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Spectrum: Redux

by Jed R

Chapter 17: The Trinity Disharmonic

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The Trinity Disharmonic

Spectrum: Redux

Fourteen
The Trinity Disharmonic

Written by
Jed R
RoyalPsycho
Doctor Fluffy


“Then despite whatever options he is given, he must be -”
“The man that he is. Exactly.”
“Is that a failing in humans?”
“You'll have to decide that for yourself.”
Lt Cmdr Data and Counselor Deanna Troi, Star Trek: The Next Generation“Peak Performance”.


New York – PHL HQ.

Cheerilee’s headache was getting decidedly worse. The Doctors – Bowman and Whooves – had run off, their mouths running so fast that Cheerilee had been unable to keep up. Jim had stayed with them, discussing the implications of what two Alicorns and Discord – Discord, of all things! – showing up really meant for them. Bowman had seemed… uneasy.

“This could be good, if it’s come to pass how it… how Jim wanted it to,” he had said.

As always, there was something in the way the man spoke that made a chill run up Cheerilee’s spine. Everyone and their mother had spoken about the man knowing things, though whatever those things were was a different question. And right now, he seemed to know more than he was saying about these things, too.

“Lieutenant Colonel?” came a voice from the doorway to her office.

Shaking her head clear of her thoughts, Cheerilee looked up from her desk to see a shaken-looking Manewell Trotsworth.

“Manewell?” she asked quietly. “What is it?”

He swallowed, his eyes wide with what Cheerilee could only call terror.

“Code Royal,” he said. “In Boston. Right now.”

Cheerilee blinked. She blinked again. The words she had just heard settled in her mind, rolling through her skull like the tolling of a great bell.

Well, she finally thought, darn.


Boston – Code Royal Ground Zero

Princess Luna was in the fight of her life.

Blades of Destiny, she thought, as a half-dozen blue-sheen swords came into existence about her head. Some, she angled to point at Queen Celestia, throwing them like javelins. Others spun about her head, and she slashed and hacked at the corrupted alternate of her sister. And yet, nothing got through.

Celestia was still smiling, a little confident smirk that Luna knew well. It was the smile she wore when she bested you at chess, or made some logical point of politics that she knew you couldn’t recant.

She thinks she’s going to win, Luna realised. She has no fear, no doubts.

Even so, Luna did not stop pressing her attack, trying again to break her enemy’s concentration, to land a single blow. Her blades spun faster, and she summoned more and more, forcing her sister’s dark mirror to draw upon more power in turn to shield herself.

Blades of Destiny? I mean, really, Luna?” Celestia said, her smile turning to a condescending smirk. “Of all the – admittedly quite paltry – spells you know, this one’s probably one of the weakest pound for pound, given all the effort expended compared with the result you get. I mean come on, Little Moon,” she added, dodging a particularly vicious strike. “I’m not even working up a sweat.”

Luna didn’t rise to the mockery, instead simply continuing her assault, gritting her teeth as she did so. Yet she could not deny, the dark mirror of her sister wasn’t entirely wrong.

I have to think outside the box, she thought grimly. Celestia knows me. This is her advantage, but also her weakness. What would I not do?

It was certainly not an easy thing to consider, doubly not when faced with this enemy. Even as she began thinking her options through, her sister’s mirror sidestepped one of her blades, her horn flashing in a dispelling hex that blasted Luna backwards and disrupted her blades.

“Now,” Queen Celestia said, “let me show you how it’s really done, Little Moon.”

Her horn glowed, and a flash of energy shot towards Luna. Grimacing, Luna blocked it with a shield, but her shield flickered and died the moment the attack ended, and she was forced to summon another, and another, as the corrupt Queen sent more and more spells her way.

Think! Luna’s mind roared at her, in Celestia’s own voice no less. Ignoring the irony, Luna concentrated, before summoning the Blades of Destiny again. This time, she spun her magically conjured weapons in front of her in a defensive posture as Queen Celestia threw another spell. Channelling a little more energy into it, Luna caught her opponent’s spell, before spinning the blade around and sending the spell right back at her corrupt sister. Queen Celestia barely had time to blink in shock before her own spell impacted her and exploded.

A cloud of dust and debris flew into the air. Winded, Luna stepped back, raising her shield again. There was a sound like coughing for a moment, before Queen Celestia trotted out of the cloud of debris, grimacing to herself.

