A Rift Between Worlds

Chapters

Chapter 1: School Resumes
Chapter 2: The Brewing
Chapter 3: New Friends
Chapter 4: First Contact
Chapter 5: Noble Phantasms
Chapter 6: Suit Up
Chapter 7: First Flight
Chapter 8: Professional Help
Chapter 9: Forging Bonds
Chapter 10: Strike Three
Chapter 12: Let the Sky Fall
Chapter 13: It's the Grineer
Chapter 14: Out of Time
Chapter 15: Vor's Prize
Chapter 16: The Second Dream
Chapter 17: Ghost of Retribution
Chapter 18: An Electrifying Entrance
Chapter 19: Playground of the Dead
Chapter 20: Beanball
Chapter 21: Here to Have a Party Tonight
Chapter 22: Party Crasher
Chapter 23: The Void
Chapter 24: A Pyrrhic Victory
Chapter 25: Not Built in a Day
Chapter 26: Prime Time
Chapter 27: The Next Move
Chapter 28: Still Friends
Chapter 30: Sinister Shadows
Chapter 31: Dual Threat
Chapter 32: The Neural Sentry
Chapter 33: Waking from the Dream
Chapter 34: From the Stars
Chapter 35: Trouble on the Horizon
Chapter 36: Friends and Enemies Return
Chapter 37: The Invasion Begins
Chapter 38: For My Queens
Chapter 39: You Shouldn't Have Come Here
Chapter 40: Brain and Brawn
Chapter 41: Continuity
Chapter 42: The War Within
Chapter 43: Enacting the Rescue
Chapter 44: A Siren's Call
Chapter 45: Eyes of Blight
Chapter 46: The Edge of Our Hope
Chapter 47: The End of Our Time
Chapter 48: Believing not in Ourselves...
Chapter 49: But in Each Other
Chapter 50: Facing the Monsters at Our Door
Chapter 51: Canceling the Apocalypse
Chapter 52: Going Home
Epilogue: Waking
Prologue: Calling
Chapter 11: How to Hold the Bat
Chapter 29: Criminal Intent

Chapter 1: School Resumes

“Man!” Rainbow Dash groaned as she bent back in her chair. “More homework already?”

Mrs. Harshwhinny, hearing that comment, turned around. “Well, I can always add on more, Rainbow Dash.”

“No no no…” she said, changing her mind. “I like homework! Homework is awesome! But not as awesome as me, though! Or… you, Mrs. Harshwhinny!”

The teacher turned back to the front to write more notes on the whiteboard, happy that she had gotten her point across to the rainbow haired girl. Again.

“C’mon, Rainbow…” Applejack leaned over and whispered. “How many times have we had to go through this already?”

“Yeah, well… can’t blame me for trying,” the athlete said, leaning back in her chair again.

A knock on the door drew their attention to it, as Mrs. Harshwhinny opened it, revealing Principal Celestia standing outside, wanting a word with their homeroom teacher.

“What do you suppose she wants?” Applejack asked aloud.

“Maybe Mrs. Harshwhinny’s in trouble,” Rainbow jested.

“Don’t say something like that,” Sunset Shimmer said, turning to face her friend. “That’s not nice.”

“Hey, it’s just a joke.”

Mrs. Harshwhinny returned to the classroom, leading a blue haired boy behind her.

“Who’s this?” Rainbow whispered. “A new kid?”

“If it is, be on your guard,” Sunset said under her breath, remembering all the times, including her first time to Canterlot High, where a new student, or students, meant trouble.

The other two nodded and returned their attention to the front of the classroom, watching him like hawks, mindful of the fact that over the past few years, nearly every new student had been a magical creature of some sort. This boy might very well be one of the same.

“Class,” Mrs. Harshwhinny started. “This is Home Run. He’ll be joining our class from today on. I want you all to make him feel as welcome as possible. Home Run, you can sit next to Applejack there.”

Mrs. Harshwhinny pointed to her, showing Home Run his new seat.

“Well, howdy partner!” Applejack said as the blue-skinned boy sat down. “Welcome to CHS. You’re gonna love it here!”

“Thanks,” Home Run replied.

“Alright,” Mrs. Harshwhinny continued from the front of the class. “Time we continue this class. Take out your textbooks and turn to page five.”

Most of the class grumbled as they pulled out their heavy literature books, beginning their first lesson for the day.

Applejack brought Home Run along the hallway, showing him a few of the classrooms on their way to the next.

“So this is Mr. Discord’s classroom. He teaches Science, but sometimes, I don’t think he knows what he’s teachin’.”

“Guess I’ll be meeting him later,” Home Run said as he followed the farm girl.

“And this here is the cafeteria,” she showed him as they walked past the huge room. “We’ll be here after fourth period. My granny works in the kitchens here. Makes the best apple pie you’ll ever taste!”

“Can’t wait for some food,” Home Run said enthusiastically.

“You’re a sporty fella?” Applejack said, observing his gait and most likely, his name.

“Sure am!” he told her. “I used to be on my old school’s baseball team.”

“That a fact? Ya can talk to Rainbow Dash. She’s the captain of all the sports teams here at CHS. I’m sure she’ll be happy to have ya on the team.”

“Was she one of the girls in homeroom?”

“Yup! One of mah friends. I can introduce ya if ya want.”

“Thanks,” Home Run nodded. “Would be great to start playing soon.”

“Don’t mention, partner,” said Applejack with a wave of her hand. They stopped at one of the classrooms. Looking inside, Home Run saw a bunch of computers on the tables. “This here’s the computer lab, where we’ll be havin’ our next class. As much as I want to show you all of CHS at the moment, we’ll have to be gettin’ to class or we’re gonna be late.”

“Well, I have all day,” Home Run replied.

Home Run learnt two things while in his multimedia class. The first, is that CHS had a pretty fast internet connection. The second, is that the teacher, Mr. Pierce, was one of the most boring teachers he’d ever had the misfortune of having. His eyes were usually glued to his phone, along with his hand as he tapped away on the screen.

“As you can see, I sent your first assignment to your school inboxes,” he said in a voice that made him sound like he’d been surviving on a steady diet of gravel for the past two years. “Open it and take a look. That’s what I need you to do. I’ll be taking a look as you all work on your assignments.”

Groans escaped the students’ mouths as they read the assignment they had to complete.

“Oh, don’t grumble so much,” Mr. Pierce continued. “Consider yourselves lucky. The principal had asked me to tone down the difficulty of your work. Schools these days don’t teach you as much as they used to. Hard work is necessary for you when you move to the outside world. No one’s going to sugarcoat anything for you out there. I’ve seen corruption in the local… marketplaces of technology. Without difficult experiences, you’re not going to know what hit you when you head out there. The people here didn’t even use a secure firewall. I could breach it in four.”

“Umm…” Berry Punch raised her hand. “What did you say, Mr. Pierce?”

“Nothing. I’m saying how important it is that they’re using the firewall that I wrote. The entire school is connected to this one system, ensuring everything’s as streamlined as possible. That’s how you have such good internet here.”

Home Run leaned over to whisper to Applejack. “Doesn’t that mean he has control over the whole school? Literally?”

“Ah don’t know,” she said, scratching her head. “Never been too good at this fancy computer stuff. That’s why ah’m here to learn. And ah do need a computer credit too.”

“I don’t store any of my private information on the school database anyway,” said a small voice from his other side.

Home Run swiveled his chair around to see who had spoken. It was a girl, hiding behind a curtain of soft pink hair. She let out a little ‘eep’ as Home Run turned to her, and returned her eyes to her computer screen.

“Ah, hey there, Fluttershy!” Applejack said, keeping her voice low in case she bothered Mr. Pierce. “This here’s Home Run. He’s a new student.”

Home Run waved. “Hi there. Nice to meet you.”

“N-nice to meet you t-too,” Fluttershy said quietly.

Home Run returned his eyes to his computer screen, looking to complete the assignment Mr. Pierce had given them. They had to make a powerpoint over what they did during the Winter holidays. He thought back to what he did. He had spent most of his time packing his things, getting ready to move to Canterlot and all. Besides that, he had swung his bat a few times, and got a little exercise, running out in the streets in the cold weather.

“I didn’t really do much,” Home Run speculated as he thought back to his holidays. “What did you do, Applejack?”

Fluttershy turned to Applejack, a loaded look on her face.

“Umm… well…” Applejack said, trying to remember what she had done. “Ah worked on the farm, hung around with mah friends. Just all that normal stuff.”

“Ah, I see,” Home Run responded. “So how do we come up with ten whole slides on the holidays.”

“Ah’m sure we’ll think a somethin’.”

“Remember,” Mr. Pierce said from the front, pointing at the projector screen with something that looked awfully like a baton. “I want ten slides. Don’t tell me you can’t come up with ten slides. I would be able to come up with ten slides easily. Over this holiday, I went out of town. Saw many sights, talked… to some people, drove some cars…”

Home Run and the rest of the class listened to Mr. Pierce drone on about their assignment and his holidays until the bell rang, releasing them from the clutches of the tremendous bore that was Mr. Pierce.

“Captain Vor,” one of the helmsmen called.

The captain left his position to investigate what the helmsman had wanted to tell him. “What is it?”

“The signal we’ve been triangulating,” he continued. “We’ve narrowed the source.”

“Good,” the captain praised, giving the helmsman a pat on the back. “What do we have?”

“We’ve narrowed it down to a city called… Can-ter-lot.”

Vor turned away as he returned to his post. “It is only a matter of time for the Lotus. We will find her. One way… or another…”

Chapter 2: The Brewing

After second period, Applejack had brought Home Run to his next class, which was Mr. Bray’s class, while she headed off for gym class. Home Run had picked a seat in the back as he got ready for the math class. Two boys had come into the classroom, dueling with each other using rulers. Everyone had turned to watch them as they parried each other’s attacks, only stopping when Mr. Bray cleared his throat.

“Sit down,” the math teacher ordered. “I don’t have time for your shenanigans.”

The two of them quickly apologized and searched for empty seats. The boy with silvery blonde hair sat near the front, while the other, a boy with dark brown, wavy hair tied up in a ponytail, walked over to the empty seat next to Home Run.

“Mind if I cut in?” he drawled.

“Not at all,” Home run nodded, pulling out the seat for the boy. “That uh… swordplay was good.”

The boy put his fingers on his moustache and spread them apart along the thin hair. “Ah, that’s nothing. You should see us when we have real swords!”

“Ya mean bats?” another boy with a shaven head in front of Home Run said.

“No I mean real swords, Sundown,” the boy added. “Now that you mention it, I’m pretty got with the bat too.”

He looked at Home Run. “Ever seen me in action… uh…”

“Home Run.”

“Ah, Home Run! Are you new?”

“As a matter of fact,” Home Run confirmed. “I am.”

The boy stretched out his hand. “I’m Jetstream. Nice to meet you.”

Home Run accepted the hand and shook. “Same to you.”

“Well, since you’re new here,” he continued. “I better give you a proper introduction. I’m the best batter the Canterlot High baseball team has got.”

“If ya don’t count Rainbow Dash,” Sundown said snidely.

“You shut your face!” Jetstream retorted. He turned back to Home Run. “So, you a baseball player? Your name being Home Run and all?”

“Of course!” Home Run replied excitedly. “I was captain of my old school’s baseball team.”

“Ooh, a real big boss, huh?” he said, waving his hands in front of his face. “Still, if you’re that confident, you should sign up for the baseball team. We’re short on a few members, and we could use some new people.”

“Jetstream!” Mr. Bray announced. “If you have something to say, then come up to the front and say it! Otherwise, let me teach.”

“You’re the boss,” Jetstream said, leaning back in his chair with a grin.

“Alright, welcome class. I think we’ve wasted enough time as it is. Take out your textbooks and turn to chapter one.”

Home Run pulled out his textbook, waiting for the moment they would receive more homework. Homework wasn’t something he enjoyed, but he didn’t particularly mind math, so the class went by easily.

After the next bell, Jetstream pointed Home Run towards the Art class.

“If you’re serious about joining the baseball team, which I’m sure you are… come talk to one of us later. Even better, talk to Rainbow Dash. She’s the captain of our little team.”

“Will do,” Home Run waved. “See you around.”

Art class passed uneventfully enough, and soon Home Run was on his way to lunch. He headed to the cafeteria, remembering its location from before. Entering through the glass double doors, he saw the line of students queuing up to get sustenance and joined them. A few minutes later, he left the queue with a plate of steak and salad, and a packet of juice. He walked around slowly, looking for a place to sit.

“Hey, Home Run!” he heard someone call.

He turned to see Applejack waving at him from a nearby table. He made his way over, dodging around a girl with strangely mismatched eyes with a muffin as she waltzed into his path. Just as he put his tray down on the table, there was an explosion of confetti, startling him as he tried to figure out what happened.

“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie!” a pink girl squealed, taking has hand and vigorously shaking it. “And welcome to Canterlot High! Applejack told me there was a new student! I know everyone here, so when I heard there was a new student, I was all… Wooo! Someone new! You’re not a monster are you?”

“Uh…” Home Run said as he tried to understand the meaning of the question. “No…?”

“Good!” she shouted happily, returning to her seat to resume her lunch.

“What’s all that about?” Home Run asked Applejack.

“Ah dunno,” she said, quickly turning away and looking around. Eventually, she turned back and introduced Home Run to the rest of her friends. “You’ve already met Fluttershy.”

The pink haired girl gave a little wave.

“And the energetic one is Pinkie Pie. She likes parties.”

“You bet I do!” Pinkie whooped.

“And this is Rarity, Sunset Shimmer, and Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said as she panned her arm towards all three of them.

“Nice to meet you,” Home Run told them.

“Nice to meet you too!” they chorused.

“Well, how’s your day been so far, Home Run?” Applejack asked as she took a bite out of her apple.

“Pretty good,” Home Run recounted. “All the classes have been okay except for one.”

“Which one do you mean?” Sunset asked.

“The multimedia class with Mr. Pierce,” Home Run told them.

As soon as he mentioned Mr. Pierce, the rest of the table gave a collective groan.

“Well, nothin’ we can do about that,” Applejack said, agreeing with Home Run. “Just gotta deal with it.”

“Unless someone kills him,” Rainbow Dash started. “We’re going to be stuck with him forever!”

“Rainbow,” Rarity scolded. “What a thing to say.”

“I’m only joking!”

Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes as Rarity and Rainbow continued to argue.

“So…” she started to ask the new student. “Where did you go to before CHS?”

Home Run felt the eyes of the six girls stare at him as though they were trying to fish out something from him. “I used to go to Fillydelphia State School. It was alright I guess. I had to move here to Canterlot because my dad got a job here. I used to play on my school’s baseball team too.”

“Speaking of baseball…” Rainbow Dash asked. “Which was your favourite spot?”

“I liked batting the best,” Home Run replied.

“We’ve got a few good batters here at CHS,” Rainbow Dash said after taking a drink. “The rest of the team has quite the reputation. The other kids have started to call them the ‘Winds of Destruction’, although, I’m still the best!”

“Oh, that’s pretty awesome. I think I met one of the players. His name is… Jetstream?” Home Run tried to remember.

“Oh, you’ve met him? Yeah, he’s one of them. Nice guy, but I think he takes his rivalry with Lightning Rain a bit too far.”

“Lightning Rain?” Home Run asked. “Which one is he?”

“Oh he’s the one with silver-blonde hair. Generally grumpy look. He and Jetstream have been rivals for as long as they’ve been at CHS. Apparently Jetstream thinks Lightning Rain’s batting technique lacks something, but he never says what. It also seems they both find their rivalry a little fun.”

Home Run remembered the other boy Jetstream was dueling with. “Oh, I think I’ve met him. They were fighting with rulers in my math class.”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” Rainbow confirmed. “They’ve done that a few times.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie shouted, jumping up from her seat. “Once, they did it in Mr. Pierce’s class, and he gave them detention for a week!”

“After beating them senseless with his baton,” Applejack added. “I’m surprised they haven’t fired him over that.”

“Wait, he… what?” Home Run asked, unsure if he had heard that right.

“We try to forget it,” Rarity answered.

“Anyway,” Rainbow Dash continued, trying to drag the conversation back to the original topic. “We’re having tryouts for the baseball team this Friday afternoon, after school. If you really want to join, meet us there.”

“Will do,” the baseball player nodded, putting a spoonful of vegetables in his mouth, finishing his meal.

“I guess I’ll be heading to my next class,” Home Run said, picking up his tray. “I’ve got Science with Mr. Discord next.”

“We’ll come with you,” Rainbow Dash said as she, Sunset Shimmer, and Fluttershy got up to go. “We’re having Science too.”

“Sweet,” Home Run responded, following them to the tray return area.

On the way to class, Rainbow Dash had talked to Home Run about baseball and every other sport that she played. She seemed to be very enthusiastic about sports.

Arriving at Mr. Discord’s classroom, Home Run and the girls found some seats in the middle and sat down. Rainbow sat with Home Run to talk about more baseball, while Sunset Shimmer sat with Fluttershy.

“Yo, new guy,” someone said to Home Run’s left. “Home Run, right?”

He turned to see the shaven head friend of Jetstream from before. The burly boy wore a black jacket that faded to red near the bottom. Home Run noticed an emblem on his jacket, which was a baseball with a fiery sun outlining the ball.

“Sundown,” Home Run asked, remembering the boy’s name. “So you’re on the baseball team too?”

Sundown looked at his jacket and laughed. “That obvious, huh? Yeah, of course ah am!”

“Sundown’s our pitcher,” Rainbow Dash leaned over.

“Not as good as our captain,” Sundown added.

“Of course not!” Rainbow assured. “But I let him pitch anyway. He’s pretty good. I’d rather be out in the field.”

The bell rang, meaning anyone who came to class now was late. Without further ado, Mr. Discord leapt out from under his desk, startling a few students, especially Fluttershy, who almost fell out of her chair. The crazy teacher headed to the door, watching as the last few students filed into the room.

“Late, late, late, late, late,” he said as he pointed at each one of them. “Do make it a point to get here… early!”

After the last student entered the room, Mr. Discord slammed the door behind them, startling them and Fluttershy, who this time, fell out of her chair.

“Ooh, I r-really don’t l-like Mr. Discord’s… methods,” she mumbled as she got back to her seat.

“It’s alright, Fluttershy,” Sunset said. “I’m sure that’s the end of all those… surprises.”

“Ha!” Rainbow laughed. “There’s sure to be more!”

Fluttershy cowered at the thought, but Sunset reassured her Discord wouldn’t do it again.

“C’mon, Rainbow,” Sunset said. “You know you shouldn’t be saying that to Fluttershy.”

“It’s a joke!” she replied.

“Is Mr. Discord always like that?” Home Run asked. “He’s definitely the weirdest teacher I’ve seen.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Rainbow told him.

“Alright. If you say so.”

Mr. Discord immediately started writing on the board and talking about the chaos theory without any instructions, catching Home Run off guard. He turned to look at the other students, who all seemed to know what to do.

“Used to it,” Rainbow said before he had a chance to ask her.

The class went by quickly, with Mr. Discord constantly explaining different scientific theories, not stopping for any questions. The bell rang, releasing the students from his class.

“Remember your homework!” he reminded them as they left. “Pages four, seven, three, five, and twenty!”

Princess Celestia patrolled the inner sanctum of her secret lair, starting up the venting process for each of the pods as she walked around. The air began to fill with a thin mist of vaporized coolant from the multiple mods outlining the walls of the room.

Venting in progress.

She went over to the armory and activated each one, making sure they were all stocked up and good to go. After that, she headed to the rest of the facilities that they used to train and upgrade themselves and activated them as well.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t face them on her own. All those years before, she had been reliant on those who lay dormant in the pods around her. She had always been sure to cover her tracks. To never let the Queens find her, but unless her sensors were wrong, they had found her.

Just when the Princess thought things couldn’t get any worse, the system had something to add on to her already heavy pile of worries.

Alert! Reactivation process corrupted. Energy insufficient. Please insert void key.

A panel on the console hissed open, revealing a port for two void keys.
Celestia hit herself in the face.

Of course they were low on energy, after all this time! How could I be so careless?

She needed two void keys. One to activate the Frames and one to activate the beings within. Those little golden objects were the key to reawakening the Tenno. She returned back to her chambers, locking all the doors behind her. Picking up a quill and paper, she sent out an urgent request to Twilight Sparkle. If she couldn’t even find one key, she had no hope of combating the approaching storm.

Chapter 3: New Friends

Home Run had changed into his gym clothes for P.E, consisting of a yellow shirt and blue shorts. He left his belongings in a changing room locker and joined the rest of the students heading to the gym. It was a short walk, and soon they found themselves in the Canterlot High gymnasium. The gym was a cavernous space, with a wooden floor that was polished so well, Home Run could see his reflection in it. Rows of bleachers stood on both lengths of the gym.

“Attention!”

Everyone looked to see who had spoken and saw their grey-skinned teacher standing on the other side of the gym. He was tall and muscular, wearing a pair of sunglasses even though they were indoors, and was dressed in a white shirt and a pair blue shorts.

“Right this way, class!” the teacher ordered, flexing his arm back and forth.

The students headed over to his side, awaiting his next orders.

“For those of you who are new, I’m Coach Whiplash, and this is my gym! For everyone else, welcome back from the winter break! I hope you’ve all had a good amount of exercise! Don’t want to get soft around the edges, eh?”

“So what are we doing today, coach?” one of the students with fiery hair asked. “We should play a game, being our first day and all.”

“Cool down, Spitfire,” the coach said sternly. “I was just getting to that. We’ll be playing some basketball today. After some drills and excercises.”

A few groans and cheers escaped the students’ mouths when they heard the coach say ‘basketball’.

“First, I’ll need two of you to get the balls from the back,” Whiplash continued. He looked around, deciding which students to send. He eventually settled his finger on Home Run and a peached-skinned boy next to him. “You two. You’re new. You should go get the balls. They’re in the storage room in the back.”

Home Run headed towards the direction the coach had pointed at, the other boy following behind him. Home Run was sure he heard the laughter of some other boys as the boy was picked, but he didn’t think too much of it.

“Hi, I’m Home Run,” he introduced, putting his hand forward. “What’s your name?”

The boy looked at his hand, but didn’t shake it. “I’m Charly. Charly with a ‘y’, not ‘ie’.”

“I see,” Home Run said, nodding his head. “So you’re new here too?”

“Yup,” Charly nodded. “Today’s my first day here.”

“Cool. Me too! Although… I did get here a little late.”

Home Run opened the door to the storage room. He searched around the dark room for the switch, eventually flipping it, turning on the bright lights. The room was just a simple rectangle, containing lockers and crates filled with all kinds of balls.

“Here they are,” Charly pointed at a crate of orange basketballs.

“Great! Let’s get them out. Don’t want to keep the class waiting.”

The new students pushed the crate of basketballs out to the main floor of the gym, which consisted of three small basketball courts, or one big one.

“Ah, there you are!” Coach Whiplash said as he saw them coming back. “Alright, class! Everyone take a ball and line up at the half court line.”

The class formed up on the line, ready for what the coach wanted them to do next.

Coach Whiplash walked to the side of the court. “When I blow my whistle, you’ll dribble the ball from this end to the next, and back. We’ll do three reps! For those of you who don’t know how to dribble a ball… you do it like this!”

The coach started bouncing a ball on the floor with his hand, demonstrating the art of dribbling.

“Good? Any questions?”

Most of the students shook their heads.

“Alright! Then ready, set… go!”

The coach’s whistle pierced the air as the students started dribbling to the end of the court. Home Run performed better than he thought he would at the dribbling, but still only ranked among the average people of the class. He couldn’t compare to other kids like Spitfire, who had taken off like a shot the moment the whistle sounded. Then there was this other kid with brown hair that covered his eyes, who seemed like he really knew what he was doing.

“Good job, Hoops!” the coach congratulated. “Nice to know you didn’t lose your touch during the break!”

“No chance, coach!” the brown haired boy replied, dribbling the ball back with ease. “This is my game!”

The coach waited for all the students to finish their three repetitions before walking back onto the court.

“Good to know most of you can dribble!” he whooped. “Now for shooting! For those of you who are unsure, this is how you shoot!”

Whiplash demonstrated the shooting position, holding the ball above his head and bending his knees, only straightening them when he released the ball, sending it sailing straight into the hoop.

“Any questions? Good. Let’s go! Line up and start shooting!”

He blew his shrill whistle again as the students formed up into a single line, waiting for their turn to shoot.

“You ever played basketball, Charly?” Home Run asked the boy behind him.

“No,” Charly shook his head. “I’m pretty good on the swing, though.”

“Baseball?” Home Run asked, amused.

Charly shook his head again. “The one in the playground.”

“Oh…” Home Run spoke, understanding what Charly meant. “That’s… pretty neat.”

Hoops was up next, easily letting the ball slide from his long fingers to the hoop, sending it through without a single bounce on the orange plastic.

“Very good, Hoops!” the coach praised as the basketballer headed to the back.

Eventually, the blue haired baseball player was next, taking his stand at the free throw line. Home Run took a good breath before attempting the throw. It seemed to be a good shot, until the ball bounced off the hoop and back to the boy himself.

“Nice try, kid,” the coach said. “Try again next time.”

Home Run nodded and moved to join the others in the back. He felt like he gave it his best, so he wasn’t too depressed that he missed.
“Nice try new guy,” one of the other kids, a boy with dark blue hair and blue skin, said as Home Run joined them. “Your first time touching a basketball?”

“Thanks,” Home Run replied. “And yes, actually. I’ve never played basketball before.”

“No sweat!” he told the baseball player. “The name's Soarin. Spitfire and I are from the soccer team. We don’t really play basketball as well. Now if you’re looking for someone good at it, that’d be Hoops.”

“That’s right!” Hoops shouted in triumph. “Ain’t no one in this class better than me! Especially not that new kid, Charly.”

Home Run was about to say something against that when Charly came over to join them.

“How’d it go Charly?” Hoops asked, stifling a laugh. His two friends tried to hold their laughter, but didn’t do as well as Hoops did.

“C’mon guys,” Home Run said, taking a step towards the bullies. “That’s no way to treat him. He’s new.”

“Ha ha!” Hoops laughed, finally giving in. “You hear that, boys? That’s no way to treat him.”

The three of them started bellowing with laughter, building a level of anger in Home Run. He was about to step forward for his new friend when Soarin stopped him.

“Don’t,” Soarin told him. “They do this all the time. Don’t get yourself in trouble.”

“Alright, kids!” the coach shouted from the front of the court. “Time we start out basketball game!”

Coach Whiplash had walked around and picked out the teams. The students were split into four groups of five. Team one and three would go on the first court, while teams two and four would take the second one. The winner of each game would challenge the other after the first match, with the winner of the second being the overall winner of the game.

Home Run was put in team two with Charly, Soarin, and two girls, Tennis Match and Trixie.

“We’re going to lose!” Tennis Match shouted. “None of us are good at basketball!”

“The great and powerful Trixie… cannot lose!” the white haired girl boasted.

“What a team…” Soarin said, pushing a hand through his hair. He turned to Home Run. “Well, we’ll give it our best.”

“That’s right,” Home Run agreed. “All set, Charly?”

“Maybe,” the peach-skinned boy nodded. “I’ll try.”

“Alright!” the coach continued, stepping in the middle of the two small courts they were about to use. “First teams to six win and move on.”
Home Run and his team got to their positions, facing team four. Team four consisted of a girl with purple and pink hair, both of Hoop’s comrades, Spitfire, and a boy with a cap and long silvery white hair.

“Alright,” Soarin motioned towards the center. “We’ve got this.”

“May the best team win, Soarin!” Spitfire called from the other side.

Soarin smiled and nodded.

The coach handed the ball to Home Run’s team, letting them start first. Soarin started dribbling, leading his team towards the other end of the court. Spitfire immediately headed for Soarin, standing in his way to the hoop.

“Not getting past me, Soarin!” she smiled.

He returned the smile, dribbling the ball between his hands. He made his move, feinting to the right before making a dash for the left. Spitfire countered, stepping in front of him, but Soarin stopped and tossed the ball to Trixie.

“Go for it!”

Trixie did her best, dribbling the ball to the three point line, only to be blocked by one of Hoop’s friends, Dumb-bell.

“Out of my way!” Trixie chided, keeping the ball away from him. “The great and powerful-”

The white haired boy dashed past, grabbing the ball from Trixie’s hands as she stood there stunned.

“Good one, Heavy Wind!” Spitfire cheered. “Keep going!”

The boy was fast, heading past Soarin and Charly before they started after him. Tennis Match stood on her team’s side, ready to block Heavy Wind.

“Get him, Tennis!” Soarin shouted as he and Charly tried to catch up after Heavy Wind.

Home Run did what he could, making a straight line from the corner towards the boy with the cap. Tennis Match remained still, her legs shaking as she waited for the white haired boy to reach her.

Heavy Wind ran past her as she tried to snatch the ball from his hands. Home Run saw his opportunity when Heavy Wind ran around the girl, buying Home Run more time to get to him. Just as Heavy Wind stopped to shoot, Home Run had arrived next to the boy, bringing his hand up to block the ball. Heavy Wind released the ball, but missed after being startled by Home Run’s presence.

“Not bad, new guy,” Heavy Wind smiled.

Home Run made a run for the ball, picking it up a second before Heavy Wind could grab it. With a long throw, Home Run got it to the other side of the court into Charly’s hands.

“Shoot!” Soarin shouted, seeing the chance for a score.

Charly nodded and threw the ball like no other, sending it sailing up like a volleyball, straight into the mouth of the hoop, scoring two points for Home Run’s team.

Home Run’s jaw dropped after witnessing the feat, along with Hoops’ cronies.

“Good job, Charly!” Soarin congratulated, giving the boy a pat on the back. “That’s what I call scoring.”

Spitfire, Heavy Wind and the purple haired girl also went over to congratulate him, but the two bullies hang behind, still unable to believe he scored.
Home Run’s team gathered back together and high-fived.

“Alright team,” Soarin started. “We can do this. We just need to score a few more times, and we’re good to go. Everyone set?”

The team chorused a good response together, ready to show the other team what they had.

Captain Vor paced the hangar, waiting for the engineers to complete their inspection of the drop pods. He didn’t want any mishaps after getting this far. They had been searching for the Lotus for as long as he could remember. She had always covered her tracks well, but they had finally found her signature, scribbled all across the planet beneath them. As soon as they narrowed down her location, they would enter the planet, killing anyone who would dare stand in their way.

“Captain,” one of the men said at last. “We’ve finished our inspection. Everything seems to be in working order.”

Captain Vor didn’t like the word, ‘seems’. “What do you mean? You’re not a hundred percent sure?”

The other engineer tried to stop his friend, but didn’t get there in time. “Anything can happen out there in space, captain, even if the pods are working fine.”

The captain moved forward and grabbed the engineer by the neck, lifting him a good feet off the ground. “Then why don’t you check it out? This invasion is not like the other ones. We are here to find the Lotus. She has been a thorn in our side for much too long.”

Vor opened the bay doors and threw the engineer into the airlock. Sealing the door, Vor activated the airlock, watching the window as the engineer flew out into the quietness of space.

“You!” he pointed at the other engineer. “Are the pods going to get us down there?”

“Y-yes, c-captain…” he trembled. “They’ll g-get you down t-there s-safely.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Vor said before turning to leave. “Make sure they stay that way.”

The Rainbooms sat together in their math class listening to Mr. Bray go on about algorithms, but also talking about a particular new student they knew.

“So, you guys think this Home Run’s a magical creature?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“Ah think he’s alright,” Applejack said. “Ah mean, he hasn’t meant us any trouble or hooha yet.”

“I gotta agree with Applejack!” Rainbow whispered loudly. “Being a sporty fellow puts him in the good books for me.”

“Hmmm…” Sunset hummed as she thought about it. “Well… maybe.”

“I think he’s fine!” Pinkie shouted, getting the attention of Mr. Bray and most of the class.

“Yes, Ms. Pie?” the teacher said, clearing his throat. “Something you want to say?”

“Oh nothing, Mr. Bray!” she said and stood up. “I was just saying that you’re such a good teacher!”

That comment put a little smile onto the math teacher’s face. “How nice of you, but please, save it for later. I’m in the middle of explaining something important.”

“Okey dokey, Mr. Bray!” Pinkie said energetically and sat back down.

The class returned to the locker rooms as the bell rang, signaling their time to head to their last period of the day.

“Great game, Home Run,” Soarin told him, changing out of his gym clothes to his usual clothes. “Didn’t know you could run that fast.”

“Well, we do have to run like that in baseball,” Home Run admitted. “But I’m not too good at shooting, though.”

“Meh, we can’t all be good at everything like Rainbow Dash. She’s pretty awesome.”

“Yeah,” Home Run agreed. “Must be something to be the captain of every sports team. Oh, and Charly did very well today. Didn’t think he could shoot like that.”

“Gotta admit,” Soarin nodded. “I really wasn’t expecting that. Well, we managed to win one game.”

“That’s something. Too bad we lost against Hoops.”

