The Nameless War (or, the Circum-Equestria Conflict)

Chapters

Chapter 1
Rainbow Dash: Manoeuvres
Pinkie Pie: Unclear Paths
Back Home
Prologue

Chapter 1

With a tremendous yawn, Twilight greeted Celestia's rising sun. She rubbed her eyes with the sides of her hooves, focused her mind on her usual tasks at hand: write up a list for things to get done today. Let's see, first was to manage the returns; Fluttershy said she would be returning Alex's Amphibious Amphibian Almanac (complete with waterproof pages and cover) shortly. Second was to...actually, first was to check the windows. It felt surprisingly hot out.

"Spike?" Twilight called to her assistant. "Did you leave the heat on or some..." she paused as her magical senses picked up on something massive.

"Naw, Twilight, it's actually kinda cool..." Spike replied, only to see his friend frozen in place like a statue. "Twilight?" he asked, concerned. When Twilight's eyes and horn began to glow, he immediately recognized something was amiss.

"Uh oh..." he murmured. "Uhh, what to do, what to do..." Immediately remembering he was in a library, he plowed through the shelves without regard for cleanliness, searching desperately for a book on unicorn biology. Twilight, meanwhile, was suspended in midair by her magic, eyes and horn glowing with her mouth in a half open state of shock.

Spike heard the door open quickly and Fluttershy burst through the doors with her saddlebags. Unceremoniously throwing them to the floor, she raced for the kitchen. Spike barely had the time to ask what she was doing; by the time she came back, she had a facecloth soaked in water and pressed it against Twilight's head.

"Feeling better, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked as Spike took a breath of relief. He began to pick up the mess he made in his panic, as well as Fluttershy's rented copy of amphibian almanac.

"Yeah. Not sure what came over me this morning...it felt like a huge surge of magical power. Really big." Twilight answered, tired and confused. "Thanks again, Fluttershy, Spike."

"Oh, it was really no problem," she responded. "I'm just glad I was close by when your magic started going off like that. I could even hear it all the way from outside."

"Maybe we should see Princess Celestia," Spike added.

"That might be a good idea, Spike." Twilight replied. "Celestia and Luna might have an idea as to what's going on, being the sun and moon after all."

A knock on the door drew the attention of the threesome.

"I'll get it," Spike offered. The door swung open with a wooden creak. Pinkie Pie bounded in happily as ever, followed by Rarity, who had a pair of saddlebags on her back.

"Twilight, you really should take a look at this." Rarity said.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked meekly as Rarity used her magic to rummage around in her bags.

"Aha!" Rarity proclaimed triumphantly. "I present to you the greatest, most useful little thing I found!"

"I found it! I found it first!" a squeaky hyperactive voice replied.

"You...oh, very well, Pinkie. Little thing I -USED-. I sensed great magic coming from it, but I never thought that this little thing could do...ANYTHING!"

Twilight stared at the tiny object skeptically.

"Oh, Rarity. There is no magic that..." Twilight began, but her voice trailed off as her magical talents began to analyze it. She used her horn to lift and examine the object: a simple, golden ballpoint pen.

"Where did you find this?" Twilight asked seriously.

"It was on the ground, near the Everfree Forest!" the hyperactive one - Pinkie - replied. "I was on my way there this morning to see if I could throw a party in the Forest because a Forest Party was never done or thought of before and since we went in and came out fine it would probably be safe for a few more - "

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked, her patience beginning to wear thin. "Where did you find this?"

"I was just getting to that! It was on the ground, near the Everfree -"

"Pinkie!" Twilight repeated.

"Okay, okay, I just found it there! It looked shiny and I thought it'd be great if it were a party decoration or something, but then..."

"But then I found her," Rarity interrupted.

"What were you doing near the Everfree Forest, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"I had an extra order of dresses to build, so I made it a point to wake up early." Rarity explained. "If you were awake early, Twilight, you probably would have felt it too. Some strange magic coming...from that thing."

"It's unlike anything I've ever seen...or sensed." Twilight said, more to herself than to anyone else. "Wait - you said you USED it."

"Why yes," Rarity said. "I found that if I drew anything in the air with it, then clicked the button at the top - it would make whatever I told it to! I just drew a picture of some of those ultra rare baby blue sapphires, clicked it and - there they were! Try it yourself."

Spike picked up the small, seemingly innocuous object. As soon as he applied pressure to the pen, as though he were holding a quill, the blank ink started flowing into the air - and sticking to it - as though it were paper. He drew a large diamond shape in the air, with all the angles to make it as tasty as possible. A single click at the top of the pen made the drawn outline slowly fill itself in, turning into a massive diamond. With a smile, he left the pen on the floor and took the large gem upstairs.

"No sort of magic can create objects from thin air," Twilight said. "The most I can think of is changing what's already there - like a rock into a hat."

Twilight's horn glowed as she floated the pen from where Spike left it, flipping it over repeatedly as she examined it.

"This is something that's FAR beyond me," she continued while a loud burping noise was heard elsewhere. "we'll have to go to Princess Celestia with this...object. And don't tell anypony - I don't want this sort of power falling into the wrong hands!"

"Looks like the Princess wants to see you too," Spike returned, a scroll in his hand. "says here that there's an urgent matter in Canterlot. She wants all six elements to be there as soon as they can!"

"We're still missing Applejack and Rainbow Dash." Twilight said. "Let's meet up here at the library so I can...try to teleport us there. Fluttershy, see if you can find Rainbow Dash."

"I think I saw her sleeping on a huge cloud just outside Ponyville." Fluttershy noted. "I've never seen a cloud that big; I wonder where it came from."

The four friends nodded as the group split. None of them, however, noticed a suspicious fluttering of wings and a silver feather drop from the window.

===

Silence was no stranger at all in Celestia's court. With renewed interest in the Elements of Harmony with their rediscovery, ponies everywhere had recently redoubled their efforts into embodying the concepts they represented.

Equestria was safe. A great vision of peace, prosperity, cooperation, and friendship made reality, through the efforts of two princesses and six subjects. War was unknown. Poverty was a thing of the past. Disease was on a sharp decline. Peace and stability reigned.

It came as a complete surprise, therefore, when the royal guards entered the palace, bowed, and presented some startling news.

"We have made contact with a new species, your majesty."

Celestia's surprise didn't penetrate her calm, controlled exterior.

"One of them has requested an audience with you."

Celestia closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts for a moment.

"Send him in." came the order.

The doors at the end of the hall parted for two bipedal, almost hairless creatures, elegantly clothed. He walked with an air of confidence that rivalled the Element of Loyalty. His dark brown clothing exuded an element of sternness, fairness, and stability, though his jaded, scarred face suggested he had seen more violence than any of her subjects have seen in their lifetimes. His long jacket stretched to his knees like a cape, with red and brown highlights complementing his slightly tanned skin.

Reaching the foot of the throne, he knelt respectfully. Despite always being one for occasional fun and games - perhaps moreso than she should as a monarch - Celestia knew that this was not the time for it.

"I do not recognize you or your kind from anywhere in this world," Celestia said curiously, remaining as straightforward and honest as she could. "and you have an air of magic around you - magic not of this world."

"That is correct, m'ilady." he replied with a deep, gravelly voice.

"Then please introduce yourself and the rest of your kind." Celestia said.

The man stood, ignoring the curious yet stern and wary gazes of the Royal Guards.

"I am Ambassador Cadian Sturnn of the Kingdom of Endale. I am a human, sent here to this world to open a dialogue with the governing body. The Kingdom of Endale does not exist within this universe; we and our technologically-minded allies explore universes in much the same way you survey and explore land."

"You know much about our land for a newcomer," Celestia said.

"We...have been observing your land remotely for some time." Cadian confessed. "In our travels, we have learned to be wary of hostile...entities."

Celestia closed her eyes, tapping into what little power she retained from the Elements. Cadian seemed to flinch. The Elements confirmed her initial thought.

"You are straightforward and honest, Cadian. You have a kind heart, and are deeply loyal to your country and your ideals. Although I sense you haven't truly felt joyful in a very long time, you are both generous and powerful in terms of your magic." Celestia opened her eyes and eyed him sharply.

"However, you are hiding something from me."

Cadian sighed deeply. "My apologies, m'ilady, for I had wished to discuss our problems at a later date." he paused, gathering his words. "Before we contacted you, we had an...accident."

"Of what nature?"

"Our world is unfortunately not at all like yours. There is poverty. There is suffering. There is chaos; good men fighting for bad ideals. But we - the Kingdom of Endale and the Federal Republic of Anadia - have banded together as a coalition.

Combining our magical prowess with the Federal Republic of Anadia's penchant for technology, we created a device, disguised as a simple writing utensil, that can create almost anything its wielder wishes. However, before we could deploy it, some men infiltrated the building and attempted to steal it and use its power for themselves. In the chase, however, the device - a simple pen - was lost in another universe. We must retrieve this item before someone from my world - or somepony from yours - uses it for evil."

