It was a lovely day in Ponyville, Equestria's most peaceful village. Everywhere ponies went from their day to day business; going to work, chatting with friends or just taking time off.
Rarity trotted down the marketplace, hoping to buy some fabric for her new set of garments. Being the element of generosity, she had volunteered to create and donate some sweaters for the less fortunate colts and fillies in a Fillydelphia charity.
The white unicorn absolutely adored it whenever she saw acts of selflessness carried out in Ponyville. She was so glad that Ponyville was filled with the least quarrelsome ponies. Well almost.
"It's mine!"
"Now way, I paid for it!"
"I paid for it too!"
"I still put in more bits than you!"
"But it was my idea to buy it!"
"Well you should have been ready to pay for it."
The two arguing voices caught Rarity's attention. The white mare turned around to see Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie giving each other a 'death glare' that would have given Fluttershy's stare a run for its money.
Rarity sighed and approached the bickering mares.
"I can't believe you're doing this to me!" screeched Pinkie Pie.
Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at the pink Earth Pony. "Well, that's what's fair."
"Girls. Girls. What on Equestria is going on now?" called out Rarity.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie turned around to see their friend staring bemusedly at them.
"Hey Rarity." said Pinkie bitterly. "You would not believe what happened! Today I asked Rainbow Dash to go out to have fun in the market place and she said yes. Then I got rumbly feeling in my tummy and proposed we get snacks and Rainbow Dash agreed. I had the idea to go get a bag of chips that costed 5 bits. I had two and Dash and had 3 so we decided to combine our money to pay for it and she won't give me any!"
"Like I said. I paid for it more, I should get the chips." defended Rainbow Dash.
Rarity face hoofed her two best friends were acting like foals. "Listen, the two of you have equally valid reasons to enjoy your fatty snack. Rainbow Dash, it was Pinkie's idea to buy it in the first place and she did pay her share. She should get some too."
"HA!" pointed Pinkie Pie.
"But Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash did pay more for it, so it's only fair she gets some of the food too."
"So what you want us to do?" inquired Rainbow Dash.
"Why not share the food? Chips maybe disgusting for a lady like me, but at least you can share them with friends." insisted Rarity.
"Alright, I give." muttered Rainbow Dash. The pegasus opened the bad with her teeth and dumped some of the fried food on Pinkie's hooves, who ate her entire portion in one bite.
"Hey girls!" called out a familiar voice.
The three ponies turned around to see their other friends; Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack.
"Ah could'a sworn I heard a quarrel goin' on there." stated Applejack.
"Well, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were arguing like foals over a bag of chips, but I got them to share." told Rarity.
"That's good." whispered Fluttershy. "I'm glad we ponies know how to compromise and not resort to violence."
"Fluttershy, I don't think anyone is nasty enough to resort to violence over a simple feud." laughed Twilight.
"So how did your expedition go Twi?" asked Rainbow Dash her mouth full of chips.
"It went great!" smiled Twilight. "You'll never guess what we found."
"A land where it rains chocolate every night!" smiled Pinkie Pie.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "No. We found something that's going to change the face of Equestria."
"Aliens?" interrupted Applejack.
The purple alicorn sighed. "Don't be silly Applejack, there are no-"
All of a sudden, a massive Earthquake was felt all across Ponyville.
"Why is the ground all shaky?" screamed Fluttershy. The pegasus took to air.
"I don't know." vibrated Twilight. "Equestria isn't near any fault lines for this to happen."
In the heart of the moment, a massive wormhole appeared in the morning sky, outside of that wormhole came 40 machine behemoths that floated in the air.
The wormhole closed and the earthquake stopped.
The citizens of Ponyville were at a loss of words for what laid before them.
"Twilight, what is that?" let out Rarity.
"I......never saw anything like this before." muttered the purple alicorn.
The Equestrians looked at the gigantic machines. They were all different shapes and sizes, but retained the same blue and yellow pattern along with the same logo. The letters "NC" were labeled across each ship.
The sizes for each space ship varied. Most were around 10 kilometers long while some went up to 15. The majority of the citizens in Ponyville went to total shock. Most locked themselves in homes or fled to the town hall. The only ones who didn't panic were the mane 6, a brown stallion who saw this day coming and a sea green unicorn who was happy her theory of extra terrestrial life proved true.
"Are those robots?" awed Applejack.
"I think they're space ships." gulped Twilight.
"Space ships? With aliens?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
"I would assume so." nodded the purple alicorn.
"Oh boy! We're having an entire new race moving to Ponyville! We have to throw them a welcome party and become best friends!" skipped the pink mare.
"What makes you think they're interested in making friends? We haven't even seen them yet." remarked Rainbow Dash.
"Well, why wouldn't they want to make peace?" squeaked Fluttershy.
Twilight closely expected the structure of the star ships. "I think these are war ships."
"War!" gasped Rarity. "Do you believe they're here to destroy our planet?"
"No way! If they wanted to do that, we'd be smoldering in smithereens by now!" denied Rainbow Dash.
Just when things couldn't get weirder, another rupture was heard in Canterlot. The two princesses residing there were taken by surprise.
"Tia, what is happening?" shrieked Luna.
"I don't know sister. I could have sworn the tremors would stop by now." said Celestia.
The two alicorns flapped their wings and headed outside the castle. The noble ponies of Canterlot were running for their lives the moment they saw the monstrosity in the sky that blocked Celestia's sun.
As a portal collapsed, it revealed 50 space ships. Each had a sinister black and red pattern with an insignia of of a shield and sword.
"What are those things?" gasped Celestia.
