Author's Notes:

Canterlot's Skydocks on Fleet Days were always extremely crowded. Proud relatives and sad children said their goodbyes to their parents and friends and siblings boarding the airships docked, but one single pigeon-colored bat pony was completely alone. She took off her black officer's cap with a graceful sweep of her hoof and brushed her solid blue-purple mane, then returned the cap on top of her head.

The mare-young and fit-radiated a feeling of self confidence, but not in an overly extroverted way. She walked up the gangplank to the gunboat Viper alone, brushing past other flyers and crew members, trying to stay out of their way. Several people cursed at her for cutting them off, and she did no more than mutter a quiet 'sorry' and move on. When she reached the main deck of the little boat, she was greeted by a stallion in light blue-grey coveralls.

"Are you Lieutenant Elita Heart?" The yellow earth pony held up a hoof, brown mane and tail billowing in the wind. His cutie mark was a toolbox and several nuts and bolts, and she could probably guess what his job was.

"Yes, but just call me Elita. Heart...eh..." She chuckled nervously. "And you are?"

"I'm your deck chief, Hoofy. This is great!" He jumped up and down in excitement, almost losing his clipboard over the side. "Dear Celestia, all my friends will all be so jealous! Elita Heart, the star, the legend of the Academy!" He went on rambling to himself like this for a few minutes, working himself up.

"..." Elita trotted below decks, and with a long sigh, she pressed herself against a large window. The gunboat, Viper was it's name, gently rocked and rolled in the mountain breeze, the wood groaning and creaking as if the ship was alive, complaining and whining.

Hoofy took out a small square device, pressing buttons. Strange, computerized sounds were being emitted, probably triggered by the buttons he pressed.

"What's that?" Elita asked, intrigued. A part of her was frustrated by letting him have the satisfaction of her ask, but the other side simply was driving her crazy not knowing.

"A so called 'game console.' It's running Super Celestia Sis'. Built it myself." He grinned proudly. Out of the corner of her eye, Elita noticed several dock workers untying lines and moving away the gangplank.

"What's with the mushrooms?" She pointed at one that the main character-looking like a pixelated Luna-appeared to absorb.

"They're based off of the Southern Swamp Toadstool Mushroom. It makes you gain an extra respawn in the game, but in real life, it makes you stronger. I met a guy once. His name was 'Bulk Biceps,' he probably ate one." Hoofy joked. Seeing her confused look, his grin faded away.

The little gunboat finally pushed away, and the small engine underneath the keel coughed to life. After sputtering a few times, it held a constant hum, pushing the ship away from the city on the mountain. The wind picked up outside, and Elita, watching out of the window, observed wispy clouds going by.

The flyer gave a nod in pity before attempting to take a nap. She hardly had the chance to close her eyes when a white pegasus day guard holding a spear plopped next to her. "Hey." He greeted.

"Yeah..?" Elita asked through gritted teeth, her fangs glistening. Nobody seemed to be interest in leaving her alone.

"Hmm, let me guess." He rubbed his chin. "You're a rookie, fresh out of the Academy, and desperate to prove your worth before the war ends."

"If you're attempting to show off your intuition, you're failing miserably..." Elita checked his forelegs. "...Captain. For all I know, you were listening in on our conversation before you talked to me."

He tried to open his mouth, but she cut him off.

"As to answer your question..." She smiled. "I know I'll get the chance to show my importance to the war effort."

"So. You really want action, don't you?" He asked, chuckling, letting her attitude slide. "She'll give you action." He pointed out of the wide, picturesque windows.

As the gunboat Viper rounded Foal Mountain, fighting the violent air currents, a massive, 600 meter long frigate of the Equestrian Defensive Fleet filled Elita's eyes. It's golden hull was dotted with massive cannon, and two enormous engines protected by cowling supported by one thin strut each hung below the hull. Both propellers were slowly churning the air, and the port side bow anchor was cast, the chain stretching about a thousand hooves to the ground below. Wreathed among the brilliant white clouds, it seemed to be more than a ship; it seemed to be a guardian angel, protecting Equestria with the love of a mother.

On the stern, proudly cast in gold, the nameplate proudly proclaimed the name of the seemingly invincible vessel:

Elita immediately widened her eyes, at least wider than they already were; for weeks, newspapers proclaimed that the Ignus was far superior to the Griffin ships of the line. She was faster (as a frigate), used a stronger and yet lighter wood (Southern Live Oak, straight from Phillydelphia); had fifty pounder guns (the largest used on the griffin ships were twenty pounders), and she was spanking new with a well seasoned crew to boot.

"Wow...." Elite could only say.

The Griffin ships had just fought a bloody war with the zebras a few years prior, and even thought the Zebras eventually lost, the Griffin Sky Navy had taken a serious pounding. Experts all believed the ships of the line were weak and ready to collapse, and their sky navy was second rate.

However, the Griffins had been defeating the Equestrian Offensive Force in nearly every single battle since the beginning of the war. Four years later, Equestria's shipwrights had built bigger and bigger dedicated warships. Considering this scale of the ships had never been attempted before, coupled with the fact that Equestrian shipyards was used to building small private yachts, it was no surprise that the Ignus was the pride of the Sky Navy. Her size alone was an impressive feat.

As Elita stared at the goliath frigate, her tiny little gunboat came alongside, shuddering in the larger ship's turbulence. A gangway was produced and tied down, allowing ponies to traverse the distance between the two ship's hulls. Elita, closely followed by Hoofy, climbed back up to the main deck and pushed their way onto the Ignis.

