As Twilight and her friends followed the Northstar and its pilot, Twilight herself felt a little apprehensive about the whole situation, especially since she had seen what she could only presume was another type of Titan massacre the Changelings at the Element Hall. She shuddered at the thought that it might eventually be turned on her and her friends, possibly Equestria.

"Hey, you okay?"

Twilight heard Sasha's voice coming from the Titan and she hastily cried "yes".

"Okay. Just keep your head on straight." Sasha advised. "By the way, Captain Ellis was glad to receive your intel. He's deploying additional units to secure the city. Anyway, there's a Militia command post not too far from here. I'll drop you off there, then I can link up with the rest of my fellow pilots. For now, stay with me."

Twilight nodded and the Northstar continued to run forward. Eventually, they arrived at the main plaza of Canterlot, and it had been transformed. More of the flying metal machines that had been dropping off humans via the ziplines were landing and deploying troops the conventional way. Four other Titans and their pilots were conversing over a glowing map of the area.

"Sasha, glad you could join us." one, who seemed to be the leader, said. "You almost missed the fun."

"Glad I didn't, then." Sasha said, slapping the other Pilot on the shoulder.

"So, what's with the...uh...multicolored horses?" another said. This one was not human, instead it was some kind of machine wearing combat gear.

"We're ponies." Twilight said.

"Forgive me." the machine said. "Ponies. But...it's kinda going to take some getting used to the color scheme."

"Romero?" a third one said, this one a female. "What exactly did I say about being tact?"

"Eh, I remember." Romero said. "But I don't care."

The female shrugged and walked off.

"You've have to forgive Romero." Sasha said. "He's a Pilot-model Spectre, and he's...rather known for being sarcastic and a bit of a wisecracker."

"I heard that!" Romero said.

Sasha extended a finger to the Spectre, who wave-taunted her in response.

"That's enough, you two." the lead pilot said. "Well, seeing as you've met Sasha and Romero, I'm Daniel McKenna, the pilot over there is Kelly Anderson. Chase and Sean should be be here soon, they were part of the initial attack."

"Did one of them have a giant multi-barreled weapon?" Twilight asked.

"That would be Chase." Daniel said. "And for the record, that was his Legion Titan's Predator Cannon. Anyway, seeing as you're more familiar with the area, care to give us some pointers as to who's leading this attack and where they are?"

Twilight nodded and walked up to the map.

"She's at the wedding hall here, on the citadel." Twilight said, pointing it out. "She's got three hostages with her, and she's heavily guarded. They've blocked off the main route with barriers made from debris."

"That'll make this difficult, but not impossible." Daniel said. "We punch through those barriers, we'll have a straight shot to the citadel…"

"Sir!" A Grunt soldier ran up. "We've got a problem!"

"What kind?" Daniel asked.

"Hostiles at the citadel are firing energy at our Crows. We can't launch the assault until they're cleared out."

"Roger that. Tell all units to hold their position." Daniel said. "Sasha?"

"Roger that." Sasha replied. "Polar, let's go!"

"Confirmed." Polar replied, taking hold of her Pilot and depositing her in the cockpit. She then took to the skies and flew off.

"Seems you're stuck with me." Daniel said. "Ellis, is IN ready?"

"Pilot McKenna, your Titan is standing by." A male voice spoke.

"Standby for Titanfall." Daniel said as he marked the drop point. Then, Twilight and her friends saw a large object fall from the sky. She then realized it was Daniel's Titan. Unlike the slim Northstar or the bulky Legion, this one seemed to be moderately armored and more mobile, and it had a more all-around build.

"Let's go, IN!" Daniel cried as he leaped into the air.

"Confirmed. Let's move, Pilot." IN replied as he grabbed Daniel and deposited him into the Vanguard Titan's cockpit.

"You six, stay with me!" Daniel cried. "Grunts, form two squads and follow me!"

"Yessir!" A Grunt chorused. "Let's move, we're oscar mike!"

