Bridging Ages, Bridging Worlds

by BlueDWarrior

CH 34: Sunset Drive

=== BABW: A New Conflict ===

=== Chapter 34: Sunset Drive ===

[ January 20, 2082 – Safe Haven ]
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“Remind me to not underestimate the quality of marksman coming out of your academies,” Nero told Frederika, as he watched the young man of a lion-eagle gryphon move through the simulated environment, taking out targets at mid-range.

“His youthfulness would not make him a good ‘camp-out’ sniper, such as yourself, Nero. So we are instructing him in the path of medium-to-long range support,” Frederika replied, as she kept an eye on the monitors showing the overall layout of the test range, and said gryphon’s current statistics for the drill.

“Everyone has their role, - some people can play more of them than others, but everyone has at least one. Just a matter of finding it,” Nero said.

“Sounds surprisingly like how Pony military theorists and commanders talk,” Frederika responded, the mirth evident in her voice.

“Given how they operate, from everything I’ve been able to gather, that doesn’t surprise me. Human and Pony military theory is surprisingly similar, even if the tools we use are much more like what Gryphons and Dragons have or still use,” Nero figured aloud, playing off Frederika’s line of thought.

“True. I guess in the end, with copycat syndrome how it is, you just absorb best practices for the time,” Frederika then figured.

-----

“You can use our weapons well enough, at least the ones big enough for you talons to fit in. But you need to work on keeping your head about you when you have more than two bogeys firing on you,” one of the Gryphon live-fire instructors chided in a gruff tone.

“Yes, sir,” Godfrey replied, politely but curtly.

“In any case, I guess it will still be some time until we can trust you with a solo operation. Thankfully we have enough numbers to where you shouldn’t be left without someone to help anchor you until we get you past this,” the instructor continued.

“It’s just like back at the Academy, they said the same thing…” Godfrey replied dejectedly.

“Thankfully this isn’t the Warfare Academy, otherwise you’d be slow-tracked post haste,” the instructor continued. “In any case, while you’re here will be working under Cpt. Frederika and Cpl. Klaudia for that and other reasons. You just need to remember what I’m sure you’ve heard a thousand times before in the Marksmanship Academy by now: let your eagle’s eye focus, and let your cat’s reflex react.”

“Yes, sir,” Godfrey replied, less dejected, but still upset at his poor performance in that lone regard.

-----

A short while later, Godfrey was sitting in a media room to himself, reading a book written in Kattsprache about a lone soldier’s travails as he made his way through enemy territory to get back to allied territory.

“Reading a paper book, huh? You look like one of my great-grandparents,” Raj chided, as he took up a seat near the contemplating Gryphon.

“I still can’t get used to reading off an electric screen, or that paper substitute. And I haven’t been here long enough to get my own devices, not that I’d have anywhere to buy them until we all start making forward push against the Schwarzes-Schild[1],” Godfrey said, as he stuck a bookmark on the page where he was reading.

“Fair enough,” Raj replied, as he sifted through some things on his compu-pad. “Anyway, I was just seeing what you were up to while that cyan VIP wasn’t around to drive you googly-eyed.”

Godfrey suddenly swallowed hard, as he blushed through his feathers on his face.

“Oh come on, it’s nothing major. Just a bit amusing to see something that’s half bird-of-prey and half big cat be so… oh what’s the word…” Raj started.

“Demure would probably be a good one,” Granite Base said, as she walked in the conversation the two males were having.

“Yeah, Demure would sum it up,” Raj concluded.

“It’s not like that at all… well… I guess…” Godfrey said, his normal calm and even tone replaced by one that was somewhat high-pitched and terribly flustered.

“Seems like someone has a bit of a schoolcolt crush on a certain Element of Loyalty,” Granite Base teased, giggling all the while.

“Maybe, it’s just… well…” Godfrey started, as he knew it would be better if he just came clean about it instead of trying to fruitlessly deny, but still couldn’t get the words out of her mouth.

“Well what?” the human and the Pony both said, as they wanted to hear the genesis of the young gryphon’s crush.

“I had gone to the Pegasus city of Cloudsdale one day with my sister, Gilda. She was just going on and on, showing me some of the sites she thought would be cool, mostly sites where other Gryphons who either came through or lived hung out. And then there was a poster of her,” Godfrey started.

“I see…” Raj said, as he could imagine the gryphon in front of him staring at a poster of the aforementioned cyan Pegasus in some sort of action pose.

“Just… everything about her visually struck a nerve in me. Her eyes, her body-shape, the bright pop of the rainbow streaks in her mane and tail – I just couldn’t help but feel this physical attraction once I had a chance to really look at the poster,” Godfrey said, as he looked on with a bit of a faraway gaze.

“Right, so you kinda fell for the image of Rainbow Dash when you first saw it on a promotional poster. But a lot of people are smitten with images or video of someone, but never really goes beyond that. I think what got your goat is something a little deeper,” Granite Base figured aloud.

“Yeah, that came after Rainbow Dash, Golden Storm, and Fluttershy came to Volgelstad, where Gilda and I live. I knew that she didn’t come to see me, or anything like that – it was more of a courtesy call at the behest of the Equestrian Princesses. But she did end up spending a lot of her time there reconnecting with Gilda in earnest. And from there, I went from ‘she’s an attractive Pony’ up to ‘she’s an attractive Pony I want to get to know personally’. Problem is… I have no idea how to even approach her, especially since she isn’t physically here in Safe Haven all the time,” Godfrey explained, the airiness of his tone starting to rediscover gravity, as he began venting some of the psychological pressure his crush was causing him.

