Hear us Equestria and lands beyond! Your princesses have returned, the Elements awoken and as we speak, choose new bearers. On this day we begin our campaign to bring harmony back to this land! To our little ponies who struggle and toil in the face of madness and misery for their very survival, rejoice for thy salvation is at hoof! To those who seek to enslave, prey upon or lead astray our little ponies, repent and amend thy ways, or thou shalt cut down like wheat! To those whom have risked life and limb to be here today, we command thee to go out into the world and tell all who shalt listen that harmony is coming!" The princesses raised their weapons high into the air. "PEACE THROUGH HARMONY!"

"HARMONY THROUGH VICTORY!", the gathered host of ponies shouted in one voice, followed by deafening cheers.

The princesses landed on the ground, all thirty members of the Nebula Guard marched out of the castle and took up ranks, their silver halberds held at attention. They split into groups of six, each group marched in front of the princesses and knelt, presenting themselves for inspection. One by one, the five princesses inspected, then gave their silent approval of the transequine guards. The Nebula guard formed up on their respective princess as they marched our among the military to inspect each regiment. The ten ponemachs along with their respective legions stood still as statues as the princesses inspected their armor and weapons.

Once finished with the legions, the princesses moved on to the various regiments of the mortal pony armies. The soldiers struck a hoof to their chest in salute as the princesses inspected them and their weapons. Once finished with the soldiers, the princesses moved to the Ponyhood of Steel. "Form...ranks! Present...arms!", Grand Maestro Sunset Shimmer barked to the exoskeleton-clad soldiers and heavily cyberneticaly augmented tech monks of the Ponyhood. The exoskeleton-clad soldiers placed a hoof to their breastplates and stood perfectly still as the tech monks held their weapons in mechanical forelegs, while mechanical tendrils twitched.

Once the princesses finished inspecting the Ponyhood of Steel, they moved on to the Fraternity. The stallion preachers and holy warriors prostrated themselves before the princess and laid their weapons at their armored hooves in supplication and worship.

On the edge of the Everfree Forest, two whitetail deer stood wearing cloaks woven from leaves, a buck and a doe, both with a bow and quiver of arrows across their backs. The buck, named Swift Runner said, "This is most disturbing Spring Blossom. It appears the rumors are true, the pony goddesses have returned. We must go back and warn Prince High Leaper that Thicket may be in danger." The doe, Swift Runner replied, "I agree, but we must take caution. Trickling Stream said she saw the night fliers stirring as if their goddesses call out to them. The last thing we need is ponies joining them who know the secrets of the Sacred Forest." "Won't the pony goddesses try and reclaim the ancient ruins?", Swift Runner asked, "We should have torn that cursed place down, or at least allowed our thorns to surround it." "You know as well as I that the silver tree protects that place and would destroy any attempt to block them from entering there." The two twitched their ears at the sound of soft rustling, turning they readied their bows.

Spears flew from the canopy and the two deer narrowly dodged them. Golden eyes shown from the undergrowth and branches in the permanent twilight of the Everfree. A thestral mare with a coat the color of loam and a pitch black mane and tail, walked from the shadows into a small patch of dappled light, curling her lips back menacingly to show her small fangs. "It shall avail you to not sully our goddesses with your foul words, cervine. Don't think of trying anything, we don't miss twice." She fluttered her leathery wings in anger. The two deer looked at each other, then back to the thestral mare and bounded off into the forest. The thestrals snorted, stamped and fluttered their wings, the mare raised a hoof to settle them down. "Let them run back to their pathetic glade for now. If they make the mistake of attacking us, our cousins or the goddesses, that will give us the excuse to burn that place to the ground." "But mistress Echo, shouldn't we do something? They threatened to destroy holy ground and threatened the goddesses." "Easy Silent Wing.", Echo said, "You know as well as I that deer never openly threaten anything. Come nightfall we shall reveal ourselves to our day walking cousins and the goddesses. We shall warn them of the deer and offer our services. For now, pray to the moon, stars and the six champions for protection and guidance."
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Deep underground ponies imprisoned in cages or chained to walls huddled together for warmth, protection and comfort as they lamented always being hungry, not smelling fresh air or seeing the sun and moon. Diamond dogs mercilessly lashed at teams of ponies with whips as they forced them to dig gems and ores from the walls with picks or haul carts filled with said gems and ores. The canines beat ponies with whips and truncheons whom had collapsed from exhaustion, hunger or simply because they were bored.

Diamond dogs sat around fires turning spits that held butchered bodies of ponies or chopped up and dropped pony meat into bubbling cauldrons. Screams here and there indicated where a dog was feeling especially cruel tossed a still living pony into a boil cauldron or held them over a fire, so that they and their kin could laugh at their suffering while they cooked alive.

An emaciated earth pony mare along with a sickly filly were drug into a part of the warren that served as a abattoir, where the freshly slaughtered bodies of ponies lay still strapped to angled tables or hung from hooks. "Please! Let my daughter go!", the mare begged struggling against the ropes tied to her barrel, "I'll do anything you ask! I'll work double! I'll pleasure you! Just please, please let my daughter go!"

"Shut up pony!", a diamond dog wearing a bloody apron snapped, "You too weak to work and filly too sick too work. You two will be of use to feed us and make our pups strong." The mare yelped in surprise when the diamond dog butcher snatched her up and tossed her on an angled table, then strapped her down. The diamond dog placed a knife against her belly.

"Goddesses, I haven't prayed to you in a long time. Please forgive my lapse in faith. We ponies are lost, scared and trapped, stolen away from your light. Though my life is forfeit, I beg you please save those whom are more worthy than I. The goddesses prot--GUK!" Her words were cut off as the knife plunged into her belly, sending a white-hot blossom of pain through her innards. The diamond dog quickly snatched the knife downwards, spilling the mare's ropy intestines onto the floor. She gurgled and thrashed as the diamond dog cruelly yanked the intestines from her body.

"MOMMY!", the filly cried out. She shrieked and flailed as the diamond dog snatched her up and strapped her to a table, then placed the knife against her belly. Tear leaked from the filly's eyes and pored down her cheeks as she looked over at her dead mother. Clenching her eyes shut, the filly repeated over and over softly, "The goddesses protect! The goddesses protect! The goddesses protect!"

The diamond dog cruelly laughed as he listened to the filly repeat the mantra over and over. As he prepared to plunge the knife into her belly, the sounds of fighting drew his attention.

Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns charged out from a tunnel wearing simple wooden armor, carrying wooden spears in their mouths, hooves or magical auras. Many of the canines that were completely caught unaware found themselves impaled by the spears. Many of the dogs tried to run away, only to have the ponies thrust the spears through their backs. As more diamond dogs poured out of holes in the walls and side tunnels, the ponies shouted, "For the Mountain Ghost! For Hidden Valley! For Equestria!" The diamond dogs joined the fray with angry yips and barks as they attacked with crude iron knives, picks, shovels, spears and swords. Soon the warren devolved into knots of brawling ponies and diamond dogs. Ponies in the cages or chained to walls, grabbed the canines with their hooves, giving their liberators an opening. Larger dogs armed with axes, clubs and swords joined the fray.

In the tunnel that the ponies had charged out of, green flames exploded followed by a bloodcurdling roar. A massive beast covered in thick chitinous plates and a pair of snapping pincers scuttled forward. Dozens of diamond dogs were cut in half or crushed by the pincers. Several of the dogs hurled stones or bodies at the chitinous beast, who in turn simply swatted them away. A diamond dog, which stood twice as tall as its kindred ran forward carrying a large ax in its paws. The chitinous beast leapt through the air in a surprising show of agility. With a flash of green flames, it transformed into a massive python that wrapped around the neck and chest of the diamond dog, constricting tightly. The large dog flailed and thrashed trying to get free of the snake that was crushing the air out of it. With several wet pops and crunches, the neck and ribs of the canine were crushed. As the large dog collapsed to the floor, the pony liberators rallied, driving the subterranean mutts back. The gem hoarding mongrels broke and ran, scattering into the tunnels, while the ponies stabbed those through the back who were too slow or too injured to get away.

The python uncoiled from around the body of the large diamond dog. In flash of green flames, it transformed into a tall, feminine pony-bug with a white carapace and light green highlights, darker green mane-like and tail-like membranous material hung from its head and flank, a curved horn jutted from her forehead, jade green eyes, glittering with intelligence scanned the room. The pony-bug smashed one of the cages open with a chitinous hoof. The liberator ponies broken open cages, snapped chains and broke the yokes on carts, freeing their kindred. They pulled dried gourds from their flanks, filled with water and gave the recently freed slaves a much needed drink. They helped the ponies that were strong enough to walk to their hooves and lashed their spears together to make impromptu stretchers for those who were too weak.

The pony-bug walked through the warren, helping ponies free slaves. She walked to where the bodies of ponies lay strapped to angled tables or hung from hooks, blood still dripping from their bodies. Her stomach turned at the sights and smells of the makeshift abattoir. Her eyes immediately locked on an earth pony filly that was still alive, strapped to a table, her eyes were clenched shut as she softly repeated over and over a mantra. She had a powder blue coat, her mane and tail were kelly green. A lime green aura surround the pony-bug's horn as she ignited her magic and fired a this beam that sliced the restraints holding the filly away.

The filly hit the floor with a surprised squeak. She opened her citron eyes to look around and they became as big as dinner plates as she stared up at the pony-bug. "Me and mommy prayed to the goddesses and they sent a saint."

The pony-bug knelt down to the floor. "I'm more a sinner than saint." She cast her eyes to the ground. "And my sins are piled to the vault of the sky. Climb on, it's not safe here. Though diamond dogs are easily scared, they will return with greater numbers."

"Mommy and daddy said never to leave with a stranger. My name's Rosebud.", the filly said, placing a hoof to her chest, "What's yours?"

"My name's Chrysalis."

Rosebud smiled. "Now we're not strangers, wanna be my friend?"

Chrysalis have a flat chuckle as she thought to herself, ' Maybe one day when I find a way to find absolution, I can say I have a friend.' She picked up Rosebud in her aura and placed her on her back. She trotted over to the tunnel she and the other ponies had attacked the diamond dogs from. "Once we're clear, collapse this warren. There's too many bodies to give them a proper burial." When several of the ponies murmured their discontent, she spoke up, "It too pains me to leave so many without a proper place to rest. ut if we're to make it back without being buried up to our flanks in diamond dogs, we must do this."

As the warren collapsed with a loud crash and a cloud of dust, Chrysalis took the lead of the column of ponies, lighting her horn to guide them out of the tunnels. Rosebud nestled on the former queen of the changelings back, between her transparent wings and was soon softly snoring. Chrysalis smiled at the filly sleeping on her back. After several days of steady marching, the former changeling queen and the column of ponies entered into lush green circular valley that formed long ago from subterranean magma chamber that had collapsed. On the far side of the valley a waterfall cascaded over the steep walls forming the headwaters of a small clear river. Small cottages dotted the valley as ponies tended farms. Several loud whistles from the ponies guarding the edges of the valley alerted those living there that the rescue force had returned.

Crowds of ponies met them, carrying food and dried gourds filled with water. Chrysalis placed Rosebud on the ground and turned to the freed slaves. "Welcome to Hidden Valley. When you are strong enough and should you choose to stay, you will be expected to help grow food, protect the valley or go on rescue parties. If you decide that you'd rather strike out on your own, you will be given a weapon, a week's worth of food and water and pegasi will carry you out through the ceiling. We are not cruel here, you are all free to come and go as you wish. No ponies will lock you in cages, work you to death, starve you or force themselves on you" She gave a small bow. "If you excuse me, I am exhausted and must retire for now."

Gently placing Rosebud on the ground so that the ponies of Hidden Valley could tend to her, Chrysalis walked across the valley to an isolated cabin. Stepping inside, she closed the door and barred it behind her. Sitting at a small chair, she placed a chitinous hoof next to a small carving on the wall in the likeness of Starlight Glimmer and softly wept. "I should have taken your hoof in peace all those centuries ago. I thought loosing my hive and being imprisoned in stone was the worst thing that could have happened to me until my prison shattered and I saw the world descend into the flames of madness. My sins are piled too high to ever receive absolution." She quietly prayed that the soul of Sunset Glimmer rested in peace. As she closed her eyes in prayer, her memories back to all those centuries ago when she, Tirek and Cozy Glow stared out at the columns of smoke rising from where many of the cities while blooms of out of control and destructive magic bathed the countryside in flashes of light and waves of heat. She remembered the pegasus filly laughing maniacally while the magic-eating centaur and she stared in stunned disbelief. She remembered feeling something on that day she hadn't felt in centuries...despair.
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On the edge of the badlands, a group of twenty of ponies log driven mad by the horrors of the world and starvation, gibbered, shrieked and frothed as they chased three pony traders, whom tossed the goods they were carrying in an attempt to lighten themselves in hope of outrunning the maniacs.

One of the three ponies, a unicorn stallion, running from the mad ponies tripped over a loose stone and fell on the ground. When the other two ponies turned back to help him, he shouted, "Leave me! Run!" With heavy hearts, the other two ponies turned and ran, leaving their companion. The unicorn stallion rose to shaky and unsteady hooves to face against the maniacs. Staring into the crazed eyes of the mad ponies, he lit his horn and fired off a blast of magic, shredding the body of one of the ponies long driven into thoughtless madness. The remainder of the crazed maniacs pounced on him in a mass of flailing hooves and champing teeth, they stamped and reared up, slamming hooves onto the overwhelmed unicorn stallion until his body was little more than a mass of battered meat and broken bones. They surrounded the body, tearing off chunks of still warm bloody meat and gobbled it down, or cracked open the bones to get at the marrow.

As the maniacs swarmed around the dead body of the pony in their grisly feast, the loud crunch of heavy hooves drew several of their attention. A minotaur wearing armor made from heavy plates leveled a large pipe-like weapon. The mad ponies gibbered and shrieked, their long shattered minds not recognizing a threat, only comprehending their own maddening hunger. Foam fell from the maniacs' mouths as they charged mindlessly forward. The minotaur squeezed the trigger on the weapon, with a loud blast of smoke and fire, nails, chain links, shards of scrap metal, small round stones and anything else that could be stuffed down the muzzle of the scattergun filled the air, shredding the bodies of several crazed ponies.

Some of the maniacs stopped to tear bloody chunks of meat from their dead and dying, the rest charged on. Several more minotaurs stepped from behind boulders and dead trees, firing their scatterguns into the charging crowd of maniacs. Drawing large machetes from their waists, the minotaurs hacked away at the last surviving maniacs. Once the last of the mad ponies were cut down, the lead minotaur held up his fist to signal for his compatriots to stop.

"What makes a pony eat their own kind, Stone Horn?", a young minotaur asked walking up.

Stone Horn looked over his shoulder at the young minotaur, then at the malnourished bodies of the dead maniacs. "When you watch magical storms tear your home apart. When you watch mutants and monsters rip apart the ones you love. When you go weeks without eating, you'd go mad too, Iron Hoof." He gestured to the dead maniacs. "These were the lucky ones. Their mind completely shattered and they were completely driven by blind hunger. We could have come across much worse. They could have been cultists worshiping death or monsters." He pulled a shovel off his back. "Let's get them buried. Even if they devolved into mindless animals, I'll not leave their bodies for the vultures, maggots, or worse." As he started digging a grave, he gestured to some of his compatriots. "Find their companions and make sure they are unharmed."

Once the minotaurs finished burying the bodies of the ponies, they reloaded their scatterguns. The small group of minotaurs that had been sent out to find the two surviving ponies returned escorting their quarry alive and unharmed. Stone Horn slung his scattergun across one shoulder and approached the two ponies. "It is dangerous to wander in these parts, little ponies. Why were you alone?" When the two ponies shivered in fear and huddled on the ground, Stone Horn lowered himself to the ground, kneeling. "Be at peace, little ponies. I swear on my honor as warrior of the Fire Pipes Tribe, no harm shall come to you. Let me start over. My name is Stone Horn. What's yours?"

The ponies looked each other, then back to Stone Horn, rose to their hooves and swallowed. The first pony, a unicorn mare with a dark blue coat and a two-toned silver and blonde mane spoke, "My--my name's Star Shine." The second pony, an earth pony stallion with a tan coat and a light gray mane, emboldened by his companion spoke up, "My name's Radish."

Stone Horn smiled gently at the two ponies. "What were you three doing this far out on your own? There aren't any caravans or settlements anywhere nearby."

"We got separated from our caravan three days ago when maniacs attacked.", Star Shine said in a nervous tone, "There were more of us, but the maniacs killed them."

Stone Horn frowned slightly as he let his gaze scan the horizon. "Come with us back to camp. There's food and water there. No creatures will harm you while you're under our protection. When we find civilization, you can depart if you wish."

Forming up into twin columns, the minotaurs with the ponies in tow marched back to camp. After the group made their way back to camp and scattered to their own personal business or families, Stone Horn sat on an old log picking gravel from his hooves. Looking up, he saw his wife, a brown cow with a proud look on her face walking up, all four hooves kicking up small puffs of dust with each step, their daughter skipping alongside. Stone Horn snatched his daughter in his arms and gave her a big hug. "I missed you so much Moory!" "I missed you too daddy!", Moory said as she nuzzled Stone Horn. Placing the heifer calf back down on all four of her hooves, he walked over to the brown cow and wrapped his arms around his neck, planting a gentle kiss on her lips. "I missed you too Mooriel!" Mooriel nuzzled into her husband's cheek. "I missed you too Stone horn.", she leaned her mouth closer to the minotaur's ear and whispered, "I'm with calf."

Stone Horn parted from his wife, a big smile graced his face. "Y-y-you're sure?!" Mooriel nodded. "How far along are you?" "Just a little more than one moon." Stone Hoof gave a proud laugh as his chest swelled with pride and he bellowed to all in the camp, "MOORIEL IS WITH CALF! DRINKS ARE ON ME AT THE CANTEEN!" Cheers went up through the camp as several cows and minotaurs shouted back, "Blessings of the Divine Mother upon you!"

As Stone Horn made his way out of the canteen a few hours later after sharing a few tankards of watered down grog with his fellow bovines, a battle-hardened minotaur, who's body was covered in scars from innumerable battles, wearing the black plate armor of the honor guard, walks up. "What brings you here, honorable warrior?", Stone Horn asked giving a slight bow, "I take it you're not here to join in the celebration of Mooriel being with calf?"

"The matriarch requests your presence.", the black-armored minotaur said in a gruff voice. Stone Hoof blinked in surprise, before splashing some water on his face from a nearby trough to sober-up a bit. With a quick gesture of a meaty hand, the black-armored minotaur gestured for him to follow.

Reaching the large circular tent where the matriarch of the Fire Pipes Tribe resided, Stone Horn placed his scattergun and machete by the entrance, then pushed aside the flap to enter. Inside at the center of the tent on a simple raised wooden portable platform, laid with all four legs tucked under her was the brown and white aged cow, matriarch of the Fire Pipes Tribe, Daisy, a calm smile on her lips. Stepping clear of the tent entrance, Stone Horn knelt, lowering his head and placing both fists on the ground. "I answer your summons great matriarch, whose word and visions guide our tribe."

"Rise Stone Horn.", Daisy said in a gentle tone, "First allow me to congratulate you, it a blessing from the Divine Mother that our tribe grows. But I did not summon you here solely to congratulate you on the growth of your family. I have recently had a vision in my sleep of a winged unicorn with a dark blue coat. The soothsayers have confirmed my night vision that the goddesses of the ponies walk the land again, but their portents also speak of dark things, something that shouldn't walk the world and yet does. Their portents also speak of those whom worship shadows that seek to find the shards of a long slain king in hope of resurrecting him. We must travel to our cousins, the Long Pikes Tribe and ask for their aid. Long have our cousins in the south across the great desert have besmirched the honor of all minotaurs, but word has traveled that a great host of ponies have lain them low along with those whom they served whom pretended to be gods."

Daisy reached a hoof into a small tray with a hoof, picking up several rune stones and cast them before her. She studied the rune stones in silence for several minutes before speaking again, "The portents read the same every time I cast the runes. The goddesses of the ponies prepare to march forth to claim what they ruled. Only if we swear fealty to their cause can we prove ourselves as defenders of the innocent." She raised a hoof and a black-armored minotaur brought out a conical helmet with three red crests. "I offer to you an honor that no Fire Pipe has claimed in over a century, the title of tribe champion. You shall lead our tribe in all things when it comes to making war against our enemies, answerable only to myself and the council of soothsayers."

Stone Horn took the helmet in his hands, looking it over. "I don't know what to say matriarch."

"I would hope you say yes. If you refuse, know that you will receive no dishonor."

"Why me? Surely there are those who are more worthy to receive such an honor."

"Only those who do not seek selfish glory or power for power's sake are worthy."

Stone Horn rolled the helmet in his hands, thinking as whether or not he truly deserved such an honor. After several moments he slipped the helmet on his head.

Daisy smiled broadly, then rose slowly to her hooves, walking out of the tent with Stone Horn in tow. "Behold Fire Pipes!" she exclaimed in a loud voice, "I present to you your champion, Stone Horn! Are there any whom shalt challenge the decision of myself or the soothsayers?" One by one minotaurs and cows stepped forwards and knelt lowering their heads until the entire tribe showed their allegiance.

A motherly smile graced Daisy's lips. "Rise my fellow tribesbovines! As passed down from the Divine Mother, the cows may lead, but it is on the backs and shoulders of the minotaurs that the very life's blood of all bovinekind is preserved." She gestures with a hoof in a sweeping arc, "Go forth Stone Horn, champion of the Fire Pipes and select those who would council you in all things."

Stone Horn walked among his tribesbovines to choose the members of his council. Once he had finished choosing his eight councilbovines, five minotaurs and three cows, he brought them before the tribe to declare them. The first was an old minotaur whom had long ago lost his left hand in a fight with a mutant and currently had it replaced with a wooden facsimile, named Trampler. The second was a large, muscular cow whom had lead many defenses of the tribe, named Thorned Rose. The thrid was a young, but bright and insightful minotaur, named Indomitable Will. The fourth was a minotaur, about the same age as Stone Horn, he wore a necklace with the claws of some unnameable beast that matched the four parallel scars on his face and chest, named Stone Breaker. The fifth was a battle-scarred cow, a joyful smile graced her face despite her many battle scars, named Sweet "the Laughing One" Grass. The sixth was minotaur whom was a massive mountain of muscle, his red eyes stood in contrast to his black fur, despite his immense size and fearsome appearance, his countenance was gentle, named Mountain Breaker. The seventh and eighth were a pair of identical twin white cows, one had a crumpled horn on the left side of her head, while the other had a crumpled horn on the right side of her head, named Cammy and Amelia.

Daisy looked over Stone Horn and his eight councilors. She nodded and gave a grunt of approval. "May your choices bring victory and honor to our tribe, Stone Horn." She turned her gaze to the tribe. "Eat hearty and rest well, my kin, for in the morning we make our way to Flat-top hill to meet with our cousins in the Long Pikes Tribe." With that, she turned and made her way to her tent.
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As the sun set, three hundred thestrals flew out of the Everfree Forest in tight formations. They banked hard, circling Apple Orchard, the pony military bivouac and the Castle of Friendship, ensuring they were easily spotted against the night sky. As soldiers and transequine marines formed up into squads and firing lines aiming their weapons, the bat ponies hovered, landing in regimented formations. Once their hooves were on the ground, the bat ponies made sure that all saw them lay their spears on the ground.

Echo walked calmly forward, keeping her wings tightly tucked to her sides. She stopped several strides from the front lines of the pony military and raised a hoof. "Stay your fury, day walking cousins. We come not as enemies, but as friends."

Pegasi marines landed on either side of the thestrals, igniting the energy fields on their wing blades. Earth pony marines leveled the guns mounted in shoulder sockets on their armor, preparing to unleash volleys of mass reaction death as unicorn marines readied combat spells. Beyond the mass of muscle and thick armor of the transequine marines, pony soldiers shoved their heavy, wheeled shields in place as they aimed rifles. Exoskeleton-clad warriors of the Ponyhood of Steel took up positions between the soldiers and marines, aiming various weapons mounted in shoulder sockets, while tech monks stood on the gantries and catwalks that wrapped around the outside of the forges, aiming volleyguns and railguns. The Fraternity bristled and champed as they readied their muskets, preparing for a potential fight, while preachers golloped back and forth shouting battle prayers and sermons. Tension hung thick in the air, along with the smell of sweat and adrenaline. Muscles of mortal ponies trembled in apprehension.

The alicorn princesses appeared in multicolored flashes of light, their armor crackling with energy, the Nebula Guard flanked them, gleaming silver halberds at the ready. For several seconds a pregnant silence hung thick in the night air along with the smell of adrenaline and sweat. Echo laid on her stomach and spread her leathery wings flat on the ground, the remaining thestrals followed suit. "Forgive us, goddesses, for not revealing ourselves to you sooner."

Twilight spoke up, "Thank you. But we're not..." With a flick of her wings, Luna silenced Twilight and stepped forward. "Arise loyal children of the night." As the thestrals rose, Luna spoke again, "Speak true, why dost thou reveal thyselves now and not after we slew the sphinx?"

Echo averted her gaze as she spoke. "Word has been slow to reach our isolated villages deep in the forest, my goddesses. We only recently heard of your arrivals."

"Lies!", Luna barked as she curved her armored wing up in a threatening display, Echo's ears laid flat and she hunkered down, "Dost thou seek to deceive Us? We who lead countless generations of thy ancestors in glorious conquest? Speak true or We shalt smite thee and thy villages, then trample the ashes of thy kindred into the soil!" The four other princesses matched the display.

Echo threw herself belly-down onto the ground and pressed her hooves together in supplication. "A million pardons my goddess! You are correct, I did not speak true. If you must punish anypony, punish me, as leader of the Everfree Tribe."

Luna smirked. "Arise thestral. Tell Us again why thou didst not come when first hearing we had returned. Thy sun loving cousins in Apple Orchard threw their gates open for us the moment they laid eyes upon us. Speak untrue again and thou suffering shalt be greater than those in the depth of Tartarus."

Echo swallowed hard as she rose from the ground. "Y-yes it's true we heard of your conquests far to the south across the desert and even witnessed part of the fight where you forces along with the great dragon laid low a star beast. We even saw the lights come from the ancient ruins and we still didn't choose to reveal ourselves. We were unsure if you truly returned or if another warlord claiming to be divinity had risen up."

Luna lowered her threatening display, then moved her wings into a more regal display. "We believe thou." As the thestral blew out a sigh of relief, she continued, "Now tell Us truthfully, why reveal thyselves now? Why not continue to hide in the forest, like worms under a rock? Surely thou wouldst hast lived to see old age before We wouldst hast sought thy kind out."

Echo cast her gaze to the ground in shame. "There were talks among the tribe that we should reveal ourselves sooner, it was my choice to remain hidden until we knew your intentions. Even after we determined you all had returned, it was my choice to remain hidden until now."

Luna raised an eyebrow while the rest of her face remained still as a mask.

Echo's resolve withered from that raised eyebrow. "I have brought shame upon all thestrals by my own cowardice. It's true, I should have had greater resolve. We are warriors who can bring terror to the enemies of ponykind by descending upon them in a great horde like a thunderstorm or striking from the shadows like a well-placed dagger. When the deer started their scheming, I chose to move and reveal ourselves to you all. I beg your forgiveness and place my life in your hooves."

Luna placed an armored hoof to her chin in thought as Celestia leaned in close to Twilight and winked. She strode forward and drew her sword, flames danced along the blade as they ignited. "Speak your name!", she barked, pointing the tip of the flaming sword at the thestral's snout.

"E-Echo, my goddess."

"Echo, you you shall give the coordinates of where your tribe resides to our commanders, then you shall return to them and by sun down tomorrow, you shall return with every bat pony who is capable of flight here, those who are too old, too young, too weak or too sick shall be escorted here by the military. After your return here, we shall decide your fate. Failure to meet our demands shall be met with great violence."

Echo swallowed, nodded, walked over to one of the commanders and pointed out on a map where the tribe lived, then flew off with the three hundred thestrals in tow back to the Everfree.

With a flourish, Celestia put her sword away and started walking back to the palace. "Always one for dramatics, Celly?", Luna teased as she trotted. "You're a fat one to speak, Lulu.", Celestia teased back, "Speaking like you're Shakespony, even two thousand years after his death." "Calling me fat, Celly? Really?!", Luna quipped back, "Even now after the last cake has long rotted away, your flank is so wide that I'm surprised the pegasi don't use it as a landing strip, unless of course the old tumors were true and you have somewhere a stash of cakes magically preserved." "You're just jealous that no matter how much you eat or how many squat thrusts you do, your haunches still look like someone glued a pair of guitar picks under your tail.", Celestia scoffed. "Hey! I seem to remember that all the stallions had trouble keeping themselves in their sheaths when I walked by." Twilight, Cadance and Flurry Heart just rolled their eyes at the two sister's bickering.

As the sun set on the next day, the skies above the Everfree Forest darkened with the leathery wings of thestrals. The bat ponies carried on their backs or in makeshift hammocks suspended between them, those of their numbers who were unable. The pony military formed by by brigade, legion and forge, while the ponies that lived in Apple Orchard scrambled on top of the walls to gape at their bat-winged cousins flying in a massive formation. Deep within the Everfree, deer watched from their hiding places and shuddered.

A buck nudged several of his compatriots. "Come! We must go back to Thorn and warn the far-leapers that the ponies have just reunited with their night flying cousins."

The five alicorn princesses stood at the ready at the head of the military forces, the transequine warriors of the Nebula Guard formed ranks at their flanks. "I don't think they trust our forces to adequately escort their elderly, young and sick through the Everfree.", Celestia whispered to her sister. "To be honest, the ones of our forces who could go through that forest and come back unscathed aren't exactly the most stealthy.", Luna whispered back.

Rank by rank, the thestrals landed on the ground, laid down their spears and prostrated themselves before the princesses. Medics hurried out to tend to those who were too weak to fly.

Twilight took the first steps forward, armored hooves sinking slightly into the ground, her wings extended in a regal display and chin held slightly aloft. "Echo, you and the tribal elders shall join us in a private meeting where we shall decide your fate. The rest of your ponies shall allow the medics to tend to them."

Quickly turning on their hooves with a sharp snap, the five princess began the slow march back to the castle, with Echo and eleven tribal elders following close behind. The twelve thestrals gaped in awe at the crystalline walls of the castle as armored hooves rang out in perfect lock-step marching.

The group entered into a room where Dew Drop and Apple Pie were waiting, dressed in armor. Apple Pie looked around uncomfortably while Dew Drop gave the thestrals an intense thousand yard stare as she casually brushed the saber haging at her flank.

With a curt nod, Twilight dismissed the Nebula Guard, who gave small bows before backing out doors or vanishing behind pillars, seemingly to become one with the shadows. 'And here I thought we thestrals were one with the shadows.", Echo said astonished, "Those ponies are on a whole different level."

Twilight cleared her throat to draw the attention back onto her as she turned to face the bat ponies. "Now...tell me what you know of the deer."

Author's Note

This chapter went on longer than I initially expected. The bison are on the move in hopes to meet with the ponies. Da hogz rampage across the land. A tribe of minotaurs seeks the council of their cousins. Chryssi is the head of her own village. The thestrals join the growing crusade. The deer plot and scheme, to what ends, only they know.

Next chapter the crusade marches to war. Enemies rise up, allies make themselves known. What do the ~~eldar~~ ~~filthy knife-ears~~ deer have planned?

Love it? Hate it? Have questions? Got ideas you want to share? Wanna throw shade or bane? Feel free to leave it down in the comments.

Broken brass: The first battle for harmony and blooding the crusade

The Fire Pipes and Long Pikes tribes of minotaurs met at the top of a plateau where their camps had been set for the past two month as the elders of both tribes debated and gathered supplies. As the days stretched on, many of the bull minotaurs from each tribe would compete in contests of strength, endurance, cunning, intelligence, drinking or eating, there were also pleasantries and gifts exchanged. Rivalries between warriors of both tribes usually devolved into bawdy singing in the drinking halls where they bragged about combat or sexual prowess, occasionally among the younger bulls tempers would boil over into brawls that were quickly broken up by the older bulls, to wit the cows would severely scold them, sometimes dolling out punishments ranging from denial from entrance in to drinking halls to serving extra shifts on perimeter guard to, in the most severe cases, floggings or canings.

As autumn came on slowly and the nights slowly became longer while a chill filled the air, the elders of both tribes came to an agreement, they would winter here and when the spring thaw came, they would march out to find the pony army and request parlay with their 'goddesses' so they could best determine whether they were a threat to their combine two tribes or allies.
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As autumn slowly flowed into winter, the combined forces of the infantry, aerial squads, transequine legions, Ponyhood of Steel, airships and the Fraternity had settled in for the long months near the walled village of Apple Orchard, but they weren't idle. The massive factories went into overdrive cranking out massive amounts of semiautomatic rifles, flamethrowers, pony-portable heat beams and improved armor for the infantry, pegasi aerial scouts and the Fraternity. New automated wagons outfitted with short and medium range mortars, several regiments of the infantry quickly reorganized themselves and started training to be more effective with the new weapons of war. As the snow slowly began to drift down to the ground, the silence was broken by officers barking orders or ponies practicing with their weapons.

The legions were also highly active, equipping and training with the new ripper hooves, double chain blades attached to helmets or held in mouths and retractable hoof blades until they were deadly proficient with them. Adamantem split their time between improving the ponemarch's legion's armor and weapons until they were master craft quality and supervising the upgrading the walls of Apple Orchard from simple logs to thick concrete reinforced with steel rebar, the gates were also replaced with thick, heavy composite metal slabs, the entrance of which barely wider than two wagons, mounted on floating hinges operated by a series of pulleys and strong steel cables, a portcullis was also installed that could be quickly lowered in case of attack.

Inside of one of the Ponyhood of Steel's compounds, the five princesses watched on in silence as a ceremony to create new sparks were enacted. A dozen ponies, surrounded by their friends and families, sat on small elaborate platforms as tech monks inserted small crystalline cubes into the bases of the platforms then placed small metal halos over their heads and attached lengths of wires to them. Food and drink were brought out to the ponies preparing to sacrifice themselves and shared with their friends and families. Tearful goodbyes, solemn, silent moments, close embraces and laughter were shared with the ponies friends and families as they participated in the final feasts. Once the food and drink were cleared away, small cups of fast-acting poison were brought out to the dozen ponies whom were preparing to sacrifice themselves. As one the ponies held up the small cups in their hooves, saying their final goodbyes. "By our deaths we ensure harmony rolls forward.", the dozen ponies said in a solemn tone. "By our lives we honor your sacrifice.", the friends and family of the ponies replied. Generators at the bases of the platforms were switched on as the dozen ponies placed the small cups to their lips and swallowed the poison. Within moments the first stage of the poison kicked in, making the dozen ponies drift off into unconsciousness, followed by their breathing slowly stopping. As the life of the dozen ponies slipped away, the machinery in the platforms transferred their minds to the crystalline cubes, each slowly flickered to life with a soft blueish-white glow as the sparks awakened to their new lives.

"We honor your sacrifices.", Twilight said solemnly stepping forward, "Let their names be preserved in the hall of martyrs for they gave the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of harmony." The bodies of the dozen ponies were placed into caskets and buried with full honors. Twelve new graves with intricately carved headstones were placed in the shadow of the Castle of Friendship.

As the days began to slowly lengthen, signaling that spring was nearing, Twilight kept an eye to a small patch trees in Apple Orchard. As the days became warmer and the snow began to melt, falling in clumps from the trees, timberwolves could be heard howling in the distances. "The first sign!", Twilight called out in a loud voice. Many ponies looked at her with confusion as she started banging spoons on pots, making a loud racket. The second day a strong wind starts blowing and the skies get covered in dark clouds. Small blue electrical sparks starts crackling across the branches of the trees that the ponies of Apple Orchard had long thought to be dead and cursed as when they tried to knock them down, they'd receive a sharp electrical zap. "The second sign!", she shouts as the blue electrical sparks dissipate as large dark leaves sprout. The ponies look at her even more bewildered as she summons up a fluffy pink bunny suit, puts it on, fills several watering cans and places them in a circle, then stands on her hind legs, hoping over each one singing the alphabet song before watering each tree. Slowly the other ponies join her as she signals to them. On the third day another strong wind blows, bringing in dark clouds, flocks of crows fill the air above the orchard. More blue electrical sparks crackle across the trees as small blue flowers sprout, bud and bloom. Ponies fill watering cans and place them in circles, while others wearing bunny suits they fashioned hop over them, singing the alphabet song. Twilight sets up an outdoor kitchen, places several jars on the counter, slaps an old green army helmet on her head and starts shouting at the jars like a drill sergeant. She slams a hoof on the counter, when any of the jars break or crack, she shouts "Court marshaled!" at them before tossing the broken and cracked jars in a bucket. On the fourth day all the ponies of the village are either singing to the water or shouting at jars like drill sergeants, as the sun sets, a meteor shower fills the evening sky with sparkling, twinkling lights, grey, unripened apples appear on the trees. When ponies try to buck the apples from the trees, they receive powerful electrical zaps, others try to pluck the unripened apples, only to get flung across the orchard. On the fifth day as the sun shines bright in the sky, a thunderstorm fills the sky with lightning, causing many of the ponies to cower in fear. The storm quickly breaks and a brilliant rainbow fills the sky. A brilliant rainbow aura surrounds the trees as the apples plump up and ripen, their color turning from grey to rainbow-stripped. Twilight quickly lays buckets and baskets under the trees, harvesting the ripened zap apples, quickly the other ponies join in the harvest. As the sun sets, the zap apples that weren't harvested vanish with pops.

Over the next week Twilight starts making jam, pies, tarts and other apple confectioneries from the zap apples, each containing the brilliant rainbow pattern of the fruits. The ponies eyes sparkles with joy and awe as they eat the various zap apple confectioneries, while Twilight shares the story of the zap apples and the recipes to make said goods. As Twilight leaves to rejoin her military, many of the villagers bring zap apple goods to the soldiers to restock the army's larders. Songs fill the air of the village praising the 'Covenant of the Zap Apples'.

In the morning as the sun barely peeks above the horizon, the engines on the airships, mobile factories, mobile barracks, mobile medbays and garages holding the war striders roar to life as the military prepares to depart. A full battalion of infantry with aerial scout compliment are stationed to protect Apple Orchard along with a company of Ponyhood soldiers. From the nearby mountain that served as his home and lair, Spike emerges, stretches his massive wings and takes to the air. The very ground rumbles as the vast pony military rolls out, the ponies of Apple Orchard climb onto the parapets of the wall, waving their hooves and shouting their praises to the goddesses. On the rear deck of the command airship, Apple Pie places her forehooves on the railing as she takes one last long look at the village that served as her home since she was a filly as it slowly sinks lower and lower on the horizon.

From within the depths of the Everfree Forest, dozens of deer watch the pony army depart. The throng of deer part as the king of Thicket, Spring Buck, walks forward to get a better look. "Alert our cousins in the glades of Spruce, Deep Pines, Crag and Mountain Top, the ponies march to war.", he says, gesturing to several does. The does bow and begin weaving secret trail spells, for a second the air fills with the crackle of magic as small paths appear leading to portals. The does disappear through the portals as they hop down the paths.

Deep in the shadows a single black stag watches intently. A smile crosses his lips, revealing teeth sharpened to points. Oh dear sweet, foolish cousins. You seek to meddle in the way of other creatures and yet you don't want to include us, the black deer. A shadow aura envelopes his antlers as he opens a portal and steps through.
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In the foothills of the range once known as the Foal Mountains, stands a fortress carved from a massive outcropping of basalt. Said keep is the home of a single wicked, mutated minotaur, known as the Brass Lord, a local warlord whom has carved out for himself a fief which he rules over with an iron hoof. Ponies, griffons, centaurs, goats and mutants serve as his legion, all gangers, slavers, cultists worshiping Grogar or Sombra, drawn to his banner by the promise of power, plunder, slaughter or other vile and nefarious purposes. In the mines, fields and bordellos, creatures of all types are enslaved and kept in brutal conditions, beaten and abused by their masters until they either die from the hash conditions or their masters grow bored, making grisly sport of them.

In these appalling conditions, an undead pegasus, wearing the alicorn amulet on her neck, along with other charms enhancing the foul magic, a twisted black horn sticks up from the gaunt, withered flesh on her forehead between the few strands of hair that hadn't fallen out, bedraggled, rotting feathers cling to nearly skeletal wings, walks unperturbed past the suffering and death towards the gates of the keep, a small group of shambling, dead ponies serve as her bodyguards. Approaching the gate, two creatures, heavily mutated to the point one can no longer tell what they once were move in front of the gates to bar her path. A sneer spread on her mummified lips, partially revealing teeth, cracked and rotting. "You will let me pass. I have business with your lord."

The mutants laugh and cross their limbs across their hideously twisted torsos. The pegasus lights her unnatural horn in an aura that robs the very light and warmth from the air. The very flesh of the two mutants begins to wither and decay, their screams quickly turn to sickly gurgling as putrid-smelling blood and other fluids pour from their mouths. Within moments the two mutants are reduced to piles of warped bones and putrefied liquid. The other creatures and mutants serving a guards back away, not wanting to meet the same fate as their two now former compatriots.

The undead pegasus mare, Cozy Glow, walks through the main yard of the keep, scarcely giving notice to slaves being subjected to tortures because their masters deemed them "lazy", their behavior "disrespectful", because they tried to flee or simply they were simply bored. Here and there screams of pain would echo across the yard from among groups of tightly gathered creatures loyal to the Brass Lord where an unfortunate slave was being subjected to sexual abuses.

Reaching the main doors of the keep, Cozy Glow allowed a sneer to spread across her mummified lips at the guards. They quickly scattered away from her, word having quickly spread of what she had done to two of the mutants guarding the main gate. Flinging the doors open, she walked in the main hall of the keep with her zombie bodyguards. Hides, skulls and other grizzly trophies taken from enemies slain by the Brass Lord lined the walls. At the far end of the hall said lord sat on a throne made of brass atop a raised dais, several female creatures, their eyes with a hollow, broken gaze, held in place by heavy metal collars chained to the base of the throne, stared at the floor.

The Brass Lord turned his head, crowned with a ring of horns that grew up from his scalp, to watch the undead mare, along with her zombie bodyguards, walk towards his throne. He tapped his fingers, intertwined with writhing tendrils, on the arm rest of the throne. As the undead mare approached the base of the dais, a wicked smile spread on his cruel features, revealing sharp, needle-like teeth. "What business does a dead thing have in my court?", he asked in a gravelly voice that made the females chained to the base of his throne tremble.

Cozy Glow was unperturbed stared up at the Brass Lord, taking in his features, especially the ring of horns and the lizard-like scaly skin, the color of unpolished brass. His displays of brutality and excess did not impress her, before she was killed nearly one thousand years ago, she had reveled in the madness of the cataclysm, this self-proclaimed ruler who was little more than a petty tyrant among petty tyrants, he was no alicorn princess and if the rumors were true, they had returned leading a great host, so for now until she had what she needed to challenge he oldest enemy, Twilight Sparkle, she would rely on her best and most powerful weapon, manipulation. "Golly!", she said in a wispy voice that felt dry as dust, "I'm just a l'il pegasus who was resurrected by a necromancer. But he's gone now and I have learned the secrets of his power and I offer to you my small vanguard of soldiers who need no food, know no fear and will follow orders."

The Brass Lord licked his lips with a tentacle-like tongue in thought as the tendrils wrapping each of his fingers wiggled and writhed as they drummed on the armrests. "What if I took your generous gifts and those shiny baubles, especially that gold one around your necks?" In response Cozy lit the magic in her unnatural horn, one of the female creatures gave a scream of horror that quickly became a gurgling as rotting fluids filled her throat while her flesh withered and purified, leaving a pool of rotted liquid and bones behind, the other females whimpered and tried to get as far away as the chains on their collars let them. A few seconds later the skeleton of the now dead female was wrapped in a lack crackling aura before it became animate, joining the ranks of Cozy's undead.

The Brass Lord tapped a tendril-wrapped finger to his chin. "Impressive. Most impressive. I believe we have reached a mutual understanding, welcome to the brass legion. Now pray tell, what do you need to make my already powerful forces even greater?"

A wicked and cruel grin twisted Cozy Glow's expression as she answered. "Flesh."
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As the crusade airships flew through their air and the massive barracks, factories, garages and medbays rumbled along the ground on wide tracks, pegasi, unicorn and earth pony squads moved out ahead scouting the land head or patrolled behind in rear guard actions.

Steel Saber, an earth pony stallion, scouting four leagues ahead of the led airship paused hearing some rustling from behind a small clump of bushes. He keyed his comms unit twice as the unspoken signal for suspicious movement. When they eyes of the two other earth ponies and the unicorn turned their eyes on him, he gave a few quick hoof signals. Suspicious movement. Going to investigate. Form a basic perimeter. Notify any other scout squads nearby and air command. The other three ponies gave a silent acknowledgement, formed a a semicircle five paces apart, the unicorn switched her comms unit to a secure and relayed the information.

Steel Saber, readied his rifle, drew the bayonet, attaching it to the lug. Eyes cautiously scanning the environment for threats and sudden movement, ears twitching, listening for any sounds out of the ordinary, he held the rifle in a hoof, approaching the small clump of bushes. The crunch of leaves and the snap of a twig, the twang of something being cocked alerted him to the possible threat, though it could be scared travelers civilians, he decided to not be rash bust still alert. A boulder further back and to his left, there was the soft crunch of gravel, followed by a similar twang of something being cocked followed by a metallic click. Backing up slowly, he quickly scanned the environment. His ears picked up soft thuds of hooves on grass, more sounds of gravel crunching or leaves rustling, eyes caught metallic glints, his training from day one in scouting school told him one thing...ambush. Backing up further, his squadies caught what was going on and quickly formed up into a two-by-two box formation. Steel Saber raised his rifle, taking aim where he first heard something hiding in the bushes and shouted a challenge, "Halt! Who goes there?! Advance and be recognized or we will fire!" The four scouts keyed on their comms units in preparation for the worst.

Metal spikes, spiked balls and crossbow bolts soared out from dozens of concealed locations. The four ponies laid down a field of fire from their semiautomatic rifles as they hastily fell back to a fallen tree for cover. A dozen ponies, griffons and minotaurs jumped from hiding places shouting threats and wooping while they reloaded their improvised weapons or drew crude melee weapon. Shots fired from semiautomatic rifles felling several, some slumping to the ground dead, others crying out in pain and others thrashing about as their lives bled away. "This is Sigma-five-one-three! We have encountered hostiles is sector two-eight-three-niner! Requesting fire support!", Steel Saber shouted into his comms unit. "This is Big Sky twelve. Be informed, we are moving in on your position with Big Sky three. We have eyes on Sigma one-one-three and Sierra-Delta-One moving to assist.", a voice crackled back through the comms unit. The ponies continued to return fire, trying to hold back the ambush, backup was on the way, with the pegasi scout squads just minutes out.

As the pegasi scouts arrived, the four ponies on the ground quickly reloaded the magazines in their rifles and moved to better cover. An improvised flare launched high in the air from a clump of trees and the very ground seemed to suddenly sprout bodies as dozens more creatures, wearing hodgepodge armor, leapt from small holes covered with crude canvas. Pegasi an griffons took to the air to take the fight to the incoming pegasi, gripping crude melee weapons in talons, hooves and mouths. Quickly the fighting became desperate as enemy numbers now greatly the small pony squads. As the ponies of the crusade found themselves surrounded, fighting quickly devolved into brutal hoof-to-hoof combat, more akin to to brawling than trained combat. Steel Saber cried out in pain as a crude crossbow bolt slipped through a gap in his armor where his foreleg met his barrel, the head biting deep until it penetrated a lung. Collapsing hard to the ground, he was stunned for a moment, but his training quickly took over and he grabbed the rifle with his other hoof, firing into the knot of creatures rushing at him until the magazine went dry. Holly Bush, the unicorn mare, went to shout the call sign in her comms unit that they were overrun and were requesting artillery strikes on their position when three metal spikes impacted the side of her neck, sending her sprawling to the ground with bright red blood pouring from her mouth. Steel Saber lost consciousness from blood loss, the ponies of the three squads were killed or drug down to the ground, bound with ropes and hauled off. The bandits hacked the ponies bodies apart who had fallen in battles. Several bandits picked up the rifles, looking over the contraptions, a few of them brushed their talons, hooves or fingers across a small rune with a gem chip in the center of it out of curiosity, as the rune blinked, several of them gathered around to gawk. Five seconds later the rifles exploded, turning the bandit's bodied whom had gathered around into mangled heaps. The bandits tossed the remaining rifles away, fearing they were cursed devices.

From concealed positions, the two remaining crusade scout squads who arrived just as the fighting died down silently observed, and giving a quick head count of surviving enemies, surviving squads and the dead from both. Quietly they fell back as they whispered the information into their comms units.

As the sun slowly set, thestrals in two-pony teams, armed with both action rifles modified into a sniping configuration, took flight from the various airships. Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Flurry watched in stern silence as Empresario, along with the transequine general's transequine sons and daughters had their power armor, painted with night camoflage, attached to their bodies by the legion squires. Hex wrenches were inserted into sockets, with a twist the armor was connected to the pony marines nervous systems through the various ports and metal stubs in their skin. Grenades, explosives and guns loaded were attached to the armor, cassettes loaded with mass reaction rounds were inserted into ports on the armor that were quickly capped off with thick armored covers. The ponemarch struck the chest plate of the armor in salute, before the legion, recently named the Night Hunters, made their way onto the deck of the airship and fast roped to the ground, disappearing into the darkness to track the bandits along wit the thestral snipers.

Cloud Runner woke up screaming in pain as a bandit stuck a red hot poker into his belly. He had, after the surviving ponies had been drug back to the bandit camp, been strung up unceremoniously for hours by his wings. The bandit who had started torturing him was a unicorn stallion with a gnarled scar across his throat. "That was just a small taste of what I can do. Just tell me what I want and there doesn't have to be any more pain."

Cloud Runner spat a wad of saliva on the stallion's face. "Fuck your mother."

The stallion wiped the spit away and shook his head. "Such foul language. Come now, we're both ponies here. No need for such words, just tell me what I want and no more pain."

"Fuck your father."

The unicorn stallion shook his head in mock disappointment and reheated the poker in a fire, after he was happy with its temperature, he levitated from the fire. "I'm fine with doing this the hard way." He quickly touched the glowing red tip to Cloud Runner's sheath, making him yelp in pain before shoving it fully against the sensitive flesh, skin blistered, sizzled and slowly burned away, burning through the sheath and into the flesh of his penis, making the pegasus scream. Taking the poker away, the unicorn asked, "Where do you live?"

Cloud Runner mumbled something incoherently.

The unicorn raised an ear. "Pardon?"

"Fuck your sister."

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to speak up."

"Fuck your sister."

"One more time if you please, I'm a bit hard of hearing."

"Fuck...your...sister!"

"Such foul manners!", the unicorn said, recoiling in faux hurt, "Didn't your mother teach you to not speak in such a way? No matter, we can do this all night." He put the poker back in the fire, then leaned up close to pegasus and whispered in his ear, "You know those mares you were with are quite attractive. Maybe I can convince the boss to let me bring them in here along with some of the boys and make you watch as they have their way with them. I'm sure they'd just love it that you hung here and did nothing while the boys took them left, right and--AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHH!" The unicorn's words were cut off as Cloud Runner chomped down on his ear, gave a twist of his neck, tearing a chunk away and spat the bloody chunk out defiantly.

Blood and saliva dipped from Cloud Runner's mouth as he sneered. "FUCK YOUR GRANDMA!"

The unicorn held a hoof to his ear to staunch the bleeding. "When I get back, you're going to die slow!" He stormed off to get his ear patched up.

Knowing he only had a few moments, Cloud Runner started straining and swing his body back and forth in the ropes. With a wet crunch a bone broke in one of his wings, biting down hard on a lip to keep from screaming, he continued to twist and strain, further breaking the bone and tearing muscle until a shard of bone stuck out through the skin. Blood ripped down the ruined wing and across his barrel, soaking the rope, making it slick. With a yelp of pain, he yanked the ruined appendage free, then used his momentum to swing around, using his hooves to untie the knot on the other rope. Crashing to the floor, he struggled to get to his hooves as his head swam with pain. Grabbing the poker from the fire with a hoof, he took a few deep breaths to steel himself and jammed the hot metal into the wound, cauterizing the artery. A scream poured from his mouth and he collapsed to the floor, quickly getting his wits back, he found a hiding place.

The unicorn returned with a bandage around his ear. "Now where were we? Ah yes! I'm about to...that's not good." His eyes went wide with shock and surprise seeing the empty ropes hanging, one soaked with blood.

Cloud Runner sprang out from his hiding place, swinging the poker. The metal collided with the unicorn's horn, shattering the bony protuberance. As the unicorn stallion staggered, Cloud Runner swung the poker into the unicorn's right foreleg, snapping the bones in the cannon, then into his left thigh, shattering the bone. Tossing the poker away, Cloud Runner snatched the unicorn up by his mane and started dragging him to the fire.

"Can't we talk about this?", the unicorn begged.

Cloud Runner started shoving the unicorn's face to the fire, whom tried to push himself away with his good foreleg. Cloud Runner leaned close to the unicorn's ear. "But most of all, FUCK YOU!" Kicking the unicorn's hoof away, the pegasus jammed his face into the fire and held it there until the unicorn stopped struggling and twitching. Leaving the bandit's body unceremoniously face-down in the fire, Cloud Runner brushed himself off, then spat on the body. "Only with bullet, blade and fire will filth like you ever be purified." He quickly gathered up several bladed implements and set out into the darkness to find his fellow captured scouts

Echo hung upside down from a branch on a tree, her prehensile tail grasping the wood alongside her fellow co-sniper, a thestral mare named Silent Wing. Being thestrals, they could hang upside down indefinitely without risk of blood pooling in their brain. Adjusting the magnification ring on her scope, she caught sight of a pegasus with a mangled wing sneaking between the crude and hastily constructed buildings that served as the bandit camp, going from shadow to shadow. She switched her comms unit's frequency to the one the Night Hunters were on. "Be advised, I have a visual of one of the scouts. He appears to be wounded and is moving to the ten o'clock from my position deeper in the camp."

"Affirmative.", a deep voice answered back over the comms unit.

Switching the frequency back, Echo slowly panned across the camp. Seeing the Night Hunters stacking up in the shadows in twos and threes, she whispered into the comms unit, "All targets on the perimeter and towers are marked hostile. Fire on my mark." Lining up a shot on a bandit that was facing her general direction, she flipped the safety off and slipped a hoof through the trigger guard. As the bandit raised a bottle to its lips, she squeezed the trigger.

A bandit sat with two of his buddies, lifting a bottle of crude booze to his lips, the other two bandits were snorting lines of some powdered drug from their hooves. The sound of breaking glass and a wet smack was the warning the other two bandits received as the back of the first one's head exploded in a shower of blood, bone and brains. The other two bandits stared dumbfounded, they didn't get a chance to ponder what had happened when the sides of their heads exploded outwards. All around the perimeter, bandits silently fell as chunks of the heads, neck or bodies exploded outwards with wet smacks. Across the camp confusion began to spread as the bodies of bandits fell from the towers immediately following wet smacks.

Metallic cylinders sailed out of the darkness landing among knots of confused bandits. A few seconds later the cylinders exploded, filling the air with blinding flashes or swarms of shrapnel, others sprayed out choking clouds of smoke or tear gas. Panic quickly spread as black armored figures seemed to materialized from the very shadows of the night. Guns mounted in shoulder sockets fired, sending deadly mass reaction ammunition through the air. Many of the bandits tried to flee seeing the bodies of the compatriots blow apart, only to get a few paces before mass reaction rounds ripped them open. Some bandits leapt on the armored figures trying to hack at them with melee weapons, only to be crushed under heavily armored hooves, gutted by retractable hoof blades or ripped open by the whirring blades on ripper hooves and double chain blades mounted to helmets. Some of the bandits threw down their weapons, trying to surrender, only to have the trasequine marines shoot them or crush their skulls with the swipe of a hoof.

Empresario calmly walked through the chaos that was the ambush. The sensor strips on the ponemarch's armor, along with the sensors from the transequine general's sons and daughters, fed tactical information and friend or foe designation straight into the brain of the master of the Night Hunters. With speed faster than any mortal creature could react to, the ponemarch smashed aside a charging bandit, turning the creature's innards to jelly. The transequine general quickly turned and snapped off two quick shots into a hastily constructed barricade made from crates, the mass reaction rounds turning the barricade into a deadly shower of splinters. Immediately a hail of mass reaction rounds dispatched the surviving bandits who were trying to flee from the ruined barricade.

Cloud Runner scrambled through the camp that turned into complete chaos. Gunshots, explosions and screams echoed across everywhere. When bandits leapt out near him, they collapsed in pools of blood as their heads or necks exploded with wet smacks. Reaching the cages where slaves were held, he shouted, "Peace through harmony!" "Harmony through victory!", four other voices shouted back. He quickly started cutting away the ropes or smashing the locks on chains that were holding the cages shut with the crude implements.

As the slaves poured out of the cages, the four scouts greeted him. "You look like hammered shit.", Corn Cob, an earth pony stallion, said.

"I'll be fine. Are you four all that's left?"

"The bastards killed Pine Log, Juniper Spruce, Swift Sprinter and Lilac Fields. They drug Rose Blossom off somewhere.", Sparkling Sunrise, an earth pony mare, said.

Cloud Runner swallowed, he knew what bandit gangs did to mares, the look in Sparkling's eyes told she had suffered similarly as Rose was most likely currently was...if she was still alive. The pain in his ruined wing flared up, telling he was still badly injured, with a gasp he slumped to the ground.

"You okay?", Corn Cob asked as he and another scout helped Cloud Runner back to his hooves. They used their bodies to brace him upright.

"I'll be fine.", Cloud Runner replied, "Are these all the slaves from the cages?" After receiving several affirmative replies, he continued, "Gather 'em up, keep 'em close. There's at least one legion here and unless I'm off my rocker, they've got sniper support."

"Next time I see one of those bat-ponies, I'm gonna give it my zap apple rations!", one of the scouts exclaimed.

Several of the recently liberated slaves yelped in fear. "The goddesses send their angels of the night!"

Three marines from the Night Hunters stepped out from the darkness, the quickly scanned the group of mortal creatures before disappearing back into the darkness to hunt surviving bandits.

A few minutes later Empressario walked out from the darkness towards the group of mortals, reaching up with a hoof and the tranesquine warrior removed its helmet, mag-locking it to the armored chest plate.

Cloud Runner nudged off the ponies, not wanting to look weak before before the ponemarch and knelt. "My lord."

"Who's in charge here?", Empresario asked.

"I guess that would be me.", Cloud Runner replied.

Empresario pointed an armored hoof towards the perimeter of the camp. "We're setting up a rally point in the rear. Gather there. We'll get a medic to look after you all once we can spare a moment." With that the ponemarch disappeared into the dark, reattaching the helmet to its head.

***

As the sun peaked up over the horizon, the battle...it was in reality a one-sided slaughter...against the bandits was long over. The blood had either long dried or soaked into the soil, chunks of drying viscera clung to the crudely constructed buildings or lay trampled into the dirt. Smoke drifted lazily over the camp as the Night Hunters piled corpses of bandits in the center of the camp. Tents, made from all available materials were constructed to house the freed slaves while transequine medics tended to them or to give the exhausted thestrals a place to sleep. Tallies were made, out of nearly ninety-thousand bandits that had made this massive camp...which was more like a shanty town...they suffered nearly one hundred percent casualties, out of three thousand thestrals, there were no reported casualties, out of one hundred thousand Night Hunters deployed, there were only three minor injuries reported where a several bandits had detonated a shed full of crude improvised explosives, rupturing their ear drums, nearly two thousand slaves had been freed, seven hundred bandits were taken prisoner in total.

The drone of engines and rumbling of the ground announced the arrival of the crusade forces. Quickly grave detail and medical squads were deployed. Pits were dug and the bodies of the bandits were dumped in, ponies with flame throwers burned the bodies to ash. As the freed slaves were transferred to the medbays, Cloud Runner walked alongside the stretcher holding Rose Blossom, a hollow look in her eyes along with fours dark stains on the blanket covering her from the neck down told of how she had suffered. The slaves who were killed by the bandits were wrapped in burial shrouds, the names were gotten from the survivors in the hopes that their families could be contacted and told where to find their remains. Preachers from the fraternity prayed over the deceased as soldiers dug graves and with reverence, lowered them in.

The prisoners were taken in private where truth spells were cast on them and interrogated. Each told that they had done so to win favor of a warlord known as the Brass Lord in the hopes of joining his legion, some even sketched out maps. The princesses sat in quiet observation as Sunset Shimmer presided over the mass trial of the seven hundred prisoners. She sat upright in the seat provided, "For the crimes of slavery, conspiracy to enslave, mass murder and conspiracy to commit mass murder, the sentence for six hundred and ninety of you is death by firing squad. For the remaining ten, you are to have your legs broken, given one day's worth of water and sent out to deliver a message to said despot whom you pledge yourself to. Tell him that the rightful rulers of the land comes, and that he can surrender, offering supplication to the princesses, whom are the rightful rulers of this land or face eradication. May harmony show you mercy, for we have none to spare." Once the last of the sentences were carried out, the tech monks went out to the bandit camp, dissembling everything, taking back to the factories what could be salvaged and burning what they deemed useless.

A solitary plinth with the names of the ponies who participated in the slaughter of the bandit gang and the innocents whom died was erected before the crusade forces rolled off.

All five princesses, ten ponemarchs, various generals, war strider princepts Dew Drop, Apple Pie and Sunset Shimmer stood around a table in the conference room aboard the command airship. Official maps were compared to the sketched maps drawn by the bandits, the Brass Lord's stronghold stood in the foothills of the Foal Mountains. Celestia and Luna visibly bristled in disgust and anger, those foothills was where the village once stood that was their foalhood home. Enemy force projections were made and battle plans were drawn up. It was deemed that no less than three legions, five armies, a dozen war striders, a full compliment of Ponyhood soldiers and armed tech monks, along with no less than eighteen airships providing heavy bombardment would be needed.

"This battle shall be where the fraternity shall be blooded and their mettle put to the test.", Celestia stated, "They shall prove themselves to be more than a band of religious fanatics or they shall all die." Voices around the table sounded their agreements.

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The Brass Lord was livid, only a single survivor from the bandit gang that had been slaughtered, had arrived to his kingdom...HIS KINGDOM!...and had delivered said message after limping across the countryside for weeks on four broken legs, barely surviving dehydration, hunger and exposure. He snatched up the injured pony by his throat and pinned him against the wall, the writhing tendrils unwrapping from around his fingers to wrap themselves around the pony's neck, giving the mutated minotaur a much greater grip. "These upstarts claim to be the true rulers of this land?! They expect me to kneel in subjugation?! Or face destruction?! BAH! It shall be them who shall be made to kneel low and then destroyed!" The injured pony flailed impotently as it tried to wheeze pleadingly for its life.

The Brass Lord's grip tightened on the pony's neck until muffled wet popping sounds cam from its neck. A single pathetic gurgle escaped the pony's lips as it hung slack and lifeless in his lips. He tossed the body to the floor in a mixture of anger and disgust, the tendrils re-wrapping themselves around his fingers. "Regent!" From a side door a centaur scrambled and gave a hasty bow. "Clear the courtyard, then gather one hundred raiding parties!" The centaur bowed again then scrambled out the door.

The Brass Lord stepped over to his desk, grabbed a piece of parchment, a piece of charcoal that been sharpened to a point and started writing a letter. Grand Pontiff Glittering Diamonds of New Unicornia, there is a pony army coming from the south being lead by ones who claim to be 'true rulers of this land'. If you want my kingdom to maintain our agreed-to end of the treaty, I hereby request one three hundred gross crates of lever-action repeater rifles, one thousand mountain howitzers, enough ammunition for all to hold out for a year-long siege and fifteen gross entrenching shovels for building fortifications. Skull Crusher The Brass Lord After rolling up and sealing the scroll, he called for a messenger. "Ensure this makes it to New Unicornia.", he said to unicorn messenger as he passed the message off. Said unicorn gave a quick bow and scrambled off.

Cozy Glow, whom had been spying from a nearby window, took off into the air to find the unicorn messenger. Quickly catching with the Unicorn messenger, she quickly cast a spell to stop its heart. Retrieving the scroll, she opened, quickly read it and resealed said scroll. "Been real fun working with ya Brassy.", she spoke aloud to no one in particular as she stripped the dead unicorn of its saddle bags and cloak, "But it's time for me to move on as this New Unicornia sounds like fun." Dumping out the food and water from the dead unicorn's saddlebags, as she had no need for them, she placed them on herself and draped the cloak over herself, then secured the message. Before taking to the air, she cast a spell that weakened the magical binding on the zombies she created, making it slowly unravel until the walking dead creatures decayed. Tossing the dead unicorn's body in a shallow pit, she took to the air, taking one look over her shoulder to snicker as she flew off.

The Brass Lord put on the last of his ceremonial plate armor and walked out to the courtyard where the hundred raiding parties were gathered. Raising both hands, he gestured for silence. "There are rumors about an army who are lead by those who claim to be 'the true rulers of this land'!", he proclaimed in a loud voice, "I tell you now that these stories are not true! I have received information that they are nothing more than bands of peasants who have refused to pay their tithes to us and are armed with little more than farming implements! Send these upstarts a message! We will not be cowed! Go out to every village, hamlet, farm and homestead up to twenty leagues from our borders, take no prisoners! Put every creature to the blade and burn everything so that not one board remains upon another! Make the families of these rebels and upstarts pay in blood! Who rightfully rules this land?" The creatures of the raiding parties shouted "Brass Lord!" or "Skull Crusher!" "A full measure of strong drink and chems for you all shall be the first of my rewards!", the Brass Lord shouted. Attendants hurried as they passed out bottles of strong liquor and packets of drugs. "NOW GO FORTH AND BRING MY JUSTICE TO THESE REBELS!" With shouts praising the Brass Lord, the raiders set out.

With a sense of self-satisfaction, the Brass Lord went back into his keep, peeled off the ceremonial plate armor and hung it on a nearby rack. Making his way to his throne, he called for Cozy Glow. As he sat waiting, his mind drifted back over a century ago before he had been mutated, to before the life prolonging drugs from New Unicornia, to when he was a calf in the Blackened Swords Tribe. His thoughts drifted to the magical storm that transformed his hide into tough brass-colored scales, made tendrils sprout on his hands and gave him the crown of horns, the mutations had not only made him tougher and stronger, but also made him more aggressive. His eyes drifted to the mostly decayed cow's hide still draped over the back of his throne, his clan had drove him off after he tried to overthrow the matriarch, he had returned thirty years later, leading a band of warriors and slaughtered the entire tribe, the matriarch had refused to scream or even whimper as she kept her jaw shut tight in a single, final act of proud defiance, as he carved the hide from her still living flesh. He knew the other tribes would come for him eventually to avenge their cousins, that is why he kept a few trophy places open for their matriarchs' hides.
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It had been a month since the bandit gang had been slaughtered, the crusade forces had slowly fanned out across the land, stopping at every village, hamlet and homestead along the way to offer assistance, no matter how small, build walls and irrigation systems, ask information about about the warlord known as the Brass Lord or drive off attacks by bandits, slavers, mutants and monsters. The overall slow crawl across the countryside, fanning out wide, had a greater intent than just helping peaceable ponies and other creatures and defend them from dangers, it was also intended to garner support from the civilians and spread the word. It was working surprisingly well, whenever advanced scouts or even companies of soldiers or transequine marines showed up, most of the civilians openly greeted them with joyous cheers, bringing gifts of food, what little valuables they owned, offering what little valuables they owned or strong drink, several mares had offered themselves to the passing forces(which several stallions and sometimes mares in the rank and file infantry partook in, even if it got them official reprimands or disciplinary actions, usually having their downtime being taken up in KP or scrubbing out the latrines) and even more than a few volunteers had offered to join in a bid to protect the ones they loved against the bandits, slavers, warlords and other horrors, it also had the added benefit of driving off bandits and slavers who were staking out places or shaking the citizenry down.

Aboard the command airship, which bore new heraldry and banners depicting the five alicorn princesses. Ponies climbed the riggings or were suspended off the sides as they festooned to the armor plating of the deck, gasbag and engine cowling with traditional ivory, gold and purple of Equestrian high nobility. In the conference room, the five princesses sat around a large table, reading reports from the various settlements about the warlord they were currently hunting, stopping occasionally to take a swallow of the caffeine supplement drink...if they were pressed, would say it tasted like diarrhea which was chilled, warmed over again and had flavoring that at best resembled coffee, in smell if not taste. The five wore similar scowls, they all shared the same thoughts...they had yet to run across any patrols from said warlord or even any information on how well his forces were armed. The had been fortunate in that the only conflict they had seen with recent skirmishes with gangs had seen light casualties on the crusade's side, but fortune could a harsh and cruel mistress for those who relied on it too much, at best and worst simultaneously, she was fickle.

But sometimes when fortune deals you a hand, it can be both the best and worst cards that are laid before you.

The crusade forces having learned from the scout squads that had been ambushed, had resorted to sending out in pairs, two ten pony fire teams, one fire team on the ground, the other above them in the air. They kept an open channel on their comms unit that, in the even of an ambush, quickly send out emergency transmissions to all in a wide area, along with easily reached emergency transceivers that could be quickly activated and if need be, dropped on the ground, along with emergency signal flares that could be fired by jamming one end into the ground.

A unicorn mare, serving as poinypony for the fire team she was part of, stopped as the wind shifted and took a quick sniff. Born on the breeze was the smoky smell of something burning along with the unmistakable sickly-sweet stench of flesh burning. Looking over her withers, then above her, she saw the other ponies of the fire teams had smelled it too, in fact the pegasi fire team saw something as they were fanning out in a broad semicircle. The ground ponies quickly followed suit, fanning out in their own semicircular formation, ensuring ample fields of fire to catch any attackers in crossfires from both above and below. Alerts were broadcast across the comms units notifying all patrol squads in range to a potential threat. The crusade forces were placed on alert. The airships became a hive of activity as they spread out as gun ports were swung open on the bows and massive artillery pieces were shoved in place. The treads on the massive mobile barracks came to a stop, doors opened, disgorging a battalion of soldiers each and hatches on loopholes were opened, in preparation for soldiers inside to fire out. Aboard the legion airships, heavily armored pegasi marines stood ready on the fore and aft decks, while coils of ropes were laid out on the decks of airships that contained their ground bound cousins to fast rope down.

The first elements of scout squads made their way to the source of smoke, the burnt out remains of a hamlet. Dozens of pegasi spread out across the sky, keeping their rifles and sidearms at the ready, while unicorns and earth ponies made their way cautiously into the burned out ruins. Scouts searched meticulously slow, searching for potentially hidden enemies or traps. Comms units crackled to life to report that not only had they found the graves of at least thirty civilians, some pony or creature had taken time to not only bury the bodies, but also properly mark the graves. Further investigations of the destroyed hamlet revealed large spots of dried blood where the majority of the civilians had been drug from their homes and executed, further investigations had turned up remains of ropes hanging from tree limbs and chopped down stakes where the bodies had been left. Large torn up ground indicated indicated a force of at least one hundred creatures had attacked the settlement, and this had been a directed attack with the intent to slaughter all in the hamlet and destroy it. A few sharp-eyed scouts spotted where a small number of large, hoofed creatures entered ruins at a later time, buried the civilians, then left, covering their tracks well enough.

On a nearby wooded hillock, two young minotaurs, whom had served as rear scouts for the Fire Pipes and the Long Pikes tribes, were stationed to watch in the event any creatures. They watched silently as the ponies of the crusade investigated the remains and documented the destruction and graves. After the ponies moved back the direction they had came from, the two young minotaurs silently withdrew from their hidden observation point and returned to the camp where their two tribes were set up.

As the day moved into early evening, the crusade forces were a hive of energy. Between the princesses, ponemarchs and generals, it was a universal agreement that this was no random attack, but a message, most likely from the self-professed Brass Lord. Entire battalions of soldiers spread out across the countryside, they set up bivouacs, tossed up berms, dug foxholes and fighting trenches, as heavy wheeled shields ready and self-propelled cars carrying mortars were made ready. The war striders had their gestalt sparks while were prepared for full awakening while the princepts took up residence in either the heavily armored command decks or in the massive garages. Temporary metal structures were erected to house potential wounded, weapons, ammunition and command crew. Legion airships landed, disgorging earth pony and unicorn marines in full armor while the pegasi marines ignited clod generators to create temporary structures for their transequine pegasi brethren and mortal pegasi. Smoke belched from the mobile forges as they started ammunition en mass. Mobile medbays were moved into defensible locations and protective shields were erected around them. Amongst the controlled chaos, lightweight, collapsible, modular cover was set up, to be deployed in a moment's notice.

Perimeter alerts from the western-most bivouacs wenup across the comms network. Companies quickly re-positioned in anticipation of an attack. The tension could be cut with a knife as the smell of sweat and adrenaline filled the air, hooves trembled with a mixture of fear and apprehension as the minutes ticked by for what felt like miniature eternities. Comms units crackled, carrying the message that some creatures were requesting parlay with the princesses.

