//------------------------------// // Siege of Manehatten // Story: For Want of a Dawn // by Ciroton //------------------------------// "The worst part of any battle is not the actual fight, boy, but rather the wait for it to start," General Portland of the Royal Equestrian Army spoke with his front legs slung over the railing of a ship. He was an old, battle hardened unicorn stallion with a grey coat, white mane and the mark of a jewel-encrusted sword on his flank. Being a high-ranking officer, he only wore a navy blue jacket with several medals decorating the lapels and breast of it. For days, the weather had decided to stagnate over the city of Manehatten, throwing it into perpetual overcast skies. Meanwhile, the colt at his side pondered his words, having wondered what put the stallion so on-edge for the past fortnight. A million thoughts buzzed beneath his glittering helmet, each vying for position at the surface. "So, you expect they'll try something here soon, sir?" he asked, choosing the foremost thought. "I'd bet my pension on it. The only thing that is left is WHEN they'll find the stones to actually do it," he replied with authority. Portland liked to see himself as the kind of commander who was tough, but fair to his ponies, and for the most part, they shared that view of him. However, among the younger of his command, including the colt beside him, he had the feeling they saw him as a father figure. He hated that idea with almost the same passion he had for the sound of swords locked in combat, the smell of firing gunpowder, or the sight of an enemy in full retreat. It was not because he disliked the idea of parenthood: far from it, since he had two colts of his own. It was because he did not want to them to feel he had let them down, should he receive the most glorious form of death: fighting to his last with a worthy foe. Even during the reign of Celestia, he had hoped to find glory on the fields of battle, secretly wishing one of their less than friendly neighbours would start something with Equestria. Sadly for him, it was not until her peaceful time ended that he got his chance. He was not a bloodthirsty pony, as many outside his command believed. He, like most others, just wanted to make sure his name would outlive his body, no matter the cost. "Sir?" said a mare behind him, bringing him out of his revery. "We have received an intelligence report from General Shatterbuck that suggests the allied armies are moving on our position. He suggests moving our ships out to sea until they arrive, and then move in for the attack." Turning around, he faced the young mare and smirked. "Shatterbuck is an overly cautious twat. The day I take advice from him is the day Tartarus AND the Sorrel Hells freeze over: do I make myself clear?" "Crystal, sir!" she saluted before returning to her post. "Where were we again?" he asked the colt by his side. "My memory isn't what it used to be, you know." He chuckled at his own joke. However, the smile quickly faded from his face as the pony failed to reply to his question. "What's the matter, kid? Does a cat have your tongue?" Looking to his side, the young stallion had his gaze skyward. Following his eyes, he looked up into the clouds. Several dark spots could be seen against the grey background, silhouettes large and small moving over them quickly. "Oh, buck me," he spoke as his instincts screamed at him to get moving. "ALL PONIES TO YOUR BATTLESTATIONS! FIRE UP THE AIR RAID SIREN!" he yelled to ponies behind him on an upper deck. "Come on, boy!" He shoved the stallion beside him who snapped to attention and galloped off. Alarms rang throughout the ship, news traveling swiftly as the air raid siren started screaming. He had run drills before, and all ponies in his command could get the ships in full battle mode in under a minute. Land-based installations could be up in as little as three minutes. It was still not fast enough for him. About thirty seconds after giving the order, a large shape fell from the clouds and screamed towards the ground. The whistle sounded in his ears before a resounding boom shook the deck beneath him. A ball of fire rose from the nearby shore, the result of some incendiary device smashing into what was once a building. At last, the battle he had longed for had arrived, and if it were anything like the others he had fought, it would be glorious! "It looks like the war's finally here, fillies and colts! Let's show these leather-winged bastards what you get when you mess with Equestria!" Large guns on both the ground and ships pointed to the skies, taking aim at the large, dark shadows as they began to unleash their payloads. Portland could not help but smile. "Fire at will!" he cried. The thunderous chorus of artillery burst to life in a symphony of blasts and a fireworks show of flashing muzzles. Not long after the barrage began, a great red dragon fell from the skies while streaming emerald blood behind him. Although the giant boulder it was carrying still crashed into a building, it was one dragon that they would not have to deal with down the line. "One down!" he laughed in triumph as the dragon splashed down with all the grace of a drunken Pegasus. However, he was not the kind of stallion to stand by while others had all of the fun. Trotting over to the nearest unoccupied anti-air gun, he strapped himself in and took aim as another dragon roared and fell to the earth in pain. Dragons might be nigh immortal and extremely resistant to magic, but they were definitely NOT bulletproof. ~*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*~ To most ponies, the desert of the Appleloosan Plain was considered a desolate wasteland devoid of any life except for the occasional cactus, tumbleweed or deadly scorpion. Fluttershy, however, was not like most ponies, for she had an appreciation and understanding of life in virtually all of its forms. Fears aside, she was excited when the soft green of the Everfree faded into the dulled hues of the warm desert. The idea that cute critters like prairie dogs, desert mice and even baby snakes lay just meters beneath them made her giddy with excitement. If it did not mean destroying their homes, she could have gladly dug her hooves in to unearth them and give them all a big hug! I guess Zecora was right to keep me company, the butter-yellow Pegasus thought. I already feel almost like my old self again with Twilight, Rarity and Spike by my side! Even the extreme heat of the desert could not ruin her chipper disposition, even if everypony else was beginning to show the