Not a scratch. Not one attack from Twilight or Dross managed to even scrape General Skyrunner. Twilight would pulverize her with magical blasts from her horn, but she would only reform milliseconds later, simply walking around them both, as if she were a cat cornering a mouse— never landing a killing blow, biding her time. It was clear to both Dross and Twilight that they were outmatched; General Skyrunner was far too skilled with the intangibility that her Tradendi-type Brand granted.

"Arraaggh! Take this!" Dross shouted in frustration as he threw a heavy gorilla fist at General Skyrunner's chest.

General Skyrunner took the hit dead-on, shattering once again, only this time, she didn't reform as quickly as before. The flying pieces all around Dross took aim at him, each firing a bright laser. "Magic Crystal: Kaleidoscope..." Twelve shots pierced Dross' legs, gut, and arms, causing him to stumble back, completely breathless.

"Dross!" Twilight screamed in horror as Dross fell backward into her arms, General Skyrunner reforming seconds later. Dross grimaced as he felt the tiny holes in his stomach sizzle, and Twilight tried her best to mend them with healing magic, but they were far too severe for her to treat in time.

"You both are so cute! How I adore playing with you both!" General Skyrunner giggled as she circled her battered opponents. "But... I've had my fun." General Skyrunner raised her right hand out towards Dross and Twilight, spreading her fingers wide as magical energy began to manifest within it. "You two shall go first..."

Before Skyrunner could launch her attack, a figure sprang forward from the fray, smashing her right hand to pieces. He wore a Leaping Koi long coat, and his long, spiky black hair was unmistakable. Jhettei turned to face Skyrunner, his fists coated in his metallic ki armor.

"My, my... a Northland monk?" General Skyrunner smirked as her broken hand reconstituted itself. "And what might your name be, colt?"

"Jhettei Shinohara," The monk's eyes narrowed as his fists clenched. "You're harming my comrades, crystal beast. I'll make you regret that."

"Oh? Then prove it, colt." General Skyrunner taunted Jhettei, calmly stretching her neck muscles by bobbing her head side to side. "Give me a little excitement."

"Jhettei, be careful! She's terribly skilled with her powers!" Twilight warned her ally.

"You flatter me, Princess..." General Skyrunner bowed to Twilight as she began to circle Jhettei with a hand on her hip. With a sigh, she teleported behind Jhettei, almost catching him completely off guard. With a crystal hoof coated in magic, she kicked Jhettei in the side, shattering the right side of his ribcage. "You aren't careful..."

"Arraaggh!" Jhettei coughed up blood as he got back on his hooves. "She's fast... if I let her land another shot like that, I'm history-."

"Formulating a plan of action? How cute..." General Skyrunner scoffed as she teleported above Jhettei, her hand outstretched to blast him with a laser. Jhettei was swift enough to evade the strike, and he rolled to the side as the laser shot tore apart the ground where he once sat.

"Jhettei!" Twilight became torn; she had almost mended Dross' wounds, but if she didn't intervene, General Skyrunner would surely pummel Jhettei senseless. With much deliberation, she formed a blade of magic in her right hand and swung at General Skyrunner.

Skyrunner blocked the strike with a laser sword in her left hand, then fired a shot into Twilight's side with her free hand, winding her. Before she got the chance to follow-up, however, Jhettei obliterated her head with a punch to the face, tensing every muscle in his body to fight through the pain. "Hmm... you're all so much more tenacious than I thought! Then again... is it tenacity or desperation that drives you?"

On the other side of the battlefield, Gin, Draven, and Rummy continued to hold off the changeling forces together. Gin fired her blunderbuss into crowds, peppering dozens of changelings with volleys of grapeshot, and Rummy blasted away twenty at a time with a snap of his finger, releasing explosive gunpowder that blew apart the landscape around him. With a jolly grin, Draven electrified the earth beneath him, downing even more changelings.

