It was strange for luna to be awake past sunrise. While Luna would occasionally be up during the day to help Celestia with her tasks, that tended to occur in the afternoons. It was even stranger for Luna to be spearheading an operation during the early morning. She watched from her tower at the ordered chaos below, ponies who had combat experience with the enemy they were now going to hunt down. She could see the chariots being loaded with crates down below, roll calls were taking place. Princess Luna's eyes darted away from the ponies below for a split moment to see her sister walking up to her from inside her room.
"Did you learn anything?" Celestia asked.
"We learned much, and yet little," Luna replied.
"Can they help us?" Celestia asked, getting straight to the point.
"The one called Nate seems to have experience leading soldiers, to what extent is unknown. The Courier is... unique, he is a wealth of knowledge that may provide insight that the others cannot, given enough time. This 'John', is ferocious, merciless. We do not know if John is typical of his kind, but it does not bode well if that is indeed the case. We are glad he stands with us rather than against us."
Luna continued to look at the preparations down below, worried about what she might be sending them off to face.
"Nervous?" Celestia asked her sister. Her voice was one of jest and comfort, but it buried a real question.
"Nay, but we do have our concerns," Luna responded, keeping a neutral face.
"Such as?" Celestia pestered.
"The lack of intel on this threat we are to engage. If only we had but more time to scout the location." Luna pondered regretfully.
"The reports you showed me were clear. whatever it is, it's moving. multiple farmsteads are in its path, I'm afraid we just don't have the time Luna. If you don't feel ready for this..." Celestia was cut off by her sister's wing over her snout.
"Don't assume our absence has left us deficient in command. If you recall, We lead the charge for more than our share in the past." affirmed assertively.
"I just don't want you to feel you need to somehow prove yourself, I have complete faith in you and your approach," Celestia told with as much sincerity as she seemed to muster.
But Luna knew that was a lie. Her sister always wanted to be in control, to know every move in advance. Like a chess master, Luna's sister was always three steps ahead. If she wasn't doing something herself, she assigned somepony she knew well enough to act in a way to further her agenda. Of all the things Luna had suggested, Recruiting allies from the other side of the portals was the one option that had shaken her sister. Celestia could trust her student, and she could trust her sister, but outworlders were too much. It was only at Celestia's inclusion of the elements of harmony that the path had been chosen.
"That may be true for you, sister. However, there will be many who will question our capabilities in facing the coming storm. 'Hanging out' in 'Night clubs' may have done wonders for our personal image amongst the ponies, but it has done little to demonstrate our ability to rule. They need to see us as the leader we were." Luna countered.
Celestia did not contend the point but rather brought Luna into a soft hug.
"Be safe, sister." Celestia softly told Luna, and after a pause, Luna returned the gesture.
Luna then watched as her sister took to the skies towards the city proper. Considering how uncommon it was for her to leave without an escort, It must have been a personal trip, and Luna knew where she would be going.
Rainbow Dash was awesome, and she knew it. But as she looked at the sleeping body of Fluttershy in her hospital bed, Rainbow felt helpless. What's more, she was angry at Twilight. While She may have the title of princess stapled to her name, To Rainbow she was still the same old egghead. She had seen Twilight do stupidly powerful magic before but floundered at quick thinking and improvising. Rainbow Dash knew Twilight was not a fighter. However, Rainbow would support her friends as best she could. She looked out the hospital room window trying to find something to focus on since she was brooding, and she hated brooding.
Her Ear flickered as the door to the room was opened, Applejack quietly made her way to Rainbow Dash and pat her on the back.
"Come on Rainbow, Twilight's heading off soon. We should probably say our goodbyes before she gets dragged away."
Applejack began to leave the room only to notice her prismatic friend fail to follow.
"Rainbow?" Applejack questioned with concern.
"Yeah yeah, I'm coming," Rainbow replied while sluggishly turning to meet applejacks gaze.
Applejacks concerned look deeper.
"You alright sugar cube?" Applejack prompted further.
