Twilight’s eyes fluttered open, the air around her cold despite the warmth of the body pressed against her. The area was dark, not a single light could be seen to illuminate her surroundings. She could tell that, by the stiff plane below her, she was not in the room the Minotaur had provided them. It felt as if she was on a smooth table, but her memories of previous dreams told her that was not a likely answer. It’s so strange. I usually can’t move when dreaming.... She moved in closer to the body that ensnared her. Not recently, at least.

She concentrated on herself, closing her mind to any outside thoughts or possible influences, and felt for her magic. I may be incapable of magic outside of dreams, but perhaps that might not be the case here.... Her face scrunched as she focused, pouring her entire being into this effort, but even with such determination, nothing happened. Not even a spark. Twilight sighed and gasped as she heard the noise escape her lips. “Oh wow! That’s certainly surprising! I can’t perform magic, I can hear noises, and I can consciously move my body. Maybe this isn’t a dream at all.”

A soft noise beside her forced her out of her thoughts and back to her surroundings. Her voice had disturbed her companion’s sleep causing her to slowly return from slumber. The mare opened her eyes, the turquoise orbs illuminating a small area around them with their gentle glow. “Twilight. Where are we? I cannot see anything around us.”

Nightmare Moon’s voice, despite their current situation, was relatively calm, a trait that Twilight admired about the alicorn. “I’m not sure, Nightmare. It’s similar to when I dreamt of your past, but it has a few differences. The most obvious being that we are able to do what we want.” She looked about once more, hoping to find something that could give them a clue as to what was going on, but the absence of light prevented every attempt. “Nightmare? Could you try and light the area? I’d do it, but I can’t use my magic in here either.”

The lunar alicorn turned her head towards the unicorn’s voice. “I can try, but I do not think there is anything here. It isn’t often that I am without sight in the dark.” Nightmare Moon ignited her horn, the black aura blending with the darkness around it, and released her magic. A beam of silver light shot into the space above them and, with a brilliant flash, illuminated their surroundings.

Twilight looked towards Nightmare Moon and saw only black. There wasn’t a single feature to the area as far as she could see, but the look on her Queen’s face told her otherwise. She turned around and fell upon her haunches. She stared in amazement at the object behind her. “It’s.... It’s a door!” She quickly returned to her hooves and stepped away from it, her eyes gliding over its features as she studied its form. The door was huge, about large enough for Jahurl and an identical twin to pass through side-by-side, and didn’t seem to be made of any type of material she had ever seen. The door’s face had a glossy sheen to it that shimmered like a rainbow in the dancing light of Nightmare Moon’s artificial star and was covered in tiny etchings of a filly unicorn dancing, playing, and studying. “What do you think it is, Nightmare?”

The black alicorn strode up beside Twilight and examined it closely. “I am not certain, but it is certainly not of the physical plane. There is not a material such as this in existence that I am aware of.” She stepped closer and touched a hoof to the door. The surface shimmered as it resonated with a harmonious hum. “It is a metal and certainly magical, but it doesn’t seem to be dangerous. Seeing as it is the only object or passage, we should find out where it leads.”

Twilight nodded and tentatively reached her hoof out. As her hoof drew nearer, the door began to resonate with a faint glow as it seemed to bend towards her in an effort to make contact. She took a deep breath and quickly closed the distance. The door clicked as if a lock had been undone and, with a slight push from the unicorn, swung inwards on phantom hinges. A blinding light filled the area as the portal continued to open, the massive door gliding effortlessly even after Twilight withdrew her hoof to shield her eyes. Another faint click sounded and the light immediately dimmed to a tolerable glow. The pair cautiously removed their hooves from their faces and gazed ahead.

The door had disappeared completely. In its stead was a wall of glass that rippled from an unseen disturbance. Beyond the glass showed a brightly lit room filled with multitudes of bookshelves carrying vast amounts of tomes of varying sizes and forms. The blue walls were inlaid with white trim with a large window overlooking a magnificent castle of white and gold. Twilight gasped as she began to recognize the scene before them. “This is Canterlot! The royal library to be exact!” Twilight grinned eagerly up at Nightmare who looked on with a passive stare.

“Let us go. I do not wish to tarry any longer.” She placed her hoof against the glass and, in a flash of light, the pair disappeared. Moments later they found themselves in the room beyond the glass, but, instead of the empty floor, they were met with the form of a crying, lavender filly curled into a ball beneath the tender gaze of a white alicorn.

Twilight stepped closer, her eyes widened in shock. “This.... I remember this....”

“Where’s.... Where’s Mommy? Where’s Daddy?” The filly spoke between sobs as she continued to cry into her own hooves. “Why aren’t they here?”

The white alicorn moved closer and nuzzled the filly. “I ‘m sorry they were unable to come, Twilight, but they are still recovering. The hospital wouldn’t let them leave.”

“They aren’t coming because they hate me, aren’t they?” The filly Twilight’s voice cracked as she said those words, her brain not wanting to accept it. “They hate me because I hurt them. I didn’t mean to! Please tell them not to hate me, Princess! Please.... Don’t let them hate me....”

