Energy shots rang out through the crystal maze, as Corporal Singe heard a falling shard. He breathed out in relief, shutting down his arm cannon. It was the one month on UZ-0320 that night shrouded the planet, letting the Gralsun roam free. His dark gray armor was no defense against a Gralsun- or an Aldunari, for that matter.
Rastin-Ze crept through the cavern, following the fleshling. His crystalline form was all but immune to any weapons a soldier would carry. The most the human could do was slow him down. He left his cover behind the gem pillar. This human was trespassing on the Finding Grounds, where new Aldunari were found and brought to sentience. The shards forming his arm coalesced, the mist binding him together drawing them into one, were they formed into a sharp blade. The human swung around, aiming his arm cannon at Rastin-Ze.
"Oh, thank god, it's just one of you. Do you know the way out of here?"
"You are trespassing on sacred ground. Leave now."
"I'm trying, Aldunari. My navigation systems are broken- I feel like I'm going in circles." These words were lost on Rastin-Ze, who had seen a large, simple, eight-edged gem behind the soldier.
"Do you know where you are?!" Rastin-Ze shouted. "You are in a place of purity. You have no business being here!"
Singe primed his arm cannon, clenching his fist inside the metal cylinder. A display on the right of his visor showed several symbols, and he chose one.
"I don't. Can you help me find my way out?" He said, nerves evident in his voice. Rastin-Ze clenched his remaining fist. He calmed himself. He lifted his hand, pointing off to his right.
"Head straight that way. The exit will be obvious when you find it."
"Thank you. Could you possibly come with me? The Gralsun are out."
As he said this, a red, crystalline form appeared from the shadow behind the soldier. Rastin-Ze tackled the human just as a massive red claw crashed where he was standing. Cracks spread through the cerulean crystal forming the ground. The beast smashed a claw into the pillar holding the dormant Aldunari. The eight-sided crystal fell to the ground. Rastin-Ze rushed to the crystal, and laid his hand on it. Energy pulsed from Rastin-Ze's form and into the crystal. It fell apart in a symmetrical pattern, and then formed into a tall Aldunari.
"Avrin sa ze nare?"
"Rosh sav'ir nak." Rastin-Ze said, pointing at the large red crystal creature. The newly-awakened Aldunari stood, and scooped up the human, slinging him over his shoulder. As he did this, he grasped Singe's head, and ran energy through, piecing together the English language. His spread-out form strode across the crystal ground, carrying them quickly.
"Where did you come from?"
"I was not yet sentient. Rastin-Ze just woke me from my dormancy."
"You Aldunari are strange..."
"How do you think we feel?"
Rastin-Ze held on to the Gralsun's head, gripping on by its straight crystal horns. He attempted to impale the blade of his arm into its skull, but it shook him off. He lifted himself up, but was promptly backhanded into a pillar. The beast attempted to crush him, but Rastin-Ze split his torso and legs apart, and reformed atop the beast's arm, where he cut through the essence binding it together. It split apart, turning blue just before dissipating. The disconnected appendage fell to the ground, scattering as all the separate parts split. The beast stood on its back two limbs, and let out a high-pitched sound wave directly at Rastin-Ze. His crystalline form began to crack in several places, but not disrupting his essence. Rastin reached down to the ground, placing his hand on the crystal, and turned his other hand back. A massive crystal spike erupted from the ground, shattering the beast's torso. It was incapacitated as it re-formed, shards coalescing and malding together. He let atop the creature's head, turned both arms into swords. He rammed both in forcefully, shattering the red crystal, and causing the creature to spasm until it fell to the ground. The essence binding it dissipated, and the crystal turned a pale white, and broke down into a powder. Rastin-Ze crouched at the piles, and ran energy through them. They pulsed, and began to form rough crystals. He stood, and then formed into a cloud of cyan particles, which shot into the ground, as a lit trail navigated through the crystal at high speed.
The crystal spire sparkled as a beam of cyan energy shot through the crystal. The particles burst from the crystal, taking several shards with it. The particles turned into an eight sided gem for a second, which then split apart and grew into the blue Aldunari. He looked around, and spotted a gray dot running across the prismatic ground. The one night on UZ-0320 that was the most dangerous was also the most beautiful. Not in the way the trees of CS-235 were, though. The hundreds of stars cast their light upon the planet, the moon adding its great luminance to the mix. Each pin of light cast a new pinprick, making the whole planet a shimmering crystal orb. He coalesced into an eight-sided gem, and turned back into a particle cloud, which compressed, glowing bright blue. A bang rang out, and he was instantly thrown to the front gates of the human settlement.
