Author's Note

Italicized dialogue = Atlantian
Normal dialogue = Equestrian

I hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always, point out any mistakes you see! :)

Aftermath

Cadence watched with a somber frown as the Equestrian soldiers helped the red crystal pony they had rescued search the snowy field for his comrade's identification tags. The wind howled around her, and the darkness from the clouds covering the sun above them made it difficult to find the small, silver tags.

Hot tears rolled down Cadence's face, freezing instantly in the frigid winds. She could still hear their terrified shouts and screams carried on the rushing wind. The memory of their strange weapons, firing loud bolts of light that zipped erratically in a desperate attempt to defeat the tyrannical king, remained seared into her mind.

She had witnessed it all from a distance, and it happened so quickly that by the time they arrived, they were met only with scattered chunks of flesh and the sight of Sombra preparing to finish off the final pony.

Cadence flinched as she felt a hoof rest on her shoulder, and she turned to see her husband staring at her with concerned eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his tone full of worry.

Cadence hesitated before suddenly embracing him in a tight hug. Shining Armor immediately reciprocated the embrace and soothingly rubbed her back once she started sobbing into his chest fluff.

“We- We couldn't s-save them…” she cried, a pang of unbearable guilt weighing on her heart. “We c-couldn't save them!”

“Cadence…” Shining Armor called, his worry growing as his wife shook uncontrollably.

Cadence's body trembled as she cried, her heart racing and tears streaming freely from her eyes. Their screams were deafening, cutting through the raging winds with ease. Oh, Celestia, they were screaming so much.

“Cadence, we got here as fast as we could,” Shining Armor said, trying his best to comfort her.

Cadence shook her head, unable to accept such a pathetic excuse. They should’ve been faster. She should’ve been faster. She was an alicorn for Celestia’s sake!

If she was faster, then maybe, just maybe, she would’ve been able to save a few more souls.

The crunch of approaching snow drew Cadence’s attention, and she turned to see the soldiers and the crystal pony, Red, regrouping at her position. Red held out a small pouch, placing two silver tags inside before gesturing for the others to do the same. The soldiers exchanged solemn glances with Red before only two stepped forward—both unicorns—and deposited only three tags into the pouch.

Red looked at the other soldiers expectantly, hoping for more tags, but nopony stepped forward. Disbelief washed over his face as he stared into the pouch. Out of thirty-one fallen soldiers, only five identification tags would be returned to the families of the deceased.

Red continued to stare at the pouch as if hoping more tags would magically appear inside, but no such thing happened. Eventually, he zipped it shut and attached it to his waist; his eyes, filled with defeat and helplessness, glazed over the others before settling on one of the strange metal boxes carelessly scattered across the area.

With a sigh, he pointed at Cadence, “Follow me,” he said before approaching the metal box with a bipedal gait.

Despite her sadness, Cadence felt a sense of curiosity overcome her as she watched Red walk.

She found it strange that he preferred walking on two legs instead of the natural four—not only because balancing and walking on two legs was incredibly difficult, but also because it was disadvantageous. Why walk on two legs when four could carry you farther, allow you to run faster, and help you navigate challenging terrain more effectively? Not to mention that you couldn’t buck with only two legs.

It was then that Cadence noticed Red’s hind legs were more… pronounced, resembling those of a minotaur rather than a pony. She wondered just why that was.

Red chuckled, snapping Cadence from her examination. “You like?” he asked with a small smirk.

Cadence’s face turned beet red, and she quickly looked away, hoping that Shining Armor didn’t see her “ogling” at him. Thankfully, she spotted him giving orders to some of the soldiers a few hooves away, oblivious to her rather embarrassing moment.

Looking back at Red, she gave him a sheepish smile. “S-Sorry,” she apologized.

He waved her off with a small smile that faded as his eyes shifted to the overturned metal box. Cadence examined it, noting the four large wheels with chains attached to its barrel and the numerous dents scarring its frame. Perhaps it was some kind of armored carriage. But if that were the case, who, or what, would be pulling it? Or could it operate using some form of crystal magic?

Cadence was pulled from her musing when Red suddenly knocked on her horn. Jolted, she turned to see him point at the carriage before doing a rotating gesture with his hooves.

“Can you uh… turn it?”

Deciding to ignore the rather disrespectful touch of her horn, Cadence nodded before engulfing the carriage in her magic. With some effort, Cadence lifted the heavy carriage off the ground before flipping it upright and releasing it. Landed with a loud thud, the frame of the carriage bounced slightly before coming to a rest.

Red approached one of the carriage doors and pulled it open, the door swinging wide to reveal the interior. It was a complete mess—devices and wires were strewn about, along with many other items whose functions Cadence couldn’t even begin to understand.

he hopped inside and sat down in the seat before searching through the mess for something.

“Come on, where are you..? Ah, there you are.”

He then held what appeared to be a silver key in his hoof before inserting it into a slot next to the circular protrusion in front of his seat. He turned it, and the carriage rumbled to life with a loud growl.

Surprised, Cadence jumped back, her wings shooting open and her horn flaring as she stared wide-eyed at the rumbling beast. She heard a loud snicker, and Cadence shifted her gaze to see Red looking at her with an amused face.

“Relax, it’s okay.”

Not entirely convinced, Cadence approached the metal beast with cautious, measured steps, as if it were a wild animal ready to pounce. Red watched with a mischievous smirk, waiting for the perfect moment as her curiosity gradually won over her hesitation, drawing her closer to the strange metal carriage.

Eventually, Cadence got close enough and reached out a hoof to touch the beast’s frame.

VROOOOM!

