Twilight Daylight: Psera, The Legend of Legends

by thedarktome

Chapter 24 - Situation Assessment

The rest of the night was a tough one. Cadance nor Shining Armor could sleep when they heard what Odega said. The Crown disintegrated—erased—hundred of creatures out there. They could only stare out the window as the sky changed from black to blue. Then slowly raised the sky to light blue with clouds and more.

At sea, at least a hundred Aquatas were mobilized and sitting on the waves ready for action. Keeping an eye out on everything while they conducted cleanup on the mess. Unlike yesterday, the castle was noisy and full of clopping hooves. A briefing was in store following last night's events. The Secretary of Defense was already there waiting for the King and Queen in the busy press room with the generals from last night in front of press. The ponies of Psera and their visitors really wanted to know what had caused the sudden battle last night.

The Royal Suite in the castle was busy too. Fresh Dawn was getting a crown put on her head by her mother, but she wouldn't be seen by the populace. She would be staying with Twilight's parents while they conducted damage control. It was going to be a busy day.

Once Fresh Dawn had her crown on, Arcadia straightened up and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her crown and had on her chained horn rings. Her sparkling purple dress, and her steeled expression. Her chest plate glistened just like her shoes.

Madun walked in through the doorway behind them from the hallway and stated, "You don't have to look like that."

Arcadia brushed her flowing mane with a floating brush while smoothening Dawn's and replied, "Look like what?"

He trotted over behind her with his eyes on hers through the mirror and placed his hooves on her hips. "Like you just committed the worst crime imaginable."

She softly shut her eyes and whispered in shame, "Didn't I?"

"No." He lightly turned his wife around and leaned down to place a soft loving kiss under her horn. Then whispered, "You made the right move. Yes, all of those innocent infected can't be reborn, nor can they come back. But you stopped a much worse thing from happening: The creation of more and the deaths of our own. It's like a colony of ants rushing into your home when the door won't close. You do the next thing. You take the sprayer, and you spray them all down.

"Stunning them won't work, they'll just get back up. We lost over two hundred lives last night. You and the rest of the military saved the lives of millions. Smile because it didn't get worse. Some sacrifices have to be made in order to create a better future."

Arcadia took a deep calming breath and closed her eyes. Madun was right. Yes, many ponies died last night. But it wasn't worse than that thankfully. She may have knew some of those ponies. One of them may have been her best friend. Or somepony else's best friend. But she had to make the sacrifice.

"You're right," she whispered after a while. "It had to be done. Let's do this. Come, Dawn." Dawn rushed under her mother and followed her hooves as they walked into the living room. Then stopped at the front door. Using her magic, she pulled it open and stepped into the squad of Security already waiting for them.

They saluted in routine and honor before Madun ordered, "At ease. Let's move for the press room."

When they started the move, Gardeen quickly joined Queen Arcadia and asked, "Dawn?"

"She's going to my parents," Arcadia answered. Then looked to her right into Gardeen's expression. "Note down that I need to get to Serl sometime today. Madun, could—"

"I'll handle the meeting with the rest of our alliance," he answered.

"Good. War Room."

"Nowhere else."

Arcadia looked back to Gardeen writing notes and ordered, "Have a copy of the feed from last night placed on my desk as well. I need to review it and find a pattern. Maheera found a way past my wall."

Gardeen didn't need to guess at this. She stated, "That's because she wasn't there. She used other ponies to do her dirty work last night. She probably supplied a bit of magic, but it was all of her soldiers doing the damages for her."

"...of course. I need to clarify that in the future. Thank you, Gardeen."

"You're welcome, your highness. Let's go, sis!" Gardeen bent low and playfully scooped Fresh Dawn onto her back. Then she and a few more Guards branched off for another hallway with their daughter watching. She didn't know what happened, but she had a feeling it was bad.

Once her parents were out of sight, she looked down to Gardeen and asked, "Are mommy and daddy going to be okay?"

Gardeen looked up and answered, "Yes, sweetie. They're just going to tell your friends out there about what happened last night. They'll be fine."

"Oh... Okay."

---

Applejack was the first to yell out, "WHAT?!" The next morning. Celestia and Luna just told the others what Odega told them last night in the main busy foyer of the COTG. That Railer One was a weapon Psera used to destroy all of those ponies last night that were attacking. And those ponies were the same infected ones from Equestria, Hoof Yun, mostly Seaquestria, Mount Aris, and the other nations. Somehow they managed to get across seas and attack Psera. And managed to get past their defensive line of PDS Obelisks.

