//------------------------------//
// Chapter Thirty-Three: Dread Intrusion 
// Story: Heroes and Allies 
// by LewisClarke 
//------------------------------//

	A/N

Wow. What can I say? I've been gone a while. Fim's changed a bit since I was last here, but I see the people have not. Please welcome Velkaden as yet another editor here to keep the story at its best! Fair warning though, this one's not too long, but it's part of a series, so don't worry to much about it. Good to be back, everyone. Enjoy the chapter! 












Chapter Thirty-Three: Dread Intrusion 








He could hear voices, sounds, the nearly silent hum of metal moving through water, the sounds of true power, but could not see.





Twenty-seven miles off of the Georgia coast, a lone Virginia-class submarine sailed towards King's Bay Naval Station, having just launched a cruise missile strike in an attempt to close the dimensional super-anomaly forming over Atlanta.

"Admiral! We just received an emergency message instructing us to terminate the missile strike!"

"What? From who?"

"General Locklear, sir."

The admiral quickly made his way to the communications station,

"Are you absolutely sure?!"

"It's confirmed, sir! We have friendlies with eyes on the general. Do we kill it or not?"

Commander Stuart jumped from his chair. "The general must be mixed in with invading forces! There might be other survivors from the first attack with them! We have to call off the strike! Now!"



"We have to call off the strike! Now!"

"We have to call off the strike! Now!"

"We have to call off the strike! Now!"





He could hear the distant, warbling voice all around him. He could hear the muffled blast. He could hear them cry out in fear... but he could see nothing.

Captain Greene lept into consciousness, finding himself lying on the ground. It was oddly quiet.

"Wha..."

As he stood and stared upward toward the sky, he realized that it was beneath him. Above, the ground hovered weightlessly across a noir canvas of matter. The shock of such a sight made him dizzy, then immediately brought him back to the ground.

"Argh," he groaned as he pulled himself to his knees. "What... what is this?" 

In his left ear he could hear something, or someone stirring nearby. A passing cloud adorned with marble tile drifted below. Resting on it, a feathered animal began to toss and turn as if in a nightmare. He squinted to make out the rather odd form.

"You! It's you!" Greene shakily rose to his feet, the seeming nonexistent ground beneath him somehow supporting his weight. He stepped into the air, as if wading into a otherworldly sea. He glided to the cloud without so much as thought, simply willing himself toward it.

The tumultuously slumbering form of Praetor Phalanx could now be clearly seen. Taking his feathered shoulders in his hands, the captain began to violently shake the griffin war leader.

"Wake up! I need you to tell me where we are!"

Phalanx's arm shot up toward the captain's face, as if he was desperately trying to reach something. His eyes shot wide open.

"Gilda! Gilda! You have to-" His pleas were met by a strange creature, rather than his mate. The talons that had reached out in longing now moved to meet the creature's neck. "Where are we?! Where have you taken me!?"

Lenard kicked the griffin praetor away and began to rub the side of his neck. "I don't know! I thought maybe you could tell me!"

Phalanx's arms began to tremble as he stared at the man. "I know you... But... I don't know you."

Greene shook his head. "What? That doesn't make sense! I mean I know who you-" He became silent, as if deep in thought. "I understand. I can see pictures of you in my head, but nothing makes sense."

"It is the same in my case, though I remember we were not allies. We fought... once. This I know."

"Something isn't right here. I'm getting that vibe from you too, but that doesn't tell us where we-" 

The tiled cloud began to crumble as its matter became caught up in some kind of violent pulling force. A hole opened up in the ground-sky, and nothing appeared to be beyond it. The hole coalesced into the form of a monster. It had massive draconic wings, mighty curved horns, and a body covered with black feathers, silver fur, and red scales. As the rest of cloud was consumed by the beast, Lenard and Phalanx found themselves helplessly floating before its terrifying majesty. 

"Yes! At long last they see! They see my world for what it is! They finally know my power! They see what I have become, and will worship me for it! For ten-thousand years my plan has festered, and for ten-thousand years I have waited for them to bask in my glory! Now, I command them to know fear! For I am Hircus, and this is MY realm! The Realm Sapphiron!" 

Hircus' world bent to his will and began to shape itself around him.

Lenard turned towards his fine feathered adversary.

"Well, I sorta remember now."






********************








The U.S. Navy submarine Minnesota slowly approached the American east coast.

"Can anyone hear me?! I need confirmation on missile impact or anomaly closure!"

"Sorry admiral," Commander Stuart began, "None of our assets in Atlanta are responding. It might just be interference. Anomalies have been known to wreak havoc on our comms systems."

"But this long? It should have dissipated by now, wouldn't you think?"

"Not sure. I'll keep trying to raise them."




******************



Steven Mace pushed off a rather large piece of foam paneling from on top of himself. Even at the lower levels of the Georgia Dome, the shock waves from a distant explosion had been felt.

"Everyone okay?"

"Fine, sergeant," another marine answered. "Just the blast wave from- well it sounded like a missile strike."

