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// Canterlot Down 
// Story: Second Chance: Darkest Hour 
// by Subject 19 
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It was late at night when Commander Harris finally left his office to get some much needed sleep. Two days had passed and the commander had just gotten word that the 1st Army was in position half a mile away from the Changeling Hive and awaiting further orders. Matthew was making progress in redesigning the CHECKMATE weapons, but he still had some more work that needed to be done. The blueprints to the guns were locked up in a small safe inside his office.
Just as he was about to get in bed, he heard a loud explosion come from outside. He ran to his window and saw that the entire army barracks were now reduced to flaming ruins. The barracks were over a mile long and housed about 5,000 soldiers.
"Sir, we're under attack!" Captain Spitfire shouted as she ran into the bedroom. "Our barracks and just about everypony in there are gone!"
"No!" Matthew shouted as he banged his hoof against the glass. "No! No!" The gray stallion turned around to face the fiery colored mare. "Go to Ponyville and get the Elements of Harmony. Take them to the Crystal Empire." Spitfire hesitated for a moment. "Now you idiot!" The mare nodded and ran out of the room to do what Matthew had ordered.
Matthew sprinted to his office after grabbing a saddlebag to get the CHECKMATE blueprints. If this was who he thought it was attacking, he couldn't let Star Swirl get those blueprints. Once he was in his office he opened his safe and put the blueprints along with one of the SMG's he got from the Challenger in his saddlebags. Just before he was about to leave, his horn lit up and set fire to the office, ensuring that Star Swirl wouldn't be able to use any other files he had in there.
Harris burst into the throne room in a full sprint before stopping just in front of the two thrones of the princesses. "Princesses, we need to leave now!" he shouted. However, the royal sisters' eyes were fixed on something behind him.
"Why in such a hurry?" a calm menacing voice from behind the commander asked.
Matthew spun around to see that Star Swirl the Bearded was right behind him. A light gray stallion with a white beard and mane was grinning evilly at the younger unicorn with golden eyes. He was wearing a magician's hat and cape with a matching night sky pattern decorated with empty gold bells.
"You!" Harris growled. He charged Star Swirl at full force, ready to rip his head off, but a golden blast from Star Swirl sent him flying back. Matthew collided with the wall on the opposite side of the room hard. Matthew pulled his SMG out from his saddlebag with his magic and began firing relentlessly at Star Swirl. The older stallion chuckled as he put up a shield around himself, deflecting the bullets being shot. Before Star Swirl could retaliate though, Princess Luna grabbed Matthew and they were enveloped in a bright light.



When the light faded and Matthew could see again, he saw the inside of the Challenger's cargo bay with Luna and Celestia on either side of him. "A bit of a warning next time?" Matthew commented, slightly disoriented from the teleport.
"I'll remember that," Luna replied. "So what now?"
Matthew glanced at Luna and Celestia before looking down at the metallic floor. "We'll stay here until the sun rises. Then we'll find 1st Army and head to the Crystal Empire. Since we don't know the magnitude of the attack, I think it would be best if we stay outside of Equestria."
"What about Twilight and the her friends?" Celestia asked him.
"I've sent Spitfire to get them out of Ponyville and to the Crystal Empire. If we're lucky, they'll get there before we do."
"And if they're not there?"
"Then I'll move heaven and Equis to get them there," he replied, his gaze never leaving the ground. "My father once told me that every leader makes mistakes and I would be no exception. But that isn't what leaders are remembered for. He said that they are remembered for what they do to fix it." The black maned stallion gave a weak chuckle. "Guess I never really understood what he meant until now."
"What do mean?" the princess of the night asked.
"I mean that I will either be remembered as the one who lost the kingdom to our enemy, or as the one who saved it from the forces of evil."
"It'll be ok, I promise."
"I hope you're right. I really do."
Matthew and the princess left the cargo bay to go explain everything that happened to the soldiers guarding the Challenger. When he stepped outside, the commander notice how calm and peaceful it was. For the first time as Commander of the Armed Forces of Equestria, he had no idea what to do. Regrouping with 1st Army and meeting the Elements of Harmony in the Crystal Empire was a no-brainer, but then what? He had no idea how many soldiers Star Swirl had at his command, nor the extent of the attack. All Matthew had were the 5,000 soldiers in 1st Army. It was more than likely that Star Swirl had at least 5,000 soldiers attacking Canterlot alone, but if he could find a way to kill Star Swirl, his forces would fall apart without his leadership. Yet that just raised another problem: how would he kill Star Swirl?
Pushing those thoughts away for the moment, Matthew talked with the soldiers again to discuss sleeping arrangements, since there were only enough beds for each of the soldiers guarding the Challenger. Once that was done, he informed the princesses of the arrangements.
"The soldiers were kind enough to give their beds for the two of you tonight," Matthew told his superiors. "They sleep in shifts, so all of them will have a bed to sleep in when their shift is done," he added.
"What about you?" Celestia asked.
"I'll be sleeping in the Challenger. I'm pretty sure there are some personal quarters in the ship that I can sleep in."
"Why would you want to sleep in there? I'm sure there's enough room for you to sleep with the rest of us."
"I just need to be alone right now. I'll see you two in the morning." With that, Matthew entered the hull of the Challenger.



The following morning the three leaders left the Challenger to group up with the 1st Army. Since it was only the three of them traveling, it only took them about eight hours to reach Swift Strike. When they finally reached the general, he could hardly believe his eyes.
"Commander Harris?" Swift Strike said upon seeing the gray stallion. "What are you and the princesses doing here?"
"Canterlot has fallen and possibly more," Matthew regrettably informed. "We need to get to the Crystal Empire so we can begin planning for a counter attack."
"What the hell happened?"
"Star Swirl the Bearded happened," Harris bitterly replied. "That fucker blew up our entire barracks and everypony there."
"How many soldiers?" Swift Strike asked.
"About 5,000," the commander regrettably informed. "It's very likely that our other barracks across the kingdom have also been attacked. Once we get to the Crystal Empire I'll try to get as much information as I can in regards to this attack."
"What about the Changelings? We can't just leave them. We might never have a chance like this again."
"General, I don't give a damn about the Changelings right now. My first priority is dealing with Star Swirl. After I've dealt with him, then I'll worry about the Changelings."
"Very well sir. But what about the Elements of Harmony? Are they alright?" Strike asked.
"I don't know," Matthew admitted, his gaze falling just slightly. "But the sooner we get to the Crystal Empire, the better. Once we're there I'll be able to figure out the true extent of this attack."
"How are you holding up sir?" the general questioned, the concern clear in his voice.
Matthew let out a loud sigh. "I'll be fine. I'm just getting overwhelmed with all this shit. Now let's get moving, I'd like to get to the Crystal Empire as quickly as possible."