The enemy succeeded in breaching Equestria’s borders.
Fueled by dreams of triumph, they press onward.
The heroines set their course to another battle,
But a great danger lurks within the clouds…
Chapter 4
Skies of Deception
June 13th, 2021
1020 hrs
Canterlot, Mirage squadron’s base
Within just a few hours, military actions spread across the whole of Equestria. There wasn’t a moment of rest for ponies fighting on both sides. While the soldiers from Allied Forces tried their best to hold the enemy at bay, the Exiles continued pushing into Equestrian territory. Most of the time, their offence was kept at bay, but whenever one group of the army had trouble, the other was immediately dispatched to help them. Thanks to good communication and their perseverance, the ponies from the Allied Forces managed to suppress the Exile invasion. However, they were still preparing for a major blow, as it became obvious that their main target was Canterlot. By attempting to form one big frontline and trying to break it in multiple spots at the same time, the Exiles stretched their supply lines, which, if left unchecked for some time, could ultimately lead into a devastating counterattack and their defeat by the Allied Forces.
If either of the two armies was supposed to gain a strategic advantage, it needed one, decisive strike against the enemy to secure their positions...
The pegasi from Mirage squadron were aware of dangerous situation. Rainbow Dash could not understand why they weren’t sent to aid the invaded southern border immediately after saving Fillydelphia from being nuked by the cruise missile.
“We could get there within 3 or 4 hours and help the defenders right away,” she said loudly. “Instead, Gale told us to get back to base and remain here until further notice. I don’t get it!”
“Not everypony was ready to join another battle in such a short time,” Lightning Bolt pointed out. “We all needed some rest, especially you, Rainbow.”
Rainbow’s only answer was a loud sigh. True, she did suffer some injuries, mainly due to heat from the cruise missile’s exhaust, but she was perfectly fine the next hour and could get back to fighting without problems. Still, Gale did not recommend a risky approach. Rainbow could not blame him for that thinking.
“Look on the bright side,” Lightning continued. “At least we got the time to analyze the data gathered during the battle.”
“Did you find out anything interesting?” Medley asked out of curiosity.
“Actually, yes. Come here, everypony, I’ll show you something.”
The other six pegasi approached the large computer screen and stared into the pictures displayed on it. Most of them had either enemy ships or flying units on them. However, one of the pictures displayed showed a huge sea unit about to submerge.
“Wow, look at that thing!” Cloud Kicker squeaked. “Is that thing responsible for conducting those two missile attacks? I mean, only this ship seems big enough to carry them.”
“And you are right,” Lightning Bolt answered. “It specializes in this kind of stuff. After all, this is a Scinfaxi-class submarine.”
“And? What’s so special about it?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Just the fact it is operational. In order to man and arm that kind of unit, let alone build it, one would need at least several years. The Exiles were really busy… But I’m concerned about something else… Since they invaded Equestria from outside its borders, they must have been preparing themselves for a long time. They couldn’t have done it alone.”
There was some truth in what the white pegasus said. All kinds of war preparations were not conducted day by day. Keeping them in secrecy would also be impossible. Aurora and her troops probably found some other group of individuals who gave them shelter, shared their resources and allowed to conduct her experiments, as well as preparing her soldiers for upcoming battles.
“As organized as they are now, the Exiles most likely had some sort of outside help. The question is… who?” Derpy wondered.
“Maybe instead of sitting here and warming our flanks up, we should start a search right away!” Firefly exclaimed. “They came from outside Equestria, right? I bet they don’t suspect a counterattack at this point. Let’s find their main base and sabotage it!”
Unfortunately for the pink pegasus, her friends only looked at her in disbelief.
“Firefly, do you realize it’s impossible at the moment?” Lightning Bolt said. “Their base could be anywhere in the world. Unless we’ll get some coordinates, there’s nothing we can do but wait for their next move.”
Firefly frowned in response and started walking around.
“How much is Gale going to keep us waiting?! I hate standing in one – Wait!”
She cut her sentence when her gaze rested on the computer screen and at the Scinfaxi submarine again.
“What?” Lightning asked.
“Could you zoom that picture in?”
She did as Firefly told her. They all saw a symbol on the side of the submarine. It looked very familiar…
“I don’t believe this!” Firefly exclaimed. “Those bastards are pushing it!”
“That symbol… It looks like Princess Celestia’s cutie mark!” Cloud Kicker gasped.
“What could it mean…?” Medley wondered.
Firefly looked at the picture with clear anger.
“It’s obvious! That’s just another way for them to mock the princess without risking a direct confrontation with her! They think they can get away with everything!”
The pink pegasus stomped the floor in frustration.
“They’re really starting to piss me off!”
“Firefly, calm down, will you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I don’t like this either. I’m sure nopony is satisfied with the situation the way it is now. But there’s no point in throwing a tantrum. You really need to keep a lid on that temper of yours.”
“Look who’s talking,” Firefly snorted.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing… Captain.”
Rainbow noticed a bit of sarcasm in Firefly’s voice on that last word. She didn’t want to start an argument, though.
“Hey, we’ll teach those Exiles a lesson they will never forget by the first possible chance. For now, let’s just keep our wits up and stand by for any calls to a mission.”
