The Towerby Nuclear GrenadeChaptersChapter 1 - The ArtifactChapter 2 - Powered UpChapter 3 - The TowerChapter 4 - Ancient HistoryChapter 5 - The Art of WarChapter 6 - EnemyChapter 7 - EchoChapter 8 - The Enemy of My EnemyChapter 1 - The ArtifactTwilight stood at the excavation cite looking down at the odd metallic artifact. It was odd that the artifact could remain so intact after five-thousand years of being buried. It was so old in fact that it predated ponies; this was odd because the artifact seemed far more advanced than anything modern day technology could hope to achieve. Twilight stopped to ponder this. It was well known that there was a species that lived before ponies had the ability to think let alone wield magic, but surely if this species was so technologically advanced they would still be around today. Even though they practiced the art of war some of them must have survived. Only one intact specimen of the previous race had been discovered. It was about five and a half hooves (equivalent to U.S. standard feet) tall, walked on two legs, and had fingers similar to some of the current animals of Equestria. Its skeleton had fractured ribs that were coherent with an high velocity impact from an object no larger that the tip of her own horn. The creature had been holding a long metallic object: its purpose widely speculated, but Twilight believed that this being a warring species; it was likely it's weapon. Twilight shuddered at this. A weapon that could fire hundreds of metal projectiles at speeds that could punch through practically anything. The damage those weapons could inflict on ponies was apparent in those that chose to venture near the Tower. At the edge of Equestria stands a tower that attacks anything an everything that comes near it. Those few who went near the tower and came back to tell the tale had been found with tiny bits of metal embedded in their bodies. This along with the reports of flashes of light prior to being hit by the projectile and loud banging noises following it led Twilight to believe that these weapons relied on a explosive substance to propel ammunition at speeds faster than sound. "Princess Sparkle. We've finished the excavation." A brown earth pony with a shovel for a cutie mark announced, interrupting Twilight's pondering. The pony led Twilight down the scaffolding to the artifact. It was five hooves tall by twelve hooves long and was defiantly from the era of the manlins; this was apparent from the symbol on the side of the artifact. Twilight instructed a camera pony to take a picture of the symbol after twilight cleaned some of the dirt off of the metal panel it was on. The same symbol had been found on every other piece of equipment used by the manlins. The symbol was probably used to represent the manlins' army since it was stamped on everything including that tower. It was time for Twilight to write her initial analysis of the artifact in question so she called for the transcriber. "The artifact is metallic in composition and is five hooves tall, twelve hooves long, and five hooves wide. There is no way to see inside the artifact so it is currently impossible to tell the artifact's contents. The artifact vaguely resembles a tear drop but more ridged; in addition it also has several small wings near the largest part leading me to believe that this is a flying ship of some kind. The ship also has four long rods protruding from round discs on either side of the craft; presumably projectile weapons." Twilight explained. Twilight was finishing her preliminary drawing when a loud metallic clang sounded from the craft. A troubled earth pony ran over to Twilight and shakily explained, "I'm so sorry, Princess. I was just cleaning the artifact and then suddenly this hole opens up." Intrigued Twilight responded, "Show me." The earth pony led Twilight to the other side of the craft and pointed out a hole about a hoof in length. To the left of it was a glowing red rectangle that said, 'Maintenance hatch open." This was odd because Twilight could read it. "This is incredible! This text it's in Equestrian! The implications of this are!-" Twilight was cut off by a spark of light coming from inside hatch. She peered into the dark abyss inside the craft. Lighting her horn twilight was met with a forest of wires and piping and in the middle of it all was an intact dull grey crystal identical to those in the crystal empire. The crystal rested on a pedestal of wires that ran off in every direction connecting to small black boxes that were positioned along the walls. She went deeper into the craft and steeped on something. She picked up the smooth rounded object and examined it. It consisted of two parts a brass tube with a protruding iron tip. Twilight instantly realized this was the projectile that the manlins' weapons fired. She set the bullet down on the base of the craft causing its extremely aged priming cap to ignite and the bullet to go off. It flew up towards the ceiling just missing Twilight's head an punching a hole through the top of the craft. "Princess are you alright!" A nervous unicorn cried from outside. Still dazed it took Twilight a moment to recognize her partner's voice. "Yah, I'm okay Digger." Twilight stepped out of the craft not wanting another incident; causing the hatch to close behind her. Standing out side along with the anxious dig team Digger asked, "Twilight what happened?" "Well, It appears my theory about projectile weapons was accurate. I found a small metallic cylinder, set it down on the floor, and 'bang' it explodes and fires a small piece metal upward with enough force to put a hole in the craft." Twilight shuddered, "If I had set it down just an inch closer to me it would have went straight through my head." Twilight, Digger, and the rest of the dig team finished documenting the outside of the craft; not being able to get the hatch open again. They had all gone back to their tents and Twilight had finished recaping the day in her journal; she added, Now that the initial documentation of the artifact is complete we can send it back to Canterlot for additional analysis. I hope to find out the craft's purpose and their is a small chance the craft is still operational. After completing her entry twilight dosed off pondering the day's events. Chapter 2 - Powered UpTwilight arrived in Canterlot along with the artifact in the middle of the night and they left the craft in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city; before Twilight went to the castle for the evening. The next day she was joined by the Celestia and two royal guards inside the warehouse; in the center of which sat the craft. "So, my student you believe this artifact to be a ship?" Celestia asked "Yes, princess. I assume you already read my report?" Twilight responded. "Indeed. You mentioned it might still be functional?" "Yes, princess but its just a theory." Princess Celestia walked around to the side of the craft to where the hatch was. Celestia pressed her hoof against the red panel causing the hatch to open once more. She looked through the hatch and pulled out the dull grey crystal. Admiring it Celestia said, "Crystals store arcane energy, and this one seems to be drained of it's." "Why would it be drained?" Twilight asked. "I believe this is the craft's power source." "And the craft wasn't on because it's power source was drained." "Precisely." The Celestia said as she began to channel arcane energy through her horn into the crystal. "There that should do it." Celestia finished as she inserted the now blue crystal back into place. As soon as the crystal was in place the front tip of the craft glowed red and it lifted into the air. It spun around in place as if it were looking for something, then two small beams of light shot out of either disc between the barrels on the sides of the craft. It spun around several more times until it stopped and faced the two princesses causing the two guards to step forward protectively. "Hello?" Twilight decided to asked. The craft emitted a low humming sound and pointed the lasers at Twilight. The craft's barrels began to rotate faster and faster causing the humming to grow louder. "Twilight look out!" Celestia shouted forming a protective barrier in front of Twilight. Suddenly the drone fired off a volley of bullets at Twilight all of which were deflected by Celestia's shield. One of the guards, a unicorn, fired a beam of magic that impacted one of the drone's fins causing it to spin momentarily. The drone's alarm sounded for a second as the drone spun around to face the opposite wall. The drone fired another volley of bullets through the wall, then it rammed itself through the wall and flew outside towards Canterlot. "We have to stop it!" Twilight called flying through the hole in the wall followed by the two guards. The drone was moving incredibly fast flying over house tops an through the streets occasionally. The drone had made it to the center of Canterlot when it was finally surrounded by royal guard ponies. It spun around as though it were looking for something; when it stopped it started heading toward something off in the distance. "Halt!" Yelled several of the guards ponies in front the drone. They were met with another volley of gunfire causing them to fall to the ground. Twilight realized where it was headed, to the Tower. As it flew off the side of the mountain and into the open air it started to pick up speed. Twilight realized that if she was going to catch it she had to do it now or she'd lose it. She noticed the still open hatch and sped towards it making use of Rainbow Dash's flying lessons. She climbed into the hole and pulled the crystal out off the pedestal causing the hatch to close with her still inside the craft. The craft started to plummet and she realized that if she didn't put the crystal back she was going to die from the crash. After reinserting the crystal the craft's insides began to light up once more as the drone began to resume it's previous path. Twilight began to head for the hatch when she realized, it was still closed. Twilight awoke not realizing she'd been asleep. The journey from Canterlot to the Tower had taken less than a day which was remarkably fast since it would have taken the seasoned pegasus three days to complete. She stood up and looked towards the hatch which was now open. Twilight stepped out onto a grey stone walkway. It was damp, dark, and depressing Twilight thought as she noticed a doorway. As she walked towards the doorway she noticed something strange about the floor and the tower itself. It was one solid piece of stone their was no seam, joint, or crack in sight. Twilight reached the door and stood on a balcony outside. The light blinded her a she looked around bellow her rested several very large projectile weapons that pivoted left and right as they searched the sky for targets. Bellow them at the base of the tower there was a large field and beyond that their was a wall that circled the tower and upon that sat more turrets scanning the ground for anything that moved. Twilight realized the only way out would be to teleport so she began gathering arcane power for the longest teleport of her life. After several minutes and no progress she cried, "Ugh! Why isn't it working!" All the energy she drew into her horn seemed to be absorbed by some unknown force. That's when she noticed the blue dome around the