A pair of simple wooden wooden platforms, each carried by four black armored minotaurs, served as the palanquins of the two matriarchs of the Fire Pipes and Long Pikes Tribes, Daisy and Dewy Meadows, lay with their legs tucked under them. As the pony soldiers laid on the berms or leaned around heavy wheeled shields, pointing their rifles, the representatives of the two tribes remained calm, cool and collected, the two cows maintained small, warm grins on their faces. The engines of the command airship droned as it sailed overhead. The airship banked over the wide open expanse before setting down. The five alicorn princesses stepped off the airship, wearing full armor, weapons mag-locked to their sides. The Nebula Guard stepped off the airship, forming up a semicircular formation behind and beside the princesses, silver halberds at the ready. The eight minotaurs lowered the simple palanquins to the ground in a measured, fluid motion, kneeling, with heads lowered, fists planted on the ground. The two cows rose slowly, stepping down from their platforms and slowly walked towards the princesses, stopping a few strides from them.

As the two cows knelt before the princesses, Daisy spoke, "The portents spoke true. The goddesses of this land have returned." Dewy Meadows spoke, "We offer the services of our two tribes to thine sacred campaign."

"And what dost thou offer as insurance of tine two tribes wouldst comply with our armies?", Luna asked.

Daisy and Dewy Meadows lowered their heads to the ground in supplication and spoke simultaneously, "We offer ourselves up as hostages."

Cadance took a half step forward. "Rise. We have no use for hostages. If your cows and minotaurs would swear to bring harmony to this land and bring justice to those whom enslave or murder the innocent, your two tribes may join freely."

"Our words and visions guide our tribes and bind their actions. By our oaths we swear to thine sacred cause. If thou five at with honor and wisdom, our warriors shall follow thy words as if it were spake by our own mouths.", the two cows spoke simultaneously in a well-rehearsed, but short speach.

Stepping forward, Twilight gave a gesture with her hoof for the soldiers to stand down. "Where are your fellow tribescattle? Do they need help or escort?"

Daisy and Dewy Meadows answered with a quick gesture of their hooves. From wooded thickets the minotaurs and cows walked out, many carrying their housing on their backs, the calves sticking close to their patent's hooves. One by one, the warrior approached the five princesses and laid their weapons on the ground at their hooves, in a silent oath.

Celestia gestured to the command airship. "Come aboard honored matriarchs so we can properly negotiate integrating your warriors to our army."

As the five alicorns, two cows and thirty Nebula Guard boarded the airship, Flurry Heart opened her comms unit, ordering the officers to direct the minotaur tribes where they can be housed.

***

For a week as the crusade forces spread out in a wide crescent as they settled in. It had been a week since the five princesses and the two matriarchs had boarded the command airship. Rumors had slowly started to spread about what was going on, from those that were mundane, to outrageous conspiracy theories. The days ticked on, first seven, then nine, finally on the fourteenth day the princesses and the matriarchs had emerged, a full treaty, known as the Treaty of Horn and Hoof, had been successfully negotiated to agreement with all parties and signed. The two minotaur tribes would be fully integrated into the crusade forces, their strength and bulk would greatly benefit the infantry.

Twilight, Flurry Heart, Cadance, Celestia and Luna stood on the deck of the command airship alongside Daisy and Dewy Meadow. Though the negotiations had gone quickly, having been completed in three days, the spreading out of the armed forces into a massive crescent dozens of leagues wide and the integration of the minotaurs into the infantry had been a show of intent. The matriarchs had given the princesses all the information they knew about the warlord known as the Brass Lord, though he was a savage mutated despot whom called himself Skull Crusher, all they knew about him was that he wasn't always so, being born a normal minotaur. Why he had slain his original tribe was lost to time, what was known was that he was a cruel tyrant whom employed any that would bend the knee to him.

The stalling had seen partial success. Pegasi scouts who had used high-altitude clouds as cover observed that raiding parties, at least one hundred creatures strong, had turned back after their own scouts spotted the crusade's airships. The pegasi scouts had tracked the raiding parties back to their points of origin, revealing the outer defenses of the warlord they were tracking. Further flyovers had revealed that the outermost defenses were not particularly well organized or well armed, several dozen gangs living in shanty towns, each a few thousand strong each. Thirty outdated muzzle loading cannons set up in batteries on a few dozen artificial hill with basic wooden stakes for fortification.

Further flyovers revealed that the overall defense of said Brass Legion. The outermost line was twelve leagues away. The entire defenses were set up in ever-shrinking concentric circles, the outermost two were obviously sacrificial, comprised of entirely disorganized gangs living in shanty towns and armed with outdated or crude weaponry. The next eight eight circles were better organized and equipped, the creatures armed with breach loading rifles and simple, outdated, though still dangerous rocket artillery set in simple pits with wooden palisades. The final twelve circles were a mixture of maze-like trenches, reinforced bunkers and fire bases. The creatures of these circles were armed with lever action repeating rifles and breach loading artillery. In the center of the defensive circles was a single keep carved from solid basalt, crenelations and towers at the top of the walls were armed with repeating rifles and breach loading artillery.

As the princesses, generals, ponemarchs and matriarchs stood around the conference table looking over the holographic maps as new information was updated, thought turned grimmer and grimmer, all intelligence showed that, especially in the inner most defenses, the warlord's forces were well armed, but they lacked any sort scanning technology and from basic scans, detection magic. It be murder to take this keep, but key intel was missing. There were no signs of manufacturing that could build weapons that were more modern and effective, so where were they getting their weaponry? Was there another technological power supplying them with these weapons? If so, where was this power located and would it up to negotiating with the crusade forces, or would it fight back?

The minds of those gathered placed those questions aside until better intelligence could be gathered, for now the primary focus needed on toppling this warlord as quickly and with as little casualties as possible.

Orders were sent out, the crusade forces started moving out just as the sun started setting. Once a set distance was moved, all forward movement would be halted.

***Day one***

As the moon hung low on the western horizon, the gangers that were awake staggered in a drunken or drug-fueled fugue. Those who were supposed to be on guard were sleeping, drinking cheap rot-gut or consuming their preferred drugs of choice, others left their post to relieve their bladders or bowels or their sexual tensions with whomever they could find.

Hundreds of mortal ponies armed with rifles and flame throwers, gathered in wooded thickets approximately one hundred paces away from the ganger's lines, those with bleached white manes knelt to whisper prayers. Behind the mortal ponies stood a full legion of trasequine marines in red armor with gold trim and flame patterns, plasma casters, heat beams and heavy flame throwers mounted in shoulder sockets. Apricus stood amongst the legion, renamed the Solar Flames, sensor strips on the transequine general's power, along with the sensors on its sons and daughters, fed information into the ponemarch's brain,, who in turn issued last minute orders.

The gangers who weren't asleep, or dead drunk or stoned, lazily turned their heads at the sounds of distant mechanical droning. Eyes followed red lights that fell from the sky, landing among the muzzle loading cannons. Distant flashes were seen on the horizon in the predawn gloom that most mistook for lightning. Explosions that were preceded by a loud whistling in the air, sent many of the cannons tumbling through the air, waking most of the shanty towns. A single bolt of magic sailed high into the air, blooming into a false sun illuminated the predawn darkness, revealing ponies charging across open ground.

Rifle shots rang out, cutting down many of the gangers who were caught unprepared and flabbergasted. Many of the gangers tried to run for cover, others tried to form up to repel the attackers. The ponies quickly overran the first ranks of disorganized and unprepared defenders. As the initial shock wore off, gangers who had poured out of the crude shacks or places they were passed out in, they began forming up rough firing lines. Muskets, crossbows and crude ranged weapons loosed volleys, here and there small groups of ponies fell screaming as they gripped their faces, necks or limbs where the projectiles had slipped through gaps in their armor, but not enough to blunt the attack. Bullets cut into the bodies of the gangers, killing or severely wounding them and opening up gaps in their hastily formed lines.

The ponies pressed their attacks hard and fast, bullets tore into gangers who were desperately trying to reload. Gouts of flames enveloped knots of gangers, many appeared to die dancing as the clinging flames burned the lives from them. Gangers flipped wagons or piled up crates to form barricades, other ran inside the shacks or hid behind corners in a desperate bid for cover or to create crossfires. Bullets perforated the crude structures, killing those on the other side, while flamethrowers spewed deadly fire, igniting what they struck. Soon several of the shanty towns involved in the initial contact became conflagrations, forcing the attacking the attacking ponies to fall back, dragging those of their wounded they could.

The very air shined in a yellow-orange light as the flames leapt from one crudely constructed structure to another, turning the shanty town caught in the initial clashes into walls of fire. Ponies watched as the shanty towns burned brightly and quickly, embers adrift on hot, fire-fueled winds alighted on shacks in other shanty towns, setting them ablaze. Though many gangers died in the secondary blazes started by drifting embers, many more, who were alerted by the precision artillery strikes and initial fighting managed to pull back. Until the flames burned themselves out, neither side was able to engage the other.

Word spread to the second circle about the attack and gangers began forming up in ranks, awaiting the flames to die out. Gangers fell over as wet smacks from bullets of unseen attackers cut them down, many broke and ran.

As the sun peaked over the horizon, greasy black smoke clung close to the ground. Fur along the spines of the gangers prickled as they heard the heavy thumping of hooves. Out of the smoke and lingering flames red and gold armored figures rushed out. Gangers died in scores during the first few seconds as blueish-white balls of plasma, near-invisible beams of heat, massive cones of super-heated flames and fire spells melted or burned to ash their bodies. Panic quickly spread among the gangers and they scattered to get away from the deadly heat-based attacks. Many tried to surrender, only to be incinerated or crushed under armored hooves. Those that tried to flee into the shacks died as the armored figures ignited the structures with fire spells or heavy flamethrowers. Screams and the sickly sweet stench of burning flesh filled the air as the Solar Flames systematically set fire to the shanty towns.

For hours the morning air seemed to dance and shimmer as the shanty towns burned. By nine o'clock most of the fires had burned out. The bulk of the infantry moved up, extinguished the remaining fires. Charred skeletons marked where creatures had died in the, now ash, shanty towns. Heavy wheeled shields were moved in place as the infantry pulled shovels and started digging foxholes and an interconnected network of trenches.

As the day wore on, the trench network began expanding. Soldiers and marines entered into the trenches, adding more hooves to dig. As the day wore on, the trench network slowly moved forward. Crude rockets from enemy batteries screamed as they sailed through the air, most falling short of the trenches or exploding in the air as their fuses burned out too soon, but here and there ponies would vanish in a cloud of shrapnel and upturned earth.

Throughout the remainder of the day and into the night, teams of ponies cycled in and out, tirelessly digging with shovels, expanding the trench networks. All the while rocket batteries in barricaded pits, unleashed their deadly payloads, the ones that didn't fall short or exploded in the air from too short fuses slammed into magical shields cast by unicorns, scattering their deadly shrapnel and blasts away from the infantry.

As the trench-works were nearing completion, the automated carts holding mortars were wheeled up to the second line of trenches and earthen berms were thrown up to protect them. The three pony mortar teams quickly jammed anchoring spikes into the ground. Crates of mortar rounds were brought up as the mortar commanders/spotters were working on zeroing in their artillery.

***Day two***

In the last thirty minutes before the sun rose, while the creatures sitting in the foxholes or operating the rocket batteries, looked over the edges of their fortified locations, they saw nothing from the pony lines, other than an occasional head peeking over the edge of a trench too far away for accurate fire from their breach loading rifles.

Vent Rapide lead their legion, recently renamed the Sky Rangers, in a lazy high altitude holding pattern, their bright blue armor with golden lightning bolts painted on armored hooves and along armor that ran the length of their bodies.

Pegasi soldiers, flying at lower altitudes, dropped flickering flares or hurled bombs into the artillery pits and foxholes. Amidst the confusion of the flares and exploding bombs, several creatures saw bright flashes on the horizon and several seconds later from the pony trenches. "Incoming!", several creatures shouted. As they huddled low for cover, explosions of every size rocked the ground, many throwing up clouds of earth, some exploded on the edges of the foxholes and artillery pits, burying those underneath an avalanche of dirt. Several heavy artillery and mortar shells landed inside the foxholes and artillery pits, broken bodies and cooking off ammunition flew through the air as rockets randomly ignited, sending them sailing in erratic patterns through the air, adding to the confusion.

For several minutes the bombardment continued, laying down walls of explosions and shrapnel to blind the enemies behind the first two concentric circles. In the trenched as ponies finished constructing earthen ramps as officers watched timepieces in their hooves. Whistles blew signaling the advance. The Fraternity rushed up the ramps, shouting praises. The infantry placed their heavy wheeled shield on the ramps and rushed out with shouts in teams of three. The Fire Pipes and Long Pikes tribes lined up at the base of the earthen ramps awaiting their orders to advance.

As the last of the artillery shells exploded, centaurs, minotaurs, griffons, ponies and mutants peeked over the edges of their defenses dug into the ground. Ponies with bleached white manes came stampeding out of the still-settling dust, screaming prayers and curses. Some of the creatures fired their rifles in an attempt to repel that attackers, while others froze in a mixture of panic and shock. The Fraternity ran forward, only slowing long enough to fire shots from their rifles as their members armed with flame throwers didn't slow down until they reached the edges of the foxholes and artillery pit. "Only through fire shall the filth be made clean!", sever of the stallions with bleached white manes shouted as they depressed the triggers on their on their flamethrowers. Jets of fire sprayed from nozzles with whooshing sounds, dousing the enemy creatures in deadly super-heated flames, the flesh of enemies blackened and sloughed off as they appeared to die dancing. As the Fraternity moved forward, ammunition cooked off in firecracker-like pops as rockets exploded in chain of explosions. Many creatures tried to scramble out of the foxholes and artillery pits in an attempt to escape the ponies who rushed forward, only to be cut down by bullets or incinerated by flames.

Once the initial shock wore off, the creatures of the next circles started mounting a more structured defense. Many scrambled out of foxholes to form firing lines. Breach loading rifles fired in staggered volleys, rocket batteries unleashed their deadly rain, the creatures still in foxholes hurled clay pots filled with pitch and had burning rags tied to them, while others hurled iron balls filled with blasting powder and had smoking fuses sticking out.

Bullets whizzed through the air, explosions shook the ground, flames spread on the ground or were loosed from nozzles. In this maelstrom of death, the Fraternity pushed forward, slowing down to take cover so they could more effectively return fire. Bullets and shrapnel glanced off their body armor, some fell to the ground with screams of pain as the deadly hail slipped through gaps in their armor. Some stallions had to discard their flamethrowers where a bullet punctured a tank or a piece of shrapnel cut a hose, others weren't so lucky as they disappeared in clouds of exploding flames. Screaming rockets churned up the earth in walls of explosions and shrapnel, foxholes became desperate brawls as the Fraternity and members of the Brass Legion fought to the death in brutal hoof-to-hoof combat. With heavy losses on both sides, the Fraternity's advance seemed to be blunted as the stallions took cover in the foxholes.

Heavy wheeled shields pushed by three pony teams moved across the battlefield. The ponies of the infantry leaned from behind the shields to fire off several quick shots. As the Brass Legion began reforming ranks, the pony infantry formed their heavy shields into interlocking walls and began laying fields of suppressing fire. From behind the shield walls, squads of minotaurs, carrying scatterguns and pikes and thick shields, barreled forward, leaping over the walls of steel. To their detriment, the Brass Legion took their eyes off of the Fraternity taking cover in the foxholes. The stallions leaned out of the foxholes, laying down winnowing fire with their semiautomatic rifles or hurled the fire pots and bombs they had captured. The stallions fixed bayonets on their rifles, drew fighting knives, or in the cases of the ones whom had lost their weapons in the struggle, hung sacks of improvised incendiary and explosive devices from their backs.

As the minotaurs neared the creatures of the Brass Legion, the Fraternity rushed out of the foxholes and the infantry abandoned their shield walls, charging the enemy. As the combined pony-minotaur forces of the crusade clashed with the Brass Legion. The Fire Pipes unleashed blasts from their scatterguns at point-blank range, cutting down scores of creatures. As the minotaurs collided with the lines of the Brass Legion goring with horns, slamming shields into bodies, thrusting with pikes, using the heavy barrels of scatterguns as bludgeons and hacking with machetes, the Fraternity came from the left fighting with bayonets, rifle butts, fighting knives, hooves and teeth. Stallion lit rags on fire pots and fuses on bombs and hurled them among the ranks of enemy creatures.

As the fighting devolved into knots of desperate brawling, the pony infantry executed encircling actions, opening fire with their rifles to cut down enemy creatures that were fleeing the fighting or rushing in to relieve their compatriots.

Aboard the airships that were moving into position, thestrals sighted in targets through the scopes on their bolt action rifles. Echo drew a bead on an enemy pony hoisting a fire pot in its hoof and squeezed the trigger. A split second later the fire pot shattered in its hoof, dousing the enemy in liquid fire, though it was too far away for her sharp ears to hear, she knew the enemy pony died screaming. 'A better fate than it deserved.', she thought to herself as she cycled the bolt.

As creatures of the Brass Legion leaned out of their foxholes to toss fire pots and iron bombs or to line up shots with their breach loading rifles, they would be knocked down with wet smacks, fire pots and iron bombs filled the foxholes with death as the munitions exploded in chain reactions.

Squads of soldiers broke off from the main force to push deeper among the enemy ranks. Soldiers tossed hoof grenades over the lips of artillery pits and foxholes, killing those inside in sprays of shrapnel, others made their way to edges of the fortifications to fire down on the enemies.

The desperate brawl quickly turned against the Brass Legion trying to hold back the combined forces of the Fire Pipes, Long Pikes and Fraternity. Many tried to flee, only to get cut down by the pony solders' rifles. Others dropped to their knees to surrender, only to have the stallions of the Fraternity kick them to the ground and stomp on their necks or cut their throats with knives and bayonets. Pony soldiers captured several rocket batteries, wheeling them around, they quickly loaded the rockets and lit the fuses. With streaks of red and loud screams, the rockets sailed off towards the rear lines of the enemy creating further chaos. The creatures of the Brass Legion scrambled out of their foxholes and artillery, fleeing in a mass rout. Officers blew on whistles to order a halt so the crusade forces could rearm, gather the wounded and dead and build new defenses.

Enemy munition that weren't destroyed in the fighting were gathered up and moved to the rear as the mobile forges rolled forward. As field medics set up triage stations, the mobile medbays rolled up and disgorged teams of medical ponies. Teams of tech monks carried captured enemy munitions into the mobile forges for disassembly and study, before rendering them down to be turned into new munitions. Enemy dead were dumped into the now empty artillery pits, flamethrowers burned the bodies to ash. Captured bottles of alcohol were poured out onto the ground or sent off to the forges to be converted into fuel, captured packets of drugs were tossed into the pits with the burning bodies or sent to the medbays to be studied.

Collapsible metal structures were erected and folding, lightweight barricades were set up to form defensive lines. The command airship landed, disgorging the five alicorns, two cow matriarchs, thirty nebula guard and eight black-armored minotaur honor guard. The group made their way into one of the structures.

As the sun set, Twilight frowned as she looked over the reports from the high altitude surveillance from the Sky Rangers and flyovers from pegasi scouts. The Brass Legion were falling back on all fronts, abandoning their forward-most defenses for the maze of trenches. She knew they were trying to shorten their supply lines while at the same time maximize the number of rifles that could be brought to bear. She passed the reports off to the other four princesses, Sunset and the two matriarchs, after some discussion, orders were sent out to the thestral snipers and the Night Hunters to track and harass enemy lines and kill any enemy scouts.

Orders were issued that the crusade forces would hold for thirty-six hours so that losses could recouped, ammunition and weapons be redistributed, and tired soldiers given enough time to rest up.

***

As the sun rose, the Brass Lord rankled. It had been over a month since he had sent a message to New Unicornia and had yet to hear back. It should be two more days at the most before I hear from them, unless something happened to the messenger. It had also been about as long since Cozy Glow had been seen. Curse her! Where is she at? Did she expire and rot away? No, somecreature would have found her baubles if that happened. She must have slunk away. Curse her! If she did that, I'll have her guts for garters!

As two more days passed, the Brass Lord fumed. He had yet to hear anything from New Unicornia. Now there were rumors and wild stories from his forces about shadow figures that would strike out of the darkness, dragging away warriors and ghosts that killed warriors without even a sound. Though he had dismissed the stories as nothing more than superstitious nonsense told by small-minded fools, he privately admitted there was something out there killing his warriors. He had wondered if it was some kind of new predator or monster mutated by a storm.

What also disturbed him was that the scouts he sent out to find about this army that had attacked his outer-most defenses and had overrun them had either completely disappeared or had been found ripped apart. He considered for a second if there was some truth to the rumors and wild stories.

As the sun set, runners from forward observation posts brought messages of airships, columns of smoke and dust clouds moving towards the front lines. The Brass Lord clenched his fists, the tendrils wrapped around his fingers wriggled and writhed. The information told him one thing...full scale invasion...a dread chill grew in his core and spread out through his body with a visible shiver. Turning to his mutant bodyguards, he said, "Bring my battle plate and sword. This army wants to attack me, the rightful ruler of this land, I shall hang their still screaming leaders from my ramparts and make a carpet from the hides of their young!", he turned to the runners, "Send the word to all regiments, give no ground, take no prisoners, black flag conditions are in effect."

With a pop, a letter materialized. Reaching out a hand and opened it. The letter he sent to New Unicornia fell out. He took a moment to read the new letter.

Dear Brassy,

I'm sorry to tell you that your friends won't receive this original letter. I wonder if they'll like me better as a friend?
When you see Twilight, tell her I said 'hi' and that I'll make her pay for encasing me in stone.

XOXO, Cozy Glow

With an angry snarl, the unicorn that had once been known as Proud Horn, now called Skull Crusher the Brass Lord, crumpled and with a shout of rage, hurled it across the room.

***

***Day six***

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the crusade forces came to a rest three leagues from the enemy trenches. Long range scans and scout flyovers counted nearly one million troops and five hundred artillery emplacements. As darkness of night consumed what was left of the daylight, the Night Hunters, who had deployed with only camouflaged cloaks had returned, followed by the thestral snipers who had carried enough ammunition, food and water for three nights of harassing the enemy lines.

As the airships spread out into bombardment formations and the sparks were roused on the war striders, the Night Hunters entered into their barracks to equip their armor and weapons, while the thestrals took naps so they would be prepared for the fight to come.

Lightweight metal barricades were folded out to form defensive structures and heavy wheeled shields were set in place for three pony fire teams to begin their advances. Into the gloom of night, the Night Hunters deployed. They quickly shared information with their cousins in the Sky Rangers. Though the transequine marines didn't like to stay active for day at a time, they could with no depreciation in combat effectiveness. The airships rotated until they were full broadside. Flares dropped over enemy trenches marking off the largest troop concentrations and bunkers.

Creatures in the Brass Legion snapped off a few shots from their rifles into the dark night sky in the desperate hopes to bring down whatever was dropping flares.

The airships loosed barrages from their massive broadside guns, turning night to day in near-blinding flashes. A second later the mortars on the ground unleashed a massive barrage of shells. The airships started rotating, some bringing their bow guns to bear, others brought their starboard batteries to bear.

Creatures scrambled for cover a deadly hail of shells whistled through the air. Explosions shook the air and ground as some exploded midair, showering troops of the Brass Legion in deadly sprays of shrapnel, others slammed into the top of the bunkers with thundering booms. Creatures scattered this way and that, trying to avoid the deadly shrapnel. Most of the bunkers weathered the initial bombardment, being covered in layers of earth and logs that dispersed the force of the blasts.

The airships rotated, bringing their port, starboard, bow and aft artillery guns to bear, keeping up a constant deadly rain of massive shells, meanwhile the mortars poured the fire on, lobbing their shells in parabolic arcs. The constant bombardment was meant to keep enemy heads down while the minotaurs, mortal ponies and transequine marines slowly advanced, among the troops Twilight and Flurry Heart advanced, accompanied by the Nebula Guard. High above, Celestia, Luna and Cadance circled, accompanied by Vent Rapide's legion, the Sky Rangers and Papilionem's legion, the Saddle Ragers. Empreasario and the Night Hunters concealed themselves in the darkness, just short of the bombardment zone.

For four hours the bombardment of the enemy trenches commenced, not letting creature rest or gain a reprieve. There were intermittent pauses in the bombardment, sometimes for two minutes, other times for as long as ten minutes. The pauses were meant to unnerve the creatures and try to slip them into a false sense of security. Creatures that weren't killed or wounded, between the bombardments, tried to look out into the darkness, seeing only spots, where the exploding shells had ruined their night vision.

The last stage of the scheduled bombardment last for an hour and twenty minutes non-stop. Creatures huddled in fear, screamed in terror or wept in despair as the constant roar and blinding flashes of the shells didn't seem to stop.

As the last shells detonated, an uneasy silence settled over the trenches. Creatures, with limbs trembling, heads spinning and ears ringing, awaited the next hail of shells. As the silence stretched on and hearing no shells whistling through the air, or seeing the flashes of distant batteries, the creatures slowly came out of their hiding places to begin dragging their dead and wounded away and to start repairing the damage to the trenches.

Out of the gloom, scores of silvery cylinders sailed through the night air and landed in the trenches. The cylinders exploded in clouds of shrapnel and blinding flashes, others sprayed smoke and tear gas. From above more silvery cylinders dropped into the front-most trenches, accompanied by small squares. The cylinders exploded, filling the air with shrapnel, a split second later the squares exploded, sending the bodies of creatures sailing through the air.

Out from the darkness, massive, black-armored ponies leapt into the trenches. Mass reaction rounds, fired from guns mounted in shoulder sockets, ripped bodies apart in sprays of blood and gore. The Night Hunters quickly spread out through the first lines of the trenches as the enemy creatures panicked and tried to flee, only to be blasted apart by mass reaction rounds. Creatures from the trenches further back fired their lever action repeating rifles, sparks flew from the transequine warriors' armor as the bullets harmlessly bounced off. Other creatures threw spherical iron bombs and fire pots, sparks flew from the armor where shrapnel flew off and marines continued moving as though they didn't notice their armor was on fire, if the transequine warriors were harmed, they seemed to take no notice.

Creatures in the bunkers quickly cranked the traversing mechanisms on the mountain howitzers, bring their muzzles around. As breaches were opened and explosive shells were loaded, the Night Hunters tossed smoke grenades onto the ground. As the breaches were slammed closed, creatures grabbed firing chords. The mountain howitzers thundered as they fired a massed volley of explosive shells in the smoke cloud. As the breaches were flung open, orders were sent out to load another volley of explosive shells. The howitzers thundered again, sending another hail of explosive shells. An order went out for a volley of canister shot. Shells whose casings were filled with iron balls the size of peach pits and tipped with air burst fuses, were slammed home and the mountain howitzers thundered again.

High in the trees, thestral snipers had settled down and were adjusting their scopes, began drawing beads on enemy creatures.

As the cloud of smoke cleared, creatures slowly crept forward, nervously aiming their rifles. They looked for bodies of the ponies that had attacked them. They found no bodies, no drag marks, just deep hoofprints, it was like the black-armored ponies just evaporated into the darkness. With wet smacks, dozens of creatures fell to the ground up and down the trenches. Panic spread through the trenches again as creatures panic-fired into the darkness, desperate to hit anything. More creatures fell with wet smacks, many spraying their compatriots with blood.Orders were shouted for everycreature to get down.

Echo quickly scanned the trenches through her scope as she counted the dead and dying as the thestral snipers shoved stacks of bullets held by stripper clips into the internal magazines and wracked the bolts closed. A smile graced her lips as her small fangs glinted in the moonlight. Removing a small pencil from insider her camouflage cloak, she started writing down, 'One hundred and eighty confirmed kills and two hundred wounded.'

The crew of one mountain howitzer loaded an illumination shell, traversed the muzzle into a twenty-eight degree arc and fired, the powder ignited the phosphorus of the illumination round into a bright yellow sphere. Minotaurs, mortal soldiers and transequine marines immediately halted their movement and ducked down, while thestral snipers shielded their eyes.

Creatures of the Brass Legion nervously scanned where the yellow light put off by the burning and sputtering illumination round had lit up in a desperate bid to spot anything. If they had bothered to look up, they would have seen two legions of pegasi marines circling at high altitude, accompanied by three aliorns. If they had bothered to look behind them, they would have seen a legion of unicorn marines quietly moving into place at the top of the bunkers.

Once the last of the phosphorus in the illumination shell burned out, the forces on the ground started moving forward again. The thestral snipers made sure their rifles were reloaded and silently flew through the night to reposition. The Night Hunters silently slid off the tops of the bunkers and tossed tear gas grenades through the firing slits, then into the trenches. As creatures scrambled out of the bunkers and trenches to get away from the choking gas, the unicorn marines used the chaos to vanish back into the night. As the creatures coughed and vomited from the effects of the tear gas, the snipers opened fire again. Dozens more died or were wounded before the creatures had recovered enough to know what was going on. Creatures scrambled for cover, many dove into the still-lingering clouds of tear gas, choosing to brave the irritating gas rather face the hidden rifleponies again.

Echo watched through her scope again, counting how many her mares and stallions had taken down this time. She pulled out the pencil and pad of paper again. Thirty confirmed kills and seventy wounded. Making sure her rifle was reloaded, she sent out hypersonic chittering, ordering her snipers to split into three groups. Now came the wait before the last bit of hunting, then they'd pull back to rest and rearm.

After an hour of waiting, the creatures were practically jumping the their shadows when the Night Hunters had lined up at both ends of the trenches. Flashbangs sailed out of the darkness, blinding the creatures with dazzling white flashes. Snipers opened up again, raining down bullets from multiple angles, the thestrals going for gut and limb shots rather than kill shots. The unicorn marines tossed illumination flares at the firing slits of the bunkers. Flashes in the distance and whistling in the air sent the creatures scrambling for cover. Smoke shells impacted the ground and sprayed a thick blinding cloud. Thestrals and the Night Hunters used the chaos to cover their withdraw so they could rearm and rest as needed.

High above, Luna lit the magic in her horn and summoned a thick layer of clouds to cover the moon. Now it was truly a waiting game.

The creatures popped amphetamine pills, snorted powdered stimulants and stuffed small orange, smoke-able crystals into pipes and lit them, inhaling the sharp, biting fumes. The drugs had the desired effect of staving off sleep, but had the side effect of making their already frazzled nerves drive them into paranoia as they hallucinated massive shadowy figures prowling in the dark or invisible ghosts looking to deal silent death. As the hours wore on, the creatures consumed more of the stimulants, staving off sleep, but also further compounding their paranoia. Though they didn't feel it, they were in a bad way, adrenaline and powerful stimulants flooded bodies and brains that needed rest.

Two hours before sunrise, Celestia lit her horn and fired a beam of magic down towards the front-most trenches. A dozen body lengths above the ground, the beam erupted into a ball of golden light, revealing a full legion of earth ponies wearing tan-colored, thick and heavy power armor, with heavy weapons mounted in shoulder sockets. Pomum Ligni ordered their legion forward, the heavy power armor giving the transequine warriors maximum protection at the cost of speed and maneuverability. Barrels on assault cannons spun up until they became blurs, fragmentation, armor-piercing and high explosive shells were loaded into massive tube-shaped weapons, heavy guns that fired mass reaction round as big as a pony's hoof leveled.

As the pony legion stepped into the trenches, the creatures fires their rifles and threw explosives, though the stimulants made them react faster then normal, their addled brains weren't very accurate. As sparks flew from their heavy armor, the ponies fired streams of steel-jacketed rounds, fired volleys of big mass reaction rounds and lobbed explosive shells as big as a pony's head through the air, creatures' bodies blew apart as if they were made of paper as blood, gore and pink mist filled the air. Onward the legion marched in perfect lock-step, steadily laying down massive walls of death before them.

Mountain howitzer crews quickly traversed the muzzles of the guns, slammed explosive shells home and fired. The shells rang out as the exploded against the thick and heavy armor of the pony marines, leaving massive dents, but failing to penetrate. The earth pony marines continued their implacable advance forward, some turning slightly to aim their weapons at the firing spits on the bunkers. Earth, wood and stone seemed to melt away under the intense wall of death. The heavy steel barrels of the mountain howitzers shattered under the intense fire. Steel-jacketed rounds and shrapnel from mass reaction rounds and explosive shells ricocheted around the inside of the bunkers, killing the crews. Bunkers ripped themselves apart from the inside in a series of chain reaction, earth-shattering explosions, turning what was left of the crews into pink mist as tons of earth, shattered logs and stone. Creatures scrambled out of the trenches and tried to flee away from the steadily advancing marines, their bodies flew apart like piles of leaves before a powerful wind. More creatures tried to for up firing lines further up the trenches. As the leaned over the tops of the trenches to fire, heads and limbs were torn away from their bodies as if they were dolls falling victim to an angry and spoiled filly.

The infantry poured into the trenches behind the advancing marines, occupying territory that had just been cleared by the wall of death. Soldiers cocked rifles and primed flamethrowers, while minotaurs loaded scatterguns and readied pikes.

The earth pony marines poured million upon millions of rounds into the defending creatures, shredding defenses and bodies, the ground greedily drank their blood as it flowed like a river into the ocean. Alas the earth pony marines couldn't maintain this level of firepower up forever and eventually their weapons ran dry, though they had reaped untold deaths on the enemies and ripped apart scores of invaluable defenses. Massive guns locked into the up position as the earth pony marines began the reverse march, in lock-step, keeping their front facing the enemy, already airships, loaded down with munitions and reload teams were moving into position, preparing to land.

The long, slow grind was getting ready to start as the infantry started moving forward. Zoccoli di Pietra, along with the Stone Legion started moving into position to support the infantry.

The Fraternity, rank and file soldiers of the army and the two tribes of minotaurs rushed through the trenches. Rifleponies paused long enough to lay down suppressing fire. Bullets whizzed about the heads of the advancing forces and sent puffs of blood-soaked soil into the air. Advancing ponies fell to the ground, quickly scrambling up to their hooves and moving forward again, others lay where they had fallen, the blood-soaked ground seemingly to glut itself on the blood flowing from their wounds.

Hoof grenades flew over the lips of trenches, shredding the flesh of the creatures of the Brass Legion. Ponies scrabbled up the berms that separated one set of trenches from another with shouts of "For Equestria!", For Harmony!" and "In the name of the Goddesses!". Reaching the edges of the trenches, semiautomatic rifles fired off bullets and flamethrowers sprayed blazing death. Creatures screamed in pain as their blood fed the soil or danced as flames blackened their flesh.

Mountain howitzers fired canister shot from the next lines of bunkers in thundering blasts, iron balls shredded the bodies of friend and foe alike. Shadows from above were the only warning as the Sky Rangers legion descended onto the battle. They planted blasting charges onto heavy iron doors of bunkers or chucked them through the firing slits. Howitzers tried to track the pegasi marines as they took to the air, but found they were too fast. Some bunkers seemed to turn themselves inside-out when the blasting charges that were thrown through the firing slits exploded, setting off the artillery rounds in deadly chain reactions. Blasting charges that had been planted on heavy iron doors shattered the metal as the exploded, sending sprays of deadly shrapnel like angry hornets bouncing around inside the stone structures covered in wood and soil.

As the infantry scrambled into the trenches, firing bullets from rifles and spraying flames from nozzles, the Sky Rangers descend back onto the battlefield, igniting the power fields in their wing blades and revving up the chain blades on their ripper hooves. The transequine pegasi split into two columns, some engaging the creatures on the rear lines, slicing them in half with wing blades and tearing the apart with ripper hooves, others carved through or kicked in the heavy iron doors on the bunkers, springing inside to dispatch the crews and disable the guns.

In one part of the trench, a small squad of five ponies scrambled through the blood-soaked mud towards a bunker that was firing explosive shells at their friends. They paused just long enough to lean over the top of the trench and empty their magazines at the firing slit in a hail of suppressing fire. Dropping back below the edge of the trench, they pulled the empty magazines from their rifles and slapped fresh ones in, then pulled back the charging levers. The gun had fallen silent, but they didn't know if it was because the crew was dead or seeking cover, they decided to err on the side of caution and rushed up to the base of the bunker. Climbing to just below the lip of the firing slit, one pony stuck the muzzle of his rifle inside and blind-fired as the other four readied grenades. After emptying his magazine and dropping back down, the other four struck the button on the tops of their grenades and shoved them through the slit. All five ran like mad and dove for cover when the bunker ripped apart in a series of explosions. As the five ponies got back to their hooves and dusted themselves off, the mare said, "That was a real pisser! Let's find another one and do it again!"

A stallion rushed through a trench towards a bunker that was firing, his bleached white mane clung to his neck with sweat. The muzzle traversed and aimed at a group that was advancing, the sound of thunder filled the air as it unleashed a blast of canister, shedding several allies bodies. Reaching where he could get and angle, he pointed the nozzle and shouted, "Be purified by holy fire!" Squeezing the trigger, a stream of super-heated liquid flaming death went through the slit and filled the bunker with fire. Burning creatures clawed their out through the firing slit, a few seconds later the munitions exploded, tearing the bunker apart. The stallion gave a grunt of satisfaction before setting out to find more enemies to give the flaming justice of the goddesses to.

Creatures of the Brass Legion scrambled to escape the second line of trenches as the crusade forces overwhelmed them with furious slaughter. Many were cut down with bullets and flames as they fled. The last of the bunkers were destroyed with grenades or blasting charges. Magazines for rifles and fuel for flame throwers were running out as the infantry started occupying the the trenches of the second line. As the stone legion moved forward and prepared to make their push forward, the Sky Rangers took to the air to fly back to the airship to rearm and the infantry dug in to wait for resupply.

As the creatures of the Brass Legion amassed in the trenches of the third line, they prepared to fight to the death, if this final line of trenches fell, then the crusade will have completely captured the entirety of the outer-most circle of defenses that lead lead to the keep.

The Stone Legion poured out of the trenches of the second line and rushed across open ground like a rock slide pouring the face of a mountain. The creatures were completely caught unawares by the blinding speed of this legion as the flowed across the open ground like a pink-armored flash flood. Mass reaction rounds blew chunks out of creatures as the legion flowed into the trenches. Creatures that tried to engage in close quarters combat were trampled beneath armored hooves as the legion pushed forward in one quick-moving armored mass.

The creatures didn't have time to aim and fire or even form up a coherent defense as the Stone Legion pushed forward with unwavering speed. As many creatures were ripped apart by mass reaction rounds as others were trampled. Crews tried to traverse the howitzers around, only to have volleys of mass reaction round rip them apart and detonate the munitions. Soon the whole third line of trenches was in a full rout. As creatures threw their weapons away in an attempt to make themselves lighter as they fled for their lives, only to have themselves trampled under armored hooves.

The Stone Legion stopped as one at the last trench of the third line and unleashed a blistering two minute volley of mass reaction rounds, the fleeing members of the Brass Legion were killed to a creature as their bodies were ripped apart. The creatures of the second circle watched in stunned disbelief as the last line of the first circle was routed and ripped apart in five minutes flat. Zoccoli di Pietra gave a grunt of satisfaction. The ponemarch ordered its legion to fall back as fresh troops scrambled to occupy the freshly cleared trenches.

Greasy black smoke carrying the sickly sweet stink of burning flesh drifted over the trenches of the second circle as the crusade burned the dead bodies of the Brass Legion. The tech monks quickly gathered up every scrap of metal and still intact munitions as the mobile forges went into overdrive to pump out artillery shells in preparation for the next day's bombardment. As crows and ravens started to gather in great flocks, attracted by the promise of a feast of dead bodies, the infantry reinforced the trenches as mortars were moved up.

Author's Note

For reference, the Brass Legion's rocket batteries are based on Congreve rockets, a real historical rocket used in artillery bombardments.

The mountain howitzers are based on mountain guns or pack howitzers.

Like what you see, hate what you see, have a question, notice any typos, wanna throw shade or pure bane, leave it below in the comments.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy.

Edit: Before i forget, a special thanks to New_Rebellion for his help in coming up with names for the legions. Go show him some love.

Broken brass: blood flows like wine and the earth shakes

***Day seven***

In the bunkers that were still intact soldiers of the infantry and the Fraternity huddled together as they slept or patrolled the perimeters of the trenches. Nothing other than an occasional skirmish had happened, in the long, slow hours of the day.

Adamantem ordered for the fortifications of the trenches, that made up, the day before, the outer-most circle of the Brass Legion's defenses. The ponemarch stood tall, wearing ornate ivory-colored armor with royal purple trim, the high golden crest and trio of flawless blue diamonds on the helmet signified not only rank, but also the levels of artistry and pomp the legion valued. Captains wore a similar gilded crest on their helmets and a glittering ruby in the center of their foreheads. Lieutenants wore a silver crest and a single garnet on their helmets. Herd commanders wore double bronze crests and sergeants bore only a simple royal crest on their helmets, lesser ranks bore no embellishments on the helmets.

Unicorn marines levitated blocks of stone from the ruined bunkers that were still intact to form crenelations. Soldiers alongside marines used shovels to toss up berms or shore up damaged trenches. The bunkers in the rear-most trenches were torn down and concrete was poured to form new ones as heavy steel bars were sank into the slurry for reinforcement.

As fresh troops were cycled into the trenches, officers lead squads of the rank and file in exercises to stave off boredom.

As the day wore on, Twilight, Flurry Heart, Cadance, Celestia and Luna entered the trenches to observe how the fortifications were going, inspect the troops, or bolster morale.

As the last of the crenelations were erected, earthen ramps and platforms were lain, offering soldiers and marines could easily aim over the fortifications while remaining in cover. As the automated carts carrying the mortars and their three pony teams rolled into the rear trenches, crates of fresh shells were staked nearby.

Throughout the day the forces of the Brass Legion weren't idle. Fresh troops were brought forward, crates of ammunition and new rifles were stacked up. Mountain howitzers were pulled from a third of the bunkers and moved to the rear, the remaining howitzers in their bunkers had their ammo stacked outside to prevent the bunkers from being destroyed, the howitzers that were removed were placed behind berms and had tree branches or old burlap sacks laid over them to offer some rudimentary camouflage.

Throughout the day the air was pregnant with anticipation.

As the shadows lengthened with the onset of evening, two hundred thousand soldiers from the Brass Legion blacked out their faces, wrapped the barrels of their rifles in cloth, slipped padded shoes over feet and hooves, and drapped dark cloaks about the shoulders and withers, iron bombs were loaded into boxes, buckets, satchels and sacks in preparation for a night assault.

As night settled across the land with the quiet that comes with it, tens of thousands of creatures from the Brass Legion crept over the tops of their trenches and into no creature's land.

All was quiet in the trenches as the pony soldiers patrolled along the trenches or posted up on the outermost defenses. A single ivory-armored marine turned their head, the sensor strips in its armor picking up a cluster of anomalous readings. Turning its body and leveling the gun mounted in a shoulder socket, the transequine warrior fired a single mass reaction round. The marine's sensors picked up the dying scream of a creature and it fired of several more mass reaction rounds while simultaneously broadcasting an alert on all channels.

Thousands of ivory-armored transequine marines rushed to the fortifications to add weight of fire, while those already on the line laid down fields of well aimed shots. Soon the darkness was lit up by the brilliant muzzle flashes of shoulder-mounted guns, loud booms of mass reaction rounds leaving muzzles, wet-sounding explosions of bodies being ripped apart and the screams of the wounded and dying disturbed replaced the quiet of the night. Muzzle flashes from the dark where creatures returned fire filled the darkness of no creature's land, orange sparks filled the air where bullets impacted crenelations and armor. Though the return fire from the creatures was intended to make ponies duck for cover, the unicorn marines did not flinch, instead using the muzzle flashes of the enemy rifles to better line up head shots.

Mountain howitzers in the forward-most bunkers traversed their muzzles to maximum altitude and fired a barrage of illumination and smoke rounds to conceal their compatriots. Mortar shells whistled as they arced high into the air before bursting, sending clusters of flares lazily drifting down to the ground.

Though the sensors of the unicorn marines were momentarily confused by the enemy illumination rounds, they stuck to their instincts, returning fire where their initial scans had read while the processing units in their armor worked overtime to compensate.

Out of the haze and glare, the creatures and mutants of the Brass Legion pressed forward hard and fast, many of them carrying various containers of iron bombs, in the hopes of breaching the crenelations.

The unicorn marine's processing unit compensated, allowing their sensors to better get accurate readings. Seeing scores of enemy creatures carrying containers, they quickly adjusted their aim to prioritize them. Some mass reaction rounds ripped the bodies of creatures apart, sending their payloads spilling onto the ground, other mass reaction rounds entered the containers, causing the iron bombs contained within to detonate, shredding the flesh of groups creatures in sprays of shrapnel and the force of explosions.

Whether through luck or dogged determination, here and there small groups of creatures made it to the base of the crenelations, though they paid the ultimate price, other creatures lit fire pots and hurled them at the containers piled up at the base of the fortifications. The accurate fire of the unicorn marines shattered many of the fire pots before they could be hurled, dowsing the creatures in burning liquids, others were successfully shot down by accurate fire or caught in magic fields and hurled back, just enough landed on the piled up containers, setting them alight.

Unicorn marines quickly backed off the line as orders were issued for ponies to seek cover. Sections of stone fortifications heaved, before tumbling into the trenches as gaps were opened up. Anticipation hung thick and heavy in the air, making the seconds tick by like micro-eternities. Muzzle flashes from the recently opened gaps filled the air with hails of bullets, quickly followed by creatures storming through shouting curses and screaming bloody murder. Mass reaction rounds shredded the bodies of enemy creatures, blood splashed on the still standing stone works and soaked into the ground as creatures died by the dozens in the narrow choke points. For every enemy creature died, another took its place, making the rush seem endless. Unicorn marines in ivory armor with purple trim, stood still as statues as they steadily returned fire and sent blasts of magic into the creatures trying to force their way through the gaps in the fortifications.

Soldiers armed with rifles and flame throwers rushed forward to lend aid with hails of bullets and streams of fiery death. Flashes from the rear lines signified the mortar teams opening up. High explosive and fragmentation shells added to the wholesale death being doled out by the bullets, streams of flames and mass reaction rounds, finally breaking the back of the night assault, sending the enemy creatures in full retreat.

Soldiers quickly reloaded magazines and replaced spent tanks on flame throwers. Unicorn marines cycled back in orderly fashions to the rear lines, ejecting spent ammo cassettes from their armor as reload teams hurried forward and inserted fresh cassettes into the loading ports.

Two airships moved forward, their engines droning loudly. One kept its bow guns facing forward as the second rotated to bring its starboard guns to bear. Night turned to day as the artillery guns on the airships thundered, sending a deadly hail onto enemy positions. Creatures of the Brass legion scrambled for any cover as massive shells screamed through the night and sent clouds of shrapnel flying through the air or laying down blankets of burning phosphorus on the ground.

The intermittent flashes of the airships' artillery revealed armored figures flying through the air. In groups of twos and threes, the Saddle Ragers swooped down picking off loaders sprinting outside the bunkers to pick up shells, or lop the heads off of creatures shouting orders over the din of battle, or prying open the heavy iron doors on the bunkers so their brothers and sisters could quickly get inside to tear apart the crews of the mountain howitzers or creatures who took shelter inside. From the rear of the brass Legion's lines mountain howitzers that had been removed from the bunkers and hidden behind earthen embankments roared to life, lobbing explosive and fragmentation shells into their own compatriot's ranks in a desperate bid to try and kill as many transequine warriors as possible. Papilionem watched for a brief sacond as shells ripped into the chaos of battle, killing enemy creatures and transequine warriors alike. The ponemarch wasted no time, flying fast and hard to the enemy rear ranks to engage the mountain howitzers.

The crew of one gun barely had time to scream as the massive pegasus ponemarch landed in amongst them, killing the creatures outright. The transequine general moved in a blur of focused effort, ripping the breach block of the artillery piece with their hooves and hurled it at another gun, knocking the weapon on its side. Creatures panic fired their lever action rifles in a desperate bid to to kill the attacking ponemarch, to no avail as the few rounds that did find their mark sparked harmlessly off the power armor. Papilionem drove forward in single-minded violence, the ponemarch's sons and daughters were being killed by these guns and there was only way to stop it. The ponemarch threw the bulk of their weight into the side of one howitzer, tipping the gun over and sending several of the crew sprawling helplessly through the air.

As Papilionem bore down on another gun, the crews of two mountain howitzers managed to successfully traverse their guns around, aiming at the ponemarch and slammed an explosive shell home each. The first shell found its mark on the ponemarch's helmet, shattering it as the explosives in the heavy round ripped armor away from the transequine general's neck, withers, shoulders and forelegs, making the warrior reel and stumble from the blast. The second shell went slightly wide, impacting on a pile of shells from a now ruined gun. setting of a chain reaction of explosions that shattered Papilionem's remaining armor and sent the ponemarch tumbling across the ground. Lever action rifles opened fire on the downed ponemarch in a bid to finish it off.

In the trenches and in the air above it, the sons and daughters of the Saddle Ragers felt a tremble in their magic as their ponemarch was seriously wounded. Abandoning all sense of tactics and folding their wings in, the marines let out blood curdling roars filled with rage. They trampled towards the rear lines of the Brass Legion, crushing creatures under armored hooves or ripping them apart in displays of savagery.

Papilionem rose to shaky hooves as fast-clotting blood flowed from the ponemarch's ears, eyes, nose and mouth. As bullets whizzed through the air, impacted on the ground throwing small sprays of dirt or pierced the flesh of the ponemarch staining its dusty yellow coat red with more blood, the transequine warrior seemed to to take no notice. Eyes bugged from the sockets as the ponemarch let out a berserker roar and charged with blinding speed. Creatures panicked as the bloodstained mountain of a pony charged forward letting out howls of bloodlust, it seemed to take no notice if its injuries, some tried to run, others froze like they were suddenly turned to stone, others dropped to their knees in a desperate bid to surrender, others tried to stand and fight.

Papilionem charged forward heedlessly, blind to all but the few visible in its rage fueled tunnel vision, deaf to all but the rushing pulse in its ears. The ponemarch sprung into a group of enemy creatures, the transequine warrior tearing some in half with its bare hooves, tearing others literally limb from limb and biting chucks off of others with its teeth. Everywhere the rampaging ponemarch went, screams filled the air and blood fell like rain, further staining the tranequine warrior's coat a bright crimson until not a patch of yellow fur was visible. Scores of creatures scrambled up the embankments trying to escape the slaughter, only to scream in terrified shock as a wall of armored forms rushed towards them, baying for blood. Several Saddle Ragers leapt over the earthworks as the rest flowed over the tops like an armored flood.

Confused spotters for the crusade forces reported that the Saddle Ragers were storming en mass towards the enemy rear and that remaining enemy forces were rushing in the same direction. Flurry Heart, with her flanged mace held high, ordered the enemy trenches to be taken quickly as the charged forward. A massive, disorganized rush of infantryponies followed her out of the trenches and across open ground. The enemy artillery crews and warriors that stayed behind stared in stunned disbelief as the crusade forces flooded into their trenches. They tried to mount a defense, but were too few. Bullets filled the air from both sides as mountain howitzer crews desperately tried to traverse their guns to get and angle on the charging ponies. Grenades and jets of flames further filled the air with death as the ponies closed in. Creatures braced their bodies against the heavy iron doors in an attempt to hold them closed as ponies outside were trying batter them down. Rifle muzzles and flame thrower nozzles were shoved in through firing slits, filling the bunkers with death, as few ponies tossed several hoof grenades in for good measure afterwards.

In the chaos and bedlam, Flurry Heart strode like a god of war made flesh, her mace being levitated in a golden aura. She swung her mace into creatures, the sharp flanges cleaving through meat and bone as the power field blasted flesh into pink sprays. Several creatures snuck along the tops of the trenches and leapt down to attacker her from above, silver halberds effortlessly cut them to pieces as five Nebula Guard made themselves known. As the five transequine bodyguards leapt down into the trench and formed an armored bulwark around Flurry Heart, their leader spoke softly through its helmet, "Stay with us your majesty and we shall ensure your victory."

Flurry Heart took a quick survey of the battlefield and saw where several creatures were holed up inside a bunker and had even constructed crude fortifications to protect themselves from the bullets, flame throwers and grenades, they seemed to be successfully holding the crusade forces back for now. "I want to make that my forward base of operations.", she said pointing a wing. The five Nebula Guard nodded in unison and the six of them rushed towards the bunker.

"Clear back and lay down covering fire!", Flurry Heart shouted orders as she and the five Nebula Guard neared the heavy iron door of the bunker. The soldiers quickly complied, pulling back and laying down volleys of fire on the gun slit of the bunker. The Nebula Guard formed an orderly line and charged the iron door. The lead transequine bodyguard crashed through the heavy iron slab that as the door for the bunker, ripping it off its hinges, crushing several creatures on the other side of it that were using their bodies to brace the door. Without a moment's pause, the five Nebula Guard turned the bunker into an abattoir. Several creatures tried to scrabble out the gun slit, preferring to brave the bullets, they screamed as they were drug back in, begging for mercy. A minute later the Nebula Guard reemerged from the bunker, their amethyst armor stained with blood and gore, a few scratched denoting where several creatures unsuccessfully tried to fight back. "Clean this place up and get a flag raised, this shall be my forward operating base until the remainder of our forces move up.", Flurry ordered several soldiers.

The remainder of the enemy line disintegrated into a rout as they were being squeezed between the rampaging marines of the Saddle Ragers and the advancing pony infantry. Most threw their rifles away as they scrabbled over or trampled their compatriots in a completely disorganized retreat, many scattered in every direction, a few curled up into balls, rocking back and forth as their minds collapsed in upon themselves. Papilionem collapsed from a combination of exhaustion and injuries sustained, which had the effect of snapping the ponemarch's sons and daughters out of their rage. As several transequine laid the unconscious ponemarch on their backs and carried it to safety, the remainder formed an armored wall with their bodes as they slowly backed up in an orderly retreat.

As the crusade forces quickly took control of the next circle of trenches, Cadance stormed through the trenches towards the bunker that now served as the forward operating base. None dared to get in her way as she was in full mother hen mode. Stepping into the bunker, she saw Flurry Heart sitting at a makeshift desk made of empty crates, looking over reports and she quickly slipped her right forehoof out of its armor.

Flurry Heart looked up from the reports to see her mother and stood up. "Moth-I mean Princess Cadance, I sit here awaiting you and the other princesses on a field of--" Her words were cut off by a hoof smacking her across the the cheek and then being pulled into a hug.

Parting from the hug, Cadance spoke,"I'm glad you're safe, but what you did was foolish. If your father was he wo--", Her words were cut off by a backhoof to the mouth, she licked her lip where it was split as a small trickle of golden blood oozed out.

"That's for daring to strike a princess of Equestria!", Flurry snapped, her eyes blazing with fury, "And this is for thinking you can use dad's name in vain!" Rearing back, she punched Cadance in the jaw, sending the mare falling to the floor, then stomped over, towering over her mother. The ponies that were serving as staff looked on in bewilderment, to them this was not a spat between family members, but a duel of gods.

"How dare you!", Cadance snarled.

"Be quiet and listen for once you old nag!", Flurry snapped back, "I did everything dad taught me! While you spent the last thousand years weeping over his long dead bones, I chose to honor his memory by defending our little ponies!" On the last word, she stamped a hoof.

Twilight stepped through the door of the bunker and cleared her throat. "Bickering like schoolyard fillies and throwing licks is not the way princesses behave. Use your head for something rather than a place to hold your manes." She looked around at the gaping ponies. "Out!" Mortal ponies scrambled out of the bunker. "Flurry help your mother up off the floor and heal her lip."

Flurry gave a glowering stare at Twilight. "She started it when she..."

"I...don't...care!", Twilight snapped, rising to her full height and flaring her wings, "You both are princesses of Equestria and you both will full well act like it!"

Flurry huffed indignantly and narrowed her gave at her aunt. Twilight said nothing as she flared her nostrils.

Flurry Heart considered flaring her wings in aggression at her aunt, but thought better of it. Helping Cadance up off the floor, she lit the tip of her horn and touched it to her mother's lip, healing the minor wound.

Twilight calmly walked over and embraced her niece and sister-in-law in a tight embrace. "You two shouldn't fight, I know you both miss Shining Armor, I miss him too, but we won't honor his memory by bickering like a gaggle of schoolyard fillies."

Celestia and Luna stood silently by the door, the elder sibling held a pleasant and knowing smirk in her lips. "It seems my former student took to her lessons well."

Twilight looked over her withers at he former teacher and blushed slightly before clearing her throat. "If everything is in order, we need to begin preparations for the next day.", she quickly darted her eyes to Cadance and Flurry, "Everything is in order, yes?" The two alicorn mares nodded.

Once the issue between Flurry Heart and Cadance had been settled, Twilight quickly summoned the generals, Sunset Shimmer, the nine uninjured ponemarchs, head preacher of the Fraternity, the war strider princepts, the two minotaur matriarchs and the first captain of the Saddle Ragers, a mare named Ala Forti. A pregnant silence hung over all gathered in the bunker that served as a makeshift forward operating base. "First before we speak on more grave concerns, First Captain of the Saddle Ragers Ala Forti, you sit here in conference as your ponemarch is currently recovering from their injuries, for all intents and purposes, you shall act on the behalf of Papilionem and shall in this counsel, speak as if their voice was yours. Your legion is to be commended for capturing and destroying an enemy artillery battery.", Twilight said as she levitated a golden half-hoop meant to attach to a suit of armor and a large armored hoof along with a scarlet banner ribbon, "Your ponemarch, the captains and lieutenants of your legion will be rewarded with a solar halo that will offer protection and as a symbol of their rank, along with a hammer hoof, your banners shall from this day until the legion no longer exists shall carry a scarlet ribbon."

The first captain humbly bowed as she received the rewards on behalf of her ponemarch.

Twilight then turned to the head preacher of the Fraternity. "For the Fraternity's performance above and beyond their call of duty in taking ground from our enemy and for the lives you lost in doing so, the keep and the lands it sits on, once we take it shall serve as your first monastery."

The preacher bowed his head. "The goddesses are too kind, we are but simple ponies who serve. With bullet, hoof and flame we shall purify those whom seek to profane thy image, words and light."

Twilight's eye twitched slightly at this, she strongly disliked being worshiped like a deity, she didn't let it show as she turned to the generals. "Lastly, the soldiers who have fought to take this land from our enemy shall, upon completion of this campaign, be rewarded unit commendations for their actions and shall be given land to build homes for themselves."

The generals bowed their heads in gratitude.

Twilight took in a deep breath, placed a hoof to her chest, held it for a few seconds and extended it out as she blew out the breath slowly. "We have so far inflicted an estimated one hundred thousand casualties on the enemy forces, captured an estimated three thousand prisoners of war and seized an estimated twenty tons of weapons and ammunition.", she paused to allow murmurs of affirmation went around the table before continuing, "We have suffered an estimated sixty thousand casualties on our side. Though we are gaining ground, at the current rate our losses will nearly triple as the enemy shortens their lines of supply and are able concentrate more fire power on us.", she paused as some of the generals grumbled, then turned to the war strider princepts, "We need to break the back of the defense. How quickly can the sparks be fully awoken for a dozen of your brethren?"

Oak Bough, an earth pony stallion princepts rubbed absentmindedly at the ports and plugs on his neck, barrel and head. "It would take six hours minimum to fully awaken a dozen as our brethren have been kept in a twilight state since this campaign started."

"Then go now and start waking them.", Twilight ordered. After the princepts had filtered out, she turned and asked, "Is Spike near?"

"I'm here Twi.", Spike replied through the gun slit of the bunker, "I'm sorry I can't sit in there with you all, ya know being this big and whatnot."

Twilight chuckled softly at her big little brother. "Spike, I want you to lead the war striders in their march and put the dragon-fear into this self-described Brass Lord and his band."

Spike popped a quick salute. "Can do Twily."

Twilight chuckled softly again and marveled to herself that Spike had not fallen to the dragon-greed. She cleared her throat before continuing, "When the striders march, I want full regiments infantry on their heels. Pomum Ligni, take the rear and when we reach the keep, I want full fields of devastating fire lain down on its defenses."

"Vent Rapide, Zoccoli di Pietra, your legions will take the flanks. Aster, Mica, your legions will form the point of the spear to break their ranks. Apricus, Empresario, Divinos, your legions will form the second, fourth and sixth ranks to clear out the bunkers, enemy holdouts and clean up any resistance holding out. Adamentem, you will form rear guard and when we reach the keep, you will assist in breaching its defenses. Mortar teams and airships will offer heavy bombardment ahead of our forces. Ala Forti, you are in command of the Saddle Ragers until Papilionem recovers, the legion shall serve as close air support.", she looked around the room at the faces of those gathered, "Questions, comments? Voice them now or forever hold your peace." The gathered ponies and cows shook their heads no. Twilight slapped a hoof to her chest in salute. "Peace through harmony!"

"Harmony through victory!", those gathered replied.

***Day eight***

The Brass Lord scowled as he read through loss reports. Between those who were killed, injured or had deserted their posts, he had lost nearly one hundred and twenty thousand troops, according to the scattered reports from the few scouts that had made it back, it appeared as if the pony forces were massing for another push into his lines...his kingdom...and he would be damned and dropped headlong into an active volcano than allow some pathetic ponies take his rightful lands from him. Though there was a small bit of good news in an otherwise mixed report, what was thought to be metal golems turned out to be ponies, albeit big ponies, in armor. It bothered him that those ponies fought on as if they did not know fear or pain.

"My lord, *baa-aaaah* our forces, though outnumbering this pony army, are *baa-aaah* of low morale.", a goat, who served as one of his commanders, bleated.

The Brass Lord looked across at the goat. "Double chems for all my warriors, also a full day and night with the pleasure stock for any warriors who can bring me any of their big ponies in chains alive."

"What of the massive rectangular structures the pony army is rolling towards our front lines and the rumors that a dragon travels with the pony army?", a griffon asked as it rubbed an old scar on its cheek.

Rumors of a dragon is most distressing. "I will believe the stories of a dragon when I see it with my own eyes.", the Brass Lord replied, "As for those large structures, I believe they're storehouses for weapons and ammo. Have our mountain howitzers focus fire on them when they get close enough." He looked from one commander to another and stifled a snort. This pony army brings a well trained and equipped army and these creatures here are little more than glorified bandits. "I want that army crushed and scattered to the four winds. Let them feel the full force of the Brass Legion. Many self-described 'rightful rulers' have thrown themselves against our bulwarks before and all have been thrown back and crushed. This force is nothing more than a band lead by a petty tyrant, when their army is destroyed, I will personally flay the hides from their leaders for new trophies. We will crush them, cut the throats of their stallions, chop the legs from their mares and use them to brood stronger warriors. Go forth and show them the might of brass!" The creatures all quickly bowed and scrambled out of the room.

The Brass Lord ruminated for a few minutes, it had been nearly thirty years since he had to personally took to the field and the way this battle was going, he may have to take to the field once again. "Bring my battle plate and ax!", he bellowed to several servants.

As the sun peeked above the horizon, the warriors of the Brass Legion looked over the tops of the trenches, watching twelve massive rectangular structures rolled forward on massive treads. Behind the massive structures, the infantry started massing. Mountain howitzers thundered from stone bunkers covered in layers of earth and logs for protection. Explosive shells rang out against the massive structures, most exploded harmlessly, a few knocked away some massive armor plates.

Airships and mortars thundered back in five volleys. Creatures scrambled for cover as the shells whistled through the air. the first three volleys fired explosive shells that dug craters in the soil, the fourth volley unleashed shells filled with burning phosphorus that exploded in the air, scattering their deadly payload on the front ranks of the trenches, the final volley unleashed smoke shells that obscured vision.

As the smoke cleared, the creatures of the Brass Legion stared in dumbfounded shock as a massive purple dragon with green frills and spikes landed at the head of the massive structures and roared. Trickles of yellow ran down the hind legs of several creatures and clumps of brown landed on the ground with wet plaps. The fronts of the massive structures dropped down, forming massive ramps. Gargantuan four legged walking machines stomped forth from the twelve massive structures, the ground trembling with every step they took. Many creatures stared in dumbstruck awe, dozens threw their weapons down and ran away from the futile struggle, a few score simply laid down to await the inevitable.

Spike pointed a claw and started loping forward. Several mountain howitzers fire at him, but their shells exploded harmlessly against his thick scales. The gun crews quickly traversed their guns and fired explosive shells at the advancing war striders. Explosions filled the air as previously invisible shields shimmered when the shells impacted them.

The crew in one of the bunkers stared with stunned awe as their shells exploded harmlessly against war machine's shields. As the massive strider leveled one of its massive guns at them, they quickly scrambled towards the door, they never made it out. The war striders unleashed massive white-hot beams at the bunkers. The creatures inside and the layers of logs near-instantly vaporized as the stone and layers of soil melted into glass, chain reaction explosions of the ammunition sent gouts of super-heated glassed earth sailing through the air, forming a deadly rain. The creatures of the Brass Legion fled from the dragon and war striders as chunks of glassed earth rained down, many disappearing under molten clumps.

As the war striders marched forward, stopping occasionally to fire their main guns, the infantry, lead by the transequine marines, charged into the now emptied trenches and started fanning out to occupy the newly captured lines.

Reaching the edge of the next circle of defenses, the war striders, along with Spike, formed up a wall of heavy armor and guns. New orders were issued and the infantry formed up ranks, preparing to rush the next set of defenses. The war striders spread their legs in a wider stance and started walking forward slower, using their shield to screen the infantry as it rushed towards the next circle of trenches.

The Brass Legion, seeing that the war striders weren't advancing, reformed ranks and prepared to counter attack. As the crusade forces poured into the trenches, quickly overpowering the defenders, the Brass Legion counter attack rolled forward. The creatures and mutants moved through the trenches, using the earthworks as a shield from the massive machines of the crusade.

High above the airships moved into position, rotating to bring the guns on their bows, sterns and broadsides to bear. Massive fragmentation shells were loaded and the guns roared to life, laying down curtains of shrapnel ahead of the crusade's advance. The creatures of the Brass Legion ducked down low as they crawled through the trenches to avoid the lethal rain of sharp metal in the air.

The guns on the airships cut out just before the two sides clashed. A strange device in the shoulder socket of Aster's power armor snapped open, forming three small prongs, a ball of crackling electricity formed between the three prongs until it was the size of a cantaloupe. The crackling ball of electricity sailed forth, turning the first few creatures it encountered into charred skeletons, after a few body lengths the balls of electricity spun, bobbed, weaved, climbed and dove erratically, blueish-white arcs leapt off of it. Creatures screamed as their flesh burst into flames or bubbled from the intense voltage of the electric ball. As the arcs leapt of the ball seeking ground, many of them hit the creatures, some died when the electricity overloaded their internal organs, others fell to the ground thrashing wildly as the electricity overloaded their nervous systems, other creatures were killed when the ammunition in their pouches started cooking off in loud firecracker-like pops. After dozens of body lengths, the electric ball stopped sailing forward and started spinning quickly in place, blueish-white arcs leapt sporadically off of it as the air started to shimmer as the ball grew in heat. The quickly spinning electric ball shrank in size for a few seconds before exploding, filling an area five body lengths around with lightning-like arcs. Spots of fulgurite appeared where the arcs grounded, dozens of creatures that were caught in the blast lay on the ground screaming where the electrical arcs gave them horrendous burns.

Aster smiled like a maniac under their helmet and the ponemarch charged the mad science weapon again. When the electric ball fired, it immediately burst into a shotgun spray of electrical arcs, sending a score of creatures to the ground screaming with terrible burns. The ponemarch cackled at the data it was gathering on the new experimental weapon and charged it again. The weapon sputtered and seemed to shut down before unleashing dozens of grape-sized balls of electricity that burned holes in creatures and the ground before dissipating. The ponemarch started laughing like a mad scientist from a bad movie and shunted all available power to the weapon. A solid beam of electricity, as big around as a pony's hoof, ripped through the air. As the beam intersected the creatures, it initially seemed to do no damage, until they fell to the ground dead, their central nervous systems shorted out and fried. Aster made a note for further study and experimentation as the ponemarch shut down the weapon and engaged the oncoming enemies in close quarters combat.

Mica charged forward, the ponemarch's armored form crushing scores of enemy creatures under its transequine bulk. The the transequine unicorn general rushed forward, the sons and daughters of the legion followed close behind in a massed triangular formation. Blast of magic ripped apart enemy combatants, as armored hooves shattered the bodies of those who got too close.

The infantry poured into the trenches and spread out, laying down covering fire as they pushed forward. The mountain howitzer crews in the stone bunkers traversed their weapons down as low as they could, set the fuses on the canister shells as short as they could and slammed the rounds home. In other bunkers that the creatures of the Brass Legion were using as cover, they aimed their lever action rifles out the firing slits and fired. Bullets and shrapnel whizzed back and forth across the trenches, creating fields of bleeding bodies where they cut into flesh. Creatures in the bunkers dove for cover as bullets and mass reaction rounds sailed through the firing slits and ricocheted of the interior walls, creating a lethal hail. Grenades and streams of liquid fire added to the death in the trenches as the infantry closed ranks.

The Sky Ranger legion on the crusade's left flank, stayed low to the ground as the flew fast and hard, cutting down clusters of enemy fighters with wing blades, twin chain blades and ripper hooves. As the marines reached the bunkers, they chucked blocks of explosives through the firing slits. The structures that housed artillery ripped themselves apart from the inside out as chain reaction explosions from powerful shells detonating turned them into craters. The Stone Legion rushed along the right flank as an armored flood, filling the air with mass reaction rounds that shredded the flesh of enemy creatures and barrels of artillery guns.

As the Brass Legion started massing for a counter attack, Spike leapt into the air and flapped his wings hard. Landing in the front ranks of the massing enemy counter attack, he took in a deep breath as he swung his head side-to-side, flames hot enough to turn hardened steel to slag poured across the ground, turning hundreds of creatures into ash almost instantly and breaking the back of the forming counter attack as they fled in dragon-fear fueled panic. Shells from mountain howitzers and bullets from rifles bounced harmlessly off him, a few explosions knocking some scales from his hide. Rearing up on his hind legs to his full height, he unleashed a deafening roar that made the very ground shake like an earthquake. The creatures in the remaining circles of trenches felt the dragon-fear take hold of them. Screaming in terror, the creatures fled from their defenses, thousands of them ran in a panicked stampede back to the keep, trampling over their comrades who were too slow or paralyzed in fear, hundreds more scattered in random directions, their most ancient instincts sending them into a blind panic.

Chuckling to himself, Spike casually strolled forward as he buffed his foreclaws against his chest. "Yes! Yes! Flee before the big and scary dragon!", he bellowed, occasionally spitting out a gout of flame to further reinforce the enemy's fear. He finally stopped at the last circle of trenches, recently abandoned and sat down. As he waited for the crusade forces to catch up, he pawed at the ground and wished he had brought some gems to snack on.

The Brass Lord, along with his bodyguards and advisers ducked down, covering their heads, trembling in fright as the massive dragon stroll casually across the circles of defense. Though none near him would admit it, they all knew by the smell that he had soiled his armor, of course they would never admit that they had soiled themselves too. The Brass Lord opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come out, only a strangled gurgle.

As the crusade forces rushed forward unbidden to occupy the now-abandoned trenches, they came across small pockets of creatures frozen in panic. The creatures were summarily executed or were tied up and drug back for interrogation. Once the infantry and marines made their way to in inner-most circle of trenches where Spike was sitting awaiting them, he made his way back to the rear for a much deserved (at least in his own opinion) nap. As banners were raised above the trenches and the crusade forces started fortifying their newly captured positions, the tech monks started hurriedly gathering up rifles, artillery pieces and ammunition the fleeing creatures left behind to be taken back to the forges for disassembly.

Once the Brass Lord has regained his wits, he quickly took stock of the situation. The pony forces now surrounded his forces on three sides and were within striking distance of the keep, though they had to make a dash across open ground to do so. Clearing his throat, he started barking orders, "Consolidate all warriors and artillery, if they want to take this keep, they'll have to bleed for every step." He turned and walk away to his private quarters to clean himself up.

An aide scrambled up just before he entered into his quarters. "My lord! What are your orders for when they attack?"

"They won't do it right now, they need to consolidate their forces first. By my best guess, we have until the morning before they do so. This keep has weathered sieges before and has yet to be breached, it will stand against the forces of those pathetic ponies." With that, he stepped into his quarters, shut the door and ordered for a bath to be drawn.

As the day drew on, high altitude pegasi scouts filled the sky over the enemy-held keep, taking images with various recording devices. A pair of pegasi hovered high in the air as they recorded slaves being drug from their pens by the Brass Legion, the females being subjected to brutal gang rape before being executed alongside the males. "Cirrus, are you seeing this?", Cumulus asked his brother. "Unfortunately, yeah.", Cirrus replied drawing his rifle, "I'm going to stop them!" The pegasus dove down . "Dammit!", Cumulus exclaimed before hitting the transmit button on his recording device, then drew his rifle and followed his brother down. A firefight broke out between the two pegasi and the gathered creatures. The handful of slaves that were in the progress of being drug from their pens ran away from the firefight into the nearby forest.

The two pegasi swooped, dove and looped as they fired on the dozens of gathering enemy creatures. Cumulus cried out in pain as a bullet tore through his wing and he went crashing down to the ground hard. Cirrus dove down to his brother and quickly opened fire, driving back the few charging creatures. Cirrus quickly helped his brother up to his hooves. "Can you fly?" "No.", Cumulus replied shaking his head, "My wing's ruined. Give me any spare ammunition you can, get into the forest, find those slaves that got away and get them back to our lines. I'll cover you as best I can."

"But you'll die! I can get you out of here alive."

"Too late for that now. I'll bleed out before you get ten body lengths, I'd rather go out fighting."

