As King Sombra becomes closer to victory over all of Equestria, only one pony stands in his way: and this foreigner doesn't give in easily.
For two years, a terrible war between Equestria and the Crystal Empire has ravaged the land and depleted resources. As King Sombra uncovers a mystical artifact in the crystal mines of his empire, his armies march on the bustling city of Manehattan, where Celestia's weakened forces make a desperate stand. Led by a foreigner recently appointed by Princess Celestia herself, they must hold out long enough for reinforcements to complete the trans-Celestial Sea voyage and turn the tide of the war once again to a unified Equestria.
King Sombra looked out over the Crystal Empire from his balcony. It was a dark grey castle in the center of a city of dark crystal buildings in the Frozen North of Equestria. Each housed his subjects, all slaves to his very will. A snowflake pattern was the entire city's street layout, the only sign of the once-bright Crystal Empire.
Sombra turned around to face the colt just now walking in to report. It was his general, Shattered Hope, named for his abundant ruthlessness. Shattered Hope wore the golden crystal armor of a military leader, and a diamond sword hung in its sheath. The sword was a gift from Sombra himself, a reward for valiant service in the beginning of the war against Princess Celestia and her oh-so-perfect Equestria during a particularly devastating battle for both armies.
Shattered Hope saluted his king and spoke. “My lord, we have successfully taken out the Equestrian forces near Manehattan and are advancing into the city. Celestia is expected to surrender in a matter of days.”
“Good. Proceed with the plan, and use the weapon. You are authorized to shoot Cloudsdale out of the sky if necessary,” Sombra ordered.
Shattered Hope smiled. “As you wish, my lord. It will be done.”
Deep within the crystal mines of Sombra’s empire, the ponies, young and old, worked day and night to excavate the largest gem in all of existence. It was so large, and held the magical power of the fifteen alicorn princesses before the Tribes, so it could, in theory, completely obliterate a city the size of Canterlot. This weapon of mass destruction, when discovered, became a key turning point in the war. Before, King Sombra was on the defensive, his armies defending furiously ten kilometers from the Crystal Empire. Now, Celestia’s first army served as a warning to others, as the power of the magical gem turned it into a gaping crater three kilometers in diameter.
This gem was most likely not even halfway uncovered, was the latest report from the mining overseers. We can’t just call this a gem. It’s like an underground mountain.
Starting from the top of the gem, the mining ponies of the Crystal Empire were able to locate the vertical axis, which was then used to blast the rock and ice above it to create a shaft for use of the gem. At the top, workers built a reflecting mirror sharp enough to redirect the beam all the way down to the Macintosh Hills of southern Equestria. Sombra tested its range by activating the gem and redirecting the beam as far south as he could. Soon, reports had come in about a massive magic-covered crater south of Appleloosa.
Currently, the miners were a good five hundred feet below the top of what they referred to as the “Gem of Power” and had to start leaving huge columns of rock to support the surface far above their heads. Hundreds of thousands of lanterns illuminated the artificial cave, and winch systems resembling those found in Erebor transported the workforce and minerals through it.
The waste rock was used to construct a fortress to be reckoned with near the train station that previously connected the Crystal Empire with Equestria. Sombra gave it the name Dragonspire Citadel because of its dragon-shaped outline for its solid stone walls. This impregnable fortress was a true show of the Crystal Empire’s wealth, and military might. Even the Princesses of Equestria shook in fear of its name, and it wasn’t close to completion.
The Princess of the Sun would stand no chance once the Gem was fully uncovered and brought to the surface. Afterwards, all of ponykind would bow before King Sombra.
The Crystal King returned his mind to the real world. His armies were kicking flank in territory they didn’t know existed before the invasion, and the capture of Manehattan was vital. Even for his troops, that was asking a lot. Sombra remembered why he ordered the invasion a couple months before, when overseas spies informed him of the impending departure of a transport fleet. The ships were loading machines of war, and their destination was the city of steel with its massive port system. If those transports unloaded in friendly territory, it was game over for the Crystal Empire. If they could be destroyed by explosives seeded through a hostile bay, however…
Sombra hook the thought from his mind. That kind of thinking was for his generals. He had more important things to worry about, such as the Elements of Harmony. Even though Celestia had passed them down to her pupil and her friends, they Elements still contained a magic powerful enough to possibly destroy him. He had to be careful.
In Canterlot, the shining jewel of Equestria, Princess Celestia received reports of her own from spies within the Crystal Empire. Most of them ended with the statement that the next report would be sent as soon as possible. Others ended abruptly, giving the assumption that they had been caught.
As she finished the last one, Celestia noticed the extremely small hoofwriting at the bottom mentioning the Gem of Power. It claimed the mine reached almost six hundred feet, and the Gem had not yet begun to curve back to the vertical centerline. The Gem also changed colors as the miners dug deeper, one color for every Princess before the Tribes, and the fourth color had just now been discovered.
A knock at the door snapped her mind back to the Canterlot palace. Shining Armour opened one of the great double doors to admit a Pegasus with a robotic left wing and a scar where his cutie mark would’ve been. His coat was a crimson shade of red, his mane and tail jet black with a dark blue stripe down the middle. Celestia peered into the hazel eyes of her visitor and saw a warrior from another land, one who had seen more death and destruction in ten to twenty years than she had seen in her lifetime.
“Princess Celestia, I come from the country Atlantis, a land east of Griffonstone. My name is Crimson Dawn, and I hear your are looking for recruits,” he said in his cold, deep voice.
Celestia stammered a response. “Well, I-I am, but I didn’t expect… uh, foreigners to volunteer.”
He laughed. “Forgive me, your highness, but I do believe I have family in this very room. I am no simple foreigner.”
“Who?”
“Why, you, Princess. I was married to your cousin about fifty or so times removed. Her name was Rose Thorn, and she was an alicorn before the Corsairs sold her the Dominion of Apollo and she was executed six years ago. The war between the Dominion and Atlantis ended in stalemate five months later.”
“There was a war going on and I didn’t even know about it? We could’ve sent aid.”
“My people are self-reliant, Princess.”
“Oh, okay.” Celestia processed what Crimson Dawn said. “Wait a minute, did you say I have cousins?!”
“Yes, your highness, I did. An entire branch of your family resides in Atlantis, with scrolls and texts that trace the family tree back thousands of years. I am honored to have wed a mare from your lineage.”
Celestia had the cutest, most puzzled look on her face since Discord wreaked havoc the first time. She stared at the stallion, unable to truly comprehend what he had just told her. The information continued to turn in her mind, seeming more outrageous every time she thought about it. At the same time, it made more sense as well.
It was at this time that Princess Luna decided to enter the throne room. The midnight-blue alicorn had a flowing mane of twinkling stars in deep blue, and a crescent-moon cutie mark shone behind her wings. She took one look at her older sister before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Luna laughed so hard that she had to pause several times to take deep breaths before continuing.
“What seems to amuse you, sister?”
Luna finally calmed down a bit. “The look on your face was priceless! You haven’t done that since Discord turned your mane to cotton candy and started eating it!” She kept on laughing, despite Celestia’s failing attempts to talk some sense into her.
Finally, the eldest sister had enough. She boomed at Luna with the loudest, most terrifying Royal Canterlot Voice ever heard. “Luna! Enough of that!” Seeing that her younger sister had snapped to attention the moment she spoke, Celestia continued calmly. “The look on my face is irrelevant. What matters is that we have a volunteer for the defense of Equestria. And exactly how qualified are you, sir?” She turned her head to look at Crimson Dawn.
“Princess Celestia, it is well within my capabilities to defend against overwhelming odds. I have done so before-” he flapped his robotic wing- “at the Battle of Aquarius River.”
Luna perked up at the mention of Aquarius River. She had heard of the death toll from it, reaching almost five hundred thousand on the first day alone. The following two days became the untimely death of another hundred thousand each. The Princess of the Night had a newfound respect for this colt, since he survived the bloodiest fight in all ponykind’s history.
Celestia mentally noticed Luna’s respect for Crimson Dawn, and decided to follow her. She nodded and said, “Crimson Dawn, I accept your offer to join our defense on the one condition that you swear your complete loyalty to Equestria for the duration of service, here and now.”
The soldier swore to the Sun, Moon, and Stars that his total loyalty was to Princess Celestia. For his first orders, he was to command the remnants of the Manehattan defense and keep Sombra’s dark army from taking the city. He saluted, and left.
? ?
Several days later, Crimson Dawn stood before what was left of Celestia’s army, weakened from repeated defeats and countless losses. He wore the hardened steel armor of Atlantis, with the flexibility of leather with protection better than a thick wooden shield. A special weapon, strapped to his side, screamed advanced technology at the spears and swords of Equestria. It was a gunpowder weapon, one he acquired during the furious last stand of his army against the Dominion of Apollo. Even better, it was a repeater, and specially made for a Pegasus to use.
“By order of Princess Celestia herself, I am to lead this army in the defense of this city. I am Crimson Dawn, a Pegasus from Atlantis, and I have seen more warfare in the last twenty years than this army hopefully ever will. If you wish for qualifications, I can tell you that I received the Atlantean Congressional Medal of Honor for single-handedly stalling the enemy advance while the rest of my army set up for defense on Day Two of the Battle of Aquarius River.”
Murmuring swept through the ragtag Equestrian Army. “Did he say Aquarius River?” “I think so.” “A Medal of Honor?” “What’s that on his side?”
“Our main goal is to defend the port. If we can hold it for a month, I can have reinforcements from Atlantis arrive and we will then drive them out. Also, we don’t have the ponies to achieve victory, so I want a recruitment station to get every last mare and stallion who can fight. Captain, that’s your job.” He gestured to Captain Thunderstrikes, the last high-ranking pony left in the army besides First Lieutenant Midnight Shadow, who was then promoted to Captain. Several other officers were promoted to fill in the higher rankings, and the soldiers were dismissed.
Afterwards, Crimson Dawn had the new Captains meet him in the temporary headquarters in the Dynamo Plaza, near the piers built for larger ships. One of the residents had offered his shop there to the army, and they gladly accepted. Now, Crimson and his officers stood around a table with a zoomed-out but highly detailed map of Manehattan and the surrounding isles.
“From what you tell me, the enemy camp is right here,” he said, placing a marker on the Cypress Field area, about five kilometers away. “And you say with our current supplies, we have two weeks before we’re overrun. Gentlecolts, that’s not acceptable.”
The Captains and First Lieutenants all began to talk about the situation. Each one either repeated somepony else, or disagreed. After about ten seconds, Captain Midnight Shadow spoke up.
“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, guys. Supplies are everything.”
Crimson was intrigued. “Explain.”
“Supplies are everything. Without them, we don’t defend the city, we don’t take down their Pegasi, we don’t communicate with Princess Celestia. We have to pull back to our side of the Bricklyn, Withersburg, and Tartarus bridges. Now.”
“What do you mean?”
“At the rate we’re using supplies, we run out in exactly six days, fifteen hours and forty-five minutes, not two weeks. If we pull back to just this island, we can get them to bottleneck across the bridges. They’ll have to. We shut down all trans-island traffic: taxis, ferries, the whole shebang.”
“Whoa, ferries? What if we need to bring stuff to the Tartarus Bridge area? The streets are too crowded,” another Captain commented.
“We worry about that later. The more we talk here, the more time we waste that could be used to stock up. I’ve been looking at this for the past hour.”
“That’s the deal?” Crimson asked.
“That’s the deal.”
“Alright. As soon as we get some form of organization is this army again, we’ll pull back across the bridges. In the meantime, we’ll only have half as many to defend the port with. I want you guys to talk to the ponies who set up the supply lines. Then I want you to talk to the ponies who actually run them. Find out how to get every last calorie and, arrow, and drop of water out of all these towns.” He walked over to the oversized calendar. “I want this mark all the way down to August 29th with supplies to spare. We never lost an Equestrian city to this army and we’re sure as hay not gonna lose one under my watch. Failure is not an option!”
It took approximately three days to sort out the shambled Equestrian army. Officers received promotions, proper supply lines were set, and recruitment stations pooped throughout the western side of the city. Downtown had transformed into a military camp.
At the same time, the Equestrian army pulled back to the west islands to prepare defenses. It was upsetting, but a necessary sacrifice. Trans-island traffic shut down almost overnight, and makeshift factories were created to pick up the slack from the Factory District, now controlled by Sombra’s forces. Archery towers rose up from the ground all over the island, giving archers a better view of the place they guarded.
All anypony could do was wait.
They didn’t have to wait long. Within two days, reports came in of Crystal troops marching up Manehattan Avenue, towards the Withersburg Bridge. The numbers were all over the place, but several Pegasi pinned it at an estimated three thousand. The Tartarus and Bricklyn bridges were also being advanced upon, with the numbers about the same. An amphibious assault appeared to be in the preparation phase, with ships being converted for the Crystal Empire’s needs.
As predicted by Captain Midnight Shadow, the Crystal ponies bottlenecked at the bridges. Packing as tightly as possible, there was fifty-five soldiers per rank, several hundred ranks deep. The Equestrian archers and unicorn mages had little difficulty taking out the enemy quickly.
Arrows flew into crystal armor and wooden shields, but a few hit weak spots, such as the neck, joints, or through the slit in the helmet just in front of the eyes. Blood spilled out of the dead troops and soaked into the pavement, creating a bloody path for warriors to follow. The lucky ones died as soon as they were hit. Others groaned and wailed in pain as the life drained out of them and onto the battlefield. Eventually, they lay still on the bloodstained asphalt of the road.
The Equestrian forces left the initial attack relatively unscathed. A few mages had been killed when the Crystal Army’s own Pegasi turned them into pincushions of crossbow bolts, but that was it.