"I believe what lays before are us are space ships of some sort. Although I have never seen any of the sort throughout my observations of outer space." theorized Luna.
Celestia tilted her head to face Ponyville and nearly fainted. "Sister, look."
The alicorn of the night flew over to get a better view of Ponyville and saw the fleet of blue and yellow trimmed ships.
"Happy anniversary sweetie!" smiled Cadance. The princess of the Crystal Empire nuzzled her husband.
"Thanks. Hard to believe it's only been 2 years since we banished Queen Chrysalis." chuckled Shining Armor.
The pink alicorn and captain of the royal guard were taking a stroll through the park of the Crystal empire. The crystal ponies bowed in respect when they saw their rulers pass by.
"Really is a peaceful day." cheered Cadance as she smelled flowers.
"Yeah. Things have been really peaceful." nodded Shining Armor.
The two royals spoke to soon. Suddenly a powerful tremor was felt all across the crystal empire.
Shining Armor clung to his wife as the ground shaking. The Earth quake was nothing too serious, but it started shattering the crystal spires that made up the homes of the empire.
In the heart of the moment, the barrier that powered the Crystal Empire started flickering. It was powered by the love of its residence, but right now, there was only panic.
Finally the earthquake died down, but the chaos did not end.
Cadance could not believe what laid before her. It was a series of gigantic, sleek, purple space ships that were shaped like luminous sting rays.
Shining Armor knitted his eyebrows. "Aliens......"
"Are we being invaded?" cried Cadance.
Before Shining Armor could answer, the couple noticed the purple machine behemoths head toward another series of bleak starships in the vast distance.
It was more than clear that the 3 fleets of space ships were heading towards each other. If Twilight's calculations proved accurate, the would most likely meet each other in the center of the Hoofington Forest.
Celestia and Luna, accompanies by a series of royal guards charged towards the estimated meeting point between the three 3 alien fleets.
As the convoy traversed the forest, a bright purple light flashed before the Equestrians.
Out of the bright light revealed the Mane 6.
"Twilight!" exclaimed Celestia as she flew to her pupil.
Another pink flash illuminated the forest and revealed Cadance, Shining Armor and a set of crystal guards.
Twilight greeted her mentor "What is going on princess?"
"I'm afraid we are just as clueless as you are about these.....behemoths." sighed Luna.
"Have you seen anything come out of these space ships?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Not at all. We're not sure anything has disembarked." shook Celestia.
"What do you think is even inside these huge metal things?" piped up Pinkie Pie.
"Who knows? We don't even know if these are three separate alien races or one." sighed Twilight.
"They only seem to be interested in each other rather than us." noted Cadance.
"That is true. From the distance they were at, they should have had a good look at us." agreed Rarity.
One of the red trimmed space ships zoomed over the band of Equestrians at incredible speeds. From that space ship, a series of drop pods rained down from it's hull.
Wasting no time, the ponies galloped straight to the sight of deployment. After a minute, they finally reached the area.
Celestia used her magic to push aside a series of leaves that blocked their view.
What laid before the ponies was a mind shattering sight.
Walking passed the Equestrians were a series of bi-pedal structures with hands and feet. They all wore some of the strangest apparel the ponies had ever seen.
The bi-peds wore a a gas mask that obscured their face and wore a set of armor that matched the red and black trim of the space ships that deployed them.
"What are they?" gasped Applejack.
"I don't know. They have the structure of an ape, but I can't see anything under their masks." whimpered Fluttershy.
"Girls look!" called out Pinkie from a distance.
The Equestrians turned around to see Pinkie Pie pointing to another path in the forest.
In that path lied another set of soldiers. These soldiers had the exact same body structure as the ones the ponies just saw, but wore metallic purple armor with a teal trim instead. Their armor matched the space ships that flew over the Crystal Empire.
Rainbow Dash flew to another side of the forest and gulped. "There's more!"
The final set of bi-peds wore blue and yellow armor like the one that resembled the space ships over Ponyville. The marched in unison across the forest.
Unlike the other two groups, they did not wear masks and revealed their facial features. The creatures had two small eyes of varying color, sharp teeth which hinted at an omnivore diet, their helmets revealed short manes, they were not covered in fur but rather had flesh and had not muzzles since their noses were small bulges.
"I think it's safe to say they're all the same race." implied Celestia.
"They haven't noticed us yet even though some were looking right at me." added Rarity. "As if we're not important."
"What are those things the aliens are carrying anyway?" questioned Cadance.
Luna took a closer look at the rifles the blue armored humans carried. "They appear to be a weapon of some sort. From what I can gather, it is likely a projectile weapon operated by their appendages."
Suddenly, the ponies found themselves looking at hulking mechanical vehicles. The closest they could describe the thing was a heavily armored carriage without the need to be pulled by ponies.
This was followed by a series of cyborgs that resembled the bi-pedal aliens but much more larger and mechanical.
"Ah think they're military." theorized Applejack.
"If they are, they give our guards a run for their bits." snorted Twilight. Shining Armor and the guards frowned.
"What do you think they want from each other?" said Rainbow Dash.
"We'll have to find out. They're only inches away from each other. Follow me." instructed Celestia.
The ponies took a short cut through the forest to find a large circular clearing. A few seconds later, the three groups of soldiers appeared. Each unit had around 100 men.
The factions laid eyes on each other, but did not say or do anything. The leader of the red and black clad soldiers spoke first. His mask made his voice sound mechanical and sinister.
"What do you New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty scum doing on our planet?"
"They can speak Equestrian!" gasped Fluttershy.
"Not really. I casted a translation spell all over us the moment we got together." corrected Luna.
