The way to Ponyville was lame and eventless. The self-proclaimed lead singer of the Rainbooms needed action! There was only the occasional strange looking tree, but nothing else worth mentioning in her book. Not even one predator! Not that she wanted to hurt an animal of course, Fluttershy would have her head, but why couldn't something interesting happen for a change?

Her former principals, Ms. Cheerilee and Pinkie’s dad filled their time catching up with each other about, well, whatever elder people were talking about. The athlete didn't care and took up her position a good distance behind them, with company at least.

Alongside her paced Shining Armor, he was the only person remotely in her age span. Even thinking about trying to talk with the much older adults caused her brain to freeze from the potential awkwardness. So she stuck with the egghead's brother, simple. And perhaps she could have a good conversation with him, right?

Nope! It was boring as hell. In the moment she asked him about his hobbies outside of his former job as a police officer, he went on and on about his, now most likely destroyed, comic book collection, with vigor and pride. He even teared up when it became clear to him which fate most likely befell his comics! The brother was a nerd and the sister was an egghead. These two were destined to be siblings, Rainbow Dash was sure of it.

Since at least an hour he told her entire odysseys about his preferences of comic book heros. It was torture. Her friends could never know that she knew that word from reading Daring Do, it would let her look like a total egghead.

"And that's the reason why Superstallion is much too overpowered and Batstallion is the much better hero," Shining Armor finished his argumentation like a true, professional nerd.

She didn't listen at all. What would Applejack do in her place? Probably failing horribly at lying, "Yeah, totally. I agree with you, Bat... stallion sounds like a much more chilled guy anyway. I root for him." The magician hoped it was convincing, and indeed, the paladin looked pleased with himself.

Good, she dodged a bullet there. The Heavens Magic user feared he would have tried to convince and started to debate with her why he was right. Very devoted fans of something were like that. Rainbow Dash witnessed it every time her father watched soccer with absolute passion and looked always like he planned first-degree murder on the TV whenever the referee decided wrong in his opinion.

Of course she would never do something like that. Especially when the Daring Do books were the topic. Whoever told such rumors was just jealous on her abilities, or a liar.

To the chromatic girl's luck her former vice-principal saved her from further stories, "Ms. Dash! Mr. Armor! We are close to Ponyville's borders. Quick, we need to talk!" Luna commanded urgently.

They obeyed and came closer, running, "What is it?" Shining Armor was alarmed.

"Take a look for yourself," the lunar knight responded curtly.

The duo followed the other adults' eyes with their own. "You've got to be kidding me," Rainbow Dash muttered, amazed and annoyed at the same time.

They were close to Ponyville. Very close. The mistress of awesomeness couldn't believe her eyes. From what the Shadowbolts, Zecora and Luviel told them, the town's population was more or less under complete mind control the last time they were here and it was pretty much no challenge at all to get out or into the town unnoticed.

It seemed that wasn't the case any longer. The big question was now, "What should they do next?"

Ponyville was surrounded by a stable looking wall of wood and metal. Crudely made, but certainly sturdier built than expected after only three days since these disgusting, if Rainbow remembered the name correctly, Soul Prisons of the co-directors of Camp Everfree were destroyed. It wasn't even extremely tall, maybe three to four meter. The highway on which they were walking the whole time served as an entrance to the city. Upon the street stood a big metal gate, with armed guards in front of it, looking like some kind of militia with blue-red uniforms and semi-automatic weapons at the ready, ten to be precise on the left and right.

Shining Armor was torn.

On one side he was worried about the future of the town, because it had no first line of defense to prevent enemies from simply marching in and now there were guards, walls and fences. He was impressed from the progress the inhabitants of Ponyville made after such a short time.

But on second thought, it could become very difficult now to enter if the guards at the gate were hostile or didn't let them in, because they were probably untrustworthy strangers in their eyes.

"It seems like it could be harder than we imagined to reach the mayor," Cheerilee commented surprised and slightly nervous.

"I concur with thy sentiment, Ms. Cheerilee. But the wardens have already seen us, there is no turning back now," Igneous Rock added stoically.

The guards were clearly on edge, fingers at the triggers, twitching. It showed them that these 'guards' were inexperienced.

Except there was one soldier, looking like the leader of the little troup and a mountain of a man, who seemed to recognize Celestia, Cheerilee and Luna, he was looking between the trio like he saw ghosts. A big smile soon replaced his perplexed expression and he went ahead to meet them after he reassured his fellow guards that everything was alright. They impatiently stayed behind, but a little bit glad, still. Who knew what these newcomers had planned.

Celestia barely recognized the giant from his time as Canterlot High's psychologist. He retired from his position to 'extend his horizon', as he once put it, when his methods turned Fluttershy, who wanted to learn to be more assertive, for a short time into a bully and moved back to Greece.

It happened during the time shortly after the Fall Formal. Her fellow friends tried to convince the girl that she overdid it and wanted to calm her down. Only to be injured by sharp words. After it was clear to her what she did, Fluttershy went immediately after them to apologize, in tears. Sincerely sorry for how she behaved and the hurtful things she had said. Of course she was forgiven instantly, it was truly a challenge to stay mad at Fluttershy for a long time. The timid girl had this effect.

Iron Will looked... interesting to say at least. He had his unmistakable black eyes with yellow sclera, what scared more than one student to his time, his usual grayish cobalt blue skin color, dark cobalt blue hair in form of a short militaristic cut and a goatee. That was the last remembrance to the man she once knew in appearance. Iron Will was very muscled, rivaling with ease one of her former students, Bulk Biceps, but it oddly fitted the man very well and it didn't look out of proportions because of his height. And was he always this tall? The former psychologist was even taller than her, about nearly two heads. The uniform did his stature justice. It surely was a challenge for the designer in charge.

Besides the red-blue uniform, Celestia could now make out the symbol upon his chest after he shortened the distance. A white shield with a golden colored pony in the process of galloping.

Luna, who was normally more under control of her emotions in front of strangers, looked in equal parts relieved and shocked at the approaching man, "Tia. Isn't that Iron WIll?"

Igneous Rock and Shining Armor had no idea who she was talking about. Cheerilee suddenly noticed the similarities, her jaw dropped. And Rainbow Dash remembered that Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy, as the only three of their group who actually met Fluttershy's former ‘self-confidence trainer’, told them a few things about a man called Iron Will. But never how he looked like exactly.

She had just one thing to say, "Oh my gosh! Fluttershy's former psychologist is a walking tank!"

"No matter how blunt her choice of words was, Ms. Dash is right. I can't seem to remember that Iron Will was always this... bulky and tall," Cheerilee supported in confusion, a small blush adorned her cheeks.

"It makes me curious, too. Still, he is part of the people guarding the gate, let me talk to him," Celestia argued. Nobody disagreed.

"Iron Will was right! Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna, Ms. Cheerilee, Iron Will is happy that you are unharmed! What happened with Canterlot was truly an atrocity, it's great to know that you are alive!" his voice boomed in a loud volume.

Up close he was even more intimidating. Shining Armor eyed him suspiciously, but as earlier agreed, he let the former principal of CHS take care of everything.

"Thanks for your kind words, Mr. Iron Will. Im glad to see that you are doing well yourself, considering our situation. I-" She was cut off by a bone crushing hug, powered by tough love and arms of steel.

That was something new as well. Since when was the former psychologist this touchy? Celestia had the feeling that something was seriously wrong here.

"None of that! You don't need to talk to Iron Will like your former employee. Times have changed, Principal Celestia. We are all in the same boat after all, surrounded by uncertainties and challenges. He couldn't think of better company, even if he tried. And please, just Iron Will is fine," he said assertively.

