Love and War

06

...

The trip back to the new land seemed long, quiet and painful for all aboard the Twilight Dawn.

They had returned to Equestria, thinking they could find and help the Pegasus who had been risking his life to save others from the Gaean invasion. This they had succeeded in doing.

But the cost had been too high.

Rarity had died. Not at the hooves of the Gaeans, but by Twilight Sparkle's magic.

Twilight had not said a word since the funeral, if that was what you could call it. The situation had been too dangerous to even try to recover her body.

Once they reached the new land and docked, Dawn lead Twilight home. She would need to rest more now than ever before. Her face almost completely lacking any emotion at this time.

As they neared their home, a small white filly approached. "Twilight? Where's my sister? Where's Rarity?"

Twilight winced. She looked down at Sweetie Belle and gathered her into a tight hug. "I... I'm so sorry... I... There was nothing I could do..."

Sweetie Belle looked up at Dawn, but all he could do was shake his head and look away.

"Twilight? I wanna see Rarity. Where is she?" She spoke louder.

"I'm so sorry Sweetie Belle... She... She's dead..." Twilight broke down and cried. "I... I killed her..."

Sweetie Belle pushed Twilight away. "What?" She knew she had to have misheard that. "No... There has to be some mistake."

Twilight fell to her knees, still crying. "I can never ask for your forgiveness... What I did... I should have thought of another way. I should have tried to save her."

"You're lying. Rarity isn't dead." Sweetie Belle screamed, tears pouring. "I... I HATE YOU!" She screamed right into Twilight's face and ran.

Dawn wanted to chase after her and try to calm her down, to try to make her understand, but he took one look at Twilight. He could not leave her as she was. He helped her stand and lead her home.

...

Applejack walked into her home and was promptly tackled by Apple Bloom. "BIG SIS!" She was grinning ear to ear. "Welcome home."

Applejack, now laying on her back with her sister pinning her down offered a weak smile. "Ah'm home..." She pushed Apple Bloom to the side gently.

The young pony then saw her sister's legs. "Wh-What the hay? What happened to yer legs?" Her eyes showed a mix of fear, worry and a little wonder.

"Ah kinda got mah flank whupped. Dawn an th' others saved me and made me these legs, jes like how we made that wing fer Fluttershy." She stood up and watched as Apple Bloom almost crawled all over her to see them from every angle.

"Did it hurt?"

Applejack simply nodded. "But Ah feel right as rain now. Don't hurt at all."

"They look so cool, an strong. Is this th' same stuff Fluttershy's wing's made ah?"

Applejack nodded again. "Ah sorry Apple Bloom, but Ah'm a might bit tired. Ah'm gonna go get some shuteye."

"Aww. Will ya tell me 'bout yer adventures later?"

"Maybe.." (Most certainly not... this trip... the cost was too high... Oh Rarity... Twilight. Poor Sweetie Belle.) She hung her head as she almost dragged herself to her room.

As she was laying down for some much needed rest, Applejack heard the front door slam open and the crying of Sweetie Bell.

"What happened?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Twi... Twilight murdered Rarity." Came the bawling response

...

Diane looked over at Surprise. "Say, Surprise?"

"Hmm?" The young mare replied, but kept looking out over the sea.

"How's Twilight and Dawn doing?"

"Mommy's really sad. I wish there was something I could do ho make her feel better. Daddy's also really sad too. They both loved Rarity so much." She hung her head. "I feel somehow this is all my fault. If I had never been curious and fallen into the river, Daddy would never have used his magic and been chased away. He never would have lead the Hunter and Tracker to Ponyville. This whole thing is my fault."

"It's not your fault." Diane tried to comfort her. "You can't take the blame for your mother and the other leaders of your land for being big evil Mc.Evil pants. They are the ones who started the war. They're the ones who've invaded Equestria and hurt so many."

Surprise nodded lightly. "But... I still feel like it's my fault." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I can't let this defeat me though. I made a decision to stick by Daddy and all of you. I may have betrayed my mother, but... maybe she was the one who betrayed me first." She met eyes with Diane. "Do you think I can ever find redemption for the bad things I've done?"

"You may have tried to kill me, but you didn't. That was kinda fun though."

"Yea, it was. Till then, I'd never fought another pony who could keep up with me." Surprise reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a pendant. She opened it and looked at her mother's picture. "I know she did bad things, and raised me to do bad things too... but I do miss her when she was kind. I know she loved me in her own way. She never scolded Daddy for being there for me."

Diane looked at the picture. "You have her eyes. Yo also have your father's kindness and compassion"

Surprise nodded. "It hurt when I saw her die, but I didn't feel sad at all. I've assassinated so many that I don't really feel much when I see another pony die. Am... am I a bad pony?"

"No, you are not bad. You were just raised differently from the rest of us. We're not used to seeing death, and we most certainly don't enjoy killing." She decided not to say anything about her little bout of 'baking'. She was none too pleased she had actually done that either.

"I never enjoyed killing either. I just did as I was told without really thinking there might be consequences" She looked back out over the ocean. "All those soldiers... I'm sure they must have had families, friends, ponies they loved. We've killed so many of them, but they've also killed so many Equestrians too."

"Maybe someday... someday we'll find a way to make peace with each other." Diane had said that, but she seriously doubted it.

It was so easy to hate, to destroy and to kill, but it took far longer to love, to create and to live.

...

Starlight looked out over this new land from atop a small cloud. From here, he could see for miles in every direction. It was strange. Months of fighting, almost non-stop, and now here he was.

This new land, which was still un-named, looked peaceful.

He had learned that his ship had made it here, with only a few more than half the passengers having made it.

He wanted to cry, but simply could not.

Starlight felt another Pegasus land gently on the cloud. "Hello Fluttershy."

"Hello Starlight." She spoke softly as she sat next to him. "Being here... I almost forget what happened back in Equestria..." She sniffled. "But I can't. We lost your sister, Rainbow Dash. We lost Rarity. We almost lost Applejack too." She looked into Starlight's eyes. "Why did all of this have to happen?"

"I don't know. All I know is they came and invaded us. They killed and mutilated and enslaved." He hugged her close with a wing. "But, no matter what, we can never give up. We can never forget. I never knew Rarity too well, but I can tell her death is causing all of you so much pain right now."

Fluttershy leaned against Starlight. "Starlight?"

"Yes?"

"I... I'll never forget her. I'd never forget any of my friends. And... and I want to get to know you as well."

"I'd like that." He sighed and they sat there in silence.

...

Time did as it always had done. It passed by, some not even realizing just how quickly. It was now almost a full year since Equestria had been lost.

For quite a few months, a stranger walked among the ponies who were finally starting to get their lives back together.

His name, Rigger, a Pegasus. He was born and raised an Equestrian. But now, he had allied himself with the Gaeans. Why? Because he had been allowed to live if he swore loyalty to them.

He had agreed.

To ensure his loyalty, Blackmourn had placed a collar around his neck, fitted with a device that could inject Wingweed poison into him at the whim of his Master.

But just last night he had just received a radio transmission from some blowhard who was calling himself High Commander Shadow Mane.

He had been given new orders concerning the crew of a stolen High Priest sky ship. He was to find them, and take from them what was most precious.

"Take from them what's most precious..." He fumed. "What does that donkey take me for? An assassin? A thief? What in Celestia's sweet name did he want me to take? Wish he had been specific..."

Rigger paused and thought for a while.

"Maybe he means their ship, From what Blackmourn told me, he was quite impressed with that ship and their crew. Sucks he got himself killed." The dark cloaked Pegasus sighed and walked toward the town. It was time to find out what was most precious.

...

Twilight was taking a nap. She was still quite solemn, usually just sitting by the fireplace and reading books, or having Diane take her up in the Twilight Dawn and teaching her how to fly it.

She had come to love the sensation that Rainbow Dash had fallen in love with. The freedom of flight. But that was not the only reason.

She felt drawn to the sky, and would often spend days at a time, occasionally taking the ship into the sky and just flying circles high over the town.

Time had healed some of the wounds that Rarity's death had caused. Some, but not all.

Fluttershy had left the town to live among her own kind, high in the cloud city. Starlight had gone with her, as the pair were nearly inseparable It was obvious that they were growing closer and closer.

Fluttershy had simply stated that she needed to leave. Every time she looked at Twilight, she wanted to cry, knowing how much the death of Rarity was tearing her up inside. Fluttershy could not take it and had to leave.

Dawn was never far from Twilight, especially when she would take the Twilight Dawn up on her own.

And on this last trip... he was glad he was there.

"Dawn?" Twilight had been at the front of the hip, relishing the morning breeze, but suddenly called out loudly.

Dawn had been at the helm, flying lazily down the coast. "Yes?"

"I... I think it's time." She turned around, her eyes wide.

"Time? Time for..." He looked into her eyes and paled. "You mean... the foal? It... no... We have to get back."

"No... time..." She fell to her knees. "It's coming... NOW!"

