Carrot Top could see why the ponies of Stalliongrad were concerned about the approaching snowcloud. It was easily the largest one she'd ever seen, a solid sheet of thick, white fluff drifting slowly towards the city. It was also drifting, Carrot Top noticed, at a suspiciously even clip.
"Hmm." The farmer turned to see Commander Storm, who was standing on the crest of the hill with binoculars. Storm was a large pony with a bright blue coat and a darker blue mane; at the moment, he was wearing heavy silver-colored armor that obscured all but a few tufts of his mane and coat. He also, Carrot Top had noticed, had a thicker Neigh Orleans accent than Trixie. "Widgeteer was right. That ain't normal."
Three hundred ponies of the Stalliongrad Garrison--plus one Knight of the Realm--were standing just outside of Stalliongrad's northern gate. Behind them was the massive city wall and then the city itself; ahead of them, a steep descent down the slopes of the hill, and then the open steppe. And on that steppe were ponies, easily hundreds of them, clustered in small groups. None seemed to take notice of the approaching storm cloud.
"What should we do, sir?" asked one of the lieutenants, a short and stocky stallion named Stryker. "If we're going to get all those ponies up this hill, we need to get moving."
Storm gave a short nod. "Agreed. Ah want twenty pegasi to go investigate that cloud." He gestured at a captain, who saluted, then took to the air with nineteen other soldiers. "Everypony else, break into squads, get ahead of the research teams, tell 'em they might need to leave an' so they should get ready, then establish a perimeter--on the double. If that cloud's dangerous, we've gotta protect the scientists as they get back inside the city walls. Knight, you're with me."
Carrot Top blinked. "Uh?"
Storm laughed. "Got a special job for ya. Alright, everypony--move out!" And the soldiers began to charge down the hill.
Carrot Top found herself running too, struggling to keep up with the charging Commander Storm. She suppressed shivers as she descended the hill, noting ruefully how even though she was wearing a thick down coat, hat, and scarf, the cold still cut through them all like a knife. How can those researchers work in this weather? It's even colder out here than it is inside the city! "Who are they?" gasped Carrot Top after a few minutes. "Why are they out here in the cold?""
"Stalliongrad scientists!" said Storm. He didn't even sound winded, despite the rapid gallop. "When lab conditions won't cut it an' ya've gotta test in the real world, that's when they come out to the steppes an' play with their toys. Every day when the research shift starts, whole bunch of ponies leave the city with all these gizmos an' they don't come back till late at night." He smiled. "That ain't gonna stop fer a little chill."
Little chill? Carrot Top shivered again. Try big freeze!
The two ponies soon reached the bottom of the hill and began to run across the steppe, heading for one of the most distant research teams. Carrot Top saw one group of ponies working on what looked like large a huge drill that was powered by magic and was cutting into the frozen ground, and another setting up some kind of antenna. She didn't recognize most of the projects, though. "What do you need me for?" she asked Storm. "I don't understand this stuff and--"
"Talkin' ta these folks. See, if that cloud's dangerous, we gotta get 'em back inside, right? Can't just leave 'em out ta freeze. But Ah know these ponies, an' they won't want ta go--specially if they'd have ta leave behind all their projects. Now, Fisher tells ma you're a real persuasive mare. Convinced a buncha little farms ta unite into somethin' capable of takin' on a juggernaut, right?
That wasn't really how Carrot Top remembered it, but she didn't want to get into that at the moment. "Why wouldn't they just go inside if it's dangerous?"
Storm somehow managed a laugh despite their rapid gallop. "These ponies are among the most dedicated scientists in Equestria! Believe ma, Fisher an' the other industrialists can afford the best an' the most passionate, an' they don't skimp on either, not in Stalliongrad." He leapt over a larger snowdrift. "Remember when Corona returned? Most of the cities shut down, ponies ran away and hid everywhere else, but not here! Factories and research labs kept going just the same. Our scientists wouldn't let something like Corona keep them from their work--so they definitely won't want ta abandon it fer a little snow!" He was silent for a few moments as they passed another set of research teams; they were moving out towards the fringes of the groups now. "There's a couple groups in particular Ah know'll be hard ta talk sense inta, so Ah was hopin' ya might be able to help."