signs of exhaustion and overheating. Well, except for Twilight, that is. She moved forward with the blaze of determination in her eyes the likes of which she had never seen before. The last time she saw her, the mare was unsure of herself and scared; now she moved with conviction and a stoically calm expression. Something had obviously changed in her. "Ugh! How much longer is this going to take?" Rarity complained to the disguised lavender unicorn in the lead. Sweat beaded down her alabaster cheeks despite the frantic flapping of a large leaf she had pulled from a tree in the forest. "Why couldn't we have taken the train? It's air conditioned, has seating, and we'd be on to get Pinkie Pie by now!" She paused for a beat as she thought. "Then again, we're not in that much of a hurry!" "Rarity, think for a second, you dodo," Trixie scolded. "Queen Eos knows you've deserted her by now, so I would not be surprised if you have a price on your head as large as Fluttershy. Secondly, not only is Twilight wanted dead or alive now, but she has a million bit price on her head! If her spell failed, we'd have every mare and colt out for her blood and we'd be walking the remainder anyway." "Girls, please don't argue. We should be seeing Dodge Junction any minute now, Rarity, so please endure just a little while longer," Twilight spoke for the first time since entering the sweltering heat of the desert. For hours, she had pondered over how best to get Applejack on their side with as little bloodshed as possible. But, she was a particularly stubborn mare, so she also had to account for how to fight her if things came down to it. Spike, meanwhile, had been lost in his own little world of thoughts and fears. He could tell something about Twilight's attitude had changed, and he was sure Rarity noticed it too in the few instances she used magic. He just had no idea what it meant. While he was no unicorn, he could still sense magic and Twilight's had always felt cold and mechanical, but now it was warm and bright. Not to mention that its color used to be light blue, but was now rosy lavender. For a while, he had suspected that Queen Eos had realized, or rather capitalized on the fact she used to be Twilight Sparkle... but how would she know the Blueprint disguise? Beside the point, according to Rarity, her magic was still cold and mechanical, almost like Twilight's, but different enough for the fashion designer not to know who she was. It still did not answer why Twilight retained the disguise, even when only around them. However, the question was soon driven from his mind as the silhouette of the small whistle stop railroad town slowly rose from the horizon, the peaks of the buildings like the claws of an eagle. While Applejack had proven that she was still one of the more grounded and level-headed mares of the bunch, even in the midst of insanity, it was still intimidating to approach the possible abode of the former apple farmer. Dodge Junction was, as the name implied, simply there for the railroad. Ponies heading west to Appleloosa would disembark from the Friendship Express and transfer onto the newer route before continuing on. Aside from a sizeable cherry orchard, the train was the only employer of the two hundred or so ponies who called the place home. It did not have a governor living there, nor a town guard, so it would be the perfect place for the rogue cowpony to hide from the crown. The moment they stepped onto the town's only street, the small herd of ponies out and about turned to watch their procession. It was not every day that they received visitors who did not arrive by train, after all. "So, how do we go about looking for her? I doubt if we just run around asking 'where's Applejack' that we'll get any answers," Trixie said as she cast a look towards the back of her sister's head. "You never know. She came to us last time, albeit in the form of a subordinate. Perhaps this time she will do the same? Otherwise, we can just ask. She knows of Blueprint and probably has told ponies to be on the lookout for me," the disguised unicorn replied. Of course, she had no way of knowing if that were the case or not, but she could always hope. Fortune smiled upon her as a group of seven stallions approached them wearing stony grimaces that said they meant business. Four of them were unicorns, two of them Earth, and one Pegasus. Although she had no clue who most of them were, one of the earth ponies was without a doubt, Braeburn, one of Applejack's cousins. "Howdy there, Twilight," he chirruped, ignoring the others present. "Ah was wonderin' if you'd kindly follow us of yer own accord rather than bein' herded." "Applejack, right?" she asked to confirm. He nodded his head glumly, all pleasantries set aside as they got down to the matter at heart. "Well, that's why we're here. Please, lead on." The seven ponies quickly formed a ring around Twilight and her entourage and began leading them out of town and back into the desert with Braeburn taking the lead. It was obvious that the unicorns were there to try and stop them from escaping using magic and that the others were supposed to be muscle or scouts. Of course, it was all a formality as she had no plans on escaping from them any time soon. In fact, if all went right, than they would be allies and not have to fear them or be concerned by their actions again. Not far outside of the town, hidden inside the depths of the cherry orchard, the group came to a narrow trap door at the base of a tree. "One at a time, please," the yellow farmer asked politely before tapping a code on the door. The twin pieces of wood opened to expose the blackness beyond. Twilight guessed that the new Apple Clan base would be less sophisticated than the one back in Appleloosa, and perhaps only a fraction of the size. However, once she passed through the darkness, she was surprised to find herself in a well-lit, cavernous room filled with tables, chairs, and ponies working on different odds and ends. "With some fancy unicorn magic, we made that old cellar link up to this big cavern we refurbished!" the male farmer explained to their somewhat bewildered looks. "Fascinating," Twilight muttered more to herself. "I guess you took a page out of the Crusader's Coltsberg base?" "Yup, pretty much," he responded. "We plan to make it more like Fillydelphia though, since that one you mentioned was lackin' in hindsight." They trotted down a parting aisle in the sea of desks and chairs, still surrounded by the bubble of ponies even in the cramped quarters. Large fairy lights