Shadows and Shattered Glass

by Cloud Thunderhoof

Rating: teen
Tags: Gilda, Adventure, Shining Armor, Crossover, Spitfire, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 11746

A power once thought to be lost to the fog of time and war returns to a world on the brink of ruin, setting forth a chain of events that will determine the fate of this world, and ones unknown. A Half-Life 2 Adaption/Crossover

A Half-Life 2 Adaption/Crossover.

When an evil from beyond the realm of nightmares descended upon the world they found themselves unprepared. Abandoned by their only hope of salvation and unable to repel the invaders they fell to the darkness and the world as they know it was destroyed. Years later, a power once thought lost to the fog of time and war returns, igniting the spark of revolution in the hearts of the downtrodden.

"Rise and shine, my friends. Rise and shine. Not that I wish to imply you have been sleeping on the job. No one is more deserving of a rest. And all the effort in the world would have gone to waste until... well, let's just say your hour has come again. The right mare in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, little ponies. Wake up and smell the ashes"

Published 2014-04-28 22:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-28 22:50:03 UTC

Prologue

SUBJECT: TWILIGHT SPARKLE
STATUS: UNDER EVALUATION
SUBJECT HAS YET TO PROVE ANY SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL TO THE CAUSE
______________________________________________________________________________

“Spike, Spike, wake up, I need you to come with me”, Twilight Sparkle said as she nudged the sleeping drake.

The dragon looked up at the unicorn with sleepy yet curious eyes and upon seeing her bubbly enthusiasm knew that trying to get any more rest would be a futile endeavor. He reluctantly shrugged off the last vestiges of sleep and hoped out of his bed before giving the unicorn his full attention.

“What is it this time Twi’?” Spike asked, his voice gaining a sleepy and unplanned edge.

The purple pony did not seem to care or even notice her young companion’s minor hostility and continued with her excited babbling “I saw something strange happen over in the direction of town hall and I want to go check it out”

“What do you mean by ‘strange’ Twi?” Spike asked as he rubbed his eyes, trying to get more information out of his suddenly excited friend.

The unicorn paused and seemed to take a deep breath before continuing in a slightly more subdued tone “I… I don’t know if I can explain it to you, considering it was some sort of high level magical disturbance, just imagine you saw an incredibly bright flash, blindingly so, which appeared all of a sudden and then faded away slowly until there was nothing more than a pinprick of light left. Except that the light is still as intense, despite its smaller size”

Truth be told the young drake had no clue what Twilight was getting on about but he decided to play along, knowing that no matter what he did or said that she would still go after whatever she was so excited about.

“Do you know what caused it?” Spike asked, finally managing to shrug off his drowsiness.

“Well no, not yet, but that’s the exciting part” She replied, her inner scientist coming to the forefront of her personality.

“Why do you want me to come along?” Spike asked, it was a rhetorical question but it still needed to be asked.

Twilight just gave him a familiar look, confirmed his suspicions.

“I’ll get parchment and quills”, Spike said as he let out a long sigh and plodded off to find his things.

Spike heard Twilight’s hooves striking the oaken floor behind him as she scurried around, presumably collecting things for this little excursion. Although the desk where he kept his supplies was not that far away Spike took his time in order to savor the little time he had left in the warm house before Twilight dragged him out into the cold wintery night. He reluctantly grabbed his things and walked back over to the mare.

Despite her lack of athletic prowess, the unicorn mare could definitely move quickly when she wanted to; somehow Twilight had managed to get her saddle bags, pack some scientific instruments, and throw a green scarf around her neck in the time it had taken Spike to walk across the room and back.

“You ready?” The purple pony said excitedly

“As I’ll ever be” Spike responded halfheartedly through a yawn

Luna’s moon was high in the night sky when the duo left the library and the snow from the last storm gleamed in the low light.
It didn’t take Twilight long to notice that something was off. She could see the glow of candle light illuminating many more houses than normal, and although she could not confirm it, she thought she hear muffled cries of pain.

They continued on towards the center of town, were twilight said the disturbance originated. As they drew closer, an eerie feeling befell both the pony and the dragon. Neither could deny that they heard screaming, except that it all sounded shrill and high pitched even through the walls of the houses. It took Twilight a second to recognize the source, however when she did her blood ran cold.

“Spike, I… I think that those are Foals crying, a lot of them”, Twilight said, the current situation beginning to give her the creeps.

“What do you think could have done this?” He asked, becoming fully alert for the first time that night.

“Something tells me that were about to find out” Twilight said as she set Spike down and, although the darkness obscured it, gave him a weak smile of confidence.

The muffled cries of pain coupled with the already gloomy night put both the pony and the dragon on edge. Their eyes scanned the area in tandem, looking for something, anything, that could explain what was going on. An icy gale of wind battered Twilight and the sickening stench of sulfur and rotting flesh washed both her and her companion, causing them to dry heave.

They pushed on and Twilight noticed something out of the corner of her eye; a figure stood nearby, its features obscured by the dark. Twilight turned her attention to the outline of the pony, trying to make out some of the inner details.

The pony in question was nothing special at first glance, just an earth stallion with a blue/grey coat and a short well-kept black mane, however something about his eyes bothered Twilight. The stallion’s gaze was unsettling, his distorted blue-green irises following her every movement as if scrutinizing them. The two pony’s eyes met and for a brief second and it made Twilight’s skin crawl. However the stallion abruptly picked up a brief case which had been lying in the grass at next to his hooves and walked off.

“Spike, do you know who that is?” the mare asked as she nudged the stout dragon to get his attention.

He peered in the direction that the unicorn had indicated, however noting but empty space greeted him.

“Who?” He asked

Twilight turned to look at the place where the pony had just been, except now there was nothing there.

“There was a pony there a second ago, I swear”, she replied, confused by his disappearance.

“Twi, you losing track of a pony in the dark is hardly the strangest thing that’s happened tonight” Spike deadpanned, trying to get his friend back on track.

Twilight wanted to protest, however she knew that he was right. They resumed walking and within minute they arrived.

“Stop, it’s around here somewhere”, Twilight said as she came to a halt near the fountain in town square.

The earth buzzed with magical activity, enough so that Spike was aware that something was different. Twilight’s head swiveled around as she searched for the source of what she had felt earlier, except noting obvious popped out. The mare circled around the fountain, searching for something out of the ordinary, but everything seemed to be totally normal.

She continued to pace around the fountain, looking for some source for the disturbance. Suddenly she felt Spike’s clawed hand grab one of her forelegs in order to get her attention. Twilight looked over at him, but she saw that he was staring at something in the sky, one of his clawed finger pointing in the same direction. The unicorn followed his gaze until she saw what it was that he was transfixed on.