"Uh, sure." Carrot Top forced a smile. "Happy to help."
"Much obliged," said Storm as they passed what looked like a small portable greenhouse that had a bunch of blue banana-shaped fruits in it. "Fisher'll be grateful too. He'd hate it if somepony got hurt, or worse."
"I guess that would hurt his productivity," said Carrot Top.
Even though he was galloping at full speed, Storm somehow managed to turn his head and give Carrot Top a small glare. "Hey now," he said. "Ya think all he cares about is the bottom line?"
"Uh--"
"Let ma tell ya somethin'. This armor we soldiers wear, it's from Fisher Armor. It's the absolute best armor in Equestria; protects 'gainst fire, water, ice, acid, energy, an' of course physical damage. All our swords and spears are Fisher Armaments; also the best. He has entire factories devoted ta keepin' us safe so we can keep y'all safe, an' he don't make a jangle off any of it--all his sales ta the Equestrian Army are at cost." Storm was silent for a moment. "Ah'm one of his oldest friends an' Ah know him better than almost any other pony, so Ah can tell ya, he don't have a selfish bone in his body. He'd gladly sacrifice a few profits if it kept Equestrian ponies--like his workers--alive."
Carrot Top wanted to argue, or at least point out what Fisher had helped do to Ponyville. She could remember those days of agony, when the town's food stores had been destroyed and its rainclouds dispersed, when the pegasi had struggled through triple shifts to try to drive enough dew and humidity from the atmosphere for a few paltry clouds to save their farms and their crops. But she didn't know how to tell any of that to somepony whose life, and the lives of his comrades, had probably been saved at some point by Fisher's cheap, high-quality weaponry.
So she just stopped talking and focused on the rest of the run.
***
Storm stopped at one of the furthest research groups, where two dozens ponies had surrounded a gigantic rigid balloon attached to a box about the length of half a city block--in other words, Carrot Top thought, a zeppelin. The airship was floating about six feet off the ground as ponies walked beneath it and did things with fancy devices she didn't understand.
"Commander!" A plump pony wrapped in a huge fluffy coat trotted up to Storm, who seemed more interested in looking around with his binoculars and making sure his forces were positioned between the research teams and the approaching storm cloud--which wasn't more than twenty minutes away at this point. "Is there a problem?"
"Maybe," said Storm. "Ah'm gonna need ya ta get ya'r team ready ta leave, Zephyr."
Zephyr paused. "Is it that bad?"
"We don't know, but better safe. Get everypony ready ta leave in five. Trust ma, nopony'll be gladder than ma if it's a false alarm, but we can't take that chance right now."
Zephyr paused for a moment. "My own employees, sure--I can get them ready to leave. But a dozen of Fisher's employees are here too, and I don't have the authority to order them around."
"Who does?"
"Widgeteer; FA's Vice-President of Operations. But he's up in the airship, he wanted to be in the engine room for today's test--"
"Ah'm sure ya can find a way ta get somepony up there ta tell them ta pack up." Storm looked at the horizon, then used the binoculars to follow his troops. "Ah've gotta check on the perimeter. Carrot Top, could ya go talk ta Widgeteer an' make sure he gets why we gotta go? Zephyr, Ah trust ya can get her onboard?"
"Uh--well, yes, but--"
"Good." Storm turned. "Make it happen." And he was racing off towards the perimeter.
Zephyr sighed, then waved to one of the other ponies, who quickly began levitating a long ladder down from the airship. While it descended, he turned to Carrot Top. "So! Did I hear your name correctly? Are you that Carrot Top?"
"Uh, I'm the one that's a knight and--"
"Splendid! So glad to meet you!" Zephyr gave her hoof a mighty shake, then began trotting to the other workers. "I'm Shining Zephyr, CEO of Zephyr Industries--thought I'd supervise my crew out here today. First collaboration with Fisher, had to make sure they were presenting me well." He laughed. But anyway, Zephyr Industries makes everything from swords to plowshares--and anything else that ponies want."
"Anything?"
"Sure. At Zephyr Industries, we know what your hearts desire--and we aim to provide a quality, affordable product for whatever that may be!" Zephyr smiled conversationally, pausing only briefly to snap at one of the workers that they needed to start packing up in case they had to evacuate. Turning back to Carrot Top, Zephyr said, "You run a Farmer's Union, right? Need any agricultural equipment? I assure you, our products surpass even Fisher Industries!"