She wasn't.
"Yeah, it's just, I don't get why Twilight's doing this, ya know? We tell her she doesn't have to do this alone, and then she runs off to fight a war." Rainbow vented to Applejack in frustration.
"I know Rainbow, But Twilight needs our support right now. She's a Princess, and she's trying to start thinking like one. We might not like her approach, but we need to stand by her anyway. Besides, maybe she needs this. We are her friends, and we will stick together through thick and thin, but we may not always be there. Maybe this is what Twilight needs." Applejack consoled Rainbow Dash, putting her leg around Rainbow's neck into a one-legged hug.
"Come one, let's go see her off, We might see the Wonderbolts when the chariots leave," Applejack told Rainbow.
"The Wonderbolts are currently in Baltimare, their next stop is Fillydephia," Rainbow muttered.
Rainbow Dash could feel Applejack's eye roll.
"Why am I not surprised, come on, Twi's probably at the reception," Applejack said.
Rainbow Dash gave one last look at the sleeping Fluttershy before being led by Applejack to the stairs.
"Maybe I should sign up..." Rainbow Dash pondered aloud.
"Have you lost your marbles, it's bad she's running off to play soldier, we don't need to be worrying about you too." Applejack snapped at the idea.
"I'm just saying, at least that way one of us can be there for her," Rainbow Dash reasoned.
Applejack stopped her just before they entered the reception.
"What Twilight needs is for us to be supportive, not play the hero."
Rainbow wanted to argue but just nodded. with a nod in return, Applejack pushed open the door separating them from the hospital entrance. Rarity was talking with Twilight as Pinkie was having what seemed like a deep discussion with a clown who had just probably finished performing in the children's wing. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack as they approached her at the seating section.
"How is she?" Twilight asked hesitantly.
"She's sleeping like a log, what about you Twi, how are you holding up?" Applejack asked in return.
"Not great, but I feel this is the right path. No one else gets hurt while I sit back and act like everything is fine." Twilight responded adamantly.
Rainbow asked. she wanted to smack Twilight for putting herself in danger by leaving them all behind again but decided to just push the issue one last time.
"Look, Twilight, are you sure I can't come with you?"
"No Rainbow; As a princess, I need to be able to do this on my own. Besides, Fluttershy will need you."
"...yeah, ok..." Rainbow Dash relented, not having considered her other friend might need her more at this time.
"Don't worry dear, Princess Luna herself will be there. Twilight will be fine, and we will be making sure Fluttershy has someone to wake to." Rarity chirped in.
"it still feels wrong, I should be out there as well, in the action!" Rainbow Dash complained, having started to hover to give her wings some action.
"This Isn't a game, Rainbow! ponies are dying. I'm not trying to impress ponies, I want to stop them from being hurt." stated, coldly at first but getting warmer as she went on.
That, Hurt. That this was how Twilight viewed Rainbow had hurt. Twilight looked beyond the group to see someone, walking off towards the exit.
"I just want to help," Rainbow Dash said too softly for anyone to hear.
Looking at where Twilight had gone, she saw her walking up to the sun princess herself.
Everyone now watched or bowed as Twilight walked right up to Celestia and looked up to meet her. Celestia looked down at Twilight with the kind of concern a mother shows her child, leaving to face the unknown.
"I must ask once more, Are you sure about this, my student?" Celestia asked, almost pleading.
Twilight took a moment to consider it one last time before responding.
"I am."
"Then allow me to accompany you, Luna will be briefing our new guests on the circumstances of today's mission. It would be best to arrive before the away team is assembled, and I wish to discuss a matter of some importance with you before you go." Celestia requested.
"Of course pri... Celestia." Twilight stumbled.
Celestia gained a warm smile at the verbal trip and walked alongside Twilight towards the exit. Twilight looked back at her friends one last time, receiving gestures of positivity from all of them. Even Rainbow buried her concern and motioned to shoo her out the door. She just had to have faith that things would be fine.