“He is a basketball player,” Soarin replied. “Like it or not, we wouldn’t have such a good basketball team without him.”

“Yeah, but I still don’t like the way they talk to Charly. Just because he’s… different.”

“Well, they’re not called the Boy Bullies for nothing.”

Home Run released a small laugh. “True. Well, we’ve got to be getting to class. See you around.”

Soarin gave him a wave as he left the locker room. Home Run passed Charly on the way out, giving him a high-five and a wave before heading off to his next class, which was history.

He wandered around for a bit, before finally finding the history room near the end of the school building, arriving in the room seconds before the bell rang.

That was close…

Looking for a seat, he found some familiar faces looking at him and waving him over.

“Welcome back, Home Run,” Applejack greeted.

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping right out of her seat and onto the desk. “How was your first day? Was it good? Did you make many friends? How were the teachers? Anything interesting happen?”

“Settle down, Pinkie,” Rarity said, behaving more civilized. “Let him speak at his own pace.”

Home Run took a seat next to them. “Well, it’s been a good first day. This place seems to be a pretty nice school. Most of the people are friendly.”

“That’s good to hear,” Fluttershy muttered from the other end.

“Class,” the teacher said, calling for attention. He was a tall man of pale yellow hair and orange skin. The students stopped talking and waited for the teacher’s orders. “Nice to meet you all. I’m Mr. Loregiver, and I’m your new history teacher this year.”

“New teacher too, huh?” Sunset whispered. “Keep an eye on him. He might not be what he appears to be…”

“Right,” Applejack nodded.

“What?” Home Run whispered back, unsure of what they were talking about.

“I look forward to meeting each and every one of you, and I hope we’ll all get along just fine,” Mr. Loregiver finished, turning his back to the class. “Let’s start with a little history. Can anyone tell me where alien life came from?”

The class was filled with silence as each student thought about the question.

Rainbow Dash raised her hand, surprising Home Run. He didn’t think the sports captain would have an answer to such a question. “Umm… from other countries?”

“That’s correct, but that’s not what I’m looking for,” said the history teacher.

“Well, it was worth a try,” Rainbow told Home Run.

“Well, class. I always thought alien life would come from deep beneath the ocean.”

“Now that’s something I’ve never heard about aliens,” Sunset mumbled.

Flash Sentry raised his hand. “Sorry, Mr. Loregiver? What made you think they came from the ocean?”

“Why, I was young. I lacked knowledge,” Mr. Loregiver went on. “But after years of study, I learnt that aliens didn’t come from the ocean, but from the stars.”

Flash scratched his head and sat back down.

Home Run wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but sometime later, the bell rang. The students let out cheers as the first day of school was finally over.

“That’s it for today class,” Mr. Loregiver mentioned. “Since it’s the first day, I won’t be giving you homework.”

On hearing that comment, the students cheered even louder.

“Finally!” Rainbow joined in. “A teacher that didn’t give homework! One out of seven!”

“So, ya headin’ back, Home Run?” Applejack asked as she packed her bag.

“Yup,” Home Run nodded. “I’m heading back, then heading to a nearby field to practice some throwing.”

“Alright,” she replied. “Well, we’re headin’ ta a place called Sugarcube Corner. Guess ah’ll see ya around tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Home Run waved as he walked out of the room. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

A beeping noise drew the attention of Captain Vor as he headed to the helmsman.

“Have you found her?” he asked impatiently.

“No, captain,” the man apologized. “We’ve picked up something else. It seems to be a resonating void energy.”

That piqued the captain’s attention. “Void energy? That is just what we need. If we can harness the void power, we can open a portal straight to the Lotus. If we can find it, we can find her.”

“What do we do, captain?” the helmsman asked.

“Prepare for a drop. I will go down personally.”

“Yes, captain!” the helmsman and the other crew members saluted as Captain Vor headed down to the hangar.

This was much too important to leave in the hands of his soldiers. Sure, they were loyal to the death, and he did make sure they were healthy, but sometimes, reliability alone wasn’t enough to finish the job. Sometimes, you just had to do things yourself.

Author's Note

Well, we've almost arrived at the end of the introduction and establishment, so expect some action soon! Thanks for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed what we got here so far. :rainbowlaugh:

Just in case y'all haven't seen this, we've had some news about the story and characters here.
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/474108/establishing-connection

Chapter 4: First Contact

Home Run had cycled back home and changed out into more comfortable clothes for baseball. Making sure he grabbed his bat and ball, Home Run headed back out, making his way to the nearby field for some practice. Friday was the day he would be able to play with the school. He had to make a good first impression.

Can’t get all sloppy now. Gotta keep up my game if what I’ve heard about the team is true.

In less than ten minutes, the baseball player had arrived at the field. Settling his bike under a shady tree, he headed to the big space near the middle of the field and got to working on his aim and form. He tossed the ball a couple of times, making sure he knew where he was throwing it.
After getting bored of pitching, he turned his attention to what he did best. Batting. He readied his bat as he tossed the ball up high, giving him time to get into form. Pulling his bat back, he watched as the ball stopped ascending, gravity doing its work. He readied his stance, keeping one leg behind the other. With a well-timed swing, he launched the ball across the field, watching it settle under the tree he had parked his bike.

“Still got it!” Home Run cheering, pushing his arms skyward. “The crowd cheers, as Home Run hit a home run!”

He sprinted to the right, training his running when he stumbled forward, almost tripping over something in the ground.

“What?” he mumbled as he searched for the source of his stumbling.

Home Run looked down, seeing something golden half-stuck in the ground. It was a shiny metallic object, round in shape but with tiny protrusions on its form. The blue haired boy tried to pick it up, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Huh… a stubborn one, eh?”

He bent down and gripped the object firmly. With most of his strength, he pulled back, using his body weight to help. Home Run felt the object budge, right before it came out of the ground, sending him tumbling backwards onto the soft grass.

“That’s right!” he shouted in triumph. “Don’t mess with Home Run!”

He looked at the object. It had two prongs at the bottom, making it look like it was supposed to be inserted into something. Just then, lights on the object activated, startling the baseball player. Blue light emanated from the golden piece, glowing brighter by the second.

“Strange…”

Home Run walked back towards the field to resume his baseball practice, when something heavy landed two feet away from him, the impact launching him off his feet.

“Woah!”

The grass softened his landing, but he still felt the hardness of the ground as he hit it. He shielded his face as dirt pelted down on him. Looking up, he saw some kind of metal pod in front of him, semi-burrowed into the ground from the impact.

Home Run got up, something inside him telling him to run. He finally listened to himself as gas started hissing out from the pod, taking off towards his bike as fast as his legs would go. He brought his bike up as his head looked to the pod again. A door opened like that of a draw bridge of a castle as two humanoid figures in green armor and white masks stepped out, pointing what looked like guns towards the teenage boy. That was all he needed to see. Home Run kicked off, cycling like lightning away from the field.

I must be dreaming. I think I took that history teacher’s lesson too seriously…

He heard some shouting behind him, but he was too far away to hear what they were saying. He arrived at the streets, making a left turn when he heard the first gunshots tear at the air around him. He paused for a second, thinking he was shot, but the shock wore off, allowing him to move on.

“This is not happening…” he said, trying to convince himself he was dreaming. “This is not happening.”

Home Run didn’t know where to go. He couldn’t go back home. That would only reveal his residential location. He cycled down the road, looking out for places he could hide in. He looked back, unable to see the aliens that were chasing him. He slowed his paddling, giving himself time to rest. The few seconds he had slowed, a flash of light appeared in front of him, forcing him to jam the brakes of his bike.

“What?”

The flash dissipated, revealing a man, taken over by a mass of armor and wires, his face as wrinkled as an old bag of prunes.

“The key!” the man demanded from him, grabbing Home Run’s bike and flinging the boy off.

“W-what key?” Home Run stammered as he tried to get as far as he could from the wrinkled man.

“Give it to me!” the man shouted louder, stretching a hand forward, expecting Home Run to put something in it.

Home Run pulled the object out of his pocket, looking at it once more.

Is this the key he’s talking about?

“Mine!” the man shouted, lunging for Home Run.

The baseball player brought his arms up to his face to protect himself from the impact, but nothing happened.

“Hmm?” Home Run hummed as he removed his arms from their defensive position.

Something had defended him. That something wore a suit of armor-like organic material, covering every inch of its body, including its facial
features, spouting a squarish horn on the tip of its forehead. It held a long blade, poised in front of itself like it had just blocked an attack.
The older man looked at the man in the suit and snarled, taking a few steps back.

“Tenno…”

Home Run took the chance to get up and hightail it out of the area, leaving his bike behind. His first thoughts were to just get as far away as he could from these people. He turned the corner at the end, hearing the clash of weapons as the two new beings battled it off.

Captain Vor tossed a shock grenade at the Warframe, aiming for its chest. His frown grew lower as the Warframe cut his grenade in mid-air, blowing it up safely away from itself.

“Why do you persist, Tenno?” he asked scornfully. “The Lotus has been nothing but trouble!”

The Tenno said nothing as it continued to block Vor’s attacks, skillfully cutting his grenades like paper.

“Gah!” Vor shouted in irritation. He stepped back as two of his Grineer lancers caught up, standing between him and the Warframe.

“Kill!” the captain ordered as he activated his teleportation device, beaming himself back to the pod.

The Excalibur stood his ground, readying his sword for a swift fight against the Grineer. Earlier today, the Lotus had contacted him, informing him of the threat that was to come, and the void keys they needed to awaken the others.

The Grineer wasted no time, aiming their hind rifles at him and firing, spraying their pellets towards his form. He timed his stance right and swung his skana, taking the bullets out of the air one by one.

“Hrah!” the Grineer grunted, realizing none of their bullets hit the Warframe at all.

They still haven’t learned…

The Excalibur charged the Grineer, spinning his body around as he neared the first one. The Grineer shot at him, but as he turned back, he slashed the bullets in half along with the first lancer. The second one took the hint and made a run for it, dropping his gun and heading in the opposite direction from the Warframe. Taking a crouching stance, the Excalibur readied his sword backwards and activated his energy pool, dashing forward at a high speed towards the escaping Grineer, passing him in a blink. The Excalibur stopped, creating sparks on the ground as he slowed. He sheathed his blade as the Grineer’s upper torso fell off its lower.

The armored man activated his trans-dimension communicator, opening a secure link to the Lotus. “Excalibur here. I’ve located the Grineer, but there’s been a complication… yes. There was a boy. Human. He has the key… no. He made a run for it. The princess is coming? Alright. What he looks like? Blue hair, blue skin, blue shirt. Yeah, I figured. I’ll do my best. Excalibur out.”

He looked up from his position. There was still work to be done. The humans couldn’t know about the Grineer presence. Right now, he had to play the cleaner.

Home Run couldn’t remember where he had turned, but he knew he had made a wrong turn at some point.

“Great…” he muttered. “Lost.”

He wandered past an old mechanic shop, never seeing it since his first day in town. Home Run looked around at the scenery, no idea of where in Canterlot he was. He blamed himself for not studying the town better before actually going to school. Perhaps if he did, he would have arrived at Canterlot High on time this morning.

Then he remembered something. Something he could have done to get himself out of the mess he was currently in. He went over to the mechanic shop, looking at the old man sitting behind a rusty old table.

“Hey there, son,” he said in a low, raspy voice. “What can I do for you?”

Home Run put his biggest smile on. “Actually, I’m lost. Could you perhaps redirect me to… Canterlot High School?”

The mechanic gave him a hoarse laugh before pointing him in the right direction. “Believe it or not, kid… Canterlot High is just down the road. Go straight and make a left turn, and there you are.”

“Wow,” Home Run said, unable to believe what the man was telling him. “I was that close… well, thanks, good sir!”

He waved to the mechanic before running off. He smiled to himself for at least thinking to stop and ask for directions, but frowned again, realizing he wasted time getting lost in the first place.

He continued down the road, periodically looking behind himself to make sure the aliens weren’t following him. It was then he saw the flash of light again as the ugly, wrinkled old man materialized right behind him, snarling at him.

“The key, boy!”

Home Run picked up his speed, willing his legs to push on. The man pulled out two little electrical spheres and pulled his arms back. Home Run recognized that stance. The man was getting ready to throw those at him. The blue-skinned boy looked for an opening in the side to get to before the man threw the orbs. He ducked down behind a dumpster as the electrical balls flew past him, attaching themselves to the ground a few inches away from him. Just in case they were explosive, Home Run dodged further into the alley, not wanting to get fried on his first week in Canterlot.
Nearing the other entrance to the alley, Home Run looked up just to see a lavender-skinned girl with long purple hair run up to the alley from the second entrance.

“Come with me if you want to live!” she beckoned.

Home Run found it strange that some girl that he didn’t know would say that if he wanted to live, he should follow her. Seeing as he had an angry wrinkled alien after him, this was the better idea, so he got up and went with her.

“Umm…” Home Run started to say as he followed the girl, running down the streets. “Do I know you?”

“No time to explain now,” she replied. “But I’m Twilight Sparkle, and you need to come with me. I can get you to safety.”

“Makes sense.”

Home Run started to recognize his surroundings as they turned another corner to Canterlot High. The lavender girl led him to the monument standing before the school.

“What are we doing here?” Home Run asked as she walked towards the statue.

Twilight Sparkle turned around to tell him, but before she could utter a single word, a flash of light took their attention.

“He’s here,” Home Run warned.

The alien materialized in front of the statue, taking a menacing step forward.

“I see you!” he sneered.

“We’ve got to get to the statue!” Twilight told Home Run, urgency in her voice.

“You’re not going anywhere, boy!” the man taunted.

He pulled out two more of his electrical grenades.

“Just what do I have to do to get through my first day of school?” Home Run muttered.

Then he thought of something. The old man had wanted that key from him since the beginning. Home Run didn’t see a use for the key.

“If you want it,” Home Run told the man, pulling out the key from his pocket. “Then go get it!”

He tossed it as far as he could to the road like he was throwing a baseball. The man turned his head to follow the key and went after it, giving Home Run and Twilight a straight shot to the statue.

“Let’s go!” Home Run said, pulling Twilight along. “What is the statue supposed to do?”

Twilight Sparkle looked at him then looked to the key as the man closed his distance to the golden object. “We’re supposed to go through it… but…”

Home Run wasted no time. In the last few hours, he’d seen the impossible, so he figured going through a statue wasn’t such a strange thing. He grabbed the distracted girl and jumped to the statue. He braced himself, just in case he was wrong, and smashed his face into the statue, but instead, he fell through it like it was jelly.

“Woah!” he shouted as he and Twilight went through the statue.

Chapter 5: Noble Phantasms

Princess Celestia took off her Lotus mask, placing it back on its pedestal.

Excalibur will have to handle things on his own for a while.

She had to buy the others time. Without the void keys, she would only have Excalibur to defend her. One Warframe was not enough against an entire army of bloodthirsty Grineer.

Walking over to her main console, the princess typed away, bringing up screens of data and decryption devices. She loaded up a program that would hopefully mask her signal until the others could be awoken. While it loaded, she moved over to one of the other cryopods. Wiping the fog off the glass, she peered in at its sleeping inhabitant, wondering if she’ll ever have the chance to restore their power. The princess would just have to hope that they would find the keys. Only then, will she be able to awaken them. She would not allow the Grineer to destroy the worlds she cared about.

Home Run felt like he had just flown through a dream, sailing through a tunnel of bright lights. It was only brief, but he could still remember it. Appearing on the other side, he still felt the wooziness of the tunnel, but realized it was something else. His whole body felt unbalanced as if he had eaten too many hamburgers. He started to take a step forward, but it didn’t quite feel right.

“What’s going on?” he mumbled to himself.

He looked down at his feet, only, they weren’t feet anymore. He was staring down at two light blue hooves. His eyes grew wider.

“Must be a dream…”

He put a hand to his head, realizing it was no longer a hand as well, after hitting himself in the face with another hoof. He let out a terrified scream as he scanned his whole body, realizing he was now an equine. His clothes were gone, and his favourite shirt’s picture was now on the side of his bottom. Home Run was about to let out another shout of panic, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He recognized the lavender colour of the pony behind him.

“It’s alright,” she said, smiling a little. “I was like that my first time in your world. You’ll get used to it.”

“Twilight?” he asked. “Why are we… horses?”

“Ponies, to be exact,” she told him. “This is where I come from. Oh, and I don’t think I got your name.”

“Right. It’s Home Run,” he said as he tried to take another few steps on his hind legs.

Eventually, gravity defeated him, sending him down on all four.

“You’ll figure it out, Home Run,” Twilight laughed. She turned around to pull a book out of a machine above a mirror they had come out from. “But… we have matters to discuss.”

Home Run nodded and continued to try and walk on four hooves.

“This is so weird…”

“First,” she continued. “That key that you threw to the man… that was what I came to get.”

“Oh…” Home Run remembered. “So… you didn’t come to save me?”

“It may sound harsh, but saving you wasn’t the priority, no. The key was what we needed to defeat what we call, the Grineer.”

“Sorry…” Home Run said, trying not to sound too disappointed. “I didn’t think about it.”

“It’s not really your fault, but with that key, he could possibly have the power to harness the energy of the void to transport himself here.”

“What are these… Grineer even doing here? What do they want?” Home Run asked.

“It’s a long story…” Twilight began. “And too much for me to explain, but I guess I’ll take you to Princess Celestia. She can tell you what all this is about.”

“Alright…” Home Run replied, still trying to get his bearings on the place and his form. Then he realized what Twilight had said. “Wait. Princess Celestia? I have a principal called Celestia.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention…” Twilight remembered.

Before she could continue, a loud pink pony barged into the room. “Twilight! There you are! We’ve got news for you! Who is this? Is he from the other world? Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet you!”

“Wow…” Home Run marveled. “She’s just the same as the human Pinkie Pie.”

“So you are from the human world!” Pinkie said excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to go there, but we’ve never got the chance! Is it cold? Are the people-”

“Pinkie!” Twilight cut in. “You can ask later, as will I. We’ve got more important matters to discuss.”

“Right! That’s why I’m here! Princess Celestia wanted a word with you.”

“Perfect,” Twilight nodded. “We were just on our way to see her.”

“So many new people…” Sunset Shimmer mumbled, thinking of the possibilities of one of them being more than a human. “There’s got to be at least one who’s not what they seem.”

“Don’t worry about it too much, dear,” Rarity told her friend.

“Yeah, Rarity’s right!” Rainbow added. “If one of them tries to take over the school again, we’ll be there to stop them!”

“I hope they’re all just normal people,” Fluttershy said. “It would be nice to not have any problems once in a while.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, I… did you see that?”

She pointed out the window at a shape of what looked like a man zooming by, seemingly searching for something.

“W-what i-is that?” Fluttershy stammered.

“Could be an alien,” Rainbow Dash said, letting out a huge guffaw.

“He looks suspicious,” Sunset added. “Maybe we should have a look. He could be a criminal of some sort.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow agreed. “If we catch him, we’ll be heroes! And everyone will know how awesome I am!”

“C’mon, Rainbow. There’s more to it than that,” Applejack mentioned. “If that man out there’s gonna stir up some trouble, we’ve gotta stop him!”

“B-but what if h-he’s d-dangerous…” Fluttershy cautioned.

“We should at least take a look,” Sunset suggested. “Just in case.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie shouted, agreeing with Sunset. “Just a look! If he’s dangerous, we can run!”

“Let’s go!” Rainbow nodded, the first to walk to the door.

The girls left Sugarcube Corner and headed in the last direction Sunset Shimmer had seen the man go through.

“I think he went this way,” Sunset directed, leading them down the next street.

“Did no one else on the streets see this man?” Applejack asked. “Ah mean, it’s broad daylight.”

“Let’s ask!” Pinkie shouted, jumping up and down in excitement.

She proceeded up to the nearest people, asking them if they saw a strange looking man walk by. Most of the people shook their heads, but one or two said they saw someone strange heading down the street like he was looking for something.

“He’s headin’ ta the school,” Applejack realized. “Might be one o’ them new guys.”

“Let’s go,” Sunset said, heading towards Canterlot High.

The girls looked around, trying to spot the suspicious man. They searched the streets before and after the school, and along the building’s walls.

“I don’t see him,” Sunset reported. “I wonder where he went.”

“I think I see him!” Pinkie pointed.

They turned to follow Pinkie Pie’s finger, aiming straight at a bush. The man, covered in some kind of metallic skin, turned around and ran up the wall of the building, disappearing at the top.

“Okay…” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her eyes. “Did anyone else see that, or did I just imagine a man running up the side of our school?”

“I believe we all saw it,” Rarity confirmed. “But what was he doing in that dreadful bush?”

“He was looking at something,” Sunset speculated, directing her attention in a straight path from the bush. Her eyes landed on the school’s statue. "The portal.”

“We can try and cut him off!” Rainbow suggested. “We can’t let a creepy guy go around the school as he wishes! Let’s get him!”

Sunset Shimmer devised a plan. “Pinkie Pie and I will traverse to the west staircase. Rainbow Dash, you and Applejack take the east staircase. Fluttershy, Rarity, you stay down here, just in case he decides to climb back down from this side.”

“Sounds good,” Applejack nodded. “Let’s get to it! Time’s a wastin’!”

Sunset and Pinkie headed off to the other side of the school, while Rainbow and Applejack headed off to the nearby staircase.

“Good luck,” Fluttershy told them. “And do be c-careful.”

Sunset led the way to the east wing of the school building, Pinkie happily jumping along behind her.

“Who do you think he is? Do you think he’s friendly? Maybe he’s from another world! Maybe Twilight’s world!”

“Pinkie,” Sunset said as they approached the other side of the school. “If we’re going to cut him off, we need to surprise him. We can’t let him hear us.”

“Okie-dokie-lokey!” Pinkie whispered.

They arrived at the staircase in less than eight minutes, Sunset the first to step foot on the wooden stairs, heading up to the next floor. They quickly moved up the floors and eventually arrived at the door to the roof. Sunset flung open the door, staring face to face with the mysterious man, or whatever he was. He was a suit of armor, which almost looked skin-like, with no facial features except for a single horn on the top of its head. Rainbow Dash and Applejack arrived behind the man, looking like they were chasing him across the roof.

“Ha!” Rainbow shouted. “You’re trapped!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added in. “Who are you? What are you doing here? What is your name? I know everyone here!”

The man, if indeed it was a man, said nothing and raised his arm up to the sky. Before anyone knew what was happening, an energy-like sword appeared in his hands, exploding in a shower of blinding light.

“Ah!” the Rainbooms shouted as white light flooded their sights.

“I can’t see!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Where’s everything?”

It took a while before their visions returned to them, finally able to see through the white flash and the blurry images.

“Everyone alright?” Sunset asked, rubbing her eyes.

“That was nothing,” Rainbow Dash assured, but still blinked hard a few more times.

The four of them looked around, seeing no signs of the armored man.

“Looks like we lost him,” Applejack sighed.

“There’s no way he could just vanish!” Sunset said, still rubbing her eyes. “Everyone spread out.”

The four girls walked around the roof, searching every nook and cranny for the man. This time, they failed to locate their quarry. In the end, they returned to the front of the school, next to the statue, to meet back with Fluttershy and Rarity.

“Did you find him?” Fluttershy asked.

“We did actually…” Applejack told them. “But he did some hocus pocus fancy magic and disappeared.”

“That’s too bad…”

“I’m sure it’s one of the new people at school,” Sunset said, having a feeling. “I just know it. When I see Home Run tomorrow, I’m going to get some answers from him.”

Home Run wasn’t sure what happened, but when Twilight’s horn started glowing, he felt his body move and the next thing he knew, he was in a totally different place.

“Phew!” Twilight smiled. “Glad it worked alright this time.”

“What was that?” Home Run asked.

“Teleportation.”

“Wait, what? You can do that?”

“Pretty much.”

Twilight led Home Run, who still struggled to walk, up a long flight of stairs. The new pony marveled at the huge castle looming before him, then looked down, staring off the face of the mountain to the bottom of a valley. Two guards at the top of the stairs bowed and opened the huge doors as Twilight stepped up towards them.

“Welcome back, princess,” one of them said. “Princess Celestia is waiting for you.”

“Wait, you’re a princess too?” Home Run asked, shocked at the royalty of his new friend.

“Yeah, that’s right,” she nodded. “The Princess of Friendship, to be exact.”

“Umm… okay.”

“I’ll explain more about this to you when we have more time, but for now, I have to get you to Princess Celestia. She’ll tell you what’s really going on with your world and ours.”

Twilight led the astonished pony down the long halls of Canterlot Castle, heading straight for the princess’s personal study. Twilight knocked on the door with her hoof and waited. Not long later, a taller pony with familiar bright, spectral hair opened the door.

“Twilight!” she exclaimed. “You’re back. And I see you’ve brought our guest.”

Home Run stared at the pony, taking in how similar she looked to his principal.

“Yes, this is Home Run,” Twilight briefed. “He was the boy with the key, but princess, that’s what I wanted to tell you.”

Before she could continue, Home Run butted in. “It’s my fault. I threw the key to the alien. I didn’t think it was important then.”

Princess Celestia’s eyes widened, but then gave them a smile as she asked them to come in. “It’s alright, Home Run. And Twilight, Rarity’s found another key, so we can activate the Frames, but I’m afraid that the Grineer will be able to get here with the key they have.”

“Sorry, but what do these aliens want?” Home Run asked, interested in the things he’d seen in the last few hours. “Why are these keys so special?”

Princess Celestia looked down. “It was my deepest, darkest secret that no one knew about. Long ago, after my sister, Luna, became Nightmare Moon… I created the Tenno. The Tenno were a race of… highly advanced warriors. In the ancient times, the human world… your world, Home Run, came under attack from an enemy known as the Grineer. They are a vicious race of cloned flesh that seeks to conquer the galaxy. I had to send the Tenno and their armors, called Warframes, through the mirror to halt their conquest of space.”

“So these… Grineer have been at it for quite some time?” Home Run asked.

Celestia nodded. “That’s right. But long ago, before Twilight Sparkle figured how to keep the mirror open, the mirror would only open every thirty moons. The Tenno wouldn’t be able to return unless the mirror was open, so I developed a communications device to talk with them and to watch over them. Before long, the Grineer figured out I was the one giving the orders, so they searched for me. I created the persona of the Lotus to disguise myself and my location from them, but now… it appears they are close.”

“So why don’t you just activate the Tenno again?” Home Run questioned. “I mean… if they were so effective, why not use them again?”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that,” Twilight told him. She turned to the taller princess. “Princess Celestia. I think you better show him.”

“Alright,” Celestia agreed. She walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out a datapad. A small scanner activated and took a quick scan of the princess’s face. Accepting her facial data, the center of the floor began to open, revealing a long staircase down into the unknown. “Come with me.”

Home Run had learnt a little bit about the Equestrian culture as he and Princess Twilight followed Princess Celestia down the dark hall. Some ponies had wings, while others had horns, or nothing at all. In this world, he was a pony with neither of the special parts, but Twilight told him he was stronger than the other two. He had asked why she and Celestia had both horns and wings, but all Twilight told him was that princesses were alicorns.

They stopped in front of a huge door, waiting for it to slowly open, with a release of pressurized air. Celestia led the way in, the room lighting up as they entered.

“What is this place?” Home Run asked as he took in the vastness of the circular room.

Celestia stopped in the middle. “As I’ve told Twilight, this is the inner sanctum. The place where the Tenno have slept for centuries, and the place where I’ve directed them when they performed in your world.”

She moved to a nearby console, which was almost the size of a full organ. She tapped on the buttons, opening a long panel with a hiss of more air. Home Run looked at it, seeing two indents that were meant to hold a familiar shape.

“So this is what you need that key for?” Home Run asked, astounded at the information that his brain had taken in on his first day of school. “To power up these… Tenno?”

“That’s right!” Celestia smiled. “You’re a perceptive one.”

“Except that he threw the key to the Grineer,” Twilight reminded.

“Sorry,” Home Run blushed. “I really didn’t think it was all that important.”

“What’s done is done, I suppose,” Princess Celestia said, giving him a pat with her hoof. “We have one key. That’ll have to do for now.”

“Excuse me, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, walking alongside the larger alicorn. “But where did Rarity find the key?”

“Oh you wouldn’t believe it, Twilight,” Celestia chuckled. “She’d found it in Froggy Bottom.”

“Wow, all the way there?”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Home Run cut in, remembering something very important. “But… when can I get back? I’ve just remembered I have plenty of homework to finish! I can’t mess up on my first week in school!”

“Oh… yes. My apologies,” Celestia responded. She turned to the lavender alicorn. “Twilight. Would you bring him back to the portal for me?”

“That would be just great!” Home Run thanked. “I mean… my folks will also be looking for me. I’m gonna have some explaining to do.”

“Nice to have met you Home Run,” Celestia said as she returned to her console. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again, and if you would... please don't mention this to anyone.”

“What does she mean by ‘I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again?’,” Home Run had asked as he followed Twilight to the mirror.

The princess put the book back on the machine surrounding the mirror, opening a portal back to the human world. “Don’t think too much on it. Just… return to your world. Forget all this happened. We’ll handle things from here.”

Home Run stepped up to the mirror, still learning to walk on all fours. “It’s been a pleasure, Princess Twilight. Can’t say I’ll miss this form though.”
Twilight gave him a wave as he exited through the mirror, warping back to the human world. Stepping out on the other side, Home Run looked at himself, very happy to see his human form once again.

“Yes!” he shouted to the sky, glad that he could walk on two legs again.

Then he remembered the work he had to do and ran as fast as he could back to his home.

Captain Vor had returned to the ships to prepare the assault against the Lotus. He raised the key high, showing all his troops the way to the Lotus.

“After all this time!” Vor shouted to them, raising the corner of his mouth in a smile. “We have what we need to get to the Lotus! For centuries, she has disrupted our plans with her Tenno! No more! We will take this battle to her, and we will end her, once and for all! For the Queens!”

The Grineer soldiers shouted in triumph in response to Vor’s speech, creating a bigger smile on the captain’s face. He returned to his post on the upper decks to view his army, preparing themselves for the final attack. The preparation would take time, but when they finish, they would mobilize against the Lotus, throwing everything they had at her until she was dead.

Vor watched as his men brought the torsion beam, setting it down in the hangar with the rest of the machines and parts for the gate. He couldn't risk using the void key in the confines of his cruiser. He would have to get down to the planet’s wretched surface again to construct the gate to the Lotus, but this time, he would be prepared for the Excalibur. A Tenno was excellent at combat, but not against overwhelming odds.

Chapter 6: Suit Up

“Insert it here, Rarity, if you would,” Princess Celestia told the violet haired unicorn.

“Of course, princess,” Rarity nodded. She walked to the console and carefully placed the key into its slot.

Fitting perfectly, the panel returned to the console, lightning up the screens with a warm blue light.

Void key inserted. Reactivating Warframes…

“So what happens now, princess?” Rarity asked, still looking at the machine.

“Since we only have one key,” Celestia started. “We can only partially activate my ancient warriors. Their consciousness will be awake in the Warframes, but they will not be able to take control of the suits. Someone else is going to have to pilot it for them until we get the second key.”

“Ooh!” Pinkie shouted with excitement, jumping up and down. “Do we get to do it? Do we? Do we?”

“Calm down, Pinkie,” Applejack told her. “Let the princess talk.”

“Thank you, Applejack,” Celestia smiled. She turned to all of them. “As much as I trust in your abilities, my little ponies, I think it would be better suited to give these to the humans. The Grineer are from their world, and they already know how to use their human bodies. Until I can develop Warframes for ponies, we’re going to have to leave it to the humans.”

“Twilight can do it!” Spike suggested, eagerly pointing at her. “She’s been to the human world! She knows how their… human bodies work!”

“That’s right, princess!” Twilight nodded. “I can help!”

Celestia thought about it before giving them an answer. “Very well, Twilight. I think it’s time to prepare the pods for transport. Would you all so kindly help me bring these to Twilight’s palace?”

The school day had been relatively uneventful, except for one little excerpt, for the Rainbooms as left Mr. Loregiver’s class. Sunset had questioned Home Run about what he did the day before, trying to get information about yesterday’s event from him.

“So you just went to play baseball in the field?” she asked.

“Yeah…” Home Run replied. “I… practiced my skills, then I… went home to do my homework. Yeah, that’s what I did.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously.

Home Run rubbed the back on his head. “Well… as much as I want to stay around and chat… I’ve got this thing to do, so… I gotta run.”

The blue haired boy quickly picked up his things and ran out of the classroom before anyone else.

“That one’s hidin’ somethin’,” Applejack commented.

“Definitely,” Rarity agreed as she put her books into her bag.

“I wouldn’t think so,” Rainbow added. “But you’re right. He definitely has something he doesn’t want us to find out.”

“Maybe we should follow him?” Sunset asked the others. The other girls gave her nods of agreements, just as her book began vibrating. “Hold on… I think we’ve got a message from Princess Twilight.”

