News of the battle of Fillydelphia has spread all across Equestria and into the neighboring kingdoms in less than a day. Most of the populace felt uneasy during the first attack at Manehattan, being assured that the combined force of Equis and the Humans would be enough to stop the Aliens. But now, hearing that Lord Tirek has joined the side of the Aliens and at the loss of another city, fear began to set in.

Just as the Changelings and Hippogriffs promised, their territories became a sanctuary for refugees and other families leaving in fear of being attacked. A massive movement of ponies from the eastern side of Equestria spread out to anywhere safe. Some families leave behind their belongings, homes, and anything they can’t bring.

Twilight sat alone inside her castle, sitting on her throne in the cutie map room. She was looking over multiple reports and paperwork, some about the war, others about politics. She reads the report about all the fleeing ponies leaving their country to seek refuge in the neighboring kingdoms. She feels some relief in that, knowing ponies are trying to save themselves. She puts it down, and the next report made her stomach sink, a casualty report from Fillydelphia.

Six-thousand and two-hundred and forty-three (6,243) civilians were rescued compared to the total population of eight-thousand nine-hundred and fifty (8,950). Her gut wrenches. Despite saving most of the civilians, there was still a large loss of life. Military casualties; three-thousand six-hundred and eighty-three (3,683) confirmed KIA, three hundred and ninety-four (394) MIA, two thousand and twenty-two (2,022) injured.

Twilight could not believe what she was reading. This officially makes the bloodiest battle to ever occur not just in Equestria but on the entire planet. Nowhere in Equestrian history has this much blood been spilled. Her hooves shake as she drops the paper, slowly leaning forward and covering her eyes with her hooves and sobbing.

She hears knocking on her door, causing her to quickly sit up and compose herself quickly. The door opens and in walks Starlight. She looks at Twilight sitting on her throne and approaches her

“Heya Twilight, what are you doing in here all alone?” Starlight would ask as she approached her teacher. Twilight let out a long sigh in response.

“Just going over some paperwork. Usually, I like doing paperwork, but a lot of this involves the war, and that makes it less exciting.” She responded truthfully. “Being a Princess only accelerates the amount of work you have to do.”

“Is there a chance you can step away for a moment?” Starlight asked, taking a few steps closer.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Twilight gave her friend a confused look.

“Captain McCormick has requested you. He wants your input on something they have found regarding the Covenant’s weaponry,” Starlight responded, which only made Twilight look more confused.

“Why in Equestria would they think I’d know anything?” Twilight asked in total bewilderment.

“I don’t know, I’m just following orders.” Starlight deadpanned. Twilight let out a large sigh and set her paperwork down.

“Alright, some time away from all this mess may do me some good.” Twilight pushed herself away from the map and stood up.

“Ready to teleport?” Starlight would ask.

“Actually, I have a warthog parked outside, so let’s use that,” Twilight suggested, which only earned a weird look from Starlight.

“Why? Teleporting would be much faster.”As Starlight asked her question, Twilight looked back over to the piles of paper, looking directly at the casualty report.

“…I just think a good drive will help clear my head before talking with the Captain.” Twilight spoke softly. Though not fully understanding, Starlight simply nodded.

“Alright, we can do that,” Starlight responded as both mares exited the Cutie-Map room. They exited the castle, where a warthog was parked. There was a booster in the driver’s seat with pedal expansions to accommodate ponies. Starlight would climb into the driver’s seat while Twilight got into the passenger seat.

Starlight started the engine and began to drive towards the Everfree Forest. The path into the forest was now well-worn from all the traffic coming through it. As Twilight watched the trees swoosh past, Starlight began speaking again.

“Have you spoken with Princess Celestia and Luna recently?” She asked while keeping her eyes in front of her.

“I’ve sent them a report this morning,” Twilight responded, still watching the trees.

“What did you tell them?” Starlight glances over at Twilight for just a second.