When he tried to do the same with Cheerilee and Luna, both women declined politely.

She caught her breath from this unique experience, "Then please, call me Celestia." The Solar Magic user glanced shortly at the other soldiers in front of the gate, "What happened to Ponyville? Last time friends of ours visited the town there were no walls."

The tall man's smile vanished in an instant and he sighed heavily, "In the moment the refugees of Canterlot City came to Ponyville, the local mayor, Mayor Mare-" Rainbow Dash snickered, "-came to the conclusion that the town had to be fortified as fast as possible to prevent Ponyville from sharing a similar fate, met the guild of craftsmen and together they decided to build this wall. After everything what happened, the new local wildlife, bandits, invading forces and the proof for the existence of-" He made sure none of his colleagues heard him even remotely, "-magic," he whispered conspiratorially, "most inhabitants helped lifting and building. Under guidance of course. When hundreds of people work together with a common goal in mind, like protecting their homes and families, it gets the job done quite fast."

Luna snorted, "You don't seem to have a problem with magic."

He chuckled knowingly, "Iron Will is sure you all know already about its existence, especially after everything that happened at Canterlot High. He was there during the Fall Formal before Iron Will retired. Witnessing the whole mess."

"A friend told us that Ponyville suffered a lot of losses when the police encountered a manticore den. We wish to express our condolence," Celestia added sympathetically.

Iron Will nodded grimly, "And then there is the problem that all means of communication died a few days ago. Many were desperate, because the government was nowhere to be seen to establish law and order, except the local police." He frowned strongly, "Well, you may say they suffered a huge image loss this day. To put it bluntly, the officers weren't taken seriously anymore after the incident in the Everfree Forest, in which 30 humans died and only seven escaped alive. Five of them were too heavily injured and succumbed later on to their wounds, so only two actually made it, still traumatized."

Shining growled angrily, not caring any longer for their plan of letting Celestia handle most of the talk, "But it wasn't their fault! They couldn't have known that the Everfree is now a nest for all kinds of creatures." It annoyed him very much that people would blame his colleagues from Ponyville for things beyond their control.

The others understood his point well, as a trained officer himself. The Solar Magic user tried to take the edge from his anger, "It isn't fair how the local police was treated, but you have to understand, people are scared and nervous. Someone had to be blamed, even though these people put the saddle on the wrong horse."

Rainbow imagined Sunset's reaction to this idiom and kept a chuckle back, barely.

The paladin admitted defeat, "I know. You are right, Ms. Celestia." He switched his attention back to Iron Will, this time more subdued, "Sorry for causing a scene, my anger was uncalled for. Please continue."

The giant laughed it off leisurely, "No harm was done. I can understand your feelings." Shining sighed in relief. "But back to the point I wanted to make, the citizens lost all trust in them and their abilities, however, Ponyville had no more forces to defend itself than the PPD. In forced response the mayor ordered the immediate founding of a militia to protect the citizens." He pointed at his chest, "Iron Will took the mantle of the militia's captain, as he absolved the tests for judging the potential recruits' capabilities with best results," the newly declared leader of the Ponyville Militia explained proudly.

"Wow. I didn't know Mary planned all this, she never told me anything," Cheerilee commented, disappointed that one of her oldest and best friends didn't think of it as necessary to inform her about such plans.

Iron Will stared the former teacher into the eyes, "As far as Iron Will knows, she was desperate after she heard that you had disappeared from Ponyville and feared the worst. Mayor Mare was close to leaving the city to search for you herself, but her sense of duty prevented it and because she is the only person in the moment, with the necessary reputation as a buffer, who is able to keep the people willing to resort to violence at bay with calming speeches."

Mr. Pie agreed, "A wise decision. Sometimes our duty is more important than personal matters."

As the new captain of the Ponyville Militia he was always in contact with her and when Iron Will once entered her office he caught her crying with a report in hand after the newest incident. There she told Iron Will about their friendship and that Cheerilee was missing.

The bulky man continued, "Mayor Mare told Iron Will that she wanted to talk to you about everything, but never got the chance, because she was not herself at the time. And Iron Will knows that it will sound strange, though there was an attack caused by-"

Luna finished the sentence, "Magic? We know all about it. That is the most important reason we are here now. Ponyville was under the dark influence of warlocks who used some form of mind control magic," she informed darkly.

Iron Will gritted his teeth in understanding, frowning, "Yes. Iron Will thought so, he was spared thanks to a friend's help. On that topic, Iron Will has his own concerns to address. Do you by chance know a woman named 'Zecora'? How do you know who the ones responsible are? And where are you even living, when not in Ponyville and after Canterlot?"

The lunar knight explained in a few sentences what the Adepts of Khom were, how they were responsible and how Ponyville was saved, for now. Why they knew about Zecora, the help she provided for their group and with whom they lived at Sweet Apple Acres.

He was surprised and very interested after hearing about the Emerald Elf in their group, who played a big part in saving two innocent young souls from what he understood. Iron Will never met one before. And he was horrified by what happened to Gloriosa and Timber.

She even informed him about the discovery of her own Lunar Magic, but didn't tell him anything about the magical abilities of the others. In her opinion it was everybody's own choice to make.

Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash wanted to object when she started to answer his questions, because they weren't sure if he was completely trustworthy. Celestia would have none of it and promised them that they knew Iron Will since years and that he could be trusted without a doubt.

"Besides," Luna continued for her older sister, "Iron Will is very forthcoming with information so we should give him the same courtesy. In fact, I'm very sure now that something isn't right with our dear friend here. Call it a feeling. Am I wrong?" she asked sweetly.

He laughed wholeheartedly, "Alright, you got Iron Will. Now that he knows that you are still friendly and not as hostile as so many other humans, Iron Will will show you his secret, but not here." He got much more serious, "It is worrisome what you said about these 'Adepts of Khom'. You see, most people live in fear these days and are distrustful towards strangers of all kinds. But especially the many refugees are not only scared or depressed by their loss, no, they are hateful."

Cheerilee was saddened and a little ashamed, "I was hoping that my impression was wrong about Ponyville. What happened?"

Iron Will crossed his massive arms in front of his chest, "Political fractions were created after the mind control spell lost its power. Some with the only goal to create a 'haven for humans', no magic allowed. Especially none humans are on their blacklist after it became public knowledge that many former humans were transformed into something else. Zecora was very lucky that she could escape undetected. Yesterday some people had a run in with Diamond Dogs who told them about their own meetings with trolls and goblins and that they were once humans themselves, too. Luckily, nothing bad happened and the Diamond Dogs, nor the humans, did anything stupid. Many came to the immediate conclusion that it wasn't much of a stretch that other new races existed now except what was known."

"I guess Mary has her hands full," Luna said dryly.

The milita's leader smiled respectfully, "Mayor Mare did her best to hold up law, order and peace, trying to tell them that violence and the call for merciless revenge wasn't the right way. That they shouldn't provoke unnecessary conflicts. And most citizens agreed with her reasoning, even some refugees, if only a few." His frown returned, "But her opposition is strong and heavily represented by a lot of angry and frightened people with, no matter if someone sees them as justified or not, a lot of understandable arguments for their cause. They blame magic in general and Iron Will strongly advises you to keep your connections to anything magical under wraps, because they will hunt you down or use your point of view related to it against you without remorse in their unfailing desire to declare anything connected to magic the mortal enemy of mankind."

Igneous Rock stroke his goatee thoughtfully, "Being controlled by the very force they feared didn't help, I assume?"