Sunset pulled out her book and read aloud, “Dear Sunset, please gather the girls and come to the mirror as soon as possible. There is something of utmost importance I must show you. Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Looks like following him will have to wait,” Fluttershy said, relieved that she didn’t have to do something so sneaky.

“Well, we should head on over to the mirror,” Applejack reckoned. “Don’t wanna keep Twilight waitin’.”

The Rainbooms finished packing their things and headed out the door, saying goodbye to their new history teacher, who seemed to be watching them more closely than usual. Deciding to wait until the crowds thinned down a bit, the Rainbooms hung around the statue, each of them pulling out their own ways to pass the time. Rainbow Dash pulled out her soccer ball and started bouncing it on her knees. Rarity took out her phone and opened her MyStable app, checking for any updates or juicy gossip. Applejack wasted no time in doing her homework, getting to work on Mr. Bray’s math assignments. Fluttershy just sat there and watched the clouds go by, while Pinkie Pie started blowing balloons and turning them into different animals. Sunset Shimmer kept a close watch on the crowds, waiting for the right moment to write to Twilight.

It took a while but eventually, the front walk was empty enough that no one would notice someone new appearing from the statue. Sunset opened her book and wrote to Twilight, telling her that the coast was clear. What appeared on the other side of Sunset’s book confused her.

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked, seeing Sunset’s confused face.

“It’s strange…” she mused. “But Twilight asked for us to go through the mirror.”

“Go through the mirror?” Pinkie asked enthusiastically. “Do we get to finally go through and see what’s on the other side? Ooh, I’m so excited!”

As they talked, a familiar figure popped out from the mirror, falling down at their feet.

“Oomph!” Twilight gasped as she hit the ground.

“Twilight!” the girls shouted in unison, happy to see their friend.

The Rainbooms helped her up as she dusted off her clothes. “Good to see you too, but I’ve got news and… we need your help. First, I need you all to come with me.”

“So, through the mirror?” Sunset asked.

“Yes,” Twilight replied.

“Whoopie!” Pinkie bounced, finally getting her chance to go through.

“Come with me,” Twilight told her friends, taking a step through the portal.

“Well, here goes nothing!” Rainbow shouted and dashed through.

Pinkie happily bounced in, followed behind by the rest of the Rainbooms. After a brief flight down a rainbow tunnel, they reappeared in a new place.

“Woah!” Rainbow admired. “A sweet place you got here!”

“Welcome to Equestria!” Twilight told her human friends as they all emerged from the mirror. They took some time to look at the place before looking at themselves.

“Umm… Twilight?” Sunset Shimmer asked, looking at her hands. “Aren’t we supposed to turn into… you know… ponies?”

“Oh, that,” Twilight remembered. “Princess Celestia cast a magical ‘bubble’ around my palace so that you girls could remain in your human forms.”

“That’s nice and all,” Applejack whistled. “But why do we need ta be in our human forms?”

Twilight took a deep breath before continuing. “You’re all not going to believe this… but there are… aliens coming. They want to get to Equestria through your world.”

“Aliens, huh?” Sunset mused. “Can’t be a coincidence that we’ve been hearing this word a lot recently, right? And we did see a suspicious man in a suit of armor yesterday.”

“A-aliens a-are real?” Fluttershy cowered.

“Yes, that’s just what I was going to get to,” Twilight told her friend. “Princess Celestia has told me of an ancient enemy known as the Grineer. They are clones, sent to conquer the universe, but the princess has managed to foil them at every turn with the help of some of her creations she calls Warframes, which are high-tech semi-magical battlesuits. She also created the Tenno, the users of these Frames, but after she believed the Grineer gone, she put them to cryosleep.”

“But they’ve come back?” Rarity asked. “Haven’t they?”

“Yes…” Twilight nodded. “And there’s a problem. To activate the Warframes and Tenno, Princess Celestia needed two objects called void keys. They contain the energy to awaken the armors and consciousness again.”

“Well, why do you need us then, Twilight?” Applejack asked, unsure of the princess’s intentions.

Twilight wrinkled her mouth. “There were… complications. After spending so long in cryosleep, it’s going to take an enormous amount of energy and effort to get them working again. We’ve only managed to find a single key so far, which allows the Warframes to reactivate, but without the Tenno controlling the suit. With the Tenno unable to control the suits, they’re not going to be much use against the Grineer at all.”

“I think this is leading to something awesome!” Rainbow Dash squeed.

“Depends on what you mean by awesome,” Applejack said darkly. “Ah’m not sure ah like where this is goin’ at all.”

“We should just let Princess Twilight explain this,” Sunset pointed out. “Let her get back to her explaining.”

“Thank you, Sunset,” Twilight said gratefully. She walked across the room to a row of pods leaning on the crystal wall. “The princess needs us to pilot the Warframes and drive off the Grineer, at least until we get the second void key.”

There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone processed what Twilight had just told them.

“You mean like Iron Mare?” Pinkie asked, looking into one of the pods, wiping off the fog with her hair.

“First of all,” Twilight deadpanned. “I have no idea who or what that is. Second, what I mean is that Princess Celestia needs us to pick a Warframe so that we can stop the Grineer.”

“You mean we actually have to… fight?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“I don’t like it any more than you do, Fluttershy,” Twilight admitted. “But if we don’t, the Grineer are going to hurt a lot of people.”

“Can’t we just use our magic against them?” Rarity questioned. “Like with the Sirens?”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight shook her head. “Princess Celestia has been fighting the Grineer for longer than we’ve been alive. I think she knows best, and I trust her unreservedly.”

“Let’s not waste any more time!” Rainbow said impatiently. “I want to see what these things are!”

Rainbow headed over to the pods and peered into each one, having a look at which one might suit her best.

“The princess built a few descriptions into the pods,” Twilight told her friends. “You just need to press that circular button there.”

Rainbow looked for a Warframe that looked like it could keep up with her, before settling her eyes on a slim-built Frame that had what looked like tiny wings sticking out of it.

“This one looks promising!” Rainbow speculated, pressing the button for the description.

“Zephyr, a Warframe built for aerial combat. It has the ability-”

“I’m calling this one!” Rainbow quickly said, not listening to the rest of the description. “If it flies, it’s good enough for me!”

Applejack walked around the pods, listening to the various descriptions of the different Warframes.

“Mag, a Warframe with control over magnetism. It has the ability to pull enemies closer.”

“Not mah type,” Applejack said, moving on to the next.

“Saryn, a Waframe with power over poison. It has the ability to create spores that damage its enemies over a long period of time.”

“Banshee, a Warframe able to wield sonic waves. It is able to emit shockwaves to disable its foes.”

“Rhino, a heavily fortified Warframe. It is able to deal and take extensive damage.”

“Ah think this is what ah’m lookin’ for,” Applejack whistled. “Just what ah wanted. Somethin’ big and strong.”

“Hmmm…” Rarity thought. “I want something… nice. Something that looks as good as it can fight.”

“How ‘bout that Mag one ah was just lookin’ at?” Applejack suggested. “It’s got a mighty fine head there.”

Rarity walked over to look at the Mag Warframe, getting hypnotized by its swirling facial dome. “Ooh, I like it! I think I’ll take this one.”

“Rarity, do you even know what this one does?” Sunset asked.

“No,” Rarity shook her head. “But if it’s here with the rest of them, then it must be good for something.”

Pinkie had hopped past all the Warframe pods, reading the description on each pod like a bat out of a cave.

“I like this one!” Pinkie shouted, jumping up and down. “The description says it can create copies of itself! I can have a party of one!”

Everyone shuddered internally at the thought of having more than one Pinkie Pie, but it was too late to change her mind.

Sunset surveyed the cryopods for a while in silence, before finally settling on one. “I’ll choose this.”

She put her hand against the pod of a Warframe called Ember.

Having all picked Warframes, they were about to continue, before remembering Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow called. “You still haven’t picked one!”

“Yeah!” the others chorused.

Fluttershy took two steps back. “I don’t know if I want to do this…”

“C’mon, Fluttershy,” Applejack encouraged. “You can do it.”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight called over, asking the pink haired girl to go to her. “Maybe this one will be better for you?”

Fluttershy timidly looked into the pod, looking at a red and black Warframe with a triangular face plate.

“This one’s called Trinity,” Twilight continued. “It’s a Warframe specialized for healing. With this, perhaps you won’t have to… you know… fight?”

“Oh, Twilight, that sounds perfect!” Fluttershy said, taking her place by the cryopod. “Maybe this one will be okay.”

“Alright!” Twilight cheered. “Glad that’s all settled!”

“Wait, Twilight,” Applejack asked. “Where’s yours? Don’t ya get one?”

“Oh, I’ve already picked mine!” Twilight told her friends. “While I was waiting, I’d thought I’d find the one for me. And I did. I present to you… Nyx!”

Twilight brought her hands out to show the Warframe she had picked. It was a grey and green suit that looked like an insect.

“Nyx is an intellectual Warframe that uses magic! I’d figured since I study magic, this would be the perfect Warframe for me!”

“Sounds like it,” Sunset smiled. “Now what do we do?”

Twilight hit another button, opening the pod to her Warframe with a hiss of pressurized air. “We suit up.”

The Rainbooms copied their lavender friend, releasing the covers for the cryopods. The seven girls stepped up to their suits and without warning, the Warframes opened up like jigsaw puzzles and folded around them.

“Woah now,” Applejack said on impulse.

“What’s going on!” Fluttershy panicked. “I-I don’t like what’s h-happening!”

“This is awesome!” Rainbow shouted, giving out a woot.

The Frames completely folded over their bodies as though it was just a second skin. They tested their mobility, able to move their arms and legs as if they weren’t wearing any armor at all. Rarity stretched out her hand, noticing how well her suit fit her.

“This is incredible!” she said out loud, testing the fingers.

Small images began materializing on their visors as they moved about.

HUD loading…

“A hud?” Applejack mimicked. “What in tarnation is a hud?”

“I think it stands for something,” Sunset answered.

“Who cares?” Rainbow said, dashing around the room. “These things are cool! And Awesome! Look at how fast I can go, even with this armor on!”

“HUD stands for Heads up Display.”

“Oh, so that’s what it means…” Applejack nodded, hearing the voice. “Wait, who said that?”

“Who said what?” Twilight asked, looking around.

Applejack put a hand to her head. “Thought ah heard a voice. Someone said a hud is a Heads up Display…”

“I said it.”

“There it is again!” Applejack said, looking around. “Ah heard that voice again. Where are you?”

“Within.”

“Within? Inside?”

“I am the Tenno within the Frame you wield.”

“Tenno…” Applejack remembered. She looked to her friends. “The Tenno are speakin’ ta us.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded. “I just heard someone tell me how to fly!”

“Really?” Twilight asked, surprised at the realization of the Tenno within. “Mine hasn’t said anything.”

“Here goes nothing!” Rainbow said, getting into position.

With a powerful leap, she left the ground with swirling wind, launching herself up to the ceiling. She stayed in the air for a while before starting to glide around, going a few rounds around the room before settling down next to Sunset.

“Oh, Zephyr and I?” she told the others while laughing. “We’re gonna get along so well!”

“Mine is pretty awesome!” Pinkie shouted from the corner, testing out her new cloning ability. “Check this out guys!”

The others dreaded at the thought of having more Pinkie’s in power suits, but they tried to stay focused.

“Mine’s still not talking to me,” Twilight admitted. “Maybe it’s broken or something. Perhaps I should change out.”

“Yes, as would I,” Twilight's Tenno finally said.

“Oh, so you do speak?” Twilight realized. “Hi there. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“I couldn’t care less of who you are, pseudo-human, but relinquish control to me, and perhaps I will show more leniency.”

“What?” Twilight asked, aghast at her new partner. Her friends turned their curious eyes to her. “What kind of request is that?”

“Something the matter, Twilight?” Rarity asked, walking towards her.

“Yeah, it’s my Tenno, Nyx,” she explained. “She’s… being uncooperative.”

“Your Tenno? More like you are MY pilot,” Nyx fired back.

“Now listen here. I don’t know who or what you think you are, but Princess Celestia has instructed me to-”

“Who is this Princess Celestia? I only answer to the Lotus.”

Twilight felt like she wanted to put a palm to her face. “But Princess Celestia is the Lotus.”

“A likely story.”

“But she really is!”

“Tell you what, Twilight Sparkle. I’m going to give you three seconds to get out of my Warframe.”

“Or what?” Twilight challenged, her temperature rising by the second.

“Or I’m going to start throwing myself at the walls, and trust me. It’ll hurt you a lot more than it’ll hurt me.”

“Wait, hold on-”

“One… two…”

“Both of you, stop. I am the Lotus.” a new voice interrupted. A new icon appeared on the left side of Twilight’s field of vision. It was Princess Celestia with her Lotus helmet on. “Is this feed working correctly?”

“Ah, Lotus. Good. Please tell this Corpus reject to step out of my Warframe.”

“No!” Twilight protested. “And who are you calling a Corpus reject? What is a Corpus?”

“Oh, she doesn’t even know what a Corpus is. This is amazing. Truly, a whole new level of ignorance.”

“Enough,” Celestia said sternly. “I’m afraid Twilight Sparkle cannot leave the Warframe unless you want to go back to cryosleep.

“But, Lotus… why?”

Princess Celestia paused before speaking again. “Without a second void key, you Tenno are just consciousness. From the generations you slept, your energy has depleted. Until we find a second key, you will be unable to move your Warframes. That is why I have tasked Twilight Sparkle and her friends to assist you in the fight against the Grineer. Without them, you will be nothing.”

“That’s right!” Twilight added on, furious at her Tenno partner. “You couldn’t even throw me at the wall even if you wanted to!”

“My apologies, Lotus. I was too quick to judge, but I still think this Twilight Sparkle is incompetent.”

“You’re going to have to get used to it, Nyx,” Celestia informed. “Unless you want the Grineer to win, of course.”

The Tenno said no more as the princess went on to brief the girls about the weapons they had to use.

“So what you’re sayin’ is that we gotta pick one o’ these things here?” Applejack asked, pointing at the table full of weapons.

“That’s right, Applejack,” Celestia nodded on the screen. “Pick something that suits you or your Tenno.”

The girls headed over to the table. It had an assortment of dusty weapons, probably dug out from Princess Celestia’s ancient armory. There were guns, swords, knives, and even fists across the table, lying there for the Rainbooms to pick one.

“Pick the fists! Pick the fists!” Rhino strongly suggested.

“What, you’re serious there, Rhino?” Applejack asked as she picked up the two fists, each one sprouting three prongs at the tip. “Ah dunno… ah don’t think ah’m very good with these.”

“That’s what I’m here for! What you got there is the furax. My personal favourite! Give it a go. You’ll love them!”

Rainbow had chosen a pair of automatic machine pistols that both she and her Tenno, Zephyr agreed on something that fires fast like them when on the move.

“Excellent choice, Rainbow Dash! These akstiletto are exactly what I would’ve picked myself.”

“They look pretty cool, too!” Rainbow agreed, moving the guns in her hands. “Just like me!”

“I value effectiveness over looks, Rainbow Dash. But I get you. These are pretty cool.”

Meanwhile, Pinkie was rapidly picking up, trying, then dropping any weapon she could lay her hands on while using Mirage’s copy ability to see how she looked.

“This is better than using a mirror!” she exclaimed while balancing a double ended polearm on her head. She did a twirl, spinning the weapon in her hands like a cheerleader’s baton before casually tossing it over her shoulder and trying out a weapon that turned out to be some kind of dart gun.
“Hey, watch where you’re throwing that,” Sunset said. The polearm had stabbed into the floor next to her foot, a testament to the sheer sharpness of the blade.

“Oops, sorry. It’s kinda hard to see in this thing…” as she spoke, Mirage’s helmet slid backward, rapidly collapsing into the neck and collar area with a hiss and a click, revealing Pinkie Pie’s surprised face.

“Should you wish to activate my helmet again, simply will it to return to your face. Just make sure to get used to the helmet, because I would not recommend retracting it during a firefight,” Pinkie's Tenno told her partner.

“Okie dokie, Mirage!” Pinkie beamed and went back to looking at the arsenal.

Rarity looked through the chaotic pile of weapons, looking for something nice.

“Not this one,” she said as she put a sword back on the table. “This one’s too heavy… this one’s too ugly… what is this thing?”

Rarity held an orange pulsating weapon that looked like it had tentacles coming out its front.

“That is a synapse. An infested weapon that used bio-organic energy,” Mag described.

“Bio-organic?” Rarity asked, remembering the word from her biology class. “You mean this thing is alive?”

“Yes…”

“Ew!” she squealed, dropping the synapse onto the ground, where it discharged a bolt of electricity, scorching the wall on the far right.

“Rarity!” Twilight said, looking at the blackened mark on the wall. “Be careful with those!”

Careful to avoid touching anything that looked remotely alive, Rarity scanned the piles before alighting on a curved weapon. After prodding it to make sure it wasn’t alive, to the annoyance of Mag, she picked it up and inspected it.

“What’s this one?” she asked her Tenno. “It’s beautiful!”

“That’s a paris, and before you ask, no. It’s not alive.”

Twilight walked over to check out the weapon Rarity picked up. “What you got there, Rarity? It looks like a bow.”

“Your friend is correct. The paris is a bow, but it doesn’t use a string to launch the arrows, but a powerful magnetic field.”

“Can we use this one?” Rarity inquired, holding up the paris and pretending to take aim.

“I don’t see why not, Rarity. Go ahead. It is yours.”

“YES!” Rarity shouted loudly, holding the bow high. She realized her friends were looking at her, and resumed her previous stance. “I mean… lovely!”

Pinkie went through more weapons, tossing a pair of saws behind her back. “Nope, not this one!”

She dove into a larger pile of weapons, disappearing beneath the sea of metal. Sunset Shimmer sifted through a different section, unsure of the best weapon to suit her.

“What do you think we should pick, Ember?” she asked.

“Something that compliments my abilities, like that one over there. The one with the gas tank and wires.”

Sunset looked at the strange weapon and picked it up. “What is it?”

“It’s called the ignis. It’s a flamethrower. The best choice for someone like me.”

“How does it compliment your powers, anyway?” Sunset queried. “What are you powers?”

“Fire.”

“Oh. Just fire?”

“Yes.”

“Is there… anything else?”

“No. Just fire.”

Sunset looked back at the ignis. “Yeah… if all your skills are fire, then what is the point of having this flamethrower?”

“So we can set things on fire.”

“But you just said all your skills are fire.”

“So?”

“So I think we should pick something different!”

“Fine… how about that one. The sword and shield.”

Sunset dropped the ignis and moved to the new set of weapons. “And what are these called?”

“This is the silva and aegis. Excellent in both attacks and defence.”

Sunset drew the sword out of the shield, and yelped as both burst into flames.

“And they’re also on fire.”

“No!” Sunset shouted, putting the weapon back on the table, just as Pinkie lunged out of the weapon pile to try it out. “Is there anything else? Something that’s maybe not on fire?”

“Well, you could try the heat swords.”

“These better not be on fire,” Sunset said as she picked up the swords.

“No, they’re not on fire.”

Rarity tapped Sunset on the shoulder, getting her attention. “Mag said those heat swords excel at dealing fire damage, and create a ring of fire when stabbed into the ground.”

“Tell Mag to mind her own business next time,” Ember barked.

“You know, Ember?” Sunset snapped. “Just let me pick this.”

Sunset put the heat swords down and moved over to a different pile. A weapon caught her eye. It was a sleek silver gun with a barrel made out of four prongs. The entire weapon was cold to the touch. She picked it up and tried aiming with it.

“This isn’t bad,” she acknowledged, feeling how well the weapon handled and looked. “What’s this one do, Ember?”

“That’s a glaxion. It fires a concentrated beam of ice, capable of freezing an enemy solid. Not a weapon I would pick, though. I would pick something with-”

“Let me guess…” Sunset sighed. “Fire.”

“Smart girl.”

“Well, I’m not having any of that. I’m taking this gun.”

“Suit yourself.”

Pinkie dropped the silva and aegis and moved to pick up a weapon that looked like a sickle. She swung it dangerously a few times before spawning two copies of herself and swinging the weapon together. “Nope! Not what I want!”

She tossed it with the rest of the weapons she tried out and headed to a table full of big, bulky guns. Twilight was next, searching through the weapons for something easy to use. She aimed her sights at a simple curving blade.

“A skana… really? Do you know anything about my Warframe at all?” Nyx sighed, disappointed at her forced partner.

“No…” she admitted.

“Then listen carefully, Twilight Sparkle. My Warframe is lightly armored. If you pick that weapon, we’ll be shredded in seconds.”

“Umm… okay then,” Twilight replied, leaving the sword as it was. “What do you suggest, then?”

“A newbie like you wouldn’t understand. But since you asked, I would prefer a ranged weapon.”

Twilight didn’t like the tone her Tenno partner had set, but as Princess Celestia told Nyx, she too was going to have to get used to it. “So, you mean a gun?”

“Unless you plan on throwing a sword, I suppose a gun would be ideal.”

Twilight sighed and looked to her friends. “Anyone have any ideas what weapon I should use?”

“Nope!” Pinkie happily said from her corner. “Still pickin’ mine!”

“Why?” Rainbow asked. “Is your Tenno not helping you out?”

“No…” Twilight said through clenched teeth. “She isn’t…”

“Well, Twilight,” Applejack began, getting into a thinking pose. “What are you comfortable with?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted, raising her hands. “But swords are out of the question, because Nyx doesn’t want one.”

“How about that one?” Rainbow pointed towards a big gun with a boxy frame and glowing energy chamber. “That one looks powerful… and a bit heavy.”

“The supra… arguably one of the most useless guns in the entire arsenal. You can choose that, Twilight Sparkle. If you feel like missing every single target you aim at. Not that you’d have much trouble doing that anyway.”

“Uhh… no thanks, Rainbow,” Twilight said.

“How ‘bout that peashooter over there?” Applejack suggested, pointing at a large, bulbous weapon with a flared barrel. “Rhino says it’s quite the kick.”

“Perfect! That weapon there’s the ogris. Now take it, and aim it at the floor right between your feet. It’ll be a blast.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, uncertainly. She picked up the ogris, which was much heavier than it looked.

“Yes, I’m certain. You’ll never get used to the weapon if you never fire it, you know?”

As Twilight’s finger closed around the trigger, Sunset ran into her from behind and pushed her away. As they fell to the floor, there was a small click from the ogris as the trigger depressed, and before she knew it, a massive smoking hole had been blasted in the wall, showering them all with crystal fragments.

“Woah, nelly! What was that?” Applejack yelled, still keeping a hand on her hat just in case.

“Is everyone alright?” Rarity asked, dusting debris off of her Warframe.

Twilight’s head was ringing. It took her a few moments to realize the ringing was Nyx laughing. “You did that on purpose!”

“You okay, Twilight?” Sunset asked as she helped her friend up. “Ember told me what the ogris did, just in time. What where you doing, pointing that gun at your feet?”

Resisting the urge to scream in frustration, Twilight instead brushed herself off and said, “Nothing. Nyx! You’re no help at all! Did you know that?”

Nyx said nothing and continued to laugh. Pinkie went over to pick up the ogris, but Rarity stopped her from trying it out. The pink girl just shrugged and went to check out the rest of the weapons.

“Maybe you should stay away from explosives,” Sunset advised. “I get the feeling your Tenno doesn’t like you very much.”

“Nooo… really?” Twilight shot back sarcastically.

“I still can’t believe you actually did it! What kind of a fool just decides to use a weapon without knowing what it does! Ha ha!”

“You told me to do that!” Twilight shouted at her partner.

“If I had known you would do everything I tell you, I would have told you to jump off a cliff.”

Remembering what Mirage had told Pinkie, Twilight retracted her helmet, feeling the air wash over her bare face. Now she could pick a weapon without Nyx interfering-

“I’m still here, you know? Putting down your helmet doesn’t change that.”

“I CAN’T DECIDE!” Twilight snapped, bringing her hands to her head.

“Sheesh, you’re a real pain, you know that? Fine. I’ll pick one. Take the sybaris. It’s that gun over there with the long barrel.”

“This one isn’t going to somehow backfire on me?” Twilight questioned, remembering all too well what the ogris had done. The hole was still in her wall.

"Yeah, this one doesn’t do anything special. It just shoots like a normal gun. If that’s too complicated for you, I’m sure we can pick something easier, like a stick you can hit your enemies with. We’ll probably die in the first few seconds, but hey, if you can’t handle yourself with a good weapon, then what choice do I have?”

Twilight carefully picked the gun up and checked it, aiming it well away from her feet.

Rarity pushed the barrel away from her face. “Do watch where you point that, dear.”

“Sorry, Rarity,” Twilight sighed, turning her gun away from her friends. “I think I’m a little stressed out with all that’s happened. Anyone know what this gun actually does?”

Twilight ignored Nyx as her Tenno told her it was just like any other gun.

Rainbow Dash landed in front of Twilight’s face. “Let me see that.”

Twilight handed the gun to Rainbow, who gave it a long look.

“Yeah, Zephyr said this thing is a rifle that fires in two shot bursts, whatever that means.”

“That means it fires two shots when ya pull the trigger,” Applejack called from across the room.

“Since when do you know this sort of thing, egghead?” Rainbow said, surprised.

“Ah didn’t,” she replied. “Rhino did. Although if ya ask me, two shot bursts does sound like it fires two shots.”

“Know it all…” Rainbow muttered. “Anyway, that’s what it does.”

She handed the gun back to Twilight, who decided that she’d had enough with searching for a good weapon. The sybaris was just going to have to do.

“Is there anything here like my party cannon?” Pinkie gasped, emerging from a pile of ordnance.

“What’s a party cannon?” Mirage asked.

“This!” Pinkie shouted to her Tenno, pulling it out from nowhere, sending a shower of confetti over the whole party.

“Aah… scattergun. Then I know exactly what you need. Although… you should have asked sooner. Would’ve saved us a lot of time. That one right there. The one with the grey barrel. It’s a lot like your party cannon. It spreads all kinds of fun and cheer among the enemy ranks.”

“Wow, really?” Pinkie asked excitedly, racing straight for the gun.

“And by fun and cheer, I mean multiple puncture wounds and mutilations.”

“Uhh…” Pinkie paused. “That’s not quite what I-”

“Fun for us. Not for them. C’mon, trust me.”

“Oh, okay!” Pinkie shrugged, taking the gun and hopping back to her friends.

“Well, I guess that’s everyone!” Rainbow Dash said, looking around the room.

“Not everyone…”

“Trinity is still unarmed and therefore, is unprepared to face the Grineer threat,” Mag said to Rarity.

Fluttershy fidgeted where she stood. “I… I’m okay with being unarmed…”

“I’m not,” Trinity reminded.

“I-I thought we were going to be healing people?” she asked her companion. “I don’t n-need a w-weapon for that do I?”

“No… but if an enemy gets close to you, what are you going to do? Heal it to death?”

“I-I-I… don’t…”

“Look. While I respect your decision to be a pacifist, that sort of thinking just isn’t going to work on the battlefield. Even if you are a healer. The enemy isn’t going to show you any mercy, just because you’re unarmed. In fact, if you’re unarmed, they’d probably target you first. You’ll get no chances from the Grineer. And besides, just because you picked up the weapon doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use it, right?”

“I guess not…” Fluttershy nodded slowly.

She took a few shaky steps towards the weapons table, looking around for something that didn’t look too violent. Rainbow Dash introduced her to a few blades, but they were all too sharp for the pink haired girl. Rarity brought Fluttershy to a wall of elegant weapons, telling her how beautifully crafted the weapons were. One caught the shy girl’s eyes.

“That stick looks rather harmless…” she pointed, showing her friends a long staff, blunt on both sides, she picked it up and held it tightly, moving it from side to side.

“Well, I suppose you can take that, Fluttershy. It might suit you better than a skana or kama. It’s a well-balanced weapon, capable of dishing out blows pretty quickly. It’s called the bo, and it’s not a stick. It’s a staff.”

“I-I’m good to go…” Fluttershy stuttered.

“Well, I guess that’s it then!” Twilight cheered, recovered from her ordeal with Nyx. “Now I guess we need to practice with these.”

Before anyone said anything else, a little warning siren played out within their Warframes. Twilight and Pinkie brought their helmets back up just as Princess Celestia, wearing her Lotus mask, appeared on all their HUDs.

“Bad news,” she told them. “The Grineer have been sighted once more. This time, they’re heading towards your school.”

“Guess we better stop them,” Rainbow Dash heroically stated.

“But… what about practice?” Fluttershy asked, trying to find an excuse to get away from a fight.

“No practice like field practice. Come on. Let’s go.”

With varying degrees of willingness, the Rainbooms filed back through the mirror and to Canterlot High, ready to see if they were suited for the rage of war.

Author's Note

This one sure took some time, but here it is. :rainbowkiss: Hope you enjoy it! There's gonna be fighting in the next chapter. You know it! So stay tuned. :pinkiehappy:

Chapter 7: First Flight

Home Run had decided to check out the baseball field, following the directions in the school directory. He had found it soon after, seeing some of the other baseball players had already started a game.

“Is that Home Run?” he heard one of the boys say. “It is!”

A few of them waved to him, calling him over to join them.

“Fancy meetin’ ya here out in the field,” Sundown smiled, giving the new boy a pat on the back.

“The field of battle,” Jetstream joked. Sundown and Lightning Rain squinted their eyes towards him. “What? It’s true. Anyway, we haven’t properly introduced you to the Winds yet.”

“Oh,” Home Run started. “Rainbow Dash told me a little about you ‘Winds of Destruction’. She said you guys were quite the team players.”

“She’s right of course,” Jetstream smiled, lifting his chest high. “We’ve built quite the reputation on this baseball team. By the way, you know me and Sundown. You haven’t been formally introduced, but this is Lightning Rain, my star pupil.”

“Who you callin’ a pupil?” Lightning Rain challenged.

“Hey,” Jetstream put his hands up to calm his friend. “I said star.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout them, Homey,” Sundown told the blue haired boy. “These two go way back.”

Jetstream continued to another two members. Home Run remembered one of them. The boy with white hair and a cap. The other was a girl with pink hair. They both wore grey jackets, and after looking close enough, Home Run realized they looked like each other.

“These are Cold Wind and Heavy Wind,” Jetstream continued. “In case you haven’t noticed… they’re twins.”

Heavy Wind looked to him and gave him a big smile. “Ah, I remember you, new kid. You’re pretty fast. Home Run, right? Perfect name for a baseball player.”

“Yes,” Home Run blushed. He’d been getting lots of praises recently. “I try my best when it comes to sports.”

“That’s the spirit,” Cold Wind nodded, folding her arms. “Perhaps you’ll make a good addition to our team.”

Jetstream put an arm around the new kid. “The Wind twins are our base players. Heavy normally takes the second base and Cold normally takes the third base.”

“So, you two are also ‘Winds of Destruction?” Home Run asked, giving them a good smile.

“That’s right,” Cold Wind nodded. “Each of us plays an important part in the team, and we do it well, if I say so myself and for the whole team.”

“Well, Homeboy,” Sundown said, straightening his jacket and spinning a baseball in the air. “We were just about to start a little game. Why don’t ya join us?”

“Yeah, why don’t ya?” Jetstream tried to imitate. “Let’s see how good you can hit.”

Home Run joined the baseball team as they grabbed their equipment from the nearby storage room, grabbing some bats, gloves, and baseballs and dumping them in a cart. Home Run noticed Jetstream and Lightning Rain had brought their own bats, each uniquely coloured and shaped. Jetstream’s was an average build, with a grey bat fading to red near the top. Lightning Rain had a grey slim bat with a blue handle.

Jetstream noticed him looking and gave him a wide grin. “This bat here? This one’s mine. I feel like using my own bat lets me hit better.”

It made sense to Home Run as he pushed the cart of equipment along. “Yeah, I guess you’ll always feel more comfortable with your own gear.”

“Precisely, you’re a sharp one, Home Run,” Jetstream nodded and held his bat out for Home Run to see. “This bat has been in my family for generations. It is one of my greatest treasures. You’ll find this bat to be much better than Lightning’s over there.”

Lightning stared bolts at Jetstream. “Hey! Mine’s definitely better. I prove it on the field every game.”

“Sure, sure,” Jetstream moved his head up and down. “You’re self-taught and not half bad, but like I’ve always told you… your technique lacks something.”

“You two at it again?” Cold Wind intervened, stopping the two players from dueling each other with their bats. “Enough. Let’s start our game.”

The two rivals stared at each other, but eventually, Jetstream widened his smile and carried on, forgetting about the fight that almost happened.

Arriving back at the start of the baseball field, the others got to their positions, while Sundown gave Home Run a bat. “Why don’t ya go first? I wanna see how well ya can hit that.”

“Sure,” Home Run agreed, walking up to the home plate. He was a lefty, so he took his stance on the right of the plate, ready to hit the ball. Sundown arrived at the pitching spot before turning back to face Home Run.

“Here it comes,” Sundown said as he got ready to throw the ball.

