Bon Bon regained consciousness and found herself firmly lodged inside a cloud-wall. Her head was hanging out of a ceiling into some pegasus’ living room, she tried kicking back with her hind legs and felt… nothing?

It seemed her hindquarters were sticking out on the other side of the cloud. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes since the pegasi hadn’t found her yet. Bon Bon placed her forehooves on either side of her body, pushing against the cloud and slowly climbing out of it.

Her reinforced hooves landed softly on the floor. She lifted her head to look out the window on the wall, where the light of Celestia’s glorious sun was shining into the building. Nothing seemed to be damaged, who would’ve said that a building made of clouds would be good at breaking falls?

Bon Bon jumped back from the window when a black shadow passed by it, one of the automatons, most likely. She would need to find a way to get out of this city and get to Ponyville before… how long had she been out?

“Bon! You’re back!” Sandbar blasted through her communicator, “What happened?”

“I got… sidetracked” She replied, “Is Ocellus okay?”

Sandbar went silent for a while before responding.

“She’s wounded, but she’s hiding as one of the pegasi, they’re circling the building you're in”

That was strange, Bon Bon would’ve thought the automatons would rip the building to shreds looking for her. But then again they were probably enchanted to avoid damaging the city too much, she was cornered after all.

“How can I get to Ponyville?” She asked the earth pony.

“I’m working on it, maybe-” Sandbar began answering before being cut off by Lyra.

“Bon Bon, I have made it out of the weather factory. I know a way for you to get to Ponyville.” The green unicorn said.

“How?”

“At the edge of the city there is a tourist spot equipped with gliders,” Her companion finished.

That could work, but it didn’t solve the more pressing issue… How was she supposed to get out of this building? Bon Bon took another glance out the window, spotting several armored pegasi accumulating in the streets below, forming a barricade.

“How will you get there, Bon?” Sandbar asked, “You are completely surrounded”

“Well my plan was to simply run very fast in a straight line” She answered with a smirk.

Sandbar gave her a concerned glare, clearly unsure as to whether or not she was being serious.

“Be careful, Bon,” He said before closing the link.

Now, back to the problem at hoof… how could she get through all the pegasi waiting for her outside? Maybe she could make a distraction to slip past the blockade. The department she was in was almost completely empty save for the couch and small table. It didn’t look like anypony lived here, or at least not yet, there were multiple cardboard boxes around the room.

An idea sparked in her head, maybe there was a way for her to sneak out of this mess. Bon Bon dug through the boxes looking for one that wasn’t too full before finally coming across her prize: a box full of nothing but a long golden cane with a unicorn’s head at the end.

She took out the weird object and left it on the couch before turning to look at the large box it had been stored in. As a test, she kicked the box into the air and let it fall onto her, making sure that the edge touched the floor when she crouched. Perfect.

Bon Bon walked over to the apartment door and opened it, looking out into the hallway to make sure nopony was there. Then she made her way down the stairs towards the street level, bringing the box along. Once at the base of the building, she considered going out the front door, but decided against it and walked towards the wall instead.

Her white sword flashed twice, making an X shape on the wall and opening a hole in the wall that led into an alley.

“What are you thinking, Bon?” Yona asked, popping into her view with a confused face.

“I’m improvising,” She answered, putting the infallible camouflage on.

The yak didn’t say anything, she just stared blankly at Bon Bon as she crawled out of the building. She gaited slowly onto the sidewalk, looking out through a small hole on the side of the box.

There were at least two dozen pegasi guarding this street; she would have to be very careful to sneak past them. She lifted the box ever so slightly and crawled down the street, heading directly for the nearest pegasus guard.

She saw how the pegasi had set up a series of metal barricades to cut off any chance of a land escape, but they clearly hadn’t been expecting her to attempt stealth from such a precarious position. The guard she was approaching turned in her general direction, forcing Bon Bon to stand completely still for a few moments as the gaze passed over her camouflage.

Bon Bon reached the nearest barricade, passing by the clueless guard that had their eyes firmly locked on the building she had just left. Thanking the pegasi for their cloud streets with excellent sound absorption, she crawled through the triple layer of barricades.

