Simplified

The Crystal Mountains...

Hours have gone by since the drop was made, since the cultist goons dusted themselves off and went about their way to get things set in place. The Ponyland prince Militades overlooks the sunrise, the shadow of the most prominent tower of Crystal Empire acting as a sundial to tell the time. But in the shadow's slow move wayward, the young prince grows ever more impatient.

Rhapsody brings the prince a silver tray of prepared food for his breakfast, only to be blown off by his outburst of anger. "Seriously? Nothing!?"

The mare maintains a safe hold of his meal. "You shouldn't be surprised that tactics may take considerable time to plan and coordinate carefully, your majesty."

The prince continues his rant. "I gave those fuckwads a simple mission, a simple piece of advice, and the means to do it. But no, they not only left the tracks intact, they've done nothing at all for the entire day! That's fucking bullshit!"

"Not everything happens as quick as you'd like it to be, you know." Rhapsody responds.

"I swear, it's like we did all this shit for nothing!"

"Your majesty, might I recommend that you calm your nerves? It's still the first day. We're well within the initial twenty-four hour timeframe, let alone the seventy-two hour operation window your father provided for first contact."

Looking around, the prince sees nothing but a bunch of rocks and the mare who stands beside him. He calls out loudly for another one of his maids. "Remedy!" As her name is called, she quickly gallops up the slope to greet the prince. Before she can offer her verbal affirmation, his hoof comes down hard to her cheekbone, the impact sending her to the ground. "Stupid fucks can't do anything right!"

But to his ignorance, the cult leader approaches with modest disgust at the prince's treatment of his maid. "Ah, I figured you'd be some cruel bastard looking to make a mess of things, but to know you have little compassion for your compatriots..."

The prince tilts his head with confusion. "What?"

"You've just struck your subordinate like an alcoholic angry with the world that his money is somehow disappearing, do you not see the issue?"

The prince shakes his head. "You don't know the first thing about us. You seriously think she's upset about that? Get over yourself."

The cultist steps up to angrily insult the prince, but the maid pants with a rosy demeanor rested upon her face, an amorous glow about her cheeks as she grins towards the prince. "Thank you so much, my prince... may I have another? Please!?"

The leader stares at the mare slack-jawed and dumbfounded. "See what I mean?" The prince points out. "If I smack the shit out of her for hours, she's only gonna keep begging me for more. If anything, she's the only mare I can't fucking break! Like you have no idea, I've tried just to see how far she'd go. There's no stopping her, she's a fucking tank."

"I'm proud to ease my master of his boredom, it's always been my highest honor." She announces warmly towards the leader. "If he'd ask me to defile myself, I'd be more than happy to throw myself off of this cliff right now!"

The stallion gawks at the maid, in utter disbelief that she's so far beyond salvation from her masochistic tendencies. He shakes himself and quickly turns the subject to something else. "I understand that you are from Ponyland, correct?"

"Eh. What of it?" Militades asks nonchalantly.

"Those barrels had brandings, easily identifiable brandings that gives away too much information about you. I had no idea that the stuff you gave us came from a government manufacturing sector by the name of, and I quote, 'the Imperial Department of the Armory'. And right beneath it is none other than the flag of your country. Subtle, right?"

"Does it fucking matter?" The prince shrugs.

"Of course it matters. If there's any sign of your involvement, all it does is point their crossbows and spears at your doorstep. So we took a little extra time to remove brandings, labels, markers, you name it. Then we displaced some of the saltpeter for the time being, and dump what we didn't need for the immediate moment in that spare train cart of yours."

"Honestly, do you really think it matters that much at this point? Our fucking countries are at war, we couldn't give any less of a shit about the optics."

"We understand that you have waged your war, as we have also waged ours. If you have no reservation for your nation's involvement, then I'll be sure to have our subordinates not waste any further time in trying to clean things up."

"All I'm asking for is some excitement, some action. Just not be boring and do something!" The prince complains.

"In due time, your imperialship." The stallion responds as he pulls out a spyglass. He looks to the tracks, seeing a crystalline train chugging along in the distance. A smile creeps on his face. "You want a move to be made, you want something interesting, then I'd say we let's do something worthy of them moving heaven and earth for." He issues the spyglass to the prince, pointing out to the field. "Look ahead."

The prince follows the pointed hoof of the cultist, observing the shiny locomotive barreling in. "It's just a stupid train."

"A train it may be, but look closer." He points out. "Notice something interesting?"

As he looks around, he sees that the wheels of the train come to a periodic stop, still maintaining it's momentum. "Oh... it's not slowing down. So what's that about, what's so significant about it?"

"Just wait and see."

Meanwhile on the train...

The conductor once more pulls at the lever to initiate the breaking procedure. However, the train doesn't produce the loud screech that would signify the slowing process. Also, the train has apparently undergone no signs of stalling, but instead increasing speed. The conductor continues the process another two times to try to slow the train, but also to no avail.

A guard walks into the engine room, angry and bewildered. "What the hell are you doing?"

The conductor pulls the lever once more, revealing the issue that's been occurring to the vexed guard. "I've clutched the brakes twenty times already, we're not slowing up!"

"Then why the hell have we been going faster!?"

"I don't know! I'm not getting any kind of grip!"

"Did the brakes fail or something?"

"No time to find out right now, we gotta get the empress to her stop!" The conductor calls out. "I'll keep tinkering with this and try to find some way of getting this damned thing to stop. But for now, you need to go to the passenger cart and separate that from the engine. Then there should be a lever underneath the front two seats. Those are the emergency brakes for that car. Pull that to stop the empress at the station!"

"That's a plan! We'll do it!" The guard hurriedly accepts and runs to the other car. He quickly swings the door open to reveal a concerned Empress Cadance.

"What's going on?" The pink alicorn questions.

"Your majesty, I'm sorry for the confusion. Our brakes seemed to have failed. We're going to commence to the emergency release protocols." He announces as he motions to the others to get started.

They don't take long to jump into action, pulling a lever outside of the door, causing the locking mechanism to unhinge and free the passenger car from the runaway engine. "We're separated, sir!"

Not being one to stand idly by, Cadance springs into action herself. She grabs the lever for the emergency brake and yanks it down to activation. Again, no result. Padrig calls out to the pink alicorn. "Are we even slowing down?"

"We're are... barely!" The crystal guard responds.

"Grip harder!" Cadance chants as she holds the lever down.

"Any harder and we'll fail these brakes too!" The guard comments.