With a spin of his arm, he released the ball, sending it flying towards the newest player. Home Run narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the bat. With a neat swing, the ball went sailing into the sky just as he dropped the bat and headed towards first base. Most of the Winds watched the ball, while Lightning Rain made a dash for it. Home Run had hit it far enough, earning himself more than enough time to run through the bases.

“Nice hit, new guy,” Cold Wind told him as he ran past her. “And my brother was right. You’re quite the speedster.”

Home Run’s ball didn’t stop flying, continuing its arc into the sky until it arrived at the bleachers, allowing him to get past third base.

“Hooowie!” Sundown cheered, raising his arms to the sky. “Home Run!”

“Still got it!” Home Run said to himself as he continued down.

Before he could reach fourth base, something metallic dropped from the sky, landing right before Home Run’s eyes. He tried to stop, but it was too late, smashing his whole body against the hot metal.

“Home Run!” Sundown called. “Ya alright? That looked painful.”

Home Run felt the pain all over his body like he just got hit by a train. “I’ll be fine, I hope.”

He looked at the metal object as Sundown helped him up. He recognized it too well. He’d just seen it the day before after all.

“We gotta go,” Home Run told the others, trying to sound as urgent as he could. “Like, right now.”

“What’s up?” Jetstream asked, running over to join the others in looking at the metallic object. “What’s this? Satellite?”

“Satellites don’t look like this, Jetstream,” Lightning Rain sneered.

“You shut your face!” Jetstream shot back.

“Guys!” Home Run said louder, forced to speak up. “We really need to go. You’re not going to believe what’s in there.”

“Try me,” Jetstream grinned, crossing his arms.

Sundown saw the urgency in Home Run’s eyes and barked back at the others. “Do what he says. We’ll ask questions later.”

The pitcher helped Home Run get to the school building while the others followed behind, still looking at the crashed pod.

“What’s that? Aliens?” Jetstream joked.

“Yes,” Home Run replied. “That’s why we’ve got to go. You don’t want to be near them when they come out.”

“Oh, this is sooo going on Neighgag,” Heavy Wind said as he whipped out his phone for a picture.

“Not now, Heavy!” his sister scolded. “They could be dangerous!”

“C’mon, it’s only a quick picture!” he pleaded. “Imagine the amount of views I’d get for this!”

“Stop ya lollygagging!” Sundown shouted from the front. “Do what yer sister tells ya! She’s bein’ smarter at the moment. No one’s dyin’ here on mah watch!”

“Fine, fine…” Heavy sighed and stowed his phone.

The baseball players got inside the school just as the pod began to open. The first Grineer stepped out, quickly scanning its surroundings with his gun.

“Now can I take a picture?” Heavy Wind asked nicely, bringing out his phone.

“I guess it’s fine,” Cold Wind answered.

Sundown set Home Run down against the wall to check on him. “What in the name of Hilly Billy Goat’s donkey crackers! Those bruises look pretty darn painful.”

Home Run looked at himself and then back at the others. “Wouldn’t have guessed myself. I mean… running at full speed into a huge metal pod?”

“Yeah, and you sure run fast,” Cold Wind told him again.

“Ya ever heard of ‘The Guy’?” Sundown asked the new student.

“What guy?” Home Run asked as he sat there.

“The Guy,” Sundown emphasized. “A legendary baseball player that ran like an ocelot. Which is really fast.”

“During one of the championships a long time ago, he kept switching teams,” Jetstream interrupted, walking up to the blue-skinned boy. “He changed teams so often that everyone forgot which team he was playing for. I’m not sure if he even know himself.”

“Don’t forget the bat spinning,” Sundown added.

“Right,” Jetstream remembered, waving a hand in the air. “He used to spin his bat after every hit, taking his time to move along after sending the ball flying. You kinda remind me of that guy. Fast. You’re not half bad yourself.”

Home Run was going to say how good a baseball player that ‘ocelot’ was, but a flash stopped his train of thought. Everyone turned to Heavy Wind, looking at him with his phone.

“Did you leave your flash on?” Lightning Rain asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Yeah, my bad,” Heavy Wind admitted, checking out the photo. “But I don’t think they noticed me.”

Sundown walked over to the window just in time to see one of the Grineer point their fingers towards the school. “I think they noticed you.”

“Good work, Heavy…” Lightning sighed, resisting the urge to smack himself in the face with his palm.

“We’ve got to move,” Home Run said, trying to get up. Sundown moved over to help him up. “These Grineer… they don’t play nice. It’s better if we get as far away from them as possible.”

“Grineer?” Jetstream asked. “That sounds pretty dumb. We can take them. Just give Lightning Rain and I our bats, and we’ll-”

“Are you crazy?” Sundown shouted at the green-skinned boy. “You’ll get yourselves killed!”
They looked out the window as they started to move deeper into the school, but stopped. The Grineer had stopped in their tracks and were facing a different direction.

“Why did they stop?” Jetstream said out loud as he headed back to the window.

Rainbow Dash was the first to spot the Grineer as she left the portal. “Over there! We gotta stop them before they… wreck the school or something!”

“Chaaarge!” Pinkie screamed, running straight for the Grineer’s location.

The four Grineer on the baseball field turned their heads to see the Warframes running towards them. One pointed at them as all four opened fire, forcing the Rainbooms behind the wall.

“Nice work, Twilight Sparkle,” Nyx complimented. “Perhaps if you had thought of a plan before letting your friends charge in, we would have already taken down these simple Grineer.”

Twilight frowned, but said nothing. Now wasn’t the time for quarreling. They had to stop the Grineer before they could hurt anyone.

“What are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked impatiently. “I can take this!”

She gathered her energy, creating a small whirlwind around her. She squatted down and with a huge jump, launched herself up into the air, and using her small wings, glided around the Grineer aiming her guns at them and shooting. Some of the bullets connected with the Grineer armor, but most missed and smashed into the dirt around the aliens.

“Get some!” Rainbow whooped as she kept to the skies.

Applejack tried to get close to the Grineer to punch them, but after taking a few steps, she realized she was moving a lot slower than usual. “Uhh… Rhino? Why am ah movin’ so slowly?”

“Oh, my fault. My Warframe is built for defense, not movement speed. You’ll be able to soak up more hits, but you’re not going to be fast.”

“Ya could have told me that before ah started runnin’!” she complained as she got back behind cover after taking a few bullets to her Frame. “Fluttershy! Be good if ya gave me some healin’!”

That’s when Applejack turned to her pink haired friend. She was squatting in a corner, shaking. Her hands were over her head and she was facing her back to the enemy.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack called again.

“No…” Fluttershy mumbled. “I-I can’t!”

Pinkie spawned copies of herself and fired at the Grineer, most of her bullets going wide from the boar’s recoil. “Wow! This thing’s pretty strong!”

Sunset Shimmer aimed her glaxion at one of the Grineer and fired. A steady stream of cold shot out towards him, icing his foot. The startled Grineer looked up and fired back at Sunset, forcing her back. As she moved back, she realized her beam was no longer touching the Grineer.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Ember spoke. “The glaxion is a short range weapon. You’ll have to get closer.”

“Not when he’s shooting at me,” Sunset informed, heading back behind cover. “Can your fire skills reach that far?”

“Of course. Let’s burn some!”

Sunset primed her energy pool and created a ball of fire in her hands. After turning into a she-demon and everything, she didn’t particularly want to play with fire again, but here, she had no choice. She aimed at the Grineer she partially iced and threw the fireball straight for him. It fell short, but hit him in the leg, shattering the ice and setting part of the soldier on fire.

Sunset retreated back behind the wall, afraid of what she had just done.

“Sunset,” Applejack called. “What’s wrong?”

Sunset sat down and shivered. “I… I just took a guy’s leg off…”

“You have no choice, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember began. “It’s either them, or us. The Lotus has already explained it to you. If you don’t fight back, a lot of humans will die.”

Sunset understood the need for fighting, but still didn’t like the things she had to do.

“Gaah!” the Grineer shouted as he looked down to his shattered leg.

“Now, Twilight Sparkle,” Nyx hastened her companion. “While he’s distracted. Show me what you’ve got. Shoot him. Take him down!”

Twilight aimed her sybaris at the crippled Grineer. She dreaded the thought of sending a bullet through someone’s head, but she steeled herself and fired. Her bullets completely missed.

“You missed. As expected though. If it wasn’t for gravity, you wouldn’t even be able to hit the ground.”

“Not now, Nyx!” Twilight warned, still trying her luck at hitting the Grineer, missing all her shots.

Soon, she heard her gun click empty.

“Silly Twilight Sparkle. Look at that. Now you’ve run out of bullets.”

“Well, what else can I do?” Twilight said, starting to panic. “Skills? Magic? I’m sure you have some magic.”

“If you would consider that magic. I don’t know. You’ve proven that you’re incapable of anything I’ve presented to you.”

“We can’t let the Grineer win!” Twilight reasoned. “What do I do?”

“Very well. This Warframe has the ability to mind control an enemy. Just focus your energy on a target and fire. You’ll see the effect taking place immediately.”

Twilight concentrated, focusing her energy pool. Soon, she found green energy snaking around her hand. Pointing it towards the nearest Grineer, she fired it, sending the green energy towards Applejack. Soon, her friend was flailing around and running in circles out of cover, allowing the Grineer to pelt her Warframe with bullets.

“What in the hay is goin’ on?” she shouted in alarm as bullets attacked her shields. “Fluttershy! Could really use some healin’ now!”

“Sorry, Applejack!” Twilight called. “I accidentally hit you with some mind control thing.”

“What?” Applejack questioned. “Well, stop using it!”

Twilight tried to figure out how to cancel her mind control, but no matter what she tried, Applejack continued running in circles. “Nyx! How do I stop the mind control?”

Nyx let out a huge sigh. “Just relinquish control of your energy pool… Twilight Sparkle. You really are quite an inconvenience for me.”

Twilight downed her energy, dissipating her green energy and the mind control of Applejack. She ran as fast as she could back behind cover as the bullets tore through her shields.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack called again. “You there?”

The meek girl turned to look at her friend, but remained frozen in her spot. “I-I’m s-sorry…”

Rarity thought she should do something, pulling out her paris and pointing it at the Grineer. She reached behind, but couldn’t seem to find her arrows.

“Mag?” she asked as she grabbed around. “Where are the arrows?”

“higher. To your left.”

“Ah, thank you,” she said as she grabbed on to one.

Then Rarity realized something else. Her bow didn’t have a string. She thought she was seeing things at first, moving her hand around to feel for it. She still couldn’t find the string.

“Uhh… Mag?” she asked her partner again. “Could you perhaps tell me what happened to the string of this fine weapon?”

“Ah, that’s where the best part of the weapon comes in! The bow uses a magnetic field instead of a string. Try it out! Just pretend there’s a string there and pull the arrow back!”

Rarity put the arrow she was holding in between the two prongs of the paris. She found it hard to pull back, using more strength to get it towards her. Losing her grip, the arrow punched forward at a high speed, impaling itself in one of the Grineer, piercing through his green armor.

“Agh!” the Grineer spat as the arrow pierced his organs. He grabbed for it, but fell before he could pull it out.

“Nice shot, Rarity!”

“Umm…” she said, thinking whether she should tell Mag it was an accident or not. “Yes! Right. Lucky shot, I guess.”

“Do it again.”

Rarity gulped hard. “I’ll do my best, but I’m promising anything.”

She aimed her bow again as Sunset decided to move closer to the enemy.

“Rainbow!” Sunset called to her friend. “I need some cover fire, I’m gonna try to get close!”

Sunset sprinted out, ready to ice the Grineer down, but no bullets from Rainbow came, meaning that the Grineer wouldn’t be taking any defensive positions. They saw Sunset and fired at her.

“Get to cover, Sunset Shimmer! You’re losing armor!”

Sunset abandoned her plan and ran as fast as she could back to her hiding place, throwing a fireball behind her to cover her escape. She returned to Rainbow’s position, seeing her friend still behind the wall.

“Rainbow!” Sunset frowned within the helmet. “I told you to cover me!”

Rainbow lifted her guns for Sunset to see. “Out of bullets.”

“What?” Sunset said in disbelief. “Already? We’ve only taken down one so far.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Hey, when you’re flying up there, it’s hard to hit anything.”

Pinkie and her clones moved forward, blasting her shotgun across the area, a few pellets hitting the Grineer, and Rainbow, just as she leapt off the ground.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow shouted as she lost her momentum, plummeting to the ground.

“Sorry!” Pinkie called, still trying to hit the Grineer. One of her pellets landed home, hitting the Grineer Sunset had crippled, in the head. His body flew back and hit the ground as he stopped moving.

Sunset stood to cheer, raising both arms in the air, but got interrupted when Rainbow landed on her, forcing her to the ground. Her finger instinctively held down the trigger for the glaxion, sending a stream of ice towards Rarity.

“Waaagh!” the violet haired girl screamed as her Warframe started being encased in ice.

“Sorry!” Sunset apologized after releasing the trigger.

Before getting iced, Rarity had let go of the arrow, launching it once again towards the Grineer. By some luck and magnetic force, the arrow went straight down the Grineer’s firearm, destroying its chamber. The alien dropped it, pulled out a shock stick, and made a face of rage.

“I’m comin’ back!” Applejack shouted from her piece of cover, heading back towards the rest of the Rainbooms. “Rhino, isn’t there that charge ability or somethin’?”

“Yes. Tap into your energy. It’ll allow you to charge forward at a high speed, knocking down anything or anyone in your path.”

“Sweet,” Applejack grinned. “Time to test it out.”

The cowgirl activated her energy, coursing energy through her Warframe. With a short pause, she dashed forward, ripping a bush out of the ground as she moved by.

“Sorry partner!” she shouted back to the inanimate plant. “Didn’t see ya there!”

There was a startling shout in front of Applejack, taking her attention back to the front. It was Twilight, standing about two inches in front of her.

“Stop!” she cried, just as Applejack slammed right into her, sending her flying back a few feet. “Gah!”

The lavender-skinned girl landed on the ground and stayed still.

“Sorry, Twi!” she called, then talked to Rhino. “How do ya stop this thing!”

“You can’t really. You’ve got to slow down first. It’s all up to you. Just pretend you’re running. Stop yourself naturally.”

Applejack slowed her pace, feeling the speed force around her dissipate. She shortly came to a halt, stopping close to the front lawn of the school, right in front of the statue. “Phew… Close one.”

She turned back to look at her friends. Three of them lay on the ground, one stood frozen by ice, and one hid in a corner, refusing to fight. Only she and Pinkie Pie were standing. It was now two on two.

“Guess it’s you and me, Pinkie,” Applejack said, joining her friend behind the wall to the baseball field.

“Nope!” Pinkie said loudly, showing Applejack her gun. “No bullets! I’m going to join Fluttershy!”

“Oh…” Applejack sighed. “Great. Guess it’s just me.”

“Don’t forget me,” Rhino added.

She looked back to the two remaining Grineer. One lost his gun, but the other still had one. Things were definitely not looking great.

Chapter 8: Professional Help

Things weren’t looking too good. One Grineer, the one wielding the shock stick made his way towards Applejack as she raised her fists. The one with the gun shot at her, forcing her behind cover as the other one approached her.

“That’s perfect, Applejack,” Rhino told her as she peeped around the corner. “Wait for him to near you, then beat the stuffing out of him.”

Applejack waited, raising her furax’s into a boxing stance when a gust of wind blew past her. She turned to look, realizing it wasn’t wind, but another Warframe. The same one that had blinded and evaded them on the school rooftops. It had dashed past her and the Grineer, the only difference was that she was unharmed. Applejack looked at the Grineer just in time to see half his body fall to the ground.

She quickly returned behind cover and held her stomach. “Urgh… didn’t want to see that!”

The Warframe leapt towards the final Grineer as he shot away at it. The Frame raised its sword, deflecting the bullets one by one as they flew to him.

“Wow,” Applejack marveled, stepping out from behind the wall. “That guy sure can hit. He’s fast! Look a’ that, Rhino!”

“Meh, that’s how we all are at full power. Nothing special, although, much better than you lot. No offence.”

Applejack sighed. “None taken. We did pretty badly out there.”

“Yeah. Well… let’s see how this Excalibur does.”

“Excalibur?” she mused. “That what it’s called, huh?”

The Excalibur arrived a few paces in front of the Grineer and with a horizontal slash, it cut the Grineer’s gun in half, along with his left hand. The Grineer took a few fearful steps back before turning and racing back to the pod.

Applejack willed the Excalibur to chase after him, but instead, it stood there, unmoving except for one hand, which turned its sword upside down. It soon pulsated energy as it stabbed its sword in the ground, releasing off a flash of light and a few swords made completely from energy, hurtling them in different directions. Some stabbed into the school walls, while others made it around the baseball field. One found its mark, getting the Grineer in the arch of his back. The Grineer didn’t fall, instead, getting propelled further forward as the sword impaled him against the wall of his pod. It didn’t move again.

“Woah…” Applejack said, opening her mouth and leaving it hanging open.

The Excalibur recovered its stature and made its way back towards Applejack and her friends.

“Rhino…” she whispered to her Tenno. “What do we do? Is he friendly?”

“I reckon he’s on our side, but I just woke up, so I have no idea. I think its friendly, but be careful just in case.”

The Excalibur paused as he reached the Rhino clad girl and looked at her before walking past her to check on Twilight. He bent down and opened a panel on his hand, releasing a green spray over the unconscious girl.

“Hey!” Applejack started, taking steps towards the Excalibur.

“Stop, Applejack,” Rhino voiced. “That’s a healing spray. He’s getting her back up.”

Soon, Twilight lifted her head and got up to a sitting pose. “What? What happened?”

She looked up to the Excalibur, putting a hand out for her. She took it as it helped her up. Before she knew what was happening, it knelt before her for a second before taking its leave, running up the side of the school again.

“Umm…” Twilight pondered out loud. “What was that?”

“Twi!” Applejack shouted, running over and giving her friend a quick hug. “Sorry ‘bout that. I wasn’t sure how to stop it.”

“It’s alright, Applejack,” Twilight smiled. “We’re all still learning how to control our powers. But who was that just now? And why did he kneel down?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” her companion began. “You are right when you said you’re still learning how to control your powers. You still have a lot to learn. Oh why did I have to get stuck with you of all your kind?”

“I’m sorry Nyx!” Twilight apologized harshly. “But we haven’t done any training whatsoever, so how can you expect me to meet your expectations immediately?”

“Ha!” I doubt you’d meet me expectations even if you trained for a thousand moons. That Excalibur before you just now… that was an excellent soldier. You should try to be more like him.”

Twilight was about to fight back, but Pinkie was much louder. “THAT WAS AWESOME! Did you see how he flew down and whooooosh! He got that Grineer right there! And then kablaaam! He got the second one with all that Vwwwoooooossssh! That was sooooo cool!”

“Not as cool as me…” Rainbow huffed, getting up from the ground.

“Well he did much better than you, Rainbow,” Sunset said from underneath her.

Rainbow turned to her and lowered her helmet, revealing her frowning face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You got us incapacitated,” Sunset said flatly. “And you wasted your bullets.”

“I can’t help it!” Rainbow argued. “The gun fires them at a super high rate! Plus, while I’m flying around being cool and all, I can’t exactly aim very well, but give it time and I’ll show you who’s the marksman here! Plus… it was Pinkie’s fault!”

“Whaaat?” Pinkie complained. “I said I was sorry.”

Talk about Pinkie made Sunset realize something. “Oh no!”

“What?” Rainbow asked.

Sunset turned and quickly ran to a block of ice. “I forgot about Rarity! She’s in there.”

Sunset quickly conjured a fireball and slowly melted away the ice with it. Soon, Rarity’s helmeted head was visible and she began to move again.

“Brrr…” she shivered as more of her body got free. “I-it’s… f-f-freezing…”

“I’m so sorry, Rarity!” Sunset apologized as she melted the last of the ice. “I should have been more careful where I point that gun.”

“I-it’s n-n-not your f-fault dear…” Rarity shook some more.

“Told you to take the ignis,” Ember told Sunset.

“Then I’d have roasted her!”

Fluttershy walked up to her friends, still shaking from the gunfight that had just occurred. “I… I’m so sorry. I thought maybe I could handle myself from the side, but… once the guns started firing…”

“It’s alright, Fluttershy,” Sunset comforted. “We all tried. True, we need more training, but… we gave it our best.”

Trinity didn’t stay silent. “Fluttershy, I know it’s tough, but you need to stand up for yourself and your goals. Don’t let your fears get the better of you.”

“So what now?” Rainbow asked, stretching her limbs. “Threat’s averted. Can we go home?”

“I think you’ll need some more training, Rainbow Dash,” Zephyr prompted. “Your aiming needs a lot of practice, although… nice flying. That’s how we roll.”

“More training?” Rainbow groaned. “Already? Can’t we have a break…?”

“This is important, Rainbow Dash. If you don’t get better, the Grineer will win.”

Rainbow sighed, slumping her shoulders. “I know, Zephyr… but… I think it’s been a long day. Can’t we continue tomorrow? After school perhaps?”

“Well… I guess you can rest for the day. Everyone needs their rest.”

“AWESOME!” Rainbow whooped, pumping both fists into the air. Her friends looked at her. “Oh, Zephyr said we can take a break for the day.”

“So did Ember,” Sunset nodded, rubbing her back. “I guess we do need some rest. I’m still a little sore from… that.”

“I… I could do with… rest,” Fluttershy said, shuffling her feet. “I’ll… I’ll be sure t-to try my best next time.”

“Yeah, we should head back…” Twilight said, still hurt from taking the full blow of a Rhino charge. “I need to conjure up a warm bed for myself.”

“Twilight Sparkle, that is highly unnecessary. In war, comfort should be the least of your priorities.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but only released a sigh instead of a rebuff.

“Did you hear that?” Rainbow asked, putting up a hand to quiet her friends. She listened. “It sounds like sirens.”

“The Dazzlings?” Pinkie asked. “Are they back? Are they still evil? Are they going to change for the better like Sunset?”

“No, not that kind!” Rainbow shook her head. “Police sirens!”

The rest of the gang stopped and listen. True enough, they began hearing the blaring sound of police cars, slowly getting louder.

“We should go,” Twilight suggested, heading back to the mirror. “You girls go on home. I’ll see you tomorrow after school.”

“Yeah, I guess we shouldn’t let all the cops see this,” Sunset agreed. “Ember, how do we transform back?”

“Just think it, like with your helmet. However, when your armor is off, you will be unable to hear us.”

“Noted,” Sunset said. She willed the Frame to compact itself, watching as the suit around her started folding back into a small badge-like object on her coat. “Wow. That’s pretty neat.”

The other girls watched and did the same, their suits pulling back, getting smaller and smaller until it finished in the shape of a badge for each one of them.

“Too bad I won’t get to hear Zephyr like this,” Rainbow admitted, rather disappointed. “She’s awesome!”

“I’m glad,” Twilight sighed. “I don’t have to put up with Nyx outside the suit. She really gives me no space to recover.”

The sirens were getting louder as they stood in front of the school.

“Gotta go!” Twilight said, giving each of her friends a hug before going back through the portal. “I’ll see you girls tomorrow!”

Home Run looked through the window as the same armored man that had saved him before finished off the last of the Grineer.

“Did you see that?” Heavy Wind had said, unbelieving all the footage he was getting. “That was epic! This is soooo going on Neighgag!”

Sundown returned from the hallway, walking back to join the other baseballers. “Alright, team. The cops are on their way.”

“What?” Jetstream asked. “You mean they actually believed you about aliens?”

Sundown shook his head. “Ah didn’t say there were aliens. Ah just told them there was a shootout goin’ on in front of the school.”

“Good choice…” Home Run muttered, still feeling sore from running into the pod. He had a few burn marks on his arms, but other than that, he was fine.

Suddenly, Heavy Wind’s phone started going berserk, spewing sparks and noises as the machine burst in a small light. “Woah! What! My footage!”

Home Run smiled to himself.

Guess the princess doesn’t want anyone finding out about her.

“Well, too bad,” Jetstream retorted. “So sad, but I think we should head out. That was a fantastic work of swordplay, but I could’ve done better.”

“Save it for later, Jet,” Sundown barked. “Ah think it’s time we leave. We got homework and all to do later.”

“Right,” Jetstream nodded. He turned to Home Run. “Need any help getting back?”

Home Run took a few steps on his own and shook his head. “I think I can make it back, fine. Thanks guys.”

“Well, we shall see you tomorrow then!” Jetstream said enthusiastically. He was the first to leave, giving them a wave as he walked out the door.

Home Run decided he should get home and start on his homework. He waved goodbye to the other baseballers before heading to his bike. He slowly got on, making sure not to hurt himself. After getting into a comfortable position, he kicked off the ground and started cycling his way home. He had to cycle slower than usual, but it was still faster than walking home. In about forty minutes, he had arrived home, sweating from head to toe.

I’ll be sure to have a lot of explaining to do…

He walked his bike in, opening the front door and heading in. He left his bike on its rack and headed straight for the washroom. Once inside, he closed the door and removed his shirt. He inspected his injuries, self-determining how bad they were. He touched a few of them and winced.

“Yeah, these are not going away anytime soon…” he sighed to himself.

After washing up, he headed back to his room to start on his homework until his parents called him for dinner.

The Grineer helmsmen sat quietly aboard their cruiser, careful not to speak anything out of the ordinary. Captain Vor had viewed the footage of the recon unit sent to scout out the school for a good holding ground for their machines and constructs. He figured four Grineer would be enough just in case any human had wandered by. As he watched the footage, he saw them. Warframes. Weapons of the Lotus, fighting back against his men. His face grew lower and lower until the Excalibur returned, finishing off the last of his men. He had shut off the feed and smashed his fist down on his chair so hard that he cracked a portion of its shiny metal.

“Tenno!” he screamed in anger, the fire burning in his one good eye. “The Lotus… she knows… We must accelerate our plans before she regains more Tenno!”

His men remained quiet, fearful of speaking up. After what happened to the engineer, the others learned to think before speaking.

“We need more soldiers!” Vor barked at his men. “Next time you send a scouting party, make sure they outnumber the enemy!”

He got off his chair and headed down to the armory. In order to reach the Lotus, the gate had to be created, which would allow him to use the torsion beam to tear a hole in the Lotus’ main hub. Getting the pieces would take time, and putting them together would take more time. He had to make sure his soldiers were going to be well prepared against the Tenno.

“Nothing will stand in my way!” he shouted for himself to hear. He pulled out the void key and looked at it, smiling at the power in the small object. “For my Queens!”

Author's Note

Sorry if it's short, but it gets the next point across. Hope you enjoy it!

Winds of Destruction!

Chapter 9: Forging Bonds

Home Run slowly cycled to school, still sore from what happened yesterday. As he approached the magnificent school building, he got off his bike, walking it towards the bike rack. In only two days, he had already been through so much, that he felt like he’d been around for a few years. He saw the suits yesterday, fighting off the Grineer. He remembered them down in Princess Celestia’s secret room when he was last there. She’d somehow found a way to reactivate them.

Maybe I should pay her another visit. There has to be something I can do.

“Hey, Home Run!” he heard someone call behind him.

The blue-skinned boy turned to see Sunset Shimmer walking up to join him.

“Hi, Sunset,” he greeted as he locked his bike to the rack. “What’s up?”

“Just wondering…” she started to ask. “Did you… see anything strange yesterday?”

Home Run tensed for a second, but regained his cool. “Umm… no. No. Didn’t see anything strange yesterday. Yep. Nothing. Just a usual average day.”

“Good,” Sunset muttered as they headed for class.

“Good?” Home Run asked. Something else was going on.

Sunset suddenly widened her eyes, but when she turned back to him, she put on a smile. “Well… I heard there were… police here yesterday. Yeah. So I was wondering if you saw anything going on?”

“Oh,” Home Run understood. “Well, no then. I didn’t.”

“Good he doesn’t know…” Sunset thought in her head.

“Good, she doesn’t know,” Home Run said to himself as they entered the school building.

“Home Run,” she started as they continued. “Sorry about the questions I’ve asked. It’s just that… you can never be too sure what a new student hides these days.”

Home Run found that weird. “Why? Did something happen with new students recently?”

Sunset took a second before giving him an answer. “Let’s just say… every new student before you hasn’t exactly been normal.”

Sunset blushed at that comment, but Home Run decided not to ask her about it.

The rest of the school day passed rather uneventfully. Home Run took notes and watched Jetstream and Lightning Rain argue as usual, comparing who had the best streak without missing, then he had lunch, but this time sitting out for PE because of his injuries. He had finished the first few classes with a minimal amount of homework from them. History class was also quite average. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary at all, save that Rarity hadn’t come to school. When he asked, Applejack simply told him she had ‘the flu’. Why she deemed it necessary to scrunch up her face and look around when she said it though, he had no idea. Maybe she was getting sick too.

“All right. Before I let you go, here’s your homework for the night,” Mr. Loregiver droned as he wrote down some page numbers and questions on the board. “Answer the questions and read these pages. There’ll be a quiz tomorrow about your reading. Once you’ve written it down, you may go. Have a good rest of the day, kids.”

There was a collective groan from the class when the word ‘quiz’ was said. After writing down the questions and pages, the students packed their things and started to leave.

“A quiz on the first week of school?” Rainbow complained once they were out of the classroom. “Why not Friday? Or never?”

“Well, ya gotta do what a teacher tells ya to do,” Applejack reminded her friend. “Even if it’s Mr. Pierce or Mr. Loregiver giving you the work.”

Rainbow sighed, but knew Applejack was right. If she wanted to complete the class, she’d have to finish the homework and be in class, no matter how boring a teacher was. She was lucky she didn’t have Mr. Pierce this semester at least. One boring teacher was enough.

There was a small ‘oof’ as Pinkie Pie bumped into Home Run, who grimaced and rubbed his upper arm.

“Hey, watch it,” he told her, holding his arm.

“Sorry, Homey,” she apologized. “But I don’t think I hit you too hard.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow said. “If you wanna join my team, you can’t be crying over every single bump or scrape.”

Jetstream swaggered over, noticing the affray. “What’s up, boss?”

“Oh, nothing. Just make sure you tell Home Run here to toughen up because our games, aren’t a game.”

“I thought they were…?” Home Run asked no one in particular.

Jetstream smiled, noticing Home Run holding his arm. “Ah, don’t worry about it, boss. He just got a bit knocked about yesterday, when this thing came out of the sky, and he ran right into it - ow!”

He turned to Lightning Rain after the white-skinned boy slapped his across the arm. “Ran right into a baseball. Jetstream hit it way too high. Yeah.”

“I hit it way too high? Now look here, water boy, if there’s anyone who hits too high, it’s you!”

“Oh yeah, windbag?” Lightning Rain said, closing the distance between them. “Why don’t you and me step outside and settle this like old times? I’ll show you just how high I can hit.”

“I would love to!” Jetstream replied with an eager grin.

Suddenly, Sundown’s hands came down on both boys’ collars and forcibly pulled them apart. “Cool it, you two. Got enough to worry ‘bout without you two beatin’ each other senseless on the street now.”

Heavy Wind’s sister smirked. “Yeah, you better play it careful. Especially since you two got owned by one old man with a stick.” She teased. “If it happens again I promised my brother I’d take pictures for that website of his.”

Heavy Wind twirled his fingers and held up his phone. “Yes, but please. Continue. This is good enough. You guys would become stars on Neighgag!”

“Stop that!” Sundown barked, snatching at the phone but he was too slow to stop Heavy Wind from snapping a picture. “Put that down!”

Home Run watched the others argue for a moment before shrugging and tiptoeing off before it escalated into a brawl. Hopefully they’d come to the baseball field after they had all let off some steam. Not before.

The Rainbooms had quietly sneaked off as the Winds’ argument started boiling up. They made their way towards the mirror to wait for Twilight to call them over.

“Shouldn’t we have stopped them?” Fluttershy quietly asked. “What if they hurt themselves?”

“Nah, it’s like this everytime,” Rainbow waved a hand. “It’ll either cool down on its own, or Sundown will stop them. Or one of the teachers.”

“As long as it isn’t Mr. Pierce who… stops them,” Fluttershy said meekly.

“Jetstream said Home Run ran into something…” Sunset said, thinking about it since the start of the conversation. “They said it was a baseball, but you don’t think…?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rainbow said offhandedly. “We got bigger, more awesome things to do! Ready, Zephyr?”

She activated her Warframe as Zephyr’s voice came on. “Ready when you are, Rainbow Dash.”

“Rainbow!” Sunset warned. “Doing that in front of the school? What if someone sees you?”

Rainbow looked around, making sure no one else was nearby. “No one else is here.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, but continued to the statue. Sitting down, she pulled out her book from her bag and began writing to Twilight.

“This is going to be great!” Pinkie shouted in excitement. “We’re going to get to shoot things! And party with my clones! Woohoo!”

The girls waited for Twilight while Rainbow practiced her gliding. Soon, their lavender friend popped through the portal, along with another friend to bring them in. “Hi, girls.”

“Hello!” Spike greeted as he got up, scratching his ear with his hind leg.

