Monkey Business

by FrostTheWolf

Tail 27- Ready to Go

Author's Note:

Finally got this one done so Sun and everyone else can get back on track. However, importing from Gdocs and all the editing that needed to be done afterwards was a major pain. Anyways... I hope you enjoyed it
-Frost

Monkey Business- Ready to Go

---

Crystal Empire (Early morning)

Over the course of the evening, Sun barely had the chance to get any rest whatsoever. Whether it was Asphyxious talking too loud or someone who’s snoring sounded like an earthquake, the faunus could not be able to handle all the noise and all the tossing and turning. Not to mention the fact that he was sleeping along the wall instead of a bed because he offered the bed that Anson was going to give to him to Coco instead as a gesture of kindness. Now it was close to five o’clock in the morning and he was wide awake.

Sun had already tried several times in order to get more rest, but was unsuccessful in the process. So instead, he the faunus decided to get up off the ground and actually catch his breath outside. Find something to actually do instead of just sitting around. However, it was when he stepped outside that he actually found two people waiting outside. One of them being Faith and the other one being Leo. The fact that Leo was here was surprising to him because last he checked, the Reckless Fist was still in Ponyville. How he was here now was what puzzled the faunus, but he decided to not question it.

“Well, I honestly did not expect for you two to be up so early… Or for Leo to be here for that matter…” Sun sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Oh… Sorry, was I interrupting something-?”

“Actually, I was originally going to have Moby and Remy get a few people up in order to help, but you just… happened to show up. As for my uncle, he had just arrived only a few moments ago.” The Code queen replied back to him. “Anyways though, remember when Uncle Leo told you yesterday about his plan to get an advantage on the demons?”

At this statement, the faunus folded his arms and also raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Wasn’t that also the plan that coincided with reclaiming Canterlot as well?” He asked. “Because I don’t see anypony else awake in order to do that.”

“I already got Nobleheart assembling a group to take care of that part,” Leo informed him. “What we need to do though is get in the caverns underneath Canterlot and get the Black Crow running. Once it’s in the air, we can have enough firepower both on the ground with Asphyxious forces and in the air to start pushing those demonic bastard back.” That sounded good, but there were a few things that Sun thought about that he had to ask.

“Who… exactly were you thinking about having come with us for this?” He asked while Leo was stretching out his shoulders. “I mean, I get that you want a few people to help you, but who exactly did you have in mind?”

“Specifically… I was thinking that your friends… Asphyxious, Sebastian and… the Conservor… Did I say that right, Faith?” The Reckless Fist asked in confusion, causing the girl to facepalm herself as she corrected him. “Ah right… Well, Asphy, Sebastian and the Preserver can stay here and help us not only combat the demons on the battlefield, but also help serve as commanders and tacticians.” That part, even though it was informative, did not answer Sun’s question… yet. “I was thinking some of your companions. Like Pyrrha and… that one girl with the beret.”

“Coco,” Faith reminded him, only to look back at Sun before sighing. “I’m sorry Sun, but it takes Uncle Leo a bit of time before he can remember people’s names. Not to mention the fact that it’s been harder to focus for him given the present… situation.”

“I understand… Coco is a good idea, but I’m unsure about Pyrrha. Her semblance is Magnetism and if your ship is made of metal, that could either be good or bad.” The Faunus advised him, giving him the short and brief explanation. “Plus, how exactly are you going to be able to get them in the first place? They’re probably still asleep-.”

“Shut it, I’m wide-” Coco announced, walking into the corridor while rubbing her eyes. Her yawn cut her off, but she kept going. “Awake…”

“Good morning to you as well, Ms. Coco,” One of Faith’s drones spoke to her and giving her a polite greeting. “Is it safe to assume that you have been hearing our conversation or do we need to inform you on what Ms. Faith and the rest of us have been talking about?”

“You’re supposed to use the last name of Ms., otherwise it’s just weird. I’m ‘Ms. Adel’.” Coco complained.

“Our apologies,” The drone replied. “We’ll remember that for next time… Anyways, we were discussing about getting to Canterlot to reclaim it and get Leo’s Airship, the Black Crow, in the air to help with pushing back the demons. Originally, such an idea seemed impossible, but with the new defenses and assistance you and Mr. S-, I mean Mr. Wukong and the rest of you brought, now it seems more likely.”

“Why can’t we just wait until daybreak?” The Faunus asked, looking back at the two drones as they looked back at the Reckless Fist and the Code: Nemesis. Leading to Leo answering Sun’s question

“The Demons always fire artillery strikes from their cannons set up farther out in the crystal empire the minute that the sun rises. I wanted for us to get the Black Crow in the air so not only we take care of the demons themselves, but destroy the weapons they would be using against the city.” Now that they were caught up to speed on everything, Leo also mentioned something else on the side as he breathed out a sigh of relief. “Once we reclaim Canterlot, we can re-establish trade with Ponyville and help them too. Caliburn is in need of soldiers and with their numbers growing thin, I’m worried that the town would fall if we don’t act soon.”

“I could make a distraction.” Coco suggested.

That lead to Sun looking back at her a little bit confused as he unfolded his arms. “What… kind of distraction? Leo did say that he wanted to have you and Pyrrha help us get there, but go ahead. I’m all ears.” The Faunus told her, allowing for Coco to explain the idea she had in mind.

“I could fire my gun into the air to lure them in, and you guys could flank ‘em.” Coco said. “But you know, I’m not a military strategist.”

“I understand and that… does seem possible. But they’re not fools. We’ve been trying to push them back, but it seems that the only possibility to truly catch them by surprise is an aerial assault.” Leo explained as he looked back at Coco. “I talked with Nobleheart, the General of the military here in the Empire and he suggested to have one group retake Canterlot while we get the Black Crow from underneath it. However, it’s unknown whether or not the demons have found their way into the Catacombs or not. So if it does look like they happen to be there, that would be a good time to use that strategy.”

“Hopefully, we don’t have any grimm show up while we’re out there. That would just complicate things.” Sun sighed a little, remembering a previous experience when he met Neltharion a long time ago.

“And things aren’t already complicated? We’re not pawns of war, but we’re fighting like some!” Coco said, suddenly getting slightly angry.

“We’re not ordering you to do anything and we don’t want too… I was going to ask whether or not you would want to join us.” Leo replied to her. “Besides, it may be a bit boring to just wait for the right opportunity to attack. So it’s your choice whether or not to come. But if you two do want to come, we’re going to be leaving in twenty minutes.” With that, the Reckless Fist left the room as Faith herself just sighed a little before looking back at Coco and Sun.

“I-i’m sorry about my Uncle… he’s a bit worried about some things and I’m worried that this is getting to him…” Faith replied, looking a bit down on herself for a bit. “But when I called you guys for help… I didn’t do it to make it sound like I was seeing you guys as pawns… I saw you guys as hope.”

“And rebellions are based on hope.” Sun smiled, looking back at Coco for a moment. “Okay, why does it feel like I was quoting Star Wars?”

“Dunno.” Coco said. “So who’s with us?”

“Well, Uncle Leo is going to be with us, I will… and if you two are coming, that makes four of us altogether,” Faith replied, pondering out the numbers as she was thinking everything over. “Nobleheart’s leading another group to take care of Canterlot, but for us, we should have enough on our side to not draw attention, but still… what’s the phrase… kick some ass?” Sun was honestly surprised that Faith would say something like that. He expected someone like Nicko, Anson or even Neptune to say something like that, but not Faith.

