I look over to the others in the transport and sigh. I really didn’t want to pull them out from leave, but I had no choice. Everyone else is either training or watching over important facilities. Storm would report immediately to Twilight about this as well, so I could count on him to keep this quiet. Rainbow and Big Mac will be sour about this, but they’ll at least be able to be quiet… relatively speaking of course.

I still find it hard to believe that there are ponies working with the goblins. It’s only a theory, but it’s the only way to explain why their tech would be enchanted. If they had magic, Celestia would have told me back at the Summit meeting or I would have heard something about it by now. And they never really seemed to be the magically inclined type, so that leaves one alternative. If ponies are helping goblins enchant their tech, that’ll only worsen the relations between the griffins and Equestrians, if it gets out at least.

“Thirty seconds to destination.” Easy tells me from the cockpit. I nod to the others and put my helmet on. Everything goes dark before it turns on and brings back the world, with my HUD in addition. I look over to the others as they do the same and wait till they signal back to me. “Fifteen seconds.”

“Any advice Captain?” Rainbow asks me as she checks her weapons on her sides.

“Yeah,” I say as I stand, holding onto the railing above. “Don’t let them intimidate you.”

“Opening doors.” Easy reports before the doors slide open, revealing the city before us.

Syncney is one of the largest cities of the Goblin Empire. It started as a mining operation that eventually stripped every valuable resource from the ground. If it weren’t for the large skyscrapers filling the area, it would be a massive ditch in the bare ground. Instead, it’s a massive metropolis filled with goblins and steam automatons of various sorts. The streets are filled with countless vehicles that walk, roll, or hover their way around the busy streets. Steam fills the air from smoke stacks of every building and vehicle. Offices and factories alike hum with activity as goblins go about their daily lives.

A small crowd has gathered around us, staring on with curious eyes. We stare back at them, equally curious about the crowd before us. I don’t see any females out there, and not just in the crowd before us. Throughout the entire busy street I can’t see any sign of an opposite gender what-so-ever. After a moment long trying to find one, I shake the thought from my head and signal the ship to take off. The crowd marvels at the sight of the jets roaring, sending dust up into the air before it takes off with tremendous speed.

The dust coves us from view, but our HUD’s give us a good read out of the surrounding area. We turn together and head towards the factory that we’ve landed before. There’s a group of individuals standing before it. Most of them are set in two columns facing us, so I take it that they are military of some sort. Guard maybe. There’s an individual standing before them with two guards standing right behind him. When we approach closer the dust settles enough to reveal Starke standing before a group of armored, armed, soldiers.

“Starke, what a surprise to see you here.” I say to him when we come to a stop before him. Sadly, I had to send him a message before I entered his country. So much for surprised, fucking global politics. The guards behind him are in bronze full body armor that has spikes coming out on the shoulders and knee caps. They’re each armed with two pistols, several grenades of various shapes, and an individual weapon of their own.

“Well, when the esteemed Spartans drop a letter telling me that they’re going to be stopping by one of my humble abodes, well, I had to personally come to show you around.” He says with a wide smile. But I can read between the lines. He either wants to show something off, or wants to hide something. “I see you brought a few guards-“

“Actually, these are two of my ranking officers. I figured three soldiers would be enough for a friendly visit to your empire.” I cut him off, starting the shit talking fest that is politics. “I see you brought a dozen or so guards with you.”

“Heh, this isn’t Equestria. These are my Storm Troopers.” He says with a proud look about his face. The troopers snap at attention, bringing a set of hands over their heart and back. “The best of the best in the Goblin Empire and sworn protectors of the Emperor. The most advanced collection of fighters in all of the world-“

“Well, they were.” I cut him off, placing a hand on my revolver. “I’m sure their one day you’ll catch up, but the Spartan regiment now holds that title. But, I’m sure we can argue this another time. I have a job to do right now, so if you’d be so kind let’s not waste any more time.” He frowns for a second before putting his grin back on. With a snap of a finger the troopers behind him snap to it and march towards the entrance of the factory.

“If you’ll follow me.” Starke says, motioning with two hands towards the front doors. We follow after him, eyeing his guards as they move to cover our flank. Dash and Mac widen up a bit, giving us a better defending point should they decide to do anything stupid.