“Spike!” they called in unison, glad to see the purple dog.

“The field’s set up, so you can come in now,” Spike counted their heads. ‘Where’s Rarity?”

"Oh, umm... She caught a cold from yesterday," Sunset admitted, putting her hands behind her back. "My fault."

“Oh…” Spike said, sounding disappointed. “That’s too bad.”

“I guess she did better than us yesterday, so one day to rest wouldn't hurt," Twilight supposed. She turned back to the portal and beckoned her friends. "Shall we? I'm ready to get back to training. Except for Nyx..."

The Rainbooms followed Twilight and Spike through the mirror once more, going through the rainbow tunnel again, emerging on the other side in a new landscape. It was a grey and blue place, with small white lights lining several pathways to the front and sides, split about with gaps that dropped into unknown darkness. There was also a small section of target boards on the right, and not too far away there was an indented circular platform, like a miniature arena.

"Are we in the right place?" Pinkie asked, not finding any vibrant colours at all. “This place is so dull!"

"It looks k-kinda scary..." Fluttershy whimpered.

"Princess Celestia calls this an obstacle course," Twilight explained. "She requested that I move the mirror here for the time being, so that we can practice our movement and aim."

The girls nodded and joined Rainbow Dash, calling out the Warframes. The suits activated and folded around them.

"Ah... glad to be back," Rhino said in Applejack's head.

“Woohoo! Who’s getting shot today?” cheered Mirage.

“Well, here we are. Another day,” Nyx sighed. “A new day to put up with your bad performance, Twilight Sparkle. Try not to fail too hard.”

Twilight let out a huge, long sigh. “Yes, Nyx. Whatever you say…”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack headed to the first obstacle. It consisted of a single gap after a raised horizontal block.

“Uhh…” Applejack muttered, calculating if she could perform that or not.

“You can’t fly, Applejack,” Rhino reminded. “Just do it like how you’re supposed to do it. Go under the block and jump over to the next platform.”

“What happens if ah fall?” she gulped, looking down into the abyss.

“Don’t worry. There’s magic down there. If you fall, you’ll just teleport back to this platform.”

“Sounds easy enough…”

Applejack took a running stance before setting off towards the raised block. As she neared it, she crouched down and walked through it, arriving at the gap.

“You were supposed to slide under it,” Rhino told her. “But alright. Everyone has to start somewhere.”

Applejack took a deep breath before attempting the leap. She almost made it, but she didn’t achieve enough speed, sending her plunging down into the dark. “Aaaah!”

Before she knew it, she was back up where she had started. She checked for her hat, glad that it was still on her head, or helmet.

“Phew!” she whistled. “This’a lot tougher than it looks.”

As she tried again, Rainbow had already moved to the fourth obstacle, which was a bunch of moving platforms. “Ha! Looks puny!”

With another leap, she dashed across the obstacle, arriving safely on the other side with a slide.

“Nicely done, Rainbow Dash! I must say, you’re quite good at the movement.”

“Of course!” she smiled. “Who do you think I am?”

Nyx had insultingly suggested Twilight take up target practice, so she headed over to the targets and took out her sybaris. Taking aim, Twilight pointed her gun at the targets, shaped like little bullseye rings on a square backing. Spike followed her, ready to see what kind of marksman she was.

“If you can hit the first one, Twilight Sparkle… I’d be very impressed.”

Twilight took a few slow breaths to steady herself. She looked down the barrel, trying to align it to the target.

“You can do it, Twilight!” Spike assured.

The purple-haired girl pulled the trigger, firing a two-burst shot at the target. Both bullets missed.

“You fail to impress me yet again, Twilight Sparkle. Oh, what I’d do if I didn’t have you.”

“If you didn’t have me?” Twilight argued. “If I didn’t have you, I’d be having a much better time!”

“Your… friend still giving you trouble, Twilight?” Spike asked, watching the conversation from his point.

“Yes,” Twilight replied, aiming at the target again. “Nyx. Could you just… stop being a jerk for five minutes?”

She found it strange when her Tenno didn’t reply, because Nyx usually rebuffed her with something else. A small timer appeared at the bottom of Twilight’s HUD, counting down from 05:00.

"...what?" Twilight said, confused. She shrugged it off and continued trying to hit the target.

"It's all in your head, Twilight," Spike told her. "If you think you can do it, then you can do it!"

Twilight silently thanked her friend for the encouragement and took aim again. She held the gun more firmly, squeezing the trigger again. She fought the recoil harder this time, her bullets going only a little over the target.

"Almost there, Twilight!" Spike cheered. "Just a little lower."

Twilight checked the timer on her HUD before returning to her practice. It now read 03:26.

Rainbow had completed the obstacle course in record time, stepping back to the start with a smug grin on her unhelmeted face. “I’m awesome!”

“Very good, Rainbow Dash. Thirty seconds… now that’s one way of doing things, and I like it.”

Sunset moved on to the obstacle course, quickly arriving at Applejack’s position as the cowgirl tried to do a wallrun. Ember taught her the steps to it as she got over the first gap.

“How the hay do ya do these?” Applejack muttered as she fell again, teleporting back to the start of the obstacle.

“It’s supposedly all in the grip!” Sunset told her friend. She got ready and jumped to the wall, using speed and timing to get herself across. “Woah! I did it!”

“That’s right, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember congratulated. “Well done. Perhaps one day you’ll achieve our standards.”

Sunset moved to the next obstacle while Applejack fell again.

“Dagnabbit!” Applejack shot as she returned to the start.

At the start of the room, Pinkie was still trying to drag Fluttershy over to the shooting gallery. “C’mon, Fluttershy! At least watch me practice! Maybe you’ll learn something!”

“I-I’d rather not, if it’s okay with you,” Fluttershy said softly, doing her best to weigh herself down.

“Fluttershy…” Trinity started. “Remember, I said you’ve got to stand up more. If you don’t do anything, then the Grineer win. If they win, everyone gets hurt. You can’t allow that.”

“Oh, but… I just can’t handle violence,” Fluttershy shook. “I mean… maybe I can use the healing abilities, but I… I just can’t bear to hit someone else.”

“Alright, then how about at least learning how to block with that weapon of yours?”

“Block?” she asked Trinity. “As in block bullets, or block people?”

“Yes, Fluttershy. Bullets. If you don’t do anything, you’re going to be a good target for the Grineer. You’d want to at least protect yourself.”

“Here, Fluttershy! I’ll show you how to block!” Pinkie interrupted. Without warning, the pink girl jumped towards her. “Block me!”

Pinkie started throwing slow punches towards the shy girl, trying to get her to lift her bo.

"Eep!" Fluttershy gasped, instinctively bringing up her staff.

She managed to block a punch, surprising herself and her Tenno.

“Good job, Fluttershy!” Trinity congratulated. “Keep this up, and you’ll be blocking bullets in no time!”

“Nice one, Fluttershy!” said the puffy haired girl. “Let’s try a few more!”

Pinkie spawned a second clone and both aimed their hands at the yellow skinned girl. Fluttershy tried her best, lifting the bo accordingly, stopping Pinkie’s hands from touching her. She managed to block most of the attacks, but some got through, Pinkie earning a squeal from Fluttershy each time.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie!” Fluttershy apologized with each block. “I hope I’m not hurting you…”

“No worries!” Pinkie said to her friend. “I think Mirage kind of likes getting hit, to be honest.”

“Hey, you’re better than I thought, Fluttershy,” Trinity praised. “With more training, maybe you won’t have to hide in a corner anymore.”

"As long as I don't need to hit someone else..." Fluttershy said hopefully. "Healing and blocking doesn't seem so bad."

Twilight was doing better as well, starting to hit the targets with her gun. She still couldn’t hit the center, but at least she didn’t miss the board completely. She checked her HUD again, watching the timer countdown from five.

“Good to see you can hit the targets,” Nyx said as the timer hit zero. “But I’ve still seen birds that can hit passersby better than you from a distance.”

“Great,” Twilight sighed. “You’re back. Well, at least I can hit things now!”

“I’d like to see you try on a moving target!”

“Yeah?” Twilight challenged. “Well… I… Uh…”

“I know. Why don’t you try moving your head and shooting yourself. I bet you can hit that target.”

After trying a few more times, Twilight stopped and moved over to a corner to rest. Having held her gun up for the last half an hour, her arms were tired.

“Okay, Nyx,” Twilight retracted her helmet and looked at her own face as though she could see Nyx in the polished metal. “I know you don’t like me. That’s fine. But I do want to know why you hate me so much. Aren’t we meant to be partners?”

“My opinions are of no importance to you, Twilight Sparkle.”

“I agree, but I still want to hear your reasons.”

Nyx seemed to ponder this for a moment. “First reason. You stink at combat. A rookie guard from the Lotus’ ranks would have been infinitely better than you.”

Twilight had heard the same thing over and over again from her Tenno partner. She lowered her eyelids halfway, annoyed at the same comment.

“Second, you have no idea just what kind of power you wield. The other Tenno, they are perhaps willing to share ancient secrets and lore with you, but if you are to fight at my side, knowledge like this must be earned. You haven’t done anything to prove that you’re worth using this power, or being my partner.”

“What does that have to do with why we can’t get along?” Twilight asked, confused at her partner’s lengthy description.

“Really? Then let me put it in shorter, more simple words for your primitive mind to comprehend. The Warframe is a very old, very powerful weapon. To use it to its full power, you need to know what you are doing. You do not know what you are doing. Get it? And after how well I took care of my Warframe before we all went into cryosleep, I refuse to allow a by the book, low level incompetent like yourself handle it.”

Twilight had nothing to say. Nyx had a sort of good reason to explain all that. If she had lent someone a book she cared for well, and they ruined it, she wouldn't be too pleased herself.

“Now, get back to the firing range. This changes nothing.”

Twilight slumped in defeat, but determined to prove Nyx wrong."Alright, Nyx. I'll show you what I can do."

“I look forward to it,” Nyx said sarcastically. "Show me what you've got, Twilight Sparkle!"

Sunset had climbed up the flat walls, learning the basic skills of wallrunning. She'd easily scaled up the walls, her feet almost sticking to the surface as she ran up.

"Surprisingly good, Sunset Shimmer! You're on fire!" Ember praised. "You must have done this kind of thing before."

"Well..." Sunset thought back. "I kinda did have some practice during the winter break..."

Sunset moved to the edge of her current platform, which was a high drop down to the next one below. It was a sheer drop, with nothing to climb on or to cushion her fall.

“Go on,” Ember seemed impatient. “Jump.”

“Are you crazy?” Sunset hissed back. “I’ll break my legs!”

“No, you won’t. My Warframe is far too durable for that. Though now that you mentioned it... I’m not sure about your legs…”

The pair gazed down at the next platform. It seemed to get smaller the more Sunset looked at it.

“All right. I have an idea.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“When you jump down, throw a fireball down there then shoot it with the glaxion before you land. That should help cushion your fall.”

Sunset was skeptical. “Won’t that just burn and freeze us as well as break my legs?” When Ember didn’t respond, the girl just sighed and braced herself.

If I do break my legs, you’re paying the hospital bill, Twilight.

The fall was exhilarating, the platform rushing up to meet her. Somehow managing to keep herself from panicking, Sunset dipped into Ember’s energy pool and flung a roaring fireball down at where she was going to land, then whipped out her weapon and sprayed the flame with ice. Right on cue, a blast of hot air expanded out from where hot and cold made contact. The shockwave caught Sunset mid fall, propelling her upward and sending her skidding along the shiny floor, her armor scratching grooves into the ground and throwing up sparks.

Sunset was winded. “Oohh…” she groaned.

“Sunset Shimmer? Are you all right?”

“I-I think so...” Sunset rolled over and sat up, lowering her helmet and checking her legs. “Hey, it worked!”

“Of course it did. Now let’s do it again.”

"Again...?" Sunset gaped. "I could use a short break."

"Guess I shouldn't burn you out," Ember replied. "Let's take five, then."

Sunset stayed sitting down, looking over the rest of the obstacle course. She could still hear Applejack, shouting to herself as she struggled to get past the wallrunning obstacles.

“So, what do you like to do when you’re not fighting?” Sunset asked, curious of what the Tenno enjoyed doing in their free time.

“I’m not sure I understand the question...”

Sunset thought about it for a while before answering. "You know... other things you do besides killing Grineer? Things you like doing?"

“Oh, I get it. We like to kill Corpus. And Infested, but those two were taken care of already.”

Sunset had no idea what a Corpus or Infested was, but continued her question. "That's not what I meant. I mean, besides killing. What else do you do to have fun?"

“Target practice, sparring, and studying our enemies to determine the best ways to kill them. My favorite is immolation.”

"Of course it is... so, you don't do things like cooking, or shopping, or playing games?"

Ember seemed to pause, trying to find the right way to word it. “Sunset Shimmer, we are Tenno. Warriors of gun and blade. For us, battle is all there is. Those things you list… hold little meaning to us. Perhaps that is why the Lotus never openly announced our presence to Equestria. We just don’t fit in, I guess.”

Sunset thought that was a little sad. “You’ve really never just gone and done something fun for the sake of it? Not, you know, to protect people or ponies?” She asked quietly.

“You sound upset. Cheer up! I promise you, there is joy in battle like you’ve never felt before.”

Sunset Shimmer wasn’t sure about that at all, but she kept that to herself.

Pinkie stood to the side, quite excited that her timid friend had learnt how to protect herself. Although, she should still learn how to deal some damage.

"You're a good friend to have, Pinkie Pie," Mirage seemed pleased with their progress. "That really means something. Especially to your Fluttershy friend."

“That’s what friends do, Mirage!” Pinkie responded, lowering her helmet. “We help each other out!”

“That’s news to me,” Mirage replied.

“So what is it that you do, Mirage?” Pinkie asked her companion. “Are you the… party planner or something?”

Mirage thought about it for a bit. “Yes… I guess you could say that…”

That made Pinkie excited. “Really? What kinds of parties do you plan? Welcome parties? Birthday parties?”

“Raiding parties, actually.”

“I’ve never heard of a raiding party,” Pinkie admitted, the word foreign to her. “What do you do in a raiding party?”

“Oh, that’s an easy one, Pinkie Pie. We strike at the heart of a crucial enemy facility and destroy everything and everyone in it. It’s pretty rad if you ask me.”

"Oh, that's... something. I mean a party party, though. Like... without killing. Where everyone has fun!"

"But everyone has fun! We have fun killing them, and they have fun trying to kill us, but fail!"

“That’s not fun,” Pinkie stared at her armored hands with a mixed expression of disappointment and surprise. “That’s not what fun is at all! Fun is seeing all your friends smile while you do something you enjoy.”

"But all the Tenno enjoy fighting. It's what we're meant to do. If we had mouths, you can be sure there are smiles on them."

Pinkie’s frown deepened. She had grown up with the belief that everyone, no matter who, were good at heart. And Princess Celestia was the good-est of the good! Mirage was just joking with her... right?

“Hey, Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie began, motioning to her friend. “Can you ask Trinity what she likes to do? Mirage is telling me some things that are a little, uh,” she searched for the right word. “Creepy.”

"If you want to know..." she whispered back. "Umm... Trinity? What things do you... enjoy doing?"

Trinity considered the question very carefully. “Mirage is in many ways correct. The Tenno are not designed to have fun in ways that you do. Our sense of satisfaction and enjoyment is closely tied to our combative skills, or in my case, healing. But that does not mean I cannot appreciate moments of peace and meditation.”

"Pinkie? Trinity says combat is what they were made to enjoy. Although, she did mention she appreciates peace and meditation from time to time."

“How about a meditation party then? We can do all kinds of meditating and peaceful things!” Pinkie suggested, enthused by the idea of being able to bond with Mirage without violence.

"Well unlike Trinity, I personally prefer to party in the blood of my enemies. And their tears." added Mirage. There was a distant yell as Applejack fell into the chasm again.

“Mmm… maybe we can use cherry jello or something. Blood gets really messy. And icky.”

"As long as something comes out of the enemy's wounds, I don't care what you use."

"Yeesh." The more time Pinkie spent with the Warframe on, the more she became unsure of her choice. Oh well. It was too late to change now, but something would have to be done about Mirage’s attitude. Maybe a Grineer shaped pinata would do the trick.

Author's Note

And here we are, at last! Home Run:

You know his story, so I don't have to write it here! :pinkiehappy:

Chapter 10: Strike Three

Home Run sat at the bleachers, doing what work he could finish before the baseball team came. Mr. Discord had given them some questions about Fleming's left hand and right hand rules. Home Run wasn't really good at Science, but he persevered through the textbook, getting a rough understanding of the rules at last. Oddly, Heavy Wind had been of great help during class. That guy had an excellent knowledge of the left hand rule.

"The main point is the direction of the motor," the Neighgagger had specified. "If you understand that, the left hand rule's all yours."

After finishing his Science questions, he thought about what had been going on in the last two days he'd been here. At first, he'd only seen one suit fighting back the Grineer. Then yesterday, he saw at least seven more. Did the princess manage to get another key? Or did she find another way?

That's when Home Run thought back to what Princess Celestia had told him. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you again..."

Home Run felt that finding out about this secret battle, he had to do something to help. He decided that if the baseball team didn't show up soon, he'd find a way through the statue. As he pondered his decisions, another unbelievable thing happened before his eyes. Three pods crashed down into the baseball field, throwing up enough dirt to dirty the bleachers with, Home Run included.

"Seriously?" he said for himself to hear, just to know how crazy it sounded. It seemed to him like the Grineer always knew where he was. "Wrong place... wrong time... again."

He quickly packed his things and made his way under the bleachers. He decided that since he couldn't get rid of them, he might as well spy on them. The pods opened simultaneously, releasing at least ten Grineer soldiers this time. Besides the normal green ones he'd been seeing, this time, there were a few darker green ones with knives, and orange ones with bigger guns. And as he predicted, gunfire erupted from beyond his vision, taking down some Grineer before he could see the attackers. Some of the Grineer pointed at the other corner, aiming their guns up and fired back.

Then Home Run saw them. The suits, pointing their guns to the Grineer. A bluish one with small wings took up into the air with a gust of wind, spraying bullets down on the Grineer below with two small guns. Unlike the last battle he witnessed, the bullets were actually hitting them this time. Then another one came in. One with two armored gauntlets over its bronze plated hands. It suddenly charged forward, stomping along the ground and arriving at one of the Grineer in a blink, giving it a punch under its jaw. Home Run could hear the crack of its helmet as the bigger suit launched it off the ground.

They've been training, huh? Or were they just not having a good time the last time?

He saw another one, arming a fireball before throwing it at a small group of Grineer. A few of them went up in flames, while others jumped to the sides to avoid the fires. The other Warframes joined in, throwing everything they had from green energy, bullets, punches, and even clones.

Soon, all the Grineer lay dead on the field. Home Run wanted to run out there and cheer for them, but decided against it. The suits gathered around the field, checking the bodies, probably for signs of life. Seeing as it was over, Home Run got up to leave, but stopped when he heard more impacts on the ground. He turned to see more pods crashed into the field, damaging the flat ground even more.

They better fix that ground in time for the tryouts. Don't want someone to get injured while running..."

“Not more!” he heard the one in blue complain. By the sound of the voice, it was female, and quite familiar. She had long flowing rainbow coloured hair sticking out the back of her helmet, but Home Run just couldn’t place it.

More Grineer emerged from the pods. There were more of the orange ones again, but this time, a white armored one with an even bigger gun walked out, pointing it at the Warframes.

“Looks bad…” Home Run muttered as the first gun fired a rocket out, sending it sparkling straight for the group of Warframes. The missile thudded into the earth, blasting up dirt and flame, forcing the other side to scatter.

A green-grey one with purple hair quickly recovered, dodging the blast with an almost perfect roll and coming up firing. It would have been impressive if the gun recoil hadn’t sent almost every bullet right over the Grineer’s heads.

The other Warframes were in trouble, trying to defend themselves against the brute force of the latest Grineer wave. Home Run saw his chance to leave, heading straight for the front of the school. If he could find a way through the statue, perhaps he could find a way to help the other Frames in the coming battles. Walking past the others, he noticed one hiding further away, holding what looked like a staff in her hands. She wore a suit of red and black and had light pink hair coming out the top of her head. Home Run decided he would find out who they were one day and headed for the statue while the others were focused on the Grineer.

Arriving at the base of the statue, Home Run tried sticking a hand through, taking a step back when it disappeared into the reflective surface.

Here goes nothing…

With a few steps back, Home Run jumped forward, throwing his arms forward as he flew through the mirror. He fell through the same rainbow tunnel, taking him to the other world once again. He prepared himself for the worst, expecting to walk out the portal on four hooves again, but this time, it didn’t happen. He emerged from the portal, appearing in Princess Twilight's palace again, looking exactly the same as he did normally.

“That’s weird…” he muttered to himself as he made sure he was completely human.

“Welcome back, Home Run.”

He looked up to see Princess Celestia, standing close by, still in the form of what Twilight said, an alicorn, giving him a big smile.

“Princess Celestia?” he asked. “Why am I still a human? Aren’t I supposed to be a pony? Not that I’m complaining or anything. I’d rather be a human… wait. Were you expecting me?”

“Yes, Home Run. I knew you’d be back at some point. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you that you were special. Someone who’d be willing to help save his school. It has come under attack from the Grineer.”

Home Run swallowed before nodding his head, already knowing it was the same aliens as before. “Yeah. They are. That’s why I’m here. I've been seeing too much of these aliens since the day I arrived. I think I was meant to come here. I want to help. Is there any way I can do that?”

“Glad you asked,” the alicorn smiled. She directed his attention to the many pods lined along the walls. "You already know what's inside. Now's your chance. Pick one. The single void key doesn't allow them to assume direct control of their own Frames, but it will allow one to move in the suit. The Tenno within will be like a mentor. It will teach you and train you, to make you as great as they once were."

Home Run headed over and investigated the pods, wiping away the fog on the glass to reveal what each Warframe looked like.

"Home Run. There are buttons on each pod that will give you a description of each Warframe's abilities."

"Thanks, princess. Good to know."

The baseball player pressed the first one, listening to the playback description. "Loki, Warframe master of deception. It has the ability to create a decoy of itself to fool its enemies."

Home Run made his way to a few different pods, checking out each one.

"Volt, a Warframe with control of electricity. It has the ability to send a bolt of electricity through its enemies."

"Vauban, a tactical Warframe. It has the ability to throw a tesla grenade to shock its enemies."

"Oberon, a versatile Warframe. It has the ability to inflict radiation damage among multiple targets."

Home Run remembered the other Warframes, fighting to protect the school. He didn't have the leisure to slowly find a good Warframe for himself. He decided to take the one that interested him the most, from the few he looked at. Vauban. If anything, grenades were like baseballs. The Warframe was grey and orange, with plates over its body.

With the push of a bigger button, Home Run opened the pod, releasing the air as it flooded into the room and slowly dissolved as it flowed away. As he tried to figure out how to get in the suit, it opened up on its own, pulling him into its grasp before closing in around him. It felt like a second skin, somehow fitting over his form like clothing, but more flexible.

Initializing...

HUD loading...

Shields and armor at hundred percent...

Standby...

With a flash, his screen started up, allowing him to see out through his helmet. What looked like a radar and a meter appeared in his view.

"So... You are the one to be my pilot?" A new voice said inside his helmet.

"Umm... hello," Home Run decided to say. "You must be the Tenno in the suit. Vauban right? I'm Home Run."

“Correct. We will be working together from now on. now let’s cut to the chase; what’s your weapon? I will adapt accordingly.”

"My weapon?" Home Run repeated. He looked to the princess as she pointed to a stack of weapons on the table.

He headed over to the table to have a look. Before him lay all kinds of guns, knives, swords, even hammers. He tried lifting the hammer, only for it to weigh him down. "Not taking this one..."

“My Warframe’s sensors show you have good hand-eye coordination. In that case, throwing weapons like the hikou or kunai would be ideal. Failing that, a sniper rifle.”

Home Run picked up the satchel of throwing stars, taking one out of the pouch. He held it in his hands, learning the feel and the weight of the deadly projectile. He turned to a deserted corner of the room and tried out the hikou, sending it spiraling clumsily into the floor.

"These feel different from baseballs..." Home Run admitted, putting the satchel back on the table. "I don't think I can throw them very well."

“Try the vectis. Your steady hands should make operating that weapon trivial.”

Home Run picked the sniper rifle up. He managed to aim down its sights steady enough, but when he fired off a shot, the gun almost threw him backwards with its powerful recoil. “Woah. Maybe not this gun…”

“Clearly the standard of the Solar guards has declined. Before I went into cryosleep, any guard would have been able to handle that weapon.”

"Solar guard? What's a Solar guard? I'm just a student at Canterlot High."

Vauban was silent for a moment. “Canterlot High? Is that a new training facility?”

Home Run remembered his new partner wouldn't know anything about the modern world. It's been a long time since he was active after all. "Umm... it's a school. You... go there to gain knowledge. They don't exactly teach you how to hold a gun."

“A place of learning that does not teach you how to properly handle a basic firearm?” The Tenno was incredulous. “Clearly the world has changed since I went into dormancy. How long have I been in shutdown?”

"Uhhh..." Home Run looked to the princess for help.

She pulled out her special helmet and put in on, syncing herself with the Warframe. "Vauban, you have been asleep for a thousand years. It is good to have you back. The Grineer have returned, and it is up to you and your new han partner, Home Run, to aid the others in making sure they never set foot in Equestria."

“...I see. And this mission is of utmost importance, I take it? Very well then. Home Run, you and I are going to get very well acquainted then. You may not be a soldier now but when this is over, I’ll make sure you will be able to be counted among the Lotus’ best and brightest.”

"Great! Well, I still have to find a good weapon..." Something caught the batter's eyes. It was a sleek hammer, sporting a thin handle and rockets on its head. He picked it up and gave it a swing, finding it lighter than it looked. "This is perfect! It's just like baseball!"

Vauban was skeptical. “A jat kittag. Grineer design. Close quarters, wide swings and impact damage. Are you sure? This weapon’s tactical advantages are far below those of others, like the kestrel or cernos.”

Home Run nodded to his unseen friend. "I think I can handle this. I mean, if I have to take anyone down at range, I have your grenades, right?"

“We will see. So long as you can wield it effectively, I don’t care what you use. Some Tenno might not agree with me, but that is my decision. As for my grenades, if your throwing arm is as good as my suit’s sensors indicate, mid to short ranged enemies will pose little threat.”

"Then let's get to work! We've got to help the others!"

"Good luck, Home Run," the white alicorn told him. “I know that you’ll do me, and everyone else proud.”

He turned around to return through the portal, ready to get into the fight. "Let's do this, Vauban."

Rainbow Dash had tried to get the better of the Grineer, flying up above them, but one of the white ones caught on and fired a rocket, hitting her directly. The explosion was deafening, but Rainbow remained in one piece, falling from the sky.

"Rainbow!" Applejack called, running under her friend to catch her.

The others covered her while she caught the rainbow girl. There were scorch marks all over the front of her Warframe and her hair was singed. Applejack and Rhino ran her to the back of the battlefield, looking for her timid friend.

"Fluttershy! We need some healin' here!"

"Alright..." she slowly said, walking towards them. "But... it doesn't work like how you think. Rainbow'll have to shoot the enemy I tag, and she will regain her strength."

Applejack looked to her downed friend. She had a small hole in her armor, likely where the rocket had hit. Some blood flowed from a wound underneath, but luckily, it wasn't serious. "Rainbow? Can you hear me? You need to get up."

"I'm good. I'm good," Rainbow gasped as she sat up. She clutched at the hole, her muscles straining against the wound. "Ouch."

"Still good to go Rainbow Dash?" Zephyr asked. "You took a good hit there."

"I'll... be fine. Just give me some time."

"I'll patch that armor for you, but as for the wound you have there, your friend can fix that."

"Rainbow, I need you to shoot one of the Grineer I tagged. If you hit it, you'll be able to heal."

"Worth a shot." Rainbow watched the armor breach repair itself as Applejack picked her up. She could still feel the burns on her skin, but she pushed the pain aside as much as she could.

"I'll give you a ride, Rainbow."

She ran back to the firefight, Rainbow shooting one of her guns from Applejack's back. Fluttershy had tagged one of the orange armored ones, firing its shotgun towards Sunset's location. The pellets slammed into Ember’s shields like a freight train, but the barrier held. Rainbow saw her chance and fired at the Grineer, emptying her gun into him. She felt her strength returning after each successful hit.

"It's working, Fluttershy!" Rainbow shouted back to the girl hiding behind the wall.

Sunset looked up and fired back with her glaxion, freezing the orange Grineer's feet to the floor, giving Rainbow an easier target. Fluttershy deactivated her ability, allowing Rainbow to deal the final blow to the Grineer.

"Alright!" she cheered. "Feeling much better already!"

The white armored one was still a problem, firing more rockets at Twilight and Applejack. Twilight dodged hers, but Applejack was too slow. The rocket missed her, but the impact still knocked her and Rainbow to the ground.

“Twilight Sparkle. Use my ability on that bombard. It could be a valuable asset, but for the Lotus’ sake and your friends, don’t miss.”

“Got it!” Twilight readied her energy, preparing to dominate the white armored foe, but just as she was about to cast, a lightly armored creature lunged at her from behind, striking Twilight’s Warframe with a cleaver-like blade and breaking her shields. "Ow! What?"

"It's a Grineer butcher. Shake it off, Twilight Sparkle. Your shields are gone. It'll damage my Warframe!"

Twilight scooted away as the butcher reared up for another swing and fired her sybaris. At point blank range, both bullets tore through its deformed face, sending splatters of red gunk over her body. She lay there panting, the gun falling from her hands as the blood ran down her vision. "I can't believe I just... did that..."

"Get over it, Twilight Sparkle," Nyx reprimanded. "Remember. It's them or you. Besides, they're not even worthy to be called humans. They're just flesh, given form. If you're going to be traumatized by this, then you're not worth my time."

“It was alive, Nyx! How can you just kill people and not even care? Couldn’t you have just knocked it out, or something?”

“You shot it, not me. Besides, I don't consider Grineer alive. Corpus are a different matter, but clones are fake! And this is war, Twilight Sparkless. Get it in your head!"

Twilight felt her lunch rise as she looked at the headless corpse, but dutifully picked up her rifle. If Princess Celestia had really created these Tenno, serious words would be had once this was over. If not in this life, then the next.

Home Run exited the portal, heading right back to the baseball field. He saw the same girl, hiding behind one of the shrubs, watching her friends combat the Grineer.

"Hey!" he called to her, startling her. The girl jumped as she turned around. The action seemed familiar, but he decided to think about it later. The other Frames needed his help. "I'm here to help. Is everything alright?"

“Oh! Did Princess Celestia send you?” Without waiting for an answer, the armored girl unfolded a long staff and pointed over the bushes. “We’re not doing so good, and I think everyone’s almost out of b-bullets. That thing’s too strong!”

Home Run peeked out from the bush, remembering the white armored alien. It was still standing firing more rockets at a heavy armored Frame and the fast blue one. "Is it resistant to bullets or something? Because I brought a bat."

He lifted his weapon, showing it to the girl.

"Home Run," Vauban spoke. "Once again, it's a hammer."

"I know, I know," he told his partner. "I just like calling it that." There was another blast. “Can’t we just wait until it runs out of rockets?”

“Impractical. The ogris fires detonite-infused casings, and a bombard like that will be carrying enough reserve ammunition to level your entire team three times over. You will have to stop it, preferably before that happens.”

Home Run pulled out three of his tesla grenades and looked at them. “What if I use these things? Will that get me enough time to make a home run with him?”

“I am unfamiliar with your language, Home Run. But with successful application of those tesla grenades, you should be able to stun it long enough to do some damage with your jat kittag. The only problem is getting near enough to make contact with it.”

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do,” Home Run nodded. He turned back to the frightened girl. “I’m going in. If I play this out right, we might just rid ourselves of that pesky rocketeer.”

Fluttershy whimpered, but gave him a shaky nod. “Be careful.”

Home Run nodded and headed to the field, looking for multiple pieces of cover to get closer to the bombard without getting blown to bits.

A jester-looking Warframe shot one of the bombard’s rockets out of the air, the explosion ruffling her hair. “You know, I don’t think this is working too well. Mirage, why isn’t this gun working?”

He joined her, getting behind the same piece of cover. “Hi, I’m here to help, but I’ll need your help.”

“Sure!” she nodded. “Who are you? Are you one of the new kids in school? Do you know who we are? You’re not supposed to. Did the princess send you? Ooh, are you like that Excalibur, and you’re here to save the day with a flash and a bang?”

Home Run didn’t have to guess this time, immediately recognizing the jester as Pinkie Pie. No one else in the school could talk like her. “Pinkie Pie? How…? You can… fight?”

The Warframe stood frozen for a second before resuming her action. A second voice spoke in Home Run’s head. “Vauban. I didn’t think I would see you again. Yes, I have been teaching Pinkie Pie the fun that is mass dismemberment. This is your pilot?”

