Regeneration Part 6
“I am the man that gives monsters nightmares. The Daleks call me the Bringer of Darkness. I am the Eighth Man Bound. I am the Champion of Life and Time. I'm the guy with two hearts. I make History better. I am the Doctor.”
- The 8th Doctor
+}{+
When Princess Celestia told Twilight Sparkle about The Doctor, she was in disbelief at her mentor for the first time in her life.
She had trusted Princess Celestia to always be honest and truthful to her since she was a little filly. Her wisdom and faith allowed Twilight to do the fantastic things she never saw herself doing all those years ago when she nervously attended her classes at the Canterlot School of Gifted Unicorns. Princess Celestia believed in her destiny to change Equestria, and so Twilight believed in her teacher with all her heart.
But a time-traveling alien in a blue box? There were some things she just couldn't believe, even from her mentor. She agreed to keep an eye out for this "Doctor" pony, but even she didn't think he was that serious of a threat.
Until now, at least.
Twilight had seen many amazing things in her life, both beautiful and scary. However, she never thought she'd see a tiny police box fit an entire group of creatures, including someone twice the size of the box itself, and then disappear out of thin air. All while outwitting her with three moves and giving her the largest earache she ever had since listening to a drunk minotaur ambassador sing.
But the pain in her ears was nothing compared to what she felt in her heart.
Discord was gone, and Fluttershy with him. That meant the retrieval team had failed, and Big Macintosh was either captured or dead.
Twilight didn't even know what she would tell Applejack and her family about this. She still was hoping that Fluttershy had been brainwashed or forced into going along with Discord, but now it was clear that Fluttershy, one of her best friends, had willingly become a traitor.
Fluttershy who had been the gentlest, kindest, and sweetest of them all. Who stood by Twilight's side against their enemies even when she was terrified and wanted nothing more than to go home. The mare that told Twilight she was glad they were friends because she had never been happier in her life.
She was now Twilight's enemy.
Twilight to scream, cry, and just blast something apart, but she knew that a battle was still to be won. She would deal with her friend's betrayal later while trying to figure out what to tell the other girls. No doubt they would take it just as hard, especially Rainbow Dash.
But that wasn't the only thing that was burning rage inside her heart. More betrayal and anger were swelling inside her upon seeing Flash Sentry among those who fled with the other traitors. That opened up a can of emotions inside Twilight that she was trying hard to ignore but failing, as evident from the wisps of smoke and flames coming from her mane and tail. Royal Guards in the main camp quickly got out of the way upon seeing her return with her brother and sister-in-law as if she was a bomb ready to explode.
Twilight assumed no stallion would ever like her in a romantic sense if she was being honest with herself. Growing up, she heard all the hurtful words that echoed inside her mind while walking between the halls of class: nerdy, loser, ugly, and privileged. She knew it was because they were jealous that she was Princess Celestia's personal student, but the words still hurt. So while girls were getting really interested in boys around puberty, Twilight was more focused on learning advanced algebra, spell components, and chemical compounds.
Even after growing up and arriving in Ponyville, Twilight doubted her capabilities to find love. She had been wrong with friendship before Ponyville, and she imagined dating, something she had no experience in, would be an utter disaster. It took Twilight a long time to adjust to having friends, so the thought of having a special somepony seemed beyond reach.
And then she met Flash Sentry. One of many guards assigned to her new castle. He was trained to be her bodyguard, and their first meeting was an awkward bump where he soon helped her off the floor. When their eyes met, something clicked because they were quickly hanging out not as a princess and her guard but as friends.
He smiled warmly at her like the very dawn of Celestia's sun. He was warm, brave, strong, and somepony who could always tell who you were deep inside your heart. He tried his best to be the best and was unwavering in his beliefs about justice and honor. To Flash, Twilight was the most fantastic mare he had ever seen. Not just because of her actions, but how she did them. With friendship, love, and a dedication to helping others.
Twilight had fallen for him almost three months after meeting him, and the other girls teased her for it non-stop. She tried to argue why it couldn't work, but it all fell on deaf ears, including her own. It was impossible to deny the truth; she wanted Flash Sentry. Not just as a guard or friend, but as a lover. A soul mate. Somepony she could be one with for the rest of their lives together.
A kiss on the lips followed by a passionate night had sealed the deal, and Twilight found herself with a stallion for the first time in her entire life. They dated, made love, saw each other's family, and even protected each other through certain adventures back in their world. Her friends and family loved him, and he loved her friends and family. After so long of being together, Twilight knew that Flash Sentry was the one for her and dreamed of one day on the altar with him to seal their love forever.