Tears began to form in Twilight’s eyes, her lip quivering slightly as she fought back her emotions. “Twilight. What is this?” Nightmare Moon was watching her closely, the feeling of the mare’s sadness being unwillingly transferred to her. “What is happening?”

“They don’t hate you, Twilight.” Celestia said softly as she continued her efforts to soothe the young unicorn. “They could never hate you.”

“Then why won’t they come see me on my birthday?”

“Then why won’t they come see me on my birthday?”

The unicorns both spoke in unison as tears now freely slipped down Twilight’s face. “This is my first birthday.... My first birthday after being enrolled as Celestia’s personal protégé. My parents weren’t able to come because I had lost control of my magic during the entrance exam. I turned them into plants, a fern and a cactus, but even after they reverted they still had some side effects. They were in the hospital still.”

Celestia looked away and stared out the window as the sun slowly crossed over into midday. “Maybe we could go visit them instead? I’m sure they hate missing their daughter’s birthday and would love to see you.” She turned back to the filly and nudged her gently with her nose. “Come with me, Twilight.”

“No! They don’t want to see me. They’ll just yell at me.”

Twilight smiled slightly causing Nightmare to raise her eyebrows in confusion. “Why are you smiling? Is this not a bad memory?”

Twilight merely shook her head and smiled more. “No. Just watch.”

Celestia frowned and her horn lit up, its golden aura appearing around the filly as well. She let loose a small ‘eep’ as she was lifted into the air, her legs flailing as she tried to escape. “Wh-what are you doing!? Let me go!”

The white alicorn smiled and began walking towards the door. The pair left without another word as the filly version of Twilight continued to struggle against her teacher’s magical field. “She’s taking me to see my parents anyways. It turned out, against everything I thought, to be a wonderful day. My parents were so excited to be able to see me despite their orders to stay in the hospital. I never did thank her for that.” She looked at her hooves before turning to the black alicorn. “Do you think that you’ll ever release Celestia?”

“I will not. She would not allow me to remain after all that has happened. She may have been kind to you, but I am certain that I will not be allowed the same leniency.” She looked to the downcast unicorn and nudged her slightly. “She fully expected you to be able to defeat me and banish me once more. Do not weep for the past as I will always be with you.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “You’re right. I chose to be by your side on my own and I don’t regret it at all. Celestia may be gone, but I have found somepony much more important to me.”

A soft glow began to resonate behind them and drew their attention towards its source. The door to the library had been replaced by the glass wall that had led them there and once more revealed a beautiful scene in its depths. They moved closer, their hooves clacking on the marble floor, and gazed through the glass. Beyond was a scene both ponies were familiar with. The large room depicted was carpeted in blue, several windows looking out towards the city beyond. The walls were lightly decorated with scenic paintings and golden lamps that glowed with waning candle light. Towards the furthest wall was a bed upon which two forms lay sleeping together, their bodies rising and falling in even breaths as they slumbered.

“Ahhh, it would seem that this is the end.” Nightmare Moon looked to Twilight who simply nodded and leaned against her. “Let us return. We have much to do.” She reached her hoof to the glass and, once again, they disappeared in a flash of light.

Gilda stretched with cat-like grace as she slowly rose from slumber, her talons digging into the mattress below her. She yawned noisily, her beak stretching until it popped, and jumped from her bed. “What’s on the menu for today? I bet Cloudy’s gonna teach me some wicked sweet moves with my halberd! I can’t wait to.... Wait a sec. Wasn’t she supposed to come wake me up?”

She furrowed her brow in annoyance and quickly moved towards the door. “Some commander she is! Can’t even get up on time!” Gilda flung her door open and loped down the hall, her feet scraping across the obsidian with each movement. “She better have a damn good reason for being late. I sure as hell am not going to play babysitter for a full grown mare.” She stopped before the door to Cloudy’s room and, without hesitation, threw open the door. “Hey, dweeb! Why aren’t you-?”

She paused at the sight of a filly quickly raising her head, eyes focused on her. The filly’s eyes widened, tears forming in their corners, as she began to shake. “Oh, buck.” The filly wailed as she ran towards the furthest corner of Cloudy’s room and dove behind a rack of weapons. Gilda looked from the filly to Cloudy who had shot straight onto her hooves. Cloudy dropped into an aggressive stance and Gilda held up a talon. “Wait! Don’t even think about it! What’s wrong with the kid?”

Cloudy looked to the terror-stricken Cherry Tart before jumping towards Gilda and pushing her out the door. “Get out! I’ll tell you later!” She slammed the door behind her and rushed over to the cowering filly, her eyes softening as she moved closer. “Shhh.... It’s okay. I won’t let her hurt you. She won’t do anything.”

Cherry slowly moved out from behind the swords, being careful not to knock them over, and jumped into Cloudy’s waiting embrace. “She.... She looks.... just like.... the one that killed.... Mommy....” Her tears soaked into Cloudy’s fur, matting it against her body.

