Sometimes all it takes to lose someone close to you, is the troubles of the outside world. Spike and Sweetie Belle find this out the hard way.
Part 3 of my series. Equestria has fallen under attack by a foreign power, and is in danger of falling. As Spike and his friends and family head for Canterlot, a plot unfolds that will change Equestria, forever!
Off the coast of Manehattan, a fleet of ships began to approach the city. Over 600 ships and 2,000 planes were getting ready to strike at the city. After the air and naval attack, an advance guard around 10,000 soldiers would attack the city. These forces consisted up of clones of their leader and robots. The calm breeze allowed the fleet full sailing towards their destination. They had worked for months on this fleet while two others were already prepared for their own invasions. While they had thought they would be invading their enemy, they were instead invading a neutral country in hopes of gaining some more ground. It was just three weeks ago that they were given their orders to head for a city called Manehatten. The Captain of the flagship was looking over his map when the Admiral arrived.
“Captain, any sign of patrols?” The Admiral asked. The Captain shook his head.
“No Admiral Harley, not a single Equestrian patrol at all,” he replied. “Also, no sign of you know who anywhere.”
“Then let us keep it that way.” The Admiral ordered. “I’d rather not get into an engagement with their naval forces until we have the home field advantage.” The Ground Forces commander soon walked onto the bridge of the flagship. His uniform was bright red, with five stars on it. Just like the rest of the forces, he was also a clone of their leader, but was proven to be ruthless in the field against rebellions, and was soon chosen to lead the invasion.
“Have our informants contacted us yet?” He asked, his voice demanding that he hear the answer he wants or someone's head would fly.
“Yes, sir,” the Captain answered. “They’ve told us the Equestrian fleet is in anchor at Horseshoe Bay near Baltimare, so the defenses in Manehatten will be weak and Fillydelphia is still trying to get over the large-scale bandit raids from a few years ago. They also have some important targets that will help us take Equestria with ease.” When the three of them turned to look ahead of them, they saw the lights of Manehatten emerge from the fog in the distance.
“General Bryce, prepare your men,” The Admiral commanded. The general left and gathered the men on the ship for landing. “Captain, have the fleet get into formation and begin hitting the city. I want them to feel the might of the Lennex Empire.”
“Right away, Admiral!” The Captain exclaimed. He grabbed a torch and began waving it to the rest of the fleet to get into formation. As they neared the harbor, the main ships began forming up and readying their cannons for battle.
At midnight, the fleet began open fire on the harbor and city. The only ships there were blown to pieces as their crews were flung into the harbor, the water running red with their blood. In the city itself, fires began raging from the harbor area and began spreading throughout the city. The planes began to take off from the carriers and joined in the attack, just as the invasion force landed at the docks. As they got off the boats, they found no resistance as they began moving into the burning city.
“Keep moving men!” The Lieutenant yelled. “Take this city for the glory of the Lennex Empire!”
On the other side of the city, a young girl was woken by the sounds of the cannons. She got out of bed and went to the window. As she opened the blinds, she saw the fire near the harbor area, along with flashes from the cannons on the ships. Before she could try to figure out what was happening, her parents rushed into her room.
“Come on, Babs,” her mother exclaimed. “We need to get out of the city!” Babs nodded and got into her regular clothes as fast as she could. As soon as she got ready, They ran down the stairs of their apartment into the streets. All around them was chaos as people were fleeing from the fires caused by the bombardment from the Lennex ships. Members of the Manehatten police had formed some barriers along the roads to stop the attackers. Just as they got the barricades up, the Lennex forces began marching on their positions.