“Well played,” she complimented Luna, her expression momentarily livid. Suddenly, her confident smile snapped back into place. “See? That was clever. Try more like that, and you might make this bout more entertaining for me.”

Luna growled. “This battle is not for your entertainment, cur.”

“Oh, pish,” Celestia said, waving a wing dismissively. “Why do you think I’m here, fighting you like this, if not for my own entertainment?”

Suddenly she dashed forward, ramming into Luna and sending her sprawling back, before spinning and sending a kick into Luna’s ankle. Letting out a cry, Luna fell to her knees, and Celestia brought a hoof up, before hitting her in the face.

“I have armies, legions,” the corrupt Queen snarled. “I could have swatted this city – this planet – without ever moving a muscle. This? All of this? This fight, this war, this destruction?!” She grinned, a vicious, predatory thing that seemed almost to split her face as it widened further than any smile Luna had ever seen on her sister’s face. An odd timbre entered Celestia’s voice as she loomed above. “This is me having fun.”

Even as she said it, she sent another series of spells hurtling towards Luna, blasting her backwards. Hissing in pain, Luna rolled, trying to get to her hooves. Before she could, however, Celestia was suddenly above her, before landing with a sickening crunch, her hooves coming down hard on on Luna’s wing.

Luna let out a cry of agony. It had been an age or more since something had hurt her so viscerally, and she had forgotten what this pain could feel like.

“Oh, yes,” Celestia said, almost moaning as she pressed harder on the splintered wing. “That’s the sound I needed to hear! The sound of Alicorn bones snapping beneath my hooves! I had almost forgotten…”

With a roar of agony and rage, Luna unleashed a shockwave: her horn glowed and a flash of energy blew Celestia off of her. Luna got to her hooves as fast as she could, turning her attention to her wing.

Crushed, she thought, looking at her wing, but in place for now.

Focusing, she applied a quick healing spell to herself. The pain subsided, and a quick test showed that the wing worked.

If I survive this, Luna thought grimly, I shall have to have a healer take a look.

Before she could think more on it, she was forced once more to raise her shields and block a new barrage of spells from her sister’s corrupted alternate. She had more luck this time, and channelled more energy into blocking the strikes, but it was still taking its toll on her. Celestia was scowling at her, whether from hurt at the last spell or anger at having her sick fun interrupted, Luna couldn’t tell.

There must be something I haven’t tried, Luna thought. Some trick that will catch her off-guard.

There was one thought that she hadn’t considered, but it was one she really didn’t like: it would take a great deal of magical power to achieve, and she only knew the spell in theory, having never dared practice it before. Unfortunately, it was also the one spell she knew Celestia would not be expecting, least of all from her.

Galatea, she thought, where are you?!


Checkpoint Delta

John Constantine winced as a spell impacted against the window. Though the glass was reinforced, concussion-proof glass that ATC had developed, it still wasn’t impervious. John knew it would be blown in any minute now by a stray spell.

I should have stayed at home, he thought, moving to duck under a table. There was a loud slam, as though something heavy had hit the wall. I should have stayed at home with a bottle of vodka and a pack of cigarettes.

“An interesting tactic, hiding under a table,” a female voice suddenly said. There was a faint lilt to her accent, and she sounded amused. “I’m not sure about the effectiveness of it, but then again, I’ve never tried it myself.”

John scrambled out from under the table, eyes wide in shock at the sight of a pony… no, an Alicorn. Grey, with icy silver-blue eyes staring coldly at him.

“Who the fuck are you?” he asked, understandably rather shocked.

“I am Galatea,” she replied impassively.

This didn’t really feel like enough explanation for John, but he wasn’t exactly going to call an Alicorn out on being overly-succinct.

“Uh… right,” he said instead.

This ‘Galatea’, whoever she was, gave a soft, melodious chuckle, and John relaxed incrementally.

Laughter’s a good sign, right? he thought, still tensing.

You, on the other hand, are John Constantine,” she continued, glancing around the space. “Currently assisting your people’s military, and associated with what your planet calls ‘Mystics’.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “A rather curious term in mine estimation. But then, this is a rather curious world that I have found myself on.”

“R-right…” John said, wide eyed at the sight of this being. “I… uh… don’t take this the wrong way, but -”

“I am aware mine presence might seem… unusual,” she said, holding up a hoof to forestall continued talking from him (which was probably just as well). “I suspect we have no time for detailed explanations, but suffice to say, I am here to help you however I may.”

