> Mare Do Well: Raining Of Fire
>  by ShadeJak
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Memories At Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“I’m here, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, walking into the throne room and bowing to the majestic white alicorn monarch.

“Rise, my faithful student,” Celestia answered with a kind smile. “I’m happy to see you made it here quickly, I have a new assignment for you… one that will prove different from even when you and your friends helped overthrow King Sombra.”

The unicorn cocked her head, concerned. “Oh?”

“There is a rather urgent matter occurring overseas, in the industrial nation of the Griffon Empire… as allies and friends it is imperative that we assist in any way we can,” the Princess explained. “However as I am needed here, I place this upon you, my student, to meet with the royal family on my behalf… and perhaps a loyal friend to help in dealing with the threat that has befallen them.”

Twilight didn’t even need to guess who Celestia was referring to. Rainbow had gone through a lot the past year, and has proven herself a reliable hero for Equestria when she assumed the mask of the Mysterious Mare Do Well. The notion brought a small smile to the unicorn’s face. “I’ll see what I can do. I think she mentioned having wanted to see the place, plus you know how she is when there’s the idea of adventure, danger, and the like,” she said, shaking her head. “But what is this threat?”

“The Emperor has reason to believe the attack against Cloudsdale may have inspired more revolutionaries. As they are within his own kind, he feels perhaps the most reliable ally and greatest show of force against them is to present them with the very one who foiled the attempt on Cloudsdale as an adversary. However, the two of you have proven a very reliable team, so I intend for you both to go, should you accept this.”

“Well, as I said, I’m sure Rainbow won’t say no, and I would not turn down your request. I accept your mission, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said with a bow.

“Very well,” Celestia replied. “Understand the Griffon Empire is very different from our land. They descend from a predatory race and as a result are less… peaceful then our lands, and with far less magic they compensate with a highly industrialized society. It may help to have somepony of Rainbow Dash’s talents and... personality... around as well.”

Twilight nodded; for Gilda to have gone off the deep end she must have at least somewhat valued Rainbow Dash, and as griffons were avian creatures, Rainbow’s skill in flying and her street-smarts may have helped them fit in better. Still, she herself would probably be the better choice when it came to diplomatic matters. “I understand. We will not let you down.”

~

“This… is gonna be… AWESOME!" Rainbow said cheerfully, pressing her cheeks with her hooves in excitement as she hovered above the floor of the boat. She’d packed as fast as she could, including the costume she’d become more then accustomed to over the past year at Twilight’s assistance. “I’ve always wanted to see the Griffon Empire, Spitfire had told me about it, said it’s like, way different from Equestria!”

Twilight giggled at her friend’s enthusiasm, watching the guards and ship crew go about their duties. They'd been at sea since yesterday and her friend just grew more and more excited. “Yeah, Rainbow. Just don’t forget what we’re going there for,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah, Twi. Just taking in the moment, alright?” the pegasus answered indignantly.

“You’ll have plenty of chances for that when we get there. I’m sure it’ll be a new experience for both of us,” Twilight replied.

“We’ve gone through a lot of new experiences, haven’t we, Twi?” Rainbow asked, landing next to the unicorn and looking off in the distance as her tone grew more serious. “This time last year, I was just thinking about becoming the new Mare Do Well, I thought of how cool it’d be to go around in a costume saving ponies and fighting crime. I learned way more then I expected… like how I’d have to let go of my dreams of being a Wonderbolt, and what it feels like to… well… feel like you’ve got the weight of everypony’s life on your back… not to mention how the past can have this way of coming back in the worst ways,” she said, remembering Gilda and Lightning Dust. She managed a smile. “But you know what, Twi? I’m way more comfortable with myself then before. I don’t think about those jerks from flight school anymore, and when I see the paper talking about the stuff Mare Do Well’s done... well let’s just say I feel seriously awesome!”

Twilight smiled, impressed with her friend’s more mature approach on getting through life’s trials and troubles.

“…And not to mention, is there a pony alive even half as qualified for it as me?” Rainbow said with a mischievous grin.

…Rainbow Dash would always be Rainbow Dash… Twilight thought to herself, shaking her head.

“I just wish mom could see me. I know dad says she’d be proud of me, but… I’d have loved to have heard it from her,” Rainbow said softly, walking over to the edge of the boat and putting her forelegs over the side, resting her head on them.

“You’re going to be one fast pony, Rainbow Dash!” Firefly said with a smile as she watched her daughter fly in little circles as fast as she could.

“Of course I am! ‘Cause I’m super fast and super cool and I’m gonna be a Wonderbolt just like you were, mommy!” Rainbow flew into her mother’s hooves and hugged her tight

When her mother passed away, it devastated her, but she promised she’d be strong, she’d be just like her mother had been. She may not have become a Wonderbolt, but she became something way cooler. Looking down at the water, she saw herself, and for an instant, Mare Do Well looking back. Ironic how the image of the superhero who had been created to upstage her as part of a lesson in humility became the image she now wore. “This may not have been the sorta life I had in mind back then, but hey, now I wouldn’t want it any other way!” she said with a cocky smirk.

“You know, Rainbow, that sounds like Commander Hurricane,” Twilight said, joining her friend.

“Huh? You mean the commander of the pegasi who helped form Equestria?” Rainbow asked. “He was pretty cool, I’ll admit. I mean I did play him for that pageant after all!” she said with a laugh.

“Well did you ever do more research on him?” Twilight asked.

“No more then I had to. He was the representative of the pegasi, helped found Equestria, and lead the military forces during the Griffon War, and like me, he was the fastest flier of his time,” Rainbow said with a hoofwave. “Other then that, I kinda dozed off a lot in Equestrian History, Twi. No offense.”

Somehow, that didn't surprise Twilight at all. “Well, Rainbow, Commander Hurricane wasn't expecting to end up as one of the major players in ending that war. He never would have guessed it'd be him who fought the final decisive battle against the griffon commander, General Razorbeak—“

“Razorbeak?!” Rainbow asked, her ears twitching, then she let out a sigh. “…I guess now I know where she got that name,” she muttered, recalling the masked alter-ego Gilda had come up with when she made that attack on Cloudsdale. "Makes sense, those activists I fought probably worshiped the namesake and would have quickly followed anyone who could live up to it and give them their fifteen minutes of glory."

“Yeah, apparently,” Twilight replied. “But anyway, the two of them fought in the sky, storm clouds were everywhere, the battle raged on for some time, but in the end, Commander Hurricane triumphed, and slew the bloodthirsty general, causing his forces to surrender immediately.”

“Slew? Twi, you sound like an old world narrator,” Rainbow said with a chuckle. “Still, that’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, and after the war, he created the Wonderbolts, incorporating his personal flight tactics for shows in celebration of their victory.”

“Okay, yeah that I heard about. Shame I couldn’t have met him then,” the pegasus said. “Then we could compare awesomeness!”

“I wouldn’t have minded a chance to meet Starswirl the Bearded, so I know how you feel, Rainbow,” Twilight replied.

“Figures you’d want to meet the biggest egghead that ever lived,” Rainbow said with a laugh, playfully nudging the unicorn.

~

Rainbow grinned as she was surrounded by barrels of delectable apple cider. She’d managed to be first in line at Cider Season this year, and thus had gotten the first taste! So delicious… so perfect. She was in heaven.

“This has to be a dream… no, wait! Forget I said that!” she pleaded, not wanting to jinx this.

“Rainbow!” Twilight’s voice yelled.

The pegasus’ eyes snapped open, finding herself on her bed hugging the unicorn, who looked more then a little concerned.

“Awww it was a dream?!” Rainbow protested.

“Yes. You can… uh… let go of me now. I came in to wake you up and let you know we’ve arrived and you just suddenly grabbed me and called me ‘delicious apple cider’,” Twilight said.

“Promise me nopony ever knows about that,” Rainbow said as she got out of bed and did a few warm up exercises.

“Trust me, I wouldn’t want that getting spread either,” Twilight answered with an eyeroll. “Now come on, we’re about to dock so we can look around and get breakfast.”

Heading to the deck of the ship, the two ponies looked at the approaching shorelines, ready to face whatever awaited them in the Griffon Empire.
	
> Ponies At The Port
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The port was mostly barren, with long wooden bridges connecting out into the water. The buildings themselves, however, were mostly made of brick and metal, with several walkways and perches around the rooftops leading into the top floors. Griffons, gizmonks, and even a few ponies were seen working on maintaining ships and several odd clockwork contraptions that were attached to the sides of the buildings. Merchants were seen here and there under crude canopies, selling their wares. Further down were several homes built close together into a single complex, an inn and a larger building that the two mares suspected to be some kind of bar or pub, and past that was a trail leading up a tall hillside that they assumed to be a landing point for the airship that Twilight had been told would take them to Talongrad, the Empire’s capitol.

“This place smells funny.” Rainbow said after taking it all in.

“Steam power.” Twilight explained. “They used to burn a lot of coals and such to power their machines, since griffons don’t have the kind of magic unicorns provide. Those resources started to dry up, and was one of the reasons for the war in the first place… that changed after magic gem energy was shared with them.”

“Thanks for the history lesson, Twi.” Rainbow said, looking about. “So when’s our flight?”

“In about an hour, Rainbow.” Twilight said before turning back toward the guards. “Could you bring our stuff up to the lift point? We’ll be up there later when the airship arrives.” She floated a checklist out and over to one of the unicorn guards, who raised an eyebrow as he stared at it, as if trying to read another language.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” The guard said.

“Just to make sure everything we don’t have with us is set.” Twilight said with a friendly smile. “Thanks!” She looked back at her friend. “So anything you’d like to do to kill some time?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind checking out that pub. I’m sure whatever they got doesn’t compare to cider back home.” Rainbow said with a smirk.

“Don’t be so sure, Rainbow. The Apple family is all over Equestria and does do some trading business with the griffons.” Twilight replied as she followed Rainbow into the pub.

~

The moment they pushed the swinging double-doors open, they were greeted with the sight of griffons everywhere. Some of them looked admittedly shady to say the least, a few with eye-patches, or a crippled leg or wing, a few with scars, many of them were bandannas or headbands, some had hats leaning against their chairs. Some sat at the bar, enjoying drinks and what looked to be bowls of cooked poultry, which made Twilight wince a little. Rainbow was admittedly a little put off as well, but remembered griffons were carnivores. Immediately every griffon in the place turned and looked at them, sizing them up, or possibly just curious. She doubted ponies frequented this place, but she wasn’t going to let that intimidate her.

Taking a breath, Rainbow lead Twilight to the bar table and fixed a gaze on the bartender, a rather chunky male griffon with a chip on the left side of his beak and tattering in his left wing, along with a scar of some sort. She could only wonder where those came from.

“Hey, pal. How 'bout getting me and my friend here some cider?” She asked. The bartender cocked his head and then let out a loud, hearty laugh.

“Well yer a bold one, aint’cha, pony! I like yer spunk! ‘Ere ya go, drink up!” He said, filling a pair of leather mugs and placing them in front of the two ponies.

Twilight magically floated her drink to her lips and took a sip. It wasn’t as good as Applejack’s, but it wasn’t bad either. Given the active trade in this port, it probably wasn’t too surprising. Rainbow picked up her own in her hooves and prepared to take a sip when she saw a griffon place his hand on her foreleg.

“I don’t think you should be drinking that.” Rainbow turned and saw a darker-colored griffon with an eye-patch over his right eye glaring at her.

“Why not?” The pegasus asked, glaring back.

“’Cuz I said so, horsey.” The griffon said in a low tone.

“Oh, wanna make something of it?” Rainbow asked with an angry snort, putting her drink down and facing him completely now.

“What if I do?” The griffon asked.

“Rainbow, we don’t wanna start a barfight, come on let’s—“ Twilight began but Rainbow pushed her hoof out in front of her.

“No, no, Twi. This punk wants me to show him what I’m made of, I’m happy to!” She gave the griffon a cocky smile. “You wanna start something, land a hit on me!”

“Thought you’d never ask!” The griffon said with a grin that showed the teeth behind his beak that griffons were known to have, and took a swing. Rainbow’s experience as Mare Do Well served her well; with next to no effort, the pegasus weaved right out of the way, jumping into the air and landing behind him, balancing on her forehooves before swinging out her back legs and bucking him hard enough to send him rolling across the floor into the nearest wall, causing all the griffons present, as well as Twilight herself, to let out a collective gasp in astonishment.

Approaching the fallen griffon, Rainbow grinned down at him and slammed her hoof on his right hand. “So, looks like I win, huh? Go on. Say it.” She said.

“You… win…” the griffon said sheepishly. “Great… moves by the way, for a pony.” He muttered, getting up and leaving. Rainbow rolled her eyes, but accepted what she figured passed for a compliment anyway.

“That was pretty amazin’ there!” The bartender said. “Where’d you learn moves like that?”

“Wonderbolts training.” Rainbow said with a shrug. Granted Spitfire had taught her a couple things, so she wasn’t exactly lying to the griffon.

“Huh. Heard’a them. Then again I hear a lotta stories; comes with the job you know! An’ just to let ya know, the Griffon Empire doesn’t support what happened in Cloudsdale last year.” The bartender replied. “Those guys acted on their own, though I gotta admit, it’s… had some bad effects around here.” He leaned over. “Whispers an’ stuff. Creeps wantin’ the old days ain’t exactly unusual in the Empire, but there’s been somethin’ goin’ on around here…”

“Oh yeah?” Twilight asked, finishing her drink and leaning over.

“Don’t know all the details, but there’s some kinda group or somethin’. Serious radicals, I’m tellin’ ya! Gettin’ more members every week, they ain’t afraid to make protests an’ stuff now in public, even harrassin' the ponies who work around here!”

“So some losers are making those guys martyrs? Why am I not surprised.” Rainbow said with a facehoof.

“Look, like I said, they don’t take well to ponies so whatever yer business is here in the Empire, ya’d best watch yer flanks real good.” The bartender warned.

“Thanks for the advice, now how’s about refilling my drink since that wannabe-tough griffon spilt mine.” Rainbow said, nudging out her mug again. Twilight nudged her own mug forward as well, feeling a second serving wouldn’t help, they had plenty of time left after all.

~

“And I answered… the Aristocolts!” Twilight said with a wide smile and her hoof up high in the air after having underestimated the hard cider, but managing to get quite a good laugh from many of the griffons present as she stumbled off the pub’s stage. Rainbow flew over and picked her friend up, it somehow not surprising her that a shut-in like Twilight was a featherweight. From the looks of it she was just tipsy, and being a pretty sharp-minded unicorn it’d hopefully wear off soon; not to mention she doubted Twi was going to want anypony knowing about the things she’d said leading up to that joke. “Uhh, Rainbow? What’s going on?” Twilight asked, fighting off the fuzziness in her head.

“You don’t wanna know, Twi. Can’t believe I’m saying this but we should probably get a move-on to the airship! ...And while you're at it, maybe when you get the chance clear your head a bit.”

“Oh… right.” Twilight said, shaking her head a few times as they left the pub. As soon as they got outside, though, they heard a noise nearby, prompting the pegasus to usher her behind the pub.

“Hey, Twi? You better be ready.” Rainbow said, opening her saddlebag and finding Mare Do Well’s broach. Taking it out with her wing and placing it against her neck, Rainbow focused, and her costume instantly appeared on her. That trick Twilight had done with making the costume easier to hide and faster to put on back when she was dealing with Big Shot had been pretty convenient.

Fully suited up, Mare Do Well wrapped her forelegs around Twilight, spread her wings and flew off to the source of the noise. Seconds later, she put Twilight down on a rooftop and looked over the corner, spotting three griffons down below menacing some tied-up pony workers. Opening her belt pouches, Mare Do Well tossed several flash bombs down at the griffons and flew down, striking one in the face with her hoof, bucking another with her hind legs, then looping in the air and swooping down at the last one to slam him into a wall.

“This a private show or can I join?” Mare Do Well asked, glaring at the three griffon thugs.

“You—impossible!” One said in disbelief.

“Mare Do Well?!” Another said, rubbing his eyes, but the pegasus flew straight at him and decked him twice with her hooves, then stood atop him.

“In the flesh and feathers.” Mare Do Well replied. “I dealt with punks like you when I was a novice, do you really think you have a chance?”

“Of course we do!” The third one said, and Mare Do Well got a good look at the griffons; all of them wore red scarves over their necks and beaks, with an fiery bird symbol on the front. The third one who'd just spoken to her was different, having a pair of goggles and two blades strapped to his back that he took off and gave a twirl “Trust me, those two’re just a couple rookies. Wanna try against me?” He asked.

“Fine by me.” Rainbow said, hovering in a circle as the griffon did the same, watching her carefully. He lunged forward and the pegasus flew straight up to avoid him, but the griffon then did a quick spin and flew up above her, raising his leg and kicking her in the face to send her back down. Mare Do Well fell to the ground, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid the blades the griffon had aimed at her as he flew down to finish her. Mare Do Well tugged the end of her cape, throwing it over the griffon’s face and pulling, causing him to stumble. The griffon toppled over, dropping his knives and prompting Mare Do Well to flip in the air and raise up her hind legs, bucking him in the face and into a wall. The griffon reached into his belt, grunting in pain, and tossed a pair of feather-shaped blades at her, grazing her as she narrowly avoided getting them in her chest and neck and glad the injury she'd given him had made him slower. The griffon stood up clumsily, still dazed and in pain.

“Think… this is over? You’re an idiot… just like your princess… the revolution’s only beginning. Rebirth… shall come!” He said before collapsing.

Mare Do Well stared down at the fallen griffon for a moment then looked over at the ponies they’d had captive.

“Get the guard, and take the first boat out of here, got it?” Mare Do Well asked, and the two ponies thanked her and ran off immediately. Spreading her wings again, Mare Do Well flew up to the side of the building where Twilight was and unmasked. “Well, that was fun! For a moment I thought this port town was gonna be boring!"

“You alright, Rainbow” Twilight asked, noticing the pegasus’ wounds. “Here…” She closed her eyes and focused. Slowly, the wounds healed, and the suit damage repaired, though it took minutes rather then seconds, likely due to Twilight still being a little out of it from the cider.

“We should probably get to the airship.” Twilight said, looking in the distance as she heard noise and seeing the airship had indeed just now parked.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Rainbow said, sliding out of the costume and stuffing it into her saddlebag that Twilight had taken with her. Shame it only worked one way until it was removed. Twi herself would have to redo that spell.

~

Within moments, the two ponies were standing in front of the airship and Twilight had managed to clear her head more as to not make a fool of herself while they were boarding. The airships in Equestria had nothing on these. This one was like some kind of luxury air transport. The ship was massive, made from metal instead of wood, with large eagle head carving in the front and an extensive multi-window carrier and a frame that had several propellors facing upward and in the back, with a beautiful lion designs on the sides of the balloon casing. Joining the guards that had accompanied them and showing their letter from Celestia, the ponies were admitted on board and were lead to their cabin. The inside featured cushioned couches, a little large for them but likely due to being intended for griffons mostly.

“Ooh, this is kinda comfy.” Twilight said with a smile. “This place really is pretty amazing.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’d still take flying on my own any day.” Rainbow said with a hoofwave.

“Well, two hour trip to Talongrad, you ready for that, Rainbow?” Twilight asked.

“You bet I am.” Rainbow said, opening her saddlebag and taking out the Daring Do book she’d been reading.

“You’re still on that one, Rainbow?” the unicorn asked.

“Come on, Twi! I kinda had… ya know… other stuff eating up my freetime for awhile.” Rainbow said, laying down on her seat and opening to where she last left off.

Twilight’s mind, however, was on the griffons Rainbow had just defeated. While their leader had proven formidable, she couldn’t help but wonder about his threats; Celestia had filled her in on the situation of revolutionaries, and the bartender from the pub had mentioned it being a growing problem. If they were a part of that, then she’d have to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible; especially if they were enough of a threat to make the imperial family require their assistance…

~

“Come on, you idiots!” The leader of the three griffons ordered as he flew ahead of his two equally-battered recruits towards a small shack on the cliff side they were approaching. They'd been lucky to escape before the town guard came for them.

“Hey, I fell on my wing when she hit me, give me a little slack here, Felix!” One of the other griffons protested. As soon as they were able to land, the griffon let out a sigh in relief, then cringed a little as he folded his wing. The leader turned and whacked him on the head.

“Felix sir to you.” He said, leading the two inside where a figure was facing the window.

“Hey, we ran into some trouble in the port town!” Felix explained. The figure’s silhouette was illuminated by the moonlight, and he slowly turned, a whirring sound was heard as he raised his right claw, which was a clockwork prosthetic with a gem embedded inside. As he approached, it made a clank with every step.

“Explain.” The larger griffon said, spreading out his left wing towards Felix, who flinched slightly at the sharp metal bladelike replacement for its tip as it drew near his throat.

“We were taking care of our mission, when suddenly Mare Do Well showed up! She’s here, in the Griffon Empire!” Felix said, cringing again at his superior.

“Mare Do Well…” The large griffon said with a low, lionlike growl as he stepped into the light. He wore a tattered, burned bomber jacket with the sleeves torn off, the entire upper half of his beak had been replaced with a metal one, his fur had several markings resembling burn scars. Clenching his prosthetic claw for a moment, he took a breath and shook his head. “So the imperial family has called for her… how appropriate. No doubt she’s with the ponies who arrived today, on their way to Talongrad as we speak. Perhaps we should inform the boss at once… Personally, I wouldn’t mind the chance of a rematch!” He said, grabbing a piece of debris with his prosthetic claw and crushing it with ease.
	
> Rising Flames
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fire was everywhere. Mare Do Well had no idea where she was, but she could hear her friend in some distant place, calling out to her. The costume provided little protection as she searched for the source of Twilight’s cries for help.

“Twi! Where are you?” She ran about the dark metal halls that never seemed to end. The fire began to chase her, she took to the air to fly but it still kept up with her, forming into a birdlike shape that let out a terrible screech as it lunged at her. Then, Mare Do Well stood on a rooftop in Canterlot; the once-beautiful capitol of Equestria was now a devastated ruin engulfed in flames.

“No…” the pegasus cried out, pulling off her mask and hat and collapsing to her haunches, hot tears forming in her eyes. There was a soft breeze, and the sound of wings as something landed next to her. Rainbow opened her eyes and looked to see who or what had joined her.

The figure next to her wore a blood-red, hooded cloak, but she could not make out any other features aside from his wings and tail that suggested it was a griffon. The figure approached her, and she stood paralyzed with fear and despair.

“Rebirth.” The figure whispered.

~

“Rainbow! Wake up! We’re here!” Twilight’s voice said, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and looked up at her friend, who’d been shaking her with her hoof in an attempt to wake her. Shaking her head, the pegasus let out a sigh. The dream she’d had… it shook her up a lot more then any nightmare normally would.

“You alright?” Twilight asked, concerned.

“Weird dreams.” Rainbow said. “Twi… whoever these guys are who’re causing problems here, I gotta stop ‘em. I can’t mess this up!”

“Yeah, that’s why we were sent, Rainbow.” Twilight answered.

“No… Twi…” Twilight grew uneasy. It wasn’t like Rainbow Dash to be this openly worried. “Equestria’s in danger too… I can’t fail…”

“Rainbow, you’ve dealt with a lot of dangerous threats before as Mare Do Well, you gotta believe in yourself like you did when you took them on. We can do this.” Twilight said with a smile and her friend gave a slow, accepting nod. “Anyway, welcome to Talongrad.” She said, gesturing to the window.

Rainbow stared agape, amazed by what she saw; below was a vast, industrial city built atop several large, tall plateaus and connected by various metal bridges and railways. Smaller airships drifted about here and there; likely for tired griffons and any flightless residents. Griffons flew about all around the buildings made of brick and metal that all had multiple perch and landing points around them, and catwalks and stairways on their sides. All the streets had lamp posts lining them as it was getting dark now, several buildings had their signs lit as well, some of them flickering slightly. It was unlike anything Rainbow had ever seen in Equestria, though several clouds that drifted around them had a few griffons lounging about on them. In the central plateau was a massive palace, yellow light shining from its many windows and numerous towers rising from it that ended in pipes that puffs of steam drifted from, and at its entrance a huge tapestry with the symbol of the Griffon Empire adorning it.

“Pretty amazing isn’t it? I’ve never seen a place so advanced, but Celestia said their magic isn’t as prevalent as that of Equestria’s life, so they’ve started making up for it with machinery since shortly before the Griffon War.” Twilight explained.

“I see. Wonder if Gustav Le Grande’s place is around here.” Rainbow mused, recalling the éclairs he’d made at that contest so everypony could enjoy them after the first batch was eaten… they were pretty delicious. Spotting what looked to be a high-rise diner whose sign read “Le Grande’s” quickly answered the pegasus’ question and earned a smile from her.