“No, no, it’s ‘I came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I’m all out of gum’.” Coco corrected, an evil smirk on her face. That caused Sun to facepalm himself in response to what she just said as he made sure that he had his gear with him so they were ready. “What? After you dumped me, I started watching movies while eating ice cream.”

“Wait, you two were in a relationship?” Faith blinked for a moment, shaking her head for a bit. “Sorry… I was lead to believe that you two were a couple.” That had Sun facepalming himself harder to the point that there was a bit of red on his forehead once he removed his hand.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that,” He sighed, shortly before remembering something as he looked back at the door to where everyone was currently asleep. “Hey, should we leave a message for Asphyxious and the others so they don’t flip out if they noticed that we’re gone?”

“Nah, what’s the worst that could happen?” Coco shrugged his worry off. “Also, I have higher standards. Why would you think that?”

“Well, what would the first thing that Asphyxious would think if he noticed us missing, no note left behind and no one to tell him what was going on?” The Faunus then asked, shortly before Faith then spoke up.

“Uh… he would think that we’ve been kidnapped?” That was just… one possibility, but Sun had to admit, she made a valid point. “Besides, we can just use the same nasod drone I used to message you guys to leave a quick message for him before we leave.”

“Alright. Now answer me. Why did you think Sun and I were a couple?” Coco asked, eyes narrowing.

“Uh… w-well… because you t-two remind me of my m-mom and dad… before my mom died though,” She said, looking down for a little bit as she looked back at her. “I miss her sometimes… and you… kind of remind me of her because of how you act around Sun.” That… was surprising. Sun honestly did not expect to hear that from Faith at all and… it just made him feel a bit bad for her after hearing that.

“I-i’m sorry to hear that…” Sun told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll do whatever we can to help okay? Just get the message ready and we’ll be set.” Faith nodded shortly after that, wiping the tear that almost formed in her eyes and leaving behind the message for Asphyxious and the others shortly before returning to Coco and Sun. She lead the two of them to where Leo was as he was sharpening his sword and making sure that his arm was in peak condition before they were going to head out. He didn’t seem to notice them though until Faith actually spoke up and caught his attention.

“Uncle Leo, we’re ready to get going.” Faith told him as the Reckless Fist got up off of the wooden crates he was sitting on and putting his blade on his back for when he actually needed to use it.

“Alright. Nobleheart and the others already got a head start in order to scout the area,” The Reckless Fist informed them as he began to turn around and walk towards one of the nearby rooms. “Follow me and we can catch up to where we’re suppose to rendezvous with them.” Soon, all four of them lead into a courtyard where it looked like some kind of weird looking glyph was glowing on the ground. Before Sun could even ask, Leo had stepped on it and disappeared in a flash.

“Okay, what the hell was that?” Sun asked, blinking his eyes a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

“Don’t worry. It’s a teleportation glyph that’ll take us to where Nobleheart is stationed with everyone else. We use these glyphs to spare ourselves a lot of time in traveling between locations. Trust me, I know it’s weird, but it works,” The Code Nemesis assured both of them. “Now come on, let’s not keep everyone waiting.”

“Alright, what are we doing?” Coco asked, completely lost. The only way that was answered was by Faith grabbing her hand and pulling her forward as they both disappeared once they landed across the glyph. Sun was confused… but a few moments later, he just shrugged and then ran in afterwards.

The moment he felt his feet land on the ground again, he found himself along with Coco, Faith and Leo at the Canterlot station that was outside of the city itself. There were a few ponies there, including the one that Sun remembered Leo had told them about named Nobleheart. But there was still a bit of confusion as to what was next on the agenda.

“Okay, Leo. We’ll take our forces up to the city itself. The entrance to the caverns should be nearby at the end of the track. You’ll find a symbol at the entrance to show that you are on the right path,” The Unicorn told him as he looked at everyone else, shortly before turning around a few moments later. “Good luck down there. We’re all counting on you.”

“Wait a second… What symbol would we be looking for?” The Faunus asked in confusion. He did make a valid point since the unicorn said a symbol and not anything specific. But, to his surprise, the faunus did not expect for Faith to actually have Moby and Remy hold out a symbol that replicated that of Celestia’s cutie mark.

“We placed that on the door since the symbol also serves as a ward against demonic magic… Sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, we were a bit… distracted by the circumstances since we were trying to get here before daybreak.” Nobleheart apologized, looking back at us and handing something to the faunus, which looked like a small baton. “Emergency flares… just in case if things go wrong… Not that I think you would use them, but just in case. Good luck down there.” With that, Nobleheart joined back up with the soldiers he was with as Sun put the baton away.

“Is it just me or did that make things more confusing than before?” The Faunus asked, looking back at the rest of the team.

Coco shrugged. “I’m not following any of this crap.”

Leo sighed for a moment before looking at the two of them. “Don’t worry. I know the path he’s talking about. Just follow me and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.” With that, the Reckless fist lead the group down the set of train track as they moved along the side of the mountain.

“Right…” Coco replied, though was completely confused. At one point when the four of them reached a tunnel, Leo and the others had them stick along the walls of the tunnel as the Faunus soon noticed an opening in the wall with the same sun like logo they were tasked to find. Leo himself… since the logo was placed on a stone barrier, solved how to get passed it by the only way he thought possible.

By punching it… with his metal arm of course. The force of the blow causing the whole thing to turn into a pile of rubble as he looked back at the group. “Alright… problem solved. Let’s get going.” Shrugging a bit, Sun and the others soon followed him… only to find one massive airship deep in the underground caverns. Black exterior, entirely made of the same material that was used for Leo’s arm and had a lot of weapons on board. Weapons that made Coco stare in awe.

“I want one…” Coco said breathlessly.

“No…” Faith said, facepalming herself as the group soon approached the ship and Leo dropped down a ladder for them to get on board. As they got on the main deck, the Reckless Fist soon called out to them.

“I’m going to get the ship's power core online… Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.” He said, just as he was beginning to power up the ship from the inside. Though, the loud roaring of the engines caused everything to rumble in response. Yet… Moby and Remy detected something else.

“Uh… not to interrupt you or anything, but I think we got company coming…” Remy told them, just at the same time they heard a loud series of screeches echo throughout the cavern.

“Aw sh*t… We got company coming and I need time in order for the ship to be fully capable for flight. One of you get on the guns on the main deck and hold them off until we’re ready for takeoff!!” The Reckless Fist yelled at the others, causing Coco to immediately run towards the turrets.

“I got this!” Coco shouted and mounted the gun. She looked at the controls for a second and cursed under her breath. She then pressed random buttons and it turned on. “I’ll hold ‘em off!”

“We’ll cover you if any of them get on board the ship!” Faith told her as the faunus that was next to him prepared his weapons for combat as a massive swarm of demonic gargoyles came charging at them. The nasod queen had her drones ready as she changed her source code to Battle Seraph and began to blast some enemies out of the sky.

Sun though, was also focused on making sure to keep some enemies away from Coco and provide cover for her while she was blasting at the onslaught of demonic horrors coming at them. Yet, even with them fighting off and killing any demon that had tried to infiltrate the ship, two more would replace it. Which made things even more complicated with the fact that it was taking Leo a while in order to power up the ship. Though, when they were fighting… Sun got an idea as he looked at the tunnel where they were coming from and remembered the flare he had.

Pulling it out and lighting it, the faunus threw it to where the flare was just above the entrance of the tunnel as he looked back at Coco and Faith. “Fire at the flare! Now!!”