As this happened, a Gralsun tunneled up through the crystal. This one was clear, matching the color of the planet's ground. As he tunneled, he saw an opportunity to be rid of an Aldunari and a human base. He sent a tangle of energy through the ground, glowing the same color as the Aldunari. He forced a huge crystal spike up through the ground, and impaled the man, blood leaking down the crystal lance. The crystal spilt in two, and tore the corpse in two, organs and blood spilling from the split cadaver. The beast pulled the Aldunari down, and then proceeded to destroy the colony.
"Titan Cannon 16, hostile present, Aldunari, go, go, GO!"
Up in the planet's thin atmosphere, the transmission came through. The operator activated a console, causing several exhaust vents to heat up along the lance-like alloy cannon. Three large shafts came from the sides, and each heated up, and the central tip opened up, where three cannons extended.
"Inertia dampeners primed! Open fire!" Light warped around the cannon, making it waver. The side cannons fire simultaneously, sending out a yellow beam of energy.
Down on the planet's surface, huge crystal spires continued to form. The three beams came down, impacting a crystal spire. A large form under the crystal surface glowed red, and cracked apart. The colony sagged as its foundation was removed from under it. An Aldunari came from one of the more intact parts of the colony, and ran energy through the crystal. It formed back into a solid foundation, with Rastin-Ze bound in crystal.
Rastin struggled against his crystal bindings. He attempted to dissolve into particles, but was forced back into a solid form.
"Ajig nir avaz, Rastin."
"Vaarsain."
The Commander of the humans walked towards Rastin.
"You have commited crimes against us. What do you have to say for yourself?" As the commander said this, turrets mounted in the vicinity trained on Rastin. Some fizzled and smoked, but the functional ones were fully primed with seeker missiles, electrostatic friction cannons, and plasma burst silos.
"I was framed by a Gralsun. I am not responsible for this." Said Rastin, voice level and calm.
"No Gralsun is smart enough to do such a thing. You are to be banished." Said Vaarsain, speaking in english for the benefit of the humans. Vaarsain let out a musical chime, and three other Aldunari appeared beside him. Among the Aldunari, judgement was swift and unwavering. Blue energy gathered under Rastin, and he was suddenly shot into space.
The story of UZ-0320 ends here. Rastin's begins now.
Twilight sat in her unfinished chambers at Canterlot Castle. Since her recent ascension to royalty, her chambers had come under construction, and it was coming along well. Several boxes of belongings were stacked against one plain beige wall. The opposite wall had been emblazoned with Twilight's Cutie mark, in a trinity with Celestia and Luna's. The paint was still damp, and she breathed in, enjoying the unusual scent of the dye. Back at the library, there was no paint to speak of, and she had only really smelled it at Sweet Apple Acres when they erected a new barn. A desk with a dark purple glass top was tucked into the corner, parchment and quills arranged neatly on its surface, a row of three ink pots lined up next to a clean white parchment sheet. A telescope was set up, pointed up into the dusky sky, knobs spaced evenly down its length. The plush-carpeted floor was colored a mellow blue, the joining between wall and floor beveled with a simple wooden design. As she sat down on the soft floor, she stared out at the sky, thinking. Suddenly, a light shone in distance she stood up, squinting into the twilight. She hurried over to her telescope, and focused it on the twinkling light. A large, cerulean gem was flying through the air, engulfed in fire. As she watched, it split into bipedal form, and a cerulean aura surrounded it, shimmering. She followed it on its course, until it crashed into a far-off field. She drew away from the telescope, mouth open, eyes wide in wonder. She grinned, mischievously, and leapt into the air, spreading her wings, heading out to the crash site.
Rastin stood, a good portion of his form shattered and cracked. Half his crystalline torso had been broken off in the crash, his head made lopsided by the impact. He focused his energy, and the scattered shards of his form came together. As they made contact, the edges glowed, and bound back together into flawless crystal. He looked down at the bright green grass. and scanned the horizon. From here, he could see a castle built onto the side of a mountain, several settlements scattered down in the surrounding valleys, a line of sandy yellow color across the far horizon.
This was taking too long. Twilight had to get there faster, to examine whatever space-thing had fallen within her jurisdiction. She activated her horn. Surrounded in a purple aura for a split second, she she was gone the next.
Twilight appeared directly in front of Rastin in a purple flash. Rastin's response was to jump back, turn both arms into blades. He stood there in a ready stance, crouched down low. However, he was still six feet tall crouched down. Tentatively, he turned one hand back, and slowly extending it towards Twilight. She shied back, wings fluttering in fear, hooves shaking slightly. As he aid the single hand on her forehead, just below her horn, she felt his presence winding and slipping into her mind. Reflexively, she let out a concussive field of magic. In response, Rastin changed into a particle cloud, completely unaffected by the blast. He then tackled her down, and forcibly put his hand on her head. The right side of her face was showing, pupils dilated in fear. He then turned into a particle cloud and reappeared a few meters away.
"That could have gone much more easily, Princess Twilight."