Carrot Top blinked. She did not run the Union, and she wasn't even in charge of ordering its supplies. "Well, actually--"
"You see, we have this new plow that uses magic to triple productivity!" Zephyr gave a smile that seemed to bespeak a very long product pitch. "It's made out of solid--"
Fortunately for Carrot Top, the ladder had finished descending, and she quickly got on it. "I need to go talk to Widgeteer! Bye Zephyr!" And she raced upwards before Zephyr could respond.
The airship corridors, Carrot Top quickly discovered, were ornate. The paneling was exquisite, there were threads of silver and platinum worked into the walls, and while the rooms Carrot Top passed were unfurnished, she could almost see the fancy tables, beds, and cabinets that she knew would soon be there. It was almost disconcerting to reach the engine room and not see any signs of luxury--just a big industrial environment with pipes, dials, gears, and eight or so ponies operating them. "Um, Widgeteer?" Carrot Top called. "Is one of you Widgeteer?"
The worker nearest to her gestured at a scrawny unicorn who was staring at a few dials in one corner. "There he is, mate."
"Thanks." Carrot Top approached that pony. "Um, I'm--"
Widgeteer jerked, as if startled, then looked at Carrot Top. The farmer blinked--Widgeteer had such a big smile on her face that it looked like might split it two. "Would you look at this?" he asked.
"What?"
"This!" Widgeteer's horn glowed and illuminated a few of the dials. "It's perfect! This is a cold, windy steppe, one of the worst environments to fly in outside of an actual storm, and everything is going perfectly! The new stability spells are keeping our tilt to less than .1% on all three axes! The fuel compression spells let us hold enough gas to cross all of Equestria--without refueling, and fighting wind like this--in just one of our tanks! And this--" He laughed. "These are the speed results we got earlier. This airship is so aerodynamic, so sleek, and has so much magical enhancement, that according to these results, this airship could outfly a Wonderbolt! This is, bar none, the best airship in Equestria!" He hugged the nearest panel. "This is the MOST AWESOME THING EVER!"
Carrot Top blinked. This pony sounded too excitable to be a Vice President of Operations. "This is your airship?"
"Yep. Crafted almost every spell on it--plus the design of the ship itself, from the ground up." The pony turned; he was a youthful, spritely unicorn with a messy cerulean mane, a brown coat, and a pair of steel wings for his cutie mark. "Widgeteer, Head Honcho at Fisher Aerospace. What's up?"
"Commander Storm sent me. You reported a storm cloud--"
Widgeteer's face fell. "Please don't tell me it's dangerous."
"He doesn't know yet. But just in case, he wants everypony to get ready to go back inside Stalliongrad--"
"But... but the science isn't done!" The Vice President looked genuinely anguished. "We just implemented a new coolant formula and we've got to know how well it works! And we have a new spell we want to try to improve its turning radius, and a heat spell so it can survive even colder temperatures, and--"
Carrot Top held up a hoof. "I know," she said. It was strange to her that she was, for the moment, essentially a diplomat, but she told herself that she just had to do her best. And it wasn't hard to sympathize with Widgeteer; she just had to think about how much danger she would withstand in order to improve her farm. As the events at a certain farming tournament had shown her, the answer was 'quite a lot.' She could easily understand why another pony would try to withstand a blizzard in order to perfect a project she had poured her heart and soul into. "But there's a lot of ponies on this ship, and we can't have any of them getting hurt, right?"
Widgeteer bit his lip. "Well... I mean, I don't need most of them for the rest of the tests. These guys can leave and I can run the ship."
"But what if you got hurt?" Carrot Top smiled sympathetically. "Don't you have family or friends that would be upset?"
"Well..." Widgeteer hesitated.
Carrot Top took a step closer to Widgeteer. "How's this: I'm in town for a few days. After this danger passes, I'll help you get this airship--"
"Platinum's Pride"
"The Pride ready for another test. And then not only will the airship show everypony what it can do, but you'll be safe and sound to see it triumph. Okay?"
Widgeteer gave her a long look. "Who are you, again?"