Coco did, and the blast caused several huge rocks to collapse on the incoming swarm and blocking off one of the tunnels they came through. Drastically lowering their forces and also blocking off one point of entry for them as Sun looked back at her. “Nice shot! That should give us some more time… and reduce the amount of enemies we need to fight at once.” Coco hopped off of the turret and ran over to the others.

“My gun does more damage.” She grumbled in response as she pulled out her minigun and had it armed and ready.

“Well, it was still your first time with it. Getting used to the controls and-.” Moby was going to continue speaking, but a glare from Faith had him stop. “My apologies.”

“No need to say that yet… Let’s wait until we’re out of this mess first.” The Faunus told the drone as he now loaded some fire dust ammunition into his weapons as he looked back at his allies. “How much longer until this ship's operational, Leo?”

“Give me two minutes and I can have her airborn! Just keep holding them off!!” The Reckless Fist shouted back from the engine compartment as the three of them looked at the remaining enemies that were all over the caverns.

Sun himself though, smirked as he looked back at his allies as he took out some of the dust shards that he had in his pockets, each one being an incendiary one. “So, who’s ready for some fireworks?”

“Me!” Coco shouted. The Faunus smirked, tossing the glowing red shards into the air and at the remaining demons that were still airborne. His friend though, saw this as target practice. Her bag transformed into it’s gatling gun form, and she obliterated the shards in mid flight, causing them to explode in a fiery fury as it turned many of the incoming enemies to ash. Drastically lowering the amount of monsters that they had to face and allowing for Faith to pick off any remaining stragglers that were floating around.

“We cleared the airways! Is everything ready!?” Sun shouted, waiting to hear a response from Leo once he emerged from down below emerged.

“We’re clear! All systems are operational,” The Reckless Fist affirmed to both of them before looking back at Faith. “Faith, punch us out a hole so we can get out of here!” Hearing that though made the Faunus that was standing there a bit more confused than anything else. Not to mention also puzzling Coco as well.

“What on Equestria are you talking about?” Coco asked. All the Code Queen said as a pair of energy formed wings as she looked back at them and said something to them. Not as just a general sentence… but as a precautious warning.

“Hold onto something…” She said as the energy around her began to surge rapidly as kinetic energy began to channel all around her like lightning. Glaring at the stone wall ahead of her, she grit her teeth as both Moby and Remy stood by her to help her pull off what she was trying to do. “Psychic… ARTILLERY!!”

Sun himself had only seconds to react as the Code: Battle Seraph unleashed a powerful blast towards the stone ceiling, only making a small hole originally… until the second blast that she fired off made that small hole a lot more massive in size. Almost as if she annihilated the entire ceiling and created an opening for the ship to rise up and become airborne.

And he only had two words in response. “Holy… sh*t…”

“This is ludicrous!” Coco shouted. Only for Faith to tire out and fall on the floor after that. Tired out and drained from pulling off the hyperactive skill. The ship was soon in flight, giving Leo the chance to have the ship be parked in the air as he looked back at them.

“Go easy on her. She just used up all her mana in order to give us a chance to get in the air,” The Reckless Fist told both of them as he walked on over to them. “She’s lucky to not pass out from that. The least you can do is take her below deck and help her get some rest.”

“You’re a d*ck!” Coco hissed. “I never said anything against her!”

Leo sighed for a moment as he looked down on himself before forming an apology inside his head because of his reactions. “I just presumed that you were going to say something to Faith afterwards. And for that, I apologize.” Bending over, he helped Faith onto her feet and turned to Sun and Coco for a moment as he looked back at both of them while holding what looked similar to a powerade bottle in his hands. “Can one of you help me get this open?”

Sun raised an eyebrow as he looked back at him in confusion. “Uh… sure. What is that though?”

“It’s a recovery potion that can help Faith regain the mana she used just now and restore her energy too.” Leo told him as Sun twisted the cap off and gave it for Faith to drink.

“Great, I need that kinda thing for my aura and if I had a Semblance...” Coco said, then looked herself up and down. “God d*mn it, I didn’t activate it. I’ve been going on through fights without protection.”

“I was wanting to ask about that…” Faith mentioned, now that she had a bit more energy now in order to stand as Leo returned his focus to driving the ship. “Sun mentioned something about a semblance for that Pyrrha lady… What exactly are Semblances? Are they something with your world specifically?”

“They are special abilities tied to individuals. Unfortunately I don’t have one since the character I’ve become wasn’t given one by the creators.” Coco explained. Sun nodded his head, going as far as to demonstrate his semblance by clapping his hands together and forming a spectral clone next to him.

“Aura and Semblance are two factors that work hand and hand with one another. Aura is what you might see as mana; energy for your abilities. Semblance is a skill that’s unique to a certain person and each one is different… unless if a particular skill is hereditary and passed down through a family tree. Mine is something I call decoy, where I can project my aura into spectral clones that could explode on contact with a target.” The Faunus explained, looking back at her. “Think of it like your uncle and his abilities with Rune magic…… and strangely enough, that just makes me think of Weiss and her glyphs.”

“Anyways, let’s get back on topic… What now?” Coco asked.

“Well… It’s about damn time that we finally take the fight to them,” Leo smirked, gritting his teeth as he pushed the throttle on the ship and guided it towards the direction of the Crystal Empire. “We’ve been on the defensive side of this fight for too long… now it’s time to turn the tables… and they have no freaking idea what we have in store for them.”

“What about Nobleheart and the others?” Sun then asked, remembering the Unicorn and the other ponies that were going into Canterlot.

“There mission was to reclaim Canterlot and make contact with Caliburn and the others in Ponyville. They only had a minimal amount of contact with each other and once we re-establish contact, we can provide them troops and supplies. Right now though, we should focus on the task at hand,” Leo told them before turning to Coco. “You ready for another round in the cannon? I wasn’t able to do this earlier, but I can modify the controls to make it easier for you to use.”

“Sure! Always willing to blow something up!” Coco announced.

“Good to hear it… Because you may be in for a treat with what I need your help for next,” Leo told him as he looked back at her with a grin. “While Sun and Faith are going to man the deck… You are going to be raining death from above on them once we get close enough. Those bastards will have no idea what’s in store for them by the time we get there.”

---

Sometime earlier…

By the time he woke up, Anson felt as if something was… missing. Normally when he would wake up; he would often hear Leo conversing with somepony else down the hall or notice Faith’s drones, Moby and Remy, outside her door and keeping watch. Instead, all he got this morning was silence… and it was really unsettling. Getting up from his room and getting dressed, the Infinity Sword walked down the hall to where Leo would normally be and also Faith’s room, just to make sure that they were still here.

However, his nervousness only got worse. He could not find the Reckless Fist in his quarters and when he went to check on Faith, all he saw was his daughter’s empty room. Anson was beginning to think the worst… like somepony had kidnapped them or something. However, his train of thought changed when the Infinity Sword turned to see a red haired woman approach him. She wasn’t Amy, but one of the Displaced that came with Sun yesterday.

“Excuse me… you’re Anson right?” She asked, only causing him to nod his head a little. “Would you happen to know where Sun and Coco went? They were missing from our quarters this morning.” That caught Anson off guard for a moment as he looked back at the huntress and processed what he just heard before shaking his head.

“No, I don’t… it’s strange because I can’t seem to find Leo or my daughter Faith for that matter…” He replied back, thinking of what else to say before looking back at her. “Was anyone else missing from your quarters or just those two?”

“Just them… and there was this small object left on the table in the center of the room we were in,” Pyrrha told him as she pulled out something from her bag. However, what it was caught Anson off guard… big time.

