I join Celestia in her throne room but motion to her that we need to speak in the back. The paintings are a blur as Celestia rapidly leads me down the hall, entering the third room on our left. Silver candlestick holders, bowls of decorative fruit, even fancy candles line the walls of Canterlot. It was so weird seeing such lavish decor despite being in hell. I knew this place could easily look like Taraska Castle though. One day after another, a painting or some other display gets destroyed on accident and never replaced. Windows get sealed up for tactical reasons, blocking out the sunlight. Without a breeze, dust builds up inside the castle, making it feel stuffy and meek. Pointless luxuries get knocked over or damaged as you hastily carry a table or slab of metal down the hall to reinforce the gate with. Decorations seemed so pretentiously pointless to me in the long run.

Celestia closes the door behind us. It’s poorly lit, and has a few rows of shelves holding scrolls and books. There's enough room for both of us, but little else. I take one last glance around the tiny storage room before whispering.

“If Zaran sees us coming, it’s going to be a slaughter. Is there any way we can remain undetected?” Celestia taps her hoof on her mouth a few times.

“I may be able to work with Cadence’s Crystal Heart and help it project something that will disrupt Zaran’s magic. Keep in mind though, it’s an all or nothing deal. I won’t be able to see you either. So if you get into trouble...you’re on your own. That being said, I’m rather certain Zaran has been crippled. I didn’t want to mention it, but there’s a specific device in my studies that detects different types of magic. Only Luna and I know of its existence for security purposes. I thought you Taraskans were the ones creating this dark magic it was picking up. However since we deployed the Crystal Heart, those levels have plummeted...for now. I may not be able to recognize all the different frequencies of magic, but I can make decent deductions of what they represent.”

I sigh in relief, but only for a moment.

“That’s great news...but it’s still Zaran. If he can’t use magic, I’m sure there’s numerous ways he can screw with us.”

Celestia nods her head rapidly.

“I have already spoken with Shining Armor about such precautions. Our palace guards have extensive redundancies in their patrols. Also in the event Zaran does possess one of them, no four guards even have all of the routes memorized. He would have to pull off quite the feat to infiltrate us.”

My gut tells me Zaran is going to do just that. For now, we had to hit him and hit him hard.

“How soon can you set up this field?” I ask uneasily.

Celestia sighs and bites her lip.

“I can have it ready in a few hours. You will have to rely on Luna for anything you need in my stead. Raiden, you must keep in mind that Canterlot will be vulnerable while I’m gone. I have the utmost faith in my sister, but we are less powerful apart. Know this: you will have roughly three hours until the spell fades. You cannot mobilize until then or Zaran will know you’re coming.”

My mouth hangs open as I stare at her through my helmet.

“Are you telling me that I’ll have three hours to prep my units and hit the target?! It may take an hour just to walk there!”

Celestia lowers her head.

“There’s more than that. From what I’ve seen, Zaran will know something is up the moment you all become...invisible for lack of a simpler term. Every second will count. Zaran will have the same time to prep as you will...along with whatever traps he may already have. I think it’s safe to assume it will be heavily guarded. Perhaps Cadence and Shining can assist with your operation?”

I cross my arms and massage the front of my helmet.

“I would love the support, but we can’t risk it. There are too many unknowns and we need them badly. If Cadence gets captured, Zaran could hit us with some type of disease and she couldn’t heal us. If Shining gets captured, there goes our massive shield. Also he could be used as bait for Cadence. I really hate going in without magic support, but this sounds like a job for infantry. It will be dark and crowded, not really a good place for an Alicorn. Hell Zaran could try and just outright assassinate one of them. Without more info, we can’t risk it.”

Celestia lays a comforting hoof on my shoulder.

“You will do just fine General. I will have Luna signal you when I’m ready. Once I teleport to the Crystal Empire, I will begin immediately. At that time, you must be ready to go.” I give her a small nod.

I sprint through the palace and down Canterlot. The civilians watch me nervously, most likely wondering if I’ve gone off the deep end again or not. Several ponies jump out of my way while letting out startled yelps. Dodging over carts and smaller, less alert children, becomes a sport. Despite my legs screaming out for mercy, I try to keep a decent jog going. I had never run down the long dirt road circling the mountain that the palace was built on. Even at a nice walk, it was quite the journey on foot.

The sun has moved enough to be a bad sign; a gradual reminder of my time restraints. I had to get to Ponyville and start organizing everything with Lucretia and Emeris. I stop and hunch over as I stare at the base, realizing one last detail I forgot: had Lancercore been trained on mobilizing? They were taught combat tactics, but not how to efficiently organize and get ready to move out. It could be complete chaos, as everyone either eagerly grabs their armor for combat or trembles and slacks to avoid it.