“At least you have a level head about where you stand right now, so that’s already a good start. I could go on all day about people who thought they had met their wife through a VR chat without even once having been in the same room as that woman,” Raj concluded out loud.

“I’m sure such a thing would be difficult to reconcile as an outside party,” Godfrey figured, not quite up to speed, still, with how human telecommunications worked.

“Like you wouldn’t believe!” Raj started, as he began to recount some choice stories while living in and near an Indian military academy in Calcutta.

[ January 28, 2082 – Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, USA ]
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Chrysalis sat on her throne, wiling away her time with another movie, this one from the 2020s, as she contemplated her next move as her drones and other subordinates were busily establishing satellite sites near major human cities.

As she did, her mind began to drift toward a conversation she had soon after her coronation as the new Queen of Envy

--- Roughly five years previous ---

“You’re using too much energy, Chryssi…” Queen Tranquility grumbled as she watched Chrysalis trying to commanding three of her Envy-ling drones in a training exercise against 3 Rage-ling drones.

“What do you mean, I’m supposed to be commanding them directly, right?” Chrysalis replied, as it was clear that she was straining harder to keep control of her three changelings versus the three that Tranquility were commanding.

“No, no you’re not. At least not all the time, trying to maintain direct control of all your changelings like that will strain your personal mana reserve,” Tranquility started, before her eyes flashed in the same bright red as the bands around her body.

As she did, one of the Rage-lings blasted an Envy-ling with a blast of magic across its side, causing Chrysalis to flinch along the same side, almost out of reflex.

“Not only that, but their experiences feedback into your mind. You just flinched like I hit you in the side with a magi-bolt, instead of it playing out through our drones,” Tranquility stated, as she could feel Chrysalis starting to seethe with an anger suited for a teenager with too high an opinion of herself.

“Fine, just… can we keep going?” Chrysalis said, as she continued to favor the side the phantom pain still throbbed in.

“Your call, this is for you in the end…” Tranquility replied as she sighed, wondering when the young Queen would understand what she was trying to teach.

-----------------------------------

“I bet she did that on purpose…” Chrysalis grumbled, brushing her front-left leg against the her left side, the sting sometimes ‘reappearing’ whenever she thought of those training sessions with Queen Tranquility.

“Hrm, I should have figured you’d be in here with your films, if you weren’t in the labs, my Queen,” Kleptia mused, as she walked into the throne hall, to the Queen lounging on her throne, watching movies like she usually did when she wasn’t personally overseeing something.

“Of course, Kleptia. Not much for us to do on the surface other than the occasional spiriting away of someone that catches a commander’s, or my personal, eyes,” Chrysalis responded in a nonchalant tone, trying to imply she was bored of the conversation already.

“In any case, I have some interesting information from one of our ‘field agents’. Apparently the Ponies and the Humans, along with the sundry other species that make up their little alliance here on Earth, have developed a set of potions that can quickly and permanently transform humans into any of the four other species in the alliance,” Kleptia reported.

Chrysalis’s interest was truly piqued then, as she stopped her movie to give Kleptia her undivided attention. “Even with an assimilation pod at full power, it takes 24 hours to turn whatever we capture into just a low level drone. And you mean to tell me they can turn one of these hairless apes into a Pony, or whatever else have you, in minutes?”

“Neither I or the agents were able to verify the existence, but given they originally got this information from an HEA grunt they just so happened to cross paths with, we figure the information is legit,” Kleptia replied.

“Then I want it. Whatever we have to do to get that potion, or better yet, the written instructions for it, in our possession, then I want it done!” Chrysalis stated, the sentiment resounding through the entire hive.

“We will coordinate units to trail whatever HEA squads we can find. I figure once they manage to beat the Society back, the will begin using these potions in the field. At which point we can liberate samples, or better yet, try and find the Ponies and Humans responsible and get them to… volunteer the information to us,” Kleptia responded.

Chrysalis chuckled at the thought. “That would please me greatly, Kleptia. And if I may be so bold, I would trust none other, save myself of course, with this particular endeavor than you.”

Kleptia gasped a bit, knowing that Chrysalis didn’t dare trust anyone to actually run a project other than herself. As soon as she composed herself though, she thanked her sister and Queen. “Thank you Queen Chrysalis. As your loyal vassal, Valet, and sister, I will ensure that we completely disassemble whatever concoction these Humans and their allies have devised.”

= Meanwhile, at roughly the same time, in a ‘conference room’ in the main hive for Queen Ebullience’s Joy-lings =

“So that is what you are intending to do?” Titania II said, as she tried her best to maintain a regal tone, but found the anxiety in her voice constantly creeping in.

“The elders of your hive won’t hold on for much longer, and the Flame of Hope grows smaller and dimmer by the month. We’re at a point to where either you take the Queenship in earnest, or we will lose the hive entirely,” the Queen of Greed-lings, Benevicia grumbled, not liking the situation she found herself in one bit.

“But… I don’t think I’m ready to take the Queenship yet, and… everything that entails…” Titania replied, obviously nervous at the number one duty of a Changeling Queen, which were to provide the bulk of the membership of a given hive through their own reproductive cycle.

“Someone as immature as you have every right to be nervous about the prospect, and yet, if I were to provide you a substitute, would you relinquish the title?” Queen Ebullience asked, her tone stern, yet fair and impartial as well.

“NO! Sorry, but… no… I…” Titania replied with as much anger, and then trepidation, as a mature but still adolescent Queen Changeling could muster.

“Aren’t we a bit clingy… You aren’t sure about being a Queen, and all that entails, and yet you wouldn’t dare trust anyone but yourself with your Mother’s legacy. Am I right in figuring that, Titania?” Benevicia asked.

