Chris examined the newly made Kinetic Nullifier belt. It was the first one made by the Crystal Pony company he had commissioned. They were quick too. It took the worker only half an hour to make and deliver the one he was holding. The pair of them were standing inside one of Chris' Shipping Centers, in a closed off area as one of the Transport Pads was down for maintenance. However due to the limitations of his magic he could not scan it and see whether or not it worked, "Well it looks right, but I still have to test it. Each one MUST be tested before it is purchased or issued." He wrapped the belt around his waist and fastened it with a click, "I can check this one, hold on." He used his magic and created a portal on the floor in front of him then another a few feet away on the ceiling. Chris jumped into the portal on the floor in front of him and instantly exited the one on the ceiling. He hit the ground but barely felt it and seeing as the ceiling was more than thirty feet high, he would have felt it.

Chris landed easily on his feet and unfastened the belt, "I couldn't ask for better. I'll take as many as you can produce as quickly as possible. We'll pay a hundred bits for each one. The crystals are small and easy to make, plus it doesn't take much time. You should be making roughly 40 bits of profit for each one after you factor in payment to the enchanters and cost of materials."

The Crystal Pony mare smiled hugely, "We can begin shipments tomorrow morning. Expect the first shipment around breakfast time and a second in the evening, probably around dinner time. We can only do two shipments per day because you said they all need to be tested. We will cover costs to employees who receive injuries while testing the Kinetic Nullifier Belts. Will you be waiving the transport cost, or are we expected to pay it?"

Chris shook his head, "I've got that covered. You guys just focus on making the belts."

***

King Myrmidon strode out of the castle of Cha'reid and up to Queen Cynecia who was standing with more than a thousand of her Seekers and additional thousand E.U.P. lead by Commander Peach Pit. The King addressed the gathering of Changelings and Ponies, "I have read your missive and request. In accordance with our laws, the actions taken by this General Hiriboshi are to the detriment of peaceful native species civilians under our protection. He has ordered the deaths of non combatants and for that he must be brought to justice. All who protect and defend him and his criminal actions shall be dealt with harshly. A squadron of Featherback Marines will escort each of your Seeker teams. We welcome an alliance with your hive in these troubled times, so long as you abide by the tenants of justice and equity. We will seek out and bring to justice all who have had a part in these crimes. This do we swear upon our honor and our laws unto death in service of fellow peaceful creatures." So spoken, he and a thousand of his Gryphons and Featherback Marines bowed to Cynecia and spoke in unison, "This do we swear."

King Myrmidon and his people rose from their bow and the King continued, "Understand that if there are civilians present, we will act to keep them safe, no matter what side of a conflict they are on."

Queen Cynecia rolled her eyes, "We have no interest in slaughtering innocents. If they are stupid enough to run about on the field of battle we will do our best to not cause them any injury, but do not expect any miracles. We will not pursue innocents on the battlefield, nor will we seek out civilians. Our primary goal is the retrieval of the remains of our fallen brother. If any are foolish enough to get in our way, they will pay the price."

King Myrmidon countered, "We understand that the judgement of warriors on the field can become blurred, we do not seek to punish or condemn any, however we will take steps to stop any and all threats to civilians, by any means necessary. We will take part in any necessary attack to retrieve the remains of your citizen, however we expect you to accept the surrender of enemy combatants."

Queen Cynecia inclined her head, "Understood. We shall be glad of such allies on the field of battle."

The two leaders approached one another and shook on the agreement of temporary alliance.

***

Mike Joyner lightly chewed his lower lip as he gazed at the pavilion tents being set up. He was outside of New Humansville, near the quarry. The E.U.P. and Red Changelings were hard at work readying the command center for the joint efforts of the different nations. Mike released his lip and took a deep breath, "You still there, Andrew?"

Andrew Massonette replied quietly, "Always am. What are you thinking, Captain?" He asked as he rose from his crouch.

