Aliens: New Worldby Spooky ArmaliteChaptersInterval 1: PreparationsInterval 2: DevelopmentsInterval 3: EncountersInterval 4: BeginningsInterval 5: InteractionsInterval 1: Preparations---- Canterlot Science Pavilion, Equestria---- “You'll do fine my little pony.” A warm loving voice said to the nervous lavender coated unicorn. The voice belonged to the regal alicorn by the name of Princess Celestia. “B-But Princess, what if something goes wrong? What if I do something wrong? What if I find killer aliens that eat ponies? What if it destroys Canterlot? What if-” The unicorn's nervous rant was cut off as the ivory alicorn said assuredly, “I have thought of these outcomes myself, and I have taken the necessary precautions. The pavilion will be protected by my finest guards. You mustn't dwell on the “what ifs” they can overcome your sense of reason.” As she said this, she pulled back the red curtain behind them ever so slightly. On the other side, hundreds of ponies waited anxiously to see what the unicorn was going to unveil. “It'll be okay Twilight.” Celestia said to the unicorn. “You'll do great.” She added warmly, before giving the young unicorn an encouraging push towards the curtain. Twilight took a deep breath, and stepped out onto the stage, which was clear, save for a small table for anything she found. She was met with a formal applause as she took a small bow, hiding her nervousness. “Good evening everypony!” She said, projecting her voice towards the ponies in the back. “As many of you know, I recently discovered, what may possibly be, a passageway to other universes.” She said, making sure to sound confident in herself. “These other universes, are essentially alternate realities. Some of them are thousands of years in the future, some are thousands of years in the past, and some are in present day. But all of them, are different. Whether it be something as small as reading a novel or not, each universe is different.” She explained. “Tonight, I will be demonstrating this.” She said, waiting for the murmurs to die down. Twilight looked at the front row, where her six friends, along with the two princesses and her brother, along with his wife, Cadence sat. How Celestia managed to get there, she didn't know, nor did she question it; she had much more important things to worry about. The second Princess, Luna, sat to Celestia's right on a soft mat. Luna was a few years younger than Celestia, and it showed. To Celestia's left, sat Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor. All of them, aside from Spike her number one assistant and baby dragon, Cadence and Shining Armor, were wielders of the Elements of Harmony. The Elements were used to banish evil from their land of Equestria. Shining Armor was Twilight's older brother, and captain of the Celestial Royal Guard. He was currently off duty to attend Twilight's unveiling, with his wife Cadence, Twilight's former foalsitter. Spike gave her a reassuring thumbs up, and Applejack gave her a confident wink. Twilight gave a wink back, small enough that nopony else saw it, then backed away the crowd, and lowering her horn towards the center of the stage. Her horn lit a dazzling purple, intensifying and becoming more spherical. With a bright purple flash, a small note dropped from thin air in the direction she was pointing. Twilight felt a wave of disappointment, fear, and anxiety flood through her as she watched the small letter fall to the ground. ---- Insurgent Complex, planet BG64---- “Fall back to checkpoint delta, and rendezvous with Beta team!” A voice shouted through staff sergeant Mack Tiberius' headset. The voice belonged to 2nd lieutenant James Macklin, the mission controller for the operation. “You heard the LT! Styles, lay down suppressing fire, and follow up behind!” Tiberius shouted to his squad as he brought his M41A pulse rifle up over the concrete barrier and fired off a three round burst in the direction of the insurgents. Private first class Thomas Styles leaned out from behind a large indigenous tree, and started spraying with his smartgun. Despite his strong build and aggressive appearance, Styles was a geek at heart. A small disc with “Old Skool” below it was painted on his chest plate, further proving his geekiness. That didn't stop him from blasting an insurgent to bits with his smargun. The paramilitary complex was surrounded by dense jungle, effectively blocking the APC from entering. The insurgents had obtained advanced military hardware, and were threatening to use it on one of Wayland Yutani's freighter ships. “Shit! Samuels got hit!” Private Katie Houston shouted as she ducked behind the overturned husk of a jeep, private Flag Samuels dead in the dirt next to her. Katie had short golden blond hair, with small brown highlights, though it was hidden by her helmet. Samuels' helmet lay in the dirt next to him, a large hole in the front. “Damn-it, sniper!” She shouted again, as she attempted to break cover, but was pushed back as a high caliber round slammed into the ground in front of her. “Roger that! Hudson! Get on it!” Tiberius ordered as he nailed an insurgent who had darted from cover in an attempt to reach the relative safety of a concrete block of a building. Over the sound of pulse rifle rounds, and Styles' smartgun, a loud blast echoed off the trees as Tiberius saw a man careen over the edge of a small platform, high in one of the surrounding trees. “Nailed it.” Private First Class Riley Hudson said, as he worked the bolt of his M64B sniper rifle. “Uh, sir I think... Oh fuck!” Hudson screamed as, overhead, an RPG raced towards the rock outcrop he was perched on. Hudson's scream was abruptly cut short as the grenade detonated on the outcrop and blasted it to pieces. “Hudson's down!” Tiberius shouted, as more and more insurgents were streaming from buildings. He watched Houston dart over to where he was kneeling. “Sir! We can't retreat! They got us pinned down, and Beta team's in deep shit!” She shouted, as bullets ricocheted off the barrier. “What?! What happened to Beta?! Fuck!” Tiberius shouted, ducking his head down further when a bullet pinged off the top of his helmet. “They got ambushed!” She shouted in response. “Styles is down!” Private first class Ralph Cook screamed through the microphone. Tiberius heard the sound of Styles screaming, and his smartgun going off at as his finger twitched spasmodic on the trigger. “Sir! We have to-” Houston was cut off as one of Style's spray bullets smashed into her forehead, punching a round clean through her head. She snapped backwards, and collapsed to the jungle floor. “Fuck!” Tiberius screamed as Houston's blood sprayed in his face. He heard Cook scream in pain, and his weapon cease firing. “Tiberius, pull out! Pull out now! Beta team's down pull out!” Macklin shouted to him in near panic. Tiberius wiped the blood from his eyes, and saw a pulse rifle aimed at his head. “Shit.” Was all he said before the rifle discharged, spraying his brains across the topsoil. ----Wayland Yutani Cooperation Marine transport vessel “War Game”---- “Gah fuck!” Tiberius shouted as the virtual reality training simulator broke connection. He ripped the helmet off and clutched at his head, making sure it was still intact. All around him in the simulator room, the rest of his platoon was groaning and suffering the same kind of insomnia as him. Tiberius sighed and stood up from the small pod he was in. He stepped onto the cold white tile floor. The room was a sterile white which seemed to assault his eyesight at every angle. There was a single door on the opposite side of the room from him. He saw Hudson sitting in his pod groaning and stretching his muscles. “Damn, we're getting fucking lousy.” He whispered to Hudson, who nodded in agreement. Tiberius glanced at his monitor. Six kills, nine wounds. Not too bad. Then, he glanced at R.J Hanlon Beta team's smartgunner's monitor. Twenty two kills, thirty five wounds. R.J noticed Tiberius staring and said, “They ran at me like fucking zombies. RATATATATAT!” He said, making the motion of his smartgun kicking in his hands, as he swung the imaginary weapon around the room. Macklin chose that time to enter the simulator room, with King, the android assigned to the team. “Sheckly! What the hell was that!?” Macklin shouted to private first class Matt Sheckly, Beta team's sharpshooter. “Chikusho temee” Beta team's ammunition's expert, corporal Rin Han said to Sheckly scornfully as she walked past. Rin had been born and raised on Kana Yama, which was founded by the Japanese. It was a dangerous mountainous planet, which offered little. That being said, she was undoubtedly one of the most, as Sheckly says, “Bad-ass bitches in the Marine Corp.” “You don't take potshots at windows!” Macklin said, shaking his head. “If we want to be better than “Gorman's Grunts”, we have to do better.” He said, looking over his group. “Fuck Gorman's Grunts!” R.J exclaimed in his deep loud boastful voice. “And fuck my brother too.” Hudson said smirking, whilst taking a long drag from a cigarette he'd pulled from his shirt pocket. “That's right, now, head out and get some chow, orders came in for a rescue op. I will brief you all after chow.” Macklin said. This was met with grumbles and low voiced complaints. “I know, I know, but when we get this done, the Corp will have a nice fat bonus waiting for you all.” He said raising an eyebrow as the mood shifted dramatically from everyone slouching and grumbling, to everyone quickly filing out of the room to the mess hall. “Well that worked.” King commented as the last soldier, Cook, filed out. Macklin grinned wryly. “Always does. C'mon.” He gestured before following the soldiers. Ten minutes later, “Macklin's Maniacs” were seated around the mess hall tables. The whole room had a metallic shine to it. Even the food seemed to unnaturally shine due to the amount of preservatives in it. At the center table, Hudson, Tiberius, Hanlon, Houston, and Sheckly were seated together, enthralled in a deep conversation. “Well, yeah Will's an ass, but he's also one of the best techies I've ever seen.” Hudson said, a tiny hint of pride in his voice as the discussion rotated around Gorman's Grunts. He gave Houston a quick smile, “Not to say that YOU'RE not the best, he just shows it more.” He said assuredly. Tiberius pointed at his sharpshooter with the butt of his cigarette, and said, “Yeah, but I'll bet anything he'd crack under pressure.” Hudson laughed out loud, “I never said he wouldn't! He always was kind of a pussy.” “Now, Vasquez, There's a pussy I wouldn't mind pounding.” R.J said loudly, winking towards Rin at the other table. Rin and Vasquez had met before and hadn't... agreed... on certain things. Specifically, who was the better bad-ass. Tiberius and Hudson had to step in before the argument came to blows, which was quickly about to happen. Rin flicked him off with a cold stare, and dug back into her cold pasta. R.J laughed, and blew a kiss in her direction. “Yeah well, I heard she's already got her eyes on someone.” Sheckly said chasing the last hard pea on his plate with his fork. “I heard that she and her smartgun partner, Drake, had a little something going on.” He followed up, before just picking the pea up and accidentally crushing it between his fingers. “Shit.” He mumbled shaking the smashed pea off his fingers. Private first class Acrope Maple, Beta team's technician, was sitting alone as he usually did, slowly spearing the pasta on his plate, and staring intently at it as he did. Meanwhile, sergeant Carter O'Brien walked into the room holding a fairly large amount of mail, both electronic and on paper. “Han! Hudson! Me. Styles!” He called out, sifting through the mail. The marines called stood and made for their respective mail. Then, they all filed out to view their mail in private. “Shit, no mail again?” R.J complained. “Must be cause I'm black. I get no love.” He said with mock sadness and shaking his head. “Aw, it's okay! I'm sure there's plenty of guys who love you!” Houston remarked assuredly, causing barking laughs from her table mates, and the finger from R.J. Meanwhile, Hudson closed the door to his tiny quarters and plopped down on the small bed. His letter was on classic paper, and had the Marine Corp seal on it. “Shit, that's never good.” He mumbled before opening the letter. Dear, Mr. Riley Hudson We regret to inform you, that your brother, private William Hudson Jr, is missing in action after a planet drop mission to LV-426. His unit was independent, and was not in contact with command during the operation. After roughly six hours on the surface, the processing station his unit was dispatched to detonated, creating a thermonuclear explosion. Radio contact with their vessel, “The Sulaco” has been unsuccessful, and no one could survive the blast near the plant. A unit will be dispatched to investigate the Sulaco. Until then, we offer our deepest condolences, and we will do everything in our power to locate your brother. Most Sincerely, Commander Luke Mason Commander Luke Mason And right there on the letter was a picture of when his little brother had first joined the corp. Still wearing that cocky ass grin. He was only twenty-two in the picture. That had been six years ago. And now... Hudson stared at the letter, then at the small mirror across from him. He saw rage. Raw, blinding, fury. Hudson calmly stood up, dropping the letter to the cold metal floor, and approached the mirror. He then cocked his fist back, and slammed it into the mirror, shattering it, and slicing his fist open. He continued to punch the already shattered mirror, screaming in rage. Speckles of blood flew onto the walls and onto his fatigues. But he didn't stop. He continued to punch the wall, denting the metal, and scream until his voice went hoarse. Only then did he stumble backwards, collapse onto the bed, and slam the back of his head against the wall. His right fist was a bloody, swollen, and lacerated mess of flesh and bone. He didn't care. He was so absorbed in his grief and rage, he didn't notice when R.J, Rin, and Styles ran into his room. He didn't notice when they lifted him off the bed. He didn't notice when they realized what had happened. He didn't notice when Macklin, and Samuels charged into the room. He didn't notice when his bloody raw fist slammed into Samuels' face. He didn't notice when R.J and Styles restrained him. He didn't notice anything but the blinding rage in him. And when they all left, nobody noticed the letter disappear in a flash of purple light. It was three hours later. Tiberius, Styles, R.J, Houston, King, Sheckly and Flynn were seated together in the mess hall. Corporal Archer Flynn was the pilot for Macklin's Maniacs, with private Karl German as her co-pilot. Samuels, Macklin, Rin, and Holman were in medical with Hudson. Private Jake Holman was Beta team's medic, and a good one at that, even if he was a bit... sick in the head. Samuels was sporting a broken nose, and a missing tooth. Hudson was far worse. He had broken every finger in his right hand, had severe lacerations, and a concussion from the impact against the wall. He also needed a new mirror. Overall, he would be lucky if he was ever able to use his right hand again. If so, he would continue his work for the glorious corp... if his psych profile was acceptable. If not, he would be sent back to LV-164, his home planet, and back to his family. One Hudson short. “Fucking Christ, I didn't know he had it in him.” Sheckly commented as he took a sip of water from a styrofoam cup. “Hudsons have always got it in them.” Tiberius said, taking a puff of his cigarette. “A friend of mine's dad actually worked with Hudson Sr. Said, that when the shit got real, that man went psycho. Just decimated anything that wasn't wearing the good ol' marine green, brown, and black. Kept going until a sniper bullet found him too. So honestly, I'm not all that surprised at how bad his flip-out was. What I am surprised though, was that he shocked anyway. I mean, it is the marines.” He said with a light shrug of his shoulders, and taking another drag of his cigarette. “Yeah, but he was rolling with Gorman's Grunts, and they're some bad mother fuckers. Maybe he thought they would be good enough not to worry.” R.J guessed standing up from his chair, and refilling his cup. “What I want to know, is what killed them.” Styles said, a small sketchbook in his lap. “He has a point.” King said somewhat admirably. “It said that the atmospheric processor detonated. They would've had plenty of time to evacuate. Whoever was down there, must have sabotaged their transport.” He pointed out. “Yeah, but who could?” Flynn asked. “Ferro was one tough bitch. She didn't let anyone mess with her ship, let alone sabotage.” “So who did it?” Styles asked, looking around at his comrades. He was met with the same looks he had. “More like “what” did it.” A voice said from the entrance of the room. Everyone turned and saw sergeant Carter O'Brien, Beta team's group leader, standing in the doorway. “What do you mean?” Tiberius asked raising an eyebrow. Carter calmly walked into the room, and sat down at the table. “I did a bit of research, they were sent to investigate a terraform colony they'd lost contact with. And, not only that, but they were sent with an “adviser” Apparently, she saw an alien once, killed it too.” He said almost quietly, like he wasn't allowed to share this information. “And, get this, the planet that she found the alien on? Was the planet the colony was on.” He said, sounding doubtful of the information himself. Tiberius clicked his tongue, “Huh, well if that's true, then whatever is down there must be one tough mother fucker.” He said O'Brien nodded, and continued. “Yeah, I read the report the adviser gave, Ripley I think. A parasitic creature that latches onto the host's face where it lays an egg. After it lays the egg, it falls off and dies. The egg hatches, then bursts from their chest a few hours later. The “chestburster” then grows to a large size, with intelligence that rivals that of a person. It bleeds concentrated acid for blood, and has a large sword like tail. It can scale walls, and waits to ambush it's prey. The report goes on to say how this thing wiped out the crew of a cargo vessel in under twenty-four hours, leaving only one survivor, who flushed it out the airlock. Warrant officer Ellen Ripley.” He'd obviously been doing his homework. “O'Brien, how the hell do you know all this?” Sheckly asked, in astonishment, mixed with confusion. “Having an officer's clearance allows me access to combat records, and such.” He replied with a shrug. “O'Brien, you don't HAVE an officer's clearance!” Tiberius said grinning, as he snuffed out his cigarette, now smoked down to his fingers, in a small ashtray on the table. His middle and fore finger, both had small burn scars from years of smoking down to the butt of the cigarette. Carter O'Brien simply grinned, and gave another small shrug. “All combat members, report to the shuttle bay! All combat members, report to the shuttle bay!” Macklin's voice blared over the speakers. Reluctantly ending the conversation, the group stood up, and jogged out the door towards the shuttle bay. ----Canterlot Science Pavilion, Equestria---- The attendees were less than thrilled when all that appeared was a small piece of paper, that ponies from the middle and back couldn't even see. Two particular ponies in the second row were deeply intrigued in the experiment. They, were a mint green unicorn, and a cream colored earth pony. They, were Lyra and Bon-Bon, two housemates who lived in Ponyville, along with Twilight and her friends. Technically, it was Bon-Bon's house with Lyra living upstairs, but the two acted like sisters. They rarely disagreed on anything, aside from one touchy subject – humans. Lyra was interested, almost obsessed with mythical creatures called humans, that she believes are from far in Equestria's past. Meanwhile, Bon-Bon was, not skeptical, just downright disbelieving of such silly presumptions of royal espionage and conspiracies, both of which Lyra seemed to think was affecting her everyday life. This made her difficult to room with, but Bon-Bon – somehow – managed. Lyra wasn't solely interested in humans however, that was her main interest, she was interested in anything non-Equestrian. In short, aliens. Bon-Bon didn't believe in that either. Come to think of it, there was a LOT that Lyra believed in, that, almost nopony else did. Lyra had physically forced Bon-Bon to come along to this unveiling, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little interested. Her first thoughts when the note came through was, 'That's it?' Some other ponies had the same reaction. Then she read it out loud. Twilight cleared her throat, Dear, Mr. Riley Hudson We regret to inform you, that your brother, private William Hudson Jr, is missing in action after a planet drop mission to LV-426. His unit was independent, and was not in contact with command during the operation. After roughly six hours on the surface, the processing station his unit was dispatched to detonated, creating a thermonuclear explosion. Radio contact with their vessel, “The Sulaco” has been unsuccessful, and no one could survive the blast near the plant. A unit will be dispatched to investigate the Sulaco. Until then, we offer our deepest condolences, and we will do everything in our power to locate your brother. Most Sincerely, Commander Luke Mason To the right of the letter was a picture of something Twilight never thought she'd see, or even thought existed. A human. It was tall, judging from the picture, maybe close to six hooves high, with short blond hair, and a young face donning a cocky grin that rivaled Rainbow Dash's. Twilight found it uncomfortable that the only thing she understood about the letter was the picture, which almost rocked her way of life. 'So humans are real and Lyra was right huh? I bet Bon-Bon's going to have a fit.' Twilight thought as the crowd shared Twilight's confusion at the letter. “Well.” She said, turning the letter over for anything else. The crowd was murmuring quietly; discussing the mysterious letter. Eventually, she levitated it to the table, and gently set it down, before facing the crowd again. “Let's try somewhere else.” She said, which was met with some applause, but not as much as before. What came next had better be good. ----Wayland Yutani Cooperation Marine transport vessel “War Game”---- The group of soldiers had gathered in the shuttle bay, while Macklin, and King stood before them. “I'm going to say this simply; rescue mission.” Macklin said, well, simply; which received groans from the collected squad. Hudson was there too, sporting a bandaged hand, and a small bandage around the crown of his head. Nearby, Samuels was sitting on a small, empty cargo crate with a black eye and a bandage over the bridge of his nose after Hudson had smashed it. Jake Holman was the one who'd patched up Hudson and Samuels after the incident. Holman was a great medic, probably because he had a couple screws loose. Not enough to get him section 8d, but enough that no one in the unit would want him at their back. Everyone would agree though, when the blood was being spilled, that man got rocking and rolling. So long as it wasn't his own blood. “There's a science outpost at coordinates, 97o north, and 103o east, planet LV-426.” As the lieutenant said this, the group all cut their eyes at Hudson, who sat stone faced, and staring at Macklin. Macklin quickly glanced at Hudson, then continued the briefing. “We lost communication with the outpost nine hours ago, and it still hasn't come back. Our objective is to locate and secure a team of scientists, and any equipment they may have.” He said. “We will be accompanied by a company Adviser, who will be joining us soon.” This was met with groans and grumbles. “Man, this sound a lot like Gorman's mission.” Sheckly whispered to O'Brien, who nodded back. “Uh sir, why is he coming?” Tiberius asked. “The science outpost is company property. As such, they want to ensure that it remains intact. We had an incident not to far from the outpost which resulted in an atmospheric processor being detonated.” There was no question now. Whatever had happened to Gorman's Grunts, was connected with this outpost. There was just too much for it to be coincidence. “Do we know what kind of opposition we'll be facing?” Rin asked, a small cigarette hanging loosely from her lips. “We don't know if there will be any opposition anyway.” Macklin said nonchalantly. The marines all glanced at each other as they shared one thought. 'yeah right.' “I want the dropship loaded for bear, and the APC packed away in three hours. Gear up.” Macklin ordered, before turning, and briskly walking away. At this, Tiberius and O'Brien stood and faced their group. “Alright, ya'll heard him, Styles and Houston, start loading the APC. Cook, I want all our weapons checked off and loaded. Samuels, get your medical gear loaded, and bring some extras, we don't know what's down there.” After a moment's hesitation, he added, “Hudson, you go with him, get that bandage changed.” He said, pointing to the bloody bandage on his hand. Hudson silently stood and followed Samuels out of the bay. “C'mon man, let's go.” Samuels said as he draped an arm over Hudson's shoulder and made their way to the medical bay. “Holman, go with them. Rin, go with Cook and get our gear ready. Hanlon, and Sheckly, start preparing the ship. Maple, I want you on the power loader.” O'Brien said to his team, who all stood and saluted, before jogging off to preform their designated duties. ----Coordinates 93o north and 102o east, Planet LV-426---- Private William Hudson was having a bad day. His day started out sucking, and it almost ended sucking. Luckily for himself, he didn't give up easily. After the last stand in the operation room, Hudson had been dragged down under the grating of the floor by one of those dirty fuckers. Luckily for him, the fucker had been too stupid to strip his weapons. After what seemed like hours of the damned thing lugging him down the seemingly never ending hallways with it's blade to his throat, and the motion tracker on his side constantly beeping non-stop the whole way, Hudson heard “Warning, evacuate immediately. You now have, thirty minutes to reach minimal safe distance.” The alien was startled and dropped Hudson, who quickly raised his service pistol and damn near clipped it's head off with the amount of rounds he pumped into it. However, Hudson didn't have much time to celebrate as his motion tracker started to pick up more readings. “I really want to smash this fucking thing.” Hudson gritted, before lifting it up and reading it. Five contacts, two meters. “Oh. Fuck!” Hudson shouted and scrambled down the grated hallway. The contacts filed out of a small vent to Hudson's right, and slowly stalked forward. Hudson pumped three rounds into the group, before turning and sprinting down the hallway. “Run!” Hudson screamed to himself as he heard the bastards give chase. Their foot and claw falls echoed through the empty corridors. He could hear their ragged breaths and hisses, boosting him forward as the red emergency lighting flung the corridor into a hellish scene. There was an open door ahead, and one Hudson was just looking for. A thick metal blast door. There was a small electronic panel on the wall next to it. Only problem was, there was no power, due to those black scaly bitches. So, with Hudson's electronic knowledge, he raised his pistol and pumped two rounds into the panel. The door closed faster than he'd expected. No, closed isn't the right term, fell, is more suitable. Hudson slid for home base just as the door slammed shut, splitting one of the things in half with a pitiful scream. Hudson laughed wildly as he picked himself up. “FUCK YEAH!” He shouted, as he saw a small all-terrain surveyor. Then Hudson remembered something. Acid for blood. Hudson glanced behind him, and was already sprinting for the surveyor as he saw the acid eating away at the bottom of the door. The room flashed with the red emergency lights as Hudson ran towards the surveyor. Then, he saw yet another problem. The door leading to the outside world, to his freedom, was shut, with no power to open it. “You MOTHER FUCKER!” Hudson screamed in rage, as he changed direction and made a mad beeline between crates and shipping containers towards a small power box next to the door. Hudson skidded to a halt in front of the box, and ripped it open. Then, he pulled out his PDA, and fumbled for the adapter cord. “Bitch, bitch, BITCH!” Hudson hollered as he finally managed to connect his PDA to the box with shaky hands. Hudson cast a glance at the door, which was slowly being eaten through. Hudson began to furiously tap at his PDA. <Route emergency power <Warning, routing the power could cause failure in other devices running on emergency power. Would you like to continue? <Accept. <... Route complete <Open surface entrance <Warning, command failed, safety protocol engaged. “I WILL RUIN YOUR SHIT!” Hudson screamed as he continued attempting to open the door. <Override safety protocol, command 0-69A <Warning, are you sure? “Yes you computer bitch!” Hudson hollered as he accepted the command, to be rewarded with the sound of hydraulics, and the large door sliding upward, allowing the dirt, and dust to blow blow in with almost gale force. Hudson dropped his PDA, letting it hang by the cord as it bumped against the metal wall, and sprinted back to the surveyor. Hudson reached the door, and ripped it open, before jumping in, and literally, punching the ignition. As soon as it was on, Hudson slammed on the gas. The force of the acceleration pushed Hudson into the seat, and slammed the door that Hudson had left open closed. Hudson smashed crates and tanks of oxygen out of the way, and he plowed forward to the door. In his review mirror, he could see the bastards crawl out, and stand on two legs, before screeching at Hudson as he stuck his left hand out the window and flipped them the bird. The aliens let out one final horrible screech, before Hudson sped off into the wastes of LV-426. Behind him, the aliens stood staring at the space their prey had escaped off to. Their Queen ordered them not to leave the area, and the Queen knows best. None of them noticed when Hudson's dangling PDA disappeared in a flash of purple light. ----Canterlot Science Pavilion, Equestria---- Twilight observed the small object with great interest. She'd needed something big, and she got it. It was a small square object with a glass-like screen on one side with letters and numbers on it. She gently laid it on the table, and, with her horn, tapped one of the small keys on the front. <Warning, access denied, please enter password: _________ Twilight's face scrunched up, but at the same time, she was fascinated by this small object. Wherever this had come from, was obviously far more advanced than Equestria. Though, the whole time, she couldn't push the human out of her mind. A human, a real human! This was turning into quite the experience. Twilight faced the crowd once more. “Let's see what else we can find.” ----Wayland Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, LV-426---- Larsen could see it as he raced down the sterile white hallway, his brown loafers slapping against the metal floor. Behind him, one of the specimens howled as it chased the terrified scientist down the corridor, his white coat flapping behind him. But that wasn't what Larsen saw, all he saw was the M11 pistol on the floor at the end of the hallway. It lay, along with the bloody guard who'd had it, near a small door leading into the mess hall. With one final push, Larsen dove forward for the pistol, sliding just inches short. He could still hear the Xenomorph behind him as he reached for the pistol. Then, out of nowhere, the pistol was enveloped in a bright purple light, and with a quiet fwash, was gone. “W-Why?” Larsen asked innocently as he stared at the spot the gun had lay with tears in his eyes. Then, death descended upon him. ----Canterlot Science Pavilion, Equestria---- Twilight didn't know what the object in her magical grasp was, but to say it was interesting was a large understatement. She held the latest object that she had brought through from whatever universe she'd just grabbed it from. It was small and black, with a grip made for something that had claws, along with a short equally black barrel. Twilight turned it over in her grasp, before setting it down on the table along with the small box and the letter. She looked up, and saw her sponsor, Bright Light, motioning that her time was up. Twilight let out a small moan of dissapointment, before turning to face the crowd. “Thank you all mares and gentlecolts for coming. Once these objects have been cleared for safety, you will be allowed to view them up close. Have a nice night.” She said, taking a small humble bow as the crowd gave her an equally humble applause. Twilight had to keep reminding herself – or convince herself – that they weren't applauding loudly because they were from Canterlot, and were, for the most part, against loud applauds. Twilight gathered the objects on the table, and started off stage to hoof them over to Celestia for further inspection. 'All things considered, this didn't go half bad.' Twilight thought to herself as, sure enough, Celestia was somehow backstage again, and eagerly awaiting the strange, alien objects Twilight held. 'I wonder just what else is out there.' Twilight thought as she walked with her mentor towards the stage exit. Interval 2: Developments----Canterlot Castle guest room four, Equestria---- Twilight lay in the oversized bed, which felt as if it would be suitable for Celestia herself, tossing and turning in her troubled sleep. Unbeknownst to the squirming unicorn, her horn was shining brightly in the darkness of the room as her mind was plagued with nightmarish scenes of monsters and death. Twilight uttered another moan of fear and rolled over, kicking her legs slightly. ----?????????????---- Running. That's all Twilight could do. Tears stung her eyes as she raced down the alien hallway. It was made of all metal, and the floor was grated, making her hooves clang and echo down the hellish dimly lit corridor. They were behind her. She didn't know what, all she knew was that if she stopped, she would die. Twilight never was the athletic one, no, that title fell to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. She was panting heavily, and her muscles were growing weak. She rounded a corner and saw a small door ahead. With one final burst of speed, Twilight let out a choked sob and raced through the doorway, which, somehow slid shut behind her. Twilight crumpled to the floor with a shudder. Although there is no rest for the weary, as she heard, “T-T-Tw-Twilight.” She recognized that voice. Twilight slowly looked up at the wall to her right. And sure enough, there was Princess Celestia. Cocooned like she had been by Queen Chrysalis at her brother's wedding. But, something was different, she didn't just look stuck. She was a deathly pale color with bloodshot eyes. Her normally flowing mane was limp and matted with sweat, gunk, and, what looked like blood. “Princess!” Twilight screamed in shock as she ran forward towards her ruined mentor. “No!” Celestia said forcefully, which stopped Twilight in her tracks, almost as if Celestia had thrown up a wall. After living with Celestia for her whole life, Twilight knew that the princess could often order people, just with the sound of her voice, as she'd done now. As Twilight looked up, betrayal in her eyes, she saw Celestia crying. Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, crying. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw a shape move behind her strung up mentor. She couldn't make out a figure, it was simply a black form, constantly shifting and morphing. A black being of death and fear, born to kill, and die in the name of the Queen. “Run.” Celestia said, before the thing crawled onto her, and started to scuttle towards Twilight. Twilight started to back up, staring wide-eyed at the beast which wanted her. “Run.” Celestia repeated weakly, her head drooping. The beast reared back over Twilight, who tripped and fell backwards. “Run.” Celestia muttered slowly before loosing consciousness. The beast fell forward onto Twilight, who scrambled backwards just in time, for the beast to slam into the grated floor with a hiss of annoyance. Behind Twilight was another open door, which she turned and fled out of, leaving her fallen mentor behind. RUN RUN RUN RUN The words echoed in her mind like beating hammers on anvils. The low deep ringing of bells. The sound of her hooves slamming into the ground. She could hear the beast behind her, gaining, and screeching it's horrible screech. RUN RUN RUN RUN The corridor seemed to never end. There was a door at the end of the hallway with something standing in front of it. The beast was right behind her. The lights suddenly went out, plunging the Twilight into her own personal hell. The beast was now an unseen monster in the darkness. A monster under the bed. The only light came from the door ahead, with that being silhouetted in the light. RUN RUN RUN RUN She was getting closer. The light from the door was blinding now. It's heavenly white a stark contrast to the hellish black of the hallway. “Soon.” She heard the being whisper. RUN RUN RUN RUN She was so close now. “Very soon.” Was that a... human?” The door closed. Twilight screamed. The beast screamed. Then, silence. ----Wayland Yutani Cooperation Marine transport vessel “War Game”---- “German, what happened to my checklist?” Flynn asked as he searched around the cockpit of Macklin's Maniac's dropship. The dropship was one of the newer Omega series, with a much more reinforced missile launcher than the older, but still standard issue, Sigma series. Flynn had given the ship her own personal touch, giving it a custom nose art job, which had the image of a timber wolf head, and blood seeping from it's parted jaws, and “Cannibal Animal” underneath it written in a bloody red color. “I don't know. Why would I know?” German asked as he ran the weapon diognostic for the missiles. “Because you're the co-pilot.” Flynn responded rolling his eyes and standing up to search the APC bay. After searching for a good twenty minutes, Flynn cursed and walked down the ramp to retrieve another list. Outside in the shuttle bay, Everyone seemed to have a job. Tiberius was helping Houston and Styles load the APC, which was parked a few meters from the dropship, and O'Brien was directing Maple on the power loader. That's when he saw him. A man wearing a brown jacket over a light blue button up shirt, being led by King and Macklin into the shuttle bay. This man, was Thomas Lander. Flynn scowled and jogged back into the ship. “Adviser's here.” He said with mock thankfulness. “Great, we're saved now.” German replied in the same tone. Flynn walked in and found him gazing out the cockpit window as Macklin and the adviser observed the gathered marines. “They're the best the corp has to offer.” Macklin said assuredly to Thomas as he surveyed his troops. “They better be.” Thomas replied briskly. “This mission is of vital importance.” He said. No mention of Groman's mission. 'He's hiding something.' Macklin thought, but kept his face unreadable. “How much longer until they're ready?” He asked, still observing the marines. “Two hours.” Macklin answered. Thomas grunted. “Make it one.” He said, before turning and walking away. Macklin sighed in frustration, before he called out to the two squad leaders, “One hour!” The groans could be heard all around the room. ----Canterlot guest room four, Equestria---- Twilight was sitting at the table in her room silently sipping on some hot chocolate with bloodshot eyes and an un-brushed mane as moonlight shone in from the large window across from her, illuminating her spot. Spike was asleep in the adjacent room, still conked out from staying up so late to watch her unveiling. With the letter. And the photo of the human. She couldn't get the dream out of her head. She kept replaying the scene over and over in her mind. It hadn't seemed surreal like other dreams, no, this one was vivid and real. She could feel the metal, and hear those voices and feel it's hot breath on her back. Twilight shuddered and took another jerky sip of the coco. 'Humans.' She thought as she remembered the silhouetted figure standing in the door. 'Very soon.' Twilight let out another sigh as she stood up, levitating the coco with her. There came a knock on the door, causing Twilight to squeal in fright. She dropped her coco, the mug smashing to the floor, and sending the hot chocolate liquid spilling to the floor around her hooves. The door burst open to reveal Twilight's brother, Shining Armor standing there. “Twilight?” He asked worriedly as he saw her standing shakily in a puddle of hot chocolate; bits of shattered china lay in the puddle like deformed islands in an ocean of muddy, poluted water. “Twily, are you okay?” He asked, rushing to her side, and draping a hoof over her. Twilight slowly nodded her head. “Y-Yeah, you j-just... spooked me, that's all.” She said uncertainly. Shining Armor escorted her to her bed, and sat down next to her on it. Twilight sat, her head still down to hide her tears of fright. “Twily, I've known you all your life. What's wrong?” He asked, stroking her mane soothingly. Twilight shook her head slowly. “N-No, it's okay, really. It was just a bad dream that's all.” She said. “Well, you mind telling about it?” He asked warmly. Reluctantly, Twilight recalled her nightmare down to the very last detail. When she was finished, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her back. “That's pretty rough kiddo.” Her brother commented, going over the dream. “You said you saw a human?” He asked. Twilight looked up at him. “Yeah. Why?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “Because it sounds a lot like that thing in the photo of that letter.” He said. “Yes. It's the same creature.” She said in a melancholy tone. Shining Armor nodded his head slowly, and said, “I think you're just stressed is all.” He said. “C'mon, the Princess has those objects up for everypony to see. That's why I came to get you. And, are you sure you're okay?” He asked worriedly. Twilight nodded her head and said, “Yeah, I just got a headache, but it's not that bad.” Shining Armor nodded, “Right, then let's go. Maybe Cadence can help you with your headaches.” He said with a wink. Twilight rolled her eyes and slowly walked to wake Spike, who was still fast asleep. ----Canterlot Science Exhibit, Equestria---- “C'mon Bon-Bon!” Lyra hollered as she galloped down the rows of exhibits towards the newest edition, and receiving distasteful looks from the Canterlotian ponies. “Lyra, slow down!” Bon-Bon called as she galloped after, albeit, slower than Lyra. “There!” Lyra said as she skidded to a halt in front of the glass cases. There were three, with royal guards on either side of the trio. One containing the small box like object, the next containing the black object with the handle and barrel, and the final case held the letter, the picture, gone. “Wow!” Lyra said as she observed the small box in case one. It glowed brightly in the case, illuminating several small keys with letters on them, and words on the glass screen. “Bon-Bon, Bon-Bon! Come look at this!” Lyra said, waving a hoof at her. Bon-Bon slowly walked towards her roommate, trying to ignore the looks the other ponies were giving her. Not to say that Bon-Bon wasn't interested, she was, she just didn't want to make a foal of herself in public, something her roommate didn't understand, or didn't care about. “I see it Lyra.” Bon-Bon said in a motherly tone, which pretty much set the tone of their relationship. “So cool!” Lyra commented as she tried to get different angles of the exhibits, but was blocked due to the ropes keeping away from the glass. “Hey Bon-Bon?” Lyra asked, drawing Bon-Bon's attention away from the small tablet like object. “Yeah Lyra?” “Doesn't it seem like something used to be here?” Lyra asked curiously. Bon-Bon looked away from the tablet and walked to Lyra, who was standing near exhibit three, the letter. To the right of the paragraph, was an empty space where, Bon-Bon had to admit, looked like something was missing. Bon-Bon looked closely at it. “Yeah. Yeah, it does.” She said examining the empty space. “Maybe you can ask Twilight about it.” Bon-Bon said, before turning. “C'mon Lyra, let's give some other ponies a turn. Lyra groaned and reluctantly followed Bon-Bon away from the exhibit. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something missing. ----Canterlot Castle, Celestia's quarters, Equestria---- Celestia was tired. This didn't happen often, but when it did, she got TIRED. Celestia was sitting on her bed, not trying to sleep, for fear of another nightmare, but just lying there. 'Afraid of a nightmare?' Celestia nodded weakly. 'Yes, I am.' The past few hours had been a flurry of activity between herself and her sister Luna. First the letter with the human, then the nightmare. Celestia sighed. The nightmare had been horrible, and Luna had been powerless to stop it. Luna was the controller of dreams, but something had fought her. And it won. Celestia's dream had been strange and terrifying in more ways than she knew. ----???????????---- “Where am I?” This was not something Celestia asked often, but she found the question quite fitting for her current situation. The walls were made of charcoal colored metal, and the floor beneath her hooves was grated. She stood in the center of the long corridor, observing her surroundings. There was something not right, like she was missing something. Then, she heard it. The, beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Somewhere far in the distance, echoing down the corridors like a ghostly tune for the dead to dance to. It got faster and faster, the delay between beeps getting shorter until it sounded like one solid line. Celestia turned. Right behind her, was a creature from nightmares. From the depths of Tarturus. Celestia couldn't make out a definite shape only that it was tall. It was, simply, just blackness, blades, and teeth, so many tiny razor sharp teeth, gleaming down at her as it loomed over her. Then Celestia did something she hadn't done in over a thousand years. She screamed. As she did, the creature screamed it's own ghastly, horrible scream. Thinking fast, Celestia backed up flared her horn. Nothing happened. 'PLAN B!' Celestia turned and galloped down the hallway, her horseshoes thundering loudly, and echoing down the corridor. The corridor was lit dimly by small lights on either side that somehow stayed on despite no magic. That's when she realized what was missing. She couldn't feel the presence of magic. None at all. For some reason, this urged Celestia onward. Behind her, the monster hissed and wailed in predatory rage as it chased the regal equine down the darkened hallway. A door! It was just a few hooves away. Celestia's legs screamed in protest as she pushed herself farther. 'RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!' She screamed in her mind as she got closer and closer to the door. Finally, she reached it, and just as she broke through the portal, the monster's claws raked down her backside, leaving long bloody trails in their wake. Celestia howled in pain, something else she hadn't felt in over a thousand years, and tumbled into the room. Behind her, the door slammed closed just before the monster could get in. Celestia sat for a few moments, licking her wounds and silently sobbing. 'Stop this at once.' She thought to herself. 'You are Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, the symbol of all that is good in the world, and you will NOT sit here and wallow in your own self pity, get up!' Celestia, cleaned the rest of the blood from her back, and nodded to herself, before standing and examining her new surroundings. The room was square with one other door, and a small opening on the same wall a few hooves away. Tables were scattered around the room, along with strange objects that looked similar to the object that Twilight had recovered. Celestia started to walk towards the door, still looking around the room. Celestia took a deep breath, and attempted to open the door. It didn't budge, it was as if somepony had sealed it shut. Then, she heard it again. Beep! Beep! Beep! Celestia froze, and quickly turned to face the door she'd come in from. Beep! Beep! Beep! It was getting faster again. 'It means it's getting closer.' How Celestia knew this was beyond her, but she backed up until her backside bumped into the sealed door. Beep! Beep! Beep! Celestia started to inch her way down the wall towards the small opening. Beep! Beep! Beep! Celestia reached the opening and started to duck down, her eyes never leaving the door. Beep!Beep!Beep! 'Where is it?' She thought. Beeeeeeeeeeeeep!” Then, it came from above. Like a hellish reverse surprise party, the lights shot off, and turned a deathly red as the monsters started to drop down from the ceiling like oversized spiders. Celestia squeaked in fear, and dove into the small opening, which led to an equally small corridor. Celestia squatted and galloped down, forging ahead despite the noises she heard behind her. 'Oh how I wish I wasn't an alicorn right now!' Ahead, Celestia saw that the corridor split. Left or right? Right! Celestia quickly turned the corner. There was no time to react as right in front of her, was a chute that curved to the side like a long enclosed slide. With no time to flare her wings, Celestia plummeted down into the chute screaming. After what seemed like hours of sliding down the chute, it turned level with the ground, and deposited her roughly onto more grated floor. She was getting really sick of that. Celestia looked up in time to see a small tan spider-like thing with six long spindly legs. Celestia let out one final scream before the thing leaped onto her face, and wrapped its long tail around her throat. Then, it began to squeeze. Celestia didn't know how long she was out, but when she woke, she found that she couldn't move, and nor did she want to. She was cocooned like at Shining Armor's wedding, except this was different. Queen Chrysalis had been bad sure, but this... this was different. While Chrysalis and Discord had been bad to evil, whatever these things were didn't want her love or to pull pranks and cause chaos. They wanted her blood to be spilled across these grated metal floors. She felt so weak and tired, like all the energy had been sucked out of her. Then, she heard it. The sound of running. Whatever it was, was definitely equine in nature and was getting closer. That's when she came. She barreled through the door, panting and holding back sobs. It was her student, Twilight Sparkle. “T-T-Tw-Twilight.” Celestia groaned She didn't know just how weak she was until she said that. Talking was a monumental task, she felt so tired. So tired. “Princess!” Twilight cried out in a shocked and horrified voice. 'That bad huh?' Celestia tried to say, but it just wouldn't come out. Twilight started to dash to her aid, but was stopped when Celestia barked out “No!” It wasn't quite her royal Canterlot voice, but it worked. Celestia felt a warm liquid running down her muzzle, and realized, 'I'm crying?' Being the ruler of a country, you didn't have time to cry! But she couldn't help it. Her student, whom she loved more than almost anything else alive, was trapped in the hell with her. She saw Twilight's eyes drift to her left, and widen. 'Oh horseapples.' “Run.” Celestia said weakly as she felt the monster descend from it's perch behind her. Twilight started to back up, shaking her head slowly in denial as the hellish beast crawled directly on Celestia's battered form. “Run.” Celestia repeated, weaker this time, while the monster transitioned from Celestia to the floor, slowly creeping towards her student, who stumbled backwards and fell. Everything was getting darker, and her field of vision was fading. All she could see was that beast about to destroy her student. “Run.” She mumbled, almost incoherently, as the beast fell forward. She watched as Twilight leaped up, and fled out of a door that had opened up across from Celestia, the beast giving chase. Then, Celestia slipped into a deep sleep. Two hours later, while still unconscious, Celestia's chest began to thud harder and faster. There was a ripping noise, like a book being torn, then a crunching noise. With a sickening CRUNCH Celestia's chest was ripped open in an explosion of blood and bone. And what came out was a small tan larve, with a single tail, four small apendages, and small webbed wings. The princess was dead, and this new breed, would take her place. ----Canterlot Castle, Celestia's quarters, Equestria---- Celestia gave another shudder as she recalled the dream. There was nothing like what she'd seen, anywhere in Equestrian folklore. The closest they came to was Discord with it's tail. And those teeth. Celestia quickly got off her bed, suddenly not wanting to be near it. She walked to the window and gazed out over her peaceful land. Something big was coming. Who was it that said, “A storm is coming, and neither colt nor mare can see it?” Maybe Equine Allen Poe. He'd been a troubled colt, but he meant well. Celestia didn't know if he was the one to say that quote, but it certainly applied here. And something, deep deep within her knew, that whatever was going to happen, was going to happen soon. ----Canterlot guest room five, Equestria---- Ah'll be darned if ah know.” Applejack said as she eyed the small clipboard and paper in front of her. Next to her was Rarity and Rainbow Dash The clipboard wasn't that unusual, and the paper certainly wasn't either, no, it was what was written on the paper. Combat Dropship Omega Series Weapons diagnostics optimal Thrusters and boosters operational Fuel and hydrogen checked Landing gear operational Cargo secured Hull optimal Cargo ramp operational Coordinates locked Signed: Cpl. Archer Flynn, pilot Pvt. Karl German, co-pilot Aside from the signatures at the bottom, the letters were oddly shaped. Then, Rarity realized why. “My goodness, whoever wrote this has perfect writing. She was right of course, as the letters were perfectly spaced, and perfectly written. “If ya ask me, it don't seem raht.” Applejack said, eying the paper cautiously. “Maybe Twilight'll want to see it.” Rainbow Dash suggested. The group nodded, and with Rarity holding the clipboard, they started down the lavish red carpeted hallway. “Where did you find it anyway AJ? Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered next to her two friends. “Ah, don't know where it came from, ah just woke up an' it was just lahing on the floor.” She responded. “Hmm, maybe somepony snuck into your room.” Rainbow Dash said, causing Applejack cast her a glare. “Ah don't think that's the case RD.” She said bluntly. “However it got there, I think Twilight will gladly take a gander.” Rarity said as she levitated the clipboard back in front of her, taking another look. “Speaking of, do any one you know where Twilight is?” Rarity asked raising one eyebrow. Applejack nodded and said, “Yep, she was headin' to them new exhibits to review what she'd teleported.” She received looks from both Rainbow Dash and Rarity at her choice of words. “Or, that's what princess Cadence told me.” She added quickly. Rainbow Dash and Rarity both said, “Ah.” at the same time, whilst looking teasingly at Applejack. Applejack grunted, and lowered her stetson hat, before storming ahead. “C'mon you two, let's go.” Rarity and Rainbow Dash both gave a slight giggle, before following Applejack towards the Science Exhibit. ----Coordinates 93o north and 102o east, Planet LV-426---- Hudson's stomach grumbled in protest to it's lack of sustenance, to which Hudson replied, “Yeah, Yeah, keep barking, it won't get you anywhere.” Just as he finished that, his stomach gave a particularly loud rumble. Hudson grumbled, and checked the GPS of the surveyor. He'd been on the road, or, the wastes, for a good two days, and he was running out of water, and had already depleted his food rations the night before. After he'd escaped the colony, he'd hauled ass out of there going a good two hundred miles an hour through the rugged, desolate terrain. The result was that his shocks were close to blowing, and his ass hurt like a mother fucker. After a while, he'd forgotten all about the detonation of the plant, that is, until a bright light suddenly illuminated the area around him in a glowing yellowish green light. Then, it all came back in a flash, quite literally, as there was an earth shattering BOOM! A few seconds later. “Fuck me!” Hudson shouted, as he slammed his foot harder on the gas, only to find it'd been slammed the whole time. 'A mushroom cloud the size of Nebraska.' Fuck if Hudson knew how big Nebraska was – hell, he didn't even know what Nebraska was, being born on the planet Rabookse – All he knew, was that it was big. Really, really big. “ Goooo you bitch!” Hudson screamed as he as he looked into the review mirror, the light nearly blinding him. “Gah!” He shouted as he recoiled his head away, and waited for the spots to retreat. 'I wonder what the rest of the team's doing?' He wondered to himself as he drove at breakneck speeds, weaving in and out between jagged rocks. 'Probably dying.' Hudson thought cynically to himself as he glanced at his illuminated surroundings. The distant roar finally dulled down to a rumble, as Hudson sped onward, whooping and hollering to no one but himself. That had been two days ago, and he was running out of water. GPS showed nothing for another couple thousand miles. 'Great.' Hudson thought as he continued, going a slow fifty miles an hour to save on gas, another entity he was running low on. Hudson's eyes flicked briefly to the fuel gauge, which was in the red. The motion tracker lay in the passenger seat next to him, silent, something Hudson was thankful for. Then, he saw it. A large building, seemingly camouflaged from bird's eye view. “What the hell?” Hudson muttered as he continued towards the unknown structure. When he got there, Hudson reached a perimeter fence with a large sliding door which was left open. The first thing he thought was, 'Well, fuck this, I'm going somewhere else.' Right there, as soon as he'd reached the perimeter wall, was a bloody corpse, slightly buried in dust and grit, slumped against the wall next to the door.. Then, Hudson remembered, there was no “Somewhere else.” This was it. Hudson groaned, reluctantly shifted gears, and slowly drove through the open gate. Hudson drove slowly through the compound to what looked like the main administrator building. There was no one moving. Hudson reached over and scooped up his motion tracker and M11 pistol. “Shit.” He muttered, and grounded to a halt in front of the admin building. Behind him, covered in dust and ash from the nearby explosion, was, “Wayland Yutani Scientific Research Outpost Alpha. Restricted Access, Trespassers will be shot.” The final word was splattered with blood. ----Wayland Yutani Cooperation Marine transport vessel “War Game”---- “Load up! Combat seating, Go! Go! Go!” Macklin ordered, as he hustled his marines into the APC. The marines were now clad in their customized armor, sporting decals and phrases. Most notably, was Rin's which had, バグストンパーズ、私たちは種を危険にさらす or, “Bug Stomper, we endanger species”, in Japanese. After helping Thomas in, Macklin climbed aboard the APC, and took seat in the back. Houston was up front driving, along with King and Thomas, who accompanied her. O'Brien threw the door shut, and fell backwards into his seat opposite to the door. With a thumbs up from Macklin, the APC lurched forward, commanded by Houston, towards the waiting dropship. Houston guided the APC up the ramp and into the bowels of the ship. When the APC leveled out in the cargo hold of the dropship, Houston saw German standing in the doorway leading to the cockpit. When the APC halted, German rushed forward, and flipped the switch next to the idle APC, lifting the ramp, and locking it in place. He then turned and hurried back into the cockpit with Flynn. “Flynn you read?” Macklin asked from within the APC, testing his comm link. “Read you five-by.” Flynn responded, flipping off the landing gear, and boosting the thrusters slightly to elevate them off the ground. “Procced with docking.” Flynn said calmly to his co-pilot. In the APC, the marines sat in silence. All except for Sheckly and Samuels, who were argued back and forth until Macklin cut them short. The marines felt a small bump as the ship was locked into the dock. “Disengaging in, three. Two. One. With the flip of a switch, the drop ship was unleashed from the War Game with a slight shake. The ship hovered there weightlessly beside the ship for a few seconds before Flynn hit the thrusters, and sent the ship plummeting towards the planet surface. Ralph Cook was starting to look sick, as he did with every drop mission. Luckily for him – and everyone else – he never got anything more than a little nauseous. As if a polar opposite, Thomas was in the back next to Macklin, and not sweating a bead. 'Cool character.' Tiberius thought as he heard Flynn say, “Breaching atmosphere in, five. Four. Three. Two. One. Mark.” As he said “Mark.” The ship was hit with a shuddering quake as it slammed into LV-426's atmosphere, and raced downwards. As they decsended, the moods of the marines faded quickly as it did every time. This was no longer just a planned mission, this was happening. Most marines closed their eyes and just waited for it to be over. Thomas was still staring straight ahead, along with Hudson, who's eyes burned with vengeance. No one had told Hudson what they'd found out about his brother's mission. All he knew, was that whoever was down there, probably had something to do with his brother's failed mission. He would find them. And he would kill them. Slowly. ----Wayland Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, Planet LV-426---- Major Joel Reed held the M11 pistol to his head. In the dark security office, he could hear those things pounding on the door outside. BAM BAM BAM. He didn't know what the eggheads called them, xeno somethings. All he had to do was protect the place, and he'd get a nice fat check. Well, all that went to shit when one of those fucking things got loose. Now, they were everywhere, and they'd killed everyone. Before him were twenty different monitors, all showing different parts of the outpost. He'd seen some fucked things. A few hours ago, he'd seen a scientist – he forgot his name – running from one of those things like a bat outta hell. There was no volume as he'd been requesting for weeks now, and they'd never contacted him about it. There was a pistol at the end of the corridor next to the bloody corpse of corporal Matt Wilkes. The scientist dove for the gun, but never used it. Reed didn't know why, he just laid there, with his back to the camera, then the thing fell onto him, and started to drag him back down the hallway, kicking and screaming. Reed didn't know where he went, and he didn't really care either. The motion tracker next to Reed was beeping wildly as it read the movement of those alien fucks beating on the door. BAM BAM BAM 'Do it you cowered!' Sweat dripped down Reed's face and onto the black barrel of the pistol, staining it a dull gray, before running off the side and dripping to the floor. 'Do it!' Reed's finger tightened on the trigger. 'Do-' He stopped in mid thought as he saw a small surveyor roll into the compound, the camera catching a man driving, but Reed couldn't make out details. 'Maybe...' The man popped open the door and hopped out, holding a motion tracker in one hand, and a M11 pistol in the other. His face showed the face of someone who just didn't give a shit anymore. Reed watched with hopeful awe, the gun still at his temple. The man stopped just in front of the main research facility, looked around, then approached the door. As Reed expected, the door didn't open, as the quarantine safeguard had been activated, effectively sealing the research facility. The unknown man soundlessly cursed, and started talking to himself, though Reed couldn't understand what he was saying. The man then did something that Reed hadn't expected, he started to hack the door control. 'Marines maybe? He certainly looks it. But what's he doing out here?' Reed thought and shifted his gaze to the door camera, giving him a good look at the man. The camera was just above the door control, giving Reed optimal viewing. He was only about thirty, or late twenties, with medium blond hair and a face that needed a shave. Sure enough, the man started to fiddle with the controls before swearing again. He face-palmed, and continued to hack the door. It took a few minutes, the whole time Reed kept the pistol to his head, and the man kept swearing under his breath. Finally, the door slid open, and the man quickly raised both the motion tracker and the pistol, aiming them both into the lobby of the research building. Reed shifted his gaze once more to view the next camera, giving him a view of the interior lobby. The lights were still on, giving the room proper illumination. Directly in front of the man was a massive bloodstain. It looked like too much blood for one person to hold, and looked more suitable for the body of a horse. That wasn't the only bloodstain either. The lobby had been the last stand, with the scientists and civilians, and even a few guards, frantic to escape the facility before the lock down. They hadn't made it. It'd been a bloodbath, and Reed saw it all. Blood decorated the walls around the door, but there were no bodies. Reed didn't know why, but the things took all the bodies and people to the reactor level of the facility. That's when things had gotten weird. No, not just weird, scary. The things destroyed the cameras on that level. It'd been the most terrifying thing Reed had ever witnessed. One minute he's watching the things drag people with blades to their throats, the next one of those fuckers is right in the camera like some fucked up horror game. The camera lost connection shortly after. The man scanned the room, before turning and jogging back to the surveyor. “No.” Reed whispered quietly. BAM BAM BAM Reed jumped in his chair, the pistol wavering, then he focused back on the cameras. The man opened one of the back doors, and reached inside, holstering his motion tracker. What he withdrew with, confirmed Reed's presumption, this man was definitely marines. In his hold was the standard issue body armor for the Colonial Marine Corp. He slipped it on, and tightened the straps, before jogging back to the lobby, and slowly preceding inside. Reed's gun fell from his temple. 'There might be hope yet.' BAM BAM BAM --------Wayland Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, Planet LV-426---- Larsen awoke with a pounding headache, and feeling like he'd just downed a few liters of ninety proof vodka. “W-What?” He mumbled, as he slowly opened his eyes. 'Oh no.' He knew exactly where he was. The nest. Sure enough, when he looked around the room, there were other people strung up like he was. He recognized Mathew from Sector G, and Kate from accounting. They were both dead. And Larsen knew why. He also knew that he was next. Just as he finished that thought, he felt an awful pain in his chest. “Guk!” He chocked out, before the larvae inside him pounded at his ribcage once more. “N-N-No!” He stumbled, before the larvae slammed into his ribs, smashing them and bursting out of Larsen's chest. Larsen stared numbly at it as it protruded from his chest, before his head slumped, and his breathing abruptly ended. The larvae squirmed and wiggled it's way out of it's host's body, before landing on the floor with a splat! There was now another drone to serve the Queen. Interval 3: Encounters---- Coordinates 93o North, 102o East, Planet LV-426---- The dropship screamed through the dusty atmosphere of Planet LV-426, it's hull lighting up from the extreme temperatures of atmospheric breach. As it neared the ground, German flared the landing ground thrusters, slowing the ship down with a jerk. German then lowered the force of the thrusters as Flynn slowly descended roughly a fourth of a mile from their designated mission zone. Flynn brought the ship to a halt, hovering a few feet above the rocky jagged surface of LV-426. Slowly, the ramp at the back of the ship lowered as Riley Hudson and Matt Sheckly hopped out of the APC, and into the cargo hold of the dropship. “Hudson Sheckly, out! Out! Out! Macklin ordered his two marksmen, who quickly slid down the ramp, and carefully dropped onto the dusty planet surface. Behind them, Tiberius slid the APC door shut, and German raised the ramp, before taking to the skies once more, and sailing towards their destination. Hudson and Sheckly's position was on a large cliff, elevated roughly forty feet from ground level. Hudson quickly collapsed at the edge of the cliff, before he slung his M225 heavy pulse rifle off his shoulder. Hudson flicked on the infrared sight, and snapped a small radio receiver. Hudson raised the antenna, while Sheckly sat down against a small rock, his armor – which declared that he wasn't born to die, that he was, in fact, born to “survive and thrive” – clanging against it as the rock jutted up from the cracked landscape like the tooth of some horrible beast. Hudson's own armor decal, was his brother's decal of a skull with a dagger stabbing the top of the head, except Riley Hudson's had a cross hair scope over the skull so the point was between the eyes. Hudson could see the dropship resting on the ground near the outpost, before offloading the APC, and quickly ascending once more. Sheckly stuck a cigarette in his mouth, before he spun the wheel of his lighter, shielding the weak adolescent flame from the wind that whipped past. Hudson and Sheckly both pulled a pair of goggles over their eyes to protect them from the swirling dust and grit. “This place sucks shit.” Sheckly griped as he puffed on his cigarette, the smoke almost being dragged out of the cigarette itself as it was pulled into the wind, mixing and swirling with the other floating sediments. Hudson merely grunted as he peered down his sights, watching as Alpha and Beta teams split. Alpha team was heading towards what looked like a dormitory, while Beta Team was proceeding into a large building in the center of the compound. Overhead, the dropship guided down behind the two marksmen, before landing, and awaiting orders. “I'm just hoping we find nothin, so we can just leave. This place gives me the creeps.” Sheckly said, holding his cigarette as he gazed out towards the dark landscape around them. Hudson didn't respond. He didn't want to find nothing. He wanted to find something. He wanted to find something so badly. Hudson looked through his scope as one of his fellow teammates opened the door to the dormitories, probably Maple. 'Please find someone.' ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Dormitories, Planet LV-426---- Private first class Acrope Maple did NOT want to go in. The fist thing that hit him was the smell. The power was cut in this side of the compound, meaning no lights, no heating, and above all, no air circulation. Maple gagged, and stepped into the hallway, aiming his M41A pulse rifle down the carpeted hallway, his mounted flashlight telling a grim story. Both walls were lined with doors, some open, some closed. The hallway was just wide enough for two people to pass by, but not for two fully armored marines. With his motion tracker hanging on his side, and his rifle at the ready, Maple proceeded into the dark, bloodied hallway. Maple took point, followed by R.J, Rin, O'Brien, and finally Holman. R.J had to hold his smartgun parallel to his body for it to fit in the small corridor. “Maple take the fifth room, the rest of you, take a room.” O'Brien ordered, positioning himself at door number two. “Three. Two. One!” In unison, the marines threw the doors to the side, with the exception of Maple, whose door was jammed. Holman's room held a sickly aroma of spilled blood that he'd had taken a liking toward since medical training during boot camp. All the rooms were designed the same, with a small bed to the right of the bed, and a dresser at the foot of that. Opposite of the bed was a small table and chair for taking meals back to eat. At the opposite end of the room from the door was a large puddle of blood, that ran up the wall, and into a ceiling vent. Holman carefully walked towards the vent, a look of fascination painted on his face. “Clear!” He heard his team sound off one by one, aside from Maple who said “Door stuck!” Someone, maybe R.J coughing loudly and gagging. 'Lightweight.' Holman though, and said “Clear!” at one point, though he didn't remember saying it. He then backed up, his eyes never leaving the blood slicked metal wall. The only other person with something in their room was R.J. When he threw the door open, he was greeted with the body of a lanky man. Or, what was left of him. His head was gone, and in it's place was a large puddle of crimson blood. R.J gagged at the smell, and nearly dropped his smartgun as he scanned the room for any sign of the lost head. There wasn't many places it could be hiding. R.J backed out of the room. “Clear!” He bellowed in a deep voice, his eyes lingering on the decapitated body, before sliding the door shut. “Good, come help me with this damn door.” Maple said, grunting as he pushed on the door, to no avail. “Got'sta put some weight into it.” R.J said, as he took Maple's place, and with one foot on the door frame, ripped the door open, and aiming his smartgun inside. There was blood everywhere. It covered the walls, the floor, even the damn ceiling. “Oh, what. The. Fuck?” R.J muttered as he craned his head into the room, seeing the remains of, what used to be a person, lying on the bed. His chest wasn't just ripped open, it looked like his entire body had just exploded. From the base of his neck, to his crotch was just blown outward. His head was lolled to the side, his eyes seeming to stare right through R.J “Shit.” R.J grunted and stepped out slid the door closed. “Clear.” He said, gulping and trying to remove the image from his mind, only to cringe as it only brought the memory back in full force. R.J filed behind Maple, gathering himself to search the next room. ----Everfree Forest, Equestria---- Deep within the Everfree Forest, a young bear cub walked through the bushes and brambles next to her mother. Her mother halted suddenly, sniffing the warm midday air. Something was dead beyond a felled tree, obscuring their view. While the bear family preferred berries over meat, they had been running low on the delectable seeds. The mother motioned for her cub to stay put, as she crept through the fallen tree. The cub sat down and patiently waited for her mother to return, in the meantime, she gazed upward towards the sun, slowly arching high overhead. The mother bear cleared the tree, and saw what she'd been sniffing out. It wasn't a body, and it wasn't an animal she was familiar with. It was simply a head, lying in a small puddle of dark red blood which stained the grass. The mother cocked her head as she moved to get a better look. The head was round with an almost flattened face, which was frozen in a completely neutral face, as if it never even knew it was dead. The bear stared befuddled at the head, before returning to her cub. Together, she and her cub returned to their cave, the mother still questioning the odd anomaly. ----Canterlot Castle Celestia's quarters, Equestria---- Celestia quickly gathered herself, giving her flowing mane a quick brushing, and shaking her head to get the funk out. She cleared her throat, and said, “Come in.” Tentatively, the door to her quarters opened, and in walked her prodigy, Twilight Sparkle. “Hello Princess Celestia.” She said, giving a quick bow. Celestia almost visibly relaxed at the sight of her student. “Hello Twilight, what brings you here?” She asked curiously as he student approached her bed, and flopped down on it like she used to do when she was younger. Celestia stood amused, as Twilight hadn't done that often, unless... something was wrong. “Is something the matter?” Celestia asked worriedly as she proceeded to plop down next to her student, who was staring up at the ceiling. “I... think something... unexpected, happened with the spell.” Twilight said slowly, choosing her words with care, as to not anger her mentor. Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, unexpected?” She asked somewhat teasingly. Twilight took a deep breath, and said, “Well, I keep having these headaches, and when I do, my horn lights up without my command. Applejack found a clipboard with some kind of checklist on it belonging to, somepony named Archer Flynn and Karl German. On the checklist though, were weird phrases.” Twilight said, a look of confusion on her face as she stared up at the ceiling, still trying to decipher the meanings. “Some things I could kind of understand, like cargo secured, but fuel and hydrogen? Thrusters and boosters? And there was something else, something that had to do with weapons. Whoever wrote it had perfect scripture too, all except for the signing, like somepony else had written it for them to sign.” She continued. At this point, Celestia was intrigued. “There's something else too, isn't there?” She asked, giving her student a loving nuzzle. “Nightmares.” Celestia's nuzzling halted briefly, before she withdrew and gave her student a worried look. “What kind of nightmares?” She asked, fearing the answer. Without looking at her, Twilight began her story, deep in thought. “I'm alone in a hallway made of all metal. The... The floor is grated, and I feel like something is watching me the whole time.” Celestia stared at her. “I'm running from something. It's all black, but I can't get a good look at it. Every time I try, it's form shifts and morphs. Celestia nodded, although her student didn't see it. I enter a room and... and Y-You're there.” She said shaking. “They've strung you up. A-And you tell me to run. One of those... things, it comes from the darkness. 'Impossible!' Celestia thought “I...I-I leave you b-b-behind!” Twilight choked out as she finally turned to face her mentor. “I left you.” She said once more, before bursting to tears and embracing Celestia in a way she'd never done before. He held onto her with an iron grip, like if she let go, Celestia would disappear, and she would be back in the room. Celestia stroked Twilight with a wing, as she held onto her. “Shh, shh. It's okay. It's okay.” She cooed softly. But it wasn't, and she knew it. “What happened next?” Celestia asked slowly, breaking the embrace slowly. Twilight rubbed her bloodshot eyes with a hoof, before saying, “I'm running down another, hallway, and the... thing, is chasing me again. There's an open door, the light. It's so bright. So welcoming. There's something standing in the light, though I make details, but it looks like a... human.” Twilight said slowly, before gazing back toward her mentor, who held a look of dismay. “Like the one in the picture?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded her head, and closed her eyes to recollect her thoughts. “I... I feel like something bad is coming.” She said with her eyes still closed When she opened them, she screamed. She wasn't in Celestia's room anymore. And she didn't have hooves anymore. Now, they were long bony fingers, of which she had no control over. She couldn't see either, everything was black and white almost. Like she was seeing, but not seeing. She couldn't move her new body either, all she could do was silently scream as she watched her new body hunt down it's prey. She could feel her new bladed tail swishing behind her, and her new found claws clicking on the white floor. There was something ahead of her. Her body transitioned from a bipedal stance, to all fours as it stalked forward. Her prey was right around the corner. Distantly, she could here a Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Twilight's body rounded the corner. And was blown backwards with a hissing wail that mixed with loud bangs in quick recession. Twilight's body slammed into the wall and slid to the white floor. She watched as green blood oozed from multiple wounds, hissing as it hit the floor. “Black bony bitch.” She heard something mutter from the direction she had been blasted from. Weakly, her body looked up. Standing there, was a human. If Twilight could, she'd be either screaming with joy, or fear. The human was dressed in what appeared to be heavy armor. On the front of the armor was a small picture of a human skull, and what looked like a knife penetrating the top. In it's hands was one of the objects she'd pulled through from the other universe, it's barrel smoking. Twilight didn't have time to ponder as her vision faded to black, and she was plunged into eternal sinking darkness. ----Canterlot Castle Celestia's quarters, Equestria---- Celestia watched as he student closed her eyes, and promptly fell backwards onto the bed. “T-Twilight?” She asked tentatively. No answer. “Twilight?” Celestia asked, shaking Twilight. This time, she stirred. “P-Princess?” she muttered wearily, her eyes fluttering open.” “Thank goodness.” Celestia breathed out, hugging her student close. “Princess?” Twilight asked, returning the embrace. “What is it my little pony?” She asked. “I think we have a problem.” ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administrator Building, Planet LV-426---- Things had gone from bad to worse. One minute William Hudson is walking down a brightly lit corridor with blood painting the white wall to his right, the next he's walking down a pitch fucking black corridor with blood painting the white wall. “Really? What the fuck man?” Hudson muttered as he flicked the mounted flashlight of his M11 on, illuminating the space in front of him. "God-damn power cutting assholes.” His senses seemed to heighten in the suffocating darkness as he heard noises in the distance, echoing down the empty white sterile corridors. “Fuck aliens, fuck the dark, fuck Gorman, fuck the company, and fuck this place.” Hudson ran out of things to fuck, but was sure he would find some more. And he did. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!Beep!Beep!Beep! Just as Hudson reached the end of the hallway, a solid body with a bladed tail posed above it's head, rounded the corner. Hudson, backed up, and sprayed his clip into the deadly form, throwing it backwards into the wall, and dousing the surrounding wall and floor with it's acidic blood. “Black bony bitch.” He muttered, and stared at it's form, waiting until it's chest stopped heaving up and down, then, moved on down the corridor. “All I want is some fucking food, and a place to sleep, that's all! Is that so much to ask for? Damn!” Hudson paused, “Oh, yeah. And fuck corners too.” He raved as he continued down the dark hallway. He continued walking down the hallways for what seemed like eternity – it always did for him- until his motion tracker started sounding off. Beep! Beep! Beep! Hudson, checked his ammunition. Two and a half clips left, including the one loaded. Hudson cautiously peeked around the corner, seeing an alien beating on a large metal door. 'What does it want?' Hudson raised his M11, and aimed for the head. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Security Room, Planet LV-426---- Reed was even more terrified than before, only now, he couldn't even find his pistol. When the power was cut, He'd been watching a dropship fly high overhead and land a short distance away. “Thank god, more marines.” He'd been watching the other loner for a while, and he was making some good progress given the circumstances. All he had was a pistol and a motion tracker, and he'd taken out about five of the xeno-fucks, holding the motion tracker at his side, and his pistol in front like some kind of special forces bad-ass. It was like he'd fought them before. “Good.” Reed said, holding his pistol in his lap. Then, the power went out. All at once, the moniters, which were the only source of light in the room, went out with a quiet, Zip! Reed shrieked, and fell backwards in his chair, the gun slipping from his grasp and skidding across the floor. Reed toppled over and hit the ground hard on his side, too terrified to move. BAM! BAM! BAM! That thing had been outside pounding for hours, and hearing Reed's cry only intensified the beating. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!. So, Reed lay there for hours, sometimes feeling around him for his pistol, but never moving. He was blind, dumb, and deaf, save for the loud, BAM! BAM! BAM! Reed had curled into the fetal position, hugging his knees to his chest, and sitting on the floor of the dark security room, feeling like there was something behind him at all times. It was almost like a story he'd heard about once, he couldn't remember the name or who wrote it, but it was about a man who was trapped in a dark room alone. He started to hallucinate and think things were there, ready to kill him. That was how Reed felt now, and looking back, he really wished he'd paid more attention to it. BAM! BAM! POW! Wait, that last one. POW! POW! 'Is it?' Major Reed asked himself. “Hello?” He heard a voice from outside the door. Reed didn't budge. 'What if it's a trick? What if they've grown smarter and-' “In here! In here! Help!” He screamed as he fumbled his way towards the direction of the voice. “Alright, I'll open the door!” The voice called again from Reed's left, causing him to change directions. “The power's off you can't-” “Shut up, and stand back from the door!” Reed heard, and did as he was told , scooting backwards from the voice. There was a faint hissing sound and the smell of something burning. After a minute, Reed noticed a spot on the door getting brighter. 'What the hell?' With a crackling and hissing noise, a large hole in the door crumbled, revealing an equally dark hallway, with some light reflecting off the walls from a light on the ground. The hole was big enough for Reed to fit through, barely. “Okay, step through, but carefully, this shit burns.” He heard a young boyish voice say from the other side of the windowed door. “Wait, I have a gun, give me a light.” Reed said, standing up and making his way slowly to the door. After a few seconds, and the sound of a pocket being opened, a small zippo lighter was flung through the hole, skidding to a halt at Reed's feet. Reed gratefully picked it up and spun the wheel, allowing a heavenly light to flicker to life. Reed illuminated his dark prison with the lighter, casting a twitchy orange glow dancing around the room. He found his pistol under the low coffee table behind the monitors. Joel quickly grabbed his pistol and carefully ducked down to exit the room, taking extra care not to hit the sides. When he was out, he held his lighter in one hand and the pistol in the other, then found himself face to face with the man who'd been clean sweeping the facility. "How'd you do that? With the door an all?" Reed asked, lookin for a blowtorch. The man grinned, and pointed at he corpse of the xeno-fuck, residue blood still eating away at the door. "You used THAT as a torch?" The man grinned, and nodded. "Wait." Reed said, looking him over. "You're the marine who came earlier aren't you? What's your name?" Reed asked The man nodded and said, “I'm Hudson. Private William Hudson. The fuck happened here?” Will asked, indicating their surroundings. “You're just a private?” Reed asked disbelieving. “What, were you expecting? A major?” Hudson asked sarcastically. If only he knew the irony of that statement. “Who're you?” Reed didn't bother saying his rank, he didn't think it would matter much as he looked around. “Reed. Joel Reed.” He said. “as for what happened, I'll tell you. Some bullshit scientist wants to study these “Fascinating creatures” that they found, somewhere, I don't fucking know.” Reed explained, his pent up anger spilling out. “I stayed in the security room, cause everyone that left got killed, then that bitch trapped me in. I watched you come in on the cameras, until the power went out.” He said bitterly, as he looked up and down the hallway. Hudson's motion tracker stayed silent. Hudson nodded solemnly. “Yeah, they do that.” He said. Reed looked at him befuddled. “Who does what?” Hudson chuckled “The black bastards. They like to cut the power.” Reed shook his head slowly. “Clever bastards.” He said shocked. “Yeah, tell me about it.” Hudson said wearily. “My team got sent to that processor plant not far from here. It detonated, killed the rest of my team. I got away just in time.” He said his head hanging slightly. 'So that's what that rocking was.' Then, Hudson's motion tracker started up. Beep! Beep! Beep! “Six of em' Time to go!” He said, before sprinting off in the opposite direction of the contacts. Reed followed after a moments hesitation, thinking, 'This can't end well.' ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administrator Building, Planet LV-426---- The power had been out when Alpha team reached the administrator building's front door. Outside was an abandoned surveyor, with light scorch marks on the back, and food wrappers on the inside. “Cook, you'll stay out here, keep out exit an exit.” Tiberius said, then motioning for Houston to start routing power to the door with her PDA. Cook nodded, and made his was to the surveyor, standing next to it. “Styles, and Samuels, combat positions.” Tiberius said. Styles jogged over, his smartgun sight positioned over his eye, giving him an infrared view of the area. “Three. Two. One.” Houston counted, before accepting the command, causing the door to grind open, letting red emergency light spill out across the dim landscape around the entrance. “Styles, take point, Samuels and Houston, fall in behind me.” Tiberius said, before nodding his head to Styles, who proceeded in, smartgun at the ready. Styles' infrared sensor picked up a large bloodstain just in front of him. “Blood everywhere, watch your step.” He warned as he stepped in the puddle, careful to avoid putting too much weight on one side. As the group entered, Samuels slipped on the slick blood and crashed to the floor, letting out a startled yelp. Tiberius and Houston both whirled on him, rifles trained, only to see him grinning stupidly from the floor, semi-dried blood coating his armor. “Get the fuck up.” Tiberius said curtly. 