-Whitmore Command Bridge-
8:09 AM
The doors to the bridge opened as Twilight and her friends stepped inside, Chrysalis, Tempest, the Royal Sisters, and several other creatures behind them as they entered the room. Like the lobby, it was massive, at least two levels high, loads of Resistance officers of various species walking around the balconies of the second level above. At the other end of the room was a massive window, giving a view of the world of Equus as the vessel hovered in orbit. On the floor of the first level, a large table sat surrounded by human officers, all of them looking to Twilight's group as Dylan spoke to them. "Are our defense vessels ready?"
Dylan's comrade replying as the group listened on. "Yes sir, when we're ready to attack the mothership, we'll send them to follow your lead."
Rainbow raised a hoof to ask, "The mothership?"
Dylan tapped a few buttons on the table, which displayed a holographic image of the two orbiting fleets as Twilight and the attending creatures surrounded the table to hear the briefing. Pointing to the large Harvester mothership, he began. "There's a large core built into the command center of the mothership, our idea is that if we can get a ship in there and shoot a timed bomb into it, we can take it out and end this invasion."
Twilight raised a volunteering hoof as she spoke. "I'll fly her in."
The mare's friends looked to her with shock as Applejack questioned her. "You're gonna fly one of those ships in? I know you're smart, Twilight, but I wouldn't step hoof into one of those fighters without proper training."
"Looking at the controls back at the Noah 7, I think I'll make it." Twilight defended as her friend gave a hopeful smile, honestly unsure about the task Twilight was asking to take before Dylan stepped in to add his comment.
"My father flew one of those attackers without training, and he made it." Dylan gave a confident expression to Twilight as he continued. "Now, the only thing we need to worry about is a defending squadron, there's gonna be a lot of fighters gunning for you, Princess, so someone's gotta cover your tail."
As he said that, Rainbow raised a hoof to Dylan, her fellow Wonderbolts stepping behind her as the new Captain of the Wonderbolts replied. "We'll cover her, Sir."
Rainbow said with a salute as David looked to them with a confused expression. "Under... what name?"
Looking to her fellow flyers, Soarin' and the other Wonderbolts returned looks of determination as Rainbow turned her head back to David. "Call us Spitfire Squadron, Sir."
The Wonderbolts, making their former captain's name their new namesake, gave smirks and salutes to the Head Advisor as he replied. "Okay, Spitfire Squadron, you will protect Twilight while she makes her way into the mothership."
"We won't let you down, Sir!" Soarin' said enthusiastically as Rainbow looked to him, then looking back to Twilight, she spoke for her team.
"None of us will." As Rainbow Dash gave one more salute to David, the Earth veteran looked back to the table as Celestia trotted around it, getting a clear view of the map they saw.
"Good, now that we have that settled, it's time to set up our defenses down there." At that, Dylan tapped the table's control panel again, this time shifting to an image of the Crystal Empire, a large city destroyer hovering over it as Celestia began.
"The Crystal Empire is the last surviving city we have in Equestria, at least, from what we know. When the ship opens it's cannon, we'll have every unicorn available fire at it with their magic. Hopefully, once that's taken care of, we can dispose of the rest of the invading ships."
Rarity pointed a hoof down at one of the smaller ships landed near the Empire. "What are those ships?"
"Troop transports, Rarity." Dylan said as he tapped another button on the table, the holographic destroyer vanishing as the group had a better view of the ground. "There won't just be that city destroyer to worry about, the surviving convoy vessels will deploy troops to finish the job the hard way."
Queen Chrysalis raised a hoof in the air as she and Pharynx looked to David. "My hive and I will defend the Empire and it's remaining homes, they won't know who they're fighting when we show them our shapeshifting abilities." At that, Chrysalis' body was briefly surrounded in a ring of green magic, her body changing to that of a humans as Dylan and David looked at her in awe for a moment.
"That will be very useful, they could get you confused with their own soldiers." David said with a confident smile as he looked to Silverstream and Terramar, the two raising a claw as the former spoke.
"What about air cover? Should we send fighters?"
The human looked to them as he pondered the idea for a moment, the Harvesters had been changing their tactics on certain occasions, so a fighter defense force didn't sound that far out there. "Yes, that sounds good. Legacy Squadron can help out too." Then, seeing the two hippogriffs looking to him, David asked them, "You think you two can fly those defender fighters of ours out there?"
"I'll help with that!" A small changeling with red eyes and a pair of red, translucent wings said as she looked up to Chrysalis, the queen looking puzzled at her for a moment before she asked, "Permission to fly with the aerial force, your Majesty?"
"Chrysalis pondered to her drone as she looked up expectantly, knowing this drone to be very attentive to details and being a fast learner, she gave her word. "Yes, Ocellus, they could use you up there."
The small changeling grinned excitedly as she transformed into a human, wearing a dark red uniform and bearing red irises as she saluted her queen. "I won't fail, Ma'am!" Ocellus said as she stood, Queen Novo and Dragon Lord Ember stepping forward as they volunteered as well.
"The dragons lost their home, we're not about to let another one fall." The blue dragoness said as she held her staff, Novo and Skystar standing with stern expressions as the former joined in.
"My people shall assist in this endeavor, the dragons and changelings could use some additional power." The two other race leaders looked to the Queen of the hippogriffs with faces of agreement, a griffon stepping forward as he spoke up as well.
"Name's Gallus, mind if I join the fight down there?" The group looked to Gallus as his leader, Grandpa Gruff spoke to him.
"Seeing how you flew our transport into this ship, I think you'll do fine down there." The elderly griffon covered his beak before letting out a cough, some of the group giving surprised looks to Gallus as two familiar ponies stood forward.
"Mind if we join the squadron, Rainbow?" The green-coated mare with blazing orange hair said to her old rival, a blue stallion with dark gray hair standing near her as Rainbow took in the sight.
"Lightning Dust? Wind Rider? You two made it?" The shock on her face was replaced with a grin as the Wonderbolt dropout replied.
