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The Equestrian Civil War: The Untold Story of the Solar Empire and the New Lunar Republic

by Rox

Chapters

The Calm Before

The sun was shining brightly that day over Canterlot. The summer was finally beginning to get into full swing, and it was easy to tell as the trees became the deepest, lushest shades of green anyone could remember for years past. The birds sang happily, seeming to greet everypony who came outside to join them on such a glorious afternoon. The pegasi of the city had spent a previous week giving off and on rain-storms to make this day possible, the first of what was scheduled to be many sunny days in a row in the capital and the neighboring towns.

One Twilight Sparkle happily leaned out the window of the train as she approached the city, enjoying the breeze and the warm sunshine. No matter how many times she saw her original home from this view, it always left her awestruck in wonder. The towering castle glistened in Celestia's sun, seeming to give even the surrounding mountains a shine of their own. As she gazed her mind gleefully went over her plans for her trip to Canterlot.

It was to be a short princess council, only the second one that Twilight would attend in her short tenure as a princess herself, with Princesses Celestia and Luna. Princess Cadence would not be coming to this one, needing to stay in the Crystal Empire to attend to affairs there, though she sent a letter sorrowfully apologizing. They were still in cleanup from the Equestria Games, and on top of that the Festival was to be held soon.

Twilight sighed at that. She didn't get much chance to see her Sister-in-Law often, let alone do something fun or even talk, and she saw her brother even less so. Twilight pulled herself back in the train car and looked at her only traveling companion, Spike, who was snoozing (and snoring loudly) on the seat. Twilight suspected that the little dragon had eaten too many pastries early in the journey, but she let him sleep on. She was in a good mood, and was relieved to find that she wasn't nervous at all unlike the previous time.

Though Twilight may have been very nervous, had she had any way of knowing that that beautiful, sunny day was the last peaceful and nerves free afternoon that she or anyone would have for quite some time.

-----

"Oh, c'mon Twilight! I just gotta have a doughnut from Doughnut Joe!" complained Spike, giving the best puppy eyes he could muster.

"No way, mister!" replied Twilight, to which Spike groaned and leaned back dramatically as he rode on her back. "You've had too much sweets for today already."

"But we always stop at Doughnut Joe's when we come to Canterlot," the purple dragon moaned.

"And we will, Spike, but on our way home. You gotta have something good for you first. You are a baby dragon after all," said Twilight firmly, with a small grin besides.

"How come everything 'good for me' isn't something yummy like doughnuts," muttered Spike, just barely loud enough for Twilight to hear. Twilight chuckled as she trotted on. She didn't say it out loud any more since the time he ran off with a dragon migration, but Spike looked and sounded so cute when he got mad. Rarity still pointed it out from time to time, and was the only pony Spike didn't seem to mind those words coming from.

"She said I was cute," he would say and swoon.

Twilight's smile never faltered as she approached the Castle. On one of the highest towers Twilight could briefly see Princess Celestia, looking out over the city, before she turned and walked back inside.

"Ready to fly, Spike?" asked Twilight with a slight edge of mischief mixed in with her excitement.

"Sure." Spike was obviously still moping about the doughnuts and hadn't really heard what Twilight had asked him, which she knew full well. That's why he yelped in surprise as Twilight spread her wings and took off from the ground. She was getting very proficient at using them now. How could she not with Equestria's best flyer, Rainbow Dash, teaching her?

"Warn me next time!" called out Spike, clinging tightly to her neck and breathing quickly.

"I did, and besides, it serves you right for moping!" teased Twilight.

Twilight soared quickly through the air and came to a graceful (sort of) landing on the front steps of the gate. The two armored stallions there bowed respectfully before opening the double doors. Twilight had to fight to keep herself from bounding like a filly inside, instead walking with composure. Rarity had spent some time with her to help her learn how to walk sophisticated. Twilight wasn't sure she was doing it right but calmly trotted on with her wings folded neatly at her side.

Spike hopped off of her back and started jogging down a hallway, hollering something back about going to get comic books. Twilight inwardly hoped that he would stay away from the Enchanted ones this time. The Power Pony adventure had been fun, but the their near demise at the hooves of a crazy super-villain had put her off of the idea of ever doing something like that again, to which most of her friends heartily agreed. Rainbow Dash still maintains she could take the Mane-iac any time, any place.

Twilight walked down the grand halls of the Canterlot Castle, gazing over the windows that recorded the history. It suddenly struck Twilight as funny how many times she was featured on one, not to mention her friends as well. Retrieving the Elements of Harmony and using them to stop Nightmare Moon, and then again when they stopped Discord. Down the hall showed Twilight with her coronation as a princess, and nearby even Spike was shown tossing the Crystal Heart to Cadence. So much had happened in so short a time, that Twilight always swore if someone had told her all of this before she was sent to Ponyville, she would have completely ignored them and forgotten it as useless and implausible.

Twilight heard hoof-steps echoing down one of the passageways, bringing her back to the present. She turned towards the source and followed them towards another hallway, hoping that it was the Princesses. As she got closer Twilight could hear their voices, and, though muffled for the moment, she could still recognize the the sisters's regal tones coming from around the corner.

She stopped short as she realized that they were arguing. This sent Twilight's mind reeling and she tried to grasp what was happening. She quickly gained control of herself as she realized she was being irrational. They were sisters after all, and she had seen Rarity and Applejack bicker enough with their sisters to know that sometimes arguments just happened. And besides, they didn't really sound that angry. Twilight leaned in, staying around the corner, trying to hear what they were saying.

"Sister, you need to realize what you are doing will only make things harder on your subjects," urged the commanding voice of Luna.

"I said before, Sister, they will understand that the changes will help everypony prosper even more in the future," responded Celestia sternly.

"Not so if they crumble under them first," retorted Luna.

"The laws are not harsh, Sister, nor difficult for anypony to bear," shot back Celestia, her tone rising. Twilight felt like her heart had just sunk like a stone. She didn't like hearing them argue like this. She backed away from the corner, shaking her head to try and clear her mind. It had been none of her business and she shouldn't have eavesdropped on their private conversation.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle, I'm so glad to see you have arrived."

Celestia's now calm voice greeted Twilight as she opened her eyes and smiled, trying not to show that she had heard some of their conversation. Celestia was obviously also trying hard to show that it had never happened either, though Twilight could see the concern in her mentor's eyes. Twilight held her smile and glanced at Luna, who nodded curtly but did not return the smile. Celestia had always seemed better at controlling her emotions, and Twilight saw that confirmed then in Luna's expression.

"Good to be here as always, Princess," Twilight said, bowing slightly. Celestia and Luna both returned the gesture.

"Shall we continue on to our meeting place? We have much to discuss," said Celestia warmly. Twilight fell in step with the two Princesses of Equestria as they moved on to the meeting chamber. She gave nervous small talk to Celestia and Luna as they walked along, and she hoped to the bottom of her heart that they thought she was only nervous for the upcoming meeting.

-----

The meeting turned out to be mostly uneventful. In fact it turned out to be mostly just talking about some basic affairs of Equestria, like about a small dip in the value of the bit, and about a bountiful harvest produced by the earth ponies throughout the land, and also giving Twilight some advice on how to be a Princess. It seemed to her that they might of been hinting at giving her a piece of Equestria to take direct rule over, similiar to Cadence in the Crystal Empire, but they never said it directly. That made Twilight's nerves return, though she felt calm knowing she would have Princess Celestia to help her if that day did come.

When the meeting closed, Twilight bade farewell to the Princesses and trotted to her room, her previously good mood from early in the day evaporated from exhaustion and fretting, in serious need of getting some rest. She found Spike already in the room, buried into a comic book titled, "Jurassic Pony." Twilight hesitate a moment before stepping further into the room. That did not sound like a story she'd want to get zapped into.

"Oh, yeah Twi!" said Spike excitedly, putting down the comic and bounding up to her. "How'd the meeting with the Princess go?"

Twilight sighed tiredly, glancing out the window as she said, "Fine, but I'm really tired."

"Oh okay," said Spike, who only sounded a little disappointed at not getting to hear what they had talked about. Twilight was glad he hadn't pushed it. She sauntered slowly towards the bed, still watching out the window as she watched Luna raise the moon as Celestia set the sun. As Twilight crawled into bed and clicked off the light with her magic, she felt reassured. Everything would be fine.

-----

"Twilight, please wake up at once."

Twilight groggily opened her eyes, wondering with slight annoyance who was waking her up so late, or so early. She was shocked wide awake when she realized that it was Princess Celestia. She was so surprised her wings opened and shot her up from the bed and into the ceiling. The thumping crash woke Spike, who also stared in surprise at the Sun Princess standing in their room.

Twilight rubbed her head in pain and embarrassment as she sat on the bed. She looked up at the Princess, who wore a serious expression. "What is it Princess? Is something wrong."

"Yes Twilight Sparkle, I'm afraid so." Princess Celestia stepped forward, towering even higher above the purple alicorn.

"Princess Luna has left the castle. She has sworn to return and take control of Canterlot for herself."

Twilight could only stare in shock, while Spike promptly fainted with a thud onto the hard floor.

The Line in the Sand

The cry of a lone rooster could be heard echoing through the hills outside Ponyville as the sun peaked above the horizon. At Sweet Apple Acres, the Apple family all slipped out of bed and prepared for a long day of work. Owning and running an Apple Orchard was no easy task, let alone the rest of the farm.

The rooster was perched on a small fence near a cottage not far from Sweet Apple Acres, taking a moment to preen his feathers before bellowing his ritual call once again. If the rooster had been trying extra hard to wake Fluttershy, it had no reason to. She was already wide awake and in full-form worry like it was mid-day.

Inside the cottage, dozens of animals of every kind cried for her attention, filling the small home with a cacophony of animal sounds. Fluttershy tried desperately to calm them down, to figure out what the matter was, but it was to no avail. She fearfully peaked outside, wondering if the Everfree Forest was invading again, but seeing nothing retreated back.

"Please, tell me what's the matter!" she pleaded, but the calamitous chorus of animals voices made it impossible to hear any one of them. Fluttershy sighed in desperation and made her way to the kitchen to try and find food that might calm them. She may have not been able to figure out why, but she knew what every one of those animals was feeling just from looking at them.

They were scared of something. And it was something very bad.

-----

"But how could Luna just up and leave?" Twilight asked as she walked beside Princess Celestia. "I was so sure she had changed for good!"

"As did I," said Celestia in a deep tone of regret. "But it has become apparent that whatever dark forces overtook her the last time may have found a way to influence her again."

Twilight still found herself having a hard time believing it. She had just sat and talked with Luna the day before! Sure, she had been a little aloof but she was ALWAYS aloof. Luna didn't give any sign that she would turn her back on Celestia that very night.

"But, why did she leave? It doesn't make sense at all!" Twilight protested.

"Well, to be honest I don't think I know everything behind it," said Celestia, pausing for a moment and breathing deeply. "But Luna has been lately telling me that she believes I have been ruling unfairly, and that she could do it better than I."

Twilight's brain first stopped out of sheer shock, then raced faster than a Wonderbolt after drinking copious amounts of caffeine as she tried to comprehend what had just been said. Luna thought Celestia was ruling unfairly and wanted to take charge? That was so ridiculously out of character that it was just insane. There had to be something else at play. Luna wouldn't just do that.

"We must find Luna and bring her back before it is too late, and before she forces me to do something that I cannot bear to do again," said Celestia authoritatively. Twilight knew exactly what she was talking about. Celestia had suffered for a millennium over banishing her sister to the moon, and Twilight shuddered to think what would happen to her former teacher should that happen again.

"You're right, Princess, we need to bring her back right away," affirmed Twilight, trying to stand just a little taller and more resolved. She wanted to comfort Celestia, but she did not know exactly how. Twilight's wings opened without her noticing as her mind went over places that she might look for the Princess of the Night.

"There's no need to go out yourself, Princess Twilight," said Celestia, smiling a little. Twilight realized with embarrassment what her wings had done and quickly folded them back to her side. "Luna has not gone far."

"How do you know?"

Celestia beckoned as they walked past a window at the sky, pointing with one of her fore-hoofs. Twilight stared out the window for a moment, trying to see what she was pointing at without looking directly at the bright, morning sun. Then she saw it.

"She lowered the moon!" exclaimed Twilight. "But that...."

"Yes," interrupted Celestia. "It means that whatever Luna is planning, she at least has not given into the idea of an eternal night. That may mean we have some time. "

"Of course, Princess. What should we do?"

"I have sent out the Royal Guards on a search in every direction, and don't worry, I have ordered them not to harm my sister in any way," said Celestia, adding the latter part when she saw a look of worry flit across Twilight's face. "I shall go out and join them in the search."

"What should I do here?" asked Twilight nervously. She felt her heart begin to beat fast fearfully at the idea that Celestia may be leaving her in charge of Canterlot. She definitely wasn't ready for something like that. She felt her cheeks glow hot as she looked at the Princess' slightly amused expression and realized that Celestia could tell what she had been thinking.

"Don't worry, I have already instructed my counselors on what to do to run things here for the day." Twilight breathed a small sigh of relief. "I need you and Spike to attend to another matter. I want you to write a letter to the mayors of the cities around Equestria and send them off as soon as you can. You don't need to explain why Princess Luna has gone missing, but ask them to watch for her. Perhaps if we have more then just Canterlot watching we may find her sooner."

"But how will I know what I write is the right thing?" asked Twilight in her typical display of worry over getting everything exactly right.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Twilight. I trust you," said Celestia. With that, Celestia turned down a different hallway and out a set of double doors, leaving Twilight alone in the castle. She stood there for a moment, still trying to really take in what was happening. She considered singing about it, but then thought differently of that when she recalled the Princess' last words before she left. Celestia trusted her, and Twilight was not going to let her down!

Twilight's face hardened with determination as she turned and headed back towards her room to find Spike, whom she fully expected to be probably still shaking nervously, wrapped up in the heavy comforter on the bed. They had a lot of letters to write, and having an extra hoof (or claw) would definitely be needed.

-----

It was six hours, 17 minutes, seven paper cuts, and three major cramps later that Twilight sealed the last envelope and once again called for the Attendant. She instructed the dapper, young stallion that this last letter was to go to Seaddle, and closed the door behind him with a loud breath of relief, slumping her back against the door. Many times that day she had wished that she actually could pull off a replication spell, like the one she had tricked Trixie with several months before, but each time she just took a bite of a doughnut and kept writing the same letter. The letter itself was not especially long, but it hadn't really struck Twilight how many cities, towns, and settlements there were in Equestria. Manehatten, Fillydelphia, San Flanksisco, and what seemed like dozens of towns that were even smaller than Ponyville like Appaloosa and Rainbow Falls. Spike had fainted once again when he saw the list of towns that Twilight had requested to be brought to them.

At any rate, they were finally done. Spike was laying on the bed, holding his right wrist and moaning. Twilight levitated a small bag of ice from the desk to the baby dragon languishing on the bed, placing it on his swollen writing claw, before levitating him to his own small bed on the floor. As Twilight headed towards the side of the bed, wanting nothing more than to collapse into it, she glanced out the window. She stopped short as she realized that Celestia was returning. Twilight's heart sank as she saw that Luna was not with her.

She went closer to the window to watch as Celestia turned and began lowering the sun. As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Twilight watched with rapt attention, looking to see if...

Yes! The moon rose right on schedule. Luna was indeed still fulfilling her duties somewhere, wherever she was. For some reason that was comforting to Twilight as she wiggled under the covers, trying to find a comfortable position with her wings for a few moments. It was only moments before she was asleep

-----

In Ponyville, Fluttershy was busy getting her overfull house of animals to sleep, and fortunately was succeeding much to her relief.

-----

Applejack sat up at the desk in her bedroom, rubbing her face with her front hooves with both fatigue and frustration. In front of her was the annual tax sheet, and Applejack had spent all day trying to figure out how to get it all done, and it looked like she might be up a while longer.

-----

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were both at a birthday party for Thunderlane's little brother Rumble, at which the majority of the Ponyville Weather Team was enjoying themselves, singing and playing games late into the night.

-----

Rarity was sound asleep. Like Applejack she had spent all day getting her expenses together and sending in the tax form. She deplored tax day as it always kept her from creating beautiful ensemble.

-----

All were blissfully unaware of what was going on outside. Elsewhere in Ponyville, a mysterious figure slunk through the shadows. Make that several figures. They dart from door to door, post to post, and tree to tree, quietly sticking a special piece of paper to each one. All over the region from Cloudsdale to Manehatten hundreds of them sprint through the night doing the same. Just about an hour after the first flyer was posted, the shadowy figures disappeared into the night, their work complete.

-----

When Twilight awoke she felt very refreshed from a good night's sleep, yawning widely as she stretched her legs. She says good morning to Spike who responds my mumbling incoherently and rolling over in his blankets. Good to know he's not worried thought Twilight. The day Spike woke up early of his own volition would be the day that Twilight worried about him. After a glance at the mirror to make sure that she had no bed-head, Twilight stepped out into the warm, morning sunshine and down the balcony stairs towards the main castle hall.

She hardly noticed the unusual number of guards running around the city that morning.

But she did notice the blue poster that somepony had slapped onto the wall of the staircase. Twilight actually walked right past it at first, but backpedaled up the steps. Using her magic she ripped it off the wall and levitated it in front of her. The poster was titled "The Lies of Celestia," and was decorated with a white moon symbol in the corner along the letters NLR.

Twilight sped read the whole poster which claimed to list everything that Celestia had done to deceive or otherwise burden the citizens of Equestria, which to Twilight ranged from juvenile to just plain outlandish. At the bottom of the page it had in bold letters the words, "Rise Up and Resist the Solar Empire! Join the New Lunar Republic!"

What in the hay is the Solar Empire? thought Twilight. Has Luna just gone mad? How could she expect anypony to take any of this seriously? But more than anything it confirmed that Luna wanted to take control of Equestria for herself.

Twilight flew down the steps and through the doors to the castle, then landing and galloping through the unusually hectic hallways, trying to find the Princess. Guards and advisors of all kinds ran to and fro, and frankly the only reason Twilight was even able to spot her mentor was that fact that Celestia was nearly twice as tall as anyone around her. Twilight galloped over to the small knot of ponies surrounding her, calling for her attention.

"Princess Twilight! I need you to return to Ponyville immediately," said the Princess, not wasting an instant. "I'm worried that the ponies will be frightened, so go. Calm them and let them know that they are safe."

"Of course Princess," responded Twilight Sparkle, and not one to waste any time, she bolted back up the steps to gather her things and the sleepy dragon. 30 minutes later she was on the train to Ponyville.

-----

When Twilight arrived in Ponyville, she was met at the station by Rainbow Dash. That's not entirely accurate. She was nearly hit by a meteorite that turned out to be Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow!" exclaimed Twilight irritably, shaking off the dust from the impact of Rainbow Dash landing in front of her. She had managed to shatter the wooden platform....again.

"What's all this about?" demanded Rainbow Dash, flying in zig-zag with every question. "Why is Luna threatening the Princess? What the heck is the Solar Empire? Or the Lunar Repub-whatever? WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"RAINBOW!" yelled Twilight finally, freezing her in place with her magic. Rainbow looked on, quiet now but still obviously angry.

"The Princess sent me here to explain that. Now if you'll let me get to the town hall, I'll be able to explain it once to everypony," she explained evenly. Twilight released Rainbow Dash, who dropped a foot or two before pulling back up into her low hover, then following Twilight into town, with Spike waddling behind both of them. As they walked, other ponies noticed the Princess Twilight, and immediately began following her. Everypony was curious.

When she arrived at town hall she saw that word must have spread, because it was packed with the residents of the small village. Twilight was able to quickly spot her friends in the gathering crowd. Applejack and the rest of the Apple family stood together with Fluttershy and Rarity nearby looking on. Pinkie Pie was bouncing in place towards the other side of the crowd, obviously too excited to hear what was happening, and probably hoping it would be a reason to throw a party. Rainbow Dash circled in air before settling on a low cloud with Blossomforth and Thunderlane.

Twilight went up to the front porch of the Town Hall, where Mayor Mare was already waiting, looking on in concern. As Twilight approached the gray mare she said, "Does this have anything to do with why Luna is missing?"

She had obviously gotten the letter Twilight had sent the day before. She assured the Mayor that she would explain, and stepped up to the ever present podium. Glancing around Twilight could see that there were dozens of the blue posters still hanging on posts and trees around the square, and even some ponies in the crowd were holding them.

"Citizens of Ponyville. No doubt you have seen the notices that have been put up all over, not just Ponyville, but it appears most of Equestria as well. Princess Celestia herself has sent me to tell you what is going on. It has become apparent that Princess Luna, or possibly somepony controlling or impersonating her, is attempting to take control of Equestria."

The crowd of ponies below began to whisper among themselves at this. Twilight guessed many of them had already figured that out from the posters.

"Princess Celestia has promised that the Royal Guards are already searching for Princess Luna, and she wants to assure you that you are not in any danger. She, and I, also ask for your help in finding Luna and also those who may have helped put these signs all over the place. Thank you."

The whispers escalated in volume in the crowd as Twilight left the stage and sauntered over to her friends. Pinkie Pie bounced into to step next to her, but was oddly quiet. Perhaps she was disappointed. Somepony trying to start a revolution was not exactly something to throw a party for, putting it on a very short list in Pinkie's book.

Applejack and Rarity stepped forward to meet Twilight and Pinkie part-way, while Rainbow Dash circled slowly down to the ground next to them.

"Do ya really reckon that Princess Luna is bein' controlled by somepony?" asked Applejack with a furrowed expression.

"That's just it. We don't know," admitted Twilight, frowning as she looked down and poked at the ground with a hoof.

"Well, whoever or whatever it is, we'll give 'em a royal flank-whoopin!" said Rainbow Dash confidently, then looking around as if daring somepony to challenge her right then and there.

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that, Dash," said Twilight

"Yeah, because if everypony was busy fighting, they'd be too busy for parties! And if they're too busy for parties they'd be too busy to have cupcakes or play party games! And if they're too busy for cupcakes and party games then how will anypony have fun? If if nopony can have fun, then that would be the worst, most stupendously, sad thing that has ever happened!"

Pinkie Pie inhaled her first breath since the beginning of that paragraph, and it converted into a long sigh and a small frown.

"Oh, don't worry Pinkie, I'm sure everypony will calm down soon, and we'll be able to throw lots of parties," comforted Fluttershy soothingly, coming up beside her friend and putting a hoof around her in a hug. "Maybe you can throw one today for Angel's birthday."

"OHMYGOSH! It's Angel's birthday!? Why did nopony tell me?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, back to her hyper self. "Quick! I gotta go get everything ready!"

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle a little as Pinkie Pie sped off into town to gather party supplies. Fluttershy was smiling as well as she took off to follow Pinkie, happy that she had helped her friend feel better. Twilight was happy that she could always count on her friends to help her cheer up when she needed it.

"So what do we do now?" asked Rainbow Dash, who was back to hovering a few feet off the ground, and was slightly more relaxed.

"Exactly what the Princess said, Rainbow. We just watch and wait," replied Twilight.

"Figures," muttered Rainbow Dash.

"Well, I really need to get back to the boutique. I will have to catch up later girls. I am way behind on my work," said Rarity, before trotting off in the direction of the Carousel Boutique.

"I reckon I need to as well," said Applejack. "Applebloom! Big Mac! Let's get goin'! We got plenty of work to do"

"Eeyup."

The rest of the townsfolk had already begun slipping off to continue their daily routines. Twilight noticed many of them ripping off the posters as they went, at the sight of which Rainbow Dash happily volunteered her services by speeding around the square and grabbing all the remaining ones before unceremoniously dumping them in the trash.

Twilight decided she should get home herself. She called to Spike who clambered onto her back once more as they made the short trip to the library. Upon entering she found it in disarray, and a scribbled note on the table showed that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been in there searching for books on ideas for them to get cutie marks, but they hadn't found anything. Or put anything away. Twilight set to the task of re-shelving the books with Spike, something that, between her research, Rainbow Dash's stunts gone wrong, and the frequency of miniature crisis, was becoming almost a weekly chore.

Luckily she was also getting much faster at it, and it wasn't much more that 90 minutes before the Library was straightened as perfectly as before.

"Anything else, Twilight?" asked Spike, as he finished dusting off a shelf.

"Nope. Thank you, my number one assistant," said Twilight cheerfully. "I think I just need to pick up Owlicious from Fluttershy's cottage and then I think we could call it a night."

Spike seemed about to cheer, when instead he doubled over, clutched his gut, and belched. The green flames materialized a scroll that fell to the library floor.

"A letter from the Princess!" cried Twilight excitedly, picking it up with her magic. "I wonder if they found-"

Twilight stopped short when she realized that the letter was not for her. There on the outside was a small scribbled note that said, "Twilight, please deliver this to Rainbow Dash as soon as possible" and was signed Princess Celestia.

"For Rainbow Dash? Well that must be important if she sent it this way," remarked Spike, scratching his head scales.

"Well, then we better get it to her."

-----

It wasn't too hard to find her. She was still zooming around town finding any of the leftover posters and tossing them. Twilight found her taking off what appeared to be the last one that was stuck to the back of a park bench. Twilight quickly gave her the letter explaining how the Princess had just sent it.

Rainbow Dash looked a little skeptical as she opened the scroll at first, still hovering off the ground. After a few moments, her expression changed to outright shock, and then to something between determination and anger.

"I gotta go," she announced, trying to control her emotions. "Cloudsdale is in trouble."

Rainbow Dash then sped off towards her cloud home, dropping the letter which fell open on the ground. Twilight trotted over and glanced at the letter, picking it up. It read:

Dear Rainbow Dash,

I have just received word from Cloudsdale. It seems that Luna has gained followers there, and they are currently causing fits for the city. I sent the Wonderbolts and some of the Royal Guard to help, but they appear overwhelmed or at the very least evenly matched, and I cannot leave to help myself. I request that you please go and assist, taking any pegasi you can that will volunteer to help bring balance to the city. Please hurry.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia.

Twilight stared off in the direction that Rainbow Dash headed, too stunned to really form cognizant thoughts. It was actually happening. Luna was trying to take over, and what's more, she had gotten ponies to follow her. Rainbow Dash was loyal almost to a fault, and Twilight knew Dash would go without question. As she folded up the letter, she hoped that whatever happened in Cloudsdale, that Rainbow would be safe, and that it would all end there without spreading any farther. Even then she had a feeling that that hope was already slim.

-----

In a large but dark room, several ponies were gathered. It was late, but the circumstances required it. There were ponies of all three types in the room, quietly whispering one to another, and they were all residents of Ponyville.

"Well, I don't buy the whole 'crazy' thing that Celestia is trying to sell about Luna. I bet she's trying to cover her own tracks," said one white unicorn with wild, blue hair.

"I have to agree with Vinyl. Celestia has made some rather dreadful decisions lately that have made it hard on all of us," said another unicorn.

"But what do we do about it?" asked a light purple pegasus. This open question was at first met with hushed conversation.

"I'll tell ya what I think. I think Luna might have been spot on with some a these here accusations," said an earth pony near the front. "And I think we should join her."

"You mean fight?" asked a gray pegasus hovering near the rafters.

"I sure hope not. But I reckon that if it does come to that, we need to stand up for ourselves, and Luna will help us do just that."

"Then what do we do?" asked the other white unicorn.

"We find a way to talk to Luna and find out the plan she has. 'Til then, we lay low and just do our business."

Mutters of agreement sifted through the crowd of ponies, which in size easily represented half of the village.

The earth pony near the front looked around, and seeing the general agreement, stepped forward more into the light.

"Alright then, we need something to help tell us who's in and who ain't," she said, adjusting her old, brown hat to fit a little better over her light yellow mane.

The Cloudsdale Insurrection

Rainbow Dash flew like a bullet through the sky over Equestria, on the edge of breaking the sound barrier already. The only reason she hadn't was because of her companions.

"Rainbow Dash! Please slow down!"

Blossomforth called out behind her, flying as hard as she could but still not near as fast as Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash pulled up a moment to allow the others to catch up a bit. Cloud Kicker, a light lavender pegasus with a light yellow mane, and Star Hunter, a dark blue stallion with a light blue mane, both flew as quickly as the could to get in a formation with Dash and Blossomforth. Once in Dash's slipstream, all three started gliding just to catch their breath.

"Sorry, guys, we don't have any time to lose," said Rainbow Dash, glancing back with real concern but at the same time with impatience.

"We know, Rainbow," said Cloud Kicker through a few huffing breaths. "Just let us rest a sec then we can speed backup."

Rainbow Dash was grateful for the three coming with her. When she had gathered the Pegasi together and explained what was happening, they had been the only ones to jump forward. Blossomforth and Star Hunter had been no surprise as they were both from Cloudsdale too, but Cloud Kicker had volunteered as well even though she was from Ponyville. She had said something about it was the right thing to do and she wanted to help.

"Is everypony ready?" asked Rainbow Dash after a few moments of gliding. The two mares and stallion looked at each other then nodded in unison.

"Okay, then. Stay in my slipstream, that should make it easier," said Rainbow Dash, and the three complied and formed a lopsided V with Rainbow Dash at the head. Rainbow Dash nearly doubled her speed in a couple of seconds, but took an edge off to allow the others to keep up better, as they streaked through the sky once more towards their cloud-bound home. After a few moments, Rainbow heard Star Hunter speak up.

"Does anypony else smell that?" he asked.

Rainbow sniffed the air, and an unmistakable smell shocked her senses.

"Smoke!" she exclaimed. Rainbow Dash focused ahead even farther than usual, and saw the white clouds of Cloudsdale. Only on one side, some of the "clouds" looked black.

"Hurry up! It's worse than we thought!"

Rainbow Dash increased speed again, and her small team started falling behind but tried hard to keep pace. The closed the distance to the magnificent floating city and flew above, looking for somewhere to be.

"Look, I can see the Wonderbolts over there!" said Blossomforth, pointing off to the far left. The small flock turned sharply and descended towards the uniformed pegasi, whom Rainbow Dash could tell from a distance were Spitfire and Soarin. She tensed at first as the two ponies turned and spread their wings threateningly, but relaxed as they did when they saw who was descending to them.

"Oh, thank Celestia, it's good to see you here, Dash," said Spitfire, sliding up her goggles. Up close, Rainbow Dash didn't like what she saw. Both flyers' uniforms, normally pristine and sleek, were torn in several places. Soarin no longer had his goggles at all, and Rainbow Dash suspected they had been knocked off his head judging from a sizable bump on his forehead. The front, left legging on Spitfire's uniform was nearly ripped off entirely, and the leg was heavily bandaged; the white bandages stained red and clashing with Spitfire's golden yellow coat.

"How can we help?" was all Rainbow Dash could manage. She was so furious that somepony could betray the Princess, but that they could hurt other ponies just to do it. On top of that, hurting great ponies like Spitfire and Soarin. Somepony was going to pay big time.

"The east side of the city is completely out of control. We had to pull back so we could rest a bit and find some more help," explained Spitfire. "Luckily, help seems to have found us."

"So, how do we tell who's on what side?" asked Cloud Kicker, stepping nervously forward and eyeing the damage done to the two pegasi.

"The ones you gotta watch for will be wearing dark blue neckerchiefs around their necks or head," said Soarin, reaching into a saddle bag lying on the ground. "Here, these will tell you guys apart for anypony else out there."

Soarin brought out a hoof-full of golden-yellow cloths, and tossed them in a bundle to the four Ponyvillians. Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed one and tied it around her neck, while the other three started to do the same. Without saying a word, being too angry to do so, Rainbow Dash took off and sped off in the direction of the smoke rising in the East, not even waiting for the other ponies.

-----

In eastern Cloudsdale, the factory district, several pegasi rested or hovered together. Each of them wore a dark blue neckerchief somewhere on their body.

"I think we just about got this area beat!" cheered one green stallion, flipping in a somersault through the air. The others cheered in agreement.

"Who'da thought this would be so easy?" said a pink mare as she lazily took off.

"Well let's keep it going! We're on a roll!" said a black mare with a yellow mane, also taking off. The three in the air gained some altitude while the others spread and stretched their wings.

BOOOOOOM!