Although the darkness obscured it, Twilight could barely make out a thin silver energy mass floating in a mass of turbulent air. The area around the mist like disturbance reeked of the same mix of rotting flesh and sulfur as the wind, proving that it was the origin point. The mare’s eyes began to glow faintly as she casted an enhanced vision spell to better examine it.

The spell revealed the energy fields which swirled around the disturbance, painting a vastly different picture than its wispy outwardly appearance. Massive amounts of energy spilled out of the disturbance and under the effects of her spell it burned brighter than the sun. After a few seconds the unicorn had to shut off the spell so it wouldn’t burn its image into her retinas forever.

“What is it?” Spikes asked, a poorly hidden note of trepidation coming to his usually calm voice.

Twilight felt bad for the young dragon, she had dragged him out of bed and into the freezing night and now he looked like he was going to throw up from the smell the energy mass was giving off.

“Oh, Spike I almost forgot I brought something for you in case you got cold” the purple pony said and although the little dragon didn't say anything his shivering told the whole story.

As Twilight reached into her bags to retrieve the blanket she had tucked under the other supplies something changed in the air around them. Suddenly the world dissolved into a blinding green field which drowned every other sound with a deafening roar. Every inch of the unicorn’s body cried out in pain, overwhelming her mind and wiping away any attempt at coherent thought. Twilight stumbled around blinded and disoriented by what had just occurred, grasping at the last threads of consciousness that had not been washed away in the tidal wave of searing pain. She honed in on the last part of her mind that was still under her control and, using all of the strength she could muster, cast a spell that she hoped could save her.

Instantly she felt a change as the blinding light and deafening noise faded into oblivion. As Twilight took in the scene around her it immediately became apparent that something powerful had just occurred; the once green earth was scorched black and a small glowing crater had formed directly in front of the mare. Spike however stood next to her, still stumbling around blindly.
Eventually the small dragon regained control of his senses and steady himself, although the look of pain did not entirely fade from his face.

“What… What happened Twilight” The young drake asked, looking around at the newly scorched earth.

“The, whatever it was, started to send out really strong magic surges. I tried to contain it with a spell, but it disappeared as soon as I cast it”, she explained as she too inspected the ground around them.

Eventually her eye landed on the newly formed hole in the earth and she couldn’t help but examine it more closely. The crater was about the size of a bowling ball and emitted a faint green glow as well as a strange clicking noise. Cautiously, she approached the small crater, keeping up a shielding spell just in case it did the same thing as the disturbance. However something she wasn’t expecting greeted her instead; a creature sat in the bottom of the crater flailing around its claw like appendages. Using her magic Twilight lifted the small animal out of the crater and placed it on the ground in front of her.

“What is that?” Spike asked as he examined the small animal.

“I haven’t even seen this thing in any of my zoology books. Whatever it is it’s radiating the same energy that was coming out of that energy mass before”, Twilight said without taking her eyes off of it.

The creature was approximately the size of a pumpkin and consisted of little more than a dome of mottled tan and brown flesh and four small legs, two of which ended in a single talon. The creature was like nothing she had ever seen before, it looked like a mixture between a crab and a tick, but there were few similarities to either of them. Slowly it began to move, except to Twilight’s surprise it lifted up what she had assumed to be its front legs and stuck them in the air like antenna. The small animal slowly walked towards them using a pair of stubby front legs which twilight had not noticed before, and then stopped abruptly in front of the young dragon.

“Maybe that thing before was a portal, that could explain how this thing got here” Spike mused as he kneeled down to get a better look at the unfamiliar life form.

Twilight thought about it for a moment before responding, “Well whatever this thing is it seems to give off the same type of magic as the disturbance. Heck, I’m not even sure if that was magic coming out of that thing”

“Maybe Fluttershy will know what it is” Spike started, “hey this thing is kind of cute, in a weird sort of way”, the drake finished as she reached a clawed hand out to touch the fleshy creature.

As soon as Spike began to reach out the creature’s demeanor changed; it let out a blood curdling screech and then propelled itself at the dragon, using its rear legs like springs. The force of the impact knocked Spike backwards, the crab like animal tightly clinging to his head. Twilight watched, prettified, as Spike screamed and tried to pull the creature off, however it held on with a vice like grip.

The crab like monster muffled Spike’s cries for help, which abruptly cut off after a deep cracking noise; instantly Spike fell limp, the monster still clinging to his cranium.

The sound of bone cracking jarred the mare from her petrified state and she sprang into action without any further hesitation. She teleported Spike out from under the monster, letting it fall to the ground. The creature quickly turned and lunged at the purple pony who had denied it its meal. Twilight side stepped the lunge and as soon as the fleshy animal had landed she wasted no time in bringing her hoof down on it. It connected with the creature, cursing its bones and eliciting a spray of viscous green blood.

Twilight instantly turned her attention to her friend fearing the worst. He lay on the ground, slumped over on his side and motionless. The mare instantly noticed a bloody bit sized hole in his skin. She rushed over, the icy claws of dread wrapped around her heart. Twilight rolled her best friend onto his side and pressed her ear against his chest, searching for a sign that he had not left this world forever.

A slow methodical thump echoed through the young drake’s chest, it was fleeting but present none the less. The tears which had been welling up in Twilight’s eyes threated to break loose, but she bit them back, knowing that if she wasted any more time than the heart beat she heard would stop and her friend would truly be lost.

Twilight uncertainly inspected the wound on his head, trying to see how bad it was. However to her surprise the hole the creature had made had not damaged the skull whatsoever, only making its way through the first layer of scale and skin.
Twilight then watched, transfixed as Spike’s eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright, his chest heaving. He started to cough violently, causing the wound on his head to ooze more blood.

The purple lizard looked around, a queasy look plastered across his face, “careful Twilight that thing bites!” he cried out as he pointed a claw at the monster “It felt like that rattle snake that bit me last year, good thing dragons have a high tolerance to poisons and thick scales. Wait Twilight did you…” his babbling drifted into oblivion as he saw the crushed carcass of the monster and the green blood stains on Twilight’s leg.

“Yes Spike, I killed it, but it was either that or letting it hurt you”, the mare said as she swept the dragon up into a tight embrace.

“I thought I had lost you”, Twilight lamented, the tears she had been trying to hold back now tumbled out as she cried onto her friend’s shoulder.

After a few seconds Twilight released Spike and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Spike was the first to talk “Hey all of that screaming stopped, do you think that that… thing could have caused it”

Twilight listened closely, but heard little more than the winter wind howling through the trees.

“You could be right, either way I have a perfectly good dissection kit that I haven’t used and I’m starting to wonder what that thing’s guts look like” Twilight said in a more sinister tone than she planned as she wrapped the remains in Spike’s blanket and placed it into her saddle bag.