tower. It seemed to respond to her drawing in magic by glowing brighter. "So, a forcefield that absorbs magic?" Twilight asked nopony in particular. Suddenly Twilight realized her predicament as she turned to face the tower, "I'm trapped here! The Tower that forced everypony away is keeping me prisoner!" Chapter 3 - The TowerTwilight looked around the at the tower one last time, making sure she hadn't missed anything before she headed back inside. She began to retrace her steps down the walkway passing the drone once more. Eventually the walkway ended inside a small room illuminated by a small light in the ceiling. "Wait, what? How can their be a pathway that has two dead ends?" Twilight asked herself in frustration. She turned around to face the way she came thinking she missed something when she saw another red panel next to the door. Remembering her teacher, Twilight pressed her hoof against the panel causing it to light up. The panel read five words: Artillery Deck, Sky Deck, Command Center, Ground Hanger, and Lab Complex. Hoping for answers Twilight pressed her hoof against 'Command Center' causing a metal door to slide up from the floor enclosing the room. After a moment the entire room shuddered and Twilight realized the entire room was moving down. The room shook again and the door slid back into the floor. Twilight stepped out of the elevator and walked into a large round room containing more signs: Personnel Quarters, Central Control, and Stasis Lab. She walked into 'Central Control' and was met with several dimly glowing screens. Unlike the red control panels each monitor glowed with a full spectrum of colors one of which caught Twilight's attention. Twilight walked up to an odd object in the center of the room. It was a chair but not for a pony. Upon one of the chair's arms rested an array of buttons each containing an different character from the equestrian alphabet. Curious as to their purpose Twilight pressed one. A loud beep sounded and each of the screens went dark one after another. A few seconds later the screens simultaneously lit up displaying a logo identical to the one on the drone. "Oh, what am I getting myself into?" Twilight asked backing away from the monitors. The center monitor's logo disappeared and was replaced with the text, "Warning stasis pod 1 = Time limit Exceeded: Beginning Reanimation process." "Stasis pod? Wait a second, their was a room on this floor called Stasis Lab." Twilight realized as she ran out of the room and to the lab. The door to the lab opened with a hiss and Twilight stepped inside. Steam pored out of the room causing her to cough. When she opened her eyes she saw the steam was emanating from a large cylindrical container marked 'one.' After another thirty seconds the steam subsided and the pod opened. Something stepped out of the pod but Twilight couldn't see it because of the amount of steam still in the room. The creature cried out in pain grabbing at it's head. "Hello is anybody there?" it asked waiting for a reply, "I- I can't see yet so If your there just make a sound or something." Twilight searched for words, "Hello." she responded. "Ah good, I'm not alone after all." "I'm sorry theirs so much steam in this room I can't see very well either." "Oh, hold on a moment. Quantx please reconnect my neural net to the central computer." The figure responded. A moment later a loud droning sound became audible and the steam drained from the room. For the first time Twilight saw what she had been talking to. At the opposite side of the room stood what could only be the last surviving manlin. "Ah, that's better." The manlin exhaled, "Hello, are you still there?" Twilight built up the courage to speak knowing what she said could make or break his trust, "Y- Yes I'm still here." "So how long was I out?" "Um... I'm not sure." "Hm... So what side are you on?" Twilight realized that he had been asleep when the war had ended and therefor didn't know it was over. Twilight had to tell him, "Sir, the war ended over five-thousand years ago." "How- How long did you say? Five-thousand years!" He said sitting down, "I've been asleep five-thousand years!" "I'm so sorry." "Everyone I know, gone. What could have possibly happened to the pod that could have caused me to sleep for so long?" "The power failed and the system didn't restart." Twilight repeated the words that she'd seen on the display. "The power? How could it have taken the Alliance five-thousand years to reset the power?" The manlin asked growing suspicious. The manlin stood up and started towards the sound of her voice before stopping and looking off into space. "Base reports all systems are functional and that the last power failure was... five-thousand years ago." He continued not believing his own words. Twilight realized she wasn't getting anywhere with this; all she was doing was supplying him with answers she didn't have and she couldn't ask him anything about what was going on or he'd realize something was wrong. Suddenly he announced, "Good news Quantx says my eyesight has been restored." Oh no! Twilight thought realizing he would know her secret in a mater of moments. The manlin opened his eyes and looked around the room before finally noticing her. He darted backwards and yelled, "What the fuck is going on here!?" Confusion subsided into anger as the manlin looked her in the face and snarled, "Level one security breach in Stasis Lab!" Twilight had to leave, now! She turned and bolted for the door and to find a way out, but was stopped by two large metal beings that resembled manlins. They drew their weapons, pointed them at her, and without a second thought, fired. Twilight's world faded to black. Chapter 4 - Ancient HistoryTwilight faded in and out of reality, each time her world consisted of a grey sealing and a light just out of her view. She moaned as she regained enough of her consciousness to remember what happened. Sitting up, Twilight looked around her room, no cell she realized noticing the bars that lined one wall. What ever she'd been shot with had only knocked her out. She scanned her cell it contained a bed, a floor drain, a single light, an odd box with a blinking light, a sink, and a slightly larger drain for sanitary purposes. Suddenly the drain seemed very useful as she darted over to it and vomited. Twilight cried a little and yelled, "Oh no, this can't be happening not now!" Twilight tried the lock on her cell using her magic. She concentrated as hard as she could trying to overpower the forcefield. After three minutes a soft click sounded and Twilight rushed to her cell's door. It was still locked. Twilight looked down the hallway and realized the click had come from the door at the end of the hallway. After a moment the manlin stepped through and walked down to her cell. He turned to face her and a stone pedestal rose out of the ground behind him; which he proceeded to sit on. He began to sort through papers intentionally ignoring Twilight. "Well, this is the part where I interrogate you. This will take as long or as short as you want it to, depending on your willingness to answer my questions. Understood?" He asked. "Understood." Twilight responded "First question, what are you." "A pony." "Where do you come from?" "Equestria." "Show me." He commanded as he slid a thin disk through the bars and set it on the ground. A three-dimensional picture of the world appeared out of thin air. "I'm sorry but this map is inaccurate. This should be land not ocean." Twilight explained pointing to a spot on the map. "Quantx are the satellite feeds still operational?" He paused waiting for an answer, "Good, update the current world map based on the satellites' geographical scans." The map changed to become a perfect representation of the world. Twilight pointed to the map just above where they were and said, "Our capital city is right here." "When is the earliest point in your history relative to this year?" "Well the earliest point of our existence is about a thousand two-thousand years ago." "So you have no history of what happened before than?" "Well your species' history is really the earliest significant event we know of." The manlin sighed, "I suppose it would be selfish of me to let the early history of this world die with me so I think I'll tell you a story. Well, first the planet formed then for about four billion years nothing important happened after that a species known as the humans came into existence. Now us humans had a knack for not planing ahead so we just colonized and expanded more and more until we covered the entire planet. When all the land had been claimed by the different countries the we decided to fight over it. We developed more powerful and more deadly weapons until we finally out did ourselves with the creation of the atomic bomb. A single atomic bomb was so powerful it could wipe out all life with a few miles, and each of the countries had hundreds of them. Tensions built until one of the countries fired their's off. All other countries responded in kind. The initial blast wiped out almost all life on the planet but a few of us in bunkers managed to survive." "But what happened to them?" "I'm getting to that hold on. So anyway, there was one problem; the atomic bombs generated so much ash it completely blotted out the sky creating something called a 'nuclear winter.' This winter lasted longer than anyone could have guessed and the we realized they were going to become extinct. Then they made a discovery; it was possible do draw in energy from life it self." "Magic?" "Magic is just misunderstood science. We figured out how to harness the planets life force to build a terraformer which we used to filter the ash out of the air. "So humans used magic to clean up the ash." "Precisely. Now, at this time the planet's tectonic plate activity caused the world to resemble what your world looks like today, so there were just two major land masses. Two governments formed one on each landmass; the Republic my enemy, and the Alliance who controlled this fortress. War broke out and it lasted for thirty years. I joined high command about fifteen years into the war and worked my way up to general. Since I was a bit of an inventor they put me in charge of this tower which houses most of the army's experimental weaponry as well as the world's only robotic army which you had the pleasure of meeting. Anyway the army had me develop an experimental; extremely deadly poison called 'D-Tox 24.' The Alliance decided to detonate it in the upper atmosphere above the Republic in order to kill them. Based off the computer's information, it worked better than anyone could have imagined not only did it kill every single citizen in the Republic it completely contaminated the planet's atmosphere killing everything that breathed air. Luckily I had access to our experimental stasis equipment which saved my life. After that all I know is that the field around the tower that absorbs the energy from living beings couldn't get enough to run the base because of all the deaths that occurred and that caused my pod to fail. Aside from that all I know is that some astronomical force completely erased my all traces of my civilization from existence except for the tower." "How could the Tower survived the Force of Life?" "Force of Life?" "The blast you mentioned was created by our current rulers to restore the planet to full health." "The forcefield