“T-that’s one of my daughter’s messenger drones!” Anson replied, shocked to see it right now of all times. “Did it have a message on there?”

“I don’t know… I haven’t been able to get it to tell me anything and all it had done was speak in beeps…” The huntress replied as the small drone looked towards the Infinity Sword now and recognized who he was. Anson noticed a small blinking button on the drones head and after pressing it with his index finger, the drone beeped some more before presenting a holo-screen to him.

“T-there’s a message on here… from half an hour ago.” He replied, reading everything over carefully so he could process what his daughter was telling him. It took some time, but he was able to get the context of what she was saying after a few minutes. However, getting over it internally and not having his parental instincts take control of his thinking was a bit harder for him. He personally worried that Faith and the others were in danger.

“What does it say?” Pyrrha asked him, snapping Anson’s focus back to reality as he looked back at her before turning to the drone to reference what his daughter left for him.

“It’s says that Sun, Coco and her went with Leo on an important mission to help… turn the tide against the demons. However, she doesn’t go into description as to how they were going to do that or what Leo’s plans were.” The Infinity Sword replied, looking back at Pyrrha for a moment. “I do trust Leo to keep an eye on her, but I’m worried that whatever they’re doing may attract more attention than they hoped.”

“I’m sure they’re doing just fine… I mean, with Sun and Coco, they should be okay-.” Just as Pyrrha was about to finish her sentence, beams of sunlight soon began to lit up the hall… and the sounds of explosions caused tremors underneath their feet. Anson, in a hurry, went out to the balcony to see what was going on. Noticing that what was causing all the commotion was the sound of artillery fire from the enemy colliding with the shield around the city. Causing him to grit his teeth and curse mentally.

“W-what was that!?” Pyrrha asked, caught off guard by what just happened.

“Damn it… The demons are beginning their assault. They always fire off artillery strikes every time around sunrise,” Anson told her as they felt another series of rumbles along the ground. “Get everyone up and on their feet!! We’re not going to stand around while the Crystal Empire gets attacked! It’s time we take the fight to them!!”

Just shortly after racing down the hall though, the two of them happened to find someone else who was awake in that moment. One of the displaced from beacon, Craig, was just walking down the nearby hall to a nearby balcony to see everything going on outside when they both noticed him as Anson approached him.

Craig then simply turned around before he simply asked “Okay so what’s going on outside, some sort of riot?”

“More like an attack on the city. The demons out there always have been trying to attack the city everytime before daybreak. Not even giving people a chance to wake up first.”

“Welp… how much collateral are you allowing out there?” Craig asked.

“If it weren’t for the Preserver’s new shield, then they would already have struck several of the main buildings here…” Anson told him. “Sun and Coco are helping Faith and Leo acquire something to help push them back, but until then, we need to hold down the fort and fight them off. I hope you’re ready for combat.”

“You really have no idea what I can do,” Craig said almost coldly. “So… where do you need to eliminate the Demons?” a sadistic grin appearing on his face as black smoke began to flow from behind his neck almost seeming to create a cape that almost looked to a moonlit sky shimmering against it.

“So far, with the back of the city facing towards the mountains, they’ve been trying to push their assault on both sides of the empire and the front. If you can push from the front, we can have everyone else give you backup as well as push away any incoming enemies from both the east and west side of the city.” The Infinity Sword explained as he armed himself with both of his swords. “Do you know of anyone who came with you that could assist you right now or do you have this under control?”

“Just make sure nobody gets in front of me and I can handle the army.... If anyone finds Asuna send her our way… she’ll likely be at the hospital.” Craig admitted.

“I can go look for her,” Pyrrha volunteered as she looked back at Craig. “Is there anything important, description wise, that I should be looking out for?”

“Look for a fairy with blue hair and she’ll most likely be healing the injured using an incantation that will leave what will look to be water droplets in the air around them,” Craig suggested. Pyrrha nodded and shortly afterwards, left to go find her while Anson looked back at him.

“Is there anyone you would like for me to find while I get everyone else up?” He then asked.

“Honestly only my Twilight won’t be aware of what’s going on,” Craig replied looking towards where the assault was coming from.

“So find her and bring her up to speed?” Anson asked. He was all too familiar with the fact that anytime something happens that Twilight is unaware of, she either stresses out about it or over thinks of it in ways that would seem too… dramatic.

“Probably a good idea… but heads up she has a warrior in her head that is used to this sort of stuff… she won’t be phased by what's happening… if anything she’ll want to take control them.”

That last part caught Anson’s attention as he looked back at Craig with a raised eyebrow. “Wait… control them? What do you mean by that?”

“The warrior inside her controls an army of monsters and demons from Tartarus… or the underworld in other terms.” Hearing what Craig said made Anson a bit… curious as to what he was saying. Curious to the point that he then asked something that not only seemed like a longshot of an idea… but a pretty good one at that.

“So we fight Demons… with Demons?” The Infinity Sword then said to Craig, thinking over the idea as well. “That… sounds risky, but I’m all for it… Does she have control over them though? I rather not cause another problem after we handle this problem right now.”

“The ones she has… yes and given enough time she could capture some of the attacking ones and bend them to her will.” Craig admitted, clenching his hand as to point out what he meant. What he told him reminded Anson of something that he almost forgot about for a long time. In the original Elsword, there was a rare item that could drop on certain monsters and bosses called ‘Monster Cards’. By using one, it would allow the player to summon a particular monster that the card was based on and it will fight by their side for only three minutes. There were some benefits to this, but also some drawbacks since it would take almost five minutes for the cooldown on some cards to wear off before using another one and you could only have one monster summoned at a time.

From what it sounded like with Twilight though… that was not the case. This sounded completely different. “That may work, but she should be careful. Some of the demons would rather kill themselves then betray their leader. But if you think she would be helpful here, then let me go find her.”

“She would be a great help… but getting her to help may be a challenge in itself… I couldn’t even give you a location where she would be right now.”

“Well, she came here with you, so my best guess is that she’s somewhere in the Crystal Empire… I better start looking,” Anson told him, turning around and racing down the hallway as Craig got himself ready.

“Yeah, you get on that… oh… I should probably have mentioned she’ll search out any source of demonic energy… eh I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Craig muttered as he began to walk towards the battle outside. “Although I should make sure Twilight doesn’t do anything stupid.”

As Anson himself made it through the inside of the building and out into the courtyard, he was looking around to see if there was anything that would’ve been… off in this present moment. Surely, the streets were mostly empty since the civilians were evacuated, but there was something that did not make sense-. “Oh, finally! I found somepony that can help me!”

That had the Infinity Sword turn around, only to be surprised at what exactly he saw. “Flurry Heart? What are you doing out here-!?”

“I was originally looking for Faith because I did not know where she went, but I’ve been stalked by this weird Aunt Twilight lookalike for the last few minutes. Can you help?” That made Anson facepalm himself on the forehead, groaning a little in response. Not only did he find who he was looking for… but found them in the most weirdest way possible.

“You didn’t bring out Angkor now, did you?” He asked, just to make sure.

“No, but he’s bound to me because of our contract so…” The Alicorn’s words only seemed to attract more attention to herself as both of them now happened to lay eyes on who exactly Flurry’s…… stalker was.

“Twilight, I know you’re there. Come on out please.” He asked.

“Pretty sure i’m not your Twilight,” she admitted as a figure walked out the shadows wearing purple armour and holding a strange purple shield and sword.

“And I’m pretty sure that you are Craig’s Twilight, am I right?” The Infinity Sword asked.

“So… you do know… then you know why I’m following her… or what i’m after from her.” Anson looked back at her, gritting his teeth as he cleared his throat and sighed.