Dawn shut down the propeller and rushed to Twilight's side. He had been trained for this by Nurse Redheart, just in case of this very situation. Everything he would need was already stocked aboard. "Just hold on a few more moments, I'll get the things." He nearly tripped over his own hooves as he rushed below deck. He grabbed the supply bag and rushed back up and to the mare who was going to mother his second child.

To say Dawn was nervous and excited was an understatement, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"Just breath..." He spoke soothingly to her. "And push."

They kept at it for a few more minutes till he saw something. A splash of blood and water, and then the baby started emerging. His heart was racing even faster than Twilight's

The mare gritted her teeth and gave a final push, and the baby was caught in warm blankets.

"It's... it's a filly." He smiled as he set the tiny foal by her mothers belly. "We have a daughter."

"Won't Surprise be surprised." An overjoyed new mother smiled happily

...

Back in town, Diane was experiencing a doozy of a twitch, nearly falling off her own hooves.

"Diane?" Surprise gasped. "What's wrong?"

"It's a doozy. A doozy of something is happening... right now." She had a feeling of what it might be. "Where's Twilight and Dawn? Are they back yet?"

"No, they headed out last evening to take a leisurely trip up and down the coast to map it." Surprise blinked. "You don't think something bad has happened... do you?"

"The doozy is never anything bad... Never has been before." She suddenly grinned. "I think they just had their baby."

"How can you tell?"

Diane simply grinned. "I don't know, just a hunch."

...

It was mid afternoon when the Twilight Dawn docked.

Somehow everypony was here, even Fluttershy and Starlight Bolt.

Dawn stepped off the ship, but Twilight was not to be seen. Still, he did not look worried, rather, he was smiling brightly.

"They're resting right now... Twilight and our daughter." He said, looking right at Surprise. "You have a little sister."

Surprise jumped up and hugged her father. "A sister? Oh I am so happy." She then rushed past everypony else and down the stairs.

She knocked gently on the doors. "Mommy?"

"Come in Surprise, and the rest of you too." She sounded happy, for the first time sense Rarity's untimely death.

She opened the door and entered. She saw Twilight resting on the bed, looking a little pale, but still fine. Resting on the bed with her was a small form wrapped up in a blanket.

She quietly walked over and looked down.

The first thing she saw was the short locks of white mane, then the bright blue coat.

The foal opened an eye and looked up to see her smiling sister for the first time.

"Surprise, say hello to your little sister, Skywind Dash."

"Dash?" The young mare gasped. "You named her after Rainbow Dash?" She could not contain her smile, no matter what.

Fluttershy smiled gently. "She is the cutest thing I have ever seen. You really named her after Dashie? I know she would be honored"

"I actually want to throw a congratulation party." Pinkie Pie beamed, her mane poofing all the way out. "Please? May I? PLEEEAAAASSSEEEE!" She pleaded brightly.

"Of course, but not today." Twilight smiled. She did look worn right out.

"Well duh. You've just had your first ever foal. I bet you'll end up having... three. Yea, three foals. Once you're ready for a party, let me know."

Twilight giggled. "I'm not sure about three. I know only what I've read in books about being a mother."

"Y'all gonna be great Mother." Applejack smiled almost as proudly as though the foal was her own. She looked over her shoulder. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, do you want to see the baby?"

Apple Bloom peeked her head over the edge of the edge of the bed. The baby was so small, but totally adorable. "She's so cute. Ah just wanna hug 'er."

Sweetie Belle shyly peaked over the edge as well and looked up at Twilight. She still had not forgiven her for murdering her only remaining family member, but then she saw Skywind Dash. Her heart melted on the spot. "T...Twilight?"

"Yes Sweetie Belle?" Twilight smiled, softly, a motherly smile, but the young one looked into her eyes and saw the haunted look.

Sweetie Belle had neither spoken to, not faced Twilight since she had received the news and told her she hated her. Now, she could see Twilight was hurting as well.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say I hated you... I know you're hurting." She looked down at the foal again. "I forgive you."

"Sweetie Belle, thank you. I was too afraid to ask for your forgiveness. I know there is no way I can ever make it up to you though."

"The Apples adopted me. I'm not alone anymore." She reached a hoof out for the foal to sniff, and giggled when she did. "I still miss mama and papa and Rarity though."

"We all do." Apple Bloom hugged her adopted sister.

Twilight stifled a little yawn. "I'm sorry, but I'm feeling tired, and I think Skywind is feeling hungry again." She smiled down at the foal as she started nudging at her mother's tit

This made most present blush brightly. They all congratulated Twilight and Dawn again before leaving, Apple Bloom needing to be dragged from the room by Applejack while saying "Aww, but why can't Ah stay longer."

...

Rigger grinned. He had overheard the bunch of giddy mares talking about the most precious little filly they had ever seen.

(Most precious? Well, I was told to take what is most precious from them.) His grin darkened. (Maybe I'll finally get this damn collar off my neck. I'll just have to wait for an opportune moment.)

...

Hours later.

Rigger twitched from his slumber and watched Dawn Glimmer rush from the house they lived in. (Finally, the Father's left, and only the mother is in that house... all alone, and still recovering from giving birth.) He grinned as he made his move.

He slipped into the house and peeked around. The living room, dining room and kitchen were one room. There was two other rooms, and one had a flickering light on. He quietly flapped his wings and approached, avoiding any potentially creaky floors.

Rigger peaked into the room and saw the mother sleeping, the foal in a bed of her own. His grin spread as he stealthily flew over. He wrapped the blanket around the baby and lifted it carefully from her bed. He turned and slipped from the house, grateful that the baby was a sound sleeper.

...

Dawn heard the scream from half way across town, as did every other pony. He rushed home, fearing the worst.

He had to fight his way through the crowd till he saw Twilight standing in the doorway, the look on his face nearly ripped his heart out. "Twilight? What's wrong? Is Skywind alright?"

"She's GONE!" Twilight wailed, tears pouring freely.

Dawn felt rage. "No..."

"Uh thunk uh saw sum pony flu thut wey." A drunk pony pointed south. "Eh kem outta de hoos lek uh bat utta hell."

"What did you say?" Dawn grabbed the drunk by the mane and dunked his head into a water-barrel.

The cold water seemed to do the trick as he gasped and pointed south. "Pegasus... flying south like Nightmare Moon was on his tail. Was holding some blue bundle."

Dawn's eyes started glowing. He looked south and could SEE his daughter. He took off, everypony doing what they could to get out of an angry father's way.

Twilight leaned against the door-frame and cried. Surprise hugged her. "Daddy will save Skywind. I know he will."

...

Rigger landed where he had hidden the Sky Jumper. He looked down at the baby. "You're so cute. High Commander Shadow Mane better reward me for this." He set the still sleeping foal into the cockpit and was about to hop in himself when his world exploded in pain.

He flew over the small craft. Most of him did at least. One of his wings had flown another way.

He hit the ground, gritting his teeth in pain. He looked over his shoulder and saw his wing had been ripped right off, and his side was gashed along his ribs.

He then became aware of danger. Life threatening danger.

Rigger rolled over and looked up at what could best be described as a white skinned beast from hell, with black flaming mane and tail, and hellish red glowing eyes. The hooves were wrapped in bright red flames, but the grass was not being burned.

The Stallion looked larger than life. From Rigger's prone position, this Stallion looked ten times larger than he really was.

Then he knew nothing as those flaming hooves came down on his head with a sickening crunch.

...

Relieved would describe everypony else but Twilight. She was overjoyed as Dawn returned, carrying a bundle on his back.

After returning his newborn daughter to her bed, he hugged Twilight. "It was a Pegasus.."

"What?" Twilight gasped. "Why would a Pegasus ponynap our daughter?"

He reached onto his back and tossed down an iron collar. It looked unremarkable.

"What's this?"

"Look inside."

Twilight levitated it and looked. She dropped it the moment she saw the sun and phoenix symbol. "He was working for Gaea?"

"And I found his ship. Never seen anything like it before. I'll have it brought back here in the morning. If we can figure out why somepony from Gaea would want our daughter..." He stopped right there. "No... I can't do that. I can't go running off again, we can never return to Equestria." He looked south, then out to sea. "I have a terrible feeling about this."

Twilight leaned against her mate and beloved, drawing on him for strength. "Are we even safe here? Where else can we run too if they come across the sea?"

"I don't know..." He sighed. "Maybe we could try to use the elements of harmony if they try to invade."

"That's impossible. Rainbow Dash was the Element of Loyalty. Rarity was the Element of Generosity. Without them... without even one, there's nothing we can do."

"Then... We pray to Celestia's soul that they never cross the sea."

"That's all we can do..."

...

High Commander Shadow Mane watched as a small red light blinked out. He snarled angrily. "That stupid foal. He got himself killed. Now they know that we know where they are." He was most definitely not happy.

Still, he had to count himself lucky that he had landed in the lake below that slaughter. His injures had finally healed, no thanks to the inept medics he had at his disposal.

"Sir, we've reached the crash site."

"Finally. Salvage whatever you can. Crystals are your first goal. Any intact bombs, food and water that might still be good as well. Any gold or gems already belong to me, so they will be returned to me."