“No… I… I need to figure this out, but… I don’t feel like, like I can do it here…” Titania responded, as she started to figure out the intent between the plan between the other Queens, minus Chrysalis.

“And your emotion is hope, after all. I can’t think of a better source of Hope-flavored energy than an entire underground base full of sapients working toward improving the well-being and quality of life for an entire planet – at the very least the ones that would give them the time of day,” Ebullience answered, before she paused, seeming to be lost in a bit of thought.

“Something the matter, Aunt Ebulli?” Titania asked, noting the contemplative look on Ebullience’s face.

“I didn’t tell your mother this, at least not so explicitly, but I’ve been working on a theory about what happened to Galvanice’s, and now your, hive by proxy,” Ebullience thought aloud, as she addressed her ‘niece’ and her ‘sister’ by extension. “I believe that the Pax Equus Princess Celestia has passively enacted has actually hampered the outflow of Hope.”

Benevicia ruminated for a few moments, before she offered an addendum. “They say that the fastest way to produce hope is to induce strife, but leave some sort of out – a single light in pitch darkness if you will.”

“If you want Hope that’s pure, but generated quickly, that’d be a way. The strongest the Hive of Hope has been in the last 300 years was during the height of the last war between Equestria and her commonwealths and the Gryphon Federation. When both sides could feel there was some kind of out to finding a way to end the war, the global outflow of Hope energy was at least 50 times as robust as it is now,” Ebullience figured, as she remembered some surveying she and Rozkosas’s [the Queen of Sadness] hive had done in the months previous.

Titania thought along the same track that Ebullience and Benevicia were thinking, and, at least she hoped, came to the same endpoint. “So, since the Human World is filled with strife, but the Human-Equus Alliance, and others, are acting as a focus point of hope… you’re hoping to parlay that into helping my physical and magical development?”

Ebullience and Benevicia were stunned for a couple of moments, as it appeared the ‘contemplative monarch’ section of Titania’s brain had kicked in, with all the high-concept talk around her. After a few moments, Ebullience responded. “Yes, that is the root of this plan. You need to be exposed to as much hope energy as we can find, as fast as we can find it, otherwise we could lose the Flame of Hope altogether.”

“I know I sounded nervous before, and I still am nervous about this whole… everything, honestly. At the same time, I know my late mother cared deeply for the well-being of the Hive and the Flame of Hope, and whatever I will need to do to ensure that it survives and thrives, I will do,” Titania stated with as much resolution her immature body and mind could manage.

Ebullience was comforted by the resolution she saw in the eyes and heard in the voice of her ‘niece’ and younger ‘Queen Sister’, but still felt that something was missing from this endeavor. “While I appreciate your honesty and forthrightness, you are still a young Changeling, Queen you may be as well. So I’m leaving you with one of my trusted Valets as a liaison and minder.”

“Huh?” Titania thought, as she saw the wavy-curls of a certain gold-mane and fringed Joy-ling enter the meeting room.

“Hiya-Hi Queen Ebulli, Benni, and Tí-tí[6] !” the eager Joy-ling sung out, as she curtsied in deference to the three Queens before her, even if her words didn’t exactly imply such.

“Wait? You’re sending me over there with Niche?!” Titania asked, now thoroughly confused by Ebullience’s intent.

“I had the same exact reaction when she first started talking about specifics to me a couple of days ago, Titania…” Benevicia added, as she waved politely to the humming Valet of Queen Ebullience.

“Considering the martial power at Safe Haven, and that the Princess and Councilmembers will be duly informed of your presence, I didn’t necessarily need to send a Special Guard with you,” Ebullience started.

“Plus I wanna see what the Earthlings are like. Anytime I can find a new well of Joy is a super happy time for me~” Niche sung again, interrupting her Queen.

“Right, Niche. As you all know, Niche is my ‘canary’ for finding either existing sources of Joy energy, or where we can ply our trade to create one,” Ebullience stated matter-of-factly.

“True, she is pretty good at finding Joy or coaxing someone else into generating it…” Titania reasoned, still wondering if she’d be alright with the flighty valet as her minder and confidant.

“Don’t worry about a thing Titania. I swear upon Ebullience and the Flame of Joy’s names that no harm will come to you while at Safe Haven while I am there with you,” Niche stated, with her own particular flavor of firm resolution.

“As odd as she is, I’ve seen her at work, and she is effectively a living dowsing rod for emotional energy. If she needs to find Hope for you and joy for herself, I can’t think of another Valet I’d trust with the job,” Benevicia attested, much to the (vigorous) nodding agreement of Niche.

“Welp, looks like we’re gonna have a lot of time to get to know each other better, huh Tí-tí,” Niche said, siding up to the young Queen with a wide smile.

“Yeah, it certainly looks that way,” Titania replied, wondering just what her Aunt(s) had roped her into.

[ February 14, 2082 – Safe Haven ]
=================================

“As much as it’s still weird to be here after all this time, when we can make a room like this for our own little private dinner… well… I’d be an idiot to pass it up,” Golden Storm said, as he looked at his beau and the dinner spread he (and Vague and Hana) prepared for his and Red Blaze’s evening get-together.

“Yeah, though I wonder just how much work you did putting all of this together,” the fire-engine-colored Unicorn mused aloud, in a bit of a teasing tone – much to the chagrin of the golden-yellow Pegasus before her.

“Oh come on, I’m not that bad of a cook. I think I’ve done a good job learning how to cook for our new forms given how I didn’t cook much as a human. Didn’t really have to in retrospect…” Golden Storm replied in a somewhat defensive tone.