Cirrus went to say something back, but the look in his brother's eyes cut his words off and he pulled the bandoleer holding his remain magazines off and draped it over Cumulus' neck. "May the goddesses guide you to your rest."

Cumulus took up position behind a pile of rocks and laid down suppressing fire on the gathering enemies, while Cirrus flapped his wings as he leapt over a fence that surrounded several slave pens. Raising up the butt of his rifle he smashed the locks off several pens. "C'mon! Hurry hurry hurry! Get to the forest!" As the slaves poured out of their pens and started running to the forest, Cirrus covered them with well aimed shots.

Cumulus pulled the empty magazine from his rifle and slapped a fresh one in. As bullets whizzed around his ears, he blind fired several shots, then broke cover, scrambling to a nearby boulder and laid down more fire. Pulling out the empty mag, he inserted a fresh one and pulled back the charging lever. Rushing to a nearby clump of trees, he fired wildly on the run. Just before he reached the trees, several bullets impacted his armor, making him stagger from the impact and he yelped in pain as a bullet tore through his hips, shattering the bone. He fired wildly as he drug himself to a nearby tree and propped himself up to the best of his ability. Bright red blood pooled underneath his hind quarters and soaked into the soil. As his reactions became slower, he reached for a small magical rune on his rifle and activated it. More bullets tore through the air and slipped through gaps in that pegasus' armor. Cumulus slumped forward as the last breath left his body. Enemy creatures surround the now dead stallion's body, some putting rounds into his head and body to ensure he was dead. As they drew blades to carve his body up, the self-destruct rune activated. The rifle vanished in a magic-fueled explosion and killed the five nearest creatures. As the explosion ripped Cumulus's dead body apart, the unspent ammunition in the magazines cooked off in firecracker-like explosions.

Cirrus paused for a second hearing the explosion from the self-destruct rune, followed by the sound of ammunition cooking off and he closed his eyes, mourning the loss of his brother before continuing back towards friendly lines leading the escaped slaves. Upon reaching the first friendly patrols, he quickly surrendered his rifle, ammunition, armor and allowed himself to be arrested.

Cirrus stared up at the princesses and Sunset as he sat bound in shackles. The court-marshal had been quick, starting two hours after being taken into custody, he had refused any representation.

"Sergeant Cirrus, do you have anything to say for yourself before I pass judgement?", Sunset asked, levitating the gavel in her magic.

"No ma'am."

"Very well. I Sunset Shimmer, Grand Maestro of the Ponyhood of Steel and second-in-command of the forces of the New Empire of Equestria hereby strip you of the rank of sergeant and all the privileges it confers and sent back to the rank of private. You shall also be sentenced to one thousand hours labor in the scullery. Let the court mark in your record of your rescue of two score slaves that have provided us with valuable intelligence shall be considered for your next evaluation. Come before this court again and your punishment shall be more severe." The gavel came down with a loud clack.

"Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am.", Cirrus said morosely as the bailiffs came over to unlock the shackles.

***Day nine***

The muzzles of the remaining mountain howitzers peeked out through the firing slits of the towers, over the edges of the crenelations of the keep and between the hastily constructed berms and barricades. The remaining warriors of the Brass Legion bristled with a mixture of anticipation and fear as they watched from the walls of the keep, from the firing slits and over the hastily constructed fortifications in the remaining darkness before dawn. Creatures sniffed powdered amphetamines to keep themselves on edge and ready, as others swilled down bottles of crude alcohol to steady their nerves. The drugs had the desired effects, but also blunted their senses.

As the sky began to lighten in false dawn, flashes of light signaled where pony artillery was firing. Shells from heavy guns on the airships and mortars in the trenches screamed through air. The shells exploded among the hastily constructed fortifications on the ground and on the tops of the walls, sending broken bodies and destroyed guns flying through the air.

Pomum Ligni ordered their legion out of the trenches. The marines marched slowly across the ground, their thick armor leaving deep hoofprints in the ground as heavy guns spun up to speed in preparation to fire. High above three airships, heavily laden with marines, hovered in the cloud covers as pegasi marines and soldiers circled.

In the forest around the keep, thestral snipers sighted in their bolt action rifles as they perched or hung from branches, and the marines of the Night Hunters crept forward.

The ground shook as the war striders stomped forward from the right. Soldiers stood atop the massive war machines that were serving as impromptu siege towers. Fluffy stomped forward at the lead, with Dew Drop and Apple Pie standing atop its armored command deck.

Dew Drop shouted and cheered as she waved her saber over her head. Apple Pie hunkered down on her belly, covering her eyes.

"C'mon Appie!", Dew Drop said poking the young mare with a hoof, "Look around will ya?! Witness the beauty as we claim this land for the glory of the goddesses!"

"No thank you!", Apple Pie replied.

Dew Drop smacked Apple Pie in the flank with the flat of her saber. "C'mon, this is the safest place right now!"

"Leave her alone Dew.", the princepts of Fluffy said through a loud speaker, "I think she's scared of heights."

"I'm not scared of heights, I'm scared of falling!", Apple Pie shouted back.

Dew Drop blew a raspberry at them both. "You two are no fun."

Just as Pomum Lingni's legion reached within ten body lengths of the now ruined berms and barricades, the artillery cut out. Steel-jacketed bullets filled the air, ripping apart creatures still alive on the ground and on top of the walls. Mountain howitzers in the towers opened fire, sending explosive shells down on the heavily armored ponies. The explosive shells rang out against the their thick power armor, making the heavily armored transequine marines stagger as it left dents, but failed to to breach the armor. The heavily armored earth pony marines split into five columns as they implacably marched forward. Out of the trenches, four-legged machines holding armored coffins that contained ancient, centuries old marines hooked up to life support, marched forward in waddling steps, a pair of artillery guns mounted one each side leveled at the towers. As the mountain howitzers traversed to take aim at the new threats, rocket-assisted shells fired from the guns and impacted against the towers, tearing gaping holes and killing many creatures inside. The roofs ripped off the towers as the artillery ammunition inside cooked off, sending shrapnel bouncing around.

Vent Rapide and the Sky Rangers folded in their wings as they nosed down in steep dives, leaving multicolored contrails and sonic rainbooms in their wakes. The armored pegasi crashed through the destroyed floors, gaining access to the interior of the keep. Doors and walls disintegrated as explosive were planted and the pegasi marines swarmed through the defenses and on onto the walls.

As creatures in the courtyard set up firing lines and traversed mountain howitzers to engage the Sky Rangers, the Saddle Ragers descended from above. The hallways, courtyard and wall tops became awash with blood as scores of creatures of the Brass Legion were cut down and the defenses were quickly overrun.

In nearby hidden bunkers, creatures prepared to rush out and take the attacking crusade forces by surprise. As they opened the doors, explosives that had been rigged by the Night Hunters went off, filling the interiors of the concealed structures with deadly shrapnel. Black armored marines rushed into the bunkers, as the threw grenades and fired mass reaction rounds. Inside the bunkers, the Brass Legion died to a creature.

The war striders reached the walls and lowered their powered down guns to serve as boarding ramps as soldiers poured off the massive war machines and started occupying the keep with shouts of "For Equestria!", "For harmony!" and "In the names of the goddesses!".

As the Sky Rangers and Saddle Ragers battled through the hallways, wall tops and courtyard of the keep the pony infantry moved up behind them. Doors to the dungeons were flung open and ponies that had been driven into madness from torture, starvation and over-stimulation from chems, poured out in a mass, driven forward by mindless hunger. Soldiers opened fire with rifles and flame throwers, cutting down scores of the lunatics. The marines didn't pause for a second as the madponies rushed through the hallways, stopping only to rip chunks from the dead or dying and devour their flesh. The crazed and starved ponies shrieked in blind madness as they surged forward in search of whatever could be eaten. Though groups of the lunatics could easily overpower mortal creatures, they served as little more than a nuisance for the transequine warriors armor and greater strength. As the madponies flailed their hooves against and bit the armor of the marines, they were quickly dispatched. The desperation tactic gave the defenders enough time to bar and barricade the doors and windows of the main keep.

Once the last of the madponies were dispatched, the main gates to the keep were flung open, allowing Pomun Ligni, Adamanetem, Zoccili di Pietra and Apricus to lead their respective legions inside. As the pegasi legions took to the air to patrol over the keep, the Solar Flames took the left wing of the keep and the Stone Legion took the right, both legions moving quickly through the hallways to the main keep. The heavily armored earth pony legion in tan armor took up positions on the tops of the walls, keeping their guns trained on the windows as they scanned for signs of the enemy. The ivory and purple-armored unicorn marines marched in perfect lock-step through the courtyard to the heavy outer doors of the main keep.

In a flash of violet light Twilight appeared, surrounded by five Nebula Guard. "WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! SURRENDER NOW AND YOU CAN KEEP YOUR LIVES, IF YOU CONTINUE TO RESIST, YOUR LIVES WILL BE FORFEIT! YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO DECIDE!", she called out in the Royal Canterot voice.

"You dare to shout at me?!", the Brass Lord called out from a window.

"I DO!"

"Such arrogance! Your guts shall serve as garlands and your hide shall hang from my throne!"

"COME AND CLAIM THEM FOR YOURSELF!"

The Brass Lord snorted in defiance and shouted, "OPEN FIRE!"

The last few remaining mountain howitzers, already traversed down as far as they could go, had their muzzles shoved through the upstairs windows in a clash of shattering glass and fired a volley down into the courtyard. Twilight quickly threw up a bubble shield, deflecting the artillery rounds. As the artillery crews reloaded, creatures smashed windows with the butts of their rifles and fired. On the roof, hatches were flung open and creatures with rifles scrambled out to take up firing positions. Crusade soldiers aimed their rifles through the windows and returned fire as snipers in the trees took aim and fired.

The earth pony legion on the wall top unleashed swarms of steel-jacketed bullets, shredding the creatures at the windows and on the rooftop. The Sky Rangers quickly dove down onto the roof, ripping apart the retreating creatures and slipped into the open hatches. The Solar Fire and Stone Legions started battering down the doors and walls in their perspective wings, as holes were punched through the structures, the muzzles of guns, plasma casters, heat beam weapons and heavy flame throwers were aimed through, unleashing death. Three airships descended just above the roof of the main keep, thick ropes were cast over the sides and three legions of unicorn marines fast-roped down and started prying up sections of roofing or leaping in through the hatches. Cadance and Flurry Heart, accompanied by ten Nebula Guard joined the marines making forced entrance through the roof. The Night Hunters gathered up outside the walls of the keep and started etching transportation matrices on the ground. Luna, accompanied by five Nebula Guard, joined them. In a flash of dark blue light, the gathered transequine warriors and one alicorn vanished in a loud pop and a rush of displaced air.

In a flash of golden light, Celestia, accompanied by five Nubula Guard joined Twilight in the courtyard. As ivory and purple-armored marines planted explosives on the massive double doors, the white alicorn drew her sword, flames licked down the length of its blade, the lavender alicorn readied her massive hammer, the power field crackling as the weapon was activated. The explosive went off, ripping the doors to shreds as they blew inwards, killing the defenders on the other side that were using their bodies to brace them. Before the dust and smoke had time to clear, the two princesses charged in with a loud shout, followed by the ten Nebula Guard and ivory-armored marines. The Stone and Solar Fire legions breached through the doors and walls of the left and right wings. In the basement, Luna, the five Nebula Guard accompanying her and the Night Hunters materialized in a flash of dark blue light. From the roof, Cadance, Flurry Heart, the ten Nebula Guard accompanying them and four legions swarmed down into the main keep. The windows on the rear of the keep burst inwards as the Saddle Ragers joined the battle. From above, below, left, right, behind and in front, creatures died en mass as the Brass Legion made their last desperate stand against the rush of massive armored ponies.

The Brass Lord sat on his throne looking at his collection of hides and skulls of enemies he'd slain as the sounds of his warriors dying rang out about the keep, he knew he was doomed and had decided to go out with dignity rather than some mewling calf scared of a thunderstorm. As the sounds of the last of his warriors dying rang out, a grim smirk crossed his lips. None can ask for a better or more glorious death than this. As he heard the sounds of armored hooves outside the doors of his throne room, he rose to his feet, made sure his armor was properly fastened and picked up his ax. The doors on every side was smashed splinters and armored ponies rushed in aiming their weapons. The door to the throne room snapped open and the five princesses strode through, accompanied by the thirty Nebula Guard.

"Your keep lays in our hooves, your forces are shattered and we control your lands.", Celestia said as the flames on her sword sizzled away the last of the blood on it, "Lay down your weapons and surrender. I will personally assure your death will be painless, continue to resist, your death will be slow and painful. Considering how you treated those you wrongfully imprisoned, please resist."

The Brass Lord spat on the floor in contempt and slammed a fist on his breastplate. "Ha! You think some pretty ponies can take me?!", he mocked, "I am Skull Crusher the Brass Lord! I have slain greater than you!", he gestured to his grisly trophies, "Your hides and skulls will join those I have personally slain!", he pointed his ax, "I challenge your champion for ownership of this keep and command of your army!"

Luna facehoofed. "Why is it always the fools who bluster the most and cannot see when they are vanquished?"

"I accept.", Cadance said stepping forward and drawing her rapier.

A cruel smile spread across the Brass Lord's lips and he ran his tentacle-like tongue across his teeth. "Give me the pleasure of your name. I prefer to know the name of those who I am about to slay so I can immortalize on my trophy wall."

"Mi Amore Cadenza, princess of Equestria and ruler of the Crystal Empire."

"Ah, a princess!", he said in a mocking tone, "I've never slain a princess before. Don't worry, creatures will remember your name for a thousand generations after I slay you and mount your hide on my wall. Maybe I'll mount your pretty face on my breastplate."

"And I will personally ensure that all memory of your name has been scrubbed from this land as your bones rot in an unmarked grave."

The Brass Lord scoffed in defiance and started circling. Cadance circled, matching his steps. With a shout, he charged, raising the ax over his head. With dancer-like grace, she narrowly dodged the ax and thrust her rapier through his heart.

The Brass Lord choked and sputtered as he looked at the rapier sticking out of chest. As Cadance removed the weapon from his chest, he collapsed to his knees and up into her eyes as a realization came over him. "Truly thou art goddesses."

Cadance placed the blade of the rapier against his throat. "If you have any last words, speak them now."

The Brass Lord coughed up a gob of blood. "Be-beware the undead pony who wears the guise of a goddess, she knows who you are and is the greater threat."

The power field on Cadance's rapier crackled as she drug it across the mutated minotaur's throat, severing his head.

Dew Drop's blood boiled as she walked past the bodies of murdered slaves being prepped for burial. Unwanted memories played through her head from her time as a slave to the sphinx. Even though the soldiers had tried to give the dead some semblance of dignity by closing their eyes and mouths to give the impression of gentle repose, she still recognized the expressions of pain and horror frozen on the victims face faces, the same expression that she wore once on her face. She recognized the signs of rape as bitter tears leaked down her cheeks.

The nearby snickering of a captured griffon snapped Dew Drop out of her grief. An angry snarl escaped her lips as she grit her teeth and drew her saber.

"No Dewy, don't do it!", Apple Pie shouted as she tried to restrain Dew Drop, who simply shrugged her off.

The griffon looked at the approaching Dew Drop. "And what do you think you are going to do little foal with your toy sword?"

Dew Drop said nothing as she slammed the hoofguard into the griffon's beak and he unceremoniously fell to the ground. The griffon screamed as she embedded the point of the saber into his groin. "Did they scream, just like you are screaming now, when you forcibly penetrated them?!" As she began sawing the blade back and forth slowly disemboweling the griffon, he tried to beg, but only gurgling screams came out. "Did they try to beg for their lives, just like you are doing now?!"

Apple Pie covered her ears, squenched her eyes shut and turned away, though she was stranger to violence, she never had the stomach for torture.

Blood and ropy intestines spilled out of the griffon's gut as he screamed and begged for mercy. "Beings like you disgust me!", Dew Drop snarled as she withdrew her saber, "You think it's fun to hurt those weaker than you until those weaker than you hurt you back." She jammed the point of the saber into the griffon's throat, killing it. Wiping the blood from her saber, she slid it back into its scabbard and walked to the nearest tent.

Apple Pie followed the chestnut-colored filly into the tent and tried to comfort the inconsolable earth pony. She began softly singing a song her mother used to sing to her when she was sad or scared about smiling.

Twilight searched through the dead minotaur's office, searching for evidence of any potential allies he may have had. She found in a corner two crumpled up notes. Levitating them in her magic, she spread them out and read them. The first one was asking for aid from New Unicornia, as she read the second her eyes went wide. Rushing out of the office, she called for Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Flurry Heart.

As the five princesses passed the letter back and forth, Cadance asked, "This can't be the same Cozy Glow. If she were alive, she'd be over a thousand years old."

"Not unless she gained access to necromancy or some other form of forbidden magic", Celestia replied.

"I say we worry about that pony when we come across her, if we come across her.", Luna said flicking the other letter with a hoof, "Our concern should be this New Unicornia. It appears this bandit army was supplied by them."

"I agree.", Twilight said still eyeing the letter written by Cozy Glow, "New Unicornia is the bigger threat. Though if Cozy was here, then she knows of them and that further compounds our problem. I find it unsettling that she seems to be at least three steps ahead of us and she'll get even more steps ahead as we're going to be spending at least six weeks consolidating, repairing and rearming."

As the sun set, the remains of the Brass Lord was tossed without pomp or ceremony into a pit atop the piled corpses of the bandits of the now defeated and vanquished Brass Legion. Banners, artwork and heraldry of the destroyed legion here hurled in on top of the bodies. With the whoosh of flame throwers, the once feared tyrant and his warriors, burned away to ash. The princesses watched as the bandits and the tin pot dictator that ruled over them burned away. Within a generation the Brass Legion would become little more than a cautionary tale parents told their foals.

********************************************************************************************************

Cozy Glow perched atop a cloud as she watched farms worked by emaciated earth ponies dressed in rags. An elaborate covered palanquin being carried by large ponies wearing elaborate armor, being escorted by two companies of heavily armed unicorns and two self-propelled armored wagons on treads, with turrets on top brandishing long tube-like guns. She watched as the palanquin stopped by the farms, the heavily armed unicorns took up positions along the road, pointing their weapons, the two armored self-propelled wagons on treads rotated their turrets, pointing their guns to either side of the road.

Cozy watched as the palanquin was lowered to the ground and a set of gilded steps were laid next to it. She watched as a unicorn wearing elaborate scarlet and gold robes, with an elaborate pointed hat on its head. You must be the Grand Pontiff. She watched as the earth ponies laid on their bellies and kowtowed to the unicorn. As the unicorn spoke to the earth ponies, she couldn't make out what was said, but it became quickly apparent when the earth ponies brought out several carts filled with vegetables. The soldiers took the vegetables from the carts and stuffed them into sacks.

Cozy watched as the unicorn turned to walk back to the palanquin, paused, turned back and walked over to a young earth pony mare and ran a hoof across the mare's cheek. With a gesture unicorn soldiers grabbed the earth pony mare in their magic. The mare's family scurried forward, begging and pleading. When the earth pony stallion, obviously the patriarch of the family, tried to pull the mare mare away, unicorn soldiers struck hi over the head with the butts of their rifles, knocking the stallion to the ground. Several unicorn soldiers rushed over to stamp on the stallion with their hooves or beat him with their rifle butts.

Cozy turned her attention back to the unicorn wearing the elaborate scarlet and gold robes as it climbed back into the elaborate covered palanquin. Unicorn soldiers roughly shoved the mare into the palanquin and the ponies in elaborate armor lifted the palanquin by its four poles. With shouts of orders, the unicorn soldiers that were beating the earth pony stallion rejoined the escort convoy, leaving the stallion battered and bloody in the field.

Cozy Glow flitted from cloud to cloud as she followed the column of soldiers escorting the Grand Pontiff down the road, as the two self-propelled armored wagons took up the front and rear. She followed the column to a massive cathedral-like palace. As the palanquin was carried up the gleaming marble steps, the soldiers and armored self-propelled wagons peeled off to the left and right respectively.

Cozy Glow thought back through her memories of the old maps of Equestria, the cathedral-like palace stood where the twin peaks of the Smokey Mountains once stood. She cackled to herself in wicked glee. "It looks like I'll be making some new friends." She paused looking at her undead mummified form. "I'll have to make myself look a little more presentable."

Author's Note

The crusade stands bloodied, but victorious.

New Unicornia joins the game.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Like the story? Hate the story? Spot any typos? Have any criticisms? Wanna throw shade or pure bane?

Leave them down in the comment section.

Thanks to New Rebellion for his help in story ideas.

PEACE THROUGH HARMONY! HARMONY THROUGH VICTORY!

Side chapter: New Unicornia

Cozy Glow sat perched atop a cloud studying the comings and goings of the fiefdom. In her watching and listening from the shadows when she could, she had learned the kingdom was called New Unicornia. In the distance atop the twin peaks known as Smokey Mountains and into the valley below, stood a massive cathedral-like palace. The undead mare whom had been reanimated by a dark and profane magical ritual, and empowered by the alicorn amulet she had stolen from a small trading caravan and the various amulets and charms she had taken from the mummified Ahuizotl after destroying him, let her thoughts drift to her past as she silently observed. How she had nearly successfully stolen the magic of Equestria after infiltrating Twilight's school, being imprisoned in Tartarus for months, being broken out by Discord who was disguised as Grogar, successfully stealing the Bewitching Bell, teaming up with Chrysalis and Tirek and nearly succeeding in completely overthrowing Equestria and bringing back the windigoes...that had filled her with a perverse joy nearly destroying the land.

Cozy shuddered slightly at the memory having the nearly limitless power stripped from her when those six creatures who had their snouts up Twilight's plot had convinced not only all the ponies to work together again, but also also creatures who had no relation with the ponies to work alongside them, having a massive cake dropped on her by a chaos magic-fueled Pinkie, being turned into a statue with the combined magics of Celestia, Luna and Discord. During those untold years of "rest" where she couldn't sleep, wake, breath, move, eat, cry, scream, laugh, weep or see, all she could do was hear and think, and plan her vengeance. The mistakes her enemies had always made was assuming she filly and never realizing that she was just a runt in her mid-twenties. Growing up, because she was physically smaller and weaker that the other foals her age, she learned how to fight without fighting and win by manipulating those around her into fighting for her.

Then that fateful day happened. Something happened to make the magic go haywire. She, Tirek and Chrysalis were freed from their stone prison, and they stared from Canterlot as blooms of raw, unrestrained magical energies erupted across the land, killing untold numbers in an instant. She laughed and reveled with glee at the pure insanity and devastation. Her other two fellow former inmates could only stare on in horror as cities burned, along with the creatures that lived in them and strange storms brewed. She remembered watching a fleet of airship sailed overhead as storms raged across the land, bring mindless mutants. Tirek and Chrysalis had fled in terror, but she stayed, using the insanity of the fighting to seek out survivors to twist to her cause. Things had worked out well for many years, the now wild and unrestrained magics slowly mutating her along the way, though instead of turning her into a monstrosity, made her grow into the size of an average adult mare. It turned out it was much harder to manipulate those around when you looked like an adult and as always there were ponies and other creatures who had their own ambitions for how to lead. She had narrowly escaped being murdered by hiding in a partially collapsed building in Manehattan, though she was badly injured. Using the last of her strength, she wrote a threat and promise on the wall, then darkness took her...until an untold time later when that stupid creature had resurrected her with the intentions of using her to seek out some foolhardy revenge on a now long dead rival, but he made one major miscalculation, you don't use Cozy Glow, she uses you...and she does not serve.

As she continued to watch the events down below, Cozy mused on the stories she had listened to from the shadows just outside the lights of campfires or disguised as a random traveler. Stories that came up from the south on the lips of travelers about a lavender goddess that was waging a war against five desert kingdoms with a nigh invincible army. About strange lights in the sky. About three goddesses slaying a sphinx in front of a whole community. That five goddesses, donning "sacred" armor had announced their return with voices of thunder. It was clear, the princesses were back in force, leading an army and the elements were awakening again. She would be ready for them and would win, no matter how long it took, now that time was her ally. She turned her attention towards the Foal Mountains and wondered how long that stupid minotaur has held out...and he had spilled the beans on her?

But that was something that future Cozy would worry about.

Cozy continued watching down the kingdom down on New Unicornia. It was clear that earth ponies and pegasi were nothing more than a labor force who the unicorn ruler...rulers?...took whatever they wanted, with the threat of powerful machines and weapons, along with magic, at their disposal. She thought about what she could do to catch the ears of the leaders. A simple showing of necromantic magic might not impress them into revealing their secrets, but there were other ways.

Cozy watched as a caravan pulled up and were met with two of those heavily armored self-propelled wagons with big tubes sticking out the top, three unarmored metal self-propelled wagons, with heavy canvas draped over their back, were close behind the two armored wagons. She watched as unicorn soldiers piled out of the three unarmored metal wagons and met several ponies who came from the caravan. The ponies from the caravan drug what looked like an unconscious alicorn, except its wings and horn looked stunted, and passed it off to the soldiers. She watched the caravan ponies, without any haggling or supplies or money, simply hoofed over the unconscious pony.

***

Winter Wheat, leader of the slave caravan, couldn't be happier to get rid of this mare, even if one that had wings and a horn could have fetched him and his crew a hefty payday. He should have listened to his instincts when the bandits he bought her from a few weeks ago had asked for next to nothing. He initially thought she was just some worn out brooding stock that many of the bandits kept then killed or traded when they had no more use for. It turned out this mare was a massive headache, able to control ice and cold. She had made multiple escape attempts and even freed slaves quite a few times, which had cost the caravan quite a lot. Ropes, chains and magic-restraining horn rings didn't work as she would freeze them and break free. It was fortunate she didn't know that land or she could have gotten away clean. After having to beat her into unconsciousness repeatedly, he was now glad to hoof her off and let her be somepony else's headache, he had already lost too much scratch dealing with her.

Commandant Stellar Skies stood watching as the slavers brought a pony with a blueish-gray coat and blue white mane out trussed up on a pole carried between two of them. What made take a second glance was the mare's stunted horn and wing. Is that a false goddess the pontifexes always warned about in their sermons and writings? Or is this some kind mutant? Either way the colts in the bio-research department will have a field day. She adjusted her cap the sat atop her close cropped graying black mane while her tan coat bristled.

Stellar was suspicious of caravans. Usually they were just traders or slavers looking to make a payday by selling their wares, occasionally they were bandits looking to raid for supplies and ponies they can snatch. The scars under her dark gray uniform itched, reminded her of the time when she was a young officer, straight out of the school and didn't take the proper precautions. That was a mistake she would never make again, now any time there was what looked like a caravan, she always met it with no less than two tanks and two trucks of soldiers.

Commandant Stellar Skies was caught off guard when the slavers asked nothing for the trussed up mare, hastily loaded up onto their wagons and just as hastily left. As the bound mare was carried by the soldiers to the trucks, the commandant banged on the side of the tank, prompting the commander to pop his head out of the turret. "Pass me a radio."

The tank commander saluted, slipped back down into the turret, then popped back up with a headset in his hooves.

Stellar Skies climbed up on the side of the tank and took the headset. "Channel seventeen.", she ordered down through the still open turret. After the channel was changed, she adjusted the mic. "Aerial screw command. This is Commandant Stellar Skies of the eighth outriders. I requisition a spotter screw to follow and observe a caravan that is traveling south-by-southwest at twenty-four furlongs and hour that has just passed marker alpha-one-niner-twelve."

"We have one fueled up and will be skids up in five.", a voice replied, "Any special orders?"

"Just a standard observe and track.", Stellar replied.

"S-O-T confirmed and will carry out. May the divine be with you. Aerial screw command out."

Stellar Skies dropped the headset back down through the turret and hopped off the tank. As her command car pulled up, she looked up and did a double take. She swore she saw a pony peeking over the edge of a cloud. She gestured to the flag pony. "Standard prisoner convoy." As the flag pony waved out the semaphore, relaying her command, she stepped into the backseat of her command car. "When we get back to the cathedral, send a runner to weather command and find out of any of their pegasi have been slacking off. The last thing we need is any of those feather backs forgetting their place.", she said to the driver.

Snow Drift groaned as she came back to consciousness. Her head throbbed. As her senses came back to her, she didn't feel the splintery floor of a slave wagon, or the pinch of ropes and chains, she felt something cold and hard under her, it wasn't the cold and hard of the ice of the far north from where she grew up. Her thoughts drifted to where she grew up, the little village called Frozen Haven, deep under a glacier. She missed home, scaling the walls of the ice dome that encapsulated the village with her fellow snow ponies to maintain it, digging for the sweet and crunchy tubers the grew in the rocky soil under the glaciers, picking frost daisies that grew around the melt water lakes with her little sister, walking through the many ice tunnels with her father to look for gems that had been polished smooth by the glacier to trade with crystal pony merchants, going out to the fertile plains outside the glaciers to pick crystal berries, to hear the various stories from the traveling lore keepers. It had been on an expedition to pick crystal berries that she got separated from her party and found herself on the edge of the city that had been called the Mourning City that contained what was called the Weeping Spire. The old stories said that when the skies burned, the goddess who lived there lost the warrior she loved and now she spends all of time mourning her lost lover. There had been times when she swore that she heard, when the winds drifted just right, the weeping of the goddess echoing in the tunnels.

Snow Drift slowly opened her eyes as she recalled that fateful day when she was forcefully taken from the far north. She remembered seeing the barrier around the city and touching it. The weird tingle in her hoof when she touched it. Most strange of all was that the city was silent, the crystal and snow ponies who dared to venture that far south always talked about the weeping of the goddess could be heard. She remembered seeing a shadow block out the sun and looking over to see a pony wearing strange clothes looming over and speaking in a language, a sharp pain to her head and darkness, then waking up in a cage, surrounded by skinny, starving mares, stallion, fillies and colts, draped in filthy, ratty clothes, the hollow, haunted gazes in their eyes unsettled her.

Snow Drift blinked her eyes to force them to focus. She looked around where she was. It wasn't a cage. It was a strange white room, the walls, ceiling and floor were covered in white squares. She tried to move her legs, only to find they wouldn't move. Craning her neck, she found she was laying on a hard, silvery table, all four of her legs her held down, spread eagle, by loops made from the same silvery metal around her fetlocks, across her middle was a large loop, also made from the same metal, holding her down and her wings to her side. She tried to pull her legs free, but she couldn't even wiggle them. Nearby was a small silvery metal table with several strange looking metal instruments on them.

Snow Drift closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. She fluttered her wings, snow ponies could, by focusing their magical core and flapping their wings, though they couldn't use their wings to fly or their horns to focus magic, the former were too small to do more that glide, as flying in the storms of the north and under the glaciers was too dangerous, the latter because their horns weren't linked to their thaumic system and was instead used to chip away at ice, could generate intense cold, they could also use their magic to shape ice, and if there was enough moisture in the air, the could use it form ice and snow. She felt the cold spread across her midsection and hooves as she started slowly freezing the metal.

The door opening with a *kachunk-swish* made her snap her eyes open. Snow Drift watched as a mare waled in wearing a long white coat over her deep green fur. She couldn't see the mare's mane as it was tucked under a strange white opaque cap that tightly covered her head. What drew her attention the most was that this mare had a horn like hers, but it was longer. The mare looked down at her and said something in a language she didn't understand. "I don't understand what you're saying. Can you tell me where I am?" The mare cocked her head slightly, the chuckled and said something in the strange language. "Please, just let me go. Nopony has to be hurt. I just want to go home."

The horned mare made her horn glow in a strange sparkly light an odd gray box levitated from her long white coat, the sparkly light surrounding the box pushing in one of the weird little rectangles with a click and the mare spoke to it. The mare stopped talking to the box, clicked another rectangle on it and turned to the small table holding the instruments. Snow Drift's eyes went to pinpricks when a short-handled knife floated up.

Snow Drift summoned up every ounce of strength she had and focused her magic. She froze the metal loops holding her legs and body down. The horned mare's eyes went with shock when she saw the frost spread across the table and stepped back. Snow drift strained with all her might and snapped free of the restraints. The horned mare screamed in shock, dashed for the far wall and hit a little red circle with a hoof. Blinking lights and a high pitched noise warbled. Snow Drift knew that some kind of alert. She summoned up an aura of cold, making the ambient temperature of the room drop. The horned mare bolted for the door, but quickly back-pedaled when she saw it covered with a layer of ice. The horned mare turned back to face the snow pony and dropped to her knees begging and pressing her forehooves together in supplication. Snow Drift summoned an intense cold in her forehoof and quickly extended it to the horned mare. The mare tried to scream, but quickly found herself frozen solid.

Snow Drift looked over her hoofy work. The horned mare was stiff as a board, a look of horror literally frozen on her face. She turned around and bucked into the frozen horned mare, shattering her into thousands of pieces. She twitched an ear, hearing hooffalls and shouting outside the door. Rearing up, she planted both hooves on the door and froze it, along with a section of the wall, solid.

Snow Drift quickly looked around assess her situation. Outside the clatter of hooves were followed by shouting, then followed by blows. She had minutes at best. Spotting a small grate at the bottom of the wall, the kicked it in, squeezed in and crawled through the tight, claustrophobic passage.

***

Cozy Glow spent the next three days sneaking around New Unicornia, mostly at night, watching and listening. She learned the large armored self-propelled wagons were called tanks and the unarmored ones were called trucks and cars. SHe learned that the earth ponies and pegasi were kept as a labor force and the land was owned by the ruler known as the grand pontiff. Using the power of the alicorn amulet, she snuck up on a unicorn mare fetching water from a well, smothered her, stripped the robes from her and tossed the body into the well.

Cozy hid the various charms and amulets in the various voids in her desiccated body, attaching them to various mummified bones and withered organs. Finally she attached the alicorn amulet around her unbeating heart, Taking several moments to inspect her body, she closed off or disguised the various holes that time and desiccation had wrought. Looking at her reflection in a small puddle, she created a multi-layered disguise spell to both conceal her wings and give her both the look and feel of fur. She then created a convincing enough-looking horn that would defeat all but the most scrutinizing magical scans...after all if she looked that part, felt the part and smelled the part, no pony would notice...right? Taking a few moments to open some shallow voids in her flesh, she stuffed some wild lilacs into them. The combination of the dryness of her body, along with the various dark magic-powered amulets and charms would work in concert to disguise the fact she was technically a centuries old undead pony.

Cozy cycled through different colors before settling on a lavender color. She giggled at the delicious irony of it...or was it serendipity?...she never really knew or understood the difference. She then cycled through several cutie marks to cover that her's was no longer visible from centuries of desiccation. She debated on going with a six-pointed star, before changing her mind and going with a simple swooshy line to represent the horizon , a stylized sun that was half-below that horizon and a few silvery points to represent stars. A malicious grin spread across her face as she came up with an alias, Sundown Twinkle.

Cozy Glow...or as she would now be called, Sundown Twinkle...took one last look over her disguise to ensure she had everythinig in order. She even developed a false person...a young, enthusiastic, if somewhat bookish unicorn mare. She took a few moments to study the small holy book that was inside a pocket on the robe, with the help of a speed reading spell, to familiarize herself with the local religion. Come morning, she would integrate herself into the group of unicorn stallions and mares who were eager to join the ranks of the local clergy. Once inside, she would have access to the machinations of the clergy, and she would play the game, letting them think they're using, manipulating and molding her, until she was able to lie, charm, blackmail, or weasel her way until the had the ear of the pontiff, for you do not use Cozy Glow, she uses you...and she does not serve.

***

It had been weeks since Snow Drift had escaped. She had spent her time learning the ins and outs of this massive cathedral-fortress. She had learned that the horned ponies ruled over the winged ponies and the ponies that looked like crystal ponies without the crystalline coats with an iron hoof. It disgusted her that there was a group of the horned ponies who didn't work or toil or do anything to benefit this community, instead having others either work for them or having other horned ponies enforce their will, many times with brutality. They made the winged ponies push around clouds and make water fall from the sky, while those who didn't have horns and wings were made to work in the fields. Any of the non-horned ponies who tried to fight back were either killed with bang sticks, beaten savagely and thrown in cages, or had one or drug off into goddess knows where, screaming and begging.

Snow Drift, on many of her explorations, found a series of tunnels and caves, in which were ponies of every kind, horned, winged, and those with neither, were chained together and forced to strike at the walls with odd tools and place the rocks and stuff they knocked out of the walls into big, square metal wagons with small metal wheels, that sat on a pair of long. rectangular pieces of metal that the ponies pushed along when the wagons were full or empty. Most of these ponies had scars on their bodies from where the horned ponies that watched over them would hit them with odd flexible weapons. Many of these ponies had the look of death in their eyes, several were sick, coughing so hard they sometimes vomited, all were gaunt and showed signs of starvation.

What sickened Snow Drift the most was when on her explorations, was when she was sneaking through the crawl spaces and she came across a group of rooms that contained various non-horned mares chained to wooden things. Many of them were in various stages of pregnancy. Stallions and mares, wearing elaborate robes, would come along and forcibly brood the chained up mares, and do other shameful things to them. Her blood boiled when she witnessed this. It appeared that these too hot southern lands had no signs of love and ruled by force and fear, the things they did, if it was back home in the Frozen Tribes, would have gotten them banished to the glacier tops.

Snow Drift sat in an abandoned and forgotten cave, munching on an orange root vegetable that she had taken from a bag she had stolen while laying on a patch of ice she created, it wasn't like the deep-blue ice back at home, but it helped. While chewing on the orange root vegetable, she stared absent-minded at an odd silvery crystalline root-like structure. For some reason it made her feel relaxed and at peace. A strange blink of light at the mouth of the small abandoned cave drew her attention and she sprung to her hooves, ready for action. Lowering the ambien temperature, making the water in the air freeze, she drew the freezing water to her body for protection and to her wings and horn, augmenting them with ixe blades, hard enough to break bones and sharp enough to slice through flesh.

Snowdrift Froze in place, seeing what looked like and ethereal snow pony mare, except her wings were broader, held flared behind her in a regal display, her horn was longer, her coat was lavender, her mane and tail seemed to flow on an unflelt breeze and they looked like the sky at twilight, her height dwarfed the snow pony, her face bore a gentle smile. Most important, this ethereal mare radiated and aura of power that was both awe inspiring and terrifying.

The ethereal mare spoke in a voice that was calm, but radiated immense poser, and seemed to come from everywhere at once. Snow Drift, overcome the the presence, lowered herself to her belly in supplication.

"Peace be upon you Snow Drift of the Frozen Tribes. Rise and fear not. I bear you no ill will."

Snow drift rose to her hooves slowly and looked up at the face of the ethereal mare. "A-are you a goddess?"

The ethereal mare scowled slightly before returning to the gentle smile. "Nay, I am no goddess. The one whose likeness I take frets and worries when those whom call her a goddess. I come in many forms to help those whose destiny is meant to change the world. I have watched you and your tribe for a long time, guiding them as I have the other tribes in the past and still to this day. Though it saddens me that my creatures have forgotten my voice."

"W-who are you?", Snow drift asked.

"I am called by many names, but the most common I am called by is the Spirit of Harmony."

"Why have you come to me oh great Spirit of Harmony?"

"I call many. Some I call some to speak my words of harmony to the downtrodden. Some I gift my elements to whom have proved themselves worthy. Others I call them to fight against those who bring the chains of tyranny. I call you for the last one. Will you answer my call? I warn you that this path is fraught with peril. There will be much struggle, blood and suffering."

"Yes, I will answer the call. I will fight against the tyrants and break the chains of the downtrodden. Even at the cost of my life."

"It gladdens and saddens me that you choose to answer the call." The ethereal mare's form changed from the lavender mare to a bright white mare to a midnight blue mare to two different pink mares and back to the lavender mare. "The mares whom I have taken the visage of will come to this land. Though it saddens me the they must shed blood, my anger at those who enslave is greater. Your destiny lies with them."

"Will I see my home again?"

A sad expression flickered across the ethereal mare's face for a second. "I...do not know. I can only see one's destiny, not to where it may take them. You may see your home again, but you may not find any comfort in it. Go forth and break the chains of bondage. Bring harmony where you can. Give this warning to the one I bear the likeness of. The unicorn whom was shattered seeks to be whole again and the ancient ram walks the land, though he cannot take physical form again." The ethereal mare faded away slowly.

"I shall fight for harmony oh Great Spirit!", Snow Drift cried out.

***

"Sundown Twinkle" quickly rose through the ranks from inductee, to neophyte, to low priestess in a manner of four months, all through manipulation, guile, blackmail, and in a few cases, "accidents", involving those who suspected her or stood in her way.

A bishop, named Burnished Bronze, noticed "Sundown" and was impressed by how fast she had risen in the ranks. She moved up nearly as fast as he did. He recognized and respected how she navigated the treachery of politics like she was an old pro. He decided to take this mare under his tutelage, her skills combined with her bookish-ness and naivete would make her a valuable tool for his rise up the ladder...and he has his eyes on the prize, the throne of the High Pontiff.

Cozy Glow had her way in. Burnished Bronze, though he was a bishop, his ranking was low among the, more of a glorified file clerk and secretary. His robes may have showed him to be a holy stallion, but they concealed the true stallion from those who didn't know how to look. He was just another overly ambitious pony seeking power for power's sake, and also just another pervert. She played her naivete, pretending to fall for his transparent seductions. A few honeyed words and some manipulation of his mind slowly turned him into another tool for his use...Just like back at the School of Friendship all those centuries ago...except she had dark magic artifacts at her whim now.

Cozy Glow bided her time as she rifled through the files held in the vaults, under the guise of carrying out Burnished Bronze's orders. In her searches she found several ancient scrolls. New Unicornia was founded by several royal unicorns who had, just days before the Great Cataclysm, had abandoned Canterlot, taking their personal militaries with the. They had convinced several members of the royal guard, weather teams and basic laborers, all because they disliked that creatures that had become citizens of Equestria. She couldn't help but laugh at old specieist and tribalist mentalities that ponies tended to fall back on. She put aside those old scrolls as she had much bigger plans and Burnished Bronze may become the High Pontiff, but he would be nothing more than a servant.

***

Summer slowly progressed to autumn and slowly progressed to winter. Throughout New Unicornia there were stories of a ghost mare. Few who saw her survived to tell the tale. Soldiers scrambled to catch this ghost mare. Task masters struggled to keep the slaves under their watch in control. Slave pins would be found broken open, the chains broken and having melting frost on them. Engines in vehicles would be found seized up, filled with ice. Rooms in the cathedral-fortress would be flooded where pipes would burst. Soldiers had to be directed into the mines to hunt gangs of freed slaves that launched raids to kill the taskmasters and free their brethren. Lone soldiers would be found frozen solid, sometimes their bodies partially shattered. Food stores would be raided, the fruits and vegetables ruined by hoarfrost. Whispers among the common ponies about the wrath of the goddesses were spread, mostly in secret. Reports of preachers claiming to have seen the goddesses personally came in from travelers.

New Unicornia bubbled in chaos just beneath the surface. Cozy Glow, in her guise as Sundown Twinkle, glided though it all. Her tool was slowly and subtly moved her personal tool into place like a chess piece. With venomous words disguised as honey poisoned influential members of the cloth to her tool's side. Those who stood in her way had unfortunate accidents, found themselves jumped off of a high balcony, got caught with heretical evidence or died of "heart attacks".

As Burnished Bronze gathered more followers an influence. he became more and more paranoid, confiding more and more in a young, bookish, naive mare. Rumors and whispers spread about the health of the High Pontiff.

As winter slowly crept into spring, rumors abounded of a civil war. Whispers spread throughout the cathedral-fortress. The High Pontiff had fallen ill and was unable to physically carry out his duties. The doctors were stumped as to the cause of illness and he lay on his bed wasting away. On the first day of spring the High Pontiff was found dead in his chambers, his body succumbing to the illness. Three cardinals were found with the very same poison that happened to be found in the stomach of the now dead High Pontiff. The cardinals claimed innocence and when the soldiers were sent to arrest them, a fight broke out. That was the spark that was needed to ignite the tender box that was the New Unicornia politics. When the cardinals and bishops met to determine the new High Pontiff, arguments broke out with accusations and shouting. The meeting ended in a brawl. Crack that were just below the surface broke through the surface as factions openly took actions against each other. The civil war that been talked about in hushed whispers broke out and spread like a fire storm.

As the New Unicornia civil war broke out, a lowly bishop, who was little more than a glorified file clerk and secretary, named Burnished Bronze, had managed to gather the most followers, and in what seemed like luck and happenstance, gathered a third of the military to his faction.

For four months a bloody civil war raged. Fortunately for the rest of the country it was mostly contained to the cathedral-fortress. Through it all slave revolts, groups of soldiers found frozen and riots among the common ponies slowly convinced more and more faction leaders to throw their banners with Burnished Bronze.

After the last of the bishops and cardinals either joined Burnished Bronze or were exterminated, a vote was cast and Burnished Bronze was nearly unanimously voted as High Pontiff.

On the eve of Burnished Bronze's coronation, Cozy Glow sat with him in his chambers and whispered poison in his ears.

On the morning of Burnished Bronze's coronation, pegasi weather teams had moved clouds away so the sun would shine on the cathedral-fortress unblocked. The new High Pontiff, draped in golden robes, stepped out onto the balcony, flanked by the new heavily armed praetorian guards. After a gilded mitre was lowered on his head, he gave the speech that had been whispered in his ear the night before. "Stallions, mares, countryponies, lend me your ears. We have weathered through this bloody affair and the Divine smiles upon us. But my heart is heavy and troubled. Our sacred faith has been attacked by heretics who preach of the false goddesses. The same false goddesses who pervert the sacred image of the Divine. I'm sure you have heard as I have about a great and terrible warlord to the south who has been raping and burning across the land. There are also stories about false goddesses leading them. I tell you now they are not goddesses, just another bloodthirsty band seeking to rape and burn. Word has spread that they are on the move to here. When they face us, we shall meet them with such might that they shall be sent back to the pits that spawned them. We shall cast them down and show them for what they are with the shout of death to the false goddesses!"

"Death to the false goddesses!", the military shouted back.

"Shout it louder so that the lord of Tartarus who spawned them can hear. DEATH TO THE FALSE GODDESSES!"

"DEATH TO THE FALSE GODDESSES!"

"Shout it louder so that the very heavens will tremble at the sight of very might! DEATH TO THE FALSE GODDESSES!"

"DEATH TO THE FALSE GODDESSES!"

Author's Note

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.
A special thanks toNew Rebellion for the idea of snow ponies and New Unicornia. Go show him some love.
Like the story? Hate the story? Have a question? See any typos or misspellings? Wanna throw shade or pure bane? Leave it in the comments.

Concerning snow ponies: Snow ponies look like alicorns, having a horn and wings, though both are stunted. They lack the ability to channel magic through their horns, instead using it to chip away at ice, and their wings are too small to support them in flight(but they can glide), they can also use their ice magic to form weapons and armor. They live under the glaciers and in the frozen mountains of the far north. When they build a city, town or village, they first hollow out a dome at the bottom of a glacier. Along with the crystal ponies, they form a group of communities, connected by tunnels in the ice and roads in the mountains, called the Frozen Tribes. The snow ponies are a very wary and standoffish folk, only having regular contact with crystal ponies and the yaks. The ice, snow and cold serves as a natural barrier against attacks.

Side chapter: Tramplin' wiff da hogz

For months from their trek across the desert to the hilly country where they now camped, hogz had joined Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha's ever growing war herd, either because of the promise of fightin' and munchin', or being beaten and pummeled into compliance. It had grown from a war herd, to a war host, to a near-religious migration. The crude encampment had grown into a scrap city. Daily bands of hogz joined, the siren's song of violence irresistible to them. To any onlooker it would have appeared as pure anarchy, what with the mud pits with bodies wallowing in them, preechaz screaming their "sermonz", ramshackle war machines rolling around...and in some cases, stomping around, the mountainous piles of scrap haphazardly placed anywhere and everywhere, and the constant brawling...and they wouldn't be entirely wrong.

It was dark as Skull Krusha Masha Thrasha strolled through the bedlam, absentmindedly clanging his powah jawz. He was followed by by a group of big, heavily armored hogz, called bossiz. Most of them had their jaws replaced by crude bear trap-like devices called 'uge chompaz. Da biggest and baddest boss hog dere iz, followed by his band of bossiz, only stopped on their meandering to pummel the few porcines who squealed a challene or drew their ire.

Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha strode to the edge of the encampment to look off in the distance as he decided in which direction to trample off in next. As he gaze off in decided no deep thoughts, a shower of arrows rained down on da boss hog and his bossiz, most glancing harmlessly off their armor, but some found their marks, digging in deep and causing them to squeal in pain and anger. In the distance he saw a group of white tail deer clutching bows in the spit of their forehooves while nocking arrows, in preparation to draw and loose another volley. The boss hog raised his head to the sky and bellowed out, "OOOOOOOIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNKKKKKK!" The bossiz echoed the war cry and the whole group started trampling off towards the cervines.

Cries of "OOOOOOOOOOIIIIIINNNNNNKKKKK!" bellowed as hogz started trampling off in the direction of the war cry, while others tore down the ramshackle structures and gathered up the piles of scrap, tossing the materials into the back of wagonz and kartz. The ground rumbled in a faux earthquake from the trampling of hooves and the wight of wheeled and stomping war machines.

The deer loosed one last volley of arrows and the sprung off with a skip-leap dash that allowed them to quickly cover ground as the hill were inundated in a flood of angry pork. The deer continued their skip-jump means of running for a dozen leagues before coming to a stop just outside a small circle of stones where a doe steadily chanting a soft spell as her hooves glowed in a soft, leaf green light.

"Hurry Spring Bud, we've got them riled up and trampling. It won't be long before they find us.", a buck said stepping to the edge of the stone circle.

"Patience, Elm Twig.", Spring Bud said, not breaking her concentration, "The link between the two places of power is almost complete and the bridge is nearly woven."

As Spring Bud finished chanting, her hooves glowed brightly and she touched one to the ground. Small glowing vine-like tendrils sprung up from the ground and twisted around themselves, forming a circular structure. A flash of light signaled the portal was opened and the white tail deer quickly hurried through.

Once the last of the white tails were through, a black deer buck stepped from the shadows and crossed the threshold of the stone circle. Black lightning crackled across his antlers as he scraped them across the vine portal. "Happy travels cousins!", he snickered as he stepped out of the circle and slipped off into the shadows.

The massive host of hogz flowed across the land like a flood of hooves and tusks. Bullets and explosions ripped apart rocks, trees shrubs and porcine bodies alike, while crudely built kartz, wagonz and stomping war machines crushed those underneath who were too slow or too stupid to get out of the way.

***

The group of white tail deer traveled down the bridge of woven magic when crackles of black lightning started to travel down it. They gasped as it started to unravel.

Spring Bud stopped and started chanting, weaving a new bridge spell hastily. "Quickly! Lend me some of your magic or we won't make it out of here!"

The deer's antlers and hooves glowed in a bright green light as they lent the doe their magic.

As the magic bridge unraveled, Spring Bud reached out with her magic to connect with a place of power. She didn't have time to determine if the place she connected to was safe and quickly cast the spell to create a new bridge.

The group of deer quickly hurried down the new bridge as was unceremoniously dumped out in a dark place.

The deer quickly rose to their hooves and readied their bows.

"Anydeer know where we are?", Elm Twig asked.

In response, a pair of turquoise eyes shown out in the darkness.

"Thou hast much gall if thou think thou canst ambush Us.", a voice said that made the fur along the deer's spines stand on end.

"Show yourself!", Elm Twig challenged, aiming his bow at the pair of turquoise eyes, "I have no desire to fight, but if you threaten my glade-mates, I will slay you!"

In response blue light shined around a unicorn-like horn. The light filled the area, revealing it to be the interior of a large room, either in mid-construction or mid-repair and showing Princess Luna in her black power armor, she was flanked by five massive ponies in lavender armor, aiming the spikes atop their silver halberds at the deer. Doors opened and scores of ponies with manes bleached white manes stormed in, carrying weapons and surrounded the deer.

"Surrender and We can ensure that thou art well treated.", Luna said calmly, "Resist and well..." In response, several of the weapons the ponies were carrying had small blue flames ignited with a small pop, signifying they were primed.

***

For three days and three night the massive war host of hogz led by Skull Kruncha masha Thrasha stampeded on, stopping just long enough to attack bands of mutants, bandits, or packs of monsters in brutal brawls. On the fourth day as the sun started to peek above the horizon, the host of hogs stopped, gathering where the hill country met scrubland.

The hogz gathered in a lose conglomeration, some rooting for mushrooms and truffles, others engaging in massive brawls or shooting whatever had the misfortune of being directly in front of the muzzles of their guns, others still were digging out mud pit for wallowing or cooking disgusting and bizarre stews in pots made of scrap metal, while the bossiz "debated" on which direction to go, which comprised of bellowing loudly "DIS WAY!" or "DAT WAY!" while smashing each other over the head as far as they can, to which Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha, being "Da biggest an' baddest boos dere iz!", by disagreeing against all the other hogz whom he didn't like their ideas in standard hog fashion, by brutally pummeling them.

In the midst of all the hoggy bedlam, the ground started trembling as something massive was tunneling underneath and making its way to the surface, looking to make an easy meal.

As the ground heaved up in a large mound, many of the hogz stopped what they were doing to inspect what was going on. The ground erupted in a shower of dirt, rocks, teeth and hogz with parts of their bodies bitten off as a gargantuan tatzlwurm sprung forth, gobbling up a huge mouthful of earth and surprised pork. Bellowing cries of "OOOOOOOOIIIIIIIINNNNNKKKKK!" echoed across the gathering as hogz rushed in with glee to fight the titanic monster, giving deep and loud belly laughs.

The tatzlwurm effortlessly gobbled up mouthfuls of hogz, crushing others with it immense bulk, and smashing aside katz and wagonz like they were made of paper with its tail. Heedlessly the hogz rushed onward, driven by the glee that only a good fight could bring. Kartz and wagonz careened forwards, filled to the tipping point with hogz, at the mammoth worm-creature, some slamming into its body, others passing close by, in both cases hogz sailed through the air, either because they leapt from their mode of transportation, or because their inertia sent them through the air from the collisions. Whatever the case, when the hogz landed on the immense tatzlwurm, some scrambled up or down its body length, others stamped, bit, gored, hacked, stabbed and shot at the thick skin of the beast, to no effect. The tatzlwurm rolled its vast bulk over, crushing the unwanted creatures, along with a swath of the war host.

Explosions tore massive gashes in the in the ground or impacted the body of the tatzlewurm as the idolz of Oinka and Grunta stomped forward on crudely constructed legs or rolled forward on massive rollers, guns pointing off in every direction conceivable belched fire as they launched their payloads, with little regard if they hit anything. The tatzlewurm flared the frill surrounding its conical head and opened its tri-jaw open, revealing row upon row of razor sharp, reap pointing, conical teeth and gave a hissing roar as its multiple tentacle-like tongues writhed. The huge worm-creature lunged forward, plunging through the nearest of the idolz, shattering it to pieces, flung its tail into a second, causing it to tip over, and wrapping its coiling length around a third, crushing it like it was paper.

Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha leapt onto a kart. "Git offa 'ere ya dossy pigz!", he shouted as he tossed hogz from it. He smashed a hog who was standing astride four bicycle-like pedals, "Git me over dere!" The hog started pedaling and the kart took off. He smashed the pedlah over the head again. "Fasta!" The pedlah hog started pumping his legs harder and the kart picked up speed. "Fasta! Fasta! Fasta!", Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha bellowed, each time hitting the pedlah hog over the head. The kart shot by in a blur and Skull Kruncha laughed in glee as the air blew over his bristle and under his armor.

Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha coiled his legs under him as he prepared to leap as the kart neared the tatzlwurm. "Ya betta not swerve away, ya dossy pig, or I'll give ya head a thumpin'!" As the kart slammed into the gigantic worm-creature, he leapt, the combination of his great strength and the inertia of the kart coming to a near-stop when hitting something of greater mass, sent him sailing through the air and he land roughly on the creatures bulk. He swatted hogz out of his way as he ran along its body, towards its head.

When the tatzlwurm thrashed, dislodging many of the hogz on its body, Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha chomped down with his powah jawz. When it rolled to crush any hangers on, he ran around its body. He steadily made his way to the creature's head. Reaching the tatzlwurm's head, looked it straight into one of one of its many eyes and bellowed, "I yam Skull Krusha Masha Thrasha! Da biggest an' baddest boss hog dere iz!" He then slammed his hoof into its eye.

The tazlwurm reared up, roaring in pain and anger. It slammed its head onto the ground in an attempt to dislodge or crush the boss hog. Skull Krusha hung on for dear life, sometimes shifting his position. The tatzlwurm reared up and arced its head downwards to tunnel into the ground where it had the advantage. Worm-creature and boss hog disappeared beneath the soil. Hog stared on in stunned disbelief, not in mourning for their boss hog, but for the scrap that would be lost. The ground rumbled, in a massive geyser of soil and rock, the tatzlwurm reemerged, with the boss hog still clinging to its head.

For two day and two nights, the tatzlwurm and the boss hog fought. One the morning of the third day, the tatzlwurm fell to the ground exhausted, with a great crash, Skull Krusha still standing atop his head. As the worm-creature lay in the ground panting, its multiple tentacle-tongues hanging out, the boss hog reared his head up to the sky and bellowed "OOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIINNNNNNNNKKKKKK!" Swirling green magic surrounded his body as he grew in size and bulk.

"I yam Skull Krusha Masha Thrasha! An' I yam da worm ridah!"

The surrounding hogz all bellowed out in cheers as the shouted "Skull Krusha Masha Thrasha worm ridah!" in unison.

The mekk hogz gathered up scrap and fashioned a battering ram-like halter to fit over the head and tri-jaw of the tatzlworm. When it tried to thrash away, Skull Kruncha clanged his powah jawz together as a threat. The creature decided that right now wasn't the time for another a fight.

After the tazlwurm was fitted with its battering ram halter, Skull Kruncha stood atop its head and pointed a hoof to the south. "We go dat way!" A dozen hogz gathered up on the tail of the tatzlwurm and started beating on it to make the creature speed off.

Author's Note

This chapter is a little shorter than I intended, but I didn't want this one to be 8000+ words long. Don't worry, I'll come back around to da hogz again.

Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha has himself a new pet and mount. Now they set off in search of ~~adventure~~ a good fight.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Like the story? Hate the story? See any misspellings or typos? Have any questions? Wanna throw shade or pure bane? Leave it bellow in the comments.

Side chapter: Lights in the heavens pt. 1

As the civil war raged in New Unicornia, a young unicorn mare, named Peach Nectar, whom had over the years grown disenfranchised with the teachings of the pontiffs and their holy book had decided to use the chaos of the civil war to act. A few years ago her disenfranchisement had been cemented when she followed the sounds of weeping into a room holding dozens of earth pony and pegasus mares strapped down on rutting blocks. One of the mares whose mind hadn't completely recoiled on itself and gone fully catatonic had told her that the pontiff's soldiers had forcibly taken them from their family and would repeatedly rape them. Peach Nectar's stomach turned on learning that. She had come face-to-face with an older earth pony mare who had the same golden coat as her, still strapped to the rutting block. The hollow gaze in the mare's eyes made her freeze in horror. Peach Nectar realized she was staring into the face of her biological mother. When she tried to free the mare from her chains, the older mare simply raised her tail as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Peach Nectar had remembered fleeing that horrid room, she had silently swore that she would not rest until all those in chains were freed.

That had been three years ago and Peach Nectar had kept her silent oath, running an underground railroad smuggling out enslaved ponies that were being worked to death in the mines, kept chained down on the rutting blocks or had the fruits of their labors stolen by the pontiffs. She had more than a few close calls when making contact with passing caravans, nearly getting taken several times by bands of slavers, and even having to fake her own death when the soldiers of the Grand Pontiff had nearly gotten her. But now she worked with new urgency as bullets flew through the air as the civil war raged as a unicorn stallion, accompanied by this strange mare who always whispered in his ear, made his claim for the throne of High Pontiff with violence and blood after its recent occupant had died. Several other members of the clergy had formed their own factions, some supporting the stallion whom had the strange mare whispering in his ear, in the hopes of currying favor. Others in opposition, though each opposing faction had their own idea on whom should be the inheritor to the throne. Needless to say that the land of New Unicornia and the hallways of the cathedral-palace was soaked in the blood of both soldier and innocent alike.

Peach Nectar snapped the locks off of the chains that held a young earth pony mare to a rutting block who was several months pregnant. The earth pony mare had identified herself as Corn Silk.

"No time for pleasantries!", Peach Nectar said sharply, "Just help me get the others who can stand free." She levitated a small vial of poison pills from under her mane and passed them to the earth pony mare's hoof. "Slip one of these down the throats of those who are unable to walk. It's better for them to die with what little dignity than to live like this."

After the ones who could walk were freed and those who couldn't were given a more dignified death, Peach Nectar lead the group of mares, many of them pregnant, through the labyrinthine halls of the cathedral-palace. They kept low, trying to keep as low of a profile as possible, as the sounds of fighting and the snaps of gun fire filled the halls. She guided her band of a dozen mares, turning corners and going down alternate paths to avoid the worst of the fighting. Her ultimate goal was to get to an small, nearly forgotten maintenance shaft hidden behind a panel in a dusty, disused storage closet.

Peach Nectar's hooves slid on the cold hard floor as she cane to a stop as the group came face-to-face with a group of heavily armed soldiers. The mares behind her began to weep, muttering that they'd be killed, or worse. As the soldiers leveled their weapons, Peach closed her eyes and remembered the old book she found, it had a six-pointed star on its dirt-stained and weather-worn cover, inside the various accounts had depicted the six champions in their various exploits, it was her most prized possession, the one thing the coveted out of everything and she had hidden it in her spare saddlebags in the maintenance shaft.

Peach Nectar uttered the prayer softly that she had heard the slaves down in the mines say when the guards weren't around. "Oh goddesses, if it be thy will, save thy loyal servant. We ponies are lost and adrift with out thine guidance."

Instead of the snaps of gun shots followed by oblivion, Peach Nectar heard the soldiers cry out in shock and then sounds of things breaking. Opening her eyes wearily, she saw that the soldiers were encased in ice and a pegasus mare with a small horn shattering some of the soldiers with its hind hooves. The mare looked at her and said something in an odd language. She didn't understand what the odd pony was saying, but the 'follow me' gesture with its forehoof was unmistakable.

Peach Nectar and her band of freed mares followed the odd mare to a grate in the floor that opened to a crawl space. "Come with us.", she said as she helped the freed mares. It was clear that the odd mare didn't understand what she was saying, so she gestured for her to follow, to which the odd mare shook her head and gestured with its hooves that she still had a personal war to wage. Peach Nectar lowered herself into the crawl space and said softly, "I'll never forget you and if it be the will of the goddesses, we'll meet again, in this life or the next."

Peach Nectar hadn't been more glad to be out of those crawl spaces. They had crawled through the maze of narrow passages, many of which wound around and down the cathedral-palace, some of them were clearly forgotten and in states of disrepair. One of the crawl spaces opened into a vast cavern deep in the bowels of cathedral-palace, a veritable forest of luminescent mushrooms illuminated the place in an errie silvery-green light. An ancient dry riverbed snaked through the gloom under the massive building. She had found an ancient, crumbling statue of two ponies sitting lop-sided on the long dried up bank, the statue was worn to the point where the likenesses of the ponies was difficult to distinguish, the bronze plaque was still intact. It read "In loving memory of Ma Hooffield and Big Daddy McColt. Raised in loving memory by their grandfoals on this the seventeenth day of the sixth month of the fiftieth year of Princess Twilight Sparkle's reign." The epithet on the statue's plaque had been burned into her memory, but she didn't have the luxury of time to contemplate it as she helped the other freed mares clean the cobwebs and dust from their mane, coats and tails.

Peach Nectar quickly checked on the well being of the freed mares as she heard the rumble of the wheels of the approaching caravan. She quickly directed the mares to hide in the bushes and behind rocks before the caravan crested the hill, just in case they were slavers. She took in a deep breath and shouted out the call sign in a loud voice, "The stars weep at midday!"

"But the eagle weeps not as he flies on high!", a voice called back the counter sign as the first of the wagons crested over the small rise, being hauled by big lizard-creatures. Peach Nectar sighed in relief and she gestured for the freed mares to come out of hiding.

"Where are you coming from and where are you going?", Peach asked the caravan leader.

"Comin' from down by Apple Orchard's ways and headin' to Flash Bee Marsh's ways.", he replied as he looked over the dozen mares, "Looks like you got a buncha pregnant 'uns and a couple o' 'em look ready ta pop. I can take 'em as far as th' woods outside o' The Quarry."

Peach Nectar looked back in the direction of New Unicornia. She knew it would only be a matter of time before whoever the new High Pontiff was would send their soldiers to track her down. If she was fortunate, she'd be long gone and out of their reach, because if they caught up with her, they'd outright kill her and anypony she was with, what else they could very likely do made her fur bristle. "Can you take me as far as the woods outside The Quarry too?"

"Sure, jus' as long as ya pull your weight too.", the caravan leader replied, "Oh! 'Fore I forget, we picked up down by Apple Orchard an odd pony. Some kinda preacher or whatnot. He's been professin' on an' on 'bout seeing th' goddesses an' whatnot, been harmless otherwise. But he's been a useful hoof, holdin' his keep, an' e'en helped run off some bandits jus' by wavin' that big stick o' his an' professin' that th' goddesses would punish 'em, e'en brained a few that got too bold. He's mostly harmless, jus' a bit annoyin' with his jabberin' on an' on, but he's got a strong back an' won't shy away from a bit o' hard workin' or a scrap."

After giving the caravan leader a quick nod, she turned to the freed mares and began directing them to the various covered wagons hauled by the big lizard creatures. After she helped the last mare into the wagons, she climbed into the back of one, its interior smelled of spices and pickled root vegetables. Looking around at the various ponies who were checking the ropes holding crates and barrels down or sitting around the various dim lanterns. She decided to sit next to a pegasus stallion wearing simple burlap robes, a long stave with a head carved in the likeness of five winged unicorns at the top clutched between his forelegs.

"Greetings sister-pony. My name is Stormfront. I am but a simple pony who is on a quest to spread the good word about the goddesses."

"There goes Stormy on about his goddesses again.", one of the caravaners snickered to their fellow worker.

Stormfront paid them no mind as he continued his tale, "And lo! I was there when the five goddesses revealed themselves to the world, shining as the sun at dawn, clad in gleaming armor. They were accompanied by a great host of warriors, most were normal ponies like you or me, armed in preparation to bring justice to the heathens. Others were demigods among mortals, clad in great and terrible armor. There were also giant metal beasts that made the ground tremble, at their beck and call."

Peach Nectar listened to Stormfront's story. She had heard stories about the goddesses from other ponies before, but never from one who claimed to see one, much less five.

Well after the caravan had rolled out of sight and had gone past the borders of New Unicornia, five New Unicornia rangers, clad in heavy cloaks, their automatic rifles slung across their backs had followed the trail of Peach Nectar and the band of freed mares to the road, where they quickly deduced that the escapees had boarded a caravan. The lead ranger raised a hoof to his chest and activated a small field radio, "The escapees have boarded a caravan. Requesting further orders."

Burnished Bronze's voice crackled over the radio in reply, "Hold position. I have requisitioned a technical to be dropped off at your location. Once you have you received it, pursue and recover my broodmares."

"And for the one who freed them?", the ranger leader asked over the radio.

"I care not what happens to her. The divine guides your hoof in this."

***

Twilight had a bit of a grump about her as the moon had slipped above the horizon. What had originally been intended for a layover of six weeks of rearming and refitting, had stretched to nearly twelve weeks. Unexploded shells were still being dug out of the ground. Three full brigades worth of soldiers had put in requests to be discharged, many having grown sick of fighting and military life, others because pregnant mares had shown up from farms and homesteads that they had liberated that many soldiers had taken to their beds and now wanted to do the honorable thing and raise their foals.

Then there was having to deal with the roving bands of bandits, slavers, mutants and predators that had swooped in to prey on the innocent bystanders.

There had also been a massive influx of new recruits volunteering to join the army, airship corps, the soldiers or tech monks of the Ponyhood of Steel, the Fraternity, or taken by the legions to bolster their ranks. All would need time to be trained properly, or in the instances of the pony marines and tech monks, have their bodies altered properly altered.

The repairs to the stronghold had been completed ahead of estimates, a new elevator system meant to more quickly move ammunition and supplies about the airships had been installed, and two new heavily armed and armored airships were nearing completion. Those were a few silver linings on the dark clouds that hung over the head of the lavender alicorn.

With winter coming, they also had to make sure the farms and homesteads were able to not only feed themselves, but also feed the surrounding countryside, that meant that supply lines and caravan routes had to secured. Twilight would never allow any subjects under her rule to go hungry if she could help it, but this did nothing to reduce the veritable mountain chain of paperwork that came with it all. Even though her fellow princesses had helped by taking a fifth of the paperwork each, it did nothing to help her mood. Not for the first time, and certainly not the last, she longed for a simpler time, a time when she could be in a simpler time when she was a unicorn, with her friends, and occasionally saved the world.

Choosing to forego armor and instead opting to slip on a simple scarlet tunic and strap a simple dagger to her fetlock, she decided to patrol the perimeter of the keep. With a flick of her wing, she ordered her Nova Guard to stay at base, though she knew it was ultimately a pointless gesture, as centuries ago they had sworn an oath to not only defend all the alicorn princesses, but also serve as their most elite strike force. At least they'd stay back and give her some room, even if they stayed close enough to respond in seconds if something attacked.

Twilight slunk among the shadows, pausing to listen to the stories of caravaners, the bawdy, raucous, drunken laughter of off-duty soldiers, the soft moans of lovers in private moments, the deep, throaty songs of the minotaurs, the long-winded sermons of the preachers of the Fraternity, and the various contests of strength, endurance and combat prowess the various legions did among each other and themselves.

The soft thuds of armored hooves made her look over her withers and Flurry Heart walked up from the gloom of night. flanked by her Nova Guard.

"Auntie Twily? Is everything okay? You've been in a bad mood for the couple of days."

A small smile spread across her face. Her niece had as much insight into her as Shining had. The memory of her brother made her small grin shrink some. "Yes Flurry Bug, I'm fine. I've just been in a bad mood. Things just haven't *sigh* haven't been moving along as fast as I would like them. I know Celestia and Luna have told me this a regular thing for all militaries. That 'Hurry up and wait' and 'Delays and inconsistencies are the only consistencies', but that doesn't mean I like sitting around, feeling like I have my hooves jammed up my plot."

Flurry was about to say something else when both alicorns' ears perked up as they sensed the intruder spell. By the time the four other alicorns had arrived where Luna had sent up the alert, the Fraternity had completely surrounded a small band of whitetail deer. The deer had quickly surrendered and were in the process of being shackled, blindfolded and gagged before any of the princesses could give the order.

After the excitement had died down and the deer had been split up and taken to separate holding cells, the five alicorn princesses stood on the balcony of the stronghold that had once overlooked the vast maze of trenches. They were soon joined by Spike, who landed on the ground in front of the stronghold, holding Sunset Shimmer, Dew Drop and Apple Pie in on hand, all four looked equally grumpy, being woken up suddenly.

All nine turned their heads as pink and violet lights streaked silently through the night sky.

"I'll go!", Cadance said, "Besides, it beats sitting around here and feeling as useless as teats on a minotaur." As she lit her horn, summoning her armor and rapier, five Nova Guard came forward. "I can go by myself."

"Nay, where you, we go.", the lead guard said softly, in a deep voice through their helmet.

Twilight interrupted before Cadance could say anything, "You'd have a better chance arguing with a brick wall.", she nudged one of the lavender-armored ponies, "Probably be less stubborn too." She quickly nuzzled her sister-in-law's cheek. "Keep yourselves disguised and safe until you find who the new bearers are."

Cadance gave a quick nod, summoned up cloaks for herself and her guards. In a flash of soft blue light, the princess and her transequine guards vanished.

***

For a few weeks Peach Nectar had rode with the trade caravan. She had opted to take up extra work so the pregnant mares, which four of them had had foals within days of each other, wouldn't have to put any more undue strain on their bodies. Though the caravan was about five days out from where they were going to drop her and the mares off, the wagons were currently circled-up in a camp, the scouts had reported a large magical storm was rolling in a few leagues up and the caraveners would rather risk losing a bit on trade shares than losing everything to a storm, besides, if things got really bad, the heavy metal wagons could be hitched end-to-end in a circle to be turned into a fortification. If things got really bad, the lizard-creatures could be used as attack animals, rather than beasts of burden, as their thick scaly hides and natural magical resistance made them nasty combatants, plus they could be fitted with special saddles and/or special sledges to carry the surviving caravaners and undestroyed goods to safety.

As the sun set, an exhausted Peach Nectar walked to the one of the campfires carrying a tin bowl filled with a crude stew made from dried carrots and hardtack, and a tin cup of water. Sitting down, she blew out a tired sigh. Her nose wrinkled as she took a sniff of herself, she reeked of sweat and grease. She knew that it would be hard work traveling with a caravan, that the work would be harder as she volunteered to take up the slack of the pregnant mares and the mares who had recently had their foals, but she didn't realize that she'd spend a good chunk of the time trying to mend damaged axles and wheels suspended from the bottom of wagons by a network of ropes. She had spent most of the day helping pull an axle that had broken and had been hastily patched, then replacing it with one of the precious few undamaged axles. Lifting the spoon in her magic, she took a bit of the stew, it didn't taste very good, but she was too hungry and exhausted to care.

