Ditzy Do let out a deep breath as she scrunched her body in among the little machine gun nest she had dug for herself in the clouds. Several feet to her left, Sparkler had dug out a shallow ditch in the fluffy material, allowing her body to stretch out comfortably, and see down the scope of her sleek new rifle. Known as the LS-1, or Longshot, it was made entirely out of rust-proof metal, treated in Cloudsdale itself, with small sockets for magical gems. The gems kept a constant magical field around the bullets as they fired, cutting down on the wind resistant and shear to almost nothing. This high up in the clouds, with the trade winds blowing fiercely against the pegasi cloud anchors, that would be desperately needed to make any shot accurate.

Ditzy’s gun, the MG-1, was not as sleek; the barrel was boxy and holed like swiss cheese, to allow it to cool down between bursts. Lines of diamond-tipped, armor-piercing bullets run into the firing chamber, and the grey pegasus had made sure to keep at least twenty boxes of the ammunition scattered around her nest. Behind her sat several cloud carrier ships, each stocked to the brim with the machine gun and rifle ammunition. Twilight’s plan had them firing non-stop for the entire fight, at least until the last of the skyscrapers fell; they would need all the extra ammunition they could get.

To say Ditzy wasn’t nervous was a massive lie. Heck, judging from the twitching feathers and stiff tails of all the pegasi on the firing line, they all were incredibly nervous, both living and dead. Some of the undead had fought at Ponyville, but never against so many Caribou. Others, like Ditzy, had never fought at all. The living pegasi, almost all of them hailing from Cloudsdale, had spent the last twenty years or less being taught to fear the Caribou. To flee, rather than fight. It was… jarring, at best.

“Hungwy, miss?”

Ditzy blinked and glanced back, smiling softly; a sky-blue maned filly was smiling up at her sheepishly, a tray taped to the front of her chest, loaded up with sugary sweets. Those were more for the living pegasi, to keep their energy up, but…

“Sure, why not?” she replied happily, carefully scooping a banana muffin off the tray.

Taking a bite, Ditzy sighed happily; she didn’t need the muffin, none of the undead ponies truly sustained themselves on food. But it was still nice to eat, to revel in the tastes of her old life. The filly, beaming proudly, buzzed over to Sparkler, who happily reached for a cupcake, when a loud whistle rang out from the command barge. Well-trained, Ditzy and Sparkler both spun back to their weapons, while the filly took off like a shot back to the protected and armored supply ship. The signal had gone up, and the time for battle had begun.

With a swipe of Ditzy’s hoof, she cleared the camouflage cloud in front of her nest, and she couldn’t help but gawk for a moment. It was chaos. Pure, and utter chaos. Fires raged out of control on the city floor, and many of the piercing searchlights on the ground had gone dark, and those on the skyscrapers had flipped down to gleam on the armored forms of the undead berserkers and knights, engaged in vicious hoof-to-hoof combat with the Caribou on the ground. From her vantage point, Ditzy’s pegasi eyes could see those on the towers moving small cannons and Ferse-hoof guns into place. Each tower was a massive gun nest; each a fortress that would take ponies days to clear, floor by floor. Each was a giant bomb in the works.

Tapping a red gem near the base of her trigger, Ditzy let a small smile grace her muzzle. She’d have to fire in bursts with this, but…

“Release TARTARUS!” The commanding pegasi roared over a magically amplified loudspeaker.

The gunners of the Ponyville Scouts, the Cloudsdale Air Artillery, and the Los Pegasus Sniper Battalion were more than ready. The crackling thunder of over a thousand guns roared at ‘Release.’ The MG-1 sounded like tearing cloth as Ditzy pulled up on the hoof-designed trigger, bucking against the mare’s shoulder with each burst. Fire-enhanced tracers hissed down through the moist clouds, and a wider smile broke out as they tore into the nearest skyscraper. Windows shattered with sprays of sparks and tinkling glass, and several walls inside instantly caught fire. A Caribou to the left of the first burst suddenly staggered out the hole, mouth opened in a wide scream. Sparkler let out a whoop.

Baring her teeth, Ditzy turned her gun towards a small battery of cannons peering down through the upper floors of the skyscraper, and sprayed a longer burst; near the end, just as her vision cleared, a vicious explosion decapitated the building, sending the weakened upper floors crashing down for at least twenty stories. A resounding cheer rose up among the gunners, and fire began to focus along it in particular. Glass and gunpowder stockpiles exploded every half-second as thousands, perhaps millions, of rounds tore into the Caribou-made structure. Several Caribou, completely ablaze, leaped from the middle stories, but Ditzy paid them no mind, already switching her aim to the next building in line. This… this was stress relief here. ...though she could use another muffin.
************************

The explosions along the skyscrapers were a signal all their own. With a roar, the living ponies of Twilight’s army burst from their hiding places among the wastes and forest, thundering across the dust into the flaming and blood-soaked streets. Rifle and machine gun fire erupted like lightning from their weapons, catching Caribou as they took aim from towers and skyscrapers. Answering shots rang out, but the line hardly wavered; Caribou shot was inaccurate at best in the tumult and chaos, and Magic Corps unicorns were constantly spell-weaving, keeping a mass shield in place in front of the charging ponies, and healing those who were hit.