Lime Tree Hill began rising to his hooves. "Calling. It's... calling."

"You okay, Lime?" Mace turned and asked.

The green stallion didn't answer, rather he began to frantically look toward the ceiling.

"Lime Tree. Lime Tree!" Mace shouted, trying to get his attention.

Ponyville's mayor's assistant stopped and began to vacantly stare into space, then took off in a full gallop. Mace caught up to him and tapped him on the skull a few times, shaking him from whatever had vexed the green stallion.

Lime Tree shook his head and looked up toward the befuddled marine. 

"Sorry, were you calling me?" He spoke up.

"No. It's fine. Just- uh, stay with us a sec, okay?"

Lime Tree shrugged. "Okay."

"Listen. I have something I need to do. Keep an eye on the others. Oh, and let any of the personnel here know if you have any more, uh... problems."

"Sure," Lime Tree answered as the soldier began to hurry away. 

"Lime Tree!" Twilight called from across the room. "Help me get this workspace clear."

"Sure," Lime answered, then looked in Mace's direction. 

"Wonder what he meant by that?"



________________



Mace hurried along through the dome's lower corridors, taking a second to look at his watch.

"Geez! I don't even remember that last hour!"

He grasped for his comms unit. "Major Classified. This is Sergeant Mace. Any updated info on the location of Sergeant Blade, Corporal Sabre, or Private Skies?"

..."Good to hear from you, Sergeant. There was some kind of blackout just now. The three you're looking for are most likely nearby. Look for Platoon Four, part of the 5th Equestrian Brigade. Most of our forces fell back to the dome for the strike."...

"The strike?"

..."Human forces attacked the portal with heavy weaponry."...

"Is it still up?"

..."Seems to be. Either way, Alliance forces are surrendering en masse. It's like they didn't even want to fight."...

"Good news I suppose. Thanks for the intel, Major."

..."My pleasure, just end this threat before we lose more to our own forces. Any Banded agents you discover must be quickly and silently eliminated. I've dispatched AoD Team Echo to assist you. You won't know they're there until you need them."...

"Understood. Mace, out."




*********************



"Move! Move!" Greene shouted as their shared nemesis reared for an attack.

Captain Greene and Praetor Phalanx stood before Lord Hircus, who quickly brought a hoof down in anger, sending waves of dark energy toward the pair. The pilot and griffin flailed helplessly in the suspended air until the avian member of the duo appeared to be swimming through the air. Lenard quickly caught on and did the same. Hircus took off after them, launching attack after attack after them.

"I can't believe this is working! Never thought I'd get to fly my own body!"

"Just keep moving, human! We are in his domain! Remember that!"

"I get it now! We're inside the anomaly. Actually inside the space between the two openings!" Lenard explained.

"How fascinating! Keep moving!" Phalanx sarcastically ordered.

"Question is, how could a salvo of cruise missiles be responsible for this?"

"STOP TALKING! We are running for our lives here!"

An energy blast hurled between them, nearly singeing the pilot's clothes.

"Right! Got it!"

As Hircus began to lose focus, the world around them began to fluctuate. Various and random items began to appear. Lamps, a cabin, a case of vases, a lemon tree, a large boulder directly in their path, and many other things seemed to appear from thin air.

"How is he doing this?!" Lenard yelled.

"If my studies of Hircus' ancient writings are any indication, this realm is as its creator wishes it to be."

"You mean Hircus made this place?"

"Yes."

"But that means..."

"No time now! Our only hope is to play this chaos to our advantage! He's losing control of it all! Look for something to hide behind!"

"Will that do?"

Phalanx turned to see a large, ornate mansion floating in the distance. "Worth a try. Use all of this refuse for cover. Stay out of his sight!"

The two remained silent, making short jumps to each floating item large enough to hide them until they reached the massive house.

"Do you truly believe yourselves equal to me? I, the conqueror of Yette and Erokhiln? This is but a game for my amusement! I will be sporting and give you the chance to make a challenge out of your sorrow."

"How nice of him," Lenard whispered as the two made the last jump to the house.

"Quickly, if we are to survive this we will need to learn all we can of this realm and how it functions. I believe this structure may contain information we need."

They stepped through the doors, gravity returning as they touched the floor. The foyer was just as one would expect it. A sitting room with Victorian chairs, a fainting couch, a fireplace with a lit fire, and a bookshelf filled with very old looking books.

"The tomes," Phalanx pointed out. "Take as many as you can. Hircus will no doubt follow soon."

"Weapons would be nice. Something to fight back with. Look for that too."

The human and griffin began to dig through the books, tossing aside any that didn't appear to be useful and stuffing those that could into a hastily fashioned bag made from one of the Victorian curtains.

"Is it just me, or is there a lack of any important literature here?" Phalanx questioned.

"What were you expecting? Quantum Sorcery for Dummies? There's gotta be something useful here!"

"Assuredly."

"I think he's getting closer. This place is huge though, at least a few square miles. We could run deeper into this place, read these things, search this place for a way out."