Crimson Dawn walked onto the Bricklyn Bridge, seeing a rather upbeat defense force. This was the first victory Equestria had achieved since before the Gem destroyed the first army. Each soldier had either a ridiculous smile or a grim one upon their face. Somepony came with drinks from a local alcoholics dealer and everypony took a shot, including Crimson. He believed that the best way to improve morale was to participate in activities with the men to show he was one of them.
Figuring that the Crystal Army had hung back to lick their wounds for a day or two, Crimson then checked on the other bridges. The same high spirit abounded throughout the army, with plenty of celebratory drinks to go around. It was a joyous occasion, so the middle-aged warrior decided to check on his family via a communications spell while he had some time alone. Seeing his daughter, Andromeda, again took away so much of the pain of war. Knowing that she could maintain the spell for him without her grandmother’s assistance made it more so. The six-year-old alicorn filly smiled to see her father. She had always admired him for the sacrifices he made to protect his home, and always had some sort of wonderful thing to tell Crimson Dawn about. Her sweet voice could calm even the angriest of ponies, and soothe her father into forgetting the day’s trouble for a while. “Hello, Father. It’s nice to see you again.” Crimson Dawn smiled softly. She was already making him think only of home. “The same for you, my daughter. How is your aunt?” “She’s doing fine. Aunt Crystal Shard is finding her new wheelchair quite helpful. But you never told me why she needs it besides that she’s paralyzed.” “It’s probably time I told you, then. You’re mature enough, at least by my standards. It started ten years ago, when Crystal joined the army…”
He told the story with as few gruesome details as possible. When he got to Aquarius River, Andromeda told him she had learned of it in basic history. But, having lived through the battle, Crimson could tell it better, so he did. He continued to four years after Crystal Shard joined his regiment, when she was nearly cut in half during the battle known to the soldiers as the Final Stand of Atlantis. Crimson had swooped in to save her, but lost the cutie mark on his right side to a grazing swing from the same stallion who chopped Crystal. She almost died from her wounds, but somehow found the strength to keep going until the unicorn healers completely patched her up. Andromeda didn’t know what to say. She always believed that Crystal Shard was born with paralysis. This account rocked her world.
After Crimson finished talking to his family, he decided to send a report to Princess Celestia. Maybe with the pressure of fighting a losing war, some good news would ease her mind. The soldier walked out of his quarters to bump into Ensign Arctic Breeze, standing just outside his doorway.
“Something wrong, Ensign?”
“No, sir. I’ve been sent by Captain Shadow to report that no enemy movement has been sighted within the past three hours.”
“Okay.” Crimson was instantly suspicious. Midnight Shadow wasn’t in charge of scouting. That was Lieutenant Silver Comet’s job. But he nodded acknowledgement and dismissed the stallion.
Crimson entered the main command room to find a shimmering magic image of Celestia hunched over the table. She looked weary, as if she pulled three all-nighters in a row without a single half-hour of sleep. Her flowing mane slowed, showing the tiredness that radiated from her eyes.
She looked up from the table to acknowledge Crimson’s entry. A forced smile spread across her face, and she stood straight on all four of those tall, white legs.
“Report.”
“Princess, we have been able to halt the Crystal Army’s advance with less than fifteen reported casualties. Though, in order to do this, we had to pull back across the bridges from Autumn Island. They bottlenecked and were easily defeated, but far from retreat.”
Celestia nodded. “Good. But I have some bad news. Sombra began an assault on Cloudsdale earlier today, with major losses. We estimate the Crystal Empire’s forces there have lost up to ten thousand ponies. Most of them were Pegasi. Our own Pegasi lost about half that. Crimson Dawn, we need you practically everywhere. Just the mere fact that you, as a foreigner, have joined Equestria’s ranks increased morale significantly, and your defense here will do the same. Equestria can’t lose you.”
“I get that, your highness, but my duty is to the ponies under my command. Right now, they’re protecting Manehattan. If you can give us about a month, reinforcements will arrive and the siege will be broken. But until then, I remain here,” was the cold, deep-voiced reply.
“I understand you completely. Thank you. Continue your service, and may Harmony guide you.”
Crimson saluted the fading image of an ending communications spell, and looked to the Manehattan map on the table. The next day was going to be more difficult. It was almost tangible to him.
Princess Celestia awoke at about midnight, fear plastered on her face. Her eyes were wide and she took the deepest breaths she ever had in her entire life. She waited a minute to calm down, then got out of bed to tiredly walk to the door, knowing she couldn't get back to sleep. The princess, now fully awake, opened the door to the hallway with her magic.
The hallway was fairly well-lit for the time, reflecting the cool moonlight everywhere one looked. Celestia turned her head to the right and saw two Royal Guards enjoying a dozen cookies the night cook brought them not five minutes ago. She then turned to the left, finding an empty corridor.
Might as well get something to eat, Celestia thought, hearing her stomach rumble. She walked down the empty hall to the castle kitchens to quiet her instincts.
“Good morning, Princess. The usual?” the cook asked.
“Yes, thank you.” Celestia tried not to see her younger sister come in for a bagel. Luna, however, noticed her sister’s presence.
“Another nightmare, Tia? Or the same one?”
“The same. And I thought you could just look into ponies’ dreams.”
“You told me not to do that with you because it seemed creepy.”
“Yeah. I just want these to go away, but ever since Sombra wiped the first army a year ago, I-I don’t know. And then he blasted a hole into the Macintosh Hills. I’m just afraid that one night he’ll hit Canterlot and then it’s over. Then he’s won.”
“Sister, sometimes we have to face our fears. My test was with Nightmare Moon, and I needed the Elements of Harmony to snap out of it. Now it’s your turn.”
“What do you mean, Luna? This isn’t a test.”
“Sister, it’s always a test in this world.”
The night cook brought out a sandwich for Celestia and a bagel for Luna. They walked to a nearby balcony overlooking the city of Canterlot. If the cliffside capital of Equestria looked beautiful in day, the moonlight multiplied it a thousandfold. It reflected off the buildings into the sky, the lakes, and the mountain. The effect was a silvery city with a dark view beyond. To the far east, the princesses could see lights from Ponyville, where the Elements of Harmony were kept.
The Princess of the Sun looked out into the sea of blackness. It seemed empty. Almost too empty.
“Hey, look, it’s Cloudsdale. They must be trying to move away from the siege.” Luna commented, pointing with her hoof. The exclusively Pegasus city magically hovered several kilometers above the ground.
The hairs on Celestia’s mane and tail stood on end. It wasn’t a good feeling. “Luna, do you feel that?”
“Feel what?”
“It’s in the air. Something’s wrong. As if it shouldn’t be used the way it- GET DOWN!” Celestia screamed.
The cause of her anxiety came with blistering speed, as if fired from a gun. A beam of magic half a kilometer in diameter flew from the north, composed of fifteen separate colors. It slammed into the Pegasus cloud city with an enormous explosion, turning Cloudsdale and its populace into little more than expanding clouds of water vapor and steam. Luna and Celestia shielded their eyes from the blinding flash and covered their ears from the thunder-like roar. They braced themselves for the following shockwave, and when they looked again, their faces fell.
The next morning, ponies from all over Canterlot came to the court for an explanation as to what in Equestria happened. Celestia’s response was to make a speech.
“As you all know, Cloudsdale was under siege by the Crystal Empire. And because the city was made of clouds, it could move. So they did, and last night happened.”
“Where is Cloudsdale now?” asked a pony from the crowd. Everyone else clamored for the question to be answered.
“There is no Cloudsdale,” Celestia said. “Sombra has used his weapon, and we have no cards to play. That is all.”
She walked off the royal balcony, followed by Luna. Both of them knew it was only a matter of time before Sombra fired up the Gem yet again, with Canterlot in his sights.
“What do we do, sister?” asked the Princess of the Night.
“I don’t know, Luna. We may have to surrender.”
“No! I won’t accept that! The fate of all ponykind is depending on our winning this war and you say ‘surrender’? I’d die before I bowed down as Sombra’s personal slave! And I know you would, too!”
“This isn’t about us. This is about the survival of billions of ponies. With the range and power Sombra has, no city is safe. We either keep going and have all of Equestria turned into a wasteland, or we surrender and spare the lives of the innocent.”
“You can give up. See how Atlantis thinks of that, with one of their great heroes married to our cousin. We surrender, but Rose Thorn was executed by a hostile empire. She held to the last, and so should we.”
“Luna, this is not about how we think for ourselves.”
“I know that, but you listen to me. Reinforcements from Atlantis arrive in less than a month. They have weapons and technology we could only dream of: projectile launchers that imitate the sound of thunder, better tactics, and armor made not from bronze or iron, but a metal they call steel. What do we say when there’s no place for them to unload? That we just gave up? This isn’t about our reputation, I know, but we must hold.”
“Well then, sister, what’s our chance of success?”
“You saw Crimson Dawn. What do you think?” Luna walked off to her bedchamber to rest. Ruling the night had its disadvantages.
Celestia pondered Luna’s words. There was certainly some truth to them. But she had to look at her subjects and what was best for their survival. Right now, surrender definitely looked like the more sensible path. Another part of her wanted to fight, to defeat Sombra. But victory hinged on so many things. Crimson Dawn had to hold his ground. The ponies could not lose hope. Equestria couldn’t win this war unless the Atlanteans sailed into Manehattan harbor. And that wasn’t for another month.
Crimson Dawn woke up to see his officers galloping about, trying to grab a hold on the situation. All of Tartarus seemed to have broken loose. He quickly suited up and raced to the map table, horribly donned armor clanking loudly as he went.
In the map room, Captain Midnight Shadow ordered practically everypony around. When he saw his senior officer come in, he gave a report on the morning’s activities.
“Sir, the Crystal Army has attacked in full force. They took us completely by surprise, taking the Tartarus Bridge up to Whirlpool Island before we knew what hit us. Scouts report that the western shore of the Hubson River is overrun, and we have pulled back on that side to the bridges. All ferries are shut down, but a sizable chunk of our supplies were stored in Greensville. We are currently working to get them across the harbor to our storehouse in Zucchini Park.”
“Any good news, Captain?”
“I’m afraid not, sir. Our archers at Withersburg Bridge can’t hold back the advance for more than an hour. We’ve already sent as many as we can spare.”
Crimson frowned. This was not how he was going to fight a war. Conventional tactics obviously didn’t work as well as he needed. It was time to bring Atlantean warfare into the picture. “Gather some explosives experts. If we can’t hold the Withersburg Bridge, neither can they.”
Midnight was taken aback. This went against most rules of Equestrian warfare, established when the war had first begun. “Sir, do you mean to... I mean, you want to- destroy the Withersburg Bridge? That goes against almost everything!”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. You have your orders, Captain Shadow.”
The Unicorn rushed outside to carry out the unconventional means to acquire victory. He reached the barracks where the bomb technicians were, telling them they had less than an hour to crash the Withersburg Bridge into the cold water below. They had the same reaction he did, but galloped off to carry it out.
On the Equestrian side of the bridge, ammunition was becoming so low that the archers began to pick up arrows from their fallen comrades. Below the short, wooden archery towers, the infantry clashed their weapons. Spears jabbed through weak spots, swords cut into armor, and shields spit from heavy blows. Celestia’s forces were outnumbered by a factor of over ten to one, and still fought like there was no tomorrow. A constant flow of blood spilled from cuts and slices, spreading out onto the street and into the sewer system. Dead ponies littered the suspension bridge, and more kept following. The wailing cry of the wounded filled the air with pain.
The explosives experts reached the scene and nearly hurled from the sight. There were definitely more guts than glory in the area. Holding their breakfasts in, they reached the underside of the bridge and started unloading. The Pegasi from the group flew with their own packs to the middle of the center span to place bombs there. Meanwhile, the Unicorns and earth ponies set up on the west towers.
Forty-five minutes of enduring the sounds of battle later, the grounded technicians were ready to go. The Pegasi still had about ten minutes left, even at their fastest pace. Once the flyers came back from the center span, they all left for safer ground.
But they were almost too late. The Crystal Army had destroyed the Equestrian resistance and was marching over the bridge. Archery towers fell apart as they burned in flames only a Unicorn could summon.
“Run!” one yelled.
The ten ponies raced away from the Crystal ponies as fast as their tired legs could carry them. When they reached a safe distance, the Pegasus with the trigger pressed it. “Fire in the hole.”
Explosions rocked the Withersburg Bridge. Bomb after bomb set off and blew a sizable hole in either the midpoint or the lower section of the western towers. Eventually, the thinner cables couldn’t support the wildly shaking bridge, snapping as pieces of asphalt and concrete cut through them. The entire southwest tower up to the road was destroyed, with the northwest one losing most of its strength.
Crystal soldiers galloped to the nearest land, not caring which side of the water they were on. The result was complete chaos within Sombra’s army. As the entire weight of the western end of the Withersburg Bridge sat on the northwest tower, it began to bend towards its southern counterpart. The creaking and groaning of stressed steel could be heard from the other side of the Manehattan island. The center span of the bridge collapsed into the water, followed by a mess of thick steel cables, asphalt, and the bodies of fallen ponies. After a few minutes, the stress was too much on the northwest tower and it crashed into the Bricklyn Strait. The southwest tower hit first, sending up waves that flooded the piers. By the top of the hour, the entire west end of the Withersburg Bridge lay calmly in a pile of twisted metal and broken steel blocking the entire North Bay from the ocean.
The bomb experts rushed to Headquarters to tell Crimson Dawn of their success. When they got there, he told them it was heard from a mile away.
“You did fine, troops. But it’s only gonna get harder,” Crimson said, “because shit’s about to hit the fan.”
Sombra stared at his top general. “What exactly do you mean by ‘they blew up the bridge’? Equestria doesn’t have explosives technology.”
Shattered Hope did his best to keep a neutral expression on his face, with little success. Beads of sweat rolled down his brow and into his deep, brown eyes. Pissing Sombra off with this kind of news was just asking for mining duty. “My lord, my scouts informed me that Atlantis has explosives technology.”
