I'm sorry I have to do this to you, Twilight, but you did ask me for this. I am about to send you to a world completely different from your own. You will be able to learn everything you want to know, and more. First hand. I wish you the best of luck, my magic will protect you to the best of my ability.

Act 1

Chapter 1

Welcome to Alpha

Unknown Place

Unknown Time

Waking up from a tranquilizer is a terrible thing. Twilight's veins were pumped with kentamine and she was immediately knocked out, landing face first in the rock and dirt. The fact that it was a horse tranquilizer and not a pony one didn't help at all. Twilight didn't want to experience it again.

But she had to admit, she'd take one hundred tranquilizers if it meant never seeing dead bodies again. The entire time she was knocked out, the only thing Twilight could see was the mangled mess of what used to be innocent colts. What did Twilight witness, exactly? She thought there were never any wars when Celestia ruled Equestria.

What made matters worse, was Twilight had accidentally caught herself up in this one, and now she was being court martialed for cowardice. She didn't sign up for this war. She was in her library, reading the note left in the book, and suddenly, she was here.

Wait… Could that be why I'm here? Was this the warning Princess Celestia gave me? I didn't want this to happen! Oh, I won't last in the military, or prison! I don't even know where I am!

As Twilight thought this, she stood up to get a look at her surroundings. She was in a small holding cell, from the looks of it. The only source of light she had was a small window on the door, barred with three metal rods. The window couldn't have been more than a half foot tall and ¾ foot wide. The room also had a toilet that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years, and a bed that was worse than the toilet. Suddenly, the metal door opened, letting out a huge creak. Twilight slowly turned around.

A black, muscular stallion stood in the doorway. He said nothing, but walked over to Twilight, and hooked a collar onto her neck. She gagged at the feeling of metal narrowing her neck, and looked at the pony in confusion. "Your trial is starting." The stallion had a deep, strong voice. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be back in your nice cell in under an hour."

"You don't understand. I'm not supposed to be here."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Twilight's eyes perked up for a second. She knew there was no way for the colt to truly understand her, but at this point, she grabbed what little hope she had. "But the Sergeant only asked his men to tranquilize you. He must have been in a good mood. Normally we kill any runners." Twilight swallowed. "Don't worry, I think the Princess is in a bad mood. Maybe she'll go easy on you, kill you swiftly."

"The… Princess?"


"Order, order! I will have order in my court! The trial of this unnamed pony will begin immediately!"

What little hope Twilight had left, had doubled when she saw the Princess's face. If anyone could get her out of this, it was Celestia. Not only was Twilight her star student, but Celestia must have been the one who sent her here in the first place.

"If the pony could please take the stand."

Happy to finally be released from her collar, Twilight trotted over to the defendant's side of the lobby. No bigger than her library at home, the courtroom housed only a select few. To her right was what she assumed was the prosecutors side. Behind her, there were only a few guards, and military personal, probably waiting for her to try and run; but what she kept her eyes on was right in front of her.

The panel of officers and the Princess that she knew would be on her side. Celestia, as was customary for her, took a seat that was much higher than the rest of the ponies. However, something seemed off. Where Twilight normally saw a friendly smile and inviting eyes, all she could see was a nasty scowl and a look of pure hate.

"State your name, soldier." She bellowed. Twilight jumped at the sudden noise.

"Uh, I-I'm not a solider, your highness. Don't you recognize me?" She asked, leaning on the podium. Celestia's scowl grew. "Twilight Sparkle?"

"I'm afraid I have never heard of you. Do you understand the charges against you, Sparkle?"

"Um… Cowardice?"

"Running away from a battle when we, C.O.L.T. are in the middle of war? It's down right spineless. But, more importantly you snuck into a battle zone, when you were not truly a soldier of C.O.L.T. How do you plead?"

"Umm… Confused, your highness." Twilight said, sinking behind the podium for cover.

Clearly annoyed, Celestia stepped down from her podium. "I highly doubt that you do not know, Sparkle." She said, taking a few steps closer to the cowering unicorn. "We, Celestia's Organization of Legionary Territories, are at war with Nightmare Moons Horde."

"Nightmare Moon? As in, your sister? Princess Luna?"

The crowd gasped. Twilight turned around quickly. Maybe the fact that Nightmare Moon was actually Princess Luna was on a need to know basis. She looked back at Celestia, whose look of hate now turned into a look of kill. "You are going to spend the rest of your life rotting in that prison, Sparkle. Starting now. This court is dismissed!" She shouted, walking away from Twilight. She never looked back. Twilight's heart nearly sank.

The black stallion from before walked back up to Twilight, and placed the choke collar around her neck. "I thought she was going to kill you quickly. I'll be honest, I feel bad for you."


Unknown Place

One Year After Imprisonment

Get a good look at the sun. The black stallion said, laughing. It'll be the last time you'll ever see it!