The other pegasi agreed to this. Rainbow Dash then turned to Fluttershy, who remained quiet the whole time.
“And while we’re on topic… Fluttershy, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
She wasn’t looking at Rainbow. Almost as if she was afraid to look into her eyes…
“What happened to you back then?
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I’m talking about. The way you snapped during the battle...”
Firefly and the other fliers thought about the moment when Fluttershy freaked out over the Exiles using a burst missile against the 1st Fleet, destroying most of friendly ships. They didn’t know the exact cause of Fluttershy’s rage outburst. Was it the attack itself? The image of destruction? Or was it something else…?
The yellow pegasus finally lifted her gaze and looked at her friends. They were looking at her with uncertainty, maybe even doubt. Fluttershy spoke with her timid, sheepish voice again.
“I… I just don’t know. I don’t know what happened. I just couldn’t control my emotions any longer… It all seemed so wrong… This wasn’t what we’ve been fighting for against the griffins. This should have never happened…!”
Her voice started breaking down. Rainbow came closer, nuzzling her face.
“Hey, it’s all right. Before you say anything else, just remember: you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. Your decision to fight against them was right. There’s no use reasoning with the Exiles. They may be ponies, but they are not like us.”
While Rainbow’s assurance eased her doubts a bit, Fluttershy was still uncertain about fighting other ponies, even if they were committing acts of evil. Still, she decided to remain with her friends and help as best as she can.
Barely a few minutes later, Gale sent a message to them. It would appear that enemy forces had started making a major move and were heading toward Ponyville. Mirage’s mission was to go there and support the EAF forces stationed in the town’s vicinity. Firefly questioned the fact that Gale didn’t speak directly to them, like last time. Lightning Bolt reminded her about the fact that Gale wasn’t responsible just for them, but for the entirety of pegasi forces. He most likely had to keep a look out on a different battle somewhere else. However, he also notified that Rainbow’s flight will have the assistance of another pony, serving as communication and radar control.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, Rainbow Dash ordered her friends to assemble at the runway. This time, they were already wearing vests that Rarity had redone the other day. Indeed, they felt much more durable and flexible, sporting the colors adequate to each flier’s coat color and bearing two emblems; one for the squadron and the other one being similar to the flag of Equestria, which also became the symbol of EAF.
==========
1100 hrs
Ponyville airspace
“Visual on friendly ground units ahead!” Cloud Kicker reported as the seven fliers were nearing the rally point at glasslands not too far away from Ponyville.
“Good eye as always, Sunny,” Rainbow Dash commented. “Everypony, descend!”
Some of the troops noticed them coming and started cheering as they passed by. Rainbow went ahead to Applejack who was really glad to see her. She was again given command over the “Apple” battalion, which specialized in storming the front and breaking enemy’s formation. She had nearly 400 soldiers at her disposal.
“Twilight is here, too,” Applejack added. “She’s been given nearly 250 ponies to form the “Arcana” battalion. Their job is to intercept enemy pegasi and use the unicorn magic to assist other units or to attack upcoming foes.”
Rainbow Dash noticed some unicorns further up ahead. Still, she wanted to know something more about the reasons about the Exiles’ sudden movement.
“They’re just getting overconfident,” said Applejack. “Won’t go down quietly either. It seems their plan is an attempt to burst their way to Canterlot by going through Ponyville first. If they’ll do so, we’re going to lose our primary supply center, so we’ll have to defend it at any cost. Ah’m countin’ on you and your team, Rainbow.”
“We’ll do whatever we can. Do we got any information about the size of enemy forces?”
“Not to worry. Ah’ve sent a scout team to investigate the area about 15 minutes before you arrived. They should be back soon… Ah, here they come!”
She pointed to a few small silhouettes on the horizon. It looked like a small carrier wagon holding six ponies and being pulled by another one, riding a small scooter… Rainbow recognized who that was, but couldn’t believe it at first. What would they be doing here?
Within several seconds, Scootaloo stopped right in front of Applejack, and the other ponies on the wagon jumped down. They formed up before the orange pony, not noticing the Mirage squadron at first.
“Cutie Mark Crusader Scouting Team reporting back, Applejack!” said Scootaloo while saluting. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Dinky, Pipsqueak, as well as two other colts did the same.
“At ease, kids. Ah see you’re really treating this task seriously… So, what did ya learn?”
“Enemy forces are closing in. We expect they will be here by… Oh!”
Just then, Scootaloo turned her sight to the right, noticing Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, Rainbow, you’ve made it, too! Great, now we’re going to win!”
“Wait just a minute!” Fluttershy interrupted. “What are you all doing here?!”
“What does it look like? We’re helping,” said a brown colt wearing a propeller beanie hat.
Derpy wasn’t pleased very much either when she saw Dinky and Pipsqueak with them.
“Do you know what are you doing, kids? This isn’t a playground, it’s a battlefield! You better go back to Ponyville now and leave fighting to us.”
“But Mommy, we wanted to help,” Dinky argued.
“By endangering yourselves? Applejack, what is the meaning of this?”
Applejack sighed. She expected such reactions.
