Dawn of the hunter

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Elyon looked at the row of books before her, a soft smile on her lips as she put the last one away, "Organizing, my queen?"

"Caleb?" asked Elyon as she looked down at the messy haired man below her, "Yes. Dark Wizard, a new friend I met, asked me to put these books about the Heart of Worlds incident away. Apparently he said it was such a big event that it needed to be catalogued and stored."

"You done?" asked Caleb, picking up a book.

"Almost, there is just two more books I need to put away," Elyon said.

"Fall of Starfleet?" asked Caleb as he looked at the book in his hand, "I don't remember-"

"The world that Samus was going to if I had let Nerissa have her way. The one that Nerissa believed would've broken her." Elyon said, taking the book.

"Do you believed she would've broken?" Caleb asked.

Elyon shook her head, "I don't know. There was a good chance of it happening, and I could almost feel it happen when I first saw it. But..."

"But?" Caleb asked.

Elyon put a hand to her chin, "I have been looking that world from time to time, and things seemed to have changed. The ponies I believed to have been monsters are revealing more about themselves, and when I read that book, I saw something...unique."

"Define Unique," Caleb said.

"Unique in that it seemed that someone started to care, that their world started to brighten because someone cared enough to bring out the inner light and fix the mistake that I thought the world was," Elyon said, sitting on a table. As she looked down, she saw a new book, "Hmmm?"

"What?"

"Shooting Stars?" Elyon read out loud as she opened the book.

A surge of black and red magic appeared in an empty field, showing a black coated stallion landing, his red mane flowing in the wind as he slowly got up and creacked his neck.

“Ready for your second chance, Sweetie?” A white mare with a blue mane appeared behind him,”I’ll help you this time, see if things actually work out.”

The stallion smiled, looking behind him,”Thanks, Honeybun. This time, things’ll be different.”

(In another time, in another place)

A large, orange space ship floated through multiverse space, nearing its destination when a black shield caused it to bounce away. The ship was flung through the multiverse to a very dark star.

WARNING: Magical interference detected, magical interference detected.

The ship’s single occupant, a purple armored being, grunted,"What’s-?" She gasped as she felt parts of her body change. Explosions erupted around the ship. Her red helmet turned and watched as the ship rocked back and forth. She felt the presence of a dark shadow as it appeared before her. She aimed a single bluish-green armcannon at it

"Samus Aran, excellent.." The shadow said, pushing out tendrils into her, causing Samus to gasp in shock as several orbs spilled out of her and into the planet her ship was falling towards. Samus screamed as her ship flew over an orchard of apple trees and landed on a field, crashing through several trees.

Samus coughed as she got out of the ship, her armor changing into a yellow suit with small shoulder pads and a red helm. Her single hand with a green orb on the back reached up and pulled away some of the debris.

Samus looked into her visor,"Damage report!"

Meanwhile, on an apple farm nearby,

"It's finally happened!" Granny Smith shouted as she watched the UFO fly into her fields,"Gala told us this would happen again, but we didn't listen!" She shook her fist at the air.

On a far off island, in a castle with Discord's grinning face, several trees in the shapes of ponies waited. The orbs from Samus' armor fell into them, causing their eyes to glow a deep red.

Fall of Starfleet: Shooting Stars

Applejack ran from the nearby trees, hearing Granny Smith call out, "What's going on? What do ya mean it’s... what in tarnation? A ship?" she asked herself, watching the dot crash into the forest.

"Another ship?" Applejack asked herself, "Granny, you just get back into the house, and Ah'll check it out."

Granny held out her hand,”Careful! Don’t know what could be inside!”

Applejack frowned, flashbacks of what happened the last time an alien landed went through her mind,”Ah’ll be fine.” She ran towards the area of the ship.

(The time, three days before the one year anniversary of Twilight's death. a few months after the incident with Dark King)

“Damage report: Ship massively damaged, fires on decks one through four. Engines off line, hull breaches on the side, unable to hold shields for very longer. Recommend bailing out before ship blows.”

Samus ran far ahead, growling as the ship exploded in front of her, leaving a broken space ship on the ground with a broken hull, broken engines, and a dim light on the inside of the cockpit,"Fuck, I'm gonna have to fix this."

"Another problem," Her computer said,"You may want to sit down and do your breathing exercises."

Samus blinked as she sat down and began to breathe, fearing the next words her computer would say.

"The following have been removed from your suit:"

The side of Canterlot Castle exploded as a brown alicorn stallion with a purple mane walked in.

"Missiles."

Several guards were thrown aside as a grey alicorn mare with a green mane walked through. She looked at them all with a sad stare.

"Super Missiles."

A smaller grey alicorn stallion stomped through the area, causing small explosions in his wake. A grin came onto his face.

"Bombs."

A large explosion occurred as an alicorn mare watched, a tear coming to her eye,"What am I doing?" She asked herself.

"Power Bombs."

A blue alicorn mare smiled as she strung up a couple of Unicornicopians in her electrical lasso, before whipping her rope, cracking their necks.

"Grapple Beam."

A skinny alicorn stallion laughed maniacally as he spun in the air, cutting through several pegasi, before landing and whipping his yellow mane around.

"Screw Attack, Space Jump."

A rainbow colored alicorn sped through several ponies, smirking as she watched their bones crack.

"Speed Booster."

An orange maned yellow coated alicorn mare drove her burning hoof through a guard.

"Varia Suit."

A purple coated alicorn phased her hoof through a stallion, then pulled out his heart,

"Wave Beam."

An alicorn laughed as he fired several straight shots at the guards,

"Spazer Beam."

An alicorn breathed frost as he walked through the halls, freezing the ground and the Unicornicopians he walked through.

"Ice Beam."

A green alicorn mare sat back, looking at a row of ponies before firing a burst of magic through them. A cruel smile came across her face as she watched the Unicornicopians scream in pain.

"Plasma Beam."

A blue alicorn mare with a light blue mane and tail walked through, several ponies being crushed as her horn glowed. She stopped as Princess Luna stood in front of her. Luna looked on in shock as the mare stood taller than her, even though the alicorn was a quadruped.

"Gravity Suit."

The stallion at the throne room could barely speak before Celestia as his upper jaw and hand were removed in an instant. A white alicorn mare with a flowing pink mane and tail stood in front of him.

The mare looked up at the,"They let children rule?" She asked, looking at Celestia,"Things certainly have changed."

"Hyper Beam."

Luna stepped back from the creature, her eyes looking to the fallen soldiers and then back to the alicorn. Her eyes were narrowed in anger and rage, "Who are you and-"

"Why have you trespassed into this castle?" Celestia asked, her ears flickering to the sounds of ponies dying, "What is happening? What are you doing, and why did you call me a child?"

"Queen Morning Dawn of the Alicorns of Light." The white alicorn looked at Celestia,"You are a child compared to us. We are asserting our rule over this vile place. We want the world to know that we have returned from our slumber," She looked over the castle,"And we will free you from these annoyances that plague your ponies, as long as you hand over rule to me and my sister."

Nightmare frowned,"Don't do this, Child, there are so few of us true alicorns left, and I’d rather not create a martyr." Her horn glowed.

If Celestia was intimidated by the speech, she did not show. Instead, she leaned down on her knees and crossed her arms, "And what will you do with these... annoyances, should I hand over control?"

"That would be the best option, if you don't want to die. That will let me destroy these invaders personally." Dawn said, walking up to her and looking down into her eyes,"I'd rather not kill you, we true alicorns are endangered, and I want to keep you alive; however, your subjects will have to bow to my will, and worship us as the gods we truly are."

"I do not wish these ponies to treat me as a god, nor should they have to bow to you. They have a free will and spirit. Also, I do not want the invaders to die, simply see another path," Celestia said.

“Do you not understand how we are gods?" Dawn said,"We are immortal, we are powerful, we are wise. If we let these ponies see us as normal, then they will underestimate us, rebel against us, see us as weak! Do you understand? You have god-like power, you should accept it and call yourself what you are!"

Celestia got off from her throne and floated down. Then she narrowed her eyes at the mare, "I may have the powers of a god, but I have never wished to be seen as one. I believed that you can do more with the open hand than a fist. It's why I wanted to be called princess, not a queen."

They were interrupted by the sound of a single punch. The night princess flew into the throne room, being caught by Dawn’s magic and slammed in front of Celestia,"Our new abilities are a wonder to behold." She looked down at the mare,"That is no way to act. You have power, flaunt it! Show your subjects that you are a goddess and you deserve respect!" Dawn frowned,"Tell me your name, child."

"LUNA!" Celestia shouted as she watched her sister being thrown into the throne room. Looking down at her sister and then back to her, "I am Celestia von Solaris, and this this my sister. Who are you?"

Luna struggled to get back to her feet, before falling back down.

Nightmare teleported next to Dawn,"As I said, I am Queen Morning Dawn, and this is my sister Princess Nightmare." Dawn said,"You should understand your power, and let your subjects worship you as they should. I will take my leave for now, and give you time to think for a bit. If you join us, I will make you a high-ranking general, and I will treat you with respect."

"Finally doing what I want, Sister?" Nightmare asked, frowning at Dawn.

"Night, I told you I just wanted to assert my power and prove my godliness to the little alicorns! I just wanted to strike fear in these ponies!" Dawn glared at her,"I heard what you said, yes, I will go after the Champions of Harmony and the Corvid first so the princesses won't be martyrs! Yes, I am aware of Conquest! No, I don't want to kill them yet! It's called fear-mongering!"

"Yes, but I understand that you are a hot-head who never listens to me." Night said, glaring back,"I come up with an idea, only for you to shoot it down and make up your own plan. Who was the tactician in this family again?"

"You, but who knows how to run a government!?" Dawn shouted.

"You, but Mom always said I should rein you in before you murder everypony." Night said simply.

"Mom said I should correct you when you're wrong, and walk my own path, which is what I am doing, Sister!" Dawn looked at Celestia,"Younger sisters."

Celestia smiled at Luna as she helped her sister to her feet, "Yes, they can be quite a handful. Perhaps if your weren't a pony killi-"

"What is going on here!" Grand Ruler shouted as he entered the room, having just washed his hair. He looked around, seeing the alicorns, and blinked,”So, a new threat eh!?” He grinned, walking up to Morning Dawn.

Luna chuckled to herself a little at seeing this, coughing a little as she looked up at Celestia,”HE doesn’t stand a chance.”

Celestia calmly nodded.

“So, what? You gonna gloat some more!? I should let you know that I am Grand Ruler, and I have the best army in United Equestria!”

Morning Dawn raised an eyebrow at this,”You’re kidding right?”

“Yes! Give me a minute to bring Lightning here, and we’ll wait for your monster!”

“How about I kill you now?” Dawn said with a frown.

Grand Ruler blinked, before stepping back,”Well, I, er, that is, if you do, you’d, er, go against every good villain in existence!”

Dawn walked slowly towards him.

“Oh, crap. Uniforce!” He raised his arms up and fired a single blue beam of light at her... to no effect.

“I cannot believe I’m being accosted by an invader who blasphemes by wearing three horns." Her legs produced blades of light as she flew at Ruler to cut deep into his sides and then into his horns, making them spark from the damage. Then she vanished only to reappear to punch him in the back of the head. As he laid on the ground, she planted her hoof on his back,"I will give you time to think about this, Child." She said, looking back up at Celestia, or rather glaring behind her, before she and Nightmare teleported away with the rest of their race.

Goldwin appeared behind Celestia,"Take Luna and see me in your quarters." he whispered in her ear. He was inexplicably grinning.

Celestia nodded, "Luna come."

"Yes, let attendants handle the moron." Luna said, smiling at the fetal Unicornicopian, before following Godwin.

Goldwin lead them to Celestia's quarters. His body began to change shape, into a familiar draconequus,"After I explain this, you might want to warn your Elements." Discord said with a smile

“What?!" Luna stood back,"He's, but when, how!? When did-"

"I'll explain later," Celestia said, before turning to her lover. "I'll tell them.”

Discord chuckled at Luna's reaction before snapping his fingers, making a theatre appear. He sat them down into nice comfy seats and gave them buckets of popcorn as a projector showed a group of alicorns fighting,

"Long ago, while your parents were toddlers, there were two factions of alicorns:Those of light, who thought themselves gods and ruled with an iron hoof, and those of darkness, who thought their ponies should be free to rule themselves. As you could probably guess, they went to war over these viewpoints. How droll.” Discord rolled his eyes.

“ They continually fought each other until I," A mini-Discord appeared,"came along and, thinking that the alicorns of light were boring, decided to fight them myself. I was a brash kid back then.." Discord was fighting Morning Dawn on screen,

"Then, since I was so young and inexperienced, I decided to trap them, not something I’d do now, mainly because I realized I couldn't defeat them." It showed Discord turning the alicorns into trees,"I put them on Isle Valhalla in a palace of my own making so they wouldn't break out because of some wacky villain. Apparently, some wacky villain decided to break them out."

Celestia put a hand to her chin, "But who could've released them. And why and how? Did you put up barriers to stop... they faded when you had to go on that little trip to search for the darkness, didn't it?"

"What?" Luna asked.

"Discord’s death was all an act. He was actually on a mission from me to hunt down this impending darkness that I felt was coming," Celestia said.

"Of course! my barriers were supposed to be up for 1,105 years! But..." He frowned,"That time came and went, no thanks to you two stoning me the first time! However, I had no worries initially, because everyone forgot about them, until now."

"I see, " Luna said, putting it under 'things to have a long talk with her sister later' "it is strange, that the dictators represented light in this fight.

Discord looked at Luna,"Well, sometimes light can keep you on the straight path, but darkness can allow you to face the unknown." He emphasized this with a light emanating from a chain in one hand, and a dark ball of wild energy in another.

Luna nodded and lower her head, "You are r-" she mumbled her words about him being right as if it burned her tongue.

“Come again?” Discord leaned in to Luna’s face.

“You’re ri-” Luna coughed.

“One more time?” Discord brought out a microphone.

“You’re right.” Luna said finally, before glaring at Discord.

“Eee!” Discord gave Luna a hug,”Now we’re starting our first steps to friendship!” He held her sideways,”We’ll be two peas in a pod!”

“I want out.” The unamused alicorn growled.

"Are there any more books on them? do you know their names?" Celestia interrupted, looking to Discord.

“You may be able to find something on them in Starswirl's old library. I can also tell you that they were using powers that they never had before. As for their names, well, it wouldn’t be very fun if I told you, now is it?” Discord gave a wink

Luna growled"So all we know is that they are all extremely powerful and nearly unbeatable. What do you think she mean by the Corvid?" Luna asked. "Are they not extinct in this time?"

Discord put a claw to his chin,"There might be one more Corvid than you'd think, if she’s called that." He smiled,"But you'll have to find that out on your own!"

"One more..." Celestia whispered to herself.

Luna looked back to the throne room, "I wonder if he has finished crying yet."

"Great," the Unicornicopian guard said, placing his hands on his hips as he watched Grand Ruler cry while rocking in a fetal position,"This is just embarrassing!" He leaned down,"I better get you to a hospital, my... liege."

Samus gave a low growl, shaking her head,"No." She muttered,"No." She roared,"Not again!” She shouted into the heavens,”That’s it!” She spun and tried to punch a random tree knocking it down in one punch

Applejack watched the tree fell down. She looked at Samus, noting her strange armor and space ship. Her eyes glared at her.

Samus looked at her,”Oh, was that your-” she was interrupted by Applejack

"Ah don't know who the buck you are, but if you want a fight so bad, Ah can oblige ya!" and with that, she punched Samus in the helmet.

Samus gasped and removed her suit, revealing a yellow coated mare dressed in a blue suit, and she let Applejack hit her in the face,(Didn't want her to hurt her hand too badly) She thought before smirking as she moved her head with the fists,"Oh, you don't know who you're dealing with!" Samus punched her in the stomach.

When Samus punched her, Applejack fell onto her back and then bucked her in the stomach to knock her into a tree. Getting up from the floor,”Sugacube, you don’t know who you’re dealing with!” Applejack flicked her nose and waved her hand to Samus, beckoning her to get some.

Samus spat out a leaf, before getting up and cracking her knuckles, and then punched Applejack into another tree.

Applejack let out a grunt as she hit the tree, leaving a giant wound in the bark. When she looked back, she growled, "Rosemary! That was the tree my sister planted you bitch!" rushing in, she punched Samsu twice in the gut and then uppercutted her.

Apple Bloom stopped walking by and watched as the two squared off.

Samus leaned back and sputtered,"How can you- never mind!" She punched her twice in the chest before kneeing her in the chin.

The knee to her chin made Applejack stumble back. Looking up, her eyes narrowed in anger and then proceeded to roundhouse the side of Samus three times, before spinning around, planting her hands onto the ground and bucking Samsu into the chest and through some of the trees.

Samus grunted as she got up, pushing some of the trees off, and rolled her shoulders. She growled as she ran at Applejack, and proceeded to do a spinning back kick into AJ's side, before doing a spinning back fist into her face, then Samus punched Applejack in the stomach three times before sending two fists into her torso.

Applejack winced in pain from the series of blows and hits. Taking a step back, she blocked a few more of Samus's punches and then began to roundhouse her, watching her own kick get intercepted by Samus. The two had their legs lock for a few seconds, allow the two to lock eyes on each other. Applejack then smirked as she disengaged her leg from her and then shoulder rammed Samus, grabbed her and side kicked Samsu into the air and landing in a lake. Then Applejack ran at the lake and leapt into the water.

Samus swam towards Applejack, her fists in front of her as she grabbed Applejack and wrestled her across the lake.

As Applejack and Samus wrestle, the mare pulled her head back and began to head Samus repeatedly. Their struggled and wrestling in the water began to splash the water around in huge waves, getting much of the soil and ground wet.
Apple Bloom watched the battle in awe, running up and climbing a tree to get a better view,”So cool!” Then she heard a noise. She looked down to see her elder brother looking very stern

The struggle then ended with Applejack sliding across the water and onto the beach, where she go back up. Smirking, she said, "So, was that round 2 or one? Because I lost count.”

Samus walked out onto the beach, spitting out water,"I don't know either!" She jumped up and punched at Applejack as the other mare began to get up.

Applejack grabbed the punch and then threw her through another tree and charged at her. Delivering a flurry of blows and punches and kicks, matching Samus for a bit as the began to trade blows.

Apple Bloom cheered on her sister as she sat on Big Mac’s shoulders.

Samus growled as the fists began to blur in a fit of intense speed. She could just barely hear the cheers of who she assumed to be the mare's little sister until she was backed up near a cellar.

After blocking one last punch, Applejack leapt up and and did a flying roundhouse into Samus's chest, sending her flying back into the cellar. Growling, she leapt into the cellar after Samus. Finding a bottle, she smirked, "Bet ya getting very tired, ain't ya," she said, drinking the bottle slowly, enjoying the taste.

Samus took one of the bottles that fell onto her as she slammed into one of the crates, and opened it by smashing the cap against the box,"Not at all." She drank it,"Mmm, this is good."

Applejack didn't notice the buzz she was getting as she popped the top of her next bottle, and then in one gulp chugged the drink down, "Yeah, Apple family best. Ain't known a mare or stallion alive that can resist its *Hic* taste." Lazily she threw a punch, only to miss Samus and grabbed another bottle behind her. Then she pulled it away ,"Take this for instance, I remember when pop made it. Said Ah should drink it when I meet a good sparring buddy!" she chugged that one and began to sway back and forth

Samus laughed as she began to drink,"I like your pop! You know, I heard that if you fight for a while, your constitution goes down the crapper!" She wobbled a little.

"Really, Ah don't...Ah don't," she fell to her butt, another bottle landing in her open hand, "Don't believe it for a minute. Ah had been fighting you for a minute... or thirty and Ah feel as strong as ever, "with another swig,she looked at Samus, "Why wuz we fighting?"

Samus shook her head as she drank some more before falling next to AJ,"I'm not sure..."

"You know, my paw has always said, when you forget the fighting, it's cause you drinkin. And Ah don't know, but ah think we fought into the secret stash of the cider. You know, the booze! The stuff we reserve for weddings, reunions, and those little things that happen every year, what ya call em?"

Samus hiccuped,"Birthdays? I don't know." She took another bottle,"I think you have to make some more, we're about to run out!"

Some time later, Rainbow Dash flew over the destruction,"What the hey happened here?" She asked herself, before hearing the singing from the secret cider stash.

Apple Bloom called from down below,”Applejack had this really awesome fight with this alien!”

Rainbow blinked,”Alien!?” She flew down towards the singing.

"Oh,hey Dashie," Applejack slurred as the pegasus entered the now empty bottle filled cellar. "Ah was just drinking and boozing with me good friend... Badass!”

Samus hiccuped as she rocked back forth with Applejack,"Actually, it's Samus Aran, but Badass works too!"

Rainbow looked around, grabbing the last bottle,"And you didn't invite me?" she said, before popping the cap and taking a drink,"Seriously!"

Applejack laughed out loud, "Well, it because there wasn't enough for you! Now, you can come on back later and maybe we might have another fight and the bottles will come back, ain’t that right, Badass?”

Samus nodded,"Yeah, they'll just magically appear!"

Dash shook her head,"Well, I wouldn't be able to get drunk, anyway. How about you sober up and come to the library, we've got an emergency Element meeting." She said, taking off,"I wish I was a part of that fight..." she mumbled under her breath.

Applejack nodded, "Right, Ah think ah'll go see Carrot Top and" she slurred a little, "And go catch up. Come on Samus, you need her drink too."

Samus muttered as she got up,"Carrot Top? The unfunny guy from the holotapes?!”

Carrot Top sighed as she looked at her farm. It had felt lonely and she wanted to go out and do more. There were so many ponies she knew that needed her, and she wanted to be with them. As she sighed, she heard, "Yo Carrot!" Applejack said "Need two of your hangover cures. Now!"

"Sure!" Carrot said, walking to her house, "Oh, and is that a new friend of yours?"

"Yep, the name is Samus! She’s a great you know... things." she said as Carrot came back with two drinks.

"Here we are!".

Applejack quickly drank her’s down, "Ughh, nasty. Thanks."

Samus stared at the color,”It’s green.” She shook her head and drank it. She coughed for a few seconds,"Damn, what is this thing made of!?"

"Lemon Juice, Razzleberry, and two drops of lazylilly essence. So, don't operate heavy machinery for a while," Carrot Top said.

"Well, I have a suit of high-tech powered armor, does that count?" Samus joked. She looked at Applejack,"I'll go with you on that emergency, I can't resist the sound of danger."

"You sound like a friend of mine," Applejack smirked as she led Samus down the path towards the Golden Oaks Memorial library.

The two walked down the road to Ponyville(Who came up with that name? Samus asked herself). However,Samus' ears twitched before looking behind her,"I feel like I'm being watched."

"HELLO!" The big pair of blue eyes said.

Samus gasped as she stepped back,"Sweet heavens, where did you come from!?"

"A rock farm," The pink pony said. bouncing around Samus, "So, Applejack who is your new friend? I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"This is Samus Aran." Applejack said watching Pinkie bounce, then she noticed Pinkie's back. "Pinkie where's your-"

"So, after this meeting is done, I am going to have to throw you an awesome party," Pinkie said, smiling up a storm

"Pinkie Pie? Apt name." Samus muttered,"Sure, I don't mind a random party." She looked at Applejack,"Something up?"

"I was wondering where her wings were," Applejack said.

Pinkie smiled and bounced away, "Oh, they were itchy so I took them off!"

Samus frowned,”Wings aren’t something you can just-”

A loud scream came from their right.

"What was that?!" Applejack asked, looking to the scream. Applejack looked to the distance and noticed that it was just outside of Ponyville, “It came from there!”

Pinkie Pie felt her thigh and arm, "Huh, that's new. Never felt that one" she said, bouncing off towards the sound of the scream.

Samus’ suit appeared in a flash of light,”Let’s go!” She ran off with them.

As they wan to the sound of the screaming, and pleading, they made their way to the outskirts of town, a few miles away from Sweet Apple Acres.

As they neared the house, Applejack mutter, "That's Lightning' s house, but what could-"

"No, please, don't!" screamed Starla.

Pinkie eyes went wide as she realized what was happening. Applejack just growled and ran through the open door. Her emerald eyes looked over the carnage of the room, where strewn about was torn clothes, and broken arrows. She also saw some blood, and upstairs she could hear the voice of Lightning Dawn screaming out an attack, only to scream in pain and a wall break. Following her lead, the three mares ran upstairs to the room of the Unicornicopians and gasped. Lighting was down on the floor, chains binding him while he watched helplessly at Starla. The white unicornicopian cried as she was violated by the being on top, "What the-"

"Oh hi!" the rapist said, his black coat contrasting with his red mane. With a flap of his wings, he said, "I will talk in a minute, got to finish up here!" he moaned, finishing off his victim. Sitting on the bed, he smiled and waved, "Hi there, the name is Dark Conquest. I came..."

After a few minutes, Applejack snarled, "And?"

"And I also arrived on your little dimension to introduce myself to world's champion. Now let's see, you must be Abbigail Jacqueline the Third, formerly of the Element of Honesty and overall annoyance with her little self--determination. You must be Pinkamena Diane Pie, formerly of Laughter... though that is a bit of a misnomer now... isn't it? And you," he pointed to Samus, and smiled, breathing in deeply as if he was smelling the most delicious thing ever.

Samus growled, running in front of Starla and shooting her armcannon at Conquest, who dodged to the back wall, before snickering,"Dark Conquest? What, was Evil Tyranny taken?" She frowned, firing on him again,"My name is Samus Aran."

"Evil Tyranny is my uncle," Conquest rolled to the side and stood in front of Lightning Dawn, pulling his pants up, "Oh, I know who you are. I have seen you before, a few times. You are positively brimming with my most favorite energy of all!"

"What do you mean energy?" Applejack looked at him, bringing her fists up.

"Hatred of course. It's what brought me to this little dimension of yours, it's pure and unadulterated hate that just plumes from every corner. It's like a banquet in here. Of course Samus would know all about that. Well, that's what the girls say of course.

Samus charged her beam with yellow energy,"What are you talking about? What girls?"

"Oh, the girls that had an unfortunate run in with you. You don't know the amount of blood on you-"

"Shut up!" Applejack said, standing with Samus, "Ah don't know what you are going on about, but unless you have some proof on ya, Ah am going to kick your ass for lying."

"Fine ,fine," Conquest said, waving his hand, "Besides, sammy over there looks like she wants to add to her big kill count, don't ya?"

Samus gave a low growl,"You don't know a damn thing about me."

"I know more than you think, sweetie cakes," Conquest smiled. "But, right now, I don't want to fight. I just wanted to get little Thundar out and play for a bit. I was gonna take Starla, but I will take my consolation prize!" he then reached down and picked up Lightning.

"What are you-"

"No, Lightning!" shouted Starla as she began to pull away from Pinkie, just as Conquest disappeared in a blinding flash of dark magic.

(He named his dick? What a weenie.) Samus thought to herself before looking at Starla and kneeling down to wrap an arm around her.

Starla said nothing, leaning into the shoulder of Samus, letting out whimpers as she rubbed her face. In between her whimpers she could barely say, "My, fault, my fault. So weak..."

Pinkie slid close to Starla and held her as well, letting the unicorpian cry. Taking her pink hand, he gently rubbed Starla's back. "It's going ok. It's not your fault at all. It's not."

Applejack frowned and put her hat over eyes and snarled.

Samus looked down at her armcannon,"We'll get back at him." She whispered,"Let's get you cleaned up, and take you to the hospital."

"Thank you," Starla whimpered, just before finally falling asleep.

Applejack growled, saying "No one deserved that."

"Come on, I know where it is," Pinkie said, calmly. she helped Samsu carry her out.

Samus frowned,"You knew this Lightning?" she asked as she went towards the hospital,"And who this poor girl was?”

Pinkie was unusually quiet, with allowed Applejack to talk, "Lightning Dawn was the Supreme Allied commander in chief, just right below the dictator of our country, Grand Ruler. He is this supposed super being called an Enticorn, and head of our team Starfleet. We never got a long well. And Starla there... is his wife," Applejack looked over and sighed. "Ah have other opinions of her, but right now Ah think it would be disgusting if Ah said them."

Samus nodded,"Of course." Then the buzzword registered in her mind,"Dictator?"

"What else do ya call the guy who comes into your country, forces you to look like this, tells you that your beliefs are flat out wrong, that they are trying to protect you and they aren't bossing you around even though they constantly remind you that they are the superior breed by fact, and marries your princess just to make sure he has all of the power?" Applejack asked, the venom obivous in her voice.

"Okay, that right there tells me that this guy's bad news." Samus let the doctors take Starla,"I read about evil dictators like that in the history books: They never last long." She looked at Applejack,"I can take this guy out if you want? Along with stopping that Conquest guy and getting your princess back to power. All it requires is starting a little rebellion."

"And what, get all of Unicornicopia on our hides? Celestia married him so we wouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves. And Ah have a feeling we are going to need to focus on kicking this guy's can. We need to get Starfleet on our side," Applejack said. "And killing Grand Ruler ain't gonna do it."

Pinkie Pie looked back, "Girls, I... I am going stay with Starla for a bit and make sure she's ok. You go to that meeting."

"Are you sure?" Applejack asked.

Pinkie Pie nodded, "Go.'

Samus nodded,"Do what you need to do," She looked at Applejack as she walked with her,"Alright. Seems like a bullshit government thing, but I'll deal with that. Fighting Conquest will be the first priority. Is there anything else about this world I should know about?"

"Let's see, our world sun and moon is controlled by two alicorns, we have a third princess who is in an empire not too far off, and we didn't always look like this," she said, flexing her fingers.

Samus nodded,"I've noticed. Your bodies don't exactly look natural. Speaking of which," She looked at herself at a passing by window,"Ah! Why my hair green!?" She looked back at Applejack,"Freak out over my appearance over, carry on."

"There are two teams that you need to know about there-" Applejack began but was interrupted by a white unicorn.

"My word, Applejack, a new companion and you did not introduce me? Greetings miss," Rarity smiled, and then gave a curtsy, "My name is Rarity Belle, and you are?"

Samus held out her hand,"Samus Aran, I am a space bounty hunter. I heard you have an emergency?"

"Well, I was told that there was a meeting in the library from Celestia about some events that happened yesterday. That is what I was heading for, and what were you doing Applejack?" Rarity asked.

"Telling her a little about the planet," Applejack said.

Rarity smiled, "I see, well, allow me. Since it seems that Pinkie is not here. Why?"

"She is busy with a friend, I'll tell you more later," Applejack said looking away.

Rarity nodded i understanding, "Well, there are two teams. Starfleet, which is a big military organization that we 'joined', and then there are the bearers, which consists of myself, Applejack, Rainbow Dash- a pegasus that you will meet-, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy."

"She is coming, right?" Applejack asked.

Rarity shook her head sadly."

"Is there a reason why she won't?" Samus asked.

"Her husband," Rarity said plainly.

"Her husband keeps being overprotective of her, keeping her locked up," Applejack said.

"Oh..." Samus turned,"Where does she live? I'll... convince this guy to let her go."

Rarity smirked, along Applejack. The two looked back at each other, (Where's she from again?) Rarity whispered.

(Alien ship, crashed landed back home,) Applejack whispered.

(So it would be technically a kidnapping?) Rarity whispered back.

Applejack nodded (Yeah, but how long could we keep the lie up?)

(Talk it over later,) Rarity said before walking along with Samus, "In a cottage on the outside of town." she said as they neared the library.

Inside of a metal pyramid, a mare sat naked in a fetal position. She breathed in before getting up, causing the lights to come on. The purple alicorn looked around, covering her eyes before they adjusted, and she saw the trees surrounded by large metal walls pulsating with green lines. She then felt her body,"I'm whole again!?" She looked over her purple body, and starburst cutie mark,”But... how!?”

"Twilight Sparkle," A voice came from above. Twilight looked up and saw a large blue bird looking down at her,"This world is in grave danger."

Twilight got up and looked around at the field,"Where am I? Who are you? Are you the one who made me whole?"

"You are in a place eons old, filled with ancient technology." The bird said,"I am a Corvid spirit, sent here to give you aid. I have brought your emotions and logic together prematurely in order to combat the changes in this universe."

"Changes?" Twilight asked.

"Changes that would have killed your emotions before you could come back. However, this was too soon." The Corvid said,"You are only at 10% of your power."

Twilight gasped. She breathed in, and attempted to use telekinesis on a small rock,"My magic is weak! Is there anyway I can get it back?" She looked up with worried eyes.

"Yes, I have already figured a way for you to get stronger, but that is something you must find out on your own." The Corvid said with a smile.

Twilight walked around,"Now you're sounding like Celestia." Twilight said with a smile,"Not that that's a bad thing." She removed some foliage, and looked at a door.

"I will give you access to this structure." The Corvid said, making the door slide open,"There is a lifepod I want you to recover before you leave. One more thing," The Corvid floated down and put a claw on Twilight's back,"Go to Luna and Trixie first, not your friends."

