Millennia: Eye of the Storm

by Thunderblast

43. Into the Eye of the Storm - Part I

"Anchor, Anchor, hey... easy. Yeah, it's me, Star," I reaffirmed, retaining a low tone as I tried to calm the distraught pegasus. Tears sat in my eyes, building as a result of having to heart-breakingly hear such an averagely toughened, take-no-shit sailor ultimately break down over the sound of my voice.

"Star! Oh m-my god, thank Luna you're alright!" he practically shouted through the phone, forcing me to move it away from my ear as he sobbed for a couple more minutes. It grew obnoxious quite quickly, though I couldn't be mad at him for caring like he did.

Frankly, it was a relief to hear him again, and for some reason I think I should have expected him to be like this the moment he answered the call. When his cries relaxed enough to hold the phone to my ear without the risk of losing my hearing on one side, I started to chuckle. It soon turned into straight up stupid laughter, a kind of display from myself that I too could not be happier to be safe and sound—for now, that is.

"D-did they hurt you? Where did t-they keep you all this time?" he asked, rambling further with more and more questions. Eventually he stopped and drew in a deep breath to regain his composure, and when he spoke again, he sounded as if he hadn't just cried for ten straight minutes. "I'm... just... I'm glad you're okay, man. I was so... fucking terrified when I woke up. I ran straight to base to report the incident, then I... I went to Shadow, and that's when he offered to help since nopony else would."

"He's a good stallion. Knows his shit, too." I smiled faintly, even though he couldn't physically see me do so. "T-thank you. You might have saved my life, you know that?" I wasn't willing to admit what almost alternatively happened. Even though it was over, it would still stress him out. With what he was out doing at this very moment, and what I was getting ready to, the extra anguish wasn't necessary for either of us.

"H-hey, don't thank me, aye? But it's what friends do. Maybe. W-would this be something friends do on a regular basis?"

I let off a small titter. "Perchance in Equestria, you never know." At that, I exhaled deeply to ease my aching muscles. "I... really owe you big time."

"For what? And don't you bloody dare apologize for what happened, because it wasn't your fault!" Damn, so there goes that opportunity. "So, don't... tell anypony I said this or anything, but... when all's said and done, I really want to give ya a big ol' hug. You know, when I'm home."

Just as I opened my mouth to respond to that with a witty comeback in mind, the high-pitched whine of a jet airliner rolling past on a nearby taxiway interrupted, by which Anchorage could easily hear in the background. "Is that a plane? Where the hell are you right now?"

Despite already knowing, I still glanced around me out of habit. "Los Pegasus International," I said, raising my volume so he could still hear me. "Listen, it's obvious enough but I'm being ordered back to Manehattan as soon as possible. I can't give the details over the phone as to why, but something big is going on."

"Is that why we're at sea right now? They didn't say much at the briefing other than we're heading out for a few days. Not gonna lie, mate, it kind of has me on edge. After the whole almost-nuking-Ajerstan ordeal, I'm not sure if I'm ready to figure out what in the hell we're out here for."

When the jet finally passed and the whine of its engines were no longer ear-piercing, I lowered my volume again to speak normally. "Don't worry, it doesn't have to do with that. I'm not aware of your commanding officer's intentions to address the matter to the crew, but I'm sure he is bound to let you all know some point down the line."

"Probably. I hope so. You know I hate not being informed on shit. Think it's safe to say everypony else is anxious to find out, too."

"Hey, yo, Anchorage!" came a faint voice from somewhere near him.

"Hey, uh, listen. I-I gotta go, Silver's callin' for me. When this is all over and we get back to port, we'll have game night, aye, mate?"

A small smile pursed my lips. "That sounds good. Take care, Anchorage."

"Likewise, Star. Catch you on the flip side."

At a soft three-tone beep from the speaker, I lowered the phone from my ear and tapped a button on the screen. Doing so transitioned back to my short list of phone contacts, where I scrolled some by slowly sliding my hoof up along the surface until it could no longer move. My gaze settled upon the last saved name, wiping the smile clean from my muzzle.

I tapped again, opening his contact information and tapping the 'call' button. It immediately changed screens, and I lifted the phone to my ear as the tiny speaker sounded the dial tone. In my mind, and even in soft mumbles not audible to anypony around me, I begged he answer. It rang four times, before beeping thrice—the call was declined.

It made my eyes go wide, and I stared at the device in my hoof in somewhat of a stagger. Why wouldn't he answer? No, why would he decline the call? Did I do something wrong? Does he not like me anymore?

I closed my eyes and briefly shook my head to clear the negativity and ease myself. Neither of that could have been the case here. It was strange for him to not pick up, although there was likely a reasonable explanation for it. Perhaps he was busy right now and doesn't have the time to talk.

"Hey, Star, you good?" asked Snow Storm. I glanced up from my phone, seeing the uniformed stallion nonchalantly approaching from the side, carrying with him his blue duffel bag across his back with the strap looped under his arm.

Tucking the phone in my pocket, I initially responded with a nod, straightening my posture a little before him. He was still a lieutenant, after all. "Yeah, just... trying to get a hold of some ponies. They aren't picking up," I finished with a grunt, pinning my ears back.

"That happens," he shrugged, pulling up just short of me. "It sucks. Who are you trying to get a hold of?"

That's when the alarms rang in my head. Telling him it was none of his business is not quite the best answer to give, despite being the truth, and no answer at all doesn't work either.

"Some... friends." That wasn't total bullshit, having talked to Anchorage just a few minutes prior. The way I said it, however, can't have been all too convincing. "Now my marefriend," I lied further.

"Oh yeah? Didn't know you had a mare," he commented with a grin, which transformed into a genuine smile. "Good for you."

That's surprising. "Yeah, thanks," I smiled. "What about you? You got somepony to call your own?"

The pegasus lieutenant took the fully-loaded sack from his shoulder and plopped it at the bottom of the plane's loading ramp, where he proceeded to use it as a chair and sit on it while we waited. "I did, recently actually. Two years we were together, I think?"

I looked over at him, blinking, staring curiously. "Didn't work out or something?"

Snow Storm drew in a soft breath, giving a slow shake of his head. "Sadly. We had a few arguments near the end. Eventually we both decided it was creating more stress than alleviating it, so we parted ways for good."