______________________________________________________________________________
TWO WEEKS LATER
______________________________________________________________________________

A panel of ponies sat in front of Twilight, observing her every motion and jotting it down on their clipboards, reminding her of her entrance exam to Celestia’s school. The mare swore the walls of the room were closing in on her as she stood in front of them, nervous and sweating. The room she occupied was Spartan at best, nothing adorned except for a calendar and a cork board. The large windows let in the strangely sickening scent of fresh cut grass and smog as well as light from the city beyond. The atmosphere made Twilight feel queasy, setting her off of her game, which was the last thing she needed now.

“Mrs. Sparkle, do you know where you are?” a crème colored stallion asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm and contempt.

“The Manehattan Institute of the Sciences”, she replied, doing her best to keep her voice neutral.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle, however it is also one of the most prestigious centers of learning and knowledge in all of Equestria, if not the world”, the stallion continued, his combed black mane slightly glinting in the sunlight.

“I’m afraid I’m missing your point sir” Twilight replied, doing her best to hide her growing contempt.

The next pony to speak was a brown mare sitting next to the first pony, it was with a much more neutral, if not apologetic voice “I believe what Director Spark is getting at is that we don’t believe that we can throw our support behind such an outlandish project”

With that, the wall between Twilight’s emotions and outwards expressions broke down a little bit. Despite her best effort, the feelings she tried to mask manifested themselves in a brief look of surprise.

“While I admit that my proposition to search for portals to another world is a bit, unusual, you have to remember that some of the most significant discoveries in history were considered preposterous by the scientific community. I have provided extensive amounts of evidence, data, and details which should prove…” Twilight stammered defensively.

However the crème colored stallion cut her off “…absolutely nothing. Yes you have provided a large quantity of data, however there is no concrete proof that this, head crab, as you call it ever existed. Before I even consider providing funding, researchers, or equipment to help you look for these alleged ‘portals bringing in alien life forms’ I need to have more evidence than a few charts and graphs”

“I provided pictures of the creature and detailed diagrams of anatomical structures, if that doesn’t prove it than what will?” Twilight retorted, struggling to reign in her anger.

“Miss Sparkle I would advise you to keep your temper under control” he began, although he did little to mask his apathy “Pictures can be forged and diagrams can be falsified with ease, I am looking for actual biological material or something that proves that this portal actually existed.”

“I already explained why I couldn't bring any specimens, the creature, Xeno Brachyura Venenatis, or head crab as you called it, has a protein in its blood which breaks down into a powerful acid a few days after death. Its body consists almost entirely of soft tissue so any viable samples were destroyed”, Twilight explained, keeping her voice completely neutral.

The crème pony muttered something under his breath, but Twilight managed to read his lips “of course they were”

The wall separating Twilight s emotions from actions finally broke and she let out a torrent of unrestrained thoughts, “What makes you think I would lie to you? I’m an upstanding member of the scientific community, I’ve made countless contributions to the field of magic, and I’m Princess Celestia’s personal protégé…”

Director spark cut her off, raising his voice and showing anger for the first time during the meeting, “I have given you a shot which most ponies would never get in their lives. Tell me, do you remember the victory park scandal from last year; of course you do. I made the mistake of trusting a pony and gave him a massive research budget and aid from the university, and believe it or not he had much more compelling evidence than you. Then it came out that all of it was an elaborate hoax and all of the university’s funding went up in smoke, along with a significant chuck of our credibility. I am not saying that this is a hoax or that you have fraudulent intentions, I’m saying that the university cannot risk another research project turning sour. Now I have put up with you this long and I have done my best to keep an open mind, even about some of your more implausible arguments, however you need to remember that you are here because the Treasurer, Dean of the sciences, and I have all made time in our busy schedules to hear you out. Now, if you start back talking back and pulling rank I can easily have you thrown off the premises”

Twilight stood there motionless, emotions swirling around in her head like a swarm of mosquitos, each fighting for dominance in her conscious mind. The three ponies on the panel stared at her, expecting her to make a move or defend herself.

Twilight’s lips moved without her thinking and what she had been thinking for the last two hours of her presentation finally made it out, “It’s about the money and notoriety for you, isn’t it?”

The center pony on the panel replied, his voice slow, deliberate, and devoid of emotion “Get out of my sight”
There was only one correct responce, “Gladly”

The purple mare stormed out of the room, leaving all of her presentation material behind. Twilight’s felt flushed, anger welling up inside of her as she returned to the reception hall. She had expected them to critique her work and to be hard to impress, however she had not foreseen how little patience the university’s Director would have with her. The clock showed that it was only 2:00. Great, now I have a whole half hour to kill before my friends come to pick me up, Twilight thought as she sat on a wooden bench amid the commotion of the reception hall.

“Twilight Sparkle, is that you?” the voice sounded friendly, which was exactly what the purple pony needed right now
The voice was unfamiliar, although it vaguely reminded her some someone she had met before. The pony who had addressed her turned out to be a stone grey unicorn with a pure white mane and an atom for a cutie mark. He looked familiar however Twilight couldn’t place exactly where she had seen him before.

“You don’t remember me do you?” The grey pony asked, reading her black expression.

Suddenly it hit her “Wait, you went to Celestia’s school with me, right?” she vaguely recalled a pony who looked like this one in some of her classes back in the school for gifted unicorns.

“Yeah, you had quite a reputation back then. My name is Unforeseen Consequences since you don’t seem to remember” He said, filling in the gaps in Twilight’s memory.

“Oh, now I remember you, what have you been up to lately?” Twilight asked, the fire from before now dissipating.

“I got a job in one of the research labs a few years ago, I mostly work with projects involving theoretical physics and advanced…” He began, however Twilight noticed something out of the corner of her eye which drew her attention.

A pony stood in the middle of the hall, staring at Twilight with cold unblinking eyes. He stood as still as a statue while his distorted blue and green eyes observed her every movement. Instantly Twilight flashed back to a few moments before the event two weeks prior, this same stallion had disappeared into thin air before the surge of magic hit her. The strangest thing about it was that the ponies in the crowded hall all seemed to flow around him, not a single one noticing his presence.

The pony nodded at Twilight and picked up the briefcase lying next to him and then the purple mare blinked and the mysterious stallion vanished into thin air.

It took Twilight a second to realize it, but Unforeseen Consequences had been going on about his life the whole time she had been distracted “… the boss can be a real pain sometimes but you get over it, Twilight were you even listening to me?” he asked, finally noticing that his old acquaintance’s attention had drifted elsewhere.

“Oh yeah, I can imagine your boss being a jerk, I just was in a meeting with him” Twilight said, trying to make it seem like she had been paying attention.

“Let me guess, he said no to whatever your proposition was, also, what were you looking at over there?” he asked, aware that Twilight had just started paying attention at the end.

The purple only gave him a sheepish grin but dodged the question “You said you work in the physics department?”