Twilight spun around,"Why-" She blinked, noticing that he was gone,"Where...?" She sighed, turning and walking through the door. She looked around and noticed various life pods, many with skeletons inside,"These are pony-shaped. How long ago was this place made?" She asked herself, before noticing one pod with power flowing through it. She walked over and waved her hand over it to wipe off the condensation, and gasped,"She's alive!"

Luna stepped out of the meeting room with Celestia, a hand on her chin, "There is one other thing that bothers me, sister."

"And what is that?" Celestia asked.

"Conquest," Luna sad. "Morning Star mentioned Conquest, who is he?"

"I don't know. And that has me worried," Celestia said, walking to a window. "What kind of threat would be noticeable by an alicorn god that she would give out his name as a warning to us."

"Perhaps it wasn't a warning, but a list of opponents, "Luna said.

"Then he is on our watch as well. IF she gave him a name, then she sees him as an enemy," Celestia said. " He might even be the darkness-"

"What darkness?" Luna asked, and heard Celestia sigh.

"About a few years ago, before Equestria blew up, me and Discord felt something. A darkness that lied beyond our world, one that was getting bigger and swiftly approaching."

"I assume that this is after you and Discord began your secret love affair? You will have to tell me more about that as well," Luna said with a frown.

Celestia nodded, "I decided to send him out to investigate it. Covertly of course and that is why it looked like he died. I will tell you more later. For now...I want you to get your little team together and work to overthrow Grand Ruler. I have a feeling we need to remove Grand Ruler from the playing field if we are to beat either Conquest or these alicorns.” She left Luna to go to her room.

As Luna entered her room, Twilight's voice came out from a chair within the shadows,"So, planning a little rebellion?"

"Who's there," Luna turned around and saw Twilight sitting there. Her eyes narrowed as she began to let her horn glow, "No illusion magic. Your aura is exactly the same. Twilight Sparkle? How?! How can this be? You are dead. I saw you bloody corpse myself!!!"

Twilight's eyes shined in the dark,"I'm not too sure myself, but I'm here now, though not at my full strength." She smiled,"But if you're starting a rebellion, count me in, I even know of a nice place we can use as a base."

"I am planning on one, and we can use an extra hand. I am glad to have you on our side. Just know, you being this... you will not see your friends for a while."

"Of course." Twilight nodded,"I know that in my weakened state, they would worry too much about me. This is for the best."

Luna sat down, "I am glad you understand." she then levitated to Twilight some tea, "So, tell me about this base."

"Well, I woke up in this pyramid that contained tons of ancient technology. This thing that called itself a Corvid said it helped revive me and then it gave me control of the facility. I have yet to explore a lot of it, but I have seen strange things in there like a keyboard attached to a screen, a sort of laser pistol, and a lifepod containing an alicorn mare." Twilight explained, sipping her tea,"That mare is interesting, I wonder if you could access her dream."

"How interesting is she?" Luna asked. "What did you discover."

"Well, she looks normal, but I took a look at her console, and the pod said that she was asleep for 10,000 years." Twilight explained,"Her coat's strangely feathery, and her horn is slightly curved. The odd thing is that she's pale colored with a black mane. I couldn't see if she had a cutie mark though."

"10,000 years is indeed well before my time, even further back than my mother. I will go and check her dreams. Now what else can you tell me about this base, defenses and such."

"It's made out of some strange, tough metal. I also found a battery of some turrets plus a rocket gatling cannon." Twilight said,"Those will have to be fixed up, though."

"And I trust you are looking forward to fixing those, are you not?" Luna asked with a coy smile.

Twilight squealed,"Oh, yes!" She grinned,"I can't wait to work on the technology in there!"

"Very well," Luna said getting up. "Tomorrow, you will show me this base and we can tidy it up. Afterwards, we gather the team. I will have to show you their dossiers of course. I think you will like them."

Twilight nodded as she walked to the window,"I would love that."

Luna put her hand onto her shoulder, "Your friends will be fine without your aid for now Twilight. They are quite strong."

Twilight sighed,"I still wish I could stand with them now. I feel like I'm abandoning them in their greatest time of need. Who else could help them?"

Samus knocked on the door to the cottage,"Special Delivery!"

The door opened to reveal Rhymey,”Yes?”

“Is Fluttershy home?” Samus asked.

“Well, yes she is, but I’m afraid she can’t come out, if that’s what you’re asking.” Rhymey said with a false smile. He held his Ward Sword behind his back, thinking to himself(I do not know this mare, she may be a new enemy. Hmph, I’ll destroy her easily if that’s the case.)

Samus frowned, stepping closer,”I don’t think you understand, she needs to be out with her friends, it’s quite urgent.”
Rhymey frowned,”Look, she’s very shy, and very fragile.” His eyes bore into hers(You’ll be under my spell in less than 10 seconds, then you’ll leave.)

Samus took another step,”I’m pretty sure she can steel her resolve for her companions. Now, let her go.”

Rhymey smirked,”You don’t want her to come with you.”

“Yes I do.” Samus said, her eyes narrowing.

Rhymey’s smile faded,”Um, stop.” He said, stepping backward.

“Let. Her. Go.” Samus said, stomping forward, backing Rhymey up again.

“Um, run, I’m a very high ranking soldier of Unicornicopia, I’m quite strong!” Rhymey said(Why isn’t it working!?)

“And I’m a bounty hunter. I don’t give a shit. Let her go.” Samus glared at him,”Or do I have to get nasty?”

(No! No one has this much willpower in them! Even Applejack fell after 30 minutes, what’s with this mare!?) Rhymey panted heavily,”Do you understand what I-I-I’ve done!? I’ve saved this world several times!”

“I’ve destroyed a space pirate base, saved the galaxy from a space poison, darkness, and space parasites. I also prevented a space dragon from creating a plague of black holes to destroy the galaxy, and an evil clone of myself from devastating everything in existence. Your point?” Samus stared straight into his eyes.

Rhymey’s eyes became filled with fear as he whipped out the sword from behind his back, and swung at her,”Die!”

Samus grabbed the sword inches from her face with two of her left fingers,”No.” She broke the sword.

Rhymey gasped in fear as Samus drew closer, backing him to the wall,”No, please, I’m sorry, don’t kill me!”

Samus’ eyes narrowed,”You’re not worth killing.”

Rhymey’s eyes widened in shock,”What!? How dare-” He was stopped as Samus picked him up by the collar.
“Where is she?” Samus said.

“Upstairs, in her room.” Rhymey said immediately.

“Good!” Samus said with a smile and then dropped him on his behind.

Samus turned and walked towards the stairs, leaving Rhymey seething(Who is she? Being able to resist my spell!? I’ll show her.) He slowly got up and snuck up behind Samus, before the huntress spun to look at him. This caused Rhymey to step back towards a corner, and curl up,”I’ll stay here.” he said in a high-pitched voice.

Samus gave an affirmative nod, before walking up the stairs. She smelled the air around her, catching the scent of a particular perfume from a door to the left. She knocked on it.

“Excuse me, little one, I’ll be right back.” Fluttershy’s quiet voice came from the door. The door slowly opened to reveal Fluttershy’s face,”Yes?”

“Hi, I’ve come on the behalf of your friends.” Samus said with a smile, before a squeaking came from Fluttershy’s room. A small yellow squirrel with bunny ears ran by Fluttershy’s legs and up to Samus,”Pyonchi!” She smiled as she picked it up,”You must’ve fallen off of the ship.” She petted it.

Fluttershy smiled,”Oh, he’s yours? You must be Ms. Aran.” She walked out,”Um, my friends need me?”

Samus nodded,”Yeah, let’s just say I’m kidnapping you from the idiot.”

Fluttershy blinked,”What did you do-” She then heard the sound of whimpering from kitchen.

“Scared him somehow.” Samus shrugged,”Must be that mind control he was trying on me.”

“Oh my!” Fluttershy gasped.

“Yeah. Come on.” Samus said, gently taking Fluttershy’s hand.

"Oh no, help me. Eeeeeeeee!" Fluttershy screamed as Samus ran to the town.

Rainbow Dash flew alongside Samus and looked oddly at her, "Well, didn’t expect to see you here, and rescuing Fluttershy." Dash said.

Fluttershy smiled at Dash, 'OH hello Rainbow Dash. I am being kidnapped by this girl. Could you save me?"

"Sure," Dash held out her arms and the yellow mare leapt into Dash's arms with a giggle. "Well, as long as I am here, might as well fly her to the meeting. Hey lady, you didn't need to kidnapp her." Dash then whispered (Yes you did, thanks) Then she looked to the civilians, "It's ok. It was a misunderstanding. This girl thought Flutters was in trouble. So pay no attention to us!!"

Samus raised her hands up,"Yep, I'm terribly sorry, it is merely my duty as a knight to help ponies! Those instincts tend to take over!" She whispered(No problem.) She said as she followed Rainbow Dash.

After a few minutes of flying, Fluttershy blushed and said, "You can put me down now."

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Dash chuckled as she placed Fluttershy down.

"So, who is our new visitor?" Fluttershy asked, playing with her mane a little, "I don't think I have seen her around.

"Well, Applejack said that her name is Samus and she comes from Space. they apparently had a cool fight that I missed out on!" Dash growled.

"Oh,. my name is Fluttershy, hello," Fluttershy said.

(Shy is right. How do these ponies come up with these names!?)"Hey." Samus said with a smile,"I'm Samus Aran, a bounty hunter. By the way," She looked behind her,"Your 'husband''s been hypnotizing you, that language of his isn't natural. You might want to stay away from him, or try to divorce him."

"Ha! I knew it!" Dash smirked. "I knew there was something wrong with him?"

"Hypnotizing, how?" Fluttershy then shook her head. "And I would divorce him, but I can't."

"OH, don't tell me you still love him," Dash grumbled.

Fluttershy shook her head, "No, I mean I legally can't."

"He's using his rhymes as a means of getting in your head." Samus said,"Some species rhyme naturally as a way of speaking, however others can rhyme to get what they want, like a lover or a soldier. It's not an often used form of hypnosis, but it's very effective on the less-trained. I only know about it because my caretakers, the Chozo, told me ways of detecting and combating it." She clenched her fists,"Figures, in a dictatorship like this, it's not easy to make choices.."

"Ok, that is awesome,' Dash said. Then looked at Fluttershy, "What do you mean, legally?"

"Divorced isn't looked well upon in United Equestria. As in it's very illegal," Fluttershy said. "I need to prove it that he is doing it."

"If he's high-ranking, then it's unlikely we could prove it without a kangaroo court ruling in his favor." Samus growled, before looking at the library,"And that's a literal tree house."

"Yep," Rainbow Dash smiled as she walked up, "The Golden Oaks Memorial Library! They wanted to build a statue here, but Mayor Mare said it wa better to have a library here instead," she said as she opened the door.

As the door opened, they saw Applejack leaning against the wall, Rarity was sitting on a cushion, with a seat for Dash and Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie followed in, "How is she?" Applejack asked.

"The doctors did what they could, she's asleep right now. They did what they could, cleaned her up and ran some tests. They said they'll find out more later," Pinkie said, sitting down, her mane looking a little limp.

"Who, Pinkie?" Rarity asked.

Before Pinkie could say more, a blinding sun flash appeared in the room. After a moment, Celestia appeared, "My little ponies. I am glad that you are here. There is much to be discuss here, alone." Her eyes then looked to Samus as she stepped in, "And you are."

Samus covered her eyes at the flash before looking at Celestia,"Holy cow! Wavy mane of pastel hair, wings, unicorn horn, royal attire, you are either a goddess of femininity, or you're the princess." She saluted,"Samus Aran, bounty hunter. Heard you wanted an emergency meeting, figured I could help."

"Princess Celestia," Celestia said, shaking Samus hand. Then she looked to the others sitting there, and sighed when she saw a missing spot. "My ponies, there is a grave matter we must discuss."

"Is it about a guy named Dark Conquest?" Samus asked, sitting at the wall with her arms crossed.

"Dark Conquest?" Celestia asked, her mind thinking back to Dawn’s words.

"Yeah, he's this black alicorn that appeared last night and attacked Starla," Applejack said.

Rarity looked at her friend, "Is she alright?"

"She meant 'attacked’," Pinkie said, looking away.

A look of horror came to Rarity’s eyes as she gasped, “That monster!”

"He also kidnapped Lighting Dawn," Applejack said.

Celestia put a hand to her chin, "This is troubling, because this stallion was not what I wanted to talk about.

Samus crossed her arms and leaned against the wall,"Okay then, what is it?"

"Several hours ago, Canterlot Castle was attacked by small herd of alicorns, each possessing a powerful ability," Celestia then used her magic to create a hologram of the alicorns.

"Oh my, was anyone hurt?" Fluttershy asked.

Celestia frowned and nodded, "Many lives were lost."

"What do they want?" Applejack asked.

"To prove their dominance over us."

Samus looked at the alicorns,"Okay, I know what's going on." She looked at Celestia,"These alicorns must have my suit's abilities." She looked around the room,"When I got here, I was attacked by some strange force that took my suit's upgrades away from me, now I know where they went." She growled,"You definitely need my help, I know how my suit's abilities work."

"Do you have an idea what this force was, Samus?" Celestia asked, her hand on her chin.

"I'm afraid I don't. The thing was in shadow and it had hooves, but that's all I can say." Samus frowned.

Celestia nodded, "I see. And now onto what you saw. This, Dark Conquest?"

"He appeared several hours ago and took Lighting, said he wanted to introduce himself to us."

"It could mean that he is preparing an attack on us all," Celestia said.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Bucking great, now we have to deal with homicidal alicorns and Conquest. The day is getting better."

"It is hard, we don't know where these alicorns are or when they will strike. The same is to be said of Conquest. Samus, would you mind staying here and helping them fight the alicorns the moment you find yout anything you can? Perhaps by working together, we can make both our lives easier."

Pinkie wanted to say something, then she looked to the empty pillow and sighted.

Samus smiled,"Of course I'll help!" She looked at Pinkie,"Is something wrong?"

"Um, nothing, just thinking." She let out a sighe.

Celestia stood op, "Let me know if you can find any of these alicorns. I have to prepare in case of a war." and with that, she vanished.

Applejack put her hand on Pinkie's shoulder, "Ah know Pinkie. Ah know.

Samus looked at them, and frowned,(I know that look in her eyes, the look of someone who's seen too much of death and war. This is why we shouldn’t force people into a war.)

“Well, Ah guess that means Samus is staying for a while," Applejack looked to Samsu, "Got a place or a job in mind?"

"Oh, I could help, but first need to get my cannon and...

"Um, we also have a problem," Fluttershy said.

Dash nodded, "Rhymey has mind control powers and has been using it on her."

"What?" Rarity exclaimed.

Samus looked at them,"Yeah, that Rhymey guy's been using a hypnosis trick on her, and possibly you as well." She looked at Applejack,"Well, my ship's damaged, so I'll need someplace else to stay until I can fix it, as for job? Do you have any bounty hunting guilds?"

"Mind control? On us?" Rarity asked herself.

"Probably explains a lot," Dash said. Then she thought for a moment, and shook her head, "No, he wouldn't."

"Nope, no guilds like that," Applejack said.

"Damn, guess I better find a..." She gulped, fear in her eyes,"Normal job."

"Oh, I can help with that!" Pinkie cheered.

"Wait, are we really just planning on letting Fluttershy go back to asswipe and get mind rape?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Applejack looked to Samus, "Can you do something, at least until we can expose him?”

Samus thought for a moment,"Well, we could either fake her death, give him some sort of truth potion, or we pretend that she's on a family emergency."

"We can't fake the death," Pinkie said, "Not unless we find a changeling with really good acting skills."

"That leaves us with potion or emergency," Applejack said.

Dash then smiled, "Think we can convinced Starfleet that Samus is related to her?"

"What?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, we can find a home for Samsu, and say that Fluttershy is keeping an eye on her. Grand Poobah doesn't get wind that a bounty hunter is here and Fluttershy is safe."

"Well, I can forge documents if you'd like." Samus said with a smile.

They nodded in agreement as they began to help Samus.

Lighting Dawn woke up on a bed, a collar around his neck, "So, I had this room setup for your wife...but I think you will do." Conquest said, walking to the commander.

“Honey, he looks so cute scared.” An unfamiliar mare stood to the side of the doorway, licking her lips.

“I bet it feels good, don’t it, Sweetie.” Conquest looked behind him,”All that fear feeding into you.” He looked at Lightning, and cocked his head,”You know, I think this time’s going to be fun.”

"What do you mean?" whispered Lighting as he was thrown to the bed.

Conquest slid his hand down Lighting’s pants, "Quite simply, I have a new toy."

Buddy Rose wiped his forehead as he watered his plants, muttering to himself as he picked up his watering can and smiled at the little flower,”Well, it looks like my little girl’s plant’s is looking perfectly healthy!”

“Buddy Rose.” Rhymey’s voice snarled.

Buddy sighed, looking up at the stallion,”What?”

“We need to talk. I’ve already go Dyno and Myte ready to head to Canterlot.” Rhymey said, looking back at the treebrary as Samus left with the other Elements, and shuddered,”There’s an invader in our midsts.”

Buddy pushed up his glasses,”Are you sure you really need me this time?” He looked back at his house,”I want to be here when my dau- niece comes home this time.”

“I don’t care, Rose.” Rhymey snarled,”We have to go, now!”

Buddy sighed,”Alright.”

Twilight held the dossier in her hand as she knocked on the front door. She adjusted her suit and tie. She pushed up her sunglasses,"Ms. Raindrops Sunshower?"

The door opened and there stood a little jasmine unicorn colt, "Um, you looking for my big sis..." he looked at Twilight, and then her mane, and suit. Then he backed away in fear, "Raindrops!!!!! Zombies! Like I told you!!!!"

"Zombies don't exist," Raindrops said, flying down to the bottom stairs. "You want something?"

Twilight chuckled as she entered the house,"I get that zombie comment a lot. Ponies seem to think I look like our Princess Twilight Sparkle!" She looked at Raindrops, holding a letter with Luna's seal,"We need to talk."

Raindrops's eyes opened wide when she looked at the letter, "It's time? We're starting now?" she shook her head in disbelief and nodded, "Snails,can you tell Mom and Pop I'm taking a job in Manehatten, and I’ll will be there for a while."

"Sure," Snails said, and then looked down the stairs, "You going to be all right?"

Raindrops nodded, "Yeah. I'll be back one day, don't worry little guy." Turning to look back at Twilight, she said, "Ok, let's talk."

Raindrops Sunshower:

Age: 22

Residence: Ponyville

Talent: Rain

Skill: Unusual strength for a pegasus, suspect Earth Pony DNA. Usually is blunt, but seems to be strong.

Twilight walked through the carrot fields,"Carrot Top? We need to talk, in private." She held Luna's seal.

"In private?" Carrot said, looking back at her house, "Come in please.”

Twilight walked in, giving the letter to Carrot Top, then taking some carrot juice,"I'm sure you know what this' meeting's about, right? You don't mind leaving your farm for a while?"

Carrot Top shook her head, "Not at all. there are ponies who need me and I have to be there."

Carrot Top

Age:22

Cutie mark: Carrots

Job: Farmer

Skills:Herbology, Always helpful to a fault.

As Cheerilee sat alone at her desk, Twilight walked in. She gasped,"Oh my gosh! You're grading papers! I-I don't want to get in the way of the country’s educational system! I-I'll leave this here!" She placed the letter on her desk.

"No, go ahead, I was finished anyway," she said, laying the last paper down, and frowning.

Twilight looked behind her,"Something wrong?"

"Take a look at my latest history reports from my students. We just got new textbooks today and I was told that they have the updated history," Cheerilee said, handing them to Twilight.

'Equestria was founded 6000 years ago by the three tribes who got along perfectly because they wanted to live together'

'Princess Platinum led the three tribes to the new land, she was a brave leader who loved her friends.'

'Celestia came into power 1010 years ago, before she inducted her lover to the team.'

"Changed history. According to the new books the unification of the three tribes never happened. The wars of the past never existed, and we never had to face against the cold of the Windigos. It doesn't even mention the time before Equestria! No Meg'an, no Majesty, not even such a word about Terra! IT's like they rewrote our past just to make it acceptable to them and make us Equestrians look like peaceful loving little ponies that never had a tough time in our lives! I know we aren't perfect, and as a teacher I want my students to learn about our past... warts and all."

A frown creased her face, "But that wasn't the worst. I asked my children to write a report about what they think their talent means and what they think about their future. From my oldes students, the usual :I m going to be an alicorn like Twilight, Entomology, a singer. But, my Unicornicopian students?"

she handed Twilight a paper

'I just want to serve Starfleet.'

'I don't want to change, I am fine with the way things are now.'

'I don't want anything new, I would rather be a part of Starfleet.'

"It's all the same..." Cheerilee said frowning.

Twilight crumpled up the paper in barely contained rage,"That monster, brainwashing our children." She looked at Cheerilee, taking off her sunglasses,"We're going to make him pay."

Cheerilee smiled, "I hope that means we have a plan."

Blackcherry Punch

Age: 22

Occupation: Teacher

Cutie mark: Three flowers

skill: lockpicking, laws, agility, seduction, talking, and a few others. Also can talk to ponies well.

Twilight looked at her dossier, before looking on the building before her,"No." She said, putting it away,"I can't risk making them orphans."

She then heard two Unicornicopians walk by her,"This the place?"

"Yeah, with that wall-eyed pegasus. We need to... correct her."

Twilight frowned, walking back, and knocking both of their heads together, before walking up to the door and knocking on it.

The door opened to reveal a little gray-purple unicorn with blonde mane, "Oh, are you an angel? Are you gonna help protect mommy?" she asked.

Twilight leaned down to her level, thinking for a moment,"... Yes, I'm an angel, come to see your Mom."

"Yay!!!" Dinky bounced up and down as she ran off to shout "Momma! A Twilight angel is here to see you."

Derpy flew down the stairs, "Dinky, what do you mean by a Twilight angel?" she looked up at Twilight. "Sorry ma’am, Dinky is convinced that Twilight is a guardian angel, watching over all of Ponyville. Please come on in and have a seat."

Twilight chuckled as she sat down,"It's quite alright, I tend to be mistaken for the late great Princess Twilight a lot!" She looked up at Ditzy,"Ditzy, have you had Unicornicopians come here before?"

Ditzy placed a muffin down with some hot chocolate and then nodded, "Sometimes. Like when my husband died and they wanted to take Dinky away. Or when they came over because they wanted to fix me. They would've too if Dash hadn't told them off. They just keep wanting to take over my life, and all I want to do is raise my daughters."

Twilight sighed,"Okay, because I came across them on the way here." She frowned as she placed the letter on the coffee table,"I don't want to do this, but it's your choice."

Ditzy picked up the letter, and nodded, "I knew this was going to happen. I have been kind of preparing myself for it." she looked up the stairs where Dinky was. "I know it's going to be hard, and I hate myself for it, but I have to do this so my daughter can have a happy life and we can life in peace. Sparkler is old enough, she can protect her." Ditzy said, closing the letter. Then she looked up, "Excuse me."

She walked up the stairs, and saw Dinky snuggling herself in bed, "Momma! Why do you look sad?"

"Because I have to leave you for a bit, little muffin," Ditzy said, running a hand through her daughter's man and smiling softly. "I have to go and save the kingdom, but don't tell anypony. Ok?"

"You mean you are gonna be a super cool secret agent?" Dinky asked, smiling.

Ditzy nodded, "Yes, muffin."

"Yay!" Dinky said, hugging her mom "Don't worry momma, I'll keep an eye on the house and Sparkler while you are gone."

Ditzy nodded, "I know you will." she gave her daughter a farewell hug and then kissed her little girl on he forehead, "Night."

Ditzy "Derpy" Do A.K.A Muffins a.k.a she of many names

Age: 30

Job: Mailmare

Cutie mark: Bubbles

Skill: Able to read the wind currents. Comforting

Twilight sat at the gazebo, listening to the melody played by the unicorn. When the green unicorn finished, she clapped,"I always loved your compositions."

"Thanks," Lyra smiled, " It's called 'Secret love'" turning to look at the new comer, she asked, "So, why did you come, more than just listen to my music

Twilight held the letter in her hand as she leaned against the rail,"I figured you'd be interested in this. Though, it's your decision, Ms. Heartstrings."

Lyra took the letter and then smiled, "When do I start?"

Lyra HEartstings

Age:22

Talent: music

Skill: Cryptozoology, myth learning, Song telling.

Twilight looked up at the train station, before turning to the five as they gathered,”I need to gather our sixth.”

“Wait!” Lyra stopped her,”Who are you, really?”

Twilight blinked,”What do you mean?”

Raindrops crossed her arms,”You’ve gathered us here, expecting us to follow you, but we have no idea who you are!”

Twilight sighed,”I’m afraid I can’t tell you here.”

“Why?” Ditzy asked.

“What, are you Twilight Sparkle in disguise?” Raindrops asked.

Twilight blinked,”Um, oh look, it’s the train!” She turned and ran off.

Lighting crawled out from the dungeon he was in, to the front of the HQ. His lower body was sore all over and his genitals had bruises and bite marks from the night before. as he walked, he looked outside to see Conquest standing on a stage.

The black alicorn looked over his shoulder and winked at Lighting, "Time for a show."

My name is conquest
and by request
I am going to test
you little soul

You have never deal with me
I'm the worst thing since
Boll you see!

Generals!

A white unicorn with a red mane walked through a portal, she slung her man back and smiled. A black stallion with a flowing robe stood next to her, followed by a lizard folk stallion.

His name is Conquest
And he's her by request

You think he's acting,
But he's not.

Conquest strode across the stage, spinning his microphone.

My name is Conquest
And I will test
You soul, heart, and the rest
I am the force, the Shape
I am the big bad that makes you shake

I am the top, the sword, the end
I am the bgging and the end
More than a love and more than a friend

Conquest began to lead out a mare wearing a blue hood and cape, her grey face smiling.

I am the power, of pure desire!
My magic, will make you higher
Than you ever will be before

So follow me before
I kill your stupid hopes and dreams
See, I am the best.

Titan stepped forward, then he slunk back into the shadow.

is name is Conquest
And he's her by request

You think hes acting,
But he's not.

The white mare with a blue mane and dressed in a long white dress walked out and gave Conquest a kiss on the cheek.

My name is Conquest
And Here is the rest
Come and see the best
There is nothing but Hell
And you will love it well

I am a killer
and the source
The worship me of course

I am your nightmare
I am the end of your wit
There is no question, I am it!

I know what you have been waiting for
You won't have to wait any more
Because you see
I am the beginning and your end

That's what you need to know about the best
My name is Conquest
time to put you to the test.

From the shadows on the balcony of Conquest’s fortress, a figure watches him, her hands intertwined.

Luna stepped to the blue alicorn and placed her hoof onto it, "Tell me, my friend, what are you dreaming of?" she asked, letting her horn glow.

Luna would find herself inside a large fortress of metal, where the alicorn mare began to walk the streets,"Dr. Theia." Another pony came up to her,"Can I have your autograph? You're my hero!"

The mare smiled,"Sure." She began to write her name before looking behind her,"Is everything alright out there, invader of dreams?"

"Pardon me, I did not mean to be an invader. But an observer," Luna said, stepping forward. "Your name is Dr. Theia, i assume?"

“Yes," Theia said,"And you are? Why do you look like that?" She asked.
Luna bowed, "Princess Luna Solaris of Equestria. I appear like this thanks to the manipulations of a dictator."

"A dictator?" Theia asked. She frowned,"How long have we been asleep?"

"What was the last thing that you remember?"

The dream shifted to a burning forest, where black metal creatures came down from the heavens, shooting lasers at several alicorns,"They were called Reapers." Theia said,"We tried everything we could to stop them, but there were too many. The last survivors were placed in pods to preserve our civilization."

Luna gave a sad look,” It has been many melinna past your time. Because I do not remember these reapers." Luna said. "Your pod is the only one alive I am afraid."

Theia gasped, her eyes watering,"No..." She sighed,"Then for my people, I must go on. In my pod, press the code 0435, and then hit the blue button. That will wake me up."

"I will. Tell me, what do they call your race? You resemble alicorns, but are quite feathery," Luna asked.

Theia smiled,"We have had many names, Watchers, Observers, Protheans, you may call us whatever you'd like."

Luna nodded as she began to get out of the dream world, "I must warn you, the world you enter is not pleasant."

Theia smiled,"I can handle it."

Luna woke up and input the code next to the pod.

The pod opened up with a hiss, allowing the figure inside to wake up and sit up. She looked at Luna and planted a big kiss on her lips, before pulling away,"Thank you, I need to learn how to actually speak your language."

Luna blushed, "Not the first time I kissed a mare, so it was not...unpleasant."

Theia chuckled,"Well, thank you."

Carrot Top stepped into the room and saw the alicorn, "What on-"

"I will introduce you all after Trixie arrives" Luna said with a smile

Twilight smiled as she walked towards the wagon,"One more." She then smelled something,"Smoke?" She looked behind her,"Neigh Orleans!" she ran to the wagon, knocking frantically,"Trixie!" When Abra opened the door, she punched him out,"Trixie, Neigh Orleans is on fire!" She pulled off her sunglasses and removed her suit to reveal a purple suit of armor that seemed to breath on her. Pink lines began to pulsate along the lines of the armor as her body flexed it's plated wings,"Send the putz your resignation letter and let's go!"

Trixie got up from her chair, and stammered,"Twilight Sparkle? But how? When? Armor?" Trixie nodded and dropped he resignation letter and put on her hat and cape in a dramatic fashion, "What is the rush?"

"Neigh Orleans is under attack!" Twilight shouted,"I'll explain everything on the way!"

"Mother, sisters!" Trixie gasped and ran out ahead of Twilight, "When we are done saving Trixie's family, we are going to have words!!!

"Yes, lots of words, and maybe some hugging." Twilight said, running alongside Trixie,"Another problem is that I'm only at 10% power, which means I won't be all that helpful."

Trixie smiled, "Then that means, that Trixie is better. HAHA!" she laughed. Then looked to Twilight, "But you can still be helpful. Think you are powerful enough for a locator spell?"

"Yeah, yeah, gloat." Twilight muttered. She smiled at Trixie,"How do you think I found you? Who do you want to look for?"

Trixie plucked out a hair from her mane, "Cast it on this, it will lead us to my mother and sisters."

Twilight nodded as she cast the spell on the hair, before elbowing a minotaur in her way.

"Just us, against a whole city full of monsters and beasts. Sounds fun," Trixie lightly chuckled a she began to ran

Twilight gave a nervous chuckle,"Yeah, everything's going to be just fine!" She stopped as a boar came up in front of them,"Uh-oh, Trixie, give me a piece of rope!"

Trixie smirked as she handed Twilight a long rope.

"Boar's magic requires friction on the hooves, much like a match, so," Twilight said, pulling the rope, letting the boar trip,"We trip them up, no more invincibility!"

"Trixie always believed it to be in the momentum.” Trixie said with a confused look.

"That's actually a myth perpetuated by the boar’s to create the illusion of total invincibility." Twilight said running with Trixie,"Most just don't realize that there's more to their magic than momentum, it's actually kickstarted by the friction of their hooves."

"Oh, ain’t we just smart!" Trixie said with a roll of her eyes.

"Help us!" shouted some children in a school building that was on fire.

"Oh,. buck!

"Find your family, I'll sav-" Twilight was about to say before a blue alicorn stallion with a white mane and tail appeared.

"Allow me." the stallion said as he went to the school building,"Save your family." He charged his horn, firing an ice beam into the flames, dousing them,"I am a kind god, I won't allow my ponies to die."

Twilight blinked,"Okay."

"Trixie did not just see that, did she?"

Twilight shook her head,"Whatever, he helped us, let's go find your family!" She said, before turning and running off.

Trixie nodded, and ran. After a few feet, they saw her house, "Mother, sisters!"

"Trixie?" asked Hazel.

Twilight ran to them,"We need to get you all out of here!"

Trixie ignited her horn, "Think you got enough magic to lift this?"

Twilight nodded,"Probably." She grunted, trying to use her magic, until an orange glow appeared, helping take the rubble off. Twilight blinked, turning around and seeing an orange alicorn with a yellow mane and tail next to two minotaurs with melted insides.

"Greetings, sister." The alicorn said,"I'm Convection, and I'm so glad to see another God, there are so few of us left."

Hazel got up and looked at the alicorn, "What on earth?"

Trixie began to help her family out, getting her sister's out. For a moment, she growled when she pulled a mare who looked like her with a chess cutie mark. The mare growled ad swatted Trixie's hand away. Trixie then looked up ,"Convection? I had never heard of you."

"Has our legend not reached this far? I am an Alicorn of Light, my dear," Convection said with a smile,"I am one of your gods, and I and my friend Frost have just helped this city, you should be thankful. Please, feel free to bow to our amazing brilliance."

Twilight frowned at Trixie's sister,"You're welcome" She looked at Convection,"We're not bowing to you."

"You don't have to, Sister, you're one of us!" Convection said,"Join us, and be one with the gods."

"I'm not a god." Twilight growled.

"Trixie agrees, this mare is no god. This mare is... a sham. These wings are but an illusion, so, if you will on your way? Me and her have some adventuring to take are of an my family to help.

Convection growled,"Knave, don't you think I can tell one of my own species!?"