My ears lost their perk and drooped, as did my head slightly. He seemed to be fine with it, and for some reason it made sense for him to, though I couldn't help but pity him. "Man, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it wasn't healthy." His crimson irides fell to his hinds as he gently kicked them in boredom. "It just... sucks, because I loved her, and it hurt me when things went south as quickly as they did. I'm certain it hurt her, too. But maybe it didn't. Maybe the whole thing was just for show. I mean, she seemed genuinely upset, but..." he sighed. "Mares are weird, Star, let me just say that."

I gave a little snort of a laugh at that. "Tell me something I don't know, Lieutenant."

A small smile returned to the stallion's muzzle. "But I've learned to move on from it. Too much more is important in my life than to sulk over somepony I simply was not compatible with." He waved his hoof. "My job, for instance. Second lieutenant isn't much farther from reach, and Javelin Charm is on the docket for promotion, too."

"Yeah? Congratulations," I simpered softly. "What's he going to do since they kicked him out of OS?"

"Still pursuing his line of work, going to start tech school soon. He hasn't said much other than he wants to design and program shit." Snow shrugged. "It'll prove useful for sure, especially for what we use him for."

"And it'll pay off greatly when he discharges," I added, receiving a concurring nod from the pegasus. "You know, I wanted to get into technology when I first joined. Now they have me at the geology office collecting data and whatnot. It's not a difficult job, though it does get tedious at best."

My eyes narrowed a bit on the tarmac cement in front of me. "Now that we know what's behind the quakes, they may not have a use for me there much longer, which I'm okay with quite honestly. Only reason I work there is because it was assigned to me based on personal interest. But you know what? It... doesn't call to me."

Snow blinked a couple of times, puzzled slightly. "Then what does?"

"I'm thinking meteorology," I said, looking skywards. Slow-moving cumulus clouds steadily moved across the bright blue sky, shadowed beneath by the sun's light above. "I get some of that on deployments. You know, collecting readings from my computers, but I think it would serve me best if I make it permanent."

"Well, if it's what you want, you can file a request for a change of rate," suggested Snow, smiling warmly.

I sighed softly, hunching over with my chin resting in my forehooves. "I can't decide, that's the issue. It's not that big of a deal, but... I would hate to continuously bounce between rates my entire career."

"You wouldn't be the first pony to do so. Hell, I didn't settle a rate 'til a few months after graduation. It isn't anything to be ashamed of, because you are simply trying to see where you stand and determine your purpose. Not everypony finds their true calling as soon as the next. You get me?"

Nodding in comprehension, my gaze drifted over to the lieutenant. "I get you, loud and clear. I'm just worried is all."

"Worry later, we still have a lot of work to do and little time to accomplish," he affirmed in a sudden change of demeanor, hopping up and onto all fours, snatching up his duffel bag with a wing.

Watching him, a horrid thought ran through my mind. "You do know that, if my gut is telling me correctly, and I pray to Luna it isn't, that this could very well be the Liberation of Manehattan all over again?"

"Your prayers are mutual, Star. All we can do is hope we caught this in time." The slightly-taller pegasus turned to directly face me, putting on a neutral expression. “Let’s get airborne while the day's still young, Marine.”

I simply nodded in agreement. Returning it with a single bob of his head, Snow Storm turned towards his squad mates huddled in two conversing groups a few yards away. He brought a hoof to his mouth to whistle, nabbing their undivided attention. He bellowed, "Load up, Marines, we're headed to Manehattan!"

***

Tapping a hoof on the screen to end the call, the pegasus tucked his phone away into his uniform pocket. He turned down the corridor where his friend had called from, approaching with a faint smile pursing his lips.

"I just spoke to Star," Anchorage began, sniffing heavily and wiping off lingering tears onto his sleeve. "He's okay. They're flying him back to Manehattan this afternoon."

In that moment, Silver quite nearly collapsed onto the floor. He dipped his head, finally exhaling the breath he contained for the past thirty seconds or more. "Thank goodness!" Then, out of the blue, the beige unicorn took the pegasus into a tight embrace of all of his mustered might that caught him completely off guard. Anchorage's eyes went wide as he stood statue-still, not even so much as considering raising his hoof to loop back around his fellow seapony, other than to carefully pry him off after about ten seconds.

"Okay, all right, that's enough!" grunted Anchorage, finally managing to push Silver off. He wiped down his uniform with a hoof, lifting his gaze to softly glare at the unicorn briefly. Any emotions previously displayed were long gone now, and Silver smiled apologetically. "What are we lookin' like, do you know?" he asked, beginning to walk down a main passageway.

"Roughly three-hundred nautical miles west-southwest of our target destination. Still no clue what the big fuss is about," answered the unicorn sailor, striding alongside his buddy.

"Well, we maintain our current heading and speed, my best estimate is we should make it by 1600, perhaps 1700 at the latest, weather contingent," the pegasus added, stiffening his posture as another sailor slipped between them in the tight space.

"Sounds good to me. It doesn't have to do with the other ordeal, does it?" queried Silver, furrowing his brow and looking at him curiously.

Anchorage froze for a moment. He knew Silver wasn't aware of the discussion between him and Shadow, nor did he want him to be until the time called for it. Frankly, not even he knew what was happening right now. That part hadn't been addressed yet. However, despite Silver Edge being one of his closest friends since the unicorn's graduation, he understood the risks and was not at liberty to explain his findings. "No, it doesn't," he affirmed.

To the second class petty officer's relief, the younger, slightly lower-ranked stallion proceeded not to question his response. "All right, then. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Chief Petty Officer Striker is, would you?"

Anchorage glanced over his shoulder at the unicorn, blinking twice in bewilderment. "Who, now?"

Silver Edge dipped his head slightly, letting his ears droop back. "My uncle...?"

"Your un—" Anchorage's ice-blue cores widened when it hit him. "Oh! I forgot, you enlisted to meet him," he gently smacked his own forehead with a hoof and mentally cursed his neglect to remember, adjusting his cover back in place afterwards. "Right, of course. But no, I'm afraid I don't. Is he for sure on the Gibbous?"