“There’ll be time for that later, Rainbow.” Twilight said, giggling when she saw her friend look about ready to drool. “We’re about to meet the Emperor and his family so we’ll need to be on our best behavior.”

“Aw, Twi, I’m a pro at upper-crust behavior! Remember the whole Prisma Glimmer stint I pulled?” Rainbow asked, switching to a proper Manehattan accent. “I do declare, Twilight, you worry oh so much.”
The unicorn gave her friend a brief look. “Just let me do the talking.”

~

Moments later, the two mares and their escorts stood before the massive, metal doors of the imperial palace, the griffon guards gave them a steely gaze, their fierce eyes causing Twilight to flinch slightly. The guards looked towards one another and tapped their halberds on the floor. Two griffon guards up on the towers standing on either side of the doors immediately disappeared inside them and pulled a pair of levers. The grinding of gears was heard and the doors slowly swung open, revealing the courtyard.

It was unlike the industrialized outside of the city, instead there was a grass lawn and a stone path, a large fountain at its center with a statue of the Empire’s first ruler standing within it, and marble busts of several other previous rulers along the sides lining the path in between marble columns. Reaching the next door, they found themselves inside a place that more resembled the rest of the structure, a smooth stone floor with metal stairways, high perches and balconies with support girders and buttresses, with a massive glass sunroof above them. Rainbow stared up at it in fascination, noticing the sunroof’s panels were stained glass images. Proceeding onward, they ascended a stairway and reached the throne room, where two griffons stood present. With urging from one of the guards, Rainbow, Twilight, and the Canterlot escorts immediately bowed.

“Rise.” The griffon in the center said. Rainbow regarded the three that stood before them; at the center was an older griffon, probably just reaching the prime of middle age. His coat was a faded brown and his wings a black color, his neck plumage was graying and he wore metal bracers on his forelegs and dark silver chest armor, along with a metallic headband with a single gem in the middle.

At his right was another griffon, presumably his son as he appeared to be around Rainbow or Twilight’s age but the similarities ended there. He had a gray coat and black wings, with white neck plumage, and wore silver neck armor. He seemed rather intrigued by the ponies that stood before them, smiling a little but keeping most of his attention on his father.

“You are most gracious, Emperor.” Twilight said with a smile.

“Thank you. I am Emperor Griffonheim, and this is my son, Prince Loken. I take it you are Princess Celestia’s pupil, Twilight Sparkle. I do admit it's been some time since I'd seen the Princess face to face, she's quite wonderful, and makes an excellent cup of tea if I may say so..." He shook his head and glanced over at Rainbow Dash "And this is…?”

“Consider yourself lucky 'cause you're meeting the one and only Rainbow Dash! Fastest flier in Equestria, and coolest pony you’ll ever—“ Rainbow stopped when she noticed the stares and Twilight just facehoofed. So much for Rainbow and formality. The emperor chuckled, shaking his head.

“Spirited, isn’t she?” He asked.

“Yes, I suppose you could call it that. My apologies.” Twilight said.

“I like her already. I’ll need to spend more time with you when I get back with the reports!” Loken said with a genuine smile. “Well, by your leave, father.” He said with a bow; walking past the ponies and taking to the air, flying up to a perch on the opposite end of the room and out the window it lead to.

“Please excuse him, he is currently meeting with the councilors at Parliament to get an update on the situation with our… problem and has received news. He stayed for a chance to see you arrive.” The emperor explained. “I… trust the hero I’ve heard about is among your ranks as well?”

“Yes, I assure you she is.” Twilight said. “We’ve kept her anonymous to insure your enemies do not track her.”

“I see. That is reasonable enough. Walk with me, please” The emperor replied, turning and heading up a stairway and gesturing for the ponies to follow. “I take it you recall the news of activists growing in our empire. They’ve caused a great deal of unrest. The incident in Cloudsdale a year ago has somehow invigorated them, the damage that Gilda had caused under the alias Razorbeak continues to haunt us. Your hero Mare Do Well may have put an end to her, but now the activists here have made a martyr out of her and those she recruited.”

“That’s ridiculous! She didn’t care about some dumb revolution! She just wanted revenge for something stupid that happened last time she was here that she kinda brought on herself!” Rainbow protested, causing the emperor to raise an eyebrow.

“How would you be aware of this?” He asked.

Rainbow gave the answer some thought, but had a way around the question. “She humiliated herself in front of an entire town. Trust me, you won’t meet a pony in ponyville who doesn’t remember that. And… her and I used to be friends when we went to Junior Speedsters Flight School.”

“Ah, yes. She was a flying prodigy, it’s how she made the cut to be sent there. It also helped her family was one of the wealthiest in all of Eagleopolis. We’ve held that exchange student program since the war ended, a sign of goodwill between our nations.” The emperor mused. “But be that as it may, revolutionaries like this will martyr anything if it suits their needs. There are those who crave the ‘old ways’ as they call it. Me and many of my predecessors had worked hard to keep us away from that. However, if they succeed, it could spell the end for here and your kingdom.”

“So why is it you have yet to stop them?” Twilight asked.

“Don’t think we haven’t tried. Their attacks are well-coordinated; they’ve been good at anticipating our moves and thus keeping things under control while still performing my obligations is growing harder for me with the damage they’ve caused.” The emperor explained.

“So who’s responsible for this? I bet Mare Do Well can beat them into a fine paste first chance she gets.” Rainbow said with a grin, earning a look from the griffon monarch.

“They call themselves the Rebirth. Their symbol is a firebird, appropriately enough. They serve a mastermind known only as the Phoenix. We’ve yet to identify him, though we’ve had some infiltrators sent to try and see what they can learn of him. They need to be stopped at all costs, and I had decided I needed to put my pride aside and recruit the very hero who destroyed their idol and thwarted the attack they so admired.” The emperor replied.

Twilight smiled. “Well, I’m confidant in Mare Do Well’s abilities, if I may say so myself. She will not let you down, highness.”

“If she succeeds, you and Equestria will have my eternal thanks.” The emperor said. At that moment, another griffon flew in, something in his claws.

“Highness! We’ve received something in the mail, it appears to be a film canister!” He said, opening the leather satchel he was carrying and pulling out the large metal canister. “We’ve had it checked over, it appears safe… despite the sender.” He turned it, revealing the symbol on it, Rainbow remembered it as the same image on the scarves those punks she took care of earlier wore.

“Follow me.” The emperor urged, and they were lead to another room, this one with a large screen. Two griffons flew in carrying a projector and set it up. “Put it on. As you were sent by Celestia, I permit you to watch this with me.” Obeying their orders, the griffons opened the canister and placed the film reel on the projector and let it run.

The quality was in color, though gritty and obviously low-quality but when the film began, immediately Twilight and Rainbow Dash wished it hadn’t.

Images of buildings burning, then of the firebird logo of the Rebirth movement appeared over it.

The movie cut to a figure seated in a throne in what appeared to be an airship of some kind given the whirring of machinery and clouds passing by in the windows. He wore a red hooded cloak that was tattered in the back, around the trim of the hood were numerous symbols and glyphs, and he wore a scarlet-colored chest armor over a black bodysuit. On his forelegs were silver plate armor bracers with ridged edges, a ring with a red gem adorned his right middle claw, and a silver clasp held the cloak in place. His neck was covered in armor as well, and his face was concealed with a white bone mask with a long beak, the eyeholes had red painted and flowing out the corners like red tears.

“Hello, Emperor Vladmir Griffonheim.” The griffon said, his tone was a low and menacing baritone, and sent chills down Twilight’s back, dark eyeholes of that creepy mask seemed to stare right into her soul. Rainbow stood next to Twilight, less afraid but with an angry glare on her face.

"I am the Phoenix…” The griffon said, the camera drawing closer, his head turning to the side. “I and my followers have been given the title of terrorists, but you could not be more wrong; we are revolutionaries...”

The film cut to the sight of an airship, exploding in the sky and crashing into a cliff side similar to the one at the port. A closer look and Twilight and Rainbow realized it was in fact the port they’d been to. Flames engulfed the buildings that had been carved and built into the side of the mountain and debris fell towards the ground, civilians fleeing.

“You have summoned Mare Do Well to protect you, and your weak farce of an Empire because you fear what I have vowed to bring this country,” his voice narrated as the camera showed several ponies and griffons fleeing. It then returned to the griffon himself, tapping his claws on the metal armrests of his throne. “But it has already begun… consider your guests as residents, because I’m afraid they’ll be staying longer then expected…”

Twilight, the guards, and even Rainbow shuddered at what they saw next: The boat they’d arrived on exploding at sea in a big burst of flame, the camera drawing closer to observe the damage. The camera once again returned to the mystery griffon.

“Twilight Sparkle, don’t expect your Princess to be in any position to help you either. She has… regrettably fallen ill as of late. My agents have intercepted a specially-ordered confectionery she’d placed for with Le Grande’s the day you’d left and… altered it.”

The camera changed to several masked griffons injecting something into a set of éclairs. The camera switched over to the griffon again as he crushed an equine figurine in his claws. “She’s in my prayers,” he said dryly. “It’ll wear off eventually, or perhaps not... but either way by then I assure you it’ll be too late.”

“Celestia… oh no… no…” Twilight felt tears forming in her eyes, if she’d only known. Rainbow Dash’s breathing grew rapid as she remembered her dream and now it seemed to be slowly coming to life.

“We have lost our predatory way of life that has granted us the prosperity and influence we've not had since the Griffon Wars.” The Phoenix explained as the film continued to play. “But that is going to resume… starting with the ones who chose to defend this weak society that you sent to infiltrate my movement…” The camera turned, revealing three griffons bound and gagged and looking like they’d been badly beaten. “You sent these fine young griffons to their deaths, your highness.” He grabbed one’s neck and twisted it, pushing the body aside, then went to the next and did the same, and then the final one, he drew a short sword from under his cloak and impaled him. The emperor stood stone-faced, but Twilight and Rainbow could tell his eyes were fighting off the grief that threatened for show. Twilight herself couldn’t bear to look any more, and Rainbow felt more and more rage bubbling under the surface as the camera zoomed in on the Phoenix again.

“It is time for a change, highness... one you cannot stop. It is time... for rebirth." A gleam shone from the mask’s dark eyeholes, intense eyes briefly seen within. “Mare Do Well, you may have performed incredible feats in the past, but choose to seek me out and here will be where you will meet your downfall… broken, beaten, and before the eyes of the land we will soon rise from the ashes of and claim as ours.” With those words, the film cut off.

“By the stars…” Twilight gasped. Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on her shoulder, and looked over at the emperor, who was facing away from them. She knew that stance, that position, the same one she used to hide weakness and fear of failure… for that she pitied the griffon, as she knew how crushing such a feeling could be, especially when everypony looked up to you and expected the best out of you, and you expected the best of yourself. She also felt intense anger towards this 'Phoenix' guy, and silently swore she'd make him suffer to his last breath when she had the chance.

“Highness, make no mistake, Mare Do Well will deal with this monster!” Rainbow said, approaching him, an intense look in her eyes that told the emperor all he needed to know that the pony before him was the one behind the mask, which earned the slightest nod from the griffon monarch. “Messing with Celestia? NOT cool! Twi, me and the others here? We’re with you one hundred percent!”

“I second that.” Twilight said softly, her grief fading to a look of determination. “We’ll work together, and do everything we can to stop him.”

“Excellent. Once my son brings back the reports, we’ll have an idea of where Mare Do Well can start a patrol route. This city is very large, after all.” The emperor said, his gaze for the briefest moment flicking to Rainbow Dash. “I’ll arrange for your lodgings at once, and we’ll meet after dinner.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t wait to get her costume back on and begin seeking out and taking down this foe, and after what she’d just seen, she knew she was going to enjoy every moment of the latter part.
	
> Dangers Within
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“You’ll be staying here.” The emperor explained. “Normally I’d arrange for something at an inn, but with the Rebirth knowing of your presence, your lives would be in danger if you stayed someplace outside the palace. Wandering the palace unsupervised will not be permitted. Your escorts will be shown to their quarters next.” Twilight and Rainbow Dash entered the room and looked around. Lamps stood on mahogany desks on either side of the large bed that featured covers with a canopy overtop of it. The matching red carpet went over the smooth floor and stopped at the door, and on the left side was a large window overlooking Talongrad’s many plateaus that made up the massive griffon capitol. Eagerly, the two ponies trotted over and looked outside, staring down at the many lights of the city below.

“Dinner will be ready in about an hour, word will be sent once it is time for you to come down.” The emperor explained, turning to leave and closing the door behind him.

“So…” Twilight said.

“Yeah…” Rainbow answered. Both mares felt speechless by the whole ordeal. “Twi… this guy’s different. He’s not like Gilda or Big Shot, is he?”

“No, Rainbow… he’s really not. He seems to want you to come after him. What he wants is bigger then anything they had. You’re just… somepony in his way. But it’s evident he wants you here so he can make an example of you. After all, destroy the one who saved Cloudsdale and Equestria… and even a mirror world of it… who would think to oppose him?” The unicorn replied.

“Not making me feel better, Twi.” Rainbow said, letting out a snort as she looked out the window. “For all we know, he’s right here in this city now, laying low till he’s ready to lead me to him.” She glared, her reflection in the window mirroring her and it satisfied the pegasus to see the look of determination on her face. “And when that happens, he’s gonna be sorry.”

~

The dinner table was as large as could be expected; Rainbow Dash and Twilight, along with their pegasus guards had been given a wide selection of vegetarian choices, though the servents began bringing out several roasted beef ribs and poultry to suit the griffons’ carnivore diets. Rainbow did little to hide her disgust, especially when she got a good smell of the gravy.

“How can griffons eat that stuff. It smells horri—“ Twilight clapped her hoof over her friend’s mouth and the pegasus groaned a little. The unicorn admittedly did not find the smell of cooked meat all that appetizing either, though the griffons who were already seated looked like they would ravage the table any second now.

“I apologize for the lateness.” The emperor said, entering with two guard escorts and sitting himself down at the center of the table while the two guards stood at either side of him. He’d removed some of the armor he had worn when they first met him. Soon after, Prince Loken arrived, taking his seat next to his father.

“I trust she’s on her way?” The emperor asked. The prince nodded.

“Not much longer, father. We have forces carefully monitoring airship movement into Talongrad now.”

“Ehhh?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh yes, my sister Nessa. She was on a trip in Neighsia. However, we’ve ordered her return as to insure she, too, can be carefully watched.” The prince explained. “If the Phoenix were to make a move and take her hostage, he’d have quite a bit of leverage, and father would rather have his family close by.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll have to deal with the Parliament. As Celestia’s… envoys… I certainly hope you’re prepared for that.” The emperor said, looking at the two ponies.

“Of course, Highness.” Twilight answered. “So, your daughter, what’s she like?”

“Spirited.” Loken answered with an amused eyeroll. “But that’s griffon lineage for you. She’s still refined enough not to embarrass the royal family. She won the draw on next in line so there’s a bit of work on that yet to be done.” He added with a laugh.

“Lucky her.” Rainbow said. “Imagine all the fans she must have.”

“I dunno, I don’t think I can handle that kind of responsibility or attention on me, personally.” Twilight said. Having known Celestia most of her life, the Princess had told her how much weight ruling a nation could put on one’s shoulders. Subjects tripping over themselves attempting to maintain formalities and having to do the same in return, always being ready to handle tough calls to insure the best outcome… thoughts of Celestia’s most painful choice a millennia ago came to mind… and then always having to maintain a strong and respectful image due to representing that nation. Those weren’t things she could say she envied her for, most just saw the greener grass of the other side and assumed it was all about getting one’s way and being waited on and adored. Celestia’s more… eccentric moments seemed to just be opportunities to loosen up, which thankfully Equestria was a nation at peace that allowed for such. She could only imagine how much harder it was to rule this place, especially with a dangerous organization attempting to instigate extreme forms of civil unrest.

“Please, Twi. You’re like a total egghead know-it-all. I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle.” Her friend said with a laugh.

“But hey, this Parliament thing? I say bring it on!” Rainbow said, earning a few stares from the others at the table, though the emperor and son exchanged an amused smirk and turned their attention on their own meals.

“Most of them will be no problem. Swiftwing may be more trouble. He’s in favor of a show of force against the terrorists.” Loken explained.

“I like him already!” Rainbow said with a smile.

“It’s more complicated then that. He’s proposed a crackdown on Talongrad and neighboring cities to weed out the Phoenix’s forces. That level of power can be… harsh on the citizens.” Loken explained. “Easy for the Rebirth to exploit, King Taurus of the minotaurs a millennia ago performed similar actions, and never relinquished the new power he gained once the threat had ended. The Rebirth can easily paint us and Parliament as a tyranny necessary to topple down and gain further support. Some sort of compromise is needed. It’s part of what my father was hoping for with Mare Do Well, who can surely put some ease on them and make that compromise easier to propose.”

“Makes sense.” Twilight said, recalling some history she read on the Minotaur Kingdom. Though not a malevolent nation in ages they were known to take a very no-nonsense, forceful approach on any conflict that came their way.

“Either way, we just hope you… and your ‘friend’ will be ready. It’s essential she make an appearance.” The emperor explained. “In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your dinner, and turn in after.”

~

The Parliament building sat on a plateau adjacent to the one holding the palace. It was a tall stone building held with columns of stone with metalwork along the sides for support, with the empire’s image on it and a statue of some griffon neither Twilight nor Rainbow were familiar with. As Prince Loken led them through the entrance, Rainbow glanced about at the griffons who worked there; many of them giving her unnerving stares, likely due to that she was wearing the full Mare Do Well costume and had shown up seconds before Twilight and the others had. Giving them a smirk under the mask, Rainbow felt a bit of satisfaction as she trotted onward. Let any of them try and start something with the pony that had become a known superhero back home.

Entering a pair of double-doors they were greeted by five griffons seated at a half-moon table. All of them looked older, perhaps middle-aged. Two were griffonesses the other three male. The one at the center cocked his head and stared down at the costumed pegasus, sizing her up and looking, much to Rainbow’s annoyance, mildly amused.

“So I take it this is the famed Mysterious Mare Do Well?” He asked, his tone smooth yet carrying a level of arrogance.

“Say hi to Councilor Corvis Swiftwing, Mare Do Well.” Prince Loken said with an eyeroll he intended only the pegasus to see.

“Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash…” Swiftwing said, looking at the unicorn and a pegasus guard disguised with a glamour spell Twilight had used. As far as they were concerned, no one outside of those necessary needed to know who was under the mask, so having the occasional double was not optional, and part of the reason Celestia had assigned only pegasus guards, other then that wings made getting around the griffon civilization easier.

“That’d be me.” Mare Do Well said in a bold tone. “Believe me, I’ve done more then enough to—“ Twilight held out a hoof in front of her in a silencing gesture.

“It’s an honor to be here, Councilor.” Twilight said. “On behalf of Equestria I assure you Mare Do Well will not let you down.”

“That’ll remain to be seen, won’t it?” Swiftwing replied in a prim tone. “Your… resume does you credit, but I’d prefer to get a live demonstration. Prince Loken’s informants have intercepted a planned strike by the Rebirth that will be happening tonight. I think I speak for everyone here when I say we’ll be expecting it to be snuffed out at once. If not, then we lose track of them and their numbers could spread out and we will have no choice but to initiate a crackdown on the city to more effectively weed them out.”

“We can’t do that, your honor!” Loken answered firmly. “This is what the Phoenix wants! If we take an extreme action like that, he can use it against us.”

“Exactly.” Mare Do Well said, coming closer. “I’m willing to take part in, or better yet lead this strike and we’ll be able to track down the Phoenix or someone who can lead us to him! Give me the time and place, and I’ll be there.”

"I'm inclined to agree with them." A middle-aged griffoness seated next to Swiftwing said, looking over at them. "Perhaps Mare Do Well is the best choice. Equestria has been threatened as well, to my understanding the Princess Celestia was drugged. Swift retribution from ponykind will make the impact against the Rebirth all the more severe.

“Interesting observation, Lightfeather.” Councilor Swiftwing said before raising his eyebrow at Mare Do Well. "You would lead this attack?"

“Anything to help in the best way I can.” Mare Do Well answered. “I’ve dealt with crazies, freaks, and crime bosses, some nut in a fancy hood and mask isn’t gonna scare me.”

“Very well, but you must do as we say. At 6, you will be directed to where our reports of this Rebirth meeting is, and we will have the captain of the guard give you further instructions from there.” The griffon answered. “Now, I suggest you go outside. I took the liberty of informing the press of when you’d be here and I think they’d like to have a word with you, Mare Do Well.”

Twilight looked over at her costumed friend, who shifted a little. Rainbow loved attention, but when her ‘winner’ image was on the line the spotlight tended to have the opposite effect on her. Mare Do Well gave a quiet nod and took to the air.

“As you wish, Councilor.” Twilight said, giving another look to her friend and leading her back out, followed by Prince Loken and the other ponies. As they came outside, there were numerous journalist and photographer griffons waited outside, some of them with microphones. Rainbow felt a little nervous again, and looked back at the griffon prince, who just cocked his head expectantly.

I swear Swiftwing put them up to this… she thought to herself, it had been evident he and probably the rest of Parliament had simply chosen to humor Loken’s idea of bringing her here.

As she drew closer, the questions came at breakneck speed.

“So if you’re here, does that mean you’ll stop the Phoenix?”

“How long will it take you to put an end to his threats?”

“Will you be working with the royal family or Parliament on this one?”

“Is this anything like what you’ve dealt with before?”

“What makes you so sure you’ll win?”

Mare Do Well raised her hoof up, then nodded at Twilight.

“Look, I just got here, and I’m aware of the threats the Phoenix and the Rebirth movement have made against this country. But be assured, I am gonna give him and his followers a well-deserved beating for what they’ve done. There’s no where he can hide, and no where he can run to. Feel free to take note of that, and any of you who have done your research you’ll know I’ve dealt with a lot of dangerous enemies in the past! I’m working with both sides because it’s important we all work together on this!” Mare Do Well explained. “And furthermore…I know I’m gonna win because I always do!”

Without another word, Mare Do Well spread her wings and flew off.

“Well, you heard the superhero.” Twilight said with a sheepish smile as the disappointed griffons slowly dispersed.

~

“Can just one of these clouds be a little less dirty?!” Mare Do Well muttered to herself, patting one she’d landed upon with her hoof. Thanks to the industrial nature of Talongrad, the clouds seemed a little… sooty. Not the best choice for sleeping on at all as far as the costumed pegasus was concerned. Being up this high, she was able to get a personal view of the city and examine its landmarks to figure out a suitable patrol route. Kicking her hind leg on the cloud’s side, Mare Do Well slowly descended downward, hidden atop the cloud. Griffons flew about around the tall buildings, perching on the catwalks around them and walking inside but none of them appeared to be particularly suspicious. Her eyes shifted to her left, noticing the Le Grand’s sign again and a smile spread on her face. Without Twi around, she could afford to take a little time out and not to mention she couldn’t very well keep up with this on an empty stomach!

Hopping from the cloud, Mare Do Well flew down to the confectionary and trotted inside. The moment she stepped in, every griffon’s eyes were upon her.

“Sup.” Mare Do Well said nonchalantly as she approached the counter, where an all-too-familiar mustached griffon stood, wearing a similar expression to his patrons.

“Oh my my, what brings ze strange one like yourself to my es-tab-leesh-mahnt?” The griffon asked. “Perhaps the allure of Gustave’s exquisite éclairs?” He raised a plate from behind the counter full of éclairs that seemed to glow in a divine light… had Mare Do Well not noticed the flashlight he held underneath.

“Right, hey, how about a few of those? Being a superhero works up an appetite after all.” Mare Do Well said. “And maybe a chocolate milkshake to go with it?”

“A… meelk-shake mademoiselle? Shock-o-latte?” The griffon chef asked, and suddenly his wings fanned out. “Zen BE EET SO! Word of your arri-velle travelled fast! Eef your eentent is to put an end to zees no-good Phoenix…” He turned his head and made a loud, exaggerated spit take and raised his claw up dramatically. “…zen you may have your éclairs and meelk-shake of mag-NI-fi-cent shock-o-latte on ze house… of Le Grand!” Brushing his wings back like a cape, the griffon turned and went into the kitchen while Mare Do Well simply shook her head. He was rather over-the-top and grandiose to say the least back when she’d first met him during that competition Sugarcube Corner was involved in, but in his own nest he clearly felt the freedom to be moreso. Still, free food and drink was all she needed to know she wouldn’t mind coming back later.