Still, the prospect of his riches being intact didn't look good. The bridge section looked to be scattered for half a mile.

He thought to himself for a while. (Who was the moron who decided the bridge should be right on top of the engine room? Seriously.) He looked out over the deck of the pathetic destroyer he was currently commanding. It was nothing like the beautiful Dreadnaught he had commanded for such a short time.

For hours he sat and waited in silence, until a report came from below.

"Sir, a Survivor was found."

"A survivor?" Shadow Mane rose. "Impossible."

"He calls himself Lightening Scar, Guardian of the Sky Lance."

"Interesting. What is this Sky Lance?"

"You'll have to ask him. He refuses to board the ship without orders from the High Commander himself."

Shadow Mane laughed. "Take me to him."

...

Shadow Mane stared at the pony. He was covered in black, jagged scars that looked like lightening bolts. "You are Lightening Scar?"

"Yes I am. Who are you?"

"High Commander Shadow Mane."

"Blackmourn is MY High Commander. Where is he?"

"Dead."

"So be it."

"Board the Destroyer, and bring your Sky Lance."

"Bring it yourself."

Shadow Mane snarled and spun around, backhoofing this stranger hard, slashing open his face across the cheek.

Lightening Scar hardly flinched and glared back. His wound sparking with black electricity and healing in seconds. "Do that again and I will feast on your heart, regardless of your rank."

"Ok." Shadow Mane actually squeaked

Lightening Scar then allowed the soldiers to haul the stone-bound spear into the cargo bay.

...

"Just who does he think he is?" Shadow Mane snarled.

His 'current' second in command looked nervous. "He's very strong, and I hear he heals wounds as fast as anypony can cause them."

"I don't care about that... What about that weapon he's guarding? That white spear that's stuck in that stone?"

The smaller commander looked at some reports. "He calls it the Sky Lance, the very weapon that killed one of the three Goddesses. He is the one who killed her with it, and she granted him the power to heal as a reward."

"Or a curse." Shadow Mane paced back and forth. "He's a monster, but maybe we can use him. Let me know when we've scavenged what we can. After that, call all Destroyers within a days flight of our position to converge. We are going to hunt down those who escaped... and end them once and for all."

...

Three months later.

Fluttershy and Starlight would come and visit their friends regularly. The shy mare was not as shy as she had once been, having been hardened in battle and by tragedy, still, she was kind to a fault.

Starlight Bolt would generously offer his time and knowledge to help train young recruits to the Pegasai air force. He did it out of a mix of pleasure and duty. He did not even ask to be paid for his services, but accepted anyway when the military insisted. He would give most of his earnings to Fluttershy, keeping only what he needed.

As the pair arrived for their latest visit, they watched the three month old filly already running and frolicking in the fields just outside town. She would run as fast as she could and then jump, quite often crashing into a bush or puddle, then get up giggling.

"Hello Twilight. Hello Dawn." Fluttershy landed next to her friends.

Starlight landed next to her and bowed politely. "Greetings."

"Hello you two." Twilight sighed and smiled as she watched Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom playing with her daughter. "What brings you here today?"

"Oh, just came to say that the current ruling Pegasai Council is finally thinking to instate a king or queen to rule over the Pegasai."

"Why?" Dawn frowned. "The council has been doing a good job so far, haven't they?"

"They have been doing a wonderful job, but they are searching among the Pegasai for one worthy of becoming the new ruler."

Twilight already knew the answer to her question, but asked anyway. "Are you thinking of trying out?"

"Oh dear me, no. I couldn't do that." She giggled.

"I'm sorry, I had to ask."

"That's alright Twilight. But I know I could never be a queen."

"Why not?" Dawn asked, smirking as their daughter ran and jumped on Scootaloo's back and cooed "Fly!"

Apple Bloom laughed and countered with "Oh come on Dashie. You should know that Chickens can't fly."

"I'm not a chicken, and I can sorta fly." Scootaloo argued back.

"Can not." Apple Bloom again.

"Can too."

"Can not."

"Can too."

"Yu huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Yu huh. Nuh uh. Yu huh. Nuh uh. Yu huh. Nuh uh. Yu huh. Nuh uh. Yu huh. Nuh uh. Yu huh. Nuh uh. Yu huh. Nuh uh. Yu huh. Nuh uh..." And this continues on in the background for the remainder of this scene...

The parents and friends watched the youngsters playing together and having fun.

They suddenly were caught off guard as a shadow appeared overhead. They looked up to see the Twilight Dawn flying sideways. Surprise swung down by a rope before the ship was even twenty yards off the ground.

She rushed over. "We have a huge problem... A Destroyer and two Carriers... they're only hours away. We spotted them while out on patrol."

Twilight paled while Dawn rose to his hooves. "So... They really did come. We have to warn everypony before they arrive."

Fluttershy lifted off the ground. "I'll go ask the Pegasai for help. If we can slow them down, that means a better chance to escape."

Surprise nodded. "Diane said she'll help out with the Twilight Dawn." She looked at Dawn. "I've been practicing with that insanely fast ship you found. It has no weapons, but I think I can at least make them dizzy."

"Actually Surprise, I have another job for you."

"What is is Daddy?"

"Take the ship and scout up and down the coast. We have to see how many more of the invaders are coming."

Surprise looked a little disappointed, but nodded. She knew this job was an important one.

In the background, two fillies were looking at each other, and Scootaloo asked "What were we arguing about again?"

...

High Commander Shadow Mane tapped his hoof on the 'arm rest' of his chair. He was not too pleased that they had lost three Destroyers and a Carrier to storms on the way here.

Still, they had rescued most of the soldiers from those ships, as well as necessary supplies.

He still had enough troops to invade. He just wished that the carrier he had lost had not been the one with the Jumpers and Gliders. Still, two Carriers loaded down with eager soldiers was better than nothing.

"Once we land, start the invasion. We will not leave a single one of them alive this time." He slammed down his hoof.

...

Pegasai had been dispatched to deliver the warning all up and down the coast, as well as to the few inland settlements.

The standing plan in case of invasion was to grab what you would need to survive and head inland, into the forests and mountains. Only a few remained behind to ensure that there would be nothing for the invaders to claim. All the settlements would be burned.

...

"Sir, we're within sight of land." A message came from the watch deck at the front of the ship. "Also, there is a lot of smoke visible up and down the coast."

Shadow Mane rushed to the watch deck and looked through a scope. "The towns are all burning? What happened here?" He looked to his second in command.

"Maybe they detected us somehow?" He answered. To prevent us from using their towns as bases, they may have evacuated and set them too the torch."

Shadow Mane gritted his teeth, a look of rage on his face. "How dare they destroy everything... We have to find them and kill them all. Make their deaths slow and painful."

He was about to issue the attack order when the carrier to the right exploded, but it was not going down, despite the damage.

"What in Celestia's dark name?" He rushed to the side railing and looked.

He saw the Twilight Dawn fly overhead.

"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" He screamed and braced for impact.

But the Destroyer was not hit. The other carrier on the other hand was rocked by an explosion as well, but due to their sheer size, it too survived.

"Tell the carriers to descend and move in. All soldiers are to prepare for invasion."

...

"We damaged the carriers." Diane reported to Fluttershy. "They're really big, almost as large as the Dreadnaught. I don't think we have the firepower to destroy them all."

Fluttershy nodded. She turned to the thirty some Pegasai that had come along for this attack. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Listen here Missy. We agreed to come along to help slow them down as long as we can. We have to give everypony the chance to escape."

She nodded. "Angel?"

The bunny grinned and pulled down his goggles.

As the Twilight Dawn turned for what looked like another strafe bombing run, the Pegasai dove from the ship toward the Destroyer. The sneak attack took the crew of the Destroyer by surprise as crew were grabbed and thrown overboard into the ocean below.

Shadow Mane screamed with rage and tackled a Pegasai. His sword coming out and piercing her heart.

He started attacking anything with wings like he was possessed.

Fluttershy took position. "That one. He looks like their leader."

Angel nodded and took aim, then fired.

...

Shadow Mane had just killed his third Pegasus when he was slammed to the deck, something sticky pinning him down. He struggled as he remembered. This was the same stuff used on Blackmourn. He looked up and saw the very same Pegasus land before him.

No matter how he struggled, he could not break free fast enough to save his life.

No, he still had a chance. He reached into a pouch on his side and threw something at the Pegasus.

...

Fluttershy shielded herself with her wing, blocking a small round object. The moment she realized it was a grenade, it was too late.

Her wing shook painfully as it shielded her from the small blast. Her ears were ringing and she was disoriented.

Then the deck gave out beneath her and she fell, Angel clinging on for dear life.

She landed on something that grunted. She rolled to the side and looked up.

He was no larger than any other soldier, but he was not wearing any armor He had a gray coat covered with black jagged scars.

"Who are you?" He demanded, his eyes still trying to see through the smoke.

Fluttershy backed away and hit something hard with her hind hoof. She chanced a glance.

Why did they have a rock in the ship? She then felt a slight static charge in the air. She looked up as something started to glow brightly.