"Do you believe someone from your world will use this pen for evil?"

"In my world, there are creatures known as silver falcons - we usually call them 'silvers' - that are the epitome of evil. They were created from Hell itself as literal biological weapons. We tried to use hunters to eliminate them, but they captured one of our weapons and now field highly advanced technology, elemental magic, and the birds' own natural abilities.

These birds have stood up to the powers of two superpowers for almost a year now. We do not wish to have your people - er, ponies - suffer from our mistakes."

"And you believe these silver birds are in Equestria somewhere?"

"They are here. We confirmed it."

Celestia took a deep breath, again consulting the Elements for guidance in this new and unprecedented scenario.

"What is your request?" Celestia asked.

"The Endalian/Anadian Coalition humbly requests your permission to deploy Coalition surveying and observation equipment and the relevant personnel across Equestria." Cadian replied briskly but politely. "Our purpose will be twofold: to retrieve the pen, and to assist the Equestrian military in defence against the silvers in any way we can."

Celestia consulted the elements silently, and to her surprise, she didn't sense anything amiss from Cadian. Yet something about this felt...off. Perhaps it's because she is no longer connected to the elements. Still, if there was a threat to Equestria, Celestia would want them close.

"I must consult with the Elements before I make a decision. However, in the meantime, you have my authorization to establish a small base of operations - numbering no more than fifty total - within a close proximity to the portal you have established." Celestia did a quick scan of the man's mind to retrieve a sense of scale. "Three hundred metres around your portal. You may make your landing at Corralero Beach."

"Thank you, your majesty." Cadian bowed again. The guards escorted him out of the hall, though as soon as he exited the hall, he disappeared in a flash.

Celestia turned to the Captain of the Guard - none other than Shining Armour, Twilight Sparkle's older brother.

"Rally your forces and head for Corralero Beach. I want your forces ready, Captain. Just in case." Celestia took a deep breath.

"Are you alright, Princess?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Celestia replied, visibly more relaxed now that Cadian is gone. "It's just been so long since I've needed to act as a representative of Equestria to another party." Her attention turned to the stained glass window depicting major events of Equestria. "Even during Discord's reign and the Nightmare Moon debacle, I've always been representing Equestria's best interests. Or so I hope."

Shining looked shocked. "Princess, I've known you for most of my life. Never before have I seen you so unsure of yourself."

"It's an entirely new situation." Celestia explained. "Never before have any of the other species in Equestria requested a considerable presence in Equestria before." her attention turned to the door that the ambassador just passed through. "Now a nearly completely unknown species - and not one but two large nations - have requested...this."

"Fear not, m'ilady, for we are prepared for anything, and are ready to stand by you to the end." Shining swallowed a lump in his throat, and Celestia knew that he had his own uncertainties.

"I'm not concerned about what the two nations can do to Equestria. Princess Luna and I are more than capable of locking the door and stopping them from coming back; if Twilight Sparkle were here, sealing the gate between worlds is a non-issue."

The Captain turned his attention to the Princess herself. "Then if you're not concerned for your land or your subjects, may I ask why you are worried?"

Celestia sank into her throne, her head nestled between her forelegs. The Captain stared. The last time she did this was just prior to the Summer Sun Celebration; when Princess Luna was due to return home.

"I'm worried I'm losing it, Shining." Celestia murmured warily. "Losing my touch on matters that really concern Equestria." she closed her eyes and continued. "I'm worried I'm no longer fit for Equestria in these changing times. I can't help but feel I'm not doing the right thing. Am I too trusting? Too naieve?"

Shining walked up to the side of the throne to address his charge directly. "Princess, we've seen many things together. We saw you during the Nightmare Moon crisis, Discord's second coming...I was even on the front lines with you when the changelings crashed my wedding...even though I wasn't myself," he quietly added. "I will always stand by your side, Celestia, for I believe - no, I know - that you are the best thing for Equestria, and no amount of uncertainty or self-doubt from you will change that. And I strongly believe you made a proper compromise; to please him as much as you could without sacrificing your own values or the safety of Equestria. You truly are the rightful ruler."

Celestia rose gently from her wallowing. "My own Element of Loyalty," she murmured, smiling.

"Worry not, Princess. We will get through this, because we will get through this together." He smiled, and Celestia returned it warmly. "Now there is one other issue I just thought of, regarding the ambassador, then we may drop the subject if you wish. What if they decide to make a landing somewhere else?"

Celestia paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts and remembering what exactly Cadian requested. "I highly doubt that the ambassador would go against his word. I sensed no deception from him, no hostile intent or ulterior motive."

When Celestia's thoughts started to waver toward the ambassador and whether she did the right thing, she stomped them flat.

"Your orders are to rally the guard and head for the beach. I will keep an eye on them from here and will intervene if they break the rules."

Shining bowed and turned to leave.

"And Shining?" Celestia called.

"Hm?"

"Thank you. And be safe." Celestia added.

Shining smiled confidently and marched out of the room as Celestia remembered something else.

"I just hope Twilight gets here soon..."

===

It had been a while since Twilight Sparkle had set foot in Canterlot. "I hope we'll see my brother," she said to the others. "I need to ask him how things have been going with Cadence."

"I'm really concerned for Equestria though," Applejack said softly. "Not a lot of things can set off your magic like that, and even fewer can set off the magic of nearly every unicorn in Ponyville. Don't mean to cut y'off from family, but you'll have time to talk to your brother later."

"That's true," Twilight conceded. She used her magic on the large doors leading to Celestia's throne, opening the two and walking in. Despite having been here several times before, she could still sense the awe of her friends. She didn't feel such awe; Canterlot may not be her home anymore, but it was still a major part of her life.

The six friends bowed respectfully to Celestia, who rose. "I thank you all for coming," she said gratefully. "Equestria has need of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony once again."

"Does that have something to do with the magic that happened this morning?" Twilight asked.

"What've we got this time?" Rainbow Dash asked confidently, already itching for a fight. "Creeps from Tartarus? Changelings again? Discord?"

"Yes, and no." Celestia answered both questions simultaneously. "This task requires far more...tact." Celestia said, to which Rarity perked up. Rainbow Dash did her best to hide her disappointment.

"What sort of tact, your majesty?" Rarity asked curiously.

Celestia swiftly brought the six up to speed with the humans. "Your task as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony is twofold: firstly, to watch over the humans and ensure they do not pose a threat to Equestria. Secondly, I sense there is more to this than what the Ambassador has said. I don't believe he's lying, but he may not know the entire story either. Keep the peace. And if you locate this superweapon Cadian has mentioned, bring it to me immediately. I will keep it secure until we're sure what to do with it."

"That reminds me, Princess." Twilight used her magic and produced the pen. "We found this in the Everfree Forest. Its magical signature matches nothing I know about. It's extremely powerful, too..." Celestia's magic took over as she analytically flipped the pen around.

"I recognize this magical signature," Celestia noted. "It's the same as the Ambassador. I believe this is the superweapon he was looking for."

"Whoa - you mean all this time we were carrying around a SUPERWEAPON?" Rainbow Dash asked as the others traded astonished glances.

"That could have ended a lot worse than it had," Rarity added. "It's a good thing we came here."

Celestia nodded in agreement, taking the pen and setting it down on her throne. "I'll wake Princess Luna; eight of us will split into two teams. One will head for Corralero Beach; the other will head back to Ponyville."

"Ponyville?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "What for?"

"To get the other side of the story," Celestia replied. "What set off your magic this morning was a dimensional gate just above Ponyville. A large flying ship has appeared in its skies, and it is commanded by the silver birds Cadian spoke of. It has been disguised as a very large cloud."

"I was sleeping on that cloud!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You mean I was sleeping on a WARSHIP?"

When Celestia nodded, Rainbow Dash slumped to the ground. "First I was sleeping on something that could kill me, then I was carrying around a superweapon and not knowing it. What's up with today?!"

"Princess," Twilight Sparkle asked. "You said eight of us. Does that mean...?"

"That's correct," Celestia said. "I'm coming with you."

===

Whenever the Royal Guard was deployed, usually it meant there was some sort of catastrophe in the area. It was pretty rare that they were posted both at a beach and be on alert. Shining Armour surveyed the area, observing the strange bipeds using large vehicles to move supplies and materials in and out of a large purple portal that had formed on the beach. His other troops were watching the perimeter for outside intrusion; Shining felt pretty confident that he could manage the humans.

"Forty seven," he murmured to himself. "Forty seven humans on the beach." he breathed.

He didn't need to turn around to know that one of his guards was standing right behind him. "Sir, we have relief." he saluted.

Shining's suspicions went up immediately. "I didn't order any relief," he said.

"Am I not allowed to visit my BBBFF?"

He turned around to the sight of a rushing violet mare hugging the life out of him. "Twily, how'd you know I was..." his voice trailed off as he saw the rest of her entourage. "Oh. Your majesty?" he asked curiously.

"That's correct," Celestia said.