As she leaned against the table, she looked back at the griffons who were still staring. “Yeah, superhero. Try not to faint.” She said as the bell to the door rang once again, drawing her attention. Two larger griffons entered, causing her to immediately take a defensive stance, only to relax slightly and cock her head in curiosity as a griffoness entered between them. Her body was a vibrant light brown and a feather ‘fringe’ went down either side of her eyes, and were tipped a silvery gray. Her eyes were a golden yellow, like most griffons had and she carried herself in a graceful manner that complimented her trim figure. Around her neck was a silvery scarf and she had a sort of elegance to her. By her guess, Rainbow assumed she looked about Prince Loken’s or her own age, and did not have to be an egghead like Twilight to know who she was.

“Oh my.” The griffoness said as she noticed Mare Do Well.

“Princess Nessa?” Mare Do Well asked.

“Heard of me, I see.” The griffoness replied in a prim tone. “I can say the same of you, Mare Do Well.”

“I seem to get that a lot.” Mare Do Well said, not sure what to make of her.

“Well if the stories are true, I can see why you’d be considered worthy of griffonkind’s respect.” Nessa answered, walking past her as Le Grand returned, the latter nearly dropping Mare Do Well’s order when he recognized the griffon royalty.

“P-Prin-cess Nessa!” Le Grand said, bowing his head. “A most magnifique honor.”

“Absolutely. You know my usual order. Figured something to curb my sweet tooth before I get home was a good idea” Nessa replied, opening a satchel she was wearing and rolling out several bits.

“Here.” Le Grand said urgently, passing the milkshake and bag of éclairs to Mare Do Well and bolting back into the kitchen.

“Perhaps a moment alone with Mare Do Well?” Nessa asked, regarding the other patrons. “Don’t worry, consider your tabs paid for.”

Without another word, the other griffons nodded and flew out, leaving the pegasus and griffoness alone as the two large guards walked outside. A few seconds passed, and the griffoness smirked.

“So, the Mysterious Mare Do Well… savior of Cloudsdale who stomped out a few losers from Eagleopolis… took down a changeling crime boss, and had a few other adventures on top of that?” She asked with an eyeroll.

“Yeah, what of it?” Mare Do Well asked, narrowing her eyes under her mask.

“Only… that I’m a huge fan!” Nessa said with a grin, brushing back her feather fringe and had the pegasus been unmasked she’d have seen Rainbow’s shocked reaction at her sudden change of attitude. “Seriously, that whole prim-and-proper thing? Gets ‘em every time.”

“I swear, is all royalty like this?” Mare Do Well asked, recalling Celestia and Luna’s rather strange moments.

“Get real, Mare Do Well, if you spent most of the day sitting on a throne or having to deal with a bunch of stiff aristocrats and listening to lecturing teachers on how to do this and that you’d be a little eager to loosen up whenever you can, too. I mean I guess some don’t, but I’m a griffon, so it’s like being a bird in a cage. Why do you think my brother takes such an active role outside the palace as well? Dad’s a bit rigid but they say you go one way or another with all the duties and obligations; either subvert them whenever you can till the day you die or just give in, and believe me, that’s not who I wanna be.” Nessa said. “Still, the little act back there? Never fails to amuse whenever I gotta deal with anyone who gets all formal with me.”

“Huh…” Mare Do Well remarked. Nessa seemed rather like Gilda in a way, or at least how Rainbow remembered the griffoness back when they were young and in Junior Speedsters. “Well, look, Princess…”

“Oh my, don’t bore me, pony.” Nessa said, cutting her off and adopting the snobby demeanor again as she waved her claw dismissively.

Oh. Right. Mare Do Well thought. “Uh, Nessa. Right.”

“Better.” The griffoness said, now in a more pleasant way again.

This must be what Loken meant by spirited. Rainbow thought. Must have been a griffon thing, given they seemed to often have a thing for theatrics or just attitude, not much different from her own, which may have explained a few things that made Gilda... back then... seem fond of her. “Anyway, I’m gonna do a patrol route later, your dad wants you back as soon as possible I figure, they’ve determined Rebirthers are in the city, who knows what they’ll do if they know you’re not back there yet!” Mare Do Well explained.

“Please, Mare Do Well, I got my best guards with me. What could—“ Before she could finish, two large shapes were flung in with them. Seconds after, four griffons with red hooded cloaks entered, scarves concealed beaks and hid their eyes.

"My fault for saying that I guess..." Nessa muttered as Mare Do Well stood in front of her protectively.

"What do you clowns want?" Mare Do Well asked in a low, threatening tone. "Not that I completely mind running into you, just saves me the trouble of having to look for ya!"

"We're here for the princess." One said, causing another to turn and smack him.

"Idiot! You have to go and spoil that? The boss needs her!"

"What, you just gave something away, too, Klem!" The first one protested, and the two growled at eachother, causing Mare Do Well and Nessa to exchange a brief glance at one-another before Mare Do Well immediately flew forward and knocked the two griffons' heads together, dazing them.

"Get her!" The third griffon yelled, and the two dazed ones shook their heads and lunged at Mare Do Well, who flew straight up and landed behind them, bucking one into the other.

At that moment, Le Grande entered and nearly dropped the box he was carrying when he saw the spectacle before him. "Mère d'une vache!!" He shouted, running back into the kitchen as fast as he could.

As one of the griffons approached Mare Do Well, she backed towards the corner, the thug sneering as he drew closer, only to suddenly be treated to a plate full of eclairs to the face. Throwing off his goggles and wiping the cream off his face, he was immediately blinded by the flashlight Gustav kept on the counter for illuminating their 'magnificence' as Nessa shone it in the thug's eyes, allowing Mare Do Well all the time she needed to slam her hoof into the thug's face, knocking him out cold.

The other three looked at their fallen comrade and drew their knives out.

"One way or another, Mare Do Well, she's coming with us." One said.

"Over my dead body." Mare Do Well replied, sweeping her hooves across her belt and setting off the flash bombs in front of her and seizing the distraction to leap at one, slamming his head against a table and then kicking him unconscious, then turning her attention to the next disoriented thug, striking him multiple times with her hooves till he, too, passed out. With just one left, Mare Do Well approached.

"Still think this was a good idea? 'Cause I could go for a little more entertainment." Mare Do Well answered.

"Y-you'll still never beat us! The great revolution will commence!" The griffon said frantically and he immediately sprinted for the door and flew away.

"Well..." Nessa said, putting down the flashlight. "First day back and I witness a Mare Do Well fight. Pretty cool but don't mind me if I say I'll stick to just hearing about 'em from now on."

"Please tell me zey are gone." Gustav said, peeking in from his kitchen doors and surveying the damage. "Looks like I am most clever to have invested in zat extra in-sur-ahnce for my place after all..."

~

"Nessa!" The emperor cried out, rushing forward and hugging his daughter, who was still noticeably roughed up from the fight while Loken simply stood next to him and gave a nod of approval to Mare Do Well.

"Nice work." The prince said with a smile. "Nothing you couldn't handle I assume?"

"Sounds about right." Mare Do Well said as she sipped on her milkshake. "And not to mention made my afternoon a lot less boring."

The prince chuckled. "Well, that's good to know, considering what'll be in store for you tonight. My informants have told me there's expected to be quite the turnout. We'll provide as many city guard as we can without it affecting night watch too severely. It has to be a successful run if we're going to get Parliament on our side, though. You up for that?"

"As I'll ever be." Rainbow answered, looking over at Twilight who had just trotted in.

"I see the princess made it back alright." Twilight said before taking notice of her friend's beverage. "Ooh! Milkshake!"

"Here ya go, Twi." The pegasus said, passing it to Twilight, who used her magic to float it in front of herself and take a few sips. "Crime-fighter, symbol of cool, princess protector, I've got this covered, highness."

~

"You remember the plan, Rainbow?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Rainbow answered, putting her mask on as they stood in an alleyway of Talongrad's less reputable areas.

"Captain Ironclaw should be here shortly." Twilight explained, and seconds after, lights appeared and several griffons stepped forward, lead by a larger gray one in armor with a scar that went down the right side of his face and down his neck. "Oh, hello." The unicorn said with a smile.

"No time for pleasentries." The captain said, walking past the two. "Quick re-briefing. Mare Do Well, you will go in first. With the comm link I provided you, We'll also be able to hear what's going on. Try to avoid being seen and if anyone does spot you, take them out immediately, we can't afford the chance of them being alerted as things can go downhill very quickly then as we'll lose the element of surprise. Inform me at once if you see the Phoenix and do your best to keep them occupied should there be any captives until we can make it in. The last thing we need is more bodies and if we just barge right in now, they'll be made aware and it could turn into a hostage situation, so Twilight, if all goes well that is where you will come in." He explained. "Use your magic to teleport the captives out of danger while Mare Do Well and my forces will subdue the Rebirth. When we finish, we'll send word to Prince Loken. Ideally we apprehend the Phoenix or whoever is holding this rally and put an end to the Rebirth tonight."

"Got it." Mare Do Well said with a nod as she straightened her hat. "Seeya soon."

With those words, Mare Do Well spread her wings and flew to the roof of the next building over, avoiding the alleys as she saw some shady griffons moving through them towards a multi-floor warehouse two more buildings down and approaching another griffon near the door. They made a few gestures and were admitted in. The idea of simply flying over and beating the guard senseless came to mind, but there was the chance if anyone came outside it would draw suspicion. There had to be another way...

Staying in the shadows, the pegasus hovered around the upper floors of the building,  checking the windows. All of them had been boarded up. Looking down, she noticed a pair of griffons wearing red hoods flying over the street circling the building. Again, she considered subduing them, but she remembered the captain's words about how that could cause potential alarm. She'd have to do this with.... stealth. The pegasus shook her head, wanting so badly to beat the snot out of every griffon responsible for all she'd seen in that horrible display the Phoenix had sent the Emperor the other day. Flying around more, Rainbow's eyes widened under the mask and a grin came to her face as she noticed a skylight with a raised panel.

Perching on the roof beside it, Mare Do Well brought her wing to her belt and slid off the comm link, holding it in her hooves. The device was clearly meant for griffons or other creatures that were better suited for grasping things, but she managed. "Captain, I think I've found a way in, I'm gonna take a look." She whispered.

Hovering over the skylight, the pegasus peered in. Down below was an empty room with no light. Lifting the open panel, the pegasus crept in and looked around before proceeding to the door ahead. She could hear the sound of faint cheering coming from the floor below, and she was certain the rally was in the process of starting. Pulling down the door's latch and opening it, Mare Do Well proceeded and found some stairs. Pipes were along the walls, likely for a sprinkler system should the place catch on fire. Diversion, eh? she thought to herself and choosing to log this information away for now. Moving down the stairs, she heard voices approaching.

"This is gonna be huge! To think, we got another big execution!" One said in a rather giddy tone.

"So long as the camera keeps rolling, we'll have some more exciting news for the Emperor to look forward to!" A second voice said and the two shared a laugh.

"Wonder how he took the last one? Wish I coulda seen his face. I tell ya, our leadership has gotten weak, it's no wonder the Parliament's at odds with 'em now." The first one said.

"It won't matter. Stir up enough conflict, they'll be too distracted with eachother to focus on the citizens' needs... and that's where we'll come in, and be heroes!" The second one said.

"Speakin' of Parliament... the Councilor we nabbed is sure to fan the flames for Rebirth!" The first one said.

A smack was heard.

"Be glad that's all you got for that lame joke." The second one said. They're expectin' us right now, we better get moving!" The sounds of the two running off was heard, and Mare Do Well let out a sigh of relief. Continuing down, she came into a lit hallway.

"Alright, now where to..." She muttered to herself and she suddenly heard a gasp behind her. Turning, there was a scrawny griffon with a red hood and scarf like the ones the thugs from Le Grand's had. Before he could move she was already upon him, her hoof pressed against his neck.

"I'll only ask once. Which way is the rally?" Mare Do Well hissed, glaring at the Rebirth recruit.

"Th-that way." He answered, pointing down the hall. "Only door on your left."

"Thanks." The pegasus replied, slamming her hoof into his face as hard as she could, then dragging him away into a nearby closet and closing it.

"Alright, Captain. I'm about to see this rally. And I've also discovered they do have captives, one of them is... a Parliament member..." She explained.

"What?! How's that possible?!" She heard Twilight's voice shout, followed by a shushing sound she assumed came from the captain.

"Then this is more serious then we thought. We can't let any captives die, especially that one. The moment you see them, and have the opportunity make your move." Ironclaw said.

"Seems the only way through is the door, they've blocked off window access... I guess they really want to make sure there's no intruders." Mare Do Well explained.

"I see. Find a way in and remain hidden until you see the Phoenix, or anyone who is holding this event." The captain's voice said.

Looking at her captive, Mare Do Well shrugged and removed the hooded cloak and scarf, both of which were rather big on her given that griffons were larger then ponies and came back into the hall and opened the door she'd been directed to.

The room was massive, and filled with Celestia-knew-how-many griffons of all size and color, all of them wearing the same hoods and scarves with the firebird image embroidered into them. At the front was a large stage, where four griffons in similar hoods with goggles and staves looked down at their many guests, Rainbow gathered they had to have been higher-ranking.

"Welcome, one and all... to the Gathering of the Rebirth!" A voice announced, one which Mare Do Well felt was familiar somehow. Staying near the back, she watched intently as she heard steps that had a hard clanking sound mixed into them, and soon the voice's owner arrived on stage.

Mare Do Well could not believe her eyes. He looked different, disfigured from the injuries he'd sustained from the last time she'd fought him... but she knew it was Gilda's former lackey... what was his name? Leo!

The upper portion of his beak had been replaced with a metal one, a metal brace covered part of his right hind leg, and his entire left foreleg had been replaced with some sort of mechanized prosthetic that made a clanking sound whenever he walked on it. His body had several scars on it, and his bomber jacket had its sleeves removed, likely to accommodate his new appendage.

"It's certainly a pleasure to see so many of you here." Leo explained as he sat down on his haunches, holding a microphone in his prosthetic claw. "Especially for an event such as this. What we shall now witness is only the next step of our movement's magnificent cause! As you know, I barely survived the battle in Cloudsdale... but my boss did not. What Razorbeak fought for... an impact against Equestria... glory in the name of the Griffon Empire's more ambitious past... has been remembered. And now, it is my honor and privilege to serve a visionary who seeks to make our dreams a reality!"

Curtains behind him parted, revealing a massive poster of the firebird image that represented the rebirth on either side of a picture of the Phoenix, seated on a throne.

"But why should I be the one to explain it, or give us the big event? I believe I owe that to the one who saved me. The one who shall save our true way of life! Let's give an applause for our glorious leader and savior, the Phoenix!"

Cheers erupted all around as Leo stepped away, and the large portrait set ablaze and burned away, revealing an open chamber behind it from which set of stairs extended from outward and touched the stage. Seconds after, out of the shadows emerged the griffon Rainbow had only till now seen in the movie that had been sent to the emperor. A chill ran down her back as she looked at him now more clearly then ever.

The Phoenix wore a black bodysuit from which only his tail and black wings were visible from, his chest covered in red armor with flamelike patterns over them, with silver battle armor over his forelegs and hind legs. A flowing hooded red cloak was worn over top that and as it billowed behind him, Mare Do Well saw a golden firebird symbol on the back. The cloak's trim was a lighter shade of red with odd glyphs drawn along it, and a dark red stripe that ran down the middle of the hood. Underneath he wore some form of neck armor, and a bone-white mask with red painted along the edges of the dark eyeholes, resembling flowing red tears.

The Phoenix spread his wings and reared back, taking the microphone from Leo, who stood back and bowed his head. "Welcome, brothers and sisters of the Rebirth!" He stated, his voice the same chilling baritone Rainbow remembered from the recording. "It pleases me to see how our numbers have grown in light of recent events. I doubt those in power would have ever imagined what a formidable force we have become. Was it not long ago that they called us 'a few misguided activists'?" He asked. "The desperate measures they've taken have only proven that they have come to fear us, and our message against the rule which has forced us to abandon that which griffons have stood for back in the time of the wars!" The Phoenix shouted, and loud cheers came from the crowd before him.

"After the battle in Cloudsdale, I knew our message would be seen as weak, easily snuffed out. However, Leo survived, and when he met me, he was reborn, just as this nation shall be. Just as the nation who silenced our ancestors' dreams shall be! We shall educate those in power, and show them the full extent of our might that will make those ancestors proud as we tear them from their thrones! And we shall start with these... guests," he said, gesturing to the side of the stage.

Rainbow shuddered as she saw several bound griffons get marched out from backstage. Leo smirked and the Phoenix approached one, a roughed-up griffoness that Rainbow quickly recognized as Councilor Lightfeather.

"Councilor Lightfeather. So good of you to join us," the Phoenix said as he stood before her, lifting her head up with his claw. "My apologies for the rough treatment. It would seem you literally do keep your enemies closer then your friends, moreso then you realize."

The griffoness immediately spat on him. The Phoenix glanced down, then promptly slapped her hard enough to knock her over. "Very well, I was intending to save our esteemed Councilor for last, but looks like that will be changing. Cut her loose."

Complying, one of the armed griffons approached and tore the bonds off with his beak. Lightfeather looked over at them in confusion, then at the Phoenix.

"Go ahead and try to escape. Your kind are cowards," the Phoenix said.

Spreading her wings, Lightfeather prepared to either flee or attempt to attack the terrorist leader, but before she could do anything else, the Phoenix raised his claw and two of the guards were immediately upon her, restraining the griffoness.

"I never said anything about you having any chance of success, whatever your intentions may have been," the Phoenix explained with an amused laugh as he drew a small dagger from his chest armor, eliciting more cheers from the crowd. Rainbow grit her teeth, disgusted by the dishonorable action she'd just witnessed.

Taking out her comm link again Mare Do Well spoke urgently. "Move in. NOW!" she ordered. As the other griffons around her turned in confusion, Mare Do Well cast off the hood and scarf and flung a flash bomb from her belt up at the ceiling, setting off the sprinkler system and flew straight for the stage, slamming her hooves into one of the guards, then flipping in the air and landing behind the other, bucking him hard enough to send him crashing into the other. The Phoenix snapped his claw and the other two guards flew forward, their staffs aimed at Mare Do Well.

"Come on, there's plenty of me to go around..." Mare Do Well said, standing protectively in front of Lightfeather and the other captives before leaping on to one's staff and causing him to stumble from the air before she slammed her hind hoof into his face, knocking him out. Turning to face the last one, she slid her mask up slightly so she could grab a fallen staff with her teeth and swing it, parrying back the remaining guard's attack then doing a spin to strike him in the side with it. With a final toss, she flung it straight at the Phoenix, only for Leo to rush forward and catch it with his prosthetic limb, crushing it easily with his mechanical claws. A grin spread on the griffon's dripping wet face as ten more guards suddenly burst in from back stage.

"Mare Do Well... so glad you could make it."
> Moving Forward
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Leo… I seem to recall you getting blasted by lighting and falling to your death last I saw you.” Mare Do Well said coldly as she glared at the large griffon.

“What can I say, Mare Do Well? I got better.” Leo replied with a chuckle as he raised his prosthetic arm and clenched his metal claws into a fist. “You really think you can stop us?”

“Stopped you before.” Mare Do Well said, approaching.

Immediately, Captain Ironclaw and his guards burst in, promptly attacking and attempting to subdue the recruits that had filled the audience. Though the guards were more skilled, the recruits greatly outnumbered them, making it more of a challenge then it otherwise would have been. A few took advantage of the chaos and fled out the doors before any of the guards could catch them.

“You three! Secure the exit! Don’t let any more escape!” Ironclaw ordered as he engaged two more Rebirth members, knocking one out with a sleeper hold and then punching another in the face before dealing with the last one. The three that the captain had spoken to nodded and flew over to the exits, taking on any who attempted to leave. The captain turned and looked at the Phoenix, spreading his wings and flying at him.

Before he could reach him, however, two more Rebirth guards attacked, knocking him to the ground. The Phoenix regarded him for a moment before looking over at Mare Do Well and Leo. Mare Do Well glared at the costumed griffon and prepared to charge at him, only for Leo to grab her with his prosthetic claw.

Mare Do Well locked eyes with the Phoenix, who tilted his head sideways in a smug manner as though he were amused by her. Raising up his foreleg and snapping his claws, a pair of guards standing either side of him threw down a pair of vials, filling the area around them with smoke. The sound of flapping wings was heard and they were gone. Mare Do Well struggled to get free and pursue but was flung aside by Leo. The pegasus tumbled across the ground and looked up at her adversary, who slammed his prosthetic claw into the stage and tore out a board, then flew straight at her, swinging it. Mare Do Well rolled out of the way then turned and bucked her hind legs, smashing the wood apart then jumping into the air, tossing a pair of flash bombs. Leo swatted them aside right before they exploded and grinned.

“Good, I was hoping you’d put up a fight!” Leo said, pressing something on his prosthetic limb’s shoulder and the claws suddenly receded, and a short sword flipped out like a switchblade. Spreading his wings, he took to the air and flew at her.

“Oookay, that’s new.” Mare Do Well muttered when she saw the blade. Leo swooped at her, swinging his blade. Mare Do Well weaved out of the way, dodging the attack and flying straight up, flinging another flash bomb his way. Leo swung his blade again, knocking it aside and advanced further on the costumed pegasus.

“Not like Cloudsdale, is it?” Leo said with a laugh, thrusting his arm forward and the blade shot out on a cable.

“WHOA!” Rainbow barely moved out of the way in time, but cried out as she felt a sharp pain as the tethered projectile grazed her side. She was glad it hadn’t hit her wing or she’d not be able to stay in the air. The sprinklers finally began to let up and she glared at the wet griffon, who sneered at her before pulling his prosthetic limb back and the blade promptly retracted back into place. “That’s gonna cost ya.” She flew straight down at the griffon, avoiding the swing of his blade and slamming her hoof into his face. The griffon’s head jerked to the side and he swatted her back with his prosthetic. The impact of the metal appendage against her carried enough force to knock her down to the ground. Looking up, Mare Do Well saw him descending towards her, landing over her and aiming the blade at her neck.

“Definitely not like Cloudsdale.” Leo said, drawing his foreleg back and preparing to impale the costumed pegasus. Before he could, however, Captain Ironclaw lunged at him and swung his fist, knocking him over. Leo tumbled a bit, then stuck his blade into the stage to anchor himself. The cyborged griffon snarled at the captain, who stood defiantly next to Mare Do Well.

“Leo, right?” Ironclaw asked. “I remember you, who knew you’d move up from some lowly thug in Eagleopolis?

“What can I say, Ironclaw? Know the right griffons, get the right outcome.” Leo replied with a smirk. “Thanks to our new leader, we’ve gone from activists with dreams of glory and reforming the status quo to a genuine threat, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Not for long.” Ironclaw replied. “Take a look, your punks are all caught, or have fled by now. Your time’s up, Leo!”

The larger griffon laughed. “Funny, I’d say the same for you, in give or take fifteen seconds.” He said, pulling a remote from his bomber jacket and pressing the switch as he took to the air.

Rainbow shuddered and looked at Ironclaw; both knew what the griffon meant by those words.

“Twilight! Get in here now we need a barrier!” Mare Do Well ordered into her comm link as Ironclaw rushed over to where Lightfeather was laying.

“My apologies for this, ma’am.” The captain said, scooping her up and gesturing to his guards to grab the other captives. Leo grinned and flew straight for the boarded skylight, his prosthetic aimed forward like a battering ram and smashing right through it and flying off into the night, laughing. A second later Twilight teleported in.

“Get everyone grouped around me!” Twilight ordered. Mare Do Well and the griffon guards, along with the captured Rebirth members and the freed hostages huddled together as Twilight focused her magic and a shimmering pink barrier surrounded them with two seconds to spare before powerful explosions went off everywhere in the warehouse. After a short while when the smoke cleared and the debris stopped raining down on them, Twilight ended her barrier spell. “Well, that was close!” She said with a small smile.

“They got away.” Mare Do Well said, glaring in the direction she’d seen Leo fly off to. The Phoenix had escaped her as well; who knew where he’d gone to now?

“Exactly…” One of the Rebirth recruits muttered with a smirk. “You may have disrupted this rally, but we will still win. Our capture will do nothing but inspire others! This is just the next step, it’s far from over!”

“Yeah! Your establishment is done for! The fight may be yours but the war is ours!” Another said defiantly. Mare Do Well approached and hit him as hard as she could with her hoof, knocking him out. Shooting a glare at the other recruit who’d spoken, Mare Do Well smiled under the mask when he cowered slightly. “Your boss can’t hide from me forever. I’ll find him, and when I do, he and every last one of you associated with him will suffer in ways you can’t imagine, and that is a promise.” She hissed, getting in the face of the shaking griffon, who nervously nodded in response.