acts as an inertial dampener meaning the more force that is applied to it the more it resists. It can deflect a direct impact from an atomic bomb and since the point of origin for the Force of Life likely wasn't my tower, I can see it surviving." "Your forcefield must be incredibly powerful in order to deflect forces of that magnitude." "Indeed. Now, you slept for quite a while so I'll bring you lunch. I have work to do and will return in an hour." The human concluded retrieving the disk from the floor and walking back down the hallway. Chapter 5 - The Art of War"So Kevin what do you make of all this?" Quantx, the bases' artificial intelligence and Kevin's personal friend asked. "In all honesty, I'm just not damn sure!" Kevin replied stepping out of the elevator, "You must have collected some useful information while I was in stasis." "I'm sorry Kevin when the bases' power failed my systems crashed as well, and the bases' computer wasn't programmed to gather information." Kevin sighed, "Yes, I know. It just that... Well this is all so confusing! It's like a nightmare; all my friends and family are dead and the worst part is this is actually happening!" "So, I don't have to pinch you?" Quantx retorted. "I'm not in the mood for humor right now!" Kevin exclaimed. "Sorry, Sir. I do have one question though; what are you going to do now? You are technically the highest ranking official in the army." Kevin stopped at this and thought. The war ended long ago, therefore his military obligation to the Alliance had ended, but he still had control over this facility because of 'voluntary service.' Kevin entered the control room and sat down in his chair looking at the displays. Eventually he reached a decision, "Quantx, the way I see it I have two options: I can walk away from this base and try to live out my life in a society I know nothing about and can't relate to in anyway whatsoever, or I can make good use of the massive pile of military hardware I'm sitting on and go conquering. Now, which to choose?" "Sir, there are currently thirty-thousand fully armed and supplied comandroids (commando-androids) at your disposal." "You just read my mind." "Wasn't very hard." Kevin laughed at this, for his friend was fully integrated into his brain and added, "Alright then activate one-thousand comandroids and place them in the yard, standard weapons and supplies, and keep another five-thousand on standby." The lights in the room dimmed momentarily as power was rerouted to recharge the long dead energy crystals in the comandroids. "What's the plan, Sir?" "As of now, we play a defensive strategy until I've gathered enough information to be able to successfully plan a campaign. Now, the first thing on the agenda is to find out how our guest got in here. Quantx please access the bases' records concerning anything that has crossed the perimeter fence." "One moment, Sir... The only thing to cross the perimeter fence in the past five-thousand years is a medium-weapons drone." "One of ours?" "No, it came from an offsite underground storage facility; which is odd because the facility's roof collapsed so the drone should have been completely buried." "So what's it doing here? For that matter, how is it even here; the energy crystal must have been completely drained?" "Give me a second to download the flight data... Done. The drone became active at coordinates that match those given to us by the prisoner indicating that the drone was in their capitol city. The drone interpreted it's change in location as an attempt at espionage and acted accordingly by treating everything as a threat. It sustained damage and decided to return to base for repairs but the only active Alliance beacon was in the tower." "So it landed here. This doesn't explain how she got here, or how the crystal was recharged." "The only logical way she could have entered the facility is through the drones' maintenance hatch. The drone reported the hatch open during it's activation and when the drones power died it was from the energy crystal being manually removed." "So, she hitched a ride inside the drone?" Kevin concluded, "Well then, show me the footage." Kevin watched the footage of the drones escape intently as it flew through the capital city. When the footage ended Kevin realized, "We'll have company soon." "What tells you that?" Quantx asked missing what was all to obvious to Kevin. "Almost everyone in that city saw the drone and our guest chasing after it; so when she is found missing they'll only logically come here." Kevin explained, "Now, since our time is limited let's get to work; bring up a geographical and tactical map of the world as well as the resource management display. For the next hour Kevin planed his battle strategies and tactics for use in his coming war. Eventually Quantx reminded, "Excuse me, Sir. but I believe you were going to continue interrogating our guest." "Thank you for reminding me Quantx. I almost forgot." Kevin thanked standing up and walking back to the elevator." Twilight sat in her cell pondering her predicament for what seemed like hours until a familiar click sounded and the human appeared before her. He took a seat atop the pedestal and informed her, "We are going to continue our little chat, but unfortunately I only tell one story a day so now it's your turn." "Very well." Twilight acknowledge. "Question number one, don't worry this is an easy one, what is your name?" Twilight could see no reason for lying so she simply said, "Twilight Sparkle." The human paused for a moment before revealing his own name, "My name is Kevin. Now that we are acquainted we can begin, but keep in mind I will occasionally ask you questions I already know the answers to, so if I find out your lying then that will conclude your usefulness to me and to anyone else." Twilight gulped and thought, I can't just betray my country and give him what he wants, or die in this cell. Oh well, maybe he'll let me go if I answer all his questions. "Alright let's begin. Question one, what is the current population of Equestria?" Twilight paused for a moment trying to come up with a lie, but couldn't settle on a number so she told the truth, "Their are around 1,700,000 ponies in Equestria." "Question number two, what is your current level of technological advancement?" Now this is something I can lie about. Twilight realized, "Well, we have some weapons such as your's" Twilight lied, "but we mainly rely on magic." "You have machines that can harness life force energy?" Kevin asked remembering the drained crystal. "No, unicorns can do it naturally." "I see. Tell me, are their more that one type of pony? For example you have wings as well a horn, but you said unicorns, not alicorns." Twilight had slipped, "Yes their are three, well four, different types: earth ponies who are naturally stronger, pegasi who can fly, unicorns who can use magic, and alicorns who are a combination of the three." "So alicorns, such as you, are less common?" "Yes." "Well what are the odds of that?" "I don't understand." "Their appears to be a white one on my doorstep." Kevin announced. Chapter 6 - EnemyTwilight recoiled at the mention of her teacher which Kevin noticed, "Do you know her, because if not than she is going to become a very large grass stain." I have no idea what he's capable of. If I say 'no' then he could just kill her! Wait, Princess Celestia was able to stop bullets with her shield so she should be safe. No, I can't risk her being hurt and maybe she can get me out of here. Twilight thought before reaching her decision, "Yes, I do know her." "I figured as much considering she was standing next to you when the drone turned on. Oh, and I'm very aware of her forcefield, after all how else could she stop seventy-eight bullets? Don't look surprised; I told you I'd be asking these kinds of questions." Kevin concluded, "So who is she?" Twilight realized that if Kevin didn't see a reason for keeping Celestia alive he'd kill her right now. "Her name is Princess Celestia and she is the leader of our country." Kevin raised an eyebrow and commented, "You must not have many wars around here." Kevin stood up and walked back the way he'd come adding, "To think she'd come here in person." "Alright Quantx ready an LPC (Light Personnel Carrier) for me, and remove the white alicorn from the target list." Kevin said entering the elevator. "So, your not just going to blast her off the map?" "No, not just yet. I still need to gather more information." "Very well, Sir." "All right I'm going to need some leverage for this." Kevin thought for a moment, "What's the status of our WMDs?" Kevin asked stepping into the LPC. "We have thirty long range D-Tox 24 missiles; each containing 300 D-Tox 24 capsules configured in standard hexagonal formation." "You don't have to get into specifics, I did build them after all." Kevin scratched his head looking towards the front gate and the alicorn on the other side of it, "To bad we don't have any nukes; if she were to put a forcefield around her city and we hit it with a missile the gas would just be stuck on the outside of the shield." "Alright, Sir., were here and I had four squads meet us here as well." Quantx informed as he was controlled the comandroid driving the LPC. "Open the gates." Kevin commanded as he continued walking to meet his visitor. The five foot thick steel doors retracted into the walls on either side and Kevin stepped out to greet his new guest, "Hello their what can I do for you?" "Where is my student?" Celestia demanded in an authoritative tone. "Student... Ah, miss Sparkle. She would be inside the tower." "You will return her to me immediately." Who does she think she is? Walking into my base and making demands? Keven thought before explaining, "Yeah um, no I don't believe I will. Do you understand I can put around four-hundred bullets into you in about five seconds with a single word?" "So quick to resort to violence? Well then what if I were to send you to the moon?" Send me to the moon? So, she is either over confident, or she's done it before. Best not to take anything for granted. Kevin thought, "So, you'd send me to the moon and risk your own life? Of course you would risk your life for your country. So, the only logical response would be: Quantx please configure all thirty D-Tox 24 Missiles to blanket Equestria in the event I am sent to the moon. Still not convinced? Allow me to elaborate; D-Tox 24 is an extremely deadly poison gas with some pretty horrible side effects that include: puking your guts out, spasms that can break bones, and causing every nerve in your body to think it's on fire." "I see. Than there is nothing I can do to convince you at this time?" "Um, no. I don't believe their is." "Than we will meet again at a future time." "Very well, but be warned; do not fly near the tower or it will attack you, and just because the ground turrets will not attack you, they will attack anyone else you bring with you." Kevin explained, and with that the Princess left. Kevin got in the LPC and headed back to the tower closing the gate behind him. "So it seems you've made some enemies Kevin." Quantx pointed out. "Indeed, it might be to our benefit if you actually kept the whole 'launch the missiles if I get sent to the moon' thing in effect." Kevin recommended as he exited the elevator to the drone hanger. The repair bots had just finished repairing the drone that