The sad thing was, the stallion wasn't just trying to scare Twilight. He was truly giving her a fair chance to see the sun one last time. She was sentenced to a single metal room for however long she lived. She was fed two small meals a day, and was never allowed to converse with anyone. It was just her, and the toilet that smelled of manure, and the bed that smelled of manure and blood. Magic was impossible to use, too. Celestia saw through all the unicorn's power a long time ago, and invented a hoofband that prevented them from properly using magic. Every time they tried, the band would give them an electric shock. Twilight had one on her front right hoof, and it was impossible to break off.

Twilight knew she couldn't take it, so she gave up a long time ago.

About a year had passed since she was sent to this place. And she knew it'd be plenty more before she was released. She missed Spike. She missed her hometown. She missed her friends.

"Yep. That's the one. Let'er out."

Twilight's ears perked up. That voice? No, it couldn't be. Twilight had decided a long time ago that she had gone insane. Being alone by herself made her do crazy things. She had named both her right and left hoof (Dominic Stalionago and Marcus Foalix) and had conversations with them. Hearing one of her old friends' voice must just be a way of defending herself from the imminent doom that she was to suffer from.

"Ah don't care if she ain't even a soldier, we need all the help we can get… Yeah, you can go now."

As Twilight thought, the metal door to her cell was opened, letting out a slight creak, a noise she hasn't heard in a year. As it opened, an orange pony with a light brown Stetson hat entered, holding a bag. She dropped the bag, and looked directly at Twilight. "Put this on, solider. We're bringing you back in. No excuses, hup too." The earthy pony commanded, beginning to walk away. Not only did she sound like Applejack, she looked like her too.

She was clad in heavy armor and boots that had a used feel to it. It was dented and rusty, and made it obvious this pony had seen battle before. She also wore shoulder pads, and was carrying a sheathed knife on her chest. The pony looked exactly like Applejack, if she did nothing but work out. Twilight decided this was only a coincidence.

After what happened with Celestia, Twilight didn't trust anything anymore. It's possible this pony was only one of Applejack's relatives, or maybe an alternate personality, not the Applejack she knew and loved. She couldn't risk getting hurt again.

Twilight looked at the bag, and even kicked it with her hoof. This was real. There was no way her mind had created a bag out of thin air. "Wait, what's going on?" She asked, beginning to take the contents of the bag out.

"Celestia's commanded we release all the prisoners. Everypony told me to leave you behind, but I decided we need all the help we can get." The orange pony looked back. "You sound familiar… have ah met you?"

"I… I don't know…"

Twilight took a step outside. The bag contained armor, the same type as the orange pony in front of her. The armor was simple, yet had a futuristic feel to it. On her chest was basic chest armor, held together by two belts that went across her neck and back. She also had a basic utility belt on her stomach, containing what Twilight could only assume was a weapon, and a saddle bag filled with something. On her legs were combat boots, the front legs going up above her forearm, and the back boots only going as high as her hock. Unfortunately, she could not get her right foot in the armor, because of the hoofband. She also wore a helmet that covered her entire face, but allowed her horn to stick out.

"That there helmet ain't a good idea, private." The orange pony said, turning around, looking more alert than she had a second ago. "Restricts your vision to just straight ahead."

Though Twilight didn't understand how that would affect her in any way, she decided, whoever this pony was, she could trust her. Maybe that's just because she looks like the element of honesty… if she started drinking nothing but protein shakes. Twilight used her hooves to pull the helmet off of her head, and placed it neatly back in the bag. She'd forgotten how badly her mane had looked from a year in prison, but she decided now was not the time to worry. She tried patting down her hair with her hoof, when she heard her new companion gasp.

"No way! T-This can't be real… Twilight?" The orange pony said, dropping her gruff exterior. Twilight looked up. "Twi. Twi, it's me. It's your ol' girl Applejack." She said, suddenly getting teary eyed. She walked over to Twilight, who looked a little more than confused.

"Oh no, this is all a dream isn't it? This is just my mind's way of protecting me from the insanity I'm going through, isn't it?" Twilight asked no one in particular, taking a step back.

"No, Twilight, I swear to Celestia it's me." Applejack reassured, grabbing Twilight's shoulders. "Twi, ah haven't seen you in a year. It's been far too long." She said, hugging Twilight, almost squeezing the life out of her.

"Appl… Applejack… breath… can't" Twilight strained, her face turning blue. Applejack let go, and tried to hold in her laughter.

"Sorry, Twilight it's just… It's just, well… Ah thought you were dead! We all thought you died in the war!"

"War?"

As Twilight questioned her newly refound friend, the ground started to shake, and a small explosion could be heard just outside of the building. "No time to explain Twi." Applejack said, grabbing the small pistol from her belt. "That a Magic-Desyncer?"

"A what?"

"Yeah, it is." Applejack said kicking Twilight's right hoof. The pain shot up through Twilight's leg faster than any other pain she had ever endured. Having a piano dropped on her head felt better than this. Twilight knew Applejack was strong, but she got stronger over the last year.

