Rainbow heard something. Falling rubble? She whipped her head around to look, but there was so much smoke in the way. "Is anypony else out there? Are you hurt?" She took slow steps towards where she heard the sound. "Is the roof about to collapse on me? That'd suck..."

She heard something again lost in the smoke. It wasn't stone hitting stone. It was more... like... "Footsteps?"

Whatever it was, it heard her perhaps, since it accelerated. "Wait!" She lifted from the ground in a streak, trying to fly towards it, but the smoke was so thick, and her lungs did not appreciate her efforts. She had to stop almost as quickly as she started to land and cough savagely, her wings twitching with the violent attempt of her body to rid itself of the bad air.

Even Rainbow had to admit that maybe she wanted to be somewhere else, rather than chasing whatevers through the smoke. She fled along the walls, soaring up the stairs the moment she found them.

Shining stepped into the room carefully. It was a medical office, banging doors would not do. "Twilie?" he harshly whispered, looking around. "There you are." He trotted towards his despondent looking sister. "They said you came in here with a severely injured guard."

"Severely injured... That sounds, somehow... too clean." Twilight pointed down the hall. "Flash Sentry is in there... skewered. I... think I got him here in time, they're doing their best. What did you have in the cells that could even theoretically cause such an explosion?!"

"Flash?" He glanced in the direction Twilight had pointed. "He's a good pony... He'll pull through this."

"You sound as if you're convincing yourself."

"Maybe I am, just a little." He sat next to her. "We only had one prisoner, but he was a doozy... being one of the things we're warring with."

Twilight flinched. "I was... afraid of that. Did another come to free them? How did they cause so much damage?"

Shining shook his head. "I have ponies cleaning up the mess right now. No one reported any unusual activities before this. They may have metal dragons and terrible cannons, but they can't turn invisible, as far as I know?"

"I don't think so," agreed Twilight with a little smile. "We still have that advantage. If others did not help your prisoner, than he... somehow did it himself. Did you--"

"--Cadance took what he had, she told me herself, and left him naked."

Twilight's cheeks darkened. "Poor thing! But... then how? They aren't magic. They can't just... make things happen. That's a unicorn and Pinkie Pie trick."

"Sir, Ma'am?" A crystal nurse was looking at them with a nervous expression. "He... wishes to speak with you."

Both rose to their hooves, ready to see the injured pony. Shining crooked a half-smile. "If he wants to talk, he isn't that bad, right?"

Twilight did not comment.

"I do." He had not just married. Cameras flashed as he raised his hand from the bible and instead shook the hand of the judge that had overseen the oath. He was president. President Marshall... He turned to the media that had swarmed the event, as well they should have if they were doing their jobs.

"I will put this to rest. We did not ask to come to this world, but we will not be bullied upon it. We remain the strongest military on it by all measures." Applause came from beyond the media. Some of the voters liked that idea. "May God have mercy on them, for America has run out."

The cheer amplified, drowning out everything else.

Just like that, he made getting approval to finish matters simple. Who would throw themselves on PR spikes trying to stop him from settling things as quickly as possible? Who would want to be remembered that way?

Ember landed with a crunch of stone beneath her fist. "What did you just say?!"

The larger, but subordinate, dragon softly chuffed some smoke. "I said we lost a dozen dragons, just like that. They got me too, but I got better." He smiled cruelly. "They'll regret missing their chance."

Ember slapped the shoulder of the larger dragon. "Good spirit. What happened to the ponies?"

"Hundreds, thousands?" The brownish dragon shrugged at Ember. "They aren't dragons, they just died. Pity, I like their toys. Oh!" He pulled out a rifle to display. "Look at it!"

"Shiny... but what is it?" Ember peered at the curious thing.

"A weapon." He turned and rose up to his hind legs. "See that bird?" He pointed a talon before holding his gun properly. "Bye bye." A sharp snap of the firing gun was the last anyone saw of the living bird before it crashed into the ground, life extinguished. "Ta da."

Ember's scaly brows rose together. "Impressive... It didn't stop those 'metal dragons' as the ponies call them. What a stupid name, but... I kinda get it. Dragons are the scariest thing around, so whatever." She shrugged lightly. "Ponies can't handle this. Time to get involved. Once those things finish chewing up the ponies, we'll be next on the menu. Besides, we owe them a good taste of revenge."

The male's grin became all the more predatory. "Now you're speaking entirely my language. Lead us, Ember, and we will bring ruin to them."

"The ponies will owe us big time, as a side benefit." Ember snatched the gun away from the larger dragon. "Where do you get these?"

A lone griffon hobbled into town, crutches barely keeping him up. Most of the others ignored him, as was the way of griffons.

One did not. "Hey, looking pretty rough there." Gilda hiked a brow at the limping griffon. "Weren't you off to the pony lands? What would they do that would send you back like this?"

"It wasn't the ponies," grunted the male griffon. "The things they're fighting... They can just... It was horrible!"

"Yeah, see, I still ain't got a clue what happened." She set a taloned hand on the wounded griffon's shoulder. "How about I treat you to lunch if you give me the scoop in clear Ponish this time?"

"Fine..."

She led him off for some food and rest, and to learn what exactly happened.