"I want to help ya too, Dash." Gilda said as she stepped into view of her old friend, Rainbow looking to her before returning her attention to Lightning.
"I know we've had a rough start back there, Dash, but with our home gone, we feel the need to lend a hand." At that, the mare put her wing out to Rainbow, the pegasus looking at it for a moment before joining her's with it, a smirk on her face as she replied.
"We'd be glad to have you three with us." With that, the two reject flyers and griffon joined together with their teammates, the grudges between them all being forgotten about as they looked to Twilight.
"Thanks, you guys. With your help, we'll be able to put a stop to this." Twilight said as her friends and the other creatures in the room saluted her, Dylan tapping a button on the table as the projection shut off.
"Alright, let's get you all to your transports." As Dylan said that, Discord held a claw to the air as he spoke to the fighter pilot.
"Spare your transports, Captain, I can take them down there with my magic." Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at his words, the draconequus smirking as he continued. "Besides, they could use my help with that fight down there."
Putting a hoof onto his leg, Fluttershy looked to her friend as he looked down to her. "Be careful, okay?"
"I promise." As the two returned their attention to Twilight and David, the former spoke once more.
"Okay, is everyone ready?" The group let out cries of excitement as they saluted each other, Twilight smiling as she finished. "Excellent, now let's save Equestria!" With that, the group made their way out of the command center, the doors opening as Twilight and Spike stepped through.
As Tempest began making her way out of the room, David stopped her for a moment. "Hey uh, Tempest, is it?"
"Yes?" The unicorn mare said as she awaited the reply.
"Why don't you come with me? I think we have something for your uh, horn there." The unicorn raised an eyebrow, but ultimately nodded in agreement before Grubber called to her.
"Tempest!" The mare in question stopped once more as her friend continued. "Try to come back, okay?"
Tempest chuckled a little as she gave her answer. "I will, don't worry." With that, the unicorn and David continued on out of the room, Grubber giving a hopeful smile to the two as they went to prepare for the battle below.
As Rainbow and her fellow flyers walked through with the others, Soarin' asked his friend, "You think you'll be able to manage that fighter of your's, Dash?"
The mare smirked as she replied. "Pfft, after that little flight, I think I'll get the hang of it."
-Harvester Destroyer, Crystal Empire-
8:26 AM
The tall Harvester Commander walked towards the armory station, the much larger biosuit being lowered down to him by several mechanical tentacles as he neared it. In the past, his kind would've been done with it, blasted the city into ashes with their large cannon. But he had learned, those vile, annoying pests the Resistance called humans had fought against his race in a terrifying manner, successfully slaughtering the first invasion force at Earth. He let out a screech of hateful anger as he remembered the fall of one of their queens, the one that was sent to Earth for the failed second harvest.
No more, he thought, today, his kind would not win this fight by following their usual process... Today, they would fight these newer, disgusting rodents of this Earth-like world the way they would fight: Face to face.
As he turned around and entered his armored biosuit, he watched the large, crystalline structure in the center of the city, groaning in anticipation as the suit closed around him, the visual slits on the head section opening as the wires broke off of his suit. Staring at the image for a little longer, he watched as several creatures walked to the edges of the building's balconies, many of them looking to his large destroyer as they waited at their positions.
Standing onto the floor, the Commander turned around once more and made his way to the hangar, his personal fighter awaiting his arrival as he prepared for the coming battle...
-The Crystal Empire-
8:29 AM
Starlight looked around the area as she trotted down the hallway, smiling as she saw the familiar sight of the crystal mirror. Not only had Discord brought countless ponies to safety, he had been courteous enough to save the magic mirror from it's demise at Ponyville. And now, if they didn't stop this Harvester warship soon, then it would burn like the rest of the Empire.
As the unicorn turned towards the opening leading to the balcony, her friends, Trixie, Sunburst, and Thorax looking to her, several other ponies taking peeks behind them to see who was coming. As Starlight stood between her fellow unicorns, Sunburst spoke to her. "Any idea what we're going to do, Starlight?"
"From what Discord said, we have to wait until that ship's cannon opens up. Once they start charging up, we fire our magic bolts at it to blow it to hell." Starlight answered as Trixie looked to her in concern.
"But didn't they say something about shields on that ship?" Starlight gave her friend a determined expression as she replied.
"Those Resistance ships up there should be able to give us a clear shot." Pointing upward, Trixie, Sunburst, and Thorax looked up to see several fighters hovering over the Crystal Palace, remaining in place as they awaited the moment to fire their EMP pulses.
Trixie seemed to regain hope with that news, standing firm over the balcony as she spoke once more with a salute. "Well, just give the word, General!" Starlight held back a laugh at that comment, not wanting to let her emotions or humor distract her from the imminent attack... At least, it seemed to be imminent.
Suddenly, the Harvester destroyer let out a low groan, slowly moving away from the Crystal Palace as the united army of unicorns, changelings, dragons, yaks, and hippogriffs all watched in stunned surprise.
"Are they... leaving?" Thorax asked with a raised eyebrow.
A Resistance soldier walked over to the three equines and changeling as he added his idea of the Harvester ship's actions. "I don't think so, for the past twenty years, the Harvesters have been.... learning."
Starlight raised an eyebrow at that last word. "Learning?"
"Yeah, they don't always play by the book. Sometimes... they put a different card onto the table." The officer briefly explained as the defenders of the Crystal Empire turned to watch the destroyer, the vessel slowly hovering as the alien transports at the edge of the city began to open their doors. Out of the green glow under the transports, several Harvester soldiers began pouring out of them, forming a large army at the edge of the city as Starlight and her friends watched in surprise.
Looking down to the already assembled Equestrian army, Thorax looked to his friends. "If you'll excuse me." The reformed changeling said before taking flight, flying to the ground to meet up with Chrysalis and his brother, Pharynx.
As he steadied his hooves upon the soil, Pharynx looked to Thorax before speaking. "It's good to know you're still alive, brother, after all those attacks."