"What was that for? So happy to see me you have to try and take my leg off?"

"Haven't you learned ta trust me yet, Twilight?" Applejack asked, slightly annoyed. She pointed at Twilight's hoof, which, to Twilight's surprise, no longer had the hoof band on. Applejack was just freeing her. "Now, use your magic to grab your gun. I'll help you strap it on in a second."

"My what?"

"Your gun, Twi. That thing on your belt."

What Applejack said, obviously, confused her. What was a gun? Twilight looked down to her belt, and noticed the weapon, and picked it up with her magic. The gun was small in frame, looking like a one handed weapon. It had a trigger, which, out of her natural curiosity, she pulled with her magic.

BANG!

"What in sam hill!" Applejack shouted, jumping. She looked behind her. "Twi, that's a gun. Don't go shooting me up, I'm all you got right now. Shoot it at the horde."

"I don't understand what a gun is. And shoot it at the what?"

"It's a gun. It's a magic device that the C.O.L.T. invented to kill the beasts. Unfortunately, it kind of backfired, cause the beasts got 'em now too…"

"Wait… kill?" Twilight's heart sank slightly. She had never killed anything before. She was a herbivore. She never had a rhyme or reason to do harm to anything. Applejack sighed.

"I had trouble pulling the trigger my first time, too, sugarcube. But when it came down to it, it was either me and Big Mac, or them."

"Wait, Macintosh is here, too?"

"Big Mac, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy… Twi, most of Ponyville's here."

"Why?"

"Wish ah could tell ya. All ah know is that for now, we gotta get out of here… hold on, there's one more thing in the bag." Applejack walked over to the duffle bag she had originally brought, and pulled out two belts that looked similar to the one she was wearing around her waist. Applejack then proceeded to lift Twilight's right leg, and tie the belts. "Didn't know if you were an earth pony or a unicorn originally, but this'll make your life a lot easier. Lemme see the gun." A little uneasy after the misfire, Twilight slowly lowered the weapon towards Applejacks mouth. With great ease, Applejack shoved the pistol in between the outside of her leg and the belts, locking it up to hold it in place.

"What's this for? Isn't it easier to just hold it up with my magic?" Twilight asked, examining the new belts.

"It's hard to shoot when you have to think about holding the gun andpull the trigger, ain't it?" Applejack snickered. "Besides, now there's no chance of you losin' your new best friend."

Twilight looked concerned for a minute. "Not Dominic Stalionago" She said quietly to herself. Luckily for her, Applejack didn't hear her.

"Ah'll call control, you try and reload the gun."

"…Reload?"

"Yeah, magazines are in your saddle bag." As Twilight tried to figure out what she meant by reload, Applejack placed a hoof to her ear. "Control, this is Apple 1, ah've just picked up the final soldier at Eponya High Security Prison." She stopped as if she was listening to someone. "Fluttershy, ah don't care if it's Apple or Alpha. Ya know it's me, but ya won't believe who ah got." She stopped again. "Okay, one sec." Applejack went over to Twilight, who had successfully taken the magazine out of her gun, but was having a hard time getting a new one back in. Applejack held out an earpiece, ignoring Twilight's failure. "Put this in your ear, sugarcube. Ah think Fluttershy wants to talk to ya."

Twilight did as she was told, and attached the earpiece to her ear, she could hear a lot of traffic go through the radio, but it was muffled. "Um… hello?" Three voices on the other end gasped

"Twilight! Yay! She's come to join the party too!"

"Oh my goodness! Twilight, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Twilight, you filly, is that you?"

Twilight stood there, stunned. "Pinkie? Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash?" She asked, the three cheered in response.

"We've all missed ya Twilight." Applejack said softly, placing a hoof on her shoulder. She put away her gun and grabbed Twilight's, placing the new magazine into the gun and giving Twilight back the old one. "That's how you reload, sugarcube."

As Twilight smiled, realizing she was in fact in the company of her best friends, another explosion was set off in the distance. Applejack's kindhearted smile quickly turned into a wicked scowl. Twilight's earpiece started to fill with voices. She tried to focus on Fluttershy "Alpha Squad, we have another explosion, position grid 3-Beta, just north of your position. Those shells are getting closer."

"Fluttershy, requesting immediate evac." Applejack said, shoving her hoof in her ear. "We need another bird down here, asap."

"Copy that, Alpha." Fluttershy said, calmer than Twilight would have liked. "You have hostiles closing in on your position. Umm… I'll try and get in contact with a nearby flight squad. Wait one. If that's okay..."

Applejack turned to Twilight. "Well, ya ready to finally get outta your home sweet hole?" Twilight just nodded. She was still confused about this entire thing, and wasn't sure if it was safer in the cell, or outside. "Oh yeah, one more thing Twilight."

"And what's that?"

"Welcome to Alpha."