Equestria At War - In the Shadow of the Sun

The soldier hummed a tune as he leaned against the gates of the fencing that surrounded the outpost. This was a great post. Before, he had been posted in Canterlot. What hell it was. Every single minute meant the possibility of some high-ranked officer crossing your path, and you'd need to salute them all and do all of their commands at any whim. Go here, inform this, take this and bring it there - it was mentally and physically exhausting.

And his inability to perform would see him sent to Yucoltan. He feared this - Yucoltan was reported to be beyond awful - full of guerillas in the night, disease-bearing mosquitos, and other nasty elements.

And yet, he realized this meant that he would not see a single high-ranking uniform for the rest of this post. He held onto his battle-rifle like a teddy bear, nearly asleep under the shade. This was a calm place. An outpost that never had any worries or troubles - and too small to be a target for the bats, serving no real strategic value other than working as light sentry with observation duties.

He saw something approach. He paid it no mind. This base was not important to anypony. Who could be approaching seeing that they wore a uniform? Bats had no uniforms. So this was maybe another soldier assigned to the outpost. Maybe a courier of sorts. Maybe a supply runner. He allowed himself to doze off a bit more.

And so, he napped...And noticed through the blur of his sleepy eyes that the uniformed figure stood in-front of him.

He scrunched his muzzle a little, feeling annoyance. He was on guard duty, and was just a low-ranker. What was he, a statue to be gawked at?

And yet, the figure didn't leave.

Grunting slightly under his breath, he allowed his mouth to doom him.

"Pal - can you uh...fuck off a lil' bit? You're making it hard to sleep."

"Ahem."

"Listen..." He groaned. "What the fuck do you even need here, we're--" He opened his eyes.

...

And felt his entire life flash before his eyes.

"Oh no...Oh no no no no no..." He whispered under his breath.

Standing tall above him, General Aurora looked down at him with disdain. Behind her was a stallion wearing a cap and a mask over his face - hooves gloved as he wore a simple uniform that looked fitting for a driver.

"...So..." She spoke. "Now that you're awake, worm...You're going to be a nice puppy and let me establish contact with the unit positioned at the temple. And get me transport."

"Y-Yes ma'am! C-Corporal!" He screamed over to the soldiers in the outpost. "W-We need the radio ASAP, m-make contact with the temple unit!"

***

The armored car had driven through a dirt path along the jungle - driven by her driver, and accompanied by a nervous corporal who sat in the front, letting Aurora sit in the back. The car had then made a turn - and allowed Aurora to see the matter at hoof.

A large temple complex was seen, spanning several square kilometers, surrounded by old walls. They drove for several more minutes, before finally arriving at the entrance of the temple's perimeter. There stood an officer; from his markings it was apparent that he was a Captain. He saluted as Aurora disembarked, and she would give a salute back. The driver would stay with the car, and the Corporal had run off.

"General!" The Captain exclaimed. "We are honored by your visit - but to be truthful, we're surprised and completely both unprepared and unaware this would be a meeting." He said. "W...Where are your bodyguards, ma'am?"

"Dead. I eliminated the ambushing hostiles and at-least managed to preserve the driver." Aurora shook her head. "This jungle is too untamed for my liking. I assume you can guess why I'm here. After all, I believe we have the matter of a certain...VIP to discuss."

"Ah..." The Captain looked back at the temple. "We believed Icarus team had been sent to retrieve the VIP, though..." He said. "A-And, why did you come here personally?"

Aurora hesitated for a moment, before taking steps towards the Captain. "...Are you sure that pointless questions are in your interest right now, Captain?"

"E-Er...N-No, ma'am. P-please, right this way..." The Captain said.

"Tell me about this little installation of yours you have in this temple." Aurora coldly said as they walked.

"We believed that cultists could return here in hopes of returning Nightmare Moon." The Captain said. "Following your protocol, we have utilized such hot-spots for ambushes. Our soldiers aren't quite visible from the nearby area, we have camouflaged positions along the ridges of the cliffs, and several smaller outposts ready to deploy QRF's." He said. "Hence we were surprised that the VIP in question, well, appeared."

"How many positions, and where?" She rose a brow. "I better hear the real numbers - you better not be slacking."

"Yes ma'am." He coughed. "They're mostly on the cliffs, and a few along the dirt road. The road should have four in total, all with LMGs and anti-vehicle equipment, while the ones on the cliffs are combinations of LMG and sniper specialists. And of course, white phosphorus mortars are ready upon the appropriate requests from the observers."

She frowned for a moment. "...Good." She smiled. "That's quite enough. And within this temple - what are the forces?"

"We didn't intend on putting any soldiers into the temple itself..." He said. "Would be dangerous for them if we were to use a temple as a trap to flood with gas or something, but since the prisoner's arrival...we had to put her, and a squad of troops to guard her."

"I see." She said. "Let's take a gander at her, then - shall we?"

"Yes ma'am."

