I had expected many things when I passed through the portal. Twilight had been notoriously tight lipped about the other world she had visited, what little she had mentioned about the world seemed almost immediately invalid. First off, the portal didn’t lead to a school. In fact it didn’t really lead to anything one could qualify as a place.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

That would be my second in command, Honeycrisp, screaming her head off. I could only spare a moment to scowl at their foalishness. Granted, earth ponies weren’t very good with heights. Especially ones several miles in the open air without a parachute in sight. Concentrating on the land below I try to conserve my oxygen fighting to stay conscious. The wind was deafening, my armor clanking noisily back and forth from the drag as we free fall towards the alien planet.

My strike team of six is only about half coordinated. Two pegasi, two earth ponies, and another unicorn. Soarin and Flitter were struggling to get the others together though they keep looking at me for guidance, the math wasn’t hard, they couldn’t save all of us on their own. We don’t have a chance of communicating with how loud the wind is so I just try to point at some clouds I spot below us. The two pegasi dive at my command while I angle myself towards my flailing team.

I throw myself at Honeycrisp and we roll in a bit of a tumble somersaulting. One of my hooves gripped around her midsection as I force her to spread her hooves to stabilize our fall. “Get a grip Private!” I yell in her ear as I try to steer us towards Patch, our other earth pony and medic. He is much more resolved and we bind together fairly quickly. Sparing a glance at the pegasi below I don’t see a cloud being made for us, despite their aerial maneuvers.

We are running out of altitude. Looking below is a snowy hillside, a small boon but the impact still will definitely not be pleasant. The pegasi waste several more moments on the stubborn cloud bringing it up to catch us but even with Stellar Gaze (our other unicorn) casting the spell we shred through it like a dozen clumps of cotton. The pegasi finally getting it through their skulls about our situation finally help gather the others in a clump, but by then we have only moments. I feel their combined pull, nothing to shirk at pull us into a shallow dive but its too late.

Several flashes dart across my vision as I feel us colliding with several magical barriers Stellar must have conjured at the last moment to help break the fall before my vision fills with white and red. I’m conscious for only a few moments after the impact before the pain becomes too much and I black out.

I wake slowly, my head aching with the migraine of the century. I try to open my eyes, but immediately close them again, the light being overwhelming on my sensitive pupils. I take a few strained breaths, feeling a sharp pang in my side. The pain kicks my training back into gear, first step, analyze the situation. Tail? I give it a small wag. Spine intact. Rear right hoof? Check, Rear left hoof? Check...Neck? Sprained. All in all my front right hoof is in something solid, at least three ribs broken if my medical training is up to par. That all taken care of, I force my eyes open centimeter by centimeter.

What I see instantly gives me a wave of nostalgia. I’m in a cage. A small one at that, though with pitifully small wiring that makes me question if my captors had any idea who they are dealing with. I smirk, fools to underestimate me. A quick brush at the top of my head confirms that my prosthetic is missing along with the rest of my gear, deeply troubling as without the stabilizing enchantments we’ll start to lose our magic fairly quickly in the desolate environment.

Looking around I notice there are a few other creatures present, along with four of my crew. After a quick check I realize Stellar is missing, something that is deeply troubling. Why would our captors separate us? A moment more of thought and a quick whiff questions the notion. There is antiseptic in the air, the smell of medicine, a hospital perhaps? A certainly crude one at that.

The door holding me in has a simple latching mechanism that a foal could comprehend. Without my prosthetic, much to my dissatisfaction it will be a challenge to open with my magic. I take several deep breaths to calm my erratic heartbeat, falling back to my instincts forged in a lifetime of conflict. I feel the familiar sparks tingling my scalp as they flitter about erratically, occasionally stinging my ears and eyebrows. Yet the latch barely seems to move. Squeezing both of the pins requiring more effort than I had anticipated and without any conduit to really focus my magic it's incredibly inefficient.

I bash the door with frustration, the movement reminding me painfully of the absence of my armor. This realization was definitely the worst of it all. Various battle scars cover my chest and body, of battles hard fought and won before I had won the Storm king's favor. His army was strong, but ultimately dull and predictable. Brutal, yet power was a language I had learned well. Without my armor revealed my past failures for the world to see, including me. A bitter reminder of the life I had once led.

I glare at the door keeping me in, narrowing my eyes. I’m not going to let a pitiful excuse for a cage keep me contained! I channel the energy into my horn as I feel it concentrate into a circular orb of energy then unleash it in a blast that explodes against the lock. What I hadn’t anticipated was the energy to be conducted back around the cage that forces a scream from my lips as the shock circles back around with residual energy searing my fur and leaving at least a few potential burn marks.