"Yeah, I'm glad you made it out too." Thorax said with a thankful smile as the two brothers looked at each other, both admiring each other's faces before Pharynx broke the silence.
"Thorax... I want to tell you something, in case we fail."
Thorax looked to his brother curiously. "Yeah?"
The brother of Spike's changeling friend smiled at him as he spoke. "Even though we had a rough time together in the years since we hatched as larva, I want you to know that there isn't any other creature that could be a better brother than you are."
Thorax's heart beamed at his brother's words, both of them looking to the Harvester destroyer as the changeling replied. "Thanks, Pharynx... you're the best brother I've had too."
Rarity watched as the city destroyer moved further away from the Empire, a section on the front of the vessel opening as fighters began to fly out. Her horn glowed as she readied herself for whatever was coming, Sunburst, Starlight, Trixie and the other unicorns doing the same as they stood by for the word to be given.
As the armada of fighters came towards the Empire, the destroyer stopped at the city's edge, Tempest watching from the top of the palace as she briefly examined her new prosthetic horn mounted onto her head. Whatever it could do, she hoped it would be efficient in taking out any and all Harvester ships and troopers within the area.
As Discord walked out to the balcony, he stopped behind Starlight and her group as he asked, "What's happening?"
"I don't know, but from the looks of it, this isn't going to be a breeze." The unicorn replied as she and Discord looked back to the incoming fighters, one of them catching their eyes as the other ships held their position over the city. This one fighter seemed... different. The shape was more like that of the famous saucer designs they had seen in old science fiction movies, but with two mandibles at the front and a large, fin-like section at the top. The color was different too, instead of the gray-tinted black the other fighters bore, this one was just pure gray.
The accompanying Resistance officer gave a look of shock as he spoke up. "They sent their ship's commander down here?!"
"Did they?" Trixie asked quizzically as the officer pointed at the strange fighter.
"Ever since we've been taking the fight to them, they've been taking every last ship and fixing them up for use in their fleet, even the older ones."
Starlight looked to him, realizing what he meant by that explanation. "You mean that's one of their older fighters?"
"Exactly, usually the destroyer's commander would have some upgrades on it, maybe even a change in their ship's color." Looking to the fighter, he concluded, "Except this one just seems... refurbished."
The two of them turned their heads back to the large Harvester army ahead, the Commander's fighter landing as several more ships closed in. As they looked at them, they could tell that they were also different. They had two sets of small cannons near what must have been the cockpit, and there were no wings, but instead two bulky sections that extended past the fuselage.
As the ships took position near the Crystal Empire, several Resistance fighters, pegasi, and the Royal Sisters broke their cover from the palace, taking to the air as they hovered around it.
On Silverstream's control panel, Dylan spoke. "Alright, looks like they showed up with an army and aerial forces here, let's cover our ground pals down there and keep those bombers away from the Empire."
"You got it!" Silverstream replied to her new flight captain.
"Ocellus here, ready to fight!" The human-disguised changeling said as she held onto her controls, listening as her fellow pilots spoke. Silverstream took a breath as she examined her controls once more, hoping that that little tutorial back at the Whitmore would pay off.
"Gallus standing by, Sir!" The griffon said excitedly.
"Terramar ready for action!" Silverstream's brother said as he held his controls, his claws hovering over the fire buttons.
At that, several other voices belonging to the pilots of Legacy Squadron spoke up as well. "Legacy 2 at the ready!"
"Legacy 3, systems optimized."
"Legacy 5, weapons charged, Sir!"
"Legacy 8, all set!"
As the remaining members of Legacy Squadron gave their call-signs, Queen Chrysalis watched with an anticipating grin as the Harvester Commander's ship opened up, a single, armored warrior with tentacles on it's back stepping onto the land before looking to the Empire. She was impressed at them, finally sending their head to the field so they could fight it out in person, like any great warrior should.
Looking to Ember, she asked the Dragon Lord, "Are their troops outfitted with shields?"
Ember nodded, but kept her smirk as she added, "Fortunately, Discord told me he had put some of the Resistance's shields on each and every single one of them." Then, handing two of the backpack-like devices over to Chrysalis and Thorax, she finished with, "You'll need one too."
Chrysalis shared the smirk as she and Thorax took the shield generators, mounting it onto their backs as the shields flashed to life around their bodies.
Standing in front of his army, the Commander looked out to the Crystal Palace before letting out a fierce screech, the soldiers and fighters behind him charging towards the last intact city as the battle started.
"CHARGE!!!" Chrysalis, Ember, and Rutherford collectively cried out to their soldiers, all of them following the Harvester army's actions as they joined the fighting. As they closed in on the enemy soldiers, Chrysalis and all of her soldiers changed in shape, taking the forms of the Harvester soldiers as they continued charging.
"Alright, let's punch through those fighters, then nail those transports!" Dylan said as his squadron flew at the incoming attackers, Silverstream throttling her fighter forward as her brother and Gallus formed up with her.
Celestia and Luna charged at the fighters as well, both of their horns glowing before unleashing a flurry of magical energy. As it struck the large wave of fighters, their shields glowed for a moment before flickering out, the ships catching fire as they began to crash.
As Chrysalis neared the Commander, she hissed at the large alien as it tried to shoot at her with it's large blaster, Thorax and Pharynx engaging two of the escorting soldiers as she gripped at the Commander's gun. Pointing a few of her fake tentacles at the Commander, she channeled several magic bolts through them before firing, hitting the Commander's shields as it released Chrysalis' arms from the gun. Just as the alien lifted it's gun to shoot at Chrysalis, the changeling smacked her claw at the Commander's face, forcing a growl from it as the two fought each other.
Nearby, Ember and her fellow dragon Smolder held their stolen blasters at the Harvester soldiers, firing at them until one of their shields came down. Taking the opportunity, Smolder sped over to the alien, unleashing a hail of fiery breath as the monster screeched to the air. Smolder let the Harvester burn as she turned to another one, which shot at her several times before Ember got in the way. Returning the alien's favor, the Dragon Lord grinned as the shields around the creature flickered out, breathing a flurry of pink fire as she killed the invader.