Aurora looked around herself. These temples were ancient - yet every wall was carved with markings and odd illustrations of alicorns, stars, and the moon. She gazed at them with near wonder, allowing her gaze to go back and forth. Whenever she saw that the Captain might've looked back at her however, her gaze had immediately set itself straight and serious.

They would descend far down...and upon reaching the lowest levels of the temple...And finally, into its dungeon. Skeletal remains were in the cells - many of them still having their locks on the doors. But the further they walked - they'd see that one of the cells had been lit with modern light sources.

Aurora approached the cell, and saw her.

For a moment, she froze, looking at her like a deer in the headlights.

"...Ma'am?" The Captain turned to Aurora.

"...Leave us be for a moment. And the guards." She spoke.

"But if she--"

"Now."

"...Step out until we are told to return." The Captain told the nearby guards, and they would walk off. The strange temple's design, and the material of its walls, indicated that the acoustics were somewhat weak, so sound and noise wasn't an issue.

As the sound of the hooves faded away, Aurora looked at the cell and spoke.

"You're...Rarity, aren't--"

She had no time to react as a white hoof jettisoned through the bars, and wrapped itself around Aurora's horn, before pulling it in hard enough to bash her skull-first into the metal.

"YOU!" Rarity yelled. "How dare you show your face!? I had wondered what a brute was at work here, and I am not surprised in the least!" She said. Aurora yelped, attempting to pull away - but was once again slammed into bars.

"Rarity!" Aurora yelled.

"I don't care what you might do to me, wretch!" Rarity growled. "You can maim me all you want - but if you hurt my friends, I will drag you to tartarus-- no, I will drag you UNDER tartarus, do you understand--"

"Rarity, I'm--" Aurora grit her teeth past the pain.

"And as unladylike as I behave right now, know that I am acting quite civilized compared to what should be done to you, you...you b--"

"Rarity!" Yelled Aurora...And yet...Rarity noticed that the voice wasn't quite...hers.

Rarity stopped for a moment. "H-Huh...?"

"Miss...U-Ugh, R-Rarity..." Aurora whimpered. "I-I'm...not...her..."

"A-A changeling!?" Rarity whisper-yelled. "You certainly have the gall to disguise as the Butcher of Baltimare, darling! I-I'm so sorry about--"

"That's fine..." The "general" chuckled. "L-Listen, my name is Chari." She whispered. "I'm with New Mareland, SIB. We're here to--"

"New Mareland!?" Rarity yelled in a hushed tone. "My friends! They're--"

"Already met with the president, safe and sound." Chari smiled at her. "The Princess insisted that we get you out immediately - and I sure am surprised how fast we managed it..."

"They're safe and sound...That's...That's what I wanted to hear." She sighed in relief - nearly fainting - but then snapping to attention. "Anyhow...You managed to merely discover me, dear." Rarity sighed. "But how will you escape? I heard the guards blabber about a downed plane...That wasn't you, was it?"

"..." Chari smiled. "But the pilot survived, so we'll be good once we find something we can fly."

"...Oh bother." Rarity sighed. "But what's the plan? Do you think your disguise will allow you to take me out of here safely?"

"More or less. Based on what my team and the batponies told me, it's easy to pass of as the general once I just act as a threatening force of brutality and no compromise." She chuckled. "But there's one more thing I must do. We promised in exchange for help, we would wipe out the enemies attempting to draw the batponies into an ambush here. I need to get some more intel from the Captain, and then find an opening to radio the--"

"General." Said an approaching voice.

"...O-Oh no." Chari whispered, and changed her voice as she looked at the speaker. "Hm, who goes there?" Aurora asked.

"..."

Icarus team stood there - four of its members in the room with Aurora and Rarity, and the others in the room behind.

The Major looked at Aurora with a displeased look.

"...Oh. Hello." Aurora said. Shit. She had no idea who this was.

"So, what brings you out here?" The Major asked.

"...I had to see her for myself, and believed that maybe I'd ask her some questions." Aurora said. "...And you?"

"...We're here because we were tasked with bringing her to Canterlot?" He rose a brow.

Pepper had looked strangely at Aurora, and then at Rarity.

"Well." Aurora coughed. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that..." She looked at his uniform to see any marks of rank, and yet saw none, making the Major more curious as to what was going on.

"We already discussed the authorities involved. This is a direct order from Daybreaker."

"Well." Aurora coughed. "As it stands, my orders are Daybreaker's as well. Have you not heard the news?"

"...News?" The Major asked.

"We believe that there are certain infiltrators from..." She faked a cough. "From Stalliongrad. They may have caught wind of the VIP's location. An airplane that fell here is believed to have deployed parachutes, and they are still a threat." She said.

"I did overhear some news of a downed airplane, but had no idea parachutes were deployed." Strive muttered.

"Actually they reported that the plane was downed at about 30,000 feet." Adler mentioned. "So..."