dangled from the ceiling, bathing the grey stone floors in silvery light in a way that almost simulated sunlight. A big door in the centre of the opposite wall loomed into view as the group drew closer, obviously her office, or a meeting chamber of some sort. A pair of burly stallions stood on either side and opened it for the smaller one and the mare behind him. "Hey, AJ! Look who came meandering into town!" he cried out into the room. Like the one outside, it was lit by a large fairy lamp overhead, but was much smaller in ceiling height and decorated with only a wooden circular table like back in Ponyville. "Braeburn? What do ya want no-" the orange mare started, turning as she spoke before beholding the disguised unicorn. A moment of silence stretched between them before the look of shock on her face receded into cold calm. "Shut the door," she ordered. The two stallions beyond obeyed her order, leaving only the three of them in the room to their privacy. "Ya came back, Twi. Why? Ah thought you were going out on yer own to kill Queen Eos like the fool you are," she continued when the click of the doors sounded. "Well, I realized that I just can't do it on my own, Applejack. So, I have come here to ask for your help. I am not here for some political agenda. I just want to see Eos dead and the sooner the better. If we let her remain in power for much longer, than everything we are fighting for might be destroyed anyway!" Twilight looked into her eyes, hoping her conviction would show to the former Element of Honesty that she was not trying to deceive her. "Ah can tell yer not just whistlin' Dixie, but consarn it, Twilight, why did ya have ta bring the likes of FLUTTERSHY AN' THAT BUCKIN' TRAITOR RARITY 'ROUND THESE PARTS!" Applejack yelled louder than necessary, probably so that those on the outside could hear what she thought of them. "Ah mean, if yer looking to make an alliance, that is the LAST thing ya should do, sugarcube!" "Eos needs to be stopped NOW, Applejack. There's no time to argue over petty differences anymore," the disguised unicorn argued calmly. "She publicly executed Mr. and Mrs. Cake. For what I've heard, that is not her usual style. Something has changed, and for the worse! The Crusaders are on the run, being hunted down... no pony is sure who is alive or dead in that organization anymore." The stubborn farmer snorted in distaste. "Ah don't care about those meddlesome Crusaders, Twilight. That's why ah left. So what if they're all in chaos?" The stony expression on her face told her that there was no reason for her to care. As much as Twilight hated to resort to it, she would need to pull out her ace. "Applejack... Eos raided Ponyville base and... she... she killed Applebloom." Silence hung in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time before it was suddenly broken. "Don't you DARE," the orange mare said in little more than a whisper. "Don't you DARE say she killed one of mah kin! There's no way Applebloom would die to a horse like that! NONE!" Twilight sighed and dipped her muzzle into her saddlebag, gingerly pulling out the old, bloodstained Stetson hat. She put it on the table gently and stepped back. The crippling silence returned, so thick a pony could cut it with a knife. Applejack's gaze remained transfixed on the hat, unblinking and widened in shock. From her vantage point, the disguised unicorn could tell she was scrutinizing every detail, hoping and praying that it was a fake so she could return to her indignation. However, tears began to well up in her eyes when she picked it up, a soft gasp escaping her muzzle. "No," she whispered quietly. "I'm so sorry, Applejack. I... I can't begin to imagine how you must feel," Twilight spoke and slowly approached her friend. Tears began to stream from the orange mare's eyes, mouthing the same word over and over again as the horror of her realization washed over her. Shut up you no good, stupid filly! Applejack's voice roared in her memories. Ah don't ever wanna see you or yer EVIL little friends ever again! Now get outta mah sight before either the guards arrest you, or ah buck yer teeth out! She had been so cruel to her ever since the day they parted, and had never spoken more than a couple of words after that until Twilight returned. And now, she would never get the chance to hold her, stroke her mane, and apologize for all the wrong she had done by her little sister! For the first time in years, Applejack collapsed to the floor and openly wept, ignoring the sensation of her friend holding her and the sound of the doors opening. ~*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*~ Specks of dust floated down gently from the ceiling as the ground shook, falling onto the impeccably clean and gleaming surface of the machine. Far-off thuds and resounding bursts of sound would echo through the building and rattle the abandoned wooden crates that once held the pieces. The dragons and the griffons had started the attack sooner than expected, but it only added more fuel to the fire, and that was always a good thing. In the control room high above the shop floor, the team congregated to have a look at the fruit of their labours. The massive drill for Operation Flood-Manehatten-With-Hot-Lava positively twinkled in the light cast upon it by the slowly swinging lights of the rattling building. With a cheer and a high hoof, they all celebrated their efforts around their wonderful, if not scary, leader. Pinkamena sat in a high-backed chair which started off narrow at the bottom and slowly became wider the further up it went, like the stretched wings of a bat. It had wheels on the bottom and could swivel, giving it some fun value for her when no pony was watching, since she could kick off and glide while spinning. You can't say you never did that in your life, the pink mare thought as she gently stroked the scales of her pet alligator, Gummy. The toothless alligator yawned with a squeak as it regarded its mistress lazily, amethyst eyes blinking out of synch as it looked up. The pink pony wore a black leather eye patch over her right eye. She did not need it, she just thought it would look cool and help with the dark and mysterious angle she was going for, right before the drill would start running. She could almost hear the knock-off music from that spy movie series she loved as a filly. She was shaken from her admiration of the drill by a timid voice beside her, speaking up once the din had died. "Miss?" a cream coloured mare voiced in trepidation. "Um... Maybe we should turn it on and see if it