Cadance looks out the window, seeing the stop quickly approaching. She acts fast to throw the door open and let her wings catch the passing air giving her the lift she desires to give herself some mental leverage. Her horn glows bright as she envelops the entire car in her aura. In her attempt, she glances back to the runaway engine chugging further eastward. She wishes the runaway conductor the best as she yanks her head back, earnestly applying all resistance against the cart and drastically culling it's speed as to not hurt the others still inside.

She grimaces as her horn begins to spark, and her herculean effort proves sufficient enough to have the cart miss the station platform by the chance of a mere twenty feet. As it comes to a halt, she manually pushes the cart back to it's designated place of rest at the station. She breathes heavily as she glides back down, greeting the group of guards that take a collective sigh of relief. Padrig nods at the pink alicorn. "Risky endeavor, but quite effective, your majesty." He looks down the track, seeing the engine almost disappearing down the horizon. "Faust speed to him, I pray he brings that mammoth to a halt, or at least clears out before it derails at that speed."

"Runaway train, manual stopping procedure, and a close but happy ending. Sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?" She comments to the changeling specialist.

"All we're missing is a destroyed bridge and the conductor's head on the brake lever. Other than that, it's a match. Almost convinced of the former captain's phobia of trains being a legitimate one to have."

The crystal guard makes a comment of the train's failure to stop. "Mechanical failures, no that was an oversight on the inspectors in Canterlot. We should've been flagged if there were any issues. There was an inspection, they passed us, it's gotta be on them."

Another group of guards, who were awaiting the train run up to the group, greeting the revered mare. "Your majesty! You're alright!"

"More than fine. Thank you." She replies.

"What happened with the engine?" Inquires the second crystal guard.

"Brake failure, apparently." Answers the first.

"Yeah you could say that or..." Padrig mumbles as he thinks a little more on the issue. "...No, that can't be it."

"The emergency brakes failed on the engine. They failed to get any traction on our end as well, and that was after we separated." Cadance adds.

The changeling walks up to the rails, glancing down at what should normally be a clean reflection of the sky. But he sees a lathered goo on the tracks that appear to tint the rails a brown color. He places his hoof on the rail and presses down, only to almost fall over before he recovers with his wings. "Specialist Padrig?" The Crystal Empress questions for his concern.

"These rails have been greased." He lands on the platform, scraping his hoof against the concrete, revealing a mucky streak on the ground. "Mechanical lubricant, used for gearworks in heavy machinery."

He holds the hoof he's mostly cleared off up to the empress, letting her catch how easily her hoof slides off of his. "Oh that's slippery. Then the brakes didn't fail at all, did they?"

"Not in the slightest. And given the grade of this stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if made the caboose run a little faster too. No grip, no catch, no screech, full send forward."

A pegasus guard calls out to the group, from the lookout tower. "RUNAWAY CART, COMING IN FAST!"

Cadance springs into action once more. "I got this!" She calls out as she performs the same maneuver with the other car that seems to be considerably slower than theirs. However, the weight of it makes the vehicle far more daunting to bring to a halt. She succeeds, but leaving her far more mentally fatigued. "We need to shut down the rails until we can get these cleaned. Faust knows how many more miles this mess was made."

"Probably by the cultists, no less. Such a cheap trick." The crystal guard mocks.

"But why would they lube the tracks?" Padrig asks. "This is about the equivalent of a grade school prank."

"Better question. What's in that car?" The guard asks. "Looks like a freight transport."

A loud clang sounds from the other side of the car, the lookout from above tries to source the sound, but his vision blacks as a spear is lodged into his skull from a distance. He falls out of the tower, landing to the ground below. The show of violence quickly gathers the group's attention.

Cadance screams at her subordinates. "Take co─"

But her scream falls short, as an enormous explosion decimates the entire train station.

Meanwhile in the Crystal Mountain Overlook...

A black and orange plume of flames and smoke appear in the distance. Dotting the town's southernmost point. The prince whistles in satisfaction. "Wow, that place is sky high. Good to see you guys finally used some of the shit I gave you on last night."

The cult leader continues to direct his attention towards the town. "That's just the beginning, a spark in the powder keg of progress. A mere starter." He pronounces as he points back to the prince. "And now, your majesty, I present to you... your grand welcoming fireworks show."

"A show? For me?" The prince chuckles. "Oh this should be pretty good then.

The Great Spire Palace of the Crystal Empire...

Walking out of the doors leading from within the castle, Shining Armor notices the plume of black smoke rising in the distance. A feeling of unease picks at his mind, his eyes glancing towards the street offering the quickest access to the affected area.

He erupts into a gallop, a few of his guards joining alongside him. But in his journey, one of the local lookouts descend from the sky and gives him a warning. "Sir emperor, you shouldn't be out here! It's much too dangerous!

"You should know that danger is something I stand against, especially when it comes to my citizens and home! Now give me an update on what the hell that was!" He demands while maintaining his speed.

"Sir, I'd like to tell you, but I'm afraid that I'll need you to stop for a moment!"

"We're on route, tell me while we're on the way there!"

"Sir, I don't think─"

"That wasn't a suggestion, Corporal! Give me the update!"

The corporal relents, but obeys with a solemn tone of voice. "Sir, there was an explosion at the train station. The explosion happened just moments ago... shortly after the Empress and Specialist Padrig arrived."

Shining's gait comes to a slow, his hoofs growing heavy with the news of the explosion involving his wife. He looks into the distance, whispering the nickname of his wife. "Cadie..." Realizing that he has to act in full authority in the circumstance of his wife possibly being incapacitated, he sharply inhales and proceeds to start issuing orders and protocol. "I want a security check on all incoming trains! We don't know where they'll hit next! So for now, we lock down all access to the─"

*BANG*

A loud explosion sounds a block ahead from their position. "Sir emperor, get down!" The guards act fast, quickly knocking him to the ground and covering his body. Another subsequent explosion blasts one of the buildings ahead, sending shrapnel of crystal shards in every direction. Some of the wayward shards find the body of the dedicated corporal who covers the alabaster unicorn. Others leave a mess of scars on the face of the emperor himself. Two more guards sweep in from above, forming a small wall around both of the injured stallions. The corporal bleeds from his mouth as he barks another set of orders to the others. "PROTECT THE EMERPOR AT ALL COSTS!" Before unleashing a painful howl.

"YES SIR!" The others call out as they start to quickly gather the emperor by his legs and carry him back towards the castle for safety.

