A pony was swimming into the depths. She had no powerful tail to propel her, nor an air bubble around her head. She chewed at a plant softly that provided her with the air she needed, and she kept her mouth shut, that would have to be enough.

A fish swam towards her. "Stop right there! No one is coming or going from Seaquestria!"

Meadowbrook raised a brow at the fish, but she could not speak. She pointed downwards, made a stabbing motion, then mimed falling sideways with her tongue stuck out a little.

The fish retreated a little. "We... didn't mean for that..."

She righted herself, then directed a hoof at herself, then down as she made a cross motion with the other hoof.

"Are you.... a doctor?"

She bobbed her head quickly.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so? Um, go ahead." He swam to the side and gestured with his fins for her to proceed. "Please help her."

Meadowbrook gave a watery clop of her hooves before she swam forward, descending past the blockade of fish without further challenges. They would not stop a healer from proceeding.

A seapony darted up to meet her just past the blockade, his eyes wide. "They didn't stop you?" But she didn't answer, still swimming. He realized after following her what was going on and reached for his necklace, transferring it to Meadowbrook. "Imagine being like me. It's temporary, promise."

She paused to peer at him. Imagine being like him?

It happened. With a flash of magic, she became a sea pony with a powerful tail. She gasped with surprise, and didn't immediately drown. "Oh, that is easier. Thank you."

"You can return it on Mount Aris, when you're safely back on dry land. For now, please, let's get to the queen." His voice was thick with his worry, and he led the way to her with a quick swim, Meadow just behind him.

Sunburst swatted at an ear as he walked. The ringing was unending. A nervous reaction? Possible. He pushed it to the side. How many invaders in their lab were there... He hadn't run into many others, and couldn't find others.

One of his co-workers rushed him, gesticulating wildly, but was too quiet.

Sunburst blinked at him. "Use your words."

But he didn't hear himself say that, nor whatever his friend was saying. Their mouth was moving, but no words were coming back.

He heard nothing.

That friend pointed down at Sunburst before reaching for a rag and dabbing at Sunburst's head. The rag came back with some blood. His ears were bleeding. What had happened?

Sunburst dropped the gun from his magic, staggering back. He grabbed chalk instead, quickly writing, "What happened?"

The co-worker grabbed for the same chalk, but Sunburst drew it away possessively. He found another after a moment's search. Others were emerging from other rooms, each a surprise to Sunburst, as he hadn't heard them. They were simply there when he looked in their direction, appearing from nowhere.

"Did you fire that?" was written on the wall as the fellow scientist pointed at the dropped gun.

"About a dozen times," replied Sunburst out loud, getting an idea what was going on.

"You didn't wear the helmet," was quickly jotted, underlined, with a few exclamation points added. "You blew out your ears."

Each muffled pop he had heard was, in fact, a terrifying boom, but that was all his ravaged ears could detect. He raised a shaking hoof. "Please tell me human medicine can... fix that?" The silence that he had stalked through not for lack of noise, but for lack of hearing.

The expression on his friend's face was more than enough of an answer.

"You saved us," they wrote. "Thank you."

Other scientists and technicians were gathering around. They patted and petted him. He was a hero, but they also couldn't help him.

In the end, he had killed all six invaders. They had no idea the lab was there, and what it was for. A small splinter of their invading force had come inside to investigate it, but they might have been enough to clear out the technical crew. The guards had been quite ineffective against them.

He was a hero. A pity he couldn't hear their accolades, just that infernal ringing that wouldn't stop.

"This is not what we agreed to." The queen of Abyssinia was speaking to a camera, and an audience. "We were told this was a defense initiative. Just the thought of such destruction visiting us... It reminds us of the Storm King, and to think we signed on with another mad creature their equal, no, they have eclipsed that defeated fool, though they are just as doomed. We will not go down with them! Abyssinia does not agree with this. We formally withdraw from the TSDI, and urge all rightful thinking creatures to do the same."

She leaned forward with a sneer on her face. "For those doubting me, may I remind that, despite this, despite all this, the Americans we feared still do not reach for their world ending bombs. I could not even make the same promise, had I that option, were my people suffering as theirs are. To America, I express my apologies, and my deepest wish that you recover swiftly. No kingdom, no nation, should have to suffer in this way. That is to speak nothing of their allies..."

A tall bear addressed no one. He wrote instead.

The nation of Ursala does not abide.

We do not abide the wanton destruction of non-combatants.

We do not abide the wanton destruction of historic artifacts and places.

We do not abide the senseless destruction of entire cities.

We do not abide.

This is beyond all reckoning, and we do not abide.

We withdraw from the TSDI.

"We will... push them, too far, and they will crumble." Commander Force tried to slam down a fist, but it was a weak gesture. His eyes were mostly closed, his body alarmingly cold to the touch. "Tall and mighty, but brittle. Bring me the good news..."

His advisors and generals shared uneasy expressions. One brave bull cleared his throat. "Sir, we inflicted great damage on the enemy."

That smile, serene and justified. "Good, good... Have they given up?"

"Not exactly... Sir..."

"Are they still confused?" He laughed, a rasping noise. "Too confused to make a statement?"