The orange pegasus caressed the filly’s head as she held her close. “Don’t worry. Gilda isn’t going to hurt you. She’s helping us get the ones that want to hurt us. The ones that attacked you before.” She kissed her on the forehead and smiled down at her.

“I.... I don’t like her....” She calmed down enough to halt her tears, but her breaths still came in broken gasps. “Will you.... Will you stay with me? I don’t want to go outside....”

“I have duties that I must complete....” The filly’s expression dropped and tears started forming once more. “But I think I can hold them off for tomorrow. I do need to do one thing though.” Another kiss and she lifted the filly into her fore legs to carry her to the bed. “I’ll finish it as fast as I can and come straight back here, okay?”

Cherry nodded, her yellow mane dropping down into her face as she curled up by Cloudy’s pillows. The pegasus looked back one last time when she reached the door and, after making sure the filly was all right, opened the door enough to be able to fit and slid through. Gilda sat on the other side scowling. “Who was that?! When did you get a kid and what’s her problem!?”

“Be quiet! You should be glad I didn’t buck you in the face.” She looked back towards her room and sighed. “Her name is Cherry Tart. She and her mother were attacked by griffons in Dodge Junction. Her mother died when she arrived outside the castle and so I volunteered to take care of her.”

“You know that you could die, right?” Gilda shook her head. “Some commander you are. Definitely not what I thought when we met.” She smirked and stretched her wings. “Big, scary Cloudy is all soft and mushy on the inside.” She laughed and quickly dodged a swing from the scowling pony. “Haha! Gonna have to do better than that! Now, what are we doing today? I’m itching to try out some new moves with my new toy!”

“We are doing nothing. You, however, are going back to Ponyville to supervise the recruitment there. I believe that some of the airships will be arriving today. You will be leading a squad of our pegasi, but, should I hear of anything going wrong due to your personal screw-ups, you’ll be on toilet duty for the next week. I’ll be sure to let the staff here know to leave it to you.” She turned towards the stairwell and trotted off, ignoring the glare from the griffon. “Quickly. I do not want to wait.”

Gilda scowled and followed behind her, grumbling as they traversed the slowly filling halls. A dull hum sounded from the are above them, barely audible through the thick walls and three stories, and drew their attention towards one of the windows looking out to the courtyard. Gilda watched in amazement as a small fleet of airships soared into the airspace above them. “Holy crap! Those things are huge! What the buck are they?!”

“Those are airships. The pinnacle of Equestrian engineering used for the pleasure of our posh and pampered nobles. Their use is wasted on them, but our Queen has commandeered them for our cause.” She looked out towards the approaching airships with admiration. “Let us move quickly. I’m sure you would like to get acquainted with their design before you are required to escort them.”

Gilda tore her eyes away from the stunning machines and quickly followed the orange pegasus towards the castle’s entrance. They opened the door and stepped out only to be greeted by Fancy Pants and a red earth pony wearing a black aviator’s cap with matching black vest. “Ahh, High Commander Horizons. Come to survey the new transports?” Fancy Pants smiled at her and watched her curiously.

“No, Chancellor. I am here to introduce my subordinate, Private Gilda, to the ship captain and her squad of pegasi before they begin the flight to Ponyville. She will be leading the guard unit meant to protect the new recruits on their journey to the Canterlot Training Facility.”

“Ahh, yes, the griffon recruit. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gilda.” He bowed his head curtly and chuckled as the young griffon rolled her eyes. “Quite the brash one, aren’t you? Well, this is the captain of The Aerburg, the green ship moored just past the walls, Silver Lining.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said, bowing in a similar fashion to Fancy Pants. “So you are going to be the one leading the defense of my fleet, eh?” He looked towards Gilda, his short, silver mane peeking out from under his dislodged hat. “I never thought that a griffon would be escorting us to protect against her own kind. I’m honestly not even sure I trust you.”

“Hey! I’m plenty trustable you jerk! You should be glad I don’t just punch you right here for that!” The incensed griffon puffed out her chest as she jumped into the stallion’s face. “Be glad I’m on your side, boy.”

Silver laughed and took a step back. “Oh yes. She’s definitely young.” He patted Gilda on the shoulder and chuckled again. “I was just messing with ya kid. If you are training under the High General of Queen Moon’s army then you are obviously trusted enough in my eyes. Should work on that temper though.” Gilda fumed, wishing she could just clobber the infuriating captain, but knew that, if she did, she’d have to deal with Cloudy. “Come on, kid. I’ll show you around my fleet before I get ready for the trip.”

“Before that, Captain Silver, I must inform the squad that they will be following Gilda’s orders and introduce her to them.” She motioned for Gilda to follow her and started off at a quick trot, working her way around the octagonal castle walls until they came upon the first sets of tents. Numerous ponies moved about while others relaxed in an attempt to dissuade the fears of the upcoming battles. She stepped towards the lazing ponies who all jumped to their hooves and saluted as soon as they noticed her presence. “Pegasus Squad Zero One Five, front and center!” In an instant of scrambling and curses nearly seventy pegasi formed into lines behind the pair. “All of you are hereby assigned under the command of Private First Class Gilda as you escort the recruitment airships to Ponyville then to Canterlot where they will left for training. You will be guiding a pair of luxury class airships equipped without any defenses as of this time so they shall be entirely reliant on your abilities as soldiers to keep them from harm. Any questions?”