Silver nodded. "It's his ship. Technically. Not literally his, but he is assigned—"

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Anchorage cut in, abruptly stopping the unicorn from continuously rambling in correction. "We'll find him, trust me. You know what he looks like?"

The unicorn halted in his tracks, staring at Anchorage as he carried on a few more paces, only to also stop when he realized Silver was no longer following. The greyish-white pegasus peeked over his shoulder and back at Silver, swiveling around slowly with a hoof lifted off the floor.

With a soft sigh, Silver shook his head, magenta irides slipping to the floor. "I do not. I've never met him before in my life, that is partially why I took up enlisting in the Navy. I only knew of him because my father spoke highly of him when I was a colt, so... it interested me in finally meeting him. That's why I got all giddy when I found out that they were sending us out on the Gibbous for a short while."

Anchorage moved up in front of Silver, cordially placing a hoof on his shoulder. The unicorn lifted his sights to meet the cool, composed cores of his friend's softly staring back. "We'll find him before we head back and part ways again. Trust me on that one, mate," he promised, winking.

The beige unicorn's mouth curved into a friendly smile. "I know I can count on you, Anchorage. I always have."

***

"Ready to do this?" checked Ashfall, glancing over to the brown draft stallion at his nine o'clock.

"What are we even doing here, Ash?" questioned Nightpath, not removing his gaze from the facade of the towering glass-sided structure that seemed to stretch up infinitely.

"Do I need to go over it one more time?" blinked the moss-green earth pony, not amused.

His question-like statement earned a shake of Night's head in response before he looked away in embarrassment. "No. That wasn't the intended nature of the question."

The smaller of the two reprocessed the words in his head, grunting softly. "We are putting in work, Night. He is going to talk."

"And you are certain Armet Mace, wealthy and famed philanthropist, founder and CEO of GenTech isn't who he says he is?" asked Night, starting toward the entrance.

"It was Anchorage who convinced me otherwise," Ash clarified. "As earnest as he is and has been over the course of our friendship—"

"You mean relationship?" the draft stallion nickered in amusement at his own joke, only to receive a glare of daggers shot at him by his fellow Marine. "Continue."

Ash refocused as he entered first through the sliding doors casually, quelling his volume to prevent his voice from echoing in the lobby and alarming anypony of their discussion. "He is typically the one to believe in these situations, so that is why we are here."

"So, what? We're just going to go up there and threaten him until he admits covering up the shipment of illegal chemicals on a ship that isn't in any recent record and endangering some forty lives?"

"Precisely," answered Ash curtly, a sort of signal for Night to stop talking for the time being.

Without another word spoken, the two proceeded into the expansive, modernized lobby. Both were met with a friendly, welcoming smile of a curly-maned buttermilk unicorn mare on approach to the receptionist's counter.

"Hello there, and welcome to Generation Technologies Incorporated! How may I help you fine gentlecolts this afternoon?" she greeted, maintaining a bubbly persona before the stallions. It was evident that she had a like for her job, despite sitting at a computer for practically an entire shift.

Despite their intentions, the two put on smiles to mask it long enough to coerce her. "Hi, we would both like to speak to Armet Mace directly."

The mare seemed slightly taken aback by such a hefty request, but chose to go along with it. "Do you have an appointment?"

Night nodded his head, while Ash shook his, prompting the brown stallion to unconvincingly follow suit. "I'm afraid we could not arrange one on such short notice. It's urgent."

"I'm sorry, sirs, Armet has requested his meetings be cancelled for today while a gas leak on the upper floors is fixed—"

"A gas leak? That's what he told you?" Night cut in, glaring down upon the receptionist. Already was he growing impatient.

"That is what I have been informed of, not by him directly," the mare meekly said, trying to retain a look of innocence, sitting back into her chair tensely.

"Bullshit!" Night slammed his forehoof on the desk's upper lip, rattling everything on it and startling the poor mare. "We need to see him this instant. It's an urgent matter of national security!"

The outburst ringing out through the lobby attracted the attention of security guards. Neither of which, however, took any sort of action and opted to observe in case the two stallions at the receptionist's desk made any move that would lead to the harm of ponies in the building.

"R-right away, s-sir!" the unicorn mare squeaked out, immediately pressing a button to ring up Armet's office.

After two short moments, the line opened, and a familiar voice blared through the calling device's speaker. "What is it? Make it quick, I'm currently speaking to the gas workers about the severity of the leak!"

"S-sir, there are two stallions down here who wish to meet with you at once," the mare shakily said, keeping eye contact with either Marine waiting on the opposite side of the counter.

"What do they want?! I told you to cancel my meetings!"

"They say it's urgent, s-sir. A matter of national security that cannot wait."

Then there was a silence. It lasted a good ten seconds, causing Night and Ash to exchange glances.

"Send them up immediately," said the voice, significantly calmer than prior.

"Right away, sir!" the mare released the button, breathing a sigh of relief. She placed her hooves together on the desk top and made gentle eye contact with either earth ponies. "All right, you are good to go! Just take the second elevator on your left to the one-hundred-and-fifteenth floor, where Armet will meet you."

Ash gave a single nod, sporting a faint smile, apologetic in nature for his friend. "Thank you, miss. Have a good one."

With that, he led Nightpath to the designated elevator. Both were heavily scrutinized by essentially every security officer stationed on that floor until they entered the elevator. At the press of the correct button on a touchpad screen beside the door, the two began their ascent to the 115th floor.

As they waited, Ash slugged Night in the arm with enough might to consider it a legitimate punch. "Ow!" yelped Night, glaring down upon the shorter stallion. "The fuck?!"

"Let me handle it from now on, alright?" Ash responded, flicking a momentary glare up at his friend, who simply looked away and went silent.

Along the journey up, the elevator temporarily stopped to pick up one more pony; a somewhat bulky earth stallion with a buzz cut of a mane in a white shirt and black tie, sporting a utility belt with a holstered, folded baton around his barrel which the shirt was tucked into. The two stepped to the rear of the elevator to make some room, standing behind him. It wasn't immediate, although the two found it to be suspicious when the extra passenger did not request a certain floor to be dropped off at.

