Ponies have far too many misconceptions about changelings. They assume we only know how to consume love. The idea that we could identify with any other emotion is far too complicated for our little drone minds to fathom. It is arrogant and short minded. Though, I guess that is just something for us to exploit. The Captain was clear on the mission details. I don't have any idea what this pony looks like, but finding him was far too easy. He practically screamed his location away.

Fear. If love is our nectar, fear is our tart. Bitter, sour tasting, it leaves a foul taste in your mouth when you find it. Those ponies don't understand their own emotions. It's amusing really. Why wouldn't we understand fear? It's so prevalent in love. Fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of solitude; these ponies don't understand their own emotions and yet claim to understand us changelings. Arrogance.

The trail of fear left by this pony, this Index, is as obvious as a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls.

Catching up with him wasn't hard either. Targets like this often make simple mistakes. Staying longer than they should, second guessing every turn; their fear makes them waste precious moments that could save their lives. But they have to rationalize everything. They've never had the luxury of turning everything off for the good of the hive. When you have a purpose, everything is simple. You only exist to fulfill that goal, and you don't stop until you make it to the very end. Living without the Queen has been difficult. But now that I am a Spartan, I have my purpose. My cause. Miles is my new leader. The Spartans are my hive mates. Terradisia is my new home. And I will do anything to keep it from crumbling as my previous home did.

"Is this seat taken?" I ask as I enter a private room on the passenger train. My target thought he could make it to Canterlot before we'd catch him. Clearly, he did not research who we are.

"Um... no, go ahead," he tells me nervously, clutching his bag tightly. I give a small giggle and step inside, shutting the door behind myself. He looks me over once before shaking his head and looks out the window. To him I'm just another mare. Though, a mare that's been tailor to his exact liking, courtesy of the information the Captain gathered from that brothel. Slender frame, unicorn, long wavy hair; this is his dream. But he's not looking at me right now. His attention is elsewhere.

"It's such a lovely day, wouldn't you say?" I ask him, trying to bring his attention away from the window. I need to confirm his identity before I move forward. A requirement of the Captains.

"Oh, uh... yeah. I guess," he stutters, glancing at me momentarily.

"My name is Mirage, what's yours?" He gives me another look before returning to the window. "Is everything alright?"

"Well... not really," he mumbles, shifting around uneasily.

"Well, if you want, why don't you talk about it? That always helps me when I'm in a pinch." He doesn't budge from that. I'll have to try something else. "Maybe talking about something else might help. Um... where are you from?"

"..."

"No? Okay... favorite Princess?"

"..."

"Book? Candy? Pasta? Anything!"

"Why are you so persistent!?" he demands. Anger, the spice of emotions. Always making a sudden, stinging, appearance. This is simple enough. Shocked face, raised leg in defense, hurt eyes, saddened ears, and sell it.

"I'm sorry... I just... I just thought you needed somepony to talk to. I-I can leave if that's what you want." I start to leave at that. But I don't even make it out the door before he speaks up.

"Wait, Mirage. You don't have to leave. Please come back." Like clockwork. Ponies are far too empathetic. I close the door and take my seat again, putting on a nervous demeanor. "I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of stress right now and didn't feel like talking. You don't have to go, but... please. Just, no talking. I'm just not in the mood for it."

"Well... only if you at least tell me your name. It would be rude not to." He considers my statement for a moment before folding. Ponies. They're always so worried about what others think. Especially Canterlot ponies. It's almost as if there's some sort of value from the approval of strangers that drives them. I'm sure for them it makes sense, but not for the hive. Such individuality would never be allowed, and this is why.

"Index, my names Index."

"Index, my name is Shifted Past. And I am taking you into custody."

"Wha-"

FWT

These Terradisian tools are too powerful. Tranquilizer gun, pft! If we had this at Canterlot we would have won. But, that was the past. The Captain needs this pony for the information in his head. After that, he will do what he wishes. But I need to hurry. The next part of the phase if about to start.

---

FLASH

I blink away the fuzziness from my vision before making my way through the castle. Everypony here is going about their business as if nothing has happened. As far as they are aware, nothing has. But, that's how it goes here. Nopony knows what's actually going on in the world. Not until it comes crashing in here. There are still some workers here that don't know that I've returned, and it's been nearly ten years! Whether this is good or bad is beyond what I'm willing to contemplate. Right now, all I want to do is find Celestia and distract myself with mindless paperwork.

After asking a few maids I find her in the throne room with Tempestive. They're having a quiet conversation that ends the moment they see me. Something happened, and I am not in the mood for whatever it is right now.

"Please tell me it's something simple," I drone to them as I approach. They give each other a nervous look before smiling back to me. "Tia, why is it whenever we leave you two alone something goes wrong?"

"It's not her fault!" Tempestive shouts, jumping to stand before her. "We were in the library and I was looking for a book and... well... I found a guard and Softy... and we started talking..."

"Tempestive was trying to do the right thing and apologized to her," Tia continues confidently. "They made amends and are even friends now. But, after that, the guard made... a mistake."

"Before we continue, what guard are we talking about?" I ask, just so I can put a face to the position. Nothing more than that.

"Flash Sentry," Tempestive blurts out, much to Celestia's displeasure.

"Flash Sentry... the one Twilight-"

"Yes, that one. He was on duty watching over Softy when he made the mistake of... well... Tempestive?" We both look down to him and wait for him to speak. I'm pretty sure I know what he did, but I want to hear it from Tempestive. What exactly did this guard say.

"He... called me a prince. Is that true Mom? Are we royalty? Is that really why I have to hide my wings?"

I let out a slow sigh as I stand upright. Of course he would learn this today. What other day would he learn this? Never on a day when Miles would be here, that would be too convenient! I honestly can't fault Miles right now though, given what he's doing. And Celestia should have kept a better eye on him, but that's in the past. We're here now, and we're going to face this head on. Starting with the truth.

"Yes Tempestive, we are royalty. Your father and I are the King and Queen of Equestria, making you Prince." I tell him as I lay down to speak more closely with him. He sits down and starts to process all of this information, but there's still more to tell him. "When your father and I found out that I was pregnant with you, we were overjoyed. But, before you were born, we realized somethings. We didn't want you growing up in the castle because we wanted you to live a carefree life. We felt that life here would be too stifling for you, and that Ponyville was the perfect spot for us as a family."

"They didn't want you to worry about your duties as a prince Tempestive," Celestia adds, taking a seat to his side. "They felt that this was the best choice for you."

"And the vest?" he asks quietly.

"Alicorns aren't common Tempestive. The only alicorns to exist before were me and your Aunt. In the past twenty years six alicorns have appeared in Equestria. Five of them are a part of the royal family. We didn't want anypony treating you differently because of that." He thinks about that for a moment before taking a deep breath. This is a lot to take in, but I think he's doing okay so far.

"So... is that also why I'm home schooled? Because the ponies there would know that I'm royalty."

"No, actually that's mostly your fathers doing. Tempestive, most ponies your age are not as learned as you are. A colt your age should be learning basic algebra. Not... whatever it is you know. Not to mention the amount of magical knowledge you posses would probably make most teacher's heads spin. We felt school would be... limiting, for you. But... I will admit, there were some global events that also made the choice a little easier for us to make."

"But that's not to say that it wasn't safe for you to go to school!" Celestia adds in quickly. "It was mainly because they knew you would be too smart for those courses."

"Right!" I shoot her a grateful look before returning to him. He's in thought again, rubbing his chin slowly.

"Since I know now... does that mean that I will start to have responsibilities here at the castle?" I hum to that, taking a moment to think about it.