“Fine so you won’t tell me, but yes I work with experimental magical physics”, He replied, a bit irritated by Twilight’s evasiveness

“If you have some free time than I might have some notes you might want to see”, Twilight began

Unforeseen Consequences returned a knowing grin before speaking “let me guess, you’re research proposal got denied and now you want me to look into it?”

“Guilty as charged” Twilight replied

“Fine I’ll try to snag your materials before they get thrown out” he said before hurrying in the direction of the meeting room.

______________________________________________________________________________
ONE MONTH LATER
______________________________________________________________________________

Spike plodded down the set of rickety old stairs which lead to Twilight’s underground laboratory, struggling to stay awake. As he reached the bottom the cause if his hardship lay before him in the form of a crazed unicorn mare.

“Did you bring me more coffee?” Twilight asked, her eye twitching and strands of her unkempt mane falling in front of her face.

“No Twi, don’t you think you’ve had enough”, the young drake said, noticing at least twenty recently discarded cups on the ground.

The unicorn just stared at him, her face twisting into an unreadable expression.

Spike pressed on, hoping that some of what he was saying was getting through to the pony “I brought you something you need more than extra caffeine…”

Twilight cut him off, her voice becoming boarder line aggressive “What do you think I need so badly?”

Spike felt a bit of blood leave his scaly face, however before either of them could get another word out a third voice sounded from behind the dragon “an intervention”

Spike stepped to the side and five mares filed down the stairs into the basement lab. The other elements looked at her; various looks of concern plastered across their faces, however none of them seemed overtly surprised.

Rarity was the first one to address Twilight “When was the last time you slept darling?”

“I’ll have plenty of them for that after I’m done” She replied, her trademark over determination rearing its ugly head.

The alabaster pony looked around, the piles of papers and tools scattered across the floor and table tops testifying to her purple friend’s single mindedness if nothing else.

Twilight paced around the small laboratory, muttering something which none of the others could discern.

Apple Jack was the next one to pipe up “Twi’ I’m starting to think that this is less about science and more about proving that pony from the univeristy wrong”

“Of course it’s about the science!” Twilight exclaimed defensively “What makes you think this is about one-upping some pony else?!”

The apple farmer dodged the question with one of her own, “Why can’t you take a break then, if it’s just about the science?”

Twilight’s expression faded into a blank mask “Is this some sort of test?”

Apple Jack just nodded, making sure not to break contact with her eccentric friend.

“Well it’s…I…uh…” The mare stammered, her voice fading into obscurity.

Before either the farmer of the librarian could respond Pinkie Pie spoke, even she seemed disturbed by Twilight’s recent behavior “What have you been doing down here anyway?”

Within a fraction of a second the air of confidence which Apple Jack had tried to wear down was present again, “I’m trying to open another portal like the one which brought that creature here”

This declaration came as a surprise to the majority of the room, all except for Twilight herself, who stood there with a satisfied grin on her face.

Then to everyone’s surprise Rainbow Dash spoke “So you’ve spent the past month tirelessly trying to bring back another creature like the one from before which, if you don’t remember, almost killed Spike!”

Twilight was quick to reply, however what the pegasus had said seemed to have forced her to reconsider what she was going to say, “Don’t get me wrong, I have no intention of hurting anyone, I just wanted to prove that I was right and that these portals are real. I’m on the edge of a massive breakthrough and I think that I have finally figured out how to do it”

Before any pony could ask any more questions Twilight walked over to a large metal cylinder with blinking lights on it and pulled off the lid. Smoke poured out of the canister as Twilight used her magic to remove a small rectangular object.

“I think that this is the key to opening a sustainable and controllable portal” she said triumphantly as she used her magic to hold the object in front of her friends.

The item in question did not look like anything exceptional or interesting to any pony in the room except is creator. It was a small green disk, about the width of an apple set in a black metal frame. The crystalline disk shimmered slightly as and warped the light, causing it to throw off a moving shadow.

Twilight could tell that nopony in the room shared in her enthusiasm and realized that she would need to explain why it was so important, “I think the portal from before was some sort of natural phenomenon, probably caused by some event in the parallel universe which involved the release of a massive amount of energy…”

However Apple Jack cut her off in the middle “Twilight, before you said that this was a portal to another planet, and now you’re saying that it was to another dimension, I’m confused”

“Not another dimension, a parallel universe…” Twilight explained, making sure to stress the difference before continuing with her explanation “I took another look at the notes I took on the radiation and came to that conclusion…”

Rarity was the next one to interrupt her “Darling, you don’t mean to say that the little monster which attacked Spike can just hop between universes on a whim”

Twilight scowled at both her and the orange farmer for their continued interruptions, “No, I’m saying that something gave the creature a push, probably some massive explosion of energy. Anyway, after a couple weeks of trial and error, I think that I finally created the key to opening a small yet sustainable portal. That green disk you were all so underwhelmed by is like a lens which focuses the energy from a special emitter I created. Combined they should allow me to create a similar portal on a much smaller scale”

All of the ponies in the room looked at least somewhat impressed, or not as bored in Rainbow Dash’s case.

“So you’re going to open a door to a new universe?” Fluttershy asked, breaking her silence

“It’s more like punching a hole through the fabric of reality, but I guess you could say that” Twilight said, her face contorting in to a slightly embarrassed grin.

The purple mare turned to a large desk in the corner of the room, the eyes of her friends still trained on her. The steel table seemed out of place in the oaken laboratory, especially with the wires and piles of notes littering its top. Using her hoof Twilight swept all of the materials off of the top of the table, leaving only a machine which none of the observers could identify. The homegrown device seemed to be the size of a helium tank which had been cut in half, with four claw like metal parts attacked to one end.

The unicorn absently fiddled with knobs and switches on the side of the contraption, muttering something which none of the observers could catch. For Rainbow Dash the boredom was palpable and she scanned the room for anything which could provide even the most menial entertainment. However her wandering eye found something which made her more than a little apprehensive, a massive hole scorched through the wall in front of Twilight’s contraption.

The sky blue pony spoke, her worry poorly hidden “Hey, uh, Twi’ is that hole in the wall from your ‘experiments’?”

“Yep, all of the failed attempts at opening the portal made the hole in the wall a little deeper”, the reply was disturbingly nonchalant

“Twi you live in a TREE house, trees are made of wood, wood burns very easily”, Apple Jack interjected, trying to get some sense through her friend’s thickening skull.

“Can you all stop talking, if I don’t get this calibration right then everything blows up in my face, literally”, Twilight said, her voice gaining a slight edge

“I had to put out the fires Twilight created when her tests didn't work, seven times” Spike said to the five other observers while he gave the scorched hole a weary glance.

In the time it had taken Spike to lament Twilight had set up a tripod in front of the machine and placed the small green lens on top of it.

“Prepare to witness scientific history!” Twilight exclaimed, her pride showing full force.