Stormfront landed in the camp. Strapped to the outside of his robes was a burlap sack. Opening the sack, he pulled out a hooffull of wild apples and passed them out among the caravan. He walked over to Peach Nectar and tossed her an apple. "Eat up, little sister. Though the stew the cooks offer is hardy, it lacks in a certain...ascetic quality."

Peach Nectar looked at the apple, though she felt uneasy when the weird pegasus had gotten into the habit of calling her 'little sister', she decided not to think do deeply about it...this time as she took a bite of the apple. Though it was a bit on the hard side, it tasted like ambrosia in comparison to the crude gruels and stews the caravan's cooks made. She wiped the juice off that had dripped down her chin, turned her head to Stormfront and asked, "Where did you find these, Stormy?"

"Before I laid eyes on the goddesses, I worked since I was a colt as part of a scrap caravan and learned how to forage for food."

Peach scowled for a moment before taking another bite of the apple. Great, another caravaner that has gone mad from being out in the sun for too long. Suddenly her ears turned at the sound of several pegasus scouts that had been flying patrols, then she heard it...the whine of an engine. She immediately knew what she was hearing. Standing, her bowl of food spilled over and she shouted to the ponies nearby, "We need to get the caravan moving now! Those are raiders from New Unicornia!"

The caravaners ignored Peach's warnings as they hitched the heavy wagons together and grabbed whatever weapons they had for defending the caravan, mostly crudely cobbled together knives, spears, pole hooks, machetes, crossbows, bows, spike launchers and spiked ball launchers, though there were an occasional ancient musket or blunderbuss here and there.

The New Unicornian rangers, in their technical, barreled down on the circled up caravan. They had been at best two days behind them while they were still moving, but when the caravan had stopped and circled-up to weather the storm, it gave them the edge they needed. In the bed of the small truck were a machine gun stood on a rotating monopod, four rangers sat, they pulled their cloaks around their body armor as they loaded and cocked their assault rifles. In the cab sat two rangers, the commander, who sat behind the steering wheel gripping the shifter in hit fetlock. The commander spoke into his field radio, "We're commin' up on the caravan that is harboring the escapees. Get on the machine gun, but mind your aim, we need the escaped mares alive."

"What about the rest of the caravan?", a question crackled over the radio.

"Give 'em lead poisonin'!"

One of the unicorn soldiers looped stood up, looped his forehooves through one of the grips on the machine gun and pulled back the charging handle with a *shu-shunk*. From above in the clouds, arrows, crossbow bolts, spears, spikes and spiked balls rained down, most missed in the hopes that it would cause the attackers to veer away, others glanced off of the thin metal body of the light truck, others penetrated the thin metal and stuck there. The incoming projectiles made the unicorn soldiers momentarily duck before aiming their rifles up and returning fire in the hopes of running off or killing off their harassers.

"Keep your rifles on semi-auto to conserve ammo until we breach into the camp!", the commander shouted into his radio.

As the technical circled around the wagons, the unicorn soldiers took potshots with their rifles, while the soldier on the machine gun rattled shots into the bodies of the wagons.

The caravan was a den of chaos as ponies ran about. Bullets whizzed through the air. Some of the caravaners who stood on the tops of the wagons to fire at the attackers fell backwards as bullets ripped into their bodies, some thrashed on the ground as they screamed in pain, others simply lay limply on the ground. Pools of blood formed around the ponies who were shot, which the ground drank greedily.

"Saddle up the draco-lizards!", the caravan leader shouted, "We need to get everypony out who can't fight! I'll be goddess-damned if a bunch of bandits in a magical wagon will take this caravan and everypony in it!"

Stormfront, who had been helping saddle up one of the lizard-creatures and helping the escapee mares onto its back, gestured to Peach Nectar. "Come on, little sister! The goddess forsaken heretics will be on us and we need to get out of here!"

Peach Nectar snatched up a a crossbow that had been dropped by a fallen caravaner, shook her head and shouted back, "Those are New Unicornia soldiers in a truck with a machine gun and assault rifles! If we don't take that truck out, nopony will get out of here!" Stormfront didn't know what a truck, machine gun or assault rifles were, he assumed they were something akin to the ancient muskets and blunderbusses that ponies occasionally found and repaired into working order, but he understood the need to cripple an enemy's mean of conveyance. He gave the unicorn mare a quick nod and leapt onto the back of the draco-lizard with a flap of his wings, gently stroking its head to keep the beast calm.

When the initial attack had stopped, several of the wagons were burning, their cargo set alight from the tracers from the machine gun and assault rifles ripping into them. The caravaners cheered as the technical sped away, thinking they had successfully drove them off. Their cheers quickly died out as the technical, after speeding away a few dozen meters away, fish-tailed around. As the commander popped the light truck back into gear, he nodded to the ranger sitting in the passenger seat. The ranger opened the breach on the underslung launcher, inserted a a large explosive round, closed it back and leaned out the window. As the truck sped back towards the circled-up caravan, the ranger took aim with the underslung launcher and squeezed the trigger. The grenade sailed out of the launcher with a deep *thoop*. Rangers and caravaners alike watched as the bright burning tracer on the launched grenade sailed through air. *ka-boom* The launched grenade the wagon nearly dead center. The explosion split it in two, upending both halves away from each other as shrapnel and broken bodies sailed through the air.

Peach Nectar took aim with the crossbow as the smoke and debris hung in the air. "Come on! Come on!", she whispered, waiting for the shot. The technical came through the smoke, engine and machine gun roaring. Quickly depressing the tickler, the unicorn mare loosed the bolt, it sailed through the air and pierced the driver-side front tire. *pop* *flap-flap-flap* The commander screamed unintelligible curses as the light truck swerved left, then right, then left again before flipping over, sending the rangers in the bed flying out and tumbling a few times on the ground.

"Go!", Peach Nectar shouted as she ran forward at one of the New Unicornia rangers who was laying on the ground and snatched up his assault rifle. She shot the soldier twice in the neck before springing towards the draco-lizard and sprung up in the air, catching one of the straps on the massive saddle in her fetlock, she pulled herself up.

Stormfront quickly snapped the reins to make the draco-lizard move faster. The lizard-creature lumbered towards the crippled technical as the last two rangers were crawling out of the cab, they screamed in shock and scrambled away from the vehicle. The reptilian lowered its head as it neared the truck and plowed through it, snapping the vehicle in two like it was a foal's toys. Fuel leaked from the tank and pooled on the ground before igniting a moment later, as the lizard-creature lumbered out of the camp, followed by its fellow reptilians. New Unicornia rangers scrambled for cover as the ammunition held in the belt for the machine gun cooked off with a series of staccato pops, creating a deadly fireworks show.

The commander of the now five New Unicornia squad quickly gathered his troops up, gave a quick assessment of gear and injuries. After the last of their injuries were bound up, the rangers quickly picked through the caravan for intel. The commander pulled one of the ID tags from the dead ranger, then looked over the map they found that not only laid out the caravan's route through the countryside, but also each major stop, every campground and safe haven. "It looks like they were going to a safe have in these woods about five days travel from here if I'm reading this right.", the commander said looking over the map, tracing the route with a hoof, "After we get Champing Bit buried, we'll hunt them down. The Sacred Order of Heaven's Rangers have never lost their quarry before and I don't intend to be the first. That whorse will die slowly, begging and screaming, she just made this personal. I want everything here burned so that when the first scavengers come, all they have to gnaw on is ashes and scorched bones." He gave one last look at the map, noting a safe have in a small forest and a question mark inside of a circle that had The Quarry written below it. "Run little pony. Run for everything you're worth. It just means you'll die tired beneath my hooves.", the commander whispered as he folded up the map and slipped it into a pocket.

The draco-lizards had been gathered into a circle and their reins staked to the ground as the ponies from the now destroyed caravan gathered around to discuss. "So those ponies are from New Unicornia?", the caravan leader asked.

"Yeah...they were looking for me and these mares I helped break out.", Peach Nectar replied, "They had them chained down and were forcibly rutting them. If it weren't for the war being fought for the seat of High Pontiff, I wouldn't have been able to get anypony out."

"And then they sicced some of their troops unprovoked on a guild-bonded caravan.", the caravan leader growled, "When we get to the nearest safe haven, the guildsponies will hear of this, and it doesn't matter who is in charge in New Unicornia, no legit caravan between Apple Orchard and the Weeping City will do business with 'em." He pointed a hoof towards the distant Foal Mountains. "There's a safe haven over that-a-ways. It's 'bout ten days outa th' way, but if we're lucky an' th' goddesses are with us, we'll only catch the edge o' that storm."

"That will make it easier for them to track you all.", Peach Nectar said. She pointed a hoof at the oncoming storm. "That storm is gonna be on us in a day at the most. I say we go straight through, it's going to be just as dangerous either way, and if we're lucky, the storm will erase out tracks."

"Yeah, but it might erase us as well. If the storm doesn't get us, then the mutants and madponies who are attracted to it will.", the caravan leader replied.

After several minutes of deliberation, the gathered ponies decided on who they'll go with and which direction they'll go. The majority of the decided to go in the direction of the mountains, including eight of the freed mares. Small groups decided to go in different directions, choosing brave the wilderness, in the hopes of making it to one of the trading towns, Peach Nectar, Stormfront and four of the freed mares, Corn Silk, Day Dream, Wildflower and Willow Leaf, decided to go straight through the storm.

If any of the gathered ponies had bothered to look up, they would have seen two lights sailing across the sky, one purple, one pink, as well as a dragon flying high in the sky.

***

A dragon with orange scales, light yellow underbelly and horns, light purple crest of spiky fins ran down from the top her head and ended at the tip of her tail, watched as she flapped through the air. Her gaze was split between the two lights that were zig-zagging through the sky and the gathered ponies down below. She had been sent to the remains of Equestria by Dragon Lord Ember, whom had been visited by a phoenix, and needed to make sure it was true, that the one who had brokered lasting peace between their kinds had truly returned. So Ember had sent the first of her subjects to learn of friendship from a pony-run school, Smolder, to confirm and deliver a message.

Smolder scratched at neck as she absentmindedly kept one eye on the zig-zagging lights in the sky and the other on the ponies on the ground. I wonder if Princess Twilight will recognize me after all this time...if she's really real and not just another wannabe warlord. But then if it's not real, why would Philomena have come to Ember? She watched as one group of ponies riding on the back of a big lizard creature, began plodding towards the storm. She also saw the purple light break away from the pink one and began tracking the ponies heading towards the storm. "Geez you sparkly tree, you don't believe in giving anycreature an easy time do ya?"

Smolder hovered in the air, using a dragon breath spell that Spike had taught her long ago, belched up a scroll, two pieces of parchment, an inkpot and a quill. Writing down a quick message on one piece of parchment, wrapped it around the scroll, chuckled on how comically small they looked in her claws, closed her eyes and pictured Spike in her mind, took in a breath and with a puff of green flame, sent the scroll wrapped in another piece of parchment off in a puff of sparkling green smoke.

Smolder watched as the big lizard with six ponies on its back made its way to the edge of the storm as the purple light tracked it from above. "Alright you pernicious pine tree, I'll help you out, just don't give me any more visions of me wearing a frou-frou dress and tea parties...at least where nocreature can see. A dragon has her reputation to think about after all."

***

As Spike was laying von his back eating clawfuls of gems, Dew Drop was sitting on on his belly, staring intently at the golden torc that held a heart-shaped ruby on his finger.

"Why do you wear that?"

Spike paused and looked at the ruby that was twice as big as his fist when he was still a baby dragon. "This was something that once belonged to a very dear friend."

"They must have been a very special pony."

Spike wiped a tear from his eye with a claw. "Yes, yes she was." *brrraaaaap* A belch of green flame came from his mouth.

Dew Drop waved a hoof in front of her nose to clear away the smell of sulphur and smoke. "Eeeeeww! I think I'm gonna be *kaff* *gluh* sick. Next time let me know when you're gonna do that, so I get upwind from you, or turn your head away, or eat some breath mints. *gluh*"

Spike paid no mind to the pony on his belly as he caught the parchment and scroll that had materialized in his claws. Opening both, he read them and his eyes went wide. His eyes went wide as he read the message. Quickly and gently he picked the overdramaticlly gagging Dew Drop off his belly and placed her gently on the ground. He then started running towards the keep on his hind legs. "Twiiiiiiilight!"

***

The fur of the ponies riding on the back of the draco-lizard stood on end from the static in the air as much as the eerie feeling as they passed under the edge of the storm. Pebbles, small stones, twigs, and the occasional small critter who was unfortunate enough to be caught outside their burrows levitated off the ground a few meters. Small arcs of electricity and wild magic snapped between them. The draco-lizard snorted and grunted in displeasure, but was otherwise unafraid as its natural resistance made immune to all but the worst storms and dark magics.

Then the winds started. Some were freezing, others were stifling hot. One second they blew as a gentle breeze, the next they blew with hurricane force, sometimes they were swirling updrafts, other times they were blustering downdrafts. Each time the wind blew, it carried the sounds of voices screaming, crying, some that were long dead, others more recent.

Lightning crackled and flashed. Arcing from cloud to cloud, illuminating the area in strange colors. Bolts of wild magic-infused static electricity would strike the ground. Balls of crackling electricity, glowing with strange colors, would roll on the ground, or float through the air in strange patterns.

Then everything turned dark to the point where the ponies could barely see their own snouts in front of their faces. Strange silent glowing shapes in the likenesses of ponies manifested, some ran from an unseen threat, others were on their knees, hooves in front of them, begging for their lives. One of the forms manifested into the shape of an alicorn.

"Look little sister!", Stormfront shouted, "A sign the goddesses are watching over us!""

The six ponies watched as the ghostly image of the alicorn looked over its withers, said something silently, flared its wings and charged forwards.

"Are these ghosts or the images of the past?", Peach Nectar whispered.

Another image of an armored alicorn manifested in the road before them, hoisting a hammer over its head, shouted a cry, pointed the hammer forward and marched onwards.

Flames illuminated the darkness from above, revealing a large group of cannibalistic madponies rushing towards them. The fire from above ran along the ground, turning the madponies into ash in an instant.

As quickly as the darkness began, it ended, revealing the dead forms of winged mutant, some were bleeding where they had been torn to pieces, others were smoldering. The six ponies looked up, seeing the outline of a dragon disappearing into the clouds. Peach Nectar waved out the symbols of the sun, moon and six-pointed star over her chest.

Smolder flapped through the buffeting storm as bolts of wild magic-infused lightning traced along her body. She had little to fear from the storm other than the occasional singed scales. Looking down, she snapped a few ancient draconic curses as she saw an army-sized group of mutants and madponies rushing towards the six ponies and draco-lizard from the core of the storm. "This is gonna suck." Folding her wings, she angled downwards in a steep dive. Flaring her wings just before hitting the ground, she spread her claws on all four limbs wide.

The six ponies stared dumbfounded as a massive orange dragon slammed into the ground, making the earth heave and tremble.

Smolder unleashed a war roar at the charging mutants and madponies in a challenge that would make her ancient ancestors proud. The massive group flowing across the ground turned and focused on her. "I am death! I am terror! My teeth are spears! My claws are swords! My scales are unbreakable armor!", she shouted before taking in a deep breath. Swinging her head side-to-side, she unleashed a wide swath of flames hot enough to turn bodies to ash and melt the ground to glass.

The mindless mutants and crazed madponies who were instantly turned to ash or burned up by the glasses earth swarmed towards Smolder, who in turn bounded forward, making the ground tremble. Draconic claws the size of scimitars and teeth the size of spear points easily cleaved flesh, soaking the ground in blood. The mutants and madponies harmlessly flailed and gnashed against the hard scales of the dragoness as they died in droves.

The draco-lizard, with all six ponies in tow, hastened its pace. The one of the few things it feared was dragons. The reptilian only slowed its pace to snag the errant mutant or madpony in its snapping jaws, swallowing them whole, or crushing them underfoot, shredding them with its hard, spear-like claws.

The New Unicornia rangers that had been shadowing their targets along the edge of the storm hid in the hollow of a tree when they saw the shadow of the dragon. A mutant, that was a confusing mass of limbs, tentacles and eyes, attracted by the storm and battling dragon, stumbled across the hiding rangers. Coiling tentacles and weird limbs covered in claws and spikes, reached for the rangers, snagging two of them. The remaining rangers poured out of their hiding place, opening fire in the hopes of saving their squad mates. The mutant, in its near-mindless animalistic state, rampaged, scooped up a third with a clawed limb, stuffing it into its mouth and crushed a fourth before lumbering off with its two victims to do whatever at its own leisure. The command spat curses at the leaving mutant, then recovered the ID tag from the one soldier's remains and the magazines from the dropped rifles.

***

A day and a half the draco-lizard plodded through the storm before coming out the other side. Peach Nectar checked the remaining rounds in the magazine, twelve rounds left after fending off the mutants and madponies that the weren't attracted to the dragon. Speaking of said dragon, all the stories said that they were death beasts that are ponies and carried away foals, but this one seemed to protect them. They stopped at a small spring to refill their canteens, quench their own thirst and splash water on themselves to wash away the grit and grime, then allowed the lizard to slake its thirst. Above the purple light tracked its target.

They loaded up and set off on a slow plodding pace.

Two rangers shadowed their targets as six disguised ponies tracked the lights in the sky.

***

In the hidden walled village called The Quarry, ponies mined gems, tended to the fields that grew copper and iron like wheat, and sorted various shiny rocks and geodes, all for trade with passing caravans that they met at specific prearranged points. Other ponies tended to small fields of barley.

In the center of the village stood a large egg-shaped Boulder stop a cracked fault.

Among the ponies of The Quarry lived a solitary griffon named Pauline. She usually went around the village with her adoptive mother, helping her bind the villager's wounds or using medicinal herbs to heal their illnesses. But today she she stood by a casket that was being lowered into the earth. Tears dripped down her cheeks as ponies tossed shovelfuls of soil over the coffin. Her mother had died fighting the illness that had stuck The Quarry over the summer.

Once the last shovelful had covered the coffin and a simple plank had been placed to mark the grave, Pauline picked up a small stone bowl and flapped over to the boulder. Placing the bowl at the base of the boulder, she filled it with pungent herbs, then lit them with a flint and steel. "I will carry on your legacy and heal those in need.", she whispered, extending a taloned limb to the boulder, but not touching it, nobody touched the boulder, "May the goddesses guide you to peace."

Once Pauline finished her prayer, she walked to what is now her hut, put on what had been her mother's healer's cloak and belt, attached pouches to the belt and set flight for the forest beyond the walls to gather herbs.

***

Twilight read the scroll and note that Spike had brought her. A smile crossed her face as she penned her response to Ember's scroll. She levitated the scroll out the window to the waiting Spike, then flapped over. "Send this to Ember, I eagerly await her response. Then summon Smolder. I'd love to meet one of my old students."

After closing his eyes and picturing Ember, Spike sent the scroll away in a puff of flame. Spreading his wings, he took to the air with a few powerful flaps. Flying over the crusade forces, most barely offered the dragon a glance as his presence had become a familiar sight, though many of the new recruits stared gobsmacked, until their fellow soldiers or officers nudged them to get back to their tasks at hoof.

Landing on a peak, all four clawed limbs gripping the stone and ice of the mountaintop, Spike took in a deep breath, raised his head to the sky and unleashed a roar in the ancient draconic tongue that was one part greeting, one part summoning challenge.

***

Smolder was taking great joy flying in the storm, she had little to fear as her natural draconic immunities protected her from the worst it could dish out, an adult dragon could fly through a hurricane polluted with the foulest magics and come out the other side with only a few scorched scales. Only another adult dragon, or another powerful creature, such as an alicorn, Ursa Major or similar creature of similar raw strength and magic could give her pause. The ponies who were riding on the back of the big lizard creature that she had been tracking had nearly exited the storm, so she decided to have some fun embracing her more aggressive instincts by culling the mindless mutants and crazed madponies. If they were too stupid to challenge a fully grown dragon to mortal combat, she was more than happy to give them the death they so craved.

Blood and gore dripped from Smolder's claws as long as scimitars, drool and liquid fire dripped from her smile maw. Before her stood a massive, multi-limbed mutant, whatever it had been before becoming so heavily mutated was unclear, now it was an unholy abomination of multiple limbs, tentacles, tendrils, claws, mouths filled with mismatched teeth, it looked like some mad scientist had stitched it together from all sorts of creatures into an amalgamated abomination against nature as big as a house. This mutant was different, it was smarter than the rest she had encountered, at least as smart as an intelligent predator, whether because of a "natural" ability or because of the effect of the storm, the seared flesh and long gashes were slowly knitting, the huge mutant also seemed to have some sort of influence on the other mutants, directing them to attack her while its wounds were healing.

The big mutant had made its intent and message clear to Smolder when it had attacked, this is its territory and it would attack anything it perceived as a threat to said territory. Using a clawed finger to flick away a madpony that was ineffectually pounding and gnawing at the edge of her scale on a forelimb, she bound forward through the horde of abominations against nature, claws slashing, jaws snapping, tail smashing. She intended to kill the big mutant for its hubris of attacking an adult dragon, but only after she grew bored of toying with it.

Smolder and the big mutant clashed in a struggle of strength. She lifted it up over her head and slammed it onto the ground, then kicked it away like a ball. She was in the joy of combat when she paused, hearing over the din the ancient draconic greeting and summoning challenge. She squished the mutants that had climbed into her like they were mosquitoes, then locked eyes on the recovering big mutant. "It's been fun and all, but now you die. I have much more pressing matters to tend to." She took in a deep breath and unleashed a superheated cone of flame that turned the air into a deadly shimmering wall, melted the ground into lava and burned the huge mutant into ash in seconds.

Smolder flapped her wings powerfully as she took to the air. Clearing above the clouds, she took a quick look at her scales that were caked in blood and ichor. Flying through the air, she located a a deep meltwater lake. Tucking in her wings, she angled herself into a steep dive. A geyser and tsunami of frigid water made the ponies and other creatures at the edge of the lake fled in fear. After she finished swimming to clean her scales, she breached through the surface of the water and took off to face the dragon.

Author's Note

I decided to split this chapter into two parts as it was running longer than I had intended.

Also it's going to be a bit harder for me to write chapters as my cat fried my laptop by puking on the keyboard and I'm having to use my phone until I can afford to get a new one.

Unless otherwise stated, this current batch of side chapters and will feature characters that will eventually converge on the crusade forces, it's just that the crusade isn't featured as central focus to them.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

If you spot any typos, misspellings or sentence issues, please leave them down below so I can fix them. Have any comments, questions, wanna throw shade or pure bane? Leave them below.

Special thanks to New_Rebellion for his input and allowing me to bounce ideas off him. Much my little pony love to him.

Side chapter: Lights in the heavens pt. 2

Peach Nectar, Stormfront, Corn Silk, Day Dream, Wildflower and Willow Leaf had climbed off the back of the draco-lizard that had been brought to a stop next to a babbling stream. They had left the storm a half day ago and they were quenching their thirst, filling canteens and waterskins, or splashing the cold water on themselves to wash off. The big lizard slurped up massive gulps of water to slake its thirst.

Stormfront went off to forage for wild root vegetables that could still be found this close to winter. He plucked a few wild carrots and radishes, placing them in a sack, if he was lucky, he'd be able to forage enough to make a hearty stew for tonight. A smile graced his lips when he found a vine that bore some some early frost grapes, though the pale-colored bunches of fruit were a little bitter and tough, their juice made for a hearty drink, or could be fermented into a strong wine, which would be perfect for celebrating when the mares had their little ones. Laying down his stave, he reached out a hoof to pluck the first bunch of grapes when a rifle barrel was pressed into his temple.

"You thought you all could get away by running through the storm, eh?", the New Unicornia ranger growled softly, "Now here's what's gonna go down. We're gonna walk to the edge of the clearin' and then you're gonna call them mares over one at a time so my buddy and me can catch 'em. Do anything stupid and I'll splat your brains all over the ground. We clear?" When Stormfront gave a curt nod, the ranger gave him a shove, saying, "Good, now get to movin'"

Stormfront feigned going with the soldier, before snatching up his stave with the five alicorns carved into one end from where he had laid it on the ground and quickly spun around, slamming it into the side of the ranger's head, laying him out cold. The pegasus took off as quick as he could, shouting, "Little sister! Run!"

Peach Nectar quick gathered up the other four mares and quickly climbed up onto the saddle. The New Unicornia commander spat curses as he popped out from his hiding place and snapped off several shots at Stormfront with his assault rifle. After the last mare was on the saddle, Peach Nectar snapped the reins and whirred her tongue, spurring the draco-lizard into action, she tugged the reigns, coaxing the big reptile around in a U-turn to face the New Unicornia soldier. The New Unicornia commander followed Stormfront with the sights on his rifle until he noticed the draco-lizard moving towards and aimed the rifle at the reptile, firing off several shots. Most of the bullets glanced harmlessly off the beast's thick scaly hide, but a couple found a gap in the scales and sunk in, lodging in the layers of blubbery tissue. Instead of scarring the draco-lizard to making it veer off or run away, the wounds, which would have been serious to a lesser creature, instead enraged it and the saurian charged. The commander's eyes went wide with fright as the creature, which normally moved along in a slow, determined, plodding pace, charged with enough speed that a truck with a suped-up engine would have trouble escaping from. Blind panic took over the commander and he started galloping away as hard as his legs could carry him, tossing the rifle away in the process. As the unicorn galloped away, the primal animal portion of his brain taking full control with fight-or-flight, the draco-lizard stayed locked on the target of its rage, ripping down trees and undergrowth that was in the way. The New Unicornia commander tripped over his own hooves and tumbled to the ground. Looking up from the ground, he screamed in fright as the last thing he saw was a pair of open jaws coming at him. The New Unicornia ranger that had been knocked out, woke up in time to see through a gap in the trees his commander being thrashed around in the jaws of the draco-lizard, limbs being torn off as easily as a foal throwing a temper tantrum would tear apart a doll, then swallow the remains down its gullet. The ranger narrowed his eyes and silently swore those mares would suffer.

Stormfront landed on the saddle as Peach Nectar got the angry draco-lizard under control. "Good work little sister." Peach Nectar jumped in shock, turned and slugged the pegasus in his wither. "You tryin' to give me a heart attack?!" "I'm sorry litt-" "Let's just get out of here.", she interrupted. Stormfront nodded and crawled over the front of the saddle to rub the top of the draco-lizard's head, which made it give a happy rumble. He coughed and felt something hot splash against his lips. The pegasus wiped his mouth with the back of his hoof, he took a moment to look at the bright red staining the fur before wiping off on his torn robes. His mind wandered for a moment to the bullet lodged in his lung and the crude bandages he had to fashion from his robes. He knew he would last a day, three if he was lucky, but he'd gladly do it again, his life was a small price to pay to ensure these five mares were safe... as only in death does duty to the goddesses end.

***

Smolder landed on a peak opposite from Spike, she had flown half a day to get here. With quick movements up then down, they bobbed their heads, followed by hissing, huffing and deep rumbling growls. The two Clawed their respective mountaintops, kicking up clouds of rock, ice and snow. For several minutes the two dragons continued their ritualized dance. The two unleashed deafening roars, then breathed gouts of flame against each other's scales. With mighty flaps of their wings, they took to the air. Claws on fore and hind limbs locked together as the two dragons began a midair grappling contest. Jaws snapped, heads butted and tails lashed as the two tried to throw the other to the ground through strength or cunning.

Smolder gained the upper hand and tucked her shoulder under Spike's bulk, flipping him over her. As Spike tumbled through the air, he caught hold of Smolder's hind leg, dragging her down with him.

As the two tumbled through the air, they threw punches at each other. At the last second Spike flapped his wings once and shifted his weight. The dragons slammed into the valley floor with the might of a meteor, causing the nearby trees to shatter into splinters or be laid flat from the impact wave and causing the ground from the impact of their combined bulks. Spike sat atop Smolder, pinning her to the ground in the middle of the newly created clearing.

Smolder gave Spike a stare with hooded eyes and licked his cheek with her forked tongue. "If I wasn't here on a mission from the dragon lord, we'd be making a new clutch of eggs." She ran a claw teasingly along his chest scales.

Spike blushed as he climbed off of Smolder.

"So I guess it's true that the princesses are back and taking Equestria back."

Spike jammed a thumb back in the direction where the crusade forces were camped. "Yup! They've got an army, including some big ponies that wear thick armor and carry powerful weapons. They've even got some war machines that are as big as you or me that can melt the ground into glass. There's even a group of loonies that worship them as goddesses. Twilight's not exactly thrilled about it, but Celestia and Luna have been slowly molding them from a band of near-suicidal fanatics into an effective fighting force." He laid a hand on her shoulder, then pulled her into a tight hug. "It's good to see you again."

Smolder raised her arms slightly, hesitated for a second, then awkwardly hugged Spike back. "It's...uh... good to see you again, big guy." She pushed him away. "Could we cut out all this mushy stuff? It's not very dragon-like."

***

A unicorn mare with a dusty pink coat and a black and white mane, wearing the dark brown robes of a preacher, walked through the badlands, carrying a staff with the likenesses of five alicorns carved into one end on her back. Dawn Flare paused, out of the corners of her vision, she swore she saw some shrubs, dead trees and rocks following her movements.

From below the edge of a small rise, an earth pony colt walked up to the unicorn mare. "Come with me. It's not safe here. There's been a malwurf sighted in the area."

Dawn Flare pulled the staff off of her back and planted its butt on the ground. "Worry not young one. I have been tasked by the goddesses to protect their little ponies, even if it means my life."

The ground heaved upwards. What looked like a giant starling mole with blue skin burst forth. All around Dawn Flare the trees, shrubs and rocks transformed into what looked like to her as insectoid ponies of all colors of the rainbow in bursts of flames. They took to the air to fight off the malwurf as a swarm.

Dawn Flare interject herself between the malwurf being swarmed by bug-ponies and the colt, bracing the staff in front of her.

The malwurf roared as it swatted the changelings attacking it away and crawled out of the hole it made. It eyes the unicorn mare protecting a young disguised changeling and decided to go after the easier meal.

Dawn Flare shoved the colt out of the way, then dove, narrowly avoiding getting caught by the massive teeth. "Demon from the deep earth! Be gone!", she shouted, jamming the butt of the staff in the creature's eye.

The malwurf bellowed in pain as it reared up, swiping at its injured eye with a massive digging paw. Several changelings threw their bodies against its upper chest, while others fired blasts of magic from their short horns, others spat goo on its hind legs. Dawn Flare lit her horn and with a telekenetic shove, sent the beast toppling over.

As the malwurf flipped onto it's belly and started digging to get away, Dawn Flare ran up and smacked it on the rump with her staff. "Be gone demon from the deep earth! And tell others of your kind that this land is under protection of the goddesses!"

A tall changeling, who had dark chitin with red highlights, scored with scars, what looked liked a pair of deer's antlers crossed with a beetle's pincers sat atop it's head. "You were lucky we were here, pony, otherwise you'd have been gobbled up by that malwurf."

"Luck has nothing to do with it, for the goddesses guide my hooves.", Dawn Flare replied.

The changeling rolled his multifaceted eyes. "Great, another cultist." He turned to the other changelings. "Put her in a cocoon and drop her off at the nearest pony settlement. Last thing we need is another death cult trying to form in our lands."

"Belay that order!", a feminine voice called out. A tall, light turquoise changeling with translucent pink membrane hanging from the back of its head like a mane, walked forth.

"Queen Ocellus!", the changeling with the dark chitin bowed low.

"Rise, Pharynx. I am a queen only because of the eggs I lay, not because of a title. There's no need to grovel in the dirt. Besides, haven't you heard the rumors and stories? The alicorn princesses are back and this little pony is proof."

"Wait, you're a queen?", Dawn Flare asked.

Ocellus smiled. "Yes I am. Our hive has several queens and none are above any other 'ling."

"I've never met royalty before."

"No, queens for us aren't royalty. It just means we lay the eggs. We've not had a queen rule over us since...well in a long time.", Ocellus explained, "Come my little pony and accompany me back to the hive. We have plenty of sweet nectar to drink and honey suckle to eat. I'd like to hear about your goddesses."

***

For the better part of a day Peach Nectar sat in the saddle, guiding the draco-lizard onwards. Stormfront slumped low where he was sitting, coughing and wheezing, he occasionally coughed up and spat out gobs of bright red blood and mucus. He wiped the bright red from his mouth and wiped the substance off on his robe as Wildflower moved over to sit next to him. "You don't look so good. Are you okay?" "'M fine." "No, you're not fine. Though we haven't said anything yet, Corn Silk, Day Dream, Willow Leaf and me have noticed that you're coughing up blood. Nopony that's 'fine' does that. You need to say something to Peach, maybe she can figure out where somepony is that can get you some help." Stormfront wheezed and gasped, taking a second to gather up enough strength and replied in a voice that sounded like he was under water, "No. *kaff*", he spat another gob of blood and mucus on the ground, "She's under 'nuff stress right now. There's s'm'th'g out-." "I'm telling her you're hurt!", Wildflower interrupted, "She needs to know you're hurt. Maybe there's a village or a camp nearby we can divert to. There might a doctor or a healer there." Before he could answer no, the pregnant mare had started moving to the front of the saddle.

"Peach.", Wildflower whispered in Peach Nectar's ear, "Stormy's hurt bad. He's coughing up blood."

"I know.", Peach Nectar replied, "But we can't stop here. There's something following us."

Wildflower's eyes went wide. "You sure?"

Peach nodded.

"How do you know?"

"I've seen something up in the treetops. Didn't get a good look at it, but it's got wings and moving fast, tryin' to stay out of sight. But that'snot what I'm worried about." Peach flicked her eyes to her left. "There's something in the undergrowth shadowing us, probably a group of somethings. I haven't seen it yet, just seen some bushes and saplings move like something's brushing past 'em. It's got the big lizard actin' squirrely and the only thing I've seen seen that would make the big guy act like this was that fire breathing monster. I don't think it's that, not big enough, but defiantly dangerous enough to make the lizard scared. Plus, if I was a betting mare, my money would also be on that we're still being tracked by some rangers from New Unicornia still. We don't know how many survived the storm, but if we made it through, then it's safe to say that at least a few of them made it through too." When Wildflower went to look, Peach Nectar spoke up again, "Don't turn your head to look, we don't need whatever is shadowing knowing we know it's there. Move back and spread quietly that we might have to fight if we don't run across another caravan or a town. Check the saddle for things that can be used as weapons and something to strap yourselves down with."

Wildflower nodded ever so slightly and moved back to the other mares.

Pauline flapped from tree branch to tree branch, perching for a few moments at a time as she watched the six ponies riding on the back of the. Two of them were clearly pregnant, but still looked a few months away from giving birth. The pegasus stallion looked sick or hurt. "I didn't think we'd see any members of the scheduled caravan so soon after the storm. Maybe they're scouts or messengers. Could the caravan be stranded out there somewhere and they're looking for help?", she whispered to herself. The griffon hen stroked the crown of feathers atop her head as she thought when she caught movement in the undergrowth to her right. Turning her head, she saw nothing. She squinted her eyes, rubbing her upper and lower beak together, then she saw it...not exactly a clear shape, just a couple of shadows on the ground. Slipping backwards on the branch she was perched on, she allowed herself to drop to the ground flapping her wings once to slow her momentum so she landed softly, rather than with a thump. Using her natural camouflage that her fur and feathers granted her, along with her natural griffon instincts, she decided to creep through the undergrowth parallel to the road and offer the ponies riding on the draco-lizard any help she could.

The New Unicornia ranger crept through the shrubs and trees that grew adjacent to the well used road. Though he had made good time, he still kept his distance from the six ponies riding atop the big lizard. It would only be a matter of time before they had to stop to make camp, or came across another caravan, or found a settlement, then he's strike. He'd already planned to kill them all and any that took them in, he'd already concocted the story in his head about why none of them were brought back alive, after all ponies always got hit in the crossfire, his superiors and the High Pontiff would forgive him for that, the battlefield was a chaotic place. For now he was content to track them, as the soldiers of the Sacred Order of Heaven's Rangers were patient.

Cadance, along with her five Nova Guard shadowed the six ponies riding on the back of the big lizard, the invisibility spell kept them shrouded as long as none of them directly drew any undue attention to themselves. She kept an eye on the two elements still moving high in the sky. "It's odd they're riding on a lesser baloth. I didn't know their ranges were this far from volcanic and desert regions. I guess Twily could tell me what their ranges are."

"Highness?", one of the Nova Guard asked through the coms unit, "Are they in danger? Should we move in and neutralize the beast?"

"Sorry, didn't realize my coms unit was still open.", Cadance apologized, "I was just thinking out loud. I don't think they're in any threat from the lesser baloth. They were used as beasts of burden centuries ago by the Abyssinians, I'm sure it's quite tame. As long as nopony provokes it. We'd only have to worry if it was a greater baloth. Switching off for now."

As Wildflower, Willow Leaf, Day Dream and Corn Silk were looking for weapons and something to lash themselves down, Stormfront's sides and chest heaved as he tried to gasp for air through the blood that built up in his lung, then went limp and tumbled off of the saddle, falling hard on the ground.

"Shit!", Peach snarled as she tugged on the reins to bring the draco-lizard to a stop. Flinging the assault that she had pilfered from the New Unicornia ranger back at the caravan onto her back, and she jumped from the saddle to the ground. "Help me get him out of the road and into the trees." After the pegasus was dragged several body lengths into the trees, she guided the draco-lizard into the trees and made is walk in a circle to create a clearing. She gave a quick count of the ammo remaining in the assault rifle's magazine, twelve rounds left, not enough for any kind of protracted firefight, but enough for the mares to protect themselves and Stormy. She shoved the weapon into the hooves of one of the mares and started walking off through the undergrowth.

"Where are you going?", one of the mare asked.

"I'm gonna look for some kind of sign that we're near a town or a camp. Maybe they'll have a healer or some medicine that can help. But first I need to backtrack in the hopes that whoever is shadowing us and following us will follow me, and follw me away from you all. Get a fire going, keep it low and try to keep Stormy comfortable until I get back."

"What if they catch up to you before you find any help?"

"Then I'm dead...or worse. Just watch over him for me and if anything attacks, use that rifle, but make sure you hit what you're amin' at, there's not many bullets left." Peach darted over to Stormfront and stroked his mane. "Don't you up and die on me, little brother. Your goddesses aren't calling you home yet." She set off through the undergrowth.

Cadance turned on her coms unit. "Link your sensors, fan out and keep a lock on that griffon that was in the treetops. Keep out of sight, make contact once they're safe or a threat moves on them. I'm moving to the north to follow the unicorn that parted from them." The alicorn in pink power armor and the five transequine warriors in lavender power armor spread out through the undergrowth, making their way to their targets.

Peach Nectar hurried through the undergrowth for several body lengths before cutting out onto the road to search for a sign of civilization.

Pauline swooped out from the undergrowth, landing in front of the unicorn mare, making her back up in fright. She held up her talons to show the pony she wasn't a threat. "Easy, easy! I'm a friend. I've been following you six for a while to make sure you all aren't a threat to my village. Do you need any help?"

"My friend's hurt real bad. He's been hit in the lung." Peach pointed her hoof back the way she came. "A New Unicornia ranger shot him. There's four mares with me, at least two of them are pregnant." She took a breath to slow her heartbeat. "I take it that you were what I saw in the treetops?"

Pauline nodded.

"Thank the divine and the goddesses and whatever other higher powers there are!" Peach turned to head out again, stopped and turned back. "You said something about a village? Do they have a doctor or a healer or some medicine to help my friend?"

Pauline tapped her herb pouches. "I'm a healer."

Right then and there Peach Nectar decided that the first temple, church or shrine she came to, she was going to attend the services they had to give thanks to whatever guided the fortunate series of events that has befallen her. "How far is your village?"

Pauline pointed off through the trees. "The Quarry is only about a quarter league that way. Just go through the trees until you come across a trail and follow it, it'll lead you to to a wall covered in vines and a camouflaged gate." She pulled a sash off of her healer's belt and tossed it to Peach. "They're a wary group, especially after stories of an army attacking the Brass Legion being led by several strange ponies. If you hold this sash up and say Pauline needs help, my name's Pauline by the way, they'll send somepony to help you."

Peach Nectar tied the sash around her barrel. "Peach. And be careful, I left the gun with the mares to defend themselves. Tell them that I've sent you and that I'm coming back with more help." She took off through the trees.

Pauline leapt up and spread her wings, taking to the air. Flying in a broad circle, she saw the small clearing where the four mares and the gravely injured pegasus was. Banking downwards and flying to the clearing, she thought she heard some faint electronic crackling. "Hello!", she said in a loud, friendly voice, after landing the bough of a tree.

The mare with the assault rifle aimed the weapon at the griffon hen.

Pauline held up a talon. "Whoa there. I'm a friend and here to help."

"How do I know that?"

"I'm a healer. Peach sent me while she went on to The Quarry to find some ponies to help." When the mare lowered the weapon, Pauline fluttered to the ground and trotted over to Stormfront. Using a talon, she cut down his robes and peeled them back. "Let's see what we've got here." She undid the crude bandages around his barrel and sucked in a hissing breath. "That's not good. Let's hope I'm not too late." Pulling one of the pouches off her belt, she fished through it, pulled out a small sprig of leaves, stuck them in her beak and chewed them up, then stuck them in his wound. The barely conscious Stormfront groaned in pain. She pulled out a small knife from her belt and passed it to one of the mares. "There's some plants, blues stems, red thorns, silver leaves, gold berries. Get me as many of the leaves, thorns and berries that you can gather. Go now, quickly!" She pointed to another mare, "You, fine me a pot, bowl or cup or something, fill it with water and put it on the fire to boil.", she pointed to a third mare, "You gather me the widest leaves you can find." Opening the sack on her belt, she pulled out a mortar and pestle. Opening a few more pouches, she fished out some orange-colored leaves, bright green berries and blue seeds, dumped them into the mortar and started grinding a poultice.

Peach Nectar hurried through the trees and a smile crossed her lips when she saw the trail. The New Unicornia ranger leapt out from the undergrowth, aiming his rifle. She dove into the undergrowth and scrambled behind a tree as the assault rifle rattled off its entire magazine. Bullets whizzed through the air, shredding undergrowth, turning seedlings into splinters, gouging gashes in bigger trees and narrowly missing the mare.

"Shots fired not far from my location.", Cadance whispered into her coms unit, "Moving in to investigate." She drew her rapier and started moving to where the shots were fired.

Blues wisps of smoke curled up from the muzzle of the assault rifle as the New Unicornia ranger dropped the empty magazine and replaced it with a fresh one. "Come out, come out, where ever you are. Just show me your face, little pony. I promise it will hurt for only a second, which is better than a whore like you deserves." He walked along where he saw her dive to, peeking through the shredded undergrowth. "I don't know why you've risked your neck to protect those whores, they barely qualify as ponies and are little more than just a set of holes. I guess the priests should have snapped your horn at birth and placed you in the brooding stocks when you hit your first heat."

Keep blabbing plot hole. Peach Nectar lowered herself to the ground slowly, gripped a stick in her teeth and shuffled forward slowly, peeking around the edge of the tree so she could see him through a gap in the undergrowth.

"Maybe I won't kill you, maybe I'll just drag your sorry plot in myself, kicking and screaming. If I'm lucky, the High Pontiff will let have first crack at you, and after I get done rutting you, I'll toss you to my buddies so they can have a good time. It doesn't have to happen like that,just show me your head and BANG, no more pain or worries." He heard the sound of a twig snapping and turn to look in the direction it came from. "Is that you over there? You tryin' to be slick and sneak past me?" He chambered a round and started looking through the underbrush. He thought for a second that he saw something moving in the underbrush.

Peach had long since tuned out taunting. Once she saw him turning his head away from her, she flicked her head, tossing the stick through the undergrowth.

Stormfront opened his eyes a crack and stared up at the blurry griffon tending to him. A pink light was zooming down from above. "P-p-p-pink..."

"My feathers' highlights are more magenta, but I guess pink would be a close enough.", Pauling said as she smeared the poultice on a big leaf and placed it against the stallion's wound. "I guess it's a good sign that you're conscious enough to talk."

Stormfront pointed a hoof at the incoming light. "P-p-ink l-ight..."

Pauline pushed his hoof down and stuck a gold berry in her beak, mashing it up and stuck in his mouth. "Yes, pink light. Now swallow this. You've got a punctured lung and you're drowning in your bloo-AHHH!" She felt something latch onto her neck, followed by a blinding pink flash. When her vision came back a second later she saw standing opposite her, made of pink light, a pegasus mare with a long mane covering part of her face and an earth pony mare, her dreadlocked mane done tied up over her head. "Wh-who are you?"

"Healing.", the two ponies made of light said simultaneously before fading away.

The ranger aimed his rifle where the heard some crashing followed by a small thump in the undergrowth. "Is that you little filly?" He paused to listen. "Aw, you gonna be quiet as a mouse after makin' all that noise? Ah well. Ollie Ollie oxen free, ready or not, here I come and all that!" He began trotting into the undergrowth.

Stormfront reached up a hoof to touch the golden torc that held the pink, butterfly-shaped gem around the griffon hen's neck and smiled. Though he had become too weak to speak, he still thanked the goddesses that he was found worthy enough to see the next champion. He smiled as his vision faded.

"Oh no you don't!", Pauline shouted as the last rasping breath left the stallion's throat. She clamped his mouth shut, placed her open beak over his snout and blew two quick breaths in the hopes to get him breathing again. Leaning up from giving him artificial respiration, placed both talons on his chest and started pumping her taloned feet on his chest in the hopes of getting his heart started again. "Breathe, damn you! Breathe!" She slapped him on the cheeks with a talon before going back to artificial respiration.

Peach Nectar waited until the ranger was nearly past her hiding spot before she sprung up to her hooves and charged him. She lowered her head in the hopes of spearing her opponent with her horn. He shifted at the last second, narrowly avoiding getting speared by her horn and the two of them tumbled on the ground from the collision. The mare and the stallion rolled on the ground as the grappled with each other, teeth biting and hooves striking.

He pinned her under him, pressing a hoof into her throat. "You clever l'il bi--" His eyes went wide and a strangled squeak escaped his throat as a hoof collided with his testicles.

As the ranger went to grasp at his bruised nethers, Peach headbutted him on the end of his snout, shoved him backwards and snatched up the assault rifle he dropped as she sprang up to her hooves.

"What the fuck is that?!", Corn Silk shouted in shock as a massive lavender armored pony walked into the clearing. She snatched up the assault rifle and began firing wildly. Bullets shredded the undergrowth as she fired indiscriminately, sparks flew from lavender armor where a few had struck.

A silver aura surrounded the rifle and the Nova Guard snatched it away. "Give me that before you hurt yourself or somepony else!", the transequine warrior growled through its helmet. Two more Nova Guard burst into the clearing, the spikes on their halberds pointed at the mare's throat. The first Nova Guard's coms unit crackled and the two other transequines planted the butts of their halberds in the ground, standing still as statues, as the first went to check on Pauline and Stormfront.

A lavender armored hoof rested on Pauline's wither. The Nova Guard stooped down slightly to scan Stormfront's body with the sensors in its armor. "I'm sorry. You've done all you can, but it's too late for him."

Pauline wiped the tears from her eyes. "Curse my wings. If I had offered my help when I first noticed when he was hurt, I could have saved him."

"Doubtful, unless you had some bags of plasma and platelets and a full surgery suite. He drowned in his own blood."

Peach Nectar aimed the rifle that was suspended in her magic at the ranger. "You could have just chosen not to pursue us or called off the pursuit after I took out your truck back at the caravan. But no, you had to hound us and chase us, even after we went through the storm. I don't know how many you lost to the storm. But...", she pulled out the magazine from the rifle, shucked the round in the chamber and tossed the weapon away, "...I'm gonna give one chance. Go back home and tell your commander that we got away or lost our trail or that we all died or whatever...I really don't care. Too many ponies have died today and I don't want to add to their number, I've got enough blood on my hooves as it is."

The ranger let out a series of venom-laced chuckles from where he was laying on the ground.

Peach looked at him nonplussed. "What's so funny?" An aura surrounded her body and she was thrown into a tree.

The ranger sprang to his hooves, rushed her, he grasped her mane in a fetlock and slammed her face several times into the trunk. Bright crimson trickled from her nose, mouth and left ear, she spat a gob of red on his hooves. "Where are they?!", he roared, "Tell me and I'll make it quick!"

"Fuck you!", Peach screamed and spat a gob of blood in his face.

He slammed her face into into the tree trunk again, then threw her to the ground. Taking a moment to wipe the offending substance off, gripped his combat knife in his magic, drawing it from the sheath. A bright purple flash sent him staggering backwards.

When his his vision cleared, Peach Nectar had regained her hooves and was wearing a golden torc holding a purple diamond-shaped gem. On either side of her were two unicorn mares, made of purple light, one looked ancient with its mane flowing in an unfelt wind, the other had a mane in a luxurious swoosh. "Just. Go. Home. It's over. Nopony else has to die."

The ranger levitated the knife in his magic and aimed it at the unicorn mare, a hateful sneer on his lips. "There is no amount of magical tricks that can help you now." He narrowed his eyes, but failed to see the shadow looming over him. Peach saw the shadowy form and started backing up. A vicious smile spread spread across his lips. "That's tight, get scared. It's gonna make it all the sweeter when I stick you like a pig."

A blue aura surrounded him and lifted him into the air. A rapier, encased in a crackling energy field pierced his back, slipped between his ribs, went through his heart and out of his chest. As the ranger gagged and choked on his own blood, Cadance leaned her head over his shoulder and said, "Not if I stick you first."

Peach Nectar, seeing the alicorn effortlessly dispatch the New Unicornia ranger, fell to her belly, pressing her hooves together over head, and silently gave a prayer of thanks to the divine, the goddesses and any other higher power she could think of.

Cadance withdrew her rapier from the body of the dead unicorn, dropped the body to the ground, flicked the blood from the blade and mag-locked the weapon to her side. Taking note of the grovelling mare, she gently said, "Rise my little pony. There is no need to fear me."

Peach Nectar rose to her hooves and looked at the alicorn in pink power armor. She stared in awe at the alicorn in awe and fear. She was staring at one of Stormfront's goddesses in the flesh. Her thoughts went to the ancient teaching from the priests of the temple of The Most High Divine that had been drilled in her from foalhood. The mare's muscles trembled from a mix of exhaustion, fear, her injuries and her own cognitive dissonance as her mind warred with itself.

Multiple thoughts raced like wildfire through Peach Nectar's mind. If there a living goddess standing before her, is the Divine false? Or is this a deceiver? This can't be a deceiver if if it saved her, right? Is the Divine false? Why does a goddess need armor? The world stopped making sense and started spinning around faster and faster.

Cadance's lips turned down in a scowl seeing the injuries the unicorn had suffered. The look of confusion, pain and fear was clearly plastered across the mare's face. She spoke softly, "Be at peace my little pony. You are safe now."

Pain became very real to Peach Nectar. She could feel her left eye swelling shut, her head throbbed and what felt like a white-hot wire trailing from her left eye down to her jaw. Her legs folded in on themselves and she crumpled to a heap to the ground.

Cadance hurried over to Peach nectar and knelt down. Lighting her horn, she scanned the unicorn's injuries. She scowled at what she learned, the mare's left eye socket was broken in three places, she had several fractures along her snout and had a serious concussion, it was a miracle she could stand as long as she did and still be conscious. Tapping a hoof on a panel on her armor, it slid open to reveal a med kit. Opening the med kit, she extracted a surette with he magic, popping the cap off the end to reveal a small needle, she jammed it in the unicorn mare's neck. "Just lie still, you're hurt bad. This should help with the pain." She fumbled around with the compartments in her armor, finding a few small foil bags of water and popped the cap off of one, then levitated it up to the mare's lips. "Drink this slowly and keep calm."

Peach Nectar drank the water as the painkiller started working. After a few moments, her thoughts became clearer, though her head still felt fuzzy. One thought came to the forefront and she said, "Village."

"Pardon?"

"There's a village not far from here. I ran into a healer from there who gave me her sash, said to go there and show it at the gate, saying she needs their help."

Cadance questioned Peach how far the village was and untied the sash from the mare's barrel with her magic. She reached up a hoof to her chestplate and tapped a panel, a soft pinging sound could be heard. A moment later two Nebula Guard burst through the undergrowth. "I'm fine, but she's hurt. There's a village not far from here." She pointed a hoof at one transequine. "You stay with her and make sure she doesn't go into shock. I'll be back quickly with help." The pink alicorn took off through the undergrowth with a Nova Guard hot on her hooves, while the other stayed with Peach Nectar.

Peach rose to her hooves shakily.

The Nova Guard turned its helmeted head and said in a deep voice, "You should be laying down."

"I've gotta pee and I don't feel like laying in it."

The transequine grumble incoherently under its helmet for a split second, then sighed. "Fine, I shall accompany you to that thicket. But, once you're done relieving your bladder, you're coming back here to lay down until the princess comes back."

Peach rocked her head back in confusion for a moment. "Princess?" When the massive armored pony didn't answer, she sighed and said, "Fine." She walked over to the thicket and squatted down. A frown spread across her lips at the massive pony facing her. "Turn away. I can't pee when everypony and their brother watching me."

The Nova Guard said nothing and instead turned away.

After Peach had emptied her bladder, she walked back to where she and the Nova Guard had been, the transequine walking beside her the whole way. After laying down, she looked up at the Nova Guard and said, "My name's Peach Nectar, what's yours?" The armored pony said nothing. "O-kay. So...um...are you some kind of construct?"

"No."

"So you're a pony?"

"Yes."

"Are you a stallion?"

"No."

"So you're a mare."

"No."

"If you're not a stallion or a mare, then what are you?"

"I am a Nova Guard."

"What's a Nova Guard?"

"It is what I am."

"And what exactly is a Nova Guard?"

"I am a Nova Guard."

"You've made that part clear. Let me rephrase. What do Nova Guards...er...guard? Novas?"

"No. We have taken a sacred oath to protect the princesses of Equestria, carry out their orders to the letter, and if need be, give our lives to protect them."

Cadance hurried along the trail that lead to The Quarry. She paused when reaching the wall, the vines covering it made for a good camouflage that hid it well enough until someone was close to it. "I know this place, but from where?", she said softly to herself.

"Highness?", the Nova Guard said, "There's a gate up ahead."

Cadance nodded to the transequine warrior and levitated the sash in her magic. "Very well. Let's go." Reaching the gate, she raised am armored hoof and knocked loudly on the gate. "Open up in the name of Equestria and the Crystal Empire!", the pink alicorn called out in a loud voice.

Cadance saw a couple of ponies peek over the lip of the wall and heard the clopping of hooves and whispers behind the gate. For several moments nothing happened, then a pony appeared over the top of the wall and shouted a challenge, "Who goes there and why should we open our gates?" The princess stood to her full height,flared her wings in a regal manner and called out in a loud voice, "I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! I have injured ponies that need assistance!" "How do we know this isn't a trick by raiders?"

Cadance huffed, more annoyed than anything else, then forced herself to calm down, these ponies had survived by being paranoid and cautious. "If I were raiders, or gangers, or slavers, I would have attacked instead of asking for help." She levitated Pauline's sash into view. "One of your own, a griffon named Pauline, is helping one of the ponies under my protection that is severely injured, and I have another that was just recently injured, though not as severely. Will you lend aid to your princess?"

Cadance heard several whispered arguments behind the gate and wall. "If Pauline is helping them out is, they can't be bad, right?" "How do we know this isn't a trick?" "If it was a trick, then why would that one be disguised as a goddess?" She snorted in aggravation and whispered to the Nova Guard, "I'm going to fly over and confront them face-to-face, take the wall, but harm nopony." The Nova Guard nodded.

As Cadance spread her wings to take flight, the Nova Guard diverted excess power to the servos in its leg armor and squatted down. With a short hop into the air and the flapping of her wings, the alicorn took flight, effortlessly clearing the gate. With a powerful power armor-assisted leap, the transequine landed atop the wall. Cadance landed on the opposite of the gate among the gathered ponies, who scattered and started running. The The Nova Guard easily overpowered one the ponies atop the wall with its superior strength and agility, pinning the pony under its armored hoof and pointed the spike on its silver halberd at the pony's throat. With a quick snap of its helmeted head to the side, it silently signaled for the ponies nearby to throw down their weapons, which they quickly complied and laid on their bellies to surrender, placing their forehooves on their heads. "BE STILL!", Cadance shouted in the Royal Conterlot Voice. The ponies of The Quarry immediately froze in their tracks and bowed. "Now I'm only going state this once, I am not here to harm anypony. I have injured and am requesting assistance. Please bring your leader to me, I am willing to negotiate for compensation that will be mutually beneficial for everypony."

Several ponies scurried off. Cadance, while waiting for the ponies to return with the leader of The Quarry, decided to walk around. With a quick flick of her wing, she summoned the Nova Guard, who quickly came to her side. She stopped in front of a large egg-shaped boulder that sat atop a fractured faultline, around its base were laid wreaths of flowers, small baskets of spices, small metal bowls with burning cones of incense and small piles of precious stones. "Holder's Boulder!", she whispered, "This is the old Pie family rock farm! Are these ponies the descendants of Marble and Limestone?"

The clopping of hooves caught the attention of the alicorn and when she turned her head to look. There was a short earth pony stallion, covered in rock dust, making the color of his coat and mane and tail and cutie mark difficult to discern, thick, ropy muscles rippled underneath his coat. The stallion's went wide and he bowed low to the ground, nose buried in the dust. "Forgive me. When several ponies said a goddess was outside the gates, I did not believe them. I beseech thee, bring not thy wrath on these good ponies. I am chieftain of this town, if anypony should be smote, then it it should be me."

"Rise,", Cadance said calmly, "I have not come here to...smite...", she paused, the word feeling bitter on her tongue, "...I have injured that needs your help. I am willing to offer compensation. What is your name?"

The stallion rose from the ground. "My name is Key Lime Pie, your most sacred. The ponies of The Quarry will offer any assistance your most sacred form needs, but there is no need for compensation, we have everything we need."

Cadance looked around for a moment. "What about a forge that can make all the tools you need? An army that can keep not only this town safe, but also keep the nearby caravan route free of bandits, gangers, slavers and dangerous monsters?"

Key Lime's eyes went wide."Y-you can offer that?!"

Cadance let a small grin spread across her lips. "Yes, my little pony, I can offer that. If you would rather be left alone, after my business here is done, my fellow princesses and I will assure that no pony or creature will darken the gate of your town without your permission."

"N-no, we would gladly accept any help your most sacred...uh...ness would offer.", Key Lime spluttered out, "But I have one question. We have been hearing for weeks of an army overthrowing the cruel Brass Lord and his legion of bandits, was that your doing?"

"Yes, my aunts, sister-in-law, daughter and I lead the force that destroyed his band."

Key Lime's plot plopped hard on the ground, here he was before a goddess who had overthrew a tyrant whose bandits and raiders had been searching for this village for years. He quickly gathered his wits about him and began ordering for wagons and ponies to pull them. "Where are your wounded, my goddess?"

"My body guard here will guide you to them."

The Nova Guard's coms unit crackled.

"Yes, I will be quite fine. I'm sure there's nothing here that's a threat to me.", Cadance replied, making Key Lime and the other ponies to look at both of the with confused looks. She smiled at them. "Worry not, my little ponies. My guard was making sure that I'd be safe while they're helping you. Would you please direct me to the highest point nearby so I can contact my forces?"

***TWO DAYS LATER***

The massive armored Harmony-class airship, bristling with dozens of weapons batteries on each side, front and back flew over the town. Three other airships, the smaller and older Alicorn-class, moved with the massive airship in formation. Banners of the the five princesses fluttered from the sides and gasbags. Mortal and transequine pegasi flew in patrols around the four airships. The powerful jet engines on the backs of the four airships cut out and jet engines on the front ignited, slowing them to a stop. Propellers extended from their sides and angled themselves upwards, making the lighter-than-air crafts hover in place. The ponies of The Quarry gathered around to watch in awe.

Cadance, along with her five Nova Guard, stood off to the side of the recently cleared area in the middle of the town. The two newest element bearers, Pauline, the bearer of Healing and Peach Nectar, the bearer of Compassion, her head wrapped in bandages, gawked at the massive flying warship as they stood on each side of the pink alicorn, each tried to say something, but couldn't find the words.

"I see that they got the first of the new airships up and running, and managed to refit the older ones.", Cadance said to herself.

Ramps on the sides of the three escort airships opened. Earth pony and unicorn legionaries leapt off the ramps, pegasus legionaries flew from the airships. Landing, the transequine warriors quickly made a secure perimeter for the massive airship to land. Ropes were cast over the sides of the Harmony-class airship and deckhooves slid down them. They extracted flags from their uniforms and began waving out semaphore to the spotters still aboard.

As the massive airship began settling its flat hull on the ground, Cadance took note of the figurehead of a unicorn mare on the forecastle and the name of the ship, 'NEE Luster Dawn. "Of course you'd name the new airship after your first student.", she said in to her coms unit.

"I would have taken the Harmony, but the sparks for its engines were being a bit cantankerous.", Twilight replied over the coms unit.

Several thick leg-like landing struts extended from the NEE Luster Dawn as it neared the ground. As the landing struts touched the ground and the airship settled, the propellers cut off. With the hiss of pneumatics and hydraulics, the massive ramp lowered. Once the ramp was fully extended to the ground, the ten ponemarchs, along with two captains serving as honor guard, wearing thick robes, strode down the ramp and took up positions on each side of the ramp. They were followed by the twelve mortal general, wearing full dress uniforms, the two matriarchs of the minotaur tribes, and the two high preachers of the Fraternity, all with full honor guard. Once all the ponies, both mortal and transequine, had taken up their places on each side of the ramp, the four princesses, their peytrals, shoes and tiaras were polished to a mirror shine, along with their Nova Guard, and the two other element bearers, Dew Drop and Apple Pie, walked down the ramp.

Cadance walked forward and all five princesses bowed before each other. After rising, they shared hugs and nuzzles. The pink alicorn, still in her power armor, waved a hoof to the townsponies and the hidden town. "Welcome, my fellow princesses to the town of The Quarry."

"We art impressed niece.", Luna said, "Thou managed to bring this town and its good ponies into the fold."

By the gate, the draco-lizard laid curled up. "Is that a draco lesser baloth?", Twilight asked.

"I was meaning to ask you about that.", Cadance said, "I wasn't aware that lesser baloths would be this far from the deserts and volcanoes."

"The draco breed prefers the cooler climates of Equestria and they're more docile that their volcanic or desert dwelling cousins. Unless it is angered, hasn't eaten for a month, or somepony messes with its eggs, then anything and everything lays its eyes on becomes food.", the lavender alicorn replied.

Cadance blew out a sigh, the big lizard had seemed content gnaw on natural salt licks or snap up the rats that got too close, when it wasn't lazing about.

Key Lime Pie, who had cleaned himself up, allowing all to see his light grey coat and lime green mane clearly, his cutie mark was a silver key with a lime for a handle, was wearing a vest that looked to be more patches than whatever the original material was, and a stylized hardhat. He stepped forward and bowed low. "Greeting, my goddesses and welcome to our meager town."

Twilight grit her teeth, but didn't let it show. All four princesses dipped their head and Celestia said, "We ask humbly for your permission to enter your town proper, my good chieftain."

"B-b-but of course!", Key Lime stuttered, "What we have is yours."

"May we have permission to send surveyors and engineers to take stock of your mines?", Flurry Heart asked.

"No permission is needed, my goddess. As I said, all we have is yours.", Key Lime answered.

"No.", Flurry retorted, "What you have is yours. You live here, not us. We are not tyrants. We do not take from our subjects without properly compensating them."

Twilight stepped forward. "We princesses of the New equestrian Empire are willing to negotiate a charter that, we hope would be most beneficial for all parties involved. We have Spike and Smolder bringing a small forge as a show of our good intentions, along with a small compliment of tech monks. It should be here by the end of the day. Grand Maestro SUnset Shimmer, along with a battalion of Ponyhood of Steel soldiers are escorting a larger forge, accompanied by a full temple of tech monks. It will be a week before they get here. That should more than enough time to get a good portion of the charter negotiated."

Cadance leaned down and whispered in in Key Lime's ear, "The tech monks are an odd bunch, more machine than pony. They like to rub oil and pray over tools and machinery. I don't get it, but if you allow them to carry out their weirdness, they make some amazing things."

Celestia cleared her throat. "I'm sure that many of your ponies would like to get back to their work and lives. If it you would please you, we'd like to begin negotiations on the charter.We shall supply the refreshments"

Key Lime accompanied by the five princesses to town hall, that stood where the old Pie family house once stood. Dew Drop and Apple Pie hurried over to Pauline and drug her along to raid the ship's larder. Peach Nectar, Wildflower, Corn Silk, Day Dream and Willow Leaf were ushered to the infirmary aboard the massive airship.

It was late afternoon. Two hours ago the princesses and Key Lime Pie had decided to break for the day while he went to settle a dispute with some of the ponies that had been working in the mines. The negotiations had been productive and had been going faster than intended. He had agreed to all of the princesses requests and had to be made to take concessions that would benefit the town. The way things were going, it would be two more days before the charter would be done, with only minor issued that needed ironing out. But that wasn't on Twilight's mind currently as she read the medical reports from the infirmary and the testimonials of the four mares as Peach Nectar had been in surgery and was currently in recovery. The unicorn mare had needed plates and screws to repair her broken eye socket. But that wasn't what made the lavender alicorn angry.

Cadance knocked on the door of Twilight's personal quarters before walking in. She noticed the enraged look on her sister-in-law's face. "A copper bit for your thoughts?"

Twilight slapped the testimonials that the four mares had given. "They raped them!", she growled, "They would steal them from their families, chain them down and rape them! When they would get pregnant and give birth in those horrible conditions, they'd take their foals from them! Why?! All because some perverted religion says that because they weren't born unicorns, they had no rights! All because of some sort of disgusting believe in this 'divine' that said unicorns were born superior!" She snatched up the papers in her magic and threw them across the room with a scream of rage and disgust. "At first I only wanted to confront this New Unicornia and ask them to turn over Cozy Glow, if she was there. I had thought this was just some sort of odd unicorn country and would have let them be, whether or not they wanted to join us. But now, I'm going to tear down that country brick by brick, even if I have to do on my own with my four hooves! And whoever this 'High Pontiff' is, I'll personally turn them to stone!" She slumped to the floor and began to weep. "When I encountered the sphinxes down in the remains of Saddle Arabia, I found out that not only they were enslaving ponies, but were also raping foals. I erased every bit of evidence that they had existed and wiped out their armies to the last creature. I'll do the same to this New Unicornia!"

Cadance gathered up the papers where Twilight had thrown them and sat down next to her sister-in-law. She wrapped a foreleg around the lavender alicorn and pulled her in to a tight hug. "Don't worry, I'm sure Celestia and Luna will agree with you. I'll gladly stand by you and bring the leadership of this country to justice along side you. When Flurry Heart learns of this, she'll personally bring you the fuel to burn the country down, if you so choose. We'll bring this not only to our fellow princesses, but also the generals and the ponemarchs. They had pray that they meet their divine before they meet us, for it may have mercy on them."

Author's Note

Whew! This chapter was longer than I had intended too and was a slog to write.

To give a little background on the new element bearers, Apple Pie and Key Lime Pie are distant cousins. The former is a descendant of Pinkie pie and Apple Bloom, the latter is a descendant of one of the other Pie sisters. Dew Drop is half Equestrian and half Saddle Arabian. Pauline was found as a chick by her adoptive mother and raised in The Quarry, her ancestry will be revealed at a later time.

Are you sure that you're just a lazy writer who hasn't figured out her ancestry?

Nobody asked you, other me!

The changelings have shown themselves. The Bison will make contact with the crusade in a future chapter.

I think you forgot about them until just now.

Shut it other me!

Chrysalis and the ponies of Hidden Valley will make contact in a future chapter.

Coming up will the war against New Unicornia.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

If you notice any typos, have any questions, want to make any comments, have any criticisms, wanna throw shade or pure bane, feel free to leave them down below.

Thanks to New_Rebellion for allowing me to toss ideas at him and his suggestions. Go show him some My Little Pony love.

War against New Unicornia part 0: Prelude to conflict, building up and moving out

The hidden village of The Quarry joining the forces of the crusade had been a boon. Their extensive mines, rock farms and mineral fields had added much needed supplies to reequip military forces and even speed along the launching of the next airship, which had been christened The Starswirl. That had given the crusade forces two new heavy airships with new turbojet engines and enough weaponry to turn a small city into rubble, each. Other projects suddenly found themselves fast tracked, such as smaller transport airships with much faster afterburner jets, spark-propelled troop transport vehicles, a high-speed monorail system, that nearly perfectly followed the much older railroad tracks that ran from just outside The Quarry, down to the new Fraternity keep known as Shattered Brass and then on to Apple Orchard, though its completion was still at best twenty-four months out. There had been plans of building the monorail system across the desert to the four rapidly growing cities that had been formerly controlled by the sphinxes, but between the dangerously wild magical radiation, the bandits, the bandit gangs, mutant mobs, cultists and wildly unpredictable storms that could come out of the deep desert at any time, the cost at the time to garrison the line with specially trained troops and specialists was too expensive, so using air travel, though slower, was safer and more reliable. Thankfully a small fleet of unarmored airships were nearing completion, once they were launched, a portion would be relegated to flying back and forth across the desert, bringing troops and goods both ways.

Currently Twilight was inspecting the newest batch of rifles that had been released from the steadily growing forge that had been set up outside The Quarry that had been loosely based on the weapons that had been surrendered by the two mares, whom until just a couple of months ago, had been on the run from New Unicornia. Levitating a magazine, she pulled a round out from it and pulled the bullet apart. The decision to go with the smaller Equestrian caliber instead of the larger New Unicornian caliber had been a tactical decision. True, a larger caliber would have caused greater tissue damage, but with a smaller caliber, for the same cost in materials, nearly three times the rounds could be made and soldiers could carry twice as much ammo as their New Unicornian counterparts, plus the rank-and-file soldier wouldn't have to be trained with a new caliber.

Twilight closely inspected every part of the round, the casing, the propellant, the conical bullet. She noted the minuscule ruby chip on the back. "What's this gem chip for?"

The tech monk's eyes, glowing an electronic green, flickered in a way that could be construed as pride as it answered in a mechanical tone,"Query registered: Seeking permission to answer on behalf of Constructor General. Please standby." The cybernetic pony's electronic green eyes flickered rapidly as a small whirring sound came from beneath its blue robes with silver trim. "Permission has been granted: The small gem chip is made from compressed ruby powder that has been enchanted with a propulsion spell to increase muzzle velocity. End result: Greater target penetration and tissue damage."

Twilight nodded and placed the disassembled round into a reclamation bin. Placing the magazine into the receiver on the rifle, she grasped the charging lever with a hoof, chambered a round and rook aim at a series of targets. Slipping a hoof into the trigger guard, she squeezed the trigger. With the usual bang, the round fired off, though she noted that there was a notable red streak marking the path and it made a screaming sound. She also noted that though the bullet made the same sized hole on entry, there was a lot of stuffing the came out as the round exited the target. She flipped the switch by the trigger guard a single click and depressed the trigger again. In just a little over a second the twenty-eight remaining rounds roared out of the muzzle of the rifle, turning the target into nothing but shredded cloth, smoldering stuffing and Swiss cheesed wood. She made an excited whoop before flipping the rifle's selector switch to safe, removing the magazine and returning the weapon to the tech monk.

"Exciting, isn't it?", Sunset said, walking up, "The rifle, I mean. It reminded me of shooting bottles and cans when I was still on the other side of the mirror on Applejack's farm."

Twilight's mood soured at the mention, her expression matching her mood as she remembered her long-dead friends, both pony and human. Pushing the thoughts down, she returned her expression back to the princessly mask. "Sunset, I'm sorry for the Tree of Harmony pulling you through the mirror and depositing you in my chambers. None of us at the time knew it's roots extended--"

"Stop right there Twilight.", Sunset interrupted, "Though at first I was upset at being pulled back to Equestria without my consent or even a bit of notice, I have had plenty of time to process it and the tree wouldn't have done something so drastic unless it was necessary, plus I've made my peace with it. Besides, if I didn't bring my knowledge of human technology and ingenuity, you might still be fighting this campaign to take back the homeland with spears, crossbows and muskets. Besides it's both amazing, frightening and a bit concerning when I think about it, if we developed in just two hundred years fully stable magically and genetically engineered super soldiers, who have advanced power armor and weapons, I sometimes wonder if humans have taken to the stars and developed massive space stations the size of small moons that can blow planets up and laser swords."

"Is that a reference to that movie you once showed me? What was it called, War of the Stars?"

Sunset couldn't help but snicker."It was called Star Wars and it was pretty good until this company with a mouse mascot bought it and screwed up the lore."

It was Twilight's turn to snicker. "I remember seeing a couple of those movies that company you mentioned. They were well animated, but their portrayals of princesses made them to be waifs who waited to be rescued by the human stallions. What was the name of the company? Dick-knees?"

Sunset rolled on the ground, guffawing, nearly peeing herself. "That's...hahahehhah! Close enough.", she said rising from the ground, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go check on the new recruits and make sure the Masters-at-Arms don't march them do death." She walked away still chuckling, occasionally chuckling and saying between laughs, "Dick-knees."

Twilight, returning her composure to her usual neutral mask, gave a quick nod to the tech monk before walking off.

"Organics. Feh!", the tech monk grumbled in binary static.