“Fire away lads!” The chief yelled. His officers opened fire, but their weapons weren’t very accurate, only a few stray bullets grazed the impending Lennex forces as they loomed over the police officers. The Lennex officers stopped 15ft short from the officers and got into formation, a firing line. Those in the front crouched so their accomplices behind them could still take aim. They worked in perfect synchronization without being needlessly yelled at for commands. The police stood terrified as the Lennex forces lined up their shots perfectly. They had time to count their last seconds One
BANG
Sudden noises of gunfire shook all those still in hearing range as the soldiers had no trouble mowing down their opposition. Blood splayed across the street and was slowly leaking into a big pool on the ground through multiple holes per officer. The only people still alive were shielded by the rest of their team. "Get back! Retreat! We'll regroup at the train station"
Babs and her parents ran as fast as they could away from the mayhem, but the panicking crowd shoved her parents to the street as she was knocked into an alleyway. As she was about to head back onto the streets, she saw her parents pleading to the soldiers to let them live. the soldiers showed no remorse and impaled them with their bayonets, her parents let out a strangled cry for help but it went unnoticed to all but Babs. She just sat there behind a dumpster, terrified at seeing her parents draw in their last breaths. Then, their bodies went limp, they stopped fighting back and accepted their fate. Babs snuck down the alley to find somewhere to hide all while silently sobbing at her parents demise. Babs continued to hide sobbing to herself, until she heard a voice call out names she swear she had heard before.
“Well done, Magnum and Pearl,” the leader said. “With the help from you two and our spies, we’ll be able to take over this land in no time. As per agreement, we will make the two of you the rulers of this land.” Babs was shocked to find that Sweetie Belle’s parents were part of this whole thing. She had heard they were stuck up nobles, but to actually betray Equestria! That was low, even for the most corrupt of officials in Manehatten.
“We also have two presents for your leader,” Pearl began. “First, let us introduce, Prince Blueblood.” Two of the Lennex soldiers dragged a beaten and bloodied Prince Blueblood to the Lennex ground commander. “We also present to you, a young teen with Dragon DNA. While we may not have him, we know where he lives, and who he is. I’m sure your Emperor would be pleased. Also, you have full permission to do whatever you wish to do to him.” The Lennex officers smirked at the suggestion. Now they had an advantage against their enemy, and could have some fun while they were at it.
“What is the young one’s name?” One of the officers asked. Magnum and Pearl also began to smirk, as Babs heard the name of one of her closest friends.
“Spike Sparkle.” No sooner did those words leave Magnum’s mouth, did Babs feel like she stopped breathing, it was steadily growing more and more painful to draw breath. She had no idea her friend was that unpopular, but to be used like that, she felt like she was about to throw up.
“Alright,” The Commander said. “Take this prince to the cloning machines. Have all forces begin moving on Canterlot. We’ll crush all of Equestria by killing their leaders.” The Lennex forces began to torch more of the city, as the remaining population tried to run for the city, only to be shot at on the way there. Babs soon ran out of her hiding spot, just as one of the Lennex soldiers saw her.
“Get that spy!” He yelled. He and two others fired, but missed as Babs ran to the train station. Just as the last train was about to leave, the Lennex forces began attacking the station. What was left of the Manehatten police held their ground as the train began leaving. Babs ran by the train, as one of the passengers held their hand to pull her onto the car. The train left, just in time to see the station and platforms collapse from the Lennex attacks. Lennex planes began attacking the bridge as the train moved across, hoping to stop the survivors from escaping, but were too late. The train made it across, just as the bridge also collapsed. Babs looked back and saw her home burning. The flames lighting up the night sky, making it beautiful to those that had no idea what had happened. For Babs, she had lost her parents and home. Finally letting out some tears, she fell into an uneasy sleep, the only thing she could think about was all the destruction that had happened, and that she had to warn Spike about what the Lennex Empire was going to do to him.
From Ponyville to Canterlot, as Many Secrets Are Revealed
As the train continued its journey away from Manehatten, Babs looked back and saw the smoke continue to rise over the city. She could not believe what she had just witnessed. A foreign army had invaded and just began destroying her home and killed her family. She had never seen such carnage, and now she wishes she will never see it again. For now, all she could do is head for Ponyville to warn her family in that area about what happened.
“Attention passengers,” the conductor said. “We'll be arriving in Ponyville in two minutes.” He went on to the next coach as Babs got what little belongings she was able to bring with her ready. All she had was some clothes and some miscellaneous. She looked towards the front of the train and saw Ponyville coming into full view.