"I'm thinking this is all happening really fast. Three days and we already have signed alliances from different species. Allies during peace do not often make good allies in war time, but that old saying only applies to Humans. The Ponies are similar to us, but maybe they're just different enough to make it work. New Humansville is a protectorate of Equestria, but why should they be the only ones taking risks? We don't have an army or any real military, mostly because we don't need one... or we didn't need one until now. We're not going to let our friends and allies do all the work while we just sit back and reap the benefits. Why should we benefit when we did no work toward such a goal."

"Wow Captain. Way to marginalize the Officers who died the other day." Andrew said evenly.

Joyner sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "That's not what I meant and you know it. We need to do more. I'm going to ask De La Cruz for permission to assemble a special taskforce to work with our friends."

"What about Dan?" Andrew asked, "Nobody's seen him recently except when he's at the hospital. We can't ask him to stand aside for all of this."

Mike released his nose she shook his head, "We really can't. He's already torn to pieces about Rose, Danielle, Oriana, Razor and Tip. He's going to be willing to do anything to get Razor back and he'll be as loose a cannon as anyone can imagine unless we're very careful. Honestly I'm surprised he hasn't done anything crazy already. I am worried about him though. He's one of the few people who could really do some damage even without his magic as a weapon. He's been working out a lot these past few days." Mike snorted, "I'm going to let you in on a little-known fact. Because of his recovery and healing magic, he can build muscle mass and muscle memory really, really fast. For example he could go from skinny to muscular in just a day or two; and he's been working out for hours at a time since all this started. Him lifting weights, sparring, and running so often makes me think he's got something in mind. I don't want to talk to him about it yet, because it hasn't become a problem, but we'll need to keep an eye on him. If I were him, I would be planning on doing whatever I needed to to get my wife back and see if I could slip a bit of revenge in there too. I'll have Darryl talk to him soon. I assume you've heard what is going to happen with so-called violent radicals? That's going to be us; Dan will want to be at the forefront, and we're going to let him know."

"You already know that we can't keep him away, Captain. Why tell him? Why make the offer?" Andrew asked.

"He'll know we're watching him. It'll make him more cautious and hopefully take fewer risks." Mike replied, "At least until it's time to do what we have to." Joyner sighed, "I can't be there, Andrew. I can't be in that fight."

"I know, Mike. You have to keep your hands clean and probably arrest a bunch of us afterwards." Andrew laid a strong hand on Mike's shoulder, "I know you'd be there if you could, but the weight and responsibility of your office comes first. How are you going to arrest Dan if he doesn't want to be."

Mike chuckled dryly, "None of us can physically stop him. Even injuring him would just make him angry and he'd heal in a few seconds, if it even took that long." Mike looked at Andrew, "I'll get Darryl on this A.S.A.P. because right now, once someone discovers where this mobile portal is, he's going to make a B-line for it," Mike sighed wearily, "And may God almighty help anyone who gets in his way."

**********

Artex put away the oil cloth on Oriana's alchemical table and inspected his work. His revolver was in great condition. He just finished cleaning it and checking it for corrosion. He had not had his gun for more than two years and it was good to have it back. Doubly so now that he had a reason to use it, 'I'm going to kill every one of those mother-fuckers I can.' His face split into a malicious grin as his eyes flashed green for a brief second as he fingered the shock blade on his belt, 'I'm gonna slaughter those bastards, every single one.'

He flexed his right arm and marveled at the bulk of muscle he had gained since yesterday. Smiling at it he thought, 'It's amazing what a little hard work will do. I'm gonna look like the Hulk if I keep this up. Heh, fine by me. If my shock-blade runs out or breaks I can just snap spines. Combine this with my Earth Pony strength and I'll be able to punch through a tank... wait! What the hell am I saying!?' He felt a pang of pain in his head and clenched his eyes shut, 'What the hell am I planning right now? I don't want to murder anyone... well except the ones who murdered Rose... and Tip... and shot Danielle and Oriana... NO! No, don't go overboard... but they all had to have known about it... NO!' he held his head and shook himself back and forth, 'Damnit! What the fuck's going on with me!? Stop it!' he did not realize the voice that responded was not his own, 'Why? Why should I stop? They took too much away from me! They killed Tip! They murdered Rose! They took Razor and our foal!' His will solidified once more, 'No. It's time to fuck some assholes.' His cold grin would have made the tundra feel like a summer field, 'And no lube for you, General.'