“They volunteered. A lot of ponies in the town are busy, themselves, tryin' to gather supplies and arm themselves in case of an 'mergency. Scootaloo and the others asked Cheerilee to let them help too, and she agreed. Technically, they’re still under her care, so… Ah don’t see much of a problem.”
“I don’t like this one bit,” Derpy frowned.
“It’s all right. They never spotted us.”
That last sentence was spoken by the brown colt again. It would appear that he was one of the new members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders that Apple Bloom mentioned to Dinky awhile ago. He was standing next to a pegasus colt, who had a grayish coat, dark mane and purple eyes. Rainbow knew him well.
“Hey, Rumble, you’re here, too?”
“Yup,” he answered. “Don’t worry, Rainbow, Thunderlane knows where I am. His Falcon squadron is currently engaging the enemy in Trottingham area. I wanted to go with him, but he said I’d better stay here in Ponyville and help the Cutie Mark Crusaders in running errands around the town, as well as general assistance.”
“And that includes our last scouting,” the brown colt spoke again. “We’re aware it’s a dangerous job, but somepony’s gotta do it. We can’t officially become a military unit, so this is the least we can do.”
Applejack turned her sight to him.
“OK, Button Mash, if you’re so eager to talk, tell me how the situation looks like.”
“Yes, ma’am. Like Scootaloo said, the enemy forces are coming. Their estimated time of arrival is 1120.”
“In about 10 minutes, huh... How many did you see?”
“We counted about five earth pony divisions and two additional unicorn battalions. Also, three enemy air squadrons. There may be more on the way, though.”
“Ah see,” said Applejack. "Things are gonna get ugly soon... Well, you did a great job, Cutie Mark Crusaders. Now, report back to Cheerilee and stay with her.”
The kids made a single salute and started boarding the wagon. Scootaloo prepared to flap her wings in order to gain speed on her scooter and ride back into town, but she saw Rainbow, looking at her.
“You’re not angry at me, are you?” the filly asked.
“... No,” Rainbow replied. “In fact, I approve of what you’re doing. But you better watch yourself. I don’t want to see you or the other Crusaders get hurt.”
“We’ll be fine. Best of luck, Dash.”
Derpy followed the kids with a gloomy sight.
“Can’t say I’m happy about this…”
“Hey, be thankful to them,” said Firefly. “Thanks to them, we know what the enemy is up to. A lot has to be risked in the war. That’s just the way it is.”
“But I don’t want them to…”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Rainbow interrupted her. “We have bigger issues right now.”
She went ahead to speak with Twilight. After a short discussion, the purple unicorn called the other fliers to explains the details of their mission.
“The enemy forces may try to break into Ponyville from three different points. Gale already told me that he’ll send additional forces to aid us. We need to hold them off as long as we can until the reinforcements arrive. It will be up to the pegasi squadrons to provide our forces with aerial support.”
“You bet we will,” Rainbow said.
Just then, two more pegasus squadrons came along. Rainbow recognized their leaders immediately. The one with a crosshair emblem lead the Sweeper squadron and had a light blue coat. He stood out among other fliers due to his yellow and red colored mane. The other leader had a winged lance as an emblem - the symbol of Lancer squadron. Compared to other pegasi in his team, he was quite tall.
“Quick Chaser! Thunder Flicker! Long time no see, guys!”
“Hey, looks who’s here!” Quick Chaser commented upon landing before Rainbow. “Heard you pulled out a major stunt at Fillydelphia. You go, girl!”
“You know how to get things started with a bang, eh, Dash?” Thunder Flicker added. “One more squadron is on its way, but it’s still being scrambled. So, for now, you’ve got us.”
“Thanks, guys,” said Rainbow.
Within the next ten minutes, the Cutie Mark Crusaders predictions came true. Medley and Cloud Kicker reported about first enemy units approaching their positions. The battle was about to begin…
“All right, you punks!” Quick Chaser exclaimed. “Do your worst!”
-----------------
Seeing Ponyville in the distance, one of the Exile commanders reached for a communicator.
“My Lady, Aurora. We have reached the designated positions. It would seem the enemy is lying in wait for us. They intend to protect the area.”
“I expected as much,” Aurora replied. “Carry on the mission and claim this town. Do not worry about the defenders. I’ll see to it that they will fail.”
“As you wish, Lady.”
The commander ended the conversation and ordered his troops to attack. Applejack’s battalion was already waiting for them to clash in a battle. As the Exile pegasus squadrons headed onward, Rainbow’s team flew up as well to meet them.
“We’ll prioritize the fighters. The sooner we take them out, the easier it will be for the ground forces,” Firefly suggested.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Rainbow Dash replied. “All fliers, you’re cleared to engage!”
-----------------
The Reapers watched as the Exile soldiers ran through the fields to take on the EAF troops. Once again, Trickster felt sour about being left behind.
“Do really need to trust those amateurs in taking over that town? Come on, guys. Everyone knows we could have done it ourselves.”
“Are you doubting Lady Aurora?” Deathwing asked him.
“Now, now…” the alicorn mare whispered gently. “There is no point in starting another argument. I’m keeping you here for the moment because I will need you during the assault on Canterlot. It’s all a part of my plan. Rest assured, Ponyville will be ours before this day shall end.”