“And why does this country on the other side of the Celestial Sea concern us with a higher technological level? The voyage is literally a month long with good winds!”
“Sir, I have reason to believe that Celestia’s commander in Manehattan is Crimson Dawn, a recipient of the Atlantean Congressional Medal of Honor. Only the truest soldiers can be awarded this.” Hope held back an audible gulp.
“How did he receive this medal? I also require his military history.” Sombra’s curiosity was genuine.
“Let me see,” the general muttered, flipping through a notepad. “Here it is. Colonel Crimson Dawn, Second Coastal Regiment. Joined the twenty-ninth of May in the Year of Our Sun nine hundred eighty-six.” He briefly looked up from the pad. “Sixteen years ago.”
“The Year of Our Sun? I am not familiar with that date system,” Sombra commented.
“The Year of Our Sun, or YS, is used for the year after Nightmare Moon’s first defeat, sir.” Shattered Hope answered.
“I see. Go on.”
The general nodded. “Fought for three years before his regiment had to recruit mares to fill its ranks. His own sister was one of these. Two years later, the Second Coastal participated in the early stages of the Battle of Aquarius River. After the first day, Crimson was the highest-ranking officer left. He ordered his men to set up defenses with the other regiments and single-handedly destroyed the main bridge. There were two witnesses, and he received the medal.
“Atlantis won at Aquarius River at the cost of seven hundred thousand lives. Their enemy had similar losses. Two years after that, the Atlantean army stood with their capital less than a kilometer behind them. Once again, the Second Coastal served with great valor. The regiment was awarded with the Atlantean Steadfast Defense Medal. This is the highest honor an army corps can receive in Atlantis.
“After the war, the Second Coastal Regiment retired as the most decorated segment of the army. Their soldiers are looked to with great respect and are treated like celebrities. An official museum opened for them, and all surviving members attended. By now, most of them have begun to raise children of their own and like to claim to be in ‘inactive reserve’ for the sake of a soldier’s life.”
“Interesting. Is this Colonel one of those with a family?”
“Yes, sir. He married a field nurse by the name of Rose Thorn about two years after Aquarius River. Together, they had one filly: an alicorn. She is being raised by Crimson’s family, since Rose Thorn was executed by Atlantis’ enemy.”
Sombra stared at Shattered Hope with eyes wider than a hoofball was long. “Did you say alicorn?”
“Yes, my lord, I did.”
“Do you know what this means?”
“That I’m about to get another task to juggle the others with?”
“It means we must take her. Inform our scouts in Atlantis to return with this young alicorn. At all costs.” Sombra’s eyes had narrowed to an extremely serious look. Put together with his robe, dark coat, and whatever the hell came out of his eyes, the King of Shadows was truly intimidating. “If we can turn her to our cause, we will.”
Shattered Hope saluted. “It will be done.”
The general walked out of the throne room. He had many things to do, and Crimson’s daughter was only one. The main situation was Manehattan. If he couldn’t take it, not only would the Crystal Empire most likely lose the war, but he may end up spending the rest of his days digging out the Gem. However unlikely that may be, he wasn’t about to gamble on Sombra’s unseen mercy.
At the same time, Sombra plotted his next big move. He had just learned that an alicorn existed outside Equestria, and she was practically fair game. This would make the headlines of just about every newspaper in the world, and would definitely cause Crimson to choose between his duty and family. After that, with a little push in the right direction, Celestia would lose her most valuable commander.
Chrysalis would kill for this kind of asset. Sombra smiled a devious smile. No other pony in the history of this world could of dreamed the opportunity he had now. The possibility of converting an alicorn, with all her power, to his cause. Not even the Changeling Queen did that; the closest she got was removing one from the situation almost altogether.
Soon, even Celestia and Luna could be his slaves. His smile deepened at the thought. Now that was a worthy goal.
A few days later, Crimson Dawn looked over the casualties list once again. He had to be prepared to give Luna a report when she arrived in less than an hour to see the battle for herself.
Just her being within a five miles of Manehattan was asking for trouble. The Crystal Empire would attack in full force in an attempt to capture Luna, and were quite likely to succeed, given the circumstances. Crimson’s army was down to two-thirds strength, nopony joined up in the past week, and supplies had reached critically low levels. He already started considering the possibility of blowing the other bridges, but decided against it. If he knocked them out and lasted long enough for reinforcements to arrive, they’d have to land on the mainland instead of where he needed them- on his island.
“Sir, Princess Luna’s scout has arrived. She requests to speak with you ASAP.” Midnight Shadow knocked on the door.
“Tell her to wait in the map room. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Yes, sir.” The Captain walked to the front entrance to admit Luna’s scout into the building. She had a deep blue coat and a sparkling mane. Her robe concealed everything but her head, which was covered by a hood. As she walked in, her hooves sounded like she had some kind of metal on, and Midnight could’ve sworn that she looked suspiciously like the Princess of the Night. The mare was certainly the right height, with the same slender build, and that sense of authority.
“So, is this where I wait for your commander?” she asked. That voice matched Luna’s perfectly.
“Yes, ma’am. Col. Dawn should come in a few minutes.”
Crimson walked into the map room, still adjusting the repeater with his wing. He looked over the mare and raised an eyebrow. Then came the question.
“Are you the scout, or Princess Luna in disguise?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“And exactly which part of the question does that answer, may I ask?” He cocked his head to the side to get a slightly different angle on the mare before him.
“Well, I was hoping it wasn’t noticeable,” she replied. “I guess that means I need to work on it.” The hood and robe were magically removed to reveal Princess Luna beneath. “By saying my arrival was at a later time, I was hoping to keep the commotion down.”
“Honestly, Princess, it would’ve caused less if you hadn’t announced your trip.” Crimson smiled. It was a playful, teasing smile, completely unlike the soldier she knew him to be. He saluted before continuing. “Our forces are down to two-thirds of our original strength, and I may have to start issuing a draft. Supplies are at critical levels. If we keep up the amount used per engagement, we’re out by noon tomorrow. The makeshift workshops just simply can’t keep up.”
“I heard you disregarded the standard rules of Equestrian warfare. We don’t destroy major pathways.”
“No disrespect, Princess, but maybe that’s one of the reasons why you were losing before I got here. In Atlantis, if you can’t use it, don’t let the enemy use it against you. Yes, it obliterated the economy and made travel a hell of a lot more difficult, but it slowed the Dominion down enough to allow my regiment to build defenses. Without that strategy, I would not be standing here, and Manehattan would’ve already been lost. The Crystal-Equestrian war would’ve ended already with both you and Celestia in chains. All hope for ponykind would most likely have been lost.”
Luna took a minute to digest what he said. Running the scenario in her head, she realized it was Celestia’s recurring nightmare. Equestria lost, the one she cared for most suffering torture, and the Elements of Harmony gone forever. Crimson was right; this was the only way to win.
The princess nodded, and said, “Your argument has a certain logic behind it. If we can stall them, we have a better chance against them. I guess that sometimes we need to make exceptions to the rules. Not every fight will be fair, so we must take it down so that it is fair. I understand your position, Colonel, and I am willing to allow you to turn any bridge you need into rubble, on the condition that it is the last option. Everything else must be tried first.”
“Ma’am, it is my duty to follow your orders. May Harmony-” He was cut off by a shriek from a voice he knew all too well.
“Father, help! Dad!”
“Andromeda! Sweetie, where are you?”
“I can’t hold this together much longer. Dad, they’re here. Soldiers. And they’re looking for me.” A shimmering image of the young alicorn materialized. “They’ve killed Icecaps and Moonstone, and-” she shivered with fear- “I don’t know where to go. Father, I’m scared.”
He reached out to her image with his hoof. She held it for a minute, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want this to be the last time I see you.”
“Andromeda, I need you to listen very carefully. If you do it right, you can get to the family’s raid hideout. Stay there until the soldiers are gone. There’s food and provisions to last you a good long time.” Crimson held his gaze into her eyes.
Suddenly, Andromeda’s image blurred and ended as an arrow whizzed by, skimming her muzzle. She quickly moved to face her attacker, but turned around to run almost instantly. All the time, she kept the spell going.
The alicorn galloped to the hideout, followed by the soldiers. They were much bigger and faster than her, but she had basic flight on her side. She hovered about a half-meter off the ground, and was able to increase her speed significantly. Her zigzag path prevented them from shooting her, but was still grazed every now and then.
Andromeda reached the hideout- and it was surrounded by her enemies. So she then changed course to the weapons locker. Doing the same motions as before, she wasn’t hit as much as she could’ve been. Eventually, her wings gave out and she dropped to the ground- into the waiting net snare. It snatched her up, and the soldiers caught her.
“Put a horn lock on her.” one ordered. It was, and the spell fizzled out.
Crimson was heartbroken. It was more obvious than a bomb going off less than two feet away.
Luna could see his torn emotions and knew she could not help him. She did not have the parent-child loyalty he did. Instead, Luna tried to make sense of the situation. An alicorn had just been taken prisoner by an unknown entity, her best commander was torn by the loss of his daughter, and- something just didn’t feel right. As if someone was waiting for a certain pony to go outside.
“Sir, what do we do? The Crystal army should attack in less than an hour if you’re right.” Captain Shadow asked.
“For one thing, let’s get the Princess out of here. Send everyone to the bridges, including the reserve. And hope it doesn’t happen,” he replied.
Midnight saluted and trotted out to carry out the orders.
It turns out that the expected assault never came. Nightfall came, and no word of enemy movement was reported. Every moment without battle was a moment of anxiety.
Luna had chosen to remain in the building with Crimson. After her entourage arrived, she still didn’t move from her spot in front of the map table. She had some very interesting points to add to the defense plan, and the soldier accepted them for consideration.
At about twenty-one hundred hours, Crimson and Luna walked outside to show her the supplies. They got there and she nodded. It was an efficient system that the colonel had put in place.
They had turned around an hour later to go back to the headquarters when the hairs in Crimson’s mane stood on end. His soldier’s instinct kicked in and he jumped between the unseen threat and Luna. He raised his repeater with his wing, stared down the sights, and looked for any movement in the silent city before him.
It came from the left. An arrow whizzed towards the two and slammed into Luna’s side. She cried out in pain. Crimson immediately whirled around and fired several shots into the black. A loud cry sounded out, and he knew his target was been hit.
Turning to the princess, he saw a heavyweight arrow, designed to burrow right through the body and out the other side. To his horror, that’s exactly what it did. A hole in Luna ten centimeters wide was filling with blood at an alarming rate, and spilling into the street. He dropped his repeater to the ground to try to stem the flow.
“Princess! I- I don’t know what to do!”
Hearing Crimson’s gun go off, many ponies from the supply depot galloped over. They saw the heavyweight arrow, Luna in a pool of blood, and their commander doing his best to save her life. One pony raced to assist Crimson, and the others soon followed.
“Get a medic!” someone called, and an ensign, a Pegasus, flew at top speed to the medical ward, over a kilometer away.
“I- I can’t breathe!” Luna choked. She coughed up a storm of blood, and started to go into shock.
“No! Stay with me, Luna! You’re gonna be fine!” Crimson yelled. But he knew it was hopeless. Heavyweight arrows always killed whoever they were shot at.
Luna could see that she would surely die. “Crimson, I want you… to… tell Celestia something.”
“I won’t! Don’t die on me, Princess!”
“Tell Celestia that…” Her voice trailed off and gurgled from the blood. She coughed to clear her throat, and continued. “Tell her that I’m sorry. For everything. And that I forgive her.” She painfully looked into his eyes. “Please.”
He stopped trying to stem the blood, leaving the others to do that, and held her head in his hooves. No amount of training or conditioning could prevent tears from visibly welling up in his eyes. “I’ll do it, Luna. For you.”
“No, not for me. For Tia.” She coughed again, and tried to say something more, but the life was already almost gone. “I… I love…”
“Luna! Stay with me for a bit longer!”
“Her. Like- like a sister.”
Her head fell back, and the Princess of the Night was dead.
“No! Why? Luna!” Crimson wailed. “Not now.” He buried his head into hers, tears streaming down his face.
The Pegasus returned with some medics and a stretcher. When he saw the dead alicorn, he bowed his head in failure. The medics flew to Crimson, sorrow spread across their faces.
One of the soldiers from the supply depot asked, “Sir, what are your orders?”
“Go down that street. Find the pony with a large crossbow next to him and bring him to me.”
They saluted, and galloped in the direction he gestured to. A pony was found, with a hole in his leg, with no arrow in sight. There was a rather large crossbow next to him. The ponies picked up both and came back to Crimson.
He immediately recognized the stallion as the one who gave him faulty information several days before. “Ensign Arctic Breeze.”
“Equestria is a cancer that must be destroyed. It’s already begun,” he replied.
“Well, you are hereby stripped of your title, rank, and any privileges previously awarded to you.” He turned to the ponies next to him. “Put him in the prison under high guard while I figure out what the hell to do with him.”
“Yes, sir.” The troops escorted the traitor away.
“Oh, and bring him to the ward before he bleeds to death.”
The troops nodded, and continued.
Crimson turned to the medics. “Bring her body to the ward and clean her up. Let’s at least make sure her burial is with dignity and respect.”
“Yes, sir.” the two said simultaneously.
Somepony’s going to pay, he thought. Somepony’s gonna pay dearly for this.
Princess Celestia stared into the moonless early-morning sky. She started to become concerned for her sister’s safety. After all, Luna was supposed to return over an hour ago. Even more nerve-wracking was the fact that the moon wasn’t out. All of Equestria was in total darkness, and Luna didn’t seem to care.
Eventually, anxiety took over and she cast a communications spell to Crimson’s headquarters in Manehattan. On the other side, ponies raced around to cope with some kind of disaster. No one seemed to notice the image of their ruler standing next to the map, and some even galloped right through her shimmering end of the spell.