"NO! FIND CADANCE!" Shining screams.

The injured corporal's strength quickly fades, his vision blurs as blood pours from his side. He slumps off of the emperor, leaving a prominent crimson stain on his back. Shining winces from the stinging of the cuts above his eye, his own blood staining his left eye. "SIR, YOUR SAFETY IS PRIORITY RIGHT NOW! IF SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO HER MAJESTY, THEN YOU NEED TO BE THE ONE TO LEAD US IN HER PLACE! I'M SORRY, BUT YOU NEED TO BE SECURED!"

"GET OFF OF ME! GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" He screams vehemently, trying to wrestle himself free.

As he screams and reaches for the street where the explosion occurred, the corporal turns over and writhes with a desperate attempt to stop himself from bleeding out. However, fatigue gets the better of him and he lies on the ground with shallowing breaths, waiting until his time eventually runs out.

Shining grimaces at the sight, and immediately fears for what has become of his wife. He barks her name into the city streets, trying to ensure that at least his love will somehow reach her, to encourage her to survive.

"CADENZA!"

The Crystal Mountain Overlook...

As more plumes of flames and smoke erupt from varying areas of the city, Militades jumps with joy over the sight of such unfettered destruction taking place. The entire city appears to be have black blemishes upon it's otherwise pristine white cobblestone layout. The cataclysmic juxtaposition delights the young prince to an indescribable degree. "Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! OH-HO-HO-HO-HO! NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

"We may have lost a few of the spears in the trade, but seventy-five meters is more than enough distance to gain cover for our operatives." The cultist leader explains as he points his looking glass towards the damaged areas around the city. "Plus I'm sure you'll be eager to know that they've lost more than a few meandering guards."

"Unrestricted carnage, pure chaos! Fucking beautiful!" Militades laughs with a crazed image of citizens running wildly to treat the wounded and care for the ones trapped in the rubble. "Oh I bet I can hear the screams now! Trapped underneath their own homes, the four walls they once called sanctuary all collapsed on top of them, while they cry out in desperation to be free from their own dwellings, followed by the inevitable complacency brought on by fatigue and the silence of their calls for life!" He earnestly screams into the distance. "THAT'S RIGHT! DIE YOU FUCKING PEASANTS!"

The cult leader clears his throat to grab the prince's attention. "Also, to correct you on a small issue. Power is not often vested into the males of their society by birthright. It is more so vested into the female figures installed. We just merely waited until that figure has been well-distracted, and then caught off guard by the train you guys rode in on. So think of it this way, we've not only blasted the train station where their beloved empress was at..." Another plume of flame and smoke appears from the distance, this time seeming to be further west of their location. The visual of the explosion is seen far sooner than they hear the rolling shockwave.

*BANG*

The cultist points to the most recent show of pyrotechnics to finalize his point. "We've now severed the connections between the north of Equestria, and the multitude of forces from the south."

Rhapsody questions the cult leader of his decision. "Wait, wasn't the point of this was to let them come into the north so that their forces can help out on the northern front, thus detracting from their main defenses?"

"That's still very much in play." The leader replies. "The Equestrians will have no other choice than to resort to using their airships. So instead of having aerial defenses to help stave off incoming assaults, they'll be busy responding to a mass casualty event."

*BANG*

Another explosion sounds long after it sighting, coming from the direction of the razed city. "The Crystal Empire is all but fallen, their defenses devastated, their morale shaken. Now we will reclaim the dominion in the name of our lord Sombra! All hail the king!"

With a lust-like leer looking at the carnage below, the prince begins to smile with a loose demeanor. "I fucking love this! I knew that you bastards had to be smarter than you led on, but I never knew you to have some actual strategic know-how in executing an operation this grand in scale this quickly! I just gave you all that saltpeter last night, and you've already dumped their entire city into the shitter! That's fucking brilliant!" His eyes cut towards his raven-maned maid. "Rhapsody, you might wanna get ready, because I might celebrate a little hard today."

"Before you get too invested in your ritual of self-gratification." The cult leader advises. "Don't you got some means of communicating to your friends on the other side? We've just bombed the tunnels through the mountains leading from the south. It normally takes a week or two to clean up that mess, but with a little bit of recurring violence, that could go on to be as long as one or two months. You should surprise those fools with a little bit of... peacekeeping, if you know what I mean."

"Wait. Are you saying that was the only way for them to access the south?" Rhapsody questions.

"By rail, yes." The cult leader replies. "Other than that, I'd say this place could be a pretty nice base to localize your airships."

The prince screams with his irrational exuberance. "I fucking love this guy!" He quickly snaps his eyes to the younger maid. "Remedy, suck his dick."

The cult leader jumps with moderate shock and discomfort. "Wait, what?"

The prince snickers as he pokes fun at the stallion. "Aw come on, when was the last time you did some cool shit and got rewarded for it!?"

"The only reward I see is the full cooperation of Ponyland's forces in our cause." The leader states.

The prince hesitates on his celebratory activities, trying to give a better understanding of his role. "Hey now, that's not in my jurisdiction. I just came to fuck some shit up and force them make a move."

"Yes, and those ends have been met considerably. But we know that's not the only thing your lot seeks." The cult leader points out with a sickly glow of magic in his horn. A multitude of purple and green splotches show the hell incurred upon the stallion. The sickly magic lands to the ground, raising a solitary black crystal recounting to the young prince the image of his three older brothers being watched over carefully by a trio of stallions in a cave. "We've got a few underground splinter cells based in Canterlot, different purpose for their cult, but they've clued us in on what they're trying to do. And if their following is similar to yours, you'll be more than happy to know that they've got the know-how on what way to bring your deity back to the world of the living."

"Hold on... you don't mean?" Rhapsody inquires.

"Oh I mean it." The cult leader replies. "And your doctor might be having a house call, if your guys play your cards right."

Militades stares at the image of his three brothers bickering amongst themselves in their airship, a smile creeps back onto his face with a sudden realization. "Rhapsody, get the old fart on a sphere. We got a war to start."

Canterlot Castle 2 Hours Later...

News of the attack spreads within the hour of the initial blasts on social media. Images flood the equine sites like Facehoof, Tweeter, and even some online dating sites. Small clips of the carnage are uploaded from many who lived the experience of the immediate aftermath, some perspectives catching the explosions as they happen. It takes no time for news agencies to jump on it, and even less time for national intelligence to issue the report to the high princess.