But it seemed their love wasn't enough.
Flash Sentry was blinded to the fact of how badly humanity needed to be turned into ponies to save them from destruction. How could Flash Sentry not see what Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, herself, and so many others could see? He sympathized with them, cared for them, and urged Twilight to see his way, but she couldn't.
Humanity cannot exist as it is. It needed to change, and the only way to do that was to convert them to something that would prevent their human nature from ruining them. But while she called salvation, Flash called genocide.
That led to...the argument...and the slap.
Everything Twilight dreamed of had been ruined that day.
Flash left not just Twilight but the Royal Guard and everything behind to side with humanity. Her greatest love had become her worst enemy.
Twilight's heart had been broken in a way that could never be healed, but she would push through the sorrow and the pain to see Equestria triumphant in this war.
If it meant going through old friends and lovers then so be it.
+}{+
"Have our scouts reported anything?" Twilight asked the head of her scout division. After checking to find The Doctor and his mysterious box, they returned to their home base in the Konohana District after finding nothing.
"Sorry, Princess," a female purple pegasus in Royal Guard regalia answered with a sigh. "No sign of the traitors and no teleporting blue boxes either."
"Keep searching," Twilight ordered as she returned to the war tent where Shining Armor and Cadence were looking at the magical holographic battlefield map displayed from the crystal table.
Twilight looked at both their forces and the enemy. She saw they were still deadlocked, but the humans had started pulling artillery, rockets, and other super ranged equipment into various positions aimed at their bases, strongholds, and checkpoints.
This made no sense in Twilight's mind as she knew their magical shields could protect them easily from any bombardment. The commanding officer of this army wasn't stupid and was giving them a run for their money with several tactical displays that had impressed even her brother.
So what were they planning? Shining had stated they should attack these just in case there was a plan they weren't expecting, but they were too heavily defended by anti-aircraft guns, which were used to take out any pegasi seen in the sky.
Right now, it was merely a waiting game that allowed them to have a slight pause for the most part in the fighting. The front lines had been fighting non-stop, so Cadence ordered a halt on all forward progress to give them a chance to rest up, resupply, and replace any troops too wounded to fight or killed.
"No sign of The Doctor or his blue box thing?" Shining Armor asked, and Twilight shook her head. "How can such a small thing teleport so many creatures?"
"We can study it when we capture it," Twilight Sparkle replied as she rubbed her forehead. "Have we herded the last of the newfoals to the containment camps?"
"We just got word that they're all in and protected," Cadence replied as she sighed. "This battle is going longer than I expected."
"We can't leave until we have Discord or Fluttershy," Shining Armor stated as he put his hoof on the table. "Or at least until we know where they are. If they are beyond our reach, we can commit our forces to demolition duty on the rest of the city with constant magical attacks until this place is a giant graveyard. Until then, we need to assume they're still in Osaka."
"Have we sent a retrieval team to get the soldiers that went after Fluttershy?" Twilight Sparkle asked with a sorrowful tone. "I want to make sure Applejack has something to bury."
"That's the thing," Shining Armor said, shaking his head. "We found a few dead bodies, but not enough to make up the entire team we sent. Meaning that it's very likely they've been captured. If so, they're dead already."
That didn't make the pain in Twilight's heart lessen any better. Everypony knew what humans did to prisoners of war in their past history.
They tortured and raped or even worse things beyond imagination. Many feared such fates, but others worried that captured ponies would be turned into glue, so suicide was seen as a better alternative in many cases.
It was pretty much an accepted fact that if a pony was captured, they were considered already dead. The only disappointing thing was the inability to bring the body back, as every soldier who died in the name of Equestria was to be given a full-service funeral. It was why entire divisions of troops were trained to retrieve and teleport their dead bodies back home. Nopony was to be left behind even in death.
Applejack, I'm so sorry, Twilight thought while thinking about just how heartbroken not only her friend will be when she hears the news but also Apple Bloom, Sugar Belle, and the rest of the Apple Family.
Before they could discuss anything else, a panting earth pony guard rushed in with a panicking expression. "Your majesties! You need to come to the communication tent right away!"
"What's wrong? Is it a message from Equestria?" Princess Cadence asked with worry.
"N-No! Our communications are being jammed! All of them!"
"What?!"
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Contrary to what humans thought, ponies did have the means to talk to one another from long distances without cell phones or the internet. Instead of using electricity or satellites, they used magical-based objects. The most expensive being magical mirrors could be used to communicate if you could afford them for visual and vocal communication.