A beautiful spear was embedded into the rock, and it almost felt like it was calling to her.

She looked back and watched as the High Commanded landed in the hold, sword in teeth.

She checked her weapon, but saw it looked damaged while Angle Bunny just looked a little shaken. She had no choice. She jumped for the spear.

...

Lightening Scar's vision cleared as the so called High Commander jumped down, sword ready. He then felt the lance. It was almost singing. He looked and watched as a Pegasus jumped up and grabbed the weapon he had sworn to protect.

He instantly thought that the Pegasus would be instantly killed, because the weapon looked like it was holding a massive charge

But she wasn't hurt. Rather, the spear came free from the rock.

Scar gasped. He had never thought that it would be a Pegasus who would ever draw the weapon, but then it made sense at the same time. Princess Rainbolt had enchanted it with not only her blood, but her own magic. It made sense that this would be a weapon meant for her beloved Pegasai.

He watched as Shadow Mane attacked, his sword blocked by the spear.

Shadow Mane jumped back, evading a wide swipe from the weapon. He grinned as he saw the opening and went in for the kill.

Fluttershy had no real idea how to use this amazing weapon, but realized she had left herself open. Had it been her other side, she could have defended herself with her wing... She shut her eyes, realizing this was the end for her.

She heard the sickening sound of metal cutting through flesh and bone, but there was no pain. Her eyes opened to see that scared soldier standing between her and the High Commander. She gasped at the sight of the black sword having pierced his side.

Fluttershy didn't know what was going on, but she tightened her grip on the spear and whipped around, gaining as much momentum as possible, swinging the glowing blade right toward the High Commander's neck.

The sound was sickening as the blade of the spear decapitated him, but she had hardly even felt the connection. She braced herself and stopped. Her eyes set on the scared soldier and watched as he pulled the sword from his side, pain evident in his eyes.

But as the blade came out, the wound sparked and healed, leaving a fresh black scar.

He then knelt before Fluttershy and placed the sword at her hooves. "I am the Guardian of the Sky Lance. You have drawn the Sky Lance from the stone. I will be your guardian till the day I die."

Fluttershy blushed as she set the spear down. "You don't really need to do that."

"It is an oath I have sworn to uphold."

Fluttershy nodded. "Um, ok. What's your name?"

"I am Lightening Scar. May I know the name of my ward?"

"Um... Fluttershy." She glanced past him and saw three soldiers approaching, their own swords drawn. "Behind you." She grabbed her spear and jumped to attack.

Scar grabbed the black sword and turned, closing to attack as well.

...

Diane watched as the Destroyer descended. They were not doing enough damage yet. She didn't have the bombs to take it out, and to move into position to use the cannons would place the Twilight Dawn into firing position from the Destroyer. She really did not want to have her beautiful craft blown from the sky.

The Pegasai were also being pushed back, with eight already killed and the rest having to retreat from their injures, even though they had inflicted considerable casualties.

The survivors all retreated to the Twilight Dawn.

"We... We have to retreat..." The young Pegasai limped over to the ships captain.

Diane nodded, but looked over the deck. "Wait... where is Fluttershy and Starlight?"

"I'm here." Starlight lay on his side on the deck, nearly twenty darts sticking out of him. "They didn't hit me with Wingweed. I don't think they have any, but I found it hard to fly and had to be rescued." He looked around as he struggled to raise to his hooves. "Fluttershy? Where is she?"

Starlight pushed past a few injured and looked down at the Destroyer. In the confusion of the fight, they had been separated. He could see the damage to the ship, and enough soldiers still moving about to put out the small fires.

There did not look to be any fighting.

"Fluttershy, the yellow mare that lead this attack?" One Pegasai looked into Starlight's eyes. "I saw her attack their leader, but then there was an explosion and she was gone."

Diane and Starlight paled. Had they just lost Fluttershy as well? They were still suffering from the loss of Rarity. They were still saddened at Rainbow Dash's loss as well, but were also proud that she had died showing her unshakable loyalty to not just her friends, but her hometown.

"No... we can't have lost her too..." Diane's mane had finally regained it's poofieness, but suddenly deflated. "Not Fluttershy."

"There's one of there little ships heading this way." A Pegasus pointed down below.

Diane tilted the ship slightly so she could see. Her eyes brightened as she spotted Fluttershy.

But she was accompanied by an Earth Pony.

He was piloting the small jumper like he knew what he was doing. As he got close, Fluttershy waved.

"I'm ok. This pony saved my life. He's ok."

Diane nodded. "Ok." She called back. "We're all worn out and their ships are damaged. Let's get out of here."

...

Cloud City.

Diane had to remain on the Twilight Dawn as medics took care of the injured.

The new Pony, Lightening Scar looked dead serious, and kind of scary, what with all the jagged black scars all over him. At his side he wore a sword that gave Diane the creeps.

Still, Fluttershy had vouched for him, that he had saved her life.

As the small ship Scar was flying landed next to the Twilight Dawn, it found itself surrounded by over fifty armed Pegasai.

"Who are you and why are you flying one of the enemy ships." The Captain demanded, walked forward.

Fluttershy stepped off the ship. "He saved me when their leader was about to kill me." Fluttershy said softly, but loudly enough for the captain to understand.

"Is this true?" He glared at the scarred pony.

"I took the blade meant for her, willingly. She drew the Sky Lance from the stone. I am her guardian till the day I die, so I have sworn, so shall it be."

The Captain looked him over. There was blood on his side, but ho injury. "You're not injured. I do not believe you."

Fluttershy stepped in for his defense again. "Lightening Scar did get hurt, but he healed really fast. He told me that his healing power was the dying gift from Princess Rainbolt."

"It is true." Scar spoke. "I was gravely injured... and I will not lie when I say it was my own spear that took her life." He did not look sad, nor did he look proud for what he had done. "She smiled at me, a kind smile, and healed me. She gave me the power to heal my wounds as fast as I can be injured."

"Impossible." The Captain stomped his hoof. "That would make you unkillable. Why would Princess Rainbolt make an enemy of ours immortal."

"I doubt I am immortal. I bleed and feel pain. I would not be surprised if I can be killed through fatal amounts of damage." He looked tight at the captain. "But I tell you this. I am no soldier of the Gaean Military any more. I am the sworn guardian of the Sky Lance and her wielder." He looked at Fluttershy.

"What is this Sky Lance?"

"The weapon I used to kill Princess Rainbolt. She transformed it with her blood and her magic into a holy weapon."

Fluttershy reached onto the small ship and picked up the magnificent weapon. "She did not curse the pony, nor the weapon which took her life." She said. "Rather, she blessed them."

The Captain narrowed his eyes at Fluttershy. "So be it. But he is your responsibility from now on."

Lightening Scar spoke again. "And as Captain of the Pegasus Air Force, it is your duty to protect all Pegasai, is it not?"

"Silence you. Be glad I do not have you cut down where you stand. You saved one of our citizens." He then nodded to his soldiers. "Still, you were a soldier of the Gaean Military, and have killed many Pegasus. We will leave it to the Council to decide your fate."

"No." Fluttershy stepped forward. "I can't let you hurt him."

"How many Pegasai do you think he's killed? He admitted to killing the Princess Rainbolt."

"Because I was ordered too. How many Gaeans have you killed Captain? How does that make either of us different from one another? We were both following orders, that is all. I harbor no dedication or loyalty to any but the barer of the Sky Lance, the Holy weapon of Princess Rainbolt."

The Captain sighed. "Fine. Here is your punishment. Tell us how many Pegasai you have killed, and we will stab you the same number of times. You say you can heal from any wound, correct?"

"I do not know the full extent or limitations of my healing, but I will gladly accept this punishment if it gains some measure of... lessened hate. I have killed a total of seven Pegasai. Eight if you include the Goddess of Lightening, the one who tore Cloudsdale asunder in her rage which in turn killed over fifty Pegasai prisoners."

The Captain scowled. "Seven stabs to the chest. Try to avoid the heart, but make them as painful as possible."

...

Fluttershy had forced herself to watch Scar as he was punished. The soldiers who stabbed him with their own swords did so almost with great pleasure, slowly pushing and twisting the blade into him.

But finally, after the seventh stab, from which he healed instantly, the Captain seemed satisfied.

Scar had hardly flinched while he endured the punishment. It was still evident in his eyes that it was very painful.

Fluttershy approached him finally. "Are you alright?"

"I will survive, if that is what you are asking." He looked at his ward. "I cannot walk among the clouds... so I will have to make use of this Jumper, or to protect you from the ground.

Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you. I have to go check on Starlight now."

"Understood Lady Fluttershy." He took the controls and descended into the clouds.

Fluttershy tucked the spear that was just a few inches longer than she was from nose to flank, under her real wing. She then hurried off to see her friend.

...

The Carriers landed in the fields just outside the largest burning town. More soldiers than could easily be counted emerged and started setting up an encampment, seeing as they could not simply take over the now burning town.

Soon, the word of the High Commander's death spread like wildfire.

Many of the soldiers wondered what they were going to do now without official leadership.