Night honed in on the periwinkle figure, posed as if he were at attention before a superior, except his head wasn't particularly raised. Glancing up slightly, he caught in the blurred reflection of the stainless steel finish of the compartment that he was being eyeballed by the sentry, prompting him to shift his attention elsewhere momentarily.

At the forty-eighth floor, the elevator stopped once more to allow two more similar ponies inside, one unicorn and the other another earth pony of similar height and build. They lined up on either side of the first in almost perfect sequence and posture.

Without so much as turning their heads in the slightest, Nightpath's hazel cores slid to meet the light red of Ashfall's. One glance put each other on the same page of awareness, giving Night an opportunity to mentally prepare himself.

"Before we get started..." Ash paused, shifting his sights individually between the three similarly-uniformed stallions gathered in a line in front of him and Night. "...would anypony like to get off?"

There was a moment of quiet. A long, uneasy one. It was soon broken by the hum of a taser gun, except it originated from the left earth pony's baton as he swiftly whipped it from the holster to extend the bat. Sparks of bluish-white electricity crackled along the sides, stemming from three rings along the stick. The other two guards spun quickly, one lunging at Ash to restrain him, the second lunging at Night to take him by the neck.

Before the two even had the chance to turn around, Ash sidestepped and extended his strong hoof, catching the second earth pony guard in the chest. The force knocked the wind out of the stallion and sent him to the floor, though he did not stay down for long and was back on his hooves in two seconds.

In the meantime, Night wrestled with the unicorn against the wall, steadily becoming overpowered by the use of magic attempting to pin him while the baton-wielding earth pony swung a zapping hit to Night's side, sending a painful shock through his body, forcing a grunted yelp out of the brown draft stallion. Infuriated as a result, Night squeezed a hoof free from the unicorn's magical aura and thrust it into his lower cheek to knock him away. The blow threw the unicorn sideways, head crashing against the safety bar lining three sides of the elevator and stunning him temporarily.

Night shifted his attention then to the periwinkle earth pony as the baton caught him in the shoulder. "Aagh!" he shouted, the force combined with the electric current causing him to stumble, but quickly regain his stance as he brought up his hoof in an attempt to slam the stallion into the floor.

The guard jumped to the left, narrowly dodging the worst of the hit, but the hoof still skimmed his shoulder, forcing the electrified baton out of his hoof. He staggered and tried to reach for the stick, only to be halted by Night grabbing his arm and throwing it sideways with an enormous crack that had the periwinkle stallion crying and grasping his other shoulder as he fell to the floor. Without hesitating, Nightpath coiled back his hoof, driving it straight into the guard's muzzle. Not only did it throw his head back, but instantly incapacitated him and left an unconscious body splayed out across the elevator floor.

Victory in his defeat was short lived as Night quickly shifted his focus back to the unicorn, who snatched the baton up off the floor in his magic and proceeded to crack the draft stallion in the upper arm, followed by his neck seconds after. Somehow, the aura encasing only the baton's handle partially diminished the amount of energy flowing through the stick and thus lowered the damage it could do as a result. It caught the unicorn off guard, realizing it hadn't affected the Marine as much as prior, stepping back out of fear when Night stood tall. He reached forward, taking the sentry by the collar and bringing his head to his own in a powerful headbutt.

While it sent a shock of migraine-like pain throughout his head, it did, however, knock the unicorn out as well, and he dropped him atop the earth pony. Night grunted softly, rubbing his forehead with a hoof as his senses gradually returned to him, sent into a frenzy by the move. He turned to Ash, now rested atop the second earth stallion and pinning him by the barrel down, mercilessly dealing punch after punch and throwing the guard's head side to side as he now begged to be spared. Despite his pleas, it did nothing to stop the corporal from incapacitating him as well.

The two Marines panted as their adrenaline individually remained high. They looked between the three guards, making sure each of them were out cold before turning to one another.

"Take their guns and their nightsticks, we might need them later on," huffed Ash, yanking a pistol from his victim's holster. He checked it for safety, then ensured the magazine had full ammunition inside by removing and reinserting afterward.

Night followed suit, taking the shock baton and deactivating it, concealing it beneath his jacket along with another recovered gun. By the time they had finished, the elevator had reached its destination, and both doors slid parted into an open, brightly-lit office corridor.

Stepping beyond the shaft doors, the pair scanned their own side of the corridor for anypony coming their way. Upon confirming the coast was clear, they turned their attention to one another. "She never said where his office was, did she? Fuckin' bitch," grumbled Night.

"Can't be too hard to find," said Ash, starting down the right side while Night took the left. The floor was void of life, likely due to the misinformation of a looming gas explosion threat. It only provided a sense of security to the two, knowing nopony would likely be around to hear their confrontation—assuming they find who they were searching for.

As suggested, however, it wasn't more than a few seconds when Night stopped before a door that stood out from the rest. He glanced down the hall and whistled softly, enough to grab Ash's attention and draw him over.

Regrouping, the two stood before Armet's office oak-wood office doors, complete with a platinum trim and handle. What stopped them was a touch-screen number pad with a key card slot on the right of the entrance. Ash looked at Night silently, only to ease himself upon seeing a security pass in his hoof, stolen from one of the guards in the elevator.

Night turned the card properly, swiping downward. There was a two-toned beep, followed by a small green light on the panel, and finally, a click of the lock as it opened.

Pushing inside, it revealed another corridor—albeit short with only two doors on either side with a third built of stainless steel and frosted glass at the opposite end. Compared to the hallway they were just in, this one was stark in nature; consisting of greyish-white, facility-like panel walls, light bars hanging from the ceiling, absolutely no decor whatsoever, and reflective tiling which their hooves clicked on in a rather ostentatious reverberation throughout the passageway as they advanced to the privacy doors ahead.

The duo pulled up short of the doors, etched with the GenTech 'G' split down the center of both doors in a solid silver finish. They glanced up at a tiny, borderline indiscernible security camera bubble tactfully positioned above the doorway. Neither were sure if they could be seen directly by Armet, nor what his next move might be.

"Armet Mace!... sir. We would like to share a word with you," addressed Ashfall, waiting in silence afterward.

For a few seconds that followed, nothing occurred. The silence was perturbed by a bing, similar to that of an elevator as it reaches a certain floor. At that, the left door swung open slowly, making way for the two to enter the large office.