A more common method was attaching a magical link between two bonding crystals that could be used for talking, similar to a walkie-talkie. That was why, whenever Equestria landed her forces on human lands, they set up a communication tent with powerful unicorns capable of using multiple magical objects at once to mentally stay in communication with all active forces.
Only now, it seemed all those unicorns were unconscious. According to the guards protecting them, they just screamed and fell onto their back, with the medics declaring them entirely out cold. The various mirrors and crystals connected to some basic machinery were utterly out of control, with blinking flashes and swirls on their surfaces.
Shining Armor and Cadence watched as the last of the communication unicorns were being taken out by the medics while Twilight was busy trying to figure out what was wrong. "This doesn't make any sense!"
"What is it, Twilight?" Shining Armor asked as he and his wife went by Twilight's side.
"Something is jamming all the signals!" Twilight growled in frustration. "It's like there is a single powerful energy source filtering the magical connections with some kind of interference. Maybe if I increase the sound...
Twilight activated the speaker functions of one of the crystals, and music started coming out of it.
The three just blinked and looked at each other in disbelief.
"Is this...Jazz?" Shining Armor asked, eyebrow raised.
"Kinda good jazz, really," Cadence said with a shrug.
"Ugh, whatever it is, it's coming from a powerful object that's...up in the sky?" Twilight stated in surprise.
"A human satellite? But I thought we made sure to protect ourselves from them," Shining Armor said with a groan. Twilight couldn't blame him. It had been a massive pain in the butt to adjust their spells so that they could scramble any human space tech from spying on them.
"No, not that high up, but it's about three thousand feet in the air and...and..." Twilight's eyes widened.
"What?"
"... It's right over the middle of our portion of the city."
Suddenly the jazz music stopped, and one of the magical mirrors went static for a second before a face slowly appeared on it. One that the three had met not that long ago. Tapping on the glass, The Doctor seemed to be adjusting the screen before appearing before them with a smile.
"Hello there. Sorry to call in unannounced. But I wanted to ensure that your troops were confused about what to do next. Normally music like that wouldn't hurt anypony, but directly connect it to the horn of a unicorn, and it's like blasting high-powered stereos into the ears but more powerful. Hope you enjoy the soundtrack. It's a very good one."
"You?!" Twilight snarled. "How are you doing this?!"
"Oh, the TARDIS is capable of many things. Hacking into the magical frequencies of numerous communication auras is as easy as baking a pie," The Doctor said with a chuckle.
"Where are Fluttershy and Discord?" Cadence demanded.
"Oh, they're safe. Far safer with me than any of you," The Doctor said hardly before glaring at them. "They are under my protection now. As are the humans and ponies that stand against you. This planet is under my protection, and trust me, that comes with a hazardous warning label. One that you would be foalish to ignore."
"Why are you contacting us?" Twilight asked.
"I'm calling because I want to discuss the terms of your retreat."
"Retreat?!" Shining Armor asked in disbelief before growling. "You expect us to retreat when we're defeating the human forces!"
"Oh, I expect you to retreat very shortly because you're already in check, and in a few minutes, it's going to be mate," The Doctor said coldly as he moved in closer. "Here is my offer to you. And this offer comes only once, so listen well. You will cease all fighting immediately. You will take your forces and return to Equestria. You will leave behind all the newfoals as well. They don't belong to you. They belong to their families and loved ones that you took away from them. You will do this, or you will suffer defeat. It's a defeat so bad that you'll be haunted by it in your dreams to the point that not even Princess Luna can comfort you at night."
Although there was a part of Twilight's instincts that was telling her to listen to his offer, she pushed it aside and shook her head. "If you think we're going to bow to your demands, you are mistaken. Equestria has always stood against evil, and we will stand against you too."
"Evil? Oh, Twilight, you have never known real evil. Not what I've seen. I've seen things that would make the hairs of your hide turn white with terror. Races that senselessly kill out of hate, greed, and pleasure. Beings of terrible power that have eaten stars, shattered worlds, and made gods weep in fear. Terrors and nightmares of the worst emotions and feelings made manifest into flesh. And I've faced them all. Compared to them, you're nothing but children pretending to be scary monsters when you're just selfish brats who are upset nopony's listening to you, so you have to break everything to get what you want. Besides, if you want to see evil, look around you and see the chaos and death you and your people have wrought. Is this really harmony? Is this really justice? Is this salvation? No, it's nothing but that. And I will stop it. I will stop you."