Twilight shook her head,"No, Trixie's right, I am a..." She shot a quick glare at Trixie,"Sham." her voice growled.

Convection sighed,"Fine, if you don't wish to join us, then I shall let you be. At the very least, acknowledge our godhood and bow to us."

Trixie frowned and grabbed Twilight, pulling her down, "Oh yes, we acknowledge you as gods. We think you are some of the most powerful beings we met. We respect you.

Twilight muttered,"Thanks." She said reluctantly.

"Thank you." Convection looked at Twilight,"Take this time to think about your placement, Child. Will you join us or not is all up to you." She turned,"I must put this city under the protection of the Alicorns of Light."

"And how will you do that? Trixie asked

"Simple, I will talk to the mayor and explain to her that she is to bow to Queen Morning Dawn, not Princess Celestia." Convection said,"Or that blasphemer Celesto."

Twilight frowned,"And if she doesn't?"

"Then she will die." Convection said, her hooves bursting into flames,"Simple, no?"

"Yes, very simple, may me and my family go, ma’am?" Trixie asked.

"Go." Convection said,"if you must."

Twilight panted as she watched Trixie talk to her family,"Darn, I really hated bowing to her." She muttered to herself.

Trixie finished talking, giving her mother directions to Ponyville. Then she turned to look at Twilight, "For what's it worth... Trixie despised every minute of that."

Twilight turned away,"It's just... I wanted to stop her at that moment, but I couldn't. I was... weak." She sighed,"Come on, I need to show you our base." She looked at Trixie,"I don't know how I came back to life, but I do know what I need to do: Stop Grand Ruler."

"It's ok," Trixie frowned, "I hated to admit I was weak, to anything or anypony. Even to that. It's why I jumped at the chance to fight back.And you are right, we need to stop Grand Ruler. Trixie doesn't think there is enough power in the world to stop the two of us" then she pulled back, "Base?"

Twilight nodded,"Let me show you!" She took Trixie by the hand and ran her into a dense forest and then into an opening facing a large black pyramid,"This! I woke up in this and then I was given complete control over it! Come on, let's go inside!"

A mare watched over the city of Canterlot from her office, her hands around her back,"You say that the Alicorns have taken Neigh Orleans?"

The Equestrian mare behind her nodded,"Yes Ma'am, and this creature known as Dark Conquest has taken a minor town off the coast as his consolation prize, at least according to intel."

The mare's red eye blazed in the reflection,"Grand Ruler's power is weakening, I can see. His failure two days ago just proved my suspicions: He is unfit for a military rule." She turned to the soldier,"Send word to my troops, our operations will begin soon enough. We shall take what is ours."

"Yes General." The mare said, before disappearing.

The General frowned,"In a war, somepony has to fill in the messiah role." She sat down at her desk, the name General North Star was on the front,"I will be glad to be the hero that Equestria needs, and free this world from the tyranny of gods like Grand Ruler, even if I have to kill everypony who stands in my way."

The opening Salvo

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As Celestia looked over the balcony of her quarters, the events of the last few days going through her mind, she began to plan.

"You are a lot like your father, Grandchild, he too was rebellious." A grey alicorn mare with a green mane and tail with a star cutie mark appeared in the room behind her. She gave a soft smile.

Celestia looked towards the voice, "Grandchild? Grandmother?"

The mare walked up,"I am Stryker, I'm sure you've met my Queen, Morning Dawn." She smiled,"I knew I felt something familiar in this castle."

"May I offer you a seat, Grandmother? I have much to discuss, and some questions," Celestia said, sitting down.

Stryker sat down, and looked at Celestia,"You have his demeanor, too. Your father had a really good poker face." She sighed,"I wish I could've seen you as a foal, Celestia, then I could've held you."

"What do you know of my father?" Celestia asked.

"Did your father ever talk to you about himself? Well," Stryker thought back,"He was always a bit rebellious, always running to places he didn't belong, always annoying Dawn, who was Princess at the time, and he never went to bed when I or his father said to." She chuckled,"That's probably the reason why he left us, besides chasing the love of his life. He saw one of the Alicorns of Darkness, your mother, and fell in love. Next thing I knew, his bedroom window was open, and I saw him running off into their territory." She thought back,"I liked the mare he chose, she was perfect for him. It was trouble for me, though, I had to make sure one of us didn't try to kill him for being a traitor. I still loved him, though, and I would've given anything to be at his wedding or coronation." She looked at Celestia,"And I'd have loved to hold you and your sister as foals. Your Grandfather also would've loved you, if he were alive."

Celestia shook her head, "Father never liked to talk abou the past. He said it was too dark and dreary for stories for little foals. He always said, "We were the light, no need to be tethered by darkness.' Though when he said it, I noticed that he had somewhat of a broken look in his eyes, like something hurt him. What was Grandfather like?"

Stryker leaned back,"Your grandfather was a kind stallion, who always cared for others. He would come back from healing ponies with gifts for the two of us. He always believed in caring for life." She frowned,"He was one of the first doctors, but also one of the first casualties in war." She teared up,"The war between those of Light, and those of Dark started because of reasons we no longer remember. Some say we had differing ideals, but that wasn't all that caused it. No one really knows what happened, but I do know that the first shots fired were aimed at your grandfather." She shook her head,"It's in the past now, we no longer hold grudges against the Alicorns of Darkness, there are so few of us left now." She looked at Celestia,"Tell me, what was your and Luna's lives like, before you married the putz I mean." She chuckled,"I doubt you married him out of love."

"Before the coming of Grand Error," Celestia giggled. "Mine and Luna's lives were rather peaceful. We had our fights, but we ruled like we were taught, with a kind and caring hoof. Though, to be honest, there were some that expected us to hold their hands for everything. But in time, I had learned better and was able to give the ponies a chance at free will. To choose to be able to fight for the right thing. Might for right as it were."

"Even when it came to those who I called my students, I never controlled them. I trained them, yes, but I also just opened the doors for them and made it their choice to choose whether or not to step through it. Sometimes it worked," a few tears fell as she remembered both students "And other times it did not."

"And you are quite correct, I did not marry Grand Fucktard for love, but political reasons. Though, if you ask him, he believes it is love and that is what we tell the populace."

"We only hold the door open for our children, it is up to them to walk through it." She used her horn to levitate a box over to Celestia,"I didn't come here to try and convince you to join us, I came to see my grandaughters. You do what you want to do, I won't do anything to you unless you want me to. Inside that box is a necklace for you, and a pair of earrings for Luna."

"Thank you, Grandmother," Celestia said, standing up and hugging her grandmother. "I am sorry that this war is putting us on opposite ends. There is much I wish to show you and tell you."

"Mommy?" a little voice said.

Celestia smiled and looked to the little foal in the light as he stepped forward, "It's ok Castor, you may remove the illusion. This is only your Great-Grandmother."

"Yay." the colt said, dispelling his illusion and showing the truth of his parentage and his true form.

The child got up into his mother's arms, "Grandmother, this is my son." when she looked down, the older alicorn could easily identify his parentage.

Stryker giggled as she put her hoof into the child's tummy,"Oh, Dawn's not going to be happy! I can tell you're going to be a little troublemaker," She said as she tickled him."

The foal giggled, while Celestia looked up, "She has problems with his kind?" she then looked down, "and no, he is not going to be a troublemaker like his father. He will be an esteem ruler of the court and will watch over all with a kind hand." she then booped her son's nose, "at least, when he is older."

"Gran-Gran?" asked the colt as he looked up an smiled.

"Tell me... was Father ever this tiny?"

Stryker giggled,"Yes, Gran-Gran." She looked at Celestia,"Of course he was. It's probably hard to believe now, he's probably bigger than I am."

"He was, at least the last me and Luna saw of him," Celestia said, looking away.

Stryker let the little one play with her hoof,"Did something happen to him?"

"After the three tribes united and we went to train under Starswirl, he vanished. He said that he had something important to fix and a great darkness to quell. I was never sure what he meant. The closest I ever saw of him again was some fool abusing his name," Celestia said, watching as the little on play with his gran's hoof.

Stryker chuckled,"Be really funny if Titan was that fool and he was testing you." Her ears perked up,"I think your sister's here."

"Sister, I have set-who is that? And who is that in your arms," Luna said, looking at Stryker and then the little colt.

"The colt is 'Castor' as he is normally," Celestia said, looking at the little colt who held out his hands for his auntie. "And this... is your grandmother."

"G-Granny?" asked Luna, in a little woona voice. She ran and hugged her grandmother. Then, looked at the little colt, "And I suppose you want me to hold the child of you and Discord. You expect me, princess of the night, conqueror of Star Bears and ice demons, ruler of the stars, bender of heavens, and deliverer of dreams to hold this a-" one look at her nephew and the night princess began to melt, 'dorable, cute, little, muffin!" Luna then picked up her nephew and smiled"Oh, I must find a guard of my own, take him and then get you a little cousin so you won't be alone!" Luna said with a smile.

Celestia looked at the happy two and then to her grandmother. Softly, she frowned, "I wish that it didn't have to end. I want to think of a way to let you live and be here for when I get this all back, but I can't can I?"

Stryker used her wings to bring the sisters closer to her,"Well, you never know." She nuzzled Celestia,"Nothing's truly impossible."

Celestia looked at her sister Luna and then to the little colt, remembering how each one came from what she feared may be impossible, "You're right.

Trixie stepped a few feet in front of the large pyramid and let out a gasp. Her eyes wandered over the place in awe as she was amazed by it. Then she looked around and frowned, "And why are you given control?" she said, following Twilight.

"I'm not sure. This thing that called itself a Corvid spirit just said it'll give me control." Twilight said, walking Trixie through the large metal halls,"Come on, our team should be in the room beyond."

"Our team? What are they like?" Trixie asked as they stepped in.

"I can't believe that this place has no real herbs. How can I farm anything like this!"

"Lyra, will you quit with the music I am trying to meditate here!!!"

"Well, excuse me, I thought you might like having a calming influence!!!"

"Children, please!"

"We are not FOALS!!!"

"Oh, this is bad!"

Twilight scanned the meeting room in horror. Next to them, Luna had her face in her hand, while she noticed the blue alicorn, now awake, shaking her head,"What the buck is going on!?" She shouted, causing the group to freeze

"Your team is currently having issues getting together," Luna said."Apparently, Miss Top wanted a herb garden, since she will be our herb specialist. Raindrops wants a meditation room so she can focus on not getting angry, and then we have Lyra who is making music which bothers Raindrops. Then we have Ditzy, who is down about how she broke my vase that my sister gave me on my birthday. Then we have Cheerilee who is trying to fix everything. We haven't assigned rooms or even explored this place fully yet!"

"Our...team," Trixie asked. Then she shook her head before looking at Twilight with a weird eyes, "You know how to pick them."

Twilight sighed,"Alright everypony, we're just now fixing up the rooms, and the herbs we ordered will be coming in soon, just give us a few hours, this place is kind of old. But we'll focus on that later, I brought our new teammate, Trixie." She stopped when she was getting stares.

“T-Twilight?” Raindrops whispered.

“Zombie!” Carrot Top shouted,”I knew they existed!”

“No, it’s the second coming, I thought that was a myth.” Cheerilee muttered.

“So my kids were right!” Ditzy smiled.

Twilight sighed,”Yeah, surprise, I’m alive again, can we please move on.”

Lyra shrugged,”Meh, it happens.

Theia walked up to Trixie and looked her over,"Greetings, fellow equine, I am Theia, a pony from eons ago."

Carrot Top raised an eyebrow at the introduction of Trixie, but said nothing. Raindrops waved as did a happy Lyra, and Cheerilee and Ditzy. Trixie looked up at the alicorn, "Merde, you are huge!"

Theia gasped,"Is that a new language?" She gave her a deep kiss.

Twilight jumped back in shock,"What in the-?"

Theia dropped out,"I enjoy learning new languages."

Trixie stood there, her eyes wide before she gave a long shudder and backed up a little. She gave a little epp as she asked, "Warn Trixie next time!"

"Tell me, Theia. Spakisen Deutch? Hablo Espaniol? Nihongo o hanashimasu?" Lyra said with a wry grin.

Raindrops grabbed Lyra by the tail and pulled her away, "No, just no."

"Come on, I am going into Bonnie withdrawal!" Lyra shouted, her hooves dragging on the floor.

Cheerilee smiled and walked to Trixie, "I hope you don't mind the mess. We are just getting used to one another." she then smiled at Twilight. "I hope you don't mind."

Twilight sighed,"This is what I get for going the cool spy novel route,"She muttered,"That's okay, it took a while for my friends to get used to each other. I think, maybe, living together, trying to figure each other out, will help make us better in the long run."

Luna chuckled as she walked away, "Remember, you were the one who chose this team. It was by your hand."

"Master?" Trixie asked as Luna walked away.

"I cannot stay," Luna saud. "The castle needs me. And if I am to keep up the charade, I need to be there. I will give you missions soon."

"Sure, we can probably survive that long," Trixie said.

Twilight nodded,"Right, so let's take the time to get used to our surroundings. Hopefully we fixed up the building enough so me and Trixie will have separate bedrooms!"

A few minutes later...

Twilight muttered,"This is awkward." she muttered under her breath as she lay next to Trixie.

"You are telling Trixie. First this bed is made for two ponies, yet Trixie thinks you are hogging her covers!!!"

"Am not! You are!" Twilight yelled.

"Trixie is sure that YOU ARE!!!" Trixie shouted

"I may have lost Neigh Orleans, but at least I now have some wonderful beach front property," Conquest said, skipping to a beat.

The figure in the cloak nodded, "It seems that we have arrived when the old gods have awoken. This is an interesting turn."

"Old gods?" asked Titan as he walked in. "What do you mean?"

"Old alicorns, from ancient times. You wouldn't' know, would you? After all, you were trapped in the Dark Dimension, getting bashed by your father for being weak? Or was it your lover?" Conquest asked, a smile on his face.

Titan quickly regained his composure, "Um, yes. You are right. I was busy elsewhere. Tell me, would any of these goddesses match Celestia or Luna's coat?"

"Why so interested? These are the gods of the old, of order and light, why would you care?" the figure in the cloak said.

"I-I don't."

Conquest smiled, "If that is so, then hand me the orb. You know the one."

"My orb?"

"Don't play games, Tity-Whity!" Conquest laughed and tapped Titan's shoulder, "That orb you used to mess with certain ponies lives. That orb."

"Why do you need it?" Titan asked.

"Reasons," Conquest said. "Now, come on, you and I are friends, right?"

Reluctantly, Titan reached into his robe and pulled out an orb, "Here."

----------

Nightmare sat in the snow, Dawn sitting beside her,"I see no invaders, I doubt we need to reenact the massacre of Canterlot."

Dawn sighed, looking at the Empire,"It's hard to believe they created an entire empire. Remember when they were mere cave ponies? How we used to play with some of them?"

"You mean play pranks." Nightmare said,"We considered them somewhat... dumb, didn't we?"

Dawn chuckled,"Yeah. We have eggs on our faces now, don't we, Sis?" Her eyes looked at the center,"Is that the Heart?"

"It must be." Nightmare got up,"Come, we do this diplomatically, this time."

"Of course, I did it my way last time, we'll do it your way this time." Dawn said.

"So that is how I wound up here on the outskirts of the empire," remarked a yellow stallion with a blue mane.

His fellow officer shook his head, "And all because a changeling tricked the guard into think you were stealing info and materials and pretending you were in love with Twilight? Man Flash, you had it rough, didn't you?

'Yeah, but I am glad...wait," Flash sentry looked through his binoculars, "Alicorns?:

"Alicorns, what?" asked his friend as he looked down, "We need to tell the prince-" he noticed Flash was gone."No wonder they call you Flash."

"Where is the princess?" Flash asked as he ran to the throne room.

The mare in waiting blushed, "Where do you think? It's afternoon snuggles for the royal couple."

"Frak!!!" growled Flash as he ran up the stairs to the royal chamber. Keeping his eyes closed and trying to ignore the moans of pleasure, he opened the door, "Princess Cadence, Prince Shining, I bring news."

As the door opened and Flash stepped in, Cadence rolled off her husband and put a sheet to her chest, "What is so urgent?"

"We have alicorns at our gates and the seem to want to enter the castle. I assume they want a word with you," Flash said, trying not to look.

Standing up, Cadence nodded, "Tell them I need time to get ready and I will see them. Let them know that I am-" she paused and looked at her husband, who was frowning a little, "On the way."

Flash nodded and ran past the throne room where the two alicorns waited, "OH my Celestia!" he said, trying to stop, only to run into a cart full of plates and towels. Getting up and stumbling he looked to them both, "Um, excuse me, ladies, but Cadence is indisposed right now. She says that she needs a moment to tidy up and will be on her way soon. She just needs to finish some important matters of state and some negotiations. See, the other country right now has itself at full attention, and the balls are in her court. If she doesn't make a move soon they will be very blue and it will hurt and no one will be satisfied."

Nightmare and Dawn looked at each other before coughing,"Well, I wouldn't want to keep a mare from her banana in a fruit salad." Nightmare said.

"We'll wait until she's done bludgeoning her beef curtains." Morning Dawn said with a frown.

In Cadence and Shining Armor's room, steam was billowing out, along with a soft sigh

"Whoohoo?" asked a servant.

"How does he survive? You think he would give out after the third or fifth time. A stallions heart just isn't built for that!" said a lady in waiting.

Another lady in waiting blushed, "I think her ladyship only married the prince because he has the greatest stamina of all."

A doctor walked out, "Ok, he's ok to be administered. His thighs are fine, as is his collarbone, pelvis, and Sphincter."

There was a pause, “Sphincter!!!!?"

and now the rest of the story

Cadence stepped into the throne room, using her magic to fix up her mane into a bun. Once she was glad with the way her mane was done, she fixed her long flowing pink gown with white and blue ruffles. Standing in, she put on her best smile and walked to her throne, "Let me please offer a warm Crystal Empire Welcome to our two new alicorn brethren. May I ask what brings you here? And please, don't mind my husband's...disappearance. He is indisposed."

The two coughed,"Ahem, yes. We came here because of you, Cadence. Perhaps Celestia has notified you of our presence,"Nightmare asked.

Cadence frowned, "The truth is, my queens, is that our country only gets any information or letters from Equestria when it's convenient for them. We have to make the journey constantly to them just to remind them that we exists!"

"Indeed. We are the Alicorns of Light. I am Princess Nightmare, this is my older sister Queen Morning Dawn." Nightmare said,"We're here to ask if you'd like a place among us gods. Your... mother, I guess, didn't agree, and neither did her sister. Though," She glared at her sister,"Somepony killing the guards didn't help!"

"They were Unicornicopians, no one cares!" Dawn muttered.

"We come here in peace, if you disagree, we will take our leave, but be warned, you will lack our protection." Nightmare said.

Cadence sat back in her throne, "You...thank you for your kind offer. But we have no need of your protection. If you did attack my aunt's home and killed the guards, then that makes you my enemy as well. I will protect the sanctity of my people and all of E-E-," Cadence became nauseous for a second, 'questria. Thus I h-" her face turned green as she left her throne, "Private Flash, please show our guests out!" she then ran to the royal chambers."

The two cocked their heads at this,"I think we may be getting another..." Nightmare muttered as Flash escorted them out.

Rarity stretched as she she yawned. Looking to her ide, she smiled when she saw the purple scales of her lover, Spike. A sharp pain came through her back as she remembered her sacrifice for him. Getting up slowly, she kissed Spike on the lips and ran out of the house, getting dressed. After a brief run, she made it to Sweet Apple Acres, "Are they?" she asked Rainbow Dash.

"Samus got up the same time AJ did. They are now having fun racing each other for morning exercises." Dash said calmly.

"And Pinkie?" Rarity asked.

Samus ran neck and neck with Applejack, chuckling,"It's not everyday I get to meet someone who could keep up with me!"

"Heh, the feeling' s mutual Sure you ain’t part pegasus?" Applejack asked as she ran with Samus.

"Nope, but I did get alien bird DNA!" Samus said with a laugh.

Applejack looked weird, and then shook her head, "That is not the weirdest thing I have ever heard."

"Hey girls!"Pinkie said with a bounce, her hair moving as she skipped, "How are things?"

Dash looked to Pinkie, "Applejack, race."

"Why aren't you racing, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked.

Dash leaned back and ate an apple, "Too easy. Samus said she can't run at her fastest yet and I want a challenge."

"How is Starla?" Rarity asked.

Pinkie looked down and ran hr finger in a circle on the fence, "She was let out of the hospital when I got there. Grand Ruler wanted an emergency meeting about what's been going on."

"Emergency meeting, then why aren't we invited?" Applejack asked, stopping her run and walking back to her friends.

"Higher ups only, at least that's what Nurse Redheart said”

Samus panted a little as she walked to the fence,"That doesn't sound good. Grand Ruler might try to kick her out, or be an insensitive prick and make her feel worse about her situation."

"Ah swear, if it’s either of those, Ah am gonna forget about being diplomatic and break that bastard's horns off myself!" Applejack said, drinking her water while handing Samus a towel.

"Guess we'll find out soon when they get back," Dash said.

Pinkie, smiling, bounced up and down, "Hey, let's focus on something bigger! We need to get Samus a home and show her around town."

"UH, Pinkie, do have any clue about which houses are available, or even what Samus needs?" Dash asked.

Pinkie skipped away from the fence, her hands behind her back as she smiled, "Nope, but that is part of what makes exploration fun!!!"

"Guess we are following her lead," Dash said, flying above them.

Fluttershy began to walk alongside Rarity, "What are you drawing?"

"Designs," Rarity smiled.

"Ok, so you met the entire team now," Applejack said, walking with Samus, "Rarity is our dressmaker, Dash the athlete, Pinkie the party girl and Fluttershy the animal care taker. the Starfleet team, those are the guys that are above us, are-

"Commanders Artie, Rhymey, Buddy Rose, Dyno and Myte, and Starla are approaching." said a commander as he looked into the throne room.

Grand Ruler nodded, holding his head to the horns, trying to stabilize them, "This is a gift from Meadowbrook. How can they be damaged?

Outside of the throne room, starla stood away from the group. every step she took trembled and shook, "I can't do this. I can't-"

"Hey, you alright?" Artie asked.

Starla shook her head, making Buddy step towards her, "Startle, you can talk to us." he said with a fatherly tone.

"Come on you two,
There are more important things to do."

"Rhymey, what’s the problem?" asked Buddy, shooting a small glare at him. "Starla is-"

"She needs to get moving
Unless she wants to get a beating."Rhymey snarled.

the four members of Starfleet nodded and walked away. Starla stood against the wall, looking on, "Why did they moves so easily?"

Shaking her head, Starla began to move, feeling Artie place his hand on her shoulder. She then flinched, "Stay away, please, don't touch me!"

"Sorry," Artie said, pulling away.

Then Artie was pulled aside by Rhymey,”Arthur.”

“Using my full first name. Not... like you at all, what the hell, Rhymey?” Artie raised an eyebrow,”And why are you pulling me aside to the shadows? Is this where you... do weird things to me!? Look I’m not like that!”

Rhymey blinked,”What? No!” He shook his head.

Artie let out a sigh of relief,”Ok, what’s going on.”

“There’s an invader in our midst, and she took Fluttershy away from me!” Rhymey said, his eyes darting back and forth.

Artie rolled his eyes,”Wow, Fluttershy being taken away from you, wasn’t expecting that.”

Whether Rhymey detected the sarcasm, or ignored it, Artie couldn’t tell as his teammate continued his crazy,”This invader is different, powerful, frightening. And she’s among us! Remember Bad Horse!?”

Artie sighed,”Sadly.”

“What if she’s like him!? An agent sent by the latest Big Bad to infiltrate our ranks from the inside and ruin our day!” Rhymey looked out the window,”She’s evil, and yet, no one’s noticing or caring!”

Artie thought for a moment,”Oh, you are talking about Samus!” He smiled,”I don’t know Rhymey, she did save my cat from a tree without any provocation.”

Rhymey continued,”I’ll flush her out, you’ll see!”

Artie sighed,”And you’ve stopped listening, of course.”

Samus shook her head (Names here are weird. Those commanders don't sound like much, though.)"Still don't think you should be in a military." She looked at all of them,"I'm sure from what I've heard you are heroes, but even then, civilians should never be forced into service."

Applejack frowned, "I know, we should be out there, living. Ah should be out there farming, Dash should be flying and Twi-" she stopped and shook her head at the thought of her fallen friend, "and the others should be out there living their lives. Ah don't mind being a hero, Ah kind of like it. But as a soldier, it feels like every day Ah live Ah have to be ready for the next attack or strike. We ain't soldiers, we ain't bred for a war."

Samus blinked at the stopped word. (Then again, they have been looking a little sad today, perhaps there was something important about this day),"No one is truly bred for war. Some are made to be warriors and guardians, but no one is truly built for the horrors of war. The reason why I became a bounty hunter was because I felt constricted as a soldier, and that seems to be what you're feeling."

Dash flew back to Applejack and Samus, "Don't know about being constricted, but I do feel so...confined! I may want to be a Wonderbolt but I still can't feel like these guys want me to live by their rules."

"Thought you were still a-"

"Quit. Ain't about to let my dream be handed to me on a silver platter," Dash's said flying ahead.

"You're right though Samus. It just makes me feel that I am not doing this because I want to, but somepony wants me to. Who to capture, who to... kill," Applejack punched her hand, "Of course, if you ask Starfleet and our dictator, we signed up because we were so grateful."

Samus rolled her eyes,"Yeah, right. You're not going to join a military force because you're 'grateful,' no one does, otherwise my Galactic Federation would be flowing in men. No, you join when you're willing.." She looked around,"This is a nice little village you got here."

Pinkie smiled, "Yep, and there is town hall!" she said, pointing to a large building in the center of the town, but that is not where we are going we are going to!" pulling Samus by the arm, she dragged the woman to a large gingerbread house. "Sugar Cube Corner!"

"... That's a literal gingerbread house." Samus muttered.

"Yep! great location," Pinkie said, "Now, there are some houses that are empty here and there!" Pinkie said, pointing to two houses that looked very broken down. "Unless you need something bigger."

Samus looked the two houses over,"I'll need to fix some of them up, mainly to put in a garage for me to fix things with, and a place to store weaponry. I'll have two people living in one of the houses, so..." She pointed to the bigger one of them,"I'll fix that one up."

"Excellent," Rarity said, smiling as she snapped her fingers.

From the horizon came an army of strong stallions and one purple dragon carrying what looked like pieces of Samus's ship, and plenty of lumber to help make it, "You couldn't leave your ship's pieces laying around. Just let them know what you need and they will be there to help."

"How in the..." Samus shook her head,"Never mind." She began to direct them to start building.

The group of strong stallions nodded and began to work.

"How did you-"

Rarity put her fingers to her lips gave out a haughty laugh, "Never underestimate the power of generosity my dear."

Elsewhere in Ponyville, three Unicornicopians looked down at a beaten Equestrian,"Look at that, the Equestrian is exactly where she belongs: At our feet!" One of them laughed,"This is what you get for bumping into your superiors!" He raised his fist to hit her. However, a purple hand stopped him. He turned and gasped in shock as the pink maned alicorn dressed in a dark purple dress uniform glared at him,"G-G-General North Star*!"

One of the other Unicornicopians gasped,"We thought you were-"

"Exiled? Or as your Ruler says, on an expedition?" North Star twisted the Unicorpian's arm until a crack was heard. She kicked the Unicornicopian down to the ground, before looking at the other two,"I came back when I felt a presence here, though I’m mainly here to see my nieces." She walked towards them,"But I think I need to teach you a lesson." She punched one the gut, knocking him out,"You," She looked at the remaining one,"You're higher-up. Allow me to teach you a secret." She said walking up to him,"Fight me."

The Unicornicopian gasped,"But-"

"Fight me."

He buckled under her glare. He threw a punch that the General caught,"Superiority is not decided by race." She crushed it,"It's by hard work!" She kneed him in the gut,"If you work hard to get what you want, then you can call yourself superior!" She backhanded him, before grabbing him from behind,"Perhaps you've gotten cocky on that high pedestal." She placed a thumb on his forehead,"Try living without magic!" A surge of black lightning came over his head. She let him drop,"When you know the value of hard work over race, then you can get your powers back." She turned walking towards the home of Ditzy Doo.

Sparkler looked at Dinky, "Hmmm, let's see. Did you wash the dishes?"

"Yep!"

"Fix the beds?"

"Yep!"

"Ok, you can go and have fun now," Sparkler said.

Dinky nodded and went to the door to open it.

North Star let out an oof as Dinky almost ran into her legs,"Hello, there, Dinky,"She gave a soft smile,"Where's my sister-in-law?"

Dinky looked up with a smile, and happily hugged her aunt's legs, "Auntie North!!"

"Um, Mom is gone," Spakler said. Though she was adopted by the family only three years ago, she still felt nervous talking to anyone but Sunstar and Derpy.

North Star smiled at Sparkler,"Don't be shy, Sparkler, you're a member of the family too!" She pulled her in,"Come here!"

Sparkler gave her aunt a big hug, "Thank you, North Star."

North Star smiled,"No, thank you for keeping an eye on the place. Are you all doing well?"

"Yes, in spite of Mom having to go off because of," she paused, "Reasons

"Reasons?" North frowned, pulling a bag of cookies from her pocket and giving it to Dinky,”What reasons?”

Sparkler shook her head,”I don’t know, Mom said it was a something she couldn’t tell us.”

North sighed, getting up,”Do you know how long she’ll be gone?” At the shake of her nieces’ heads, she frowned,”It must be serious if she has to be gone so long.” North Star shook her head."Shame I can't stay long, but there's something I have to do."

"Yay cookies!" Dinky squeaked, nomming on one of the cookies.

"Something you have to do? Like what?" asked Sparkler.

"It's confidential." North turned,"If your mother trusts you to take care of Dinky, then so do I. Remember you can always call on me to help if you need it." She said, leaving.

Dinky smiled and looked up to her sister, "Mommy will be fine, wont se?"

North Star walked by a pony in a cloak, and gasping as her hand brushed by with a shock,"What in the-?" She turned to the pony.

The pony in the cloak dashed away, hiding near a spot where she saw the mares looking at the houses,"My friends..." the mare whispered to herself.

"My Starfleet, tell me what kept you," frowned Grand Ruler.

"We had to get Starla from the hospital," Buddy said. "she was apparently in there because of... reasons."

Starla, having scared look in her eyes stepped forward, "I-I bring urgent news from the front, sire."

"Yes?" Grand Ruler said.

"Lighting Dawn has be kidnapped by our latest enemy," Starla said, the words bleeding from her mouth.

"“What!?"How can you let Lightning be captured? How on earth can you let this happen without giving your life for this!" Grand Ruler bellowed a s he stomped his hoof.

Starla lookd nervous, shaking s she whimpered, "Well, you see, it's because I was-"

"It matters not, we now have more important matters to concentrate on," Grand Ruler growled.

Starla looked at the others, there was some looks of shock and fear, while she noted at least two had a look that said she should've been captured instead. Looking up, she asked, "What happens now?"

"You are now in command of the team, Starla, being the second highest ranked member here."

"What?:" Rhymey shouted in disbelief."Grand Ruler sire,
There must be someone higher!”

"There is none. She will lead, for now," Grand Ruler said, before glaring down at him,”Do you have any objections?”

Rhymey muttered,”No, Dad.”

“What?”

“I said no sir.” Rhymey said with a friend.

Artie frowned, “But what about Lighting!?'

"He knows what he's getting into. As long as he is alive he will be fine. He is willing to give his life for us all after all," Grand Ruler said.

Artie stepped forward, but Buddy gave a calm smile, "It's ok. We're Starfleet, we're invincible, remember. I know that we can make it through anything."

"Good, you will need that confidence for what is ahead,”Grand Ruler said.

"Everything going according to plan?" A shadowed dragon asked.

A shadow with two large horns nodded, keeping his hands on the rectangular table,"Even Celestia fails to realize that they haven't been in control of the country since the beginning."

A pony in shadows nodded,"Conquest has made his moves, so have the Alicorns. Our little general has even returned from her exile."

The horned shadow clenched his hands together,"And the Chozodian?"

"She won't attack Grand Ruler, not yet anyway, though I feel that she will not be affected by the tool we gave him." The dragon said.

"You sound sure.." the horned creature said.

"Let's just say I've... done my research." The dragon chuckled.

The shadowed pony nodded,"So, that makes two ponies with high tolerance for the Crown on this planet..."

The house had just turned into a three story building with a garage in the shape of Samus' helmet,"There we go!" Samus gave a grin.

"Well, it is something else," Applejack said.

Rarity smiled, "it is perfect!"

Samus grinned,"Thank you. Now for a job..."

"Yeah, that one is going to be interesting," Applejack asid. "Ain't no bounty hunting guilds, so we'll have to think of something else."

"Oh! What about her cutie mark may that'll give a clue," Pinkie said.

Dash nodded, 'right, Samus, I hope you'll forgive me for this." she said, flying over and pulling down Samus's pants. At first, Dash gav a low whistle (Nice) and then looked at a cutie mark.

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said, flabbergasted.

