It started on Tuesday. I was in the middle of breakfast with the Princess and the Colonel in the castle when the distinctive grating of a plate glass window shattering broke the peace of the morning. I could smell fire and ozone immediately. Hooves hit the floor hard.

"Colonel! Princess!" A female voice screamed in panic. I was out of my seat with my sidearm drawn in an instant. I vaulted a table to see the Sun Goddess turn and stand up from her meal. A red and orange maned pegasus in a blue outfit stood on shaky knees, gasping for air in the middle of the room, a broken window behind her and glass all over the floor beneath her. I'd met her at the gala. Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts. I knelt by the table and took aim outside the window.

Princess Celestia spoke. "Spitfire, are you in danger?"

The pegasus shook her head, coughed once as she choked on fresh oxygen with dry lungs, and gasped for air. "Inc. Incoming. Movement. Forest. South." Spitfire gasped each word out on breaths.

The Colonel chose that moment to walk up to the pegasus. "Captain, is this the invasion force?" Spitfire nodded. "Good work. Commander," he said as he turned to face me. I nodded in his general direction, keeping my eyes toward the broken window. "That will not…Captain Spitfire, were you followed?" The pegasus shook her head with a defiant grin. "Of course not. You don't make Wonderbolt by being slow. Stand down, Commander, there is no danger here." I nodded and holstered my pistol. Still I walked over to the window and glanced out.

Spitfire began pacing slowly around the room, I assumed trying to cool down. She looked completely spent. "Commander, if they are coming from the south then I will need your unit on the eastern pass. As quickly as you can muster."

"Fifteen minutes, Colonel."

"Understood, make it happen." I saluted, and ran out of the room.

Combat never starts with written invitations, at least not in my line of work. The Wonderbolts were renowned for their speed and precision maneuvers. Their skill made them an effective scout wing. If I wasn't going to get planet wide radar, good aerial scouting was the next best thing. I had set up plans with the rest of my unit based on where the scouts predicted the attack. An attack from the south or east meant that the forces would have to take the eastern mountain trail for the quickest path to Canterlot and the castle within. The western path was longer, windier, and across the river. Worst case, Ninja could break off to harass any fast strike units they sent that way. I had measured the distance from the forest just outside Canterlot mountain, and it was a good half hour's waddle from the base of the mountain in Midnight. We had fifteen minutes to suit up and get outside the city, and start the light show. I activated my personal comms. "Atari Lance, we have incoming, this is not a drill. The enemy is here. Suit up, grab your packs, make sure you have food, and get to the hangar. Eastern Pass is the guard point, Nav Alpha."

"Roger." Rolf's curt bass.

"Roger Omega!" Hiro's panicked treble.

"Rffm," Dan mumbled through breakfast.

"It's gonna be a long day Atari." Showtime.

---

"Atari Lance, can you hear us?" A formation of pegasi flapped overhead as we lumbered to the eastern guard point.

"Loud and clear,” I responded.

“I’m Captain of Sunbeam Wing.” One of the two scout wings.

“Glad we found you."

"You too. Listen, we've got incoming from the south. There's a bunch of things coming out of the forest. Couple of the fire ones, four or five hydras, an entire unit of hellhounds, and five…giants?"

"They were called Titans," one of the wingmen corrected.

"Titans then. Big guys. Bunch of other things. Those seemed like the heavy hitters though. They've got a lot of ponies on the ground."

"Do they look loaded to siege Canterlot?"

"Yeah, there are a few catapults and the like."

"Thanks for the info Sunbeam. We'll take up forward guard."

"Roger that Atari. The Royal Guard should be in position soon to meet you."

"Roger Sunbeam. Keep us informed, but get back here if you need backup."

“Roger that Atari.” With that, Sunbeam Wing shot off south again.

---

Another air wing of pegasuses came up from the east around the mountain, also heading south. They were moving faster and flying tighter than Sunbeam had been, so I assumed they were part of the air strike wing. Either Hailstorm or Tornado, but I couldn't tell them apart at this distance. I decided it was Hailstorm for the moment. Without much else to go on, we continued to the base of the path up the mountain. We could see forms coming out of the forest and beginning a march across the plains now, but we couldn't make out much beyond that. Five minutes later the loose V formation of Sunbeam Wing headed back our way, and the action started.

Hiro was all over his duties. "Omega, check out behind the air wing. I don't remember anyone red in that squadron."

"Me either." I swiveled and zoomed in with the expensive cameras i’d had mounted to Midnight. There were red and black forms in the air chasing the air wing back to the mountain. It was more of a flock than a formation. I almost laughed when I finally zoomed in on one. Reaper must have done the same thing.

"Are those fuckin imps? Demons?"

"That's what I see. They're on the summon list. Don't hit the air wing Reaper."

"Roger Omega, opening fire." He sounded way too happy about that.