Another pegasus looked her way, but after a few instants of stillness the mare seemed to decide that the pony-sized cardboard box that wasn’t there before was no reason for alarm. She passed the second barricade layer, just one more and she would be one step closer to escaping this place.

She crawled to freedom and almost made it past the last barricade when a voice made her freeze in place.

“Umm is that box moving?” A stallion said from above her, Bon Bon had forgotten that most of the pegasi guards were, in fact, flying.

“What?” Another voice answered, somewhere to the left of the first.

“That box,” The first voice repeated, most likely pointing at Bon Bon, “I’m pretty sure it moved,”

A large bead of sweat rolled down Bon Bon’s reinforced spine as she heard flapping get closer.

“What? Are you seeing things again, Gust?” Came the reply.

“No I’m not seeing things! I know it moved!” The stallion sounded angry.

More flapping sounds joined the two above them; if more pegasi gathered around her, Bon Bon would have a hard time fighting them off.

“What’s going on here?” A gruff-sounding mare asked.

“Gust is seeing things again,”

“No I’m not!” The stallion, Gust, replied.

A drawn out sigh came from the direction of the mare.

“Gust, have you been drinking again? Be honest,” The gruff voice demanded.

“No! And I know that box moved!” The stallion exclaimed, exasperated.

Bon Bon heard one of the pegasi land next to her. She had to use every last bit of self-control she could to not spring into action right then and there.

“This box?” The gruff-voiced mare asked, giving Bon Bon’s camouflage a tap.

“That’s the one captain,” Gust said quickly.

Bon Bon heard hoofsteps go around her. Eventually, the captain came around to the side of the box that she was using to see. The mare had a deep blue coat and stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

“It doesn’t move a lot, does it?” The captain said, lifting her head to look at Gust again.

“B-but I swear I saw-” The stallion tried to say but the captain cut him off again.

“Gust, go drink some water and clear your head, you’re not well,” She said.

The stallion said nothing, and judging by the hurried flapping leading away from them, he had left to follow his orders.

“Okay everypony, back to your posts!” The captain barked.

A chorus of ‘yes ma’am’s erupted around them before the guards fell back into position. Bon Bon slowly let out the breath she had been holding, making extra sure that the alert had passed.

She gave a tentative step forward, trying to move as slowly as possible, but she picked up the pace when she realized nopony had been alerted. The cardboard box that covered her bobbed up and down as she crawled past the last barricade.

Bon Bon threw the box off her back as soon as she got a reasonable distance away from the guards. She stood in an alley just one block away from the building she had crashed into.

“I… I honestly can’t understand how that worked,” Sandbar said, holding his head with his hooves.

“I told you I was a master of stealth,” Bon Bon replied, “Now, where is the glider, Lyra?”

“Keep going down the street you are on, I’ll meet up with you when you’re closer,” The green mare responded.

“Will do,” Bon Bon said before closing the link.

She made her way down the street, sticking to the shadows to avoid being spotted by the automatons flying overhead. The going was painfully slow, and Bon Bon could feel how every second ticked away from her time to save the princess, but if she were forced to fight off guards she would only lose more time.

Fortunately it seemed the guards were all focused on the building she had escaped, the only ponies around were the automatons, and they were nowhere near as alert as living guards. She just had to focus on getting out of here as quickly as possible.

A door was kicked open next to her, immediately making her draw the white blade and crouch into a fighting stance. A pegasus guard walked out, his helmet held firmly under a wing to reveal the stallion’s gray head.

The whiskey bottle in the stallion’s mouth fell onto the compressed cloud of the street as he locked his wide eyes with Bon Bon’s. They stood in silence for several seconds before the stallion picked the half-empty bottle and placed it under his other wing.

“You’re seeing things again, Gust,” The stallion said in a mock imitation of the other pony that had been at the barricade.

Bon Bon stared wide eyed at the pegasus as he made his way back into the bar, muttering something under his breath.

But the dark shadow that loomed on the cloud next to her revealed that the little encounter had drawn unwanted attention. She turned her head to the sky and spotted an automaton high up in the sky looking down at her.

Several more automatons started to gather around the first one. Before long, Bon Bon was facing down over a dozen pegasi. Her brain raced to make a plan before opting for the tried and true tactic of running as fast as her hooves could carry her.