We originally intended to tell him when he turned twelve. But, that's six years from now, so we'll have to make some new adjustments to our plans. Should we start letting him see this part of our lives? Is now the time to start prepping him for his destiny as a ruler of this nation? While we had no intention of starting this now; the fact of the matter is that he knows. And with that, means that he should at least start learning what it means to be a prince in Equestria. But, where would that ever start with him being so young?

"If we were to start prepping you for Princedom, we would start with etiquette. But, this mainly starts with you. Do you want to start taking on your role as prince? This is a big decision to make Tempestive. And once you make it, there's no going back. This is who you will be for the rest of your life son. There is no shame if you want to go back to Ponyville and live as we have. But, you will always know this. And you will eventually have to come to terms with your destiny and face it. This is your choice, I will not force you one way or another. Not now at least. What will it be? What do you want?"

He looks away to think again. Celestia and I share an uneasy look as we wait patiently for him to answer. This is a lot to think about, especially for someone so young. There will be implications down the road regardless of whichever choice he makes. And, as his parents, we should support him no matter what. Regardless of what we think would be best, whatever he chooses right now, we must encourage him completely. What sort of choice will he make? Where is this all going to lead us? What's going through his head at this moment?

He looks out the window for a bit before walking towards it, fixated on something. The most important choice of your life and you get distracted... Tempestive...

"Oh mother," Celestia mutters as she stands up. Confused, I stand with her and join the two of them at the window.

High in the sky are hundreds of black darts racing towards the east coast. Each one following a precise formation. There are several dots that are obviously other aircraft, but they're difficult to make out in the swarm above. There must be thousands of aircraft flying overhead. What is going on? Miles said that we were going to work this out together, what changed? He... he wouldn't lie to me.

"What's going on?" Tempestive asks, rearing up onto the window sill to get a better view.

"I... don't know," I mutter nervously. I glance to Celestia to gauge her reaction. She's... focused. Clearly thinking of something elsewhere, but she's not concerned. Though, why would she need to be. She doesn't know what happened. To her, this is purely on Miles.

"We should head to the conference hall, see what the others think." Celestia tells me before marching down the hall. I nod to her and start to walk after her, only to stop and look back to Tempestive.

"Tempestive?" I ask him, breaking him away from the window. "I need you to follow me."

"But... I-"

"I know. But this is important. Do not leave my side under any circumstances, no matter what. Understand?" He takes another look outside before nodding to me. I can see the nervousness in his eyes, so I kneel before him to speak on his level. "There's nothing to be afraid of honey. Whatever it is those things are going towards, it's not going to affect us. Okay?" He looks back nervously for a moment, so I set a hoof on his shoulder. He looks back to me and nods, swallowing the lump in this throat. "That's my brave boy. Now try to keep up, okay?"

"Mom," he mutters softly. I wait for him to speak, letting him form his question on his own. "I'm not scared."

"That's my-"

"I'm not scared because of... somethings that I've seen...Things I promised I wouldn't talk about. But I want to talk about it, because I don't know what to do about it all. But I promised..."

"Honey..." I mutter as I rub the back of his neck. "You have to understand that there are times that you have to keep your promises, no matter what. Trust is not something that is easily gained, and it requires constant diligence to maintain. But... there are times that you have to go back on your word. Sometimes it to save somepony else, other times to keep a bigger promise safe. Now... I think it would be best to keep this with yourself until your father comes back. Because I have a feeling that I know what this is all about, and it's something he's... better equipped to answer. Okay?"

"I... I don't think anypony is ready for something like this... but okay." Oh... if only you knew. In due time, but not now. Not like this.

"Good. Now, keep up and don't leave my side." I tell him before hurrying out of the throne room. I don't know what Miles is planning, but there better be a good reason for this. We turn at the end of the hall and stop when we see the Kroth standing before us, the Nether Walker. He takes a few slow steps towards the window and looks up at the flying vehicles quietly. I keep quiet as I wait for him to act, ready to put him down if need be.

"An ominous sight, no?" he asks me quietly, staring up at the sky. "So, this is how it begins-"

"If... if you wish to be with your people, then go." I know releasing him will anger everyone, but I don't want him here right now. Not while Tempestive is here. He doesn't move, he doesn't even acknowledge that I spoke to him. He just keeps staring up at the sky in... wonder?

"A famine now a war. A war that will plague the universe... and what's to find at the end? Darkness is here... and we thought we had finally found our land of life..."

He continues to mutter to himself, oblivious to the rest of the world. I take Tempestive and leave him. If he wants to stand there and ramble, that's fine. I have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.

---

Flight was a dream for Ape kind. We have never flown before, and none have ever attempted to try. Why would we? Most live in the jungles where the sky is blocked from sight. Pegasi rarely came to our lands, and even when they did it was obvious why they could fly. Apes can barely swim, why would we think we could fly? Not the humans though. They dreamed of everything, and made it all a reality.

The AA-20 Stella Predator is a marvel to behold. Sleek. Majestic. Powerful. I couldn't believe that something like this would be able to fly, let alone reach the stars! This is as much of a tool of war as it is a work of art. Every little detail meticulously scrutinized to perfection. Everything geared towards one thing and one thing only, getting that massive gun to the battlefield. Some start with the rhythm, others start with a figure in the foreground, this work of art started with the Transitum.

The Transitum, or Crossing gun, isn't really a gun. It's a shield projector. It creates a dome before the aircraft that protects it during entry into planets. But, when you focus the beam into a short burst, you'll knock anything out of the air or put a massive hole in it trying to. Everything about this machine is made to get that weapon to the enemy, and annihilate it. And it has quickly become my favorite tool in this arsenal. The others here, they don't understand the potential of something like this. But, that's always been a talent of mine. I can see what can truly happen when you give it the right kind of push.

"Sixty seconds to launch, please signal," a machine calls to me in my head set. I look over the controls and double check everything. Power, full. Engines, primed. Payload, full. The extenders for the floor levers are tied tightly to my feet and the I have a clear view all around. One tap on the glass and my hud comes into display. I look out at the machines around me as they clear the runway. This is it, time to make some art.

"This is control tower, you are clear to launch on my mark." I tighten my grip on the throttle and stick, pulsing my magic into the machine. It hums in response. We're ready. "Mark."

I push the throttle up and slam back into my seat as I race down the tunnel. Panel after panel open as I accelerate higher and higher. The straps from the AA-20 keep me from blacking out, and the flight suit I'm wearing removes most of the effects from moving so quickly. I'm still pressed against my seat, but I'm still able to throttle to the next level. Everything becomes a blur as I push up the next level, waiting for my true launch. At the very end of the tunnel it turns upwards and launches me high into the air. For the vehicle, it's like a slap in the face as the elements come to bear. But we handle it well and level off, just as we've done dozens of times before.

"Tea squadron with me," I yell into my microphone as I join the horde of Aquila's swarming over Ponyville. There are four points all over the Everfree that are pouring out more and more vehicles like them. With the last of us out and no sign of immediate danger, we'll be able to engage properly.

"Tea squadron fixed on your position. Ready to engage." You can always tell what you're talking to by their tone. Aquila's have a deeper tone than their Bot counterparts. Not as deep as their High-grade cousins, but deep enough.

"Copy that. Let's climb to our attack position and wait for the order, shall we?" I ask as I start to fly towards the coast.

"Affirmative."

With another push of the throttle we race over the ocean. The entire attack force will follow our assault, so we need to make sure we cause as much havoc as possible. That means, we need to attack as soon as possible. There's no doubt that they've seen what we are up to. We need to make it there before they can mount any form of counter attack. And that means we needs to move quickly.