The Doctor sighed. "Last chance. Retreat now. Take it or leave it."
The three leaders looked at each other for a long time before nodding in agreement. "We're not retreating."
"...Then I am so sorry for what happens next."
And with that, the Doctor ended communications.
+}{+
"Why do you have an electric guitar?" Lyra asked as she and the others sat on beanbag chairs the Doctor provided so they could sit back and watch the show. The TARDIS even offered snacks and drinks as the Doctor started plugging a few extra cables into a black and blue-styled Fender Telecaster.
"First, who doesn't have an electric guitar. They're awesome," The Doctor said with a smirk as he pressed a few buttons on the control console and upped a few dials. "Second, magic carries waves of resonance in the air whenever it's used, just like sound. If you are talented enough, you can take the same resonance of sound via an object and use it to create a means to control or neutralize the resonances of magic by manipulating the currents. Say if I wanted to negate all the shield spells that the Equestrian army is using below us, all of which are the same type, by the way, then all I would have to do is play a little Led Zeppelin."
"Huh?" Dinky asked, tilting her head.
"Basically?" The Doctor said as he got ready and grinned. "Music is the weapon."
The Doctor soon raised his hoof and crashed it down on the strings before starting to shred.
+}{+
A few seconds into playing, Unicorn ponies in the army who were tasked with holding the shields started screaming their heads off as they pressed their hooves to their horns which were glowing in various colors and sparking off like fireworks. Their non-unicorn comrades tried to help them out, but they kept pushing them away in pain while their magic started going ballistic. Telekinesis, plasma blasts, bolts of lighting, fire waves, water gushers, and more were being cast rapidly from the unicorns, who were yelling as if their heads were cracked open.
Above the various grounds, territory, and bases the Equestrian Army had under their control from their conquest of the city were the numerous magical shields that had protected them from any outside harm. They stood proud in shiny purple colors, with not even bullets able to get into their protective domes.
However, just like an egg being hit with a spoon, cracks suddenly began to appear. Small ones at first, but soon larger ones appeared. Those who looked up gasped in horror as their defensive barriers were being broken.
Commanders tried to get the shield using unicorns to concentrate and fix the cracks, but they were in too much agony to respond. Other unicorns, including backup shield maintainers, tried to assist but soon joined the screaming crowd. When asked what was going on, one of them screamed,
"It's like a thousand angry voices in my head! Make it stop!"
Word quickly spread to the royal family as all three watched in horror as even the shield under them started to crack. Shining Armor, having mastered shield magic as a personal talent, tried to assist, but he too fell down, gasping in pain while holding his head. Cadence was right there by his side as he winced and tried to stand up. "It's like...something is interfering with the magic...something...heavy...loud...and painful."
"The Doctor must be doing something! We have to reinforce the shields!" Twilight shouted, but it was too late.
Unable to take anymore, many unicorns finally ended the spells, allowing silence to flow into their heads once more, while others outright fainted from the pain. The various shields all over the Equestrian territory began to shatter. The ponies watched in horror as their protection evaporated into bits and pieces that soon disappeared into the aether. They were completely exposed to attack for the first time since the battle began.
+}{+
"Sir! Their shields are down!" A UN HQ watcher reported. The room was silent for a split second as multiple others confirmed the report.
"How many of them are down?!" Major-General Marshall Highmoor asked with hope in his heart.
"All of them! All of them are exposed!" The watcher responded with awe.
Grinning, Major-General Marshall Highmoor got his com and quickly ordered the communications officer to address all forces. "This is Major-General Highmoor! The Equestrians are exposed! I repeat, the Equestrians are exposed! All ranged forces are to hit them with everything we got! The targets issued to you will be hit with non-stop bombardment! Not one shell or missile is to hit the containment camps! Now send them all to Hell!"
"YEAH!"
+}{+
For a few seconds, upon seeing the last of the shields fall, there was nothing but blissful silence. And then, like the mythical dragons of Japanese lore, there were roars. There were endless roars of high-powered artillery cannons, missile launchers, and mortars unleashed in a barrage of righteous fury.
The front lines of the Equestrian ground forces were front and center to the bombardments that rained down on them like grenades from rainclouds. L16 81mm Mortars, M120s, and M224s were like organ pipes singing a death tune upon the stunned and confused front lines that were soon screaming.
Lost limbs were scattered into the air, entire streets of soldiers were wiped out, and field equipment, arrogantly thought protected without needing any cover, was destroyed in a wave of motor fire. Once their front was significantly damaged, the human forces of the U.N. and J.S.D.F charged forward with renewed spirit, followed by their armor and vehicle divisions.