All of them spun to attention to the source of the explosive sound. To their astonishment, a shock-wave of rainbow was spreading perpendicular to the ground, like a multi-colored target. They were stunned by the beautiful sight, so much so they didn't even see the rainbow missile speeding straight at them. The green stallion was socked by a supersonic hoof to the jaw, and was unconscious long before he spun out of control into the factory pillar, and flopped to the ground. It hardly mattered that the rest of them were still in shock, because the missile was moving far too fast to react. They didn't get their first good look at who or what was attacking them until she brought a smashing kick down on the right wing of the pink pegasus who had been hovering next to where the stallion had been moments before. Crying in pain she collapsed to the ground, her wing broken in two places.

The black and gold mare finally processed what was going on, and tried to fly away as the rainbow-maned mare charged after her. She made it no more than a few wing-lengths before she felt a sharp tug on her tail, stopping her flat. She didn't have to look to know that the assailant had bitten her tail. The rainbow pegasus then grabbed her tail with her front hooves and spun around like she was forming a tornado, before hurling the mare headfirst into a factory wall. The mare blacked out and slid unconscious to the cloud floor.

Four more blue-wearing pegasi stood on the clouds, snapped out of their stupor but still timid after watching their three comrades get knocked out of the sky. The light blue mare with a rainbow mane hovered several feet above them, her front hooves folded defiantly while she glowered at them, daring them to make a move. Two of the pegasi, spread their wings in unison, and pushed off the floor.

Unfortunately for them they were all too focused on the first attacker that they didn't notice the two Wonderbolts that came streaking in, tackling both of the flyers and pinning their wings down. A third pegasi, a light lavender one, came streaking in from the same direction. The two remaining Lunites braced their muscles, ready to drive off this fourth attacker. But instead of diving at one of them, the mare smashed down into one of the cloud pillars, shattering the bottom, before she shot off to the side and out of the way.

As the pillar fell, the two darted to get out of the way. They hadn't made it ten feet before two more pegasi, a white candy colored mare and a dark stallion, flew in and clothes-lined them both, sending them somersaulting to the floor in a daze. Before the last one finally fell unconscious, she glanced at the six ponies who stood triumphant over their band, and thought just how cool they looked like that.

-----

Rainbow Dash felt calmer now, having vented her anger in the most aggressive way she had ever done. Blossomforth was darting around to each of the motionless ponies lying around and checking them while Spitfire and Soarin both continued to pin the two they had tackled, though neither of the charges were resisting much. Cloud Kicker came to rest next to the pink mare with what was more than likely a broken wing. Rainbow had felt it crack under her diving kick. Cloud Kicker told her to lie still so that she didn't injure herself further, to which the young pegasi said nothing but did not move for the pain.

"I think they're all gonna be ok. Three of them probably have concussions, and I think the green guy and the one that Star Hunter hit have broken jaws, but other than that the rest will live just fine," reported Blossomforth. Pegasi were well known for spotting impact type injuries well just by sight, and could generally be trusted on that.

"That was a nice kick on that pillar," said Spitfire. "What's your name?"

"Cloud Kicker, ma'am."

"Name suits you," Spitfire replied with a grin. "I need you to go back to west Cloudsdale and get a guard unit. Tell them to bring a wagon, and probably a couple of medics."

"Sure thing," said Cloud Kicker, who pushed off and flew back towards the way they came. Rainbow Dash watched her fly off and out of sight before setting down herself. She had practically not stopped flying that day since they had left Ponyville that morning, and was only just beginning to realize how tired her wings had become.

"What's your name?"

Rainbow Dash looked for who asked the question, and saw that the blue pegasus pinned under Soarin was looking at her.

"My name's Rain Flower. What is your name?" she asked again. Rainbow stared at her for moment with an unreadable expression, then her face broke into a mischievous grin as she got a fantastic idea. She stood up to her full height and smiled wide as she said:

"The name's Rainbow Dash, and I'm the best flyer in all the Solar Empire!"

Moonlight

Applejack hated all this secrecy. It just clashed with her instincts. Her parents and Granny Smith had raised her that telling the truth was always the best and only option. Applejack could just hear her momma now, "I raised ya better than that!" and conking her lightly on the head with her hoof.

But she could also hear her daddy's voice while she worked with him as a filly in the orchard, "Don't go looking for a fight, but always stand up for what's right and for those who can't." She had been younger than Applebloom when she heard those words, but they had always stuck with her. Especially since it had been them living by those words that Applejack was still here, and her parents were not.

And here she was, walking quietly through the still streets of Ponyville just as the moon was reaching its full height, keeping secrets from even some of her closest friends. Especially Twilight. It was painful for Applejack to not just tell how she felt about all of what was going on, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. They had become such good friends, and the last thing she wanted was to crush that little filly's spirit.

That, and because she knew if Twilight found out, so would a certain Rainbow-colored pegasus would too, and Applejack shuddered to think what might happen between them.

Applejack tightened the cloak she had on, hoping to blend better with the shadows than her orange coat would. True she was a lifelong resident of Ponyville, and it was unlikely anypony would actually make anything of seeing her out and about, but with the way things were going she didn't want to take any chances.

Words like 'traitors' were already being thrown around by some. Especially with the news coming out of Cloudsdale that ponies are actually fighting each other.

Applejack finally reached her destination: the Carousel Boutique. She knocked lightly and was quickly let inside by Rarity, who glanced around nervously before shutting the door.

"Howdy, Rarity," said Applejack quietly. "Everypony here yet?"

"Almost," she replied. "We're still waiting on a couple more to show. I do hope they are on time. It is rude to be late."

Applejack just smiled and rolled her eyes a little as she walked into the room. The lights were dimmer that she was used to seeing here. Rarity always showed as much light as possible to show off her fancy dresses and the gems she loved to use. The place looked very strange like this.

As she glanced around at the handful of ponies gathered around and having hushed conversations, Applejack noticed one who shouldn't have been there. A certain little, yellow filly with a big red bow who was hiding under a table. Applejack quietly circled the group until she came up behind her and the white unicorn filly with her.

"When does the meetin' start already?"

"Should be soon. I heard Rarity tell Cloudchaser midnight so it's gotta be soon."

"Which is way past your bedtime, Applebloom," said Applejack evenly. Both little fillies jumped, bumping their heads on the table and nearly knocking off the vase of flowers, which Applejack quickly steadied without taking her eyes of her sister.

"What are you doin' here?" asked Applejack sternly. The two fillies looked at each other, then both started talking at the same time.

"Sweetie Bell spied -"

"Overheard."

"Whatever - Rarity say that"

"There was a secret meeting-"

"and that you would be there-"

"with a bunch of ponies"

"to talk about how to find and help Luna!" they both finished in unison.

Applejack shot a sideways glare at Rarity, who had ambled over when she heard her little sister's voice. Rarity looked acutely embarrassed that she had been so careless, so Applejack didn't push it with her.

"Well, sorry fillies, but the 'secret meetin' part is just what it sounds like. Secret, and no place for fillies. Ya'll just go upstairs and get to bed, and if I catch either of you down here again, you'll both be mucking out all the stalls tomorrow," said Applejack. The fillies got the warning, and bolted up the stairs. Though Applejack suspected that they wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon.

There was a light knock on the door and everybody held their breath. Applejack idly wondered if that happened everytime tonight as Rarity answered the door and let in two more ponies: Bon Bon and Carrot Top. Rarity nodded at Applejack as they came in signaling to her that everypony was present.

"Alright ya'll, let's get started," said Applejack. The hushed conversations ceased immediately as the ponies turned and gathered around the orange earth pony. It had been a surprise to Applejack when everypony at their first gathering asked her to organize them, and she was still getting used to be looked at as a leader of sorts.

"Let's get go it. Anypony seen or heard anythin' about Princess Luna?"

An awkward silence persisted at first as they waited for somepony to speak first. Two or three looked like they were about to talk, and they all stopped simultaneously seeing the others. This went on and off for about twenty seconds before Applejack finally said pointing, "Stop. You go first."

The unicorn Vinyl Scratch stepped up, pushing her ever-present sunglasses up to her forehead so that she could see better in the dimly-lit boutique.

"I didn't hear anything while I was playing in Manehatten or Fillydelphia the last couple of days," she said, frowning slightly. " And neither did my friends in Baltimare or Paint Louis. From what I saw, all those cities are following after Celestia."

"Dern it," said Applejack among other muttered disappointments throughout the small group.

"But I did hear rumors about Seaddle and Maneapolis, so I set up gigs there over the next couple a days," added Vinyl Scratch.

"Ahright, Thunderlane, what do ya got?" asked Applejack, turning to the black pegasus.

"There's been no way to even get close to Cloudsdale right now," said Thunderlane. Applejack saw him glance away for a moment and figured that fear of accidentally running into Rainbow Dash was part of it. "But I did get some news from a cousin in Rainbow Falls that most of the town there is on our side, and they're looking for her too. She said she'd let us know if Luna showed up."

"Well that's encouraging," chimed in Rarity. "With Appleoosa, Dodge City, and Hoofington all looking too it should only be a matter of time before somepony finds her."

"Yeah, but let's hope it's not somepony with Celestia," said Vinyl darkly.

"Anyways," Applejack cut in. "Anypony else hear anythin?"

"Oh! I did Applejack!" said a loopy voice from above.

"Uh-huh, Derpy. What is it?" said Applejack, watching the clumsy, gray pegasus struggle to fly and talk at the same time.

"Well, uh, I was flying some mail to, uh, Fluttershy and I got lost in the forest," Derpy began.

"Again," Applejack heard Thunderlane mutter in Bon Bon's ear, who chuckled. Derpy didn't hear or at least didn't react.

"And I, uh, was wondering around trying to see where I was, when I, uh, saw Princess Luna," Derpy said happily.

"WHAT!??" said everypony at once. They immediately hushed, remembering that it was supposed to be a secret meeting, but no pony took their eyes off the wall-eyed mare.

"Why in tarnation did ya not say that before?" asked Applejack, mouth slightly open with surprise.

"It wasn't my turn," said Derpy, looping lazily in the air.

"Honey, will you please come down?" asked Mr. Hooves, beckoning to the floor beside him. His wife happily, but clumsily, landed on the floor. "Now will you elaborate for them?"

"Okay. I saw the Princess and I, uh, remembered that we were looking for her so I, uh, walked up and said Hi Princess!," said Derpy, waving her hoof in reenactment. "She looked happy to see me, so I wasn't scared at all. And she said to tell all of you that she would come by later."

"Ya didn't tell anypony not here, did ya?" asked Applejack worriedly. Why of all ponies did Derpy have to be the one to find Luna first? Well it could have been worse. It might of been Twilight or somepony of the like.

"Nope. She told me only to tell her friends," she said. Then she furrowed her brow with scrutiny, which still looked a little funny with her crossed eyes. "You are her friends, right?"

"Yes, of course they are, honey," said Mr. Hooves, who put one leg gently around her neck as she said, "oh that's good."

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief of her own, adjusting her hat.

"Mrs. Hooves, did the Princess specify when?" asked Rarity in her courteous manner.

"Uh....no," said Derpy Hooves disappointingly.

"In any case, at least we know now that the Princess is nearby," drawled Applejack. "Everypony keep a sharp lookout, and we'll meet again just like normal unless somethin' changes. For now, everypony be careful what you say 'round town."

The group began to break up, with low excited whispers at the news the Princess had finally been found, especially so close by. They began leaving in small groups apart from each other, trying not to attract unwanted attention, by which they mostly meant Twilight. While they weren't entirely sure yet, it seemed that almost all of Ponyville's residents at least secretly supported Luna, or were indifferent. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy fit into that last group. Pinkie Pie was never one to choose sides, and ditto for Fluttershy, so Applejack and Rarity and mutually decided to spare them the choice all together, and it appeared Twilight was having the same thoughts because she was not bringing up any of it around those two either.

Soon, the Hooves shuffled quietly out the door. They were an odd couple to say the least, but it was apparent to everypony that they embodied the term of a match made in heaven. Their departure left Applejack and Rarity alone in the dark boutique, the latter pony tidying up some of the mess.

Applejack went up stairs towards Sweetie Bell's room. She heard the scuffle of hooves on the hardwood floor, which wasn't surprising to Applejack. They had certainly heard the whole thing, so she wouldn't pretend that they didn't. Before she knocked on the door, she wondered for just a moment why Scootaloo wasn't with them when she stopped that thought short. Of course Scootaloo wasn't there, not with her idol off literally fighting for the other side. Applejack felt sympathy for her little sister. She knew exactly what that was like.

"Applebloom, time to go home," said Applejack as she walked in the room. She didn't know whether to laugh or scold them when she found them both lying the the bed and obviously pretending to sleep. So she walked up and "woke them."

"Hey, let's go sleepyhead," said Applejack, adding a sarcastic accent. Applebloom still tried to pretend that she was just waking up, but suffice it to say that neither Applebloom or Sweetie Bell were going to earn acting cutie marks any time soon. Applejack decided not to wait for the charade to end and swept Applebloom up and tossed her precisely onto her own back like a saddlebag.

"Hey! What was that fer?" complained Applebloom indignantly.

"Sneakin around, that's what," teased Applejack as she carried her down the stairs and out the door, saying goodnight to Rarity on the way out. Ponyville was just as dark and still as before, the only light coming from the moon. Applebloom at first wriggled as if to get off, but then must of realized she actually was pretty tired and decided to take the free ride home. Applejack smiled at her little sister as she yawned a little and went a little limp with the day's fatigue.

Applejack peered around a corner carefully, pulling her cloak a little tighter as she made sure that all the lights were off in the library. Twilight liked to stay up late studying, but it appeared tonight that she had gone to bed already. The windows were shut and nothing appeared to move in the tree. The night was totally still, making it possible to see something like that. Satisfied it was clear, Applejack trotted briskly forward through the town and onto the dirt road leading to Sweet Apple Acres.

It wasn't long at all before they reached the edge of the familiar orchards, though Applejack knew from just muscle memory they still had a little ways to go before home. It was Equestria's largest private orchard after all. It was actually the orchard that had driven Applejack to what she was doing now.

Lately, Celestia had been putting in all sorts of crazy laws. They seemed fine on the surface, as they all were angled towards helping ponies in need and trying to stabilize the sometimes wild economy, which Applejack had been all fine and dandy with. But what they really did was bite the business owners for taxes. Sweet Apple Acres had a bumper crop that year, one of the largest they had ever had. The whole family had been so excited, looking forward to extra money for barn repairs, necessary upgrades, and maybe even a real family vacation. But it all went up in smoke. On top of the sudden tax increase, Celestia had suddenly put in a crop requisition to the farmers of Equestria, which forced them to give up close to a quarter of their crops. The Apple family was hit the hardest, seeing as most of them worked orchards. With the new rules, they practically did not even make money. In fact, they almost did worse than the year before.

Rarity had experienced something similar with the Carousel Boutique, and obviously, they weren't the only ones in town.

And that was just not fair. So when Luna seemed to offer an alternative, Applejack, her family, and Rarity took it. While she still wasn't thrilled at the idea, she was ready to help Luna get to a place where she could help them. What had surprised Applejack was just how many of the ponies in her hometown had willingly joined in. Celestia had been so good up until these times, that even they were surprised that so many were ready to answer Luna's call.

Applejack crested the last hill, their home finally coming in view. Applebloom was actually asleep now, snoring softly on her back. She was almost to the front fence, when she felt somepony, or something, watching her. Had somepony seen them and then followed.

"Who's there?" called Applejack to the shaded orchards around her. She scanned the trees, looking for anything out of place. She thought about backing slowly, but decided that she needed to stand her ground. That was the best way to intimidate a predator, and she guessed it would work on ponies too.

Then she saw a shadow, make that several shadows, moving through the apple trees. Applejack knew it would dangerous to run now, especially with Applebloom out like a light and helpless.

Applejack felt her heart skip when she suddenly recognized the shadowy figure.

Luna.

Applejack nearly bowed out of habit, but refrained to keep from spilling Applebloom onto the ground. Instead she stammered a greeting to the Princess, who reacted by smiling.

"Do not fear, dear Applejack," she said, trotting up to the earth pony. She was shorter than Celestia, but she still towered over Applejack. "I have come to request your help. I have been watching for several nights, and I believe you and your friends can help us end this conflict sooner rather than later."

Applejack glanced uncertainly for a moment, not sure what to expect. What the Princess explained to her, was one of the last things she would have ever expected to hear.

And perhaps even less so that she found herself saying, "I'll do it."

The Night Raiders

Fluttershy had never been so scared to go out in all of her life. She almost rathered that a big, scary, fire-breathing dragon be sitting outside than what was going on. Or maybe not. Perhaps a manticore or a chimera. Those would be better than everypony fighting like that. True, nopony had fought anywhere near Ponyville, but they still could!

The thing about being a wallflower was that Fluttershy had gotten really good and reading ponies intentions and thoughts. And though some couldn't see it, she could already see the rift forming between her best friends in the world. She could never tell on any of them, but it pained her so badly. And she could see the pain it was causing Applejack and Rarity to not be able to go to their other friends. Those two had always been good friends but never especially close. Now they were becoming all they had.

Twilight wasn't stupid. She had noticed something coming between the friends too, though she hadn't seemed to figure out exactly why. Pinkie Pie had also noticed, and it showed in her low mood that new pervaded where once was near constant energy. She had recently spent a lot of time at Fluttershy's house, who had tried really hard to make her happy, but wasn't nearly as good at it as her pink friend.

For now Fluttershy was alone in her cottage, trying to take care of the influx of small animals now residing inside. For nearly two weeks they had been coming, all shaking scared. They were so frightened that Fluttershy still hadn't gotten one of them to talk coherently, and their numbers just kept growing. She actually had to ask the Apple family to help her build some extra accommodations outside in the yard to take them all.  

Her bet was that they were freaked out by the same thing she was. Animals had always been better at sensing when something was wrong than the ponies were. Fluttershy remembered one school teacher that once joked they knew the weather before the pegasi did. Rainbow Dash had literally laughed out loud that day in class, resulting in her fifth detention of the month. So it was also the fifth time Fluttershy went to detention. Oh she never got in trouble, but she did always keep her friend company.

Fluttershy missed Rainbow Dash with her off in Cloudsdale. She even thought about going to visit her, but just once glance at the newspaper shot that idea out the window in a hurry. It was way too scary to go home, which was a thought scary enough in it's own right.

She nearly lost her feathers when she heard a knock at the door.

"Fluttershy!" called a familiar, high voice. Fluttershy breathed a sigh and opened the door for Pinkie Pie.

"Hi, Fluttershy! Are ya doing anything fun today?" asked Pinkie, bouncing inside. "Ooooh, are you having another animal party? I LOVE animal parties!"

Fluttershy smiled and shook her head, "No, all of them are staying with me until they fell less scared."

"All the more reason for a party! Parties always get rid of the ghosties for me!" said Pinkie gleefully, picking up a surprised Angel bunny as she went along with three squirrels and a very startled turtle.

Fluttershy swooped in and grabbed the critters before they freaked out too much at being hugged by the pink earth pony, though Pinkie hardly noticed as she bounced into the kitchen.

"I'm gonna make cupcakes!" she said excitedly.

Fluttershy just giggled a little and followed her in, some of her fear temporarily forgotten.

-----

BUURP!

A rolled scroll materalized in the air among Spike's green flames, which Twilight promptly plucked out of the air with her magic. These letters were coming from the Princess daily now, sometimes more than once per day. Updates, reassurances, or sometimes just plain news, always trying to keep Twilight informed on what was going on, so she was not surprised to receive another one. Spike wasn't too happy about it.

"Uh, I can't take it!" cried Spike. "All this mail is giving me a belly ache!"

"Sorry Spike, but it'll only last until this is all over, and I'm sure that'll be soon."

"You said that a week ago!"

"And it's still true," said Twilight, unrolling the letter. It was short and to the point, and it was a letter that showed that it was quite possible to the have the best news and the worst news be exactly the same thing. The Princess said they think they have located where Luna is hiding, and they're pretty sure she is somewhere around Ponyville.

"Well then.....it should be over soon then," said Twilight before reading that last couple of sentences. Apparently Celestia was sending a platoon of the Royal Guard to help patrol Ponyville. That made her feel much better at the prospect. While she didn't feel like Luna would actually try to hurt her or anypony else here, things were so strange lately that she was glad it wouldn't be left up to chance.

"Good news, Spike. Some of the Royal Guard will be here tomorrow," said Twilight informatively.

"Really? Why?" asked Spike.

"To help watch out for Luna," she replied quickly. She decided not to worry the baby dragon with the idea that Luna might be nearer than he might want her to be. He had already had some pretty vivid nightmares. Inwardly Twilight wondered how they had figured she was in the Ponyville area, and also why she would have come so close. Personally, Twilight had bet that the next time anypony would see her in public might of been around Cloudsdale, where the first struggles started.

Speaking of Cloudsdale, Twilight made a mental note to write to her loyalest friend that was currently serving there. She hoped her newfound fame wasn't getting to her head.

-----

It was totally getting to her head. But since just about everything positive got to her head, Rainbow Dash didn't seem or act any different than before. Hey, she represented the element Loyalty not Humility. It had been two weeks since she, Cloud Kicker, Star Hunter, and Blossomforth had arrived in Cloudsdale and had found Spitfire and Soarin, and already they had made a name for themselves.

In just those two weeks, they alone had captured or driven off nearly three hundred Lunar rebels in Cloudsdale, which dwarfed any other group on Celestia's side. They hadn't lost a single scrap, and scrapes and bruises were the highest of their injuries. The same couldn't be said for their opponents. A lopsided number of pegasi who had worn blue scarves filled the hospitals with broken bones and concussions. Among them a name floated through that made it to their companions still fighting for the streets of Cloudsdale.

Rainbow Six. That was the name that the group had been given after just a couple of days, and it stuck. They'd even been given a special uniform to set them apart, which even Spitfire and Soarin had traded their ruined Wonderbolt uniforms for. They were a butternut color that had folded sleeves on the front legs, but ended on their midriff. Also on their left sleeve was the special logo somepony had sewn on for them, which basically looked like the lightning part of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark overlaid with a black six.

Everything was going so well, that they had been given the day off, and Rainbow Dash was off to do something she hadn't been able to the entire time she'd been in her hometown. Go home. She hadn't even knocked on the door when her mother burst out of the door and hugged her. Her mom, Firefly, was pink with a messy, blue mane and a double lightning cutie mark. She didn't look much like her mom other then how she wore her mane, but she had gotten all her fire from her, and much of her athleticism.

"Rainbow. you're looking so good!" she exclaimed. "Huh, is that a new scar or an old one?"

She pointed to the pink cut on her left cheek. It was new, and the only injury of any kind Rainbow Dash had received so far, and it had been her own dumb fault. Rainbow just nodded and left that detail out, hugging her mom back.

"Well, hello my little Dashie," said the much deeper voice of her dad. Her dad had a slighly darker blue coat than she did, and his mane was shorter and spikier, but no one could mistake him with his equally shocking rainbow colored mane that his daughter shared. Her dad was much more mellow and relaxed than his wife and daughter, but Rainbow Dash had almost certainly gained her tremendous wing-power from him. Those combined with her lighter body type had led to her unmatched and now legendary speeds.

Rainbow Dash hugged him closely, glancing around hoping that no one was watching. She rarely showed her soft side, because she did have a reputation to uphold. She had never once let on to anyone that part of the reason she had sped over to Cloudsdale so fast was to make sure her parents had been out of the way and safe. Fortunately, they lived on the far west of Cloudsdale, far from where the rebels had been causing trouble.

"So you're a big-shot soldier now, huh?" asked Firefly, nudging Rainbow's shoulder as they walked inside the family home.

"Oh, you know, just kicking some serious tail," said Rainbow Dash nonchalantly. Her father just rolled his eyes and gave her a sideways smile while her mother laughed in the same hearty way Rainbow Dash does.

Inside on the table was a meal of homemade hayloaf which smelled so good it was making Rainbow Dash's mouth water just being in the same room. She was a blur in motion to the table, and had it not been for knowing the tongue thrashing she would get, she would have dug straight in. There really is no place like home.

The Rainbow family gathered for their first family meal in several years, enjoying the rare chance to be in each other's company. Ever since Rainbow Dash had dropped out of flight school and moved to Ponyville to take a weather manager job, times like this had become rare. Funny that it took a national crisis for it to happen again.

"So how goes it out there?" asked her father as they were finishing the meal.

"Pretty much what the Cloudsdale Courier says: We got them on the run. I bet, we'll have the whole place back to normal in two days flat," bragged Rainbow Dash.

"I have no doubt," said her mother, her pride undisguised.

Rainbow Dash had initially planned on spending the night hanging out with the rest of her new squad, but decided that she spent enough time with them already. Why not spend it at home while things are good?

I should do this more often thought Rainbow Dash as she followed her parents into the living room to play their favorite board game, Monopony.

-----

Pinkie Pie scared two of the newly arrived Royal Guards half to death when she burst out of Sugarcube Corner screaming excitedly about "NEW FRIENDS!" and bounced around trying to invite several of them to a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party she was planning for that evening.

"Don't worry, you get used to that," chuckled Twilight Sparkle as she walked past the two stallions who were both holding a hoof to their chests and breathing heavily. "And if you can spare the time, that party just might be worth it."

The platoon had arrived not a half an hour before but had already began stationing themselves all over the town. Most of them were actually armed with spears and a handful of the unicorns even had swords sheathed at their flanks. She had never really actually thought that those were actually used against other ponies in the distant past when Twilight had seen them around Canterlot. She hoped they would only be used in intimidation, like more recent history, in this case.

At any rate, Twilight already felt safer herself, although she could tell that some of the ponies in town were a little uncomfortable. That was understandable. There probably had never been a significant military presence in Ponyville of any kind before then. Seeing them now probably just aggravated the seriousness of what was going on.

Applejack looked nervous as well, casting uncertain glances at every guard she passed, and looking like she was ready to jump out of her skin at the slightest provocation.

"Don't worry Applejack, they shouldn't be around too long," said Twilight, coming into step next to her friend.

"I sure hope so," said Applejack, her eyes still darting from guard to guard as they walked. Wow, she looked really uncomfortable at all this. This was a bit surprising to Twilight, seeing as Applejack was definitely one of the more steely-nerved ponies she knew.

"Hopefully, they can find Luna soon and everything will go back to normal," she comforted.

"Sure, sounds good to me," said Applejack. "I gotta run, Twillight. Lotsa work to do back at the orchard, today."

Twilight said goodbye to the Applejack as the latter trotted off at a brisk pace out of town towards the farm. Twilight had been noticing the stress piling up on Applejack lately, and she sensed that she couldn't wait for all of this to be over. Rarity had looked a little extra stressed lately too, though Rarity had said it was because she was working on a big order again.

Across the square, Twilight saw Sweetie Bell and Applebloom walking together and talking quietly. Oh no, what are they up to now? thought Twilight. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sure caused a lot of chaos for three little fillies. Scootaloo was probably off getting some outrageous collection of supplies together with her scooter and wagon. Twilight decided to walk over to see if she could head off any future disaster like the fireworks debacle at the Ponyville Days fair. Big Mac still stewed about that one every once in a while.

The two fillies saw Twilight when she was about a dozen steps from them or so, and as if to confirm Twilight's suspicions they both got wide eyes and hushed with a synchronized gasp.

"Okay, what are you up to?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing!" they said together and far too quickly.

"Sweetie Bell, Applebloom, if what you are planning is too dangerous to even want to tell me, maybe you should think of another activity to try for your cutie mark crusading."

Strangely this seemed to actually relieve the ponies for a second.

"Oh, right Twilight. You're right, I was...uh....getting tired of stunt cutie marks anyway," said Sweetie Bell with her best angelic smile, which Applebloom added onto with her own. Twilight knew she was getting buttered, but it was working.

"Ok. Go make sure you tell Scootaloo not to do...whatever it was you were going to do," said Twilight, shooing off the two friends. Total relief fell over both their faces as they shot off as fast as they could go. They nearly barreled into a couple of armored guards from watching Twilight instead of where they were going, but managed to pull a skidding turn and slipped into an alley.

Twilight turned to go back towards the library when, as if on cue, Scootaloo skidded to a halt just in front of her.

"Hey, Twilight! Ya seen Sweetie and Applebloom around?" the little pegasus asked, taking off her helmet and wiping the sweat from her mane.

"Yes, in fact, and I just sent them to tell you not to do whatever you three were planning," said Twilight.

"Huh?"

"Don't play innocent. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell have already promised to find something different for your crusading today."

"But I haven't-"

"No buts about it, Scootaloo," cut off Twilight, wanting to firm.

Scootaloo saw she wasn't getting anywhere, so she strapped her helmet back on and started to flap her wings to push her along.

"I was trying to say I haven't even seen them all day," muttered Scootaloo, and it was just loud enough for Twilight to hear, as she scooted off towards the Apple farm.

It took a moment for the dots to connect in Twilights head that Sweetie Bell and Applebloom had flat out lied to her. Twilight briefly considered flying after them and lecturing them, but then decided it would be much better to tell their older sisters. Applejack and Rarity would probably have a much scarier impact on both of them.

She was so flustered that she never paused to wonder why they had lied in the first place.

-----

Two guards carrying a flashlight and a spear each patrolled a dark street that ran near Sugarcube Corner. It promised to be a clear night, especially because the pegasi had been too busy dealing with the dwindling crisis in Cloudsdale to work on the weather. Luna's moon was just under a half moon, giving off some light but not quite enough to see clearly by.

The two had been given orders to watch for anything suspicious and of course, to report any sign of Princess Luna. They were vigilant and alert as they strutted down the street, trying to see into every nook and cranny they could. Other teams were milling around the town and nearby forest as well, all with the same objective. The residents of several cities across Equestria would be able to see the same sight on their streets on this night.

A noise like tumbling cans drew their attention towards a dark alley, which was lit up by the two flashlights. In the alleyway was a trash can used by the neighboring restaurant, and it was being rooted through by a stray cat. The cat hissed at them, before jumping off the trash heap and scurrying back and out of sight. The two guards exchanged a passive glance of slight annoyance before continuing their patrol down the street.

At the next alleyway, they heard another rattling sound. They looked at each other again, silently betting on whether it was a cat again or not, before slowly turning their lights. The one closest to the alleyway didn't know what hit him. It was a back hoof that connected with the side of his head and knocked him out cold, sending him stumbling into his partner. The second guard tried to react, or at least to see who or what had hit his partner, but he was floored by another impact of something heavy to the side of his helmet. It sent him sprawling to the ground, dazed but still conscious. He watched with stars in his vision as two pony figures stepped into the dim light. They wore skin-tight, black outfits that obscured everything except their eyes and their tails. Both tails were a matching, dark blue that glimmered in the light of the flashlights now laying on the ground, though one was curled and the other was bunched at the end.

He saw one, who was a unicorn and whom he assumed had been the one who hit him, light up her horn with the unmistakable glow of magic. He groggily wondered what she was doing, when he realized that the weight of his spear was gone, and glancing up saw that indeed she had picked up both spears.

He tried to get to his feet. These two were obviously Lunar rebels, and it was his duty to stop them.

"Ah, dern it! You didn't knock 'im out!" said the disguised earth pony. He tried to react as the mare approached, but was so dazed the most that he did was a feeble swing of his front hoof that hit nothing but air.

"Sorry," said the mare, and she smacked him once again in the head, knocking his helmet off and this time sending him into unconsciousness.

"Sorry, I suppose I did not throw the pan hard enough," said the unicorn, blinking her blue eyes at her companion, whose green eyes rolled.

"'S okay. Let's just hurry and get back to the hideout. I reckon that the others should be getting their jobs done soon, and I wanna be able to help anypony that hasn't," said the other, picking up the two guards helmets with her teeth. And with that, the two stole into the night.

-----

There was a pounding knock on the front door that woke Rainbow Dash with a start.

"Rainbow Dash! There's a problem!"

That was Star Hunter. What was he doing here at her parents house? She burst out of bed and was at the door in a flash.

"What's going on Star?"

"The Lunar Rebels! Suddenly, they're just...everywhere!" said the dark pegasus.

"Where's everypony else?" asked Rainbow Dash, reaching back on a coat hook for her uniform and sliding it on.

"Just waiting for you at the Rainbow factory. We gotta hurry!"

"Right."