Night and Ash exchanged perplexed looks, mutually uncertain of what to expect as soon as they enter that room. Either way it went, they were prepared. Mostly.

Slipping through, they entered the spacey modern office. Unlike the outside hallway, some decor tidily sprawled around, such as trimmed, potted plants in corners, a waterfall flowing down along stone from piping in the wall, trickling down upon smooth stones of varying tans and greys placed above a drain. It served as a soothing ambience for the stallion to work in—though in Night and Ash's case, it made them equally uncomfortable to continuously hear in the background.

"So, you managed to take down my security team. I am moderately impressed," cooed the maroon unicorn softly, gazing out the window behind his desk and out over the bustling city. Not for a split second did he glance over his shoulder to fully acknowledge their presence.

"We figured you were the one to send them and stop us from reaching you. Clearly you don't mandate adequate training to where even three ponies combined can't take down one Marine, let alone two," grunted Ashfall in annoyance.

"That is not up to me, I'm afraid," Armet reflected, turning to face the duo across the office and blinking slowly with a neutral countenance. "I'm simply here to run the company and ensure the business side of it remains in the positive. We contract through a nationwide private security corporation. The guards who work here simply go by their employer's standards."

"You must hold a bunch of self-confidence to have such low standards, then," remarked Nightpath with snark in his tone.

"Oh, yes, of course! You see, why worry when we have a joint military base within the boundaries of our fair city, within reasonable distance from the busiest metropolitan center in the country?" the unicorn flaunted, motioning his hoof around as he spoke, only to then say grimly, "There isn't anything for us to worry about, now is there?"

Night and Ash looked at one another, noting the pony's sarcasm in his tone. "What are you playing at, Mace?" Ash questioned placidly, furrowing his brow at the preternaturally vague unicorn.

"I'm not sure myself. Why are two ponies who are supposed to be defending our country barging into my building unwarranted?" yielded Armet, finishing with a stern edge.

"We came here to ask you a few questions. Neither of us hoped it would be anything more than a civilized discussion if that is what you wish to keep it. I believe I speak on behalf of the two of us when I say we are curious to know the truth," snarled Night, his impatience growing.

"The truth?" Armet cocked his head, appearing halfway bewildered by their requests. "Ah, yes, the truth!" he let off a light chuckle. "The truth is, I've been expecting you, Nightpath, Ashfall."

Their eyes widened when their names were addressed, puzzled as to how Armet knew of them. However, that was still the least of their combined consternation.

"Right. How, on earth, does one of the richest ponies in Equestria have access to the names and files of two nobodies?" Armet said, playing it off as a question he knew they were asking themselves. "The answer, my friends, is who doesn't one of the richest ponies in Equestria have access to the names and files to anymore? We live in an age of digital information, shared in devices in the base of our hooves that we use to complete our shopping in minutes without the hassle of leaving the house to see if your local store has it in stock! Conglomerates make billions off of consumer data without anypony so much as batting an eye.”

"So, a stalker, too. One more thing to chalk up on your ever-growing list of offenses. How about that to go with involuntary ponyslaughter, murder, and transport of banned, dangerous chemical substances across international waters to be smuggled into the country?" the moss pony described sternly.

"But said chemicals never reached port, now did they?" Armet laughed a little, moving around the front of his desk and leaning back against it with a sly smirk. "Can't snipe me for that one."

"They can for attempting it, it is virtually the same offense for attempting," retorted Night.

"Ah, that may be true. However, I'm afraid it only applies if I am caught," the unicorn smugly remarked.

"Funny you should say that." Ash drew the sidearm stolen from one of the guards, but didn't immediately point the barrel at the unicorn. "A good fourth of Joint Base Manehattan is well aware by now." He knew that wasn't quite the truth, though he hoped saying such would intimidate Armet.

"That's still three-fourths uninformed, Corporal. Besides, if that were truly the case here, why for the love of Celestia would they send you grunts to bring me in? Why not a simple task force, or... I don't know, a couple of trained peacekeeping officers who actually understand Equestrian code of law?"

He held a sturdy point, even though no one had sent them to begin with. Ash lifted the gun to aim at Armet threateningly, having long had enough of the philanthropist's games. "Are you going to explain yourself, or not?!"

Armet simply grinned. He had stalled long enough and saw just how querulous the two were swiftly becoming. Straightening his posture to stand upright, the unicorn nonchalantly looped behind his desk and tapped a button, which lit up with a power symbol and flashed. In an instant, a levitating projection spanning almost the whole width of the desk. Despite the hologram's transparency, the display was one-sided, and only Armet could see what was on the screen from where he stood, ultimately leaving Night and Ash oblivious.

"What are you doing?" snapped Ash, taking two steps closer as Armet tapped away onto a holographic keyboard. "Did either of us grant you permission to update your social media status?"

"As humorous as that would be, Corporal, I do not own a social media account, nor do I regularly disregard crucial work for one measly second to fill information-hungry lowlifes who spend every moment of their existence creepily following my day-to-day routine in on my tuna lettuce wrap I have every Tuesday at noon," responded Armet, tone signalling a tinge of exasperation as he coldly glared through the hologram. "I am disengaging my security forces so they don't kick in those rather expensive oak wood doors and shoot to kill you pair on sight."

The draft stallion present glanced briefly at his partner, who stared back questionably. A knowing glance told Ash to holster his stolen weapon. "So, will you talk then?"

With a few last speedy taps of the enlarged keys, as well as what appeared to be a hoofprint scan along a blue pad with a light bar sliding beneath his hoof, the screen retracted into the projector as it turned off, leaving a maroon unicorn staring back at them dourly.

Before a single word could be spoken, a sudden jolt like that of a nearby explosion rocked the building and the floor beneath their hooves, compelling Ash and Night to duck down protectively and scan around them in alarm.

"What the hell was that?" posed Ash, focusing on Armet after a few moments. A gentle rattling that incrementally grew more audible shook the room, all while the maroon unicorn wore a scheming smile on his face.

"I wish it didn't have to come to this, boys, but you have ultimately left me no choice."

At that, in a blinding flash of blue that forced either Marine to shield their eyes or look away temporarily, Armet had vanished. However, it wasn't immediately his disappearance that left the two in utter freezing shock; it was what transpired beyond the window panes that overlooked lower Manehattan...