Sound breaks as we race through the sky. It's no matter. Their destruction will arrive well before they hear us. What used to take months and weeks we can do in hours and minutes. What used to be limited to singular races is now in the hands of those willing to grab it. Why there are those that refuse to see the inevitable is lost to me. But it doesn't matter. If they refuse to look, I will force them to. And if they fight, well, that's what we're made for.

"Target obscured due to weather. Cloud cover is reading acidic. Do you still wish to engage?" I peer over and see the sickly green clouds down below. We've reached our height and we're nearing our destination. There's no point in turning back now.

"Yes. Wait for my command." I slow down to our attack speed and wait until we're in position. Our first targets are the four main towers of the capitol building. Intelligence suggests that they'll house the M.R.W.'s that will posses the greatest threat to us. Once those towers are down we'll stay in the area for air support while the ground forces land. After that, escort duty.

"Si Ye?" I blink when I hear the captains voice in my ear. Don't tell me you're backing down at the last second.

"Sir?" I respond hesitantly.

"Remember your objects. You are clear to engage." I smile to myself when he says that. I knew he wouldn't back down now. He may wait till the last second to act, but he never backs down once he does.

"Copy that sir. This is Tea squadron, we have the green light. Sound off," I call out to the others.

"This is Echo squadron, sounding off," Tiber replies.

"This is Angel squadron, sounding off," Ellzy calls out.

"Ranger, sounding off," Johnathan calls.

"All squadrons are a go, you are clear to engage. Mark." I give myself a moment to brace before pushing the stick down to dive.

The entire vehicle shakes as we race through the cloud cover. Immediately alarms start to sound off as the acid water starts to affect the vehicle. We've tested this before though. We can make it though and still be effective down below. Even if it's raining. The liquid doesn't stay on long enough to do enough damage to force us down. And the propulsion system is internal, so there's little room for it to become damages. But, that isn't to say that we're in the clear. We'll have... maybe seven minutes, before we'll be forced to leave the area. Ten if we have to, but then we won't be able to leave the atmosphere.

Once we make it through the clouds I take a moment to take in my surroundings. The Capitol isn't what it used to be. What was once the pride of the United Griffin Colonies are now a rundown hobble of delusional, stubborn, and ill-fated griffins. Some used to call it Mount Pride, due to their choice in carving a mounting into their capitol. Now, it's the thorn of stubbornness plaguing the entire world. They should have left when they had the chance. Now... now it's too late for them.

I mark the building on my window's touch screen and prepare to fire. With nothing stopping me, I pull the trigger and feel my craft wiggle as it drops below me. A fraction of a second later a trail of smoke races out from beneath and towards my target, followed by dozens more from all around me. I watch in awe as they all make their way towards their targets, moving faster than anything imaginable.

KRA-BOOM

I nearly choke when I see them all explode early against a sheen that glimmers over the entire city. Somehow, they were able to put up a shield in the mere seconds before we could attack them. Impossible. Where would they get that kind of magic?

BOOM

I shake away my disbelief as one of the Aquilas near me explodes into a fiery heap. Everyone breaks away and begins to evade the enemy below. It's free picking for them now. At least until we break that shield.

"All formations begin bombing sorties, we need to break that shield! Start a rotation, Tea Squadron will go first!" I call out as I dive down. We'll be a harder target to hit down here. They all confirm my orders and begin to race around the city, moving as quickly as possible. I can hear the machines inside the city begin to fire openly, trying their best to stop our attack. I can't see if they're at all successful though. I'm nearing the ground at this point and will have to put all my focus into this attack. I don't know how far out these shields go. If I'm not careful, I could ram right into it.

I level out near the ground and jet towards the capitol. I mark my target and pick my load out as quickly as possible before firing. The aircraft following me have a slight delay, but follow my example exactly. Once they've fired, I pull the stick back and plaster myself into my seat as we race back up into the sky. My vision becomes obscured by the green haze as we race upwards. I hear the bombs make contact, but I have no clue if they made it through or not. As a unit, we break through the clouds, having wisps of green reach out after us. A quick inverted C levels us off.

"Incoming fighters from three O' clock, permission to engage." I look over to that area and scan the area. At this distance, they look like tiny specks far off on the sky. But their formation, their movement, and their numbers tell me otherwise.

"Tea squadron moving to engage enemy air force. Tiber, take command of the assault on Griffindor," I call out on the radio as I turn to face them.

"Copy that, good hunting."

I've ran this simulation multiple times before, but now it's my time to prove myself. Two forces charging one another, ready to strike each other down in a moment’s notice. We'll fire first. Simple enough, mark your target and pull the trigger. That's the easy part, now comes the challenge. My view is obscured for a moment as the volley of missiles dart through the air. Likewise, streaks of grey begin to make their way towards us. This is it, am I worthy of this power?

I break forward and begin to gain speed. There are three missiles locked onto me, making it that much more difficult to deal with. I have mere seconds to react. The three steaks have spun out to cover as much air as possible, spiraling right for me. One choice, one action; time to decide.

I pull the stick to my left and pull the power back as I send out a burst of flares. The combination of cutting my power and barreling in the air kills my momentum. Luckily for me, it carries through with my flares and sends them before me. The missiles take the bait and cross harmlessly before me, two of them diving into the clouds below with the other one flying off to my right. I see it start to curve back towards me, so I punch the engines back up. With my speed, previously cutoff so abruptly I start to dive back to the earth. Now I'm racing towards it, diving through the clouds with tremendous speed. When the cloud cover breaks, I get a full view of the battle before me.

I don't think we were planning on there being so many Unfamiliar here. The shield over the city is still up and there are clear indicators that the fighting force inside is ready to defend. Countless tracers and energy bolts are flying out of the city. Most are going towards the ground where a massive invasion force is attempting to break through. The two high-grade military bots we brought are doing their best to break through, but clearly having little luck. Dozens of fires dot the surrounding landscape, with dozens more falling from the sky to join them.

I have the chance to, so I decide to send another pair of bunker busters towards the dome. Every bit counts...

In the corner of my eye I catch a glint of light. I quickly back left just in time to avoid another missile. In the mere seconds that pass I see the aircraft fly dangerously close by. In the mere seconds of contact I made perfect eye contact with the opposing pilot. In the mere seconds of sight we shared, it was understood. One of us is going to kill the other.

I tighten my turn until I have him in my sights. He's turning back towards me, but it's clear that he'll finish the turn more quickly. I'm already fairly high up, so I push myself to start diving at a faster rate. I need to keep myself out of his direct view so he can't lock onto me. Since I was already diving before, I make it towards the ground level in seconds and pull back up. The force is almost too much for me to handle, but I keep my focus on the fight. He's lost sight of me, but knows I'm hunting him. He's trying to race away while also shifting side to side. If a missile locks onto him, he'll dodge it easily. I'll have to use the cannon then. But I can't engage him on a level field either.

Using the momentum from the dive, I start to race back up again. I level my ascent so I can fire a burst towards him. I do my best to lead the him into the shot, but he saw it just in time to bank away from it. I roll over and continue to rise above him, waiting to see when he notices the predicament he's in. If he notices that I'm chasing him like this, he'll need to call in a friend from help. If he can't, then he'll have to make a run for it. I have the advantage, for now at least. He has to keep weaving to avoid me, so I have to keep diving up and down to avoid him. But this allows me to take pot shots at him.