Flurry Heart walks around the castle, asking a number of questions to guards all around, completely unaware of what's taken place in her hometown. But her aunt is far more wary, and much more panicked about the circumstances. It takes an hour for her to finally reach her brother, she's overwhelmingly relieved to hear his voice.

However, his update of his wife all but drains the color from her body. "W-what?"

"I know, Twily. I... I just... we were just talking..." His voice reflects the despondence he feels.

Twilight tries to hold back her tears, not wanting to unleash all of her grief for the slight possibility of hope. "There's no way Cadance is... no."

"They said from the position where she stood, her body was launched over a hundred feet from the blast site. The fact that anything remains from her position is a miracle in and of itself. I know you alicorns have healing factors, and it will take some time to heal. But given the severity of her wounds, doctors say it might go either way. Left foreleg, left wing, half of her left side is gone. She's missing part of her right leg, her horn is cracked and scorched, I can't even see her face, there's nothing of it left. I'm looking into where her brain is... This is my wife..."

"Oh my god." Nauseous and grief-stricken, the high princess falls to her face, hunched over her phone as she hears her brother trying to stop himself from mourning so loudly.

"I knew Nondis warned us of them doing something, but not to this scale. We're looking at possibly hundreds dead, if not thousands. Scores more wounded and missing." His voice trembles as he sniffles and gasps.

Twilight empathizes with his pain, holding her stomach in a bid to stop herself from vomiting. "Dammit... Cadance."

A cautious Solemn Oath quietly approaches the bereaved mare. "Code red, your majesty?"

"Black." She answers in a broken tone. "Ready our forces on the shorelines. They're coming. This is war now."

As grave as the declaration sounds, Solemn bows her head and braves the tense air of the room. "Your majesty."

Shining whimpers through the phone, expressing his point of relief in the otherwise abysmal situation. "I'm so glad Flurry wasn't here. I swear if she was with her, I would've─"

"Shining, I know." She rises from the ground, taking deep breaths, performing the calming exercise that her sister-in-law showed her, only for her to feel the sadness overwhelm her by that fact alone. Her hoof trembles and her body weakens as she tries to speak. "For now we can only respond in the way that's best for the ones in need. We can't let this go unanswered, we have to send aid to help in the relief efforts."

"Send reserves, only reserves. By airship. The tunnel from the south is completely caved in. We have no way to or from here outside of flying." Shining tries his best, but the grief is far too much.

Twilight clenches her eyes shut, raises her head to the ceiling, inhaling to the point of her chest bursting, and finds the momentary strength to gather herself. "Relief should also be coming in from the reserves stationed at Rainbow Falls. I know it's not much, but it's the quickest measure we can take to help you for now."

"Twily, please..." The emperor bargains with his sister, finally breaking down completely out of fear for what he could have left. "If something happens to Cadie, Flurry's all I got of her! They're the only reason I've got to keep going! Please protect her, protect my baby girl!"

"You don't even need to say a word. I'm on it, she's with me. Just stay strong and take care of your citizens. I love you." Twilight hangs up as she hears the sound of her brother's wails, not wanting to hear the pain in his voice setting up her own trauma. She moves quick to call on Stanton, looking to have him get ready for what's next. "Pick up, dammit!"

Twilight Sparkle's School of Friendship Ponyville...

The lunch period is filled with many students gathered around the ones with phones, each bearing witness to the horrors playing out in repeated segments of twenty seconds or less. Some of the teachers and staff are no better than them, seeing the news play out in almost real time.

But for the teachers in the staff room, it's a bit different. Smolder walks in complaining about the students and their attentiveness in class, much more their persistence of the fact. "Ugh. I just don't get whatever's got these brats so into their phones today! Like I tell them to pay attention, but it's like they ain't trying to listen worth a damn!"

"You didn't hear what happened up north, did you?" Scootaloo asks the dragoness.

"No. And it's not like I'm on my phone during the school day to find out."

"You should try to be a little more proactive on that." Ocellus suggests. "That's how we find out what all the students are getting into. It just so happens that there was an attack on the Crystal Empire today."

Sweetie Belle continues scrolling on her phone until she comes up to a video of the carnage left at the northern train station. She plays the video, seeing a multitude of mangled bodies strewn across the ground. The last five seconds happen upon one body in particular. "Oh my fucking lord!"

Everyone in the room shifts their head towards the young unicorn mare. "What?" Smolder chirps with interest.

Applebloom walks around the table, approaching her longtime friend. "Now Sweetie, ain't nothin' that bad to be cursin' up a storm here at the school." The unicorn sits her phone down and pushes her lunch away in disgust. Applebloom grabs the phone and plays the video back. Everyone gathers around to see what she saw. "Holy fuck, that's horrendously bad."

"Wow, that's... terrible." Ocellus mutters.

At last, the final five seconds of the snippet plays out, revealing the charred and mangled body slowly clinging to life as the right hoof slowly flexes, the cutie mark singed and blackened, but still identifiable. "IS THAT PRINCESS CADANCE!?" Apple Bloom screams.

Smolder pauses the video, gawking with horror, not even wanting to see the last two seconds play out. "Oh no! No fucking way that's her!"

"That is her!" Ocellus replies emphatically. "That's her cutie mark, and her wings... oh... ohhh.... Oh that's her brai─" She turns away with abhorrent discomfort. "Put that away, please!" Sweetie Belle grabs her phone back, turning it off, before placing her hooves over her head, distraught from the confirmation that everyone else saw.

Smolder stares blankly at the now black screen. "Holy shit. Now I see what the students have been glaring at all day."

Sweetie Belle shakes her head, her eyes tearing up as she look up to see the headmare walk into the room. Starlight wipes her eyes and softly whispers instructions to the other teachers. "Get in contact with the parents. Tell them that school is postponed for the remainder of the day. And get these kids off of their phones. After that... You all can go home. That's all."

As Starlight walks back out of the room, Smolder holds the side of her head. "Spike's gonna have his claws full with this one."

Ponyville Post Office...

"With the bombings taken place within the Crystal Empire, sources have deduced that the ones behind the terrible assault are none other than the cultists of King Sombra. However, given the scale of the attack, it can be assumed that the cultist had a significant financial backer to fund the materials that allowed the assault to take place. Investigators are looking into the matter, having strong suspicion that the cultists are indeed being supplied by members of the tertiary cultist group known as the Church of the Healing Hoof, a recent operating group backed by the nation of the Ponyland Empire. Correspondence will reach out to those in connection with the imperial family and seek a response in regards to these bone-chilling attacks."