Iron Will snorted distastefully, "After the spell was broken, everybody still remembered what happened during the time they were controlled and that they couldn't shake off the feeling of wrongness from their mind, but didn't think any of it. It was like fog veiled their senses and there was nothing they could do. In the moment these poor souls were released from their prisons and the spell, curse or whatever it was, ended, a huge new wave of fear, but much more fury and hatred washed over the people of this town after their own release. The first day the militia couldn't save itself from the onrush of volunteering recruits, but not everybody is cut out for the military life, be it because of the own body or other ailments. The mayor couldn't pacify the opposing parties any longer and now Ponyville is pretty much under lockdown until further notice. You chose the worst time possible to come here. I'm glad you told me who was responsible, but that will just fuel the schemes and opinions of the magic opposing groups further," he gravely finished his explanation.

Rainbow Dash couldn't take it anymore and exclaimed in pure frustration, "Come on! There has to be something we can do! These warlocks won't give up on the city so easily. We can't just turn our backs on Ponyville and everyone inside the walls, because some idiots are butthurt!"

The patriarch of the Pie Family opened his mouth, lecturing, "Language, young lady! Thou shall not lose faith this quick. We can not falter or we will lose everything, an option not available." He bowed his head respectfully in front of the towering man, "Captain Iron Will, mine name is Igneous Rock Pie, son of Feldspar Granite Pie and we are humbly grateful for the knowledge thou has provided us with. What kind of important and represented political factions exist in Ponyville which possess influence on the fair citizens' minds in the moment we speak?"

The tall man chuckled in good humor, "Iron Will is amused by the way you talk, Mr. Pie!"

Rainbow Dash gave him a deadpan expression, "Look who's talking."

Iron Will sheepishly blushed, deciding to move on, "There is of course the mayor, the in the moment highest form of 'government' of our city. Then there are the remains of the Ponyville Police Department. They are responsible now for the inner security. Well, as good as possible after the sullying of their image following the last two incidents." His face twisted, as if he had bitten into a very sour fruit, "There are enough of those who blamed them for this whole mind control business, too. Iron Will thinks they are fools. Sadly, there is no captain in the moment, because nobody of the remaining officers would want to serve as a living political target and the former died in the Everfree Forest."

Shining Armor fumed anew on the inside at the injustice the police received. As a fellow officer he felt obliged to protect his colleagues. It wasn't like they could fight magical creatures without the right equipment, or even better, magic as support.

He could speak from undesired experiences how it felt like to see your friends dying and having no chance of preventing any of it.

And those warlocks and demons wouldn't care less if magicless humans attacked them. One well aimed spell or other form of magical ability and that was it for them. The fire elementals proved how ineffective fire arms were against such foes. Shining noticed that he spaced out for a bit and listened to Iron Will again.

"We, the Ponyville Militia, exist to protect the city at whole from all kinds of threats, but most importantly from enemies outside of town. No matter their nature. Our duty is it to protect the inhabitants at all costs. We don't interact with the political parties and we don't have any political influence either, as it should be. We follow the mayor as the chosen highest authority in Ponyville. She has the most experience, enjoys a good reputation, her orders are reasonable and Iron Will isn't worried that Mayor Mare could abuse her newly won power. Otherwise, Iron Will will lead the troops as their captain as he sees fit." The mountain of a man nodded his head sharply to emphasize his point.

Celestia sighed with a bad feeling, "Please tell me the political figureheads can't do whatever they want."

Iron Will denied the question, much to their relief, "Iron Will can refuse to follow orders, if he thinks that they act only in their own interest and don't have the common weal of Ponyville in mind. It may not surprise you, but this was the mayor's idea. She said that there are enough people who would abuse such political power for their own selfish goals in these uncertain days without a second thought, if they had the chance. She additionally implemented this new law so that the captain of the militia can refuse to follow in such cases of power abuse without suffering any consequences. The same can be said the other way around. Should the captain attempt a coup, then he can be accused of treason by any soldier under his command. As long as there is evidence of course."

"That sounds like Mary. Always organized and prepared for everything, the needs of her citizens at heart," Cheerilee voiced proudly her opinion.

Iron Will continued after a short silence, "Now I come to the more... interesting factions."

Rainbow Dash stretched her arms in boredom and glanced shortly at the guards behind Iron Will, "Your friends look pretty nervous. We should hurry."

The bulky human noticed his fellow soldiers' attitude as well, inexperience could do something like that to your nerves, "OK, listen. There is for one the 'New Amarerica Party'. It was founded by one of the remaining, tolerable politicians, who survived the slaughter of Canterlot. His name is Political Drive." Sometimes Iron Will seriously wasn't sure if the parents responsible for naming their child secretly hated it or simply wanted to punish it for life. He certainly got that impression with some names he had heard in this land, "He and his followers want to create a place for humans from humans. Human mages, whose existence is common knowledge by now thanks to rumors and sightings of such, are the only accepted exceptions when it comes to magic. But non-humans aren't allowed in Ponyville until further notice because of the 'potential danger' they could pose."

He saw their defeated postures, "It is not really what you wished to hear, Iron Will knows that. But their reasoning is understandable. And as Iron Will said, they are not really hostile, just very cautious, considering everything that happened."

Iron Will turned his head and showed his subordinates a raised hand and outstretched fingers, five minutes, "Then we have the 'Noble Reformer Party' under the leadership of a difficult man, called High Fame. Don't let the name fool you, they are a group of rich people, who let their money work for them. Those guys think the world bows to their will." He scoffed, "It's ridiculous, like they forgot what happened in Canterlot, thinking that they could continue to live as before. They say that economy is the most important objective for a functioning society and that we should trade with everything, and Iron Will means, everything. Drugs, farm products, clothes, services of all kinds, whatever is possible, some even 'joked' that 'disposable people' should be traded as well, when they thought they were alone, because nobody would miss them." The captain of the militia held up a hand before the others could voice their outrage, "Iron Will assures you that he pulled them faster into the mayor's office than they could blink. They think of magic nothing more than a tool to accumulate more riches and a weapon to be used."

He could have sworn the air around the former principal flickered.

"I see. It seems we have our fair share of work cut out for us," Celestia said in the most neutral tone Luna ever witnessed in her life. It gave her the chills.

The ones closest to her took a few steps away from the solar knight, feeling the simmering air around her as well. Only, unlike Iron Will, they knew that her magic was most likely responsible for it. After a few seconds everything was back to normal.

The others shared the woman's opinion about the paraphrased slavery part and were positively disgusted and furious that somebody would even consider such a vile act.

"Next up we have the FFF, or the Flora Fauna Federation. Because so many people lost loved ones thanks to formerly mythological animals or strange new plants never seen before, enough inhabitants demand retribution and called for death and destruction of such. Especially manticores and timberwolves are on the hit list. That led to the foundation of this party, animal lovers, ecologists and in general a lot of the more pacifistic sort, want to achieve that every human tries to live in peace with the new inhabitants of our world, instead of being hostile. They prefer showing kindness in all regards and are very neutral when magic is the topic. They have two leaders. Two women, Ms. Tree Hugger and Ms. Noble Heart."

"That would be totally Flutter's choice," Rainbow Dash said between chuckles.

It would make her childhood friend extremely happy to know that Tree Hugger was still alive after all. She was the owner of the animal shelter Fluttershy worked in, if she remembered correctly. And she wasn't sure, but the second name was somehow familiars to her as well.