As the Element bearers followed the sixteen or so Grunts and Daniel, the Changelings at the Citadel continued to fire at the flying machines. Then, Chrysalis turned at an unfamiliar sound. Then, she was thrown back by a series of explosions that all but destroyed the balcony where she had stationed her warriors. Then, a large object soared up to the window, marked with a white bear.

"Control, this is PL-3431. Anti-air is down. Crows are clear. Have a nice day." The being spoke, before looking at Chrysalis.

"And you are one ugly bug." It added, before it soared off into the skies. Chrysalis roared and stomped the ground angrily. Cadance shook her head and looked back at Shining, still in a trance.

"Get here soon, Twilight." She murmured.

============

As Daniel, the Elements, and the two Grunt Squads approached the main gate, Twilight attempted to push it open, only for the doors to remain shut.

"She's sealed them." Twilight said.

"Not a problem." Daniel said as he punched the door open, revealing a very angry Chrysalis.

"You beasts!" She roared. "You foolish beasts! I will make you pay!"

"Try us." Daniel said as IN readied his XO16. "Sasha, can I borrow one of your Tether Traps?"

Polar jettisoned a Trap, and IN grabbed it and fastened it to his arm.

"Let's dance!" Daniel said as Chrysalis charged. The Changeling queen fired repeated blasts of Changeling magic at the Titan, only for the Vanguard's shields to deflect the attacks. Daniel toyed with her for a few minutes, then Daniel smiled and grabbed the Changeling queen mid-flight. As he threw her into the air, he fired the Tether trap, which wrapped around the Changeling Queen. As she pulled, attempting to get free, he smiled.

"IN, time to curb-check this bug." He smiled.

"Roger that." IN said as he turned around and grabbed the cable. Then, with a mighty pull, the last thing Chrysalis ever saw was the ground coming to embrace her. As IN stomped on her still form, Daniel laughed.

"Let's check for a pulse, shall we?" He asked Twilight, and then he emptied an entire magazine of XO16 20mm AP rounds directly into Chrysalis's corpse.

"No pulse." He said as he disembarked. "Control, this is McKenna. Hostile commander KIA."

"Roger that." Captain Ellis replied. "Be advised, hostile forces are leaving the AO. We've won. All Militia forces, assist with cleanup of the combat area. Ellis out."

"Yessir." Daniel said as he walked up to a now-free Shining and Cadance.

"You two okay?" He asked. Shining looked unsure, then he saw Twilight standing with Sasha.

"Twiley, you okay?" He cried.

"I'm fine, Shining. They're with us!" She replied. "They repelled the Changelings by themselves."

"What?" Shining said. "Wait, what did I miss? What happened here?"

"We decided to stop in, and seeing ass you were being invaded...lend a hand." Daniel said. "Sorry about the mess."

"It's quite alright." Celestia said as she struggled to her hooves. Twilight helped her steady herself, and she walked over to Daniel.

"I presume you are in command here?" She asked.

"Actually, no." Daniel replied. "Captain Ellis is in charge. I can get him on the comms, if you would like. Grunt!"

"Already on it, Pilot!" The Grunt Radioman replied. "And...we're connected, loud and clear!"

Then, a Militia Crow flew in through the ruined balcony and its bay doors opened. And a man who the ponies could only assume was Captain Ellis walked out. Ellis was a man of about forty-two, with brown hair and a beard that was flecked with gray. He wore a Militia Captain's uniform, and apart from a ballistic vest, his only other piece of protection was a B3 Wingman revolver in a hip holster.

"And I can presume you are the Captain?" Celestia asked.

"I am Indeed. James Cameron Ellis, Captain of the MCS Baron, Frontier Militia Fleet." Ellis spoke while offering his hand, which Celestia shook.

"I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. I owe you a great many thanks for halting the Changelings." Celestia said.

"We're soldiers, Princess. It's what we do." Ellis said. "My forces are sweeping the city for any Changelings that stayed behind, but for the most part, the survivors left the area, and most likely brought their dead with them."

"A reasonable guess, Captain." Celestia said. "I believe more...formal introductions are in order."