Our fight becomes a deadly dance. I fly high and dive down to fire at him, only to have him dart away and jet off sideways. From there I dive below and try again from beneath him, only to have him to repeat his previous actions. Each pass I come closer and closer to making my mark, but it's never close enough. There were a few passes where a few of his allies came to intervene, but they were chased away by Aquilas. Nonetheless, they were detrimental to my concentration, earning this skilled pilot precious seconds. Patience is key here. This will work eventually, I just need to keep at it. I have adequate cover, we're quickly gaining distance away from the battle center, he's running out of options.

My opening finally comes as we near a mountain range. Clearly in desperation he tries to make a break for the mountain side. If he can get to the other side without taking a hit, he'll gain the advantage he needs to turn the tide of this fight. I'm currently up high, meaning I'll have one shot at this. I just need to assume his next move and hope it's the right one. If he goes to climb over, then I need to aim high. If he's aiming for the sides, then I need to lead his escape.

I doubt he'll go high. The winds up there may slow him down too much to escape properly. Going right would send him back to the battlefield, which could go either way for him. Going left is his best choice. He can bank back around the mountain with the least amount of resistance and bring me into a horizontal fight. If I were him, I'd go left. With my mind made up, I go to cut him off on the left bank. But, as I make my way down I have to do a double take when I see him move to climb over the mountain. The fool! He'll lose too much speed to make any proper maneuvers! But, with me going the wrong direction, he can afford that... He out smarted me, but I can still turn this around. If I bank all the way around I might be able to lose him in the fray. It's my best chance now, so that's what I do.

I make as tight of a turn as I can manage and throttle as high as I can for combat. I tilt to the left slightly to look back and do a second double take. A plume of dark smoke is rising over the mountain top from the other side. My only assumption is that he lost too much speed and couldn't maintain his flight. He crashed. My first air combat against a real target and the fool denies me the satisfaction of a kill. As bitter as I am, there is work to be done. I'll sulk about it later. Damned fool.

---

I can't help but let my nerves get the better of me as we wait to deploy. I keep tightening my paws onto the butt of my rifle as I let my legs bounce idly. Being a Jade hound, I'm all too familiar with raiding and pillaging. It was how we got by. But... it was never on this level before. Before, if you were soft, your pups didn't eat. The pack would suffer for your consciousness nagging away from you. But... this is new. I've never attacked a group of people because... because! I know the history, and I get why the Captain is making this choice. And I'll fight, as I said I would. But... this isn't what hounds and dogs fight for.

"Beserkers!" Big Mac calls, getting all of our attention. "We're landing while the landin' zone's hot. Git ready!"

We all give a shout as we give one last look over. My armor covers most of my body, leaving out my paws and the thin parts of my legs. The helmet is cramped, but I've learned to accept it. I have all of my ammunition, my explosives, my weapons are loaded and currently have their safeties on. I give my paw a shake and light the fire in the center of it. My magic may not be strong, but I doubt they're expecting a Jade Hound to cast.

"Lieutenant Lief," Big Mac calls, getting my attention. "You'll take Frank and Sledge with you and take the left flank while I'll take Raz and Yinbie on the right. Understood?" I tilt my head in confusion. Shouldn't we be landing in the castle grounds? This isn't the original plan. "The castle has a shield, so we're being forced to land."

"Understood Captain!" That's all I needed to hear. I'm sure all the other Spartans are going to be doing their job, so I'll do mine. Though... left flank of what?

Before I could ask the ship lurches downwards as all the lights turn red. We're about to be dropped off, which usually only takes thirty seconds. I'll have to figure it out as I go. I can't let them see me asking questions either. This is my first week as lieutenant, I need to prove to them that I have earned this title. I look over to Frank and Sledge and nod to them, getting nods back from them.

"Good?" I ask them, getting additional nods. "How're you holding up Frank?" He lifts up his mechanical leg and slams it onto the floor.

"I'm good. Let's just get this over with." I nod to the moose and look to Sledge.

"Good as I'll ever be. Excited to kick some griffin ass though!" the pony yells, getting a few cheers from the others. At least they're in high spirits.

I know I'll be fine once the door opens. But the wait till then is always stressful. I don't want to be shot down again, that sucks. And what kind of a mess are we landing into? If they had shields over the castle, what about the rest of the city? If they knew a fight was coming, how prepared are they going to be when we touch down? I'll know what to do when we touch down, but waiting for the door to open up may just as bad as the actual fighting itself.

Just as quickly as it started, we suddenly lurch again as the I.T.A. comes to a stop and the doors slide open. Before we could even act a pair of bots pivot over the opening and swing some mounted machine guns into position. As we move to clear out they open fire at the world below. I move to the front and take a leap out, landing on the ground a few feet below. I pull up my rifle and switch the safety off as I move forward to check for enemies. Sledge falls in behind me, followed by Frank.

We're in the middle of what looks like the main street to the castle. The cobblestone road is wide and empty, having several spots smoking from weapon fire. The rain is coming down at a decent rate, meaning we should get to cover as soon as possible. I motion for everyone to follow me as I make my way towards the closest building on the left side of the road.

KER-THUD

I fall flat on my face as a pair of high-grade military bots are dropped a few yards down the street. The front one has what looks like a grappling hook for its left arm and a sword with teeth for the right. The back one has a quad of anti-infantry guns on its left arm and anti-vehicle canons on its right. As soon as they land they draw all of the surrounding fire. Most of it seems to be small arms fire, dealing no damage at all, but there are some larger rounds coming in. Though, they aren't doing anything significant either.

I shake my head and push myself up to continue to the buildings. I look across the street to see the others doing the same. Big Mac starts to motion with his arms to relay a message to me. 'Push forward. Keep on target. Free to fire.' I confirm the order and wave the others on. It should be a straight shot to the castle grounds. From here it's just following the massive robots.

The lead bot starts to walk forward, igniting the massive hook-like appendage on the way. A massive wall of energy comes out from it, forming a diamond shield the size of its torso. It raises the shield just in time to block some incoming artillery. The explosions from them force us to take cover in a nearby alley and wait for them to move forward. I peer around the corner and watch them get to work.

The front one is taking point and leading the pair towards the magical wall. The back one has taken cover behind the first and is attempting to return fire, thought the wall is stopping anything from getting through. We race after them when they make it a block down the road. Each building we pass drives me crazy. We don't have the time to go through and clear each one of them. Any city guards that see us walk by will have the chance to stab us in the back. It's not something I like leaving to chance, but it's what we have to do. Hopefully the sounds of artillery will keep their heads down, but here's hoping.

When we make it to the last block before the magical barrier we take up position at an alley corner. I have Frank watch our backs as I have Sledge watch the road we just ran down. I move my attention to the bots before us. We were supposed to land in the courtyard and secure the castle grounds so we could land in the Legion. But now we have to deal with this wall, giving them time to mount a proper resistance. The bots were originally supposed to cover us from any heavy fire, but they may need to help us with any main forces that have dug in. We'll have to see what happens when we get that wall down.

The lead bot sets its sword arm out and starts to charge the weapon. The teeth on it start to move forward at a slow rate as they begin to glow a light blue. As they grow brighter they also start to move at a faster rate, eventually getting to the point where they become a blur of blue energy. The hum from it deafens everything else as it sends a powerful gust of wind over the area. I one swoop of its arm it brings the edge down on the magical wall. Sparks fly all over as the bot fights to get the teeth to grip into the magic. The fire from within intensifies as they try to stop the machine from breaking through. Most are stopped by its shield, but a few start to break away at its armor. Hopefully they don't break the giant saw-sword.