"Your planet?" cried a New Conglomerate sergeant with an accent similar to Applejacks. "We were here first you Terran Republic lap dog!"
The Equestrians took note of the names of the factions as well as to what group they belonged to.
A Vanu colonel gave a small laugh. His voice sounded assuring but malevolent. "It does not matter who this planet belongs to, what matters is who will put it to the best use."
"The Terran Republic has more men and women than any of your petty factions and will be the only source of security on this planet." bolstered the TR commander.
"Security at the cost of freedom." accused the NC sergeant. "Under your banner, the human race has been unable to do anything unless you Marxist politicians accept."
"Humans." whispered Celestia. "That must be the name of their race."
Turning back to the conversation, the TR commander was getting pissed.
"Because freedom totally means oligarchy. Your corporate masters will betray you and half the population will live in poverty."
"But they will be able to do as they please, the Republic has no faith in the human soul." scowled the NC commander.
The Vanu colonel rolled his eyes under his mask. "This is all the result of petty human weakness. If we were allowed to do as we please, our race would be uplifted with no problem."
The Terran and NC troopers laughed.
"Because humans totally should listen to a bunch of brain washed cultists?" snorted the Terran commander.
"We shouldn't be forced to believe that there is only one true way. Humans have to find their own path." added the NC.
"A path that will lead to destruction like it did to the planet of Auraxis!" countered the Vanu.
"Or a path that will put one above others." hissed the Terran.
Suddenly the 100 soldiers of each faction began yelling insults at each other.
The Equestrians on the other hoof were confused as hell to what was occurring.
"Twilight, do you have any idea what is going on?" asked Celestia.
Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "It appears that the human race has been divided into 3 factions that have been in war for decades which destroyed a planet with the collateral damage. Now these factions by pure coincidence have chosen our planet as their next homeworld."
"Well it is a lovely planet." muttered Cadance.
"But if they start fighting?" brought up Rainbow Dash.
"That won't happen on my watch!" scowled Celestia. The solar alicorn rose to impressive heights on her wings and appeared over the bickering humans in a flash of glory.
The humans stopped talking and turned to the solar alicorn.
Celestia cleared her throat. "Allow me to introduce myself."
"Holy shit! A talking alicorn." yelled a Terran soldier. All the humans got out their recording devices and started filming Celestia.
"I am princess Celestia. Alicorn of the sun and ruler of Equestria."
"......" came from the humans.
"As in I am in charge of this land with the other monarchs."
"......"
"Which means everything on this land is dictated by us."
"Ha! You're even more controlling than the Terrans." accused a Vany heavy assault.
"At least we're a representative government that doesn't brainwash people." called back a Terran light assault.
Celestia cut off the speakers before they could argue again.
"As I was saying, I am princess Celestia and I demand to know what is going on!"
"Our decades long war with the terrorists has destroyed the colony of Auraxis and forced us to move our people to a new world. Since we lack terraformers, yours is the closest thing we have to habitable world." explained the Terran commander.
"Your majesty, you should not listen to the Terran Republic." warned a New Conglomerate corporal. "All they will do is start a period of ruthless expansionism and if you disagree with them, they will kill you all."
"The New Conglomerate are not better." snorted a female Vanu sniper. "They will start a campaign the will devoid this world of all order and force everyone to fend for their own, creating noting but anarchy and selfish destruction."
"Come now." assured Celestia. "Let's be reasonable, how many of there are you?"
"Well, we're cut off from Earth and the other colonies, so that leaves our total number at 10 million." theorized a New Conglomerate Medic.
"That's all? There's plenty of room for all of you on this planet." smiled Celestia.
"But I don't wanna live with Authoritarian Marxists and a brain washed cult!" whined a New Conglomerate engineer.
"If the other factions refuse to leave this planet voluntarily. We will remove them by force!" threatened Terran Republic sniper from a battle tank.
The Equestrians watching went into a state of anxiety. The faction were declaring war on their planet.
Twilight came out of the bushed before Shining Armor could stop her.
"Hey, all of you! This is our planet and you are not bringing your war into it!"
"So what the hell are we supposed to do with this land? We need somewhere to stay!" challenged a NC heavy.
Pinkie Pie popped in the middle of the the clearing. "Come on everypony-"
"Everybody." corrected all the humans at once.
"There's enough resources on this planet for all of us! All you need to do isssssssss-"
Rainbow Dash's eyes opened wide. "Oh no. She is not going to sing that song."
A Vanu engineer gusseed what Pinkie was about to do and lit up some background music as Pinkie sang.
You may be divided
But of you all, I beg
To remember you're all fingered
At the end of each hand
No matter what the issue
Come from wherever you please
All this fighting gets you nothing
But hand and mouth disease
Arguing's not the way
Hey, come out and play!
It's a shiny, new day
So, what do you say?
You gotta share
You gotta care
It's the right thing to do
You gotta share
You gotta care
And there'll always be a way through
All your diets, I should mention
Are not likely vegetarian
You don't eat hay and oats
Why be at each other's throat?
You gotta share
You gotta care
It's the right thing to do
And there'll always be a way
Thro-o-o-o-ugh!
For a moment there was silence.
Suddenly a Conglomerate trooper started a slow clap which quickly escalated to all the humans applauding.
"My gosh. Pinkie's done it!" cheered Applejack.
The Terran commander sniffed a tear under his gas mask. "This song speaks to me. From now on I will share.......my ammunition when I'm going to blow off these terrorists from the face of Equestria."
"WHAT!" yelled the Equestrians.
Suddenly the Terran commander loaded ammo into his carbine, aimed and fired around at a NC medic. The Conglomerate soldier fell and the other factions returned fire.