Yet I don’t hesitate at the pain and I slam forward, breaking out of the cage with a charge that sends it clattering to the floor. Rage burning in my chest as I hear a clattering of movement moving towards the door. I hide around the corner, waiting for them to enter. The creature is fairly large, nearly twice my size, but that has never been an issue before. More importantly I see a metal device similar to the one Chrysalis had attacked us with earlier, so I don’t hesitate.

My horn crackles to life as I release a bolt at them as I watch them spasm in its aftershocks and collapse to the floor. With the creature felled I immediately spot another one behind him, dressed in a similar garb of heavily pocketed blue shirts and glistening badges. The twitch of their arm towards their belt is all they get before they join their friend on the floor.

The both of them handled, I quickly strip them of their weaponry and kick them across the floor. “Get up you recruits! We’ve got a job to do!” I yell at my sleeping companions. Opening the cages seeming rather trivial as I simply just bite the doors and pull them open. Waking them up however was another story. They all seemed dizzy and lethargic, more than one seeming to have a few injuries, but nothing appearing too serious. One of which had been equipped with a ridiculous cone shaped device. These creatures were obviously inhumane.

I only get through just over half of them when the door opens again, my recruits woefully unprepared I turn to face the intruder. This one, however, was in a somewhat familiar white suit. Something our medical staff would often wear. Seeing they bore no weapon I growl a little remembering the ‘new’ rules of engagement. Their eyes only widen and they give a little yelp at seeing their two comrades on the floor, I see them quickly search over their belts then freeze, looking back over at me.

“That’s right, no sudden movements alien! Give us our stuff back and get out of our way and you’ll have no more trouble.” Yet the alien only tilts their head, looking more curious by the moment. Perhaps he was deaf?

“It’s okay little horsey, j-just calm down...I’m not going to hurt you. What the hell happened to these guys? Taser malfunction perhaps? None seem bruised…” The alien seems to be looking over the room, and at each of us in turn. “All still here though...perhaps this species is intelligent?”

I had no idea what the strange creature was saying, but the tone was recognizable. It was the tone of a creature that thought they were better. I smile, doing a quick look around, then grin even more as I spot their familiar tool that I pounce on and try to point in their general direction, growling for effect.

“H-holy shit! How’d you get their gun!?”

I only glared at them, wondering how they got the strange device to work. Yet internally I knew I had the floor. The sound of terror was universal, as was the voice of power. I flick my head towards the door, then feel a part give under my tongue while quickly getting a firm smack in the jaw as a deafening crack splits the room and a hole appears in the wall.

“F-fuck this!” They yell then quickly slam the door behind them with a telling ‘click.’

Damn! They had an exit strategy. No matter, Honeycrisp was coming too. “Crisp? The door, if you’d be so kind.” See? I can remember my manners, Twilight. I thought with a moment of mirth. Some of the weakest soldiers I’d seen since our invasion of Cant--you know what? Nevermind. I watch Crisp go at the door, the metal glowing and liquifying under their grip as it deforms under their magic and they kick it open with a loud bang as I rush forward with my crew behind me as he gets out of the way. Just like we’d practiced.

“Clear the perimeter!” I yell my command while grabbing the ‘bang’ device in my muzzle again. Moving down the short hall the room opens up into a fairly crowded space full of more aliens. For a moment I fear we might be outnumbered, but at the sight of me they scream and flee for the exits. The room cleared I quickly scan the perimeter, the tall alien creatures having seemed to have fled the perimeter, though many are holding odd rectangular devices. Yet more importantly I spot our gear behind a counter.

“Equip and move out, our position is compromised. Has anypony seen Stellar?” Finally having a moment I manage to do a headcount and realize their absence. The others shake their head briefly as we all quickly arm ourselves with our packs and equipment. More than a few showing a little evidence of tampering, but we don’t have time for examining that now. Strapping on my armor just makes my whole body relax once again to have its familiar weight.

“We need to put these necklaces on, without them our magic will slowly be sapped by our local environment. We should have enough ambient magic if we stick together, but we can’t be taking any chances.” Seeing the solemness in their eyes at the reminder makes me glad we had the intel. We had lost first contact with the other expeditions we had sent through, with our reception it wasn’t hard to figure out why.