The pegasi didn’t hesitate for a second before raining lasers onto the street as Bon Bon zigzagged to try and get away from the swarm. More automatons started to join the flock behind her, some even diving to try and slam into her.

One of the pegasi almost caught her, but one of the lasers that were being fired from above hit its wing and threw it just barely off course. The result being the automaton slamming through the street and into the void below the city.

Another pegasus dove at her but again was thrown off course by a lost beam. Yet, something stood out to Bon Bon, the pegasus wasn’t that close to her when the beam hit it… and the beam had been green.

She peeked up behind her just in time to spot her. Ocellus, still disguised as an automaton, was firing beams at the others to throw them off course. Apparently they hadn’t noticed the impostor in the chaos of battle.

A beam went straight through her left rear leg, throwing her to the ground. She stopped rolling just in time to dodge an automaton, this was bad. A lightshow started above her as her opponents fired down.

Several hits bounced off her armor, but some bit deep into her augmented body causing her to become sluggish. One of the automatons took the chance to charge at the weakened Bon Bon, who lifted her sword weakly and sidestepped the hulking pegasus. She was quickly put on defense as she did all in her power to stay clear of the automatons. Fortunately, there were too many of them to give them free movement.

But she couldn’t dodge forever, especially not when she was being pelted with lasers. One of the pegasi finally struck true, dragging her down the street in its forehooves. But something was strange, she wasn’t being crushed or slammed into the street… She was being carried.

She arched her head to look at her attacker and received a conspiratory wink from a pair of glowing green eyes. Ocellus flew fow a few blocks, the other pegasi had been thrown off by her disguise and had fallen back.

“You’re wounded! Why didn’t you escape?” Bon Bon asked her disguised transport after noticing the green liquid oozing down her forelegs.

“Good thing I didn’t” The changeling responded, her voice a pained whisper, “You’re really heavy,”

“Put me down, and get out of here!” She ordered.

The changeling responded by going into a nosedive, losing the disguise and reverting back to her buglike appearance. Both mares rolled down the street before Bon Bon jumped to her hooves and ran to her fallen companion.

She was still breathing, but there was an awful wound on her left shoulder. Fortunately, it seemed that the beam had grazed her, a direct hit would’ve evaporated the changeling. But she was wounded, and there was probably a large horde of pegasi headed their way.

Bon Bon looked around to find somewhere to hide, but the cloud buildings that surrounded them gave no cover at all.

Her mind was working overtime to try and come up with a plan when a window popped in her view, containing Lyra

“Bon Bon, keep going, you’re almost here,” She said.

“How much further?” Bon Bon replied as she slung the changeling over her back.

“Turn right and then go two more blocks,” Answered the green unicorn.

Ocellus gave a low groan as Bon Bon trotted down the street, at least it was a sign that she was still alive. Just as Lyra had told her, there was a tourist attraction ahead with a large billboard showing a pony using a glider. Lyra was already standing outside with two gliders and gesturing for her to hurry.

“How do we take Ocellus?” Bon Bon asked the green mare.

“With this,” Lyra answered, levitating a harness, “I’ll tie her to me and glide to safety,”

A piercing screech came from above them, and Bon Bon looked up to see a pegasus automaton flying towards them. Could she go just five minutes without having to fight?!

“Go!” She told Lyra before unsheathing her sword.

The green mare got to work on carefully tying the wounded changeling to herself and the glider as Bon Bon faced down the automaton. The metal pegasus dove at her and forced her to dodge, her damaged body barely managing to roll out of the way.

But the pegasus didn’t stop, instead barreling towards Lyra and Ocellus. The unicorn mare responded with her unnaturally fast reaction time, launching her heavy frame at the charging automaton and stopping it in its tracks.

Lyra ducked under a wing swipe and responded with a barrage of knives that deflected off her opponent’s armored side. The green unicorn jumped over the pegasus to avoid a dive attack, her chainsaw sliding off its back plates. But the automaton changed targets once more to face the glider and the wounded Ocellus.

“No!” Bon Bon shouted, charging at the automaton, but she was too slow.