But apparently the real problem was... "She killed those ponies?" Madam Singe whispered.

Celestia sighed and answered, "Well... Yes."

Cadance quickly added, "But I'm sure we'll get a good reason this morning. We were attacked last night after all and this is a war, so the only logical explanation was to fight back, right?"

Rarity shook her head and replied, "Well, umm... Yes, of course in self defense. But unless the situation calls for it, I believe we should have at least found another way."

"Good morning, citizens of Psera, and good morning citizens of Foreign Regions." All eyes switched to the main LiVAMs above the Castle's entrance. King Madun and Queen Arcadia were at two different podiums inside the Press Room somewhere in this large castle. They both looked tired in a way, but still managed to pull their styles off to represent their country. King Madun was the one speaking with a face of steel. Behind them was the flag of Psera with the Fire Family's crest on the right where Twilight stood.

He shifted a few papers around on his podium but continued speaking. "Please, hold all questions until we have said what needs to be said. At around eleven last night, with an approximate time of eleven twenty-six, our daughter Princess Fresh Dawn screamed." Wait, that was Fresh Dawn that screamed like that?! "As many on our continent know, Princess Fresh Dawn has gained many traits from her mother, including magical abilities she has not yet fully unlocked but we have an understanding of. Her suspected talent is to walk the land of dreams in a more interactive form that we refer to as Dream Walking. She is able to interact with many of the characters she sees in her dreams.

"But during her life, has gained another magical skill that we believe involves leaving her body and interacting with things in the real world as a single soul. Last night, she managed to fly all the way out past the Obelisk Line of Psera by what is estimated by our team to be around fifty miles. A total of one hundred. She was attacked by a large dragon who we thought was Maheera. Earlier this morning, it was clarified that it was not Maheera Dark, but a dragon taken over by her dark magic."

Queen Arcadia took over with, "She informed us that they were heading for Psera's Obelisk line in a sea of black with a massive army of what was believed to be over two thousand infected creatures. At that news, Code Yellow was raised and all ponies still out during this time were ordered to go inside while the Aqua Guard was scrambled.

"After a few minutes of waiting, our military was attacked by the dragon and many were infected. One Aquata, Aquata Forty-Eight perished in the attack. There were one hundred twenty-eight soldiers lost. And they were going to take down another.

"With that in mind, I sent out the authorization to use deadly force with our one time use weapon, Railer One. I am sure all of you listening know very well what Railer One does and were informed of this many years ago when it was introduced after I first took office, then commissioned into service earlier this year. As a result, we have let Maheera know that we—Psera—are willing to go the extra mile to regain back what was, and still is, ours by any means necessary. That does not mean that we are willing to sacrifice the lives of our soldiers in vain. But are willing to sacrifice the lives of many of Maheera's infected to reclaim our freedom."

Madun took over once more with, "As of this moment, Defense Secretary Manny is preparing our military to travel the Eastern Seas back to Equestria to gain a visual of Maheera's damage there, which will allow us to make our own offensive move in the very near future. No solid plan will be prepared yet until we get that data. We are enlisting the help of the inhabitants of our Foreign Regions in this matter and will come up with a game plan once we get this information. Until then we urge that all citizens remain calm. You are safe here on Psera. As King and Queen, we are willing to go the extra mile to keep you safe with our very lives."

Arcadia wrapped up their status update with, "We will treat every attack of Maheera Dark's with a double military movement. If Maheera brings ten thousand, we will bring twenty thousand. If she brings a million, we will bring two million with advanced weaponry of my own design. We will restore peace to Narmeelah's world, to Narmeelah's home. To our home. By any means necessary. We'll now take questions."

The first question was from a mare in the very front row of the press room. For Madun. She raised her hoof and Madun called her out with, "Yes, ma'am?"

"I am sure many ponies are going to ask this question, so I'll just go ahead and get it out of the way. Is there any clue on what Maheera is searching for?"

"Based off of what happened last night, we believe that Maheera wants Psera personally. What for, we have no answer yet. So far it is believed the Foreign Regions were attacked and taken over to create an army that would storm Psera."