Turning and approaching Twilight and the Captain, the costumed pegasus lowered her head. “They’re right about one thing though… Twilight, this is far from over.” she said.

“I’ll take Councilor Lightfeather back to her home.” Ironclaw explained. “Mare Do Well, Twilight; return to the palace and inform Prince Loken of the outcome. The rest of you, bring these pieces of trash to the station and return the other hostages home. Afterwards we’ll meet up and do a search for any sign of the ones who escaped, and where the Phoenix and Leo could have gone.”

“On it. Ready, Twilight?” Mare Do Well said, looking at her friend.

“Ready, Mare Do Well.” Twilight said. Focusing her magic, the two were gone in a flash of light.

~

Mare Do Well collapsed on the throne room floor the instant she and Twilight reappeared, several griffon guards rushing over.

“Get Prince Loken. He wanted me to report as soon as the job was done and I gotta speak to him.” Mare Do Well said, standing back up. The guards looked at one another, nodded, and one flew off down the hall.

“Will you be alright?” Another guard asked, noticing where Mare Do Well had been grazed. “We can get the nurses down here at once if you need anything...”

“Won’t be necessary, I’ve been through worse.” Mare Do Well said. “Thanks, though.”

“Just leave that to me.” Twilight replied. “Will take a little time, though. It looks like he nicked you good… you got quite an adrenaline flow, there.”

“Well that’s because I’m me, Twi.” Mare Do Well answered with a laugh, feeling exhaustion begin to overcome her now that the fight was well over. At that moment the guard who had left earlier flew back into the room.

“The Prince will be down shortly.” He explained.

“Here.” Twilight said, exposing where Rainbow had been hurt. The unicorn’s horn glowed, as did the wound and Twilight focused on a healing spell. “How’d this even happen?”

“One of their bosses, he was seriously armed.” Mare Do Well replied. “He’s some griffon I fought before, back in Cloudsdale. His name’s Leo, he was working right under Gilda at the time. Thought I killed him shortly before Gilda beat me. Apparently I didn’t do a good enough job at it…” She muttered, shaking her head. “Got this crazy prosthetic with a sword in it and tried to chop me into cold-cuts.”

“A griffon with a weaponized prosthetic? This I have to hear about!” Prince Loken said with an amused chuckle as he entered the room, announcing his presence. “Well, seeing you two are still alive, I take it the operation went well?”

“Yes and no, highness.” Twilight said. “We managed to save some hostages they captured, including Councilor Lightfeather.”

“They abducted one of the members of Parliament?!” The Prince asked, eyes wide and rather astonished. “Lightfeather… please tell me the poor thing’s alright!”

Mare Do Well nodded. “She is. So are the others. Your plan worked, mostly.”

“Mostly?” the griffon asked.

“Several of them, including the Phoenix and this griffon, Leo got away.” Mare Do Well replied.

“What?! They got away? AND Leo’s been confirmed as alive?” Loken asked, shocked. “We thought he had perished in Cloudsdale.”

“As I told Twilight here, so did I. Clearly he didn’t.” Mare Do Well said. “He’s serving the Phoenix now.”

“Doesn’t surprise me.” Loken said. “I read the records on the griffons captured and confirmed in the incident at Cloudsdale. He was dreg and boss of a gang of low-class activists from Eagleopolis who’s been in and out of jail a few times. Guess he got mixed up with Gilda’s plans for a chance to be something bigger then that.” The prince shrugged. “And from the looks of things he got his wish after all, but he’s a still a felon in the eyes of the Griffon Empire.”

“Well, I already plan to make him and his boss pay for what they’ve done.” Mare Do Well answered.

“Understand, as I see it, this escape was… too easy for them. The Phoenix was way more prepared then we expected. Not just capturing a member of Parliament, but he had the place rigged to explode like either as a seriously overblown finishing act… or he was expecting possible interference from us! We got a lot of the Talongrad recruits, but the big players are still out there.” Twilight explained, finishing up on the pegasus’ wound.

“I see…” The griffon answered, rubbing the chin of his beak. “Then there’s a chance this whole rally had the ulterior motive—“

“To lure me into it!” Mare Do Well said, feeling better now that she was healed up. “…And obviously expected me not to come alone for them to have set the place to blow like that if they were planning to kill the hostages first.”

“And Councilor Lightfeather was the one captured. Whoever arranged that has to have known a way to capture her covertly… and your father mentioned how they’ve managed to anticipate a lot of moves attempted against them.” Twilight said. “Highness, there’s a chance that the Phoenix has someone in league with him in the Parliament.”

Loken looked shocked. “Twilight Sparkle, forgive my… astonishment… but that’s a very serious accusation we can't just throw before them with only hunches and theories. They and my family may not always see eye-to-eye but I doubt any of them would go so far as to endorse the actions the Rebirth have committed.”

“What about Swiftwing? He’s been trying to get this crackdown going; maybe he’s exploiting all this to get more power?” Mare Do Well asked. “I saw how he acted, he has that look to him, like he really wants to get his way. Maybe not working with the Phoenix, but… I dunno, maybe tipping him off somehow so he can show up your attempts at stopping him.”

“…Which involves the kidnapping of a Parliament Councilor?” Loken asked, cocking his head at the costumed pegasus.

Mare Do Well walked up to him. “You brought me here to help you with this, your highness, and I’m trying to!” She said, not sternly but attempting to get her point across in the most respectful way she could. “What if she was meant to be some kinda tragedy to get more support for his crackdown?”

“…Which would give him more control, and probably enough support to challenge your family alone.” Twilight added.

“It sounds crazy, and again a very extreme accusation even for a griffon like him.” He ran his claw through his feather fringe. “For all we know, the Phoenix is trying to put these kind of seeds of doubt in us!” The Prince sat on his haunches, and sighed, scratching his head. “But if by chance you’re right… we’ll need to get a close watch on him and get proof. I may have just the solution on where and when we can do that, and the means to lure the Phoenix and his bunch out of hiding.” He said.

“What’d you have in mind?” Mare Do Well asked.

“Well, with my sister Nessa’s return, we’d originally had planned for a gala tomorrow night, sort of as a welcome-back celebration. She is the immediate heir after all so it's kind of a big deal she made it back home safely.” Loken explained. “Publically, it’ll also serve as a means to tell the Rebirth, and our subjects that we will not be intimidated even by a group of unified revolutionaries. The high-profile griffons will be there. The shadier types that the Rebirth tends to attract would not be present, so it’d be impossible for them to slip in undetected with guards outside and among the guests watching for any sign of them. The Parliament will of course be required to attend due to their status as the highest public-appointed officials in the Griffon Empire.”

“With what happened to Lightfeather, we can justify a close watch on the Councilors, especially Swiftwing given he's been the loudest voice among them.” Twilight said. “The Canterlot guards who accompanied us will gladly assist there.”

“The event was originally gonna be held here at the palace. But for obvious reasons we’ll relocate it to the Griffonheim Plaza on the plateau to the west of here. But we’ll need security on me and my family as well…” Loken explained. “Twilight, I want you to stay close to my dad and sister, understand? I wouldn’t doubt the chance the Rebirth would try something, but we have to pull this off if we want the chance to apprehend them. As soon as trouble shows, please bring them back to the palace at once. And Mare Do Well?”

“Yes?” The costumed pegasus asked.

“You mind being our main force at handling our enemies?” The griffon asked, he could have sworn he saw the grin form under Mare Do Well’s mask.

“Just try and stop me. I won’t let anyone get hurt.” She said with the cocky tone Twilight knew Rainbow to have when things were going her way.

“Well good, then you wouldn’t mind me as your escort, provided you can get something less… conspicuous to wear.” He said, lifting up Mare Do Well’s mask and smirking in amusement at Rainbow Dash before lowering it back down. “You’re going to need to be on alert. The royal family’s practically the centerpiece so this will be a workable excuse to keep you close by as well, where you’ll get a full view of the event.”

“I won’t let you down, highness.” Mare Do Well responded with a salute of her hoof.

“I certainly hope not. Honestly, we’re on quite a gamble here, win or lose, no in-between. You two get rest. It'll be an even bigger matter we're dealing with tomorrow.” The prince said, turning and leaving the way he came, followed by his guards.

As soon as the prince was gone, Mare Do Well collapsed to her haunches, staring straight ahead as if in quiet contemplation.

“Rainbow? That was quite some confidence right there. I admit, I’m a little worried as to how this could turn out but it looks like it’s well-thought out.” Twilight said. A moment passed, and her costumed friend remained silent. “Uhhh, Rainbow?” The unicorn asked, calling her friend’s name again.

“Twi… what’s that trick Cadance taught you on handling pressure again?” Rainbow asked.

~

“I’m pleased that enough of you made it out. For a moment I was worried I’d have to send for more from Eagleopolis prematurely.” Leo said, his prosthetic leg making a loud clank as he walked past numerous Rebirth members of varying shape, size, and ranking in the halls of a once-abandoned, fort from the wars built into the side of the lowest plateau of Talongrad that had come to gain a deserving title known as ‘The Dregs’. Even the city guard rarely ever ventured out here, given the less-then-admirable elements that prominently lived in this part of the capitol, and the political unrest had done nothing to change that. A few hours had gone by since the rally, and Leo had been anxious to gain news for their next move. “Our leader should be arriving shortly.”

A flap of wings was heard, and the large griffon turned to the window, where the cloaked, masked griffon now perched. “Oh look, there he is now!” He said.

“I trust everything is ready?” The Phoenix asked. Leo felt a chill run down his body; though he couldn’t see the Phoenix’s eyes, he could feel the glare all the same.

“Of course, boss! Lightning gauntlets, grenade supply, we're good to go!” Leo said with a grin. “Just lookin’ for my chance to give Mare Do Well another beat-down for all that she's cost me!”

“You’ll have your opportunity. Eventually.” The Phoenix replied, briskly walking past him and sizing up the griffons that had filled the room. “An event like this gala is, I'm sure you've noticed, more then a simple welcome-home party for royalty, or even a means of keeping the more influential members of this decadent society complacent in the face of the glorious happenings that are soon to occur?"

"It's meant to draw us out." Leo answered.

"Good to know any fool can see they’ve all but outright extended us an invitation.” The masked griffon replied, approaching one recruit, a younger one who quickly began to tremble. The Phoenix regarded him for a moment and raised his claw to straighten the recruit’s posture before turning his attention back to Leo. “For that, we will... attend. Make immediate contact with our more reputable supporters, I will expect nothing less then absolute success in bringing our message forth tomorrow night. We will demonstrate to them that the Rebirth is inevitable, however it will not in the way the the royals or the Parliament would anticipate...” The griffon raised his right claw. "To Rebirth!"

"To Rebirth!" Leo and the many recruits cheered in unison.	
> Choice and Consequence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Ugh, a whole day to kill…” Rainbow muttered, rolling on her back as she lay on a cloud just outside the window of her room. “And nothing to kill it with!” She pondered a few possibilities ever since the sun had risen and with breakfast over, nothing was coming to mind.

“Funny, the days with a big event can sometimes have the least to do before then, huh?” A voice behind her said, prompting Rainbow to roll over and see Nessa leaning against the window frame. “My apologies for sneaking up on you, but I could hear you from down the hall.”

“I guess I can get a little loud sometimes. Kinda used to being a lot higher then this, with less ponies… or I guess anyone around to hear me.” Rainbow replied sheepishly.

“Believe me, if I wasn’t royalty living in a nation with a crazed revolutionary movement loose on the streets I’d be chilling on clouds more often, myself.” The griffoness answered.

“So, what’s it all to you, then, Princess?” Rainbow asked.

“Nessa is fine, Rainbow Dash.” The young princess replied, waving her claw dismissively. “Look, my brother’s out and dad’s busy so… if you’re bored, I have an idea. Come along.” She said, turning and leaving. Intrigued and deciding to humor the griffoness, Rainbow hopped off her cloud and flew back inside, deciding to follow.

~

“Ohhh my gosh! The look on that servant’s face!” Nessa said, laughing hysterically as she leaned against Rainbow, who was leaned up against her and busy suppressing her own laughter. “That one was brilliant, Rainbow Dash.” She said, balling her talons into a fist and bumping it against Rainbow’s hoof.

“Hey, a mini-stormcloud going off indoors? You’re talkin’ to a pro here!” Rainbow said. “Though the one you pulled before that wasn’t bad either.”

“Good to know, I was worried putting a rubber snake in the librarian’s deskdrawer was second-rate.” The griffoness replied.

“Not at all! That scream? I thought his beak couldn’t get any wider!” Rainbow said with a chuckle. “The wing stiffener in the pegasus guards’ coffee though was great, too. Was that awkward for 'em or what?”

“Just a few sips and ‘FWOOP’!” Nessa said, fanning out her wings and widening her eyes to mimic the guards’ expressions. “Lasts only a minute or two, so no harm done.” The griffoness stood back up and ran her talons through her feather fringe. “Well, Rainbow Dash, I gotta say you’re quite a joy to be around. Things’re sure to get duller once you and your friend head back to Equestria.”

“Well, if everypony’s still standing after this Phoenix jerk is gone, lemme know when you can make it over and I’ll introduce you to Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow replied as she got back up as well, smirking.

“Who?” Nessa asked, cocking her head.

“The most random pony you’ll ever meet. I mean, I may be the best athlete, fastest flier, and coolest pony you’ll ever know but Pinkie Pie’s got me beat in pranks and jokes. Her special talent’s parties and she bears the Element of Laughter after all, so I guess even I can’t best her there.” Rainbow explained.

“I can definitely admit, with all the drama the Griffon Empire’s gone through lately, a good laugh gets me through the day sometimes. Certainly a lot better then letting boredom or worry getting me first.” Nessa replied. “Dad’s been all serious, especially after mom died a couple years ago, and stuff started up with activist movements so I can see why. Still, though, he’s planning to make sure all that’ll change soon. Hopefully Loken can get a little of the weight off his back, too. In between my classes and being prepped for what I’ll have to deal with later in life, I just want to make the most of the freedoms I got now before the real responsibilities come into play… like the lives of everyone else.”

“I get what you mean.” Rainbow said. “I might not be royalty, but I know that feeling. Getting to have a little fun kinda helps, doesn’t it?”

“Totally.” The griffoness replied. A silence passed between the two.

“So, who next?” Rainbow asked.

“I know who… come on.” Nessa said with a devious grin.

~

“Well, hopefully that’ll help make sure security is tighter.” Twilight said with a smile as she trotted alongside the Emperor, a pair of pegasus and griffon guards following silently.

“I can only hope so. This night can make or break everything.” The Emperor replied. “They’re driven by a conviction we were better off in our times before and during the wars. Equestria had harmony, but we had our own brand of prosperity through our advancements and influence over our neighboring nations. Our military was greater then any other, our industrialized culture made us a beneficial trade ally with Neighsia and even the minotaurs. But for the Emperor of that time… my ancestor… even that wasn’t enough.”

“I’ve read a few things about the war, but only what Equestrian history knew. I know that not long after Equestria was founded, its civilization grew rapidly, because three cultures; the unicorns, the pegasi, and earth ponies united together in friendship to create a new, stronger place to call home, and then Celestia and Luna inherited the power of the day and night and took leadership.”

“Very true.” The Emperor said. “We’d been established since the time your kind were still in three divided realms. My ancestor, Emperor Claudius Griffonheim, saw it as an opportunity to conquer your land while it was still young. With General Razorbeak’s assistance and ideas, he ordered the creation of numerous war machines and weapons. Some have seen battle, others, thankfully, have not…”

“Oh?” Twilight asked, curious and at the same time a little intimidated at what the Griffon Empire’s leaders back then could have conceived for their ambitious goals so long ago.

“We’ve locked away many of them down below, I can show you.” The Emperor offered. “You seem a very studious type, Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia has spoken of you several times when I’ve met her for tea and diplomatic matters.” He explained with a chuckle. “I’m certain a little extra history would pique your interest.”

Turning around, he lead her down a hall and stopped at a large door, turning a dial shaped like a sun several degrees left, then right, then left, then pressed it in. With a grinding of gears, the doors slowly slid apart and revealed an elevator heading down. The two entered, followed by their guards and rode down to a floor deep below the castle.

“During his time as head of the entire griffon military, General Razorbeak sought to create weapons using griffon technology, assisted by gizmonk engineering and magical charges from unicorns that he had captured and enslaved. Luckily we’ve no longer the means to power any of them to their lethal potential, but they still serve as a reminder of our darker past I’ve sought to, like my ancestors after the war, move away from as best I could.” The Emperor explained, earning a nod from Twilight. The unicorn froze when she saw what appeared to be a large mechanized glider shaped like a dragon, with a cockpit and some sort of empty socket in the chest.

“Our air units could have easily torn through pegasus-assisted weather with these. Their powerful armor and strong wings, and sleek shape allows them to easily move through and around tornados and such without being sucked in or tossed about, and… well there was a purpose to the dragonlike design aside from it… well… looking cool.” The emperor explained with a laugh. “See that socket there on the chest? Give it a small charge of your magic. Just a tiny one, though.” He said. Twilight looked at it, focusing her magic and a small spark of it flew from her horn and into the socket. Immediately it pulsed when it touched some kind of orb inside, and magical, magenta light shone from it and its eyes and mouth. The machine’s head lowered and the Emperor gestured one of his guards go in. “Try the left lever.” He shouted. The guard nodded and pulled it. The head rose and its jaws opened wide, and a small beam of magic shot from it. As soon as it did, however, the light faded and it collapsed again. Twilight stared agape at the machine, shock and horror on her face as she imagined the horrible things such a weapon could have been capable of causing during more brutal times in the world’s history.

“Now you know why I said just a tiny spark of magic.” The Emperor said. “We had a few others models as well.” He explained, gesturing to a few smaller ones shaped like birds of prey with open beaks that likely followed similar purpose and use as the dragon one. Continuing onward, they passed several claw gauntlets similar to the ones Twilight remembered Rainbow describing Gilda having used back in Cloudsdale, as well as cannons and launcher weapons that also featured similar sockets that likely drew on magic or whatever other power source was available, and something under a very old, ragged cloth. It worried Twilight, the idea of combining magic and such advanced technology for war and conquest was a terrifying idea.

“The last and, admittedly, worst, is still yet to come.” The Emperor said. “This way.” He lead her to another vault door, this one with a larger triple-dial with several numbers on each wheel. Ordering his guards to turn away, the Emperor reached under his robes and removed a small gem, inserting it into a hole at the center of the triple-dial. The door lit up as the triple-dial’s sequence completed itself and it opened. Inside was a short pedestal that had to be as big around as Twilight’s own library tree home’s base. Atop it was a large, spiky metal ball with a flat top that suggested it may have had an opening for some purpose.

“What is this thing?” Twilight asked.

“A weapon you should be the most thankful that General Razorbeak never got the chance to use. Celestia and the heir of the time worked to seal it away. I have the only means to open the vault to it right here; a gem charged with Celestia’s magic.” The Emperor explained; a somber look on his face as he pocketed the gem again. “It was to be his ultimate weapon had he not been slain by Commander Hurricane. It was called the Eagle Eye.”

“The Eagle Eye?” Twilight asked.

“It’s completely inactive now, but in its day… imagine if you would, if Celestia dropped the sun on her kingdom.” The Emperor said. That was all it took for Twilight to realize what he implied. She’d read of the legendary griffon general being a ruthless and terrifying leader, but the thought he would use something like this was truly frightening. She looked down for a moment, and realized what the Emperor had implied by showing her these.

“You think the Phoenix knows about these, and is planning on acquiring them and finding a way to reactivate them to complete his plans.” Twilight said.

“Exactly.” The Emperor replied. “I want you and your friend to understand what’s at stake, and how serious of a danger he will be if he succeeds. Security will be focused here at the palace, with what can be spared to assist Mare Do Well at the gala. With these terms set, the Phoenix will have no choice but to come to us, but we absolutely must succeed if we’re to stop him and save both our home and yours. It’s a drastic move, but this cat-and-mouse game can’t go on any longer.”

“Maybe we can get you far away from here? Relocate these weapons?” Twilight asked.

“It’s too late for that, unfortunately. My ancestors and I made a mistake letting these monstrous things continue to exist and now we may well end up paying for it. I must remain here and be strong for my country. Even if we were able to relocate them somewhere, the Phoenix has shown himself to have eyes and ears everywhere; it’d only delay him from getting them and honestly, give him all the time he wants to plan a way to get them when we least expect it. He has to be stopped once and for all... I owe Celestia that much.” 

~

“Well, that worked like a charm!” Nessa said with a grin.

“Think they’ll have a problem with what we wrote?” Rainbow asked.

“Not at all. The stuff comes right off with water.” Nessa replied. The griffoness paused suddenly when they came across the large clock at the end of the hall. “Ohhh, right, they’re probably gonna be wanting us ready.”

“Probably.” A voice said behind them, prompting the two to turn around.

“Oh, good to see you back, Loken.” Nessa said. “How’d the meeting go?”

“How do you think it went?” Loken replied, scratching the back of his neck. “Swiftwing caused some issues about it, but we’ve got the palace and city guard set for security both here and the gala event. I figure he’ll show up to keep up appearances, though. If he doesn’t, he’ll only end up under more suspicion.” The young prince sighed. “Be that as it may, we still have some time to kill before we need to get ready. Both in preparations for our… special guests… and ourselves.”

“Better get Twi and your dad then.” Rainbow said.

“On it.” Nessa said, preparing to leave, then gave Rainbow one last look. "By the way, thanks for the afternoon. You're a pretty fun pony, Rainbow Dash."

"Nopony can deny it!" Rainbow said with a grin as Nessa gave a nod and ran off to find her father.

A moment passed as Loken and Rainbow stood there, the griffon then looked over at her. "So... still some extra time... I could stand to let off some steam from that meeting, how does a little bit of sport sound to you?" He asked.

~

"It's simple, you hit the ball into the wall, and the other player has to hit it. Whoever misses first loses." Loken explained, bouncing a ball up and down as he hovered in the air. "Should let you know, this lean figure isn't just for appearances." He suddenly flung it. "THINK FAST!" He yelled, tossing it at the wall.

The ball immediately rebounded straight for the pegasus, who quickly swung her hoof, sending it back off the wall towards the prince, who in turn did a spin and struck it with his hind foot, sending it bouncing back towards Rainbow at a faster speed. Rainbow grinned and swung her hoof upward, sending the ball bouncing and flying in a diagonal arc towards the sky. Flying straight up, Prince Loken swung his claw down in a fist, sending it back towards Rainbow.

"You're dealing with a hero, your highness!" Rainbow said proudly as she spun herself at high speed like a small tornado, the ball bouncing off her on impact then it came rocketing at the prince. Rainbow stopped spinning, and stared in shock as the Prince now lay on his back, the ball clutched between his talons.

"Not bad." Loken said with a smirk.

"Well, like I said, you're dealing with a genuine superhero here. I've dealt with a lot of crazy supervillains a little sport game is nothing to me, now!" Rainbow said proudly, tossing back her mane just in time to feel the ball impact with her side and send her tumbling out of the air and sprawling onto the grassy earth, right into a flower bed. Sitting up with a few stuck in her mane, the pegasus narrowed her eyes at the griffon prince. "Dude. Not cool." She said.

"I never said the game was over." Loken said with a laugh, picking up the ball and tossing it up and down a few times. "And you look simply adorable right now." He said, indicating the flowers stuck in Rainbow's mane. Turning and looking at a window, the pegasus gasped and hurredly brushed them out.

"Please tell me nopony saw me." Rainbow said sheepishly. "But I still totally won that."

"We griffons play to win when there's something worthwhile to play for, Rainbow Dash." Loken said matter-of-factly. "Being royalty I've learned to take a pragmatic approach on things. I love it when I win, and I'll do whatever I have to so I can. My ancestry appreciates that, and I'm sure even you can appreciate that kind of outlook as well."

"I guess I can't argue with it. But there's a difference between a serious fight and a little friendly competition." Rainbow answered. The Running of the Leaves race with Applejack certainly taught her as much; as it left the both of them tied for last thanks to taking it far too seriously.

"Of course, and I can see it's done a lot for you." Loken replied. "You've become quite the hero back home, I can only imagine all the stories you have to tell."

"Well..." Rainbow said, her cheeks turning red. "Maaaaaybe a few, yeah."

"Well, we've got plenty of time before we get ready, so don't hold back." The prince replied.

"Alright, so it started back when I just sorta... I dunno, remembered how when my friends made up Mare Do Well to teach me a lesson when I got way too carried away with myself."

"Oh?" Loken asked, intrigued as he tossed the ball to her, the pegasus swatted it back and the griffon caught it.