Rainbow Dash quickly leaned inside the doorway, where she caught a glimpse of her parents peaking out of their bedroom.

"Love ya guys! Lets go Star Hunter!" she called, taking off in a roar of wind.

As the two pegasi streaked off into the night, her parents came to the door to watch their daughter fly off.

"Well he looks nice," remarked her mom.

"If he tries anything I'll break his wing," said her father in a deadpan voice, to which his wife collapsed in a fit of laughter, incoherently jibbering something about how her dad had said the same thing.

-----

Rainbow Dash hadn't been in Cloudsdale when it had all first started, but she was pretty sure that this was much worse. There were ponies everywhere; yelling, flying, punching, screaming. There were blue neckercheifs mixed in with khaki uniforms on seemingly every corner.

"Dash! Over here!"

The other four members of Rainbow Six flew up next to Dash, all still a little bleary-eyed from waking up and very much shocked.

"I thought they were almost gone!" complained Cloud Kicker. Rainbow Dash's shock hardened back into an expression of anger.

"Well, apparently not. Let's get down there!"

The six dived into the fray, scattering several panicked pegasi with their wind shear. Rainbow Dash zeroed in on a mare with a blue neckerchief tied around her head, and tackled her full force, yelling a cry that made everypony for a couple blocks get the chills.

-----

Across Equestria, the crisis which up til then had seemed small and confined had exploded across the country. In some places like Ponyville, Apploosa, and Seaddle, guards were simply overpowered and their weapons and armor stolen, and in most of those cases most residents were none the wiser until it was morning. In other places, like Rainbow Falls, Dodge City, Maneapolis, and Cloudsdale, it was all out revolution. Ponies dressed in all sorts of blue ensemble ranging from simple bows or headbands to full uniforms and armor suddenly surged en masse, driving the surprised and overwhelmed Solar forces before them.

-----

As the morning sun crested over the hillside, yet another pony was woken up by pounding on the door. And a cranky dragon.

Twilight wandered bleary-eyed over to the door and opened it with a sleepy, "yes?"

"Your Highness, we have bad news," said a Royal Guard at the door. Twilight opened her eyes fully and looked around the edges of the doorframe. She was surprised to see dozens of royals guards all over the couryard, and most appeared to be nursing injuries.

"What happened?" she asked, trotting outside to see better. It looked as if the entire platoon was there, and at least half of them had some sort of bandage around their heads, and some had more than that.

"I'm afraid they were all attacked last night by Lunar rebels," said the Guard.

"What?"

"Nearly all of them have the same story. They were jumped while patrolling by either two or three ponies disguised in black outfits with blue tails. We think it was probably dozens of different ponies working together."

"How do you know?"

"There were different combinations of ponies in each case."

"B---But Why?"

"They were after our weapons. Every guard had their spears stolen, and some even had their armor taken," the Guard reported, motioning to some who were missing their helmets or were simply without armor all together.

Twilight's mind was spinning now. This had happened in Ponyville of all places!

"Do we have any idea exactly who did this?" asked Twilight, dreading what he might say.

"Not for sure, but I'm afraid that so far it points to it being unknown local ponies," said the Guard.

Twilight's newest worst fear had come to pass just moments after being born in her mind. Some of the friends she had made here probably had turned against Celestia. Against her! Another horrible thought crossed her mind. What if some of her closest friends were....

No, that was ridiculous. All the same, she wanted to talk the them. She really needed help thinking clearly right now. As if on cue, she spotted Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie trotting side by side along the edge of the courtyard. Fluttershy cast terrified looks at the scene before them and picked up her pace, which an unusually concerned-looking Pinkie Pie matched. Both had saddlebags and they had a small entourage of small animals riding on her back.

Twilight galloped to catch up them just as they were reaching their destination: the train station.

"Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie! Wait! Where are you going?" asked Twilight, huffing from her run.

"The Crystal Empire," said Pinkie Pie in one of the saddest voices Twilight had ever heard her utter.

"Why?" was all Twilight could blurt.

"My animals haven't had a good nights rest in nearly three weeks, and I just can't handle all of this ridiculous fighting with ponies hurting one another! I'm going to the one place in all of Equestria that hasn't gone crazy!"

Nopony had ever heard nor imagined Fluttershy could talk like that. She was nearly crying the whole time, but there was no mistaking the frustration and anger.

"I heard from the Crystal Empire that they are staying neutral from all of this mess, so I'm going there," said Fluttershy. "Pinkie Pie said she would come with me."

"None of this is fun. Not even a little bit!" said Pinkie Pie sadly.

Twilight had heard that the Crystal Empire had announced that a couple of days before. Apparently the ponies, who because of the curse of Sombra, had had enough of conflict when they fought to overthrow him. And on top of that it had resulted in them being cursed and thrown out of the time continuum for over 1000 years. All the same, since Shining Armor was a former Captain of the Royal Guard and both him and Cadence were natives of Canterlot, it had surprised her that they had decided not to just back Celestia.

"What's goin' on?" asked Applejack, who walked up behind Twilight. "Yer leavin'?"

"Yes, Applejack, I just can't take it anymore," said Fluttershy tearfully.

"Right now!?" asked Applejack in alarm.

"Train leaves in 30 minutes," said Pinkie Pie, pointing to a clock. She even pointed sadly. Applejack looked at the clock, and then bolted, saying she would be right back.

Twilight spent the next 25 minutes trying to convince her friends to stay but to no avail, with Rarity trying to help her for the last 10 minutes or so. About then Applejack showed up again, carrying a bushel of apples.

"Fluttershy, Pinkie. I sure don't want ya'll to go, but if you do, you're gonna need some snacks for the trip," said Applejack, bumping the bushel from her back to the ground in front of Pinkie. "Looks like you won't be alone, though. I ran into to Derpy and Doc and they're going up there too."

"Really?" asked Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie in sync, peering around Applejack. Sure enough, the Hooves were both trotting up with saddlebags towards the train station.

The couple glanced at the group of friends before boarding the train. Applejack gave them the slightest of nods as they boarded that no one else saw.

"That's a nice flower, Derpy," said Fluttershy as the pegasi walked past. There was a beautiful blue and white flower that Derpy was wearing above her ear.

"Thank you," said Derpy loopily as she followed her husband onto the train.

"Well, it's time to go," said Fluttershy. "We'll come back when it's all over."

"Yeah, and we'll make sure to write," said Pinkie Pie, her hair drooping as she hugged the three friends she was leaving behind.

Six minutes later they were onboard and the train bound for the Crystal Empire pulled away.

Twilight couldn't help but feel that her world was coming to an end.

-----

Somewhere near the deserts, a group of about seven ponies hid behind rocks, bushes, and clouds that surrounded a railroad. The night was young, and their target was coming into view.

The group had named themselves the Night Raiders. Last night had been their first raid, on a wagon train of soldiers where they grabbed several dozen weapons. This time they were after a food shipment on-board a train. They could go after any train of the day as all of them had food supplies. This one was just unlucky.

Their leader was a turquoise pegasus with a golden mane, her cutie mark a lightning bolt with three stars. She stared out at the approaching train, crouched over a fallen log with a light blue unicorn beside her. Both wore the dark blue neckerchiefs that had essentially become the uniform of the Lunar Republic.

The train approached steadily. Around her, the leading mare saw her team tense for their impending raid. But something caught her eye, and she immediately raised her hoof to signal them to hold.

"What is it Lightning Dust?" asked the unicorn.

"I think I see something, just let me check," she replied. She reached into a knapsack on the ground, and pulled out a pair of binoculars. She scanned the train until she found what she was looking for. She saw a brown stallion who was leaning partially out of the window, one hoof hanging down the side of the train. Around his hoof was a blue neckerchief tied tightly. Next to him on the train sat three other ponies, including a gray pegasus that had a blue-white flower in her mane.

"We'll wait for the next train," announced Lightning Dust, and the team relaxed but looked quizzically at their leader. "I spotted a friendly signal."

"Oh darn. It'll be at least an hour before the next train comes," said the unicorn.

"Oh well, gives us more time to rest, Trixie. We'll probably break records when the next train rolls down the tracks," said Lightning Dust with a mischievous grin.

"And maybe a couple of bones," said Trixie, sending small sparks from her horn.

END OF CHAPTER. I decided to include pictures of the member of Rainbow Six you might not know:

Cloud Kicker

Star Hunter

Blossomforth

Blitz

The Crystal Empire's grand gate and castle looked as spectacular in the distance as Fluttershy remembered it. It had been dressed up to be straight dazzling during the games, and though the decorations were down the crystals could simply not be detracted. The crowds had been loud and lively, dressed in vivid colors as Equestria came together to play the games.

There were crowds once again, but the air was noticeably different. Gone were the vibrant costumes, uniforms, and banners, to be replaced by a sea of tents, travel bags, and ponies who had all come fleeing a nightmare.

Fluttershy pulled her animals entourage closer to her so as to not to lose them in the massive crowd as she and Pinkie Pie left the train station, while Pinkie Pie carried both their bags. Somehow she was still bouncing despite the heavy weight, a sight that made Fluttershy optimistic the Pinkie would be returning to her old self soon.  

It took nearly an hour and a half to get to the castle, a walk that usually took only about 20 minutes. There was a mass of ponies standing outside the entrance, so big that it enveloped the entire Crystal Heart Courtyard. Fluttershy worried that with this crowd, they may never get in to see the Princess Cadence at all, not that she blamed them, because obviously they were very, very busy and she wouldn't want to impose.

Luckily the young captain Flash Sentry spotted and recognized the two mares and called them out, letting them through a line of Crystal Empire Royal Guard. He escorted them through the front doors and through the busy hallways to the main hallway. There, looking thoroughly tired and disheveled, were Shining Armor and Cadence surrounded by jabbering ponies. Fluttershy stifled a quiet laugh at how it seemed that neither royal pony seemed to be actually paying attention to what was being said around them.

That was probably how they spotted their two visiting friends so fast.

"Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie! How nice to see you!" said Cadence, abandoning the circle of ponies quickly followed by her relieved husband.

"And I'm so happy to see you!" said Pinkie Pie, bouncing in place at Cadence's head level.

"We're sorry if you're busy, we can come back..."trailed Fluttershy.

"Oh no, don't worry. We may be busy but it is no imposition at all," assured Cadence. "I see you brought some of your animals friends with you."

Cadence leaned in closer as to say hello to the small creatures crowding on Fluttershy's back, but to everyone's astonishment all of them recoiled in panic, each screaming in their own tongue. Fluttershy scrambled to calm them and gather them, apologizing profusely all the while.

"I'm sorry! I guess they are still very scared. Oohh, my. I'm so sorry," she stammered over Cadence's assurances that she understood and everything was ok.

"Perhaps I should get them settled. I brought them here to calm them, but...oh dear. We'll get going back outside to set up our tent," said Fluttershy, turning to trot out.

"You're kidding," said Shining Armor. "I think we can get you set up in one of the suites. I'll get Flash Sentry on that."

"HUNH!" gasped Pinkie Pie. "CRYSTAL CASTLE SLEEPOVER PARTY!"

She zoomed off to who knows where, blazing a small path through stunned ponies (none of whom where quite sure what that pink blur was).

"Need any help taking your bags or those critters?" asked Flash Sentry.

"Oh yes! I mean, uh, with the bags, if you can," said Fluttershy, pulling her frightened animals closer as Flash obliged. She had really hoped that her animals would feel better all the way out here, but it appeared that it might not be so easy. She still hadn't been able to get a clear word out of any of the critters, and that hadn't changed on the train. With all of this, Fluttershy's years of experience with animals confirmed just one thing to her.

Whatever was scaring them, it had nothing to do with the ponies' fight.

-----

Rainbow Dash, Star Hunter, Blossomforth, Cloud Kicker, Spitfire, and Soarin filed into the Equestrian Royal Guard Cloudsdale Headquarters, expressions serious and strides determined. The Headquarters had lately been called the Solar HQ for short by both sides. Although one side in Cloudsdale had just about ceased to exist.

It had been a rough week since the sudden surprise attack that rocked through the cloud city and across Equestria, but at least here it was back under control. Just that morning Celestia had just declared victory in Cloudsdale to all the Solar forces, who had responded in jubilation. Rainbow Dash had celebrated by performing her first "for fun" sonic rainboom in almost a month, a sight that had brought sweat to the brow of any Lunar rebel who saw it.

Now it was but past noon and Rainbow Six had been summoned by the Captain of the Royal Guard, for reasons that had yet been explained. The group could only cast sideways and questioning glances at each other and shuffle off to find out. One would hardly recognize the six ponies from just a month before, particularly the Ponyvillians. They all wore their uniforms with their now infamous insignia and commanded a level of respect in just they way they now carried themselves, and on top of them all of them bore the scrapes and bruises of a moon's worth of fights. At the moment Soarin was even wearing an eye patch from a particularly nasty kick he took two nights before.

"So, Rainbow, what do you think is up?" asked Star Hunter, coming up the side.

"I dunno, but I have a feeling we won't be around here too much longer," said Rainbow Dash to the dark colored pegasus, not making eye contact.

"You think they'll send us out?" he continued.

"Probably," said Rainbow, staring resolutely forward. This wasn't a show of strength or coolness at all. Rainbow Dash had noticed her cheeks getting hot lately around Star, and since she didn't quite understand it, so she chose to avoid it.

Soon they came to the door that had the hastily painted letters "General" on window and knocked. The door swung open and let them in, where they all had to catch their breath as Princess Celestia was standing in the small room. Considering what they'd been doing for the previous month, they didn't know whether to salute or to bow. So about half saluted and the others bowed, and for a comic second both tried to imitate the others and reversed their show of respect. Fortunately Celestia smiled, and told them to relax.

"I have called you here first to congratulate you on your incredible feats," said the Princess. "Your work here has hastened the restoration of harmony in Equestria that will always be remembered."

The six pegasi stood a little taller.

"Now I have a special need of your assistance and talents elsewhere. In the last week our trains and chariots have been terrorized by a small group of ponies calling themselves 'The Night Raiders,' and unfortunately our Guards have not been able to find nor stop their actions. I need you, our most decorated unit, to go out, find them, and put a stop to them."

"You can count on us Princess!" said Spitfire.

"Rainbow Six will never let you down!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Then go and prepare yourselves. You must leave as soon as possible, for every minute lost may mean more ponies attacked," said the Princess authoritatively.

"Yes Ma'am!" called Rainbow Dash, and with that the small unit exited the room and went to grab some supplies. In ten minutes flat, they took off in formation, with their destination being the outskirts of Dodge City, the last known location of the Night Raiders.

The flight took a couple hours before they reached the small town. Here had been the sight of another uprising that week, but after the initial surprise the local guards were able to come back and take control, capturing most of the perpetrators and keeping them in a jail camp.

The town hadn't been big in the first place, so the camp just outside was small compared to Cloudsdale's. The number of civilian ponies walking around paled in comparison to the guards patrolling the street. Strangely enough Rainbow Dash recognized one as the Cherry farmer that they had worked for during the whole Applejack/rodeo fiasco, but she decided that their mission was too important to waste time catching up.

Instead they immediately reported to the Captain of the battalion for whatever he knew about their mission. Unfortunately it wasn't much other than that there were two different trains raided on the nearby tracks going north.

"Well, it looks like the game's hide and seek," said Spitfire as they walked out of the HQ.

"Ok, let's get something to eat," said Rainbow Dash. "Then we hit the desert."

-----

Twilight Sparkle hadn't been this stressed out since her last test, and she hadn't been this tired since the time Rarity had accidentally been taken over by dark magic and started changing everything. All week she would get reports from the Princess (much to the distress of Spike) about the state of things elsewhere in Equestria and Twilight would respond with reports of efforts in the Ponyville area. It wasn't well on either side. While things were now mostly under control in Cloudsdale and Dodge City, the entire city of Maneapolis had been essentially lost and Royal forces hadn't been able to get any where near Rainbow Falls or Appleoosa.

And in Ponyville, they hadn't found a single pony who it could be proven was part of not just that first surprise attack but also two smaller scale attacks in the week since. Always the same disguises; totally covered in black and their tails coated in dark blue. The most recent incident, after a trio of them jumped a couple of guards before taking their armor, they had tried chasing them, but they vanished among the homes of Ponyville, and a search the next day produced absolutely nothing.

Whoever they were, they had a lot of help. Twilight just hoped that most of it was coming from outside Ponyville, but logic told her she had to be suspicious of her fellow townsfolk. It was enough to wear at any pony's sanity.

That's why that night she was planning to patrol herself, and Applejack and Rarity would accompany her. She didn't think anyone would attack a friend no matter what was going on, so she wasn't planning to catch someone in the act. No, she was planning on using her talents with magic to see if she could find any trace of Luna's magic.

Neither AJ or Rarity had seemed too thrilled with the idea, but had agreed to come along when she made her best puppy eyes at them.

Twilight waited for them on the porch of her library as the sun set and the moon began to rise, anxiously leaning from one hoof to the other. When she finally saw them walking beside one another, Twilight trotted out to meet her friends halfway in the courtyard. Twilight saw that Rarity was wearing another new chapeau that was white that was accented with a lovely blue flower, though she thought it was probably not what most ponies would of worn for a patrol like this.

"Ready?" asked Twilight lightly when she

"Ah...sure Twilight," said Applejack nervously.

"I know you can't be comfortable doing this but it makes me feel so much better having you girls along."

"Don't mention it darling, we are always here to help," reassured Rarity, though she looked just as nervous as Applejack.

"Don't worry girls, I doubt anything will happen to us. There may be some ponies who are...er...confused but I don't think they'd hurt their friends. Besides, we're really going to look for Luna," said Twilight, trying to allay their fears.

"How do ya plan to do that?" asked Applejack as she looked down the streets radiating from the library square.

"Well, you see, when a unicorn uses their magic, they leave an invisible imprint on what they perform their magic on, and every unicorn's is unique," explained Twilight.

"And you can tell them apart?" asked a surprised Rarity.

"Well, while I can detect them and see the differences, I'm not good enough to be able to tell what magic residue belongs to who. In fact I'm sure I would need a lot of time just to tell yours apart, Rarity, even though I've been around you this long."

"Beggin your pardon, but wouldn't that make this search for a Luna a little...pointless?" asked Applejack.

"Yes, if she were a unicorn. But Luna is an Alicorn, and on top of that I can make an easy reference for what her magical residue looks like right up there," said Twilight, pointing a hoof in the sky towards the nearly full moon. Rarity and Applejack looked up at the moon for a few moments before Twilight got their attention again.

"I know it's not quite as distinct as what they're giving the volunteers up in Cloudsdale, ("ugh khaki!" shuddered Rarity) but I do have these gold neckerchiefs that'll at least tell you apart," said Twilight, holding the two cloths out with her magic.

"Do we really need these?" asked Applejack as she grabbed one and began tying it around her neck, nervously looking around.

"Yes, but it's more to help the guards know who's who," said Twilight. "That way you can help me without having to worry about them stopping me, especially if we have to split up while we're looking."

"Oh," responded Applejack, finishing the knot as Rarity did the same.

"Oh, this doesn't quite match my hat does it? Oh well, so Twilight, where are we going to look first?" asked Rarity, smiling encouragingly.

"Well, the guards got the town covered, but they haven't been able to do much near the Everfree forest so I figured that near Fluttershy's house would be a good place to start," said Twilight, trotting in that direction.

-----

If Applejack didn't like how she felt before, she absolutely hated what she was doing now. Before she was just avoiding the truth, but this felt like outright lying, walking beside Twilight wearing a signal that supposedly marked her as on Celestia's side and supposedly trying to help find the very pony Applejack was working to actually help.

And what was worse, she had taken advantage of it, and that plan was going perfectly. The day before, Thunderlane had noticed that the Royal Guards in Ponyville had stockpiled a bunch of food in one spot near the town hall, and when Rarity and herself had been asked the next morning about this venture it seemed perfect. It was generally agreed that it would have been far too risky to try with the young Princess so nearby, but here was a chance that couldn't be passed up.

All she and Rarity had to do was to keep Twilight away from town and away from Sweet Apple Acres. The latter would be an even bigger of the two potential disasters.

Twilight's own suggestion of going towards Fluttershy's cottage had really just saved the trouble of having to suggest it herself.

Twilight chatted with Rarity casually as they made their way out of town down the familiar paths. Familiar ponies went about their day in what could be termed normal, at least as normal as it could be. Twilight happily greeted those they walked past that evening, leading the three friends. Behind her, Applejack would also greet the ponies they passed. Only when she did it was with a little nod that was returned by everypony they walked by. Rose, Daisy, and Lily tending the flower beds in the park. Vinyl and Lyra walking by dragging a wagon full of loud speakers. Big Mac carting a load of apples towards the town market. Cherilee talking with Cloudchaser and Flitter outside the schoolhouse.

"Applejack, tell me honestly, do you really think that the ponies that attacked those guards were from Ponyville?"

Applejack snapped back her attention to the purple alicorn at the question.

"Well, uh....I dunno, Twi," said Applejack. "It's hard to say."

Twilight didn't reply but looked away, obviously thinking the same thing. "We'll start here. AJ, I want you to watch the left, towards the forest, and Rarity take the right. This spell will take most of my concentration so I'll just need help keeping a lookout."

Applejack and Rarity acknowledged as her horn glowed the familiar purple they had come to know. They walked slowly along the edge of the Everfree for nearly two hours will nothing to show for it.

And they returned to chaos.

Twilight, with the others in tow, entered town to a frenzy of guards running all over the town in confusion, trying to figure out what to do. One pair spotted the Princess, and immediately went to her.

"Your highness! They came! Dozens of them, dressed just like before!" they reported, with panic still edging their voices.

"Now calm down," said Twilight authoritatively. "What happened?"

"Well, about 30 minutes after you left, the battalion food store was attacked by....too many that we could count. The guards were far outnumbered, and they managed to take almost all of the food," they reported, out of breath. "What should we do?"

Twilight gathered her thoughts quickly before ordering them to organize search teams again, and find any evidence they can. She sent them on their way and turned to greet two more who had run up.

"Princess, they took the entire food stockpile. We have nothing to support us here," one informed.

"I think we can solve that, Applejack-"

Twilight cut off when she realized that neither Applejack or Rarity was standing beside her anymore, and they were nowhere to be seen. She wondered where they had gone for a moment, before shaking out of it and turning her attention to the task at hand. She could talk to them later. For now, there were ponies that needed organizing.

-----

The morning air was still cool in the desert, with a weak breeze lazily sweeping over the land. This was one place that the khaki uniform that Rainbow and her companions were wearing helped them stay hidden. Blossomforth loudly yawning was the only sound that any of them made as they flew low and slow over the rocks. They had been up late, camped out, and then awoke early all in an effort to find these Night Raiders.

And they were getting close.

"Look at that!" said Star Hunter in a loud hush, slowing to a total stop just above the ground. He pointed with his front hoof and said, "a pegasus took off right here, and there are more tracks over there!"

Guess he wasn't named "Hunter" for nothing, because he was right. There were tracks in the dust leading off into a valley that was overcast with the early shadows.

"Let's get above. If they're there we can get at them from above, and that would give us an instant advantage," said Spitfire quietly. The rest nodded, and took off straight up, getting above the small clouds. The flew slowly across the clearing and finally above the valley. It was full of bushes and shrubs, a perfect place to lie low at night. The pegasi strained their eyes, looking for any moving shapes or perhaps, if they were lucky, a few sleeping ones.

"Let's get a little lower," suggested Soarin, and the others agreed with a nod of their heads. They slowly descended until they were just below the cloud layer. Time passed slowly as they searched with baited breath for their quarry. It appeared useless, as after several minutes they had nearly crossed the entire valley, and their was no sign that anypony was there.

"I think they've moved on," said Cloud Kicker, coming up beside Rainbow Dash.

"I think you're right," said Star Hunter, flanking on the other side.

Rainbow Dash nodded resignedly, glancing around one more time. She saw nothing, but something caught her ear. A sound familiar to her because she did it all the time herself. Someone was breaking the sound barrier...

"ABOVE US!" said Rainbow Dash, immediately speeding sideways and sending the team scattering. A light blue blur was streaking straight down, with a lightning contrail following. It struck Cloud Kicker in the side, sending her into a spin. Soarin reacted quick and caught her before she hit the ground.

"SOARIN! DUCK!" yelled Spitfire, and fortunately he did, as a beam blazed past where his head was.

"I see 'em! There's four on the ground behind us!" yelled Star Hunter.

"And another pegasi too!" called Blossomforth.

Rainbow Dash scanned around her quickly, taking in the whole situation in a second. "Spitfire, you take that pegasi while the rest of you go after the group below!"

She watched as the lightning contrail made the long turn at supersonic speed, "I'll take care of her."

Rainbow Dash burst forward after the blue streak, making it past the sound barrier in a few seconds.

"LIGHTNING DUST!" she roared as she came up behind the pegasus.

"Ha! So they sent you!" called Lightning Dust with a smirk. "Perfect, now I know I'm gonna win!"

"We'll see about that!" yelled Rainbow. She put an extra burst of speed that put her right next to a very surprised Lightning Dust before punching her in the cheek. The mare grunted with the impact, then refocused and changed direction to the right.

"Oh no you don't!" And Rainbow Dash sped off in pursuit.

-----

"You'll have to do better than that to beat Trixie!" taunted the unicorn, as she nimbly avoided a diving tackle from Blossomforth before throwing her sideways with a spell.

"Better watch yourself!" yelled Star Hunter, who at that moment swept along the ground and undermined Trixie's hind legs. She fell hard on her rump with a little squeak. She glared indignantly at Star Hunter before pelting him with a magical flurry of dirt clods that sent him scrambling, covering his head with his wings as he galloped for shelter behind a shrub.

"Trixie! A little help!" called an earth pony a distance away. The gray stallion was struggling to deal with Soarin, who was darting every which way a striking blows all over.

"What are you, made of rubber!?" yelled another pony on the other side, a purple unicorn mare that was overwhelmed by the flexible Blossomforth.

Trixie made sure Star Hunter was at bay before thinking of a spell that would help. She was about to cast it when everypony was nearly knocked off their feet by Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust streaking by, kicking up dust like a wave that buffeted them all. Once they could see they all briefly watched in wonder as the two speedy pegasi twisted upwards like a DNA strand, before separating and coming back and colliding with each other with explosive force.

At where they impacted an odd explosion that was mix of lightning and rainbow lit up the sky, and it was quickly followed by several more as they collided several more times.

Spitfire watched as she held down the pegasi she had tackled, thinking back to something she had read while studying in the Wonderbolt academy. Back in the days of the tribes, the pegasi had been the most war-hungry of them all, and sometimes fought each other. It had read that when two powerful pegasi battled, their inner magic would manifest externally in brilliant displays; magic that now usually only manifested with speed contrails and with Dash's Sonic Rainboom. It was beautiful and terrifying all at the same time, which struck Spitfire as such a weird combination.

-----

Rainbow Dash hardly felt any impacts as she clashed with her former fellow cadet. The adrenalin and pegasi magic was just running too high for that. She regretted not wearing goggles when they went out, because at the speeds they were traveling she was sure that neither of them could very clearly.

She battled and twisted and turned with every skill she had picked up over years of flying, but Lightning Dust was a worthy flier in her own right. She braced for another attack and quickly countered with a hoof, their strikes once again exploding in a brilliant light display. Rainbow tried to think quickly what to do as she curved around into another glancing collision, because this was obviously going nowhere fast. They were too evenly matched. Then Rainbow got an idea and must before colliding again dove towards the ground.

Lightning Dust gave chase, taunting, "Giving up?"

Rainbow Dash didn't reply, partially due to the G-Forces building as she gained speed. She could accelerate faster, but she didn't want to be too far ahead of Lightning Dust.

"Hey!" she finally called, turning her head only slightly so as to not ruin her aerodynamics. "Eat DUST!"

The pursuing mare had no time to react as Rainbow Dash burst through a Sonic Rainboom, instantly changing direction and shooting off into the clouds. The shock wave caught Lightning Dust full on, throwing her sideways into a faster tailspin than the one at the academy, and tumbling into the ground. She somersaulted over several times, crushing several bushes and bounding over a surprised Trixie and Star Hunter.

Rainbow pulled up into a stop before descending quickly back towards Lightning Dust, who was trying to get up on wobbly legs. Rainbow Dash didn't letter, knocking her over once again, and placing both front legs on Lightning Dust's shoulder. Dash just stared for a moment, breathing heavily. Then she bent down, and with her teeth ripped off the blue neckerchief, before spitting it out on the ground.

"You're done," menaced Rainbow Dash. Lightning Dust tried to raise her head, glaring up at Dash. As she looked about to lunge, Rainbow Dash gave one, stiff punch into the jaw that knocked a tooth loose, and put Dust out cold.

The rest of the Night Raiders were momentarily distracted at their leader's fall, at which Rainbow Six took full advantage. Star Hunter quickly jumped up onto Trixie and pinned her, twisting one hoof behind her back, while Blossomforth and Soarin quickly overtook their opponents, doing the same. Spitfire had tied the pegasi up like a hog and had even trapped the last earth pony who had tried to escape, and who subsequently gave up when she saw she had no chance.

"Well, that was fun," said Star Hunter, out of breath and a little bruised.

"Anypony hurt?" asked Rainbow Dash, getting off the unconscious Lightning Dust.

"I'm alright," said Cloud Kicker quickly, popping up but then instantly collapsing again to the ground, answering the question. Rainbow Dash flew over to her and quickly looked over her side.

"Your wing is sprained, and I think you have a few broken ribs, so don't move too much," said Rainbow Dash, gently moving her wing into a better healing position than the awkward angle it was at. "Soarin, you got that one taken care of?"

"Yep!" was the reply, as he finished the knot on the ropes around the gray earth pony.

"Fly to Dodge and get them to send a chariot to pick up these bozos and another one for Cloud Kicker," she ordered. "Oh, and Soarin'....tell them we kicked flank."

Friend and Foe

"Come on little squirrels, just try and eat and you'll feel better," coaxed Fluttershy, holding out a handful of nuts. The squirrels were curled together, cowering on the couch in the castle suite that they, and Pinkie Pie, were staying in. "See? Mr. Turtle, I mean Crush, is eating and he feels better."

It was partially true. The turtle was eating but Fluttershy could see he was still shaking. If this kept going these animals were going to have serious health problems from the stress alone. They hardly ate and slept even less. The lack of energy had at least slowed them down enough to get a few jumbled words out of them.

In those moments, they had been jabbering about "shadows" and "evil" and one squirrel just kept repeating "it's all over, it's all over!" Fluttershy couldn't make heads or tails of it, and frankly it had only succeeded in making herself even more scared than she was before.

The three squirrels finally took the nuts and began eating, much to Fluttershy's relief. She watched them carefully while they finished eating, and as they surprisingly went to sleep. She moved the turtle and the two birds, who were also dozing, onto the couch so that they had a soft spot to rest on.

"Pinkie? Could I ask a favor?"

"What's that Fluttershy?" asked Pinkie groggily. Pinkie Pie was still tired from the party she had thrown for the refugees the night before, and had been sleeping sprawled over one of the beds.

"Could you watch the animals while I go out and check something?" asked Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie nodded, before letting her head fall to the pillow again. It had been a spectacular party, even rivaling the one that she and Cheese Sandwich had thrown for Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy, satisfied they would be okay without her, walked out the door and down the crystal staircase. Over the last several days she had ran through her mind what could be the cause of so much distress. She had considered that maybe the Changelings were back, but upon inspection in the city library had decided that it was unlikely. Especially since she knew that Queen Chrysalis was currently imprisoned in an ancient castle along with her minions, under guard by a rather creepy Pinkie Pie costume that was enchanted by a riddle-speaking ghost.

Fluttershy often marveled how just a few years before her life was relatively normal and uneventful.

She thought about Dischord, but beyond the fact that he had been reformed and Fluttershy truly considered him a friend, this just wasn't like him. When it came to the kind of chaos Dischord made, it was always more out of an entertaining, almost silly brand. Even at Dischord's height of power he hadn't showed any propensity for causing war. That wasn't like him at all.

So what was it? She was convinced that something besides Luna or Celestia was causing her critters to panic, but for the life of her she couldn't think of anything. There wasn't snow so it wasn't Windigoes, and there was no other animals that she knew of that fed off or caused disturbances in the pony world on this scale.  She wished she could have Twilight's help as she looked for answers. Fluttershy was no idiot, but Twilight was a master of study and research. If only Twillight could see past what was going on and see the same things that Fluttershy was, they'd probably already know what it was.

