TSO here with a new chapter for HVP. Things here are starting to wrap up, probably in the next chapter or so. I'm glad you all have enjoyed this story so far. Shout's to my mate SpitfireUSN, as well as atarms and Ghost32494 for the reviews. You guys helped me keep this story alive, I love it every time I get a email saying that a review has been written.

Enjoy!

The cool night's air was the only thing that could be considered comfortable in the worn down hangar. The small bunks that their captors had provided were practically canvas sheets stretched between two poles, the lights were dull and flickered on and off in random intervals, and some of the guard's cigarette smoke managed to infiltrate the room where they were confined.

"Ah sure do hope that Twilight has it better than this. Can't stand to think how she'd be if she was in our place." Applejack muttered, resting on her bunk, staring into the ceiling absentmindedly. Her human form retained some familiar traits to her pony form, mainly her bigger, muscular build and blonde hair. She was also pleased to have kept her hat, which she thought looked better on her as a human than it did as a pony. Her clothing also reflected her farm heritage: a pair of jeans, work boots and a button-up flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves. "How are you takin' this Rare?"

Rarity rolled over onto her side, facing Applejack, and gave the blonde girl a look that conveyed her answer. Her purple hair was dishevelled, a mess of wild tangles and frayed ends as a result of the stress imparted during their kidnapping and subsequent imprisonment. Her simple yet elegant dress was covered in dirt and grease stains, the result of being thrown into the back of an old van used to move auto parts, and had a few tears in it around the bottom edge. She huffed at Applejack, then rolled back onto her other side, trying to find a comfortable position to lie in.

"Ah guess she's takin' it well." Applejack continued to stare into space, her mind fairly still in thought. Off to the side, she could hear a few muted whimpers as Fluttershy quietly sobbed into Rainbow Dash's shoulder. The poor girl had been scared to her bones when they first teleported across, but had made the adjustment fairly quickly after discovering that this world had many of the same animals that they did. She acknowledged that the humans ate meat, but did not partake in the consumption of such food herself; instead she stuck to the fruits and vegetables that she was more comfortable eating. But the kidnapping had completely shattered her newfound nerves, and as such left her as an emotional wreck for their entire ordeal. Her pink hair had become tangled and knotted, the result of Fluttershy constantly tugging at it and pulling it to hide behind.

Rainbow Dash held Fluttershy close to her, comforting her and trying to keep her calm. As her best friend, she was really the only one that could comfort her to the point where she could barely function. Without her, she may suffered a full-blown panic attack and possibly end up hospitalised or much worse. Her rainbow hair, while not as vibrant, was still recognisable, and was cut short to reflect her more tomboyish nature. She was more athletic in her stature, granting her greater speed, endurance and agility where it counted, similar to her traits back as a pony form. This was proven when she was responsible for catching a bag-snatcher during a trip to the markets in Denver. She had taken off like a rocket and leapt over objects like benches and low walls to apprehend the criminal. Rainbow caught the guy by leaping off a park bench and tackling him to the ground. The police had thanked her for her intervention, and the owner of the bag had even given her some money as a reward. Rainbow at first wanted to keep the money, but insisted that the owner keep it for themselves.

Pinkie Pie sat beside Princess Celestia, her usually curly pink hair now sitting straight and in a darker shade of pink. The kidnapping had taken a toll on the perpetually happy girl, especially due to the harsh treatment given to her by their captors. She had been repeatedly slapped and had her mouth taped shut after barraging the kidnappers with her usual antics and questions. Their actions had, by the looks of hit, shattered Pinkie Pie inside, and she remained unusually quiet for the rest of their ordeal. Occasionally she would speak up to ask about Fluttershy, or answer a question from Celestia, but otherwise remained still and silent.

That was until Pinkie Pie's hair started to curl back up and brighten up, to the surprise of Princess Celestia. Her left hand started to shake a little too, along with a left eyebrow twitch. Her trademarked 'Pinkie Sense' was acting up again, and Pinkie herself was having trouble interpreting it.

"P-p-princess," she started, her body now engulfed in a small shake. "I t-t-t-think something b-b-big is about to ha-a-appen!" As she finished, Celestia could make out a low rumbling noise in the distance. She could not recognise the sound at all, nor could she use her magic to try and see what the source of the noise might be. But if Pinkie's sense was anything to go by, they were in for something.