The first few minutes of the walk were an uneasy silence for Twilight. Feeling as if her mentor was disappointed in her, she could bear the silence no more.
"Celestia?" Twilight asked apprehensively.
"Hmm? Sorry, I was distracted by the scenery. It's rare these days I get to slow down and smell the roses, or spend time with my favourite student."
"I'm currently your only student..." Twilight added in jest. Looking at her mentor, Twilight could see Celestia was troubled.
"You're still upset with my choice..." Twilight deduced.
"I won't attempt to stop you from joining this conflict, but please promise me you won't forget what helped you get this far," Celestia said in turn.
"I don't think friendship alone can help us here alone, The Elements can't stop all these attacks by themselves," Twilight commented.
"To conflate the power of the Elements and the power of friendship would be to misunderstand both, my student, but that alone is not your strength," Celestia responded.
"I don't understand, If not friendship, then what are you talking about?" Twilight asked.
Celestia slowly let out a soft laugh, apparently, whatever the answer was, it was obvious and yet Twilight had missed it.
"I have every confidence you will figure it out eventually," Celestia said.
Twilight pondered on the meaning of her mentor's words, reaching no conclusion. If not friendship, then what could it be? Magic, her rigorous studying habits, being able to recite over 13 academic books without missing a word?
As they made their way through Canterlot main towards the castle, Twilight noticed something peculiar.
"No one's looking at us, at all. Why isn't anypony noticing us?" Twilight asked aloud. Everyone was completely ignoring the two princesses walking down the street. Twilight normally would still get some stares, even if it was more from curiosity than anything. But the very act of Celestia being here should have crowds and photographers swarming.
"why Twilight, don't tell me you've forgotten what a cloaking spell feels like?" Celestia asked with feigned shock.
Twilight took a moment to sense the area around them and felt the subtle but powerful aura of Celestia casting a continuous spell. Twilight was surprised by how subtle the aura was, a moving clock large enough to cover two ponies was not an easy feat without having a large magical imprint. But what really got to her was how obvious of a spell had slipped her mind, It may have been a more advanced spell but one she had learned years ago.
"It may be simple, but it does the trick. I don't think there has ever been a time when this hasn't been useful. Always confused the guards on their first shifts, they get over it eventually." Celestia said.
"I didn't know you could make it both movable and cover multiple ponies, not without extreme concentration," Twilight said.
"It takes practice, and power, things I have had in abundance. I recommend you start practising, you may need to use this spell more in the future." Celestia replied.
The conversation dwindled as they approached the Castle's military complex. It had been rather old until recent, but the rise in security concerns allowed for complete renovations to begin. It was clear from the absence of some of the newer machines she had seen in the M.O.A, however, that Luna's pet project had received a lion's share of the attention, probably because she was overseeing it personally.
As they walked into the large open area in the centre of the compound, they both noticed a blond-haired human looking around while scratching his head.
" I'm glad to see you have found your way here Mr Six," Celestia announced to the confused man, as she dropped her spell.
The courier jumped away and flayed about until he landed his step and stared at the two ponies that had appeared to have just popped into existence.
"Guagh!! the hell?! Where the-, where did-, what!?" The courier shouted a baffled stupor.
"Apologies, I did not mean to sneak up on you. I'm afraid after all these years, I still occasionally forget that outside the castle, it's not as well-known about my invisibility cloaking spell. The secrecy has its uses, but I still occasionally scare those who are unaware of my trick." Celestia said.
"Actually, it's a little closer to home than I'd like. I'd hoped id never have to deal with a Stealth Boy again." Six responded.
"Stealth boy?" Twilight said softly to herself with a mix of confusion and curiosity as Celestia continued to Apologies.
"Regardless, I Apologies for the Negligence on my behalf Mr Six."
"Six is fine, it is a nickname" Six responded.
"It would be simpler if you could tell us your actual name." Celestia returned with an optimistic tone.
"Maybe one day, but today's not it." Six replied in kind.