Lyra, however, wasn’t. A green blurr launched itself into the path of the laser, absorbing the full force of the attack to protect the fallen changeling. The green (Or rather, black) mare went flying backwards and fell next to the glider.

Bon Bon reached the automaton and gave it a furious buck on the side, throwing the metal pegasus into the air. But her foe spread its wings and stood still in the sky, its eyes glowing menacingly.

Like she had done in the sewers all that time ago, Bon Bon twisted the hilt in her mouth to make the flat of the blade face the automaton and braced it against her shoulder. The twin magical rays collided with the white blade, reflecting back at the pegasus who fired them, but the constant movement of flight threw her aim off.

The sound of magical shields collapsing filled the air as the beams flew straight through the automaton’s right foreleg and wing, blowing the machine apart at the shoulder joint. The pegasus fell to the clouds, stunned at the sudden loss of its mobility, leaving itself wide open for Bon Bon’s charge.

A single stab of the white blade aimed directly at the automaton’s talisman was all it took. The magical energy that coursed through Bon Bon was a welcome change to repair her battered body.

“Bon Bon, we must leave now” A badly damaged Lyra said, pointing at the sky behind them.

The sky above Cloudsdale looked like an enraged beehive, and it was all headed towards them.

“Great idea! Leaving now!” Bon Bon said as she trotted over to the other glider, “Are you sure you can carry her?”

She pointed her hoof at the unconscious changeling hanging to the unicorn mare by a harness.

“Don’t worry, now go!” Her friend answered before jumping off the edge of the cloud.

Bon Bon tied her forelegs to the other glider, making sure that the straps were firmly tightened, and took a deep breath. With a jump, she launched herself over the edge and felt the wind blowing into her face as she sped towards the ground.

She saw a dot in the distance, Lyra was speeding towards Ponyville even faster than her, at this rate she would make it in no time. Bon Bon took a glance back and grew alarmed when she saw the flock of automatons coming after her, they were catching up.

“Bon! Are you there?” Sandbar asked through the communicator.

“I’m here, but they're catching up, I’ll try to land quickly!” She said back, screaming over the roaring wind.

“No need Bon, look to the sky!” Sandbar responded with a wide smile.

Bon Bon eyed the skies around her, confused, before spotting a rare cloud formation coming from the direction of canterlot. A large V shape was closing in at breakneck speed, trailing black clouds of thunder and lightning. Sandbar had probably convinced the army to send out some of the wonderbolts reserves.

The pegasi flew directly towards the approaching horde of automatons, dodging and weaving through the incoming attacks. A clash of thunder clouds and lasers erupted below Cloudsdale as the ponies fought, leaving a window for Bon Bon to continue her escape.

Ponyville appeared on the horizon as she flew through the air, without anyone following them, Bon Bon could take the time to enjoy the flight and think about what would come next. She would need to teleport to Celestia and defend her from whatever Desperado’s plan was. And this was all assuming the queen’s pupil even had the spell.

“I have landed and left Ocellus in good hooves,” Lyra said, appearing in a small window.

“Good, I’m almost there,” She responded.

Bon Bon braced for impact as the ground approached, she was still some distance away from Ponyville, but she could make it in no time. Her reinforced legs absorbed the impact with no issue and immediately launched her forward in a sprint towards the town.

Her artificial hooves thumped heavily on the dirt path that led into Ponyville. But as Bon Bon approached she noticed two figures standing a short distance from the gate to… Sweet Apple Acres.

A small dust cloud kicked up when Bon Bon stopped in her tracks. Before her stood a peculiar pair, a green unicorn mare… and an orange earth pony. Lyra walked to Bon Bon’s side slowly, she was still badly damaged from the automaton attack she had received.

“You’re not fighting, I take it you got her on our side?” Bon Bon asked, hopeful.

“I couldn’t find out what she wants, but I can assume it relates to her brother,” Lyra replied, turning her head to look at Applejack.

The orange mare stood with a blank expression, but the fire in her eyes was visible even from this distance.

“Bon Bon! Fancy meeting ya here!” The farmpony said, speaking a cheery tone that was too obviously forced.

“Don’t play around, Applejack. You knew I was headed to Ponyville… I guess I should thank you for not killing my friends,” She responded.