Twilight watched the ground below rush past through a pair of night-vision goggles. The green-coloured vision was strange to her at first, but she became accustomed to it. The tunnel vision that came with wearing NVGs however was not as easy to adjust to. Her and the rest of Shade's team were launching their rescue raid on the airfield in an attempt to save her friends. They were flying in on two MH-6 Littlebirds and one MH-60 Blackhawk. Twilight and Captain Mactavish were riding in the Blackhawk, which would carry Twilight's friends back to their base. The others would stay on the Littlebirds for the infiltration and exfiltration of the mission.

She flipped up the goggles from her eyes and set them to lock above her head on the helmet she was wearing. The added weight felt different, but was easy to tolerate. Captain Mactavish did the same with his goggles and then looked at his watch.

"We're about fifteen minutes from the target now." He keyed his radio to broadcast to the men on the two smaller helicopters. "Hotel Team, this is Hotel Six. Be advised, we are fifteen mikes from the objective. I want NVGs and PEQ's active five mikes out." Twilight studied the Captain in front of her, taking in what he wore and what he was using.

His weapon was a standard M4A1, with an integral suppressor protruding from the hand guard. A holographic sight sat on the top rail, a flashlight and infrared laser aiming module on either side, with a small foregrip underneath. She knew that the lasers could only be seen through infrared vision or night vision capable devices, such as her goggles or the cameras on the Blackhawk. Her own M9, the one she carried for purely defensive purposes only, was also fitted with a suppressor. They had explained to her that suppressed weapons would not only keep the noise down, but help prevent the muzzle flash from their gunfire conflicting with the use of their night vision.

"Hotel Six, five mikes from target." The pilot of the Blackhawk said, and Twilight instantly felt the change in speed and altitude as the Blackhawk settled for a landing. When she flipped the goggles back down, she could spot the twelve different beams from twelve different men on the two Littlebird helicopters dancing along the front wall of the closest hangar, the target hangar. The second they touched down, the men jumped off and rushed over to the small ditch that sat just before the ramp section that led to the hangar's main entrance. She could see a figure with a long-barrelled weapon shift his aim to a small box off to the side of the structure, and could faintly make out the small sparks generated by the bullet impacts that hit it.

Shortly after, the lights on the outside and inside of the hangar died. Archer had shot out the small power generator with his suppressed Mk 20 using armour-piercing rounds. Now in the cover of darkness, the remainder of the team quietly made their way to the hangar doors. She and Captain Mactavish waited in the Blackhawk as it continued its low and slow orbit around the hangar, and soon their view was blocked by the rook of the target hangar.

"Six, this is Echo-Five-Whiskey, we're stacked up and ready to breach." Shade's voice came through the radio, stating that they were ready to enter.

"Six, Oscar-One-Romeo, ready to breach." Ghost's voice followed Shades, conveying the same message.

"Six, Echo-Six-Mike, perimeter secure, no contacts in sight." Archer reported, having taken up a spot on the roof of the neighbouring hangar to get a better view of their surroundings.

"This is Six, all teams are clear to breach, remember that weapons are tight." Mactavish replied, his voice sounding cool and calm. Over the loud rotors, Twilight could swear that she heard the sounds of a small explosion, followed by a loud scream. While she panicked for a split second, she recognised the scream as one of Rarity's overly dramatic screams. Though in this instance, she guessed that her reaction could be well within reason.

The low rumbled had transitioned into a louder whirring noise over the course of fifteen minutes, the noise forcing the girls to bunch up together in an effort to keep each other calm. They all had no idea what was happing outside their cell.

Shade and Roach both stacked on either side of a doorway to the side of the hangar. Rook, Chemo and Royce were with them, behind Roach on his side of the door. Jayhawk, Ghost, Meat, Chemo and Scarecrow were on the main door on the front. Archer and Toad had both taken their marksman rifles and climbed to the roof of the neighbouring hangars to provide overwatch and security.

The plan was to perform a tandem flanking breach, catching any hostiles inside from two sides. They had to be careful with their shots, as the sheet metal walls of the interior and exterior of the hangar would definitely not stop stray rounds. This mission called for extreme accuracy and extreme fire discipline. Accurate weapons had been chosen, sights were swapped to provide the best in peripheral vision, and fire-modes set to semi-automatic, all these measures taken to ensure that they had the greatest chance in preventing stray weapons fire on their part. They could not guarantee the reactionary fire from the enemy, but as long as they were quick and clean, the risk would be relatively low.