Another hoof from the back sprung up that Madun pointed out. The stallion it belonged to asked, "This is for Queen Arcadia, will the Railer One be used again?"

Now that was a question all the foreigners wanted answered. Including those at the camps. She sighed and answered, "At this rate and the multiple frontal attacks Maheera has delivered, I estimate our Railer One Weaponry Class to be armed multiple times. But since this was the first offensive attack on Psera, there is no concrete answer. Be prepared though that if Maheera gets desperate enough, we will too. Railer One will be used repeatedly against our enemy."

Luna couldn't watch anymore. She turned and walked past the other ponies to eventually walking out the doors of the castle. Celestia just sighed and watched her go. She couldn't stop her. It was best just to let her steam it off. She would definitely be seeing the Queen later.

---

After the news conference, Arcadia and Madun walked the halls of the COTG with a problem on their minds. How exactly are they going to get to Maheera without being spotted. After moments of peace and quiet, Arcadia stopped in front of a glass wall overlooking Cop.

She sighed and suggested, "We could always use a high altitude spy."

Madun replied, "Maybe. But I have a better idea." He stopped on his hooves and swiveled around to face her. "Maheera is living on a land we barely know. We need to assemble the other rulers and learn about their worlds like we said. We already know about Maheera and what she likes. If we can find those spots overseas, then we'll be golden."

Twilight nodded and began to walk past before Madun's wing shot out in her path. "Hey," he said. Then sat down so he was muzzle to muzzle with her. "What's wrong? Are you afraid to face them?"

"Yes," she admitted. "We killed a possible fifth to a half of their populations. Wouldn't you be were you in my shoes?"

"No. Because I keep one thing on my mind: The enemy. How can I defeat them? They're big and strong. But I'm willing to do what it takes to get it done. No matter what. Just remember those two words. No matter what."

"That's three, sweetheart."

"Sue me."

Twilight chuckled and leaned in to kiss him lovingly. He always knew what to say. Always. She parted, but not too far. Being close to him was what she needed.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Of course, my love. I'll gather them and explain in a much bigger depth." He stood up and was about to leave before she stopped him by biting onto his wing.

"Before you gather them, at the Suite in the special drawer is a bag of pearls I wanted to give them this morning in a meeting. There's a note next to the bag with assigned names. It's a...symbolic gesture of alliance."

He nodded her way and promised, "I'll deliver them."

"Thanks, sweetheart." Then Twilight turned and walked back through the halls. She was sure Twilight Velvet and Night Light wouldn't mind that she left Fresh Dawn with them for over the requested hour. Mom would probably spoil her.

While she moved with confidence, Twilight's mind switched from that of her family to that of the war. Maheera wanted a war? She'll give her a war she wished she never asked for.

Twilight lowered the veil back down over her face when she was joined by three guards. Three friends.

"Good morning, Dark," she greeted. "Worn. Shining. You're escorting me today?"

Worn Weather's attitude got cocky and he answered, "With honor! We're ready to take this big dragon down! Tell me where to go and I'll go."

Shining Sword used a hoof to hit him on the back of his Elite Guard helmet. "Don't get too cocky, we have no idea what we're up against."

Arcadia nodded and briskly walked out into the foyer. There were a lot of Pserateps today that froze and bowed when she stepped into sight. She spotted her friends and family in the crowd talking nearby among the rest.

"He's right," she replied. "Let's get a reading first before we go speeding into a fight with no knowledge of who we're really fighting. I could take down Maheera within a few hours. But based off of intel I got at sea on my way here two days ago? She's stronger than she looks. She can fight for days. Go down, then get right back up. Princess Celestia?"

Princess Celestia looked behind her from the others. Then turned her body and eagerly walked over. "Yes, Queen Arcadia?"

"Madun will be speaking with IHT and their top military personnel in the War Room at eleven. Tell the others not to be late."

"Of course." Celestia raised her hoof before she could leave and requested, "I'd like to speak with you later on if it is at all possible."

Arcadia pointed a hoof at her and firmly stated, "Four PM, my office. Thank you." Then walked around Celestia for the front entrance. There would be no court today.

---

Lavender was tense. All the soldiers of the nation were. But with stoned faces continued their motions across Psera getting ready for the war definitely on the way. The sun glistened off of weaponry currently being gathered and oiled from different bases. One of them were in Cop.