"A shame," Celestia stated, disappointed but seemingly unsurprised by the courier's response. She looked to Twilight and said her farewells.
"Luna will be arriving shortly, the briefing will be held in the hall three buildings down. She will be in control of this operation, so talk to her about where you can help. Good luck Twilight, be safe."
Twilight watched her old mentor leave before looking back to Six.
"What's a Stealth Boy?" She asked.
"It's a device that uses technology to make you invisible for a short amount of time." Six answered.
"Without magic? How does that work?" Twilight asked Intrigued.
"I have no idea" Six answered.
A military briefing, how long ago had it been since he attended one of those? John watched as slowly ponies entered and found a spot to wait. occasionally, one would look as if they were going to come over and say something, but decided against it. There was a constant low level of chatter from those already seated, mostly questions about what they were headed into. John had eventually gotten bored of eavesdropping and left his head in the clouds. It stayed there as the room filled with strangers he didn't care for.
"Have you ever done a briefing before?" Nate asked. John nearly jumped out of his skin as his mind was rushed back to the present by one of the other humans brought here seeming to pop up out of nowhere. After taking a few seconds to process the current state of the room, he looked at Nate who was next to him.
"Yeah. It was years ago, but it's not exactly rocket science." John responded, to which Nate nodded.
In the silence, they both watched as another pony entered and found a seat.
"I noticed you have a pip-boy, did you come from a vault?" Nate asked before giving John's clothing a once over.
" That looks like it used to be a jumpsuit." He added.
" Yeah, yeah I was raised in a vault. Don't know what happened to it. What about you?" John said.
" Vault 111, It was a cryo facility. I didn't know it at the time, only found out when I woke up. " Nate said, his eyes jumping about as if the act of remembering was itself a challenge.
"Seeing the wasteland for the first time, it's something." Nate reflected.
John remembered his. being forced out of his home, the complete panic in the vault, and then standing above the ruins of the D.C. area. There was little that could have prepared him even if he had time to, It was unlike anything he could imagine. The skeletons of people trying to enter the closed vault littered the ground. Remnants of one of America's most iconic cities were rotting in the distance, and the whole world had a sick atmosphere to it.
"Yeah... Where are you from?" John asked.
"The commonwealth," Nate answered. "You?"
"Capital wasteland," John replied.
Nate's attention suddenly turned completely to John as he heard his answer.
" Do you know the brotherhood of steel?" Nate asked.
"Unfortunately, I did. I even did some work for them but left not long after the Lyons stopped running things. I don't think they would remember me anyway." John told his little white lie, It just made life easier.
"Didn't like the new management?" Nate asked.
"Something like that," John answered flatly.
A loudmouth heading inside cut the conversation there.
"-And so I find out I wasn't even their first pick for the sixth courier for this client, I only got the job because the previous guy declined." Six rambled.
"What does this have to do with your name?" Twilight asked annoyed.
"I was getting to that, So after the battle of hoover dam, a reporter asks if I wanted to tell my story and-" The courier instantly dropped the conversation the moment he saw Nate and John.
"Aw man, did you two see the beds up there? Like sleeping on a cloud. I've seen the lap of luxury before and that didn't even come close to this place!" Six stated ecstatically.
The sudden lack of background noise grabbed all their attention as Princess Luna entered the room from a side office with two old ponies decorated in medals. Luna gave the room a quick sweep before jumping straight into the action.
"We thank you all for volunteering for today's assignment. As you would all know, each of you was invited to this unit because of a combination of your skills and character. The Ministry was conceived to combat the growing crisis of unknown hostiles appearing from a world beyond our own. The truth is we know frighteningly little of this new world and the creatures that have made their way here. While the Military wing of the ministry is still in its infancy, time is no longer on our side. Just outside the town limits of Stableton, a large gathering of creatures has been monitored moving through the nearby Craggy Swamps. By midday, they will decent upon the town. It is imperative that they are intercepted and removed as a threat. While a combination of day and night guards will patrol the outskirts, our three squads headed by sergeants; Battle Bowler, Rapid Fire and Levee En'masse, will enter. With the help of their assigned human adviser, they will then co-ordinate to devise a strategy and proceed with caution." Luna briefed the room.
