Equestria Invaded

"What was that?" Rainbow Dash yelled as she hovered in place, trying to regain her sight after being blinded by the bright flash a few hundred yards to her left. "Report!"

A Pegasus pony came flying over from the area of the disruption. "They broke through! They broke a small hole in the Shield!"

Rainbow Dash swore under her breath. "How many got through?"

"Maybe a dozen Chameleons," the pony reported. "The Unicorns sent reinforcements; it's closing up already. But they lost sight of the enemy almost immediately."

Rainbow dash felt like screaming in frustration. She quickly flew to the command center, which was located on a cloud a half mile or so from the Front Line. "Princess Luna," Rainbow Dash called, nearly crashing into the Princess as she landed. "I've just received a report that a dozen or more Chameleons broke through the Front Line."

Princess Luna's expression darkened. "I will lead the team that follows them. You gather three more of your fastest flyers and follow me."

Rainbow Dash nodded and quickly rounded up the fastest fliers she could think of that were nearby: Sassaflash, Lightning Dust, and Cloudchaser. The four Pegasi met up with Princess Luna as they began the search for the enemy party.

"I spoke with the ponies closest to the flash. They told me that the Chameleons headed this way," the Princess informed them as she gestured towards a group of trees. "Their camouflage doesn't work well in open spaces. They are likely hiding in the forest. As soon as we find them, we have to chase them out into the open. A team of Unicorns from the Magical Guard is going to meet us here, but they could take as long as fifteen minutes to arrive. We must find the Chameleons before they arrive."

The Pegasi nodded. When they reached the small group of trees, they began their search. They systematically began making sweeps close to the tops of the trees. Because of the autumn weather, the leaves were changing and fell from the trees easily as the Pegasi made their low passes. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash saw something. She silently caught the others' attention and gestured at the center of the trees. The leaves were rustling even though there were no ponies flying there. The Pegasi quickly brought a raincloud over and used the lightning to start the center of the forest on fire. In a few short minutes, the Chameleons were fleeing the flames, leaving the trees for the open fields that surrounded them. The Princess quickly caught the Chameleons in a magical shield and struggled to hold all twelve while they waited for the Unicorns to arrive and take them away. While Cloudchaser used the rain from the raincloud to put out the flames, Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust flew circles around the entrapped Chameleons. Rainbow Dash shuddered as she eyed the reptiles. The way they could move their eyes independent of one another caused the short hair of her mane to bristle. Even though they had been caught, they were still trying to camouflage themselves. Rainbow Dash laughed bitterly.

Once the Chameleons had been taken away by the Unicorns to the prison camp, Princess Luna dismissed the Pegasi back to the Front Line. As they started to head back, she called for Rainbow Dash to stay behind.

"Rainbow Dash," the Princess began, "I need you to bring news of this to Princess Celestia."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "I'm on it."

"As fast as possible."

Rainbow Dash was gone the second the Princess stopped speaking. It took her a nearly an hour of flying, but eventually she reached the tree line. Exhausted, she landed and waited for an escort into the forest. Security was tight, and for good reason. She eyed the Buffalo camps as she entered the Evertree Forest. I hope the Front Line doesn't get pushed back this far, she thought, feeling sympathy for the Buffalos. They had enough trouble when it was just settler ponies taking their land. After this new threat, they had lost all of their traditional stomping grounds.

The sun was setting when Rainbow Dash reached the Canterlot encampment. Princess Celestia was waiting for her. Rainbow Dash bowed before telling the Princess the news. Princess Celestia's expression fell. She stood, looking contemplative for a moment before thanking Rainbow Dash for bringing her word so quickly. As Rainbow Dash was about to leave, Princess Celestia stopped her.

"I need you to stay here for at least a day," the Princess explained. "Twilight Sparkle is coming tomorrow to explain a new defensive technique she has developed and I would like your input."

"Wouldn't some other pony's opinion be more useful?" Rainbow Dash asked. She was anxious to rejoin the rest of her team on the Front Line.

Princess Celestia shook her head. "I want your opinion." She paused, seeing Rainbow Dash's expression. "Don't worry. You could probably use a day's rest. I will send word to the Front Line that I have detained you. For now, you should settle in for the night. It can be a little dangerous here in the Evertree Forest after dark."

Rainbow Dash nodded reluctantly. She was lead to a small tent near the Princess' tent and quickly removed her uniform and fell asleep. She didn't want to admit it to herself, and especially not to any pony else, but she was grateful for the opportunity to have some real sleep. She hadn't had a whole day of rest in over two months.