The orange earth pony threw her head back with laughter before staring daggers at her once more.

“Not if ya say it like that! B’sides, the only pony I want to kill is you, Bon," She said.

“To avenge Big Mac?” Bon Bon asked, drawing a twitch from Applejack’s eye at the mention of her brother.

The orange mare let out a deep sigh before walking forward slowly.

“Listen Bon, ah don’t blame ya for what ya did to Mac…” The farmpony said, coming to a standstill a short distance away from Bon Bon.

“But…” Applejack continued, “Ah’d be lying if ah said ah won’t enjoy cutting you apart,”

“Is this really necessary?” Lyra asked from the side, looking at both mares as they prepared for the showdown.

“Don’t interfere, Lyra,” Bon Bon ordered, standing tall before the orange mare.

The two mares stood a short distance apart, arching their neck ever so slightly towards the hilts hanging at their side.

“Yee haw!” Applejack bellowed before launching herself at Bon Bon like an orange cannonball.

Orange and white clashed as the magical blades met, Bon Bon parrying the attack and withstanding the incredible strength behind it. She riposted with a stab aimed at the farmpony’s neck, but Applejack jumped out of the way to gain distance.

The orange blade disappeared from view for an instant as Applejack… sheathed it?

A shot of alarm flashed through Bon Bon’s mind when she recognized the move, a phantom pain coursed through her artificial limbs at the point where that same exact technique had severed them.

Applejack’s scabbard exploded, launching the orange blade in a wide arch. Bon Bon parried the attack, her legs digging into the ground from the extra strength, and barely managed to not let her sword go flying to the side.

The orange mare didn’t let up, throwing a flurry of cuts at her opponent. One of the strikes snuck through Bon Bon’s guard, leaving a deep gash in her right shoulder. The beige mare launched forward, keeping her sword horizontal to hit the farmpony’s legs.

But she had to stomp the ground to avoid falling when her attack failed to connect. Bon Bon turned just in time to block an overhead slash from an airborne Applejack; the orange mare had jumped into the air to avoid her white blade.

Applejack landed back on the ground and immediately launched at Bon Bon, screaming wildly as the orange sword left a magical trail in her wake. The beige mare considered blocking it but was unsure as to whether or not she could. Instead, she rolled under the attack and bounced back into her guard stance.

Bon Bon feinted, but Applejack saw through it and gave her a heabutt in response. The orange blade flew through the air towards Bon Bon’s face, but she managed to dodge it by throwing herself onto the ground.

The white blade locked into Bon Bon’s forehoof as she spun wildly on the ground, turning into a beige whirlwind of magical steel. Applejack interrupted her spin by parrying downwards, stopping her spin in its tracks.

But Bon Bon took the sudden stop to launch her rear legs upward, aiming for the orange mare’s head. The sudden attack caught Applejack off guard and forced her to crouch under the kick. She was fast, but not fast enough to completely avoid the hit.

A lull occurred as Bon Bon realized what she had hit. The hat went flying away from the pair, and, in the complete silence of the battlefield, landed with near deafening volume.

Applejack roared, throwing her sword at Bon Bon with a mighty heave. But the weapon was easily deflected aside when not backed by the strength of the farmpony. The orange blade flew back and stabbed itself into the ground behind them.

“Yer dead!” Applejack bellowed before launching herself forward.

Bon Bon was too shocked at the unarmed attack to respond with anything other than lifting her forehoof to block the attack.

The screaming orange missile slammed into her with incredible force, sending her spinning through the air. Bon Bon didn’t get the chance to reorient herself before receiving a brutal applebuck.

By some miracle, her sword remained in her mouth despite the gargantuan impact. The farmpony charged at her again, spewing some unintelligible battle cry. Bon Bon adjusted her position mid-fall to bring her sword back up to bear.

Applejack’s eyes went wide open at the sight of the approaching blade, but she quickly adjusted her charge to duck under the attack. The rush had left the orange mare’s guard down, leaving her side open to a follow-up from Bon Bon.

Yet before the white blade connected, Applejack dropped down to the floor and kicked Bon Bon’s legs out from under her with a spin. The orange mare delivered another strong kick to her side, sending her rolling on the ground.