"Right. Perfect for a HAHO jump. They may not have been able to even detect any parachutes by then." Pepper nodded in agreement.

"The communists learned to HAHO jump, huh? What a bother." The Major sighed. "So, why are you here then?"

"Daybreaker ordered me to come immediately." She said. "So I did. She told me to ask some important questions from her about the whereabouts of the other elements of harmony, in-case these infiltrators might somehow hurt her or take her before we can take her to Canterlot. Questions she entrusted me to ask - only."

"So, did you finish then?" The Major impatiently looked at her.

"Nnnnno." Aurora coughed. "And, I need to use the radio to request some backup for our escort." She coughed.

"Okay - so we'll tell the commander here to ramp up security."

"NO!" Aurora exclaimed.

"No...?" The Major looked baffled.

"...If our activity increases now, it may be too much of an indicator for the infiltrators as to where we are and what we are doing. We'll keep a low profile for now." She said. "...Ahem, if you'll excuse me, I'll go pay a visit to the radio. Keep an eye on our guest..."

Rarity made a soft noise, and Aurora turned to her.

"Don't worry..." She said, trying to put on her most malicious and toxic voice. "...I'll be back." She said...and walked off.

Icarus team looked at her depart...making all but the Major blink in confusion.

Sergeant Strive narrowed his eyes. "...Major, Aurora isn't acting like her normal self. Very suspicious. So, you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked.

"...Yeah, I am." The Major said.

"...There's no doubt." Pepper sighed, shaking her head...and breaking into a wide smile. "She totally got scared after your last meeting!" She grinned. "Holy shit, I've never seen her like that!"

"That's the Major for ya. He'll make even somepony like get her hooves scattering." Adler laughed.

The Major was unable but to suppress a chuckle. ""And if I want to, I'll have you squirming on a noose.". Here I thought it didn't sound as good as it did in my head."

***

Led into the radio room, Aurora demanded complete privacy. The radio tuned for her was set to a frequency of a larger base near Yucoltan, and after setting it, the soldiers left.

Once she had her privacy, she tweaked the radio to another frequency, and her voice returned.

"Okay." Chari whispered. "We have a few issues. First of all, their positions." She said. She had relayed all the locations she was made aware of, and all the numbers and equipment that followed.

"Right." Plymouth's voice responded. "Azul, you got all this?"

"Of course." Azul's voice responded. "This will be easy. I'll get my fillies and colts to reposition accordingly."

"One more issue." Chari coughed.

"Go ahead." Plymouth's voice responded.

"Somepony was already tasked with retrieving Rarity. They apparently are some kind of special forces from what I gather. No badges or indications of rank, just patches for blood types and some other patch that I guess is their unit. Any ideas who that is - because they seem mean. Some kinda Icarus team, if I heard right?"

"Shit, that's S.I.F." Plymouth cursed. "Special Insertion Force; they're basically the best of Daybreaker's best...though half of them were "Celestia's" best at some point. You're not gonna survive an encounter with them, so keep up your appearances. Where's Cipher?"

"Still waiting..." She sighed. "I'm worried this might complicate things."

"He'll be fine." Plymouth said. "Try to get Rarity out of there, we'll begin an attack if things either go south, or you successfully leave."

"...Got it." Chari said. "I'm going for an attempt. Switching frequency back."

"Good luck - be safe." Plymouth sighed.

She switched off to the original frequency, and stood up, before leaving. The Captain of the temple was in-front of the door, and she nodded down at him. "Radio's all yours." She told him, and kept walking.

The Captain looked at her leave, and thoughtfully looked at the floor. He entered the room, and locked the door behind him.

He wondered...With the lack of guards, with the lack of prior heads up - and with the apparent fact that Icarus team hadn't cancelled their objective...He had to be sure with the circumstances considered. His frequency changed to a long-ranged one.

"This is Captain Pines, Yucoltan Temple Outpost Sierra-5. I'd like to make an inquiry, over."

"..."

"Yes. Can you please inform me of General Aurora's location, over?"

"..."

"I have special clearance from Her Majesty. Code 5602 - Alpha - 2310 - Bravo - 9823. I repeat, can you please inform me of the location of General Aurora, how copy - over?"

"..."

"At a General's Reception in Canterlot. I see..."

"..."

"Yes - there is a minor problem. We believe that a changeling is impersonating her. No worries. We have appropriate assets to eliminate this threat. Thank you. Captain Pines, Sierra-5 out."

***

"Sir!" A guard ran into the room containing Rarity's cell, faced with Icarus team.

"What is it?" The Major gruffly asked.

"S.I.F. Headquarters have contacted our long-ranged radio and are requiring all of your team to respond, orders regarding the infiltrators!" He exclaimed.

"...Was it really them?" The Major asked. "How did they introduce themselves?"

The soldier hesitated. "T-They didn't when we asked to, they demanded you immediately..."

"Shit, makes sense I guess since nopony else would know we're here." The Major sighed. "Keep an eye on the prisoner. Icarus, let's go."