'What a great start to this mission.' Tiberius thought bitterly. ----Fancy Pants' Canterlot house, Equestria---- “Well I do say that the unveiling was quite extravagant!” A marshmallow white unicorn with combed wavy blue hair said as he hung his coat on the oak coat rack next to the door. “I must admit, I was skeptical when young Twilight fist suggested her theory, but I'm glad I was proven wrong.” He said to his fiance Fleur de Lis, who was in the adjacent room fiddling with something in her hooves. “I'm most interested in the device ponies are calling a “Tablet.” It's quite remarkable, as one of Twilight's friends, Rarity in fact, was given the honor of showing it personally to a select few, myself included. After a number of different failed passwords, we finally found one that worked, although it made no sense as I still can't figure out what, “Grasp your gun, and hope to die, shoot a bullet in your eye,” Means, although it doesn't sound pretty.” He said with a slight shudder, and walking into his living room with Fleur. “Fancy, come look at this!” She said, beckoning him over to her. Fancy Pants walked next to Fleur, to see her reading a small plain black book. “What is it about?” Fancy asked, noticing there was no title. He expected her to say a romance, as she was always reading those, but instead she said, “It's a diary, or a journal of a scientist, doing work on something called a “Xenomorph.” It's right nasty, and I don't even understand much of what the main character is saying. He uses words like “subject” ,but in an entirely new context, like the subjects don't want to be there.” She said. Fancy was intrigued. “Let me have a look.” He said, grasping the journal with a telekinetic grip. Fancy set it down on the table, flipped to the first page, and began reading. Entry 1 Day 1 First day here, and I can tell this whole thing is just bollocks. I can't believe they want us to study these bloody things. Bloody, literally! The way they eat is just... horrifying! They like to play. Damn, at least the pay's good. All I have to do, is stand up there in the room, and watch them do everything. EVERYTHING. Not too bad, although I have left on numerous occasions to vomit. That, and I keep having nightmares about them. This whole operation just sucks. Entry 2 Day 7 I was working with one of the subjects downstairs, when the damned thing nearly bit my bloody face off! It was my turn to feed it, and when I was putting the food in the slot, it got it's head in before the other side shut. It's retractable “mini mouth” shot out like a bullet, and snapped shut inches from my nose. Too close. Entry 3 Day 23 Been a while since I've written... Had a lot on my mind. Can't write now. Too tired. Just saw one kill Kennan. Ripped his head right off. Security killed it. It'd been his fault. He just forgot to lock the door behind him. The subject opened the door, stepped out, and sliced his head off. Oh yeah, and the nightmares are getting worse. Entry 4 Day 41 I don't know how much longer I can go. Things are going balls up here. I'm thinking of going AWOL, and now that I've written that, I probably'll have to burn it later. Probably'll isn't even a bloody word, so I'm glad I'm writing this on good ol' fashioned paper, and not on the network. Stupid red squiggles. We haven't had another incident like the one a few weeks ago, but the Sheila's been acting weird. Sheila's the Queen. She just stares at us through the glass, even though it's one way. Maybe she's looking at her reflection, but I don't think so. Been here 41 days, and we haven't learned a goddamned thing. All we know, is what the rest told us in the beginning. We've learned nothing about their sociology or their “Hive” like state of mind. They're pretty much like enormous bugs. Ants to be precise. Those nasty ones with the huge ass pincers that are on Kana Yama. If I don't find anything out soon, it'll be my ass they feed to those things. Entry 5 Day 42 Had a revelation earlier, and I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Probably too many things on my mind. The company never told us WHY they wanted to study these things. They just said “Do it!” I... I think they want them for weapons. I... I can't allow that. Tonight, I'll do it. I'm almost tempted to write my master scheme in here for the rescue team to find, and revel in my ingeniousness! Almost. I will say this though, I don't think we deserve this. Us, the scientists, the guards, the marines who'll surely come, and surely perish. Some of us deserve it sure, but us as a whole. Then again, it's either this, or a whole world under these thing's control. Signing out for the last time- Head researcher of Xenomorphic sociology, Tommy Cain. P.S If anyone finds this, Make sure to please spread this phrase: *ahem* FUCK DR. JACK LARSEN! Fancy Pants stopped reading out loud. “Dear me.” He exclaimed, shutting the book, and staring off into space. “So, what do you think?” Fleur asked puzzled. “I think Twilight Sparkle needs to get her hooves on this.” ----Canterlot Castle Royal Lounge, Equestria---- “Hello everyone.” Celestia said, making sure to say “everyone” As Spike was present as well. “I have gathered you here tonight to discuss something rather important.” Princess Celestia said to the group Elements of Harmony, Spike, Shining Armor, and his wife Cadence. To Celestia's right, was her younger sister Princess Luna, who seemed tired, despite it being night. “Whatever it is, you can count on us!” Rainbow Dash declared cockily. Celestia smiled, and replied, “I thank you for the gesture Rainbow Dash, but that is not necessary, for I do not know if what I fear will happen.” She said, looking over the group. “But if it does, and I think it might, I need you all to be there, for this will be worse than Discord ever was, and worse than Queen Chrysalis.” She said sternly, making sure they understood. They did. Twilight already knew what Celestia was going to say, as they had discussed it together with Luna after the... incident. She'd told them about the “other body experience.” And about the human. To say that they were dismayed to hear about the human was an understatement. “What I suspect is coming could save Equestria from a dark evil... or help destroy it. I'm talking. About humans. Most of the gathered group shared confused looks, aside from Twilight, who kept her face neutral. “Sooo, are hew-mans good or bad?” Pinkie-Pie asked, cocking her head. Celestia sighed and shook her head. “I don't know. They can do such good things. They can do wondrous things, achievements that make ours look like nothing, and all without magic.” She said, causing the group to gasp, aside from Twilight of course. “No magic? B-But how do they do ANYTHING?” Spike asked shocked. Luna took over there. “Humans are... were... ingenious beings. They were able to do things that we did with magic, using things like pulleys or winches, things we don't commonly use, and have only been used for about three hundred years.” Luna said, looking back to her sister to make sure she got the date right. Celestia gave a slight nod, and Luna continued. “But they were easily corrupt. Their minds were the strongest of any creature, but also the weakest of any creature. That is not to say they were all bad, they weren't... but a lot were. Eventually, they started to fight. Then came war. That is where humanity found it's true calling. They found out just how good they were at killing.” Tears were gathering in her eyes, as well as the group's. “They started to find new and more efficient ways of killing. They would make amazing structures, no bigger than a large wagon, that, using a counter weight and a slingshot effect, could launch boulders at their enemies.” The group shuddered at the thought of a boulder smashing a group of humans into the dirt. “And from what we've heard and seen, the humans that are coming, will be ten times smarter, and ten times more deadly.” Luna said, with a sad shake of her head. Celestia picked up from there, “But they aren't coming alone. There is something else coming. Something worse than humans.” Now the group wasn't just shocked, they were scared. “The race that is coming with them is worse than humans for one reason. They have no morals. No conscious. They are, the perfect killing beings.” She said, suppressing a shudder as she remembered the things in her dreams. “All I want you all to do, is keep an eye out. Keep on the lookout for anything suspicious. We don't know when they will arrive.” Twilight grunted, and put a hoof to her head, her horn glowing brightly. “Twi', you okay?” Applejack asked worridly. “Yeah, I'm fine just a headache is ALL!” Twilight yelped as her horn flared a deep purple. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administrator Building, Planet LV-426---- Major Joel Reed's black lightweight armor banged loudly – but was silent compared to Hudson's heavy marine armor – As the two of them raced down the corridor, Hudson occasionally firing a shot behind them, as the whole time, his motion tracker beeping like it was the end of the world. And for them, it practically was. Hudson didn't know where they came from, one second there were six, then sixty! They flowed from vents and doorways, hissing and shrieking. A few minutes after they'd started running, the emergency lights had flicked on, bathing the hallways in a demonic red light. At least they could see hell instead of stumbling around blind in it. “Run!” Reed screamed as he pounded ahead of Hudson. “Yeah! No shit!” Hudson screamed back as he took two potshots at the swarm behind them. Reed tripped over his feet, stumbling to the ground. As Hudson ran past, he made a mad grab for him, telling himself that if he missed, he'd leave him. He didn't. Hudson yanked him to his feet, and continued racing ahead. Reed was right behind him, when it happened. One of the aliens leaped from a vent and onto Reed, ready to severe his head. Hudson made a snap decision. Shoot the Alien, and either spray acid on Reed's face, shoot the alien, and have Reed be trapped by the body. Or, run, and let him die quickly. At least, that's what Hudson said to himself. Hudson ran. Reed didn't even notice as he stared at the eyeless ebony cranium above him, tail poised back. The other Xeno-fucks ran past, letting this one have its fun. The tail raised. And both human and xenomorph were enveloped in a bright purple light. 'Whatfuck?' With a flash of light, Reed suddenly felt his back hitting a new floor, and the evil red lights of the outpost were now bright natural light, another thing Reed hadn't seen in over twenty years. There was a shriek somewhere to his left, but he paid no mind. The xeno-fuck looked up and hissed confusedly, before Reed pushed with all his weight, and pulled his legs to his chest. Reed planted his boots on the xeno-fuck's chest, and pushed, propelling the alien backwards and allowing Reed to jump up. He wasn't a major for nothing. The xeno-fuck stood on two legs, towering above Reed, and hissed. Reed quick-drew his pistol and pumped four rounds into its elongated cranium, blowing four holes into it, and dropping the xeno-fuck to the ground – which by the way, Reed noticed was a white marble. The gunshots echoed loudly in the room, causing eleven unseen creatures to jump in fright as the xeno-fuck's acidic blood ate through the fine marble. Reed stood, breathing deeply, before he holstered his pistol, and felt someone watching him. Reed turned slowly, and saw ten horses and a dragon staring at him with shock and horror. “What?” He mumbled, before the stress, and sleep deprivation got the best of him, and he collapsed to his knees, before toppling sideways to the floor. Interval 4: Beginnings----Just outside Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, Planet LV-426---- “Christ's sake, I just want to get off this FUCKING rock!” Matt Sheckly hollered over the whipping wind as he lay next to Riley Hudson, his M225 snugged against his shoulder, and a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. Hudson grunted and kept his sights on the door Alpha team had entered. Something was wrong. Macklin should have asked for a check in by now. Hudson almost radioed Macklin to ask what the holdup was, but decided against it. Macklin would radio whenever the fuck he wanted to, he was the LT. However, this didn't stop Hudson from switching on his helmet radio, and calling in for Alpha team. Unlike Gorman's Grunts, Macklin's Maniacs weren't assigned with helmet cams. Now, Gorman's team was gone. Hudson squeezed his eyes closed, and said, “Alpha team do you copy? I...” Hudson paused, hearing only static, like something was blocking the transmission. Maybe that's why Macklin wasn't asking for a check in. “Sheckly, go get Flynn, tell him that we need to use his on board radio.” Hudson said, still aiming down the sights of his rifle. Sheckly nodded, and stood, making his way over large rocks towards the dropship. Sheckly walked up the low incline of the metal ramp into the dropship. Karl German was sitting on a large box, his back against the hull, and a cigarette in his mouth. “Flynn?” Sheckly asked. German nodded his head towards the cockpit. Sheckly nodded, and slung his rifle over his shoulder, then entered the cockpit. Archer Flynn was sitting in the pilot seat, his head bobbing lightly to soft playing rock music. It was a band Sheckly seemed to remember, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Whatever it was, it was old. “Yo, we need to use your radio.” Sheckly said, pointing towards Flynn's radio. Archer muted his music, interrupting a wicked solo featuring a heavy bass guitar. “Why do you need it?” He asked, switching on the radio, and tuning it in. Sheckly shrugged his shoulders. “Fuck if I know. Our radio signal's being jammed, and Hudson seems to think this'll work.” Flynn raised an eyebrow. “Why?” He asked, “If your radio doesn't work, why would mine?” “Shit, Ah don't know! But I don't want to argue with him, do you?” Sheckly asked, looking out the side of the cockpit window. Only about twenty meters away, Hudson lay, almost blending into the dusty, gritty environment of LV-426, although he was no longer laying down, he was now standing up. Flynn turned the sound knob up, and flicked the radio on, before tuning it in to his team's frequency. The reaction was instantaneous. “Shit, shit run! Cover me!” It was just a blur of voices. Flynn thought he heard Rin's voice in there, and he knew he heard R.J. The thing was, it was both teams. “Reloading!” “Left flank!” “Where's Holman!?” “OH GAAAAAAAAAAWD!” “Acrope!” Flynn turned and faced Sheckly, his eyes wide. “Get Hudson, and German, now!” He said, turning back around, and preparing the ship for dust off. The ship around Sheckly hummed as it powered up. Sheckly sprinted past a bewildered German. “Huh? What's going on?” He asked, following Sheckly half way down the ramp before slowing to a halt. Sheckly ignored him as he raced back to Hudson. Two minutes earlier, Hudson had almost screamed. Almost. He'd heard a noise behind him, like pebbles falling onto rock. Hudson had turned, expecting to see Sheckly returning, saying how the radio had worked. Hudson had thought of the radio, as the ship used a stronger frequency than their comms. Hudson turned, and was met with an ebony figure, like a human shaped black hole. Hudson could see a large tail swishing behind it. It hissed loudly, and dove forward. Hudson grunted and rolled sideways, still gripping his rifle. The black thing released a high pitched squeal as it plunged over the edge of the cliff. “What fuck?!” Hudson shouted as he jumped to his feet, accidentally knocking the radio receiver he'd set up, over. Then, he saw Sheckly. He was sprinting towards him from the ship. “Sheckly, you will not believe what-” Hudson started, still gripping his rifle, his knuckles turning white. “No time, c'mon!” Sheckly shouted, and doubled back to the ship. Hudson heard stark fear in his voice, something he'd never heard before. Hudson quickly gathered himself, and made off after Sheckly. When they reached the ship, it's thrusters were active, and was ready for liftoff. The two marines neared the ship ramp, and saw another black think at the base of it. Hudson and Sheckly both raised their rifles, only to be cut off, as four loud reports echoed from within the ship. The black thing screeched and fell to the ground in a flurry of green blood. Soon after, Archer Flynn jogged down the ramp, an M11 gripped in his hands. “Run!” He shouted as to the right of the ramp, the ground seemed to sag downward, then burst out as another black thing jumped up. Flynn quickly pumped three more rounds into it, sending it careening back down into the hole. Hudson and Sheckly wasted no time, as they raced up the ramp, meeting Flynn and sprinting inside. Flynn quickly punched the ramp control, before running through the open door to the cockpit. “Fuck, oh, what the fuck?!” Sheckly shouted, collapsing onto the crate German had been resting on, his rifle laying in his lap. Meanwhile, Hudson kept his rifle trained on the raising ramp. Sure enough, another black thing was scuttling its way up the ramp. Hudson fired a shot off, the round slamming into the thing's chest, and launching it backwards. Before the ramp had even closed, Flynn launched the ship into the air, taking deep breaths, and remaining calm. Or, as calm as he could be after hearing Karl scream and get dragged off the ship by one of those things. Flynn pulled the throttle upward, and sent the ship airborne. “Strap in!” Archer shouted to his two passengers. 'It should be three.' Flynn mentally shook himself awake, and continued to rise. Then, one of those things was on his windshield. Like and enormous bug, it crawled over the cockpit windshield. “Hang on!” Flynn shouted as he jerked the throttle up, launching the ship sky bound. Flynn tilted the ship upward, and punched the thrusters. The ship jerked forcefully, and rocketed off, steadily going upward. All over the ship, the black things were thrown off like rag-dolls to the wind. The one on the windshield was pressed against the sloped glass, before Flynn tilted back down, causing the thing to slide over the top of the dropship, screeching as it was sucked away into LV-426's atmosphere. The ship whipped back and forth, throwing the things off as it raced through the grit-filled atmosphere of the planet. Sheckly and Hudson were both strapped into the reserve seats in the cargo hold, their heads being whipped back and forth as Flynn did his daredevil evasive maneuvers. “We'll circle back around and link with the rest of the group! I- what the fuck?” Flynn shouted as his ship was enveloped in a purple glow. “Oh what the fuck now!” Sheckly screamed as his helmet banged against the headrest. “Shit! Hold onto some-” With a bright flash, the ship was gone, leaving behind no trace that it was ever there, while the wind continued to rage above LV-426, and the black monsters fell like rain from the sky. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Mess Hall, Planet LV-426---- “Cover fire!” Corporal Rin Han screamed as she unloaded a five round burst through the darkened doorway. She couldn't see what was down that hallway, but she knew that it had killed Acrope, O'Brien, and probably Holman too. It'd started simple enough. The team going down, and clearing the dorms room by room. Then, O'Brien had opened his door. Maple's motion tracker started to beep crazily, as O'Brien let out a small scream before he was pulled into his room by long ebony hands. Rin had been closest, and she raised her rifle and fired off a burst at the thing that had nabbed O'Brien. She hit dead on. The side of O'Brien's face was doused with green blood as the thing collapsed to the floor. It took a moment for it to sink in. “OH GAAAAAAAAAAAWD!” O'Brien screamed, clawing at his face. Rin stood, petrified as O'Brien screamed and pitched forward, slamming his burned, head into the side of the bed, smashing it in. Rin backed into the wall as Maple's motion tracker continued to scream warnings. “What just happened?” R.J shouted. Then, it happened. Holman's door was ripped open as he was watching Rin. He turned just in time to see an eight foot tower of ebony death loom over him. He didn't even make a sound. 'The perfect killing mach-' Holman's thoughts were cut off as it reached out and pulled him into the room. “Where's Holman?” Maple shouted as he turned to look past R.J and Rin. Rin Han was the first to catch on. “Run!” She screamed, as almost instantaneously, every door in the hallway was ripped open. The trio of marines raced down the hallway, black spindly arms reaching out for them as they ran past. “Mess hall!” Maple shouted in the lead. “Move whitey!” R.J hollered in a deep bellowing voice, as Acrope slammed into the door, then ripped it open. Acrope, R.J, and Rin filed quickly through the door as the hallway behind them was filled with earsplitting shrieks. R.J immediately flipped the nearest table and shoved it against the other of the two doors leading into the room. Maple turned to shut the door, and was met with a sleek, black, elongated head. “Fuck.” The thing grabbed Maple and dragged him into the hallway kicking and screaming. “Acrope!” Without hesitation, Rin sprayed her clip down the hallway, silencing Maple's screams. And that's where they were now. Maple's motion tracker lying, and beeping wildly on the metal floor, and R.J was barricading the second door, while Rin crouched a foot from the fist door, spraying bullets into the dark. “Cover fire!” Rin shouted again, spotting another shape crawling in the darkness and firing another burst at it. “Gotcha girl!” R.J said deeply as he took up position just behind her, his smartgun ready. Rin quickly jumped out of the way, as to avoid R.J's smartgun. Rin stood up, dropped her clip, and slapped a fresh magazine in, before thumbing the safety off. Behind Rin, the door was thrown open, and R.J's makeshift barricade came clattering down in a rain of tables and chairs. “Six o'clock!” She shouted, taking up position behind R.J so they were back-to-back. They continued to spray bullets down the halls, slaughtering the swarms of monsters. As R.J once said, just like fucking zombies. Maple's abandoned motion tracker's beeps got slower. R.J looked down and saw that the motion tracker screen was facing him, it's blue light illuminating the readout. The remaining hostiles were all on Rin's side. “I'm out!” Rin shouted in a terrified voice. R.J quickly whipped his smartgun around, and started to unload down the hallway, his muzzle right next to Rin's head. “AAGH!” Rin screamed, and threw herself away from R.J. The fist thing Rin noticed was that she couldn't hear. It was just a far away ringing noise. And she'd never been more terrified in her life. She scrambled wildly on the floor, gripping her rifle like a life preserver in the rough waters of the ocean back on her home planet. It had always been wild. Her world was set on mute as she looked up, seeing R.J let out a war-cry, his mouth wide open, making it appear that he was making the ringing sound. He fired down the hallway, his muzzle flashes causing flickering shadows to dance a horrible dance on the dark walls of the room. “Oh God please help.” She thought. Or did she say it? Rin didn't know, all she could hear was the distant ringing. One of the black things tackled R.J to the ground, his smartgun still in his vice grip. He screamed silently and fell upon Rin, the air being squashed out of her as the combined weight of the black thing, and R.J with his gear squeezed the air out. R.J kicked the thing off and shoved it away, before blasting it away. Two more of the things crawled in, seizing R.J by his arms, while a third scurried in and gripped her head. Rin grunted silently, and fought against the black thing's vice grip. R.J backed into Rin and nearly collapsed. Rin felt herself start to be dragged away, when her, R.J, and the three things were enveloped in light. 'What?' Rin thought, as, with a bright flash of light, the two marines and three Xenomorphs were gone, leaving the remaining Xenomorphs with an empty room. One host out of five. Not good. The Queen would not be happy. But she wouldn't punish her children. She loved her children. ----Canterlot Medical Facility, Critical Status Ward, Equestria---- “Will he be okay?” Celestia asked softly as she gazed upon the unconscious human, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, from the observatory room. Behind her, the Element bearers, Spike, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor sat, still mulling over the events. Shining Armor comforted his wife, who'd never felt the kind of hatred the human had been radiating. Fluttershy had a similar reaction, for about five seconds before she toppled over, much like the human had. She now lay sleeping peacefully on one of the benches opposite from the observatory glass. Rainbow Dash sat next to Applejack and Rarity, not knowing whether to be horrified by the human or impressed. If she had to guess, she'd say... a little of both. Rarity, and Applejack however both had extremely one-wayed opinions on it. That human was bad news. The Princess had even said so herself, humans started wars. WARS! And they'd just seen it kill a creature. Granted, the creature was attacking it, but still, it killed it! “Not one iota of mercy” As Applejack would say, or “Absolutely no regret or remorse!” As Rarity would say. Although neither of them were in the mood to talk. Twilight stood at her mentor's side, staring at the creature from myths. Not even famous myths, no, obscure myths that only one other pony had known about. And she probably didn't know about the wars. Twilight gave a slight shudder. Celestia wrapped her wing around her student comfortingly. She'd been having horn flares and migraines that came and went ever since the human came. At first everypony had been terrified, but once they realized nothing else had happened, they just tried to ease Twilight's pain. She'd had three in the last hour, the first was the worse. Spike stood to Twilight's right, standing on his tip-claws to see the human. Like Rainbow, Spike didn't know whether to be horrified or impressed. The genetic dragon side of him was sickened, but was impressed, while the pony raised side of him was just flat out sickened. In fact, the only being there who didn't seem affected was Pinkie-Pie. She knew that the black thing was a no good meanie, but she knew her friends wouldn't listen. They often didn't. Pinkie didn't mind though, they would find out eventually, just like they always do. She stood next to the benches, her pink hair slightly less poofy than normal. Celestia asked the doctor again, “Will he be okay?” Dr. Sawbones cocked his head as he stared at the human. “Hard to tell.” He drawled out. “We know next to nothing about, what was it? A human? Human anatomy. The only thing we do know, is it's sleeping. Well, more like unconscious from sleep deprivation, fatigue, and I'm going to guess high levels of stress, but still, it's not going to wake up anytime soon I don't think.” Celestia nodded slowly. At this point, she didn't care whether the doctor was guessing or not, she just wanted some kind of reassurance. She needed as much as she could get. As if being the ruler of Equestria wasn't hard enough, now she's got humans and monsters that, from what the doctors in the room next to the humans had told her, bled acid. She'd even gotten the day off, and while her sister took over royal duties for the day, she got to sit here and stare at a creature she had been sure were all dead and gone. Not only were they back, they were back with far more advanced technology than before. After finding out that the object she had on display was a human weapon with extreme lethality, Celestia had sent her guards to remove two of the objects. The weapon, and the tablet. Even though the tablet hadn't proved harmful in any way during the demonstration, Celestia didn't want to take any chances. Humans were – are – cunning creatures. Cunning and violent. The two never went hoof in hoof without somepony getting hurt. Or an entire civilization being wiped out. In her mind, Celestia shook her head in pity. Such a clever race. And now... Now she didn't know whether to be relieved that such a clever species was back, or terrified that such a clever species was back. “And what of the other creature?” Celestia asked, still staring through the glass at the human. That thing. It resembled the things in her dreams. But, that was impossible. Right? “Well your highness, it's still dead... and we still don't know what it is. Every time we try to dissect it, it melts our tools. Whatever it is though, it looks like the perfect killing machine. Acid for blood, the sword like tail, the inner mouth with extremely powerful muscles, the durable exoskeleton. Whatever the human did to it, must have been incredible.” Sawbones commented. 'You weren't there.' Celestia thought angrily. “What now?” A quivering voice asked from beneath Celestia's wing. Celestia looked down and saw her student staring back at her, the same look in her eyes when she'd been a filly, romping around in the garden, and finding a small dead bird for the first time. The same scared confused look. The same scared confused filly. Celestia looked back up to the human. “I don't know.” ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Outside Administrator Building, Planet LV-426---- “Keep the bloody things out!” Thomas Lander shouted to King as he typed furiously on the command console of the APC. Against Thomas's word, Macklin had exited the APC saying that he'd heard something, which he probably did. If Thomas had tried to stop him, Macklin would've just shoved him back. Thomas Lander was not the most athletic of individuals, and after all, this was a military drop, where Macklin had command. Thomas grimaced bitterly. Without Macklin, this whole operation went bang out of order right quickly. Now, he'd have to wait seventeen days for rescue, as he didn't know the network code, which was highly encrypted. As it was, he'd had to pull a number of strings just to let this group escort him down here, and now he's stuck. It was ironic. Thomas hated irony. Now, he's stuck inside an APC cockpit, with a pacifist android holding the door from the xenomorphs. Lander could reprogram King to be less of a right pussy, but it'd take too long. 'I'm bloody dead.' Thomas thought, as he frantically worked to get the APC controls working. “I can't hold them off much longer!” King shouted as he struggled to hold the door in place. “Almost!” Thomas shouted. With one final grind of metal, King released his vice grip on the door as it slid sideways. “I'm sorry.” King said sadly as a xenomorph stalked into the room, and right past King, ignoring the synthetic man. Thomas turned and saw the lumbering beast. “You stewpid cunt!” Thomas shouted, voice directed at King, but his eyes glued to the xenomorph. The xenomorph bore down on Thomas, grabbing him, and dragging him out of the APC cockpit, then, out the door, screaming the whole way. King stood silently in the cockpit. “Don't blame me.” He whispered to himself. “Blame your “stewpid” programming.” He followed up mockingly, then shut up as the APC was enveloped in purple light. “Well now.” King whispered, before the APC was gone in a bright purple flash, leaving deep tire tracks in the dirt over the concrete of the compound. The wind blew, and the tracks were lost to the winds of LV-426. And all the while, Thomas watched this, his mouth stuck in a large O shape. “No. NOOOO! You fucker! You Dumb Fuck! NO!” He screamed as he was dragged through the gaping door, and into the dim and dark bowels of the research facility. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administrator Building, East Wing, Planet LV-426---- “Reloading!” Tiberius shouted as he slammed a fresh clip into his M41A, and squeezed off another burst of rounds down the red lit hallway. Tiberius didn't know where they came from, only that they came fast and hard. Styles was dead, and Cook was gone. Tiberius had tried to radio Macklin, but all he heard was the buzzing of static in his ear. It was just him, Houston, and Samuels. “Samuels right!” Houston shouted, blowing the legs off one of the black monsters as it lumbered down the corridor. Flag Samuels spun to his right and fired off, not waiting to see if there was anything there. “What the fuck are these things!?” Flag screamed as he blasted another one that had scurried out of a room to his left. The three marines were held out in an intersection. There were four hallways, and three marines. It was only a matter of time. Mack Tiberius aimed to his left and opened fire on two of the things that were advancing. “Left flank!” He hollered, before turning back to the other hallway. “NO NO NO NOOOOOO!” Samuels screamed as he was dragged downward by one of the ebony monsters, his rifle falling from his hands. Katie Houston grabbed at Samuels' leg, trying to pull him out, while keeping her gun raised and firing down her corridor. Tiberius fell backwards into Katie as one of the things slipped past and tackled him, knocking his rifle to the ground, where it skittered across the metal floor. The three marines, and the two xenomorphs were suddenly enveloped in a bright purple light. “SHIT, FUCK!” Samuels screamed as the five grappling beings blinked out of existence with a bright purple flash. ----Canterlot Gardens, Equestria---- Discord didn't think. He couldn't. Even if he wasn't in an endless slumber, to think would drive him to insanity. He reveled on that after he'd been broken out by those little rascals, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He didn't know how Lulu did it. Well, she was kind of insane to begin with, being Nightmare Moon and all. Then, Discord awoke. It wasn't the gradual easy awakening he'd had before, no, this was a sudden burst of chaos so great, it was almost... bad. It was like when a light got too much energy and overloaded. Discord's stone prison shattered, and threw him to the ground, his eyes blinded, and his ears deaf. No wait, he wasn't deaf, there was something really REALLY loud. 'Well, that explains the chaos.' Discord opened his eyes, and was met with a sight he was genuinely afraid of. A human. Ah yes, the humans, a race so bent on chaos, that it had almost drove Discord to insanity. Now, apparently, they were back. 'How long was I in there this time!?' The human had it's back turned to him, and was holding some kind of large metal object in both hands, that made this Celestia awful booming noise. 'Well, there's the noise, now where's the-' Discord's brain seemed to shut down as a looming black monstrosity rose from the ground in front of the human, it's ebony chest riddled with bleeding holes. The human, who turned out to be male, screamed a war-cry as his object – Discord decided to call it a boomer – sounded off. The black thing screeched as it was blown backwards. “Flag!” The human shouted and rushed away, his back still turned to Discord. 'Flag, what flag?' Discord climbed to an upright position, and stared as another male human was pinned beneath a black thing, which was clawing at his chest. Nearby, another human, a female, lay on the stone ground, bleeding from a head wound. The first human threw his boomer to the ground, and body checked the black thing off the other human sending it sprawling. The second male human grabbed a smaller metal object from his waist and aimed it at the black thing. “Clear!” he screamed as the first human dove away. The second human pulled a small trigger on his “mini-boomer” and the black thing flailed like a rag-doll, before crumpling to the cobblestone ground. “AH Fuck!” the second human moaned as he dropped his mini-boomer and clutched at his torn and shredded chest as bright crimson blood streamed onto the ground, sinking into its numerous cracks and crevices. The first human knelt by his side. “What can I do?” He asked, gingerly touching the second. The second human grunted, and said, “My bag, it's over there.” The second human squeezed his eyes closed in pain, and nodded his head in the direction behind the first human. Discord looked down at his mismatched claw and hoof. There was a small brown bag, bulging with some kind of equipment. Discord looked back up to see the fist human staring at him with wide fearful hazel eyes. “Uh oh.” Discord uttered as the human's snatched his boomer from the ground and aimed it at Discord's form. “Oh buck!” He shouted louder, and quickly teleported away in a flash of golden light, going to the one being who would know just what to do. Celestia. ----Skies Above Everfree Forest, Equestria---- “-Thing!” Hudson screamed as the purple light suddenly vanished, leaving him somewhat disoriented, but fine. “What?” He asked bewildered, as he looked around, seeing that everything in the dropship was as it was before. “What!?” Flynn shouted from the cockpit. “What. The. Fuck?” Flynn muttered as he gazed out of the cockpit. The dusty, blinding atmosphere of LV-426 was gone. The jagged rocky landscape, gone. The dim glowing sun, gone. Instead, it was all replaced with clear skies, a lush green forest, and a bright livid sun. Flynn's evasive maneuvers ceased as he kept a steady speed, cruising hundreds of feet above the utopian like forest. Hudson unbuckled his straps, and stood up, making his way to the cockpit. “What is... it.” Hudson drawled out, staring out the cockpit windshield. “I have no godly idea.” Flynn muttered. Sheckly dragged himself in, fatigue growing on him. At the sight of the new landscape and horizon, Sheckly rubbed his eyes and said, “Um, okay, kind of a stupid question, but... where did the planet go?” “You're right, stupid question, try again.” Flynn said, still staring out, as he lowered the thrusters power, bringing the ship to a hover. “Okay~ where did WE go?” Sheckly asked again, slightly annoyed. “I have no fucking idea.” Flynn said, as he glanced at the view magnifier. “There's some kind of settlement about four miles from here.” He said, reengaging the thrusters, and speeding off towards said settlement. “Do we know if they're friendlies?” Hudson asked from his spot in German's co-pilot seat to the right of Flynn. Flynn just shrugged. “Hey, where's Karl?” Sheckly asked, looking back into the cargo hold. “Dead.” Flynn responded simply, his voice calm, and focused, but layered with sadness. The dropship flew past the forest edge, and entered a land of serene rolling green hills. “Well, it's better than the last shit hole.” Sheckly said, still shaken up from news of Karl German's death. “What the fuck were those things?” Hudson asked, staring out at the calming vista, a far cry from the land he'd just came from. “Some kind of alien, or something, I don't know!” Sheckly said. “O'Brien told us about-” Sheckly stopped, and glanced at Hudson. “What?” Hudson asked, watching him. “O'Brien told us about your brother's briefing.” Sheckly said slowly, choosing his words with care. “He did what?!” Hudson shouted, rounding on Sheckly, who backed up in fright. “Oi! Would you two kindly shut up? Hudson, get on the radio, see if we can't link with Macklin.” Flynn ordered, as Hudson slowly turned back around, his steely gaze never leaving Sheckly until he was out of sight. Hudson flipped through all the comm channels. All they heard was a deep static. Then, “-One copy, over! I repeat, I need medical assistance! Samuels is hurt, and Houston is out! Cook and Styles are both KIA, and I am in unknown territory! Hostiles in the area, does anyone copy?” “That's Mack!” Sheckly said, recognizing the scared and confused tone over the radio. Hudson quickly grabbed the microphone, and switched it on. “This is dropship, ah fuck it, it's Hudson! I'm here with Sheckly and Flynn. German is dead, and I can't reach anyone else! We're in some kind of... I don't even know, a new world or something! Where are you?” Hudson asked, moving the mic away from his mouth. “Hudson? Shit man, we got attacked by those black thing! I don't know where I am, some... some kind of castle I think, but... This place is... clean.” Tiberius said. “There's a castle on that mountain.” Flynn said, pointing to Hudson's right. 'The black things? How many people know about these fucking things?' Hudson thought bitterly, before radioing back, “Alright, we're on out way, sit tight!” Hudson said. “Roger that, I just killed two of those black fuckers, and saw an eight foot tall goat dragon thing. I don't want to know what else this place has!” “Dragon goat?” Sheckly muttered. “After what I've seen today? Sure.” Flynn said, as he changed course, and ripped through the air towards the regal castle in the distance. “A fucking castle? God-damn this shit just never ends does it?” Sheckly muttered exasperatedly as he slouched back into the cargo hold. “Nope. It sure doesn't.” Hudson whispered. 'Black things huh?' Hudson stood and followed Sheckly. He grabbed his rifle from the weapon rack near his seat, while Sheckly collapsed into his. 'It never ends.' ----Canterlot Medical Facility, Critical Status Ward, Equestria---- Even from the quiet observatory room, the collected group heard the loud echoing blasts. “What was that?” Applejack asked, standing up and looking around the room. Celestia also looked up from her seat, staring at the door that led out into the hospital hallway. “I don't-” FLASH! “Celestia, we have a problem.” A deep male voice said, with absolutely no hint of teasing or humor. It was Discord. Standing with his back to the window. Immediately, the Elements, including Fluttershy, who had awoken just minutes before, Shining Armor, and Cadence leaped up, gearing up for a confrontation. “Discord!” Celestia shouted in shock and outrage, planting herself between him and the Elements.”How did you get out?” She fumed, flaring her wings. Then, she noticed the look he wore. Something close to... horror? Was Discord scared? It looked so, and this was backed up when he said, “That's just it! Humans! They're here! In the gardens!” He said, pointing back towards the door. “There's three of them, two hurt. They killed these two black things, and... I don't know what they were.” He said, before he turned, and saw the unconscious human. “What. Is. It. Doing. Here?” He drawled out, staring at the battered human. “Discord! You said that they were fighting something? What did it look like?” Celestia asked assertively. Discord turned and looked at her and saw her eyes wide. “It uh, it looked like-” He was interrupted by Twilight moaning in pain, and her horn flaring. There was a bright flash, and in between Discord and the assembled ponies, and dragon, was a large scuffle. “That!” Discord shouted as a large dark human with heavy metal armor whipped his body to the side, throwing two large ebony monstrosities off him. “God-damn!” He bellowed in a deep monotone voice. He raised a large metal device attached on a pivot, and fired at one of the things to Discord's left. The black thing was blown backwards into the wall, green blood hissing as it made contact with it. The dark human quickly turned and fired at the second one, who was targeting the ponies. The second black thing quickly dodged the fire, and scuttled towards the ponies. Before Celestia could even charge her horn, The black thing reared back to attack. Discord heard Twilight scream in terror, along with the other ponies. Shining Armor took up stance next to Celestia, flaring his horn to attack. Before he could, Discord, fueled by the chaos, launched a ball of high concentrated magic into the thing, blasting it away from them, and killing it instantly. “Rin!” The dark human shouted as Discord turned to see the other human, a female, being dragged out of the room by the third black thing. She kicked and fought against it, as it dragged her. The black human raised his large-boomer, and aimed at the thing. The black thing raised it's tail and pressed it against the girls throat. “You mother fucker!” The dark human bellowed, keeping his large boomer trained on the monster. “D-Dun't Shute it!” The girl moaned, her voice distorted by something. The monster was slowly backing out of the room, it's tail blade still at the girl's throat. Discord was almost, once again, overwhelmed by the mass amounts of chaos just in this one room, and was starting to get a massive headache. It didn't help that the dark human's large-boomer was extremely loud, as if to purposely add to the chaos. Just as everything was seeming to calm down, while all the assembled beings were focused on the hostage situation, the human on the bed awoke. “Gah, fucking hell!” He groaned, sitting up in his bed, and causing the monster to look in Discord's direction. He wished it hadn't. The girl took this to her advantage, and quickly grabbed for a mini-boomer on her waist. Before the monster could react, she fell sideways, and brought the mini-boomer up, firing it into the monster's head as she fell. Green blood flew up, and rained downward like rain onto the surrounding area. Small droplets landed on the girl's left arm as she threw it up to protect her face. Instantly, the blood started to hiss as it ate away at her metal armor. The dark human dropped his large-boomer and dove forward to assist. “Oh God~!” She moaned as she tore at her armor. The moan turned to a scream as the blood seeped through her armor and into her skin. Then flesh. Then bone. “It's okay baby girl! It's okay!” The dark human cooed loudly, quickly tearing her forearm armor off, and watching helplessly as the acidic blood ate into her arm. “R-R.J?” The girl, Rin, moaned in pain, her eyes squeezed closed. “Yeah, yeah I'm right here.” He said, rubbing her face comfortingly. Rin opened her eyes and stared into R.J's. “I-I cun't h-hear.” She whispered fearfully. Then, Discord noticed for the first time, there was a tiny trail of blood oozing from her ear. “It's okay.” R.J whispered as he cradled her to his chest, while she stared at Discord and the other ponies. “It's okay.” The blood from her ear mixed with the beads of sweat that slid from under her helmet, and grew larger as it ran down the side of her face and dripped onto the floor. Thankfully, it didn't start to eat away at the floor. “It's okay.” At that moment, two royal guards burst through the door leading to the hallway. “Your highness, there are reports of strange sightings all across Equestria, we-” He stopped as he observed the carnage. To his left, stood the Princess and her gathered ponies. To his right, Discord. At his feet, a dead monster that was busy sinking into the floor with a loud hissing noise. Across from him, two strange beings sat together, bleeding and tired. Behind Discord, another strange being like the two across from him leaned against the glass, as he too, observed the scene. The guard and the human both stared at the carnage, then to eachother. “What.” “What.” “The.” “The.” “Buck?” “Fuck?” ----Canterlot Fifth Street, Equestria---- “I'm telling you Bon-Bon, something just wasn't right about that letter yesterday.” Lyra Hearstrings said to her roommate Bon-Bon Frosting. “It was like something was missing.” She added, pausing in the middle of the cobblestone street and thinking. “Ugh, C'mon Lyra. I want to get back home and sleep in my nice warm bed again.” Bon-Bon said agitatedly to roommate. “And we will, but first, I think there's a mystery to solve!” Lyra said excitedly as she started off down the street, in almost the exact opposite direction of the train station. “Lyra~!” Bon-Bon groaned and started off after her filly-like roommate. Bon-Bon followed Lyra around a corner, and found her talking to a white unicorn. His wavy blue hair complimented his well kept coat. A small white and blue trimmed saddlebag rested on his back. “Oh my gosh, Fancy! It's been so long, how are you?” Bon-Bon heard Lyra exclaim as she shook hoofs with the unicorn, Fancy. “My goodness, Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings? It really is you isn't it?” He asked, disengaging the hoof-shake. “I'm doing quite well, how about yourself?” Fancy asked, keeping the conversation rolling. Lyra gave a big goofy grin and said, “I've been doing pretty good! Oh! This is my roommate, Bon-Bon Frosting.” She said, indicating to Bon-Bon. Bon-Bon grinned nervously and walked up. This couldn't be THE Sir Fancypants of Canterlot! How would Lyra know him though. Fancy extended a hoof, which Bon-Bon sheepishly accepted. “A pleasure to meet you madame.” He said, with a small bow, showing off his gentlecolt charm. “So, how do you know Lyra?” Bon-Bon asked, glancing at her roommate out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, Lyra and I both went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. We didn't finish top of our class however, no, that commendation fell to young Twilight Sparkle, another fine young filly I had the pleasure to be formally acquainted with as, she never did talk much in school.” He explained, looking back at fond memories. “So! Where might you two fine mares be headed off to this evening?” He asked, looking from Lyra to Bon-Bon. “Well we were just about to head back to Ponyville.” Bon-Bon said, her hint falling on Lyra's deaf ears. “Ah, so you're from Ponyville too? A lot of kind people from around those parts.” Fancy commented. “What about you?” Lyra asked curiously. “Hosting another tuxedo party?” She asked teasingly and cocking an eyebrow. Fancy blushed, Fancy! Lyra Heartstrings, resident of Ponyville, and roommate to Bon-Bon Frosting, made Fancypants of Canterlot blush! “Still worshiping humans?” Fancy replied in an equally teasing tone, now causing Lyra to blush. The two started to laugh, as Bon-Bon simply stood and watched as her roommate traded inside jokes with one of the most popular ponies in Equestria. “Oh, speaking of strange and unusual things...” He started, then opened his saddlebag, and withdrew a small book. “I think you should have a look at this. I was just on my way to see young Twilight Sparkle, to discuss this very book. It's a journal that my fiancee found. Quite a strange, and, slightly disturbing tale.” He said. Just as he was about to give her the book to skim, there was a bright flash of light. Fancypants was barely able to leap out of the way, before a behemoth contraption made of heavy metal, appeared roughly ten hooves high, and fell to the cobblestone street with am ear shattering, BOOM! “Oh my gosh, Fancy!” Lyra yelped and assisted her fillyhood friend up. “Dear me, what was that?” He asked, dusting himself off, and turning around. The object was all gray, save for a small glass port on the front. It had a sleek design, yet covered in heavy metal, like it was supposed to be fast and strong. There were four large wheels on the bottom, much like that of a wagon, but no visible entrance. “My goodness.” Fancy uttered as he, Lyra, and Bon-Bon, all walked around to the side. Many ponies were gathering around now, watching as the three ponies approached the only thing that resembled a door. Before anypony could say a word, the large metal panel was thrust outward, and then slid to the left. Everypony present gasped as a large being stepped out. It was about six hooves high, with a light brown mane, and white skin. It wore loose blue clothing around it's body. It was a human. “Fascinating.” he said as he looked down at the three ponies. “Incredible.” “No. Way.” “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!” The human stared curiously at them, before he heard a noise above him. He, along with everypony else on the street, craned their necks upward and watched as large metal object flew low overhead. “Wow, what is that?” One pony asked as it watched the object fly overhead. A few citizens voiced their guesses. “It's a pegasus!” “It's Mare Do Well!” “No! It's, wait, what is that?” They all watched as the ship flew onward towards Canterlot Castle. Only Lyra was still completely focused on the human, her mouth agape, and her golden eyes wide. “Well, sorry to cut this little chat short, but I gotta go.” The human said, in a slightly gruff tone as he lowered his head back down, and turning, stepped back into the vehicle. The human grabbed the door, and slid the heavy door closed. After a few seconds, the vehicle roared to life, spooking most of the ponies out of the way. With another roar, louder roar, it slowly started to rumble its way down the now cracked and broken cobblestone street. Behind it, three certain ponies all stood in shocked silence. “Did that just happen?” Bon-Bon uttered, staring after the vehicle as it rolled down the cracked cobblestone street. “Yeah.” Lyra mumbled, then keeled over and passed out. The vehicle rounded the bend, and disappeared from sight, it's roar bouncing off store fronts. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administration Building, West Wing, Planet LV-426---- “Fuck.” William Hudson muttered as he tended to his arm. No only did it have the burn from the last shit hole he was in, but now it had a large laceration down the middle, seeping blood from under the torn bit of cloth he'd found on a hanging coat. “God I hate my life.” He grunted as he sat against the cool metal wall. His room was just a simple square room, bathed in red light. There was a desk, a chair for the desk, a lamp for the desk with the chair, and a map under the light on the desk with the chair. That was IT, and quite frankly, Hudson wouldn't want it any other way. No small corners for the fucks to pop out of, and no grated floors. Just solid metal. Or, solid enough. Hudson's motion tracker lay beside him, remaining silent. Just the way Hudson liked it. Hudson didn't know where Reed was, maybe he got nabbed, or maybe killed. Hudson didn't hear anything, he just ran like hell, got to the room, and sealed himself in. Just before he'd gotten in, one of those thing's tails had lashed out and sliced his arm. It wasn't deep, but it hurt like hell. Hudson rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes, desperately wishing for a cigarette, or even better, a dropship. He'd thought maybe he'd heard gunfire, but he'd been running down a dark hallway with his armor clanging, and those things shrieking, so he wasn't sure. Even if it was, they were probably dead by now. 'Why do I always have to be the last one?' Hudson thought bitterly as he rested his eyes. At this point, William was almost asking for death to come. Hudson's eyes opened slowly. But not before he got those fuckers back. Four weeks until he was out. Four weeks. They would pay. Hudson gathered his pistol and motion tracker from the ground next to him and stood. He then walked over to the table, lay his equipment on it, and studied the map in the dim red light. It was the floor plans for the building. 'Must've been some kind of maintenance room, or office.' Hudson thought as he studied the plans. He studied the west wing of the building, offices and administration. That sounded about right. Accounting Administration Security Reception Recreation Room He saw the corner of another map sticking out from under the first. Hudson pinched it between his index finger and thumb, and pulled it out, before resting it on top of the first one. This was the lower levels. Cell Block Lab Alpha Lab Beta Communications Lab Gamma “Omega” Lab Lambda “The Lair” Reactor Research and Development Hudson didn't know much about what was on the list, but he did understand one thing: Communications. “Okay,” Hudson mumbled. “Now I have a plan, and if this fails, then I guess I'll... just... kill myself or something.” He said, clipping his motion tracker to his side, and grabbing his M11. One and a half magazine left. No grenades. No knife. No nothing. Hudson ejected he half empty clip and replaced it with the full one. He pocketed the half empty one, and pulled the slide back on his M11. Hudson took a deep breath, and opened the door. Interval 5: Interactions----Canterlot Dungeon, Cell Block A, Equestria---- “When I get out of here, I'm going to strangle you both with your own fucking tails!” Private First Class R.J Hanlon roared, and smashed the chair into the iron bars for roughly the sixtieth time. “I don't think we should've given him chairs... or anything.” The guard on the right whispered to his left counterpart. “And I don't think they should've given you horns, CAUSE I'M GOING TO SNAP THEM OFF AND SLIT YOUR THROATS WITH THEM!” R.J bellowed and slammed the chair against it for the sixty-first time. The two guards quivered slightly as the large, dark beast continued to holler obscenities, and beat on the bars. “Why do we always get the crazy ones?” The right guard asked, staring at the beast. “Why do I always have to put up with this kind of bullshit?” R.J asked in a strangely calm tone, and dropped the chair. R.J fell backwards against the stone wall, and stared at the guards. They stared at one another for a solid twenty seconds before the left guard asked, “You okay now?” “Yes.” R.J responded with a nod of his head. The guard stood, thinking for a moment. “I think you're lying.” He said simply. “And I think you're about six seconds away from DYING!” R.J screamed, before leaping up, slamming into the bars, and reaching through in an attempt to grab the guard by the throat. Fortunately for the guards, they stood with their hindquarters against the wall, as far from R.J as possible. R.J's hands curled around and invisible neck for a few seconds, before his arms drooped, and he sighed dejectedly. “Do I get parole?” He asked with an uneasy, and obviously fake, smile. “Not anymore.” This routine continued for another hour. ----Canterlot Dungeon, Cell Block B, Equestria---- Life sucked. That was the conclusion Joel Reed had drawn in his time behind bars. That is, the LAST time he was behind bars. Except that time, it had been a scrawny guard, who liked nothing better than to shove a taser up prisoner’s asses every time they stepped out of line. Now, it was fucking horses. But hey, Reed couldn't really complain, they were a hell of a lot better than aliens. At least, better than the xeno-fuck aliens. Those suck. And sure, there had been those three dead ones next to the colonial marines outside of his room, but they looked like they had the situation under control. If under control is bleeding from the ears, and hugging a huge black guy, then yeah, under control. 'Oh fuck it, they're all gonna die.' Quite frankly, Reed didn't want to leave however. What better place to be during a xenomorph-apocolypse, than behind three inch iron bars? “You're all fucked.” Reed told the two horse guards that stood opposite from his cell. “Quiet.” The left guard ordered sternly. Reed knew a pushover when he saw one, but this WAS the pushover with the key to his cell. 'So I better piss him off so I can stay here longer, at least until this whole thing blows over... or I starve. Either way, better than out there!' “That Queen horse of yours is fucked too ya know!” Reed said from his cot. It was actually pretty comfortable for a prison, even if it was too short by about two feet. “Quiet!” The guard said, in a sterner tone this time. “I heard they kill leaders first, so you two pathetic fucks are safe for now.” Reed said with a smirk, then slumped down on his cot, and pretended to not hear the guard shout his head off at him. 'Good start!' Reed had weighed his options when he'd woken up. He could stay in that room, cooperate with the horses, and probably be killed horrifically by the xeno-fucks, OR, he could stir as much chaos and shit up ans possible, and get either executed, or thrown in jail, either way, Reed wins. He'd started by ignoring the door entirely, and just diving through the glass window into the room. That scared the ever lasting fuck out of the horses. He then promptly drop kicked the closest guard in the face, because why not? Reed was pissed, and tired of bullshit, which is unfortunate, because he seemed to be surrounded by it twenty-four-seven. Then, he'd been body checked by some white unicorn asshole with stupid blue hair. This was almost exactly what Reed had wanted, and after he punched that mother fucker in the mouth, he'd made a break for the door, leaping over the dissolving corpse of a xeno-fuck. That's when he'd heard Queen Bitch shout, “Oh no you don't!” And drag him back in with, like, fucking magic or something. What he'd wanted to do was slap her in the face with his dick, but calling her a bitch had to suffice. So he did. Then, he lost consciousness for no reason. Maybe karma. Then, he'd woken up right where he wanted to, jail! Life sucked, but at least it sucked less in jail than outside. Maybe life didn't suck, maybe it was just ass backwards. That certainly explained why Major Joel Reed of the Private Security Sector was being guarded by horses in prison. 'If they go to let me out, I gotta punch one again, that'll keep me in!' Joel was set for life at this rate. Stay in prison at all costs. That, and sharpen a bed leg into a shank to commit suicide before he starved. Gotta have goals. ----Canterlot Dungeon, Cell Block C, Equestria---- She'd tried put up a good fight. She really did. But she couldn't. Between her arm, and her eyes, she couldn't do much. Now, Corporal Rin Han of the Colonial Marines, sat in the corner of her cell, deaf and pissed, and holding the handle of her combat knife behind her back with her one good hand. 'Stupid fucking horses suck at searching.' Rin thought quietly in her mind. She liked to believe that she was talking. After that crazy white guy from PSS got knocked out by the queen horse, R.J had shoved Rin into a corner of the room and aimed his Smartgun at the group of horses. Rin didn't like being defended like that, but couldn't get the ringing out of her head. It was like a drill, piercing her brain, and making her ears bleed. And her arm, she'd never felt anything more painful in her life. It hung limp at her side, as she was too afraid to even cradle it. She'd let out a soundless moan, and banged her head against the wall behind her multiple times, squeezing her eyes closed. When she'd opened them, R.J was on the floor, and the queen horse was looming over her, a slightly pained expression on her muzzle. Rin had lifted her M11, her hand quivering from pain and exhaustion. But before she could pull the trigger, she felt her eyes grow heavy, and the gun fall to the floor. And for a few terrifying seconds, she was deaf and blind, then asleep. She'd woken up in the prison cell, the ringing gone, her left arm bandaged, and the blood mopped from her face. She'd left the bandages on, for fear of what she'd find underneath. 'Great! Fucking deaf, and a cripple!' She had to get out, she had to find R.J, and the rest of her team. She didn't know how she got here, but she wanted to leave. She just wanted to go back home, take R.J with her, and... Live. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live. 'And I will.' Rin tightened her grip in the knife handle. She glared at the two white horse guards that stood out side. Next time they got close. She would live. ----Canterlot Castle Throne Room, Equestria---- “With all due respect princess, something HAS ta be done!” Applejack said worriedly as she, the other Elements of Harmony, and Princess Celestia stood in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. They'd just gotten the medical report back from the humans, Shining Armor, White Knight – the guard who got kicked – and the six xenomorphic creatures: Robert Jackson (R.J) Hanlon: exhaustion Rin Han: exhaustion, fourth degree chemical burns, deafness, lacerations Unknown: exhaustion Shining Armor: broken nose, broken teeth White Knight: broken nose, broken teeth, fractured jaw, lacerations Xenomorph One: deceased Xenomorph Two: deceased Xenomorph Three: deceased Xenomorph Four: deceased Xenomorph Five: deceased Xenomorph Six: deceased They'd found the human's names etched into their metal armor. As for the one that dove through the glass and kicked White Knight, his name remained unknown. Oh yes, humans were back. And they were smarter, and even worse than before. “Princess, I have to agree.” Twilight said from beside her mentor. “Humans were here for fifteen minutes, and in that time, they killed four beings, woke Discord, attacked my brother, attacked a guard, nearly destroyed the gardens, ruined Mane Street, ruined the medical observatory, frightened nearly everypony in Canterlot, and right now, one of them is destroying his cell, one is bad mouthing the guards, one is just sitting there staring at the guards, and holding something behind her back, but the guards are too afraid to go in and get it, and there's a large metal airship that landed outside Ponyville, with more humans on board!” Twilight explained, her voice rising in intensity. By the end of her rant, she was out of breath and panting. Twilight Sparkle was out of breath describing what a group of humans did in fifteen minutes. Something DEFINETLY needed to be done. “Has anypony investigated the airship?” Celestia asked, holding in an exhausted sigh. She had to stay strong for her ponies. “No, Ponyville has a bit of a xenophobia problem, so that shouldn't be a problem.” Twilight said with a shake of her head, remembering the incident with Zecora. “And whereabouts is Discord?” Celestia asked with obvious scorn in her voice. However, she hadn't forgotten about what he'd done in the observatory. She owed him her ponies lives. He had better not mess it up. “Nopony's seen him since he left.” Just as Twilight said that, there was a golden flash, and Discord appeared floating overhead. “Just checked out that airship.” He said causally as he floated lazily above Celestia. “YOU WHAT?!” Celestia shouted, loosing her temper at the chaotic spirit. Discord recoiled with mild shock. “I figured that, if anyone's going to find them, it might as well be the spirit of chaos, something they are SO fond of.” He explained, doing a lazy roll in the air. The room was silent for a few seconds. “WELL?” Celestia asked impatiently. “Well, they tried to kill me, two of them are hurt, and one of them looks close to being more insane than me.” He said with slight worry. “Better step my game up.” He followed. “I will be... around. Oh, and do try not to bring anymore humans and monsters into the beautiful, perfect, magnificent, amazing, glorious, utopia that is Equestria, where ponies and spirits totally AREN'T turned to stone.” He said, his mouth literally dripping sarcasm in the form of gray liquid, before he teleported away with another flash. Celestia held back a groan. As if being the ruler of Equestria wasn't hard enough, now she had malicious humans, malicious aliens, and a not-as-malicious spirit of chaos to watch after. And now humans could fly. And could kill things at a distance. And had large, unstoppable vehicles. But Celestia had to remain, at least somewhat, diplomatic with them. But when something gives off so much chaos, it gives the god of chaos a migraine... Celestia had hoped to never encounter humans again. Or if she did, they could at least be a little more tame. The humans in the cells would have to wait – although Celestia was worried about the girl whom they'd bandaged up – right now, she had to deal with the airship. “Short Sword, Iron Shield. Find Discord, make sure he's not doing anything to my castle. We may have a common enemy here, but he's still the god of chaos.” She said to the two guards by the entrance to the throne room. “Yes your highness!” The snapped, before turning and trotting out of the room. “Archer, Nose Dive. Retrieve Captain Shining Armor from the infirmary, and bring my carriage, as well as and additional four escort carriages. We're going to... attempt, to negotiate with the humans.” Celestia said, putting slight emphasis on attempt. “Your highness, is that really tha best thing ta do? Ah mean, they did try an kill Discord.” Applejack asked cautiously. “I must agree with Applejack, those ruffians could do all manner of horrible things.” Rarity added in, stepping up next to Applejack “Ooh, ooh, maybe we could throw them a party, then they wouldn't try to kill us!” Pinkie-Pie said excitedly, bouncing next to Applejack and Rarity. “Ooh! Can Luna come too?” She asked, her smile literally reaching ear to ear. “Well, if they DO, do something, we can always just kick their flank!” Rainbow Dash said cockily, then leaned over to Twilight. “We... CAN kick their flanks right?” She whispered. Twilight vigorously shook her head. “Um, you said that two of them were hurt? M-Maybe if we negotiate with them w-w-we c-could, um, help... them.” Fluttershy stuttered, getting more and more uncomfortable as she continued. “We might be able, and have to, do all those things. Really, it all depends on them.” Celestia said with a small shake of her head. 'This can't end well.' As she thought that, Nose Dive returned. “Your highness, Shining Armor is waiting in the carriage.” Celestia nodded. “My little ponies, I want you all to stay here. I'm not going to put you in harm's way.” This was met with loud protest, but Celestia silenced it with a raise of her hoof. “That is final. Besides, you all must stay here in case Discord decides to cause mayhem.” “Yes princess.” The Elements said with sighs. “Be careful.” Twilight said as she nuzzled her mentor. “I will.” She said warmly, the leaned down to Twilight's ear. “If the humans set one hoo- foot, out of their cells, use the Elements of Harmony.” She whispered quickly, then raised her head before Twilight could answer. “Shall we go Nose Dive?” She asked, getting the expected response of, “Yes your highness.” Together, the princess and the guard left the throne room, heading towards their waiting carriage. As they left, everypony in the room shared the same thought: This can't end well. ----Somewhere Outside of Ponyville, Equestria---- “This. Is. Fucking. Bullshit.” Private First Class Riley Hudson nodded in agreement to Private Katie Houston's remark. Katie had a large, slightly bloody, white bandage over her head, covering her left eye as well. She sat in the late Sergeant Carter O'Brien's seat aboard the APC, which was in the confines of the dropship Flynn had piloted into the gardens. “Fucking aliens, horses, weird devil dragon things, according to Mack.” She said in a sarcastic tone. “I can handle aliens.” She followed up, which was followed by Private Matt Sheckly muttering, “Apparently not.” Houston threw him a glare before continuing. “And I can handle horses. But really? Devil dragons?” “It wasn't a devil dragon, it was a, big dragon goat motherfucker.” Tiberius corrected, grimacing at how stupid it sounded, even to himself. Tiberius glanced over to where King was sitting. In front of him, Samuels lay unconscious. After a mixture of antibiotics, morphine, blood loss and stress, Samuels had passed out while the flew away from the now battle scarred garden. A lot of his armor had taken the damage, but not enough. He had major lacerations, and heavy blood loss, and while King was technically a corpsman, he didn't have the same medical training as Samuels or Holman. His odds weren't good. Tiberius looked around the APC. “Where's Hudson and Sheckly?” He asked, looking over to Houston. “They got over watch on the hilltop.” She responded, reaching beside her and unplugging her PDA from the charger. “I'm gonna see if I can contact any other units. Their radios might be out, but if they still have their PDA's, I can get in touch. Houston tapped the screen of the PDA. “Got one, it's... Holy shit.” Her eyes went wide. “Who is it? Is it Cook?” Tiberius asked, making his way to her, and looking at her screen. SEARCHING FOR CONNECTION RECIEVING LINK DATA PRIVATE WILLIAM J. HUDSON AWAITING CONNECTION VERIFICATION CONNECTION ACHIEVED “William Hudson? As in, Riley's brother?” Tiberius whispered, his eyes wide. “Yeah. Yeah, he was issued a PDA so... yeah.” Houston responded, nodding her head slowly. “If he's here, do you think the rest of Gorman's Grunts are?” Tiberius asked, resting one arm over her shoulder and leaning in beside her. “Maybe, if he made it, then... yeah, maybe. I,” Houston paused and glanced towards the APC doorway, then at Bishop, who was enthralled in an old novel. “I don't think we should tell Riley yet, not until we know for sure.” She said, keeping her voice low. “I also don't think this is something we should be sharing.” Tiberius nodded as Houston started working with the PDA once more. “I'm gonna try and hone in on the signal.” Houston said, her right eye narrowing in concentration. “I'm losing it.” She said, typing faster. CLIENT LOOSING CONNECTION CONNECTION LOST Houston let out a sigh of relief, and slumped in her seat while Tiberius stared blankly at the red text. “Did you get it?” He asked, arching an eyebrow. “Yes sir, coordinates are-” Houston was cut off as Riley Hudson flew the door open, and poked his head inside. “Unknown contacts incoming, I'm counting five at least.” He said to Tiberius. Tiberius nodded and grabbed his M41A Pulse Rifle from the rack. “Houston, stay with Samuels and King.” Tiberius ordered, thumbing the safety off his rifle. “Sir, I-” “Houston , Flynn doesn't have a rifle, King can't fight, and Samuels is out, You only have one good eye, and I need someone I can trust to hold the ship.” Tiberius said, grabbing his helmet and snapping it on. “Yes sir.” Houston said dejectedly, grabbing her own rifle and holding it lazily as Tiberius exited the APC. “Sheckly, I want eyes on targets, are they coming in hot?” Tiberius asked, leading Hudson down the ramp of the ship. “Umm, they're... horses?” “Where are they?” Tiberius asked, stepping off the ramp and onto grassy hill. “Behind you.” “Sheckly I swear to God if...” Tiberius stared at the sight before him. A tall white marble colored unicorn, pegasus thing with a crown on its head, flanked by a similarly white unicorn with a bandaged snout and electric blue hair – which Tiberius found obnoxious. On either side of those were four white unicorns, and four white pegasi, all armed with fine made spears. Absurdly, Tiberius' first thought was: 'R.J would hate this place.' This was proceded by Tiberius raising his rifle and setting it to automatic, because all problems can be solved with automatic. Beside him, Hudson was doing a similar action, but he was raising his sniper rifle and cocking the slide back. “Drop the weapons.” Tiberius ordered, keeping his aim – and gaze – on the queen horse. “Make one wrong move, and I'll blow your head off.” He said coldly, his hazel eyes never leaving the queen's almost cute, albeit piercing, eyes. “We have you outnumbered.” The one with blue hair next to the Queen said in an equally cold tone as Tiberius. “And he can punch a round of metal and lead into your Queen's skull at two hundred yards.” Tiberius said. On cue, a small red dot appeared on the Queen's forehead, just below the long ass horn. In response, the Queen's eyes narrowed. “I'm sure we can work this out.” She said coolly. “I'm sure too, now drop the weapons.” The Queen and Tiberius stared one another down until the Queen said, “Stand down.” Her order was not met with groans or mutters as the marines would. The guard's spears snapped upward, pointing their tips into the air. “Good. Sheckly, stand down, but keep her in your sights.” Tiberius said, making sure the Queen knew where she stood: Hell's gates if she made the wrong move. There were a few seconds of hostile silence before it was broken by the Queen. “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of the kingdom of Equestria.” Tiberius lowered his rifle so it was still aimed in her direction. “Staff Sergeant Mack Tiberius, Colonial Marines of Earth. Why are we here Princess.” He asked still keeping his cold gaze on her. Her eyes seemed to soften slightly. “That would be through the actions of my student. I'm afraid the spell she preformed had unforeseen consequences.” Tiberius lowered the rifle to the ground. “So this was pretty much your student's fault?” He asked. “Not fault, it was an accident.” She said. “Accident or not, I want to give this fucking girl the Goddamn Medal of Honor. Celestia tilted her head. “Thanks to your little student, by squad isn't dead. Had it not been for her, I know myself, and the rest of my team would be dead right now.” He said with a smirk. “And we got saved by a little girl and a spell.” Tiberius remembered Hudson's PDA. “Are there anymore Marines here?” He asked. Celestia nodded. “Three more are here with us. A girl, Rin Han, and a male, Robert Jackson.” There is one more with us, but his name is unknown. Tiberius breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't matter where they were, they were out of that damn facility. And that unknown. It could be Will Hudson. But Tiberius needed more proof other than a talking unicorn princess. “How many humans are here?” Celestia asked, gazing at the ship curiously. Tiberius' eyes narrowed and he gripped the rifle harder. “Why?” He asked. The Princess's gaze returned back to his, but instead of her old piercing eyes, She met his steely piercing gaze with a tender, yet authoritative, look. “So we can help you, and get you home. At this Tiberius slowly shook his head, while Hudson snorted and gave a harsh laugh. “Home? Home is where the hearth is eh?” Hudson said, looking at the Princess. All the humor drained from his dull green eyes, and were replaced with a raw hatred, not for her, but for everything. “Lady, we ain't got a home no more, and you sure as hell ain't sending us back to that shit hole.” He said, powering the laser dot on his rifle. “So you just get THAT thought out of your little head Missy.” The guard with blue hair was glaring at Hudson, and tensing his muscles to attack. “Hudson secure that shit!” Tiberius ordered, throwing him a look. “He's right though, we are NOT going back there. However, the helping part we could use. We have seven people here. One hurt, one unconscious, he's hurt pretty bad, and he's was the only medic left.” The Princess gave a warm smile. “I'm sure something could be arranged.” She said. “I think there is much we could learn from each other.” She said. “Yeah... I think that'll be a one way transfer.” He said, eyeing the spears. The princess's eyes once again narrowed. “Why don't we have a look at your wounded? Guards, stay out here, Captain, with me. If we may?” She asked, staring at Tiberius expectantly. “Yeah. Hudson, stay out here with them. If she does something, just kill them and come help me.” He said, motioning with his rifle for the Princess and her guard to follow. “I do not think that will be necessary.” The Princess said warily. “Uh-Huh, you coming?” Despite it all, Celestia couldn't help but grin slightly. This was so much easier than she'd anticipated. These humans were not like the savage brutes from long ago – although they were still brutes. Although one line kept repeating itself over and over in her mind: “Punch a round of metal and lead into your Queen's skull.” Normally she wouldn't be fazed by such a threat, but these humans... a device like that was all too possible. And did she really look like a Queen? ----Canterlot Dungeons, Equestria---- For once in her long, long, long life, Princess Luna wished she was back in the court room. Listening to royals blab on about their measly problems, and going over the tax reports. She'd rather be in another unaccepted town during Nightmare Night. She would rather be on the moon! Anywhere but under the cold, piercing glare of the human girl in front of her. It was obvious that the human's arm was in need of re-bandaging, and she wouldn't risk the lives of her subjects for it. Although her sister wouldn't allow a “Sentient” creature to perish in the cells. This meant that Luna had to retrieve the human. In order to do that, she would need to knock it out. In order to do that, she would need to get close. It was holding something behind it's back, but Luna couldn't get it without possibly hurting the human. She couldn't make conversation, it was deaf. Maybe writing? If her assumption was correct, they had the same written language. It was either that or storm into the cell swords swinging. Luna magically retrieved multiple rolls of scrolls, and two quills, the action causing the human's eyes to narrow suspiciously. “Guards, I require a table and chair.” She said to the guard on her left. “Yes your highness!” He shouted, not curtly, but nervously, then sped out of the room. Luna watched him leave curiously, then looked back at the human. She had followed the guard too, and when she faced Luna, she had a wicked smirk on her face. Luna stared at the human, unamused. This caused the human to let out a loud bark of laughter, then stop abruptly, and stare at the ground. She stared at the ground for a few more seconds before looking back up at the Princess, her cold glare returned full force. Luna sighed inwardly. Just when she thought she'd made some progress. The guard returned, levitating a table and one chair. He set the table down against the bars of the cage, and set the chair opposite from the bars. Luna thanked him and sat down in the chair. “You guards are dismissed, I want it to be as comfortable as possible.” The guards exchanged glances, then saluted, and filed out. Luna levitated the scrolls and quills onto the table, then pushed one scroll, and one quill through the bars into the cell. The human watched them as they floated roughly a foot from her, and settled to the ground. She stared at the two objects for a few seconds, then flicked her ice blue eyes back to Luna. Luna noted that when the eyes weren't glaring with hatred, they were actually quite beautiful. They were much like her own. The human cautiously stood up, her right hand tucking something in her pants, and her left dangling by her side, and picked up the two writing instruments. She approached the cell bars and slowly sat back down, the table being just the right height for her. Luna grabbed the quill and quickly wrote on the scroll: -Rin? Is that your name?- Luna turned the scroll to face the human, who studied it. The human looked back up to Luna. Luna could almost see the gears in her head spinning. 'It can't possibly be that dull witted that it doesn't know its name can it?' The human finally slowly nodded. -What are you?- Luna wrote. The human stared down at the quill and scroll, before picking the quill up. She held it up to the bars and raised an eyebrow, before bringing it back down and writing on the scroll. She then dropped the quill, and lifted the scroll to the bars. -I'm Corporal Rin Han of the Colonial Marines, who the fuck are you?- As much as Luna didn't appreciate the attitude, it was a start. -I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of the kingdom of Equestria. What is a Colonial Marine?- Rin laughed once again, before writing, -Your worst fucking nightmare, that's what.- Luna decided to ignore that last statement and cut to the matter at hoof. -Your arm, we need to change the bandage.- Rin looked down at her arm, then back to Luna. She shook her head and smirked deviously. -Uh-Uh, we're not done here. You said co-ruler, who's the other?- This creature obviously wasn't as dull as Luna had first perceived. -My sister, Celestia.- Rin chuckled. -Oh, Luna and Celestia, I get it. Real fucking clever.- Her eyes grew darker. -Where's R.J?- Luna contemplated her answer before writing, -He's safe, but he's causing quite a commotion.- Rin's head bobbed as if say, “Yeah.” Then, as she was looking at the floor, Rin spotted something. She motioned for Luna to lean closer, and picked whatever it was off the floor. Luna leaned closer to the bars, an was watching Rin's hand, when she suddenly reached behind her and grasped something. Luna barley had time to pull back from the bars before the knife slammed into the table with a loud THUNK! Luna stared at the knife in the table, where her head had been just seconds ago, then back to Rin, who now held a look of disappointment and anger. Rin then picked up the quill and began writing. When she was done she shoved the scroll through the bars of the cage and upside down onto the table. Hesitantly, Luna flipped the page over. -You should search your captives. And don't come back without R.J, and the key to my cell door.- Luna looked up from the scroll and saw Rin slowly walk back to her cage, cradling her arm tenderly. When she reached the far corner, she sat down and held her arm in her lap, staring at Luna with Luna had not seen before on her face. There was defeat in her sapphire eyes. Defeat, with anger, and sadness, and pain. Luna turned and slowly walked away from the human deep in thought as she made her way back to the castle. She didn't know why, but she wanted to stay with the Rin. Make her feel better somehow. Help her. Without the fear of being attacked. Rin hadn't made any move to attack until she'd mentioned R.J. “When Tia gets back, I am SO going to tell her off for this.” Luna muttered, her slippers clicking on the cobblestone. She wasn't going back to the meeting room, the royals could wait. She was going to her room to think, sleep, and forget. ----Somewhere Outside of Ponyville, Equestria---- They stared, and he stared right back. It was natural, they amused him, and he frightened them. Unbeknownst to the guards, a second stared at them as well. Or rather, he stared at his scope, which stared a cold merciless stare into the head of one of the guards. “So...” One of the guards said, looking around at the ship. “This thing really flies? It doesn't look all that good at flying.” He said, noting the fact that it was made of metal, metal, and a little bit of plexiglass. “Yeah, you should stop talking before Flynn hears you and tears you a new asshole.” Hudson said casually as he leaned against the ship, his rifle in his hands.”And you guards don't look all that tough, with your stupid gold armor, and spears. I mean, the spears I can understand, you're horses, it's not like you have technology.” This comment received glares from the guards. “But gold armor? Really? First off, that armor looks flimsy as wet shit, second off, it doesn't even cover your weak spots. I mean Christ, your whole fucking neck is exposed, I could just get up and slit that thing no problem! What?” He asked when he received glares and wide eyes. “Pussies.” ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, Administration, Planet LV-426---- “I hate stairs.” Private William Hudson muttered as he stared over the edge of the staircase, giving him a perfect view of the darkness below. The power to the Communications, and Alpha labs had been cut, giving him a nice view of hellish red lights, all consuming darkness, then more hellish red lights. Fucking superb. A motion tracker, a pistol with one and a half magazines, a map and body armor. That would not do. As soon as Hudson had stepped out of the room, he'd turned right back around, and grabbed the two maps. According to the map, there was an armory in the Cell Block, as well as Security, but he would be damned before he went back there. Hudson let out a ragged sigh, and started down the staircase, pistol in hand. He winced as he accidentally bumped the rail, causing his arm to smart again. Then, a horrifying though occurred to him. Do they smell blood? It was a good possibility. “Fuck this.” Hudson said, his voice increasing. He switched tactics from, slow and steady, and leap down one flight of stairs, turn on the platform, and leap down the next. At one point he'd jumped, and landed on one of the xenomorph's backs. Luckily, its exoskeleton held up to the weight, so he didn't get acid all over his boots. Instead, he just shot the fucker in the back of the head. Hudson looked up from the corpse and saw that he'd reached the promise land, Cell Block! Hudson swore as he fumbled for the map in his pocket. After much muttering and swearing by God, Hudson managed to pull the map out and hold the pistol with one hand, not wanting to open the wound on his left arm. He read the map in the red gloom, and found the security armory. It wasn't too far from his position. 100 hundred meters north, 150 counting the detours to get there. Hudson had a feeling that number was going to double before this was over. Hudson unceremoniously stuffed the map back into his pocket and continued down the gloomy hall. “Why are emergency lights red? Like, really? Is it just like, 'Oh shit, this place is fucked! Let's go ahead and scare the living shit out of people as they search for an exit!' And in a fucked up lab like this?” Hudson shook his head. “You know what? Fuck the police. When I get out of here, and I fucking will, I'm going to live in the wilderness.” He thought about it. “Nah, too much work, I'll just live with the homeless. I have a fucking rifle, I could get whatever the fuck I wanted on the street.” After devising his foolproof retirement plan, Hudson rounded the corner of the hallway, and started down the next. According to what the map said, Hudson was only two fucked up corners away from salvation. “Then after the salvation, the retribution shall come.” Hudson muttered with a short laugh. The whole time, his motion tracker was silent. As he'd experienced however, that could change fast. It seemed like all he needed to do was not piss them the fuck off, and they wouldn't notice him. For a short time. As he'd found out, if you piss them off enough, they'll just hunt you down. Hudson figured he was on the borderline of safe, and fucked. 'Okay, If I see another, I'll... hide. Run, something. I don't want to draw attention when all I got is a pistol. Once I get to the armory, I'll fuck shit up, until then, their suffering will have to wait.' Hudson's motion tracker started to go off. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.” Hudson shot a glance at the tracker. One target, ten meters ahead of him. Hudson looked around frantically, before he saw a small compartment. Hudson unclipped the tracker, and slid it across the floor, thinking the sound would attract the Xeno, and threw the compartment door upward, revealing a black hole. Without a pause, Hudson gripped the top of the compartment, just under the door, and slid his legs inside. Only to find, that they didn't hit a wall, and that the compartment went down. 'Shit.' It was a laundry shoot. A fucking laundry shoot, in a scientific research station on a hostile planet, in a cell block, that seemed to have no purpose. 'Seriously, fuck my life.' Hudson felt himself falling, but kept his grip on the edge. However, his fingers were blocking the door from closing. Hudson let go, and grabbed the bottom of the compartment, swearing softly as the door banged shut on his finger tips. And there Hudson hung, hanging by his fingertips, and being weighed down by his armor in a small, cramped tube. The motion tracker beeped wildly as the Xeno got nearer. 'Keep going, you keep going you big black cocksucker.' The beeping reached the climax, then started falling off. After a few seconds, the beeping was gone. Hudson breathed out a curse of relief and started to hoist himself back up. It was hard going, with much swearing and armor clanging about, but eventually he fell out of the laundry shoot and back onto the floor. He picked himself up off the floor, and grabbed the now silent motion tracker. He started into a brisk jog, wanting to get there in a hurry. Finally, he found it, a small sign that said, “Cell Block Security” hung above the metal door. Hudson didn't even bother trying to open it and instead went right to the control pad to the right of the door. After a few seconds of extra vulgar curses, the security door slid open with a quiet FWIP. Hudson did a happy hop into the room, turned and slid the door shut behind him. Hudson then fiddled with the control pad, his distinct lack of PDA making everything harder, and was able to lock the door once more. After that, he looked around the small room. There were monitors everywhere, as well as a few desks, some benches, and another large metal door. Hudson skipped merrily, his armor clanging, and started on the control pad for the door. His jolly attitude died quickly. “Ooh, fuck you. Fuck you. I will fucking stab you. You BITCH!” As he yelled “Bitch,” he jammed two of the wires together, and was rewarded with the door opening. Hudson stepped into the armory, and grinned like a madman. Pulse rifles, ammunition, pistols, grenades, thermite mines, smartguns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, RPG's, flamethrowers, automated sentry guns, antipersonnel shotguns, body armor, helmets. “Their retribution is at hand.” ----Somewhere Outside of Ponyville, Equestria---- “This is Flight Corporal Archer Flynn, he's our pilot. That's Private Katie Houston, our technician. Watch out for her, she's a fierce one.” “Damn straight.” “On the table is Private Flag Samuels, our corpsman, or medic. That there is King, our android, he's... You know what, never mind. That hard guy outside with the big gun? That was Private First Class Riley Hudson, he's one of our snipers.” At this Celestia froze, although Tiberius didn't see it. "Back on the hill, the one who put that red dot on you, that was Private First Class Matt Sheckly, our other sniper. That's everyone here. You said you got R.J and Rin in jail. Rin is in charge of munitions and gear, and R.J is our smartgunner.” Tiberius ended, turning back to her. “King here is a medical expert, but he's more into cutting things open and finding out how they tick. If you have a medic with you I'll let him have a look at him.” Tiberius offered. Celestia shook her head. “That won't be necessary. If you wish, I could have him transported to Canterlot for professional help, no offense.” She said, giving King an apologetic look. “None taken.” He said sincerely. “Uh-uh, if he goes we go. Sorry Princess, but I'm not sending one of my men alone into unknown territory, not even Samuels.” Celestia nodded her head. “I understand.” She said, then her voice grew more authoritative. “And I'm sure you understand when I say that this ship will not be allowed to fly in Canterlot airspace.” Flynn hid his curse under a snort, and decided to return to the cockpit before he got pissed. Celestia watched him go in slight annoyance. Never before had she been treated so disrespectfully, even by dragons. Although she'd take disrespectful over violent any day. “We will also address Miss Houston's injury as well.” “It's not that bad.” Houston muttered and glanced at at the floor. “How do you expect to get us to Camelot?” Tiberius asked, raising a brow. “Canterlot, and the same way I came.” The Princess responded. “I was afraid you'd say that.” Tiberius said with a slight shake of his head. It was Celestia's turn to raise a brow. “Afraid of heights?” Tiberius chuckled. “Only when I'm being dragged behind flying horses in a gold carriage, with no top I should add.” The Princess gave him a reassuring smile. “It's not that bad I assure you.” “Speak for yourself, you got wings, I just fall.” He muttered bitterly. Throughout this whole scene, the pony Celestia had introduced as Captain Shining Armor, was positively seething, and trying to hold himself back. It wasn't every day that you're given the order to stand and ignore aliens while they disrespect the Princess. “Shall we depart?” Celestia asked with a faint grin. Tiberius gave her a deadpanned expression, then activated his comms. “Okay, Sheckly and Flynn, stay here with the ship, I'm taking Houston, King, Hudson, and Samuels with me to Canterlot for medical attention and... diplomatic reasoning.” Celestia giggled loudly as Sheckly whined in a child like voice, “Aww, but sarge! I wanna see the pony city too~!” Tiberius groaned and radioed Flynn. “Corporal, watch the kid, Daddy's got to go to work.” This was proceeded by Flynn speaking in a terrible high pitched voice. “Sure thing sugar! Get back soon! Tee Hee!” Sheckly then got back on the comms. “Mommy, mommy! I want some candy! Please? I weally weally want some!” “Yes. Yes, let us depart. Now.” ----Canterlot Castle Personal Study, Equestria---- “Twi? Twi, are ya okay?” Applejack asked, watching Twilight as she gazed longingly out the window of the study. It wasn't like her to ignore this many accumulated books in one place, and it was worrying the other elements. “No, I'm not. I'm worried about the Princess and my brother. Those humans, they have amazing technology.” She shook her head. “It scares me to think about what they can do.” Rainbow Dash paused her armature hoof-fu training and stood next to Twilight. “C'mon Twi, the Princess can handle herself, she's one tough mare. And your brother... well... He's pretty cool too!” Pinkie-Pie poked her head from her book fort in one corner of the room to keep invading aliens out. “Oh they're fine Twilight! The humans aren't THAT bad! They killed the mean things too!” Rainbow Dash trotted over to the book fort. “Uh Pinkie, I don't think that fort is gonna do much against-” “Rainbow NO~!” Pinkie-Pie screamed dramatically as Rainbow Dash snapped the tripwire, making a quiet, TWANG. “Pinkie?” Rainbow asked fearfully as above her, the net containing the dictionaries fell. Rainbow Dash's leg twitched from under the pile of dictionaries old and new alike. “Rainbow!” Pinkie-Pie hollered. “Now I have to reset the trap! And you scared Fluttershy!” Fluttershy was currently hiding in a fort of her own, but it was made of bookshelves instead of books. Her wide blue eyes poked out between a crack in the shelves at the mention of her name. Twilight turned back to the window. “It'll be okay Twi.” As she said that, Twilight saw the carriages come into view. “There she is!” Twilight exclaimed, then jumped back from the window, and started galloping towards the door. Applejack followed while Rarity helped Rainbow Dash from under the pile of books. Pinkie-Pie jumped through the window of her fort and procceded to hop and jump around the various tripwires and pressure plates until she reached her perimeter. Fluttershy managed to worm her way between two shelves and plop onto the floor, after which, she got up and galloped out after the others. The guards at the end of the hall allowed them access to the landing pad. “Princess we-” Twilight and the other Elements stood stock still. “Fuck, there's more.” “The entire species seems to be equine. Four different types. Wings, horns, both, and none. “Fascinating King. “I'm already sick of this place.” “Girls.” Princess Celestia started. “Meet the Colonial Marines.”