Were proper chains of command set up? Everyone had to know what unit they were in, or they wouldn’t know who to follow. It was common for units who didn’t know who to go with, to seek out their friends. It was fine if it happened once but it often creates a chain reaction and before you know it, one battalion has twenty five percent of the troops from another battalion.

I start jogging again before the sound of wings draws my attention upwards. Stormchaser lands next to me. I take in several lung fulls of air.

“Tell Emeris and Lucretia...I need to speak with them immediately! Tell them to...stay in the training yard but they need to be ready when I get there!” She gives me a quick hoof salute and flies away.

I block out the pain in my legs, knowing I’ll have a few to rest when I get there. The clanking of my armor is strangely unsettling. Perhaps I needed to start leaving it in the training yard from now on. It bobs up and down with every arduous step. Worst case scenario, I’d have to literally pick ponies at random to be in charge. That was a terrible idea, but we didn’t have time for anything else. Everyone needed to group up and move out immediately.

I look up at the sun as Ponyville comes into view. I had lost a lot of time on my way down. Probably would have been easier if I had simply asked Celestia or Luna to teleport me. Even taking the chariot would have been better. I growl to myself angrily, knowing I just cost myself majorly because of a novice mistake. Ahead of me, Cloudchaser is speaking with Emeris and Lucretia. My legs wobble and force me to stop just outside the main gate. I was always impressed with the massive fifteen foot high walls surrounding the compound. They were slick and basic, making it impossible to climb without the aid of a grappling hook or ladder.

I hunch over again, panting heavily as my body finally gets the rest it cried for. Lucretia and Emeris stand next to me curiously. Lucretia crosses her arms and leans on her right leg. I rapidly get my air back, but I’m almost ready to fall over.

“We got a serious problem. Celestia is going to use the Crystal Heart to block Zaran’s ability to watch us. She’ll be leaving soon and will send us a signal when she’s ready. As soon as the spell is up, we’ll have roughly three hours to organize a strike team and hit the tanks in the forest. That’s how long the spell will last. The moment the spell is up and Zaran can’t watch us, he’ll immediately know something is up and start preparing-” Lucretia unfolds her arms and balls her hands into fists.

“Are you insane?! We have the numbers and that’s basically it! We haven’t even set up proper chains of command or protocol! We have several hundred ponies so far who’ve enlisted and we can’t get to all of them! Hell it will take at least an hour just to teach them to mobilize properly!” Emeris sighs and plants both his palms on his helmet.

“Alright look, we can complain all we want later. Right now we need to make do with what we have. We’ll need to just pick random ponies for every group of fifty - wait...we can’t do that! There’s too many of them! Okay how about one captain for every one hundred ponies?”

Lucretia looks back at them dumbfounded before turning to Emeris.

“This...this is going to be a nightmare! We have to randomly select one captain to control a hundred ponies with no experience?!” she pauses for a second as she thinks.

“So here’s what we can do: the pony in charge will simply relay our commands. They all know the basic attack formations. We’ll have to literally keep an eye on several groups of one hundred. How about I’ll watch groups one through four and Emeris can watch groups five through seven. Raiden you can relay your commands to us, and we’ll pass it along. If you got anything advanced, tell Stormchaser here and she’ll relay it to the correct soldiers. Sound like a plan?”

I look up just long enough to nod, as my body tells me it’s time for more air. One thing was certain: Big Mac and Umbra already had their units. They were well-trained and ready to go. Emeris jogs over with Lucretia and begins having all the enlisted form up. When she gets to the best part of our problem, the air is filled with shocked gasps from our new recruits. I stop hunching and waddle over to the group.

Emeris holds up his hands and starts directing large sections of units into individual battalions. He has to constantly shout over the commotion. Lucretia starts grabbing units that make up tactical, and going over where they need to be. I walk over to Stormchaser.

“Can you get to Spitfire and have her grab her Wonderbolts and meet us down here? We may need air support. Also it will be better to have them for recon. Make sure she knows we only have three hours. We cannot move until Celestia tosses up her shield.” She nods to me and runs several steps before skidding to a halt. She trots back to me and digs into the ground with her hoof.

“I….I think Cy would...want to be here. If it’s important, he’ll want in...I...can go get him too after the Wonderbolts if you want…” I stare at her. I couldn’t remember the last time I heard her speak.