As the broadcast continues on the lobby television of the local post office, workers stare at the screen from behind the counter. A pink mare expresses her disbelief. "Seriously!? Pony 9/11, what the fuck even is this shit!?"

"They seriously struck the Crystal Empire! That's what's crazy!" A gray crosseyed mare replies while moving a package.

Gabby overhears the conversation, waiting for her bag to be filled for her next route. A gray mare with braids offers her own opinion. "I sure hope that not many got hurt from this."

"What are you even saying?" A mint green pegasus mare with a blond mane replies from within the lobby, holding a package to ship out elsewhere. "They had to have lost a bunch of lives. Online, they say that they left a bunch of bombs to go off over at the open-air market! All those vendors, probably dead or injured."

"Are we next?" One of the patrons asks nervously.

"There's no way. Ponyville isn't anywhere near as important or prominent." The pink mare replies. "They'd probably hit Canterlot before they even think of little old us. At least that's what I'm hoping."

"And I thought the damage from Lord Tirek's scrap with Princess Twilight was bad." One patron cites.

"Even the attack that decimated Canterlot Castle had way more care for civilian life than this. This is just mass murder." Comments another in line.

"Gabby, you heard?" Asks the crosseyed mare to the griffon.

"How could I not? The TV's on, and everyone's seen it by now."

The green mare shrugs back at the griffon. "To hell with that, did you all see what happened to Princess Cadance? I saw the video of it online, it's like her face was blown clean off! It's nothing but meat, teeth, and tiara!" She uses her wings to pull out her phone from her saddlebags. "I can even show you if you wanna see, I have it bookmarked!"

"YOU STUPID BITCH!" A loud voice pierces the muttering ambiance of the lobby. The pink mare steps towards the green pegasus, knocking her phone to the ground and cracking the screen.

"Hey!" The pegasus retaliates violently. "Who the fuck do you think you are─"

But as she drops her package and threatens to square up with the mare, she notices that the pink mare has transformed into that of a human woman, causing her to look all the way up at her. Melanie verbally chews out the careless mare. "Looking at the remains of someone isn't for a fucking show, it's not some entertainment you bookmark on your phone for shits and giggles! That's someone's mother, someone's wife! Can you imagine how you'd feel if someone found your mom in that condition and posted her all over the internet!? For someone to look at that and realize that it's their family! Can you imagine the rage they feel, the sadness, the grief!? You think it's fun to see that shit!?"

The mare, realizing that she was about to throw down with a human, immediately goes into apologies. "I...I didn't kn─"

"I come from a world where that shit plays out on repeat every single fucking time there's some shit going on! Mass shooting, terror bombing, videos of hate and prejudice, it's not a game! These are lives, breathing, laughing, loving, smiling faces that get turned into cold cadavers on our screens! This isn't some spectacle, these are people dying! Ponies, whatever! Lives are being turned on their heads... and for what? You get a kick out of this and say you have this thing showing someone's last gasp at life, you fucking soulless bitch!"

Melanie walks out of the lobby, taking some time outside to cool off before she can walk back inside. Lightning Dust stares back down to her cracked phone screen, the video playing out as the haunting image comes into scene. Overlooking the video herself, Gabby begins to feel a dreaded sense of guilt. She shoves her bag behind the counter and takes off her uniform.

"I'm sorry, I need to take off, girls."

Vanhoover...

Sitting in a coffee shop, Stanton's crimson eyes lock to the screen of his phone with both awe and disappointment. The entire group of employees gather around the radio in the back, listening for more updates of the situation. As he goes through his Facehoof feed, all he sees is posts about the carnage in the Crystal Empire. More bloody photos of ponies being rescued without some of their limbs, foals being pulled from the wreckage covered in blood and dust, a father helping move a large slab to find the remains of his wife, a filly crying over their missing family, a boy comforting his brother, those post being the few of many that come from the terrorized city.

"No way in hell they hit us that quick. No way in hell." He mutters before the name of his oldest brother shows up on the screen, along with his face in the caller id. He quickly picks up the call. "Alex."

"Hey man, my third phone's been going off like crazy. Like it's normally every now and then, but it's been popping off today. What's going on over there in the world of ponies?"

Stanton doesn't mince words with his brother. "Bro, the Crystal Empire just got nuked."

"WHAT!?" The man shouts on the other end.

"Not literally nuked, but they bombed the shit out of the city."

"Ain't no way..." Alex places his phone into speaker mode so that he can browse through his notifications. Each of his apps carry a number of recent posts all in relation to the Crystal Empire. As soon as he opens the topic, the brutal images start to line his feed. "That's crazy. What the hell's going on?"

Stanton lowers his voice a bit so that the others don't hear. "So to sum it up, Equestria got war declared on us just this past Wednesday. On yesterday, we get a warning from Nondis that they're setting up some joint op with the cultist up Shining and Cadance's way─"

"OH FUCK, THAT'S CADANCE!" Alex shouts, having come across the viral video of the alicorn mare's dire condition.

Having already seen it for himself, Stanton groans in defeat. "Yeah..."

"On fucking God, what do y'all need? It's same-day at this point, tell me what you need!"

"Relief efforts, at this point we need relief efforts to go into effect. But none of the airships here are going to be fast enough to get shit done on the scale of the damage incurred. They also knocked out the tunnel headed north, so now there's hundreds dead, thousands more hurt and buried under rubble, and there's no railway access to get the goods over to them by any conventional means."

As he continues to browse down the feed, he sees a number of harrowing videos, similar to the ones his brother have already seen. "Bro, who's got smoke with y'all like this?"

"Ponyland, apparently."

"Pony...land?" The man sounds perplexed with the name. "I know of Ponyville, but not this one. The hell kind of place is that, Ponyland?"

"From what was described to me, a land of xenophobic cult followers who all established a religion based around a certain asshat that we took care of seven years back. They apparently hunt dragons for sport, other creatures are vastly discriminated against, majority of their population live underground, and get this, they got guns."

"They have GUNS!?"

"Just flintlock muskets and all sorts of shit from the Revolutionary War period."

"Ooh hell, you guys are at a severe disadvantage."

"Yeah, we got our work cut out for us." Stanton admits.

Alex groans as he tries to get a better understanding of the situation. "Okay, I'd like to ask how this all got started before I make any decisions of what gets shipped to where."

