Luna returned to the Command deck fuming with anger. Celestia and Guardian's behavior was unbelievable. Two of the most powerful beings in existence and they were moping? She didn't have time for this, the next wave of monsters would be coming any minute now.

"Ma'am" General Stormchaser greeted her with a salute.

Luna took a seat in the makeshift throne overlooking the entire war room.

"What's our status."

The General took a clipboard off a nearby table, "All squads have been repositioned into their designated formations. The air force has eliminated all enemy air support and is waiting to engage the airships on your command."

"And what of enemy infantry?"

The usually emotionless Stallion began to tug at his uniform, and Luna noticed sweat forming at his brow.

"What's the problem?" She asked.

"Well...you see....um" The General took a deep breath and regained his composure. "We don't know."

The alicorn raised an eyebrow at this, "Beg your pardon?"

"It seems all enemy ground units have...simply vanished into thin air. Even the pegasi scouts we sent couldn't find anything."

Luna began rubbing her temples. The frustration just kept piling on. "You're telling me, that you lost an entire legion of enemy troops?!"

"Please your highness, " the general pleaded, "we've searched the whole mountain top to bottom, and haven't found a single thing on radar! Besides the airships of course."

Luna pondered on the revelation. An entire army...gone? None of it made any sense. Then again in these days nothing did. But if they really did just vanish...

"I suppose that means one less problem." She concluded.

Stormchaser seemed to finally relax at this. "Now then as far as we know-" he cut short by the sudden uproar that engulfed the room. "Princess!" A Pegasus operator called out, "we got activity from the airships!" Luna's eyes snapped up towards the three behemoths, and saw a light glowing on the underside of the lead one. The light was steadily growing in intensity. "We're reading high energy levels coming from the ship." Luna knew that alright, she felt the disturbance of magic in her bones. It wasn't just energy, it was raw power, and it shook her very soul. Luna found it was getting harder to concentrate on it as the light grew brighter.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Stated the general.

"Nor do I." She replied

Everybody in the room fell silent, all trained their eyes on the glow, mesmerized.

Luna was just as baffled as they were. Her head was beginning to ache from the massive amounts of energy being poured into one spot.

"But why..." The gears in her head were turning. Then they finally locked into place and the realization hit her like a comet.

"Stars above..." She whispered in disbelief. It was a weapon. The ship was about to fire enormous amounts of pure energy at the city.

Her migraine was splitting now. She shut her eyes tight and gritted her teeth. General Stormchaser looked towards the princess with concern. "My leige are you-"

"Fine!" She screamed in agony. "It's a weapon! They're firing a weapon at us!" Luna keeled over out of her throne, screaming in pain. Most of the operators relayed the message to the troops, while the others began to panic at the sight of the screaming princess. And just when the light was almost blinding, the ship exploded.

Gasps resounded throughout the room as one by one the airships fell from the sky in a glorious blaze.

---

Twilight could hear somepony very distant calling her name. She couldn't feel, speak, or move. The last thing she remembered was pain. Unbelievable pain. She was slightly moving as if something was shaking her. The voice grew louder and the veil of darkness was lifted, revealing Rainbow Dash who was on the verge of tears.

"Twilight!"

"Wha-" she didn't have time to finish her thought before all of her present friends embraced her into a group hug.

Twilight sat unmoving and very confused, "Um...where's the fire girls?" She chuckled nervously. The three ponies moved back from the hug.

"Number one!" Rainbow Dash hovered above her, "That's not how the expression is used." She said disapprovingly, "Number two, what in the name of Celestia just happened? First you start screaming bloody murder, then the ships explode in midair?! And you just fall to the ground unconscious!"

Twilight looked towards the ships and they were indeed falling from the sky in millions of pieces.

"When did that happen?!"

Rainbow Dash just looked at her in disbelief, "Seriously!? You don't remember?"

Twilight shook her head, earning an eye roll from the pegasus.

"Okay," Rainbow Dash said while scratching her chin. "I'll try to explain this as best as I can." She went on to explain the events from the glow igniting to Twilight blacking out. "So you wake up and now we're here."

Twilight simply blinked a couple times, only bits and pieces of memory returning to her.

"What are your orders ma'am?" Asked Applejack.

All three ponies turned to look at the farm pony.

"Hey AJ, you feel alright?"Asked Rainbow Dash

"Yeah! Ever since boot camp you've been nothing but a sour puss!" Pinkie said with a frown, something the party pony hardly ever does.

"I can assure you all that I'm in perfect condition." She replied plainly.

The absence of her usual (almost stereotypical) southern drawl was certainly startling. Her facade was failing, and Applejack knew it.

"You are most certainly not alright!" Exclaimed Twilight, "You haven't been your usual self, acting so formal and reffering to me as ma'am?"

"Yeah Aj what gives?" Prompted Rainbow Dash.

Applejack remained silent, her eyes darted back and forth and sweating profusely from her brow.