This was going to be a life changing event. Elita thought to herself as she boarded the larger ship. I'm doing something with my life! I-

"Lieutenant, the skipper wants to meet you." One of the gunnery officers interrupted Elita's delusions of grandeur. Seeing her watchful gaze, he twisted his head. "Come on, follow me."

She obliged, leaving Hoofy confused and disoriented. "I'll...I'll get your stuff!" He called after her.

Elita followed the officer through the winding hallways of the ship. His leather jacket's sleeves denoted his rank as sergeant, and he finally stopped. "This is the bridge." He explained in a gruff voice, his mustache jumping around. "Captain wants to talk to you."

"Thanks." Elita saluted him and knocked on the door. "Permission to enter the bridge, sir!"

"Permission granted." The voice responded. She pushed the handle and was faced with a spiral staircase, and she quickly trotted up. "Good to see you Elita. I'm Commander Rolling Thunder." A white maned unicorn greeted her. He was clean shaven, and was wearing a non-formal uniform. His geniune smile drew attention away from his faded eyes, which for some reason, Elita felt had seen too much.

The bridge was a large room, one deck below the bottom of the balloon structure of the ship. Several ponies were behind several stations, monitoring instruments. One area was dedicated to running the two Krestel aero engines, and another station was for fire control of the main cannon.

"Sir, I am honored to be on board and am willing to start combat missions immediately." Elita stood at attention and puffed out her chest.

"As a matter of fact, Lieutenant, I called you here to talk about your...situation." Thunder put down a clipboard with documents for supplies down on the Flyer Control Station Officer's desk. "You see, I've seen so many ponies just like you. So many young cadets graduating from the Academy thinking they're good to go. I'm assigning you to milk runs until you mellow down."

"S...sir!" Elita's ears, which were perked up, flattened back. "You can't do that to me! I should be out there fighting-"

"Dismissed!" The captain gave a lopsided salute and turned away, leaving the sputtering bat pony to her own devices.

A quarter of an hour later, she had descended deep into the hull, attempting to find her cabin. She went up and down the hall a few times. As she was wandering about the seemingly endless compartments, she kept muttering to herself. "Stupid captain...making me do milk runs. Who does he think I am, some filly who joined the guard on a whim?"

Finally spotting her designated quarters, and after checking both ways, Elita put the key in the lock and turned it. There was a dull chunk and the door swung open.

Cheerful music filled her ears, and Elita clutched her ears. The high pitched notes were painful to her sensitive ears, and through gritted teeth, yelled, "I don't care if you're drunk, mentally challenged, or just enjoy shitty ads, but nobody should be this happy!"

"Mm? What's that?" Another bat pony mare with a slightly darker coat and a green mane looked up, from her book (A Manual of Aeronautics). Her wall was filled with Wonderbolt posters, and she herself clutched a pair of Wonderbolt flying goggles in one of her hooves. Elita frowned and muttered something to herself. "What was that?" The other mare tilted her head as she reached behind her to shut off a radio.

"That's awfully mainstream." Elita repeated, louder. "Your Wonderbolt...attire."

"Ah, sorry...Name's Voodoo." Voodoo extended a hoof.

Elita rolled her eyes and took it. "For the record, I know what you're trying to pull."

"So...whats your name?" Voodoo retracted her hoof, rubbing the back of her head, subdued.

"Elita." She announced sharply. "Call me Elita."

"No second part?" Voodoo joked.

"Well, there's "Heart," because my dad opened up a dictionary and picked the first word he saw." Elita left Voodoo wondering if she was being sarcastic.

"So, you could have been "Elita Bubblegum"?" Voodoo finally asked tentatively.

"Shut up." Elita pouted to Voodoo's amusement.

"So you DO have that side!" Voodoo grinned.

The Constellation class frigates, considering they were the first airships to posses flyer wings, required special facilities to launch and recover chariots, rotary wing flying craft, and designated areas for ponies to land unobstructed. For aerodynamic purposes, the triangular tube shaped module could be retracted when not in use.

While Elita was being flustered by Voodoo's cheerful personality, Commander Rolling Thunder stood in the flight pod, cheerfully chatting with a few officers. The pod slowly extended below the ship, but since the ship wasn't moving, there was no slipstream. Off in the distance, around Foal Mountain, a glimmering gold chariot made a low, banking turn. As it drew closer, a few escorts could be seen, one of which had a bright rainbow colored mane.

"Ah, Princess Twilight Sparkle, I presume?" Rolling Thunder gave a grin and gave a half-bow. "I heard about the theft."

"Yes, commander. Really unfortunate, the Pearl of Transformation was found missing..." Twilight scrunched her nose. "You don't have to bow to me. I'm not a real princess."

"If you say so. I only wish for your stay on board to be as pleasant as possible." Thunder beckoned for one of the non commissioned officers to come over as the runway retracted into the hull, almost like a massive elevator. "We'll give you two a cabin for the night. If your mission is to succeed, you must make haste."

"Very then. I will see you tomorrow." Twilight gave a wave before she and Rainbow Dash walked off, a crew member leading them away.

The next day, Elita was told by the same Sergeant to report to the Flyer Ready Room.

"Briefing room, briefing room...ah, here." Elita made a right turn through the wooden halls, pushed open the door and walked in. A flat wall was at the front with a projector overhead, and rows of grey cushioned chairs were facing it. It was almost like a mini movie theater.

"...but that kind of technology...it would have to be powered by magic..." Rainbow tapped a contemplative hoof under her chin.