Hailstorm wing had dived out of the rising sun to come up behind Sunbeam Wing. Someone had listened to my briefings, and I felt a momentary surge of pride. At half a kilometer, Reaper and I opened up. Without any verbal warning from us, the air wings split in panic for a moment but reformed in pairs and made straight for us. I smiled, the strategy lessons I’d prepared had paid off. With the imps hot on their tails, but coming in straight lines, we plugged ten or so each by the time they had made it to us. Ninja rocketed into the air and sliced two more open, and one ducked low enough for Big Bear's laser claws. With four remaining, the air wings circled back around and tag teamed the remaining imps with 200 kph horse kicks.

Reaper snorted. "That's one scout group down. That's the best Tartarus has got?"

Big Bear chuckled. "Imps were supposed to be dumb. Maybe they got them on sale."

Reaper laughed. "Nah, package deal, buy three titans, get a box of imps!"

“This is Hailstorm Wing, Commander, thanks for the backup.”

Hey, I’d guessed right. “Thanks for the easy setup, Hailstorm. You make us look good!” Several of the pegasi saluted, then the formation zoomed back over the mountain. The scout wing darted over the top of us.

“Thanks for the save, Atari.”

"Pleasure working with you Sunbeam, you know where to find us," I piped through the external speaker.

"Good hunting Atari!"

The pause in our march must have given the Royal Guard enough time to catch up, because a thundering quick march behind us got me to turn around. What looked like hundreds of Equestria's Finest were decked in polished armor and spears. I thought I caught the gleaming white and silver of Shining Armor at the front, but with combat on the horizon, I didn't stop to double check. I turned back to the valley to see the enemy was fielding a similar force. If intel was correct, a good half of them were at least minor spellcasters, and they had plenty of demons backing them up.

I doubted I was going to get another free minute to set up our battle plan. "All right Atari, priority targets are siege weapons, then any big guys that start getting close. If you have the time and ammo, feel free to take targets of opportunity, but save yourself for the titans. The Royal Guard can handle the ponies, they need us for the big guys. We guard this point but don't stay stationary. Be ready to reform. Alpha is the hold point, Beta is the advance point, Gamma is the flanked fallback point, Delta is the alternate western pass. Hit 'em hard Atari!"

---

"The holy fuck are those things?" Reaper asked as we marched.

I looked over the battlefield and zoomed in on the back line. Giant creatures with multiple heads and necks like giraffes swayed uneasily forward. "Hydras," Ninja replied.

Looked like it to me too. "Computer, display reminder of 'hydras'." My computer popped up a list of all of the information Twilight had copied down about hydras for us. I keyed the mic again. "Hydras, ten to twenty meters tall, very strong, multiple independent heads, strong bite. Melee fighters," I read off.

"More heavy melee, what did they think we were bringing?" Reaper asked, incredulous.

"Siege weaponry is still first priority. Stay back and wait for them to get in range."

The rhythmic thundering of the Equestrian Royal Guard got louder as the ground forces rounded the mountain path. They were really an impressive sight, hundreds of gleaming armored horses with banners flying.

"Blake's blood. Fuck this shit, I'm ending this." The Atlas swiveled and hit full throttle.

"Reaper hold formation!" I shouted. The atlas gave me the finger. "Fuck, Atari don't step on the royal guard." I turned and followed after Reaper. The rest of the unit followed my Stalker.

Reaper turned on his external speakers as the steel giant thundered down the last hundred meters of the mountain pass toward the incoming ground forces.

“You want to see the fury of the titans?” Reaper had messed with the speaker and his voice was shifted down several octaves, sounding like some kind of B-movie demon. He had turned the volume up until it almost overdrove the speaker, and he echoed off of the forest behind the opposing army. “I am Reaper, you insignificant ants!” Several ponies mid-field recoiled from the sound. The voice modulation was a nice touch, as stupid as the move was I had to give him points for presentation. Several of the more zealous ponies charged him with horns glowing. Lasers fired out of Reaper's arms, torsos and head, dropping the first four who approached. The remaining were immediately enveloped in the magic shields like Twilight liked to put up. Reapers lasers bounced off of them. Their horns lit up and fired at Reaper, and nothing seemed to happen to his massive armored legs. Reaper hauled back and kicked.

Several bodies went flying into the enemy force, several parts of bodies spraying blood flying out at odd angles. “I am your doom!" Two more ponies charged, covered in magic and casting something, and they met with the full force of the other leg. "Your army is meaningless!" With blood dripping from his legs, the enemy army’s advance slowed.

"Point made Reaper, don't overextend." I hoped I could reel him back with reason.

"These dumb fucks can't do anything." The problem was that they could. We knew from the (terrible) briefings that their magic could hurt someone inside a house...and probably a mech.

I think Reaper realized that he had tempted fate at that point. The Atlas shot twice at the army with lasers. The spellcasters had done their job protecting the army and the laser fire bounced off harmlessly. Reaper laughed over the speakers as he turned away and walked back to the pass. "Go away, you bore me."