As the train stopped, she got out of her seat and walked onto the platform. The station was mostly deserted, with no one around the platform or Ponyville. A nearby sign read “Ponyville Market Day”. Realizing that everyone would be at the Market Square, she began the trek to Sweet Apple Acres. As she was walking, she looked around to see if any of her friends were walking around the town square. When she couldn’t find anyone, she continued on to Sweet Apple Acres.
When she arrived at the front gates, she saw her cousin, Apple Bloom working in the orchard, helping her brother and his girlfriend, Fluttershy, get some apples ready for the market. Applejack and Caramel were walking to the gate when they saw Babs.
“What are you doing here, Babs?” Caramel asked. The others stopped what they were doing when they heard Babs name and also went to the gate. Babs soon broke down crying as they helped her to the house. When they got her inside, Babs only spoke three words that will change Equestria, forever.
“Manehatten was attacked.” The others all gasped at what they heard. They had seen the attack on Canterlot before, but Manehatten being attacked when it was out of range from any army seemed unbelievable.
“We had better get the others before we hear anymore,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t think she wants to tell her story more than once.” Big Mac nodded and went over to the phone and called everyone to the farm. Pinkie was the first to show right after the phone call. She still seemed upset about her boyfriend, Pokey, but decided to be there to help her friends more than mope around.
The next to arrive was Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. They were getting ready to go flying in Rainbow’s new plane when Big Mac called. They immediately rushed over when they heard something bad had happened.
Not long after, Rarity, Twilight, Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Flash Sentry arrived, as Spike and Sweetie Belle were helping in the library when Rarity came in and told them about the phone call. Twilight was upstairs reading as Flash was fixing breakfast for everyone. When Rarity told them, they all stopped what they were doing and ran to Sweet Apple Acres.
When everyone was finally seated, Granny Smith passed out some Apple Fritters as Babs told her tale.
“I was in bed when around midnight, fire began to spread at the docks. All I heard was screaming and explosions. My parents rushed in and helped get me ready and got some stuff to take with us. We ran outside and saw everyone running for the station as the Manehatten police set up barricades, like someone was attacking us. When we looked back, we saw these people in bright red uniforms torching every building. When the police opened up, they stopped what they were doing and attacked the officers. The next thing I know, my parents shove me into an alley.” Tears fall from her eyes, remembering what happened next.
“My parents begged for those people to spare them, but they were killed anyhow. I saw their leader walk up and,” she stopped, unsure if she wanted to tell Rarity and Sweetie Belle about their parents or keep quiet to not cause trouble. Eventually, she chose the latter, hoping it wouldn’t come back to haunt her. “He said they were going to crush Equestria by killing the rulers.” As Babs finished, Rainbow began moving to the door, hands balled into fists. Everyone knew what she planned to do and held her back from leaving the house. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Spike went to their friend and held her, letting her cry from the memory.
“Flash, get a train ready,” said Twilight. “We’re going to Canterlot to warn Celestia and Luna about what happened.” Twilight also feared for her brother and sister-in-law, as they ruled over the Crystal Empire. For all she knew, they could be next for those people.
“Yes, Twilight.” Flash said, as he ran off for the station to get a train for Canterlot. The others followed behind, hoping they were not too late to warn the two sisters. They were able to secure a train and headed for the capital.
When they arrived, the saw Doctor Whooves, Derpy, and their daughter, Dinky walking towards them.
“Hey guys,” said Derpy. “What seems to be the problem?” After they explained what happened, the three of them went with them to the castle. They arrived after a long run, everyone exhausted, and went inside and saw Celestia talking with Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor. When they saw the look on their faces, they knew something was wrong.
“Twilight, what seems to be the problem?” Celestia asked. Twilight took a deep breath and spoke.
“Manehattan came under attack last night.” She said. Luna looked down.
“What time?” Cadance asked.
“Around midnight,” Babs said. “The attack was around that time.” Celestia looked grim, as Luna spoke next.
“Looks like the attacks were two hours apart,” she stated. “Around 2 AM, Fillydelphia also came under attack and two hours later, our fleet in Boltimare also was attacked. It seems Equestria has been declared war on.” Everyone looked down, not sure what to think. They had heard about wars in other places, but never in Equestria. “We just don’t know what they are after.” It was then that Babs spoke up.
