It had been about a day of marching through the Everfree before the Resistance arrived at their next target. Thankfully, the route was free of any perils. The destruction wrought by the Dragon Leviathan had frightened away almost all of the magical creatures within the Everfree, and they would likely be spending the coming weeks cowering in their dens until hunger brought them out to find food.

Thanks to liberating the Yak family in Sweet Apple Acres, the Resistance had found themselves with several exceptionally adequate haulers, meaning instead of scavenging for food on the march as they had been forced to do before their retreat to the changeling hive, now they could properly bring along supplies with them with carts laden with supplies. And they certainly needed it, as the resistance had nearly doubled in number, even despite the previous encounter in the castle, which left them with another cart full of injured members. Two of which were Spitfire and Soarin, necessitating the near round-the-clock aide of Zecora.

Twilight and Starlight walked near the head of the Resistance's caravan, only Blueblood in front of them. He hadn't explained exactly where they were going, only that it was to fetch something that could, quote, bring the whole of the resistance with it. Both of the sorceresses struggled to wrap their heads around what that meant, but still, Blueblood was the only one coming up with ideas right now, even if he was an ass.

Starlight and Twilight locked eyes as they crested a hill that finally brought them outside of the twisting woodland of the Everfree. On the other side was a sprawling prairie that ended in a desert. In the far distance, they could make out the sight of the orchards of Appleloosa, though what also caught their eyes was what appeared to be a sprawling castle, still under construction. Twilight couldn't help but frown. She hadn't given it much thought but seeing the village now filled her with a feeling of unease.

It was quite obvious to her that the Buffalo tribe would most definitely resist the Draconic Empire, just as they resisted Equestria. And she knew that most definitely wouldn't have ended well for them.

"Just before 'Emperor' Spike took over," Blueblood suddenly started, hands behind his back as he observed the village in the far distance. "Auntie Celestia commissioned the creation of an airship in a secret facility just south of Appleloosa. It was meant to be a surprise gift to Twilight, er, our Twilight, in regards to a future plan she had involving stepping down to give the throne to her."

Twilight blinked twice. "Why would she do that."

Blueblood merely shrugged. "I was against the plan from the get-go, but anyway, the Airship is the largest ever created, more than enough to fit the entire Resistance aboard, and it will give us a mobile base of operations so we can always stay moving and prevent a Leviathan from catching up to us again, but the problem is Spike's sycophants probably already know where it is."

"So, what do we do then?" Twilight asked, gritting her teeth slightly. "Do we just go around Appleloosa and go to the drydock they are making the airship at?"

"No," Blueblood said, grunting slightly. "Mostly because I don't know where the drydock is. Celestia wanted to keep its location absolutely secret so the alternate you didn't stumble upon it. I'm pretty sure she spent a couple hundred thousand bits in taxpayer money just to keep its location a state secret."

Sandbar let out a loud sigh as he and Yona approached the three. "Yep... and you wonder why Spike's managed to convince so many ponies to join him." He mumbled slightly. The poor earth pony's midriff was covered in bandages, and he was forced to use his spear as a cane, even while supported by the yak next to him.

Blueblood growled slightly, before shaking his head and sighing. "I will admit... Celestia's actions were driven by emotions far more than they were driven by pragmatism. But I digress, the only way we can be sure to figure out where it is would be to get it from the regional governor of Appleloosa, Sheriff Silverstar."

"And how are we going to do that?" Twilight replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "It isn't like we can just go over and talk to him."

"Exactly. This requires some... espionage." Blueblood said, snapping his fingers.

A group of ponies quickly approached, holding up a couple of bags before dropping them at the feet of the group, and unfolding them. Inside the bags was a series of suits of purple and green armor, and a purple tuxedo with a green armband.

"When moving through Canterlot, I managed to steal one of Smolder's uniforms before we were caught in the courtyard, and these came from the soldiers we captured in Sweet Apple Acres," Blueblood said. He turned to Starlight whose eyes widened slightly. "We are going to have you pretend to be governor Starlight Glimmer, coming to Appleloosa to trade a slave to him, and then you are going to ask about the drydock."

Starlight grimaced slightly, turning between Twilight and Blueblood.

"Now hold on," Twilight said. "This seems dangerous, just sending Starlight in, even with backup-"

"We are going to be the backup," Blueblood stated, turning to the imperial armor. "So long as you and I get equipped in this armor and you keep your wings hidden we will be able to sneak in mostly unnoticed. Imperial troops tend not to harass people in their uniforms, and they cover enough that only the color of your coat will be visible."

"Don't you think that would be enough to out me?" Twilight said, gritting her teeth.

"How many purple unicorns do you know Twilight? Because I know hundreds," Blueblood stated, turning around to get himself equipped.

"Ok, I'll give you that, but who will the 'slave' we are bringing in to trade be?" Starlight sighed, looking down at the imperial governor's uniform.

"Yona," Blueblood said, turning to the Yak with an emotionless expression.

Yona's eyes widened. Sandbar, wounded as he was, was quick to step in front of her.

"Excuse me?" The stallion asked, gritting his teeth. "And why her?"

"Simple. Silverstar fancies himself as a rancher. He has entire..." Blueblood's face filled with disgust for a moment. "'farms' dedicated to breeding buffalo slaves. The idea of figuring out a way to breed a new species by mixing buffalo and yaks together would be appealing to him."

"And you're just going to leave her there?" Sandbar hissed.

"Of course not. We will stage a breakout as soon as we have the location of the drydock confirmed." Blueblood responded casually. Sandbar seethed for a moment before Yona placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yona understands." The yak said before she started stripping out of her armor, showering off the rags underneath. Slave rags, Twilight noted. Almost identical to the kind her parents and siblings had been wearing in Sweet Apple Acres.

Sandbar started at the yak, uselessly working his jaw up and down before he sighed. "Fine then. But I'm coming too." The earth ponies said, removing his golden helmet and dropping it to the ground.

"But... you're wounded. I mean, I had to pull a solid rod of metal out of your stomach just yesterday." Starlight said

With great difficulty, the stallion bent over to pick up one of the Imperial helmets. "Yeah, and?" He grunted, glaring up at Blueblood. "No way am I leaving Yona alone to be enslaved again."

The stallion paused for a second, looking down at the Imperial helmet in his grasp. He inhaled deeply, before placing it on his head. A shudder went up and down his spine, but he ignored it, turning to continue getting equipped.

"Sandbar..." Yona started.

"Here, take this and hide it up your shirt sleeve." Sandbar said, removing a knife from his belt, before holding it up to the Yak.

Yona sighed as she took the knife from his hands. "Yak will be ok, you don't have to worry."

"Famous last words." The stallion grunted as he stood up, now wearing his Imperial armor. It was bulky and ill-fitting, about a size too large for him, yet he looked like he could pass for a soldier. "We just reunited you with your family, I'm not letting you get broken up again."

Twilight was quiet for a second, looking between him and the prince, who was in a similar suit of armor, before letting out a sigh and turning to get dressed too.

Next Chapter: Chapter 26: Appleloosa Estimated time remaining: 15 Minutes