was damaged during its escape. "Quantx load fifty spider bots into five stealth drones and insert them into the Princess' castle." Kevin ordered. "A little espionage, Sir.? Very well, should I equip them with 9MM SMGs, or railguns?" "Railguns, I would rather have hyper magnets as the firing mechanism instead of gunpowder; to eliminate any noise." "Speaking of stealth... I'm reading a heat signature of a pony on the edge of the forest just outside our perimeter defenses. He appears to be watching us, so should I arrange for a sniper to eliminate him?" "Yes, it's probably for the best. He would see the stealth drones leaving the base and know we that were spying on them." "Sir. You order is all I require. I will dispatch a sniper to the sniper's nest in on the artillery deck." Quantx announced. Only a few moments later the sound of a .50 caliber bullet firing reverberated around the base followed by the sound of the drones leaving the hanger. "Well that's one down; about two-million to go." Kevin exclaimed heading back to his command center. Chapter 7 - Echo"Oh fuck my head hurts!" John cried as he stumbled about. "Speak for your-" Carl said as he vomited, "-self." "Everyone else alive?" John asked as he tried to look around. "Yeah I'm good." Mark replied. "Here." Alex and Rachel answered as they stumbled around, "Good everyone is here... Now, to kick the ass of whoever invented those stasis pods." John complained. "Alright Echo squad were going to hold here until we can see again." John commanded. After their eyesight returned they exited the stasis lab into the apocalypse shelter's control room. "Oh shit, looks like we missed the party." Nix, Mark's call sign, said observing the skeletons of the bases former employees. "Zen figure out what the hell happened." John ordered Carl; who proceeded to work his magic on the nearest computer terminal. "Sir. they're dead." Gev, Alex's call sign, Informed. "No shit, Gev!" Kal, John's call sign, replied. "No, Sir. you don't understand. See these fractures right here? These are self-inflicted." "What, are you saying he broke his own arm on puropse?" "No, I'm saying that these fractures match those of a D-Tox 24 victim." "Shit, those Alliance bastards actually used it." "Well, Sir. your right about one thing... That is D-Tox 24, but... Sir. your not going to believe this..." Zen said looking Kal dead in the eyes. "Try me." "The reason we haven't been affected by this stuff is because... the gas strike was over five-thousand years ago." "Bullshit!" Nix yelled running over to Zen's console. "Five-thousand years... well fuck me! Zen get that door open." Kal instructed; gesturing to the large vault door. "Ugh! It's not happening, Sir. Door's busted." Zen cried throwing his hands in the air out of frustration. "Fine Nix find the armory and our stuff then blow this door." Kal sighed turning to Nix. "Sir." Nix confirmed. A few minutes later Nix returned in his body armor and said, "I'll get to work on the door. Armory's that way just make a left." A few hours later Echo squad received some answers. "Well, Sir. it appears the power failed and caused a system crash, but that's where it get strange... The system just randomly decided to restart about an hour ago." Zen explained. "Clear!" Nix yelled. *BOOM* The door to the shelter exploded outward into the hangar. The blast not having fazed Kal asked, "Why now? Why did the system just randomly decide to start now?" "Bad luck?" Gev asked. "No, Good luck. Those stasis pods don't require power to work so if the system hadn't come on we'd have been stuck like that for ever." Zen explained. "Damn. Now, can we get out of here?" Nix asked. "Sure let's go." Kal said as he entered the hanger, "Sty you've been quiet, what's up?" "Sorry, Sir. it's just a habit I picked up from all my stealth ops." Rachel explained. "Speaking of which, can you fly an osprey?" "Of course, Sir." Sty replied entering the pilot's seat, "All I need is fuel." "Right, Nix fuel, Zen get the hangar doors open." Kal ordered boarding the craft. A few minutes later the chopper was fulled and the doors were opened letting in fresh air. After a few more minutes passed they were off. "Where are we headed?" Gev asked after an hour had passed. "The nearest city; I tapped into the Republic's satellite network and found the spot with the largest area of movement, then I cross-referenced it with the area that had the most heat signatures. Eta: four hours." Sty answered "Good call." Kal complimented. "So, I wonder what the world's largest city looks like. Bet it has futuristic towers and stuff like you read in those sci-fi books." Nix pondered. "Hey that's what people in the twenty-first century though our cities would look like and they were wrong." Zen reminded everyone. "Well, whatever it is we'll deal with it together." Kal cheered. "Sir. we may have a problem." Quantx said in his monotone voice. "Hm?" Kevin inquired sitting upright in his chair. "Sir. since I believed you were the last human on the planet I thought I'd take the liberty of hijacking the Republic's military assets." "Go on." "Well, when I restarted the systems on one of the Republic's apocalypse shelters the computer pinged me to announce it was reanimating five stasis pods." Kevin sat there for a moment before yelling, "Those bastards! They stole my design and decided to use it for themselves." "Sir there is more; one of them logged into the system from a terminal there, so I cross-referenced his password with their operatives database and found out that the guys that got thawed were known as Echo squad." "What's so significant about that?" "Echo squad is what you'd call: a black ops Swiss army knife squad. They have over seventy successful ops and have the equipment and know-how to do whatever they want." "Shit. Any chance on recruiting them?" "Not likely; they are pretty loyal to the Republic so there is about a two-percent chance of them defecting." "Great. Well, it could be worse." "They're headed to the ponies' capitol." "Fuck!" Kevin yelled slamming his fist onto the chair. Chapter 8 - The Enemy of My Enemy"Sir. we're here." Sty announced. "Damn. I don't know what I was expecting this place to look like but it wasn't this." Nix commented. "Set us down in that plaza over there." Kal ordered; gesturing to the area in front of the castle. After the osprey landed Echo squad disembarked. "Um, somebody please tell me I'm not going crazy again and that we actually are surrounded by colorful ponies." Gev said. "Yeah, I see em' to. So, it looks like this time you aren't actually crazy." Nix announced "That was one goddamn.-" Gev said "Safeties off." Kal commanded. A large white alicorn approached them from inside the castle. Kal noticed the ponies wearing armor surrounding them and commented, "I don't like this." "Back so soon?" Celestia asked. Surprised by her ability to speak Kal inquired, "What are you talking about, for that matter how are you talking?" "You threaten my people and now you play me as a fool?" Celestia practically yelled as she lifted Echo squad off the ground by their necks. "We don't know what the fuck your talking about! Honest." Kal choked grabbing at his neck as his vision began to fade, "Fuck you!" With that he passed out. "Fucking hell." Nix said sitting up. He noticed his squad-mates sitting next to him in the room. Dungeon He thought remarking, "Great, I get to add ponies to the list of thing that have captured me. I mean really? I've been caught by the Alliance eight times, terrorists, and even goddamn Nazis." "Nazis? And you call me crazy." Gev said leaning himself against the wall. "Nix that was a dream." Zen voiced as lay on the ground. "Were one short." Kal realized looking around for Sty. "She's always got a plan. Probably planting thermite on the ceiling." Gev began to monologue, "This is the part where the hole gets melted in the ceiling and we escape. No? Damn it!" "Right... Now, we should probably be concerned about the fact that we just got telekinetically knocked out by a large white alicorn." Zen recommended to his squad-mates. Suddenly a large grey pegasus in gold armor opened the door and instructed Echo squad to follow him. They stepped outside into a swarm of white and grey stallions wearing identical armor. Echo squad was led down several large corridors until entering what appeared to be the throne room. In the room stood over a hundred guards in a line between them and the two alicorns sitting on the throne. "Why are you here?" Celestia asked. "Look, we just woke up from a five-thousand year nap and decided to head to the largest city we could find." Kal explained. "You understand its hard for me to believe anything you tell me after your friend made threats against my people." "Friend?" "The man in the tower." "He's alive? That bastard, always thinking he can just take whatever he fucking wants." "Watch your tongue." Celestia scolded. "Well he's not my friend by any means. In fact he's technically my enemy." "Princess! We found her sneaking around in the castles' catacombs." A guard announced as he escorted Sty into the throne room. Sty walked up to Kal and tapped him on his left shoulder using two of her fingers which told John that they could escape at any moment they wished. "Anyway, princess what do you want from us?" "A dear friend of mine was captured and imprisoned in the tower. You're soldiers and I want you to rescue my friend. Then I will consider letting you free." "No, I have a better idea. I'll rescue your friend and nail this bastard for you but I'll do it on my own terms. Sty hit it!" Kal yelled resulting in a ring of C-4 to explode around them causing Echo squad to fall into the catacombs. "Couldn't have done it better myself." Nix exclaimed as he brushed dust off his tactical vest. "Our weapons are over here." Sty gestured to a large tarp a midst the stacks of boxes. "After them!" A guard yelled. "Shit, lets get out of here." Gev advised looking for an exit. "One sec. I'll just echo-map the catacombs." Zen informed his team as he started the process. A loud beep sounded from Zen's backpack and then he was finished, "Alright follow me. This should take us to the osprey." Echo squad followed Zen through the maze of passage ways as the guards closed in on them. "There getting pretty damn close to us." Gev noted looking over his shoulder, "Nix fix!" "I might have a little something that can help us." Nix said as he whipped out a fully automatic MK19 grenade launcher from his backpack and cried, "Ka-Boom motherfuckers!" as he caved in the ceiling behind them. "We're here." Zen announced climbing a ladder and cutting a hole in the sewer grate using his portable blowtorch. "Sty start the chopper and head towards the tower." Kal commanded as they climbed out of the sewer. "They're in the plaza!" A guard informed his comrades that soon flooded the plaza. "Nix shoot them!" Zen cried. "Can't the rules of engagement say they have to shoot first." Nix explained and sure enough several bolts of magic impacted the side of the craft right next to Nix. "Bad move bitches." Nix yelled pulling out his modified belt fed fully automatic AA-12 shotgun and unloading into the mass of ponies. "Oh, so that's why they call it a crowd pleaser." Gev chuckled admiring the field of royal guards and their new red armor. "Alright were off to the tower. ETA: one-hour." Sty announced as Echo squad departed Canterlot.