"Dame Carrot Top." It was one of the first times the knight had introduced herself with her formal title, and it was hard to bring the word to her lips, but she managed.
"Wow." Widgeteer smiled slightly and extended a hoof to shake. "I guess you know something about going into danger when you have friends and loved ones, then."
Carrot Top nodded, pleased--and a little surprised--that her experiences as an Element were actually relevant. All too often, it felt like she was being hurled into ridiculously dangerous environments that had nothing whatsoever to do with her actual skills of carrot farming. It was nice that there was a little overlap. "I know you shouldn't do it unless you absolutely have to. And... I don't think we have to, right here."
It took another few seconds, but Widgeteer sighed. "You're right. I'll go tell the bridge crew to get us turned around. We'll pick up Team Zephyr and get back to the city."
Carrot Top grinned.
***
"So your special talent's carrot farming? I would have guessed something to do with being a hero." Widgeteer laughed. "I could never do that."
Carrot Top laughed. "I think what you do is pretty neat too. So your special talent is...?"
"Mechanized and magical flight." Widgeteer poked the airship's wall with one hoof. "I've always loved the idea. Enabling ponies to travel really long distances, in luxury and comfort, without having to walk over mountains or fly through rainstorms... building vehicles that could take even the poorest ponies to exotic, awesome locations in affordable style... and, of course, designing all kinds of spells and machines that can beat gravity and air resistance and all that ugly stuff. I've designed gliders and paper airplanes and all kinds of things like that since I was a foal." He laughed. "Wanna know how Fisher found me? One of my gliders accidentally broke through his front window! I was terrified when he came out, but he just told me it was the best he'd ever seen from a foal--I put a few spells on it too, which really impressed him--and he hired me on the spot!"
They had reached the bridge, a sleek room with a few spots for ponies to work, many instruments, and a big wheel for the captain. The front wall was glass, and Carrot Top could see the approaching cloud through it. "That's the storm," said Carrot Top. "We should go before it hits--"
Before either of them could say anything else, a crystal set into one of the panels glowed. "Come in to all ponies!" roared Storm. He sounded tense. "Everypony, listen up! Pegasi just got back from the cloud!"
Widgeteer sprang to the crystal. "Widgeteer," she began. "What--"
"That ain't no cloud!" yelled Storm. "That's an illusion, an' behind it is a whole lot of griffins, longma, kirins, pegasi, an' basically every flyin' critter ya've ever seen. An' they are not friendly. All researchers and scientists, the military will be escortin' ya back ta the city on the double. Let's--"
The cloud flashed, then vanished, and Carrot Top saw thousands upon thousands of flying soldiers.
"Go! Go! Go!" screamed Storm, and then the enemy army charged straight at them.
***
Widgeteer stared.
"Um, sir? Orders?" asked the pilot. "I don't know what--"
"I'm thinking!" snapped Widgeteer. His eyes had grown as big as saucers. "I just--I--"
Carrot Top looked at the army and gulped, but wasn't frozen. Fighting legendary monsters such as Grogar, Tirek, and of course the Tyrant Sun had a way of making things like regular armies seem less intimidating. "Does anypony need to be picked up?" she asked. "Widgeteer, asked Storm if anypony should be evacuated in the zeppelin. We can probably move faster than the ponies on the ground up the hill, right?"
Widgeteer nodded, a jerky, spastic motion, then tapped the crystal. "Storm, need anypony picked up?"
"Yeah. Their far west flank's gettin' ahead of the rest of them. MIght be a tactic or just lousy commandin', but either way, they're gonna hit the weather research team 'fore Ah can get enough ponies ta drive 'em off. If ya can get there an' pick 'em up, it'd help a lot."
Carrot Top nodded, and Widgeteer managed, "On it." She tapped the crystal twice. "Engine room, heading of west by southwest. Fuel mixture... uh..." She looked at the farmer, who gave her a reassuring smile and mimed taking a deep breath. Widgeteer did, and then managed to finish his order: "Seventy percent fuel tank 1, thirty percent fuel tank 2, mix thoroughly. No coolant; won't need it for a quick burst, and somepony tap the speed runes on the back panel. Steering control..."