Cracks are starting to form around the point of contact, but at a slow rate. Slower than the cracks on the shield at least. A round from a M.R.W. slams away at its leg, forcing it to take a knee. It keeps at the wall though, trying its hardest to break through. I can see the troops inside forming their last-minute attempts at a first line. The minute the wall comes down it's going to be hailed with countless weapons. There has to be a way to get at them before they can unload on the bot...

"Frank, Sledge!" I yell out as I turn to them, tossing my rifle back on its sling. "Follow me, we're going under!"

"Sir!" They yell back together. I look over to Big Mac and start to motion to him what I plan to do. He gives me the okay, so I start to dig.

The cobblestone proves to be resilient, but I manage to get through with a bit of perseverance. Once the cobblestone breaks away, the soil beneath becomes butter in my paws. In no time, I have a tunnel large enough to fit all of us, though it'll be slow going. Frank and Sledge cover my back as I work my way through the ground. It's a bit awkward doing this by myself. Normally I'd have one or two other dogs with me, keeping all of the loose soil out of the main tunnel. But, since I'm by myself, we'll basically be leaving a tight passageway behind ourselves... kind of. Depending on how far we go, we might bury ourselves. But it should be fine! I think...

FWT-THUD

I duck my head when a round slams into the dirt before me. I turn back to see a group of griffins a distance down the tunnel. They've taken cover behind some mounds of dirt and have set up a firing line against us. I can see at least five griffins, but there might be more back there.

The tunnel erupts as we fire at one another. Frank and Sledge move to the sides of the tunnel as I drop down behind a small mound, trying to get my rifle in my paws. I think they manage to hit one of the griffins, but he's pulled back and replaced quickly. They return fire and pull back to reload. Their rounds mostly miss, but the one that catches Frank in his augmented leg does nothing to him. A new line of griffins move up and fire at us, keeping us relatively pinned down.

"Collapse the tunnel!" I yell as I roll over to be behind Sedge, finally getting my rifle out. I take aim and send a few rounds down range, hitting a griffin in the shoulder. The rest retreat to cover before I could take aim at them. "I'll make an escape, keep them off my back!"

"Got it!" Sledge yells before he pulls out a grenade. "H.E. OUT!" he yells before pulling the pin out and tossing it over their mound.

We all take cover as the ball explodes. A concussive wave hits us like a brick wall, beating the air out of me. Rubble falls on them, hopefully killing them and sealing any others from chasing after us. It takes me a moment to gain my bearings, but I eventually force myself up and start to claw my way out of here. I break through the ground with ease, telling me that we made it into the courtyard at least.

I poke my head out of the ground and take a look around. The bot that was trying to break through is in rough shape. A section of its shield is down, with the area behind it being nearly shredded to bits. Its lost half of its left leg, forcing it to stay in a kneeling position. Its sword has broken through the wall, sticking in halfway, but hasn't shattered it yet. The bot behind it seems to be in good condition, but can't help us yet.

The castle is practically a glowing light from all of the outgoing fire. A good portion of it is going towards the bot at the wall, but a majority is going out at the air forces. A trench has been hastily built on the ground just before the castle, giving the defenders decent cover. Griffins are flying all over, trying their best to set up a proper defense. We caught them off guard, but they are slowly getting ready to fight us off. Not quite the fatal sweep we had been planning. I take one last look out there before ducking back down to the others.

"What's the view like?" Frank asks nervously.

"Not good," I tell him, trying to think. "They're setting up a proper defense right now. I don't know how realistic it is against this force, but it's something at least. I have a feeling that as soon as the wall comes down they'll turn everything on the high grades."

"And we need those to cover the Legion," Sledge muses as he thinks. "So, we need to cause a ruckus then?"

"Yeah, I just don't know where to start. We're thirty yards out, so running out from here would be stupid." I'm mostly thinking out loud. Hopefully they can help me think this through.

"So, we keep digging?" Franks asks.

"Mm... I don't know about that. We'll leave the bot exposed if we do. And we don't want to overrun ourselves at the moment." Sledge comments. We're here, so we need to take advantage of this while we can. But what to do...

"I've got it!" I say with a clap of my paws. I reach into my pockets and pull out of the smoke grenades I have, passing them to Frank and Sledge. "I'm going to dig a little trench, as wide as the street. When they start to notice what I'm doing you two pop some smoke. Just enough to cover us. From there we can get the others inside and mount a proper assault on one of the flanks. Got it?"

"HOO-RAH!" They yell back.

I get to work on making my trench line, and immediately come under fire. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, I am tossing dirt up right in front of them. Frank and Sledge toss out the grenades and cover the area in a grey shroud. With the extra cover, I push forward, tearing through the soft ground with total ease. The air cracks around me as they try to guess where I am, but with my partial cover and cloud cover they can't seem to find me. I make it to the end of the street and start to dig down, just enough to get under the wall and to the other side. Once I'm done I pop back up and wave the others over. I turn back and pull out my rifle, getting ready to engage the enemy.

I make it back to the other side and motion for the others to come closer. We all met up by the entrance and look to Big Mac, waiting for his orders. He walks up to the edge of the trench and takes a look out into the haze. The smoke is starting to clear up a bit, but it's still hard to see what's going on exactly. Big Mac... has balls, to say the least. He's just standing there, looking out at the battlefield before us. No worries at all. Maybe that's just part of his calm demeanor or something. Maybe he's just that cocky, it's hard to tell really.

"Somethin' is poweren this magical wall. We are going to find it and take it out, understood?"

"SIR!" We all respond together.

"Raz, Yinbie, you two stay back and provide covering fire. The rest of you are with me. We're going to take out the left flank of that trench before breaking into the castle. We'll throw some more smoke before going across, got it??" We yell back in confirmation. Simple enough, I guess.

We all rush to the left flank and get ready to charge. The few of us with smoke grenades pull them out and wait for the order. Big Mac takes a quick glance over before nodding to us. I pull the pin and lob the grenade overhead. We give it a second to burst before climbing over. The smoke is providing perfect cover between us and the defenders, billowing over the square completely. Swirls of grey dart towards us as we start to charge through the haze. I can hear the wiz of metal flying past me, threatening to take me down. This part is easy. I don't have to think, just act. Run. Scream. Let them know that despite everything they are trying, I'm coming for them.

I follow after my group as we break through the fog just a few feet away from the trench line. The griffins there open fire on us as we attempt to break into their defensive line. I take a few hits in the chest and fall over. The pain is throbbing and is making it a bit harder to breath, but I push it aside. I'm too close to stop now. I've done too much to get this far just to fall over and die.

I don't bother standing, that would just waste time. I can move just as fast on all four anyway. I set my sights on a griffin in the trench before me. He's in the middle of reloading, so he can't shoot me. I let instinct kick in as I charge the young soldier. He sees me and tries to quicken he reload, but it's too late for him. Just as he pulls out the ram rod from the barrel I lunge at him, tackling him to the ground. With no weapon in my paws I go about tearing away at him with my claws. His armor proves to be useless and I dig through it with ease, ripping the flash beneath him just as easily. He tries to fight back, he tries to escape, but it's too little too late. I'm not sure if he died or just gave up. He just went limp, silent.

I stand up and look for my rifle. Luckily my sling was still equipped so it didn't fall behind. I pull it out and start to pick my targets. I can see groups in the castle moving to engage us, so I set my sights on them. I set a narrow burst towards the front of the group and pull the trigger. my shoulder shakes and the bullets fly forward, hitting several griffins down range. I see at least three of them take hits, with two of them falling to the ground. The others scatter for cover, hiding behind pillars and short walls.