“Why are we taking orders from some scum griffon? Aren’t we supposed to be killing them?” A couple of chuckles and suppressed laughs sounded from the pegasi.

“There will not be any dissent among my troops!” She glared at them fiercely and any further protests were silenced. “Gilda will be your commanding officer. She has been specifically chosen by Queen Nightmare Moon as a member of her personal guard and elite soldiers. Any more questions?”

“Umm.... Do you think we’ll actually have to fight? I mean.... Will the griffons actually attack?”

“I don’t know. They are attacking our caravans randomly, but we can probably expect some sort of resistance. Be prepared for anything.” She scanned the crowd of nervously shifting ponies before speaking again. “Do not worry. You have all been trained in the Cloudsdale Training Center to the best of their abilities. I have faith that you will be able to complete this task without any difficulty. Private Gilda. Do not let me down. Consider this the next step in your training.”

Gilda smirked and gave a mock salute before taking off into the air back towards the waiting airship captain. “Hey, geezer! Let’s get going! I don’t wanna wait all day!” She flew in close and landed heavily on the ground directly in front of the two middle-aged ponies.”Come on! I wanna see the inside!”

“Hold your tail feathers, kid. Follow me.” Silver sighed and shook his head. Kids nowadays don’t have any respect for anyone. He walked casually towards the gate of the castle wall, his eyes never losing their focus on the massive metal doors.

Gilda, however, couldn't keep her focus off of the mechanical wonder above her. The hull of the ship almost perfectly resembled the old cargo ships she had seen in books from the flight school library. It was covered from fore to aft in metal plates colored forest green to match the sleek, oblong, wooden dome attached to where she assumed a ship’s deck would be. The two sections were held together by a thick metal brace running between the hull and dome and ended in a decorative shield that covered the bow. Upon the shield, a crest, once obviously featuring another symbol, depicting a crescent moon had been hastily welded into its center symbolizing its place in the Lunar army. All of this, its sheer size, magnificence, and structural genius, amazed Gilda, but what drew her attention the most were the massive engines and propellers set along its length. On the stern, just before the tail wings, attached stabilizers, and rudders, was a pair of bronze turbines jutting from its body. She couldn’t discern their immediate use, but could definitely tell they were important. Gilda shifted her focus to the propellers. There were six sets of them, all in pairs directly opposite each other on the airship. The first pair, positioned at the bow of the ship directly below the flight deck, were set horizontally with the blades facing forward. The other pairs were set evenly down the length of the body and faced towards the sky as they were meant to keep the craft aloft.

“Wow! How are those four propellers able to keep this beast aloft!?”

Silver chuckled at the griffon’s eager words. “Magic comes into play somewhat, but they are mostly unassisted. They are large enough to catch enough lift and are capable of spinning much faster than you see now. The ship is moored to the ground and resting on its... stilts, I guess. Easiest way to explain it.”

“I’m guessing the front propellers are for forward movement, but what are those engine things in the back? I’ve never seen anything like that in any book I’ve been unfortunate enough to have to read.”

“Those are... hard to explain. They are combustion engines of a sort, but instead of burning coal or wood, we use processed gems. One gem can last about a week if taken on a single round trip from Canterlot to Wintertrot every day.” He beamed with pride. “Grade A earth pony technology right there.”

“So you run this baby on magic?” Her look was one of incredulity. “I’m not sure how that’s entirely possible. I mean, I know that your unicorns can do some pretty cool stuff with their magic, but I doubt they could do anything this complex.”

“You’re smarter than you look.” He laughed at her fierce glare. “You’re right, it can’t run on magic. Unless the Queen or ex-Princess Celestia were to power it, of course. The gems are processed with fire and infused with a levitation spell in the process. It takes at least ten average unicorns and four gems in order to create one talisman for those engines. Hence why only the rich are capable of affording these. Those gems aren’t cheap not to mention the price for the ship itself.”

Gilda smiled devilishly. “I wish I could have seen the faces on those dweebs when they had their most expensive toys taken from them. I’m sure several of them almost had heart attacks!”

The pair soon reached the opening gate of the castle’s entrance, their focus now set upon the airstairs that extended from the hull of the ship. “That is where we will be boarding. Let’s hurry. We have a tight schedule to adhere to.” He climbed the stairs with the agility brought on from repetition with Gilda hovering close behind. They passed through the passenger bay and into an extensive hall sectioned off by a pair of stairs leading to higher levels. Several doors lined the walls before the path ended in another stairwell. “Welcome aboard Her Majesty’s First Air Transport, The Aerburg. This is the entry level and storage bay. Each door leads to a section of storage rooms where we keep our passengers’ personal items that they do not wish to carry with them when they move about upstairs. The hall is wide enough to fit five ponies abreast without being too confined and is designed for durability as this is the most travelled level of the ship.”

