War in Equestria: The Tale of Bright Blade

by Michael_Ravencroft

Chapter 13

That morning, before Luna's moon was fully set and before Celestia's sun rose, the soldiers of Ft. Avalon were already on the march with ground forces moving in ranks, earth ponies in front, and unicorns at the back. It was an impressive gathering of ponies, one unlike Equestria has ever seen. The earth ponies, the Brawn Corp., were garbed in bronze armor and carrying metal spears on their backs and shields attached to their forelegs, large catapults were being wheeled along the battlefield with each of them being pulled by four strong stallions, ten in all. The pegasi wore chrome colored armor; they flew in tight formations, waiting for the signal to strike. A new type of weapon was created for the pegasi to fight with, a kind of horseshoe that covered half of their forelegs, on the outside of the horseshoe was a curved crescent blade, made specifically for the pegasi to swoop down and slash. Finally bringing up the rear were the unicorns, wearing blue green armor and ash gray capes. They had no weapons, they needed none, their best offensive and defensive weapon was their horns and magic. The unicorns were broken into seven battalion groups, each being led by a stallion or mare unicorn at the head of the group. Over all the army was 600,000 strong, whether or not it was enough remained to be seen.

The army marched for hours until stopping a fair distance away from the fort. Each of the soldiers was equipped with a new type of device, a collar with a clear crystal attached to it, dubbed the Iris Caller. It allowed them to communicate between different leaders and soldier ponies on the battlefield. Their battle plan was simple, since the Daemoni were mainly earth bound and had no magical capabilities whatsoever, the unicorns would bombard the Daemoni with wave after wave of magical energy blasts. Then the pegasi would swoop in and cut down as many as they could before the earth ponies rushed in and blitzed them. A simple plan, what could go wrong?

Bright Blade was marching with the unicorn battalion alongside Twilight. He had a sword tied to his right side, within reaching distance. The armor had to be specially designed for his small stature, so naturally Rarity helped in creating it. The armor had a bit of every color from the three different pony Corps, all neatly arranged so that none of the colors clashed with one another. There were times when Bright Blade got tired during the long trek, so Twilight let him ride on her back till he was rested enough to walk on his own again. Bright Blade would often look up into the sky at the many pegasi that flew overhead, from time to time he would see a rainbow colored tail fly by, Rainbow Dash's way of being close to her friends. Bright Blade was more worried about Applejack and Big Mac, who were near the frontline, if something happened they would be the first to get hit.

After a long march the army stopped and prepared for what was to come. The moon had ducked behind the horizon with the sun slowly creeping up, turning night into day. The fact that the Daemoni hadn't attacked at midnight eased their worries a bit, which meant that they had to get ready fairly early to get to their location. Patiently they waited, looking for any signs of their demonic enemy. As soon as the sun was high the entire sky turned blood red. Twilight, Bright Blade, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were well aware of this sign, it meant the Daemoni were not too far away, but something was strange. Twilight immediately tapped the crystal on her Iris Caller, "Rainbow Dash, come in Rainbow Dash," said Twilight.

"This is RD, so you noticed too, huh," she responded.

"I know I did," Applejack joined in.

"The red sky is here, but there's no storm clouds, I don't even hear thunder," said Twilight.

"None that I can see from up here, nothing in distance either."

That can't be good, thought Bright Blade. There's supposed to be two signs, first the red sky, then the storm clouds!

"ENEMY APPROACHING!" yelled one of soldiers. The army watched as the horizon in front of them was marred by a huge dust cloud, with red twinkling lights shimmering from deep within it, the eyes of the Daemoni.

Up at the front Major Broadside got ready to issue his orders, tapping his Iris Caller so that it rang out to all the soldiers. "FORM RANKS," the earth ponies all got into formation, the frontline brought out their large shields forming a solid impenetrable wall with spears poking out the gaps. "CATAPULTS AT THE READY," the catapults were loaded with huge metal balls, there was a short fuse at the end with a soldier standing at each one, ready to light the spheres at a moment's notice. "MAGE CORP. PREPARE TO RELEASE!"

Bright Blade watched as Twilight's face became serious; she widened her stance and charged her horn. "ALPHA BATTALION, CHARGE UP!" Bright Blade turned his head and watched as the unicorns' horns all began to glow with power. Even though Bright Blade didn't have his horn, he didn't need it feel the immense amount of magical energy being gathered around him.