“Yes...that will be great. Ask him if he wouldn’t mind taking a group of Lancercore under his wing.” Stormchaser gives me a beaming smile, before turning around and darting into the sky. Our misery never seems to end here. If we’re not facing dooming odds, we’re either in a complete enigma of a situation, or we have no options. Time was constantly not on our side. Lucretia runs around gathering all the earth and unicorns for tactical, while Emeris deals with the horrified bulk of our main forces. This was going to be bad.

My Growler bounces around as it moves across the field. As we creep to the forest edge, I sigh and hold my face in my hand. Now I knew why Zaran chose this spot. The trees made it impossible to take the Growlers. While we could chop them down, we’d be both destroying a natural habitat and basically announce ourselves for miles, not to mention pissing off every aggressive creature all the way to the target. It would cost us days to get there like that, giving Zaran plenty of time to cook up a nasty surprise for us, or even hit another target while we’re busy. I give the signal for everyone to halt with a single raised fist in the air.

I hop down and meet up with Lucretia, Emeris and Big Mac; accompanied by Umbra who still gives me subtle glares. I motion for everyone to move in close.

“Alright here’s the score: We know Zaran isn’t going to primarily attack with Og Nag, so we need to be ready. This could be easy if he’s not paying attention, but we need to assume he is. Regardless, we have to act fast. Big Mac, what do you know about the Everfree Forest?”

His stance shifts uneasily.

“Lots ah magical creatures. Plenty of bad plants too. Never read up on ’em but I hear it’s nasty.”
Lucretia shifts her gaze to me.

“Using the natural forest as a guard. That’s kinda clever. No pony goes near it, full of weird stuff, plenty of natural guards twenty-four seven, and so close we’d never suspect it. Everyone also keep a lookout for any forms of transportation. There’s gotta be some method he’s using to transport Og Nag en masse.”

I look at the massive dark forest. Something felt off about it. Instead of the trees growing large and tall, they drooped all over the place. Their branches sagged with heavy vines, reminding me more of monsters than trees. Several pairs of glowing red eyes watch us and blink occasionally from the darkness. On top of the creatures, did Zaran set traps, or did he focus all his efforts on pure war? I drum the side of my right leg as I stay hunched over.

“I want Taraskans in front, with Lancercore in back. Big Mac, can you bring your lieutenants over?” Big Mac nods, looks behind him and lets out a sharp whistle. Several ponies trot up, half of them almost shake in their armor after glancing at the forest. I give them a small wave so they know to focus on me.

“Alright listen carefully; we’re going to go over Taraskan protocol. We use code so we don’t tip off our enemies. Lancercore is Landa. Neiz is first battalion, Bek is second battalion, Tresnah is third, Zot being fourth...” We go over the rest of the Battalions and what each command means for a few more minutes. Normally we’d spend weeks drilling our language into their heads, but for now they’d have to make due. The pony lieutenants trot back to their groups, stumbling around in fear. I knew full-well I could count on at least half the battalions running for it if things got bad.

Lucretia, Emeris, Big Mac, Umbra and I exchange worried glances. I stand up with my hands on my hips.

“Is everyone ready? Any last minute ideas?” We all look around silently. Emeris lets out a strong exhale from his nose.

“I thought we weren't mobilizing in front of the forest until we got the signal?” My jaw hangs open and Lucretia shifts uneasily. I can't help but turn around and punch my Growler. I just seriously put everything in jeopardy. Now Zaran knew we were coming, all because I jumped the gun and forgot to wait. What a wonderful general I am.

"Alright that was my mistake, I'll own it. Regardless, I don't think there was any way to avoid him knowing we were coming. At least we'll have a slight advantage for time since traveling here doesn't get factored in." I motion for everyone to return to their vehicles.

After mounting my Growler, I give the forest one last look over. I wave a hand for First Taraskan Battalion to advance forward, shields raised, ready to face whatever horrors Zaran has in store for us. They were comprised of my more insightful and attentive soldiers. They drilled frequently in spotting traps and signs of anything being off.

I hear my name being called from behind. When I turn around, Cy is walking up, with Stormchaser in his arms. He’s wearing his full battle armor. I couldn’t help but notice the cloth that drapes over his shoulderpads was teal instead of red this time. I swallow my irritation and give him a large nod as I hop off the Growler and run up to him. Stormchaser see’s it’s her cue to walk on her own now. She gently hops out of his arms and gently lands on the ground so Cy and I can shake hands.

Cy crosses his arms and looks across our army with a satisfied smile.

“Stormchaser briefed me of the situation. If you want, I could lead one of the pony groups.”

Lucretia stands to my right quietly.