Looking to each other, Ember and Smolder briefly bumped fists together before moving to another squad, the aliens opening fire at them both as the continued to decimate the Harvester ground force.
In the air, Silverstream fired her cannons at another incoming fighter, it's shields holding for a few seconds before flickering out, the bolts striking the ship's hull before it began to descend to the ground. As another one came at her, the hippogriff tried to prepare for another shot, but halted her efforts as Gallus shot down the fighter, the fighter following it's escort as it crashed to the ground in a ball of flames.
"Here comes another one!" Gallus said as he and Silverstream blasted the ship, which only held together for mere seconds as it's shields failed, catching fire before descending.
Looking to the incoming bomber, Silverstream heard her brother speak up. "The bomber's vulnerable, fire!"
The hippogriff did so as she and Terramar fired, blasting at the ship's shields as it tried to evade but failed. Silverstream screamed a rage-filled battle cry as she continued firing, her hatred for the Harvesters not permitting her to let go of the trigger. Not a second later did the ship's shields fail, the blue lasers striking the engines of it as it burst into flames. The two siblings broke off from their attack as the Harvester bomber came down, crashing down on one of the alien transports as the soldiers around it were caught in a fiery explosion.
Looking back at the sight, Silver yelled at the burning wreck. "That's for my dad!" Then, turning back to focus on the other attacking bombers, she steadied herself as she formed up with Terramar and Gallus for another run.
On the fields of the Crystal Empire, Ocean Flow and General Seaspray fired their hybrid blasters at the Harvester troops, two of their shields flickering as the two hippogriffs finished the aliens off. Then, looking up, Ocean saw a large group of enemy soldiers heading their way, at least twenty. Turning towards Rutherford, she called to him. "Now!" At that, the yak prince and several others of his kind charged at the aliens, the soldiers trying to hit them as they came closer. As one of the yaks shields failed, Rutherford and one of the female yaks rammed into the aliens, knocking them around the area as they disoriented the garrison of Harvesters.
As the two of them stopped to take a breath, the small yak looked to Rutherford, "Yona likes teaching those invaders a lesson!"
"Good, now, yaks continue onward!" With that, the two continued on through the battlefield, Ocean Flow and Seaspray blasting down the remaining enemy soldiers.
Up above, Celestia and Luna fired magic beams at a squadron of fighters, all of them turning towards them as the two alicorns held their shields in their flight over the kingdom. They rinsed and repeated this tactic a few more times until at least three squadrons were behind them. Stopping and joining their shields into one, they watched as the Harvesters pummeled them with laser fire, the two sisters cringing lightly as they felt a bit of pain from their shield taking damage. As the ships stopped firing, the two sisters looked to each other. "Ready Luna?"
"Yes, dear sister." With that, the two sent their mixed shield out towards the Harvester fighters, most of their shields failing as they were engulfed in bright flames. The two let out cries of excitement over their brief victory before pursuing the now fleeing attackers, firing magic beams at them as the cats had become mice.
Down below, one of Chrysalis' drones, Cornicle, smacked one of his tentacles at his opponent as the beast screeched. Then, picking up the dropped blaster, took aim and shot at the alien, it's shields flickering out before he struck the creature down. As he steadied himself, two more Harvesters jumped between Cornicle, ready to pounce on him before the one in front of him shot past him, striking the injured alien down with only a few shots.
As Cornicle looked to the other Harvester in confusion, the creature shapeshifted into one of his fellow drones, Frenulum. The two let out a laugh as they turned towards the other alien warriors, charging at them as they continued the fight.
Knocking Chrysalis back with a smack of it's tentacles, the Commander looked to the sky, seeing two large creatures pursuing two of his drones. Then, seeing the large amount of fireballs near the palace, he pointed at the two alicorn sisters before screeching. Taking the advantage, Chrysalis zapped the Commander with her magic tentacles, the creature screeching again as it returned the favor with a blast of his gun.
At the top of the Crystal Palace, Tempest looked to the sky, looking for the closest ship to attack. Seeing an incoming bomber, Tempest focused her horn for a moment before firing, the electrical beam of magic striking the vessel. Upon impact, the ship's shields flickered out before the ship began to descend, seemingly losing it's power as a Resistance fighter fired at it.
As the bomber exploded, Tempest looked to her horn in surprise, then grinned with excitement as she looked for another ship, but stopped as she saw another group of fighters closing in towards her. Without time to think, she fired her horn again, this time the beam struck not only the fighter she took aim at, but also passed on to the other ships near it. As they began to crash into the top of the palace, Tempest jumped off the top, free-falling as she looked to see the fighters scrape each other before finally crashing into the palace's top section, narrowly missing the small balcony Tempest was on.
As she fell, she was picked up by a familiar pegasus. "You okay?"
Tempest smiled as she looked to Fluttershy. "Yeah, thanks."
The pegasus nodded before flying down to the other unicorns below, setting Tempest down before she joined the others. Turning to the battlefield, she sped over to her group of pegasi, all of them looking to her as she stopped in between Rainbow's parents and the two Wonderbolt recruits, Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail. "Alright, when I give the word, we surround that Commander there in a tornado. That should disorient him enough to give our unicorns a shot at him!"
The fleet of pegasi saluted her as Vapor Trail yelled out, "For Cloudsdale!"
"For Canterlot!" Bow Hothoof added as Thunderlane finished their little salutations.
"For all that the creatures of Equestria have lost!" The crowd cheered at Thunderlane's words as they watched their target and Chrysalis fight, waiting for the right moment.
As he looked up to the Resistance fighters, Discord changed his gaze to the Harvester destroyer before gasping in delight. "Starlight, you mind if I borrow your radio for a moment?" The unicorn nodded as he took it in his claws before speaking into it. "Discord to Captain Hiller, can you have you and some of your other fighters fire a few missiles, please?"