“Captain Thunderstrikes, take over Medical. Lieutenant Comet, I’m moving you to Bricklyn Bridge. Don’t fail us; it’s the closest to HQ. Captain Shadow, you defend Tartarus Bridge. Kick the Crystal Empire off Whirlpool Island if you can, but the troops may not be able to. Just keep them away from our side of the bridge. Blow it if you have to.” Crimson ordered from outside the building.
Celestia moved her image to his location to try to get a report. But by the time she finished, he had galloped to the port. She followed him, and saw why he hurried so. An amphibious assault was underway.
Some reinforcements came in, pulling carts of explosives and a batch of what Crimson called ‘propellant’- some fuel that could send a bomb to its target a fair distance away.
“Does the propellant fit the exact recipe I supplied this morning? Because if it doesn’t, we go up in smoke.”
“Yes, sir, it does.” said the Earth pony pulling the cart. “What do we do with it?”
“Fill these with it.” The colonel held steel tubes with holes in the side. “Like this.” He proceeded to pour the powder into the tube, and closed the cap when it was full. Crimson screwed a cone-shaped explosive on one end and loaded the object into a steel cylinder. This steel contraption sat atop a wooden tripod, had some sort of sighting mechanism, and a special lever off to the side.
Crimson Dawn closed one eye, looking through the sights, forward left hoof over the lever. He judged it good enough, and hit it.
The lever flipped and a spark in the steel cylinder ignited the propellant. The cone-tipped object flew out of the tube with great speed, leaving a smoke trail behind it. The thing impacted a modified ferry, and burst into flames. Aboard the ship, the Crystal ponies had no idea what to do. Their vessel was ablaze with a brilliant white fire that continued to burn, no matter what they tried.
Celestia’s face turned from confusion to shock. “Crimson, what did you use?”
He turned to face her. “Princess! Forgive me for not noticing you. As for the material, I used magnesium powder. Found a good bit of the stuff, separated it from other materials, crushed it, and I have a highly flammable material. Excellent for incendiary shots.”
“Magnesium? Where is that found?”
“In the harbor. It is seawater, and seawater just happens to have a fair abundance of magnesium.” he replied coolly. Turning to face the other troops briefly, he called, “Do what I just did. One for every ship.”
The others began to set flames to the modified ferries, and before long, all Crystal ships were in full retreat.
Celestia still had an extremely important question. “Crimson Dawn, where is my sister?”
The pained look on his face told her everything. The arrow, the blood, the alicorn dying in the night. “I’m sorry, Princess. We were betrayed.”
“No… It can’t be…” Celestia’s royal voice fell apart. “Luna can’t be gone.”
The soldier thought for a few minutes, then came up with an absolutely ridiculous plan.
“She may be lost, but I know something who may or may not be able to help.”
“It’s impossible. When somepony dies, they die.”
“Have you thought about the Elements of Harmony? Granted, resurrection is likely beyond their power, and probably Discord’s as well. But if the two pooled their magic, it might do something.” Crimson told her. “All we need is something that isn’t controlled by Equestrians…”
“You’re thinking of the Everfree Forest.” The princess’ left eyebrow lifted some.
“No, I’m not. This is extremely insane, but the Dominion could help. Their knowledge of the magical arts is far superior compared to yours. War magic, telekinesis, telepathy, you name it.”
“The Dominion? Who are they?”
Crimson’s growing smile faded. “My mortal enemy.”
The Princess of the Sun became immediately concerned. If they hated Crimson Dawn’s guts, he would receive a whack to the head- and that would probably be only the beginning.
“Colonel, I can not let you go.”
“Princess Celestia,” he replied, “it isn’t me who’s going. Most likely Cadence or Twilight.”
She thought about that. Twilight certainly couldn’t leave- what if they needed the Elements while she was gone? Cadence, on the other hand, wasn’t doing anything. She had more diplomatic experience than her sister-in-law, and technically wasn’t related to Crimson and Celestia. The journey, however…
“What’s the fastest route?”
“If you’re willing to risk it, the pass through the mountains east of Griffonstone are the quickest, if not the most dangerous. One has to deal with blisteringly cold winds, altitudes of almost five thousand meters, and the occasional hostile wildlife. It is not an ideal travel path, especially for a princess, even if it cuts a week or two off the time. Which is why every pony has gone around them, across the Celestial Sea through the waters just north of the Dragon’s Lair. Takes a month one way.” he answered. “You’re not thinking of actually making the trip yourself, are you?”
“I am. If it means having my sister back.”
“Well, don’t come through Manehattan. I would not like two dead princesses on my hooves.”
“Think of it as a diplomatic opportunity. I’d like to see this Atlantis and Dominion for myself. Twilight and Cadence will take over my royal duties while I’m gone, but you are in command of the military. If one of them comes to visit, you have the authority to declare Manehattan off-limits.”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I understand. Good luck.”
She ended the communications spell. “May Harmony guide the both of us.”
Celestia wrote a message to each of the remaining Princesses telling them her plan. Both immediately replied, saying it was far too dangerous to go alone. They also asked why. Her only response was ‘family’.
She steeled her nerves and took flight to the train station. Her personal train was waiting to be used. At the same time, the main rail line would pass her multiple times, giving Crystal ponies plenty of opportunities to either kill her or take her prisoner.
The personal train of the Princess of the Sun was sleek and elegant, resembling the one Cadence once when she ruled the Crystal Empire two years before. But unlike its design inspiration, it was made not of crystals, but something completely different: an aluminum alloy invented three years ago. This alloy glinted the sunlight off, reflecting into ponies’ eyes. Some would say she literally brought the Sun down to earth.
It was the same train that transported Crimson to Manehattan. He called it a bullet train, seeing how great speed could come from this aerodynamically smooth vehicle. She could understand his logic there.
Celestia boarded and decided against bringing guards along. This would be one way to prove to disapproving ponies that she actually did things besides sitting on a throne. Since word travels faster than she would like, everypony probably knew of the tragedy that occurred last night. Which meant Celestia had a lot more to deal with.
Celestia, never having actually ridden it herself, could feel the speed build up as the train driver took off the brakes and headed down the line. Trees, grass, and the occasional pony whizzed by as the train barreled towards the eastern coast. At one hundred sixty-one kilometers per hour, the landscape turned into a blur of green plants and blue sky. It was an exhilarating experience.
She blew past the Ponyville-Vanhoover crossing about an hour into the ride. Watching the windows was simply captivating, stopped momentarily by the rail line. As Celestia continued to look, the view slowly changed from high up near Canterlot to more of a countryside, with rolling hills and extending plains.
If only Luna could appreciate the beauty of Equestria once more, she thought. This is the kind of land she loved, especially at night. No lights, no guards, no nothing. Just her and the night.
The engineer walked in to report. “Princess, we should arrive in Griffonstone in approximately two days.”
“Understood. Dismissed.”
Celestia went back to staring out the train window.
Crimson Dawn asked for a truce with the Crystal Empire for the day so that Princess Luna might receive a proper burial. Their commander, Major Crystal Snow, agreed after some consideration. She needed to rethink her strategy anyway.
The Earth pony initially was suspicious of the message sent to her. Princess Luna dead? The death of an alicorn was unheard of. But when a magical image was generated to show Luna’s lifeless body, she saw truth in Crimson’s words and accepted.
The dark blue mare had a scribe report to Shattered Hope about the current situation and requested to have the gems once buried within her coal-black crown be replaced into it. The request was instantly denied. The general’s reasoning was that the Crystal Empire had enough things to deal with without a magic-wielding Earth pony starting the next Ice Age. Since the gems held the power, Sombra kept the gems locked away like the Crystal Heart.
Crystal Snow’s four-colored mane drooped. Her blood red eyes looked into the vastness of imagination, where she had the gems and could take Sombra head-on. For her sister Lythia Rose, who had to work day in and day out to uncover the Gem. For her alicorn mother, forced to spend a thousand years in despair after Sombra banished the Crystal Empire with her in Canterlot, separating her from her daughter. For her Unicorn father, who died in the third battle of this terrible war.
“Oh, Harmony,” she said to herself, “keep me sustained until the day I might take vengeance against King Sombra. Protect my sister during her waking hours, and guide her to peace during the night. Allow my father to rest in heaven, where there are no troubles to deal. Guide my mother on the path to peace and prosperity during this war, and continue to do so afterwards, regardless who wins it. Bring Princess Luna to Elysium so that she may not know pain and suffering again. Please, hear my prayers this day.”
She had just finished when her top commanders walked into the room. They saluted as they came through the door, and sat around the circular table.
Crystal Snow started the meeting fairly formally. “Alright, I see that everypony’s here, so attendance is done. Next we do reports, battle plans, blah, blah, blah. Let’s get to it. Captain Rocky Road, what’s the estimate on the Equestrian supplies?”
“Food is being rationed; that much is obvious. I believe they have set up boilers and distilleries to purify harbor water, and are ready for most provisions crises. Their ammunition must be getting low. It has to. Unless the Equestrians have set up makeshift factories, we should be able to enter the island in two day’s time.” he replied swiftly.
“I see. But we obviously can’t get on the island by sea. You saw that fiasco, with its white-hot flames that couldn’t be extinguished with water. The bridges may also be out of the question. Remember the Withersburg Bridge?” Seeing the officers nod, she asked, “So, what the hay’s left?”
One of the officers placed his hoof on the map. “Ma’am, this tunnel across the Hubson River is most likely not guarded as well. It has three exits in Kitchen Park, three along Third Street, and one by the New Market, on the eastern end of Second Street.”
“That’s a good suggestion. However, I will point out that it is a rail tunnel, meaning if they want to take out an invasion corridor, all they have to do is drive a train through it at full speed.”
“What if they don’t know, ma’am?” Captain Rocky understood instantly. “There are many ways to infiltrate enemy lines, and this tunnel may be the key. I can assure you that if this succeeds, we will all see those Equestrians in hell while our own selves are safe in heaven.”
Crystal Snow nodded, contemplating that move. It had a definite possibility of working. Her army could go right by all that technology and into the heart of Manehattan. Once she found their headquarters, it would be game over.
“Go ahead with the plan. We start first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Why not now?” asked a particularly rude officer.
“Because,” she snarled, “a princess deserves a proper burial, and I’d like to respect that. Get to your posts.”
The officers hurried out, except for Rocky Road. He had served with Crystal for a year and a half, and knew by now when she needed comfort. He placed his hoof around her neck, in a kind sort of way.
“Major, I can see almost everything that’s going on in your life. You know what you need to do, and giving them a day for mourning was the right thing to do.”
She turned her head to the left to look at him. “Yeah, but that isn’t the whole of it. After the Crystal Empire returned, when I was reunited with my mother, she told me that she’d found her sister. I have an aunt! But then it was bad news, with a war between my aunt’s home country and some Dominion. I learned that my aunt’s descendants and their comrades were holding to the last, especially at this Aquarius River place. And the farthest down the family tree, somepony named Rose Thorn, was a field medic during that battle. She met a stallion who apparently had a heavy concussion and-” she shivered with slight fear- “a severed left wing.”
“You know, that stallion reminds me of the report on Celestia’s commander on that island.” He took his leg off of her. “Crimson coat, scar over his left cutie mark, metal left wing, hazel eyes, black mane and tail with a blue stripe. It all fits.” Rocky’s eyes narrowed as he came to a conclusion. But just to be safe, he wanted to know something. “Did this stallion take Rose Thorn’s hoof in marriage?”
“Yes, in fact. Mother’s story had almost all the details. They- wait a minute! Colonel Crimson Dawn is my cousin?!”
“I assure you, Princess Twilight, reinforcements from elsewhere in Equestria won’t be necessary. Everything is under control,” Crimson stated.
The lavender-colored alicorn nodded. “It’s just that Celestia and Luna put a lot of trust in you, and I guess I don’t have that. I can’t stop being nervous.” Twilight replied via communications spell.
He saluted, and she ended the spell. His men had buried Princess Luna the day before, and the Crystal Empire’s holdings in Manehattan were awfully quiet. This was a cause of concern for both him and the remaining princesses, but he neglected to tell Twilight. She had enough on her hooves already.
Lieutenant Silver Comet raced into the building, a large grin spread across his face. “Colonel! Great news!”
“I’ve been waiting for some of that.”
“You won’t believe it,” he breathed heavily from his long run from the Bricklyn Bridge, “but the Crystal commander has ordered a retreat from the Bricklyn area! They’ve left the entire peninsula!”
“Then take control of it.” Crimson beamed. This was certainly good news indeed. “I want to see a green signal flare over Garnet Island Park by nightfall.”
“Yes, sir!” The Earth pony galloped out to his command, beaming from ear to ear.
It was noon when the flare rose high above Bricklyn. The green signal had made history.
Crimson Dawn called a meeting with his officers. Soon, they all were shimmering images around the map table. Joining them was Princess Twilight’s own image, at her request. There was Rainbow Dash’s next to hers, being the last Wonderbolt in Equestria, and the other Elements of Harmony.
“Everypony, you can see that we are joined by the Elements. The reason is that they are one of the keys to Operation Everfree.”
Nopony had a clue for what he was talking about.
“Uh, sir, could you indulge us on what the hay Operation Everfree is?” asked Captain Midnight Shadow. The others nodded their agreement to his question.
“I was about to get to that. Operation Everfree is a plan to push all of Sombra’s forces out of Equestria. According to my sources, they’re laying siege to Canterlot in less than a week. So, part of the idea is to relocate both Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence to the Castle of the Two Sisters before they get there. We’ll have to be wary of his weapon, but it should be fine.”
“Wait a minute, I have to give my consent!” Twilight was quite shocked.
“Princess, need I remind you that Celestia has given me authority over the Equestrian military? I am allowed to make tactical decisions like this.” he replied.
“No.” The princess lowered her head.