“They’re after all of Equestria,” she began. “They want you two dead.” Celestia and Luna were shocked that they wanted to do that. “I saw what they looked like and everything. They also took someone captive with them.”
“What did they look like?” Shining asked.
“They all looked the same, with bright red uniforms. Their flag was red and white strips and a blue corner. In the corner was stars that spelled out CL.” After she finished, Celestia motioned for all of them to follow her. They went to a different wing of the castle. When they entered the doors, they saw many flags that were not from Equestria. The flags all had a blue corner with a white oval and two crossed swords. Celestia went to a flag that had red and white stripes and said the words, “Imperial 2nd Army Freedom and Justice for all.”
“Does this flag match the one you saw?” Celestia asked. Babs nodded and Celestia took a deep breath. “It’s time you all knew more about what happened, especially you Spike. Back when you were still just getting used to living with Twilight, the city of Fillydelphia was being attacked by bandits. We tried to stop them, but every time we tried, our forces were defeated. It was a few weeks after it began that a massive storm hit, damaging an unknown ship anchored off the coast of the city. They were hit hard in the storm, as they were trying to get home. They were blown off course and ended up in the storm for a few days.” She paused, allowing the others to take everything in as she went over to a flag that had the usual corner like many of the others, but was all white for the rest of the flag.
“The ship had this flag on the mast. The crew was repairing the ship as some of the soldiers on the ship went to the docks. They landed and walked into the city, just as the bandits were raiding the city again. They saw the soldiers and ran right for them. It proved to be a mistake, as those newcomers all pointed what seemed to be spears, but when they were close to attacking, the soldiers let out what was described fire pouring from the end of the weapon. When the remaining bandits started running at the soldiers again, they got stabbed by what seemed to be a spear point. What was left ran to The Badlands, allowing the city to be free again.” She walked over to two more flags, one with a green background with a golden harp. In golden letters were the words “Emperor’s Guard”. The other was a bright yellow flag with a brown shield in the middle. In brown letters were the words “Guardian Force”.
“That same group soon began heading here to meet up with me. When they arrived, they didn’t seem like much, but some of the guard ran at the leader, only to find themselves defeated within a few minutes. The others were about to attack him, but I was able to intervene and prevent more guards from getting hurt. I told their leader to follow me to the main conference room. I asked him to take a seat just as Discord and I also took our seats across from him. I’m not going to bore everyone with the details of the meeting, but I will tell you that it was thanks to him, that we got many new things, such as phones. He was even nice enough to loan us some of their older planes to the Wonderbolts. Their planes were better than ours, so we immediately agreed. Spitfire was really impressed by the way they flew. The guns we have are from enemies they’ve conquered. They trained us how to use them. They even taught many of us about the horseback riding they use. In turn, we taught them how to be more in tune with nature and how to create beautiful gardens. Turns out, right after he returned home, he and his adopted son created the Imperial Gardens. You’d have to see it to believe the beauty of it.” Celestia stopped talking, allowing Discord, who had just entered the room to speak.
“Turns out, they were the ones to wipe out the same group that kidnapped Spike,” he said. “They had a 300 year rivalry with them which ended with their victory. This nation that we met with is called the Imperial Empire. Their leadership is very different from Equestria. While we have Celestia and Luna ruling with compassion, love, and friendship, their rulers are very different. The Emperor has all the power, while the Senate handles small issues like taxes. The Imperials also rule by the Military, making their word law everywhere. The main similarity, is that many also rule with the same ideas here.” He finished.
“So, both nations are alike?” Apple Bloom asked. They were all confused by what was going on, as they were having trouble understanding it all. Only Twilight seemed to take everything in with ease.
“Yes, they are,” Luna answered. “I never got to meet them, but I did hear about what they’ve been able to do. Equestria seems to be their main rival in many things. The Buffalo near Appleloosa could give their horsemen a rough fight, while our guards could even go toe-to-toe with their forces in melee.” At this, Flash and Shining Armor looked nervous. They were two of the best guards, but to hear that they could get beat by these unknowns before the fight could really begin?! Cadance and Twilight saw the looks on the faces and calmed them down as Celestia spoke again.