"AERIAL CORP., EQUIP CLUSTER BOMBS!" The pegasi gathered up their weapons, bombs that were made so that after the initial explosion they would release smaller versions of the bomb around, good thing was that the smaller versions didn't lose any of the destructive power of its predecessor.

Bright Blade drew his sword, even though he knew that the fight probably wouldn't reach their location he still wanted to be ready, to protect the mare he cared about. I'll protect her, no matter what, he thought.

"READY…AND FI –!" Just then, from the direction of the dust cloud, thousands of malevolent dark violet lights were launched into the air. The ponies looked up in confusion, what were those things?

Twilight eyed the lights as they rose higher and higher into the air, and as she did they started to arch downwards. Panic filled Twilight's face as she quickly tapped her Iris Caller. "BATTLIONS BETA, GAMMA, EPSILON, SIGMA, USE DEFENSIVE SPELL NUMBER 32 NOW," shouted Twilight. Bright Blade listened as the other battalion leaders voiced their objections and asked for a reason for the sudden change in strategy. "DON'T ARGUE WITH ME HURRY UP AND DO IT!" But it was too late; the lights fell down upon the unsuspecting ponies. Soldiers were blown away, either disintegrated by the explosion or shredded to pieces. Body parts flew all around them, causing panic to surge through the army. "FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA PUT UP THE BUCKING SHEILD!" In no time the battalions that Twilight had communicated with earlier threw up a large barrier around their army. Another volley of violet light rained down, exploding harmlessly on the barrier.

"Twilight what the hay was that," asked Bright Blade, having dropped his sword.

"I don't know," answered Twilight, her mind was racing trying to make sense of what just occurred.

"Twilight, come in Twilight," called Rainbow Dash.

Twilight quickly tapped the crystal, "Rainbow Dash are you and the pegasi alright," she asked.

"I'm fine, so is Applejack and Big Mac, but Twi you're not going to believe this! I can see the Daemoni from up here, and some of them have horns, their unicorns!"

Bright Blade and Twilight took a moment to let that sink in, Daemoni unicorns; this wasn't what they were expecting. Just then another call came in, "Twilight what was that! We got hammered up here, since when do they know how to use magic," asked Applejack, a bit hysterical. Just like with Bright Blade she had no answer to give, there were only supposed to be earth pony Daemoni, but they had unicorn versions.

"This is Major Broadside to all Mage Corp. battalion leaders! Those of you who aren't on shield detail are to start bombardment of the enemy now! Aerial Corp. I wanted cluster bomb saturation on those mindless beasts five minutes ago, move out now!" ordered Broadside.

"You heard Major Broadside, bombardment now!" ordered Twilight. The unicorns resumed with charging their horns, Bright Blade watched as Twilights battalion, Alpha, and the other two battalions, Theta and Omega, readied to fire their attacks. "Release!" The unicorns fired their energy bolts up into the air, passing through the barrier and arching towards the Daemoni horde. Multi-colored explosions were followed by huge puffs of smoke rising and disappearing. The catapults then began to launch their payloads towards the enemy. They sailed through the air landing with a huge thunderous explosion. Daemoni earth ponies galloped faster and faster, almost upom them, almost within striking distance!

"FORM UP," shouted Broadside. The Brawn Corp. reformed their ranks and prepared their phalanx for the imminent bone shattering impact. The Daemoni snarled and snorted wildly as they came smashing into the shield wall, the force of the impact made many of the soldiers skid backwards, the savage demon creatures knew only one direction, forward. From the small gaps in the wall spears were thrust through, piercing the front Daemoni in the head, chest, eyes, and throat, making them disappear in the blink of an eye. "SECOND LINE!" the first line of shield wielding earth ponies pounded at the Daemoni with their shields till they were able to get some breathing room, they fell back allowing the second line of ponies wielding spears to cut down as many of the Daemoni as they could before the third shield line moved up to replace them. "SHOW THE CREATURES NO MERCY, FOR THEY WILL NOT SHOW YOU ANY," shouted Broadside.

Up above the Aerial Corp. split up into two different attack groups, the first would deliver the bombs while the second provided air support for the ground forces. Rainbow Dash was selected to be in the first group, she wanted to be in the second to better watch over her friends, but this was an order. On her sides below her wings three cluster bombs were strapped to her sides, for a total of six. Rainbow Dash flew with her squadron in formation. When they were over the Daemoni she was able to see the new ones that were blasting the army from afar. They looked almost similar to the first brawny Daemoni, but these looked more refined, slender, and their manes and tales were made of dark gray flames. Their horns were chipped, cracked, and jagged, it reminded Rainbow Dash of the type of horns that the Changelings had. They won't know what hit them, thought Rainbow. "Drop your payloads now," ordered the lead pegasus.