**********

Vaiawa held Oriana as she wept, grieving for the loss of Tip and especially Rose. Danielle held the Zebra mare's hoof consolingly, staying quiet. She would cry later. Oriana had been particularly nice to her since she arrived and the woman felt bad for the mare. Vaiawa nuzzled the top of the mare's head, whispering soothingly.

After a few minutes Oriana calmed down enough to ask, "Where's Artex? Why isn't he here?"

"I don't know, Ori." Vaiawa replied.

"He's figuring out how to get Razor and their baby back." Danielle said, certainty coloring her tone, "He's probably gathering weapons and any friends he can convince."

Vaiawa looked to the woman sharply, "You are certain of this?"

Danielle nodded, "Otherwise he'd be here. Once Razor and the baby are safe, he'll be here with us every day until we've recovered. I know my husband and I know his priorities. He's a man of action but... I'm worried about him. He'll want revenge for Rose too and I don't know how far he'll go. If he's angry enough, he'll do almost anything. He hasn't grieved for Rose yet, otherwise we would know. He's preparing for something and he's going to use the strength of his emotions to fuel his actions. It'll be bad."

Oriana's expression changed to one of worry, "How bad?"

"If someone ever hurt me, he said he'd go Jack The Ripper on them and I believe him. He loved Rose and Razor was pregnant... he's liable to dismember someone just to make them hurt." She paused to think, then continued, "Vaiawa, I want you to go with him and make sure he doesn't go too far. Do you think you can do that?"

"I want to hurt these people as well, I'm not sure it's a good idea." Vaiawa replied evenly.

Danielle sat up more in her hospital bed, "Well I sure as hell can't go and neither can Oriana. Someone needs to be there to stop him. Take my gun if you need to."

"I have no need of your weapon, but thank you." She looked back and forth between Oriana and Danielle, "Are you really sure you'll be fine until we return?"

"If you don't go, he probably won't be the same person he was when he left. He probably isn't the same person already." Danielle said emphatically, "He's always had a dark side, but this... this may be too much for him."

Vaiawa sighed and looked back to Oriana, "Are you sure you're going to be alright if I go?" She looked to Danielle, "Both of you?"

"Go," Oriana said gently, "He brought us all together. If we lost him it could tear us apart."

**********

Suey grunted as she stretched her legs. They were stiff and sore from all the running which accompanied her tracking. Rifin stood to the side periodically buzzing his massive wings to cool her down, "I noticed something," he said, "Normally I need to be around a number of others who care about me or I start feeling the hunger." He looked down at Suey, "And yet I haven't been hungry at all, this whole time."

Suey grunted in a noncommittal manner, "The portal keeps moving. Stay on task, Riffin. Once we find it, Discord can keep it in place with sheer brute force." She glanced up at Riffin, "Okay, I'm ready to go." She snorted and trotted off, snout to the ground again. They were getting closer.

**********

Artex had to hold back from using his full strength as he punched the weighted training bag meant for Earth Ponies. He was sweating profusely. His muscles ached, his back hurt, and the sweat was stinging his eyes. The bag was becoming lumpy and misshapen with fist sized indents contouring its surface. His imagination constantly reconstructed Rose's final moments, her ultimate sacrifice and the agony she must have felt.

He grit his teeth, jaw muscles bunching as his eyes welled with tears, 'STOP IT! Stop crying you weakling! Your fucking tears won't bring Rose back!' He struck out with his left arm and punctured a hole through the bag. He violently withdrew his hand and emotionlessly examined the quickly healing injuries to his fist, 'Maybe not,' he balled his fist, 'But maybe they can help me get Razor and our foal back.' He tightened his fist causing the tendons to strain and creak, 'They're gonna pay for what they did.'