"Not... No, Sir. They are preparing a counter attack. We... suffered a greater loss than they did."

"What? But... how? It should have taken ten of them to defeat one of us. Ten to one! Ten... to one... How can we have lost more than they did?" He let a hand go limp. He was so tired.

"And... it did, Sir."

Another bull took over, "Their scale was beyond our calculations. They reported the number of killed without hesitation. One million--"

Force smiled, a wrinkled and fatigued expression. "A million... How can they not be defeated?"

"Sir... That was less than one percent of their people."

Force was quiet. He had been told this before, just how many people existed even purely in their army. "They're... coming, aren't they?" He was just too tired to rail, to scream. Everything hurt, but in the worst possible way. It was like he was just... a flame going out. "Everyone out." He reached weakly for one major just before they could leave. "Stay."

Soon he was alone with just that one. "Evacuate the... children and the women. Don't let them erase the minotaurs from the world."

"I won't, Sir." He saluted crisply. "You should get some rest, Sir."

"I... guess I should." He had not the strength to argue that. With his plans laid in ruin, and his stamina long since fled, he sagged back in his chair. "What did I do wrong...?"

Skystar swirled towards the door at the knocking. She was at it in an instant, throwing it open to reveal a sea pony she didn't recognize. "Hello?"

Meadowbrook looked right past her to the floating presence of the queen. "How terrible. We must begin immediately." She swam past Skystar. "Are you any good at fetching specific plants?"

Skystar blinked softly at that. "I can try... Who are you?"

"Meadowbrook. Mage Meadowbrook to some, Healer Meadowbrook to others." She began spreading out her tools. "And right now, your mother needs my help, and I could use yours. Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

She did not strictly require all the things she listed, but it kept Skystar busy and out of the way. Meadowbrook sent her away on the hunt as she turned her full attention on Queen Novo. "Let's put things right..."

Blinking his eyes open was the first surprise. He hadn't died? He thought the odds were not in his favor. The ceiling was a bright white, clean and sterile. It was not where he had gone to sleep. "What?"

Something moved beside him. Pharynx shook himself awake. "Copycat, are you awake?" he asked, reaching to hold one of copy's hooves.

"Yeah..." Copy licked his dry lips. "Aw damn... Is that you, Sir?"

"You did good." Pharynx squeezed his hoof. "Real good. You mighta saved their sorry naked butts." Humans were among the few truly naked species of the world, with all their everything exposed as it was. "You're a hero."

"I don't feel like a hero." He tried to sit up, but that made the world start to spin and he sank back down.

"Relax... They're giving you the best they have." Pharynx rubbed over the limp hoof of his friend. "Just relax. I'm here."

"About that..." Copycat smirked faintly. "Why am I being babied by the baddest changeling I know?"

"Because you deserve it, jerk." Pharynx laughed and cried in one pained noise. "Jerk... Just get better, alright? That's an order."

"Yes, Sir." Copycat's smile deepened a little. "You sure you aren't picking... something up from..."

"Don't even finish that."

The smile only grew. "You sure? Sure seems like something Thorax wo--"

Pharynx popped a hoof in his sick friend's mouth a moment. "You stop that! Hmmph, look... You did good. You... rest up, alright?"

"Sir?"

"Yeah?"

"Still up for a game? I ain't got much else to do."

"Yeah sure." Pharynx smiled a little, wings buzzing. "I'll give you a handicap, on account of I ain't even sure you can see straight."

"Mighty generous." And they played, two friends in a hospital room.

"Look... I ain't happy with your people, but you... You did me a solid." Pharynx was standing outside the room that held his friend. "I still have to ask, why are you here?" He hiked a brow at Iron Will. "He's not your friend, you didn't even know him. You aren't being paid to stay here."

"Iron Will hates leaving a job half done." He glanced around. "Even if Iron Will is forced to sometimes," he whispered to himself. "How's he feeling?"

"He's awake... He could recognize me, and himself, and... I think he'll get better..."

"That's an improvement..." It wasn't the first time Copycat had awoken. "Iron Will is not happy about... this." He gestured towards the room. "He's been watching the news, reading, you know? The Council he grew up with wouldn't do any of this!" He clenched a fist powerfully. "This isn't the Council Iron Will knows..."

"Scared?"

"What? No!" He stomped a hoof down and leveled a strong pointing finger at Pharynx. "Why be afraid when you can be mad! That's why I helped out. They aren't any council of mine, so when they gave me a chance to stick it to them, I took it." He took a slow breath, regathering himself. "Iron Will has limits."

"Good on you." He patted the irate bull on the back. "Look, I'm going to get a bite to eat. Can you watch him while I'm gone?"

"Iron Will is on the case." He gave an emphatic thumbs up. "Thanks for the trust."

"Yeah sure." Pharynx started down the hallway at a tired walk. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep of late.

Author's Notes:

This is a very winding down chapter I feel. It also feels 'right'. The TSDI is losing members rapidly, as the wiser members distance themselves from this attack as quickly as possible.

Meadowbrook has arrived, Copycat awakens in intensive care, and poor Sunburst realizes the price of using that weapon unprepared. There was a reason the wall literally exploded when he missed that guy that one time.

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