"What, these stupid pants kind of block our cutie marks and Samus's suit covers the rest of her," Dash said not seeing Fluttershy's blush.

Pinkie looked close, "It looks like a weird crooked S with a circle on it."

Samus pulled her pants back up and raised an eyebrow,(Cutie mark?),"That's an ancient Chozodian symbol for 'Great Hunter."

"A hunter?" squeaked Fluttershy, worried a little about some of her more prey animals.

Rainbow Dash put a finger to her chin, "Hunter... great hunter."

"Oh, maybe she could be-"

"Pinkie, no, not a bargain hunter and she cannot hunt down bargain sales for us and we can’t pay for her," Rarity said.

Pinkie frowns, "How did she even know?"

Applejack leaned against the new house, "We need something. Something that an appy to her skills. You said you like hunting down criminals, right?"

Samus nodded, before looking at Fluttershy,"right, I only go after bad guys."

Fluttershy nodded. Rarity let out a gasp as she shouted, "Idea! A police officer!"

"A police officer?" asked Dash.

Rarity nodded, "A nickname for a detective is usually manhunter. And how do you get through the ranks and become a detective? A police officer."

Samus nodded,"That sounds good, where's the police station?" She looked ahead, noticing a dilapidated building with a star on the front,"Please tell me it's not that run-down building."

"Ah'm afraid it is," Applejack said, looking away.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and let ot a growl, "Starfleet doesn't think we really need one. The bad guys and gangs are too scared of Starfleet to do anything!"

"Wouldn't they try and hide if they were good criminals?" Rarity asked.

Samus facepalmed,"Right, so it's what I already knew:Starfleet's a bunch of idiots! Saying that bad guys are too afraid of Starfleet? That's a lie if I ever heard one! Even if it wasn't, it raises way too many questions as to the morals of the army then I care to think about!"

"Tell us about it," the group said as once.

"So, let's go in then," Dash said, leading Samus.

Pinkie Pie raised a hand, Um...guys." she said, her mood suddenly becoming very dour,"D-don't forget that."

"We, haven't dear, don't worry," Rarity said, smiling softly and hugging Pinkie.

Samus looked behind her, then shook her head, deciding not to dwell on it as she entered the building.

There were only three desks, one was empty, another was occupied by a minotaur eating donuts, and another was occupied by a brown stallion with a white mustache and glasses. The stallion looked up,"Well, hello! Not every day we get visits from the Elements of Harmony!"

Samus looked at the name on the desk,'Commissioner Gourd,' "Commissioner, I'm here to apply for a job."

The commissioner gasped,"Really?"

The minotaur chuckled,"Wow, we go from three to four! Finally somepony's got balls enough to say they can enforce the law better than those hacks upstairs."

Pinkie, getting her smile back, bounced to the Minotaur, "Hey Bull Lock! How are Mrs. Cake doughnuts?" she giggled, taking one.

Applejack frowned and said under her breath, "Former Elements of Harmony."

"Wow," Dash said, looking around, "I heard it got that bad, but I never thought-:

Bull Lock smiled, giving Pinkie a hug,"They’re great as always! How've you been doing, Pinks?"

Gourd walked up to Samus,"We'll need all the help we can get. What're your credentials?"

"I was in the army, now I'm a bounty hunter, but that really doesn't pay anything over here due to lack of a guild." Samus muttered.

Gourd nodded, before picking up a pen and throwing it at her. Samus caught it within her two fingers,"Good reflexes, now give me 50."

Samus laid down and proceeded to do pushups with her thumbs.

"Now, pull!" He threw a clay plate, which Samus fired with pinpoint accuracy.

Gourd nodded,"Reflexes, Marksmanship, and Strength. Better than the usual candidates. Here." He handed her a law book,"Read that, and forget everything about it because the laws are unfair."

Samus read through it,"No mocking? Seriously?"

"Exactly. Here," He handed her a badge,"Take this, you've been deputized. I know it seems fast, but with the low budget we actually get around here, it's about all I can do."

"Awww, no training montage?" Pinkie frowned as she leapt off the desk.

Samus looked at Pinkie," This isn't a Rocky movie." She thought for a moment,"Although, if there's Stan Bush or Survivor involved..."

Applejack shook her head, "Nah, Shaved Bush is on tour right now, and Survivor is taking a break with his family”

Samus stopped, turning over to Applejack.,"I don't know what's weirder, the fact that they exist over here, or that those are their names." She smiled,"I'll start patrolling as soon as possible, sir."

Gourd nodded,"I understand. Don't expect too big a paycheck, though, we don't get much of a budget no thanks to Grand Ruler."

"The mayor doesn't even get a say in it, of course," Applejack said, stepping out with the others in tow.

Samus groaned,"Why even have a mayor if Grand Hatesink won't let her speak?"

"With Lighting gone, our forces are weaker. But, I trust in the power of him and of the lot of you. Conquest already has one city under his belt, but I would not worry," Grand Ruler said.

Artie stepped forward, "Wait, Conquest-"

"Did an attack that was to demonstrate his power. I would not worry, he will be sending monsters soon enough. That is the way of my world. Right now, go home and be vigilant."

"But sire,"

Starla sighed, and nodded. Quietly , she whispered, "Yes sir." Then she walked out.

As they left, Rhymey stood behind and frowned, "Sire, why her? She is a weakling and furthermore-"

"If I have you lead, and then it would seem like I was trying to ignore the ranks and play favorites. I know you have wished to be leader for a while now. Do not worry, your time will come. She is useless without Lightning, she will fall. Now, go home."

Rhymey muttered as he walked off,”Yes, Dad.”

“What was that?”

“I mean, sir.” Rhymey said immediately.

North Star walked in front of the castle, before watching the Starfleet team walk out,"Attention!" she pulled rank and shouted at them.\

Out of respect of such a strict call, the seven members of Starfleet all turned around and salute the approaching commander. Sltarla looked at the mare and nodded, saying “Yes mam!"

North Star walked to them, and looked at them,"Let me guess, Grand Ruler has yet to improve his military rules! You should all rest and relax, an army doesn't run on fumes!" She looked at Starla,"Colonel, where's Lightning?"

Starla looked away, and sighed, "Lightning is...missing. Conquest broke into ourhouse and kidnapped him. I was unable to protect him."

"And with that I,
Cannot help but wonder why." Rhymey said, frowning.

"Shame, it looks like we'll have to work without him now, won't we?" North Star glared at Rhymey, before looking at Starla,"You all need to take leave, now! No working, just live out your lives! Except for you," She looked at Rhymey,"You are going to the barracks for a little workout!"

Buddy smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I wouldn't mind a little leave right now. I kind of want to check up on Daphne." and with the he left.

Dyno and Myte said nothing as shtye both left the area, leaving Artie to look around the town, "Live huh? How do I do that?"

"B-but ma’am, I need to," she looked into North Star's eyes and shrunken away.

Rhymey frowned, "And why do I need to work out?
I am no layabout.

North Star looked at Artie,"Don't you paint? Take a look outside, like that one alicorn on that hill over there." She looked at Starla,"Come with me then, I'll help you." She glared at Artie,"You are not lazy, but insubordinate. I can see it in your eyes, so I will beat your loyalty into you!"

Artie nodded and walked off. Then he looked back at his teammates, 'Why do I have a bad feeling about all of this?" he whispered to himself.

Starla looked away and shirked, "Oh, I don't need help I just have something important to file away at home."

Rhymey growled, but looked away, "Fine, I'll help with the strife, but afterds I need to go to my wife."
-

The alicorn on the hill smelled the air, his hooves lay on the grass while his purple mane flowed in the breeze,"You are a member of the blasphemers." He said, a calm tone to his voice. He looked at ARtie,"The world, tis beautiful is it not?"

"Yea, it's gorgeous," Artie said, smiling. Then he looked at the alicorn ,"You're not bipedal?"

The alicorn nodded,"I am an ancient breed, not modified by your king. He has not told you about us?" He turned,"I am a Alicorn of Light, Concussion.”

Artie shook his head, "No, not at all. He hasn't said a word about you. Are you ambassadors? My name is Artie Bristles.”

"No, you could say we're... liberators, trying to save the world from your king's hooves." He frowned,"I'm hurt, actually, we invaded your capital, and he hasn't said a word about it? He personally was defeated singlehoofedly by my Queen."

"Gran Ruler was defeated!? How, when did this happen," then Artie remembered, he said some magic glowing on the horn's. He bit his finger, "He didn't say. But how are you trying to save this world? Our world is fine...isn't it?"

Concussion walked up to Artie,"Would you like me to show you? The revelations may shock you and cause you to question your loyalties, but you would rather know the truth, would you not?"

Artie looked down at Ponyville (One hell of a hill) and then sighed. As he looked to where his teammates lie, memories came to him.

"It was your birthday, Dyno?"

"We need to go help her!" Artie shouted, and then backed away as he heard his teammates say no. "How can you be so heartless?"

Artie stomped his hoof when he looked at Rhymey' s back, "Answer me! Why do you love her!!!!"

Artie stood alone, staring down his parents. When he looked behind him, there was nopony.

Arte looked away and then nodded, "Show me."

Concussion leaned down to Artie and folded his wings over him as his horn glowed,"Let me free your mind of the influence of he who blasphemes, let me show you changes he forced on your people."

A little unicorn painted on a canvas, a smile on his face before a three horned shadow came over him. A painful change caused the little one to scream as wings sprouted from his back.

"We... We need help!" Rep-Stallion said.

"You must be destroyed." Lightning raised his palm

The world before them changed, as if an illusion was lifted from Artie's eyes.What was once a world mixed of both Unicorpia and Equestrian features, was now just the Equestria of old. Everything was as it was before the world had changed. Artie stepped back, his mind swirling around him. Getting to his knees he held his head, "What happened?" he muttered as she images flowed through. He then opened his eyes wide as he fell back, " No, please tell me I didn't...Please, tell me I murder those three in cold blood, when they-"

"Spare my friends, please!" cried Dementia.

Mysterious shook his head, "They won't listen."

"Please tell me I am not that monster!" he then looked at the world, "Wait...where is Unicornicopia? Why is the world smaller now?" he asked. In front of him, all of the traces of Unicornicopia had vanished. Leaving behind only the world of Equestria. "Where is my home? What happened to Unicorpia!!!

"There was never a Unicornicopia," Concussion said,"Your king lied to you, took you from when you but a child and warped your mind and body for his own ends."

"He took me? But... my parents, my grandfather? The world I came from, how," Artie whispered.

"Perhaps Grand Ruler did take you into worlds beyond, and some of what you remember may have been real, but most of your mind has indeed been fogged by your King." Concussion explained,"Perhaps if you speak with your parents, you may understand the truth."

Artie turned away, "Just tell me... those three, did I kill them?"

Concussion frowned,"... not alone."

Arie stepped back, and stood alone. His head lowered in horror, as he shook. his emotions running through his face as he realized with horror that he was a murderer. HE shivered and tried to cope, 'No...I can't be."

Concussion laid a hoof on his shoulder,"This is a lot to take in. Go home, and think about how to make up for your sins." He turned and began to walk,"Rethink your morals, and figure out to make things right."

Near a graveyard, at a lonely tree, a tombstone had a star cutie mark engraved on it.

Applejack sighed as she walked into the graveyard, her face weary and broken. She gave a small sniffle as she stepped in, "Hey Twilight. Nice to see you."

"It doesn't feel like a year, does it?" Dash said, looking next to Applejack as she walked next to her. "It almost feel like it's been yesterday that I saw-"

Applejack nodded, as Rarity walked in, "The others are coming. Pinkie said she just needed time."

"She isn't-"

"No, she seems ok. I said i I don't see her in an hour, I will be grabbing her, " Rarity said, and then she saw the grave. Giving out a sniffle, she turned to lay her head on Applejack's shoulder.

Samus walked up to the grave,"Friend of yours?"

Behind the tree, a mare in a hood watched,"Everypony..."

Rarity gave a solemn nod, while Applejack sat in front of the grave and placed a hand on top of it, "There were six of us. Pinkie, Rarity, myself, Fluttershy, Dash, and Twilight. She was a very close friend of ours."

Pinkie stands up, looking down at the letter she had just finished writing. She sighs when she licks an envelope and reads it again 'To my dearest friend' Then she looked back at the sharp pen that she had used to write. For a few short minutes, she looked at the sharp tip, the sharpness glistening in the sunlight. Then she snaps out of it when she hears footsteps, "Oh, don't worry Gummy. I'm fine, that wasn't even on my mind." taking one last look at her pen, she turned to walk down the stairs.

"We knew each other at the beginning, " Dash said. "I was close to Fluttershy, Applejack would pal around with Rarity sometimes, and Pinkie was just...Pinkie to us. The Twilight came into the picture. That when we went from acquaintances to real friends. We began to know more about each we began to have fun and laugh together."

Pinkie walked out of the bakery, but felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Cup Cake, who smiled at her. Pinkie forced a smile and hugged back ,"I'm fine...really." over Cup Cake's shoulder, the large kitchen knife glistened, beckoning.

"She got us together," Fluttershy's soft voice spoke as she walked to the group. "But, more than that, she helped bring something out of us. IT was like all of our best traits were out when she was around. She was kind, helpful, caring, and was always ready to help us. Shewa powerful but-"

"Tempered by modesty. A workaholic, but was able to come out her shell to be a hero. People try to say, it must have been destiny for her, but Ah know the truth. Nopony told her to read that book, to stay the course, or any of that. She could've run away, but she always chose to do it. Because she was a hero. Bet you would've like her."

Fluttershy hel Dash's hand and leaned into her, allowing herself to cry. Se gave out soft whimpers as Applejack talks. Rarity was on her knees letting tears flow, "I am sorry, but Spike said he could never bring himself to come here."

Pinkie Pie stepped in front of the treebrary, and placed her hand onto it. For a moment, she frowned at the sight of her own hand, but then looked back at the tree. some tears came to her as she whispered, "I’m fine..." then she began to walk away. Her eyes looked to a river, but then she turned her head away. Before she then say a little filly, flying with big pink wings.

"You would've like her," Dash said

Samus walked over to the grave,"Yeah, probably would've." She knelt down, and closed her eyes in respect,"How did she die?"

When Pinkie had saw some of the unicorpians, she waved to them, but they turned away. She could hear come of their whispers, "Like a little puppy. Too hyper."

"Should be a lot calmer," said another.

"Too happy," said another.

"Idoti"

"Ignorant of how the real world works."

"Should be put down before she embarasses the rest of Starfleet."

Pinkie frowned, looking away. She let out a sigh, a breath that was unlike any she had ever let out before. A small part of her wanted to yell at them, to hurt them. But instead, she just smiled and grinned, "Hello there. Nice morning." she always would smile at them, in spite of their hatred of her.

"Horribly, and Alone," Rainbow Dash said calmly, closing her her eyes to bite back her tears. If they were tears of sadness or rage, she couldn't tell.

Applejack, the only one who did not cry, began, "There was this assassin, Raven. She had been making threats against Princess Celestia for two months. Of course, Grand Ruler told us not to investigate it, that we shouldn't try and protect her. In spite of that-"

"Twilight was the only one who cared." Rainbow Dash tried to finish.

"Raven even mind controlled ponies to kill Celestia. She threatened her to her face, but no matter what, Grand Ruler told us not to look into it. Her power, her strength, he didn't know about them and he said not to look into it. When she finally appeared before us, he told us all to stay back and let her run away," Applejack punch the ground, growling, "And why? Because we had no idea of her power,so we shouldn't be heroes and run after her. Except Twilight. She actually ran after her, she chased her down to fight her one on one."

Pinkie Pie looked and saw Buddy Rose, and then turned away. Buddy raised his hand, but shook his head when he watched Pinkie walk away. He chose instead to open the door and go to his cousin. Pinkie, on the other hand, wanted to say hello and to wish Daphne a happy birthday. But she chose not to, remembering how Lighting was enraged by the idea. She shivered, knowing how they were closed to her.

"She decided to do something out of character for her, and we held back!" Dash growled. "Because the dickwad told us to hang back. Because she was breaking the rules."

"We let him have an earful," Applejack said, looking over her shoulder at her friends, noting how they all had broken down in tear by now, "but we waited, hoping that we knew Twilight well enough that she would be fine. Then Lightning came in, her body covered by a cape. When he pulled it back, we saw the damage."

"Her body was covered in so many burns, it was like someone took a flame to her, her horn was cracked, and there was a hole in her chest," Fluttershy tried to say, crying, in spite of How much she wanted to be strong.

Rainbow had no broken, band began to cry as she held Fluttershy, "P-Pinkie was the first to see her."

Pinkie smiled, trying to not be seen by any other members of Starfleet.

"What a crybaby," said Rhymey in her head.

Starla frowned, "We lost ponies too, but we don't cry all dramatically like that! One tear is enough, then we hold it in!"

"Twilight was ready to die, and if you care for your friend you need to respect that!" said Celesto in her head.

Pinkie stopped skipping and walking for a moment, got to her knees and began to cry. She tried to stop herself by taking deep breath, trying to regain her composure. After a good long minute, she stopped and got up. Wiping her eyes, she put on the smile, "Don't let them see, don' let them see."

"And worst off..."Applejack traile off, trying to hold back her rage.

Samus kept her eyes closed, feeling the air around her.

"He blamed her for her own death!" Applejack said, hitting the ground harder, her teeth bared. While the other three had broken in tears, Applejack had no cried, or shown any hints of crying.

Pinkie saw the graveyard, and for a moment, she froze. Her boy shivered as she stood there in the setting sunlight, her eyes looking over the graveyard. Every part of her told her to go there, and be with them. The she looked at her bag, her letter, and shook her head. For a few brief moments, she looked, whispering to herself, "Be happy, for them."

"Hey guys!!" Pinkie said with a bounce. There was some pep in her step as she bounced to her friend, then gave them each a big hug, " I am glad to have made it."

"P-Pinkie, are you-" Rarity began but was interrupted by Pinkie smiling.

"Yeh, I'm fine, I just needed to make a present for Twilight and," she reached behind her and gave Samus a purple cupcake with stark flakes on it, give Samus my Twilight Special Cupcake." she leaned in and whispered, "It's special because I added some grape jam to the center."

"Pinkie are you sure," Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie smiled and sa next to the grave ,"Yep. I am as right as rain." she looked ahead, almost looking at where Twilight was hiding, "Hey Twilight! Glad to see you again. I know I was a year late, but I wanted to make you something special. Here" she placed a letter onto the grave" is a letter telling you all about it. and a cupcake."

Applejack smiled to herself as she then popped a cork on a bottle and poured the Cider onto the grave, "Can't enjoy the after life without good cider.

"Here," Rarity, leaving a gem, "Something to go along with the best outfits up there."

Fluttershy laid a rose, and then let Rainbow Dash put a pin onto the grave, "Here Twi.' Dash said.

Samus walked over, putting her pistol down to the grave,"Sorry, I don't have anything to give you, so take this, in case there are any nasty baddies you have to contend with in the afterlife." She said, giving a little chuckle, before looking in Twilight's direction.

Twilight sighed, crouching, a tear coming to her eyes,(I'm right here, it's alright, Let me hug you! Damn it, let me talk to you just this once!)

They all stood there for a moment, Applejack looking over to Rainbow Dash, "Hey Dash, thanks for telling the pegasi to not letting it rain."

"Raindrops was in charge of the rain anyway," Dash said, "But she's up and disappeared."

"Her too?" Rarity said, "Cheerilee is also missing."

"Seems like a lot of things are missing lately," Fluttershy said softly, her head down.

Pinkie gave a small sniffle, "Hey guys... why have we been waiting so long for these get togethers?"

"I don't know, but it's getting tiresome. We need more," Applejack said. "Come on, it's... getting late.

"I'll stay here for a bit longer," Samus said, waiting for them to leave, before saying,"I know you're back there."

Twilight gasped before walking out and pulling back her hood,"How long?"

"Long enough." Samus picked up her pistol and handed it to her,"Faked death?"

Twilight blinked before taking it,"Actually, I really did die, but I got better. It's kind of complicated." She said, before heading back to her tombstone.

"Why can't you talk to them?" Samus asked,"LEt them know you're alive."

"... I can't." Twilight sat down and took the letter and the pin,"I'm in a rebellion, and the only way I can fight Grand Ruler is by secrecy. That and..." She sighed,"I'm only at 10% power, they'd worry too much about- OW!" She felt Samus smack her on the head.

"Idiot, they'll worry about you anyway!" Samus shook her head,"Guess we're in the same boat, I'm only 10% myself."

Twilight chuckled as she got up, and held Samus' pistol,"I want to talk to them so much... what if I die? What if they die and I can't-" Her hand was taken by Samus

"You hold it like this, aim, pull the trigger. It can't kill, but it can stun. There's a button on the end that makes it into a whip and a sword." Samus said, before looking at Twilight,"Take this pistol as a promise: I won't let them die, I'll die first, however, I can't die until I get this back. You better not die, until you feel like you're ready to show yourself. Give this back to me when you're ready, so don't die!"

Twilight looked up into Samus' eyes,"Those eyes..." She smiled,"I think I can trust you." She looked at the grave,"Is it technically grave robbing if it's your own grave?"

"I don't know, but it's certainly something to think about." Samus walked away.

"Samus, Rarity is making armor for us at her boutique. Help her." Twilight said, not looking.

Samus held her hand up,"No problem."

Trixie turned off her cloak when Twilight came back to the tree, "You need to work on your hiding skills. She saw you!"

Twilight stared at the letter,"I think she felt me, it’s more like." She looked at Trixie,"Hey, it worked on the others, didn't it?"

"Surrre it did," Trixie snarled, "And I bet I had nothing to do with it."

Rarity was looking at the six suits of armor, each one matching her friends colors. Each suit was plain and unique and felt lifeless. She sighed, 'What are you thinking about Rarity?" Spike asked.

"Our armors," Rarity said. "These suits were given to us by Grand Ruler, but if had something to do with Twilight's death, then I cannot trust them to protect us. They are deay anyway. A door chime interrupted her, "Come in, we were about to close up-Samus!"Rarity said with a gasp.

“Hello!” Samus said with a smile, looking around,”Heard you needed some help with the armors. Thought I could spruce them up if they're too usele-" She stopped,"Wow, those armors suck! They do need help."

The armors were more vest-like than pure amor, with the legs and arms completely open for an attack. As Samus looked at the suits more closely, she wondered if they were even made of metal or just cheap spandex. There was a part of her that wanted to put on her chozodian suit and punch at it, but instead, she just ran her fingers along the suits to get a feel for them. The metal felt cold as ost metal does; however, years of being in space and fighting monsters gave her a second sense to this. It felt like some sort of cheap metal rather than real armor, “And what is this junk made of?”
“According to our dear esteemed ruler,” Rariry said, putting up air quotes, “A bunch of special infused alloy, a bunch of materials, and more that makes it so strong that it can’t be damaged under 50,000 degrees and takes a lot of pressure to make even a single dent.”

In a flash, Samus’s armor came on and she narrowed her eyes. Pulling back her fist, she slammed it against the steel, and put a large dent in it. Een cracking it a little, “I dented it.”

“MY point excatly,” Rarity siad, “They say this and yet we still spark when we are damaged, get tossed around by the monsters we fight, and still slashed and damaged. Even though there is no evidence that these monsters are stronger than we are.”

“Frome what I think,” Samus said, getting out of the suit, “IT sounds like someone just found a bunch of cool words they heard from a show they loved and put it into a blender to make it soud cool.”

Rarity nodded, "Yes, they claim to enhance strength and speed, but I yet to see it. Supposed to increase defence, but they lack any evidence of that. We need something better..." she then looked to Samus. "Miss Aran, may I check on your armor?"

Samus turned on her armor,"Sure, I know a thing or two about suit making.”

"Well, then my dear," Rarity said, sauntering sexily to Samus "You give me ideas and whatever advice I may need. I get to measuring and taking note!" she said bringing it out her tape

Samus nodded,"Very well..." She began to speak,"You need a lot of tough alloys for greater defense, you don't need anything for strength but you definitely need less armor on the joints, and I'll need to know more about the group in order to outright say who needs what..."

"Well, let’s see," Rarity began doing some measurements, her magic grabbing some tools from a corner. "Rainbow Dash is a speedster, capable of reaching speeds of MAch ten, and that is even before Starfleet arrived."

(How she'd do that without busting her ear drums, I'll never know.)"Then we need less armor for her, especially around the wings."

"I definitely agree," Rarity said, "Tell me, this armor you wear, what does it use to protect against friction? Or strength for that matter"

"Oh, you see it uses a special organic alloy that secretes a lubricant that allows it to move with the wind. It also increases my strength through hydraulics built within my breast plate that are powered by raw will."

"Hmmm, I see," Rarity wrote down some notes, "That would be good for Applejack. Pinkie might benefit from the use of space, considering her own...style."

"Style?" Samus asked.

"Yes, Pinkie i s quite...unique. It seems that whatever comes to her mind is usually her favorite option," Rarity said. "And of course, Fluttershy is a pacifist...hmmmm.,"

"Just enough so she won't get killed by an asshole. Pretty sure Conquest doesn't follow any rules saying ‘don't kill the medic.’"

"Shields then?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, that's a good idea, put a fusion core into the back to produce a force field." Samus said.

"A fusion...core?"

"Um, you do have space travel, right? I mean, these a-holes are called Starfleet, I'm just saying..." Samus asked.

"Oh, we have space travel. if you consider traveling by a space bridge travel," Rarity said

Samus frowned,”Arc Reactor?”

“Ar- what?” Rarity blinked.

“... Nuclear Batteries?” Samus deadpanned.

“Do you mean AA batteries?”

"The fu- okay, we'll just use a special magical transcendental doohickey to make a shield."

"You can say ‘use a crystal’’, we are not scientists," she paused when she looked at a distant mannequin. This one was purple with holed for wings. On each arm and leg was a shining jewel, one in a color of the element bearers.

"... I see you've already fixed one for her." Samus said with a sad frown.

Rarity walked to Twilight's suit, "After Twilight had died, I had thrown myself into my work and providing a home for m y fiance. I was just so, broken after losing her that I want to do something, anything for her. I had thought about how weak our suits were and maybe... just maybe there was something I could've done for her. So I made this.

Samus said nothing, walking to the suit and putting a hand on it.

Rarity wiped it a little," Thank you, for caring Samus. I suppose you would understand, even though it seems a bit silly, making a suit for pony who is no longer with us."

"No, it isn't silly at all. It's perfectly understandable." Samus said(All things considered.) she thought to herself.

Rarity sighed and then looked at her measurements, "Thank you for your help, Samus. And now-" with a quick motion of her hands, she had Samus in a very nice shirt and shorts. The shirt was a white tank top with her cutie mark on the back while her shorts were dark green "Some civilian clothes for you to wear. I won't deny that your blue zero suit is nice but you can't be wearing that 24/7"

Samus moaned, feeling dizzy,”Thanks Magic Woman...” She shook her head,”How!?”

Rarity gave a wink as she pulled out some cloth and material ,"You are quite welcome, Samsu. Just come to me when you need some new clothes."

"Yeah, I will." Samus said, walking out, and back to her home,(Not often though, I got to focus on other things.)

When Samus got home, she found it nicely decorated with animals, pictures and other pieces of green. Fluttershy was flying around, doing some suding, "Oh, hello Samus, welcome home."

"My, how..." Samus looked around,"Nature-y." She sat on the couch,"I kind of like it."

"I am glad you do. I was worried you might be a little mad if I was trying to intrude," Fluttershy said, smiling softly

"Well, you're staying here too, I can't really complain now can I?" Samus smiled, looking at the center,"Hmm, this needs a TV... maybe if I grab a couple of cathodes..." She muttered to herself,"Whoa, Sammy, can't get ahead of yourself, gotta fix the ship before you kickstart a technological revolution."

Fluttershy went into the kitchen and grabbed some tea. She paused when she saw a statue of golden wings and a lightning bolt. Then she gave soe tea to Samsu and rested in her spot across from Samus.

Starla went into her home, and she looked around. Her purple eyes looked at the trash left behind from the day before, her torn armor, her blood and some other fluids littering the floor. Walking up the stairs, she could see more signs of her violation by Conquest, his laughter and moans still haunting her mind. Making her way to the bathroom, she undressed, stood in the shower and turned it on, before finally just laying on the floor of the shower and crying for an hour, "I can't do this..."

"And here's to Twilight!" Dash said throwing her bottle into the trash. Taking a look into the new house where samsu and Fluttershy lived, she sighed. the she began to fly around the town, taking the noe of her friend's homes. flying to Pinkie's she sighed, "I hope you are ok, Pinks."

Pinkie laid back onto her bed, frowning a little as she looked up to the ceiling, "I'm fine...I'm fine." then she placed her forearm onto her head and began to cry.

Artie looked at a painting of his grandfather and growled he reached up, ready to cut it.

Conquest looked down at the memory orb, "Time now to have a little fun in the game of mine."

Twilight looked up from a balcony outside the pyramid,"Soon, my friends, I'll be there." She teared up and closed her eyes,"Hold on a little longer. I'm not strong enough yet, but I'll try."

Morning Dawn looked from her newly formed castle in the sky, looking down at Equestria,"In time..." She frowned,"It will be mine again, and my pantheon will be restored to it's rightful place." She turned,"And none will stand in our way, not even Conquest's soldiers."

Theia touched the tree in sadness,"These poor trees." She looked at her research team,"It seems the fire has destroyed this entire forest."

"Is there anything we can do, Doc?" A pony said.

Theia stopped, watching as a lone earth pony came into the woods. It looked at her, but paid her no mind as it went to one of the trees, breathed deeply and hit it's root, causing leaves to grow.

"Magic." Theia gasped in surprise,"Earth Ponies can use magic!"

Theia stopped the video,"Has anything changed?"

North Star looked over her desk,"Remember, No godesses, no princesses, only ponies." She got up,"We bring the alicorns out of power and we give it to normal ponies so as to provide a reason for ponies to work hard. Our first objective, however, is to kill most of the unicornicopians in our way." She looked at her soldier,"Keep an eye out for Conquest's insurgents."

Conquest watched as the general began to plan for the war, before looking to his top three soldiers, "Ok,' Dementia said, "Why did you want us here?"

"Oh, simple, I want you to touch this little orb, together," Conquest said.

Mysterious looked suspicious, "Why?"

"Just do it," Conquest said. There was an evil smirk on his face as his three generals touched the orb, only to scream in agony when their memories flooded in.At first, it started off as a low light of pain as they began to see images of family and friends. Of worlds they had visited and lives they had lost. Then the memories became harder to watch, as they could see and hear their loved one’s voices in their heads.

For MYsterious, he saw his brother making a device the was made for defense and then his own death at the hands of one he though was his friend. For Rep, it was the imagery of his wife and the eventual death by the hands of his own teamate.

Then Dementia watched in horror as she saw her daughter, Starla Shine. How much she cared for her, loved her, and the pain of loss that shr had suffered at the hands of Rhymey’s father.

:You monster, " Dementia growled "You raped my-"

"Yes yes I did. Now, you get the fun of fighting her, for my amusement. Enjoy, " Conquest said, feeling his power glowing brighter. He held his hand up, deflecting Dementia from attacking him.

"That was rash," his friend in the cloak said.

Conquest smiled, "If I am to have any hope to handle that little pantheon of gods and goddesses, I am going to need every bit of hate I can gather."

Carrot Top. wearing some goggles on her forehead, yawned when she walked to Thea, "Has what changed?"

Theia shook her head,"Nothing, it's something I'm going to figure out soon." She smiled at Carrot Top.

"Well, all right," Carrot Top said, and then took a seat with Theia, "For what's it worth, allow me be the first of or time to apologize. You were awoken here in one of the worst times you could've."

"Actually, I may have come at the right time." Theia said,"Perhaps I could give some assistance in freeing you from this darkness."

Carrot Top nodded, "You might be able to help. But, I want to know, what about you?"

"What do you mean?" Theia asked.

"You are doing all of this to help us out. What about you, how can I help you?" Carrot Top asked.

"Well, I am interested in how you earth ponies have grown in the past several years." Theia said.

"why the fascination with us earth ponies?" Carrot top asked

"Not just you earth ponies, but you ponies in general. You have certainly grown from your... primitive state." Theia said.

Carrot Top looked confused, "Are we really that different."

"Why, yes! You as a race-" She stopped. Theia looked towards the horizon,"I sense something in a place... Vanhoover?"

Samus lay on the roof of the house, looking out the stars,"I wonder, is Zebes up there, like in my world?"

Fluttershy climbed to the roof, "What is a zebes?"

"A beautiful planet, with architecture beyond your imagination. It had beautiful forests, wildlife, and the people were the kindest. Or at least it was when I lived there. Then, the supercomputer my adoptive family, The Chozo, built went mad, and turned the planet into ruin with the help of Space Pirates." Samus said.

"Oh my," gasped Fluttershy. "What happened to the chozo and animals?”

"The animals were fine, until the planet blew up, but the Chozo? Some say they died, others say they ascended to a higher plane of existence." Samus said with a frown,”Then I found out about a rogue faction that killed the Chozo on SR-388.”

Comfortingly, Fluttershy gave Samus a big hug.