"Hold on, I didn't order any relief. Why are you here?"

"You're suspicious I'm a changeling. Don't worry, I'm not; you were married two weeks ago to Princess Cadence. Yesterday you went out shopping for housewarming gifts; you and Cadence got into a disagreement about the sofa."

Shining nodded in acknowledgement. "Sounds right, though I don't see why Cadence mentioned the sofa to you." he turned to Twilight.

"I know Cadence secretly calls you -"

"Yep, that's my sister alright," Shining flushed.

"We're just here to give you a hand, BBBFF." Twilight said.

"Besides," Pinkie bounded happily. "Your friends need some cheering up! Guard duty can get boring after all!"

"Pinkie Pie," Rarity smiled. "With you around, nothing is boring."

===

Applejack couldn't understand how pegasi managed it. Flying through the air was scary. A wrong move and they could go crashing into a mountain! Another and she'd be falling...falling...through the clouds...

She shuddered at the thought.

"Please relax, Applejack." Princess Luna said. "You're in good hooves. If you fall, you have two pegasi and one Goddess of the Night to catch you."

"Yeah, you're starting to make ME nervous," Rainbow Dash quipped.

"Makin' you nervous ain't that hard, RD." Applejack retorted.

"Whatever," Rainbow Dash said dismissively. "There's the cloud. Let's knock and see if anypony's home."

Sure enough, the massive cloud was the size of a thunderstorm. It was not, however, producing any rain.

"You're SURE the cloudwalking spell will work on me, right?" Applejack asked nervously.

"You've done this before! It's just a hop, a skip, and a jump!" Rainbow Dash mimicked Pinkie Pie disturbingly well.

"Don't make me feel any better about it," Applejack muttered.

"So we know that there are falcons inside," Rainbow Dash said as she, Luna, Applejack, and Fluttershy landed on top of the massive cloud. "Maybe Fluttershy should go first. She does have a thing with animals."

"Oooohhhhhhhhhhhh, I don't know..."

"They're falcons, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You had one on your hooves before, remember?"

"They're not falcons from another world," Fluttershy replied timidly.

"Eh, whatever. I'll go first then." Rainbow Dash confidently stepped forward and knocked at the base of the cloud. "HEY! ANYPONY HOME????"

No response.

"Rainbow, doncha think you should be more polite? At least say 'ello!" Applejack berated her.

"Allow me," Princess Luna stepped forward. "I AM PRINCESS LUNA, CO-RULER OF THIS DOMAIN. WE ASK THAT YOU REVEAL YOURSELVES FOR NEGOTIATION!"

A few seconds passed before a sudden wind whipped up. It almost sent Applejack flying off the side of the cloud; she quickly climbed on Luna's back as the cloud began to dissipate amidst the wind. First, there was nothing but air, but slowly a large metallic shape revealed itself. It was far smaller than the cloud it was using to hide in, but it was long, narrow, and had multiple windows. The quartet stood on the deck of the ship, looking up at what was probably its control tower. In between the control towers were two huge cannons that stretched out past them towards the ship's bow.

Even Luna could barely contain her awe, but she did so remarkably well. Applejack was quite content to be standing on solid ground (even though it was in fact an airship) again.

A tiny, bowlike speck appeared on their left side. It emerged from the ship's side and closed in rapidly. A tiny bird, not much larger than a crow, landed at the four's feet. He was followed by two others.

The eldest, a bird with slate grey feathers, spoke first.

"I am Skymaster Scott of the SFWS Radiance," he introduced. "Please believe me when I say we have no hostile intent; we aren't here to raid or attack you or anything."

"That's not what the Princess was told," Rainbow Dash retorted.

Scott let out a sigh and buried his beak in his chest feathers. "I suppose she was told the opposite; that the silver falcons are a threat to Equestria. That we're here to destroy everything."

"And lemme guess; you're not." Applejack said skeptically.

"No!" Scott screeched, taking the group aback. "I mean...no. No, we're not. We're here for one thing; a superweapon that was lost here. The humans want to use it to destroy us."

"Why?" Luna asked.

Scott opened his beak to start, but closed it quickly. "It's a long story. But I thank you all for giving us a chance to explain ourselves. I'd invite you in our ship, but it only accomodates those our size."

"I think we should go in," Fluttershy said. "These birds don't seem to be as bad as we've heard."

"And you're definately not hiding anything, Scott." Applejack added. "I know a liar when I see one, and you're not one."

"I believe I'll trust the Element of Honesty." Luna agreed. "Shrinking us to a proper size should be trivial..."

"You know," Rainbow added as the four shrank down. "I'unno about the birds, but I think the ship's pretty cool..."

===

"...and so we can cast magic with just about anything," Cadian said to Twilight. "Ordinary objects can be used to cast spells...once I heard a story..."

Celestia learned to never doubt Pinkie Pie's ability to throw parties ever again. Not only were they a great de-stresser for the guards posted on high alert, but it was also a great ice breaker for them to learn about the society on the other side of the gate.

"Your combination of magic and technology is truly intriguing," Twilight said, and even Celestia nodded gently in agreement. "Most of the stories I've read have magic and technology opposing each other. But you've made allies with them!"

"We have much to learn from each other," Cadian agreed. "Together we are stronger than if we were alone."

Twilight glanced over to Pinkie Pie, who was playing "pin the tail on the pony". "Hey! You're not supposed to use magic to cheat!"

Cadian gave a quiet chuckle to himself, watching Pinkie Pie do cartwheels for reasons he couldn't fathom. He put down his glass of punch. "I wish that our world was like yours." he said wistfully. "No fightin', no wars. Just peace."

"You've fought in wars? I thought you were an ambassador." Twilight asked.

"That I am, but I'm also a soldier. Explorin' new universes is fun and all but every now and then we get some bad guys. Y'need both military and diplomatic experience t'ave my job."

"It must be terrible."

"It can be. But sometimes conflict can be a good thing." Cadian countered.

"I really don't see how fighting and conflict can be..."

"Radar contact!" cried a human in a truck. "Silver falcon warship, west-northwest!"

Twilight looked to the sky to find a giant propeller and jet propelled airship descend on the group from beyond any of their sight. It was an awe-inspiring sight - it was at least the size of a sea-faring ship. None of them could tell who fired first; all they could see now was the chaos that reigned as the birds in their ship and the humans in their trucks exchanged fire.

It seemed even Celestia was frozen, with none of them having seen such destruction and chaos before. Twilight could see Pinkie Pie and Rarity duck for cover underneath tables, covering their ears as much as they could from the deafening sound of gunfire.

"Get the science and surveying crews out of here!" Cadian screamed, though Twilight paid him no attention. "Land the heavy equipment! Get the 5th in here!"

The formerly crystal clear beach was now riddled with scorch marks, craters, and blood. None of them were strangers to blood, Twilight having received more than her fair share of cuts and bruises, but seeing so much of it...

"Sister!" Luna's voice cried out to Celestia, snapping Twilight out of her reverie. "Cadian was wrong about the silver falcons! They aren't anywhere near as evil as he said they were."

"Then he lied to us?"

"No," Luna replied. "The situation is more complicated than that. But we have to do something."

"Luna." Celestia said, conviction in her voice. "With me."

Celestia closed her eyes to focus her magic, while Luna did the same. She opened her wings, fanning them out and creating a blinding light, far brighter than the sun.

"STOP."

At Celestia's command, the entire battle froze. Fighter planes hung in midair, as though suspended from a giant mobile, with their bullets and laser beams frozen just seconds away from their targets. Twilight stared in awe at the diaorama.

"What's...going on?" Cadian stood to his feet and dusted off his pants.

"Stop the fighting, Ambassador." Celestia ordered in a tone that brokered no negotiation.

"My orders are to eliminate - "

"You are on my land, and as Princess of Equestria I order you to stop this conflict."

Cadian sighed. "Over here." He motioned for the group to another vehicle with a huge radar dish. A bomb was suspended in midair just metres above it. He sighed, and Twilight could sense he thought stopping the fighting would be futile. She mentally berated him for thinking that anything was impossible. Cadian pushed a button and began transmitting.

"This is Ambassador Cadian Sturnn, calling the Assembly of Nations."

Twilight could barely hear the response. "Ambassador Sturnn, I hope your situation is better than ours."

"What's your situation?" he asked.

"The Assembly of Nations is under attack by a riot," came the response. "Someone let slip that the silver falcons have escaped to Equestria. We're barely..."

There was a scuffle on the other end of the line as the microphone switched hands. "Who's this?" came a younger, different voice that was filled with anger.

"Ambassador Cadian Sturnn, now please put the controller back on the..."

"You listen to me and you listen to me good," Twilight was taken aback by the harsh tone. "You kill those birds. You kill them all!"

There were shouts of agreement on the other side of the line. Not even Celestia herself could contain her surprise.

"We may have the ability to find a peaceful sol..."

"KILL 'EM ALL!"

"YEAH!"