I kept scanning the battlefield for the movement I was sure was coming. I had been told that magic had abilities I was not aware of, but all but the most powerful spellcasters needed to be right there to do it. I didn't see it until the pulse of light. A small group of unicorns under an energy shield, near the front, but blending in with the rest of the advance unit. They were working some kind of complex spell together. A PPC can usually hit from about half a kilometer, but the three shots I fired at them went wide. “Caster formation, heading 100, 400 meters out!” I yelled to the unit as I shot. I cursed the weird physics of the world, but didn't have time for much more than that. I was too far away to use my missiles. Then their spell started.

A dark lightning bolt flew out from the group and hit the Atlas as a shield formed over the group. Reaper screamed and the Atlas staggered as the energy latched on. "All fire on the shield!" I commanded. My four ppc's hummed and my computer started whining about reactor heat as the capacitors strained to recharge. The tiger's engine whined and threw itself off of the ledge. Big Bear pelted the shield with laser fire but it seemed to have little effect. Reaper screamed incoherently into the mic. I muted his comm channel and fired again.

"Internal heat at 700 Kelvin," the reactor informed me calmly, "Reactor critical, shutdown imminent". I was burning, my cockpit quickly becoming an oven.

"Override damnit!"

The Atlas staggered back further and fell, its giant hands reaching up to its head. I moved to fire again but the Tiger literally flew past my line of fire.

"Hold fire!" Ninja screamed into the comm channel, over the roar of jump jets. Big Bear held off firing, and I relaxed my trigger finger. The Tiger had crossed the gap and flown into the air. It had reached the peak of its jump jet power, and started falling in silence.

"DFA, bitches," Big Bear laughed darkly. With two quick bursts from the jump jets, the Tiger revised its falling trajectory. Death From Above, Ninja was just going to land on them. The Tiger aimed down, fired all ten small lasers at the shield, and slammed into it feet first.

I don't know what happened to the spell. The Tiger fell through the shield like it wasn't even there. I assume crushing the unicorns underneath, because Reaper stopped flailing. I expected him to stand up and continue the showy rampage, but I was wrong. I watched as the Atlas rolled onto its chest with a horrible creaking sound as the army regiments marched forward. He laid its laser-mounted arms on the ground, began firing and swept an arc across the advancing troops at pony head height. Six seconds and several hundred terawatts later, any pony in the first regiment not covered by a shield was burned in half. A good half of the troops on the front line collapsed to the ground, decapitated.

The Atlas's speaker kicked on as it stood up again, feedback screeching as it turned to max volume. "I am your reaper you pathetic fucks and I will drag you all back to hell!" The word ‘hell’ echoed off of the mountain and forest in the creepy computer modulated voice. The Atlas fired a single laser at the middle of each regiment on the side.

That stopped the advance. The two other forward regiments began falling back as several magic shields enveloped the entire army. The Tiger took the opportunity to shoot back into the air just as the surrounding ponies got the bright idea to charge. Their lives ended in plasma jets as Ninja flew back into the clearing beside Reaper.

I turned Reapers mic back on to be greeted with a steady string of profanity. "Reaper, you with us?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm good-" he paused and sucked in air "I'm good now. That should bait the titans out."

"Probably. Reaper, Ninja, fall back to beta."

"Atari, report?" That was a voice I didn’t expect. I looked down to see Twilight Sparkle on the ground by our feet, with two of the other Elements with her, Applejack and Rarity. She sounded shaken. She must have witnessed the Atlas's full antipersonnel fury.

"We have stalled the initial assault. We do not control the skies. I expect the enemy to regroup and assault with siege, fliers, and titans."

"Un-under…stood. Understood. I will…alert the air guard." I could see her looking over the cliff at the halted army. Movement in the enemy ranks, I expected whatever medical unit they had to move in. I pondered firing.

"We could use Rainbow Dash's scouting abilities," I said instead.

"If we can spare her I will tell her. Send-I…yeah."

"Roger. Advise you pull back Ambassador."

"Right. Of..c…" I looked up to avoid watching a purple unicorn puke.

"Hah, it's not rainbows," Reaper cracked over the radio.

"Damn, you win," Big Bear chuckled.

"Pay up."

"Someone get the civvies outta here," Ninja sighed.

"Trying," I replied.

"This is not harmony," Twilight said. At least I think that's what she said. The ground rumbling from Reaper and Ninja's arrival made hearing difficult. Reaper walked confidently, the Tiger constantly scanning behind to look for targets. None followed.

The two other ponies ushered Twilight up the pass and away from the battle.

The Equestrian army arranged itself blocking the path that led up to Canterlot. I was assured that two more companies guarded the western road. The command tent was set up behind the army. The blue and yellow uniforms of the Wonderbolts stood out amongst the silver and bronze armor of the royal guard. Spitfire led her wing, and it looked like she had recovered from her sprint that morning.

I climbed out of Midnight to join the impromptu meeting. To my surprise, the wayward Prince was there, under heavy guard. The Elements were present, Shining Armor out of position to stand over his sister. He glared at me as I approached. I nodded and headed to the pavilion tent.

"Omega, th-" a cough interrupted the radio call. "Reaper. Maybe not so o-" another coughing fit, and the Atlas started powering down.

I spun around wide eyed. "Atari, incoming?"