“Yeah, yeah. So it’s used to let everyone on and off. Let’s go, this is boring.” Gilda rolled her eyes and began padding her way over to the first set of stairs. “These go to the second floor, right?”

“Obviously.” Silver caught up to her and took the stairs two at a time. He arrived on the second level with Gilda at his tail and turned around. “This is the commons.” He motioned with his hoof to the open space behind him. “This section of the airship is typically used for relaxation and several indoors activities that the nobles like to indulge in, but everything has been removed to make room for more passengers. This is where the majority of the recruits will be during our trip.”

This level is completely empty. Worst ship ever. “Where’s all the cool stuff?! I was under the impression that this would be the most badass thing ever. I haven’t seen anything other than doors and pillars to hold the room up.”

Silver sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We’ll get to the engine room soon enough. That’s obviously what you’re hoping to see.” How did she get put in charge of this? We’re going to die for sure. “Well, let’s continue. This way.” He motioned for Gilda to follow and walked towards the rear of the ship where the main access stairwell was situated. “Since you are so intent on skipping the boring stuff, I’ll just explain each floor as we pass until we get to the personnel levels.”

“Good. I don’t care about the rest of it. If it isn’t cool, then it isn’t worth my time.”

Another exasperated sigh escaped the red earth pony as they slowly approached the stern. The stairs were quickly traversed and they stopped before a metal door blocking the entrance to the next room. “This is the observatory level. The metal brace running along the center of the airship has been altered with magic in order to allow the passengers inside to see through it so they can view their aerial surroundings. It was originally meant as a way for non-pegasus ponies to experience the thrills of flight without the need for wings. This section will now be used as a means to scout for enemy griffons should they wish to attack.” He pulled on the door handle to reveal another nearly vacant room almost identical to the one below. The main difference was the length of glass windows lining the walls. They spanned from the floor to the metal ceiling and seemed to be held together by metal beams. “The glass is merely an illusion. It’s still metal.”

Gilda stepped through the door and moved towards the nearest window. “This is actually pretty cool. I didn’t know you ponies could do stuff like this.” She gazed out upon the obsidian castle below them, the silver glow of the moon illuminating the area around them.

“We usually wouldn’t be able to. Enchantments like these take massive amounts of magical power and wouldn’t typically be done, but the nobles paid immense sums of bits for it to be done. I don’t understand how they come up with as much money as they do, but it worked out in our favor, didn’t it?” He chuckled at the nobles’ misfortune and stepped back through the door. “Let’s continue. The fourth level is another luxury section similar to the second, but, seeing as it’s on the widest section of the ship, it houses several passenger rooms along the center of its rectangular hall. The bow of the ship on this section has a small, private room, albeit larger than the rest, made for the airship’s previous owner. Should the Queen ever decide to use this airship for travel, that will be her personal chamber.”

Gilda nodded as they passed the fourth floor landing and followed Silver to the next. “This one houses the personnel level. This is where all the staff stay during the flight. The kitchens, attendants’ quarters, and staff rooms are all here.” Gilda glanced through the door and took note of the lack of decorations the previous levels had. This floor was strictly business. “This is where the main stairwell ends. The next level is sectioned off into two areas. The fore section holds the flight deck where all of our navigational devices and controls are situated while the rear is the engine room. You would have noticed a few pipes on the floor below if we had stopped to explore the hall. The engine section supplies power to all of the ship’s propellers through the magical energy provided by the levitation talisman. The magic is transferred through specially enchanted pipes into the propellers in order to keep them working. If you would follow me.”

He moved through the entrance to the personnel section and expertly passed by the employees moving about with Gilda hovering above them in order to make her passage easier. Her feet hung above the ponies’ heads, missing them by a mere foot of space. “This thing is a lot bigger than I would have thought. It looks huge from the outside, of course, but you can’t really scope out its true size unless you check out what’s inside.”

“Yes, it truly is a masterpiece. This airship could hold roughly three hundred passengers before we removed the furniture and various unnecessary items. If I could estimate its capacity now, I’d say we could transport almost five hundred ponies without crowding them too much.” They arrived at the center of the floor and turned to climb the dividing stairs. “How many recruits are we going to be picking up from Ponyville? I can’t imagine they have all that many able-bodied ponies being the small town that it is.”

“Pfft. Like I know. I just learned that I’d be doing this earlier today! Nobody gave me a list or anything. I guess we’ll have to find out when we get there.” She grinned and landed next to the red pony. “I can’t wait to finally test out my new toys in actual combat! I’ll teach my dad not to control me!”

They arrived on the landing and were given a choice of directions. “Directly across from us is the stairway to the lower level just like the one we came up on. To our right is the flight deck,” he motioned towards the right door in the square room, “and to our left is the engine section.” He glanced back to Gilda who was practically dancing on the spot. “Which would you prefer to see first?”