“Just giving you a bit of loving grief. I think you look cute when you’re flustered,” Blaze replied with a giggle, before she at some more of the salad that made up the main course.

Golden Storm blushed as he returned to eating - not wanting to disagree but not exactly accepting of looking ‘cute’ either.

“But getting back to the real world, a bit, how is everything going with Terry and the others?” Red Blaze asked, as Golden Storm had become the unofficial liaison between the Conduits and the ‘forward guard’ of the HEA proper.

“Actually, going pretty well. Pamela and Vague have done a good job coding the practice rooms to where they can provide pretty good simulations of actual human and mechanical targets and opposing forces. So we are seeing the techniques and equipment we’ve developed here holding up pretty well out in the field,” Golden Storm replied, as they continued eating, Blaze making sure to pour some of the various salad dressings since Storm decided on ornate, and therefore hoof-unfriendly, jugs.

“So I heard. Thankfully my contact list on the outside hadn’t dried up too much in the last few months, either. In fact, some of my major intelligence waypoints in Russia proper have joined the fight against the Reznokov’s shadow government,” Blaze mentioned, as she thought about her own work in conjunction with some of the spies and intelligence analysts employed by the HEA.

“Don’t you think that’s ascribing a little too much power to them. I mean I know of your personal history, and their long, long, long record of double dealing in both Russian domestic and international criminal activity. But to say they are Russia’s Shadow Government now?” Golden Storm wondered aloud, not necessarily disagreeing with his marefriend, but more confused by the implication of calling them a ‘shadow government’.

“I don’t say it to be cute, or to be melodramatic, Storm; and you know I’m never that way when it comes to my profession. I am utterly convinced the Sokolov regime is not more than the total puppets of the Reznokov crime family. Though there is another angle I’m trying to figure out,” Blaze stated, losing most-to-all of the romantic tone she had a few moments ago.

“Hrm… let me guess. The Reznokov’s aren’t the only puppeteers trying to move the marionettes?” Storm contemplated aloud, trying to anticipate Blaze’s next statement.

“More or less, I think there are competing interests, just like with the SPH at large, that are trying to direct things ultimately. The only thing holding them together is perceived success, success that is starting to run into the Anti-Syndicate[4]’s roadblocks,” Blaze reported from her summations of current events she had delivered to the HEA council a couple of days previous.

“Which also sounds like what is going on with the SPH at large. They aren’t coordinated enough to hold all of the territory they got decapitating governments when they did. Though that doesn’t say a whole lot good about the governments they knocked off before they fell,” Storm figured, coming to that ugly realization.

“No it doesn’t, but we still have more than a fighting chance to repair things before the Mythiks arrive en masse. Once that starts happening, there is absolutely no telling how crazy things could or would get,” Blaze continued.

“True, I mean look at all the chaos, injury, and death that one Nightmare-looking Mythik caused in Charlotte all those weeks back,” Storm offered as an example.

“Yeah, the last thing any of us need would be to be trying to beat back Mythiks like them, and trying to fight the SPH at the same time. Eventually push is going to come to shove and we will either have to restore the old governments back, or create new ones to at least hold things together for everyone, instead of the ‘fortunate few’,” Blaze concluded, nodding as she did.

Storm thought for a while, as he chewed on a few bits of shoestring carrots.

“You know, that’s probably going to involve us one way, or another, before long. I mean the Mythiks will probably be ‘our’ problem since they’d be magical in nature, I’d assume. But, well, given what Power is, honestly… if we wanted to be, we could be considered living weapons,” Storm concluded with a bit of a morose tone.

“I thought I would be the only one carrying that burden since Fire is the aspect of our group that’s most obviously used as a weapon. But really, any of us, if we were sufficiently motivated, could be harbingers of ruin,” Blaze thought, as the both of them came to the same realization.

“I guess that’s what Vague went through when that Parasite hijacked him. We saw how something like Water could be weaponized, and he didn’t even have a long life of being a spellcaster for that… thing… to draw on,” Storm realized.

“Yeah, though… well… it might sound counter-intuitive, but…” Blaze started, as she tried to formulate the right phrasing for her statement. “I think being out there and seeing first-hoof how magic of all kinds is and isn’t being used, and just becoming used to being constant users of this Power would help us appreciate it and get finer control over it.”

“But the two of us have less reticence for that line of thinking, being in life or death situations – admittedly you more than me. I just worry that Vague and Hana would unduly fear what they’re carrying around with them,” Storm concluded.

“So are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Blaze wondered, with a bit of a devious tone.

“I’m thinking… a certain raven-haired girl might be getting a courtesy call about a simulation platform, just for the four of us,” Storm replied.

Blaze giggled, as she nodded her head in agreement. “Should be fun, shouldn’t it?”

“Hey, I’m always down for a good game!” Storm replied, as he looked on lovingly into the eyes of his marefriend, said marefriend returning the gaze.

“Anyway, just what is it that Terry and the others are up to, I’ve hardly been able to get any kind of intel, not even a passing comment out of them,” Blaze wondered, as the pair moved on to light pork casserole.

“Sorry, babe, but they swore me to secrecy too. But I can give you a hint. What you can’t make up with in numbers, we’re gonna try and make up with in specialized equipment. Now beyond that, you’re just gonna have to wait and see,” Storm replied, as he cut and scooped a fair-sized portion for himself and Blaze from the service tray.

“Of course they’d put you up to holding this secret,” Blaze said in a faux-annoyed tone.

“Loose lips and all,” Storm responded, as the two went back to eating.