"I am so sorry to hear about your people

Samus smiled,"Thanks, but it happened a long time ago. I'm more worried about you."

"Me?" Oh, you don't really need to-"

"Whoa, stop right there!" Samus said,"You're the ones stuck in a hell hole, so it's my job to worry and try to keep you safe, and stop all the bad guys."

"But you should also have to worry about yourself. If you do too much, you could tire yourself out and faint," Fluttershy said, protectively.

"Relax. I've been doing this for years." Samus said with a shrugged,"I can take of myself, plus, I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever's coming my way over here."

"Still, we will worry about you," Fluttershy said.

In his lair, Conquest smiled as he stood before the men, "All right boys. It's time to start this war off right! Let's show these mares how we do things my way!" he cheered.

Starla woke up, and looked around, "How long have I been in that shower?" she asked herself. As she stood, she walked out, trying her best to regain composure. As she walked, she heard a door knocked and walked towards it.

Buddy stood in front of the door, “Hey, Starla.”

Starla sighed, looking away,”What are you doing?”

“I... er... I was wondering...” Buddy tapped his foot on the ground,”If you needed to take a walk somewhere?”

Starla blinked,”Why?”

“N-No reason!” Buddy said immediately,”Just thought you needed to, you know, get away from the house a little.”

Starla frowned,”Don’t you have a cousin to look after?”

“Daphne’s at school, Starla, remember?” Buddy chuckled.

“I never went to school. Are the hours really that weird?” Starla stepped out of the house.

“What, really?” Buddy watched Starla lock the door,”Did you homeschooled?”

“Yes. I thought I told you this.” Starla growled a little.

“You don’t tell us anything, Star.” Buddy frowned, turning to walk with her.

Starla blinked as she walked alongside him,”I don’t...” She looked away,”Do we ever talk to each other?”

“None of us ever do. None of us ever seem to care.” Buddy narrowed his eyes,”I mean, why did you even marry Lightning to begin with?”

“Because-” Starla looked at him,”Wait, why do you want to know?”

Buddy gasped, stammering a little as he looked at her purple eyes,”Sorry, that kind of slipped out. I know you’re still... reeling.”

Starla let out a sigh,”I really don’t know. I suppose-” She was interrupted by a call from her wrist. She raised it to her face,”What is it, Sir?”

Grand Ruler’s voice came from the communicator,”Vanhoover is under attack, I need you to move out!”

Buddy frowned,(Will that guy ever leave us alone for two minutes!?)”I guess we got to get busy.” He said, running with her.

Samus watched as Buddy ran by,”What the-?” She said, walking with Fluttershy.

"W-what's going on," Shouted Fluttershy as softly as she could.

"Emergency!" shouted Buddy.

Artie sat in his room alone, looking up at the photo of his grandfather. The paint on the picture still wet. Hearing the alarm sound, he stood up. A frown creasing his face as he looked back at the photo and then to the door.

Rainbow Dash flew alongside Applejack, "Where is it?"

"Vanhoover, but apparently Grand Ruler doesn't think we should be taking the airship to the fight!" she growled.

Samus ran up, and then jumped, her suit coming on as she landed. Her visor lit up, her radar showing her the way to Vanhoover,"Time to go."

Rhymey let out a groan as he tried to get up. Frowning, he made his way to where the group was waiting. He frowned when he saw Rainbow Dash and Samus, "You!" he shouted towards Samus, "You kidnapped my-"

"Actually, according to bylaw number 4545982 of the Starfleet code. In times of danger, if the family member feels like the war is a critical threat, Said family member is allowed to take the female member away to safety. Samus is Flutterbutter's cousin so it's allow," Pinkie said, closing a book.

Rhymey looked confused, as did Rainbow Dash, who looked at the book, "Wait a minute, how did you find out?"

"Oh, some pony gave it to me and told me to read it when I got here," Pinkie said.

Cheerilee watched from a distance, much to the shocked looks of Twilight and Trixie, "How did you-"

"Before teaching, I wanted to be a lawyer. I study every law book that came into existence. So, when United Equestria came into being..."

"Nice," Trixie said.

Cheerilee looked to Twilight, "Now, we need to get moving before they see us."

Twilight raised a finger,"I have questions, Cheerilee...."

Starla came to the group, "Ok, if everyone is here, let's go."

"Hey, are you sure?" Pinkie asked.

Timidly, Starla nodded, "O-of course, we need to save ponies." she said getting onto the train.

Rhymey glared at Samus,”I know your game, Aran! I will defeat you!”

Samus looked at him,”Wanna try it?”

Rhymey squeaked as he hid behind a very unamused Artie,”No.”

“Do I look like a shield?” Artie looked at his teammate.

Samus nodded, before leaping on top of the train,"Let's hurry."

” Shaking her head, she looked to Dash and held her armcannon up as she held on to the train,"Conquest might try to stop the train, or at least the Alicorns will. Plus, this does look cool."

"You really think that they would try something like that?" Dash asked.

Applejack called up from an open window, "Could be a possibility. The alicorns sound like they won't wait for a fight and like to bring the war to us."

"Foolish and unreasonable.
They will attack one at a time like normal people."Rhymey said.

Artie frowned as he sat next to Rhymey,”Why are you sitting next to me again?”

“Because Fluttershy won’t go near me, Starla and Buddy are sitting next to each other, and I don’t know about the twins!” Rhymey snarled.

“So... you’re being a lonely loser, got it.” Artie said with a nod.

Meanwhile, Dyno and Myte were staring out the window,”You know, Dyno?” Myte said.

“What.” Dyno frowned.

“I like the outside. I also like living. Don’t you?” Myte grinned.

Dyno sighed,”You’re bored, aren’t you?”

“... Yes.” Myte pouted,”And you’re no fun!”

Buddy got up from next to Starla., "Excuse me, I need to go make a call."

Starla got up, and followed him. She watched as he rang up a little girl,”I figured you’d be back, Daphne.” He said with a smile.

“Buddy!” Daphne smiled,”I take it you’re at work.”

Buddy sighed,”Yeah, Grand Ruler has pretty terrible timing.” He said with a chuckle,”So, how was school?”

Daphne’s smile faded,”Diamond Tiara yelled at me again. She blames me for her father’s going out of business.” She sniffled,”I didn’t ruin her life, did I?”

Buddy bit his lip,”Daphne, some ponies...” He looked away,”Some ponies are just jerks, okay? Don’t listen to her, okay.” He smiled,”Tell you what, I’ll make you cookies when I get back!”

“Really!?” Daphne smiled,”You’re the best!”

“I know. Hugs and kisses!”

“Hugs and kisses!” Daphne said, signing off.

Starla looked away,”I wish I had that with Lightning.”

Buddy walked over to her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

Samus looked over ahead of the train,"Shit, stop the train, the tracks are out!" She said, running to the front.

In front, the tracks were blown apart, as if someone blasted it with sharp magical energy.

Applejack leapt out of the window, while starfleet and the others walked out. Pinkie Pie skipped to the train and looked at the track, "Hmmm...now what did that?"

Starfleet, just looked at it curiously, unable to tell. Rarity looked at it, "Magical energy. But this was like a sharp blade or fire."

Buddy rolled his eyes, "There she goes again, being all prissy." He then stopped,”Whoa, why did I say that?”

Rhymey’s eyes widened in horror(Is he breaking through my- no, it’s her!) He glared at Samus(Her sheer willpower is acting as an inhibitor to my own magic!) He imagined an image of a giant bird surrounding Samus, blocking several tendrils,(Damn it! How could this happen!? I’m Rhymey Ward, whose mind powers are nearly unmatched! How could I find the one person who can not only resist me, but deflect me!)

Dyno and Myte nodded.

Dash stepped forward, "Hey, all she said was-"

"About how filthy the tracks were and how much of a delay they were, we all heard them," Rhymey said, his voice slightly trembling. Then he heard a click of Samus’ armcannon,”Never mind!”

Samus walked up to them, and looked at Rarity,"You're right. It may have been one of the alicorns." She shot a quick glare at the Starfleet,"We'll just have to go on foot. We can leave these idiots behind, they won't be any help."

Starla was the first to step forward, "We-we need to help. It's our job."

"And if you help, you will die." Samus looked at Starla, and gave her a sympathetic look,"Those who did this are far stronger and smarter than you've faced before, and considering who you work for, you probably don't know how to handle them.

Buddy stepped forward, "We faced worst. Definitely worse than they ever had," he said pointing to the element bearers.

Artie stepped back and began to think, "Is...he acting meaner?"

"Indeed, and probably worse than you have. We can handle ourselves-”

before Rhymey said anything more, Starla shook her head, "Please, I need this!” She cried, grabbing Samus by the shoulders,”I need to show that I’m worth something! That I can still carry myself! I need to prove that I’m not worthless... I’m not...” She knelt down and cried.

Samus sighed,"Fine, but I can't be responsible for saving your asses." Shye glared at Buddy,"No, they've definitely faced worse, I have faced worse. I can tell by your faces that you've not seen real war." She turned and ran off.

Rainbow Dash smirked, "You know, never understood how you think that a creature who can rap your mind and make you the opposite of who you really are is not worse than a bad guy who sends monsters one at time." she said, flying with samus

Samus shrugged,"Some people are just stupid. That and Grand Ruler's brainwashing is rough on them. But I will laugh when they get their asses kicked." Samus gave a smirk as Vanhoover got closer.

"Ooh, can I join in laughing?" Pinkie asked.

"Of course!" Samus gave a smirk.

Above the city of Vanhoover, a figure sat on a cloud, watching.

After they had reached the city of Vanhoove, they were treated to the sight of it on fire. Ponies were screaming, running away. Some were being murdered in the streets, others were running away, "Oh, my Celestia." Applejack gasped.

Starla backed up, fear and shock in her eyes, "B-but, the shields? What of the the shields? Or the fairies? Why is this happening?"

"Who cares! We need to find the monster and attack!" Rhymey said, running forward

Applejack stepped forward, "We need to help the civilians! These aren't just monsters, these are soldiers!"

"And if we beat the monster, we can win, right Starla," the disgust that Rhymey spoke was almost acidic

"There isn't a monster, Rhymey." Samus said, looking at the civilians, and firing on the soldiers with her beam,"Just soldiers. Focus on saving the civilians, or you will have blood on your hands."

The figure on the cloud gasped,"Ooh, somepony with guts! I like her." He said with a smile.

Starla stepped forward, looking at the war as it raged, "W-what should I do."

"Watch, whine and cry?" asked Dementia. Rep-Stallion and Mysterious walked next to her

“Dementia, Rep-Stallion, Mysterious.” Starla gulped.She tried to breath slower, feeling as if the weight of the world was encroaching on her shoulders. Taking a breath, she noticed Dementia looking at her with a sad look in her eyes.

“Well, well, well. It looks like the Emperor brought the entire army.” Raven walked in from the shadows,”I can’t wait to add to my collection.”

Pinkie stepped back, shaking her head,”R-Raven!”

Applejack snarled, stepping forward,”You-” she was then stopped by Samus.

“This the woman that killed your friend?” Samus asked calmly.

Applejack nodded,”She’s dangerous.”

“I like dangerous.” Samus looked at Raven.

Raven chuckled,”The bounty huntress. I’m going to enjoy breaking you as I did the princess.” She walked closer to Samus,”Twilight fell by my hand, do you think you can do what she couldn’t?”

Samus circled her,”Oh, you’ll find that I’m more than you bargained for.”

Rep smirked before looking at the sextette. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Watch!" Starla said, before looking back at her comrades. "Ready?"

"Ready!" the team said. Behind them, the bearers said their henshin phrase as an afterthought "Harmony Hour Friendship Power...”

Starla stepped forward and Shouted, "Starfleet Magic!" she said, tapping her insignia with an open palm. The others quickly followed suit, making their armors come on in a blaze of light and magic. Each Unicorn Pain stood at a point on a star sign, their magic flaring up. Then they each slammed the ground with the palm and shouted their codename.

"Starla Shine! Power of the Stars!" Starla said, raising one hand in the air while forcing the other down.

"Rhymey Ward! I will win with the power of wind!" he said, spinning his sword and raising it to the sky.

"Artie Bristles! Power of Art!" Artie said, looking away and not posing

"Buddy!" Buddy said, snapping his whip and then twirling it around him "Rose! Power of Flora! I used to say Fauna but then I read a book!"

"Dyno and Myte! Power of Fire!" The two brothers said, clapping hands and then standing side by side.

"United in believe, we stand to wipe out evil! Starfleet Magic!!" Starla said, all six taking a pose.

Samus' voice could be heard shouting,"Your transformations suck!"

Choosing to ignore the insult, Starfleet glared at the trio and charged at them. Buddy launched forward, but a boar grabbed a vine and pulled it tightly around his neck. This left him wide open for Rep to hit him hard with the blunt end of his schythe. As Buddy felt the vine let him go, he was immeaditally attacked by Rep’s tail, pulling him into a kick into the face that knocked him out.

Mysterious sighed, watching as both the twins and Rhymey charged at him. Turning into a shadowy form, he uppercutted the twins into a pair of minotaurs who smacked them down with their clubs. As they wailed on the twins and prevented them from using their attacks, he loooked athte swordsman. There was almost a trace of a smirk as he raced in and elbowed Rhymey in the stomach, dropping him to the floor.

As the battle waged on, Starla watched as Artie seemed to be frozen in the middle of the battle. Unable to move or try to fight back. Before she could ask what was wrong, she was immeatitally face to face with Dimenttia, “You!” she said, getting into a fighting stance.

Dementia could only frown as she looked to the young member of Starfleet while she drew her arrow. Reaching out with her hadn, she grabbed the arrow and said, “You should go.”

“G-G-go? Why? Are you expecting me to run!?” Starla asked.

Demintia sighed, and nodded, “This place is no place for you. You were never meant for a warriors path.”

“What do you know?” shouted Starla. “This is what my mother would’ve wanted!”

“Your mother would’ve wanted you to be happy! Now, go and live your freaking life!” Dimentia said, walking away.

“Wait, what are you...get back ehre and fight me!!!!!!” Starla screamed to the vanishing opponent
-

North Star stopped in the crossroads,"I smell flames, but not from Vanhoover." She looked to the right,"Horn Kong." She whispered,"Mares," She looked behind her,"We're going in a different direction." She ran off to the right.

"But, general, we have orders to patrol the outer borders of Vanhoover," said one of the soldiers.

North Star glared at the soldier,"I think it's obvious that Grand Ruler cannot run a military dictatorship! I can! Those ponies will be safe, we're needed elsewhere!" She then thought(It seems harsh, that I want a dictatorship run by myself. Ditzy and Sun won't like it, but... it's a necessity. I hope they can forgive me.)

The soldier nodded, "Yes mam!" he said following her, "But where are we going?"

"Horn Kong, I smell flames." She said, a growl coming to her lips,"He tricked us."

"Who?"

"Conquest. It's simple, send the heroes to stop his men at one small village, while he takes the rest of his army to a bigger town! Since they are distracted, they can't protect the other town! It's straight out of the Book of War!" North Star yelled.

"Book of War?" asked a soldier.

"Could Conquest be this tricky?"

"Coruscare, a great strategist, wrote it." North Star explained,"If Conquest was smart, he'd do that." She said with growl,"We have to stop him, or at least, lower the amount of casualties. If he attacks, let me handle him!"

When they got to Horn Kong, the flames were reaching the sky. Ponies and unicorns alike screamed in pain and death. Griffons were biting into the throats of civilians while boars trampled and crushed innocents. Unicorns controlled the fire to herd some ponies into areas where they were picked off one by one.

"Oh, my gods," said an Unicornicopain. "What happened to the shields?"

"Where are the fairies?" asked a pegasus.

An Unicorpian looked at a boar, "Oh, what is that thing?"

"Your general, how can we fight these things?"

On a rooftop, Conquest smiled as he looked at the death and destruction that reigned.

"You're not. You're focusing on getting the civvies out!" North Star looked up at Conquest,"Dark Conquest! I can't change this country if you kill all my civilians!"

"What? Sorry, can't hear you over the death and dying. Let me get down there. Hey lackey, mind crucifying that child and mother?" asked Conquest.

"Yes sir." he said, walking over to the crying newborn and mother with a hammer and nail.

"Conquest floated down, narrowing his eyes at North Star, ""Now, what was all this about changing this country?"

North Star snarled,"I will take over this country, and bring it to it's former glory with military might."

"Pretty big goals, for such a small name," smiled Conquest.

"Small? I am one of Equestria's greatest generals!" North Star growled,"But I shouldn't get to mad at you, Conquest." She frowned,"That's how you win. That's how you work, isn't it?"

Conquest teleported behind North Star, holding a pamphlet, "OH, you figured me out. Oh woe is me. Tell me, smart girl, what else am I going to say to get your goat?"

North Star kicked behind her,"I'm not going to tell you a thing, monster. Leave this place!"

"Ooof, nice kick," he moaned. The he moved to the side, kicking her in the chest and face,

"Now, what if I like this place? What if the idea that your little sprites first mission failing so hard is just too...enjoyable for me to leave, what then, beyatch?"

"Beyatch? What are you, a teen!?" North Star spat out blood from her teeth, her hands charging with black energy,"Here, have a taste of my special talent!" She said, firing a black electrical Anti-Magic bolt.

"Oooh, anti-magic bolt. Have to remember that!" he said, jumping back. Putting his finger into the black spot, he shuddered, "oooh, colder than advertised." looking up, he fired a lightning bolt at her.

North Star grunted as she grabbed the lightning bolt, before taking it in her hand and throwing it back at him.

"ooooh, Earth Pony trick. The military has been good to you sweetums," smirked Conquest as he got hit.

"Yes, I learned by watching my father!" North Star flew at him, punching him with more anti-magic,"This'll weaken you!"

He blacked a few hits, but winced as he felt the anti-magic drain him a little. Flicking his ears at the sound of a scream,"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"Well, it's been fun, but I need to get going. Enjoy holding this city for a while sugartits!" and with that, he disappeared.

"Ma’am, we pulled a lot of the civilians out, but...only about 1,000 out of a city of 7 million," a soldier landed next to North Star

North Star growled, before looked back at the soldier,"We at least saved some of them. But what was that scream?" She said, running towards the scream.

Cookie Dough sat in front of two crucified bodies, "That monster...he did this. He killed my wife and son. He killed my Wife and- I'll kill the bastards!" he shouted as he stood up, "I hate him, I hate him!!!!!!!"

North STar put her hand on Cookie's shoulder,"We'll get him. How about you join me?"

"I will, he need to pay for this, all of this!" growled Cookie

"This is Grand Ruler's fault. He sent Conquest here." North Star said.

"How so, General North Star?"

"Grand Ruler's hatred brought him here. IF you help me defeat Ruler, then we will take revenge for your fallen family." North Star said.

"I may be a cook, but I will do all I can.

Raven ran at Samus, and delivered a punch to her abdomen. She pulled back, wincing a little before punching two more times into her stomach, before looking up at Samus’ helmet,”This isn’t fazing you, is it?”

Samus shook her helmet, before swinging her armcannon down and slamming Raven to the ground.

Raven caught the ground, and flipped herself over to land on her feet. She charged her hand with black lightning, and then fired it at Samus.

Samus held her arms together, bracing against the strike. She winced as her energy counter went down a little, before a wave of force knocked her off her feet. Samus landed, turning into a small ball and rolling off.

Raven blinked,”What the hell!?” She shook her head, summoning more magic at her fingertips. She sent several shots of red fireballs at the little morph ball. She cursed at every missed shot.

Samus rolled herself out and fired her armcannon at Raven, managing to send the winged unicorn back.

Raven grunted, feeling the burns on her chest. She shook her head, before watching as Samus leaped at her, slamming her armcannon at her head again. Raven stepped back, holding her head in pain,”Gah, think I’m going to get brain damage!” She glared at Samus, before flying up,”Shame you can’t fly, Huntress.”

Samus simply aimed her armcannon up, and fired several shots at her.

Raven dodged and weaved,”Hah, you have to hit me!” She laughed,”So confident in your abilities, but you’re just all talk, like Twilight!” She blinked as Samus stopped,”Aw, giving up?”

Samus looked to her left, and walked off.

Raven chuckled,”It looks like the hero-” She gasped, noticing that Samus was picking up carriage,”Oh, fu-” she braced herself as she was hit by the vehicle. Raven cursed her predicament as she flew back, holding onto the carriage. She growled as she used her magic to break it apart, before getting hit by several shots of Samus’ power beam,”Argh!” She fell to the ground. She shook herself, before glaring at Samus. She walked towards the bounty hunter, charging her hand,”That’s it.”

Applejack, who had been grappling with a boar, looked at Raven’s glowing horn,”Oh, no...” She shouted,”Run Samus!”

“Uni-what?”Samus looked at Raven, noticing that her horn and hand were glowing golden. She prepared herself to dodge the attack.

“Uniforce!” Raven shouted quickly, firing a large golden beam at Samus before she could dodge.

“No!” Pinkie screamed, flashbacks entering her head.

Raven chuckled to herself,”Yes, another one of your-” She froze.

The dust cloud from the attack dissipated, showing an unfazed Samus Aran. The armored hunter looked at herself, before looking back at Raven,”No seriously, Uni-what?”

Raven, however, couldn’t say anything. Her eyes had bugged out of her head, and her tongue had fallen out of her mouth.

“Thought so.” Samus ran towards Raven, her armcannon charging, her visor glowing a deep green.

Raven then shouted,”Wait!” This caused Samus to stop,”I need to do something first.” She took a few steps backward,”... Run!” She teleported away.

Samus sighed,”Aw, she ran.”She then heard the scream of a civilian. Her mind thought back to when a little girl lost her parents to a raid just like this. She ran towards the civilian.

The civilian screamed as a griffon loomed over her. The griffon then turned to see Samus charging at him, "Fresh meat!"

"Not today!" Applejack said, roundhousing him into a wall. "Sorry about taking that one Samus."

A boar charged his magic, body becoming bright as he ran at Samus.

"Killstealer..." Samus muttered, before looking at the boar, and firing her beam. She gasped as it still came at her. She rolled out of the way,"What the hell!?"

"I saw you fight many men," the boar said, screeching to a stop. "You and the orange one fight well. I respect that, and I want a match with you two. I want to best the strong ones."

Applejack nodded, hearing over the communicator, "Hey AJ? Problem. You know that Valkyrie mode we could pull off?"

"It aint working?" Applejack asked.

"How did you guess?"

"Rarity called five minutes ago, saying the same thing. So did Pinkie and Fluttershy," Applejack said.

"So what do we do?" Dash asked.

“Fight." Applejack said plainly.

The boar raced at the both of them, his magic glowing. Applejack opened her eyes wide at ths and stepped in to punch him, only to wince when the blow connected. The boar chuckled as he punched samus, "See, this is why I will break you."

"Ah don't break."

Theia pressed the button, smiling to herself,”There we go, the magical cleansing of the Elements is complete.”

Twilight looked at her as she sat at the computer,”Magical cleansing?”

Theia looked back,”Yes, the Elements of Harmony appear to have been corrupted, so I used my computer to send a spell out to clean them up.”

“Wait... how do you know about the Elements?” Twilight asked.

Theia looked at her computer,”I’ll tell you later. Right now, I need to focus on finding my other Seeds...”

Samus grabbed the hoof, before firing her armcannon at the boar's face.

The boar roared in rage, before headbutting Samus. Then he pulled back to slash at her with his tusks. But Applejack punched him in the stomach and kicked him in the head.

Up in the sky, Rainbow Dash flew corkscrews around the flyers as they swiped at her with their claws. With a smirk, Dash flew under two of them to let them hit each other. Then she uppercutted one in the chin in the sky. As another flew at her, she back kicked it in the face. quickly she elbowed and punched two more.

A pegasus slashed Dash in the back, sending her crashing into the roof top of the building. Looking up, she smirked as ten of them landed in front of her. Getting into a dancing fighting stance, she swept one them. Then she flashed stepped behind two to strike them down. One punched her in the gut and then pulled her mane back. Using that, she buck two of them in the face. and then drove her forearm into another. Watching as a flock came at her, she took off.

Applejack kneed the boar, but he grabbed her knee and used his tusks to slash her chest and stomach. Before she could move, he grabbed her head and punched it twice. Then he slammed her face into the ground. Looking at Samus, he growled, "Stay back." he then grabbed her wings and began to pull, tightly. There was a blood curdling yell as a sickening rip was heard.

Fluttershy gasped, "Applejack?"

Dementia walked behind Fluttershy, a body in her arms, "Watch over her."

"What?" Fluttershy asked, seeing Starla land in front of her.

Rarity ran into a shop, looking for a weapon, "I need something, anything."

That was when Samus fired several beam shots at him, hitting his tusks, his legs, his body, his eyes, and his head. Samus kept firing and firing at him.

The figure smiled as Rep-Stallion finished piling up the unconscious bodies of the Starfleet crew. He flew down, revealing himself to be an orange alicorn with a yellow mane, and a spike cutie mark,”Nice.” He said, causing Rep to turn and look at him,”Now let’s see how you do with me.

The boar screamed in pain as the blasts hit him. The burn marks laying against his hide, he growled. But before he cold move, Applejack grabbed him from behind, her back bleeding heavily, "Where the buck are you going?"

Some of the soldiers chased Rarity into a store, only to run out with bloody wounds on their bodies as Rarity stepped out, armed with a rapier. Narrowing her eyes, she charged back into the fray.

Pinkie Pie bounced around from soldier to soldier, hitting each with her hammers. Bouncing and kicking one of them into the face, she then brought out a powder and blew it into the eyes of some others, making them sneeze.

Fluttershy looked down at Starla, "But why?"

"She needs help, please, I am begging you. Watch over her," Dementia said, running back into the fray.

"Useless," whimpered Starla, her eyes fluttering.

Fluttershy looked down and held her close, "You are not useless. You are trying to do all you can."

"P-please, tell me that it will be all right," Starla asked, looking up with tears in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash landed on another rooftop. Not seeing a griffon ready to kill her. Then, something slashed the griffons throat. Dash looked behind her at the two shadows and smirked.

Rep ducked under a shot from the alicorn’s horn, "Oh great, now that he is involved, the casualties are going to-"

"Increase, I know," Mysterious said. "We need to get those six together." he ;snuck a peek at Samus and the Mane Five fighting.

Samus ran behind Applejack,"Here, this'll hurt a bit!" She grabbed Applejack’s shoulder, and charged her armcannon to strike the mare's back, cauterizing the wounds.
.

Applejack screamed in agony, and then dropped to her knees, "T-thanks for that."

"Is Applejack going to be ok??" Fluttershy asked, coming in with bandages. "I heard the screaming."

"Fluttershy, but I thought you were helping the civilians?" Applejack asked.

"She was," Dash said, landing on the ground, "But an old friend and someone else decided to help.'

A grey Griffon kept pushing some of the ponies forward, "Come on, you guys can do it. Into the shelters now!"

"Thank you...who are you?" asked Starla.

Gabriella smiled, "Call me Gabby! All of my friends do. Oh, this is so exciting. Helping out ponies and getting them to safety. Can you believe we can actually do this for a living? The moment that I saw Gilda flying away I knew I had to follow her."

Pinkie Pie and Rarity ran to Samus and Applejack. Rarity moved to look at the scars, "My word, did the boar do this?"

"Yeah, but Ah'm fine!" Applejack said, standing up, right when Rep flew through the air.

Landing on the ground the lizard pony mumbled, "Be the decoy they said. Hey, Alicorn loser, I'm still standing!" he slowly got up

Samus looked at Rep,"Problems?" She knelt down with a smirk.

The alicorn smiled as he smashed a boar to the ground while heading their direction,"Please, we're all friends here, call me Contra."

Samus scanned the alicorn,

"Contra, the Piercing Nail.

Danger level:Low

This subject's special talent is to make anything sharp as nails.

He holding your Spazer Beam."

"None at all,"Rep said getting up. With a smile he teleported away.

"Hi Contra! I'm Pinkie and this is Applejack..."

As Pinkie began to list of names, Rainbow Dash looked at him, “And what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ah'm just gonna take over this little town, and try to get ya'll on our side, hopefully. If not, then," He grinned,"Ah get to fight ya'll."

"Problem with that," Applejack said, trying to stand. The wounds were beginning to take their toll, "One, we ain't giving up this town. Two, we ain't joining ya."

Contra smirked,"Well then, it looks like Ah'm gonna have to kick yer asses then!" He beckoned towards them,"Probably not a good idea, especially in yer condition, but Ah heard Earth Ponies are pretty resilient."

Applejack took a few steps forward, "Yeah, just watch-oof!" she was pushed back by Dash.

"We got this, you just rest," Dash smikred.

Rarity held up her rapier, "Samus, could you please attack from behind?"

"I'll stay with Applejack, she needs more medical attention." Fluttershy said.

Samus shook her head,"I should take the front, I can take a few more hits."

Contra walked slowly towards them, his wings shining,"Come on, then, little pegasus, hit me!"

"Ok, you go from the front, and I go up top!" Dash said as she took to the sky. Then she flew down with a corkscrew kick. Pinkie Pie bounce and began to move around the alicorn, bring out some rubber bands.

The stallion flew up at Rainbow, his wings sharpening as he whipped his wing at her. His horn began to glow as Samus began to shoot at him. A shield deflected the shots as the alicorn began to use his hooves to deflect Rainbow’s punches. He winced at the rubber band shots,”Rubber bands, mah hated foe!”

Pinkie giggled, pulling some more bands from her mane with a grin.

Dash moved to the side, yelping as Contra used his wing blades to cut her in the side. Shaking off the pain, she roundhoused him in the side.

Rarity looked up and concentrated, sending her blade up with her telekinesis to slash at his flank.

Contra grinned as the hit struck him, drawing blood from his side,"Good one." He grabbed her leg with his magic and threw her to the ground. He flew down to the ground, charging his horn, before feeling a couple of blasts from Samus’ armcannon. He turned and glared aher.

Contra breathed in and out, causing yellow energy to course through his body. He stomped on the ground, causing the grass to shoot straight up. He hit the ground again, firing the grass blades from the ground.

"Bingo!" Pinke said pulling the net of rubber bands in front of the group and catching the blades. Then she turned to him, and fired them back.

Contra used his horn to hold the blades in place, a smile on his face. He then used his horn to summon up a shield to deflect a fist from Dash, a barrage of shots from Samus, and a series of slashes from Pinkie,”Pathetic.”

“Then how about this!?” A shout came from above. Contra looked up, before a kick from Applejack struck his horn, causing his horn to surge. Applejack rolled out of the way as the grass blades stuck at Contra, causing him to cough up blood.

”Gah! Nice one.” Contra looked at Applejack,”Got yer second wind, I take it?” He looked down at the blades in his chest, and used his horn to disintegrate them. He then closed the wounds with his magic.

Applejack wiped her chin,”Damn it.”

“Ah know, how can you beat a guy who can heal himself, create powerful magic, and use anythang, and Ah do mean anythang, as a weapon?” Contra used his magic, summoning water droplets in the air, and then sharpening them,”Answer, ya can’t!” He surrounded himself in the droplets, and then fired them around himself.

Samus grunted as she and the others began running for cover behind a destroyed building. She looked at her energy counter,”That took a lot of energy.”

Rainbow panted as she crouched down with the others,”Okay, plan?”

Applejack looked out the window, looking at Contra. She gritted her teeth,”He’s waitin’ fer us.”

Fluttershy bit her lip,”What if he’s right? He can heal any wound you guys give him.”

“With his magic.” Rarity pointed out,”But he shouldn’t have unlimited amounts!” She looked at the others,”Even Twilight would get tired after prolonged magic use.”

“The problem is, how long can he go on?” Samus asked,”He’s probably smart enough not to overexert himself.”

“That’s true.” Rarity said with a nod,”But, remember when Applejack struck his horn?” She pointed to her own horn,”We unicorns lose more magic when our horns are hit physically than during normal usage. If we hit his horn enough times, he’ll lose his magic!”

“Unicorn magic.” Applejack interjected. She looked down at the ground,”Did you see how he made those grass blades? That was somethin’ else. Even if we remove his unicorn magic, we still got his other two sides to deal with.”

Rainbow smirked,”Well, if it’s pegasus magic you want dealt with, than I could take care of that! Just give me a few seconds, and I’ll break both his wings.” For emphasis, she flexed her own wings,”Ya see, while you unicorns channel most of your magic through your horn, we channel ours through wings. If we break his wings enough, he won’t be able do anything weather related.”

“That leaves his Earth Pony side.” Applejack frowned,”Earth Ponies heal quick, so if Rainbow does break his wings, we’d only have a few minutes to defeat him before he gets those back!”

“Hey!” Pinkie waved,”I’ve got an idea!”

The others turned to her,”What is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“How about I play distraction? My rubber bands were able to affect him!” Pinkie said,”I think that’s because he didn’t know what they were!”

Applejack put her fist into her palm,”That’s right! Celestia said these guys were more ancient than Discord, so there’s plenty of stuff he’s never heard of that’ll throw him fer a loop!” She smiled at Pinkie,”So you’ll distract him!”