"There may be a plan there," Phalanx thought aloud.

Greene put the improvised sack on his back. "Right. Let's get lost then." 

An energy blast incinerated the door and melted the crystal and gold-laden chandelier above their heads.

Phalanx pushed the captain in the direction of a large winding stairwell. 

"Preferably as quickly as possible!" 




*****************



Celestia and Luna sat at an ongoing political debate regarding what was starting to be known as the Transanomaly War. As a human politician took the floor to bring up the fiscal concerns of such an engagement, Celestia stood and left. Worried, Luna got up and followed her to the atrium of the undisclosed meeting place.

"Sister. We do not yet have the full support of our allies. There is still much to discuss."

"Then discuss it. I have to go back to them."

"I see. Do you not see the pitfalls of that course of action? Do not our enemies seek to destroy us with our own kind?"

"The Banded's continued existence was our failure. We owe it to our subjects to fight alongside them."

"Very well. Where do you intend to go?"

"Atlanta. If the news is any indication, it will be the heart of the coming invasion."

"You are sure of this?"

"Luna, when the Alliance captured me, I saw him."

"Him."

"Yes, him. The Dread Lord. At first I thought it was simply the substances they had me on. But it was him. I know it."

"You think he is coming here? To the human world?"

"He will conquer both our worlds if he isn't stopped."

Luna sighed.

"I understand, sister. I most certainly do, but we have much healing to do. We will not regain our powers for some time."

"Indeed. But powers or not, I want to be with our ponies, and the humans who valiantly serve with them. To aid them any way I can."

"Go to them then, sister. The subtle nuances of political discourse are within my power. I will speak for us both."

Celestia made a weak smile. "Thank you, Luna."

Luna grinned. "As it stands, you always did find this, the most mundane type of work, to be interminably dull."

"Yes," Celestia chuckled. "Very much so."

"I will do what I can here. May royal's fortune become you, Celestia." Luna turned to leave.

"Until next time, Luna."

Luna tightened her necktie and realigned her formal suit jacket, then reentered the meeting room. 

Celestia turned to see several heavily armed humans in suits and ties. The leader stepped forward.

"Leaving so soon, princess?"

"I suppose you'll try to stop me?" Celestia muttered.

"You can't fly as of yet. So what, were you going to swim back? We're on an island-"

"Let me past, or shoot me. Either way I'm not going to pretend that people aren't dying for me."

"If you would let me finish, I was going to say that our aircraft would get you there much faster. We are here to protect you, and if we have to do that in a war zone, so be it. They need as many leaders as they can get."

Celestia bowed her head. 

"Thank you. Just- Thank you."

"The jet's this way. We'll brief you on the current situation on the way."

Celestia followed, longingly looking out over the sea.

"I'm coming, my little ponies." 








Anomalous Energy Event Team Personnel and Psychological Profile #4 Colonel Timothy Highlander.

Born and raised in a secluded but well-to-do community in Maine, Timothy Highlander found himself constantly looking for something to fill his rather boring upbringing. At the age of twenty one, and completely against his parents wishes, Highlander joined the U.S. Marines to be trained as an officer. Always the sharp knife in the drawer, Highlander used his strategically oriented mind, sharpened on thousands of chess matches and other strategy-based games to shoot through the ranks and gain the attention of the top military brass.

Now older and more experienced, Highlander hasn't slowed down. Now working closely with the Anomalous Energy Event Team for a mission into unknown territory, Highlander is on track to be one of the youngest generals in U.S. Military history.





Liberation Alliance Central Command Personality Report #5729: Gilda.

Something of a mystery among griffin kind, the house-less hen-griffin known as Gilda has spent a large portion of her life running. From what or who could very well be known only to her. Raised with the common belief that the griffin nation as a whole was virtually extinct, Gilda actually attended an Equestrian flight school, where she met and befriended a pegasus by the name of Rainbow Dash, who would later become one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The two became like sisters until eventually parting ways upon graduation of that very same flight school. 

Not long after Gilda left Equestrian territory she encountered a loyalist and griffin army officer Phalanx, who introduced her to the rest of her kind. Finally finding something to believe in, Gilda has only just begun learning of her heritage and past. And though not yet an official part of the Griffin armed forces, Gilda has finally stopped running.




Affairs of Darkness Department Clandestine Sect. Character Evaluation File #49246: Rainbow "Danger" Dash. (PGS) 

Though her nickname is entirely self-given, Rainbow Dash has proven herself a valued part of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Tough, energetic, and tenacious, Rainbow Dash's almost overenthusiastic pursuit of a challenge has put her in more than her fair share of trouble, and though raised in the more sheltered contemporary Equestria, she has, along with the other bearers, faced down some of its more fearsome beasts and villains.

One of the more fascinating pieces of this subject's history is her friendship with the griffin Gilda, at the time one of the few griffins known by name to have lived in Equestria. Her knowledge of other griffins could be made very useful if the past avian adversaries ever pose a problem to Equestrian security.