[ March 01, 2082 – Near Hyde Park, Chicago, USA ]
=================================================

“I’m still upset that we couldn’t hold this in our own home territory,” Amanda complained, as she sat with Enrique and some other higher ups in the Flames of SOCAL, the recently rechristened resistance force out of Southern California (based mostly in Los Angeles still).

“And there is nothing that we can do about it now. Everyone agreed on this meeting to be in Chicago, including yourself, after a lot of them talking you down, remember?” Enrique responded.

“Yeah…” Amanda grumbled, as it was clear she was still displeased, but decided that discretion was the better part of personal valor.

“While the method of transportation was less obvious, given the HEA’s magi-technology, it’s better to take a more central location. After all this meeting does involve both Canadian and American resistance groups,” the leader from the Sunshine Volunteer Force said, as he waited for the speakers to start.

After a few more moments of cross talk amongst those seated near each other in the refurbished community meeting hall and the meeting proper started, with Councilman Edwards of the HEA walking up to the podium with two men to his side, one in his early 30s and the other in his late 50s.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. My name, which many of you have likely heard already, is Councilman Richard Edwards of the Human-Equus Alliance. I’m here today to brief all of you, as leaders of many of the forces who found themselves in, or plainly made themselves as, opposition to the Society for the Preservation of Humanity,” Richard started; as the men and women, about one hundred strong, applauded briefly in the interlude the speaker allowed.

“I do not need to tell you all why we are here, for the reasons are many and numerous. Nor do I ask you all to agree with our aims in totality, or become some kind of subsidiary with us,” Richard continued, as the VIPs continued to listen. “I do believe, though, that we should be able to enter into a mutual partnership.”

As he finished his statement, the older of the men who walked up to the podium with Richard then addressed the gathering. “Thank you, Mr. Edwards. My name is Former Secretary of Defense David Richardson. I lead a small contingent of government loyal forces out of Washington here to Chicago, and from here established the beginnings Chicago Branch of the Great Lakes Resistance Front. As you well know, we have enough technology and personnel to fight the current SPH forces to a standstill, but that is about as much as we have been able to do. It wasn’t until the HEA joined the fight with us that we have been able to free many of the major metro areas in Canada and the United States.”

The crowd murmured as they considered the words of the former Secretary so far.

“At the same time, the HEA has the problem of not having enough forces on their own to push into the stronghold, as far as we can tell, of the SPH, which is the corridor from Washington to Boston, going through Philadelphia and New York City. Concurrently, the forces we have managed to field in those cities have found little to no purchase; only able to nibble around the far edges.”

Most of the crowd nodded in agreement.

“Therefore, we wish to establish a joint venture between the HEA and the various militias that you all represent, both in reality and in spirit. Late in the spring, we believe we will have a window to strike directly at the heart of the beast, as it were, in a coordinated attack on their southern flank, to free D.C. and allow ourselves a much better means of coordinating further assaults on the rest of their stronghold, going up the Mid-Atlantic into New England.”

Captain Julio then stood at the lectern looking over the whole of the assembly, taking a deep breath, and then proceeding.

“The HEA contingent will be specialized forces, both Human and Alien, as well as providing technology, supplies, and logistical support for all the militias that request it. We do not believe that we can create a lasting window to restore the governments unless humans are the clear spearhead of this operation. At the same time, we would be remiss to ignore the assistance the Equuan species can provide for us, both offensively and defensively. Ultimately, we in the HEA believe that a only combined effort can create the foundation for something that can last well beyond the scope of rooting out the SPH from their North American stronghold.”

The crowd murmured again, some not terribly pleased with the implication that they couldn’t solve the problem themselves, but others stating that they might not have the time for a protracted war of attrition with the SPH, A debate that played out in the persons of Amanda and Enrique.

A short time later, Amanda and Enrique were off to themselves, as most of the assembly broke up into small clusters for one on one conversations with prospective liaisons from the HEA. One such liaison was a man of 32 years of age and fair skin named Todd, a Canadian-American with no small amount of mercenary experience.

“And that’s the part that’s rubbing me the wrong way about this, Todd,” Amanda complained, as Todd listened as patiently as he could manage given the off-putting tone the young woman was taking with him.

“And all we are trying to say is that we aren’t trying to Bigfoot you all, just provide material support and other assistance as you need it. Like Councilman Edwards said earlier, we aren’t going to get anywhere with the lack of manpower we have, and you all aren’t going to get anywhere with the lack of tech you have,” Todd responded, as aggravated about the situation as Amanda was.

Enrique, for his part, just sighed as he tried to turn down the temperature on both sides. “Look, we do understand what you are trying to accomplish with all of this, Todd. We’re just trying to make sure that things on our end work out the way they are supposed to, as well.”

“I don’t know, it just sounds like Amanda doesn’t want anyone else being able to do anything in South California she isn’t personally directing,” Todd wondered aloud in a fairly accusatory tone.

“And why is that a bad thing? It was my leadership and direction that pushed the SPH all the way back to the Burbank Domes,” Amanda responded in a churlish tone, one more befitting a 17 year old than a 27 year old (that she apparently looked like).

“Which is fair and correct, but you don’t have the resources to completely uproot them out of the Domes. That’s what we are trying to get you all to realize. And both our organization and yours know they have more tech they are getting ready to put out on the field. We’ve got to be able to coordinate all of this in terms of who is responsible for what, before we all get caught flat-footed and lose everything that’s been gained over the last few months,” Todd responded, trying to resume a more professional tone.

Damn it all, he’s right… But at the same time… I don’t want anything to do with Celestia’s little cadre, especially if it means that purple know-it-all might get involved too… Sunset thought to herself, as she tried to regain some sense of ‘professionalism’ herself through her Amanda persona.