"The last politically active faction is by far the worst, but after everything that happened, it has unfortunately the most supporters, at the moment. A group called 'Justice'. They demand that all humans should work together to 'take back what was once rightfully territory of mankind'. Magic is very frowned upon and every human who has any connection to it is seen as a traitor in their eyes and every non-human is an 'enemy of peace'. That magic users' goal would be 'the total domination and enslavement of mankind', when humans don't do something to 'defend themselves, their families and the home of their ancestors'. They abuse other people's loss and fears for their own agenda without a shame and fuel hatred and prejudices against magic whenever they get the chance. Especially their leader is cunning and convinced a lot of citizens for her cause, implementing seeds of jealousy and distrust into their hearts. You have to be very careful around her. The leader of this group of anarchists is a woman named Prismia." Iron Will pronounced the name like it was poison.

"So to sum it up: We just have to kick this Prismia person into the next week, expose the more rotten members of Justice as the shady liars they are and show Ponyville how awesome and useful magic really is? Challenge accepted," Rainbow Dash ended the pregnant silence in confidence.

"It won't be easy, that's for sure. Strong negative emotions are very difficult to get rid off, once a person is practically driven by them. I hope we can convince enough citizens to listen and save them from Justice's influence," Cheerilee added worriedly.

"Whatever happens, except in the most dire situations we can't use any magic in town. In the moment our connection to magic is exposed we just deliver their toxic and spiteful rhetoric more fuel. I fear that Prismia and her followers would just declare us as some sort of spies or enemies in general, because we 'hid' the truth from them. It's always the same with those kind of people, they are like sharks and wait for the right opportunity to strike. We have to be cautious around them, like Iron Will already warned us," Celestia argued.

"Don't worry too much. Iron Will and his soldiers are trustworthy, the militia was founded before the factions went on the streets to advertise for their own agenda. Mayor Mare made sure that every recruit swore an oath and signed a contract that no soldier of the Ponyville Militia shall take part in any special political organizations, staying neutral. If anyone tries to start an uproar, we will end it as swiftly and peaceful as possible. The penalty for betrayal is harsh and ends with a sentence of imprisonment without any chance of using bureaucracy or loopholes in the old laws for the own advantage to escape." He acknowledged the most unsure reactions, "Our way of handling things may be too harsh for your liking, but we all have to work together. Egoism won't do us any good right now," the captain of the militia assured.

"I understand why you have to do that and yes, perhaps harsh penalties work deterrent enough to keep crime as low as possible in these uncertain times. Though perhaps we can work out better conditions when we established peace in and around Ponyville," Celestia replied hopefully.

"Sister, your approach is soft like always. But we will see," Luna criticized mildly.

"The Ponyville Militia is neutral as long as we don't disturb the inner peace of the city under the leadership of Captain Iron Will. And the PPD is under the command of Mayor Mayor Mare, but are there any other forces with weapons at their disposal we should be made aware of? Any traveling salesmen, outlaws around the city, perhaps even guarded caravans from other thorps or towns?" Igneous Rock inquired. He wanted to make sure that all important groups concerning Ponyville were accounted for.

"Yes, that would interest me as well. And I would like to see the police and military forces with my own eyes to make myself a picture from Ponyville's defense capabilities. I was once a police officer of my own in Canterlot City and would like to help with building an effective defense force," the paladin mentioned thoughtfully. At the questioning look he received, the young man introduced himself with a salute, "My name is Officer Shining Armor, sir."

Iron Will nodded, "Knock yourself out, Officer. We need any help we can get. And to answer your question, Mr. Pie, there is one group you should be made aware of. Yesterday evening we were visited by the REAL military, from Cloudsdale to be precise. The Wonderbolts sent a small team under a woman called Captain Spitfire to support Ponyville, or so she claimed. You should talk to her, come." The team approached the gate purposefully.

"I knew that Ms. Spitfire and her friends dreamed of becoming Wonderbolts, this branch of the Air Force was originally founded as stunt flyers to entertain people, only trained in combat for the case of a hostile invasion." She displayed her military knowledge without even noticing the suprised faces of the others, except an amused Celestia, "But I guess it was to be expected that the remaining troops had to be reassigned. And she has the rank of a captain already? Astonishing. Together with the amarerican military we have a much better chance of defeating the Adepts of Khom," Luna said positively surprised.

"Indeed. It is good to know that Ms. Spitfire is alive and well. I was worried about the military units of our country and what happened to them. We didn't hear anything about the whereabouts of any troops since everything started. It seems she achieved her dream in the very end after all," Celestia agreed proudly.

"That's maybe true, but thanks to what costs? President Fancy Pants was always a leader of peace and provided less and less for the military budget in the last years. Army, navy and air force got smaller and smaller under his leadership, because there was no reason to keep a huge army going in times of prosperity and peace. I'm sure the troops paid the price after everything went downhill. No possibilities of fast communication and the whole world in an uproar because of magic? Yeah, no. My guess is that the army had to split up in order to cover ground and to make sure that the inhabitants of our country were safe. Maybe they even suffered already huge losses? The fire elementals couldn't be killed with by normal means, who says that what happened with Canterlot didn't happen somewhere else? Hopefully Captain Spitfire can shed some light on the situation," Shining Armor added analytically.

Nobody saw it, but Iron Will winced at the last two sentences. Well, he was sure they had to be informed about it soon anyway. He saw no reason to worsen the mood now.

"I hope Mary is alright. I fear for her safety with this 'Justice' faction around," Cheerilee muttered silently. Igneous Rock, who heard her, gave the woman a comforting pat on the shoulder.

None of the group noticed that their youngest member was left behind. Speechless, with gaping jaw, her brain needed a reboot after this last bit of information.

Rainbow Danger Dash shook her head vigorously and exclaimed in shock, "Spitfire is what?! And why is nobody surprised except me?!"

"And that's the whole story why we are here now." Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts finished explaining her side of the story.

Iron Will escorted the team to the town hall, where Mayor Mare and other important dignitaries were located. The Wonderbolts, as trained military of the USA, counted as such. They received their own rooms. The giant of a man told his guards at the gate that everything was fine and that he would handle their new guests.

Ponyville was divided, the situation worse than they thought, but not as hopeless as feared. Luviel told the team of five before they left that the Adepts of Khom sought to spread chaos and to install fear and terror into the hearts of their victims and enemies alike to demoralize them. Trying to force a fast capitulation caused by dominance and terror. She tried to judge the level and gravity of the mind control spell with her own magic during her time in the city, carefully, not wanting to endanger the citizens, and found out that this spell was designed like a curse. Even after they would have been released at some point from Vyndrek, the humans would have remembered that they were under complete control of magic, to demonstrate that defying the Adepts was futile.

So after the release of the siblings' souls the memories of their time as a puppets were left behind on purpose. The town remembered.

And indeed, Iron Will told them on the way that this was the main reason why Prismia's group had the biggest part of the present population behind her, despite their more than questionable morals. Fury and terror. They were toyed with like dolls with no free will of their own, couldn't remotely defend themselves and they knew it. This sheer helplessness drove many into the wolf's waiting claws. The Adepts couldn't have helped Prismia more, even if they actually tried.

Present population, because this act of cruelty drove many souls to do exactly what they already desired from the very moment they heard of Canterlot City's fate. But couldn't, because they were caught by the mind control spell. They packed their things and searched for a new and, more importantly, safer place they could call home. A good share of the formerly undecided citizens forsake this potential battlefield in the aftermath, too. By car or foot, it didn't matter as long as they were as far away from the epicenter as possible.

Nobody could blame them. The survival of the own family and other beloved was top priority for these people, patriotism came later. And magic in its whole was the scapegoat, plus everything and everyone related to it.