As Icarus team ran out of the cell, the guard quickly transformed into General Aurora.

"O-Okay." The disguised changeling told Rarity. "Stand back as far as you can, and if you see any green on you, please don't touch it, it may make the injury worse."

Gulping softly, the unicorn took steps back against the corner of the cell. This gave Chari the safe distance she needed, quickly transforming into a hideous bug-like beast. The beast had insect mandibles that excreted a glowing green substance, and as she spat on the metal of the cell, it burned off the rusting bars.

Transforming back into Aurora, Chari had pulled the cell door, tearing it off of the weakened bars.

"Sorry for the scare." The fake Aurora chuckled. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes. Let's make haste dear." Rarity said, and ran out of the cell...

And stopped as she and Chari both saw armed ponies running into the room, each aiming their weapons at the two. Afterwards, Icarus team had ran in to the take the flanks, aiming their guns right at Chari's head.

Following afterwards was the Captain of the Temple, smirking softly.

"...Captain." Aurora chuckled. "I see you have a death wish--"

"Shut your mouth, trash." He told Chari. "I can't believe a damn changeling fooled me - well, close to fooling me." He grunted. "Now, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. You'll wind up dead either way - just with less suffering if you cooperate."

Sighing, Chari stood in-front of Rarity to shield her from harm.

"So I guess not all of you Solar Empire grunts are numbskulls." She said - transforming into a changeling; but not herself. It was a typical blue-eyed changeling that had no distinguishable features. "I'm impressed. Somewhat."

"Can't blame ya too much." Pepper laughed. "You'd have a chance if we didn't show up. I got no idea what lousy training regiment these soldiers here have."

The Captain turned to Pepper and barked. "You dare disrespect my troops!?"

The Major turned his head to the Captain while his weapon was trained at Chari, and shot him a look. "The troops who can barely remove the threat of Lunarist rebels in our own territory? You better stop running your mouth."

The Captain grit his teeth. "You have some nerve to--"

"Heeey." Sergeant Strive grinned. "Buddy. I got some advice. We're Daybreaker's favorites. If we wanted to air out every single thing in this room - maybe minus the prisoner of course - we would be forgiven. And if we were to blame our guest here for managing to kill all of ya, they'd trust us."

"And believe you me." Pepper chuckled. "I have no qualms looping your intestines through your throat."

The Captain would meekly quiet down, legs buckling slightly.

Chari however, looked not a bit afraid, smiling. "So this is the S.I.F., huh? I see you guys love your carte blanche."

Pepper chuckled. "I hate grunts who think they're hotshots. I think that's universal among any SOF."

"You're telling me." Chari giggled. "I've seen my share of pansy officers like him who think they're hot shit. They scare easily though, and are usually pretty shit in combat. Hey, hypothetically - if I were to resist right now, and go down in a blaze of glory knowing I'd rather die than get captured...Could I be allowed to at-least get him killed?"

"Ppft, ain't you a cutie." Pepper chuckled. "He's all yours if you think you can pull the trigger before we can, crazy girl. Not that I see a gun on ya."

"Don't need one." Chari giggled.

Rarity found herself pushed back into the cell with a force of magic that came from Chari, and soon after, the changeling's reflexes made her aware that the hooves had started to squeeze the triggers. It was now or never.

What they ended up firing at was the air, unable to hit Chari; for in the place of the changeling was no longer that, but a wasp - a pixel in the three-dimensional space where not even the Major was able to lock onto it. The wasp rapidly flew towards the line of armed ponies, and not even a rain of gunfire was able to hit it.

It then quickly flew into their ranks, and caused them all to cease fire, yelling out orders and exclamations as firing would now be too dangerous with the risk of hitting an ally, and as the wasp started flying between their hooves and behind them, they would try to make some space between each other to try and trace it.

"Damn it, swat the damn bitch!" The Captain yelled. "Hit--" He interrupted himself as he started gasping violently and wheezing. He began to punch his own throat.

"Captain!?" A regular soldier yelled.

"I-Inside!" The Captain screamed in horror. "She's insi--!!!"

The Captain was torn apart into pieces from his chest; as from it emerged a large manticore. It instantly lunged at two regular soldiers, and with one strong shut of its jaws, managed to tear them apart with one bite. A soldier had prepared to fire at it, but a swipe of its tail-stinger had caused instant death by blunt force trauma. The tip of the stinger had then hooked onto a smoke grenade that was attached to the soldier's vest, pulling it using gravity as the soldier fell. The high-pressure canister had suddenly erupted with grey, thick smoke.

"Gas masks! Whoever got thermals, use them!" The Major yelled; and Icarus team had put on their masks. The regular soldiers were forced to suffer through severe coughing fits as they tried to wave the smoke away.