Rarity nodded,”How about I go mid?” She pulled out her rapier,”I can dance around him while Pinkie’s keeping him busy, and do small strikes with my sword. He’ll block them, but it’ll leave his horn wide open for attack!”

Samus got up,”I’m going to a vantage point, and snipe at his horn, and then wings when the time comes. While you guys were talking, I used my x-ray visor to scope out five different locations to hit him from.”

“I’ve got cloud watch.” Rainbow Dash said,”When we move out, I’ll fly up above, and then start quickly doing hit-and-run tactics! Just like in flight school!”

“Flight school?” Applejack asked.

“Long story.” Dash rolled her eyes.

“And then Ah’ll go in close.” Applejack said,”I’ll use my strength to keep him from using that fancy special talent of his on ya’ll, and start wailing on him when he loses his magic.”

“Applejack.” Fluttershy put a hand on her shoulder,”You really shouldn’t-”

Applejack held up a hand,”Ah’ll be fine. Besides, Ah got mah friends beside me.” She smiled at her.

Fluttershy frowned, and then looked away,”I don’t know...” She looked back up,”But I’ll be here to help whoever needs me!.”

“Alright, on three, we break.” Applejack whispered as they all huddled together,”... Three!” She ran off, Rarity running opposite her. Pinkie disappeared, while Samus rolled off in her ball form. Rainbow flew up into the sky, while Fluttershy gave a sigh, and pulled up her medical bags.

Contra whistled a little tune to himself, when he saw Rarity appear,”Ah was wonderin’ when ya-” He was interrupted by a stream of confetti in his face,”What the Tartarus?”

Applejack yelled as she grabbed the alicorn by the shoulders, and then slammed her head into his, causing him to scream in pain. Rarity strafed around him, using her magic to swing her rapier at him.

Contra spat as he glared down at Applejack. His horn began to glow, when a power beam shot struck it,”Gah!” He reared up, allowing the earth pony mare under him to grab the underside of his hooves, and pull herself backwards into a suplex, slamming his head into the pavement.

Contra rolled back, struggling to his feet. He moaned,”Mah head...” He felt a very hard kick into his right wing, illicting a loud crack,”Argh!” He glared up as Rainbow Dash flew back into a set of freshly placed clouds,”Ya idjit, Ah invented the hit-and-run tactics!” His horn began to glow, only to be hit by a shot from another direction,”Damn it!” he shouted, looking around,”Where are-” He was interrupted by a pie to the face,”Mmf!”

“Lookin’ fer somepony!?” Applejack slammed her elbow upside his jaw, and then slammed her palm into his throat, causing him to choke.

Contra coughed, and then he wiped up the frosting from his face,”Ya think this is gonna last, mortals!?” He shook his head a little,”Kind of-” He screamed as Rainbow struck his other wing,”Funny.” He laughed, trying to use his horn once more, before another power beam shot struck him,”Argh!” He chuckled,”This is the most fun Ah’ve ever had.” He coughed, before Rarity stabbed him in the shoulder,”Shame...”

Applejack punched him in the chest,”What, that yer losin’” She smiled.

“No...” His horn glowed again, and then dodging the beam,”That yer gonna die.”

Applejack gasped, feeling something prick her lungs. She began to cough violently, kneeling down.

“Ap-” Rarity knelt down as well, coughing up blood.

“Wh-” Rainbow fell from the clouds, coughing as much as the others.

Pinkie fell to the ground into a fetal position, coughing.

Fluttershy dropped her medical tools as she coughed up blood.

“Ah just made the air in yer lungs prickly. Ya have about... 1 minute before ya die.” Contra shouted up to the vantage point where Samus was,”Ya hear that, Hunter!? Ah know that suit of yers is protecting ya.” He felt a figure beside him blast him with a power beam shot, causing him to scream in pain.

“Call it off.” Samus said, her armcannon charging.

Contra laughed as he stared at her,”45 seconds.” He dodged several other shots, before slamming his hoof into Samus’ chest, causing the mare to gasp in pain,”Ya can’t win without yer little friends!” He spun around, kicking her into a building.

Samus slowly got up, noticing Fluttershy’s dropped medical bag on her left,”40 seconds Sammy.” She could hear Contra say. Suddenly, an orange hoof slammed into her helmet, sending into a wall. Another hoof came at her. She swung her armcannon upwards, deflecting the blow to allow her to shoot Contra in the face.

Contra stepped backwards, wiping the blood off from his face,”Nice...”

“Your magic’s almost dry, isn’t it?” Samus chuckled, noticing that his wounds weren’t healing. She let out a breath, unknowingly summoning a slight bit of yellow energy from her armcannon.

“30 seconds, and yeah, that’s why Ah’m gonna kill ya now so Ah could get back to mah wife. Nothin’ personal.” Contra walked towards her, and sent another hoof at her, causing the huntress to roll out of the way in a morph ball.

Contra smirked,”Oh, and did Ah ferget to mention that those in hidin’ are in danger too?” He walked towards her,”25.”

Samus rolled back, and reached behind her. She stood her ground as Contra punched her again in the stomach. She looked up,”Hey, you got something in your eye.”

Contra looked at her,”What?” He then gasped as a scalpel went straight into his right eye,”Gah!”

Samus let go of the scalpel, and got up to slam her armcannon into his mouth as he screamed, and fired. The god coughed several times as he stepped back,”20.” Samus said, looking towards the group in worry,”Come on.” She fired five more times, burning parts of Contra’s coat. She ran up to him as he held his side, and punched him in the face. The force of the blow spun him so his back was turned to her. She grabbed his head.

Her visor beeped,”Warning:Life signs of ponies depleting.”

She yelled as she twisted his neck around, causing a resounding snap. She watched as his lifeless body fell to the ground. She panted, kneeling to the ground.

“Life signs restored.” her visor said. Samus looked down at Contra’s body. Particles flew from him, and towards her armcannon, causing it to glow.

Samus waved her armcannon around and fired upwards, showing a beam that split into several,"You acquired: The Spazer Beam."

Theia gasped as she walked into the room, seeing Twilight's eyes glow bright. Every object in the room levitated off of the ground and slammed back down. Twilight gasped,"I just felt a piece of me return!"

"Warn me!" Lyra said, getting up.

"Well, I don't think it's something I can control!" Twilight frowned, looking at her messed up room.

Fluttershy wiped her cheek as she walked to Samus,”Did... did you have to kill him?”

Samus sighed,”It was either that, or watch him kill several others in cold blood. Sometimes... you have to pick the hard choices.” Her suit came off as the others came to them.

A bright light flashed, blinding the others,”Equestrians, Chozodian.” Morning Dawn’s voice boomed. The alicorn floated down to them, anger in her eyes,”Time to die.” She said, her horn flaring.

Samus ran to the front, and splayed her arms forward,”No you don’t!”

“Queen!” Stryker appeared next to her,”If you kill them, the Equestrians will never join you. I know one our own has died, but unfortunately these things happen in war. Killing them will not help you!”

Morning Dawn’s horn stopped, glaring at Stryker,”Very well, then, I will take my leave.” She glared at the mares on the ground,”But I hope you’re happy with killing a husband.” She teleported away.

Applejack held her arm in relief,”Why did you do that?” She asked Stryker.

Stryker looked at her, and smiled,”Because, My Little Ponies, you are worth saving.” She teleported away.

“My Little- oh, why is the world spinning?” Applejack said, wobbling around, not noticing her friends collapsing.

"Wow! That was so cool, the six of you were like Bang and zap and blast and awesome and-"

"Gabby, calm down," Gilda said, she looked down at the group, and sighed,”Come on, let’s take them home.”

Days of peace and memoir.

View Online

Penny Scillion came out, growling at Nurse redheart, "I do not care if you are her personal physician. This is dealing with Unicornicopian-"

"And I told you before, I am an expert on Pony anatomy and I know more about her! My mother helped deliver her, her brother, little sister! My family has taken care of an apple since-"

"Whoa, hold it!" Dash said. "Stop the arguing. Just tell us how she is."

Penny sighed, "Her body is ok and she'll live, just that...her wings were torn so badly that we can't fix them."

The five mares gasped, Dash just looked away, "It's ok, she hated the wings."

"So, all three of us then,” Rarity said looking down. “All three of us are without wings.”

"For those of you who haven't heard...Horn Kong was destroyed last night." Vinyl said over the radio.

Samus walked out, hearing Redheart's complaints,"No, you can't be out that fast, you are too hurt, are you even listening?"

Samus ignored her as she sat down.

She looked at Rarity,"What was that about losing your wings?"

"Pinkie Pie had wings, but she said she removed them. Applejack got her wings torn off, and of course I lost my wings before any of them," Rarity said calmly. "Not that we enjoyed having them anyway."

"They were horrible looking, Rare," Dash said.

Samus frowned,"There are scars on Pinkie's back, my visor scanned her, but how did you lose your wings?" She looked at Rarity.

A doctor with a greying mane looked at the x-rays of Samus' body,"Fascinating, her body healed in such a fast manner!"

"More so than an earth pony, Dr. Bracket?" Nurse Bleeding Heart asked.

"Yes. Not even an earth pony is this fast. What is she?" Bracket asked, his curiosity peaked.

Twilight sighed, listening to the radio,"I should've been there..."

Cheerilee walked behind Twilight and rubbed her back, "And what could you have done? Your magic is at its weakest, you are drained, and you would've hindered more than help."

Twilight punched the ground,"But... I could've saved more than a tenth! I could've saved..." She began to sniffle.

Cheerilee, sighed and pulled Twilight in for a hug, "You could've also gotten yourself killed. Do you want your friends to go through that again? They have been through a painful loss once."

"We all wish we could do something more Twilight," Ditzy said, walking in with some muffins and some steaming tea. She sat down and placed it down for the three of them, "But we can only do so much. You might have saved some or been a hindrance. We;re not like you and you friends, we aren't super-powerful."

Twilight cried,"So... this is what it's like, looking up instead of down..."

Ditzy put on her motherly look and sat with Twilight, "It's not so bad, you know. Having to look up from down here. When you were at your best, you inspired all of the little foals and colts into being heroes. I can't begin to tell you how often I hear Dinky brag how she will be the most powerful sorceress in the land. But now..."

"You are looking up, and that is ok. This gives you a chance to know what it's like from our end. We may not be the fastest, or the strongest, or the most empathic. But that doesn't mean we can't do anything," Cheerilee said warmly. "We can do just as much, in our own way. Trixie can trick, Ditzy can be protective, Lyra sings, and me...I can talk my way out of things. And I think you know what you do best."

Twilight sniffled and wiped her eyes,"Be sarcastic and try to make sense of the
situation?"

"No," Cheerilee wiped Twilight's eye, "You are as smart as Trixie is tricky. Which means you can probably figure out things better than us. We already have skill, strength, and stamina... we need the brains."

"And if you are still worried about being unable to do your part," Trixie walked in, smiling, "Allow Trixie the ability to train you."

Twilight smirked,"Oh, you train me? That's funny."

Trixie looked shocked, "Well, why not? You are currently not at full power, and not used to being weaker than Trixie. You need the help."

"I think we can all help, we are supposed to be together right?" Ditzy asked.

Cheerilee nodded, "Friends born of fire end up having bonds stronger than steel-Princess Twilight Sparkle, treatise on Friendship magic. Page 250."

"Yeah, and you just want to milk that for what it's worth, don't you?" Twilight smiled,"And that's actually a paraphrase, the full quote-”

"Bored now!" Trixie said, taking one of the muffins in her magic, and then adding some tabasco sauce and peanut butter. "Luna says she is going to have a mission for us to undertake tomorrow. So get some rest."

Lyra sighed, watching the scene, "Thinking about our little mismash?" Raindrops asked.

"We have a weakened alicorn on our team, with the exception of a few, we barely know each other, and we still havent provenouselves. I am just nervous that we might end up failing," Lyra sighed.

Raindrops lightly punched her friend, "I wouldn't worry. We just need time to bond. Just watch us."

Luna sighed, watching from the clouds, "Sister, how did you ever manage all of this for so long?"

Twilight yawned,"Okay, I'll probably stay up for a while, figure out what I can do now with my power up."

North Star sighed,"We got 1000, at least. Now we have to rebuild." She put a black piece onto a board,"This will not continue. I will win this day."

"Sir, may I ask, why Go?"

"Chess is a game for a war against two sides. Go, however, is more versatile." North Star said, waving her hand across the board,"There are four sides to this war, and Go one of the few games that can show this. The pieces can act the same, but separately, as with those two lone white pieces representing myself and the Elements, and those two black pieces, representing the Queen and Conquest."

Cookie stepped in, "So, where is the princesses pieces?"

North Star got up and looked out the window,"There are people who play the game, and then..." She frowned,"There are those who own the board. Those are the princesses, and others."

"Like Grand Ruler," Cookie stepped to the window, "By your leave, ma’am."

"North Star, we have begun the rebuilding preparations and begun to fix the town. There is just a little problem," said a soldier.

North Star nodded at Cookie, before looking at her soldier,"What is it?"

The soldier frowned, "It seems that some of our soldiers are getting weaker. Some are getting more hungry."

North Star growled,"Did Grand Ruler actually give them food!? I want you to go to Ponyville, and ask some of the farms for provisions, and rewrite the soldier's schedules. And report this only to me, not Grand Ruler or anypony else, understood?"

"And that is how I lost my wings. I have to admit, it was a painful-"

"Finish the story!!" Pinkie said.

Rarity looked at Pinkie, "What?"

"I like the next part," Pinkie giggled.

"Fine," Rarity said, rolling her eyes.

Somewhere in Manehattan, a building stood, a clover logo on the side. Inside, a green maned, grey coated unicorn mare stood, her hooves on the rug as she watched from her window,"War," She said,"War never changes." She turned, walking to her front desk, a newspaper was prominent, with the headline,"Friendship is Magic fails in saving Horn Kong." There was also an article with her picture,"New President of Clover Corp elected." She looked at a figure in the corner,"The pieces are falling together. North Star is making her move." She smiled.

The figure chuckled,"But I feel dissent amongst the populace." His pointed head leaned into the light,"The Gods are doing their work. Soon, Celesto will lose the people's belief in him and you will have to step in." He laughed,"And I'm proud, Samus is getting stronger." he sharpened his purple claws.

"And so is Twilight." She pressed a button on her desk, causing it to open to reveal a map, showing several images of the Elements, Samus, Morning Dawn, Celestia, Conquest, Grand Ruler, and Luna's rebellion.

"Where is your weapon, Locver?" The creature asked.

"My weapon? It’s safe" Locver got up.

"You seem especially interested in Twilight. Why?" He asked.

"Not just Twilight, Dragon, Samus." The mare smiled,”They are, shall we say, an integral part of our ongoing plan.” Her eyes glowed orange for a second.

The door opened as the dragon whispered,"Later."

"Clover, ma'am!" A unicorn said as he stepped through the door,"You're getting late for your appointment!"

"Is it for the new Clover Magic and Technology Workshop in Ponyville!? Oh, my gosh!" Clover pulled out several papers,"I hate being late!" She said, running out.

"Rarity here saw through his clever disguise," Applejack smirked.

"Yes, but hurting little Spike's heart hurt more than anything." Rarity frowned.

One day, after the other villians were taken down, he took me to a jewel cave

"I won't lie, there was something handsome about him, charming and kind. Though Lighting's report made it seem like I was a small school filly in his presence."

"However, over time I began to notice things about him. I saw that he would frown when he saw a Wonderbolts photo, the mere mention of Grand Ruler sent him into a tizzy, and he had a rusted Wonderbolts badge on his person. Now, I don't think I need to tell you that is suspicious behavior. Spike, my fiance and boyfriend, must have suspected something as well, for he brought it to me-"

Rarity smiled softly and began her story...

Theia walked up to Luna,"It's amazing. There were so many of you God-types in my time. How many are left?"

"Before or after the awakening of those 13 alicorns? Before, it was just me, Celestia, Cadence my niece, and Twilight Sparkle," Luna said. "Cadence and Twilight ascended however. There use to be two others, my Father and Mother.

"I wouldn't count those who... 'ascended' gods. Powerful, yes, but not gods. We used to classify gods as those who create outer magic, those that magicians tap into. Wells of magic as it were." Theia said,"We have seen many of you, but we dared not touch. What happened to your parents?"

"Father said that he found something he needed to take care of and mother vanished when me and Tia took the throne," Luna said, frowning.

Theia sighed,"I'm sorry."

Luna sighed, "IT is all right. I miss them both terribly. I wonder at times if they know what er are doing and if they are proud of me and Celestia.”

Theia put a hoof on Luna's back,"I'm sure they know, and they're proud of you."

"No, they wouldn't be proud of me. They can't be," Luna said.

"Why not?" Theia asked,"I can't imagine they wouldn't."

"Because I almost killed everything they worked for! Everything they had created was almost destroyed because of my jealousy and anger," Luna said.

Theia looked confused,"You... don't look like the kind of pony who'd do that."

"I was, once," Luna looked to the sky, "Once I ruled side by side with my sister, she rose the sun and I the moon. We were happy, but more and more I saw the truth. Ponies would sleep through my nights, become scared of me, and not even acknowledge that it was me who saved them from the nightmares. While they praised Celestia, calling her sun queen, they treated me as the devil. They shunned me and my art, so... I gave into the darkness in my heart and to the voices of the dark world. I became the monster known as Nightmare Moon."

Theia blinked in confusion, before shaking her head,"No. You're too nice for that."

"Now I am, thanks to Twilight and her friends," Luna smiled.

Theia smiled,"That is why they're proud of you, of your accomplishments. Just like they're proud of what you're doing now."

"Do you really think so?" Luna said looking at the pyramid, "Leading a small team of heroes who have never even seen a fight plus a weak mage?"

"Of course. That takes real guts." Theia said.

(Bad Horse? Great, the Thoroughbred of Sin, what's next, Johnny Snow) Samus rolled her eyes,"What's with the naming of attacks, that's so... unnecessary."

"Starfleet has this verbal tic," Applejack said. "Where they just start yelling their attacks willy nilly. It's like they have to do it for some weird reason, half surprised nopony has attacked them before they could use their moves."

"Yeah, they even wanted me to do it when I do my rainboom," Dash commented.

Rarity sighed, "The only reason Spike did it was because he thought it made him sound awesome."

"Well, it just makes them sound like dorks." Samus said,"Then again, I'm not surprised they have the tactical expertise of a watermelon."

Titan walked down a cave, a long frown on is face. The gods showing up, while not a giant wrench in his plans, was troubling. As he walked down further, he saw the white unicorn looking up at a glowing orb, "Titan?" asked Moondancer.

"Tell me young unicorn, do you see the six's Valkyrie modes in the orb?" Titan asked.

Moondancer quirked an eyebrow, "What? No, sir but I-"

"Let me see," Titan stepped closer, and saw nothing. Growling he punched his hand, "Damn it..."

"What? I am using an old Earth Pony Alchemy tool?" Moondancer asked. "But I thought this would bring back Twilight."

"It would've been the first step," Titan said. "It was a tool to remove Valkery from the equation. I did not want the bearers to be monsters when they fought. But now someone has forced a change of plans. Come Moondancer, we need to look into new maneuvers."

"Wait, you need-"

"I have need of your talents," Titan said.

"Me, but what can I do?" Moondancer asked.

Titan lifted up an orb, looking at the magic inside, "What are you willing to sacrifice?"

"Redheart, Ah'm fine. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health and-"

"The moment you go home you will start working out!" Redheart said, frowning.

"Yeah, so?" Applejack asked.

Redheart growled, and then smirked, "Will one of you lovelies see her home? Then make sure she stays in bed for the rest of the day?"

"I will" Dash said.

Rarity looked at the two Griffons, "Miss Gilda, Miss Gabby. Is there anything we can do you?"

"Yeah, get me and the chick to Canterlot. I want to talk to Grand Ruler, it's why I am here," Gilda said.

Gabby nodded, "Our latest king is refusing to send troops, but Gilda has this awesome idea to send some mercs over to aid in fighting conquest and taking him out. Isn't that cool? When I saw her leve to do it, I told myself to go and-"

"Gabby," Gilda siad.

"I will be glad to guide you," Rarity said.

Pinkie Pie looked serious, "Where are the other Starfleet members?"

"With Penny Sillion," growled Redheart.

Samus muttered as she looked at the griffons,"Why couldn't I be a griffon?"

"Oh, dear!" Clover walked into the waiting room, holding a little foal on her shoulder,"I didn't expect to see the Elements of Harmony! Jeb, postpone my appointment!"

"Again, ma'am?" The stallion next to her said.

"Um, hello, and you are miss?" Applejack asked.

"Wait, you are Clover, are you not? The new president of Clover corp?" Rarity asked, looking at the mare with a finger on her chin.

Applejack looked with a weird eyebrow, "Clover Corp?"

"Oh, yes! Clover Corp is a company known for its Equestrian affairs, creating new ways to use magic, it's pharmaceutical subsidiaries, and it's perfumes!" Clover smiled,"I become president after my mother retired." She looked at Rarity,"And you are Rarity Belle! I actually own some of your dresses!"

"I am honored," Rarity said, smiling. "It is always a pleasure to know when such a big name uses some of my product. Just the same, I use some of your perfume."

"And who is the little one?" Fluttershy asked.

"This," She placed the foal down,"is one of the sick children I came to see. I was going to go to an opening for a new shop here, but then I saw how many tents there were in this hospital, and I had to go inside and check on the children and some of the wounded."

Rarity smiled, "My how wonderfully generous of you. My friend Fluttershy is doing much of the same. She is a wonder with her healing abilities."

"Oh, yes!" Clover smiled,"I've heard much about your work with animals, Miss Fluttershy."

"Oh," Fluttershy blushed as she hid behind her mane, "I didn't really do to much, I just do what I can."

"Speaking of Helping ponies, where's Pinkie?" Applejack asked.

Pinkie Pie looked in on the Starfleet members, and frowned. Walking in, she put on her smile, "Hey guys."

There was a groan from four of the members. Artie and Starla just sat in silence, not talking or moving. Pinkie skipped in and began to ask, "So, I was wondering how you all were doing?"

"What does it look like? We lost!" shouted rhymey.

Buddy said nothing, but instead got up and walked to a holophone, "Connect me to Ponyville please??"

"And here you are, bouncing without a care in the world," Rhymey said, his eyes narrowing.

Pinkie shrugged, "I just thought I could make you happier. We did take a major beating."

"Well, you thought wrong. Now get out," Rhymey said.

Pinkie rolled her eyes, "Fine, sheesh!" she then skipped out.

"Oh, but what you do is great for everypony!" Clover smiled,"I can only hope my resources can do as much as you can."

"OH, it's just enough. We are all in this together right?" Fluttershy said.

Rarity nodded and smiled, "Indeed. Though, more so than others."

"Of course, after all... unity is important." Clover said with a smile.

Samus frowned, getting up and walking past Pinkie into the room,"Hey, jerks!" Samus yelled,"Have you ever lost before!?"

"Yes, we have lost," Shouted Rhymey, glaring at Samus. "But the way that she acts, you think we are all fine and dandy. She is trying to be happy when we just suffered our biggest lost. That is how she always is, an overactive puppy who needs to learn that not all things are happy all the time."

"Hey, I was just trying to lighten the mood," Pinkie said, her smile unwavering.

"And we don't need it! You want to help, then be like us!"

"Miserable and sad all the time?" Dash growled, landing next to Pinkie.

Samus growled,"You don't act like it! You're acting like a bunch of children!" She glared at them,"She's trying to bring you up, and is the only one who wants to try, speaking of which, your family or friends aren't doing a good job of helping you, are they? But that's beside the point!" She walked up to Rhymey,"You all failed horribly, and you're unnecessarily taking it out on the one person who gives a damn! Instead of listening to her, you're insulting her, even though she's done more than you! You lost, horribly! Instead of taking it out on others, look inside of your own self, and figure out what you did wrong, and better yourself, not sit here and whimper!" She looked around,"While you all were getting your asses kicked, the social workers were evacuating the populace! Oh, you didn't notice that, did you? All you were focused on were the enemy, not the civvies!" She growled,"As a matter of fact, Buddy over there almost hit a firepony with his rose whip! And those arrows Starla shot actually injured a couple of officers! You had no regard for anyone around you, do you!?"

"Starla winced, a part of her trying to come over her pain in her head. Her mind began to try and feel bad for the civilians, while her training was telling her something else. There was a tick in her head that was hurting her, "We have shields and shelters. It is not our job to get those civilians out of trouble, it's theirs. They know the rules

Rule One: Do not enter battles.
You cannot get harmed by a battle or the effects of battle if you don’t get involved. When the alarms sound, do whatever you can to reach the nearest shelter before the force-fields activate. If, however, you are unable to reach any shelter in time, stay as far from the danger area as you can to avoid being seen or involved.

Rule Two: Help or hide.
If you do get trapped in the battle area with no means of escape, help out as best as can, if asked so, or just stay out of the way. Leave it to the professionals.

Finally, Rule three: Defeat the villains.
There are three known basic ways to do so: Either by forcing them to retreat. Render them weak enough to capture and imprison them, or heal them, or if and only if the situation truly calls for it and you have the authorization, destroy them! I repeat, this is only a last, and absolute last resort when all other methods fail and with proper authorization.”

"If they can't get out of the way then it's their fault, not ours!!!"

"Well those are some ridiculous rules!" Samus yelled,"If you don't care about collateral, than you're just as bad as those monsters are! That's why I didn't help you, you've got that flimsy armor, and those three were holding back! The soldiers weren't, so I focused on who need help the most:The civilians. Helping is what you should be doing, instead of causing collateral damage! I like you to go to those families and tell them it's their fault!" She glared especially at Rhymey,"But you don't care do you!? All you care about is your weak, significant, fragile pride! If things don't go your way, you lash out at others, even if they're trying to help!" She frowned,"And you are blaming everyone else for your monstrousness! Because you couldn't defeat a single bad guy, you're sitting there and whimpering over your lost and fragile ego! You can't handle failure, which is why you're sitting there moping about it!" She looked at all of them,"Instead of yelling at your allies, focus on what's important: How do we stop more lives from being taken? Because I don't know if you've heard, but Horn Kong is destroyed. If you had been outside like I asked, you could've saved some of them, but like idiots, you ran in half-cocked without regard for your own actions." She turned,"I should let you know:Some casualties in Vanhoover, were caused by you. If you had any compassion, you'd explain to those families what happened, because right now, you're the devil to them."

A clapping sound was heard,"Amazing." Concussion sat at the window,"Samus, you are something else."

Samus glared at the alicorn,"What are you doing here?"

"Seeing a very special pony." Concussion smiled.

Starla leaned her head back, in utter shock, "We-But we didn't, how could we. We didn't mean,"

Rhymey interrupted again, "It doesn't matter. It was their fault and now get out!"

Artie looked at Concussion, "And who are you looking for?"

Samus glared at Starla,"If you actually paid attention, you'd have seen it. You didn't notice the hateful glares you got as you were pushed into the shelters?" she looked at Rhymey with a smile,"No."

"Silence." Concussion said, knocking Rhymey out with his voice,"Now that he's out. Artie," He looked at him,"What have you learned from this experience?"

Starla's attention was focused on Samus, and didn't see Artie walk out with the Alicorn, "N-no, I couldn't. I didn't see them. I-I-I just thought that they were too busy running. I thought they were fine."

"That Starfleet is full of monsters. They like to trick and deceive others. Rhymey, he's messing with all of their heads and they don't even know it! I thought I could trust him, but know them at all," Artie said, narrowing his eyes.

Samus glared at her,"No, there were bodies strewn across the streets, I've heard those civilians shout their anger at you." She turned to the door.

"And what will you do with this new knowledge, Arthur Bristles?" Concussion asked.

Starla looked away, and sighed, "I... I don't know."

"I...I..." Arite paused.

(Momma, I want to be a hero.

One day, I will be a brave hero like in the stories.)

"I know they are wrong, that they are cruel, but I..."

"If you don't want to be a monster, go to those families, and talk to them." She walked out of the room. As walked, she noticed a teen walk past her. She stopped him,"Those in there are defenseless. I know you're angry, but this is a road you don't want to go down."

The pony looked at her, putting his knife away,"They killed my mother..."

"Do you want to be responsible for taking away someone else's family?" Samus asked,"Don't lash in anger, think your actions through." She walked off.

"Can you be a hero without them? Luna is creating a rebellion. North Star is working against Grand Ruler, and we alicorns are protecting the populace that worships us. Or you could only swear allegiance to the Fruits of Harmony." Concussion asked,"It is your life, my little pony, and I will not sway you in any direction."

Starla sat alone in the room, staring out into the void of her tent with only the soft beeping of Dyno and Myte's machine to keep her company. He looked down at her hands, tears flowing from her eyes before she placed her head n her palms and began to cry. For a few moments, she just kept on trying until she felt a hand on her shoulder, "Just let it out," Rarity said.

"Why do you care? You hate me," Starla whimpered.

Rarity sighed,"Yes, but that doesn't mean I won't help."

Artie frowned then narrowed his eyes in determination, "I know they can be a good people, if I can just try. I am going to become a hero and show them a better way. And if I have to follow the path of the bearers...so be it."

"Very well." Concussion said, slowly disappearing,"I will watch over you, Arthur Bristles."

Starla looked on in shock at Rarity's generosity, and then began to cry into her shoulder. For a moment, the two just sat there, letting her cry.

Buddy looked at the holophone, "What do you mean that calls out going are disconnected? Fine. I'll talk to Daphine when I get home."

Artie walked to the group, before looking to Pinkie who had her head down. Curious, he raised a hand and said, "Hey-"

"Hey there!" Pinkie smiled. "I was just walking, going to my friends!!"

"Ok, bye," Artie said looking to the tent where his team was,”Well, that was a bust...”

Clover stood in front of the building, her smile wide,"With this, I will bring new forms of magic to all of United Equestria! You will be able to learn much about Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns and even Alicorns! With the opening of this new shop, Clover Corporation will be able to branch out to all cities in the country, bringing our gifts to all of you wonderful ponies."

In Canterlot, Gilda screamed and walked out, "Can't believe that asswipe! We offer help and he throws it in our faces!!!"

"Well, at least Celestia looked nice. Give her that," Gabby said, flying in the air, "So...now what do we do?"

"We make our own mercs," growled the elder griffon. "Start delivering letters."

Grand Ruler sat in his throne, looking at the four assembled, "It is not enough that you four failed to save anyone back in Vanhoover, but now I discover that you let those miserable elements to save you? How much more can you disappoint me?"

"I am sorry sir, but it is as I said, Starla is untrained, as you can see by her absence," Rhymey said. "Perhaps, it is time you appointed me as leader?"

Pinkie Pie bounced to Starla's house and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, she heard nothing. Looking at the door oddly, she picked the lock and walked in. The house was filled with an eerie silence. With each step, Pinkie noted how barren the place was and dark filled inspite of the time of day. Then she walked up to the room where there was light. When she went to the room, she watched in horro as Starla held a sharp blade to her wrist. Without a word, Pinkie ran to the unicorpian's side, pulled the weapon away.

Starla looked at Pinkie, glared angerily, and then wept into her chest. Pinkie Pie hled Starla closely, patting her back and hugged her.

Rainbow Dash sat on the fence, watching Applejack punch a tree, " Working harder than usual?"

"Yeah, trying to find out that thing that Alicorn used, Hamon?" Applejack said.

"I don't see why you are so hung up on the alicorn, AJ. We kicked his can, we're alive, things are-"

"They are not fine dash! He whupped us, he made us look like chumps and we needed Samus to save us!" Applejack punched her hand into her fist, "And I could do nothing to help you! That's what ticks me off the most! You could've died and Ah would've had to watch."

Rainbow Dash felt her ears dropped and patted her friend on her shoulder, "You messed up. So what. We just need to get back up and try again, right?"

"Yeah, and that's what I plan on doing," Applejack said, narrowing her eyes and walking off.

Dash sighed and flew off. As she flew, she watched over the town, watching as the life of the town continued on as normal. Ponies walked and talked, friends were made and love was shared. A part of her felt warm, knowing that the town probably didn't know about the war, or even care. What was important was them living.

Rarity looked at Spike, Remember, nopony come int!"

When Trixie next woke up, she would find Twilight gone.

In a newly furnished room, Twilight was attempting pull-ups on a bar, making struggling grunts with each attempt.

"Twilight, what are you doing?" Trixie asked, coffee in magic as she stood in the doorway.

Twilight jumped down and picked up a towel to wipe off. She breathed in, letting some earth pony magic through,"I'm training my body, since my magic's only at 15%. If I can get in shape, I can better protect ponies."

Raindrops stepped in, "You are doing it wrong."

Twilight stammered,"Well, I tried to do everything the book said!" She pulled out,'Exercising for Eggheads.'

Raindrops looked at the book and threw it away, "Forget it, my uncle wrote most of it.

Now, Let's get down to business.
To get you strong!

We are going going to do this right
Before you get it Wrong!

You may be an alicorn
but you can bet, before we're through

Twilight, I'll make a mare
Out of you!!!!

Raindrops walked in front of Twilight, and begins to show her how to do a pull up. Then she shook her head when she messes up. Then as she helped out again, Twilight manages to make one perfect one.