“Duh. The engines! I’m sure those are going to be totally awesome!” She dashed over to the door that lead to the engine room and stopped when she heard a low, steady growl on the opposite side. “Hey, what’s that noise?”

“That would be the engines. We have to keep them running at a low output even when we are parked like this to keep the ship afloat. It’s not necessary when we dock at a landing bay such as the ones in Canterlot and Manehattan since they have holding braces.” He grinned and kicked open the door. Almost immediately, the low growl turned into an almost deafening roar as the sounds of the engines overwhelmed the unsuspecting griffon.

Gilda squawked in pain and backpedalled away from the door. “WHAT THE BUCK!? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!” She clutched her head and closed her eyes to try and dull the pounding that the engines were bringing.

Silver laughed and shut the door. “Serves you right, kid. Maybe now you’ll learn to respect your elders.”

Gilda glared at him before shaking the lingering throbbing from her head. “Fine! I’ll show you!” She jumped back to the closed door and threw it open once more. Just like before, she was assaulted by the blaring noise of the running engines, but this time she was prepared. She walked straight through the threshold and into the heated hallway. All along the walls were massive metal constructions with multitudes of moving parts, all of them running in perfect harmony. Steam coiled in the air from several exhaust pipes settled along the roaring constructs until it disappeared into grates along the ceiling. The room extended to the rear of the ship, the machines running all the way down the path, until it came to a final object. At the furthest section of the ship sat a massive machine dwarfing the others in the lengthy room. It was shaped into an hourglass, the upper and lower sections traced with silver pipes glowing a dark red from the magic flowing through them. In the center was a large cube with a glass-like faceplate displaying a grand, radiant-cut ruby, its multiple facets shimmering from the magical radiation emanating from it. Upon the sides of the cube, a twin set of thick black pipes extended to the metal plated walls and passed through to the ship’s exterior. “That’s the gem-processor engine thing right?! Those pipes must be attached to the two things in front of the tail!”

“Quite observant, Gilda! Yes, that’s the gem-processor used to keep the entire ship running! Amazing how a single gem not much bigger than a large pony’s head can power an entire construct such as this, isn’t it?!” Silver motioned for Gilda to follow him back into the dividing room and, as they left the engine room, he shut the door behind them once again, dropping the noise. “We should be getting ready for the trip. Go get yourself and your unit ready so we can get moving. I’ll be outside talking with Fancy Pants when you are prepared.”

“Yeah, yeah. You better be ready when I get back!” Gilda sprinted back down the stairs, pushing past the workers below. Finally! I’ll finally be able to see some action!

Rainbow Dash lay sleeping in her cloud home above Ponyville, her legs hanging carelessly over the edges of her fluffy, white bed. Her snores echoed through the large, empty room as soft knocks sounded from the door downstairs. She snorted and rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in the cloud pillow below her. The knocks grew louder, pulling the cyan pegasus from her dreams. “What the hay! I’m trying to sleep!”

Rainbow huffed in annoyance and stomped to the door, her hoofsteps sounding loudly on the tightly packed cloud. She soon reached her front door and pulled it open, glaring out at whoever was knocking. “Hey! What’s the big idea!?”

“Miss Rainbow Dash.” A small yellow mare with a blue mane stood at her door, a grim look upon her face.

“What do you want Raindrops? I was sleeping! It's only five in the morning!”

“I’m here to tell you that you’ve been chosen for the draft. Everypony that isn’t necessary to the running of the town and those without children are required to join.” She looked down at the cloud floor and frowned deeper. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not going. I don’t care what’s required.” Rainbow turned around and started to shut her door, but Raindrops held out a hoof. “What? I told you I’m not joining!”

“Wait! Rainbow! You have to join! I don’t know what they’ll do if you don’t..., but I’ve heard rumors.” She looked at her hooves again. “One of my friends in Manehattan refused. I don’t know why, but she just up and vanished after that! She hasn’t mailed me or anything ever since. I.... I think they’re taking the ones that say no and... killing them.”

“What?! They can’t do that! Isn’t that against the law or something?!”

“I don’t know anymore. Ever since Nightmare Moon took over, everything’s been different. I’ve never heard of griffons in Equestria. I never even knew what war was! They don’t teach that in school and now they want us to kill. I’ve never been in a scuffle before....”

Rainbow placed one of her hooves on Raindrops’ shoulder. “Fine, I’ll join. Thanks for telling me, I guess....” She sighed and looked down to the town square. “There sure are a lot of ponies there. Is all of this for the war?”

Raindrops followed the cyan mare’s eyes and nodded. “Yeah.... Lots of ponies are being called in. Lyra and Bon Bon, Big MacIntosh, Romana, and even Fluttershy. She’s next on my list.”

“WHAT!? Fluttershy!? She can’t fight! She’d be the first one to die!” Rainbow looked about frantically. “I can’t let her fight! I won’t let them draft Fluttershy!”