"I'm telling you." She drove a fist against the countertop beside her, peering at the other seedy folk in the equally questionable tavern. "They have weapons beyond imagining. They could wipe this whole city off the map with barely a thought."

The diamond dog shrugged softly at the words of the Abyssinian cat. "If tell truth, why we want be anywhere near?"

She pulled free a pistol from a holster at her side. She leveled it at the dog without hesitation. "Any last words?"

The dog peered at her with mounting confusion. "You are stupid ca--" He collapsed to the ground as a sharp bang drew everyone's eyes and ears at once. He howled in agony, clutching his shot leg as he rolled in place, desperately trying to calm the agony.

"They have little fun things like this," the Abyssinian continued as if nothing had happened, casually holstering her pistol. "Imagine if we took it for ourselves? Who could tell us what we can or can't do, ever?"

As some moved to help the dog, mostly his packmates, others began to take an interest in the cat's stories. Maybe there was opportunity to be had in the enemies of the ponies...

Like a flaming meteor, Celestia came in for a landing, but it was not a strafing run on some human town or city. She landed before the steps of the Crystal Empire's palace. "Inform Cadance I am here," she ordered a guard as she walked past him, ignoring his stunned expression. "Now."

Soon the two leaders of their people would be in the same room, as had been needed for perhaps too long.

Flash was held in several dangling casts that kept his torso and hind legs in a specific position. The bar had been removed, and whatever wound it left was covered in bandages, leaving him looking almost whole if one ignored the obvious. "Hey..."

Twilight smiled gently. "Hello, Flash. You've... had quite the experience... Are you feeling... alright?"

"For some definitions of alright." He smiled awkwardly, eyes moving to Shining. "Hello, Sir. I'll, uh... have to call in sick. That alright?"

Shining patted the bed beside Flash. "Shut up, Flash. Rest... If you're up for it, tell us, what happened?"

Flash nodded softly. "Yeah, I wanted to, I mean, that's why I called." He reached with a forehoof, his arms seemingly unharmed, as savage as the strike to his backside had been. "The prisoner, he had a bag. I... assumed he was left with it on purpose, it was there before I got there."

Twilight raised an ear. "I'm not a security expert, but..."

"Yeah, hindsight and all that." Flash chuckled softly in self-deprecation. "He took some things out of it, even showed it to me. It was nothing! It... didn't seem like anything. He put it on the bars one day, nothing happened, didn't think much of it, until it exploded yesterday."

Shining Armor winced, taking half a step back. "You should have told us the moment he started doing something unusual."

"I'd be calling you every day, Sir... He's unusual. Sorry... I was just trying to offer a kind hoof. I really thought it was working... He never said anything, but I could tell he was listening and watching... He started eating a little more, I'd share my lunch. We... Look, just... Everything south of the equator is in pain right now, but I really just want to know what he was thinking..."

Twilight's horn glowed as Flash's pillow was fluffed by her magic. "I'm very proud of you. Though it turned out to be... painful, you did the right thing. This is a very... uncertain time, for everycreature, even the one that hurt you."

"Twilight." Shining put a hoof in front of her chest. "Are you excusing the one that almost killed him and likely would have if not for a bit of good luck?"

"Someone has to." Twilight turned to face Shining with a frown. "Enough is enough. There is no happy ending waiting for us if we try to fight our way through this."

Shining held up a hoof to Flash. "Thank you, for your report. For now, just rest and get better, that's an order."

"Sir, yes, Sir!" He saluted as well as he could with his back end held up as it was. "I will now engage in military-grade sleep, Sir."

Shining rolled his eyes with a little smile, moving to leave the room with Twilight. "I think he's alright. I don't like it... If that human is out, and has more of those explosives, he could cause more damage than a wrecked prison hall. Explosives you can just... spread on something? How would that even work?"

"I have no idea." Twilight let out a little sigh. "Oh! I have something very important." Out came the dictionary. "I need this mass produced, yesterday. It's a dictionary of their language, already cross-indexed with Ponish! We can learn their language. That barrier can finally come down!"

Derpy looked up as someone came in. A lot of people came and left while she was there, sipping coffee and nibbled on the biscuits they had available. Most of them were just relaxing. Some of them came over and tried to talk to her, and she did her best to be a polite guest. "(Hello!)" she greeted in eager English, waving at the stern man that entered.

The man held an envelope. Perhaps for her? She hoped! "(Letter?)"

"(Yes,)" he agreed as he came closer, his smart boots clapping on the floor. "(Two.)" He held up two fingers, which was good, since she didn't know that word. "(One to) Morning," he said the filly's name in proper Ponish, bringing a smile to Derpy. "(But there is another)." He reached into the larger envelope and drew out two smaller ones. "(Can you do it?)"

"The mail must go through!" She reached with her hooves for the letters. "Morning." She held up the first, the address very clear. The other she tilted her head. That was clearly Cadance's name, though the way it was written was as if a filly was referring to her rather than with any amount of honorifics. Still, it seemed clear who it was for. "Princess Cadance." She hopped to her hooves, ready to do her job as a mailmare.

Author's Notes:

I am thinking to abandon the () 'this is English' text notes unless there is both English and Ponish being spoken together in a scene. Thoughts?