Celestia teleported her Twilight and Pinkie to safety as gun fire deafened them.
The Equestrians watched in horror as they observed the warring humans gun each other down ruthlessly. The soldiers began spreading across the forest go gain a tactical advantage.
Suddenly, the star ships above them started engaging in fights above them and deployed troops all over Equestria.
"I'm afraid this is the end." wept Luna.
"Excuse miss, can you move a few centi meters?" called out a NC demolitions.
Luna tuned around, startled. The blue clad soldier simply brushed aside the alicorn, aimed her rocket launcher and shot down a Terran Republic tank.
Suddenly a Vanu sniper uncloaked, aimed his pistol at the demolition girl and head shot her, leaving a pool of blood on the grass. The sniper apathetically walked passed the ponies.
"I don't they're interested in us." gasped Fluttershy.
"What does it matter? The humans are going to kill each other." pointed Twilight.
After a few minutes of hiding, the ponies looked at the battle scared clearing. 47 dead bodies and 6 destroyed tanks littered the once lush area.
Right before the ponies got scarred for life, the bodies and wreckage got illuminated in a blue light and disappeared.
Cadance's mouth dropped. "What was-"
Before she could continue, a blue flash appeared and revealed the bodies of the soldiers that were just dead and the tanks that were destroyed.
This baffled the ponies. Before they could respond, the dead soldiers proceeded to engage in another bloody firefight while some escaped to other locations in the forest.
When the showdown ended, all that was left was a grave of 20 dead soldiers. Only for the same blue light to illuminate their bodies and bring them back again.
And again.
And again.
"I don't think they can die." blurted Twilight.
"My word, they just keep coming back again and again." gasped Rarity.
"We must discuss this elsewhere." ordered Celestia. The solar alicorn teleported her companions to a safe place.
A Terran Republic Liberator shot down a Vanu Galaxy outside the castle of Canterlot.
Pinkie Pie observed the Canterlot civilians running to cover as the New Conglomerate sent a convoy to attack a Vanu intelligence squad.
"This is horrible." face hoofed Cadance. "We have 3 technologically superior factions fighting against each other on our planet."
"And non of 'em can die or loose equipment." added Applejack.
"If you take the facts into account, their war will go on forever." sighed Twilight.
"And don't you remember? They were fighting on another planet and had to abandon Auraxis because they destroyed in the crossfire." brought up Luna.
"Will they destroy Equestria?" gasped Fluttershy.
"I do not think the humans even consider our presence into account." stated Celestia. "This can be a good thing since they will not actively seek to destroy us, but will neither care if half our planet is destroyed form collateral damage."
"We're a nation of harmony. We can show them fighting is not the way!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
"Neither faction of humanity would listen. They think their ideologies are superior." dramatized Rarity.
"Well, we can't just sit here. We have to drive them out!" proposed Shining Armor.
"I'm sorry Shining Armor, but we can not afford to fight the humans." glared Celestia.
"Why not? This is our planet!" countered Rainbow Dash.
"If we fight the humans, we will only make enemies and they will actively seek to destroy us." pointed Luna.
"And let's not forget we can't regenerate." sighed Applejack.
"Besides, which faction are we going to support?" questioned Twilight. "They're all morally ambiguous."
"And if we make enemies these factions, what's to say there aren't more out there in the galaxy waiting to strike?" remarked Pinkie Pie.
"Come on! We can take them. Those humans don't even have magic." snorted Shining Armor.
"Actually, your troopers would go down easily." said a mechanical voice that came from a gas mask.
The ponies slowly turned their heads to the opposite side of the table to find 3 Terran Republic troopers sitting casually.
Cadance's mouth dropped. "How did you-"
"Who would have guessed pulse grenades could disable magical spells as well?" pondered another TR soldier.
"As for facing us, well the Equines would get raped." warned the third TR soldier. "I mean, you guys have primitive technology, a guard in the few thousands and were over run by Changelings in a moment. "
"Wait a minute." realized Twilight. "If 3 of you successfully infiltrated our castle than-"
Suddenly, a door blew open from plasma charges revealing 4 Vanu soldiers who began unloading their rifles.
"DOWN WITH THE TERRAN REPUBLIC!" yelled the squad leader.
Two of the Terran soldiers ducked just in time while the other was shot dead from plasma fire.
The TR soldiers nodded and threw grenades on across the table which depleted half of the Vanu kill team.
Meanwhile, the Equestrians locked themselves in a safe corridor.
Rainbow Dash tried to catch her breath. "So what are we going to do Celestia?"
The solar alicorn formed a solemn expression. "I'm afraid we have no choice but to allow this war to continue. The humans are far too powerful to be stopped, but I have faith that they will see the light within a week.
2 weeks later
Applejack, minding her own business got ready for another day for apple bucking. She had to prepare a new shipment that would be sold in the market place by cooperative business partners.
The orange mare trotted up to a tree, readied her hind hooves and before she could buck-
KA-BOOM!
Applejack looked up in the sky to see the smoking remains of a NC starfighter crash into the distance.
"Meh, the pilot and ship will come back anyway." shrugged Applejack.
The orange mare was about to buck the tree until-
"Open fire!" yelled a mechanical voice.
"Uh oh."
Applejack quickly ducked as a group of Terran Republic troopers rained fire on the enemy who revealed themselves to be a band of New Conglomerate scouts.
Never before had the factions decided to fight in her farm place. Something told her they were running out of battle zones and strategic locations to control.
"This farm is property of the Terran government!" roared the TR's commanding officer.
A New Conglomerate engineer readied a grenade. "No! It belongs to the people!"