A firm slap on the back startled him out of his thoughts, "Okay, time to get you out of your head." Darryl said, "I can see it clear as day, Dan. You're too focused on what happened. You need to clear your head or else I won't be asking you to join us when we attack the man responsible for Tip, Rose and everything else."

Artex turned his head slowly and Darryl had to school his face into calm. The disfigured man had bulked up to an intense degree, his muscles bulged beneath his skin, but more than that his eyes were different. Darryl didn't know how to describe it, but something had changed and it made his skin crawl, "Can you still deliver passable speeches?"

Artex snorted, "Been giving it a lot of thought recently." He sighed, "I wanted to go around the world asking for volunteers to rescue Razor... but I don't have the right to ask anyone to risk their lives for this."

Darryl crossed his arms and smirked, "I disagree. We're going to go recruiting."

"Recruiting for what?" The disfigured man asked.

"Equestria can't use the Guard to move against the General, but irate citizens acting against a hostile foreign power can." Darryl replied.

"We don't know anything about this General. What makes you think we have any chance against an enemy we don't know or understand? To quote Sun Tzu: if you know neither yourself nor the enemy you will succumb in every battle." Artex said sourly. He could not admit he had interrogated the murderer in the hospital.

"Oh we know plenty. The guys we captured were under a geas. Those have been removed... and we know plenty now. The General has magic, in fact as far as we can tell all of the people there have it, but the General doesn't trust them and he has mental powers. He's the one who set the geas. We know the layout of the base, we know their weapons, their numbers, we know a LOT more than we did at first." Darryl sighed then continued," Unfortunately, we also know we may not have the capability to take him or his people out... but even if we don't win on the field, we can still win in the end."

Artex turned fully toward his friend, "Explain."

"Luna is going to be in the middle of an interview when we attack and President Seviston is going to have a discreet satellite in place when the attack begins. The feed with Luna will cut to the live feed from the battle and we'll be putting on a show for the world to see."

Artex threw up his hands, "Well that's not gonna help anything!"

"Not unless the rest of the world already knows the the General has attacked us twice and is not owning up to it and thus jeopardizing possible future trade with a whole different planet of friendly aliens. Friendly aliens who have shown themselves to be capable and willing to care for lost, wayward souls who got pulled through space. The same friendly aliens who look like adorable little horses and spent time and effort to return people to their homes and families." Darryl smirked, "Most countries already really like the Ponies and if it came to light that somebody has been murdering the first non-Human friends Earth has ever had... well I don't see that ending well for the General."

Artex caught on, "So not only are we going to prove the General is guilty by retrieving evidence and victims, but we're also going to be demonstrating that this world is capable when backed into a corner. Little problem with that idea, how are we going to prove it? Everyone would be skeptical if a bunch of us went in and retrieved victims who just happen to look like the locals. People might think they're Changelings. Vaiawa already said it was possible."

Darryl's shit-eating grin slowly spread over his face, "Because the satellite is going to live-stream the engagement. I'm sure every news company in the world will be getting a notification that a live-stream is showing an active battle. Princess Luna will condemn the 'rash actions of angered citizens'. We will then uplink the facility's security cameras to the satellite and the world will see the truth broadcast on every screen and every news station around the world. The General has claimed that there is no portal and it turns out that President Seviston never believed him. He is turning one of the C.I.A.'s satellites to see the facility. Now under normal circumstances China would go crazy over a violation like that, and might be able to suppress the footage or shoot down the satellite, but with us on the field fighting, the word will spread around the world like wildfire. China will have no chance to cover it up."

"You're talking about one HELL of a risk, Darryl. What if the world sides with China? We cannot hold off invading militaries who have access to the only mobile portal in the world. Plus we don't have anywhere enough trained troops to pull this off. How many does the General have?" Artex asked. He knew some answers, but he had to appear to cover every base.