“You’re after Angkor… I’m sorry, but the demon bat belongs to Flurry Heart and is part of her only… However, we have pressing matters at hand and Craig wants you to help. We got an invasion force of demons outside that are attacking the Empire right now-.”

“Those demons are nothing in comparison the power of the demon she possesses… with that power I could finally take Craig down and lead the teams like I should.” Twilight said as a purple flicker of light passed through her eyes momentarily. That though, also made Flurry Heart not as scared anymore, but now a bit defensive.

“Like Hell, I’ll let you do that!” She snapped at her. “Angkor’s my friend and I am not letting a faker auntie take him away from me!”

“You think you can stop me?”

“She may not be able to, but you should not take control of my Twilight, Koragg,” Craig voice said from behind Anson as he walked towards them holding what looked to be an oversized Shuriken in his hand.

“Perfect timing,” Anson thought mentally as he looked back at Craig.

“But I can’t control demons… I fight with Angkor’s powers and my magic!” Flurry Heart replied, not understanding what Craig was talking about.

“Don’t worry kid, I’ll handle this,” Craig said calmly with a smile as he walked past her. His weapon shrunk as he placed it on his back and what looked to be a golden sword and black shield appeared in his hands now.

“Flurry, stay next to me.” Anson told her, the alicorn complying instantly as she stood next to the Infinity Sword while Craig continued to move closer to Twilight.

“You always ruin the hunt, Craig. You can never let me just take her body, can you.”

“Nope,” Craig replied as he tossed multiple knifes around the surrounding area before stabbing his sword into the ground before lighting arked between the knives before Craig charged forwards as lighting surround his blade and the knifes all floated around him slicing into Twilight’s armour.

Anson himself had to be careful and used his sword to deflect any stray weapons that might’ve drifted their way as both he and Flurry began to back away from both of them.

“Don’t worry I’ll sort this out,” Craig said as he suddenly disappeared before rapidly reappearing behind Twilight as both his hands struck her neck as she suddenly fell forwards as her armour just disappeared as Craig’s knives either disappeared if returned to the sheathes along his body. He then turned to Anson and Flurry Heart before he asked “Are you all okay?”

“Yeah, just a couple of scrapes. Nothing we can’t handle!” Flurry Heart replied, looking at Twilight now. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“She’ll be fine… as long as I’m nearby, Koragg won’t try anything else for a while,” Craig admitted as he picked the unconscious Twilight up.

“I’ll leave her to you then,” Anson told him as he looked back at Flurry for a moment before speaking. “We’ll go get everyone else.”

“Probably a good idea… and sorry about not mentioning that she isn’t great at controlling those powers… and not mentioning Koragg to you,” Craig admitted as he rubbed the back of his head.

“It’s okay. Things happen,” He said before looking back at the front of the empire as they heard some more explosions. “Well, we better hurry up then.” Flurry herself nodded in agreement as both of them raced over back to where they knew that some of the other Displaced were at right now. However, what they found though a few minutes later… actually caught them by surprise.

Asphyxious was laughing like a mad man as the large boxy like Warjack, a Colossals. Standing tall and aims it large cannons at the demons on the other side of the wall. “That’s it, my Conquest! Up and at'em! We got demons to kill, and sh*t to blow up!” Asphyxious roared as the Deathjack was standing next to him.

“Uh…… are you sure this guy is here to help us?” Flurry asked Anson, a bit confused and concerned because of the maniacal laughter that was coming from the dracolich.

“Trust me… this is… supposedly normal I think…” Anson told her. Whether or not he should be concerned was another thing. “At least this isn’t like Amy whenever she gets really excited for taking on a massive group of enemies all by herself.”

“…… Wait, she can do that?” The young alicorn asked, causing the Infinity Sword to sigh for a moment. The subject of Molly’s sister was not always brought up a lot anytime that she was with the Mastermind. But when it was brought up, the conversation was more focused on all the collateral damage that was left behind from any fight that she was in.

“Trust me, there are a lot of things about Amy that you have yet to learn about, kiddo.” Anson sighed, turning his head to now notice the lich that was previously laughing his skull off to now be waving at them.

“Hey guys, what do you think of my Colossal?” Asphyxious asked, finally noticing them. “I was going to order it to return fire if that okay with you?”

“Craig is going to be out there soon with his Twilight combatting them and Sun, Coco and Faith are trying to get something to turn the tide of this fight and take out their cannons. Return fire, but don’t hit Craig or us while we are out there!

“Pffff, you make it sound like I don’t know what I’m doing? I’ve been through war before thank you. Oi! Bull! Shoot back but don’t hit our friends!” However, that only lead to the young filly next to Anson to look back at both of them with a bit of concern.

“Does he actually know what he’s doing?” She asked, causing Anson to shrug for a moment. Bull, the name of the colossal then fired it two large cannons on it back at the enemy. The sound of a explosion was soon followed.

“I would think so.” Anson replied. “Otherwise, we’d be in big trouble.”

”Trust me, he knows enough to be careful around allies… when he’s not dating one that is,” Craig chuckled as he walked up behind them. Anson turned around, almost surprised a bit to see him again so quickly while Flurry Heart almost reacted a bit defensively after her earlier encounter with the Koragg possessed Twilight.

“Relax kiddo. Koragg’s dealt with… he won’t be back again anytime soon.” Craig admitted as he nodded to his Twilight as she walked next to him this time wearing all the armour from the suit completely covering her body.

“Okay… Yet, Angkor’s still… well… a bit tense after what happened earlier,” Flurry Heart admitted, looking back at Twilight for a second before looking at Anson. Who sighed a bit as he put both of his blades away for the moment.

“Whatever the case may be, it’s good to see you guys again… Pyrrha’s looking for Asuna, Sun and Coco are with Faith and Leo… which only leaves that… Warhammer 40K or whatever the hell his name is and who came with him.” Anson grumbled.

“Those lot will be around here somewhere,” Craig admitted, before looking to Twilight before saying “Get some of your army on the walls firing on the demons… and if you feel like you can capture a few to weaken their numbers.”

“So with Asphyxious and some of Twilight’s demons manning the walls, that would only leave the rest of us to go into the field I think?” Anson asked, looking back at them. “If so, then Flurry should remain on the wall and use her magic to help-.” The sound of cannon fire though interrupted him though as they turned back to see Asphyxious looking back at Bull…… again.

“What? His doing as told?” Asphyxious said before going to the wall to see who Bull shot at. Once up there he laughed, causing Anson to roll his eyes for a moment as he looked back at the others. Trying to ignore Asphyxious for a moment as he thought everything through.

“So we’ll have Flurry, Asphyxious and some of Twilight’s demons provide covering fire along the wall while the rest of us fight on the ground until whenever Sun and the others show up.” Anson asked, just to make sure that there wasn’t any confusion at all whatsoever. “God, I hope Nicko’s doing alright with everything on his end right now.”

“Look on the bright side, at least we get to have some fun!” Asphyxious called down from the wall. As the Deathjack got into place by the gate, ready for any enemies to breach it. The heavy jack almost looked like it was waiting for the demons, as it flach it large claws as magic runes ran over it armor.

Something that Anson saw as surprising. Runes were Nicko’s specialty, yet these ones were not quite ones that he had not seen before. Yet, there wasn’t any time to be distracted by small things such as that. “Alright… Let’s get going… Oh, and Craig… feel free to get the others off their ass if they stay asleep for far too long. We’re going to need all the help we can get right now.” Cannon fire was heard again, before Asphyxious let out a cheer.