“I told them about Tirek’s sudden appearance.” Twilight begins to narrow her eyes. “I also told them about his supposed alliance with the Covenant.”

“Have they responded yet?” Starlight asked.

“They told me they both were going to Tartarus personally to investigate. Whatever they find, I hope it sheds light on how the Covenant even knows Tirek.” Twilight sighs hard and hangs her head.

Earlier that morning: Gates of Tartarus

A small flash of light emits at the front gates of Tartarus, and there suddenly was both the Princess of the Sun and Moon. Celestia looks up at the gates with a concerned look while Luna looks confused.

“Sister, why have you teleported us here? Why not teleport inside Tartarus?” Luna asked, raising her eyebrow at Celestia.

“Because Luna, I want to know how these aliens even got inside. The seal on the door should have prevented anypony or creature who does not have magic from entering.” Celestia spoke as she approached the large door. She leans her head down and examines it closely. There was no damage to the door, indicating they did not use brute force. However, the magical seal was, in fact, broken. Celestia’s eyes widened in shock at this revelation.

“So, the Covenant were actually able to break the seal. But that doesn’t make any sense. How and where did they get the magic to do so?” Asked Luna as she stood next to her sister.

“I do not know, Lulu… But none of this is sitting well with me.” Celestia used her hoof to push open the gates, which swung open effortlessly. “But they didn’t even have the courtesy to reseal the gates.”

The two sisters then take their first steps into the bowels of Tartarus’s darkness before the gates swung hard behind them. They use their magic to light their horns so that they may see in the abyssal darkness. They could see all the prisoners still locked in their cages, but they seemed a bit more agitated than normal.

“Strange behavior, the prisoners are usually more…gloomy.” Luna analyzed.

“You have a point.” Celestia looks at all the cages before coming up with an analysis herself. “And where is Cerberus? He’s supposed to be on guard.”

From deeper into the depths of Tartarus, a faint noise is heard that catches the attention of the two sisters. It almost sounds like whimpering. They both follow the noise; it gets louder with each step. It definitely begins to sound more like a wounded dog whimpering in pain. Eventually, they came across the beast hound Cerberus, cowering back in one of the darkest corners of Tartarus. Both sisters gasp upon seeing the burnt features on all three of the massive canine’s heads.

“Oh my Faust! What has happened here!?” Exclaimed Luna. She tries taking a step towards Cerberus, but he yelps in fear and cowers again. Both princesses freeze in place, not wanting to torment the poor hellhound any more than necessary.

“Notice the wounds, sister?” Celestia asked while turning to look at Luna. “They resemble the burn you had the day the humans landed. When you were shot in the wing with plasma.”

“They do look similar. If Cerberus has been inflicted with the same burns, then he must really be hurt.” Luna looks back at Cerberus with a sympathetic look.

Celestia shifts her eyes behind her, looking specifically at the staircase that leads to the most secluded part of Tartarus. “Perhaps now is the time to investigate Tirek’s cage,” She spoke.

Luna nods in agreement as they both turn away from a still-whimpering Cerberus. They ascend the staircase, soon getting to the top. They look at the two cages being held in this part of Tartarus. Their eyes immediately fix on Tirek’s cage, seeing it empty with the front bars being slashed off. Celestia closes her eyes tight, one of her worst fears coming true.

“…Twilight was correct… Tirek has escaped…” She spoke softly. Luna steps closer to get a better view. She sees that the bars were cut with something extremely sharp.

“And it is obvious he did have some sort of assistance.” Luna frowned. Her ears perked up at the sound of crying. She looked to the second cage set next to Tirek’s and was met with a familiar face. Immediately, her eyes narrowed. “…Cozy Glow.”

In the light being emitted by Luna’s horn, she could see the filly curled in a ball, her mane a mess, and her eyes were red and sunken from her crying. Cozy Glow looks up at Princess Luna and her eyes widen. She scampers to the bars and slams her hooves against the bars.