Private Smalls was tasked with securing half of a weapons stash from an armory in one of the two downtown precincts. Lavender was seriously lacking in much smaller weaponry. Ever since Queen Arcadia took the throne, most of the much harmful weaponry was replaced with magic. Darts were replaced with magic shells. When they hit the ground, they would combust with a stunning effect. Not enough to kill, but enough to disable. Allowing for much easier arrest.

But a whole ship was taken down last night by a full blown dragon. The gloves were off. And the Queen knew that. So she took the gloves off the second it happened too. Private Smalls may only be a Private in the Elite Royal Guard. But she's seen enough fights to know that when the other side gets dirty, you get dirtier.

And apparently the Princess walking by didn't understand that. When Private Smalls stepped out of their stone precinct balancing a box full of ammunition on her back, her red eyes trained on that dark blue mysterious Alicorn walking past sulking. Jeez, what's her issue? Private Smalls could take an educated lucky guess.

She walked up to a black Radwood Pod pulled over to the side of the road and allowed the stallion in the back to grab the box off her back. Then called, "Princess Luna!"

Princess Luna stopped walking past and turned her way. The scary completely black mare. "Yes, can I help you?" She replied.

Private Smalls quickly walked over and asked, "Why are you upset?"

"...excuse me?"

Smalls smirked and poked a hoof into her chest. "You're upset about last night. Tell me why."

Luna looked back to the looming castle for a moment. Then back to Private Smalls. "I just lost a small amount of innocent ponies to your Queen's choice," she honestly answered. "Why should I be happy?"

Smalls sighed and looked over her shoulder back at the precinct. They were all taking a break at the moment on the stairs so this was fine. They were up since last night moving and they needed the rest. She turned back to Princess Luna and spat out, "Because you and those not fighting are still alive."

"But my ponies are dead. Should I not be sad?" Luna deadpanned.

"Of course you should be sad. But I also see resentment towards the Queen. Like she could've made a better choice. The problem in your logic is that there is no other choice. Not in a war."

"There is always a choice."

"Maybe in Equestria. Maybe in their fights. Maybe the enemies of your past were sloppy. Equestria is a young nation compared to Psera with very dumb enemies. What wars have you seen in your lifetime?"

Luna stood up tall and answered, "I have witnessed the fight of King Sombra and his army. The fight against the monster Tirek, the battle against the God of Chaos Discord. And many more."

"A lot of Equestrian fights I guess. Well guess what Princess." She leaned in and slowly shook her head stating, "You're not in Equestria anymore. As of last night, you've officially become a Pseratopian."

A passing Force Guard stallion behind her with a box of "Fire Darts" on his back yelled, "Awww yeah! You get to see what we see, pony."

Private Smalls motioned with her wing to the stallion. "He's right. You fought Equestrian enemies. You fought with the foals. Now? You're fighting with the big girls. Narmeelah fought Maheera for a week straight to get you where you are. Do you really think no one died in that time? Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. Us compared to Maheera are like ants under our own hooves. But you best believe while she's stomping around on maybe a hundred ants in front of her, there's going to be twenty hives of bees and eight Woodpeckers coming for her back. Including momma Eagle, ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!"

The soldiers resting in the back raised their own hooves and shouted, "ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!"

Private Smalls chuckled and turned back to smile up to Princess Luna. "Remember this, Princess." She poked a hoof into her chest plate once more and said, "We don't fight to only honor the dead. But we fight to save the living. As hard as it may be to hear this... You can't save a dead mother. But you can save the living foal. Remember that and you will find the strength to continue the good fight. We can mourn the dead once the battle is won. That is what the King and Queen see, and that is what we see."

---

Serl. Solid Energy Revolution Labs. A top secret city made entirely out of laboratories located two hundred miles northeast of Cop. The only ones who know the existence of it were the Pserateps who always keep it hush hush. Equestria may have a good idea of its existence, but Twilight knew that if they wanted to keep their memories they would stay quiet about it. Because if Psera found out they knew, she would not hesitate to erase every possible trace of SERL. When she wasn't Queen, then they could be friends. Behind closed doors, they could be friends.

But when she swore upon Narmeelah's Law that she would do all in the name of Psera for Psera, then she would. The toughest decisions came with the job.

