"Straight flush." Sky Dreamer put down his cards on the table, surprising his fellow players except for Lucky Shot.
Lucky Shot smirked and put down his own cards. "Royal flush, read it and weep."
Sky Dreamer didn't care if he lost or not, but he still found it funny how Lucky Shot always beat him. "...You are a cheater," he said, unamused.
"Nope, you're just terrible at this, partner."
Sky Dreamer looked at the window. The sun was setting, and if his calculations were correct, this meant they were one hour away from Stalliongrad. "...Some fresh air might do me good. Good game, everypony. Lucky Shot, hold on to my chips." He stood up and turned to leave.
"Can't guarantee that, partner!" Lucky Shot said as he greedily took all of his chips.
Sky Dreamer rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Oh, I'm sure you can."
As he stepped into the airship's deck, he found it relaxing how there was hardly anypony there aside from the one taking the wheel and a few spotters. He walked around, hoping it would clear his mind for the coming event. There was a small part of him that was having second thoughts, but it was too late to change plans now.
"Oi! Mr. Sky Dreamer!" The captain came to his encounter. "My lads boring you down there?"
"No, captain. I just thought it would be relaxing to come outside."
"Aye, nothing like a calm sunset before the storm that's coming." The captain motioned for Sky Dreamer to follow him to a small table with two crates being used as chairs. They both sat down as the captain took a bottle of what Sky Dreamer guessed was rum and two tankards. "Want some?"
Sky Dreamer waved his hoof, refusing the offer. He watched the captain fill his tankard and drink, looking so carefree despite his role in the Airship and what was about to happen. "You seem too relaxed, captain."
"Aye, why wouldn't I be? When I was serving under a captain myself, my captain always said 'It's no use taking your weapons out before you find the enemy.', and that's been working fine for me."
"An interesting theory, but I prefer the one my Nighthoof mentor taught me. 'It's always best to be prepared for anything, you never know when you will be vulnerable.'"
"Your mentor sounds like a wise stallion-"
"Mare, captain."
"Sorry, a wise mare. And that might work for you Whitegold nobles, but for mercenaries like us, well, we have our own way of living life." The captain laughed as he refilled his tankard and put the bottle away.
Sky Dreamer looked at the north, he could already see some lights. "...Captain, I want to ask you about this ship. Is it well suited for a quick escape under possible enemy fire?"
"Aye! She's fast and durable!"
"And can it return fire?"
"What do you take us for, mister? Of course she's well equipped for returning fire! My crew has been through battles already!"
"Good, because if it all goes according to plan, we might need to escape through the mountains."
"About that, mister. What's your reason for what you're doing? Is it fame you want? Glory?"
Sky Dreamer shook his head. "No, I just do it because it's the right thing. I have never wanted to be important, I just want some peace in my life. And if nothing else, this will bring me a small bit of that."
"Then you are the first noble who walks into my ship and says that. Respect."
"Captain! Stalliongrad is under fire!" a pony shouted from the deck.
"Well, seems like it's your turn, mister!" the captain said to Sky Dreamer, who nodded and quickly returned below deck.
***
The airship landed to the southwest of Stalliongrad, all cannons ready. Sky Dreamer and Lucky Shot were the only ponies getting out of the ship.
Sky Dreamer looked back at the ship and help up a flag depicting the Moon and Star insignia but with a red line across it. "When you see this flag, get ready!" he shouted. After the captain and the crew waved in acknowledgement, Lucky Shot and Sky Dreamer ran towards Stalliongrad.
The battle raged on the east side of Stalliongrad with Earthborn and Moon and Star, and on the west side Stormwing and Moon and Star, however within the city itself it was much worse. Earthborn, Stormwing, Moon and Star battled for Stalliongrad, and the Cult in the city joined in soon afterwards, though by the time Sky Dreamer and Lucky Shot arrived, the four factions had already fought for a while now. Though for the moment Moon and Star focused all of its able slaves to finishing the Idol, Sky Dreamer knew there was little time to waste before they sent them to fight and headed for the slave camp. This time he could care less about being silent, and simply ran as fast as he could, getting rid of anypony that stood in his way.
Once he and Lucky Shot arrived, they saw that the uprising had begun, with the camp guards fighting some of the rebellious slaves while others were too scared to act. Knowing the guards stood a better chance against the poorly trained slaves, Sky Dreamer and Lucky Shot joined the fight, aiding the slaves. The slaves were surprised to see two Whitegolds aiding them, but they gladly accepted the help nonetheless. Once the last guard was dead, one of the slaves approached Sky Dreamer, an earth pony with red coat, a half-scarred face, full brown beard and wearing a thick, translucent fur hat, the fur likely having belonged to an Ursa Minor.