"I believe so." Ellis said. "Seeing as this is a First Contact situation, I've have a lot of paperwork once we get back home. Anyway, I received intel during the battle. Seems we crashed a wedding, didn't we?"

"You did, but it's okay." Cadance said. "What about Chrysalis's body?"

"I believe she deserves a proper burial." Celestia said, but before Twilight could protest, Celestia spoke again. "Even if she was our enemy, she was still a ruling monarch, and we must show proper respect for the dead, even if she was our enemy."

Twilight nodded and walked over to Shining, before hugging him tightly.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He replied. "I'm just glad I have Cadance, the real Cadance, by my side again."

Cadance blushed.

"Well, let's not keep ourselves waiting." Ellis said. "Shall we get to the formalities?"

"Indeed." Celestia replied. "I'll have my Guards clean up the damage."

"We'll help with that." Ellis said. "We have Combat Engineers aboard the Baron, and they can do anything from patching a bridge to digging a trench."

"Thank you, Captain." Celestia said. "I'll show you to my study."

"Lead the way." Ellis said. "Pilot McKenna, with me. Grunts, Pilot Voryunov, head out and help with the cleanup. Take Pilot McKenna's Titan with you."

"Roger that." Sasha said as she, the Titans, and the Grunts departed. Ellis, Celestia, Daniel, The Element Bearers, and the Royal Couple walked to a spacious study with a large bay window. As everyone sat down, Ellis cleared his throat.

"I suppose we'll start from the beginning. Pilot McKenna?"

Daniel took off his helmet, revealing dusty brown hair, gray eyes, and a sharp but kind face. The helmet was placed on the table, and its visor glowed blue.

"Anything you need?" Celestia asked.

"Darkness." Ellis said. The shades were closed, and Ellis began.

"Well, where to begin?" I suppose we'll start with the colony age. About seventy years ago, the area of space we know as the Frontier was unexplored. In order to secure additional planets for human habitation, large colonial ships were launched, and these ships, their resources, and mission were financed by the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, or IMC."

"What's the IMC?" Celestia asked.

"A conglomerate of businesses and their interests united under one flag." Ellis said. "They're led by Hammond Industries, one of the largest production corps in history. They make everything from robots to advanced weapons, from household goods to spaceships and aircraft." Ellis said. "Anyway, we found nearly sixty different habitable worlds, and soon, the Frontier began to take shape, with its own values, culture, and identity. Pretty soon, we found countless amounts of vital resources in Frontier worlds. And the IMC took notice."

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked.

"The IMC needed those resources, and in their eyes, the Frontier was a goldmine for everything they needed. Metals, oil for fuel, timber, the list goes on and on of what the Frontier's resources in aplenty." Ellis replied. "And the IMC wanted them, no matter the cost. Using the reasoning that since they financed the expeditions to the Frontier, under eminent domain, the planets and the resources of the Frontier was theirs to take as they pleased. Soon, they militarized, forming an army. They started taking over worlds, one by one, forcing people off their own land and often...killing those who resisted."

"Those brutes!" Cadance cried.

Ellis nodded gravely.

"Back then, that was the way things were." Ellis said. "We couldn't do a thing about it. The IMC had every advantage, and for the moment, there was nothing we could do. That was the case...until the Harmony incident."

"What's that?" Celestia asked.

"This...won't be pleasant." Ellis said. "Harmony was one of the few worlds that residents would vocally resist the IMC. The people there organized a march to the Governor's office with a petition to remove the IMC from Harmony. The marchers were unarmed, and peaceful. The Governor, however, saw it differently. He asked the IMC troops to police the marchers, make sure they didn't get out of hand. The IMC...had other plans. When they arrived at the Governor's office, a full battalion of IMC heavy troops, armed to the teeth, were waiting for them. As the marchers approached, the IMC infantry grew more and more nervous. Then...it happened."

"What?" Celestia asked, her breath bated.

"The IMC troops...opened fire on the marchers, cutting them down like wheat in a field." Ellis said.