Rainbow Dash was about to drop her bombs, when out of nowhere these zooming shadows descended on her squadron. The screams of falling pegasi rang around her, as the black zooming shadows picked off each one of them. Rainbow Dash looked up above her and was shocked by the sight. Dozens upon dozens of black, winged, creatures flew high above them. They almost looked like ravens or crows, then they all dive bombed on the rest of the pegasus squadrons. Each one disappearing, leaving only their colored feathers floating in the air, "BREAK FORMATION!" shouted Rainbow's squadron leader. She did just that, zooming in and out of panicked pegasi, dodging the rain of black shadows. Rainbow Dash knew she needed more speed, so she dropped all six of her bombs; they landed on the ground taking out some of the Daemoni earth ponies and unicorns. Pleased with the result she then began to fly towards the frontline where most of the action was.

When she got there Rainbow Dash watched as the second group of the Aerial Corp. was being attacked by the same shadows that had engaged her group. Rainbow Dash saw one of her fellow pegasi being chased by those shadows; problem was it was a pegasus she knew. "Hang on Flitter!" she shouted. She took off as fast as she could, as she got closer Rainbow was able to figure out exactly what the shadows were, and what she saw made her shake her head in disbelief. "You got to be kidding me!"

The creatures were Daemoni, but these had dark green flame manes and tails. Their wings resembled that of a vulture, matted, with some of the quills missing. But what really scared her was their horseshoes, steel, with two sharp crooked talons in front, and a third on the heel. Rainbow Dash ascended as fast as her wings would carry her, she then angled herself down, descending at a rapid pace. The crescent blades gleamed as they caught some the rays of the sun, cutting the air as she got closer to her prey. The Daemoni pegasi were almost about to catch Flitter, but at the last moment Rainbow Dash shot down the open space between the two Daemoni, slashing deeply into the sides of the demonic ponies. They wailed and brayed in pain, falling out of the sky before disappearing into wisps of smoke. Rainbow Dash hovered for a moment, and then Flitter flew up next to her. "Thank you! Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash! Those things, they came out of nowhere, and since when can they fly!" said Flitter.

"This is just great, now they have magic and air support!" grunted Rainbow Dash. "Flitter go find Cloudchaser, and stick together alright!"

"Wait, what are you going to do," asked Flitter.

"I'm gonna do what I can!" with that Rainbow Dash flew off high into the air. Along the way she passed by gruesome sights. Pegasi were being attacked from the sky, their metal talons digging into the hides of the winged ponies, helpless to stop their attackers from wrenching their souls from their bodies. Some of the Aerial Corp. pegasi were attacking in coordinated strikes, taking out as many of the Daemoni as they could. Rainbow Dash flew higher and higher till the winged Daemoni and Aerial Corp. pegasi looked like birds flying around. "Time to dish out some payback, Rainbow Dash style!" Rainbow Dash started to fly down at an incredible speed. A mach cone started to form in front of her, she pushed forward till she broke through, creating a Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow Dash, using the speed of the Sonic Rainboom, slashed through one winged Daemoni after the other. All that was left behind was a rainbow streak after each one was cut down. Rainbow Dash pulled out all the stops using every bit of her focus and funneling it into her speed and reaction time.

"Big Macintosh watch your back," yelled Applejack. She galloped at full speed, ramming her large shield against the Daemoni that was about to tackle her brother. The two Apple siblings stood side by side, using their broad shields to smash any Daemoni who got close to them. The shields were attached to their forelegs, the first half on one leg, and the other half on the other leg. Applejack looked up in the air after hearing a large boom; a rainbow halo ring appeared in the sky, followed by a zigzagging rainbow that attacked the winged Daemoni. "Whoo wee, go get'em Dash!"

"On your left," said Big Mac, bucking a Daemoni attacking from his right.