Interval 1: Preparations---- Canterlot Science Pavilion, Equestria---- “You'll do fine my little pony.” A warm loving voice said to the nervous lavender coated unicorn. The voice belonged to the regal alicorn by the name of Princess Celestia. “B-But Princess, what if something goes wrong? What if I do something wrong? What if I find killer aliens that eat ponies? What if it destroys Canterlot? What if-” The unicorn's nervous rant was cut off as the ivory alicorn said assuredly, “I have thought of these outcomes myself, and I have taken the necessary precautions. The pavilion will be protected by my finest guards. You mustn't dwell on the “what ifs” they can overcome your sense of reason.” As she said this, she pulled back the red curtain behind them ever so slightly. On the other side, hundreds of ponies waited anxiously to see what the unicorn was going to unveil. “It'll be okay Twilight.” Celestia said to the unicorn. “You'll do great.” She added warmly, before giving the young unicorn an encouraging push towards the curtain. Twilight took a deep breath, and stepped out onto the stage, which was clear, save for a small table for anything she found. She was met with a formal applause as she took a small bow, hiding her nervousness. “Good evening everypony!” She said, projecting her voice towards the ponies in the back. “As many of you know, I recently discovered, what may possibly be, a passageway to other universes.” She said, making sure to sound confident in herself. “These other universes, are essentially alternate realities. Some of them are thousands of years in the future, some are thousands of years in the past, and some are in present day. But all of them, are different. Whether it be something as small as reading a novel or not, each universe is different.” She explained. “Tonight, I will be demonstrating this.” She said, waiting for the murmurs to die down. Twilight looked at the front row, where her six friends, along with the two princesses and her brother, along with his wife, Cadence sat. How Celestia managed to get there, she didn't know, nor did she question it; she had much more important things to worry about. The second Princess, Luna, sat to Celestia's right on a soft mat. Luna was a few years younger than Celestia, and it showed. To Celestia's left, sat Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor. All of them, aside from Spike her number one assistant and baby dragon, Cadence and Shining Armor, were wielders of the Elements of Harmony. The Elements were used to banish evil from their land of Equestria. Shining Armor was Twilight's older brother, and captain of the Celestial Royal Guard. He was currently off duty to attend Twilight's unveiling, with his wife Cadence, Twilight's former foalsitter. Spike gave her a reassuring thumbs up, and Applejack gave her a confident wink. Twilight gave a wink back, small enough that nopony else saw it, then backed away the crowd, and lowering her horn towards the center of the stage. Her horn lit a dazzling purple, intensifying and becoming more spherical. With a bright purple flash, a small note dropped from thin air in the direction she was pointing. Twilight felt a wave of disappointment, fear, and anxiety flood through her as she watched the small letter fall to the ground. ---- Insurgent Complex, planet BG64---- “Fall back to checkpoint delta, and rendezvous with Beta team!” A voice shouted through staff sergeant Mack Tiberius' headset. The voice belonged to 2nd lieutenant James Macklin, the mission controller for the operation. “You heard the LT! Styles, lay down suppressing fire, and follow up behind!” Tiberius shouted to his squad as he brought his M41A pulse rifle up over the concrete barrier and fired off a three round burst in the direction of the insurgents. Private first class Thomas Styles leaned out from behind a large indigenous tree, and started spraying with his smartgun. Despite his strong build and aggressive appearance, Styles was a geek at heart. A small disc with “Old Skool” below it was painted on his chest plate, further proving his geekiness. That didn't stop him from blasting an insurgent to bits with his smargun. The paramilitary complex was surrounded by dense jungle, effectively blocking the APC from entering. The insurgents had obtained advanced military hardware, and were threatening to use it on one of Wayland Yutani's freighter ships. “Shit! Samuels got hit!” Private Katie Houston shouted as she ducked behind the overturned husk of a jeep, private Flag Samuels dead in the dirt next to her. Katie had short golden blond hair, with small brown highlights, though it was hidden by her helmet. Samuels' helmet lay in the dirt next to him, a large hole in the front. “Damn-it, sniper!” She shouted again, as she attempted to break cover, but was pushed back as a high caliber round slammed into the ground in front of her. “Roger that! Hudson! Get on it!” Tiberius ordered as he nailed an insurgent who had darted from cover in an attempt to reach the relative safety of a concrete block of a building. Over the sound of pulse rifle rounds, and Styles' smartgun, a loud blast echoed off the trees as Tiberius saw a man careen over the edge of a small platform, high in one of the surrounding trees. “Nailed it.” Private First Class Riley Hudson said, as he worked the bolt of his M64B sniper rifle. “Uh, sir I think... Oh fuck!” Hudson screamed as, overhead, an RPG raced towards the rock outcrop he was perched on. Hudson's scream was abruptly cut short as the grenade detonated on the outcrop and blasted it to pieces. “Hudson's down!” Tiberius shouted, as more and more insurgents were streaming from buildings. He watched Houston dart over to where he was kneeling. “Sir! We can't retreat! They got us pinned down, and Beta team's in deep shit!” She shouted, as bullets ricocheted off the barrier. “What?! What happened to Beta?! Fuck!” Tiberius shouted, ducking his head down further when a bullet pinged off the top of his helmet. “They got ambushed!” She shouted in response. “Styles is down!” Private first class Ralph Cook screamed through the microphone. Tiberius heard the sound of Styles screaming, and his smartgun going off at as his finger twitched spasmodic on the trigger. “Sir! We have to-” Houston was cut off as one of Style's spray bullets smashed into her forehead, punching a round clean through her head. She snapped backwards, and collapsed to the jungle floor. “Fuck!” Tiberius screamed as Houston's blood sprayed in his face. He heard Cook scream in pain, and his weapon cease firing. “Tiberius, pull out! Pull out now! Beta team's down pull out!” Macklin shouted to him in near panic. Tiberius wiped the blood from his eyes, and saw a pulse rifle aimed at his head. “Shit.” Was all he said before the rifle discharged, spraying his brains across the topsoil. ----Wayland Yutani Cooperation Marine transport vessel “War Game”---- “Gah fuck!” Tiberius shouted as the virtual reality training simulator broke connection. He ripped the helmet off and clutched at his head, making sure it was still intact. All around him in the simulator room, the rest of his platoon was groaning and suffering the same kind of insomnia as him. Tiberius sighed and stood up from the small pod he was in. He stepped onto the cold white tile floor. The room was a sterile white which seemed to assault his eyesight at every angle. There was a single door on the opposite side of the room from him. He saw Hudson sitting in his pod groaning and stretching his muscles. “Damn, we're getting fucking lousy.” He whispered to Hudson, who nodded in agreement. Tiberius glanced at his monitor. Six kills, nine wounds. Not too bad. Then, he glanced at R.J Hanlon Beta team's smartgunner's monitor. Twenty two kills, thirty five wounds. R.J noticed Tiberius staring and said, “They ran at me like fucking zombies. RATATATATAT!” He said, making the motion of his smartgun kicking in his hands, as he swung the imaginary weapon around the room. Macklin chose that time to enter the simulator room, with King, the android assigned to the team. “Sheckly! What the hell was that!?” Macklin shouted to private first class Matt Sheckly, Beta team's sharpshooter. “Chikusho temee” Beta team's ammunition's expert, corporal Rin Han said to Sheckly scornfully as she walked past. Rin had been born and raised on Kana Yama, which was founded by the Japanese. It was a dangerous mountainous planet, which offered little. That being said, she was undoubtedly one of the most, as Sheckly says, “Bad-ass bitches in the Marine Corp.” “You don't take potshots at windows!” Macklin said, shaking his head. “If we want to be better than “Gorman's Grunts”, we have to do better.” He said, looking over his group. “Fuck Gorman's Grunts!” R.J exclaimed in his deep loud boastful voice. “And fuck my brother too.” Hudson said smirking, whilst taking a long drag from a cigarette he'd pulled from his shirt pocket. “That's right, now, head out and get some chow, orders came in for a rescue op. I will brief you all after chow.” Macklin said. This was met with grumbles and low voiced complaints. “I know, I know, but when we get this done, the Corp will have a nice fat bonus waiting for you all.” He said raising an eyebrow as the mood shifted dramatically from everyone slouching and grumbling, to everyone quickly filing out of the room to the mess hall. “Well that worked.” King commented as the last soldier, Cook, filed out. Macklin grinned wryly. “Always does. C'mon.” He gestured before following the soldiers. Ten minutes later, “Macklin's Maniacs” were seated around the mess hall tables. The whole room had a metallic shine to it. Even the food seemed to unnaturally shine due to the amount of preservatives in it. At the center table, Hudson, Tiberius, Hanlon, Houston, and Sheckly were seated together, enthralled in a deep conversation. “Well, yeah Will's an ass, but he's also one of the best techies I've ever seen.” Hudson said, a tiny hint of pride in his voice as the discussion rotated around Gorman's Grunts. He gave Houston a quick smile, “Not to say that YOU'RE not the best, he just shows it more.” He said assuredly. Tiberius pointed at his sharpshooter with the butt of his cigarette, and said, “Yeah, but I'll bet anything he'd crack under pressure.” Hudson laughed out loud, “I never said he wouldn't! He always was kind of a pussy.” “Now, Vasquez, There's a pussy I wouldn't mind pounding.” R.J said loudly, winking towards Rin at the other table. Rin and Vasquez had met before and hadn't... agreed... on certain things. Specifically, who was the better bad-ass. Tiberius and Hudson had to step in before the argument came to blows, which was quickly about to happen. Rin flicked him off with a cold stare, and dug back into her cold pasta. R.J laughed, and blew a kiss in her direction. “Yeah well, I heard she's already got her eyes on someone.” Sheckly said chasing the last hard pea on his plate with his fork. “I heard that she and her smartgun partner, Drake, had a little something going on.” He followed up, before just picking the pea up and accidentally crushing it between his fingers. “Shit.” He mumbled shaking the smashed pea off his fingers. Private first class Acrope Maple, Beta team's technician, was sitting alone as he usually did, slowly spearing the pasta on his plate, and staring intently at it as he did. Meanwhile, sergeant Carter O'Brien walked into the room holding a fairly large amount of mail, both electronic and on paper. “Han! Hudson! Me. Styles!” He called out, sifting through the mail. The marines called stood and made for their respective mail. Then, they all filed out to view their mail in private. “Shit, no mail again?” R.J complained. “Must be cause I'm black. I get no love.” He said with mock sadness and shaking his head. “Aw, it's okay! I'm sure there's plenty of guys who love you!” Houston remarked assuredly, causing barking laughs from her table mates, and the finger from R.J. Meanwhile, Hudson closed the door to his tiny quarters and plopped down on the small bed. His letter was on classic paper, and had the Marine Corp seal on it. “Shit, that's never good.” He mumbled before opening the letter. Dear, Mr. Riley Hudson We regret to inform you, that your brother, private William Hudson Jr, is missing in action after a planet drop mission to LV-426. His unit was independent, and was not in contact with command during the operation. After roughly six hours on the surface, the processing station his unit was dispatched to detonated, creating a thermonuclear explosion. Radio contact with their vessel, “The Sulaco” has been unsuccessful, and no one could survive the blast near the plant. A unit will be dispatched to investigate the Sulaco. Until then, we offer our deepest condolences, and we will do everything in our power to locate your brother. Most Sincerely, Commander Luke Mason Commander Luke Mason And right there on the letter was a picture of when his little brother had first joined the corp. Still wearing that cocky ass grin. He was only twenty-two in the picture. That had been six years ago. And now... Hudson stared at the letter, then at the small mirror across from him. He saw rage. Raw, blinding, fury. Hudson calmly stood up, dropping the letter to the cold metal floor, and approached the mirror. He then cocked his fist back, and slammed it into the mirror, shattering it, and slicing his fist open. He continued to punch the already shattered mirror, screaming in rage. Speckles of blood flew onto the walls and onto his fatigues. But he didn't stop. He continued to punch the wall, denting the metal, and scream until his voice went hoarse. Only then did he stumble backwards, collapse onto the bed, and slam the back of his head against the wall. His right fist was a bloody, swollen, and lacerated mess of flesh and bone. He didn't care. He was so absorbed in his grief and rage, he didn't notice when R.J, Rin, and Styles ran into his room. He didn't notice when they lifted him off the bed. He didn't notice when they realized what had happened. He didn't notice when Macklin, and Samuels charged into the room. He didn't notice when his bloody raw fist slammed into Samuels' face. He didn't notice when R.J and Styles restrained him. He didn't notice anything but the blinding rage in him. And when they all left, nobody noticed the letter disappear in a flash of purple light. It was three hours later. Tiberius, Styles, R.J, Houston, King, Sheckly and Flynn were seated together in the mess hall. Corporal Archer Flynn was the pilot for Macklin's Maniacs, with private Karl German as her co-pilot. Samuels, Macklin, Rin, and Holman were in medical with Hudson. Private Jake Holman was Beta team's medic, and a good one at that, even if he was a bit... sick in the head. Samuels was sporting a broken nose, and a missing tooth. Hudson was far worse. He had broken every finger in his right hand, had severe lacerations, and a concussion from the impact against the wall. He also needed a new mirror. Overall, he would be lucky if he was ever able to use his right hand again. If so, he would continue his work for the glorious corp... if his psych profile was acceptable. If not, he would be sent back to LV-164, his home planet, and back to his family. One Hudson short. “Fucking Christ, I didn't know he had it in him.” Sheckly commented as he took a sip of water from a styrofoam cup. “Hudsons have always got it in them.” Tiberius said, taking a puff of his cigarette. “A friend of mine's dad actually worked with Hudson Sr. Said, that when the shit got real, that man went psycho. Just decimated anything that wasn't wearing the good ol' marine green, brown, and black. Kept going until a sniper bullet found him too. So honestly, I'm not all that surprised at how bad his flip-out was. What I am surprised though, was that he shocked anyway. I mean, it is the marines.” He said with a light shrug of his shoulders, and taking another drag of his cigarette. “Yeah, but he was rolling with Gorman's Grunts, and they're some bad mother fuckers. Maybe he thought they would be good enough not to worry.” R.J guessed standing up from his chair, and refilling his cup. “What I want to know, is what killed them.” Styles said, a small sketchbook in his lap. “He has a point.” King said somewhat admirably. “It said that the atmospheric processor detonated. They would've had plenty of time to evacuate. Whoever was down there, must have sabotaged their transport.” He pointed out. “Yeah, but who could?” Flynn asked. “Ferro was one tough bitch. She didn't let anyone mess with her ship, let alone sabotage.” “So who did it?” Styles asked, looking around at his comrades. He was met with the same looks he had. “More like “what” did it.” A voice said from the entrance of the room. Everyone turned and saw sergeant Carter O'Brien, Beta team's group leader, standing in the doorway. “What do you mean?” Tiberius asked raising an eyebrow. Carter calmly walked into the room, and sat down at the table. “I did a bit of research, they were sent to investigate a terraform colony they'd lost contact with. And, not only that, but they were sent with an “adviser” Apparently, she saw an alien once, killed it too.” He said almost quietly, like he wasn't allowed to share this information. “And, get this, the planet that she found the alien on? Was the planet the colony was on.” He said, sounding doubtful of the information himself. Tiberius clicked his tongue, “Huh, well if that's true, then whatever is down there must be one tough mother fucker.” He said O'Brien nodded, and continued. “Yeah, I read the report the adviser gave, Ripley I think. A parasitic creature that latches onto the host's face where it lays an egg. After it lays the egg, it falls off and dies. The egg hatches, then bursts from their chest a few hours later. The “chestburster” then grows to a large size, with intelligence that rivals that of a person. It bleeds concentrated acid for blood, and has a large sword like tail. It can scale walls, and waits to ambush it's prey. The report goes on to say how this thing wiped out the crew of a cargo vessel in under twenty-four hours, leaving only one survivor, who flushed it out the airlock. Warrant officer Ellen Ripley.” He'd obviously been doing his homework. “O'Brien, how the hell do you know all this?” Sheckly asked, in astonishment, mixed with confusion. “Having an officer's clearance allows me access to combat records, and such.” He replied with a shrug. “O'Brien, you don't HAVE an officer's clearance!” Tiberius said grinning, as he snuffed out his cigarette, now smoked down to his fingers, in a small ashtray on the table. His middle and fore finger, both had small burn scars from years of smoking down to the butt of the cigarette. Carter O'Brien simply grinned, and gave another small shrug. “All combat members, report to the shuttle bay! All combat members, report to the shuttle bay!” Macklin's voice blared over the speakers. Reluctantly ending the conversation, the group stood up, and jogged out the door towards the shuttle bay. ----Canterlot Science Pavilion, Equestria---- The attendees were less than thrilled when all that appeared was a small piece of paper, that ponies from the middle and back couldn't even see. Two particular ponies in the second row were deeply intrigued in the experiment. They, were a mint green unicorn, and a cream colored earth pony. They, were Lyra and Bon-Bon, two housemates who lived in Ponyville, along with Twilight and her friends. Technically, it was Bon-Bon's house with Lyra living upstairs, but the two acted like sisters. They rarely disagreed on anything, aside from one touchy subject – humans. Lyra was interested, almost obsessed with mythical creatures called humans, that she believes are from far in Equestria's past. Meanwhile, Bon-Bon was, not skeptical, just downright disbelieving of such silly presumptions of royal espionage and conspiracies, both of which Lyra seemed to think was affecting her everyday life. This made her difficult to room with, but Bon-Bon – somehow – managed. Lyra wasn't solely interested in humans however, that was her main interest, she was interested in anything non-Equestrian. In short, aliens. Bon-Bon didn't believe in that either. Come to think of it, there was a LOT that Lyra believed in, that, almost nopony else did. Lyra had physically forced Bon-Bon to come along to this unveiling, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little interested. Her first thoughts when the note came through was, 'That's it?' Some other ponies had the same reaction. Then she read it out loud. Twilight cleared her throat, Dear, Mr. Riley Hudson We regret to inform you, that your brother, private William Hudson Jr, is missing in action after a planet drop mission to LV-426. His unit was independent, and was not in contact with command during the operation. After roughly six hours on the surface, the processing station his unit was dispatched to detonated, creating a thermonuclear explosion. Radio contact with their vessel, “The Sulaco” has been unsuccessful, and no one could survive the blast near the plant. A unit will be dispatched to investigate the Sulaco. Until then, we offer our deepest condolences, and we will do everything in our power to locate your brother. Most Sincerely, Commander Luke Mason To the right of the letter was a picture of something Twilight never thought she'd see, or even thought existed. A human. It was tall, judging from the picture, maybe close to six hooves high, with short blond hair, and a young face donning a cocky grin that rivaled Rainbow Dash's. Twilight found it uncomfortable that the only thing she understood about the letter was the picture, which almost rocked her way of life. 'So humans are real and Lyra was right huh? I bet Bon-Bon's going to have a fit.' Twilight thought as the crowd shared Twilight's confusion at the letter. “Well.” She said, turning the letter over for anything else. The crowd was murmuring quietly; discussing the mysterious letter. Eventually, she levitated it to the table, and gently set it down, before facing the crowd again. “Let's try somewhere else.” She said, which was met with some applause, but not as much as before. What came next had better be good. ----Wayland Yutani Cooperation Marine transport vessel “War Game”---- The group of soldiers had gathered in the shuttle bay, while Macklin, and King stood before them. “I'm going to say this simply; rescue mission.” Macklin said, well, simply; which received groans from the collected squad. Hudson was there too, sporting a bandaged hand, and a small bandage around the crown of his head. Nearby, Samuels was sitting on a small, empty cargo crate with a black eye and a bandage over the bridge of his nose after Hudson had smashed it. Jake Holman was the one who'd patched up Hudson and Samuels after the incident. Holman was a great medic, probably because he had a couple screws loose. Not enough to get him section 8d, but enough that no one in the unit would want him at their back. Everyone would agree though, when the blood was being spilled, that man got rocking and rolling. So long as it wasn't his own blood. “There's a science outpost at coordinates, 97o north, and 103o east, planet LV-426.” As the lieutenant said this, the group all cut their eyes at Hudson, who sat stone faced, and staring at Macklin. Macklin quickly glanced at Hudson, then continued the briefing. “We lost communication with the outpost nine hours ago, and it still hasn't come back. Our objective is to locate and secure a team of scientists, and any equipment they may have.” He said. “We will be accompanied by a company Adviser, who will be joining us soon.” This was met with groans and grumbles. “Man, this sound a lot like Gorman's mission.” Sheckly whispered to O'Brien, who nodded back. “Uh sir, why is he coming?” Tiberius asked. “The science outpost is company property. As such, they want to ensure that it remains intact. We had an incident not to far from the outpost which resulted in an atmospheric processor being detonated.” There was no question now. Whatever had happened to Gorman's Grunts, was connected with this outpost. There was just too much for it to be coincidence. “Do we know what kind of opposition we'll be facing?” Rin asked, a small cigarette hanging loosely from her lips. “We don't know if there will be any opposition anyway.” Macklin said nonchalantly. The marines all glanced at each other as they shared one thought. 'yeah right.' “I want the dropship loaded for bear, and the APC packed away in three hours. Gear up.” Macklin ordered, before turning, and briskly walking away. At this, Tiberius and O'Brien stood and faced their group. “Alright, ya'll heard him, Styles and Houston, start loading the APC. Cook, I want all our weapons checked off and loaded. Samuels, get your medical gear loaded, and bring some extras, we don't know what's down there.” After a moment's hesitation, he added, “Hudson, you go with him, get that bandage changed.” He said, pointing to the bloody bandage on his hand. Hudson silently stood and followed Samuels out of the bay. “C'mon man, let's go.” Samuels said as he draped an arm over Hudson's shoulder and made their way to the medical bay. “Holman, go with them. Rin, go with Cook and get our gear ready. Hanlon, and Sheckly, start preparing the ship. Maple, I want you on the power loader.” O'Brien said to his team, who all stood and saluted, before jogging off to preform their designated duties. ----Coordinates 93o north and 102o east, Planet LV-426---- Private William Hudson was having a bad day. His day started out sucking, and it almost ended sucking. Luckily for himself, he didn't give up easily. After the last stand in the operation room, Hudson had been dragged down under the grating of the floor by one of those dirty fuckers. Luckily for him, the fucker had been too stupid to strip his weapons. After what seemed like hours of the damned thing lugging him down the seemingly never ending hallways with it's blade to his throat, and the motion tracker on his side constantly beeping non-stop the whole way, Hudson heard “Warning, evacuate immediately. You now have, thirty minutes to reach minimal safe distance.” The alien was startled and dropped Hudson, who quickly raised his service pistol and damn near clipped it's head off with the amount of rounds he pumped into it. However, Hudson didn't have much time to celebrate as his motion tracker started to pick up more readings. “I really want to smash this fucking thing.” Hudson gritted, before lifting it up and reading it. Five contacts, two meters. “Oh. Fuck!” Hudson shouted and scrambled down the grated hallway. The contacts filed out of a small vent to Hudson's right, and slowly stalked forward. Hudson pumped three rounds into the group, before turning and sprinting down the hallway. “Run!” Hudson screamed to himself as he heard the bastards give chase. Their foot and claw falls echoed through the empty corridors. He could hear their ragged breaths and hisses, boosting him forward as the red emergency lighting flung the corridor into a hellish scene. There was an open door ahead, and one Hudson was just looking for. A thick metal blast door. There was a small electronic panel on the wall next to it. Only problem was, there was no power, due to those black scaly bitches. So, with Hudson's electronic knowledge, he raised his pistol and pumped two rounds into the panel. The door closed faster than he'd expected. No, closed isn't the right term, fell, is more suitable. Hudson slid for home base just as the door slammed shut, splitting one of the things in half with a pitiful scream. Hudson laughed wildly as he picked himself up. “FUCK YEAH!” He shouted, as he saw a small all-terrain surveyor. Then Hudson remembered something. Acid for blood. Hudson glanced behind him, and was already sprinting for the surveyor as he saw the acid eating away at the bottom of the door. The room flashed with the red emergency lights as Hudson ran towards the surveyor. Then, he saw yet another problem. The door leading to the outside world, to his freedom, was shut, with no power to open it. “You MOTHER FUCKER!” Hudson screamed in rage, as he changed direction and made a mad beeline between crates and shipping containers towards a small power box next to the door. Hudson skidded to a halt in front of the box, and ripped it open. Then, he pulled out his PDA, and fumbled for the adapter cord. “Bitch, bitch, BITCH!” Hudson hollered as he finally managed to connect his PDA to the box with shaky hands. Hudson cast a glance at the door, which was slowly being eaten through. Hudson began to furiously tap at his PDA. <Route emergency power <Warning, routing the power could cause failure in other devices running on emergency power. Would you like to continue? <Accept. <... Route complete <Open surface entrance <Warning, command failed, safety protocol engaged. “I WILL RUIN YOUR SHIT!” Hudson screamed as he continued attempting to open the door. <Override safety protocol, command 0-69A <Warning, are you sure? “Yes you computer bitch!” Hudson hollered as he accepted the command, to be rewarded with the sound of hydraulics, and the large door sliding upward, allowing the dirt, and dust to blow blow in with almost gale force. Hudson dropped his PDA, letting it hang by the cord as it bumped against the metal wall, and sprinted back to the surveyor. Hudson reached the door, and ripped it open, before jumping in, and literally, punching the ignition. As soon as it was on, Hudson slammed on the gas. The force of the acceleration pushed Hudson into the seat, and slammed the door that Hudson had left open closed. Hudson smashed crates and tanks of oxygen out of the way, and he plowed forward to the door. In his review mirror, he could see the bastards crawl out, and stand on two legs, before screeching at Hudson as he stuck his left hand out the window and flipped them the bird. The aliens let out one final horrible screech, before Hudson sped off into the wastes of LV-426. Behind him, the aliens stood staring at the space their prey had escaped off to. Their Queen ordered them not to leave the area, and the Queen knows best. None of them noticed when Hudson's dangling PDA disappeared in a flash of purple light. ----Canterlot Science Pavilion, Equestria---- Twilight observed the small object with great interest. She'd needed something big, and she got it. It was a small square object with a glass-like screen on one side with letters and numbers on it. She gently laid it on the table, and, with her horn, tapped one of the small keys on the front. <Warning, access denied, please enter password: _________ Twilight's face scrunched up, but at the same time, she was fascinated by this small object. Wherever this had come from, was obviously far more advanced than Equestria. Though, the whole time, she couldn't push the human out of her mind. A human, a real human! This was turning into quite the experience. Twilight faced the crowd once more. “Let's see what else we can find.” ----Wayland Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, LV-426---- Larsen could see it as he raced down the sterile white hallway, his brown loafers slapping against the metal floor. Behind him, one of the specimens howled as it chased the terrified scientist down the corridor, his white coat flapping behind him. But that wasn't what Larsen saw, all he saw was the M11 pistol on the floor at the end of the hallway. It lay, along with the bloody guard who'd had it, near a small door leading into the mess hall. With one final push, Larsen dove forward for the pistol, sliding just inches short. He could still hear the Xenomorph behind him as he reached for the pistol. Then, out of nowhere, the pistol was enveloped in a bright purple light, and with a quiet fwash, was gone. “W-Why?” Larsen asked innocently as he stared at the spot the gun had lay with tears in his eyes. Then, death descended upon him. ----Canterlot Science Pavilion, Equestria---- Twilight didn't know what the object in her magical grasp was, but to say it was interesting was a large understatement. She held the latest object that she had brought through from whatever universe she'd just grabbed it from. It was small and black, with a grip made for something that had claws, along with a short equally black barrel. Twilight turned it over in her grasp, before setting it down on the table along with the small box and the letter. She looked up, and saw her sponsor, Bright Light, motioning that her time was up. Twilight let out a small moan of dissapointment, before turning to face the crowd. “Thank you all mares and gentlecolts for coming. Once these objects have been cleared for safety, you will be allowed to view them up close. Have a nice night.” She said, taking a small humble bow as the crowd gave her an equally humble applause. Twilight had to keep reminding herself – or convince herself – that they weren't applauding loudly because they were from Canterlot, and were, for the most part, against loud applauds. Twilight gathered the objects on the table, and started off stage to hoof them over to Celestia for further inspection. 'All things considered, this didn't go half bad.' Twilight thought to herself as, sure enough, Celestia was somehow backstage again, and eagerly awaiting the strange, alien objects Twilight held. 'I wonder just what else is out there.' Twilight thought as she walked with her mentor towards the stage exit.
Interval 2: Developments----Canterlot Castle guest room four, Equestria---- Twilight lay in the oversized bed, which felt as if it would be suitable for Celestia herself, tossing and turning in her troubled sleep. Unbeknownst to the squirming unicorn, her horn was shining brightly in the darkness of the room as her mind was plagued with nightmarish scenes of monsters and death. Twilight uttered another moan of fear and rolled over, kicking her legs slightly. ----?????????????---- Running. That's all Twilight could do. Tears stung her eyes as she raced down the alien hallway. It was made of all metal, and the floor was grated, making her hooves clang and echo down the hellish dimly lit corridor. They were behind her. She didn't know what, all she knew was that if she stopped, she would die. Twilight never was the athletic one, no, that title fell to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. She was panting heavily, and her muscles were growing weak. She rounded a corner and saw a small door ahead. With one final burst of speed, Twilight let out a choked sob and raced through the doorway, which, somehow slid shut behind her. Twilight crumpled to the floor with a shudder. Although there is no rest for the weary, as she heard, “T-T-Tw-Twilight.” She recognized that voice. Twilight slowly looked up at the wall to her right. And sure enough, there was Princess Celestia. Cocooned like she had been by Queen Chrysalis at her brother's wedding. But, something was different, she didn't just look stuck. She was a deathly pale color with bloodshot eyes. Her normally flowing mane was limp and matted with sweat, gunk, and, what looked like blood. “Princess!” Twilight screamed in shock as she ran forward towards her ruined mentor. “No!” Celestia said forcefully, which stopped Twilight in her tracks, almost as if Celestia had thrown up a wall. After living with Celestia for her whole life, Twilight knew that the princess could often order people, just with the sound of her voice, as she'd done now. As Twilight looked up, betrayal in her eyes, she saw Celestia crying. Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, crying. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw a shape move behind her strung up mentor. She couldn't make out a figure, it was simply a black form, constantly shifting and morphing. A black being of death and fear, born to kill, and die in the name of the Queen. “Run.” Celestia said, before the thing crawled onto her, and started to scuttle towards Twilight. Twilight started to back up, staring wide-eyed at the beast which wanted her. “Run.” Celestia repeated weakly, her head drooping. The beast reared back over Twilight, who tripped and fell backwards. “Run.” Celestia muttered slowly before loosing consciousness. The beast fell forward onto Twilight, who scrambled backwards just in time, for the beast to slam into the grated floor with a hiss of annoyance. Behind Twilight was another open door, which she turned and fled out of, leaving her fallen mentor behind. RUN RUN RUN RUN The words echoed in her mind like beating hammers on anvils. The low deep ringing of bells. The sound of her hooves slamming into the ground. She could hear the beast behind her, gaining, and screeching it's horrible screech. RUN RUN RUN RUN The corridor seemed to never end. There was a door at the end of the hallway with something standing in front of it. The beast was right behind her. The lights suddenly went out, plunging the Twilight into her own personal hell. The beast was now an unseen monster in the darkness. A monster under the bed. The only light came from the door ahead, with that being silhouetted in the light. RUN RUN RUN RUN She was getting closer. The light from the door was blinding now. It's heavenly white a stark contrast to the hellish black of the hallway. “Soon.” She heard the being whisper. RUN RUN RUN RUN She was so close now. “Very soon.” Was that a... human?” The door closed. Twilight screamed. The beast screamed. Then, silence. ----Wayland Yutani Cooperation Marine transport vessel “War Game”---- “German, what happened to my checklist?” Flynn asked as he searched around the cockpit of Macklin's Maniac's dropship. The dropship was one of the newer Omega series, with a much more reinforced missile launcher than the older, but still standard issue, Sigma series. Flynn had given the ship her own personal touch, giving it a custom nose art job, which had the image of a timber wolf head, and blood seeping from it's parted jaws, and “Cannibal Animal” underneath it written in a bloody red color. “I don't know. Why would I know?” German asked as he ran the weapon diognostic for the missiles. “Because you're the co-pilot.” Flynn responded rolling his eyes and standing up to search the APC bay. After searching for a good twenty minutes, Flynn cursed and walked down the ramp to retrieve another list. Outside in the shuttle bay, Everyone seemed to have a job. Tiberius was helping Houston and Styles load the APC, which was parked a few meters from the dropship, and O'Brien was directing Maple on the power loader. That's when he saw him. A man wearing a brown jacket over a light blue button up shirt, being led by King and Macklin into the shuttle bay. This man, was Thomas Lander. Flynn scowled and jogged back into the ship. “Adviser's here.” He said with mock thankfulness. “Great, we're saved now.” German replied in the same tone. Flynn walked in and found him gazing out the cockpit window as Macklin and the adviser observed the gathered marines. “They're the best the corp has to offer.” Macklin said assuredly to Thomas as he surveyed his troops. “They better be.” Thomas replied briskly. “This mission is of vital importance.” He said. No mention of Groman's mission. 'He's hiding something.' Macklin thought, but kept his face unreadable. “How much longer until they're ready?” He asked, still observing the marines. “Two hours.” Macklin answered. Thomas grunted. “Make it one.” He said, before turning and walking away. Macklin sighed in frustration, before he called out to the two squad leaders, “One hour!” The groans could be heard all around the room. ----Canterlot guest room four, Equestria---- Twilight was sitting at the table in her room silently sipping on some hot chocolate with bloodshot eyes and an un-brushed mane as moonlight shone in from the large window across from her, illuminating her spot. Spike was asleep in the adjacent room, still conked out from staying up so late to watch her unveiling. With the letter. And the photo of the human. She couldn't get the dream out of her head. She kept replaying the scene over and over in her mind. It hadn't seemed surreal like other dreams, no, this one was vivid and real. She could feel the metal, and hear those voices and feel it's hot breath on her back. Twilight shuddered and took another jerky sip of the coco. 'Humans.' She thought as she remembered the silhouetted figure standing in the door. 'Very soon.' Twilight let out another sigh as she stood up, levitating the coco with her. There came a knock on the door, causing Twilight to squeal in fright. She dropped her coco, the mug smashing to the floor, and sending the hot chocolate liquid spilling to the floor around her hooves. The door burst open to reveal Twilight's brother, Shining Armor standing there. “Twilight?” He asked worriedly as he saw her standing shakily in a puddle of hot chocolate; bits of shattered china lay in the puddle like deformed islands in an ocean of muddy, poluted water. “Twily, are you okay?” He asked, rushing to her side, and draping a hoof over her. Twilight slowly nodded her head. “Y-Yeah, you j-just... spooked me, that's all.” She said uncertainly. Shining Armor escorted her to her bed, and sat down next to her on it. Twilight sat, her head still down to hide her tears of fright. “Twily, I've known you all your life. What's wrong?” He asked, stroking her mane soothingly. Twilight shook her head slowly. “N-No, it's okay, really. It was just a bad dream that's all.” She said. “Well, you mind telling about it?” He asked warmly. Reluctantly, Twilight recalled her nightmare down to the very last detail. When she was finished, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her back. “That's pretty rough kiddo.” Her brother commented, going over the dream. “You said you saw a human?” He asked. Twilight looked up at him. “Yeah. Why?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “Because it sounds a lot like that thing in the photo of that letter.” He said. “Yes. It's the same creature.” She said in a melancholy tone. Shining Armor nodded his head slowly, and said, “I think you're just stressed is all.” He said. “C'mon, the Princess has those objects up for everypony to see. That's why I came to get you. And, are you sure you're okay?” He asked worriedly. Twilight nodded her head and said, “Yeah, I just got a headache, but it's not that bad.” Shining Armor nodded, “Right, then let's go. Maybe Cadence can help you with your headaches.” He said with a wink. Twilight rolled her eyes and slowly walked to wake Spike, who was still fast asleep. ----Canterlot Science Exhibit, Equestria---- “C'mon Bon-Bon!” Lyra hollered as she galloped down the rows of exhibits towards the newest edition, and receiving distasteful looks from the Canterlotian ponies. “Lyra, slow down!” Bon-Bon called as she galloped after, albeit, slower than Lyra. “There!” Lyra said as she skidded to a halt in front of the glass cases. There were three, with royal guards on either side of the trio. One containing the small box like object, the next containing the black object with the handle and barrel, and the final case held the letter, the picture, gone. “Wow!” Lyra said as she observed the small box in case one. It glowed brightly in the case, illuminating several small keys with letters on them, and words on the glass screen. “Bon-Bon, Bon-Bon! Come look at this!” Lyra said, waving a hoof at her. Bon-Bon slowly walked towards her roommate, trying to ignore the looks the other ponies were giving her. Not to say that Bon-Bon wasn't interested, she was, she just didn't want to make a foal of herself in public, something her roommate didn't understand, or didn't care about. “I see it Lyra.” Bon-Bon said in a motherly tone, which pretty much set the tone of their relationship. “So cool!” Lyra commented as she tried to get different angles of the exhibits, but was blocked due to the ropes keeping away from the glass. “Hey Bon-Bon?” Lyra asked, drawing Bon-Bon's attention away from the small tablet like object. “Yeah Lyra?” “Doesn't it seem like something used to be here?” Lyra asked curiously. Bon-Bon looked away from the tablet and walked to Lyra, who was standing near exhibit three, the letter. To the right of the paragraph, was an empty space where, Bon-Bon had to admit, looked like something was missing. Bon-Bon looked closely at it. “Yeah. Yeah, it does.” She said examining the empty space. “Maybe you can ask Twilight about it.” Bon-Bon said, before turning. “C'mon Lyra, let's give some other ponies a turn. Lyra groaned and reluctantly followed Bon-Bon away from the exhibit. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something missing. ----Canterlot Castle, Celestia's quarters, Equestria---- Celestia was tired. This didn't happen often, but when it did, she got TIRED. Celestia was sitting on her bed, not trying to sleep, for fear of another nightmare, but just lying there. 'Afraid of a nightmare?' Celestia nodded weakly. 'Yes, I am.' The past few hours had been a flurry of activity between herself and her sister Luna. First the letter with the human, then the nightmare. Celestia sighed. The nightmare had been horrible, and Luna had been powerless to stop it. Luna was the controller of dreams, but something had fought her. And it won. Celestia's dream had been strange and terrifying in more ways than she knew. ----???????????---- “Where am I?” This was not something Celestia asked often, but she found the question quite fitting for her current situation. The walls were made of charcoal colored metal, and the floor beneath her hooves was grated. She stood in the center of the long corridor, observing her surroundings. There was something not right, like she was missing something. Then, she heard it. The, beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Somewhere far in the distance, echoing down the corridors like a ghostly tune for the dead to dance to. It got faster and faster, the delay between beeps getting shorter until it sounded like one solid line. Celestia turned. Right behind her, was a creature from nightmares. From the depths of Tarturus. Celestia couldn't make out a definite shape only that it was tall. It was, simply, just blackness, blades, and teeth, so many tiny razor sharp teeth, gleaming down at her as it loomed over her. Then Celestia did something she hadn't done in over a thousand years. She screamed. As she did, the creature screamed it's own ghastly, horrible scream. Thinking fast, Celestia backed up flared her horn. Nothing happened. 'PLAN B!' Celestia turned and galloped down the hallway, her horseshoes thundering loudly, and echoing down the corridor. The corridor was lit dimly by small lights on either side that somehow stayed on despite no magic. That's when she realized what was missing. She couldn't feel the presence of magic. None at all. For some reason, this urged Celestia onward. Behind her, the monster hissed and wailed in predatory rage as it chased the regal equine down the darkened hallway. A door! It was just a few hooves away. Celestia's legs screamed in protest as she pushed herself farther. 'RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!' She screamed in her mind as she got closer and closer to the door. Finally, she reached it, and just as she broke through the portal, the monster's claws raked down her backside, leaving long bloody trails in their wake. Celestia howled in pain, something else she hadn't felt in over a thousand years, and tumbled into the room. Behind her, the door slammed closed just before the monster could get in. Celestia sat for a few moments, licking her wounds and silently sobbing. 'Stop this at once.' She thought to herself. 'You are Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, the symbol of all that is good in the world, and you will NOT sit here and wallow in your own self pity, get up!' Celestia, cleaned the rest of the blood from her back, and nodded to herself, before standing and examining her new surroundings. The room was square with one other door, and a small opening on the same wall a few hooves away. Tables were scattered around the room, along with strange objects that looked similar to the object that Twilight had recovered. Celestia started to walk towards the door, still looking around the room. Celestia took a deep breath, and attempted to open the door. It didn't budge, it was as if somepony had sealed it shut. Then, she heard it again. Beep! Beep! Beep! Celestia froze, and quickly turned to face the door she'd come in from. Beep! Beep! Beep! It was getting faster again. 'It means it's getting closer.' How Celestia knew this was beyond her, but she backed up until her backside bumped into the sealed door. Beep! Beep! Beep! Celestia started to inch her way down the wall towards the small opening. Beep! Beep! Beep! Celestia reached the opening and started to duck down, her eyes never leaving the door. Beep!Beep!Beep! 'Where is it?' She thought. Beeeeeeeeeeeeep!” Then, it came from above. Like a hellish reverse surprise party, the lights shot off, and turned a deathly red as the monsters started to drop down from the ceiling like oversized spiders. Celestia squeaked in fear, and dove into the small opening, which led to an equally small corridor. Celestia squatted and galloped down, forging ahead despite the noises she heard behind her. 'Oh how I wish I wasn't an alicorn right now!' Ahead, Celestia saw that the corridor split. Left or right? Right! Celestia quickly turned the corner. There was no time to react as right in front of her, was a chute that curved to the side like a long enclosed slide. With no time to flare her wings, Celestia plummeted down into the chute screaming. After what seemed like hours of sliding down the chute, it turned level with the ground, and deposited her roughly onto more grated floor. She was getting really sick of that. Celestia looked up in time to see a small tan spider-like thing with six long spindly legs. Celestia let out one final scream before the thing leaped onto her face, and wrapped its long tail around her throat. Then, it began to squeeze. Celestia didn't know how long she was out, but when she woke, she found that she couldn't move, and nor did she want to. She was cocooned like at Shining Armor's wedding, except this was different. Queen Chrysalis had been bad sure, but this... this was different. While Chrysalis and Discord had been bad to evil, whatever these things were didn't want her love or to pull pranks and cause chaos. They wanted her blood to be spilled across these grated metal floors. She felt so weak and tired, like all the energy had been sucked out of her. Then, she heard it. The sound of running. Whatever it was, was definitely equine in nature and was getting closer. That's when she came. She barreled through the door, panting and holding back sobs. It was her student, Twilight Sparkle. “T-T-Tw-Twilight.” Celestia groaned She didn't know just how weak she was until she said that. Talking was a monumental task, she felt so tired. So tired. “Princess!” Twilight cried out in a shocked and horrified voice. 'That bad huh?' Celestia tried to say, but it just wouldn't come out. Twilight started to dash to her aid, but was stopped when Celestia barked out “No!” It wasn't quite her royal Canterlot voice, but it worked. Celestia felt a warm liquid running down her muzzle, and realized, 'I'm crying?' Being the ruler of a country, you didn't have time to cry! But she couldn't help it. Her student, whom she loved more than almost anything else alive, was trapped in the hell with her. She saw Twilight's eyes drift to her left, and widen. 'Oh horseapples.' “Run.” Celestia said weakly as she felt the monster descend from it's perch behind her. Twilight started to back up, shaking her head slowly in denial as the hellish beast crawled directly on Celestia's battered form. “Run.” Celestia repeated, weaker this time, while the monster transitioned from Celestia to the floor, slowly creeping towards her student, who stumbled backwards and fell. Everything was getting darker, and her field of vision was fading. All she could see was that beast about to destroy her student. “Run.” She mumbled, almost incoherently, as the beast fell forward. She watched as Twilight leaped up, and fled out of a door that had opened up across from Celestia, the beast giving chase. Then, Celestia slipped into a deep sleep. Two hours later, while still unconscious, Celestia's chest began to thud harder and faster. There was a ripping noise, like a book being torn, then a crunching noise. With a sickening CRUNCH Celestia's chest was ripped open in an explosion of blood and bone. And what came out was a small tan larve, with a single tail, four small apendages, and small webbed wings. The princess was dead, and this new breed, would take her place. ----Canterlot Castle, Celestia's quarters, Equestria---- Celestia gave another shudder as she recalled the dream. There was nothing like what she'd seen, anywhere in Equestrian folklore. The closest they came to was Discord with it's tail. And those teeth. Celestia quickly got off her bed, suddenly not wanting to be near it. She walked to the window and gazed out over her peaceful land. Something big was coming. Who was it that said, “A storm is coming, and neither colt nor mare can see it?” Maybe Equine Allen Poe. He'd been a troubled colt, but he meant well. Celestia didn't know if he was the one to say that quote, but it certainly applied here. And something, deep deep within her knew, that whatever was going to happen, was going to happen soon. ----Canterlot guest room five, Equestria---- Ah'll be darned if ah know.” Applejack said as she eyed the small clipboard and paper in front of her. Next to her was Rarity and Rainbow Dash The clipboard wasn't that unusual, and the paper certainly wasn't either, no, it was what was written on the paper. Combat Dropship Omega Series Weapons diagnostics optimal Thrusters and boosters operational Fuel and hydrogen checked Landing gear operational Cargo secured Hull optimal Cargo ramp operational Coordinates locked Signed: Cpl. Archer Flynn, pilot Pvt. Karl German, co-pilot Aside from the signatures at the bottom, the letters were oddly shaped. Then, Rarity realized why. “My goodness, whoever wrote this has perfect writing. She was right of course, as the letters were perfectly spaced, and perfectly written. “If ya ask me, it don't seem raht.” Applejack said, eying the paper cautiously. “Maybe Twilight'll want to see it.” Rainbow Dash suggested. The group nodded, and with Rarity holding the clipboard, they started down the lavish red carpeted hallway. “Where did you find it anyway AJ? Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered next to her two friends. “Ah, don't know where it came from, ah just woke up an' it was just lahing on the floor.” She responded. “Hmm, maybe somepony snuck into your room.” Rainbow Dash said, causing Applejack cast her a glare. “Ah don't think that's the case RD.” She said bluntly. “However it got there, I think Twilight will gladly take a gander.” Rarity said as she levitated the clipboard back in front of her, taking another look. “Speaking of, do any one you know where Twilight is?” Rarity asked raising one eyebrow. Applejack nodded and said, “Yep, she was headin' to them new exhibits to review what she'd teleported.” She received looks from both Rainbow Dash and Rarity at her choice of words. “Or, that's what princess Cadence told me.” She added quickly. Rainbow Dash and Rarity both said, “Ah.” at the same time, whilst looking teasingly at Applejack. Applejack grunted, and lowered her stetson hat, before storming ahead. “C'mon you two, let's go.” Rarity and Rainbow Dash both gave a slight giggle, before following Applejack towards the Science Exhibit. ----Coordinates 93o north and 102o east, Planet LV-426---- Hudson's stomach grumbled in protest to it's lack of sustenance, to which Hudson replied, “Yeah, Yeah, keep barking, it won't get you anywhere.” Just as he finished that, his stomach gave a particularly loud rumble. Hudson grumbled, and checked the GPS of the surveyor. He'd been on the road, or, the wastes, for a good two days, and he was running out of water, and had already depleted his food rations the night before. After he'd escaped the colony, he'd hauled ass out of there going a good two hundred miles an hour through the rugged, desolate terrain. The result was that his shocks were close to blowing, and his ass hurt like a mother fucker. After a while, he'd forgotten all about the detonation of the plant, that is, until a bright light suddenly illuminated the area around him in a glowing yellowish green light. Then, it all came back in a flash, quite literally, as there was an earth shattering BOOM! A few seconds later. “Fuck me!” Hudson shouted, as he slammed his foot harder on the gas, only to find it'd been slammed the whole time. 'A mushroom cloud the size of Nebraska.' Fuck if Hudson knew how big Nebraska was – hell, he didn't even know what Nebraska was, being born on the planet Rabookse – All he knew, was that it was big. Really, really big. “ Goooo you bitch!” Hudson screamed as he as he looked into the review mirror, the light nearly blinding him. “Gah!” He shouted as he recoiled his head away, and waited for the spots to retreat. 'I wonder what the rest of the team's doing?' He wondered to himself as he drove at breakneck speeds, weaving in and out between jagged rocks. 'Probably dying.' Hudson thought cynically to himself as he glanced at his illuminated surroundings. The distant roar finally dulled down to a rumble, as Hudson sped onward, whooping and hollering to no one but himself. That had been two days ago, and he was running out of water. GPS showed nothing for another couple thousand miles. 'Great.' Hudson thought as he continued, going a slow fifty miles an hour to save on gas, another entity he was running low on. Hudson's eyes flicked briefly to the fuel gauge, which was in the red. The motion tracker lay in the passenger seat next to him, silent, something Hudson was thankful for. Then, he saw it. A large building, seemingly camouflaged from bird's eye view. “What the hell?” Hudson muttered as he continued towards the unknown structure. When he got there, Hudson reached a perimeter fence with a large sliding door which was left open. The first thing he thought was, 'Well, fuck this, I'm going somewhere else.' Right there, as soon as he'd reached the perimeter wall, was a bloody corpse, slightly buried in dust and grit, slumped against the wall next to the door.. Then, Hudson remembered, there was no “Somewhere else.” This was it. Hudson groaned, reluctantly shifted gears, and slowly drove through the open gate. Hudson drove slowly through the compound to what looked like the main administrator building. There was no one moving. Hudson reached over and scooped up his motion tracker and M11 pistol. “Shit.” He muttered, and grounded to a halt in front of the admin building. Behind him, covered in dust and ash from the nearby explosion, was, “Wayland Yutani Scientific Research Outpost Alpha. Restricted Access, Trespassers will be shot.” The final word was splattered with blood. ----Wayland Yutani Cooperation Marine transport vessel “War Game”---- “Load up! Combat seating, Go! Go! Go!” Macklin ordered, as he hustled his marines into the APC. The marines were now clad in their customized armor, sporting decals and phrases. Most notably, was Rin's which had, バグストンパーズ、私たちは種を危険にさらす or, “Bug Stomper, we endanger species”, in Japanese. After helping Thomas in, Macklin climbed aboard the APC, and took seat in the back. Houston was up front driving, along with King and Thomas, who accompanied her. O'Brien threw the door shut, and fell backwards into his seat opposite to the door. With a thumbs up from Macklin, the APC lurched forward, commanded by Houston, towards the waiting dropship. Houston guided the APC up the ramp and into the bowels of the ship. When the APC leveled out in the cargo hold of the dropship, Houston saw German standing in the doorway leading to the cockpit. When the APC halted, German rushed forward, and flipped the switch next to the idle APC, lifting the ramp, and locking it in place. He then turned and hurried back into the cockpit with Flynn. “Flynn you read?” Macklin asked from within the APC, testing his comm link. “Read you five-by.” Flynn responded, flipping off the landing gear, and boosting the thrusters slightly to elevate them off the ground. “Procced with docking.” Flynn said calmly to his co-pilot. In the APC, the marines sat in silence. All except for Sheckly and Samuels, who were argued back and forth until Macklin cut them short. The marines felt a small bump as the ship was locked into the dock. “Disengaging in, three. Two. One. With the flip of a switch, the drop ship was unleashed from the War Game with a slight shake. The ship hovered there weightlessly beside the ship for a few seconds before Flynn hit the thrusters, and sent the ship plummeting towards the planet surface. Ralph Cook was starting to look sick, as he did with every drop mission. Luckily for him – and everyone else – he never got anything more than a little nauseous. As if a polar opposite, Thomas was in the back next to Macklin, and not sweating a bead. 'Cool character.' Tiberius thought as he heard Flynn say, “Breaching atmosphere in, five. Four. Three. Two. One. Mark.” As he said “Mark.” The ship was hit with a shuddering quake as it slammed into LV-426's atmosphere, and raced downwards. As they decsended, the moods of the marines faded quickly as it did every time. This was no longer just a planned mission, this was happening. Most marines closed their eyes and just waited for it to be over. Thomas was still staring straight ahead, along with Hudson, who's eyes burned with vengeance. No one had told Hudson what they'd found out about his brother's mission. All he knew, was that whoever was down there, probably had something to do with his brother's failed mission. He would find them. And he would kill them. Slowly. ----Wayland Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, Planet LV-426---- Major Joel Reed held the M11 pistol to his head. In the dark security office, he could hear those things pounding on the door outside. BAM BAM BAM. He didn't know what the eggheads called them, xeno somethings. All he had to do was protect the place, and he'd get a nice fat check. Well, all that went to shit when one of those fucking things got loose. Now, they were everywhere, and they'd killed everyone. Before him were twenty different monitors, all showing different parts of the outpost. He'd seen some fucked things. A few hours ago, he'd seen a scientist – he forgot his name – running from one of those things like a bat outta hell. There was no volume as he'd been requesting for weeks now, and they'd never contacted him about it. There was a pistol at the end of the corridor next to the bloody corpse of corporal Matt Wilkes. The scientist dove for the gun, but never used it. Reed didn't know why, he just laid there, with his back to the camera, then the thing fell onto him, and started to drag him back down the hallway, kicking and screaming. Reed didn't know where he went, and he didn't really care either. The motion tracker next to Reed was beeping wildly as it read the movement of those alien fucks beating on the door. BAM BAM BAM 'Do it you cowered!' Sweat dripped down Reed's face and onto the black barrel of the pistol, staining it a dull gray, before running off the side and dripping to the floor. 'Do it!' Reed's finger tightened on the trigger. 'Do-' He stopped in mid thought as he saw a small surveyor roll into the compound, the camera catching a man driving, but Reed couldn't make out details. 'Maybe...' The man popped open the door and hopped out, holding a motion tracker in one hand, and a M11 pistol in the other. His face showed the face of someone who just didn't give a shit anymore. Reed watched with hopeful awe, the gun still at his temple. The man stopped just in front of the main research facility, looked around, then approached the door. As Reed expected, the door didn't open, as the quarantine safeguard had been activated, effectively sealing the research facility. The unknown man soundlessly cursed, and started talking to himself, though Reed couldn't understand what he was saying. The man then did something that Reed hadn't expected, he started to hack the door control. 'Marines maybe? He certainly looks it. But what's he doing out here?' Reed thought and shifted his gaze to the door camera, giving him a good look at the man. The camera was just above the door control, giving Reed optimal viewing. He was only about thirty, or late twenties, with medium blond hair and a face that needed a shave. Sure enough, the man started to fiddle with the controls before swearing again. He face-palmed, and continued to hack the door. It took a few minutes, the whole time Reed kept the pistol to his head, and the man kept swearing under his breath. Finally, the door slid open, and the man quickly raised both the motion tracker and the pistol, aiming them both into the lobby of the research building. Reed shifted his gaze once more to view the next camera, giving him a view of the interior lobby. The lights were still on, giving the room proper illumination. Directly in front of the man was a massive bloodstain. It looked like too much blood for one person to hold, and looked more suitable for the body of a horse. That wasn't the only bloodstain either. The lobby had been the last stand, with the scientists and civilians, and even a few guards, frantic to escape the facility before the lock down. They hadn't made it. It'd been a bloodbath, and Reed saw it all. Blood decorated the walls around the door, but there were no bodies. Reed didn't know why, but the things took all the bodies and people to the reactor level of the facility. That's when things had gotten weird. No, not just weird, scary. The things destroyed the cameras on that level. It'd been the most terrifying thing Reed had ever witnessed. One minute he's watching the things drag people with blades to their throats, the next one of those fuckers is right in the camera like some fucked up horror game. The camera lost connection shortly after. The man scanned the room, before turning and jogging back to the surveyor. “No.” Reed whispered quietly. BAM BAM BAM Reed jumped in his chair, the pistol wavering, then he focused back on the cameras. The man opened one of the back doors, and reached inside, holstering his motion tracker. What he withdrew with, confirmed Reed's presumption, this man was definitely marines. In his hold was the standard issue body armor for the Colonial Marine Corp. He slipped it on, and tightened the straps, before jogging back to the lobby, and slowly preceding inside. Reed's gun fell from his temple. 'There might be hope yet.' BAM BAM BAM --------Wayland Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, Planet LV-426---- Larsen awoke with a pounding headache, and feeling like he'd just downed a few liters of ninety proof vodka. “W-What?” He mumbled, as he slowly opened his eyes. 'Oh no.' He knew exactly where he was. The nest. Sure enough, when he looked around the room, there were other people strung up like he was. He recognized Mathew from Sector G, and Kate from accounting. They were both dead. And Larsen knew why. He also knew that he was next. Just as he finished that thought, he felt an awful pain in his chest. “Guk!” He chocked out, before the larvae inside him pounded at his ribcage once more. “N-N-No!” He stumbled, before the larvae slammed into his ribs, smashing them and bursting out of Larsen's chest. Larsen stared numbly at it as it protruded from his chest, before his head slumped, and his breathing abruptly ended. The larvae squirmed and wiggled it's way out of it's host's body, before landing on the floor with a splat! There was now another drone to serve the Queen.
Interval 3: Encounters---- Coordinates 93o North, 102o East, Planet LV-426---- The dropship screamed through the dusty atmosphere of Planet LV-426, it's hull lighting up from the extreme temperatures of atmospheric breach. As it neared the ground, German flared the landing ground thrusters, slowing the ship down with a jerk. German then lowered the force of the thrusters as Flynn slowly descended roughly a fourth of a mile from their designated mission zone. Flynn brought the ship to a halt, hovering a few feet above the rocky jagged surface of LV-426. Slowly, the ramp at the back of the ship lowered as Riley Hudson and Matt Sheckly hopped out of the APC, and into the cargo hold of the dropship. “Hudson Sheckly, out! Out! Out! Macklin ordered his two marksmen, who quickly slid down the ramp, and carefully dropped onto the dusty planet surface. Behind them, Tiberius slid the APC door shut, and German raised the ramp, before taking to the skies once more, and sailing towards their destination. Hudson and Sheckly's position was on a large cliff, elevated roughly forty feet from ground level. Hudson quickly collapsed at the edge of the cliff, before he slung his M225 heavy pulse rifle off his shoulder. Hudson flicked on the infrared sight, and snapped a small radio receiver. Hudson raised the antenna, while Sheckly sat down against a small rock, his armor – which declared that he wasn't born to die, that he was, in fact, born to “survive and thrive” – clanging against it as the rock jutted up from the cracked landscape like the tooth of some horrible beast. Hudson's own armor decal, was his brother's decal of a skull with a dagger stabbing the top of the head, except Riley Hudson's had a cross hair scope over the skull so the point was between the eyes. Hudson could see the dropship resting on the ground near the outpost, before offloading the APC, and quickly ascending once more. Sheckly stuck a cigarette in his mouth, before he spun the wheel of his lighter, shielding the weak adolescent flame from the wind that whipped past. Hudson and Sheckly both pulled a pair of goggles over their eyes to protect them from the swirling dust and grit. “This place sucks shit.” Sheckly griped as he puffed on his cigarette, the smoke almost being dragged out of the cigarette itself as it was pulled into the wind, mixing and swirling with the other floating sediments. Hudson merely grunted as he peered down his sights, watching as Alpha and Beta teams split. Alpha team was heading towards what looked like a dormitory, while Beta Team was proceeding into a large building in the center of the compound. Overhead, the dropship guided down behind the two marksmen, before landing, and awaiting orders. “I'm just hoping we find nothin, so we can just leave. This place gives me the creeps.” Sheckly said, holding his cigarette as he gazed out towards the dark landscape around them. Hudson didn't respond. He didn't want to find nothing. He wanted to find something. He wanted to find something so badly. Hudson looked through his scope as one of his fellow teammates opened the door to the dormitories, probably Maple. 'Please find someone.' ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Dormitories, Planet LV-426---- Private first class Acrope Maple did NOT want to go in. The fist thing that hit him was the smell. The power was cut in this side of the compound, meaning no lights, no heating, and above all, no air circulation. Maple gagged, and stepped into the hallway, aiming his M41A pulse rifle down the carpeted hallway, his mounted flashlight telling a grim story. Both walls were lined with doors, some open, some closed. The hallway was just wide enough for two people to pass by, but not for two fully armored marines. With his motion tracker hanging on his side, and his rifle at the ready, Maple proceeded into the dark, bloodied hallway. Maple took point, followed by R.J, Rin, O'Brien, and finally Holman. R.J had to hold his smartgun parallel to his body for it to fit in the small corridor. “Maple take the fifth room, the rest of you, take a room.” O'Brien ordered, positioning himself at door number two. “Three. Two. One!” In unison, the marines threw the doors to the side, with the exception of Maple, whose door was jammed. Holman's room held a sickly aroma of spilled blood that he'd had taken a liking toward since medical training during boot camp. All the rooms were designed the same, with a small bed to the right of the bed, and a dresser at the foot of that. Opposite of the bed was a small table and chair for taking meals back to eat. At the opposite end of the room from the door was a large puddle of blood, that ran up the wall, and into a ceiling vent. Holman carefully walked towards the vent, a look of fascination painted on his face. “Clear!” He heard his team sound off one by one, aside from Maple who said “Door stuck!” Someone, maybe R.J coughing loudly and gagging. 'Lightweight.' Holman though, and said “Clear!” at one point, though he didn't remember saying it. He then backed up, his eyes never leaving the blood slicked metal wall. The only other person with something in their room was R.J. When he threw the door open, he was greeted with the body of a lanky man. Or, what was left of him. His head was gone, and in it's place was a large puddle of crimson blood. R.J gagged at the smell, and nearly dropped his smartgun as he scanned the room for any sign of the lost head. There wasn't many places it could be hiding. R.J backed out of the room. “Clear!” He bellowed in a deep voice, his eyes lingering on the decapitated body, before sliding the door shut. “Good, come help me with this damn door.” Maple said, grunting as he pushed on the door, to no avail. “Got'sta put some weight into it.” R.J said, as he took Maple's place, and with one foot on the door frame, ripped the door open, and aiming his smartgun inside. There was blood everywhere. It covered the walls, the floor, even the damn ceiling. “Oh, what. The. Fuck?” R.J muttered as he craned his head into the room, seeing the remains of, what used to be a person, lying on the bed. His chest wasn't just ripped open, it looked like his entire body had just exploded. From the base of his neck, to his crotch was just blown outward. His head was lolled to the side, his eyes seeming to stare right through R.J “Shit.” R.J grunted and stepped out slid the door closed. “Clear.” He said, gulping and trying to remove the image from his mind, only to cringe as it only brought the memory back in full force. R.J filed behind Maple, gathering himself to search the next room. ----Everfree Forest, Equestria---- Deep within the Everfree Forest, a young bear cub walked through the bushes and brambles next to her mother. Her mother halted suddenly, sniffing the warm midday air. Something was dead beyond a felled tree, obscuring their view. While the bear family preferred berries over meat, they had been running low on the delectable seeds. The mother motioned for her cub to stay put, as she crept through the fallen tree. The cub sat down and patiently waited for her mother to return, in the meantime, she gazed upward towards the sun, slowly arching high overhead. The mother bear cleared the tree, and saw what she'd been sniffing out. It wasn't a body, and it wasn't an animal she was familiar with. It was simply a head, lying in a small puddle of dark red blood which stained the grass. The mother cocked her head as she moved to get a better look. The head was round with an almost flattened face, which was frozen in a completely neutral face, as if it never even knew it was dead. The bear stared befuddled at the head, before returning to her cub. Together, she and her cub returned to their cave, the mother still questioning the odd anomaly. ----Canterlot Castle Celestia's quarters, Equestria---- Celestia quickly gathered herself, giving her flowing mane a quick brushing, and shaking her head to get the funk out. She cleared her throat, and said, “Come in.” Tentatively, the door to her quarters opened, and in walked her prodigy, Twilight Sparkle. “Hello Princess Celestia.” She said, giving a quick bow. Celestia almost visibly relaxed at the sight of her student. “Hello Twilight, what brings you here?” She asked curiously as he student approached her bed, and flopped down on it like she used to do when she was younger. Celestia stood amused, as Twilight hadn't done that often, unless... something was wrong. “Is something the matter?” Celestia asked worriedly as she proceeded to plop down next to her student, who was staring up at the ceiling. “I... think something... unexpected, happened with the spell.” Twilight said slowly, choosing her words with care, as to not anger her mentor. Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, unexpected?” She asked somewhat teasingly. Twilight took a deep breath, and said, “Well, I keep having these headaches, and when I do, my horn lights up without my command. Applejack found a clipboard with some kind of checklist on it belonging to, somepony named Archer Flynn and Karl German. On the checklist though, were weird phrases.” Twilight said, a look of confusion on her face as she stared up at the ceiling, still trying to decipher the meanings. “Some things I could kind of understand, like cargo secured, but fuel and hydrogen? Thrusters and boosters? And there was something else, something that had to do with weapons. Whoever wrote it had perfect scripture too, all except for the signing, like somepony else had written it for them to sign.” She continued. At this point, Celestia was intrigued. “There's something else too, isn't there?” She asked, giving her student a loving nuzzle. “Nightmares.” Celestia's nuzzling halted briefly, before she withdrew and gave her student a worried look. “What kind of nightmares?” She asked, fearing the answer. Without looking at her, Twilight began her story, deep in thought. “I'm alone in a hallway made of all metal. The... The floor is grated, and I feel like something is watching me the whole time.” Celestia stared at her. “I'm running from something. It's all black, but I can't get a good look at it. Every time I try, it's form shifts and morphs. Celestia nodded, although her student didn't see it. I enter a room and... and Y-You're there.” She said shaking. “They've strung you up. A-And you tell me to run. One of those... things, it comes from the darkness. 'Impossible!' Celestia thought “I...I-I leave you b-b-behind!” Twilight choked out as she finally turned to face her mentor. “I left you.” She said once more, before bursting to tears and embracing Celestia in a way she'd never done before. He held onto her with an iron grip, like if she let go, Celestia would disappear, and she would be back in the room. Celestia stroked Twilight with a wing, as she held onto her. “Shh, shh. It's okay. It's okay.” She cooed softly. But it wasn't, and she knew it. “What happened next?” Celestia asked slowly, breaking the embrace slowly. Twilight rubbed her bloodshot eyes with a hoof, before saying, “I'm running down another, hallway, and the... thing, is chasing me again. There's an open door, the light. It's so bright. So welcoming. There's something standing in the light, though I make details, but it looks like a... human.” Twilight said slowly, before gazing back toward her mentor, who held a look of dismay. “Like the one in the picture?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded her head, and closed her eyes to recollect her thoughts. “I... I feel like something bad is coming.” She said with her eyes still closed When she opened them, she screamed. She wasn't in Celestia's room anymore. And she didn't have hooves anymore. Now, they were long bony fingers, of which she had no control over. She couldn't see either, everything was black and white almost. Like she was seeing, but not seeing. She couldn't move her new body either, all she could do was silently scream as she watched her new body hunt down it's prey. She could feel her new bladed tail swishing behind her, and her new found claws clicking on the white floor. There was something ahead of her. Her body transitioned from a bipedal stance, to all fours as it stalked forward. Her prey was right around the corner. Distantly, she could here a Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Twilight's body rounded the corner. And was blown backwards with a hissing wail that mixed with loud bangs in quick recession. Twilight's body slammed into the wall and slid to the white floor. She watched as green blood oozed from multiple wounds, hissing as it hit the floor. “Black bony bitch.” She heard something mutter from the direction she had been blasted from. Weakly, her body looked up. Standing there, was a human. If Twilight could, she'd be either screaming with joy, or fear. The human was dressed in what appeared to be heavy armor. On the front of the armor was a small picture of a human skull, and what looked like a knife penetrating the top. In it's hands was one of the objects she'd pulled through from the other universe, it's barrel smoking. Twilight didn't have time to ponder as her vision faded to black, and she was plunged into eternal sinking darkness. ----Canterlot Castle Celestia's quarters, Equestria---- Celestia watched as he student closed her eyes, and promptly fell backwards onto the bed. “T-Twilight?” She asked tentatively. No answer. “Twilight?” Celestia asked, shaking Twilight. This time, she stirred. “P-Princess?” she muttered wearily, her eyes fluttering open.” “Thank goodness.” Celestia breathed out, hugging her student close. “Princess?” Twilight asked, returning the embrace. “What is it my little pony?” She asked. “I think we have a problem.” ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administrator Building, Planet LV-426---- Things had gone from bad to worse. One minute William Hudson is walking down a brightly lit corridor with blood painting the white wall to his right, the next he's walking down a pitch fucking black corridor with blood painting the white wall. “Really? What the fuck man?” Hudson muttered as he flicked the mounted flashlight of his M11 on, illuminating the space in front of him. "God-damn power cutting assholes.” His senses seemed to heighten in the suffocating darkness as he heard noises in the distance, echoing down the empty white sterile corridors. “Fuck aliens, fuck the dark, fuck Gorman, fuck the company, and fuck this place.” Hudson ran out of things to fuck, but was sure he would find some more. And he did. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!Beep!Beep!Beep! Just as Hudson reached the end of the hallway, a solid body with a bladed tail posed above it's head, rounded the corner. Hudson, backed up, and sprayed his clip into the deadly form, throwing it backwards into the wall, and dousing the surrounding wall and floor with it's acidic blood. “Black bony bitch.” He muttered, and stared at it's form, waiting until it's chest stopped heaving up and down, then, moved on down the corridor. “All I want is some fucking food, and a place to sleep, that's all! Is that so much to ask for? Damn!” Hudson paused, “Oh, yeah. And fuck corners too.” He raved as he continued down the dark hallway. He continued walking down the hallways for what seemed like eternity – it always did for him- until his motion tracker started sounding off. Beep! Beep! Beep! Hudson, checked his ammunition. Two and a half clips left, including the one loaded. Hudson cautiously peeked around the corner, seeing an alien beating on a large metal door. 'What does it want?' Hudson raised his M11, and aimed for the head. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Security Room, Planet LV-426---- Reed was even more terrified than before, only now, he couldn't even find his pistol. When the power was cut, He'd been watching a dropship fly high overhead and land a short distance away. “Thank god, more marines.” He'd been watching the other loner for a while, and he was making some good progress given the circumstances. All he had was a pistol and a motion tracker, and he'd taken out about five of the xeno-fucks, holding the motion tracker at his side, and his pistol in front like some kind of special forces bad-ass. It was like he'd fought them before. “Good.” Reed said, holding his pistol in his lap. Then, the power went out. All at once, the moniters, which were the only source of light in the room, went out with a quiet, Zip! Reed shrieked, and fell backwards in his chair, the gun slipping from his grasp and skidding across the floor. Reed toppled over and hit the ground hard on his side, too terrified to move. BAM! BAM! BAM! That thing had been outside pounding for hours, and hearing Reed's cry only intensified the beating. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!. So, Reed lay there for hours, sometimes feeling around him for his pistol, but never moving. He was blind, dumb, and deaf, save for the loud, BAM! BAM! BAM! Reed had curled into the fetal position, hugging his knees to his chest, and sitting on the floor of the dark security room, feeling like there was something behind him at all times. It was almost like a story he'd heard about once, he couldn't remember the name or who wrote it, but it was about a man who was trapped in a dark room alone. He started to hallucinate and think things were there, ready to kill him. That was how Reed felt now, and looking back, he really wished he'd paid more attention to it. BAM! BAM! POW! Wait, that last one. POW! POW! 'Is it?' Major Reed asked himself. “Hello?” He heard a voice from outside the door. Reed didn't budge. 'What if it's a trick? What if they've grown smarter and-' “In here! In here! Help!” He screamed as he fumbled his way towards the direction of the voice. “Alright, I'll open the door!” The voice called again from Reed's left, causing him to change directions. “The power's off you can't-” “Shut up, and stand back from the door!” Reed heard, and did as he was told , scooting backwards from the voice. There was a faint hissing sound and the smell of something burning. After a minute, Reed noticed a spot on the door getting brighter. 'What the hell?' With a crackling and hissing noise, a large hole in the door crumbled, revealing an equally dark hallway, with some light reflecting off the walls from a light on the ground. The hole was big enough for Reed to fit through, barely. “Okay, step through, but carefully, this shit burns.” He heard a young boyish voice say from the other side of the windowed door. “Wait, I have a gun, give me a light.” Reed said, standing up and making his way slowly to the door. After a few seconds, and the sound of a pocket being opened, a small zippo lighter was flung through the hole, skidding to a halt at Reed's feet. Reed gratefully picked it up and spun the wheel, allowing a heavenly light to flicker to life. Reed illuminated his dark prison with the lighter, casting a twitchy orange glow dancing around the room. He found his pistol under the low coffee table behind the monitors. Joel quickly grabbed his pistol and carefully ducked down to exit the room, taking extra care not to hit the sides. When he was out, he held his lighter in one hand and the pistol in the other, then found himself face to face with the man who'd been clean sweeping the facility. "How'd you do that? With the door an all?" Reed asked, lookin for a blowtorch. The man grinned, and pointed at he corpse of the xeno-fuck, residue blood still eating away at the door. "You used THAT as a torch?" The man grinned, and nodded. "Wait." Reed said, looking him over. "You're the marine who came earlier aren't you? What's your name?" Reed asked The man nodded and said, “I'm Hudson. Private William Hudson. The fuck happened here?” Will asked, indicating their surroundings. “You're just a private?” Reed asked disbelieving. “What, were you expecting? A major?” Hudson asked sarcastically. If only he knew the irony of that statement. “Who're you?” Reed didn't bother saying his rank, he didn't think it would matter much as he looked around. “Reed. Joel Reed.” He said. “as for what happened, I'll tell you. Some bullshit scientist wants to study these “Fascinating creatures” that they found, somewhere, I don't fucking know.” Reed explained, his pent up anger spilling out. “I stayed in the security room, cause everyone that left got killed, then that bitch trapped me in. I watched you come in on the cameras, until the power went out.” He said bitterly, as he looked up and down the hallway. Hudson's motion tracker stayed silent. Hudson nodded solemnly. “Yeah, they do that.” He said. Reed looked at him befuddled. “Who does what?” Hudson chuckled “The black bastards. They like to cut the power.” Reed shook his head slowly. “Clever bastards.” He said shocked. “Yeah, tell me about it.” Hudson said wearily. “My team got sent to that processor plant not far from here. It detonated, killed the rest of my team. I got away just in time.” He said his head hanging slightly. 'So that's what that rocking was.' Then, Hudson's motion tracker started up. Beep! Beep! Beep! “Six of em' Time to go!” He said, before sprinting off in the opposite direction of the contacts. Reed followed after a moments hesitation, thinking, 'This can't end well.' ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administrator Building, Planet LV-426---- The power had been out when Alpha team reached the administrator building's front door. Outside was an abandoned surveyor, with light scorch marks on the back, and food wrappers on the inside. “Cook, you'll stay out here, keep out exit an exit.” Tiberius said, then motioning for Houston to start routing power to the door with her PDA. Cook nodded, and made his was to the surveyor, standing next to it. “Styles, and Samuels, combat positions.” Tiberius said. Styles jogged over, his smartgun sight positioned over his eye, giving him an infrared view of the area. “Three. Two. One.” Houston counted, before accepting the command, causing the door to grind open, letting red emergency light spill out across the dim landscape around the entrance. “Styles, take point, Samuels and Houston, fall in behind me.” Tiberius said, before nodding his head to Styles, who proceeded in, smartgun at the ready. Styles' infrared sensor picked up a large bloodstain just in front of him. “Blood everywhere, watch your step.” He warned as he stepped in the puddle, careful to avoid putting too much weight on one side. As the group entered, Samuels slipped on the slick blood and crashed to the floor, letting out a startled yelp. Tiberius and Houston both whirled on him, rifles trained, only to see him grinning stupidly from the floor, semi-dried blood coating his armor. “Get the fuck up.” Tiberius said curtly. 