An assistant then rolled a large board on wheels over to the front with a blown-up photo with its barely visible contents. The photo was an extremely blurry picture covered in white spots.
John recognised the telltale signs of radiation damage. Wherever the photo was taken, either the location was heavily radiated or the object of interest was. One of the senior officers continued the briefing.
"This was the scouting party's best result in attempting to identify the creatures. Whatever they are, it seems impossible to create a clean photograph. Any scouting party that was too close went missing and is considered killed in action, so the only intel we have is that there are a lot of them, and they're slowly on the move. We're going in; setting a perimeter and containing this before, or in case, they reach Stableton. Once dismissed, you are all to report to your commanding officer and prepare to move out." The Officer finished by giving the room back to Luna.
"You all know what's at stake, the future of this program, The ponies of Stableton, maybe even in time the future of Equestria. We don't need heroes today, just do what's needed and keep yourselves safe. We are all counting on you, Good luck."
As Luna began to leave the building, the Senior officer from before piped up.
"Dismissed!"
In the orderly chaos of all the soldiers leaving, John watched as the other senior officer walked over to the humans who had stayed at the back of the room. She was an earth pony with burgundy fur and greying black mane. The effects of middling age could be seen under her eyes.
"Morning, gentlecolts. I'm Major Farsight, I've been instructed to allow you into the contraband vault to find an armament for your mission." The Mare said. Her stern but neutral look softened when her eyes landed on Twilight, who had been beside Six since the briefing began.
"Princess Twilight, a pleasure to meet you," Major Farsight said as she gave a curtsy bow.
John watch as Twilight squirmed at her title.
"Please, just call me Twilight, 'Princess' still feels strange to me." Twilight requested.
The Major let out a single soft laugh before shaking her head.
"You are so much like your brother, you should have seen him when I first addressed him as Captain of the Palace Guard," she told Twilight.
"She's a Princess? Why did nobody tell me that? She's not very tall." John heard Six asking Nate in the background as Twilight responded to the Major.
"You know my brother?"
"Knew him, I was his superior. Watched Shining Armor grow from green to honour guard. He had the same anxious need to impress others and mulishness for rules I hear you're so famous for. Eventually, his team beat that out of him, then he was a natural. Shame he joined the Royal Palace Guard, if he was regular he would have been halfway to general. We needed the new blood more than ever, but he was adamant. Ending a prince though... he did well for himself." Farsight told Twilight, who listened to the mare talk about her brother.
"Sorry, but you mentioned something about weapons?" Nate piped up from behind John.
Farsight had a ping of awareness as she realised she had become distracted.
"Yes, Apologies, please follow me."
As they moved outside and down one of the pathways, Nate continued to inquire to the Major.
"So What exactly are we going to collect?"
"Ever since the anomalies began to appear, the Guard and The M.O.A have been working together to seize any objects we can find. Everything is analysed and if deemed dangerous, put into the contraband vault away from dangerous hooves. Access to the vault is limited to a small few ponies for testing and maintenance purposes. The Princesses have granted you clearance to arm yourselves for the operation today. Princess Luna herself will be there to oversee your visit. In fact, she should be right-." Farsight stopped as she rounded the corner, John joined her to see Luna arguing with the other officer from before.
"General Brasshorn feels that too much trust is being placed in these strangers. Already considerable resources have been poured into your 'Ministry' which is yet untested or even recognised by the Court of Nobles. Now, this blatantly naive trust of strangers you yourself have admitted you know little about, it's too much for the General staff." The Old Stallion argued.
"You can tell Brasshorn that his concerns are noted, but unneeded Colonel. When our sister surrendered her say in military affairs to concentrate on the civilian side of this crisis, We became supreme commander. Until she decides to reclaim her half of authority, Our say will be final." Luna responded with annoyance.