Help?!” John repeated, choking the word out. “And how exactly are you going to do that?!”

Galatea looked at the window, even as another spell slammed into it. John winced, half-tempted to duck under the table again.

“Your comrades outside are facing a dedicated magician, one they cannot defeat alone,” she said coolly. “I intend to even the odds.”


PHL HQ.

“I keep saying my TARDIS is not a troop transport!”

Dr Bowman – the Doctor – was pushing buttons, as several UNAC troops filed onto the ship. Cheerilee had known Bowman for nearly two years, and had known Doctor Whooves on and off for over a decade, and yet she could count the number of times she’d been inside either of their semi-miraculous devices and still have hooves to spare.

The expansive walls were corrugated, textured like concrete. Interspersed in the corrugated dips were a series of golden roundels that shone in the faint light, and in one corner of the room sat a chair with a box underneath it. Opposite this was a coat stand with two other tweed coats, three hoodies and a green military coat all hung on it.

At the centre of the room was a six-sided console that looked like it had been hewn from stone, covered in blinking lights, switches and buttons. A crystalline globe was cradled in the console, flickering with inner light.

“Doctor,” Cheerilee said quietly, “we don’t have any option. We’ve been over this.”

“I know, I know,” the Doctor replied. “Seriously, though, make sure they don’t touch anything. Heads will – not roll, but certainly ring with my irritation as I shout at them.”

Cheerilee nodded tiredly, and the Doctor stalked off, jabbing at controls on his console. There were a few ‘bleeps’ and ‘bloops’ going off. Sighing, Cheerilee closed her eyes.

Let this not be a mistake, she prayed to whoever was listening. Let this not be a mistake.

“Cheerilee,” a voice said from behind her. She opened her eyes, turning to see Professor Trotsworth looking at her dolefully.

“Manewell,” she said quietly. “You should be -”

“Cheerilee, you are not thinking of going with all these people, are you?” he asked her. “If it’s a Code Royal -”

“If it’s a Code Royal, then I have to see it through,” Cheerilee replied testily. She met Trotsworth’s eyes. “Manewell… if this is her… after everything we’ve lost, everything we gave up to be here, everypony we left behind… I need to be here.”

“Even if all you’re going to do is die?” Trotsworth asked quietly.

“Even then,” Cheerilee affirmed with a nod. “Lyra’s dream was to free Equestria. Defeating the Queen is how we do that. It’s only fitting that I should go – as the head of the PHL.” She swallowed. “As her friend. I have to finish what she started.”

Trotsworth didn’t look convinced, but all he did was shake his head.

“Cheerilee,” he said quietly, “if this is what you want, I can’t stop you. But be careful, please?” His eyes were glistening with unshed tears. “We’ve lost too many good ponies – good beings – in this war. I would hate for you to join that number.”

Cheerilee nodded. “I will do my best.”

Trotsworth smiled ruefully. “Of that, dear Cheerilee, I am in no doubt.”


Code Royal Ground Zero

It was slow going as the battle continued, but Bauer managed to get to Discord. The Dracon-whatever was pushing himself to his feet slowly as Bauer reached him, and looked at the human with a frown.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “This isn’t a place you want to be, Major Malfunction.”

“Well, I figured I’d see if you needed help,” Bauer replied easily. “What’s happening out here?!”

Discord cracked his knuckles. “What’s happening is that I’ve clearly not gone all-out enough on that whorse yet.”

“It looked pretty all out from where I was standing,” Bauer said, trying and failing to not sound scathing.

Discord scowled. “I have not yet begun to fight.”

Without another word, he disappeared, before reappearing above Queen Celestia, a dozen mallets appearing around him before hurtling at her almost at the speed of sound – literally, as Bauer could hear the cracking of the sound barrier. He winced, flinching backwards, but all that happened was that the Queen’s horn glowed, beams of light lashing out and vaporising each anvil before it reached her. A slash of white light cut through the air, and both Discord and Luna were thrown backwards.

“Is that all?!” Celestia called out, her voice ringing across the battlefield.

“Major,” came Kraber’s voice through Bauer’s radio. “We’re getting close to your position, but there’s a lot of Imp activity around here.”