Deathwing looked at his companions, who seemed a little uncertain.
“What is your plan, my lady?”
“You will see soon enough… I have an important talk to attend to. Please leave for now.”
As the four pegasi turned to the exit, Aurora said to Shockwave:
“What is the status of the Zeal?”
“Almost done. I’ve compressed the data you’ve send me, my lady. All that is required now is some raw data acquired during combat to be uploaded into the system,” Shockwave replied.
“Excellent. Then you will gather that data during the attack on the capital. You are dismissed.”
Just as the door closed behind them, Aurora turned around and faced a different monitor. Sounds of hissing and growls came out of the speaker.
“I hope you have a good reason. How much longer do you intend to keep us waiting?”
It was the voice of a creature hidden in a shadow, the same that Aurora was speaking to before. It sounded clearly frustrated.
“Do not worry, King Aigaion. I have good news for you. The time for waiting is over. You and your men can now join the battle for our cause.”
A satisfied growl was heard.
“At last…”
“However, your assistance will be needed mostly in an attempt to besiege the capital. For the moment, I require an assistance from one of your generals. I wish to show the Princess of the Skies and her companions the meaning of true fear.”
“Is that right?” Aigaion growled. “Very well then. If it helps your soldiers in establishing superiority in the region, then I believe I have someone just up to the task.”
Aurora smiled.
“I’m pleased to hear it. Do you think he can reach the designated point within two hours or so?”
“Easily.”
“Then I’ll be looking forward to the results, o Mighty One.”
Their conversation ended. Aurora turned her throne around to face the monitor displaying the ongoing battle. For the moment, it seemed to be even for both sides.
But not for long…
-----------------
The earth pony battalions under the Exile banner managed to completely occupy Applejack’s forces. Despite a small advantage in numbers, they were unable to break through the defense lines. Applejack ran back and forth, supporting her troops and delivering painful kicks to any enemy pony unlucky enough to get too close, all the while trying to avoid long range bombardments from the second enemy line. She called Rainbow and her team to try and take the cannons out, but the Exiles had one more contraption on their side. Some soldiers were riding on a mobile anti-air turret, which were very similar to those mounted on their ships. It become difficult to get behind the enemy’s line and take out the artillery. The main problem came from the EAF troops not having artillery of their own.
However, Twilight found a solution to the problem. She send two unicorn companies to create a distraction. Using shield spells, they received most of the incoming fire, allowing the Sweeper squadron to perform a swift attack that destroyed most of the cannons. That small success gave the defenders a much needed morale boost.
Despite losing his artillery, The Exile commander wasn’t done yet. He decided to fight fire with fire.
“Strike Battalions 123 and 124, shoot down the pegasi. Clear the skies! Make way for our bombers! We’ll get to Ponyville one way or another!”
They did as they were ordered to. Seeing Mirage squadron approaching and preparing another attack at their own flight team, the Exile unicorns started shooting offensive spells in their direction.
“Look out from below!” Rainbow Dash hollered.
A barrage of fire, ice and lightning beams caused them to break formation and spread out, trying to avoid them. Cloud Kicker saw a group of five pegasi grabbing a hold of bombs from the ammo stock in the rear of enemy’s lines. She realized the danger.
“Mirage 4 here! The enemy is preparing a bomber raid!”
“Say what?”
Medley suddenly turned around to see if it was true. Unfortunately, that brief moment of inattention cost her. One of the enemy unicorns noticed her stopping in midair and fired an icy beam at her. Before she could evade the attack, it struck her in the right wing.
“Ahhh! I’m hit!”
“Kid!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Are you all right?”
“I–I can’t maintain altitude! I’m going down!”
The green pegasus was now at the enemy’s mercy. Luckily for her, Rainbow quickly darted toward her and managed to save her from being finished off, swiftly evading energy beams fired in her direction. Medley held onto Rainbow’s neck.
“Is your wing okay?” she asked.
Medley tried to move it, but it was frozen solid. She shook her head in reply.
“Don’t worry. I’ll drop you to Twilight so her guys can take care of it.”
Upon leaving Medley with Twilight, two friendly unicorns used their own magic to warm up the frozen wing. Though the cold effect was nullified in about a minute, the green pegasus felt bad about being distracted and nearly killed. She remembered how the same thing happened during the previous war, where she managed to save Rainbow’s life, but she nearly died instead. Carelessness had been one of many causes of death during the war, and Medley quickly realized that. Once her wing had been defrosted, she spread them and went on to rejoin her friends in battle, having no intentions to die
Cloud Kicker reiterated her report about incoming bombers. Rainbow and Firefly were too busy holding off the enemy squadrons, so they called for Sweeper and Lancer flights to deal with them. Quick Chaser and Thunder Flicker gave chase after them without a second thought.
“Sweeper 1, you go deal with the escorts. I’ll handle the bombers,” Thunder Flicker proposed.
“Sure thing, pal.”
The cyan flier lead his companions against the pegasi flying close to those who were carrying bombs. In an attempt to catch their attention, he started circling before one of the escort fighters, but he seemed to have ignored him.
“Don’t worry about them,” said one of the Exile fighters. “Keep an eye on the bombers. Don’t engage in needless fights.”