'What a great start to this mission.' Tiberius thought bitterly. ----Fancy Pants' Canterlot house, Equestria---- “Well I do say that the unveiling was quite extravagant!” A marshmallow white unicorn with combed wavy blue hair said as he hung his coat on the oak coat rack next to the door. “I must admit, I was skeptical when young Twilight fist suggested her theory, but I'm glad I was proven wrong.” He said to his fiance Fleur de Lis, who was in the adjacent room fiddling with something in her hooves. “I'm most interested in the device ponies are calling a “Tablet.” It's quite remarkable, as one of Twilight's friends, Rarity in fact, was given the honor of showing it personally to a select few, myself included. After a number of different failed passwords, we finally found one that worked, although it made no sense as I still can't figure out what, “Grasp your gun, and hope to die, shoot a bullet in your eye,” Means, although it doesn't sound pretty.” He said with a slight shudder, and walking into his living room with Fleur. “Fancy, come look at this!” She said, beckoning him over to her. Fancy Pants walked next to Fleur, to see her reading a small plain black book. “What is it about?” Fancy asked, noticing there was no title. He expected her to say a romance, as she was always reading those, but instead she said, “It's a diary, or a journal of a scientist, doing work on something called a “Xenomorph.” It's right nasty, and I don't even understand much of what the main character is saying. He uses words like “subject” ,but in an entirely new context, like the subjects don't want to be there.” She said. Fancy was intrigued. “Let me have a look.” He said, grasping the journal with a telekinetic grip. Fancy set it down on the table, flipped to the first page, and began reading. Entry 1 Day 1 First day here, and I can tell this whole thing is just bollocks. I can't believe they want us to study these bloody things. Bloody, literally! The way they eat is just... horrifying! They like to play. Damn, at least the pay's good. All I have to do, is stand up there in the room, and watch them do everything. EVERYTHING. Not too bad, although I have left on numerous occasions to vomit. That, and I keep having nightmares about them. This whole operation just sucks. Entry 2 Day 7 I was working with one of the subjects downstairs, when the damned thing nearly bit my bloody face off! It was my turn to feed it, and when I was putting the food in the slot, it got it's head in before the other side shut. It's retractable “mini mouth” shot out like a bullet, and snapped shut inches from my nose. Too close. Entry 3 Day 23 Been a while since I've written... Had a lot on my mind. Can't write now. Too tired. Just saw one kill Kennan. Ripped his head right off. Security killed it. It'd been his fault. He just forgot to lock the door behind him. The subject opened the door, stepped out, and sliced his head off. Oh yeah, and the nightmares are getting worse. Entry 4 Day 41 I don't know how much longer I can go. Things are going balls up here. I'm thinking of going AWOL, and now that I've written that, I probably'll have to burn it later. Probably'll isn't even a bloody word, so I'm glad I'm writing this on good ol' fashioned paper, and not on the network. Stupid red squiggles. We haven't had another incident like the one a few weeks ago, but the Sheila's been acting weird. Sheila's the Queen. She just stares at us through the glass, even though it's one way. Maybe she's looking at her reflection, but I don't think so. Been here 41 days, and we haven't learned a goddamned thing. All we know, is what the rest told us in the beginning. We've learned nothing about their sociology or their “Hive” like state of mind. They're pretty much like enormous bugs. Ants to be precise. Those nasty ones with the huge ass pincers that are on Kana Yama. If I don't find anything out soon, it'll be my ass they feed to those things. Entry 5 Day 42 Had a revelation earlier, and I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Probably too many things on my mind. The company never told us WHY they wanted to study these things. They just said “Do it!” I... I think they want them for weapons. I... I can't allow that. Tonight, I'll do it. I'm almost tempted to write my master scheme in here for the rescue team to find, and revel in my ingeniousness! Almost. I will say this though, I don't think we deserve this. Us, the scientists, the guards, the marines who'll surely come, and surely perish. Some of us deserve it sure, but us as a whole. Then again, it's either this, or a whole world under these thing's control. Signing out for the last time- Head researcher of Xenomorphic sociology, Tommy Cain. P.S If anyone finds this, Make sure to please spread this phrase: *ahem* FUCK DR. JACK LARSEN! Fancy Pants stopped reading out loud. “Dear me.” He exclaimed, shutting the book, and staring off into space. “So, what do you think?” Fleur asked puzzled. “I think Twilight Sparkle needs to get her hooves on this.” ----Canterlot Castle Royal Lounge, Equestria---- “Hello everyone.” Celestia said, making sure to say “everyone” As Spike was present as well. “I have gathered you here tonight to discuss something rather important.” Princess Celestia said to the group Elements of Harmony, Spike, Shining Armor, and his wife Cadence. To Celestia's right, was her younger sister Princess Luna, who seemed tired, despite it being night. “Whatever it is, you can count on us!” Rainbow Dash declared cockily. Celestia smiled, and replied, “I thank you for the gesture Rainbow Dash, but that is not necessary, for I do not know if what I fear will happen.” She said, looking over the group. “But if it does, and I think it might, I need you all to be there, for this will be worse than Discord ever was, and worse than Queen Chrysalis.” She said sternly, making sure they understood. They did. Twilight already knew what Celestia was going to say, as they had discussed it together with Luna after the... incident. She'd told them about the “other body experience.” And about the human. To say that they were dismayed to hear about the human was an understatement. “What I suspect is coming could save Equestria from a dark evil... or help destroy it. I'm talking. About humans. Most of the gathered group shared confused looks, aside from Twilight, who kept her face neutral. “Sooo, are hew-mans good or bad?” Pinkie-Pie asked, cocking her head. Celestia sighed and shook her head. “I don't know. They can do such good things. They can do wondrous things, achievements that make ours look like nothing, and all without magic.” She said, causing the group to gasp, aside from Twilight of course. “No magic? B-But how do they do ANYTHING?” Spike asked shocked. Luna took over there. “Humans are... were... ingenious beings. They were able to do things that we did with magic, using things like pulleys or winches, things we don't commonly use, and have only been used for about three hundred years.” Luna said, looking back to her sister to make sure she got the date right. Celestia gave a slight nod, and Luna continued. “But they were easily corrupt. Their minds were the strongest of any creature, but also the weakest of any creature. That is not to say they were all bad, they weren't... but a lot were. Eventually, they started to fight. Then came war. That is where humanity found it's true calling. They found out just how good they were at killing.” Tears were gathering in her eyes, as well as the group's. “They started to find new and more efficient ways of killing. They would make amazing structures, no bigger than a large wagon, that, using a counter weight and a slingshot effect, could launch boulders at their enemies.” The group shuddered at the thought of a boulder smashing a group of humans into the dirt. “And from what we've heard and seen, the humans that are coming, will be ten times smarter, and ten times more deadly.” Luna said, with a sad shake of her head. Celestia picked up from there, “But they aren't coming alone. There is something else coming. Something worse than humans.” Now the group wasn't just shocked, they were scared. “The race that is coming with them is worse than humans for one reason. They have no morals. No conscious. They are, the perfect killing beings.” She said, suppressing a shudder as she remembered the things in her dreams. “All I want you all to do, is keep an eye out. Keep on the lookout for anything suspicious. We don't know when they will arrive.” Twilight grunted, and put a hoof to her head, her horn glowing brightly. “Twi', you okay?” Applejack asked worridly. “Yeah, I'm fine just a headache is ALL!” Twilight yelped as her horn flared a deep purple. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administrator Building, Planet LV-426---- Major Joel Reed's black lightweight armor banged loudly – but was silent compared to Hudson's heavy marine armor – As the two of them raced down the corridor, Hudson occasionally firing a shot behind them, as the whole time, his motion tracker beeping like it was the end of the world. And for them, it practically was. Hudson didn't know where they came from, one second there were six, then sixty! They flowed from vents and doorways, hissing and shrieking. A few minutes after they'd started running, the emergency lights had flicked on, bathing the hallways in a demonic red light. At least they could see hell instead of stumbling around blind in it. “Run!” Reed screamed as he pounded ahead of Hudson. “Yeah! No shit!” Hudson screamed back as he took two potshots at the swarm behind them. Reed tripped over his feet, stumbling to the ground. As Hudson ran past, he made a mad grab for him, telling himself that if he missed, he'd leave him. He didn't. Hudson yanked him to his feet, and continued racing ahead. Reed was right behind him, when it happened. One of the aliens leaped from a vent and onto Reed, ready to severe his head. Hudson made a snap decision. Shoot the Alien, and either spray acid on Reed's face, shoot the alien, and have Reed be trapped by the body. Or, run, and let him die quickly. At least, that's what Hudson said to himself. Hudson ran. Reed didn't even notice as he stared at the eyeless ebony cranium above him, tail poised back. The other Xeno-fucks ran past, letting this one have its fun. The tail raised. And both human and xenomorph were enveloped in a bright purple light. 'Whatfuck?' With a flash of light, Reed suddenly felt his back hitting a new floor, and the evil red lights of the outpost were now bright natural light, another thing Reed hadn't seen in over twenty years. There was a shriek somewhere to his left, but he paid no mind. The xeno-fuck looked up and hissed confusedly, before Reed pushed with all his weight, and pulled his legs to his chest. Reed planted his boots on the xeno-fuck's chest, and pushed, propelling the alien backwards and allowing Reed to jump up. He wasn't a major for nothing. The xeno-fuck stood on two legs, towering above Reed, and hissed. Reed quick-drew his pistol and pumped four rounds into its elongated cranium, blowing four holes into it, and dropping the xeno-fuck to the ground – which by the way, Reed noticed was a white marble. The gunshots echoed loudly in the room, causing eleven unseen creatures to jump in fright as the xeno-fuck's acidic blood ate through the fine marble. Reed stood, breathing deeply, before he holstered his pistol, and felt someone watching him. Reed turned slowly, and saw ten horses and a dragon staring at him with shock and horror. “What?” He mumbled, before the stress, and sleep deprivation got the best of him, and he collapsed to his knees, before toppling sideways to the floor.
Interval 4: Beginnings----Just outside Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, Planet LV-426---- “Christ's sake, I just want to get off this FUCKING rock!” Matt Sheckly hollered over the whipping wind as he lay next to Riley Hudson, his M225 snugged against his shoulder, and a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. Hudson grunted and kept his sights on the door Alpha team had entered. Something was wrong. Macklin should have asked for a check in by now. Hudson almost radioed Macklin to ask what the holdup was, but decided against it. Macklin would radio whenever the fuck he wanted to, he was the LT. However, this didn't stop Hudson from switching on his helmet radio, and calling in for Alpha team. Unlike Gorman's Grunts, Macklin's Maniacs weren't assigned with helmet cams. Now, Gorman's team was gone. Hudson squeezed his eyes closed, and said, “Alpha team do you copy? I...” Hudson paused, hearing only static, like something was blocking the transmission. Maybe that's why Macklin wasn't asking for a check in. “Sheckly, go get Flynn, tell him that we need to use his on board radio.” Hudson said, still aiming down the sights of his rifle. Sheckly nodded, and stood, making his way over large rocks towards the dropship. Sheckly walked up the low incline of the metal ramp into the dropship. Karl German was sitting on a large box, his back against the hull, and a cigarette in his mouth. “Flynn?” Sheckly asked. German nodded his head towards the cockpit. Sheckly nodded, and slung his rifle over his shoulder, then entered the cockpit. Archer Flynn was sitting in the pilot seat, his head bobbing lightly to soft playing rock music. It was a band Sheckly seemed to remember, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Whatever it was, it was old. “Yo, we need to use your radio.” Sheckly said, pointing towards Flynn's radio. Archer muted his music, interrupting a wicked solo featuring a heavy bass guitar. “Why do you need it?” He asked, switching on the radio, and tuning it in. Sheckly shrugged his shoulders. “Fuck if I know. Our radio signal's being jammed, and Hudson seems to think this'll work.” Flynn raised an eyebrow. “Why?” He asked, “If your radio doesn't work, why would mine?” “Shit, Ah don't know! But I don't want to argue with him, do you?” Sheckly asked, looking out the side of the cockpit window. Only about twenty meters away, Hudson lay, almost blending into the dusty, gritty environment of LV-426, although he was no longer laying down, he was now standing up. Flynn turned the sound knob up, and flicked the radio on, before tuning it in to his team's frequency. The reaction was instantaneous. “Shit, shit run! Cover me!” It was just a blur of voices. Flynn thought he heard Rin's voice in there, and he knew he heard R.J. The thing was, it was both teams. “Reloading!” “Left flank!” “Where's Holman!?” “OH GAAAAAAAAAAWD!” “Acrope!” Flynn turned and faced Sheckly, his eyes wide. “Get Hudson, and German, now!” He said, turning back around, and preparing the ship for dust off. The ship around Sheckly hummed as it powered up. Sheckly sprinted past a bewildered German. “Huh? What's going on?” He asked, following Sheckly half way down the ramp before slowing to a halt. Sheckly ignored him as he raced back to Hudson. Two minutes earlier, Hudson had almost screamed. Almost. He'd heard a noise behind him, like pebbles falling onto rock. Hudson had turned, expecting to see Sheckly returning, saying how the radio had worked. Hudson had thought of the radio, as the ship used a stronger frequency than their comms. Hudson turned, and was met with an ebony figure, like a human shaped black hole. Hudson could see a large tail swishing behind it. It hissed loudly, and dove forward. Hudson grunted and rolled sideways, still gripping his rifle. The black thing released a high pitched squeal as it plunged over the edge of the cliff. “What fuck?!” Hudson shouted as he jumped to his feet, accidentally knocking the radio receiver he'd set up, over. Then, he saw Sheckly. He was sprinting towards him from the ship. “Sheckly, you will not believe what-” Hudson started, still gripping his rifle, his knuckles turning white. “No time, c'mon!” Sheckly shouted, and doubled back to the ship. Hudson heard stark fear in his voice, something he'd never heard before. Hudson quickly gathered himself, and made off after Sheckly. When they reached the ship, it's thrusters were active, and was ready for liftoff. The two marines neared the ship ramp, and saw another black think at the base of it. Hudson and Sheckly both raised their rifles, only to be cut off, as four loud reports echoed from within the ship. The black thing screeched and fell to the ground in a flurry of green blood. Soon after, Archer Flynn jogged down the ramp, an M11 gripped in his hands. “Run!” He shouted as to the right of the ramp, the ground seemed to sag downward, then burst out as another black thing jumped up. Flynn quickly pumped three more rounds into it, sending it careening back down into the hole. Hudson and Sheckly wasted no time, as they raced up the ramp, meeting Flynn and sprinting inside. Flynn quickly punched the ramp control, before running through the open door to the cockpit. “Fuck, oh, what the fuck?!” Sheckly shouted, collapsing onto the crate German had been resting on, his rifle laying in his lap. Meanwhile, Hudson kept his rifle trained on the raising ramp. Sure enough, another black thing was scuttling its way up the ramp. Hudson fired a shot off, the round slamming into the thing's chest, and launching it backwards. Before the ramp had even closed, Flynn launched the ship into the air, taking deep breaths, and remaining calm. Or, as calm as he could be after hearing Karl scream and get dragged off the ship by one of those things. Flynn pulled the throttle upward, and sent the ship airborne. “Strap in!” Archer shouted to his two passengers. 'It should be three.' Flynn mentally shook himself awake, and continued to rise. Then, one of those things was on his windshield. Like and enormous bug, it crawled over the cockpit windshield. “Hang on!” Flynn shouted as he jerked the throttle up, launching the ship sky bound. Flynn tilted the ship upward, and punched the thrusters. The ship jerked forcefully, and rocketed off, steadily going upward. All over the ship, the black things were thrown off like rag-dolls to the wind. The one on the windshield was pressed against the sloped glass, before Flynn tilted back down, causing the thing to slide over the top of the dropship, screeching as it was sucked away into LV-426's atmosphere. The ship whipped back and forth, throwing the things off as it raced through the grit-filled atmosphere of the planet. Sheckly and Hudson were both strapped into the reserve seats in the cargo hold, their heads being whipped back and forth as Flynn did his daredevil evasive maneuvers. “We'll circle back around and link with the rest of the group! I- what the fuck?” Flynn shouted as his ship was enveloped in a purple glow. “Oh what the fuck now!” Sheckly screamed as his helmet banged against the headrest. “Shit! Hold onto some-” With a bright flash, the ship was gone, leaving behind no trace that it was ever there, while the wind continued to rage above LV-426, and the black monsters fell like rain from the sky. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Mess Hall, Planet LV-426---- “Cover fire!” Corporal Rin Han screamed as she unloaded a five round burst through the darkened doorway. She couldn't see what was down that hallway, but she knew that it had killed Acrope, O'Brien, and probably Holman too. It'd started simple enough. The team going down, and clearing the dorms room by room. Then, O'Brien had opened his door. Maple's motion tracker started to beep crazily, as O'Brien let out a small scream before he was pulled into his room by long ebony hands. Rin had been closest, and she raised her rifle and fired off a burst at the thing that had nabbed O'Brien. She hit dead on. The side of O'Brien's face was doused with green blood as the thing collapsed to the floor. It took a moment for it to sink in. “OH GAAAAAAAAAAAWD!” O'Brien screamed, clawing at his face. Rin stood, petrified as O'Brien screamed and pitched forward, slamming his burned, head into the side of the bed, smashing it in. Rin backed into the wall as Maple's motion tracker continued to scream warnings. “What just happened?” R.J shouted. Then, it happened. Holman's door was ripped open as he was watching Rin. He turned just in time to see an eight foot tower of ebony death loom over him. He didn't even make a sound. 'The perfect killing mach-' Holman's thoughts were cut off as it reached out and pulled him into the room. “Where's Holman?” Maple shouted as he turned to look past R.J and Rin. Rin Han was the first to catch on. “Run!” She screamed, as almost instantaneously, every door in the hallway was ripped open. The trio of marines raced down the hallway, black spindly arms reaching out for them as they ran past. “Mess hall!” Maple shouted in the lead. “Move whitey!” R.J hollered in a deep bellowing voice, as Acrope slammed into the door, then ripped it open. Acrope, R.J, and Rin filed quickly through the door as the hallway behind them was filled with earsplitting shrieks. R.J immediately flipped the nearest table and shoved it against the other of the two doors leading into the room. Maple turned to shut the door, and was met with a sleek, black, elongated head. “Fuck.” The thing grabbed Maple and dragged him into the hallway kicking and screaming. “Acrope!” Without hesitation, Rin sprayed her clip down the hallway, silencing Maple's screams. And that's where they were now. Maple's motion tracker lying, and beeping wildly on the metal floor, and R.J was barricading the second door, while Rin crouched a foot from the fist door, spraying bullets into the dark. “Cover fire!” Rin shouted again, spotting another shape crawling in the darkness and firing another burst at it. “Gotcha girl!” R.J said deeply as he took up position just behind her, his smartgun ready. Rin quickly jumped out of the way, as to avoid R.J's smartgun. Rin stood up, dropped her clip, and slapped a fresh magazine in, before thumbing the safety off. Behind Rin, the door was thrown open, and R.J's makeshift barricade came clattering down in a rain of tables and chairs. “Six o'clock!” She shouted, taking up position behind R.J so they were back-to-back. They continued to spray bullets down the halls, slaughtering the swarms of monsters. As R.J once said, just like fucking zombies. Maple's abandoned motion tracker's beeps got slower. R.J looked down and saw that the motion tracker screen was facing him, it's blue light illuminating the readout. The remaining hostiles were all on Rin's side. “I'm out!” Rin shouted in a terrified voice. R.J quickly whipped his smartgun around, and started to unload down the hallway, his muzzle right next to Rin's head. “AAGH!” Rin screamed, and threw herself away from R.J. The fist thing Rin noticed was that she couldn't hear. It was just a far away ringing noise. And she'd never been more terrified in her life. She scrambled wildly on the floor, gripping her rifle like a life preserver in the rough waters of the ocean back on her home planet. It had always been wild. Her world was set on mute as she looked up, seeing R.J let out a war-cry, his mouth wide open, making it appear that he was making the ringing sound. He fired down the hallway, his muzzle flashes causing flickering shadows to dance a horrible dance on the dark walls of the room. “Oh God please help.” She thought. Or did she say it? Rin didn't know, all she could hear was the distant ringing. One of the black things tackled R.J to the ground, his smartgun still in his vice grip. He screamed silently and fell upon Rin, the air being squashed out of her as the combined weight of the black thing, and R.J with his gear squeezed the air out. R.J kicked the thing off and shoved it away, before blasting it away. Two more of the things crawled in, seizing R.J by his arms, while a third scurried in and gripped her head. Rin grunted silently, and fought against the black thing's vice grip. R.J backed into Rin and nearly collapsed. Rin felt herself start to be dragged away, when her, R.J, and the three things were enveloped in light. 'What?' Rin thought, as, with a bright flash of light, the two marines and three Xenomorphs were gone, leaving the remaining Xenomorphs with an empty room. One host out of five. Not good. The Queen would not be happy. But she wouldn't punish her children. She loved her children. ----Canterlot Medical Facility, Critical Status Ward, Equestria---- “Will he be okay?” Celestia asked softly as she gazed upon the unconscious human, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, from the observatory room. Behind her, the Element bearers, Spike, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor sat, still mulling over the events. Shining Armor comforted his wife, who'd never felt the kind of hatred the human had been radiating. Fluttershy had a similar reaction, for about five seconds before she toppled over, much like the human had. She now lay sleeping peacefully on one of the benches opposite from the observatory glass. Rainbow Dash sat next to Applejack and Rarity, not knowing whether to be horrified by the human or impressed. If she had to guess, she'd say... a little of both. Rarity, and Applejack however both had extremely one-wayed opinions on it. That human was bad news. The Princess had even said so herself, humans started wars. WARS! And they'd just seen it kill a creature. Granted, the creature was attacking it, but still, it killed it! “Not one iota of mercy” As Applejack would say, or “Absolutely no regret or remorse!” As Rarity would say. Although neither of them were in the mood to talk. Twilight stood at her mentor's side, staring at the creature from myths. Not even famous myths, no, obscure myths that only one other pony had known about. And she probably didn't know about the wars. Twilight gave a slight shudder. Celestia wrapped her wing around her student comfortingly. She'd been having horn flares and migraines that came and went ever since the human came. At first everypony had been terrified, but once they realized nothing else had happened, they just tried to ease Twilight's pain. She'd had three in the last hour, the first was the worse. Spike stood to Twilight's right, standing on his tip-claws to see the human. Like Rainbow, Spike didn't know whether to be horrified or impressed. The genetic dragon side of him was sickened, but was impressed, while the pony raised side of him was just flat out sickened. In fact, the only being there who didn't seem affected was Pinkie-Pie. She knew that the black thing was a no good meanie, but she knew her friends wouldn't listen. They often didn't. Pinkie didn't mind though, they would find out eventually, just like they always do. She stood next to the benches, her pink hair slightly less poofy than normal. Celestia asked the doctor again, “Will he be okay?” Dr. Sawbones cocked his head as he stared at the human. “Hard to tell.” He drawled out. “We know next to nothing about, what was it? A human? Human anatomy. The only thing we do know, is it's sleeping. Well, more like unconscious from sleep deprivation, fatigue, and I'm going to guess high levels of stress, but still, it's not going to wake up anytime soon I don't think.” Celestia nodded slowly. At this point, she didn't care whether the doctor was guessing or not, she just wanted some kind of reassurance. She needed as much as she could get. As if being the ruler of Equestria wasn't hard enough, now she's got humans and monsters that, from what the doctors in the room next to the humans had told her, bled acid. She'd even gotten the day off, and while her sister took over royal duties for the day, she got to sit here and stare at a creature she had been sure were all dead and gone. Not only were they back, they were back with far more advanced technology than before. After finding out that the object she had on display was a human weapon with extreme lethality, Celestia had sent her guards to remove two of the objects. The weapon, and the tablet. Even though the tablet hadn't proved harmful in any way during the demonstration, Celestia didn't want to take any chances. Humans were – are – cunning creatures. Cunning and violent. The two never went hoof in hoof without somepony getting hurt. Or an entire civilization being wiped out. In her mind, Celestia shook her head in pity. Such a clever race. And now... Now she didn't know whether to be relieved that such a clever species was back, or terrified that such a clever species was back. “And what of the other creature?” Celestia asked, still staring through the glass at the human. That thing. It resembled the things in her dreams. But, that was impossible. Right? “Well your highness, it's still dead... and we still don't know what it is. Every time we try to dissect it, it melts our tools. Whatever it is though, it looks like the perfect killing machine. Acid for blood, the sword like tail, the inner mouth with extremely powerful muscles, the durable exoskeleton. Whatever the human did to it, must have been incredible.” Sawbones commented. 'You weren't there.' Celestia thought angrily. “What now?” A quivering voice asked from beneath Celestia's wing. Celestia looked down and saw her student staring back at her, the same look in her eyes when she'd been a filly, romping around in the garden, and finding a small dead bird for the first time. The same scared confused look. The same scared confused filly. Celestia looked back up to the human. “I don't know.” ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Outside Administrator Building, Planet LV-426---- “Keep the bloody things out!” Thomas Lander shouted to King as he typed furiously on the command console of the APC. Against Thomas's word, Macklin had exited the APC saying that he'd heard something, which he probably did. If Thomas had tried to stop him, Macklin would've just shoved him back. Thomas Lander was not the most athletic of individuals, and after all, this was a military drop, where Macklin had command. Thomas grimaced bitterly. Without Macklin, this whole operation went bang out of order right quickly. Now, he'd have to wait seventeen days for rescue, as he didn't know the network code, which was highly encrypted. As it was, he'd had to pull a number of strings just to let this group escort him down here, and now he's stuck. It was ironic. Thomas hated irony. Now, he's stuck inside an APC cockpit, with a pacifist android holding the door from the xenomorphs. Lander could reprogram King to be less of a right pussy, but it'd take too long. 'I'm bloody dead.' Thomas thought, as he frantically worked to get the APC controls working. “I can't hold them off much longer!” King shouted as he struggled to hold the door in place. “Almost!” Thomas shouted. With one final grind of metal, King released his vice grip on the door as it slid sideways. “I'm sorry.” King said sadly as a xenomorph stalked into the room, and right past King, ignoring the synthetic man. Thomas turned and saw the lumbering beast. “You stewpid cunt!” Thomas shouted, voice directed at King, but his eyes glued to the xenomorph. The xenomorph bore down on Thomas, grabbing him, and dragging him out of the APC cockpit, then, out the door, screaming the whole way. King stood silently in the cockpit. “Don't blame me.” He whispered to himself. “Blame your “stewpid” programming.” He followed up mockingly, then shut up as the APC was enveloped in purple light. “Well now.” King whispered, before the APC was gone in a bright purple flash, leaving deep tire tracks in the dirt over the concrete of the compound. The wind blew, and the tracks were lost to the winds of LV-426. And all the while, Thomas watched this, his mouth stuck in a large O shape. “No. NOOOO! You fucker! You Dumb Fuck! NO!” He screamed as he was dragged through the gaping door, and into the dim and dark bowels of the research facility. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administrator Building, East Wing, Planet LV-426---- “Reloading!” Tiberius shouted as he slammed a fresh clip into his M41A, and squeezed off another burst of rounds down the red lit hallway. Tiberius didn't know where they came from, only that they came fast and hard. Styles was dead, and Cook was gone. Tiberius had tried to radio Macklin, but all he heard was the buzzing of static in his ear. It was just him, Houston, and Samuels. “Samuels right!” Houston shouted, blowing the legs off one of the black monsters as it lumbered down the corridor. Flag Samuels spun to his right and fired off, not waiting to see if there was anything there. “What the fuck are these things!?” Flag screamed as he blasted another one that had scurried out of a room to his left. The three marines were held out in an intersection. There were four hallways, and three marines. It was only a matter of time. Mack Tiberius aimed to his left and opened fire on two of the things that were advancing. “Left flank!” He hollered, before turning back to the other hallway. “NO NO NO NOOOOOO!” Samuels screamed as he was dragged downward by one of the ebony monsters, his rifle falling from his hands. Katie Houston grabbed at Samuels' leg, trying to pull him out, while keeping her gun raised and firing down her corridor. Tiberius fell backwards into Katie as one of the things slipped past and tackled him, knocking his rifle to the ground, where it skittered across the metal floor. The three marines, and the two xenomorphs were suddenly enveloped in a bright purple light. “SHIT, FUCK!” Samuels screamed as the five grappling beings blinked out of existence with a bright purple flash. ----Canterlot Gardens, Equestria---- Discord didn't think. He couldn't. Even if he wasn't in an endless slumber, to think would drive him to insanity. He reveled on that after he'd been broken out by those little rascals, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He didn't know how Lulu did it. Well, she was kind of insane to begin with, being Nightmare Moon and all. Then, Discord awoke. It wasn't the gradual easy awakening he'd had before, no, this was a sudden burst of chaos so great, it was almost... bad. It was like when a light got too much energy and overloaded. Discord's stone prison shattered, and threw him to the ground, his eyes blinded, and his ears deaf. No wait, he wasn't deaf, there was something really REALLY loud. 'Well, that explains the chaos.' Discord opened his eyes, and was met with a sight he was genuinely afraid of. A human. Ah yes, the humans, a race so bent on chaos, that it had almost drove Discord to insanity. Now, apparently, they were back. 'How long was I in there this time!?' The human had it's back turned to him, and was holding some kind of large metal object in both hands, that made this Celestia awful booming noise. 'Well, there's the noise, now where's the-' Discord's brain seemed to shut down as a looming black monstrosity rose from the ground in front of the human, it's ebony chest riddled with bleeding holes. The human, who turned out to be male, screamed a war-cry as his object – Discord decided to call it a boomer – sounded off. The black thing screeched as it was blown backwards. “Flag!” The human shouted and rushed away, his back still turned to Discord. 'Flag, what flag?' Discord climbed to an upright position, and stared as another male human was pinned beneath a black thing, which was clawing at his chest. Nearby, another human, a female, lay on the stone ground, bleeding from a head wound. The first human threw his boomer to the ground, and body checked the black thing off the other human sending it sprawling. The second male human grabbed a smaller metal object from his waist and aimed it at the black thing. “Clear!” he screamed as the first human dove away. The second human pulled a small trigger on his “mini-boomer” and the black thing flailed like a rag-doll, before crumpling to the cobblestone ground. “AH Fuck!” the second human moaned as he dropped his mini-boomer and clutched at his torn and shredded chest as bright crimson blood streamed onto the ground, sinking into its numerous cracks and crevices. The first human knelt by his side. “What can I do?” He asked, gingerly touching the second. The second human grunted, and said, “My bag, it's over there.” The second human squeezed his eyes closed in pain, and nodded his head in the direction behind the first human. Discord looked down at his mismatched claw and hoof. There was a small brown bag, bulging with some kind of equipment. Discord looked back up to see the fist human staring at him with wide fearful hazel eyes. “Uh oh.” Discord uttered as the human's snatched his boomer from the ground and aimed it at Discord's form. “Oh buck!” He shouted louder, and quickly teleported away in a flash of golden light, going to the one being who would know just what to do. Celestia. ----Skies Above Everfree Forest, Equestria---- “-Thing!” Hudson screamed as the purple light suddenly vanished, leaving him somewhat disoriented, but fine. “What?” He asked bewildered, as he looked around, seeing that everything in the dropship was as it was before. “What!?” Flynn shouted from the cockpit. “What. The. Fuck?” Flynn muttered as he gazed out of the cockpit. The dusty, blinding atmosphere of LV-426 was gone. The jagged rocky landscape, gone. The dim glowing sun, gone. Instead, it was all replaced with clear skies, a lush green forest, and a bright livid sun. Flynn's evasive maneuvers ceased as he kept a steady speed, cruising hundreds of feet above the utopian like forest. Hudson unbuckled his straps, and stood up, making his way to the cockpit. “What is... it.” Hudson drawled out, staring out the cockpit windshield. “I have no godly idea.” Flynn muttered. Sheckly dragged himself in, fatigue growing on him. At the sight of the new landscape and horizon, Sheckly rubbed his eyes and said, “Um, okay, kind of a stupid question, but... where did the planet go?” “You're right, stupid question, try again.” Flynn said, still staring out, as he lowered the thrusters power, bringing the ship to a hover. “Okay~ where did WE go?” Sheckly asked again, slightly annoyed. “I have no fucking idea.” Flynn said, as he glanced at the view magnifier. “There's some kind of settlement about four miles from here.” He said, reengaging the thrusters, and speeding off towards said settlement. “Do we know if they're friendlies?” Hudson asked from his spot in German's co-pilot seat to the right of Flynn. Flynn just shrugged. “Hey, where's Karl?” Sheckly asked, looking back into the cargo hold. “Dead.” Flynn responded simply, his voice calm, and focused, but layered with sadness. The dropship flew past the forest edge, and entered a land of serene rolling green hills. “Well, it's better than the last shit hole.” Sheckly said, still shaken up from news of Karl German's death. “What the fuck were those things?” Hudson asked, staring out at the calming vista, a far cry from the land he'd just came from. “Some kind of alien, or something, I don't know!” Sheckly said. “O'Brien told us about-” Sheckly stopped, and glanced at Hudson. “What?” Hudson asked, watching him. “O'Brien told us about your brother's briefing.” Sheckly said slowly, choosing his words with care. “He did what?!” Hudson shouted, rounding on Sheckly, who backed up in fright. “Oi! Would you two kindly shut up? Hudson, get on the radio, see if we can't link with Macklin.” Flynn ordered, as Hudson slowly turned back around, his steely gaze never leaving Sheckly until he was out of sight. Hudson flipped through all the comm channels. All they heard was a deep static. Then, “-One copy, over! I repeat, I need medical assistance! Samuels is hurt, and Houston is out! Cook and Styles are both KIA, and I am in unknown territory! Hostiles in the area, does anyone copy?” “That's Mack!” Sheckly said, recognizing the scared and confused tone over the radio. Hudson quickly grabbed the microphone, and switched it on. “This is dropship, ah fuck it, it's Hudson! I'm here with Sheckly and Flynn. German is dead, and I can't reach anyone else! We're in some kind of... I don't even know, a new world or something! Where are you?” Hudson asked, moving the mic away from his mouth. “Hudson? Shit man, we got attacked by those black thing! I don't know where I am, some... some kind of castle I think, but... This place is... clean.” Tiberius said. “There's a castle on that mountain.” Flynn said, pointing to Hudson's right. 'The black things? How many people know about these fucking things?' Hudson thought bitterly, before radioing back, “Alright, we're on out way, sit tight!” Hudson said. “Roger that, I just killed two of those black fuckers, and saw an eight foot tall goat dragon thing. I don't want to know what else this place has!” “Dragon goat?” Sheckly muttered. “After what I've seen today? Sure.” Flynn said, as he changed course, and ripped through the air towards the regal castle in the distance. “A fucking castle? God-damn this shit just never ends does it?” Sheckly muttered exasperatedly as he slouched back into the cargo hold. “Nope. It sure doesn't.” Hudson whispered. 'Black things huh?' Hudson stood and followed Sheckly. He grabbed his rifle from the weapon rack near his seat, while Sheckly collapsed into his. 'It never ends.' ----Canterlot Medical Facility, Critical Status Ward, Equestria---- Even from the quiet observatory room, the collected group heard the loud echoing blasts. “What was that?” Applejack asked, standing up and looking around the room. Celestia also looked up from her seat, staring at the door that led out into the hospital hallway. “I don't-” FLASH! “Celestia, we have a problem.” A deep male voice said, with absolutely no hint of teasing or humor. It was Discord. Standing with his back to the window. Immediately, the Elements, including Fluttershy, who had awoken just minutes before, Shining Armor, and Cadence leaped up, gearing up for a confrontation. “Discord!” Celestia shouted in shock and outrage, planting herself between him and the Elements.”How did you get out?” She fumed, flaring her wings. Then, she noticed the look he wore. Something close to... horror? Was Discord scared? It looked so, and this was backed up when he said, “That's just it! Humans! They're here! In the gardens!” He said, pointing back towards the door. “There's three of them, two hurt. They killed these two black things, and... I don't know what they were.” He said, before he turned, and saw the unconscious human. “What. Is. It. Doing. Here?” He drawled out, staring at the battered human. “Discord! You said that they were fighting something? What did it look like?” Celestia asked assertively. Discord turned and looked at her and saw her eyes wide. “It uh, it looked like-” He was interrupted by Twilight moaning in pain, and her horn flaring. There was a bright flash, and in between Discord and the assembled ponies, and dragon, was a large scuffle. “That!” Discord shouted as a large dark human with heavy metal armor whipped his body to the side, throwing two large ebony monstrosities off him. “God-damn!” He bellowed in a deep monotone voice. He raised a large metal device attached on a pivot, and fired at one of the things to Discord's left. The black thing was blown backwards into the wall, green blood hissing as it made contact with it. The dark human quickly turned and fired at the second one, who was targeting the ponies. The second black thing quickly dodged the fire, and scuttled towards the ponies. Before Celestia could even charge her horn, The black thing reared back to attack. Discord heard Twilight scream in terror, along with the other ponies. Shining Armor took up stance next to Celestia, flaring his horn to attack. Before he could, Discord, fueled by the chaos, launched a ball of high concentrated magic into the thing, blasting it away from them, and killing it instantly. “Rin!” The dark human shouted as Discord turned to see the other human, a female, being dragged out of the room by the third black thing. She kicked and fought against it, as it dragged her. The black human raised his large-boomer, and aimed at the thing. The black thing raised it's tail and pressed it against the girls throat. “You mother fucker!” The dark human bellowed, keeping his large boomer trained on the monster. “D-Dun't Shute it!” The girl moaned, her voice distorted by something. The monster was slowly backing out of the room, it's tail blade still at the girl's throat. Discord was almost, once again, overwhelmed by the mass amounts of chaos just in this one room, and was starting to get a massive headache. It didn't help that the dark human's large-boomer was extremely loud, as if to purposely add to the chaos. Just as everything was seeming to calm down, while all the assembled beings were focused on the hostage situation, the human on the bed awoke. “Gah, fucking hell!” He groaned, sitting up in his bed, and causing the monster to look in Discord's direction. He wished it hadn't. The girl took this to her advantage, and quickly grabbed for a mini-boomer on her waist. Before the monster could react, she fell sideways, and brought the mini-boomer up, firing it into the monster's head as she fell. Green blood flew up, and rained downward like rain onto the surrounding area. Small droplets landed on the girl's left arm as she threw it up to protect her face. Instantly, the blood started to hiss as it ate away at her metal armor. The dark human dropped his large-boomer and dove forward to assist. “Oh God~!” She moaned as she tore at her armor. The moan turned to a scream as the blood seeped through her armor and into her skin. Then flesh. Then bone. “It's okay baby girl! It's okay!” The dark human cooed loudly, quickly tearing her forearm armor off, and watching helplessly as the acidic blood ate into her arm. “R-R.J?” The girl, Rin, moaned in pain, her eyes squeezed closed. “Yeah, yeah I'm right here.” He said, rubbing her face comfortingly. Rin opened her eyes and stared into R.J's. “I-I cun't h-hear.” She whispered fearfully. Then, Discord noticed for the first time, there was a tiny trail of blood oozing from her ear. “It's okay.” R.J whispered as he cradled her to his chest, while she stared at Discord and the other ponies. “It's okay.” The blood from her ear mixed with the beads of sweat that slid from under her helmet, and grew larger as it ran down the side of her face and dripped onto the floor. Thankfully, it didn't start to eat away at the floor. “It's okay.” At that moment, two royal guards burst through the door leading to the hallway. “Your highness, there are reports of strange sightings all across Equestria, we-” He stopped as he observed the carnage. To his left, stood the Princess and her gathered ponies. To his right, Discord. At his feet, a dead monster that was busy sinking into the floor with a loud hissing noise. Across from him, two strange beings sat together, bleeding and tired. Behind Discord, another strange being like the two across from him leaned against the glass, as he too, observed the scene. The guard and the human both stared at the carnage, then to eachother. “What.” “What.” “The.” “The.” “Buck?” “Fuck?” ----Canterlot Fifth Street, Equestria---- “I'm telling you Bon-Bon, something just wasn't right about that letter yesterday.” Lyra Hearstrings said to her roommate Bon-Bon Frosting. “It was like something was missing.” She added, pausing in the middle of the cobblestone street and thinking. “Ugh, C'mon Lyra. I want to get back home and sleep in my nice warm bed again.” Bon-Bon said agitatedly to roommate. “And we will, but first, I think there's a mystery to solve!” Lyra said excitedly as she started off down the street, in almost the exact opposite direction of the train station. “Lyra~!” Bon-Bon groaned and started off after her filly-like roommate. Bon-Bon followed Lyra around a corner, and found her talking to a white unicorn. His wavy blue hair complimented his well kept coat. A small white and blue trimmed saddlebag rested on his back. “Oh my gosh, Fancy! It's been so long, how are you?” Bon-Bon heard Lyra exclaim as she shook hoofs with the unicorn, Fancy. “My goodness, Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings? It really is you isn't it?” He asked, disengaging the hoof-shake. “I'm doing quite well, how about yourself?” Fancy asked, keeping the conversation rolling. Lyra gave a big goofy grin and said, “I've been doing pretty good! Oh! This is my roommate, Bon-Bon Frosting.” She said, indicating to Bon-Bon. Bon-Bon grinned nervously and walked up. This couldn't be THE Sir Fancypants of Canterlot! How would Lyra know him though. Fancy extended a hoof, which Bon-Bon sheepishly accepted. “A pleasure to meet you madame.” He said, with a small bow, showing off his gentlecolt charm. “So, how do you know Lyra?” Bon-Bon asked, glancing at her roommate out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, Lyra and I both went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. We didn't finish top of our class however, no, that commendation fell to young Twilight Sparkle, another fine young filly I had the pleasure to be formally acquainted with as, she never did talk much in school.” He explained, looking back at fond memories. “So! Where might you two fine mares be headed off to this evening?” He asked, looking from Lyra to Bon-Bon. “Well we were just about to head back to Ponyville.” Bon-Bon said, her hint falling on Lyra's deaf ears. “Ah, so you're from Ponyville too? A lot of kind people from around those parts.” Fancy commented. “What about you?” Lyra asked curiously. “Hosting another tuxedo party?” She asked teasingly and cocking an eyebrow. Fancy blushed, Fancy! Lyra Heartstrings, resident of Ponyville, and roommate to Bon-Bon Frosting, made Fancypants of Canterlot blush! “Still worshiping humans?” Fancy replied in an equally teasing tone, now causing Lyra to blush. The two started to laugh, as Bon-Bon simply stood and watched as her roommate traded inside jokes with one of the most popular ponies in Equestria. “Oh, speaking of strange and unusual things...” He started, then opened his saddlebag, and withdrew a small book. “I think you should have a look at this. I was just on my way to see young Twilight Sparkle, to discuss this very book. It's a journal that my fiancee found. Quite a strange, and, slightly disturbing tale.” He said. Just as he was about to give her the book to skim, there was a bright flash of light. Fancypants was barely able to leap out of the way, before a behemoth contraption made of heavy metal, appeared roughly ten hooves high, and fell to the cobblestone street with am ear shattering, BOOM! “Oh my gosh, Fancy!” Lyra yelped and assisted her fillyhood friend up. “Dear me, what was that?” He asked, dusting himself off, and turning around. The object was all gray, save for a small glass port on the front. It had a sleek design, yet covered in heavy metal, like it was supposed to be fast and strong. There were four large wheels on the bottom, much like that of a wagon, but no visible entrance. “My goodness.” Fancy uttered as he, Lyra, and Bon-Bon, all walked around to the side. Many ponies were gathering around now, watching as the three ponies approached the only thing that resembled a door. Before anypony could say a word, the large metal panel was thrust outward, and then slid to the left. Everypony present gasped as a large being stepped out. It was about six hooves high, with a light brown mane, and white skin. It wore loose blue clothing around it's body. It was a human. “Fascinating.” he said as he looked down at the three ponies. “Incredible.” “No. Way.” “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!” The human stared curiously at them, before he heard a noise above him. He, along with everypony else on the street, craned their necks upward and watched as large metal object flew low overhead. “Wow, what is that?” One pony asked as it watched the object fly overhead. A few citizens voiced their guesses. “It's a pegasus!” “It's Mare Do Well!” “No! It's, wait, what is that?” They all watched as the ship flew onward towards Canterlot Castle. Only Lyra was still completely focused on the human, her mouth agape, and her golden eyes wide. “Well, sorry to cut this little chat short, but I gotta go.” The human said, in a slightly gruff tone as he lowered his head back down, and turning, stepped back into the vehicle. The human grabbed the door, and slid the heavy door closed. After a few seconds, the vehicle roared to life, spooking most of the ponies out of the way. With another roar, louder roar, it slowly started to rumble its way down the now cracked and broken cobblestone street. Behind it, three certain ponies all stood in shocked silence. “Did that just happen?” Bon-Bon uttered, staring after the vehicle as it rolled down the cracked cobblestone street. “Yeah.” Lyra mumbled, then keeled over and passed out. The vehicle rounded the bend, and disappeared from sight, it's roar bouncing off store fronts. ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha Administration Building, West Wing, Planet LV-426---- “Fuck.” William Hudson muttered as he tended to his arm. No only did it have the burn from the last shit hole he was in, but now it had a large laceration down the middle, seeping blood from under the torn bit of cloth he'd found on a hanging coat. “God I hate my life.” He grunted as he sat against the cool metal wall. His room was just a simple square room, bathed in red light. There was a desk, a chair for the desk, a lamp for the desk with the chair, and a map under the light on the desk with the chair. That was IT, and quite frankly, Hudson wouldn't want it any other way. No small corners for the fucks to pop out of, and no grated floors. Just solid metal. Or, solid enough. Hudson's motion tracker lay beside him, remaining silent. Just the way Hudson liked it. Hudson didn't know where Reed was, maybe he got nabbed, or maybe killed. Hudson didn't hear anything, he just ran like hell, got to the room, and sealed himself in. Just before he'd gotten in, one of those thing's tails had lashed out and sliced his arm. It wasn't deep, but it hurt like hell. Hudson rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes, desperately wishing for a cigarette, or even better, a dropship. He'd thought maybe he'd heard gunfire, but he'd been running down a dark hallway with his armor clanging, and those things shrieking, so he wasn't sure. Even if it was, they were probably dead by now. 'Why do I always have to be the last one?' Hudson thought bitterly as he rested his eyes. At this point, William was almost asking for death to come. Hudson's eyes opened slowly. But not before he got those fuckers back. Four weeks until he was out. Four weeks. They would pay. Hudson gathered his pistol and motion tracker from the ground next to him and stood. He then walked over to the table, lay his equipment on it, and studied the map in the dim red light. It was the floor plans for the building. 'Must've been some kind of maintenance room, or office.' Hudson thought as he studied the plans. He studied the west wing of the building, offices and administration. That sounded about right. Accounting Administration Security Reception Recreation Room He saw the corner of another map sticking out from under the first. Hudson pinched it between his index finger and thumb, and pulled it out, before resting it on top of the first one. This was the lower levels. Cell Block Lab Alpha Lab Beta Communications Lab Gamma “Omega” Lab Lambda “The Lair” Reactor Research and Development Hudson didn't know much about what was on the list, but he did understand one thing: Communications. “Okay,” Hudson mumbled. “Now I have a plan, and if this fails, then I guess I'll... just... kill myself or something.” He said, clipping his motion tracker to his side, and grabbing his M11. One and a half magazine left. No grenades. No knife. No nothing. Hudson ejected he half empty clip and replaced it with the full one. He pocketed the half empty one, and pulled the slide back on his M11. Hudson took a deep breath, and opened the door.