"Neg."

"No Omega."

I grimaced and ran over to the tent. "Corpsman!"

Two ponies trotted out, the two pegasi who had airlifted my POW prince from my cockpit flew over, and I pointed to the head if the atlas where the hatch was opening. Dan clung to the ladder uneasily, still wearing his cooling vest and coughing. His hand was covered in blood. Rainbow Dash looked up to follow the action and zoomed up to meet the others.

"Dan!"

"Hey Dash." He looked at the two pegasi and shook his head. "Let me climb down." He started coughing again and shook dangerously on the ladder. Dash flew behind him and held his back to keep him from falling off. "Let go."

"No."

"Fuck off."

"Screw you idiot. You'll fall." She yanked her hoof away and he teetered dangerously, but the hoof was back before he could fall. "Don't be an idiot."

Whatever snide response he had was interrupted by another coughing fit, and he nodded and began climbing down with Dash holding him to the ladder.

The unicorns with the stretcher were there at the bottom and almost tripped him into it. Then they ran, pegasi leading and clearing a path.

"Omega, trebuchets loading!" Bear called. Shit. I was glad I could count in Big Bear to keep his head screwed on in battle.

"Open fire!" I yelled into the comm, and the high ranking ponies around me turned and stared with fear. "Captain Armor! Incoming artillery!"

The Kodiak started firing its large laser into the field. Shining Armor glared at me in confusion, then turned to look at the enemy army. The trebuchets began rocking back, but one collapsed as the extended range laser mounted to the Kodiak's chest hit home. I grinned, but noted the other twelve.

Shining Armor closed his eyes and adopted a wide stance. His horn glowed almost as bright as I had seen Twilight, and a purple bubble grew around him with amazing speed. It enveloped the whole camp in seconds. Soon other unicorns in the surrounding regiments mimicked the action, but not with the speed or size. Big Bear sliced another trebuchet in half before they fired, and cut a second one as it sprung and threw its payload into the army in front of it.

"Take cover!" I yelled, and none of the ponies moved.

"It's just rocks Commander," Shining Armor called with a bit of strain and a bit of ribbing in his voice, "we're safe now. Thanks for the warning."

I looked around. The Elements of Harmony walked over to Shining Armor and watched as several giant rocks flew toward us and impacted harmlessly against the shield. One burst apart as Big Bear shot it out of the sky. He moved forward to the edge of the shield. "Pull!" He called into the comm. I chuckled. The trebuchets were already pulling back to fire again, and Big Bear took out another. Some unicorn on the opposing side realized their error and began throwing shields over the trebuchets in between shots. This slowed down Rolf's destruction as he switched from a shooting gallery to whack a mole.

Rainbow Dash flew over to me. "What happened to Dan?"

"Dunno, some kind of black spell. Thanks for getting him down."

"Stubborn as a mule." I nodded in agreement. "The nurses here are the best. Don't worry."

"I'm just worried that I'm down a pilot."

"I demand to know what is going on!" Another voice I didn't expect. The captive prince.

"Pardon Dash, idiot duty."

She grinned. "Sure."

I marched over to him and pondered decking him. The two guards next to him saluted as I approached, and I did the same. Twilight Sparkle followed me over.

"Your idiot brothers are trying to assault with primitive weapons. One of my four machines just slaughtered a regiment."

His eyes flew open and the haughty royal attitude slipped away. "Which one?"

"I dunno, the middle one." I shrugged. "Doesn't really matter."

"Which one? What was their standard?"

I rolled my eyes and put a hand to my ear. "Omega to Atari, did the middle regiment have a battle standard?"

"Ninja, I think it was orange."

"Probably orange," I repeated to the prisoner.

His eyes shrank to pinpricks and his voice got quiet. "That's my sister's unit. My sister is leading that unit." He struggled against the manacles and started shrieking. "That's my sister! Let me go!"

"Shouldn't be assaulting a castle if you don't want losses," I replied as the prince broke into hysterics.

"That's enough Commander," Twilight Sparkle said quietly. I nodded and stepped back. "Prince, the commander exaggerated. The medical unit has moved to care for the wounded in that regiment."

"That's my sister," he cried. The prince slowly slipped out of hysterics, but sat down and didn’t hide crying.

Twilight Sparkle looked at the prince, at the battlefield, at the equestrian soldiers, and finally at Shining Armor as he strained to keep the shield up. "That's my brother," she said quietly as she turned away. I looked down at her, she looked up at me with a haunted expression, and nodded. She ran a hoof across her eyes and walked back to the tent. "War is hell, Chris."

"Only gets worse from here, Twilight."

"Commander," the Princesses aid called from the tent.

"Sorry," I called back.

We all filed into the tent. A few more of the rocks hit the shield and the Kodiak's laser fired a few more times.

"Commander Black, report," Princess Celestia said as I walked in.

I saluted. "The enemy infantry forces are interspersed with spellcasters that can prevent our main weapons from affecting the enemy forces. Reaper managed to scare them back for a moment, and-" the sound of another rock hitting the shield interrupted. Another laser shot.