works before we start to celebrate. I mean, this is nice and all, but what if something broke during transport?" She shuddered and recoiled a bit in preparation for a possible outburst, but one never came. "Oh! Right, how silly of me," the pink mare chirped with a smile. "Misty? Would you do the honours?" Turning around in her chair, she spoke to the white pony behind her, who gave her a dutiful salute. "Yes, ma'am! It shall be done," she replied before trotting over to the console which held the big red start button. Her hoof made contact, making a soft click when it was pressed. In the other room, the sound of spinning gears and the whirl of a massive electric motor sounded in their ears. The flutes of the drill began to spin, slow at first, but rapidly gained in speed until they became naught but a blur. "Lower it," Pinkamena ordered as she gave her large pet another gentle stroke to his back. The same pony trotted over to a lever on the other side of the room as a violent shake shuddered through the building, causing many of the ponies to stumble over themselves. "Ignore the war, fillies and colts. Soon, it will not matter, once we destroy this stupid city!" Getting back onto her hooves, the mare known as Misty approached the lever and pulled it down. A few seconds later, a slow, steady rumble shook the building, making metal shake and ponies vibrate where they stood. In the other room, chunks of rock and concrete flew from the rapidly expanding hole and impacted hard against the walls, denting them, or punching holes in the crates. It was only a matter of time until it would hit the magma pocket and the pressure would force it through. As the top of the drill faded from view, and the rumbling of the earth began to subside, the ponies around her let out another cheer at their success. "Okay, everypony. Get back to work," the pink mare cut their celebration short. "We need to be on full alert in case the police or the army gets wise to us and decides to try and foil our plans." Although they were disappointed, they did not dare contest her ruling, and left the room with a collective groan. That is, everypony except for a lone Pegasus mare standing by the door. What was her name again? Raindrops? Pinkamena had no clue, nor did she really care much. However, she acknowledged her by turning to face her in the chair, still stroking her Gummy. "Yes, what can I do for you?" she asked with an edge of malice to her voice. "Um..." the yellow mare started. "I was... just wondering... do you know what happened to my friend Starlight? We went out drinking last night, but she never came back, and I haven't seen her all day. Would you know... where she is, ma'am?" "Hmm..." the pink pony vocalized as she thought, tapping her chin with a hoof. "Is your friend about this tall, stocky build, grey coat and yellow mane?" The yellow and blue pony nodded her head affirmatively. "Actually, yes I did see them last night, but not in a good way. They were dead: committed suicide by the looks of things. Sorry." The other pony was, quite predictably distraught by the information presented to her, gasping and holding her face in her hooves as tears slipped down her cheeks. Obviously, her friend had contemplated it before, or she would have contested it. Such a shame she did not try, but not everypony could be a winner. She soon galloped out of the room sobbing, causing the alligator in her lap to burp. "I wonder, Gummy... Does it count as suicide if I beat her to a bloody pulp and shoved her into your feeding pit?" As usual, the alligator gave her a dumb stare before rolling over in her lap. "... I thought so." ~*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*~ Smoke gently rose into the sky before them, joining the overcast skies as if they were claws reaching out to rip the flat base of clouds asunder. Twilight and her five friends stood at the top of the hill overlooking the island of Manehatten, puzzling out how they were going to find their last friend in the mess that was the most populous city in all of Equestria. There was no doubt that the bridges and tunnels would be sealed to prevent entry and the number of iron warships in the river suggested swimming or sailing across would be suicide. Of course, there was always the option of teleportation, but doing so would drain Twilight of most of her magical reserves. Maintaining the Blueprint disguise did not come cheaply, after all. "Where did you say Pinkie is supposed to be again?" Rarity asked, looking to her sombre orange friend. "If Ah recall correctly, Golden Delicious said she should be in a warehouse on the lower-east side of town. That's about all she could get, other than some info on that drill they're usin'," Applejack replied, trying and failing to hide the grief still in her voice. Twilight really hated making her friend feel guilty in order to get her and her movement onto her side, but the stubborn mare had refused all other methods of negotiation that came to her at the time. She would make it up to her once it was all over, somehow. "It's possible Pinkie has already started drilling," Fluttershy spoke meekly. "So... um... maybe we should try to find a place where there is a constant rumble?" "Good idea, Fluttershy," Twilight spoke. "Does any pony disagree?" Turning around, she saw no shakes of the head and heard no complaints from any of the mares or baby dragon. "Okay. Grab a hold of me and I will teleport us to that park on the southern tip of the island!" The sensation of hooves against her coat tickled as her horn burned in magical power. Clenching her eyes shut (and praying her disguise would remain intact), she felt her body flicker in and out of existence, opening them to find they were on the island. "I can never get used to that," said a woozy and smouldering Spike. Thankfully, as much as dragons were magically resistant, they were also fireproof. Even if none of the other ponies were burning, the presence of smoke told her that she was beginning to push her limits while maintaining a disguise as complicated as she had. She made a note to do this in two trips next time, or else risk setting a friend on fire. The towers of the Manehattan skyline stood tall behind them like titan sentries to the city of opportunity and wonder behind them. It would have been a breathtaking sight for the disguised alicorn, had she come during a more peaceful time. They immediately set out towards the east as the guns on the ships blazed and dragons above roared in pain as they fell out of the sky. Trixie craned her neck up to see