“Species is evolved, complex structural environment, use of tools and weapons implies sophistication. Assuming they have a central form of government and their current reaction implies they are unfamiliar with our species. We are to evade them at all costs, understood?” I wait for them to nod as I center our compass. It didn’t point north, but to the previous amulets we had sent through. One of the vials is buzzing and making the noise of a scrying spell, but now wasn’t the time to answer.

I slide the prosthetic over my broken horn, feeling the slight pressure and slight click as it settles almost perfectly into the crevices of my broken horn. Typical spell magic wasn’t my forte, but I try to channel a location spell regardless. We would need her more sophisticated spellwork if we were to survive this alien environment. Yet my patience is quickly outgrown by my panic for urgency as I struggle to find the magic to guide my path. “Bucking Faust…” I curse under my breath. “Crisp? See if you can sense her magic around, feels like I’m suffocating with the lack of magic here.”

They nod without replying. A stoic silence that had earned them their place in command. They had, well, at least some spine when they weren’t falling to their death. After a quick circling around and tapping the floor in various places they nod in a direction towards the sun. “They are some distance away, but with the lack of other magical signatures…” She lets the rest go unspoken.

The rest of my crew, all prepped and ready, I charge for the exit, only to immediately smack into a bit of an invisible wall. A stream of curses passing my lips as I stare at the smudge of my nose and breath on the perfectly clear glass, then with a bit more of a shove the door is forced open. My eyes turn to daggers as I hear a few chortles of laughter from across the street from the alien beings that had retreated across the large street. At least my squad knew to keep their muzzles shut about it. Our immediate situation handled, we head off to recover our missing member.

When joining the royal guard we had trained for many things. The loss of our fellow soldiers, terrorist attacks, BBG (big bad guys/gals), even torture and capture. This though, this was not something she had expected. Tied up with a collar and rope while being tied to a post while lights were flashed at her was definitely not on her mind. “I think I’ll take the actual torture now.” She muttered. Though of course they ignored her, or didn’t understand her in the first place.

Her horn and head ached something fierce from her last minute spells that broke their fall. The spell shock rendering her abilities, at least temporarily, out of reach. Around her the group of three aliens would circle her, occasionally speaking in their strange language to each other and laughing. These beings must truly be despicable, they had her, that much was clear. Yet they also had to gloat about it to each other. She reckoned the rapid flashes must be from some sort of miniature camera, otherwise she couldn’t imagine what purposes it could serve.

“You think people will really believe it?” One asks.

“You better bet they will. We just need so many camera angles and movement that we’d have to be either professional animators or telling the truth, then they’d have to believe us!” The other replied.

Meanwhile she was thinking of the various ways to escape. They hadn’t strapped any blockers on her horn, the room itself seemed made out of wood and lacking any identifiable runes. All in all it seemed these savages had never encountered a unicorn before. She smirks at the thought, then a much darker one crosses her mind. If they had never seen a unicorn before...what terrifying experiments might they do on her? One of the legend tales of Rarity had been when she was abducted by diamond dogs and had to escape a potential lifetime of slave labor from the feral beasts. Judging by the smell of her captors she began to genuinely worry they were of a similar breed.

“Oh Faust no.” She gritted her teeth, trying to tear at the collar again, though that only made her captors cheer more. They were apparently quite pleased by literally everything she did. Least they weren’t poking her any more, so that was something. Once again she tried to channel her magic again, the situation straining her patience beyond her tolerance. A few sparks was all she was able to muster before the pain forced her to stop.

She wouldn’t cry. Never show your enemies your weakness. Tempest had told her over and over, her track record, for and against Equestria spoke for itself as to her leadership. Who was she to question it? Yet now, seperated from her squad, on an alien planet, and a captive of a foreign species she started to genuinely doubt that she would ever be a soldier Tempest could be proud of.

The first of her tears started to blur her vision which quickly turned into a sniffle. “I won’t cry..I-I won’t!” She yelled at her captors. “I-I’ll make Tempest proud.” She swore to herself, as she wiped her tears away with a hoof. Moments later she realized that her captors had finally gone silent. She turned back to face them, intent to berate them again, despite the language barrier, yet instead they looked genuinely concerned, or curious. Their small faces and eyes were hard to read compared to the creatures she knew.

“You think we just doomed the land to a curse?” One whispered to their friend.

“Do you really think any of the lores are accurate? I mean we haven’t drawn blood and it crossed our territory....” The other whispered in return.

She just stares up at the both of them, tugging at the leash she looks to the both of them begging with all the strength she could muster for them to let her go. Hoping somewhere in their smelly, weird bodies that they had a heart.