"A lot, a whole lot, but nobody is going to get control of that portal. Once we have the base, we are going to destroy that machine and take every person prisoner, to be held here until a very public tribunal is over. Seviston has promised his full support, so long as this doesn't become a massacre. Once the fighting starts, we have a secret weapon who will eliminate the mental geas on every person and order them to surrender, and then we have our other secret weapon, but we don't want to use her." Darryl explained.

"Who?" Artex asked.

Darryl put his index finger to his lips, "That's a secret, but trust me, you'll never guess. So, are you in?"

"There are still some problems. For instance I'm sure the General's facility will have more than just one security camera. Who will control the feed and switch cameras so the world can see the events? Furthermore HOW is anyone supposed to do that? I can all but guarantee those two systems aren't compatible. And to add to that, how do we even know Razor is still there!? The General might have had her taken to a different place!"

"As far as the security system, that's been covered. And while we don't know for certain that Razor is with the General, we do have a way to find out. Remember your herd was heading out for a picnic. Razor always had some Foal's Rolls ready and we found five in the remnants of the picnic basket... five... out of six." Darryl smirked, "I'm willing to bet she took one when she ran and ate it so she could be found later. All we have to do is use the associated tracking spell and we find her. Any other questions?"

Artex sighed, "I'm going to be out of a job after this, aren't I?"

Darryl nodded, "Guaranteed. Luna will have no choice, but do you really care?"

"You know I don't. I just want Razor and our foal back." Artex replied.

"Good," Darryl said, "Right now we have King Myrmidon and a host of Gryphons ready to fight. The Red Changeling Queen has also dedicated a number of her lings to this effort, but we need more... any ideas?"

Artex face broke into a Grinch like grin, "I have one already at my house."

**********

"So, will the Diamond Dogs fight?" Artex asked Slobber Chops.

The Diamond Dog's face was already ugly under the best of circumstances, but right then Artex would have sworn his expression could curdle milk, "Razor Pony was first Pony to reach out to Dogs. All Dogs love Razor Pony. I go and bring Dogs here. Take time. Two weeks. We gather here." Not wasting another word, Slobber Chops essentially dove into the ground like water and disappeared.

"And you had better not think I'm going to be absent." Visceral Slaughter added. Mason looked worried, "Shouldn't I be doing this?"

Artex shook his head, "No, Mason. Visceral is combat trained and the rest of the family needs you. I'll do my best to bring back both Razor and your wife. You have my word."

Mason's expression said he was not convinced, but all the same he nuzzled Visceral, "Come back to me."

His Unicorn wife took on a determined face, "No matter what, I'll bring Razor home; either for a reunion or to lay her to rest." Nobody voiced their fear that it could very well be the latter.

**********

Darryl, Visceral, and Chris watched as Artex breathed evenly. Their announcement had drawn a crowd and Artex was psyching himself up for what he was about to deliver.

Artex took a deep breath and began speaking to Canterlot, "Citizens, friends we have come under attack from a vile foe..."

To Haysburg, "This enemy has already murdered and kidnapped several Ponies, including my pregnant wife, Razor Wit..."

To the Zebras, "The Princesses are not able to act, but we can! We can stand together and fight these enemies who threaten us! If you would join us, then meet me in two weeks at New Humansville..."

To the Saddle Arabians, "And we will show these foes how we respond to murder and the abuse of pregnant mares and foals! Many of you know my wife, Razor Wit..."

To the Minotaurs, "Her life and the life of our foal could end at any moment. For all I know, either one, or both might already be injured or worse..."

To the Dragons and every possible ally they could find, "We in New Humansville cannot win against these odds alone. We need everyone, please. We have to stop this or it will get worse. Next time it could be one of your loved ones. Please, join us. We must defend our world. King Chris will organize how you will arrive."

I hope this came out coherently. You already know what I'm going to say about typos.