The Captains of the three ships and the one Commander all met aboard the moderately damaged Destroyer were all that remained of their leadership.

"Commander, what are we going to do now?" The Destroyer's Captain asked.

"Do not worry Captain Mint Tea." The Commander said as he paced back and forth. "We still have our standing orders to kill all those who escaped from Equestria."

"We have, maybe a thousand troops in total. The Crossing and that ambush cost us far too much. We are the ones who are now outnumbered."

"Then we have to simply strike from the shadows." He grinned. He was now the top dog here. He was in command. He liked how the power felt. "We will become the monsters that attack at night, killing here and there. Hit and run. We will weaken them little by little until more troops arrive."

"You've sent message back already?"

"Yes I have Captain. It may take up too six months though. We'll just have to do what we can till then. Hunt and kill, that is what we will do. A family here, a small group there. Soon they will begin dwindling in their numbers till they are all gone. This world will be free from the Pegasai and the Unicorns. Even the Earth Ponies who do not become slaves will be slaughtered." He glared at the three Captains. "Are my orders understood?"

"Yes Commander Sweet Heart." All three saluted.

(I really hate my name sometimes...)

...

They were a small group who had run from their farm, leaving it to burn. They felt sadness, knowing that the enemy had followed them to the new land they had come to call home.

Now, again they had to run for their lives.

There were only five of them, simple farmers, mother, father, a daughter and two sons.

They had set down to rest for the night.

"Get your rest. We have to be up at dawn and keep moving."

"Yes Father." The younger ponies nodded and lay down on the ground. They were all warn out from traveling and fell asleep quickly, all but the father. He stood guard.

He did not see nor hear them coming till it was too late. He was grabbed from behind, a gag over his mouth. He hit the ground, looking up to see the monsters. They were shaped like ponies, but were wrapped in hideous cloaks, made from other skinned ponies. Their faces were also masked by the faces of other ponies they had killed.

He didn't get to scream as he was butchered, knowing that his family would soon follow.

This scene was repeated every night all across the land. Small groups of stranglers were being picked off one at a time by what looked like horrible monsters. A few earth pony survivors escaped (were allowed to escape) to spread the fear among other groups.

Fear and panic soon began to spread like a disease.

Sometimes it would be the 'survivor' who would strike at night, killing. This started to spread a distrust among the others, not truly knowing if they could trust strangers they came across.

More than a few times an innocent earth pony was killed, believing he or she might be an assassin or a monster in disguise.

The news spread till it reached a small group of close friends.

...

Twilight frowned as she read a report. "They're not using the same tactics they used back in Equestria." She looked at all her assembled friends.

Even Fluttershy and Starlight were present, along with the unnerving Lightening Scar.

Scar frowned slightly. "They are spreading fear and distrust among the ponies who are trying to reach the safety of the mountains. They are no monsters, just Gaean soldiers."

Diane sighed. "What can we do though? Ponies are spread everywhere. How can we let them know it's not really monsters?"

"There's little we can do." Dawn spoke. "The only thing I can think of is to try to get the Equestrians to gather into larger groups where they should be safer."

"Safety in numbers?" Applejack tapped her metal hooves on the deck. "Ah don't know. Ah've been hearing that most don't trust anypony they don't know and have been avoiding each other." She pulled a few more notes from her saddlebag. "Ah've found at least half dozen groups that have been killed, a total of forty ponies. I haven't found a single sign that any of them were Gaean soldiers."

"We can't let this continue." Starlight frowned. "They're destroying the one thing that bound us together. Trust."

Twilight nodded. "We need to get them to trust each other. If we are to stand a chance to survive." She sighed. "But I have no idea what to do."

Spike held up a hand. "We can ask the Pegasai for help."

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm sorry, but the Council doesn't want to get involved. They're even planning on moving the City to where it cannot be reached, and they're trying to gather all Pegasai into the city."

"If there was only some way..." Dawn frowned.

"Maybe if they had a single leader who was understanding of the plight." Scar raised an eye. "One who was able to understand what was going on." He glanced at Fluttershy.

"Oh no, I could never be a leader."

"Who lead the Pegasai when they attacked the sky ships?" He kept his eyes on Fluttershy.

"Um... I guess I did..."

Twilight nodded. "From what I heard, you were able to delay the attack long enough for most ponies to escape. Those Pegasai listened to you Fluttershy."

She shook her head. "But... to lead all the Pegasai? I don't think I'm that strong."

"You are stronger than you think." Scar spoke in his usual stern voice. "You are the one who had killed not one, but two High Commanders. You bare the single most powerful weapon among the Pegasai, the Sky Lance."

She looked at the beautiful weapon she had strapped on her back. "I don't know."

Twilight smiled at her friend. "You are well known among the Pegasai. They all like you. I'm certain you can convince some ponies to spread the word that this is not the work of monsters, but of soldiers trying to make us all distrust one another."

She hung her head a little, but Starlight nuzzled her. "Fluttershy, I believe in you. We all do. We have to try if we are to survive."

She lifted her head and nodded. "I... I'll try."

"That's all we can ask."

...

Fluttershy, accompanied by Starlight, entered the council chambers. She took position at the speakers podium.

"Council of Cloud City, I am here to request aid. We must send messengers to all Equestrians. The Gaean Army is attacking, spreading fear and rumors of monsters and distrust among those who cannot fly. Many innocent Earth Ponies are being killed because they are just that, Earth Ponies. The Gaean Army is threatening to tear us apart, by making us tear ourselves apart."

She waved a hoof, pointing at all the council. "Look at ourselves. Are we ready to abandon the Earth Ponies and the Unicorns? They are our friends, neighbors and families. How many of you can find friends, family, and loved ones among them?"

The nine members of the council looked from one another, and slowly hooves were raised by all of them.

"Think about them. Their own friends and families that are being killed, not only by the Gaeans, but because of suspicion and the spreading distrust." She placed down a large bundle of scrolls from her saddlebag. "These are reports, over a dozen that we have heard about, of our own Equestrians killing fellow Equestrian Earth ponies, just because the Gaeans are the same."

"And what do you suggest we do about this?" One council member demanded.

Fluttershy leaned forward. "We have to unite all Equestrians together, to fight back against these fear tactics before it becomes a cancer that causes our downfall. What will we do if we, the Pegasai, become the last survivors of Equestria? What will we do if the Gaeans come for us again in their ships, with their poisons and their weapons?"

"We are going to move Cloud City to where they cannot reach us." Another council member spoke. "We will vanish so far into the mountains they will never find us."

"But what about the other ponies?" Yet another member spoke. "We can't just let them all die while we hide ourselves. We have always needed each other for survival. They grow the foods we Pegasai eat, and we provide the weather to help those crops to grow."

"I agree." Another member spoke up. "We need each other."

"No we don't." Yet another council member, he sounded quite gruff. "We are more than capable of growing our own crops. We have the knowledge and the skill to do so."

"Yes, I agree. Our brethren who have been disfigured, who have no wings and have survived the depression would be happy to be able to help us survive."

Fluttershy wanted to scream. This was getting nowhere, fast. "Then why do we not put it to a vote? For or against uniting all Equestrians? We were one nation before. Why should we become a separate nation? We can all help each other, as we always have."

"Fine, we will vote, after deliberation."

Fluttershy left the chambers, sighing, her head hanging low. "I hope this is the right thing to do."

"Out of all the survivors, we Pegasai number not even half the unicorns. Over two thirds of our total population are the Earth Ponies. I agree that we really need them, but I do not know how the council is going to vote..."

"We can only hope for the best."

...

Fluttershy could only stare in disbelief. The council had voted nine too zero against sending help.

"How can you do that?" She demanded to know.

"We have all agreed that for the Pegasai to survive, we have to separate ourselves from all others. It was not an easy decision."

"But, all of you agreed to it. How could you?" She slammed her hoof against the cloud floor. "You're leaving all the other ponies to die."

"If that is their fate, then so be it."

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and walked to the very center of the floor. She pulled out the Sky Lance and thrust it into the floor. It stayed where thrust. "No. This is not acceptable."

"It is decided."

"No it is not." She screamed. "You are only thinking of yourselves, trying to create your own kingdom ruled by you. I will not allow that."

The spear sparked, small bolts of rainbow energy flashing about the room, almost as though it were reacting to Fluttershy's anger.

"Who are you to tell us what we can and cannot do?"

"Who am I?" She flapped her wings and hovered in the center of the chamber. "I am Fluttershy, the barer of the Element of Kindness. I am the dear friend of Princess Rainbolt, the one who sacrificed herself so that all Ponies may have a chance to survive."

The rainbow lightening started to gather around Fluttershy.

"Am I the only one in this chamber besides Starlight Bolt who wishes for all ponies to be saved?"

"We don't want them to all die off either, but..."

"SILENCE!" Her voice cracked like thunder as all the lightening coursed into her, her form changing.

"P... Princess Rainbolt?"

"I am Princess Rainbolt." The powerful form of the Alicorn coursed over Fluttershy's smaller form. "You, the ruling council of the Pegasai, are cowards. You are not worthy of remaining in power."

