Seems my speech worked, as well as the other speeches, as we were seeing results.

Rather than fall into despair and fear, ponykind seemed to rally around despite (or more likely because of) the danger that faced all of us in those trying times. It is often said that in the face of a greater enemy that enemies will become allies and fight together. That is, after all, how Imperial Equestria got started all those millenia ago when Princess Platinum, General Hurricane, and Chancellor Puddinghead set aside their differences to deal with the ongoing Windigo problem. Admittedly that did turn friendship into a survival strategy, but I'm drifting off point I suspect.

Where was I? Ah, I remember now. All three tribes had agreed to set aside their differences and contribute to the war effort, and the results seemed to be paying off. Mom had succesfully mobilised the reserves and gotten the entire pegasus military stuck into the fight, with some early engagements against Chris' armies producing promising results- not bad considering we'd been busy fighting each other before that. Chris' armies curiously seemed to mostly be formed of human soldiers combined with weaponry he got from Celestia knows where, as well as a few robotic auxiliaries. Were the humans that had joined him on the crusade as fanatical as him in their hatred of G5? Given when I arrived here G5 had quite the considerable hatedom it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he'd recruited from those sorts of places.

We weren't the only ones getting into gear, though. The earth ponies had already had quite the rearmament campaign thanks to Sprout's efforts, and their military was well equipped to fight Chris. They had the benefit of large scale production on their side, and they launched into their part of the war well, succesfully fighting some holding actions. And that was with only a fraction of their forces, as they were yet to fully mobilise their troops.

Which leaves the unicorns. Although geographically isolated and a bit behind everypony else in terms of their technology, they had been able to join the fight to an extent. Although geographically very big, a surprising amount of their territory is empty fields, and as such any ponypower to call upon is probably a bit limited. Whoeverpony thought they'd be able to get moving quickly is a mystery to me.

Anyway, they'd had some success against Chris' ground forces, but the flying saucers he used as command craft were still proving to be a bit of a headache. Not to mention that tracking their movements was hard as they were employing heavy use of signal jammers to mask their movements. Still, the fact we were making progress was proof we would not relinquish our world without a fight. Chris had aimed to destroy us, but in a moment of supreme irony had only succeeded in bringing us back together to fight in our common interest.

Should have used that line in my speech. Bummer.

Things came to a head one evening, not long after the war had started. As was the custom, I was back in Zephyr Heights alongside mom and Pipp. As we were the Royal Family we were considered too valuable to be put anywhere near the front, and although mom and myself had experience of combat it was considered too risky. After all, if any of us died it would be quite the negative blow to morale, not to mention any combination of parent losing a child or child losing a parent or sibling losing a sibling or spouse losing a spouse.

I looked out over the main balcony and down upon the city that had become my home. Funny, that. I found myself reflecting on the fact this view isn't too different to the very first view I had of Zephyr Heights- and I don't mean through watching the film.

Even in those first terrifying moments of realising I was trapped in another world (the world of a kids movie, no less) I came to appreciate just how beautiful this place truly is, and I still held that in my heart. I looked down and saw life had, to a degree, resumed as normal after we deposed Gulfstream. The shops seemed to be reopened and some forms of normal life had come back, which was a sign of confidence.

I pushed onwards and trotted to the side a bit, looking at the sun as it dipped through the skies. Another day here nearly over, and my world was still ever changing.

"It never gets old, does it?"

I turned around to see dad looking out into the skyline. He looked very different now- amongst other things he'd have a manecut and his beard had been completely shaved off. He looked completely unrecognisable had I not seen the photos mom had been looking at.

"Yeah, pretty stunning stuff," I replied, with a weak smile.

Dad didn't seem to notice. "Even though I was born here, lived here, got married here, even had my kids here, I don't think I'll ever get bored of Zephyr Heights. It's a place I will always hold close to my heart. And even if the Pegasus Empire lasts for a further thousand years, ponies shall say this city was our finest achievement."

I must admit constructing a mountaintop city in the clouds was quite the impressive achievement, no matter how many ways you slice it. I sighed. "After all we've been through, it is nice to be back home- without other ponies hating us."

"That must have been awful to live through," dad said, his eyes sad. "But at least we are all here, reunited again, and ready to stand against the darkness. This must be what it was like to be there during the early days of our independence, not knowing who or what might move against us."

I nodded, my only reference point being the rather blatant propaganda I had seen in the city museum- a trip that now felt like it was thousands of years ago. "Hopefully we'll endure, like we did then."

"Your Royal Highnesses?" said a voice. "Your presence is hereby requested in the command centre."

"Well, let's not keep them waiting," dad said, and we set off towards the command centre.

To manage the war effort, part of the landscape underneath the palace had been converted into a series of command rooms and bunkers. The tunnels were cut deep into the rock on which Zephyr Heights stood, and as such were well suited to withstanding direct attack. They'd even been able to reuse the old airship hanger as a storage point for helicopters- I mean, those doors are huge.

We weaved our way through the tightly packed tunnels of the command centre, looking carefully at what was around us. I continued on my way as we weaved our way along, our guards providing security front and back as we marched into position. It was a bit cold and a tad dank, but that was preferable to the prison.

Oh, horseapples. I'm starting to sound like Pipp now.

Eventually, we arrived in one room which was bigger than all the others. The walls had been reinforced and lined with concrete, and all sorts of machinery had been installed. Ponies were manning consoles and running numbers, speaking into microphones to help coordinate other forces.

"Dispatch 23rd Ranger Regiment to reinforce. 47th Cloudsdale Skyjumpers en route now."

I looked around and my eyes were drawn to a central table. Set up in the middle was a circular table with a projections unit set up in the middle of said table. This was a map showing the entire continent, and it showed where pegasus military units were at the moment.

It also allowed us to keep something of an eye on Chris' movements, although the signal jamming he was employing made finding the exact locations of his command craft somewhat difficult.

"Your Royal Highnesses," said a figure, a General based on his uniform. "We are to report to you about the war effort."

"How goes it?" dad asked.

"Not great, not terrible, sir," the General replied. "So far Chris's armies are being held at bay, but that is only a small consolation. Our forces are holding their own, but they cannot hold on their own forever. At some point we will have to strike the killing blow."

"What's that?" I asked, nervously.

"Our plan is to deliver a strike team to Chris' flagship," the general said. "Tracking him down won't be easy, but we think if we can breach the craft, kill Chris, and then destroy it, it will bring his invasion to a stop. It's a risky move, but war is built on calculated gambles."

I nodded. Having played a lot of boardgames in my time I could certainly agree with that sentiment.

So, it seemed the plan was set up. Hopefully my friends would all do their bit as well.

Author's Note

Welcome to another chapter, where the war effort is underway. Some of the commentary in this chapter is based on common criticisms of G4, such as the nature of how the tribes became friends.

I also felt it fitting to bring the story back to the location it began (or as close as I could muster)-after all, many of the great works of fiction are circular narratives.

But what will happen next? Join me tomorrow for the final chapter of this block.