“Finally…! Somepony came back…! Please don’t leave me alone in the dark again!” She exclaimed through her sniffles.

“What happened here, Cozy!? What has happened to Tirek!?” Luna demanded, stomping her front hoof for emphasis.

“I’ll tell you everything I saw!” Cozy sniffs hard again. “But please don’t make me be alone in the dark again!”

“You will do as we say regardless!” Luna sternly said. Celestia watches from afar. Despite the horrible crime Cozy Glow committed, trying to steal all the magic in Equestria, her heart breaks at the filly begging for mercy. Celestia takes a few steps forward and gently places a hoof on Luna’s shoulders.

“Easy now, Luna, show some compassion.” Celestia said to her sister.

“Compassion?” Luna asked in utter bewilderment. “After what she did?! She almost left the entire world without magic! Imagine if she was successful, and then the Covenant invaded!? We would be worse off than we already are!”

“I understand your anger and share your feelings. But look at her.” Celestia gestured to Cozy Glow. Luna looked back at her, her unkempt hair and look of pure fear on her face did make her feel a slight bit of sympathy. “She is only a filly, though that is no excuse, we shouldn’t be so cruel. Imagine what a mother would do.”

At that statement, Luna gives her sister an understanding look. She lets out a sad sigh and then slowly nods. Both Princesses look back at the young filly, now speaking in softer voices.

“Please, Cozy, if you tell us what happened here, I will see to it you are given a reduced sentence,” Celestia said gently.

“…Y-you promise?” Cozy’s lip begins to quiver.

“I promise. Just tell us what you saw here.” Celestia gives the filly a comforting smile. Cozy looks at the ground for a minute, soaking in Celestia’s words. She closes her eyes tightly and sniffs hard again.

“Okay… I’ll tell you.” She looks back up at the two princesses. “Tirek and I were just sitting here together when two large dragon-looking creatures approached him. They talked for a bit, saying they were there to retrieve him. They cut him out with a glowing blue sword…and then they just left me here! In the dark all by myself!”

“What did they talk about?” Asked Luna.

“They were talking about how they were ordered to come and retrieve him.” Cozy responded truthfully.

“Who ordered them? Did they speak of who gave them that order?” Celestia asked. Cozy nodded at her question.

“Yes, they said it was the master of their ship, or whatever…as well as somepony named… Umbra.” She responded.

“Umbra?” Luna raised an eyebrow. “I’m… unfamiliar with that name. Any more details, Cozy?”

“Y-Yeah… they called him King Umbra.” At Cozy’s response, both Princesses froze. Their eyes widened, and their blood ran cold.

“…King Sombra…” They both spoke in unison.

“Yeah! That’s his name! That’s what they said!” Cozy confirmed. Both Princesses look at each other with horrified expressions

“If Sombra has returned and has allied himself with the Covenant…” Luna began.

“Then that explains how they used magic to get into Tartarus!” Celestia finished.

“And if they used Sombra’s magic to get inside Tartarus, who knows what other kind of magic he has given them!?” Luna began to panic at this revelation.

“This changes everything, Sister. Our magic had given us a slight edge over the Covenant. If they have access to magic as well, specifically dark magic, then it may be us who are outmatched!” Celestia spoke with dread in her voice.

“We must deliver our findings to the Human Captain! If Sombra has indeed returned, our whole battle strategy needs to be modified!” Luna spoke urgently. The two were about to charge up a teleportation spell when they heard Cozy’s fearful shrieks.

“W-WAIT!!! Don’t leave me alone in the dark again! Please! I’m begging you!” She looked as if she was about to burst back into tears upon the thought of being left alone again. Celestia looks at the filly, she sighs hard and uses her magic to cast a small ball of solar light next to the filly’s cage.