Suddenly, a large number of apple trees began collapsing and revealed a Vanu tank being guarded by a few foot soldiers.
"Misguided fools. Neither common people nor the government should be trusted with the production of food if they are limited with human ignorance. The staples of life must be controlled by the enlightened."
Applejack yelped and dodged a blast from the tank in the nick of time. The orange mare rushed out of the orchard as more human soldiers rushed in to kill each other.
The Earth Pony finally got out and took a deep breath.
Applejack turned around, only to see large part of her orchard on fire with explosions clearly audible.
If looks could kill, the entire race of humanity would drop dead.
Rainbow Dash was flying, as usual in the skies over Ponyville. She did a twirl in the air followed by a series of zig zags across the clouds.
Because she felt so high in energy and enthusiasm, a sonic rainboom felt inevitable.
The Pegasus collected her energy and flapped her wings with all her might. She flew faster and faster into the open blue sky. Nothing was going to stop her.
Right when the cone formed around her-
BANG!
Rainbow Dash flew to the side a bullet swept right past her.
There was another shot. While it did not hit anywhere near the pegasus, Rainbow Dash still screamed in terror.
All of a sudden, a New Conglomerate light assault trooper, carrying a jetpack, flew right passed her while firing his rifle at an enemy.
"They can fly?" whined the pegasus.
Just when it couldn't get worse, a Terran Republic light assault bumped right into Rainbow Dash, nearly giving the rainbow maned mare a concussion.
The Terran trooper proceeded to chase after his enemy.
In the heart of a moment, Rainbow Dash heard the sound of lazing engines.
Turning around, she saw a Vanu scythe chasing after a Terran Republic Liberator and successfully shooting it down.
Minute after minute, more light assault troopers and air ships were beginning to litter the sky.
Rainbow Dash had enough. She flew in the middle of all the carnage, (dodging all the gunfire and missiles all the way) and whistled loud enough for all soldiers to hear.
"Hey! If you don't mind, I'm trying to fly. Take your war somewhere else!"
A Terran Republic soldier cleared his throat. "Do not worry my little pony, once we flush the New Conglomerate and Vanu scum out of Equestria, this land will have government designated zones built for flying."
"Don't listen to him!" cried a jet packing NC soldier. "If the republic wins, all the air will be nationalized and paid for under heavy taxes. The AIR! It's better off free."
"Free?" challenged a Vanu unit from her scythe. "The atmosphere hold many ingredients which can be used to advance the very nature of your species. You won't even need the air when we're done with it."
"You're only saying that because your cult leaders brain washed you!" accused a Terran trooper.
"Oh? And Terran propaganda doesn't?" countered another NC light assault.
The humans continued to kill each other with gunfire and blow up each other's ships.
Rainbow Dash yawned and decided to fly to the skies over the Everfree forest, only for the cruisers to be duking it out. She decided to fly over Ponyville, only for the rooftops to be littered with AA guns taking out enemy fast movers.
The pegasus started gritting her teeth.
"Now class, how can tell me all of the 12 times tables?" asked Ms. Cheerilee.
Applebloom raised her hoof. Cheerilee proceeded to call on her.
"Ms. Why are da humans fightin'?" asked the filly.
Cheerilee face hoofed. "For the thousandth time class, I do not know why."
"When are they going to leave?" piped up Sweetie Bell.
"I do not know. Whenever they settle out their feud I suppose."
"And how come they keep coming back every time they die?" questioned Scootaloo.
"Sweet Celestia." groaned Cheerilee. "I do not know! Could you please stop asking me about the humans? And can we get back to the lesson?"
"Which faction do you think deserves to win?" said pegasus colt named Rumble.
Before Cheerilee could respond, the nearly dead body of a New Conglomerate medic was thrown across the classroom window and slumped aside.
"REVENGE!" called out a Terran Republic engineer. The soldier broke through the window, drew his pistol and shot his enemy dead in front of the class of foals.
Suddenly the body of the NC trooper regenerated right behind the TR soldier with his shotgun pointed at the latter's head.
"Double revenge!" cried the regenerated NC. The TR trooper's blood spilled all over Cheerilee.
The TR trooper came back to life and fired his rifle. "TRIPLE REVENGE!"
The NC dropped dead and his blood spilled all over the colts and filles.
The process repeated for another five minutes.
The blood soaked Cheerilee finally had the courage to speak. "Class......is dismissed."
"YAAAAY!" cheered the school ponies as the hurriedly rushed out the class room.
Twilight was perched on the balcony of Golden oaks Library, trying to enjoy some peace and quiet as missiles and gunfire brushed passed her.
"Excuse me Miss." tapped a Terran Republic sniper. "Can I use this balcony as a vantage point?"
Twilight gave an angry sigh. "Knock yourself out.....literally."
The sniper set up position and got to work.
The purple mare used telekinesis to grab her book and headed to the main room.
Just when Twilight thought it couldn't get any worse, the alicorn saw a group NC heavies firing their light machine guns at an enemy squad while using her furniture as cover.
The entire library was a total mess. All of her books had holes in them and half the tree had been blown apart by rocket and grenade explosions.
"Who gave you permission to use my house as a battle ground?" screamed Twilight.
"Oh, hey Twilight!" called out Spike from behind.
"Spike, do you happen to know anything about this?" glared Twilight.
"Of course! The New Conglomerate dudes needed to get some cover when a tank was shooting at them so I offered the library for support!" explained the dragon.
Suddenly, a Vanu demolition trooper burst from the other side of the house and fired a missile at the unsuspecting heavy assault troopers.
"AW YEAH! Triple kill." boasted the Vanu trooper as she walked outside of the library. Or what was left of it.