"It's not magic, that's what they want you to think." Elita said to the pegasus, completely lost on the context of the conversation. She then turned to Rolling Thunder. "Permission to barge in, sir?"

"...Granted." He gave the bat pony a deadpan stare, and she returned it with a toothy smile. She was impartial to what her captain thought, especially-

It hit her like a train. The Princess of Friendship and the Element of Loyalty were sitting here, and she was called in. Could this mean...?

Twilight waved from near the back, but Rainbow gave a scowl. "A bat pony? Really? All she'll do is suck blood. I mean, that's cool in movies and whatever, but in real life? Count me out." She folded her arms and turned away, eyes thinning dangerously.

"...W...wha...?" Elita raised an eyebrow. "Bat ponies feed off of small mammals. Only in the most desperate situations do we actually take blood from a sentient creature. It-A-That would be like cannibalism! It is cannibalism!" Not what was expected.

Rainbow frowned. "I happen to have a friend who is friends with small mammals."

"See if I care." Elita laughed and sat in the seat directly in front of Rainbow. "I just work here."

"As I was saying." Twilight cut in. "Our mission is to destroy a new kind of Griffin communications system, and if we can, bring it's secrets back to Equestria. If they succeed in their project, we're going to be on even terms."

Elita nodded. "Where do I fit in?"

"Well seeing as you're so eager to fight and all, Elita, I've volunteered you for this mission." Thunder said with a grin.

"So I'll be fighting?" Elita brightned up.

"Naw. You get to pick your wing pony, though." Thunder leaned over and cupped his hoof around Twilight's ear. "She's cute when she's flustered like that."

Half an hour later, Elita, Voodoo, Twilight, Rainbow, two pegasi day guards, Hoofy, and Thunder were gathered in the extendable pod. Hoofy was working on Elita and Voodoo's equipment, checking their leather suits, goggles, and hoof blades. After giving them the go, he waddled off and disappeared around a corner.

As Thunder outlined the mission once again, Elita noticed that VooDoo was looking down and constantly tapping her hooves.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Ah...nothing...heh. Just pre-show jitters." VooDoo gave her a toothy grin.

Elita shrugged and didn't think any more of it. "Everybody ready?"

The day guards nodded, Rainbow grinned and VooDoo muttered something.

"I'll take that as a yes. Let's go." Elita grinned as the pod descended again, and when it was fully extended, she took a running start, flapping her wings. VooDoo and Rainbow followed closely behind. After the chariot took off, they flew due south, climbing away from the anchored Ignis. Soon, the frigate was far behind them, nothing but a tiny dot on the horizon.

About an hour later, with Elita led the escort formation half a kilometer above the chariot, they came across the Equestrian Offensive Force's brig sloop of war Wraith escorting a larger civilian ship. Twilight's chariot landed on the main deck, ponies scrambling all around.

"Looks like it's gonna take awhile." Rainbow commented. "Hey, I got a story to share."

"We're all ears." Elita squinted, flying around the Wraith.

"Ok, so in high school in Cloudsdale, we had this teacher that absolutely hated rune gems, right? So he made us sign this contact at the beginning of the year telling us that he would "confiscate" any that he found in our possession."

"Seems a bit odd to hate that." VooDoo muttered. "They shine and jump and die after a year or so. It's just a toy."

"Lemme finish." Rainbow grinned. "So one day, this colt comes into class tossing a rune gem up and down like a baseball. He walks in with the confidence of like a king or something. So of course the teacher makes him give it up right? And he just goes, 'Contracts signed by minors are not legally binding.' He got detention. But I found out like last year that he graduated law school."

Rainbow grinned, looking between the two bat ponies. There wasn't even a small giggle.

"I got one." VooDoo finally said. "I lived in a college town when I was younger, and one Nightmare Night, someone knocked on our door right? We were expecting a bunch of trick or treaters but it was a door with a sign, "Please knock." So we did, the door opened, and a bunch of students were dressed up as old ladies. They were calling us cute and whatnot, and they gave us candy, then they picked the door and moved to the next house."

"Aw, that's sweet." Elita muttered. It became quiet.

Rainbow finally piped up. "You got anything good to tell, Ellie?"

"First off. Don't call me Ellie." She paused, checking the Wraith. Twilight was still on the deck talking to somepony. "Alright. Fine. Got a story from basic. Canterlot is kind of where a lot of us new cadets get sent to before given deployments. There's this mare who goes to the shower and leaves her weapon by her stall, but forgets to take it back to our room. So the First Sarge of the barracks goes to take a shower and finds the pair of hoof blades, tracks down this poor mare, and finds her fiddling with a video camera. Her punishment was to sit in the shower all night with the video camera making sure nobody leaves their weapons behind."

"What's so bad about it?" VooDoo asked. "She is a bat pony right?"

"No, she was a unicorn." Elita muttered. "But imagine going to the shower and you just see this mare fiddling with a camera, staring at you."

When Twilight was finally ready, the chariot was occupied by another pony, a grey unicorn. Elita told a couple more stories to Rainbow and VooDoo about basic, especially about a Prench-Caneighdian drill sergeant that made her collect fuzz from her uniform after failing a uniform inspection.

She was still talking about a poor engineer that had dropped a small box of assorted nuts and bolts when, in a loud bang, one of the guards pulling the chariot through the sky exploded in a spray of red. A hidden griffin anti-air artillery gun had hit it's mark. The chariot began to roll away from the escort, making a wide descending circle, and Twilight, grabbing the unicorn, jumped off. Elita were still flying straight, too confused to process the scenario. She remembered advice a veteran had once given her, and looked behind and above.