Dazed, wounded, and confused, the Equestrian front forces stood no chance as they started getting slaughtered and pushed back beyond their borders.
Further on, more dangerous ranged guns were howling their vengeance across the city. M777 gun-howitzers and FH-70 towed howitzers were firing upon enemy camps and occupied buildings, crumbling the establishments into dust.
Casualties were beginning to rise higher than any thought possible in this fight as the panic started to set in that they were completely exposed. In their belief that their magic shields were untouchable, there was no additional cover to protect them from attacks from long range or in the air. Everything had been grouped together, with entire platoons and divisions forced to take whatever cover they could get before they were utterly wiped out.
But this wasn't just enough, thanks to the M142 salvo rocket systems that were going even farther and preventing any retreating force from making it out without multiple casualties.
Even the furthest of the territories under pony control were attacked by missiles that obliterated anything in their path. One would think they were spears from heaven as they descended on the ponies from numerous M270 salvo rocket systems and M270 MLRS. The only places that had not been targeted were the main camps holding the leadership of their army and the most distant of bases near the bay. From the human side, it was like seeing hope rising from the smoke and fire, but for the ponies of Equestria, it was like seeing doom upon the horizon.
+}{+
"Woah," everypony in the Doctor's TARDIS whispered as they saw the chaos below. The Doctor turned his guitar off and placed it aside before turning to the TARDIS controls.
"That's how you bring down the house," He said as he started spinning a wheel before pressing a button. "And for my next trick? We make a little rain."
+}{+
From outside the TARDIS, a small hole opened up on the top, and something quickly shouted out of it. It sailed upward for about fifty miles before exploding and spreading a large cloud of dust around. For about six minutes, nothing happened. Then the clouds started to change color. They turned darker before beginning to rumble. Forming up together, faster than thought possible, the large clouds began to rain down below on the city and spread until every corner of the area was getting wet.
+}{+
Twilight, Cadence, and Shining Armor watched in horror on the holographic map showing not just the loss of territory with each passing minute but the number of casualties that had reached the highest casualty rate for the Equestrian army in any single battle. Their perfect defense crumbled like a sandcastle against a tidal wave.
Sorrow filled their hearts at the thought of their fellow ponies being slaughtered in a seemingly endless barrage of counter-fire. Numerous officers were running around outside, trying to organize multiple retreats to back up bases (what was left of them) or offer ideas of counterattacks, but with the seemingly endless waves of artillery fire from a distance, it was unlikely that they were going to amount to anything so quickly. Especially since the entire human force was moving like a tsunami across the city.
“This is a disaster,” Shining Armor whispered in frightened awe before getting his act together. “We need to send an order to all front and middle divisions to retreat to the backup line. Abandoned the main line and secondary line. Leave any wounded behind.”
“Leave the wounded?!” Twilight asked in horror.
“They’re sitting ducks, Twilight!” Shining Armor growled. “If we’re going to turn this around, we need to-”
“How are we going to turn this around?! Our defenses are practically gone!” Shining’s wife shouted in disbelief.
“Your majesties!” One of the guards shouted in haste as he rushed in.
“What?!” Shining Armor shouted with fury.
“The...the...the newfoals!” The guard shouted while catching his breath.
“Oh, great, what about them now?!” Shining Armor groaned.
“They’re...they’re...turning back into humans!”
Twilight instantly shouted with the Royal Canterlot Voice so loud that even the artillery barrage distance couldn’t match her volume.
“WHAT?!”
+}{+
"By the Princesses, look at that! I've never seen so much damage!" One of the guards in the containment camps shouted from inside the steel fence barrier used to herd the newfoals together. They had been watching the battle from their location and feared the worst when the shields fell. But to their surprise, the big human guns did not target them once.
This led them to keep their focus on trying to calm the newfoals. They were all scared and asked various questions in confusion. The guards had to assure them that everything would be okay, but some seriously considered just ditching them.
It was always a chore having to guard newfoals. Whenever newfoals transformed weren't that bright at first and acted so confused and clueless until they could be adequately reeducated back in Equestria. Australia had become their main ground for keeping them so they could be fitted for Equestrian society, and some guards couldn't wait to go back there to drop them off and head for the beaches.
"I didn't know it was going to rain today," One of the other guards asked as they looked up at the water droplets falling down on them.