the spectacle, large shadows in the clouds looming over the city that gave away their positions. They stubbornly refused to fly below the clouds, even with their tactics discovered. The piercing wail of the air raid siren hurt her ears between the dull thuds of falling dragon corpses, or the explosion of their payload when it connected with something solid. Citizens, police, town guards, and army ponies alike ran through the streets seeking shelter from the bombardment, paying no mind to the wanted mares that wove in between abandoned carriages and merchant stands. A few spotted them and ordered them to stop, but they never gave pursuit. While the ground-bound ponies beat pavement with their hooves, Fluttershy flew overhead and kept an eye open for the possible location of Pinkie and her Poppers. "Do you see anything yet?" Twilight called up over the din of their hoofsteps and the panting of the white unicorn beside her. Why does running have to be such a double-edged sword? Rarity thought to herself as she tried to keep pace with the others. Applejack took the lead, as always, followed by Trixie with herself and Twilight bringing up the rear. I know it's great for the figure, but all of this sweating can't be good for my pores! She did not dare voice her complaints, however: the orange farmer was probably in the state of mind to buck her head clean off if she did. "I think I see something, but I can't be sure," the yellow Pegasus replied before darting closer to the ground to avoid a low-flying dragon. "It's um... to the left, right at the end of the street." She squealed with fear as a dragon dive-bombed into a building behind them with a smash, setting it ablaze in a last act of aggression. The group ran down the street leading deeper into the island, past bent lamp posts and overturned carts from when the ponies scrambled for the air raid bunkers. At the end of the street squatted the factory Fluttershy had mentioned, abandoned and dilapidated. It seemed like the perfect place to set up shop since it was near the heart of the city, but surrounded by other similar buildings. "So, what's the plan, darling?" Rarity puffed as they came to a stop outside of the fence that surrounded the building. The shaking ground beneath them was the biggest clue that it was where the Party Poppers were hiding. Finally, luck was starting to turn around for the lavender alicorn. "You and Applejack will break down the doors and attack the grunts to distract them. Fluttershy and Spike will go after the drill they are using and shut it down. Trixie and I will find Pinkie and deal with her ourselves," Twilight ordered. "Why do AH gotta work with RARITY!?" Applejack fumed in indignation. "It's obvious that you two have issues that you need to work out, so it is better you do it NOW before we go up against Queen Eos, rather than having you two bicker in the middle of battle with her and wind up DEAD, got it?" The militia commander gaped in surprise. There had been force and authority in her voice that she had not seen when she came by Appleloosa; it was almost as if she were in charge again, like when they fought off Nightmare Moon and declared she was their friend. She blinked and looked to the white unicorn with a sigh. "Let's get this over with," she spoke as she got herself into position. A loud crack snapped in the air as the wooden gates broke off their hinges and fell to the ground with a crash. No pony was there to greet them, much to their surprise. Then again, when dealing with the Party Poppers, nothing was as it seemed, or so all but Twilight and Spike recalled as they moved forward. "Watch out for booby traps!" Trixie called out to the others. Weaving between abandoned equipment and carts, the group found itself on the precipice of the door after a quick jaunt through the dusty and worn field. With a quick buck from her hind legs, Applejack lead the charge inside followed by a still puffing Rarity. Stepping inside, the world became black, almost impossibly so when the door slammed behind them. The six were left blinded by the sudden darkness, groping around dumbly for any hint of the way forward. Twilight could not help but appreciate the sheer elegance of it all. Perfect, by rendering us blind with sudden darkness, they have a very wide opening in which they can ambush and kill us, she thought as her face bumped into what she imagined to be somepony's rump. A squeak from the meek Pegasus confirmed it. "Sorry, Fluttershy," she apologized. "I found something!" Trixie's voice rang out in the inky blackness. A grunt and a gentle click followed, illuminating the room with Trixie standing beside a large toggle switch like a pony would expect in mad doctor's lab. The hall they were in was narrow, walls lined with miscellaneous junk and boxes probably filled with more junk. In front of them was a rusted, metal door hanging only by one hinge. Somehow, the blue unicorn had made it to the head of the herd, followed by Fluttershy, Twilight, and then Rarity with AJ taking up the rear. Unable to flank the door for cover, the mare grabbed it in her blue aura and ripped the aging door off of its remaining hinge. A wall of concrete with two paths left and right presented itself to them as they slowly filed out of the cramped entrance hall. "Let's stay together until we find somepony," Twilight suggested. "Intruders!" a voice down the right hall shouted. "We have intruders in the building!" Applejack and Rarity immediately bolted down the hall towards the sound, followed closely by the other four companions. After a short turn at the end of the hall, the group was faced with about a dozen different ponies at what appeared to be a loading dock filled with crates, hay strewn about the floor from unpacking. On the other end of the room, separated by a rail and more boxes was a large hole with a wire running out of it towards the ceiling. There was no doubt in any pony's mind that it was the drill they were using to flood Manehattan with lava! However, before they could take a step towards it, an alarm sounded and two heavy iron doors started to close it off from the loading dock. Taking their cues, Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike and Trixie darted towards the door as Applejack jumped on the ponies and Rarity charged up her magic to assist. The four others raced towards the rapidly closing iron doors which squealed as they ran along the rail. The disguised unicorn could not help but think that it was like something straight out of a Daring Do book as she slid across the last