Sure enough, eight griffins armed with muskets were diving in out of the sun. Realizing the trap, she did a split-s, forcing the Griffins to overshoot. VooDoo split away as well, and it left Rainbow open. The little pegasus found herself caught between a rock and a hard place, boxed in by a deadly stream of griffon tracer fire.

Elita watched the scene as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Rainbow's terrified look, Twilight spreading her wings and ready to jump, the confused mess that was her formation...Her eyes closed, and she began to remember...

Halberd, someone who looked like an older male version of Elita, lifted his daughter up onto his back, giving his tiny foal a better view of the parade. Proud lines of white and grey day guards marched along Broadroad Avenue.

"I was once one of them, Elita."

"You were, daddy? Why did you quit?" The filly asked, slightly disappointed.

"Well, I technically didn't quit. You see, the reason I left the fleet was because of you." He nuzzled her.

"Aww...So it's my fault that you aren't a soldier?"

"Nonononono...you were the best thing that could have happened to me and your mother." He shifted her weight on her back.

Elita was about to answer, but screams cut her off. Bat ponies were running from masked ponies. Halberd was knocked over by a pony wearing a bandana, and Elita went flying.

"Daddy! You're bleeding!"

"I ain't got the time to bleed." He stood up, and began to try to defend her. The Day Guards, did a "tactical retreat," leaving the oncoming crowd of pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns free to attack the bat ponies in the crowd. One of the gangsters raised a knife over her. She drew into a tiny ball, and prayed to the moon that it would end quickly. Instead, she heard a low grunt and she peeked slightly.

Halberd was a mess. The knife had hit him squarely in the face.

"Elita...I want to tell you that I love you...Look, go save our species...and tell your mom, I'll always love her..."

Elita recovered from the memory. The griffins were nearly in effective firing range, and there was no way she was going to let Rainbow get killed (even though she hated the pegasus with a passion). Today wasn't a great day to die.

She pulled back up, desperately clawing for altitude and losing a dangerous amount of speed, and quickly gained a position over the Griffin's apex, before diving down on the leader. She made constant adjustments, rolling left and right, and with a squish, the hoof-blades plunged into the soldier's back and came out of his chest. The other Griffins gave a surprised yelp, but before they could react, Elita was already zoom-climbing back up, her first kill screaming as his bloodied wings fluttered uselessly in the wind.

Rainbow took advantage of the Griffin's serious mistake; they stopped paying attention to her on account of the bat pony. The Wonderbolt threw a knife into one of the Griffin's head as he pulled away. It plunged in with a crack, sending him spiraling down in a flurry of feathers towards the thick evergreen forest below.

The final griffin realized what was going on and subsequently began to break off. Elita wasn't about to let her kill get away, however. She dived at a terrifying steep angle on him, slowed down to his speed, and began to turn fight him. Slowly gaining on him, she could see every little detail of the disgusting bird. He was chomping on a cigar, had a white head and black body, and seemed to be terrified right out of his feather coat.

She pulled alongside him. In the First Griffin War, ponies and griffins showed chivalry, and a worth adversary would let each other go. This griffin hadn't really shown off his skill, but his expression touched something deep inside of her. She wiggled her wings and gave a loose salute, then broke off.

Two mountain ranges on each side flanked the forest below, making it look like some kind of green river. Elita noticed that in a small clearing, four ponies were waving at her. It was Twilight, Rainbow, the unicorn, and VooDoo. Flapping her wings, she touched down. Feeling solid ground under her hooves felt good after flying for three hours straight.

"Who's that?" Elita asked, pointing at the unicorn.

"I'm Delorean." He grinned. "Nice to meet you."

"Mmm hmmm." Elita looked around. "What now?"

"Lead the way." Twilight shrugged. "We've spotted a cave from the air on the way down we can take shelter in."

"And look scary." Rainbow added.

As Celestia pushed her sun over the horizon and Luna's stars began to shimmer above Equus, the five ponies in the darkening cave dug into dinner. They were too tired to really have any conversation, but as they began to get full, Elita mentioned something strange.

"This tastes like a casserole." She sniffed her C-rations, slowly munching.

"So what's wrong with it?" Rainbow asked.

"It's ma-no, supposed to be macaroni and cheese." Her ears twitched left and right, listening to sound of nearby steps, no doubt Griffins waiting for them to leave. There was an awkward pause, and they began to notice the ambiance in the cave. "You know, these trees down here. Those evergreens? They're all dying. A kind of pine weevil-my dad would come up here with the company he was working for, trying to save the forest. It spread like wildfire, and they finally decided it couldn't be stopped."

"How'd you know?" VooDoo came over to sit by her at the cave entrance. Behind them, Twilight and Delorean were discussing the next course of action.

"I used to live beyond that mountain range there with my mother and my two brothers." Elita smiled. "Both of them younger than me."

"I wish I had siblings." VooDoo gave a resigned look. Bathed in moonlight, the two bat ponies finally saw the world as they should, their slit-like irises widening to the size of a normal ponies'.

"There's a griffin patrol nearing us." Elita said, reverting to her cold, military personality. "We shoud head back in before we get spotted."

"Hey, Elita, I need you to follow me." Twilight beckoned with her hoof. "We've worked out a plan."

The two found themselves in the depths of the cave, Twilight's horn-light guiding the way. She looked at the bat pony's cutie mark.

"Care to tell me the story of your mark?" Twilight asked. "Looks interesting."