***

Ray anxiously waited in the shadows, in the midst of the biggest opportunity in his entire life. The faint light cast off his chest and face reflected from the array of spotlights above focused primarily on the television set inside the main recording studio of Equestria Today. He observed from the side along with four other auditionees while a fifth currently underwent his trial on camera.

The golden pegasus donned a black vest and white undershirt, having tidily brushed his mane while maintaining its usual shape. His stomach quivered as he rubbed his hoof along his arm below the sleeve cuff. It sent a startling shock that quite nearly forced a frightened squeal out of the stallion when an intermittent buzzing sound and vibration emanated from his pocket.

Holding the bottom of his phone near his chest to partially conceal it, the pegasus' emerald cores gazed down upon its dimly-lit screen as it vibrated gently in his hoof, signalling an incoming call. He glanced up and around him briefly, then poked once at the screen to decline the call and ultimately silencing the device.

"Ray Blitz!" called the show's producer, looking back his direction among others mentally preparing themselves for their turn.

Ray snapped up his head in surprise, swiftly slipping the phone away in his pocket. "Yes, sir?"

"You're up!" the producer smiled lightly, gesturing for the pegasus to head over.

A surge of anxiety and a multitude of varying emotions took hold of Ray's essence. Excitement, worry, and practically everything in between. He swallowed heavily, only narrowly accomplishing such with the lump clogging his throat. With a deep breath in, exhaling a moment after, he washed it all away temporarily and started up toward the set in center of the studio with three individual television cameras aimed toward it.

The pony in his spot before him stood up, stepping off of the short platform and ensuring to walk past Ray as he made his way up, whispering, "Good luck," as he returned to a chair along the darkened back wall behind the cameras. He felt he was going to need it.

Nerve in every stride he took, the tidily-dressed golden pegasus stepped atop the small platform and slipped into the vacant chair on the left, swiveling it to face the center camera. His deep emerald cores sat wide open attentively, only to squint momentarily while he adjusted to the sudden brightness.

"One minute!" announced the producer, trotting up to Ray's side with two stapled pieces of paper and gently slapping them on the table in front of him. "Read up!"

Nodding in thanks, Ray turned his gaze down to the pair of papers and began reading his script. The first thing that caught his direct scrutiny was the secondary headline near the bottom of the page: it described a recent sudden deployment of the Navy and the curiosity regarding it. Immediately his mind went elsewhere, beginning to think of Star. Now he had some idea of why he had been calling all morning and thus regretted not answering, despite the trouble it would have landed him in.

"Five... four... three..." the final two numbers of the countdown were gestured by the manager's wings.

Ray shot his head up in surprise. He had only read over most of the first page and nothing beyond the Navy story. He hoped the other would cover for him, but the whole point of the audition was to see how he would perform and if he would take the reins. It wasn't recommended that he read his script while live, though it would certainly aid in his recovery. His heart sunk. He screwed up. But there was no going back now—he was going on national television.

"Good afternoon, Equestria, and welcome back to Equestria Today! I am your host, Firetail, and as you know, my former co-host, Whittaker, resigned two months ago on a journey for retirement. With me is Ray Blitz," the orange pegasus turned his chair, keeping his eye on the camera while he gestured at Ray.

Shakily making eye contact with the lens, Ray sported a meek smile and very gently waved as the focus momentarily turned to him, before returning to Firetail, who tidied his script and placed it down in front of him. He rested one elbow on the glass tabletop, leaning closer to the camera slightly with his usual smile. Upon seeing himself on the monitor that presented the recording as it would be seen to viewers, Ray ultimately felt like shrinking behind the desk.

"Now, I'm certain we all saw this coming—Fleur Dis Lee is in yet another affair with Prince Blueblood! The gorgeous supermodel that virtually everypony in Equestria has come to know was caught having secret conversations at Cinnamon Chai's Tea and Cake Shop earlier this week with the brash and powerful nephew of Princess Celestia. The real question is, just what were they discussing this time?"

Shifting in his seat, Firetail stiffened his posture. "In other news, early this morning, the Lunar Navy deployed to sea under the veil of night. Top officials consider it a brash move in the wake of last month's catastrophic fiasco that took place the day of the diplomatic summit meeting at the United World of Countries, right here in Downtown Manehattan."

Ray kept his attention turned to the camera. He mentally slapped himself for continuing to smile like he was at that very moment. It wasn't a highly convincing one, although it showed he was definitely trying. It didn't help that nopony behind the cameras gave any sort of gesture as to whether or not he was doing well.

As Firetail continued to talk, however, the pegasus' attention soon lost focus as a rumble seemingly shook his body. He noted some of the others beginning to look around them curiously.

Ray's eyes then darted down to a glass of water on a coaster in front of him. He blinked a couple of times, examining it closer. Rings steadily growing in intensity formed along the surface, and soon the glass began rattling against the desk's surface. In that instance, Firetail abruptly silenced himself. His eyes widened, looking off to his immediate right.

Suddenly, an enormous jolt sent everypony in the room to the floor. Ray quickly grabbed onto the desk's top and pulled himself up just enough to peek over, as did the stallion to his right, looking around in a shocked panic.

"What's happening?!" yelled one of the cameraponies in a panic, attempting to get back on his hooves after his camera stand toppled over.

"Earthquake!" shouted the producer. "Under the desk, under the desk!" he barked as he too hurried to cover. Without a moment of hesitation, Ray and Firetail dove beneath the set to shield themselves from falling debris as the shaking rapidly worsened.

The studio lights flickered, and every fixture hanging from above swayed back and forth to the earth's motions. Some of the wiring suspending them above the set snapped, and heavy girders swung downward, smashing into one of the cameras and obliterating it upon impact. Sparks flew as set lights shattered and burnt out, and soon, the entire room went black as the power abruptly cut off.

***

First came the initial jolt; the primary waves. Looking down upon the streets below, a flood of brown dust speedily rolled across block after block, like a thin tsunami of soot rattling off of buildings. Lower Manehattan's skyline began to sway and rock to the ground's motions, the entire earth beneath it rippling with cracks. Jets of water shot from burst hydrants as the shockwave swept over them.