"We're tearin' em up, fellas!" Rummy shouted to his troops as he blew apart a changeling with a gunpowder shot. "Keep pushin'!"

"Ah, shite! I hear mortar fire!" Gin listened for the distinct whistle and looked up, awestruck at the giant comet headed her way. "Holy shite!"

"That ain't a mortar shot!" Draven shouted as he protected those around him with a dome of electricity. The explosion rocked the ground and shook the ocean, stirring up roaring waves. The fireball from the blast was launched upwards, forming a tall mushroom cloud. And as the dust settled, Draven lowered his shield, panting heavily. "Is everypony alright?!"

"We're fine, Draven!" Rummy coughed, dusting his coat off as he gave Gin a helping hand. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"Up here, Equestrians..." A gruff, harsh voice snarled from atop the beachfront, stepping out of the smoke.

"A General?!" Gin gasped as she saw the tall stallion's aviators glint under the moonlight.

"General Rick Racer, maggots... and I came here for one reason and one reason only! To kill some Equestrian curs..." General Racer grinned as he puffed on his cigar. "Because my country ain't got the stones anymore— signing that damn trade-agreement. It's like my whole damn country forgot what you Equestrian ass-wipes did to us!"

"I see... you're one of those Ausrüstrian radicals opposed to the trade agreement!" Draven scowled at the rowdy stallion. "So you're working for Constantine now, is that it?!"

"Hell yeah, I am. He's got the guns and the balls to stick it to you aristocratic assholes sitting in your little dollhouses!" General Racer tossed his cigar in the sand and spat on it. "I won't rest until every pony with a title of nobility has a bullet in their head!"

"That's awful hypocritical coming from a guy who serves a self-proclaimed emperor!" Rummy snapped back at the fanatical stallion.

"Constantine earned that title, not because some god patted him on the shoulder and said he was special! He started with nothing, then he worked his way up the ladder! He got to the top once he got rid of that stupid Queen of his!" General Racer growled.

"I heard the rumors, but I didn't think it was true..." A scowl grew on Draven's face. "So that bastard killed Chrysalis?"

"I'm through talkin' to this arse!" Gin shouted as she fired her blunderbuss at General Racer, who didn't seem to care at all. "What the-...?"

The shot from Gin's blunderbuss punched a giant hole through Racer's chest. Though, he didn't seem to stagger back or bleed out. Upon closer inspection, he didn't seem to be injured at all. What should have been his internal organs were nothing but bubbling, crackling, miniature explosions that began to pop and sizzle as they merged together, reforming General Racer's body and clothing.

"He's a Tradendi-type... damn." Draven let out a sigh of frustration as he turned to Rummy. "This ain't gonna be easy."

"When is it ever?" Rummy's hand ignited in a fizzling flame of gunpowder.

"C'mon, you yellow-bellied Equestrians! Quit standing around like a bunch of pansies!" General Racer hollered at them as a roaring explosion engulfed the lower portion of his body, rocketing him forward with his arms swollen into puffed up and bloated, orange and black masses of explosive energy. "Boom: FOAB!" General Racer howled as he brought down his booming fist in an all-consuming, explosive punch that battered the ground as if it had been carpet-bombed.

Draven dodged to the left just in time, coating his right hand in Dragon Skin and electricity, then throwing a punch right to General Racer's midsection as he charged at him. "Dragon Thane's Surging Fist!" Draven grit his teeth, preparing for a hefty impact, however, this did not happen. "What the bloody-...?"

At that very moment Draven began to realize just how skilled General Racer was with his Brand. General Racer didn't jump out of the way like expected, he was able to identify the Dragon Skin coating Draven's hand. Knowing that Dragon Skin would bypass his Tradendi intangibility, General Racer actually opened up a hole in his torso to allow the attack to pass through rather than bore through him like Gin's blunderbuss shot. As Draven's hand passed through the giant hole in Racer's midsection, he collapsed the gap just as Draven's unprotected upper arm passed by, his thick scales being ripped apart along his shoulder by the explosive power. Draven then lunged forward with his own momentum, stunned at his scarred arm.