“You can’t! If you don’t let her come then they’ll kill her anyways!” She stepped into Rainbow’s path, blocking her exit. “I’m sure they’ll let her do something not on the battlefields. They’ll see that she can’t fight when training her or something. I remember hearing of this one colt that kept hurting himself every time they tried to teach him to fight and so they put him on supply duty or something like that. They’ll probably do something similar with Fluttershy, but that’s only if she goes.”

Rainbow was fuming, but nodded. “Fine, but I’m going to make sure that they don’t choose her. I’ve known Flutters forever and I’d hate to see her have to pick up a weapon.” She sighed and pushed her mane out of her face. “Go finish. I’ll see you down there.” Raindrops nodded and started to fly off, but Rainbow bit her tail to hold her back. “Wait. Do you know if.... If any of my other friends are having to fight? AJ, Rarity, or Pinkie?”

“No, none of them are being called as far as I know. Apple Jack has to take care of the farm and Applebloom, Rarity has Sweetie Belle, and with the Cakes’ babies on the way, Pinkie is being left to help take care of them and Sugarcube Corner.” She smiled at the relief on Rainbow’s face. “I’ll see you when I’m done. I’ll make sure to tell Fluttershy to find you.”

Rainbow nodded and looked to the ground once more. This is totally uncool. I don’t want to fight for that witch. She jumped off her cloud home’s porch and gently glided to the ground, alighting towards the front of the crowd. I guess its better than being killed for saying ‘no’. I wonder if I have time to talk to the others.

She looked about and saw that there were still ponies joining the crowd and took off into the air once more. I should probably go see AJ first. She’s probably taking it the hardest. With a burst of speed, Rainbow took off through the sky towards Sweet Apple Acres, her wings propelling her faster and faster with each stroke. In seconds, she reached the front door to the Apple Family home and landed at the doorstep before knocking thrice. “Hey AJ! You home?!”

She waited patiently at the door until it was pulled open, a red-eyed and unkempt Apple Jack standing in the frame. “What do ya want Rainbow? Ah’m already upset ‘nough with Big Mac leavin’ to fight. Ah don’t need ya comin’ and makin’ it worse.”

“I ummm.... I was actually coming to ask how you were doing. I guess that answers my question....” She looked nervously down at her hooves. “Look, I’m not very good at this ‘feelings’ thing so I’m just going do what I always do. I’ve been drafted as well and I wanted to say bye. So, uhhh.... Cya.”

“Ah figured ya’d be called, too.” Apple Jack touched the pegasus’ shoulder gently, her hoof shaking. “Ya just come back safe. Ah’d hate to see ya die just as much as muh brother.”

Rainbow smiled and gently nuzzled the orange mare’s neck. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m the most awesome pony in the world! There isn’t any way they’d ever get me!” She gave a half-hearted laugh before backing away. “Take care, AJ. I’ll be back before you know it!”

Apple Jack watched Rainbow fly away, the small smile on her muzzle fading away as the pegasus flew out of view. “Y’all better come back, Rainbow, Big Mac....”

Rainbow slowed herself once more before landing in front of the small purple door of Rarity’s Carousel Boutique. She peeked through one of the open windows, noticing the indigo maned mare working at her sewing machine, and knocked softly on the door. “Coming~!” The sound of the sewing machine stopped and hoofsteps could be heard through the wall. “We are open you know, dear. You could have come-.” Rarity stopped mid-sentence and smiled warmly. “Why hello, Rainbow Dash. What brings you here?”

“I wanted to tell you I’m being drafted. Fluttershy and I are going to be leaving shortly.”

“Oh heavens no! Fluttershy just cannot be allowed to leave! Don’t get me wrong, Rainbow Dash. I don’t want you to leave either, but Fluttershy couldn’t possibly hurt anything! We have to stop her!” Rarity moved to shove the cyan pegasus from her path, but Rainbow held out a hoof.

“Don’t worry, Rares. I don’t think she’ll be made to fight. One of my friends from the weather squad told me that ponies that can’t fight get reassigned to other stuff. She’ll probably be a cook or something.”

“Oh.... Well, I still don’t like the idea of either of you leaving town to fight in that mare’s name. Especially after what she and Twilight have done.” Rarity frowned but kept her composure.

“Yeah.... I don’t like it either. I’ve been in a couple of fights when I was in Flight School, but I’ve never had to do anything like this.”

Rarity’s smile came back and she drew Rainbow into a tight embrace. “Be careful, Rainbow. You better take care of Fluttershy or I’ll have to hunt you down.”

The pair laughed and broke the hug. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she doesn’t have to do anything dangerous. Heck, she’ll probably freeze up as soon as we get there. She’s scared of her own shadow after all.” She looked towards the town center nervously before moving away. “I think they’re almost done gathering everypony. I’d better hurry up and see Pinkie before it’s too late.” Without giving Rarity a chance to say good-bye, Rainbow took to the air again and rocketed towards the gingerbread shaped confectionery shop.