Before anypony could protest she pulled a lever and the machine jumped to life, emitting a deafening screeching noise which caused all of the ponies in the room to flatten their ears against their skulls. The pieces at the end of the machine began to spin faster and faster, causing sparks to shoot out of the end of the machine like dragon’s fire.

“This might get a bit loud!” Twilight screamed, doing her best to be heard over the already deafening clammer.

Right after the words left her mouth the pony’s horn flashed, her aura surrounding the machine for a split second. Slowly some of the observers started to back up towards the stairs, attempting to get as far away as possible in case this ‘experiment’ got even more out of hand. Before any of them managed to make it that far the deafening noise of the machine stopped and it released a vibrant green glow, blinding everyone in the lab. Everything shook violently and the occupants could hear things falling to the ground and shattering.

“It worked” Twilight euphorically shouted amid the chaos, drawing the attention of her still dazed friends.

The machine emitted a quiet humming noise, a stark contrast to the once deafening calmer. However when their eyes recovered their jaws dropped. A large green ball of energy floated in the middle of the room, occupying the place where the crystalline lens used to be. The portal looked like a green storm cloud which had been stuffed into a fish bowl, its thick green masses of energy swirling around and throwing out bolts of green lightning.

Twilight dashed over the table and feverishly scribbled notes while babbling excitedly “Test eight succeeded after reducing the SCR by forty four point two percent to compensate for the lambda particle dispersion”

To the rest of the room what she said was nothing more than a string of scientific jargon, however the swirling mass of energy in front of them let them all know that something groundbreaking had just occurred. The reactions among the observers varied, their expressions ranging from amazement to outright fear in Fluttershy’s case.

There was a long silence as everyone in the room just took in what was going on. Despite the range of reactions to the event, everyone, even its creator, suddenly began to feel as if something on the other side of the energy mass was watching them. Then, without warning the machine which had created the portal shut off, and the swirling mass of energy began to collapse in on itself.

“No no no no no!” Twilight exclaimed, desperately trying to fix the machine and stem the collapse of what she had strove to create for the past sleepless month.

Her efforts were in vain and without so much as a flash or noise the portal winked out of existence.

“Well it looks like I’m going to have to try again when I can fix this thing” the mare said, praying to Celestia that she could repeat the experiment.

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen any time soon sugar cube, the portal destroyed the lens thingy” Apple Jack said pointing a hoof at the space which the tripod and crystal had once occupied, now nothing more than a scorched ring on the floor.

Twilight just stared at the blackened floor, trying to absorb the information.

“It’s okay Twi’ you can just make another one with your science thingies” Pinkie pie said, regaining her usual optimism.

“I can't”, Twilight said, both her face and voice getting increasingly dejected.

“Didn't you write notes on how to make those green things?” Pinkie asked, confused by her friend’s lack of thoroughness.

“That’s the strange thing, I made it based on notes which I don't remember writing. A few days ago some papers with astounding levels of details and calculations just showed up on my desk. The emitter and the lens were both detailed in the new notes and I decided to recreate what I saw. It all made perfect sense and I didn't see the harm in trying it, granted it took a couple of tries to get the lens right. Then a few days ago all of the notes just vanished from the locked box I had put them in”

“So you built a machine which could rip a hole in the universe based on strange notes which just appeared in your lab one day?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying to grapple her eccentric fiend’s logic.

Twilight turned and looked the pegasus in the eye, “They were in my hoof writing”

______________________________________________________________________________
FIVE DAYS LATER
______________________________________________________________________________

Something was chasing Twilight, its shapeless black mass threatening to overtake the mare at any moment. The pony ran as fast as her legs could take her with tears in her eyes and fear in her heart. The cloud perused her through the ruins of a city, plumes of greasy smoke rising from the rubble of once proud buildings. Twilight could hear screams from other corners of the cities, echoing through the burned out husks of buildings.

At the first opportunity she darted into the remains of a store and hid behind the counter, struggling to stifle her sobs so her pursuer would not hear her. Seconds of hiding stretched into an eternity as the purple mare cowered under the counter which provided her only shelter, begging the powers that be to stop the menace.

A hole in the ceiling provided the only source of light in the room and the only window to the hellish world outside. In a fleeting moment of bravery Twilight craned her neck to look out, however it was even more dismal than she could have imagined; hundreds of predatory shadows darted around the ash filled sky, shooting off balls of fire which silenced the desperate cries of the survivors.

Twilight returned to her hiding place and the tears which had she had been fighting to keep back now flowed freely. She wept out of fear, out of despair, and most of all she wept for the ponies whose screams were permanently being silenced.

The despair finally broke her will and the mare stood up, welcoming the pursuer, hoping it would end her misery. The mass of fear and pain approached her slowly. As it drew closer the pony’s survival instincts fought against her broken spirit, forcing her to retreat from the approaching enemy. Twilight backed into a corner and without a warning the mass of energy lunged forward, consuming her.

The cloud of misfortune enveloped Twilight inspired pure fear and sorrow, the likes of which she had never felt before. However as her mind became less clouded Twilight felt it for the first time, the pain and fear was coming from the mass of darkness itself. Something forced its way into her mind and planted thoughts therein, please, help me I can’t take any more of this.

Twilight fell out of bed, drenched with cold sweat and hyperventilating. She ignored the pain of falling on to the oaken floor and took stock of her body, confirming that everything had been a nightmare. Eventually she managed to reign in her breathing and rapid heart rate and regained her composure. Twilight quickly got off the floor and looked out of her window, breathing a sigh of relief when the only thing that flew among the clouds were the weather ponies. However as soon as she managed to convince herself that it was a nightmare Twilight noticed something; ponies littered the street, each one moving to the center of town, and as she became more aware of the situation something else stood out to her, something which she hoped she would never have to hear: the Ponyville emergency siren.

She knew that the alarm meant something was wrong, very wrong, and that an emergency meeting would be held in town square. The pony wasted no time in looked for her scaly assistant, but to her surprise she caught him pacing back and forth in the corner of the room, absently chewing on his claw tips.

“What’s going on?” she asked as she walked towards the dragon.

“Well first you woke me up with all of your screaming, then the alarm started. Twilight I’m scared”, Spike said as he stopped his pacing and looked directly at her.

“I was screaming?” she asked, getting sidetracked

“Yeah, you started screaming in your sleep a while ago” he replied through a yawn

“Never mind that, let’s go” Twilight said as Spike hopped up on her back.

As the duo left the house Spike piped up “What do you think the alarm is about?”

“Maybe nothing, you never know, somepony might have turned it on as a prank” Twilight said, trying to convince herself of that more than anything else.