"What for?" Dylan asked as one of his fighters was shot at, it's shields flickering out before the draconequus replied.
"Just trust me on it, it'll help us with those fighters." With that, Hiller did so, Discord watching as at least five of the defending aircraft fired a missile from underneath. Snapping his finger, Discord watched as the missiles blinked out of the sky. Then, looking to the destroyer's hangar, the green glow was soon replaced with a fiery orange as the hangar was blown to bits by the missiles.
Dylan smirked proudly as he admired Discord's little stunt. "Well done! That should relieve us of some trouble." The draconequus bowed as if he was being cheered on at a play as the other unicorns briefly celebrated before continuing their barrage of magic at the incoming Harvester soldiers.
As Pharynx kicked one of the Harvester soldiers back, a flurry of unicorn magic bolts struck the alien, it's shield holding for a moment before it hit the creature's armor, killing it. Looking back, he saw Chrysalis and Thorax engaging the Commander and another soldier, the former seeming to lose it's ground as he charged towards it. Jumping up, he tried to pounce onto the alien leader, only to have his futile efforts be stopped by a tentacle impaling him clean through the chest.
Thorax looked on in horror as he watched the creature strike down his brother. "PHARYNX!" He cried out as the Commander ripped it's bloody tentacle out of Pharynx, the changeling transforming back into his older appearance as he hit the ground hard.
As Chrysalis was knocked back against one of the buildings nearby, Fluttershy cried out, "Now!" At that, the pegasi formed a ring around the Harvester Commander, the beast watching in confusion for a moment before he lifted his gun to fire. As the wind became faster, the alien fired the gun, striking a few of the flying ponies out of the large creature-built tornado it was trapped in.
As the turbulence became more and more powerful, the Commander tried to lift it's gun again, but it couldn't hold the large weapon as easily as the wind began to shove it around. Some of it's bladed tentacles began to hurt as the wind became even stronger, many of them being ripped off as he screeched in pain. As it cried out, it's gun flew out of it's grasp as the pegasi broke off, the gun flying through the air before he was flung upwards through the tornado, flying in the air for a few more seconds before crashing onto one of the crystalline buildings and hitting the dirt he had walked on earlier.
Thorax shapeshifted back into his normal form as he galloped over to Pharynx, dark, green blood oozing from his wounds as his brother comforted him.
"Pharynx, don't give up on me now, I'm gonna get you to the medi-" He was cut off as Pharynx raised a hoof to his muzzle.
"N-no, Thorax... go, keep fighting... please... Save what Equestria has left." Thorax tried to mentally debate with his brother, but stopped as he heard a crash near him, a large Harvester blaster had landed near him from the ensuing fighting. Looking to his brother, he saw his head go limp, already dead from the sudden blood loss. But Thorax didn't cry, instead, a fire in his heart was sparked as he transformed once more, picking up the blaster in his claws.
As the injured Commander got up, he examined his injuries before looking around to see Chrysalis, the queen landing down near him as she growled at him. The Commander did the same, furious over his injuries caused by those flying pests in the battle. As both of them clashed their claws and tentacles once more, Starlight looked down to the two of them.
"There! The Commander's been hurt, let's give him something to shoot at!" The other unicorns nodded before they and Starlight looked down to the Commander, their horns glowing before they shot a flurry of magic bolts at the creature, hitting it's shields as Chrysalis held her ground. The shields flickered for a moment before they went out, the creature groaning as it was hit by a few more bolts.
"Look out!" Minuette cried out as she pointed a hoof at one of the incoming fighters, Tempest firing her horn at it as Starlight's horn glowed. As the fighter's shields flickered out, it came straight at the balcony, but failed to take it down as it crashed into Starlight's large shield.
Gallus flew near his three allies as another Harvester fighter began it's pursuit, blasting Gallus' fighter until the shields flickered out.
"Gallus, look out!" Silverstream cried out too late as the griffon's flaming fighter began to descend, it's collision with the nearby building imminent.
But Gallus remembered something, wasting no time, he tapped the eject button Ocellus told him about, his ship's window opening before he was shot out into the air. Looking down, his fighter crashed into the crystal building, breaking it into a million tiny shards. Unbuckling himself, Gallus took to the air, passing another Resistance fighter as it was shot down by another attacker. As the fighter closed in on him, it too exploded as Silverstream's fighter flew up to him, it's window opening as Silver spoke to him. "Hop in!"
Gallus did so without asking as he seated himself in, the two immediately taking the ship back towards the battle as another fighter came at them.
Chrysalis screamed in pain as the destroyer Commander stabbed her in her leg with one of it's remaining tentacles, blood pouring out as she stared the thing in the face. The creature hissed at her, finally ready to take her life and bring this city down once and for all. But it would not get that satisfaction.
Behind it, Thorax landed behind the Commander, holding the blaster up and aiming it as Chrysalis waited for death. Letting out a cry of anger, Thorax shot at the Commander, striking it clean in the back. As a mechanical section of the suit exploded in a green flame, the creature screeched as it's suit opened up, Chrysalis being covered in a yellowish-green liquid as she broke off from the monster.
Wiping the alien blood off of her face, Chrysalis forced herself back up, raising one of her sharp tentacles before stabbing the Commander in the now exposed head, the monster screeching once more as it's horrid life was ended once and for all.
As Chrysalis tried to get up, she began to transform back as Thorax did the same, dropping the gun and trotting over to her as he helped his former leader to her hooves.
"Thank you, Thorax." The queen said as she looked around, noticing one of them was missing. "Wait, where's Pharynx?"
Thorax looked down solemnly, tears forming in his eyes as he responded to the question. "He... he's dead, that thing killed him."
Chrysalis shared her former drone's look of sorrow, Pharynx was a good drone, and with him gone, the changelings lost one of their best warriors, and she lost a good friend. "I... I'm sorry, Thorax."
"It's alright." Thorax replied as he looked to Chrysalis with a look of finality. "At least he died defending Equestria."