"Last visible trebuchet down Omega."

"And Big Bear has just destroyed the first wave of their siege equipment. I expect them to assault with what air power they have, demons, and titans soon Princess."

"I saw Reaper fall."

"Yes he was injured your Majesty. I don't know to what extent."

She nodded. "Will your unit still be reliable against the titans?"

"Yes your Majesty. We will need defense from enemy spellcasters. I may pilot the Atlas instead. I have not yet seen the titans in action."

"Understood Commander. Please keep me informed." I saluted, she nodded, and I stepped back.

The princess talked to regimental commanders and the colonel. Finally she turned to Twilight. "What do you think?"

Twilight looked haunted. "I think we have not yet attempted to negotiate for peace, princess. The Commander has demonstrated that we have d-deadly force and willingness to use it, and Shining Armor has demonstrated complete ability to defend against a siege with no impact. We have a prisoner with high value to them. A reasonable leader would accept terms to leave."

Princess Celestia looked around the tent. The colonel nodded. The regimental commanders were in favor of the idea.

"Commander Black?"

"One moment your Majesty." I turned away. "Omega to Ninja, you up for honor guard duty?"

"Always Omega."

I nodded. "Your majes-quit glaring at me Twilight. Blake." I turned to the ambassador halfway through my reply as she was glaring at me with almost as much fury as Shining Armor. Twilight looked away sheepishly. "Peace talks are a great idea." She looked at me with sudden uncertainty. "I am just going to suggest that Shining Armor and Ninja accompany the diplomatic unit as an honor guard. Big Bear and I will stay back to counter further siege assault if they do not honor the signal for a cease fire."

"But they can't win!"

"We know that, but they might be too angry to listen to reason. Attacking the princess and the element of magic might be too big a temptation. If they deny the terms and then try to take you hostage then we want to be prepared. They might claim to honor the truce and then try something. Since the siege equipment is down we have the luxury of forgoing Shining Armor's shield for the moment."

Princess Celestia nodded. "Colonel?"

"Seems sound to me. The Commander has more experience with treachery than I do."

Princess Celestia was decided. "Alright. Colonel, please signal a truce and we will try to negotiate for peace."

"Understood your Majesty."

"Commander Black, signal when your scout is ready."

"I will have him move to the front your Majesty."

"Twilight Sparkle, get your brother and I will meet you out front."

"Ok Princess."

"Good luck Princess Celestia," I said. She winked at me.

I jogged out to the captain of the guard. "Commander," he said with a bit of strain.

"I am entrusting you with my scout, Captain. Give him short commands and he'll jump."

"Understood."

The Colonel came up behind me and informed Shining Armor of the plan. I jogged back to Midnight and started climbing.

"Omega to Ninja, you're on honor guard. Move to the front and escort the Princess and the Ambassador with the Captain."

"Roger Omega."

"Big Bear, we're on anti air and siege duty."

"Roger Omega."

"Reaper, talk to me."

"They fucked me up pretty hard Omega." He sounded defeated, but he wasn't the coughing fainting mess he'd been ten minutes ago. "I think I'm at the mobile hospital. Shoulda pulled back."

"Let me know if I've got you back otherwise shut up and get some sleep."

"Roger Omega." He knew he’d fucked up. Still, he had stopped the initial charge singlehandedly. I just hoped it was worth being down a mech.

The Tiger moved forward while the Kodiak and I moved to the side to safely let the diplomatic team pass. Several ponies with trumpets sounded some kind of signal. Four standard bearers with white flags marched forward in a line. Truce. Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle moved forward with them. The Tiger loomed over Shining Armor menacingly, but I knew they rivaled each other in threat. Princess Celestia marched forward, crown jewels shining in the sun. Twilight Sparkle followed at her side, head held high. Shining Armor marched along twenty paces behind them, shouted something at Ninja and the Tiger spooled up and followed slowly behind.

"Patch me into external, Ninja. I need to hear this."

"Roger."

The Titan cult army seemed to react accordingly. Two standard bearers worked their way through the regiment with a small formation of others. The advanced camera on Midnight was able to make out the preacher from the first day we had arrived, as well as several other cloaked ponies. There was also an odd shadow, and I zoomed out. I didn't need the camera to see the Titan.

A human looking giant with a burlap cloak and leather armor marched forward. He carried a spear and a shield, in the style of the ancient gladiators. He marched with proper posture and a stoic expression, and stood almost as tall as the Kodiak and about as wide across. He made the two unicorns that flanked the preacher look meaningless.

The two groups met in the battlefield after two minutes of marching. "I see you have come to surrender," the preacher laughed in his musical charismatic voice.

"No sir, we come to negotiate for peace," Celestia corrected with perfect calm. Ninja in the Tiger aimed up and down at the Titan, then began rotating slowly from side to side, scanning the battlefield. They were about 400 meters out, well within PPC range if I could get the damn things to cooperate. I moved Midnight a couple steps to the right to get a better shot at the Titan without putting the Tiger in danger.