“Your bombers are not gonna get through!” Thunder Flicker replied, darting toward one of the bomb carriers in the rear. It only took three powerful punches to knock him out of the sky and make him drop the unarmed bomb to the ground, rendering it useless.
“All right, Lancer 1!” Quick Chaser praised him. “One bomber down!”
“Still four to go. I’ll need you to get the escort’s attention if we’re to get to them.”
“On it!”
Quick Chaser rushed toward a group of fliers to his left who were protecting two of the bomber pegasi. He engaged the flight leader.
“You guys best quit while you’re ahead.”
“Never!” the flight leader replied angrily, trying to punch the cyan pegasus. “We will claim this city or die trying! We will do everything to help our lady in accomplishing her mission. Equestria will experience a dawn of a new age under her rule!”
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the only rightful rulers of Equestria! You are not welcome here!”
Saying this, Quick Chaser performed a quick side roll, avoiding the flight leader’s attack and delivering a powerful counter blow to his back. His teammates quickly dispatched two other enemy pegasi while Quick Chaser finished the leader off with a swift kick to the face, sending him plummeting down. At the same time, Thunder Flicker’s team took down another bomber. He managed to arm the bomb, and it fell to the ground, but all ponies in its potential blast radius were informed beforehand. Thus, the bomb didn’t deal any damage at all.
“Dammit! Sir, another bomber was shot down! We lost Aphasia 1!” one of the Exile fliers reported to the commander. “At this rate, we’ll be wiped out! We need assistance!”
Ten unicorns from 123rd Strike Battalion were sent forward to distract the Sweeper squadron. They managed to hit one of his teammates, putting him out of commision and buying some time for the bombers. Though Thunder Flicker successfully defeated the third bomber, the last two were almost out of his range and kept on closing toward Ponyville. Friendly unicorns were too busy trying to create an opening for Mirage squadron to attack the enemy lines and couldn’t stop the attack.
“Shoot! We’re not gonna make it!” Thunder Flicker yelled.
Suddenly, his radar picked up four more signals approaching from the direction of Canterlot. They were flashing friendly IDs.
“We’re here to back you up! Phoenix squadron, defeat the bombers!” a voice of male pony sounded in his allies’ radios.
“Alright, it’s Sunburst!” Quick Chaser exclaimed. “Mind if I join in?”
“Let’s go all together!”
The three squadrons, Phoenix, Sweeper and Lancer, pursued the last two bomber pegasi, ignoring the anti-air fire from the unicorn spells. Quick Chaser went ahead to take down the last three fighters escorting the bombers. With a little help from his two remaining teammates, he defeated them with ease. Thunder Flicker took down one of the bombers with a precise diving kick to the neck, most likely breaking it. In a last-ditch effort, the last pegasus armed the bomb, trying to reach Ponyville, despite the Phoenix squadron being on his tail. Sunburst managed to mislead him, as he lowered his altitude to sneak up to him from the front. He dispatched the last bomber unit with a powerful uppercut to the face. As he released the grip on the bomb, Sunburst grabbed it instead and threw it at him.
“You forgot something!”
The last thing the Exile bomber saw before dying was an image of a warhead heading straight at him. When the bomb exploded, he was engulfed by the expanding blast and only his burnt corpse hit the ground.
Thanks to Sunburst’s timely appearance, the threat of a bombing run was no more. Unable to comprehend how his enemies could be so dangerous, the Exile commander contacted Aurora. His reserves were already running short, with only one more pegasus squadron and unicorn battalion he could send into battle.
“My lady, the enemy’s resistance is too strong! We cannot break through! We have to retreat!”
“You have no permission or need to retreat, Commander Clad Hoof,” Aurora replied in a cold voice. “Your support is on the way. For now, pull back into nearby woods, and regroup. Trust me. Once the defenders are scattered, resume the attack. Is that clear?”
“Y-Yes, my lady.”
The earth pony commander relayed the order to his units. While some ponies were still eager to fight, they had no choice but to obey. Rainbow Dash’s team managed to knock down a couple more pegasi before they pulled back with the rest of the army, carried by their comrades.
Seeing their foes fleeing into the woods, Applejack threw her hat into the air, jumping in place.
“Yeee-haaw! Nice going, everypony! That’ll teach’em not to mess with us!”
Twilight was more careful. She read the reports from the battle for Fillydelphia and felt anxious about that sudden retreat. It could’ve been another trap set by the Exiles.
“It’s too early to celebrate,” the unicorn mare said. “They could be preparing another attack.”
“Nowise,” Lightning Bolt spoke. “Their only option to strike in hopes of dealing severe damage would be to use the cruise missile again, and this region is beyond the range of Scinfaxi.”
Twilight wasn’t convinced by that statement. Seeing a few of the Exiles’ technological inventions in action, mainly the mobile anti-air turrets, she wondered what else could they have lying in wait for them. Rainbow Dash tried to ease her worries.
“If it’s alright with you, we’ll do a little scouting to make sure those jerks are gone. What do you say, Twi?”
“Permission granted, Rainbow. We’ll keep the rest of units stationed here, just in case. Contact me as soon as you’re done.”