When the orders were given and the ship began to move, Widgeteer turned to Carrot Top. "Thanks," he said, blushing. "I totally froze--"
"Hey, don't worry. I almost passed out from fright the first time I went up against Corona."
Widgeteer smiled at that. "Thanks anyway."
"No problem."
The ship swung around, but even as it did, Carrot Top could see the griffins and longma diving down at the perimeter Storm had established. Storm's ponies shot blasts of energy at them which knocked a few out of the sky, but the rest dodged and continued to descend. They quickly split into groups of six, four armed ponies and two carrying a single net between them in each one. And as they dove, the armed ponies tried to knock back the Equestrian weapons, while the net ponies...
"They're trying to capture us!" called one of the bridge crew as two griffins flew up with a struggling sodlier tangled in a net.
Then a blast of energy knocked one of the griffins into a loop. The net tore and the soldier fell, caught by two of her comrades. The pony who had shot the energy blast--Carrot Top saw that it was Stryker--gave a quick wave to the others, then turned back to her post. Then the zeppelin had finished turning and the battle was lost to view.
"What can I do?" asked Carrot Top as Widgeteer began to fidget.
"Get to the entrance port and help ponies climb in. I don't want anypony dangling from a rope as we fly away."
Carrot Top saluted, making Widgeteer smile, and then hurried off.
Her confidence faded a bit, though, once they reached the weather research team and opened the port. The sounds of battle immediately reached Carrot Top's ears, and--as she threw down ladders and ropes to the two dozen ponies who were climbing over each other in an effort to get up and into the zeppelin--she could even see some of the fight. A dozen Equestrian soldiers retreated into the research camp, clearly overwhelmed by three times their number of enemy griffins, longma, unicorns (in pegasus-pulled chariots), and even two hippogriffs. Carrot Top knew that the rest of the Stalliongrad forces would reinforce them, but of course, that wouldn't mean anything if it wasn't soon.
"Help us!" called one of the researchers. "Please!"
"Momma!" Carrot Top realized that there was a foal with them, dressed in an oversized coat and looking like she'd picked the wrong day to follow her parents to work. "Momma, I'm scared!"
The ponies began to climb up, Carrot Top and a few other crew members helping to pull up the ladders as they did so that they would get on the ship more quickly, then throwing them back down again. Carrot Top tried to focus on them, but she kept looking at the soldiers. They weren't shooting energy blasts from horns any more but were fending off the enemy with sword and spear. As the farmer watched, griffins swooped down and grabbed at two soldiers; they didn't pick them up but did snag their weapons away with nets and ropes.
"Momma!" called the foal, who was still with her mother down below. "Don't let the sun eat me!"
"I won't!" promised the mother as she began to climb up.
The airship shuddered as something hit it. Carrot Top wondered how many hits the airship could take before it crashed, or exploded. She gulped and hoped she wouldn't find out. And it was looking like they could leave soon anyway--the last of the civilians down below was now climbing into the ship. The mother grabbed Carrot Top's hoof and crawled inside--
The ship heaved again, and the daughter went tumbling off the edge.
"NO!" screamed both Carrot Top and the mother. They grabbed and both missed, and then the daughter was plummeting to the ground. One of the other crew members grabbed at her with telekinesis and managed to slow her desent to a soft bump, but when she tried to raise the filly back up, the ship shook again and she lost her grip. The mother was thrown backwards into the rest of the crew, and all of them tumbled to the floor in a rough heap.
"Engine room!" bellowed Widgeteer over the crystals. "Get your act together! Constant mixtures of fuel, equal heat on the gas, and we won't shake!"
Carrot Top ignored this and hurled a rope down, but it was clear immediately that the foal wasn't strong enough to climb it. The farmer gulped and prepared to climb down. The military couldn't hold off the enemy, the filly needed her, and...
And then Storm showed up.
His horn glowed a fierce, violent blue, and the wind began to swirl. Within moments, a storm formed around the griffins and other enemies, scattering them and sending them sprawling to the ground. "Retreat!" he roared to the soldiers. "Cover the other research teams!"
"But the zeppelin--" said one of the soldiers.
"Go, ya idiot!"
The foal climbed onto Storm's back. He threw a worried glance behind him, where the enemy soldiers were already regrouping, and then looked up. "Carrot Top! Get ready!"