“By which he means the Code Backstabber got him distracted, in case Pinkie Pie was around,” came the voice of Aegis, one of Kraber’s subordinates (and, Bauer thought privately, unofficial babysitter).

“And so we might get cut off before we can reach your position,” Kraber finished, not contradicting Aegis at all.

Grimacing, Bauer raised his sword incrementally. The call of Code Backstabber had made him rethink their priorities in this fight.

We might not get the Queen bitch with what we’ve got on the ground, he thought, but we can get the rest.

“Kraber,” he said, “prioritise supporting other positions. The Code Backstabber was at Checkpoint Delta, so maybe get there. We need to hold the city.”

“I… understood, sir,” Kraber said after a moment. “Can’t lie and say I’m not looking forward to seeing if there’s a certain pink bitch running around, after all.”

“He’s only mentioned it eight times,” Aegis supplied helpfully.

“But what about you?” Kraber asked. “You’re still at the Code Royal, aren’t you?”

Bauer took a deep breath. “I am. I’ll… assist Luna and Discord. If I can.”

“Can we trust them, sir?” Kraber asked after a moment.

“They’re getting their arses kicked helping us,” Bauer replied. “I think they’re on our side.”

“If you say so, Major,” Kraber said. “Just for the record, this is still a fokkin’ bad idea.”

“Well, just for the record, Kraber, today is a day for any idea we have, bad or not,” Bauer replied with a brief, humourless laugh. “Good luck.”

“You too, Major,” Kraber replied.

Yeah, Bauer thought, standing up. I’m gonna fucking need it, aren’t I?


Checkpoint Delta

Emma let out a breath, ducking behind the barricade and reloading her weapon. She popped up again in a flash, firing on the advancing Imperial forces, but her shots were blocked by that accursed shield.

“Weapon jammed!” True Grit yelled. “Cover us!”

That’s all we need, Emma thought. She ducked behind the barricade again as a hail of spells shot past where her head had been a second earlier. She saw Sam Lake hold his G2A2 over the parapet, firing blindly. She glanced at David Elliot, who was reloading his shotgun.

“We need to fall back!” she yelled.

“I know,” he replied, racking the shotgun, “but they’ll cut us down the second we try.”

He grabbed a grenade from his belt, popped the pin, waited a moment, and then stood. He moved fast – almost faster than Emma could see – throwing the explosive towards the approaching line of ponies. There was a small flash of light, a bang, and a few ponies fell away, though most were still protected by Twilight Sparkle’s shield.

That bitch. If only I’d brought a Type-7, Emma thought, growling to herself.

“Dave!” Sam yelled from where he was. “We don’t have -”

What they didn’t have, Emma didn’t get to find out, because there was a flash of light and a roar of debris and dirt. She ducked her head behind cover again, even as she heard a sound like a rush of energy, the crackle of electricity. She frowned behind her helmet, before popping her head over the barricade.

There was an Alicorn there: charcoal grey, wings spread outwards as she generated a shield that blocked further imperial attacks.

“What the actual fuck,” Sam said from further down the barricade.

Emma couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. An Alicorn? Here? And not just an Alicorn, but one that was neither the Tyrant, nor Princess Luna.

That’s impossible, she thought.

“Ponies of Equestria, stand down,” the new Alicorn said, her voice strident and resplendent as it echoed across the street. “You cannot defeat me, and I have no wish to lay any of you low when a more peaceful option exists. I would speak with Twilight Sparkle.”

There was a ringing, echoing silence across the battlefield, and for a long moment, no one moved.

What the hell? Emma thought, looking at Sam and David. Who is this mare?

“You have no authority here, traitor,” a horribly familiar voice called back from the Imperial line.

Sure enough, Twilight Sparkle has stepped out, eyes narrowed at the new Alicorn. Her horn was glowing softly, as though she was preparing for a battle.

“I have no wish to fight you,” the new mare said, her tone remarkably level. “Mine name is Galatea. Whatever madness drives this war, I would seek to end it.”

“This war is a just one, traitor,” Twilight Sparkle called back. “A war to save a demented, primitive ape-species from their own stupid, blinkered life on a dying planet.”

Fuck you, Emma thought, scowling.

“You are in error,” Galatea said, her tone brooking no argument. “As is your Queen. I will correct you both.”

The glow of her Sparkle’s horn intensified. “If you stand with them, you’ll meet the same fate as all the other traitors. Reconditioning – or death.”