Flurry Heart, shortly after the small ‘pep talk’ with everyone else, went up to the wall and got to work on using her magic to start attacking the demons while Twilight was getting herself ready. Shortly before Anson and Craig were going to go out and into the fight, a certain huntress soon came back and joined up with them. “I’m back guys. Brought Asuna with me as well.” She said as the fairy she was talking about was seen behind her.

“So where am I needed.” Asuna asked, looking to the group as she rubbed her hands together..

“Currently, Asphyxious and a few others are going to be providing covering fire for some of us that are going to push forward on the ground. Though, as to what you may be needed for… I’ll let Craig answer that question.” Anson told her, letting him have a chance to speak now.

Craig only sighed before he said “We’re just here to help, your leading us all. You need to make the call,” as he began to walk towards the battlefield.

“If that’s the case, then the ground force should be split into two groups. One group would have Craig and Twilight while you can be with Pyrrha and I if you wish. Right now, Sun and Coco aren’t here, but they’re going to come later. We just need to hold the line until they show up.” The Infinity Sword explained as he now gripped both of his swords and was ready for combat.

“Come on, you p****d face w**kers!” Asphyxious yelled over the wall at the demons, before sending a fireball of magic at them.

“Language,” Craig scolded as he walked up to Asphyxious with a smirk on his face as multiple clones of himself followed behind him spreading out against the wall. Asphyxious was found fighting with a demon before driving his cutlass into it gut before throwing it back over the wall.

“And stay out!” The dracolich called before pulling a staff out of his echo. “Who next?!” Asphyxious roared down at the hoard of demons trying to get up the wall. For a moment, it looked like he was about to jump down at them before calming down. Asphyxious then saw Craig. “Hey, what up?”

“Just found a new pastime I enjoy… being a demon slayer,” Craig joked as he rose his right hand above his head.

“Can we do this later, like when they're all dead?” Asphyxious asked pointing his staff at the demons.

“Sure,” Craig replied as all the clones beside them seemed to be charging up an attack as a blue light appeared in each of their hands before Craig quickly brought his hand downwards before all Twilight Demons and his clones all attacked at once the attacks charging across the battlefield destroying all demons in their path.

Asphyxious slowly looked at Craig. “That was a waist, you should have saved that for something more dangerous, Not cannon fador.” The dracolich pointed out before starting to clean his weapons.

“I can reuse that easily… that's just all the clones using the same attack at once.” Craig admitted.

Shortly after was when they noticed Anson himself jump into the fight. Not only using the two swords he had in order to cut down several of the demonic entities in front of him, but also summoning several more to pin down others as he caught up quite a few in a maelstrom of blades. Yet, he wasn’t fighting alone. Pyrrha was also behind him. Using her magnetism Semblance to guide any loose blades that were flying around to turn around and strike any other demons that Anson might’ve missed.

“Yeah… We’re going to be here for a while.” Asphyxious said before Bull fired it cannons once again. Raining death onto the demons, rendering them into nothing more than bloody meat and dissipating shadow magic. “Think I should let Deffy out to play?”

“Who’s Deffy?” Flurry asked as she was channeling a series of spells that were fired off at several demons using both shadow and light magic.

“The Deathjack.” Asphyxious replied as he summoned his Bane Knights to the wall. The Deathjack gave out a roar that it wanted to fight to.

“Oh…… What’s a deathjack?” She then asked. Unlike Asphyxious, Flurry had no prior knowledge to what he was talking about whatsoever. Meaning that it just left Asphyxious in a state where he felt like he had to do everything around here.

“I’ll explain it after the day is saved.” Asphyxious replied, looking over the wall. “Mind opening the gate for a bit? Deffy want to play with them.”

“Can’t you just have them land on the battlefield? I mean Anson and some of the others jumped off the wall because I don’t think they want to let some of the bad guys in.” Flurry Heart said… in a way that reminded Asphyxious of his own kids. He found it adorable.

“Bull, pick up Deathjack and help him to the other side.” Asphyxious asked. Bull did as was told, as the deathjack hang from the colossal hand. Before the deathjack let go on the other side, screams were soon heard as it landed on the demonic entities that ‘Deffy’ happened to squish as flat as a pancake. “You might want to look away, he tends to be… Gorey. And may try and eat them.”

That was when he noticed Anson use one of his blades to pull himself up along the wall as he looked back at the lich in that moment. “We’ve all seen worse… Trust me… Amy has had things happen to the point where Celestia had to ban her from Canterlot because of all the trouble she was causing.”

“Well don’t blame me if she get nightmares from this.” Asphyxious replied as he saw the Deathjack hold a demon up, it face plate opened up to show off a jaw full of sharp teeth. It let out a roar before taking a bite out of it.

“Yeah… That’s small compared to Amy… Do you really want me to explain to you what happened when she decided to use her ‘vacation days’?” He asked, looking back at Asphyxious before raining down a barrage of blades on some of the demons that were trying to race across the battlefield.

“Not really, I have enough to deal with back home.” Asphyxious added as he looked at the battlefield.

“To keep it brief, let’s just say the amount in collateral was… the Amy amount.” He told them, looking back at the warzone as they were seeing the massive amount of demons from before be reduced in size. However, the only question though was when exactly was Sun and everyone else going to get back here. Because at this rate, enemy reinforcements might show up faster than they would. “Still… how much longer do you think Sun and the others are going to take-.”

It was then of course that they happened to see a bright flash of energy go off in the distance. Almost going as far as tearing a hole in the side of a few neighboring mountains as the place shook a little. “...... I take back my last question.” The Infinity Sword sighed.

“Leave it to Sun to take all the fun.” Asphyxious added with a smile.

“That… wasn’t Sun,” The comment from Flurry Heart caught both Asphyxious and Anson by surprise. But what the Void Princess said next really caught Anson off guard. “Just now… That was Faith.”

“Who?” Asphyxious asked before Bull fired it cannons again. The Infinity Sword himself turned around, looking back at him with a sigh as he facepalmed himself.

“You just met her yesterday and now you forgot who my daughter is?” He questioned, groaning a little as he looked back at him. “No wonder you sound too busy… you might need to improve your memory once we’re done here… Just saying.”

“Going insane does that to you.” The dragonlich replied like it no big deal. “Luna working on my mind while I’m home. When I sleep it helps, kind of. I forgot a lot...” That just had Anson facepalm himself again as he brought forth his blades once again. Aiming at the ground as he pulled himself back towards the battlefield and rejoined Pyrrha while beginning to fight with close quarters combat.

A massive wall of explosions erupted nearby, vaporising a group of demons in the process. Before the demons that survived the blast could regain their senses, two armored figures landed in their midst, one wielding a sword that separated into a whip-like blade, while the other cut down more with a hail of bullets from his gun. “Geez, did plans get changed and we weren’t told?!” Viktor asked.

“No, you slept in.” Flurry Heart then said. “But who sleeps through the sound of explosions?”

“Eh, when you’ve been doing patrol all night, it’ll tire you out!” the Spartan retorted good naturedly

“By the way, Flurry who are your mum and dad? You look like someone I know but I can’t put my finger on it.” Asphyxious asked.

“Really? I thought someone told you that my mom was Princess Cadence.” She said, all before running off to fire off some spells at another angle to blindside a few enemies and provide cover for those that were on the ground. Asphyxious blinked in confusion as he heard this.

Rolling his eyes, Viktor leapt into the air as a Broadsword fighter formed around him and he streaked into the air before swooping down in a strafing run, machine guns blazing. Alex meanwhile had been forced back, and was now fighting back to back with Anson.