The streets were busy in the middle of the day, as expected. Even in the darkest of times, capitalism could always pull through. Members of the police and newly formed Ponyville militia patrolled in small teams through town, joking with their colleagues, but only on the surface. After everything that happened even the most carefree, ignorant or stubborn kind would have to acknowledge the odds opposing their once peaceful live.

On the way to their destination the former staff of Canterlot High, Shining and Rainbow saw familiar faces every now and then.

Like for example former fellow Wondercolts like Baton Switch, Photo Finish, Cloudy Kicks, Amethyst Star and Ringo, who saw them and offered the team smiles of encouragement for what was to come. They were happy to see that such familiar faces survived from their time at CHS and didn't blame the Rainbooms for what transpired since everything started. In opposite, the ex-students knew that they were always trying to look out for them when something dangerous had happened. No matter if they displayed magic of their own from time to time.

It became something like an unspoken rule. Every student knew on one way or another that magic existed, but nobody spoke openly about it because of the potential consequences. Period. Of course there were enough who still uploaded recorded videos in the internet, but to this time they weren't taken seriously.

But you had to be careful nowadays, especially in Ponyville. One never knew who listened in, on purpose or not, when speaking positively about it in public.

They even met Mrs. Harshwhinny, the usually very, in Rainbow's opinion, boring, unfunny and extremely strict former math teacher of Canterlot High School. She was really happy to see that her colleagues were alive and well. She even gave Rainbow Dash a heartfelt greeting, voicing the concerns she had since Canterlot about what happened to everybody who was on the field trip to Camp Everfree. Such events changed even the grumpiest of persons for the positive, the chromatic girl guessed.

Even Luna was briefly caught off-guard by the open and friendly demeanor. Her eyes widened for 1.5 seconds significantly.

And then there were of course former Crystal Prep students like Royal Pin, Jet Set, Suri Polomare and a few others Shining recognized from his time at CPA. Their looks were neutral at best, but otherwise clearly hostile or downright accusing. They blamed Twilight and her 'precious new friends', how they were sometimes referred as with distaste, because they were unwavering supporters of Cinch's strict course and firm hand approach, believing stubbornly that only the most successful deserved to strive.

The girls' display of friendship gave some of their classmates the ridiculous idea to be more supportive and less competitive, unacceptable. A few of these students even openly declared that Dean Cadence should become the new principal of the academy instead of Abacus Cinch.

Whenever one of the Rainbooms displayed any magic during the games, or something inexplainable happened, like the out of nowhere appearing flesh-eating plants, or the climax of the games at the end with Twilight, who nearly destroyed the world, magic was at fault. Magic only the seven friends could use. That led to solely one conclusion, the Rainbooms had to be the true hazard, in the former students' eyes. The real perpetrators and being partly responsible, because somehow, the Rainbooms were always involved when anything crazy happened. So it was just logical for them that they should be held accountable for the city's demise, too.

Some Crystal Prepers even called Rainbow out on what happened during the Friendship Games as the person who grew magical wings during the motor cross event. It caused curious and confused, sometimes angry and worried looks pointed at her. Iron Will stepped in immediately and threatened everybody, who tried to openly blame her or others of the group, with facing charges for the attempt of stoking public unrest, slander and provoking open panic.

Jet Set and Suri were known and convinced followers of Prismia and her agenda and counted to the ones who shouted the loudest.

The amount of hostility against the Rainbooms themselves was unexpected. Luna's patience ran out fastly in the face of such petty behaviour and injustice, feeling protective of her former students' reputation and their well-being and was on the verge of confronting the agitators with chosen words of her own. But Celestia silenced her sibling with a briefly pleading and understanding eye contact and motioned the group to continue walking. The solar knight wanted to avoid open confrontations or other forms of conflict at all costs so shortly after their mere arrival. It just would make things much more difficult for them as it already was the case.

Well, at least for now.

When they reached the town hall the mayor's secretary, Fast Scribbler, a poor young woman in her early twenties, who had clearly a lot on her plate these days, apologized and told them that Mayor Mare was indisposed at the moment because of an important meeting. So the militia's captain decided to go directly to Spitfire. They could introduce themselves later he figured.

The first floor was where the Wonderbolts received accommodations for the duration of their stay in Ponyville. Mayor Mare insisted that the soldiers of the 'true military', as she called Spitfire's group to honor their status from a time before everything went downhill, should have a place they could call their own. Besides, they should be as close as possible to the center of political power in Ponyville in cases of emergency, so the further reasoning.

Greeting them in a fairly relaxed manner at the door were two of the infamous stunt flyers' members.

First Lieutenant Soarin, the former vice captain of the Wondercolt soccer team of CHS before he graduated. He had moderate emerald green eyes, dark grayish phthalo blue colored hair, very pale cornflower blue skin and was half a head taller than Rainbow Dash. Like all Wonderbolts he wore his uniform, an aquamarine flying suit with gold colorations at some places and a golden winged bolt as a logo on it. Only this time he seemed to wear a black second chance vest under his suit. It had to be unbearably hot under it. Only the head was exposed.

It was the first time for most of the team, except two, that they saw the Wonderbolt uniform in person.

And Senior Master Sergeant Fire Streak, who was already since two years a part of the Bolts, but became over the time they spent together best friends with Soarin and hanged out a lot with his circle of friends every so often. Now they were all friends, too. He had moderate purple eyes, orange hair with a pale orange streak, light gray skin and was a little smaller than Soarin, but taller than Dash.

The Heavens Magic user was always a little bit teased in her earliest days as a member of the Wondercolt soccer team under Spitfire, because she was the smallest of them. All in good fun of course.

When they introduced themselves with their rank Luna and Igneous Rock were both curious how it was possible that such young men were already filling higher positions. They both were well-versed in the ranking system of the air force, for their own reasons.

Luna was always interested in any kind of military groups, seeking to understand why they were special and unique and what circumstances led to their founding. It was a hobby of the lunar knight. And being knowledgeable in the field of combat could always come in handy. Or so was her justification for being interested in the more violent areas of life when her sister asked her.

But the patriarch's business with the military of the USA could be defined as... family tradition. Well, his daughters weren't told about anything until this day, only his wife Cloudy Quartz knew about the details and she was truly firm when it came to involving their children. Solid as a rock, granite to be precise. He desired for them to have a happy life without having to worry about the Pie Family's darker history. He would have to tell them now, there was no other way around it.

It all started nearly 150 years ago when the first Pie, Basalt Copper Pie was his name, came to these lands. He was a geologist and an expert in identifying and describing all kinds of rocks and sediment.

Much like his daughter Maud had planned to achieve one day, he owned a Rocktorate and was later the founder of the infamous Amarerican Inistitute of Rockology near Las Pegasus. He never understood why the number of students was declining over the past 10 years. Rock Studies was a worthy major, where every student had to show patience, patience and more patience. Igneous Rock guessed the necessary passion a person had to possess when studying rocks was too much for most people to handle, so the failure rate had to be extremely high.

Well, nevermind.

Basalt Copper Pie's knowledge in geology received attention of the local military during a civil war when he tricked hostile soldiers into believing gold veins could be found. In all their greed they ventured into a big cave system where he showed them ‘gold’, but in truth it was merely fool's gold, pyrite. With a few specific hits of his pickax he let the entrance collapse and with his knowledge and talent he managed to find a second exit after Basalt lost his livid pursuers, and survived.

Or so his father Feldspar Granite Pie told him the story when he was introduced himself into the family business. This story was imparted generation for generation.

The military was under the command of a man named General Firefly during this time, not to be mistaken with the thunder demon herself, who founded later the Wonderbolts as the first kind of Air Force existing and gave them their name. They weren't always stunt flyer, that changed when Commander Easyglider established flight choreography, known as the premiere Wonderbolts choreographer, which was still used by the Wonderbolts to this day.