“Alright.” Crimson continued. “I trust you to get that done, your highness. Meanwhile, we have to retake more than just Bricklyn. I mean the entire western half of the metropolis, from Fairplay View all the way down to Bayroan.”
“Whoa, sir, hold on!” Captain Shadow raised his hoof. “How do we get there? The ferries are out of the question.”
Once again, this was the kind of thing Crimson liked. “The tunnel under the Hubson River. Our main entry point will be the Berrybush Botanical Gardens station. I do believe Major Dazzleflash is working on it. Speaking of that, how is it going?”
“Sir, scouts report half the Crystal army massing on the other side of the tunnel. They may be trying to stage an attack.”
“Oh, they are, huh? Well, I would fight five hundred blocks and then I would fight five hundred more just to get back every single city block they’ve stolen yet so far. Let’s be unconventional for a moment here. They are obviously gonna march through that tunnel, so we’ll wait for the bulk of their army to be deep into it. Then we take the subway.”
“Sir, not to object,” said Captain Shadow, “but the Crystal army may be waiting for us to drive the train, and that’s why the mass is staying outside the tunnel.”
“Good point.” Twilight’s head rose again. “I know this isn’t my field, but my suggestion would be to see what their move is. If the entire army is waiting for us to drive a train through the tunnel so they don’t get hit by it, then they’ll wait for it to come.” She shrugged. “It only makes sense.”
“Now you’re thinking like a general, Princess.” Crimson smiled at the lavender alicorn. “This war is throwing Equestria into upheaval, but anything to try to lessen it will be appreciated.” He now locked eyes with everypony, one at a time. “Our story will be told, telling all that we have done, whether or not we win. We won’t be lost by time. But it’s our choice as to whether or not we do something great with the time we have in this world. So I say we win. For Celestia. For Equestria. For our friends and family who have lost their lives to Sombra’s army and weapon.” He looked at Twilight. “For Luna.”
The Princess of Friendship’s image placed her hoof on the table. One by one, the images of the officers placed theirs on hers, finishing with Crimson. “For Luna.”
All the communications spells ended, and everypony was alone again. Each officer went back to work, moving soldiers around to strategic positions in the vicinity of the small command posts.
Unbeknownst to the Equestrian army, the Crystal Empire worked the local population as much as possible to mine a tunnel under the subway line. They were already close to a quarter of the way done.
Crimson Dawn stayed next to the map table, contemplating his choices. If he made one mistake, the entire war could be over in less than a week. The fate of a country sat on his shoulders, and it was a feeling he knew well. One could never forget that, especially when it happens a second time.
The colonel was so focused on his strategizing that he neglected to notice a request from the Crystal army’s commander. By the time he did see it, the magical scroll had been sitting there for ten minutes. Crimson picked it up and read it.
Colonel Crimson Dawn of the Second Coastal Regiment, you are ordered to surrender your army in four hours’ time to the Crystal Empire at Greenwood Park. Failure to comply will result in your defeat and possible death. Do not turn away from this offer to save the lives of your entire army.
“Fuck you,” he said under his breath. Raising his voice, he called, “Private! Send this message to the Crystal Empire’s commander in the area.”
The Unicorn raced over with a magic scroll, ready for writing. “What is your message, sir?”
“Commander of the Crystal Empire, you are outnumbered four to one in this city. If you do not surrender your forces in the next twenty-four hours, I will take action and your army will be destroyed. You will meet me in Garnet Island Park to discuss the matter further.” Nodding to the Unicorn, he finished. “Send.”
Crystal Snow was surprised at the resistance to her offer. She expected at least a consideration; instead, she received a counterproposal. But, to continue discussion of the matter, she had to follow Crimson.
Rocky Road could see her problem. “Major, are you sure that this is a good idea?”
“Yes, Lieutenant, I am. Take care of the army while I’m gone.”
“At least bring some guards with you.”
“If it makes you feel better, I will. Four guards. Happy?”
Rocky nodded his consent. With the Major preparing for her diplomatic trip, he walked off to gather the soldiers for her guard. Each one would be a fairly good soldier, one who knew exactly what the hell he was doing.
Crystal Snow came down the stairs in full uniform. Her coat matched the color of her guise, and her mane was tied into a Katniss Everdeen-like ponytail falling to her left. Most officers looked at this thinking, Damn, she is hot!
The Major left her headquarters with her guard around her, heading to Garnet Island. In their hurry to meet with their adversary, who didn’t give them a short time limit, they forgot a white flag of truce.
Crimson held his gaze into the mirror, teeth clenched, working the Atlantean steel armor around his robotic wing. Even after all these years, it still shot pain through his side whenever he donned it. He winced as the injury that was his severed wing came into contact with the steel, putting pressure on the old wound.
He walked with a five-guard entourage towards Garnet Island, where Lieutenant Silver Comet would facilitate the meeting. Having two high-ranking officers seemed to be an honor to him.
When they got there, Crimson saw his enemy in chains, along with two guards. He raised an eyebrow in question to silver Comet.
The Lieutenant immediately answered. “Sir, they carried no flag of truce. Under rules of engagement authorized by Princess Celestia, we took prisoners after realizing their purpose for entering our territory. Unfortunately, two Crystal soldiers were killed before we did.”
Crimson bobbed his head to acknowledge the Lieutenant, but found his eyes wandering to his adversary, who looked absolutely terrified. Her eyes were wide with fear for both her life and the lives of her guards.
“Lieutenant, unbind their chains. There’s no need to be hostile.” The deep blue mare looked… familiar. Kind of like Rose Thorn, only without the wings and horn, with a different color scheme. The black crown atop her head had a magical aura to it, but felt like it was missing something.
Silver Comet saluted and follow the Pegasus’ orders. The Crystal ponies were unbound, and they stood to look at Crimson.
“Sir, forgive us for not bringing a flag of truce. It slipped my mind as I thought meeting my adversary was more important than the little details,” the Earth pony said. Her voice sounded like Rose’s, too.
“I don’t doubt you know the name of the Equestrian commander is Crimson Dawn, Colonel of the Second Coastal Regiment of the standing army of Atlantis. He served throughout the Atlantis-Dominion war, received an Atlantean Congressional Medal of Honor, and retired from military life before coming to Equestria two weeks ago. I am he.”
The female Earth pony stood a little straighter. “Crystal Snow, Major of the Fourth Crystal Army of the standing army of the Crystal Empire. Two Crystal Achievement Medals, one Imperial Insignia, and five victories in the early war around the Crystal Mountains. Held back the Equestrian advance for three months until reinforcements arrived and I was forced to retreat.”
“Is there a reason you look familiar to me?”
That question came out of nowhere. Crystal Snow knew that Crimson probably didn’t know who she was, or how they were related.
“Colonel Dawn, I am the daughter of Silver Quill, sister of Moonstone Winter.”
The look on Crimson’s face was absolutely priceless. “You’re my cousin? Well, this war certainly has turned brother against sister.” He turned to Silver Comet, ‘WTF’ painted like a bullseye on his face. Almost nothing could explain the comical confusion radiating from the Atlantean.
When Crimson finally regain his composure, it was too late to prevent a small amount of laughter. “Uh… I was not expecting that.”
Crystal Snow smiled. “I wasn’t expecting you to actually do that. I mean, it is true, but my reaction was more along the lines of surprise, compared to your confused look.”
“Hmm. well, um, I guess, welcome to my family.” His face still had some weirded out expressions, but he was able to keep a mostly straight face. “I should tell you that Princess Celestia is your cousin as well.”
“WHAT?!” It was Crystal’s turn to look bewildered. “That’s insane!”
“No, it isn’t. If you’re on Rose Thorn’s side of the family, then your genetic information has some resemblance to Celestia’s in the way that the Princess’s aunt is your ancestor.”
It took a few minutes to sink in. when she accepted Crimson’s surprise statement, he went to the purpose of their meeting. “Now, we are here to further discuss the terms of either your surrender or mine. Since you forgot the white flag of truce, that technically means I win. Unless you left the power to make decisions in another officer, you have lost.”
“I did, in fact. He is authorized to continue with classified troop movement.”
“You mean the massing of soldiers near the Hubson River Tunnel? I admire your tactical maneuvering, but I can easily counter it.”
“No, you can’t.”
Crimson looked into her eyes to see a plan to go under the rail line. He shook his head and looked again. This time, he couldn’t see anything but her blood red irises surrounding white pupils. It was like she mentally told him what her plan was.
“Sir, what do we do with them?” asked Silver Comet. “We can’t just let them go.”
“Put the two guards in the prison. As for our friend here, escort her to Bricklyn Plaza. She can be of good use deep inside our lines. Disarm all of them completely right now, including communications devices and the sort. I’ll be in Headquarters if you need me.” Crimson turned around and walked away.
“You’re not going to let us go? This is unheard of!”
Crimson turned back. “In fact, it’s quite a simple concept. Bringing a flag of truce means I can let you go back to your lines. Not doing so means that you are prisoners of war now.” He continued on to Dynamo Plaza, where his headquarters were located.
Lieutenant Rocky Road paced the Crystal Empire’s headquarters’ ground floor, worry plastered on his face. It was seven hours after Crystal Snow left to Garnet Island, and she had yet to return. He hoped she would come back in about four hours at the most. Finally, a scout reported in.
“Sir, I saw Major Snow. She has been taken prisoner by the Equestrians, along with two of her guards. The others were killed near their front lines.”
“The Equestrians disrespected the flag of truce?”
“Sir, they claim that Major Snow did not bring a flag of truce with her. Taking her prisoner was only following regulations.”
Rocky frowned. That wasn’t like her to simply forget the details. “Send them a message. Tell them I want proof.”
The scout saluted and left, carrying a white flag. When he arrived at the Equestrian front, he waved it high in the air with his magic. A few hours later, he stood before Crimson Dawn in Solar Park.
“Your commander asks for proof that Major Crystal Snow did not have a white flag when she crossed my lines? I can tell you right now that I have none. But you can trust that I would’ve let her go back with all four in her escort alive and before the day was out. I’m no monster; in fact, I know what they look like.”
The scout became intrigued. However, he didn’t get a chance to ask what Crimson meant because Crystal Snow walked up with several Equestrian soldiers surrounding her.
“Ma’am! Have they mistreated you?”
“No. It’s actually better here than in the Crystal army. Not that I want to defect, but the food is definitely a hell of a lot more delicious. And Colonel Crimson is generous compared to King Sombra. He’s ordered his troops to give me probably more privacy than regulations allow.”
“Well, Lieutenant Road wanted to be sure you were safe and that they didn’t just take you prisoner.”
“I deserved it. Forgot the flag.”
Since that practically concluded the scout’s trip, he was escorted back to his own territory.
Celestia Sea, bearing N25W. ANS Trinity. 1500 nautical miles from Manehattan.
The wind had lulled for five days now. If it weren’t for that, Trinity and her accompanying ships, the Tranquility, Dark Phoenix, Firespit, and Raven Nightfall would be pulling into Manehattan harbor at this very moment. Aboard the flagship, Captain Platinum Starlight looked to the east, taking note of the brewing storm. It was a mass of rising clouds and thunder.
“Sir, the navigators say that with our current rate, we reach Manehattan shore in a week,” a sailor reported.
“Understood. Dismissed,” he replied. Platinum knew a week was too long, but he’d have to take it. At least the wind wasn’t blowing into the storm…
He sighed. The Atlantean transport fleet sat in the most dangerous part of the sea: Hurricane Highway. And if that storm to the east was what he feared it was, the crews may never see land again. Because no ship has ever survived sailing into a Celestial hurricane. Every wise captain sails around the central Celestial Sea, keeping shore less than a day away at any given time. Since that could have added several weeks to the sailing time, Captain Starlight opted for the direct route.
But hurricanes weren’t the only danger this far from land. Unmarked coral reefs, whirlpools, and pirates dotted the sea, waiting for anypony to be stupid enough to sail into the central waters. The fleet had already lost the Liberty to a reef, and Dark Phoenix was constantly deemed to be the weakling of the fleet, costing two dozen lives to prevent pirates from stealing her and her cargo of Atlantean technology. Platinum figured that they would never go for Trinity.
Trinity, the largest ship ever constructed at one hundred meters long, twenty-five meters wide, and fifty meters tall, was the pride of Atlantis. Built over the course of a decade, with secret construction during the Atlantis-Dominion War, she was launched on the eighth anniversary of Atlantis’s victory at Aquarius River. She had been equipped with the latest gunpowder weaponry before her departure, and sported a grand total of one hundred forty guns. Her seven masts were twenty by two meters of solid wood each, and her bowsprit ten. This square-rigged sailing battleship was formidable enough in size to deter most aggressions, but was insignificant next to the Gem’s destructive capabilities.
If we could just get up to ten knots, we’d be there in four days, he thought. Turning to the Helmsman, he ordered, “Relieved. I’ll take it from here.”
The Helmsman saluted and gave Captain Starlight the wheel. For a ship its size, Trinity was surprisingly nimble and responsive. She handled like the twenty-meter Dark Phoenix in almost every way. Speed was the main problem; since Trinity was the slowest with a top speed of 12.493 knots in good winds, she set the pace of the fleet.
As he sailed her onto a slightly more accurate bearing towards Manehattan, he gazed over the side to see hundreds of oars slowly pushing the ship along. The shift had just ended, so their pattern was interrupted a bit. The same happened on the other vessels, moving them all along at about two knots.
Platinum turned his head to see the storm bearing down on them. It was moving quite fast, with a three meter surge, high winds, and waves that could easily swamp Dark Phoenix and possibly Trinity. With her deck at least fifteen meters above the waterline, that was certainly a cause for worry. The loss of Trinity was the worst thing that could ever happen to Atlantis and Equestria.