Interval 5: Interactions----Canterlot Dungeon, Cell Block A, Equestria---- “When I get out of here, I'm going to strangle you both with your own fucking tails!” Private First Class R.J Hanlon roared, and smashed the chair into the iron bars for roughly the sixtieth time. “I don't think we should've given him chairs... or anything.” The guard on the right whispered to his left counterpart. “And I don't think they should've given you horns, CAUSE I'M GOING TO SNAP THEM OFF AND SLIT YOUR THROATS WITH THEM!” R.J bellowed and slammed the chair against it for the sixty-first time. The two guards quivered slightly as the large, dark beast continued to holler obscenities, and beat on the bars. “Why do we always get the crazy ones?” The right guard asked, staring at the beast. “Why do I always have to put up with this kind of bullshit?” R.J asked in a strangely calm tone, and dropped the chair. R.J fell backwards against the stone wall, and stared at the guards. They stared at one another for a solid twenty seconds before the left guard asked, “You okay now?” “Yes.” R.J responded with a nod of his head. The guard stood, thinking for a moment. “I think you're lying.” He said simply. “And I think you're about six seconds away from DYING!” R.J screamed, before leaping up, slamming into the bars, and reaching through in an attempt to grab the guard by the throat. Fortunately for the guards, they stood with their hindquarters against the wall, as far from R.J as possible. R.J's hands curled around and invisible neck for a few seconds, before his arms drooped, and he sighed dejectedly. “Do I get parole?” He asked with an uneasy, and obviously fake, smile. “Not anymore.” This routine continued for another hour. ----Canterlot Dungeon, Cell Block B, Equestria---- Life sucked. That was the conclusion Joel Reed had drawn in his time behind bars. That is, the LAST time he was behind bars. Except that time, it had been a scrawny guard, who liked nothing better than to shove a taser up prisoner’s asses every time they stepped out of line. Now, it was fucking horses. But hey, Reed couldn't really complain, they were a hell of a lot better than aliens. At least, better than the xeno-fuck aliens. Those suck. And sure, there had been those three dead ones next to the colonial marines outside of his room, but they looked like they had the situation under control. If under control is bleeding from the ears, and hugging a huge black guy, then yeah, under control. 'Oh fuck it, they're all gonna die.' Quite frankly, Reed didn't want to leave however. What better place to be during a xenomorph-apocolypse, than behind three inch iron bars? “You're all fucked.” Reed told the two horse guards that stood opposite from his cell. “Quiet.” The left guard ordered sternly. Reed knew a pushover when he saw one, but this WAS the pushover with the key to his cell. 'So I better piss him off so I can stay here longer, at least until this whole thing blows over... or I starve. Either way, better than out there!' “That Queen horse of yours is fucked too ya know!” Reed said from his cot. It was actually pretty comfortable for a prison, even if it was too short by about two feet. “Quiet!” The guard said, in a sterner tone this time. “I heard they kill leaders first, so you two pathetic fucks are safe for now.” Reed said with a smirk, then slumped down on his cot, and pretended to not hear the guard shout his head off at him. 'Good start!' Reed had weighed his options when he'd woken up. He could stay in that room, cooperate with the horses, and probably be killed horrifically by the xeno-fucks, OR, he could stir as much chaos and shit up ans possible, and get either executed, or thrown in jail, either way, Reed wins. He'd started by ignoring the door entirely, and just diving through the glass window into the room. That scared the ever lasting fuck out of the horses. He then promptly drop kicked the closest guard in the face, because why not? Reed was pissed, and tired of bullshit, which is unfortunate, because he seemed to be surrounded by it twenty-four-seven. Then, he'd been body checked by some white unicorn asshole with stupid blue hair. This was almost exactly what Reed had wanted, and after he punched that mother fucker in the mouth, he'd made a break for the door, leaping over the dissolving corpse of a xeno-fuck. That's when he'd heard Queen Bitch shout, “Oh no you don't!” And drag him back in with, like, fucking magic or something. What he'd wanted to do was slap her in the face with his dick, but calling her a bitch had to suffice. So he did. Then, he lost consciousness for no reason. Maybe karma. Then, he'd woken up right where he wanted to, jail! Life sucked, but at least it sucked less in jail than outside. Maybe life didn't suck, maybe it was just ass backwards. That certainly explained why Major Joel Reed of the Private Security Sector was being guarded by horses in prison. 'If they go to let me out, I gotta punch one again, that'll keep me in!' Joel was set for life at this rate. Stay in prison at all costs. That, and sharpen a bed leg into a shank to commit suicide before he starved. Gotta have goals. ----Canterlot Dungeon, Cell Block C, Equestria---- She'd tried put up a good fight. She really did. But she couldn't. Between her arm, and her eyes, she couldn't do much. Now, Corporal Rin Han of the Colonial Marines, sat in the corner of her cell, deaf and pissed, and holding the handle of her combat knife behind her back with her one good hand. 'Stupid fucking horses suck at searching.' Rin thought quietly in her mind. She liked to believe that she was talking. After that crazy white guy from PSS got knocked out by the queen horse, R.J had shoved Rin into a corner of the room and aimed his Smartgun at the group of horses. Rin didn't like being defended like that, but couldn't get the ringing out of her head. It was like a drill, piercing her brain, and making her ears bleed. And her arm, she'd never felt anything more painful in her life. It hung limp at her side, as she was too afraid to even cradle it. She'd let out a soundless moan, and banged her head against the wall behind her multiple times, squeezing her eyes closed. When she'd opened them, R.J was on the floor, and the queen horse was looming over her, a slightly pained expression on her muzzle. Rin had lifted her M11, her hand quivering from pain and exhaustion. But before she could pull the trigger, she felt her eyes grow heavy, and the gun fall to the floor. And for a few terrifying seconds, she was deaf and blind, then asleep. She'd woken up in the prison cell, the ringing gone, her left arm bandaged, and the blood mopped from her face. She'd left the bandages on, for fear of what she'd find underneath. 'Great! Fucking deaf, and a cripple!' She had to get out, she had to find R.J, and the rest of her team. She didn't know how she got here, but she wanted to leave. She just wanted to go back home, take R.J with her, and... Live. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live. 'And I will.' Rin tightened her grip in the knife handle. She glared at the two white horse guards that stood out side. Next time they got close. She would live. ----Canterlot Castle Throne Room, Equestria---- “With all due respect princess, something HAS ta be done!” Applejack said worriedly as she, the other Elements of Harmony, and Princess Celestia stood in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. They'd just gotten the medical report back from the humans, Shining Armor, White Knight – the guard who got kicked – and the six xenomorphic creatures: Robert Jackson (R.J) Hanlon: exhaustion Rin Han: exhaustion, fourth degree chemical burns, deafness, lacerations Unknown: exhaustion Shining Armor: broken nose, broken teeth White Knight: broken nose, broken teeth, fractured jaw, lacerations Xenomorph One: deceased Xenomorph Two: deceased Xenomorph Three: deceased Xenomorph Four: deceased Xenomorph Five: deceased Xenomorph Six: deceased They'd found the human's names etched into their metal armor. As for the one that dove through the glass and kicked White Knight, his name remained unknown. Oh yes, humans were back. And they were smarter, and even worse than before. “Princess, I have to agree.” Twilight said from beside her mentor. “Humans were here for fifteen minutes, and in that time, they killed four beings, woke Discord, attacked my brother, attacked a guard, nearly destroyed the gardens, ruined Mane Street, ruined the medical observatory, frightened nearly everypony in Canterlot, and right now, one of them is destroying his cell, one is bad mouthing the guards, one is just sitting there staring at the guards, and holding something behind her back, but the guards are too afraid to go in and get it, and there's a large metal airship that landed outside Ponyville, with more humans on board!” Twilight explained, her voice rising in intensity. By the end of her rant, she was out of breath and panting. Twilight Sparkle was out of breath describing what a group of humans did in fifteen minutes. Something DEFINETLY needed to be done. “Has anypony investigated the airship?” Celestia asked, holding in an exhausted sigh. She had to stay strong for her ponies. “No, Ponyville has a bit of a xenophobia problem, so that shouldn't be a problem.” Twilight said with a shake of her head, remembering the incident with Zecora. “And whereabouts is Discord?” Celestia asked with obvious scorn in her voice. However, she hadn't forgotten about what he'd done in the observatory. She owed him her ponies lives. He had better not mess it up. “Nopony's seen him since he left.” Just as Twilight said that, there was a golden flash, and Discord appeared floating overhead. “Just checked out that airship.” He said causally as he floated lazily above Celestia. “YOU WHAT?!” Celestia shouted, loosing her temper at the chaotic spirit. Discord recoiled with mild shock. “I figured that, if anyone's going to find them, it might as well be the spirit of chaos, something they are SO fond of.” He explained, doing a lazy roll in the air. The room was silent for a few seconds. “WELL?” Celestia asked impatiently. “Well, they tried to kill me, two of them are hurt, and one of them looks close to being more insane than me.” He said with slight worry. “Better step my game up.” He followed. “I will be... around. Oh, and do try not to bring anymore humans and monsters into the beautiful, perfect, magnificent, amazing, glorious, utopia that is Equestria, where ponies and spirits totally AREN'T turned to stone.” He said, his mouth literally dripping sarcasm in the form of gray liquid, before he teleported away with another flash. Celestia held back a groan. As if being the ruler of Equestria wasn't hard enough, now she had malicious humans, malicious aliens, and a not-as-malicious spirit of chaos to watch after. And now humans could fly. And could kill things at a distance. And had large, unstoppable vehicles. But Celestia had to remain, at least somewhat, diplomatic with them. But when something gives off so much chaos, it gives the god of chaos a migraine... Celestia had hoped to never encounter humans again. Or if she did, they could at least be a little more tame. The humans in the cells would have to wait – although Celestia was worried about the girl whom they'd bandaged up – right now, she had to deal with the airship. “Short Sword, Iron Shield. Find Discord, make sure he's not doing anything to my castle. We may have a common enemy here, but he's still the god of chaos.” She said to the two guards by the entrance to the throne room. “Yes your highness!” The snapped, before turning and trotting out of the room. “Archer, Nose Dive. Retrieve Captain Shining Armor from the infirmary, and bring my carriage, as well as and additional four escort carriages. We're going to... attempt, to negotiate with the humans.” Celestia said, putting slight emphasis on attempt. “Your highness, is that really tha best thing ta do? Ah mean, they did try an kill Discord.” Applejack asked cautiously. “I must agree with Applejack, those ruffians could do all manner of horrible things.” Rarity added in, stepping up next to Applejack “Ooh, ooh, maybe we could throw them a party, then they wouldn't try to kill us!” Pinkie-Pie said excitedly, bouncing next to Applejack and Rarity. “Ooh! Can Luna come too?” She asked, her smile literally reaching ear to ear. “Well, if they DO, do something, we can always just kick their flank!” Rainbow Dash said cockily, then leaned over to Twilight. “We... CAN kick their flanks right?” She whispered. Twilight vigorously shook her head. “Um, you said that two of them were hurt? M-Maybe if we negotiate with them w-w-we c-could, um, help... them.” Fluttershy stuttered, getting more and more uncomfortable as she continued. “We might be able, and have to, do all those things. Really, it all depends on them.” Celestia said with a small shake of her head. 'This can't end well.' As she thought that, Nose Dive returned. “Your highness, Shining Armor is waiting in the carriage.” Celestia nodded. “My little ponies, I want you all to stay here. I'm not going to put you in harm's way.” This was met with loud protest, but Celestia silenced it with a raise of her hoof. “That is final. Besides, you all must stay here in case Discord decides to cause mayhem.” “Yes princess.” The Elements said with sighs. “Be careful.” Twilight said as she nuzzled her mentor. “I will.” She said warmly, the leaned down to Twilight's ear. “If the humans set one hoo- foot, out of their cells, use the Elements of Harmony.” She whispered quickly, then raised her head before Twilight could answer. “Shall we go Nose Dive?” She asked, getting the expected response of, “Yes your highness.” Together, the princess and the guard left the throne room, heading towards their waiting carriage. As they left, everypony in the room shared the same thought: This can't end well. ----Somewhere Outside of Ponyville, Equestria---- “This. Is. Fucking. Bullshit.” Private First Class Riley Hudson nodded in agreement to Private Katie Houston's remark. Katie had a large, slightly bloody, white bandage over her head, covering her left eye as well. She sat in the late Sergeant Carter O'Brien's seat aboard the APC, which was in the confines of the dropship Flynn had piloted into the gardens. “Fucking aliens, horses, weird devil dragon things, according to Mack.” She said in a sarcastic tone. “I can handle aliens.” She followed up, which was followed by Private Matt Sheckly muttering, “Apparently not.” Houston threw him a glare before continuing. “And I can handle horses. But really? Devil dragons?” “It wasn't a devil dragon, it was a, big dragon goat motherfucker.” Tiberius corrected, grimacing at how stupid it sounded, even to himself. Tiberius glanced over to where King was sitting. In front of him, Samuels lay unconscious. After a mixture of antibiotics, morphine, blood loss and stress, Samuels had passed out while the flew away from the now battle scarred garden. A lot of his armor had taken the damage, but not enough. He had major lacerations, and heavy blood loss, and while King was technically a corpsman, he didn't have the same medical training as Samuels or Holman. His odds weren't good. Tiberius looked around the APC. “Where's Hudson and Sheckly?” He asked, looking over to Houston. “They got over watch on the hilltop.” She responded, reaching beside her and unplugging her PDA from the charger. “I'm gonna see if I can contact any other units. Their radios might be out, but if they still have their PDA's, I can get in touch. Houston tapped the screen of the PDA. “Got one, it's... Holy shit.” Her eyes went wide. “Who is it? Is it Cook?” Tiberius asked, making his way to her, and looking at her screen. SEARCHING FOR CONNECTION RECIEVING LINK DATA PRIVATE WILLIAM J. HUDSON AWAITING CONNECTION VERIFICATION CONNECTION ACHIEVED “William Hudson? As in, Riley's brother?” Tiberius whispered, his eyes wide. “Yeah. Yeah, he was issued a PDA so... yeah.” Houston responded, nodding her head slowly. “If he's here, do you think the rest of Gorman's Grunts are?” Tiberius asked, resting one arm over her shoulder and leaning in beside her. “Maybe, if he made it, then... yeah, maybe. I,” Houston paused and glanced towards the APC doorway, then at Bishop, who was enthralled in an old novel. “I don't think we should tell Riley yet, not until we know for sure.” She said, keeping her voice low. “I also don't think this is something we should be sharing.” Tiberius nodded as Houston started working with the PDA once more. “I'm gonna try and hone in on the signal.” Houston said, her right eye narrowing in concentration. “I'm losing it.” She said, typing faster. CLIENT LOOSING CONNECTION CONNECTION LOST Houston let out a sigh of relief, and slumped in her seat while Tiberius stared blankly at the red text. “Did you get it?” He asked, arching an eyebrow. “Yes sir, coordinates are-” Houston was cut off as Riley Hudson flew the door open, and poked his head inside. “Unknown contacts incoming, I'm counting five at least.” He said to Tiberius. Tiberius nodded and grabbed his M41A Pulse Rifle from the rack. “Houston, stay with Samuels and King.” Tiberius ordered, thumbing the safety off his rifle. “Sir, I-” “Houston , Flynn doesn't have a rifle, King can't fight, and Samuels is out, You only have one good eye, and I need someone I can trust to hold the ship.” Tiberius said, grabbing his helmet and snapping it on. “Yes sir.” Houston said dejectedly, grabbing her own rifle and holding it lazily as Tiberius exited the APC. “Sheckly, I want eyes on targets, are they coming in hot?” Tiberius asked, leading Hudson down the ramp of the ship. “Umm, they're... horses?” “Where are they?” Tiberius asked, stepping off the ramp and onto grassy hill. “Behind you.” “Sheckly I swear to God if...” Tiberius stared at the sight before him. A tall white marble colored unicorn, pegasus thing with a crown on its head, flanked by a similarly white unicorn with a bandaged snout and electric blue hair – which Tiberius found obnoxious. On either side of those were four white unicorns, and four white pegasi, all armed with fine made spears. Absurdly, Tiberius' first thought was: 'R.J would hate this place.' This was proceded by Tiberius raising his rifle and setting it to automatic, because all problems can be solved with automatic. Beside him, Hudson was doing a similar action, but he was raising his sniper rifle and cocking the slide back. “Drop the weapons.” Tiberius ordered, keeping his aim – and gaze – on the queen horse. “Make one wrong move, and I'll blow your head off.” He said coldly, his hazel eyes never leaving the queen's almost cute, albeit piercing, eyes. “We have you outnumbered.” The one with blue hair next to the Queen said in an equally cold tone as Tiberius. “And he can punch a round of metal and lead into your Queen's skull at two hundred yards.” Tiberius said. On cue, a small red dot appeared on the Queen's forehead, just below the long ass horn. In response, the Queen's eyes narrowed. “I'm sure we can work this out.” She said coolly. “I'm sure too, now drop the weapons.” The Queen and Tiberius stared one another down until the Queen said, “Stand down.” Her order was not met with groans or mutters as the marines would. The guard's spears snapped upward, pointing their tips into the air. “Good. Sheckly, stand down, but keep her in your sights.” Tiberius said, making sure the Queen knew where she stood: Hell's gates if she made the wrong move. There were a few seconds of hostile silence before it was broken by the Queen. “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of the kingdom of Equestria.” Tiberius lowered his rifle so it was still aimed in her direction. “Staff Sergeant Mack Tiberius, Colonial Marines of Earth. Why are we here Princess.” He asked still keeping his cold gaze on her. Her eyes seemed to soften slightly. “That would be through the actions of my student. I'm afraid the spell she preformed had unforeseen consequences.” Tiberius lowered the rifle to the ground. “So this was pretty much your student's fault?” He asked. “Not fault, it was an accident.” She said. “Accident or not, I want to give this fucking girl the Goddamn Medal of Honor. Celestia tilted her head. “Thanks to your little student, by squad isn't dead. Had it not been for her, I know myself, and the rest of my team would be dead right now.” He said with a smirk. “And we got saved by a little girl and a spell.” Tiberius remembered Hudson's PDA. “Are there anymore Marines here?” He asked. Celestia nodded. “Three more are here with us. A girl, Rin Han, and a male, Robert Jackson.” There is one more with us, but his name is unknown. Tiberius breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't matter where they were, they were out of that damn facility. And that unknown. It could be Will Hudson. But Tiberius needed more proof other than a talking unicorn princess. “How many humans are here?” Celestia asked, gazing at the ship curiously. Tiberius' eyes narrowed and he gripped the rifle harder. “Why?” He asked. The Princess's gaze returned back to his, but instead of her old piercing eyes, She met his steely piercing gaze with a tender, yet authoritative, look. “So we can help you, and get you home. At this Tiberius slowly shook his head, while Hudson snorted and gave a harsh laugh. “Home? Home is where the hearth is eh?” Hudson said, looking at the Princess. All the humor drained from his dull green eyes, and were replaced with a raw hatred, not for her, but for everything. “Lady, we ain't got a home no more, and you sure as hell ain't sending us back to that shit hole.” He said, powering the laser dot on his rifle. “So you just get THAT thought out of your little head Missy.” The guard with blue hair was glaring at Hudson, and tensing his muscles to attack. “Hudson secure that shit!” Tiberius ordered, throwing him a look. “He's right though, we are NOT going back there. However, the helping part we could use. We have seven people here. One hurt, one unconscious, he's hurt pretty bad, and he's was the only medic left.” The Princess gave a warm smile. “I'm sure something could be arranged.” She said. “I think there is much we could learn from each other.” She said. “Yeah... I think that'll be a one way transfer.” He said, eyeing the spears. The princess's eyes once again narrowed. “Why don't we have a look at your wounded? Guards, stay out here, Captain, with me. If we may?” She asked, staring at Tiberius expectantly. “Yeah. Hudson, stay out here with them. If she does something, just kill them and come help me.” He said, motioning with his rifle for the Princess and her guard to follow. “I do not think that will be necessary.” The Princess said warily. “Uh-Huh, you coming?” Despite it all, Celestia couldn't help but grin slightly. This was so much easier than she'd anticipated. These humans were not like the savage brutes from long ago – although they were still brutes. Although one line kept repeating itself over and over in her mind: “Punch a round of metal and lead into your Queen's skull.” Normally she wouldn't be fazed by such a threat, but these humans... a device like that was all too possible. And did she really look like a Queen? ----Canterlot Dungeons, Equestria---- For once in her long, long, long life, Princess Luna wished she was back in the court room. Listening to royals blab on about their measly problems, and going over the tax reports. She'd rather be in another unaccepted town during Nightmare Night. She would rather be on the moon! Anywhere but under the cold, piercing glare of the human girl in front of her. It was obvious that the human's arm was in need of re-bandaging, and she wouldn't risk the lives of her subjects for it. Although her sister wouldn't allow a “Sentient” creature to perish in the cells. This meant that Luna had to retrieve the human. In order to do that, she would need to knock it out. In order to do that, she would need to get close. It was holding something behind it's back, but Luna couldn't get it without possibly hurting the human. She couldn't make conversation, it was deaf. Maybe writing? If her assumption was correct, they had the same written language. It was either that or storm into the cell swords swinging. Luna magically retrieved multiple rolls of scrolls, and two quills, the action causing the human's eyes to narrow suspiciously. “Guards, I require a table and chair.” She said to the guard on her left. “Yes your highness!” He shouted, not curtly, but nervously, then sped out of the room. Luna watched him leave curiously, then looked back at the human. She had followed the guard too, and when she faced Luna, she had a wicked smirk on her face. Luna stared at the human, unamused. This caused the human to let out a loud bark of laughter, then stop abruptly, and stare at the ground. She stared at the ground for a few more seconds before looking back up at the Princess, her cold glare returned full force. Luna sighed inwardly. Just when she thought she'd made some progress. The guard returned, levitating a table and one chair. He set the table down against the bars of the cage, and set the chair opposite from the bars. Luna thanked him and sat down in the chair. “You guards are dismissed, I want it to be as comfortable as possible.” The guards exchanged glances, then saluted, and filed out. Luna levitated the scrolls and quills onto the table, then pushed one scroll, and one quill through the bars into the cell. The human watched them as they floated roughly a foot from her, and settled to the ground. She stared at the two objects for a few seconds, then flicked her ice blue eyes back to Luna. Luna noted that when the eyes weren't glaring with hatred, they were actually quite beautiful. They were much like her own. The human cautiously stood up, her right hand tucking something in her pants, and her left dangling by her side, and picked up the two writing instruments. She approached the cell bars and slowly sat back down, the table being just the right height for her. Luna grabbed the quill and quickly wrote on the scroll: -Rin? Is that your name?- Luna turned the scroll to face the human, who studied it. The human looked back up to Luna. Luna could almost see the gears in her head spinning. 'It can't possibly be that dull witted that it doesn't know its name can it?' The human finally slowly nodded. -What are you?- Luna wrote. The human stared down at the quill and scroll, before picking the quill up. She held it up to the bars and raised an eyebrow, before bringing it back down and writing on the scroll. She then dropped the quill, and lifted the scroll to the bars. -I'm Corporal Rin Han of the Colonial Marines, who the fuck are you?- As much as Luna didn't appreciate the attitude, it was a start. -I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of the kingdom of Equestria. What is a Colonial Marine?- Rin laughed once again, before writing, -Your worst fucking nightmare, that's what.- Luna decided to ignore that last statement and cut to the matter at hoof. -Your arm, we need to change the bandage.- Rin looked down at her arm, then back to Luna. She shook her head and smirked deviously. -Uh-Uh, we're not done here. You said co-ruler, who's the other?- This creature obviously wasn't as dull as Luna had first perceived. -My sister, Celestia.- Rin chuckled. -Oh, Luna and Celestia, I get it. Real fucking clever.- Her eyes grew darker. -Where's R.J?- Luna contemplated her answer before writing, -He's safe, but he's causing quite a commotion.- Rin's head bobbed as if say, “Yeah.” Then, as she was looking at the floor, Rin spotted something. She motioned for Luna to lean closer, and picked whatever it was off the floor. Luna leaned closer to the bars, an was watching Rin's hand, when she suddenly reached behind her and grasped something. Luna barley had time to pull back from the bars before the knife slammed into the table with a loud THUNK! Luna stared at the knife in the table, where her head had been just seconds ago, then back to Rin, who now held a look of disappointment and anger. Rin then picked up the quill and began writing. When she was done she shoved the scroll through the bars of the cage and upside down onto the table. Hesitantly, Luna flipped the page over. -You should search your captives. And don't come back without R.J, and the key to my cell door.- Luna looked up from the scroll and saw Rin slowly walk back to her cage, cradling her arm tenderly. When she reached the far corner, she sat down and held her arm in her lap, staring at Luna with Luna had not seen before on her face. There was defeat in her sapphire eyes. Defeat, with anger, and sadness, and pain. Luna turned and slowly walked away from the human deep in thought as she made her way back to the castle. She didn't know why, but she wanted to stay with the Rin. Make her feel better somehow. Help her. Without the fear of being attacked. Rin hadn't made any move to attack until she'd mentioned R.J. “When Tia gets back, I am SO going to tell her off for this.” Luna muttered, her slippers clicking on the cobblestone. She wasn't going back to the meeting room, the royals could wait. She was going to her room to think, sleep, and forget. ----Somewhere Outside of Ponyville, Equestria---- They stared, and he stared right back. It was natural, they amused him, and he frightened them. Unbeknownst to the guards, a second stared at them as well. Or rather, he stared at his scope, which stared a cold merciless stare into the head of one of the guards. “So...” One of the guards said, looking around at the ship. “This thing really flies? It doesn't look all that good at flying.” He said, noting the fact that it was made of metal, metal, and a little bit of plexiglass. “Yeah, you should stop talking before Flynn hears you and tears you a new asshole.” Hudson said casually as he leaned against the ship, his rifle in his hands.”And you guards don't look all that tough, with your stupid gold armor, and spears. I mean, the spears I can understand, you're horses, it's not like you have technology.” This comment received glares from the guards. “But gold armor? Really? First off, that armor looks flimsy as wet shit, second off, it doesn't even cover your weak spots. I mean Christ, your whole fucking neck is exposed, I could just get up and slit that thing no problem! What?” He asked when he received glares and wide eyes. “Pussies.” ----Weyland-Yutani Scientific Outpost Alpha, Administration, Planet LV-426---- “I hate stairs.” Private William Hudson muttered as he stared over the edge of the staircase, giving him a perfect view of the darkness below. The power to the Communications, and Alpha labs had been cut, giving him a nice view of hellish red lights, all consuming darkness, then more hellish red lights. Fucking superb. A motion tracker, a pistol with one and a half magazines, a map and body armor. That would not do. As soon as Hudson had stepped out of the room, he'd turned right back around, and grabbed the two maps. According to the map, there was an armory in the Cell Block, as well as Security, but he would be damned before he went back there. Hudson let out a ragged sigh, and started down the staircase, pistol in hand. He winced as he accidentally bumped the rail, causing his arm to smart again. Then, a horrifying though occurred to him. Do they smell blood? It was a good possibility. “Fuck this.” Hudson said, his voice increasing. He switched tactics from, slow and steady, and leap down one flight of stairs, turn on the platform, and leap down the next. At one point he'd jumped, and landed on one of the xenomorph's backs. Luckily, its exoskeleton held up to the weight, so he didn't get acid all over his boots. Instead, he just shot the fucker in the back of the head. Hudson looked up from the corpse and saw that he'd reached the promise land, Cell Block! Hudson swore as he fumbled for the map in his pocket. After much muttering and swearing by God, Hudson managed to pull the map out and hold the pistol with one hand, not wanting to open the wound on his left arm. He read the map in the red gloom, and found the security armory. It wasn't too far from his position. 100 hundred meters north, 150 counting the detours to get there. Hudson had a feeling that number was going to double before this was over. Hudson unceremoniously stuffed the map back into his pocket and continued down the gloomy hall. “Why are emergency lights red? Like, really? Is it just like, 'Oh shit, this place is fucked! Let's go ahead and scare the living shit out of people as they search for an exit!' And in a fucked up lab like this?” Hudson shook his head. “You know what? Fuck the police. When I get out of here, and I fucking will, I'm going to live in the wilderness.” He thought about it. “Nah, too much work, I'll just live with the homeless. I have a fucking rifle, I could get whatever the fuck I wanted on the street.” After devising his foolproof retirement plan, Hudson rounded the corner of the hallway, and started down the next. According to what the map said, Hudson was only two fucked up corners away from salvation. “Then after the salvation, the retribution shall come.” Hudson muttered with a short laugh. The whole time, his motion tracker was silent. As he'd experienced however, that could change fast. It seemed like all he needed to do was not piss them the fuck off, and they wouldn't notice him. For a short time. As he'd found out, if you piss them off enough, they'll just hunt you down. Hudson figured he was on the borderline of safe, and fucked. 'Okay, If I see another, I'll... hide. Run, something. I don't want to draw attention when all I got is a pistol. Once I get to the armory, I'll fuck shit up, until then, their suffering will have to wait.' Hudson's motion tracker started to go off. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.” Hudson shot a glance at the tracker. One target, ten meters ahead of him. Hudson looked around frantically, before he saw a small compartment. Hudson unclipped the tracker, and slid it across the floor, thinking the sound would attract the Xeno, and threw the compartment door upward, revealing a black hole. Without a pause, Hudson gripped the top of the compartment, just under the door, and slid his legs inside. Only to find, that they didn't hit a wall, and that the compartment went down. 'Shit.' It was a laundry shoot. A fucking laundry shoot, in a scientific research station on a hostile planet, in a cell block, that seemed to have no purpose. 'Seriously, fuck my life.' Hudson felt himself falling, but kept his grip on the edge. However, his fingers were blocking the door from closing. Hudson let go, and grabbed the bottom of the compartment, swearing softly as the door banged shut on his finger tips. And there Hudson hung, hanging by his fingertips, and being weighed down by his armor in a small, cramped tube. The motion tracker beeped wildly as the Xeno got nearer. 'Keep going, you keep going you big black cocksucker.' The beeping reached the climax, then started falling off. After a few seconds, the beeping was gone. Hudson breathed out a curse of relief and started to hoist himself back up. It was hard going, with much swearing and armor clanging about, but eventually he fell out of the laundry shoot and back onto the floor. He picked himself up off the floor, and grabbed the now silent motion tracker. He started into a brisk jog, wanting to get there in a hurry. Finally, he found it, a small sign that said, “Cell Block Security” hung above the metal door. Hudson didn't even bother trying to open it and instead went right to the control pad to the right of the door. After a few seconds of extra vulgar curses, the security door slid open with a quiet FWIP. Hudson did a happy hop into the room, turned and slid the door shut behind him. Hudson then fiddled with the control pad, his distinct lack of PDA making everything harder, and was able to lock the door once more. After that, he looked around the small room. There were monitors everywhere, as well as a few desks, some benches, and another large metal door. Hudson skipped merrily, his armor clanging, and started on the control pad for the door. His jolly attitude died quickly. “Ooh, fuck you. Fuck you. I will fucking stab you. You BITCH!” As he yelled “Bitch,” he jammed two of the wires together, and was rewarded with the door opening. Hudson stepped into the armory, and grinned like a madman. Pulse rifles, ammunition, pistols, grenades, thermite mines, smartguns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, RPG's, flamethrowers, automated sentry guns, antipersonnel shotguns, body armor, helmets. “Their retribution is at hand.” ----Somewhere Outside of Ponyville, Equestria---- “This is Flight Corporal Archer Flynn, he's our pilot. That's Private Katie Houston, our technician. Watch out for her, she's a fierce one.” “Damn straight.” “On the table is Private Flag Samuels, our corpsman, or medic. That there is King, our android, he's... You know what, never mind. That hard guy outside with the big gun? That was Private First Class Riley Hudson, he's one of our snipers.” At this Celestia froze, although Tiberius didn't see it. "Back on the hill, the one who put that red dot on you, that was Private First Class Matt Sheckly, our other sniper. That's everyone here. You said you got R.J and Rin in jail. Rin is in charge of munitions and gear, and R.J is our smartgunner.” Tiberius ended, turning back to her. “King here is a medical expert, but he's more into cutting things open and finding out how they tick. If you have a medic with you I'll let him have a look at him.” Tiberius offered. Celestia shook her head. “That won't be necessary. If you wish, I could have him transported to Canterlot for professional help, no offense.” She said, giving King an apologetic look. “None taken.” He said sincerely. “Uh-uh, if he goes we go. Sorry Princess, but I'm not sending one of my men alone into unknown territory, not even Samuels.” Celestia nodded her head. “I understand.” She said, then her voice grew more authoritative. “And I'm sure you understand when I say that this ship will not be allowed to fly in Canterlot airspace.” Flynn hid his curse under a snort, and decided to return to the cockpit before he got pissed. Celestia watched him go in slight annoyance. Never before had she been treated so disrespectfully, even by dragons. Although she'd take disrespectful over violent any day. “We will also address Miss Houston's injury as well.” “It's not that bad.” Houston muttered and glanced at at the floor. “How do you expect to get us to Camelot?” Tiberius asked, raising a brow. “Canterlot, and the same way I came.” The Princess responded. “I was afraid you'd say that.” Tiberius said with a slight shake of his head. It was Celestia's turn to raise a brow. “Afraid of heights?” Tiberius chuckled. “Only when I'm being dragged behind flying horses in a gold carriage, with no top I should add.” The Princess gave him a reassuring smile. “It's not that bad I assure you.” “Speak for yourself, you got wings, I just fall.” He muttered bitterly. Throughout this whole scene, the pony Celestia had introduced as Captain Shining Armor, was positively seething, and trying to hold himself back. It wasn't every day that you're given the order to stand and ignore aliens while they disrespect the Princess. “Shall we depart?” Celestia asked with a faint grin. Tiberius gave her a deadpanned expression, then activated his comms. “Okay, Sheckly and Flynn, stay here with the ship, I'm taking Houston, King, Hudson, and Samuels with me to Canterlot for medical attention and... diplomatic reasoning.” Celestia giggled loudly as Sheckly whined in a child like voice, “Aww, but sarge! I wanna see the pony city too~!” Tiberius groaned and radioed Flynn. “Corporal, watch the kid, Daddy's got to go to work.” This was proceeded by Flynn speaking in a terrible high pitched voice. “Sure thing sugar! Get back soon! Tee Hee!” Sheckly then got back on the comms. “Mommy, mommy! I want some candy! Please? I weally weally want some!” “Yes. Yes, let us depart. Now.” ----Canterlot Castle Personal Study, Equestria---- “Twi? Twi, are ya okay?” Applejack asked, watching Twilight as she gazed longingly out the window of the study. It wasn't like her to ignore this many accumulated books in one place, and it was worrying the other elements. “No, I'm not. I'm worried about the Princess and my brother. Those humans, they have amazing technology.” She shook her head. “It scares me to think about what they can do.” Rainbow Dash paused her armature hoof-fu training and stood next to Twilight. “C'mon Twi, the Princess can handle herself, she's one tough mare. And your brother... well... He's pretty cool too!” Pinkie-Pie poked her head from her book fort in one corner of the room to keep invading aliens out. “Oh they're fine Twilight! The humans aren't THAT bad! They killed the mean things too!” Rainbow Dash trotted over to the book fort. “Uh Pinkie, I don't think that fort is gonna do much against-” “Rainbow NO~!” Pinkie-Pie screamed dramatically as Rainbow Dash snapped the tripwire, making a quiet, TWANG. “Pinkie?” Rainbow asked fearfully as above her, the net containing the dictionaries fell. Rainbow Dash's leg twitched from under the pile of dictionaries old and new alike. “Rainbow!” Pinkie-Pie hollered. “Now I have to reset the trap! And you scared Fluttershy!” Fluttershy was currently hiding in a fort of her own, but it was made of bookshelves instead of books. Her wide blue eyes poked out between a crack in the shelves at the mention of her name. Twilight turned back to the window. “It'll be okay Twi.” As she said that, Twilight saw the carriages come into view. “There she is!” Twilight exclaimed, then jumped back from the window, and started galloping towards the door. Applejack followed while Rarity helped Rainbow Dash from under the pile of books. Pinkie-Pie jumped through the window of her fort and procceded to hop and jump around the various tripwires and pressure plates until she reached her perimeter. Fluttershy managed to worm her way between two shelves and plop onto the floor, after which, she got up and galloped out after the others. The guards at the end of the hall allowed them access to the landing pad. “Princess we-” Twilight and the other Elements stood stock still. “Fuck, there's more.” “The entire species seems to be equine. Four different types. Wings, horns, both, and none. “Fascinating King. “I'm already sick of this place.” “Girls.” Princess Celestia started. “Meet the Colonial Marines.”