"You fight well, thank you for your help. But why would a Whitegold help us?"
"We are not with Whitegold, brother. I came here to help the slaves, you, regain their freedom," Sky Dreamer said flatly.
The slaves now really were surprised, and the earth pony talked again. "And why?"
Sky Dreamer did not answer, instead just turning so that they could see his slave mark. This was more than enough to answer, though it raised further questions Sky Dreamer did not want to answer yet. "We have no time, we must act now!"
"Yes, we must act..." The earth pony rushed back to the rest of the slaves and spoke up. "Ponies of Stalliongrad! This is our moment! Stalliongrad is helpless! Moon and Star's domain over this city will fall! Now it is time we take back what they stole from us, with their blood on our hooves! They will all pay for what they have done to us, tonight we will be free at last, and we will kill anyone who stands in our way!" he shouted, his fellow slaves unsure whether to follow him or stay safe.
"No!" Sky Dreamer shouted, then flew over to the earth pony, flying beside him. "Slaves of Stalliongrad, I know what you have gone through!" He pointed at his slave mark once he made sure he had their attention. "I was once one of you! I was a slave for a decade, I fought for Moon and Star because I was forced to, I lost my life and my freedom thanks to Twilight Sparkle just like all of you! Believe me that it was difficult to escape and reach the life I have now, but it is not impossible! Look around you! As of right now, Stalliongrad is being attacked by Earthborn and Stormwing, Moon and Star will not be able to hold on to their defense, nor their super weapon, for much longer before Sparkle sends in reinforcements! We must use this chance to regain our freedom, but not to fight! We must fight injustice, but if we go and fight now, we will just become part of the ashes that will be left of this city! We must use this chance to reach the freedom you desire!" Sky Dreamer took off his mask and hood, throwing the mask away. "Today, I do not come under Whitegold's orders, nor for money, but for my duty! Today I come to give you what I regained months ago and we all lost: Freedom! I come to lead you out of this life and into one where you no longer have to live with fear of Sparkle taking away what you possess, hurting you or your families! Come with me, brothers and sisters, and together, we will leave Stalliongrad without its slaves, and Moon and Star will suffer a huge crushing defeat today! We were not born to serve the unicorns! We were not born to serve Moon and Star! We were not born to build Idols for Moon and Star to use against Equestria! We were born to be free!" Sky Dreamer took out the flag and used it to point southwest. "I have a way for us to escape to the southwest! Come with us, and we will take you all out of Moon and Star's reach! You will be free to do as you please from then, but for now, ask yourselves this: Do you want to continue to serve cowardly unicorns who hide behind you, send you to die and don't care about who you used to be before being enslaved? Or do you want your freedom?!"
The slaves felt motivated by this former slave's speech and conviction and could not help but raise their forelegs, everypony voicing their support. Sky Dreamer himself felt surprised and amused at what a moment's inspiration could do.
"That was quite a speech, young one." The earth pony said before talking to the rest of the slaves. "You heard him, everypony! Get your young and your old! Get your things, for tonight we leave!"
Sky Dreamer and Lucky Shot watched the slaves go into their less-than-well-built homes to get what little they could salvage for their escape. Lucky Shot looked at the earth pony slave as he proceeded to dehorn the unicorn corpses in the camp. "So, I take you're the leader here?" Lucky Shot asked.
"You can say that," the earth pony said as he finished dehorning three specific corpses. "My name is Cold Steel, I used to be a Royal Guard before...before all this." He held out his hoof, both ponies shaking it. "Listen, before we leave Stalliongrad, we must do something about our brothers in the Idol. We can't just leave them behind, especially when the Idol is becoming the center of attention."
"You're right. I will go see if there's a way to save them before Stormwing and Earthborn get there. Lucky Shot, you know where the exit is, I'll be there before you get there. If I'm still not there, shoot a flare and I'll hurry with the flag." Sky Dreamer prepared to fly over to the Idol, now close to being attacked.
"Gotcha. Good luck, partner!"