"Well, I got it after the Manehattan incident." Elita shrugged. "Is that what you mean?"

Twilight stopped in shock. "You mean when-"

"Yes, after those extremists murdered all those bat ponies across the city." She sighed. "I remember you. You were with Celestia the whole time when she was visiting the survivors, just a year or two older than me."

"I don't remember you." Twilight whispered.

"Of course you don't. I was a nobody back then, and I'll still be a nobody. I always will be, because I'm a bat pony." Elita let out a long sigh. "Sorry, what was your original question?"

"What does it mean...?" Twilight asked again, timidly.

Elita answered with a sigh. After thinking for a moment, she responded. "Wasps and other insecs of the like are considered to be sacred, and that they bring souls into the underworld in Saddle Arabia. That's all I got."

"So, it means that you...?" Twilight asked.

"I like to think that it means that I kill those who dare harm those I love." Elita gave Twilight a dashing look. "But it's probably a lot more ambiguous than that."

"I know some cultures that the bee means immortality." Twilight suggested.

"I highly doubt I will become an eternal being." Elita gave an empty laugh.

They continued their journey in silence. They soon reached a large, dome shaped room, a dead end.

"It's Old Equestrian. I shall translate it for you." Twilight announced after reading the . "...Everything was the beginning before the beginning...the base inside of a pinnacle...the flower that goes through it's parent and it's child..." Twilight read. "...she will have vengeance and push everything into paste into strings into paste again and only she uses time to make time to make time to make time...and when she stops time is an illusion that we create at free will....Six Battles, and yet we are countless in the bodies we dwell in...our parents and most infinite children in perfect copies...the makers before the makers fall before the child...love outlasts death...what never was was never again...everything has happened before..."

"Oh dear. Prophecies." Elita accidentally stepped on a tile that clicked. The ground shuddered and rocks began to fall from the ceiling. The two realized that an earthquake was happening. After half a minute of constant shaking, the tremors died down.

"ELITA! What did you do?" Twilight angrily stormed over, dust from the ceiling billowing from her coat.

"No bucking idea. I think we should just get back to the others..." Elita shook off the dust and pebbles from her fur coat.

"...before we get trapped in here." Twilight finished, still steaming.

When the two ponies got back to the cave entrance, the other three were loudly murmuring. Elita pushed past them and looked over the landscape.

"Wow." Was all she could say. On the horizon, on the other side of the valley, lay a massive metal behemoth. "What's that?"

"We're thinking of exploring it after we destroy the communications station." Rainbow said. "I really think we should turn in for the night though."

Elita shrugged. "You're right for once. Let's sleep."

The other four slowly fell asleep one after another, leaving Elita alone with her thoughts as she stared up at the cavern wall.

The next morning, Elita woke up to find herself facing the barrel of a musket. "Morning, sunshine." The griffin holding the gun grinned. She raised her hooves above her heads.

Twilight (with a magic suppressor on her horn), Rainbow, Delorean, and VooDoo were outside, bound by rope. As they tied up her wings, Elita looked at their captors. A squad of griffins, probably chancing upon them thanks to Rainbow's loud snoring.

"Move!" The corporal gave them a nudge, and they trotted off into the forest, being lead in a loose line towards...something. They walked over dead pine needles and roots and grass, and VooDoo could see what Elita was talking about; only the top layer was thriving. Everything below was dying, just nothing but dried up sticks and peeling bark.

What seemed like half an hour, another smaller griffin squad came over.

"We'll take over, corporal." The second squad leader waved them off. "We'll take these prisoners to the comms camp. You guys head back to the Electrobolt Thunderdome."

Elita thinned her eyes and looked at VooDoo, who nodded back. After the first squad disappeared from Elita's hearing range (which was nothing to be coughed at), she punched the closest guard and wrestled his musket away from him. At the same time, VooDoo ripped off the magical supressor on Twilight's horn and kicked the chin of another griffin.

Twilight created a bubble around them to protect against incoming shots, and they quickly gained the upper hand. With the griffins knocked out, they quickly untied each other's bonds.

"Listen, Twilight." Elita said, as she stretched her wings. "VooDoo and I have to follow that squad. You heard them too right?"

The princess nodded. "I understand. Good luck, you two."

"Thanks. Same to you." Elita looked at Twilight, then Rainbow, then Delorean. "Well, I'll see you when I see you." With that, she and VooDoo galloped away into the forest.

As Twilight drew near the compound, she noticed that it was relatively unguarded. Several workers were walking around, but that was it. Sleeping charm ought to do the trick.

Blasting a hole in the concrete wall, Delorean lead the way into the small base. "It's this way, come on." He brought them into an underground room, which was lined with all sort of valuable looking equipment. "We don't have the time to bring these back, we just have to smash these." He pulled out a section and ripped it apart.

Rainbow thinned her eyes, before tentatively pulling out a cylindrical part and crushing it under her hooves. Twilight joined in as well, smashing wires and fans and Celestia knows what else besides.

"Hey, y-" She was interrupted by a gunshot and Rainbow screaming in pain.

Elita and VooDoo kept galloping through the forest, ducking and weaving through the trees. Occasionally, they would stop to listen where the griffins went, and they continued galloping again. This carried on for over an hour, when they finally stopped at the foot of a mountain.

"Here. Call the Ignis, tell them to get here ASAP." Elita dug a communications crystal out of her pocket and handed it to VooDoo. "Electrobolt Thunderdome. The hell...

"Message sent."

"Cool. I'll be taking this back." Elita grabbed the crystal and the two spread their wings, gently hugging the mountainside as they ascended.