Quiet as Fluttershy
But the fire within

Once we find your inner strength
You are sure to win!
(Insert rest of lyrics here.)

Raindrops smiled as she put Twilight down, "Now I think you're getting it." there was a towel around her shoulders.

Twilight panted,"I feel like I'm going to die!"

"Good, then it's working."

Luna watched the early morning workout and began to laugh.

Theia gasped,"This almost seems like torture..."

Twilight whimpered,"It is..."

"Princess," Raindrops bowed.

Luna shook her head and held up her hand, "At ease. Let yourself finish the training. We will talk at 1000."

"Good," Raindrops then smiled, "You know, maybe I should give the others-"

"No!" shouted the other five at once.

Twilight looked up at the clock,"9:35. That's seems un- Oh, shit."

Twilight's screams echoed throughout the building.

Samus held up her welding mask as she looked at Fluttershy and the messenger,"The school wants me to speak? I thought Grand Ruler would make them hate our guts."

"Well," The messenger said,"They were going to give out the propaganda, but one of the generals promised to give a more free, honest press if we gave her mares provisions."

Fluttershy smiled, "I am glad that they want to let you talk with the foals."

Samus sighed as she got up,"Well, okay. I guess I can teach them a couple of things." She looked back at the boots she made,"Just a little bit more." She whispered before going towards the door.

Buddy smiled, looking at his cousin as she walked down the steps, "Morning, my dear little cousin!"

"Hey Buddy," said Daphne, looking down with the usual morning dumps.

"Daphne, we've been over this. Can't you call me dad at least once?" Buddy asked.

Daphne began to eat her cereal, "You know how Starfleet sees us, we're just cousins and nothing more. I may live with you, you may raise me, but we aren't anything more than that. Not siblings, and definitely not parental units. Now, I need to head to school."

"Uh, sure thing. Good luck," Buddy frowned, seeing his little cousin go out the door. Turning to look at a photo of his aunt and uncle, he sighed. he looked at another photo of him holding his little cousin in his arms, smiling at the camera. Shaking his head, he walked out of the house. The air was crisp for him and a perfect setting for him to train. Then he heard crying and saw Pinkie Pie walking out of the Dawn house, with Starla in tow.

Apple Bloom waved to Sweetie Belle, notinc her friend was looking down, "What's the matter, Sweetie?"

"Rarity, she is in her mood again," Sweetie Belle said, putting her head on her head as she sat on a bench.

Lighting shuddered when he heard the door opening, seeing Conquest step in. Fearfully, the captain backed up, "Hey, I don't wanna hurt you, I just want to bring you news from the front."

"Get away," Lighting whispered.

Conquest smiled as he sat with Lighting, "Guess what happened in Vanhoover. You lost, big time."

"What? But, we can't we could never lose."

"Oh no, then why do I have a slew of new slaves out front?" asked Conquest.

Conquest smiled, "Oh yes, and your wifey seemed to be pretty broken about it too. Who knows what might happen to her."

"What, but Starla can't possibly lead them," gasped Lighting.

Conquest smiled, "OH, and now you insult your wife?"

"No! I mean, I don't mean to, it's just that-" Lighting trailed off.

Conquest tucked his chin, "What's the matter, unable to think or do anything unless Grad Sneeze gave you a command? This is why Twilight was better than you."

"No, she wasn't. She was brash and a brat and-"

"Didn't let innocent people die!!" Conquest said. The he began to laugh, "That is what it's all about with you Starfleet members. You act like heroes, you talk like you are heroes, but you ain't heroes."

"No, we are heroes!" Lighting said. "I am only here because I want to be."

"Then prove it, beat me. If you win, then I will show you a photo of your wife. IF not, then it's the bed for you," Conquest laughed.

Fluttershy decided to fly out into the market. As she made her way through, she saw Rhymey. Looking around, she saw Rainbow Dash, "Um Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah Flutters?" asked Dash.

"Could you walk with me? Rhymey is here and I don't want him to see me. Or talk to me."

"Sure thing," Rainbow Dash said, walking with her.

Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash, blushed and stood a little closer to her. Rainbow Dash smiled when she looked down at Fluttershy, and protectively, placed her arm over Fluttershy's shoulders. There was a warm smile when she brushed against Rainbow's body. As Dash walked with her, she could feel a warm feeling come to her.

Applejack laid against a tree, painting. Sweat washed over her body as she looked up to the sky. Lifting up her hand, she looked it over, the front and back, "Hamon, reconnect with our element. What does it mean?"

"What in tarnation are you doing, waiting out here Applejack?" Granny Smith asked.

"Trying to figure out this thing called Hamon, granny," Applejack said.

"Hamon? Let me tell you all you need to know about Hamon," Granny said.“You remember how it was, way back before the union of the tribes?”

“Yeah, we all hated each other. The only reason why we even tolerated one another was because the other had something the other wanted,” Applejack frowned, “Almost as bad as right now.”

“And you can expect this led to some might bad confrentations once in a while, some pretty bad wars,” Granny Smith said. “Amd how do ya think we earth ponies kept up with the other tribes?”

Applejack looked up in thought for a second, “Well, Ah know one way was with Earth Pony alchemy. Kind of had a run in with that a few months back.”

“The other way, was with Hamon,” Granny Smith said. “It was an ancient fighting art that allowed us earth ponies to match unicorns in their spell casting and match the pegasi in speed. A hamon user is capable of doing impossible feats, such as catching lightning, destroying shields, and moving with great agility. It also helped us Earth ponies live for a very long time. You wouldn't know it, but Ah am actually 120, not 80.”

“Wow,” Applejack gasped out in shock. “Amazing. Do you think you can teach me that?”

Granny Smith then looked at Applejack weirdly, “Ah thought you already knew it. From the way you exercise and fight, you already had some of the basics down. He way you breathe, keeping yourself focused, that’s all the basis in hamon. In a way, you make me think of your pa, Celestia rest his soul. He had the potential to be a great hamon user, but he chose instead to raise his his family. Good choice if you ask me, no sense in fighting if the world’s peaceful.”

Applejack nodded as she followed Granny away from the house, “Ah guess you’re right about that. Wait, did you say Ah’m like pa?”

“Of course you are. The both of you are as determined as can be, and hard headed too,” Granny said, getting a chuckle form Applejack. The two made it to a small grove of apple trees, “Now, the reason why hamon works so well for us earth ponies, is because it taps into our basic element:Earth. You know how a tree gets it strength and energy from photo-wotsits”

“Photosynthesis, Granny,” Applejack said.

“Ah on’t need a 30 bit word to tell me how trees work!!” Granny Smith grumbled. “Hamon is based on the same principle, you are breathing in to take in the energy from the sun and transferring it to you own body. Now breathe deeply.”

Applejack began to breathe slowly, letting her chest rise and fall with each slow breath, “Like this?”

“That’s it, slow deep breaths,” Granny said with a smile. “Feel the air go into your lungs, taking with it the warmth of Celestia great gift. Breathe out, feeling the power of the sun go into your cells and empower them with energy. You are like the trees you raise, strong, enduring, and powerful. You are an earth pony, wich means your magic is about strength and endurance. The sun is a part of that, feeding you strength and keeping you strong against the harshest of fights.” then she looked up at a tree, “There is a fruit bat up in this tree. When you are ready, punch the tree and wake up th bat, without distrubing the applas.”

Applejack nodded and continued to breathe. After few short seconds, she drew back her punch and delivered a hard blow against the tree, knocking down some apples. Applejack looked down in defeat, “Not good enough.”

Granny Smith patted Applejack on the back and gave her a hug, “You’ll get it it. It just takes some time.”

“Ya, you’re right,” Applejack said, then she looked up at Rainbow Dash, creating a double rainbow in the sky as she practiced her flying. “After all, she wouldn't quit.”

“Ah yes, one of your many friends, “ Granny said, smiling as she sat with her granddaughter, “I am glad you met them, they seemed to have a positive effect on you.”

“You think so?” Applejack asked, looked at her grandmother.

Granny nodded, “Before all of this, you used to be so headstrong and focused on your work that it was hard to get you away from it all. Ah used to worry if you were gonna work yourself to death. Now look at you, you open up more, let other help you out, and have become a great mare. If your pa were here, he’d tell you right now... you did good kid, real good.”

Buddy walked into the hospital, "Excuse me, but where is Starla Dawn?"

"Room 301, psyche."

"Thank you," said Buddy as he walked up the stairs. As he ran up the stairs, he began to see so many ponies from Starfleet sitting around. Some of them were in bandages, some were in casts, while others had families looking over them. The more he watched, the more he became disheartened. He had never seen the results of war on the populace, and now... he began to feel a weight on his shoulders. One pregnant mare sat in front of a door, in tears as she held a piece of armor in her hands.

Buddy shook it off, trying his best to focus on his destination. When he got to the psyche ward, he saw Pinkie Pie sitting in front of the door. Her ears was lowered and a sad frown was on her face, "Pinkie? Why are you here? Why is Starla-"

Pinkie shushed him, "Sorry Buddy, but they aren't allowing anypony in. She has someone keeping a watch on her."

"A watch, what do you mean?" Buddy asked.

"Suicide."

"Suicide? B-but why, when?" asked Buddy.

Pinkie looked away, "She felt bad about your loss, especially since she just found out she almost killed ponies. It hurt her real bad."

"My god, but..." Buddy walked to the door and pulled back. "Can I sit with you?"Buddy sat with Pinkie Pie, looking back at the door occasionally. He had a frown on his face when he thought about who was behind the door, "Why? Why would she do that?"

"Because, she was feeling hurt about our loss at Vanhoover," Pinkie said.

Buddy then asked something without think, "Why didn't you let her?"

"What?" Pinkie asked in a very dead manner.

"Well, in Starfleet, we don't force help onto others. It's not our way. If someone doesn't need help, we let them refuse it. We don't just barge into their homes and stop them," Buddy said.

Pinkie frowned, "You really think that it would' been all right to let her die?"

"Well," Buddy paused. "I mean, she... Well, We in Starfleet are prepared to,"

"I don't care about those meanies, I care about you. Would you have been happy if I let your friend die?" Pinkie asked, her eyes tearing up.

Buddy looked into Pinkie's eyes, and then sighed, "You know, it's a lot harder to say that, when it’s someone you care about in there."

"You don't open yourself up much, do you?" Pinkie asked.

"No, we don't," Buddy said, shaking his head. Then he sighed, "I never thought about death. It was just something that happened to others. "We're Starfleet, we are invincible" I thought we could weather anything. But, this loss...I just don't know. And now I know that one of my fr-teammates was about to kill herself? I don't know what is supposed to be done. Everything in the Starfleet manual says that unless she asks for help, unless she wants it, we can't do anything about it."

"So, basically, you would've let your friend die?" Pinkie asked.

"Yes! No, I mean..." Buddy sighed and placed his face into his hands, "I don't know. I just don't know."

Pinkie then pulled him into a hug, letting him rest his head onto her shoulders.

Samus walked into the school house, and saw the children.

"And here is Samus Aran! One of the heroes of Vanhoover!" The teacher said with a smile,"I'm sure she has lots to say."

Samus looked at the almost dull eyes of the children,"What did they do to these kids?" She asked herself.

"Hello Miss Aran," said the students.

Applebloom shot her hand up first, "Samus, when you and my sister fought, did you hold back?"

Samus chuckled,"I did, a little. I didn't want to break any of her bones." She looked and noticed that very few of them were actually into this,"You know what? This is too boring, let's go on a field trip!" She got up with a grin.

The teacher, a young stallion, probably just graduated, gasped,"But-"

"No buts, let's take a trip around the village, and I'll tell you whatever you need to know!"

Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle all smiled and almost ran to the door. Each with a grin on their face.

Applejack walked away from her orchard, her thoughts still walking away with her. Looking back at her hands, she let out a sigh, "Wish Twilight were here. Maybe she could figure out what’s going on."

"Hey, Applejack?" Caramel asked, stepping behind her. "I was wondering, if maybe you aren't busy...you and I could take a walk?"

Applejack smiled warmly, "Sure, need to clear my head any way."

Samus held Dinky on her shoulder as she walked with the kids,"And that's how I destroyed an entire race of evil monsters!" She said,"Now, remember, if you have the will to do something, you can do anything!"

"Really?" Diny asked, listening to Samsu with wide eyes.

Samus nodded,"Yep! Went to their home dimension and everything! Trust me, I've seen a lot, now let me tell you of an evil radioactive poison that was also alive!"

Scootaloo smiled, "So, how fast does your speed booster go?"

Samus smiled,"Roughly a little higher than the speed of sound."(Though, I never tried going higher. If I did, my suit would break down, and my body would be torn to shreds. If I were a full Chozo however...)

"Cool!" smiled Scootaloo.

Applebloom looked at Applejack weirdly when she noticed that she and Caramel were walking together, "What are they doing?"

"Those two look very happy together." Samus said,"Are they on a date?"

"A date," Applebloom asked herself. "Are they really...Oh, please say yes!!!"

"Samus," Dinky asked, "Do you think my mommy is ok?"

It had been a few hours since Starla had been admitted and Buddy had fallen asleep on Pinkie's shoulders. Pinkie looked from her spot to see Nurse Red heart standing before her. There was a caring smile on the nurse's face, "Pinkie... thank you."

"You're welcome...for what?"

"Being here, for her," Redheart said. "Nopony else came to see her. I don't think anypony will."

"I noticed," Pinkie said, looking away. Then she asked, "Will Starla be-"

"She is going need time to recover. This loss, the rape, then being told that she indirectly hurt others. It's just too much to take. It's amazing," Redheart said "Starfleet are trained to be physically strong, and able to combat mental manipulation, but psychologically, they crumble."

"You have seen worse?" Pinkie asked.

Redheart nodded, "Besides Ace Ray? Oh, yes. Follow me." sxhe led Pinkie down the psyche ward, showing various ponies in the rooms, some shuddering, some looking on in fright and mumbling about a mare in their nightmares, while others were catatonic. "There just somethings that being the strongest and the fastest can't solve."

Pinkie gasped at all of this, "Will Starla be ok?"

"She needs constant care. Does she have anyone living with her?" asked Redheart. Pinkie shook her head no, "Then she will need someone to live with her. I also want her to undergo psych evaluation. Then convince our lord and savior to let her have some time off."

"I'll do it," Buddy said, standing up.

"You will do that?" Pinkie aked, smiling a little.

Buddy nodded, "I need to do this. She needs somepony and right now, I think I am the only one who can help her open up."

"All right, I will entrust her into your care," Red heart said.

Pinkie Pie went to the door where Starla still slept. Softly, she sighed and sat, waiting.

"Rainbow Dash, thank you," Fluttershy said softly. "For this. I was afraid that Rhymey might make a scene."

"He wouldn't dare, not with me around," Dash chuckled.

Fluttershy smiled warmly at this and cuddled closely.

A few minutes after the training session...

Carrot Top stood next to Twilight, a smile on her lips as she held out a plate of food and some coffee.

Twilight whimpered as she slowly took the food and coffee,"Thank you..."

"You are welcome dear," Carrot Top said.

Ditzy smiled at Twilight, "Are you ok?"

Twilight got up, her legs trembling,"Besides feeling like every muscle in my body is trying to kill me, I'm fine!"

"Good," Raindrops smirked.

Twilight frowned,"I'll remember this when I get my full power back..."

"I'll look forward to it, chubby," Raindrops said, playfully tugging on Twilight's cheeks.

Luna landed on the balcony, "If you lot are finished. I have your first mission."

Twilight muttered,"I'm not chubby..." She looked at Luna,"I'm ready.”

"There, now wasn't that fun?" Conquest asked, holding Lighting down on the bed. The room was torn to shreds, giant holes and flames littered the room.

"Just finish it," Lighting said.

"Ah, but I want to be nice, and show you your wife," he then showed Lighting a picture of Starla, in the hospital. "Seems the poor dear wanted to commit suicide. Isn't that sad. It looks like without you, her big strong man...she's falling apart."

"No," whimper Lighting as he felt his torture begin, "No...please no."

Samus looked up,"Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's that she went missing a few weeks ago on a vacation and I'm worried about her," Dinky said, lightly rubbing the ground with her hoof.

Applebloom waved her two friends away from the group and looked over a cart, "Look at it. It's so a date."

"I think you are overthinking things Applebloom," Sweetie Belle sid. "They are just walking around, talking, and enjoying each other's company."

"Yeah, if that is a date, then Fluttershy and Dash are on a date," Scootaloo said, looking at the two pegasi.

Samus rubbed Dinky's mane,"I'm sure she's fine. But I can look for her if you'd like?"

"Please!" Dinky said.

Scootaloo stood on top of Sweetie Belle, lightly parting her mane, "Ok, so what do you think they are saying?"

"I don't know, but I hate the way Applejack's acting. She's like 'oh this guy is totally into me, might as well not notice," Applebloom said, frowning at Applejack, who would smile and talk to Caramel occasionally.

"Not as bad as Fluttershy and Dash," Sweetie said. "I love this mare, but my ego and coolness won't let me show it."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "Of course they won't say it. They need time to coax the other into it."

Samus gave a thumbs up,"That's a promise!" She got up,"Come on, it's getting late, and your families are probably wondering what the heck I'm doing!"

The teacher, Meter Stick, chuckled,"Actually, I think they'll enjoy the fact that their kids got to go on a field trip."

The girls nodded and ran to Samus. The mood was a little bit brighter on their faces as they ran to the school to get their things. Daphine pulled her back pack away, and then listened to the CMC talk, "Ok, it’s been a while, but I think we’re closer than ever in finding our marks! What do you want to do?”

"Well, I have a couple ideas..."

Daphine sighed and took a look at her flank. Then to her id code, frowning as she glared at it, "Stupid code!" she whispered.

Fluttershy just then noticed that she was holding Dash's hand, "Oh, how long was I-"

"The entire time, but it's ok," Dash winked, "I think Rhymey got the message."

"Yes," Fluttershy said, blushing and walking out of the market, "I need to head back. Want to-"

"Walk you home?" Dash smirked, holding her hand.

Luna stepped into a large circular room with a circular table in front of them. Pressing a button on the table, a hologram of the planet showed, "Grand Ruler has been making some very poor moves as of late. With his constant showing of strength and declarations of superiority, not only are we becoming more isolated due to fear, but I worry that we are making more enemies than we need. If we are to fight Conquest-"

"But Luna, are the alicorns not the bigger threat?" asked Carrot Top.

Luna nodded, "True. But fighting a war on two major fronts is not only foolish, but deadly. Grand Ruler is right now our biggest obstacle, followed by Conquest, and then the Alicorns. Correct, Twilight?"

Twilight nodded,"Our resources are stretched thin thanks to Grand Ruler. If we remove him, we'd have a better chance of getting allies to fight off the bigger threats." Twilight then looked back at Luna,"So, what's our first mission?"

"I have arranged meeting with the strongest powers on the planet. You seven are to present yourselves as ambassadors to Equestria. Talk to them, find out their problems, what they need, and most importantly...what will get them to our side."

Twilight nodded,"Are you sure it's alright for me to do it?"

Theia stood up,"May... I come?"

"Yes, you may Theia," Luna said. Then she looked to Trixie, Cheerilee, and Carrot Top, "Girls, please give Twilight something that I believe she has not had in a while."

Twilight blinked,"What do you mean?"

"Make-over," Luna said with a smile.

Carrot Top grabbed Twilight's mane while Cheerilee bagna to help with some of Twilight's make up. Trixie, meanwhile, kept her horn glowing, making Twilight change coats, "Let's see, grey?

"Eep!" Twilight gasped. She looked at herself,"Nah, grey doesn't seem to fit. No offense, Ditzy."

"No problem," Ditzy said.

Trixie continued to modify her illusions, "Blue? Cyan? Green? Pink? Light pink with a star cutie mark? Yellow with bacon hair?

"I like the yellow with bacon hair!" Twilight suggested.

Trixie nodded, zapping twilight and making her look like Sunset Shimmer. "There we are."

Luna smiled, "There, any more questions, Twilight?"

"Yeah," Twilight smiled,"Where can I get a leather jacket?"

Luna smiled at this, making her horn glow.

The ambassador room was held in the pyramid’s ballroom. The major powers, excluding the unicornicopians, all began to talk and mingle. Stopping in front of the door, Trixie narrowed her eyes, "If any mare has any ideas on how to mingle, now is a good time.

Theia walked into the room,"Um, excuse me." she looked around,"We're here to represent United Equestria."

One of the griffons looked at the pyramid with awe,"I've only heard about this in legends..."

A deer remained silent, looking away. The dragon ambassored snorted at the name. The boars, yaks, and antelope all winnied dismissively. Lyra gulped at this sign, "We have our work cut out don-"

"Hello there, Mr. Deer. My name is Cheerilee and this is my associate, Ditzy," Cheerilee said, smiling.

"Um hi," Ditzy said.

Carrot Top walked away, fluttering her orange outfit, "Sometimes you need to know the right thing to say.

Twilight smiled,"Hello, everyone, I'm Sunset Twinkle, what're your names?"

Theia nodded,"I am Dr. Theia." She looked at all of them,"How... amazing."

"Amazing?" question a deer.

"I don't know if you've heard tales from your ancestors, but I was once part of an ancient race of creatures that watched over this world. I am amazed at how things have definitely changed from 10,000 years ago."

"Yes," the deer sighed," For the worst it seems.”

Twilight looked around,"But we can change that. What will it take for you all to work with us?"

The dragon looked at Carrot Top, "Well, for starters, get rid of Grand Ruler."

"He is holding so much of this back. He treats the rest of us like slime," A seapony said.

Twilight thought for a moment,"If we get rid of Grand Ruler, would you be more willing to help us?"

A Griffon nodded to Raindrops, "Yes, we would. Celestia was a kind leader, she could actually rule her country with respect."

"I'm just here for infiltration and food," said a changeling.

A Saddle Arabian looked at Ditzy, "But do you think Conquest will attack us? It seems that all your battles take place on other planets or Equestria. Never anywhere else."

Twilight looked at him,"If Conquest wins, he will attack you too. The same if the Alicorns of Light win."

"The Alicorns of Light?" asked an antelope, "I thought they were only a legend."

Twilight looked at him,"Well, they're not. They're a very real threat, and if we're too busy fighting Conquest, we won't be able to fight them off."

"Do you even have a plan?" asked a kirin

"Yes." Twilight said,(No!) She thought,"If we use Conquest to defeat Grand Ruler, we'd be able to give Celestia back her throne, and then you can help us! However, I need your assurance that you will be able to help." She looked around,"Conquest's men are made up of other races. However, I'm willing to bet that half of them will leave once Grand Ruler is defeated, as they won't have a reason to fight anymore!"

"Providing you can get Grand Ruler off the throne," a minotaur said.

"Hey we can do all of that and more," Lyra said.

Trixie then got up onto the stage and smiled, "Ambassadors, your worries are unfounded!! We do have plans for every contingency. We will find ways to take down Grand Ruler and give you all that you need to win. We will stand strong and fight to the end."

"Even with just six of you?"

"There are eight of us. And just watch, we will wow the world with our colossal might!!!"

"The world was saved time and time again with only six ponies, and once with two." Twilight said getting up with Trixie,"Because they were united. If we are united, we can conquer any foe! Alone we are strong, but together, we are invincible!"

"Then we await the results. " the dragon ambassador said, taking his leave with the others.

Ditzy gulped, "So, do you think we did good?"

Twilight gave out a sigh,"I don't know. We'll see when we defeat Grand Ruler."

"So, then, what is the plan?" asked Trixie.

"I think we need to find a way to weakening the ponies’ trust in him, to break the hold he has," Cheerilee said.

Twilight nodded,"We should start by destroying the re-education camps and the prisons, and then relaying important documents to K-Colt."

"Then that means we find them and who knows where they are," Ditzy said with a smile.

Lyra sat back, "It's going to be hard, so might need to gather the information we have."

"Oh this is so exciting," Cheerilee said, smiling.

This prompted a raised eyebrow from Raindrops, "You are excited about this?"

"Espionage, intrigue, and adventure?" asked Cheerilee, "Of course I am excited! Applejack and the others are going to be busy stopping gods and monsters... we're freeing a whole planet with our wits and skills. This is going to be fun!!!

Theia grinned,"So, I get to watch a new generation defeat a dictator with their own skills?"

Twilight gave a small smile,"Just like in a spy novel." She chuckled,"I'm glad to be able to save others, even if it's not with the Elements."

Ditzy smiled, pulling in Twilight for a hug, "Hey, we may not be like them...but we can be the next best thing."

"Hey...are we going to have code names and the like?" Raindrops asked.

Cheerilee smiled, "Only if we can get Twilight to make us gadgets."

Luna watched from the shadows, "And slowly, they are banding together."

"Hmm, what codenames could we use?" Twilight asked herself,"But I'd love to make things!" She hopped up and down.

Ditzy waved her hand, "Oh, how about: Muffins." she then pointed to Raindrops, "Rainshower, then Heartstrings," she then looked to Cheerilee, "Mulbrerry, and Big Sis!" she giggled at Carrot Top.

Carrot Top smirked, while Trixie stood up, "Lulamoon of course and then for Twilight we can have Starlight Shimmer!

Twilight nodded,"Starlight sounds good." She smiled.

Luna spread her wings, and then began to fly back to Canterlot. As she landed, she saw Celestia looking at her photos, "Thinking are we, Tia?"

"Oh just, thinking about the past, and out family," Celestia said, smiling at the photo of her and Luna sitting at a beach, sharing Ice Cream.

Luna sat with her sister and looked at the photo, "Do you think about them? Mom and Dad?"

"Sometimes.When I am mad at Grand Ruler or I make a mistake."

"Another fight?" Luna asked.

Celestia shook her head, "No, I was thinking about the mirror, Sunset, and my mistakes. I then began to think of how much our lives had changed since we took the title of princess."

"You have been through so much, without me by your side," Luna said.

Celestia looked down, "Though I tried to fill it, I knew I was missing something... you."

"I did too sister," Luna said, leaning up against her.

Titan pulled out a photo of Celestia and Luna, his mind flashing back.

(Daddy! Something is wrong with Mommy. She was moaning in pain and demanded the doctor and-"

"There is nothing wrong, sunbeam...we just got a new guest," Titan said rubbing Celestia's mane.

Celestia looked weird and ran into the med room. Laying on her bed, was Terra, holding a little blue alicorn in a bundle. Celestia gasped and walked over. She smiled when she looked at the baby, "Hello, I-"

the little baby booped her)

Stryker leaned back, holding a grey painting of a black alicorn,

(Stryker looked down the road, watching Titan run. Titan stopped, and looked behind himself. What he was thinking, she did not know, but all she could do was hold up her hoof, and beckon him to run,"You're free, my son. Go."

Titan had a look of surprise before running forward. Stryker wiped her face, before walking away.)

(Celestia stood proud, smiling at her father, "Don't worry mother, father. I promise to rule Equestria well. Come along Lulu

"Okay, sister!" Luna said, hopping alongside her big sis.)

Lightspeed knelt down before the photo,"I'll get them for this." She choked back a sob.

(Week 1)

Vinyl Scratch’s voice came over the radio, "Good morning United Equestria!!! And how are we this morning? Miserable? I don't blame you. Considering that we have our lord and dictator telling us that the Equestrians lost the fight for Vanhoover and failed Horn Kong, you can imagine the mess of things that have been going on. Soldiers are running scared and some of the men are asking questions."

"Right now, there seems to be a fear of being attacked by not just conquest, but of alicorns as well. There also seems to be reports of a rebellion brewing, one that is just been leaving messages that says "the Fall is coming"

"Was that really necessary?" asked Raindrops to Lyra.

Lyra smirked, "I had to spread the word somehow."

Octavia continued on the radio, "Right now, there hasn't been a major attack by other faction. However, the fear has set some of the soldiers on edge, with some even leaving Starfleet."

"And who can blame them. It seems that Big Buffon can't figure out who the real threat is! Personally, I say it's the gods."

"Agreed, while no one can doubt the attack of Conquest is a real threat, we also have to take in power." Octavia said. "Though, the fact that Conquest has been quiet since his two pronged attack is worrying."

"Yeah and-"

Rarity clicked off the radio and looked at the five suits in front of her. Besides each suit was a gem: Citrine, Aquamarine, Morganite, Sapphire, and Diamond. Then she looked back at the armors, and sighed. Using telekinesis to bring out her glasses, she murmured, "Never tried to use enchantments on this type of scale before. But it should be easy, if these things work like cloth as I expect them to."

"Burning the midnight oil, Rarity?" Spike asked.

Rarity smiled softly, "Yes, dear." she leaned up and kissed her fiance on the lips. "Keep an eye on the door and tell them to-

"KEEP OUT?!" Rainbow Dash asked, looking weirdly. " All I wanted was for her to fix my dress suit and she is seeing nopony!?"

"Not until she's done," Spike said.

Dash felt her ears droop as she turned away, "Dang there goes my day."

"What about the others?"

"Pinkie Pie is busy, with Starla," Dash sighed.

Pinkie Pie guided Starla in to Buddy's house, "Here you go, nice and steady."

"Thank you," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Buddy nodded to Pinkie and closed the door. Pinkie sighed and began to walk away, her hair a little limp. She began to look at the town, and tried to hide her frown as she walked along the bridge. While the Equestrians looked hopeful, the Unicornicopians were talking in low whispers. This made her shudder coldly, her heart wanting to help them so much. Turning she looked ahead and smiled when she saw Samus, "Hey Sammy! Made any good arrests lately?"

Samus rolled her shoulders,(This uniform is itchy! Wish I could use my armor.) She smiled at Pinkie,"Eh, it's been a slow day. I only caught a streaker, and then told her to never do it again."

"A streaker?" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah, this girl decided that she wanted to stick it to the man by going nude." Samus chuckled,"I think she was a hippie or something."

Tree Hugger shouted from the distance, "Freedom!!!"

Pinkie Pie giggled as she walked with Samus, "So, where are you going next on your patrol."

"God damn it." Samus muttered,"She's doing it again." She looked at Pinkie,"Well, these alleyways look suspicious.

"How?" Pinkie said, looking in them. She was glad for this, something fun for her to do to take her mind off the things that had been happening.

"I don't know, alleys are never a good place to be, even in small towns. Though for all I know, there could be a-" Samus was then interrupted by a guy in a trench-coat

"Hey, girls," He pulled the coat back,"Wanna buy a Friendship Pin?"

"OH! I do!" Pinkie said, smiling and pulling out her bag of bits.

Samus pulled Pinkie’s hand down,"Didn't we have this discussion, Rip-Off?"

Rip-Off frowned,"Aw, come on! I gotta make a few bits!"

"Aren't those Flim and Flam guys hiring?" Samus asked.

"Yep!" Pinkie Pie nodded, "I remember seeing their flyer around."

Rip-off frowned, before walking off,"Fine..."

Samus sighed,"Man, things can get slow around here..." She looked at Pinkie,"Fine for you all, but for a bounty hunter like me, it's kind of... boring."

"Sometimes, I like it a little slow like this," Pinkie said skipping to the front of Samus and out of the alley. "It makes all the more fun to appreciate the important things like your friends and cake and parties, and all of the other fun stuff. Don't you get to appreciate that?"

"Well, I do." Samus said,"But I find myself relaxing better if I'm out in the universe, seeing different and new sights." She saw a group of kids playing,"It does feel nice, though, seeing people at peace."

Pinkie stopped and watched. She sighed happily when the ball rolled to her. For a moment, she picked it up and bounced it on her head before throwing it back, much to the laughter of the kids. Turing to look back at Samus, she nodded, "I am always happy during these moments, no fighting and no big bad attacking you. Kind of makes you appreciate all of the happy times and fun times the more. You know?"

"Yeah, but..." She looked at her hand,"It's kind of hard for someone like me to truly enjoy peace, because... I'm useless." She caught the ball in her hand and threw it back,"What's a bounty hunter to do without bounties to hunt? I'm also an adventurer. Sure, I do take breaks every now and then, but I absolutely have to go to other places, see new things. Civilians get to enjoy this, but I'm not a civilian, I'm a warrior. The moment I save a world, I leave and find other places to explore, new bounties to hunt." She sighed,"But, in times like these, I'm just waiting."

Pinkie hit the ball back, "You aren't useless, not at all."

"Really?" Samus asked.

"Of course you aren't silly," Pinkie said, playfully nudging her shoulder. "You're helping ponies out by being here. You make a fun sparring partner for AJ, and you really take to the little fillies well. They act like you are their big sister! They love it when you tell them stories. I say that is very useful."

Samus sighed, kicking the ground,"Yeah, that's a good thing." She frowned,"But... I feel like I should do more! I'm a fighter, darn it!" She looked at Pinkie's eyes,"You're a civilian, thrown into a battle you didn't want. That tears me up, because the battlefield is for people like me. Your place is here, where you can make others happy! My place is up there, where I can stop the things that hurt innocents!"

A scream came from a far off house.

Pinkie was about to say something, but the scream made her rush to the house.

There was a pregnant mare laying on a couch, moaning in pain. Samus gasped,"She's going into labor!"