“You have nothing to fear you two,” she said. “You two would be fine, as long as you don’t do something that they consider criminal. Everyone here is fine.” Everyone relaxed, until they heard an explosion in another wing. They immediately rushed to the sound, worried about what had happened.
When they arrived at where the explosion was, they saw the intruders attacking the Royal Guards that were holding them back. Babs soon noticed the flag and backed behind a pillar, remembering what happened last time she saw the flag. Shining brought up his weapon and took aim at the nearest attacker and hit him in the stomach.
“We need to get out of here!” He yelled. One of the attackers ran for Cadance, but Shining blocked him, punching the soldier in the face. “Keep away from my wife!” The two of them joined the others as they ran through the corridors. Rainbow looked outside and saw what appeared to be their planes attacking the city, setting many of the buildings on fire.
When they got around the next corridor, they saw the guards fighting another group of attackers. These attackers however were blocking every shot sent at them, as what appeared to be their armor was protecting them. The guard ran at them, only to be killed without any issues for the attackers.Everywhere it seemed, the attackers were breaking through the castle. As they began running for a secret exit, they were stopped by another group of attackers, led by Prince Blueblood.
“You traitor!” Celestia yelled. Blueblood just laughed as another person walked up beside him. Pinkie was shocked to see it was Pokey. He turned to Pinkie and just laughed.
“I told you that you’d regret refusing me, Pinkie.” He said, an evil smile on his face. Pinkie remembered yesterday, when he tried to have his way with her. It was the same day Spike and Sweetie Belle had their first date, that she forced him out of the bakery, after he tried to force himself on her. He yelled that she would regret it, but she never thought it would go this far. Before the attackers could do anything, they all ran down a secret passage, hoping to escape the attackers.
As they were nearing the exit, Spike tripped and got left behind. Sweetie Belle soon noticed her boyfriend wasn’t with them and looked back just in time to see a group of the Lennex soldiers grab Spike by his hair.
“Hey, let me go!” He yelled. He found himself being pulled away, as Sweetie Belle started running towards them, only for her to be held back by Rarity.
“SPIKE!” Sweetie holloward, trying to get free from her sister. ‘Don’t worry Spike. I’ll find a way to rescue you!” Both her and Rarity went out the secret exit, running for the train that was leaving for the western part of Equestria.
Back at the castle, the Lennex commander had just entered the throne room, as Spike was dragged in.
“So you’re the boy with the Dragon DNA?” He asked. Spike didn’t speak, infuriating the Lennex commander. He punched Spike in the stomach. “You will answer me when I’m talking to you!” Spike just spat in his face. “No matter.These two told us all about you.” Just as he said this, Sweetie Belle and Rarity’s parents walked into the room. “It’s time for you to serve your new masters, slave!” He walked out of the room as Magnum and Pearl went to the thrones and sat down.
“Equestria is now ours!” They exclaimed. “With the princesses gone, we will now rule this land the way it should be run. Get to the garden and destroy all the statutes that provide hope. We can’t have others believing they can win against us.”
“We can’t,” a soldier replied. “There something preventing us from entering. We tried to bomb them, but nothing happened.” Magnum and Pearl were upset by this revelation, but just sat on their thrones.
“Continue the march to Ponyville,” Pearl ordered. “Crush all in your path.” The soldier nodded and went to gather more of his unit. Pearl turned to Spike. “We will make sure you will never corrupt anyone ever again.” The two officers carried Spike away to the dungeon, both having a look of understanding on their faces about how to break him.
It was dusk by the time the train had reached Las Pegasus. Everyone was exhausted from what had happened today. The Capital was lost and one of their own was captured. For Sweetie Belle, it was a real hard blow for her, since all she could do was watch as Spike was dragged away from her. Twilight, Flash, Shining, and Cadance were not faring much better either. Spike was a member of their family, and was taken away from them just like that. Luna looked out to the ocean, and made a decision that would change the fate of Equestria.