"KILL THE BIRDS! KILL THE BIRDS!" the crowd on the opposite side began chanting. Cadian could tolerate no more, and terminated the link.

"They...they don't care," Celestia murmured to herself. "They don't care at all." Twilight looked up and saw that the bomb was starting to fall again. Celestia's spell was wearing off.

"Sister..." Luna started, but Celestia didn't let her finish.

"So much hatred...I could feel it...so much..." Celestia crumpled to the ground as the spell wore off. The bomb landed directly on top of the truck; Twilight quickly raised the strongest shield she could, deflecting the blast. The planes moved again, and the fight began to worsen and grow.

"Princess, we have to get out of here," Shining Armour offered his hoof to support his charge, but Celestia seemed too shocked to accept even that. "Not even the best of my guard can handle something like this; we have to leave! Now!" Shining Armour raced to the top of a hill, where he charged and released a beam of red light into the sky. Twilight recognized it as the guard's retreat signal.

Twilight barely saw it happen; all she heard was a loud whistling and a giant, unknown piece of flaming debris. She saw her brother, standing proud and tall, despite the look of defeat on his face as he held the beam. All she saw was the debris engulf her brother, landing directly on top of him.

Her friends never heard her scream like she did just then. She could barely focus her magic; she hoofed through the debris, panic in her mind, finding her brother buried under the rubble. "Shining! Shining, wake up! This isn't funny!"

Shining didn't move.

"Shining! Come on, Shining!" Twilight cried desperately, tears flowing freely. She banged her right hoof thrice against the metal debris that had taken her brother's life before screaming to the skies with an amount of anguish that nopony had heard before. Twilight fell onto her back, and rolled onto her side. Rainbow Dash, followed by Applejack and the others, all held Twilight close as she cried like never before.

Celestia could stand no more. She snapped out of her trance and entered a different one. She opened her wings, silhouetted perfectly against the bright, Equestrian afternoon sun. As she opened her wings, however, the sun began to distort and change from its usual friendly yellow to an angry, unnatural red.

"Celestia...?" Luna focused her magic and reached out to her sister, only to have an invisible force knock her backwards onto the sand.

"I'll put things back," Celestia's voice echoed strangely. "I'll put things back to the way they were. I'm strong. I'm Equestria's ruler. They do not belong here."

She reached out a hoof to a silver falcon fighter plane, her horn glowing. The plane suddenly stopped, as though an invisible hand had grabbed it by the tail. Its engines flared in a desperate attempt to escape, but it didn't move. It then began to crumple up, like a piece of paper. The groaning metal made an unforgettable, terrible sound in Twilight's ears. The plane compressed itself more and more until it was a giant metal ball of scrap. A flare of magic later, Celestia hurled the ball of metal - along with its pilot, no doubt - straight into one of the trucks that consisted of the human encampment. Both were consumed in a gigantic fireball.

"Sister! Stop this! This isn't - "

Once again, Luna was roughly pushed away by an unseen force. She landed roughly on her side, and coughed up sand as she rose to her feet. "This...this can be..." Luna froze. "This...my...the elements. Twilight, the Elements of Harmony!" Luna focused her own magic. A flash of light later, a familiar looking container appeared. Luna opened it. Sure enough, the Elements were inside.

Celestia seemed to have heard what was going on, however, and just before Twilight could grab the Element of Magic, the box and its contents flew out to Celestia. She snapped the box shut as the box began to transform. "Harmony doesn't work here," Celestia said. "Harmony doesn't even exist here. There is only Conflict."

"The Elements...!" Twilight gasped. She felt a cold shiver, and could somehow sense that her Element was no longer in that box. Whatever was in there was...something different now.

"Now to bring this to an end," Celestia said. Her horn glowed again, and another object appeared at her side: a small, golden one.

"The superweapon..." Luna breathed. "No!" Luna charged, full gallop, at Celestia. Faster than Twilight had seen anyone draw, Celestia had materialized a large shield steel that she rebuffed Luna's attack with.

The pen floated in the air, seemingly with a mind of its own. Faster than Twilight could blink, Celestia had drawn in the air. The ink floated like a giant spider web, on the ground, in the air, and on the ocean. Twilight had never seen anypony draw so fast, so skillfully, and in three dimensions. In another blink of an eye, the pen returned to its controller. It flipped on its side, and its button was depressed with a simple "click". Instantaneously, the seemingly incoherent mess of ink that the pen had drawn solidified into the forms of tanks, fighter planes, and warships - all with an angry red sun insignia with razor sharp, needle-like rays for points.

At Celestia's command, her newly formed army, navy, and air force all trained their guns at Princess Luna and the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

The seven backed up against each other.

"Luna...!" Twilight said urgently.

Luna's courage won out over her fear, and she stared down Celestia's army, determined. She closed her eyes and focused her magic. In a flash of light, all the warships, planes, falcons, humans, and ponies had vanished.

===

Celestia knew they'd be back. Those who were going to ruin Equestria, that is. She was just about ready to depart when she heard the gentle noise of sand behind her. She glanced back. It seemed Luna had missed somepony...

Rainbow Dash: Manoeuvres

Published against my better judgement

When Twilight came to, all she could see was a mass of light and a mass of darkness. As her eyes refocused and her other senses returned, she soon realized she was on a very pale, very dusty surface with a night sky. A familiar alicorn lay on her side just metres ahead.

"Luna!" Twilight cried.

"Twilight..." Luna breathed.

"What's going on? Where are..." Twilight's voice trailed off as she saw, amidst the giant starfield, the planet - her home - below.

"The first place I thought of that would be safe." Luna replied.

"So you sent us to the moon?" another voice asked.

Twilight turned and saw that, alongside herself and her five friends, there was also nearly everyone she knew, along with everyone on the beach.

"Yes," Luna replied. "it is my domain - and my former prison."

Scott sighed. "Well this is just brilliant," he said sarcastically.

"It's a fitting place for birds like you," Cadian replied sourly. "Aren't you all from Hell in the first place?"

"At least we brought you here with us." another bird retorted.

"If it sounds like I care, featherbrain, you're sorely mistaken!"

"It's no wonder our world has so many problems!"

The argument grew and grew, and Twilight simply looked on at amazement.

"I can't believe you two!" Twilight shouted, uncharacteristically angry. Surprised at her outburst, the argument quickly dissolved. "Even under the threat of annihilation, you both are acting like children!"

Scott buried his beak into his feathers in thought. "Well, it's true we're partially responsible for this."

Cadian said nothing, but agreed soberly with a nod.

"It's therefore only fitting we do our best to fix this," Scott continued. "But it's not going to be easy, especially now that your former ruler has access to the best of Equestrian magic, human technology, and our own aircraft. If we're going to fix this, we're going to need help." He looked to Luna, Twilight, and Cadian.

"Princess Luna?" Twilight asked. Luna looked beaten and disheveled, but her voice carried her resolve.

"I believe I can speak for everypony that we'll do everything we can to get our world back," Luna said. "I was also once corrupted by evil. You will require our experience to succeed, Scott."

"And we'll have it?" Scott asked, to which Luna nodded.

Both pairs of eyes then turned to Cadian, with the human's armed forces behind him, hanging on his command.

"Well, far be it from me to be the only one to not help clean up part of our mess," he mused. "I can't say I like cooperating with the birds, but seems we don't got a choice." There were murmurs of agreement on the humans' side.

"Well, let's get started," Scott said. "I gotta say, it's strange being here in space without a spacesuit or something."

===

Rainbow Dash landed on the lunar surface with a sigh. "Man, so much has happened..." she breathed. "It's all just sinking in now."

Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement. "Well, look on the bright side, Dashie! We're all still together, we have a ton of new friends, and they're here to help us take back Equestria!"

"Still, what about the rest of Equestria?" Rainbow Dash bolted upright. "What about the Cakes? Applebloom, Big Mac...they're all still down there!"

"They might not be for long," Pinkie Pie replied. "Twilight and Luna were working on some sort of complicated teleport spell."

"Leave it up to the bookish ones to work their way with magic," added a silver bird who landed next to them.

"Heya, Scott." Pinkie Pie greeted.

"I heard you're a good flyer," he said, addressing Rainbow Dash.

"Only the best," Rainbow replied confidently.

"That's a good attitude to have. But can you fight?" he continued.

"I can beat AJ in a hoof-wrestle..."

Scott shook his head. "This is different," he started, but Rainbow interrupted him.

"I can fly, I can fight. It's not too hard to do both at once."

"Alright," Scott said. "See if you can keep me in front of you."

"So you want me to get behind you?"

"If you can."

As Pinkie Pie watched below, Scott and Rainbow Dash took off, skirting the moon's surface. To both of their surprise, flying on the moon was, at least here, the same as flying normally. The bird quickly banked left, and Rainbow Dash kept pace with him easily. He then climbed upward, and again Rainbow followed him, but then he performed a roll that drained his momentum drastically, flaring his tail wide as an airbrake. He watched as Rainbow slid ahead of him; without real combat experience, Rainbow didn't recognize the standard "airbrake" manoeuvre that nearly every pilot on his world knew about.