Back to the roots it seemed. And again under the command of a ‘General Firefly’. Igneous Rock didn't know if this was fate or a mere coincidence, only time would answer him the question.

Basalt and Firefly became best friends and with his knowledge about rocks and ores he made it possible for the army to fund itself without a problem and using the hardest stones as building material for their fortresses, normal buildings and other defensive works. The enemy had no chance of overcoming them.

Since then, the Pie Family was generation for generation wired with the military as well-respected experts in the field of Rockology. Army, navy and especially Air Force always tasked the Pies with judging of newgrounds, finding potential resources and giving the OK for building new constructions.

He never told anybody about it, but a year ago he and his wife Cloudy Quartz took a 'vacation', as far as his daughters were concerned. The truth was that a new ore was discovered at the borders between the USA and the Frozen North and they were asked to investigate its properties.

It was fascinating. Light blue in color and harder than diamond. Their tools nearly weren't able to cut it open and what they found inside was astonishing. The inner crystals of this ore were filled with an unknown brilliant silvern energy, never witnessed before in the history of mankind. When they tried to relocate it for further investigations General Firefly and a friend of hers, her name was 'Ancient Seeker', if he remembered correctly, came under order of the president and confiscated the find. She told them that this couldn't become public knowledge and asked the married couple to keep quiet about it.

It was no problem. Cloudy and Firefly went together to CHS in their time. His wife trusted the woman's judgement and that she knew what to do. And he trusted his wife in return. Now that he could confirm the existence of magic, Igneous Rock had the feeling that this ore was much more than a mere mineral.

To this time the Fall Formal happened. Did this mean that Firefly knew that their daughters and the other girls could use magic? It would make sense. In order to keep them safe, magic couldn't become public knowledge. There were enough people with sinister intentions who would have tried to claim them for their own plans. Yes, the general made the right call.

He had to talk with Firefly about everything as early as possible. This woman knew much more than she let on.

The waiting duo let them into the Wonderbolt captain's office and it seemed they were expected.

It was a big office, with bookshelves, a big table and a lot of chairs, occupied.

To the left of the quintet sat two women.

Second Lieutenant Fleetfoot. Brilliant fuchsia eyes, styled long white hair and pale, light grayish, arctic blue skin were seen. She was the same height as Fire Streak and positioned herself closer to her captain and friend.

Besides her was Command Chief Master Sergeant Blaze. Golden yellow skin, orange hair and moderate purple eyes gave her a similar look to Spitfire, but this woman was way more relaxed with her subordinates. A quarter of a head taller than Rainbow Dash.

On the right side were sitting besides each other for one Chief Master Sergeant Misty Fly. She had moderate sea green eyes, blue hair with a light streak and light yellow skin. She was close to Soarin's height.

On Misty's right, closer to the captain, sat Technical Sergeant High Winds. One of the youngest member of the Bolts. Her appearance consisted out of moderate harlequin colored eyes, puffy dark blue hair with a lighter blue streak, and white skin. She was a few inches taller than Rainbow Dash.

And last, but not least, on Misty Fly's left, was Senior Airman Lightning Streak. Even if his rank wasn't high in comparison to his fellow Bolts, his abilities in stealth counted to the reasons he was chosen to come to Ponyville. His grayish olive eyes, the light amber hair with a pale amber colored streak and light blue skin could be seen without the head part of the suit. He was as tall as Soarin.

They all looked young and athletic. Too young to be in such positions in the opinion of Pinkie's father, but he was amish, so there was that.

Iron Will, Soarin and Fire Streak took their own seats at the sides. The latest mentioned man closed the doors after the five newcomers entered the room and made it himself comfortable on a prepared couch.

With wet eyes Rainbow Dash stared at every of her former teammates and tried to act cool, saying that it was awesome that they were all alive and why they were so slow to show up here. Of course when Fleetfoot teased her about the incoming tears it was obvious, in Dash's words, that she had only something in her eyes.

Wet eyes was the highest form of mushy stuff the magician allowed herself to show in front of everybody.

The eighth Wonderbolt and leader of their group, Captain Spitfire, was looking at the awaited visitors with narrowed eyes, before even the usually very professional woman smiled gladly at them. Brilliant orange eyes, light brilliant orange hair with a light brilliant amber streak and light brilliant gold skin made up her look. She was half a head taller than Dash.

She told them that it was great to see them still kicking and that they had feared the worst. Before Luna could intervene, the younger captain raised a hand and suggested that they she would begin.

Spitfire explained to the group what happened with the Wonderbolts and how they saved and rebuilt Cloudsdale into the Wonderbolts' new HQ after President Fancy Pants gave his last order. It shocked and saddened them to have it confirmed that the former government was essentially gone. Though that the different military units were ordered to split up to make sure the citizens of the country were save made a lot of sense and their thoughts were with the remaining forces.

The short explanation of the losses they suffered in different battles and how they had a great need to fill the higher military ranks answered their unspoken question how it was possible that these young soldiers held such high positions.

She then informed them that she was tasked by Colonel Wind Rider to come to Ponyville with a from her specially selected team to defend the city from a potential enemy and how they knew about the threat. She informed them about a Dark Elf named 'Beast Tamer Makara', her demons and who the woman had kidnapped and brought to the demons' base of operation known as 'Jormun'.

After she finished her explanation, the eyes of everyone on the couch were huge.

"Fluttershy's whole family are prisoners of demons?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in horror, feeling sick to the stomach.

"The poor dear," Cheerilee said sadly.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't do anything. I swear, I will-" Fire Streak couldn't continue his oath.

"Don't sweat it. These demons would have killed you or taken prisoner, too. Without you we wouldn't even know what happened to them until it was much too late. So, uhm, thanks. We will save them, no questions asked," the Heavens Magic user replied in a very unusual calmness.

The leading Wonderbolt leant back, sighing, "Hmm, I guess you have seen a lot, too. Principal Celestia, could you please explain what happened on your side?" Captain Spitfire asked politely, but with force of a commanding officer. Luna thought that their former student seemed to enjoy her new position of authority a little too much.

"Indeed, but please, call me Celestia or Ms. Celestia if you want. Canterlot High surely doesn't exist any longer. But first, how much do you know about magic?" the Solar Magic user questioned back.

Spitfire thought about her answer, "If you are talking about the Fall Formal, when this Sunset Shimmer girl messed up and transformed into a demon, the Battle of the Bands and the Friendship Games, we know all about these events. There were more than enough videos in the internet and satellite imagery, well, when everything was still alive."

Luna voiced her disbelief, "You want to tell me that the government always knew about the existence of magic?! So all our secrecy was for naught?!"

The Wonderbolt captain gave her former vice-principal an apologetic smile, “It seems this way, sorry. Though before you ask me why the government never did anything, although they knew about magic... that is a question I can not answer personally. I was just shown the pictures and notes the general had made about everything from the Thunder Demon herself.” Well, before she burned all to ashes that was, saying that this evidence lost its value and would only cause more harm than good when it continued to be, “I don't know what she meant with it, but she only said to me before she left: 'If you meet her again, ask Rainbow Dash, when you want to know more.' So seeing how you are here, 'Crash'... what in the goddess' name have you of all people to do with the highest officer of the Wonderbolts? In what relation are you standing to General Firefly?"

Rainbow mumbled something, sweating nervously under the gazes of so many people.

"What did you say?" Misty Fly inquired encouragingly.

"Firefly is... my mom," came the fateful answer.