The two of them looked to each other apologetically, before they noticed a strange change in the battlefield. They didn't hear as many lasers as there were before, and, after looking around the city, some of her drones, dragons, hippogriffs, and pegasi were looking at their enemy in stunned silence.
Starlight raised an eyebrow as she watched the remaining Harvester fighters turn towards the mothership, the soldiers running away from the Empire as Trixie spoke up. "Are they... retreating?"
The Resistance officer looked over the city, then, seeing the city destroyer in the distance, the answer became evident. "...Yeah, they are. After twenty more years of fighting us, they still haven't learned to keep going after their leader!" The Resistance officer let out a cheerful laugh as Starlight and her friends watched the miraculous sight, joining in the cheering as every other creature on the field watched the destroyer leave.
As Chrysalis and Thorax watched the retreating Harvester army, they smiled thankfully as they knew the battle was over. Suddenly, the two changelings, and in fact every other surviving changeling on the battlefield, glowed a brilliant white, which sustained for several moments before they became visible again.
As Starlight and the other creatures across the Empire looked at their changeling allies, their appearance was... different. Thorax, for example, no longer had his usual black and green colors, nor his holes. In fact, he was taller, about as tall as Queen Chrysalis. His new color scheme was a mix of green carapace with some orange on his chest, as well as red and purple wings and purple eyes. Chrysalis herself was also different, her carapace was now a bright tan, and her mane and tail were now a much more lush green, slightly changing to a more yellowish tone as it flowed down.
Thorax and Chrysalis looked on at their new forms at first in surprise, then with joy as the former whistled to the Queen of the Changelings. "You think you can get used to this, Chrysalis?"
"Absolutely!" Chrysalis replied before the two of them joined in the cheering, the Crystal Empire celebrating as the long blocked sunlight returned to it.
In the air, Silverstream eyed her fellow flyer Ocellus in her fighter with excited curiosity. "Oooh! You look different, Ocellus!"
Looking at herself, she gasped in happy surprise as she, Silverstream, Gallus, and Terramar flew over the Empire together. "Yeah, I think it's because of how much we care for each other! We shared our love for Equestria and, in defending it, we've changed in appearance!"
Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst held each other excitedly, crying tears of joy as they celebrated their victory. As the three of them broke up the group hug, Starlight looked to Discord, "Discord, tell the Whitmore of what's happened. Tell them that the Crystal Empire is safe once again." The draconequus nodded before he snapped his finger, teleporting off of Equus as Flash Sentry came racing out of the palace doors.
As the three ponies looked on curiously, Flash spoke to them. "Starlight, come with me to the medical ward! It's about Cadence and Shining Armor!"
The three ponies' faces went from joyous excitement to ones of fearful concern, Twilight Velvet and Night Light turned as they heard what Flash said. Without wasting a second, the four ponies galloped into the palace, Twilight's parents following after as the united creatures of Equestria celebrated in their victory against the city destroyer that was now taking to the skies...
-Whitmore Hangar Bay-
8:48 AM
Twilight trotted with Rainbow Dash and her team as the doors to the hangar opened, Spike looking past Twilight's head as they all saw the fighters awaiting them. Along with Rainbow's captured attacker, there were eight Resistance Defender type fighters, enough of them for Soarin', Fleetfoot, Misty Fly, Blaze, High Winds, Lightning Dust, Wind Rider, and of course, Twilight.
As Rainbow and her friends trotted towards the prepared fighter squadron, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle galloped over to her, their faces beaming with glee as Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash, I'm so glad you're here! I hope you don't mind, but along with those upgrades, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and I thought your fighter needed a tiny makeover." Curiously, Rainbow looked to her fighter, noticing that her cutie mark was painted roughly on the right side of the ship.
The mare smirked at her biggest fan, rubbing a hoof on Scootaloo's head as she replied. "Thanks, kiddo. You three make sure the other foals don't lose hope in us, alright?"
The three fillies saluted to her, then made their way past as Twilight and the others trotted over to their ships.
As Twilight came close to her fighter, Applejack and Pinkie made their way over, a hopeful look on both of their faces as the former spoke to her. "Hey Twi, I know ya probably won't have much time for it, but I want ya to have these." Handing her a basket, she picked it up out of the farmpony's hoof to see around five rainbow-colored apples, Twilight looking surprised as her friend continued. "They're zap apples, last ones we have left from the family... they want ya to have it for luck."
Twilight smiled at her friend's generosity, almost letting tears form on her face as she passed the basket to Spike before hugging Applejack. "Thanks, you be careful too."
As Rainbow Dash began to sit in her ship, she looked to Gilda. "Hey Gilda."
"Yeah? The griffon asked as her friend continued.
"I know it sounds silly but... do you mind if you fly with me on this one?" As Gilda raised an eyebrow, Dash explained herself. "I uh... I'm still getting used to leading the Wonderbolts after we lost Spitfire last night, and... I don't want to lose anymore of my friends today."
Gilda looked at her old friend for a moment, then, taking to the air. "Totally, after all, we fly together, die together, right?"
Rainbow smiled at her friend, who hopped into the secondary seat behind Rainbow as their window started closing. As Pinkie Pie watched them, she smelled the familiar scent of cupcakes to her left. Seeing the tray being carried by the Cakes for the pre-planned victory party, the party pony sped almost impossibly fast to the two parents, taking one of the cupcakes before speeding off to Rainbow's fighter, the window mere seconds from sealing. "Dashie!" She said to her friend, who opened the window slightly as she replied.
"What do you need, Pinkie?" Without asking, she handed over the cupcake to the pegasus, smiling a bit nervously as she spoke again. "Thanks."
"It needs to be at the right time!" Pinkie said urgently as the cockpit began sealing again.
"Rriiiiiigght." Rainbow exaggerated as the window sealed the cockpit shut, Twilight and Spike sitting together in their own ship as they began to get comfortable.
As Twilight examined her controls, they indeed did look familiar to her as the Noah 7 controls did, just additional stuff regarding the fighter's weaponry. Tapping a button, the window began to lower as they prepared to take off.