Sky Dreamer flew as fast as he could to the Idol, but to his surprise, there were no living slaves...the Idol was complete. He looked around quickly before deciding if it was a good idea to come back, but held on to the hope there was somepony he could save. What he saw was not a good thing in any context though. Standing behind a line of defenders were both Dusk Fire and Tricky Note. Before he could react to this shocking sight, an Euphoria attacked him and made him fall to the ground. He landed facefirst in front of his two old friends, slightly dizzy thanks to the impact.
"Ooh, look who we have here! Wakey wakey, Dreamy!" Tricky Note said.
"You...two...?!" Sky Dreamer attempted to speak and get up at the same time.
"Funny how desperate times call for desperate measures, right, Sky?"
"I knew you would return to Stalliongrad, so I looked for Dusky to bring a fitting end to this party!"
Sky Dreamer slowly got back on his hooves. "How did you...know?!"
"Just a hunch!" Tricky Note took a spear and hit Sky Dreamer with the wooden, non-lethal end, making him fall on his back.
"Isn't it ironic how the two unicorns you ruined are now this close to ending your life, Sky?"
"I ruined you?!" Sky Dreamer rolled over and got up. "You are a fool, Dusk Fire. Tricky Note was ruined way before I met her again, same thing with you!"
"How dare you?!" Dusk Fire attempted to shoot a magic firebolt at him, however Sky Dreamer's reflexes were quick to act.
"I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice!" Sky Dreamer's blades activated and he charged at Dusk Fire, however before he could get to him, Tricky Note interrupted and put the spear in the way, forcing Sky Dreamer to stop.
Before any of them could move, Tricky Note quickly kicked Dusk Fire out of the way and tried to drive the spear into Sky Dreamer, who did his best to avoid it. It wasn't long before Dusk Fire got back on his hooves and decided he was done being nice. With battle raging around them, the three old friends now fought to the death in a brutal battle where only one could get out alive, putting aside once and for all the memories of their past together.
It was this battle what kept them from noticing something very important. Earthborn and Stormwing had reached the Idol with a Fortbuster and a Roc, respectively, the Idol now fully operational to take them on. While the Fortbuster fired everything it could at the Idol, the Roc used its talons to pierce the Idol's arms. The Idol itself, however, blasted the Fortbuster with one attack. While this proved that this Idol was indeed super powerful, Earthborn didn't take long to bring in smaller weapons in greater quantities, such as their many cannons. When the Idol brought down the Roc, the cannons fired, and thanks to its enormous size, no rounds missed the Idol. Though it took a great effort, the Idol could not stand the devastating attack and it began crumbling down, the magic escaping from the construct's pieces.
The enormous rock pieces fell down on the battling ponies, interrupting their battle. Sky Dreamer was the first to notice and quickly jumped backwards out of the way. However, when Tricky Note noticed, she kicked Dusk Fire again and ran away, leaving Dusk Fire on the ground. Sky Dreamer saw that Dusk Fire was moments away from being crushed to death by a falling rock. Maybe it was sympathy for Crystal Eclipse, or hope that his best friend was still there somewhere, or perhaps the hope that Dusk Fire would redeem himself, whatever it was, it drove Sky Dreamer to fly at all the speed his damaged body could allow and get Dusk Fire out of harm's way. Aside from a stare, there was no time for any further interaction between them as Sky noticed a flare to the southwest. Ignoring his lost energy and his injuries, Sky Dreamer rushed to the southwest of Stalliongrad, avoiding any confrontation.
As soon as he got to the escaping slaves, just a mile away from their escape ship, Sky Dreamer took the flag and held it up. "Now, go!" he shouted as he flew towards the ship, the slaves following him.
The ship was ready to fire at them, though seeing the flag reminded the captain that this meant they were the ones they had to save. In minutes, the ship was boarded by the slaves and it took off immediately after. Sky Dreamer fell to the deck exhausted, though Lucky Shot was fortunately close enough to catch him.
"Woah, partner, you alright?"
"Yes...I'm fine..."
"Are you sure?" Lucky Shot noticed that his friend was badly injured, his stomach bleeding on one side. "Sky, you're bleeding! We need to get you some help." Lucky Shot got his friend on his back and headed below deck.
"Tell the captain...to go through the mountains...Set course...for Redhearth's Refuge." Sky Dreamer struggled to talk.
Lucky Shot left his friend in the care of one of the crew's medics, then ran back to the deck to alert the captain. Going through the mountains, of course, required some encounters with the heavily guarded fortresses and forts. Sky Dreamer was confident that the airship would make it through, however before they even reached the mountains, Sky Dreamer passed out, exhausted from the battle and the injuries.