"Well, this is great. Not only are we getting attacked with our shields down, but we're going to catch colds as well," The other guard sighed. "Might as well bring the newfoals in before they catch a-"
Suddenly, bright lights were emitting from the center of the containment camp where the newfoals were all located. The guards all raised their hooves and gasped upon seeing the shining glows. "W-What is this?! Where is this light coming from?!"
"The...The newfoals!" One shouted with narrowed eyes as every newfoal was shining bright.
Slowly, the forms of the glowing white newfoals began to reshape. Growing taller and thinner while no longer standing on all four legs and now just two. Each of them was transforming before the very eyes of the guards, who soon lowered their hooves in awe. Then, as the light began to die, that awe was replaced by shock, disbelief, and horror.
Opening their eyes, the former newfoals looked around and then at themselves before seeing no hooves but hands and feet. No manes, save for the hair on their heads and faces. They had skin and clothing instead of furs. No wings, horns, tails, or even Cutie Marks.
They were, once again, human.
There was a long stunned silence between the humans and the ponies until both groups realized something. Because newfoals were practically incapable of committing violence, the guards were left with a skeleton staff and very few weapons. Seeing as they were so deep in their occupied territory in the city, they thought it was impossible to be attacked. There were so many humans in front of them that they practically made an army. And all of them soon held expressions of pure anger.
These gaijins had come to their city, their nation, and attacked it. They destroyed countless centuries of historical monuments and buildings, killed their people, burned their temples, and ravaged their soil with blood and lies. Worse, they had taken them from their once-proud human bodies and turned them into abominations.
There was only one thing to do to correct this injustice.
"天皇陛下万歳!" One man shouted, and, upon hearing this, the entire camp of the Japanese people charged forward as the ponies screamed in horror.
It was like this in all the containment camps as newfoals turned back into a raging force, humans who showed no mercy to their captors even as they begged for it.
The spirit of the rising sun had awakened once again.
+}{+
"This is impossible! Impossible!" Twilight shouted as she ranged back and forth, her hair spiking out in a panic. "It took us years to make that potion! Years! There is no cure! Even if there was, making one wouldn't take so quickly! How is that even possible?! How did he get past the enzyme?! What chemical formula is he using?! How is he even distributing it at such a high rate?!"
"Twilight!" Cadence shouted as she grabbed her sister-in-law and shook her to calm down. "We can worry about this cure later! We can't stay here! We need to retreat!"
Twilight looked at her foalsitter before looking at her brother, who looked reluctant to say anything, but with a heavy heart, he nodded. "Cadence is right. This battle is lost. We need to order an emergency retreat as soon as possible."
Twilight bit her lip and closed her eyes to fight the tears before nodding as Shining Armor gave orders. Sitting on her haunches, she lowered her head in shame, knowing that she would be returning to Equestria with the first absolute defeat on her shoulders in hundreds of years.
What would her friends think?
Her subjects?
Princess Celestia?
How could she look into the eyes of the families of the soldiers that died here and tell them it was all for nothing? Twilight had never felt more helpless and was doing everything she could to prevent herself from tearing up. Cadence seemed to sense this and slowly wrapped her forelegs and wings around Twilight, comforting her.
All Twilight could only wonder was how this could have happened? They had everything going for them. The initiative. The tactics. The forces. How could everything have gone so far down in such a sudden twist of fate? There was only one answer. One dreadful answer that made her shiver.
Twilight had faced beings like Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, and Tirek.
But never did any of them feel like what she felt when she realized that The Doctor would be the greatest enemy she would ever face. Doctor...I swear I will stop you...
However, before any other action could be taken, there was a sound of a dozen angry figures in the air buzzing around with dread filling in everypony's stomach. They saw what appeared to be angels of death sailing far above them, but any military expert could tell you those were just planes. Bomber planes. A combination of US Northrop B-2 Spirits and Russian Tupolev Tu-160s. All of which were sailing above and releasing their payloads.
The reinforcements that Osaka had been waiting for had arrived.
"EVERYPONY, TAKE COVER!"
And in a second, there was a sea of fire.
+}{+
It took two hours for human forces to finally reclaim everything lost. The entire south and west side of Osaka had been utterly ruined in the counterattack. Buildings were destroyed, roads were upheaved, and corpses were everywhere, primarily ponies.
What Equestrian survivors were lucky to find shelter, or surrender upon failing to join in the emergency teleport, had been taken as prisoners of war. Yet, despite the ruin and destruction that lay before them, the humans were all celebrating. For two years throughout the war, there had been defeats, stalemates, and bittersweet victories for humanity.
There was a true victory at long last, here in Osaka, Japan.