Rain tumbled out of the early morning sky like someone had decided to spray the entire town with a giant hose, making the walk to town hall a slow and messy endeavor. Weather ponies haphazardly flew around, busting clouds without rhyme or reason, causing little islands of dryness to form in the ocean of mud. The wingless ponies were forced to trudge through the filth, creating a collective air of grumpiness among the crowd making its way to town square. Overall none of the ponies seemed to be overly worried, the unspoken consensus seeming to be that what whatever was going on was probably a false alarm.

That illusion was shattered as they turned onto one of the main roads into town. Out of the corner of her eye Twilight noticed groups of ponies pulling large covered metal carts towards a clearing on the edge of town. Each one of them wore thickly padded olive green combat armor and matching helmets as well as black suits which concealed everything except for their eyes.

“Those are soldiers, actual soldiers, not royal guards” Twilight said, unable to take her eyes off the troops who were hauling dozens of the mysterious objects into town.

“Do you think that they have something to do with the alarm”, Spike asked as if it were a trivial matter, if he was afraid then he hid it very well.

“I don’t know, but I doubt that they would be here if nothing was wrong” the pony said, doing her best to feign confidence, but falling short.

The mud on the ground turned a two minute walk into ten minutes of silence, both the pony and dragon lost in thought. When they finally arrived a much different scene greeted them, whereas new arrivals seemed calm and detached from the events of the morning, the previous occupants of the square were in a frenzy. Soldiers in riot gear as well as the mayor’s aids walked among the crowd, quelling fights and calming ponies in abut different ways.

They took a spot on the edge of the crowd, trying to stay away from the more agitated ponies. The panic of the crowd quickly managed to infect the new arrivals, causing some of the ponies around Twilight to make wild speculations about the situation. Eventually Twilight noticed one of the mayor’s aids walking by in a heavy raincoat and didn’t hesitate to flag her down.

The pony hurriedly walked over, moving around the few ponies which stood between them.

“Is this an emergency Miss. Sparkle? If it’s not then I can't stop for long” she said hurriedly, obviously not wanting to waste any time.

Twilight cut to the chase “What's going on, why is everypony so scared?”

The dark green mare in front of her replied in a somewhat hushed voice, not wanting any of the other new arrivals to hear about the circumstances prematurely “About an hour ago a massive trainload of soldiers and military equipment rolled into the station, their leader ordered the Mayor to raise the alarm but wouldn't explain why. Then they started hauling those giant metal carts into town, but nopony knows what’s in them or what they’re for. The most unsettling part is that once the weather ponies started removing the storm we got a glimpse of Canterlot. I hope to Celestia that nothing is seriously wrong. Listen I have to go now, just wait for a few minutes, their leader is going to explain what's going on”

With that the olive colored pony dashed off on her unknown errand. What the pony said about Canterlot didn't sit well with Twilight, especially after her nightmare about the burning city. Through the cloud clearing the unicorn could see the majestic city, except that it was surrounded by a massive defensive force field. It looked like the one her brother had created before the changeling attack, however that it glowed deep red instead of purple and blocked out any view of the city, making it look like a giant red ball had fallen out of the sky and crushed the city.

The shield around Canterlot, the sudden appearance of the military, and the sirens all played into Twilight’s increasing paranoia and as her sense of security broke down the panic of the crowd swept her up. Without warning Spike belched and jade flame erupted from his mouth, a scroll materializing from the smoke. The unexpected message caused him to fall flat on his face, however he managed to keep the royal scroll from falling into the mud with him. Using her magic Twilight unceremoniously took the parchment from the dragon and deposited him back on the muddy earth.

As her assistant wiped the filth from his scales and angrily muttered something about respect while Twilight opened the sealed scroll. The first thing to jump out at the mare was her mentor foregoing any formalities and cutting to the chase. Twilight read the letter hastily, her eyes moving across the paper faster than she thought was possible before

“Twilight it’s imperative that you find the leader of the soldiers in Ponyville as soon as possible; his name is Colonel Leer and he is expecting you so you shouldn't expect anyone to stop you. Get the elements and the five other bearers and do what he tells you to do. I know you're going to fight him over what he is going to say, but please remember that I am the one who gave the order, not him. I only hope that you can forgive me for this
-Princess Celestia”

The cryptic letter only served to heighten Twilight’s sense of paranoia, sending her mind and heart racing. A loud noise sounded from the center of town square and everypony stopped what they were doing and looked in that direction. They mayor, who had previously been trying to calm ponies down, got off of her stage and somepony new replaced her. A dark brown unicorn stallion in an olive green uniform replaced Mayor Mare on the mobile stage.

The battle-scarred stallion was tall and his very presence commanded respect. A hush fell over the crowd as all of them waited for him to do something.

Nopony had to wait long, he began to speak in a voice so loud that it had to be magically amplified “My name is Colonel Leer. A changeling hive has been discovered deep within the Everfree forest and Princess Celestia has tasked my battalion with dealing with it. Unfortunately, until we have dealt with the problem Celestia has ordered a mandatory evacuation of this town...”

Those last words sent some of the ponies in the crowd into an even more panicked frenzy, however the soldier on the platform drew a revolver from a his holster and fired three rounds into the air; instantly everyone in the crowd fell silent, although a few of them looked up into the sky, wary of where the tiny lead projectiles would land.

The Colonel continued as soon as the crowd fell silent “Don't worry, those were blanks. Now, as I was saying Princess Celestia has ordered a mandatory evacuation for twenty four hours while we deal with the hive. Your town has been divided into four sectors, each sector will be evacuated by train to a facility in Manehattan where you will be provided with everything you need until the evacuation order has been lifted. None of your property will be damaged and....”

However a rather outspoken male member of the crowd piped up, “Bullshit! This has to do with Canterlot doesn't it?!” he was probably from out of town since only griffins and Rainbow Dash cursed like that.

That remark sent the crown into another confused frenzy, the voices of hundreds of ponies screaming for answers filled the air, forcing Twilight to cover her ears. Some of the more unruly ponies in the crowd tried to break through the ring of riot troops who guarded the stage.

The colonel nodded to one of the riot troops who then shouted an order which Twilight could not hear over the roar of the crowd. Each of the riot soldiers activated a magical emitter on their right foreleg at the exact same time, causing dozens of energy shields to appear. The troops marched against the unruly mob, their shields overlapping in a phalanx formation. Most of the mob calmed down and backed away as soon as the soldiers deployed their shields, however some of the more aggressive ones still tried to fight the soldiers. The few who did not submit were bashed with the magical riot shields which, as Twilight noted, released some sort of electrical pulse when used offensively.

With the riot now quelled the soldiers returned to their previous formation and deactivated their shields. Twilight felt a bit of rage boil up in her stomach, however she held it back better than the poor ponies and griffin who were now unconscious as a result of the suppression. The princesses had always condemned the use of fear tactics like that as backwards and barbaric and the equestrian military had never once used force of any kind against unarmed civilians. It disgusted her that they were willing to stoop to such low levels as the slightest provocation.