****

Cadance's nose rankled at the smell as the walked through the Nova Guard barracks as she made her way to her personal quarters. It always smelled to her like a cross between a buck ball locker room and a gym bag full of unwashed sweaty workout gear that had been left to marinate for a month in a sauna. Most of the transequine bodyguards were walking around without their armor, something they only did in private with each other or with only the princesses. Twilight had explained to her, along with the other princesses that the smell came from a special tank that was installed in power armor that processes and purified their natural body waste, taking the useful parts, like proteins and water, and cycled it back into their bodies, while the parts that couldn't be used was eventually dumped automatically when the tank was full. That meant that as long as the armor's power cells held, the transequine warriors would always receive some level of nutrition and water, and could theoretically fight indefinitely.

The Nova Guard, like the transequine marines, lacked any secondary sexual characteristics, looking like stallions and mares simultaneously. The transequine warriors had the primary sexual organs that was natural for their sex, but had their sex drives magically, genetically and chemically deactivated so that they could focus on their primary missions. The Nova Guard, like the ponemarchs, used neither masculine nor feminine pronouns. The bodies of the transequine bodyguards had small circular ports that were sunk in and metallic rectangular diodes that poked out of their flesh that, like the transequine marines, allowed their power armor to link into their nervous systems. The marine legions that all took after one of the three primary tribes, while the Nova Guard looked like alicorns that had short horns and stumpy wings. Like most of the legions, the Nova Guard kept they manes and tails shaved or close cropped.

***

Luna stood on a balcony overlooking the induction of new recruits, that had passed the physical and psychological tests, as they were being put through the first of the final steps to becoming full legionaries.

Each pony was brought before them a small covered bowl that held a small, cherry-sized fruit, that swirled with rainbow-colored light. Upon a single shouted command, the ponies all uncovered their bowls at the same time. The ponies picked up the small fruit in a hoof. The order was shouted and the ponies swallowed the fruit whole, though a few did chew, which resulted in a magical explosion that sent the headless corpses slumping to the floor.

For twenty minutes the ponies sat in their positions looking at each other in confusion as marines in full battle armor walked in through the side doors and stood to attention. Almost as if on cue, the pony inductees felt like their bodies were on fire as the fruit they had swallowed began radically expanding and altering their wellsprings. The ponies began moaning and crying out in pain as they collapsed on the floor and thrashed about, some tried to remain on their hooves, attempting to defy the pain, but all eventually succumbed and collapsed.

As the inductees cried out, their bodies began to morph and distort. The magical, cherry-sized fruit was forcing their bodies to increase muscle and bone mass, some had their horns or wings shrivel and slough off their bodies as the magic made them reject the external appendages, while other had horns or wings practically explode in growth from their bodies. A small number of inductees went into full grand mal seizures, their bodies unable to handle the drastic changes they were experiencing and died, leaving a pool of foam leaking from their mouths. A smaller number of inductees bodies began to wildly mutate, the marines in full battle armor rushed over, leveled the gun mounted in their shoulder sockets and fired a mass reaction round into the inductees skull, mercifully killing them before the mutations transformed into mindless monsters.

After several hours, the ordeal was over. Some had completely swapped their base tribe, while others had remained their base tribe. The surviving inductees were openly embraced by the marines, regardless of the legion, as full-on siblings. The now new transequine marines that had passed their first test, had the magic of all three tribes, even if they had the primary and secondary traits of just one tribe. The newest battle brethren were escorted to the mess hall so they could receive their first meal with their siblings and soon-to-be cousins, then taken to personal chambers to recover. The fruit they ate had a pit in it, that would over time, embed itself into their intestines, infusing and supplementing the transequines' wellsprings until they died.

Flurry Heart stood in the observation deck as transequine marines were subjected to the surgeries that would fully transform them into full battle brethren, all without the benefit of anesthesia, as learning to endure pain was part of each step. Many had their chests held open with with rib spreaders as their old four-chambered hearts were removed and replaced with the larger, stronger, genetically engineered eight-chambered hearts, along with a secondary mechanical heart. Others had special bone growth plates implanted into their ribs, that would over several months, transform their rib cage into a series of interlocking plates. Others had combination drill/syringe devices that deposited small grape-sized bits of tissue implanted in their skull and body, that would grow into specialized organs over the next fem months. The ones going through their last surgeries had special metal threads woven into their muscles, rectangular diodes implanted into their flash and connected to their nervous system, and small hollow cylinders that were connected to their lymphatic system. The whole time a slurry of alchemically-treated metal suspended in saline, and special steroids, were injected into their bloodstream, ensuring that their skeletons were a lattice of bone and metal, and that their muscle mass, along with their height were greatly increased and ensuring their blood coagulated faster while their bodies grew accustomed to the specially implanted organs.

***

Peach Nectar, her face still bearing the scars from surgery that helped to reconstruct part of her face with bone grafts and metal plates, sat on a cushion as the griffon Pauline fussed over her, smearing a foul-smelling past over the scars to help them fade faster.

Across from them sat the earth pony mare Apple Pie while Dew Drop sat in the corner running a sharpening stone.

"I've noticed that she doesn't have her cutie mark.", Peach whispered to Apple Pie, "I mean, she's old enough to have one. Did something happen to her?"

"She told me once that the ponies where she came from don't get cutie marks and that before meeting the goddesses and their armies, she never saw a cutie mark before.", Apple Pie replied. She gestured to Dew Drop. "Dewy, would you mind coming over here and telling them what you you told me about where you grew up?"

The half-Equestrian/half-Saddle Arabian pony slid her saber into its scabbard, placed it on her back and walked over. Sitting down, she began telling about growing up as a slave,being groomed for a life of sexual service for her masters and being abused by the sphinx.

The two mares and one hen all shuddered at the story.

Dew Drop, visibly unsettled from telling the story from her time as a slave, leaned against Apple Pie for comfort. "I don't like telling that story. I much prefer telling how the goddess taught me to read or striking down infidels in the name of the goddesses."

"If you don't mind me asking, do none of the ponies of your land have cutie marks?", Peach Nectar asked.

"I never knew that a pony could have a mark until I first saw a goddess.", Dew Drop answered.

"I've never seen a pony with a blank flank, unless they were foals.", Peach said, "Why do all the ponies from your land not have cutie marks?"

"Because she's half-Equestrian pony.", Princess Celestia said stepping into the room, "She's half Saddle Arabian horse."

The four immediately prostrated them selves before the princess.

"Rise.", Celestia said, "No need to prostrate yourselves before me. Court isn't in."

"She's half-horse?", Pauline asked, "The only horses I've ever seen have cutie marks."

"Those were Equestrian horses.", Celestia replied, "The Saddle Arabian horses are close cousins to we Equestrians, but they don't gain cutie marks upon reaching maturity."

All four listened with determination, eyes glittering as the white-furred princess began a simplified lesson on Equestrian ponies and horses, and the slight difference with their cousins that lived beyond the ancient borders of Equestria.

***

Cloud Runner walked into the gymnasium, a portion of his wing had been replaced with cybernetics after a sever infection had set in the bone and had to be cut out. The machinery gave small clicks and whirs each time he twitched his wing, something he had not gotten used to, even though he'd had it for nearly a year.

On a treadmill Rose Blossom was running fast and hard, the four cybernetic legs moving in blurs. When the bandits had taken them, she had been drug off to be forcibly impregnated by a large group of them. Something she didn't do quietly or easily and fought them with every ounce of strength she had, injuring or killing several of them until they subjected her to their form of "justice" when a slave fights back too hard. Though it had taken her a long time to recover from the exceedingly brutal treatment, she pushed herself as hard as she could go, often muttering the mantra "Never again" over and over again to herself.

Rose tripped over her metal hooves and face planted on the treadmill, the exercise machine flinging her off the back of it.

Cloud Runner rushed over and helped Rose Blossom up to her hooves. "Take it easy RB. You've broken every medical record, recovering from not only a quad forcible amputation faster than anypony I've ever seen, but also recovering from major cybernetic reconstruction faster than anypony who isn't a legionnaire."

"I'll take it easy when I'm dead!", Rose snarled as she shoved the pegasus stallion back, "As long as there is a single pony being abused or yearning to breathe free, I'll not rest. Yes it sucks that you were tortured and had to mangle your wing to escape, but you didn't have your legs chopped off and then raped in every hole." Tears stung her eyes and visible tremble ran across her body. Her emotions began to boil over and she broke down right on the gym floor.

Cloud Runner hugged the mare close to him as she gave plaintive wails and anguished screams into his chest fluff. "That's it. Just let it all out." Once she had cried herself out, he released her from the hug. "Feel better?" The mare nodded yes, then shook her head no. "That's alright. Let's go get something to drink, then take it easy for the rest of the day. You're no good to anypony if you wreck your body before getting out in the field."

"Thank you.", Rose Blossom said, her voice a ragged, hoarse croak.

***

As the spring thaw started, the last span of monorail track was laid. Twilight, hefting a ceremonial gold-platted sledgehammer in her magic, drove the last spike.

A new mobile forge was placed on the track that began pumping out new lengths of track, which the tech monks anointed with oil, said prayers in binary static over and laid with the reverence one would when constructing a temple. The first of the monorail maglev engines with various cars were placed on the track and soon were travelling fast as a pegasus down the track, ferrying ponies and supplies from The Quarry, all the down to Apple Orchard.

Squads of transequine marines and heavily armed tech monks escorted the specially built forge that was making the lengths of track. Hour-by-hour the forge pumped out lengths of tracks that were fifteen body lengths long.

That's when the first of the bonded guild trader caravans met the forces of The Crusade. Word was quickly sent to the princesses, who sent out several ambassadors to begin negotiations. After nearly a week of deliberations, the trader guilds and the New Equestrian Empire came to a mutually beneficial agreement. The first part of the agreement was the majority of the guild caravans were allowed to continue trade along their usual routes, as long as they did not trade in slaves, dark magic artifacts and certain prohibited drugs, in turn they would provide the forges with the lion's share of scrap in return for foodstuffs, medical supplies and the caravan guards would receive official training from the NEE military and proper weaponry. The second part of the agreement was that the NEE and their crusade forces would provide security and safe harbor to any bonded guild caravaneers, in return the caravaneers would provide the NEE or it's crusade forces with intelligence on the surrounding territories, any kingdoms that would be friendly, hostile or neutral, storm tracking, and knowledge on where bandits gangs, slavers, mutant bands and monster hunting grounds. The final part of the agreement was that the guild would receive thirty-four airships, along with their crews to be bonded to their service to serve as guild traders and protection, and in return the guild would give the same number of caravans would be supplied to the NEE to serve as official Equestrian traders, advanced scouts and ambassadors.

***

Once spring had broke in full nearly all of the snow and ice from winter had melted, the Crusade began rolling out in earnest. Soldiers loaded up into airships and mobile barracks. The monorail track was still being built, having been delayed from seasonal flooding, though the construction would be delayed, the Crusade couldn't. Transequine marine legions loaded up into their heavily armored and armed airships. Finally the princesses loaded up into the massive Harmony-class Luster Dawn and flags were unfurled demarking it as the primary command airship. The ponemarchs loaded up on the other massive airship, the Harmony and flags of the ten legions were unfurled. The two massive airships lifted off the ground. the Luster Dawn took up its position at the head of the bulk of the airship fleet, while the Harmony at the head of the legions airships. The signal was given and the air and land armadas began moving forward.

Mortal and transequine pegasi flew bewteen the airships and the ground vehicles, half delivering messages, while the others flew in patrol circuits. Pegasi flew out ahead of the massive armada, scouting the area, while ponies, both mortal and transequine, along with the loyal minotaur tribes, patrolled the ground on both sides of the armada.

For weeks the Crusade forces steadily moved towards the kingdom of New Unicornia. Meanwhile the forge along the monorail steadily laid tracks, stopping when bandits,mutants or monster attacked, or when the terrainforced them to change direction.

The guild caravans had sunk special poles in the ground, marking the outer boundaries of where New Unicornian patrols would pass. The airships spread out into wide crescent formations as the ground vehicles formed into box formations. For a full day the Crusade came to a stop just outside the markers as the princesses, the ponemarchs, the generals and high ranking members of the Ponyhood of Steel deliberated on how to face this new enemy. For a full day and night deliberations proceeded, sometimes breaking out into heated arguments. Finally they came to an agreement.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, the Sky Hunters legion took flight from their airships. The transequine pegasi in their midnight blue armor with yellow and silver lightning bolts painted down the sides, spreading out across the skies ahead of the Crusade. They ranged across the skies, scouting far and wide, using their sensors to map out the land and search for troop movements.

Shortly after the Crusade began moving forward again, the Saddle Ragers left their airships. Though not as fast or strong fliers in the Sky Hunters, they were still competent fliers. They mostly kept to the forests, hills and ravines, their yellowish-tan armor with green highlights giving them better camouflage than most of the other legions. They moved across the landscape in groups of twelve, serving as hunter-killer squads.

As the sun began slipping towards the horizon, swarms of thestrals, carrying new designs of sniper rifles and as much ammunition and supplies as they could carry, flew from their barracks in swarms, before breaking off into groups of two-pony sniper teams.

The Night Hunters fast roped from their airships and spread out across the countryside. They quickly disappeared into the lengthening shadows.

Finally the Implacable Hooves, along with the Celestial Hooves, Solar Flames and Stone Legion formed a wide vanguard.

Above the airships spread out in a wide formation, guns were slid into place as crewponies strained their eyes in the dark or peered through scanning equipment, searching for enemy troop movements. The mobile barracks, medbays and forges were circled up as folding metal structures were set up for bivouacs or placed as barricades and the entire army settled in for the night.

***

Three wings of aerial screws were sent out on patrol at first light. Long-range radar had picked up some unusual blips and they were sent out once the sun to investigate. Each wing of aerial screws consisted of one fast scout, two medium gunships and two heavy gunships.

At the aerial screws spun up the blades on top and rear, all fifteen took off from their various landing pads at the forward operating base as one. The commander of the wings thought she saw for a moment a dark figure slinking through the shadows of early morning as her aerial medium gunship screw began banking in a circular pattern as it gained altitude, but just as quickly it was gone and she shrugged it off.

For an hour the aerial screws flew towards the last reported location of the radar hit when their collision radar detected an unknown, fast-moving anomaly, then it disappeared just as quickly as it showed up. A second later, the rear-most heavy gunship reported a mechanical malfunction with its rear rotor and it began to spin wildly as it plummeted down to the ground. The fourteen remaining aerial screws began a circular pattern, noting where their gunship had crashed and dropped smoke flares.

"Command actual, this is Fast Hawk actual. We lost a screw to mechanical failure in sector seventeen-beta-five. We have dropped smoke flares for rescue screws and are moving onto primary target. How copy?", the wing commander said into the radio.

"Fast Hawk actual, this is Command actual. We had received your--*skrt*"

The wing commander scowled. "Command actual, say again. You broke up." No reply. "Command actual, are you there?" Again no answer. "Fast hawk two, send your scout back to base to find out what's happening as we head back onto target."

"Roger Fast actual."

The wing commander watched as the scout screw broke formation and began banking back towards base. She gripped the aerial screw's yoke in her hooves and began to bank her medium gunship back on course when a midnight blue streak descended above and struck the scout crew on its tail, shearing it off. She stared dumbfounded as the streak looped back up and flew past her aerial screw. She only saw it for a second before it was out of sight. It looked like a big pegasus in heavy armor. Suddenly alarms went off in the cockpit as the short-range and anti-collision radar picked up first one,then five,then dozens of blips. "Everypony scatter!", she screamed into the radio headset.

Aerial screws broke formation as the marines of the Sky Hunters descended upon them. Five aerial screws went into uncontrolled spins as the transequine pegasi sliced their tail sections off with their wing blades. Another three plummeted from the sky like stones when the pegasi marines sliced off the top rotors. On the two remaining heavy gunships, the doors were slid open as the gunners gripped their rotary cannons in an attempt to open fire on the attacking transequines. The gunners never got their chance to fire off as a single pegasi for each swooped in, slicing gunner and gun in two, before slaughtering the crew, before bursting through the canopies, leaving the gunships to careen to the ground.

The wing commander screamed curses as she ejected all the ammo and weapons to lighten her screw and opened the engine up to full speed. Her wingpony's screw went up in a fireball as an explosive one of pegasi planted went off, sending the machine plummeting down to the ground in a smoldering wreck. She could only watch helplessly as fellow pilots were ripped from their cockpits and hurled screaming to the ground. She bobbed and weaver her machine, trying to get as close to the ground as possible, while avoiding the armored flying ponies. Her machine lurched as warning klaxons screamed, alerting her that her rear rotor had been knocked out. While bleeding as much speed as possible, she feathered the wildly spinning aerial screw towards a small patch of trees. She lost consciousness from the g-forces and woke up an unknown time later, her aerial screw suspended from the branches of the trees.

The wing commander wiggled her legs, ensuring she wasn't crippled and had no broken bones. Reaching under he seat, she pulled out her survival gear and pistol, then began working to get the canopy door open. Tossing out rope, she shimmied down the line to the ground. Keeping her eye to the sky looking for those weird armored ponies, she saw none and broke cover to begin the long trek back to the FOB. Scanning the skies and nearby landscape, she was searching for any threats when the last thing she saw was a muzzle flash, a split second later a sniper's bullet entered just below her left eye and blew a gaping hole in the back of her neck.

Back at the FOB, the Night Hunters were dragging the last of the bodies of New Unicornian soldiers to several pits as marines of the Saddle Ragers formed up a secure perimeter. Fuel that was meant for aerial screws and ground vehicles were dumped into the body-filled pits and lit. The first of the airships flew overhead and landed. Exoskeltal armored soldiers of the Ponyhood of Steel scrambled out to secure the buildings as the tech monks began swarming to the vehicles and other machinery, binary speech buzzing excitedly, wrenches and other tools gripped in metallic tendrils and cybernetic hooves. The damage to the FOB had been kept to a minimum, with only the command tower, main radar dish and primary barracks destroyed.

The invasion of New Unicornia has officially begun and everypony in the Crusade agreed that as they ventured further in, it would become even more difficult.

Over the next week mortal soldiers were sent out to capture other FOBs and listening posts, to further secure the hoofhold and boost morale.

Word has reached Burnished Bronze,and more importantly, Cozy Glow, that several FOBs and listening posts along their western border regions had gone silent, and that the few survivors reported massive ponies wearing thick armor, accompanied by regular ponies, had overwhelmed the bases, slaughtering nearly everypony.

As Burnished Bronze began ordering a series of reprisal attacks, Cozy Glow began weaving a dark spell on the unicorn and planning her exit strategy/

Author's Note

The war against New Unicornia has begun.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Spot any typos, misspellings or sentence structure issues? Have any cricisms? Like or hate the story? Want to throw shade or pure bane? Leave the down below.

A special thanks to New_Rebellion for his input and ideas. Go show him some My Little Pony love.

War against New Unicornia part 2: A year into the war, preparations for the final push and a bigger threat looms

A year had passed and New Unicornia had been forced into a full retreat across their lands. The New Equestrian Empire's crusade forces had pushed across New Unicornia in five different advances, leaving the open wounds of warfare in its wake. Tens of thousands of graves inhabited by the bodies of soldiers and civilians alike marked the site of battles.

New Unicornia didn't surrender their lands easily or quietly, throwing their wrath against their enemy like ponies possessed.

The industrial cities of Horn Heights and Hammerville were smoldering wrecks as retreating New Unicornian burned and shelled them to deny the New Equestrian Empire's crusade access to the valuable factories, and even to spite them. Untold numbers of civilians were lost in the shelling and firestorms.

In the central highlands that held the most fertile land, New Unicornian forces had stripped the land of all the crops they could carry, and burning or trampling into the ground what couldn't be taken. Farming villages had been put to the torch, forcing the earth ponies who lived there into homelessness. New Unicornian generals had ordered wells to be collapsed, creating water shortages, and dams blown up, causing flooding.

Cadance had led a lightning strike into the foothills where the bulk of New Unicornia's mining efforts were centered. New Unicornian forces had begun the process of destroying the mines when her forces arrived. Some of the mines had been collapsed and mining towns were destroyed. She managed to rout the New Unicornian armies, saving the majority of the mines and mining towns. New Unicornian forces did manage to successfully shoot down three airships and severely damage a forge in a retribution attack.

The twin specters of famine and disease walked across the land like they were old residents as the final frosts of winter gripped the lands.

The Crusade had stopped to re-consolidate and recoup their losses and to deal with the problems of disease and famine that were plaguing the now former citizens of New Unicornia. Mobile medbays were filled with the mortal soldiers whose bodies and minds had been broken by the horrors of warfare. Most would recover through the diligent work of medical staff. Through cybernetic replacement and reconstruction, and therapy they rejoin their brothers in arms, but there were many who would not recover, their injuries were too great, or the mental trauma too much. Civilians struggling with malnutrition and disease had also flooded the medbays

The New Equestrian Empire's crusade had set up tent cities to help protect the now homeless civilians and built soup kitchens. Rations of reconstituted nutrition bars had been hoofed out to those who weren't starving to the point where regular food would shock their systems, and simple, thin gruel who were too weak and too starved.

The ponies working on the high-speed maglev monorail project redoubled their efforts and through much hardship, managed to build an intricate rail system through the newly conquered New Unicornian lands. It would still be weeks before adequate food, medicine and other much needed supplies, along with fresh reinforcements where they were needed.

The crusade dug itself in to await the spring thaw.

***

Star Gleam, had for the first stint of her time as a prisoner of war, had maintained her New Unicornian identity and religious practices. She had worn her dress uniform when meeting with the soldiers under her command, led in several religious services in prayers to The Divine, and even refused to provide information unless she was put under the compulsion of a truth spell as a form of passive resistance. Slowly over the year her beliefs in The Divine and New Unicornia had been slowly eroded, not because of any pressure of her captors. She and her soldiers had been well treated. She had expected to be locked in a windowless cell or some damp hole in the ground and tortured for information. Quite the opposite was the fact, the cells she and her soldiers were kept in, though not lavish by any definition, were clean and comfortable. She had also been expected to be given starvation rations of dirty water and moldy hay, instead she and her soldiers were well fed. The food was bland, but nutritious. Twice-daily rations of synthetic hay and simple ration bars, with ample clean water. She and her soldier had also been encouraged to grow vegetable gardens to supplement their diets. Star Gleam had also been surprised when she after her first month of imprisonment when she had her soldiers had been given a stipend as compensation. The pay wasn't lavish, booklets of trade vouchers stamped with the symbol of Equestria, but it was enough that they could purchase stuff from the commissary to make their lives a bit easier.

Star Gleam had seen the bodies of unicorn civilians broken by the shelling and the hollow, glassy-eyes stares of starving foals from all three tribes. But what had truly swayed her over to the New Equestrian side was seeing the tribes work in concert to help the ponies of her country recover from starvation, disease and injury, and with rebuilding destroyed homes. That had done much to shake the foundations of her faith in The Divine and New Unicornia.

It had been in those last frosts of winter when Star Gleam had been awoken by the sounds of anguished wailing. She knew from the direction that the awful sound came that it was one of her soldiers. Rushing to the door of her cell to see what was going on, she had been met by a pair of guards who were hastily shoving the key into the lock. As soon as the door was open, she bolted out, one of her soldiers was in pain and she needed to know why. The guards followed hotly on her heels.

Bursting through the door in the mostly empty common room, Star Gleam's gaze fell on what was going on. A piebald mare under her command, Private Whimsy, bawling her eyes out. At the mare's hooves were a pair of pieces of paper that Star Gleam immediately knew what they were, a pair of 'To whom it may concern' letters normally given to the families of soldiers when their loved ones are killed in action. Standing in front of the piebald mare was Twilight sparkle, unarmored, though she was still accompanied by her Nova Guard. She had never seen any of the alicorns outside of their armor before, but that was currently secondary to what was going on. Whimsy was unleashing the sounds of pure unbridled grief while two of her fellow soldiers were attempting to console her.

Whimsy looked up at Twilight with bloodshot eyes, grief and rage playing out in equal measure across her face. "You!", she snarled at the princess."This is your fault! They'd still be alive if and your kind had simply stayed away and left us alone!" She then launched herself at the princess with flailing hooves faster than her comrades could respond.

The Nebula Guard moved into position to protect the princess, but Twilight waved them off, opting to endure the blows from the unicorn. Though Whimsy threw all her might into her flailing blows, there was little a single mortal pony could do to harm an alicorn, so Twilight simply held herself in stoic silence and allowed the mare to tire herself out.

Once Whimsy had expended her energy, she collapsed at the alicorn's hooves and curled into a ball, whimpering in agony.

Star Gleam quickly trotted over to stroke the piebald unicorn's mane. "Take her back to her cell and give her something strong to drink. Keep a close eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything rash." After the two soldiers escorted the piebald unicorn out, Star Gleam levitated the two letters in her magic and read them. "Tell me what happened."

Twilight, her face a mask of calm, stared at the tan, brown and black blotchy coat of the general and mused, back in the days of old Equestria most Equestrian ponies and horses were mostly of a uniform coloration of a single tone. Was the more common multicolored coats an adaptation to give them better camouflage? That couldn't be the case as three quarters of ponies and horses of the land were still of the single-colored coats that was the norm of her day. She was stalling and she knew it. Blowing out a sigh, she answered. "When our forces took the city of Hammerville, New Unicornian forces had shelled the city before we arrived to deny us its assets. We thought we had encountered the worst when we had dug the remains of innocent ponies out of the rubble, their bodies broken by the blasts and shrapnel, or burned and disfigured by the flames. But as we spread out to the residential districts, we found worse. The soldiers noticed that the doors to houses and apartment buildings had been barred from the outside. When they went to investigate, that's when they noticed the smells."

Star Gleam held up a hoof, she didn't need to hear more. Civilians forcibly locked in their homes and left to starve, this was the signature of a single general. "This sounds like the work of Blood Diamond."

"Who?"

"Her name is Bright Diamonds. She's a general with a brutal streak in her a league wide. She had received that nickname when she had been sent out to the eastern plains to deal with the aftermath of a rogue storm. It was discovered that the storm had caused several ponies to mutate, and had driven others insane. Instead of simply shooting those who were too mutated to function or were incurably insane, she commanded the artillery batteries to deploy toxic gas shells. Back when High Pontiff Burnished Bronze had orchestrated his coup, along with his personal confidant, Sundown Twinkle, Blood Diamond had thrown her lot in with his camp. Myself and others like me who had opposed his coup that were too valuable or too dangerous to execute were redeployed to the plot-ends of the nation."

Sundown Twinkle...Sundown Twinkle. Could this be the alias Cozy Glow used? Surely she's run away by now, knowing that we're coming. "Tell me Star Gleam, are you still in good with any of these generals?"

Star Gleam taped a hoof to her chin. "There's Rusty Nail and Essence Opal. But I'm not sure where they're stationed."

"If they're still alive, our intelligence network will find them and get a message to them.", Twilight replied.

"Wait...how deep does your intelligence network run?"

"That, my little pony, is something that will remain a secret until this conflict is over." Twilight stretched her wings. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have much to plan and tons of paperwork to take care of." In a flash of violet light and a pop, the alicorn and her bodyguards vanished.

Twilight reappeared inside her personal chambers and sat down to meditate. The recent affair had left her nerves quite frazzled and left her on the edge of a panic attack. Taking a deep breath, she placed a hoof to her chest, held it for a few seconds, then blew it out, extending her hoof in the process. Closing her eyes, she began to meditate.

Within seconds Twilight was assaulted by a host of visions. The dead walking the land. A cluster of smoky black shards accompanied by a familiar laughing voice. A massive idol made in the image of porcine creatures as other porcine creatures laughed with wild abandon as they trampled all they came across under hoof. A land of wing, talon and beak where a loyal servant sat alone in a cave. A mine where a figure with a familiar voice sat weeping in front of a hoof drawn image of a unicorn. A curling horn.

With a thud Twilight fell to the floor. She gasped for air as a panic attack took hold. The meditation instead of allowing her to enter her mind-palace, had instead flooded her with strange and unsettling visions.

Four flashes of light signaled the arrival of the other princesses.

"Twilight!", Cadance called out as she rushed over to her panicking sister-in-law.

Twilight tried to speak, but her thoughts wouldn't gather into coherent patterns, causing her to give strangled whimpers. The oxygen felt this as her breaths came in ragged, uneven gasps. She had curled up into a fetal position, her trembling forehooves tightly gripping and stroked her tail.

Cadance pulled Twilight to her hooves and looked her sister-in-law straight in the eye. "Don't try to speak. Just breathe with me. Deep slow breath in through the nose."

The two alicorns took a deep breath in.

"Hold it for three seconds."

The two princesses held their breath for three seconds.

"Breath out through the mouth. Let all of the air out of your lungs. Just like I taught you when you were a young princess."

After a few minutes of going through the breathing exercises with her sister-in-law, Twilight's heart rate slowed and her thoughts became more ordered. "I saw...I can't even...a ram's horn...pigs?...no...hogs...a weeping changeling...what...?"

"A most distressing set of visions.", Luna said. "Normally we only have one. None of us has had so many at once."

"H-how do I make sense of them?", Twilight asked. "The last time I had such a powerful vision, it was years before the cataclysm and the tree took Sunset from the human world and deposited her in my chambers."

Celestia closed her eyes and focused on the empathic field all alicorns share. "The visions are a warning of terrible trials still to come...and maybe a sign of allies. It's hard to make sense of visions as the future is always in motion."

"So what does that mean?", Flurry Heart asked.

"It means we must find a way to bring this war with New Unicornia to a rapid resolution so we can face the next trials with unified strength.", Twilight said, her gaze blazing with intense determination. "Alert all of our forces. When the first thaw happens, we advance as the spring floods start."

Burnished Bronze stalked the halls of his bunker, ranting at phantoms only he could see. As the war progressed and New Unicornia lost ground, it became clear that his hold on sanity was slipping. His guards had kept him isolated in the bunker, with only a small group of loyal generals and priests knowing the truth. Doctors tried and failed to cure, or even treat his worsening mental condition, all had failed. When public appearances or speeches were needed, lookalikes and body doubles had been used to protect the public and the military in general from panicking.

***

General Bright Diamonds, General Shooting Star, Minister of Information Hymnal Book, Vice-Pontiff Silver Script and High Patriarch of the Interior Booklet Leaf all sat around a conference table in the massive Cathedral-Palace that served as the seat of power and high place of worship for all of New Unicornia.

"It's clear that Burnished has vacated his senses.", Silver Script said in a weary tone. "As second-in-command of the government, Hymn you are to release a statement that High Pontiff and voice of The Divine, Burnished Bronze has fallen ill from a poisoning attempt by the interlopers. Booklet, I want you to--"

"I have a much better idea.", Bright Diamonds interrupted. She shared a nod with Shooting Star and Booklet Leaf.

"You may enter now.", Shooting Star said aloud.

The door to the chamber opened and in walked a dozen ponies wearing odd headdresses in the style of curling ram's horns.

"What is this blasphemy?!", Silver Script shouted indignantly. "We do not consort with cultists who worship darkness. Even the slaver and raider gangs avoid them!"

"Guards! Seize them!", Bright Diamonds shouted.

Dozens of praetorians rushed in the room, grabbing a hold of Silver Script and Hymnal Book. A moment later another squad of praetorians led a babbling Burnished Bronze into the room. The elite guards forced Burnished, Shooting and Hymnal to their knees.

"Your Divine has abandoned you." the lead cultists said in a voice that could etch glass. "Be thankful that there are those in your government whom reached out to us, the Herd of Grogar."

On an unspoken command the cultists pulled out wickedly curved knives from within their robes. The lead cultist pulled a stone bowl from within their robe. The cultists began chanting in an esoteric and long-forgotten tongue as they began cutting at their own flesh. The chanting reached a fever pitch as the blood flowed freely from the cultists' wounds, one-by-one they plunged the knives into their chests, piercing their hearts, the pulled them free allowing the blood to gush forth.

The lead cultist caught some of the blood from the self-inflicted wounds in the stone bowl. Walking over to Bright Diamonds, Shooting Star and Booklet Leaf, be began painting stylized fangs around the three's mouths and stylized horns on the sides of the three's heads. "With blood willingly spilled, we offer this flesh for you!"

Picking up one of the wickedly curved knives from the floor, the lead cultist casually strode over Burnished Bronze. The praetorians holding him down sharply pulled his chin up, exposing his throat.

"With this road of blood, we guide you home. With this path of bone, we welcome you home. With this avenue of flesh, we beckon you home. Arise O Great and Terrible Emperor Grogar and give unto your herd blessings!", the lead cultist said, then swiftly slashed Burnished Bronze's throat, causing bright crimson blood to pour forth onto the ground. The lead cultist performed the same ritual of sacrifice with Silver Script and Hymnal Book. The bodies of the three dead unicorns were dumped unceremoniously onto the floor.

The air in the room grew cold and the shadows began to lengthen. "W̵̡͕͖̟̪̻͙͉̰̼͋̒h̶̨̟̬͍͍͚̱̓͐́̏͗̈́̈́̚͠ͅo̴̥̗̼͙̯̫͓͖͋̈̓́̎͌͝͝ ̸̡̨̭̗̺̱̖̫͆̒d̴̪̜̬̭̟̮̝̰͔̪̽͒̐̎͛̄̌͑̄̕a̸̰͍͎̭̻̗͎͙͉̥͙̖̿̇̊́̾͗͜͠r̴̢̯͈̬̠̦̙͕̮͎̤̰̾͜͜ė̶̛̝̜͓̗̼̰̘͎̾̇͌͛̏́̊́̕͠s̸͉͖̺̻̙͉̥̩̰̻̈́̉̇̑̌͂̏̏̈̽̀͑͋͝͝ͅͅ ̴͇͙̤̥̲̙̫̏̄̐͋t̶̞̥̝̠̳̩͙͚̐̿́͜͝ȏ̶̡̧̠͓͈̼̙̝̜̜̇͑̅ ̷͉̙͔͋̏̔̃͂̌̔̈̈̕̚s̴̼͉̝̅̈́͑͋͆͌͛̇̈́̾̇͘ů̷̧̡̫͙̩̰͗̈̓́̂͝m̸̡̡͕̼̬̝̳̳͙̹͐̋̄̑̽̈͋ͅm̵̨͓̤̳̬͊̍͒͐͑̇͗́͛ǫ̴̛̤̦̖̖̩̲̫̏͐͑̊̕ͅn̶̡̧̡̮̳̪̹̹̖̼͖̦̘͔̠͋͋̓̆͒͆̈́͌̉̽̀́͘͝ ̸̢̨̢̛̛͚͉̮̤͓̠͚̙̣̫̅͐̈́͒̀̍̿̽̾͝m̴̨̻̯̣̩͕̜̜̗̖͙͈̐͗͆̾͋̐̄͐̊̍͠͝ͅę̸̙̖͈̰͙͍̠̪̙̲̼̥̾̾͆̔̄̀̄̒̀̀̿̑͘?̸̞̟̦͕̥̣̳̐͌̒͌̿̌̔́̔̂̔͑̕͘͜", a voice spake seemingly from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

"Oh, Great and Terrible Emperor Grogar, I beseech thee! Grant this unworthy servant your blessings!", the lead cultist shouted in exuberation as they prostrated on the floor. "I have labored my whole life to see you returned to your rightful place, O Great and Terrible Lord of Nightmares!"

The pool of blood on the floor began to swirl and bubble. The blood rose up from the floor and coalesced into the shape of a ram. It looked around the room, and with a gesture of a crimson hoof the gathered praetorians collapsed as they let out gurgling shrieks. Puss and befouled bodily fluids leaked from their orifices as their flesh withered and decayed. The ram then looked at Booklet Leaf. The unicorn tried to scream as flames consumed her body. Shooting Star tried to flee, only for clawed shadowy limbs to grab his body and drag him screaming into darkness. The ram then looked at the lead cultist and said one word. "Ư̶͇̙͇̤̰̠̦͉̠͓̪̇̆̈̒̃̐̅͒͗̏͘͝ń̵̡͍̠̖͚̠̭̰͉̲̣͈͂͂̈́͛w̷͎̲̠͔̯̩̭̙̪͊͝ó̷̥̘̠̪͛͌̆̓͒́r̵̘̯͔̪̥̼̠͓̘͕̻̋̓̅̔̔̽̑͑͠ͅţ̷̛̙̜̤̩̞͖̜̝̓́͛͐͛̚̕͝h̷̖̗̼̱̥̮̃̈́͋͌́̽̈́̐̆̉̾̈͘͠ͅy̸̥̤̹̥̺̠͈͕͒̏̿̅̂͌!̸̨̨͕͍̩̥̗̟͛̾͆̄̀̇̔͊̉̓̏̃̓̚"

The lead cultist tried to cry out, only their voice was drowned out as a swarm of maggots poured up from their throat. Soon all that was left of the cultist was robes stained with body fluids and a skeleton.

The ram then looked at Bright Diamonds. "P̵̹̙̳͙̏́r̵̲͕̠̝̫͚̰̦͔̈́́͊̌̿̎̐̽̅̎̏̚̕̕ơ̷̡͇͇̗͇͉̼͊̐͆̍̎̈́̆̐̐̅̍̽͘͜͜v̷̨̧̧̨͕͓̜̲͇̱͈͈̺͖̀̄̉͗͒̄e̸̢͍͙͓̔̉ ̵͇̥̝͍̥̻͇̜͛̀̀̌͋͆̒y̸̛̜̹̑̀̆̊̌́͝ǫ̷̛̛̛̯̹̱̟̩̪͎͇̻̩͈̥͌̌͒͗͒̓͒͝͝ų̸͕̘͕̭̗͆r̵̗̞͉̲̟͇̣͛͒̿͋̈́ ̸̩̤͎͇͙̭̫̖̋̔͗̍͒̎̇̔̃̐͗́̕̚͘w̵̧͍̤͈͍̘͕̩̬̣͊̾̆̎̅̎́̀͂̊̍͜͠ö̷̢͎̺̯̯́̅̀̋̌r̷̛̘̪̘̺̦̠̹̳̓̓̈́͂̎͆͠͝͠͝͝t̶̹͉͚͙̩̯̝͓̫̿̓̈́ͅh̴̢̫͎͎̰̺̪̹̲̺̱̭̹̐͋͝ ̶̡̮̦͎̟̫̥̪̒͛͋̀̈̏͗́̏͂̿̕ă̴͇̹̠͖̣̝͆̍̈͐͑̅̚n̵͕͖̍͜d̷̢͚̻̠͙͕̙̠̦͌̽̋̓͠ ̷̮̣͓͇̬̞͙̹̟̼̥̱̥͙̰̀̀͑͘I̴̳͓͉͛͛̊̑̀̇̇̍̃̈́͝ ̶͈͕̖͈̠͒̐̑̆̽̊̑̑͂̾̊͘s̶͔͊͆͐̈́̈̅̑̌̚h̴̨̲̣̝̝͕̯̯̬̪̯͊̆ą̷̭̘͚̩̗̫̖̰̗̼̞̩̙̈́́̃̋̈͗̎̃̅̔̌̄̍͝͠l̸̼̠̲̱͍͉͑̍͜ͅl̶̨̧̛̗̻̦͋̀̇͊͌̆̑̒̈́̕̚͠ ̸̱̗̘̈͐͝g̶̛̥͈̜̙͉͐͂̃̓̌͌̆͝͠ṟ̴̡͕̟͖͋̀̿̅͛̅̆̄͑͛̈̚͘͝a̸̧͇̦͍̖̞̙̤̻̖̘̭̠̺̐ņ̷̧̢͎͙͓̣͚̲̲̘̝͉̤̒͋͛ţ̴̤̙̰͇͈̭̣̤̝̠̝̓͆͆̈́̑̑̿͋̂̏̆̕͝ ̴̯͇̫̣̗͇̓̃͂̈́̀̀̀͒͛ṱ̶̛̹͙̰̦̲̳̻̖̗̤̋̀̚h̵̛̜͖̻̬̤̘̹̣̓̎̏̽̀̄̋͐ͅę̶͉̯̣̩̟̯̈͑̾̋̑̚͝e̸̢̧̛̥̪̗͚̝͖̜̤̻̦͂͒͆̒̀̀̈̔͌̈́̕ ̴̨̭̭̱̦̦̺̜̲̰̮̰̉͐͐̉̔̓͒͘͝á̵̛̼͖͇̘̖͍͙̞͚͔̙͇̻̩̺̓̆͆̓̓̑͋̚ ̸̡̧̨̘͉̟̦͙͈͋̏͐̽̓̌̓́̚͝g̶̢̛̖̝̮̦̦̯͕͔̬̮̭̍̀͝r̶̤̲͍̪̜͚͇̙̱̩̜̪̘̗͐̂͑̇̎̇̀ͅe̴̜̝̜͖̗͋̀̓͛̒́̀͂̊͐̑͝à̴̡̘͍͔̠͓̣̮̐̀̂̒̀͊̐̚t̷̢̛͕̃͐̔̓̒͛̾̇͋̕̕ͅ ̸̗̻̰͚̺͚̩̫̺̠̼̆́̿̀̀̅̋͗̾̈̕ͅb̸̺̯̓ǒ̴͚̺͈̖̹͍o̸̠̝͆͐̆̇̈͘͝͝ṇ̷̫̒̐̀͌̓̿͊̏̋̈͝.̷̦̙͂̄̽̂͌̍̋̔͆̈́͠͝͝ ̶̦͉̩̦̳̑̃͠B̸̧̰͚̰̭̟̓̑̈́͗͝r̶̡̛̺̱̭̬̱̪̙̠̤̱͔̹̘̯̐͐̈́̈́͆́̄̓̌͠ǐ̵̫͙͚̖̼̗̮̜̒͋̈̀̔͆̐́̇͘͝͠ṇ̸̛̦͎̼̙̣͎̒̒͊̂ͅͅg̸̢̧͍̱͈͙̜͉̬͖͉̠̭͗̚̚͜ͅ ̴̡̙͍̗͉̖̲̟̼̦̯̜͆̈́̽͒̀̏̐̐͑̅͝͠t̸̙̾͆͗͐̌͋͐̎͊͛̏͠h̸̢͕̠͎͋̀ȩ̷͔̱̋̉̐̈́̈̕͝ ̸̢̧̤̳͎̹̲̠͚͕͇̼͠ḥ̵͙̣͉̥̮̱͓͚̆̑͛̐͝e̴̢̥̩̗̝̩͍̲̺̲̺̤̰͉̔͛̊̈̽͝a̴̼̩͙̟̥͙̫͉̠̫͂r̷̖̖̠͖̙͐̅̾͗̕t̶̛͖̪͖̱̱͓̼̳̳̣̖̰̥͕͔̀̇̃̆͑̈͐͌͑̒̽̈́͝s̵̰͍̺̫͋̽̿̀̓͛̾ ̷̧̛̲̯̮̪̹̹̯̞̰͇̫̼̿͛͌͛̒̇̊̊͌̊̇͌ǫ̸̨̼̘̝̫͖̺̖͈̺͓͇͂͒͌̈͋͘͝f̴͈͎̞̲̻̤̭̦̹̠̼̰̂̈͑̒̀ ̴͈̻̪̭̬̣͕̝̱͓̙͛͆̏̓ť̴̢̡̧̧̬̫͖͇̻̖̱̱̻̊̏̇̈́͘̚͠ȟ̴̨͉̗̰̼̠̹̤̟͈̜̗̯́́͆̆͑̓͗ͅę̴̱͚̱̫̦̞̟̮̞͕̜̟̣͐͗̾͑͐̒̆̕͝͠ ̷̡̪͇̪̟̹̱̝̯͌́̐̆́̒̈́̒͜͜͝͠f̶̡̢̠̱̲̱̺̙͕̜͙̈́̈͗̒́́̔͒̄͋̈̒͘͘͠ͅi̸̘̫͍̟͈͎̘̮̤̻̙̗̒̆̌̈́̕͜v̴̫͇̌́͌͆̎̇̓̐ę̷̨̱̟̗̩̭̱̳̬̜̞̙̹̀̈́ ̶̧̗̭͉̳̤̜̹̣͚̑̑͊̎̉͜ȧ̶͇̭̤̗̲̺̻̦͑̇̈́͛̒̾̂̈̀́͜l̸̢̪͔͍͇͎̥̦̉̅͂́́͒̀̈́̂͆į̶̪̦̥͈̲̩͇̻̰̟̼̓̓̉̽̐c̸̡̢̪̟̼̫̘̱͎͈͔̩̭̻̾̈̎̐̊̇̓̅̕o̸̧͚̼͍̟̬̼͕̣̝͉̖͋̈́͐̿̃r̸̹̟͎͙͉̲̭̻͓̪̬̳̬̲̠̀̈́̿̑̎̀̀̚̚̚̚͝ņ̴͍̟̞͙̭͚͖͓̫̠̮̞͇͖͑͛̂s̵͔͓̳̩̻͓͚̙̱͍̳̝͔͕͑̔̇̾͂̐̆̿̌̔̓͌̕͜͠͠ ̵̢̭͇̬̭̞̲͔͛̌͒͛͛̒͝t̸͔̻̮̍͊̓̾̀̔̃̆͝o̵̖͗̈̈́̐̈́̉̑̂̈́̏͜͜͠ ̸̢̡̡̺͓̲͇̳̤͕̥̔̇̔̌͊̃̾͂̊̂͛̕͘͠͝ͅt̸̨̨̩̻̭̮̞̔͋͒̈͗̅́͗͌͝͠͝h̷̢̢̟̦̩͉͕͎̬̰͓͈̠̳͔͋͆͠e̵̦͈̦̞̖̙̰͈̮̘͓̼̼͌̐͑̑̀̔ ̵̲͎̜͚̞̩͍̈́̕p̷̨̨̛͉̪͍̫̱̠͍̊̾̀̓͜e̶͖͍̙̬͇͕͇̩̼̳̪͐̄̽͑̉̚̕ą̶̨͎̱̺͈̣̬̥̱̗̯̅͛̈́͑̐͋̃̂͜ķ̷̨̡̨̛̦͓̺̳̭͚͉̬̩͓͖͒̋͌̄͆̃͊ ̵̧̨̫̩̺̟̱̉̈́̉̌͆͒͘͜͠͠ò̶̢͎̯̉͗̐̈́f̶̧̭̜͈̖̗̠͆̍̈̊ ̴͓̥͍̮͖̣̓̉̃̂͐͋́͒͘M̷̨͎̫̪̜̘͇̹̞̖̠͉͎͂̒̐͜o̴̮̗̿̅̀͒̿̅͒̃́́̃̽̉̔̕ư̸̬̖̩̭͈̘̞͖̪͇̺̮̔͊̅͛͑̕n̴̛̞͖͚͔͎̤̊̓̇̊̈̏͋̂͒̀̆͆͆͝t̶̥̞̝̠͖̔̓̋͊̀̒͗͑̒̒́͆̕͝͠ ̸̧̢̠̱̱̫̻͍͔̻̓̐̉̄́̉̕ͅE̷͕͚̟̹͌́͗̍̍͊̀͑̈v̵̧̨̫̣̟̲̮̱͚̓͌̍̇̑̃͑̌͝ȅ̶̙̗̓̌̎͒̓́̑̈́̆̆͝͠ŗ̷̧̟͕̭̺̅͛͛͗̍h̷̥̖̻̙̑̀͝o̵̩͙̭̜͑̎̌́̕ͅơ̸̺̘̠͇̥̞͙͑̒̉́̿̾̀͆̂̉̚͜͝f̴̡̨̗͉̠̮̻͖̺̬̉͆̈́ͅ.̵̮͇̣̦͉̂̆̋̓͊̾͑͜͝͠͝͠ͅ"

The coalesced blood evaporated and for a moment Bright Diamonds swore she could see a three dimensional shadow. When she blinked, it was gone."

***

Cozy Glow sat atop a plateau. She had move the alicorn amulet back around her neck and had draped the various other amulets and charms around her neck and body. Currently she was weaving a spell over the remains of a dozen freshly killed ponies to be the first soldiers in her army of the undead. She leapt back when black flames consumed the bodies, leaving nothing, not even ashes or scorch marks.

A dark shadow of a ram stretched across the ground towards the undead pegasus. "Ċ̷̝͉̝̖̞̲̜̪̳̹͉͈̠̦̎͌̊̔̑̉̇͛̀̀ơ̴̧̨͕̦̤̱͍̺̠̩̠̝͛̃͌̒͑́̌̉̑̕͝͝z̶̨̯͚̥̘̖̻͉̠͖̮̯̹̓̈́̈́̇̀̒̋́͘ͅͅỵ̵̨̦̹͕̠̘̩̞̻̲͈̰̠̃͗̈̓̌̋̈̔̓͝ͅ ̴̡̛̞̼̜̜͕́͐̍͌̈̕̚̚G̶̨̦̞̱͙̘̹̼͆͋̂ͅl̴̡̯̣̥̮̞̹̣̪͂̀͛̍͘̚ǫ̶̧̰̯͖̼͉̪̫̺͉͈̙̰͋̀̒ẃ̸̢̧̠̬̟̩͔̻͓͎̳̩̈̉̈́̒̓͐͂̊̓̆͘,̸̛̯̘̺̘̠͖̰̭̋̾̄̇̿͑ ̴̨̛̣̰̪͖̻̬̲͕̣̝͙̇̈́͒̄̊́̈̄̇͋̈́͜s̶̡̧̨̞̞͙̝͎̯͚̲̼̈̉͜h̶͙͍̱̣̲̩̹̦͊̉̊̈́̽̚̚͜͠ë̴͔́́̊̉̋̚͝ ̶̡̧͚̝͍̝͍͕̪̹͊͒ͅͅw̸̞̣̦̺̲̳͉̖̰̖̹̆h̵̖͚͚̲͎̦͍͕̠̲̬̟̺͔͑̿̎̌͋ơ̸̭̫͎̩͚̬͐̔̃̊̉͒́̕̕ ̷̲̻́͐̉̀̇̋͠ẘ̴̭̦̥͙̄a̵̩̪̞̪̯̥̭͓̓̈́̎̃̃̂̈́̒̐s̴̜̪̱̭̻̫̅̈̈́̅̐̀͛̌̾́͆̌͝͝ ̸̛̣̹̞̟̻́́̿͆͆͋̅̍͂͠t̷͍͎̩̀͑͒̀͆̓͘h̶̨̨̤̠̪̖̙̦̑̉͑̈́̀̒ę̸̛̦͈͓̝͎̝̂̀̀̈ͅ ̵̢̧̨̨̱̞̣̣̭̏̓̉͂͊̔͘ͅf̵̢̰̋̓̽̕͝i̸̙̘̮̟̣̇̉ŗ̸̩͚̳̜̩͑̄̄͒̍͑̑̂̾̈̚̕͝͠s̶̨̟̱̼̲̱̦̳͍̺̮̹͓̺̝̑t̵̲̥̫͙͕̥̘͔̞̹̆̊́͒̓̌͌̚̚͠ ̸̰͓̯̟̲͆͋̄͌͝ţ̷̛͎̭͓͉̭̜̜̩̝̥͖̖̞̽̈̀͑̑̄̂̚͘ō̴̱͎̥̯̞̐̋̾̈́̀͋̋̿̈́͜͠ͅ ̶̢̨͇͖̹͙̮̰̹̩̫̞̳̜̆̀̀͌̕͝ͅľ̴̡̨̪̤̻͇͕̯͕͈̼͕ä̴̰́y̴̡̪̩̙͙̪̍̐͛͂̋͒̔̓̒̓͊́̓̀́ ̵̹̫̝̩͙̮̖͙̳̱̺̅̋̈́̓̈́̒͒̓̍͜h̴̡̡̞̞̠͕͙̙̦̗̘̺͂͗̅̀̂́͒͜ͅo̴̧̯̔̒̀̀͌̑̇͗́͛̏̚͝o̶̧̳̟̲̟̙̟̖̫̺̺̹͚̳̾͆̅̋̉̍̋̌̌̈̃̃͘̚͝f̴̢͖̪̙̲͖̣̥̠̉̾̽̋̓̓̕̕͠ ̷̛̥̃͊̑̽̀̾͋̒̈́͒͋̏̒ỡ̸̱͒̀͋̇̌̈́̿͐̕͝n̷̥̞͓̗̫͍̩̑̀̇̀̓̃͑̓̀̃̒̑͝ ̶̨̛͙͓̯̏̀͛̐͊͘m̷̢̺̲̳̗̩̟̂̀̇̊̓̀̄̀͛͘y̴̢̨̡͓̘͓̠̞͕̳̬̟̅̿̉̈́̿̒̿ͅ ̸̥̮̞̬̖̼̙̬͕́͒͗͑̐̓̔́̓̒͘͘͝b̸̧̥̟̖̟̅͂͝e̶̡̮͉̺̘̺̤̍̆͜ͅͅl̶̢͙͉͓̥̈̽̂l̴͍̠͈͎̩͔͔̹̮͋ ̴̡̧̡̩̪͎̲͂̿͋͐̈́̿̆̆͋̄̀͛͘ï̴̛̬̣̰̼̩̜̝͇̝̆̆̋̆̒n̶̹̯͍̣̦͉͍͎͂̐̍́͑̅͊̀̑̌̈́͑̎ ̶̤̟͚͍̙̪͛̔̊͂̐̿͒̕͜m̷̹̭͙̻̋̈́̌̊͌̿̆̽͝͝ọ̷͉̠̜̰̓̓́͝r̷̡̟̯̥̗͙̖̘̠͆̓̂͗̏̈́͋͐̈́͠͝e̶͇̲̳̙͎͙̟̘̝̪̪̳͇͂̃̽̀̍̏̕̚͝ͅ ̸̪̭͎̂̓̄͋͊͑̂͘͝ͅͅṫ̶̛͕̔h̵͎͇͐̈́̏͛͊̅͒͊̎́́́̅́̿ḁ̸̗͕͓͍̦̩̮̙̟̩͈͂̾̀̈́̃͊̔̐ͅn̶̛̥͂̿̽͆́́͘ ̸͖̲̖̫̘͉̦̘͐ą̵͈̥̤͍͙͖̣͙͇̩̮̔̌͊̑̽͝ņ̶̝̥̯̩͙̹͖͍̦̣̥̭̞̑̋́̓͝ ̵̡̡̣̭̲̖̲̠̗̪͇̪͚̮̃͋̏̎̎̚a̴̩͕̮̱̰͛̄g̴̘̣̲͙̫̪̭͌͋ͅͅé̴̡̱͔̱̼̮̞̍̐̏̊̍͒ͅͅ.̶̧͉̳̞̰̹͖͕̈̆͐̈́ͅ ̵̨͉̙̮͓͆̔̀́̂̒̅̒̂̾̃B̵̢̙̹͍͉̩̗̗͎̦̤̙̪̓̎̂̈́͊̓̈̈̍̿͆̋̃ͅr̸͔̣͇͎͔̞̦̩̣̀ͅi̶̧̘̝̙̺̩͒̕͝ň̷̡̧͔̟̻̝͖̯͔̖̱͚̲̤͜g̴̨̨͍̮̲̖͔͈͕͛͂͑̓̄̿͋̉̿͊̂̓̒̐͝ͅ ̴̛̬̦̲̠̜̯͙͉̣͚̖̽̈͒̊͌͌͊͑t̵̛͇͔̣͚͙̙̩͎̰͓̯̖̿͐̓̓̑͛͛̉̂͘͝ơ̵̡͓̣̫̬̫̘̭͕͈͚̥̌̃̔̑̈́͝ ̷̮̯̼̘͕͙̺͖̼̰̺̋͛͜m̷̧̨͈̦̫̮͍̣̩̰̩͔͈̌͆̑̉̿̄̐̍̓e̵̼̬̫̺̐̌̓̃̿̔͗̔̏ ̸̡̱̻̜̩͇̘͓̤̭̰̮͔̐̏͆̈̄ͅm̵̺̯̲͓̰͈͂͆́̀̌̋͒͆͝ẙ̶͈̪̠͇̣̲̫͕̭̰͂͜ ̵̨̧̜̼̖͖̣̞̩̣͒̌̀̒̾͛̿̿̓͂͜͜͝͠ͅb̵̝̜̞̞̳̙̿́̀͌̑͊̒̒e̵̢͇͇̪̤͛̈̈́̆͐̄̏̇̀̄̾͘͘͜͝ļ̶̲̟̺̣̱̻̯̟͎̻͇̼̻̓́͊̍̈́͂̑̐̆̉l̸̢̺̪͔̮̖͈̞̟͗͂̍͗̄̌͐̈́̀̈͛̽͘͠͝ ̷̡̢͉̞̙̳͔̻͔̲̪̗̻͒̆͛̒͆͑̄̌̀̑̈́͆͘a̵̧̛̩͇̎̏́̽̈́̔̌̌̂͌͝͠n̶̩̩̾͌̕̕͝d̶̡̫̫̦̗̗̎̋ͅ ̷̧̛͈̥̖͉͎̹̓̓̊͂Ḭ̴̣͕̪̥̓̄̓̏̈́̑͐̾̔̐̎̈̀̇ ̶̬̟̠͎̺̱͔͈̞͖̖̒̏̇̀̔̽͘ͅw̸̹̝̦̼̻̯̝̬̙̱̮̬̺̩͖͗̏́͋ĩ̶̮̂̋̓̐̐̐̄́̚̚͝l̴̨̙͇̱̺̘͒͝l̷̡͕̩̪̬̟̻͕̱͎̰̹̫͉͍̏͛̆̀̆̃̾̂͑̎͘ ̵͚͎͕̆̍m̸͈̮̼̭̠̞̹͉͖̤̦͉̳̙͌͝ą̶̫̘̠̯̖̱̤͔͍̼̱̼͚͇̍͛̔̚͝ḱ̸̖̭̰̻̥͇̭ȩ̵͍͇͇͓͇̹͋̓̈́̈́ ̵̢̞̙̙̫͚͍̾̆̈́͝͝y̶̟͇̖̯̥̗̫̩̳͆̈́̈́͋͝ó̷̦͚̟̈́͗͘ụ̸͇̱̠͎̒̍͊̌͑̌̈́͝ ̴̨̛͓͈̦͈̱̥̓͊͌͛͛̋̀̍̍͝q̴̡̭̳̥̬̺̖̔͗̍̔̾̿͐̀̑̊̉̊͝͝͝ū̸̦ë̵̢̟͈͍̲̹͇͇̳͓̳̳́͗͗̾ę̸͎̻̠̣͆̇̒͋͋̊͊̽̉̓͜͜͠n̴̗͙͔̐̎̊͆̆̃̑̒̔͋̽̆ ̶̨̻̺̫̗̲̭̥̞̥͑͂̀̅̔͂͛̂̆̑͐̆̓̉͝ò̴̹̫̬̦͉̼̪́f̴̧̨͇̩͍͈̖̫̣̘̖͖̑͜ ̵͎̬̮̪̱̘̲̼̯̻͎̹̥̜̿̌a̴̧̢͖̻̺̎̓ ̸̮̖̱͙̿̏̍̌̄̃̽̈́̐c̸̨̡͖͕̠̺̫͈̭̼̮̦̱̥̥͂̈́̈́̒͝h̸̛̜̮̬̲͗̆a̴̧͍̼͕̣̗̬̞͍̯̰̬͚͇̔̈̑̍̏̅ṙ̶͓ṇ̴͖̱̗͍̍̈́̓̒́̒̈́͝ê̴͈̪̗̺͈̕l̸̨͓̬͖͙͖͆͊̔́͌͝ͅ ̴̤̠̟̺̙̃̏͊̒̌͐̌͊͆̌͘͘͘͜k̷̨̭͓͔͈̜̻̞̳̓͊̾̏̅̈́̀͆̌̇͗̕͠ì̶͎n̵̜͔̬̣̲̠̮̯͍̟̹̼̘̔͌͛ģ̷̨̛̛̺̬̱͕͎̙̤͉̖̭̠̩͌͋̀͂͘͘ͅd̴̲̬̺̬̘̾̐̚͝ỏ̴̥͉̬͓̏́͊̃m̴̢̢̭̻̻̼̣̮͚͉̥̬͈̼̪͒́̍̂̄̀̃̚͝.̶̭̓̔͐̓͠"

"How do I know you're not Discord playing another of his pranks or trying to 'teach me another lesson in friendship'?"

Author's Note

The pieces are moving in place. Next chapter New Unicornia surrenders, da Hogz make their appearance and new(or maybe old) allies arrive.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Spot any typos or misspellings? Love the story? Hate the story? Wanna throw shade or pure bane? Leave a comment below.

Special thanks goes out to New_Rebellion for his help in bouncing ideas off of. Go to his profile and show some My Little Pony love.

War against New Unicornia part 3: The final push and capitulation

"Spoiling my ritual to send me to claim that bell, again.", Cozy Glow muttered to herself as she trekked across the land. "Better not be Discord in disguise...again." Her destination was Mount Everhoof, but that was still months away before she arrived at the southernmost spur of the Crystal Mountains where said tallest recorded mountain in the world resided.

As the first thaw began, the New Equestrian Empire's crusade began its preparations to relaunch its war. All winter long veteran soldiers had tirelessly drilled alongside their newer recruits, the forges went into high production cranking out new batches of the Mark-III assault rifles en masse. Bullets, artillery shells, mortar shells, bombs, explosive charges and entrenching tools were created.

Three new Harmony-class airships were launched over the winter to serve as the Cadance's, Flurry Heart's and Luna's new command airships. Twilight surmised that it wasn't fair if she and Celestia were the only princesses to have the newest heavy airship as their command vessels. Five hundred new specialized airships and one thousand specialized heavy armored wagons had been created and launched for the transequine legions. The Ponyhood of Steel received massive upgrades to their exoskeletons, undersuits and weaponry. A new heavily armored wagon, called armored pony carriers, were created for the mortal infantry and had been rolled out en masse.

Along with ammunition of all sorts, new weapons were pumped out. Heavy mass reaction guns mounted on skids and meant to be operated by a three pony crew. Machineguns with folding tripods and forward bullet shields meant to be operated by a two pony team. Small diameter, infantry-carried anti-armor weapons that looked like a mortar redesigned to breach load. Large diameter ground based heavy artillery guns that could be quickly assembled or disassembled. Big blocky full-auto scatterguns, and smaller semi-auto scatterguns had been made for the minotaurs, along with new shields that were heavy slabs of thick armor plates welded together and pikes with power field generators built into their blades.

***

Star Gleam rubbed at her sore withers. Training for the crusade's infantry in battle battle armor was difficult, especially this late in her career, as she had never trained with battle armor. Her time as a New Unicornian general had seen her wearing nothing heavier than a vest designed to deflect fragments. She had also seen a lowering in rank from general to colonel. She couldn't blame the decision to not grant her the rank of general, so she'd just have to reapply herself doubly as hard to re-earn her rank. Many of the soldiers under her command had joined her in joining the crusade's army, those who had chosen not to follow her were shipped away to a place she had never heard of, The Orchard.

Star Gleam's commanding officer, a pegasus stallion named Alto Cirrus, was a slave driver, drilling she and her ponies for weeks to the point of exhaustion, often with the shout of "The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat. The more you suffer in training, the less you die in combat!"

At each obstacle in the course, Star Gleam would be the first to cross, then wait at the other side for the ponies under her to cross, helping those who were struggling and giving a buck to the flank of those who were slacking off, instead of moving to the next obstacle. When Alto would scold her for not moving on to the next obstacle, she would shout back at him,"We succeed as one or we fail individually!" Though he didn't show it, she could see by the gleam in his eye that he respected her for that.

At graduation she stood at full attention as her commanding officer first gave a long-winded speech, then personally attached their new iconography and rank insignia first to her collar, then the rest of the collars of the ponies under her command.

The princesses who had stood on a balcony overlooking the proceedings, had surprised her with a field command of a new armored fighting wagon that looked a little like the tanks that New Unicornia used, except they were smaller, had heavy metal wheels instead of treads, and much lighter armaments. They all had a single weapon mounted to their main turret, some had a heavy mass reaction gun, others had a small diameter main gun that could fire an explosive slug or a solid slug, others had a machinegun, others had a short, stubby large diameter gun.

Star Gleam wiped a tear from her eye as she personally looked over the new armored fighting wagons that she renamed to armored fighting vehicles. Stepping into the one she chose as her personal command vehicle, an armored fighting vehicle with a small caliber gun, she noted that despite the cramped space, there was enough room for a driver at the front, herself and three others to move around as needed, and a small alcove in the back for a single tech monk...which if she were asked, those cybernetic monks really creeped her out. The purpose for the tech monk was to keep the spark content and to repair anything that was damaged. Not every fighting vehicle crew had a tech monk deployed with them, but there were enough in the company that they could quickly disembark whatever fighting vehicle they were in to repair any damage to others or quell their angry sparks.

The time had come and the final push into New Unicornia was under way. Combat engineers and tech monks quickly deployed pontoon bridges and heavy metal folding bridges across swollen rivers for the fleet of mobile medbays, barracks, forges and fighting vehicles. Pegasi scouts ranged out far ahead with imaging devices to observe and mark enemy emplacements. The engines on the airships filled the air with loud buzzing as they lifted off, reached their cruising altitudes and spread out into their assigned formations.

***

Bright Diamonds bristled as she looked at the reports. Though not many scout rangers had successfully made it across the rivers to recon the enemy and returned, a few had made it back. She looked through the reports spoke of a massive buildup of soldiers and armaments. She studied the scant few photographs that had made it back across the rivers. She paid close attention to a lavender horse that had a horn and wings. I thought pegacorns were an ancient myth. She flipped back through the reports, right there in black-and-white were the horn-written accounts of five horses with wings and horns, one was lavender, the same one that was in the photograph, on was white, one was dark blue, and two were pink, though one of the pink ones had more purple and blue shadings on their feathers.

Bright Diamonds looked over a few other photos as she read the horn-written accounts. What was initially thought to be some sort of metal construct turned out to be horses that were wearing heavy metal armor. There were also reports of minotaurs carrying large weapons.

Finally Bright Diamonds looked over the casualty reports of the scout rangers that had been sent to recon. Of the eight hundred that had been sent in teams of two, seven hundred and thirty had been confirmed killed or captured. Nearly four full scout ranger companies had been wiped out.

Suddenly the door to her office burst open and a messenger rushed in waving a piece of paper in his magic. "General! They've crossed the McColt River!"

Bright Diamonds' head shot up. She took the paper from the messenger. It held a quickly scrawled report. Request support. Posts Green, Gold and Red have reported enemy movement. Unconfirmed sightings of horses and minotaurs supporting enemy soldiers. "Has any of the other forward posts confirmed this?"

"Sir, there has been no radio communication with the posts. We've tried radioing them, but responses to the hails."

Another messenger ran up. "Fort Hoof has just surrendered, sir!"

"What?!" Bright Diamonds felt shock and surprise fill her. "Why wasn't there any reports of enemy movements along our southern borders?!"

"That's just it, sir. The fort was observed striking our colors and raising the colors of our enemies."

An angry growl rumbled low in Bright Diamonds' throat and rose in volume until it was an enraged scream. "Rusty Nail has betrayed us! Once this is over, I'll see that he and his entire family are marched out into the public square, hanged and their bodies left to rot!" She stormed out of her office and shouted, "Somepony put all remaining regiments on high alert! Suspend all leave! The divine shall cast my soul from the heavens before I allow the enemy to march on Unicorn City!"

Bright Diamonds angrily stomped out of the building that held her office and made her way to the motor pool. "Take me to the headquarters for the first division!", she shouted while pointing at a driver.

As Bright Diamonds rode in her personal car, she idly looked out the window. Suddenly her reflection in the window moved on its own accord. What went from a reflection of a unicorn with a pristine pale blue coat and smoky grey mane morphed into a strange chimeric creature. It phased from the window and silently settled down in the seat next to her.

"So there you are, the little pony who sold her soul to the old goat. Tsk-tsk-tsk. If I had known it was that easy to win you over, I would have spoiled their ritual and appeared before you myself. This country would look so nice with some bubble gum trees, prancing wallabies in tutus and sky fish. C'est la vie!"

Before Bright Diamonds could ask who this creature was and what it wanted, it vanished with a snap of its eagle's talon.

Twilight looked at the reports laid before her and her fellow princesses. Not only had Rusty Nail had quickly turned over to their cause, but he had fully surrendered the fort he was in command of to them, offering half of a division's worth of soldiers, tanks, aerial screws and artillery batteries as a gift to the princesses. There was currently no mention of any contact with Essence Opal, which worried Twilight. That meant the general was dead, was farther away than initial reports indicated, or was purposefully avoiding making contact with anypony, regardless if they were from the New Equestrian Empire or New Unicornia. Currently this worry about Essence Opal was a luxury the princesses could not afford as they needed to focus their attention on prosecuting the war.

***

It had been two weeks since The Crusade had crossed the McColt River, swollen with melt water. A nearly palpable tension hung in the air. The Crusade had yet to come into contact with the bulk of the New Unicornian army, only a few forward observation posts. For the last three days sporadic skirmishes had broken out with The Crusade's advance scout and New Unicornia's rear guard elements.

Generals, ponemarchs, princesses, air admirals and the Grand Maestro of the Ponyhood of Steel had gathered around a large table on Celestia's command airship, The Solar Sail. Laid out on the table were detailed reports from the scouts, a composite topographical map made from a combination of captured New Unicornian maps and aerial reconnaissance from the pegasi, and folders filled with information offered by civilians who were liberated and enemy soldiers who were interrogated.

"This is most disturbing...", Cadance said as she flipped through some of the files of intelligence. "If the information gathered by the advanced pegasi scouts, thestral stalkers*, and the spies implanted by the Night Hunters is true, the New Unicornian military are press-ganging civilians, mostly earth ponies and pegasi, into service. There have been no reports of the earth ponies and pegasi being given weapons or any kind of training."

Luna deeply growled in anger. "We had seriously thought that the barbaric use of pony shields were a thing of the discordant age."

"In my defense, dearest moon-butt, I had no inkling that those ponies were going to throw themselves at your ponies' spears to try and open gaps in your lines.", Discord said as he appeared in a poof and a cloud of sparkles. "Honestly, there is no fun to be had once somepony's dead. I'm not a necrophile."

"Discord, why are you here?", Cadance asked annoyed. "Shouldn't you be back at the cottage keeping your vigil over Fluttershy's body?"

"Candy-flanks, Candy-flanks, Candy-flanks! Shouldn't you be back in your castle's basement crying and whining over your dead husband?", Discord quipped back. "Meanwhile your fellow princesses never abandoned their duties, protecting the remains of their servants from looters...", he gestured to Celestia, "...carried as many survivors as she could across the Celestial Sea to build an army so that one day she could take back her homeland...", he gestured to Twilight, "...took up residence in the old Castle of Friendship to watch over the last vestige of Ponyville, watching it grow into a vibrant community, and even subtly guided Apple Pie to that old basement that held the copy of Applejack's journal...", he gestured to Luna, "...or moved to the old castle deep in the Everfree to protect her subjects from the monsters that dwell within that forest." He gestured to Flurry Heart. Discord then leaned his serpentine form across the table, got up in Cadance's face and said in a low growl, "I chose to stay close to the ruins of Sweet Apple Acres, watching as its name slowly changed to Apple Orchard...not exactly the most creative names... I did so because had promised Fluttershy that I'd watch over the ponies of Equestria as best I could. You'd be surprised how quickly rape-gangs and slavers run away when they see what their myths call a demon. The poor unfortunate souls whom were twisted into madness and cannibalism after being infected by tainted wild magic and possessed by the windigoes were much harder to deal with, but sometimes to deal with one problem, you have to charge it into the weapons of another problem. Even not-so-little Spikey Wikey watched over the descendants of Ponyville as he waited for his big sister's returns. That, and you know how jealously dragons guard their hoards."

Discord floated across the room until his snout pressed up against Cadance's. "At least I didn't need somepony to slap me in the face to get my plot in gear. Tell me candy-flanks, do you know what happened to your precious crystal ponies? Or did you only care about your own grief and sorrow to even take notice?"

Twilight forced her way in between Discord and Cadance. "No need to egg Caddy on. Now, Discord, did you show up here to offer any help, or just to cause some trouble."

"I wish it was column B, but you seem more than capable of finding that yourself, Twiggy Wiggles. So I must bring some unfortunate news. Bright Diamonds has struck a pact and sold her soul to that old goat himself."

"But Grogar was banished to the darkness in-between. Its very nature is corrosive to all things and he should have perished long ago.", Celestia said.

"Ah, yes Kay-Kay. But what should be and what are, are not always the same things.", Discord said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Though right now he can only manifest as little more than a shadow, for a short time he can take on a physical form when enough blood has been purposefully spilled in his name. Something I suspect he's been able to do for some time."

"Down south when I was liberating what Saddle Arabia became, one of the city-states that had been liberated from the sphynxes had been attacked by a small army of Grogar worshipers that came from the deep desert.", Twilight said as she rubbed her chin. "I thought that they had turned to worshiping the old tyrant out of desperation, kind of like how ponies turned to worshiping we alicorns as deities."

"Either way, this is bad!", Luna exclaimed as she stood up from her place at the table. "The old ram found a way to slip back in this world. If he is able to manifest as a shadow, but needs sacrifices made in his name to manifest physically for a short time means he's been in this world long enough to regain some of his former power. We must all hope that he never finds his bell."

"I found a place where the old tyrant would never be able to reach.", Twilight said. "I even utilized a memory erasure spell to blot the location from the memory of anypony at the time who knew where I moved it to."

Discord tapped his goat's foot on his jaw. "And where pray-tell did you hide his bell?"