Everypony present gasped, dropped their jaws, or cried in disbelief. Fluttershy passed out at this. Celestia reared back in fury and anger.

"Why?" She growled.

"We don't know." Ellis said. "The marchers were unarmed, and thus, helpless. The IMC troops called in Spectres, robot soldiers made by Hammond, to further the carnage in the streets. Then, the worst came. When the marchers attempted to fight back, they called in Hammond's newest weapon to stop them."

"What was it?" Shining asked.

"The first Titans, which were Hammond Atlas models." Ellis said. "What they didn't shoot, they crushed beneath their feet. The few marchers who made it out alive were lucky. For many others, they weren't so fortunate. It was said that day 1500 went to the governors, 15 came out unscathed. The others...were all severely wounded or killed."

Celestia's' face darkened.

"That's not the worst of it." Ellis said. "In the immediate aftermath, the official IMC report states that the marchers were to blame, and that they had attacked the IMC infantry, who used lethal force to "restore peace to the city". They said they did their jobs. But doing their job include not one mention of the fact the IMC attacked first, or that they killed innocent people? People with families and friends? They found the bodies of children among the carnage, and the IMC didn't give the families of the slain a single penny for their lost ones. And their bodies weren't even allowed proper burial. They were dumped in mass grave."

If the fact the massacre happened angered Celestia, this sent her into a blind rage.

"Those...monsters…" She murmured with rage in her voice. "They killed...innocent children?"

"They did." Ellis said. "And the IMC didn't care. As long as they were in control, they didn't give a single thought to what they did to accomplish this."

Shining had to hug Cadance at this point to calm her down, as she was shaking in sheer anger and rage. The Element bearers weren't much better.

"How...how...DARE THEY!" Rarity cried. "They're murderers!"

"They didn't even care?" Rainbow sputtered. "Those flankholes!"

Fluttershy was still unconscious, and Pinkie's mane deflated. Applejack bowed her head in sorrow, and Twilight was shedding tears.

"That day…" Ellis said. "That day was when we decided that enough was enough. The people of Harmony staged an uprising and formed the Frontier Militia, in order to restore peace to the Frontier and fight the IMC. That day...we decided to make our own fate. It wasn't easy. The IMC declared us terrorists, and they got the authorization to wipe us out, by whatever means necessary. It was slow going at first, but we learned, we survived, and we fought."

"How so?" Celestia asked.

Ellis told the ponies of the first two years of the Frontier War, from the Refueling Raid to the Battle of Demeter, and the heroes, from Barker to James MacAllan, from Bish to Sarah Briggs. He told them about the Battle of Typhon, and the current state of the war.

"Now, two years after Demeter and a month after Typhon, we've made headway. The IMC Remnant Fleet is near beaten, but not broken. The IMC used to chase us, now we chase them and we defeat them. We became a force to be reckoned with. More and more worlds sided with us, and more and more people join the Militia to fight the IMC. The war's far from over, but we know, hopefully, the end is in sight." Ellis said.

Celestia nodded and sighed.

"Quite a tale, Captain." She said. "If there's anything Equestria can do to help…"

"We appreciate the offer, Celestia, but no thanks." Ellis said. "This is our war, and it's our war to win."

"I understand, Captain." Celestia replied. "The least we can do is replenish your supplies as best we can."

"Thank you, but there is something else." Ellis said. "The Baron's current mission is to scout for worlds capable of hosting Militia bases without the threat of IMC attack. If we may, I'd like to establish a Militia outpost here."

"I have no objections. There is a suitable plains to the southwest of here." Celestia said. "You may set your outpost up there."

"Thank you, Princess." Ellis said. "Now, what's this about a wedding?"

As Cadance and Shining spoke to Ellis, Daniel laid back and relaxed. Soon, Cadance, Twilight, and Shining left, along with the other ponies.

"Let's head back to the Baron, McKenna." Ellis said. "I think we deserve some rest for the wedding tomorrow."

"Roger that." Daniel said as they walked to their waiting Crow, ready to take off for the Baron.

Author's Notes:

Update!

The wedding comes next chapter.