Carrot Top realized what Storm was about to do and carefully braced herself.
Storm whispered a few words to the foal, then threw her and summoned another storm to propel her forewards. She screamed and sailed up, at the airship, through the door... and into Carrot Top's tight grip.
"Got you!" whispered Carrot Top as she fell to the floor, the foal safely nestled against her coat. Another crew member closed the door with telekinesis and yelled that they were clear. The ship began to move a few moments later.
"You caught me!" whispered the foal, hugging Carrot Top tightly. "You saved me! Thank you!"
Carrot Top smiled as the mother began to thank her too. "Hey, I'm a knight," she said. "It's what we do."
***
Carrot Top found Widgeteer in the engine room, screaming at one of the crew members.
"It's not 'a little nitpick!'" yelled Widgeteer at the pony, a tallish stallion with long, scaly wings and an almost dragonic appearance. Carrot Top realized that she was seeing a longma up close for the first time in her life. "You almost killed us, How Sun!"
"Sorry!" snapped How. "How was I supposed to know the fuel mixtures would back up if they weren't babied constantly?"
"Because the manual you were supposed to read--"
"Widgeteer!" said Carrot Top. Both ponies turned to her, as did the others in the section. "It's okay. Everypony's onboard. We made it."
"Not yet," said Widgeteer. As if to underscore the point, the ship shuddered again.
"How many hits can this thing take?" asked How, nervously.
"It was built to ride through thunderstorms. It can take plenty."
"And if it doesn't?" asked Carrot Top
Widgeteer shrugged. "Well, there's a reason the fuel is nicknamed Explodium. But if we can keep flying at max speed, we can outrun the enemy, and if we can remain stable--"
The ship shook three times in rapid succession.
The communication crystal on the wall glowed. "Widgeteer." Storm's voice was flat. "They're sendin' a full detachment at the zeppelin. They might know the knight's onboard--they'd want her more than anythin'. Ah'm moving most of the pegasi ta cover ya, but ya need ta go as fast as ya can."
"We should be over the wall in five minutes."
"Make it three." The crytal cut off.
What followed were three of the most agonizing minutes of Carrot Top's life. Having nothing else to do, she moved to a porthole and watched the battle. The Equestrian army was steadily being pushed back by superior numbers, and while they were keeping the enemy away from the civilians, it was a matter of inches. And the battle was getting more dangerous too. Carrot Top watched as a griffin was blasted with one of Stryker's lightning shots, and it collapsed down, almost taking out an Equestrian earth pony as it fell unconscious to the ground. The research projects that got caught in the crossfire seemed to just add more chaos and explosions to the mix. And the zeppelin was shaking more and more; she saw the pegasus soldiers flying past occasionally, but they couldn't stop all the shots.
Finally, it happened--a loud crunch sound, and then alarms began to wail. Carrot Top was thrown forwards against the window, hard enough to crack it, and then a blast fired by a unicorn--friend or foe, she didn't know--finished the job and blasted a hole through the porthole. The ship lurched, she grabbed at the wall and missed...
And she found herself tumbling off the airship.
The snow, her thickly padded coat, and the low altitude stopped her from breaking any bones, but by the time she recovered her wits and woozily got to her hooves, she could see that she was in the back of the remaining Equestrians. Ahead of her, there was just a steep hill, atop which the walls of Stalliongrad stood. The airship, whose crew probably hadn't even noticed Carrot Top's absence, flew over the walls. More and more ponies climbed the hill and passed through the gate.
Carrot Top realized that she wouldn't be among them if she didn't hurry, and so she began to run.
Ahead of her, to her great surprise, she saw a few ponies running towards her and the other retreating civilians--but then she saw the red plus signs on their coats and realized that these were clinic workers; Sweet Heart had shown them a jacket with the same emblem. As Carrot Top watched, they helped the ponies who needed it; carrying the old, weak, or infirm; providing a shoulder to lean on for those with limps; quick applications of herbs and pastes to those who were in obvious pain. Two swerved towards her. "You okay?" one yelled.
"I"m fine!" yelled the farmer. "Don't worry about me!"
"Then--" began one, and then a hippogriff from above dropped something on them that burst in midair and dumped powder at them. Carrot Top dodged, as did one of the clinic ponies, but the other was hit, and immediately fell over as if paralyzed.