But for now, it was just her. She often took these walks around the Crystal Palace, not just to take a break from the care she had been so embroiled in, but to let her mind run over these thoughts. She tended to stay inside the castle. More and more refugees were arriving from all over Equestria every day and the city was bursting at the seams. In the castle there was still plenty of space for the moment, though in a conversation with Shining Armor and Cadence they revealed that they were thinking about opening the west and south wings for families to stay in.

The news from outside was not any better. Though there hadn't been any big fights for a few days, there was absolutely no sign of this resolving any time soon anywhere. Fluttershy took comfort that it seemed that Rainbow Dash was alright despite being the middle of it all, and she did get a letter from Twilight that confirmed the same for the other three friends still in Ponyville.

Fluttershy stopped for a moment to gaze out of one of the high windows, the lazy clouds standing out against a blue sky to make an absolutely perfect day. Celestia's sun burned bright and warm, not hinting at the autumn that was soon to come. Fluttershy wondered if they would be able to hold a Running of the Leaves that year.

She reflexively shrunk towards the wall when she was startled by voices she heard just around the corner. It was a bad habit and Rarity had been working with her to help her get over it, but it didn't always go well. She relaxed a little as she realized that it was just Cadence talking to one of her many advisers, but hesitated for a moment, not wanting to be rude.

"For the last time, we will not get involved!"

Fluttershy stopped short again. Cadence sounded uncharacteristically unhappy.

"But your highness, we may have a certain level of autonomy but we are still a province of Equestria. It is our responsibility..."

"Not anymore!" Cadence cut off, the echo of her hoof stomping ringing down the corridors. The silence that punctuated the air allowed the sound to bounce back across the walls several times. The adviser was just as shocked as Fluttershy was at this haughty reply from the normally gentle Princess.

"This is a chance for the Crystal Empire to reform it's glory," the Princess continued. "Equestria won't be able to stand after this, and when the void opens the ponies will turn to us to lead them."

The tone of the Princess' voice was cold as ice, and sent shivers down Fluttershy's spine all the way to the tips of her feathers. She held her breath as the Princess and the quiet adviser walked off in another direction, hoping that they wouldn't discover that she had heard the conversation. She had never been frightened of Princess Cadence before, but then she had never heard her talk like that before.

Once she could no longer hear their hoof-steps, Fluttershy returned to her room as quickly as her feet could carry her, closing the door and hiding behind it. Pinkie Pie was snoring loudly and was thus undisturbed by the sudden entrance, and gratefully neither were the animals. She stayed upright on her back hooves with her back against the door for what felt like several minutes, taking in several quick breaths that gradually slowed to her normal, quiet rate. The security she had felt here in the Empire had evaporated in the space of a view seconds to be replaced by something a notch shy of panic.

Once that happened she walked across the crystal floor and looked out the window. She had a spectacular view of the city, and even with the sea of tents and ponies she could still recognize much of it. Her eyes stopped when they finally rested on the building she was looking for. She wouldn't have most of her friends with her this time, and she didn't have much experience, but she felt like she couldn't waste time.

She was going to the library. She scolded herself for being such a scaredy-pony. Even that thought had frightened her.

-----

Twilight's library was a wreck. Books were stacked haphazardly in every corner and on every table surface, most of which were taller than Twilight herself. She wasn't researching anything. She just reads when she gets the chance to relax. A good hour lost in Canter in the Sky by Jade Singer was always a good way to forget the world for a moment.

But the world was plopped right onto her front hooves in the form of a letter.

"Spike!" she whined. "I've told you not to do that while I'm reading."

"Sorry, Twilight, but it's marked urgent and you didn't answer me the last ten times I tried to talk to you," Spike defended.

Twilight shot a brief irritated glance before closing her book and picking up the letter with her magic.

It read:

Dearest Twilight,

It has become apparent that the events of the last moon will not reverse in the foreseeable future, and we can no long afford to work under that assumption. However I am confident that most of Equestria's citizens are willing to help us in the cause of restoring the harmony that Luna and her followers have disrupted.

Therefore I want you to organize an active volunteer efforts to assist the Royal Guard in suppressing Luna's Rebels and finally ending this conflict. I feel that so few have already because they did not know that they were able. It worked well with your friend Rainbow Dash and others in Cloudsdale. I have instructed other leaders around the land to do the same.

Please act quickly, for I fear without help the Guard shall not be enough.

Best of Luck,

Princess Celestia.

Twilight contemplated the letter for a moment, letting her head take it in. She took a deep breath, and called to Spike.

"Spike, we're going to the poster shop! It's time for us to start doing something useful!" said Twilight resolutely.

Two hours later, they had a healthy stack of posters announcing their intentions and a meeting to be held that evening, and a hoof-full of volunteers pinning them up around town. Twilight informed Mayor Mare herself in a brief meeting at which the Mayor seemed relieved. Twilight sometimes forgot the pressure the gray pony must feel even in the best of times to make sure everything goes smoothly in town.

Frankly she was feeling relieved herself in the way that she had a direction instead of just pacing around the town worrying about anything and everything that moved and breathed. Half the time she was convinced she was followed, but she never saw anypony.

She tacked her last poster to a tree that lead down the path to Sweet Apple Acres, and trotted back into town. She didn't have time to tell Applejack herself.

-----

Applejack ripped the same poster down not five minutes later, reading it quickly before galloping off to the Carousel Boutique. She was met before she got there by Rarity and three others.

"What do we do now?" asked Rarity. There was no panic in her voice. It was a straight question and the ponies waited for the answer. Applejack had already known what to do before she had even arrived in town, in fact since her meeting with the Princess Luna but a few weeks before.

"The lies end today," she replied resolutely. "Here's what we do...."

-----

Another two hours later, Twilight stood on the porch of the town hall, the mayor pacing in place next to her. Twilight felt like doing the same but was forcing herself not to. The meeting was to start but there was not nearly as many as she had hoped would be there at this point, perhaps only a couple dozen. In fact, most of the ponies she was looking for as the best candidates for helping were nowhere to be seen. Thunderlane, Carrot Top, Flitter, Vinyl Scratch, Big Mac, and Lucky could not be seen anywhere, not to mention Applejack and Rarity either.

"Twilight!" Scootaloo, who could now fly about a few feet off the ground, was buzzing slowly towards her. "I wanna join!"

"No way, Scootaloo," said Twilight, shaking her head with a small grin.

"But Rainbow Dash is out there helping Celestia and I want-"

Twilight cut her off, "Rainbow Dash is ten years older and about twice your size and on top of that has Wonderbolt training."

"But I-"

"No buts this time, Scootaloo," said Twilight. "You can help here."

Scootaloo didn't even try to hide her disappointment as she trudged over to Sweetie Bell and Applebloom, who were watching on the edge of the courtyard. Twilight hid her amusement as the little, orange pegasus plopped down like a sad puppy next to her friends without saying a word.

"Perhaps we should get started now, Princess Twilight," said Mayor Mare, gaining her attention with a hoof nudge.

"I think you're right, I'm sure the others are just late," said Twilight. "Ok everybody, lets get started."

Twilight began to explain the situation in full, much of which had been held back in the past so to not frighten anypony, though Twilight figured that they had long known anyways the details of what was happening outside the Everfree Valley.

"...and that is why Princess Celestia has saw fit to come to you for help. She needs ponies to enlist as volunteers to help restore the lost balance to Equestria," finished Twilight, to which the still small number of ponies in the square stomped their hooves in applause.

"Now, who will join me and Princess Celestia?" asked Twilight, sweeping her hoof dramatically and perhaps overdoing it a little bit.

"I AM AFRAID, CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE, THAT I WILL NOT," boomed a voice from above. A familiar one. Twilight's head jerked upwards to see the most wanted pony in Equestria descending over the town square before coming to a rest on the roof of a store on the other end. A few ponies in the square screamed as Luna looked over them. Twilight was completely awestruck and couldn't even stutter a word.

"Hear my words, I have come to request your help," announced the Princess of the Night, her wings opened commandingly. Out of the corner of Twilight's eye she saw the Royal Guard line up in a semi-circle formation around the courtyard, including a guard on each side of herself.

"My Sister has ruled unjustly for too long. For too long she had placed herself above other ponies, passing restrictions that degraded and held back while convincing everypony that it was for their good. Now I need your help to change this for good. To make Equestria a true republic where equality is finally truly possible!" declared Princess Luna.

"That's not true!" Twilight blurted. "Celestia has always been fair and you know it Luna!"

"'Fraid I have to disagree, Twi."

Twilight's felt her heart sink like a stone at Applejack's familiar drawl. She turned to the farmer pony, who was coming out of an alleyway. The earth pony had a coat-tight black outfit with the head hood resting on her neck. Where the cutie mark would be there was a white crescent moon, though since there was no need to conceal anymore their tails were un-dyed.

"But Applejack....but....." Twilight could only stutter. "why?"

"Readin' the times, Twilight," said Applejack, though she wasn't making eye contact. "If things kept goin' the way the were fixin' to, my family woudn't be able to work no more."

Just then, Rarity, who was identically dressed, came up alongside Applejack, her expression equally grim.

"You too?"

"Forgive us, Twilight, we didn't want to involve you at all," said Rarity, coming to a halt. Several more ponies filed out of the alleyway, all ponies that Twilight had come to know during her time in Ponyville. Her head spun as she glanced around the square as more and more filed towards the courtyard, and dozens of pegasi landed on the rooftop. Also, about six of Luna's Royal Guards also flew in, landing next to the Princess. Celestia's Royal Guard were now surrounded and vastly outnumbered.

Spike ran from the crowd and hid behind Twilight's leg. Scootaloo looked just as shocked as Twilight as the realization as to why her two best friends had slipped off without her so often lately came to light. The pink-maned pegasus bolted to the steps of the town hall, squeezing between two backpedaling Guards. The Mayor ran inside, completely overwhelmed while the handful of ponies in the square looked around in horror. The Cakes held each other tight, not sure what was about to happen. They had stayed out all discussion about recent events, and had even considered leaving with Pinkie Pie. Twilight guessed they wished they had now.

"Listen, Twi, we don't really want to fight, and somepony has got to convince Celestia what she's doin' is helpin' nopony," said Applejack carefully, walking to just a couple of paces from the porch and the Guards. "Maybe you could help us do that Twilight and we could avoid a fight altogther."

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle. It is still possible to avoid a true confrontation," said Princess Luna from her high perch. Twilight felt panic rising in her chest as she looked from her black-clad friends to Luna to the Guards. She hadn't anticipated this at all, and was now unprepared. The Guards looked at her expectantly, wanting an order but obviously terrified of the idea of confronting this force. Applejack and Rarity looked on hopefully while Scootaloo was shooting a look somewhere between fear and anger.

"Scootaloo, come here," said Twilight quietly, and order that was quickly obeyed. "Hop on my back with Spike."

"Well, Twilight Sparkle?" asked Luna demandingly. Twilight looked away from her friends and found Luna's gaze. Something welled inside her that steeled her resolve.

"NO!" she yelled, before spreading her wings and taking off into the sky, with Scootaloo and Spike both holding on. She flapped her wings as fast as she could.

"No! Let her be!" she heard the command behind her. Glancing back she saw a handful of pegasi that had taken off to follow but were now stopped. Twilight didn't slow down, using every technique that she had learned from the speedy Dash to get as far away from her adopted home as possible.

"Twilight, where are we going?" asked Spike. "Canterlot."

That would make the most sense. That way they could alert Princess Celestia to what was happening right away and form a plan. Twilight looked back once again, and saw the golden-armored Royal Guard taking off en masse to the northwest towards the capital.

"No, Spike, we're not," said Twilight, changing course a little bit.

"Then where are we going?" asked Scootaloo. Twilight recalled a letter she had received the day before through the post mail.

There was only one pony she wanted to talk to more than Princess Celestia right now, and she had recently returned to her home after a successful trip.

"Cloudsdale," said Twilight. "We're going to Cloudsdale."

Rainbow Dash was not going to be happy.

Apples are Red

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!???"

Rainbow Dash's surprised yell shook the nearby clouds, and nearly deafened Twilight, Scootaloo, and Spike. They all stayed on edge for a moment after the yell ceased, all three of them trying to clear their ears. Rainbow Dash was shooting a glare that was at Twilight but not meant for her. Twilight had just finished explaining what had just happened in Ponyville to her and to the rest of Rainbow Six (who were also clearing their ears). But even as they winced from the yell they still were shocked, especially the three other Ponyvillians.

"But, that's impossible," said Blossomforth in disbelief. Star Hunter just frowned while Cloud Kicker began looking at her hooves.

"Apparently not," said Spitfire cryptically, wiping a smudge off her uniform. Spitfire and Soarin were trying to act non-chalant, but it was obviously a surprise to them also. Fighting along side ponies from Ponyville for nearly a month would do that.

"Does the Princess know?" asked Soarin.

"The Guard that was stationed in Ponyville went back to Canterlot," said Twilight.

"Then we should too," said Spitfire.

Rainbow Dash was breathing heavily, her indignation stewing at what felt like ultimate betrayal. Twilight suddenly realized that the pegasi was on the edge of hyper-ventilation, and looked around for something to help her with.

"Here, Rainbow, just calm down," Star Hunter had walked close up next to her and gave her a paper bag. Rainbow Dash took it and immediately began breathing into it. She did need to calm down. She needed to be able to think clearly. After a few moments she gained control of herself again, and tossed the bag across the room in a crumpled ball.

"Thank's Star. Ok, let's get to Canterlot. Then we'll decide what to do," said Rainbow Dash.

"What should I do, Dash?" asked Scootaloo eagerly. Rainbow Dash looked at the little filly for a moment. She had forgotten that she was with them. She got a bright idea as she walked up to Scootaloo and scruffed her mane with her hoof.

"I need you to stay here and watch things, and I have the perfect place for you to stay. And they're almost as awesome as me."

-----

Just under an hour later they were on their way to Canterlot, having dropped off Scootaloo at the Rainbow family home. The little filly had nearly keeled over in excitement when she saw Dash's rainbow maned Father open the door, and was probably munching on some homemade raincake, a pegasi special.

"Your parents seem nice," said Twilight as they flew southwest.

"Yep. They're awesome," said Rainbow smiling.

"We should go back sometime," Twilight said. When all of this was over, she hoped that it would more than a party of two. The group flew in silence, some of them probably entertaining similar thoughts. The flight all in all took a little over an hour and was quite uneventful; what seemed like the first one most of them had had in a while.

Canterlot was completely overrun with activity. They hadn't seen this many ponies in one place since the Equestria Games. Twilight split off towards with castle with Spike still on her back and Rainbow Dash tagging along while the rest of Rainbow Six went to find somepony in charge.

Finding the Princess was surprising not difficult. She was standing on a balcony of the castle, addressing a small gathering of official looking ponies. Rather she was finishing her remarks just as alicorn, pegasus, and dragon approached.

"Princess Twilight! I'm relieved to see you," said the Sun Princess. "When you didn't come to Canterlot with the Guard they hadn't known where you had gone. We feared you may have been captured"

"I apologize Princess. I needed to speak to Rainbow Dash after..." Twilight trailed off, not wanting to finish her own sentence. Celestia understood.

"It's quite alright, Twilight. In fact, it is a good thing that you have brought Rainbow Dash and her comrades. They may prove very important in coming days," said Celestia a little cryptically.

"What's the plan, Princess?" asked Rainbow Dash, landing on her hooves after hovering above the conversation for the previous minute or so. Princess Celestia didn't answer right away, staring straight ahead as they walked. It world seemed quiet despite the constant thunder-like rumble of hooves outside on the stone roads of Canterlot.

"Luna has left us no choice," the Princess finally said. "I have already received reports from scouts around Ponyville that there is an army gathering that is far larger than we originally thought. It appears that Luna has gathered all her supporters from across Equestria so that they can threaten the capitol itself."

"Just like that? What about all those other towns that we've been fighting in?" asked Rainbow Dash completely flummoxed.

"We thought that we were simply just making good progress. We couldn't understand over some of the last week why suddenly Rainbow Falls, Rangerado, and Appleoosa had gone quiet after weeks.  Our guards walked into Maneapolis unopposed yesterday, but it appears they simply came here," explained the Princess. "It also appears that the Rebels are done playing games, and they intend to put all the weapons they stole to use."

"So they're finally getting serious?" Rainbow Dash said that with a tone that rang with both menace and relish. "'Bout time."

"And we are going to match them," said the Princess. "Though the volunteer effort didn't go as we had hoped in Ponyville, it did elsewhere. This morning we got a few battalions worth from Paint Louis, Manehatten, and Baltimare. That's part of the reason it is so busy outside. We also have plenty of weapons of our own. Some of our finest minds have developed some creative new devices that I think may interest you and your squad Rainbow Dash."

"Got it," replied Rainbow.

"Also Twilight, I want to ask you if you would be willing to go with me to Ponyville to lead our forces. Honestly I hope we can avoid the worst. With an impressive show of force, we may still be able to deter them from this path."

"Of course Princess," replied Twilight softly.

"You'll need to visit the royal blacksmith, so he can fit you with armor," continued Celestia.

"I will," was the reply again.

"And one more thing Rainbow Dash, I may need you for a special assignment tonight so please report me later today," said Celestia. She switched thoughts easily and seamlessly.

"I'll be there," was the reply

They didn't know it, but both Twilight and Rainbow Dash were thinking about home, and both were wondering what their friends were doing.

-----

They also couldn't have known that at roughly the same time Applejack and Rarity were entertaining similar thoughts as they bustled around Ponyville getting ready. Sweet Apple Acres had been transformed into a staging base for events that were soon to transpire, the barn and cellar now storing sharpened weapons and the grove dotted with tents full of ponies from all corners of Equestria.

Rarity, along with about a dozen other seamstresses, were busy making uniforms for the new arrivals, a tall order to say the least, and that had occupied her time since Princess Luna had revealed herself in Ponyville. At the Present Applejack was helping erect several wooden barriers around Ponyville as a fort. The plan had already been set the night before.

They would allow Celestia's army to come to them, first meeting them on the fields around Ponyville that ran between Sweet Apple Acres, the Everfree Forest, and about halfway to the Pie Rock Farm. If they were overwhelmed, they would pull back inside the walls and force the Solar Empire to try to bust through the walls. Of course the idea would be that there would be no way for that to work, and Luna had been teaching the unicorns something special to help deal with pegasi. After they manage to put Celestia on the run, they would chase them straight to Canterlot and take the capitol. It was a good plan.

"Applejack!" It was Applebloom running up.

"What is it sis?" asked Applejack, not stopping her effort to set in a foundation log in the ground. "Rose! Daisy! Make sure that knot is good 'n tight!"

"I finished the chores t'day, an I wanted to see how I could help," the yellow filly said. Applejack considered sending her away again. She really wanted to keep her little sister out of it but if Applebloom was anything she was persistent. Applejack glanced around for a moment, lingering on Rose, Daisy, and Violet, who were hopelessly trying to use hammers to drive in the spikes that secured the wall sections together. Well at least she had experience.

"How 'bout you help them, Applebloom," she said, pointing a hoof. Then in a lower tone, "they need it."

"Alright!" said Applebloom, snickering a little at the earth ponies' dismal attempt at what the Apple family considered routine.

Applejack turned back to her own task and with a decisive stomp finally set the foundation log in place. She paused to wipe the sweet from her forehead before getting to work on the next level, calling over Lucky and Big Mac to help her lift it up. The wall was about three-quarters done after just under two days of work, an impressive feat in its own right. Applejack had never considered how useful unicorns could be in construction, not to mention the pegasi. She made a mental note to ask RD and Rarity for help next time the family was building something.

Or.....Rarity. Maybe. Probably not.

By the time Luna was raising the moon several hours later, Applejack just felt like going to bed. As she walked down the familiar road to the farm, the orchard looked far different than normal. With all the ponies camping in the trees and all the little campfires the trees kind of looked like somepony had decorated them for Heart's Warming Eve several moons early. Applejack wondered with a tinge of annoyance if all the lights would make it difficult to sleep. When she had run away to Manehatten the city lights had been far too much, and she always preferred the still, dark nights of the country ever since.

Unfortunately, for how bright the orchard was the farmhouse was even more so. Several lights had been installed around the barn to make it easier for ponies to keep watch. Granny Smith had been rasing cane about it all day, only taking a break or two to nap. Applejack briefly greeted Thunderlane and a mare earth pony from Rangerado named Sunny Leaf; they were both taking a shift watching the front of the barn turned armory

"Did ya see Applebloom come home?" she asked casually.

"About an hour ago. Pretty sure she's already in bed," said Thunderlane.

"That's good, either ya'll seen Vinyl anywhere?" asked Applejack. She needed to borrow a pair of dark glasses from the unicorn for some metal work they were planning for the next morning.

"I think she was supposed to be with a patrol on the south side near the Bat Sanctuary," said Sunny Leaf, pointing down the stretch between the barn and the farmhouse. Applejack glanced down the way, seeing several black-clad ponies but not seeing the blue-maned DJ. She thanked them and made her way towards the south field, keeping an eye out for her quarry.

She walked for a couple of minutes and was about to give up and leave it for morning when she heard movement to her left. She stopped, straining her eyes for what she hoped was Vinyl's patrol.

"Hello, Applejack."

Applejack nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun to face her right. A little bit above and to the right to be precise. Thing was the voice she heard she knew better than almost any other. Perched on a long branch, her front hooves folded over one another, was Rainbow Dash glaring at her and scowling.

"Hi, Rainbow," said Applejack, returning her stare.

"Nice outfit," Rainbow's tone was even and thus disconcerting to her old friend. Applejack adjusted one of the leg sleeves of her uniform that was wrinkling so it was straight. She also quickly double checked that she had her rope on the belt near her flank.

"Likewise," said Applejack, referencing Rainbow's khaki uniform and trying to keep her own voice even.

Rainbow Dash spread her wings and glided gently to the ground in front of Applejack, not once breaking her gaze. In all of their rivalries and contests the two mares had often glared at each other nose to nose, and consequently they knew each other's eyes better than most friends would. They could never really hide anything from one another because they could read each other's expressions so well. And both knew that they were each thinking the same things. Both were convinced they were doing the right thing, and neither could believe the other was on the opposite side.

"Why are you helping Luna?" challenged Rainbow Dash, putting a front hoof forward.

"Because at least she's willing to listen when change needs to happen!" retorted Applejack, also stepping forward.

"What are you talking about? Celestia has always helped us out when we needed it!" Rainbows tone was rising.

"Not so lately! I wrote letter after letter for weeks when thin's started goin' bad, but all I got was nothin' but fluff! It just kept gettin' worse!" Applejack shot back. They were nose to nose once again, their eyes boring into each other.

"What you're doing is messing up everything!"

"What I'm doin' is tryin to fix everythin!"

Rainbow Dash broke off their little staring contest with an angry huff, and stared off into the quiet orchard. They were both somewhat surprised that nopony else had showed up yet.

"You know you can't win," said Rainbow Dash, this time not looking at Applejack at all.

"I think that claim is still up for grabs," said Applejack through closed teeth.

"And you know that I won't go easy on anypony?"

"You can tell everypony in Canterlot the same."

"I got a better idea," said Rainbow Dash. She dug one front hoof into the ground and tensed her body. "How 'about you tell 'em yourself!"

Rainbow Dash loaded and sprang straight at Applejack. AJ barely dodged her, sliding sideways but staying on her hooves. Rainbow Dash redirected her momentum, shoving off the ground and rebounding off a tree back on target. Applejack was still sliding and was not quick enough to dodge this time.

Applejack knew it and instead put up her front hooves and pushed as their front legs collided, deflecting both their momentums. Rainbow Dash pulled upwards in a speedy loop. Applejack stamped down and crouched at the ready as Rainbow shot downwards. Applejack was never the nimble type, and she wasn't about to be. Applejack quickly flipped around, spinning on her front hooves, and delivered an apple bucking kick.

Rainbow Dash had to pull an barrel roll to avoid taking the powerful kick in the head but the maneuver sent her skidding across the dirt. It was now Rainbow's turn to dodge as Applejack wasted no time galloping after her, leaping in the air. She felt the vibration in the ground and air as Applejack's powerful legs came smashing down just inches from her rolling body.

Rainbow Dash took off and pulled a tight turn to gain speed, but immediately changed direction upwards when she saw Applejack's spinning lasso all too late. The rope tightened around her hind leg and stopped her cold, dropping her straight to the ground with a thud. Applejack raced forward, seeking to pin her down. Rainbow Dash who was familiar with the tactic, raised up her upper body and socked Applejack in the side of the head, sending the earth pony reeling. Rainbow quickly ripped off the rope with her teeth and leaped to counter-attack.

She was met by a desperate left hoof on the nose, causing her eyes to water and her head to pound. She squinted one eye open to keep a tab on Applejack, who was shakily getting up. The farmer was busy trying to clear the stars from her vision, her last punch having been nearly blind. The two grimaced, breathing heavily, as they stood glaring each other down as they waited for the world to stop spinning enough to move confidently.

They shot forward at the same time screaming bloody murder. They hit each other at the same time too. Rainbow Dash landed a solid right hook to Applejack's left shoulder, dislocating it. Applejack's hit was slightly more glancing, but it was right into Rainbow's left eye. Both ponies recoiled and sprawled in the rich orchard soil.

Rainbow Dash got up first, holding a hoof to her eye which was already swelling in what promised to be an impressive black eye. Applejack staggered to her hooves gingerly, lifting her leg carefully to offset the pain in her shoulder. Rainbow Dash spread her wings and lifted off the ground. She would be at an even greater advantage now.

"Look! Over there!"

"It's Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow turned her head so she could see with her good eye towards the Apple Farmhouse. She could see what looked like several unicorns lighting the way for several other ponies that were closing fast, all dressed in the same black uniform that Applejack was. Rainbow Dash knew she was awesome, but seeing how she was feeling a little like a beaten rug, her nose was bleeding, and her eye was swelling shut, it would be a bad idea to stay around any longer.

Besides she'd already fulfilled the Princess's mission. She had accomplished it in just two cloud-covered fly overs. She faced her friend again..

"Next time it'll be for real Applejack. You should give up while you still can," she said. There was even a tone of pleading in her voice, which wasn't lost on Applejack.

"Sorry Rainbow, but that's not gonna happen. You should get out now," replied Applejack, motioning with a movement of her head to the north.

Rainbow frowned, opened her mouth to say something, thought different of it, and sped off. Applejack followed her rainbow contrail all the way until it seemed to get lost in the moon, before limping with the patrols that had come towards the commotion back to home and to the town doctor.

-----

In Canterlot, one unusually labored flight later, Rainbow Dash was being seen to by the Royal Physician , who was busy placing a temporary bandage over her eye and a few other scrapes she didn't notice she had until after her adrenalin levels calmed down.

"Did you find out their numbers, Rainbow?" asked Twilight, her voice racked with worry over many different things.

"Sure did, 'cause I'm -ow- awesome," said Rainbow Dash, wincing as the doctor touched a tender spot. "I counted 3762 ponies. I'd say it was split pretty evenly between the three types. There was also about 400 tents that had ponies in them but I couldn't tell exactly how many were sleeping inside, so there could be more."

"Well done, Rainbow Dash, your exception talent of observation lived up to the praise that Twilight gave you," said Princess Celestia, to which Rainbow Dash grinned and bowed her head.

"Could you have done it without getting beat up?" teased Star Hunter, who walked up next to the low bed Rainbow Dash was sitting up on. Rainbow Dash threw a playful, half-hearted punch in his direction, which he dodged equally half heartedly, allowing it to skim through his mane.

"Seriously, I've never seen any pony get to you so much," remarked Spitfire. "Even Lightning Dust and the night raiders hardly made a scratch on you."

"Well, Applejack is the only athlete back home who could even come close to Rainbow Dash in the past," answered Twilight as more of a statement of fact, to which Rainbow shot her a sideways glance.

"What?"

"Anyway, I don't see Luna's followers lying down without putting up a fight," said Rainbow Dash. "We outnumber them, but as you can see (she motioned to her bandages wrapped haphazardly around different parts of her body) they are pretty persistent."

Rainbow Dash had told Twilight how in the spur of the moment she wanted to capture Applejack and then maybe even somehow get Rarity. She wanted to get them out of harms's way. Rainbow Dash had only told the whole story to Twilight thus far about how it was Applejack that she had confronted, and as far as either of them was concerned it was going to stay that way. Call it pride or call it sheltering a friend, Rainbow Dash had hardly wanted to talk about it even when she nearly crash landed at Twilight's open window. They had both been hurt on more than just the surface.

"You never got the chance today, Rainbow Dash with your mission, but tomorrow I'd like you to visit the armory," said Princess Celestia. "Rest well tonight, my faithful subjects."

"You are gonna be impressed," added Spitfire, trading knowing looks with the others.

The Princess exited, and the member of the vaunted Rainbow Six bantered with one another for a while longer before everypony finally split off to bed. Twilight was the last one, though she ended up pacing a little, trying to shake a very odd feeling out of her head before she finally fell asleep to terrible dreams.

-----

Earlier that same day, and much farther north, a yellow pegasus and a pink earth pony were in the depths of the oldest library in Equestria. The interesting thing about the Crystal Empire's library is it was 1000 years displaced it had books that were even older, and in far better condition, than the books in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Fluttershy suspected Twilight would be a like a filly in a candy store down in the seemingly endless shelves of knowledge.

Fluttershy on the other hand felt like her head would explode. She was also slightly frightened that Pinkie's actually might.

"Aw! I can't find anything that'll help us out of this gi-mongous mess!" said Pinkie, banging her head repeatedly into the open book on the table. "What are we looking for Fluttershy?"

"Well, I don't want to make rude assumptions against anypony, but I think that there might be something wrong with the Princesses," explained Fluttershy for the umpteenth time. Pinkie's wild attention span was not the best trait for research, but after a couple days of trying it alone Fluttershy wanted to have a little company. They dropped off the animals at a care center and had already spent much of the morning buried in books and dust.

Fluttershy turned to the book she was reading. It was an ancient study on magic by a scientist named Isle Tarpan, who had devoted much of his life to studying how magic affected the world around them. Surprisingly it had been fascinating despite its difficult language. Apparently, while all the pony types had internal magic, they also drew from their environment. Earth ponies were amplified by the earth, while pegasi gained it from the air, and unicorns from radiation from things like fire and even just plain light. She had also learned that the only time Alicorns are ever born naturally is when there were none currently residing in the world, otherwise an Alicorn could only be made so by the magic of another Alicorn. But what she was reading now might have been the most interesting.

It read:

Alicorn magic is by far the most versatile and powerful, having the ability not only to gain magic enhancement from the same elements that the three primary species can, but also from cosmic energy. It is for this fact alone that Alicorns have often been primarily responsible for the driving of the celestial cycle, namely the rising and setting of the moon and sun, throughout much of history with few exceptions.

This is not all, but Alicorn magic can also serve as a magic channel to the ponies around them. This also may serve as another reason for as to why Alicorns have also been the primary leadership through every known era. By my observation I have found that while individual ponies maintain their agency, they are affected by the emotions of nearby Alicorns, both good and bad.

This may explain some evidence I have found of devestating events in pony history. While I do not pretend to comprehend everything about these events, it has appeared clear to me that a drastic change in the opinions and emotions of leading Alicorns lead to catastrophic wars that brought all three species to the brink of total destruction. What is truly shocking is that of the periods I have managed to study, all of these calamitous times seemed to have been proceeded by eras of great peace, causing one to wonder what lead to the sudden change.

Fluttershy stopped there for a moment, words like catastrophic and total destruction floating behind her eyes. This had happened before? She had learned about the terrible times of the tribes, before the founding of Equestria, but they had always been taught it as a contrast to the peace they had enjoyed for over a millennia.  She hadn't known anything of history before that. In fact she had been under the impression that nopony knew much about the times that proceeded the era of the tribes, which alone proceeded the Era of the Sisters, Celestia and Luna.

It also explained why her animals were so upset. The negative Alicorn magic was spreading through the world, and they were just reacting to it. No wonder Cadence's presence alone was enough to scare them.

