I must confess that when I saw the entrance plan to that mission I had a rather curious moment of deja vu. The protocal for breaking into the palace (my home, might I add) was one that required us to enter via a rather familiar door.

As previously noted by myself, there are a set of doors on the side of the Palace, which lead to a storage space filled with all sorts of odd and old things. The doors to this place also carry extra significance to me, however.

When I had first been changed into this form I bear now, I had been forced to hastily exit through a door. And this door had somehow brought me out here, in Zephyr Heights. Zephyr Heights, which was now my home. Somehow that door had acted as a gateway between realities and taken me to another world entirely. This was where my new life had started.'

As I stood in front of those doors, moments from my past suddenly flashed before my eyes.

"Oh my God. What has that thing done to me?"

What sort of mother would I be if I was unable to protect you two from the world out there? There's nothing to fear, because I'll be here for you. Always. That's a promise."

"Don't concern yourself with things that will never happen, Zephyrina."

"I'm a fraud. I'm not really your mother. I'm just a person who ended up as her. I'm not from Equestria, or from this world- I'm from another reality entirely."

It seemed the others had noticed I had frozen up, as Golden suddenly spoke. "Is everything OK, Merry?"

I looked at him, and quickly nodded. "Yes. Everything is fine. But we have a mission to complete."

I strode forwards and opened the door with one hoof, which slipped open surprisingly easily. To my amazement the room didn't seem to be locked, which was a surprise.

I stepped inside alongside my fellows, and as soon as we had entered the overwhelming smell of dust entered my nostrils. This room was simply filled with items that were no longer used or not regularly used, and had gradually been allowed to literally gather dust. Such a tragic end for these items, which had once seen use. How many generations of ponies had these items seen, and what stories could they tell if only they could speak?

As soon as we entered the building, however, we encountered a small patrol. They paused, and looked at us. "By Faust!" said one. "They have returned!"

I looked to my fellows, and then stepped forward, my wings by my side and my head held high. "Soldiers, your queen stands before you. If any of you would shoot me, here I am."

There was a moment's silence, and then one of them spoke.

"LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!"

Before long they were all saying it, and they joined our small band of soldiers as we went deeper into this palace. The place I had come to know as my home before having it all torn from me through no fault of my own.

Some of the art had been changed, for example. The wing we were in is the art gallery, but unfortunately a lot of the classics had been removed. Where a Clydesdale had once been was now a propaganda painting of Gulfstream, depicting him and a group of pegasus soldiers on a hill, bravely holding off unicorn and earth pony hordes, all of whom had been drawn to look hideous.

Sadly it seems even ponykind repeats humanity's worst mistakes.

Once we were further forward, the speakers in the palace suddenly fired up, and a familiar voice spoke over the radio.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to come home. Don't like what I did with the place?"

"What have you done?" I asked.

"Changed the decor, and did what was needed to preserve the Pegasus Empire. The things that, in your weakness, you were not capable of doing."

I was shocked at this. "In what day was killing and torturing your fellow pegasi preserve our nation? That city you bombed was a place of innocent ponies who did nothing to you!"

Gulfstream snorted. "Their mayor was a unicorn spy, so we had to send a message to them and their unicorn puppet masters. Besides, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. Isn't that right, Golden?"

What was he talking about? I looked at Golden, who seemed to be defiant. "I did what had to be done!"

"Keep telling yourself that," the General replied. "You know where I am. If you want me, come get me, but I should warn you that my dogs are in the yard."

I spoke into the radio again. "We shall come and get you. And once we have you captured, you shall go on trial. And your name shall live in these parts forever- as a byword for treason."

"Says the pony who confessed to spying for foreign powers," Gulfstream said. "Speeches will get you nowhere, Haven."

The radio cut out, and we pressed onwards into the throne room, which had been transformed into a fortress. The room now had two machine gun nests covering the entrances, and soldiers in dark uniforms and gas masks, combined with sinister helmets, were waiting on the other side. They looked at us, very menacingly.