Three members of Icarus - namely Pepper, Adler, and a markspony corporal, all pulled out large bulky devices from their pouches. Pepper's and the markspony's were shaped like a scope, and they quickly mounted them on their guns, while Adler had to use his like a pair of binoculars. They were box-shaped and roughly almost the size of the guns themselves, but the three users looked through it.

"Gone again!" Adler yelled.

"Going for the same trick twice!?" Strive yelled. "Won't be that easy for her!"

"Can't see her still!" Pepper yelled. "Keep your headsets on and tighten your masks, don't give this bitch an entry!"

However, as they anticipated the same maneuver from her...They would see that some of the regular soldiers would scream - and suddenly collapse.

"The hell did she transform into now!?" Shrieked a regular soldier as he attempted to hold a cloth to his mouth with one hoof and his gun with the other.

"I can't see, I can't--" A regular soldier attempted to relay, but too devolved into a shrieking mess and his mouth foamed.

"Fuck, something venomous!" Pepper yelled, jumping away from that soldier. "A frog!? Some kinda insect!?"

The Major looked at the soldiers who had been dying - looking at their locations, and the progress. He took attention to which way the torrent of death was coming, and he precisely waited, and waited...

His gloved hooves were able to clap together to catch the highly venomous spider. However, his attempts to crush it to death were in-vain, as he had reflexively jumped back as he saw a flash of green, indicating another transformation.

***

Meanwhile, a soldier had managed to start crawling away, going down the hallways of the temple. He looked up, and saw the driver of the armored car that apparently had delivered Aurora.

"S-Send help, please..." The soldier whimpered as he laid on the ground, attempting to crane his neck up at the driver.

The driver had instead looked forward to see where the trail of blood had come from, and shot the injured soldier in the head as a cold-hearted way to thank him for the guidance.

***

Rarity could only cower and shake. The gunfire. The death. The screaming...This wasn't for her. This wasn't where she should be. Yes - this conflict revolved around her either escaping or falling to Daybreaker's clutches, but right now all she wanted was safety. She in horror would see a large monstrosity be pushed back by explosives; a maulwurf that had been able to tear off a leg of a soldier. Icarus Team had mostly been able to avoid the damage, but several more fresh members had to attend to their own injuries.

Now however, Chari had sustained too many injuries in the course of the ten minutes of fighting. Transforming from animal to creature, she had steamrolled the regulars - but now faced with Icarus team, she had been plugged with several bullets, and now had to deal with the concussion of a grenade launcher to the body; saved only by the fact that it took more than that to kill a maulwurf.

Still - by now she had been unable to keep this up. She would only be able to return herself to the same featureless changeling, falling onto one knee as she slid back from the explosion.

"Not too bad." The Major said, starting to walk towards her. "But you're outnumbered anyway. So, you wanna spill the beans - or are we going to need to make this painstaking?"

However, the Major's reflexes allowed him to take swift action to save himself. A hail of bullets rained from his side, and he was quick to fire back. The driver stood around the corner of the room armed with a submachine gun. The Major had taken a shot back - and the driver was able to go back around the corner; his hat shot off.

Cipher cursed as he lost half of his disguise, the other being on his mouth; and perhaps on his hooves, knowing that the white gloves were crucial to keep his identity vague. "Shit." He hissed.

"Kill the changeling!" Yelled a voice from the room, and Cipher grit his teeth. He turned the corner again, and felt an impact hit him. A bullet slammed into him, forcing him back around into cover. It was bait, and he hated falling for it. He was relieved that the bullet hit the improvised kevlar padding he had under the uniform, but he knew that it was unlikely he'd make another mistake like this for free.

He took note that the enemies wore gasmasks, so the flashbangs he had been given were close to dead weight. There was little time to make a plan...He instead threw several smoke grenades, making quick mental notes of what was located and where.

Chari noticed that she had an opportunity to act, so she decided to make most of it. She was able to temporarily transform herself into a fire-breathing serpent; which earned another responsive hail of bullets from Icarus Team; but the flames had the purpose of not hurting, but causing a wall. Pepper cursed, attempting to aim with her thermal scope at Cipher, but the fire had painted it all a blinding shade of white. The others with thermal devices ran into the same issue.

Cipher made a mad dash through the smoke and flames, disappearing into the cloud.

He would run to where he knew Chari was - and that should've been close to where Rarity's cell was. However, mid-run, he felt a force slam into him, and it slammed him into a set of iron bars. Regaining his senses, he saw a silhouette through the smoke. Ducking down, he was able to avoid the butt of a rifle from the Major. It allowed Cipher to get a hook into his stomach, forcing the older stallion to stumble back as he dropped his rifle.

Squinting his eyes underneath the gasmask, the stallion's glove produced a strange clicking sound, but Cipher was unable to see what it was. He had then been unable to anticipate a kick so powerful, that it once again pushed him against the cell so hard he had been forced to stand on his hind hooves...