"Yeah, it became less about saving lives, more about showing off. Kind of an extreme way to teach somepony a lesson, but in the end it made sense... by showing off I put a lot of lives in danger. I learned a lot, and then later on, I decided I wanted to try and be a hero again while I waited to become a Wonderbolt. Next thing I knew it was like it just sucked me right in, I saw all these things that happened, ponies who needed help and now I was there to help 'em out, and I'd never leave somepony hanging. So I just couldn't stop..."

"You make it sound like you wanted to." Loken replied, cocking his head.

"I did... kinda... except not." Rainbow said. "More bad guys showed up, and I had to be there to stop them, but in the end it felt right, I felt right. I gave up my dreams of being a Wonderbolt so I could be this. You know, be something bigger, something that was needed! It's weird you wouldn't hear a pony like me get all... what's that word Twi uses..." She muttered.

"Philosophical?" Loken asked, chuckling.

"Yeah, sure we'll go with that. I guess taking that turn gave me a lot to think about. But I don't regret it. I feel more like I'm who I'm supposed to be more then ever now." Rainbow said with a smile, beckoning the prince to throw the ball again.

"I suppose I can understand that. My title and position gives me a lot to think about, and a lot to plan for the Empire's future. My sister goes through plenty of that, too. She's quite the clown but she's just young and enjoying free time while she has it, I suppose." Loken replied, tossing the ball as hard as he could, Rainbow caught it but fell backward.

"Yeah." Rainbow said, raising the ball up. "So! Next story, wanna hear when I took on this villain called Shadowbolt?" She asked with a grin.

~

An hour later, the fated hour had arrived. Rainbow and Twilight had been brought into the dressing rooms of the palace to be fitted and tailored. The pegasus hated standing still like this, gritting her teeth and trying her hardest not to move. Twilight, however, managed to be still as marble, a feat which baffled Rainbow to no end. Deciding to break the ice, the pegasus spoke up.

“So you think that’s what he’s after?” Rainbow asked, shifting a little in the fancy deep blue dress she now wore that had been prepared by the griffon tailors, her mane down and styled like she’d had it at the canterlot wedding. Twilight had attached the enchanted purple gem concealing the Mare Do Well costume in the form of a broach for the pegasus to wear till it was needed. Twilight herself now wore a dark violet dress.

“Yes. The Emperor demonstrated the weapons that were used during the Griffon Wars, and what they’re capable of. There’s one there that he spoke of that I’m sure the Phoenix will go after…”

“Assuming he even knows it exists.” Rainbow said. “I remember a thing or two about the the riding weapons, but nothing about that last one!”

“That’s because only Celestia and those closest to the Emperor know of it.” Twilight said, pacing about. “Now there’s a chance he doesn’t, that he’s only aware that the palace holds a supply of ancient weapons from the Griffon Wars, and that’s enough reason to come after them. However, only the Emperor really has the means of getting to where they are, so they’ll have to make a move at the gala first, and I’m certain they’ll want him alive long enough to do this, which gives us extra time to stop him.”

“Just let them try. I can’t wait to finally lay a smackdown on this Phoenix freak!” Rainbow said.

“Well, he’s gonna show up in one of two places. Here, or the gala. You’re fast enough you should be able to intercept him if he’s not where you are.” Twilight said with a smile.

“Darn right I am!” Rainbow replied, grinning. 

“Now… as for Councilor Swiftwing, Prince Loken has mentioned some suspicious behavior. If we can prove he and the Phoenix are connected, whether he is in league with him… or is him… there’ll be no where he can hide and we can end this threat once and for all one way or another. Cut off the snake’s head, the body follows and Rebirth is beaten.” Twilight explained. “Nothing to do now but wait.”

“At least it won’t be boring…” Nessa said, entering. The griffoness wore a gold dress with white skirting and trimming, her feather fringe given a more elegant style then her usual wild one. Loken entered shortly after, in a matching black suitcoat with silver trimming around the cuffs and collar, with decorative neck armor.

“That all you think about, dear sister?” Loken asked with a laugh. “Be glad, the waiting won’t be long. Father should be finished any moment.”

~

“Forces must be split apart; one half to acquire the Emperor and his family, the other to lay siege to the palace, and regroup once your mission at the gala is accomplished to focus our full attention on the palace.” The Phoenix explained on a gritty, recorded film as numerous Rebirth followers stood before it, Leo leaning patiently against the wall next to the screen.

“Acquire both siblings. Princess Nessa is next in line for the throne, she’ll be higher priority. Prince Loken, however, is also an heir, acquiring both insures the Emperor will have much to lose if he does not concede to us and we can procure the weapons which will insure our goals will be achieved.” The recording said, the masked figure leaning forward. “Brothers and sisters, from the flames we shall remake the world. Hail REBIRTH!” He declared, standing on his hind legs as he raised his claws up, and Leo and the griffons watching did the same before the recording cut off.

“I trust everyone got that?” Leo asked, smirking. “We don’t want to let our boss down. I’ll be attending to one last task before I rendezvous with the rest of you. Seize and capture. I'll keep Mare Do Well occupied.” He said.

“You’re certain she’ll be at the gala, boss?” One of the griffons asked.

“Positive. And the master and I have a special surprise in store for her.” The larger griffon said with a grin, and walked off before the other could ask for more detail.

~

“This place is… something.” Twilight said, looking around. A massive chandelier hung over the place, numerous griffons in formalwear mingled about, and guards stood near every entrance and window, with several more flying about outside. Her inability to think of a good word made her friend bust out laughing.

“Twi, speechless for once?” Rainbow asked. “I love it. Nice and high in the air! Could do without all the stuffy types, though. They look even more humorless then Canterlot guards.”

“Hey!” A pegasus guard protested indignantly.

“Aw, you know it’s true.” Rainbow said with an eyeroll.

“Try to behave.” The Emperor said, dressed in crimson-colored regalia. With a wave of his claw the crowds parted and allowed the royal family and the two mares passage to the high balcony overlooking the ballroom and he proceeded to approach and discuss some matter Rainbow did not bother to listen to with an upper-class couple.

Looking around, Rainbow noticed the Parliament was gathered in a corner, talking with Captain Ironclaw. When he finished talking, the captain flew over to them.

“Nice to see you all here.” The captain said. “Good evening, highnesses.” He said with a bow.

“Pleasure’s ours, captain.” Loken replied. “And thank you again for being here. With these measures, we’ve laid the bait and the Phoenix will have no choice but to make his move. I trust security is tight?”

“Dust couldn’t slip through unnoticed.” The captain said with a chuckle. “And who might your pretty escort be?” He asked, looking over at Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, this is Rainbow Dash. She’s quite a remarkable pegasus. Fast, strong, in my opinion would have made the Wonderbolts I’ve heard so much about in no time.” Loken explained.

“Oh, so you’re Rainbow Dash? Captain Spitfire mentioned you a few times when she visited our empire, said you show a lot of promise.” The captain said.

“Well, some… personal stuff kept me from becoming a wonderbolt, but there’s no doubt I’m too awesome not to mention!” Rainbow said. 

“I’m sure there’s plenty of reasons for that.” The griffon replied with a smirk. “Well, I’d better go check in with my guards for an update. Hopefully we’ll catch any threats early on.

With a nod, the griffon captain turned and left, and Rainbow looked over at the young prince. “So… anything here that’s not meat?” She asked, having noticed just about everything on the tables did not compliment the usual pony diet.

“Well… I’m certain the desserts aren’t.” Loken replied. “Shall I get you a few?”

Rainbow grinned “Sure!.” She said. Being at an event like this reminded her of when she’d posed as upper-crust society in the hunt for Big Shot.

The thought of that experience, however, suddenly caused a downcast look to come on the mare’s face.

“You alright? The drama hasn’t even started yet and you seemed awfully confident about it earlier.” Loken asked.

“It’s not about that… just… eh, bad experience in the past. Wasn’t expecting it but something like this kinda, I guess brought some memories back.” Rainbow explained.

“Oh? Walk with me and tell me. I find it helps to explain your problems rather then bottle them.” The prince said, heading toward the stairs.

“Well, there was this pony I had to protect once… as Mare Do Well, ya know?” Rainbow said. “He was nice, handsome… I guess I got a slight crush, now that I think about it. It turned out, though, he was the one I was trying to stop all along… a changeling who was trying to drug a whole city!”

“I guess not everyone’s who they seem to be, are they?” The prince mused as they reached the tables and he gathered a few pastries, placing them on a small dish for the pegasus. Glancing to the side to where the Parliament members were, he suddenly cocked his head in curiosity. “Rainbow Dash?” He asked suddenly. “Notice anything strange?”

“Uhhh… wait!” Rainbow looked at the Parliament members again, noticing an absence. “Oh no…”

“Swiftwing… he’s missing.” Loken said, tensing his claw into a fist. “We need to tell my father. Now.”

“Hold on, right there.” One of the guards said, approaching. “What’s going on?”

“It’s important. Councilor Swiftwing is missing.” Loken said.

“Perhaps he’s late?” Councilor Lightfeather asked, approaching as she noticed the commotion.

“Or kidnapped… or in on this.” Rainbow said. “Twi!” She called out, getting the unicorn’s attention on the balcony as she prepared to fly up. The pegasus had barely left the ground when she was blasted by a bolt of lightning, sending her tumbling across the floor and grunting in pain. Looking up, she saw Loken and Councilor Lightfeather, staring in astonishment at the guard, who now wore a gauntlet identical to the kind she remembered Gilda to have once used.

“Rebirth.” The guard said. Three more reached into the long coats and took out similar gauntlets, firing blasts of lightning at several other guards. The four false guards immediately took to the air and flew to where the Emperor and Nessa were, and fired blasts of lightning. Acting quickly, Twilight summoned a barrier spell before they could get hit.

“Get them out of here, Twilight! Now!” Loken shouted.

“What about you?” Twilight asked.

“Don’t worry about me. Just get them to the palace immediately!” The prince ordered.

With a nod, Twilight looked at the Emperor and the princess, who gave her sibling a longing look as she quietly nodded. The worried look on the Emperor’s face was evident, despite his effort to hide it, and he looked over at Twilight, nodding silently.

“Okay… good luck…” Twilight said, fighting back tears of worry as she focused her magic and the three of them vanished.

“My own guards… some of my own guards were in on this!” Captain Ironclaw said furiously as he traded blows with one of the thugs. Numerous upper-class griffons attempted to flew, the two remaining Rebirth guards ignored them and cornered Lightfeather and the other Parliament members; the one who’d attacked Rainbow immediately advanced on her but was promptly tackled to the ground by the prince.

“I’m certain you know what to do from here.” Loken said with a small smile.

“Right.” Rainbow galloped off to a corner and tapped the gem on her broach. Her gala outfit vanished off her, replaced by her Mare Do Well costume. She knew she’d have to get the Rebirth thugs by surprise if she was going to handle them. Slipping out from around the corner, Mare Do Well flew into the air and released several flash bombs in front of the griffons, dazing them and granting Loken and captain Ironclaw a brief advantage.

“This the best you guys got?” Mare Do Well hissed at the two remaining false guards as she flew forward and slammed her hooves in their faces. “You guys. Leave. NOW.” She said to the remaining councilors. “So, where’s you guys’ boss?” the costumed pegasus asked the Rebirthers.

Before she even saw it coming, she was violently smacked aside by something metal. Tumbling sideways, Mare Do Well turned over and saw Leo grinning down at her.

“I never miss my cue.” Leo said with a laugh. Letting out a loud, birdlike screech, the windows promptly shattered as countless Rebirth thugs broke in, some of them fighting Ironclaw’s guards, some of them were Ironclaw’s guards.

“Good thing I came prepared.” Loken said, drawing a blade from his belt as he stood back-to-back with Captain Ironclaw as they both each engaged a Rebirth griffon.

Leo raised his prosthetic claw and it retracted and changed into a sword. Grinning, the griffon boss swung it wildly at Mare Do Well, who dodged carefully and swung her hoof at the griffon’s chest, causing him to stumble backward. The large griffon did a spin, attempting to slash her with his metal-plated wing, then lunged forward with his blade arm.

“Where’s Swiftwing?” Mare Do Well demanded as she jumped over the griffon and kicked him in the back, causing him to fall on his face.

“Heh, wouldn’t you like to know!” Leo said, spitting out blood and swinging his arm, narrowly missing the costumed pegasus, then thrust his blade at her, Mare Do Well jumped behind a table, flipping it up just in time to catch the blade in it. Growling, Leo struggled to pull the blade loose and eventually just kicked the table several times till it broke apart, swinging the sword again to shake off what remained on it.

“Then I'll just get it out of you by force!” Mare Do Well said, lunging at him and bucking him hard in the face. Leo tumbled backward and across the floor, crashing into another table Flying forward, Mare Do Well took several swings at him, the griffon grunting in pain from each blow then blocking them as best he could. Leo's blade retracted and his metal talons extracted back out. Grabbing her with his prosthetic claw, Leo did a spin and flung Mare Do Well over the balcony and through a window leading into another room. Tumbling across the floor and sweeping the glass out of her cape, Mare Do Well stood up just in time for Leo to fly in and tackle her, drawing his mechanical limb back to punch her. The pegasus turned out of the way, barely avoiding the fist as it smashed through the floor and raising her hind legs to buck him off of her into the wall. The griffon slammed against the wall and fell to the floor, getting himself back up in time to catch Mare Do Well's hoof as she swung it at him, the two wrestling eachother backward.

"Smile." Mare Do Well said, opening a belt pouch with her wing and flicking a flash bomb into the air and ducking away. The bomb exploded in a burst of light and smoke, and Leo turned his head away quickly to avoid being blinded by the flash. The distraction was enough, however, for Mare Do Well to take to the air and swoop down, slamming both her forehooves into his chest and sending him tumbling back into the ballroom, clearing the balcony and landing on one of the surviving entree tables.

Taking a few breaths then flying out after him back into the ballroom, Mare Do Well saw the pegasus and griffon guards were holding their own against the Rebirth, but then saw a few of them were withdrawing. Looking to her left, she saw why.

Loken and the remaining Parliament members were gone, and Ironclaw lay sprawled on the floor, dazed.

“Hm, looks like we got what we came for after all!” Leo said, chuckling. Growling, Rainbow rushed for the window, wings spread.

“Captain! The palace!” Rainbow shouted.

“You haven’t much time. My master has a message prepared for you, should we have succeeded.” Leo said, raising up his claw and another griffon arrived, this one carrying a messenger bag. “If you value the councilor and princes’ lives, you’d best stand down and watch.”

Gritting her teeth, Mare Do Well stood in place, Ironclaw stood beside her, gesturing for his guards to obey the cyborged griffon’s orders.

“Play it.” Leo ordered. The griffon that had arrived placed down a projector and put the film reel in it, and the video played on the wall it faced. After a three second countdown, the film played.

The Phoenix sat back in his throne, reclined as one claw rested under his mask, where his chin presumably was.

“Hello, Mare Do Well. I apologize for not being able to arrive in the flesh, but I have other priorities I’m certain you’re aware of, as well as one other matter to attend to…” The Phoenix said. The film cut, revealing Councilor Swiftwing, bound and gagged and looking rather worse for wear, a pair of Rebirth griffons standing on either side of him. The film cut back to the Phoenix as the camera zoomed in on him.

“Councilor Swiftwing is now in my possession. His voice of dissent… and use of martial law would have given him more power in the end… it made for a perfect misdirection, didn’t it? No doubt you and even the royal family suspected him of my great works when he was simply the most terrified of me! Wouldn’t surprise me… there’s so much wrong with the world, and a nation’s internal unrest that those in power will so readily blame eachother for… or worse… gain power from. You wish to face me, Mare Do Well? You can find me and Councilor Swiftwing at an old theater one mile west from here exactly… I’m certain my followers have just reunited him with some friends of his as well… and hopefully some rivals. How ironic two opposing sides could face death together, wouldn’t you agree? We can make this our final showdown. Defeat me, and you may end this feud. Fail, and take the Empire and Equestria down with you…”

“Like I’m gonna fall for such an obvious trap!” Mare Do Well snapped furiously, causing Leo to chuckle in amusement.

“Wait for it…” Leo said, sneering.

“I don’t underestimate you, Mare Do Well. It couldn’t be more obvious of a trap unless I outright declared it as such. But ask yourself this… what choice do you have? Ignore my warnings, and the Councilor and anyone else the Rebirth has claimed will die. I doubt the Empire could afford such a loss even if you somehow defeat me.” The Phoenix warned. “You’d best choose in a very short time, because that may be all they have left…” the recording cut and the film promptly ended.

“What’s it gonna be, Mare Do Well?” Leo said with a chuckle, several Rebirth griffons landing beside him aiming their gauntlets at the costumed pegasus, the captain, and the remaining guards.

“I think I’ll decide after you’re dealt with!” Mare Do Well said, lunging forward, but halted when the ceiling burst apart. Pulling her cape over herself, Mare Do Well shielded herself from the debris then looked up above. An airship hovered up above, and several griffons standing on the catwalks outside fired blasts of lightning down at her and the captain to drive them back while Leo and his griffons spread their wings, the large griffon taking a comm link from his bomber jacket.

“Confirmed capture of the Parliament and the Emperor’s son, boss!” Leo said into the comm link.

“Excellent… Head to the palace at once.” The Phoenix’s voice said from it. With a mock-salute to Mare Do Well, Leo flew straight up, followed by the other Rebirth members.

“He’s right… I don’t have a choice. I’m faster then you. Simple fact, get used to it.” Mare Do Well said. “So I’ll go find where the Phoenix has the Parliament and Loken. That airship’s probably too well-armed for you and who you got left to take on alone, so get to the palace right away, you should have no problem out-flying it! Twi told me there’s some stuff that should help defend it so get to the Emperor and talk to him about them because I got a feeling we’re gonna need ‘em!”

“Be safe.” Ironclaw said. “Alright, griffons, ponies, let’s get to the palace now!” He ordered, taking to the air and the other guards followed, doing their best to avoid fire from the airship, though a few were shot down. Rainbow sighed, knowing it was the only way they could deal with this threat now. If Twi was right about the hidden weapons, it may have been the only choice to use them before the Phoenix could.

~

Nothing goes smooth, why does nothing EVER go smooth?! Mare Do Well mused angrily as she flew as fast as she could to the designated area, seeking any signs of a building resembling a theater. The Phoenix had this all planned out, impossibly so! Was there ANY place safe from his knowledge? She wondered. If he knew about all this, he clearly has spies not just in Parliament, but in the palace, too! No one pried at a guard’s personal life because they were considered so trustworthy, who knew how long the Phoenix had this prepared for? Who knew how many seemingly trusty griffons were secretly in league with him, sharing those crazy beliefs of his? It could make anypony properly paranoid now!

Looking down below, Rainbow noticed a steepled building with a wide front, a pair of flat panels on either side suggesting a motion picture theater. That has to be it! I can still save them! I can’t fail!

Flying down quickly, Mare Do Well found the doors boarded up. Cracking her neck and doing a quick stretch, Mare Do Well flew high into the air and began to spin as she swooped down, the Divine Drill tactic that Spitfire taught was not forgotten. Smashing clean through the boards, Mare Do Well flew in, bucking down the next set of doors and entering the large auditorium. Looking around, she noticed a throne on the balcony overlooking the bottom row of the audience.

“You’ve finally made it…” A hooded figure in the throne said.

“Couldn’t keep you waiting!” Mare Do Well said, flying straight at the figure with all her might, grabbing him with her hooves and tossing him from the balcony, to the stage area in front of the screen. “Not so tough after all—” The pegasus’ eyes widened when she saw only a lump of padding and a small device with a speaker that had been underneath a ragged, hooded cloak.

“Yo-ou-ou’ve fi-i-innnnally ma-a-a-a-a-de it…” The device repeated, its message now broken and distorted.

Suddenly, a projector reel ran, and the sound of wings flapping was heard, but Mare Do Well could not see their owner from where she was. Flying to the window, she saw it unoccupied. Drawing her hoof back, she prepared to smash it down and hurry to the palace, but at that moment, a video projected on the screen behind her.

“You made a reasonable call, Mare Do Well… unfortunately not the right one…” The Phoenix said as he appeared on the screen, looming over the pegasus as she flew back to the stage.

The screen suddenly burst into flames, burning away and revealing the bodies of the Parliament members, excluding Swiftwing. All of them looked freshly killed.

"Oh no... no... no!" Rainbow cried out, rushing over and seeing her fears were confirmed. She had to get out of here... had to warn them... but her knees felt so weak at the sight of failure before her...

“The Emperor’s son still remains of use, but these weak bureaucrats’ lives have come to an end…” The Phoenix said, the projection now reflecting off the smoke from the fire like a malevolent spirit. “Just as yours is about to…” Mare Do Well heard a ticking sound. Looking about, she spotted a wired device behind the slain councilors.

Oh bucking Tartarus…

“Goodbye, Mare Do Well.” The Phoenix’s voice said as the clockwork device wired atop the many bags of explosive powder and dynamite reached zero.
> What Was and Is
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“How did I get here?” Rainbow wondered, waking up on the balcony of Canterlot’s palace.

“Thought you’d never wake up.” Rarity said with an eyeroll. Shaking her head, Rainbow stood up and saw her friends all staring at her.

“Wait… you… you’re all here? What am I doing here? I was… and the Griffon Empire! I have to—!” Rainbow protested.

“Rainbow, you’ve got a very active imagination.” Twilight said, giving the pegasus a disapproving look.

“Ya coulda picked a better place to take a nap, honestly.” Applejack explained.

“You didn’t forget about the picnic we were having with the Princesses, did you?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “I’m sure you, you know have a lot on your mind but it’s still pretty important.”

“And there’s gonna be lots of fun stuff happening the whole time! Games and everything!” Pinkie Pie said with a huge grin. “Not to mention  such a bright sunny day, juuuuuust warm enough!”

The pegasus rubbed the back of her head in confusion. This didn’t make any sense! What was she doing here? Wait… it is awfully bright out… She thought.

“Ooh! What’s that?” Pinkie asked, gesturing in the distance, and Rainbow’s eyes widened in horror as she saw a griffon airship, and suddenly an object of some kind fell from it.

“Oh no! GIRLS WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Rainbow screamed, but the moment the words left her mouth, a deafening explosion and a blinding flash went off. All around, the pegasus could hear screams… from down below and from her friends who faded away like clouds of dust. As the light faded a gigantic mushroom-shaped cloud could be seen, and a wave of flames flew from it, blowing away everything in its path like dry leaves in the wind.

Collapsing to the ground, the choking heat of the flames all around her, Rainbow Dash could do nothing but cover her face and weep in defeat… for she had truly failed when it mattered the most…

Suddenly, it all ceased, and everything went black, things enemies she’d beaten in the past played in Rainbow’s mind, things that somehow fit the context of what had happened…

“Admit it, you’re such a lame, messed up loser it’s only a matter of time before you’re as insane as you think I am!” Gilda, whom she severed ties with when her true colors showed and had gone on to far worse aspirations, said in the darkness.

“The mighty Mare Do Well, a victim of her own confused heart!” Zerok, the changeling who had manipulated many, including Rainbow’s own heart, declared loudly.

Shadowbolt, whom Rainbow eventually learned was Lightning Dust, was the next to taunt her. “Awwww, how noble of you, but what good was it to put yourself out of the game faster?”

The next voice made Rainbow’s skin crawl as well; Negamare, a twisted reflection of all she knew. “What is loyalty, but the quickest way to lose everything, that you believed in, and mattered to you?” The pegasus asked.

“NO! NO! NO! NO!” Rainbow cried out, thrashing at the phantoms but striking nothing.

“Rainbow Dash!” A booming female voice shouted, and the darkness shattered all around.

Rainbow opened her eyes, and found herself on an empty white landscape, and before her stood the Princess of the Night herself.

“I sensed your fall, Rainbow Dash. I will not lie to you; you’re only barely clinging to life now. Lose hope, and you will surely pass away here and now… and what you had seen is what the stars have now told me will come to pass as Canterlot and Equestria’s fate.”

“I’m… I’m dying?” Rainbow asked, shaking.

“Yes, because all that is keeping you alive is fading; your hope and determination.” Luna explained, and the two of them saw the fallen form of Mare Do Well, her body shaking and fighting for its life.

“What can I do?” Rainbow asked, horrified by the vision as it faded. “I failed! The Phoenix set me up! He’s won, now! Even if I woke up, am I in any shape to stop him?”

“So long as you choose to keep fighting, he hasn’t. Not yet.” Luna said. “I’ve been exhausting much of my power to maintain Equestria in my sister’s time of illness, I’ve not slept since. With you being outside the kingdom, it’s not as easy to reach you... I’m already risking much by doing this now… I trust you received the earlier dream?”

“I did, yes.” Rainbow said, recalling the nightmare she’d had a few days ago.