"Draven!" Gin shrieked as she saw the singed flesh along Draven's arm.

"Argh, dammit! I'm fine, Gin! My scales just got a little softened up is all!" Draven winced as he shook his arm to try and gain feeling back in his shoulder. "This isn't a guy we can just pummel! He's quick!"

"You're damn right I am, maggot!" General Racer wasted no time, and he turned his attention to Gin and Rummy, raising both arms for a downward slam. "Boom: Tunguska!"

Gin and Rummy were both tossed on either side of the impact site as they attempted to dodge. The blast carried them at least ten meters. Gin struggled to get back on her hooves; she had become quite burnt on her legs and back. Rummy, to his surprise, was also quite battered by the attack. The fur around his legs and arms were singed, and his long coat was almost torn to shreds.

"Shite..." Rummy grimaced as he lifted himself off the sandy ground. "Gin, are you alright?!"

"I'm okay!" Gin shouted back at her brother as she pulled out two flintlocks holstered to her belt. "This arse hits like a warship!"

"Gin! Rummy!" Draven rushed at General Racer to buy them both recuperation time, coating his right leg in Dragon Skin as he leaped forward. "Dragon Thane's Surging Kick!"

General Racer scoffed as he detached his head from his torso, avoiding Draven's attack, then he thrust his palm into Draven's injured shoulder, releasing another explosive attack that ripped the skin off Draven's already scarred arm. "Boom: V-2!"

Draven cringed as he took the attack head-on, grasping the bleeding wound in his hand as he stumbled forward. "Bastard-!" Draven was cut off as General Racer's hoof connected with his face, sending him reeling backward onto his side.

"Draven!" Rummy charged up an attack in his hand, launching himself at Racer with an explosion of gunpowder near his hooves. "Gunpowder: Blast Fist!" The fireball in Rummy's hand erupted into a column of sparkling explosions that consumed General Racer's body, engulfing him in an inferno of gunpowder. While the attack did hit him directly, Rummy was taken aback by General Racer's speedy recovery; he appeared to be unaffected by Rummy's strike. "What the hell?!"

"You think that'll hurt me, maggot?!" General Racer snickered as he emerged from the blast unscathed. "I'm made of explosions! You can't do a thing to me with that Brand of yours!" General Racer grinned as he lit a cigar, puffing on it briefly before twirling it between his fingers.

Draven growled as he activated his full lord dragon form. "Lord Dragon: Thane's Tartan!" He rode a bolt of lightning forward, smashing the air in front of Racer with a powerful Dragon Shatter. "Grand Dragon Thane's Thunderous Javelin-!" Before the strike could bite General Racer, Draven was cut off by a pair of steel feet impacting his ribs, sending him far away from the bout. "Gahhkk!"

"What the bloody hell was that?! I didn't even see what hit em'!" Gin gawked as she saw Draven fly away, all the way to the other side of the beach.

"Ah, right on schedule..." General Racer smirked as he watched Draven impact the sand in the distance. "Stalkers, deal with the dragon! I'll handle these two fuckers!"

Draven clenched his teeth as he pulled himself out of the crater he created on the ground. He winced as he felt the searing pain his shoulder return."What the hell just hit me...?" Draven's question was soon answered. With a noise that sounded like some kind of jet engine, a figure gradually manifested out of thin air, then another. They were the cybernetic changelings, encircling their prey with soulless eyes and gnashing, metal teeth. "These changelings look like those bloody skeletons we met in The Silence a month ago, but much stronger! What the bloody hell is this?!"

"The Stalkers... a product of a miraculous techno-organic parasite that could turn any creature into a perfect assassin! They were developed by the North District of Ausrüstung sixteen years ago, but they never got the chance to be put in the fray until today! Doctor S has seen to that!" General Racer rambled on, ignoring Gin and Rummy, who were still dumbfounded by the invisible soldier who knocked Draven far away.

