"FIRE!!" I heard yelled from my artillery officers before cannons we had commandeered fired on the lines at the Empire. This was the first shot of the battle for the Empire, and we were the first to deliver it. It had been a few days since the whole incident with Celestia, who had yet to return, with everyone but the changelings that had been with me believing her to be a traitor that escaped.

I was at the near the front of the line where the cannons were as the first volley was fired, the shells impacting on crystal towers, causing a few to fall and shouts could be heard from inside. "Hold fire and let them clear non-combatants from the area!" I yelled. "We must limit those as best as we can! From here on out, if civilians die, it will be their fault, not ours!"

"Sir," the officer replied before shouting the order down the line to those who didn't hear it.

"Are you sure it is wise to do that, Mau'ual?" Chrysalis, who stood next to me, said.

"If we can show some measure of mercy, we may turn a few mares in there to our cause without having to do so in person," I replied. "That plus we are doing this to free Equestria, not kill it more than it already has been."

Fleur spoke up next. "Celestia had better just hope I don't get my hands on her first if she's here," she said in a growl. "If so, she'll wish she stayed at the camp."

"Calm down. Fleur," I said. "Do not let anger control your actions. You will become reckless, and right now, we need all the alicorns we can muster for this war."

"Yeah yeah," she said. Many ponies had taken what they see as Celestia's second betrayal extremely hard, and Fleur is among that group. The only reason I say nothing is in case of other agents. Can never be too careful. Harmony has given no word either, so I am unaware of what she is currently doing or her progress on gathering allies, though I can not fault her for not bringing them after what happened.

"Resume bombardment in five minutes," I told the officer. "Deliver everything you can to their walls."

She saluted. "Sir," she said.

"Now, if you all will excuse me, I must meet with Silver," I said before turning around and heading deeper into the camp, walking past multiple soldiers, all of whom saluted me as I passed, on my way to where Silver was currently in contact with her agents in the Empire. My walk was cut short as i saw her running towards me. "Mau'ual!" she yelled, "We need to pull out! Now!"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because my agents just reported in," she said, panic in her voice. "It's Dainn. He's here overseeing the defenses of the Heart."

"Then we strike sooner than planned," I said, the target of this attack being the Heart, the hope being destroying it would free a majority of Equestria. "Tell your soldiers to prepare for nighttime infiltration. If Dainn is here, he still thinks he is a god. I say it is high time he is proven wrong."

Author's Notes:

Next time, the battle for the Empire begins in earnest, and a new force is revealed. Anyone care to guess as to what that force is?