Fluttershy glanced at Pinkie Pie, who was now snoozing face down in her book. Ponies apparently had a dark history and it was about to repeat itself again. Fluttershy had never been a brave pony, only ever showing that deeply buried side of her when her friends needed it most.

If they ever needed saving it was now. Before their era came crashing to an end.

Bloody Skies

Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked side by side through what they once would have considered the scariest room (and possibly the coolest) in all of Equestria. Now they walked through the busy and much larger armory with an edge of eagerness and curiosity. The brightest, and probably some of the secretly darkest, minds of Canterlot had been studying new ways for ponies to carry and use weapons that once lay nearly forgotten.

Swords to be wielded by mouth or levitation, spears and lances that were to be strapped to the flank or to an armor piece, bows and arrows of many kinds from piercing metal heads to magic ice arrows, and many other fearsome tools of war from bygone ages.

"Heads up!"

Rainbow Dash ducked in time for a ninja star to strike past her mane, slicing off a few hairs before sticking into the wall. Rainbow and Twilight glared in the direction it came from, where a young pink pegasus was shrinking away, apologizing softly. Rainbow Dash was glad that it hadn't come from the other direction. She still had a bandage canvassing her swollen left eye and a few others covering other injuries on her legs and right flank.

"We really should make sure everypony knows how to handle what they're given," remarked Spitfire a few paces in front of them. "Earlier today an earth pony had to be taken to the doctor after an archery accident. Dang foal had dared a friend to shoot an apple off his head."

"Oh no! He hit his..." reacted Twilight in horror

"Knee. Luckily his friend was a horrible shot, not just a bad one," finished Spitfire.

Spitfire led the two mares onward past two Royal Guards carrying an entire load of spears to be hoofed out. The building was cavernous in size, actually built under the city and embedded in the mountainside. Didn't change the fact that navigating through the current of ponies milling about carrying heavy items was not an easy task. They couldn't fly, because there was a flurry of activity above of pegasi performing various tasks.

"What they wanted to show you two is right over here," said Spitfire, turning out of the aisle and up to a lineup of several huge wardrobes. Soarin, who had been trotting behind the other three, flew forward to the wardrobe that had a painted 1 on it, while Spitfire casually sauntered to the neighboring chest that was painted with a 2.

"Over here, Princess," said Soarin, beckoning as he opened the chest. Inside was a dazzling, golden armor set, with Twilight's cutie mark set on the front chest and Celestia's sun symbol engraved on the front leg pieces. It was sleek in design, with openings for both her horn and her wings.

"Oh, wow," was all Twilight could say as she walked up and examined it.

"And this is what they got for us, Rainbow Dash," said Spitfire, opening chest number 2. Rainbow Dash settled in front of the open chest, which had an assortment of metal contraptions Rainbow had never seen before.

"Great. What is it?"

"Pegasi blades," said Spitfire, flying up and lifting one of the contraptions off the display hooks, and bringing back down to Rainbow to see up close.

"Great. What is it?" she asked again, looking Spitfire in the eyes.

"Here, let me put 'em on you," said Spitfire, moving to Rainbow's side and saddling the metal. It was light, though the straps were pulled on a little tight by Spitfire.

"Now, spread your wings for a sec." Rainbow obliged and watched as Spitfire and Soarin, who had taken a break from helping Twilight fit her armor, attached the metal to the front edge of her wings. It was definitely a little awkward, Rainbow feeling the odd stiffness right away. Was she supposed to fly with this?

"There you go: Pegasi Blades," said Spitfire. Rainbow got her first good look at them herself. She could see why they called them blades, it was as if they had strapped jointed swords to her wings, a sharp edge leading the way forward and the tips parallel to her feathers. Rainbow was unconvinced as she looked them over. The stiff feeling was driving her crazy, and she finally flexed her wings. Much to her shock, they actually flexed. Rainbow Dash did it again, watching closer. The blades were actually disjointed at several points, with blades placed inside so that when the slid open, the blade was still continuous. It was all attached to a flexible strap that stood between the blade and her feathers.

"Ok, now this is sweet!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, repeatedly moving her wings in every position she could think of, the stiffness now very minimal.

"The stiffness should go away almost completely the more you fly," remarked Spitfire in satisfaction. "Some pony dredged these things out of an old history book. Apparently these things go back to the time of the tribes, but of course, these are brand new."

These would be much easier to fly and fight with these than carrying a sword in her mouth. She had done that before on their little adventure with Hoofbeard and the pirates, and while she had been awesome at it (when has she not), it had felt very awkward to fly with it. In fact, she had spent most of those instances fighting with her hooves on the ground so that she could concentrate.

Rainbow turned her attention to Twilight, who had finally strapped on all of her new armor.

"Wow, Twi, that looks good," she said admiringly. "Hey Spitfire when do I get some of that?"

"They're still working on organizing the old armor stockpiles, but they should have it all before we fly out," replied Spitfire. "Why? Worried you'll get beat up again?"

"Shut up," sighed Rainbow Dash. It had become a bit of an inside joke in Rainbow Six to make fun of one another when they got an injury of any kind, and Dash had just come back looking the worst out of any of them at any time. Cloudchaser had teased how she was glad she couldn't be made fun of for taking the worst hit anymore.

"The armor fits good," said Twilight, loosening one shoulder as she tried to get used to the new weight. "I'm sure it'll make me feel better standing out front."

"Ain't that the truth," said Soarin, who set to helping her take it off again. A few tricky minutes of trying to get off armor and wing blades later, the small group walked out of the armory and into the warm sunlight. In the massive courtyard stood a battalion's worth of ponies standing in formation, with a Royal Guard unicorn addressing them.

"Once you have concentrated the magic in the tip of your horn, redirect all your concentration to your target," the Guard bellowed. "Then you release it all at once, keeping the beam as thin as you can. Try imagining a needle piercing through a cloth to help keep a sharp image."

"Battle magic," said Twilight to the pegasi. "Most ponies don't know any at all, but Princess Celestia wanted to make sure all of the volunteers knew how to use it."

"Good thing," remarked Spitfire. "Using levitation on a sword or bow can only go so far, but magic is invaluable."

"Okay! Front row! Step forward and concentrate magic!" the Guard ordered. The front row of unicorns obeyed.

"Ready! Aim!"

-----

"FIRE!"

A long row of black-clad unicorns shot bright streams of many-colors streaking across the short field, impacting the hay bales lined up in front of them. Several of the hay bales exploded in a puff of dust and chaff, while a few others caught fire and yet more were simply pierced through. The one opposite Rarity had a mix of all three, at which the white fashionista grinned satisfactorily.

"Excellent! Practice the visualization when you can!" instructed the Lunar Guard up front. "Instruction over! Dismissed!"

Rarity carefully brushed off a bit of hay that had landed on her leg as she walked off, shoulder to shoulder with other unicorns.

"I'm not sure I can get this down in time," said Lyra, who was walking right next to Rarity though she was talking to Amethyst Star, a pink mare with a purple-striped mane. Both were panting a little bit from the workout.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine," Amethyst assured. "Right Comet Tail?"

The yellow unicorn stallion beside them nodded and grinned encouragingly.

"I'm sure we will all be ready when the time is right," chipped in Rarity. "Besides, we'll have Princess Luna right there with us."

"I sure hope so," said Lemony Gem, who came up to the small group heading into town. "A lot of those out of town ponies looked pretty good though."

Rarity kept her next thought to herself. She was glad that the ponies would turn out to be helpful. It had taken forever, even with dozens of ponies helping, to make so many uniforms. If it had been fewer she certainly would have not made them so plain, but she supposed it was for the best. This was one of those rare cases where function was more important than flare.

"What I can't stand is this waiting," said Comet Tail as they arrived into the center of town. "It's aggravating! Why don't they just come and get it over with?"

"Or why don't we go there first?" imputed Amethyst Star.

"Fightin' uphill is never a good idea."

Applejack joined the group, hauling a load of swords in saddlebags and followed by Big Mac who was carrying the same.

"You always wanna be on top in a fight, but if ya can't you gotta make sure you're hard to get to," said Applejack, who was more or less relaying what she had heard from Princess Luna during their strategy meetings.

"Ee-yup," agreed Big Mac, who set down his load next to the now closed Sugar Cube Corner with several other weapons stacked nearby. The Cakes had taken the first opportunity they could to go find Pinkie Pie in the Crystal Empire, wanting to keep their two foals out of harm's way. Rarity's parents had gone with them, though Sweetie Bell had stubbornly refused and had successfully hidden herself until the train pulled away.

"Anyways, Rarity. Princess Luna wants to see us at 2 o clock sharp. Somethin' urgent," said Applejack, setting down her own load.

"At the library?"

"Nope, the youngins are staying there now in the basement. They were hopin' to use your shop."

"That'll be fine," replied Rarity. "I better go and tidy up a bit first. It has been an absolute mess for days."

-----

Later that evening, nearly 500 pegasi were preparing themselves in the grand plaza of Canterlot. They had managed to dredge up old armor for most of the volunteers that would be participating that night, but there were limited pegasi blades, and those where being passed out to only the most skilled fliers.

That was beside the point of tonight's mission. 1000 packs were being strapped in pairs to each pegasi, each pack filled with the most powerful pyrotechnics their science had to offer. It was to be an aerial raid that was aimed to handicap the Lunar Rebels before the battle even really began. A surprise attack of epic proportions.

Princess Celestia had apparently proposed this plan a few days ago, and the Guard had been frantically running to and fro making sure it was possible, though Rainbow Dash and the other volunteers had only found out but a couple hours before, after her visit to the armory.

The scouts had noted the barricades and walls being put up all around Ponyville, and had discovered the weapons stash hidden in the Sweet Apple Acres' barn. These were the targets tonight. The Royal Guard would lead the attack, but Rainbow Dash and her team would not be far behind, followed by the rest of the volunteers. After the attack, they would join up with the rest of Celestia's army who was already marching towards Ponyville, and prepare for the real assault the following day.

Rainbow Dash had been found some armor, but she left off the helmet and gave it to another pony. It was too unwieldy for her to fly at the speeds she was used to anyway, and she felt like she'd need all the agility she could get.  

"Pegasi! Prepare to take off!" came the order finally, and on the signal the massive force kicked off the earth and towards Ponyville. There was great tension that permeated the air as they flew into the twilight, most of them uncomfortably silent.

"Excuse me, uh, Ms. Rainbow Dash?"

"Who called me what now?" Rainbow Dash looked around, yanked out of her own thoughts abruptly. Flying beside her was a deep red pegasus with a black and purple mane, and a cutie mark that looked like a guitar.

"Sorry," the pegasus apologized. She was obviously a bit awestruck. "I'm Robin Song from Baltimare, and I just wanted to say that, uh, I am a really big fan of you and, er, Rainbow Six."

"Ah, well, it was nothin'," said Rainbow Dash, relaxing from what had been a very stiff flying position and easing into a glide, just riding the wind from the ponies ahead. "And it's just Rainbow Dash."

"Ok," replied a grinning Robin Song. "You guys were so awesome in Cloudsdale!"

"That's how we roll," said Rainbow Dash, finding herself grinning. If there was one thing Rainbow thrived on it was admiration.

"It's actually because you that I volunteered," continued Robin Song. "I figured I could make a difference."

"Well, we sure did," said Star Hunter, who glided down to join the conversation. Robin Song was awestruck for a second time. She was a big fan. Star Hunter laughed before pulling back into his place in the formation.

"Okay, everypony be quiet back there!" the Lead Guard called back. "We should be coming up on the first walls in the next couple of minutes!" It was dark now, with only the light of the moon and stars to fly by, and frankly it had been somewhat of a guess as to exactly where they were. Even Rainbow Dash and the other Ponyvillians where only vaguely aware of where they were, the dark forests below indistinguishable.

The formation began a slow decent, from a distance looking almost like a dark cloud in the night sky. Rainbow Dash ran the plan again through her head. Her group was supposed to fly straight through and try to destroy the barn, taking advantage of the chaos of the attacks on the walls. She had thought it was funny she'd be destroying the Apple family barn. That thing had been destroyed too many times to count, and Rainbow had a hoof in it more than once.

Rainbow Dash's body reacted before her mind, shooting sideways to avoid something flying out of the darkness. An arrow shot past just a few inches from her wing. With another quick scan, she saw the formation begin to scatter as a rush of arrows shot up from the ground, and horrible screams sounded all around.

Rainbow felt something wet splatter on the side of her face, and she briefly panicked, wondering if an ice arrow had hit her. When she realized it was warm, she quickly looked for the source. She couldn't see anything at first, but then she realized that it was not something there, but rather something missing. She gasped in horror as she saw Robin Song plummeting to the ground. Rainbow Dash dove to save the young pegasus, but once she reached her she stopped short.

Robin Song was already dead, an arrow punched through her neck and blood trailing her through the air. Rainbow Dash didn't even catch her, breaking off to avoid a spell shooting from below that missed Rainbow by inches.

"Group A! Drop your bombs!" the order was screamed. Several pegasi dove towards the crude north barriers, dropping and some even throwing their packs, before pulling up at high speeds to get away from the ground to air assault.

"ALL GROUPS! FIND YOUR TARGETS!"

Rainbow Dash didn't wait, "RAINBOW SIX TO ME!"

The six streaked off across the skies over Ponyville, which seemed to be swarmed with spells and arrows intent on killing every thing they saw. They swarmed in with group D, which was mostly made up of Guards and was tasked with destroying the south defenses. They hadn't even made the Library when the head of Group D called a desperate halt order. Down below the street was filled with rows of archer ponies and unicorns lined up.

Rainbow took in why the stop order was given. There was a nearly invisible wall that was obviously a spell cast by the unicorns. They couldn't fly any farther, and they were now staring down the sights of dozens of arrows.

"ATTACK!" The lead Guard ordered, diving with the other Guards behind.

"Are you CRAZY?" called Star Hunter as Rainbow Six shot upwards to get out of range. They didn't have time to answer. The arrows darted through the air and Rainbow Dash couldn't help but flinch as she saw many make contact, knocking Guard after Guard out of the sky.

"We gotta help them!" screamed Blossomforth as they watched the carnage unfold below. The Guards were rebuffed in the space of a few seconds and were beginning to retreat under merciless arrow fire that was joined by a few spells being thrown their way. Rainbow Dash made a snap decision.

"Spitfire, you're with me! We'll cover the retreat! Everypony else help who you can and get out of here! Forget the barn!"

The team immediately obeyed, and Spitfire flew to Rainbow's side as they curled backwards in a loop. They followed the loop and rode it straight down to the ground and towards the archers, who were now spreading over the courtyard in their efforts to get better shots.

"Straighten your blades!" Spitfire yelled. They both spread their wings into an accelerating glide, slowly drifting apart as they drew beads on separate targets.

Rainbow Dash found her opportunity, her quick mind processing everything. She drew a pathline to two ponies standing just a couple hoof-lengths apart, both of them paying attention to the retreating pegasi above. One was a gray unicorn, who in those seconds was charging another spell, concentrating with all her might. The other was a yellow earth pony, pulling back and releasing an arrow into the night as he in one swift motion grabbed another arrow with a hoof, preparing to notch it. Rainbow Dash was low enough to the ground that she almost could have dragged her knees, the dust being kicked up behind her like a contrail. In the last few feet before speeding between the two ponies, who saw her all too late, Rainbow Dash thanked Celestia that at least she didn't know them.

She couldn't help but close her eyes, but she felt her wings strike the mark on both sides, slicing through effortlessly. The sound was sickening, and was repeated just a few steps away. All around Rainbow Dash heard cries of shock and horror as the ponies witnessed what just happened to their comrades, which was exactly what she had been aiming for.

"Spitfire! Let's get outta here!" she yelled, changing direction at a nearly 90 degree angle with Spitfire nipping on her heels. They ducked and weaved a serpentine pattern as arrows and spells were focused in their direction. Arrows glanced off her armor more than once, and Rainbow was sure others had skimmed her but didn't stop to check. The two pegasi used their un-rivaled speed to get out of range quickly to catch up to the decimated Group D.

They wasted no time, both quickly finding injured ponies and providing support as they pushed the group higher. Below, the unique sound of spells and the swishing of arrows mixed with the booming sound of bombs exploding. Rainbow Dash saw several fires, mostly around where the barriers had been, though here and there she saw flames rising from buildings in town.

"They knew we were coming," panted Spitfire, flapping hard to support the large guard that was bleeding from his flank. "That's the only way they were ready for us!"

"But how?" exclaimed Cloud Kicker. "Nopony even knew about it until a couple of of hours ago besides the Princess and the Head Guards!"

"I don't know!" cut in Rainbow Dash. "Let's just get everypony to the rendezvous!"

Rainbow Six replied in the affirmative along with a few other ponies gathering around them. The other groups met up with them quickly, many of them flying faster than they had in all their lives. Rainbow Dash scanned the group, taking a minute or so. She didn't have an exact count, but there were many ponies not with them any more. It was a disaster.

-----

It was just under an hour later that the attack groups limped down to the sprawling camp, the ponies below stunned by the sight. Rainbow Dash landed carefully, setting down an injured pony she was carrying into the care of a nurse pony that had run up withe dozens of others.

"Rainbow! What happened?" exclaimed Twilight as she ran up.

"Ambush," grimaced Rainbow Dash, stepping into the light of a temporary torch lamp. Twilight stopped cold, eyes wide with terror.

"Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?" she breathed, eyes wide. Rainbow Dash was puzzled for a moment before looking herself over, wondering if there was some injury she had missed. To her surprise she was covered in blood. Her wings were quite drenched, their blue color concealed under the crimson stains. The blood also ran in a splattered smear down her armor on the flanks and into her mane. Red had always been just a sliver of her rainbow mane, but now it was the dominant color.

"It's not mine Twilight," said Rainbow calmly, wiping the blood off her cheek with a hoof. Robin Song's, thought Rainbow Dash sadly. "Twilight, they knew we were coming."

"But that's impossible! Up until a few hours ago only Celestia, myself, and a handful of guards knew about it at all! There's no way there could have been a spy!" said Twilight. Rainbow Dash realized she was talking to nopony in particular, but was going into her thinking mode. She was desperate to wash and preen her feathers after the grisly discovery, but she knew Twilight would get on a roll soon and would probably figure it all out in about 10, 9, 8.....

Twilight thought hard for a few moments before the light came on in her mind.

"Dreams," she muttered. Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof while thinking 'bingo,' though she simultaneously was beating up her own brain for not thinking of what now seemed to obvious.

"I'll have to find a dreamless spell," said Twilight. "I have to find Princess Celestia!"

-----

It was lucky that Princess Luna had known this was comin' thought Applejack as she helped in the cleanup. It could have been far worse. Applejack padded down the small mound of earth to make it smooth, trying to make the final resting place of one poor pony, look nice. It was one of 12 mounds that stood in a single row, with a group of unicorns and earth ponies putting up headstones with the names of who lay there. These were the defenders who hadn't made it through the raid.

There were over 40 other new graves nearer to the forest, marking the pegasi that hadn't survived. Applejack had spend much of the first hour after the attack was over running all over Ponyville looking for injured attackers who couldn't get away. In all they had found 87 of Celestia's pegasi that were still living. Most had been injured, though here and there there was a pegasi who had stayed behind to take care of an injured friend. Almost all of them surrendered without a struggle, and were being held in a camp near the hospital.

Yet it didn't surprise Applejack that Rainbow Dash was not among the dead or captured, nor were any other Ponyville pegasi. Among their own losses were three native Ponyville residents, though Applejack hadn't known any of them beyond their name. The rest had been volunteers from elsewhere or part of Luna's Guard. They had come off lucky to be totally honest. They had nearly 100 ponies with some sort of injury, mostly burns and mostly not too serious.

"Applejack!" She turned to Thunderlane, who was completely unscathed. "Princess Luna wants you to organize the weapon distribution before you go to bed. She says that the Solar forces will be here by tomorrow night."

"Alright, Thunderlane. Everything alright with the fillies?" Thunderlane had been one of the ponies put in charge of watching the foals in the Library basement.

"Well Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Pipsqueak tried to sneak out once or twice, but they're sleeping now."

"Thanks, Thunderlane," said Applejack. That worry squared away, Applejack set off on the assigned task. She was sure she wasn't going to sleep anyway

-----

"I'm not sure what we could do, Fluttershy."

"Yes, there is only a few of us. How do we stop a whole war?"

"I'd have to agree with them. If indeed the dark magic cycle is taking effect, there may be nothing that can reverse it."

"Especially since we gave up the Elements of Harmony to that big, crystally tree!" said Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy looked at her hooves, not really sure what to say because they were right. Before her was only a handful of ponies that all came from Ponyville originally, but had come to the Crystal Empire for the same reasons she had. There was Mr. and Mrs. Hooves of course, with Derpy rocking back and forth playfully while munching on a muffin. A pegasus named Blue October was leaning casually against a lamp post, and a stallion unicorn named Goldengrape was laying back on a bench. Octavia was there as well, sitting very properly while drinking bad coffee. Fluttershy had invited the Cakes but they had declined, wanting to find a place to possibly settle in permanently if it never got better.

"I know we don't have much of a chance, but we can't just let our friends hurt each other," said Fluttershy quietly, somewhat regretting mentioning it. The other ponies were silent for a moment, even Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy didn't know who she was kidding. She knew close to zilch about magic, even with all the books she had read on it lately. How could she have a prayer of finding a way to reverse it when who knows how many had failed before.

"WAIT! IDEEEEAAAA!" cried Pinkie Pie happily. Everybody snapped their attention to her (except for Derpy who fell over in surprise, dropping her muffin). "C'mere! It's gotta be a secret!"

Fluttershy and the rest of the others looked at each other for a moment, while Pinkie Pie continued to beckon them. Finally, they all made their way over where Pinkie drew them into a tight circle. She then told them her bright idea step by step. It was a little wacky, but they had known the crazy pink pony for years, and they understood her plan.

"That just might be brilliant," remarked Mr. Hooves.

"I know!" replied Pinkie Pie outloud, bouncing to and fro.

"Then you all will help?" asked Fluttershy timidly. Octavia, Derpy, Doctor, Blue, and Goldengrape looked to one another again before nodding their assent.

"Yay!"

The Battle of Ponyville

The day was getting colder by the hour, with stray clouds roaming from the Everfree Forest uncontrolled. The result was an extremely rare overcast day. Pegasi generally didn't like to waste clouds when not moving them for rain or snow. But at the moment, the bulk of the region's pegasi had either fled, were hiding, or were currently on the move in the largest army Equestria had seen in over two thousand years.

Luna's forces holed up in Ponyville was around 4000 strong. Celestia's army marching from the north: just under 6000 ponies.

Twilight was suddenly grateful she had added the wool lining under the armor before putting it on, as the normal cotton cloth lining would have been freezing in the falling temperatures. Twilight wondered for a second if Windigoes had come to Equestria like in ancient times, but dismissed the thought in the absence of evidence.

She also felt a little sheepish that she was riding in a chariot being pulled by two Guards instead of walking along with the rest of the army, but Celestia among others had insisted. She was also pulled along near the front, keeping her out of the dust cloud being kicked into the air.

Her third feeling was one of nervous concentration, going over battle spells over and over in her head. She had fought a few times before with the likes of the changlings (twice) and a few other magic creatures and villains, making her arguably one of the most experienced magic dueler in Celestia's army. But she was also possibly the most worried about it in typical Twilight fashion.

"Twilight, if you don't stop that fidgeting I just might lose it," said Rainbow Dash, scowling in annoyance as she walked sidelong with the chariot. A few volunteer ponies around them looked a little stunned somepony would talk like that to a Princess, though Rainbow just ignored them as Twilight sighed.

"Sorry, Rainbow Dash," she replied, deliberately setting her front hooves apart and flat on the floor.

"There's really nothing to worry about," Rainbow Dash continued. "Especially not with me around."

"Don't forget us, Dash," said Star Hunter, who trotted up to join the conversation. "And I'll keep you from getting knocked around again."

Rainbow Dash threw another glare, this one less playful, and Star Hunter immediately backed off, his smile fading. Rainbow Dash had been in a rotten mood since the previous night's events, and even her friend's banter and hijinks did nothing to lighten it. She claimed it was because it had taken hours longer than normal to preen and she hadn't slept long because of it.

Twilight had unsettling dreams just seeing the aftermath, so she couldn't imagine what had slipped into the dreams of the pegasi who had participated. She had even wondered if perhaps Luna had sent the dreams on purpose, seeing how Twilight had attempted to cast an anti-dream spell that apparently didn't work out like she hoped. So much for becoming the "Star Princess" or something like that.

No, she couldn't give up on that. Once Luna was defeated, they would need somepony to take over her duties wouldn't they? And Twilight conveniently had a star-burst cutie mark and a night-themed name, so who better to fill the position? Plus, who's to say what the future holds? That's why she had to make sure Celestia won not just this battle but any and all that followed. Some power vacuums had to be created, not waited for.

Twilight's nervousness was gone, replaced by a pulsing burst of energy that ran from her horn to her hooves like a slowly escalating flood, and a small smile spreading on her face as they drew closer to her adopted home.

-----

Applejack stretched her legs one by one, trying to shake the nervous tension out of her body. She glanced back once again at the sheathed sword on her flank, even though she knew it was still there. She'd been doing that all day, nervously taking turns glancing at the sky, then the horizon, back to her sword, and back to the horizon, and her neck was starting to get a kink in it.

She hadn't even left her post in the north park to rest since she had woken up that morning, and it was now late afternoon. Rarity had brought her food and had tried to coax her to take a break but was unsuccessful, as were Big Mac, Bon Bon, and Thunderlane on different occasions.

She wanted to be prepared for anything and everything, no matter what time their opponents showed up. The scouts who had been sent out to watch them and the ponies who stood at the ready with her all seemed far more relaxed, which irritated her to no end. And true to her nature she had let them know that, and for the last hour or so hadn't really talked to her.

Applejack took her eyes off the sky for a moment to watch a couple of ponies being taught sword play, one a unicorn and the other an earth pony. Of course the unicorn had the advantage with the levitation, but nopony could match earth ponies for sheer strength. The Guard overseeing them had been giving them the crash course along those lines, probably reciting what he had learned in the academy years before.

"No, no no, plant your back legs for a solid foundation, but keep your front legs loose. You have to be ready to move in any direction, and to make sure you keep their blade as far from your head as you can," he instructed, guiding the flustered earth pony. The unicorn had been picking it up well, though she had voiced her opinion more than once how she felt like it was rather useless since she could do spells.

Applejack started to walk over to offer some pointers of her own when two pegasi streaked by above. Applejack immediately spun and drew her sword, hilt firmly gripped in her mouth, as she crouched into a battle ready position. She relaxed as she realized they were Republic, and watched as they landed somewhat ungracefully in front of the Head Guard before sheathing her sword once more.

Applejack galloped up just in time to hear what she had been waiting for.

"The Empire's troops are almost through the forest, and have taken up formation," one reported, saluting smartly.

"Excellent work," replied the Head Guard. "Sound the alarm, all troops prepare for battle!"

Applejack didn't wait, bolting back to her position and hollering orders to the onlooking ponies. They immediately scrambled to form a line, weapons in hoof or mouth, as they had been instructed. Applejack found a place in the line next to Crescent Moon and a mare earth pony from Las Pegasus. Applejack was directly in charge of roughly 200 ponies from all over Equestria, and their role was immediate backup.

In front of them a line made purely of Luna's Guards was forming, their dark armor glinting in the afternoon sun along with their spears. They would take the brunt of the first attack and drive it back, while Applejack and her squad, along with three others, would then join the fray to try and score an early victory.

"Are you ready, Applejack?"

Applejack turned to see Rarity trotting daintily (how could she do that even at a time like that?) up to her. Rarity also was put in charge of a squad of mostly unicorns and archers. She and her squad were to provide support from the relative safety of the hastily rebuilt wall, while a squadron of pegasi would stave off any attacks from the air.

"Ready as ever I reckon, Rarity," replied Applejack resolutely.

"I do hope Sweetie Bell and Applebloom stay out of trouble," worried Rarity. Their parents had been out of town when everything started and had yet to return, leaving Rarity in charge of her little sister for the time being.

"Don't worry, they'll stay outta the way fer sure," said Applejack with a hint of mischief.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I kinda slid a bookcase in front of the basement door," said Applejack with a wink. "Plus there's 'bout six ponies guardin the Library right now so even those escape artists won't be able to sneak out this time."

"What if they get trapped?" asked Rarity in alarm. "You blocked their only way out! What if there is an emergency?"

"They got a month's worth of food and Ms. Cherilee down there with them, and on top of that, if worse came to worse, I gave 'em some of that magic scroll so that they could write a letter through Spike to get em out."

"You mean Spike, who is with Twilight who also happens to be with Celestia?" asked Rarity with deep sarcasm.

"It's just in case of worse case scenario, don't worry Rarity!" said Applejack, laughing a little. Rarity took in a deep breath to calm herself as she started trotting back through the line to her position.

"Alright Applejack, but make sure you open the door straight away once this is over," she said as she walked away.

"I see them!" came the call from down the line. Applejack whipped her attention back across the meadow to the forest's edge. Even at midday the shadows were long and the foliage was thick, so Applejack saw nothing at first. But then the forest seemed to gain a golden gleam all along it's edge.

A massive line of ponies emerged into the meadow, the Guards with golden armor making up most of the front. Here and there other ponies with silver armor popped into the line, obviously volunteers, while yet others only had the golden-khaki uniforms. Every last one of them looked armed and ready. Two golden chariots pulled up as well, with two armored ponies their passengers. One was obviously Celestia, and Applejack's heart dropped a little as she recognized the purple-pink striped mane of the other one.

Applejack began to feel the air cackle with magic as the unicorns around her readied themselves, their horns beginning to glow in their distinct colors. The pegasi squadron, set apart by their black uniforms and blue neckerchiefs, took off and began hovering at the ready above. Applejack watched them as they weaved into position, many of them wielding weapons of all sorts, and wondered if any of them wished they had some of the fearsome weapons that a few of the pegasi had, with swords on their wings.

Across the valley, the ponies advanced, and pegasi began taking off into their own formations. Applejack's heart dropped a beat again when she saw Rainbow Dash's distinctive mane among them, even from the distance. She reached back again, and unsheathed her sword in her mouth, careful to not clench her teeth to hard. Then she tensed her body, ready to transfer weight in any direction, and waited.

-----

Twilight dismounted the chariot as did her mentor. She stared at the intimidating battle line of ponies across the familiar meadow, trying in vain to pick out familiar faces from the distance.

"Ready to charge!" ordered Princess Celestia loudly. All around her Twilight sensed the magical surge as unicorns readied their spells, and she heard the clinking of metal as ponies drew their weapons.

Twilight concentrated and started the flow of her own magic, preparing a spell.

This ends today she thought determinedly, and she slowly marched forward just a few tail lengths behind the front line of Guards.

-----

Rarity brisquely called for all the archers to load arrows as she looked out from the top of wall, desperately wanting to pace out of nerves but resisting the urge with practiced poise. Her calm exterior was a front for her darting mind as her thoughts wandered across every possible horrible scenario, all of them much worse than the sample carnage she had witnessed the night before.

She grit her teeth, her resolve coming from who knows where, she prepared a signal spell, and waited.

-----

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, slowly gaining altitude as she prepared to dive forward into battle yet again. She flexed, making sure once again that her pegasi blades were ready and simultaneously scanning the ponies in the air around her. They looked determined to avenge those they lost in the raid, those without pegasi blades drawing swords, spears, and lances into place. They were out for blood.

And blood they will get Rainbow Dash thought. She knew the time was close, and she forced her body to relax as she geared up to fly forward at Celestia's command.

-----

Princess Luna arrived at the battle field, landing with power right behind the front line.

Across the meadow, Princess Celestia marched gracefully behind her own soldiers, glaring at the cause of so much trouble.

Luna let her mind run through everything that had lead up to this point. Her old frustrations that had lead to her transformation into Nightmare Moon, and how they had been aggravated back then by Celestia choosing to distance herself.

---

Celestia was thinking similarly, about how painful it had been to banish her sister, but yet how relieved she had been to not have to look over her shoulder any longer.