Rainbow glared as the bird slipped past her. On the defensive but still determined to get Scott in front of her, Rainbow took off; to her surprise, the bird mostly kept pace with him. She banked left sharply, knowing that the bird would quickly overshoot her. However, instead the bird flew upward; he rolled onto his back and descended sharply. Scott was still behind her.

Next, she weaved sharply left and right; a move that she performed with some difficulty during the Cloudsdale Young Fliers' competition. However, this proved to be a mistake, as Scott easily followed her through the paces.

This game continued for almost thirty minutes before Rainbow Dash simply gave up. "Alright, alright! I can't get behind you! What's the point in being behind anyway?"

"Fighting isn't a race, Rainbow." Scott said. "Celestia is using human planes. They have all their guns in the front. You need to get behind them if you want to have the advantage."

"For starters," Scott explained. "You should know about the airbrake manoeuvre. It's a classic move that no one from my world falls for. Secondly, I know how to execute a High Yoyo to keep myself behind you at all times. Thirdly, unlike other peregrine falcons like myself, I practice turning a lot. Trying to out-turn me is a very bad idea. I could go on, but I think you get the idea."

Rainbow considered her position. On one hoof, Rainbow Dash didn't take orders from anyone. On the other, she knew from experience to have some humility. Besides, Scott had a point: she would be fighting against the best they had to offer.

"Alright, alright." she acquisenced. "I'm willing to listen." Her ear twitched irritably.

"Hey, I'm not here to teach you level flight, how to bank, or the Split-S. You know this stuff already. What you need is knowledge, experience...and a plane." Scott smiled. "I think you'll like the last one, though I think we'll have to ask the humans to modify it..."

"A plane?" Rainbow asked curiously.

===

"Just like we said," Luna said. "Focus on your friends. Let their faces fill your mind. Everyone you know." Twilight closed her eyes and focused intensely. Everyone in Ponyville...her friends in Canterlot...

Luna did her best to hide the urgency of this spell. She knew that she would only have one shot at it; not just because it was a draining spell, but also because Celestia would know how to counter it once it was deployed. But focus was highly important for this spell, and lives were at stake.

"Can you imagine everypony you remember? All together?" Luna asked.

"Yes," Twilight breathed.

"I'm casting the spell now. Don't let them drift away. Keep that focus."

Luna and Twilight closed their eyes as the entire area around them glowed a bright light. Humans, birds, and ponies alike watched with both curiosity and awe as the two unicorns cast their spell.

===

Rainbow Dash didn't know where the hours went. First she was performing basic manoeuvres with Scott. Then he introduced her to some of the younger birds on his ship, the SFWS Radiance. Unlike Scott, their feathers were still brown, but their silver feathers glistened proudly under their wings.

"Today, you five will be training against me," Scott explained. "You all know the route to the simulator. Meet me there in ten minutes."

The four birds looked at each other nervously. "Man, I knew that the situation was bad, but for Scott to accelerate our training like this..."

"What're you talking about?" Rainbow replied confidently as she cantered down the Skywind's metallic hallways. Her companions flew alongside her. "So he's a good flyer. So I lost to him a while ago. But I learned a lot, and I'm pretty sure I can give him a run for his bits."

"You haven't really flown against a real silver going all out, though," a red tailed hawk replied. "Birds of the Windwhistler family are...what's so funny?"

Rainbow Dash was guffawing next to him. "No, no, it's just...there's a pegasus I know named Wind Whistler. It's just hard imagining her as a fighter pilot."

The birds reached the simulator room, an unlabelled pair of double doors. "Well, this is it." one of them breathed.

Despite her knowing what exactly a warplane was, she could never really get over how awesome they looked. Silver falcon planes had sharp, angular wings. The nose of the plane bent down, giving it a beaklike appearance. Four wingtip mounted laser cannons provided the planes' main armament.

Inside the simulator, there was a tiny platform floating in midair that Dash stepped on; the others simply took off into the simulator. Appearing as a gridline at first, their planes materialized around them.

"Just remember what you've learned," one of the birds said.

"Right." Rainbow Dash replied. "Focus. Control. Conviction. Resolve. A true ace lacks none of these attributes." she recited. By far her favourite part of the creed was next: "Nothing can deter you from the task at hand except my own fears. This is my sky."

Appearing as a gridline at first, Rainbow Dash's plane materialized around her as well. She found that the standard human controls were more intuitive than the birds' controls. She paused for a moment, listening to the hum of her aircraft's engines.

"I love that noise," she said. "Sounds strong. Powerful."

"They say it's the sound of freedom," another bird said.

"Hey, heads up. Scott's at our twelve. We make our identification pass, then fight's on."

The flight of five passed a similar looking aircraft. Rainbow checked her speed and could easily tell she could fly faster than this plane. On the other hand, as Scott pointed out, she couldn't carry any weapons, and could not use the birds' special one-way teleport system to bail out of her plane quickly. The main reason the birds have survived this long, Scott explained, was due to this one way teleport. Its functionality was never explained to her, nor did she really care - after all, Twilight was their resident expert in magic.

What was important was how Scott was already on the offensive, on the tail of one of her friends. She rolled inverted, the temporary sensation of feeling weightless feeling familiar, before the plunged in from above to make her attack.

"Pull the trigger when your target is squarely in your sights," she murmured to herself. She used her rudder controls to yaw and fine tune her aim before she began firing. As she passed, however, Scott saw her coming; he set his rudder hard right, returning fire as she passed him. There was a loud, terrible, sparking sound as the magic shields that protected her aircraft were struck.

A display on her aircraft read [REED: HIT], indicating that she had, in fact, hit Scott's plane.

A few blue laser shots whizzed past her, surprising her out of confidence. Rainbow checked behind her and saw five planes behind her. The group included Scott's plane, and the rest of her team.

"Rainbow Dash, bank hard right. I can't get a clean shot without hitting you!"

Rainbow quickly began a hard left bank before realizing that she had, in fact, banked the wrong way. Laser fire whizzed past her, with one or two hits to her from behind. She inverted again, beginning her hard right bank to shake him off. To her surprise, she seemed to have shaken Scott off.

The rest of her flight flew in after him, sixteen wingtip mounted cannons firing at him. She banked hard, gained altitude, and watched as Scott's plane took several more hits. That was when Scott's plane performed one of the sharpest turns she'd seen anypony - let alone a plane - perform. Scott performed a 360 degree horizontal flip. In that single manoeuvre, he was right behind the rest of Rainbow's entire flight.

"Bank left! Bank left!" cried one of the birds.

Rainbow made a sharp turn into the fight to help, but could only watch as Scott's cannons made short work of two planes at once. They exploded in a giant sea of digital squares; Rainbow briefly wondered what happened to the pilots, but figured that she didn't want to find out - even if it was just a simulation.

The fight was now three on one, and Scott still had the advantage.

The rest of her flight was still engaged with Scott; Scott was trailing one of them while the other positioned from behind, trying to get a clean shot. Rainbow positioned herself beside the fight. She yawed left, adjusting her aim in front of Scott's aircraft hoping to get a clean shot from the side.

"Guys, I'm coming in from the side, gonna try to cut him off." Rainbow announced.

"Alright, I'm gonna turn into you so you don't hit me,"

At the same moment Rainbow began firing, the tailing wingmate banked hard left, into Rainbow's laser fire. It initially sounded counter-intuitive to Rainbow herself, but in a situation like this she could see why somepony would bank INTO gunfire - it would minimize the amount of time spent in the enemy's firing range.

As soon as the first few shots missed, Scott also yawed hard left, snapping his plane and returning fire on Rainbow Dash. "Geez! How hard can he turn?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she pulled up, Scott's fire narrowly missing her.

"Uh, guys? He's on me now! Get over here!"

Rainbow turned hard again, looping back the way she came, along with her wingmate.

"Come on, hit him now!" Rainbow rolled out of the line of fire as her wingmate bore down on Scott, weapons blazing. He made a hard bank left to avoid a plane presenting its top to him, realizing all too late it was Scott's, performing yet another tight diametered turn. Scott's lasers tore through Rainbow's wingmate as well as his original target.

"Oh come on!" Rainbow's wingmate cried as he was knocked out of the fight.

"Guess it's just you and me," Rainbow quipped. As she climbed, Scott followed her. She positioned herself in between Scott and the sun, having learned that the sun was one of the few places to hide in the sky. This gave her a momentary reprieve, but Scott then began firing blindly. Most of his shots missed her, but a quick glance told Rainbow that she wouldn't last long. She banked hard right, hoping to find a cloud to hide in, when a new voice appeared over the radio.

"You're not picking on our equine allies, are you, Scott?"

"Wha...no! I'm training the Element of Loyalty, here!" Scott replied, caught off guard.

"I thought you were above all that bragging, love."

