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

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...