---

Luna thought forward to the present day. Celestia acted like everything had changed, like everything was just alright. It was all a lie. Everypony knew that Celestia was still alone on top of the pyramid of power, unquestioned and unchallenged. Luna had thought she could be content with it, but her sister's arrogance was far too much.

---

Celestia huffed in frustration as she remembered the things Luna had said to her the day she had left and started this ridiculous affair. She had acted like she, Celestia, was some sort of cruel tyrant. The indignation she had felt at such an accusation along with a fresh reminder of the pain of that moment mingled.

---

No, Somepony had to stand up to her! She had gone too far and had asked too much of the ponies. Luna remembered the satisfying vindication she felt as she convinced ponies of the wrongs that had been committed. They could have a fair ruler and a system more free and just.

---

Luna had taken it all too far! Willing to bring harmony to its knees and cause ponies to risk life and limb for a childish power trip! Celestia's anger began to rise, and the now familiar sensation of powerful magic energy coursing through her body and invigorating her fighting spirit was brought to a boil.

---

Luna breathed deeply as the powerful energy surged again through her body before culminating in her chest. She was ready, and she sensed that so were her devoted followers. She lifted into the air and landed on top of one of the barricades, ready to direct from the rear of the formation.

---

Celestia raised her right hoof, and then pointed across the field, her teeth bared in anger. Banishment may have not been the right punishment the first time.

"ATTACK!"

-----

The line of Guards on the ground surged forward en masse, their hooves rumbling loudly. Above, Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi held back, waiting for the opportune moment that was quickly approaching. Dash watched with sharp eyes for the tell-tale sign that would send her speeding across the meadow, and she was rewarded in short order

She saw the dark specks lift into the the air like a flock of birds seeking prey, and Rainbow Dash immediately sped into action. She passed the sound barrier within a few seconds and felt the mach cone form around her as she shot past the front line, before it exploded in a brilliant Sonic Rainboom.

The multi-chromatic shockwave radiated perpendicular to the ground, the arrows blown out of the air like paper airplanes hitting a fan, scattering harmlessly to the ground. Rainbow Dash didn't slow as she pulled up into the cloud of pegasi waiting, banking a tight angle as the gap closed in a blink.

Two pegasi dove to meet her, swords in mouth and heads reared back to strike. Dash twisted as she passed them, the clang of steel ringing in her ears as the blades clashed. She noticed one sword go spinning off towards the earth, while the other pegasi held on tightly through the recoiling collision.

Unlike previous fights, there was no time for a re-turn. The sky, a second before still with tension, now resembled a writhing mass as the two air forces collided, forcing Rainbow Dash to duck and weave as she alternated attacking and defending at every turn. She finally got above the chaos and turned, zeroing in on a pegasus bent on chasing her down. The brown stallion had a sword strapped to his front hoof, and was rocketing upwards with the blade slicing ahead. Rainbow went into free fall straight towards her opponent, letting gravity drive her speed.

They sometimes say that when your life is in danger and the adrenalin rushes that your life flashes before your eyes. What actually happens is that time slows down to a crawl, making seconds last what seems an eternity before the moment ends and time speeds back up to a blur.

It was one of those moments, which Rainbow Dash had a lot of lately. She redirected the blade with her left wing, causing it to miss her head by just a few inches. She spun her momentum like a cat, twisting her whole body, and simultaneously stiffened her right wing in a drag jet position. She slid past the stallion and spread her wings once more, seeking a new target, while the unfortunate brown pegasus careened towards the ground, streaming crimson.

Rainbow Dash didn't even look back, two new opponents streaking forward to challenge her.

-----

If the sky was chaos, the fight on the ground was anarchy. Weapons flashed, their metallic clangs reverberating through the air and mingling with the cries of ponies being struck. Applejack was right in the middle of it all. The Guard line that had been supposed to drive back the initial wave was overwhelmed quickly, thrown off balance by the Sonic Rainboom that had deflected Rarity's arrow attack. Applejack and her battalion had been forced to leap into the fray to save the line from collapsing all-together.

Applejack landed a powerful kick with her hind legs onto the chest of one Guard, flinging him backwards with his breath knocked out of him and his ribs broken, before resetting just in time to block a spear jab from the front. Applejack sprung sideways with the practiced ease of the rodeo, simultaneously twisting her head and slicing off the spearhead. His momentum unbalanced, the Spear-pony Guard stumbled forward, and Applejack seized the opportunity to knock him out as well with a stomping kick that dented his helmet.

Applejack was hardly left time to breath as a pink earth pony dressed in the volunteer khaki flung herself at the farm pony, a sword of her own arching through the air. Applejack turned her head to counter, the blades clashing together in a brief flash of sparks. Neither earth pony hesitated to make their next move. The pink mare used her forward momentum to push by Applejack before planting her front hoof and pivoting in a pirouette, trying to slash Applejack's flank.

As soon as the pony had slid by, Applejack leaped in anticipation of the sword's path. Her powerful jump carried her well over the blade's trajectory, though she could still feel the air move as it sliced by. Applejack landed on all fours, bending her front legs and loading up power through her whole body like she had done thousands of times before. The pink pony was just barely landing on all four hooves, trying to reset herself.

It was far too late as Applejack bucked with all her might, her back legs smashing into the mare's unprotected face. Flesh and bone felt different underhoof than bark, especially in the sickening way it buckled under force. The pink mare probably died instantly, but not even Applejack had even time to acknowledge that.

The line was breaking, and more gold-clad ponies were pushing through. And spells were starting to fly.

-----

Twilight observed the battle from a relatively safe distance. Her idea to repel the arrows had worked brilliantly; Rainbow Dash had executed it to perfection. It seemed like they had gained the quick advantage. Though her curiosity about the health of individual ponies was totally frustrated. She had never considered that despite the uniforms worn by both sides the wide range of coat color made it difficult to distinguish who was who.

Spells arched through the air like lightning, though most appeared to be shot upward into the winding tangle of pegasi, each side trying to support their air force. But how they were missing their own was nothing short of.....

Twilight gasped sharply when she noticed a volunteer on her own side knock a silver-armored mare out of the air.

"UNICORNS! CEASE FIRING AT THE PEGASI!"

Princess Celestia had noticed too and immediately ordered them to stop. The last thing they needed was friendly fire. The skyward spells stopped on cue, with only the unicorns right up front casting at close range. Twilight strained her eyes, feeling slightly helpless and wanting to find a way to help

"Look out!"

Twilight looked wildly around for the danger, and found it above. A small squad of pegasi had broken off from the aerial chaos and were streaking uninhibited towards the two Princesses. Probably a half-cocked plan to end the battle now by capturing them. And a very short lived one.

Both Twilight and Celestia engaged their magic while hardly moving a muscle, their horns glowing brighter and brighter until they seemed to explode in a flash complete with a bang. The pegasi were tossed aside like ragdolls before they got near their target, slamming into the ground and trees of the forest. Several didn't get up, knocked out or worse. The ones that moved were immediately pounced upon by nearby soldiers and captured.

If that's all they have this will be way too easy thought Twilight. Just then, the battle line rushed dramatically forward. The Lunar line had broken completely.

-----

Rarity surveyed the scene below her frantically, searching for a way to turn fortunes. She started firing spells, and ordered unicorns and archers to do the same, into the horde of Celestia's forces to try and slow them down. It was pointless, and it was already time for the fallback plan.

"UNICORNS, SKY SHIELD! PEGASI AND EARTH PONIES, FALL BACK!"

Luna's orders rang loud and clear above the din of the collapsing battle, and Rarity focused her attention above. Luna's pegasi were breaking off of their opponents and were flying back into the Ponyville airspace before the order was executed. Rarity couldn't wait to see if all of them made it.

"Alright, everyone! Sky shield spell!" yelled Rarity. Her horn glowed blue as she concentrated on the hastily taught spell from just a couple days before. A force field rose into the sky, extending from the top of the wall and soaring into the sky, curving as if to complete a dome. Celestia's pegasi that had chased the retreating ones now found themselves separated on the wrong side of the line.

"Up and over!"

Rarity heard Rainbow Dash's order far above as the enemy pegasi made a desperate attempt to escape this new trap. Rarity put more energy into the spell, trying to speed it up. It wasn't in time to trap Rainbow and the faster fliers, but they were fast enough to trap some of them.

In the distance, other unicorns were casting the spell, and soon the spells connected to form a total magic dome over the town and it's barriers. Rarity finally looked below, where an event similar to the one above occurred. Most of Luna's army had made it back in time through the small gaps in the barrier, particularly since they had already been running, and a few unlucky Solar ponies had been caught on the wrong side. Most of them surrendered quickly, seeing no other option.

The spell in place, Rarity immediately set to work. It wouldn't last forever, especially with at least two magical powerhouses in royal armor on the other side, and they needed to reset their defense. The archers immediately gathered up the bows and arrows and retreated into town to take position on rooftops. They hadn't expected to be pushed back so fast, but they were determined to be ready this time. As per the plan, Rarity and other unicorns would remain on top of and near the wall. This go around they would be the primary defense once the barrier failed.

The initial volley of fighting had only lasted ten minutes. High casualties were obvious.to any observer, particularly Rarity had a pegasi-eye view from the wall of the battlefield, because the once green meadow was littered with red masses of used to be living ponies.

-----

"Captain! Get the Magic Corp up here immediately! This field must be broken quickly!" Princess Celestia ordered. Twilight took initiative and quickly trotted forward, bodyguards in tow, to join up with the Magic Corp of Engineers intending to help them. It was a special contingent that usually operated out of the school in Canterlot that researched and tested new magic, a group that Twilight had often envied in her early school days.

Twilight navigated an uneasy path through the battle carnage which several ponies were already working to clear out of the way, finding the wounded and moving the fallen. Twilight resolutely tried not to look, afraid it would make her queasy and unable to go forward, and also afraid of seeing somepony she knew.

They reached a line of earth ponies and pegasi that were gearing to charge again once the force field was out of the way, and the dozen or so unicorns lined up behind them. Twilight was by far the youngest of the group, with most of them being tenured researchers, but she was probably the most talented. Being a Princess and a personal protege of the Sun Princess proved that.

"Ready! Prepare to use an anti-energy spell!" commanded Twilight. "NOW!"

The unicorns flashed their magic, the combined spell smashing into the shield in a blinding light. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust again, but when it did it seemed like their spell had done nothing. Twilight was about to order a different spell when the magic shield cracked. The crack spread like shattered glass across the whole dome. Twilight and the rest of Celestia's army tensed.

-----

Rainbow Dash blasted forward with Spitfire, Soarin, Blossomforth, and Star Hunter on her heels as the spell broke. Cloud Kicker was missing somewhere but they hadn't had time to look for her.

"Everypony stick together!" cried Rainbow Dash as they streaked towards the wall. Star Hunter had suggested a real feather-brained scheme during their brief reprieve, but it was just crazy enough that it could work. They barreled towards the wall gaining as much speed as they could.

"Alright! Now!" called Star Hunter. The five pegasi flipped around so their back legs were pointed down, and then wrapped their forelegs around each other's shoulders, forming a five-pony bullet. They slammed into the center of the wooden log wall and straight through, shattering the structure to splinters. They pulled up, skimming the ground as they did so, and back into the sky, ready to meet the enemy.

-----

Applejack couldn't believe it. They had broken the barrier better than any boulder could, and they had done it not ten seconds after the shield had gone down. Huge wood splinters landed all around her, smaller ones pelting her. Ponies near her shielded themselves in any way they could, most of them equally stunned at the quick dissolution of that wall section. The other sections still stood, but they were already being pelted by spells and hooves.

Unicorns on top of the wall began casting spells furiously into the new onrush, the air resounding with their high-energy impacts. Applejack bit down on her sword's handle again, picking it up off the ground from where she had rested, and charged. The Solar forces had to be pushed back and pushed back now, before they threatened the town any more.

The Solar army was mostly bottle-necked at where the wall section had been blown to pieces, trying to get past the barrier to flood the backfield.

Big mistake thought Applejack. This'll be easier than fishin' in a barrel.

Applejack leaped into the fray, her sword reared back and then brought down with a loud slash onto the neck of a unicorn that had forgot to look up and paid dearly for it. Applejack wrapped her hoof around the sword's hilt and yanked it out of it's hold on the spine in time to ward off a diving pegasus, their blades sparking at the impact.

Applejack scanned the sky for more threats, but the pegasi were once again occupied with each other, with some here and there falling uninhibited to the earth. A scream brought Applejack back to earth, as a Lunar unicorn was cut down right in front of her, and a spear wielding earth stallion gearing up to charge at his new target.

She waited for him to lunge, which was far too low as she leaped and landed on his back. The stallion collapsed under the sudden weight, his spear bending into the ground and snapping, and his breath knocked out of him. Applejack caught a glimpse of glowling light out of the corner of her eye and she leaped sideways off her winded opponent, just in time to avoid a red-colored spell that caught the unfortunate stallion.

Applejack landed on all fours and galloped forward to meet the new challenge, deflecting another spell sent her direction with a well timed swing of her sword.

-----

"Retreat!" Rarity exclaimed. The northern walls on which they stood were starting to crumble under the weight of the attackers, and at least a third of the unicorns that had started on top of the wall had been knocked off. Rarity galloped down the crude stairs they had built, followed immediately by the surviving unicorns.

Rarity blasted a spell at a pegasi that had swooped down to try and cut her off, a particularly nasty fire spell that sent the pegasi screaming into the ground in horrible pain as her body burned.

"That was gastly," muttered Rarity as she ran back towards their second fallback: the park. They dodged through the fighting, shooting spells where helpful until they reached the fresh battle line, where Princess Luna stood ready to lend assistance. The unicorns fell into line wherever they found space. No shield this time, it was to be all offense from here on out.

"Here they come!"

-----

Twilight, still flanked by two guards, hopped over the remains of the wall section Rainbow Six had so cleverly destroyed.

"Everypony duck!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. The ponies in front of her that could hear her dove to the ground. The five or six lunar ponies that had been fighting them looked perplexed, and were delayed just long enough. Twilight cast her spell at the hapless ponies, a powerful yellow light that blasted all of them into the air as if an explosion had occurred. Twilight cast another spell as they fell, then slammed them into the ground harder than gravity could of ever done.

"Princess, look out!" one of the Guards exclaimed. It was Twilight's turn to duck as a spear dashed through the air past her, slicing a few hairs off her mane and before glancing harmlessly off her armor. A sea-green mare cursed at the near miss, and retreated quickly to barely avoid a hastily fired counter spell from the Guard on the left.

Then, a bright, blue jet of light arched through the air past Twilight and into a crowd of advancing troops behind her. The impact sent over a dozen ponies flying helplessly, instantly disabled by the powerful spell. Twilight prepared a spell of her own just in time to counter a second powerful blast that was aimed right at her, barely matching its power.

"Guards! Stand down and watch my back!" Twilight ordered. "Those are Luna's spells!"

Without hesitating, Twilight fired another spell across the din of the battle, which Luna countered resulting in an ear-blasting explosion.

-----

Applejack dove for cover, dropping her bloody sword in the process to get out of the crossfire. Applejack had known that Twilight had grown powerful since her coronation, but matching Princess Luna wasn't quite what she had exptected. She also knew it would be a bad idea to be hit by a spell from either side.

Up and down the short battle line, ponies were temporarily entranced by the brilliant display of magical prowess blazing in what remained of North Park. Applejack scrambled behind a tree, kicking an unsuspecting Solar volunteer out of the way in a rather comical stance.

She peeked around the tree to see the alicorn battle in its glory. Twilight and Luna were alternating running and flying around while firing spells trying to gain the upper hand. Several trees either caught fire or were simply blown to bits, as were several ponies who had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The air had a different feeling that Applejack had ever felt. The magic in the air was palpable and foreboding , and it was obvious to even the most naive earth pony or pegasi where the source was.

But if Twilight could put up a fight like this, what if....

"Princess Luna! Celestia's comin'!" warned Applejack, spotting the Sun Princess approaching on foot so as to avoid the dogfighting pegasi above. Celestia paused for a moment before blasting open another one of the wall sections, opening a wider gap for her remaining army to pour through (though they kept their distance for the moment, sheltering from the heated battle.

Princess Luna took immediate note and cast spell that Twilight didn't block. Mostly because a gravity spell is a lot less flashy, and it was just enough to throw the young, purple alicorn for a loop before she could correct it.

"Pegasi! Cover retreat! Fall back to the stream!" Princess Luna ordered.

Applejack reacted immediately, first lunging a kick at a Guard who had snapped his attention back to the battle, knocking him off balance, before pelting back towards town. She only stopped to help push along some ponies sporting fresh injuries, and others that were lagging. The stream was a sort of last recourse to turn the tide. Applejack leaped it in a single bound while carrying an injured Lyra on her back.

-----

Rainbow Dash pushed away from an aerial duel with two other ponies to regroup. While the day was being won on the ground, the air had proven more a stalemate. Rainbow Dash and the teammates she had kept track of were more than holding their own, but they couldn't do everything. The Lunar pegasi were better fliers coming out of hotspots like Rainbow Falls, Dodge Junction, and the air fields of near Maneapolis, on top of which many already had fighting experience. Most of the Solar pegasi were city ponies with only basic flying experience and no previous fighting experience. The difference was negating the numbers advantage, which was also slowly evening out with each passing minute.

"Six! We need to win this now!" cried Rainbow Dash. "Spread out! Hit fast and don't slow down!"

"Right!" was the reply, and the other four pegasi burst apart to different areas of the airspace, seeking teammates to help. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings sharply, diving past a Lunar Guard and slicing the poor fellow's left wing feathers in two, before charging towards the ground. There were still several archers firing into the sky, but not for long.

Rainbow Dash skimmed the tree level, moving too fast for anypony to get a bead on her, until she reached the edge of town, the most prominent building on this side the Carousel Boutique. From it's facades she could see several ponies positioned pulling back arrows, with two pegasi circling as guard. They weren't looking the right way when she sliced just above one of them, leaving a deep gash in his back before tackling the second one straight into the roof. They crashed through into what used to be Rarity's idea room, the other pegasus down for the count from the impact.

Rainbow Dash shook herself off, years of stunts gone wrong working in her favor, and burst back through the whole while landing a solid punch on the jaw of a shocked archer. It took ten seconds flat to circle around and put all the archers on the boutique out of commission before she flew back up into the fray, this time from behind.

-----

Rarity saw the event at her precious boutique and swore when it was all over that she was going to make Rainbow Dash pay for it by forcing her to try on a hundred dresses consecutively. But never mind that for now. The stream trap was almost ready.

"Rarity! Please tell me that we're ready for 'em!" yelled Applejack as she trotted up, out of breath.

"Just one more thing," said Rarity, grunting with the effort of pulling one last thing into place. She was sure she looked horrid, covered in dirt, mud, and probably blood though she had not bothered to look just yet, and she made herself another promise that she was going to spend a week at the spa to make up for all of this.

"Ready!" Rarity called, and it was echoed down the stream where countless ponies stood at the ready. The ponies that were watching the southern wall near Sweet Apple Acres had been called up to shore up the defense and prepare for the big counterattack. At their backs were the farthest outside buildings of Ponyville, mostly homes that were now shuttered in preparation for this day.

The last of the Lunar ponies leaped across the stream, the regrouped Solar forces hot on their heels.

"Now!" ordered Princess Luna, who was hovering above the scene. Rarity lit a simple cutting spell, something she knew quite well, and severed a single rope while other ponies did the same. Their prepared trap sprung to life. It was simple but impressive. They had prepared and hidden several spring loaded ramps in the ground not far from the stream's edge, and now they roared out of the ground like a snapping turtle.

The timing had been perfect as well, catching almost the entire advancing front line and hurling them backwards onto their own allies and finally throwing their army off balance. It was Luna's turn to charge.

The Lunar forces yelled in triumph as they galloped forward. Rarity was right alongside Applejack now, deciding to depend on the powerful earth pony to get her through this in one piece.

-----

In the skies, it was hard for Rainbow Dash to believe what she was seeing. They had finally begun to gain the upper hoof in the sky, but down below the story had changed. The line was much wider now, spread across the entire northern section of Ponyville, some of the fighting on the flanks actually taking place on the stony streets. But the center of the line was suddenly being driven back.

Rainbow Dash whistled loudly, a signal to Rainbow Six to gather. She didn't wait for them to get close enough for them to talk but rather signaled to follow her as she dove down from altitude towards the raging chaos..

-----

Applejack was hardly looking at anypony she was attacking now, only ever giving enough of a glance to make sure that they weren't on her side. She had picked up a new sword and was swinging it with fatal consequences to those who stood against her. She could sense Rarity next to her, firing spell after spell and yelling fashion insults that nopony really heard.

Suddenly the world to her right became very bright, a powerful spell impacting not far from them. A couple of ponies flew head over hoofs past them as Applejack whirled to face the new danger. There she registered Twilight, firing magic like a pony possessed at anypony she could reach.

Applejack backed off quickly, pushing Rarity to do the same.

-----

Twilight was caught in such a rush of magical power that she hardly registered anything going on around her. It was all like an odd dream, or a nightmare, and all she could think to do was to cast spells to ward off the danger. Ahead of her two ponies that looked achingly familiar stood ready at a short distance. Twilight hesitated, her mind connecting who they were.

-----

Rainbow Dash pulled up for a brief second over the battlefield, a sight that she had feared would come just ahead. Twilight stood facing Applejack and Rarity, with an open space between them that looked so out of place in the frenzied battle. Rainbow Dash swallowed the fear, and charged forward. She had to protect Twilight and Celestia no matter what it took.

-----

The four friends now divided as enemies stared at each other for the longest second of their lives, making eye contact with each other. They simultaneously started running forward, time slowing again, each determined to find a way to win. But strangely among the clang of weapons, the unearthly screams, the resounding spells, and stomping hooves, they all heard the same sound from the side.

Twilight couldn't quite place a hoof on it.

Rarity was utterly perplexed in that split second by how out of place it sounded.

Applejack thought it sounded...familiar somehow.

Rainbow Dash immediately thought of the sound bowling pins make when they are hit by a solid strike.

A streak of pink blazed out of the chaos followed by a yellow one. The pink one struck Rainbow Dash while the yellow collided simultaneously with Applejack and Rarity.

Rainbow Dash braced for what was sure would be unbelievable pain. Except it didn't come. As she fell through the air she noticed it felt more like an anconda squeeze hug. And that the pink thing smelled like chocolate frosting.

"TAG! YOU'RE IT!"

 

Do Wrong to Do Right

"What the-? Pinkie Pie!?" Twilight couldn't believe the pink earth pony was there, hugging the daylights out of a very surprised Rainbow Dash and seemingly oblivious the the battle around her. Looking the way she had came, Twilight saw a scene straight out of the days before the war. A line was cleared in the battlefield, ponies picking themselves up off the ground completely bewildered at the pink blob that had knocked them aside.

"Fluttershy?" It was Applejack and Rarity who had spoken. Sure enough, there was a very frightened and apologetic looking Fluttershy piled awkwardly on top of the other two ponies. Twilight just stared, trying to let her brain catch up with what just happened.

"Oops! No time for hugs!" said Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and off of Rainbow Dash (and narrowly being missed by a spell, but she didn't notice), who didn't move as she was apparently trying to process it all. "We gotta get going! STAT!"

Pinkie Pie inhaled sharply and pulled a megaphone out of her hair, and knowing what that meant all five of the other ponies dove to the ground, covering their ears.

"OVER HEEEEERRREEEEEE!" she bellowed, freezing the entire battlefield for a moment as they recoiled from the noise. Twilight even felt her mane get blown back by the sound waves. She got up dizzily as her ears rang, the only sound on the suddenly quiet battlefield the sound of an approaching cart.

Carriage actually, being pulled by two earth ponies that Twilight and the others knew from Ponyville: Dr. Hooves and Goldengrape. They were pelting at full speed through the swath that Pinkie had paved through the scene, while two pegasi they also recognized as Derpy and Blue, were flying low escort. Well, Blue October was. Derpy was taking her usual lazy path through the sky, happily oblivious to the battle-worn pegasi staring at them in shock.

The truck-style carriage skidded to a stop, back end open and facing Twilight. Actually, it looked more like a prison cart.

"OKAY! LET'S GET GOING!" yelled Pinkie excitedly. In one swift motion, she picked up Rainbow Dash and tossed her into the carriage (oof!), before turning and tackle-hugging Twilight.

"Wait, Pinkie! No! What're you- aaaagh!" Pinkie tossed Twilight in a heap into the carriage, landing ungracefully on top of Rainbow Dash.  Almost simultaneously, Fluttershy and Blue had scooped up Applejack before she could react and had pushed her in (Fluttershy saying sorry all the way), to be joined moments later by Rarity after Pinkie Pie had grabbed her before she could blink. Pinkie Pie then slammed shut the door and fiddled for a moment with what sounded like a lock.

"Ok, what's goin' on," muttered Applejack, who was hooves over head on one side of the carriage and scrambling to right herself. Before she could do so, the carriage lurched forward.

"Hey, wait!" Finally somepony outside was reacting, snapping out of the shocked stupor. The sounds of battle began to raise once again.

"They got Princess Twilight!"

"Stop them!"

-----

What in name of sweet applesauce am I doing!!?? thought Fluttershy as she held onto the top of the carriage with the battle coming to life once again around her. This plan was sounding more and more crazy with every passing second and Fluttershy was beginning to question her own sanity for agreeing with it.

An arrow embedded in the carriage roof a tail length from Fluttershy. We will never survive this! she thought frantically as she crouched her body closer like a cat. Why couldn't everypony just talk it through?

"Fluttershy! We gotta - eek- we gotta keep the way in front clear!" Blue called out, dodging attacks as she flew low. "I'll keep them off behind us, you and Pinkie should watch the front!"

"Yoooouuuu got it!" Pinkie Pie jumped up, landing with her legs on either side of the cowering Fluttershy.

"Party Cannon time!" Pinkie reached into her hair and pulled out her trademark cannon and placed it on the front of the carriage. It fired in an a loud array of confetti and party decorations at high velocity, easily batting the ponies converging in the path of the fleeing carriage aside.

They finally busted past the last of the battle lines, leaving more than one pony in the dust, but it wasn't over.

"Fluttershy, you gotta help me! There are a bunch of pegasi coming and they don't look happy!" Blue October exclaimed from behind. Fluttershy got up shakily and took off into the air. Above them she could see several ponies, all of whom she actually recognized as the team that Rainbow Dash had formed in Ponyville and Cloudsdale. And they looked especially scary with their armor and wing swords flashing down.

"Make a twister!" Fluttershy and Blue began flying in a circle, their pegasi magic gathering the wind to form a tornado in the path of Rainbow Six's members, forcing them to peel off. The carriage shot on unabated, Blue primarily controlling the small twister to follow the carriage while Fluttershy went back to holding on for dear life to the roof.

-----

"Fluttershy! I'm warning you if you don't let us out, I'm gonna....gonna," Rainbow Dash sputtered, not sure exactly what she would do the the gentle pegasus or the bouncing pink pony for that matter.

"There ya go, talkin' before ya think, Rainbow Dash," said Applejack cuttingly, finally righting herself in the bouncing carriage.

"Oh, you're one to talk Applejack," spat Twilight.

"Oh yeah?" Applejack shot back, getting nose to nose with Twilight. Rainbow Dash shoved her back, placing herself between Applejack and Twilight just as Rarity tried to do the same but thought differently of it.

"Keep talking, Applejack, and we'll finish what we started two nights ago!" said Rainbow Dash, flaring her wings. Suddenly Rainbow looked perplexed, then shocked realization came over her face.

"Wait! Where did my Pegasi Blades go?" she cried, searching over her wings and then around the carriage wildly.

"Silly Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie was hanging down from the room and looking in the barred window of the carriage. "You could of poked somepony's eye out with those things!"

"Wait... what... when... huh?" Rainbow sputtered. Pinkie Pike had managed to take off an incredibly complicated contraption that had been practically glued to her feathers without Rainbow even noticing!

Applejack was laughing at the pegasi's confusion, though was interrupted when the wagon bounced her from the bench and onto the floor, which Twilight took a turn to laugh at, earning a glare from the earth pony. Rarity was struggling to look dignified, but had already been so ruffled from the battle before and now a bumpy cart ride that it was a hopeless endeavor, and it was finally straining her patience.

"Well, I for one am not just going to let them take us where they wish. We do have magic after all," she said with a huff. Rarity concentrated, remembering her fantastically improved piercing spell, and aimed at the back door. Before she could, however, Pinkie Pie suddenly reached in with her unnaturally long reach and flicked Rarity's horn. The simple act broke her concentration and she fell backwards in surprise. Nopony had done that to her since Sweetie Bell before the war, and it was enough to stupefy Rarity for the moment.

"Pinkie! Stop messing with us!" Twilight called out in frustration. "Where are you all taking us?"

"Are ya helping us out to win, Pinkie Pie?" Applejack perked up. They had just taken one of Celestia's leaders after all.

"Give me a break, Applejack. Pinkie and Fluttershy aren't traitors like you two," said Rainbow Dash angrily, snapping out of the confusion over her wing blades. Applejack glared back with a low growl.

"If she's on your side than why would they take you too?" challenged Twilight, shaking her head.

Pinkie Pie, who had been hanging from the window and watching the conversation with great interest, started laughing loudly.

"Sillies! You're all right! and wrong...and right ...and wrong! Wow, that's hard to think about," snickered Pinkie Pie, only laughing harder when she finished.

"We're so sorry for just dropping in like that," Fluttershy joined the conversation, peeking in behind Pinkie Pie. "But we came to save you."

"Fluttershy, thanks but no thanks," said Rainbow Dash. "I was doing just fine. Now let me out!"

"But Dashie I planned a really really big surprise for all of you!" whined Pinkie Pie. She was genuinely downtrodden at the sour response, and that response took all four of them a little off guard. A few awkward moments where the only sounds were the wagon and Blue's guarding tornado passed as they exchanged uncomfortable glances. Twilight finally sighed and was the first to bite.

"Alright, what's the surprise," she grumbled. Pinkie's countenance immediately sprang back to life as she squeezed through the bars (is she made of rubber or something?) to get into the carriage with the other four ponies.  She bounced in place in the middle of the already unsteady carriage, forcing the girls to take a seat so as not to fall over. Fluttershy, who had been hovering outside the window, flew up and out of sight.

"So Fluttershy and I have the bestest news ever!" announced Pinkie Pie. "You've all been infected by dark magic!"

.

. cricket     cricket    

.

"Seriously?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash said simultaneously, voicing what Rarity and Twilight were thinking as well.

"Pinkie Pie, I think we could tell if we were possessed or anything like that," said Twilight. "We've had more than our fair share of experience with it, and so have both the Princesses for that matter."

"And I'm sorry dear, but, how would that be good news?" asked Rarity, deciding to humor the pink pony figuring they would have no real chance to get away until she had done so.

"Because, it means that it can be fixed!" answered Pinkie Pie, still bouncing and not letting any of them answer as she started talking again. "Fluttershy figured it out in the Crystal Library! Yeah! She read that war has happened before and that it was really really bad!"

"Of course it's happened before Pinkie," replied Twilight more irritably. "I've studied history before too, you know, and there's no evidence that dark magic had anything to do with them! Only the philosopher Isle Tarpan believed that theory, and most ponies thought he was crazy."

"You getting any this?" Applejack asked Rarity, who promptly shook her head in the negative while Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

The carriage suddenly screeched to a stop, sending all five of the ponies crashing into the front wall.

"Oops, sorry, just had to make a stop," Fluttershy apologized through the window

"It'll only take a minute then we'll get moving again," Blue October chimed in, finally done and obviously a little dizzy from doing the tornado formation for so long. A loud thump sounded from on the side of the carriage.

"That was Derpy wasn't it?" asked Rainbow Dash, trying to extricate herself from the pile on the floor, finding it difficult with Pinkie sitting comfortably on top. Fluttershy peeked around the corner, "Yes."

"So, where ya'll taking us anyways?" asked Applejack grumpily, as she pushed Twilight and Pinkie unceremoniously off of her. Pinkie got uncomfortably close to the orange earth pony, giggling the words, "That's a secret!"

The carriage suddenly lurched again, this time up and sideways before being suddenly dropped, once again upsetting the ponies inside.