The mare moaned,"Yes, but my doctor... he's still in the kitchen! I heard a crash in there!"

Samus looked at Pinkie,"Can you handle a pregnant mare?"

"Doctor Breckett? Oh no," saluting, Pinkie went to the mare. "I was there when the cakes were born so I can help. It's ok, Rosalie. Just breathe and push. You can do it."

Samus ran to Dr. Breckett, seeing him on the ground. She frowned, her visor coming on and scanning,"Alright, I'm not too late!" She ran to him, and applied pressure with her hands,"Come on, breathe!"

"Just a little more, come on, I can see the head, you can do it!" Pinkie cheered.

Samus panted,"Come on, don't die now!"

"Just a little more," Pinkie smiled as she helped the baby out, "You did it!!!"

Samus smiled at the old stallion coughing,"Got it..."

Samus leaned on the wall as the ambulance took the two ponies away, and smiled softly,"Cheated death, and brought about a new life."

"And you say you are useless," Pinkie said, smiling and handing Samus a cupcake. Leaning back she sighed, "That's what I love about calm moments. Starfleet, the can be such sticks in the mud. They always want to fight this, and fight that. They never stop to think about what's important. That," she said, winking, "Is what we fight for."

Samus smiled,"They don't realize that we all have a similar goal," She looked up at the sky,"To make sure smiles stay on the people in villages, and that those people are able to see sky once more."

"To make sure that everypony can see eachother again," Pinkie paused for a moment, and sniffed when she thought of Twilight. Shaking her head softly, she nodded. "That's why we need a place like this, to remember why we need all of those smiles and to keep those ponies happy!!"

"That's why I go out. So places like this can exist." She sighed, getting up,"Well, my shift's almost over." She frowned,"... How's Starla?"

Pinkie looked down, "Buddy is right now taking care of her. After what happened yesterday, I am glad he is."

Samus sighed,"I didn't mean or want to drive her to suicide. But she needed to know about it."

"I think she needed to know about what she was doing," Pinkie said, hugging Samus, "But with the rape and everything, I think too much hit her."

"Yeah, you're right." Samus patted her back,"Come on, let's get you home for some ice cream first."

"Yay!" Pinkie cheered.

Trixie looked into Twilight's room, and saw her sitting near a window. There was an open letter in her hand, "Twilight?"

Twilight teared up, and crushed the letter in her hand. Without turning, she said,"I need to be there. Why can't I just tell her it's going to be alright?"

"Because, then you might risk somepony seeing you," Trixie said, sitting down with Twilight. "Then you risk everything we are working for. T-I know it's eating you up inside, being unable to help them. But, it's times like this you need to believe in her inner strength. That she can pull through.

Twilight pulled her knees in close to her chest,"Trixie, sometimes it seems that believing in my friends is all I can do! I don't know if Samus is going to be able to protect them or make sure Pinkie doesn't hurt herself!"

After making sure that no one was around to see Trixie's softer side, she moved a little closer to Twilight, and then pulled her close. Letting Twilight res her head on the showmare's shoulder, Trixie began to say, "As a magician, I have to put my faith into an assistant everyday o make sure they don't mess up and get me killed when I perform something dangerous. You need to do that to. You saw Samus, she looks to be tough, and as for Pinkie..."

Twilight looked up at her expectantly.

Trixie had a smile, "I think you probably know her better than me. Can you look me in the eyes and say you don't think that she can bounce back from this? Personally, I think it takes a lot more than that to bring down somepony who is so full of hope."

Twilight looked at Trixie, and chuckled to herself,"I guess... Pinkie is stronger than I or most ponies give her credit for most times..."

"I wouldn't know, I only spent time in Ponyville three times. Twice I had to leave and the third was an assistant to that... Grrrr," she growled at the thought of her boss.

"You mean the twit?" Twilight grinned,"Why did you even work with that guy? He's not even good."

Trixie looked down, "I was forced to by Grand Ruler."

"Oh, right." Twilight frowned,"Seems he's in control of almost everything." She muttered,"I wish I'd have seen that coming, or prevented him from taking over! All it would require would be my friends working with me and then I can defeat him! But..." Twilight sighed,"I couldn't. Raven got to me." She muttered,"Which makes no sense, because I was stronger than her."

"Luna said she saw the battlefield where you had your battle," Trixie said. "And she saw something interesting."

"Really?" Twilight asked.

Trixie nodded, "Luna wasn't sure, but she saw the remnants of what looked like to be an anti-magic rune."

Twilight growled,"Of course! I was weakened so Raven could kill me! But who could..." Twilight thought for a moment,"Grand Ruler."

"But he was nowhere near the battlefield. He had..." Trixie then looked at Twilight,
"You don't think he used Lighting to-"

(one year ago)

Lighting watched the huge battle take place between the two mages. Suddenly, his eyes went red as he looked at a sigl on the ground. Then, when Twilight got near the sigil, he pressed his hand against the ground, activated it. Twilight then found shelf without magic.

(Present)

"Yes." Twilight frowned,"Remember, he's Celesto's lapdog."

"So why stop and attack you, why all this?" Trixie asked.

"Because I was a threat to him. I kept challenging every decision he made." Twilight said," Add on to the fact that he only had one general that could stand up to me, and..."

"Wait, one general?" Trixie asked.

"North Star. The only Equestrian to get up to that rank on her own. She..." Twilight frowned,"Didn't like me very much. I think it's because she believed I was spoon fed everything I got: Princesshood, Celestia's student, heroism, you name it. I tried to explain to her that I wasn't given everything, but..." She shook her head,"She wouldn't listen. I've theorized that it was because she could never do normal magic."

"Normal magic? You mean like how I can't do anything but Illus-I mean, Trixie's power is unlimited!!" Trixie said.

"Yeah, you're not fooling me." Twilight said,"But she can only do her special talent: Anti-Magic. Basically, her cutie mark is the opposite of mine. Unfortunately, unlike me who was able to get a teacher, she had to teach herself. I got my alicornification through allies and friendship, she got hers on her own." Twilight frowned,"To her, I'm the only worthy opponent because my magic is so much, it can cancel her power out, but her power also cancels mine out."

"So, a fight between you at full power and her would be a sight," Trixie said, taking a look at the ceiling, "No wonder she doesn't like you."

"It would devolve into a straight up fist fight, with which I would most certainly lose." Twilight nodded,"That power's probably the reason she's also the only general that Grand Ruler fears."

Trixie nodded, "And the reason he is ok with her keeping Horn Kong safe. You are not not planning on facing her alone, are you?"

"Not really, but," Twilight smiled,"She has no love for Grand Ruler, so maybe she's on our side? Hopefully?"

"You really believe that?" Trixie asked.

"Any rebellions, we either take to our side, or we crush them. I will not have any obstacles in my path." North Star said.

"Sure." Twilight smiled, though she looked a bit nervous.

"You have this horrible poker face," Trixie laughed.

(Week 2)

Rarity looked at the red stallion in front of her, "I heard it said that you are the best pyromancer in Equestria. Is this true?"

"Yep," Pyro said, his Brismane accent coming out in full force. "Why, I invented at least three brand new fire spells when I was thirteen. Why I can-"

"Yes yes, very good," Rarity said getting back behind a shield, "Use your fire magic please, full force."

"Sheila, that could burn down your whole house," said Pyro, charging his magic.

"I am aware of the risks, I live with a dragon," Rarity said, putting on a pair of goggles, "Just aim at the six suits and fire!"

"Ok!" he said, unleashing a forward stream of fire blazing bright blue. After a few moments, he stopped after a few moments and panted, looking up at the suits. He gasped for a moment, "They are still-"

"Not perfected!" Rarity shouted. Grumbling she looked to a cyan suit, running her hoof along the burn marks, "If Rainbow Dash used this, she would burn up before she even hit mach 3."

"Wha-"

Rarity shook her head, "Thank you for your help. Spike, pay the nice gentlecolt."

Applejack ducked under Samus's right cross and then uppercutted her, "Come on Samus, you can hit harder than that!!"

"Starla?" asked Buddy as he walked into the bedroom. Sighing, he looked at the girl as she sat alone on the bed, just staring out at the window. Moving to sit with her, he looked calmly at her, "Hey, I was thinking of visiting Applejack's in a bit. Maybe you could come?"

Starla only stared, breathing slowly.

"Did you eat any yesterday?" asked Buddy.

"She hasn't," said Daphne as she walked in. "She hasn't come down since we brought her here."

"Starla," said Buddy. He turned away, "You need to eat, to move or something! I know you have had trauma after trauma, but we need you... I need you." sighing, he got up. "I'm useless."

Daphne watched as he walked away, "Cousin?"

"I need help, there is no way I can handle this," Buddy said was he walked out.

Samus grinned,"I need to hold back, don't want to splatter you to the ground!" She kneed Applejack

Applejack let out a grunt as she felt the knee hit her stomach. Grinning she did a back kick into Samus's chest, "So, what's your style."

Samus grunted, before spinning and striking with the back of her fist,"Chozodian Kickboxing."

Applejack let out a grunt as she pulled back and used a right hook into her side.

Samus blocked it,"How goes the Hamon practice?"

Applejack went in for a spinning back fist, "Horribly, Ah keep getting close, but something just keeps missing for me."

"Really?" Samus ducked,"Me, I just watched the alicorn breath in deeply and calm himself."

"Yeah, Ah do that, but ah keep getting nothing, not so much as a spark," Applejack said.

Samus frowned,"Hmm." she stopped,"Come with me."

Applejack lowered her defense and followed.

"In my training with the chozo, I learned a lot about spirituality." Samus said,"What they taught me as I had trouble with a certain move known as the Crystal Flash. If I had all the ability to access a move, but couldn't use it, it meant that there was a mental block I had to overcome. It wasn't until the first time I beat my mortal foe that I realized what the block was: My trauma after the death of my parents." She looked at Applejack as they walked through the orchard,"Something's troubling you, and that's preventing you from utilizing Hamon."

"Troubling? But what could be troubling me?" Applejack asked, looking at the trees. "Ah mean, the war is bad and all and Ah'm a might peeved at the gods, but that's it. Twilight's death? Ah mean, Ah am still ticked at the thought that Ah wasn't there for her."

"You sure?" Samus asked,"The idea that you're missing a vital part of yourself isn't troubling you one bit?"

Applejack stopped for a moment and looked down. She let out a sigh, "My Ma and Pa." she breathed low, "Aint a day that goes by that Ah don't miss them."

"Feel the same about my parents." Samus looked at her,"Unless there's something else."

Applejack stood by a tree and leaned against it, "If there is, Ah can't think of it."

"How do you feel about leading this team?" Samus asked.

Applejack opened her eyes in shock for a moment, then she turned away, "Ah...don't know. There are times when Ah get nervous about it. Did Ah do right leading them, is this how Twilight would do it or is this what she would've wanted. Ah've got a responsibility to these girls Samus, and sometimes...it's a little nerve racking that I might be leading them into a suicide mission."

"That's it." Samus said,"It's okay to be a little nervous about leading, but you can't always believe that your friends will die. Have faith in them, and yourself to protect each other." Samus got up,"Come on, let's go to that forest of monsters or whatever."

Applejack smiled a little, "The Everfree-"

"Um excuse me," Buddy said stepping out. "I know that I am not exactly your favorite guy right now, but could you help me?"

Samus sighed,"Okay, what do you want?"

Buddy lightly kicked the dirt, "Do any of you know, how to help a teammate out of a funk."

Samus raised an eyebrow,"Hmm, well, does he or she have anything she likes?"

"I..." Buddy paused. "I have no idea." he stood there with wide eyes in shock. "I, really don't know anything about her. I can't tell you a thing about her. Oh god," he said sitting down onto the ground, "OH, god, I am a horrible friend aren't I?"

Samus sighed,"And you're living with her." She shook her head,"Good lord, did Grand Ninny even debrief you on her? Any personnel files? Does she have a journal back home?"

"Debrief?" asked Buddy.

"Yeah, you know, told stuff about her?"

Buddy shook his head, "We were literally just thrown in together. We didn't et debriefed or told about one another. I don't even know if she keeps a journal or anything,' sighed Buddy.

Samus facepalmed,"Does this twit know anything about war!? These are people you're going to be working with for the rest of your careers, you should at least know something about them!" She sighed,"Does she have any family?"

"A mother, who died on a mission. Though no one can tell her what her mom died of or how or even when. And then there is her father," he groaned.

"Her father?" Samus asked.

"Yeah, a jerk," Buddy said.

"What did he do?" asked Applejack.

Buddy growled, "He wanted to talk things peacefully and didn't want Starla to join the team because he was worried about her."

Samus went silent for a second,"That's it." She grabbed Buddy by the collar,"We're going to visit Starla's Pop. Go to her house, get her. We're having a field trip. Any objections, Rose?"

"B-but, he's dead," Buddy said, "How can we visit..."

"Ah think Ah know," Applejack said.

Samus walked with Buddy,"Where's his grave?"

A booming voice shouted,"Who's dead!?"

"Starla's dad," said Buddy.

Suddenly, a white coated stallion walked up, his muscular frame bulging through his clothes. He stroked his bearded chin,"I assure you, the rumors of my death were greatly EXAGGERATED!" He yelled.

Applejack smirked, "Somehow I knew it was hooey."

Buddy, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. For a few moments he stuttered and gasped, "W-wait, what? How? What?

"Yes! I have BEEN ALIVE for years, but was without my beloved daughter, who was taken from me too soon!" The stallion said.

"But how?" Buddy asked, "Starla said that her father was killed when he was trying to talk peacefully with a bunch of bad guys who killed him."

"You mean the bad guys I punched in rage? Please, I'm a technical pacifist, not a full one." Mr. Shine said.

Buddy was left dumbfounded, trying to comprehend what was said. Applejack just smirked and hoof bumped him, "Nice."

"But, wait. What, how come you never saw Starla, why did she think you were dead?"

"Because I was trapped in Horn Kong. There was this barrier that seemed to be keeping me away from my desire to find my daughter." He frowned,"She was taken from me at a young age. I fear she may have been brainwashed into thinking I was dead."

"You came from the Street of the Lost." Concussion voice echoed as he slowly appeared next to Buddy,"Lightning Dawn was not the only one Grand Ruler shaped into his lapdog."

Buddy shivered as he shot up and turned. Letting out a shout of “Alicorn!"

Applejack held out her hand, "Hold it! What do you mean, shaped?"

"There are things Grand Ruler has not only kept from you, but from his own squad. He has led you to believe that you were randomly chosen, when in actuality, you were taken, and shaped: Brainwashed into something else." Concussion said.

Buddy shook his head, "N-no. That's not true, that can't be-"

"Then how do you explain Starla's dad," Applejack said. Then she looked to Concussion, "How do you know all this?"

Concussion looked at Applejack,"Grand Ruler can cloud the minds of those he tricks into believing that he is untouchable." He looked at Samus,"People like us who have not been subjugated are rendered immune to him." He looked at Applejack,"I have scanned their minds, and I found hidden memories that I cannot reveal without their permission."

"Hidden... memories?" Applejack asked.

Concussion looked down at Applejack,"Tell me, do you feel your element within you?"

Applrjack frowned, "No...not for a long time."

"Indeed. That Valkyrie mode of yours had poisoned your connection, along with the murder of Twilight Sparkle."

"(Ah had a feeling somehow Twilight dieing messed up our connection with the elements.) How could he poison something like that?" Applejack asked.

"Perhaps he managed to find the Tree of Harmony, and found a way to corrupt it." Concussion said.

"The what?" Applejack asked.

"Tree of Harmony. You ate from the Fruits of Harmony, correct?" Concussion asked.

"Yeah, we were given the elements when we fought Nightmare Moon. We proved ourselves worthy of taking them in and that was when Twilight told us who was who," Applejack said, before shaking her head, "But Ah ain't never heard of no tree."

"The Elements, that is what you call them?" Concussion frowned,"There should've been a tree you took them from. It is one of many." He cocked his head,"Who had the Elements last then?"

"Yeah, they were these necklaces that we wore on our necks," said Applejack. "And it was Celestia and Luna who wore them last. Celestia had three and Luna had three."

Theia poked at her computer," Search: Magic Trees." She said. She watched as several dots appeared on the holographic globe,"Where is it?"

Lyra walked into the room, her eyes going wide at the sight of the globe. When she heard Theia ask her question, she asked, "Where is what?"

Buddy looked confused, "Wait, Grand Ruler would never corrupt anything. How could he? And if you are talking about those gems that you six had. They were destroyed in the battle with Titan."

"We never had a fight with Titan. Ah don't even know who that is," Applejack said.

Buddy stood there in shock," W-what."

"Ah never remember meeting anypony named Titan. Ah only remember that me and my friends fought Nightmare Moon spirit, and her three lackeys-Dementia, Rep-stallion, and Mysterious," Applejack said.

"Yes, then you were enslaved, we came by, rescued you, you tried to use the elements, they failed, we killed those three when they fused into a monster, and then Titan came, destroyed the elements," Buddy said.

"The elements cannot be destroyed. Those jewels would've reformed," she looked at Concussion, "Right? Because they are a part of Harmony and that can't be destroyed."

Then Applejack looked shocked," Wait, there's more than one! You mean there's more than six elements?"

Samus rolled her eyes,"Buddy, I think you've been fed BS, it's time to face it."

Concussion nodded,"There is more than one tree, each with a different name: Harmony, Fate, Balance, and so forth. The Fruits, or Elements, can not be destroyed, as they are mere manifestations of virtues." He looked at Applejack,"Titan, as in my nephew? Celestia's father?"

"The prototype Tree, Destiny." Theia looked at Lyra,"Your friend is connected to the Fruit of Friendship, I want to know where my other Seeds have gone to."

"Other seeds? The prototype tree?" Lyra asked, almost as a whisper as she sat in front of the large hologram, "Maybe I can help you."

Theia nodded as she let Lyra sit next to her,"I helped created Seeds that were meant to absorb latent emotional magic around them and create powerful weapons. Most trees have six gems, however, the prototype only had one gem."

"That would be the prototype tree?" asked Lyra. "Do you know what kind of energy I'm looking for and why are you looking for it?"

Look for any large amounts of emotional energy. I'm looking for it to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hooves." Theia said,"It is one of the most powerful Gems, because it does not need others to actually work. It can aid other gems, but it is entirely self-sufficient. The other trees, however, require all of their gems working together to truly work."

"Like the tree of Harmony?" asked Lyra as she began to look over the map. "Do the other tree have names.

Buddy stepped back," W-what? Celestia's father? If he is the same one that we fought. The titan we fought was a man in a robe with red eyes and big claws. He wasn't an alicorn. Though," he looked to Starla's father, "with the news like this and seeing Dementia and her friends alive like this... I am unsure of anything."

Concussion frowned,”Then I must be mistaken."

Samus nodded,"The way things are going, it seems you shouldn't put so much faith in Grand Ruler." She blinked,"Wait, Celestia's your grandniece?"

"Luckily, that agent of North Star had some intel," Samus said,"General North Star's been doing a good job aiding the town as of late."

Applejack looked to Concussion, "You know...I am kind of glad you are approaching us peaceful like."

"Of course." Concussion said,"Like my sister, I am trying to look for a more sensible solution to this war." He shook his head,"And we are not evil, at least, some of us aren't."

This made Samus frowned,"If that's the case, is there anyway you could give me my missiles back?"

She scanned him,

"Concussion

Threat Level: Medium.

Special Talent: Able to see truths within lies.

He is holding your missiles."

Concussion frowned,"I was getting to that, Corvid." He looked at Applejack,"In one week's time, I wish to have a duel with you, to figure a way to allow you the usage of your Hamon."

"Me? You want to have a fight with me?" Applejack asked. "And how's that gonna get back my Hamon."

"Yes. Life, Protection, Death, Chaos." Theia said,"There's more, but those are just the ones off the top of my head.

Lyra clicked on the keyboard, her fingers running through the images. As she looked she gasped, "Wow, look at all of this. MAgic fields, life energy, sould, this map has it all."

Theia nodded,"That means it's working well! We made it to observe the races on this planet, and to watch for any Deity-types in the area."

"Like those gods," Lyra said.

"Are we alicorn watching? "asked Cheerilee as she stepped in.

"Well, at first we were searching for other Trees, but then it devolved into alicorns." She smiled at Cheerilee,"You're a teacher, correct?"

Cheerilee nodded.

"In time, Applejack." Concussion said,"In time." He turned and prepared to fly to Canterlot Castle.

Applejack stepped forward, and then pull away, "Fine."

Buddy watched all of this, a look of shock in his eyes. Then he looked to Starla's father, "You need to see your daughter, now!" he said, latching onto the only thing he could.

"Yes!" Mr. Stellar Shine said,"Come, the rest of you as well!"

Buddy sighed and looked back, "My world, is everything a lie?" he asked himself.

"Sometimes the truth can be hard to take," Applejack said, patting Buddy on the shoulder.

Theia smiled,"Then, I think you and the unicorn would enjoy what I have here. I've managed to unlock the data files for my observations of the primitive races."

Lyra shot up and begin to look through the files, "SQUEAL!!!!"

"Oh, this is so fascinating, thank you thea!" Cheerilee said, trying to look over Lyra's shoulders.

Twilight suddenly appeared,"Did somepony say, history?" She held a notepad in her hand.

Cheerilee nodded, "Yes, Theia just brought out some interesting history reports. That is,,, if Lyra can get away from it.

Twilight looked at Lyra,"I never pegged you to be into history."

Lyra looked up and smiled as she looked away for a moment, "I love cryptozoology and history was a big part of it. Every chance I got, I would look something up in the bard's college about the legends of Equestria or the mages of the past. It's been something I loved since I was a filly. Part of the reason why I even got my mark."

Stellar kicked down the door,"My daughter! Starla!"

Starla backed up from the sudden shock of the door opening violently. When she looked up at the boisterous figure, she shrank back a little, fearful of being touched. After a few brief moments she looked up into the eyes of the friendly giant, and whispered, "Fa-fat..."

(A white unicorpain with messy red hair looked into the eyes of Stellar as she held her daughter close, "T-this is your daddy. And he is sorry he couldn't be here for your birth. But, he loves you a lot."

The little filly booped the stallion's nose.

Stellar held his 8 year old close, rubbing her back as she cried into his chest, "Don't worry, you momma still loves you."

"I want to be in Starfleet!"

"You can't, I won't allow it!!!")

"Fat...Father?" Starla whispered under her breath.

"Starla." Stellar stepped a little closer to his daughter, and held out his hand.

Stellar gently pulled Starla close,"I'm here, Starla, it's going to be okay."

Samus stood off to the side, shooting a glance at Buddy before sighing.

("Maybe we can negotiate?" asked her father.

The bull ignored him and pulled out a blaster. In one shot, Starla's world ended.)

Starla reached up with her hand, about to touch Stellar’s face. Then she pulled away, looking up at him with a mixture of emotions: Hatred, love, compassion, and confusion. With a slight whimper she asked, "But how...I saw those bulls kill you."

'But Starla never mentioned anything about bulls to us when she mentioned her dad's death," thought Buddy.

"How are you alive? I saw," she began to cry and lean her head onto her father's chest. "I saw you die! I saw you murdered, how could you be alive!!!"

(Starla, only six, hears her parents arguing. At first she thinks they hate each other, but then sees them hug one another. Though she can't' hear what is being said, she can hear, 'I love you. I just get worried about you."

"There are other ways to help..."

"Starla, I do not want you to join it...not after your mother-" there was a faint buzzing at the end of the memory.)

"Why," she continued to cry, "Why were you so much a pacifist, why didn't you help Mother."

Stellar gently rocked Starla back and forth,"Your mother... I tried, but she wanted you to be the scholar. If you had a sister, she'd be the warrior. I was never that big a warrior, kid. We wanted you to be safe."

Samus sighed, leaning against the wall and looking away.

"But I wanted to be like her, I wanted to be a warrior, a fight," she continued to cry. She tried to take a breath and calm herself, but instead let loose another sob. "I tried so hard, to be what I thought you wanted me to be. But I failed," she whimpered, "I am just not good enough."

Applejack looked to Samus and rubbed her back, "You ok?"

Stellar gently rocked Starla,"I know. You'll get better, I promise."

Samus sighed,"A little bit frustrated, a little bit sad." She looked at
Applejack,"Grand Ruler's going to pay for this."

"Ah know, he will pay for everything he's done," Applejack said, punching her hands together.

"How can it get better," she whimper," how can it get better...I'm broken.

-----------------------------------a few years ago-------------------------------

A twelve year old Lyra said a cream colored earth pony filly crying, "Why are you crying?"

"My best friend is going away soon and I won't be able to see her again for a long time," the filly cried.

Lyra felt her ears droop. She had always had friends back at the school, so seeing a pony lose a friend was heartbreaking for her. Looking up at the sky, she saw a rainbow pass over head. Smiling, she turned to the filly, "Wait right there. I have something to cheer you up."

After a few hours, Lyra came back with a lyre and a book. With a big grin she said," Let me tell you a story."

As she began to play a song of a young mage hunting and finding her friends across a barren wasteland, the sound of quicksilver and a flash f light on her flank signified a new beginning for her,

------------------------the present---------------------------------------

"Bon Bon said that song was the first thing that made her fall in love with me," chuckled Lyra. "Sing then, I realized that I love to tell stories about the past through song and dance. I think if it can help make ponies realize where they come from or how unique they are or to even have an adventure on their own, I think it's worth it."

Lyra frowned a little, "Tell you the truth...I've been a little jealous of you.

"Jealous, of me?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Lyra said, looking down. "It's not just the hero thing, cause I always want to be Bonnie's little knight in minty armor. But it's everything else! You found the Elements of Harmony, one of the biggest legendary things out there next to Meadowbrook eight items. You met Nightmare Moon, Discord, and I don't know how many dragons. I bet you would meet Tirek himself one day. And me...I've done nothing but study and read."

Twilight sighed,"Sometimes doing all that isn't all that's cracked up to be." She turned away,"At least you live in a world of steel. Me? I was in a world of cardboard."

"Cardboard?" Lyra asked.

"Try living like me. A pony who if she messes up a simple telekinesis spell, could break a pony's entire body. Try living with the fact that if you're not careful, someone could die due to your stupidity! Try facing the mirror and realizing that, you alone could kill millions by accident." Twilight sighed,"Being without power, it's a new experience. I do want it back, but... it feels easier not trying to hold back everyday of your life."

"Hey," Lyra said, patting Twilight onto the back, "That just means you can respect it more and help out those who need it. I may be jealous, but I am also kind of glad to help out like this."

----------

Samus sighed,"Makes me think of my parents, though, they were willing to see me become a warrior."

Stellar held her close,"Honey, you're stronger than you think you are. You can get back up."

Samus looked at them,"Why do we fall?" Samus asked simply, remembering something Solomon Aran always said.

("Why do we fall?" asked Starla's mother.)

"To...get back up again," she said with a whisper. Then she looked back up to her father and gave him a bigger hug, holding him tight. "Do you really think I am that strong??"

"The strongest." Stellar smiled.

"Your parents," Applejack asked, looking to Samus.

"Dead. The main reason why I became a bounty hunter was because a space pirate killed them." Samus growled.

Samus nodded, walking out with Applejack.

Applejack looked to Samus and then back to the family reunion, "LEt's head outside...don't want to ruin this."

Starla smiled and hugged her dad, "Dad...I want to say, I'm sorry. I am sorry for everything I have ever thought about and said."

Stellar shushed her,"It's okay..." He stroked her mane.

Buddy gulped, "You know, I think I should let you two have your moment."

"Dad, if you're alive, do you know if mom is alive?"

"Sorry, your mother's MIA." Stellar sighed.

Starla looked away, letting out a sigh as she snuggled to her father, "Guess you can't have everything back. No matter how much you want it."

"Wait," Buddy said. "At this, 'road of the lost' did you see two other ponies? About 30 years of age, ruby coats. Go by the names of Flora and Chrysanthemum?"

Stellar thought for a moment,"I believe I may have seen those two around. But there were a lot of them wandering the street."

"H-how did you even wind up-" Buddy began but was interrupted by a light snoring from Starla. Looking to the purple haired girl he asked, "She's asleep?"

Stellar nodded, motioning for Buddy to go.

Twilight nodded,"Yeah, at least this way I can actually manage to do something!"

"That's how I always felt," Lyra sighed, "Of course, Starfleet thinks it's silly. ‘There is no use for legends around here! It is not your job to find out about stuff, you should just stick to playing your harp and nothing else. Get rid of that nag you abomination.’"

Twilight growled,"Damn that Grand Ruler. Why must he stifle others’ creativity? What does he gain from keeping every citizen on a tight leash? What kind of horrible stallion is he?"

"One who seems convinced that he can bend the rules to how he pleased," Cheerilee said, looking at the globe. "Like he can just rewrite history to suit him and his twisted vision."

"I can't believe he's rewriting books!" Twilight growled,"You don't ever do that!

"So much of our history is destroyed," Cheerilee said. "The unification, the princesses ascension, and even what little there was of the old alicorn tribes."

Twilight frowned,"Maybe if we find a way to get the real history out, we'd be able to remove some of Grand Ruler's brainwashing."

"But how," Cheerilee asked.

Twilight stood up on a chair,"To my library!" She then fell off,"Ow."

Lyra laughed, "You ok?"

Twilight let out a muffled,"Sorta..."

Applejack leaned against a tree, "So you lost your parents too? Mine died when I was 13, a little while after my sister was born."

("Poppa?" Applejack asked, running into the forest. After a few minutes of runnig, she found her dad lying in blood, claw and bite marks on his body, "PAW!!"

"Applejack, find your mother and sister..." whispered Bright Mac before succumbing to his wounds.

Shaking her head, tears flowing down her cheeks, she calmly took up her father's hat and ran off. After running she could hear her mother scream and a bone breaking crunch. This was followed by a filly's cry. Running to the sight, she saw her mother, hunched over a little baby while a large, black manticore bit down on her mothers back, drawing blood.

The sight made her see red, and tipped her hat over her emerald eyes. With a jump, she bucked the manticore in the side, getting him off of her mother. The manticore roared at Applejack, blowing her mane back. Unfazed, Applejack bucked the manticore in the face, "Get away from my family!!!!)

"Ma died...protecting my little sister. The last thing she said was, 'watch over her for me' and I have," Applejack sighed, wiping a tear. "It's kind of why I have been so focused on the farm and family."

Samus sighed,"Almost exactly how my parents died."

(Samus held her little brother's hand as Virginia carried them off. Samus watched over her shoulder as her father fired on the dragon,"Daddy?" The dragon raised his claw up and sliced down.

"Rodney!" Virginia put Samus down,"Take Solomon and run." She said, running towards the dragon.

Samus held her little brother's hand as she took him away, crying as she heard Virginia scream in pain. An explosion erupted, causing the little girl to black out.

When she came too, she saw the face of a bird.

"She's alive."

"Her little brother? I saw her with a little brother." A female one said.

"Couldn't find him, but," He stroke Samus' hair,"We can take care of her."

"You want to have a child again?")

Samus sighed," I became a bounty hunter so that doesn't happen again."

"Ah guess we're a lot more alike than we thought. We're both working hard for to honor our parents," Applejack said, leaning against the post and smiling. Turning her head back to look at Buddy's home, she said, "In a way, I envy her. At least her pa has shown up."

Samus sighed,"Yeah, me too."

"Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could see them again, to let me know if H did all right, if Ah did everything like they wanted, if Ah proved myself. Or just the chance to have mom come in and help with the nightmares or to tuck me in again."

"If I'm doing alright, am I on the right path." She sighed,"Are they proud of me?"

"OH, defintally that," Applejack said, and then shook her head, "Look at us, just talking about our dead parents like a couple of old hillbillies."

"Or a couple of old soldiers." Samus smirked.

"Yeah," Applejack sighed. "Don't think Ah am against you soldiers at all. Ah like being a hero and protecting ponies. That's why Ah followed Twi in the first place. She needed me to be by her side and Ah was helping to oblige. But, a soldier...with all of this? That's for guys like you, not me."

"People like me are supposed to be on the battlefield, fighting monsters, saving planets. My job is to keep people like you safe from the bad guys. You weren't meant to be forced into this." Samus said with a frown.

"And Ah don't want to be forced into fighting monsters. If Ah'm gonna fight, it’s going to be for my family, my life, and," she lightly punched Samus, "my friends. Ah want it because it’s the right thing to do."

"No one likes being forced into any battle situation." Samus said, putting a hand on AJ's shoulder,"You choose who you are. And you join because you want to, not because some three dicked idiot told you to."

"Exactly," Applejack looked back at the house, "Hate to think what he did to get them to join."

Samus frowned,"Wonder how many of their own parents are looking for them now? Can we find them?"

"He said Horn Kong, maybe we could try there soon," Applejack said, walking into the orchard.

Samus nodded,"Of course, we'll look there."

"First, we are getting ourselves some supper," Applejack said, racing ahead, and then smirked at Samsu, "Come on, let's work for that appetite!!"

Samus grinned,"Try to keep up!" She ran ahead.

Fall of Stafleet: Shooting Stars

by Alchemystudent

Dawn of the hunter

The opening Salvo

Days of peace and memoir.

Message from Dark Conquest