Sunset suddenly stood from her place at the table. Her eyes began to glow white as power flowed through her. "Run away O child/To a land far and away/Evil's prize lies hidden/In a cave by the calm waters of a lake/The roots of the great tree have grown deep/Six heroes sleep deeply awaiting the call of the seventh/A loyal companion once of flesh and bone, now of armor and will watches over them/The mark of the tree and of friendship sits upon their souls/Seven stones lie nearby awaiting the wielders command/Far from the reach of evil's might hides its ultimate prize." As it passed, she collapsed to the floor.

"And here I thought I had a flair for the dramatic.", Discord said as he buffed the claws of his lion's paw on his chest, then began clapping. "Brava! When Harmony decides to turn on the dramatics, it's something that must be seen."

A unicorn mare sat in the back of Essence Opal's command car. For weeks the general had strung her along, giving her non-answers and deflections when she asked if Essence Opal would send her soldiers to answer the call to join the princesses. Now Essence Opal had summoned her out to the tall hills along New Unicornia's northernmost border.

When the command car came to a halt, Essence Opal was waiting for her. The unicorn general's milky white short mane that seemed to almost glimmer that was normally neatly combed, but today it was mussed up, clearly she had recently been wearing a helmet. Essence Opal opened the door and shoved a pair of binoculars into The Crusade's emissary's hooves before she could say anything and sternly said, "Silver Nugget, come with me! I need to show you something."

The two hurried to the top of a tall, craggy hill, escorted by a dozen soldiers.

Essence Opal pointed her hoof out across the vast rolling landscape. "You've been wanting my answer as to why I haven't given you an answer yet as to whether or not I'll join your crusade. On the horizon, that's your answer."

Silver Nugget raised the binoculars to her eyes, pointed them to where Opal Essence was pointing and adjusted the focus. She saw a massive plume of dust and smoke. As she further inspected the scene through the binoculars, she could see a mass of creatures flowing across the landscape like a flood. There were two statues made in the likeness of porcine creatures, one was walking, the other was moving along on some sort of wheels or rollers. In the midst of the mass of creatures was a large writhing...thing. It looked like a...snake?...worm? "I'm not sure what I'm looking at here. Those statues moving on their own look like...pigs."

"That is a hog war wallow.", Opal Essence said, taking the binoculars back. "And the biggest damn one I've ever seen."

"Are the hogs friendly? Have they come to help us?"

"Hogs are nopony's friends. They live for only a few things, to fight, to root for truffles,and to dig out muddy pits to roll around in, in that order. I'd estimate that whoever this boss hog is, they've spent a lot of time trampling around beating up smaller war herds and war wallows, and incorporating them into their own. I suspect that when your goddesses, or whatever they call themselves, did that bellowing those months back, it got the attention of that boss hog and decided to come looking for a fight."

Silver Nugget's silver-grey fur stood on end down her spine. "How do we fight them?"

"We don't, or at least not here.", Essence Opal said."We abandon this position and fall back to the interior. It looks like that war wallow won't make it to these hills for at least a week. If we can convince your crusade and my countryponies to stop fighting, maybe we can devise a defense to convince those hogs to turn back, or kill enough of them to make the whole wallow fall apart. If your crusade's army is as powerful as you say it is, then maybe, just maybe it can be done."

"How long until we reach the interior?"

"If we load everypony into and on every available vehicle, and only stop to gas up and swap out fresh drivers...a month before we reach the central province. Then it'll be another two weeks before we reach Unicorn City. The two things that will slow us down are the rivers are swollen with melt water, and that the rear guard will have to lay explosive traps and lay obstacles in the hogs' path. Hopefully that will slow their advance enough to give us a fighting chance."

The Crusade had gained steam in its advance. Reports came in of a New Unicornian force gathering in the rolling hills that sat along the edges of a trio of small cities. It was clear that all New Unicornian forces that could were falling back to this point.

The Crusade's forces had been spoiling for a fight and it looks like they're about to get it. If they could get a breakthrough or rout the enemy here, then the capitol lay just a dozen leagues beyond. Their goal ultimately was to rip the heart out of New Unicornia, then they'd control the east, south and center of the country. Then smaller pushes could be orchestrated to weed out and crush any remaining pockets of resistance in the north and west of the nation. But first they need to crush the bulk of New Unicornia's military might here and now.

Day gave way to night which gave way to day again. The New Equestria Empire's crusade began moving into position behind low lying ridges, rocky hills and forests, keeping the bulk of their forces out of sight of their enemies. Pegasi took to the skies to begin scouting enemy positions and formations.

Initial reports began rolling in almost immediately. The New Unicornian leadership had press-ganged every mare, stallion and foal into service, giving them no real training to speak of, and shoved muskets and lever-action rifles into their hooves. Fire fights had broken out between New Equestrian and New Unicornian pegasi, but the New Unicornian pegasi, being civilians who were pressed into service and armed, broke and ran or surrendered after taking casualties. Those that were taken a prisoner were interrogated and it was found out that the New Unicornia leadership had either taken members of the families of pegasi, earth pony and unicorn civilians hostage to force them to fight or had filled their heads with so much propaganda about the Divine backing them and whipping them into a fervor that they believed they could fight anything until they came against a disciplined and well trained military force.

Reports from pegasi flyovers poured in throughout the day. New Unicornia had dug fighting positions and earthen bunkers in and among the hills. They had their tanks set up in the valleys between hills to protect them from the New Equestrian artillery and to form deadly funnels between the hills. New Unicornia had set up the bulk of its heavier artillery batteries in the trio of small cities, using the civilian buildings as shields. Out in front of the military in crude trenches New Unicornia had positioned every mare, stallion and foal, civilians press-ganged into service, who could carry a musket or lever-action rifle, in the hopes of blunting the New Equestrian thrust with their blood and bodies.

Battle plans were quickly drawn up. The New Equestrian Empire's crusade would wait a week before attacking.

Airship crews loaded the massive guns and sighted them in. The ground-based artillery guns formed up into batteries, set up their guns and began setting the ranges on their guns. A palpable unease settled in over both armies like a fog.

One the dawn of the next day, the New Equestrian Empire's guns roared to life. The first volleys of high explosive shells landed with deadly thuds onto the hills, sending shattered earth and bodies ripped asunder flying through the air. Following the initial volleys of high explosive shells came airburst shells sending deadly showers of shrapnel or burning phosphorus raining on enemy positions in the hills.

New Unicornian soldiers that panicked and ran had their bodies ripped to shreds by shock waves or shrapnel, or burned into unrecognizable black husks by the flaming phosphorus. The press-ganged civilians were mostly left unharmed, the only ones killed were when an artillery shell missed its mark or when they panicked and tried to run through the deadly hail.

***

For six days and six nights New Equestrian artillery rained down on the hills like a deadly drum roll, forcing New Unicornian soldiers to stay in their earthen bunkers lest they be ripped apart by the deadly hailstorm of high explosives, shrapnel and burning phosphorus, even the tank crews were forced to seek shelter in the earthen firtification as the shock waves from the artillery turned the tanks into armored crypts. Untold numbers of soldiers were lost when the earthen bunkers they were hiding in collapsed.

During the first day of bombardment New Unicornian aerial screws were scrambled in an attempt to disrupt the New Equestrian artillery bombardment, but were turned back when they lost two full wings, being swatted down by the Sky Hunters legion or having their cockpits sniped by tech monks wielding rail guns.

During the night the transequine marines of the Night Hunters legion and the mortals employed by said legion would creep across to the terrified and shell-shocked press-ganged civilians and lead them to safety in the New Equestrian lines.

By day the New Unicornian soldiers could not see out the front of their earthen bunkers as the air was choked with dust and smoke, at night none of them could sleep as the constant shelling kept them up. After days of shelling, dozens of soldiers minds broke, many huddled in the fetal position others casually waded out into the deadly hail, because they hallucinated friends and family beckoning them to come join them or because they actively sought death. In the bunkers order began to break down, some soldiers mutinied, causing brawls and close-quarters fire fights to break out, others stuck the muzzles of their rifles in their mouths and pulled the triggers, occasionally officers who were pushed well past their breaking points would dole out savage beatings or summary executions for even the most minor of infractions.

For six days and six nights minotaurs, mortal ponies and the transequine legionnaires of the Celestial Hooves continuously dig zig-zagging trenches towards the New Unicornian lines. New Equestrian pegasi fired their rifles from the cloud tops or swooped down and dropped bombs onto New Unicornian artillery batteries by day and thestral snipers from their positions atop clouds laid down precision fire on anypony moving towards the New Unicornian artillery batteries, ensuring their brother-and-sisters-in-arms in the trenches could advance without being bombarded by enemy artillery.

***

In the dark hours before false dawn of the seventh day the New Equestrian Empire's artillery cut out. New Unicornian soldiers in their earthen bunkers stayed within their fortifications, fearful that the deadly rain would start again. New Equestrian forces quickly finished the last stretches of trench works and laid down folding metal ramps.

As the eastern sky began to turn a pale pink, signaling the rising of the sun, the New Unicornian soldiers knew that the bombardment was over and came out to take up their former fighting positions and assess the damage. The landscape was almost unrecognizable. Craters pockmarked the land, soil that had melted into pseudo-glass crunched under hoof, thin, wispy tendrils of smoke from smoldering embers caused by the brush fires coiled into the air, many of the hills were simply no more, some having been smashed into piles of rubble and soil, others simply were no more, and through it all was the pervasive stink, a combination of rotting bodies and burned flesh. Though damaged, most of the tanks were still in some sort of operable condition. Many were useless, having been turned into burned-out hulks.

The New Unicornian soldiers quickly went to work repairing tanks to the best of their abilities and re-digging fighting positions so they could fight off the inevitable attack. Their ears perked up at the sound of dozens of whistles giving off long, high-pitched tones. Deep bellows followed the sound of whistles a fraction of a second later.

Minotaurs, bipedal bulls and quadrupedal cows alike, let out war bellows as officers blew their whistles signaling the first stage of the attack. They rushed out the trenches, hefting scatterguns, pikes and thick shields. The Long Pikes tribe formed a moving bulwark of thick, slab-like shields and power field-swathed pike points. The Fire Pipes tribe moved close behind them, lugging heavy, box-shaped automatic scatterguns and smaller semi-auto scatterguns.

New Unicornian soldiers having been caught in the midst of preparing their fighting positions and repairing their tanks, initially broke. Their officers quickly rallied them and ordered them into hastily formed firing lines. Bullets ricocheted off thick, slab-like shields. Clusters of grapeshot fired from scatterguns sailed through the air and ripped into the flesh of New Unicornian soldiers. Power field-swathed pike blades easily pierced through the bodies of New Unicornian soldiers that got too close. The New Unicornian soldiers fired as they did bounding retreats. New Unicornian field commanders shouted into any still working radios for fire support. Dozens of minotaurs fell to the ground when enemy bullets found gaps in their thick armor, many crying out in pain as they gripped limbs, necks and face as they cried out and writhed in pain, others simply lay limp as a puppet with its strings cut, staring with unblinking eyes at they sky, hills or soil.

Aerial screws scrambled, dozens of wings took to the air. A third of their number quickly moved forward to give their comrades on the ground the air support they needed, while the remainder stayed back in a holding pattern to watch for the Sky Hunters.

As the aerial screws neared where they could give close air support to the retreating New Unicornian soldiers, they took pause at what they saw approaching. A massive war strider, big as a city block, painted bright pink, with stylized bunnies, kittens, puppies and other fluffy critters painted on it. A chestnut earth pony, waving a saber over its head, and a tan earth pony huddling at the hooves of the former.

Dewdrop stood atop the war strider she considered her friend. She shouted and whooped as she waved her saber over her head. "Let's go get'em, Fluffy! Show these heretics what for!" She nudged Apple Pie who was cowering at her hooves. "Get up, Appie! this is the safest place on the battlefield other than one of the goddesses airships." The earth pony mare had grown quite considerably over the past year plus since being rescued by Twilight and bonding with an Element of Harmony. She had the slender legs indicative of her Saddle Arabian heritage, whereas Equestrian ponies and horses had thicker legs.

Apple Pie's face was pale, almost a shade of green. She clenched her eyes shut as she huddled down by Dewdrop's hooves and clutched to the handle by one of the access hatch for dear life. "I don't know how *urp* you talked me into this *urp*, Dewy! Earth ponies aren't meant to be this high! If we did, we'd have wings!"

"Let her be for now, Dewdrop.", Fluffy said through the loud speakers, hundreds of voices speaking as one. "When we get somewhere safe, I'll have a tech monk get her to one of my lifts and back on the ground."

Dewdrop looks at one of Fluffy's sensors and huffed."Fiiiiiiine! After we finish giving the goddesses' peace to these heretics, we'll drop Appie off so she can have her hooves on the ground. Now get closer so I can hit them with my sword!"

"You said that last time and never hit anypony with a sword. I had to do all the work.", Fluffy retorted.

"That's because you killed them all before I could get one.", Dewdrop said with a spot.

Ink Blob, an earth pony stallion with a black and white blotched coat, Fluffy's princept, chuckled as the gestalt spark sent an emotional impulse through the neural interlink. "You and us brothers and sisters!"

The aerial screws that were moving in to give close air support to the retreating New Unicornian soldiers broke off their attack run and fall back when the war strider fired a low power shot that caused four that were hit directly to evaporate almost immediately and melted six others into slag who had suffered a glancing hit.

Dozens more whistles blew with sharp, high-pitched tones, followed by shouts. A battalion's worth of the Fraternity stormed out of the trenches to take the fight to the already demoralized and depleted New Unicornian soldiers.

Upon seeing the rush of fresh troops, the last bit of the already New Unicornian soldiers' wavering morale broke. Officers struggled to maintain order as panic rolled through their ranks like a flood. Scores threw down their weapons and fled in a mass rout, scrabbling over one another or trampling their comrades in an attempt to get away. Others, exhausted from not being able to sleep for days and their nerves completely frayed, simply curled up into the fetal position and went catatonic. Some went berserk, simply rushing and blindly attacking any pony or 'taur with a weapon. Pockets of soldiers managed to maintain their training and discipline, forming fighting positions behind hastily thrown up barricades or falling back into the earthen bunkers for a desperate last stand.

The New Unicornian commanders still in the field ordered a general retreat back to Unicorn City. The trio of cities were captured with minimal civilian casualties and minimal damage to the infrastructure. The New Unicornian soldiers who opted to make desperate last stands in the hills outside the cities or within the buildings of the cities had to be routed out with hoof grenades, fire bombs and flame throwers. The remainder of the day was devoted to dumping rotting bodies into freshly dug pits and burning the remains into ash to prevent the spread of disease, sending out grave details to bury the freshly dead, bringing the injured, both physically and mentally, to the medbays, and setting up aid stations for the civilians.

***

A visible shudder ran over Bright Diamond's body as she watched from the main balcony of the cathedral-like fortress in the center of Unicorn city as the airships loomed over the trio of cities to the southeast. It would take less than a day for the New Equestrian Empire's crusade to make it here.

From behind her a Grogar cultist walked up. The wretch of a pony was skeletal thin, it was no longer discernable whether they were a mare or a stallion as their flesh now seemed to hang from their bones like emaciated curtains, something that its robes did little to hide. On its head it wore a headdress in the style of two curling horns and etched into the flesh of its forehead was a scarification of a stylized sheep's hoofprint. "You know what mussssst be done.", it hissed in a raspy tone, almost a whisper. "You who the massssster chossssse! A path of flesssssssshhhh to guide hissssss power! A road of blood for hissss power to ssssstride down." The barely pony creature paused, almost as if it was savoring its own hissing words. It licked its mangled tongue across its teeth, sharpened into almost predatory points. "A doorway of ssssssufering for hissssss will to act through you!"

Bright Diamonds turned away from the battle that she knew was lost. It would be hours before the bulk of the survivors would return. She didn't know how long before the enemy would gather their strength anew and bear down again. With a deep dreading in her heart of hearts, she made her choice. "Very well, summon the praetorians and gather what you need." She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but it was too late now, her soul was already damned, damned from the moment she agreed to listen to these Divine-damned cultists when they offered her her heart's desire.

A few hours later the cultist returned with the praetorians pulling a line of chained up and weeping mares, stallions and foals. The head cultist, this nearly skeletal wretch of a creature, brought along with it a cabal of cultists. The cultists brought with them a hulking, misshapen mutant...thing, its eyes had no glimmer of intellect or intelligence, just a mindless brute, dragging a bell whose clapper shown with a sickly, baleful light. A pair of cultists walking behind the mutant were carrying whips. They would occasionally lash the mutant across its hunched, warped back.

The cultists began setting up cruel looking racks, made from twisted beams of wood. The lead cultist pulled out a crude blade made from onyx and bone, and a razor made from obsidian. "Ssssstrip out of your clothesss."

Bright Diamonds stripped out of her uniform and the lead cultist strode over. It placed the edge of the obsidian razor against her left cutie mark, a sparkling diamond being buffed with a cloth. "Thissss issss the falsssse mark given to all poniessssss by the demon who callsssss itsssself harmony." With a quick and cruel flick, it cut the cutie mark off of her left flank. She yelped in pain. "Yessss! Cry out! Thissss issss not the criessss of pain, but the criessssss of a newborn!" It stepped around and repeated the process with her right flank.

Suddenly smoke and fire erupted in the room followed by clouds of pink cotton candy.

"What is--",was all the head cultist managed to cry out.

A massive lion's paw holding an equally massive ball of clear glass filled with some sort of fluid reached out from a portal swirling with tie dye colors. A massive eagle's talon grabbed the cultist and shoved it into the glass glass ball. As the cultist pounded on the side of the glass ball, the lion's paw gave it a shake. The cultist bounced around inside the ball as an artificial blizzard swirled around inside it. The eagle's talon snapped, the remaining cultists vanished, along with the mutant, the bell, the racks, the praetorians and the chains holding the ponies all vanished as the words Poof! hung in the air for a couple of seconds as smoky letters.

Blood dripping down her flanks and legs onto the floor, Bright Diamonds began backing away. The formerly chained ponies ran for their lives and all they were worth out of the door they were dragged in.

A massive chimeric creature stepped through the tie dye portal laughing and looked down at Bright Diamonds. "My my my! Such a busy little bee, aren't we?"

Bright Diamonds backed away onto the balcony. The blood dripping down her flanks and legs pooling at her hooves made the floor slick. Losing her footing, she slipped and her momentum carried her over the railing. She watched as the ground came closer and closer, then darkness.

Discord floated over to the balcony and looked down. He let out a click of his forked tongue, noticing there was no body laying on the ground."I guess it's only fair. I took a few things of yours, so you took something I had an interest in. That won't be the last time I see her." He held up the snow globe containing the head cultist, then pulled several blister packs containing the cultists, praetoriens and mutant, seemingly from nowhere. "I have the perfect place for my new collection." Reaching out, he grabbed a zipper that appeared in midair, pulled it down, tearing a hole in reality filled with colors swirling in maddening patterns and stepped through. The tear vanished in a puff of glitter.

Bright Diamonds whipped her head back and forth in the darkness."A-am I dead?"

A pair of eyes, glowing a baleful red appeared before her. "N̸̨̬̊̃̽̉̎̓̆͑̎̈͂͊̂͜o̵̹̙̟̻̭͊̉̎!̴̛̛̘̩̠̺̩̈́͐͊̏̿̈́͝͝"

It had been two days since the New Unicornian forces had been routed and fled from the trio of cities that sat as the gateway to Unicorn City, the capitol of New Unicornia. The Crusade was well into the process of burying the dead, tending to the wounded, bringing aid to the civilians, digging out unexploded ordinance and consolidating their forces. Folding metal structures holding facilities containing barracks, field hospitals, food and water storage, and ammunition had been set up. The foundations for a waystation for the high-speed monorail and a small permanent forge were being poured. Tech monks were carving up wrecked and destroyed machines of war, and loading them into trains of self-propelled carts to be carried off into the massive mobile forges. Mortal soldiers and transequine marines, when not assisting in the burial of the dead, were digging trenches and other fighting positions, piling soil up to form berms, constructing bunkers for the civilians to hide in, and placing barricades.

In a command structure, the princesses, ponemarchs, generals and air fleet masters were sitting around a large table holding a map of the region. The plans for the process of executing the push onto Unicorn City and how best to integrate the nation one the war was over when a soldier, an earth pony stallion with a teal coat and light blue mane, burst in.

"S-sorry for the intrusion your majesties, my lords, and sirs and madams! I was sent by Lieutenant Brass Tacks. Th-there's a delegation from New Unicornia. Mostly unarmed civilians and a few government officials. They've come to negotiate terms of surrender."

The princesses, ponemarchs, generals,and air fleet masters all looked at one another in a surprised silence.

"Do think this is a trap?", Pomum Ligni said in a basso voice common to every ponemarch.

"N-no, I don't think so m-my lord.", the soldier replied.

"Eh, I'm kinda hoping it is.", Vent Rapide flexing a wing.

"You would.", Pomum Ligni retorted. "All you and your feather-brained sons and daughters know how to do is dive among enemy soldiers and chop them up."

"Better than you and your mud stomping sons and daughters who stand still as statues and waste all your ammo!", Vent Rapide snapped back, rising from their seat.

Pomum Ligni quickly stood up from their seat. "Feather-brain!"

"Mud stomper!"

The two ponemarchs lunged across the table at each other.

"Enough!", Twilight bellowed as she stood up."Save the sibling rivalry for when we're not in the middle of a war!" She turned to the soldier."Thank you, Private...", she paused to read the name tag on his uniform, "...Private*ahem*...Machine Parts." The name elicited a series of snickers from around the table. "Take five minutes to get some water and something hot to eat, then report back to your commander that we'll be along shortly to receive the delegation."

***

The New Unicornian delegation gaped in awe as the massive command airship, the Luster Dawn, sailed overhead, flanked by a dozen smaller airships. Mortal soldiers and transequine marines stood on the decks of the airships, their weapon at the ready.

The Luster Dawn hovered in the air for several minutes as its escort airships moved in holding patterns. Struts extended from the bottom of the Luster Dawn's hull as it descended from the air. Once the Luster Dawn's struts had settled onto the ground, a large ramp was extended. First down the ramp was a squad of elite mortal soldiers, their uniforms freshly pressed, their battle armor freshly cleaned and their rifles freshly polished. Next down the ramp was a contingent of minotaurs, their armor and weapons polished until they glittered. Next came representatives of the ten legions, each chosen from their respective legion's first herd, down the ramp, their power armor receiving fresh coats of paint and clear coat, then buffed into a mirror shine. The group of minotaurs, mortal soldiers and transequine legionnaires that made up the honor guard formed up ranks into twin lines.

The princesses, flanked by the Nova Guard, descended the ramp. The princesses wore their ceremonial yokes, shoes and tiaras instead of their power armor. Cadance and Flurry Heart wore their manes and tails in the traditional bejeweled mane and rump dresses of the Crystal Empire, while Celestia, Luna and Twilight let their manes and tails flow freely on ethereal winds in the traditional Equestrian style. The princesses, flanked by their Nova Guard, strode between the twin ranks of honor guard.

Once pleasantries were given, a large tent was quickly erected to house both delegations and cushions were lain about in the interior. The delegations from New Unicornia and the New Equestrian Empire made their way inside the tent. Once both delegations had taken their seats on opposite sides, the Nova Guard took up guard around the interior of the tent, standing still and silent as statues, only the occasional crackle from comms devices breaking the illusion. Outside the honor guard took up formations around the tent, the mortal soldiers and minotaurs were replaced on hourly rotations, while the transequine legionaries stayed almost perfectly still, with only their heads panning side-to-side and their weapons occasionally twitching.

The terms of surrender were quickly reached as what New Unicornia had to send were not negotiators, emissaries, or even trained military officers, but simply terrified civilians. Once the last stroke of the quills had been put to paper, that's when the horrific stories began pouring out. Stories of mares and fillies forcibly taken from their families' homes, the most beautiful given over to forcibly serve as pleasure concubines for the Grand Pontiff, and the rest given over to the army to forcibly serve as brooding stock. That anypony who dared to speak up about the conditions they were forced to live in, or spoke too loudly in a way the leadership, or were caught with prohibited books were marched off to forced labor camps, or were sent to the science and medical division, none were known to return from those places.

Then the truly hellish stories began. At first they were rumors that came from villages where soldiers on patrol would find all the ponies slaughtered and strange symbols found painted everywhere. When the war began turning sour for New Unicornia, cultists that were normally hunted down by the army and shot on sight were now being openly courted by the military leadership. The New Unicornian told stories of rituals involving pony sacrifice and cannibalism. They told of the cultists using mindless mutant slaves dragging mobile altars holding large bells.

Though the princesses' faces remained as still as masks carved from stone, inside they were fuming as rage boiled.

Finally the New Unicornian delegation spoke about High Pontiff Burnished Bronze disappearing entirely from public view and how that began whisperings of rebellion.They spoke of a terrifying aura that radiated from the fortress cathedral. When High General Bright Diamonds disappeared two days ago without a trace, the majority of high ranking military and government leadership packed up and ran with whatever they could carry, leaving the lower echelons of the government and military rudderless.

"Now you know our story.", Silly String, a pink and blue mottled unicorn mare said, hanging her head dejectedly.

"When hearing the stories of how your armies defeated our soldiers at every turn, we thought The Divine had abandoned us.", Zax, a golden unicorn stallion with dark stripes on his lower legs, snout and flanks denoting ancient zebra heritage, said. "But when stories began coming back of your forces rebuilding cities, feeding the hungry and healing the sick. And when we saw your forces helping scared, hungry and hurt mares, stallions and foals instead of butchering them, this has shown all that The Divine has returned. Only now we know he isn't some all-powerful being up in the heavens whom made unicorns in his image, but are five. ALL HAIL THE DIVINES! MAY ALL WHO LOOK UPON THEIR FACES BE BLESSED!"

"Great, the Fraternity just recruited a new batch of zealots and not a single preacher had to pontificate to them.", Twilight muttered as she facehoofed.

"Save your praises and prayers and pontifications for a time after this nation has been rebuilt, my good pony.", Flurry Heart said as she raised a hoof. "New Unicornia is no more. Now it is part of Equestria as a whole. Join with us and cleave your strength to ours so we can build a new empire of prosperity, harmony and friendship together."

For a full year Wind-in-her-fur had led the bison on a great trampling migration to seek out the pony goddesses. Every evening when the tribe made camp, she would stand in a lone vigil on the edge of the camp hoping to see the dust cloud of her husband. Deep in her heart of hearts she knew he had died ensuring that she and their daughter, Stoutheart, would make it. But as long as she kept hope alive, she could make herself push onwards.

Spring made way to summer, which made way to autumn, which made way to winter and back to spring again. Desert became rocky scrubland, which became verdant rolling planes and forests. Wind-in-her-fur diligently led the herd, keeping the last message of her husband in her heart, find the pony goddesses. Stoutheart had grown, now able to keep up with the herd's trampling, with only some occasional goading from the other bison. Fast and nimble scouts were sent out ahead of the herd to search for any clues or rumors of these pony goddesses, and to ensure the herd avoided the lairs of dangerous predators and mutants, and to skirt the edges of the storms.

As Wind-in-her-fur was leading the herd in the direction that a passing caravan had provided about the pony goddesses waging a war against a pony nation, a great wind made the herd come to a halt. A dozen dragons alighted on the ground, their leader had deep blue scales and held a scepter in their claws that looked ridiculously tiny.

As the bison knelt, Wind-in-her-fur gestured for several woven baskets filled with turquoise brought forward.

Ember picked up one of the baskets in her claws, it looked practically miniscule in her talons, plucked out a shard of turquoise and tossed it in her mouth. "Mmm! You bison know how to treat a dragon!", she said as she munched on the turquoise shard, causing tiny flecks of it to come out from between her sword-like teeth. "I take it...mmm!...pardon me." She finished the last of the turquoise then continued. "I take it that you're here looking for the princesses?"

"Princesses?", Wind-in-her-fur asked. "Begging your pardon, but I've heard of no princesses. Hogs attacked my herd last year and we're looking for the pony goddesses for help."

Ember chuckled as she wiped the turquoise crumbs from her fingers. "I guess that to mortals they can look like goddesses. Well you're in luck. My scouts have spotted the 'goddesses'...", she made air quotes with her fingers, "...they're two days northeast of here as the bison tramples. They also spotted a rather large herd of hogs moving in their direction."

Wind-in-her-fur snorted in anger, steam coming from her nose. Ember took quick notice of this.

"If you want, I can have my dragons carry you there in a few hours."

"Thank you,but no, kind dragon.", Wind-in-her-fur said. "We bison are a strong folk and refuse to be carried like some newborn calf. If we cannot trample there under our own strength, then we deserve to die."

Ember hummed in appreciation as she picked a shard of turquoise from between her teeth. "Garble!"

A large dragon with carmine scales and gold underbelly scampered up."Yes, Dragon Lord?"

"There's a large mutant nest a few leagues from here. By the time these bison pass it by, I want it to be nothing by ashes and soot. And no funny business! If I hear you've done any funny business, I'll take your skull to use as my personal urinal!"

Garble struck his brown with his fingers in a hasty salute. "As you command, Dragon Lord!" With a great flap of his wings, he took off.

Dragons roared and bellowed and growled and shrieked as they swooped down on the great hog war wallow. Their claws dug rivets in the earth as they scooped up handfuls of the porcine creatures and hurled them across the landside or smashed them into paste by striking their fist into their palm. Others belched forth swaths of fire, melting the ground into patches of lava as kartz and wagonz were melted into slag and the bodies of hogs were scorched into ash.

Da hogz laughed and bellowed and grunted and oinked in glee. For them this was a fight, and any fight was fun, especially after months and months of tramplin' across the countryside with no fights, other than other hogz. Hogz fired their guns wildly in the air. The kartz and wagonz drivahs ramped their ramshackle vehicles off of burning wrecks of other kartz and wagonz and hills and other pieces of terrain that could get their means of conveyance airborne. Da hogz aboard bellowed and oinked and laughed with glee. When several of the kartz and wagonz collided with a dragon midair, the ramshackle vehicles, made of nothing more than scrap metal welded and bolted together haphazardly, broke apart on contact, sending their occupants sailing through the air. Many, many of da hogz flew through empty air and plummeted to the ground, where they spattered, leaving greasy smears behind. Enough landed on the back of the dragon, or managed to grab ahold of it. Then they behan thrashing with hooves, gnawing with powerful jaws and sharp tusks, chopping with hakka slashaz, and biting with chompaz, 'uge chompaz and powah jawz. Though most of da hogz harmlessly as the dragon's thick scales, a few managed to rip apart the webbing of its wings, sending the reptilian beast plummeting to the ground, where a wave of pork immediately washed over it.

Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha da Worm Riddin' Boss Hog goaded the tatzlewurm that he had imprisoned as his mount forward to attack a dragon that was swooping in low to attack. The dragon thrashed as wheezed as the tatzlewurm coiled around it and began constricting. Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha leapt off of his mount and onto the face of the dragon. He bit into the reptilian beast's eye with his powah jawz and ripped a chunk of the orb out.

If the dragon was capable of screaming in pain at that moment, it would have. Instead it feebly clawed at the tatzleworm that was squeezing the life out of it in a desperate attempt to break free of its attacker's deadly embrace. With a sickening crunch, the tatzlewurm crushed the dragon's ribs in. The reptilian beast let out a gurgling wheeze as it collapsed to the ground. Pinkish foam bubbled up from its throat as the life left its body.

The remaining dragon scouts, seeing that two of their own had been quickly brought down, opted to fall back. Their goal was to slow this massive herd of hogs down so that Dragon Lord Ember's forces could meet up with the princesses.

Twilight stood on the deck of the Luster Dawn overlooking Unicorn City. It had been a day since the New Equestrian Empire's crusade walked in, not as conquerors, but as welcomed liberators. Plumes of smoke wafted up into the sky from where buildings that had been turned into vile ritual sites by Grogar cultists had been burned down with flame throwers and fire bombs. The fortress cathedral was in the process of being scoured room-by-room to cleanse any of the remaining taint left behind by the cultists' vile rituals. All statues and other symbols of the old regime's tyranny were being torn down.

Far down below, there were pockets of civilians and mortal soldiers alike were still revelling, some had even taken a mare or stallion to their bed. After year of fighting and seeing horrifying conditions, command had seen it prudent to let a bit of discipline slip, giving the soldiers some leave, and generally let the soldiers blow off some steam, as long as they didn't harm anypony.

Twilight closed her eyes and stretched out her wings letting the breeze flow between her feathers. She was considering giving herself the luxury of letting a mare or stallion get under her tail. Sun, moon and stars above, it had been centuries since she had taken a pony to her bed. She was snapped out of her thought when a pegasus soldier landed on the deck, it hooves clattering loudly.

"Princess! There's a whole flock of dragons moving in our direction. They'll be here in a few hours."

A princess' work is never done. Twilight gathered her thoughts and turned to face the soldier. "Thank you, sergeant. Take a few moments to catch your breath and get some fresh water." She went below decks and made her way to the bridge.

"Princess on deck!", the pony-at-arms called out as Twilight entered the bridge.

"At ease.", Twilight said as she made her way to the command throne where the airship master was sitting, a harsh-looking dark grey earth pony mare whose long since greyed mane and lines about her face belied her age and experience.

As the airship master removed the command monocle and began to rise from the command throne, Ywilight held up a hoof to stop her. "I have not come to take command of the airship. I need you to send a message to my fellow princesses, the ponemarchs, Spike and Smolder, send runners if you must, but ensure they receive the message. We are going to move our main camp one league east of the city and prepare to meet with Dragon Lord Ember."

"I hear and obey, my princess.", the airship master replied. Putting the command monocle back on, she began pressing buttons on the command throne and doing rapid eye flicks to pull up the proper commands to send out.

***

Pegasi holding glowing rods in their hooves directed Dragon Lord Ember and her entourage of bodyguards to an open field. The five princesses and ten ponemarchs were awaiting them. The ground shook and rumbled as Ember alighted.

The princesses, ponemarchs and Dragon Lord all bowed to one another.

"My my my, you've grown a lot since the last time I've seen you, High Princess Twilight.", Ember said."You too, Floofy.", she said, gesturing to Flurry Heart. She then looked at the ponemarchs. "Looks like you've been busy. Or have you been biz-ay?" She flicked the tip of her claw through Vente Rapide's mane. The ponemarch snapped at her finger.

"Touch me again, reptile, and you'll taste my wing blades!"

"And such spirited ponies too!", Ember said in a lilting tone.

"You'll have to excuse my ponemarchs. They tend to be aloof, brash and a tad aggressive until you earn their respect, especially Vente.", Twilight said."Yes they are my and my fellow princesses, though none gave birth to them."

Ember raised a brow ridge. "Eh?"

"What Twilight is saying is that they have been engineered genetic material various ponies combined with alicorn magic.", Cadance said. "they've been designed to be the perfect generals and perfect warriors for this brutal time we live in. Once peace, harmony and friendship back the land, then they'll become governors."

"So that's why they look like your friends, Twilight.", Ember said as she looked back and forth between the ponemarchs. She then pointed a claw at Aster. "Why that one even looks like a less radiant version on you. So where is the no Celestia, Luna, Cadance or Flurry Heart pony clone general thingies?"

"There sort of is.", Celestia said. "Remove your helmets,please.", she said to her five Nova Guard.

Ember's eyes went wide with surprise when five of what she initially thought five statues of armored ponies levitated their helmets off. Their horns were short, just slightly longer than that of a unicorn of standard height and instead of glowing in a brilliant aura, instead had an aura almost invisible aura that only showed up as a sight distortion. Though their fur was the color of the five princesses, the irises of their eyes were a jumbled mishmash of colored flecks and streaks. Their features, like the ponemarchs, looked simultaneously mareish and stallionish, being both too round and blocky to be either.

"So what's up with their eyes? They look weird, almost...unnatural.", Ember asked as she taped a claw to her lips.

"It has to do with using pure alicorn DNA, laboratory-grown alicorn thaumic organs and alicorn magic. They wound up not as true alicorns, or even pegacorns, but as pseudo-alicorns. Though their musculature and wellsprings are much greater than a mortal pony's, they lack the wellsprings of alicorns. Their horns, wings and thaumic organs are also much smaller than that of alicorns.", Twilight said. "When creating the ponemarchs, I had to dial back quite a bit on alicorn DNA and instead grew the thaumic organs of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies and implanted them, along with a few other other organs."

"Ember, as good as it is catching up and whatnot. Have you come here to join us in bringing harmony back to the land?", Celestia asked.

"Yes and no.", Ember replied. "Yes, we dragons will ally ourselves with Equestria as per the ancient accords, and no, we will not become a part of Equestria. The Dragon Lands, from the Red Desert, to the Blasted Wastes, to the Fire Mountains, will remain as an independent nation. As per the accords, we will not raze, loot and burn Equestrian lands, well not any more than is needed until you regain your holdings. We will recognize and respect your borders as long as you offer us the same. The migratory dragons that move between here and the Burning Sands desert of far off Zebrica will abide by the guidelines of the accords, or else I shall add a few new skulls to my horde. Any dragons that choose to live within Equestria or any of its satellite states and territories will live under the laws and regulations of Equestria as per the Treaty of Neighvogrod. The same goes for the Dragon Lands and the Crystal Empire as per the Polar Treaty."

"Equestria finds those terms acceptable.", Twilight said. She lit her horn and summoned a rolled up scroll. "This is a writ of plunder. If you accept the terms of of this writ, all dragons under your rule will be allowed to keep any and all plunder they take from the enemies of Equestria, barring live slaves and dead bodies."

Ember unrolled the scroll and read over it. "I, Dragon Lord Ember, do find the terms of this writ to be acceptable." She rolled up the scroll and swallowed it. "Oh! Before I forget, there's a herd of bison trampling this way from the southwest seeking your aid. They've got it in your head that you five are some sort of goddesses. They'll be here in two days or so."

"Bison have always had a mystical tie to the land.", Celestia said. "Their ability to commune with the land is only matched by the earth ponies ability to pull forth life from it. I don't find it odd that they interpreted the messages they received from nature as them believing that we're goddesses."

"I'm sure you've had no hoof in that department, 'Solar Sovereign'.", Ember said sarcastically.

"Great! More creatures that worship me as some sort of deity!", Twilight muttered.

"Also there's this tiny problem of a herd of hogs currently trampling its way down from the north.", Ember stated.

"Wait, hogs? As in the critters that farm ponies raised for their hides and tallow?", Cadance asked.

"No,mother. Not farm pigs.", Flurry Heart corrected. "Hogs. Some are big as horses, and they're dumb as diamond dogs. They only live for fighting, rooting for truffles, and wallowing in mud. Or at least from what I could gather from listening to travelers and caravaners."

"How big of a herd?", Twilight asked.

"Big enough that they move across the land as a living avalanche.", Ember stated.

"Sister...", Luna said warily.

"I know, Luna.", Celestia said. "It sounds like the days of Porkus Khan and the pork tide are back."

"What?!", Twilight, Cadance and Flurry Heart said simultaneously.

Celestia blew out a sigh, her mood becoming dark. "Back after Grogar was felled and banished, but before Equestria was unified, from the east, from across the sea came a hog. He was bigger than an alicorn who called himself Porkus Khan. He was a brilliant strategist, though the hogs under him were little more than simple-minded brutes. His horde flowed across the land, despoiling and razing everything in their path. It seemed that every time his horde attacked, their numbers would grow, though nopony ever saw reinforcements coming in. After much great hardships, Luna and I lured him into a trap, the hunting grounds of a greater baloth. For eight days and eight nights Porkus Khan and the greater baloth battled across the area now known as the badlands. At the end, both lay dead. Almost immediately his horde fractured and began fighting among themselves. Whatever magic he had kept all the hogs under him in line. We burned his body and cast his bones into the ocean, lest one of their kind would use his remains as a rallying standard, then turned out wrath upon his now infighting horde, slaughtering and scattering them. About a decade later another hog, a big dumb brute who called himself Rooter, lead a new horde from deep within the Too Hot Desert, calling itself the pork tide. Luna and I, with help from the Pillars, using our magics, cast an illusion over the Abysmal Abyss, making it look like a wealthy city. With a little goading, we managed to trick almost the entirety of them into charging into its black depths. Afterwards we drummed up as many local militias and hired sell swords to hunt down and kill any surviving hogs. The only reason why there was nothing about it in the history books was that at the time almost nopony could read or write, so what started off as firsthoof accounts became second and thirdhoof accounts until the stories of the hog horde and the pork tide became nothing more than half-remembered myths. Luna and I kept up our vigil, sending out agents to track down any and all accounts of a hog seen in the wilderness. Apparently some of the descendants of those original hogs remained, and during the madness of the cataclysm, their numbers have grown again. This is not an enemy that can be negotiated with. They only live to fight and kill and despoil. They must be wiped out to the very last one and a vigil be kept lest they have some secret wallow somewhere that they're breeding from."

Celestia's mood brightened. "Let us not dwell on such dark tidings yet. We have a delegation of bison to greet, and they may join our nation."

Into the heartland into what is now formerly New Unicornia, well ahead of the hog war wallow, Essence Opal led her army into the open forelegs of a great host comprised of ponies, minotaurs, bison and dragons. For three weeks they pressed hard and fast to reach friendly,or at least friendlier, lines.

Being built on the bones of the Old Equestrian Empire is a new nation. Like the old, it is being founded on the ideals of harmony, unity and friendship. Just like in the days of the ancient Unification War of Equestria, the enemies of harmony have to be burned away so that the fresh young chutes of unity can grow. And now this newly growing empire is about to face its most dangerous threat yet.

Author's Note

*Thestral stalkers are a specialized group of the testral snipers who range far out ahead of the main force of the New Equestrian Empire's crusade at night to scout enemy positions, harass enemy encampments and pick off command and control elements.

New Unicornia is no more! Long live the New Equestrian Empire! May its crusade to bring harmony and unity prosper! May its goddesses reign for 1000 years!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

A special thanks and a shout out to New Rebellion for his help with ideas. Go show him some My Little Pony love.

If you notice any typos or misspellings, have any comments or questions, wanna throw shade or pure bane, leave them down below.

Thanks once again for reading, and enjoy!

Hoof and tusk, steel and savagery part 0: The Crusade and Da Hogz prepare to meet one another

Three weeks. Three weeks was all the time the New equestrian Empire had to prepare their defenses for the massive hog war wallow. They spent that time building out a massive interlinking patchwork of zig-zagging trenches, foxholes, bunkers, concealed fighting positions and rally points were dug into the very earth forming a web of defense-in-depth. In between the fighting positions mine fields, pitfalls and rolling log traps were laid out. Adamantem, ponemarch of the Celestial Hooves legion was given full command to build the massive earthen defenses. Hour-by-hour the defenses stretched further afield.

Dragons carried massive boulders from the quarries to the constantly growing defenses, where the legionnaires of the Celestial Hooves directed their draconic allies to place them down. Many of the transequine marines had opted to forgo the wearing of their ivory-colored armor with intricate royal purple highlights and gold filigree, instead wearing more sensible robes and heavy aprons with scores of tools hanging from loops and straps or slipped into pockets and pouches. using their immense strength, they rolled the boulders in place, then began to shape them with tools, carving the massive hunks of stone down into more manageable blocks for use as building materials.

Adamantem, having a sharp eye and a savant-level instinct for siege warfare, strode along a series of bunkers nearing completion. The ponemarch's ivory power armor with intricate horn-painted royal purple highlights and hoof-lain gold filigree, as much a means of bodily protection as it was a symbol of office and a work of art, glittered in the light. The transequine general was flanked by a pair of power armor-clad bodyguards, their armor, though not as intricate, was still beautiful to behold. Both bodyguards carried on their backs a standard for the legion, a simple design, an ivory field rectangular in design that tapered down to a tri-point, outlined in a thick border of royal purple, in the center of the ivory field was a golden sun disk with a royal purple, ivory and gold armored hoof superimposed over it, hung from T-shaped poles that sat atop their backs.

Adamantem watched with their sharp vision dragons and pegasi, both mortal and transequine alike, airlifted the finished blocks and carried them over to the trench lines, where they would be used to form the foundations and walls for bunkers and pillboxes, as well as for making crenelations at the tops of trenches so the soldiers would have cover to fire from. Up and down the trench lines cement mixers hummed as their massive round hoppers spun, keeping the mixed slurry of rock dust, lime and water from setting until it came time to pour.

At the foremost of the defensive lines the last of the concrete was being poured for the defenses, then shaped using magic and machines into various obstacles meant to funnel groups into chokepoints, and dozens of body lengths in front of those chokepoints were stationed in pairs the new crew serviced weapons.

Flurry Heart watched over a training field where the bison were being outfitted with armor, some with suits of heavy plate and others with armored cloaks that had smaller plates attached. Though many had complained about the armor, most understood the necessity to protect them from enemy bullets and shrapnel. Their armor was uncomfortable, having to be modified from existing armor meant for female minotaurs, as there wasn't enough time to design and test new armor types for the bison. Each bison was also given a heavy steel helmet that had to be heavily modified from the ones normally worn by minotaurs, with sections needing to be cut out or welded on, and the whole thing hastily shaped to better fit their heads, fortunately the sharpened steel horn caps didn't need much in the way of alterations. Though weapons training was a bit easier, what with their cloven hooves being able to grip the weapons and not having to rely as much on a sympathetic telekinetic field like the ponies. Unfortunately the training with weapons had to be more of a crash course, focusing on basic accuracy training in single shot, burst fire and full-auto, basic reloading drills and bare bones weapon maintenance. There just wasn't enough time to create enough gear specifically for their external biologies and to properly train them in military doctrines, something the princesses had promised would be rectified once the hogs had been sufficiently dealt with.

The bison's preference for lighter melee weapons, such as knives, hoof axes, spears and infantry lances were a great boon as they could be easily and quickly constructed from any available materials, though the older bison preferred to make the blades of their weapons from chipped stone or carved bone as a personal point of pride.

On multiple occasions the generals got into heated arguments on how the bison were to be used. Celestia was able to finally head off those arguments by having Wind-in-Her-Fur tell the generals about her kin preferred to fight, though she didn't understand military tactics and doctrines, she was able to convey that the bison prefer to charge in in force and shatter an enemy's resolve and strength with their greater strength, weight and mass. After that it was quickly resolved on what role the bison would serve, they'd be split into two groups, one group would serve as heavy infantry support for the tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, the other group would be paired with the minotaurs to serve as heavy shock infantry to plug gaps in allied lines or rip open gaps in enemy ranks for standard infantry to exploit.

Spring Bud sat in the cell that she had been locked in after the ponies had taken her and her fellow deer had been taken prisoner when they were forced to make a new weave a new bridge to a point of power when their first one had started to unravel. She had found out too late that this point of power was a pony goddess. That had been over a year ago. The far-leaper had plenty of time to go over in her head what happened. It wasn't unheard of for a far-leaper's bridge between two points of power to unravel and leave the deer traveling down it trapped in the in-between. Usually that happened with fawns who were being trained to run the trail of the far-leaper. No, this had not been her bridge unraveling because of a hastily woven spell. There was something else dark and dangerous that had interfered with her bridge weaving. This was the work of black deer, the whitetail's cousins who practiced blood magic and dark sorcery, who practiced vile blood letting rights to keep their dark city secret and concealed behind a veil of darkness. If she could have left her imprisonment, she would have, but she learned quickly that the ponies had made sure no magic could be used unless their goddesses deemed it. She had tried once while out in the yard to weave a bridge, only to receive a nasty shock when a counter spell triggered, causing her weaving to rebound.

Spring Bud let her mind wander to their captors. The ponies had not been cruel. She and her fellow whitetails had been given ample food and water, they had even escorted them out into a yard with a high fence, higher than she or her fellow whitetails could jump over, so they could get fresh air and sunshine. Over time the bucks in her little band had shed their antlers, which the ponies quickly confiscated, she couldn't blame them for that as antlers were sharp and hard and could be used as weapons, and now they were just starting to get their summertime buds. She remembered hearing the distant peals of what sounded like thunder, and when the wind shifted, it carried the scent of smoke and death. The whitetails of Thorn were no strangers to death, what with their grove being in the Everfree, where death could fall upon a deer from a dozen different angles in a dozen different forms at any time. This scent of death was different from any she had seen before, first off was the sheer volume of it, the very wind had been thick with the smell of hundreds or maybe thousands dying in a short time. Secondly, there had been the pony healers who had been rushing forth, carrying as much healing supplies as they could. Thirdly, there had been snippets of conversation she had picked up about these ponies making war against another pony nation, and this pony nation they were fighting had slaughtered many of its own kin.

Spring Bud's ear turned towards the sound of the clanking of the locking mechanism in the door. This had caught her by surprise as it wasn't time for food or exercise. She turned her head towards the cell door as it opened. There framed in the doorway was a pony goddess, wearing armor black as midnight, occasionally crackles of magic ran across the surface of the armor, and attached to the side of the armor was a battleaxe that had hoarfrost along its cutting edge.

"Come.", Luna said. "We have much to discuss. Though the original plan was to release you back into the Everfree once our campaign was done here and have you and your fellow whitetails deliver a message to Thorn, a much more pressing issue has come up. A massive war wallow of hogs is moving towards us." She produced a scroll. "This is a proposition of alliance. Take this to your chief buck and deliver this to him."

Luna, accompanied by her six Nova Guard, led Spring Bud and her small cadre of whitetails outside the fence. She leaned her head down and touched her horn to the doe's forehead, a small surge of magic ran up it and into the deer. "That is an insurance policy. I have enchanted you with a combination of a recall teleport spell and an intent spell. If you betray us, it will return you immediately to me and then you shall face my wrath. Now go quickly and deliver the message to your kindred at Thorn."

Spring Bud wove a bridge spell, using Luna as the first anchor point and the stone circle just outside of Thorn as the second anchor point. A silvery portal opened up as the safe passage through the in-between was successfully created.

Luna felt eyes on her and she turned her head towards where the eyes were. Standing on a distant hill in a small clump of trees was a deer with a dark coat. When it noticed that Luna could see it, it lit an un-light around one of its hooves, stepped behind a tree and disappeared. Luna narrowed her eyes at where the dark-coated deer had been. Though it was a long ways away, she was intimately familiar with dark magic, probably more intimately familiar than any of her co-princesses.

The massive war wallow, led by Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha da Wyrm Ridah, trampled across the countryside towards the now former nation of New Unicornia. It was less of an ordered march and more of a roiling, rumbling brawl that its members tended to move in the same general direction. Hooves and weapons beat and tore into hogz. Bullets, bombs and rivets pierced flesh and shredded the landscape. Kartz and wagonz careened wildly about, swerving unpredictably back and forth, sometimes slamming to each other, often running over their fellow hogz, crushing them under their wheels. Giant mechanized idols to their twin gods, cobbled together from scrap, stomped about on massive mechanical legs or rolled about on huge rollers, all bristling with all sorts of weapons. Preechaz stood atop the idols and bellowed out sermonz to the tune of "Bash 'em in dere 'eads!", "Da hogz are da best!", "Ponee godisiz are no match for da hogz!", or simply "OOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKK!"

Behind the war wallow the land was left a destroyed mess of trampled ground, muddy dirt, broken bodies and chunks of scrap. As the sun went down, they would form into a chaotic mess of mud pits, scrap piles, holes dug in search of truffles and brawling knots of bodies they affectionately called a camp.

While the savage porcines formed their "camp", small groups of transequine figures in black armor moved silently and quickly through the growing dark. These pony marines were hoof-picked by Empresario to scan da hogz, document those that looked like leaders, mark down what looked like ammo dumps and troops barracks. Their orders weren't to engage, but to gather intel, and wait for another night to launch assassination and sabotage raids.

Night Captain Shrouded Moonlight scowled behind the faceplate of her helmet as her transequine brain went over the information transmitted from her brothers' and sisters' sensor suites. It almost appeared that these porcine creatures had never heard of basic organization, munitions were left out willy-nilly, food was haphazardly tossed into piles, scrap was tossed into unsecured heaps. It also appeared that these creatures had no real military structure to speak of either, it appeared that whoever was the biggest and strongest was in charge. These tusk savages also had no discipline to speak of either, they would just constantly brawl and fire their weapons wildly.

Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha felt a prickle travel along the bristles of his spine. Something was watching him. He turned his head in the direction but only saw darkness. Still, he didn't become da biggest an' da baddest boss hog by being stoopit. He strode in the direction the prickles on his spine told him.

The Night Captain keyed her comms device three times to signal his brothers and sisters to fall back and bleed back into the shadows. There was no use in being discovered and unnecessarily losing marines this night.

Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha snuffled around in the darkness. The bushes smelled like ponee and not-ponee at the same time. He narrowed his beady eyes in the dark and clashed his powah jawz in thought and frustration. Whatever these ponee-not-a-ponee things were, they were gone now, probably for good. With a frustrated huff at not finding a good scrap, he stomped back to camp.

The small Night Hunter team gathered in a valley nestled between a few hills several leagues away from the hog encampment.

"What the Tartarus!", Blue Belle, a white unicorn transequine mare exclaimed. "It's like they love living in filth and constantly fighting."

"You didn't see what I saw.", Ridge Trotter, a pale green unicorn transequine stallion said. "They've managed to catch and tame a tatzlwyrm, or at least bind it down."

The Night Captain sat in silence formulating a plan as her brothers and sisters shared what they saw with one another or squabbled about who was going to get the most kills. Once she had formulated a plan, she gestured for two of her officers. The three of them quietly discussed the strategy.

Once a plan of action had been agreed on, Shrouded Moonlight loudly cleared her throat, getting the attention of her brothers and sisters. "These creatures don't seem to have any sort of regimented structure, but they do have a structure and that's something we can exploit. It appears that the bigger a hog is, the more likely it is that others will follow it. We're going to spend the next three days and nights shadowing them, marking out targets of opportunity. Large hogs, ammunition piles, vehicles and the like. During that whole time turn off all broadcasting on your armor, that includes transmitting an sensor data, just in case they have any communications equipment that could pick up our transmissions. When we get back to a secure camp, we'll share all data. From here on until I give the order otherwise, no shots are to be fired, no explosives are to be used, and all are to move about with invisibility and silence enchantments. if you have any questions or comments, speak them now."

Night Captain Shrouded Moonlight waited for a few moment, when none of her brothers and sisters said nothing, she placed a hoof to her chest in salute and whispered, "Peace through harmony."

"Harmony through victory.", the other Night Hunters whispered back.

For three days and three nights the Night Hunters shadowed the war wallow. Sometimes they crept in among the tusked savages to get closer scans of the creatures.

Just after dark on the fourth night Night Captain Shrouded Moonlight stood out next to a massive stack of wood directly in the path of the war wallow. Once her sensors relayed to her that her brothers and sisters were in place, she lit her horn and ignited the wood, creating a massive bonfire.

Da hogz came to a halt. Hogz grunted and squealed in anticipation. "Oi! Wut's all did 'ere, big ponee?", a boss hog bellowed out.

"I have come to parlay!", Shrouded Moonlight said through her helmet's loudspeaker.

"Wut's a, 'ow'd ya say it, par...lay?"

Shrouded Moonlight gave an exasperated sigh. "Of course they wouldn't know what parlay means.", she muttered to herself. Keying her helmet's loudspeaker on again she said, "It means I want to speak to your leader...alone. Nopony else, just me and him."

"Well why didn't ya jus' say so?", the boss hog shouted back. "Ya jus' wait dere an' I'll go get 'im!"

Shrouded Moonlight grit her teeth. It was frustrating dealing with the stupid creatures. Through her sensor suite she saw the few Night Hunters that had snuck into their ranks, using invisibility enchantments and the bonfire as a distraction to plant explosives with remote fuses. The rest had taken up positions around the countryside and took aim with their weapons.

Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha stomped out. "So's youz dat ponee-not-a-ponee dat wuz peepin' me dem few night ago? So, wut ya want?"

Shrouded Moonlight smirked behind her helmet's faceplate. She aimed the gun mounted in her armor's shoulder socket skyward. She double checked, ensuring that a starburst round had been chambered. "I have a gift to give you and a message just for you."

"Ooh, a gift. Izzit shiny?"

"Not quite. Just look up and you'll see in just a minute." Shrouded Moonlight fired the starburst round up into the air. After a hundred body lengths it exploded, the signal for her brothers and sisters to strike.

Da hogz were too busy looking at the round detonating high up in the air to quickly respond to what was happening next.

The Night Hunters activated the remote fuses. They detonated, ripping bodies apart and igniting ammunition.

Da hogz had been caught completely flat-hooved by the explosions. Those that weren't completely ripped apart by the explosions, ran around screaming as the ammunition in their guns cooked off or their bodies burned. Their compatriots rolled on the ground laughing and didn't hear what happened next.

The Night Hunters fired their guns at the various boss hogs. Bloody chunks of viscera filled the air as the large tusked creatures were ripped apart by mass reaction rounds.

The smaller hogz ran around in a panic as their bosses were slain around them, disrupting the OOOOOOOIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNKKKKKKK! field,others immediately began brawling with one another in an attempt to become the next boss hog.

"And now for the message. THIS IS EQUESTRIA! LEAVE NOW OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE GODDESSES!" Shrouded Moonlight kicked burning logs at the base of the bonfire, causing them to fall over in the direction of Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha, who rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the flaming avalanche. She then fired several mass reaction rounds at him, but it was only by luck that they only tore chunks out of his thick armor and didn't pierce his flesh. She then used her magic to pull the shadows around her and vanish into the night.

"Disengage and fall back!", Shrouded Moonlight shouted into her comms device.

Each of the Night Hunters stopped firing, pulled back and disappeared into the night. They each moved along a pre-determined route and galloped for five leagues before doubling back and headed for the rendezvous twenty-five leagues away. This was done so that if any elements of the war wallow gave chase, their whole unit wouldn't be cut off and it would make it easier to pick off any that were following them.

The rest of the night Skul Kruncha Masha Thrasha pumelled panicking and insubordinate hogz back into line. He then gave the order to find the ponies who had attacked, but when the scouts went out, they found dozens of trails leading off in every direction. The biggest an' baddest boss hod dere iz clashed his powa jawz in anger and took out his frustrations on several smaller hogz.

"Dis wuz a rooz.", Krackle Tusk, one of the new bosses who was a strangely brainy hog said. "Doze big poneez work for da ponee godisiz an' day wuz sent 'ere ta slow us down."

"Dat's it! Dey'z want a foight, dey'z gunna git a roit proppa foight!", Skull Kruncha Masha Thrasha da Wyrm Ridda, Biggest an' Baddest Boss Hog Dere Iz said. He climbed atop the tatzlwurm, punched it in the eye to get it moving, moved to the head of the war wallow and shouted, "NO SLEEPIN'! NO RESTIN'! NO STOPPIN'! DOZE PONEE GODISIZ WANNA A ROIT PROPPA FOIT, WE'LL GIVE 'EM A ROIT PROPP FOIT! LET'S GO BOARZ! OOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKK!"

Author's Note

Da hogz are on a right and proper warpath now!

A special shoutout to New_Rebellion for help with ideas and for letting me bounce ideas off of him. Go show him some My Little Pony love.

Next I plan on doing a side chapter or 2.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Side chapter: Ponies in the tunnels

Stalliongrad was once the gleaming northern jewel of Old Equestria. Now it is a city that is a shadow of its former glory. Spires with gilded onion-shaped domes that once gleamed in the sunlight are now tarnished and crumbling. Buildings that once held offices, apartment complexes and museums now sit abandoned with their facades scoured from the storms of wild magic and bear the scars of conflict.

The city was spared the initial destruction of the wild magical blooms. For unknown reasons during the cataclysm, the destructive wild magic blooms never appeared over the city, though they did erupt across the land surrounding the city, which still bears the scars of that turbulent time.

Stalliongrad used to be home to nearly a million ponies, now it is home to a few thousand gangers, mutants and tin pot warlord dictators that have all carved out their own little enclaves. The gangs, mutants and warlords all fight one another from block-to-block, building-to-building, floor-to-floor and sometimes room-to-room in the ruins to snatch a few extra hoof lengths of territory from one another, or over what little scrap and salvage that has yet to be looted, and for slaves that can be sold to whoever for profit or for their own perverse pleasure.

Below Stalliongrad there is a vast network of tunnels. The gangs, warlords and mutants avoid those tunnels like the plague, though stories do abound of a vast wealth of salvage down there. Only those who are brave or foolish or both have ventured down into those tunnels, and of those whom have ventured down there, only a smattering few have returned. The rare survivor who have returned from the tunnels tell harrowing stories of eyes shining in the darkness and death coming from every angle.

Outside of Stalliongrad, to the east, a league beyond the city's borders, sits a small gem of civilization. It is a small trader's hub belonging to the Trading Guild, though over the past year its borders have been growing. Along with vast Trading Guild caravans, there has also been an influx of well armed, well trained soldiers and ponies in robes who profess to all who will listen, sermons about the five goddesses. In the past few months a small garrison made up of the advanced elements of the New Equestrian Empire's Crusade to Restore Harmony has been established to protect the trading outpost and the community that has sprung up around it.

Pearl Wisdom, an earth pony preacher who recently received her robes and writ of conversion a few months ago, steps off of a large convoy wagon, accompanied by three pony student acolytes who bear their sackcloth robes with hempen ropes. What has brought her to this remote, but quickly growing trading hub? Reports of soldiers who found an old access hatch that leads to an underground network of tunnels. The soldiers reported that in their limited exploration, they found evidence of habitation, nothing much, just a small cluster of well maintained huts next to what appeared to be a farm of mushrooms. The soldiers found no ponies or other creatures, but they did report the clopping of hooves, soft whispers and rhythmic knocking on something metal.

The soldiers reported no contact, friendly, hostile or otherwise, though a few did report seeing what looked like a few glowing eyes peering at them from the darkness. They decided to pull back to just inside their point of egress and set up a guard post, just in case.

Pearl approached the complex that served as the garrison for the soldiers whom protected this growing trading hub. It wasn't an impressive looking complex, just a concrete wall about three body lengths high, there were towers that peered over the lip of the wall spread out at regular intervals. Atop the towers were gun emplacements, mostly machineguns, but a few did have small, short-barreled artillery guns. There were several concrete barricades of varying heights and widths set up around the wall forming a series maze-like obstacles, meant to break up enemy movements when they tried to assault the garrison. Clearly the outermost defenses were designed, and possibly built, by at least one minotaur. The bovine-like creatures who had allied themselves with the goddesses had a propensity for building their structures like mazes...when they weren't travelling in nomadic camps.

Pearl noted that the walls and barricades bore scarring from weapons fire, as did some of the other permanent and semi-permanent buildings of the trading hub. The wind shifted and the familiar scent of burning flesh assailed her nose. Turning her head, she saw a pair of ponies standing next to an open pit with flamethrowers slung across their backs. Bandits or mutants had recently attacked the outpost and now their remains were quickly being dealt with. It was imperative for bodies to be quickly dealt with after a battle, either by quickly burying them or, in the case of bandits, mutants and others who attack the Crusade forces, burning their bodies in pits. This reduced the risk for disease and plague caused by rotting bodies being left laying out, and in the case of enemies of the New Equestrian Empire, it served two extra purposes: It disheartened any surviving enemies who would be watching on as they watched their dead comrades remains being dumped into a pit and burned to ash, and it denied the enemies of the New Equestrian Empire graves that could be easily marked as martyrs that then could be used as a means to rally more to their banner.

Pearl and her trio of student acolytes walked past squads of soldiers and Trade Guild guards as they made their way to the front of the garrison. Ponies and minotaurs gathered along their path to get a glimpse of the quartet who bring the good word of the goddesses. Some bow, some wave out the sign of the holy quintet in the air, some hold up holy symbols depicting the five goddesses, some rush forward with their young to beg for blessings. Pearl gave benevolent smiles to the parents who come forward with their foals or calves, and traced the symbol of the holy quintet on the foreheads of the foals and calves, as well as their parents. She occasionally waved her staff over the heads of the gathered ponies and minotaurs in a slow arc while speaking small sermons.

As Pearl and her trio approach the main gate of the garrison, which is nothing more than a pair of simple wooden guard boxes and a pair of wooden arms that can be raised and lowered, a contingent of soldiers, both pony and minotaur, came out to meet them. They quickly ushered the quartet in and a simple wooden barricade is set up in front of the gate. Soldiers armed with steel shields and wooden batons form up ranks behind the simple wooden barricade to serve as a deterrent in the event any civilians or bandits disguised as civilians tried to rush the gate.

Pearl looks around the garrison. The buildings are the typical New Equestrian Empire's Crusade buildings, made of metal that can be quickly folded, assembled and disassembled as needed. She plants the butt of her staff onto the ground and stands to full height, head held upright, as the garrison commander approaches. Her accompanying student acolytes form a semi-circle around her and wave out the symbol of the holy quintet in the air.

The garrison commander stops three body lengths in front of the quartet and snaps to attention. Pearl notices that under the brim of his cap, a single eye gives an artificial gleam. He lifts his right foreleg and places his hoof to his chest. She notices as the sleeve of his military jacket moves up slightly, it reveals a mechanical hoof and foreleg, she mentally notes that at least a portion of his foreleg and one eyes must have been lost in service to the goddesses and replaced with cybernetics.

With the hem of her white robes fluttering in the breeze, Pearl offers a small bow to the garrison commander. The trio of student acolytes follows suit. "May the peace of the goddesses be upon you." It was the standard greeting for preachers to give.

"And upon you as well, good preacher." The garrison commander lowers his salute. "If you have not found a place to sleep, I can offer you and your students some spare quarters. They won't be luxurious, just some spare cots."

Pearl gave a small nod. "The cots will be plenty enough." Her student acolytes' eyes glimmered at the prospect of sleeping on something softer than the hard wooden planks they had slept on at the priory outside of The Quarry.

The garrison commander gives a broad sweeping gesture towards his rear with a hoof. "While your three fellow acolytes settle, would you care to join me in my office for some refreshments while you and I discuss business?"

Pearl gave a quick nod to the three student acolytes, then slung her staff across her back. "That would be most agreeable."

Several minutes later the pair entered into the meager office. It was a recently converted storage room. "My apologies for the mess and the meager office. A few weeks ago some bandits launched a night raid. They had a crude catapult that flung crudely constructed explosives. One of their lobs got lucky and took out the commander's office with the original commander, Captain Brass Shell. The rest of our officer corps were inside at the time having a meeting. I've been in charge until high command sends a new batch of officers. Who knows when that'll be." He stands up, walks over to a crate turned on its side with several small boxes stacked inside that was serving as a file cabinet and pulled out a ceramic bottle. "This isn't something fancy, like Apple Orchard's cider, it's just something the soldiers muddle together from old bread and potato rations. It tastes like plot stuffed in a hoof-locker filled with unwashed uniforms and left out in the summer sun for three weeks, but it gives you a good buzz."

Pearl gave the commander a small smile. "I'm sure it will do just fine...uh...I'm sorry, I never got your rank and name."

The commander gave a small tip of his head. "The apologies should be mine, good preacher. It's only enlisted ponies and minotaurs here, so we often forget the niceties of rank. I am Sergeant Peach Cobbler of the Fifth corps of the Seventh Division attached to the New Equestrian Empire's Crusade to Return Harmony."

"No need to be so formal, my good sergeant. I am but a simple preacher sent out by my abbot to investigate some unusual findings."

Cobbler tossed his hat onto the makeshift file cabinet, revealing a series of scars on his forehead and a cybernetic eye. He blew out an aggravated sigh. "Of course the message of a subterranean farm would be answered before our requests for an officer or extra provisions. Fucking Tartarus!"

Pearl lifted the small wooden medallion of the five goddesses from under her robes, kissed it and waved out the symbol of the holy quintet in the air. "I am sorry, Peach Cobbler. I am but a simple preacher and go where I am told. I can send a missive back to my abbot that you need aid and relief."

Cobbler strode over to his desk, which was a few crates pushed together side-by-side with a tarp flung over the top. "Then we'd get a bunch of those fanatics from the Fraternity. They just want to shout sermons while burning everything." He stopped, grumbled softly, blew out another sigh and cleared his throat. "I don't mean to vent at you. I'm just frustrated. I know the crusade is currently holed up fighting New Unicornia and probably has their hooves full, so they can't spare any extra bodies." He pulled out a couple of tin cups from the crates that served as his desk and lined them up on top. Pulling the cork from the ceramic bottle, he poured a small portion of a thick, clear liquid in both. He lifted one tin cup in his hoof and offered it to Pearl.

Pearl graciously took the tin cup. "Don't worry about venting to me. It's my job to take care of the souls, minds and bodies of the goddesses' servants. The student acolytes that are accompanying me are trained in medicine and combat, as well as tending to souls. I can offer their services. However I must complete my mission."

"And what mission would that be?"

Pearl pulled out a scroll from under her robes, unfurled it and read it aloud. "I, Pearl Wisdom, preacher of the first rank, have been ordered personally by the goddess Luna to investigate what you have discovered underneath the ruins of Stalliongrad. If there are ponies there who yearn to breathe free and search out harmony, I am to show it to them. All others are to face the justices of the goddesses." She laid the scroll out on the desk for Peach Cobbler to read.

Cobbler scowled as he read over the scroll. "If you've been ordered by a goddess, then it is my duty to obey." He lifted the tin cup in a toast. "May the goddesses guide and protect you."

"May they guide and protect you as well, my good sergeant."

The two clinked their tin cups and Pearl drained hers quickly. She winced and gagged. It felt like somepony had just bucked her in the back of the throat while she was drinking sewage mixed with burning fuel.

"Good, huh?"

"I thought the stuff the caravaneers cooked up from old carrots, potatoes and cabbages, then fermented for months was rough."

"Ya get used to it. More?"

Pearl offered up her tin cup. During her time as a salvager before entering into the goddesses' service as a preacher, she had drank some truly vile booze that were made from much more questionable ingredients. Besides, if she drank more of it, it would eventually taste better...right?

Pearl gagged again after her third cup. Somehow it tasted worse. She waved off another offer for another drink. "Thank you, but no. I will need my wits about me to do my duty."

Cobbler shrugged and poured himself another cup. After downing it, he corked the bottle and stuck it, along with the tin cups, inside his makeshift desk. "So you really plan on going down into that goddess forsaken tunnel? It's dark and there are some weird things down there."

"The night is dark and there are goddess forsaken things that walk under their sky. Are there any thestrals under your command here?"

Peach Cobbler shook his head no. "I wish there were, then we'd have been able to root out where those bandits are hiding when they launch their night raids."

"Do you have some paper and quills?"

"Paper, yes, quills, no. Maybe when the pegasi molt we will. All I can offer you is some charcoal."

"The charcoal will suffice."

Peach Cobbler hoofed Pearl Wisdom several leafs of paper and a piece of charcoal shaved down into a crude pencil.

"I will write down my requests along with any reasonable request you and your soldiers need, and send them back along the trade routes to my abbot. It will take a couple of months and I cannot guarantee anything, even for myself."

Peach Cobbler rattled off a laundry list of things, including ammunition, medicine, food rations and weapon maintenance kits. Pearl Wisdom dutifully wrote them down.

***TWELVE WEEKS LATER***

Peach Cobbler and Pearl Wisdom had been pleasantly surprised just as the sun started peaking over the horizon at the deep thrumming of airship engines. As they rushed out of their quarters, they saw six small airships, half bearing the standards of the New Equestrian Empire's crusade, the other half bearing the flags of the Trading Guild, flying in. They were capable of carrying a company of soldiers each. The soldiers of the garrison were already clearing out landing zones and setting up smoke flares.

The engines on the airships turned upwards, causing them to hover in place. Struts extended from their undersides as they slowly lowered to the ground. As soon as their struts were settled, ramps were lowered. Three companies of soldiers marched out, along with a unicorn lieutenant.

Peach Cobbler walked up and snapped to attention before the lieutenant. He sharply placed his hoof to his chest in salute. "Sir! It is good that aid has come, sir!"

The lieutenant eyed Peach Cobbler quickly, then returned the salute. "At ease, sergeant." He stiffly walked past Peach Cobbler and eyed up the garrison. "Looks like you ponies and 'taurs have seen some Tartarus."

"That we have, sir."

The lieutenant walked back in front of Peach Cobbler. "I have been sent here for more than just to bring this garrison supplies and fresh troops. I am here to personally promote you and relieve you of command."

Peach Cobbler sputtered with a mixture of shock and indignation. "R-r-relieve me?! Why would command..." He dipped his head and laid his ears back. "I apologize, sir. It's just what with ponies and minotaurs I've served with, all the muck and Tartarus we've survived through. The thought of leaving them for some cushy desk job, it seems--"

The lieutenant held up a hoof, cutting Peach Cobbler off. "You are not being recalled, so relax." He reached in to his uniform jacket pocket and pulled out a small box. "Peach Cobbler, word of your courage and the courage of the soldiers who have served alongside you has reached the very ears of the goddesses and the ponemarchs." He opens the small box, revealing a pair of silver leaves. "You are to be promoted to the rank of colonel, along with all of the rights, privileges and duties of said rank. After much deliberation, Adamantem, ponemarch of the Celestial Hooves legion has decided to send Lieutenant Glittering Jewels of the fifteenth war-herd of the Celestial Hooves to serve as the commander of this garrison, along with a retinue of five legionaries. You are to serve as the sixth member of her retinue and as the representative of the mortals that will be under her command. I have brought along with supplies and fresh troops, a proper officer's jacket. I suggest donning it and getting your rank hammered in properly before your new commander arrives."