Captain Starlight called up the other captains on a comms spell. He told them to switch to universal light beacons and sail away from the hurricane. At a maximum speed of two knots, they would be overwhelmed in a matter of hours. The developmental steam engines aboard all five ships could be of assist, but he wasn’t sure if they would even work. He gave the order to use them anyway.
The steel combustion chambers deep within the bowels of Trinity were filled with some of the stored coal, and were set ablaze by an extremely careful sailor. Seawater in the cylindrical tank above the fire began to slowly boil, leaving any soluble materials in it at the bottom of the tank. Eventually, steam blew out through the steel tubes to the turbines and began to turn them. Down the steel shafts, two propellers rotated, connected to the spinning turbines. Steam returned to the water tank, its heat gone, to be reheated and go in the loop again.
Platinum felt the massive wooden hull beneath him pick up speed as the excess steam flowed out of the small metal funnel on the starboard side of the ship. He saw that the same happened aboard the other ships, and was pleased to know the steam engines worked quite well.
A pony hauled a rope over the side to calculate their rate of travel. After a minute, he pulled it back aboard and recorded his findings.
Galloping to the Captain, he said, “Sir, we have accelerated to fifteen knots and counting.”
“Good. Keep me informed. Dismissed.”
For a few hours, it seemed like they would be hit by the hurricane. But when Captain Starlight woke the next morning, there was no need for concern. The storm had gone south, towards the Dragon's Lair and away from the fleet.
The battleship and four heavily armed transports continued on with their steam engines on, at a speed of nineteen knots. It was definitely going to make up for lost time.
It was the second midnight after Crystal Snow’s capture. Crimson dreamt of an impending assault through the Hubson River Tunnel, but waved it off, believing it to be a trick. Although it was a distinct possibility, he didn’t think it would happen.
He woke to a large explosion to the north. Crimson raced out of the building to look down the street. What he saw wasn’t a pretty sight. One of the skyscrapers on 4th Street was ablaze. Something had hit it, and the building teetered on the brink of falling onto its neighbors. Firefighters were doing their best to put the flames, but to no avail. It collapsed onto the building to the east on top of half the fireponies.
His shock was interrupted by Major Dazzleflash’s spell. “Sir, we have a problem! The Crystal army is all over 3rd Street! I don’t know where the hay they’re comin’ from!”
“What?! I’m sending reinforcements now!” Crimson called up everyone on a communications spell. “We have a full-scale attack on our hooves! Captain Shadow, pull your forces back to 3rd Street ASAP! Lieutenant Comet, retreat to our side of Bricklyn Bridge before you’re overrun! Both of you are authorized to blow the bridges down.”
“Sir, do you realize what the hell is going on? I’ve got my hooves full with half the Crystal army! Knocking out the bridge is impossible! They’ve already taken the western side!”
Silver Comet reported that he had been surrounded on all sides by the enemy, and he was rigging some chopped-down trees for transport hulls. If Crimson wanted the Bricksburg Bridge down, he had to do it himself.
“Captain Shadow, you will bring that bridge down if it’s the last thing you do. Lieutenant Comet, either you get your troops back over this river or you push them back. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do what I can.”
“Loud and clear, Colonel.”
Crimson raced towards 3rd Street, repeater tucked under his right wing. He reached the chaos-filled road and called for his soldiers to charge into the fold. As they clashed with their foes, Crimson took to the sky, aiming down the sights of his gun. When he feather-pulled the trigger with practiced ease, a sound similar to thunder roared down the streets and alleyways. A Crystal officer fell with a bleeding hole in his neck, choking on his own blood. Crimson recocked, aimed, and fired again. A soldier hit the asphalt, headshot to the muzzle.
A Unicorn archer took aim at the colonel, but was hit by his target’s thunder without lightning. It sucked the life out of him, his abdomen ripped open by the grazing near miss. His intestines spilled onto the street, causing him to cry out in great pain before seeing the light without ever getting the chance to close his eyes.
Seeing their comrades and officers fall with a sudden boom caused the Crystal ponies at street level to want to run, to hide, anything to keep from being the next victim. But the ones behind them prevented any retreat. It was now or never. Plus, the Equestrians were attempting to regroup.
With the indecision seen as an opportunity, the Equestrians staged a counterattack. All four hundred fifty-two remaining ponies under Crimson’s command on 3rd street crashed head-on into the disorganized Crystal army. Varying success filled the air, with some smashing all the way to the subway stations, while others hit large pockets of bloody resistance. Spears stabbed, swords slashed, and bows shot as less than five hundred took on a force several times their size with renewed effort.
Up north by the west end of Tartarus Bridge, Midnight Shadow held back his opponents - barely. Half his ponies had been slaughtered, he lost control of the bridge, and shit hit the fan, - all before he knew what hit him.
His soldiers had stopped retreating at Eight Acre Park. Midnight had determined that was the point where they held to the last, no matter what. He himself stood on the front lines, cutting open Crystal ponies with his iron sword. After about half an hour of this, they pulled back to lick their wounds, and Midnight used this to go over a radical plan with his officers.
“Lieutenant Galaxy Mist, you’re coming with me. We’re gonna blow the bridge. Lieutenant Strawberry Sunrise, I’m leaving you in charge until we return. Remember, we hold to the last, whatever that may come to be. Everypony else, you follow the battle plan we’ve been practicing. Let’s start Operation Endeavour.” he said.
The ponies saluted him.
“Good luck, sir.” came Sunrise’s farewell.
“We will meet again, sister.”
She nodded her consent. He gave her one last embrace, hoping that it would not be the last time he would ever see her again.
Fifteen minutes of nerve-wracking stealth later, Midnight and Galaxy found themselves at the base of Tartarus Bridge. The detonator had been hidden well; it took several minutes to locate it and the cords to attach. He configured the detonator, and, closing his eyes, pressed the button.
The Tartarus Bridge rocked from the explosions of three hundred fifty carefully placed ninety-pound packs of TNT spread throughout the superstructure. All western supports were blown into shrapnel flying everywhere at forty kilometers an hour and large chunks of red-hot metal that fell onto the Crystal army. The roadbed snapped free of the steel cables, crashing into the Yokeville Bay with the force of four dozen kilometer-long trains hitting the station at 113 kph. Both cables slung upward, their load now gone, and looped over into the city, covering the streets in flexible steel tube weighing many metric tons.
The span to Whirlpool Island completely fell apart under the heat, stress, and sudden changes in load. There, the support towers were unaffected, and did not collapse. A wave from the fallen roadbed about five meters high washed over the west shore, covering it in debris. The eastern side had a dissipating three-meter wave hit, and suffered less damage.
A soaked Midnight looked at an equally wet Galaxy. The Unicorn breathed a sigh of relief that they weren’t dead, and smiled back at him. She was exhilarated, and it was a feeling of adrenaline that one couldn’t forget easily. She then proceeded to kiss him lovingly. He returned the kiss, and together they forgot their troubles for a minute.
She broke away, saying, “I shouldn’t have done that. My apologies, sir.”
“No, it’s fine. I kinda wanted to do that,” he replied.
A cry of loss brought them back to reality. As the two galloped back up to the street level, they saw the full extent of the damage done to the shore. Metal fragments were everywhere, along with shattered glass, cracked asphalt, and dead ponies covered in cuts and bruises.
A stallion was holding a Pegasus mare close to him, wailing into the night. Midnight assumed it was the stallion’s sister or loved one. Likewise, many others in the scattered Crystal Empire’s formidable army cried their mourns as they found siblings and comrades in the rubble, numerous deep cuts in their lifeless bodies.
It was at that time that the two hundred Equestrian ponies under Midnight’s command arrived to clean up the mess. They were quite merciful, mostly taking prisoners of the remaining Crystal ponies. Some just wouldn’t move from their fallen comrades, and the Captain decided to set up a temporary prisoner of war camp right on the spot to let his enemy grieve the losses just suffered. They would be moved to a more permanent one later.
“Captain, you did a good job,” Strawberry Sunrise said. Her voice was sweet, like her fruity namesake.
“No, Lieutenant, we did a good job.” He embraced his sister, glad to know they would both live to see another day. Tears of relief fell down his face, and down hers, too.
Crimson Dawn heard the din that was the destruction of Tartarus Bridge as it echoed through the city streets, followed by a wave that only reached to a few meters from the waterfront. As his mares and stallions cheered, the Crystal army felt dread from the sound. It meant that reinforcements were not going to come from the north, if at all.
Even though the Bricklyn Bridge had yet to be taken down, there was no getting past it without fear of being trapped on the Equestrian side if they decided to make it go boom, or worse, on the bridge itself. The thought of falling to one’s death as the sturdy ground he or she stood on was turned to rubble was overwhelmingly terrifying.
The most troubled Crystal ponies dropped their weapons and galloped back through the Hubson River Tunnel, soon followed by everyone else. What had started out as an orderly, well-executed surprise attack quickly transformed into a chaotic retreat as Crystal ponies hurried to get back in friendly territory before the rail line was filled with water by some TNT.
Crimson let them go. It was rather amusing to him, seeing an entire army be reduced to a disorganized mob of scared ponies. It reminded him of the Dominion of Apollo’s retreat after the Final Stand of Atlantis, when the whole assault force was obliterated and ran with its tail between its legs.
Lieutenant Silver Comet had no such luck. When the Crystal army stormed Garnet Island, he was forced to make a break in their lines to go around the advancing enemy. It cost him the lives of ninety-four ponies, fifty-seven casualties he had to leave behind, and forty ponies who volunteered to hold the Crystal Empire away from the rear of the retreating Equestrians.
He was lucky to get out of there alive, and when he did, along with half his original count, he made a break for Bricklyn Bridge. The path was mostly clear, and they came back to the western side of the bridge safely.
The Crystal Empire let him escape. They let Crimson claim victory that deadly night. They accepted the destruction of another major pathway. The Crystal Empire pulled back to lick their wounds. This time.
Midnight Shadow, Silver Comet, and Dazzleflash stood on the opposite end of the map table from Crimson Dawn. Princess Cadence and the Elements of Harmony had their shimmering images as well, nervous for the report that was about to come in.
“Princesses, they staged an assault last night, and I have no doubt that you know the victor, or otherwise this report would not be getting to your ears. But in the fighting, we lost three hundred on 3rd Street, two hundred forty-nine by Tartarus Bridge, and another two hundred during the retreat from Garnet Island. Casualties are practically off the charts, with hundreds if not thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. Our military count is reduced to approximately seven hundred soldiers, ten medical officers, and no reserve. We have taken prisoners, but they could easily overwhelm us if they wanted with sheer numbers.” Crimson reported.
“How long do we expect the Atlantean fleet to take? You obviously aren’t going to hold back another attack of that scale,” asked Cadence.
“Four days, if they follow standard coastal routes. If not, they should’ve been here about three days ago.”
Out of nowhere, a communications officer rushed in. He had some kind of ridiculous grin on his face, and that meant good news. “Sir!” He saluted.
“What is it, soldier?”
“We’ve received word from the fleet! They say they’re about 228 nautical miles to the southeast, holding nineteen knots! Reinforcements are only twelve hours away, sir!”
“How many ships?”
“Five, sir. Trinity, Tranquility, Dark Phoenix, Firespit, and Raven Nightfall.”
Crimson perked up a lot more than usual. “Did you say Trinity?”
“Yes, sir. Why?”
“Because,” he said, a smile growing on him, “Trinity is the largest ship ever constructed. A hundred meters long, twenty meters wide, and fifty meters tall, with a grand total of one hundred forty cannons and a complement of over a thousand ponies. She is the pride of the Atlantean Navy.”
Twilight saw this as a possible threat to Equestrian national security. “I can’t let that fleet come into Twin Cantons Harbor. I just don’t trust foreign military enough.”
Cadence agreed with her sister-in-law. An extremely powerful fleet could wipe out Equestrian coastal cities within a week.
“I understand your concern, Princesses,” Crimson replied. “But if they don’t pull into the harbor, I will lose Manehattan. Our army has taken too many casualties. And you will lose this war. It must be done.”
The alicorns nodded. It was the only way for Equestria to survive.
“Only one question,” Cadence asked. “How’s Celestia doing?”
Two days earlier, several thousand kilometers from Equestria, the Princess of the Sun stood at the entrance to Whispering Highlands Pass, her route to Atlantis. Next to her stood a single Griffon, her guide to the Pass.
“Are you sure you want to go up there alone, Princess?” asked the Griffon. He had been instructed to show her the way, but could only go this far before she had to say he could come.
“I’ll be fine, thank you.” She began to walk forwards, putting one hoof in front of the other. This was as far as she had ever come from Equestria. From home.
The Whispering Mountain Pass was a fiercely guarded secret of the Griffons and Atlanteans, and for good reason. It was hard to traverse, with landslides, snowbanks, and sudden blizzards being the most common dangers. Also, one could get altitude sickness, becoming easy prey to hungry predators and the occasional dragon looking for a sex slave. But, if one could make it through, they had a time gap of potentially up to a week ahead of the ships, which meant more profit.
Every merchant group traveled in packs of at least ten, but twenty-five was the typical caravan size. According to her guide, one such group had recently left to Atlantis the day before Celestia arrived in Griffonstone. If she hurried, she might be able to catch up. The Griffon turned around to go home. He took one last look at Celestia before spreading his wings and flying back to Griffonstone. On the ground, Celestia continued moving her shaking legs, one step at a time. Not only did it seem crazy, but the trip was close to giving her a nervous breakdown. The cold, the threats - in fact, everything about this journey was insane.
The princess composed herself and kept moving. After about five hours, she used her magic to lower the sun and raise the moon, as needed to happen. It took almost all of her energy, but she managed. Dinner was rationed hay from her saddlepack, dried like astronaut food. For her drink, she simply melted snow and drank up. It didn’t taste very nice, but that was a price she was willing to pay. At least it meant she didn’t have to carry water.