The Colonel seemed ready to bite back, but decided instead to back down and go on his way. The Major forced a slight cough to get the princess's attention. Luna's ear flickered at the sound and she saw her guest's arrival.
"Our apologies if you overheard that, the high command is at odds with Our decisions. They believe a general mobilisation is a better strategy than what We have decided. Enough of that though, Major, if you would please." Luna ordered.
Major Farsight walked up to the wall that Luna had been standing near, made of exposed brick. The group watched as she pushed the bricks in at seemingly random, and then the whole wall descended. behind it was a short hallway into a large warehouse, the whole aesthetic filled with sleek metallic surfaces and well-lit. As the group went inside, tables of America's finest sat on every surface. John could see rifles, pistols, plasma, lasers, small arms, grenades, and ammunition of all calibres and types. Rows of bullets were placed upright on shelves, whoever had done this had been meticulous.
"Somebody had time on their hands" Nate commented openly.
"Ponies have been working night and day to reverse engineer the technologies for civilian purposes, however, it's been a slow burn to figure out each piece. So, we store most of it here and keep military hardware here to avoid unnecessary incidents. You may take whatever you deem necessary for your first mission. " Farsight explained.
The three humans began to look through each piece while Twilight look at everything as a whole. It wasn't long until John found something familiar, an old combat shotgun. It was worn and bent, but robust and easy to use. After checking it over, he found a shelf of ammo drums and began to manually load them with shells that were in a box.
"Hey, what's this do?" John heard Six say aloud.
Looking over, John saw the courier holding a strange gun. It looked like the insides of a laser rifle had been mounted to a wooden frame. at the back was a glass tube with a crank on it. Six cranked the weapon once and the glass tube crackled an angry red.
Nate stepped towards six, looking at the weapon in his hand with recognition.
"A laser musket, what are the odds this could be here?" Nate pondered aloud.
"What's a musket?" Six asked.
That question caused John to reflect, it was a showing of the courier's lack of education. Because of the few people he had chosen to live among in his past, he often took his vault education for granted. Before he could go any further into his thoughts, he distracted himself with the cloth-covered shoulder-mounted catapult nearby. Ignoring Nate explaining the weapon, he approached the Fat Man Launcher.
"-So they named the weapon after how close it looked to the old colonial muskets. While the lack of casing means it requires constant maintenance, the stripped-down nature makes it easy to repair. Though the chances of this finding its way here is unbelievable, what are the chances a commonwealth design would find its way-" Nate's pondering was cut short by John ripping away cloth covering one of the wasteland's most dangerous weapons.
Before Nate could respond, Major Farsight perked up.
" Ha, Yes, We hoped one of you could explain this machine. While our ponies concluded it was a weapon, they could not understand its launch system nor what it would fire" She said.
"The M42 Doesn't need a launch system, the warhead is a self-propelled system that uses the frame to aim" John explained as he examined the launcher.
"Warhead?" Twilight asked out loud.
Nate motioned his hands to show the size of a mini-nuke.
"A Mini-nuke Warhead is a device about this big that is launched from those things, it's a fission bomb that can take out a small building. Its design was based on the larger version"
"Sweet Celestia..." Twilight muttered with mild concern and cautious respect.
"Except the science never really added up with those things, The amount of fission material needed to set off the reaction would require a payload much larger. The energy requirements alone would need to be fifteen times folded to be possible." John said in annoyance.
Nate decided his adventure at Nuka-world and its secret was a story for another time.
"It's too big to take with us anyway. Besides, we should take weapons we have ammunition reserves for" Nate suggested.
"Yeah, that's about my motto. You choose your guns by your bullets." The courier said out loud as he pulled back the bolt on a sturdy hunting rifle and then checked the chamber. He stopped as he spotted an empty magazine for the rifle on the nearby table. he put down the rifle and started loading the empty magazine with rounds.