“Then you know what’s at stake.” Luna said sternly. “With my sister in her weakened state, I have not slept in days tending to Equestria in her stead. Equestria may not be able to counter this threat. Just as the Emperor in the Griffon Wars chose a time when Equestria was vulnerable; so too has the Phoenix…”

The whiteness faded into a turbulent storm, though neither Luna nor Rainbow were affected by it. Griffons and pegasi in armor fought one-another as the storm raged on. Many of the griffons piloted strange, metal birdlike machines that fired blasts of magical power as pegasi tore pieces of the storm away to strike them down with lightning bolts. Further above, in the eye of the storm, two figures were interlocked in battle. The pegasus and alicorn princess glided upwards to them, and Rainbow quickly recognized the armored pegasus.

“Commander Hurricane!” Rainbow gasped.

“Yes.” Luna replied. “This battle has gone on for some time, but he still breathes, Rainbow Dash, and thus he still continues to fight.

Rainbow looked over at Hurricane’s opponent. It was a griffon, with a gray coat and black wings. He wore armored bracers on his front and hind legs, and chest armor with the Griffon Empire’s symbol on the front. His helmet obscured most of his face, save a single golden eye that peered through the right eyehole, and metal battle claws covered his talons. The sight of him sent a chill down Rainbow’s back.

“General Razorbeak…” She said softly.

“Correct again, Rainbow Dash. A bloodthirsty monster who sought to conquer Equestria while it was young. Hurricane knew if he were to lose this fight, then everypony he fought for would pay for his failure.”

Rainbow watched intently as the griffon general raked his bladed talons across the pegasus' chest, then grabbed Hurricane around the neck, raising his claw and preparing to deliver the killing blow. However, at the last moment, Hurricane mustered his strength and struck the griffon in the face with his hoof. The general was dazed for a second, and Hurricane struck him again and again before looping into the air and slamming into him with all his might, flying faster and faster upward until a fantastic explosion of prismatic color erupted from where they were last seen. The scene before them changed, Commander Hurricane flung General Razorbeak’s empty helmet to the griffon’s astonished captain, and the remnants of Razorbeak’s army bowed their heads in compliance.

“There are stories the stars tell of the heroes who have come and gone in the millennium. It would seem Commander Hurricane went on to have an impressive bloodline.” Luna explained, a small smirk on her face as numerous pegasi were shown, finally leading up to a pink mare with a blue mane and tail, with a pair of blue lightning bolts adorning her flank. Rainbow’s eyes grew wide in disbelief as she recognized that pony all too well.

“You’ve figured it out, have you?” Luna said with an amused laugh. “But there is another side to this… just as you have a renowned ancestor; Razorbeak was not without his own heirs before his death…”

“…The Phoenix is Razorbeak’s descendant?” Rainbow asked.

“So it would appear.” Luna said as the scene before them became a starry sky. “But there is more to it then that. I’ve seen alignments that tell me the Emperor is connected to it somehow… a secret has been kept… one that he does not fully know.” Luna’s gaze softened, then a sign of weakness that made Rainbow Dash worry came over the alicorn. “My sister and I have the most power in Equestria but we are not gods. Please, Mare Do Well…if you’re willing to stand back up and fight, and I will give you enough strength to do so. But you must not fail!”

Rainbow looked down at the ground for a moment, knowing right now Applejack would accuse her of being a quitter in order to raise the pegasus’ spirits enough to prove she wasn’t one. Pinkie Pie would tell her to think positive. Fluttershy would give her that look that told her all she need to know she believed in her. Rarity would ask if there’s anything she needs from her to help put, in her most likely words, ‘that ghastly ruffian’ in his place. And Twilight…

Twilight needed her most of all now! If she gave up, she doomed one of the best friends she’d ever made! Not to mention learning of her ancestry, she had plenty to live up to, now! A steely, determined gaze in her eyes, Rainbow looked back up at the Princess of the Night.

“I’m ready to go back, and teach that freak what happens when you cross the awesome Mare Do Well!” She said, a confident smile forming on her face. Luna closed her eyes and nodded.

“So be it. The fate of Equestria lies with you.” Luna responded. When she reopened her eyes, they glowed with a white light, and a warm aura came over the pegasus.

~

“Hold your ground! Hold your ground!” The Emperor ordered as his soldiers fired the gatling crossbows mounted to the castle walls, shooting down several Rebirth griffons.

“Highness! We can’t keep you out here! It’s too dangerous, for both you and the princess!” Ironclaw said, flying in and landing before the Emperor.

“Twilight Sparkle and my daughter are being kept in secure chambers. What of Loken?! Where is my son?!” The Emperor demanded.

“I suspect they have him in their custody, my lord.” The captain said, lowering his head. “Mare Do Well… myself… your son… we tried to hold them off as best we could but their numbers grew, an airship they had control over struck, and he and the Parliament were taken. Mare Do Well attempted to rescue them, but judging from the explosion my forces reported, it would seem she was lead into a trap instead. It’s harsh to say, my lord, but I don’t feel so certain he left any of them alive.”

“No… not Loken.” The Emperor said coldly. “So long as my son lives... so long as the Phoenix has my son alive, he’ll believe he has an effective bargaining chip to use against me...”

“Liege?” Ironclaw asked.

“He’s wrong. Though he is my son, I cannot… will not… betray Equestria and this empire by choosing his life over the countless others that will be lost, if I were to give the Phoenix what he will come for!” The Emperor replied.

“My… my liege… he’s your son…” Ironclaw said softly.

“And he knows full well the risks of those blood ties!” The Emperor said, turning away from the captain. “Were I, or Nessa in his position, and he in mine, I’d expect him to make the same call!”

“Their forces are gaining more ground by the moment; our cause may be lost all the same. I must get you out of here at once! So long as I do, they’ve no way of acquiring the weapons.” Ironclaw said urgently.

The Emperor turned again, a fierce glare in his eyes. “We are griffons, captain! We do not surrender so long as our leaders stand! I will not abandon my empire, I will fight to the end!”

“Highness?” A female voice asked behind the Emperor. Turning, he found Twilight standing there. “I’m willing to help… however way I can. It’s risky, but it may be the only chance we have.”

The Emperor stared down at her for a moment. “You mean to reactivate the weapons from the Griffon Wars?”

The unicorn nodded. “I do. Look, if we activate them, we can fight them off and at least have a chance of stopping him from acquiring him. As we are now, by my calculations we’ll all perish very soon, and the Phoenix will have nothing standing between him and acquiring the Eagle Eye.”

The Emperor looked down for a moment, then back at Twilight. “Very well. It may be the only thing we can do now. Go get Nessa and bring her here. I don’t want her out of my sight at a time like this.” He said softly. The emperor looked over at the captain. “When I open the passage, see to it the entrance is guarded.”

~

Rainbow’s eyes snapped open, and she found herself laying on the ruined floor of the theater. Her costume was somehow restored completely, save the mask and hat that now lay nearby; also good as new. Standing up and giving herself a quick stretch, she noticed she no longer had any injuries. Smirking, Rainbow grabbed her mask and hat and put them on quickly, and flew out of the damaged roof into the night sky, towards the palace.

“Attention, to all of Talongrad… brothers and sisters of the Rebirth…” An all too familiar voice declared, from the numerous loudspeaker towers around the city, and large screens flickered on, showing the Phoenix himself as he gave a foreboding speech that only prompted Rainbow to move faster. “This is your leader, the Phoenix, in so short a time, the weak, corrupt fools that have conned their way into Parliament’s office on half-truths and empty promises have met their untimely demise… save one who shall live to see the full extent of his incompetence before he reaps its benefits.” He approached the camera, as if glaring directly at Mare Do Well herself as she flew towards another screen on her way to the palace. “…But yet, this night shall not only have been their last. As I speak, my devoted followers are tearing down the other force that has uphead this fragile house of cards they deem as ‘order’; the Griffonheim Royal Family! When Emperor Griffonheim and his heirs have met their end, we shall move on to the final step that shall make the skies burn with the fires of rebirth… the destruction of the very nation who is truly culpable for this one’s descent into weakness: Equestria… In the ashes of destruction, a new and pure form shall rise, and all shall begin anew. Brothers and sisters, enlightened followers, and devoted disciples… the cleansing has begun!

“The Eagle Eye… it’s the key to his plan, but how’s he gonna get ahold of it?” Rainbow wondered as she flew towards the palace.

~

“Dad, are you sure they’ll be alright?” Nessa asked as she and Twilight followed the Emperor off the elevator and into the basement and approached the weapons, joined by several guards. The Emperor and the Princess had shed their formal wear and had armed themselves, Twilight and the guards followed close behind.

“We have to hope so. They will buy us enough time to reactivate enough of these for the guards who have joined us down here to pilot. Once they’ve joined the fight, it can give enough of a diversion to send more down.” The emperor said. “It’s a gamble but it’s the only chance we really have of winning now.

Approaching the inactive glider mechs, the emperor looked over at Twilight. “Charge them with your magic, and we can handle this menace once and for all.”

“Right away…” Twilight said with a smile, approaching the birdlike machines and her horn started to glow. The moment she did, however, she was suddenly blasted from behind by a bolt of lightning. The emperor and princess turned as well, just in time to see two of the guards that had come with them reveal the gauntlets they’d paced on their claws and discharge blasts of electrical energy on them as well.

“How…” The Emperor gasped, struggling to get up only to get blasted again.

“This castle holds many secrets, more then I could ever imagine!” Swiftwing said as he stepped out of the shadows behind one of the machines. “The Rebirth has many informants, closer then you could have ever imagined, your highness.” The Councilor said with a smug grin as he leaned over the fallen emperor. “Including ones who know other ways in here, such as the means of which these marvelous creations of the late general were first brought here!”

“...Councilor Swiftwing?” Nessa asked. “Y-you’re the Phoenix?”

The Councilor didn’t answer, and instead turned his attention on Twilight. “In a matter of moments, the Rebirth will have overwhelmed that pathetic excuse of a defense you’ve put up. And in the meantime, I suggest you get familiar with something down here I’m certain the emperor neglected to tell you about. Something General Razorbeak created for less… compliant unicorns.”

Twilight glared and spat in the councilor’s face. “Where’s Mare Do Well and Prince Loken?! What do you hope to gain from selling out your home and everyone in it?!”

The Councilor scowled, and raised his claw, also sporting a gauntlet, and zapped the unicorn with another burst of electrical energy. “By now, Mare Do Well and the rest of Parliament have checked out courtesy of the trap that was set for that costumed pest.” The Councilor said, stroking the bottom of his beak. “And isn’t it obvious? When this is all over, this nation’s going to need a brilliant and well-spoken official to restore the order…”

“Indeed, it will…” Another voice said; the sounds of the elevator descending again heard behind the councilor, and the Phoenix approached, accompanied by Leo and two other Rebirth griffons.

“I’ve done my part, Phoenix. All the information on the Parliament, leading Mare Do Well to you, I trust my reward will be coming soon?” Swiftwing asked eagerly, then turning to smirk at the three captives.

“Sooner then you think; Councilor.” The Phoenix said coldly, and Leo grabbed the Councilor by the head his prosthetic arm, while holding him in place with his other.

“Wha…what…?!” Swiftwing asked, struggling to raise his gauntlet up to fight back, but before he could, Leo’s prosthetic arm spun a full circle, and sound of the griffon’s neck breaking could be heard by all. Smirking, the large griffon released his grip, allowing the lifeless Councilor’s body to collapse in a heap on the floor.

“Enjoy your reward, Councilor. ...Now, I believe you know what I came for, highness…” The Phoenix said, approaching the Emperor as he lay on the ground. The Phoenix reached under his cloak and flung down a long knife. “I believe you know who that belongs to. He is… currently unharmed. I feel certain you wouldn’t be so quick as to leave your own flesh and blood to suffer at my claws. Give me what I came for, and he will remain unharmed.”

The Emperor chuckled and stood up. The guards moved to attack but the Phoenix raised a claw for them to hold back. “You expect me to trust you? You’ve sworn to destroy me and my family from the moment you surfaced. Loken’s as good as dead as I’d be regardless of if I were to give in to your demands…” He reached under his robes and drew out a broadsword. “How about this; I refuse to surrender for any reason, and will fight to my last breath. I’m sure a griffon as… traditional as you claim to be can appreciate the potential slaying of the Griffon Empire’s greatest figurehead can have for your delusions of power. I, Vladmir Griffonheim, challenge you and yours to a duel!” The Emperor shouted, his wings fanning out as he took a fighting stance, glaring at the masked griffon before him. The Phoenix chuckled softly, and grabbed the stolen blade he’d brought with him.

“I accept.”

Immediately, Twilight turned towards Nessa and focused her magic, firing a beam of pink magic on the griffon. “This should help you get back on your feet…” She said, and the griffoness felt refreshed enough to stand back up, drawing out a short sword and engaging the nearest Rebirth griffon, while Twilight stood up and turned her attention on Leo.

~

“Here I come!” Mare Do Well shouted, smashing her hooves into the faces of two red-hooded griffons, then flipping in the air and bucking another with her hind leg. The airship hung parked on the castle roof, several more Rebirth griffons flying from it and attempting to challenge her.

“Don’t worry, I come prepared, there’s plenty to go around!” Mare Do Well said with a laugh, releasing another flash bomb and flinging it at the griffons flying at her. The bomb exploded the moment it impacted one’s chest, leaving all of them dazed and plummeting down to the ground far, far below.

Swooping down and flying circles around two more griffons, the pegasus sent them spiraling up into the air with a small tornado. As she drew closer, she saw the pegasus guards being brought to the massive airship and flew over, landing softly behind the griffons marching them up the ramp. The griffon in the back of the line paused for a moment, long enough for the costumed pegasus to slam her hoof into the back of his head. The remaining three griffons turned in astonishment, raising their claws which all sported lightning gauntlets and fired at her. Mare Do Well cried out as the shock of three bolts of lightning hit her and tumbled backward, but her costume and being a pegasus gave her enough strength to stand herself back up. As the griffons approached, however, the unattended pegasus guards came up behind them and slammed their shackles into the griffons’ heads, knocking them out.

“Thanks.” Mare Do Well said.

“Don’t mention it.” A light red pegasus guard said with a smirk. “But you need to hurry! These guys were saying the Phoenix has already made his way down to the storage area where the weapons are! Twilight, the Emperor, and the Princess are down there, too!”

“Well then let’s clear ourselves a path.” Mare Do Well said as countless Rebirth griffons flew down into their path…

~

Twilight struggled to hold her barrier up as Leo pounded his prosthetic arm against it in anger. The large griffon snarled and glared down at the unicorn, increasing his efforts.

“The boss has plans for you, unicorn!” The large griffon said, beating down on the barrier until cracks began to form on the magical bubble. “So don’t worry, I won’t hurt you too much!”

Her aura weakening, Twilight immediately dropped the barrier and rolled out of the way, firing a magical blast at Leo, who blocked it with his mechanized limb, then fired the claw out at the unicorn, snaring her and giving her a painful electrical shock, causing her to scream out in pain.

Nessa parried her attackers left and right, doing a spin in the air and bringing her short sword down into the chest of one of the griffons, barely avoiding a shock from another’s gauntlet and swinging her blade upward, slicing it and everything inside clean off.

Meanwhile, in the center of the large basement, the Emperor and the Phoenix continued their fight. The Emperor fought hard but was showing signs of fatigue. The Phoenix remained focused as he increased the ferocity of his strikes while dodging the Emperor’s. The Emperor then took to the air and began to fly around the Phoenix.

“I may be old, but you’ve never seen aerial combat like that which the royal family has honed over the generations!” The Emperor said, beginning to spin like a drill as the Phoenix watched in silence. As he rose to the height of the ceiling, wind swirled around his form as the Emperor swooped in. Before he could strike the Phoenix, however, the masked griffon flew straight up and swirled around him in the opposite direction of the wind patterns, causing the Emperor to lose speed, and the griffon grabbed him roughly, sliding his stolen blade into the Emperor’s chest.

“What… how… what are you…?!” The Emperor asked, his eyes wide with disbelief that such a lethal technique had been so easily thwarted.

“Your successor…” The Phoenix said, his cold, emotionless eyes peering through the shadowed eyeholes of his mask as he slid the blade in further, then flinging the Emperor’s impaled body down to the ground.

“Dad!” Nessa cried out, abandoning her fight and running to his side. Tears began to form in the griffoness’ eyes when she saw no signs of life left in her father.

“Two down, one remains...” The Phoenix said coldly as he glared down at Nessa.

“You MONSTER! Nessa screamed, her wings flaring out as she raised her sword back to fling it at him, but before she had the chance, Leo’s mechanical claw fired out and snared her as he had Twilight, sending a surge of electrical energy through her and causing her to collapse to the floor.

“Well done, Leo. Take the her to the airship.” The Phoenix ordered.

“And the unicorn, boss?” Leo asked, looking over at Twilight, who lay nearby unconscious.

“Prepare her for the other thing we came here for…” The masked griffon replied, looking over at the covered machine in the corner as he approached the fallen Emperor’s body, reaching into his robes and taking out a small gem. “While I prepare the claiming our greatest prize.” He said, approaching the vault door with the gem and setting it into place. The dials lit up and turned, and the door slowly opened, revealing the Eagle Eye within.

“Boss!” A griffon yelled out, flying down the elevator shaft, two others accompanying him shortly after. “Mare Do Well! She survived! She’s fighting her way through, now!”

The Phoenix paused for a moment. “Interesting.” He said softly before turning to Leo. “You, go deal with her.”

The large griffin grinned, clenching his metal claws. “My pleasure, boss.” He said, turning and flying up the elevator shaft.

“The rest of you… I believe we have work to do here.” The Phoenix said, gesturing inside as two of the griffons dragged Twilight and the covered device in with them.
	
> Desperate Measures
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come on! Who’s next?” Mare Do Well shouted as she hovered in the air, her hooves raised as she glared at the many defeated griffons that lay about her. Most were unconscious, some about ready to be; but it seemed the Phoenix had put plenty of effort in keeping her busy as she journeyed deeper into the palace.

As one Rebirth griffon stood, drawing a knife, Mare Do Well flew straight down at him, then looped around, avoiding the swing of his knife, then slamming her hooves into his back, then kicking him in the face, leaving the downed thug injured and unconscious.

“Seriously, none of you guys retreating? Fine, more for me!” The pegasus said proudly. As she turned, the pegasus guards she’d freed had already moved to the latest room with her to insure no more griffons they were fighting off were able to join in with the ones Mare Do Well had already been engaged in fighting. Ironclaw was nowhere to be found but she hoped he wasn’t far, and still alive if she hurried; as she knew despite her own physical prowess, with the full force of the Rebirth here she’d need all the help she could get.

A larger Rebirth griffon stepped forward, donning some armor Mare Do Well assumed he’d swiped off one of the displays in the castle, wielding an axe in his claws and spreading out his wings as he flew at her. Rainbow grinned under the mask and flew towards him, then flying underneath the griffon as she turned herself upside-down, kicking her legs up to make him lose control. The griffon, however, didn’t seem as affected as she’d hoped due to his size and added protection and instead spun around and swung the axe, narrowly missing the pegasus, who recoiled in shock and tumbled to the carpeted floor.

The griffon landed in front of her, sneering as he slowly approached. Narrowing her eyes, a plan came to Rainbow’s mind. Crazy, but it was her best shot. Flying up into the air, she tossed one of her flash bomb pellets high in the air, the explosion creating a flash of light as she picked up speed and causing a makeshift version of her Buccaneer Blast maneuver, resulting in a far brighter, dazzling blast of bright light in the griffon’s eyes and blinding him just long enough for her to fly behind him and wrap her forelegs around his neck.

The griffon fell to the ground and shook himself wildly, dropping the axe and rubbing his eyes for a moment before attempting to make use of both of his claws to try and pull her off. The pegasus held on, tightening her grip as hard as she could around his neck to asphyxiate him. The towering griffon rolled himself across the ground, causing Mare Do Well to grunt in pain but she did not let go. Flailing and flapping his wings wildly, the griffon struggled more to get her off, but even then she held on, pulling as much as she could and slowly, his efforts grew weaker. The griffon spread his wings, flying up into the air and then turning on his back as he felt his consciousness fade in one last, desperate maneuver to defeat Mare Do Well.

Letting out a loud groan of pain from the heavy griffon squashing her after falling, Rainbow struggled out from under him and took a few breaths as she stood up and looked over at the other pegasi, who around that time had just managed to deal with the latest wave of Rebirth griffons.

“Keep it up, guys! The throne room’s just up ahead!” Mare Do Well yelled, rushing through the next set of doors and into the throne room. Just past here, if Twilight’s description had been right, would be the hall leading to where the weapons had been kept. As she entered, she saw an all-too-familiar griffon seated on the Emperor’s throne.

“Miss me?” Leo asked with a grin as he stepped off the throne, his prosthetic arm clanking with every step. “The boss wants you and your pals away from his ship if he’s gonna get our prize on board, so he asked me to keep you entertained!” He explained with a chuckle. “Of course, since it’s you, how could I refuse?”

Rainbow winced. The Phoenix had really thought this one through; she or the other guards had no way of heading him off at the ship now, and if she wanted any chance of stopping him, fastest flier in Equestria or otherwise, she’d have to deal with Leo quickly.

“Fine by me, Leo.” Mare Do Well said with a smirk under her mask.

“Pretty nice, huh?” Leo asked, gesturing around them. “The imperial throne room, while war is going on all around us? I can’t think of a better place for our long-awaited true rematch.”

“I agree.” Mare Do Well replied. “Especially since we both know I’m gonna kick your haunches again like always.” The pegasus spread her wings and glared at the griffon, who returned the favor.

“Remains to be seen, babe.” Leo said. As soon as the words left his mouth, Mare Do Well took to the air and flew at him. The griffon reached behind himself and grabbed the Emperor’s throne with his mechanized arm, flinging it at the pegasus.

Mare Do Well quickly swerved out of the way, avoiding the throne but the wind force messed up her flight enough to make her falter and lose altitude. Leo wasted no time charging forward, blade drawn from his prosthetic claw as he swung wildly at her. Mare Do Well dodged as best she could, falling back behind a suit of armor and kicking it at the griffon, who smashed it apart with a swing of his blade just in time for Mare Do Well to tackle him to the ground, causing the two of them to roll across the floor trading punches. Mare Do Well swung her hoof up to knock Leo’s normal claw aside, then turned to avoid his far stronger mechanical one before slamming her hoof in his face several times. The griffon grabbed her hoof on the last swing, however, and flung her off him into a wall.

Mare Do Well groaned a little, dazed from the impact and standing again, in time to see Leo approaching her. Before she could move, the griffon pinned her against a column, drawing his prosthetic arm back intending to impale her with its blade.

“As far as big showdowns go, I gotta admit this is a little disappointing.” He remarked smugly. Seizing the opportunity, Mare Do Well raised her hind legs and bucked him hard in the chest, causing him to stumble back. The griffon let out a lionlike growl and swung his blade again, Mare Do Well managing to just dodge it, causing the blade to get stuck into the pillar. The chance open, Mare Do Well dropped to the ground and swung her hind leg up, kicking the blade as hard as she could where it connected to Leo’s metal wrist and snapping it clean off. The large griffon stepped away from her, staring at his arm for a moment, then at her.

“Any more tricks up that fancy metal sleeve of yours?” Mare Do Well asked, and to her surprise, a dangerous grin formed on the griffon’s face.

“Just one.” He said, pressing something on his shoulder. Plates at the base of the elbow joint opened apart, revealing a glowing red gem core, and the prosthetic’s plating shifted and reshaped as several other parts emerged and came together, forming what appeared to be some sort of miniaturized gatling gun that replaced the entire lower half of his arm; causing Mare Do Well to stare agape for a moment at what she saw.

“Oh BUCK ME…” She muttered, immediately galloping to the side as fast as she could as Leo promptly let loose a spray of magical energy bolts from the rotating barrels. Ducking behind a column, Rainbow shuddered when she felt chunks of stone being blown apart by the continuous assault of the griffon’s weapon. Suddenly he paused, and she heard a click, followed by what sounded like energy currents building up. What was he… she wondered. She’d had some experience with electric build-up to charge storm clouds, if that applied with here then…

Oh no…

Spreading her wings Mare Do Well flew as fast as she could under the circumstances as Leo fired a large glowing sphere of magical energy that promptly blew the column to dust and debris when it exploded violently against it, the broken blade from his prosthetic arm flying through the air and bouncing off the floor before sliding right near the column Mare Do Well now hid behind.