I duck down and take a look back. Most of the griffins in this part of the trench have been cleared out by now. They may have had numbers, but we had skill and technology. Big Mac is standing in the middle of the trench surveying the area. He looks too calm for all of this. There are bullets and artillery shells flying all over and he's... just standing there. Thinking. Maybe he's just used to this. He's one of the oldest Spartans we have. Will I get to that point?

"Leif!" he barks at me, making me jump. "Focus!"

"R-right! Where to next?" I ask as I bring my attention back to the fight. The griffins are coordinating a counter attack against us. I can see them moving in the castle as the ground forces out here have turned their attention to us.

"Time ta git dirty boys! Let's take this fight inside the castle!" Big Mac yells.

"HOO-AH!" We all yell back. I take a moment to channel my magic before setting it into my rifle. The energy courses through it as etches of magical language begin to appear on the barrel. Captain told me not to, but I named this enchantment. I call it the Dog Whistle.

PPHHHH-PPHHHH-PPHHHHIIIERT

I fire over the opposing trench line to provide cover. Each shot that I fire shrieks towards the enemy, forcing them to flinch. Without the proper head gear, this could very easily break their ears. I wait for the others to break through the window before running after them. The shock of my weapon gave us a perfect opening to exploit, though I don't know how well it will work afterwards. I landed on some glass inside. They didn't cut me too deeply, just enough to make me notice. All this armor and my first blood loss is to a bit of glass, go figure.

We seem to be in an office of some sort. Nothing much of immediate value seems to be here. They probably emptied this room when the rains started out to preserve whatever they could. Before anyone could say anything, the door explodes inward as the griffins force us to cover. I duck by the side of the room with Sledge and slide to a sitting position as the few machine guns out there continue to tear apart the room.

"Everypony good?" Big Mac yells over the fire. We all call back to him as we move closer to him. I make it to the wall with the door and take aim at the window we came through.

"Shall I?" Sledge asks almost jokingly. Big Mac nods to him, getting him to switch to the war hammer he keeps on his side. He takes a moment to psych himself up before turning the corner and slamming his hammer on the ground. A shock wave ripples through the ground, giving the rest of us a chance to move in after him. Big Mac goes first, followed by me, then Frank.

I can see seven griffins in the immediate area. Two on each side of the hall before me, three at the machine gun they have mounted in the center of the hall. There are probably more in the hall to my left, but Big Mac took that side. They've all opened fire, setting a light haze in the large hall. Thanks to Sledge, they miss me completely. And the turret pulled too high to affect us, so we charge forward.

I take aim at the griffins huddled on the left and fire at them. I take my time to aim each round, sending them towards center mass. I'm not as skilled as the others when it comes to rifles, but I don't need to be. Their armor is almost useless at this point. It wasn't made to stop a bullet, it was made to stop a sword. They go down easily, though my magazine empties in the process. I toss it back and charge to the left of the gun emplacement. They're trying to mow me down as I charge to the side, but this clear Sledge up to close the distance. He runs forward and slams his massive hammer down on the spinning barrels. I don't know if it's the enchantment or the quality of the weapon, but the hit sends the barrels to the ground in a useless heap.

With Frank engaging the other group in melee, I make it to the corner and turn to help Big Mac. There are far more griffins over here, and they have us in their sights. A few of them are trying to rush Big Mac, but they die quickly under his automatic fire. I switch my rifle to single fire and reload before I join in the firefight. I pick my closest target and send a few rounds at it. Three to the chest and he falls to the ground. Next target, same ordeal. Three rounds to the chest. And again. And again. With each kill I get they send more and more griffins towards us. And with each kill they get closer and closer.

"FRANK, SLEDGE! MOVE ON AND FIND THE GENERATOR!" Big Mac yells. They don't question him. They take off down the hall, charging into the first room that they find. "LEIF! TIME TO EARN THAT PROMOTION. HOLD THE LINE!"

"HOO-AAH!" I yell back as I put down another griffin. There has to be at least fifty more griffins in this hall, not to mention the ones outside!

I pull back to reload and chance to look back into the study we entered through. At the same time a griffin flies through the door way and charges me with his bayonet. I try to duck, but he catches me in the shoulder and brings me to the ground. I yell as he adds pressure to me, trying to pin me down. I try to kick him off, but he's not budging. Even worse, my left arm is caught under my rifle, which is pinned down by his paws. I look over and see a dead griffin’s rifle nearby. It has a bayonet as well, with the blade facing the best possible direction. I grunt as he twists the blade in me, saying something in his native tongue that I don't understand. I reach out to the rifle and grab at it, accidentally pushing it away. I try again, only to find the rifle is just out of reach. The griffin yells something again, pulling the rifle back slightly. I use this to give me enough room to push up with both arms.

He falls over and I roll with him, ending up on top of him. He tries to smack the butt of his rifle against me, but use my forearm to push it away. I bring my paw back and slash his throat open. A splatter of blood sprays out on me as he grasps at his neck. Still enraged, I slap my claws against his face, tearing open a portion of his cheek and beak.

I grab my rifle and stand up. Big Mac is being surrounded. There are three on him, with more coming from the room. This is what we are here for. Beserkers. Charge in, get in trouble, and kill your way out. I take aim and start to fire on the group indiscriminately. My finger works over time as I put down griffin after griffin. I don't care what they do to me, they won't harm my pack. When the rifle runs out of ammo I drop it and ignite my paws. There are more in the room, so I go to the room.

I charge forward and thrust my paws forward, connecting with some young griffin too dumb to look my way. With the added energy of my magic I send him flying back against the wall, knocking him out. Another griffin climbing through the window screams something before chucking his rifle at me. I block it easily enough, slightly confused by his action. He steps into the room and throws his claws out, igniting them. This surprises me for a moment. He has magic. They taught him magic. I suddenly don't feel as superior as I did before.

He thrusts a claw at me and blasts me with a burst of energy. I stagger back a bit before charging at him. He uses his wings to evade me and slams the ground with both of his claws, pushing me back again. I try to blast him with my own magic, but he proves to be too agile to hit. Books scatter everywhere as I try my best to score a bit, only to miss each time. Tired of missing, I toss both of my arms out and engulf the room in fire. I scream as I put everything I have into this.

When I hit my limit, I let go of the spell and drop to my knees. I cough a few times as the air slowly makes its way back in. In a haze, I reach up and slowly remove my helmet. I don't think I'm getting enough air. I let it fall to the ground and take a few deep breaths. I hear someone else cough too, so I look up to see the same griffin before me. He's removing his dark blue cape as he tries to stay standing. There are a few singe marks on him, but other than that he seems fine. The cloak identifies him as one of Ulfrics personal guards. The only professional, full time soldiers of the griffin army. The Mindless.

Ulfric trains them himself. Each one of them has to prove themselves before they're even considered to be trained. There aren't many of them, and each of them is ranked so that only the best stay within their ranks. It's said that the training takes away any traces of the former griffin, leaving them a mindless killing machine. Hence the name. The Spartans have only seen them in action a few times, and even then, it was before I was trained. And now they have magic. Does that mean Ulfric has magic as well?

I don't get to dwell on the thought for long. The griffin gets up and starts to walk towards me, lighting his claws along the way. I have to be careful now. Let him get close, let him think this will all be over soon. Wait for the perfect time to strike. He stops just before me and looks into my eyes, I stare back at him. I can see the anger in his eyes. The disgust. I can almost read his thought. How could such a lowly creature like me dare attack his homeland? He's thinking to himself too, giving me the perfect time to ready myself.