"What the hell is this guy on about?" Rummy raised an eyebrow at General Racer, who tossed another spent cigar on the ground.

"No clue... but whatever it is, I don't like it," Gin fired her flintlocks at General Racer, who quickly reacted, letting them pass through his explosive body with ease. "We've got to go help Draven!"

"No, Gin! We can't let this general run amok! He'll destroy our advancing forces if we don't keep fighting!" Rummy insisted, ordering his troops to opposite sides of the beach. "We've gotta hold him back as best as we can!"

"Alright..." Gin stared over at General Racer, who waited patiently for them to make a move.

****

Pisces and Luna continued pressing their assault forward through hundreds of changelings. With mighty swings of his trident, Pisces sent the changeling ranks flying through the air. Even his basic attacks that had not been augmented by magic had so much strength behind them that it seemed to kick up whirlwinds, tearing structures in the immediate vicinity off their wooden foundations. Spike found himself in awe at the raw power that Pisces possessed as he tore through changeling stragglers that dove in with their swords drawn.

"Damn Pisces..." Ambassador Fang scoffed, watching the approaching carnage.

"Oooo... he's a strong one, huh?" Bjiora cackled, sitting on a throne fashioned out of sand beside Fang. "You think I should pop in?"

"Don't underestimate the Fleet Admiral, Laughing Deva. He's leagues above most, even you," Fang warned Bjiora, who sneered at him in response. "Cain is nearby, and I'll call Skyrunner back to the inner wall. General Racer and Moreau can hold off their army without any trouble."

"You're no fun..." Bjiora pouted like a spoiled colt as he crossed his arms, taking a moment to examine his delicately manicured fingernails. "Oh, damn it all, I chipped a nail!"

"Cain, Skyrunner, return to me. Let the stalkers aid the other two Generals. It looks like Pisces is carving through our forces quicker than expected." Fang activated the crystal ball in his pocket, relaying the message to his two generals. "Deal with the problem."

This isn't too bad, huh?" Spike laughed as he kicked a changeling though a building.

"Nope!" Nick grinned, binding a group of changelings in a wall of chains.

"Keep your wits about you, you two," Luna said as she ran her blade through a changeling's chest. "This won't get easier."

"She's right. The changelings are gonna throw everything they've got at us to protect Alptraum!" Daisy nodded, tossing a large piece of debris off a collapsed building at a cluster of changelings as she continued down the cobblestone street alongside Pisces and Luna. "Hey, where is-?!"

It was then that Daisy noticed the looming shadow blanketing the ground nearby; a huge pony was crashing down on top of them. She reacted quickly, grabbing Spike, Nick, and Raiel, shielding them with her massive body. Pisces took his thick, cape-like long coat and wrapped Luna in it, sparing her from the ensuing attack.

"Turn: Earth!" A booming voice bellowed as the whole landscape beneath them began to shift and rumble, spinning in a maelstrom of debris.

Everything within a hundred meter radius had been scooped up and tossed about in a powerful centrifugal force, scattering debris and other objects throughout the battlefield as deadly projectiles, maiming Equestrian marines and Cadre members. Pisces and Daisy were not tossed by the blast, but Daisy suffered severe lacerations on her back from flying wood splinters. As the earth settled, General Cain, a towering three-meter giant, appeared before Pisces and the rest of his assault group, his breath causing the very ground to tremble and shake. He grabbed the spear and shield off his back, readying himself for battle.

With a low grunt, Daisy removed herself from Spike and the others, standing upright to face General Cain, giving Pisces and the others a nod to continue down the street. "I'll handle him."

"But, Daisy, your-." Spike trailed off; realizing the severity of Daisy's injuries, he was reluctant to simply leave her behind to fight a general. Though, the look in Daisy's eyes said she could handle herself, and so he didn't question the decision any further. He ran to Pisces and Luna along with the others.