A sense of professionalism she would need to a large extent in the immediate future, as an urgent message was sent to Enrique through his secure comm link.

“Oh for the love of… alright… alright, damn,” Enrique cursed as he took the message from an Inglewood contingent with about the worst news he could think of in the circumstance.

“Amanda, Todd, I think this new alliance is about to get tested right off the bat; scouts and com-drones reportin’ a big troop movement heading out from Burbank,” Enrique said, as he closed his eyes for a few moments to focus on the mental images being shown in his cyber-implants. “Right… that’s certainly more than what we have in Whittier and Long Beach. Damn we might have to call everyone from Riverside to Simi trying to fight all them off…”

Amanda grumbled audibly in frustration, as she sat back down in a nearby chair, waiting for the similar information to appear on her mini-pad so she can formulate where to send people to try and stem the flow until she could arrive properly.

“Miss Amanda, I know this is your fight primarily, but we stand ready to render any aid you require. Los Angeles is a vital metro area, and we can’t afford you all to lose your position any more than you all can,” Todd stated in a resolute tone, knowing full well it was Amanda’s call to make in this phase of the coming battle.

Councilman Edwards might sound like someone who is willing to let things lie if no one moves… but Todd told me everything I need know in those two sentences. He and the rest of the council won’t hesitate to drop their own forces in the LA metro to make sure the SPH can’t reestablish control of the un-Domed areas. If I just let them do what they want to but do it now, I can preserve my own command, instead of having to wait for them to bail me out. Ugh, I hate this situation so much… Sunset thought inwardly, as ‘Amanda’ never seemed to break her contemplative pose.

“Let me get back to Los Angeles to see what is going on with my own eyes. At that point, I’ll tell you what I need from the HEA, if anything,” Amanda said with a stern tone, as she was none too pleased with what she was seeing pop up on her mini-pad.

-= A few moments later, in Pasadena District, Los Angeles, CA =-

“And we’re back… forgot how fast that would have been…” Amanda said, as she took a few moments to reorient herself to real-space after traveling through the Shadow Magic derived subspace tunnel back to the point she and Enrique left from a couple of hours previous.

“Yeah, it sucks using it the first few times, but you get used to it,” Todd replied, as Enrique looked only slightly better for wear compared to Amanda.

This alien body is making it harder to get re-oriented to real-space after a teleport that long. At least it wasn’t an Equestrian Magic though, otherwise I’d be laid up in a bed for the next three hours… Sunset thought to herself, as she finally shook the cobwebs in her head loose enough to take the reins of the situation in the Northern LA metro area which had suddenly found itself a magi-tech battlefield.

“Do we have a damage and casualty report?” Amanda asked, as she exited the ‘transport’ room that she called the broom closet they teleported out and just-then in from.

A young woman of 22 years of age ran up to her and responded. “Yes ma’am! 35 injured, 10 severe, 2 deceased. 10 buildings with significant damage, though we don’t have a very good accounting of any civilian injures.”

“Damn,” Enrique started. “We only have a few hundred on the field right now. And I hope those aren’t residential buildings. I doubt the Outsider hospitals can take too many cases. Especially if the SPH want to try and start cutting power and supplies.”

“I can get medics down here if you need them, but it sounds like you are gonna need more than bandages and healing magic,” Todd responded, as he opened up a com-link on his own mini-pad, but kept it on standby until he could assess what Amanda might need.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need whatever gear you all have to spare, and people too…” Amanda said, the consternation in her face obvious to both Enrique and Todd. “My force is only a thousand strong in total, and you can see already what they’ve started rolling out.”

Todd, looked at the monitor of the drone feed from near Glendale district, near the old site of the Rose Bowl Athletic Complex. “What in the blue hell? Thaumatically-powered tanks?”

“Yeah, apparently we’ve pissed them off and good for them to start rolling out the literal heavy artillery,” Enrique stated, as it was clear his war ‘footing’ was engaged.

Great… just great… Sunset thought to herself, as she took a look in a mirror, cursing the form she had at the moment. She clenched a fist in frustration, traces of red starting to show up on her face and hands. As everyone, especially Enrique could feel the temperature rising in the room they were in.

“Is it just me or did someone turn off the climate control in here…” Todd asked, as he was starting sweat a bit already.

“No, that’s what happens to Amanda when she gets good and pissed. It feels like she’s an actual raging inferno in a human body…” Enrique said, as he grew concerned for the rebel leader.

I am going to burn every single one of those damn machines until they’re nothing but charred and half-melted wrecks!! Sunset screamed in her head, as she tried her best to keep her emotions under control, and realized that she had so much pent up aggression that she honestly had no choice but to make the decision she was about to make.

“Todd, I want you to formally request assistance from the HEA’s militia, tell them to send whatever medical staff they got to spare down here as well. But give them one friendly warning: if they see a red-headed woman with red and gold jacket armor, stay as FAR away from her as they can manage,” Amanda replied through gritted teeth, as she walked brusquely toward a little used area of the building the Flames of SoCal called their home base.

“Yep, that’s what I figured,” Enrique said, as he sent a silent message to another part of the building.

“Figured what? She sounded like she was like a geyser about to blow,” Todd replied, confused by the barely restrained rage he just saw (and felt) from the rebel leader.

“Because she is. She’s been watching this stalemate persist for months, and now it’s about to be broken to her disadvantage. Even though we have a lot of Magi, we don’t have a lot of equipment or personnel to protect them, that’s why these Thauma-Tanks are a problem. So I would highly suggest you get some heavies down here so we can clean this little problem up, before we lose all of LA back to the Black Shield,” Enrique responded, as he began to jog toward another end of the building.