“Here is some light, this will have to be enough until we get back.” Cozy gets as close as she can to the ball of light, feeling some warmth emanating from it, like it was a miniature sun. It was enough to calm her down for the time being.

“…Thank you, princess.” She sniffles again before laying down in her cage. At once, both princesses use their teleportation magic to exit Tartarus. The bowels of Tartarus quickly fall back into silence.

Twilight and Starlight step onboard the Ad Meliora and approach the bridge. Once they enter, they are shocked to see both Princesses are there, talking to the Captain and a few human scientists. Twilight quickens her pace and gets right up to them. When all three of them shift their gazes to her, she quickly salutes for the Captain and then bows before the princesses.

“Princess Twilight, I’m glad you are here.” The Captain spoke first.

“I came as soon as Starlight notified me. If I may ask, why are we all here?” Twilight asked while looking back at the Princesses.

“At first, I needed your input on something a few of our scientists were looking into. As for the other Princesses…” He turned and looked at them himself. “..Perhaps they should be the ones to fill you in.”

Twilight watches in confusion as both princesses turn to her. They both wore faces of shock and worry. Twilight felt a pit in her gut, knowing what the princesses had to say to her wasn’t going to be good.

“We received your report, my student. We took what you said very seriously and headed out for Tartarus to confirm what you said regarding Tirek.” Celestia spoke.

“When we arrived, the magical seal that kept the gates locked was in fact broken, and the gates were open.” Luna’s words were met with Twilight’s jaw gaping a little.

“How is that even possible? The Covenant doesn’t have magic. They can’t get in.” Twilight said with confirmation.

“It was hard for us to believe as well. But when we got to Tirek’s cage, Cozy confirmed that it was in fact the Covenant that broke him out. As to how they were able to get in…” Luna pauses and looks away, unable to finish.

“How did they get in?” Twilight’s voice became shaky, almost scared to know what the princess discovered.

“Now is a good time to show you why I initially called you here, Princess. What you will discover will answer your question.” Said Captain McCormick as he turned to one of his scientists.

The scientists hands over an energy sword hilt that was taken from Fillydelphia for study. Twilight recognizes the weapon, remembering her first time seeing such weapons in the Castle of the Two Sisters the day she met the humans. With a swift flick of the wrist, Captain McCormick ignites the blade. Instead of the brilliant blue glow, it showed a putrid green with a dark purple highlight and was nearly double in size.

“What in Equestria!?” Twilight was shocked to see such a weapon. She was instantly fascinated by its properties.

“As you know, these are not the standard qualities of an energy sword. With careful study, we concluded that it has been modified somehow. And we found out how.” McCormick spoke as he deactivated the sword. On the bottom of the hilt, he opened the battery hatch on the sword. “Have a look for yourself, princess.”

Twilight uses her magic to take hold of the hilt and examine the hilt inside the battery compartment. Where there should have been a plasma battery, she instead saw a sharp black crystal. Her eyes widen on what exactly this dark crystal is.

“…Mother of Celestia… Is that what I think it is? Is that a dark magic crystal?” She looked up and saw that she was surrounded by serious faces. She knew that all of this was true. “But… But how!? Dark Crystals are indestructible! They couldn’t have cut this from the crystals I made in Manehattan!”

“You are correct. So tell me, Princess Twilight, who else might have given the Covenant these crystals? I’ll give you a hint, it was given to them by the same individual who gave them the means to free Tirek with magic.” Luna spoke. At first Twilight’s mind was racing through all the different possibilities. Slowly, however, she began to realize who this individual was. The only pony this skilled in Dark Magic.”

“No… it can’t be… King Sombra!?” Twilight shouted while looking at the Princesses. “But how is he back!? We watched him get destroyed by the Crystal Heart!”

“We do not know yet how Sombra has returned. But he has indeed come back. Cozy Glow confirmed it herself.” Celestia spoke in a somber tone.