The greeting room we enter is filled with ornate display cases that show various weapons made here, as well as some pictures or people and captions. A light orange glow reflects off of the marble flooring from the small light fixtures. A small group of goblins in blue jump suites stands in the center of the large square room, with one in a yellow jump suit. They seem eager to be here, bowing to Starke the moment they see him.

“Your honor, sir! It’s a privilege to meet you, a privilege!” The one in the yellow jump suit grovels before Starke. Before he could say anything I step forward and go to one of the displays. It has a shield with two spears crossing behind it. They don’t’ appear to be anything special, but I doubt they put something so simple on display.

“Interesting choice of display, may I?” I ask, motioning to the weapon case. The workers give their boss an uneasy glance, which he returns before nodding to them. They scurry to the case and open it up, taking each one out with great caution. They kneel before me and present them to me, making me have to bend over a bit to grab one of the spears.

It seems like any other spear, albeit, a bit short for someone my size. There’s a button towards the end of the shaft though… I wonder-

FFWWTT-TINK

The end of the spear pops out from the end of the spear and buries itself in the wall on the other end of the room. A puff of white smoke appeared out the end of the spear, telling me that it was sent out with a burst of air. I glance to the others for a second to see their deadpanned looks of annoyance.

“If you please, we’d like it if you didn’t destroy anything.” One of the workers tells me, getting Starke to chuckle.

“Well then don’t put loaded weapons on display.” I retort, tossing him the remainder of the spear. “Let’s get this tour over with already. Take us to the manufactory line.” They all snicker at me and lead me through the lobby and into the factory.

The sound of industry fills the air as machines follow the rhythm of their duties. Large pistons flow back and forth as metal strikes metal. The sound of hissing metal being poured into molds strikes the air as smoke erupts out from the background. I move to one of the large pistons and watch it for a moment as it glides back, only to be sent forward again in a continuous motion. They remind me of the train engines back home, only much larger and with a different purpose.

A group of goblins are at the receiving end of the piston, working a glowing piece of metal. After every strike a chunk of cherry metal is sniped off and falls to the ground. Next they rotate the remaining part and set it up for the next strike, wearing thick gloves and blackened goggles. Another group takes the remaining chunks and runs it over to another press, where a massive piston hammers away. With every press the metal molds to its desire, and the goblin rotates the glowing bar.

I duck when a massive drum moves over head, the heat making me sweat slightly. I watch it move to a row of blackened molds sit on the ground, covered in dark remains. The massive drum tips over and the molten slag pours out into the molds, raising the heat in the room tremendously. The bustle and commotion of the frantic factory is a bit overwhelming at first, but I ignore it as I move forward.

“We’ve been operating for over three hundred years,” the goblin in yellow starts, racing after me. “We’ve designed and built many national wonders such as the Pfeil Flugel, Fruhling Schirmen, and the Knall Speer. We’re produce hundreds, if not thousands, of weapons and armaments under dozens of contracts world wide-“

“I’m looking for your enchanting area, where is it?” I ask aloud, ducking another piece of machinery.

“I’m sorry, but that area is off limits to-“

“I didn’t ask for permission.” I cut him off, stopping to glare back at him. He stops and takes a step back and gulps, obviously intimidated. “I’m telling you to take me there. Is that a problem?”

“I… uh… I-“he fumbles with his words until Starke puts a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s alright, take us there.” He tells him with a sinister smile. The worker looks between us before bowing to Starke.

“The enchanting area is towards the back of the factory. I’ll take you there now,” he says hurriedly before taking the path towards the back. I shoot a look back to Mac and Dash before following after them. I don’t like this, not one bit. Something is up here, I can feel it.

Hustle and bustle of the factory fades behind us as we enter what I assume to be the area for finalization. Tables and counters fill the area as goblins go about refining various weapons and armor. The tables are set up in rows, and seem to be an assembly line of sorts. The front most tables set about adding in the inner mechanisms, and then the tables after that finish the connections, and so on until the product is finished. From here most of the weapons are put into wooden crates and sealed, but a few are put into slots that go into another room.

I glance to the goblin in yellow, who sighs and opens the door for us. With a final glance to the others, I step into the final room. It’s a bright room, but my helmet keeps it from blinding me. The first thing I see are a series of chain link fences boxing in the center of the massive room. Scaffolding wraps around the fencing as goblin guards march around, keeping an eye on the ponies within the cage. The ponies, or unicorns to be more precise, are busy enchanting various weapons and armor. They all look skinny and have various bruises and scars over their bodies. They don’t pay us any mind, simply enchanting away. There has to be at least fifty in here, possibly more.