Each window in the office cracked in unison when the second jolt struck, and everything began to shake violently. Armet's desk rattled and his chair toppled over, followed by the few small objects on his desk that fell off only seconds later. A small tree's pot shattered when it hit the floor, spilling dirt across the royal-blue carpet that spread throughout the office. The next thing that Ash knew between momentarily blacking out from shock was that he now lay on his side on the floor, as if somepony took the end of a rug and yanked it, throwing his and Night's hooves out from underneath them.

Only roughly twenty seconds into the shaking, a skyscraper some three blocks east bellowed audible creaking and groaning as the steel beams in its frame bent and gave way from lack of proper quake-resistant construction. Night and Ash watched in absolute horror as the building steadily began to tilt sideways, its downward speed picking up as gravity took over with nothing to slow the descent.

One face struck the edge of shorter and much older brick building on the way down, turning the tower completely sideways. Upon impact, the whole structure shattered instantly and the debris crumbled before ultimately vanishing into a pluming cloud of dust in its wake. Whatever and whoever was in its shadow was no more at that point.

"What in the fuck did that little snot do?!" Night shouted, doing so in order to keep his volume above the roaring of the earthquake. Multiple possibilities ran through his head, questioning what on earth was happening and only managing to further bewilder himself in the process.

Fighting against the violent motions, Ash managed to bring himself on all fours by heaving himself up on the desk's side. He rushed up to his fellow Marine, stumbling about in the five steps it took to reach him and aiding in getting Night back on his hooves, too.

"We need to get out of here!" yelled Ash, making dead eye contact for a split second while tugging the draft stallion up. He dipped his head to shield it when one of the windows behind them shattered, raining large, thick shards of glass down upon the streets some twelve-hundred feet below.

At that, the moss-green earth pony made a beeline for the exit, throwing the door open and racing for the elevator at the end of the short corridor. "Ash, wait!" Night called, chasing after him as quick as his hooves would allow, bouncing off of the walls a couple of times to keep himself upright.

Just before Ash could reach the elevator, Night's hoof snatched him by the back collar. His hinds slipped out from under him from the stallion's momentum, only to be yanked back away from the elevator. The doors opened just in time for Ash to watch as the cart dropped, sparks flying from the brakes as safety mechanisms tried to prevent a free fall caused by the magnet's malfunction.

Ash watched in horror as the elevator vanished before his very eyes, knowing that could have been him in there, or accidentally fallen down one hundred and fifteen stories of elevator shaft to his demise. "Holy shit..."

"Stairs!" Night pulled him back further, gesturing to a labeled door further down.

"Right!" responded Ash with a nod, dashing toward the fire escape with Night tailing closely.

Pushing through the door, red flashing lights swirled all the way down the cinder block-lined stairwell. Some ponies who worked for GenTech on these floors were already hastily making their way to ground level. It was a long way down—risky, at that, but it was their only way out.

***

Multiple tones of beeping rang throughout the geology department as alarms sounded. Every non-idle computer in the center flashed with warnings as the shaking prolonged. The lights in the room flicked on and off as the power threatened to go out.

"Magnus!" cried Aphrodite, tugging Argonne under a work desk for their safety. She proceeded to conjure a shield spell to protect them both as a filing cabinet crashed down loudly on the side of the desk. "Where is it centered?!"

The brunette-coated Marine dove into cover, but not before reaching his hoof up to snatch his laptop down and opening the lid. "Come on, come on..." he grunted in annoyance as he impatiently waited for his computer to boot up.

At long last, his screen lit up with a map of the region and a signature out at sea, where red rings spread out from the center. "North Antlertic Ridge, Sergeant Major! It's a 7.9—no, wait! 8.2!"

"Depth?!" she queried.

"Undetermined!"

"Ugh!" she groaned, looking around at the chaos. Most of what wasn't heavy enough to sustain its own weight either fell over from where it sat or spread out across the floor. The bun-maned mare turned to the other unicorn she was protecting. "Where is Star Shooter?!"

"He has been missing for the past week, Sergeant Major!"

Aphrodite grunted at that, looking down at her hooves in worry. "Wherever he is, I pray he isn't caught up in this."

***

A light jump of turbulence startled me awake. Having dozed off three hours into the flight certainly helped pass the time, not to mention catch up on some sleep that I had significantly lost the night prior. Hell, I'm not sure I even slept at all last night.

Scanning my surroundings, I noted the majority of the lieutenant's ponies sitting quietly on the opposite side of the plane's cargo bay, still strapped in. I simply don't understand how all of them can sit in one spot for long periods of time, especially on one of the most uncomfortable seats I have ever plopped my ass down on.

They were similar to stadium benches in terms of comfort—or in this case, discomfort—albeit plastic and short. It essentially felt like it was nothing I was sitting on, and stretching out my back a little revealed a soreness in my spine that would only vanish after up time. Hopefully.

Sliding out of the harness-like seat belts and onto my hooves, I twisted my head until my neck softly popped, then rolled my shoulders to relax them. Doing so brought a soft, relieved mixture of a groan and a grunt out of me. I sat back down, this time not bothering to slip back into the harness and focused blankly down at the grated floor and my legs.

Before I could completely zone out, the intercom crackled as it was switched on. "Lieutenant, we need you up on the flight deck right away," called the captain as fleetingly brief as could be.

Looking across the hold, I watched Snow Storm get up and immediately turn his attention to me. He motioned his hoof for me to come along, climbing a near-vertical staircase along the forward bulkhead separating the cockpit from the cargo bay. It led to an extremely short and narrow, one-pony passageway directly to the flight deck. I followed him at my own pace, squeezing through behind him as he stood between the pilots' seats.

"What's the issue?" questioned Snow, dipping his head to just above their eye level.

The plane descended out of cloud cover, and the sight beyond the cockpit windows sent my mind into overdrive. Columns of smoke large and small rose from all parts of the city. A blanket of dust settled upon the area as far as the eye could see, only ending at the coast like an invisible barrier.

Fires dotted the streets, some of which originating from the upper floors of a few high rises and skyscrapers. One or two of these towers sat leaned up against others like toppled dominoes, threatening to either completely collapse or knock over the ones barely propping them up. In that very moment, I felt my heart stop for a good five seconds, and the silent tension rising among us four was nothing but manifest.