A victory that proved that Equestria could be defeated. A victory that proved that humanity was strong and could prevail. Word was already spreading throughout the internet and news as pictures, videos, and tik-toks were trending, showing various rising hashtags as citizens, soldiers, and survivors all came together to show that they had achieved the impossible.
They had won.
And throughout the cries of victory and celebrations, a cry shouted out to the heavens.
“Osaka Stands! Banzai! Osaka Stands! Banzai!”
Lyra, watching the celebrations from the TARDIS, looked over at the Doctor, who was watching beside her. Discord had been taken away for medical treatment with Fluttershy accompanying him while Derpy, Dinky, Carrot Top, and Flash had all joined in the partying. Looking over at his companion, The Doctor smirked and asked, "Still feel like we could be doing more?"
"Heh," Lyra chuckled before smiling warmly at him. "You did it. You actually did it. You not only gave Equestria its first real defeat, but you managed to create a means to turn newfoals back into humans. This...this is a miracle."
"First off, we all did it," The Doctor said with a smirk. "All of us did this together. Even you."
"I didn't do anything special," Lyra whispered with a sigh. "Compared to everypony else, what have I done?"
"You stood for what was right," The Doctor said with a warm smile as he patted her on the back. "You were the first to realize what was wrong with what Equestria was doing. You stood up and said no when others were too afraid to do so. All it takes is one pony to stand up and say no more to start a chain of events that will lead to something amazing. This is what you helped accomplish. Your voice, determination, and courage matter because you did the most important thing needed. You told the truth. A truth that needed to be heard to fix what was wrong."
Lyra grinned and hugged him. "You know how to make a mare feel special."
"Well, I have a way with mares, stallions, and all other genders, both Equestrian and alien," The Doctor said with a chuckle before frowning. "However, we've not ended the war. Merely won a battle. Now that Equestria has tasted this kind of defeat, things will only escalate."
"How bad will things get?" Lyra asked, tilting her head.
"Well, desperate ponies will do desperate things..." The Doctor said but soon clapped his hooves and smiled. "But that's for tomorrow. Today we celebrate. Shall we?"
"Go get some of that sake, and let's party, Doc."
+}{+
Disaster.
A complete disaster.
That was all Celestia could think of as she stood in the Emergency Waiting Room at Canterlot General Hospital.
Less than five hours ago, The Kingdom of Equestria had had its worst defeat in the war and the worst defeat in nearly three hundred years.
Only 32% of the Osaka Invasion Force had returned, with more than half of them wounded or crippled for life. Everypony else was either dead or captured. What's worse, if the reports were accurate, the humans had found a way to reverse the Conversion Potion. The ESS had already shown her proof that humanity had a counter to one of their greatest weapons, which had sent Princess Celestia into a state of total fear. Combined with the failure to capture Fluttershy or kill Discord, this was a complete failure of epic proportions.
And she knew who to blame.
The Doctor.
He had done this.
Cadence had all but confirmed it.
He protected Fluttershy and Discord, bypassed their magic, crippled their unicorns, allowed the humans to bombard them to near oblivion, cured the newfoals, and sent Equestria into retreat without anything to show for it. All in a few hours.
Princess Celestia feared what he could do in a week.
There was no way to prevent this news from spreading; no doubt her subjects would panic in horror and ask questions. There would have to be an official statement from the crown to address this issue, but this was the furthest thing Celestia had on her mind. Right now, Twilight and Shining Armor are her focus.
The Princess of the Sun had no idea how long she had been standing still with a stone face of worry with Luna by her side, doing her best to comfort her big sister, but it felt like an eternity as she waited for news of the siblings' treatments.
The bombardment had severely wounded them, with Shining Armor getting the worst of it thanks to Twilight's alicorn biology protecting her better than the average pony. Princess Cadence had practically carried her husband and sister-in-law to the emergency teleport glyphs while still issuing orders. Still, it was clear from her bloodshot eyes, dried tear mark cheeks, and terrified expression that she was this close to a freakout.
She wasn't the only one. Twilight and Shining's parents held each other in near-endless sobs while Twilight's friends reacted as expected.
Rainbow Dash was pacing around, looking ready to break something.
Rarity was sobbing into tissues.
Applejack had her head lowered and was saying nothing.
Pinkie Pie was staring at the floor with her mane completely down and her wide eyes watering.
And Spike?
He had threatened the entire hospital staff that he would burn the building if they didn't save his siblings. The only one of their family not here was Flurry Heart, who Cadence refused to have here out of fear of seeing the state her father was in.