“Pick up the pace!” A guard yells with a crack of a whip. All of the ponies flinch in response and focus more intently on their tasks.

“What is this?” Dash asks, breaking a long pause.

“It’s our enchanting room of course,” Starke says as he walks past us. “What? Did you think we were the ones enchanting them?”

“Let me inside.” I demand as I walk over to the entrance.

“I can’t-“

“I said, let me inside.” I repeat more firmly. Starke stares at me for a second before he snaps his fingers. The guards inside, as well as one outside, go about opening several doors before I make it inside. I walk in and go about inspecting the ponies as the work more closely.

They’re all unicorns, mixed genders. They all have cutie marks in enchanting it seems. I can tell they’re trying to not look up at me, fearful of what might happen obviously. Their hair is cut uniformly short. I kneel beside one of them and wait for her to look at me. When she does, her eyes are filled with fear.

“What’s your name?” I ask softly.

“…”

“Can you understand me?” I ask, getting a slow nod. “What’s your name?”

“Uh… U40,” she replies softly, either scared to speak or to answer me. I pause for a second as I think about that. Her name is an identification number. I stand up and approach the guard who’s inside. He seems a little confused as to why I’m here, but hopefully I’ll get some answers.

“Give me the details about this operation.” I demand from him. He glares up at me before leaning over to look behind me.

“Sir?” he asks, getting a silent answer. “This is our enchanting area-“

“I can see that. How did these ponies get here? Why are they in such terrible condition? What’s really going on here?” I know the answer; I guess I should have guessed it earlier. But I want him to say, I want hear those words from his lips.

“Miles,” Starke comments from behind, “they’re slaves. Isn’t that obvious?” My eye twitches at that, but otherwise I keep my cool.

“Explain yourself.” I demand Starke, turning to him. He smiles to me as he begins to pace about the cage, holding his hands behind himself.

“Oh… where to begin. How many species can use magic Miles?” he asks calmly.

“I don’t care-“

“One, Miles. Ponies are the only ones who can use magic Miles. For the longest time, ponies ruled over the arcane, wasting its potential on simple, useless oddities. But, I saw room for… improvement. I saw a chance to advance our technology to the next level. So, I took it-“

“And by it, you mean you started taking ponies and forcing them to work for you!” Dash barks at him, making him chuckle.

“You could say that. In reality, it’s much more than that.” Starke makes it to the door and enters. All of the ponies immediately bow to him, some shivering slightly. “You see, not too long ago I figured something out about you ponies. Something pivotal to this operation. You adapt to you living conditions quite quickly.

Did you know, back when Sombra ruled, ponies became adapted to living as slaves? When I visited his kingdom, in my younger years obviously, I discovered this. Miners, crafters, flag holders, all of them had their marks in their respective chore.”

“So you’re doing the same thing as Sombra!? How could you be that evil!?” Dash demands from him, teetering on the edge of outrage. Starke laughs at that and approaches one of the bowing ponies. The pony looks up to him and Stake signals for him to rise.

“You think I’m evil, but I have to disagree.” He says as he pulls out a dagger and puts it in the pony’s hoof. “No, I’m simply… ambitious.” He brings the ponies hoof up to his throat and holds it there, staring down at the pony. They stare each other down for what must feel like an eternity for the pony. Starke keeps his cool, knowing no harm will come to him. After a moment longer, the pony drops the blade and lowers his head in defeat.

“Weakling.” The guard inside mutters as he picks the blade up and presents it to Starke, who takes it and sheaths it.

“Starke, you seem to be mistaken.” I finally say, getting his attention.

“Oh? Do enlighten me,” he replies smugly.

“Ponies aren’t the only ones with magic.” I move my hands out and rip the fence open, getting the guards to aim down at me. Dash and Big Mac start yelling at them to lower their weapons as they take aim back at them. I stare down at Starke, our own contest taking place. Neither of us falters. Neither of us moves.

“Captain!” Big Mac yells from behind, bringing me to my decision.

“U40, be sure to spread the word among all of your fellow slaves. Terradisia is coming to free you, all of you. And I will personally bring you all home. You have my word.” I turn and walk away, having Dash and Mac follow after me. The guards glare at us with their weapons drawn, but don’t engage us. We march outside where our ship touches down. We climb back in and take our seats in silence. The doors slide shut and we quickly take off for home.