Arcadia's mind slipped back into reality when they landed at the checkpoint; the random house on the sand occupied by Force Guards. The hot desert sun beat down on Queen Arcadia's back when she spread her wings and hooves. The ponies checked her thoroughly. They ruffled through her feathers and everywhere else before they were on the move once more.

Not too long, they arrived in science paradise. Serl was near the edge of the continent. Near a second branch of the facility known as Serl Production Labs just twenty miles away. To get there you had to get through Serl; and to get through Serl, you had to wait for the gates to open. When Queen Arcadia walked in she was bowed to by those inside. All the scientists wearing badges, lab coats, dress suits and the one pony she needed to see the most. Bright Gold.

Second in Command here behind herself. She was snow white with bright yellow eyes and ten foot long wings. Much like Arcadia, she was about family, loyalty, and knowledge.

Arcadia stopped in front of Bright Gold and ordered, "Please rise. How are you, Bright Gold?"

Rising, Bright sighed and answered, "Ready to get these ponies home." She and Queen Arcadia made moves towards the one long black Pod on the side with a door open for them. Queen Arcadia got inside first before Bright followed shortly. She sat on the side facing her behind the wall keeping them out of view of the drivers. Then the door was shut and they began the movement through the city.

The engine barely reached their ears thanks to Gold's paper shuffling and the Pod's insulation. The dim lights above shined on their coats, the polished wood, the black walls, and the velvet carpeting.

With a glass of water in hoof, Queen Arcadia asked the mare across, "What do you have for me?"

Bright Gold answered, "Concerning the Blue Gold, they have the expected reaction to the Dragon Scale you gave us. A burn-through. Within a few hours the scale was nothing but a wrinkled mess of matter. Only problem is, the Blue Gold doesn't stay as Blue Gold for that long. We're working on an addition to maintain the longevity, but it is taking longer than we had hoped."

Arcadia took the offered reports in her magic so she could get a good reading on the science behind the Blue Gold. "And what about our subjects?"

Bright Gold answered with a disappointing sigh. "Cooperative with our team. The ponies underneath those bodies of mangled madness are still alive under there. We theorize that the further away from Maheera's magic they are, the more stable."

Arcadia sighed through her nose before Bright Gold whispered, "You had to do what you swore to do, your highness."

Arcadia sat the papers down on the empty seat beside her and said, "I know. But that doesn't mean I still have to like it. The sooner this war is over the more we can save and salvage. And get rid of this growing rebellion."

Bright Gold wasn't sure if her ears were deceiving so she repeated, "Rebellion?"

"I was informed by the Secretary of Homeland Security that some ponies are not too fond of our visitors here on Psera."

Bright Gold muttered, "I honestly can't say that I'm bouncing off the walls about it either."

"Of course all ponies have their own opinions on the matter. But it would do them well to not react with violence. I am entrusting the local police to deal with these situations as trained. But even I know they can only do so much. Based off of past history, Pserateps grow into extremists. Using many forms of violent protest. And considering how big this situation is, I fear for the safety of those ponies seeking refuge. Especially the Changedlings."

"Yes, the colorful flying ponies. Interesting mix if I do say so." She flipped the paper over that she was holding and offered it to her. "The faster they're gone, the quicker we can move on. I think you should look at this."

Arcadia took the document and observed the photo. It was of one of the infected ponies with her regular face. A pale yellow Unicorn from the Crystal Empire. While her head was normal, everything below the neck was still infected.

Arcadia glanced up to Bright Gold with raised eyebrows for an explanation. "We call her Subject Zero. She's the base of our investigation and one of the fifteen infected ponies. But unlike them, the dark magic never reached her mind. We've tested the blue gold out on her skin and actually managed to restore it back in a patch."

"We don't want patches, Bright."

"I know. But if we can make a patch, then we can restore it all."

Arcadia nodded and hoofed the document back over. "Great. Keep up the amazing work. Psera is counting on you."

"No doubt, ma'am. Long live Narmeelah."

"Long live Narmeelah."

---

Just as expected, IHTs members and close personnel arrived in War Room as expected. It was very similar to the Situation Room on Aquata Zero. A plethora of lights, LiVAMs, and those pads in front of seats angled towards their heads. A few of Psera's commanding officers were already in their seats, conversing while they took their own.

There were no windows. This was the center of the third floor. On the way to the Royal Suite and near the library in the offices. Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance took the seats directly across from the King and Queens.

