With the battle raging on down below, much of the city was empty and made it easier for Twilight and her friends to sneak their way into Couldsdale undetected with Rainbow Dash leading them through the alleys. Much of the cities infrastructure were mostly warehouses for slaves and shipped goods from all across Equestria and that is exactly what they were looking for.

"This is where they keep all the newly shipped slaves." Dash whispered while keeping her eyes on the two guards out front.

"Alright Rarity, it's our turn." Said Twilight as she and Rarity readied their crossbows while the others took their positions.

"Now!"

With a quick pull of the trigger, the guards were instantly dispatched and dragged into the nearby alley ways as the group snuck their way into the first warehouse where they found cages filled with mares and fillies all dressed in rags and shackled to the floor.

"Why are all these children here?" Asked Applejack after breaking the lock on the first cage.

"A lot of the scumbags here like em young..." Rainbow Dash replied with a look of disgust as she helped the slaves break free of their chains. Things seemed to be going well when one of the group spotted two shadowy figures in the moonlight coming towards them.

"Shh! Listen." Rarity whispered as she leaned an ear towards the door hearing footsteps and drunken laughter before two guards shambled their way into the warehouse smelling of wine.

"Are you sure this is okay?" One of them asked in a slurred voice as the other pulled a filly out from one of the cages saying.

"It's fine, a lot of these little sluts are bought, sold and used."

The child struggled and screamed as they dragged her towards a small room near the entrance knowing what they were going to do next.

"Oh this one's got some fight! I like that~."

The child was thrown through the door sobbing helplessly as she closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

"I call dibs on her flank."

"Fine by me."

Just as the two guards were about to defile the child, a dagger struck one of them in the back before the other was impaled from behind with only a few painful grunts as they fell to the floor in a pool of their own blood.

"Are you alright little one?" Twilight asked after removing her hood while Rarity used her magic to hide the corpses in a dark corner of the room.

"Princess Twilight!"

Needless to say, the child was grateful for being rescued by two of the most famous ponies in Equestria and was more than eager to help the other slaves escape as the group escorted them to their ship, things seemed to be going smoothly until an alarm was sounded and the entire city was suddenly flooded with soldiers.

"Crap! I thought we'd have more time!"

Meanwhile

The battle had been locked in a stalemate for some time with both sides showing signs of fatigue, the field had been littered with the blood and corpses of both armies as the fighting continued when a scout came charging through the carnage with an urgent report.

"King Wulfric!!" He shouted over the clashing steel and bloody screams.

"King Wulfric!!"

"Here!" Wulfric finally responded as he tried to catch his breath.

"Enemy air ships have been spotted coming in from the east. They'll be upon us soon!"

"Damn it! Something must've gone wrong. Give the order to fall back!!"

"Yes sir!"

The horns were sounded as the rebel army began to retreat from the battlefield while their enemies began to regroup. Marshall assisted in covering their retreat using the catapults to halt the enemies advance while Ember and her dragons held back the pegasus forces who began hurling their spears down to the battlefield.

"Move! Quickly!!" Bronze Pommel shouted while helping a soldier uphill where a small command center had been established.

"Over here soldier!"

"Sergeant Quartz!"

The sergeant helped pommel bring the wounded soldier to the medical tent as the arches began to form a firing line atop the hill. The battle had once again been put into a stalemate with both sides pushed to the breaking point of exhaustion but with Wind Riders ships approaching the field it was only a matter of time before the rebels were wiped out.

"Someone bring me a drink!" Wulfric shouted as Crafty Dodger brought him a flask of water.

"How are things on your end?" He asked while sitting down and taking a few gulps.

"Terrible." Dodger replied as he gave details on his battle.

"We tried to use the forest to our advantage but the pegasus bombarded us with gunpowder and flaming barrels. Not even their own men were spared."

The orochi's point was proven when several changelings with severe burns were carried through the camp screaming in agony by others who had been blackened by the smoke. Amidst this carnage was Fluttershy doing her best to help the wounded soldiers as she ran around carrying bandages and medicine while trying to stomach the noxious smells that assaulted her every breath.

"Fluttershy! Get me more bandages, quickly!" A field doctor called out while putting pressure on a bleeding wound. As she handed him the bandages, Fluttershy could see the agony in the soldiers face and held his hand while the doctor finally stitched his wound shut and gave him a potion to help ease the pain.

"You've done enough Fluttershy, go get some rest."

"Yes sir."

With the battle finally coming to a halt, Fluttershy could see the carnage this war had brought to Equestria. She saw soldiers both dying and crippled walking about the camp helping their injured comrades while officers were busy shouting orders to those who could still fight, others had been mourning their dead with eyes full of tears as they clinged to the lifeless bodies of their fallen. Seeing such sights broke her heart beyond measure and she could not stop the tears that began to flood out of her eyes.

"Oh no...LOOK AHEAD!!" A scout called out while pointing towards a fleet of airships coming in from east of the field.

"He's here..." Said the orochi when he noticed a particular ship that was more decorative than the others and could easily guess that it was the enemies flagship and at it's bow stood General Wind Rider himself with a confident smirk as they neared the battlefield.

"More ships coming from the west!!" A second lookout shouted as a second fleet appeared on the horizon and leading it was Soarin and his elite group of pegasus soldiers.

Wind Riders Flagship

Wind Rider looked down upon the small camp atop the hill with a few of his officers as they neared the field and with a spyglass he could see Wulfric and the other rebel leaders looking up at him with despair on their faces as his ships began to descend towards the battlefield.

"I want a full sweep of the enemy camp. No survivors."

"Yes sir."

"General Wind Rider. It seems that Soarin has already brought out his cannons."

As Wind Rider took a second look through his spyglass, he could see the gunports of Soarins ships beginning to slide open in almost rapid succession as the cannons were rolled out.

"Heh. Gotta give the kid credit for being eager but he's too close to our fleet. Signal him to pull back a few yards."

A flagman did as the general instructed and began signaling the second fleet but the ships still held their positions as Wind Riders fleet drew closer.

"What are the crews on those ships stupid? Signal them again!" The general shouted in an annoyed tone before hearing the first wave of cannon fire blast his ships to splinters.

"THEY'RE FIRING ON US!!" Shouted the soldier in the crows nest before it was hit by a canon ball. In that moment, Wind Rider finally realized what was happening.

"Soarin you bastard! RETURN FIRE!!"

End.