Just as he goes to strike me down I lunge at him. I open my jaws as widely as possible as I aim for his neck. Just as I make it within his grasp I clamp down on the mail that surrounds his neck and start to shake my head from side to side. Everything turns to a blur of screams and growls and I ripe his armor apart. I start to bite wildly as I start to scratch away at his sides, ripping holes in metal and flesh alike. He tries to push me off, he even tries to use his magic to repel me, but I'm locked onto him. His screams turn to pained gurgles and I ripe out his throat and tear away at his ribs. Blood and gore cover me and I finish off my kill. An almost primal sense of pride washes over me as I stand over my kill, blood dripping from my maw.

"Where's yer damn helmet!?" Big Mac yells as he ducks into the room, dodging a torrent of bullets. I look around for a moment before picking it up and looking it over.

"It got burned," I tell him quietly, the adrenaline ebbing off. "Are we surrounded?"

"Eeyup!" he yells as he leans over the doorway to return fire.

"Do you think Frank and Sledge made it to the generator?" I ask as I pull out my rifle and reload.

"Dunno! A bit busy at the moment!" he yells. I look up out the window to see the magical wall still standing, though nearly broken through by this point. "Ah could use some assistance!"

"Yes sir!" I yell before rushing towards the window and tackling a griffin to the ground. A quick slash to the neck kills him before I dive to the side and start to dig. This is now my playing field. I'm sure Big Mac can take care of himself.

---

I'm sitting on a roof in the center of a suburb just outside the magical wall of the castle. I'm joined by Shifted who is currently in the form of a griffin. He says they have better sight, but I think he's just saying that to poke fun at me. I can't help but tap my hoof impatiently as we wait for our orders to come in. As of now, it's hold the line and wait for further instructions. We're not Beserkers, so we're not the front. And we're not in any aircraft, so we're waiting to join the fight. It doesn't help that the area we landed in has nothing going on! We're Spartans, front line soldiers, waiting to join the front. Plus, we're sitting here in acid rain! Needless to say, I'm a bit antsy.

"Will you please sit down? You're distracting me," Shifted complains. I respond with a huff and roughly sit down, still agitated by all of the waiting. "You need to relax. I swear, you ponies freak out the minute something goes wrong-"

"Don't play that Changeling drone card on me! We're front line soldiers being told to wait to join the front line! How aren't you jittery!?" I yell, flailing my forelegs around for emphasis.

"Because, like any good soldier, I follow my orders," he tells me simply, squinting at the castle a bit harder. "Or would you rather be like Leif and be the front line?" I give him a quizzical look before using my helmet to zoom in on the castle. Sure enough, there's Leif. Tearing through the front like some sort of deranged animal. I don't think he fully understands why he was assigned to the Beserkers. I remember him worrying about getting his rank and not earning it. Pfft, please.

"I don't want to be the front line. I want to do my part! All of this waiting is driving me crazy!" I huff as I reset the view within my helmet.

"Ponies..." Shifted mutters before going silent. I roll my eyes at that. Nothing I say or do is justified beyond being a pony. At least to him. He doesn't mean anything by it, or so I believe. It's just how he sees things. It's not easy to understand, what with him being a drone and all. "The Beserkers broke off into two groups. The shields should be coming down soon enough."

"Right," I respond. I take a look out at the battlefield and try to prep myself mentally for the fight. There has to be at least three battalions of griffins in there, maybe more. Thank the gods we have our robot army. I don't know how else we'd do this. I glance to Shifted for a second before shaking my head. Now's not the time to bug him about personal stuff... bother! Now's not the time to bother him!

"What is on your mind?" he asks me, keeping his attention on the castle.

"How did-"

"I can sense your emotions. If you are going to be watching my back I need you to relax and focus. If that means speaking your mind, then do so. Though, how you aren't focused on the battle before us, I'll never understand." I bite my lip as I debate whether or not to ask, but decide to do so. He'll know something's wrong either way, why hide it.

"Well... this is weird, right?" I ask him, finally getting him to look my way.

"You'll have to elaborate on that. There are many weird things present at this moment." I nod to that, glancing to the giant robots trying to break through the magical barrier.

"We're the peacekeepers, yet we're attacking. I want to believe that we're justified in doing so, but... I don't know... there's something off about the whole thing. Don't you think?" He stares at me for a second before looking back out at the fight. He contemplates my question for a moment before responding.

"You ponies want to believe that you've had a peaceful golden age. That you've never had so much bloodshed before. If you knew your all of your history, this wouldn't be so odd to you." I can't help but roll my eyes at that. I should have guessed he'd take it there. “Don’t disregard what I say so easily. Think back to your school days. What wars do they speak of? What atrocities have you learned?"

"There aren't any atrocities in Equestrian history-"

"Is that so?" he asks with almost a laugh. "The Lunar Rebellion, the fall of the Crystal Empire, the genocide of Whitetail Woods. You ponies are rather good at forgetting your shame. But for the rest of us, those of us that have been pushed around for all of history, we don't forget. Even if it's under a new banner, it was only a matter of time before you Equestrians set your sights towards these lands. Though I will admit, I did not see it being so aggressive."

I go to argue with him, but stop myself. Truth be told, I know little to nothing to what he's talking about. And I know better than to argue about things that I don't know anything about. I guess I just never saw us being the ones to attack so openly. When it came to the Unfamiliar, I guess I just always thought we'd fight them from invading Equestria. Heck, I didn't even imagine fighting them. I saw us pirates and dragons, saving pretty mares from fiery buildings, dumb stuff like that. I guess that was narrow minded of me. I guess I really don't know what our history is.

It goes silent between us. I don't really know what to say right now. Does anything even need to be said? Probably not, but I can't help but feel the need to say something. Anything!

"So... are you excited for the Grand Galloping Gala? Or does something like that bug you- IRK! Does it irk you! Not bug, irk... heh... sorry." He shakes his head, making me feel even more embarrassed.

"What is a dance night for you is a buffet for me. I plan to get my fill and then some," he tells me simply.

"Oh... huh?" He looks back to me and considers his answer for a moment.

"The quickest way to a mare’s heart is through dance. Mares love to dance. Even when they're not good at it. It's more of an excuse to rub up on stallions in public, but that's my opinion. When ponies get frisky, one of two things happen. So, while you dance your night away, I'll be having a feast."

"Oh... I'm not much of a dancer... but that's good for you, I guess." He chuckles at me, looking back to the castle.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure some bratty baroness will whisk you away and teach you a thing or two. Or a baron, I'm not sure which yet."

"What?"

BOOM

We both jolt up when a large explosion erupts from within the castle. Smoke billows out from the left wing as the barrier starts to waver. A volley of missiles fire from all around and rash into the weak wall. It shatters into millions of ethereal shards that dissipate into nothingness. Immediately, a massive torrent of out coming fire explodes from the castle. The remaining high grade bot shoves the other bot aside and begins to return fire, taking countless hits as if they're nothing. The screams of countless griffins charging into battle fills the air, only to be drowned out by gunfire from both sides.

"This is Rainbow Dash calling in all available fliers to the main courtyard. Keep the Griffins out of the air, who copies?" Rainbow Dash calls over the radio.

"This is Shifted, High Flyer and I are responding, over." Shifted calls back before standing. "Ready?"

"I'll follow you," I tell him as I pull out my rifle and get ready to take off.

We take off together and dive down towards the street. We pull up at the last moment and use the speed to race forward. It doesn't take us long to make it to the battle grounds, and that's when everything kicks into gear.