"Hey!" yelled Carrot Top as the hippogriff bore down. "Go away!"
The hippogriff laughed and swept at Carrot Top, clearing hoping to take her down with a few quick claw slashes.
Time seemed to slow. The hippogriff launched itself at her. Carrot Top tensed, wishing she'd paid more attention when Raindrops had talked martial arts to her, and knowing she'd only get one good shot. The hippogriff's claw slashed at Carrot Top; she ducked, and as the claw tangled in her mane instead of her back, she struck.
And she scored a glancing blow off the hippogriff's chest.
It wasn't much, but it did send the enemy spiraling away instead of capturing either the knight or one of the clinic workers. Carrot Top turned and lifted the paralyzed pony onto her back. "Can you run?" she asked the other clinic pony.
The pony was violently shaking. "Is she alive?"
"I think so. Can you--"
Wind from overhead alerted Carrot Top to something swooping at her. Looking up, she saw a longma, this one big and looking mean. A scimitar glittered in its grip. It raised it--and then another pony jumped in and tackled it, sending them both spinning away. "MOVE!" screamed the other pony. "Go!"
The longma kicked her in the side with a massive hoof, but the other pony didn't even seem to notice. She brought up her own hoof and decked the longma into the snow, and then Carrot Top's mind caught up with what was going on. She turned to the other clinic pony. "Let's go!" she said, and began to run. That pony followed, as did their rescuer.
The hill flew by under their hooves. They were still too slow, now they were running with the retreating army, but the gate was just over the crest--it was right there--they were in the internal tunnel--
And then they were back behind the walls of Stalliongrad.
When Carrot Top next realized what was going on, two medic ponies were taking the paralyzed clinic worker off her back, and somepony was thanking her for saving that pony's life. Somewhat dazed, Carrot Top looked around at the massive crowd by the gate. She saw reinforcements from the garrison running to help their comrades retreat, while hundreds of civilians milled around. Fiddlesticks was sitting on a bench, looking at the portal with piercing eyes--and Faqzak Taks, who had climbed a lamppost, was busily snapping pictures. Hirsute Lord, still wearing his ridiculous robes, was shouting for order, but nopony was listening.
"Carrot Top!" The knight turned to see Lyra and Raindrops racing towards her. The bard quickly wrapped her into a hug, which Carrot Top gratefully returned. "Thank the stars you're alright! Somepony said you were in the airship, but then they couldn't find you." She nuzzled him. "Don't do that!"
Carrot Top grinned. "I'm fine, really. But thanks for the concern."
Raindrops cast an uneasy eye at the last of the soldiers running through the gate. "What's going on?"
"Big army just attacked."
"Corona?"
"Dunno."
"I--" began Raindrops.
At that moment, with a massive grinding, the massive gate began to lower. Carrot Top saw one last glimpse of the approaching army, headed by a kirin wearing a thick cloak, carrying an ornate sword, and with the kirin word for 'warlord' stitched into his hat (Cheerilee had made the Elements all learn words that implied 'danger' in a variety of languages). A moment later, a purplish opaque dome flashed into existance, resting on the outer edges of the city's walls and rising high into the air, and covering even the tallest skyscrapers.
"Um," said Lyra. The dome was so opaque that the sun was shutout, and the only light was from the dome itself and a few windows of buildings by the gate. "What's going on?"
"Attention citizens!" Carrot Top heard Fisher's voice, and could dimly see him standing with two other ponies on top of the nothern wall. He had what looked like a large warhammer by his side. "Stalliongrad has been attacked by an unknown enemy. At this time, all entrances to the city have been sealed. For your safety, nopony will be permitted to enter or exit the city until this threat is dealt with--"
"But fear not!" Hirsute Lord shouted. Faqzak took a picture, the flash temporarily blinding Carrot Top, but Hirsute continued undeterred. "Stalliongrad has withstood the greatest armies in Equestrian history. This city cannot be conquered!" There were a few cheers.