--- ---

“And that’s what Amanda’s lieutenant told you?” Capt. Julio asked pointedly of Todd, as he looked at what he had able to deploy, which was surprisingly quite a large selection given the lack of activity from the SPH or other heavily-armed enterprises other than the ongoing battle in the Los Angeles metro.

“Yeah, she says that they don’t have much heavy arms or equipment, so thaumatically-armed and powered tanks could pose an insurmountable problem for them,” Todd responded, as he stood in the hallway away from most prying eyes and ears, as he relayed the information back to Safe Haven.

“I think I got just the thing, and it’ll give us a chance to test some equipment we’ve been working on over here too. I want to see if the claims from the engineers are true about that OMS[4] Armor, in any case,” Julio responded.

“Isn’t this situation kinda critical for a live test of that thing?” Todd questioned, not sure if now was the right time for the OMS to be debuted.

“Maybe, but sometimes the only way you can get the real scope of equipment is to actually throw it in the fire and see if it melts or not,” Julio replied. “I’m pretty sure that’s the exact reasoning behind the SPH mobilizing those thauma-tanks after having them in Burbank not doing anything all these months.”

“Fair point, just make sure Terry and the others are ready to move. And make sure to tell them not to interfere with… who was it again… oh right, supposedly a woman in gold and red jacket armor,” Todd replied.

“Red and gold jacket armor? Not sure I’m following you,” Julio replied, as now he was confused by what was going on.

“Apparently Amanda has had about enough of being on the sidelines, and she’s taking a field command position. In the end, this is her fight, we’re just support, so I don’t want our alliance to hit a snag on the first day,” Todd replied, now committed to let the almost-30 year old resistance leader do whatever she was aiming to do and waiting for further instruction.

“Alright, you have field command of our forces, and I’m sending some mini-drones with them, so we can keep an eye on Miss Redhead,” Julio concluded, as he broke off the comm. stream.

“Haven’t been around her for an hour and I’m already wary of inciting her. Such a weird vibe she’s giving off…” Todd thought to himself out loud, as he prepared to receive the forces from Safe Haven.

--- ---

Amanda sat in her private ‘war room’, as she looked at the helmet and armor the other members of the Flames made for her in the last couple of weeks, as they reverse engineered scrap armor from the SPH and a few gifts of raw materials from the HEA before they finalized the formal alliance.

She held the helmet in her hands, contemplating what she was about to do, and what had happened before.

Do you realize what an Alicorn truly is… she heard echo in her head, as she held the helmet in her hands, looking at the faintly tan skinned, red-oranged haired woman reflected in its facing; reminding the humans of someone of strong Irish descent who had been out in the sun for a long time. But she knew better of the image she saw in the faint red-tinted nano-plastic[5].

Do you have any concept of what you were attempting?! She heard echo in her head from the headmistress of the School for Gifted Unicorns, and more importantly in that moment, the Head of the Equestrian Justice System and Princess of Equestria and all her commonwealths.

Amanda sighed as she couldn’t seem to avoid the memories, so she allowed herself to relive that encounter

---

“I will ask you again, Sunset Shimmer, do you truly understand the full consequence of what you were prevented from attempting,” Princess Celestia asked, her tone unnervingly devoid of the righteous fury that Sunset thought she had steeled her mind to.

The young mare, barely past the age of 16, stared into eyes of the Monarch of Equestria. As much as she wanted to hang her head in shame, permanently, in said monarch’s presence, she could feel an unbearable weight pushing her skull upward, and focusing her eyes forward to meet the 2-Length tall, alabaster white Alicorn’s gaze.

It felt like the entire weight of the Sun itself was pressing down on Sunset’s back, and there was this unbearable heat that wasn’t heat… it was something else… something that Sunset couldn’t quite remember.

Oh, that’s right… that… radiation that Physics teacher was talking about for one of the hard science lectures Twilight dragged me to. Of course Celestia would make her my underclass partner… Sunset thought suddenly, as she could remember the effect of ultraviolet radiation and higher, a searing energy that might not burn at first, but after some time, you would feel your very being begin to disintegrate, as your very cells would begin to mutate and fail, and eventually, you would die a slow horrible death from every system in your body collapsing into un-functioning.

That was how she felt in the moment… that Celestia’s gaze was like her beaming gamma rays directly into her soul, causing every system in her body to slowly disintegrate, leaving behind a charred corpse.

“I… I…” Sunset started, before Celestia held up a hoof, bidding her to fall silent again.

“I can answer that question for you, with fair confidence – no, no you couldn’t have understood. No one save my interred sister and my niece can even begin to fathom what it is to be us…” Celestia started, as she kept her stern, neutral look firmly locked on the slightly quivering orange-ish yellow Unicorn before her in the private chamber.

“But I…” Sunset started, before she suddenly clammed herself up.

Celestia was intrigued by the potential of the statement Sunset had tried to utter. “But, you what, Miss Shimmer?”

“I… if I… everyone would recognize me… if I was like you…” Sunset stated, the normal confident tone she had with everyone, even her professors, was non-existent in the presence of the presence of Celestia in that moment.

“True. A fourth Alicorn, you, walking around would be of considerable intrigue. But let me ask you this. Do you think you could take the entire world noticing you, at all times, for eternity?” Celestia considered, and then asked.

“E-e-e-eternity?” Sunset stammered out.

“Yes, my dear. An eternity where the very essence of the planet of Equus runs through you, and you run through it. It is the reason why my Niece, Cadence, doesn’t attend normal school anymore. She’d be a magnet to every adolescent, and possibly every professor. Do you think a sixteen year old could really stand every single entity around her, no matter what he or she did, wanting to watch their every, single, move?” Celestia stated, and then asked.