Before she even had a chance to land, a pink blur tackled her from the air and onto the ground. “Hi Dashie!” Pinkie giggled down at the pegasus, her blue eyes displaying her carefree mood. “Where you going? Ohh! Were you coming to see me?! I sure hope you were, because that would make me super duper happy! We could throw a party or something! Look! We already have the guests! All we need to do is go get my party cannon and-.”

Rainbow grinned wildly as she shoved her hoof in the pink pony’s mouth. “Calm down there, Pinks. I’m just here to tell you I’ve gotta go. They’re calling me off to fight. Thanks for the offer, though. You know I’d never miss one of your parties if I had a choice.”

Pinkie’s mood dropped momentarily before she immediately perked back up. “Oh, that’s okay Dashie! I know you love my parties! I just wish you didn’t have to go. It’s going to be super mega boring around here without you. And very cloudy! Without you to clear the clouds every day, it’s going to take forever! You better not get hurt, though.”

Her rapid shift in topic startled Rainbow, but she quickly shrugged it off. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine! Like I told AJ! You’re talking to the coolest, most awesome pony in Equestria! There’s no way anything could happen to me!” She grinned, puffing her chest out.

“Oh, Dashie! You are definitely the coolest pony in Equestria! Why, I bet you could even win this on your own! Go in there, buck a few griffons, and have them running back home with their tails between their legs! Well, maybe they’d be flying. I’m not sure! The last griffon I saw was the one here a few days ago talking to Commander Butt-face and she wasn’t flying, but I don’t really know a lot about griffons so I couldn’t tell if that’s normal or not.”

“Well, I’ll cya around Pinkie! I need to get going before they boot me in the head. Don’t wanna be late!” She slid out from under the pink pony, but not before she was crushed in a bear hug.

“Bye-bye, Dashie! Be sure to come see me right away and I’ll throw a surprise ‘Welcome Home Rainbow Dash, Great Job Beating Up Those Griffons’ party! Well, I guess it won’t be a surprise since you know it’ll happen, but it’ll still be a party!”

“You got it, Pinks!” In a flurry of wind, Rainbow once more returned to the skies as she made the short trip to the town center. She spotted Raindrops in the crowd and carefully landed beside her. “Hey, Raindrops! I didn’t see Fluttershy. Where is she?”

“Oh, hey Rainbow! She actually got a pardon from the mayor. She’s been taking care of Spike, and so, since he’s technically a kid and needs to be watched, Miss Mare allowed her to remove her name from the list.”

“Good. I’d hate to see her have to struggle through this. I just wish I had more time to say bye to her as well. Not much I can do about it now, though.” She looked towards the fountain past several rows of ponies. “How in the hay are we supposed to get to wherever we’re going anyways? There has to be at least four hundred ponies here!”

“I’m not sure, but I know that they’ll have some way. I mean, they’ve been getting ponies from Manehattan and Fillydelphia, so they obviously have something.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” The pair of pegasi fell into silence as they waited for the unknown transport. Rainbow kept her eyes focused on the crowd, scanning for familiar faces. Lyra and Bon Bon were standing together, hoof-in-hoof as they awaited what was to come. Big Macintosh stood to the front of the crowd, his larger stature making him much easier to pick out from the horde of ponies. His face was, like always, unreadable. She saw Nurse Red Heart sitting beside a pair of reverse colored earth ponies, their pink and blue palettes swapped perfectly. Those must be the spa sisters. I wonder what they think of all this. I don’t think they’re from Equestria so it must be pretty hard on them.

Her thoughts were pulled away by a consistent sound in the distance. She turned her gaze back up to the sky and almost lost her jaw when a pair of flying ships came into view from the horizon. Raindrops leaned over and nudged Rainbow’s hip. “I think I know what’s going to be carrying everypony.”

Author’s Notes: Awwwwww Yeaaaaaaah~! Another 8k+ words! Like a baws. Well, sorry for the delay with this one. Hopefully this time my brain will co-operate with me instead of trying to take a dump on my ideas every time I start to write. Seriously, though. Stop it brain. Well, I hope you enjoyed it! Got some back story on Twi and Celestia. A confirmation on Celestia’s fate. Twilight’s decision to stay with Nightmare no matter what a certainty. An in depth look as to what the Airships are like and how they function. Gilda being given some command. And, last but certainly not least, who all is going to be participating in the war from Ponyville! (Only Rainbow and BG characters lol) Get yourselves pumped for the next chapter cause I have no idea when it’s coming out! HAH! Oh well, time to turn this over to Jekyll and Kasa cause they are awesome and stuff. Whatevs. Peppy Out!

Oh! Also, I wanted to personally thank Jekyll and Kasa for their hard work in making this 20% more awesomer (yeah, that’s right. I said awesomer). Keep up the great work gaiz!

Editor’s Notes #1: Whooo~ Fan-buckin-tastic chapter here. Much love. Short note. Stuff. Things. Your Welcome, Peppy. It’s an honor to be here. Hmmm... losing steam. Cya next chapter, folks.... BUCKING CLIFFHANGER. *reads over note* Yup... I sound like a crazy pony. Well... Jekyll say ‘Bye, bye!’ now.