Igneous Rock nodded in understanding. So it seemed that Firefly's daughter never told anybody about her parents. Interesting.

The others didn't take the news as well as him.

Fleetfoot and most others of the Bolts turned a few shades paler, if that was even possible, "W-what?! You want to tell me we always joked about the daughter of our highest commanding officer?" she asked in her lisping voice. Shaken.

"Hmm. So that is the reason why I never saw your mother during a teacher-parent conference day. I was wondering why only your father, Mr. Blaze, appeared to these meetings," Celestia commented truly surprised.

"I think we have bigger issues right now," Cheerilee muttered silently.

Rainbow groaned in frustration, "That's exactly the reason why I never talk about my mom with anybody. People are instantly in awe and wonder and start to see me in a new light. Don't deny it, I see it in your eyes! I'm my own woman and not just 'General Firefly's daughter'! So don't you dare give me a special treatment!"

Suddenly Luna of all people put a comforting hand on the athlete's shoulder, smiling warmly, "I know how you feel. You think you would never be able to make yourself an own name. That the large shadow and the legacy of your relative would always catch up to you if it was public knowledge that the Thunder Demon was your mother, no matter what you are trying to do. But you shouldn't think like that, believe me, I made once the same mistake you are making right now. I'm sure it was and never will be Firefly's intention to overshadow you, Ms. Dash. Just be yourself and other people shall learn to recognize you for your own deeds and not for your connections by blood."

Celestia smiled with slightly moistened eyes. She was proud on her sister.

"Ms. Luna is right. You will always be Rainbow Crash for me," Spitfire supported sweetly and received a joking glare.

One time you weren't looking where you were going and it shall forever be remembered. Typical.

The Wonderbolt captain continued, "But seriously. What did she mean with asking you?"

The magician sighed and told all about the pact she made with her mother and how President Fancy Pants and General Firefly were covering for the girls and Canterlot High every time something magic related happened to keep them safe.

"Understandable. Fancy Pants was never a man who would allow bad things to happen to minors. We were lucky that the president and one of the most infamous leaders of the military were on our side," Celestia commented in relief.

"Speaking of. Where is General Firefly?" Iron Will inquired surprisedly. He thought the general was in Cloudsdale, just now hearing about her absence for the first time.

Spitfire shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine, Captain Iron Will. She only told me that she had a very important mission of her own, grabbed Master Sergeant Surprise because of her unique magic and-" Her eye twitched heavily after Rainbow interrupted her.

"Woah! Surprise can use magic, too?! Awesome! What kind of magic can she use?"

"Water Magic," Soarin answered this time.

The twitching intensified.

"I guess that is a good time as any to tell you our side of the story. With your permission of course, Captain Spitfire." Celestia noticed the woman's expression and decided to prevent her from busting a nut, because her attempts of speaking up were ignored.

Absolutely selfless behaviour on the solar knight's part, of course. Her radiant and innocent smile was proof of that.

The Wonderbolt exhaled, calming down, "Go on."

Celestia gave a short summary of the past events. The trip to Camp Everfree, how they discovered that Canterlot was invaded, with who they lived at Sweet Apple Acres, what happened with Cinch and how they guessed that she, or the fire elemental she summoned, had something to do with the attack on the city, as well as that the elementals were the invaders themselves and the confrontation with Commander Raga.

Then how they found out that all devices of communication died, the rise of the magic of Earth, what happened in Ponyville with the mind control curse and how it was resolved. Lastly, the cruel fate of Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce and how the Adepts of Khom were responsible for the last two events, what they were and that the demon cult erased Camp Everfree from the map in order to construct their own base.

"That was the short version of it for the time being, if you want to know more we would have to talk later after our meeting with the mayor," the former principal finished her tale.

"And then you should maybe know that we had enough encounters already to verify that the landscape outside of the settlements is very dangerous, indeed. We met a giant spider brood in White Tails Wood, demons, monsters, mythological predators, mutated plants, you name it. I bet there are countless others dangers we are not even aware of," Shining Armor added his own thoughts for the first time since they entered Ponyville.

"However, Captain Iron Will was nice enough to inform us about the different factions in Ponyville and that the inhabitants knew what happened to them. So we are forced to hold back and can't use any magic, if not provoked into action. It would probably just endanger our plans to help the town and cause a lot of trouble," Luna gave her input.

"But we are awesome and defeated all odds until now. Crazy fire commander aside. I'm sure if we all work together we can send everyone, who wants to cause trouble, packing," Rainbow Dash said confidently.

Spitfire took all in silence and closed her eyes, hands crossed under her chin to support her head.

Soarin was more vocal about his opinion of what they were told, "Man, that's really messed up. These warlocks are not only cruel, but monsters and devil worshippers to boot. Or whatever that 'Khom' is." He addressed his captain, "Spits, I don't think fighting one of the highest demons of Tartarus and his servants was a part of our contract, hehe," Clipper tried to lighten the mood, sweating a little.

His fellow Bolts didn't feel much better about the revelation that their enemy was a cult of fanatics and demons.

The woman acknowledged her lieutenant's statement with a brief nod of her head, before focusing on their guests anew.

"Wait, wait, wait... how many mages do you even have and what can they do?" Blaze inquired, overwhelmed.

Cheerilee answered this question, "Sadly, I myself have no magic, but we have quite a few mages, yes. And I think it's impressive when we keep in mind that only a specific type of magic can be used by a single person, from what we could understand. There is Sunny Flare, who uses Ice Magic." Fleetfoot pouted. "Indigo Zap with Lightning Magic." Spitfire grumbled. "Lemon Zest with Shadow Magic, Sugarcoat has Illusion Magic, Sour Sweet has Emotion Magic, Shining Armor has Paladin Magic, Cadence can use White Magic. Then we have Ms. Luna with Lunar Magic, Ms. Celestia with Solar Magic, Maud Pie has Stone Magic, Limestone Pie uses Warden Magic. Zecora is a troll shaman and has different abilities of her own, depending on the element she uses. Luviel is an Emerald Elf and a Mana Weaver, I'm not entirely sure what she can do. She's very mysterious with her abilities and does as she pleases. I swear, she stole my coffee again this morning... grr). And of course the Rainbooms, except Pinkie Pie. Ms. Shimmer has Phoenix Magic, Applejack uses Esper Magic, Rarity has Duelist Magic, Fluttershy can use Druid Magic, Twilight Sparkle owns Arcane Magic and lastly-"

"Me! I can use Heavens Magic. Isn't that just awesome?" the chromatic teenager nearly squealed, "My friends and I have even these neat geodes. Mine gives the power to run like super fast, so I'm even more awesome than usual." Rainbow's bragging was forgiven, because the Wonderbolts were too occupied to process what they just heard.

"If we don't count the shaman and the elf you have 17 mages?! OK, now I'm officially jealous. Spits we're doing something wrong," Soarin said, half-joking.

"Clipper is right, Madame! Your training doesn't give us the necessary kick!" Fleetfoot joined in with a mischievous smile.

Spitfire glared shortly at her two lieutenants for questioning her in front of civilians, if mages could even be called that anymore, before she gave them a predatory grin of her own. Knowing that her two friends were trying to annoy her for fun, "Maybe... I'll make sure to inform General Firefly the next time I see her that you two don't like her training methods." She would enjoy the scene, perhaps a little too much.

Soarin and Fleetfoot were glancing at each other, not sure if Spitfire would actually go through with her threat. They hoped not.

"What I find interesting is that Cloudsdale has founded an own militia as well. Maybe our recruits could work together, it would make things much easier for both cities," Iron Will suggested thoughtfully.