Sunset, whose persona was seemingly built on having the world revolve around her, as she made no effort to hide her appreciation for all the adulation the adults, and other students, gave her for her work, was suddenly faced with the prospect of every single Pony – no – every single being she ever crossed paths with stopping to stare at her and her every move.

“Not to mention, what it would have cost, at the very least, just to even get a taste of that level of existence. Two lives… those two poor souls you had bound in your laboratory dorm. Have you ever considered what’d truly happen if you tried to bind the life essence of two unwilling captives to your own?” Celestia asked, her tone becoming more incisive, but still lacking the malice that Sunset thought she was going to be deluged in.

Sunset could only shake her head ‘no’, not really understanding what she was attempting in her rush to further her vainglory, in retrospect.

“It is truly a shame… I had expected more of you, Sunset Shimmer. I expected that taking you and Twilight under my wing at the same time would moderate both of your worst instincts – Twilight’s proclivity for social avoidance, and your pride. Twilight’s only wanting to use her prodigious talent to further her own personal knowledge, and your seeming obsession with lording your talent over everyone else. I can only wonder what I could have done in the last couple of years to make this… all of this… not happen,” Celestia said. And for the first time, Sunset could feel an emotion coming from Celestia other than enforced neutrality.

And that emotion was an intense sadness, a true melancholy that felt even worse than whatever anger she was expecting out of Celestia.

“Please… Princess Celestia… Headmistress… don’t throw me in jail… I… I…” Sunset begged, before becoming choked up, not able to utter another word.

Celestia merely raised her front hoof again to stay Sunset’s words, which Sunset quickly obliged. “Sunset, by all rights I should lock you away for at least the next five years. But I won’t. I can only hope that you, in your new capacity, can understand those reasons.”

“What… what do you mean my new capacity?”

“Sunset Shimmer, as Headmistress of the School for Gifted Unicorns, I am officially declaring you permanently ineligible for the title of Class Valedictorian. In addition, I am stripping you of every title that you have accrued to the current date, and rendering you ineligible for any other academic title underneath the auspices of the Equestrian University Association,” Celestia stated with firm resolution.

“No… no please… my entire life… everything has gone into ensuring that everyone recognizes me as the preeminent Unicorn,” Sunset started, as she could start to feel the weight of the ‘sentence’ Celestia was handing down, as the loss of her current titles and disqualification from other titles meant that she was officially shut out of the advanced thamaturgy labs the School For Gifted Unicorns were known for.

“In addition, and… it pains me greatly to say this…” Celestia started, as Sunset could see the one small tear beginning to form in the corner of her Princess’s eye.

“No… please… don’t…” Sunset mouthed, but her voice was completely gone… as she could innately feel what Celestia was about to say, but could do nothing to stop her.

“I can no longer recognize you as a Protégé of the Sun – my personal student. I cannot trust you with the arcane magicks that only I and the Inner Circle are privy to, not with the current attitude that you possess. I… I can only hope that in the future, we are able to reconcile once I can feel confident in your emotional maturity and stability. That is all, Miss Shimmer,” Celestia stated, as she tried her best to keep from crying.

---

“And of course, that little… ohh… just thinking about it again makes my blood boil…” Sunset said, as she held the helmet in her now human hands, trying her best to not let her Fire Magic get out of control.

“No Sunset, you have to get a hold of this. That’s the past, the past is the past. You made a mistake, tried to reach too far too fast…” she told herself, as she sat there, with no communication in and out, outside of her own thoughts and memories.

“That day is far behind me, I need to focus on what I have in front of me. I’m going to build a legacy of my own, beyond Equestria, beyond the Element of Magic, beyond all of them over there…” Sunset said, as she stood up, and put the gold and red armor-plated jacket over her standard body armor.

“Today is just the start… I will make everyone recognize me. I will make everyone respect me. And if I have to, I will make everyone fear me!” Sunset said, as she put the helmet over her head, and began to download the latest information, to figure where she should start in pushing back the SPH forces arrayed against her.

~~~===~~~

Author's Note:

[1] Schwarzes-Schild (lit. Black-colored Shield translated from German) -- simply the common nickname for the SPH, the Black Shield, in German/Kattsprache

[2] The Changelings (including the Queens themselves) routinely refer to the collection of reigning Queens as the ‘Queen Sisters’, to show the familial bond between the Hives. This is done regardless of any age gaps or actual blood relations between the royal lines of each hive. To wit, it is not uncommon for a younger queen to refer to an older queen as Aunt until they mature, and conversely an older queen referring to a younger queen by Niece.

[3] the Anti-Syndicate refers to the Eurasian Anti-Syndicate (Евразийский анти-синдикат, Yevraziyskiy anti-sindikat), a 40 year running organization dedicated to destroying crime syndicates in the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, Northern China, and parts of the Middle East. They’ve expanded their mission into fighting SPH allied forces, considering them to be a worldwide crime syndicate no better than the crime families in the aforementioned regions.

[4] OMS is shorthand for “One-Man Squadron” – the theory of a set of equipment that would make a single person as martially powerful as a squad of 10, since the HEA does not want to carry a large militia

[5] Nano-plastic is a nano-fiber reinforced plastic used for heavy-duty visors that need to be (more or less) shatter and piercing proof. High-grade nano-plastic also allow for an in-line HUD that is far more efficient than projector models used on cheaper visored helmets of the time.

[6] Tí-tí, Niche’s nickname for Titania II, is pronounced with a high-e sound (so it would sound like Spanish ‘i’, like the i in sí).