"We do not recognize you in any position of authority. You are a self named Princess." The loudest member of the Council yelled. "You are not Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. If anything, you are just a ghost with no power here."

"No power?" Rainbolt was about to reduce him to a fine dust with a bolt of lightening when Fluttershy's gentle voice spoke.

"Princess Rainbolt? Please, don't harm them. They are only fearful and do not understand the truth." She was linked with Rainbolt at this moment and could feel the Princess's connection to Celestia and Luna. "They wish to hide away and deny all other ponies. While I do not agree, neither you nor I are in positions of power."

"If they will not listen to me, then I know they will listen to my two elder sisters."

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are both dead."

"No they are not. All three of us are very much alive."

"Then where are they?"

"Watching, waiting." Rainbolt's anger seemed to calm down, much to the relief of the Council. "But if you wish to hear their words, then what is needed is the weapon that killed them."

"Where can we find this weapon? It must be in possession of the Gaeans."

"No. It is here, held by a dear friend of mine. Her name is Applejack."

"Why would she be holding the weapon that killed the Princesses? Is she the one who killed them?"

"No, she is not the one who killed them. That act was done by High Commander Blackmourn. He in turn was slain by Fluttershy. Fluttershy has also slain the High Commander known as Shadow Mane, the one who brought to us this new invasion." Rainbolt relaxed a little more. "Fluttershy was once the most shy of all ponies I had ever met, but is also the bearer of the Element of Kindness."

"What does that matter?"

"I will say nothing more till you have heard the words from my sisters for yourself..." She faded away, flowing from Fluttershy and back into the spear.

Fluttershy landed gently and looked at the Council. "Your decision to hide will wait till you have heard the words of Celestia and Luna." She then left the chamber again, Starlight following.

"You were so brave in there." Starlight hugged Fluttershy.

She nuzzled him gently. "Only because you were there, and also because of Princess Rainbolt." She smiled. "We need to go get Applejack."

...

"Y'all want me to do WHAT?"

"Just walk into the council chamber and draw your sword." Fluttershy replied.

"I ain't crazy on this here idea."

"Yea, I was the crazy one."

"Shut it Diane. Ah just dun feel right doin this."

Twilight walked next to Applejack. "You'll be ok. I'll cast the cloud walk spell on you."

"That ain't what's botherin me. It's the idea of drawin a weapon in front ah th' council. Ain't there guards in there?"

"No, but there's plenty of guards all around the place." Starlight replied. "But they're also expecting you."

"What in tarnation ave ya gotten me into." She sighed and glanced at Twilight . "Go 'head an zap me. Ah guess I gotta do this."

...

Applejack entered the council chambers. She tried not to look nervous as she approached the center.

Fluttershy and Starlight had been asked to remain outside during this talk.

She looked up at the nine council members. "Y'all wanna hear from Princess Celestia an' Princess Luna?"

"If you are capable of performing this act, we will listen, but that is still no guarantee we will change our vote."

"Fine, jes so long as y'all listen." She then drew the sword.

Light reflected off the blade, both silvery and golden. The light seemed to take on the forms of two ponies, Alicorn that all recognized.

"Pegasai Council of Cloud City." Princess Celestia smiled. "I am pleased to see you well. I have watched and heard all you have said prior."

"So?" The lead speaker stood. "You're dead. You're rule is over."

"I am far from dead. I am a Goddess after all. What you knew as Princess Celestia was but a proxy, an Avatar we Goddesses use to communicate. Our true forms are that of the very sun and the moon themselves. Our youngest sister, Princess Rainbolt is the very lightening and wind in the sky."

"If this is true, why haven't you just come back?"

"The amount of our energy and soul that we place into the forms you are familiar with is considerable, and it will take time to recover it. Till then, we have set the nature on its own path."

"If you could simply have done that, then why bother with ruling over us?" He grew angry. "You ruled over all ponies when you were not really needed."

"Were it not for Luna and myself, none of you would exist. We gave birth to your whole race. Would you prefer we abandon you, to let all ponies die when the cycle of nature falls apart as the magic fails?"

Luna then spoke. "If you do not wish for us to exist, to maintain the sun and the moon and the very lightening and wind itself, then we will leave this world. Within a hundred years, the magic will begin to fall apart, and eventually the sun and moon we leave behind will vanish entirely. Do you wish us to abandon our world, our children?"

"I..."

The doors burst open and Fluttershy entered, carrying the spear, and Rainbolt was hovering above it.

"Sisters, I believe we should bring this to a conclusion. Young Surprise has returned and warned us of more Destroyers and Carriers coming over the ocean. They will reach the coast within the hour, and then within hours they will reach Cloud City."

"What? It will take us days to move the city." The head speaker glared at those on the council floor. "You have delayed us, cost us greatly. Now we must abandon our new home and leave."

Rainbolt laughed. "Do you honestly think I would allow you to move the city in the first place?"

"You would have us all die?"

"No. Were I to have my way, the storms over the ocean would have torn all their ships apart. As it stands, only a handful were forced to crash into the ocean."

"That is good news."

"No really. They rescued most of the soldiers, so their numbers are still vast." She looked at her sisters. "See? This council is a bunch of foals. Cloudsdale had been far better when it had the Prince to rule."

Celestia nodded. "I agree. What Cloud City needs is a ruler who knows what is happening out there, one who is willing to use their power to show compassion, to help rid my little ponies of their fear, and to help bring them together so they may survive."

Luna looked over the council. "I see none among the council worthy of leadership."

"Oh, but we do know one who is." Celestia looked at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, come close please."

Fluttershy did so and knelt before Celestia's phantom form.

"I hereby grant you both the title and all powers that come with it, the title of Queen of the Pegasai."

Fluttershy gasped. "Wh... what?"

"This is absurd." The head speaker roared. "GUARDS!"

The guards rushed in through the doors and windows, totaling twenty.

"Arrest those intruders and relinquish them of their belongings."

Celestia whispered into Fluttershy's ear. "We'll also throw in a little something extra."

Fluttershy stood, then floated into the air, her wings stretched out. Golden light, silver light, and rainbow electricity flowed around Fluttershy. Her form didn't change, but her mane and tail did.

It remained pink, but was now flowing just as the Princess's manes and tails.

She settled down, her eyes closed.

"Well? Arrest them."

"Stand down please." Fluttershy spoke softly, but all the guards did as commanded, moving back to a respectful distance and bowed.

The other eight of the council also bowed.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"They recognize the truth." Fluttershy turned to face him as she opened her gentle green eyes. "They do not recognize your authority, a single member of the council, no more powerful than the others, any longer. I am Queen of the Pegasai, and I will not allow our kind to abandon our friends and loved ones." She floated into the air, her wings gently flapping. "Guards, place him under house arrest. Make sure he is comfortable." She then turned to Starlight. "Starlight..."

"Please, I do not wish for any special privileges or rank."

"You already have one, my dearest friend. You always will be my dearest friend, because I do love you."

Applejack whistled. "Whoo, now ain't that great fer ya Starlight? Y'all got the love ah Royalty."

"I will stand by your side, my Queen." He bowed his head.

"We'll talk about this later... for now, Bring me the Captain of the Air Force."

...

He wouldn't have believed it if he had not seen it himself.

The Queen of the Pegasai. He had thought that such a rank could never have existed except in old pony tales.

Yet here she was, a pony he had known to be shy, gentle, and wise, and above all, kind.

"You wish us to gather as many Earth and Unicorn ponies as we can? But... we're outnumbered by the oncoming enemy fleet. It's going to be Equestria all over again."

"Not this time." She stated softly. "All ponies will be allowed to enter Cloud City. The clouds will be solid enough for them to walk on." She tapped the Sky Lance. "This weapon will allow me to command the clouds as I wish. Now, go, we have our fellow Equestrians to save."

He bowed and rushed off.

Applejack turned to Fluttershy and the three Princesses spirits. "Ah think Ah should be headin out. Th' others might be wantin ta hear bout this. An grats on becomin Queen. Ah always knew ya'd be great someday." She bowed.

"Thank you Applejack." Queen Fluttershy smiled. "Please, do not be a stranger. You and all our friends are always welcomed here."

With that, Applejack smiled once more and left.

...

"She WHAT?" Twilight gasped. "That's amazing."

Applejack had looked like she was the proudest of all her friends when she had delivered the news.

"Aunt Fluttershy is a queen?" Skywind asked. "What's a queen?"

Twilight shook her head a moment, then turned to her daughter. "Remember all the stories I've told you about Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Rainbolt?"

The filly nodded eagerly.

"She's like them now. She's the ruler of all the Pegasai."

"Really? I wanna see her." She turned and bolted, jumping off the deck of the Twilight Dawn.

Twilight and Dawn screamed and dove after her, but she was already, much to their amazement, running across the clouds toward the palace.

Dawn turned to Twilight. "Did... did you cast Cloud Walk on her?"

"No... And I didn't see her use any magic." Twilight shook her head and ran after their daughter after casting her own spell.

Dawn wanted to give chase, but he knew he couldn't run on clouds without Twilight's magic.

The others could only stare in disbelief.