Chapter 1 - The ArtifactTwilight stood at the excavation cite looking down at the odd metallic artifact. It was odd that the artifact could remain so intact after five-thousand years of being buried. It was so old in fact that it predated ponies; this was odd because the artifact seemed far more advanced than anything modern day technology could hope to achieve. Twilight stopped to ponder this. It was well known that there was a species that lived before ponies had the ability to think let alone wield magic, but surely if this species was so technologically advanced they would still be around today. Even though they practiced the art of war some of them must have survived. Only one intact specimen of the previous race had been discovered. It was about five and a half hooves (equivalent to U.S. standard feet) tall, walked on two legs, and had fingers similar to some of the current animals of Equestria. Its skeleton had fractured ribs that were coherent with an high velocity impact from an object no larger that the tip of her own horn. The creature had been holding a long metallic object: its purpose widely speculated, but Twilight believed that this being a warring species; it was likely it's weapon. Twilight shuddered at this. A weapon that could fire hundreds of metal projectiles at speeds that could punch through practically anything. The damage those weapons could inflict on ponies was apparent in those that chose to venture near the Tower. At the edge of Equestria stands a tower that attacks anything an everything that comes near it. Those few who went near the tower and came back to tell the tale had been found with tiny bits of metal embedded in their bodies. This along with the reports of flashes of light prior to being hit by the projectile and loud banging noises following it led Twilight to believe that these weapons relied on a explosive substance to propel ammunition at speeds faster than sound. "Princess Sparkle. We've finished the excavation." A brown earth pony with a shovel for a cutie mark announced, interrupting Twilight's pondering. The pony led Twilight down the scaffolding to the artifact. It was five hooves tall by twelve hooves long and was defiantly from the era of the manlins; this was apparent from the symbol on the side of the artifact. Twilight instructed a camera pony to take a picture of the symbol after twilight cleaned some of the dirt off of the metal panel it was on. The same symbol had been found on every other piece of equipment used by the manlins. The symbol was probably used to represent the manlins' army since it was stamped on everything including that tower. It was time for Twilight to write her initial analysis of the artifact in question so she called for the transcriber. "The artifact is metallic in composition and is five hooves tall, twelve hooves long, and five hooves wide. There is no way to see inside the artifact so it is currently impossible to tell the artifact's contents. The artifact vaguely resembles a tear drop but more ridged; in addition it also has several small wings near the largest part leading me to believe that this is a flying ship of some kind. The ship also has four long rods protruding from round discs on either side of the craft; presumably projectile weapons." Twilight explained. Twilight was finishing her preliminary drawing when a loud metallic clang sounded from the craft. A troubled earth pony ran over to Twilight and shakily explained, "I'm so sorry, Princess. I was just cleaning the artifact and then suddenly this hole opens up." Intrigued Twilight responded, "Show me." The earth pony led Twilight to the other side of the craft and pointed out a hole about a hoof in length. To the left of it was a glowing red rectangle that said, 'Maintenance hatch open." This was odd because Twilight could read it. "This is incredible! This text it's in Equestrian! The implications of this are!-" Twilight was cut off by a spark of light coming from inside hatch. She peered into the dark abyss inside the craft. Lighting her horn twilight was met with a forest of wires and piping and in the middle of it all was an intact dull grey crystal identical to those in the crystal empire. The crystal rested on a pedestal of wires that ran off in every direction connecting to small black boxes that were positioned along the walls. She went deeper into the craft and steeped on something. She picked up the smooth rounded object and examined it. It consisted of two parts a brass tube with a protruding iron tip. Twilight instantly realized this was the projectile that the manlins' weapons fired. She set the bullet down on the base of the craft causing its extremely aged priming cap to ignite and the bullet to go off. It flew up towards the ceiling just missing Twilight's head an punching a hole through the top of the craft. "Princess are you alright!" A nervous unicorn cried from outside. Still dazed it took Twilight a moment to recognize her partner's voice. "Yah, I'm okay Digger." Twilight stepped out of the craft not wanting another incident; causing the hatch to close behind her. Standing out side along with the anxious dig team Digger asked, "Twilight what happened?" "Well, It appears my theory about projectile weapons was accurate. I found a small metallic cylinder, set it down on the floor, and 'bang' it explodes and fires a small piece metal upward with enough force to put a hole in the craft." Twilight shuddered, "If I had set it down just an inch closer to me it would have went straight through my head." Twilight, Digger, and the rest of the dig team finished documenting the outside of the craft; not being able to get the hatch open again. They had all gone back to their tents and Twilight had finished recaping the day in her journal; she added, Now that the initial documentation of the artifact is complete we can send it back to Canterlot for additional analysis. I hope to find out the craft's purpose and their is a small chance the craft is still operational. After completing her entry twilight dosed off pondering the day's events.
Chapter 2 - Powered UpTwilight arrived in Canterlot along with the artifact in the middle of the night and they left the craft in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city; before Twilight went to the castle for the evening. The next day she was joined by the Celestia and two royal guards inside the warehouse; in the center of which sat the craft. "So, my student you believe this artifact to be a ship?" Celestia asked "Yes, princess. I assume you already read my report?" Twilight responded. "Indeed. You mentioned it might still be functional?" "Yes, princess but its just a theory." Princess Celestia walked around to the side of the craft to where the hatch was. Celestia pressed her hoof against the red panel causing the hatch to open once more. She looked through the hatch and pulled out the dull grey crystal. Admiring it Celestia said, "Crystals store arcane energy, and this one seems to be drained of it's." "Why would it be drained?" Twilight asked. "I believe this is the craft's power source." "And the craft wasn't on because it's power source was drained." "Precisely." The Celestia said as she began to channel arcane energy through her horn into the crystal. "There that should do it." Celestia finished as she inserted the now blue crystal back into place. As soon as the crystal was in place the front tip of the craft glowed red and it lifted into the air. It spun around in place as if it were looking for something, then two small beams of light shot out of either disc between the barrels on the sides of the craft. It spun around several more times until it stopped and faced the two princesses causing the two guards to step forward protectively. "Hello?" Twilight decided to asked. The craft emitted a low humming sound and pointed the lasers at Twilight. The craft's barrels began to rotate faster and faster causing the humming to grow louder. "Twilight look out!" Celestia shouted forming a protective barrier in front of Twilight. Suddenly the drone fired off a volley of bullets at Twilight all of which were deflected by Celestia's shield. One of the guards, a unicorn, fired a beam of magic that impacted one of the drone's fins causing it to spin momentarily. The drone's alarm sounded for a second as the drone spun around to face the opposite wall. The drone fired another volley of bullets through the wall, then it rammed itself through the wall and flew outside towards Canterlot. "We have to stop it!" Twilight called flying through the hole in the wall followed by the two guards. The drone was moving incredibly fast flying over house tops an through the streets occasionally. The drone had made it to the center of Canterlot when it was finally surrounded by royal guard ponies. It spun around as though it were looking for something; when it stopped it started heading toward something off in the distance. "Halt!" Yelled several of the guards ponies in front the drone. They were met with another volley of gunfire causing them to fall to the ground. Twilight realized where it was headed, to the Tower. As it flew off the side of the mountain and into the open air it started to pick up speed. Twilight realized that if she was going to catch it she had to do it now or she'd lose it. She noticed the still open hatch and sped towards it making use of Rainbow Dash's flying lessons. She climbed into the hole and pulled the crystal out off the pedestal causing the hatch to close with her still inside the craft. The craft started to plummet and she realized that if she didn't put the crystal back she was going to die from the crash. After reinserting the crystal the craft's insides began to light up once more as the drone began to resume it's previous path. Twilight began to head for the hatch when she realized, it was still closed. Twilight awoke not realizing she'd been asleep. The journey from Canterlot to the Tower had taken less than a day which was remarkably fast since it would have taken the seasoned pegasus three days to complete. She stood up and looked towards the hatch which was now open. Twilight stepped out onto a grey stone walkway. It was damp, dark, and depressing Twilight thought as she noticed a doorway. As she walked towards the doorway she noticed something strange about the floor and the tower itself. It was one solid piece of stone their was no seam, joint, or crack in sight. Twilight reached the door and stood on a balcony outside. The light blinded her a she looked around bellow her rested several very large projectile weapons that pivoted left and right as they searched the sky for targets. Bellow them at the base of the tower there was a large field and beyond that their was a wall that circled the tower and upon that sat more turrets scanning the ground for anything that moved. Twilight realized the only way out would be to teleport so she began gathering arcane power for the longest teleport of her life. After several minutes and no progress she cried, "Ugh! Why isn't it working!" All the energy she drew into her horn seemed to be absorbed by some unknown force. That's when she noticed the blue dome around the tower. It seemed to respond to her drawing in magic by glowing brighter. "So, a forcefield that absorbs magic?" Twilight asked nopony in particular. Suddenly Twilight realized her predicament as she turned to face the tower, "I'm trapped here! The Tower that forced everypony away is keeping me prisoner!"