“Not so cocky now, are you, Mare Do Well? Just a matter of time till I run out of things to blow up…” Leo said with a sinister laugh, firing another rapid spray of magic bolts at the column and blasting it apart. Approaching, the exposed core of his prosthetic arm glowed brightly as he charged up another powerful explosive blast and fired it, leaving behind a cloud of dust in the explosion’s wake. As the dust settled, Leo cocked his head in curiosity. Laying near the column was Mare Do Well’s hat and mask, worse for wear from the dust but their owner was missing. “Disappointing.” He repeated, turning and firing at the next column.

A second later, however, a clank was heard and his gatling gun’s barrels stopped rotating. Leo looked down at his prosthetic arm and saw the broken blade had been wedged into the gap where the gem powering it sat, and gripping it in her teeth was the unmasked Mare Do Well. Letting go and striking the flat, broken end with her hoof, Rainbow drove the blade in, piercing the gem. Immediately red light began to shine from it as cracks began forming around it. Leo stared at Mare Do Well in a look of panic and astonishment as the pegasus glared at him and immediately galloped behind the remaining queens’ throne. Leo growled and aimed his gatling gun at her, attempting to charge up another blast but instead sparks of magical energy crackled violently all over his arm. The griffon looked down at the core, the cracks formed all over now and the energy building up around it instead of the gun barrel itself. Leo had just enough time to shudder as the unstable gem then blew up the prosthetic arm and the griffon attached to it in a large, violent explosion of magical fire and lightning; leaving behind only smoking chunks of metal, burned feathers, and what little else remained of the large griffon. Emerging from behind the throne, Rainbow stared down at the metal beak Leo had once worn to replace the one he’d lost in what felt like so long ago, now smoking at her hooves without an owner.

“Good luck coming back from that.” Rainbow said as she kicked the metal beak aside in satisfaction, walking over to the column where her hat and mask lay and putting them back on before heading through the next door to find the Phoenix and her friends.

Entering the hall, Mare Do Well froze in her tracks when she saw Captain Ironclaw and his guards badly injured at the open entrance to the elevator shaft leading down to the storage area.

“Captain!” Mare Do Well shouted, galloping over to the fallen griffon, who coughed and sat himself up.

“Mare Do… Well… you made it… hope Leo didn’t give you too hard a time…” The Captain said with a weak laugh.

“Eh, the same old tool of a griffon I fought over a year ago… well maybe not now.” Mare Do Well said with a shrug.

“Hey, so long as he’s outta the picture I call that a… good thing.” Ironclaw said, smirking.

“Not for the castle servants, they’re gonna need a broom and a pan to pick up what’s left of him, assuming they find it all.” Mare Do Well answered, then glanced down the elevator shaft. “The Emperor… is he down there?” She asked. The griffon captain nodded.

“The Phoenix… Councilor Swiftwing… he was…” The Captain said, coughing.

“I got this!” Without another word, Mare Do Well flew down the shaft swiftly, and was met with another horrible sight that awaited her at the bottom chamber.

“Oh my gosh! Emperor Griffonheim!” Mare Do Well flew over and nudged the Emperor’s body with her hoof, noticing the red pool that had formed around him that told her all she needed to know that she was too late to do anything for him now. Twilight, Nessa, and even the Councilor were nowhere to be found and the thin glimmer of hope her friends might still be alive and she could still apprehend the Councilor gave her the motivation to keep searching. The vault had been opened, whatever had been inside it; she guessed the Eagle Eye weapon Twilight told her of, was missing. Noticing and a large passageway next to the vault she’d missed earlier due to it being difficult to see in the dark now lay open, Mare Do Well galloped through it until she found herself standing at an opening that lead to outside the palace. By her guess, the Phoenix and his Rebirth followers must have flown the Eagle Eye out through here, though how they knew of a passage out of the closed-off storage vaults was a mystery to her. Still, it didn’t matter, her new highest priority was catching up to the airship.

“They already got what they wanted…” Mare Do Well muttered, looking back and recalling the other weapons in the vaults had remained untouched… “Just added weight. With the Empire’s leaders gone and…” Her eyes widened as she realized where they’d be headed now. “Oh no… they’re on their way to Equestria now with that weapon!” She shuddered. “I gotta catch up to them!” Mare Do Well felt a strain as she spread her wings, then lowered her head. Even with the boost Luna had given her to save her from dying in the theater, she was worn out from the fighting she’d just gone through and it was evident to her even she couldn’t hope to fly at full speeds now and catch up to the Phoenix’s airship. “What… do I do now…?” She said softly, staring off into the distance.

“I think we might have an idea.” Captain Ironclaw said, approaching behind her with several of his remaining officers and the pegasus guards. “Alright, all of you grab one of those storm clouds and bring it in here fast!” The captain ordered, and the guards all saluted and flew out the exit way past the costumed pegasus. Curious, Mare Do Well walked over to the griffon and cocked her head.

“What’re we doing? You expect I ride a cloud?” She asked.

“Nah, those things’ll go down easy. Let’s just say I know my Griffon Empire history enough to know there are a few alternatives to getting these old babies to fly again.” The captain explained with a smirk as he looked towards the eagle-like glider mechs. Within moments, the guards returned, all carrying in a dark gray cloud that flashed with electrical energy.

“The airship’s probably gone full-burn, got outta here pretty darn fast soon as the Phoenix got your friends and that big ball-thing on board.” A pegasus guard explained, concern on her face.
“Now the dragon mech’s pretty, but it’s more suited for combat then speed, so it won’t be able to catch up to the airship. These babies aren’t well-armed but they’re fast and nimble fliers.” The captain explained. “See, unlike a magic charge, lightning only works as a temporarily fix, so you’re gonna need to get this thing as close to the airship as you can before it runs out.”

The pegasi held the cloud in the chest cavity of the glider mech and on three, gave it a firm buck, causing the lightning to erupt from it and circulate through the machine, causing light to form from cavities on its body and in its eyeholes, giving it power. Smirking, Rainbow climbed up into the pilot seat and looked over the controls. From the looks of it, there were two buttons and a joystick of some kind; the former likely used for firing an energy blast and thruster burn, the joystick presumably for steering; which seemed easy enough. Pressing the green button lightly, Mare Do Well felt the machine lift into the air.

“Hang on.” The captain shouted, and his officers and the pegasus guards flew to the wings of the craft and ferried it out of the passage.

“The airship headed west. Good luck, Mare Do Well…” The Captain said; his claw at his chest where a gash was present.

“Thanks. I’ll be back before you know it!” Mare Do Well said, pressing the controls and the glider was soon in pursuit.

~

Standing on a catwalk in the hangar of the airship, the Phoenix gazed up at the Eagle Eye that hung suspended above them. Twilight lay before him surrounded by several Rebirth griffons, a small ringlike device around her horn that she recognized as a magic-suppressor for capturing unicorns.

“We’ve only a few hours before we reach Equestria.” The Phoenix said, approaching Twilight. “Soon, the kingdom that stole all we as griffons stood for, will be nothing but ash.”

“As cliché as this sounds, you’ll never get away with this!” Twilight said angrily, struggling with the ropes holding her. “I know this for a fact. You assume Mare Do Well’s not gonna catch up?”

“We’ve already reached the coastlines, my dear little pony.” The Phoenix replied, stroking Twilight’s chin with his talon as his eyes glared through the dark eyeholes of his mask. “She’d be far too worn now to reach us even if she is as fast as they say she is.” He looked over at one of the griffons and nodded, prompting the griffon thug to turn and leave. “You’re probably wondering why I need you here… I’m sure the Emperor demonstrated to you the secret to powering the Griffon Empire’s war machines and weaponry?”

“Yes, I know, magic charges. General Razorbeak used foalnapped unicorns to handle that. But if you think my last act alive is gonna be charging up the weapon that’s gonna doom Equestria you’re SADLY mistaken.” Twilight said venomously. The Phoenix leaned inches from the unicorn’s face and gave a cruel, soft chuckle.

“I figured as much.” He said. “And so did the esteemed General. That’s why he created this magnificent invention to work around that little problem called ‘free will’.” The Phoenix stood back as the griffon he’d sent off returned with said invention.

The mere sight of it made Twilight’s blood run cold. It looked to be some kind of upraised metal operating table. Gears attached to some kind of apparatus that had a hole go through the top clearly designed to fit around the head of a unicorn, with small arms with needle-like attachments on the sides of the table that had wiring in them. The device looked like a mechanized, old-age torture rack. The unicorn glanced back at the Phoenix, who chuckled again as the griffons undid her ropes and carried the struggling unicorn to it.

“This is a magic extractor… one of General Razorbeak’s most brilliant creations. These little prongs in the end send rather unpleasant charges right into the pain receptors of the body’s nerves. On a unicorn enough pain and stress can cause a rather spectacular magic output from the horn in a focused beam, as you may have guessed this part goes onto your head; need to aim the discharge without your struggling after all...” The Phoenix explained in a cold tone that held a slight hint of amusement while he watched his followers strap Twilight in and place the apparatus over her head, her horn neatly fitting through the hole on top. Once she was locked in, the griffons pulled a crack handle on the side, causing the extractor to tilt so Twilight’s horn was aimed at the Eagle Eye above.

“I can only imagine how painful it must be, to cause the necessary discharge to reawaken the power of this weapon.” The Phoenix said as he approached and removed the ring from Twilight’s horn, then turned the dial on the side of the device with his claw. “But I suppose we’ll find out soon. For what it’s worth, your actions will further a cause that shall be remembered for generations to come, student of Celestia… how ironic, she no doubt took you in under the belief you had some great destiny that would affect all of Equestria… how right she was, I suppose.” He explained as he then walked away silently, Twilight’s agonized screams filling the hangar shortly after as a beam of magenta magic projected into the Eagle Eye, its core beginning to glow brighter and brighter as the arcane energy crackled and flowed within.

~

“Come on, come on!” Mare Do Well said, spotting the airship in the distance but feeling her glider running out of power and beginning to lose altitude. She knew she had no choice now; she’d have to fly the rest of the way herself. While the ride had given her a chance to rest, she’d have to rely on adrenalin to get her to the ship at this point. Spreading her wings and allowing the glider its last minute of power to expire, the pegasus jumped from the descending machine and flew as fast as she could, the airship getting closer and closer by the second.

“Come on, Dash! You can clear a sky in ten seconds flat, you can reach an airship in less!” She encouraged herself. A cocky smirk came to her face as she mustered more wingpower, drawing ever-closer now. “OH YEAH! Mare Do Well is not out of this game yet!” She cheered.

~

Nessa’s eyes slowly fluttered open as consciousness returned to her. She was on the floor, on a red carpet with a firebird symbol the Rebirth had used dyed across it, and before her was an ornate, unoccupied throne with a pair of gold winglike formations jutting from the sides, the backrest resembling a flame, and a pair of griffon heads were carved into the armrests. As the griffoness rolled over, struggling to free herself from the ropes she was bound in, she found a griffon body laying near her, a black hood tied over the head. As she looked it over, the familiar tattered suit it wore was all the proof she needed to know she had found her brother.

“Oh no…” Nessa cried, struggling and backing away from the body as best she could. “No, no, no, no, no, NO!” She sobbed, her eyes watering as she felt her body grow weaker from grief. Both her father and her brother were gone now… she was alone until the Phoenix chose to end her as well.

“You’re finally awake, I see…” The Phoenix’s voice said, catching her attention and she saw the masked griffon standing at the doorframe, closing the door behind him as he walked in.

“Why…” Nessa said, choking out her words as her tears flowed.

“The same reason the Emperor is dead, the same reason the Parliament is dead, and the same reason you’ll be joining them once you’ve seen Equestria’s end… because you’re between me and what I want.” The Phoenix said coldly as he approached. “I have to admit, you took his loss harder then I would have imagined… not that it makes any difference.”

The Phoenix drew out a knife and continued to advance on the griffoness, who glared at him expectantly, only for the costumed griffon to walk past her and cut away the black hood covering Loken’s head, revealing it to not have been Loken, but Councilor Swiftwing’s body that lay there, dressed in Loken's suit.

“Ambition is both a strength and weakness. It compels us to achieve our greatest dreams, but it allows those who recognize those dreams to more easily exploit us.” The Phoenix explained, looking down at the Councilor's lifeless body on the floor.

“W-where’s m-my brother…?” Nessa asked, gritting her teeth as she glared hatefully at the Rebirth leader. “Where is he?!” She demanded.

The other griffon just laughed.

“TELL ME!” Nessa shouted furiously as she struggled harder then ever to break free and attack the Phoenix.

“Poor, confused little Princess Nessa…” The Phoenix said; reaching into his hood and untying the mask he wore. “Those family ties are not nearly so… blood-bound…” He continued, pulling the mask away and revealing the  face of the griffon underneath.

“…as our father would have liked you to believe…” Prince Loken explained with a sinister smile on his face.
	
> Endgame
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“What’s the matter, little sister? You seem so surprised,” Loken said with a condescending sneer as he looked down at his bound sister.

“You… WHY?!” Nessa pleaded, her eyes watering from the heartbreak of her father’s death and the discovery her own brother had been directly responsible for it. “He was your father! I’m your sister! This is our empire! Why would you commit such treason?!”

Loken turned away for a moment, scoffing. “Is that what you were told?” he asked with a chuckle before turning, throwing back his hood so Nessa could get a better look at the embittered look on his face. “Oh, what secrets father kept! We’re only half-siblings, Nessa! I had a different mother then you did. One father had an affair with while in the process of choosing his queen. She was given a royal sum to relinquish her egg to him, and a vow he’d raise it as his own and bury this secret forever. Not wishing to defy an Emperor, she obeyed,” Loken explained. “In what you might call an ironic twist of fate, when I’d learned of this, she’d already passed away, her fortunes and life robbed by activists.”

“That’s awful, but it doesn’t excuse what you’ve done!” Nessa protested, glaring at her brother, who just laughed.

“Doesn’t it? That’s only but a tiny part of the story. I learned that before his own death, General Razorbeak had sired an egg with his mate. Generations passed, and the surname associated with the Griffon Empire’s greatest hero had been erased by time, but the bloodline carried down to a lone griffoness… the mother I never met,” Loken explained, staring out the window for a moment. “Not only was I an illegitimate heir, but no doubt such a stain the more… peaceable-minded griffons of this nation felt the General had left, father included… if he ever knew, he’d be even less inclined to let me inherit the throne! Naturally, he passed it on to his first-born from his queen…” He looked back at her coldly. “You.”

“How did mother not know this? She died when we were children and never mentioned it!” Nessa replied.

“Father loved her, no mistake, and she, him. Who was she to criticize his deeds before he’d even known her? Taking the egg that had been laid so shortly before the one from his marriage’s consummation who outside the family would be the wiser?” Loken asked. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t about to take the risk.”

As Loken’s words sank in, Nessa’s eyes widened in horror as realization set in. “Mother… you killed her?!”

Loken merely smiled in response. “I like to think of it as doing father a favor he never would have had it in him to do. Not that he ever knew the truth…”

~

Mare Do Well hung from the underbelly of the airship, flapping her wings and carrying herself onto the hangar balcony. Up ahead was a Rebirth griffon, facing away from her. Smirking, she moved as slowly as she could, knowing flying could cause her fall from the airship at this height and speed the ship was moving until she got inside.

Once she was upon the guard, Mare Do Well flung her cape over his head and wrapped her hooves around his neck tightly to silence him. The griffon struggled and gasped, then finally collapsed to the floor. Satisfied, Mare Do Well continued onward to find an entrance. Turning, she walked along the balcony and found a door leading into the middle portion of the airship. By her guess the Eagle Eye would have been located in the lowest part, in the hanger where it could easily be dropped.

Get Twilight and the Princess, stop this airship before it can reach Equestia… how hard can it be? she thought to herself.

The door opened and a pair of griffons emerged, pausing and staring at Mare Do Well in surprise.

Not hard at all, the pegasus thought with an eyeroll as she took a fighting stance and engaged the two thugs.

~

“All this?! Why create the Rebirth? Why harm Equestria?!” Nessa demanded, struggling against the ropes. “We’ve had no quarrel with them for centuries, and our nation was in the wrong when the war happened!”

“That’s the thing about terrorism, Nessa; Everyone with power has so much to gain from it!” Loken said with a laugh. “And when you’re playing both sides you intend to dispose of, in this case both the current establishment AND the ones seeking to bring it down, you alone are able to rise from the ashes of the destruction to reap all the benefits and remake everything as you see fit!” he explained. “As the Phoenix, I was able to unify the entire activist element of this nation under a single figure so I could destroy it once it has served its purpose.” He approached the discarded mask and held it up, obscuring half his face with it. “By putting a face on evil I could intimidate the Parliament and expose its incompetence, proving we’re better off without it! Yours, father’s, and Mare Do Well’s sacrifices will not be in vain, and serve to further my future as the Griffon Empire’s next and most beloved ruler!”

“Beloved? You’re completely out of your mind, Loken!” Nessa shouted.

“Am I? I like to think of myself as brilliant beyond anyone’s expectations! Something father clearly never appreciated when he close you as his heir! As the sole survivor of our empire’s governing body, not only is there no one left standing between me and the throne, but it will be a throne that needn’t worry about bickering appointed bureaucrats elected on false promises!” Loken explained. “As the one who destroyed the entire revolutionary movement opposing our empire, I’ll be seen by all as a respectable hero who brought about absolute peace!” A dark smile crept onto his face as he looked away, in the direction the airship was flying towards. “And as for Equestria… their victory over our nation means less to me then you may have thought. Rather, their sacrifice will serve as the final step to ensure none would doubt my greatness. Imagine, a terrible tragedy that, before I could escape and slay the one everyone will believe to have been the Phoenix,” he said, looking over at Swiftwing’s body laying near the empty throne. “I failed to stop the Eagle Eye from devastating such a peaceful land… so, in my efforts to make amends for being unable to prevent such tragedy, and owing it to their hero who had fallen in her valiant efforts against the Rebirth, when I humbly assume the throne in yours and fathers’ deaths, I will be the charitable leader who, in his first act as Emperor, sought to use his empire’s vast wealth and resources to help rebuild Equestria. This shall in turn allow me to gain the reverence of not one but two nations!” he said, turning and looking down at his sister again. “It’s only a shame you won’t get to see me enjoy it all…”

~

Mare Do Well stood over the defeated thugs, kicking their bodies off the catwalks of the airship and entering through the door. Up ahead was a narrow walkway with one of the glider machines she’d seen earlier, and further down, she saw the faint glow of the Eagle Eye, confirming it had now been fully charged. Flying over, Mare Do Well stood before it; staring up in awe at the ancient weapon. Despite its horrible purpose, it was almost beautiful in a way; the magical currents flowing through its crevices and the various spires now showing off intricate patterns given magenta illumination. A glow from above suggesting it had since been rotated so its open part would be facing upward. Several more catwalks overlooked it, while it hung suspended with several small cranes.

The pegasus heard a soft whimper, and she turned around, spotting Twilight, strapped to a large table-like device.

“Twi!” Mare Do Well cried out, flying over to her friend, who was now quietly weeping. “Hey, Twi. It’s me. I’m here to save you!” she said, attempting a smile under her mask.

“I couldn’t… I couldn’t stop it,” Twilight muttered softly, tears flowing down her cheeks. “It hurt… it felt like my magic was just being ripped out of me! How could anyone create something so awful to use on a pony?”

“Well, it’s nothing to worry about anymore. It’s all over now,” Rainbow said, looking over the switches on the unicorn’s shackles, nudging them with her hoof and causing them to pop open, allowing Twilight to tumble from the device and onto the floor.

“It hurt so much… I can barely move, Rainbow!” Twilight whispered, her body shivering.

Mare Do Well dug her head under Twilight’s body and hoisted her over her back. “Trust me, Twi, the Phoenix is gonna pay for this with his life. Soon as we find Nessa, I’m gonna deal with the Phoenix personally.”

“Not going anywhere, pony!” a Rebirth griffon said as he flew down and landed on the bridge in front of the two ponies. Glancing up, Mare Do Well saw many more flying in from the higher perches. “Two of you alert the boss; the rest of you, let’s deal with her,” the griffon said with a grin as two of the griffons flew off and the rest began to join him.

Crouching and letting Twilight slide off her and land on the floor, Mare Do Well took a step forward, standing protectively before her friend.

“D-don’t… don’t worry about me… I’ll be… fine in a minute or two,” Twilight said softly, coughing from the pain she felt.

“No way, Twi. I’ll keep these guys busy till your magic recovers enough to heal yourself. Then we can save Nessa and deal with these losers together!” Mare Do Well said.

“But Rainbow,” Twilight pleaded, prompting Mare Do Well to turn and glare down at her.

“Twi, when are you gonna remember, I never leave my friends hanging!” Mare Do Well said, grinning widely under the mask as she faced her gathering foes.

~

“Make no mistake, Loken. You may think you’ve won but you won’t get away with this!” Nessa hissed at her brother, struggling again while the other griffon just rolled his eyes.

“At the risk of sounding cliche, little sister... I already have by this point,” Loken said with an amused chuckle. “You just don’t want to accept the inevitable, do you?”

Immediately the door flew open, two Rebirth griffons rushing in. “Boss! It’s Mare Do Well! She—” one of the griffons yelled urgently, before both paused, staring agape when they saw their leader unmasked, and moreso their leader’s identity.

“What… y-you’re…?!” one griffon asked; eyes wide with astonishment and failing to notice the Prince raise his claw, which sported a gauntlet over it and was immediately struck down by a powerful bolt of lightning.

“…Far too close to accomplishing my goals to let things fall apart now,” Loken replied with a calm smirk before turning his claw to the other griffon, who stared down in horror at his fallen comrade.

“Boss… you… you used us?” the other griffon asked, backing away.

“The birdy gets it,” Loken said with a laugh as he approached, the other griffon backing against the door in fear. “I needed to unite all of you under one single, doomed banner for my plans to work. For what it’s worth, you and the rest of the Rebirth will still be remembered for this day!” he explained, firing another bolt of lightning and ending the other’s life in seconds. “And that, dear sister, is how you get ahead in life.” He turned around, just in time see Nessa, who had freed herself while his back was turned and swung the long dagger he’d dropped earlier at him, cutting into the gauntlet and causing it to spark violently. The griffon snarled in pain, grabbing at the damaged glove and flinging it off.

“Among other ways, Loken!” Nessa replied. “I knew I had to get you gloating to wait for the chance to grab that knife and free myself. Guess your plans aren’t as air-tight as you thought!” the griffoness explained, taking a fighting stance, her brother drawing his short sword from under his cloak and giving it a twirl.

“We’ll see about that, dear sister!” Loken said with a grin, swinging at her.

Nessa ducked down and rolled to the side, avoiding the swing of the larger blade, Loken chuckled and spread his wings, flying right at his sister and swinging with both arms while Nessa gripped her knife tightly to parry it, causing the two to end up in a blade lock, balancing on their hind legs. Unable to continue holding against her stronger brother, Nessa gave Loken a quick headbutt, causing the other griffon to topple over, grunting in pain. The griffoness rushed forward to grab his fallen sword but Loken swept his tail out and pulling it towards him, grabbing it when it came into reach and swung, grazing Nessa and causing her to drop her own weapon, clutching her side in pain as she fell next to one of the dead Rebirth griffons, her body facing away from her brother as she grunted in pain.

“Now that was uncalled for,” Loken remarked, smirking as he shook his head. “You’ve lost a lot in one night, little sis. Why attempt to delay this and save a kingdom that by definition weakened ours?” he asked as he approached her.

Nessa immediately slammed her claw into her brother’s chest, a blast of electrical energy surging into the other griffon. Loken let out a lionlike yowl as he was knocked backward from the shock and crashed into his throne, causing it to topple over.

“If you think that, you really didn’t deserve to be Emperor,” Nessa replied coldly, lowering the smoking gauntlet on her claw that she’d taken from one of the dead griffons and leaving out the door without another word.

~

“How ya holding out, Twi?” Mare Do Well asked as she swung her hoof up and decked another griffon, sending him toppling over the catwalks.

“Gonna… need more time to recharge… my magic,” Twilight said weakly, her horn glowing faintly but the aura faded out as quickly as it came.

“That’s something I doubt we really have, Twi,” Rainbow muttered as several more griffons descended towards them, these ones all sporting gauntlets which they all raised towards Mare Do Well. “Aw, great,” the pegasus sighed.

As they drew close, one was suddenly blasted from behind by a bolt of lightning. The other griffons looked back in confusion and there stood Nessa, holding her side with one claw and aiming her other at the spot previously occupied by the griffon she’d struck down. Seizing the opportunity, Mare Do Well rushed forward, slamming her hoof into one’s face and leaping into the air to kick another off the catwalk. Before the remaining griffons could react, Nessa fired a blast of lightning at one while Mare Do Well tripped the remaining one and struck him several times with her forehooves, knocking him out.

“Hope I’m not… too late,” Nessa said, taking a few breaths.