Bon Bon tried to jump up, but her right shoulder was too weak from the kick. She struggled to get up and managed to make it just in time to see Applejack charging at her again, clearly trying to capitalize on her dazed state.

She was about to raise her sword once more to dissuade the orange mare, but then she decided on a different approach. Bon Bon shook her head and stumbled in place slightly, trying to appear as stunned as possible. Applejack kept running at her, screaming furiously.

Just an instant before the charging farmpony reached her, Bon Bon bit on her sword’s hilt hard and launched herself at her opponent head-on.

The impact was felt by both mares. Bon Bon’s right shoulder was completely popped out of place, sending a shot of searing agony through her. But Applejack wasn’t unharmed either; the white sword had hit her chest and drawn blood, the magical breastplate being the only thing that kept her from being cut in half.

Both mares stood apart, panting. Applejack looked at the cut on her chest before letting out a laugh.

“Mac was right!” She exclaimed, walking back to where she had left her sword, “Ya really are good!”

Bon Bon remained quiet, trying to read her opponent and find the best course of action. Applejack’s attacks were too strong to parry, but she was slow enough to dodge. Her guard was too good to win a direct duel, so the only option remaining was…

Sweetie Drops launched herself at the orange mare, cackling maniacally as she charged with reckless abandon. Her aching shoulder all but forgotten.

The sudden change in tempo from a careful duel into a crazed frenzy took Applejack completely off-guard, allowing Sweetie Drops to get two cuts on the Orange mare’s left leg and shoulder. Once again Applejack backflipped to try and gain distance, but Sweetie didn’t let up.

A beige missile flew at the farmpony, not giving her a moment’s respite. Sweetie Drops’ white blade glistened menacingly in the sun’s light as it came down over and over on the orange mare.

Applejack gave Sweetie Drops a kick in the chest to gain some distance before sitting on her hind legs and placing her blade in her hoof catch. Sweetie responded in kind, sitting a short distance in front of her, blade ready.

Sparks rained on the dirt path to Ponyville as orange and white clashed. Applejack’s incredible strength battling for dominance against Sweetie Drops’ speed and aggression. Both mares received small cuts as the blades found cracks in their opponent’s guard.

Applejack now sported several cuts along her legs and chest. But Sweetie Drops hadn’t been unharmed either, her forelegs were barely holding together.

The orange mare clenched her hind legs for a jump, and Sweetie Drops responded by doing the same. Both opponents jumped towards each other at once, swords aimed at the other’s heart.

As the swords flew past each other, Sweetie Drops angled hers in a way that would knock the orange blade away from her heart while not throwing her own blade too off-course.

The move paid off. Pain exploded in her chest as the orange magical blade went through the side of her chest, barely missing her heart. Applejack wasn’t so lucky, however, and staggered back while bleeding profusely.

“Heh, good-” She started, but was cut off by a coughing fit, splattering blood onto the soil.

The farm pony fell to her knees, panting heavily, before looking at Lyra and giving her a slight nod. Applejack then collapsed onto her side, letting out one last, drawn-out gasp.

Bon Bon sheathed her blade slowly, breathing heavily. The magical residue in Applejack’s armor had been barely enough to get her shoulder back in working shape and stop any major bleeding. Dust flew into the air as she walked closer to her defeated foe.

“She is dead,” Lyra said, walking up to the pair, “was this really necessary? I am certain that if you had talked to her you may have gained a powerful ally,”

“I killed her brother, you of all ponies should know that the apples always fight for each other above all else,” Bon Bon answered, but she had to admit that perhaps Lyra was right.

She took the orange blade out of Applejack’s hoof-catch, looking at it curiously. It was a beautiful weapon, heavier than her own, but just as razor sharp if not more. The hilt was beautifully crafted from fine applewood, emblazoned with the apple family sigil on the crossguard.

“Applejack told me that sword was a family heirloom, enchanted to increase its resistance and power,” Lyra added.

Bon Bon took the weapon respectfully and cleaned it of her own blood carefully before resheathing it in the fallen mare’s scabbard. As soon as the hilt touched the scabbard, a spell triggered and locked it in place, it was probably locked so that only the apple family could use it.