Chapter 3 - The TowerTwilight looked around the at the tower one last time, making sure she hadn't missed anything before she headed back inside. She began to retrace her steps down the walkway passing the drone once more. Eventually the walkway ended inside a small room illuminated by a small light in the ceiling. "Wait, what? How can their be a pathway that has two dead ends?" Twilight asked herself in frustration. She turned around to face the way she came thinking she missed something when she saw another red panel next to the door. Remembering her teacher, Twilight pressed her hoof against the panel causing it to light up. The panel read five words: Artillery Deck, Sky Deck, Command Center, Ground Hanger, and Lab Complex. Hoping for answers Twilight pressed her hoof against 'Command Center' causing a metal door to slide up from the floor enclosing the room. After a moment the entire room shuddered and Twilight realized the entire room was moving down. The room shook again and the door slid back into the floor. Twilight stepped out of the elevator and walked into a large round room containing more signs: Personnel Quarters, Central Control, and Stasis Lab. She walked into 'Central Control' and was met with several dimly glowing screens. Unlike the red control panels each monitor glowed with a full spectrum of colors one of which caught Twilight's attention. Twilight walked up to an odd object in the center of the room. It was a chair but not for a pony. Upon one of the chair's arms rested an array of buttons each containing an different character from the equestrian alphabet. Curious as to their purpose Twilight pressed one. A loud beep sounded and each of the screens went dark one after another. A few seconds later the screens simultaneously lit up displaying a logo identical to the one on the drone. "Oh, what am I getting myself into?" Twilight asked backing away from the monitors. The center monitor's logo disappeared and was replaced with the text, "Warning stasis pod 1 = Time limit Exceeded: Beginning Reanimation process." "Stasis pod? Wait a second, their was a room on this floor called Stasis Lab." Twilight realized as she ran out of the room and to the lab. The door to the lab opened with a hiss and Twilight stepped inside. Steam pored out of the room causing her to cough. When she opened her eyes she saw the steam was emanating from a large cylindrical container marked 'one.' After another thirty seconds the steam subsided and the pod opened. Something stepped out of the pod but Twilight couldn't see it because of the amount of steam still in the room. The creature cried out in pain grabbing at it's head. "Hello is anybody there?" it asked waiting for a reply, "I- I can't see yet so If your there just make a sound or something." Twilight searched for words, "Hello." she responded. "Ah good, I'm not alone after all." "I'm sorry theirs so much steam in this room I can't see very well either." "Oh, hold on a moment. Quantx please reconnect my neural net to the central computer." The figure responded. A moment later a loud droning sound became audible and the steam drained from the room. For the first time Twilight saw what she had been talking to. At the opposite side of the room stood what could only be the last surviving manlin. "Ah, that's better." The manlin exhaled, "Hello, are you still there?" Twilight built up the courage to speak knowing what she said could make or break his trust, "Y- Yes I'm still here." "So how long was I out?" "Um... I'm not sure." "Hm... So what side are you on?" Twilight realized that he had been asleep when the war had ended and therefor didn't know it was over. Twilight had to tell him, "Sir, the war ended over five-thousand years ago." "How- How long did you say? Five-thousand years!" He said sitting down, "I've been asleep five-thousand years!" "I'm so sorry." "Everyone I know, gone. What could have possibly happened to the pod that could have caused me to sleep for so long?" "The power failed and the system didn't restart." Twilight repeated the words that she'd seen on the display. "The power? How could it have taken the Alliance five-thousand years to reset the power?" The manlin asked growing suspicious. The manlin stood up and started towards the sound of her voice before stopping and looking off into space. "Base reports all systems are functional and that the last power failure was... five-thousand years ago." He continued not believing his own words. Twilight realized she wasn't getting anywhere with this; all she was doing was supplying him with answers she didn't have and she couldn't ask him anything about what was going on or he'd realize something was wrong. Suddenly he announced, "Good news Quantx says my eyesight has been restored." Oh no! Twilight thought realizing he would know her secret in a mater of moments. The manlin opened his eyes and looked around the room before finally noticing her. He darted backwards and yelled, "What the fuck is going on here!?" Confusion subsided into anger as the manlin looked her in the face and snarled, "Level one security breach in Stasis Lab!" Twilight had to leave, now! She turned and bolted for the door and to find a way out, but was stopped by two large metal beings that resembled manlins. They drew their weapons, pointed them at her, and without a second thought, fired. Twilight's world faded to black.
Chapter 4 - Ancient HistoryTwilight faded in and out of reality, each time her world consisted of a grey sealing and a light just out of her view. She moaned as she regained enough of her consciousness to remember what happened. Sitting up, Twilight looked around her room, no cell she realized noticing the bars that lined one wall. What ever she'd been shot with had only knocked her out. She scanned her cell it contained a bed, a floor drain, a single light, an odd box with a blinking light, a sink, and a slightly larger drain for sanitary purposes. Suddenly the drain seemed very useful as she darted over to it and vomited. Twilight cried a little and yelled, "Oh no, this can't be happening not now!" Twilight tried the lock on her cell using her magic. She concentrated as hard as she could trying to overpower the forcefield. After three minutes a soft click sounded and Twilight rushed to her cell's door. It was still locked. Twilight looked down the hallway and realized the click had come from the door at the end of the hallway. After a moment the manlin stepped through and walked down to her cell. He turned to face her and a stone pedestal rose out of the ground behind him; which he proceeded to sit on. He began to sort through papers intentionally ignoring Twilight. "Well, this is the part where I interrogate you. This will take as long or as short as you want it to, depending on your willingness to answer my questions. Understood?" He asked. "Understood." Twilight responded "First question, what are you." "A pony." "Where do you come from?" "Equestria." "Show me." He commanded as he slid a thin disk through the bars and set it on the ground. A three-dimensional picture of the world appeared out of thin air. "I'm sorry but this map is inaccurate. This should be land not ocean." Twilight explained pointing to a spot on the map. "Quantx are the satellite feeds still operational?" He paused waiting for an answer, "Good, update the current world map based on the satellites' geographical scans." The map changed to become a perfect representation of the world. Twilight pointed to the map just above where they were and said, "Our capital city is right here." "When is the earliest point in your history relative to this year?" "Well the earliest point of our existence is about a thousand two-thousand years ago." "So you have no history of what happened before than?" "Well your species' history is really the earliest significant event we know of." The manlin sighed, "I suppose it would be selfish of me to let the early history of this world die with me so I think I'll tell you a story. Well, first the planet formed then for about four billion years nothing important happened after that a species known as the humans came into existence. Now us humans had a knack for not planing ahead so we just colonized and expanded more and more until we covered the entire planet. When all the land had been claimed by the different countries the we decided to fight over it. We developed more powerful and more deadly weapons until we finally out did ourselves with the creation of the atomic bomb. A single atomic bomb was so powerful it could wipe out all life with a few miles, and each of the countries had hundreds of them. Tensions built until one of the countries fired their's off. All other countries responded in kind. The initial blast wiped out almost all life on the planet but a few of us in bunkers managed to survive." "But what happened to them?" "I'm getting to that hold on. So anyway, there was one problem; the atomic bombs generated so much ash it completely blotted out the sky creating something called a 'nuclear winter.' This winter lasted longer than anyone could have guessed and the we realized they were going to become extinct. Then they made a discovery; it was possible do draw in energy from life it self." "Magic?" "Magic is just misunderstood science. We figured out how to harness the planets life force to build a terraformer which we used to filter the ash out of the air. "So humans used magic to clean up the ash." "Precisely. Now, at this time the planet's tectonic plate activity caused the world to resemble what your world looks like today, so there were just two major land masses. Two governments formed one on each landmass; the Republic my enemy, and the Alliance who controlled this fortress. War broke out and it lasted for thirty years. I joined high command about fifteen years into the war and worked my way up to general. Since I was a bit of an inventor they put me in charge of this tower which houses most of the army's experimental weaponry as well as the world's only robotic army which you had the pleasure of meeting. Anyway the army had me develop an experimental; extremely deadly poison called 'D-Tox 24.' The Alliance decided to detonate it in the upper atmosphere above the Republic in order to kill them. Based off the computer's information, it worked better than anyone could have imagined not only did it kill every single citizen in the Republic it completely contaminated the planet's atmosphere killing everything that breathed air. Luckily I had access to our experimental stasis equipment which saved my life. After that all I know is that the field around the tower that absorbs the energy from living beings couldn't get enough to run the base because of all the deaths that occurred and that caused my pod to fail. Aside from that all I know is that some astronomical force completely erased my all traces of my civilization from existence except for the tower." "How could the Tower survived the Force of Life?" "Force of Life?" "The blast you mentioned was created by our current rulers to restore the planet to full health." "The forcefield acts as an inertial dampener meaning the more force that is applied to it the more it resists. It can deflect a direct impact from an atomic bomb and since the point of origin for the Force of Life likely wasn't my tower, I can see it surviving." "Your forcefield must be incredibly powerful in order to deflect forces of that magnitude." "Indeed. Now, you slept for quite a while so I'll bring you lunch. I have work to do and will return in an hour." The human concluded retrieving the disk from the floor and walking back down the hallway.