And Gulfstream sat atop my throne, having helped himself to even more of the regalia. "So, you decided to come home," he said. "A pity you didn't read the eviction notice."

"It's over, Gulfstream!" Opwinden said. "As I speak we retake this city, and your regime is crumbling. Surrender now, and we will at least spare you."

"Nothing is over whilst I'm still breathing," Gulfstream said. "My stormtroopers will see to that. OPEN FIRE!"

And sure enough, they did. We scrambled for cover as the battle began, a set of machine guns laying down a hail of withering fire as we hid behind columns.

"We're pinned down!" shouted a soldier. "That fire is too great for us to advance against!"

We continued to hide as the weapons fire continued to fly downstream, causing untold damage to the building. If you look inside the main chamber now, you can still see some of the bullet holes above the central mantelpiece. Unfortunately, Gulfstream hadn't removed a priceless painting in that spot, so that was damaged. Their currently restoring it to remove the bullet holes.

A soldier tossed a grenade up, which at least caused the heavy fire to slow for a moment. A quick toss of a smoke grenade allowed us to move forward again, and we were soon closer to the enemy position, which was both good and bad.

I looked around me, and in the confusion noticed Golden was gone. Had we become separated in the confusion?

I had to focus my mind on not dying here and now. After all, the citizens needed their Queen, and my daughters needed their mother. It would do no good for them to be orphaned this day.

As we hid, the screens which Gulfstream had installed inside the room began to change. I could see them from where I was, and the results were nothing short of remarkable. Soldiers formerly allied to Gulfstream were breaking from their positions and joining us! The army had broken through on the road, and my fellows were still pushing forward, the last lines of the enemy defence beginning to crumble.

Our fire was starting to take a toll as the enemy defenders began to run out of ammunition, which was always a blessing in disguise.

"GRENADES!" shouted a soldier, and several primed grenades together and threw them forward. They exploded on impact, and with their positions cleared we charged forward into the position.

The General had pulled a pistol to fire on us, but had been brought down by one well aimed shot. The other soldiers began to sweep the bodies whilst myself and Opwinden approached the dying General.

He looked up at us, with an odd, sickening grin on his face. Why did he have that look on his face when he had little time to live?

I spoke. "General Gulfstream. Your little rebellion is over. The world is now a safer place because figures like you are gone. Peace has been restored, and justice is now an achievable goal."

Gulfstream coughed, blood landing on the ground, and he looked up again, having dropped his head temporarily. "The Pegasus Empire can survive the idiots who attempt to make treaties with our enemies and serve meals to those who try to oppress us... but ponies like you rot the soul of our great nation. I am prepared to die like a soldier, with honour."

I smiled. "Speeches will get you nowhere, General."

Unfortunately, it was only then we spotted what he was going. He raised a control to his hoof, which had a button on it. He then slammed down on it with all his remaining strength.

The fool had actually gone and done it.

Author's Note

Now back in the palace, Haven and company are closer than ever before to liberating the pegasi from this nightmare. But can they win the day?

Haven's speech is a reference to a line allegedly spoken by Napoleon Bonaparte on his return from exile in Elba. The soldiers who had found him immediately switched sides and within 100 days he was back on the French throne.

Part of the tone of this chapter is inspired by a painting by postmodern artist Kara Walker, who is known for juxtaposing unusual elements to create an unsettling atmosphere. The work in question, Insurrection, combines an Aaron Douglas inspired background with silhouetted figures intended to represent a slave rebellion. The point of the work is that dignified art forms are supressing and covering up the reality of life in the South.

Gulfstream's dying speech is based on one delivered in the RTS game Supreme Commander 2, given by one of the antagonists on his deathbed. Curiously, the G5 MLP world and the Supreme Commander setting have a lot in common, as both take place in a world where different racial groups live apart and fear one another.

But what hath Gulfstream wrought? Find out tomorrow!