"Six, this is Echo-Five-Whiskey, we're stacked up and ready to breach." Shade's radio call was followed by calls from Ghost and Archer, before Mactavish replied and gave them the go-order. With a press of a button, the doorway disappeared in a loud bang and cloud of smoke, flying into the hangar and slamming into the poor guard who was standing on the other side. Shade rushed in and stepped on the door, firing a quick succession of suppressed shots at the other guards nearby. In the far corner, he could see Ghost and the others do the same from their entry way, the door still hanging weakly on one hinge.

In the few minutes it took to reach the small room at the back of the hangar, they had managed to subdue and neutralise the ten guards inside. The men weaved between the small parked planes and tool carts and finally stacked up on the doorway to the storage room. Through the thin walls, Shade could faintly hear the sounds of someone crying. He held his hand up and signalled to the others that there could be civilians on the other side. Rook, seeing this, reached around to Royce's pack and grabbed the small battering ram they had brought with them. Using a standard breaching charge on a structure like this in such a small space, with civilians on the other side was way too risky. The battering ram allowed them to break the door down without putting others at risk, but at the expense of needing to hit the door a few times to get through.

Rook held the ram at the lock of the door, swung it back, and then swang it forward onto the door.

Celestia's automatic response to hearing the explosions outside was to gather the girls and put them as far away from the only door as possible. Telling them to bunch together and stay low, she took up a protective posture and waited for whatever it was to find them. In the minutes since the explosion, she could hear the occasional shout, the short reports of gunfire, and the screams of dying people outside. The rumbling noise outside was still there, but did little to block the noises inside the hangar.

Without warning, the sounds of violence outside their room stopped, and Celestia let out a breath she had not realised she was holding. However, the moment of peace was short-lived as the sound of something akin to a hammer slamming on metal rang out from the door, the door itself slightly shifting and opening. Another hit set the door swinging open violently, the source of the sound falling to the ground into the room. A group of scary looking men, holding weapons similar to what their captors had, rushed into the room and walked to them, weapons aimed towards them. The first man started screaming at them.

"Get on the ground now! Hands where I can see them!" The rest of them started shouting similar phrases, and Celestia found herself complying automatically. The commanding nature of their voices had the same effect as their captors, yet they also sounded less-hostile and more restrained. The shouts sounded more like loud requests than direct demands, and this made Celestia feel more at ease.

The first man stood over her and pushed his weapon to his side, letting it hang by the strap. He pulled out a small white cord and bound her hands with it. She was then helped to her feet by the man, who's grasp was firm but also gentle.

"Sorry ma'am, nothing personal, just the standard drill." Celestia turned her head and saw that the other girls were receiving similar treatment, their arms bound behind their backs, being led to the doorway by the other men. There was a sense of uniformity with this new group of men. While they all wore casual-looking clothes, their vests and helmets all bore similar markings and colours. One man wore a small red cross on his vest, and had a look of concern on his face as he watched the girls get led out to the main hangar. As they made their way past the planes, Celestia took note of the bodies of their captors on the ground, small pools of blood emanating from some of them. A few of the men stood by them, collecting pieces of equipment from their clothing and vests, taking apart their weapons, and covering the bodies with sheets.

It was outside where Celestia found the girls, a pair of men standing guard over them. One of them wore a skull-patterned mask over his face, the other a close-fitting helmet with strange tubes on the front. One of them greeted the man leading Celestia around.

"This the last one Shade?" The man with the helmet asked, a slight smile on his face.

"Yep, all six accounted for, Jayhawk. Where's Chemo, I want him to check them over after Sparks confirms their identities." Celestia's guide replied. She noted the strange sounding names the men had, each of them unlike what she and the girls had encountered during the month in the city. However, she had to admit that they themselves had strange names in comparison.

"Fair enough. Guess I should make the call then?" The masked one nodded to the man named Shade, who pressed a button on the vest he wore.

"Six, this is Echo-Five-Whiskey, area secure, HVPs in custody. It's time for Sparks to play her part." After he spoke, Celestia listened as the ever-present rumbling noise grew much louder, and watched as a strange looking vehicle touched down on the ground beside them, the wind generated from it slightly blowing them off balance. A pair of figures got out from the side and walked closed to them. In the darkness, she could not make out who they were, but as they neared she studied their features.