"Peace. Bah. Is that what you call this? This magically forced state of unnatural torture of the earth?"

"I prefer it to constantly warring tribes and rule by force and blood," the princess countered.

"You pervert the very nature of existence with your ways. It will end, either quickly when I take over and restore balance, or in catastrophe when you can no longer sustain your perfection." The mocking tones were slowly turning threatening.

Princess Celestia straightened herself and looked up, ignoring the preacher. "Hello Atlas." She sounded like she was greeting an ex boyfriend.

"Hello Celestia," he replied in a polite thundering bass.

"How many of your brothers have returned this time?"

"Just the five of us. I see the kingdom still looks the same, though the castle is in need of a groundskeeper."

"My sister and I had an argument."

The Titan laughed. The ground shook. "And you propagate lies of harmony."

"We've patched things up since."

"You will still insist that you can continue to run this planet, of course."

"Of course."

The preacher broke in. "We have titans at our backs, and an army at your doorstep, 'princess'," he said mocking the title.

"You have agents of chaos that you cannot hope to control," Celestia responded sparing only a glance down at the preacher. "You have an army on low ground in front of a guarded pass and no siege equipment. You have no power and no hope, except for bloodshed on both sides." She took a step forward and stared down at the preacher. "You may not know how this ends, but Atlas does, as do his brothers." She looked back up at the Titan. Suddenly it clicked in my head. Wasn't the Atlas named after a giant? Was this the namesake Kerensky had referenced?

The preacher tried to respond. "You-"

"Stop, little pony," the Titan rumbled. The preacher stopped. "I will use you as you desire. But you do not lead this army." He gestured at the princess with the spear, and the Tiger twitched, aiming at the offending arm. The Titan caught the motion and grinned.

"Ah yes, our counterparts. Men in machines. You consider yourself a Titan?"

Ninja left a pause while Celestia looked up at him.

"I am." Ninja replied simply via the external speaker.

"How many worlds have you conquered?" He sneered.

"Dozens. I've lost count," Ninja replied with no small amount of annoyance. True, too.

"Yet we have already taken one of you out of the fight."

"Not hard to trick a fool," Ninja countered. I laughed. Dan deserved that one.

"Yet you come within spear range of myself. I see you inside of that machine, little man. My aim is true."

"Bring a spear to a fistfight," Ninja recited, "bring a gun to a spear fight, bring a tank to a gunfight," the a tiger took a step forward toward the threatening spear, and Ninja recited the last line slowly and deliberately, "and don't go to tank fights." I loved that movie.

"Stop!" Twilight Sparkle called. The Tiger took two steps back, directly over the top of Shining Armor, who didn't so much as flinch. "Please, this can't end in anything but death!"

"Then surrender, little pony," the Titan rumbled, "and the only deaths will be the two alicorns who threaten the very nature of existence."

"Until you bring back death sentences," Princess Celestia countered. "Do not presume to lie to me. I know your true nature."

"You would be the only one here who does, Celestia,” The titan replied almost wistfully. “It appears we will not see eye to eye on this," he sneered, staring down at the princess.

"Indeed. Shall we duel here, or see this out with our respective armies?"

"Armies," the Titan said with no hesitation. "Your trickery will not prevail this day.”

"Very well. I propose a cease fire for the day so that you may care for your wounded and reassess your strategy. I will not be responsible for the deaths of the helpless."

"How little faith you have in your army. How quickly your compassion will be your downfall. We will take a single hour."

"Very well."

His spear relaxed for a moment in his grasp as he looked around the battlefield. "This will never end until you tear the world apart, Celestia. The Everfree forest is only the start. The chaos will spread until it covers everything." The Titan looked almost regretful.

"I've known that for almost a thousand years," replied the princess, shaking off the concept with little care, "We will take our leave, and thank you for honoring the truce flag."

The Titan bowed. "I look forward to seeing it again for your surrender."

She didn’t dignify that with a response. "Lead us back, Shining Armor."

"Yes Princess. Ninja! You have the rear."

"Roger Captain."

Shining Armor barked orders, and the standard bearers surrounded the princess and the ambassador. They marched away. The Tiger waited until they were clear then slowly walked in a circle, the upper body of the Tiger twisting around unnaturally far to keep the laser banks faced toward the Titan until the last moment. The Titan stood in a mocking representation of attention until they had left.

"You get all that Omega?" Ninja shut off the external mic.

"Yeah Ninja. Good work. One hour people. Five titans, melee weapons, don't let them aim at your cockpit."

"Roger Omega."

"Roger," Big Bear replied.

What the hell were they going to do with an hour? Figure out a way to let their siege engines fire through shields? Move and assault the western pass? Start burning the fields? Dance party? The possibilities were endless, but they had to have a particular trick up their sleeve. Something that would provide more benefit than attacking the princess they so desperately wanted dead.

The Titan led the preacher back to their command post. I could just barely make out the others now, hidden in the trees of a nearby grove. One question stood on top though. How the fuck did Celestia know the Titan?