"How?" Surprise gasped.

Dawn then thought for a moment. "While she was pregnant, Twilight always felt drawn to the sky more often then ever before. I think our little Skywind Dash was gifted with the power to walk on clouds... she was born in the sky after all."

Diane beamed brightly. "Wow. I wish I was born in the sky too. It would be so much fun if I could run on the clouds too."

Applejack chuckled. "Ah think ah Queen may've just made the clouds solid so anypony could walk on em."

Dawn tested this, placing a hoof on the clouds, but his hoof passed through it. "I don't think she's done that just yet..." He stared on as Twilight caught the filly and started leading her back to the ship.

Twilight was relieved as she placed the energetic foal on the sturdy deck. "Don't do that again Skywind. You scared the daylights out of your father and myself."

"I'm sowwy mommy an daddy." She hung her head, a tear in her eye.

"It's alright now." Dawn helped Twilight back onto deck. "You sure surprised us when you landed on the cloud and ran off instead of falling through."

"But all them other ponies are walking around." Skywind pointed out. "Can't you Daddy?"

"No, you see, your mom and I need magic to walk on clouds." He sighed as he hugged her close. "Just, please, don't scare us like that again."

"Okay." She hugged back. "Mommy? I'm hungry."

Twilight smiled. "Ok, let's go to the gally..."

...

Spike leaned against the railing, watching the Pegasai walk or fly by. They were looking very busy for some reason. Well, maybe because the rumors of the incoming invasion just hours away.

He sighed as he heard the radio beep. He walked over and flicked the switch. "Hello?"

"Identify yourself." A male voice spoke, and it was not one he recognized.

"You identify yourself first. How do I know you're not an enemy Equestrian." He grinned, figuring it had to be one of the Gaeans.

"I am the newly appointed High Commander of the Gaean Military, Sweet Heart. Now, identify yourself."

Spike released the button so Sweet Heart would not hear him crack up.

Diane poked her head from below deck. "Spike? What's so funny? Is it a new joke?"

"Sweet Heart."

"Aww, I didn't know you felt that way about me." She smiled.

Spike wiped the tears from his eyes. "No... Just over the radio I heard..."

"I repeat, Identify yourself. This is an order from High Commander Sweet heart."

Diane keeled over laughing so hard she was having a hard time catching her breath.

Dawn and Twilight poked their heads up now. "What the?" They both wondered.

And spike explained.

Dawn just looked dumbfounded while Twilight giggled.

"Seriously?" Diane finally recovered. "I don't think I'll be able to take him seriously with a name like that. It's so... girly."

"Sweet Heart..." Spike snickered.

Then Twilight paused. "Where did you hear about him? We've been parked here the whole time."

Spike pointed to the radio. "I heard his voice come out of that thing. I've only ever heard Surprise talk over it when she's relaying information. That little ship of hers is so fast and makes an awesome scout ship."

Dawn frowned. "Still, I really wish she'd be more careful. We don't know anything about it. The engines are far more complicated than the Twilight Dawn's engines."

"Oh!" Diane piped up. "Imagine if we could replace her engines with those ones. The Twilight Dawn was be so much faster."

"And unsafe." He replied. "Anyway, we really should get going. Twilight and I have thought up some plans on how to slow the Gaean sky ships down. We'll be needing everypony for this... and a serious gamble as well..."

"What gamble?"

"Using the Elements of Harmony..."

Spike tilted his head, a claw on his chin. "But... didn't you say we needed at least six of the elements before we could activate them?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, and I believe I know who we can ask to wield one. Her loyalty to her father, friends, and her adopted mother has been unwavering. Surprise."

"But... she's out scouting."

"Then call her back on the radio." Twilight said.

Diane shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, we could hear the enemy. What's to say they can't listen to us?"

"Oh, that's no good... Let me try my send thoughts spell." Twilight closed her eyes and pictured Surprise in her mind. 'Surprise, This is Twilight. Do not, I repeat, do NOT use your radio to communicate with us. The Gaeans can listen in on our radio.' "There, I sent her the message. I just hope she got it."

...

Surprise sighed. "Great... and I just got some really bad news for them too..." She looked out the belly window, at the massive ship far below. "They need to know they've sent another Dreadnaught sized ship... Guess I'll have to go tell them myself." She then took off, glad her ship was virtually invisible in the night sky.

...

Surprise landed in a field near Cloud City. She had flown by and let them know she was here. She was glad this ship could take off and land vertically, seeing as there was no level length of road to take off or land on.

She emerged from the small craft and watched as the Twilight Dawn descended from the city above.

Once the craft was only a few yards off the ground, the ramp came down, followed shortly by everypony but Spike (who was at the helm for the moment).

"Surprise, did you get my message?" Twilight asked.

"Yea I did and it really surprised me and good thing you warned me. But anyway they have another Dreadnaught sized ship coming though it's still a ways out from land though, and the rest of the recently arrived ships are just waiting." She took a moment to catch her breath. "Also, there's a bunch more of those Destroyers and Carriers with it as well."

"This is not good..." Dawn looked at the rest of the group. "We have to warn Queen Fluttershy."

"Queen Fluttershy? Wow, I really missed something HUGE... Anyway. They're most likely going to have thousands of troops now, and hundreds of their small Jumpers. What are we going to do?"

"We are going to try something really dangerous..." Twilight sighed. "We are going to use the Elements of Harmony... All seven of them at once." She looked at a confused Surprise. "You are going to have to try to use the Element of Loyalty."

"Who's going to use the element of Generosity?" Surprise asked.

"I don't know yet... we have to find the most generous pony we can find and hope they can use it."

Applejack, silent till now spoke. "What 'bout Starlight? Ah hear he's really generous with 'is time an' money. He's always helpin out with trainin the Pegasus an' stuff like that."

"It's worth a shot..." Twilight boarded the Twilight Dawn. "Wish us luck."

...

Fluttershy was feeling a little uncomfortable in her new roll as a Queen, but was doing her best. The eight former council members, along with Starlight were helping her in any way they could with whatever advice they could give.

She was almost relieved when Twilight entered the former council chamber that now served as her throne room.

"Twilight?"

"Greetings Queen Fluttershy." She bowed, feeling odd that she was doing so to one of her best friends. "I've received dire news..."

...

Fluttershy had listened to the news and paled. She did not want to do this, but she saw no other recourse.

To this end, she had joined everypony else on the Twilight Dawn and was heading toward the now visible fleet of Gaean ships.

Starlight stood next to her, now wearing the Element of Generosity. He said that it somehow felt right when he put it on.

Surprise had said the same thing when she donned the Element of Loyalty.

With all seven Elements together, they headed forward.

Twilight had left Skywind back in Cloud City under the watchful eye of the Queens advisers. She did not want to place her baby in such danger.

Diane was at the helm. "Are we ready? Everypony hang on. Time for the Shiny Red Button."

She hit the button and the ship changed to its high speed mode, then took off.

As they neared the fleet, they could easily make out the Dreadnaught. Its name was clearly painted on the front.

Leviathan.

Twilight took the front and center position, with three ponies on either side of her. "Okay, let's do this before we're in range of their weapons..." She hoped they would have the range needed.

Together, they all focused on the power of the Elements.

Brilliant light gathered into Twilight's crown, her eyes blazing with white light.

...

"High Commander! There's some bright light heading toward us."

"What is it? Can you identify it?"

"We spotted the Twilight Dawn, but suddenly it was surrounded by the light. It may be some new weapon. Most likely Unicorn Magic."

"Unicorn magic?" He grinned. "Very well. Retract the balloon and activate all flight systems. Raise the shield magics. Have Destroyers Four and Six take point"

"Yes High Commander."

The balloon deflated and was retracted into the holding bay. Ports opened, revealing jet engines which kicked in, keeping the ship afloat. A shimmering bubble of light surrounded the entire ship.

The Destroyers did as commanded, not really understanding this order.

...

Once Twilight felt the magic was fully charged, she took aim and released it. Rather than a ribbon of rainbow light, it was a massive surge of rainbow energy. It tore toward the Leviathan with impressive speed.

The two Destroyers were hit directly, each ripped into pieces in an instant and absorbing a large amount of the attack.

The shields took the rest of the attack, rocking the entire massive ship, but they held.

...

Twilight and the rest fell to their knees. They looked up and saw the black smoke, but before they could cheer, they watched the undamaged Leviathan fly through.

"Oh no..." She paled. "We failed."

"What are we going to do now?" Surprise gasped. "I don't think we have what it takes to do that again anytime soon."

Diane dragged herself back to the controls and turned the ship around. "We have to retreat... They're launching their Jumpers."

Applejack looked at Fluttershy, the only pony who had not actually fallen to her knees. She simply stared at the massive ship. "Sugercube? Y'all ok?"

"I think we should try to lead them in another direction instead of retreating back to Cloud City. The Pegasai are trying to move the city as we speak. If we can give them even a few more hours, they might be able to give it enough momentum to make all the difference."

Starlight looked at Fluttershy. "Just a few hours? Are you sure that will be enough? They said it would take days to move the city into the deep mountains."