Applejack saw the creature coming; she reared up, and punched the Daemoni with the butt of her shield. She could feel the muscle and bone giving way under the force of her attack just before it turned to smoke. The duo were doing their best to help their fellow earth pony comrades hold the frontline, but the combined offense of the horned and winged Daemoni severely messed up their formations. They tried several times to reestablish their ranks, but the constant, relentless, charge of the ground Daemoni made it near impossible for that to happen. Suddenly a voice started to come out of her Iris Caller. "To all Brawn Corp., Mage Corp, and Aerial Corp. forces, fall back and regroup! This entire situation has gone south, fall back now!" ordered Major Broadside.

"Did ya hear that Big Mac," asked Applejack.

"Eeyup," grunted Big Macintosh, pushing off another Daemoni.

"Let's move then!" Applejack and Big Mac turned around and galloped at full speed toward the receding battlefront. As they galloped along they passed by many of their fallen, ponies whose life force had been drained, then trampled on like an empty bottle of apple juice. Some of the horned Daemoni had made it through, prompting the two siblings to be even more careful as they dodged magical spells. One thought came to Applejacks mind after seeing not just the Brawn Corp. ponies, but now she was able to spot Mage Corp. bodies on the battlefield. Twilight and Bright Blade!

"This is Major Broadside, I need any able bodied stallion not already dead to come help with catapults! We need to get at least one of them to our side!"

Applejack and Big Macintosh looked at each other. "Go on and give them a hand big brother, I need to go check and see if Twilight and Bright Blade are alright," said Applejack.

Big Macintosh said nothing, but stared at his little sister. Applejack recognized that look; it was a look of worry and brotherly protectiveness, his silence saying it all. I don't want you to leave my side, there's way too much happenin' here for either of us to split up, is what Applejack deciphered.

"Big Mac don't worry, I'll be fine once I reach the two of'em," said Applejack.

His face became more defiant. If you reach them that is, one pony fighting through hundreds of these things just doesn't add up!

"Big Macintosh don't you dare even think about using your fancy mathematics on me! You've got your orders now, trust me," said Applejack.

Reluctantly Big Macintosh splintered off towards one of the catapults, while AJ started towards her friend's location. Applejack quickly tapped the crystal on her Iris Caller. "Twilight, Bright Blade, come in! What's your location!"

"AJ, is that you!" asked Twilight.

"Oh thank Celestia, how are you two, what's your situation," asked Applejack.

"Uh, let's just say not good!"

Bright Blade held the small sword between his teeth; Twilight and him were surrounded by a combination of ground and horned Daemoni. Twilight had a small barrier around them, but Bright Blade knew if they were to get out of this alive that they had to take them out. He held back his fighting instincts, trying to keep himself from attacking out of impulse and putting Twilight in danger. "We're kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment, and we could use some back up," said Twilight, talking to Applejack through the Iris Caller.

"I should be there soon, just hang in there," said Applejack.

That may be easier said than done, Bright Blade thought.

The horned Daemoni began to lop energy blasts at her barrier. Each hit made Twilight strain to keep it from shattering, Bright Blade noticed how hard it was for Twilight to keep the shield from falling. He then stuck the blade in the ground and looked to Twilight. "Twilight you can't keep this up, we have a better chance fighting them then waiting here!" said Bright Blade.

"I can – I can keep this up long enough till AJ gets here," said Twilight.

"Twilight they're pounding at the force field, you're losing strength keeping it up, and their waiting for us," Bright Blade pointed his hoof at the many Daemoni who were patiently waiting for the moment their prey would be weak enough to kill. "I can do this Twilight – no – we can do this, together!" Twilight was sweating bullets, Bright Blade knew she didn't want to put them in danger, but he knew that the longer they stayed there the less chance they had of getting out of their predicament.

With an angry growl Twilight shook her head. "You stay close to me, don't you dare leave my side! Alright!" asked Twilight sternly. Bright Blade nodded firmly, he then turned around and grasped the small sword into his mouth. "When I say so close your eyes!" Bright Blade kept his back to Twilight, his shadow elongated as Twilight began to build up power behind him. "NOW!"

He quickly closed his eyes as Twilight unleashed a blinding flash of light. When Bright Blade opened his eyes the barrier was gone, Twilight then began to let loose a series of magical energy blasts that destroyed many of the Daemoni around them. Bright Blade went to work slashing at the Daemoni's legs, bringing them down to his level, and slashing at their throats. The Daemoni made a few wet gurgling noises before they vanished. One of the Daemoni reared up to stomp on him with its strong forelegs, but Bright Blade didn't flinch, using his size and speed to his advantage Bright Blade rolled underneath the monster. He cut the right hind leg of the Daemoni, making it bend down; Bright Blade then jumped on its back and drove the blade into the demons neck. The two of them would trade off, Bright Blade would cut down as many as he could, and then Twilight would take out the remainder of the enemies. Bright Blade's eyes shot upwards just in time to see magic energy bolts being slung their way, "Twilight heads up!"