Despite the dim lighting, Carrot Top thought that she saw Fisher scowling. "I appreciate that this is a sacrifice, but I promise this--your sacrifice will be remembered. Whatever privations we must endure, I hereby swear that you will be repaid in full." He nodded his head. "Tell everypony you know that there will be a citywide meeting at City Hall in three hours, where I will address the entire populace to inform them of our situation." He turned on his hoof and left, the other ponies--Carrot Top saw that one was Storm, who had apparently made it back inside, and the other was Volk--following.
"Wait, we're stuck here?" asked Lyra. "We can't leave?"
"Apparently," muttered Raindrops. "And given what this guy did to Ponyville, I don't trust what he'll do to Stalliongrad."
"This is his home. He won't hurt it..." began Carrot Top. "Besides, if it is Corona, we can zap her."
"Not without Trixie, Ditzy, and Cheerilee," protested Lyra.
"So they'll come as reinforcements. They know where we are; I'm sure Luna's already planning a response." Carrot Top smiled. "We just need to..."
Carrot Top trailed off. The streetlights were turning on, finally providing some proper lighting, and the farmer could now see the pony that had fought the longma leaving the gatehouse. She was a yellow-coated earth pony with--to Carrot Top's surprise--a carrot cutie mark. In fact, she looked just like Carrot Top, except for her garrish green mane. But more than that, Carrot Top saw her expression. She looked grim.
The farmer hurried towards her, the other Elements following. "Um, thanks for saving me from that longma back there."
"Don't mention it," muttered the pony.
"I'm Carrot Top. This is Raindrops and Lyra--"
"Oh, the knights?" The pony gave a harsh chuckle and looked at the farmer dead on. "Name's Svelte Lord. Pleasure's mine, I'm sure."
"Svelte? The Representative?" Carrot Top blinked. "You--"
"Yeah, it's me. And, on behalf of the Night Court of Luna... allow me to welcome you to Stalliongrad." Svelte flashed a dark, sardonic smile. "I'm sure you'll just love it here." And she walked off, talking to several clinic workers who formed a cluster around her.
Carrot Top stared after her as she went. She also shivered; the sun had only been gone for a few minutes and already the city felt colder. I have a bad feeling about this...
***
"You idiot!"
Corona backhoofed Gloriosis, who was sent sprawling across the snow. "I was very clear that your forces were to use nonlethal attacks only!"
"But--but we did, my queen!" Gloriosis protested. He was shivering, despite the thick cloak he was wearing. So were most of her soldiers, but Corona didn't much care; they could build campfires soon enough. She just focused on the protesting general, who was saying, "We used nets, and lassos, and--"
"Then why did I see them striking the soldiers with claw and talon?" Corona glared at the offenders, who were in magical stocks. "These are mine subjects, Gloriosis! When I once again sit on my throne at the head of the Day Court, they will serve me! I will not see them injured or slaughtered!"
Gloriosis was silent for a moment, before he rose and then bowed low. "Then I tender my apologies, my queen. It shall not happen again."
"It had better not." Corona looked at Gloriosis. "Is this clear?"
"Yes, my Queen."
"Very well. Now tell me: what is our disposition?"
Gloriosis rose. "We didn't get any hostages, but we didn't lose anypony either, and we thrashed their military--our vanguard outnumbered theirs by at least 3-to-1. Got most of their weapons, some armor, and a few of them definitely overchanneled. Their morale should be rock-bottom right about now. Also, according to the train schedule our agent in Moscolt sent us, nothing new is due within Stalliongrad for at least an hour. The vanguard is watching all the rail lines to make sure there are no unexpected trains."
"Good." Corona took the jewelry box that she had recently obtained from a pack carried by one of her soldiers. Opening it, she removed a large sapphire about the size of an egg. "That will be enough time to isolate this city."
Gloriosis nodded. "Do you have any further orders?"
"They should know we are stronger than they are. Now they will cower inside their city while they try to think of some clever strategem." Corona placed the sapphire in a stand that she had previously set upon the ground; the gem glowed with a strange, midnight-blue light. "But there is nothing we can do. We need not waste lives--ours or theirs--in a direct attack around the city. I will guarantee that my sister cannot reinforce them--either with the Elements or the military--and then we need do nothing more than wait for them to realize that their situation is hopeless. They will surrender and we will take the city without spilling a single drop of blood."
She smiled as her soldiers dispersed to make camp. This was it, she thought. The first step towards her recovery of Equestria was well underway.