“I have established a neural link between Mirage and my Warframe. It will allow us to talk freely while in close proximity. No ogris, Mirage?”

“My pilot’s allies didn’t want her with an explosive weapon,” Mirage shrugged internally. “And after our first battle, I can see why. Her aim needs work. They all do.”

“Duh! That’s why I chose the cannon, silly!” Pinkie chimed in.

“Does anyone refer to their weapons by their actual names?” Vauban wondered aloud.

"None of them," Mirage replied. "I think it's fine. I couldn't care what they call their weapons. I'm happy as long as I get my fill of the party!"

“All right, I get it. Vauban, how long will these grenades stop that guy from moving?”

“You will have one to two seconds before the shock wears off. How long it takes the bombard to recover is impossible to guess. It depends on how well it was cloned.”

"Guess we'll just have to find out." Home Run turned to the pink girl next to him. "Pinkie, can you lay down some cover fire for me? I've got something I want to try."

"Okie-dokie!" Pinkie said happily. "Wait... How do you know me? Do I know you?"

Home Run was about to say his name when he saw something that made his mouth go dry on the bottom of his HUD. Warning, incoming missile. Evasive action recommended.

“Don't you know-Look ou-!” he shouted, pushing Pinkie out of the way just as a massive explosion threw him into the air and broke the neural link.

“Lookow?” Pinkie asked her Tenno. “What kind of a name is that?”

“It’s a pretty stupid one,” she agreed.

Home Run landed with a thud a few meters away. His shields were down to zero, and he had landed on one of his bruises, but otherwise, he was unscathed.

“Are you alright, Home Run? Your shields are down. I suggest taking cover until they recover.”

“I want to go home...” he groaned into the helmet.

“Stop that,” commanded Vauban. “You said you would help Mirage stop the bombard, and that is what you will do, not run on home. Even if it’s what your name says you’re good at.”

Home Run pushed himself off the ground and looked at the bombard. “Yeah, you’re right. I asked to get in on this. I shouldn’t back off so fast.” He turned back to Pinkie Pie. “Cover me.”

“You got it, Lookow! Let’s party, Mirage!”

“Oh yes,” Mirage smirked. “Now you’re f-”

Pinkie cloned herself twice and fired her shotgun at the Grineer, blanketing the skies with the roar of her boar. Home Run saw his chance and made a dash towards the group of Grineer. He held one of the grenades in his left hand, and when he was close enough, he tossed the first one at the nearest Grineer. It attached to him when it hit, sending electricity coursing through his body.

“Gaaah!” the Grineer spasmed, falling down in an electrical heap.

A second one with a knife moved towards Home Run, but he tossed his second grenade, hitting the Grineer in the face, shocking him as well. Then he arrived at the bombard. The white armored Grineer raised his rocket launcher at Home Run, but before he could pull the trigger, Home Run had tossed his third grenade at him. It latched on to his face, sending arcing lightning across his body. He didn’t go down like the first two Grineer, but the shock gave Home Run enough time to pull out his jat kittag and swing up upwards like a baseball bat. The jets at the back of the hammer head activated, increasing the speed of his swing. The Grineer was lifted clean off his feet as the weapon threw it into the sky, where the blue flying Warframe kicked its face in.

“Nice one!” its pilot crowed.

Home Run picked up the Grineer’s fallen weapon. As its owner came crashing back down to earth, he took aim with it and pulled the trigger. There was a click and the recoil threw him back onto the ground, but his aim was true. A rocket streaked out of the gun and struck the bombard head on, engulfing it in an orange ball of flame and filling the air with the smell of charred meat. He looked up as the smoke started to clear. The bombard was the last of the second wave. They had won.

“Great job, whoever you are!” The blue one congratulated.

“He says his name is Lookow!” Pinkie jumped in.

“Lookow?” the fire Warframe joined them, stowing its gun. “What kind of name is that? Are you sure you heard him right?”

“Uhh… that’s not my name,” Home Run decided to mention.

“Really? Then what’s your name? Mine’s Twilight Sparkless- I mean Sparkle.” The green and grey one said, lowering its helmet to reveal the same girl from before. “Shut up, Nyx.”

“Princess Twilight!” Home Run realized. “It’s me. Home Run.”

“Wait, did you say Home Run?” the fire one asked, stepping towards him.

“Yes…?” Home Run dragged.

The orange Warframe lowered her helmet, revealing red and yellow hair that Home Run knew.

“Sunset?” he said in disbelief.

She skipped straight to the point. “So you did know more than you were letting on!”

“So have you, it seems,” Home Run replied. “I didn’t know you were part of all this.”

The two felt embarrassed, both lying to each other about the same thing the whole time.

"So all those times you said you didn’t know anything…” Sunset began, but a tap on the shoulder from Applejack stopped her.

Striding toward them and covered with blood were Excalibur and Rarity, the latter with her helmet down and desperately trying to wipe off the mess.

"Rarity? You too?" Home Run said. Then he thought about it. He turned to the other Frames and pointed them out. "Applejack? Rainbow Dash? And the one back there must be Fluttershy? Am I right?" He looked at the other one. The Warframe that saved him the last time. "And... who are you?"

“The Warframe is called Excalibur,” Vauban filled in. “But I cannot ascertain the identity of the pilot. He will have to tell us himself.”

Home Run turned to the Rainbooms. "So, who's this? Another friend? And please... No more lying."

The girls all shrugged, looking at the Excalibur uneasily. He was tall, they noticed. Taller than any of them. He carried a single sword attached to his back, which he drew while surveying the area for surviving Grineer.

"Rarity," Home Run asked. "You walked here with him. Do you know him? And I thought you were home sick?"

“No,” Rarity replied thickly. “And I was home sick. Just this man contacted Mag and I while I was in the bathroom, telling me the Grineer were about. So here I am. Achoo!”

“Ugh...” Mag exclaimed. “Stay home next time. Getting your fluids on the inside of my helmet is disgusting.”

Without warning, the Excalibur headed for Twilight and knelt before her. After getting up, he blinded all of them with a flash of light.

"Gah!" Home Run shouted as he put his hands up in front of his face, but to no effect. "What is that?"

He looked around, but couldn't see anything but white light. It took a little over a minute for the flash to wear off and when it did, Excalibur was nowhere in sight.

“That’s really getting annoying,” Sunset remarked.

Chapter 12: Let the Sky Fall

Home Run sat at his study table, stumped on his science homework. The only thing he remembered from class was the splintering chocolate, which didn't help him one bit.

"Do you know the answer to this question, Vauban?" Home Run asked as he put on the Warframe.

“What’s this? A test of field and combat intelligence from your learning facility?”

Home Run had to think of what to say. "Umm... no. It's just a question about atoms."

Amused, Vauban brought up a set of schematics on his visor. “I know plenty about atoms. In fact, the nukor is completely nuclear powered. We should build one. All we need is some detonite, morphics, salvage, and forma. And a foundry.”

"What? No I don't need to build a nuker or whatever you call it. I just need to finish my homework and I was just wondering if you knew the answers."

“So you just want me to answer a question that has no bearing on whether you can fight or not. Well, since Zephyr seems to be fine with it... sure. Uploading answer key to your HUD right now.”

Home Run watched as text filled his visor. "Thanks, buddy, but... what does Zephyr have to do with this? Is she your boss or something? You have to get permission from her to help me with my work?"

“Not at all,” Vauban replied smoothly. “I was simply talking about her helping her pilot finish her ‘quiz’ the day before. She and her pilot are very close, and they both want to be the best they can be.”

"Wait... what you're saying is that Rainbow cheated on the quiz? I knew a hundred and two percent from her was too hard to believe!"

“Well, you’re cheating on this worksheet with me, so unless you want to turn yourself in as well, just let it slide. The less time you spend on pointless tasks like this the more time you can spend on learning how to use your Warframe effectively.”

Home Run looked at his homework paper. He didn't like it, but Vauban was right. He was about to cheat. "You know what, Vauban? I think I'll do this myself..."

“Suit yourself.” The answer key’s upload was cancelled. “But if you end up in trouble because your score was not high enough, don’t come crying to me.”

Princess Celestia left her secret room once again after finishing her observation. Excalibur had a close call earlier, but thankfully he made it out unharmed. He'd also managed to disable the Grineer machines, giving the others more time to boost their skills.

She emerged from her study, only to be once again stopped by Luna, standing outside the door.
“Busy night, dear sister?”

“Luna!” Celestia said, almost surprised. “How are you tonight?”

“Well enough, Tia,” Luna replied stiffly. “I might ask you the same. You seem very overworked as of late. Mayhap I could be of assistance?”

Celestia gave her sister her best smile. “Oh, no need, sister. I think I’ve got it all under control.”

Luna didn’t look convinced. “Hmm. You have odd marks around your face, sister. I was not aware you wore glasses.”

Celestia’s hoof jumped to her face and smoothed down the fur that had no doubt been unsettled by her Lotus mask. “Y-You don’t say? It must have ruffled up when I was looking through my books.”

“It was never a problem before,” Luna countered.

“Oh you don’t have to worry about my fur, Luna. It’s perfectly fine now. I… should be getting to sleep. It’s been a long day.”

The moon princess’s mouth worked as though she was about to say something else, but in the end Luna just nodded and let Celestia pass. “Sleep well, Tia.”

Luna watched as her sister headed away, going to her chambers to retire for the night. As soon as she was out of sight, Luna signaled with her hooves. A soft thump later and a bat pony in what looked like altered Lunar guard armor landed in front of the princess. She tapped her metal clawed front hooves against the floor to dislodge a few stray chunks of plaster.

“Agent Eclair,” Luna said conspiratorially. “What have you learnt about my sister? What is she hiding from me?”

“Princess,” the guard said in a Prench accent. “Pardon, I have not been as effective as I would like. Your sister is a very paranoid mare.”

Luna sighed. Celestia was never paranoid unless she had a big secret to hide. “Well, what did you find out? Maybe I can learn something from the little information you have.”

“Oui. The sun princess locks herself in her study and, how do you say, uses some kind of secret passage to enter a sanctuary of some sort. I hear voices, but no one but her ever goes in or out. It is very… deconcertant, Princess Luna.”

“Secret passage you say?” Luna contemplated. She opened the door to the study and looked inside. “Do you know how she accesses this secret passage?”

“Oui, your majesty,” Eclair bowed. She headed over to the nearby shelf and pointed with her clawed hoof. “She opens this book and inside, there is a… machine. I do not have to words to describe it another way. It makes a… how do you say, a light on her eye and the floor opens up. I dare not follow her down; there is nowhere to hide.”

“You tried your best, Eclair,” Luna commended her agent. She picked up the book and flipped it open, arriving at a strange metallic object, that looked similar to a clipboard. “Now… what is this?”

Home Run lay in bed, snoring away as he dreamt about getting home runs in baseball with his jat kittag. Just as he was about to start running, a shrill sound pierced his ears, forcing his eyes open as he searched for the noise. It was his phone, ringing on his bedside table. He sighed before slowly reaching his hand over to pick it up.

“Yes…? Hello?” Home Run mumbled. “This is Home Run speaking…”

“Yo! This is Dash!” Home Run groaned into his pillow. Of course it had to be her. “You still sleeping? Come on, it’s like almost noon already!”

He slowly got up from his prone position. “It’s the weekend… we don’t have to get up early. Anyway… what do you need?”

“Welllll, Twilight just wrote over and asked if we wanted to get in a little more practice with our partners before the next attack. Y’know, learn how to kick some more butt. You with me?”

“I guess… that makes sense.” Home Run put a palm to his face and pushed up his hair. “Wait. How’d you get my number? I don’t recall giving it to you.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Zephyr hacked into your cell phone yesterday. Got all of your particulars. Neat, huh?”

“Wow… that’s…” Home Run didn’t know what else to say.

“Just kidding. You gave me your number at the tryouts, remember?”

Home Run tried to recall, eventually remembering the sign-up sheet for the baseball team. He had to write his name, contacts, and his address on the piece of paper. “Oh… right. Silly me. Yeah, now I remember.”

“So hurry on back to school! The rest of the girls are already on their way!” After that, Rainbow hung up.

“Fine, fine. Give me a break, would you…” Home Run washed up, got dressed, and was about to head downstairs when his attention was caught by his clock. “Seven fifteen?! Dang it, Rainbow Dash!”

Home Run cycled towards school, finally seeing the shining building across the road, along with a lone Rainbow Dash standing next to the front statue, practicing her soccer moves as usual.

“Hey there, Home Run!” she laughed. “Nice to see you here early. You travel back in time or something?”

Home Run grunted in reply, still sour about being woken up early. "Very funny, Rainbow. What was that for? I really thought I had slept in till noon. I didn't think it'd still be this early."

"Just a joke, Home Run! I didn't think you'd actually come. I mean, all you had to do was check your clock."

"Joke?" Home Run couldn't help but laugh. She was right. He was a little too gullible. "Ha, well... Nevermind. You owe me though. I could've slept a little longer."

"Alright, alright. Sure. Whenever you need something, come find me. I'll do my best!"

"Definitely," Home Run nodded with a smile. "What are you doing here this early, anyway?"

“Meh,” she shrugged. “Just wanted to see if you would show up or not. And you did. Ha!”

“Well, since you’re here, I’d like to check with you on something.”

“Alright! Let’s hear it!” Rainbow folded her arms.

Home Run thought of the best way to ask her. “Did you know that our Tenno are really smart? Vauban knows all kinds of things about engineering I never even knew existed.” He hoped Rainbow would take the bait.

"Well, of course I know that!" she waved him off. "That's how Zephyr and I did the quiz together. She knows loads of things that don’t have to do with fighting.”

"Don't you feel bad about that at all?"

“Let me think…" Rainbow said, touching her chin with a finger. “...nope, not really.”

"But you know... cheating can get you in big trouble," Home Run told his captain.

Rainbow Dash eyed Home Run beadily. “It’s not cheating, not really. I’m just making sure I don’t have to worry about little things like grades when there are aliens out there who want to eat us for breakfast. See?”

"But aren't you awesome enough on your own? Why do you need Zephyr's help? All you had to do was read the pages Mr. Loregiver gave us. Right? It wasn't that hard."

“Ugh… there’s just no talking you out of this, is there?” Rainbow strode up to the statue and was engulfed in a howling gale as Zephyr activated. “Look. I didn’t ask you out here so we could talk about priorities, I asked you out here to train. So are we doing this or not?”

"Fine by me," Home Run surrendered, equipping Vauban. "But I won't let it slide just yet. I'm just putting it up for later."

“You don’t give up easy,” Rainbow admitted. “But that’s good. You’ll need that kind of attitude if you want to be on my team. Now where’s Sunset? I told her to be here by now.”

"Well, we sports players are hardy," he smiled. "How does it work? We have to wait for Sunset? The second time I went in, I didn't have anyone with me. I just walked right in."

"Depends if they've opened the portal on the other side or not," Sunset said, appearing behind them. She looked at the blue boy. "Home Run. Didn’t think I’d see you here this early.”

"Me neither," Home Run shook his head, then looked at Rainbow Dash, who was whistling innocently. "But you know... sometimes, duty calls. Especially the athletic, windy ones..."

“Well, whatever. Twilight says the way is clear for us, so we may as well go through now. The rest of the girls can join us later.”

The two athletes nodded and followed Sunset through the portal, emerging back in the obstacle course.

"Alright! Time to become more awesome!" Rainbow shouted, running straight for the obstacle course.

Home Run looked around, noticing someone was missing. "Where's the princess? Shouldn't she be here?"

"Oh right," Sunset remembered. "She has something to attend to today, so she left the portal open for us before heading out."

"Right. Well, a princess has duties I suppose," Home Run shrugged. "Vauban. What do you think I should work on today?"

"Well, you don't have a firearm, so why not try sparring? You can try it with Sunset Shimmer. Linking to Ember now."

"Hey, Vauban!" Ember greeted. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm all good! Home Run here's not a bad human. Anyway, I was suggesting he spar with your pilot. Up for it?"

“I don’t see any reason not to be. Sunset Shimmer, are you up for sparring?”

Sunset looked at Home Run before nodding. “Yeah, I want to see what he’s got.”

“Okay then…” Home Run headed to the dueling ring, leaping down into the lower arena. “Let’s have a go.”

Sunset gave him a wide grin before activating her Warframe, the orange and bronze armor folding over her form in an instant. She pulled out her glaxion and held it in her hands. “Ready, Homey?”

“Sure… Sunny,” Home Run sneered, lowering his helmet just to show Sunset.

“Don’t call me that,” she said. “It sounds dumb.”

“Well, so does Homey, in case you didn’t know. It makes me sound like some sort of street thug.”

“It isn’t just me who says that,” Sunset laughed. “You’ve got a lot of people to talk to if you want them to stop calling you Homey.”

“Huh… yeah…” Home Run sighed. “Great. Nevermind then. Forget it.”

He raised his helmet again and waited for Sunset to enter the arena. As soon as she entered, the both of them walked to the center of the floor.

“May the best fighter win, Ember,” Vauban wished.

“That’s right,” Ember agreed. “Loser gets burned!”

Home Run readied his jat kittag as a digital countdown appeared in front of his and Sunset’s faces. As soon as it hit zero, he charged at the fire girl, getting his hammer in a swinging position. Sunset pointed her ice gun at him and fired. Home Run raised his hammer to block the beam, watching as the frost slowly wrapped around his weapon, but without reaching him.

“That’s right, Home Run,”Vauban encouraged. “When you block the glaxion, it prevents the ice from reaching your body. That is… until you don’t have the strength to continue blocking.”

“Wait, what?” Home Run started feeling it. His arms were getting tired as the ice beam continued to force its way through his hammer. “Aagh! I can’t hold it! I’m about to drop the hammer!”

Home Run lost his grip as the ice pushed through, encasing his Warframe in an ice block.

“Ah… I was sure we would win first round,” Vauban said disappointedly. “No matter. Try again.”

“Home Run looked around, unable to move. “Umm…”

“Right. Ember, would you please release us?”

Sunset walked over and conjured a fireball, slowly melting the ice as she brought the flame around Home Run. “Sorry, Home Run, but it is training after all.”

“No problem. As long as you don’t leave me in there like Rarity.”

"Don't worry. I gotcha." Sunset stretched her hand forward. Home Run took it and pushed himself out of the melting ice. "Not gonna let you skip out on school."

"Wouldn't miss it."

"Alright Home Run. Time to try again. This time, don't stay static. Get moving. Use that hammer of yours and close the distance fast."

"I'll try, Vauban, but no promise I'll win," Home Run told his partner.

The two pilots moved to the middle again, watching as the digital countdown started.

“Woohoo!” Rainbow cheered, returning from the obstacle course. “Show me how awesome you guys are!”

As soon as the timer ended, Sunset shot the cold gun at him again, but this time, Home Run moved forward and swung his hammer at the beam before starting a spin, creating a wind aura around him, negating the effects of the ice beam.

“Woah!” Home Run said, surprised at the power of his hammer and his movement. “I didn’t think it would work this well.”

“Well, I did,” Vauban said dully. “Now go and finish it before she gets over it and fires again.”

Home Run proceeded forward, his wind aura blocking the ice from reaching him. When he was close enough, he spun again, swinging his hammer as fast as he could, breaking the wind aura and smashing Sunset across the room.

“Home run!” Rainbow shouted from the corner.

Home Run stowed his bat and moved to catch Sunset as she started falling back to the ground.

“Sorry about that, Sunset,” Home Run apologized as he caught her. “I hope it didn’t hurt too much. Very sorry.”

Sunset coughed a few times, but let out a small laugh after. “No problem… Homey. It’s sparring. You’re meant to fight like you mean it. Thanks for the catch anyway.”

“Yeah, did you guys see that?” Rainbow entered. “If this was a baseball game, you’d be the MVP! I mean, after me, of course.”

Home Run set Sunset on the cool floor. “So are we done with this duel? I say it’s a tie.”

“Agreed,” Sunset nodded, lowering her helmet. “But… I think I’m done for the day if it’s okay with you two…”

Rainbow walked into the arena to join them. “Are you sure you’re alright, Sunset?”

Sunset waved her off. “I’m fine… Just… winded.”

“Good one, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember added in. “But I think saying you’re… burned out would be the better play of words.”

“It doesn’t matter, Ember,” Vauban joined in. “Not every pun has to be about fire.”

“Yes it does.”

“Then shall we call it a day?” Home Run asked the girls, interrupting the Tenno’s argument.

"Yeah, my stomach could use some food!" Rainbow agreed, lowering her helmet. "How about we go grab some?"

Home Run thought about it, but the rumbling in his stomach decided for him. "Yeah, I'd like some food."

“Maybe we can get some bananomachines, son,” Vauban offered. Everyone stopped, awed by the sheer lameness of the pun.

“Do us all a favor,” Ember advised just before their Warframes collapsed. “Never try to be funny again.”

Captain Vor allowed the corner of his mouth to curve up after his most recent discovery. Utilizing the void key's power, he had repaired the gate parts that the Excalibur had cut down, surprising himself. The pieces now lay in an organized pile in the armory, ready for transport to the planet below.

"Tenno! You thought you would delay me?" he shouted to the air. "I will show you delay! Strength to the Grineer!"

He turned to review his troops. Earlier, he had called down every arm he could spare to the armory. His men stood in formation, each block containing twenty Grineer. Vor smirked again as he counted them all. He had enough. They were ready. All they had to do now was craft their landing zone. He would use the learning center that his forces have attacked repeatedly, but this time, they would hold it.

"It is time, Grineer!" Vor shouted, lifting the void key. "The Lotus think she has slowed us! We have the element of surprise! We will strike now while we have the time! When the gate is built, we will find the Lotus. We will kill the Lotus! And all will bow before the might of the Grineer! Nothing will stop us now!"

A synchronized cheer arose among the Grineer as they saluted their captain.

"Prepare yourselves! We move now!"

Vor headed past his soldiers and back to the bridge. The helmsmen got up and saluted him as he entered.

"Captain," the lead helmsman greeted.

"At ease," Vor grunted, returning to his chair.

"Are we moving in, captain?"

Vor nodded, placing a sly grin in his deformed face. "Go. Time we pay the Tenno another visit, but this time... we'll be here to stay."

Captain Vor looked out the front window as the galleon began its first descent. It didn’t matter if their existence became known now. The only thing that mattered was to find the Lotus and kill her once and for all. Without her, the worlds would belong to the Grineer, and the Tenno will fall.

Chapter 13: It's the Grineer

“Not bad, Homey,” Sunset said as she took another bite from her cucumber sandwich. "Didn't think you would be able to pull that off."

"Yeah!" Rainbow agreed. "All that wind? That was awesome! Wish I could do that!"

"Oh it was nothing," Home Run admitted, chewing on his beef burger. "I just did what Vauban told me. I'm sorry I hit you so hard though."

“I told you, don’t worry about it,” Sunset restated. “The Warframe took most of the impact. I’m fine.”

Home Run raised an eyebrow. “Only most of the impact? Then how about the rest of it?”

“It’s fine, Home Run,” Sunset said again. “I can handle it. What good am I if I can’t handle a little pain?”

“We can always get Fluttershy in,” Rainbow suggested. “Although… maybe you can use Home Run as the target for healing yourself.”

“Really, guys. I’m fine. I can handle this. Can’t be more painful than the Fall Formal, right?”

“What Fall Formal?” Home Run asked, never hearing those words before.

"Umm..." Sunset looked to Rainbow. "I... took a fall there. It hurt. Yeah.” she ended with an unconvincing chuckle.

"I... see." Home Run scratched his head, also unconvinced with Sunset's answer. "So... this fall... it must have really hurt if it was worse than my hammer...?"

“Yeah… look, you mind if we change the subject? I’d rather not think about the Formal right now.”

“Sure,” Home Run shrugged. If Sunset wanted him to know, she would have told him. “So what did you do over the break?”

“Nothing!” Rainbow and Sunset said simultaneously. “Nothing happened over break. At all.”

"Uhh... nothing?" Home Run paused. "Is there anything you guys do want to talk about?”

"Well..." Sunset pondered. "How was your first week at school? How does it compare to your old school?”

"Oh... uhm... It's been... average actually. My old school was okay. I had classes, I played baseball, I... well..."

"What?" Rainbow interrupted. "What else?"

Home Run contemplated telling them more, eventually settling on doing so. If he wanted them to trust him, he’d have to start on his end. “Well, before I start, I’m going to warn you: my life hasn’t exactly been a thrill ride. I just used to captain the FSS Mustangs baseball team until I got hurt during the semi-final game and couldn’t play. Then I moved here shortly after that.”

“Did you win the championship?” Sunset asked.

“Sadly, no.” The disgrace was too much for him and he looked away from his friends. “I don’t even remember who the other team was, just that we lost, but I’ll never forget the game for the rest of my life.”

“That’s rough, buddy,” Rainbow muttered, downing her entire soda in one gulp.

Home Run closed his eyes. “I just… I was useless for that game. If I had been more careful, maybe we would have won. If… if I just hadn’t pushed myself so hard, maybe I would have been able to help my team win. But I failed them. I failed myself.”

“Come here man,” Rainbow offered, and wrapped Home Run in a hug. “You’ll do better next time. I know you will. You have me and the Winds on the team this time, and we’re pretty awesome.”

“O-kay…” Sunset edged away from both the athletes, looking rather concerned. “You know you don’t have to go on if you don’t want to.”

“No, Sunset. I gotta get this off my chest now, or I’ll never be free. After the game, I resigned as captain. I already knew I was moving, so that last championship was my last chance to win it for my team. And I blew it. I’m a disgrace.”

The door of Sugarcube Corner opened, and a girl with pink and red striped hair peeked in, saw the scene and quickly retreated. Sunset rolled her eyes.

“You know you’re scaring off the business here guys?” she said quietly. “And besides, it’s just a game.”

“It is not just a game!” Rainbow exploded, jumping up and knocking over her chair. “How can you say that? It’s his pride and honor at stake here. Like, how you felt after the Fall- never mind,” she cut herself off and took a large bite of food.

“You’re really pushing it,” Sunset grumbled. “Anyway, we should get going, I told Fluttershy that I’d help her out with… what is that?”

The three of them looked out the window as the bright sun was blocked out by an ominous, dark shape. It slowly moved through the air, slower than any conventional aircraft. There was something wrong about it; something that big and unaerodynamic should not have been allowed to fly, but there it was.

"It must be the Grineer," Home Run speculated. The three of them quickly left the cafe and moved to a dark alley before equipping their Warframes. "Vauban, what is that?"

"That, Home Run, is a Grineer galleon. Second only to the fomorian class ships, the galleons are used by all divisions of the grineer military. A ship that size will likely have between a hundred to three hundred Grineer aboard. We should find an archwing before it manages to land.”

"What's an archwing?" Home Run questioned.

"Nevermind. We can't get one anyway."

Princess Celestia's face appeared on the side of their HUDs as they tried to figure out what to do about the galleon. "Pilots. We have trouble. It's the Grineer."

Rainbow mouthed the words, "You don't say" before realizing the others couldn't see her mouth.

Celestia continued. "They plan to build a gate to access Equestria. I'd thought we had slowed them down, but I was wrong. You have to get there and stop them."

"Let's fly!" Rainbow shouted and took off in the sky. "I'll see what I can do to slow them down!"

Rainbow headed up to the galleon as Sunset and Home Run ran along underneath it. She approached the bottom of the massive ship; a tiny speck compared to the galleon.

“Rainbow Dash,” Zephyr spoke. “I don’t think this is a good idea. Your weapons are not effective against a ship of that size.”

“I’m gonna try, at least,” Rainbow continued, flying close enough to touch the ship.

She pulled out her akstilettos, firing them at the underside of the ship. The bullets pinged harmlessly off the metal, doing nothing but putting dents that were hardly visible to the eye. The Rainbow girl didn’t give up, instead continuing to fly around the bottom, trying to punch through with her fists after blasting towards the ship with her tailwind.

“Rainbow Dash, your energy is running low. We have to land and confront the Grineer on the ground. The hull of that ship is impregnable with our current armaments. If only we had a velocitus…”

“Fine,” Rainbow surrendered, heading back to join Home Run and Sunset.

The two of them were still running behind the galleon, cars and pedestrians stopping and staring up at the flying beast. Sunset hurled a fireball upward, but it fizzled out before it could even get close.

“Nothing’s working!” Sunset lamented. “How do you stop this thing?”

“You have no choice but to stop the Grineer when they land,” Celestia briefed. “You cannot let them finish the gate.”

“You mean we gotta take on three hundred Grineer all on our own?” Home Run panted into his helmet.

“I’ve already rallied Excalibur; he’ll meet you there. I’m tracking the rest of your team converging on the school. I’ll try to keep the battleground as isolated as possible. Good luck, pilots.”

Rainbow landed to join her two friends. “Guess we should just head for school then?”

“Yeah… nothing more we can do,” Sunset shrugged. “But, we can head to school and set up before they get there. Maybe put up some barricades and cover for ourselves.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Home Run agreed. “Vauban has a lot of fantastic ideas for traps.”

“Then let’s not waste anymore time!” Rainbow said and took off in a gust of wind.

“Guess we better follow her,” Sunset chuckled as the two of them started their run.

Excalibur arrived at the baseball field at Canterlot High, knowing the Grineer would be settling down here to build their gate. No matter what, he couldn’t let that happen.

“Seems our plans were of waste,” Excalibur said to his pilot. “It must have been the void key. It has unmeasurable power.”

“Doesn’t matter now,” his pilot replied, drawing the skana. “What matters is we stop them here.”

He waited in the middle of the field as the galleon slowly approached. Suddenly, four pods left the underside of the galleon, heading down into the streets of Canterlot.

“What was that?” he asked. “A diversion?”

“Possibly. Or it could be Vor himself. What is your decision?”

“It’s only a small force.” The Excalibur spun the skana in his grip before holding it up. “We should stay here. The main force will be arriving. We need to stay here, hold our ground once the main assault wave hits us. These guys don’t take hostages.”

“Good. Exactly my thoughts.”
Excalibur waited as the galleon continued to make its way towards the field, unable to do anything until the ship arrived.

“Quickly!” he heard a voice say. “The ship’s almost to the school!”

The pilot turned his head as a group of the kids ran into the field, their attention still focused on the galleon.

“Can your arrows do anythin’ about it, Rarity?” the Rhino asked.

“Worth a shot,” the Mag replied, taking her paris off her back.

“I see what you did there!” the Mirage said out of nowhere, pulling out her boar shotgun.

“Good, the Lotus sent reinforcements. Looks like you won’t have to face them alone.”

“Guess it’s time to talk to them,” Excalibur shrugged and headed towards the other Warframes.

The pink haired one turned to see him approaching them and signaled her friends. “Guys! It’s the Excalibur! Maybe he needs something? Maybe he wants to help us? Maybe he wants to show us who he really is? Ooh, is it Flash Sentry? How about Rainbow Dash?”

“I’m not even going to try explaining how that wouldn’t make sense...” Twilight facepalmed.

“Can’t be Flash, Pinkie,” the Rhino told her friend. “He’s much taller than Flash.”

"Kids," Excalibur greeted, finally talking to them. He headed to Twilight and knelt again. "Princess."

“You know each other?” The others looked at Twilight and Excalibur in surprise.

"Umm..." Twilight said uncertainly. "He seems to know me. Umm... may I ask? Who are you?"

"He's totally Flash Sentry right?" Pinkie Pie said again. "Who else would kneel to Twilight?"

“Anyone from Equestria?” the one in the Trinity Warframe offered.

"It doesn't matter now," Excalibur interrupted, wishing them to focus on the invasion. "Here's what I need you all to do. We're going to set up a little ambush for the Grineer."

He pointed to Twilight and the Mag. "Princess Twilight and... Rarity. You should take the high ground. Maybe the school roof. Your weapons will be more use at a range. The rest of you, you’re with me. We'll take care of the force while the two of them provide fire from above."

The other three girls waited with him as the galleon finally settled close enough. At least a dozen drop pods descendent from the galleon, smashing into the earth, damaging the field again.

"Here they come," Excalibur warned, bringing the skana to his head level.

The pods opened, with Grineer quickly filing out and getting into shooting positions. Excalibur acted first, jamming his sword into the ground, spearing the whole front row with a radial javelin.

"Woah nelly..." Applejack muttered, instinctively putting a hand on her hat.

Pinkie spawned clones of herself and fired away at the Grineer exiting the pod. Many fell, but the others managed to take cover from her pellets. One Grineer trooper stood up to take a shot at the pink menace, but got an arrow to the chest instead.

“Thanks, Rarity!” Pinkie waved.

Fluttershy hung back behind a bush, cringing every time a bullet whizzed past her face. On occasion, she would tag an enemy with her skill, prompting everyone to fire on the unfortunate Grineer and replenish their health.

Rarity and Twilight fired on the Grineer from above with their ranged weapons. Rarity was doing a fine job of hitting targets, while Twilight looked like she was having a big argument with Nyx after every shot, although she did manage to hit a few Grineer soldiers.