"I am, Ariel. Besides, Rainbow Dash is a pegasus. She already knows the basics of -"

Scott's voice was roughly caught off by a loud sound.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play?" he asked.

As Rainbow Dash banked, she saw two virtually identical planes matching each other turn for turn. For a brief moment, she thought she saw two birds, rather than two planes, each trying to get the other in front. It was almost like watching the Wonderbolts, but even they didn't fly in the same style as this.

Ariel's plane seemed to hang in the air for a moment before twisting around and returning fire on Scott as he climbed past her. Scott looped around to try and get sights on the newcomer, but he seemed to have met his match; Ariel was behind him again, manoeuvring for yet another attack.

Her nature for competition kicking in, Rainbow Dash mischievously climbed high, rolling on her side so she could see both the sun and the two birds, locked in battle below. Rainbow reduced her throttle as much as she could without stalling, waiting for the perfect moment.

"Ariel, what are you doing here, anyway?" Scott asked. "Who'd you leave in charge of the bridge?"

"Arrow's on the bridge."

"You're sure that he's not firing on our newfound allies yet?"

"Oh come on, he's always gonna listen to his older brother."

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but notice how both birds were able to keep up casual conversation while manoeuvring with the speed and agility of...well, falcons. But at long last, Rainbow Dash tipped her wings, banked, and plummeted right through the fight - guns blazing.

Temporarily distracted by his mate, Scott accidentally positioned himself right in front of Rainbow's guns.

"Wha - hey! That's not fair!" he cried as Rainbow's aircraft read [REED: DESTROYED] on her, indicating she had gotten a kill.

"I got him? I GOT HIM!" Rainbow Dash cried, surprising both herself and Ariel. "I can't believe I got him!"

A few seconds later, Rainbow's aircraft started blaring alarms as Ariel fired on Rainbow. Rainbow saw a single laser bolt streak right in front of her before her vision exploded in a sea of digital squares. A flash of light later, and they were standing in the simulation room again. Her wingmates stared at her.

"Wha - hey! You got me?" Rainbow looked at the largest bird of the group, who nodded with a gentle smirk.

"You should always keep full awareness on you at all times, Rainbow Dash. Don't be too proud of yourself." she said.

"I still can't believe you got Scott!" her wingmate cried triumphantly. "You're in a very special club now!"

As the others retorted with their own explanations, such as "I could have shot him down if you didn't get in my way", Rainbow Dash was watching Scott himself.

"And who's showing off to the newcomers now?" he asked.

Ariel paced around him. "Can't let you have all the fun," she replied, preening his left wing.

"Hey Rainbow! We're heading to the Forward now. Come on with us!" one of her wingmates said. "We need to celebrate the fact you shot down a Windwhistler!"

"Thanks, guys, but I really -"

"No buts!" came the response, as Rainbow Dash was pushed out of the room by three pairs of wings.

===

Before Rainbow Dash could even ask what Forward was, they were already there. Consisting of several multilayered perches, birds of all kinds mingled together, drinking from various glasses. It seemed difficult to do, since they would have to nip at their drink and then let it run down their throat, none of the birds seemed uncomfortable.

"...no, wait, it gets better." A brown feathered Harris Hawk said, regaling his table with a story. "So when she came taxiing on the runway, she asked what Pinnacle was doing, with his giant transport plane. So you know what he did? He opened the doors on the nose of his plane and said, 'I'm going to eat you.'" The story was met with laughter all around, and a single peregrine falcon with juvenile brown feathers buried his beak into his feathers, embarassed.

Rainbow's wingmate climbed on top of a perch before screeching loudly.

"Heyhey!" she cried.

"What is it now, Ruby?"

"This here's my wingmate, Rainbow Dash! Guess what? She shot down Scott in the simulator today!"

There were surprised cries of "Really?" and others.

"Well, in all fairness, I did get killed by Ariel seconds later..."

There were cheers regardless. "Rainbow, getting a kill on Scott in the first place is an achievement in of itself. I mean, look at the boards." She said, gesturing over to a large screen with names and numbers. A few taps of her talons later, a highlight appeared over Scott's name.

"72?" Rainbow asked.

"72 aerial victories," Ruby explained. "The highest of the entire air force."

"So he's killed 72 humans?" Rainbow asked quietly.

"Yeah," Ruby confirmed, nodding vigorously. "He's good, isn't he?"

"What about them, though?" Rainbow asked. "What about those he's shot down?"

Seeming to remember that she was from a different world, Ruby lowered her voice slightly and sighed. "Rainbow, we know you equines don't like conflict. For us, though, it's a fact of life. I mean, even if we weren't at war, what are we going to eat?"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to reply, but closed it before she said anything.

"We're all animals," Ruby continued. "And we need to eat by killing other things that fly. Is that not the same as us killing the humans who want us killed? Our natural behaviour is the same as tactical air warfare. It's not wrong...it's natural."

"I can't help but feel sorry for them." Rainbow stared at the ground, contempolative. "You guys are all really good flyers," Rainbow said, trying to change the topic.

"We practice a lot. My father was born in the sky, lived in the sky, and was killed there. Again, it's only natural." the peregrine sighed. "I'm just glad I have my friends with me."

"I'm surprised that you guys are so...friendly." Rainbow said. "I always figured soldiers and fighter pilots were...you know. Ultra-violent, ready to kill anything that moved."

"Nah, that's way, way far from the truth." Rainbow's wingmate replied. "You know, I think it's friendships born in conflict that last lifetimes."

"What, you mean like Scott and his mate's?"

"No," Ruby closed her eyes, smiling. "Like ours."

Pinkie Pie: Unclear Paths

The “Welcome to the Moon” party was not as well received as Pinkie Pie might have hoped. It was far more formal, far less lively for her tastes. Most likely because the thing that was on the forefront of everyone’s mind was Celestia and what had happened.

“I know it doesn’t seem like everyone’s having fun,” Cadian had told her. “But you’re wonders for keeping morale up, Pinkie Pie.”

There was a reason she was the Element of Laughter, after all.

Still, there was something else there...

Admit it, you like seeing this sort of thing.

What are you talking about?

You like seeing this sort of death. It’s a shame that you’re holding yourself back, Pinkie Pie.

No. No, I don’t like this. This isn’t me, and it’s not Equestria. It’s so, so, so, so, so, not Equestria.

Equestria was just a candle looking for a flame to light it. And admit it – you liked seeing it burn.

No, I didn’t!

Then why couldn’t you stop looking at the battle at the beach? Why didn’t you stop staring at Shining Armour’s corpse? You liked what you saw.

No, no, no, no, no...

She’s right above you, Pinkie.

I’m not looking up, I’m not looking up, I’m not looking up...

You are looking up. At her. Rainbow Dash, the element of loyalty. So loyal...so friendly...so tasty...

I’m not curious, I’m not curious...

Stop lying to yourself. You know you want to slice the rainbow.

No...

I heard blood is warm. Like a blanket. Speaking of blankets, you could start that quilt, you know. With all your friends’ cutie marks. It would be like them holding you close, all together...

“No!” Pinkie Pie cried, startling almost everyone in her vicinity. Rainbow Dash descended to meet her friend.

“You okay, Pinkie?”

“It’s not stopping, Dashie...” was all Pinkie Pie could manage through her tears. She sobbed quietly. Dash gave an okay signal to the others, who slowly went back to their usual business.

Rainbow’s face fell, remembering what happened the first time Pinkie Pie brought up her cupcake nightmare. Ever since then, this alternate Pinkie Pie has been haunting her for a while. Equestria going to war seemed to only worsen her already delicate mental state.

Rainbow Dash held Pinkie Pie close. “Hey. Cheer up, Pinkie Pie. You’re the one who’s always saying it could get worse.”

“Mmhmm,” Pinkie Pie quietly managed.

“And you haven’t turned me into cupcakes yet, and it’s been a long time since they started. You’re doing great, Pinkie.”

“I just don’t know how much longer I’ll have to put up with this...”

Forever, silly. I mean, come on. I’m a part of you.

Pinkie Pie shuddered, ignoring the voice as best she could.

“You know, we should probably give it a name or something.” Rainbow Dash remarked.

“It’s not worth a name,” Pinkie Pie replied. “This...voice...is even worse than Rocky, Madame LeFlour, and all those other voices. Giving it a name...I’unno...”

“You okay?” a third voice asked. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie looked up to see a human in what looked like a space suit. She seemed oddly out of place amidst a sea of people who were clad in their standard uniforms (or nothing, in most ponies’ case). It was hard to see past the white suit, which covered her entire body, but her visor was just clear enough to see a gentle, heart-shaped face with brown eyes and hair. She exuded an air of comfort that Pinkie Pie caught up on quickly.

“You look like my sister after she had a nightmare,” the human said.

“You could call it a nightmare,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“You know, when I was younger, my sister always thought there were monsters hiding in her closet.” the human said. “So I gave her a toy gun that shot foam darts, and so she shot at any of the monsters that were hiding there.”