This proclamation rang out, and the dead silence descended once more.

“Humans,” the Alicorn – Galatea – said, speaking more quietly. “Stay back. This is mine.”

She took one step forward, planting her hoof in front of her with a deliberate stomp.

With a cry of rage, Twilight Sparkle threw a spell – a giant, purple blast of energy that hurtled towards Galatea. It impacted on a new translucent-white shield that simply existed, with barely any transition between the states of being and non-being. Galatea did not move an inch, and the only sign that she had registered the strike was a slight incline of her head. A moment passed, and then her shield expanded outward, the translucent energy slamming into Royal Guards and Twilight Sparkle alike, throwing them backwards. Sparkle recovered first, standing up and facing Galatea, raising another shield between them.

“You’re a traitor!” Sparkle hissed. “And worse. I know who you are, blood-traitor to the Queen! How dare you stand against your own -”

A flash of light careened from Galatea’s horn, silencing Sparkle as she was forced to raise another shield.

“You know nothing, little mare,” Galatea said blandly. “It is precisely because of who I am that I must stand against your Queen. She is everything I exist to stop.”

There was another flash of light from her horn, and Twilight Sparkle was thrown backwards, her shield dissipating in an instant. Other Royal Guardsponies stepped up, their horns glowing as they shot spells Galatea’s way, but she simply deflected every spell with an impassive expression.

Holy shit, Emma swore internally. This is… this is insane!

This was another level of fight entirely. She had never seen anything – not a PHL Unicorn, not UNAC tech, nothing – that had ever shrugged off Royal Guardspony attack in such a way.

The Alicorn had sent more spells, blasting through guardsponies like they were nothing. One guardspony was directly hit by a spell, and simply disintegrated, a cloud of ugly green smoke billowing from clattering, emptied armour.

Sparkle was charging another spell now, a larger one. It glowed with a deep, crackling purple energy.

“Shit!” Elliot swore from near Emma. “Everyone, head’s down!”

Emma did, just as Sparkle sent her spell hurtling towards their position. Galatea stepped forward, but Emma didn’t see what happened. She ducked her head beneath the barricade: there was a shockwave, as heat washed over the parapet, and then silence.

Elliot was the first to pop his head over the barricade, and a moment later he motioned for the others to follow suit. Emma tentatively looked over the sandbags, her eyes widening beneath her helmet. Galatea was still standing, as was Sparkle, though both looked tired. The street was blistered and scorched, and many of the Royal Guard had apparently pulled back.

“You are more powerful than I anticipated,” Galatea said after a moment.

“And you are less impressive than your lineage would suggest,” Sparkle retorted, breathing heavily. “I would have thought you’d be able to end this with ease.”

“If I wanted you obliterated, I would,” Galatea replied coolly. “But I do not wish to kill you.”

“You don’t seem so concerned about my soldiers,” Sparkle snorted.

Galatea inclined her head. “Perhaps. But a soldier will fight for their country whether they are right or wrong, and that is within the pattern of their lifespan. It fits for them.” She narrowed her eyes. “You, on the other hoof…”

Before she could finish, Sparkle’s horn glowed, a new shield popping into existence. There came a shout from behind Emma, and she turned, raising her weapon – only to lower it. A squad of troops were disembarking from a large, grey APC. Several of them had already begun firing at Sparkle’s unit, and she was struggling to keep her shield up.

Emma didn’t recognise the troops – they weren’t wearing UNAC Hardball armour. Rather, it looked like custom Armacham gear, almost like…

“Reavers,” Elliot muttered, just loud enough for Emma to hear.

HLF, Emma thought, eyes widening. They were already firing at the Imperial troops, who were buckling – between Galatea and the HLF, they had lost their momentum.

“Well,” Galatea’s voice spoke. Emma turned to look at the confrontation. Galatea was still facing Sparkle, who had not fallen back. “It seems the tide has turned. Will you surrender now, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Never!” Sparkle hissed. She threw another spell at Galatea, but it was small and the Alicorn deflected it with seeming ease.

There was a sudden flash of purple light, and then Sparkle was suddenly in front of the humans, a vicious rictus on her face as she threw a spell at the HLF soldiers. One unfortunate soldier was hit, his armour crumpling inwards with concussive force as he was thrown backwards.

Sparkle turned, her horn primed to cast another spell – only for Galatea to hit her in the face.