“I’m going to try and find this Imperial Empire,” she said. “We need help, and maybe they’ll be able to give some support.” Celestia walked over to Luna and gave her a quick hug.
“If I know their leader,” she said. “He’ll give more than a little support. He’ll bring in the whole Imperial Army if he has to. They might even bring in fifteen Imperial Armies.” Discord laughed.
“That’s an understatement,” he countered. “Id bet on fifty Imperial Armies coming to help Equestria. Including the Emperor’s Guard. Heck, maybe even Guardian Force if they want to.” Celestia just shook her head at his statement. “Come on Celestia. I’ll bet 100 bits that probably the largest Imperial force ever assembled will come to help us.”
“Alright, Discord,” she said. “You’re on.” They shook hands as Luna went to her personal boat.
“I need to do this on my own. No guards.” Before she could get on the ship, Sweetie Belle ran up to her.
“Take me with you!” She exclaimed. “I will not just sit here while Spike is held hostage by them creeps!” Luna knew why she wanted to go. Sweetie Belle wanted to do something to help Spike, and thought this might be the best way to do so. Before Rarity could protest, Sweetie stopped her. “I need to do this Rarity. I will do everything I can to get my boyfriend back.” Rarity just nodded, understanding that true love can overcome anything from what she heard. She just hopped that this would be one of those times.
"Don't worry, Luna." Celestia told her. "Discord and I will make sure they don't advance any further until help arrives. The bright side, we will have support here in Equestria. We can hold until you return."
"I'll make sure there'll be many surprises if they move beyond Ponyville." Discord said.
Luna and Sweetie Belle soon began heading west, hoping to find help, as the others went back to the other side of the city to prepare for any attacks. Rainbow Dash looked up towards the sky and saw the Wonderbolts fighting against the Lennex planes. It appeared that the Wonderbolts were winning, until the same Lennex planes she saw in Canterlot arrived and began shooting them down one by one. Right as the first plane crashed, Rainbow ran over to the pilots to make sure they were alright. She saw the captain, Spitfire, walk from her plane with some small cuts, but otherwise, fine.
“Captain, are you alright?” She asked. Spitfire nodded as the remaining of her pilots also walked away from their planes. Rainbow soon noticed that one was missing. “Where’s Soarin?” A final Equestria plane soon crashed a few yards away as the pilot climbed out and fell to the ground. She rushed over to him and pulled him away from the crashed plane as the rest of the Wonderbolts gave them their space. “Please Soarin, get up. Don’t do this to me, please.” She shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up. After a few minutes, Soarin began to wake up.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash.” He said. All Rainbow could do was throw her arms around his neck, grateful that he was alive. Soarin returned the hug, and began to get up with Rainbow’s help. After they got back to the city, Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold it in any longer and kissed Soarin on the mouth.
Just as with the Lennex fleet, Princess Luna’s personal ship had very good sailing west towards it’s destination, despite only having a crew of two. Luna kept the ship sailing straight as they hoped to run into help soon. Sweetie Belle kept looking out at the ocean nervously, as this was her first time sailing like this. She had been on water and swimming before, but this was her first time out on the ocean. From what she had learned in Miss Cheerilee’s class, the ocean held many things, from playful creatures, to ones that would attack and eat a person.
Luna looked back to Equestria one last time before keeping her eyes to the west. Her home city had fallen, and at that moment, her country could also fall, unless Celestia could hold them off until she found help. She knew Celestia and Discord would try their best, and now that they know what’s going on, they would have a better chance. She cracked a small smile at what Discord’s ideas would be against any attacker. She had doubts about him when Celestia and him became a couple, but they’ve worked well together on many different projects.
Sweetie Belle’s eyes began to water, remembering how she and Spike had agreed that one day they would go on a boat ride someplace. Even before they started dating, they would make agreements with each other. They were the best of friends, even Twilight had agreed that the friendship she had with her boyfriend before they split apart all those years ago wasn’t as strong. Even when they reconnected, the bond wasn’t as strong as it used to be, but they at least went above friendship after catching up again. Sweetie Belle had become Spike’s very first friend and later his best friend. They had went on a few adventures together during the years. When the others were busy during the weekend when she was staying with Rarity, they would go camping in the library or the boutique with either Twilight or Rarity watching them.