“Awww...Just look at how cute she is!”

“Gotta get this on Camera” The other says while holding up their odd camera device.

Her ears sunk moments later as she realized they had returned to their excited noises. Evidently only just reacting to the fact that her behavior had changed. Just a few more minutes. She thought, then she could use her years of magic to escape these primitive creatures. Though she winced a little at the thought, Fluttershy definitely wouldn’t approve of that kind of thinking of course. Then again, she wasn’t here anymore to tell her no. Her heart panged a little at the loss the entirety of Equestria had suffered through when she had disappeared. They had never found her body, only blood. Though the hope after all these years that she was still alive had been dashed as search party after search party came up empty. Especially those led by Discord himself, never before had the land seen such chaotic rage.

He too had disappeared shortly after the changelings took over. Without Fluttershy the elements couldn’t work properly, something Chrysalis had been smart--or cruel enough to realize. Celestia and Luna had been present at their retirement home, but a great many of their forces suspected that they were only changelings in disguise.

Turning back to the situation at hoof she just sat on the ground and rested. Waiting for her horn to recover while refusing to entertain the aliens any further. They seemed to quiet after a while of waiting. Several minutes later she heard a chime that echoed through the house that the creatures responded to and moved down the stairs. Just like the diamond dogs were known to do. Perhaps they really were relatives.

Seeing her chance to escape she gritted her teeth and quickly used her horn to cut through the rope, groaning a little at the fresh spikes of pain that shot through her skull. Though she couldn’t cut it all the way it was enough to catch flame and burn the rest. Once separated she quickly stamped out the residual embers. They may be cruel, but nopony--or creature in this case deserved to have their house burned down.

Her bonds undone she quickly shuffled over to her pack and supplies that lay on the other side of the room, sliding into it with the well practiced motion before tightening the chest strap with her teeth. Teleportation not being an option, she decided to move down the oversized stairs carefully making her way down. The two aliens had greeted another alien at the door that was holding a box that smelled of fresh bread, tomatoes, cheese and...ugh...meat. The scent making her scowl.

Unfortunately though, the delivery-alien as they appeared to look, spotted me as she headed down the stairs. Not to mention how loud her hoofbeats were, even with her best attempts to keep them quiet.

“Good god...is that a...unicorn?” They half-shout, half-scream.

Both of her captors spinning around as she tries to gallop around them. Yet with so many in such a small space one of them manages to get a grip on one of my rear hooves, lifting me up as the rest of them withstrain my front hooves.

“H-help! Someone! Anyone! I’m in here!”

She screams and yells, though one of them grabs her horn quite painfully to keep her from thrashing around while smothering her muzzle in their armpit.

“Help me get it upstairs!” One of the original captors yells.

Before they can even take a step though, the entrance explodes to a welcome sight. Tempest and the rest of the squad behind her all in a battle stance as they charge through the hole she had just made.

“Oh thank Faust!” She nearly whimpers in relief as her horn crackles, rage clear on her face as she stares down my captors. Very slowly she feels them set her down, not hesitating to run back to join the squad. Happy to be back with her herd, she stares back at the group of aliens. “I’m unharmed...just...had a scare--I’m just glad to see you all again.”

“Still would be more than happy to shock their flanks until they learn not to mess with us again…Curse Twilight’s new rules.” She shouts at their faces and blows up a hanging light above them just to make sure they got the gist, then with a head signal we head back out of the hole we had come from.

“Those bastards.” I curse, staring in at the hospital beds that now held the forms of my entire family. A sudden cancer, aggressive, and inoperable had formed seemingly overnight. They had come from nowhere, and the doctors were baffled as to how it had happened. A sudden aggressive tumor had formed around their heart and primary arteries making surgery a non-option. They said they would try chemo, but I knew it was unlikely to help. No, this wasn’t natural, too statistically impossible

Ever since the offer from the stranger at the pentagon, and getting attacked by a creature out of legend I had started to rethink what was possible. I knew who was guilty, I didn’t know what they had done, but they had done something.

“I’m over here”

I spin around, seeing the damned cultist that had made the offer just casually sitting on a bench. Without hesitating I grab the man and slam him against the wall, my military and physical training making it almost natural. “I know what you did bastard, and you’ll undo it right the fuck now or I’ll splatter your brains across the wall and leave your emasculated corpse for the crows.”