Without a word spoken between either of us in the moment, the first officer reached forward, twisting a knob on the dashboard to switch on the cockpit's speakers for us to hear. "This is coming through the VHF," he said. An emergency broadcast transmission from Joint Base Manehattan sounded audibly.

"All units this net. Be advised a catastrophic seismic event in Manehattan is affecting all operational capability in the Manehattan-Baltimare region. A tsunami advisory has been issued by the National Oceanic Watch Center for all areas along the northeast Equestrian coast. This net will be delivering updates as they become available."

"Seismic event?" blinked Snow. Recognizing that I knew more than he did at the moment, he turned to me for context.

The announcement left me in three different types of shock all at once. Meeting his gaze with my own, I replied through a terse exhale, "Earthquake. Armet must have activated the machine."

"That's not all. We have a problem at the airport," the captain added, banking the plane left, crossing the river and over west Bronclyn toward Manehattan International. It wasn't more than a few seconds when the airport came into sight; the closer we came, the more apparent the true scope of the calamity.

Cracks and fissures of varying length and depth riddled the streets. Some of the elevated bridges for Manehattan's vast system of rail lines lay in ruins, either entirely or partially collapsed and blocking roadways. One of the wings of the main terminal had part of its roof cave in, and most of the windows were blown out. To our disbelief, a large hangar that could easily fit three jumbo jets in one at the far side of the airfield sat almost entirely pancaked, crushing the wing of a parked airliner outside while firefighters attempted to douse the flames sparked from the fuel leak.

On the runways, two jets lay in pieces. Marks in the grass told the larger aircraft lost control on takeoff or landing, plowing into a commuter jet waiting on one of the taxiways. The blaze from that accident was intense all by itself and was the main focus of much of the airport's emergency services, likely to rescue survivors—from the larger plane.

"We are unable to patch through to air traffic control to coordinate an approach. ILS is down, and visual won't cut it with how jagged the runways are," said the first officer to Snow.

"Where are we going to land?" I blinked. This was going from bad to worse.

"We can't. Not in the city, at least. Nearest safe landing site is in Alderneigh, assuming their airport fared better," Snow responded with a calculating frown on his muzzle, giving a shake of his head. His crimson irides scanned over the horizon, across collapsed buildings and specs of ponies running for their lives. In that instance, above the tension of the moment, a light turned on in his head. "Get us up higher, there is equipment in the back to allot a drop. Circle until we are high enough, then head north after we jump."

The captain nodded acknowledgingly. "Roger that. Climbing to suitable jump altitude."

Just then, I felt the motions of the plane as the nose steeply climbed and began to rapidly gain altitude after the two pilots pulled gently back on the yokes. I threw a deadly, frightened glance at Snow as he led us out of the cockpit and down to the cargo hold. "J-jump?" was the only word I could muster.

Hooves clanking on the metal floor as he landed, Snow turned to his squad lined in their seats on his right. "Change of plan, boys. We're going to jump. Simply not enough time to land in Alderneigh and get to the city through other means."

***

The elevator doors parted, sliding open, but not completely as the maroon unicorn stepped off into the partially-lit command center. "What's our status?"

"Sir, most of our backup generators are up and running, but a few of our primary systems are down while they reboot after the power shortage."

"How long until launch?" Armet coldly asked.

"Sixteen hours, twenty-four minutes, sir. We are right on schedule."

"Excellent," Armet nodded, strolling nonchalantly down a short flight of stairs. He gazed up to an enormous screen covering much of the far wall with eight significantly smaller monitors on both sides, displaying different angles of radar, satellite imagery, and even security footage of key locations still up and running city-wide.

He trotted up to a circular platform and a tall round table lined around the back edge with a holographic lip. Upon placing his hoof on a small panel, the screen lighting up and sliding from top to bottom, the scanner accepted his hoof print and initiated the interface across a holographic display in a half-circle in front of and around him. It consisted of one single screen, but included multiple at the touch of both hooves placed on individual pads.

Swiping his hoof around, Armet enlarged live video feed of lower Manehattan before switching to one placed above the streets of Bridleway. In it showed a scene of total devastation. Whole faces of surrounding skyscrapers and other buildings lay in piles of rubble covering the street with small fires burning in various places. An enormous crack run through the intersection, large enough to where ponies below needed to leap across in order to reach the other side or simply loop around one end. Hundreds shifted about in packs with emergency service officials moving them along in two steady streams heading east and west.

Suddenly, a red window popped up in the center of the screen. Similar occurred across monitors throughout the expansive room with an alarm sounding. At the press of a button, Armet toggled the noise off and turned to one of his sentries. "What is it?"

"Unidentified aircraft has entered restricted Manehattan airspace, Armet, sir. Large military cargo plane, Egret C-17, heading east over Midtown at six-five-hundred, four-forty knots," the uniformed earth pony announced. He glanced up from his screen to look Armet dead in the eye. "Looks to be entering a loop above the city."

Armet clenched his teeth in frustration and grunted softly, turning back to his screen. Swiping and swirling his hoof on the touchpad, he blew up a real-time three-dimensional projection of the aircraft on the large monitor in front of them. It banked right, then began to climb steeply and gain altitude quickly. "Son of a bitch... they know they can't land, they are going to drop in from above." Within moments, however, a devious grin returned to the unicorn's muzzle. He muttered to himself, "But not if I have anything to say about it."

Returning his attention to the display before him, Armet Mace began moving both hooves as he quickly worked, typing hastily on a keyboard before him with the use of his magic to press the buttons. After a few minutes, his screen changed, now showing that of an offshore naval destroyer's targeting system and the array of weapons readily available to fire.

He chuckled lowly, stepping back from the panel and glancing up at the big screen as it now showed footage from the weather deck of the L.R.S. Gibbous, facing back toward the closed missile silos and the bridge. A twisted, sickly-minded grin crossed his muzzle, display transitioning to a targeting screen that automatically pinpointed the aircraft high above the city. "Let's have a little fun, shall we?"

Author's Note:

And here it is, the longest chapter I have ever written. Not just the longest in Millennia, but of all time.

(EDIT): Chapter 46 is even longer, whoops.