She even remembered when Spike was sick, she went over to stay with him for a few hours. She ended up getting sick herself, but they stayed together the whole time. She even remembered when he helped her get over her first crush she had on a kid that later turned into a bully. She was walking into the park one day and saw that same boy beating up Spike and threw him into the pond. She was very thankful that Spike’s uncle, Shining was visiting that day. She went up to that boy and smacked him as hard as she could. She apparently didn’t know her strength, since she heard something crack when her hand hit his cheek. It turned out she had broken his cheekbone with just one slap. After she slapped him, she ran over to where Shining and Spike were.
She blushed, remembering what she did to help him. It was the first time she had her mouth touch a boy’s mouth, but it wasn’t as weird as she thought it would be. She was glad that Spike had no idea what she did, but he was technically her first kiss even before that time in the Tunnel of Love.
“You alright, Sweetie Belle?” Luna asked. Sweetie Belle turned to Luna as she sat down next to her. “You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“I’m just scared,” Sweetie replied. “Spike’s been there with me for a while now, and right now, I feel like part of me is gone. I just don’t feel complete anymore,” Sweetie’s dam broke as the tears came full force. Luna pulled her close as she continued to cry.
“It’ll be alright, Sweetie Belle,” Luna said while rubbing her back. “We’ll get him back by Hearth’s Warming Eve. I will promise you that. I can also promise that if the Imperial Emperor tries to take Spike, I’ll make him wish he had never been born.”
Sweetie looked up at Luna and gave a small smile, letting her know she was feeling a little bit better. They looked back out to the sea and saw black smoke in the distance. Luna went back to the helm and steered the ship in that direction to find out what happened.
When they arrived, all they saw were ships either sinking or on fire. Luna was able to see the flag on the ships, which were the same ones that attacked Equestria. The water was running red with blood of the crews with bodies floating everywhere.
“Sweetie Belle, get below deck,” said Luna. Sweetie complied and hid below deck as Luna navigated her boat through the wreckage. The faces of the crew showed pure agony, as if they had been in pain before they had died or had just recently been killed.
It had taken an hour, but Luna was soon able to get away from everything and continued on her course. Sweetie Belle, who had been below deck for a while, came up for some fresh air, happy to be away from all that.
“How long have we been sailing?” Sweetie asked. She had been growing tired from being on the boat.
“From the position of the sun,” Luna began. “I’d say about eight hours. We left Canterlot at around eleven, so it should be about seven.” She was right. The sun was beginning to set as the moon to the east began to rise into the sky. Sweetie Belle sighed and looked back to the west. She squinted her eyes as she saw what looked to be land in the distance.
“I see something!” she exclaimed. Luna grabbed her telescope and looked in the direction Sweetie was pointing to.
“Looks like a city,” she said. “No idea if this is what we’re looking for, but only one way to find out.” Just before she could steer the ship closer, another ship arrived right next to them. When Luna saw the flag, her face grew pale. “Get below deck now!” she and Sweetie Belle disappeared below deck as the heard voices above.
“Looks like no one’s on board, sir,” one of the voices said.
“Good,” the other replied. “Now let’s take everything on this ship and send it to the bottom of the… LOOK OUT!” The next thing they heard was an explosion. “Our ship is destroyed! Blast those Imperial guns!” The next few minutes, all they could hear was fighting above them. When it finally stopped, the door to the hatch was opened. They looked up and saw a young woman with light brown skin and black hair looking down to them.
“It’s safe to come out now,” she said. When Luna and Sweetie came out of their hiding spot, they saw their attackers were rounded up and lined along the side of the boat with what seemed to be soldiers in blue and gray uniforms guarding them.
“Thanks for your help,” Luna said, but stopped, since she had no idea who she was talking to.
“My name’s, Katara,” the woman said. “My husband commands the Imperial navy. What are your names?”