"Go, run!" Daisy shouted at them all as she saw General Cain's eyes dart towards the young dragon.

Cain thrust his spear at Spike, attempting to prevent his escape. Daisy reacted to this, grabbing the staff of the weapon in her hand. Despite her own gigantic strength, she found it exceedingly difficult to resist General Cain's overwhelming might. She pushed him back with a thrust kick to his breastplate, distancing him so that she had a few seconds to breathe deeply.

"You are strong, halfling giantess," General Cain's voice was followed by a puff of mist from the opening in his helm; his face was barely visible beneath the steel shell. "Do you have the strength to stand against Cain Carmerax?"

"I have enough to stop you at the very least..." Daisy panted as she watched her allies advance down the street. "And that's enough for me."

"You are brave, giantess, I'll give you that," Cain's eyes widened as his spear rushed forward, targeted right between Daisy's eyes. "But even the strongest warrior cannot hope to win if they take their eyes of their opponent!" Daisy evaded the spear just in time with a quick sidestep, but Cain did not let her counter. Like a great tree branch, Cain's left arm came across Daisy's face, slamming her with his shield and sending her flying back into a pile of rubble. "Stand and fight, halfling!"

"Daisy!" Nick cried as he looked back at the giantess in a pinch, running back to help her.

"No, Nick! Stop!" Luna shouted at the foolish colt as he watched him charge at Cain with a fist wrapped in chains.

"We have to keep moving, Princess!" Pisces forced her to turn away; the inner wall was so close now. "Come, now!"

Though separated, Spike, Pisces, Luna, and Raiel entered town square, just a stone's throw from the inner wall. Come to greet them was a battalion of changeling musketeers and dozens of cannons, waiting for Ambassador Fang's order. Pisces stood tall and shielded the others with his massive body, holding his trident firm in his right hand. Beads of sweat rolled down Spike's face. Was this their last stand? He tried to dispel the doubt, but it was far too real for him to ignore. As he looked up at the young dragon atop the wall, his eyes widened. It was him, the doppelganger who had jettisoned his journey less than two months prior.

"Musketeers! Bring down Pisces!" Ambassador Fang ordered his troops.

"Run! Get Luna over that wall!" Pisces screamed as Spike as he shoved them away from the firing line.

"Pisces!" Raiel cried as she glanced back at the fleet admiral, running for her life along with Spike.

"Hold on!" Luna said as she grabbed them both, lifting them off the ground with a single beat of her wings. Alptraum's tower was dead-ahead, only a few hundred meters away. "Spike, latch yourself to my back!"

The changeling battalion began hammering Pisces with all they had, firing their cannons, muskets, flintlocks, every weapon in their arsenal. Pisces blocked the heavier fire from the cannons with Dragon Skin, but some musket balls broke through his defenses, impacting his arms, legs, and chest. Almost one hundred musket balls chipped his scales around his arms, and his chest had suffered a considerable amount of damage by around a dozen stray shots that slipped past his guard. Though he had even taken a cannonball to the shoulder, Pisces still stood firm, blood seeping from his wounds.

"You think... that's enough to stop me?!" Pisces roared as he lifted his trident and pierced the ground, sending cracks along the earth that shot out powerful jets of water, wiping away nearly half the battalion in a massive flow. With his left hand, he released a Dragon Wave that wiped away the gate defenses.

"Damn it all! Stalkers! Take him down!" Fang ordered the four remaining cyborgs, and they appeared in an instant with their claws unfurled, ready to lash out at the injured but raging fleet admiral.

Pisces could feel their presence before they even uncloaked with Dragon Sense, and he swung his trident to the side, cleaving all four in half with one, grand sweep. "Enough!"

"Arrraagh!" Fang snarled as he got up from his throne, Bjiora watching him intently, amused by his frustration.

"Should I start helping now?" Bjiora wondered, flicking his tongue, hungry for a fight.