couple of yards when the doors were nearly shut. More ponies poured out of side rooms in an effort to guard the drill, dozens more than the small group the farmer and fashionista had to contend with. Fluttershy whimpered and threw herself into a damaged crate at the sight of all the ponies in front of her. While it was nice to know the yellow pony was starting to act like herself again, it was really unfortunate timing. "Applejack and Rarity should be along in a moment," Trixie spoke as she fired a shot from her horn. "Go find Pinkie and I'll hold them off! Oh, and see if you can't do anything about that coward, Fluttershy!" Spike, meanwhile, blew a flare of green dragonfire threateningly at ponies who ventured too close. Twilight nodded to her sister's request and set off at a swift gait, pausing only to deliver a smart kick to the crate she hid in to reveal her position. With a somewhat apologetic look, she continued her way over to a metal set of stairs that went up. The rusted iron creaked and groaned, giving away a little bit to her body weight as she carefully ascended the aging stairs. It felt as if one wrong step would have her fall onto her back and leave her no way up but to shed her disguise and sow the seeds of panic into every pony's hearts. Thankfully, her luck (and the braces holding the sections up) held out as she quickly made it to the door into what had to be the control room. She slammed the door behind her shut and locked it as quickly as she could to avoid any unnecessary confrontation with anypony. Twilight still had no idea how she was going to convince a crazy Pinkie to join them, and time was still not affording her the luxury as she heard the creak of a chair turn from somewhere in the room. Looking to her side, she came face-to-face with the straight-maned pink menace. "So, who was the spy?" Pinkamena asked, getting straight down to business. "There's no way you could have found me so quickly unless somepony ratted me out, so tell me who." Twilight stared at her blankly, unable and unwilling to think of a name or a face. "I wouldn't know, nor do I really care to say. Pinkie, you have to stop this! There is still hope for this world, but it depends on killing Queen Eos in order to achieve it. As much as it hurts me to think that killing is justified right now, it's just the nature of things. So stop hurting innocent ponies: please!" Instead, the pink pony sat there giggling in her chair like a mad mare. "Nice speech, Twilight," she replied. "How long did you work on that one? Was it an hour, or a day? Ah well, it doesn't really matter. Either way, there was very little thought put into it, but hey, nice of you to try." A creepy smile manifested onto her face, the shadows of the room accenting the places her face dipped into her skull. Something was wrong. Yes, Pinkie looked different from how she remembered her, but it was nothing about looks. It was almost as if a feeling or a sense deep down inside of her was telling her that it was not her friend she was looking at. I can't explain it either, Eos admitted to her subconscious question. She shrugged the feelings aside and refocused on Pinkie, since she could not afford to lose concentration around her. "Listen, Pinkie, what we need to focus on now is killing the queen! Petty arguments over how and what is going to happen afterwards have torn us all apart! Applejack, Fluttershy and even Trixie and Spike are on my side: they too see that we need to end this. Please. We can't do this without you!" The pink mare scoffed and pushed herself out of her seat. "Rainbow Dash is dead: the Elements of Harmony are useless! How can we possibly win against her? The only other option is to destroy everything else!" A look of wildfire burned in her eyes as she came to bear down upon the disguised unicorn. "Besides, how can I trust you when you only talk to me using some cheap magic trick?" As much as she hated to admit it, Pinkie Pie did have a point. Concentrating with all her might, she shifted her disguise to make her white coat become its usual shade of lavender, her cutie mark to reappear as its usual self and for her horn to appear on her head. It took a lot of magical effort to shift the disguise, especially in front of another pony where she could not slip out of it and put another one on. "Nice try, but I'm not buying it, Miss Disguisey Pants!" she fumed, not more than a pony length from her. Wait a second! Twilight quickly thought to herself. Earth ponies can't sense unicorn magic! Not even Pinkie Pie and her... Pinkie... Pie...ness. So, how is she able to tell that I am still using a disguise? Not even those mythical Changelings can sense pony magic. Unless..." Who are you, and what have you done with Pinkie Pie!" Twilight shouted at the unknown creature in front of her. "What are you talking about? I'm right here, Twilight!" the pink mare replied, thrown a bit off guard by her comment. Now that she had an opening, she could understand why she had that strange feeling. Her voice was cold and her gaze was also as ice. If she had simply gone crazy, they would still have her old warmth to them, but hidden. The word 'possession' sprang into her mind. Dramatic personality shift: Pinkie wanted to cause harm to everypony instead of making them laugh. Darker complexion: her coat and mane were a few shades darker than she realized, even taking the relative shelter of the room out of the equation. Cold, impersonal eyes: they almost made her want to shiver in her bones again. Able to sense magic: she could tell she was still disguised. It all fit what she had read in a particularly dark book perfectly. "You're not Pinkie Pie," Twilight whispered to the pony in front of her. "You are a demon POSSESSING HER!" She cried out in rage, seeing the false smile falter for only a second: the final nail in the coffin. "GET OUT OF MY FRIEND!" Gritting her teeth in anger, the spell keeping her appearance flickered and faded, the demonic Pinkie Pie taking a step backwards as it realized it was muzzle to muzzle with an irate alicorn. "T-T-TWILIGHT!?" the real Pinkie shouted in surprise, eyes flooding with tears. Gritting her teeth, the lavender alicorn knew this was a temporary release, meant to throw her off the scent. Her hoof glowed with ethereal magic as she pulled it back, ready to deliver the blow. She was in no mood for any of the demon's stupid mind games, irritated and angry enough at everything ELSE going to hell in the world. Twilight was going to get her friend back NOW. The pink mare cried out and tried to block