The first one, another man, wore similar clothes to the rest of the men. His posture and stance, as well as the body language of the other men, suggested that he was some kind of commander. His hair was cut very short, a strip of hair running across the middle of his head. His face bore a few scars, his arms also showing signs of previous injuries. His vest was similar to those of the others, with a few subtle differences. He stood tall, and to Celestia, was fairly intimidating.

The second person, however, was much smaller and was a female. Something about her resonated with Celestia, but she could not place it. Her vest was clean of any pouches or equipment, the black shirt and jeans fairly plain in appearance. She wore a helmet with the same strange tubes on the front, but the helmet itself was bigger and covered more of her head. But her fringe hung just below the brim, and its colours immediately registered with Celestia. They were dark purple, with a two-tone pink streak off to the side. She was about to speak when the girl spoke first.

"Princess, is that you?" Her voice just confirmed her suspicions, and Celestia did all she could to not burst into tears of joy at the sight of her long lost student.

Twilight ran the last bit of distance to Celestia as she saw that the Princess had indeed recognised her. She threw her arms around her and embraced her in a tight hug, making up for lost time and expressing her sheer delight in seeing her again. To Twilight, hugs felt better and more natural in a human form, her arms more than able to reach fully around other humans without any issue.

Letting her go, Twilight nodded at Shade, who was standing behind and to the side of Celestia. He stepped forward and cut the plastic cuffs that bound Celestia's wrists, no sooner was she free did she return the embrace to Twilight. Shade and Rook then went around and released the bindings off the other girls, who immediately ran over to Twilight and embraced her in a huge group hug. Twilight at this point at started crying at the feelings she was going through, mainly that of relief and joy of seeing her long lost friends once again.

Even Shade shed a few tears at the sight, even though he quickly regained his composure, lest he be called a big softy by anyone who saw him. Looking over at the captain, he was signalled that they had to go. Shade stepped close to the group of friends and interrupted their chatter.

"Sorry I have to break this up, but we need to go now. Twilight, take your friends to the Blackhawk with the Captain, I'll be riding back on the Littlebirds with the others." Twilight nodded in response, and started to lead her friends to the awaiting helicopter. Shade was about to walk off to his helicopter when Mactavish stopped him.

"You go with them, I'm sure Twilight will be more comfortable with you there instead of me."

"Thanks sir." Shade moved off and quickly caught up with Twilight and her friends. They were all apprehensive in boarding the helicopter, which was understandable as they probably had no idea what the Blackhawk was or what it did. A quick explanation by Twilight however put their minds at ease, the rainbow-haired one even going so far as to remark that she could fly faster than it. A quick reminder about how she lacked her wings left her silent for the remaining journey home, but Shade watched her face as she watched the landscape below, the sun starting to rise over the horizon, casting a glow over the land.

Twilight looked at each of her friends, and watched as they looked around them in a mixture of awe and fear.

"You have no idea how happy I am to finally see you girls." She said, using the headset intercom on the Blackhawk. Rarity attempted to reply through her own headset, but failed to key the microphone. All Twilight saw and heard were her mouth moving and the muffled sound of the helicopter's engine. She reached across and reminded Rarity about the push-to-talk button, who gave a small chuckle at her ignorance, and pushed the button to speak.

"The feeling is mutual, dear. I am very happy to see you after all this time, but I must say I wish it was under better circumstances." Rarity's voice trailed off towards the end, looking down as the memories replayed fresh in her mind.

"Say Twi', where have you been all of this time, and how come you were with these guys?" Rainbow spoke up, gesturing to Shade when she asked the second part of the question. Shade had kept his gaze out through the windows in the side as they talked, but looked at Twilight, interested in her answer.

"Well, it's a long story. These guys are soldiers, like the Royal Guard, but trained to higher standards and given tough missions around the world. They're considered the best of the best, and fight the worst of the worst, like we do with the Elements of Harmony. I bet they could probably give Discord a run for his money. Anyway, when I crossed over, I woke up to find myself taken hostage by a group of rebels in one of their weapon stockpiles. By chance, it was the same stockpile about to be raided by Shade and his team." She looked over to the soldier and smiled, then continued. "They were sent to destroy the building I was in, and had not expected to encounter anyone other than the rebels. They were surprised to find me, but took me back to their base and looked after me. The shock and stress of the accident and my capture had left me extremely fatigued, so when they rushed into my room and saved me, I passed out. Shade was the one who carried me out to their helicopter."