"Applejack, we're here for you." Twilight insisted "You can tell us what's wrong."

Finally, she broke down, "Oh girls ah'm so sorry!" Applejack cried, her accent returning, and buried her head into Pinkie's shoulder, who went along with it and comforted the country mare.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged confused glances, "AJ?" The pegasus asked cautiously.

"They're gone! All gone!"

"Who? Who's gone?" Asked Twilight.

Applejack didn't respond, only continued to cry.

"There there, it'll be alright." Pinkie cooed.

"No!" Applejack pulled away from her, "Didn't you hear? Ponyville's gone!"

---

Luna awoke in the infirmary laying in a hospital bed. The princess took a moment to purge any sleep from her and take in her surroundings. It was a standard hospital room, with bare walls and medical machinery surrounding the bed. She slowly sat upright and attempted to recall recent events. She could remember up until seeing the light from the airship, and only bits and pieces after that. She could, however, remember the unforgettable explosion that the ship's suffered.

Luna looked out the door window and could make out the silhouettes of Guardian and Celestia outside her room. They seemed to be arguing about something, and while Luna did her best, she could not make out what they were saying. After a good thirty seconds, it appeared that Guardian had won and the two entered the room.

Guardian had a warm smile while Celestia looked down at the floor.

"How are you feeling?" The bipedal deity asked as the two took up opposite sides of Luna's bed.

"Fine." She replied.

"How much do you remember?"

"I can remember a light coming from the underside of the airships. Only fragments after that."

The airships.

"And the ships, they just exploded? How?"

Guardian continued to smile while he held up a small metal disk with a tiny red light in the center.

"Dev charges. These babies are packed with raw power. All condensed in the center. And when that power is released, it's effects are devastating, " he winked, "hence the name."

Luna looked over at Celestia, who'd remained silent the whole time.

"Tia?"

"Oh Luna," Celestia began, "Words cannot express how sorry I am."

"Sister please, spare me." Luna said a little harsher than she intended.

"Hey," Said Guardian, "I know what I and your sister did was unacceptable-"

"Unacceptable?! Try pathetic!" Luna was still enraged at their previous behavior, she was not going to let it go anytime soon. Celestia cringed at the insult and Guardian felt as if a nail had been driven into his heart, but he did not break his stern glare.

"Yes okay I know we let our emotions get to us, and we left you to command an entire military force, and I promise you we will atone for our mistakes in the future!"

"How could you possibly atone for that?! I could've easily panicked and got everypony killed!"

"But you didn't, only because I raised you to know how to deal with unplanned situations!"

"Fat lot of good your 'teachings' did us. Haven't you the slightest idea of what's been happening since you left?"

"Stop!" Cried Celestia, "What is happening to us?" She looked even more distraught than before, "This family is falling apart! Just look at us now, we used to be so happy," she turned to Guardian and looked him dead in the eye, "Yes it's true ever since the day you left Luna and I have been struggling to keep this country together, a civil war broke out only weeks after your absence had begun." Luna looked down in shame, knowing full well that war was her fault, "Equestria has been bankrupt, invaded, and almost burned to the ground several times. Then the Overlord came."

My, My, bringing me into the conversation are we?

"Just go with it for now."

"Never has this world seen such pure evil," Celestia continued, "When Luna and I felt your presence for the first time in centuries, well saying we were overjoyed is a severe understatement."

"We could hardly believe it." Luna added quietly.

"But then it turned out to be the single most malevolent force in the universe, we thought it was over for us." Celestia continued.

"What is your point exactly?" Guardian asked.

"Let me finish." She replied.

Celestia placed a hoof under Luna's chin and lifted it up to look her straight in the eyes, "Dear sister, I was slain before your very eyes and yet you managed to pull the Elements of Harmony together and brought The Overlord down."

I swear if she brings that up again...

"Quiet."

Celestia removed her hoof and proceeded to finalize her speech, "We all have faced challenges that almost destroyed everything we know and love, yet we stared down our enemies and slammed their demise upon there heads, time and time again. And while we're tearing at each other's throats, those monsters out there are tearing out the throats of our precious ponies, the ones that you Guardian, raised from the ashes of the Alicorn Wars and built them a great civilization," she stopped to catch her breath, "my point is we will mend our wounds, uncover our heads from the past, and look towards the future."

"For Equestria will not be brought down so easily." Guardian and Luna finished simultaneously, "After all this time you both still remember that cheesy, post-war speech." Guardian shook his head in embarrassment.

"Can't we just learn from our mistakes?"

"Apology accepted." Luna said.

---

I grow weary of these touching moments.

"Not much longer now, fortunately the Empire hasn't been hit yet, there's still time."

We must make hast then, if we can draw out Denthar then we can end this once and for all.

"Can you imagine it? It being all over."

Lets not be too cocky now. Remember this could go to hell just as easily as the times before.