The entire tree had basically been burned down. All books were gone and Twilight didn't need to go down to her lab to know that one of the factions had used it as a site to make chemical weapons.
The angry mare trotted down the street to find the rest of the element bearers. Twilight walked across town, all factions the factions releasing their hatred and ammunition at each other all the while.
Twilight's 5 friends, similarly disgruntled galloped to find their friend, but not before ducking a few times to avoid assault rifle fire.
"How's it going?" asked Twilight sarcastically as a Terran Republic corpse fell in front of her.
"Just marvelous." replied Rarity in the midst of the gunfire. "Those barbarians took over my boutique and turned it into a command center. You would not believe how the colors of their fortress clash."
"I can't fly anymore because their jet pack troopers and air ships keep clogging the sky!" whined Rainbow Dash.
"Their tanks and rockets burned down ma barn!" hissed Applejack.
"I heard they destroyed half of Trottingham!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
Fluttershy, who was abnormally pale, was silent for a long time before letting it out. "Did you know humans eat meat as well? I had to find that out the hard the way."
"That is it!" screamed Twilight. "These stupid factions are going back to where they came from. Are all of the elements of harmony in check?"
"We left them in their stupid box in your house." reminded Rainbow Dash.
Don't worry, I can summon them whenever I want." assured Twilight.
The purple alicorn's horn lit up and summoned the container of the six elements of harmony. The box laid in the middle of the six mares.
Twilight used telekinesis to open it up, only to find nothing except black markings.
"Why aren't the elements in there?" muttered Applejack.
"I believe you only summoned their container and not the elements themselves." guessed Rarity.
"Maybe. Give me a moment." requested Twilight. The purple mare's horn lit up and tried to find the location of the elements, but did not receive feedback.
"That's odd, I can't find the elements anywhere in existence!" exclaimed Twilight.
"Uh, girls." called out Rainbow Dash.
"What is it?" responded Pinkie Pie.
"Is it just me, or does anypony smell ash? As in the ash that comes from human explosives?" remarked Rainbow Dash.
Rarity took a closer inspection at the container and squealed. "And I think that black marking is explosive residue."
"The humans destroyed the elements!" realized Fluttershy. "We're doomed."
Twilight gave an angry growl. "Of course, they don't want us ponies getting in the way of their stupid conflict so they disarmed us of our only way to rid them."
"I guess the humans are more intelligent than we think." awed Pinkie Pie.
3 hours earlier:
"Hey Carmine, can I blow up this jewelry?" said a New Conglomerate demo man as he loaded explosives on the sacred weapons.
Carmine was too busy repairing a tank to pay full attention. "Those aren't pieces of jewelry, those are powerful weapons used to defeat ancient evils and-"
KA-BOOM!
"So it's okay then?" frowned the demo man next to the smoldering remains of the elements.
Present:
The Mane 6 were taking cover in SugarCube Corner, or what was left of it, and observed the ensuing chaos.
"I swear, they won't stop until they've ran out of places to fight." whined Pinkie Pie.
"If only they could look past their differences and settle everything without fighting." cried Fluttershy.
"Well, if one of the factions had to win, I'd say it should be the Vanu." admitted Rarity.
"Why should the Vanu win? At least the New Conglomerate let's you stay your own pony." countered Applejack.
"If it were up to them, the entire population would be gunning each other down, ruining the planet and making lives miserable over greed and selfishness." replied Rainbow Dash. "At least the Terran Republic keeps security."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you ever cared about the rules Rainbow Dash?"
"I don't, but I'd rather take orders from a real politician than some elitist snob." stated Rainbow Dash.
"At least elitist snob will let you own property and not tax you on fly zones!" exclaimed Applejack.
"Both ends are just roads to utter chaos. The Terrans will create a state of oppression in the name of equality while the Conglomerate will produce a system where the weak are left to rot and the fortunate get everything." explained Rarity.
"So why should we let the Vanu win?" questioned Applejack.
"Because they possess technology and resources to elevate Ponykind to a higher state of existence. War and aggression will be things of the past." defended the white mare.
"That's just a bunch of theological insanity." shrugged Rainbow Dash. "If you join them, you'll be stripped of who you are and conform to their stupid cult."
Rarity flexed her mane. "While I am a fan of keeping one's identity, I do believe that the way we think will only propel us to destruction."
"For a cult that preaches a utopia, they sure are making Equestria a dystopia." snorted Applejack.
"It is all necessary." said Rarity. "Since the other factions do not see the brilliance of the Vanu ideology, the Vanu must use force if they are to bring peace. You must think of the long run."
"In the long run, we should all be equal! It's the only was to ensure peace!" countered Rainbow Dash.
"In the long run, we should be free from restraint that makes us mad in the first place!" glared Applejack.
"STOP IT!" yelled Fluttershy. "You're turning into them."
The 3 bickering mares looked at each other and froze in horror.
"Sweet Celestia, what have we become?" gasped Rainbow Dash.
"Look, ah'm sorry for offendin' ya." apologized Applejack.
"It's alright. The human's war has gotten me brash too." insisted Rarity.
Twilight had an epiphany. "Say, who do the factions remind you of?"
"What do you mean?" whispered Fluttershy. "I don't know anypony who's like either human faction."
Twilight smiled wide. "Think about it. One faction is about order and military might, one faction is made up farmers and industrialists wanting freedom while the other takes pride in supernatural ability."
"Come to think of it, the Terran Republic sounds a lot like the ancient Pegasai before we united." realized Rainbow Dash.
"And the free spirit New Conglomerate is just like the ancient Earth Ponies." noted Pinkie Pie.