The next morning, Rainbow Dash was awake and ready shortly after dawn. She wandered around the Canterlot encampment impatiently, unsure what to do until Twilight Sparkle's presentation that afternoon. I could always stop by and see how the Ponyville Aerial Guard are doing. It didn't take long to fly over to the Ponyville encampment. The Aerial Guardsponies were delighted to see her, and the attention did wonders to lift Rainbow Dash's mood. When she took a fly around to see how the ponies on duty were faring, she was surprised to run into Fluttershy.

Fluttershy certainly looked different than Rainbow Dash remembered. Her hair was tightly braided, and her expression serious and alert. She obviously took her position as seriously as she should. Rainbow Dash nodded to Fluttershy, who nodded back. Her expression grew bright, and she was obviously trying not to smile. Rainbow Dash made a mental note to stop by and pay her friend a quick visit on her way back to the Front Line.

The time for the presentation finally arrived, and Rainbow Dash nodded and smiled at Twilight Sparkle when she entered the Princess' tent, where the presentation was taking place.

Twilight began speaking after a few brief words from the Princess. "As I'm sure you have all heard, we had a breach in the defensive magical shield along the Front Line yesterday." Twilight paused as the ponies murmured their agreement. "It has always been my fear that eventually the reptiles would find a way around the spell we use to power the Shield. A shield has never been in effect for so long, so we were unsure of the ramifications. It seems it is losing strength." Twilight paused again, letting her words sink in. Rainbow Dash silently wished she'd just get to the point. "I have been searching and searching for a way to strengthen the Shield, and I believe I've found a way." Twilight proceeded to pull out a board with a bunch of words and equations that Rainbow Dash didn't read. "I've found a spell that I believe will let us turn Pegasus wing power into power for the Shield." Rainbow Dash was finally intrigued. Sure, the Pegasus ponies were invaluable for message-sending and patrolling and early alerts of incoming danger, but she had always wished she could contribute in the same way the Unicorns of the Magical Guard could. "With this spell, we would be able to transform energy of the wing power produced by the Pegasi directly into magical energy that would strengthen the Shield. On a smaller scale, this spell would even allow a few Pegasi to form a shield without the help of a Unicorn, just with their wing power." The ponies gathered in the tent were thoroughly impressed, as was Rainbow Dash. This would be a huge help on the Front Line.

As soon as she was able, Rainbow Dash asked Princess Celestia if she could return to the Front Line right away so that they could begin preparations for the implementation of the new spell. The Princess told her she could return as soon as she liked, but that the Front Line was not expecting her back until the next morning, when Twilight Sparkle would be arriving with several Magical Guardsponies to assist her in implementing the spell.

Faced with the opportunity of having a bit of extra time on her hooves, Rainbow Dash decided to go find Fluttershy before she left the forest. It didn't take too long—all of the Guardsponies tents were located in the same area of the Ponyville encampment.

Fluttershy was surprised to see Rainbow Dash again, and insisted they go together to say a quick hello to Pinkie Pie before curfew started.

"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie screamed, giving her friend a bigger hug than she would have probably liked. "How are you?"

"Not too great," Rainbow Dash replied truthfully. "I have to get back to the Front Line soon. The breach in the Shield has really thrown us for a loop."

"It'll be okay!" Pinkie Pie replied cheerily. "I'm sure you'll find a way to fix it."

"I'm not too sure. Twilight's idea seems pretty good, but we won't know until it's implemented and tested whether it will help us or not."

"I bet it wi~ill!" Pinkie Pie said in her sing-song-y way.

"But what if it doesn't?" Rainbow Dash yelled, causing both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to cower. "We have literally no idea if it will work or not! And there are a lot of ponies' lives at stake if it doesn't! Do you even have any idea how serious the situation is out there?" Rainbow Dash could feel herself taking the focus of her argument too wide, but it was too late to stop. "There are ponies dying every day while you are here singing away like it's not even happening!"

"Do you think I really don't know that?" Pinkie Pie asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "I know how dangerous it is for you and the other ponies. I know that ponies are dying every day to keep me safe. But if I don't keep smiling, I don't know what I would do…" Pinkie Pie started to cry. Fluttershy did her best to comfort her friend, but she was crying too.

"Pinkie Pie's smiles are the only thing that has kept me going these past few months," Fluttershy admitted quietly between sobs. "It's very selfish of you to try and take that away." The two ponies walked off, leaving a stunned Rainbow Dash to regret her actions as she flew back to the Front Line.

Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope it won't be over a month again before Chapter 3! ^^;; Please feel free to leave a review if you feel so inclined. I know this chapter ended on a kind of sad note~. The next chapter will focus on what's become of Rarity...