Flying around the mountain, VooDoo pointed at a family of mountain goats and a few ravens, while Elita looked for an entrance. There was an armored door with a single griffin sentry sleeping on the job. "I got this." she whispered, and dropped in front of the creature, five hooves away. VooDoo watched intently as Elita crept forward, inching towards the griffin's gun.

She drew nearer and nearer, finally close enough to touch his gun. His chest puffed and deflated with every breath, and she could see he was missing his middle claw on the right side. Licking her lips, she removed the bayonet from the griffin's musket and pressed it against his neck.

There was something different this time. When you're flying at several hundred hoofmeters per second in the sky, it's a lot quicker. Killing a griffin up there isn't hard. It's like the struggles of the Middle Ages. Elita thought to herself, admiring the sentry's beautiful brown and white feathers. It was the only sphere of combat where chivalry and honor still existed. If you won, it was your own bravery and skill. And if you lost, you had met a worth adversary.

The griffin suddenly stirred and his eyes popped open. Feeling the knife against his neck, Elita could clearly see what what was running through his mind, and she hesitated. That split second, his soft eyes reflected so many things; his family back home, expecting him for leave, his best buddy from training camp, whom he shared letters with, his sense of duty, the need to guard this strange weapon, and fear and sadness, understanding his life was over.

In this split second, which felt like an eternity to Elita, he lived his entire life. And with that, a small flick of her wrist, Elita cut deep into his esophagus. He fell over, chocking on his own blood, doomed.

VooDoo landed next to Elita, staring at the dying griffin with curiosity and shock. "You-you just..."

Elita nodded. "Come on, lets go in."

Twilight stood in shock. Delorean had shot Rainbow Dash, and in his magical grip was a griffin made Haenel Model 26 .177 Single Shot Pistol. She looked between the two before reality set in. Delorean, supposed brilliant scientist specializing in the mechanical field, was a griffin agent. Seeing Rainbow bloodied like that filled her with a spark. It lit on fire, engulfing her entire body in a rage she had never felt before.

Delorean saw Twilight readying, and he began to try to desperately shove another bullet into the pistol. "You-you-"

"It's too late anyways." Delorean laughed. "This compound was nothing but a ruse, and sure, that dumb bitch Elita and her friend VooDoo may be going for the real thing, but really, what chance do they have against an entire legion of griffins?"

In a fit of rage, Twilight's horn glowed brighter, and with a crunch, the unicorn was reduced to a tiny ball of gore, blood dripping from the mush. Rainbow watched in horror, still groaning from the bullet wound. "Remind me to never get you angry again, Twilight."

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Twilight shuddered. "I still can't believe I did that. Come on, you ok?"

"Well, I mean, I've just been shot." Rainbow raised a hoof. "Come on, let's get out of here. We need to find Elita and VooDoo."

"No, we're getting you out of here." Twilight placed Rainbow on her back, and her horn glowed. "I've just dropped a magical signature, the EOF knows we need to be picked up now."

Finding themselves deep within the bowels of the mountain, Elita and Voodoo looked around apprehensively, moving forward slowly. Their hoofsteps echoed off of the round tunnels, making more noise than Elita cared for. She looked a sign pointing deeper into the facility, only one word painted on it: Ader.

"Core." VooDoo read out loud. "SHHHH!"

"Stop making so much noise, damn it!" Elita whispered back. "I'll have you transfered to the northern front!"

"The northern front?" VooDoo asked, confused.

The two of them were frozen in their tracks. Two pairs of steps, one sounding soft and padding, like flesh on rock. The second was scratchy and was similar to the sound of chalk clacking against a blackboard. They stood there like deer caught in headlights, straining their necks around, hopefully not having to deal with the griffin.

The guard rounded the corner and saw the two ponies looking straight back at him. He jumped in shock, looked left and right, and looked at Elita again. Something about him was familiar...

"You...you're zat flyer!" He exclaimed in a hushed tone. "You...vhat are you doing here?"

"Uh..." Elita looked at VooDoo. What am I supposed to do?

He dropped his musket. "I'm Russ. Russ Tinayle." He raised a claw, and Elita tentatively accepted it. "Listen, this facility ve're in? It's za superveapon." He began to move forward. "Follow me."

"Well, I mean, at least he hasn't killed us, right?" VooDoo pointed out. They sneaked down several steps and saw a massive glowing orb enclosed in glass. Several metal supports were pressed against it, and equipment and wires were strewn around the ground without a single noticeable form of organization.

"Why are you helping us?" Elita asked suspiciously. "You..."

Russ sighed, running a claw through his feathers. "Ya know, I realized that it is my duty to fight the enemy of Griffonia, but it is not my duty to slaughter the innocent populations of these enemies. And yesterday, you...just let me go."

Elita stood there wordlessly.

"I think I owe you one." He beamed at the smaller bat pony. "Lets blow zis place up!"

"Hey guys, its getting brighter." VooDoo pointed at the orb. There was a loud mechanical noise, and the mountain's summit opened, revealing a blue orb fizzing with energy. The scientists below slowly cleared out.

"Hey, you." Russ pointed at VooDoo. "You see that pane right there? Press the red button when I give the word. Elita, follow me." He jumped down to the lower floor, and Elita joined him, both flapping their wings to slow their descent. "Get that panel over there. Just destroy it, rip everything up." He bounded next to the orb, and started resetting systems.

Elita worked feverishly, punching out the screen and began digging out components. "Heh. This feels pretty good."

"Combat stress?" He asked.

