"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. Next Chapter: Bloody Skies Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 55 Minutes