There was a sudden silence in the street. Sparkle stumbled backward, stunned, but before she could recover Galatea’s horn had glowed again and she blinked, her eyes rolling up into her head as she fell to the floor in a heap.

There was a momentary silence, and then Elliot motioned. True Grit came over, his horn glowing as he withdrew a small collar-like device – a nullifier, Emma realised with widening eyes – and slotted it onto Sparkle’s horn.

“She’s not getting out of that,” he said after a moment.

“Good,” Elliot said. “Sam, perimeter.”

“Allow us,” a woman from the Reaver group said. She motioned to her troops. “Idle, one type-7 fireteam.”

“You got it,” a gruff sounding man in Reaver armour said. His armour was daubed in a variety of Nordic-looking runes, some of which seemed to be in a rather unpleasant rust-red colour. He began motioning to the Reavers around him.

The woman turned to Elliot, before moving to take her helmet off, revealing a tired looking face under blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. She smiled, though there was no real mirth in it.

Emma felt her breath hitch slightly. Samantha Yarrow.

She hadn’t really changed since Emma had worked with her, seemingly an age ago. There was something harder in her expression, of course – the sort of look Emma had only seen in the eyes of hardened, weary soldiers who’d been in places too long. She remembered that look especially when she had served with veteran soldiers at Fairport.

What has she seen? Emma found herself wondering.

“Sergeant Elliot,” Yarrow said. “They left you and your little squad of misfits all alone here, did they?”

“They did,” Elliot replied easily. He moved to remove his own helmet, giving Yarrow a tired half-smile of his own. “It’s… it’s good to see you, Sam.”

“And you, David,” the woman replied. “Only sorry we didn’t get here sooner.” She sighed. “I had Howard head on for your Checkpoint Epsilon, but it’s… not looking good.”

“This looks like a coordinated offensive,” Elliot replied, scowling. “With so many smaller offensives happening across the East Coast, there’s no way we could have had the manpower to hold this.”

“‘S why we’re here,” Yarrow said quietly.

She glanced around, before her eyes fixed on Galatea, widening in shock.

You,” she murmured. “How… why…?”

“Have we met?” Galatea asked impassively.

Yarrow blinked, apparently surprised by the bluntness of the response. “A… we did a long time ago, ma’am, around the Montreal incident.”

“Ah,” Galatea said, nodding. “Well, forgive me. I am not the Galatea you would have met.”

“What, is there a production line of you?” the man in the rune-daubed armour – Idle? – said irritably.

Emma frowned beneath her helmet, but Galatea only laughed.

“If there were, human, all our lives would be much simpler,” she said. “Alas, there is only I. And perhaps not for much longer.” She paused, turning to Yarrow. “You are aware that the corrupt Queen is here?”

“I heard the Code Royal come through,” Yarrow replied grimly. “You have something to do with that?”

“Inadvertently, perhaps,” Galatea replied, and for the first time her stoic mask broke and a look of – embarrassment? Shame, even? – came upon her face. “She must have sensed us, myself, Luna and Discord, as we arrived.” She shook her head. “I knew that she was powerful, but I misjudged how much so. That mistake may cost us all dearly.”

She let out a sigh, before turning her attention to the unconscious Twilight Sparkle.

“Command’ll love this,” Elliot said quietly, standing over the mare with his rifle pointed right at her head. “We’ve been wanting to take one of these bitches prisoner for years.”

“It seems so… ill-fitting of them to serve as warriors,” Galatea said. “I have met them in their prime, and they are not soldiers, not fighters save at the direst of need. And never so readily.”

“Clearly they’re fine with fighting now,” Errant Flight cut in. He was scowling at Galatea, suspicious.

Don’t blame him, Emma thought, shifting uncomfortably as she watched the Alicorn. This was… for all that PHL Agents were trained to deal with the unusual, this was beyond anything she had been given to understand. Which makes it odd that Sam Yarrow of all people knew her. What other secrets have they kept from us?

Galatea was frowning, a look that Emma almost thought might have been of confusion. “Perhaps there is more to their presence than meets the eye.”

“Thinking out loud?” Elliot asked, looking up at her.

“In a sense,” Galatea replied. “I was speaking to the wisest person present – myself. A habit of the old, and one I pray you all live to learn.” She smirked. “After all, the explanations needed by the young and inexperienced are too in-depth for this moment in time.”