“With me!” Dinky barked firmly, diving under a flaming battewagon; a squad of ponies, dressed like Ponyville Scouts, surged after her.

It had been Dinky’s idea to form the squads around their machine gun; one pony would have the MG-1 strapped to their battle saddle, while those in their squads would either carry the T-1 clipped rifles, the SR-1 submachine guns, or one of the enchanted fireball launchers, colloquially dubbed the ‘Ducks.’ Weird name, true, but after hearing a few too many practice sessions devolve into what was basically ponies shouting various forms of ‘shit!’ or ‘duck!’ the name stuck.

The Imperial Knight glanced back at her followers, checking to make sure they still had their weapons… then double-taked, red eyes widening.

“Rumble!?”

The grey-furred stallion winked at her playfully, his wings flapping lightly to keep him moving just ahead of his squadmates.

“Lady Dinky,” he replied smoothly, “Good to see you again.”

Damn Rumble, you… grew up.

Doing her best to control her blush, Dinky jerked her head forward, eyes alighting on the base of one of the skyscrapers.

“I need you to cover me while I bring this big boy down,” she ordered firmly, “Set up a Fighting Position.”

Nodding, Rumble whistled to his squad, motioning around to various lines of cover; Dinky was pretty impressed. These ponies had taken their training seriously. Rumble grunted as he tugged his machine gun loose from his saddle, setting it carefully atop a pile of steaming rubble while a fairly pudgy stallion moving to help set up the ammo positions. A Pony rifle cracked nearby; one of Rumble’s squad, only his ice-blue eyes showing past his helmet and mask, was standing atop a fallen battlewagon, biting down on the bit-trigger as fast as he could. Rumble took one look up, cursed, and immediately launched against the machine gun, taking aim.

“We’ll hold them, Dinky!” he yelled out, a burst from his MG blowing away anything that came after it.

Let’s do this then.

Closing her eyes, Dinky let her magic spiral out, tapping into the ley line underneath the tower itself. Magic, like tiny roots, began to travel up…
*******************

Twilight flared out her wings as the teleportation aura faded, red eyes narrowing lightly in the dim lighting.

“GET THOSE CANNONS MOVING, ASHEI-DAMNIT!”

Thank you, Mr. Governor.

The bellows were rolling up from the balcony window; a massively bulked Caribou male was practically breaking the door frame, leaned out over the railing and roaring to the Caribou below. If it hadn’t been for Twilight ordering the snipers specifically not to target the Caribou’s leader, he would have made for quite the perfect target for her ponies. A smirk curled on Twilight’s lips.

“Excuse me, sir?” she asked politely, “Might I have a word?”

Caribou rarely lived long being fools, and Twilight knew this well from her pre-War studies. This particular Caribou male was no exception either. His magic lashed out as he was backing his bulk out of the door frame, trying to turn. It was powerful magic, honed under decades of hard use and battle experience. Twilight Sparkle’s shielding spell batted it aside like a child’s ball.

“You,” the elder Caribou hissed as his eyes alighted on the smirking alicorn.

“Yes. Me.”

His magic whipped out again, but not towards Twilight. Instead, it scooped a battleaxe off its placement on the wall; it was an old axe, forged in the days of the Caribou raiding past. Blood had crusted along the haft, but the blade was keen and sharp, practically singing as it sliced the air on its journey back to its wielder.

“I knew I should have kept a watch on you,” he rumbled out, spitting off to the side in disgust, “Or at least melted lead on you before we put you in that damn cage. Bah.”

“You should have,” Twilight agreed wholeheartedly, then chuckled faintly, “But you didn’t. We all have consequences to our actions, Governor. This is your’s.”

The old Caribou snorted, pawing the ground slowly, his sharp hoof drawing sparks off the concrete floor.

“I, Karl Redhide, challenge you to honorable combat,” he intoned, the axe spinning lightly in his magical grip, “Combat to the death, or the other yields. Do you agree, Princess?”

Twilight’s mouth twitched once before she responded, “It’s Empress now. And yes, I agree, Karl Redhide.”

Gleaming, sharpened teeth met her agreement, and Karl reared up in challenge, “You’ve made your last mistake, Em-”

Bang.

Two hundred pounds of battle-toned Caribou muscle and leather slammed into the ground, a neat hole smoking in the center of Karl’s forehead, just beneath his antlers.His battleaxe, sworn to follow its owner into death soaked in blood, fell with a clatter to the concrete, unbloodied and dishonored. Snorting, Twilight holstered her pistol, turning smartly from the room, and teleporting back to her battle lines.