On the fighter's radio, Jake's voice spoke through it. "Okay, now remember, everyone, this is a 'get in, get out' mission, once you fire that bomb you punch your way out of that ship. Any fighters that come your way, shoot them down if necessary."
"That means no crazy heroism out there, Rainbow." Twilight warned her friend, nodding to her on the visual screens underneath the controls.
"Got it, we'll be careful." The rainbow-maned pegasus replied, Gilda giving a thumbs up to Twilight as the other pilots' face cams came on.
"And make use of those power packs in the back, everyone. Those fighters are going to be gunning for you out there, so use them wisely. Good luck." With that, the radio to Jake's station shut off, the large hangar bay door ahead of them slowly opening as Twilight prepared for launch.
Tapping another button, Twilight's fighter began to ascend, her wingponies doing the same as Twilight looked to Spike. "You got those apples there, Spike?"
Spike set the basket to his left, then looking to his right to see several containers full of some kind of green liquid. "I have them right next to me, Twilight." He said to his friend as he picked up one of the power packs and held it in his claws.
"Good, cause they might help us out of here." Twilight replied as she held her control sticks with her hooves, two magic bubbles right over the trigger buttons as Spike spoke up.
"You really sure you can fly this thing, Twilight?" The alicorn took a breath as she replied.
"With how I saw the Noah's controls, I think I can handle this." with that, Twilight began to move the sticks forward, the ship suddenly jerking backwards as it bumped into Rainbow's fighter. Spike and Twilight grunted from the close call of a crash, as did her escorting friend.
"OOF! What the?!" Rainbow exclaimed as her ship and Twilight's shields flickered from the impact, but fortunately nothing broke or became damaged as Rainbow spoke to her. "Uh, Twilight? Are you really sure you can handle that thing?"
Twilight defended herself. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure I can... just needed a little bit of a start on practice." Looking sheepishly, Twilight continued. "At least I know which way these go now."
Spike looked at her worriedly as he spoke. "Yeah, uh, if you could just please... take us out the door?" He lightly pointed a claw as he finished his request.
As Twilight pulled the sticks towards her, the ship sped forwards flying out of the hangar as her escorting fighters followed suite.
"YYAAAAAAAAHHOOOOOO!!!!!" Lightning Dust let out an excited cry as she flew out of the hangar, forming up with her fellow pilots as they performed various maneuvers around Twilight's ship.
Raising an eyebrow at first, Twilight thought it would be best to get oriented with her new ship as she began performing similar maneuvers.
"Good move, Twi. Gotta get a feel for that bad boy while we have a moment!" Rainbow said as they flew, getting acquainted with their ships as they slowly turned and approached the mothership.
As Twilight steadied her fighter, she looked to the large view of stars in front of her in awe. "...Isn't this amazing, Spike?"
"Yeah, it is." Spike said as he shared his friends enthusiasm, savoring every second of this special sight as Rainbow warned them.
"Yeah, hate to say it, but there's no time for stargazing." At those words, Twilight looked out towards the mothership, a large armada of fighters gathered up near a tiny, glowing opening on the side of the large starship.
"Brace yourselves!" Twilight said as she focused on flying, Spitfire Squadron forming up behind her as another group of ships closed in on them.
"We will ensure your entry is successful, Princess Twilight Sparkle." A robotic voice said as several of the hexagonal pods from the Resistance fleet flew in front of them, forming a faint yellow shield in front of them as the Harvester force came near them.
"Shields up! Weapons hot!" Rainbow said as she flew next to Twilight, the large swarm of fighters flying towards the squadron before they were struck down by the hexagon ships' yellow beams, which sliced the fighters apart in seconds.
Rainbow cried out in excitement as she watched the Harvesters get totaled. "Yeah! Eat that up, you space fiends!"
"This is too easy!" Lightning Dust said as Twilight looked towards the mothership, the glow slowly dissipating as the door began to close.
"I wouldn't say that now! Hold on, everyone!" At that, Twilight surrounded her and her squadmates with a shield, all of them disappearing from their former position and re-appearing closer to the door, which was about to close. "Punch it!"
At that, the nine fighters sped off towards the door, all of them forming a tight, straight line as they slipped through. All but one.
"I'm not gonna make it!" High Winds cried out, trying to slow down as the door sealed but failing as her ship hit it. Her scream was heard briefly before her screen went out, the blue around her camera now glowing red as to indicate her death.
"We lost High Winds!" Misty Fly cried out, their shields flashing as she and her teammates we're onslaughted by a flurry of green laser bolts.
"Batteries, quick!" Rainbow ordered as Gilda swapped one of the newly placed batteries into Rainbow's ship, Spike doing the same for Twilight's as the squadron of fighters began to make their way deeper into the mothership.
Trying to cut them some trouble, Twilight looked to an incoming force of over a dozen alien fighters before using her teleportation spell on them, sending them crashing into the large support beams built around the tunnels without a second to think.
"Twilight, let us worry about the fighters and you just fly that girl in there, alright?" Rainbow said as Twilight tried to steady herself, but flew to her left as another attacker sped at her.
As the fighter passed her, it fired it's guns at Wind Rider's fighter, his ship's shields flickering before the bolts struck his ship's underbelly, damaging the laser cannons.
"My guns are down!" The Wonderbolt veteran said in dismay as Soarin' shot at the harrasing fighter, blasting into a fireball in seconds as he flew past Wind Rider.
As another fighter came at Twilight, Blaze fired at the attacker, the vessel's shields flickering out after several shots. As the now burning Harvester ship sped towards the floor of the large tunnel, Blaze was not aware of another ship behind her.
"Blaze, look out!" Misty warned her friend as she shot at the attacker, destroying it after several shots as Blaze formed up with her.
Twilight rolled around one of the large beams within the tunnel, balancing herself as another fighter was coming at her.
As she readied her guns, Wind Rider sped at the fighter, Rainbow crying out in shock as he prepared to ram it. "Wind Rider! What are you doing?!"