The next day, Celestia woke to switch the sun and moon once again. When she finished, breakfast was exactly like the previous night’s dinner. Standing quickly, she felt a jolt along her back, and decided to build a fire in a cave when night came. The cold had caused her muscles to lock while she slept, and that was the source of her sudden pain. She telekinetically lifted the saddlepack onto her back, and continued on her journey.
Walking at a fast pace down the path, Celestia figured she would come across the caravan in a few days. That was assuming they kept the standard pace of thirty kilometers a day, while she held at forty-five in a gait. If she took the sky, the princess could possibly shave off several hours.
That seems like a good idea, she thought. I can get to some ponies that actually know the way faster. But as soon as she spread her wings and took flight, she was hit by crosswinds, headwinds, tailwinds, updrafts, and downdrafts. Celestia was lucky to get back down to the snow-covered surface alive.
Never mind.
The princess walked on. The pass went up to thirty-six hundred meters above sea level, with high winds and freezing temperatures on most of it. Clouds hung in the sky quite low, but Celestia reminded herself that she was just close to them.
Wait a minute - clouds were controlled by Pegasi. They didn’t simply exist above a certain altitude, at least in Equestria. She frantically looked around, trying to find anything familiar. Nothing is recognizable in this snowstorm - wait, snowstorm? Where did that come from?
She found shelter in a small cave near her location. Compared to the blizzard outside, it was cozy, albeit damp. She lit a fire using packed wood and curled up next to it for a short nap.
It was supposed to be sundown when Celestia opened her eyes again. Figuring the time, she switched the sun and moon, and went back to sleep after a ration for dinner.
Celestia stood not two feet from Crimson Dawn. He looked different, some species she had never seen before. Now to think of it, so did she. The princess had two legs, limbs that connected right below her head, and feet. She wore apparel obviously specific to her gender and species, along with the colonel.
He walked forwards to the creature holding a young girl hostage. After a few steps, the creature called out, “Hold it right there, Dawn, or your daughter dies.”
Crimson stopped. A pistol hung in his hand, which he swung up and pulled the trigger. The perfectly aimed shot hit the creature in the face, and he fell to the ground, dead. The girl raced into her father’s arms, and stayed there, tears of relief streaking down her face.
Suddenly, the earth shook as a large explosion sent equipment flying as the scene changed. Celestia decided to look around, trying to find the source. Then she found it. A smoking crater in the central deck blocked all view to the rear of the ship - wait, ship? She glanced to the starboard side to see a large steel structure with many antennae and rotating domes. One of the same kind of creatures from the last setting stood on a balcony-looking thing, coordinating emergency efforts and staring at the flaming hole as if it were the worst thing that could happen.
Turning her head more, Celestia could see many other steel ships, all badly damaged. Black smoke like that from her own ship spiraled out of the city-like tops, some were filling with water and going under the surface with little to no lifeboats, and all looked like their armaments were spent.
“Who are you?” asked a sailor.
Celestia turned to her adressor. When she did, she asked him one thing. “Am I dreaming?”
“Pinch yourself to find out. If it hurts, it ain’t a fucking dream. Now tell me who the hell you are and how you got on Reagan during the middle of a battle?”
Celestia pinched herself with the appendages on the ends of her limbs. It gave her a sharp pain.
“Well, my name is Celestia. I am a princess of Equestria, and I have no idea how I got here.
“Come with me. Standard procedure is to put stowaways in the brig until we know exactly what to do with you.”
“The brig? What’s that?”
“Think of it as the ship’s jail. Come on, they’re probably gonna try auto-landing the planes soon, and you don’t want to be hit by a 66,000-pound decelerating aircraft.”
Celestia complied. The two hurried to the starboard side and turned to the steel structure standing above the flat deck. Just as they reached halfway, the first jet, an F/A-18 Super Hornet, emerged from the black spiral of smoke, touching down just after the leading edge of the hole and coming to a stop four feet from the end. It turned and headed to an elevator for transport to a lower deck. As soon as it had turned, another Hornet did the same automated landing, and so on until all fighters had landed. The sailor opened a steel oval in the wall to reveal the interior. There were wires and equipment lining the walls, and a ladder-esque stairwell leading to other decks.
“Come on,” he ordered, gesturing her to follow him to a lower deck. She did, and soon found herself in Reagan’s brig. It wasn’t a very comfortable cell, just the basic requirements for keeping prisoners alive.
A few hours later, a sailor sent by the captain strode in. He saluted and asked for Celestia. The bar door opened, and she followed him to a questioning room. There, she found yet another creature sitting in a chair. Across the table in front of him, there sat a simple seat. Celestia inferred that she was to sit in the empty chair, so she did.
“Well, isn’t this interesting,” he said. “How long have you been out of the sunlight, miss?”
Celestia had a very important question to ask. “What do I call your species?”
“We’re humans, miss.” he replied. “Why didn’t you know? After all, you are one, too.”
“Where I come from, there are no humans.”
He raised an eyebrow. “First things first. Your name is Celestia, as said by the sailor who first saw you on the forward deck, is it not?”
“It is.”
“Where do you come from, Miss Celestia?”
“I am an alicorn princess of Equestria, on the west coast of the Celestial Sea. To the north is the Crystal Empire, and to the east is Griffonstone. There are no neighboring countries to the south and west.”
“I see.” His eyebrow, having gone back down, had raised again in question to her answer. “So, Miss Celestia, how did you get on Reagan?”
“I - I don’t know. First, I was traversing the Whispering Mountain Pass to reach Atlantis, then I had to rest for the night. I dreamt of my commander of the Equestrian army rescuing his daughter, then the scene changed and I was standing on the deck of your ship.” It was her turn to ask something. “What is Reagan and who owns it?”
“I ask the questions here, miss.”
“I’m not answering any more until you tell me.” She held her stern expression.
“Fine.” Her interrogator folded his arms on the table and sighed. “Honestly, I thought you were just insane with the whole ‘Equestria’ thing. But since you don’t seem to know where you are, I’ll tell you.
“The USS Ronald Reagan is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in service of the United States Navy. She is called by most countries a supercarrier. One of ten carriers in service today - well, nine now. Reagan is part of the Pacific Fleet, operating to the west of the continental U.S. This is unfortunately not the best time to show a visitor the ship, since we were hit by a surface-to-surface missile that could’ve set the magazine off. If we hadn’t stopped the fire from spreading, Reagan would’ve sunk. Powered by nuclear energy, we can stay out at sea for conceivably a full year before heading back, but I doubt something like that will ever happen.”
Celestia nodded, satisfied to know what she was on.
He continued to question her for a while, but only got stuff about Equestria. Not what he wanted. She was released to the brig again, and the captain walked in.
“So, how’d it go?”
“I’m convinced that she isn’t insane, sir. But she keeps talking about some Equestria place as if she lived there. And she claims to be a princess of this Equestria.”
“Understood. What’s her name?”
“Celestia, sir.”
“You know, this reminds me of before we went on deployment two months ago. My five-year-old daughter liked - and probably still likes - this kids’ show. Pastel-colored ponies living in a land called Equestria. I only know because I watched it with her, since I really like spending time with her. She’s a beacon in the fog of life in the Navy. Anyway, this show was called My Little Pony. Ring any bells?”
“You should talk to the Air Boss. She watches that show on her laptop during free time. Downloaded prior to deployment, obviously.” He saluted.
The captain returned the salute and dismissed the sailor. He moved on to the Air Boss’s quarters, a deck or two up.
He knocked on the steel submarine door before entering. The Air Boss instantly paused the video she was watching and stood straight, facing the senior officer.
“At ease, Commander.” She stood with her arms behind her back.
“What can I do for you, sir?” she asked.
“I hear you’re familiar with the children’s show known as My Little Pony, and we may have a problem dealing with someone from it.”
“With all due respect, that’s impossible, sir. You’d need a powerful magic to send a pony to a different dimension, especially if you’re making that dimension at the same time. The only alternate world to Equestria is that of Canterlot High, and even then they have to rely on a portal. They cannot reach us, and we them.”
He was right. She does know a lot. “Commander, this character I speak of claims to be Celestia. I was hoping you could get more information out of her than I did.”
“I can try, sir. Do I need to go to her, or will she come to me?”
“I’ll send her to you. Just wait here.”
She saluted. “Aye, Captain.”
About half an hour later, Celestia stood in the doorway of the Air Boss’s quarters. She looked quite tired, not being able to sleep on the constantly rolling carrier.
“Please, sit down,” the Air Boss said, gesturing to a comfortable seat. The white-skinned woman complied silently.
“So, I hear your name is Celestia, and you are the Princess of Equestria, correct?”
“Yes,” Celestia answered simply. She looked to the floor, twiddling her thumbs. That was the one thing she really knew how to do with them.
“I am Commander Amber Hamilton, the Air Boss on Reagan.” She extended her hand in greeting. Celestia took it, not sure if that was right. Suddenly, Amber shook hard, catching the princess by surprise. Then she remembered something.
“Oh, where are my manners? Would you like something to drink?”
“Yes, thank you.” Celestia nodded.
“What’ll it be? Coffee, tea, water, or milk?”
“Water will do, thank you.”
Amber nodded to one of the sailors outside the door. He left to the mess hall to get Celestia a cup of water.
“So, Admiral Robinson told me to get information out of you. Honestly, I see that as a waste of time unless you tell me in detail about this Equestria.”
“Admiral Robinson?”
“James Robinson, ranked Rear Admiral in the Navy. Senior officer in charge of Reagan’s strike group, though we’re in the process of supplementing with Vinson’s right now.”
“May I ask why that is?”
“Sure. The USS Carl Vinson was hit by several missiles yesterday that rendered the deck useless, and penetrated to punch holes below the waterline. She sank within hours. Her fighters automatically flew to us, but we almost lost both ours and them. According to the logs, you showed up right as the missile hit us. So I don’t doubt that you saw the first planes land. Anyway, what was left of her escort immediately came to join ours, since we were hit pretty hard as well.”
“How many does it take to crew a ship the size of Vinson?”
“Approximately five thousand men and women. Not many lifeboats came out of her, so we can assume they’re all dead.”
Celestia gasped. “Five thousand on a single ship? The largest Equestrian naval vessel has a crew of four hundred!”
“Ma’am, an aircraft carrier is literally a floating military city. We have three shifts of aircraft piloting and maintenance, commanding, power, meals, you name it. There’s even a post office on board, if you can believe it, along with a ship store, and don’t forget storage for practically everything.”
“I didn’t know a ship could have that many on it.”
“Welcome the the world of the twenty-first century. Though I’d like to get you back to your world if we can, because they’re going to need you.”
The sailor came back with the water for Celestia. She accepted it awkwardly, and took a small sip. It was cold, with ice cubes floating at the surface and dew condensing on the side, but the taste was great. Cold water always tasted better.
Celestia continued to talk to Amber, eventually delving into the tale of Equestria’s war with the Crystal Empire, Sombra’s weapon, and Crimson Dawn volunteering to lead Manehattan’s defense until reinforcements arrived. But she snagged on what the coming force consisted of as she realized he never told her.
By the end of the day, Celestia had become friends with Amber. They understood each other in way that no one else could: Amber watched the show, meaning she knew a fair bit about the princess’s home; and Celestia was just glad to know somebody who actually remotely knew of Equestria.
“Well, Celestia, I’m no scientist nor psychiatrist, but from what you’ve told me, I have a guess as to to why you’re here and not the Whispering Mountain Pass. When the missile hit Reagan and punched a hole in the flight deck, the resonant frequency of the explosion must have matched that of your unconscious. You were then mentally pulled through either space or time to the site of the explosion, where you were found by us. Your body simply followed your mind.” Amber concluded.
“Is there a way back?” the princess inquired.
“Not that I know of. That’s a level of technology we just haven’t quite reached yet.”
“Then how’d I get here?”
The sailor sighed. “I don’t know. But-”
She was cut off by a call. “Air Boss, the captain wants you on the bridge. And bring our guest.”
“Acknowledged.” Amber looked at Celestia. “If you would follow me, I’ll take you to the bridge.”
On the way there, the Equestrian asked what the bridge was, since she thought it was a solid pathway over a geological obstacle. The American’s response was that the bridge was the command room of the ship. It housed the navigational equipment, along with announcement systems and other stuff.
The two walked into the bridge, where Admiral Robinson waited impatiently. He saw them and strode over.
“About time, ladies. You see that?” he gestured out the window to a strange storm ahead of them. When they nodded, he continued. “It came out of nowhere. One minute we had clear skies, the next, this damn thing shows up. Do you know what it is, Celestia?”
“Looks like a hurricane, like the ones that periodically hit Batlimare during the summer. They form in the central Celestial Sea, then head northwest.”
“Well, this one’s headed southeast. Can you explain that?”
Celestia was shocked. “They’ve never headed south before. I don’t know why this one did.”
Amber spoke up. “Sir, I may have an explanation. Celestia told me that her younger sister was assassinated about a week or two ago. Since both were powerful beings at the time, it may have ripped open a hole in space. We could be looking at a portal to another world, admiral.”
Robinson pursed his lips. If he could sail Reagan and her escort around the storm, he could help finish the war against Russia and China. On the other hand, if this storm ignored the realities of space-time altogether, it would be possible to sail in and come out on the other side in time for the landing on China’s coast. If we can get there without losing all of our carriers.
“All right then, we sail in. inform the escort to follow us through the storm if they can handle the high seas. Otherwise, they should stay behind and wait for us to come back out.” he ordered.
Reagan and her escort and a half sailed towards the tropical storm. As they approached the cloud front, the wind picked up dramatically, howling at the tall steel vessels entering its domain. Antennae atop the ships began to bend to the side, the wind battering it into a slant. Helicopters not secured to the flight deck were blown to the portside edge of the deck by 300-mph gusts, and eventually fell off the carrier.