“What should we do?” Bon Bon asked Lyra, looking at the sheathed blade.

“I will take care of her, and I will keep the sword until it can be given back to her family,” Lyra said, “I’ll lay her to rest with her parents, go find the pupil,”

With a nod, Bon Bon continued trotting down the path, her wounded shoulder sending shots of pain with each impact. She was so close now, almost at the edge of town.

Returning to Ponyville after so long felt… strange, like she didn’t belong there anymore. It didn’t help that everypony was looking at her with concern, probably due to her being covered in military armor and wounds.

But there was no time to waste, she had already stalled long enough with her battle. The princess’ star pupil should be in the library.

Bon Bon tried her best to ignore the onlookers as she ran towards the massive Oak building; there would be time for fixing any problems after the princess was saved.

Her steel hoof slammed into the library’s door at least a dozen times before a dazed-looking lavender unicorn opened it.

“Welcome to Golden Oak Library, what can I help-“ The mare started automatically before her eyes shot wide open at the sight before her.

“Bon Bon?!” The mare exclaimed, “What happened to you? Do you need to get to the hospital? Why are you made of metal?”

“Miss Sparkle, I need your assistance, it’s about the queen!” Bon Bon blurted, cutting Twilight’s barrage of questions. The librarian looked as if she had just been dumped into a pool of freezing water.

“The queen? What’s wrong?!” She demanded.

“It’s… classified, actually,” Bon Bon admitted, her ears drooping slightly, “I came here searching for a unicorn that can cast long range teleportation,”

The unicorn muttered under her breath for a moment before looking back up with an understanding expression.

“I can cast the spell… but I need to know why,” She stated, putting her hoof down.

“The queen is in danger, I need to get to the Zebrica capital right now,” Bon Bon explained carefully, “Can you help me or not?”

The mere mention that her mentor could be in danger made the unicorn nod and dash into the library. Several books flew around the room as she dug for the notes she needed.

“Found it!” She exclaimed victoriously from atop a pile of scrolls.

“Great, give me a second,” She said before turning and activating her communicator, “Lyra, come here, she has the spell,”

“On my way,” The green unicorn replied.

“Did you say Lyra? Is she with you? Are-” Twilight started again but was cut off by Bon Bon raising her hoof.

“Don’t worry about it, ask the queen about it later. Just focus on the spell, please, we’re running out of time,”

The unicorn nodded and got to work on reading the scroll. Mere seconds later, they heard a chorus of screaming ponies outside accompanied by heavy stomps headed directly for the library.

Lyra busted into the room through the open door, her coat completely concealed by the armor plating on its underside.

“Is that-” Bon Bon glanced at Twilight, “Yeah, yeah, spell, sorry,”

Bon Bon noticed that Applejack’s sword was hanging from Lyra’s side.

“Are you bringing it with us?” She asked the green mare, pointing at the weapon.

“Yes, I didn’t have time to return it properly so I’ll do it when we get back,” Lyra responded.

That was, of course, assuming they did come back. Given the state they were in, and the fact that they were essentially walking into a trap designed for Celestia… better not think about that now.

“Okay, now the spell is very unstable, so you will most likely be separated from each other when you arrive,” The librarian said, her snout firmly planted in the scroll she had picked up, “Hopefully you won’t be too far away,”

“Thank you, miss Sparkle,” Lyra said, bowing to the queen’s pupil.

“Don’t thank me yet! Thank me when Celestia is safe,” Came her answer.

And with that, the unicorn charged up the spell, her horn glowing like a miniature sun for an instant before firing the beam at Bon Bon and Lyra.

The world went white as she vanished from Ponyville, ready to face whatever new threat was to come.

Author's Note

I’m finally back!

This chapter is MUCH shorter than the previous ones because the mission it’s based on is basically a retread of mission 03 and I didn’t want to add unnecessary padding.

I’m terribly sorry for the extremely long delay and hope you enjoy the chapter, even if it’s shorter than expected. The last one will also be relatively short, since the mission it is based on is not long enough to fit a large story into.

Anyhow, I apologize for any mistakes in the writing and hope you enjoy the penultimate chapter!