"Saving our home, it's been an honor!" With that, Wind Rider crashed his ship into the alien fighter, destroying both of them but saving Twilight's in the process.
"Keep moving everyone, we can't let his death be in vain!" Twilight ordered as the Wonderbolt veteran's cam panel went red, Twilight and her allies flying together around the large beams before another fighter came into view.
Not having much time, Twilight created a magical shield around her fighter, the alien ship crashing into it as fire covered Twilight's view for a few seconds.
"You alright, Twilight?!" Rainbow cried out horrifically.
"Yeah, just follow me!" Spitfire Squadron followed their orders and they and Twilight's fighter finally cleared through the tunnel, now flying in the large, green interior of the mothership.
As Twilight looked at her map, she saw the target highlighted by a red dot specifying where it was. It was nearby, just a little further, and they would make it.
"Lightning, watch out!" Rainbow warned too late as Twilight looked to Lightning's ship, which was being assaulted with green lasers as it's shields flickered out. Seeing both her and Soarin's fighter, Twilight used her teleportation spell to switch Lightning's spot out with the refill drone in the back of Soarin's fighter. As she watched Lightning's fighter explode at the last second, Lightning seemed stunned at the slight change of scenery around her as she sat in the back of Soarin's ship. Twilight knew she deserved a second chance, and she was not going to let the Harvesters take that away from her.
As Twilight turned her head to focus on flying, she saw one of the incoming attackers getting dangerously close to her before it was blasted out of the sky by Rainbow Dash, the mare's ship flying past her as the alicorn continued flying as fast as her ship could go.
Outside, the Whitmore slowly turned itself over as it hovered near the moon, it's upgraded, heavily armored energy cannon opened up and charging as it took aim at the mothership's side.
On the bridge, David watched the holographic image of the space battle as the Whitmore positioned itself. "Is it ready?" David asked as the officer nodded, the ship holding still as David gave his order. "Fire!"
At that, the Whitmore fired a beam at the mothership, striking the shields and faintly penetrating it just enough to hit the door, which broke into flaming chunks as the shields faded.
Inside, Twilight and her teammates sped past another large structure as they finally got a good look at the command center. It looked almost like an upside down cone, but with several mechanical parts and structures around it.
As she took a brief stop in front of the ship, Twilight spoke as she waited for the missile lock-on to pick the target. "On behalf of all of Equestria, allow me to send you Harvesters this present!" As she said that, the lock-on beeped as Twilight fired, the long missile speeding towards the command center.
Twilight sped away alongside her defending squadron, looking down at her control panel as the countdown started. "Okay, let's punch it! We've got half a minute to get out of dodge!"
"THIRTY SECONDS?!" Rainbow cried out in shock and anger. "I'm fast Twi, but we can't make that!"
Looking at the zap apple basket, Spike spoke up. "Yes we can!" Without asking, he took one of the used up battery packs as he placed the zap apple over it, crushing it as Twilight gave him a questioning look. "The zap apples aren't like normal apples, I think we can use it's magic to give us a boost out of here!"
As insane as it sounded, Twilight was willing to take that chance. As Spike sealed the now mushy liquefied zap apple container and placed it into the battery slot, Twilight spoke up. "Everyone hold on!"
"For what?!" Rainbow asked worriedly as Twilight trapped all of her escorting fighters and her own within a magical levitation bubble, Twilight replying as she pulled the control sticks towards her.
"This!" At that word, Twilight and her escorting fighters skyrocketed across the mothership, a rainbow trail emitting from the ship's engines as they all sped towards the now flaming tunnel.
As the mothership hovered in place, Applejack and Pinkie watched with the crowd of onlookers as they waited for Twilight's ship to exit the Harvester vessel.
After passing three of the still intact support beams within the tunnel, Twilight and her friends could see the opening, flaming and clear of traffic as they all sped towards it. Looking down at the timer, they had only ten seconds left before they met certain doom. Hoping to soften the blow, Twilight held her shield, preparing for a big blast of fire as they sped out of the Harvester mothership.
Pinkie and Applejack watched anxiously as their friends sped out from the mothership, the timer on one of the hangar's monitors counting down as they waited. "07, 06, 05, 04, 03, 02, 01."
As the timer glowed red, the mothership exploded in an enormous, brilliant fire, the two earth ponies taking a second to adjust their eyes as they tried to find Twilight. Their faces grew wide with horror as they couldn't see them at first...
But after a few tense seconds, a pink bubble shot out of the explosion, a rainbow trail stemming from it as Twilight and Spitfire Squadron escaped their horrific destruction.
"THEY MADE IT!!! THEY MADE IIIITTT!!!" Pinkie screamed joyfully as she hugged Applejack tightly, the hangar full of cheering creatures and Resistance officers as they celebrated the successful victory.
"WAAAHOOO!!!" Twilight and Rainbow both cried out as they slowed down, their fellow flyers forming up with them as the explosion glowed behind them.
"That. Was. BEYOND AWESOME, Twilight!" Rainbow said to her friend as the other surviving members of Spitfire Squadron cheered her on.
"Heck yeah, it was!" Twilight laughed after saying that, sort of trying to take in what the heck they just did back there.
As Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself, Soarin' asked, "So, is it over? Did we win?"
Rainbow took a peek behind her ship, seeing the large explosion slowly dissipating before turning back towards the others. "Yeah, it sure looks like it."
"Hopefully with the mothership destroyed, they should get disorganized without a force to lead them all." Twilight said as she smiled at the planet of Equus, comforted to know that their home was safe.
"And it's all thanks to you Twilight." Rainbow said as the pilots of Spitfire Squadron looked to Twilight, her returning the gesture as she replied.
"No, we all did it, together." As she said that, Twilight looked to the Whitmore before finishing. "Let's go home." With that, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Soarin', and the rest of Spitfire Squadron turned towards the flagship of the Resistance, flying towards it as they had finally won their short war against the Harvesters.