Twilight fired a couple of interceptor blasts at the horned Daemoni's attacks, effectively detonating them in midair. "Keep moving, we need to regroup with the rest of the army," ordered Twilight. During the chaos that the winged Daemoni created Twilight and Bright Blade were cut off from their battalion, but they furiously tried to make it to the rest of the army. Bright Blade stayed close, but wishing with all his might that he could transform, he hated not being of any more use than attacking as a miniature swordsstallion. A line of ten horned Daemoni began to fire at them. Twilight got in front of Bright Blade and created a light wall, from behind them ground Daemoni began to move in, Bright Blade took a stance and readied himself for the attack.

"Yee-haw!" The Daemoni behind the rest started to get dozed over. A black and bronze shield smashed through many of the Daemoni throwing them in different directions. The shield split apart revealing an orange earth pony, with a blonde mane, white freckles, and no helmet.

"Applejack!" shouted Bright Blade. She jumped high over the line of Daemoni and landed next to her friends, skidding to a stop.

"Nice to see you two in this neck of the woods," said Applejack jokingly.

"We need still have some way to go, Applejack! We have to go through more of them before we –!" Before Bright Blade could finish his sentence a rainbow streak fell from the sky and exploded when it hit the ground, creating a multi-colored halo, and blowing the three ponies manes back. The horned Daemoni were scattered everywhere, being thrown into their fellow Daemoni and accidentally impaling them with their horns.

"Hey guys missed me," said Rainbow Dash sarcastically.

"Rainbow Dash, you're alright!" exclaimed Twilight.

"What about the other pegasi," asked Applejack.

Rainbow Dash hovered over her three friends, keeping a watchful eye over the remaining Daemoni that crept towards them as they backed up to the frontline. "I did what I could and bought them just enough time to get some distance, but right now I'm more concerned about us," said Rainbow Dash.

"I think we should charge forward, together we can make it, I know we can," said Bright Blade.

Looking to Twilight Bright Blade could tell that their options were limited; she nodded to the little colt agreeing with his plan. "GO!" Twilight recreated the light wall and used it as both a shield and battering ram, pressing forward. Bright Blade and Applejack protected their flanks by slashing and bucking any Daemoni that got near their group. Rainbow Dash flew close overhead, taking out winged Daemoni as they swooped down to attack. They kept pushing through, wondering how much longer it would be till they got to their fellow ponies.

"This…is…ridiculous…!" panted Bright Blade. The four of them were now trapped on all sides behind enemy lines, each of them taking positions in a four-pointed star formation. Rainbow Dash and Applejack made calls to their respective Corps, but they were unable to send backup. Even Twilight called in to the Mage Corp. battalions, but they were being hindered, the horned Daemoni were apparently creating an interference field which made teleportation impossible.

"To be honest…I can't believe we made it this long…" panted Rainbow Dash.

"These things aren't even tired…whew; I haven't been this exhausted since I tried to buck all them apple trees during Apple Bucking Season," said Applejack, huffing.

"And we all know how well that turned out," chuckled Twilight.

The four pony friends let out a bit of light laughter, knowing that there situation was dire. This is so not fair, we get tired, but those things just keep going! They never stop, thought Bright Blade. It was then that Bright Blade felt something inside him, a warmth that grew, renewing his strength. "Guys, we're going to make it!" Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash looked at Bright Blade in confusion. Their confusion didn't last long as they saw Bright Blade glow and erupt into a pillar of golden light. The light punched a hole in the red sky five miles wide, allowing the blue sky and clear sunlight to shine. Bright Blade stepped forth, an alicorn stallion, his old armor replaced by his custom navy blue armor. The small sword that Bright Blade was using had disappeared.

"Oh yeah!" said Rainbow Dash, hoof-pumping in premature triumph.

"Looks like it's a whole new rodeo now," commented Applejack.

"Bright Blade can you fight, you were just as tired as we were," asked Twilight.