"And the Vanu, who are snobbish and obsessed with enlightenment are just like the ancient unicorns!" added Rarity.
"Not to mention, aren't they all fightin' over land the same way the three tribes fought over Equestria?" realized Twilight.
"Oh my gosh! The exact same thing that happened between us is happening between the humans." cheered Pinkie Pie.
"If we can put on that Hearth's Warming Eve play, the humans will see themselves in the ancient pony tribes, realize how stupid their war is accept peace and leave us alone!" planned Twilight.
"Good thing we still have our costumes." realized Rainbow Dash.
Suddenly Pinkie Pie yelled loud:
"INCOMING!"
The Equestrains bailed out of SugarCube corner the moment a Terran Republic Mosquito crashed right into the bakery, destroying it hole.
In the afternoon, the play had been set up. Twilight and her friends memorized their lines from a year ago as well as all the stage directions. The rest of Equestria was informed of the plan and had faith in their (former) elements of harmony.
All that was left was to get the human's attention to go to the theatre. How they were going to fit the millions of humans in the tiny theatre was a mystery.
The informant of the event was a clumsy, but well meaning Pegasus named Derpy.
The gray pegasus flew right in the middle of a red hot combat zone, with all three factions blowing each other apart with tanks, air ships and rockets.
Derpy landed right in the center of combat, with bullets and other projectiles harmlessly passing by her. The pegasus cleared her throat in the middle of all the bloodshed.
"Excuse me?" she coughed.
Suddenly the entire battle paused. There was dead silence and all humans were looking straight at Derpy.
"I just wanted to inform you that there is going to be a play in Canterlot Theatre, or what's left of it after she bombed the city, thrown in your honor."
One could hear crickets roar.
"The play will be on in an hour and it's free of charge."
Suddenly the humans from each faction made sounds of agreement.
"Yeah."
"Sounds good."
"Haven't seen a play in a long time."
"Could use a break from all the killing and respawning."
The humans nonchalantly walked over to the theatre as one, leaving a confused Derpy behind.
The entire theatre was packed with the warring humans, who spent the entire waiting period giving each other dirt looks. The New Conglomerate, Terran Republic and Vanu Sovereignty sat in their own groups, creating columns of red, blue and purple in the seats.
Suddenly,the music started and the humans shifted focus away from their enemies and onto the stage.
Spike, dressed as a narrator started the theatre off. He spoke in his fake voice.
"Once upon a time, long before the peaceful rule of Celestia, and before ponies discovered our beautiful land of Equestria, ponies did not know harmony. It was a strange and dark time. A time when ponies were torn apart... by hatred!"
The humans gasped loudly.
Spike rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"
"During this frightful age, each of the three tribes – the Pegasi, the unicorns, and the Earth ponies – cared not for what befell the other tribes, but only for their own welfare. In those troubled times, as now, the Pegasi were the stewards of the weather. But they demanded something in return. Food that could only be grown by the Earth ponies. The unicorns demanded the same, in return for magically bringing forth day and night. And so, mistrust between the tribes festered, until one fateful day, it came to a boil. And what prompted the ponies to clash? 'Twas a mysterious blizzard that overtook the land, and toppled the tribes' precarious peace."
The humans started mumbling amongst themselves.
Spike broke character. "By the way, notice any similarities here?"
"No breaking the fourth wall!" yelled a Terran Republic heavy from the crowd.
The rest of the performance played out smoothly. Not once did the human soldiers attempt to make conflict.
Finally the play concluded. Spike narrated the final words.
"All through the night, the three ponies kept the fire of friendship alive by telling stories to one another and by singing songs, which of course became the winter carols that we all still sing today. Eventually, the warmth of the fire and singing and laughing reached the leaders, and their bodies began to thaw. The three leaders agreed to share the beautiful land, and live in harmony ever afterwards. And together, they named their new land..."
Spike was joined by the costumed Mane 6:
"EQUESTRIA!"
The choir sang the song of friendship and the play ended.
The humans, Vany, Terran, and NC gave thunderous applause. Much to the Ponies' pleasure, the humans looked moved.
"I think they're finally going to bury the hatchet!" cheered Pinkie Pie.
Finally the humans stopped applauding. A New Conglomerate unit spoke up.
"I still think that the Earth Ponies should have gotten the land! They could have profited a lot off of it."
Twilight's heart skipped a beat. "Oh no."
A Terran Republic trooper stood from the crowd.
"Profit while the rest of the ponies die. The Pegasai should have taken the land. They would have kept it secure, shared it and ensure a future for all ponykind."
A Vanu soldier jumped from her seat. "If the unicorns got the land first, they would have transcended the location with magic and make sure there would never be hungers in the future."
The humans were getting angry.
"I think we should bail." called out Rainbow Dash from the stage.
"Says who?" challenged the standing TR trooper.
"Says me!" replied the speaking Vanu.
"You mean the brian washed cultist?" accused the NC soldier.
Long story short, the Equestrians were able to leave 2 minutes before bullet fire totally destroyed the theatre and kill everyone inside.
A day had passed since the play.
Celestia was reading a news paper while taking a sip of her tea, or at least trying to amidst the gunfire. According to the headlines, all of Trottingham had been destroyed by a Vanu plasma nuke. Luckily, the city had been evacuated a few days prior. In other news, dragon meat had become the most popular food item amongst the warring humans.
Just when Celestia didn't think her temper couldn't get worse, a bullet broke through her window and smashed her tea cup.
The solar alicorn looked at the shattered cup.
Nopony, in this cased nobody, messed with her tea.