“What are you thinking?” Emma asked, looking at Sparkle.

“I am thinking that I have many questions about the state of this world,” Galatea replied, “and Twilight Sparkle may have the answers.” She frowned. “Unfortunately, the one who can best get them from her is currently battling Celestia.” Her eyes narrowed. “I will return shortly. Guard Twilight Sparkle in the meantime.”

And then in a grey flash of light, she was gone. After a moment, Elliot let out a whistle.

“Well, this has been nuts,” he said. He began chuckling. “I wonder if Kraber’s having as crazy a time of it.”


“Un sekai nerahma safah! It’s SHOWTIME, MOTHERFOKKERS!”


“Of course he is,” Elliot said after a moment, his tone one of tiredly amused resignation. “It’s Kraber.”

There was a moment of quiet, and then Emma looked down at Twilight Sparkle.

This is insane! she found herself thinking. We’ve got a prisoner – one of the Elements, for God’s sake!

“Alright,” Sam Yarrow said after a moment. “Everyone, get into position to hold off the next wave!”

“You think there’s going to be a next wave?” Sam Lake asked from where he was standing, his body language looking somewhat aimless.

“Of course there is,” Yarrow said, snorting. “We just captured Twilight Sparkle, Lake. They’re going to tear us apart to get her back.”

“That’s not a comforting thought,” Errant Flight said, his expression dubious.

“Implies it was meant to be, flyboy,” Yarrow replied. “Let’s just hope we all see the dawn, eh?”

Emma swallowed. “Yeah, let’s.”

Yarrow threw her a look, a brief frown on her face, but Emma ignored her. There was still a battle to get to.

She could deal with other shit later… assuming there was one at all.


Code Royal Ground Zero

Luna growled as she pushed herself back to her hooves. Celestia was striding lazily towards her, looking at the tips of her wings again.

“Really, I’ve had a worse time with this sort of thing,” she said. “You did better than last time – of course,” she added, chuckling, “last time I took most of your magic before you defected, so you could barely throw enough magical force at me to vaporise a gnat…”

As she said this, she looked up and grinned at Luna, who snarled.

“Whatever you are,” she said, “you are not my sister.”

“Well, you’re not entirely wrong there,” Queen Celestia said, faux-yawning and covering her mouth with one wing. “Excuse me. I think I’m getting bored. That doesn’t happen often, either. My, my, today is full of surprises, isn’t it, Little Moon?”

“You’re not going to win this war,” Luna hissed. “Even if we fall, my sister will cut you down.”

Will she?” Queen Celestia replied, tilting her head, still smiling. “Now, perhaps that will be a challenge… although, let’s get real here. The only one of you three worth your salt is mother dearest’s watchmare, and she’s apparently left you all to your own devices -”

There was a bright flash. Luna winced, and Queen Celestia blinked, looking up – just as a hail of white bolts of magic slammed into her, tearing up the ground about her and knocking her to the ground. Luna blinked in surprise, as Galatea floated gently to the ground in front of her.

“Hello, Luna,” she said evenly. “I believe I have need of your assistance elsewhere.”

“Where in all the darkest of hells have you been?!” Discord yelled, flashing into existence near them. “That whorse nearly killed us, multiple times -”

“Silence yourself, Discord, we’ve no time for your complaints,” Galatea said sharply.

She turned to the Queen, who was already raising herself up from the crater, smoke rising from her wings and body. She had burns across her form, and yet seemed none the worse for wear.

“Hello again,” the maddened Alicorn hissed, scowling at them all. “Now that you’re all here, do you want to die one by one or all in a -”

Galatea’s horn flashed, throwing another, massive spell straight at Celestia. The Queen was borne backwards, slamming through a half dozen buildings. Galatea growled, before her horn flashed, more spells following the first and slamming into Queen Celestia.

After a moment, there was nothing but a dust cloud, ashes, and silence.

“Luna,” Galatea said after a moment. “I have captured one of the Elements of Harmony who serve the Queen.”

She busied herself capturing one of the Elements while we fought Celestia? Luna thought, eyes narrowing in irritation. Still, it was in and of itself an achievement.

“Well done,” she finally said, keeping her tone neutral. “We will need to speak with her later, find out -”

“We cannot rely on there being a later,” Galatea interrupted. “I need you to come with me now to interrogate her, learn all she knows.”

Luna blinked. “What?!”