“Sir, maximum wind speed is not this high in a tropical cyclone! We need to abort before it capsizes the cruisers and destroyers!” a navigational officer yelled over the wind. “We might sink in this storm!”
“No! Hold your course, sailor!”
Reagan crested a wave two hundred ten feet high, its water splashing over the deck. One of the heavily damaged destroyers wasn’t so lucky, and hit the wave at a diagonal, capsizing as it neared the crest. The other surface ships made it through next to the carrier.
“Sir, Halsey has capsized! They’re not gonna make it!”
The wind picked up to higher speeds, threatening to knock the smaller ships over, and beginning to become a concern to the carrier. Sea spray continually washed over the deck, falling off, and splashing up again. As Reagan went over the crest of another monster wave, she flew down towards the trough and nearly smashed a submarine that sailed silently under the turmoil that was the surface. Luckily, the submarine captain saw Reagan on fuzzed sonar and dove deeper to avoid getting crushed.
The storm dissipated as suddenly as it started an hour earlier. Reagan was essentially the only surface ship left, save two cruisers and a guided missile destroyer. The submarines surfaced at that time so the ships could acknowledge their safety, and stayed with their conning towers peeking above the low, rolling waves.
About a hundred nautical miles to the west, three cruisers and four destroyers sailed through calm waters. Their primary concern was to find Reagan and the rest of the fleet to regroup. Along with them was a fast attack submarine, surfacing to acknowledge the other ships.
The same distance to the east of Reagan, two heavily damaged frigates and a destroyer sat dead in the water, their steering systems taken out by the storm. All they had was Morse code, radar, and sonar. However, their luck returned with the appearance of a WWI-era American battleship that had disappeared in the same conditions Reagan’s fleet had. Even with heavy damage, little to no fuel, and large cloth sails as its primary propulsion, it was a sight indeed. It signaled with Morse code a inquiry of identification, and received replies from all three ships. Soon, they all sailed close enough for commanding officers to meet, and they did, creating a small armada with the goal of finding the supercarrier.
Aboard Reagan, Celestia stood on the starboard balcony structure on the bridge, looking for land. It didn’t take too long once Amber handed her a pair of binoculars and taught her how to use them.
“I see something off the starboard bow. I think it’s the Dragon’s Lair North Coast.”
Robinson asked her a very important question. “Why are you a horse now?”
Celestia removed the binoculars and realized she was holding them with magic. Turning around, she said, “Welcome to Equestria.”
Amber nodded and asked about the location of the Dragon’s Lair.
“It’s that way,” she answered, pointing with her hoof.
“So, bearing south sixty east. Can you tell me where on the coast we are?”
“Yes. That is Mount Stormpeak, nearest to where the Gauntlet of Fire started last time. But I can’t give you a precise location without some kind of map.”
“Leave it to me.” Amber left the bridge and rushed to her quarters, where she kept a poster map of Equestria. Then she headed back up and laid it out on the table in the officer’s briefing room, where the others gathered while she grabbed the map.
“Where’s Celestia?” she asked, but was answered by the princess’s teleportation spell. “Alright, here you go. Full map of Equestria and the surrounding lands.”
“Appreciated.” Celestia used a pencil to point out what she talked about.
“So, here is Mount Stormpeak, at a bearing of apparently south sixty east. Judging by the midday sun, I figure that we’re here.” She circled a spot twenty nautical miles northwest of the volcano. “As far as we can tell, we’re all that’s left of the fleet. Now, to get you home, I need a magic only one creature has, and he’s a little busy fighting a war while I’m supposed to be east of Griffonstone.” She labeled the Whispering Mountain Pass. “This leads to my destination: Atlantis. However, I can’t get there by land since we happen to be just north of Dragon’s Lair. But there’s also a sea route, if you all are willing to make the journey.”
Admiral Robinson looked at the poster. “What you’re saying is that we’ll go off this map? We don’t know what’s past that point.”
The princess sighed. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m asking you to do.”
Lieutenant Rocky Road fumed at his failure. The Equestrians still held Manehattan, and their reinforcements were due to arrive in less than twelve hours according to his scouts in Fillydelphia, who had actually seen the Atlantean fleet. They claimed it comprised of five ships, anywhere from twenty to one hundred meters in length, with corresponding mast heights. Smoke billowed out of large steel tubes on the side of the ships, and they somehow propelled forward without hoisting the sails not three nautical miles off the coast.
Reports on the previous night’s attack had come in. Most of Third Battalion was on either fighting the northern front or on Tartarus Bridge when it blew. Second Battalion lost half on 3rd Street and more in the tunnel during the retreat. First Battalion fared pretty well, successfully chasing the Equestrian forces off Garnet Island with minimal losses. Still, his army was down to a third its original strength, having only 1500 ponies left. A formidable force, but nothing compared to what Sombra recruited.
The King of Shadows had called for a fighting force capable of bringing Celestia to her knees. In the first months of the war, it had done exactly that. Then Equestria got organized and pushed them back. Sombra obliterated it with the Gem, and the ragtag resistance of an army drawn from elsewhere in the country could not stand in his way.
After that came the string of successes: the Crystal Empire conquered all the way south to the northern Equestrian cities, and systematically invaded. In fact, Equestrian territory currently went as far north as the outskirts of Ponyville, and shaped into a horseshoe configuration as the war dragged on. That dreadful little town, home to Princess Twilight, offered more resistance than Vanhoover, and the northwestern city was a close victory. Rumor had it that magical barricades lined the Equestrian border, preventing any Crystal pony from getting any closer than a few kilometers.
Even so, it would fall eventually.
He had a Unicorn mage send a message to General Shattered Hope as he debated his few options: to stay and most likely lose the entire army, or retreat now and come back when the actually was an army to use against Equestria. Rocky had also included an idea he felt should be sent to the higher authorities. About four hours later, the general’s reply came back.
Lieutenant Rocky Road of the First Crystal Army, I understand the predicament your forces have encountered. Since Major Snow left you in charge, I do not doubt your abilities to lead the army, and therefore am allowing you to make the final decision. My personal advice would be to follow what the soldiers want. If they feel that a tactical retreat is necessary, take that into consideration. After all, they are the ponies doing the fighting. The final choice is yours; however, I would probably pull back. If you do decide to retreat, I will provide supplies and ponies to replenish what you have lost during the besieging of Manehattan.
As for your suggestion to use the Gem to obliterate the Equestrian government is extremely radical. I do see promise in it, and will bring the idea before King Sombra for approval. According to my sources, Princess Celestia is currently west of Griffonstone, and therefore cannot be taken out as of yet. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Princess Twilight Sparkle have been relocated to an unspecified area, but judging from Equestrian history and data available, I have determined the location to most likely be the Everfree Castle, situated deep within the Everfree Forest. To destroy it would be to destroy the Tree of Harmony, along with the Elements of Harmony as well. This is a most opportune moment, and I do not intend on missing it.
An officer trotted in, saluted and asked for a final decision.
“Tell the troops to pack,” Rocky said. “We leave for the Crystal Mountains in two hours.”
By nightfall, the Crystal army was several miles from downtown Manehattan. The ponies had eagerly stuffed all their soldiering shit into their bags and formed ranks for an orderly retreat, which was the opposite of the previous night’s chaos. As darkness overtook the army, each and every pony sighed with relief. No longer would they have to deal with an enemy that just wouldn’t die.
The Atlantean fleet was behind them, along with the Equestrians and blood-stained streets. Their backs were turned against the city, their fallen comrades, and the high-tech reinforcements. Wishes for vengeance brewed in the veins of every soldier and officer.Now they faced defeat, but survival seemed more important than dieing in a fight they couldn’t win.
Captain Platinum Starlight stood on mid-deck, looking over the port railing into the harbor below. All over Trinity and her fleet, sailors hurried to finish the final preparations needed to dock in Manehattan harbor. The steam turbines were shut off as the sails were hoisted to provide the ships the slower speed required to sail into port.
The megacity could be seen already in great detail. Skyscrapers towered into the air higher than any Atlantean architect dreamed. Massive piers were lapped by the seawater around them, waiting for the ships to dock. A green flare shot above the areas designated for the fleet, and Platinum had the course adjusted to match.
In the distance, he saw Bricksburg Bridge, still rising over the strait that separated friendly territory from that of the enemy. Beyond that lay the ruins of Withersburg Bridge, its stone and metal strewn across the bay. Farther north, he was told, was Tartarus Bridge, in the same destroyed condition as Withersburg.
Now was a time he could truly appreciate the Equestrian army's ability to hold its ground. Without it, he’d have no place to pull in unless he was willing to lose half his crew.
The sails were stowed as Trinity coasted smoothly beside the largest pier. Along it, Platinum saw Colonel Crimson Dawn walking down to meet his reinforcing army. He's gonna have to wait another twenty minutes.
After everything was in order, Platinum walked down the wooden board to greet Crimson. The red Pegasus put on a weary smile, one of relief and sorrow mixed together.
“Captain Starlight. You have no idea how glad I am to see you. We are down to less than seven hundred, with most of our losses incurred last night.”
“Ah, Crimson! Don’t worry about a thing; we can handle it from here. You know, this is a pretty awe-inspiring city. The buildings rising a kilometer into the sky, the -”
“I get it, Captain. So, what’s in the hold?”
“Colonel Dawn, always getting to the point.” Platinum searched his mind. “We have two thousand strong, plenty of powder and ammo, and a special surprise from Queen Atlanta. She said to give this to you, along with whatever the hell we loaded on Trinity. Gotta tell you, those three boxes were heavy motherfuckers.”
Platinum took a small container out of his personal saddlebag. In it was a ceramic mug commemorating the victory at Aquarius River. The small, white mug had the names of all the regiments that had served valiantly on that fateful day, so many years ago. It was a piece of home.
“When we get back, I’ll have to tell her thanks.” Crimson placed the container in his own saddlebag. “So, how the hell are we getting these big-ass boxes onto the pier?”
“Trinity has a side door for quick cargo transfer. Do you want to unload now?”
Crimson nodded. The sooner the better.
Captain Midnight Shadow and Lieutenant Silver Comet headed towards the pier. Rumors spread fast, and they wanted to see the Atlanteans’ secret weapon. As they reached it, they gave identification and passed on. The weapon was a sight to be seen.
The Atlantean government had authorized the transport and use of a steam-powered armored vehicle. It had thick steel wheels to support its weight, three-inch steel armor, and a long steel barrel pointing in the forwards direction of the vehicle. Loaded with gunpowder and ammunition, this behemoth could take out the entire Crystal army through fear alone. Currently, it wheeled down to dry land via the iron-reinforced wooden boarding ramp, which groaned under the pressure of several tons above it. Already on land and making its way to the downtown city was another, and a third noisily waited its turn to cross.
“So, what do we call these fuckers?” Crimson yelled at Platinum over the noise.
“Steam tanks,” he called back. “The first three ever built, right here in front of us. I’m actually surprised Atlanta made the decision to send them all.”
As the final steam tank reached shore, the wood under it cracked into a shower of splinters, crashing to the short channel of water between Trinity and the pier. The cast-iron supports, on which the tank actually rolled, bent down from the loss of support and began to buckle. The steam tank’s driver hit full ahead, sending the vehicle across the channel at high speed and nearly flying it over the side. But the brakes held, and the tank remained on land.
“That was close.” Crimson commented.
Suddenly, a scout galloped up from the metropolis. “Colonel Dawn! The Crystal Empire has retreated! I repeat, the Crystal Empire is miles away!”
“That’s good news. Take control of the entire city, and prepare the railway station for military transport. And someone get a communications spell up over here! I ain’t walking to Headquarters to give the princesses a report.”
A Unicorn came and set up the spell, but the other side didn’t open. He tried again, with the same effect. A third time, and the other side finally responded.
“My apologies, Colonel,” Twilight said. “I was finishing up a few things.”
“That’s fine. Started to get worried there for a second, though.”
Celestia’s image appeared next to Twilight’s. “Colonel Dawn, I do believe you never told me what was in the reinforcing army.”
“Ah, Princess Celestia, don’t you worry about a thing. I honestly didn’t know myself until now, and we have two thousand strong, supplies, and three beautiful armoured vehicles.”
“Understood. How goes the defense?”
“Princesses,” Crimson replied, “the Crystal army is in full retreat. Probably have been for a few hours. We’ve won.”
Cadence’s eyes turned to Celestia. “So, where are you in terms of your journey?”
“It’s complicated. I’m in the middle of the Celestial Sea, bearing forty-five degrees east of north. After a massive mishap, I am back on track.”
“What kind of mishap?” Twilight became immensely curious.
“I honestly don’t know, Twilight Sparkle. I was crossing the Whispering Mountain Pass when some magical storm hit and I took shelter in a cave. Then I dreamt of Crimson in the human world, and the scene changed and I stood at the bow of this massive ship, bigger than anything Equestrian shipwrights could ever dream.”
Crimson looked skeptical. “Larger than Trinity? She’s a hundred meters bow to stern, fifty high, and about twenty wide.”
“Larger than that. Made of a steel alloy, powered by the fusion of chemical elements, and capable of more than thirty knots. This…” -she searched for the right word- “carrier has a cargo of air superiority vehicles that can go faster than sound. Her escort carries this thing that goes straight up before heading to its target, and - it’s just mind-blowing.”
Crimson perked up. “Chemical elements? Like oxygen?”
“What’s oxygen?” asked Cadence.
“It’s the part of the air that we breathe. Gets thinner, just like the rest of the air, as you go higher in elevation. Quite useful stuff,” he replied.
Behind Celestia, alarms rang out. “Well, I’d better get to the bridge. Something’s wrong.”
“Alright.” Crimson said. “Good luck, everyone.”
The spells ended, and the colonel smiled. Just a few more months, and we’ll defeat Sombra once and for all.
He looked to the west as the Celestia lowered the Sun over the horizon of skyscrapers of Manehattan.