I climbed out of Midnight when the enemy army pulled back and started medical operations. I met the diplomacy team on foot with a salute.

"Commander," Shining Armor said in acknowledgement.

"Captain. Thank you for returning my scout." He nodded. "Princess Celestia, may I speak with you?"

"Certainly Commander Black. Please come to my tent."

"Thank you your highness."

She dismissed the captain and the standard bearers. Twilight and I followed the princess into her tent. She glanced at me and dismissed her steward. I waited until the soldiers and aids milling about would have either walked away or started eavesdropping.

"You know a damn Titan," I tried to not growl at the sun goddess, and succeeded in at least being politely angry, "that seems pertinent."

"He killed my parents," she replied with quiet poise.

That took the anger away pretty effectively. The explosion of anger from Twilight about me being rude to her mentor, friend, goddess, and princess died in her throat. "You couldn't stop him?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head. "I was barely a hundred at the time. Old enough to feel like I was old, wise and powerful, so young that I didn't yet know what power was. Atlas and the titans assaulted, killed our father and disrupted the kingdom. Over the next year my mother and our army fought a long battle of attrition against them. She died in the final winning battle, but banished the titans to Tartarus."

Hypotheses whirled around in my head. "So...ok, you and your sister weren't involved in the conflict?"

"She was five." I winced. "Yes, she didn't take it well. I didn't either, but I had some maturity of emotion on my side. I feared it would be Atlas that this cult summoned, he led the charge the other two times. Last time Luna was involved, she became unstable, wishing for a better victory than banishment via the elements of harmony. I didn't want to antagonize her this time with speculation."

"And just when, dear sister," a soft sultry voice began from nowhere, "were you planning on telling me of your speculation?" The Goddess of the Moon stepped into the tent through a shadow.

"Just now, when I knew you would be watching from the shadows." The two goddess sisters looked at each other with no small amount of sibling rivalry. "You know how you reacted last time."

"I would like to think that I have learned my lesson from my last experiment with power." She was still angry, but in a quieter way.

Nightmare Moon. I got that much, and I guessed that Twilight did as well from the look of discomfort on her face.

"So the leader of the titans has returned to finish the job," I continued, trying to keep things on track.

"Yes," Celestia responded almost automatically, then shook herself out of painful memories. "The army is larger, though they do not appear to be prepared for the battle with Commander Black and his unit."

I dared to butt in. "The spellcasters are my biggest worry. One group of spellcasters has already incapacitated one of my pilots."

"Our royal doctor is at his side now, Christophe," Celestia said with compassion.

"And I appreciate that, but you are dodging the question. You know this Titan. That means...I mean you must have some idea of how they fight."

Celestia and Luna both nodded, but said nothing.

"Ok, better question. Can they use magic?"

"No," Luna spoke up.

"What would they do with an hour long break in the battle."

Luna grimaced as her sister remained unreadable. "Something underhanded. Something designed to bring fear and respect."

"Like attacking during a cease fire?"

"A what?"

"A truce. Sorry."

"Ah, no. No, he would do something worse like find and attack the hospital." Luna's expression shifted quickly from disgust to realization. "But that is safely up the path, and the only one wounded currently is mister Wilks." She looked at Celestia who nodded.

I waited for the two immortals to share their secrets for a moment. "Which means?"

Celestia finally spoke again. "There is a spell in place which prevents long range teleportation directly to Canterlot mountain. They are forced to march the army up the path. A particularly powerful caster may get to the foot of the mountain though."

"Ok, so they might teleport a Titan directly to the field hospital, but not to the castle."

"Yes. We will post guards at the hospital for the moment. The royal battlecasters will be more than capable of protecting it."

I nodded. "That will pull units away from the battlefield."

"It will, but we have little choice in the matter. I won't risk having those injured being killed while helpless."

"Are there any units that can protect our machines from their spellcasters?"

Celestia looked at Twilight meaningfully.

Twilight swallowed and nodded. "Yes, we can. I expect that we will need to use the elements of harmony which will take some time, but other than that we will be able to help."

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle," I said sincerely. "If we are working together then we can quickly switch from you helping us to us standing guard over you."

She nodded, distracted as she looked over the map of the arrangement of markers representing the armies. "Dan was trying to intimidate them into ending the war before it started. His move seemed bloodthirsty and reckless, but it almost worked."

"Yes, it did,” I agreed.

"I couldn't imagine anyone crazy enough to march thousands of ponies to their deaths, or to willingly come."

"It's not something you can solve with a song. And about that, Celestia," I said turning to face her,"something about knowing you are ending the world?"

"Starswirl the Bearded predicted that over fifteen hundred years ago. We have been working on a solution ever since." She smiled gently at Twilight. It may have been with pride.

"I see." I most certainly did not see. Celestia knew that now.

Celestia turned to me with royal curiosity. "Do you disapprove?"

"No Princess."

"Don't handle me, Chris."

I winced, and sighed. "He's right, then. You're manipulating the world. But you're not doing it well enough."