as the large hoof rocketed towards the side of her head, screaming as loud as she could. Down below on the factory floor, the fighting had stopped as there was a loud, shrill scream followed by a blinding flash of light. Something black careened through the glass and landed on the floor in the midst of the crowd. It was an equine creature of tattered skin and blackened fur, eyes burning white like hot coals. It growled and struggled onto its cloven hooves, but it would never get back up. A beam of light as bright and powerful as the sun shot through the window, almost blinding any of the ponies present in the vibrant display of solar power. The creature hissed and writhed in pain on the floor as its black skin melted into a growing pool of bubbling sludge. With a final, deep cry of pain, the creature was gone, back to the abyss from whence it came, the ooze it left behind evaporating soon after it had died. "Twilight..." came a soft voice from beside the strained alicorn, making her jump a little bit. "You've... grown a little bit, you know. I guess I'll need to get you a new hat for your 'welcome home' party," Pinkie smiled faintly as her colour returned. "Shh," Twilight hushed as her disguise came back, although it flickered slightly in the process. "For now, you need to rest for a little bit. Everything will be fine, Pinkie." She ignored the slam of the door behind her as her friend closed her eyes, falling asleep in a warm hug from her best friend, with a genuine, happy smile on her face. ~*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*~ "Can you believe that I was such a grumpy meanie pants?" Pinkie giggled to herself in the company of her closest friends. It had only been a quarter of an hour since the fight had ended, but already the pink party mare was back on her hooves, sipping a cup of warm cocoa from one of her subordinates-turned-friends. "Poor Gummy must be traumatized though," she added somberly while casting a worried glance to her pet. The large alligator hissed gently and blinked one eye before the other in his usual thousand-yard stare at nothing in particular. "Yeah... 'traumatized'," Trixie spoke softly. "Something tells Trixie that you need not worry about that Pinkame-Pinkie." She forced a smile on her face as she decided to change to subject. "So, uh... what kind of demon did you say possessed her, Twilight?" "Hmm?" the disguised alicorn vocalized, lost in thought as she stared into her own cocoa mug. With the drill shut down for good, there was not much pressure on them to get moving yet. "Oh, uh... the demon was a Deep-Seated Possessor. It must have been inside her for a very long time, but decided to become more forceful when... well... when Dash died. Oh! That reminds me, Rainbow wanted to tell me to tell you that she said 'Hi', Pinkie." "Oh, my gosh! Are you some sort of medium?" Pinkie started with excitement. Everypony groaned as they knew what was coming. "Can you teach me how to talk to the dead, or is that some sort of weird, dark unicorn power, Twilight? Oh! Can you talk to my Granny Pie? I wanna ask her how she made her famous Peanut Butter Gumbo! It was SO delicious, like melt-in-your-mouth, yummy-to-the-tummy spectacular! Which reminds me of when-" "Pinkie Pie!" The group shouted in unison. Some things NEVER changed, for better or worse. Granted, this was not a sugar-fueled rant and they were actually able to comprehend what she was saying for once. "Darling, don't take this the wrong way. We're overjoyed to see you're back in your right... well, normal... no, that won't do either..." Rarity struggled to find the words. "Um... We're glad to see that you are... your usual Pinkie Pie... self?" An awkward smile appeared on her face, a lingering fear remaining that she would try to tear her face off and use it like a hockey mask. "What's Hockey?" Pinkie asked no pony in particular. The group proceeded to sigh and apply hooves to their foreheads. Pinkie was back to her... normal Pinkie self, for sure. She ignored it and decided to press on to a different topic that had been at the forefront of her mind. "So! How's the other Twilight, Twilight?" she asked innocently. Twilight spit out the cocoa as she was sipping, spraying it all over her little sister. "S-sorry, Trixie," she muttered as a blush appeared on her cheeks out of embarrassment. "Um... what... what do you mean?" she asked her rather strange, pink friend. Trixie glared back at her and produced a handkerchief out of thin air to clean herself of the hot chocolate. Pinkies' ear stood erect and wiggled a little bit, not unlike one of her prophetic twitches. "Nevermind!" she quickly chirped with a worried smile. "We should really get going, since my tail is starting to twitch a lot, and given the context of the situation, I can only guess that it's going to be a great, big fireball and since we have explosives here, it'd be best to leave unless you all want to get chased down the hall by a big, epic firestorm!" She blinked and sighed at all of their blank stares. "EVERYPONY RUN!!!" she shouted before getting to her hooves, grabbing Gummy, and making a beeline for the door. Without wasting a second, everypony ran after her in hot pursuit as her Pinkie Sense had yet to be wrong about anything. The fact that she added disturbing detail to the normally vague prediction scared them even more than the actual, horrible sight of her tail twitching so violently! "Twitchy tail!" they all screamed as they tried to alert as many ponies as possible about the impending doom. "HERE IT COMES!" a pony outside shouted as they neared the doors of the abandoned factory. Sure enough, casting their glances skyward, a ball of hot flames came screaming from above like a fiery angel of death. Ponies dove for cover as it slammed into the roof and crashed to the floor with a deafening wham. Not more than seconds later, cascades of fire oozed out of the building like blood from open wounds. A large plume of flame shot into the air, forming a mushroom cloud that soon faded into a dark pillar of smoke. Twilight hoped that no pony was stuck inside when the ball dropped, pardon the pun. It was good to have a sense of humour around so much death and destruction, right? She shook the thought from her head as realization swept upon her: she had no plan! It never occurred to her that Pinkie would regain her senses so easily and practically effortlessly. She was at a loss for what to do next. No, that was a lie: there was always something to do or strive for; she just needed to find out what. "Okay!" Twilight