//------------------------------//
// Non-Canon Interlude: Invasion 
// Story: Apocalypse in Equestria 
// by GeodesicDragon 
//------------------------------//

It started out like any other celebration; balloons, cake, streamers, music, laughter, dancing — but everything about it went downhill fast once those strange airships arrived.

The leader of this army – Commander Tempest, as she had been introduced – strode down a ramp which had been lowered, glaring at us with nothing short of complete and utter contempt. Everypony around me seemed nervous, except for Herald Geo and his men; they didn't appear to be phased in the slightest.

"What do you want from us?" somepony in the crowd called out.

Commander Tempest rolled her eyes and snorted. "How about we start with your complete and total surrender?" she replied.

Suddenly, Geo and the other Apocalyptian soldiers burst out laughing. A tense few moments followed; Tempest and her soldiers looked at each other bemusedly, the latter occasionally shouting at the GDA soldiers to 'cease their foolishness and show respect.'

Eventually, the laughter slowly subsided and Geo – who was wiping tears from his eyes – stepped forward.

"I'm sorry about that, Commander," he said. "But for a minute there, I could have sworn that you just demanded our surrender."

Tempest nodded. "I did demand your surrender," she snapped. "All of Equestria will bow before me, or suffer my wrath."

Geo snorted at her derisively. "Oh, yeah?" he replied. "Well, it won't be easy; you're gonna have to go through us first, for a start."

Tempest snarled. "Be quiet, you damned fool!" she shouted. "For your insolence, you will be the first to face my fury!"

"I'm sorry, but the role of 'mad dictator' has already been filled, by none other than me." Geo rolled his eyes. "However, we thank you for your application, and wish you the luck in finding a suitable alternative." His tone suddenly became more serious. "All joking aside, though, I think you should just give up your foolish crusade and head back to wherever it is you came from."

"Hmph." Tempest chuckled. "And what makes you think that you can defeat me?" She asked. "My army is clearly more powerful than yours, meaning there is no hope of victory against me."

"How many soldiers do you have, Commander?" Geo asked.

Tempest smiled smugly. "I have one-hundred thousand soldiers ready to take over Equestria," she said. "From what I can see, your pitiful force barely numbers a tenth of that."

"Only a hundred thousand? How cute." Geo pointed at me. "I have forty-five hundred men, but Twilight there can open a portal to my homeland any time she wants." He grinned wickedly. "A homeland where my army outnumbers yours by forty-thousand to one."

Tempest's cocky demeanour evaporated in an instant, as did the bravado of her soldiers; some of them retreated back into the airship, while the rest began to sweat nervously.

"Equestria is a very good friend of the Apocalypse, Commander." Geo spat at her hooves as he said the last word. "As such, any foe who dares to threaten its safety will answer to us." He walked straight up to Tempest – who didn't move – and looked her in the eyes. "Are you and your soldiers ready to die, Tempest? Because we're ready to kill you, if that is what you truly want."

As if on cue, his men cocked their weapons. Tempest looked around as a glimmer of fear appeared in her eyes.

"I... I do not wish to die." she gulped. "I'll go away and never come back; I swear that this will be the last you see of me."

Geo nodded. "Fine by me," he replied. "However, your aggression here cannot, and will not, go unpunished." He snapped his fingers and his men opened fire, killing the soldiers who had stayed near Tempest. "I can't call this a victory if none of the enemy actually dies, you know." He narrowed his eyes. "Now get the hell out of here, ALL OF YOU, lest you suffer the same fate as your comrades."

Within minutes, Tempest and her army had done exactly that; they even took the bodies of the dead soldiers with them. As we watched them leave, I felt a great sense of relief wash over me.

However, I couldn't help but wonder if I had just missed out on the possibility of my friends and I going on another adventure...