Only through sheer reflex and luck did Cipher notice the faint appearance of a blade. His only way to protect himself was his own hoof - the metallic one. He saw the tip emerge through the other side, nearly hitting his eye. The Major looked in surprise to see that the attack was swallowed, his blade that was connected to his glove was now stuck in metal and wiring.

Taking this opportunity, Cipher had the opening to use one of the legs he stood on to kick the Major right in the mask - shattering the glass and sending him back, while snapping the blade in half. The Major would stumble into the smoke and flames, and Cipher had breathing room. He ran towards Chari.

Meanwhile, Rarity had hugged the corner of her cell, whimpering and shaking as she saw a fire break out. She shut her eyes as hard as she could - and screamed when a pair of hooves began to touch her. She attempted to scream - but she would feel one of the hooves shut her mouth. She opened her eyes...And they widened in shock.

Cipher's neck scarf had come down to reveal his face. Rarity's breathing became fast for a moment - but slowed down. She nodded to him surely. He raised her to her hooves, and ran through the smoke - protecting her as they ran, and making sure Chari was right next to him as she too ran, but with a limp. To cover his trail, Cipher had thrown a specialized thermite grenade, which would burn red-hot for several minutes.

***

The temple was not completely tamed by Daybreaker's forces. Several hallways and rooms were devoid of any military equipment, indicating that the soldiers did not think that these areas were important, or hadn't at all explored them. In a forgotten chamber, well-concealed by the confusion of the temple's construction, an amber chemlight had been snapped, and light had flooded the room.

"Yellow...?" Chari weakly asked. "How boring. Couldn't you have packed some purples or reds? Greens at the least."

"I'm not a walking light show." Cipher asked, and turned to Rarity. "Ma'am, are you okay?"

"Quite fine, dear." The unicorn sighed. "Better knowing I'm among friends now. You...You knew I was here?"

Cipher shook his head. "Not when we came to Equus; but Twilight had gathered enough clues to throw us a good bone to start with. Matter of fact, thanks to our plane crash, we even landed a bit closer than we intended." He said. "Otherwise, all we had was that frequency you left the radio on."

Rarity frowned, sighing sadly.

"...Why didn't you tell them?" He asked.

Rarity blankly looked at the amber glowstick. "Because if I did, they would have immediately set off to go after me. It would be far too dangerous for them, and I supposed that maybe Twilight would have the incentive to ask for help if she were to make it across the ocean. It was the best I could do to ensure all my goals were met - to pursue my search, and to ensure my friends' safety..."

Cipher frowned. "Why find Luna - or Nightmare Moon...?"

"..." Rarity looked into his eyes. "I cannot explain this right now - not in such a dire and urgent situation."

"Just tell me the light gist of it. Please." Cipher whispered. "I need it."

"...I suppose you are much like Twilight. An analyst needs facts and information even in the least appropriate of situations to achieve the peace of mind needed to focus on the matter at hand." She softly laughed. "Well, I shall give the light gist as you ask for it. I...I have seen something. Something that leads me to believe that I am somehow...responsible."

"F-For what, Miss Rarity...?"

"...Not "responsible" directly per se, but...I believe that it was something that I didn't do that...that started this whole mess. From the civil war."

"...W-What?" Cipher asked. "Rarity, that's...certainly silly."

"Maybe I misinterpret what I saw." She admitted. "Maybe it wasn't my choice - maybe it was somepony else's. But...In my visions...I saw...I saw myself with Princess Luna. By her side, and...Things...Things were different."

"In what way...?"

"...I saw Ponyville, Canterlot - Manehattan and all other places. I saw...Not a single firearm, not a single tank - not a single act of warfare. I...I saw peace. Thestrals together with the other ponies. But strangely I also saw other things..." She whimpered in thought. "I saw...I saw the future - I...I saw Twilight in Canterlot, and I-I saw some other purple unicorn by her side, and all of us too - but I know it was the future, something seemed off. I even saw changelings - they looked different somehow, even colorful. I saw...I saw..."

Rarity could only sigh in exhaustion. Cipher frowned, but contained himself. "I-I'm sorry I made you tired, ma'am. You're right. L-let's focus on getting out...Chari?"

There was silence.

"...Chari!" Cipher yelled, running over to the limp changeling on the other side of the room. "Chari! Hey!" He softly cried out, holding her face with his hooves.

One of her lavender eyes fluttered open. "H-Hey, sorry...Just need a nap." She giggled weakly...Cipher looked to see a colored liquid on the glove of his burned hoof.

"...S-Shit, your nose is bleeding." He cursed. "Chari, h-how many times did you transform!?"

"...Enough times." She responded. "Uh...An acid-spewing Barrad Mantis to get the cell open, a wasp, Manticore, some venomous Eastern Zebrica spider, hippopotamus, er...some other things. Oh, and a East Zebrican serpent at the end. That's a couple too many, I guess, huh?"

"Shit, what were you thinking?" He cursed. "O-Okay, listen, I've got some love here." He said, reaching into his pouch and taking out three plastic vials of pink liquid. "Can this keep you up for now?"