Finally, the doors opened as everypony stood up, waiting for a blood-covered unicorn doctor (one that Princess Celestia personally trusted) to make his way to them. "Family of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince-Consort Shining Armor?"
"Are they okay, Doctor Wellhoof?" Princess Celestia asked, stepping forward with fear in her tone.
"Princess Twilight is going to make it," Doctor Wellhoof replied, making more than one pony sigh in relief. "However, we had to amputate one of her wings, and her left eye was too damaged to keep in. She'll have to wear a patch over it for the rest of her life or get it filled with an artificial replacement."
"And Shining?" Cadence asked desperately while the doctor just stood there in silence. "What about my husband?!"
"...Halfway through his surgery, Prince Shining Armor's heart stopped. We tried to resuscitate him, but we couldn't. I'm sorry, but he's gone."
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I also call it genocide!
Bye bye. If All Equestria dies ITS YOUR FAULT
OH HO HO HO HO😈😈😈
THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE A BLAST!!😈
START THE MUSIC!!!!!🎸
LETS PARTY!!!!🎙🎶🎶🎸
WHAT THE HELL!? You are not Shining Armor!!
HOLY CRAP HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!😃
https://images.app.goo.gl/mCfZybBXArGnKv4o6
https://images.app.goo.gl/RepmcQzASAS9TH9D8
11503761
The Elders from XCOM and this continuity's Celestia would probably understand eachother very well.
...............we couldn't save one
Twilight, you're such a f******* MORON!!!!
Discord did WARN you! But you didn't listen, dumbass.
You should have seen this coming.
Wow Spike, how far you have fallen!
They both deserve it! After all, the Doctor DID give them a chance to surrender. But they blew it for being delusional idiots, and paid the ultimate price for it.
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/312/011/fc4.jpg
Honestly it was a bit rocky at the start but now *chefs kiss*
11503804
Well duh.
She's a moron in cannon too. Book smart sure, but still a moron as soon as the situation can't be solved by book smarts alone. Why I found anything after the first season painful to watch. She just took this nose dive from being somewhat relatable into Mary Sue/ Pollyanna/ Teachers Pet/ etc territory and never pulled out until it got so bad they had to do a full reset.
Now seeing her like this, well that bring a smile to my face no matter how many times I read it. Reality came knocking on her door and when she refused to open up did a full breach-and-smash on her including leaving a few reminders.
11497444
As a Doctor Who nerd, I'm gonna explain what that's referencing so brace yourself:
In the episode Journey's End, the Daleks had stolen 30 planets with unique properties (including Earth) in order to generate enough neutrino energy for the reality bomb aboard their flagship, the Crucible, which would have sent out a transmission that would negate the electrical field binding all atoms together causing all matter to undo itself across all of creation as the wavelength spread past the barrier of their universe and went through all life in every conceivable reality and erased it from existence.
11503785
Yeah, you know, until they turned her into one of their slaves too.
After this defeat, Equestria will surely surrender. It certainly will not escalate with TeraTon blasts of magic.
For everybody reading on Mobile that wants the musical experience here is the Spotify link for song number two.
Doctor Who meets metal.
I know I posted this from Choice but it bears repeating here.
"The Spartans had their battle of Thermopylae. The Romans had their battle of Actium. The Austrians and the Polish had their battle for Vienna. The British had their battle of Waterloo. The French had their battle of Verdun. The United States had their battle of Gettysburg. The Russians had their battle of Stalingrad.
Today, Humanity had their battle for Osaka. Today, we held the line against the monsters who would seek our destruction and gave them a bloodied nose they will never forget. Today, we turned the tide."
I love Erock! I used to have a CD if this song I’d play on my cars stereo
lmao L
11504174 Doubt it.
Stupid doesn't learn from stuff like this.
Hitler was a good example of NOT learning from his mistakes/defeats.
11508292
So now, you believe that rather than surrendering, Equestria will escalate to weapons of massdestruction. That is just silly. Next, you will claim that Equestria will create a TeraTonCrystalCannon and blowup the East Coast of the United States of Canada, killing nearly 100 million people creating a quake everyone can feel, a shockwave everyone can hear, and put so much debris into the air that the next year will be a Year Without A Summer. ¡Yeah right!
11508373 No.
I just meant that they won't learn from this debacle.
Just like Hitler didn't learn from his armies' defeat at Stalingrad, and beyond... up to and including when the Russians started blasting Berlin to rubble.
No, it's because you are a nerdy privileged loser.
Now, ugly? Not physically. Mentally? Absolutely.