“This… This changes everything! This means the Covenant has access to magic! And… and…” Twilight’s heart sinks as she recalls a small detail she learned the day before. “By the sweet plains of the Elysian Fields! There is a Covenant Army heading for the Crystal Empire! Without magic, the Covenant can’t break through its shields! But if Sombra is with them… Oh no! Oh no no no!”

Twilight begins to panic at the all-too-real possibility of the Covenant invading the Crystal Empire. She looks to the captain and frantically begins to beg to him.

“Captain! We need to send a stronger force to aid the Crystal Empire! We cannot afford to lose the ‘Magic Capital of the World’ to the Covenant! If Sombra is with them, they will become stronger!” Twilight announced, earning a nod from the Captain.

“I’ll have Reagan alert all battle-ready marines at once!” The Captain spoke as he turned to face the center console of the ship. Twilight in response runs out to suit herself. As she does, Luna takes a few steps after her. She is quickly stopped when she feels a hoof on her withers. She turns to see the worried look on Celestia’s face.

“Sister… where are you going?” Asked Celestia.

“I’m going with them, Tia. I’m going to help aid the Crystal Empire.” Luna responded like it was common sense.

“Sister… you’re really going to go out there and fight?” Celestia was a bit surprised by Luna’s statement.

“Yes. Over a thousand years ago, you and I never hesitated to help out troops in battle. It’s time we get used to it again. When our subjects and home need it the most.” Luna sounded loud and brave, she was not afraid of any consequences to come. Celestia, seeing how Luna has already made up her mind, relents. She lets go and Luna rushes out of the bridge as well.

“…be safe Lulu…”

Ad Meliora’s medbay…

Everything was quiet in the medbay, many injured soldiers were lying down trying to rest. In the back, one soldier looking surprisingly fine laid in a cot. A doctor approaches him and the soldier weakly turns his head to look at the doctor.

“Well Private Ross, your X-rays came back. I’m just about to go over them now. Hopefully, you have not sustained any major injuries.” Said the doctor. The soldier only slightly nods as the Doctor opens the envelope containing the X-rays. The Doctor looks at them and then slowly begins to look more confused. The soldier's eyes then slowly begin to turn green. While the doctor is distracted by the X-ray, the soldier slowly begins to sit up in his cot.

“What in the world? You… your skeletal structure is deformed and… you have organs not present in the human body!? What in the—” The Doctor was cut off at the sight of the soldier rising to his feet. He looks up and sees that the soldier’s eyes are now glowing an evil green color. The doctor takes a few steps back, his eyes wide with fear. At that moment, alarms would begin blaring throughout the ship.

“All active military personnel get battle-suited on the double! Deployment ready when all set for combat!” Reagan’s voice rang out throughout the ship.

With the sirens blaring, the Soldier quickly pulls out the magnum he had been hiding. The Doctor looks back at him. Before he could protest, the Soldier fires, sending a bullet into the Doctor’s head. The doctor instantly slumps to the ground and lies lifeless. A green aura surrounds the marine and in his place stood the Changeling queen herself, Chrysalis. She uses her magic to holster her magnum as she approaches the body of the now-dead doctor.

“That was messier than I would have liked. With most of the ship leaving for a battle, they won’t discover you for a while.” Chrysalis chuckles as her green aura surrounds her again. She morphs into the shape of the doctor she just killed. With her new fingers, she takes the glasses off his face and places them on her own. She grabs his clipboards and then exits the medbay in her new disguise.

Author's Note

Hello everyone! k00l again with SCPEquis! We got another chapter done and things keep escalating! For me, I consider this the middle of the story, the first half is done! I love how this fic is turning out and I’m so happy you all are enjoying it so much. I’ve said this a thousand times, but I cannot thank SCPEquis enough for his help!

No problem. What’re friends for?

Next chapter, or two, will finally reveal what is in the Crystal Castle’s catacombs. What Forerunner secrets are being held on the Planet Equis? I’m excited for the reveal!