"No!" Fang scowled at Luna as she flew overhead, then he ordered his remaining troops to focus their fire on her. "Musketeers! Knock them out of the sky!"

"Spike, now!" Luna screamed as she saw the changeling sharpshooters take aim at them. With a single, deep breath, Spike activated Dragon Fury. Powerful jets of flame escaped his feet, rocketing Luna forward as if he were a jetpack. Within a few seconds, they began to close the distance between them and the tower; it was only a hundred meters away. "That's it, keep going!"

"I can't hold it for long!" Spike clenched his teeth as he put everything he had into the flames on his legs.

"You've got to, Spike! Or we won't-!" Luna trailed off as a white light flashed in her peripheral vision. "Spike, look out!"

"Hmm... so close..." General Skyrunner's hoof knocked Spike off Luna's back and into a nearby building, collapsing it completely. And the impact jarred Raiel enough for her to lose her grip. She slipped out of Luna's grasp.

"Luna!" Raiel shrieked as she fell.

"Raiel!" Luna screamed as she began to lose altitude, watching as Raiel descended faster and faster. Luna began to fall down towards the courtyard, the ground fast approaching. Though, before she descended below the inner wall, a chain seemed to manifest in the air, sucking her into a void as it formed a circle. "Nick?!" From nearly six hundred meters away, in the thick of a battle with General Cain, Nick created a warp gate with his chains, teleporting Luna inches away from Alptraum's tower just at the right moment. Quickly, she grabbed onto a ledge, lifting herself through the open window at the base of the tower.

"Damn it!" Couldn't have you arrived sooner?! Once she enters that tower we cannot interfere! Alptraum has set up a magic barrier around it that only she can bypass!" Fang hollered at General Skyrunner as he threw his arms up in frustration.

"Even if I had shown up earlier, there was no way to prevent the warp gate from forming." General Skyrunner replied, landing on the inner wall beside Ambassador Fang and Bjiora. "Also, what the hell is going through Alptraum's head? If we can't interfere then this operation is over. He's jeopardized this whole campaign..."

"He's a colorful character, isn't he?" Bjiora purred as he plopped a date in his mouth from the pouch he kept close at hand.

"No, not yet... Luna still has to beat him to be victorious. We just need to wait..." Fang regained his composure, staring down at the vaporized building that Spike had impacted with a malicious grin on his face.

Pisces outstretched his hand, lifting a column of water from the earth to catch Raiel as he fought off what remained of the battalion with all his strength. "Dragon Conqueror's Tidal Net!" He set Raiel down near the destroyed building where Spike was thrown, away from the ensuing battle.

"Spike? Spike?!" Raiel caught her breath as she wiped the water from her brow, searching desperately for her friend trapped in the rubble. After a few seconds of frantic digging, Spike emerged from the debris, coughing and bloodied. "Spike, are you alright?!"

"I'm okay, I think..." Spike wheezed as he shook his head, lifting the heavy pieces of cobblestone off of his aching body. "I've never been hit that hard before."

"Well, I'm glad you're-..." Raiel trailed off as she saw Spike's attention shift from her to another figure nearby. "Spike, who are you looking-?"

"You-... you've nearly ruined my plans!" Fang shouted at Spike, just a few meters away with his saber drawn, coated in purple flames.

"It is you, that dragon from the river port!" Spike found it mesmerizing how much the dragon looked like him— the only difference being his taller stature and red tail fins. He stood up, stumbling a little as he tried to regain his balance. "Who the hell are you?!"

"I am Prince Fang Drafir, the Changeling Ambassador! The rightful heir to the title of Flame Dragon Emperor!" Fang growled at Spike as wings of purple flame formed at his back. "And I will not rest until every traitor to my cause lies dead in the earth!"

"Drafir...?" Spike felt his heart skip a beat as he heard the name echo in his mind a hundred times. "This fire dragon, he's-... is he my brother?"

Author's Notes:

The battle has reached it's halfway point! Stay tuned for the explosive conclusion!

As always, I hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!