-----

Fluttershy watched as the other ponies used a series of ropes and pulleys to swing the carriage into a train box car (dropping it a little farther than they had planned) and then glided inside as they closed the door. The two stallions followed her in along with Derpy, who crashed into the carriage's side again ("Somepony stop her from doing that!" Rainbow Dash yelled irritably.)

It didn't take long for the train to start moving. The conductor was a Crystal Pony that they had paid quite handsomely to risk coming near Ponyville. The train itself had been stopped outside of Ponyville near a small roundabout, so as to avoid the battle. The conductor opened the throttle, accelerating the train northwards for the long trip.

The box car they were in was really just a converted passenger car. One wall had been totally replaced, creating the freight door they needed, and the benches had been torn out. The windows were boarded up in a simple X pattern, blocking them but allowing them to see outwards. It was by far the ugliest car on the train, with handful of others being traditional crystal empire including the engine.

"Are we on a train?" Twilight posed the question from inside the locked carriage.

"Yep," it was Derpy that answered.

"So, can you tell us where we're going?" asked Twilight in a shrewd tone. Pinkie Pie slipped out of the bars again (seriously, her head shouldn't be able to do that!) and landed on all fours before putting her hoof to her mouth and saying and a loud hush, "It's a secret!"

"The Crystal Empire," Blue October answered curtly. She had never been much for games, and just ignored the disappointed glare from Pinkie Pie.

"The Crystal EMPIRE?" all four of them replied. They had obviously not expected their destination to be so far north.

"Did Shining Armor or Cadence put you up to this?" asked Twilight in a tone that was hard to read. It was somewhere between shock, hurt, and bewilderment.

"Oh no, it was all our idea, Twilight," assured Fluttershy quickly, wishing she could see Twilight's reaction to know whether or not she said the right thing.

"So, what's in the Crystal Empire that's so...secretive?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy thought about answering straight, but a hard stare from Pinkie Pie made her think differently.

"Ms. Pie is right, it is a surprise," answered Dr. Hooves. There was no response from within the locked carriage for a few minutes as they processed what was going on, and as Fluttershy searched for something to say. What do you say to ponies you are holding against their wills, even if they're friends? Applejack would be the one to break the silence.

"So, are ya'll gonna force us to stay in here the whole way up there? 'Cause I don't think I could stand bein' cooped up with Rainbow Dash that long."

"What was that?" was the spitting reply. "Well, I'm not the one that smells like rotten dirt all the time!"

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

"I think you mean compost, Rainbow."

"No, I mean dirt."

A loud, solid thud rang from one side of the carriage, followed by what Fluttershy assumed was wrestling. If the carriage hadn't been made of the thick oak it was, Applejack's kick probably would have shattered it, even with just her front hoof.

"Oh, knock it off you two!" Twilight exclaimed.

"There's no room for such ruffian behavior!" Rarity added somewhat exasperated.

We better get there fast thought Fluttershy worriedly. or they might kill each other before we even get there.

-----

Applejack rested on her back on one of the benches, restlessly tapping one hoof on a side of the carriage. It had been several, uncounted hours since their abrupt abduction, and all Applejack had to fill the time was worry about the ponies they had left behind. And the occasional smart remark to Rainbow Dash and sometimes Twilight, though none of them had even spoken to each other for well over an hour at this point.

Rarity was nodding off, trying to stay awake as she sat on the end of the bench but finding it difficult even sitting up. Twilight was on the opposite bench, wide awake but staring off into space, and Rainbow Dash was on the other side snoring loudly. For the past several minutes, Applejack had been stewing the idea of waking her up, just to get her dander up, but her own boredom was translating into apathy.

It was dark now, the sun having gone done long before. Applejack wondered if that meant the battle was over, for them to take the time to lower the sun and raise the moon in it's place, or if it was just a break to rest the armies. Applejack turned over to her stomach, dangling one hoof of the bench and idly playing with one of the armor pieces that Twilight had taken off earlier. She was particularly worried about Big Mac, Applebloom, and Granny Smith, though only Big Mac was supposed to have been in the fighting. Though she wouldn't put it past either of the other two to get into their own special brand of trouble.

"What if Fluttershy is right?"

Applejack didn't move but simply looked sideways at Twilight, who had posed the question. Her expression was unchanged, and Applejack wondered if the alicorn had just been thinking out loud. Twilight looked at Applejack, making it clear that it really was an open question.

"Right 'bout what?" Applejack said edgily.

"That whole idea about....no never mind, I would have noticed."

Twilight set her head on her hooves and continued staring out the barred window at the featureless ceiling. Applejack went back to her own blank staring and her own wandering thoughts. Did Twilight mean that mumbo jumbo about dark magic? Or something else? She also wondered if that was why Twilight hadn't even tried to use her magic to get them out. It would be easier than apple pie for somepony as skilled as her. Maybe she wanted to see if Fluttershy and Pinkie were right.

Applejack yawned, feeling sleep coming on. She was far too tired to worry about what Twilight was thinking. Her last thought before drifting off was that maybe she should be worried what Twilight was planning. She was with the enemy after all. Then again, maybe the others would be worried if they knew about the background of a couple of the ponies outside in the train car.

-----

A glint of morning light woke up Rainbow Dash, a small beam cutting through the corner of a window and through the bars. She immediately began stretching the tiredness out of her body, spreading her wings out. She wondered why her body was so stiff, then groggily realized she had slept still wearing the armor and it hadn't made a very comfortable night gown.

She looked around the stuffy carriage, remembering where she was and with it remembering her annoyance. Particularly at the two ponies sitting next to each other opposite of herself and Twilight. She was also itching to fly. She hadn't flown at all since Pinkie Pie had tackled her the evening before, and combined with the small space was feeling a level of cabin fever.

She started to pace the middle aisle, keeping a wary eye on the others, trying to burn off some of the restless energy.

"Are you all there?"

Rainbow Dash stopped short at Fluttershy's call through the door, "Yeah, Fluttershy. We there yet?"

"Yes, we are."

Rainbow Dash was about to ask if they would let them out now, but was preemptively answered when she heard the lock being undone. Fluttershy pulled the door slowly open, a timid look that Rainbow knew very well on her face as she did so. Realizing that the shy pegasus was worried about what her friends thought of her, Rainbow decided to give her a small smile, even though she really was mad at them for dragging them all the way to the Crystal Empire.

The train car door was open, letting what Rainbow assumed was the morning light through and causing her to squint against it. Behind her Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity filed out of their temporary prison and into the train car. Twilight had an inquisitive look that Rainbow didn't quite get, while Applejack and Rarity wore similar expressions of frustration.

Somewhat surprisingly, the other ponies that had come with Pinkie and Fluttershy were not there.

When Twilight asked, Pinkie Pie sang, "They're going to get everything ready." as she bounced out the door. Rainbow Dash sighed, stretched her wings, and flew low out the door, hovering for a moment to let her eyes adjust. It was closer to midday than morning, the sun straight up in the sky, the crystal prism towers reflecting small rainbows onto the ground.

Rainbow Dash, however, was stunned by the tent city spreading in every direction. Even the train station, which was on the outskirts of the city, was not near the edge of the tents, the tracks the only break. There were miserable looking ponies everywhere, which Rainbow assumed was due to resources being stretched to the breaking point. This far north the growing season was shorter, and with a huge portion of farmers preoccupied (including what amounted to most of the Apple family) with the growing conflict, a food shortage was already taking affect.

"How many are there?" asked Twilight to Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash listening in. They had all known about this refugee camp, but they had no idea....

"Shining Armor told me a couple days ago that that count is over 200,000 now," said Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash didn't know how many ponies lived in Equestria, but she did figure that a massive chunk of the population was right before her eyes. She found herself drifting higher as she tried to take everything in. A cloud of dust hung over the city, giving the normally shimmering metropolis a brown hue that was everywhere, with only the Crystal Palace rising above it.

Even the ponies, for all their colors, looked dirty and hopeless. Rainbow Dash couldn't remember seeing so many downtrodden faces since the time their cutie marks, and Fluttershy just didn't have the same mirth-making abilities of Pinkie Pie.

"Landsakes!" Applejack exclaimed.

"You said it," breathed Rainbow Dash.

"Well, it seems this place could use a bit of a touch up since the last time we were here," said Rarity.

"Well, come on! The surprise awaits!" Pinkie Pie called, and Rainbow Dash glided back to a hover as she followed the group. As they winded through the city turned camp, ponies would often stare at the group with confused looks. Even Rainbow could figure out why: Here was a Princess and an already famous member of Celestia's air force moving side by side with two ponies that were still dressed in their black, NLR uniforms being led by a pink earth pony bouncing like a deer and a yellow pegasus that looked like she wanted to sink into the pavement.

"You might want to take those off, Rarity. Who knows how ponies will react when they realize what you two were doing," Rainbow Dash taunted.

"If they knew half of what you've done, they'd prob'ly never wanna go anywhere near ya," Applejack retorted. Rainbow Dash flinched involuntarily, flashing back to events of the previous days. Faces blinked in front of her for a moment, but she willed them away. They already haunted her dreams, she didn't need them now.

-----

Rarity felt like this was the last place on earth she wanted to be, walking down the streets of a declared neutral zone wearing Luna's mark, unprotected and with the only backup she could really count on being Applejack. She knew that there were some supporters who had come here to the Crystal Empire, but if they had stayed it didn't bode well for their commitment.

She drew instinctively close to the others, avoiding the crowds with as much distance as she could put between them. As they approached the castle, however, it changed. Suddenly, everything looked like a slightly rougher version of the festival they had put on here when the Empire had first reappeared, and even more amazing there were scores of crystal ponies milling around the fair.

"This hardly seems the time to have a festival, wouldn't you think?" Rarity posed out loud.

"Don't they know what's going on out there?" Rainbow Dash seethed.

"We had Octavia get it organized while we went to get you," Pinkie Pie explained happily.

"That doesn't make it any better, Pinkie," replied Rainbow angrily as they neared the Castle Courtyard. The Crystal Heart hovered in it's place, glinting as bright as ever. Rarity had loved it ever since she first laid eyes on it, the most beautiful gem she had ever seen then or since. It always made her inner magic surge, lifting her spirits every time she came near.

Even just nearing the Heart, Rarity felt her mood lighten. Lighter than it had been in over a month.

"Wait.....Fluttershy, there's no way you mean...." Twilight began, just as the dots connected for Rarity.

It was Pinkie that answered, "Ta-Da! Your surprise!"

 

The Best Laid Plans...

"That's it, I'm outta here," said Rainbow Dash as she turned away.

"But it'll work I know it!" protested Pinkie Pie, zipping over and stopping Rainbow in her tracks.

"Having something work means that something's wrong," said Rainbow Dash, glaring at her before moving her aside with one hoof.

"I'm inclined to agree with Dash," said Rarity, though she said it in a sour tone that made it clear she didn't like agreeing with the pegasus.

"Pinkie, my family is still in danger back home," Applejack added harshly. "But ya'll took me away so I can't protect them or anypony else!"

Applejack and Rarity both turned off, intending on returning to the train station, before Fluttershy flew and blocked their path.

"Please! They're ready to try, it won't take very long!" Fluttershy pleaded. "Please!"

Fluttershy had the second best puppy eyes of anypony any of them, wide and sparkling, and she was using them on Applejack and Rarity who were shifting uncomfortably and exchanging glances. The best puppy eyes belonged to the pink pony just ten steps away, and her big, blue eyes were boring into Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

"Fine," all four of them sighed at once. Pinkie Pie brightened once again, and ran off somewhere, while Fluttershy sighed in relief.

Twilight cursed herself for giving in to her curiosity again. She needed to be in Ponyville, helping finally end the conflict once and for all but here she was humoring her friends who were obviously desperate. Twilight tapped Rainbow Dash on the shoulder, signaling her to walk with her, and then walked up to the Crystal Heart. The giant gem spun slowly in place, seemingly the only bright thing in the city-turned-refuge.

Twilight watched as Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and their helpers gathered the fair-going ponies around the courtyard. She had seen this once before when they had used that power to banish King Sombra for good, and she did admit to herself that it was strange to think that somepony wanted to use it on her.

Fluttershy was good to her word, and it was only roughly two minutes before they were ready.

"Okay! GO!" Pinkie Pie screamed excitedly. Around them, the crystal-coated ponies bent one knee to the ground, allowing their positive emotions to power the magic of the Crystal Heart. The ancient artifact began to spin faster and faster, it's unique sound buzzing louder and louder. Twilight felt the magical power surge through the ground before going up and out in every direction from the Heart, its pleasant rush growing stronger with every passing second. The Heart glowed brighter and brighter, like a shimmering star, before it finally blasted its magic. Above the castle, the aurora blazed across the sky, visible across all of North Equestria. Twilight glanced at her body, her coat now glowing like a crystal pony, and cursory looks at the others revealed the same for them. Twilight felt lighter than she had in a long time, the harmonious magic bringing memories of better times.

The magical surge slowed as the Heart slowed its spin, returning to it's normal rotation. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, who also were now crystalline cautiously walked towards them, their faces brimming.

Twilight stepped towards them, keeping in slow stride with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity, then stopping short in near unison a few strides from them. Twilight exchanged glances with each of the other three, and they did the same, each time sharing a short nod of agreement. Once they had, they looked back at the expectant ponies.

"Can we go now?" asked Rainbow Dash irritably.

"Sorry, Pinkie, Fluttershy, but there is no dark magic."

-----

Applejack could hardly bear to watch as she saw both mare's countenances fall like sinking stones. They had obviously worked themselves up so much holding on to this slim hope of theirs, only to have it utterly crushed in the moment of truth, and no two ponies were worse at hiding emotions than the two in front of her.

"Rarity," she whispered. "Maybe we should leave. They'll be needin's us."

"Right," Rarity replied with a nod. Rarity and Applejack turned once again to leave, the circle of crystal ponies parting to let them through.

"Hey, wait-" Rainbow Dash began, but Twilight cut her off.

"Not here, and not now," she said. Applejack knew what she meant. They may be on opposing sides, but none of them wanted to fight it out in front of the only friends that were still mutual between them. That could be saved for Ponyville, and Applejack really wanted to make sure they got there first.

They made a winding path through the fair before finally finding the spider-web streets of the city. Though with so many ponies around, Applejack was still finding it hard to gain bearings. She had always found this town confusing whenever she was not going to the castle in the center because there was no other major landmarks on the southern side of the city, and most of the buildings looked the same.

Pretty soon, they found themselves completely lost.

"Where is that gall-darn train station?" Applejack raged in frustration, looking down every street trying to find a sign of any kind about where they were.

"Just calm down, Applejack, we'll just have to ask somepony," said Rarity, looking for somepony to ask. Applejack couldn't help but feel just a bit more ticked off when she realized that everypony around them was avoiding their gaze or actively trying to ignore them. Those frustrations only built for both of them as their attempts to go up and ask were thwarted repeatedly.

"Ok, that does it. I'm gonna find a way up on a roof," Applejack said, looking for something she could jump onto.

"Now Applejack, we shouldn't be rude just because they have chosen to be, it is not lady-like," Rarity said, though she was obviously fuming just as much.

"Lady-like? C'mon Rarity, we have more important things to worry ab---"

An explosion reverberated through the air, startling everypony around and shaking windows. Applejack whirled around, preparing to meet a threat, but saw nothing in the now panicked street.

"Applejack! Look! The castle!" Rarity exclaimed, pointing upwards. High up on the castle there was smoke pouring out of the side of a gaping hole of what used to be a wall. After a few breathless seconds, the smoke was pierced and partially cleared by a blazing, purple light that was unmistakably magic.

"What should we do?" Rarity asked, not taking her eyes off the distant scene. Applejack hesitated. This was not their problem, no matter who was actually involved. But her entire life of instincts took over.

"Let's go!" and they bolted for the castle.

-----

"Not here, and not now," said Twilight, holding a hoof up in front of the advancing Rainbow Dash and motioning with her head towards Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash stole a glance at them, looked back at the retreating backs of Applejack and Rarity, then shook her head and swore under her breath. Twilight waited until they lost them in the crowd before lowering her hoof.

"Well, since we're here I can at least pay a quick visit to Cadence and my brother," Twilight sighed. "Maybe we can borrow a flight chariot from them to get there faster."

When Rainbow Dash gave her a look, Twilight defended, "I know you can fly faster but I still need the help."

"I'm sorry."

Twilight whirled around to see Fluttershy, on the verge of tears and looking in the depths of misery, huddled low in a bow-like crouch. Pinkie Pie was flat out balling a few meters away, with Blue October beside her looking thoroughly put out and Goldengrape awkwardly trying to figure out to comfort the pink mare.

"Look, Fluttershy, I know you meant well, but next time perhaps you should just explain and talk it through before making the entire trip back," replied Twilight, not really knowing what to say to the gentle pegasus.

"Why don't you come up with us to see Cadence?" offered Rainbow Dash, who was beginning to rock one hoof back and forth on the ground, signaling her impatience.

"C'mon, let's go," said Twilight, walking towards the stairway. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed immediately, the latter still hanging her head, and not long after Pinkie Pie trotted up too, her hair deflated and gaze downward. Their crystal coats had already faded. In contrast to outside, the hallways were mostly empty, which struck Twilight as unusual for even in the best of times a castle is always busy. Their hooves echoed on the pristine, crystal floors as they made their way past rows of closed doors and curtained windows.

"Anypony home?" Rainbow Dash called, her voice bouncing down the hall. Rainbow took off, hovering above them to burn some restlessness for a moment before landing again.

"Well, interesting to see you here Twilight, of all places."

They rounded a corner into a great hall, where Cadence stood towards the end of the room. There were over a dozen Crystal Guards flanking her at attention, an auspicious sight to say the least particularly since Shining Armor wasn't there. Twilight hesitated for a moment, but remembering who she was talking to continued forward. Rainbow Dash followed confidently beside her, though Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stayed back, looking miserable as they mumbled something about just letting them take care of it.

"Good to see you Cadence," greeted Twilight cheerfully, giving a formal bow.

"So, what is all this about coming up here and activating the Crystal Heart?" the reply was curt.

"Oh, not much, just an experiment," explained Twilight.

"So our kingdom's assets are just there for anypony to just experiment on whenever they please?" Cadence's expression was very cold and calculating. Twilight felt her body tense.

"It was research into a possibility to quickly end the war," Twilight said with authority, keeping her voice even. Cadence hadn't broken her gaze save to blink, her eyes showing only that she was deep in thought.

"Well, that's awfully....noble, of you, Twilight. But you're presence alone in the Crystal Empire could endanger the Peace Zone we have established."

Twilight thought that through a second. Princess Cadence was right, seeing as Twilight was a high ranking participant in the conflict, it very well could be reason enough for somepony to bring their fight to the north. Twilight straightened, not wanting to appear shaken at the chastisement.

"Where's my brother?" she asked

"Off securing the border, protecting the Empire from the chaos the rest of you are causing down there." Cadence replied cuttingly. Is she trying to pick a fight? Twilight thought indignantly.

"Or just avoiding helping when you could have ended this so much sooner." she retorted, upset at the obvious snark.

"The Crystal Empire shares no obligation."

"It's part of Equestria!"

"Only Confederately, the Crystal Empire may share strong ties to Equestria and Canterlot, but there is no requirement of arms," Cadence stated. "I have to do what's best for my subjects."

Twilight felt her own anger rising, and was struggling to control it. How dare she lecture her? Cadence was supposed the be the Princess of Love and Harmony, but here she sat doing nothing while she accused Twilight and her mentor of war-mongering! Then it clicked in Twilight's mind what she cursed herself for not realizing before even coming to the Crystal Empire.

"You want to let them destroy each other, and then take the power for yourself! Don't you!" accused Twilight. Cadence narrowed her eyes farther into a glare, confirming that Twilight was spot on.

"Well, you're not making a great case for yourself!" she continued. "I have been the one by the Princess' side all this time! And if anypony fills a void it's going to be me!"

"Ha! Twilight, I've known you a long time, and one thing that will never change is how naive you are.," Cadence shot back. "Did you really think I'd be daft enough to think that Equestria would just automatically fall to me? The current ruler of the Crystal Empire? Things don't work like that, Twilight."

Then for a moment, Cadence softened, "We don't have to be enemies you know. You could team stay here with me if you like, then when it's all over we can sort it out together."

Twilight didn't move, processing this turn in the conversation. First off, the idea made sense. No matter the outcome there was going to be a serious reconstruction period that would follow, and having two current Princesses behind it would make things smoother than just one trying to patch the wounds. However, that was not all Twilight got out of Cadence's words. Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash, who was giving the death stares of all death stares towards the pink alicorn and her guards. She had caught the same things Twilight had. Cadence had slipped up.

Cadence thought of Twilight as an enemy.

"Rainbow...."

"I know."

Cadence quickly cast a powerful spell that was a startling red, darting like lightning towards them. Twilight was ready, casting a shield spell that deflected the spell into the wall. It impacted with a ferocious explosion that blasted the crystal rock to pieces. Twilight recovered and reset, her ears ringing but staying focused on the problem.

-----

Rainbow Dash galloped forward, taking in the situation as she did. The Guardsponies were charging forward to aid their Princess' traitorous plot. 8 Earth ponies. 3 Unicorns. 2 Pegasi. A lot more than she had ever taken on alone. The room was tall but maneuvering in the air would be tight in the domed ceiling, not to mention the room was barely wider than the hallways.

Rainbow skidded to a halt a few paces from Twilight, hunching her body like a spring load. Rainbow Dash knew that she had to protect Twilight above all else, and also Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in the room behind them.

The first guard, a speedy earth mare, leaped towards Rainbow, who sidestepped quickly while simultaneously bringing a hoof hard into the back of the mare's neck, sending her sprawling across the waxed floors. The second came barreling up, raising his glowing horn like a sword and ready to cast. Rainbow Dash ignored him, bolting towards a third guard as a spell from Twilight caught the unicorn in the flank.

She aimed a blow at the her target, but the crystalline guard blocked her punch, redirecting her momentum. Rainbow Dash grimaced but didn't stop when she felt one of his hoofs impact her flank, instead spinning and kicking another guard away. Another impact connected with her back, this one knocking her across the slippery floor. Rainbow Dash winced as the pain shot up and down her body from the sensitive spot but forced herself to focus.

She spun her hooves around to meet the wall, before using them to gain thrust. Her wings spread to lift her above a spell that scorched the wall. She stole a split-second glance at Twilight who was still towards the back of the room. She was dueling the other two unicorns, but since one was injured and they were both out of their league, Twilight seemed to be handling them easily.

Rainbow Dash pulled a stick dive, dropping her back hooves straight down onto an earth guard that collapsed under the weight. I really wish I had my pegasi blades right about now she thought as a ring of ponies converged on her. She spring boarded upwards, just avoiding their reach, thought she only barely recognized her mistake.

She raised her hooves to block a full tackle from the side, flaring her wings to avoid their injury. A black crystal pegasus pushed with his might against her, using his larger size to push her backwards. Rainbow knew the space between her and the wall was closing fast. She angled her wings, using the momentum to divert her airflow down, slipping away from the charging pegasus only to see the other pegasi streak in from the side.

Had they been outside in the open air, where speeds were greater, the hit Rainbow Dash took could have killed her or maybe she could have even avoided it. Instead she was able to curl into defense, but she was sent hurtling across the room, bouncing once off the floor before crashing into the rock wall. Rainbow Dash blacked out, the last image she processed that of Twilight standing just in front of her, and thinking how she needed to help her.

-----

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed as the pegasus slumped forward onto the floor. She ran and skid to a stop in front of her, casting the best shield spell she knew just in time to block another spell from Cadence. While it worked, she looked over the rainbow-maned mare. She had obvious bruising but she was breathing, just knocked out. Twilight turned back to the scene at hand as the shield faded.

She had managed to disable the three unicorns in turn, and adding in the two Rainbow Dash had knocked for a loop their opponents were down to 8 guards, not to mention one or two more that were hobbling. But there was still the Princess, and the rest of the Guards were basically untouched.

"Twilight, just give up!" Cadence hollered. "You can't win this!"

"Never!" Twilight roared, firing a spell. Cadence managed to deflect it, sending the beam of light crashing down the hallway on the other end of the room. Twilight didn't wait a second before casting another spell, this time at the pegasi above. One of them dodged sideways but the other was caught by surprise, the spell catching him full in the face and blasting him into the ceiling. He stuck comically into the new indent in the stone for a moment before he peeled off and fell to the floor in a heap.

Three earth ponies converged on her at once. Twilight's instincts took over. She quickly cast a teleport spell on the guards, who found themselves jumping into a stone wall in another part of the room. Two shook it off but one was knocked out cold. Only 6 more guards.

"Twilight, look out...," groaned Rainbow behind her. Twilight was so surprised she forgot to look for the danger, instead looking at the pegasus struggling to her feet on shaky legs. A fourth earth pony guard and run close to the wall, and managed to land a hard punch right above Twilight's left eye. The stiff right hook staggered her backwards next to Rainbow Dash, stars dancing in her vision. She cast a spell blindly, an electric spell that caused all the guards closing in to leap back at the sharp shock.

Twilight held one hoof to her eye, trying to decide what to do. Rainbow Dash finally was on her feet and stepped forward weakly with clenched teeth to stand beside her, wings wide and ready to fly. Twilight could see a trickle of blood running out of Rainbow's hair and down her neck, and could also tell that Rainbow Dash was still dizzy. She may be determined, but she wasn't going to be able to fight to her full strength.

"Ready now?" Cadence said. "Come on Twilight. You have seen what Celestia and Luna have done with their power! They've torn Equestria apart in the space of a moon! Could I really do worse than that? Heck, even you could have probably done better in their horseshoes. And you Rainbow Dash! Are you really just going to blindly follow Celestia as she leads everypony into oblivion?"

Twilight shook her head and cleared her vision of stars. Some of the Crystal Guards who had been knocked out were waking and retaking positions with their fellows as they advanced in a semi-circle. Twilight's mind raced as she tried to think of a spell to get them out of this. She wouldn't be able to teleport far enough away, not with Rainbow Dash in tow at least, to be out of the castle. But she just couldn't accept defeat. She charged up a battle spell, and scanned the room for the best target.

"If that's your choice," said Cadence. "Take them!"

The Guards advanced en mass at a trotting speed, some of the earth ponies now wielding weapons to aid in the capture. Then out of nowhere a fast moving object shot into view, plowing into the side of the advancing line and knocking three or four of them off their feet. Before the remaining part of the line could react, a magical aura surrounded them and tossed them unceremoniously onto their backs.

"Now is this what ya'll call a fair fight?"

"Seems to me like somepony could be taught a lesson in manners."

Twilight couldn't believe her eyes. Applejack and Rarity were standing right in front of her, still dressed in NLR black, baring their teeth like timberwolves at Cadence and her Guards.

-----

It's official: we've lost our minds thought Rarity, staring down the Guards in front of her. They had just leaped in without even thinking about it, and now they were in a predicament of their own. A cursory glance was all Rarity needed to know Rainbow Dash was probably too injured, and Twilight was obviously tired. No surprise there, considering the top of the castle had been practically exploding non-stop the entire way. The malignant magic had even disrupted the aurora above.

"Well, Twilight, you've certainly got yourself in a pickle, haven'tcha?" Applejack said, not looking back. "And you attacking yer own kin, Princess Cadence, that doesn't seem even a little wrong to ya'll?"

Rarity tried to think of a plan of action while Applejack stalled for time, but was struggling to do so. The Guards had already recovered, and several had moved to block their exit, trapping them into the corner. Rarity angled herself to cover the left side, storing magic in her horn to be ready at any moment.

"Well, I didn't expect this," said Cadence loftily. "I thought you four were somewhat at odds with each other."

Neither Applejack nor Rarity answered. It was something Rarity wanted to know too.

"So, what next, Applejack, Rarity? You have the protege of your enemy right behind you, tired and her guard helpless. ("Hey!" Rainbow Dash protested, wincing when she did) So you're telling me that you think you can help Luna win by saving her from being captured and taken out of the picture? Not exactly strategically sound."

Is she trying to get us on her side? Rarity wondered, confused why Cadence was just talking instead of just ordering her Guards on them. Whatever the reason, it was Rarity who acted first.

"Applejack!" she called as she cast a spell straight into the floor. The magic rushed through the floor like a shockwave, causing the Guards and Cadence to jump when it reached their hooves. Simultaneously Applejack leaped powerfully to the right, smashing the guard into the wall with her body before kicking off the wall to tackle another as they finally came down. Rarity charged another spell, directing it at Cadence. The alicorn easily blocked Rarity's spell, but it did allow Applejack to flip back in front of the remaining Guards, keeping them between Cadence and herself.

"Twilight, if you would please keep her away from us, that would be appreciated," said Rarity, firing another spell that knocked one of the pegasi out of the air. Twilight leaped forward, immediately complying with a bright, purple spell in the Princess' direction. Rarity didn't stop to watch, but started casting a plethora of spells. They were fortunate that there were no unicorns left to fire spells to counter, and now with Twilight keeping Cadence occupied Rarity's magic and Applejack's strength that advantage in the close quarters.

Applejack bucked and kicked in every direction, and even those that didn't connect kept the Crystal Guards off balance, allowing Rarity to trip them up with her magic. From the point of the first spell that Rarity cast into the ground until all the Guards were either knocked out or staggered. The remaining 4 or so were now next to Cadence, trying to find an opening against the four of them.

"ENOUGH!" Cadence roared, before copying what Rarity did by sending a more powerful spell into the floor, throwing energy that struck like an ocean wave. Rarity was knocked on her backside as she slid backwards. She scrambled to right herself as soon as she stopped, only to be thrown down again, this time on her belly.

"I will not be overtaken by a rookie princess, a dressmaker, and a farmer!" Cadence snarled. "All of you are now prisoners of-"

A metallic ring sounded briefly in the air, stopping Cadence short. Everything was frozen for a second, then Cadence collapsed to the ground ungracefully. There, hovering just above her, was Fluttershy holding a frying pan and looking even more shocked than Rarity felt.

----

"I am so sorry!" Fluttershy exclaimed, tossing the frying pan. The pan soared and accidentally landed on one of the guard's head, making him weak-kneed and lollygag like Derpy normally does.

"Oops! Sorry again!" Fluttershy could hardly believe what she had just done, and could only stare between the unconscious Princess, the surprised Guards, and her stunned friends staring slack-jawed across the hall. Finally, the guards reacted, turning and ready to pounce. Fluttershy wanted to react, but was so scared her wings locked up on her again and dropped her to the floor.

They were about to reach her when suddenly all three of them were knocked over one by one in two blinks, though Fluttershy didn't see it because her eyes were closed. Fluttershy opened her eyes, where she saw Rainbow Dash breathing heavily, her front hooves on one of them, and Pinkie Pie bouncing up and down on another one's chest saying, "Nopony! Hurts! Fluttershy!" The other was laying un-moving from what could only be assumed was a spell.

"Pinkie! Leave him be, he's done!" that was Twilight, walking up with Rarity beside her. Pinkie Pie jumped off the guard and stuck her tongue out at him, while Fluttershy let out a big sigh and sank to the ground like a puddle.

"We prob'ly should tie 'em up," said Applejack as she sauntered up, grabbing a rope one of the unconscious guards. "How're ya gonna explain this to yer brother?"

"I'll get back to you on that when I think of it," responded Twilight, using her magic to form a rope out of part of the tapestries before tossing it to Pinkie Pie, who was happily jumping around and binding the guards with Applejack. Fluttershy stood up wobbily, her nerves not yet settled, but found herself immediately supporting Rainbow Dash who had stumbled.

"Oh no, Rainbow, are you ok?" she asked, steadying the pegasus.

"I'm fine," Dash replied a little haughtily. "I just need a second. I've taken way harder - ow- hits than that."

"Here, let's at least get a bandage on you," said Fluttershy, pushing her friend along. They made their way down a hall and stopped in what turned out to be the kitchen. Fluttershy fashioned a bandage out of a rag and wrapped it around Rainbow's head, the back immediately beginning to turn red.

"Where'd you learn to do bandages anyway?"

"Sometimes I have to take care of hurt animals that need attention. I actually took a veterinarian class remember?" Fluttershy explained as she tied the knot.

"Vet, huh? Comforting," said Rainbow, wincing again at what was probably a major headache.