“WHAT!?” Asphyxious finally yelled.

“It took him that long to realize that?” Anson groaned for a moment as he blocked an incoming attack from behind before slicing the attacking demon in half. “My god, he’s slow to react sometimes.”

“Tell me about it…” Alex grumbled as she blasted a demon back with a magic pulse before wrapping the whip blade around another and slamming him into his comrades. “When I say “now”, duck.” she said.

“She is Cadence’s kid… Oh my god, I’M GOING TO BE AN UNCLE!” Asphyxious yelled before laughing and jumped into the hoard of demons. The sound of laughter and demons dying was soon heard.

“NOW!” Alex yelled. She switched her weapon to her right hand and charged it with arcane energy before spinning and projecting a blade of energy that cleaved through anything in its path. Anson and a few others ducked once she shouted as Alex’s blade clawed through multiple monsters that were on the field. Killing most, but leaving a lot of them with serious injuries as a result.

But Anson was the next one to act as he threw down a huge blade on the ground. “Okay everyone… get down.” With that, the outer edges of his weapon began to crack open and with it, a massive flurry of swords surged forth around them like a vortex. “Blade RAIN!!”

“Careful, you almost hit me!” Asphyxious yelled. “But seeing as we’re doing a op hour...”

“I was honestly just trying to thin out their numbers. Besides, until whenever the hell Sun decides to show up, we need to hold the front line.” The Infinity Sword told them.

“You make it sound like a hard thing!” Asphyxious yelled back as he cut a demon down. “I mean these guys are made of Raditz!”

“You do realize these same Raditz’s were the ones that almost slaughtered everyone in Canterlot and set the city ablaze right?” He then asked.

“As he said… Raditz,” Craig sighed as a purple runic portal opened under three groups of demons as they were dragged into it.

*At least these guys give us some target practice!* Sebastian radioed from where he had his Whirlwind artillery tank positioned and aimed at some of the enemies in the distance. However, before he could be able to attack them… something else occurred instead.

“Knock knock, B*TCHES!!!” As everyone looked around to see where they heard that voice come from, a powerful blast went off with the force of a nuclear blast… minus the radiation of course as the explosion annhilated all of the enemies that were nearby and also took out a lot of the artillery cannons that the demons were using to launch their attacks. When Anson and the others turned to see where the blast came from, they found a large airship in the sky with a black chrome exterior and the sides of the ship resembling the wings of a crow. Not to mention they found Sun and Faith on the railing of the ship and Coco on the huge big ass turret that was on the main deck.

“That so not fair!” Asphyxious called out, not happy that almost all of the enemies were dead. Anson just groaned, while Flurry Heart herself giggled a little in response to the lich’s dismay. Yet, there were still some enemies farther in the distance as the Reckless Fist that was the captain of the ship called out on the radio.

“Says the ones who have been having all the fun so far! I say it’s now our turn!” Leo called out. “Though, I’m not stopping you if you want to join in. Sun, Coco, Faith… Lock and load. This is going to get messy.”

“Yeah yeah, I heard you the first few times you said that on the way here!” Sun replied, running to the edge and jumping off, preparing his own… landing strategy. If you consider a landing strategy using a certain lich to cushion his fall as he leaped off of him and had Asphyxious’ face land in the snow. “Sorry about that!!”

Asphyxious slowly get up and bares his fangs at Sun. “I will eat your bones one day…” He growled before standing up and dusting his tail off. Before moving to clean his wings. The Deathjack meanwhile was busy eating demon bodies… or what was left of them since most of what composed up the demons was primarily shadow magic.

“Asphyxious, are you seriously going to sit around and give yourself a pedicure while we have a job to do?” Anson questioned as he ran after the Monkey Faunus. “Because if I were you, I would move out of the way of the huge cannon that has you in their line of sight.”

“If she fired she risk hitting the wall and making an opening for the demons.” Asphyxious informed pointing back at the wall behind him. Bull then fired his cannons, most likely spotting a demon somewhere. “Besides my job if you remember was to keep the wall safe. It is safe now, I now have the job of getting everyone ready for the next attack if and when it happens again.”

“Not this time,” The Infinity Sword shot back, arming himself with both of his blades. “We’re going to push these bastards out of the Empire and teach them not to even think twice of stepping foot in here. The only question is that if you are in… or are you out?”

Asphyxious let out a long sigh. “I’m in, seeing as none of you understands the basics of strategy.” He complained before ordering Bull to remain behind to guard the city. “If we’re doing this your way, we need to cut down their numbers to the point no one can report what happened here. I’ll leave my Dogs in the city.”

That was when he felt someone else land on his head again. This time being Faith as the Code Queen looked back at him with a deep sigh as Flurry decided to join up with her. “What do you think they’re doing right now then… Besides… you know everyone else can hear you complain right?” To add to that point, Pyrrha soon knocked Asphyxious on the head with her shield as she was looking back at him.

“Oh, my bad… I was making sure that you still had your head on your shoulders,” She smirked, looking back at them. “But in all seriousness, we should have some of us go back to check and make sure the town is alright. We came here originally to assist the Empire, not get ourselves and Beacon dragged into an all out war.”

“Bite me…” Asphyxious grumbled before flying off, as the Deathjack ran off to follow it warcaster. Causing the huntress to look back at the Code Queen and everyone else before sighing as she watched Asphyxious leave them.

“Can’t that guy take a joke?” She asked, shrugging her shoulders.

“Not if he’s at the tail end of it apparently,” Faith sighed as she looked to see the Black Crow in the sky keep track of those going after the remaining forces. “Let’s go back and check with the Preserver to see if the shield and the town are alright.”

---

Asphyxious’ Diamond Dogs were left behind to guard the city, along with their army of warjacks since Asphyxious had went off on his own. Much to the surprise of Faith and the others upon returning inside the cities walls.

“There no need to fire your cannons any more you big brute!” Yelled a diamond dog at the colossal call Bull. It was comical to see something so large almost acting like a child being scolded by their parent, even with the colossal pouting at the well.

“Hi there, everything in order?” Called out a old griffon in some kind steam powered armor. “My name Nightclaw, I’m in charge of the Wolves of cryx until lord Asphyxious get back.

Sebastian soon walked up to the group. “I see you got the ship operational.” he commented, taking his helmet off.

“Wasn’t that hard once Kay got her paws on it.” Said the griffon, as the ship engine gave out a boom before running again. “I only worry she going to try and improve it. Or get Gear Shift to help.” Nightclaw then gave out orders to the other diamond dogs who were close by. To send out teams to find survivors and to help with anyone trapped under the rubble. It looked like the warjacks were ordered to standby for now, as some were used to help with reaching survivors.

“Well, I thank you for your assistance, but I think we got it under control now,” Faith replied as she looked back at them. “We’ve took out the force that was attacking the city and we got Uncle Leo’s ship running, so I think we’re good for now unless otherwise stated. Right now though, I’m going to need to check on something with the Preserver.” With that statement, the Code Nemesis left the group and went farther down the alley with both Moby and Remy being alongside her. She wanted to make sure that the shields stood up to the attacks just now by the demons and also see what else could be done in the meantime.

Soon, she approached the northwest side of the city to where she found the Preserver. At first glance, it didn’t seem like she had noticed her. But that wasn’t entirely the case once the Preserver turned her head and looked back at Faith once she had stepped closer to her.

“Do you need something, Faith?” She asked, curious at to why she was here while also being somewhat alert.