"It'll do. B-But I think overall...I'll need as much love as you'd get from falling in love and growing old with somepony." She smiled. "...Or a steamy orgy." She grinned.

"Keep laughing. I'll inject this straight in, okay?" He asked, producing a needle from his first aid kit.

"...Fine. Just make it quick." She closed her eyes shut as Cipher began to fill the needle with the liquid.

"W-What's going on?" Rarity asked, leaning in.

Cipher's eyes remained on the procedure as he spoke. "Changelings are unique creatures - many assume that their shapeshifting is an illusion and that they will possess none of the properties. This isn't true. They are indeed capable of perfectly replicating other organisms by radically changing their own cell structure. It's a combination of biology and magic at work. Changeling shapeshifting takes all the elements that they have in their body, and re-arranges them; while magic can rapidly manipulate the amounts of these elements to "fill in" the requirements of the desired body."

"Don't bore the guest with a science les--" Chari said - but shut up as the needle made her squeak in pain.

"Because of the proportions of elements and therefore chemicals in the bodies of ponies, and since changelings have many of these elements in common with them, it's easy for changelings to change into ponies - albeit it's not easy to turn into alicorns; hence only Queen Chrysalis was successful as impersonating Princess Cadence. However, once you turn into a creature that is either much bigger, much smaller, or possesses special features such as flight, night-vision, venom, or anything like that, then the magic in the bodies of changelings is required to manipulate the amounts of elements involved."

"Come on, I'm gonna fall aslee--" Chari shut up as she squeaked a second time.

"Chari had transformed so much, that it consumed a lot of her body's magic. You've seen ponies when they're drained of their magic, per chance. They're in a similar state when their magic runs low. Weak and nearly soulless. The issue is that Chari is also injured. So we need to keep her love up. However - this is taking in consideration that the bodies of changelings use "love", and convert it into the magic that their bodies use. She's low on love - and her body is not producing magic quickly. With her injuries, the process is probably stopped to a halt."

"Where did you even learn any of this--" Chari shut up as she squeaked a third time.

"Love is a strange little thing - it's both a concept, and yet somehow a tangible thing. It's kind of like Friendship. Friendship makes magic stronger because it makes the magic user more confident - but also gives them the determination of helping their friends and keeping them safe, alongside a cocktail of other emotional benefits that give them the clarity and power to use magic better. Love, as such, is in a similar vein; and this raw power is converted into something more biological and...less esoteric, per se." Cipher said, disinfecting the hole he poked into Chari as the changeling quietly listened.

Rarity looked at Cipher, and softly nodded. "I see. We must find ways for Chari to acquire love."

"We have some "extracted" love, but yeah." Cipher nodded. "But it's not gonna keep her alive for as long as I'd like..."

The white unicorn closed her eyes. "And until then, we can't really move out of here securely, can we?"

"...Not quite." Cipher sighed.

"Go and get help." She told him. "Is that something you can do?"

"The thestrals are waiting for my signal to start attacking." Cipher said. "That, or we wait for another...twenty or so minutes."

"These twenty or so minutes are too much. Can you signal them now?" She asked.

"I could, but..."

"This area is quite hidden." Rarity smiled. "Please, trust me darling. We can't afford to let Chari stay here long. Make haste - but stay safe."

Cipher could only anxiously gaze at her, weighing his options. Nodding, he hoofed Rarity his sidearm, which the mare very reluctantly took. With that, he ran off.

Rarity turned back to Chari, who smiled weakly. "Hey, uh..." The changeling chuckled. "You really think you can fix the whole love issue?"

"I certainly can, dear." Rarity said, sitting next to her.

"That's gonna be difficult. Fake love won't really do the trick." Chari told. "We changelings know when you don't mean nice things. Seeing as we're strangers, I'm probably not gonna--"

"You were the first ray of hope I've seen in a long time, dear. And the news you gave to me of my friends...they gave me some life. I am forever grateful for you, and your efforts to protect me." She said, pulling Chari down to her side...The changeling surrendered, laying her head on Rarity's lap, as she felt white hooves stroke her head. "Please Chari, rest. And know that I am forever grateful to you, my dear friend..."

"...Okay. I guess this is nice." Chari smiled, and closed her eyes.

***

Cipher sprinted; not to an exit, but to the central chambers of the temple. He knew not their layouts, but their principle. He knew what they were made for, and he knew it suited his purposes. They had twenty or so minutes - but he couldn't afford to wait this time.

From his pocket, he produced a flare gun. He checked his pockets and found two flares - a red and green. He had loaded the green in, a signal to indicate that an attack should begin, but that the temple should not be attacked with artillery. The red was reserved in the event things got...too ugly. He aimed it at the ceiling...Through which he saw an opening all the way to the top of the temple, and at the sky - at the exact position where the full moon would be at a certain date at midnight.

However, he would be unable to fire it as a force slammed into him from behind, dropping him on the floor.