By this point, all of the girls and Princess Celestia had started listening, and now looked at the soldier sat beside Twilight. Rarity was the first to speak up.

"Well then, Shade, it seems that we all have to thank you for taking care of our dearest friend. You've done a good job, considering the circumstances." She nodded her head in appreciation, and Shade returned the gesture.

"What kinda' name is 'Shade', anyway?" Applejack asked, looking at the soldier with a critical eye. Twilight and Shade chuckled at the question, before Shade replied.

"It's actually a nickname. Long story how I got it, and we don't have the time. My actual name is Tom, Tom Williams."

"That's a nice name," Fluttershy's voice was barely audible through the intercom. "It suits you."

"So, you're a soldier," Rainbow Dash began. "Blow anything up recently?" This earned a laugh from Shade.

"Me? Not recently, that job goes to my mate Roach."

The rest of the flight was filled with banter between Shade and Twilight's friends, Twilight feeling happy that they were becoming more accepting of him and their world. Even the princess asked a few questions here and there, more to do with their treatment of Twilight than anything, but she still got involved, which pleased Twilight greatly. The helicopter approached the base and set down without any issues, the men quickly disembarking and leading their new guests to the briefing room.

After a quick debrief, Twilight felt that it was time for introductions.

"So, girls, allow me to introduce you all to the members of Hotel Team, Task Force One-Four-One." She waved her hand to the men behind her. "Guys, these are my friends from Equestria." She made her way through the group, starting with Rainbow Dash and finishing with Princess Celestia. Captain Mactavish and Ghost made a short salute to the princess, who easily returned the gesture, with slightly flushed cheeks. Twilight then worked her way through Shade and his team members, giggling at the reactions that Meat, Roach and Ghost received at the mention of their nicknames. When all was said and done, there was nothing left to do but socialise.

Shade walked over to Twilight, who was discussing some of the technology the Task Force used with Princess Celestia.

"... and that larger helicopter is called a Blackhawk. Despite the name, not all of them are painted black, and there are different specialised versions, like the Seahawk, used by navies for maritime operations and warfare, or the Ghosthawk, a stealth-capable version used to slip past radar networks and penetrate deep into enemy lines. Oh, hey there Shade."

"Hi Twilight," Shade said, and then looked at the Princess. "Ma'am, do you mind if I steal her away for a few minutes?" Celestia chuckled at his formality, and replied.

"Fine by me Shade, and please, just call me Celestia." Shade nodded his response and led Twilight outside to the cool morning air, the sun now higher above the horizon. The base was starting to wake up, with operators from other teams on their warm-up runs around the base. Twilight and Shade walked for a little while, and then stopped at the perimeter fences. Shade leant on the fence and let it take his weight, while Twilight sat down on the ground and leant back on one of the small concrete barriers that lined the fence.

"So, with your friends and the Princess here now, I guess you'll be on your way soon?" Shade said rather glumly.

"I guess so. I mean, if I can still harness my magic, odds are that the Princess can to, probably to a much greater extent than I can. And with the other element bearers here as well, she could potentially harness their strength and boost whatever magic she has. It's just a matter of when now."

"I had figured as much. You think she's got the magic reserves to do so though? I mean, your magic pretty much returned to normal about a month after we found you. Pretty sure that Celestia would have to wait the same amount of time, maybe a little less given her status."

"That's the thing, Shade. I was talking to her just before, and she had told me that they had actually spent the last month on Earth looking for me. The mere fact that they were captured, held hostage and then subsequently rescued by us was nothing more than mere chance. If they hadn't been out and about that day, they'd still be looking, and I'd still not know how much longer I'd be here for." Twilight hugged her legs close to her chest, resting her forehead on her knees. "When I asked her about how she was feeling, magically that is, she said that she could cast the spell in less than a day. She had cast the spell with assistance from Cadence and Luna back in Equestria, but here she can use the Elements of Harmony to the same effect."

"Sounds like we should start getting organised then." Shade righted himself from the fence and helped Twilight to her feet, and together they made their way back to the others.

A little sappy at the end, but will probably be nothing compared to what I've got in motion for next chapter.

TSO out.