Chapter 5 - The Art of War"So Kevin what do you make of all this?" Quantx, the bases' artificial intelligence and Kevin's personal friend asked. "In all honesty, I'm just not damn sure!" Kevin replied stepping out of the elevator, "You must have collected some useful information while I was in stasis." "I'm sorry Kevin when the bases' power failed my systems crashed as well, and the bases' computer wasn't programmed to gather information." Kevin sighed, "Yes, I know. It just that... Well this is all so confusing! It's like a nightmare; all my friends and family are dead and the worst part is this is actually happening!" "So, I don't have to pinch you?" Quantx retorted. "I'm not in the mood for humor right now!" Kevin exclaimed. "Sorry, Sir. I do have one question though; what are you going to do now? You are technically the highest ranking official in the army." Kevin stopped at this and thought. The war ended long ago, therefore his military obligation to the Alliance had ended, but he still had control over this facility because of 'voluntary service.' Kevin entered the control room and sat down in his chair looking at the displays. Eventually he reached a decision, "Quantx, the way I see it I have two options: I can walk away from this base and try to live out my life in a society I know nothing about and can't relate to in anyway whatsoever, or I can make good use of the massive pile of military hardware I'm sitting on and go conquering. Now, which to choose?" "Sir, there are currently thirty-thousand fully armed and supplied comandroids (commando-androids) at your disposal." "You just read my mind." "Wasn't very hard." Kevin laughed at this, for his friend was fully integrated into his brain and added, "Alright then activate one-thousand comandroids and place them in the yard, standard weapons and supplies, and keep another five-thousand on standby." The lights in the room dimmed momentarily as power was rerouted to recharge the long dead energy crystals in the comandroids. "What's the plan, Sir?" "As of now, we play a defensive strategy until I've gathered enough information to be able to successfully plan a campaign. Now, the first thing on the agenda is to find out how our guest got in here. Quantx please access the bases' records concerning anything that has crossed the perimeter fence." "One moment, Sir... The only thing to cross the perimeter fence in the past five-thousand years is a medium-weapons drone." "One of ours?" "No, it came from an offsite underground storage facility; which is odd because the facility's roof collapsed so the drone should have been completely buried." "So what's it doing here? For that matter, how is it even here; the energy crystal must have been completely drained?" "Give me a second to download the flight data... Done. The drone became active at coordinates that match those given to us by the prisoner indicating that the drone was in their capitol city. The drone interpreted it's change in location as an attempt at espionage and acted accordingly by treating everything as a threat. It sustained damage and decided to return to base for repairs but the only active Alliance beacon was in the tower." "So it landed here. This doesn't explain how she got here, or how the crystal was recharged." "The only logical way she could have entered the facility is through the drones' maintenance hatch. The drone reported the hatch open during it's activation and when the drones power died it was from the energy crystal being manually removed." "So, she hitched a ride inside the drone?" Kevin concluded, "Well then, show me the footage." Kevin watched the footage of the drones escape intently as it flew through the capital city. When the footage ended Kevin realized, "We'll have company soon." "What tells you that?" Quantx asked missing what was all to obvious to Kevin. "Almost everyone in that city saw the drone and our guest chasing after it; so when she is found missing they'll only logically come here." Kevin explained, "Now, since our time is limited let's get to work; bring up a geographical and tactical map of the world as well as the resource management display. For the next hour Kevin planed his battle strategies and tactics for use in his coming war. Eventually Quantx reminded, "Excuse me, Sir. but I believe you were going to continue interrogating our guest." "Thank you for reminding me Quantx. I almost forgot." Kevin thanked standing up and walking back to the elevator." Twilight sat in her cell pondering her predicament for what seemed like hours until a familiar click sounded and the human appeared before her. He took a seat atop the pedestal and informed her, "We are going to continue our little chat, but unfortunately I only tell one story a day so now it's your turn." "Very well." Twilight acknowledge. "Question number one, don't worry this is an easy one, what is your name?" Twilight could see no reason for lying so she simply said, "Twilight Sparkle." The human paused for a moment before revealing his own name, "My name is Kevin. Now that we are acquainted we can begin, but keep in mind I will occasionally ask you questions I already know the answers to, so if I find out your lying then that will conclude your usefulness to me and to anyone else." Twilight gulped and thought, I can't just betray my country and give him what he wants, or die in this cell. Oh well, maybe he'll let me go if I answer all his questions. "Alright let's begin. Question one, what is the current population of Equestria?" Twilight paused for a moment trying to come up with a lie, but couldn't settle on a number so she told the truth, "Their are around 1,700,000 ponies in Equestria." "Question number two, what is your current level of technological advancement?" Now this is something I can lie about. Twilight realized, "Well, we have some weapons such as your's" Twilight lied, "but we mainly rely on magic." "You have machines that can harness life force energy?" Kevin asked remembering the drained crystal. "No, unicorns can do it naturally." "I see. Tell me, are their more that one type of pony? For example you have wings as well a horn, but you said unicorns, not alicorns." Twilight had slipped, "Yes their are three, well four, different types: earth ponies who are naturally stronger, pegasi who can fly, unicorns who can use magic, and alicorns who are a combination of the three." "So alicorns, such as you, are less common?" "Yes." "Well what are the odds of that?" "I don't understand." "Their appears to be a white one on my doorstep." Kevin announced.
Chapter 6 - EnemyTwilight recoiled at the mention of her teacher which Kevin noticed, "Do you know her, because if not than she is going to become a very large grass stain." I have no idea what he's capable of. If I say 'no' then he could just kill her! Wait, Princess Celestia was able to stop bullets with her shield so she should be safe. No, I can't risk her being hurt and maybe she can get me out of here. Twilight thought before reaching her decision, "Yes, I do know her." "I figured as much considering she was standing next to you when the drone turned on. Oh, and I'm very aware of her forcefield, after all how else could she stop seventy-eight bullets? Don't look surprised; I told you I'd be asking these kinds of questions." Kevin concluded, "So who is she?" Twilight realized that if Kevin didn't see a reason for keeping Celestia alive he'd kill her right now. "Her name is Princess Celestia and she is the leader of our country." Kevin raised an eyebrow and commented, "You must not have many wars around here." Kevin stood up and walked back the way he'd come adding, "To think she'd come here in person." "Alright Quantx ready an LPC (Light Personnel Carrier) for me, and remove the white alicorn from the target list." Kevin said entering the elevator. "So, your not just going to blast her off the map?" "No, not just yet. I still need to gather more information." "Very well, Sir." "All right I'm going to need some leverage for this." Kevin thought for a moment, "What's the status of our WMDs?" Kevin asked stepping into the LPC. "We have thirty long range D-Tox 24 missiles; each containing 300 D-Tox 24 capsules configured in standard hexagonal formation." "You don't have to get into specifics, I did build them after all." Kevin scratched his head looking towards the front gate and the alicorn on the other side of it, "To bad we don't have any nukes; if she were to put a forcefield around her city and we hit it with a missile the gas would just be stuck on the outside of the shield." "Alright, Sir., were here and I had four squads meet us here as well." Quantx informed as he was controlled the comandroid driving the LPC. "Open the gates." Kevin commanded as he continued walking to meet his visitor. The five foot thick steel doors retracted into the walls on either side and Kevin stepped out to greet his new guest, "Hello their what can I do for you?" "Where is my student?" Celestia demanded in an authoritative tone. "Student... Ah, miss Sparkle. She would be inside the tower." "You will return her to me immediately." Who does she think she is? Walking into my base and making demands? Keven thought before explaining, "Yeah um, no I don't believe I will. Do you understand I can put around four-hundred bullets into you in about five seconds with a single word?" "So quick to resort to violence? Well then what if I were to send you to the moon?" Send me to the moon? So, she is either over confident, or she's done it before. Best not to take anything for granted. Kevin thought, "So, you'd send me to the moon and risk your own life? Of course you would risk your life for your country. So, the only logical response would be: Quantx please configure all thirty D-Tox 24 Missiles to blanket Equestria in the event I am sent to the moon. Still not convinced? Allow me to elaborate; D-Tox 24 is an extremely deadly poison gas with some pretty horrible side effects that include: puking your guts out, spasms that can break bones, and causing every nerve in your body to think it's on fire." "I see. Than there is nothing I can do to convince you at this time?" "Um, no. I don't believe their is." "Than we will meet again at a future time." "Very well, but be warned; do not fly near the tower or it will attack you, and just because the ground turrets will not attack you, they will attack anyone else you bring with you." Kevin explained, and with that the Princess left. Kevin got in the LPC and headed back to the tower closing the gate behind him. "So it seems you've made some enemies Kevin." Quantx pointed out. "Indeed, it might be to our benefit if you actually kept the whole 'launch the missiles if I get sent to the moon' thing in effect." Kevin recommended as he exited the elevator to the drone hanger. The repair bots had just finished repairing the drone that was damaged during its escape. "Quantx load fifty spider bots into five stealth drones and insert them into the Princess' castle." Kevin ordered. "A little espionage, Sir.? Very well, should I equip them with 9MM SMGs, or railguns?" "Railguns, I would rather have hyper magnets as the firing mechanism instead of gunpowder; to eliminate any noise." "Speaking of stealth... I'm reading a heat signature of a pony on the edge of the forest just outside our perimeter defenses. He appears to be watching us, so should I arrange for a sniper to eliminate him?" "Yes, it's probably for the best. He would see the stealth drones leaving the base and know we that were spying on them." "Sir. You order is all I require. I will dispatch a sniper to the sniper's nest in on the artillery deck." Quantx announced. Only a few moments later the sound of a .50 caliber bullet firing reverberated around the base followed by the sound of the drones leaving the hanger. "Well that's one down; about two-million to go." Kevin exclaimed heading back to his command center.