Peach Cobbler had quickly changed into his officer's jacket and applied his colonel's pins. Soldiers stood around him, patting him on the back as they congratulated him and each took turns punching his new colonel pins. The lieutenant stood on the deck of his airship and smirked at the ritual the soldiers carried out with their newly promoted colonel. He absentmindedly rubbed at the phantom pain in his withers at the memory of all the times his fellow soldiers had "hammered in" his rank.

***

As the sun lazed in western the sky during early evening, the armored airship bearing the colors and banners of the Celestial Hooves hovered above garrison. Ropes were tossed from the deck of the armored white airship with royal purple and gold accents. Legion unicorn servants, whose armor bore the same colors as the airship shimmied down the ropes. Eight of the legion servants bore long, slender brass horns and surrounded the landing pad. They blew out a fanfare on their horns, which was repeated by the same fanfare from the deck of the airship. The remainder of the legion servants on the ground secured the landing pad and waved out signals to the airship crew.

Once the airship's struts had settled, the chapter servants that had served as the landing crew and horn-blowers formed up ranks in a pair of rows standing unmoving at attention.

Peach Cobbler and every soldier not currently on patrol formed up in parade formation. When the ramp lowered, he sharply barked out in a loud voice, "Atten-HUT!" In near-perfect unison, the gathered mortal soldiers standing in parade formation stood to attention with the stamping of hooves.

Dozens of legion servants in formation marched lockstep down the ramp. Twelve more horn blowers joined the previous eight and all twenty raised their horns in perfectly timed precision, preparing to blow out a fanfare. Lastly a pair of legion servants marched down the ramp, carrying a rolled-up royal purple carpet between them. Upon reaching the bottom of the ramp, they unfurled the carpet and straightened it out.

It was known among all of the mortal soldiers that the Celestial Hooves were the most pompous and haughty of their sibling legions. There had been rumors of them doling out harsh punishments to the members of their legions and their legion servants who weren't always in their best appearances.

The horn blowers sounded a long fanfare as the six transequine super-warriors marched down the ramp in perfect unison. The servos of the power armor whirred and clicked in time as their armored hooves thumped on the ground in unison. Once reaching the end of the carpet, the six legionaries stood wither-to-wither in a tight formation.

Mortal soldiers couldn't help but gawk at the six angels of beauty. Their white armor with royal purple and gold accents glinted in the early evening sun. Their brushed fur seemed to shine with an otherworldly glow. Their immaculately coiffed manes blew gently in the breeze.

Five of the transequine marines came to a perfect standstill and Glittering Jewels continued marching forward a few more paces, then stopped three body lengths away. Peach Cobbler knelt before Glittering Jewels. "We, the mortal servants of the goddesses bid you welcome lieutenant, to your command. We stand ready to serve."

Glittering Jewels darted her eyes around to look at the gathered mortal in parade formation and gave a short sniff. "Your unshakable courage and iron tenacity has been commended by Ponemarch Adamantem. It is clear that you have been fighting long and hard without proper resupply. First order of business..." She pointed to the single flagpole made from several lengths of pipe fitted together and the tattered flag of the New Equestrian Empire hanging from it.

Peach Cobbler glanced over at the impromptu flagpole with the tattered flag hanging on it, then looked back at the pony marine. "Many apologies, your ladyship. We just received new supplies today and have yet to erect a new flag, I will--"

"No bother. The flag of the New Equestrian Empire and its Crusade to Restore Harmony, along with the banners of my legion and war-herd shall be displayed from proper flagpoles. If you choose to suspend your unit's heraldry from a filthy sewer pipe, I have no say over that."

"I'll show you a sewer pipe.", Peach Cobbler muttered under his breath.

Glittering Jewels loomed over Peach Cobbler. "My hearing still hasn't fully recovered from when an enemy mortar shell exploded near my head. Would you care to repeat that, colonel?"

"Just making a mental note, your ladyship."

Glittering Jewels dipped her head down until she was face-to-face with Peach Cobbler. "I know you mortals in the army are used to things being in a more lackadaisical manner, but you are now under the command of the Celestial Hooves. We have certain standards for all mortals under our purview. You may be part of my retinue, but if I detect any insubordination, I will personally rip those leaves from your uniform and have you scrubbing out the septic containers of our armor. Do I make myself clear?"

Peach Cobbler stiffened. "Crystal, your ladyship."

Glittering Jewels rose back to her full height, curled back her lips, revealing the metallic teeth all transequine legionaries had, in a manner that she felt was a comforting smile for mortals. It made Peach Cobbler shudder."Good! Now colonel, you will join us as we patrol the nearby settlement while the legion servants erect for me a proper office."

"P-permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"Wouldn't you and your fellow angels want to oversee the refitting of the garrison personally?"

"And risk scuffing my armor on a filthy crate or getting dirt on it from a filthy floor? No. The legion servants are more than skilled enough to ensure I have a proper office to conduct my affairs from. They know my standards. Once I have a proper office, I will personally oversee the proper fortification of this bastion. Do you have any more questions?"

"Shouldn't you and your fellow angels be wearing helmets? There are bandits still hiding among the civilians, and it might hamper your ladyship's ability to carry out your duty if you get a shot to the head."

"We would not deny our enemies the right to look upon our beauty and weep before they die. We do not fear the arrows or bullets of puny mortals. If one were to get lucky and mar any of our beauty, they would know true terror before oblivion took them."

"Can you give me a few minutes to get a helmet and some proper armor?"

"You have ten minutes. Do not tarry. For every minute past ten you delay will be five lashes."

***

Pearl Wisdom was sitting before the acolytes who had been assigned to her as she spoke with them. "Now remember, keep your medicine pouches full at all times. You never know when a soldier or a civilian will get injured or sick, and you will need to treat them. Keep the blades of your knives sharp and clean, if a soldier or civilian is too sick or injured to heal, you are to grant them the peace of the goddesses with a swift stab to the base of their skull so they do not suffer any longer. If you are attacked, use whatever is at hoof to give the enemy the goddesses' justice. You are only to pick up a rifle or pistol to defend yourself, the injured and the innocent if attacked. Once the enemy has passed, you are to surrender the firearm to a member of the Crusade as soon as possible. Our order is not part of The Fraternity, and as such violence is only permitted for protection."

*knock-knock-knock*

There were three swift knocks at the door of the small building that Pearl Wisdom and the three acolytes were currently in. The door opened and a thestral wearing dark lenses walked in.

Pearl turned her head to look over at the bat-pony walking in. "Welcome, my good thestral. We are about to begin our morning prayers before tending to the minds, bodies and souls of the goddesses' herds. Feel free to take a seat or politely wait outside until we have finished."

The thestral strode over to the three acolytes, sat down and bowed his head.

Pearl hefted her simple wooden staff that bore the likeness of the five goddesses and uttered a prayer. "Oh goddesses, the most-holy quintet! We ask that you guide our hearts, minds and hooves in your service! If it be thine will that we fall in your service, we ask that you guide our sous to the still waters and sweet grasses of the meadows beyond! By your harmony we are blessed!" She traced the sign of the holy quintet over her chest.

"By your harmony we are blessed.", the three acolytes repeated back as they traced the sign of the holy quintet over their chest. All four lifted the wooden charm they wore on their necks in the likeness of the five goddesses and kissed them.

As the three acolytes left the small building, Pearl turned to the thestral. "Are you to be my guard and guide in the tunnels the soldiers discovered?"

"Yes, good preacher."

"What is your name?"

"Flittering Moth, good preacher."

"Enough with the good preacher nonsense, Flittering Moth. Since you are to be my bodyguard, guide and companion, it would be better if we called each other by our names. My name is Pearl Wisdom. My friends and fellow preachers call me Pearl. I hope we can be friends."

"I hope so too, good pre--uh, Pearl." Flittering Moth rolled the words on his tongue. It was unfamiliar to him to call a preacher by their name. He was a soldier and like all soldiers in the Crusade to Restore Harmony, they always called ponies and minotaurs who wore the cloth of the many holy orders good preacher.

"Come along, Flit. Uh...do you mind if I call you Flit?"

Flit smirked as he gave a pleasant snort. "Only if I can call you Pearly."

Pearly gave a small smile. "Come on, Flit. We've got some preparations to do before we go down into the tunnel."

As Pearly and Flit walked side-by-side towards the quartermaster's office, the mare tossed her wooden staff onto a trash pile.

Flit blinked behind his dark lenses at that. "Uh, Pearly...is it smart to throw away your staff? Who knows what we'll run into in those goddess-forsaken tunnels."

Pearly chuckled. "Tis but a simple wooden staff, not some holy relic or expensive weapon. Before I entered the goddesses' service I was a scrapper. I crawled through ruins and tunnels, searching for salvage and scrap that I could trade or sell for a night's meal." She stopped, drew her knife and cut away the lower portion of her robes. "When we reach the quartermaster's office, I shall requisition a truncheon to defend myself with. I suggest you get an assault rifle or a pistol, several magazines and sword or mace to defend yourself. It's going to be tight down there and that big, long sniper rifle will get hung up on things, plus you won't have wide open spaces to line up a shot."

"So why ask for a thestral to guide you and not a legionnaire?"

"The goddesses' angels are quite large, larger than horses and it will be quite tight down there. Plus they are quick to violence and that would hinder my mission to bring the word of the goddesses to good ponies, even if they live in dark tunnels. A misunderstanding could lead to a massacre."

***

Pearly with the truncheon strapped to her side and her knife tucked under her shortened robes, accompanied Flit, with a pistol holstered to his foreleg, a short sword strapped to his side and two bandoleers of magazines secured to his barrel, approached the access hatch.

When one of the soldiers guarding the outside of the hatch lifted a hoof and ordered them to halt, Pearly reached into her robes and produced the scroll that had orders from Luna. "I am Preacher of the First Order, Pearly Wisdom. This is my bodyguard, guide and companion, Corporal Flittering Moth. I am under the personal orders of Guardian of Dreams and Goddess of the Night Luna to bring the light of the goddesses and the words of harmony to any good ponies that live in the dark tunnels beyond."

The guard took the scroll, unrolled it and read the orders. With a grunt he passed the scroll back, then nodded to the other guards. "Open the hatch and let them pass."

With the shrieking of rusty hinges, the hatch was opened. Once the hatch was opened, one guard shouted down, "Two with divine orders from the goddesses, let them pass!"

Pearly and Flit scaled down the ladder that was newer than the rest of the construction. Reaching the bottom, they were met by a cadre of guards. "We will escort you to where the electric lanterns end. I must warn you, there are weird things down there. We've all heard the soft clopping of hooves, whispers in the dark and tapping, like somepony is knocking on metal. We've also seen glowing eyes looking at us from the darkness. It gives us all the heebie-jeebies. If you decided to turn around and go back to where you came from, none of us would fault you."

Pearly stood tall, pulled the wooden charm she wore on her neck from her robes and kissed it. "It is my sacred duty to bring the word of harmony to all who would listen. I would rather be strung up by my hind fetlocks, flayed with a rusty spoon and dunked head-first into a swamp than be remiss in my duties."

"And it is my duty to protect all good ponies from those who are cruel and enslave. I have been asked by my friend to guide her through these dark tunnels and protect the innocent. I swear that I will not allow any harm to come to her to the best of my abilities, even unto my death.", Flit said as he stood to attention.

The head guard, a female minotaur, raised a cloven hoof. "Easy now. This isn't a pre-battle rally. We're just warning you that there are weird things in those tunnels."

"There are weird things under the sky and we still face them. If there are good ponies in here, then it is my solemn duty to bring the light of the goddess and the words of harmony to them.", Pearly replied. "We shall venture out for three days. If we find good ponies, we will return with a few of them. Otherwise we will return alone and send a message that there is nothing good down here."

The minotaur cow grunted. "By my honor as a Fire Pipe, I shall watch for you for three days and three nights. May the goddesses guide your hooves."

Pearly gave a short nod. "May the light of the goddesses shine on you for all time."

Pearly and Flit, flanked by the soldiers guarding the tunnel entrance, strode through the portion of the tunnel lit by electric lanterns. After several body lengths the electric lanterns came to a stop and the party stopped also.

"Wait here while I step into the darkness and look around real quick." Flit stepped out of the light of the electric lanterns and removed his dark lenses. He blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Pearly sat on her flanks as she pressed her forhooves together and whispered a small prayer.

Flit backed up to the edge of the light. "There's ponies out there in the darkness. It looks like they can see in the darkness too, but they lack the slit pupils of thestrals. It looks like their eyes are larger to compensate for the darkness. They're also shorter, probably from living goddesses knows how long in these tunnels. Some of them are armed too. I count one, two, uh...seven...fifteen...twenty-five ponies with some sort of weapons I've never seen before. Strike that, there's another twelve that are escorting what looks like unarmed civilians away. I think we've given them a scare with all of these soldiers coming here. They're whispering to each other, hold on a moment...they're saying something I can't quite understand." He took a slow step backwards. "Hold on. There's several more to their rear with what looks like wrenches and hammers. Ah, that's the tapping you all were hearing. They're tapping wrenches, hammers and hooves on pipes. I think they're talking to somepony. I'd guess they're sending sitreps and calling for reinforcements."

Flit returned to the light of the electric lanterns and put his dark lenses back on. "I think we've discovered a new tribe."

Pearly blew out a relieved sigh. She turned to the soldiers escorting them. "Return to your posts and send a report back that we have visual confirmation of ponies living in the tunnels. We're going to venture forth and greet these ponies."

The minotaur cow stiffened. "But the thestral said there's a bunch of them with weapons and they're calling for reinforcements."

"They're responding to you all escorting us to the edge of the light.", Pearly said. "Think about how you'd all respond if you saw a bunch of armed ponies and 'taurs walking towards you in the dark. They're responding to a potential threat. Fall back to your post while we go and greet these ponies."

With disagreeing grumbles, the soldiers fell back to their post, though they did post a couple halfway up the lit portion of the tunnel to serve as sentries.

Pearly turned to Flit. "Shall we?"

Flit extended a leathery wing. "Stay close to my side. It's going to get really dark once we leave the light of the lanterns and I don't want you to get turned around."

Pearly scooched up close to Flit's side and he draped his wing across her back. The two then stepped from the light of the electric lanterns.

"Oh geez! It is dark. It's almost like ink."

"Toldja."

***

The gathered security ponies of the dark tribe watched as two surface dwelling ponies walked through the darkness towards them.

Lead Pipe, a stallion with a dark grey coat and pale mane, checked the cylindrical magazine on his pneumatic rifle, counting the number of steel balls he had in it. Giving the lever a few pumps, he glanced at the pressure gauge on the side. Raising the weapon, he lined up the sights that had been painted with the juice of phosphorescent mushrooms. "Halt, sky lovers! Turn back the way you came and leave! We do not welcome your slave-taking kind here! Go back to fight your petty wars with your fellow slavers and proceed no further in our realm!"

The two surface dwellers stopped in their tracks, but did not turn back. The one with slitted pupils could clearly see them, it was a pony of darkness too. Several of the security ponies murmured if this one was a member of another dark tribe far beyond the tunnels. Other than its slitted pupils, it also had leathery wings. Members of the dark tribe had seen other surface dwelling ponies that had wings, but those always had feathers, Feathers weren't unheard of among the dark tribe, a third of their number would grow feathers on their backs and sides.

The pony with slitted eyes' companion was clearly not accustomed to the darkness of the tunnels, seeing as it stayed close to the slitted-eyed pony's side. It was wearing robes, The robed pony began to talk in a language none of them could understand, complete with broad gesticulating. The robed pony reached into the collar of it's robes, which caused the security ponies to ready and brace their weapons, as they were expecting some sort of weapon. Instead the robed pony withdrew a medallion on a cord.

Lead Pipe gestured for the security ponies accompanying him to lower their weapons. "Somepony call for commandant Tuber. I think these ponies are connected to the creatures who have set up watch by the access point and placed false fire along the tunnel."

After several minutes Tuber, an older stallion with a black coat with white speckles and a dark mane, came up with a retinue of bodyguards. "What's going on here?"

Lead Pipe spoke up. "Commandant, these two ponies are connected to the creatures who have set up watch at the entrance point down that tunnel. The ones who have set up the false fire."

Tuber eyed the two surface dwellers. "The same ones who approached Spore and Screw's farm, then retreated? I was wondering when they were going to make contact."

"So they're not a threat?"

"Not to us at least. If you remember, the traders that have the big beasts told us a couple of years ago that the Five Divines who carry the True Fire of Friendship have returned and are calling all pure souls to them. Quickly! Bring food! Bring the best mushroom vodka! Bring phos-'shroom cages! And find somepony who understands surface tongue!"

***

Flit watched as several of the security ponies conversed with one another. He said softly to Pearly, "I think they've brought an officer. Hold on...they're bringing ponies carrying what looks like food, drink and cages containing phosphorescent mushrooms."

The tunnel ponies erected poles in a large circle and hung cages containing the phosphorescent mushrooms from them. The area was illuminated with a dim, pale greenish light. They quickly assembled a large table and several chairs from pipes and sheet metal. They laid out dishes on the table made from mushrooms, tubers and roots, along with ceramic bottles containing a clear liquid that had an alcohol smell.

Several ponies escorted an old mare, whom had more lines on her face than a Trade Guild route map. Her eyes were covered with a blindfold, a mass of scars could be seen around the edges of the blindfold.

The old mare sat down at the constructed table with assistance from her escorts. "Many much apologizings as my surface tongue is poor as I have not spoken it for some time. I was an enslaved filly when the dark tribe rescued and adopted me."

Pearl Wisdom took a seat at the table as Flittering Moth stood behind her. "There is no need to apologize. I have come to bring the word of the goddesses, not judge others for their language. My name is Pearl Wisdom, Preacher of the First Order. I am a member of a holy order of the New Equestrian Empire. I am of the earth tribe of ponies. This is my companion, bodyguard and guide, Flittering Moth. He is a member of the thestral tribe."

Pearl waited as the old mare conveyed to what looked like an officer. The officer then spoke and the old mare interpreted. "What is your...um...what's the word? Uh...are you here for good or bad?"

Pearl gave a soft smile. "My intentions are peaceful. My companion is a soldier who who's purpose is to protect me from violence."

The old mare interpreted and the officer spoke. "The commandant says he knows of your army as we occasionally contact the Trading Guild for things that cannot be found in our realm."

Pearly smiled at that. The trading Guild had been a most useful tool for spreading the news and gathering information of the surrounding countryside.

The officer spoke again and the old mare interpreted. "Why did your security creatures enter into our realm uninvited?"

Pearly gestured to Flit. "It is standard procedure for the army of the New Equestrian Empire's Crusade to Restore Harmony to secure all potential routes against attack. It was not our intention to frighten or provoke you."

The old mare interpreted and the commandant spoke. "You have spoke of goddesses and harmony. Are they like our five divines who bear and protect the True Fire of Friendship?"

A broad smile spread on Pearly's lips. "It sounds like your five divines are an interpretation of the goddesses. The True Fire of Friendship is Harmony."

"What does your army do?"

"It's purpose is to protect the innocent and to give swift justice to those who are cruel, enslave or slaughter. The goddesses welcome all who are willing to live in harmony. They have already spread harmony to many communities and the land is prospering. Every day ponies and minotaurs from across the land flock to their banner."

"What are minotaurs?"

"They are the large creatures that serve and live alongside us. They have cloven hooves, their males walk upon two legs while their females walk on four."

"How long will you stay here?"

"For as long as I am welcome."

"Will your army try to invade and enslave us?"

"Our army only attacks those who are cruel, enslave, slaughter or attacks us first. I have been sent to offer the hoof of friendship and harmony. Every place that has joined us has flourished."

"What if we choose not to join your empire?"

"Then the goddesses will be sad. But as long as you remain peaceful, we will respect your borders. We will still offer trade and assistance."

The old mare interpreted and the commandant spoke again. "The commandant does not have the...um--[Slow down, my surface-tongue poor and my mind isn't as sharp as it once was.] As I was speaking...the commandant does not have the speaking-power to make those decisions. Only the council at Red Line Station has the speak-power to make that decision."

"Station? Is that like a city or a town or a village?"

"City? Town? Village? What are those?"

"We who live under the sky build structures to live and work in. We congregate in settlement. Depending on the size we call them a village, town or a city. A village is the smallest, where a few dozen to a couple hundred live, while a city is the biggest. A town is in-between in size."

The old mare interpreted and the commandant spoke again. "The commandant understands. Your cities would be like our stations, and villages would be like our stops and towns would be like our yards."

"You may use different words to describe things, we share a common ground and bond. Your five divines are the five goddesses." Pearl Wisdom held up her wooden medallion for effect. "The True Fire of Friendship is Harmony. Your stations, yards and stops are cities."

"Would you come with us to Red Line Station?"

"I promised the guards I would travel for three days and if I found good ponies, I would return with some of their representatives."

"Days?"

Pearl Wisdom wracked her brain trying to figure out how to explain how days work to ponies who have never seen the sky. Flittering Moth spoke up. "The soldiers standing guard in that tunnel down there change shifts once every eight hours. Three guard changes would be one day."

The old mare interpreted what was said. "So nine guard changes would be three days. Red Line Station would be four changes away by trot and one change away by rail. The commandant, some security ponies and myself would go with you and your companion to Red Line Station by rail to talk with the council. If they agree to meet with your soldiers, they will send one of their numbers with you, otherwise we will send you and your companion back alone."

Pearly gave a quick glance to Flit, who in turn gave a quick nod. "We agree to your terms."

***

For two days Mooriel had maintained her vigil, only resting when she grew tired to stay awake, but not leaving the tunnel.

"We got lights and movement incoming!", a soldier shouted.

Mooriel quickly ran to the edge of the light. There was indeed balls of greenish light moving forward and she could barely make out shapes moving in the dark beyond the light of the electric lanterns.

Pearl Wisdom and Flittering Moth walked into the light.

"I've made contact with the ponies down here! It's a new tribe. By the goddesses! It's a new tribe! They have a whole vast civilization down here of allied cities they call stations! From the maps I've seen, there's dozens of those stations down here! I managed to parlay with one of the stations called Red Line and they've agreed to meet with Her Ladyship, Lieutenant Glittering Jewels to negotiate. We're going to need dark lenses or welding hoods as they've adapted to living in darkness, with only phosphorescent mushrooms to provide any dim lighting."

Pearly panted to catch her breath after her excited tirade.

***

The lights in Glittering Jewels' office had been dimmed to provide barely any illumination. The transequine warrior sat behind her massive desk. The three representatives of Red Line Station whispered back and forth between one another.

"There shall be no need for an interpreter as I have figured out your language."

"You speak Mareussian?!"

"Understanding languages is one of the many gifts we the angels of the goddesses have been granted. I am a very busy pony, as I am sure you three are. I am not a diplomat, however I feel we can come to some sort of agreement. Allow me to start. I am Glittering Jewels, lieutenant of the fifteenth war-herd of the Celestia Hooves. I have been granted command and authority over this garrison by ponemarch Adamantem. Until my death or I have been relieved, I speak with their authority in all matters." Glittering Jewels' face was a blank mask. "Present your terms and we shall come to some sort of agreement."

"I am Torque Bolt, eighth chair of the council of Red Line Station and these are my two assistants, Mushroom Bake and Deep Delver." Torque Bolt presented a stack of papers made from pressed mushrooms. "The council of Red Line Station welcomes our new friends. So long as you are peaceful towards us, we will allow passage of your troops through our tunnels. The council will also offer an alliance of trade and mutual defense."

Glittering Jewels used her magic to rifle through the documents as she didn't want to sully her armor with any dirt. It was bad enough that she was going to have to get her office cleaned after this meeting with those tunnel dwellers was over. Included in the documents were maps. "What of the other settlements in the tunnels below?"

"The council of Red Line Station does not and cannot speak for the other stations. You will have to negotiate with them as they choose to make contact."

Glittering Jewels stayed silent for a few moments as the magic-fueled machinery of her power armor interpreted the writing and her brain committed it to her eidetic memory. "Are there any settlements that would be hostile to us? Any threats, such as bandits, mutants, gangs or monsters?"

"The banished, castaways and runaways who love in the deep lines have occasionally been hostile, but have never attacked in any significant numbers. Only small raiding bands that occasionally come up from the deep lines, but they're usually quickly repulsed. Then there's The Hub. Twenty years ago after an incursion from the surface where mobs of mutants attacked and were repulsed by an alliance of stations, they slammed their gates shut and will fire on any who enter into their tunnels."

"The deep lines are a minor annoyance, but I'm sure it will be no major threat. Do those in this Hub ever launch attacks of any kind?"

"No. They never come out of their tunnels. Occasionally somepony will occasionally catch a glimpse of one of their workers patching up one of their barricades, but they usually retreat back behind their doors and gates. There have been attempts in the past by other stations to make contact. They always open fire with their weapons and drive them away."

Glittering Jewels gave the paperwork one last look over. "Everything seems to be in order. Your troops will be allowed access through all territory we control and our troops will be allowed access through the tunnels." She signed her name to the treaty and passed it to the representatives of Red Line Station so they could sign their names. "This is a temporary treaty of mutual trade and defense. I'll have copies made. One will be sent to the Trading Guild so they can set up a post in your tunnels. I'll send several up the chain of command so the New Equestrian Empire so negotiators can be sent to hammer out a permanent treaty."

***

A rush of thrill ran through Pearl Wisdom's body as she descended back into the tunnels. By her side were her three student acolytes as well as her friend, companion, bodyguard and guide, Flittering Moth. In her saddlebags was a flashlight, light-amplification goggles and a map of the stations. At the edge of the light was a small contingent of ponies of the dark tribe carrying weapons and cages containing phosphorescent mushrooms.

Just before stepping beyond the edge of the light cast by the electric lanterns, Pearl Wisdom turned to her student acolytes. "We are going into a place where these ponies traditions are different from ours. Be respectful and courteous. Remember the teachings of the goddesses and the examples of the six heroes of ancient. We are to bring the message of harmony to anypony who will listen. At every settlement we are welcomed, we will set up shrines and temples for the locals to worship at. Keep your medicine bags ready to heal any of the sick and injured. We have been forewarned about the passages leading up to the ruined city above. Those heathens are beyond the light of the goddesses and when the crusade finishes bringing light and justice to New Unicornia, they will come to the city above to purge those whose very existence is blasphemy."

The group set out into the darkness to win hearts, minds and souls for the goddesses. Hopefully they would survive to see the end of their mission and when the bulk of the crusade's army made its way over to the ruins of Stalliongrad, there would be an entire army of the dark tribe ready, willing and able to assist them in their ordeal.

Author's Note

This chapter takes place while the New Equestrian Empire's Crusade to Restore Harmony is fighting its war against New Unicornia.

This is the first of two side chapters to flesh out what's going on in the world.

Side chapter: The Griffonstone resistance

Up atop the high crags and stone spires that surrounded the long devastated capital of Gtiffonia, Grissfonston, griffons stood perched, gazing about the landside. They wore armor made of tanned hide, each bearing an emblem of a shield with three stripes, magenta, light pink, and violet, with a golden cup in the center of the shield. Strapped to their sides and their backs were sword and spears, they had looted from their enemy.

The griffons stood atop their perches as they watched a small squad of centaurs move through the valley far below. Sitting atop a large boulder in the valley was their leader, Gabriel. He wore similar armor to them, but with one slight alteration, on his flanks he wore the two small wooden shields that once belonged to Queen Gabby. He preened his wings and buffed his talons against his chest fluff.

As the centaurs grew near, Gabriel gave his wings a couple of flaps, ensuring the flight feathers were properly aligned. Folding his wings up, he gave the centaurs a self-assured glance as the corners of his beak turned up in a cocky smile. "And a good afternoon to you, my good hybrids."

The centaurs formed a circle, eyes up to the sky, as their leader leveled the point of his sword at the griffon perched on the boulder. "You've got a lot of stones to sit out here like that, cat-bird."

Gabriel, his cocky countenance never breaking, pulled a sling and a pouch of stones from within his leather armor. Placing the pouch of stones on top of the boulder, he opened it and pulled one out, giving the smooth, round orb a couple of hefts. "Why, yes! Yes, I do." He lazily slipped the loop of the sling over one of his digits, grasped the other string in his talons, and shoved the stone into the small leather square. "I can share some of these stones with you...forcefully. Unless, all you monkey-ponies meet my demands."

The lead centaur rankled. "And what demands would that be?"

Gabriel began whirling the sling over his head. "The same that they've always been for the past two years: That you and all your brethren lay down your weapons, free all griffons you're keeping in bondage, leave the griffon lands, and never return."

The centaurs leading this band shot a glance skyward. The stories of the pony goddesses leading a great host and slaughtering all their enemies had reached all the way here in Griffonstone. Then there had been the fact that for almost as long there had been no fresh centaur reinforcements. Over this same period of time, the griffons had been getting bolder and bolder, launching raids on slave pens, snatching away eggs and chicks, stealing weapons. Now there was a full-on rebellion. Their numbers had steadily grown over the past two years, meanwhile the centaur's numbers had declined over the same time, not by huge amounts. But now that there were no more reinforcements, every loss was irreplaceable.

At first the centaurs would send out dozens of their numbers to crush or scatter any of the griffons' pathetic attempts at rebellion. But now that they were no longer receiving reinforcements, they could only afford to send out a small number at a time to deal with any sightings had made these cat-birds who were free to be even more brash. The lead centaur studied the skies, looking for any sight of an aerial attack as he thought about the number that had come out to this valley with him. Counting himself, there were five in total. Back before the stories of the goddesses making war, this would have been a scouting patrol. These griffon rebels had steadily attacked the centaurs, their attacks went from once in a while, to weekly, now they were daily, killing only one or two with each attack, sometimes five, but also injuring sometimes up to a dozen. This had slowly and steadily whittled their horde down from tens of thousands to just fifteen thousand. Meanwhile these rebels' numbers grew. This one here had gathered to himself an estimated three thousand, and there was another estimated eight thousand other griffon rebels in their own rebel groups spread out across the canyons, valleys, crags, and spires surrounding the ruins of Griffonstone.

"Eyes down here." Gabriel stood up, whirling the sling over his head faster and faster. "I'm going to need your answer. Lay down your weapons, leave and never come back...or become food for the vultures and ravens."

"The Khan will nev--"

"~Over hill, over dale, my hooves carve a dusty train. And the goddesses guide me ever on and on!~" A baritone voice sang a jolly tune. "~For it's hi-hi-hee as I sing and bring the word of the goddesses on!~"

Gabriel and the centaurs stopped what they were doing to look in the direction of the singing. A unicorn stallion wearing flowing robes and carrying a staff on its back.

Gabriel, the griffons perched in their hiding places, and the centaurs all mouthed, 'What in the of...?'

The pony stopped singing. "Why hello there! I didn't expect to meet anycreature." He gestured behind him with a hoof. "I'd be careful going back that way. I accidentally stumbled across a migration of cockatrices about five leagues back and I tell you what, they weren't too happy to see me. Barely got out of there with my hide still hide. I guess the goddesses work in mysterious ways." the pony cleared his throat. "Ahem-hem-hem. Blech! Think I swallowed too much rock dust. Now where was I? Oh, yes!" The stallion pulled the staff off his back and propped it in a hoof. "Rejoice! For I bring unto thee glad tidings. The goddesses walk among us mortals once again! For those who seek to breathe free and want to live in harmony, they extend the hoof. To those who enslave, murder, and desire mayhem, flee, for they shall purify them with bullet and blade and flame." He paused to look at the creatures before him. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

The lead centaur eyed up the pony. "Leave now, pony, and recognize your betters. or else..."

"Oh, goodness me!" The pony levitated a pistol out from under his robes, pulled the magazine out to check the ammo count, reinserted the magazine, and pulled back the slide to cock it. "And lo, the righteous pony shall find themself beset on all sides by the wicked. But fear not, for they shall know we are the goddesses as we rain our righteous fury upon them!" The stallion leveled the pistol at the lead centaur.

Gabriel quickly spun the sling over his head and loosed the stone, striking the lead centaur between the eyes.

*bang* *bang-bang* *bang-bang-bang-bang*

Gabriel had never experienced anything like this before. There was what sounded like multiple peals of thunder and strange wounds opened up on the other four centaurs, gushing blood.

The pony pulled he new empty magazine from the pistol, inserted a fresh one, and re-cocked the weapon. As he walked up, leveled the weapon at each of the downed centaurs heads and put one more shot into each. Putting the weapon away, he bowed to Gabriel. "I must apologize to you, my good griffon. I have been deceptive." He extended a hoof. "My name is Sun Stone, member of The Fraternity, Order of The Zap Apple, preacher of the second-order."

Gabriel blinked in confusion. "Wha..."

"Your confusion is understandable. But worry not, the plight of the griffons have reached the ears of the goddesses and my order sent me to lend aid." He pulled a scroll, a candle, and box of matches from his robes. "Now would you be so kind as to direct me to your leader?"

That...uh, would be me." Gabriel took the scroll and unrolled it. "Uh...I can't read."

Sun Stone straightened up. "That's not a problem, my good griffon. As a member of The Fraternity, it is my duty to serve the will of the goddesses by aiding those whom seek to breathe free and live in harmony, and by delivering their justice to the wicked. If I may?"

"Huh?" Gabriel was still a bit dumbfounded by this pony. "Oh! Yeah, sure."

Sun Stone unfurled the scroll, cleared his throat, and began to read out loud. "Dear rooster or hen that is leading their fellow griffons in the fight for freedom up in Griffonstone, Griffonia. Know that while we have heard the plights of your griffons, we currently cannot send much in the means of infantry or weapons at this time as we are currently recovering our losses from a major conflict with a most violent war herd. Nevertheless, we still will send you what aid we can. If you agree to accept the services of one of our preachers from The Fraternity, the order at the time of drafting this missive has yet to be decided, please light the candle and place the scroll into the flame. It will send this scroll to us and we will send assets your way as we are able. If you reject the service of our preachers, we will be saddened, but will understand. We only ask that if you reject his services, to please allow him to leave your lands unharmed.

Their most high majesties, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Mi Amore "Cadance" Candenza, Princess Mi Amore "Flurry Heart" Amicita, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.

Dictated but not read.

Sun Stone rolled up the scroll. "Do you accept, or not?"

Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. "If I accept, what sort of services do you offer?"

Sun Stone gave a bright smile. "First off, you gain my veteran expertise. I fought against The Brass Legion, New Unicornia, and the hogs, so I know how to dispatch scum with the utmost efficiency and zeal. You do not need worry about feeding me as I can subsist on grass, nuts, berries, flowers, and leaves. My service in The Fraternity has given me the skills to make improvised explosives, improvised incendiary bombs, booby traps, and improvised weapons, as far as what the capabilities of your organization from what I've seen."

"And what of our capabilities have you seen?"

"You've currently got at least twelve griffons watching me. They're not hidden very well as they're silhouetted against the sky. Plus I've been sitting up in those rocks for the past two weeks simply observing." Sun Stone pointed to the top of a bluff. "I know your force, while quite talented with hit-and-run assaults, lack cohesion. Otherwise once those centaurs were distracted by me, they would have jumped them all. I can train you all in that and more."

"You made your point. Give me that candle." Placing a lit match to the candle's wick, Gabriel noticed its odd color, not the normal yellow-orange, but more of a lavender in color. He placed the scroll in the flame and watched as it vanished in a puff of sparkling smoke. "So what's first?"

"I need clay pots, just big enough to hold in a hoof or talon, charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter."

Author's Note

This chapter takes place shortly after the fight against the hogz. I know it's a bit of a time jump, but not to worry, next chapter we're getting into the fight against da hogz.

The purging of the Sphinx Kingdom-the defeat of Hakkahn

Twilight sat under the shade of a date palm, sipping water as she looked over reports. A frown crossed her lips seeing that for at least another two weeks not only repairing, but also refitting and rearming. Fortunately the tech monks had redoubled their efforts and soon the majority of the army would be outfitted with the new repeating rifles. She turned her thoughts to Dewdrop and a small smile graced her lips, the filly's lessons were going well and soon she would be able to read and do mathematics on the level of a third grader. She would have to come up with more challenging lesson plans for her as the filly's mind soaked up knowledge like a sponge.

Twilight turned her thoughts to the north. Had Philomena got the messages to the princesses? How big is Spike now? Is he even still alive? Would she recognize her baby brother? She thought back to the days when everything went completely wrong. It was during the seventieth year of her reign, it started with several isolated communities in the mountains that had a mysterious plague striking them. She had called in Celestia and Luna to assist her with beating this disease. After two years of investigation, the cause was tracked down to several cults that were worshiping Grogar as a god, they thought they could bring that old necromancer back by spreading a magical plague and bloody sacrifices. The recently modernized army was sent in to deal with them, most of the cultists were killed or scattered after several volleys from muskets. It was shortly after that when she and the other alicorns began having visions of a great catastrophe. All five worked tirelessly day and night to uncover whoever or whatever was the architect of this.

Twilight though back to the vision that prompted her to action. The tree of harmony had come to her in a dream in the forms of not only her five friends, but also Sunset, Starlight, Trixie and Sunburst all in heavy armor like what the ponemarchs and their respective legions now wear. They told her that Equestria couldn't be saved unless she went to a land far across the sea to create a great host. The tree imparted onto her the knowledge to create an army and weapons to stop the nightmarish monsters. Upon waking, she found Sunset was in her room, apparently the tree had went out of its way to retrieve her from the human world. She quickly imparted on Sunset the plans and they set out to retrieve the genetic samples from their friend, just a few strands of hair from their manes, a few drops of blood and the scrapings from the insides of their cheeks. After securing the samples and magically preserving them, she began building an airship meant to evacuate herself, her friends and several dozen ponies to safety.

Then the devastation happened. Twilight remembered gasping in shock as massive plumes of magic erupted into the air all over the land. The skies went ablaze as the cities burned. Untold numbers died when magic went wild and uncontrolled. The former element bearers rushed out to save as many as they could, none returned alive. The only body that was not retrieved was Fluttershy's, Discord had vanished shortly after that, along with her cottage. She had long believed that he had retrieved Fluttershy's body and concealed it to prevent any cultists from defacing it. After the initial devastation, storms fueled by magic rolled across the land killing even more, followed shortly by bizarre mutants ravaging the land. She loaded as many survivors into her airship as she could fit until it was filled nearly to bursting. The other princesses had volunteered to stay behind to try and protect as many as they could until her return. The last she saw of Celestia as her airship broke its moorings was her plunging headlong into a horde of mutants to slow them long enough so that the airship could get clear. She remembered seeing golden blood flowing from her former teacher's wounds as the mutants tore at her with claws and teeth, but the solar alicorn never once faltered or quailed. Twilight had taken one last look upon her home before it disappeared behind the horizon.

Back in the present, Twilight pressed her face into her hooves and wept for those lost all those centuries ago and for those who had been lost in this current war. A small voice asking "Why do you cry goddess?" broke her from her mourning. Looking up she saw Dewdrop looking to her in concern. Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes and replied, "I was mourning for those who have died."

Dewdrop cocked her head, "But don't you and the other goddesses ferry the souls that have given their lives to the heavens where they can rest for all eternity?"

Twilight chose not to answer and instead gently stroked the filly's cheek. "Come along, it's time for your next lessons."

As Twilight and Dewdrop sat down for their evening meal together, she felt a familiar shiver run up her spine as the flap on the tent opened. Rising to her hooves in a defensive stance, she challenged the figure before her wearing a dingy cloak, "Who are you?!"

"Twilight Sparkle, I don't know if I should be offended by the princess who defeated me twice not recognizing me."

Twilight summoned her hammer and shouted, "Dewdrop! Get out!" After the filly bolted out the back of the tent, she activated her hammer and hoisted it, ready to strike. "Tirek! Why are you here?!"

"Easy princess, I have not come to fight.", Tirek said, "I come as a ...well friend may be the wrong word...I come with knowledge of the enemy you fight." He threw off the cloak, revealing mass of scars on his face and body, his left arm was missing, along with several teeth and his horns.

Twilight gasped softly. "What happened to you?"

"The sphinxes happened to me.", Tirek replied, "They tore the very flesh and organs from my body so they could breed their own centaur forces. It has only been my own driving desire for vengeance that has kept me alive all these centuries, but now my health is beginning to fail me."

Twilight gently reached out a hoof gently.

"Before you offer to do anything to try and save me, don't bother. My death will be my penance for my wrongdoings.", Tirek said calmly, "When I first heard the rumors of a goddess leading an invincible host, I knew that my time was coming close and I sought any information. The information I bring is that the sphinxes are terrified of you, you have shown their subjects that they are not immortal the god-kings they imagine themselves to be. The next one you will face is Hakkahn, he delights in slaughtering with his own claws and as we speak he is amassing his armies in the belief her can strike you down in one titanic battle."

"If your life can't be saved, we have the knowledge to make your passing comfortable."

Tirek smiled weakly. "Even after all these centuries, you still try and find ways to make other's lives easier. I'll have to turn you down, instead tonight I shall trek into the deep desert where the sands will eventually consume me. Before I leave, I leave you with this, Hakkahn may be a violent brute, but be cautious of his last two brothers Sutekh and Ozymandias. Sutekh is a master of the dark magics, but his arrogance will blind him. Be most cautious of Ozymandias, he is not a brute or an arrogant fool like his brothers, if he knows he cannot defeat you, he will flee and find a means to attack you when he thinks you are at your weakest. Farewell greatest enemy of mine, if it destined, we shall meet again in another lifetime." He turned a quietly left the tent.

Several minutes later several soldiers and marines burst in the tent with Sunset and Dewdrop on their heels.

"Twilight!", Sunset called, "Dewdrop said there was a monster in here?"

Twilight turned her head in thought. "Not a monster, but an old friend seeking forgiveness." She looked up. "Send the word, at first light me move out. The next sphinx is preparing to march against us. Any repairs and refits that aren't complete by then must be done on the move."

As the first pale ray of morning scattered across the city, the air was filled with the droning of engines as the airship took off one by one. The gates were flung open as the mobile forges, mobile medbays and mobile garages housing the war striders all rolled out in a massive column. Pegasus soldiers and marines flew about in patrols around the airships and tracked vehicles.

Twilight sat in her private quarters pouring over reports. The familiar anxiety crept up inside her as her mind began pouring over strategies and counter strategies. She fought the instinct to freak out and completely cover her walls in tons of hoofwritten analytical paperwork. She closed her eyes, placed a hoof to her chest, took in a deep breath, she let it out extending the hoof. Opening her eyes, she immediately fixed her stare on what she needed and began calmly writing out the strategy.

Twilight entered the briefing room and laid out the papers containing the strategies as she waited for Sunset, the ponemarchs and the general. Once they had gathered, she passed out the paperwork. "It is a safe assumption that the sphinxes have had scouts watching our previous conflicts with the other two and will adjust their tactics to accommodate for our forces.", she said sternly, "So we must adapt out tactics to throw them off balance. The last two engagements we used the earth pony and unicorn marines to either lead the charge or supplement the army, while the pegasi marines picked off their seige weapon and reeked havoc in their ranks, while the war striders marched on their ranks and vaporized them."

Twilight turned her gaze to the ponemarchs. "When we make visual contact with enemy forces, you will deploy in full strength on their flanks a few miles away so you forces will be concealed. I will deploy with every tech monk that is not currently conducting maintenance or refitting. The army will supplement the tech monk forces. The exoskeleton-clad ranks of the Ponyhood will teleport into the rear ranks to disable their siege weapon and and throw their rear inks into panic. Once the our forces are engaged, we will have bought enough time for the legions to unleash their full might."

Twilight turned to face the window for a moment before continuing, "The airships will use air burst fragmentation shells for close fire support, if they have necromancers, the pegasi soldiers will give support with plasma. The war striders will hold back to keep the air clear of hostiles and will march forth in full stride once their force break."

Several of the generals began to murmur their discontent and Twilight held up a hoof to silence them. "This is not up for debate. As the tides of battle shift, I will leave any last minute changes to the generals, air command and strider command." She turned back to the room, "Arm your forces with whatever you feel is prudent. Dismissed." Once the room was cleared, she let her countenance drop and she slumped to her haunches in thought.

"Twilight? Is everything alright?", Sunset asked.

Twilight sighed. "Back in the city Tirek was the one who entered into the tent. He was mangled and dying, but that's not what concerns me. The spell that held him, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow entombed in stone was broken some time ago. I'm sure Cozy died long ago either from old age, disease or violence, but that means Chrysalis is somewhere in Equestria, she may have either founded a new hive or tried to take over Thorax's hive, if it wasn't wiped out in the cataclysm."

"We'll bomb that bridge when we come to it.", Sunset said with a wry smile, "Let's not worry about that now and instead focus on liberating the former kingdom of Saddle Arabia."

Rising to her hooves, Twilight placed a hoof on Sunset's wither. "Thank you."

"I remember a time when I wasn't so good and was sitting in a crater crying. You extended a hand to me in forgiveness, it's the least I can do when the weight of the world presses down on you.", Sunset replied.

After three days of moving at a grueling pace, the pegasi scouts began began returning with reports of a massive enemy force moving at speed in their direction. Twilight quickly summoned the ponemarchs and generals. "The fight is coming soon. I trust you have made the proper preparations for your forces." She didn't wait for any responses, "You all know what needs to be done. Peace through harmony."

"Harmony through victory.", the generals and ponemarchs replied simultaneously.

Twilight made her way to her private quarters where one of the private tutors was teaching Dewdrop her multiplication tables. With a nod, she silently dismissed the tutor. "Dewdrop, we have a battle coming and I can't ensure your safety here on the ship. When we land, I'm sending you to the rear of the column where you will be safer." Twilight summoned up several flares and a saber with her magic. Using her magic, she shaved down the saber so it would be easier for Dewdrop to use, then levitated them to the filly. "When you get to the ground, find a place to hide. In the event that enemies break through our lines, run and hide, fight only to save your life. After you have hidden, pop a flare and someone will come looking for you." She helped strap the saber and flares to Dewdrop, before securing an armored cloak to her.

Dewdrop watched in amazement as Twilight attached her magenta armor to her piece by piece in an almost measured ceremony. "Whoa.", she whispered when the energy cells activated with a small whistle and the lavender alicorn's magic crackled across the plates of the armor.

Twilight smiled at Dewdrop before mag-locking the hammer to her side. With a gesture, she signaled for Dewdrop to follow. As the two walked through the corridor, the Nebula Guard formed up rank and file, the only sounds they made were their armored hooves clanking on the deck.

As twilight stood on the bow of the airship, she went through her usual process of calming and centering her mind. Dewdrop mirrored what she could of the ceremony before coming up with and extra motions. The filly did several squat thrusts while taking deep breaths, the hopped up and down several times.

As the command airship came to a halt, Twilight turned to Dewdrop, "Remember as soon as you're on the gound, find a safe place." Looking out from the bow, Twilight saw a massive host coming to a halt. "time to put on a little show for them.", she whispered to herself. Twilight gave a nod to the Nebula Guard, who silently ran forward and leapt off the bow. Their bulky armored forms landed on the ground with a loud thud, the compensation mechanisms in their armor dispersing the impact. In a show of elegance that would have made Rarity gasp, Twilight leapt off the bow and their airship and spread her wings. She gave several rolls and swoops that would have impressed Rainbow Dash, then alighted on the ground in front of her transequine guards, wings spread in a show of royal elegance and dominance.

The airships landed disgorging the Ponyhood of Steel tech monks and pony soldiers with their repeater rifles and heavy wheeled shield. The ramps on the garages dropped with loud booms and the war striders marched out, their heavy limbs making the ground tremble with every step.

Dewdrop scrambled across the ground, dodging around hurrying ponies as she looked for a place to hide in safety. Seeing the war striders forming up ranks, an idea shot through her head. She ran up to one of the striders that had stopped walking and repeatedly tapped on it gargantuan limb with a hoof. When the strider shifted its stance so its command deck could look down at her, she shouted, "The goddess wants me to find a place to hide and what better place than on one of her sacred machines!"

The posture of the war strider moved in what could constitute a sigh, then lowered a massive gun for the filly to climb on. "Stay between my shoulders so you'll be out of the line of fire of my defensive weaponry.", the princepts said through a loudspeaker. Dewdrop nodded as she scrambled up the massive gun and climbed on the war strider's back.

The tech monks formed ranks, many carried volley guns in the metallic limbs and tendrils, several carried staves that crackled with electricity. The soldiers took up supporting ranks, setting their massive shields in place or throwing up berms with shovels. Pegasi soldiers flew back and forth, while the airships began forming up in a wide, spaced out arc.

A minotaur flanked by two centaurs, two griffons and two ponies, marched from the enemy host flying a banner of parlay. Twilight marched forth with one member of her Nebula Guard, to meet the parlaying group.

The minotaur and said in a bold voice, "Surrender! Throw down your weapons and pronounce Hakkahn the mighty as your true god-king, then we shall allow your force to live and you shall be allowed to rule over the lands you have conquered any way you choose."

"Counter offer.", Twilight said in a regal tone as she held her chin up, "Denounce your supposed god-king, free your slaves, bring the sphinx to me in chains and swear to uphold friendship and harmony, we will allow your host to go back to their families."

The minotaur laughed. "We outnumber you! Where are your heavily armored soldiers? Have they abandoned you?"

Twilight returned the laugh. "If my foals aren't here with their sons and daughters, it means they have deemed your pathetic host unworthy of their efforts. As I look at you host, I have to laugh. Is this is the best you have to array against me?"

The minotaur snarled angrily at the jabs. "Our god-king will come for you! Every one of our forces will gladly throw their lives away for him!"

Twilight smiled. "And I would gladly sacrifice my life for every one of my little ponies. Can your supposed god-king so the same?"

The minotaur bristled. "Hakkahn will flood this battlefield with blood!"

"Then I will have a relaxing swim before I bring him down.", Twilight quipped, "This conversation bores me. I will depart now. You have one hour to deliver your response." She turned haughtily and walked off regally. Reaching friendly lines, she ordered, "Prepare to take the fight to our enemies. Peace through harmony!"

"Harmony through victory!", the forces shouted back.

After twenty minutes the enemy army sent their answer in a wave of fanatics charging forward in a drug-addled rage. The tech monks calmly lowered themselves to the ground as the pony soldiers began sending volley after volley of bullets, cutting the fanatics down in a winnowing hail. Twilight began marching forward with the Nebula Guard and tech monks following in lock step.

The enemy army sent forward a second wave of fanatics. The tech monks, Nebula Guard and Twilight continued their march forward calmly. As the fanatics clashed with the calmly advancing ranks, the tech monks ripped the bodies of the frenzied creature apart with mechanical limbs and tendril, while others sent leaping arcs of electricity from their staves. Twilight calmly swatted aside the drug-fueled berserkers with her hooves while the Nebula hacked them to pieces with their halberds. after dispatching the second wave, they began calmly marching forward again.

Visible fear played across the enemy army before a third wave of fanatics was sent forth. As the crazed creatures clashed with the calmly advancing ponies, arquebusiers fired volleys. Lead balls cut down fanatics as the ricocheted off the cybernetic bodies of the tech monks with sparks. The enemy army visibly bristled seeing none of the tech monks had fallen.

As the arquebusiers prepared to fire another volley, the tech monks paused long enough to fire their volley guns. Swarms of rockets screamed through the air and slammed into the front line of the enemy army. Creatures of the enemy army scattered trying to avoid the rockets and many of their numbers flew to pieces. Hoisting her hammer, Twilight shouted a charge. As the creatures in the front lines either braced for the charge or quailed, siege weapons were shoved by their teams on the top of a neighboring hill.

In a flash of teleportation spells, the exoskeleton-clad members of the Ponyhood of Steel appeared. The crews of the siege engines dies screaming as plasma, high-power laser blasts and hails of bullets ripped through their bodies. The exoskeleton-clad soldiers ripped the ropes away from the siege weapons and smashed the winding mechanisms apart with armored hooves. Once the siege weapons were disabled, exoskeleton-clad soldiers disappeared in flashed of teleportation spells and appeared in the rear ranks of the enemy army.

Panic spread through the enemy army as Twilight, the Nebula Guard and the tech monks tore their front ranks as the Ponyhood of Steel soldiers tore through their rear ranks. Many of the creatures tried to flee, only to be cut down by halberds, mechanical limbs, electrified staves, armored hooves or their own comrades. The creatures that fought on found themselves cut off in ever tightening knots of ponies.

The minotaur that had parlayed with Twilight stepped forward holding two massive swords in his hands. Clashing them together in a challenge as he shouted, "Come face me alicorn! You will beg for your life bef..." His words were cut off as Twilight slammed her hammer into him.

As the last of the enemy army was slain, cheers filled the air. Twilight looked around, seeing two columns of dust, one from the south and the other from the west. "Form ranks!", she shouted into the comms device, "Two more armies marching on us!"

Officers quickly regained discipline as the ground forces of the Ponyhood of Steel and the pony army quickly formed up. The soldiers set their wheeled shields into semi-circular formations as others quickly dug trenches and foxholes.

As the two armies came into view, the army to the west's ranks began falling apart signifying that the pony marines had arrived. The army to the west quickly scattered as their morale shattered. The bodies of the creatures flew to pieces from mass reaction rounds and steel-jacketed bullets. The knots of creatures that held their ground were incinerated by heat beams or cones of flames.

"Sorry we're late mother.", Apricus said through the comms device, "We ran into some friends that wanted to have conversations with out weapons."

"They weren't very good conservationists.", Mica chimed in, "Their whole argument simply flew apart."

Twilight smiled. If the ponemarchs still had their sense of humor, their skirmish went well. "Maintain comms dicipline.", she said. She received several squawks through her comms device in affirmation. "Once you've finished cleaning up your mess, get ready to receive our new guests."

Hakkahn crested a nearby hill with his elite guard in tow. "Do what you will with the soldiers. but leave the alicorn to me!", he shouted.

Dewdrop climbed up on the head of the war strider she was riding on, she saw a column of the army from the south hooking to the east in a flanking maneuver. Stamping her hooves, she shouted, "We need to stop them before they surround the goddess!"

"Will you get off my head?", the princepts said, "I see them."

"Well?", Dewdrop asked.

"If you get off my head, my siblings and I will deal with them.", the princpets said.

Dewdrop drew her saber. "Never!", she shouted, "Let's go get 'em fluffy!"

"Did you just give me a name?", the spark asked in a crackling tone through the loudspeakers.

"Yes I did!", dewdrop shouted triumphantly, "Now get me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"

The war strider's body shook with what could be construed as laughter. "Forsooth my siblings!", the princepts shouted, "Let the mongrels feel the wrath of of Ascention's Savior and Fluffy! Vengeance for our the princepts of Hope's Champion!" the war striders turned and began to march towards the flanking column.

Twilight looked over seeing the war striders marching, with Dewdrop standing on the head of one, waving her saber with a hoof. She would have facehoofed if she didn't have a battle to fight. "Dewdrop!", she shouted into her comms unit, "You and I will have a lot to talk about after this is over!"

The enemy army formed up preparing for a charge. Rather than sending waves of fanatics, volleys from arquebusiers or bombardment from siege weapons, instead the creatures all drew gleaming bronze weapons, with a shout, they charged. Bullets, balls of plasma and blasts from high-powered lasers filled the air cutting down scores of creatures, still they charged onward, more scared of the sphinx than the weapons of the ponies. Officers shouted orders to fix bayonets and counter-charge. Twilight charged forward with the Nebula Guard on her heels, the creatures of the enemy army steered away from her.

Hakkahn bounded forward and came to a stop several paces short of Twilight, his bronze-sheathed claws raking the ground as his wings fluttered in anticipation. Twilight drug a hoof across the ground as she chuffed, her wings flaring in aggression. The sphinx and the alicorn stared across at each other, intensity burning in their eyes. He flexed his broze-sheathed claws as she activated her hammer. The seconds felt like eternities as the two combatants along with their body guards sized each other up. The two charged at each other, armored hooves and massive paws thundered on the ground.

Hakkahn and Twilight clashed, the sphinx practically dwarfing the alicorn. Their respective bodyguards swarming into each other. As Twilight and Hakkahn shoved into each other, the Nebula Guard effortlessly hacked through the sphinx's elite guards, silver halberds splitting through heavy bronze plates as if they were made of paper mache.

Hakkahn lashed out with his claws, only to have them rake across Twilight's defensive shield. Twilight threw her armored bulk forward under the sphinx, flipping him over her and onto his back, she swung her hammer downwards. Hakkahn narrowly rolled out of the way as the hammer impacted the ground with a clap of thunder.

Hakkahn looked around quickly seeing that his elite guard was slain and he was surrounded magenta armored ponies. "You fight well alicorn.", he said with a grim smile.

Twilight returned the grim smile. "No grand speeches on how I've met my better or how you'll flay my flesh?"

"I let my actions speak for themselves and leave the grand speeches to my brothers." Hakkahn took to the air with Twilight fast on his heels.

The alicorn and the sphinx repeatedly clashed in the air. The heavy hammer cracking and denting thick bronze plates as bronze-sheathed claws carved gashed in magenta armor. Hakkahn reached out with a paw, snatching the hammer from Twilight's magic and hurled it to the ground. Twilight slammed her armored hooves together. Once again the sphinx and the alicorn clashed against each other, matching strength and prowess.

With a roar, Hakkahn burst from his damaged armor and lunged forward. Grabbing Twilight in his paws, he crammed the alicorn into his mouth. He went to bite down, only to find that his laws refused to close. Twilight braced her hind legs against Hakkahn's lower law and her forelegs against the roof of his mouth. With a shout, she shoved with all her strength, cracking sound came from the sphinx's jaws as sharp teeth began breaking. Hakkahn desperately tried to pry the alicorn from his mouth. Summoning her magic, Twilight unleashed a needle-thin beam of magic through the roof of the mouth of the sphinx, into his brain and out the top of his head.

Hakkahn went limp as his body plummeted from the sky. In a flash of magenta light, Twilight teleported from his mouth to the ground. The body of the sphinx impacted the ground with a wet thud.

"Hang on tight!", the princept of "Fluffy" shouted through the loudspeakers, "We're going full stride."

"For the goddess! Peace through harmony! Harmony though victory!", Dewdrop shouted with a whoop.

Several griffons flew through the air, most being cut down by the war striders' close defense weaponry. One landed on the head of "Fluffy" only to be caught by surprise when the filly stabbed it through the throat with a saber. The flanking column quailed and routed as the massive limbs of the war striders stomped through their ranks, turning their numbers into red pasted.

Pony soldiers laid on the ground moaning in pain where enemy blades had slipped through gaps in their armor, still they fought on, their ranks bolstered by the exoskeleton-clad soldiers and cybernetic tech monks of the Ponyhood of Steel. The right flank of the enemy army began to disintegrate under a hail of mass reaction rounds and steel-jacketed bullets as earth pony and unicorn marines charged and pegasi marines swooped among their ranks with crackling wing blades. Dewdrop stood atop Fluffy shouting, cheering and giving vulgar gestures with her hooves as the war striders steadily advanced. Twilight gave a nod to the Nebula Guard and they charged silently into the ranks of the enemy army. Morale of the enemy soldiers shattered as they routed, many tried to flee only to be cut down by mass reaction rounds or steel-jacketed bullets, the ones who opted to fight to the bitter end found their numbers steadily decimated by bayonets, armored hooves, silver halberds and cybernetic limbs.

Twilight teleported over to Dewdrop, seeing the dead griffon laying on the head of the war strider, she quickly inspected the filly for wounds. "Are you okay?"

"I'm unharmed goddess.", Dewdrop replied, "Fluffy made sure I was safe."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Did you name this strider Fluffy?"

Dewdrop puffed out her chest. "Yes I did and Fluffy's my friend." She gently stroked her hoof on the armor plating.

"Do you accept the name?", Twilight asked the war strider.

"The spark does.", the princepts replied.

"Very well, I dub you...", Twilight raised an eyebrow at the name before continuing, "...Fluffy. Come along Dewdrop, let's get you back to the airship."

"If it's all the same, I'd like to stay with Fluffy for a little bit longer.", Dewdrop said.

"My siblings and I can keep her safe princess.", the princepts said.

Twilight held a hoof to her temple, she would most likely have a migraine before the day was out. "Very well Fluffy, make sure she gets back to my airship safely." Teleporting back down to the ground, she looked back to the war striders shaking her head as she spoke to herself, "Before I know it, one of them is going to call themselves Angel Bunny." She couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

Soon the last of the enemy soldiers had either been slain or fled into the desert. Soldiers dug graves to bury their slain comrades or pits to pile the dead enemies in to, flame throwers quickly turned their bodies to ash. The body of Hakkahn was quickly stripped of hide and flesh, the skull of the sphinx was hoisted upon a tall post. After the area was secured, the dead soldiers buried and the injured moved onto the mobile medbays, the soldiers and marines clambered onto the airship as the war striders were placed in the mobile garages. The column set off for the city.

As the city slowly rose over the horizon, smoke coiled up from the city as recently freed slaves rioted, fighting savagely against the slavers and soldiers that held them in bondage. Mobs of slaves swarmed the pyramid at the center of the city as elite troops desperately fought to keep them back. Twilight teleported down into the middle of the bedlam, holding her wings and head in a regal pose. Hundreds of slaves rallied to her as soldiers threw down their weapons and fled or surrendered on the spot. As twilight calmly walked through the streets, more and more recently freed slaves rallied behind her. Reaching the pyramid, she walked forward and raised a hoof to bring a stop to the fighting. "Throw down your weapons and surrender!", she called out, "I will personally insure that you are well taken care of! Refuse and I will bring this temple of debauchery down around your ears!" A moment later there was a flash of a musket as a lead ball sparked off her armor. "Very well, you seem to have made your decision.", Twilight said flatly. Opening up a channel on her comms unit, she said, "Strider command, send forth *ahem* Fluffy to turn the monument to debauchery into slag."

"Yes princess.", strider command replied.

Twilight smirked as she threw up a bubble shield over the pyramid. Almost an hour later, Fluffy walked up to the edge of the city and leveled its guns as the pyramid.

Weapons flew out of the pyramid as an officer inside shouted out, "Wait goddess! We surrender! Just don't let your iron beast slay us!"

"Does he speak for you all?", Twilight shouted. After a moment several shout of affirmation came out from the pyramid. Opening the channel on her comms unit, she said, "Hold fire Fluffy until enemy forces with have surrendered," She changed channels, "Infantry command, send occupying forces into the city and prepare to receive prisoners."

Once the last of the surrendering enemy soldiers had been placed into camps and the pyramid thoroughly searched, Twilight opened the channel on her comms unit, "You may fire when ready Fluffy." Plucking a mango from a near by tree, she took a bite slowly walking away as a white-hot beam slammed into the pyramid, vaporizing half of it and melting the rest into slag.

War against New Unicornia part 1: The invasion and the battle of The Shattered Walls

The last FOB that sat outside the borders of New Unicornia had fallen two days previous. In said FOB the stallions of The Fraternity sat on the ground, their heads bowed in silent reverence as the sun peeked above the horizon. The head preacher climbed atop a small, hastily constructed platform. The earth pony stallion's robes swayed as he calmly trotted to the edge of the small raised platform, slung across his back was a hoof-carved staff in a stylized likeness of five alicorns, at the base of the staff was an iron spike. Grabbing the staff with a hoof, he brought the iron spike down on the small platform in a dramatic flourish, sparks and small flecks of metal flew from the impact. The stallions reached inside the necks of their armor and withdrew hoof-carved wooden amulets of five stylized alicorns, some more intricately carved, some more simple, but all held with reverence.

The preacher began his speech. "My brothers, we the chosen sons of the goddesses, the ones who answered the call to protect the innocent, to free the enslaved, to slay the mutant and the monster, to purge the slaver and to cleanse the unclean with purifying flame. We stand on this morrow in preparation to bring the light of the goddesses into a heathen land. The leaders of this country seek to bind the souls of the ponies within with chains, not just of iron, but also of words. They seek to keep those within minds imprisoned in a cage of fear, using machines of war as the wardens. Fear not their machines, for they do not contain sacred sparks and profane our brothers' and sisters' sacrifices. They seek not unity and harmony, but only for one tribe to rule over all."

The princesses walked up to the rear of the platform. Princess Celestia took to the air with a flap of her wings and landed on the platform delicately, a move she had long perfected long before even Twilight Sparkle had been conceived, from a time when she and Luna had guided their own armies to overthrow the great tyrant, that old ram who ruled Equestria with an iron cloven hoof. Her gilded power armor with a brilliant red phoenix on the breastplate had been polished to a mirror shine before coming out. This was a measured movement, similar to what she had done with the powerful half-unicorn-half-kirin warrior, Gusty, to rally her loyal warriors that lived atop the Canterhorn to march to Cloudsdale and rally the pegasi. The stallions of The Fraternity threw themselves onto their bellies, forehooves pressed together above their heads in reverence. She flicked her eyes to Twilight, her subtle expressions speaking volumes to the High Princess. Though the lavender alicorn was no longer her protege and apprentice, there was still lessons she could impart to the High Princess. She allowed her memories to go back to one of the lessons Starswirl had taught her and Luna, 'Fire gives ponies light, heat, the ability to forge metals and cook food. Unless it is properly contained and directed, it will consume all in its path, leaving behind only ash.'. She was about to show the high princess how to contain the fire of devotion and direct it in a manner that would be most beneficial. Spreading her wings in a regal manner, she raised a foreleg, knee bent, in a princessly pose. Above Philomena circled, the phoenix loved showing off as much as she enjoyed playing pranks.

Philomena alighted on Celestia's foreleg, wings spread wide as flames danced across crimson and golden feathers. Celestia suppressed a chuckle, her pet phoenix loved showing off, nearly as much as any member of the Wonderbolts once did. "Arise my little ponies." She waited until the stallions had gotten to their hooves, then took in a breath and started her speech. "My good stallions, I will not mince words. These ponies who rule this land twist and profane the name of the once proud kingdom of Unicornia by daring to compare themselves to the monarchs of old, the very ones whom forsook their crowns to reach out to the other tribes and unite this land in unity, friendship and harmony." It wasn't entirely true, Princess Platinum had abdicated her crown to marry a simple earth pony farmer and the remaining nobles squabbled over the crown until Starswirl clove it in twain and cast the two pieces into a lake, the very same two pieces that she and Luna had recovered to use as tiaras until the leaders of the tribes had offered them hoof-crafted symbols of office, that they wore until the day they passed their combined authority to Twilight. "And they dare to call this nation ruled by viciousness and slavery New Unicornia!" She spat the last two words as she rankled her face into a mask of disgust, the measured expression had the effect of making the stallions mutter and growl in disgust and anger. Now that the flames had been stoked, it was time to contain and control them.

Celestia continued her speech. "Now my fellow ponies, we, your princesses feel your anger. But we beseech you to temper your anger with compassion and reason, many ponies of this land live as slaves, not imprisoned by iron chains or steel bars, by a doctrine of false harmony that has been beaten into them generation-by-generation, lie-by-lie. As you take the flame of harmony into their land, remember that you answered the call sent out by High Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

The stallions began to cheer and shout praises to Twilight. Celestia, her face as measured mask, let her eyes smile as she looked over to the lavender alicorn.

Twilight stepped before the stallions and gave a sidelong glance at her former teacher that spoke volumes. She held up a hoof and the stallions fell silent in preparation for a speech. She cast her hammer onto the ground, then started pulling off her armor piece-by-piece, letting each segment drop to the ground. When the final piece hit the ground, she began her speech. "I do not rule over you as some unassailable goddess on high or as a High Princess who was inherited her title through ancestral lineage, but only through work and dedication to my fellow ponies, friendship and harmony did I earn the right to ascend. I not a goddess, nor am I the High Princess. I am not the first among equals, for with equals can none of them stand higher than the others. I am no goddess, but a pony, made of flesh and blood like you! I do not rule by divine right or by some hereditary title granted by those long dead! My fellow and equal princesses and I rule not by divine right, nor by demanding the worship of those we rule No! I stand here with no weapons to fight back with and no armor to defend myself with, here on the door step of our enemy. My fellow princesses and I stand here, not as gods, but as ponies. We rule only by the consent of the creatures whom the light of harmony and the magic of friendship shines in their hearts. If you so will it, we shall cast aside our crowns, vacate our thrones and live as simple farmers, scrapping our lives out of the dirt. We are not tyrants, we are not goddesses, we only lead, guide and advise, so long as you, the mortals of this land consent." She looked over her withers at her former teacher, giving her a sly smile.

'You clever and beautiful bitch! Every time I think I've got you figured out, you go and find new a way to show how you're the greatest of us.', Celestia thought.

The stallions of The Fraternity stood in quiet shock. Twilight folded in her wings and bowed low before them. Her fellow princesses followed suit, laying their weapons on the ground and removing their armor before bowing before the stallions. It started off as a series of low murmurs that slowly became a buzz that steadily grew in noise. The stallions of The Fraternity began chanting shouts."We consent! We consent! We consent! We consent!" The din attracted the attention of mortal soldiers and workers, the word began spreading what was going on and the five princesses found themselves surrounded by a massive crowd of ponies chanting "We consent!" in shouted voices. Soon groups ponies began shouting "Only true leaders humble themselves before mortals! and "Only true goddesses worthy of worship deny their divinity!"

With an unspoken cue, the five princesses summoned their armor and weapons back to them. Rising into the air with mighty flaps, the raised their weapons over their heads and thundered,"PEACE THROUGH HARMONY!"

"HARMONY THROUGH VICTORY!", the crowd thundered back.

The princesses rose high into the atmosphere, shining bright a miniature suns. "HEAR US ALL WHO ARE ENSLAVED AND DREAM TO BREATHE FREE, WE COME TO SHATTER YOUR CHAINS! HEAR US WHO ENSLAVE AND SLAUGHTER, FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES, FOR WE COME FOR YOU!" Their voices rolled across the land like a wave of thunder.

***

As the five voices of the princesses washed across the continent, ponies who live in villages and towns that worshiped the alicorns as goddesses shouted in cheers, many marked the day and festivities broke out in those communities.

Many bandits and slavers trembled in fright. Many smashed the locks off of slave pens and cut the chains, freeing those they had kept.

In New Unicornia, Burnished Bronze felt a tremble of fear as the thunder-like voices echoed across the land side. Once regaining his wits, he quickly ordered the propaganda ponies to find a way to spin this as some sort of unknown natural or magical phenomenon.

In a cave an old griffon who sat surrounded by the moldering remains of heroes and warriors long dead allowed a smile to spread across his beak as lights flickered in the suit of decaying armor.

Cozy Glow, knowing her time here was up, drew on the power of the alicorn amulet to finish the final part of her spell she was casting on Burnished Bronze. Once the princesses finally arrived here, he will have fallen fully into madness. Turning to leave, she pause, swearing she saw the shadow of a ram, but just as quickly it was gone, must have been a trick of the light. Come morning, she would be gone without a trace, leaving the staff that normally went through her in a state of logistical paralysis.

Snow Drift, hearing the princesses voices, knew that was the signal. Gathering up what supplies she could carry, she used her ice powers to ruin what remained with frost and snuck through the crawl spaces until she was near the outer wall. She would wait until night to set out and find the one that harmony had showed her.

Far away the horde of hogz were laying siege to a small walled city as ponies on the parapets savagely fought to repel them. Then the voices washed over the battle. Equine and porcine alike stopped in stunned silence. Skull Krusha Masha Thrasha stared in the direction the voices came from, he would have smiled manically if his jaws weren't replaced with powah jawz. "Oi, what do we'z have here? Lookz loik da poneez godisiz are lookin' for a roit porppah skrap!" He thumped his hooves on the snout of the tatzlewurm and pulled on the harness, directing it in the direction of the voices. "We's gunna show deez ponee godisiz dat da hogz are da best dere iz! An' dat I am da bigist and da badist boss hog dere is! Let's go boarz! OOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNKKKKKK!" He set out on the back of the tatzlewurm.

"OOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKK!" The hogz trampled off after him. The ground rumbled and shook, causing pebbles, small rocks and bits of debris to bounce.

Wind-in-her-fur still leading the herd of bison, had long left the apple orchard that sat on two sides of the river on the old trampling ground and the ruins of Appleoosa, which were little more than foundations and moldering scraps of lumber behind as they searched for the pony goddesses. Then the bison heard the voices. Her heart still full of sorrow and not having the time to properly mourn her betrothed, lead the herd in the direction the voices came from.

Far to the northwest a horde of dragons looked in the direction the voices came. A single, massive dragoness with medium blue scales, dark blue spines and a light cyan underbelly, clutching a scepter in her claws, landed atop a tall volcano. Raising her head to the sky, she let out a loud roar and breathed a stream of fire high into the sky. Roars from all across the volcanic lands answered her, followed by hundreds of streams of fire into the sky. The dragons took to the air in a massive migration.

***

The Crusade spread its forces across a wide plain in a series of block formations as they marched across the border of New Unicornia. Pegasi scouts had reported a large enemy force amassing in three forts. The reported forces had dozens of wings of aerial screws of varying sizes and armaments, a brigade of tanks, an estimated three divisions of soldiers, with accompanying fleet of vehicles, some armed with machineguns or other weapons, others serving as troop transports, and a mixed division of various artillery units.

As the Crusade moved towards the inevitable battle, each ponemarch took command of a different sector. The forces spread out across a wide area dozens of leagues wide. The transequine legions took the lead as mortal pony soldiers followed close behind. The marines would be the ones to punch the holes in enemy lines, but it would be the mortals who would fill the holes and by their sweat and blood, they would work to throw the enemy back.

The minotaurs of the Fire Pipes and Long Pikes tribes filled the gaps between the columns. They would breach gaps in allied lines and dig out enemy forces hunkered down in emplacements. The Fire Pipes proudly carried their semi-automatic and heavy automatic scatterguns. The Long Pikes proudly hefted their new pikes, the blades at the end of each crackled with power fields and heavy shields that were slabs of thick armor plates.