“Aim lower. Compensate for the recoil. Don’t stick your head out while reloading, you fool!”Nyx chastised. “I don’t want you to die before you can fulfill your promise of showing me what you can do.”

“I’m trying, Nyx!” Twilight said as she managed to take down another Grineer with a few body shots. “And I have gotten better. I’m hitting targets now.”

Twilight quickly fired off a mind control as a Grineer butcher tried to slash Fluttershy. She got the butcher to run back to the frontlines to attack his brethren.

“Not bad, I suppose...” Nyx grudgingly admitted. “Just make sure you don’t forget about the other enemies while you watch that one.”

“What was that, Nyx?” Twilight joked as she returned to shooting the Grineer under her. “Was that a compliment?”

“It was a carrot. Now get back to the firefight or I’ll go back to the stick.”

“You got it, Nyx,” Twilight smiled, taking down another lancer with her sybaris.

Excalibur and Applejack fought in the frontlines, bashing and slashing away at the Grineer’s armor as they pushed closer to the pods.

The Lotus buzzed in, giving them the warning,“You’ve been seen. Ready your weapons”, although nobody paid much attention by that point.

“So uhh… Excalibur,” Applejack started as she hit a Grineer in the abdomen with one of her furax’s. “Care to tell us who ya really are?”

They spun around each other as if dancing, Applejack punching a trooper’s face in while Excalibur stabbed past her face at a Grineer scorch. His movements were precise and lethal, like he had been doing this for years.

“We may not all survive this,” Excalibur’s pilot muttered as he cleaved an enemy into two before blinding the rest. “But if we make it through this, perhaps I’ll tell you.”

“Makes sense,” the farm girl replied, a little disappointed that she couldn’t find out now. She activated a charge and dashed through three lancers as Excalibur dashed through a commander.

She whistled as they both skidded to a stop. “Yer something else, you know that? How come y’all have all those powers? Ah think the rest of us only got one each.”

Excalibur slashed in a circle, cutting down three lancers, much to the disgust of Applejack. “I’ve been around much longer with Excalibur. We’ve developed what you would call a Maximum Drift. Your Warframes just woke up and they roughly just met you. They don’t have enough energy and sync to utilize their full potential just yet.”

“Uhh…” Applejack tried to comprehend. “Rhino, what’s he mean by that?”

“The deeper the bond, the better you fight, I suppose. Oh, and also, if you happen to get the Lotus the second void key, then we’ll have the energy to access all our powers.”

“Ah, that’s more simple.”

“Watch it,” Excalibur warned, throwing his skana past Applejack. She turned just in time to see a black-armored Grineer go down, the skana in his chest. “Manics.”

“Manics?” Applejack asked. “Ya mean maniacs?”

“No. Manics.” The Excalibur punched a Grineer in the face, cracking its face plate before leaping over it to grab his blade. He returned backwards, stabbing the sword into the Grineer’s back without looking. “Nasty little guys. Fast, invisible, and can rip through a Warframe like paper. Watch your back. There aren’t many of them, but don’t drop your guard. Just listen for the laughter.”

“Woah, sure. Ah’ll make sure to keep an eye an’ ear out,” Applejack nodded before dashing through another crowd of lancers. A trooper advanced on her, but got an arrow to the knee, forcing it to the ground. Its shout alerted Applejack, who turned around and gave it a fist to the face. She looked up and waved her thanks to Rarity before returning to combat.

“Good hit, Rarity,” Mag lauded. “I must say, you have quite the skill with the bow. You haven’t even used my abilities once.”

“Why thank you, Mag. Though I must admit I forgot about your ability. What does it do?”

Mag was silent for a moment. “It’s called pull. You can use it to get enemies closer to you, or down on their faces.”

“I might as well try it,” Rarity said reasonably. “No harm in trying.”

She activated her energy pool and whipped her hand backwards as energy flowed out. Two lancers under her location immediately flew up towards her. After ascending high enough, gravity pulled them back to the ground. The fall didn’t kill them, but Pinkie did.

“Hey Rarity!” Twilight called. “That was awesome! Didn’t know you had that.”

“Me neither,” she admitted. “Mag just informed me.”

A storm of bullets flew up at them, forcing the two girls to duck behind the edge.

Two Grineer heavy gunners stood under them, firing a whole stream of bullets up to the rooftops.

“We need some help!” Rarity panicked.

Twilight leaned over to look, taking a bullet to her helmet. Her shields held up, but she could still feel the small impact near her forehead.

“Careful, Twilight Sparkless!” Nyx scolded again. “You’ll not dirty my Warframe’s insides with your empty brains.”

“Come on, Nyx,” Twilight retorted. “And I thought you were becoming nicer.”

“True, you are getting better, but I will still make sure I reprimand you whenever you do dumb things like setting yourself up for target practice.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight agreed.

Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. She looked down to see Fluttershy standing over the fallen bodies of the gunners, her staff in her hands.

“I’m so sorry!” she was saying to the Grineer. “I-I didn’t want to do it, but you were hurting my friends. I just… Please don’t hurt my friends…”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight said, trying to convince herself that it was the shy girl in front of her and not anyone else.

“Fluttershy?” Rarity said the same thing. “Is that…? Did she…?”

“I believe so, Rarity. I think that Fluttershy there has learnt that fighting is necessary if you want to protect the ones you care about.”

Twilight was still trying to believe it when a Grineer caught her eye. It was a flameblade, slowly approaching the timid girl, still apologizing to the downed gunners. “Fluttershy! Look out! Watch your back!”

Fluttershy turned around as the flameblade walked closer, uttering a single ‘eep’ before tripping backwards over one of the heavy gunners. As it raised its blade, the flameblade also found an arrow, sticking out of its chest. It coughed once, grabbed for its chest and the arrow, then fell over and stopped moving.

Fluttershy looked above to her friends. “T-thanks, Rarity.”

“Don’t mention it, Fluttershy,” she answered. “Do be more careful.”

Fluttershy’s partner had more to add. “That’s how you work, Fluttershy! Now you understand. When you have to fight, you have to fight.”

"Well..." she started, but didn't have anymore to say after that.

Excalibur and Applejack had taken down most of the Grineer that hung around the pods while the others cleared the Grineer behind. Excalibur continued cutting his way through the ranks while Applejack caved in the armor of the soldiers as they approached her. One butcher got a lucky slash at Applejack, breaking her shields and cutting a dent into Rhino's Frame.

"Aah!" she shouted in surprise. She smashed the Grineer in the face before checking the cut, failing to see a trooper pointing his shotgun at her. She looked up just as he fired, knocking her to the ground with the impact. "Oof! What in tarnation?"

"Careful, Applejack! My armor's compromised. Don't let him hit you!"

The Warframe took most of the blow, but it still felt like a car had just driven into her. It stood over her, ready to finish her, but two pink haired Mirage's charged the Grineer, leaping onto his face and back. He swiveled his hands around, trying to get the Pinkie's off of him, but didn't progress much before three more Pinkie's emptied their clips into him.

"Thanks, Pinkie," Applejack thanked as the pink girl helped her up. "Thought ah was a goner."

"Noooo problem!" she replied happily, two of her clones firing their shotguns at the Grineer, forcing them behind cover.

Excalibur saw his chance and blinded those that remained out. The Grineer flinched as the white light speared into their retinas, along with Excalibur’s blade. Applejack and Pinkie saw their chance and joined in, taking down as many Grineer as they could before the white flash dissipated.

“Gotta say!” Pinkie voiced as she fought. “This white flash attack is great when it’s not targeted at us!”

“Got that right,” Applejack agreed, charging through a section of Grineer.

Excalibur made short work of the leftover forces lingering outside their cover, clearing most of the field with another radial javelin. At least a dozen Grineer flew into the ground and the walls, impaled by the spectral energy skanas.

“We’re succeeding,” he told the other two girls with him. “Soon we’ll...”

“We’ll what?” Pinkie impatiently asked.

Excalibur realized it. He looked around, unable to find it.

“It’s not here,” his Tenno said.

“You’re right,” the pilot agreed. “The gate’s not here. This was the diversion.”

Author's Note

The final showdown is coming, guys! Thanks for reading this so far, and I hope you've all enjoyed it!

Chapter 14: Out of Time

Home Run smashed the next Grineer in the face with his jat kittag, launching the body across the street and into an old antique shop, smashing the display glass at the front of the shop.

“Oops,” he muttered. “Sorry…”

“Home Run, no time for apologies. Watch your back!”

He turned just in time to see a butcher jump at him, trying to cut him down with its cleaver. Home Run sidestepped and butted the butcher’s head with his hammer shaft. As the butcher flinched back, Home Run threw a grenade at him, shocking him until it stopped moving. The grenade remained, zapping any other Grineer that wandered too close to it.

Home Run, Sunset, and Rainbow were on their way to school when the galleon decided to drop a few pods down, a little ahead of their location. The three decided to stay here and fight, not wanting the Grineer to run amok in the area. Only after metallic structures and the angry captain showed up did they realize the point of this small attack.

“Tenno…” the old man snarled. He stepped back and ordered the Grineer to advance. “Kill them all. Do not let them touch this gate.”

Captain Vor, along with some troops that looked like engineers hung back, assembling the gate while the bigger ones focused their fire on Home Run and Sunset. Rainbow had gone above, trying to shoot them from the skies, but they paid no attention to her.

“Well, this is wonderful,” Sunset said sarcastically, freezing a rocket out of the sky. “I guess all the big guns are here.”

“Got that right,” Home Run nodded as he bashed a bombard’s head to the ground repeatedly. “Nonetheless, we can’t let them build that gate.”

“Right.”

Sunset froze another rocket as Home Run chucked a few grenades on the street, electrifying any Grineer that got too close. Each throw was more and more of an effort, as if his energy was running out faster than usual.

“Something’s up,” he notified Sunset. “I feel… tired. Like fighting these guys is taking more out of me than before.”

Sunset waved her hand but no fireball emerged, leaving her target unharmed.

“Sunset. Based on what Home Run said, I think we may have a problem. Something’s draining our energy reserves faster than we can generate it. Possibly an eximus.”

“Ember is correct, Home Run. Energy leech eximus. I see it. Two o’clock.”

Home Run turned his head, looking at the Grineer. They generally looked the same, but one stood out over the others, glowing with an orange tinge and wielding a cleaver. “That one. The one with the orange glow.”

“I see it,” Sunset nodded.

Rainbow landed beside them, also losing her energy to the eximus. “Hey guys. Here to join you. I’m all out of juice. What do we do now?”

“It’s that one,” Home Run pointed at the eximus. “He’s draining all our energy.”

More bullets pelted the rubble around the three heroes, forcing them back behind their cover.

“They have too much firepower!” Sunset warned. “We need backup.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Ember assured. “Lotus. Captain Vor is here, and so is the gate. We need reinforcements immediately.”

Celestia replied back immediately. “Affirmative, Ember. But we have a problem. It’s the Grineer. They’ve deployed their main force at the school field. The others are busy engaging them. I will try to send Excalibur over as soon as possible.”

“Well… this is a problem…” Home Run pondered. “We’re out of energy, and as long as that eximus is there, we’re not getting any back.”

They looked over again, trying to get an idea of how much time they had before the Grineer finished constructing the gate. Its base was already done, but none of them knew how high it would go, so they couldn’t judge how long it would take.

“I’ll see if I can distract them,” Home Run suggested. “See if I can get closer as well. As soon as they start firing at me, you two get to a better location.”

“That doesn’t look like a good idea,” Rainbow told him. “What happens if they all fire their rockets at you? I think there was like… three bombards out there? I got hit by one once. It hurt.”

Home Run smiled internally. “Well, I have this,” he lifted his hammer. “If I can create that wind barrier again, perhaps those rockets won’t even touch me.” He gulped. “I hope.”

“Okay. We’ll try to draw some of their attention then. Kill that eximus and try not to die.”

“Right. Vauban, you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Not really anything I can do to be more ready unless you can get that void key for us. Anyway, remember. It’s all in the swing and the timing. You can do it.”

Home Run took another big gulp before rushing out of cover, running straight for the frontlines. The bombards fired their rockets immediately, along with a bunch of gunfire from the other troops. Everything seemed to slow down for the baseball player as the rockets made their way to him. Once he felt it was time, he swung his jat kittag and activated the propulsion at the back of the hammer head. Swinging as hard and fast as he could, Home Run generated the wind aura once again, watching as the rockets harmlessly exploded against it. He continued to move his hammer, keeping the barrier up, as he headed for the eximus.

Rainbow and Sunset left their cover, heading towards the broken window of the antique shop. Their Tenno decided it would be a better place to shoot back against the Grineer. They entered the place and watched as Home Run deflected another group of rockets, slowly making his way to the group of Grineer.

“Our turn to give him some cover,” Rainbow said, reloading her akstilettos.

Sunset nodded and leaned out, firing her glaxion at the closest Grineer, just barely able to reach the first few, encasing them in ice. Rainbow fired at them, shattering a few of the ice statues while Home Run got closer.

The bombards continued to fire rockets at him, but his wind aura continued to hold up against them. Unfortunately, the spinning was also making him dizzy. "I don't think I can keep this up much longer, Vauban."

"You'll have to, Home Run. If you stop now, we're going to be nothing more than dust after the bombards are done."

Home Run passed the first bombard, breaking the aura to send him flying into the gate structure, knocking down one side of the pillar. Vor looked at him and shook his fist.

"Good one, Home Run. You're- Watch out! Barrier up!"

Home Run tried to bring his aura up again, but he wasn't fast enough this time, only managing to detonate the rockets with his hammer. The impact sent him flying back into a lamp post, knocking it down with his head.

"Home Run's hit!" Rainbow alerted. She turned to Sunset. "Cover me! I'll get him back here."

Rainbow dashed out as Sunset moved her ice beam across the Grineer ranks, icing those she could while chasing back some of the others. Rainbow leapt over a rocket as it sailed under her, barely missing her torso. She fired back at the Grineer, taking down a lancer, but the bombard's armor was too tough for her bullets to penetrate, each shot only serving to make the creature angrier. She eventually got to the fallen athlete, picking him up as she u-turned back towards the antique store. The front of his armor was blackened, but otherwise still intact. The Grineer fired back, raining bullets on her shields.

"Shields are down, Rainbow Dash," Zephyr alerted. "You need to go faster."

"I can't. That eximus is still draining my power and Home Run's heavier than I thought!"

“C’mon Rainbow!” Sunset beckoned, still firing her gun. The Grineer started to adapt to her, standing just out of range of her ice beam. “They’re getting smarter! I can’t hit them!”

The eximus saw his chance and left his cover, heading straight for the blue girl. The bombards stopped shooting, just in case they were to hit their comrade, but the smaller infantry continued firing at Rainbow’s location.

“Eximus!” Sunset shouted to Rainbow.

The Zephyr clad girl looked up to see the glowing Grineer walking slowly towards her, a sly smile on his face. She fired at him, but his glowing aura took the impact of her bullets.

“Silly Tenno…” he cackled as he continued to approach her. “No energy to use? I take all your energy.”

Rainbow braced for the worst as the eximus got closer, closing her eyes and waiting. She never felt the blade, but instead a rush of wind as something fast flew past her.

“Rainbow Dash. Help has arrived,” Zephyr informed. “Get up. Get to cover.”

She opened one eye first, seeing the grey armor of the Excalibur, standing between the eximus and her, his sword sticking out of the eximus’s chest.

“Go,” was all the Excalibur said, still looking at the eximus.

She heard Vauban speak in her head. “Hurry, Rainbow Dash. Get Home Run and yourself to safety. Excalibur can handle the eximus.”

“Right,” she nodded and continued her dash to Sunset’s location.

Excalibur watched as the eximus tried to pull the skana out of his chest, but failed at doing so. Excalibur, having wasted enough time, jumped and kicked the sword further through the eximus, the blade emerging from his back. The eximus let out one last gasp as it fell to its knees. Excalibur quickly pulled out his sword and deflected more bullets flying his way before releasing a radial blind, incapacitating the Grineer near him. He readied his skana and charged into them, doing what he did best.

Rainbow jumped through the broken window, immediately setting Home Run down on the ground.

“Is he alright?” Sunset quickly asked.

“He’s taken a blow to the head,” Vauban answered her. “My armor is slightly singed, but nothing too bad. It can easily be cleaned off later.”

“She’s not asking about your armor, she’s asking about Home Run! Is he going to be okay?” Rainbow Dash shook Vauban’s Warframe, trying to get a reaction. “Can you hear me in there?”

“We need to move,” Vauban informed them. “Even the Excalibur will not be able to hold them off forever.”

Sunset hoisted Home Run onto her back. “I’ll carry him. We need to get away from here and regroup.”

“But what about the gate?” Rainbow questioned. “We can’t just leave and let them finish building it, can we?”

“Your enthusiasm does you credit, Rainbow Dash,” Zephyr said. “But I would rather you not accessorize my Warframe with bullet holes. We need to fall back. The Excalibur can handle the fight while you find your friends.”

Rainbow didn’t like it, but said nothing more, nodding in agreement with Sunset. The set out from the ruined shop and headed down the street, watching the Excalibur take down Grineer after Grineer all on his own. The skana cleaved through flesh and armor alike, and where it couldn’t reach, the javelins would.

Rainbow and Sunset brought Home Run to a safer location behind the shop area before setting the baseballer back on the ground.

“C’mon, get up, Home Run,” Rainbow continued to shake the boy’s Warframe. “There’s still a fight to win here!”

She shook him again and the boy stirred, sitting up and holding his head. “Owww… what happened? What’s going on?”

“Are you alright?” Sunset asked.

“You know, I’m not so sure…” Home Run replied. “What happened exactly?”

“Well, the bombards managed to hit you, then you hit your head on a lamp post as you flew back. Rainbow managed to get you to safety while the Excalibur took care of the Grineer. He still is, I think. The others are on their way now. As soon as they get here, we’ll rejoin the battle.”

“Yeah, sure...” Home Run panted. “Just give me a minute… “

“Full body scan complete,” an unfamiliar voice chimed into Home Run’s ears. “Your skeleton is intact, though your ribs will be considerably bruised tomorrow. Also, you have a minor concussion.”

“Who said that?”

“Um… we did?”

“Fluttershy?” Home Run asked as he turned to see a few familiar figures behind him, keeping low to avoid any stray shots.

“That’s right…” the Trinity clad girl nodded. “I can heal you, but y-you’ll need to… attack the one I tag with my s-skill.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Home Run said, Rainbow and Sunset helping him up. “I wouldn’t want to have bruised ribs tomorrow.”

“Here,” Rainbow stuffed one of her guns into his hand. “You’ll do better with this.”

“Thanks,” Home Run accepted. “I’ll see what I can do with this.”

“Then let’s get back out there and help that Excalibur out!” Twilight cheered, leading the group back to the battlefield.

Captain Vor stood in the back, snarling as the Excalibur cut down soldier after soldier. Soon, he could take it no more. He pulled out the void key and his seer pistol and pushed past one of the bombards guarding the gate.

“He’s mine,” he barked to the engineers. “Finish the gate!”

He brought the pistol up and fired a single shot. The Excalibur turned and blocked the bullet with his skana, but Vor got what he wanted. The Tenno’s attention.

“Why do you persist?” Vor questioned the man in the Frame. “You will join us, one way or another.”

“Unlikely…” the Excalibur muttered before activating a slash dash.

“I see you,” the captain’s hand shot out and grabbed the Excalibur as it brought his skana swinging at his chest.

“Foolish Tenno. Do you realize your Lotus has sent you to die?”

“I might say the same about your queens! You’re awfully understaffed for an invasion force… or is this a suicide mission?”

Vor let out a maniacal laughter on hearing what the Excalibur had said. “That’s where you are wrong, Tenno. Did you really think I would send all my troops to die distracting your kind?”

“What do you mean?” Excalibur demanded, slashing his blade at the deformed clone, only to have it blocked by the captain’s own blade. A cronus.

“I have a second galleon, waiting for my signal to break your atmosphere,” Vor sneered. “Soon, the gate will be completed, and I will enter the world of your Lotus and finish her, one way or another.”

“Not if I kill you first!”

“Not this time, Tenno,” Vor rebuked, blasting a wave of energy at the skana.

The energy forced the skana out of the Excalibur’s hands as Vor brought his cronus back to the Excalibur’s body.

He managed to deplete the shields of the Warframe with his slash, but the Excalibur got a kick at Vor’s face, stumbling the captain. That was all the time the Excalibur needed. Behind him, the eight other Warframes ran in, doing what they can to limit the Grineer soldiers.

“You are still too late, Lotus!” Vor shouted over the sounds. “The gate is almost done. Even all your Warframes cannot stop me now!”

“Ready your weapons,” Lotus told her soldiers. “I read a second ship entering the atmosphere. It’s the Grineer.”

“You are out of time!” Vor smiled. He lifted the void key and released a shockwave of energy, blasting the Warframes back. He turned to walk to the gate as the engineers switched it on. He nodded to the last bombard as he passed him. “Finish them.”

The bombard nodded and fired his ogris at the Frames, sending them running for cover.

"Bring it out." Vor headed to the activated gate as the engineers brought out the torsion beam, positioning it in front of the gate. The portal swirled with energy, but at the moment, had no current destination. Vor placed the void key in the torsion beam, activating a line of energy to the gate, creating an image of Equestria.

"I am coming for you, Lotus," Vor vowed as he grabbed the key.

He placed it back on his armor as he walked through the gate, disappearing from sight. The remaining Grineer soon followed, entering the realm of Equestria to find the Lotus.

Rarity stood up and activated a pull, bringing the bombard’s face to the ground level. Applejack took the chance to smash it down, pummeling her fists into the back of its armor.

As the bombard lay beaten, Fluttershy approached it and casted a well of life on it. "I'm sorry mister, but I have to do this."

Home Run walked up and fired Rainbow's gun at it, feeling his injuries start to fade the more he shot at it. "Hey, I think it's working."

Soon, Home Run felt he could lift a rhino again, stepping back and nodding to Fluttershy.

The shy girl nodded in acknowledgement and canceled her magic, reverting the bombard to its weaker state. Home Run pulled out his hammer and pounded down once on the bombard, as fast as he could, finishing it with a bone shattering crunch.

"Thanks Fluttershy," he said. He returned to Rainbow and gave her the pistol back. "And you too, Rainbow. That helped for a while."

"Don't mention it," Rainbow nodded, accepting her gun back. “Maybe some of my awesomeness rubbed off on you.”

"I wish."

The Excalibur walked to his sword and picked it up, resheathing it on his back. "Good job kids, but we've no time to waste. Captain Vor will probably be in Canterlot castle by now. We cannot allow him to reach Princess Celestia."

The others proceed forward when the skies grew dark. They each looked up to see the second galleon, descending towards their location, drop pods already disengaging.

"There's more?" Rainbow fought to believe. "Perfect..."

"We can't stop here," Twilight spoke. "Princess Celestia needs our help. We'll have to go through."

"Princess Twilight is right." Everyone turned to Excalibur. "You go on through. I'll handle the army. Whatever happens, make sure you take down Vor before he finds Princess Celestia."

"What?" Twilight questioned, instinctively taking a step back. "You can't possibly take on an entire army by yourself!"

“But I can slow them down,” Excalibur explained. “If they all get through the portal, we’ll be in some serious trouble. Go! We’re losing time. You must protect Princess Celestia and defeat Vor!”

He ignored more of Twilight’s protests, drawing his sword and turning his back to them. “Ready, Ex?”

His Tenno partner agreed. “Let’s do this.”

“We have to go, Twilight,” Rarity tried to convince the lavender-skinned girl.

“Rarity’s right!” Applejack seconded. “Excalibur here’s gonna buy us some time. We gotta make good use of it to stop that maniac.”

The rest nodded in agreement, waiting for Twilight to agree with them before stepping through the gate.

“You’re right,” Twilight finally conceded. “Let’s go. We need to get to the castle as fast as we can.” She turned to the Excalibur once again. “Be careful.”

“We shall see, princess,” he said without turning. “But if I don’t make it out… it has been a pleasure to serve you all, Princess Twilight.”

“We gotta move,” Sunset motioned.

Twilight turned and went through the portal, quickly followed by the rest. This time, there wasn’t a rainbow tunnel or anything. It was just a quick pass from their world to Equestria. This time, they appeared just on the outskirts of Canterlot castle, gazing at the magnificent building as they all entered through the gate.

“You know, I think I prefer the other way in,” Rainbow said. Then she looked at the castle. “Sweet place.”

“Wait, why aren’t we ponies?” Sunset asked. “Did the princess cast another magic bubble around the Canterlot?”

“No, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember replied. “This gate is no normal portal. With the void energy, it ripped a hole between your dimensions. Magic does not apply to this form of travel. If you are human, you will enter this world as a human.”

“Wow,” she awed. “We should get this kind of technology. You guys won’t have to learn how to walk on all fours if we had it.”

“I already have,” Home Run told her. “Sort of.”

“Whatever,” Rainbow hurried. “We need to get in there. Fast.”

She took off with a tailwind, headed straight for the front doors of the castle, which looked like they were blown open. The rest followed at their own speed, climbing the staircase leading to the doors. Two Grineer troopers stood just inside the castle, turning to the team as they entered. Rainbow was already way ahead, launching a knee into one of their faces, knocking him down. The second one attempted to shoot her, but Home Run surprised him with a bat to the back, smashing him against one of the pillars. Rarity quickly finished the first one with an arrow, while the second one didn’t get up again.

“We’re too late,” Twilight mumbled. “They’re already in.”

Chapter 15: Vor's Prize

Princess Celestia waited in the center of the throne room, poised ready for combat. She had sent her guards away, fearing for their safety as the Grineer broke their way through her castle. Soon, the cloned abominations pushed through the doors to her throne room, Captain Vor the first to walk in and sneer at her.

“What are you creatures?” he grumbled, pointing the void key at her. “Where is the Lotus!”

“Right here,” she said firmly. “I will not allow you to harm any of my loyal ponies. This battle is between you and me.”

“Ponies?” Vor repeated. “The Lotus is a pony?” He started bellowing with laughter, earning a few small chuckles from his men. “I thought the Lotus would be a worthy adversary. Now I know I have wasted my time preparing to face you!”

Celestia rose up into the air. “Oh, you will find me to be a worthy adversary, captain.”

Her horn glowed with magic before firing a concentrated beam towards the enemy’s location. Vor drew back the void key before unleashing a beam of his own. The two beams impacted into each other, sparking energy all across the room, smashing some of the windows and pillars. One unlucky Grineer was vaporized on the stop when a tendril of golden energy struck him.

“You cannot win, Lotus!” Vor taunted, still steadily fighting back. “This void key is beyond you. Even you don’t know its true power!”

Celestia focused more power into her magic blast, slowly pushing the captain’s back towards him. He took a few steps back as the energy closed in on him. He grunted and pushed harder, releasing more of the void energy into his attack. The stray energy around the room started arcing uncontrollably, tearing off portions of the walls and floor, threatening to destroy the throne room. Sweat beaded on the sun princess’s face as she strained against the Grineer captain. She had to channel her own magic, while the captain didn’t. Soon, she felt her beam growing smaller, allowing the Grineer’s energy to push back.

Panic began to seep into Celestia’s face. This was like the wedding all over again; if help didn’t come soon, it was all over.

Rainbow Dash led the charge as they got passed the small Grineer groups on the way to the throne room. Vor had only entered with a small group, while his second army was being held off by the Excalibur outside the portal, allowing the team to push through without much trouble.

“Faster, guys!” Rainbow called from way ahead. “Run faster!”

“Ah can only go so fast!” Applejack complained, being slowed down by Rhino’s Warframe. “This suit isn’t built for speed.”

“Sorry, Applejack. At least my defence makes up for the lack of speed.”

“Huh. Imagine if ya had both defence and speed.”

“That would be, as your Rainbow Dash friend says… awesome. But highly unlikely. That would make me way too powerful.”

“Take the next left!” Twilight shouted to Rainbow from behind.

Rainbow waved a thanks and disappeared around the corridor. There were several wet snapping sounds as she plowed through an unfortunate butcher who had been left behind to watch for intruders.

The others eventually arrived at the turn, watching their rainbow friend speed along towards the throne room door.

“Just thought you should know, Twilight Sparkle,” Nyx cautioned. “If you fail to save the Lotus, I will record your name down in the Tenno archives as the greatest failure in known history.”

“If you must know, Nyx, I’m not going to fail. We will save the princess. None of us will be dying here today.”

“You’d better not. As much as we hate to admit it, we are counting on you.” Was it just Twilight’s imagination, or did Nyx sound… tense?

“‘We? There is no ‘we’. It’s only you who doesn’t like how things have turned out,” Twilight reminded her partner. “The others get along with their Tenno well. I don’t see why we haven’t been able to do so yet. I’ve improved, haven’t I?”

“Very well, Twilight Sparkle… As this may be the last time we have a proper chance to talk… I want you to at least know that I think you show a lot of… spirit. After all the insults I threw at you, you never quit. Maybe that was the wrong way to teach you. And the truth is being unable to move, to perform my duty as a Tenno, has vexed me to no end. I suppose I took out my frustration on you. I’m… sorry.”

“So it wasn’t because I was bad at this?” Twilight questioned. “But it was because you were just not what you used to be?”

“Well, no. You’re still pretty bad. But not as bad as I was making you out to be.”

“That’s still better,” Twilight replied as they neared the throne room. “Well, Nyx. These last few days spent with you, they haven’t been all perfect, but I’m glad that I got the chance to know you.”

Just as Twilight finished, the team barrelled through what was left of the throne room doors, instinctively shielding their eyes from the light battle that was currently taking place. Captain Vor and what was left of his soldiers stood near them, while the captain faced off against Princess Celestia. His void key against her alicorn magic.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight shouted over the raging energy.

The sun princess didn’t hear her, but the aliens did. Three of the lancers along with a black-armored manic turned to them and bared their weapons.

“Kill them!” Vor ordered, still blasting what he had at the princess. His beam was slowly pushing towards her. Celestia’s body started collapsing under the strain, her right hooves down to the ground.

Home Run immediately pushed past his friends and started a wind barrier with his jat kittag, swiping away the bullets as they whizzed towards him.

“Very good, Home Run,” Vauban congratulated. “I see you’re learning how to use your jat kittag effectively. You’ve been bringing up that gust quite a bit now.”

“As I’ve said,” Home Run began. “It’s like my bat. All I have to do is swing it more.”

Rainbow, Rarity, Twilight, and Sunset fired their weapons at the lancers, taking them down quickly, but the manic ran straight for Home Run, jumping right through his barrier and barreling into him, knocking him down. It raised its claw to slash at his Warframe, but Rainbow and Applejack tackled it, pushing it off Home Run and onto the ground. They held him for a moment before it teleported out of their grasp with a maniacal laughter.

“W-where’d it go?” Fluttershy whispered, gripping her bo staff tighter.

Something dark appeared behind her, grappling her arms and pulling them back.

“Eep!” Fluttershy muttered, struggling to get out of the manic’s grasp. She started whimpering and shivering as the creature raised a clawed hand to the side of her head.

“Let her go,” Rarity raised her bow, aiming it at the manic.

The manic cackled, putting the tip of his claws to Fluttershy’s head. “Do you dare take this risk?”

Tears of fear streamed down the pink haired girl’s visor as she stood under the manic’s control. “...H-h-help…”

“You heard her. She wants your help,” the manic laughed again. “Guns on the ground. All of them. Now!”

Sunset and the others reluctantly complied, dropping their guns to the ground. The manic still stood firm, one hand holding Fluttershy’s arms, and the other on her head. Home Run looked to the energy duel happening beside them. Vor was still pushing the princess back, her face looking more tired the more she held her beam up. There was no way she was going to last out much longer.

He turned back just as Fluttershy kicked back with one leg, getting the manic in between it's legs. It released her arms, allowing the girl to whip around and deliver an elbow to the manic’s face. The Grineer staggered back and readied itself to teleport again. Then there was a flash of purple, and the manic fell to the floor with a smoking hole in its chest.

Rarity quickly went to get Fluttershy, trying to calm the frightened girl.

“Hello, everyone,” Princess Luna announced, the magic fading from her horn. Beside her was a peculiarly dressed pony with bat-like wings and a sword between her teeth. “Did we miss anything?”

"Who's this?" Home Run asked. He looked at her. Something about her looked familiar. "Are you one of the princess's guards?"

The others shrugged, but Twilight remained still, giving the blue pony a surprised look. "Umm... guys? This is Princess Luna. Princess Celestia's sister."

"I knew it!" Pinkie immediately shouted.

"I'm sorry, princess," Home Run apologized. "I didn't know."

Luna shook her head. "No time for apologies now. We have to help my sister, whatever you are. She won't last much longer." She looked to her bat-like companion. "Eclair. We must stop that monster."

The two of them lifted off the ground and flew straight for the captain. Vor changed his attention and swatted the smaller pony away with his free hand, while turning the void key on the moon princess.