“You alright?” Mare Do Well asked.

“I’ll be fine. We gotta get rid of this thing,” she said, looking up at the Eagle Eye.

“That’s the idea,” Mare Do Well said. “Where’s the Phoenix?”

“He’s taken care of,” Nessa replied, her tone more bitter now. “It was my brother… it was always him and no one knew…" she held back tears that threatened to form. "Not me, not even dad…”

“L-Loken…?” Twilight asked, standing up though still noticeably fatigued. “Loken’s the Phoenix?”

“Yes. Had to deal with him before I got down here. Any ideas how we can ditch the Eagle Eye?” Nessa asked, wiping her eyes quickly.

“Maybe… we drop it into the sea. It’s mainly powered with magical fire. We drop it into the ocean that should extinguish it!” Twilight said.

“Well, the release is probably right up there with it. The switches to open the launch bays are probably back in the room I was in,” Nessa replied.

“Leave the release switch to me,” Mare Do Well said. “You two go get the hangar open. I’ll drop it after.”

“On it. Just hang on,” Nessa said, grabbing up Twilight and flying back through the doorway she’d entered while Mare Do Well flew up towards the active weapon.

Landing on a catwalk overlooking the Eagle Eye, Mare Do Well was greeted by more Rebirth griffons as they flew in. “Seriously, how many of you are there?” she asked, rushing forward and sweeping her cape over the face of the first one before bucking him in the chest. Leaping into the air, the pegasus flipped over the first griffon and swooped down, her hooves outstretched as she smashed them into the face of the next griffon.

One griffon, however, managed a lucky swipe with his claw and scratched her mask. Mare Do Well cried out, taking her mask and hat off, glaring at the griffon before her. “THAT’S gonna cost ya, pal!” she said, though promptly ducking down to avoid a bolt of lightning from another, larger griffon behind him. The first one grabbed her, holding her in front of himself as the other charged up his gauntlet again. “No you DON’T!” Rainbow shouted, headbutting the griffon holding her then flipping him over herself just in time for the other griffon to accidentally blast him instead of the pegasus. The remaining griffon stared for a moment at the pegasus and thrust his gauntlet at her again, but Rainbow rushed at him, slamming her hooves into his chest and knocking him backwards, causing him to fire up at the ceiling instead. Drawing her hoof back, Mare Do Well swung it as hard as she could and knocked the remaining griffon unconscious.

“Alright, release. Where are you?” she muttered, looking around and noticing the chains supporting the Eagle Eye were feeding into a pulley system that lead to a lever on a platform across from her. Smirking, Rainbow flew over and landed beside it. “Come on, girls,” she said, looking down at the swirling, fiery cauldron of the Eagle Eye just below her.

~

“They’re all dead!” Twilight shuddered as they passed several fallen Rebirth griffons. She’d gained enough strength to walk again as they reached the door.

“There weren’t this many when I’d escaped,” Nessa said, concerned as she pulled down the latch and opened the door. Entering, they passed the dead guards and Swiftwing. “Come on, we need to get the launch bay open!” the griffoness said as she rushed over to the controls, pulling one of the levers and causing the ship to shake for a moment. “Should be open now, we just—” Nessa paused and looked around.

“What?” Twilight asked as she walked over to the griffoness.

“Loken… he’s gone!” Nessa replied.

~

Hearing a rumble, Rainbow smiled as she stood triumphantly over several more griffons that had attempted to stop her. “Good job, girls! Just a flip of the switch and it’s all over!” she said, but as she turned to face the control box, a large form dropped down and perched atop it, startling her slightly. Looking up, Rainbow found herself face-to-face with the Phoenix himself.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that!” the Phoenix said, yanking his mask off and tossing it aside, revealing Prince Loken’s grinning face.

“Loken!” Rainbow growled, glaring at the griffon prince.

The griffon prince gave a nod, swinging his sword at the pegasus, who jumped out of the way, barely avoiding it. Loken swung again, grazing Rainbow and causing her to wince in pain. Rainbow swung her hoof and struck the griffon in the face, causing Loken's head to jerk to the side. Spitting out some blood the griffon chuckled, nursing where she'd hit him before returning his gaze at her. Immediately he began swinging several more times with his short sword as he drove her further and further along the bridge. Looking back at the controls, he glanced at Mare Do Well again before leaping backward and promptly jamming the blade into the lever.

“Real smart, Loken! Even if you beat me how do you expect to drop that thing now?” Rainbow asked.

“Who says I have to? I’ll leave this entire airship to crash into Canterlot with it on board if I need to!” Loken replied as he fidgeted with the clasp on his hooded cloak. “All that’s in my way now, is YOU!” he yelled, flinging his cloak over Rainbow’s head, giving a sharp tug and causing her to fall from the catwalk and tumble down to a lower platform. Rolling over, Rainbow prepared to stand up when suddenly she felt Loken land on her, then fling her across the narrow bridge. Growling, Rainbow stood up and flew at him, her hoof outstretched and slamming into the griffon's chest, sending him tumbling across the catwalk. Landing in front of him, the pegasus raised her hoof to strike again, but Loken caught it with his claw and punched her in the chest. “You know, Rainbow Dash I have to give you credit… normally there’s very little I can’t shrug off and still know I’m going to come out on top from," he explained, getting up and backhanding her with his claw. "...But you may very well be the first one I’ve ever met; pony, griffon, or whatever else, that has actually managed to seriously PISS ME OFF!!!” he shouted, letting out a ferocious roar as he charged at Rainbow on all fours.

Leaping into the air, the griffon swung his claws at Rainbow in a vicious frenzy as the pegasus struggled to block his attacks as best she could, finding herself on the defensive end as the enraged griffon held nothing back in his fury. Rainbow found an opening at last, upper-cutting the griffon with her hoof and making a rush to the controls, but Loken flipped into the air and landed in front of her, grabbing her by the neck and flinging her with all his might. The pegasus rolled across the catwalk but managed to right herself fast enough to take flight into the platforms up above.

"Hiding when you're at a disadvantage? How... typical of your kind, all the more reason to wipe your kingdom out!" Loken taunted, a maddened grin spreading across his face as he searched for her. Rainbow rolled on her back as she kept to the shadows, nursing her wounds as she attempted to slow down her breathing.

“I’ve waited my WHOLE LIFE for this moment, pony!” Loken snarled, taking to the air and looking around for her. Rainbow stood up, a defiant glare in her eyes as she spread her wings once more and flew at him, knocking him from the air and onto another platform adjacent to where she'd hid. The two tumbled across the platform before crashing into a wall, though Loken recovered more quickly, swinging his sharp talons upward and barely missing Rainbow’s throat, the pegasus swung her hoof into his chest, causing him to stumble backwards but his resolve did not seem to fade in the least. “The moment I claim everything that should have been mine, regardless of who I have to kill to get it!” He lunged at her again, but this time, Rainbow was prepared, leaning to her side, the pegasus swung her hind leg, connecting with Loken’s chest then leaping onto him, punching him in the face. The griffon yowled in pain as rolled himself over so that now he was on top, his right claw gripped tightly around her neck as he raised up his other. “And least of all am I going to let a worthless, lowly pony in a silly costume take that away from me!” he hissed, slashing Rainbow’s right wing and causing her to scream out in pain as several feathers were torn loose. The griffon prince didn’t loosen his grip, and an angry sneer spread on his face as the pegasus struggled. "Don't you get it? You were nothing but another puppet playing a role in my big show. The first attacks the Phoenix coordinated were to cause enough chaos to make my claim we needed you more convincing; the destruction in the port town and the tip-off that got dad's informants captured so I could execute them on film? All just to rile you up more once you made it over," he explained. "...So you can die the hero who failed to stop the biggest tragedy the world has ever known!" Loken said with a laugh as he grinned inches from the pegasus' face.

Shaking, Rainbow strained against the sharp pain from her wing as she swung her hoof up, but the griffon caught it easily and pushed it back down. “Still some fight left in you? Good, because I’m not finished with you yet!” Loken said; spreading his wings and flying them both as high as the massive hangar allowed, above the opening of the Eagle Eye where glowing magenta flame and crackling energy churned within. “As gratitude for getting me this far, how’s this for your execution?” he asked, loosening his grip on her then grabbing her cape, letting her slowly slide further and further downward.

Rainbow struggled, her injured wing barely able to flap anymore as she tried to fly despite the agonizing pain it caused her. Loken laughed as they hovered above the weapon. “What’s that? At least no one else is here to see you fail? I suppose that can be agreed on, right?” he asked, preparing to loosen his grip a little more.

“True,” Rainbow said softly. “But you’re here to see me win!” she shouted, reaching into her belt for her last flash pellet she had left and flinging it up at the griffon prince, the explosion causing him to cry out and lose his grip, and both began falling. Rainbow used all her strength to flap her wings despite the injury, causing her to veer sideways towards a nearby catwalk. Catching it just in time with her forelegs, Rainbow held on for dear life as Loken plummeted into the open Eagle Eye below; the griffon letting out a horrible shriek as his body was instantly engulfed in seething hot magical flame that melted and skeletonized it in seconds as he struggled in vain to escape. Loken's ghastly, burning remains slowly reached upward one last time; a jet of magenta flame bursting from them before they crumbled apart, sinking into the churning arcane energy.

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief and slowly pulled herself back up, grunting in pain from her injured wing. Looking over at the damaged control box, she knew a change of plans was an order.

“Rainbow?” Twilight’s voice called out below.

“Up here, Twi!” Rainbow replied. The sound of wings flapping was heard as Nessa flew up, carrying Twilight with her.

“The Eagle Eye… it’s still here?” Nessa asked.

“Loken jammed the release,” Rainbow answered, cringing in pain as she attempted to fold her damaged wing.

“Where is he?” Twilight asked. The pegasus glanced over the edge towards the Eagle Eye.

“Gone,” she replied. “Twi, we gotta get outta here… let this whole thing fall into the sea.”

“How? I don’t have enough strength to teleport us back to land!” Twilight answered.

“Same way I got here… I saw one of those old-age gliders the Emperor had in his storage. Guess Loken took one after all for his escape plan,” Rainbow replied.

“Makes sense, in case he had to crash the ship he’d want to make sure he got out alive,” Nessa said bitterly.

“Twi, think you got enough to get it flying?” Rainbow asked. “Till we get this fixed I’m kinda… not in shape for that sorta thing," she said, gesturing to her right wing. "Once we’re off, we can shoot down the airship and make it to shore!”

“I should be able to handle that. Let’s go,” Twilight replied with a smile. “But just know, I’m gonna need a lot of rest after all this. One of you is gonna have to steer.”

Heading down from the catwalks the three soon found themselves in front of the parked glider. “Well, Twi. Charge ‘er up,” Rainbow said. The unicorn nodded and focused what magic she could muster into it. In seconds, the glider’s chest lit up confirming it to be active. Boarding it, Nessa took the controls and flew it towards the open launch bay, and they immediately fell through, under the airship.

“Up! Up!” Rainbow shouted.

“Trying!” the griffoness replied, pressing the switches.

“Let me!” Rainbow said, putting her hoof on a switch that she recalled gave it forward propulsion and soon they were out from under the massive flying fortress.

“Alright, fire at that point there and it should start falling,” Nessa said, pointing to the back end of the ship where one of its propellers was. Nodding, Rainbow pressed the switch next to her and a blast of magic energy fired from the birdlike glider’s mouth, blasting the airship’s propeller. The propeller exploded violently, and the ship began to falter sideways into the sea. Satisfied, they turned the glider around and headed back towards land.

“It’s over… finally!” Rainbow said softly to herself, putting her forelegs around the sleeping Twilight and hugging her friend tightly.
	
> Ever Onward
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“We made it…” Twilight said, exhausted as their craft descended to the remains of the port town it had all begun in. Out in the distance, the burning remains of the airship that the Rebirth had intended to use to end Equestria sank under the seas, taking the Eagle Eye with it.

“Phew… that’s all I gotta say… sorry if I’m at a loss for any other words.” Nessa said softly.

“I’m sorry, Princess… if there were any way to—” Twilight began.

“It’s Nessa, Twilight Sparkle… and what’s done is done. As much as I want to, I can’t grieve about the past when there’s a future that needs to be planned.” The griffoness said.

“Hey, you three alright?” A griffon asked, flying over from one of the damaged buildings that was already in the process of being rebuilt.

“Yes… send word to Captain Ironclaw of Talongrad, have them send transport.” Nessa replied.

“Sure thing.” The griffon answered. “What happened out there?”

“It’s finally over, that’s what happened.” The unmasked Mare Do Well said, standing up and climbing out of the glider’s cockpit. “Rebirth’s gone.”

The griffon chuckled. “Best news I’ve heard today! I’ll get that message sent.” He said, flying back to the building he’d come from.

“Nessa…” Rainbow said, putting her hoof on the griffon’s shoulder. “I’m your friend, you got that? And so’s Twilight. You need anything you ask.”

“Then give me a moment.” Nessa replied, walking away towards the sea and collapsing to the ground, the griffoness’ body shaking as she broke into quiet sobs, while Twilight and Rainbow stood silently behind her.

Loken got what he deserved… Rainbow thought, her head slowly turning downcast ...But Nessa didn’t deserve to lose her family...

~

“Rainbow Dash,  I need to know something…” Nessa asked as several maids brushed out her coat and preened at her feathers.

“Yeah?” The pegausus asked.

“You’ve been a superhero for some time… ever experience moments where something happens and you wonder how things could have gone if you made different choices? Like you could have changed something?” The griffoness asked.

“All the time.” Rainbow said. “Heck, I even wonder about this whole Mare Do Well thing. If I never put the costume on, would Cloudsdale be gone? Would somepony else have done it and I would still be trying to become a wonderbolt? You know, that kinda stuff…” She explained. “Also… some of the bad guys I’ve fought used to be friends. Gilda was one of ‘em. Another was this hotshot cadet at the Wonderbolts Academy. Gilda mistreated my friends, and refused to believe she was in the wrong for anything she did. I turned my back on her. The other one, Lightning Dust, she was like me; fast, motivated to succeed… but she saw anypony who couldn’t keep up with her as beneath her. And then….” She stopped, not wishing to discuss another experience of hers not too long before this one. “Well, just I’ve done some things I wonder if I made the right choice. But Luna told me that what mattered was making the choice we thought was the best at the time because we don’t always have the right ones come to mind.”

“I see…” Nessa said, a somber look still in her eyes. “My dad… I think he was the same. It’s what I’m afraid of…” She looked downcast. “A time like this… Parliament’s gone, two members of the royal family are dead, and the clown princess Nessa takes the throne as the new Empress in wake of a huge terrorist attack? We’re lucky the bad elements died with the Rebirth, but there’s still some naysayers who could start new ones.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t know anything about that royalty stuff, but I do know plenty about being stuck in a big, important role before you feel ready for it.” Rainbow said, recalling how her earliest experiences immediately escalated from saving a filly in a burning building to stopping a dangerous criminal from destroying her home city. “Make choices you think are best, for you and everyone else… and of course, make sure everyone thinks you’re seriously cool!” She said with a smirk.

Nessa smiled weakly as she spread her forelegs out and allowed her maids to dress her in an elaborate ceremonial gown. “I guess that’s what a hero is, huh?” She asked. “One who can do all these things the best they can and can still be believed in?”

“I guess?” Rainbow asked, before laughing sheepishly, causing the princess to laugh a little as well.

“Nothing’s gonna be the same, Rainbow Dash. That much I know. Maybe I should be a superhero in between my office duties?” She joked.

“Riiight, like you’d be half as awesome as I am!” Rainbow said with a competitive grin.

“If I weren’t stuck in this silly frou-frou dress I’d prove you wrong, Dash.” The griffoness said with a devious smirk, causing Rainbow to grin wider at seeing the princess back in better spirits for now. It wasn’t much, and probably wouldn’t last, but it meant enough to know she’d assured her that she’d always have a friend whom she could count on.

“Heh, I guess even something like making you laugh again is some kinda heroic act!” Rainbow said.

“Baby steps, Dash.” Nessa said. “When this is over, I call the first prank… I think Dad would want me to be smiling on a day like this anyway…”

“You helped save two kingdoms, your dad would be proud… he’d be prouder of me more, of course… but hey, you come in a close second.” Rainbow said with a laugh.

“Watch it, Dash. I might make talk like that punishable by a week in the dungeon.” The griffoness said with a wink and a laugh as she turned and marched out the door and down the halls to her waiting public, the pegasus and several guards following behind her.

~

“By birthright bestowed upon you by your father, Emperor Vladmir Griffonheim, I deem you, Elenessa Griffonheim, Empress of the Griffon Empire!” The advisor to the throne said as he placed the tiara on the former princess’s head. Standing, the now Empress Nessa approached the balcony that overlooked the many griffons that now populated the palace courtyard.

In the front row, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Captain Ironclaw, and several griffon and pegasus guards stood, watching as the land’s new ruler cleared her throat and spoke as ceremonial music played softly in the background.

“As you know, this all came without warning. There’s been tragedy, loss, and grief… not just for the nation, but for all of us, including myself. In a battle started from within, Parliament, my father, …and my brother… paid a high cost. It was through the selfless acts of a great hero from a neighboring land that we once had war with, and those close to her, that a far worse outcome was averted. One that would have left two nations without leadership and made them ripe for tyranny and oppression built on a terrible lie.” She grew serious. “Yes, I’m young. Yes, I’ve been obligated to take this throne and these responsibilities far sooner then I’d ever wanted or imagined… but I know it as my destiny, and sometimes…” She explained, her eyes tracing towards Rainbow for a split second. “Our destinies come to us when we least expect them to.” Nessa looked over the rest of the crowd. “Parliament will be rebuilt, with officials elected by you, the citizens of our nation, and as your Empress I shall work with them closely and seek to give this land the harmony and stability it deserves. I believe my father would have wanted it that way, and I don’t wish to let all he stood for go to waste.”

A thunderous applause broke out, Twilight and Rainbow hoof-bumped and cheered loudly. Fireworks went off behind the castle wall, and Nessa smiled down at her guests and subjects. “Now, why don’t we enjoy the party planned so I can have my last night of real fun, hm?” She asked, with murmurs of approval and agreement were heard amongst the crowd, and upbeat party music began.

~

Dear Princess Celestia…

Where can I begin with this kind of experience?

I’ve been up against tough odds before but not like this. A hidden enemy who had been right under the royal family’s beaks all along, who threatened to destroy our home so he could steal power from his family. The full details of Loken's involvement with the Rebirth remain strictly hush-hush... none but me, Twi, Nessa, and now you know the truth. As well as that in the end even he was no match for me!

Rainbow grinned as she stood beside Nessa as she passed judgment on several Rebirth griffons that would face life sentences in prison for their treasonous actions. They would never know the truth behind their leader, who had sought to use them as fodder for his true ambitions. Some less involved ones, whose stories were legitimately understandable be it blackmail or desperation, were given lighter sentences and some even pardoned, demonstrating the new leader of the empire’s mercy as those who were more avid supporters came to fear and respect her.

Princess I mean Empress Nessa is doing well, we write to one-another every so often. She has a lot of responsibilities ahead of her, sooner then she expected but I know she can handle it.  On that note, the Griffon Empire, I heard, is already on its way to recovery under her leadership! How cool is that?

As Rainbow and Twilight boarded the ship, Nessa and her royal guards, along with Ironclaw who had gained several medals for his services in the force and against the Rebirth, stood on the ramp of their airship.

“I guess… this is goodbye, huh?” Nessa asked.

“I’m sure we’ll see eachother again one day.” Twilight said with a smile. “You got a lot ahead of you, don’t you?” She asked.

“Heh, don’t remind me.” The griffoness said with a claw wave. “I dealt with chicknappers, a crazy terrorist group, and my brother going insane, helped stop said terrorist group’s plot… a few social-politcal matters are nothing I can’t handle.” She said with a laugh.

“Here, little goodbye gift.” Rainbow said, dropping a small box in Nessa’s claw.

“Oh? What’s this?” The griffoness asked.

“Open it and see!” Rainbow insisted. Nessa did as instructed. As soon as she did, a clump of streamers erupted from it along with a mighty burst of air, causing her feathers to become ridiculously poofed out.

The guards and Ironclaw shuddered, then Nessa burst out laughing.

“Good one, Dash. Any of you guys got a mirror? I have to see what I look like! I bet I’m a total poofball now!” The griffoness said eagerly, prompting everyone else to laugh.

Now that I’m back home, Mare Do Well can rest again, for now anyway! I know eventually she’ll be needed again, and I’ll be there!

“Welcome home, Twilight!” The now recovered Celestia said as she put a forehoof around her student as Twilight rushed over and hugged her mentor. “Welcome back as well, Rainbow Dash.” She said, smiling as Rainbow leaped off the boat at high speed and did a backflip through the air before landing down to the ground.

“Well done, Rainbow Dash.” Luna said with a genuine smile as she pat Rainbow on the shoulder. “You must tell us all about you and Twilight’s adventure later. We are most eager to hear of it.”

“Yeah, we’ll get to do that at the big Equestria Is Saved And So Is the Griffon Empire party I’m having for us tonight!” Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted gleefully, appearing behind Rainbow Dash somehow.

“Heh, hey Pinkie!” Rainbow said with a laugh. “Just… easy on the wing it’s still healing.” She said, her bandaged wing twitching a little.

“Oh! Right! Right!” Pinkie said, hopping backward and giving Twilight a hug.

“Well, Rainbow, ya gone an’ done it. Ya actually saved Equestria itself this time!” Applejack said, then her expression grew serious. “Ya brag even a tiny bit you’re gettin’ a hoof in the face.” She said, nudging Rainbow’s chest with her forehoof.

“Aw, AJ, when have I needlessly bragged in the past year?” Rainbow said with a grin, prompting her friend to cock her head.

“Ya don’t have the time, Rainbow, believe me.” Applejack said with a smirk.

“Oh, Rainbow! Twilight! It’s so good to have you home again!” Fluttershy said, hugging both ponies then backing away blushing. “Sorry… I’m just… I’m happy you’re both okay.

“It’s all good, we love ya too, Flutters!” Rainbow said as she and Twilight both hugged the other pegasus, who ‘eep’-ed nervously but eventually returned the embrace.

“So… Rainbow I doubt I can say anything that’s already been said, so… any repair work you need?” Rarity asked, slightly concerned.

Rainbow’s grin spread. “Well… nowww that ya mention it…” She nudged open her saddlebag with her wing and tossed the Mare Do Well costume to her. “New mask, new hat, and repair work, definitely. She said to the unicorn, who just stared at it in horror for a moment, then at Rainbow Dash.

“Alright, I’ll certainly have to hear the story behind this.” The seamstress said.

~Your faithful subject, Rainbow Dash

~

After the party, the six friends had returned to Ponyville. The following day, Rainbow had chosen to visit Twilight in the library, her costume on and fully restored.

“Sup, Twi?” Mare Do Well asked, tossing back her cape and posing dramatically.

“Hey, Rainbow.” Twilight said with a laugh. “I see Rarity fixed your costume up?”

“You bet!” Rainbow said, sliding up her mask and chuckling. “Pretty crazy, huh? When Mare Do Well first arrived on the scene I hated her, was just being a jealous little foal who was way too into herself! Well… a little too into herself…” She said with a laugh. “But now I can’t imagine myself as anypony else! I love this costume, I love what I do, and I love who I am, Twi.”

“That’s very… philosophical of you, Rainbow. I’m impressed.” Twilight said as she closed the book she was reading and smiled at her friend.

“Well, yeah. Gotta have some cool, insightful lines to say for if anypony makes a movie or comic series about me! And seriously, how long do you think that’d take? Think they’d wanna consult me?” Rainbow asked with a grin.

“Rainbow…” Twilight muttered, facehoofing.

“I’m kidding, Twi. Loosen up!” The pegasus said with a smirk as she flew over to one of the windows and looked outside.

“You ever wonder… Rainbow? Like what you’ll do when you decide to retire?” Twilight asked.

“I dunno, Twi. I wanna be Mare Do Well as long as I can. You don’t get much cooler then me as a superhero after all!” She said with a playful smirk as she looked out the window, watching as the ponies went about the daily lives. “But still…” She mused as she watched Scootaloo zip by on her scooter as fast as her wings could take her. “I’m sure somepony out there will be cool enough to take over for me when that time comes.”

“Philosophical again, Rainbow.” Twilight said with a giggle.

“Aw, hush, Twi.” Rainbow said, sliding her mask back on and adjusting her hat.

“So, where to, tonight?” The unicorn asked.

“Duh, it’s Wednesday, so that means Manehattan.” Mare Do Well said.

“Got it!” Twilight said, focusing her magic, and teleporting Equestria’s resident superhero off to do her next patrol.