When the last pony took their seat, one out of the five military ponies greeted, "Good morning, ponies. Glad you could make it."

While her sister nodded, Luna replied, "Let's save these ponies." Well that was surprising. Cadance and Shining glanced her way then over to Celestia. She was just as confused based off that shrug.

General Bold Shoulder nodded and greeted, "Alright then. I'm General Bold Shoulder of the Pseratopian Force Guard, this is General Mack Land of the Pseratopian Aerial Guard..." He pointed to the white coat-wearing Pseratep from yesterday Madam Singe saw speaking to Queen Arcadia. Then to the blue Pseratep mare as well. "This is General Neon Lightning of the Pseratopian Aqua Guard and Authorization Leader of the Railer Program."

Shining repeated, "Authorization leader?"

"She's the one who pushes the button. You already know Admiral Shooting Star here and Secretary Manny. The king will be in here shortly. Queen Arcadia will not be making this one, she has another matter to deal with. His highness has given us authorization to show what happened last night off the coast."

Secretary Manny reached over to the King's pad and started playing with it. The lights dimmed and a visual appeared on all theirs of the event from last night. The same footage the King and Queen saw. Aquatas at the obelisk line further than what the eye could see. The pony with the camera dropped down on the helm of one Aquata and ran to the front. Then the camera panned to both sides to show the fleet waiting.

All was quiet. All was calm. The Aqua Guard had their weapons out and were watching the waves splash below. The air that tickled their fur. The humming of the engines. The roaring of Aerial Guard that flew over. Celestia's eye was on the Guard looking over the edge of the ship. He had his wings spread and were watching the waves.

"BLACK WATER!" He suddenly announced. "Open fire, open-GAHH!" Something literally jumped up over the railing of the ship grabbed him by the neck, then pulled him over the ledge. Cadance gasped before the darkness flooded their ship. Then all of tartarus reached their eardrums.

Purple after purple lit up the air. Bang after bang as many of the Infected flew, jumped, or teleported onto the decks before flying right back off. One of them was a horrifying looking Alicorn that was immediately assaulted with a slice of the wings.

Something grabbed this guard holding the camera before they were shaken off and thrown to the right. Revealing the front line. It was as if the world were ending.

Just a field of magic firing into the huge black field of creatures. A huge weapon on one of the Aquatas fired a massive bolt of magic that wiped out a huge section directly in front of them. There was a lot of these ponies. They were beginning to get past, but the Guard were doing a great job of keeping them at bay.

Until the Aquata that fired that bolt suddenly lurched and exploded into purple and orange. The sky turned to fire. "Forty-Eight down, Forty-Eight down! That's a bucking dragon! We need Railer One, where's the Queen?!"

A web of Green goo grabbed a soldier from off that deck from above and zipped him into the sky. Changelings. Thorax could only close his eyes when more were taken before their focus shifted there. "Changelings, blow 'em up!"

"All Aquatas, back up three thousand! The Queen gave us the go ahead!"

The Aquata they were on lurched suddenly and started backing up while the fight continued. The creatures managed to get past further than they could see. They were going straight for Psera. But the Aerial and Aqua Guard were having none of that.

After a few more minutes of fighting, the night turned bright from behind this Guard. He looked up behind him at the twirling lights they all saw last night. "Railer One, incoming! All below deck!" They turned around and rushed to the entrance of the ship when the weapon soared past with a roar. So close to their ship it shook the lights.

This Guard looked behind him one last time when the weapon detonated. All of those lights were suddenly tied together by lines of purple that connected them all. It stopped in the center of the black and started spinning rapidly. Then it grew bigger and bigger, blinding their vision. Hopefully that Guard made it in.

He did. After a few minutes, the feed returned to him below deck. It was once more all silent. "Assessment!" Someone ordered. He stood up and opened the bolted door to the inside. All the ships were watching the empty abandoned waves in front of them. It was like the fight never happened. The obelisks were running fine. And nothing else was in sight save for the single sinking Aquata. "Battle won!"

The playback was paused on the calm seas once more and all eyes looked back up. Sometime in between the footage and now Madun had finally arrived and taken a seat. They were so focused on the action they hadn't even heard the door open.

Once it was done Madun tapped on the pad and said, "Now that you see what we're fighting against, I can only hope that you realize what's at stake here. Psera is at war with one of our oldest Legendary enemies that even we had no clue existed. You are all victims. But as victims, you have seen her and witnessed her actions. You can help figure out her strategies."