No one dared interrupt the colonel again “Canterlot is undergoing a routine test of their shielding spells, this is completely unrelated. I am not here to hurt you and I swear that nothing bad will happen to you or your property; but for now I need your full cooperation. You will return here as soon as we finish and everything will be fine. Now return to your homes and wait until your sector is called for evacuation”

Nopony dared move for a few seconds after he finished his address, however with time they silently dispersed. Twilight and Spike began to walk towards the stage, however somepony tapped her on the shoulder.

It was one of the normal soldiers without the riot armor “Miss Sparkle, Colonel Leer is expecting you in town hall, we have found the other element bearers and they are on their way. Do you need someone to retrieve the elements of harmony for you?”

“No” Twilight said reproachfully, she then turned to Spike and continued in a much calmer voice “Can you run and get them, I don’t want any soldiers in the library”

The baby dragon ran off on his errand while the soldier escorted the reluctant unicorn towards town hall.

The inside of the building had been transformed into a full on command center with maps littering get tables and ponies in green uniforms darting back and forth, speaking in unintelligible strings of jargon. Five multicolored mares sat in the corner with worry written across their faces, a stark contrast to the rest of the room’s occupants.

The colonel walked over and the four other element bearers began to bombard him with questions, their voices running together “Where did the changelings come from, are my animals going to be okay, what if you can't contain the problem, Is Canterlot being invaded?”

The officer only replied to the last question, “Yes Canterlot is being invaded, however the shield is there to contain the threat and not to keep it out”

Pinkie Pie interrupted the soldier “are the changelings in Canterlot already?!”

“We lied, there are no changelings. I said that because the reality of the situation is much more terrifying” the soldier began, “Three hours ago a massive portal opened up, destroying the castle, luckily Celestia out at the time, Luna however was not so lucky. Then two hours ago things started to come out of the portal and indiscriminately fired at civilians and royal guards. The royal guard’s spears and swords were totally ineffective against the enemy and we had no choice but to get as many civilians out as possible and seal the city off to prevent the attackers from spreading any further”

“So you just left the rest for dead?!” Rainbow dash practically screamed at the soldier

“We had no other option, it was either that or let those machines spread across all of Equestria” He replied

Twilight asked the next question “Then why are you here and not in Canterlot, fighting the invaders”

The question seemed to his the soldier pretty hard since his reply seemed almost shameful, if not remorseful “Princess Celestia ordered that every town within a ten mile radius of Canterlot be evacuated and that we set up artillery cannons”

“For what?!” Twilight exclaimed, desperately hoping that the answer she had come up with was wrong.

However her assumption was flawless “We have been ordered to shell Canterlot if the shield falls”

“But you’ll hurt the ponies in the city” Fluttershy said, her voice quavering.

“I'm afraid that's an acceptable loss” The colonel said emotionlessly

That was the straw that broke Twilight’s back and when she spoke it was with unrestrained fury “How dare you. What, do you think this is a war zone?! Those ‘acceptable losses’ as you call them are ponies just like you and me; mothers, fathers, foals for Celestia’s sake, and you want to kill them all?!”

The colonel stood rigid and raised a hoof as if he was going to strike Twilight, however he resisted.

“Tell me Miss Sparkle, what would you do if you were told to kill everyone you ever loved; how would you feel if you said yes” his voice was like the calm before a storm however his eyes contained more fire than the purple pony knew was possible.

Then the dam broke, “Don't you dare take me for some lunatic who kills because he enjoys it, IF it were up to me then we would be in Canterlot, helping evacuate as many ponies as possible. Having to destroy the town I grew up and the capital of the country I love is tearing me up inside. But you know what, none of this is about me or how I feel, it’s about making sure that as many ponies as possible are safe. I took an oath Miss Sparkle, an oath to protect Equestria and follow the princess’ rule, and if saving the lives of two hundred million ponies means sacrificing three hundred thousand then I am willing to do that no matter how it affects me. If we cannot stop what has invaded Canterlot then I guarantee that there will be no survivors, anywhere in Equestria”

The soldier paused for breath before regaining a small amount of his composure, “We both have the potential to stop this, and your way is a hell of a lot less bloody than mine. Every second you wait here and argue with me more innocents get killed by the cold heartless war machines attacking the city. If you close the portal using the elements of harmony then I won’t be forced to destroy the city and anyone left in the city will survive”

He paused and let that sink in for a moment before saying his final piece in the same dangerously calm voice as he started with “I am going to give you two options: you can either stop dragging your ass and seal the portal, I will order them to drop the shield and start shelling the city right now!”

With his ultimatum issued the soldier returned to his maps and resumed issuing orders to his underlings. Spike walked in a few moments later, the case which contained the elements of harmony clutched in his scaly claws. The drake handed each of the mares their respective element and the party of seven walked out of the town hall, a soldier escorting them to the train station.
During the altercation all of the clouds had been cleared, bathing the soaking earth in sunlight. The area was now devoid of civilians, leaving only the armor clad soldiers and their mysterious carts. Teams of troops worked to remove the coverings from the carts and set up the objects within. It took them less than a minute to fully set up the artillery cannons contained in the crates and load them, their dull grey gunmetal gleaming in the sunlight.

Twilight counted dozens of them, all pointed towards the capitol and ready to fire. Then she remembered the soldier said that every town within a ten mile radius had the same thing going on. That worked out to seven towns, each with dozens of cannons ready to bombard the city. That amount of firepower would not just stop the invaders, it would reduce the capitol to a smoldering crater. From then on Twilight did her best to stay detached, knowing that emotions would only hamper her judgment.

“There is a special train to Canterlot waiting for you at the station, every other train has been pulled to help with the evacuation efforts” The escort informed them as they drew closer to the station.

Ponyville station was too small for its current task, forcing the evacuation trains to line up since only one could pull up to the platform at a time. Twilight counted at least five engines, each with ten or more passenger cars in tow. The townsponies formed orderly lines under the watchful eye of riot soldiers, no one daring to make a seen as they streamed into the evacuation trains. The trains were forced to line up on the tracks since the single platform of the station was reserved for the train carrying the sick and elderly.

The rage which boiled up inside Twilight during the meeting was gone now. Although it pained her to admit it, the Colonel was right, if what was attaching Canterlot could destroy the city and overwhelm the guards in a matter of hours than there was no telling how bad it would get if they were allowed to escape.

Their designated train sat at the end of the long line, except it pointed towards Canterlot instead of the Manehattan line. The so called train was so old that the exterior was entirely rusted over. The six mares boarded the glorified scrap heap, however as Spike tried to get on Twilight stopped him, saying that it would be better if he evacuated with the rest of the town.