"Well... So apparently a prince of theirs defected, the prince also has some sort of crush on Twilight, Twilight didn't want to risk the situation exploding into what it is now, plus she doesn't feel him like that. So she sends him, Kali, and Spike over that way to get dropped off back home."

"Hold on a sec." Alex interjects. "Didn't you just say they hunt dragons for sport?"

"Yeah. And they also killed seven more as a show of welcome for Spike."

"Okay, so I see this is an aggressor situation. Continue."

"So that happens, and then another situation pops up. A princess of theirs also got real attached to Spike while he was there, then some trade talks went south after our guy, you know the one we threw the cremation party for─"

"Stop right there!" Alex exclaims. "You better not say he's involved."

"Yeah, he's involved."

"Stop, that's enough. I know what I'm sending." Alex slams his fist into his desk as he rises to his feet and opens a file cabinet with a sealed manila envelope. "Now I know our whole thing is not to give human weaponry to the world of ponies for the purpose of waging their wars, all to not upset the balance of shit. But if they've got guns and shit, with ol' dude in the backdrop pulling strings from beyond the grave, it's only fair that we return favor before they give y'all a world of hurt from a distance your guys can't close in on."

"I mean there's still the arsenal over in Canterlot, but you know most of that shit ain't been touched since the whole operation from seven years back."

Alex looks back on his desk, the next post on his feed is a repost of the viral video of the train station. "Bro, this is some fucked up shit. I know Shining had to see this."

"Probably sitting right next to her even as we speak." Stanton comments as a moment of realization hits him about what's taken place. "Oh damn."

"What?"

"They definitely got Padrig too. He was on assignment to join her in the preparations up north, he was practically in her back pocket every step of the way. If that's what Cadance looks like, and she's an alicorn with an insane healing factor, that means there ain't no way in hell, with his basic changeling anatomy, he made it out alive."

"Fuck. And he was in the good with Shining, Blueblood, and even Nondis! Oh hell..." He unseals the manilla envelope, pulling out a sheet with a red seal on the top right corner. "I'll put in a shipment of helicopters to make it that way to help with relief efforts. I've already got trained contractors with signed NDA's and drilled camera phones on deck. If they need to make the crossing to help out, they will without question."

"Damn, so we're really full-sending this shit." Stanton grimaces. "To think that we were all trying to avoid this."

"I think we were mainly avoiding Nondis and his itch to come back out of retirement. Guess that's not the only thing we have to worry ourselves with now, especially since Nondis was the one that warned you."

"Yeah... So, what's it gonna be, bro?"

"To sell our soul to the devil for safe keeping." He mutters quietly as he lays the envelope out on the table, the papers with a red border all around each page fall from the back end. The top of the page is labeled with the stamp 'S.C.I', along with a signed document with his signature at the bottom. "Twenty-four choppers, eight for military operation, six for medical evac, four for heavy-duty transport, last six to move troops around. In total, we'll be about 350 deep, heavily armed. We'll mobilize and be ready in about two hours time."

"Man, the fact that crazy billionaire money can move that kind of shit around is insane to me."

"When you got it all, you can do it all. Just don't get caught doing it." Alex pulls out a sheet of paper with the final signature, sourced from none other than the pen of the Oval Office. "That's what the boys from the government will tell you. Play nice with them, and they give you what you want, as long as the price is right. They'll keep overlooking the failed audits of the National Defense Budget, and we get what we get."

"So what, you working with the feds now?" Stanton asks with growing worry.

"Not completely, but they've been keeping a close eye on all of us for three years now. A lower-middle class family like ours don't just show up with a shitton of assets and start moving into mansions, building business, putting our names on skyscrapers around the world, and not get some eyes put on us. And as much as I'd like to make the world of a difference here, we've been warned to not rock the boat with some of our competitors. We lay low with the other world, they don't come after us. That's the game we play."

Stanton takes a deep breath. "That's a dangerous game, dude."

"Dangerous? Sir, I still live in Texas. All I gotta do is pay these assholes to keep their mouths shut, and they'll only worry about the optics of this shit IF it gets leaked to the public." The man stares at the documents on his desk. "Yeah. Nondis will have our asses for the finer details, we'll just keep that low-key for now. Though I don't think he'll mind the result any, being that he's in the know and he helped put this together." The man slaps his hand on the desk. "We're gonna need a large portal with plenty of airspace. We'll be hot and hovering by the time we cross over."

"I'll give Blue a call, give her the heads up."

Canterlot Cloudside Arena...

Sitting in the office of one of the many properties she owns, Blue Royal leaves her television on mute as she carries on with her phone call. "You sure?"

"Considering our alternatives, there are no other options to be assessed." Alex responds on the other end.

"Okay... we'll keep the portal open. But I sure hope these guys you bring along aren't mean to us in any way."

"Considering the contract I've had them sign, they have no other choice. And I know exactly who'll be more than happy to deal with them if they ever step out of line." The businessman reassures.

"I don't know, he's been pretty hard to get in touch with ever since the wedding. I've had an easier time contacting you than him. The last time we even talked was when he showed up in town and told me to give Spike and his visitors a tour of the lab, for contextual reasons. But other than that, I don't know if that's a leash we can pull on when, and if, we'd need to."

"No worries on that either." He replies. "I'll be there to supervise the operations myself. I can work everything in my world from a phone, most of that is already relegated while I just make appearances for the investors. It's pretty automoatic. This, on the the other hand, will get my undivided attention."

"Well I sure hate that you'll be visiting under such pretenses."

"Eh, I'm feeling nostalgic anyways. We'll be over in two hours."

"See you then." She hangs up her call with Alex to dial up her local distribution center.

A voice quickly sounds on the other end. "Ma'am?"

"Our world is not going to be ready for any of this." She mutters to herself before she gives the order. "We got our green light. Effective immediately, we shift our operations to Staging Zone 5. We have an hour and thirty minutes to relocate all hooves to SZ-5 due south at point Gamma Gamma. We ready the mega portal for heavy duty transport. Be advised, expecting lots of otherworldly company today."

"Yes ma'am. Moving operations. Will contact magic specialists and ready platform for mass teleport. ETA: 10 minutes."

2407 Golden Oaks Way 2 Hours Later...

Everyone's made it back home. Gabby took the half day off, Smolder and Ocellus were sent home along with the other instructors and staff, and the Ponyland trio of siblings were already here to begin with. I stayed behind to study up more on what all I needed to know. But the moment my phone got that first hit telling me what happened, I knew I was going to spend a lot of time speaking with foreign nationals and dignitaries looking to scrounge up whatever they can donate to help.