Chapter 7 - Echo"Oh fuck my head hurts!" John cried as he stumbled about. "Speak for your-" Carl said as he vomited, "-self." "Everyone else alive?" John asked as he tried to look around. "Yeah I'm good." Mark replied. "Here." Alex and Rachel answered as they stumbled around, "Good everyone is here... Now, to kick the ass of whoever invented those stasis pods." John complained. "Alright Echo squad were going to hold here until we can see again." John commanded. After their eyesight returned they exited the stasis lab into the apocalypse shelter's control room. "Oh shit, looks like we missed the party." Nix, Mark's call sign, said observing the skeletons of the bases former employees. "Zen figure out what the hell happened." John ordered Carl; who proceeded to work his magic on the nearest computer terminal. "Sir. they're dead." Gev, Alex's call sign, Informed. "No shit, Gev!" Kal, John's call sign, replied. "No, Sir. you don't understand. See these fractures right here? These are self-inflicted." "What, are you saying he broke his own arm on puropse?" "No, I'm saying that these fractures match those of a D-Tox 24 victim." "Shit, those Alliance bastards actually used it." "Well, Sir. your right about one thing... That is D-Tox 24, but... Sir. your not going to believe this..." Zen said looking Kal dead in the eyes. "Try me." "The reason we haven't been affected by this stuff is because... the gas strike was over five-thousand years ago." "Bullshit!" Nix yelled running over to Zen's console. "Five-thousand years... well fuck me! Zen get that door open." Kal instructed; gesturing to the large vault door. "Ugh! It's not happening, Sir. Door's busted." Zen cried throwing his hands in the air out of frustration. "Fine Nix find the armory and our stuff then blow this door." Kal sighed turning to Nix. "Sir." Nix confirmed. A few minutes later Nix returned in his body armor and said, "I'll get to work on the door. Armory's that way just make a left." A few hours later Echo squad received some answers. "Well, Sir. it appears the power failed and caused a system crash, but that's where it get strange... The system just randomly decided to restart about an hour ago." Zen explained. "Clear!" Nix yelled. *BOOM* The door to the shelter exploded outward into the hangar. The blast not having fazed Kal asked, "Why now? Why did the system just randomly decide to start now?" "Bad luck?" Gev asked. "No, Good luck. Those stasis pods don't require power to work so if the system hadn't come on we'd have been stuck like that for ever." Zen explained. "Damn. Now, can we get out of here?" Nix asked. "Sure let's go." Kal said as he entered the hanger, "Sty you've been quiet, what's up?" "Sorry, Sir. it's just a habit I picked up from all my stealth ops." Rachel explained. "Speaking of which, can you fly an osprey?" "Of course, Sir." Sty replied entering the pilot's seat, "All I need is fuel." "Right, Nix fuel, Zen get the hangar doors open." Kal ordered boarding the craft. A few minutes later the chopper was fulled and the doors were opened letting in fresh air. After a few more minutes passed they were off. "Where are we headed?" Gev asked after an hour had passed. "The nearest city; I tapped into the Republic's satellite network and found the spot with the largest area of movement, then I cross-referenced it with the area that had the most heat signatures. Eta: four hours." Sty answered "Good call." Kal complimented. "So, I wonder what the world's largest city looks like. Bet it has futuristic towers and stuff like you read in those sci-fi books." Nix pondered. "Hey that's what people in the twenty-first century though our cities would look like and they were wrong." Zen reminded everyone. "Well, whatever it is we'll deal with it together." Kal cheered. "Sir. we may have a problem." Quantx said in his monotone voice. "Hm?" Kevin inquired sitting upright in his chair. "Sir. since I believed you were the last human on the planet I thought I'd take the liberty of hijacking the Republic's military assets." "Go on." "Well, when I restarted the systems on one of the Republic's apocalypse shelters the computer pinged me to announce it was reanimating five stasis pods." Kevin sat there for a moment before yelling, "Those bastards! They stole my design and decided to use it for themselves." "Sir there is more; one of them logged into the system from a terminal there, so I cross-referenced his password with their operatives database and found out that the guys that got thawed were known as Echo squad." "What's so significant about that?" "Echo squad is what you'd call: a black ops Swiss army knife squad. They have over seventy successful ops and have the equipment and know-how to do whatever they want." "Shit. Any chance on recruiting them?" "Not likely; they are pretty loyal to the Republic so there is about a two-percent chance of them defecting." "Great. Well, it could be worse." "They're headed to the ponies' capitol." "Fuck!" Kevin yelled slamming his fist onto the chair.
Chapter 8 - The Enemy of My Enemy"Sir. we're here." Sty announced. "Damn. I don't know what I was expecting this place to look like but it wasn't this." Nix commented. "Set us down in that plaza over there." Kal ordered; gesturing to the area in front of the castle. After the osprey landed Echo squad disembarked. "Um, somebody please tell me I'm not going crazy again and that we actually are surrounded by colorful ponies." Gev said. "Yeah, I see em' to. So, it looks like this time you aren't actually crazy." Nix announced "That was one goddamn.-" Gev said "Safeties off." Kal commanded. A large white alicorn approached them from inside the castle. Kal noticed the ponies wearing armor surrounding them and commented, "I don't like this." "Back so soon?" Celestia asked. Surprised by her ability to speak Kal inquired, "What are you talking about, for that matter how are you talking?" "You threaten my people and now you play me as a fool?" Celestia practically yelled as she lifted Echo squad off the ground by their necks. "We don't know what the fuck your talking about! Honest." Kal choked grabbing at his neck as his vision began to fade, "Fuck you!" With that he passed out. "Fucking hell." Nix said sitting up. He noticed his squad-mates sitting next to him in the room. Dungeon He thought remarking, "Great, I get to add ponies to the list of thing that have captured me. I mean really? I've been caught by the Alliance eight times, terrorists, and even goddamn Nazis." "Nazis? And you call me crazy." Gev said leaning himself against the wall. "Nix that was a dream." Zen voiced as lay on the ground. "Were one short." Kal realized looking around for Sty. "She's always got a plan. Probably planting thermite on the ceiling." Gev began to monologue, "This is the part where the hole gets melted in the ceiling and we escape. No? Damn it!" "Right... Now, we should probably be concerned about the fact that we just got telekinetically knocked out by a large white alicorn." Zen recommended to his squad-mates. Suddenly a large grey pegasus in gold armor opened the door and instructed Echo squad to follow him. They stepped outside into a swarm of white and grey stallions wearing identical armor. Echo squad was led down several large corridors until entering what appeared to be the throne room. In the room stood over a hundred guards in a line between them and the two alicorns sitting on the throne. "Why are you here?" Celestia asked. "Look, we just woke up from a five-thousand year nap and decided to head to the largest city we could find." Kal explained. "You understand its hard for me to believe anything you tell me after your friend made threats against my people." "Friend?" "The man in the tower." "He's alive? That bastard, always thinking he can just take whatever he fucking wants." "Watch your tongue." Celestia scolded. "Well he's not my friend by any means. In fact he's technically my enemy." "Princess! We found her sneaking around in the castles' catacombs." A guard announced as he escorted Sty into the throne room. Sty walked up to Kal and tapped him on his left shoulder using two of her fingers which told John that they could escape at any moment they wished. "Anyway, princess what do you want from us?" "A dear friend of mine was captured and imprisoned in the tower. You're soldiers and I want you to rescue my friend. Then I will consider letting you free." "No, I have a better idea. I'll rescue your friend and nail this bastard for you but I'll do it on my own terms. Sty hit it!" Kal yelled resulting in a ring of C-4 to explode around them causing Echo squad to fall into the catacombs. "Couldn't have done it better myself." Nix exclaimed as he brushed dust off his tactical vest. "Our weapons are over here." Sty gestured to a large tarp a midst the stacks of boxes. "After them!" A guard yelled. "Shit, lets get out of here." Gev advised looking for an exit. "One sec. I'll just echo-map the catacombs." Zen informed his team as he started the process. A loud beep sounded from Zen's backpack and then he was finished, "Alright follow me. This should take us to the osprey." Echo squad followed Zen through the maze of passage ways as the guards closed in on them. "There getting pretty damn close to us." Gev noted looking over his shoulder, "Nix fix!" "I might have a little something that can help us." Nix said as he whipped out a fully automatic MK19 grenade launcher from his backpack and cried, "Ka-Boom motherfuckers!" as he caved in the ceiling behind them. "We're here." Zen announced climbing a ladder and cutting a hole in the sewer grate using his portable blowtorch. "Sty start the chopper and head towards the tower." Kal commanded as they climbed out of the sewer. "They're in the plaza!" A guard informed his comrades that soon flooded the plaza. "Nix shoot them!" Zen cried. "Can't the rules of engagement say they have to shoot first." Nix explained and sure enough several bolts of magic impacted the side of the craft right next to Nix. "Bad move bitches." Nix yelled pulling out his modified belt fed fully automatic AA-12 shotgun and unloading into the mass of ponies. "Oh, so that's why they call it a crowd pleaser." Gev chuckled admiring the field of royal guards and their new red armor. "Alright were off to the tower. ETA: one-hour." Sty announced as Echo squad departed Canterlot.