Luna was the only one who talked. "She's strategic. She chose to attack at night this round. But before that had manipulated all of us. Possibly including Arcadia."

Madun raised an eyebrow at this and asked, "How?"

"Arcadia cleared the defenders—the Legends of Psera for her. If Odega was still at sea she could have wiped them out with a wave of her wing."

A burst of flames in one of the empty chairs and Odega was in the meeting uninvited. Positioned leaning on the table with one hoof under her chin and the other pointing at Luna facing Madun. "She's right. Arcadia probably didn't realize it. Maheera's smart enough to pull off something like that."

Confused, Cadance pointed at Odega from afar and asked, "Is she authorized to be here?"

Madun smirked at Odega's deadpanned expression and answered, "Odega's been around millions of years before my mother was even born, and has sat in this same room in that exact same chair. She's more than authorized. Now what do you know about Maheera? You've fought her before any of us."

Odega sighed and sat back. "Well Maheera is to manipulation like Arcadia is to magic. She knows it like the back of one of those ugly claws. She can make you do something for her with one basic move and you wouldn't even notice. She's fast. She's big too, but still fast. And she's a mage, she knows a lot of violent spells."

Madam Singe asked, "She can summon spells? She has no horn."

"Neither did Narmeelah but she still did. As for her tactics, she has none. At least when we fought her. But then again these were God fights. Like it was me, Narmeelah, Mahloo and Marloo, and Neemorah. Against a horde of her creatures that we just flung to the side with a wave of a hoof. Then we'd all rush up to this dragon and let fire, magic, wings, and hooves fly, rolling all over the place. There's no actual tactic, but that's probably because we were just really strong, and nothing was better than just flying over, beating her face in, and turning her to stone."

The ponies in the room looked at each other before Odega added, "But I do have a recommendation. Since her highness is the only pony strong enough to fight her and clearly 'The Chosen One', then get her in there. Secure her and get her in. She's not as strong as Narmeelah, not nearly. She can't fling three thousand ponies into water with a wave of a hoof. But she can definitely beat a massive dragon."

Queen Novo queried, "Are you suggesting Queen Arcadia personally takes part in the fight? I haven't known of Psera for nearly as long as Equestria has, and I've only seen Queen Arcadia in action on the Aquatas on the way here, but I'm not entirely sure she can take on a full continent of aggressive unknown enemies all at one time alone."

"Who said she was fighting alone? Do you think that when we fought Maheera in the past we weren't at least strategic? When one had a plan, we covered them. When all of those ponies were flung out of the way, they came back. Neemorah would distract them while we brought the coffin to Maheera personally. Then join us when they were out of the way again."

The Aqua Guard General asked, "But how can we take her down? As in permanently? All of the fighting will be in vein if we can't take her out of here."

Odega shook her head and answered, "As long as chaos, pain, or even a fight occurs, Maheera lives. You can't take her out, but you can subdue her for many, many, many peaceful years. I told that to Arcadia on Aquata Zero and she got mad at me. But she did say she was reviewing more permanent options with...other parties."

Madun nodded to Odega and replied, "Great. Now as for the battleground. There will be no fighting infected ponies on Psera. So we're going to her. But we need to learn the terrain. When you fought her Odega, did you notice any pattern?"

Odega shrugged and relaxed back into her seat. "Just like any dragon, the higher the region, the better she can witness her reign and spot anything."

"So high places," Bold Shoulder assumed. He turned to the foreign rulers and asked, "Do you know the highest spot in elevation by heart?"

"Mount Aris," Queen Novo answered. "It's behind Equestria's Manehattan which seems to be similar to Cop."

Celestia shook her head and corrected, "Manehattan is similar to a single section inside Events at Eventa. Tall skyscrapers, long roads, centers, hotels, the whole deal. Very similar to Eventa, just without your fortress."

Madun turned to his generals and stated, "Then we need to get a visual on Manehattan. Tall skyscrapers means shadows. A pit for the infected. Are there any ports near there?"

Celestia answered proudly, "Yes."

"Then our soldiers may have to dock in Las Pegasus and walk through there, the woods, Ponyville, Canterlot, then Manehattan. Flying is way too risky. Once we get a visual of Equestria, we'll be speaking with your commanders for a combat team aligned with Psera's finest. Now before we go any further, Queen Arcadia wanted me to give all of you something special."