“My name is, Luna, and this is, Sweetie Belle,” Luna said. “We’re on our way to a nation called the Imperial Empire. Our home was attacked and we need help.”
“You’re in luck,” said Katara. “That would be us. We’ll take you to the harbor and you can explain everything to my husband, Aang. He’ll contact his boss and explain what happened,” Katara turned to the officer with her. “Help take this ship into port and take the prisoners below deck.”
“Right away, ma'am!” the officer exclaimed. He turned to the soldiers. “You heard her lads, get moving.” The soldiers put the prisoners below deck as the ship sailed into port. When they were close enough, Katara brought Luna and Sweetie Belle to her personal boat and had it rowed next to a massive ship. From Luna and Sweetie Belle’s perspective, it was the largest ship in the world.
“If you don’t mind my asking, why are there only two of you?” Katara asked. “I would’ve thought that one of Equestria’s leaders would have an armed escort.” When Luna froze, Katara immediately explained. “Celestia sent us a picture of the Equestrian Royal Family for us to place in the Imperial Palace. I saw the picture a few times and you’re the only one I met that looks the same.”
“I told Celestia that this was something I wanted to do on my own,” explained Luna. “If anything, I could show that I’m sorry for what had happened a while back. That memory still haunts me to this day.” Sweetie Belle looked at Luna in shock, not knowing that even after being forgiven, she still blamed herself for what happened.
The boat was soon lifted to one of the decks, allowing everyone to move to the bigger ship. As Luna and Sweetie Belle looked around, they saw two soldiers nearby complaining.
“Why is it we’re stuck on this dumb vessel?”
“I know. We could be back home chasing women, but we got sent to camp because of some stupid reason.” Before they could say anything else, another soldier in white armor arrived.
“That is enough of your whining!” he exclaimed. “Now pipe down and get back to your stations!” He walked through the nearby door as one of them spoke up again.
“I don’t know who’s worse,” he said. “Him or his boss?” the other soldier shrugged as they went back to work. Katara motioned for Luna and Sweetie Belle to follow her as they went into that same door. They walked down the hallway as they heard a voice from one of the nearby rooms.
“I don’t know, Yuri,” they heard. “It might just be best if I cancel the whole operation. We have no idea where the enemy fleet is. For all we know, it could’ve been a hoax. I should just send all these men to the front lines to hold off the other attacks.”
“Sir, you’ve been up for days and nights dealing with all this,” another voice said. Luna and Sweetie recognized it as the same voice from outside. “Even some of the soldiers are complaining about being on the ships. You also know that if you call off this operation, it could mean trouble.”
“Don’t you think I know that!?” they heard what seemed to be a table being flipped over. “I know what could happen, but we have no idea where they are and we could lose ground someplace else while waiting!”
“Sir, maybe you should sit down. You haven’t been getting any sleep and have hardly eaten. I’ll go get you something from the mess hall while you sit down and relax.”
“Alright.”
After the voices had quieted down, they ran to where Katara was waiting on them. They walked through the door and entered the bridge of the ship. Inside, stood a man with black hair. He turned just as Katara entered with the others.
“Sorry to bother you, honey,” Katara began. “But these two are here about their homeland being attacked. It appears that the Lennex Empire has made it’s move,” The Admiral nodded and walked up to his radio.
“Admiral Aang to Emperor Cunningham,” he said. “Devil has struck. I repeat, Devil has struck.”
“Understood, Admiral,” a voice replied. Luna and Sweetie realized it was the same one that was yelling in the room. “This is Emperor Cunningham to all Imperial Forces. Operation Guardian Angel is a go. I repeat, Operation Guardian Angel is a go. All forces are to meet at the rally point and continue on to the objective.” The sirens on the ship sounded as the crew went to battle stations. Luna and Sweetie Belle were taken to their own cabin for the night.
“We’d best get some sleep,” Luna said. “Seems tomorrow will be a busy day.” Luna went to sleep while Sweetie Belle looked out the window.
“I’ll bring you back to me, Spike,” she thought. “No matter what it takes.”