We all gather around the TV, watching as they give more reports on the situation from the ground. While the feed my be grainy, it's our only continuous source of information that doesn't seem to lean so heavily into showing the carnage and gore. I understand that the rough parts are all a part of life, but seeing so much of it on my phone is already guaranteed to take away any semblance of sleep I'll get.

"So, they made their first strike already." Amor mutters.

"And at an empress, no less." Hestia adds.

"With no care for the civilian populace. Brash tactics, all means to an end. Such is the calling card of one Militades." Zenobia concludes.

"He's not doing it by himself." I explain. "He's got the cultists involved. They don't care much for civilian populations either. All they want is to be able to push their agenda and make way for their dead king to be brought back to life from the aether, all in the hopes that their willful compliance makes them conscious additions to his inner circle."

"And these cultists up north are conspiring with the cultists in Canterlot?" Gabby questions.

"Pretty much the case." I confirm. "They exchange information with the intent of bringing back their heralded lords. I don't even think they take into consideration that those aforementioned lords might not even like each other."

"What a sad conclusion." Amor shakes his head.

"What's sadder are the families that have been affected by this." Ocellus calls out.

"Including mine." I mutter as I look at my phone, seeing the smiling trio of two alicorns and a unicorn stallion. The small family of three look back with brimming joy towards the camera against the backdrop of a wedding reception. "Cadance may not be related to me, but she has always seen me like a brother. Just like Shiny and Twi, who looked after me as such. I can't even begin to think of the world Flurry will have to face without her mom."

"But they said that she's still alive." Smolder replies with an unsettled shudder. "I don't even wanna imagine the suffering she's feeling right now, all of what she's got going on, that has to be beyond pain."

"Yeah, I'm sure Shining just gave them the delayed update of her condition. That's what usually happens in our line of work, they tell the world the soft answer, give a safe propaganda number for damage control, prepare statements and arrangements for the hard truth, give the immediate family time to process, then announce all of it when the last and final pieces of the arrangements have been met. So a report of 'critical condition' for the press doesn't mean a lot when you're on the edge of death and the virtual world seems to have a good look at the insides of your cranium."

Zenobia stares at the screen, feeling both hopeless and useless. "Avoid it all the same, I could put on all the political fronts I'm asked to, smile and wave for the masses as much as desired. It never changes the outcome when it comes to Ponyland, always a puppet for a more selfish purpose."

"You seem genuinely upset for being the princess of a nation who's got the upper hoof in the war." Smolder replies.

"No doubt she's upset! You don't think that confession she made was just for show, do you?" Hestia defends her sister. "Just the fact that she did all of this, made it this far across the world, and even did away with her conventions to maintain her relations with Spike, is something beyond significant! She's never gone that far for anyone, she's never even smiled as much as she has the past week across the span of her whole life!"

"To be fair, my mom would've done the same, and wouldn't care less for what she leaves behind." Ocellus argues. "Not to say that you don't feel that way─"

♫Bling-bling-blong♪

My door bell rings, I pull out my phone and check the ring camera to see who's at my door. I see not only Gallus in full guard uniform, but also a distinctive human woman. "Spike, I know you see us. Answer the door if you're home."

I hurry downstairs, rushing to see what it is that they've come here for. As soon as I open the door, I see the both of them, but also a tear-stricken alicorn filly behind her. "What the hell? Flurry?"

The filly is on the verge of a complete breakdown as she staggers towards me, her hooves achingly seeking me for affection in place of what her parents cannot provide in the instant. Her blue eyes glance to me, reddened and puffy from the tears she's probably spent a considerable time shedding. "...Uncle Spike... mommy..."

The poor thing shudders, clutching to me as I kneel down to hold her in return. I look to Gallus. "Why is she here?"

"Her majesty has placed her here for safety since operations in Canterlot have now changed drastically to it's military format. Matters have now shifted towards relief efforts of the north. A new contingent has arrived to our skies. So for safety, she's being relocated to here."

Ocellus pokes her head, intruding into the conversation. "Hold on. What do you mean?"

The griffon guard further elaborates. "Well for what it's worth, a flight advisory has been placed for the skies of Equestria. We are to remain in low elevations until the air fleet is dismissed. And with these operations taking place, it puts Canterlot into a higher risk of being seen as a strategic point of interest, which it is right now. So Princess Flurry Heart is to remain here until the conclusion of the operations up north and elsewhere."

The filly separates from me and whole-heartedly screams at Gallus. "I wanna see my mom! LET ME SEE MY MOM!"

The griffon looks down at the young girl with remorse. "I'm sorry, but I don't think─"

Before Gallus could even finish his answer, a loud hum sounds nearby. It gets loud, fast. I look up to see a large shadow being cast over us. In the passing moment I see... human technology. A fleet of helicopters swarm by, different makes, different models, different purposes. Sixteen of them loudly make their rallying call throughout the sky. Even with them appearing as specks of black, their presence proves mighty and intimidating. They clear the town as quick as they arrive, blowing by with not an ounce of resistance.

Ocellus shakes in the presence of the large aerial vehicles, knowing that there's no chance of that being Equestrian technology. "Spike..."

Everyone darts downstairs, trying to get an understanding of the loud noise that just buzzed over the town. "What in the world were those!?" Amor asks.

Melanie speaks out. "Those... are Apache's."

Hestia gawks at the two-legged figure standing just a little taller than me. "Another human?"

"This one sounds... female?" Zenobia comments.

"Melanie, what's going on?" I ask, trying to make sense of things.

"Well... with the situation up north being what it is, involving who it does, Alex has thrown his hat into the ring. And he's brought friends... with some rather expensive toys."

I still hold to Flurry, who's probably more scared than anyone right now. "How many of his 'friends' did he bring?"

"About three dollars, fifty cents worth." She confirms. "So yeah, 350 of his forces are here in Equestria, And that there was a good 200 headed north for the big dance."

Ocellus' eyes widen a significant amount, the fear starts to mount in her eyes. "Those are all humans?"

"Yeah... Every last one." Melanie announces.

I feel a heaviness grow in the pit of my stomach, knowing damn well the carnage that's going to be thrown back the other way. All I can sense is an endless stream of bloodshed, a relentless song of bullets, and a multitude of fireballs being thrown all over the snowy north. The humans are here... and they're here to wage war. It's no wonder why Ocellus is so terrified.