“Oh, I know. Yet you see, that is the problem. You kill me, they will die. It’s quite simple really.” He remarks casually, as one might about the weather. “You should probably release me too, the nurses are starting to stare.” He nods down the hall to a few other individuals, civilian and medical staff alike. “We’re perfectly fine, he just needs to--” He turns to me with a smile that makes my stomach churn. “--Calm down.”

I drop him back to the floor unceremoniously. “All this over a damned alien? Why? Why the fuck does it mean so much?!” I turn to look at my family in the medical beds, gesturing with an arm. “There are countless other soldiers you could get for the job, my family did nothing to you, I did nothing to you. What is wrong with you!?” A soldier is not one to cry easily, especially one with so many years, but now I can’t stop the tears from flowing. “Just please...leave my family alone. This magic, or whatever, if it's so important you should’ve made a conversation instead of putting them through all of this. Just why?”

“You seem to be mistaking me for someone who cares. You see, unlike the rest of you, I don’t. My skills in magic may be greatly limited, but you want to know why I’m so critical to them?” He pauses, circling me like a hawk. “Because I’m effective.” He half whispers. “When they ask, I perform. I don’t care if it's a man, woman, or child.” He gives me a disturbing smile. “I got you here, because they wanted you here. Why? Who cares? I sure don’t. So don’t waste your breath on me.” He pulls out an envelope from his suit and holds it over.

“I want them alive. Getting another soldier would require them to know about the situation and various other inconveniences. You tell, they die. You don’t hurry, they die. Simple orders for a soldier like you. Spout off about magic to your superiors and they’ll throw you in the funny bin in which you’ll develop a cancer and die from alien exposure.

I scowl at him trying to conceal my rage. “You might think you're some hot shit, but you’ll regret blackmailing an experienced soldier. We’ll see how much your magic holds out when you’re sniped from five hundred meters away. You’ve made yourself a dangerous enemy.”

The man just shrugs and smirks. “Unless you know how to cure a cancer better than the doctors I suggest you do the job and try to kill me later.” With that he just walks down the hall, one of the others joining him as they enter the elevator.

Using my training I immediately write down a description of their appearance and the events. I don’t care who they think they are, but their abilities defy modern medicine. They picked the wrong guy to blackmail, and I’d show them what a marine is capable of.

“You really think this is a good idea? We’re trying to ally with the military so we have more resources. I know I agreed to follow your lead, but you told me you’d use that magic to heal high profile military agents! Not targeting an innocent man’s family, can you even fix what you did?”

“No, not really. He is a loose end, and he probably told at least his wife. Killing the kids is just a mercy so no one else asks questions. Oh, and he’ll die soon too. While talking with me I’ve exposed him to enough he might have a week before he shows symptoms.” The older man just smiles. “You want your position, you’ll do as the order requests.”

“Yes master.” The apprentice states, hoping that their new leader would step in soon.

“Of course they would sue.” She groans reading through the paperwork. After the ‘miracle recovery’ of their daughter they wanted to sue us all for malpractice. Yet the previous two months of MRIs and documentation including bloodwork. The case is a farce, but they were all going to be dragged through the mud anyways.

“What kind of circus are you bastards running here!? Now look what you’ve done to my daughter!” The little girl in question sitting in the chair has one of the biggest smiles on her face as she just stares up at her parents curiously.

Not wanting to get into the argument I just wave to the both of them and nod to the desk staff. “Alrighty Tina, how about we do your checkup while mommy and daddy have a nice conversation with Mr Jenkins. Oh, and I really like your halloween costume. Is that a pegasus outfit? Those wings look really nice.”

“Yep! I really like them! The unicorn angel gave them to me!”

I chuckle as I take her blood pressure and heart rate, just the basics while we wait for the Oncologist to do their full check. The heart rate is a little high, but the blood pressure is fine. I put the stethoscope on her back. “Breathe in for me” I instruct, furrowing my brow a little further as I hear a fairly unnatural respiration. Then moving a bit further up I brush against something firm and soft.

“Uh...Tina? Could you take off your shirt for me?” I wait from behind as she takes off her shirt. “Good god...I’m not sure whether to call for a doctor or a pastor…” I mutter the last bit to myself.

Author's Notes:

Oof! This chapter is a lot later than I was intending. Sorry for the delay all!
School and COVID work issues are my excuses of choice.

Once again, thank you for your continued support from reading my ramblings. As always comments are appreciated.

It's still on the cliffhanger and I know those are definitely rough from personal experience but other parts of the story needed to be taken care of too.

I hope to answer that cliffhanger shortly and thank you all for your patience.