I spot three main groups in action. There's a group in the courtyard trying to keep the robots out of the main castle. There's another group in the castle giving covering fire for the former group. The final group is in the air trying to take advantage of the their ability to fly. Each of the groups are well organized and seem to have a clear plan of action. None over extend, and each group supports the other as effectively as they can. A clear plan of defense that has been rehearsed tirelessly is in action. It's now up to us to break it down and advance.

Our orders are to take control of the air. Squads of griffins are making rounds to drop explosives on the bots below. Some seem to be potion based while others are clearly of goblin origin. Each of those squads has another squad running escort. These ones are the tricky ones. Some seem to be mages, casting bolts of magic from their claws or raising shields. Others seem to have anti-material rifles that are being problematic for our Aquilas. They have a routine, but they are losing griffins in each raid they attempt, so it can't last forever. And now we need to quicken its demise.

I follow Shifted as he charges at a group trying to fly back from a run. The escorts spot us immediately and throw up shields for cover. Shifted pushes me left and banks to the right, so I bank left. The four of them split up to provide as much cover as possible, but it doesn't matter at this point. I have an opening on the bomber griffins, so I line up the shot and take fire.

With their backs to me they take each round in the back. Two of them begin to drop only to slam into the side of the building, tumbling the rest of the way to the ground. The other two make it to cover just in time, ducking as I try to score hits on them as well. I check my right just in time to see the two griffins drop their shields and start to charge me. With their magic, I'm no match for a two on one fight. I'll have to think of something...

I give a powerful flap of my wings and push myself backwards, throwing my head back to tip backwards. As soon as I see the ground I give another flap of my wings before tucking them in. As I dive down I look back to see if they are taking the bait. One of them has, but the other one seems to be hesitating. Interesting.

I bring my attention back to my flight path. I wait until we're just above the battlefield before pulling up. I push myself to go as fast as I can move. With all of my armor and weapons weighing me down it's a bit more strenuous than normal. But I've trained enough to know that I'm still faster than your average flier. Though, I guess he's not your average flier.

I glance back to find the griffin chasing me keeping pace. His claws are lit and I can tell he's waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I start to perform aerial maneuvers to try and break up his concentration. I'd roll up before dipping back down or bank left or right quickly. All the while the fight beneath us intensifies. We're flying over the main battle line, which means I need to guide him to our side for this to work.

THWACK

Something slams into my side and forces me to crash into the wet ground. Everything spins for a second before I look up just in time to see y chaser attempt to dive onto me. Just as he was going to close the distance a black diamond shield came thrusting out and forced slammed into his side, sending him away from me. A line of Legion bots move forward and drop their shields to cover me. Their metal shields rattle with enemy fire, but they hold firm.

I get to my hooves and shake my head before getting back into the air, shouting my thanks back to them before I take off. The extra mud makes me a bit slower, but I make it into the fray quick enough. I find Shifted dealing with the three griffins from before, dodging their attacks with just enough time to attempt to counter the next. They haven't noticed me yet, so I line up my rifle and take fire.

PAT PAT PAT

I send a burst of bullets into one griffins back. His armor does a terrible job of protecting him, giving practically no benefits at all. He falls from the air with a pained scream, alerting the others to me. I move targets and put another burst into him as he tries to blast me with his magic. He dies before he could cast anything, but does manage to fumble into me. He knocks me down to be level with one of the upper floors of the castle. In there, I see a machine gunner take aim at me and begin to fire. A few rounds slam into my armor, bruising my skin beneath. I fall back a bit more before opening my wings and taking control of my flight.

THRUUUUUUUUUUUUMM

I was going to charge at the gunner to take him out, but a line of Aquilas took care of that for me. I take a look around and notice the Unfamiliar aircraft leaving the area. With them gone, we are dominating the air. All of the previously preoccupied aircraft can now focus on the castle below. Even if they aren't hitting any actual targets, the overwhelming firepower is forcing the griffins to retreat inside for cover.

"High Flyer!" I look over to see Shifted calling me over. I fly up to him and nod for him to continue. "We have the outer grounds. Orders are to hold until the Captain gives the order."

"Which Captain?" I ask.

"Miles. He's going in to have a talk with Ulfric. Shouldn't take long." I scoff at that. I doubt there will be much talking when he gets in there. "How're you holding up?"

"Good. Took a few hits but I should be fine. You?"

"Better than you. Don't break away so much green horn. It'll be the end of you." I shrug in response. It's not like I had much of a choice. Either way, it's up to the Captain to send this. Who knows, maybe he'll convince Ulfric to... no. No, that was a dumb thought.

---

The throne room goes silent as all of the incoming fire suddenly stops. Kileh and I stand in the center of the room waiting to see what happens next. The guards present in the room are watching the windows closely. Just as I thought though. As soon as Kileh gave the order for his aircraft to retreat, the barrier fell. Though I thought I heard something explode inside the building. Reports were coming in that a small group of Spartans made it inside, so it's possible that they made it to the generators. I don't want to believe that, but it is a possibility.

"What are they waiting for!?" Kileh barks out as he steps forward quickly.

"Do not question a moment of silence. If they wanted to demolish this building, they would have. Let's make the most of this and make our next move." I tell him calmly. We should retreat back to the catacombs beneath to escape their next attack. They may take the castle, but they will not-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

All of our attention snaps to the main doors. Someone is knocking. Who would be knocking at a time like this? I have at least one guess, and I don't like that he's playing with me. Two guards, a griffin and a kroth, step towards the door. As they get ready to open it Kileh pulls me aside to be out of the line of sight. Why is he knocking? It doesn't make sense! He has to know that we have guards. What is he planning?

I close my eyes and expand my mind. I can sense all of those around me. Their fears, their doubts, their courage. Just beyond the door I find Miles. I know it's his mind, there's none like it. He's calm. Has a plan in his head that he's not thinking about. It's just going to be action, no thinking at all. Maybe he's going to talk? I doubt that. What is he planning?

I open my eyes as the guards open the door. The kroth wastes no time trying to shoot Miles, but somethings wrong. He's firing, but nothing seems to be happening. I can still sense Miles there, but he's not doing anything. When the kroth runs out of ammo he switches out with the griffin, who tries shooting as well. But, doesn't seem to do anything either. When he tries to stab Miles, he finally acts. His thoughts scream to me in an instant. It's almost as if he's trying to talk to me directly. One word.

Run.

He dodges the guard and runs into the room. His magic is at its height, with the portals on his back flaring out like a massive furnace. I have a moment to notice the little blue light in his hand. And it all becomes clear to me. Kileh explain what those are to me, and the danger they possess. And with what I think he's about to pull off, there's only one solution.

I grab Kileh around the waste and push myself into the air with as much force as I can muster. I put everything I have into breaking through the window and getting as far away from the building as possible. I glance back in time to see Miles stop in the center of the room and slam his hands down. A massive wall of blue fire erupts out from him, shattering all of the windows and consuming the main throne building. I stop to watch the flames rage around the building, deafening the area with their roars of chaos.

"That crazy bastard!" Kileh yells from my side.

"Did he just kill himself?" I ask, still in awe of the flames before me.

"Not at that level. If you can cast higher than the force of the grenade, you can imbue it with your own will. He's the only thing that can survive that right now. We should make our run while we still can!"

"That's not going to be possible." I tell him as I motion around us. A least a dozen of those flying craft have surrounded us, their weapons aimed in our direction.

"By the stars..." Kileh mutters.

"My thoughts exactly."

Next Chapter: Chapter 248 Terms of War Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 42 Minutes