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.