Seeing both of his colleagues had found their choice pick, Nate began his own search. Eventually finding a 10mm submachine gun amongst the piles of half-functional weapons. It was a design he had not seen since before the war, being uncommon in the New England area before the nuclear apocalypse.
Once each of the three had chosen their prize, Luna spoke up.
"If you have found your armaments, then preparations to depart can begin in earnest. Major, if you could oversee the final operations, We must return to the HeadQuarters to coordinate our other resources. Twilight, If you could bring our allies here to the landing platforms, The chariots will be waiting. "
The Princess then briskly made her way outside before taking off towards the castle. After a quick nod, the Major left the Vault. Twilight looked towards her human entourage to make sure they were ready before being to leave as well. Once they had all left the building, the secret door slammed shut with force. Six jumped at the shock, being only a few feet away as the last one to leave.
" Princess Luna? For a head of state, She seems invested." Nate noted.
"She's been spearheading every effort to counter the attacks. It makes sense, before her banishment she handled all matters of defence. Celestia preferred the pen to the sword. Ever since Luna metaphorically found herself in this new world, she's been struggling to find a role. However, she's not sleeping or holding night court. All of the princesses seem to be taking this personally, even me." Twilight responded.
"Don't you have a whole government to help sort this out?" John pointed out as he stared at the ponies they passed.
"The parliament of nobles has been in a deadlock on how to deal with the situation. Most of the response so far has been the initiative of Luna and Celestia" Twilight explained.
"So all of this has no national support" Nate Concluded.
"No, Luna hopes that today will prove her plan works. Then she can pressure the parliament to push something through" Twilight replied.
"Let's hope this goes well then" Nate added.
As they reached the platform, there was commotion everywhere. Ponies were on the move, chariots being loaded with cargo and soldiers. The three humans stayed close to the little princess as she made her way through the mess.
"Twilight!" came a high-pitched voice. After a quick look around, Twilight beamed.
"Girls!" Twilight replied as she made her way over to her friends, who were waiting near three other ponies the humans recognised.
"Well... we were waiting for you to show up," Rapidfire said as she cantered over to the humans.
"Sergeant Fire, could you act accordingly of your rank, as given by princess and country!" Battle Bowler sternly demanded.
Levee poked the frustrated Sergeant "Bowler, she's the same rank as you..."
After a beat, Bowler's ears fell. "it was a request of conduct..." He muttered.
Nate smirked at the antics, then turned to see how the princess was doing. She was hugging her friends.
"How did you know which platform we would be on?" Twilight asked in present surprise.
"Rarity and I just asked around until Somepony pointed out those three. We asked them and they said you would be here. I do not approve, however, Rarity, of lying to the checkpoint guards." Applejack said accusingly
"Applejack, Dear, I was only stretching things a little. I did say it was princess business." Rarity dismissed. Applejack shook her head in defeat.
"Besides Darling, We couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," Rarity told Twilight.
"I should be going with you, it's not fair" Rainbow groaned, forehooves crossed while she hovered.
"Maybe next time Rainbow," Twilight said.
Suddenly, a whistle went off and the already busy platforms went into a frenzy.
"That's our cue, let's get moving Ponies!" Rapidfire shouted out as she flew into the sky with her hooves in front of her face to amplify the shout.
In the orderly chaos, Levee addressed the three humans and Twilight.
" Princess, Messieurs." she then gestured to a group of chariots that were ready to go.
Nate entered one of the chariots, he traced the goldwork on the chariot with his fingers in amazement. In his fascination, he barely heard John mumble his discomfort about the transport situation or Six whoops at flying on a chariot through the sky.
He did however notice when the Chariots began to take off. The sudden jolt as the pegasus pulling the chariots began to run and flap. As the carts began to move with haste, causing the wind to blow in Nate's hair. A single voice could be heard slowly getting quieter.
"BYE TWiiliiight, We'll see you when you get baaack....!" Pinkie's voice reverberated across the mountains.
"What a set of lungs on that one," Rapidfire noted to herself. Twilight, who was in the same chariot, chuckled to herself about her friend's antics.