Rainbow Dash gave a quiet “Heh,” and a smile along with Pinkie Pie, but both could tell that she was less than impressed by the human’s methods. “I wouldn’t call violence against shadows to be a very good overall solution...especially with something like that gun.”

“One of the things you’ll learn quickly about this world,” Rainbow Dash said. “Is that they treat warfare totally differently than us." She turned to Pinkie Pie. "I should probably get back to practicing, but listen to her. If not for me, for Equestria. Equestria needs us to fight, after all.”

Pinkie Pie watched, concerned, as Rainbow Dash flew off. Rainbow was always one to find the thrill of a fight, but she was always more into defeating her opponents, not killing them outright with firearms.

“It’s...kind of scary,” Pinkie Pie admitted.

“You mean fighting?”

“I mean that gun. Twilight told me about your world. Y-You could kill somepony very easily with that.”

“Mmhmm, I can,” the human replied. “But one of the things you’ll learn quickly from holding this rifle is responsibility.”

Pinkie Pie’s thoughts hearkened back to a time when she looked over Pound and Pumpkin Cake. She wondered how the Cakes were faring on Equestria, but her train of thought ended rather abruptly when she realized the human had asked her a question.

“Huh?”

“Why is it you seem so...different? Less excitable?” she asked through her large and bulky suit.

“I guess it’s all catching up to me,” Pinkie Pie replied. “Why do you wear that suit? Also, what’s your name? I guess you already know mine...”

“I’m Alreace,” the human said. “And I wear this because...well, I’m sick.”

“Sick? It’s contagious?”

“No, it’s called Silverstone disease. No, it has nothing to do with those...birds over there.” She spat the word like venom. Pinkie Pie was surprised at the sudden hate, but let the human continue.

“It’s a rare magical disease. Humans with it have no protection from sunlight, so I have to wear this in order to go outside.”

“So...you always have to wear that thing?”

“Mmhmm.”

“You can never go outside?”

“Not without it.”

“You could never roll around in the grass, or stare up at the sun with a smile on your face?”

“Nope.”

“And you live in a world with a bunch of birds that you really, really hate...”

“Yeah.”

“That’s so sad.” Pinkie Pie said. The words caught Alreace off guard.

“Well...I...” she paused, thinking desperately of a response. “You’re the Element of Laughter, shouldn’t you be trying to cheer me up if that were true? You look a lot sadder than I do, and considering you’re the Element that’s even worse than me!”

“I guess you’re right,” Pinkie Pie allowed. “But you have so much magic and so much technology; I’m sure if you put your minds to it you could find a cure!”

“We have some scientists working on it,” Alreace explained. “But the birds are on everyone’s mind right now.”

“Why do you hate the birds so much, anyway?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Alreace paused, recalling painful memories. There was screaming. There were flames everywhere. She watched helplessly as the search for her family continued.

“The ordinary Anadian or Endalian citizen believes those birds are here to end the world. For me...well, it’s personal.”

Pinkie Pie paused again, prompting her to go on.

“Sure, my family didn’t like the birds, but we never really practiced what we preached. Laws aren’t necessarily just, in my world. We followed it, just...unenthusiastically. Things changed when the birds attacked my city. Our planes went up. Theirs went down.” Alreace took a quick, short breath. “One of ‘em went down on top of our house. Was in school, at the time..."

It was the strangest sight to Pinkie Pie. She didn’t know what to think. A human – an entirely different species – and a soldier, no less – sobbing into her knees. Her rifle fell uselessly next to her with a small clapping sound. Pinkie Pie spent several seconds simply taking the alien sight in before seriously wondering what to do.

Do what you always do.

Pinkie Pie wrapped her forelegs around her in the tightest hug since she left Equestria. Alreace found it odd, but she took a surprising amount of comfort in that.

Perhaps she just needed to get it off her chest.

===

Hours later, Pinkie Pie was still thinking about the humans, their devastating weapons, and what they needed to do to reclaim Equestria. The other voice was quiet for now, almost worryingly so. Maybe it was planning something.

She wanted her Equestria back; there was no question about that. Still, the path that lay before her was filled with dangers that laughter alone couldn’t defeat. There was also always the question of her...

“You still paying attention, Pinkie?” Alreace asked.

“Huh? Yeah...” Pinkie Pie replied distractedly.

“Hey.” Alreace said firmly. “You gotta be paying full attention here. Now is not the time to be thinking about cupcakes.”

Mmm. Cupcakes. I bet the humans would make great cupcakes, too.

Pinkie Pie shuddered at the thought.

Alreace was continuing, and Pinkie Pie did her best to stay with her. “Always make sure it’s aimed down range,” Alreace said as she fired her rifle into a bunch of sandbags. “Hold it firmly, but not tightly.”

Pinkie Pie shuddered again.

“Here, you try.” Alreace offered.

“I...I don’t know...”

“Ah, come on. You’re going to have to, unless you want the others to fight unsupported...”

“Alright, alright, I will...”

Pinkie Pie most reluctantly lay on the moon’s surface, putting her hooves in roughly the same spot that Alreace was.

“Now look down range, and...”

Alreace’s voice became strangely distant. Pinkie Pie stared down range at the sandbags, lying there. The great empty starfield that hung over their heads turned a bright, flaming red. She was there, back in Equestria, a blasted, scorched land. She was in her room. There was knocking on her closet.

Oh I might be tardy for this world, Twilight’s voice said as she stepped out of the closet. A flick of her hooves later, she was brandishing a massive meat cleaver. But you’ll be early for the next.

Her bedroom door opened, and Pinkie watched as she saw a copy of herself step through the door. You couldn’t really shoot yourself, could you?

Pinkie Pie aimed right at the sandbag target, but her hooves froze on the trigger.

I couldn’t find the needles, Rarity said down the hallway. But this material is simply amazing! She brought the material up for Pinkie Pie to see, revealing a piece of yellow leather with three butterflies on it.

It’s very good material, isn’t it? Fluttershy asked. That part’s mine. We could always use more, though...

Why are you holding that, anyway? Rainbow Dash asked from above. Guns aren’t as cool as knives. Kills need that...personal touch.

Rarity nodded in agreement.

Pinkie Pie’s hooves started shaking.

Just believe in yourself. Alreace always said focus...focus on the kill...

Come on, Pinkie. Twilight said, advancing menacingly. Shoot us. Prove you’re a killer.

Cupcakes really are the best treat, the other voice said. Pinkie Pie watched as she bit slowly, deliberately, into a bright pink one. A sharp pain shot against Pinkie’s flank as she did so.

“Aaahhhhhh!” Pinkie Pie screamed. In a flurry, she levelled and aimed Alreace’s rifle straight at the first sandbag and fired.

The image of Twilight turned black and exploded in a cloud of black dust.

She levelled the gun at the second sandbag and fired.

Fluttershy’s image was no more.

She aimed far, sighting the target quickly and efficiently, and fired into the sandbag almost twenty meters away as Rarity’s image exploded. She aimed high, missing her fourth shot, but Rainbow Dash’s image was gone.

She levelled her rifle one final time and fired into the center target. The other voice’s image didn’t explode, but instead shattered like glass. In its place, Pinkie Pie saw herself.

“Good shooting, Pinkie Pie.” Alreace complimented. “You’re a natural.”

Pinkie Pie dropped the rifle abruptly and ran.

===

Pinkie Pie had her face buried in Rainbow Dash’s chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Rainbow did her best to comfort her, but knew that any words right now would be lost on her. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes solemnly, feeling just as helpless as Pinkie Pie did.

“I can’t do this, Dashie, I just can’t...” Pinkie Pie wept. “Not while she’s around...”

Alreace finally caught up to her. “Hey, you okay?” was as far as she got before realizing that Pinkie Pie was in no mental condition to continue practicing. Alreace backed off, slowly and silently. Rainbow Dash nodded appreciatively.

“Really wishing I could help you more, Pinkie...” Rainbow Dash said quietly, stroking the back of her head. “Hey, why don’t you try laughing? You were the one who said to giggle at the ghosties, right?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie replied. “Yeah! Hehehe...”

Rainbow chuckled alongside her. Soon Pinkie Pie started laughing alongside her, and for that moment, it felt like everything was going to be fine. Yet deep inside, Pinkie knew that this was just a temporary solution.

===

Once more, Pinkie Pie stood at the target range. Alreace was behind her, supervising her movements. Pinkie had improved considerably, yet Alreace was concerned for her well being. Alreace had taught her as much as she knew with regards to the physical abilities of the weapon, yet there was something missing. Pinkie always looked so unsure of herself, more than any other recruit that Alreace had seen. Perhaps it was something to be expected from such a pacifistic race.

Alreace had, however, a trick up her sleeve. She talked a bit with Rainbow, who gave her only the basics as to what Pinkie’s problems were. It wasn’t much to go off of, since Rainbow wanted to respect Pinkie’s privacy, but it was just enough.

“Alright, Pinkie, just like before.” Alreace said calmly. “Fire on them.”