"Lucky me!" Sergeant Strive yelled. "Good thing we split up - and good thing I have a good intuition, heh." The stallion said, approaching Cipher to kick him in the stomach. The kick was strong enough to force him to slide along the floor. Regaining his sense, Cipher could see Strive straddle his chest, and raise his hoof high, before slamming it into his face.

Cipher's vision had blurred from the impact, and another soon followed. His ears rang as pain tore his head asunder...

But remembering why he was here - he couldn't afford to let the sacrificial altar of the temple become his tomb. He had shielded his face with his metallic hoof once more - and Strive had punched it...stabbing his hoof into Major's blade, which was still stuck inside. Grunting, Strive was distracted for a mere second - but it was what Cipher needed.

Cipher had reached a hoof to pull at Strive's gas mask, leaving it open from the chin. Without thinking other than for the sake of survival, he quickly aimed the flare gun at the opening, and fired it, before letting go of the gas mask and instead lunging with his teeth to bite the strap of the gas mask, and pull it as hard as he could to fasten it as tightly as possible to Strive's face.

The Sergeant would let out a bloody scream, turning and contorting all over the floor as his gas mask was illuminated with green, the searing-hot flare producing smoke from the gas mask, and filling the room with the smell of overcooked meat and fur.

Cipher quickly stood up and ran to the spot he was before...And checked his pockets. He cursed. He had used his green flare for self defense - so now he had to use the red.

Pointing it at the ceiling, he hesitated...Before pulling the trigger.

***

Rarity had fallen asleep. Exhaustion had overtaken her...But she felt an impact hit her head. A small pebble. Scrunching her nose, her eyes fluttered awake...She saw the changeling at her lap and...she saw dust falling from the ceiling.

Her eyes widened as the entire temple shook violently.

"C-Cipher!" She screamed, calling out. She then looked down at started to shake Chari. "Darling, wake up!"

But the changeling hadn't opened her eyes this time.

"...Oh no. No no no no no...C-Chari! Chari, wake up! Chari--"

"Rarity!" Cipher ran into the cell.

"She's not waking up!" Rarity exclaimed.

Cipher ran up and quickly put his hoof to Chari's neck - before sighing in relief. "Pulse present. Hoist her over. We're getting out of here."

Using levitation, Rarity was able to put Chari over Cipher's back, and helped secure her. "W-What's going on? Were those explosions?"

"...Our escape might become a bit complex now - but the good news is that we'll have an opening now. I doubt half the ponies in this temple want to get caved in. Let's go - and try to cast some magic for light!" Cipher exclaimed.

"R-Right!" Rarity yelped, and the two started to run, with Chari in tow.

***

"FUCK! FUCK, FUCK!" Plymouth screamed as he mowed down his targets. He angrily grit his teeth as he refused to let go of the trigger, much to the fear of the batpony who continued feeding the belt connected to his silenced machinegun.

"Compose yourself, damn you!" Azul yelled as she laid in the concealed position with him, in-between using the radio for commands.

"I'm going to compose the fucking funeral songs for all of these motherfuckers! They just killed my friends, and our best damn bet to save Equestria!" He shouted.

A hoof connected with his cheek, prompting him to stop firing.

"Fucking pull yourself together!" Azul shouted in his face. "They may still be alive! Don't judge a situation based on the immediate facts, and stop firing at whatever damn soldier you see! Focus on taking out their damn nests!"

Looking at her and breathing, Plymouth cursed, returning to the scope of his machine gun as he looked...He saw what appeared to be a group of soldiers leaving the temple, carrying a limp stallion with magic - but none of them wearing identifiable uniforms...His hope had sunk lower - and by the time he had them in his sights...He ran out of ammunition.

A final rocket barrage had done in the old stones of the temple. The structure had continued shaking as pieces had become torn off - and the dust ejecting from its exits had made it unmistakable that it was collapsing from the inside.

"Stop firing!" Azul exclaimed. By now, it was apparent that the battle was won. A combined assault on the positions relayed by Chari carried out with precise timing had allowed this to be a sweep, rather than a battle. The artillery had flushed out what soldiers were inside...

But the commander frowned. She saw nopony else exit.

The radio came alive with Bea's voice. "Look! The South entrance!"

There were three silhouettes. They waded through the cloud of dust as they left the temple, dazed and limping. The cloud cleared, and the identities became apparent.

Rarity weakly smiled at Cipher who limped behind her as he carried Chari.

"That...Is some impressive...shield work." Cipher coughed past the dust in his mouth.

The unicorn stood there with slight smoke emitting from the tip of her horn. "Well...I am the Element of Generosity, dear. Protecting others is a form of generosity too, r-right?" She smiled.

"Heh..." Cipher smiled.

Rarity gave a big smile in return.

Then, she collapsed.

Cipher gently leaned down to securely and safely place Chari on the ground, and then stood upright.

Before then collapsing as well.