“Actually there’s a battalion with a very skittish Captain you can take over.” She points downrange a ways.

“Landa Ura, Lancercore fifth battalion. Just look for the mare that’s standing in front, shaking in her armor. She probably won’t respond when you first walk up to her.” Cy looks over at the distant Battalion before turning back to us and departing with an eager head-nod. I look down at Stormchaser who starts following Cy. She whirls around when I clear my throat and gives me an embarrassed stare. Her silver messy hair whips across her eyes as she peers down at the ground. Her place was to stay near me to relay my commands, not follow her fiance.

I make a whirling motion in the air with my right index finger and everyone jogs back to their positions. I climb up my Growler and gaze across our forces. Seven battalions of ponies. Three being Lancercore and four being tactical. We had our three Taraskan Battalions as well. First Taraskan Battalion, Tara Neiz for short, was going to scout ahead a bit so we could advance when we’re ready. They’d stay in eyesight and formation as much as possible. Unfortunately, they'd have to discover Zaran's traps on their own with no information ahead of time.

I fold my arms and tap my right hand nervously. My eyes snap to any movement in the forest. Tara Neiz barely makes it in five feet before they disappear amidst the hanging vines and tall grass. I growl to myself, hating the idea of not leading them myself, which was the norm before I became general. I can barely make out any movement, as they march deeper and deeper into the forest. Leaning to the far right and left anxiously, I try to catch a glimpse of someone’s armor.

Tara Neiz emerges a few minutes later. Lieutenant Dayke gives me a large triangle with her arms, signaling it was all clear. I give her a wave and we wait a bit longer. My foot taps nervously before I spin around at the sound of flapping wings again. I let out a loud sigh of relief as Captain Spitfire lands on my Growler, with Soarin on her left. She gives me a nervous nod. Her eyes were wide and sunken. There was something way off with her. Her gaze darts around sporadically as she takes a few cautious steps towards me. I eye her up and down with concern.

“Are...you alright Captain?” I say while raising an eyebrow. She glances at me and says nothing. Soarin looks her over with sympathy and then trots up to me.

“My apologies general, I wasn’t there on the last bombing run, but apparently we took some heavy and nasty losses.” I shudder when the scene flashes back into my mind.Four of them, with tears in their eyes, pull away. They’re too far behind at this point to grab the bombs and also sail away unharmed. The fifth hits top speed, and catches up to the bombs. She nudges them together as quickly as possible. With eyes closed, she hits a bomb with her hoof, detonating it along with the other explosives. She stops them from detonating on the princess, or risking her squad mates; her last effort as a soldier. Emeris falls to the bottom of our chariot, grabbing the sides of his arms, sitting quietly with defeat. The Og Nag let out a coordinated chuckle, and chants.

“King of the Dead! King of the Dead!”

I scream at the top of my lungs, in both pain and hatred. The Og Nag slowly walk away. One last Garge picks up Luna, examines her body, and hurls her with all his might at the chariot. Before the last nine of the Wonderbolts can snap out of their shock, Luna’s body collides with the vehicle, almost sending Emeris and me over. I catch her body before it can fall past us. I hold her, fearing the worst. She’s still warm, but barely. Her eye opens just enough to look at me, as she lies in my arms. She reaches up with a hoof and touches my helmet.

“I’m...I..I’m sorry…” she collapses again.

Spitfire lands in the somewhat crowded chariot. She stares at me, her eyes wide but it’s as if she stares at nothing. She can’t make a single sound, as her throat pulses desperately to say something. She points a hoof towards the Og Nag, still keeping her eyes vaguely pointed at me. All she can do is hurl on the floor and sit on her haunches.

I cross my arms and stare at Spitfire in contemplation. So I could put an unstable, traumatized Captain in charge of my entire air support, temporarily replace her in front of all the Equestrian forces, or do without my eyes in the skies. I put one hand on my hip and another on the back of my helmet anxiously.

“Spitfire...I need to know if you’re good. I understand if you...can’t right now, but you have to tell me.” The silence is maddening, as she looks down at the Growler and shakes. Soarin bites his lip uncomfortably as he waits for her reply. A massive purple ball of magic shoots towards the sky from Canterlot. It explodes in the air, showering the sky with tiny particles.

I look down at Spitfire and take a knee in front of her.

“I’m sorry Spitfire, it’s now or never. That was Luna’s signal.” She grits her teeth and gets her snout an inch from my helmet.
“Let’s do this.” She grumbles. I give her a rough pat on the shoulder before facing our forces. I make the symbol for all Taraskan forces and point at the forest. We begin moving out.