“Captain-“

“I know.” I cut off Dash, leaning back in my seat.

“That isn’t right, they can’t do this! How could Equestria allow this to happen!?” She demands, tossing her helmet aside.

“Ah don’t think they know.” Big Mac comments, getting Dash to shake her head. “Captain, what’s the plan?”

“First and foremost, we need to get everyone together. From there we make a plan of attack. We’re getting them out of there.” They both nod to me, glancing to each other briefly for a moment. I can’t believe this; I don’t think anyone could really. I didn’t think slavery was that big of a problem, but for them to have that big of an operation… I don’t know what to think. With the sheer amount of product being pushed out, they must have hundreds, if not thousands of slaves. There’s no telling how many there are in the country either!

The ship drops us off in Ponyville, allowing me to run to my shop to gather a few supplies from my workshop. I toss them all into a duffle bag before going to my computer and locate all of the Spartans. It seems they’ve moved on to the next stage of the training, over in Moosden. We had to expand the course due to the expansion of the training, allotting room for guns, magic, and vehicles.

With all of my extra gear gathered, I leave my workshop and head to Moosden. When I teleport I nearly run into some depressed looking fucker.

“Who the fuck are you?” I ask him as I’m about to call the others.

“I... uh…”

“Nevermind,” I cut him off, having more important things to attend to. “Calling all active Spartans. Mobilize in Moosden in ten minutes and be ready for combat.” I call out to them as I march to the edge of the forest. When I make it there I drop my bag and wait for them, trying to keep as level a head as possible.

“Sup Captain!” Ellzy announces before dropping before me.

“Ellzy, aren’t you supposed to be training the others?” I ask him irritably.

“Yeah… anyway! More important stuff happened and you owe me money-“

“It was awesome.” Damian comments, walking up from behind. “Who are we fighting?”

“Goblins. We discovered that they’re keeping ponies as slaves to fuel their technologies.” I tell them, getting Ellzy to gasp in surprise.

“… and?” Damian asks, raising an eyebrow.

“What do you mean ‘and’!? That’s terrible!” Ellzy scolds him, getting him to give him an odd look.

“Is there any other reason we’re invading another country, or is it simply because they’re keeping ponies as slaves?” Damian asks carefully.

“What other reason do we need?” I ask him, crossing my arms.

“… Really? I know you’re relatively new here, but really?”

“If you have something to say, then spit it out. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear it.” I tell him shortly.

“Where to start… Well for starters, ponies keep slaves too. I know they call them ‘second class citizens’ but the cows and sheep are slaves with cushier lives. Griffins, bears and apes all keep orcs as slaves. Minotaur’s will keep anything a slave if it suites the circumstances. Zebras will enslave themselves from time to time, as will apes. And last, but certainly not least, you keep slaves too, Miles.”

“What slave do I have-“

“Oh don’t give me that crap! You’re keeping all of those Kroth as a work force-“

“The Unfamiliar do not count!” I yell back at him.

“Bullshit! As much as you’d hate to admit it, they’re people just like me and you! And you’re using them to fuel your technologies! All this new armor, who made it Miles? Did they want to make it? Were they paid to make it? I’m not going to fight for something that you’re as much a part of, no way. Count me out-“

“Don’t you dare walk away from me!” I growl at him, making him pause. “You may not like the situation, but I am still your commanding officer and you will not disrespect my rank.” He pauses for a moment longer before turning back to face me.

“Well, to quote you, orders sir?” he asks making me frown slightly.

“Captain?” I turn around to see Big Mac and Dash here with us. “Are you really not paying the Kroth?” Dash asks.

“… I allow them to live, that is payment enough.” I tell her, making her eyes widen slightly.

“Miles… don’t do this.” Damian pleads. “The Spartans are better than this. How are we going to liberate thousands of slaves from one of the largest countries without endangering our own? Don’t do this.” I look down and think about that. They don’t know where we operate out of, but that doesn’t mean they won’t find out. If they were able to get this many ponies out of Equestria, they could easily get goblins in. After that… it would only be a matter of time.

“Captain?” I look over to the tree line to see the rest of the Spartans emerging from within. Su ye leads them to me and salutes. “Your orders?”

Next Chapter: Chapter 212 Joint Concerns Estimated time remaining: 24 Hours, 37 Minutes