Celestia nodded. "Yes. This is a slow process however, and the calamities will continue. The breaking point has been reached, which has triggered all of the recent events either directly or indirectly. Complete control is theoretically possible and several methods were suggested, as researched by the same scrye that discovered the calamities in the first place, Starswirl the Bearded. You have nothing to fear because you will be long back on your proper planet by the time anything else comes to pass."

"So the kingdom of the titans was so terrible that driving the world to slowly tear itself apart from...what, magical stress, would be better?"

Celestia nodded. "Anything will be better than the rule by fear that the titans instituted."

"Yeah, I noticed he didn't deny that part." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "This was such a nice planet when we got here."

Celestia chuckled. "It has been good to work with you, Chris."

I almost found myself drawn back into our evening at the doughnut shop. "Hey, focus people. Battlecasters waiting for an ambush at the hospital. Elements of harmony will keep spellcasters from targeting any more of my pilots. We bait out the titans and then my unit will pin them down while the elements of harmony banish them. Everyone clear?"

Celestia nodded. "I will inform the colonel."

Luna nodded. "I believe that may spread our forces thin. I should assist as well."

Twilight looked at Princess Luna with what could be called academic curiosity. I was about to welcome her help. Celestia didn't even try to hide terror.

"Sister, no!"

"Yes, Celestia. I will hide no more. How many of these calamities have you sequestered me from now? Three is it not?" She didn’t hate herself for that, not even a little. I took a step back.

Twilight was quick to correct. "Two, since you were the first of them, assuming the first was Nightmare...Moon..." She trailed off as she looked at Luna, whose expression begged her to continue with a pleasant smile. Twilight blushed and looked away.

"Nay, that is a fair point, Twilight Sparkle. But no more," she continued pointedly at Celestia.

"Please, sister, it is too dangerous."

"Have we not the elements of harmony, sister? I cannot stand by while foreigners with no stake in this defend my kingdom to the death. I will not." She stomped a hoof. It looked like the two sisters were tearing up. I looked at Twilight for clarification, but she shrugged at me. "Is this not also my kingdom, dear sister?" Luna asked quietly.

"Yes." Celestia closed her eyes and nodded. "I do not want to lose you again."

"I would rather spend another thousand years on the moon than live forever without our kingdom." Wait, this whole argument wasn’t about Luna dying? Why were they referencing the Nightmare Moon incident again?

Both were silent for an uncomfortable moment. They turned at the same time to Twilight Sparkle and myself. Luna broke the silence. "I will activate the night guard and watch over the field hospital. Leave the battlecasters on the field so they may protect the troops."

"Ok Luna." Not 'yes sister'. She sounded defeated. Luna reached over to hug her sister.

"Our kingdom, Celestia."

"Our kingdom," Celestia agreed with tears in her eyes.

When Luna broke the embrace she was clad in the black and silver filigree armor I had seen in the dream. Twilight went wide eyed. Princess Luna looked at me with determination in her eyes. "Good luck Commander."

I saluted. "Good luck Princess Luna." A moment later, the goddess of night was simply gone.

Celestia was her perfect stoic self again when I turned around. "I will remain here to coordinate efforts."

"Alright. You know where to find me." I looked at Twilight. "Ready?"

Twilight was still staring at the now closed tent flap. "That was...the last time I saw her in that armor she was Nightmare Moon." My comment apparently broke her out of shock. She turned to look at Celestia. "Is she..."

"She is my sister, Twilight," she responded quietly. "She is passionate and emotional. She is also exceptionally powerful and capable in combat. She will help us in this battle. There is a possibility that participating in this conflict will cause Nightmare Moon to return. If she does we will need you and your friends to help her, Twilight."

Twilight nodded automatically. "Ok Princess." This seemed to sate her fears for the time. She turned to me. "How do we protect your unit?" At least Twilight was confident in handling Princess Luna going rogue.

I stared at the two for a moment while I processed the concept that Luna was a functional psychopath. "Stay behind us. Rainbow Dash is an excellent scout, let her find targets. You, Applejack and Rainbow Dash should engage casters. Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinky Pie should guard the rear. Stay close and signal me when you need to activate the elements of harmony and we will pull back to guard you."

Twilight nodded slowly. "How do you ignore the fighting?"

"If you don't, the titans will kill all of the soldiers."

She swallowed. "Ok. Lets go."

"Reaper to Omega, the hell is there a black alicorn in armor here with a bunch of mutant bat ponies?" Dan got on the radio a few moments later.

I chuckled and turned my mic back on. "That's the goddess of night and dreams, Reaper. She's on our side."

"I could take her," he said defensively.

"On our side. We think the titans might launch a sneak attack on the field hospital."

"Fine, is she any good in a fight?"

"She once overthrew the kingdom."

The sound of hooves on dirt was the only sound for a long moment.

"Ok, we'll handle things here then,” Reaper replied once he was overconfident again.

"They tell you what happened yet?"

"Magical bullshit blah blah get some rest and here's an arm sling. Just a headache and a sliced arm."

"Then either get some damn rest or get your ass back out here."

"Roger Omega," a defeated Reaper replied.