King Madun grabbed that small mysterious black bag sitting on the table and opened it. First he pulled out a small sticky note and placed it on the table. Then said, "As a symbolic gesture that Psera is aligned with you at this time, Queen Arcadia has graced you with twelve gems for twelve countries." He flipped the bag over and poured out twelve glowing rocks dangling on Golden chains.

Celestia widened her eyes at their luster, shimmering and shifting inside with fluid magic. Madun gave the red one to a Guard and read off the sticky note, "To Queen Novo."

The Guard walked over and held it out to her in the middle of his hoof. She carefully plucked it out and brought it up to stare with a smile. These were really pretty and beautiful. The light seemed to reflect off the surface like a mirror. But the necklace was small. Madun quickly assured, "The cord stretches. So it should fit perfectly."

Taking a chance, Novo pulled the band with her claws. Sure enough, the necklace was split into many gold pieces on a band unseen. She slipped it over her head and beak to allow it to sit comfortably on the top of her chest. The red was a big difference to her alabaster coat. Glowing with the promise of her allegiance with Psera.

Madun looked to the sticky note and read next, "Madam Virtue Singe." He passed the Blue one to the Guard once more. Cadance was the most surprised out of all of them. After how Twilight's been treated by this same pony, giving her a symbol of allegiance was the same as saying I stand by you.

Madam Singe used her magic and slipped the Pearl over her head around her neck. Just like Novo, it was a huge color difference. A glowing blue mixed with an off-white Unicorn. She lifted the pearl up to her face and eyed the swirling shapes inside with a smile.

"I'll have to thank her," she whispered. "For allowing me to vent last night."

Madun called next, "King...Chancellor. I heard about your attempts to court my wife at the conference by the way. We're watching you. Very closely." He passed the Pearl to the Guard but kept his unreadable glare on Chancellor.

Cadance had to suck her lips in like Celestia and the other mares while Chancellor gracefully took the Green pearl. "Er... Y-Yes, your highness. I will be sure to thank Queen Arcadia for her kindness when I see her later."

"Be sure that you do. Princess Celestia for Equestria." Unlike the other contrasting ones, this one was white. Celestia wiped that smirk off her face as the guard approached with the Pearl. She gripped it in her magic when he was close enough and pulled it over to her face with Luna and Cadance. It was a beautiful pendant. It glowed brighter than her mane. It made her wonder how it did at night. Would it shine like a beacon of promise?

She expressed her gratitude with, "Thank you, King Madun. You will always have Equestria's allegiance."

"Thank you, Princess Celestia. Uhm... Queen Amira." The Guard walked over to King Haakim and Queen Amira of Saddle Arabia with a purple Pearl. Much like Amira's coat and Eastern wear.

"Queen Farue." The young Breighton unicorn mare about as big as Queen Arcadia was given the original Pink gem. It was a step up from her standard gray coat. Princess Celestia actually just now noticed that she doesn't really talk. The only time she really spoke was at the conference. And even that was below minimum.

"Consort Snow." The ruler of Prance was given a Yellow one. Even though Consort Snow was already pretty fancy, one more jewel wouldn't hurt.

Madun picked up the very last Pearl and stared at it oddly. This one was very different. Unlike the others with solid colors, this Pearl was a swirling mix of Purple and Red. He hummed and picked up the notepad. "And... Oh, that explains a lot. Nevermind, this is going to be a present." He stuffed it and the note back in the bag. Then focused on the rulers once again. "So the proposed plan is this: First, get a visual of Equestria and Mount Aris. Second, get the Legends together and assemble a team. Third, get Queen Arcadia over there to take down Maheera Dark. Sound good?"

The ponies around the table read each other's expressions for any disagreement. When none were said they nodded. "Good. You're dismissed. I'll let the Queen know and see if she approves. If not, we'll meet again for another one. If we do, we'll go before The Senate Board and propose the plan for their approval."

Author's Note:

Phew, tense chapter. Am I right? No? Okay.

Comments

[White_Rose]

Just remember those two words. No matter what."

That is 3 words

Oh never mind read next paragraph

[Silent_Knight]

Serl. Solid Energy Revolution Labs.

Huh... I thought serl was an actual city name not a lab acronym... Interesting