In the rear, self-propelled carts with mortars and other artillery guns scooted back and forth, awaiting orders to bombard enemy formations, emplacements or fire support for the front lines.

Airship crews on the decks ran boarding drills while gunnery crews sighted in the massive weapons as loading teams scrambled around, shoving trolleys of heavy shells and bags of propellant. Damage control crews ran fire and repair drills. Deep in the bowels of the airships tech monks did binary static chants as they performed maintenance on the engines, rubbed oil on machinery, while others sang to the sparks to keep them happy.

The Ponyhood of Steel in their mobile barracks stepped onto platforms as mechanical arms on the rigs put the armored exoskeletons on them. They would serve as the reserve forces or as elite strike forces as the needs arise.

In the far rear the mobile forges churned out replacement parts for armor, vehicles and weapons, and cranked out ammo for all weapons. Mobile medbay trauma teams drilled themselves for the injured that would pour in. The mobile garages held the War Striders, the most terrible and terrifying weapons The Crusade had, tech monks performed maintenance and kept their gestalt sparks in a twilight state, the princepts ran their standard checks or slept in their command thrones in preparation for when they would be called to stride across the battlefield.

The very air and earth seemed to buzz in anticipation as the two hosts moved towards each other. Bandits, slavers, roving gangs, wannabe worlds and other vultures of war were attracted to the promise of slaughter, slaves and glory. The New Unicornian and Crusade forces skirmished with the minor pests as they crawled towards each other.

For three weeks the armies of New Unicornia and the New Equestrian Empire moved towards each other. Their scouts occasionally encountered one another and traded shots or shouted insults.

The Crusade settled onto a stretch of land three dozen leagues wide. They set their center on a small plateau, to their far left they were flanked by a wide river canyon and on their far right they were flanked by a series of ridges and hills that served as the last bastion of the far away Foal Mountains and the foothills of the once towering twin peaks of the Smoky Mountains. New Unicornia parked their forces in a series of ridges and hills. Between both armies sat a shallow, bowl-shaped depression, at least a dozen leagues across.

***LATE NIGHT RAID***

The moon hung lazily in the sky. It was still at least five hours before dawn.

New Uncornia sentries patrolled the edges of the camps. Soldiers who coming off duty or preparing to go on duty sat in the mess tent eating, lounged around campfires, practiced at the firing ranges, performed basic maintenance of their rifles, or interacted with the camp followers, some soldiers trading their money for cheap hooch or for an hour with the prostitutes.

Dark armored forms quickly and quietly moved through the gloom around the camps. Occasionally an enemy sentry saw them and were killed silently before they could shout out a warning. The ponies in dark power armor quickly moved into the camps, the shadows flowing around them like liquid. Several of the ponies in dark armor dug small holes in the ground in strategic places near the tents and barracks, placed small metal discs and tubes in the holes, primed them, gently raked the dirt back over them and slipped back into the shadows.

Several airships lined up shots over the camps and fired several timed volleys of airburst shells.

Several unicorn soldiers seeing the flashes, shouted the alert. Soldiers scrambled out to their duty stations. The ground under many of their hooves exploded, ripping off legs, in other places metal tubes launched into the air from the ground as high as their thighs. The tubes exploded, filling the air with dozens of of metal balls. New Unicornian soldiers laid on the ground screaming and bleeding, their legs blown off by the explosions or shredded by shrapnel Many of their fellow soldiers scrambled to pull their fellow soldiers to the medic tents, some fell prey to the buried traps.

Moments later shells exploded over the camps, filling the air with deadly showers of shrapnel. Dozens of ponies lay on the ground, many dead, many screaming as they bled. As the soldiers scrambled to pull their comrades to safety, another volley of shells burst over the camps. Fragments of metal filled the air, shredding flesh.

For an hour the airships continued their bombardments, each volley precisely timed to be five minutes apart from the other.

After the third volley, New Unicornian soldiers learned to stay where they could find cover, not bothering to drag their dead and wounded comrades to safety between the volleys, unless they were close by.

After the final volley fired, the New Unicornian soldiers stayed in their cover. They nervously anticipated the next round of explosions in the air that filled the air with deadly metal. For five minutes, then ten, then twenty they waited, but the shells didn't come. The all-clear was called and soldiers and medics scrambled to tend to their fallen comrades.

Artillery crews scrambled to they guns in preparation to rain vengeance in the form of high explosives on those who shelled their camps. As loaders hefted shells, they fell to the ground with wet smacks. Crew mates stared, momentarily dumbfounded at their comrades bleeding from gaping exit wounds. More artillery crew members fell with wet smacks, the sides of their heads, necks or barrels blown open with grisly exit woulds from precise sniper shots. The surviving crew mates scrambled for cover.

Infantry squads were sent out hunt for the snipers as tank and vehicle crews ran for their vehicles, and machinegun crews ponied their weapons.

That's when the Night Hunters launched their attack. Enemy soldiers screamed in surprise as massive unicorn marines in power armor black as a moonless night flooded out of the shadows. Mass reaction rounds filled the air and ripped New Unicornian soldiers' bodies open like tissue paper. Some of the enemy soldiers managed to return fire, only for then to gape in surprise as their rifle rounds harmlessly bounced off the power armor with a spray of sparks, even the heavier machinegun rounds only managed to divot the power armor where they hit.

The technical crews who managed to successfully get into their vehicles and get them started, stared in shock as mass reaction rounds turned their engine compartments into flaming scrap and their wheels into shredded metal and rubber just long enough to realize they were doomed before their bodies were ripped apart.

The tank crew who managed to get into their massive armored vehicles moved to engage the transequine warriors. Mass reaction rounds that struck the armor had large gashes ripped into the plates or shattered segments of them. Several mass reaction rounds struck the suspension of the tanks, immobilizing them.

The Night Hunters began focusing fire on specific areas of the immobilized tanks, mass reaction rounds tearing apart armor plates until they struck engine compartments, fuel tanks, crew compartments or ammo racks. Some tanks caught fire, others came to a halt, their crews dead, others exploded in a fireworks display of high explosive shells and bullets cooking off, launching the main turrets off the body. The tank crews that climbed out of burning tanks had their bodies ripped apart by mass reaction rounds, ripper hooves, hoof claws or just plain brute force.

One tank crew managed to successfully pivot their tank's main turret around and fired the main gun. A single transequine marine's body evaporated in a blast of high explosives, shrapnel and pink mist. A half dozen Night Hunters boarded the tank seeking vengeance for their fallen battle brethren. The first marine pried the main hatch off the turret, the second ripped the tank commander from his seat, the third and fourth fired a dozen mass reaction rounds into the crew compartment each, the fifth and sixth each tossed a grenade into the crew compartment. The six marines leapt off the tank, dragging the captured tank commander with them. The tank's body ripped apart as ammo and fuel cooked off, the main turret launched high into the air, a column of fire trailing it.

Aerial screw pilots ran for their aircraft. Many fell to mass reaction rounds and sniper bullets, many others made it to the aircraft. As the propellers spun up, many of the aerial screws were ripped apart by mass reaction rounds, fuel igniting, turning them into flaming wrecks. Others never got off their rotors spinning as sniper rounds pierced the glass of the cockpits, killing the pilots. The pilots who managed to get off the ground soon found a deadly surprise, Ponyhood of Steel airships had stealthily maneuvered above the camps during the bombardments and hung high above in silence, engines cut off. Tech monks and exoskeleton armored soldiers leveled their weapons. Blue-green flickers from high-power lasers, muzzle flashes from high caliber machineguns, sliver streaks from rail guns and red-glowing contrails from volley guns turned the aerial screws that made it off the ground into plummeting, flaming hail.

The forward camps of the New Unicornian army was turned into a full rout as the survivors ran in an undisciplined panic.

The Night Hunters executed any wounded survivors as the Ponyhood airship descended and dropped lines to hoist any materials they wanted. The tents and empty buildings were set ablaze, ammo cashes, fuel dumps and medical supplies were booby trapped. Bodies were left where they lay. The airships, loaded with the undestroyed tanks, vehicles, aerial screws and artillery guns the Ponyhood of Steel wanted set off back to The Crusade lines. The Night Hunters slipped back in the shadows. Thestral snipers who had stationed far enough away so the nopony would hear the shots or see the muzzle flashes from their high-powered sniper rifles took flight on leathery wings, heading back to their barracks.

***DAY 1***

The New Unicornian high general, Star Gleam, whom had been appointed to lead the force to throw the invaders from the homeland, ordered several battalions to retake the forwards camps as the sun peeked above the horizon. As the soldiers entered the outer perimeters of the camps, they did not encounter any sort of armed resistance or occupying forces. Instead they only encountered smoking remains of tents and several buildings, the remains of their comrades laying where they fell, bodies ripped open from terrible weapons and the burnt-out wrecks of destroyed land and air vehicles.

Unicorn soldiers quickly spread out across the camps, trying to piece together what happened the night before. What they found confused them, sure there were plenty of hoofprints everywhere, both of normal-sized ponies and massive ones, that they took to be horses were everywhere. The only bullet casings to be found were from New Unicornian rifles. The medics inspected the bodies of the dead, many of the bodies were clearly killed with a single shot from high-powered rifles, many others were ripped apart in what could be only described as explosions from the inside. The vehicles were inspected by mechanics and the damage could only be described as some sort of anti-material rifle using explosive rounds.

Graves were hastily dug as quick counts were made of the remaining materials. A dozen tanks and other ground vehicles, two dozen artillery guns and an entire wing of aerial screws were unaccounted for, but there was no sign of them being dragged or driven off, searches of the surrounding area didn't turn up any sign of them. What was more perplexing was that the fuel dumps, ammo cashes and medical stockpiles were intact, none having been looted or destroyed. The soldiers began taking stock and started moving crates and barrels to be loaded onto trucks. That's when the concealed booby traps went off, in some instances ponies and valuable materials were consumed in fiery explosions, in other instances buried discs exploded and buried tubes launched into the air, blowing off or shredding limbs. After the grievously injured and/or dead ponies were drug away, specialist teams were sent in to scan the remaining materials, finding that all were rigged with explosive devices or spell traps that none of them had encountered before and didn't know how to disarm. The bulk of the soldiers were pulled back as sappers were sent in to find and disarm what traps they could so they could salvage the valuable resources, in the instances of the spell traps, the resources had to be destroyed to prevent more New Unicornian soldiers from being wounded or killed.

Aerial screw pilots shouted warnings into their radios, dozens of airships were approaching at high speed. The unicorns were ordered to withdraw as the aerial screws and tanks covered them. The sappers hastily lit the fuses on their charges or threw grenades onto the supply cashes, then ran for all they were worth. The aerial screws unleashed a volley of rockets at the approaching airships, only for them to detonate harmlessly against the shields. Massive pegasi in midnight blue armor descended from above onto the aerial screws, shearing off tail sections with wing blades, snapping tail and top rotors with hammer hooves, ripping into pilot compartments with ripper hooves and hoof talons, or planting small blocks of explosives on fuselages and undercarriages. Within seconds the New Unicornian air support had been neutered, the surviving aircraft being forced to disengage.

The bow guns on the approaching airships fired on the New Unicornian forces. Instead of losing high explosive or fragmentation rounds, massive shells spewed forth clouds of thick black smoke. Mortal pegasi, wings tucked close to their sides, dove from above, each carrying a bomb in their hooves. They flared their wings at the last second, leveling off a dozen body lengths above the ground, dropping or tossing their bombs and zipping back into the sky. A few also tossed hoof grenades before rejoining their comrades high in the sky. The explosions ripped apart trucks and groups of unicorn soldiers. Tanks were struck by the bombs, but didn't penetrate their armor. The crews, their ears ringing, shook their heads to clear the cobwebs.

New Unicornian field commanders ordered their troops into full retreat to avoid a chaotic rout. Tanks covered their comrades' retreat. The approaching airships fired staggered volleys of high explosive shells from their bow guns. The shells fell onto the lines of tanks with thundering explosions and deafening metallic clangs. Some tanks veered wildly off-course, their crews killed by the shock waves, others stopped dead, their tracks ripped of the the artillery bombardment, others caught fire when artillery shells struck engine compartments or fuel tanks, forcing the crews to choose how they died, burning alive in the metal hulks or disembarking and being ripped apart by high explosive shells. The surviving tanks loaded high explosive shells or canister shot and fired thundering volleys, in the hopes of forcing any pursuing enemies into cover.

Once the New Unicornian forces made it back to their main camps, a count was done to assess the damage. Of the half dozen wings of aerial screws sent out, their number had been reduced by sixty percent, a total loss of nearly seventy aircraft. Of the forty-five tanks, three companies, sent out as support, twelve had been knocked out, nearly a quarter of their number lost. Of the eight battalions of infantry, eight thousand infantry soldiers, they had a combined three thousand soldiers killed or severely wounded, another five hundred soldiers were unaccounted for. The battle, if one could call as such, lasted ten minutes before the retreat was called.

General Star Gleam scowled as she poured through the reports. She stepped out of her office and called for a meeting of the high command officers directly under her command. In the meeting room, a dozen officers ranging from captains up to generals, sat around the table. "My gentleponies...", she said entering the meeting room, "...it is clear that this a full invasion of a well equipped and well trained military. It's as clear as the snout on my face that this is the same military force that wrecked up the Brass Legion."

"How can that be?", Commandant Iron Shoes asked indignantly, "The reports gathered from interrogating travelers, said they had ponies and minotaurs. According to the reports, we're dealing with horses along with ponies."

"Leave it to the tankers to completely think inside their metal box.", Sky Marshal Green Greaves snipped, "This is clearly just their vanguard. We've lost nearly five battalions in two quick clashes. They've only so far deployed pegasi and airships."

"Gentleponies, we are letting petty squabbles sidetrack us.", Star Gleam interjected, "Yes it's true that we've only had reports of pegasi and airships, if you go only by earlier today's report. Over the past few weeks reports from our advanced scouts have encountered their advanced scouts and even had a few fire fights with them. You all have read the same reports I have. According to those who survived the attacks on the forward operating bases and listening posts this is the same force that was making war in the south and now they're here. If as you say, Green Greaves, that this is their vanguard, then pray tell, where is the bulk of their forces? Have they some how managed to outmaneuver us and are now marching towards our flank? Are they ranging somewhere deep within out territory, marching to the capitol? How are they able to conceal such a large force?"

"So tell us, oh wise general.", Iron Shoes snarked.

"Check your tone, Iron or I'll have your commission pulled and bust you back down to private, scrubbing latrines and peeling vegetables.", Star Gleam chided. "To answer your question, they aren't hiding their forces. They're stationed across that depression, most likely boarding airships. And they've got powerful unicorns to make such strong shields. Then there was the attack on our forward operating bases and listening posts outside our borders was meant to do two things, make a show of force with a minimal risk, and seize materials."

"But if they sought to take materials, why did they leave the ammo, fuel and medicine? Why not take them and occupy the camps?", General Star Sapphire asked.

"They don't want those camps and they have more than enough ammo, fuel and medicine. Plus the smart money is that their army uses a different caliber. But back on topic, when they took our FOBs and listening posts, the vehicles that didn't get destroyed were sabotaged by our soldiers. When our position gets overrun, what's the first thing every soldier is under orders to destroy first?" When none of the officers answered, she slammed her hooves down on the table. "Divine-dammit! Do I have to spell it out for you?! Radios! They were going after the radios! What better way to get your hooves on a radio than to airlift undestroyed vehicles out and pull them out at your own leisure?! Airships very easily could have maneuvered high enough that their engines couldn't be heard or only turned them on during the bombardments. Then there is the intelligence that can be gotten by dismantling and examining every capsule-width of the mechanisms of our vehicles, artillery guns and aircraft. Here are your new standing orders. It's clear that they have several of our radios and if they haven't figured out what frequencies we use and are employing codebreakers, they soon will. Radios are only to be used for emergency contact or for relaying time-sensitive intel. Otherwise use runners or semaphore. And all code books are now the most secure information. If it looks like you're about to get overrun, burn them. We cannot afford them to fall into enemy hooves and pray that the soldiers from last night managed to destroy any and all code books they had before they were killed."

Star Gleam blew out an exasperated sigh. "We cannot stay in this position. We must fall back. They're airlifting troops across that depression where they can spread out and search for a way to outflank us." She got up from her seat and turned to a map of New Unicornia on the wall, studying the features

"How do you know that?", Iron Shoes asked.

Star Gleam looked over her withers. "Because that's what I would do. Iron, you really need to transfer your command to either an infantry or an artillery division. It's obvious you've been breathing in tank fumes for too long." She turned back to the map, studying the features for several more minutes."Ah, yes! That'll do just nicely!" She levitated a pen and drew a circle around a large section of land.

"The Shattered Walls?", Green Greaves asked, "Those are just a bunch of broken hills and ridges nearly ten leagues wide and two leagues deep."

"Exactly my good air marshal!"

"But why choose that place to fight?", Green Greaves asked.

"It appears that our good general has read The Art of War.", General Star Sapphire replied.

"It appears you've read that book too, general.". Star Gleam retorted. "For those of you who only read the books approved by the council of pontiffs, The Art of War is a book that dates back over two thousand years ago during the rise of the Old Equestrian Empire written by a pair of ponies whose names were Celestia and Luna to teach their generals how to wage war more effectively. Since we're facing an enemy that has numerical and technical superiority, then we must use the terrain to our advantage. In those hills and ridges are old ponymade caves that date from the fall of the Old Equestrian Empire. We can hide the artillery guns, aerial screws and troops in the caves." She drew a pair of X's on either side of the circle. "The tanks, along with support vehicles will be deployed to the lowlands here and here to serve as flankers. If the fight goes bad, we can use the broken terrain to aid in a fighting retreat. It'll take our advanced elements two days of hard ridding to reach the Shattered Walls and another five days for the bulk of our forces to reach it. Unless they're more clever than we give them credit for, it'll take them at least a week to consolidate their forces and then another week for them to bring their bulk against us. That means we have a week at best to dig and fortify."

"And at worst?", Green Greaves asked.

"Two days."

***

The Crusade airships gathered in the air over their newly captured land. The airships lowered thick steel cables and crews looped them under the mobile structures and pegasi lent aid, offering stabilization and extra lift. Once the structures were placed on the ground and the cables detached, they drove away to make space for more structures.

As the sun began to set, the airships spread out in a wide crescent, the mobile structures formed up in box formations and as one they set out.

For three days they pursued the New Unicornian army.

The New Equestrian Empire set up camp twenty leagues from the Shattered Walls as they began consolidating their forces.

***DAY 5***

As the mortal ponies of The Crusade settled down for the night, the Night Hunters slipped out into the lengthening shadows.

The night was dark and gloomy as the moon was hidden behind thick clouds. A cool wind was the first sign of an incoming rainstorm. Soon raindrops began falling down in a drumming pitter-patter over the New Unicornian positions. Sentries grumbled at their dumb luck having to walk in the rain. A sentry, miserable from having to walk his patrol route in a rainstorm saw a dark figure walking out of a small cave that served as an ammo dump. "Who goes there? Advance and be--GRK!*gurgle-gurgle*" Three blades attached to an armored hoof slashed across his throat from the nearby shadows, silencing his words.

The sentries standing guard outside a cave that served as a barracks were quickly dispatched and their bodies hidden in the shadows. A pair of massive ponies in dark armor silently slipped though the shadows, darkness clinging to them like a shroud. They quickly set up tear gas grenades about the cave and strung trip wires to them, then slipped silently back out.

All around the New Unicornian camps dark armored figures silently moved about setting booby traps in the caves that served as barracks and set up incendiary devices where ammo and fuel was stored. Once the traps were set, the dark armored unicorns vanished into the shadows.

As a group of sentries rounded a bend. The rain slowed, then stopped. The clouds rolled back, revealing the shining moon. Pegasi marines pushed the clouds into clumps and thestral snipers took up position atop them. "Finally!", a New Unicornian sentry exclaimed, "I thought it was going to rain all night." Her comrades agreed with her.

A Night Hunter dropped their spell that cloaked them in darkness and ran past the group of sentries."Hey! Stop!" Dark armored unicorns dropped their spells, revealing themselves all across the camp and opened fire, mass reaction round intentionally missing. Sentries dove for cover and returned fire. Soldiers in the barracks jumped to their hooves and scrambled for their weapons. They snagged on the tripwires, activating the grenades. Tear gas filled the barracks, causing the soldiers to gag and wheeze as they blindly stumbled in the choking fumes. Incendiary devices were set off remotely, starting fires in the ammo and fuel dumps. Moments later the fires ignited the fuel and ammo, causing explosions that collapsed the caves they were stored in.

As machinegun crews scrambled to their weapon emplacement, high-powered sniper rounds cut down individuals, causing the surviving members of the crews to dive for cover behind sandbags and berms.

General Star Gleam snapped awake from the sounds of gunfire and explosions. Jumping to her hooves, she grabbed her sidearm in her aura and rushed out of her room. Seeing a large black-armored unicorn, she leveled her pistol and fired three quick shots. The large unicorn returned fire with a single shot. She was nearly blinded by the muzzle flash and a nearly imperceptible fraction of a second later a section of the wall exploded, forcing her to scramble for cover behind a boulder. Peeking out from behind the boulder, she didn't see the unicorn. She fired the remaining rounds in her pistol where the unicorn was. She cried out in pain as a sniper round sheared off half of her left ear. Ducking back behind the boulder, she huddled close to the cover. She forced her breathing to slow down, forcibly slowing her heart and letting the adrenaline to pass. Taking quick peeks from behind cover, she counted the muzzle flashed to get an estimate of enemy forces. There was an estimated three companies' worth of enemies where she could see, but what made her spit quiet curses were the muzzle flashes in the sky. 'Divine-dammit! Pegasi snipers in the clouds with night optics. They're making sure that nopony can get into position to effectively return fire!' Star Gleam stayed close to the boulder that served as cover. She chided herself for not grabbing any spare magazines, an empty weapon was only good as a fancy club.

After the sneak attack was over and things began settling down, the all clear was called in the New Unicornian encampments. Head counts and supply checks were done. Five hundred troops were killed with another twelve hundred wounded. Three fuel dumps and seven ammo dumps had been destroyed by the incendiary devices, the rest had been extinguished when the caves collapsed, resulting only in a partial loss of supplies, still any loss of ammo and fuel weren't good. Sentries were doubled and equipped with electric lanterns and extra signal flares.

***

It was an hour before sunrise and the ponies of The Crusade were readying to fight. The Celestial hooves, along with their ponemarch Adamantem had been working on a series of interconnecting trench-works and field fortifications for nearly seven hours, moving forward at breakneck speeds. The late night raid had been the perfect distraction keeping the eyes and ears of the enemy away from the land in front of them.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, New Unicornian soldiers in their fortifications stared in shock at the massive network of trenches, berms, barricades and bunkers. What really shocked them was that some of the fortifications were made from stone and metal.

Star Gleam, her ear still bandaged, called an emergency meeting of the army's high command.

"How did they manage to set up so many fortifications in one night?!" Iron Shoes had a clearly worried expression on his face.

"They have powerful unicorns in their army.", Star Sapphire replied, "The raid last night was intended to get us looking inside our camp instead of what was in front of us and it worked spectacularly."

"Nothing that my aerial screws can't handle.", Green Greaves said smugly, "I'll order the heavy screws to arm them selves with incendiary and fuel-air bombs. That should help clean out."

"That would work if they didn't have armored pegasus horses.", Star Sapphire said.

"Okay, the interlinking fortifications are an unexpected twist, but not something that we can't deal with.", Star Gleam said, a plan working in her mind, "Here's how we'll do this. The artillery will shell the trenches. That'll draw their pegasi down to engage. We'll set up machinegun nests to protect each battery and issue at least one anti-material rifle to each artillery crew. Iron, load your tanks with extra fragmentation shells and canister shot to deal with any infantry coming out the trench. Greaves, load your screws with flechette rockets to deal with any infantry and the bow guns with anti-armor rounds for dealing with their horses. Keep your wings close to the ground behind the hills so when their pegasi engage, your ponies will have a better chance of surviving the engagement and we can salvage any screw that gets knocked down. Pop out from cover to provide close air support when their infantry break cover or their horses attack. Sapphire, arm your troops with as many grenades they can carry. I'll send out a general request for any sacred ranger units close enough to send aid."

"Genera!", a staff pony said in an anxious tone as he barged in, "We've received radio contact from a Princess Twilight Sparkle. She's requesting to talk to you."

'Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Why does that name sound familiar?' "Did she say what she wanted to talk about?"

"No sir. Just that she would only talk to you."

Star Gleam sighed. "Were the radio techs able to determine where she was transmitting from?"

"Yes sir. It's coming from somewhere behind the trenches."

Shit! "Very well, I'll talk with this princess and see what she wants." Star Gleam turned to the officers under her command."You have your orders. Dismissed." She walked to the radio room and turned to the radio operators. "I want you set up a recording device and get every word of this conversation on tape. The eggheads in intel will want to do a full audio profile." She picked up the mouthpiece in her aura and pressed the button. "This is the High General of the New Unicornian fifth excursionist force. Is this Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"Yes this is Princess of Twilight Sparkle of the New Equestrian Empire. May I have your name?"

"Why do you want my name?"

"I like to know the name of the pony I'm addressing."

"Very well. I am High General Star Gleam. Since I'm sure that this isn't a social call, what is it that you want?"

"I want to parlay."

"Where shall we meet for this parlay?"

"There is a hill to the right flank of your position, one league from both of our lines."

"And how many will be at this parlay?"

"Myself, my four fellow princesses, five bodyguards for each and a single airship to drop us off. I request that you match us with the same number of officers and a single aerial screw to drop to drop you off."

"When shall we meet?"

"In an hour's time. Is that good for you?"

"And how do I know that this isn't a funny trick to assassinate or capture me?"

"Neither my fellow princesses, nor I, nor our bodyguards will carry weapons."

"Very well, I agree to your terms." Star Gleam switched off the radio. She quickly wrote down some orders on a slip of paper and hoofed it to an aid. She was going to the parlay, but she wasn't bringing any members of high command or senior officers, in the event this was an ambush, no need to risk decapitating their entire high command structure.

Twilight released the button on the captured New Unicornian radio and switched it off. The radio she was using, like the rest that were captured were hooked up to hoof-cranked generators as the tech monks didn't want to sully the sparks by hooking them up to equipment not created by their forges. She inspected her armor, making sure it was properly maintained and polished. She double and triple checked the enchantments on her hammer, though she wasn't bringing it with her she still ensured that if she needed it, it could be summoned to her quickly. She and her fellow princesses boarded the small airship, accompanied by their Nebula Guard, who would be leaving their halberds behind.

***

The airship and aerial screw faced each other on opposing sides of the hill.

The airship and the aerial screw set down. The five princesses and their bodyguards stepped out and made their way to the base of the hill, while their New Unicornian counterparts did the same. Once the airship and the aerial screw had lifted off and departed to safe distances, both parties ascended the hill.

Star Gleam was shocked to see the five alicorn princesses in power armor, accompanied by twenty transequine bodyguards also in power armor. She kept her professional mask on, just barely and made a mental note to pull out one of her antique history books to check the names and likenesses of these princesses, just to be sure they weren't some mutants or powerful sorceresses casting illusions. The same couldn't be said for her underlings and the soldiers that served as bodyguards, who began to whisper and talk among each other, letting their emotions take control. "Calm yourselves!", she chided, "Just because they have winged unicorns means nothing. Keep your wits about you and your heads on swivels."

Both parties reached the top of the hill and lined up in front of each other.

"Okay, what were you wanting to discuss at this parlay?", Star Gleam asked.

Twilight spoke up. "I presume that you're General Star gleam?"

"You presume correctly."

Twilight levitated a rolled up parchment from a compartment within her armor and passed it to the New Unicornian general.

Star Gleam took the parchment, unrolled it and skimmed over the words. "You demand that I order my army to throw down their arms and unconditionally surrender?! Preposterous!"

"We beseech thou to change thy mind, my little pony.", Luna replied, "Enough warriors already have lost their lives and many more shall expire before this bloody affair is over. We art giving thou a chance to prevent more loss and suffering from within thine ranks."

"You have seen a small measure of what we can bear down upon your forces. I can assure you that the ponies under your command will be well treated, you have my sacred oath. Just help us shorten what will be a bloody and violent war between our two nations.", Celestia pleaded., "There is no shame in an honorable surrender."

"Did you offer an honorable surrender to the ponies in our forward operating bases and listening posts when you attacked?", Star Gleam defiantly asked, though deep inside she was trembling. She waited for a few moments before continuing. "I think now that you've seen where we've chosen to fight, you're scared that you cannot win. So the answer is no."

"Very well. If your answer is final, we shall depart.", Twilight replied, "But remember this meeting when you find your forces overrun and that we gave you a chance to surrender with you and your army's head held high. Next time we meet it will not be under such amenable circumstances and we will not be as kind in our demands." She tipped her head at the general. "Until the next time then."

Both parties went back down their respective sides of their hills.

"Stubborn foolish pride.", Twilight grumbled.

"It is not foolish pride, but the belief that they are defending their homeland.", Cadance said, "If the shoe was on the other hoof, would we accept an offer of unconditional surrender?"

Twilight blew out a sigh. "Perhaps not. But we must make them see that every day they fight, the prospect of surrender becomes more and more appealing." She opened up a channel on her coms unit. "Send a message to airship and mortar commands that they can commence preliminary bombardment in ten minutes."

Star Gleam and her entourage had barely been in the air for eight minutes when the whistling of shells overhead was followed by the sounds of distant explosions. Unbuckling from the seat, she walked over to the cockpit and stuck her head inside. "Increase speed to maximum and send a message over the radio that we're coming in fast and hot! As soon as we're over our lines, get us on the ground as fast as possible!" The pilot and copilot, without looking back gave quick salutes.

New Unicornia soldiers ran to and fro seeking cover as the officers shouted orders over the din of explosions. High explosive shells tore gashes in berms and sent stacked sandbags flying through the air, fragmentation shells filled the air with deadly hails of jagged metal fragments that shredded flesh. Artillery crews dragged and shoved their guns into place, the whole time praying that the next shell wouldn't be the one to take their lives. Loading crews shoved sleds of shells to the artillery guns or lugged boxes of ammunition for the machineguns.

Down below the Celestial Hooves dug the trenches the last few body lengths to the base of the Shattered Walls.

At the flanks of the Shattered Walls, tank and technical crews ponied their vehicles, awaiting the command to roll out and engage the enemy.

On The Crusade's far left flank, the solar flames, led by their ponemarch Apricus, began marching out of their concealed positions, armed with heat beams, plasma casters, high-powered heavy lasers and heavy flame throwers. On the far right flank the Saddle Ragers, led by their ponemarch Papilonem, flew low to the ground, hugging the contours of the land. Each legion was backed up by two battalions of ponies from the Fraternity and exoskeleton armored soldiers from the Ponyhood of Steel each.

New Unicornian gunnery crews loaded smoke shells and fired a single volley each. Forward observers sent back messages in semaphore telling commanders how far to traverse their aim. Loading fragmentation shells with impact fuses, they began to fire volleys.

Up and down both lines artillery shells sent up geysers of soil and sprayed clouds of shrapnel. New Unicornian soldiers lay on the ground screaming from where sprays of shrapnel tore into their flesh or high explosives ripped limbs off.

Transequine marines continued to dig the trenches, seemingly to take no notice of the explosions and shrapnel, even when large chucks pierced the joints in their armor. Even when individuals were struck down by direct hits from enemy artillery shells, they didn't stop, simply hastily moving their gravely injured or dead siblings to the rear and then just as quickly going back to digging.

Mortal ponies and minotaurs of The Crusade hunkered in bunkers or waited on the decks of airships, awaiting the order to move out and attack.

The last of the trenches were dug up to the base of The Shattered Walls and sappers rushed forward to plant explosives.

Aerial screws lifted into the air, just high enough to avoid the artillery bombardments, preparing to engage troops in the trenches. Airships that had been held in reserve adjusted their sights onto the incoming enemy aircraft, their crews loading airburst shells and opened fire. Aerial screws were forced to scatter as small numbers of them were sent plummeting down to the ground as bursts of shrapnel shredded tail and top rotors or killed pilots. Those that went too high fell prey to the Sky Hunters.

The Saddle Ragers and Solar Flames engaged the mechanized columns first. The former opting to outflank their targets and engage the technicals in the rear whie the mortals of the Ponyhood and the Fraternity attacked the tanks from the front and sides. The latter opted to attack the tanks head-on while the mortals provided fire support or engaged the technicals. Technical crews fired the machineguns, leaned out windows to fire their rifles or throw grenades while tank crews fired hull and cupola-mounted machineguns, traversed their main turrets to fire on the enemy ponies or crush enemy ponies under treads. Heat beams, high-powered lasers and balls of crackling plasma melted gold ball-sized holes through the armor plates. Crews were killed by the high heat weapons or were ripped apart by explosions when the weapons struck fuel tanks and ammo racks.

The stallions of the Fraternity tossed satchel charges and grenades at the tanks and light trucks, immobilizing the former and flipping the latter. They fired rifles on the crews as they were forced to disembark their vehicles, tossing hoofmade fire pots and shooting streams of liquid death from flame throwers as they got close. The stallions shoved the muzzles of their flame throwers through driver's slits or open top hatches of the tanks, depressed the triggers and incinerated the crews inside, turning the vehicles into armored urns,

The Implacable Hooves, along with their ponemarch Pomum Ligni gathered in the trenches, an assortment of heavy weapons mounted in both of their armors' shoulder sockets, as the sappers placed the last of the explosives and set the timed detonators. The airships and mortars fired dozens of smoke and starburst shells, providing obscuration for the Implacable Hooves while simultaneously blinding and dazzling New Unicornian troops. The Crusade stopped its preliminary bombardments.

New Unicornian gunnery crews, no longer able to see their forward observers, were forced to hold their fire. Soldiers tried to peer through the thick smoke to no avail, some opting to fire wildly through the thick, obscuring haze until the officers ordered them to hold fire.

Star Gleam, sitting in the cave that served as her command bunker, sat looking through an old history book, its pages long yellowed and brittle with age, as she listened to the tank and technical crews screaming over the radios for fire support, the number of broadcasts slowly cutting out one-by-one. The whole time the bombardments from both sides filled the air with loud, echoing booms. Flipping to the page she was looking for, she saw five alicorns standing before a crystal wall, the youngest being held in the pink one's forelegs as a group of normal ponies and a baby dragon posed with them. The caption read: 'Pictured: Princesses Celestia and Luna, the high diarchs of Equestria. Princess Cadance, the princess of the Crystal Empire, along with her husband Prince-consort Shining armor and their newly born daughter Flurry Heart. Savoir of the Crystal Empire, Spike the Brave and Glorious. The Element Bearers Princess Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The Royal Crystaler Sunburst. Starlight Glimmer, personal student of Princess Twilight Sparkle.' She began to laugh hysterically. "They're back! Ha-ha-ha-ha! They've come to claim the land once again! Ha-ha-ha-ha! And I refused their offer of honorable surrender! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" She raised her head at the quiet that signaled the bombardments ending. Closing the book, she set it aside, made sure she had her combat uniform on, the pistol in its holster at her side and her rifle slung across her back. She might not be able to beat the princesses and their army, but nothing said that she couldn't go out in a glorious blaze.

The last of the vehicles were destroyed, ensuring that the New Unicornian forces had no mechanized cavalry left. Black smoke poured from the flaming hulks that once were tanks, the flames pouring out of open hatches or where the main turrets used to be, loud pops and explosions of ammunition cooking off occasionally making the orange flames leap higher. The light trucks lay wrecked, some having flipped over on their tops, crushing the occupants, others lay on their sides on with their undercarriages on the ground where the tires and engines had been destroyed. All around on both flanks of The Shattered Walls the blackened and broken bodies of New Unicornian vehicle crews lay about the churned up ground, bodies and limbs twisted at odd angles from broken and shattered bones or from the intense heat of the flames. Columns of oily black smoke rose into the air. Only a small number of the vehicle crews had survived and were currently being clapped in steel shackles, blindfolded and led off to become prisoners of war.

Tech monks of the Ponyhood of Steel having discarded their blue robes with silver trim, revealing their mostly cybernetic bodies, approached the burning wrecks wielding a variety of cutting implements in their mechanical tendrils. They had little to fear from the flames as their organic parts had been heavily replaced with cybernetics and bionics, any remaining organic parts that were damaged by the flames could be easily replaced or augmented with cybernetics and bionics. The cyber monks set about carving up the ruined vehicles, only stopping to peel away sections of metal that had been cut and stack them in piles. Tech monks guiding self-propelling wagons pulled up to the piles of cut down scrap, loaded them onto the wagons and guided them back to the mobile forges to be melted down.

The Solar Flames and Saddle Ragers legions, only suffering minor casualties, had reloading teams refill their ammoand had refitting teams replace any damaged weapons or parts of their armor, then moved off to begin scaling the flanks of The Shattered Walls.

The armored soldiers of the Ponyhood and the stallions of The Fraternity, having suffered heavier casualties, began securing the area or digging pits to throw the New Unicornian dead in as they awaited reinforcements, fresh ammo and weapons, and further orders.

In the skies above the Sky Hunters legion descended on the New Unicornian aerial screws en masse. The pilots found themselves quickly overwhelmed by the transequine pegasi marines. Aerial screws plummeted from the sky, ripped apart by wing blades, ripper hooves, hoof claws and hammer hooves.

The detonators on the placed charges counted down to zero. Up and down the New Unicornian lines loud thumps could be heard. The ground heaved up slightly, unicorn soldiers staggered. Just as quickly the ground settled back to its original place, leaving unicorn soldiers confused. After a few minutes small visible cracks could be seen in the rocks and soil that were slowly widening. Officers shouted for the soldiers to evacuate their positions. With a loud rumbling, sections of the front of The Shattered Walls tumbled down, forming crude ramps of rubble and displaced soil. New Unicornia soldiers who were still disassembling their machineguns or assisting in lugging ammo and weapons found themselves washed away in the torrent of collapsing earth.

High above a fleet of light airships zoomed over the enemy positions, heading to the rear of The Shattered Walls, the afterburners on their jet engines glowing brightly.

The Implacable Hooves legion formed up in box formations and matched up the crude earthen ramps. Enemy soldiers, alive, but wounded or dead, partially buried or laying atop the disturbed embankments were trampled under armored hooves. The earth pony legion upon reaching the top of the embankments, spread out in wide lines three deep. Leveling their heavy weapons at fleeing enemy soldiers, they opened fire. New Unicornian troops were ripped apart in merciless hails of steel-jacketed bullets, heavy mass reaction rounds and automatic light cannon shells. When the first ranks expended their ammunition, the second rank moved up to become the first and airships holding reloading teams descended to reload the now-second rank. Body-length-by-body-length the Implacable Hooves ground forward, shredding enemy soldiers and emplacements alike under withering fields of fire.

New Unicornian artillery crews in a desperate bid to stop the enemy advance, cranked their guns into flat trajectories. The commanders hastily sighted in on the slowly advancing red armored marines. Loading fragmentation and high explosive shells, yanked the cord on the breach of the guns, loosing their deadly payload. When the smoke cleared, the artillery crews looked on in shock, though their shots had killed or severely wounded individual transequine marines, they simply side-stepped to close the gaps in their ranks and continued their grinding advance.

Mortal pegasi swooped down onto the artillery positions from above, throwing grenades and firing rifles. As the surviving artillery crew members fled into the caves that had held their guns, machinegun crews further back in the caves opened fire, covering their fleeing comrades.

The Solar Flames and Saddle Ragers legions had successfully scaled the flanks of The Shattered Walls and began digging out the New Unicornian troops dug in the caves. Solar Flames, their bright orange armor with rub red highlights, fired their heat-based weapons or cast fire magic into the caves, incinerating enemy troops. Saddle Ragers, their tan armor with green highlights, fired mass reaction rounds or charged into the caves, ripping apart the defenders.

The mortal ponies in the trenches began scaling the earthen ramps to occupy captured enemy positions and begin their push.

Airships moved above the newly captured positions. The crews dropped thick ropes off the sides. Minotaurs and mortal ponies fast-roped down.

The Implacable Hooves chose to retire from the battle for the day. They gathered up their wounded and dead, and moved to the rear to their awaiting airships.

The Crusade airships that moved to the far rear of the New Unicornian positions hovered in place. The Stone Legion, their bright pink armor, clown faces, monocles or other silly things painted on their helmet's face plates and top hats, derbys or rainbow afro wigs worn atop their helmets, as a final for their enemies, leapt from the first of the airships, lead by their ponemarch Zoccoli di Pietra. Once they were all on the ground, they began trampling forward, flowing like a pink flood across the broken hills and ridges of The Shattered Walls.

The second wave of airships landed to the New Unicornian far rear. The ponemarch Aster, leading their sons and daughters, Star Brigade legion. The transequine unicorn marines broke up into fire teams of four and five, their royal purple armor with silver trim gleaming brightly in the sunlight, and began weaving through the valleys between the hills and ridges.

The third wave of airships set down in the New Unicornian far rear. The Stellar Flare legion, led by their ponemarch Divinios stepped off the airships. Forming up in block formations, they marched across the broken hills and ridges.

***

Star Gleam paced back and forth in the cave that served as the command bunker. The walls and ceiling had been reinforced to prevent it from collapsing in the event of it being shelled. "Any word from Iron Shoes or Green Greaves?"

"No sir.", a subordinate replied, "It's chaos out there and they might be tied up fighting advancing enemies."

A runner rushed in."Sir. We have a sitrep from the front! They breached gaps in the ground and have overrun our positions. Our forward ranks have suffered massive casualties!"

Star Gleam mulled over the new information for a few seconds. "Order a fighting retreat. We'll use the very train to cover us. If we don't hear from our aerial or mechanized divisions in the next few hours, we are to assume they're dead or captured."

Six new runners entered the bunker. They reported that enemies have successfully scaled the flanks of The Shattered walls, and others have landed far to their rear and are quickly moving overland to their rear.

Star Gleam went pale for a few moments. "Alright, new orders. Anypony who can hold a weapon is to fight. Try to make a gap in their lines and break out. Anypony who manages to get past their lines, run fast and hard for the nearest fort or town and tell any authorities they find what happened here."

***

With the front lines secured and three transequine legions pushing up from their enemy's rear, the Crusade began preparing for the next push. They began consolidating their forces and preparing to bleed the New Unicornian forces for everything they were worth as it was too early in the invasion to bypass any enemies.

The princesses took to the battlefield, Cadance and Flurry Heart taking command of the line, Celestia taking command of the left flank, Luna taking command of the right, and Twilight taking command of the rear, though they wouldn't be in the thick of the fighting initially, that could very much change in the chaos of battle. It had been said that the presence of a single alicorn on the battlefield could rally any army they stood with, turning a sure defeat into a victory, or the morale of any army that stood against them, forcing a mass surrender. This battle would have five of them leading different elements of their armies from four different sides.

Mortal ponies and minotaurs prepped their weapons for the fight. The Celestial Hooves, their bright white armor with deep purple and gold accents gleaming in the sun, stood in the second line of troops in preparation to to build allied fortifications or breach enemy fortifications as needed. High above the Sky Hunters and Saddle Ragers legions circled, awaiting the two armies to clash. The Sky Hunters would plunge headlong into where the fighting was thickest, cutting down enemy soldiers and sowing general chaos in their ranks, while the Saddle Ragers would swoop down along the enemy's flanks, picking off targets of opportunity, such as machinegun nests, officers and artillery crews, or provide close air support, firing mass reaction rounds into large groups of soldiers and onto hardened positions. The Solar Flames legion would serve as terror troops. The Star Brigade legion, masters of small squad tactics, once gaps were opened up in the enemy's lines, would push in to further break up enemy formations. The Implacable Hooves who had already retired from the battle for the day, would serve as heavy reserves. The Stone Legion would be the ones to shatter the enemy's resolve, being masters of the massed wave, they would wash over enemy ranks like a power armored flood. The Stellar Flares legion would serve as a rearguard element and would be instrumental in getting any pertinent information out of captured enemy soldiers. Onboard the airships the heavily armored soldiers and cybernetic tech monks of the Ponyhood of Steel awaited, they would serve as elite strike troops, quickly deploying to plug any breaches in allied lines, capture strategic enemy locations or provide over-watch.

The Night Hunters legion had been dispatched to go out into the countryside to intercept any possible incoming enemy reinforcements and scout out the next targets of opportunity. The thestral snipers, being nocturnal, were still asleep, waiting for the sun to go down so they could harass enemy ranks.

The Crusade had pushed in a half league on the front and flanks, and nearly a full league in the rear, that left the New Unicornian forces with a lot of land under their control in The Shattered Walls. Though they were encircled, the noose wasn't closed yet and the Crusade intended to close that noose.

As noon came and went, the two opposing forces had yet to encounter each other yet, but that wouldn't last long. As The Crusade probed inwards, New Unicornia probed outwards. At two in the afternoon, intermittent firefights broke out as advanced units of both armies encountered each other. Over the next hour those intermittent firefights became pitched battles as both sides vied for fire supremacy. New Unicornian and Crusade artillery roared, sending hails of deadly explosives at one another to breach the other's lines. Soon thousands of ponies were fighting in trenches, foxholes and sandbag fortifications on the tops of hills, along ridge lines and in valleys, bullets zipping back and forth, seeking to bit into the flesh of any who was unfortunate enough to be caught peeking over the edge of their earthen fortifications or out in the open.

Both sides began digging weaving trenches towards each other.

Up and down the lines New Unicornian troops hefted hoof grenades, using their magic to hold down the striker lever, they pulled out the pin with their teeth and hurled the cylindrical explosives at the enemy trench. The resulting explosions followed by pained screams emboldened the unicorn soldiers, they surged out of their trenches and charged the Crusade trenches. Said charges were blunted when white-armored marines rose up over the edge of the trenches and fired volleys of mass reaction rounds, ripping grievous holes in the New Unicornian soldiers' bodies. The surviving enemy soldiers were sent running back to their trenches.

Up and down Crusade trenches, teams of medics scrambled to patch up those who had been wounded or pulling a single identification tag from their body for those who were dead. Pairs of ponies loaded up the bodies of the wounded and dead onto stretchers, carrying them to field hospitals and morgues.

Minotaurs and mortal ponies amassed in Crusade trenches. The fraternity lit the rags tied to the top of their improvised incendiary bombs. Soldiers placed their heavy wheeled steel shields in preparation to push across no pony's land. The Long Pikes tribe readied their heavy, thick shields and pikes whose blades at the end crackled with power fields. The Fire Pipes tribe readied themselves on their cousin's heels, hefting their scatterguns. Ponies hefted grenades in their hooves and auras. Striking the button atop the grenades against their helmets, they threw them at the New Unicornian trenches.

Before their grenades exploded, the officers shouted for a charge. Mortal ponies and minotaurs of The Crusade surged from their trenches as grenades exploded in the enemy trenches. In teams of three, soldiers shoved their wheeled shields across the battlefield, occasionally leaning out from behind their mobile cover to fire on enemy positions. The stallions of The Fraternity shouted battle hymns as they charged across the battlefield, flecks of froth flying from the corners of their mouths, their religious devotion driving them into zealous fervor.

Reaching enemy trenches, pikes easily pierced enemy bodies. Sprays of shot from scatterguns shredded enemy flesh. Bullets ripped through enemy bodies. The Fraternity threw their improvised incendiary bombs and sprayed up and down enemy trenches with their flamethrowers. The Crusade forces poured into New Unicornian trenches. Weapons fired at point-blank from both sides reaped a deadly toll. Blood flowed like wine as deadly and chaotic close quarters fighting broke out. Flamethrowers turned machinegun nests, field bunkers and choke points into death traps. Ponies who had the tanks on their flamethrowers punctured by bullets or shrapnel rushed forward in an attempt to get as close as possible to enemy troops as possible before they exploded. The battle for the New Unicornian trenches became a war of inches, blood from the dead and wounded mingled together before the soil greedily drank it. The air was filled with the screams of the wounded, the moans of the dying, the snaps of firearms, the hissing of flamethrowers and the explosions of grenades and artillery shells.

New Unicornian soldiers were forced to retreat from their earthworks. Sappers planted and detonated blasting charges, collapsing sections of connecting trenches, halting The Crusade's push. That's when the Celestial Hooves attacked. Transequine warriors surged from The Crusade's trenches, barreled across open ground and leapt over newly captured trenches. Enemy troops found themselves overwhelmed by a wall of power armored bodies and mass reaction rounds. Officers died screaming into their radios begging for reinforcements that would never come as the Sky Hunters were engaging them. What started as a bounding retreat turned into a full rout. New Unicornia's center split, rolling up on itself.

That's when the Solar Flames, along with battalions of mortal troops attacked from the left and right flanks. Enemy soldiers were quickly encircled,. That's when the New Unicornian artillery cut out, their crews falling prey to the Saddle Ragers. Some New Unicornian soldiers opted to fight to the last pony or took their own lives, most threw down their weapons and surrendered.

New Unicornian forces that probed to their rear found no sign of encroaching enemy forces and sent runners back to report their findings, or more importantly what they didn't find. The officers interpreted this to be that either the number of troops to their rear were greatly overestimated or had been diverted elsewhere, regardless they couldn't let any chance, no matter how small, for a chance of a breakout, and maybe get a chance to encircle the enemy. The officers ordered the unicorns under their command to make a break for it. Nearly a division's-worth of soldiers advanced to the rear.

The Crusade sprung their trap. With a bit of mad brainstorming from Divinios and Aster, they had ordered pits and trenches to be dug, then camouflaged. Zoccoli di Pietra had begrudgingly went along with the plan. As New Unicornian forces neared their hidden positions, the signal went out. The Stone Legion surged forth, stampeding across the ground like a pink-armored flood, the Star Brigade and Stellar Flares popped out of their hidden positions providing harassing fire.

New Unicornian soldiers at the head of the attempted breakout quailed, attempting to run back the way they came, only to get trampled by their comrades. Mass reaction rounds ripped bodies apart. Soon the attempted breakout folded back on itself. The unicorns tried to climb over one another, ran hither and dither or dropped to their knees, begging for mercy. <ass reaction rounds ripped their bodies apart and pink-armored bodies crushed them to mush. Of the nearly a division's-worth of soldiers, only one hundred limped back to their comrades.

The Stone Legion continued their stampede, making it to the enemy's trenches. They easily cut through the New Unicornian ranks and linked up with their brethren in the Celestial Hooves and Solar Flares, bisecting the enemy-held trenches. The Star Brigade reached the enemy trenches and entered them, being the masters of small squad tactics, and turned the enemy-held trenches into abattoirs.

New Unicornian high command called for a full retreat, ordering all troops to fall back and consolidate. Head counts were given, out of the five divisions sent out to fight the New Equestrian Empire's Crusade, four had been wiped out. Soldiers began digging new trenches, foxholes and field bunkers. Many had said it would make it easier for their enemies to bury them in. Officers attempted to tamp down on such talk, but nothing could be done for flailing morale.

The Crusade spent the remainder of the day wiping out any remaining enemy forces that had remained behind as they encircled the New Unicornian forces and consolidated theirs.

As the sun began setting the mortals of The Crusade boarded airships or crawled into field bunkers to bed down for the night. The transequine legions didn't need to sleep as their special organs, genetic engineering, specially augmented wellsprings and had embedded itself in their intestinal tracts meant they forgo sleep for weeks if need be.

Star Gleam looked out at the enemy forces that had encircled hers. Quick and dirty head counts of the enemy forces had estimated that they had brought at least eighty divisions, while she could only requisition five, of which she had suffered eighty percent losses. The princesses were back to reclaim their empire. Where were they over the last thousand years while Old Equestria was torn apart by wild magic, mutants, madponies, mutants and death cults? Why had they only revealed themselves in the last year throwing that damned barbarian mutated minotaur to the south? It was clear that a military force needed time to build up, so they must have suffered devastating casualties fighting the self-proclaimed Brass Lord. Right? Another thought struck her. What if they hadn't suffered massive casualties fighting that damned minotaur and something had brought their attention to her homeland? There had been a series of breakouts at the capitol resulting in several slave stock being smuggled out. A fire team had been dispatched to recapture those slaves and bring them back. They must have encountered the New Equestrian Crusade and drew their ire. But why didn't they go through the Foal Mountains instead of around them? Surely they had enough airships and pegasi to ensure a safe crossing and wind up right on New Unicornia's doorstep, right? She thought back to the direction they had come from and a realization hit her. She rushed back into her bunker to confirm a hunch.

Star Gleam laid out several maps of the areas outside New Unicornia, the maps had been compiled from ones that had been bought from trader caravans or forcibly taken from bandits and slavers. She particularly focused on the maps that laid out what was south and east of New Unicornia. Using the Foal Mountains as a series of fixed points, she traced out the most likely route they would have taken to wind up on New Unicornia's eastern border. "Sonofabitch!", she snarled,"They found that hidden village nopony else could find! They found The Quarry! There were rumors that it had been founded atop an old rock farm! That's how they're able to afford to build such powerful tech!" Rolling up the maps, she prayed that her calls for help had been heard and reinforcements were arriving. All they had to do was survive the night and then she'd climb the tallest hill still under their control just as the sun rose. If reinforcements were coming, they'd be coming from the northwest and if she saw them, she'd fire off a flare. All they had to do was survive the night.

On leathery wings thestrals emerged from their barracks equipped with high-powered sniper rifles.

A local ranger's outpost had received Star Gleam's request for aid and figured she was dealing with a large bandit raid or a rabble of mutants. They had sent out a pair of unicorns in a light truck to investigate. Upon reaching visual range, they had observed that this wasn't a mob of bandits or a gang of mutants, but a full on military invasion. They quickly turned back around to raise the alarm.

Twelve companies of rangers had been summoned, but it would take the better part of the day to gather in one place, then a full night of hard riding to reach the edge of The Shattered Walls just before dawn to provide reinforcements. They all would have like a full army backing them up, but that would take weeks before any army could be mobilized and any force well armed and organized enough to launch a full military invasion of the homeland need to be forestalled asap.

As the rangers rode through the darkness of night in their trucks, a series of bright flashes off to both sides were seen just split seconds before the lead trucks were ripped apart. Squads of rangers disembarked from the surviving troop tranport trucks as gunners on the backs of the technicals racked back the charging lever on their weapons. Spotlights on troop transports and headlights on the technicals lit up the darkness, but no sign of their ambushers could be seen.

Something dark and shadowy and ill-defined slammed into the side of a technical, folding the light truck nearly in two and flipping it over, killing the crew almost instantly. A dozen loud booms rang out accompanied with bright flashes where the truck had once stood. A dozen rangers' bodies were ripped open with bloody explosions.

Rangers hastily returned fire from where the shots had rang out, but it became clear that whatever was shooting at them was gone. The wind began to blow like a hurricane and a pair of massive, shadowy figures flew overhead. Rangers loaded illumination rounds into their underslung grenade launchers, aimed the weapons upwards and fired. Flares sailed from the weapons, illuminating a pair of dragons, one purple with green spines and underbelly, the other dark orange with lighter orange spines and underbelly.

Spike and Smolder landed, crushing a dozen trucks between their bulk.

Smolder unleashed a roar that threatened to split the sky.

The rangers had been trained on how to rapidly deal with a whole host of highly dangerous threats, bandits, slavers, mutants, madponies, death cults, monsters, peasant uprisings, hogs and invading armies. They had never been trained how to deal with dragons of any size, much less adult dragons. Some froze in place pissing their uniforms, some fainted from fright, some ran away, others still in their light trucks, tried to drive away. A few had the presence of mind to open fire on the dragons. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the dragons' thick scales.

Both dragons knew that dragon-fear wouldn't hold for long and the unicorn rangers would regain their senses enough to begin fighting back effectively or flee to safety and call for backup that could fight effectively.

Spike casually swatted away a small group of rangers that were firing on him and picked up a troop transport in his claws and tossed it at a group of fleeing technicals like a foal would toss a ball. Two of the light trucks easily swerved away from flying heavy truck. A third tried to swerve, its rear tire losing traction, causing the vehicle to fish tail wildly before flipping and rolling over several times, killing the crew. Two of the light trucks were crushed under the remains of the heavier one. He bounded off after the remaining light trucks.

Smolder took off after another group of trucks. With a might flap of her wings, she too to the air. Two of the gunners swiveled their machineguns around and fired wildly at her. Taking in a deep breath, she unleashed a gout of fire.

Dragon's fire being one of the hottest things there is, can easily melt hardened steel like it was an ice cube on a sidewalk during a hit summer's day, so the blued steel of firearms stood no chance, neither did the brass casing of ammunition, the thin sheet metal that made up the bodies of the trucks, the chromed steel that made up their wheels and the aluminum that made up their engine blocks. The propellant of the ammunition burned away before it had a chance to explode and turned the unicorns' flesh to ash almost instantly. Dragon's fire being both heat-based and magical-based in nature, could overcome the natural or unnatural regeneration of powerful creatures. A dragon with enough control of their breath could teleport objects as small as a pea or as large as a train car, erase all but the most powerful enchantments, rip apart the molecular bonds of chemical agents rendering them inert, the only creatures that ever showed any level of resistance to their breath other than other dragons are mature alicorns.

Smolder opted not for fine control, but raw heat. Ahead of her flames, the flesh of the New Unicornia rangers sizzled, the tires on their trucks melted into liquid black pools, the metal of their trucks, weapons and ammunition melted to slag, the propellant in their ammunition burned away and the ground melted into glass. As her flames passed over her targets, any unmelted metal flowed like water and the ground melted into lava.

Spike easily overtook the fleeing trucks he was chasing. With a swipe of his saber-like claws he easily shredded the bodies of the trucks and the bodies of their crews.

The few remaining rangers would easily fall prey to the Night Hunters.

After the short-lived battle was over, Smolder held gingerly in her claws several undamaged machineguns. She shrugged. "Eh, it's for my horde."

Spike snickered at his fellow dragon, his horde was something that most other dragons would consider valuable. It was a series of magically preserved photographs, an old stetson, a deep blue flight suit with yellow lightning bolts, a container of confetti, a pair of yellow feathers, a graduation certificate and the living descendants of those he called friends and family. The only part of his horde that had any monetary value was a golden torc that held a single heart-shaped ruby, which he often wore as a ring.

Spike pulled a scroll from behind his ear and with a small puff of green flame, sent it away.

Throughout the night thestral snipers rained death one well aimed shot at a time, transequine marines performed hit and run raids and the airships performed intermittent bombardments. This had the effect of keeping the unicorns from resting and keeping them on edge the whole time.

As the sky brightened in the light of false dawn, Star Gleam climbed the tallest hill still under her army's control with a pair of field glass. She raised the field glasses to her eyes and scanned to the northwest, looking for any sign that reinforcements were on their way. As the fingers of the first light of dawn stretched across the land, what she saw in the distance through magnification made her heart drop. Blackened earth, twisted and warped wrecks of vehicles, and shattered bodies. Reinforcement tried to make it to them in the night but were intercepted. They had all been wiped out or forced to retreat. No relief force was coming.

The sound of flapping drew Star Gleam's attention. A pair of dragons landed among The Crusade's forces. Her magic faltered, the field glasses fell to the ground, the lenses shattered. She fell to her plot. The princesses armies had dragons. Of course they had dragons! They had minotaurs, and horses and ponies! why not dragons? Why not gigantic machines that walked about and fired molten death? Why not a gigantic three-headed dog? Why not the pony reaper and the Lord of Tartarus as well? Looking around at the surrounding forces, she could see smoke and steam from cooking stoves in their camps. They were well rested, well fed and ready to fight, by contrast her forces were battered, bloodied, broken and utterly exhausted, definitely in condition to fight. And how long realistically would it be before reinforcements were sent her way? Weeks? Months? If they came at all. Her army would be lucky to survive until noon. She wasn't filled with a sense of finality, or even dread, just a feeling of emptiness, a gnawing hollowness. The ponies had given their best and their best just wasn't good enough. She could ask them to make a desperate last stand, taking as many of them down before they were cut down, but then who would tell their families? Who would remember them? Who would bury them? No! She wouldn't ask them to sacrifice anymore for her! They were soldiers who deserved to see their families again once this terribleness was over and done with. She was the one who failed.

Star Gleam, he heart heavy, walked back down the hill and to the command bunker. "Send for General Star Gleam. I'll be in my office.", she said to a subordinate. Closing the office door behind her, she sat behind her desk and opened a drawer. She levitated out a small metal box, a sheet of paper and a pen. Grabbing the pen in her magic, she wrote out her final orders, the army was to lay down their arms in full surrender, they were to not hang their heads in shame, but hold them high. Flipping open the small metal box, she took out a small glass capsule filled with a cloudy green liquid. There was a knock at the door. "Enter."

The door opened and Star Sapphire walked in."You wanted to see me High Ge--....what's all this?"

Star Gleam slid the paper across the desk. "My final orders. Full surrender. There's no reinforcements coming and it's pointless to continue fighting, we wouldn't last to the end of the day."

Star Sapphire looked at the paper then back to Star Gleam. "I figured we were going to surrender yesterday evening. I mean why the suicide capsule? The last thing your ponies need is to have their hearts further ripped out of their chests by having the High General killing herself."

"What's the point? I failed them. When the princesses called for parlay, they asked for a full surrender. That nopony had to die. I told them no."

"As should damn well have.", Star Sapphire replied, "Nopony knew that they had that many ponies and horses, or that they had dragons. Ask yourself this: Why didn't sic those fire-breathing lizards on us in the first place and then tread over our burned corpses?!"

Star Gleam levitated the glass capsule in her magic, rolling it over. "I have no idea."

Star Sapphire slapped the suicide capsule away, causing it to shatter against the wall. She then snatched Star Gleam up by her chest fluff. "You! Are! Al-way! Say-ing! To! Use! Our! Heads!", she shouted, slapping the high general back and forth. "You know how to find your head, don't you? It's the lump two-and-a-half legs in front of our plots! You are High General Divine-damned Star Gleam of house North Star!" She tossed Star Gleam back into her chair. "If you're going kill yourself, then use at least as many brain cells as a lobotomized ape, march your plot out there and lead your ponies in a glorious final charge! Better to die as a soldier under the blade of your enemy than as a coward by your own hoof. Kill yourself or not, I don't care. But know this, if you kill yourself, I'll not order your ponies to surrender and I won't let them go into some camp with the knowledge that their high general was too much of coward to lead them herself. I'll order every mare and stallion that can walk, crawl or roll to charge their lines. Better for them to die thinking you were a hero than live knowing you were a coward."

Star Gleam took in a deep breath and let out a slow sigh. "Thank you Sapphire. Send the order and requisition me a radio,", she said, "Oh and general? The next time you lay hooves on me, I'll bust you down to private on permanent latrine duty so fast your head will spin."

Star Sapphire snapped to attention and gave a crisp salute. "Understood High General, sir! It's been an honor and a pleasure to serve under you!"

***

The armies of the New equestrian Empire's Crusade and New Unicornia stood at attention across from each other.

Star Gleam, Star Sapphire and as many surviving officers that could be scrapped together to form a senior staff marched forward, their heads held high. As they passed, the soldiers under their command stood to attention and stepped aside, forming an unobstructed path.

Once reaching the front of her army, Star Gleam turned around to address them. "A high general couldn't ask for better soldiers under their command. I asked of your best and you gave me better than that." She paused, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat and wiped away a few tears. "This is my final standing order for you. Hang not your head in shame, instead hold them up high, for you did not fail me, you did not fail the homeland and you did not fail your families. You gave everything that was asked of you and then some." She closed her eyes as tears leaked down her cheeks and her breath quavered. Taking a breath to steel herself, she opened her eyes and prepared to shout her last order. "Color Guard! Strike...colors!"

The ragtag color guard walked up to the flagpole and with all of the reverence of handling a sacred relic, they lowered the flag of New Unicornia. Removing it from the cord, they folded it up into a small rectangle. Marching in lockstep, the color guard approached the high general and passed her the folded up flag.

Star Gleam lifted the flag in her magic, presenting it to the princesses. A Nebula Guard took the flag in their silvery aura.

Sunset Shimmer, her armored exoskeleton painted with symbols marking her as Grand Maestro of the Ponyhood of Steel and second-in-command of The Crusade stepped forward. "High General Star Gleam of New Unicornia, you are hereby relieved of command under the authority of the New Equestrian Empire, its crusade, High Princess Celestia, mare of the sun, keeper of the flame of harmony, warden if the east, Sol Invicta, mistress of summer, Grand Dam of Canterlot and wielder of Flame Tongue the sword of noon, High Princess Luna, mare of the moon, warden of the Everfree Valley, guardsmare of the south, warden of midwinter, Selene Ascendant, defender of the realm of dreams, supreme psychopomp of Tartarus, wielder of Winter's Tooth ax of winter, High Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Empress of the Crystal Empire, slayer of the king of shadows, warden of the north, protector of the dispossessed, smiter of changelings, Champion of Eros, Champion of Philia, Champion of Storge, Champion of Agape, Champion of Ludus, Champion of Ludus, Champion of Pragma, Champion of Philuatia, wielder of Heart's Sting, rapier of the north, High Princess Mi Amore Flurry Heart, high lady of the hinterlands, uniter of the north, wielder of Mountain Crusher mace of the north and High Princess Twilight Velvet Sparkle, Smiter of the Nightmare Queen, Smiter of the Lord of Chaos, Smiter of the Centaur Lord, Smiter of Storms, the mistress of magic, high wizard, grand enchanter, supreme thaumaturgist, Freer of twin kingdoms of Seaquestria and Mount Aris, protector of the eventide and wielder of Harmony's Gavel the hammer of friendship. Surrender yourself and your army, and remand yourself into our custody."

Star Gleam turned to the ponies who now officially were no longer under her command and gave the signal for them to surrender their weapons. She turned back to the princesses. "I, Star Gleam of the House North Star, High General of New Unicornia hereby remand myself and my army into your custody."

Once the last of the unicorn soldiers had stacked their weapons on the bround before the New Equestrian Crusade, crusade soldiers came out with shackles, attached them on her and led her off.

Star Sapphire called out in a loud voice. "Three cheers for our High General! Hip-hip!"

"Neigh!", the unicorns shouted.

"Hip-hip!"

"Neigh!"

"Hip-hip!"

"Neigh!"

It would take weeks for the surrendered soldiers to be processed and sent to prisoner of war camps. The Crusade spent those weeks setting up The Shattered Walls as the first true base of operations in their prosecution of war against New Unicornia. They poured over captured maps and deliberated over how to advance onwards. It was decided that each princess would each take two legions of marines, three full forges of Ponyhood of Steel forces, five armies of soldiers, two herds of minotaurs, one church of Fraternity and six fleets of airships. To prevent unnecessary infighting, the ponemarchs, generals, airship captains, minotaurs, deacons, forgemasters and generals were allowed to decide on which princess they would follow. Spike had decided he would follow Twilight, and Smolder had decided to stay with him as he was the only drake around for fifty thousand leagues...as far as anyone knew. The princesses would divide up the land into zones of control, forcing the unicorn armies to spread themselves out in an attempt to contain all five forces.

Snow Drift traveled across New Unicornia for weeks, traveling mostly at night. Though it was dangerous traveling at night, the chance of running into a pack of feral predators or a wandering monster, it was more dangerous to travel during the day as that was when unicorn soldiers would the the thickest. Plus being this far south, it wasn't as hot traveling at night, though the nights were still uncomfortably hot.

Her supplies having run out a few days before, Snow Drift had decided to forage for food. She stopped on a broken hill to munch on some of the green plants with blade-shaped leaves that grew close to the ground. Though they weren't very tasty, they made her feel less hungry. It made her wish she was eating the grey-green fluffy lichens that grew on rocks, the green cap mushrooms that grew around volcanic hot springs or the crystal berries that grew in patches on the edges of glaciers of her homeland, but these green, blade-shaped leaves would do for now. Maybe she could find sompeony who had some of those orange root vegetables, red shiny fruits or brownish-grey tubers that were white on the inside that she could swipe, they did better at making her feel full.

The wind shifted and Snow Drift smelled something cooking. her stomach gurgled in hunger, all she had to eat were a few mouthfuls of green blade-shaped leaves, and that wouldn't hold her. She snuck through the darkness towards the smell. She lurked in the shadows just outside the light of a camp stove. Sitting around it were several ponies, some had a horn like hers, but longer, the name for this type of pony in their tongue was oo-nee-kurn. Another type of pony had wings like her, but they were broader, the name she had learned for this pony was pi-gah-sees. The third type of pony looked like the crystal ponies of her home, but they weren't sparkly and crystal-y, this type of pony was called urf poh-nee.

One of the ponies was smearing some sort of rainbow-striped goop on dark brown squares. Brid and ji-lee Snow Drift saidin her head. Another pony was eating a shiny red fruit. Ap-leh. Another couple of ponies were cutting up some orange root vegetables and brownish-grey tubers that were white on the inside. One was cutting up a squishy red fruit. She knew kah-rat and poh-tay-oh. The red squishy fruit kind of looked like ap-leh, but ap-leh wasn't squishy and it was white on the inside, but this was squishy with red juice and a bunch of little seeds.

The pony who was smearing ji-lee on its brid put it down next to where it was sitting. Snow Drift took this opportunity to sneak up and steal the square of brid smeared with ji-lee. Snatching it up in her mouth, she scampered back off into the shadows. Chewing up a corner of square, she found that it had the same bland taste that brid had, though the crunch was nice, it reminded her of the crunch snow made under her hooves, but it was in her mouth instead. The ji-lee didn't taste like any ji-lee she had before, most ji-lee was purple, sweet and tasted like crystal berry juice that had been watered down with melt water, this tasted like nothing she had tasted before, this tasted...amazing!

A dark figure flapped down from above and Snow Drift immediately summoned her ice magic. Something thumped onto the ground next to her and she took a moment to inspect it. She was surprised at what she found, partially frozen in ice was a pony that looked similar to a pi-gah-sees, except it had leathery wings instead of feathery ones, its slitted eyes seemed to glow in the dark, its ears were wider and longer, ending in little tufts of fur, and a pair of...small fangs stuck out from under its top lip?

The not pi-gah-sees let out a series of barely audible screeches and chitters, then shouted something she didn't understand, though through the expression on its face that inflection in its tone, she understood it shouted some sort of alarm. Snow Drifted summoned her ice magic, covering her body in a layer of ice armor, extending ice blades from her feathers, covering her horn and hooves in a layer of hard ice. Though in this heat, her ice armaments would melt quickly, but it should buy her enough time to hide somewhere and summon more ice magic to help her.

Snow Drift ran through the darkness, her eyes straining in the dark to spot the not pi-gah-sees. Darting through the dark, avoiding groups of ponies carrying lights, she ran into something hard. falling onto her plot, she rubbed the end of her snout and looked up. Standing before her was a massive black metal oo-nee-kurn. Summoning up ice magic, she froze its legs. She felt a sense of victory as it cocked its big black metal head. Her sense of victory evaporated when it flexed its legs and broke free of the ice. Turning to run back the way she came, she froze in her tracks, another black metal oo-nee-kurn materialized out of the darkness.

A feminine voice spoke from the darkness and what looked like a really tall snow pony with dark blue fur and a flowing ethereal mane. No wait, it wasn't a snow pony, it was one of the ponies that the sparkly ghost pony had shown her.

"[Are you a goddess that the sparkly ghost pony showed me?]"

Luna looked down at Snow Drift. "[Thou speakest an odd dialect of Itailian? We don't recall sensing another pony ascending into alicornhood. Pray tell, when didst thou ascend my little pony?]"

"[I'm not an alicornhood, I'm a snow pony.]"

"[Fascinating. Art there more like thee, my little pony?]"

"[Yes, there are whole towns of us that live under the ice to the far north.]"

"[Fascinating. Entire communities of alicorns that live under the ice.]"

"[I told you I'm not an alicornhood, I'm an ice pony.]"

"[But thou hast wings and a horn.]"

"[Again I'm not and alicornhood, I'm an ice pony. All ice ponies have horns and wings.]"

Luna scanned Snow Drift with her magic. "[Fascinating. Thou hast a wellspring like a pegasus and a unicorn, but also not.]" She spoke to one of the black metal oo-nee-kurn in a tongue she couldn't understand and it answered back in the same tongue with a deep voice. "[Come with Us so We can bring you before Our fellow princesses]"

***

The five princesses sat around a small table as Snow Drift scarfed down her third plate.

"Poor dear. She's half starved.", Celestia said, "I wonder how long it's been since she's had a decent meal?"

"Are we just going to gloss over that there's an honest-to-goodness pegacorn sitting right here in our midst?", Flurry asked.

"She looks like a pegacorn, but she's not. Yet somehow she is?", Twilight mused. "We've all scanned her wellspring. It simultaneously reads as a pegacorn and not. I know that the pegacorns were supposed to have died out during the exodus, but there could have been ponies who survived the exodus. Think about the other extinct tribes that could have made a resurgence after the cataclysm. Bicorns, sleipnirids, fairy-wing ponies! Ooooo! Think of the possibilities! I need to draw up a flow chart and a pone diagram!"

"Easy now, Twilight.", Cadance said, "I don't think she's a pegacorn. They could use both pegasi and unicorn magic. She can't do either. Instead she has her own ice-based magic. She said she comes from a village under the ice of the far north and she speaks a hybridized version of Crystal Ponese and Atrotscan. The crystal ponies originally immigrated to the north of Equestria from Atrotscany and many crystal ponies back before the cataclysm still spoke exclusively Atrotscan. What we're looking at is a new tribe, in relative terms."

"A new tribe!", the other four princesses whispered in surprise.