"How is she, Fluttershy?" Twilight walked into the room, cautiously followed by Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

"She should be fine, but she might have a concussion," Fluttershy answered. At least Rainbow's eyes weren't dilated too badly, and Rainbow was right she had probably suffered worse, and it looked like the bleeding had already stopped. But she also probably had at least one broken rib and Fluttershy guessed she had also wrenched her front, right shoulder.

"So what happens now?" Rainbow Dash asked. Fluttershy looked up to see that she was looking directly at Applejack and Rarity, and for the first time all day it wasn't with a glare. Nopony answered. It was quiet for what felt like several minutes, the six of them standing in an otherwise empty kitchen; Together in the same room for the first time in a little over a month, the difference now a lifetime's worth of regrettable experiences, divided ties, and bloody bandages.

Fluttershy let her eyes wander to her hooves, which to her surprise were still quivering slightly. She wondered what Cadence would think when she awoke, especially to have been beaten so easily, and by ponies that had been relatively close to her.

"I GOT IT!" Fluttershy suddenly blurted, much louder than her usual quiet tone, scaring the other five and immediately drawing wide-eyed stares.

"Oh, sorry," Fluttershy apologized, shrinking back in embarassment. "I mean, I have an idea."

An idea that was even more insane than the last one.

 

Desperate Measures

A dark cloud-cover obscured the afternoon sky over Ponyville, rain beginning to fall. With no pegasi in charge of the weather, the unpredictable clouds from the Everfree forest had collected uninhibited over the town. But the rain was welcome, as it gave not only a chance for the two warring armies to rest, but it served to douse the flames charring their way through northern and eastern Ponyville.

Applebloom and Sweetie Bell finally pushed their way through the door, which they had been quietly cranking open centimeters at a time for several hours when Ms. Cherilee wasn't looking. Seeing as how there were nearly two dozen colts and fillies sheltering in the library basement to occupy her attention, there had been plenty of opportunity.

The rain surprised the two newly liberated fillies, but did not deter them from running across the square.

"Applebloom, how are we going to find them in this mess?" asked Sweetie Bell, looking out across town where they could see the devastation. The clock tower had been toppled over, and Sweetie Bell couldn't see the familiar Carousel Boutique's short spire. Nopony was anywhere to be seen, the streets empty though even within just 100 yards of the Library they could see long hoof and drag marks digging into the ground.

"Don't worry Sweetie Bell, I'm sure we'll find our sisters," assured Applebloom. The two ponies ran close the buildings, dashing from cover to cover not wanting to take any chances despite the deserted streets and stormy skies.

"Yeah, but then what'll we do?" Sweetie Bell asked as she dove behind a barrel.

"Seriously? Yer havin' second thoughts now?"

"No, I just don't want to die anytime soon."

"Relax, we'll just make sure that our families are ok an' then we'll zip on back to the library 'fore Cherilee even notices," said Applebloom as she bolted across a street, Sweetie Bell immediately following.

"Where'd ya figure they are?" Applebloom asked as she peeked around a corner.

"Well, Canterlot is north, so it stand to reason that we need to go south," Sweetie Bell.

"Great....which way's south?"

Sweetie Bell looked from her cover next to an empty apple box in both directions before shrugging. Both of them sighed and looked around the corner. They couldn't see Canterlot with the storm blocking visibility, and they didn't have a clue where the sun was. Heck, they weren't even really sure it was daytime with how dark the clouds were making it.

Applebloom wiped some mud off her face before running off again, picking the direction that seemed right. Their farm was supposed to be southwest, so she tried to pick out familiar landmarks towards home. They were so enveloped they nearly jumped out of their skins when a pony approached and stopped them.

"Who goes there!?" the pony called, freezing the fillies in their tracks. They relaxed a little when they noticed the pony was wearing NLR black, but stayed on edge as the pony walked towards them.

"Hey, it's that DJ!" Applebloom exclaimed as Vinyl Scratch came into view, her striking magenta eyes flashing with a bolt of lightning above.

"What? Oh wait...you're that Apple kid aren't ya? And you're the filly with the awesome voice," Vinyl said, looking over the two. Her sunglasses were sitting high on her head, one lens smashed out, and there was a small, red mark under her eye. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell both allowed themselves to breath a little easier as the unicorn approached.

"Aren't you two supposed to be in the library?" Vinyl asked, raising her brow a little and shielding her eyes from the rain with one hoof.

"We just were trying to find our sisters," explained Sweetie Bell, shivering a little.

"And my brother too," added Applebloom.

"Well, I don't know anything but we can find somepony that does, follow me."

They trotted quickly after Vinyl Scratch, all of them looking warily around as they went. The rain started getting heavier and wind was picking up in speed, soon sending the three ponies into a run. They passed only a hoof-full of other NLR ponies, who only glanced at them long enough to make sure they weren't Solar, but soon they ran full pelt into the main force. Most of them were trying to shelter indoors or under awnings, and a lot them also looked like they were trying to sleep in the downpour.

"Hey! Berry Punch!" Vinyl called through the rain, leading the fillies towards a magenta colored mare resting under a store's front overhang. "Could you help these fillies out?"

"Sure," answered Berry Punch, though she didn't look too thrilled as she got up. Her black uniform was torn in several places, amounting to little more than rags on her front legs. "What do you need?"

"We're looking for Rarity and Applejack," answered Sweetie Bell. Berry Punch looked surprised and at a loss for words. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell both felt their hearts drop like lead.

"Oh no, they're not..." Applebloom began, wide eyed.

Berry Punch snapped out of her surprise for a second, "Oh, they're probably alive..."

"Probably?" they exclaimed at the same time, mouths agape.

"Well, you see..." Berry Punch paused, obviously searching for the right words. "In the middle of the fight over on the north side yesterday, and well they just came out of nowhere, snatched both of them up along with Rainbow Dash and Princess Twilight, and then were gone."

Sweetie Bell and Applebloom looked at each other in shocked before whipping their heads back and asking, "Who!?"

"It was a bunch of Ponyvillians that ran off before it all got started....see there was Pinkie Pie for sure, then two or three other pegasus and a couple of earth ponies. I think one was Flutterby....is that right? Fluttertie? Flutter...ah I don't know."

Sweetie and Applebloom hardly heard the last rambling parts of the sentences, neither able to make heads or tails of what was going on, or where in the wide world of Equestria their sisters were.

-----

"Well, that was different."

Applejack had been surprised enough when Fluttershy had suddenly yelled, but then was further flummoxed when instead of just telling them the little pegasus had practically tackled Pinkie Pie and dragged her out of the kitchen. She stared out the door, blinking deliberately as she tried to think through what Fluttershy had been thinking.

"Well, I've never seen her that excited before," remarked Rarity.

"That's usually Pinkie's thing," added Rainbow Dash, who was still sitting on the counter where Fluttershy had dressed her bandages. "Did I really hit my head that hard?"

Applejack watched for a second as Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of her own eyes, wearing a concerned look that said she had really knocked something loose. Applejack stifled a chuckle, thinking how funny it looked with Rainbow's eyes crossing like that. Rainbow stopped when she noticed Applejack trying not to laugh and scowled a little before wincing again.

"Well, at any rate, after their most recent 'plan' I'm not sure we should stick around for the next one," said Twilight, sauntering into the middle of the kitchen, more or less addressing all of them but talking directly to Rainbow Dash. "I know I need to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible."

"You're not leaving me behind, Twilight," snapped Rainbow Dash, flaring her wings and starting to hover a foot or so above the counter. "Can't get rid of me that easy."

Twilight rolled her eyes a little and turned once more, looking at Rarity and Applejack. She looked like she was going to say something, her mouth opening, but then closing again as she thought differently. She began to walk out, stopped, and said quietly, "Thank you." before walking briskly out the door. Rainbow Dash landed and trotted out after her, giving her own thanks with the slightest of nods. She always had that stubborn pride.

Applejack and Rarity stayed for a moment, letting the others get a distance down the hallway.

"Not to sound like a broken record, but what happens next?" Rarity asked after they could no longer hear the hoofsteps.

"I dunno exactly, but whatever the case we need to get back to Ponyville, and fast," responded Applejack. She hadn't been so conflicted inside since it had all started, when she had made her choice to toss her lot in with Luna, and she was sure Rarity was feeling the same. Because when they had jumped in to help and fought beside Twilight and Rainbow Dash, Applejack had known without a doubt that she was where she needed to be.

But there was still that nagging fear, the reason she had turned her back on Celestia in the first place, that everything would go wrong in the same way that had driven the Apple Family from their original southern home so long ago. Luna had promised not to let that happen, and Applejack was holding her to her word.

"So how do we get there?" asked Rarity. She had a point. Neither of them could fly and she guessed borrowing a chariot from the Crystal Empire was out of the question since the events of just 15 minutes before.

"Same way we came in," said Applejack, walking out the kitchen with Rarity following.

"I doubt we could get the conductor to take us on the train."

"Not if Twilight and RD are too."

Looking back Applejack caught an incredibly skeptical look from the white unicorn as she said, "And how do we do that exactly? And last time I checked they can both fly."

"Twillight 'll probably find another way. She don't fly very fast yet, and Rainbow's still hurt," said Applejack as they found the stairs to the outside and descended them quickly. They both flinched a little at the sunlight as they stepped out of the castle and onto the center plaza. The fair was being packed up by the crystal ponies, a few here and there showing a mix of expressions towards Applejack and Rarity that ranged from annoyance to curiosity.

"I wonder where Fluttershy ran off to so fast?" Rarity asked aloud, "I can't help but be curious about what she was thinking."

Applejack grunted in agreement as they pushed through the crowd, trying to find Twilight and Rainbow. It was amazing how hard it was to find the latter sometimes even though her mane was so distinctive.

"Uh-uh, NO way!" a voice rose above the crowd down the street a ways. Applejack looked and was surprised to see Fluttershy with Blue October, who was the one raising the racket.

Applejack was going to walk straight up to them but Rarity pulled her back, motioning that they should just listen. Applejack and Rarity crept a little closer, hiding behind the corner of the building Fluttershy and Blue were standing in front of.

"Oh please, Blue, it is super important!" Fluttershy pleaded, crestfallen.

"Look, this is just plain crazy! Only a crazy pony would do that!" insisted Blue, shaking her head.

"But-"

"I helped you the first time because I owed you for paying my way here, and because as it crazy as it was it didn't involve......THIS."

Applejack peeked around and noticed for the first time that Blue had silver armor on, and Fluttershy had obviously been trying to strap what looked like Rainbow's wing blades to Blue's. She looked uncomfortable and was casting glances around at the hoofful of ponies watching the scene. Fluttershy was still giving her best pleading face, and was holding out a rolled up scroll that Blue October was trying to distance herself from. They both stood like that for several moments, but Blue's resolve failed first.

"Okay, fine. But the minute I think I'm in trouble, I'm out of there whether it's delivered or not," said Blue, exhaling exasperatedly.

"Oh, Thank you, Blue!" Fluttershy said in relief, hugging the blue pegasus. "Please hurry."

"Yeah, yeah," Blue said, grabbing the scroll in her mouth and stuffing it in her armor before taking off, flying south. Fluttershy watched her too for a moment, before taking off herself towards another part of the city. Applejack stepped back into the street, feeling even more perplexed than she had been earlier. Whatever it was that little pegasus was thinking, it was elaborate.

"Applejack, let's get to the train station, we can worry about them later," said Rarity, tapping Applejack's shoulder.

"Ok," responded Applejack, looking around and down the streets. "Any idea where?"

"I think I can actually see the clock tower this time," said Rarity, pointing. Applejack followed her hoof and sure enough, it looked like the train clock tower peeking over the edge of a roof. That might have been much more helpful on their earlier attempt to find the station. They trotted off in that direction, ignoring the stares.

-----

Rainbow Dash alternated closing and looking out each eye, trying to banish the last of the dizziness from her head which was still throbbing a little. She tried not to let on just how much it still hurt, as well as her side which still felt like somepony had used her as a punching bag, but she suspected Twilight knew that. Rainbow still tried to act casual, leaning up against a wall while Twilight dealt with the train engineer.

Rainbow would have preferred to fly, but Twilight and herself would both probably need to be well rested once they got back to Ponyville, so Rainbow Dash relented. She hated when this kind of thing happened, and it happened far too often in her book. This made three times.

Her eyes wandered over the crowd, some of whom were gawking at the lavender Princess talking to a very nervous looking engineer, taking in the scene subconsciously. That's why she had to do a double take when she saw Pinkie Pie on the far end of the platform. Rainbow sped over to a crate near them, keeping out of sight. The last so-called plan had caused a lot of trouble, and anything she could find out would be helpful.

Unfortunately the station was too busy and the crate too far away to hear Pinkie talking. Rainbow watched, a little frustrated and tempted to intervene somehow, as Pinkie Pie gave scrolls to three pegasi, one of which was actually Derpy (dressed in her mail-pony's uniform and smiling as always). The the other four looked like regular Equestrian Postal Service, two yellow mares and a couple of stallions. Dr. Hooves was also there, looking on with his usual aloof interest.

The three mail-pony's took off in unison, though Rainbow noticed them split apart in the distance. Turning her attention back to Pinkie Pie, she ducked when she saw Fluttershy fly in and land next to the pink mare. They said something short, before trotting off behind the station out of sight.

Rainbow Dash, still flustered she couldn't hear anything, trotted back to Twilight.

"We're ready to go. Going to have to pay a small fortune though to drag them back to Ponyville, but we can leave immediately," said Twilight. "At least this time we can ride comfortably."

Rainbow nodded absently, which prompted Twilight to ask, "Something wrong?"

"Fluttershy and Pinkie are making me nervous. Saw them giving letters off to mail-ponys a second ago," Rainbow replied, pushing past Twilight and boarding the train. Twilight jumped on after her, asking, "Did you-"

"Nope, too far away for me to hear," said Rainbow, sitting down on a bench and leaning back. Twilight didn't press the issue, taking the seat in front of her and looking out the window. It was only a few moments before the train was moving, the jolt making Rainbow's head hurt again.

"Twilight?"

"Yes, Rainbow?"

"Know any magic for headaches?"

-----

The train's trip, carrying four passengers (two of them stowaway and unbeknownst to the other two), was decidedly uneventful in every way. Twilight ended up spending most of the trip alternating between staring out the window lost in thought and watching Rainbow Dash sleep restlessly, snoring like a bear. She noticed how the clouds were bigger than she ever remembered them as they began to blanket the whole sky, out of control and wild, as they approached Ponyville.

The train slowed to a stop just as the tall town hall was barely visible over a rise, and rain was beginning to patter on the windows and roof of the train car. Twilight nudged Rainbow Dash, who woke up groaning a plea for five more minutes as she groggily opened her eyes.

Outside, the ground that was usually covered in green grass and flourishing trees was pounded brown, many of the trees leafless and bushes trampled. The rain had turned all of it muddy, making the land an ugly, flowing mass. Twilight jumped down into it, recoiling when the mud splashed up farther than she had expected. Rainbow Dash watched this, and chose to fly out instead, hovering above but still getting soaked by the torrent.

"Why haven't they had somepony clear the sky?" asked Rainbow, scowling up into the rain.

"Maybe it's some sort of tactic," suggested Twilight, wiping some mud off her face and walking towards the front of the train. The engineer had bounded out and was walking towards them, wearing a somewhat sheepish look on his face. He stopped a short distance from them, not making eye contact.

"I'm sorry, your Highness, but I just can't get any closer," he stammered. The crystal stallion was obviously terrified to be so close to a battlefield, and that had been clear from the time they left the Crystal Empire.

"Thank you for your courage. We will be fine from here," Twilight assured him as she walked by. The engineer nodded and dashed back up the train engine. Twilight and Rainbow Dash left the train behind as he began to back it towards the loop that would send him on his way back north.

They crested the hill to get their first look at Ponyville. On the slopes leading towards the town, the Army of Celestia was camped, tents being whipped around in the growing wind and ponies sheltering under them and nearby trees that were still standing. In the midst of the camp was what remained of the barrier wall, the pieces scattered everywhere while the rest of the wall continued in both directions around the rest of the town. On the far side of the camp, there was an ominous area surrounded by tarps, and Twilight could guess what was held behind them.

The town itself, even from a distance, was visibly damaged far beyond anything they had seen before. Even the wild parasprites hadn't done such a number on it. Most of the structures on the north side were collapsed, and many of those looked like they had burned. Farther down the east side, Twilight could see that some fires were still burning despite the downpour, the damage just as severe.

"Let's get down there," Twilight said, and she took off to join Rainbow as they glided down to the camp. Several of the ponies looked up in surprise when they recognized the purple alicorn and rainbow pegasus, some calling out while others just looking on.

"Hey! Rainbow! 'Where have you been?" Spitfire followed by Star Hunter, Blossomforth, and Soarin flew in and pulled up in front of the pair. All four of them wore bandages in various places, including a swathing bandage over half of Blossomforth's head that covered her right eye and most of her head mane. All of them were still wearing armor and their wing blades still flashed from their wings.

"Took a little vacation up north," bantered Rainbow Dash, landing as the others did. Twilight landed last, looking on.

"Some vacation, you look worse off than when you left," said Star Hunter laughing, referring to the head bandage that was still wrapped tight.

"Look who's talking. So what's with the weather?" Rainbow asked her team.

"We're going to go up and clear it soon, but Celestia had us leave the rain for the last day or so to give our ponies a rest," reported Spitfire. "It got really rough once the fighting got to the streets."

"Where's the Princess?" Twilight asked.

"Down that way in that big tent," Soarin pointed out, motioning down the hill to the camp. Twilight lifted off and glided above the tents before setting down in front of the biggest one in the center. The Guards posted there at first flinched, but relaxed when they recognized Twilight, stepping aside. One lifted a tent flap as she entered. Celestia was standing in the middle of the room, looking over several papers and maps on a table in the center. The Princess looked up when Twilight entered.

"Twilight Sparkle! You have returned!" she said in surprise.

"Of course, I'm sorry to have been away," Twilight bowed apologetically.

"What has happened?"

"I'm afraid it's a long story. I should probably explain later."

"Yes, and I'm afraid you may have been missed more than you know," the Princess continued darkly. "We lost far too much for so little the last few days."

Twilight paced forward to the table, where a map of Ponyville was spread before them. There were several lines drawn that criss-crossed the northern side, along with boxes that Twilight assumed represented their own soldiers. There were also several large circles and lines drawn on the southern side, which could only represent Luna's.

"We were unable to break their line in the center of town. They had prepared many traps and ambushes that were unfortunately effective. They killed many and sent our forces into retreat. As it stands, whenever the fight is in the open we have had the advantage, but once we enter the town..."

"Advantage Luna," finished Twilight. It was strange to her as she looked at the map of her adopted home town, seeing streets marked as places of horror and death. They needed to end this quickly somehow before the loss of life became too high for anypony to stomach.

"We do have a plan however. We've been using the rogue rain clouds to rest and prepare, but we must move quickly because we can be rest assured that Luna has been doing the same," said Celestia. "The pegasi will begin clearing the sky as quickly as equin-ly possible, and then, we will push out and around. By the end of the day, we will surround Ponyville. We must seize Sweet Apple Acres as well, so that their supplies will be limited. They will then be forced to either come out on the open field, or give up."

Twilight listened carefully as Celestia explained more of the particulars. In thirty minutes, they would begin.

-----

Not moving from the cover of the tree, Rarity cast a simple levitation spell on a Solar guard patrolling the west flank and slammed him into another tree, knocking him unconscious. Simultaneously, Applejack had pounced out of hiding onto the partner of the guard, knocking her out with a sharp blow to the head.

Rarity and Applejack wasted no time to look at their work, instead bolting towards the town through the trees. Applejack led the way, dashing quickly through the trees towards Sweet Apple Acres on the south side, with Rarity barely able to keep up. Applejack often forgot that Rarity was not quite the athlete that she was, a point that Rarity tried to call to the earth pony's attention as they ran..

"Applejack, be a dear and SLOW DOWN!" she called. Applejack looked back at her and pulled up her speed, but didn't stop as she darted around a clump of trees.

"Stop right there!"

Applejack skidded to a stop, catching Rarity off guard and causing her to crash right into her, sprawling them both onto the muddy ground. Rarity cried in disgust, jumping up and trying to shake the mud out of her mane.

"Really, Applejack, you should warn me before you go and do something like that," she complained..

"Rarity, there are more important things then yer hair right now," said Applejack, getting her attention. Rarity looked up to see several ponies with the NLR black uniforms staring them down. Unfortunately, Rarity didn't recognized any of them.

"Who are you?" one of them asked, a black unicorn.

"I'm Applejack, this is Rarity, we're from here in Ponyville and we're on yer side if ya didn't notice," Applejack motioned to her uniform. "Rarity here made even the ones you're wearin' for pete's sake."

The ponies looked unconvinced. "Anypony could have made their own uniforms. Unless you can prove you who are..."

"ANYPONY!??" Rarity nearly had a conniption. "I designed these flawlessly! Stretchy but strong, flexible and not abrasive. This material took hours just to make, let alone the actual uniforms! To say that just anypony could just craft these by looking at them is an insult!"

Rarity was inches from the black pony's face, glaring in annoyance down her nose. The black pony was leaning far back, completely taken aback by the sudden aggression. The other four were so stunned they just watched wide eyed, looking from on to the other. Rarity drew in a breath, ready to continue her tirade but felt herself tugged back by her tail, away from them.

"Simmer down, Rarity," Applejack said, her mouth still full of tail. "They're just bein' cautious."

"Well, that doesn't mean they have to disparage my hard work," said Rarity, throwing her nose into the air with a huff.

"Mighty sorry," apologized Applejack. She then tore away a section of the flank that had already been badly torn, showing off her three-apple cutie mark. "I'm part of the Apple family. I run Sweet Apple Acres."

The five ponies looked at each other and back to the two in front of them before the black one spoke up, "Alright, sorry. I'll take you to your farm. I'm Night Dancer, by the way."

"Thank ya kindly, Night Dancer," responded Applejack. "Everythin' seems to be a little tense."

"Yeah. We just found out that the Solar pegasi are starting to clear the sky, so they'll be making their move soon," explained Night Dancer.

"Good, this dreadful rain would make it impossible to take proper care of my hair. Haven't had the time of day to so in two days and I'm ready to snap," said Rarity, still fuming a little from her rant. The other ponies noticed and kept their distance from her. As they approached the Apple farm more and more ponies were running about. To the north the sky was already beginning to clear, the pegasi darting in and out quickly to avoid any attack.

"Applejack!? Rarity?"

The two named ponies turned to see Thunderlane and Berry Punch, both gawking at them.

"Ya'll seen Big Mac?"

Thunderlane pointed down the road, but couldn't seem to be able to say anything.

"Thanks."

Rarity trotted after Applejack as she walked off down the road. It didn't take long to find the muscular, red stallion. He was busy stacking several barrels onto a store-front, pausing in surprise when he saw his sister running towards him.

"Big Macintosh! So glad to see ya!" Applejack exclaimed, hugging him.

"Eeyup."

"Where's Applebloom? She alright?" asked Applejack, pushing away again.

"Eeyup," Big Mac said, then he motioned up.

"SIS!" two little voices cried out at the same time. From on top of the barrels, Applebloom and Sweetie Bell were peaking over. They jumped down in unison, landing on their respective sisters.

"We missed you!" Applebloom cried, hugging Applejack's neck tightly.

"We were so worried!" added Sweetie Bell.

"We heard that ya'll had disapeared an...."

"Nopony knew where you were!"

"It's alright, Sweetie Bell," calmed Rarity. "Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie just wanted to, er, talk with us for a bit.

Sweetie, Applebloom, and Big Mac all exchanged a glance. It had been a lot longer than a "talk."

"Anyways we're back now and wwWHAT ARE YOU DOIN'?" Applejack suddenly yelled. "The fightin's fixin' to start again, and I don't want you two anywhere near that! Is everythin' alright at the Library?"

Rarity quickly found the top of the tall, arboreal library, which appeared from her vantage point totally unscathed.

"It's fine," assured Applebloom. "They moved all 'o us to the schoolhouse a few hours ago."

"After you two snuck out," added Big Mac. Both Rarity and Applejack gave stern looks to their younger siblings. Looks that plainly said that they better not try that again or else. Both fillies clearly got the message. Rarity looked around until she found another familiar face.

"Oh, Lemon Drop!"

The yellow unicorn looked up at her name, "Rarity! You're back!"

"Would you be a dear and make sure my sister and her friend make it to the schoolhouse?"

"Sure thing," said Lemon Drop. She motioned to the girls who immediately followed. They cast worried glances back at Rarity and Applejack, and Rarity tried and hoped that her own expression didn't look the same to them.

"Big Mac, we need to know where to be," Applejack said when they turned the corner. If they were going to be of any use, they were going to have to find where to be. Big Mac looked both ways, Applejack watching intently. Rarity had always secretly enjoyed watching conversations between the brother and sister. They were always unique. After a couple of moments, Big Mac looked straight at Applejack.

"We should both go over to the north side and help with things there," said Applejack.

"Eeyup."

"Perfect, then we'll-" Rarity began, but she was cut off. Above, a loud explosion rang through the sky. Looking up, Rarity saw the multi-chromatic waves of a sonic rainboom spreading outwards, clearing the clouds away like a broom.

"We need to get movin'," said Applejack. "They're comin' now!"

-----

Rainbow Dash let gravity slow her down as she rocket upwards from her sonic rainboom. Below the sky, cloudy and raining but a moment before, was now instantly sunny and clear. A 30 minute job with two dozen ponies done in 3 seconds by just one. When she had learned the plan, she offered this suggestion and it had been readily accepted and put into action.

Her speed finally ran out, her body stalled, then she dropped into an accelerating dive back towards earth. Below Spitfire and the other three remaining members of Rainbow Six where waiting. Cloud Kicker hadn't made it through the first day, a sorrowful fact Rainbow had learned not long after arrival.

They joined her dive towards the town. On the ground the earth and unicorn ponies were making their move. Down each side huge masses moved to attempt to encircle, while up the middle a smaller force would drive into town, hoping to distract Luna from their real goal for just long enough. Rainbow and her companions sped towards this group, their job to protect them from ambush wherever possible. She darted at just above rooftop level, watching for anypony lying in wait from above.

"Rainbow! On your left!" Star Hunter called. Rainbow turned without pausing. There on the roof of the Sofa and Quills shop was an earth pony archer, getting ready to pull back on the bowstring. In fleeting seconds, Rainbow actually recognized her as the pink-haired Candy Mane, a mare from Ponyville. Rainbow Dash banked through the air on a path that hid her from Candy until it was too late.

This realization made her hesitate, then she folded her new wing blades away. Rainbow instead skidded like a soccer player on the roof, kicking all four hooves out from under Candy Mane and dropping her with a loud "Oomph!" off the roof and onto the ground. Rainbow pulled up, glancing at the pony on the ground. She was holding her chest rolling, and wheezing, the breath knocked out of her.

"She's had it! Spread out and look for more!" Rainbow Dash called, and the others scattered. Rainbow contemplated for a split second what to do about the recovering pony below, but only long enough to see three more ponies a couple rooftops away. Rainbow sped off in their direction flying low to the street, planning her path. A window on the home was open, so Rainbow angled herself, gained speed and shot up and through the window and promptly up and through the ceiling. She burst through the roof, scaring the bejeebers out of the three black-clad ponies, sending two of them tumbling off the roof and the third jumped up and at the ready.

Dash curved back to meet the unicorn, who fired a searing, hot spell that missed by centimeters, singing some of her feathers. Rainbow Dash landed one, strong punch onto the face of the unicorn, spinning her around like a dancer in place and finally out cold on the roof.

"Dash! They need help over at the front!" Spitfire cried out. "It's like all of their pegasi are there at once!"

"Then GO!" Rainbow roared as she kicked into high speeds. A virtual cloud of pegasi was swooping down like a flock of hawks, the spells and arrows fired to deter them seemingly doing nothing to stop them. Before Rainbow Dash reached them, the ground below the assailants erupted in flame.

"Firebombs!" cried Blossomforth as they all halted in mid-air, buffeted by the heat. It was a spectacular ambush, and the rebels hadn't wasted it. The central force was in full retreat, some of them on fire. Many were not moving at all. A sickening smell reached Rainbow's sharp nose, one that made her want to retch on the spot.

All around, the nightmarish screams filled the air again to join the odor of burnt flesh as the quaint hamlet once again became hell in Equestria.

-----

Applejack rushed to the western side of Ponyville, just north of the orchards. The call was going through the entire town that the Solar forces were pushing down each side of Ponyville, an obvious play to surround them. And it would work if they didn't hurry. The front line forces had already been overwhelmed on the flanks, though Applejack could tell that the firebomb plan had gone off with out a hitch in the middle by the tall flames.

"C'mon, big brother, we got no time to lose!" Applejack called for Big Mac to hurry. To be fair, while the big stallion was stronger than Applejack, he was less agile and less speedy. Around them, a stampede of other Lunar ponies were rushing to the defense. Applejack, realizing she would need a weapon, had grabbed a rope and a short sword she was gripped tightly in her mouth as she ran through the town's outskirts.

Ahead, she could see the Solar ponies marching in a line, ready to meet the rushing defense.

"HOLD UP YA'LL!" Applejack called. Most of the ponies around skidded to a halt, looking to her. "Stop here and let them come to us! Earth ponies up front, Unicorns behind them!"

The Lunar ponies quickly set themselves into the formation, facing the approaching hoard. The Solar forces stopped for a second, and battlefield fell eerily silent for a few, brief, breathless moments.

Then a command on the other side was shouted, and they began to close the distance. Applejack reared back, then landed battle ready, locking in on a gold-armored guard in front of her. She leaped and slashed when he was just steps from trying to do the same.

-----

Princess Luna looked over a map spread before her on the floor. A single lamp lit the Apple family barn, which was shuttered and closed otherwise with several Night Guards at the door.

"They've launched simultaneous attacks on both flanks, and a much weaker one in the center that the firebombs drove away quickly," a gray mare pegasus explained, still out of breath from her rush to report. "Defense is under way but I don't know how long it will hold.

Luna thought for a moment, contemplating a strategy. They couldn't allow themselves to be surrounded, and they especially couldn't let the Apple farm fall if they hoped to win this battle.

"Order the troops on the southern wall to send all they can spare to the west flank. We'll take control there first before swinging east, understood?"

The mare saluted, then took off on a running start through the door, instructions in mind. Luna knew she was fast, as a former wonderbolt she had to be, and the message would be delivered quickly. Luna rolled the map into a scroll and then magicked it away.

"Guards, I need you to-" she began, but was cut off by the loud sound of wood shattering. Luna ducked as a pink blur blasted past her and straight into an unprepared guard, slamming him through the wall and out. The blur didn't slow down, rebounding off the Guard into the two scrambling at the door to respond. They were far too slow. The pink pony arm-barred them both with her front legs, knocking them both on their backs and out cold. Luna got up slowly and cautiously eyed the pegasus as she turned around. She could sense that the magic level of this flyer was way above normal, like only a few ponies Luna had ever met.

The mare had blue hair and purple eyes that were shooting daggers in intense glare that said something deeper than Luna could read. But she wasn't wearing any armor, nor carrying any weapons. Luna knew she had never met this pony before, but yet there was something so familiar about her that she just couldn't place as the pony, equally cautious, stepped forward.

Luna stared right back into the eyes of the pegasus, who was returning it steadfastly, trying not to betray the two NLR guards that were sneaking up behind her. The pony didn't flinch but Luna did a little when another pegasus swooped in and knocked them both for a loop, sprawling on the muddy earth. It was when this violet-blue stallion landed next to the other when Luna suddenly realized who they reminded her of. The powerful ability of flight they both possessed could not be mistaken, and neither could his rainbow-colored mane.

"Alright, you glue-face, where's my daughter!?" growled the pink pegasus.

-----

Celestia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Here she was in the middle of camp in her tent, and she was being confronted by five ponies who had knocked out her guards in a matter of seconds. She was a powerful magic being, yet they weren't flinching away. She also knew one of them very well, and they were the very last pony she would have ever expected in the here and now, and the only one not glaring. Not one of them wore any black, but rather just a purple neckerchief.

But it was the light-blue pegasus that spoke, her voice full of arrogance, "It's game over, your highness. You're coming with us."

 

 

 

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