"I know..." She frowned. She had been hoping to solidify the clouds in order to take on as many Earth and Unicorn ponies as possible before moving the city, but it looked like there would be no choice now. "Starlight, stay here. I'm going back to the city as fast as I can to try to help."

"I understand. I wish you the best of luck." He nuzzled her gently before she took off.

"Ah hope the darlin makes it." Applejack frowned. "Ah hope they all make it."

Diane nodded. "So... all we gotta do is distract them a few hours? That shouldn't be so hard. They're already chasing us."

Twilight looked back and frowned. "Not good enough... Only half the destroyers are giving chase. The Leviathan, Carriers, and rest of the Destroyers are all headed toward Cloud City."

"Then we just have to get the rest of their attention." She grinned and pulled up, making a sharp turn back toward the main fleet.

"Diane! Are you crazy?" Starlight cried.

"They have no weapons on top of their ships. We can fly over them. Their gliders can't reach us, and the Jumpers are no real threat when we're in fast mode." Diane licked her lips and pushed the ship to its top speed.

"We're all going to die..." Spike frowned. Still, he strapped himself to the rear railing along with his rifle. He made sure it was already loaded.

"Twilight, can you make it look like there's more than one of us?" Dawn asked.

"I can try." She concentrated, making use of the special disks that had been installed on the Twilight Dawn.

The ship suddenly looked like it went in two directions at once for a moment. They looked over at the mirror image of themselves.

"It's not perfect." Twilight frowned. "But as long as my concentration is not broken, I should be able to maintain it."

"Let's just hope it drawn enough fire away from the real us." Diane said to nopony in particular.

As they flew over the Destroyers that had been chasing them, dozens of Jumpers were launched and started giving chase.

The small craft were not as fast, which was something they were grateful for, still, they could see the Carriers starting to deploy many more Jumpers.

Dawn narrowed his eyes. "That's a lot of Jumpers..." He checked his dart launcher to make sure it was loaded.

Diane closed, and noticed each of those Jumpers were carrying five soldiers instead of three. "Are they thinking they can board us?" She grinned and flew right for the incoming swarm of smaller ships. The illusion matching all their movements.

The Jumpers swerved out of the way of both ships, not wanting to be rammed. Still, as the ships passed by each other, some of the soldiers jumped off and tried to land on the ships.

The four who tried for the illusion ship fell through it, plummeting toward the ground.

Six managed to land on the deck, all armed with dart launchers and swords.

Diane took aim with her custom launcher and fired, scoring a direct hit on one soldiers head. The small explosion took half his head off in a messy spray of blood, bones and brains.

Surprise rose on her hind legs and attacked with her leg blades, parrying the sword from a solder with one, and disabling his launcher with the other before he had the chance to fire it.

Dawn hammered his hooves into his target, shattering his sword and face.

Applejack attacked with a combination of front hooves, a hind kick, followed by a sword swipe. She took out three solders with that combination.

The final soldier took aim at the immobile Twilight Dawn and fired his dart, hitting her in the neck.

She winced and yanked the dart out with her magic. She then felt a little dizzy, but not tired. That had not been a sleep dart. Still, her concentration was disrupted and the illusion vanished.

Spike took aim at the pilot of the nearest Jumper and fired, scoring a forehead shot.

The small ship spun out of control, crashing into another one and both went down. Still, that was only two out of many.

Over a dozen spears flew at the ship, most hitting the side and doing almost no damage at all.

Twilight tried to use her magic to fire the cannons on one side, but it fizzled. She suddenly became worried.

Dawn delivered a rear buck on the last soldier that made Applejack grin. "Y'all got a job anytime once this is all over an' we get our orchard growin."

"I'll keep that in mind." He frowned as another wave of ships flew past. "Twilight, why aren't you firing the cannons?"

"My magic... I got hit with a dart and my magic isn't working now." She tried again, and this time two of the four cannons on the right side fired, scoring one direct hit on a Jumper. The second shot hit one of the gunners.

Another wave flew past and more soldiers jumped and boarded the Twilight Dawn.

Things were not looking good now.

Diane flew directly over the Leviathan at this point and released the spike bombs.

They flew perfectly toward their target, but were deflected off harmlessly by some odd barrier.

Twilight saw this. "They're using magic shields? How many Unicorns did they have to hurt to create that powerful magic?" She frowned. "We're seriously in for the fight of our life... not unless there's some miracle..."

...

The Everfree Forest.

A lone pony, white with black stripes walked along a river. She paused as she spotted something. Something that was a bright lavender. She picked it up with a hoof and recognized it instantly.

Twilight Sparkle's horn.

Zecora smiled and turned back into the forest. She was going to perform a miracle.

It only took her minutes to travel through the forest, knowing all the tricks and hidden magicks really helped her a lot.

She arrived at an ancient site and entered it. She walked to an ancient device and place the horn upon it. Without a word, she cast a spell, her zebra magic activating the machine.

The horn then vanished.

...

Dawn was standing over Twilight, staggering to keep his balance. three darts had hit him. Surprise was fighting two soldiers at once, and she too had been hit. She was having a hard time even standing now.

Applejack was fighting like a pony possessed, but she was starting to wear down from dart strikes and blade nicks.

Spike had been knocked out from a single dart before he could load a second shot into his rifle.

Diane was slumped over the helm, somehow keeping the ship flying in a strait line, out too sea.

Starlight, being immune to the sleeping poison, had already taken to the air and was trying to disable as many jumpers as he could. He knew it was hopeless to try to take them all out, but made good use of the balloons to keep them from firing those deadly spears at him.

Dawn fell to one knee, struggling to stay awake.

He didn't know what happened next, but his forehead suddenly felt like it was trying to rip itself open. He screamed, causing the soldiers to all back away from him.

Dawn became aware of a strange sensation, a surge of magical energy that had long been dormant within him came to life. He screamed again, causing a shock-wave that spread out from him.

The Element of Love on his chest flared as well, reacting to all the other Elements.

...

Fluttershy was not yet at the city when she felt her Element of Kindness react, as well as the Sky Spear. She turned to look back toward the battle in the far distance. A brilliant light shot out from both her Element and Spear, flying back toward the battle. She felt the warmth of the light, and she instantly thought of her love for her friends and for Starlight. She smiled and poured her heart into the power released.

...

The same was happening to all the elements, releasing light into Dawn's forehead.

Applejack's sword was reacting the exact same way as Fluttershy's spear, flaring with gold and silver light.

Then it happened.

Emerging from Dawn's forehead, from the center of the lavender six point star, came a horn.

He could feel the magic within him. He grinned and channeled it all into the Element of Love, then released it in a spherical shock-wave

It had no physical impact on anything, but the emotional effect was immediate.

Soldiers and friends stopped their attacks alike, suddenly feeling something in their hearts.

A peaceful warmth.

The soldiers looked at those they were attacking and lowered their weapons.

"Wh... what were we doing? Why are we fighting with other ponies?" One soldier asked.

"I... I feel like a whole lifetime of hate has just vanished." Another spoke.

"Why did we hate the Pegasus? They're all born with wings. It's their born right to fly, and Unicorns... they are born with magic."

They all started to realize this hate they felt had no point, and all suddenly realized the truth.

The shields had no effect on this wave of a wave of emotions.

Sweet Heart shook his head, suddenly realizing that he had been fighting not for his beliefs, but for the beliefs of the greedy and selfish few. He looked over his crew. "Send the order to all ships, stand down."

"Yes High Commander." The communications officer smiled, feeling strange, but warm.

The feelings that had suddenly awakened in every pony in the sky caused the battle to end, right then and there.

...

Fluttershy had watched the massive sphere of pure light engulf the whole battle, and spread till it washed over her. She turned to watch it continue spreading till it even engulfed all of Cloud City.

...

On the ground, many ponies were fleeing, or hunting those running when the surge hit them.

All thoughts of violence and hatred vanished instantly.

They all looked toward the source of the light, a brilliant star of light high in the sky. It radiated with all the positive aspects of the Elements of Harmony.

...

Dawn opened his eyes. Floating before him were nine distinct lights. He blinked as the light started to fade away. He watched as five of the lights flew back to the Elements close by, and another flying toward Cloud City, or rather, Fluttershy.

The other two shot off in two different directions, one south, and the other to the east, over the mountains.

Had he just seen two unknown elements?

Then he felt faint and collapsed from the exertion.

...

Zecora smiled softly. Her body starting to fade away. She had already known the price for using this ancient machine. Her own life force. But the wish she had been granted, she knew had come true.

She had wished that the horn of Twilight Sparkle return to where it belonged. She had no idea that it was now part of Dawn Glimmer.

...

"Is... is the war over?" Starlight landed on the deck, looking at the soldiers. He felt no resentment for them.

"It's over." A soldier said, dropping his sword. "I think we've all realized the futility of this war and the selfishness of our leaders."

Starlight smiled as he took over the helm. He could only hope that this light of love had reached all the way to Gaea...

Everypony was feeling the same way. They hoped that this war would be over, forever.

...

The End?...