"No. I..." She reddened. "This is my combat debut. Back in Equestria, us bat ponies are kind of discriminated against and I, uh..." Elita's voice trailed off.

"I remember your country's founding story. The Pegasi, the Unicorns, and the Earth Ponies decided to come togezer and use zeir strengths to become something better, right?"

"Correct." Elita gritted her teeth, her fangs glistening. "Every pony is born equal, bar the bat ponies. We were pretty much the slaves, and even after Luna declared us free ponies, we still didn't fit in. The 332nd all bat pony flying wing operating off of the Constellation kind of got me thinking that I could probably be something more."

Russ nodded in sympathy. "In Griffonia, it iz much different. If you're able to serve and are also male, but you don't, you're publicly shamed. In the end, because of the draft, you end up in the military anyways."

That shook Elita more than she liked to admit. "Did you have a choice?"

He gave her a sad smile. "Not at all."

"I understand." Elita whispered. "What now?"

"Run up there. I'll be along in a few seconds." One of his claws hovered over a button. "Go on."

"Ok then." She flapped her wings onced and jumped up.

"VooDoo, you ready?" Russ called, and the other mare nodded. "Now!"

There was a bright light, and Elita could hear Russ yelling "Scheiße!" at the top of his lungs. She landed on a rock and her world turned dark.

Twilight, with Rainbow on her back, limped through the forest, stumbling through low branches and breaking off twigs. "Hold on, Rainbow. We'll get you back."

"Heh. You know Twilight, I'd thought they'd be here already." Rainbow grunted.

To be completely honest, Twilight had no clue where to go. They were supposed to fly out, but with Dash in that condition, she couldn't even lift her own weight. As dirt turned into stone, they began to climb. The forest ended, and she could see just above the trees. The clouds above gently blew across, and as she looked even higher, she noticed a pair of contrails from a high altitude aircraft slowly making it's way across the sky.

It began to descend, quietly falling towards her. It was the Ignis. "Rainbow!" Twilight yelled in joy.

"Yeah, I see it." The pegasus chuckled.

"We're down here!" Twilight flapped her wings and shot off a few fireworks. A pair of day guards flew down.

"Are you hurt?" The first asked, and he saw Rainbow. "Dear Celestia, what happened to her?"

"Shot, lieutenant." Twilight grunted as the two lifted Rainbow up. "I'll be fine, let's go."

As they climbed back up to the frigate, they noticed that the peak of the mountain in front of the ship was opening up. Four grey slabs of stone parted, revealing glowing magical energy. Even as Twilight landed back on the ship, she could smell ozone.

"Bring her down to the medical ward!" A white pegasus stallion directed them below decks. "Princess, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks."

"You should get a shower. Come on now." He lead her the other way. "I'm Captain Sunbeam, head of ship security. We got a message from VooDoo-speaking of which, where is she? And Elita, and Delorean?"

"Delorean shot Rainbow." Twilight spat. "And we split up from Elita because they went off to find off about-" Twilight suddenly put the pieces together. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

"Wh-" Sunbeam was interrupted by a shock wave that rocked the ship. Ignis pitched up about thirty degrees, and everypony was thrown towards the bow.

Twilight blinked as she picked herself up. Running to a window, she looked out and could see the charred remains of the strange orb. "The Comms Center was a ruse to keep the real project hidden, the Electrobolt Thunderdome!" Her wings fluttered as she talked herself through her thoughts. "And the griffins stole the Pearl of Transformation! That explains Delorean and how he managed to infiltrate our ranks that easily!"

"Yeah, but where's Elita and VooDoo right now?" Sunbeam asked.

"Down there." Twilight pointed at the smoldering wreck. "If they had exited before the explosion, we would know."

With an angry swish of his tail, Sunbeam declared, "We have to save them."

The two ran back up, Twilight's body aching. What had happened inside? What was going on? A small blown out entrance was quickly spotted by Sunbeam, and they both jumped overboard. Cries of "Princess, wait!" followed them down. Trotting through the entrance, they noticed a griffin laying down, hand still clutched on his musket.

"There's no way they're still alive." Twilight stood there shocked. "They...couldn't have survived that!"

"One thing I've been taught is to leave no pony behind, and I don't care if they're dead or alive, I'm getting them out." Sunbeam galloped in, hooves clopping against the charred stone floor. Looking around, Twilight decided to go after him. The catwalks descended deep into the heart of the mountain, seemingly forever into the ground.

They came across a room with "ADER" printed above the roughly carved doorway. "Shall we?" Sunbeam looked at Twilight sadly. "We don't know what we're gonna find, so just...just brace yourself, Princess."

"I understand. Let's go." They trotted inside, Twilight's horn brightening to fill the massive room. "I've found VooDoo."

"I got her." Sunbeam checked vital signs. "Shes still alive, probably just knocked out. I'll revive her."

"But where's Elita?" Twilight's head craned back and forth. "Elita!" She yelled. After making her way to the other side of a strange broken glass orb, she found a small lump of fur. "No...ELITA!"

"How's she looking?" Sunbeam asked, still pumping oxygen into her lungs.

"I...it doesn't look good." Twilight shuddered. "If she isn't dead, she's going to be very soon."

VooDoo coughed, and Sunbeam helped her up. "Come on now, VooDoo. The Ignis is here."

"Ok...that's convenient." VooDoo chuckled. "Is Elita already out of here?"

"Come on, we need to get back to the ship." Sunbeam pulled her away.