The soldier who had escorted them to the train got on as well and acted as the engineer, stoking the fire and setting the train in motion. Ponyville quickly faded into the distance, however the smoke billowing out from the line of evacuation trains could be seen for miles. Nopony spoke for the duration of the trip however their ranging expressions showed what they were feeling; Dash, AJ, Rarity, and Pinkie all appeared nervous while Fluttershy was outright terrified. Although none of them spoke a common thought ran among them, what’s attacking Canterlot?

The shielded city loomed in the distance, the opaque red force field adding the sense of mystery and fear. Then the shield flickered for a fraction of a second, sending the collective pulse of the enclosed train car skyrocketing. However the red dome returned less than a second later. After that no one dared take their eyes off of the city, fearing that the shield would fall again.

As they pulled into the station a royal guard ran up to the train to greet the prospective heroines, however as he did the shield failed, opening Pandora’s Box. Suddenly the air was filled with what sounded like mechanical roars and the reverberating boom of explosions.

The guard who had some to meet them at the train jumped in and told all of the occupants to get as low as possible.
The armor clad pony spoke with urgency “You need to get in there and close the portal now or else those things are going to spread everywhere”

“Is anyone alive in there?” Twilight asked, hoping for a ray of sunshine amid brewing storm clouds of misfortune.

The pegasus replied in a hushed voice as if he were afraid that whatever was out there could hear him “some of the citizens are hiding in the caverns underground where the creatures couldn't get them, and some others were evacuated when it started. We only confirmed that thirty percent of the population is safe”

“Did Princess Luna get out alright, and what about the other seventy percent?” Twilight asked, trying in vain to cling to that last ray of sunshine

“Were assuming that anyone who isn't accounted for is dead” he replied coldly.

The purple mare felt all of the blood drain from her face as she calculated how many lives had been lost.

Rainbow dash was the next to speak, “We need to get going, there’s still a chance that we can stop this”

With that injection of courage the element bearers dashed off into the ruined city, hoping to salvage the situation.
The portal loomed in the sky, spewing out green lightning. Massive flying machines flowed out of the portal although it was impossible to tell what they looked like at that distance. The situation was even more dismal than any of them could imagine, the once great city now lay in ruins; plumes of greasy smoke rose from the husks of burned out buildings, screams could be heard from every corner of the city, and giant machines which darted around the sky now spread out into the surrounding countryside, raining down death and destruction.

All of the mares stood there, shocked by what they were seeing, and then somewhere in the distance somepony heard an artillery shell land. The explosion was enough to jar them from their petrified state.

Rainbow Dash called out over the sounds of the artillery strikes, her voice coming close to getting lost amid the increasing number of explosions “Come on! Maybe we still have...”

However a new voice finished the sentence for her “Time?”

Everyone looked around, searching for the source.

The echoing voice came again from all sides as every other sound ceased to exist. “It is always such a shame when world like yours meet this fate”

“Show yourself!” Rainbow Dash yelled into the sky

“As you wish” it replied and then a pony materialized out of thin air

Time itself grinded to a halt as soon as the pony came into full view and Twilight instantly recognized him.

“It's you?!” Twilight exclaimed, instantly remembering the strange pony who had been following her for the past two months.

“What do you means worlds like this one?” somepony among them asked uncertainly.

The grey stallion did not reply, however the world around them faded away into blackness and was replaced with a new scene. The seven of them now stood in a burning room made of corrugated orange steel. A massive device dominated the center of the space, creating a column of green energy and spewing out orange lightning bolts as well as thick black smoke. The walls were all marred with deep scorch marks and piles of debris cluttered the floor. Through a shattered window Twilight could see bodies, or at least mangled remains of them, lying in puddles of blood and twisted metal fragments.

That sight made the purple pony feel nauseous and she quickly averted her gaze. Without warning the world shifted back to its original state except that everything was frozen in the moment. The six mares looked around, the artillery shells which had threatened to annihilate them at any moment now hung in midair like someone had pressed the pause button on the movie.

The grey pony piped up and turned towards Twilight “I must say that your skills as a scientist are impressive. You accomplished what took this world years in under a month, although you did receive some outside assistance”

Rarity was the first one to work up the nerve to talk, “Where…Where was that” she asked, tripping over the words.

The stallion had a strange way of speaking, stressing and holding seemingly random syllables while remaining emotionless “Ground zero of the event which caused this”

Twilight repeated the question hoping for a more specific answer, however none came.

The grey pony’s body faded away until it was nearly gone, however the space he had just occupied began to shift and change. Through the strange space the six element bearers saw images of burning cities and empty wastelands which seemingly stretched for miles. The images changed faster and faster, revealing more and more of the dismal places.

As the mare’s watched the scenery transition the voice of the grey stallion cut in, “Your will be consumed and assimilated just like these ones and you are powerless to stop it”

“Gee, thanks for telling us that” Dash said sarcastically as she stared of into the blackness that surrounded them.

The stallion faded back into view and continued to address the six mares “However there is one ray of hope for your planet. My employer saw the signs and sent me to observe you and send back reports. Miss Sparkle was the only one to notice my presence”

“E…Employer’s” Fluttershy barely managed to stammer out

The stallion didn’t even turn to address her directly “Yes, and you have impressed them so much that they have sent me here to make you an offer. I can save you from this nightmare and bring you to a safer place, only if you agree to end this invasion, or I can leave you here to get torn apart by the canons and shrapnel”

“Who do you work for, what do try get out of this?!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the mysterious pony

He casually adjusted a black tie which hung around his neck before continuing on in the creepily calm voice “I don’t believe that I’m at liberty to say more than they want these invaders gone as much as you”

Twilight turned to the five other ponies and made a motion for them to get closer.

She spoke in a low voice, not wanting the grey pony to hear them “If he can get us out of the city then we get a second chance to end this”

Dash spoke next, her tone more aggressive and dripping with mistrust “how do you know that he is not one of these invaders, you know, the ones slaughtering innocents left and right”

“I don’t know, but its either we take a leap of faith or we let the artillery fire turn us to Swiss cheese” Twilight replied, hoping that the grey pony was telling the truth.

They broke up the huddle and each of them nodded to the grey pony in turn. Then without warning the world vanished from underneath them as they faded into unconsciousness.

______________________________________________________________________________

SUBJECT: TWILIGHT SPARKLE
STATUS: ASSIGNMENT POSTPONED
SUBJECT WILL BE INVALUABLE IN THE COMING CONFLICT

______________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note

So here is the prologue of the Half-Life crossover i have been writing and it only took three times as long as i said it would. Just so you know Unforeseen Consequences is NOT going to become a Gordon Freeman analogue so please don't complain about that. I am looking for an editor and proofreader to help me with this story, Pm me if your interested. If you are going to dislike it then please tell me why, If i don't know what i did wrong then i cant fix it later.