shouted over the cracking of the flames and smaller explosions of propane tanks still inside. "What we need to do now is get everypony in the Party Poppers out of Manehatten before something worse happens, like a direct attack. Does anypony know where the Crusaders base here is? We need to get them out too!" "They're gone by now, Twilight!" Trixie responded over the fire and flames. "Crusaders protocol states if Ponyville is compromised a signal goes out and all bases are to be abandoned! They're probably in the Everfree Camp by now." Applejack growled in distaste. "Can we get away from this place, consarn it! This heat's gonna drive me batty in a couple more minutes!" "I agree," Rarity protested. "It's going to dry up my hair!" Oddly enough, Twilight was the closest to the flames, but she did not feel a thing. Still, with a nod of her head, the stunned friends retreated to a safe distance and set out to the other side of the island so they could cross over to the mainland, even if the island was only separated by a couple of deep rivers. "How are we going to get off of this island?" Spike asked once they were clear of the slowly spreading flames. "From what I've seen, there are battleships all around us, and I doubt Twilight can teleport all of us without it being a big strain." He looked to the disguised unicorn, who nodded her head to confirm his assumption. "I mean, all the bridges are going to be heavily guarded and there is no way we can swim across!" "Ooh! I've got just the thing!" Pinkie smiled with her hoof in the air. "We tested that big drill by cutting out a tunnel under the West River. It might be a little leaky and dangerous, but it's better than trying to swim across." Everypony except Rarity, who was no doubt imagining all the muck below the West River, nodded their heads in reluctant agreement. Pinkie took the lead as she bounded down the street towards the tunnel entrance. Her friends and the rest of the Party Poppers followed suit, since their plans had been altered from the old standard of chaos and ruin: a welcome change for most, especially since their next raid would be on Canterlot. However, there was no preparing them for the storm that was about to fall. High-pitched screeches filled the air as griffons swooped down from above the clouds to tackle the ponies claw-to-hoof. The dragons followed hot on their talons, barrelling towards the city skyline at break-neck speed. Several loud crashes and tremors shook the ground asunder, making panes of glass fall from the high windows and onto the streets as about two dozen of the scaly beasts landed. The situation was deteriorating quickly as the once calm and orderly fire of the guns became rapid and panicked. Occasionally, a griffon would fly down the street and try to grab one of the ponies in their group, or those who had not fled to an air raid shelter. Thundering footsteps of dragons would shake them as the sounds of crashing and the shattering of glass filling the air. A purple claw suddenly extended from the middle of a tall building pushing out stone and glass onto the street below. "Damned buckin' dragons!" Applejack yelled over the din as they dodged the debris. "Bunch o' no good, hate-filled varmints! No offence, Spike," she added, turning to the large baby dragon running alongside them. He did not seem to mind, especially since by now he would be killed on-sight if they found him. Roars, screeches and screams filled the city streets as it became apparent this was no longer a siege, but an invasion! Ponies did what they did best; panic and run around in the streets as all hells broke loose around them. Soldiers and police were trying to herd them over to the bridges to evacuate as quickly as possible. However, the five mares were still wanted ponies and doing so would practically be a death sentence. Of course, Twilight was no stranger to being a target no matter what side she was on, so she ignored them all and focused only on Pinkie. The pink party mare made a sudden turn onto Fifth Street, only to stop dead in her tracks, making ponies behind her collide into each other's backsides. Three large dragons towered over the street, clawing into the buildings to rain down debris on the ponies they did not squish as they moved their large, scaled feet. Twilight bit her lower lip in anxiety. Yes, she could punch through, and maybe even kill them if she wanted to, but the sight of fully-grown dragons made her weak in the knees as flashes of her time as their prisoner flashed in front of her eyes. Before the unicorn had time to spiral into a full-blown panic attack, Fluttershy bravely flew ahead towards one of the dragons; an oddly familiar red one. "Ahem," she cleared her throat, landing on her snout. "WHAT do you think you are doing, mister?" The red dragon gave her a curious glance, the others pausing to see why a crazy pony had come up to them. "You should be ASHAMED of yourself! I understand you're only following orders, but you are KILLING and making INNOCENT ponies homeless!" Memories washed across the dragon's mind, recoiling slightly when he remembered the Pegasus. "But... I...uh..." he replied in a growl. The other dragons snickered at their comrade being chewed out by a stupid little pony, until they got a taste of The Stare for themselves. Unable to look away from her piercing gaze, they too were soon at the little yellow pony's fury. "But. NOTHING!" she scolded angrily. "I am EXTREMELY disappointed in you! I thought you were just inconsiderate before, but now? You're being downright CRUEL! Do you have anything to say for yourself, mister? Well? DO YOU!?" All three dragons broke down and cried, tears streaming from their faces like six rivers, onto the streets below. Fluttershy's heart beat wild in her chest. Although she exuded a calm fury in her voice, inside she was a trembling little filly. Even after all that had happened, she was still scared plop-less of dragons, she just learned to hide her fear by then. Still, the snivelling dragons at her at her hooves gave her a boost of confidence, and she had helped her friends to pass undisturbed below. Twilight, of course, had to be dragged onwards. "It's okay," she soothed his snout with her soft hoof. "You just made a mistake. You and your friends should go fly home now, before you hurt yourselves or any more innocent ponies, okay?" The three dragons nodded to her and took to the air in shame and fear, leaving the burning city behind. A smile crept onto her face as she flew to join her friends in the building that hid the tunnel's entrance.