“Roger that. Let’s go, girls!”
Rainbow Dash rounded up her friends. Cloud Kicker had a minor bruise on her left side, and Medley still had a bit of troubles with her right wing, though she could fly. Besides that, the Mirage fliers did not sustain any major injuries. They flew ahead to investigate the area.
==========
1400 hrs
As Rainbow, Fluttershy, Firefly, Derpy and Lightning Bolt checked their surroundings, Cloud Kicker and Medley followed the trail left by mobile anti-air turrets into nearby woods. They managed to stay concealed and avoided being spotted. It took them about ten minutes to find a group of Exile soldiers, regrouping. Most of them were probably further ahead. The two pegasi flew back to see their friends and report the situation.
Once they explained everything, Rainbow adjusted her communicator to contact Twilight.
“This is Mirage 1. It is as we thought: the Exiles fled into the woods. They may be preparing for another attack.”
“Acknowledged, Mirage 1,” Twilight responded. “We’ll prepare for them coming. Head back into the rally point and – What the!?”
Twilight’s sudden cut surprised Rainbow.
“What’s up, Twi? Something wrong?”
“That’s weird… The magic indicator on my radar just spiked.”
Firefly looked around the area.
“We searched all surroundings. There are no signs of magic activity nearby. You radar must be malfunctioning…”
“Wait!” Medley interrupted. “Do you hear that?”
All seven pegasi went quiet for a moment. They heard a noise, a whooshing sound, reminiscent of flapping wings… and it wasn’t theirs. It was much louder.
“It spiked again!” Twilight reported. “What is going on? Are the Exiles trying to warp more of their soldiers? There is no other explanation…”
“Wait, they can do that?” Rainbow inquired.
Lightning Bolt once again provided an explanation. Since any strong army needed versatility in order to be effective, most of them had at least one type of unit group that specialized in transportation.
“I would not be surprised if the Exiles have a division of unicorns trained to perform teleportation spells. Also, by combining their magical power, they could transport a limited number of soldiers to their destination.”
“That makes sense…” said Firefly, although her tone signified she wasn’t all that convinced.
Twilight picked up another spike in magic activity on her radar.
“Can you pinpoint its location?” Rainbow asked.
Twilight waited for another spike and when it happened, she slowly replied.
“It’s a single unit. It’s… It’s coming from above.”
The sound of flapping wings became even louder. Medley noticed that the air above them was flickering, almost as it it was due to heat. Rainbow and her friends flew up, trying to understand what could be the cause of those abnormalities.
“This is really weird…” said Firefly. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“I don’t know… I’ve got a really bad feeling about this,” Derpy spoke.
As the ponies were flying around, still hearing the flapping wings, Cloud Kicker barely noticed a silhouette of them. They seemed to be really big, much bigger than an average pony… She looked to her left, having an uneasy feeling she was being watched…
“AAHHH!!!”
“Sunny, what’s going on?” Rainbow asked, hearing her shriek.
“T-T-There… S-Something… glared at me… A-A-An eye… I-I-I’m s-scared…!”
Cloud Kicker desperately clung to Lightning Bolt. Rainbow let out a loud sigh.
“Give me a break! There is no eye there, stop being a baby!”
“I’m not making this up! You think I’m crazy?” the purple pegasus asked, feeling upset.
Lightning Bolt tried to process everything that happened so far. The sound of flapping wings, the barely visible silhouette, the big eye Cloud Kicker could’ve seen… And then…
A loud grumble was heard. The Mirage fliers started rotating their heads, trying to find its source. They didn’t see anything. Another grumble sounded. Medley looked at Derpy.
“Please, tell me that was your stomach rumbling.”
Derpy shook head in denial. Lightning Bolt suddenly gasped, having reached a conclusion.
“Is that…? No, it’s not possible… How could they…”
“What are you talking about, Thunder?” Rainbow asked her.
“Twilight’s radar is not malfunctioning… Look at yours!”
Their radars also started detecting magical reading spiking up high.
“There is no doubt about it… Something is around here… even if we can’t see it. It must be using optical camouflage!”
“WHAT?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “You gotta be kidding me! There’s no way anypony would have an access to it! It’s only been recently put into development stage, or so I heard.”
The transparent silhouette suddenly jerked.
“Ah ha ha ha… Not for us, little ponies,” a very deep, growling voice sounded.
“W-Who said that?! What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Rainbow, behind you!” Fluttershy screamed.
The optical camouflage began to wear out, revealing what it’s been hiding. It almost looked like that being started appearing from the middle, slowly gaining proper shape, shedding the invisibility away. The pegasi of Mirage squadron watched in shock as the saw a big, glowing blue gem in its armored chest, a grey, scaly body, two sharp claws, a long, tail with some spikes on its end and a triangular head with a pair of dark green eyes. What stunned them completely were a pair of enormous wings, keeping the being afloat.
“What… the buck…?” Rainbow stammered.
Before their eyes rested one being they never even dreamed to face. It let out a deafening roar. It woke the pegasi from their shock. In its place, fear struck them.
“Ahhhh! A dragon!!!” Cloud Kicker yelled.
“Fall back! Fall back!” Rainbow Dash hollered.