Fool.
***********************

Back in the capital of the Caribou Nation, three Caribou males were roused from their game of cards by a loud, obnoxious klaxon from the magical instrument panel. Cursing, Rolf Goldhoof scowled as he got up from the table, idly kicking a ratty, yellow-furred pony mare out of his way. Peering down, he paled; instruments showed a massive spike of solar magic from the Conqueror's Way. Tapping a glimmering quartz, a golden statue of a sitting pony appeared on his screen, with several large cracks running up her metallic body.

Celestia… the pony Queen!?

“The containment is failing!” he shouted, fear giving his gravelly voice a definite edge, “Sound the alarm! Boost magical power to the field, we have-!”

Bang. Bang.

Rolf was already turning at the first gunshot, magic reaching for his pistol… which was no longer in the holster. The hornless pony mare was grinning up at Rolf darkly, his smoking pistol floating in a yellow magical field.

Bang.
***************************

It was early morning in the Caribou Nation. The Sun-Moon was slowly rising above the icy mountaintops, shining its twilight down on the busy industrial capital. Even though it had been nighttime, smoke still hung in the air from the twenty-four/seven factories churning out battlewagons and ammunition for the Caribou military. The capital city was the focal point for their entire empire, their way of life and culture. The only city that could compete with it was, possibly, the Temple City to Ash’ei, in terms of size and importance to their race.

And in the early morning of the Caribou Nation, their very heart exploded with the power of an angry sun. Plasma roared skyward as Celestia’s statue exploded outwards, molten gold hissing out in a deadly wave that tore through the steps of the Hall of Conquerors. Feet away, Luna’s platinum melted away in an instant, flashing into glass as her magic joined with that of her sister. Silver and gold rose skyward; the marble and stone beneath them warped and twirled in the strength of their magic. All the statues of the Way melted in a matter of seconds, the skeletons within burning to ash milliseconds later. The molecules of the precious metals swirled around them; Luna’s eyes turned to the Hall, sending the ball of molecules up to the center of the Hall. Celestia’s gaze followed her sister’s, and her magic gave a subtle twitch.

Atomic fire ripped through the seat of Caribou power; as the fireball rose high into the polluted sky, the very oxygen caught fire, ripping through the city with hundreds of thousands of secondary explosions, each Caribou home a miniature bomb. Luna, her horn blazing with a magic, hummed softly; hundreds of ponies- every slave kept in the capital, in fact- reappeared around her, eyes glistening with magic to protect them from the damage. Stunned and overwhelmed, they all bowed before their diarchs, heads resting just above the warping, molten ground.

A small, ratty yellow mare appeared in the air beside the diarchs, her yellow eyes reflecting the light of the atomic fire that raged over the heart of the capital. Her jagged-cut mane blew in the breeze, slowly transforming into a breezy white fluff of hair. Her feminine muzzle shivered lightly, shortening into one more cat-like than ponyish. A spiraling unicorn horn, alongside a slim white antler, grew through her blizzardy hair, while downy grey feathers grew down her elongating neck. Both diarchs turned their gaze to the draconequus, the power radiating out from them waning in their surprise.
“Discord?” Celestia whispered, her voice thrumming with the strength of her magic.

“What has happened to you?” Luna added, her voice echoing as if in a deep cave.

“I prefer Eris now, actually,” she replied warmly, single fang gleaming in the firelight, “ And it’s a dreadfully long story, that I’d be happy to explain now, but... I’m afraid it’s time to go. Equestria needs you both. And the Elements, of course.”

Celestia’s sun-like eyes turning back towards the hall; the six gems were floating serenely amongst the chaos and destruction, completely unharmed, and blazing with an inner light. Reaching out with her magic, they floated down to the grasp of the three. Turning their gaze southward, a single pulse blasted out as they mass teleported; the shock wave rumbled out with the force of a thermo magical spell, shattering what was left of the capital city in a brilliant blaze of light. All that was left was a swirl of gold and silver at the steps of the Hall, like a shattered cage.
*******************

Standing at the head of her army, Twilight nodded thoughtfully as she gazed down at her battle map. The last of the Caribou had been routed from the city, and were fleeing back to the north, minus almost all of their weapons. Her army had suffered only minimal casualties, and the new weapons had worked beautifully. Word from Manehatten reported that what was left of the Caribou Navy was sailing back to the Nation with all speed, and the city was in the hooves of the Countesses Scratch. The entirety of the Badlands had fallen to the Changeling Queens, and Los Pegasus had retaken their old stationing point on the western coast of Equestria. Once Spitfire and Rainbow Dash returned from their mission, they could-

A bright light obscured the map, and Twilight frowned slightly.

“Dinky, pull the lamp back, I can’t see,” she ordered distractedly.

“E-empress… l-look…”

Frowning at the awe in her voice, Twilight glanced up… and froze, her eyes widening as her heart soared. Gleaming brighter and brighter as it rose higher into the sky, the sun blazed in all its glory, washing over the ponies as thousands of knees bowed low. Dinky hesitated a moment, glancing at Twilight… and smiling widely as she watched her Empress bow as well, tears of joy glimmering down her muzzle.

Author's Notes:

Phew! And no, it's not over. XD