I grimace, thinking of the anger that's probably well-seated on Alex's face right now. "Oh... we are in trouble now. We are officially in trouble."

Meanwhile in the Dungeons of Midnight Castle...

Nondis stares down at a wooden tray of what was designated to him as food. The chains are loosened enough for him to reach out and eat, but the fishy sweet smell conflicts with his olfactory senses. He wills himself once to taste the strange dish, but immediately spits it back out upon realizing the conflicting flavors of gelatin and a slimy eel. The side dish is no better, having the taste of plain potatoes. He groans with displeasure over the food presented to him.

Gabranth enters the room, seeing the human looking down with disgust. "Enjoying the meal?"

"I would if you guys didn't eat like seasonings and spices are a poison to life itself." He insults. "I can make better food if you walk me into a kitchen blindfolded."

The head century smirks back at the human. "Our finest chefs prepared that for you."

"Look, my guy. If you tried giving me the food you actually eat, I would've probably tasted it by now."

The stallion sits himself before the man, clopping his hooves to summon another century, holding a scroll with a broken red was seal. "Well while you sit there and stare at the food our local chef has kindly provided to you, I have a the local newspaper to entertain you. I'll even read it out loud so that you don't have to risk getting a papercut, the story of the day is one I'm sure you'll enjoy."

"If your stories are like your food, I'm sure they'll be great for the bugs to enjoy." The man snarks back.

"What appropriate words for today. Bug food" He says as he unfurls the scroll and starts reading past the greeting. "Success! The insurgent assault on the northern city-state of the Crystal Empire has yielded not only favorable results, but unforeseen tactical advantages. With the supplies provided, the warring insurgent forces dealt a crippling blow to the city and it's infrastructure. The rail line to the southern portion of the continent has been cut off, offering only to enemy forces access to the city by air. The rails from the eastern continent leading directly into Ponyland is now a secured access channel for our forces to further our campaign into the lands of the enemy nation. With the vast damages incurred, all northernly aerial forces are to direct their sights to the strategic holding point of Rainbow Falls, where their local forces will be pulled westward to aid in recovery efforts."

"As if they'll bite on that." Heckles the human.

"I'm not finished." Gabranth chides before continuing. "To further add to the news of our campaign, the civilian populace has undergone a mass casualty event at the hooves of the insurgent forces, thus removing the explicit blame of the attack from our proud nation, giving us a clean slate which we shall now commence our operations. By starting with Rainbow Falls, we acquire a pivotal airfield that would leave us with a substantial foothold over the northern cities of both Rainbow Falls and the Crystal Empire. Our directed front now grows to a three-pronged pincer formation that will most effectively pressure the Equestrians into a quick submission. I shall offer more updates upon the unfolding of this campaign. Signed, Prince Aegis Militades of the Noble Blood."

The man rolls his eyes. "Appropriate name for him. He's pretty decisive, I'll admit. At least he knows how to strike fast, but there's a saying when you─"

The stallion reads through the human's retort. "Post script: The initial assault on the local train station has yielded the favorable result of the elimination of one of their high-ranked specialists and one Empress Mi Amore Cadenza, proving to be a devastating blow to the morale of their forces as well as their southern counterparts. This ensures that an aerial response from their main forces is not only suggested, but mandatory." Nondis falls silent as the head century proudly closes the scroll. "A young prince he is, but cruelly effective."

The man nods, pursing his lips with several violent thoughts running through the back of his mind. "Okay. So you've killed a princess. I think now's a good time to put in those orders to withdrawal now as opposed to later."

"Oh, not smiling now, are you?" Gabranth teases.

"You gave me a reason not to. So now I give you a warning not to go through with this attack of yours, even if this is all well past the point of no return."

"As if we'd listen to you."

"You do realize that bright star you guys saw the other night could be a lot brighter." Nondis warns.

"I'm sure you can say that, if such a thing actually exists to begin with." The head replies with a condescending tone. "But I'm also certain that Equestria wouldn't be so brash as to kill the only two-legger they have that gives them their advantage. I mean how else would they be able to use that so-called device of yours without you?"

"Have you ever considered that anyone can leave a set of written instructions, or are you just dumb as shit?" He deadpans.

"I see I've touched a nerve." Gabranth chuckles.

"You got me." The man sarcastically laughs back. "I'm so upset. It's not like I'm a bit miffed by the idea that a young and bright filly will be without her mom for the future, especially the fact that her dad will be rather sad every time he looks at her face and sees the wife he can no longer have, or the ghost of her mom standing by her dad, forever smiling with nothing left to say. No, it doesn't matter, not one bit."

Seeing the angry scowl sat upon the man's face, the stallion takes enjoyment in seeing the human show his emotional vulnerability. He elects to continue hitting at that angle from that moment forth. Having made his point, he looks to take his leave. "It's nice to know that even in this state, you understand that this isn't a game."

The man snarls back. "If you keep me locked in here, you're going to regret it. You'd be better off shooting me."

"Sorry, but we'll be needing your technology more than needing you dead." The century replies. "So until you can tell us something useful, you can sit there while I give you daily updates on the war we've waged upon the pathetic realm of our lesser neighbor across the sea. And on that note, I bid you adieu."

After the two centuries depart from the hall, Nondis summons his phone and speak into it. "Discord. Please tell me he's joking."

While the device has no signal, the draconequus operates only with just the mention of his name. In disguising himself in an app, he pops up on the screen and gives a solemn udate. "She alive... but..."

The creature places up on the screen the final five seconds of that viral video of the alicorn barely clinging to life. "Jesus Christ." Nondis grumbles as he can't bear to look at her. "Where's Shining?

"He's standing by her. Her chance of fatality is rather significant. For that reason alone, he hasn't moved from her bedside. Padrig was with her, but he wasn't as fortunate."

"For better or for worse. He's too much of a good man, I always said that." Nondis says, letting his mind play out a number of possibilities of what's to come. "If this keeps up, I might not stay for as long as I imagined."

"But on the brighter side..." The draconequuis adds. "Your brothers are mainly involved now. As are another three-hundred plus humans. So it probably wouldn't take them too long."

"So... that means Rapture is in full effect, huh?... Yeah, those bastards are gonna get mowed out of the sky by a bunch of buoyant buzzsaws."

"Your brother brought twenty-four helicopters." Discord points out.

"Yeah, this will get really dire in about three weeks.... Or maybe a little faster."