"But-' As they flew up to the exit, for a split second, VooDoo saw Twilight crying over a broken bat pony's lifeless body.

Elita lay in the Ignus' medical ward. It was a large room, with several rows of beds. The walls were covered in cabinets, and several important pieces of medical equipment were still wraped in their packaging. As one the Ignus' first casualties, Elita and Rainbow were the only one in the room, other than the old doctor.

She eyed the doctor who was listing her injuries. "...You got severe sprains, a nasty concussion, several bones broken, you ought to be dead..." He signed something on the clipboard and left the room. Princess Luna came in.

"Princess!" Elita tried to sit up, but ended up crumpling back into her bed.

"Tis alright, I'm am here merely for an informal meeting." The larger blue pony pushed Elita back down. "Do not trouble yourself with formalities."

Elita looked up at Luna blankly. "So..."

"Uh, yes. You have found an ancient weapon, powerful beyond the griffin's imagination . They..." Luna shrugged. "Both actually. Since you destroyed the ancient weapon...we have much to owe to you."

"Oh, is that so?" Elita folded her forearms, then winced, regretting the decision.

"Yes. Commander Thunder will brief you in everything. I just want to personally congratulate you on your success." Luna paused, thought for a moment, and added, "Oh, and according to their commander, the griffin government wants to reestablish trade relations with Equestria."

"I hope you diplomatically told them where to shove it." Elita chuckled.

"We certainly did. Did you know what the secret weapon was?" Luna gently helped Elita drink.

"No, but it was something bad, wasn't it?" Elita sputtered on the water.

"Heh, you'd be right. You see, the Electrobolt Thunderdome is actually a weapon of mass destruction. They were aiming it at Canterlot just before you destroyed it." Luna gave Elita a sad look. "They were going to wipe out every major Equestrian city, one at a time, until we gave up."

"A tight schedule, I see."

"And bad for the international opinion of their integrity." Luna smiled. "We're flying all over Equus to gather support for our cause."

"I'd be happy to be of any help, ma'am." Elita grinned.

"So would I." Rainbow groaned.

The midnight blue alicorn left with a melancholic grin, but Elita saw her nod at someone. Commander Thunder came in, wearing a big smile. "Elita, I trust that you know that the mission is a complete success?"

"Success? But we didn't recover the radio's secrets!" Elita cried. "We're back and...and..."

Thunder's smile silenced the young lieutenant. "Yes, but we don't need to. We've got a this huge ass ship that's going to kick some sweet griffin butt."

"Umm..." Elita stopped, unsure of what her answer should be. "Uh, thank you?"

"No, we should thank you." Thunder pulled out a small cardboard box. "You are the reason that we are now going to win this blasted war, Lieutenant Commander."

"Wait." Elita stared at the box. "Huh?"

"Yeah, I nearly forgot. You got a promotion and the Distinguished Lunar Service Medal." The commander shook the box, and metal tinkling could be heard. He put it on Elita's bed stand. "This is yours."

"Uh..."

"Oh, and by the way, there's a proper dogfighting suit with your name on it." Thunder stopped at the door. "Well, not with your name on it yet. You still need to think of a call sign."

"Hmm..." She placed a hoof under her chin. "Well, Ellie would be real nice."

Thunder left as well, leaving Rainbow and Elita alone. Finally, the former spoke up. "You shouldn't be alive."

"I know I shouldn't. Pure luck. You don't nead to gloa-" Elita twisted her head to face Rainbow and was stopped by tears running flowing from her eyes. "Hey. What's wrong."

"Where's VooDoo?" Rainbow shuddered uncontrollably, refusing to look at Elita.

"I...don't know?" Elita blinked in confusion.

"She...gave her life to save yours. They gave her a ceremony yesterday." Rainbow closed her eyes, trying to control her emotions. "You were nearly dead, and VooDoo begged Twi to do something. And...seeing her like that, she broke down, and told VooDoo about an ancient ritual that...." She couldn't speak any longer.

Elita could feel her own tears welling up. "No. You're lying."

"I wish I was." Rainbow shook her head. "You know she's always wanted to be in the Wonderbolts right?"

"Yeah?"

"I asked Spitfire to come for her burial. VooDoo's posthumously been made a Wonderbolt, the first bat pony." Rainbow smiled. "She gave up that dream for you. What an idiot."

"Hey, can I tell you a secret?" Elita softly asked.

Rainbow noticed the change in her tone. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"I'll take that as a yes." Elita paused, drawing together her thoughts. "You won't believe this. It was a griffin that destroyed the core."

"Bu-"

"Let me tell you, please." Elita held up a bandaged hoof. "Listen, his name was Russ Tinayle. I let him go in the dogfight, and we met later. He said that he didn't believe in what he was doing. So he helped us."

Rainbow remained silent.

"I don't think griffins are all bad, and I don't think all ponies are all good. But this is war, you know."

"You're right. And I realized something about you bat ponies." Rainbow adjusted herself on her bed, Elita looking at her intently. "You are just as good as the rest of us. VooDoo did something very brave, and I completely respect her for that."

"You're telling me you were speciest?" Elita grinned as Rainbow began to get flustered. "Only kidding. Also, I accept your apology."

"Bu-wha-" Rainbow sputtered, at a loss for what to say. Finally she gave up.

As the two newly made friends continued to chat, the frigate, above the beautiful white clouds, turned in the direction of the heart of the Sun, bathed in the golden afternoon light. With her two powerful Krestel engines, Ignis flew towards her next mission, carrying the hopes and dreams of a nation upon her and her crew's shoulders.

The world waited for them.