“We cannot rely on having time after this battle,” Galatea said, her tone increasing in urgency. “We must use this chance now, or we will lose it.”

Luna shook her head, mind reeling from the speed of the conversation. “What – how did -“

“I will explain when we get there,” Galatea said. “But there are questions we need to answer, and this seems to be the only way.” She turned to Discord. “Can you hold the Queen here for… at least half an hour?”

Half an hour?!” Discord repeated. “She’s been tearing us apart! I don’t know if I can last half a minute!”

“I am sure you will try,” Galatea said impassively. She turned to Luna. “We have a unique opportunity here. We cannot delay.”

“Can this ‘unique opportunity’ not wait until after we’ve dealt with the Queen?” Luna hissed.

Galatea glanced at the crater where Celestia had been, and scowled. “No. It cannot. I cannot rightly say whether we will be alive to take the chance after this.”

“Well, that’s not pessimistic at all,” Discord cut in scathingly.

“Luna, please,” Galatea said quietly. “If nothing else, we must take this chance to pass on what we know. But first, we must know more.”

Luna sighed, shaking her head. “There’s no time for this, Galatea. We have to end her now.”

“Luna,” Galatea murmured, her eyes suddenly doleful. “I’m not sure we can.”

This blunt statement caught Luna off-guard, and she blinked, unsure how to respond.

“So you just want us to give up?” Discord hissed.

“Not in the slightest,” Galatea said. “But -”

There was a sudden cough. Galatea turned, as did Luna, to see Stephan Bauer staring at them.

“Human, what are you doing here?” Galatea asked sharply. “Is it not clear that you cannot help?”

“Says who, ma’am?” Bauer replied with a snort.

“Oh please,” Galatea rolled her eyes. “We’ve no time for human bravado.” She turned, narrowing her eyes. “One moment.”

She turned back in the direction the Queen has been blasted, and suddenly stepped forward. A glowing shield of energy appeared, blocking a massive golden beam of light for a brief second, before the beam was deflected into another building, incinerating it in a blast of heat and air.

Bauer stumbled back, eyes wide, even as Galatea brought the shield to a single condensed point on her horn. The condensed shield transformed into its own ball of energy, before being thrown straight at the source of the beam. Though none of them could see Queen Celestia, there was another sound of distant impact.

“There,” Galatea said, sounding winded.

“Okay,” he said, “that was…”

“Human, if you’re to help, it will be with tactics and whatever your kind have mustered to take on my corrupt alter-sister,” Galatea said impatiently. “Discord – you know what you must do.”

“I… fine,” Discord said. “But this is a bad idea.”

“Your opinion is noted,” Galatea replied. She turned to Luna. “Sister?”

Luna sighed. “If you insist. But this had best bear fruit.”

“It will,” Galatea replied. “That I promise.”

And then, in a flash, they both disappeared from the battlefield.


Discord swallowed, before looking at Bauer with a raised eyebrow. Bauer wasn’t looking at him: his radio was filled with a dozen cries of alarm at the destruction of the building, the shockwave having clearly been felt across the city.

“Where do you want to be?” the Draconequus asked.

“What?” Bauer asked, distractedly. “I – I need to get to Fenway Park at Point Beta, but -”

And just like that, he was there, surrounded by his own troops, many of whom aimed guns at him sharply.

“Major?” one of them, a soldier from Bauer’s attached Bundeswehr unit named Daniel, said. “What the hell happened? What are you doing here?”

Before Bauer could reply, there was a loud trumpeting sound. A moment passed, and then a large blue box appeared in the middle of the park, a few feet from where Bauer was.

Two for two, Bauer thought as the door to the box opened. A red headed man – Dr Bowman, Bauer recalled – popped his head out.

“Ah, Major,” he said. “Somepony in here would like a word.”

After a couple of seconds, Lieutenant Colonel Cheerilee of all ponies stepped out, eyes narrowed as she took in the troops around her, before meeting Bauer’s eyes.

“Major,” she said sternly, in what might have been a tougher version of her schoolteacher voice. “Status report.”

Bauer took a breath. “Where do I begin, ma’am.”



Author's Note

Well, this is certainly heating up a tad, isn’t it?

If you’re reading this… well, thank you. This chapter in particular has been… difficult. Really difficult. So I’m grateful for anyone who cares enough to read this overblown ego-trip of mine. 😂

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