“Hah! You will not escape me!” the dragon roared. “Feel my power!”
He started flapping his wings more violently. Before Rainbow and her friends could escape, the dragon unleashed a huge shockwave around the wings. His attack managed to hit every single flier and knock them out of the skies.
Their screams alerted Twilight, who kept monitoring the whole situation.
“Rainbow? Rainbow! What happened? Respond!” she pleaded.
The blue pegasus tried to avoid crashing to the ground. She managed to stabilize her flight and immediately reached for the communicator when she noticed that the dragon started heading in Ponyville’s direction.
“Twilight! Watch out! There’s a dragon heading your way!”
“A what? You’re joking, right?” Twilight asked, confused.
Another loud roar showed that it was the truth. All ponies gathered on the grasslands saw the massive winged creature. Such a sight was more than intimidating, as they had no idea what was a dragon doing here in the first place. He simply hovered above them, waiting.
-----------------
The Exiles saw him as well. His sudden appearance caused a panic attack among some soldiers. Commander Clad Hoof quickly calmed them and contacted Aurora.
“My lady! A dragon just appeared in Ponyville’s vicinity! He attacked the Mirage squadron and went toward the town! What should we do?”
“Wait,” she replied. “Let him do his work.”
-----------------
The grey dragon let out another roar, trying to provoke the ponies to attack him. He started flapping his wings in a rapid fashion before diving down.
“Whoa, Nelly! He’s coming right at us!” Applejack screamed.
“Everypony DOWN!” Twilight ordered.
That was just what the dragon wanted. He flew right above their heads. Then he released another shockwave from his massive wings, sending ponies flying several meters away in all directions. Some of them lost consciousness upon hitting the ground. The dragon watched the chaos he wrecked with mild satisfaction.
“Why is he attacking us?” Twilight wondered, utterly shocked.
“No matter! He is our enemy!”
Firecracker Burst, co-leader of the “Arcana” battalion, who defended Canterlot from the griffin invaders during The Equestrian War, did not wanted to let him get away with it. She was known for her temper.
“Don’t just stand there! Attack! Target the dragon!” she ordered to a group of unicorns.
Twilight finally managed to snap from the shock when she heard that.
“No! Don’t!”
But it was too late. Several unicorns fired offensive spells at the dragon, to no avail. They simply vanished into his body. Twilight noticed a glowing jewel on the dragon’s chest and realized that he was wearing some sort of armor. The winged creature only bared his fangs when he saw that measly attempt at hurting him. While the unicorns kept firing at him, the gem on his armor kept glowing brighter.
“Cease fire! Do not engage the dragon!” Twilight yelled.
The hot-headed green unicorn looked at her.
“But why, Commander ma’am?”
“Don’t waste your energy. Dragon’s scales are his natural protection against most of our spells. We won’t even leave a scratch on him. Besides, that armor he is wearing… I think it is actually absorbing our magic and making him even stronger!”
Firecracker finally realized the mistake she made and felt deep regret.
“I didn’t know… I’m sorry, Commander ma’am.”
“This is no time for excuses!” Applejack interrupted her. “Twilight, what are we supposed to do?”
“ I don’t know, Applejack… I don’t know what he is going to do…”
But just a few seconds later, the dragon opened his mouth and begun charging energy. Twilight’s radar went crazy. Now she knew what will happen. She had to act fast.
“He’s about to attack again! All unicorns, to me! We have to try and stop him! Everypony else, scatter!”
Twenty more unicorns ran to Twilight and began focusing their magical power to create a powerful shield above them. The dragon didn’t seem to care at all. Once he amassed enough energy, he fired a massive blue energy beam downward. The shield spell managed to suspend it in midair, but the unicorns were maintaining it with great difficulty. Twilight felt her legs bending under that powerful force…
“Hold on… We… can’t let him…! Aaahhh!”
The stream of energy shattered the magical shield, sending the unicorns to the sides. It struck the ground, causing a huge explosion. The dragon watched the carnage under him.
“Impressive…” he said to himself. “That’s the first time someone managed to block my Shock Cannon… Still, not strong enough to save them. My job here is done.”
He then flew in the direction of the woods, leaving the defenders’ broken formations behind.
-----------------
In the meantime, Rainbow’s friends were recovering from crashing. Fluttershy, Cloud Kicker and Derpy has some bruises, but overall, nothing too serious.
“My head…” Firefly groaned. “Now I know how a nail hit by a hammer feels like...”
Then they noticed the explosion caused by dragon’s attack. Without a second guess, they all headed for Ponyville to see what happened to Twilight and Applejack, as well as the other defenders. On their way, they saw the dragon again, but this time, he passed them by, ignoring the pegasi.
“So, they survived…” he thought. “Interesting…”
Once the Mirage squadron arrived at the battlefield, they saw a huge crater hole in the middle. Earth ponies and unicorns were lying around. Some were getting up on their own, some asked their companions for help. But there were also some ponies that were not moving or giving any signs of life. Rainbow’s team managed to find Twilight and Applejack among the ponies. The purple unicorn mare was covered in dust and could barely stand on her own.
“You’re alright, Twilight?” Rainbow asked her.