“No actually… I wanted to tell you that thanks to your help with the new shield in place and the defenses with the Crystal Empire, we were able to handle the last Demon attack much more effectively than before… and for that, I’m grateful,” Faith told him, bowing a bit to show her appreciation. “You really are a lifesaver.”

“I did what I could at the time. A small part of my calculations weren’t in our favor, but everything worked out alright in the end.” The Preserver stated. “Your gratitude isn’t really necessary-.”

“Yet, I believe it is… Without your help, our old shield would’ve been destroyed and many ponies would’ve died if it weren’t for you… Because of you, Sun, Coco and everyone else, you gave everypony in the empire… heck, everypony in Equestria hope. That must be what Beacon stands for… You guys are a beacon of hope… for not just displaced, but everyone else too.” She told him, automatically thinking of that off of the top of her head before the Preserver could say anything in response.

“I’m not seeking gratitude. And gratitude like words have no affect on me.” The Preserver said simply. “Saying such things mean nothing… but you are right. Beacon is for hope.”

“And hope is one thing that you certainly did provide.” They both heard a new voice speak up as both the Preserver and Faith soon turned around. However, what they did see surprised the Code Queen herself personally because of previous… circumstances.

“C-celestia? Artemis?! W-what are you two doing here?” She asked, shocked and surprised as she saw both of the royal siblings standing before her. “I-i thought you were still recovering a-after you got hurt from the a-attack on Canterlot with all the other refugees!”

“We are… but we’re healthy enough to come see for ourselves what you were able to accomplish,” Artemis told her, looking around to see the Displaced that were helping others along with the Preserver and a few others. “All of this was possible because of your friends yes… but if it wasn’t for you, none of this would’ve happened. You were the one who sent out the call to arms to them requesting aide while your father was still trying to figure out what to do. Without you, they would’ve never been able to lend us a helping hand when we needed it most… We should be the ones thanking you, young Faith.”

“I-i…” The Code queen was rather… caught off guard by this outcome. She had honestly not expected anything like this at all… or to be told that in person. By Celestia and Artemis no less. “I d-don’t know what to say…”

“Something humble!” Coco shouted from where she was sitting cross legged on the concrete. That made Faith blush a little as she looked back at Coco for a moment before looking at the royal siblings once again.

“Thank you…” She spoke, looking back at them while taking a deep breath. “It means a lot to me to hear that…” Afterwards though, she turned around to the Preserver and then thought of something. “Um… if it isn’t too much to ask for… can I ask for one more thing before I let you guys go back to Beacon?” She took out what looked like a small set of Nasod blades that were in her hand as they floated for a small bit.

“I-i’m worried about my uncle, Nicko. Last I heard about him, he ran off from Ponyville before I was even able to get a chance to talk to him. He has a copy of my token here,” She said, lifting the blades a small bit before speaking again. “So I-i wanted to see if you can tell me where he is and… well, if he’s okay.”

“He’s safe at the moment. Check the Badlands.” The Preserver replied, before vanishing. Not even needing to use the token Faith had in her hands.

“Knowing Asphyxious, that most likely where he's gone too.” Added Nightclaw, crossing his arms. “I wouldn’t worry, I’m sure they're fine.”

“Yeah… Though I think this is something Nicko best do on his own,” Moby then commented as both he and Remy looked back at Faith. “There’s another energy source en route to his present location matching that of Ms. Amy Anderson the Third. With the combined strength of both of them, they can be able to handle themselves I believe.” Even with that though, the mention of Amy just made Celestia groan for a bit.

“On another note though, we should be making sure to send these displaced that helped us back to Beacon,” Remy then advised shortly after Moby was done speaking. “We don’t want them to stay away from their own worlds for too long. Especially the one named Sun Wukong. After all, they were only needed for a short while to help get the Crystal Empire get back on their hooves again.”

Faith had to agree that they did make a point. After all, it wouldn’t be right to have someone else fight their battles for them. “That is true… but let’s wait until dad’s back before having them return to Beacon first.”

“Agreed. But I have a feeling Seb’s gonna want Alex, Sasha and I back in our Equestria as soon as we return to Beacon.” Viktor said. Just as he said that, the faunus soon returned back with both the Infinity Sword and the Dracolich that were with them. Anson himself was honestly surprised to see Celestia and Artemis fully recovered for the most part. But once everything was explained, he could only look back at Faith and smile as he gave her a hug.

“I’m so proud of you, Faith…” Anson said, smiling a little as the two of them looked at all the other displaced that helped not just them, but also the Crystal Empire too. “Now… Let’s send them back to Beacon. Who knows what’s going on over there.”

---

Manehattan (Sun’s World)

It was close to midnight and for Babs Seed, she was barely able to get any sleep right now. Earlier, it was the sound of the neighbor’s dog barking up a storm… but now, it was the sound of somepony impatient knocking at the door. For a moment, she thought that it was a family member. Maybe somepony that her older sister, Sunflower, knew and had not told her about. She wanted to see for herself, because it was better than thinking that something was lurking in the darkness of her bedroom.

Peeking her head over the ledge of the window, she now saw who was outside… and it wasn’t like anything the filly had seen before. Well dressed, carried a cane, smoked a cigar… but more importantly, it wasn’t a pony. She thought it was a minotaur, but it lacked the horns or the tail for that. Nevertheless, she watched as her sister finally was able to open the door after several minutes… and soon felt worried for her after hearing how this… strange figure spoke once her older sister stepped outside.

“Hey strawberry.” He said, a grin forming on his face. “You haven’t showed up to work for a week… What’s the holdup?”

Sunflower stuttered, her eyes wide and somewhat terrified. “I-I-I-! M-my sister’s babysitter canceled! I-I had to look for a new one while taking care of her… Y-you know what it’s like, boss…” She giggled nervously when she saw his stern, smile-less face. “I-I told Dance Fever that I was taking the week off! I thought he’d tell you…”

Roman stared her down for a moment, before bursting out laughing. “You should see the look on your face! Priceless!” Sunflower chuckled unenthusiastically and nervously. “He told me, I know why you left… I know why you left, and that’s why I believe that I need to make an example of you…”

Sunflower gulped, “I-I-I’ll work overtime! Please, I’m not like Gladmane! I’m loyal!”

“Oh, I know, I know. Geez, I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to decrease your pay for next week, and have you work overtime.” That had a small shiver running down Babs spine. Just who was this man… and why was he making her sister so scared?

“But I barely get by with the normal paycheck!” Sunflower was shaking again.

Roman just shrugged. “Maybe after next weeks work, I might promote you if you do well. Otherwise, you're gonna lose this lovely house of yours… One chance. Impress me and our new benefactor.” Sunflower nodded rapidly, her body desperately craving a break from this insane meeting. “Well, goodnight Sunflower. Tomorrow’s a big day! Meet me at the southernmost docking bay at eleven o’clock.” He said, chuckling as he walked away. Once he was out of sight, Sunflower slammed the door and collapsed.

Babs herself was scared. Shaking a little under the covers as she tried to fall asleep. Her sister had once told her that in their home, she would be safe from monsters and beasts that might scare her… but tonight… one such beast came knocking on their doorstep.

---

End Tail 27

Comments

[Saiyan of the North Star]

KO awesome chapter, quite the adventure Sun and Coco had and Roman is threatening young ponies to work for him. Hope he get what he deserves from a knuckle sandwich!

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Unfortunately, I wasn't really able to write as much on there, due to tablet problems.... I had to resort to using a computer to do it, so my guys only got to see a small bit of action, but it was worth it!

[FrostTheWolf]

7929591 Yes it was