Fire Streak gasped, what gained him attention, "Of course! Why didn't I make this connection earlier! The Shys and many others were kidnapped by this Dark Elf and she said she would bring them to a place known as 'Jormun', right? Well, you just told us that Camp Everfree was completely destroyed and that these Adepts of Khom made themselves a base at its place. Makara explained that Jormun was built where formerly Camp Everfree stood. So she has to work together with this cult, there is no other explanation possible! The Adept's base in the Everfree Forest IS Jormun!"

"That's great! We can save Flutter's parents and att-"

"No, Rainbow Dash. As we already established, these Adepts of Khom have warlocks in their rows. They use very dark forms of magic, as the mind control curse and these Soul Prisons already proved. Besides that, you heard what Zecora and the girls said about this Terrorbeast, they nearly died fighting it off. And they all used magic. As long as we don't know what kind, and more important, how many forces this Punisher Vyndrak has at his disposal, we would charge in our doom. Or a trap. We have to plan everything through, no room for failure. This giant portal the others saw seems to serve as some sort of supply gate between Jormun and whatever other place is connected to it. First we have to destroy this portal somehow or they can easily call reinforcements. And even with all the magic user we have, we can't just fight off entire armies ourselves. Especially if said enemy can use magic of his own," Celestia lectured, thinking strategically.

Igneous Rock Pie nodded in agreement, "Ms. Celestia is right. We can't allow ourselves to act rashly. As painful as it is to admit, dying because of foolish mistakes and wild haste won't do us any good."

"But we can't just do nothing! Who knows how much time they have left before these monsters decide to kill them!" Fire Streak gave to consider.

His captain would have none of it, "Soldier, that's enough! We all want to save the prisoners, not only you! But they are right. Headless decisions will just get us killed and as a captain of the Wonderbolts I can't and won't send soldiers into their immediate death because of boiled up emotions. We need a clear and cool head to approach the situation as it is necessary, with enough intel about the enemy before we can strike. Furthermore, General Firefly and Surprise should return soon and Colonel Wind Rider and I won't make fast decisions for a foolish attempt to gain honor and hoping something like 'luck' will bring us victory alone, risking who knows how many casualties. Did I make myself clear?"

He ground his teeth, but surrendered at last, accepting that Spitfire was right, "Yes, Captain. I apologize, my actions were way out of place."

Spitfire's voice and eyes softened, "Apology accepted my friend. Just be careful that your wish to defend the innocent won't get your brothers and sisters in arms killed or endangers them otherwise. It's a noble goal to do what is right and defend the ones who can't defend themselves, but there is always a prize to be paid for such situations. And as commanding officers we have the duty to consider the lives of our fellow soldiers, our subordinates, first and foremost. Their safety has priority and their lives are not objects we can just toss around as we want."

"Spoken like a true commander," Iron Will complimented. It made Spitfire blush.

The door opened and Fast Scribbler entered the room, squeaking when all eyes were directed at her.

Not only was she in her early twenties, but the young woman was beautiful in her own way. A nerdy way, with her light amber colored glasses and a ample chest, which earned more interest from Soarin as it was appropriate. He received a painful hit with the elbow into his sides from a scowling Misty Fly, snapping him out of it. He had the decency to look embarrassed. She had azure blue eyes, light coral skin and cosmic cobalt colored hair in form of a ponytail, held by a violet rubber band. It had two streaks, one was deep ruby and the other hunter green. She wore a white skirt, purple boots with white laces and a librarian top in pale gray.

"Ex-excuse me, Captain Spitfire. Mayor Mare wishes to see you all as fast as possible, the new visitors and Mr. Will, too. I will lead you to a prepared conference room when you are ready to leave," the secretary informed, a little nervous.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Scribbler. We will come as soon as possible," Spitfire replied friendly. Fast Scribbler left.

"Do you have any idea what the mayor wants, Captain?" High Winds asked.

"Not a clue, but we shouldn't keep her waiting for longer as necessary. It sounded urgent." The leader of the Bolts was racing through the possibilities in her head.

"I agree. Let us see what Mayor Mare has to say," Celestia supported neutrally.

But on the inside she, like many others, was worried. What would need their immediate attention that her friend Mary would call them all at once?

On the way Shining Armor asked something that was bugging him the whole time, "Captain Spitfire. How did you know that we were coming? It was clear that you expected our arrival, but I didn't see it that Captain Will spoke with anyone to inform you about us."

Spitfire grinned in response, "Oh, we have our ways. Isn't that right, Lightning Streak?"

The Senior Airman chuckled, "Indeed we do, Captain." One moment he was still walking besides Blaze, the next he disappeared like he was never there in the first place.

"What just happened?! Where is he?!" Cheerilee exclaimed in shock. The other adults raised an eyebrow and Shining and Rainbow were stunned.

"What do you mean, Ms. Cheerilee? I'm still here," said innocently the unmistakable rough voice of the vanished Wonderbolt from the same place he had disappeared first.

"I understand. Thou are using some kind of mimicry magic," Igneous Rock guessed, a grain more emotion in his voice. He didn't even sound impressed.

"You are right, Mr. Pie. My magic is known as 'Chameleon Magic'. It grants me the ability to blend in perfectly with my environment and to stay unseen. I move like this through the public and report anything suspicious." He held his hands up placably, "But don't worry, I would never abuse my ability to do something illegal like breaking into someone's home or to spy on private conversations that aren't my concern. I only use my magic every now and then to see if something of interest happens on Ponyville's streets and I heard it when the guards were talking about strangers at the gate. I saw you and returned to inform the captain and the rest of my colleagues here," Lightning Streak elucidated sincerely.

"You might say he's our secret weapon when we need someone who can spy on enemy territory without being spotted," Misty Fly added smugly.

"Does someone else in Ponyville know that one of you can use magic?" Iron Will asked in interest. He wasn't aware that one of his allies was a mage all along.

"Only Mayor Mare. She's very understanding on that topic and doesn't hold a grudge against magic, like so many others. In fact, she's very open-minded and already revealed to us how she wished that Ponyville could have its own force of magic users. But sadly that's not possible as long as the town’s population is hostile and fearful for the biggest part," High Wind responded disappointedly.

"But isn't that something we can use to our advantage? I mean this Prismia and Justice in general are clearly the bad guys, so if they plan something bad, Lightning could just spy on them. And boom! We have the evidence we need to take them out," Rainbow Dash voiced her opinion.

Spitfire sighed tiredly, "I know what you mean, Dash, and you are not the first who asked me this question, but it's not as easy as you might think. We can't just spy on everybody who doesn't agree with us, no matter how much we dislike someone else's opinion or political orientation."

"But what if-" Rainbow tried again, but was cut off by the Wonderbolt captain.

"No! I won't allow any form of power abuse in my ranks, especially magic. We can't just ignore all laws and morals to do as we please, only because Ms. Prismia is the leader of a more than questionable political party. Then we wouldn't be better than the ones we try to fight and are close to being autocrats ourselves when we aim to control everything. Where will this end if we try to justify every shady action with excuses? When do we stop? It would be a dark circle of distrust and paranoia and can't end well. In short, I won't permit it," she clarified vehemently.

That silenced all further discussions for the rest of the walk.

Author's Notes:

Greetings my avid readers!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

And here a small info for all who follow this story since the very beginning. So I decided to cut extremely long chapters into two with more reasonable lengths. I think chapters with much more than 14k+ words are pulling on people's concentration and it consumes probably too much time. Having to stop reading and continuing later on is overrated anyway.

I'm working on the story, I promise.

Thank you very much for reading and stay tuned!