Cadence shrieked and cartoonishly jumped in surprise before landing on her back, her legs and wings flailing as she tried to get back to her hooves.

“Cadence!?”

Cadence’s eyes widened at the sound of her husband’s concerned voice, quickly followed by rushing hoofsteps. She sprang to her hooves, straightening herself out, and glared at the cackling crystal pony as he clutched his stomach.

Moments later, the metal carriage was surrounded by the Equestrian soldiers, their spears aimed at the rumbling beast. Shining Armor rushed to Cadence’s side, quickly scanning her for injuries.

“Cadence? Are you okay? What happened? I heard you scream,” he worriedly asked.

Cadence smiled at Shining Armor, “Y-Yeah, I’m okay.” She then turned her unimpressed gaze back toward the crystal pony. “It’s just that somepony thinks now’s a good time for a sense of humor.”

Red snickered, “Y’know, you guys are funny! You talk weirdly, some of you got wings, some of you look like narwhals, and you’re naked! Haha! Like, what the fuck is going on here man!? Are you all, like, perpetually stuck two steps away from an orgy!?” he said before devolving into another fit of giggles.

Cadence watched with a deadpan expression, which shifted to concern as Red continued to giggle for a moment longer before he laid his head against the seat, crossed his hooves, and began to shiver.

“So cold…” she heard him mutter.

Frowning at the words, Cadence ignited her horn and enveloped Red's strange clothing in her cyan aura. Red flinched, unsure of what she intended to do, but instead of harm, his clothing began to grow warm, as if a heater had been installed inside them.

Red glanced at Cadence with a grateful expression. "Thank you," he said, his voice sincere. "And sorry for scaring you," he quickly added, his words tumbling out in a soft, apologetic tone.

Cadence nodded and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by a staticky voice.

“Delta Convoy, this is Command, do you read me? Over.”

Cadence furrowed her eyes at the strange voice and peeked inside the metal carriage to see who said it. But Red was the only one inside.

“Delta Convoy, I say again, this is Command, do you read me? Over.”

Suddenly, Red dove into the mess of devices in a frantic attempt to locate the source of the voice. He threw many different objects behind him with reckless abandon in his search when he finally found what he needed.

Grabbing a battered radio box with his hooves, Red set it down next to him and followed a curled wire attached to it. The wire led to another smaller, squarish device with many small holes in it and a button on the side. Grabbing the smaller device, Red held down the button on its side before bringing it up to his mouth.

“Command, this is Delta Convoy, do you read me?” he said hastily, his breath shaky.

“I read you. We’ve been trying to hail you for the past five minutes, glad to see you all are doing okay. I’m assuming you’re about to approach the ‘Cloud Wall?’”

Red shook his head, “No, no, man, listen we- we’ve been attacked by- by something! It- it killed everyone! E-Everyone’s dead! It came out of nowhere!”

Once Red finished talking, there was a brief moment of silence, and he realized that he must have sounded like a lunatic, screaming his desperate words into the radio.

“Who am I speaking to?” they asked in a no-nonsense voice.

Red gulped nervously, “L-Lance Corporal Red Hot, s-sir.”

“Lance Corporal, I’m going to need you to put the convoy commander on the radio.”

“He… He’s dead, sir. Th-They’re all dead.”

Cadence listened intently as Red desperately spoke with somepony over the strange device. Although she couldn't fully understand the conversation, the snippets of words she caught and the tone of both ponies' voices were enough to convey a sense of urgency and paint a picture in her mind.

“What are they saying?” she heard Shining Armor ask beside her.

“Lance Corporal, can you clarify what you just said?” they asked, voice tinged with disbelief and doubt.

“What do you mean ‘clarify!?’ I just told you, everyone’s dead! D-E-A-D! Dead! Why do I need to fucking clarify that for you!?”

“Red is trying to tell his… superiors, I think, about what happened here, but I don’t think they believe him,” Cadence replied to Shining Armor.

“You watch your tone, Lance Corporal. I’m not the only one listening in on this anymore,” they said lowly, their voice carrying an air of intimidation.

Red gulped nervously, “Y-Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

Shining Armor cringed, “They don’t sound very happy,” he muttered, knowing that low tone all too well from his days in training.

“Listen carefully. I'm sending a QRF to pick you up, but before I do, I need to know exactly what our boys are walking into. We're still in uncharted territory, and you screaming about your convoy being attacked over the radio doesn't give me a clear picture. So, to the best of your ability, briefly explain your encounter with whatever this 'thing' is.”

“O-Okay,” Red muttered, taking a deep breath.

Red then recounted his encounter with King Sombra, starting at the radio check and Lead-1’s Humvee being thrown backward. He described Sombra’s pony-like shape, his glowing red horn, and his eerie green eyes. In vivid detail, he relayed how his squad leader was torn apart, the massacre that followed, and how he himself narrowly escaped death due to being saved by Cadence—all while the radio operator on the other end remained completely silent.

“...and then after the locals saved me, they scared off the black, uh, horned pony and have been with me ever since,” Red finished.

The operator on the other end remained silent for a long moment, and Red’s anxiety grew. Did they even believe a single word he said? Hell, maybe they had stopped listening a while ago, and he’d just been talking to static this entire time.

"Alright, Lance Corporal," the operator's voice finally crackled through the radio. "We've decided to take your rather... outlandish tale into serious consideration and have dispatched a QRF to your location. I hope you understand that if this turns out to be a simple hoax, you can kiss your military career goodbye. Now, is there anything else you'd like to report?"

Red spared a glance at Cadence and the gaggle of soldiers surrounding the Humvee.

“Uh, the locals are all, um, naked, sir…”

“...”

“...”

“...What?”