Celestia sucked in all the courage she could muster and teleported to where she believed the leaders of each faction would be meeting.
"Are you sure this plan will work Twilight?" questioned Pinkie Pie.
"I'm positive." nodded the purple alicorn as she looked over the blue prints. "In two weeks time, the space ship will be complete and all of Ponykind will find a new world."
"But what about this one?" asked Fluttershy.
"We'll just leave it to the mercy of the humans and their war fetish." shrugged Twilight.
Rarity placed a hoof on her chin. "But what if the humans follow us to our new planet?"
"I haven't thought of that." said Twilight.
Just before she could however, a bright light flashed before their eyes and revealed the alicorn of the sun.
"Princess Celestia!" gasped Fluttershy.
"Hello my little ponies." greeted Celestia.
"What are you doing here?" inquired Rainbow Dash.
"Ending this war." answered Celestia with a glare. "I have reason to believe that the leaders of each faction are going to be fighting somewhere close by."
"Well you're correct." sighed Applejack. "Their right over there."
Celestia turned to the left where she saw a massive skirmish taking place. One that was ruining the beauty of the land.
In the midst of the combat, three figures appeared.
One was president Gorbachev of the Terran Republic who wore a black suit with a crimson red tie.
The other was high priest Benedict of the Vanu Sovereignty.
And the final was head genius/billionaire/playboy/philanthropist CEO of the New Conglomerate, Andrew Ryan.
"I hope your ready to face your final battle!" yelled Gorbachev as he drew a shotgun.
"Your final battle if that's what you mean." threatened Andrew Ryan who took out a pistol.
"It would be interesting to watch you lower life forms die out." smiled Benedict with a rocket launcher.
Before they could engage each other-
"By the order of the sun, I order you to STOP!" commanded Celestia.
The humans stopped fighting and looked straight at flying white alicorn.
Celestia collected her thoughts. "Just because the three of you are mad at each other doesn't give you any reason to destroy our planet!"
"That doesn't make any sense." glared Andrew Ryan.
"Oh really?" challenged Celestia.
"Okay it makes a little sense." admitted the CEO as he kicked a stone pebble.
"I can not believe any of you." glared Celestia. "All you humans, or at least you three factions since you don't even make up for one percent of the human population that's somewhere else in the galaxy, want to do is wage war at each other!"
"This fight does not concern you." glared Benedict.
"Look around you, all you've done is fight and it has destroyed our land!" pointed Celestia.
The three leaders and their soldiers looked around. The entire area that was once the lush Whitetail Woods has been ruined to a burning wasteland.
"We did that?" awed Gorbachev.
"You did. I hope it reminds you of Auraxis." chastised Celestia.
"The environment is simply a casualty for the greater good." brushed off Andrew.
"Greater good?" spat Celestia. "I hope all of you notice that this war will not end. Either you shut off your rebirthing machines and kill each other off for good, or keep fighting and fighting until the end of time where your feud has cost the universe of its planets."
"Then how are we supposed to end this fight if we can't stand each other?" questioned Gorbachev.
"Learn to work together in harmony." instructed Celestia. "We ponies were once divided, but when we joined forces we were able to accomplish many things. You humans were once one and reached the stars, now this split is creating utter discord and everything you have worked for will be gone."
"I never thought of it that way." pondered Benedict. "This whole war seemed good on paper."
"What is this war even about?" asked Celestia.
There was a dead silence.
"You know, I don't remember." realized Gorbachev.
"This war kind of got pointless after my tenth death." muttered Benedict.
"I thought we were fighting for fun." admitted Andrew Ryan.
"See?" pointed Celestia. "You do not even know what you are fighting about. I think it is safe to say that the war should end once and for all."
The soldiers immediately dropped their weapons and looked at each other as brothers and sisters.
All the while the Mane 6 had been watching.
"My word, Celestia has done it again." smiled Twilight.
"The humans are finally going to stop fighting. How marvelous." cheered Rarity.
The leaders of the 3 factions looked at each other, nodded and faced Celestia.
Gorbachev smiled wide. "Thank you pony grandmother for showing us it is wrong to fight when we can cooperate."
"Now we 3 factions can unite and work together." said Andrew Ryan. "To enslave ponykind."
Celestia's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"
14 seconds later.
The land of Equestria was now under the control under the new human government, the New Terran Sovereignty.
The government was formed as a grand compromise that took the best points of each faction.
The NTS would be a government based on Equality and order, but against Tyranny. It would be based on freedom and rights, but against greed and elitism. Finally, it would be a government centered on a world where science and progress guided humans to a better future, but not at the cost of humanity.
It was a bright day for the humans, for the ponies, not so much.
Now the new government turned to a new project that focused on developing technologies in a free work space for all mankind. To do so however, ponies were used as a slave force, mining the minerals and metals stored beneath the planet.
"GET TO WORK MAGGOTS!" yelled the commanding voice of the loud speaker.
Rainbow Dash hastily pushed a cart with Applejack at her side. NTS guards watched them carefully.
"I swear, I liked the humans better when they were fighting." hissed Rainbow Dash.
"No slacking!" yelled an NTS guard who pointed his shotgun at the pegasus.
"Sorry sir." apologized Rainbow Dash.
Twilight meanwhile had been forced to use her magic to enrich pile after pile of Vanu technology while a guard pointed his pistol at her the whole time.
"Who's the idiot that told them we had ancient alien technology under our planet anyway?" yelled Twilight as she worked her self to death.
Fluttershy, who was busy digging a hole in the mines, couldn't help but answer.
"I thought they could use it."
Author's Note
Thanks for reading. I'll have the next chapter of First Contact uploaded some time later.