"I feel great! With strength unmatched I sing this song, that might and magic be as one! Shine your light upon the land! Let evil's wrath be undone, mystic sword, Excellion!" As per usual, the magical sword descended in a bolt of white lightning. Many of the winged Daemoni tried to get out the way, but were not fast enough; getting pierced by the lightning all the way till the sword stopped and took on its physical form in front of Bright Blade. He wasted no time in grabbing the sword between his teeth and set to work. FLASH BLADE! Bright Blade vanished and in the blink of an eye several white streaks of light began slashing through all the Daemoni within a hundred feet. The Daemoni had no chance to counterattack, vanishing in plumes of black smoke.

"BB, Twelve o'clock high," signaled Rainbow Dash.

Bright Blade looked up, watching as winged Daemoni began to dive bomb towards them. Bright Blade flared his golden wings and took off into the sky; a few feet in front of him Bright Blade's magic circle began to appear. SHOOTING STAR STRIKE! Bright Blade increased his speed dramatically and passed through the circle, on the other end a hundred white lights shot out. Golden sparkles trailed the lights, making them resemble comets. They each attacked a different winged Daemoni, piercing them and knocking them out of the sky, destroying them and clearing the sky above their area. The comet lights all converged in one location, allowing Bright Blade to regain his physical form. High in the air Bright Blade could see the battle line, from his position he could tell that their side was able to get at least two catapults, as well as the Mage Corp. protecting their army from the barrage of horned Daemoni. Let's see what we can do about that! Bright Blade held out Excellion in his telekinetic grip, the sword began to spin faster and faster till it formed the magic circle again.

"Is he about to do what I think he's going to do," asked Twilight.

"I think we better duck," suggested Applejack.

"MAGNA BLAST!" Bright Blade released his attack, firing a huge beam of magical energy towards the frontline. With a quick swipe of his head the beam raked in the same direction. A series of explosions could be seen and heard in a delayed reaction to the blast. Bright Blade was surprised at how powerful the beam was, having used it only once in Canterlot tower three months ago. He fired the Magna Blast in rapid succession, causing massive explosions on the enemy's side of the battlefield. Bright Blade then let loose another string of blasts close to where his friends were making sure that the subsequent explosions weren't hurting his friends. Bright Blade flew down to his friends having dismissed the magic circle and still holding Excellion in his telekinesis. "You guys alright," asked Bright Blade.

"Yeah, I think we're good," said Rainbow Dash, alluding to the fact that there were barely any Daemoni, winged, horned, or otherwise, anywhere near them.

"Good work their sugarcube, I'll admit I was a might worried there for a minute," said Applejack, noogeing Bright Blade on his armored head.

"Thanks AJ," said Bright Blade. He then turned to Twilight, who smiled at him and was about to say something, but was cut off by an incoming transmission from her Iris Caller.

"Twilight Sparkle are you there, respond!"

Twilight raised her hoof and tapped the Iris Caller. "I'm here, is that you Major Broadside?"

"Thank Celestia you're alright. Listen do you know what that yellow light was," asked Major Broadside.

Bright Blade winced along with the others, when he fired the Manga Blast Bright Blade tried to make the shot as accurate as possible, but he wasn't sure if he hit any on their side. "Why, did something happen…?" asked Twilight hesitantly.

"I'll say something happened! Whatever that beam was it blew a hole in the enemies frontline six miles wide! Listen up, we're pushing forward and should be there in no time hang in there," said Major Broadside.

With smiles all around and some relieved sighs, Major Broadside signed off. "Looks like we just gained our first victory in this war," said Twilight.

-BOOM!-

-BOOM!-

Suddenly the ground began to shake, the four ponies stood erect, not knowing what they were feeling beneath their hooves. "Y'all felt that, right?"

-BOOM!-

-BOOM!-

"Yeah, what is it, an earthquake," asked Rainbow Dash.

"Oh great, now what," said Twilight, not knowing if she could take any more surprises.

-BOOM!-

-BOOM!-

Bright Blade looked to Rainbow Dash; the two of them seemed to come to a silent agreement. "Let's fly!" The pair took off into the air, soaring high enough to see the horizon. Excellion floated next to him, ready to be used at a moment's notice. It was then that his eyes caught movement on the horizon, something big. Bright Blade was about to tell Rainbow Dash, but it seemed that she saw the same thing. The cyan pegasus and golden alicorn flew off in the direction of the object they saw. They flew for almost two miles before stopping high above a creature neither of them ever thought they would see.

Rainbow Dash tapped her Iris Caller, "Uh Twilight, I think we have a problem…"