“I think so… We made it… at least, most of us…” she coughed up.
She looked around her. Seeing the destruction from the dragon’s energy beam made her feel depressed. Most of the defenders were wounded, having suffered more or less serious injuries. Twilight also noticed that some ponies were completely gone from sight, even though they were there a few minutes ago.
They most likely got caught in the explosion’s epicenter and were literally vaporized by it…
“I’ve used all of my magical energy to maintain that barrier with the others, but he still managed to break it. What terrible power…”
“Where, in the name of all apple trees, did that dragon come from? And why did he attacked us anyway?” Applejack wondered.
Medley grabbed binoculars from one of the earth ponies and flew up. She saw the dragon stopping in front of the woods where the Exiles were regrouping.
“I don’t believe it… That dragon is cooperating with the enemy!”
This news shocked the other ponies again. Twilight slowly got a grasp of the situation.
“So this is what Aurora was talking about… That dragon must be one of her allies.”
“Now what do we do?” Applejack asked. “If that’s true, the Exiles will most likely attack us again. They’ll take advantage of us being weakened.”
“I’m afraid there’s only one thing we can do.”
Twilight’s voice was filled with regret. Rainbow knew well what she meant. But she had no intention of giving up.
“You want us to retreat? And abandon Ponyville?”
“We have no choice, Rainbow. If we stay here, we’ll all end up dead. Our forces are in a rout. What if that dragon comes back? We will not defend the town from another attack in this state.”
Rainbow lowered her sight. She understood it all too well.
“Listen,” Twilight carried on, “you and the other pegasi will go to Ponyville. Help in evacuating the city ASAP. Do you understand?”
Rainbow did not reply. She turned around and looked at Ponyville.
“Do you understand?!” Twilight reiterated.
Again, there was no reply from Rainbow. She hated losing. It hurt her more because what Twilight said was absolutely true. If the Exiles and the dragon attacked them together, the battle would end in their favour…
“Mirage 1, do you understand the order?!” Twilight exclaimed.
Rainbow finally turned to her.
“Yes,” she replied in a bland voice.
As soon as she flew to the town along with other squadrons to help evacuate the civilians, Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. Applejack went ahead to gather all soldiers remaining under her command, while Twilight adjusted her communicator to a broadband frequency and made an announcement:
“Attention. To all units of the Equestrian Allied Forces in Ponyville region. This is Twilight Sparkle, ground force commander and leader of the “Arcana” battalion. I order all units to retreat from the area and head for Canterlot. Maintain formations. Don’t panic. I repeat: retreat for Canterlot.
==========
1452 hrs
The grey dragon landed before the woods. The Exiles looked at him fearfully, wondering if he would attack them next. He did not. Instead, he spoke to them.
“I have cleared the way for you. Attack now!”
“Why did you help us?” Clad Hoof asked him.
Aurora’s voice gave him an answer.
“Commander, do you remember the allies I had mentioned earlier? This is one of them.”
“HE is…?”
The dragon looked at ponies without any interest, but confirmed Aurora’s words with a nod. Clad Hoof came closer to him.
“Thank you for your assistance, dragon. How do they call you?”
“I am Gleipnir, one of Drake Generals, serving under King Aigaion, the ruler of Drakonia. We made a pact with your leader and now, we are fulfilling it. We are… at your service.”
Clad Hoof’s eyes shimmered.
“Truly, a powerful ally it is. With this might, nothing will stop us. Ponyville is ours.”
“Commander! The EAF soldiers are abandoning the area!” one of his soldiers reported. “Now’s our chance to finish them off!”
“No,” said Aurora. “I want Princess Celestia to feel the terror of what is to come. For now, just take over the city. We will use it as another one of our bases.”
The Exiles moved onward. Aurora turned her attention to the dragon.
“You have done well, Gleipnir. In fact, your display of power was quite impressive. If your kinsmen are as strong as you are, this war will end quickly.”
“Perhaps you will see it for your own, Lady Aurora,” Gleipnir replied.
“Perhaps… You may return. You have fulfilled your task. Tell your king he may expect first of the gem deliveries in a few hours.”
“I am certain he will be pleased,” said the dragon, as he opened up his wings and soared back into the sky.
-----------------
Aurora ended the conversation and looked at her closest companions from the Reaper squadron, who watched the entire battle alongside her.
“See, boys? I told you Ponyville will be ours before the end of day. Did you enjoy the show?”
“A satisfactory result, if predictable,” Shockwave summed up with his monotone voice.
“Are you kidding?! That was awesome!” Trickster exclaimed, jumping around. “If I could, I’d watch that explosion a hundred times! That was some hardcore stuff! Why didn’t we used this kind of backup before?”
“I believe it’s obvious, Trickster,” said Deathwing. “We wanted to test the combat abilities of our opponents. Isn’t that right, Lady Aurora?”
“Indeed,” the alicorn mare replied. “I must admit, they put up a good fight. But it won’t be enough. I will have my vengeance.”
Havoc sat at the sight without any sign of excitement.
“That was some nice firework show, alright. But I’ve got one question, Lady Aurora. How did you manage to convince the dragons to help us?”
Aurora replied with a giggle.
“That, Havoc, is my little secret…”