Within seconds, Pinkie had fired on most of the targets. Unexpectedly, however, Alreace called “Cease fire.”

Pinkie immediately stopped. She looked at Alreace expectantly.

“How do you see this rifle?” Alreace asked Pinkie.

“What do you mean?”

“What is it to you?”

“It’s...a rifle.”

Alreace shook her head. “Try to stop thinking of it as the darker side of you. Try to think about it as your ability to do right.”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked.

“When you’re out there, remember what you’re doing all this for. You’re doing it for the Equestria you miss. You’re also doing it to protect your friends.”

Pinkie Pie paused in thought. A new scenario began to draw itself in Pinkie’s head. “To protect my friends...” she murmured.

Alreace backed away from Pinkie to give her space. “Fire when ready.”

Heyhey, what would happen to Alreace if she was exposed to the sun? The other voice asked. Would the crisp up, like an overdone cookie? Why don’t we find out?

She’s my friend.

No different from Rainbow Dash, really. The other voice replied. Pinkie Pie was back in her room, in the ruined Equestria she imagined. An image of Rainbow Dash was bound to a table. Pinkie dared to not look at the rest of her.

I’m your friend, too. Rainbow Dash said. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth in a scream, but as soon as she relaxed, she looked back at Pinkie Pie. I’ll satiate your curiosity.

No. You’re not Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie held the rifle tightly, finding that it gave her both comfort and security.

Oh, you’re going to shoot me again? Well, go ahead if you want. We both know it won’t do anything.

No, it won’t. I’m a part of you. You are a part of me.

Pinkie Pie paused, levelling the rifle at the other voice and the image of Rainbow Dash.

But you aren’t leaving my head. I won’t let you. I’ll never let you. So stop trying to pretend you have a hold on me, because you don’t.

Who said anything about pretending?

The other voice drew the massive meat cleaver and advanced menacingly, while Rainbow Dash looked at her disapprovingly. Pinkie Pie once again froze on the trigger.

See? I do have control over you. You won’t pull that trigger until I say you do.

No. I’m the one who’s in control here, because I have this gun. It’s my choice what to do with it, not yours.

Not really. You said it yourself. I’m you, and you’re me. So that means I have the gun too.

But you don’t know how to use it. You weren’t listening to Alreace at all.

The other voice advanced closer, but Pinkie Pie still couldn’t fire. The other voice slowly put her hoof on the gun’s barrel, tilting it away from her.

Pinkie Pie reacted almost instinctively. She brought the stock of the weapon, formerly against her shoulder, forward against the other voice’s head. The other voice recoiled, shattering the false Rainbow Dash on the table. The other voice was knocked down to the floor, hard.

I’m more than just a pony with a weapon. I know how to use it. I know when to use it. I still hate it. But with this, I’ll set Equestria right.

Pinkie Pie fired three times, hitting each sandbag square in the target. Her room seemed to melt, and like a window being wiped clean, she was back in her familiar Sugarcube Corner. She turned to look down at the other voice, to find it had disappeared.

Pinkie Pie closed her eyes solemnly, handing the rifle back to its proper owner. Alreace looked at her expectantly.

“I don’t think I’ll ever like guns,” Pinkie said. “But I’m not letting my friends get hurt. And if I’m going to use this, I’m going to use this properly.”

Back Home

It was rare that Celestia issued orders to gather the entire guard together. Only a skeleton crew was established to keep the order in Canterlot and abroad for this day - she prayed it was enough. The rumours had gone on for long enough - it had come high time to quash them, once and for all.

Standing on the balcony, Celestia felt the murmurs settle. "At ease," she ordered. The congregation sat, comfortably but alert.

"The purpose of this meeting will be to dispel any rumours regarding my sister, these extradimensional threats, and the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony." Celestia announced. "The rumours regarding Equestria's state of war are, regrettably, true. We were, as of three days ago, at war with the extra-dimensional creatures known as humans, the avian species known as the silver falcons, and their pony allies."

Celestia braced herself for a massive barrage of questions that never came. Instead, only one tiny voice dared speak out amidst the silence, asking the question that was on everypony's mind.

"Why?"

Celestia had anticipated that question, but it was still the hardest for her to answer. She did, however, come prepared.

"To answer that question," she began. "I would like you all to meet somepony."

Celestia stepped aside and a young filly, not much older than her former prized student, stepped forward awkwardly. This awkward, blue and white unicorn was familiar to some of the guard, who could barely contain their surprise. Her eyes scanned the procession, and sweat beaded all across her lithe form, as though merely standing there was a form of physical exercise.

"Please start with your name." Celestia calmly requested.

"Dayflash," she said, seeming to draw confidence from Celestia's own.

"Dayflash," Celestia continued. "tell us about your family."

Dayflash gulped down something nervously, beginning her tale. "Mom died when I was very young, and Dad...was a part of the guard."

She wiped her forehead, but sweat wasn't the only thing Dayflash was wiping away.

"Until three days ago." Celestia finished. "Three days ago..."

"Three days ago I learned..." Dayflash gasped for air. "...that Dad wasn't coming home."

Celestia gently let Dayflash rest her weary, grieving head against her wing. She spoke out to the rest of the guard. "Lance-Corporal Skyflash was killed in action three days ago, on Corrolero Beach. He was just one of several victims of..." Celestia chose her next words carefully. "...an error that has persisted for far too long.

For years, we lived in peace and prosperity, but as we learned from the humans and the silver birds, there are other dimensions out there that are far more hateful, far more destructive, than anything we could have imagined. It was only through great fortune that I have acquired one of their own weapons," Celestia lifted the tiny pen up for all to see. "and the ability to defend ourselves against threats like these."

Celestia paused. "You asked why we go to war?" she asked. "We go to war to prevent tragedies like this," she gestured to the still sobbing Dayflash. "from ever occurring within Equestria's borders. Equestria may change, mares and gentlecolts...but we won't lose it. Not to Nightmare Moon, not to Discord, and certainly not to some bloodthirsty thugs from another dimension.

That is why you are here. You are Equestria's final hope against those who would keep us weak and helpless. We fight for a stronger Equestria, and we will prevail!"

Celestia ignored the cheers, but nodded with sober satisfaction. "Come, Dayflash. There is much work to be done."

"What sort of work?" she asked.

"Lots...my faithful student."

===

Formerly a relatively open area, the Canterlot throne room had been altered significantly. Much of its style had been removed in favour of function. Gone were the stained glass windows containing Twilight's exploits, replaced instead by a new material Celestia had called 'laserproof glass'. It was a complicated recipe that combined technology and magic, but one that the glassmakers had taken on with great enthusiasm. The large pillars on either side of the hall were reinforced several times, and the hanging potted plants were gone as well.

The center was formerly an empty space with a regal carpet leading straight up to Celestia's throne. Now a large war table obstructed the aisle forward, showcasing the current status of the conflict. Several of the pieces were positioned near Corrolero Beach still.

A dark green earth pony overlooked the board with great confidence. He wore Equestrian Army greens, which had only recently been re-tooled to look more like one of the militaries from the humans' world. Despite his youth and dignified demeanour, General Lance Corrolero exuded an air of invincibility and unshakable calmness.

"The Equestrian Guard's ardour is palpable. Never have I borne witness to such zeal in my lifetime. It is quite invigorating to see the military so alert after these long years." he said, smirking at the board.

"I shall keep my reservations, General Corrolero." his light blue counterpart replied. "The princess' actions seem uncharacteristic. She has declared her own sister and her prized pupil to be enemies of the state. She is now ruthless beyond contempt..."

"Ruthless, you say?" the general replied. "Were she more so! She gives traitors no quarter, be they of her own blood. Were that we applied the sword more liberally, perhaps Equestria would not have borne witness to such tragedies to begin with. Do not doubt the actions of the princess, Admiral Wavedancer. Equestria has always prevailed in the past. This shall be no different."

"I pray right, you are." the Admiral replied as a young filly walked up to the pair.

"Hello, little one." the general greeted her with a gentle smile.

"The princess told me to talk to you about lessons, or something..." she said.

"Is that so?" he asked, as the filly seemed to shrink before him. "You must be the Lady Dayflash. It is an honour to meet Celestia's prized student, and an even more illustrious one to instruct her!"

"Do be gentle with the young Lady," the Admiral said gently. "she has seen more than some of our associates have witnessed in their lifetimes."

The general sat down to be eye level with Dayflash.

"You have nothing to fear," he said, exuding the same confidence that Celestia had. "Follow our instructions and we shall all see through to the conclusion of this conflict. As I explained to my colleague here, Equestria has come of every crisis she has witnessed - from Nightmare Moon to Discord - stronger than before. As you might say, 'Our track record is very good'." he smiled, and Dayflash returned it. "Come, we shall begin immediately."

"Do not admit the Sky Marshal admittance, and events will remain in your favour," the admiral smiled. "She is...different."

Dayflash didn't really know who the Sky Marshal was, but she knew she was in good hooves for now.

Prologue

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