Princess Celestia dropped her beam, exhausted from the lengthy fight. Princess Luna dodged Vor's beam and blasted her own at him. All of a sudden, the captain disappeared in a flash of light.

"What...?" Luna muttered.

On the other side of the room, Celestia slowly lifted her head and looked at the others. "We... believe... Vor has the ability... to teleport..."

"I'm coming, Tia!" Luna called, heading for the white alicorn.

Vor materialized under her, grabbing her back hoof and flinging her forward, slamming her into Sunset and Rarity.

"Wah!" they gasped as the alicorn hit them.

The Grineer captain lifted the void key to the air, releasing a golden pulse, knocking back everyone around him. “You think you can defeat me? Ha! Strength to the Grineer!”

“We need to get that key away from him,” Home Run suggested to his friends. “Or at least distract him long enough to get a good shot in.”

“Distracting?” Pinkie shot up. “I can do distracting! I’m very good at it! This one time-”

“Good enough, Pinkie,” Rainbow stopped her. She turned to Home Run. “I’ll help her with the distracting. I’m fast enough, and quite awesome.”

Home Run nodded. “I guess the rest of us will try to hit him when we get the chance. Be careful.”

“Sounds like a good plan, Home Run,” Vauban agreed. “We need to time our attack right on the spot. If that captain even figures out what you’re planning to do, he’ll change his plans. I suggest a continuous attack. He cannot possibly defend himself from so many targets at once.”

“Perhaps,” Home Run nodded again. “That does seem to make sense.”

“I’ll help,” Princess Luna said, getting off the two girls. “I will not let this thing harm my sister.”

“As will I,” Luna’s associate added, flipping the sword.

“Right. The rest of us will try to take him down,” Twilight joined in. “You with me, Nyx?”

“I am. Although, even if I wasn’t… you’re the one wearing my skin. Lead on, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Let’s finish this,” Home Run smiled, spinning his hammer.

Rainbow led the next attack, flinging herself straight for the captain. He blasted a beam of energy at her, but she quickly spun out of the way, heading higher to the ceiling and shooting down with her akstilettos. Pinkie created four clones of herself and blasted the captain with her boars. He took a few bullets, but conjured a bubble shield around himself, keeping the bullets away. Home Run and Applejack went in with their melee weapons, bashing at the shield with all they had. It didn’t break, creating a smirk on the captain’s deformed face.

“Foolish Tenno… this will hurt!”

He deactivated the shields and shot at them with his seer pistol. Applejack took a few bullets to the shields, but Home Run brought up his hammer and deflected what he could. Luna joined in, firing a purple beam of magic at the captain. He teleported out of the way, appearing behind the Pinkies. He slashed one down before she retreated forward, shooting more shotgun pellets at him. Vor aimed the void key and fired, almost hitting the pink girls. Luna swooped in and created a magic shield, taking the brunt of it. Her shield shattered, but she managed to get Pinkie to safety before that.

“It’s not working!” she shouted to the Warframes.

“Vauban,” Home Run called. “You have anything? You’re the brilliant one.”

“As a matter of fact, partner, I do. Perhaps if you could use your powers in tandem.”

“Vauban is correct,” Trinity said in his head. “We used to combine our powers to devastating effect back in the old days. Perhaps you will be able to do it too.”

“Yes, give it a go,” Mag agreed. “All of you.”

“Tandem?” Home Run asked. Then he thought of something. “Rainbow! Come here! I’ve got something.”

She swooped down next to him and waited. “Go on! What’s up. We don’t have much time for elaborate speeches.”

He pulled out a few dozen grenades. “Stand still.”

“What’re you-” she stopped as Home Run began sticking them to her, soon covering her in his round tesla grenades.

Rainbow shrugged and blasted off into the sky, heading back for the captain. As soon as she got close enough, the grenades on her body sensed the Grineer, immediately arcing electricity towards him. The captain flinched and grunted as the bolts struck him, but didn’t falter. Sunset tossed her gun to Applejack, asking the farm girl to shoot the captain with it.

“Whatever works,” Applejack said, clicking down the trigger to the ice gun.

The cold beam streamed towards the captain, who fired back with his void key, halting the beam. Sunset saw her chance and lobbed a fireball at the ice, creating a massive explosion, flinging the captain back a few feet.

“Tenno…” he grumbled. “This will not help you.”

Sunset continued to blast him with fire, while Applejack trained the cold gun on him. Rarity and Twilight did what they could, firing as many shots at the captain as they could. Rainbow flew in from behind, adding on electricity to the fire around him, creating small clouds of radiation at his feet.

“Gah!” Vor shouted, having enough with the Warframes and ponies. He built up the void energy around his key, firing it up in the air, creating tendrils around him.

They swayed around and knocked back Rainbow and Home Run, while keeping Pinkie occupied, forcing the girl and her clones to dance around as the tendrils smashed at her.

Vor smiled as he pushed the attacks away from himself, widening his attack range and taking better aim at each of the Mirage copies. Rarity saw her chance as Vor’s attention went elsewhere. She put an arrow into her bow and aimed for the arm carrying the void key. If she could disable it, the captain would be helpless against the Waframes’ combined assault.

“You got this one, Rarity,” Mag encouraged. “Make it real.”

“No pressure,” Rarity said through clenched teeth as she took aim at the relatively small target.

She released the arrow, watching as it sailed beautifully through the air, right under a few of the tendrils and straight into the captain’s right arm, punching through the armor in a spray of blood and sparks.

“Graaaah!” Vor screamed as he grabbed for his arm, the energy tendrils around him dissipating.

“Fantastic shot, Rarity!” Twilight cheered.

“Let’s end this,” Home Run told the others. “Before he recovers.”

“Home Run’s right!” Vauban told his fellow Tenno. “We must destroy him now!”

Twilight tapped into her energy and inflicted a mind control of the wounded captain, forcing him to drop the void key and go down on one leg, letting out a guttural roar as he fought against the mental assault.

“I’ll take that,” Rainbow slid past him and snatched up the key before taking off.

Sunset, Applejack, and Home Run combined their elements, firing on the downed captain with fire, ice, and electric, creating different chain reactions around him. Princess Luna joined in, firing a concentrated beam at Vor. The combined effort finally pulled down his shields and damaged parts of his armor. Pinkie and Twilight quickly added in their share of bullets, piercing the captain’s deformed body.

“No!” Captain Vor screeched as he went down on both knees. “This cannot be… Nooo!"

The combination of the all-out attack took its toll on the captain as he fell to the ground, his good arm stretched out in front of him as if he was reaching for a prize.

The Warframes and ponies stood around Vor’s fallen body, which jerked and spasmed for a good thirty seconds before finally lying still.

"We... we did it." Twilight stepped towards the Grineer's body where blood was beginning to pool.

Luna floated herself over to her sister to check on her, while the others came together.

"We did it! We did it!" Pinkie cheered loudly. "We should have a party! Like, a really big one! I'll have to bring my party cannon!"

"Please don't bring the cannon, Pinkie..." Fluttershy softly said. "It's very loud..."

"Wow..." Home Run breathed. "That was a tough one. I think we're all going to start feeling it tomorrow."

"Well... Thankfully there ain't no school tomorrow," Applejack said as she slumped against a pillar. "That'll give us some time to rest up."

"I'm glad that the fighting's over," Twilight agreed. "I better go check on Princess Celestia. Seems to me like she used a great amount of magic to hold Vor back."

The group converged on Celestia, walking towards her and her sister. Unknown to them, the Grineer captain pushed himself off the ground once more, turning a raging face towards them all. He pulled out his cronus and readied it in his good hand. He was done for and knew it, but before he died, he would make the Tenno suffer for what they had done, and he would complete his mission.

"For my queens..."

Vor flung the sword and watched as it spun towards the Lotus.

Out of the corner of his eye, Home Run saw the silvery blade blur through the air. In that instant, without a second thought, he knew what he had to do.

The blade thunked into the boy’s Warframe blade first. His shields, already weakened from the battle, broke instantly. Everyone could only look on in horror as the Vauban slid onto the floor, sparking and shuddering.

“NO!” Captain Vor screamed before Twilight ended his outburst with a double headshot. The captain collapsed back to the ground in a defeated heap of cloned flesh.

“Home Run!” The team gathered around the boy, laying flat on the ground. “Come on, say something!”

When Home Run didn’t respond, Rainbow Dash sank down onto her knees, Zephyr’s helmet folding back. “No…” she whispered, her face frozen in disbelief. “No. H-he can’t!”

“Rainbow,” Fluttershy said softly, putting a comforting hand on her friend’s back, which was shrugged off immediately.

“You can’t die!” Rainbow choked. “There’s so much you have to do!” she pounded on the floor despondently.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said again. She was ignored.

“You gotta live, Home Run! You have a baseball game to win! Y-you can’t just leave the team hanging like this!” The strength drained out of the athlete completely and she slumped over onto Vauban’s chest. “Don’t leave us…” she whispered. “Not now.”

“Rainbow Dash…”

“What?!” Rainbow snapped, not moving.

“I can’t breathe...”

An armored hand slowly eased into Rainbow’s field of vision and pushed her slowly up. A hand that she recognized. Vauban’s hand. Rainbow Dash looked up into Home Run’s smiling face as he sat up, looking none the worse for wear.

“Home Run! You’re alive! But... but how?”

“A cronus is not a throwing weapon, Rainbow Dash,” Zephyr said with a bit of barely concealed amusement. “The blade didn’t even puncture the outer armor.”

Fluttershy put her hand up meekly. “I, um, was going to tell you there was nothing to worry about, but you know, you seemed… busy.”

“But I saw you go down!” exclaimed Rainbow as they both stood up. “Why’d you fall over if it didn’t go through?”

“Well....” Home Run rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I’d been swinging that hammer around so much today that I was really tired, so when the sword hit me I kinda lost my balance and hit my head. Still, I’m fine now, right?”

Rainbow Dash blinked stupidly, her eyes and mouth wide. Then she punched Home Run in the stomach.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For making me look lame in front of everyone!” Rainbow sulked, putting up her helmet to hide her embarrassment. “You big jerk.”

"What...?" Home Run began. "That's not fair."

Instead of explaining, Rainbow stepped forward and gave him a big hug. "I'm glad you're alright, though. Don’t you dare go down on me again."

The others joined in, creating one big team group hug.

"Wooohoooo!" Pinkie started. "Homey's a hero!"

"That was very thoughtful of ya, Home Run," Applejack told him.

"We're all proud of you!" Sunset added as the team separated.

"As am I. You risked your life to protect the Lotus. The Tenno are all grateful to you," Vauban said. "I am glad to have you as my partner."

"Home Run..." Princess Celestia walked over, supported by her sister and the other pony. "Thank you... for what you did. I was right about you... You were meant to have found the void key that day."

"Speaking of void key..." Rainbow walked forward and handed it to the princess.

Luna picked it up for her sister and inspected it. "Such a small oddity, but yet, contains more power than an alicorn?"

Celestia slowly nodded her head. "These keys predate our time, sister. I think it's time we place it where it should be." She panned her head at the Warframes. "Thank you all. The Grineer have been defeated because of you. It is now time to place the second key to unlock the full power of the Tenno. Luna, if you would, help me to my study."

Luna nodded. "Come, Eclair. To my sister's study."

Home Run and the girls watched as Luna inserted the key into its slot. Princess Celestia had suggested they step out of their suits for the time being, just in case. Almost as soon as it was placed, the panel slid back into the large console; its screen glowing brighter than before.

Void key inserted. Reviving power...

On cue, the lights in the room began glowing brighter, illuminating more of the space. The Warframes began glowing as well, their full power slowly returning to them. One by one, the Warframes started moving on their own, the Tenno once again in control.

"Alright!" Ember whooped, moving her arms and creating fire all around her. "We're back on! This is hot!"

Rhino walked to Applejack and offered a hand. "Now we can finally shake. Thank you for working with me."

"No problem, partner." Applejack shook his hand.

Pinkie happily jumped around Mirage. "Mirage! Now we can plan parties together! Not... the killing kinds, though."

Mirage sighed and crossed her arms. "If that is what you wish, I will comply. For now."

“Alright!”

Twilight walked up to Nyx, who was still testing her mobility and finger movement. “So, Nyx. I Guess you won’t need me anymore, since you’ve gotten control of your Warframe back.”

“Yes, that’s true…” Nyx supposed. “But… there is one thing, Twilight Sparkle. You’ve seen Excalibur in action. When… when a pilot and Tenno bond to the deepest level… when they achieve Maximum Drift… they can achieve something that neither of them can do alone.” And then Nyx did something Twilight would never have expected. She held out her hand for the princess to take. “Knowing this, I would be… reasonably satisfied if you would be my companion.”

Twilight really never expected Nyx to ask something like this. “Nyx… you… still want me to pilot you?”

“Now that I am able to control this body as well, it’ll be something like… sharing the actions. I will be able to act as I want, but so will you. This will allow us a new level of combat. You… you have actually… been a g-good partner. Will you… continue to fight with me?”

“Sure, Nyx.” Twilight took her hand. “Friends?

“Associates. We’re not friends, not yet.”

Twilight rolled her eyes as the Warframe folded around her once more. It was strange; the interior of it felt warmer and softer than before.

“What about you, my brothers, my sisters? Shall we give our pilots one more dance?” Nyx addressed the other Tenno. It didn’t take long for them to decide.

“Why wouldn’t I? We’re too awesome to be apart!” Zephyr embraced the overjoyed Rainbow Dash.

“I will be sticking with Pinkie Pie,” Mirage motioned, melding around the energetic girl. “We still need to discuss our victory party, after all!”

“Exactly! When we get back, it’s party time!” Pinkie cheered.

“Home Run?” Vauban asked.

“Of course, man. You’re a good friend to have.”

Vauban folded out and Home Run walked in as the metal folded back over him.

"Fluttershy. Would you consider still working together? I think you are an excellent partner. And don't worry. If there is fighting to be done, I will do it for you."

"I w-wouldn't mind, Trinity," Fluttershy said as she got into the suit. "I mean, being able to h-help out is nice..."

Ember also approached Sunset, but almost forgot to extinguish her fire first. “Oops. My fault, Sunset Shimmer. Almost burned you there. Although, you’re pretty hot stuff yourself. Together, we’ll set the world on fire.”

Mag and Rhino also merged with their human pilots, having bonded well with them in the last few days.

“This is an unexpected outcome,” Princess Celestia smiled. “Never did I think the Tenno would want to continue on with you. It seems that when the Grineer return again, I can count on you all to protect both worlds from their greedy hands. The queens are not known to give up just like that.”

“Lotus,” Nyx walked up to the princess. “What of the others that sleep? Why haven’t they emerged?”

Celestia looked to the pods, still dormant against the walls of her sanctum. “I fear that Captain Vor had used too much of the key’s power. The rest of the energy was spread amongst you that were awake. It seems that the others will only activate once they have found suitable partners.”

“I see…” Nyx replied rather disappointedly.

As the other Tenno and pilots exchanged their wishes to be together, Nyx and Twilight meandered over to the wall, where the rest of the cryopods stood waiting. Unbidden, Nyx raised her hand and solemnly wiped away the condensation on one.

“We’ll fight side by side again, brother. I swear it.”

Twilight tried to catch a view of the name of the Warframe in the cryopod, but decided against it. This seemed like something personal and she kept respectfully silent until Nyx turned away.

“We have to awaken the rest...” Nyx muttered, stunning Twilight with the devotion in her voice. “We have to.”

Suddenly, Home Run started heading for the doors.

“Home Run,” Rainbow called. “Where’re you off to?”

“We’re going to check on Excalibur,” Home Run reminded them of their friend who stayed back. “This fight might not be over yet.”

“Who knows? Maybe the Grineer outside all dropped dead after their leader was killed.”

“That makes no sense at all. What do you think this is, a cheap cop out in a movie?” Home Run beckoned to the rest of them. “Come on. We still need to deal with the captain’s other ship.”

“Take care,” Celestia wished as they waved and bowed to her. “Now go defend your world.”

The world was on fire around them as they reemerged through the Grineer gate. Some of the buildings lay in heaps of rubble and metal, destroyed by something heavy falling on them.

“What happened here?” Rarity asked as he looked around. “Where are the aliens?”

“The Grineer have been taken care of,” a voice said in their heads.

“Who said that?” Applejack looked to the others. “Was it you, Rhino?”

“Of course not. That was Excalibur. He’s right over there,” Rhino pointed with an arm.

Excalibur was sitting on a giant piece of broken metal in the center of the road, giving his sword a few swings at nothing.

“You sure took your time,” he told them without facing them. “We had to take down the entire galleon by ourselves.”

“You have our thanks, though,” Excalibur replied in their heads. “I take it you saved the Lotus and inserted the void key?”

“Correct, Excalibur,” Vauban voiced. “We have now become one with our pilots, just like you and yours.”

The others scanned the ruins around them. Hundreds of Grineer bodies were strewn all across the road, either in one piece, or in a few pieces. Some of the girls held back their lunch as they tried to forget what they just saw. In front of the Excalibur lay the galleon, or what was left of it. There were fragments of the destroyed ship all over the place, some impacting themselves in the ruined buildings, and others just lying around. Fire had spread across the whole area, darkening the immediate sky above them with smoke.

“Did you… destroy that ship?” Home Run asked. “All by yourself?”

Excalibur looked around. “Do you see anyone else around?”

“Does no one else see this?” Sunset asked about the damage. “No cops or anything?”

“Not yet,” Excalibur shook his head and got up. “I’ve set up magic blockades around this area to keep the humans out. Luckily, none of them have wandered in yet, but a few persons are bound to see all this. Here’s where I’ll need your help. I usually clean up after you kids. I make sure everything looks the same as it did before a battle. This time, I’ll need your help to clean this all up.”

The team moved around to help the Excalibur clear the bodies while he handled all the rubble and buildings. With some magical reagent, the buildings all returned to their previous state, like they were never blown down in the first place. After gathering all the bodies, he did the same with them, making them vanish into nothing but tiny spots, easily missed by the human eye. Soon, he headed for the gate and torsion beam, cutting them down to size before using the agent, dissolving them as well.

“Thank you all,” Excalibur said as the gathered together. “Couldn’t have done this without you.”

Excalibur turned and got ready to leave, but Applejack called him out. “Hey, Excalibur, ya told me you was goin’ to tell us who ya were if we made it out alive.”

He stopped and half-turned his head to talk to her. “It’s not who I am underneath that matters. As long as the Lotus is safe, it doesn’t matter who I am. Even if aliens are real and if they came from the stars.”

With that said, he ran up one of the buildings and disappeared from sight.

“Bruce Mane?” Pinkie said out of nowhere.

“Who in the hay is Bruce Mane?” Applejack inquired. She thought about what the man had said before he left, thinking back to the first day at school. “...Mr. Loregiver?”

Princess Celestia woke up in her bed, her head still sore from the overuse of her magic. Luna sat on the other side, watching as she started to rise out of the sheets.

“Good evening, sister,” Luna smiled, getting off the chair. “Are you well rested?”

“Yes, thank you for finishing up my daily duties, Luna,” Celestia nodded her thanks. “I feel much better now, although I probably shouldn’t use my magic for a while.”

“That is no problem, Tia. I only just raised the moon; you should have a good twelve hours of rest before you need to raise the sun,” Luna told her sister. “But before you go back to sleep… I must ask you to tell me everything about this past week. I’m not stupid, Tia. We both know you have a lot of explaining to do.”

“I know I do,” Celestia acknowledged. “And I’m sorry I kept it from you in the first place; it’s just that I didn’t feel it was right to put my own problems on you. Although...” the sun princess looked at Luna slyly. “You’ve been doing some secret things on your own, hmm? Spying on me? Don’t try to deny it.”

“Very well, sister!” Luna laughed. “Time to put everything on the table. But you’re going first.”

“Alright,” Celestia join in. “You’ve earned it. Come here and sit with me. This is going to take a while...”

Home Run woke to the sound of his phone ringing. He grumbled as he reached for it, opening one eye to make sure he grabbed the right thing. He found it much harder to lift his arm, feeling the aches from the long fight with Captain Vor and his Grineer. Eventually, his hand made it to the communications device and pressed the green button.

“Hello… this is Home Run…”

“Yo, Home Run! Guess who!”

“Bruce Mane?” Home Run joked.

“What…? No!”

“Just joking, Rainbow,” Home Run started laughing. “Didn’t think you would take me seriously.”

“Ho ho, I see what you did there, Homey!” Rainbow smirked.

“Anyway, did you need something, or are you calling for fun?” Home Run got to the point after calming his laughter.

“Uh, yeah, right! Pinkie’s invited us to another party, so I thought I’d let you know you are invited! Pinkie’s house, noon.”

Home Run grinned. “I’ll be there,” he promised, putting the phone down.

He sat up in bed, a task made harder by the various bruises he had received over the past week, whether it be from fighting Grineer, training, or running into a drop pod. He grabbed a fresh pair of clothes and stopped by the clock, just in case his rainbow haired friend had woken him too early again. It was half past ten. At night.

“Dang it, Rainbow Dash!”

Home Run counted the houses to Pinkie’s place as he cycled on, keeping an easy pace so as to not strain his legs. He eventually arrived at the relatively bland house, which he found strange for such an energetic, random girl. He chained his bike to a nearby lamp post and headed for the front door. After two knocks, Pinkie opened the door, welcoming him in with an explosion of confetti and streamers.

“Welcome, Homey!” she shouted at his face. “Come on in!”

Home Run entered, surprised to see everyone else already here and partying with their Tenno. Home Run activated his suit and stepped out of it, allowing Vauban the free rein of movement. The analytical Tenno went over to join his brothers and sisters, who were investigating a Grineer shaped pinata, while Home Run went to get a glass of punch with the Rainbooms.

“Some party, Pinkie." He drained the glass in one go. It tasted like grape juice, cool and refreshing, even if the grape was a bit too strong.

"I'm surprised you didn't show up last night, Home Run!" Rainbow butted in, trying to keep back her laughter.

Home Run pouted, but joined her in the good natured fun soon after. “Well you know, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

"What happened?" Pinkie asked.

"I'll tell you in a minute," Home Run said, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. He had just received a message. "Better not be any kind of scam."

He took it out and opened his messages, looking at the newest one. It was from an unknown number, but what caught Home Run's attention was the message itself.

“Your actions have consequences,” he read aloud. In place of the number, there was a murky image of what looked like someone’s head in the shadows.

And he wasn’t the only one.

"What is this?" Rainbow complained. "Spam? I just got the same message as Home Run."

"I think we've all received it," Vauban said as he and the other Tenno walked over. "We just got the same message in our inbox. Your actions have consequences. Even I cannot trace the sender’s signature."

"Whoever sent this has a lot of nerve, trying to scare us Tenno," Nyx muttered. "It won't work."

"W-what do you s-suppose they want..." Fluttershy shook as she read the message again.

“I don’t care,” Trinity took Fluttershy’s hand reassuringly. “Whoever it is, we’ll give them a fight to remember.”

"Too right," Mag added. "We won't let whoever sent this harm you. Any of you."

“Hey, I got an idea…” Pinkie said while holding back a laugh. “Everyone come here…”

Far out in the depths of the void, a lone figure prowled the darkness between worlds. So the Tenno had risen again, this time at the bidding of the Lotus. The figure held out its hand, red void energy cascading down from it as it checked the link. Soon, very soon, the way would be clear and the Tenno would fall to its blade. The Orokin, and now Captain Vor, would be avenged.

An eerie chime indicated an incoming message. Bringing it up, the figure viewed it and almost laughed.

It displayed the Tenno and their pilots standing around in an enclosed space, looking victorious and fearless. The words ‘Come at me bro’ were scrawled on the bottom.

With a flick of its wrist, the figure shattered the visual representation of the challenge. A scythe gleamed in the scarlet light as it brought the bladed side to its eye level. Soon, they would know what it was like to lose everything.

"Challenge… accepted."

Author's Note

To be continued in part 2/act 2/season 2, whatever you want to call it! :derpyderp1:

Well, thanks for reading this far if you did, but I'll be taking a break here for a while to sort some other things out.
So... to be continued! :yay:

Chapter 16: The Second Dream

Author's Note

Alright! We're about to start up back on track once again! Hope you guys enjoy Act 2! :yay:

Achievement Unlocked

Hu See Gar: You've reached the end of Act I, and are now ready for Act II

Chapter 16: The Second Dream

The galleon floated silently in the darkness of space, it’s course unknown. Outside the safety of the spacecraft’s hull, nothing could be heard; though for this specific galleon, its occupants might’ve prefered the vacuum of space.

Tagg ran down the corridors of the galleon, bleeding from a wound in his shoulder. He gripped at his shoulder and grunted. It hurt, but he still considered himself lucky. The others he was with had taken at least three arrows each, but these weren’t ordinary arrows. Instead of piercing their ferrite armor, these arrows sliced clean through their bodies, dismembering Tagg’s friends before his eyes.

There was nothing he could do for his friends as they lay dying at his feet, the last of their lives bleeding out the severed mounts of their bodies.

Troopers and eviscerators had arrived in from another entrance, immediately fighting back against their unknown assailant. Tagg didn’t stop to help, not stopping unless his legs were to give out from under him.

“Gaaaaaah!” one of the eviscerators screamed as the top half of his body detached with the bottom. Tagg saw the fear and agony permanently written across his dead face as he exited out through the farthest door.

Still the sounds of battle sounded behind him as he ran. The bloodcurdling screams, the gunfire, and the sound of flesh and armor falling apart would haunt Tagg’s mind for as long as he lived, though judging by the attacks, he didn’t have long.

The escape pods… I must get… Escape.

Only three more turns and jumps across the expansive galleon did Tagg notice the sound.

The sound of silence.

The screams of his fellow Grineer had died out, along with the resistance they were putting up against their attacker.

Tenno. It had to be. Nothing else in the universe could tear their ranks apart like that. Nothing known, at least.

The lone Grineer headed through the targetting room, heading down the slope to the exit at the far end. He had only taken two steps when a clatter of steel behind him turned him around. Tagg swiftly turned his head just as a shadow of black and red dashed for him.

He turned and fired his rifle, trying to slow the shape, but he might as well be fighting the Void itself. The figure sliced his bullets to bits with a long scythe, closing the distance at the same time.

“Back! Away, away!” he gasped and ran on, taking a detour down a ramp.

At this rate, he wouldn’t outrun the foul beast behind him. He needed to do something, fast. Turning on his heel, he shot at one of the reactors to his side, causing it to spew steam, right into the face of his attacker. The sudden blast had caught the creature off-guard, allowing Tagg to slip away, rolling down the slope, hitting his head on the bottom.

The Grineer quickly recovered from his daze and scrambled away, proceeding through a door on the far side. He could still get to the escape pods from this side, but he had to hurry. The beast was still on his scent, much faster and deadlier than he.

Tagg only had a slim chance to get away, but he was willing to try it. Either way, he was going to end up dead anyway, so he figured, “Why not? Do or die.”

He appeared at the top of a slope, speeding his way down, careful not to trip and fall. A few more corridors stood in his way, but Tagg finally saw the escape pod room, allowing a smile to form on his distorted face as he approached it. He was going to make it. He was going to survive and live another day.

Then he was flying. Flying forward against the wall on the right. At first, Tagg had no idea what was happening, nor could he move his arms. Then he felt the pain, flaring up in his forearms and from the impact.

“Aaagh!” he uttered as smoke and blood poured out of his wounds. Thin dagger-like blades protruded out of his arms, their handles black as night.

His attention was too focused on the knives in his arms that he almost missed the mysterious figure walking up to him, the scythe in hand.

Tagg felt a hand grab his face before turning it, coming face to face with a mask of black and red. The creature’s body was that of a Warframe. A creation that served the Grineer’s old enemy, the Lotus, but this one was different. Shadows swirled around its form, masking its body’s details, while at the same time, creating something more frightening. Pockets of knives hung on its legs, while a bow hung around its back, along with a quiver of black arrows.

“What do you want?” he screamed at the shadowy figure as it squeezed at his chin and neck.

“The planet your people invaded,” it boomed. The voice seemed to come from all around him. “I want the source.”

Tagg saw no reason to withhold the information. “Earth! They’re on Earth! A place called…” He tried to remember the name. “Can-ter-lot.”

“Canterlot…” Tagg felt the grip on his neck release, allowing him air once again. “Thank you.”

Then a scythe swung across his head and everything went black.

The Stalker approached the window in the galleon’s bridge, staring out into the vastness of space. According to the ship’s coordinates, the planet wasn’t far.

Good… It won’t be long before I get there.

Since his awakening, the Stalker had felt something. A calling. The Lotus was waking her precious Tenno once again. He had searched for the Lotus and her children for eons, unable to locate her, but this time, the Stalker knew he was close.

Earth.

The planet where it had all began. Fitting, that the Lotus had chosen to hide here. It all felt like a dream to him. A dream where if he woke, he would lose sight of the Lotus.

The Stalker couldn’t allow this.

He swished his scythe through the air and spun it once to clear its sharp blade of the blood it carried. He didn’t want to kill the Grineer here. They had done nothing to wrong him, but they were the only ones with knowledge on the Lotus’ current whereabouts, and he wasn’t going to give up that chance.

The Stalker had dreamt once in deep sleep, relieving the days of the Orokin. But that time had passed. He had awoken to the barrenness of the Void, finding no traces of life but himself.

Not this time. If this was yet another dream, he wasn’t going to let himself wake. To find that the people he had worshipped, gone… He couldn’t experience it again.

Almost a moon ago, he had sent out a warning to those who wore the skin of the Tenno. The ones willing to fight for the Lotus. Instead of fear, he had felt something else from them.

Kindness. Honesty. Loyalty. Generosity. Laughter. Especially laughter. The knaves had sent him back a picture of themselves, with words tagged at the bottom, a meaning lost to the Stalker.

Whatever it meant, they were not afraid.

Good, he had told himself. This way, they will learn true fear when they face me in battle.

This second dream was his hope. The Lotus was down on Earth. He had found her, and this time, she and her children would find no escape. He would return home, grasping the Lotus’ head in his hand, bringing the justice his masters had deserved.

“I am your reckoning…” the Stalker muttered these words. The same words he had said to every Tenno he had slain before. All Tenno and the Lotus were going to get what they should have received all those years ago, and he couldn’t wait to get started. “Your sentence… is death.”

Then the Stalker activated the thrusters from the main console, setting the Grineer galleon on course for the planet Earth.

Chapter 17: Ghost of Retribution

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 18: An Electrifying Entrance

Home Run, and the Rainbooms made their way to their respective classes as quickly as they could, though Home Run and Applejack lagged behind a little. The rest of them gave support to the two, helping them get to class quickly. Eclair decided to find Mr. Loregiver, heading towards the history class.

Sunset Shimmer knocked on the door to the science room before entering, opening the door right in Mr. Discord’s face, knocking him to the ground. “I am so sorry, Mr. Discord! I didn’t know you were there!”

He rubbed at his nose, but stood up on his own. “It’s fine, Sunset. This is nothing. Anyway, I got the memo from Mr. Loregiver. He said you were helping him move some stuff? And Home Run? What happened to him?”

Rainbow was the first to answer. “Yes, of course Mr. Discord! That’s exactly what we were doing! As for Home Run… a bookshelf fell on him, but Mr. Loregiver patched him up. Quite well, in fact.”

“Very well, just sit down,” Discord shooed them to their seats. “I’m in the middle of some calibrating equations.”

The Rainbooms helped Home Run into his seat before getting in theirs.

“Home Run!” Sundown whispered over to him. “What happened to ya! How’d that bookshelf fall on ya? Are ya gonna be alright for that baseball game later?”

Home Run could have hit himself for being so careless in the battle. He had forgotten all about the baseball preliminaries after school today. “Oh no no no…”

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked from his other side.

“Is there a problem back there?” Mr. Discord called from the front, pointing at a theory of equations.

“No problems here, Mr. Discord,” Home Run tried to say as calmly as he could. He slightly turned to Rainbow. “I’ll… I’ll tell you later…”

Mr. Discord continued on with the class like always, spouting some words that didn’t make sense before giving the class more homework. As soon as the bell rang, the students began packing their bags and heading out.

“So, what were you going to tell me earlier?” Rainbow asked once they passed the doors.

Home Run sighed, but told her anyway. “The baseball game… How am I going to play now? I can barely walk. I can’t miss it! I’m not letting my team down again!”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh. You’re right.”

“Oh, not again…” Sunset put a palm to her face. “Look, is now really the best time to be worrying about that; we barely got away with our lives earlier. We got lucky, Home Run.”

“I get it,” Home Run nodded hesitantly. “But… I just can’t fail my team. Not a second time.”

The four of them hurried on, unsure of how to deal with Home Run’s problem.

“Well if we’re lucky,” Rainbow cracked dryly. “Maybe the Stalker will attack us before the game, and it’ll have to be moved.”

“I-I’d rather that didn’t happen…” Fluttershy whimpered. “I mean… if it’s okay with you.”

Arriving at the gym doors, Home Run said goodbye to his friends and headed for his PE class. Once again, he sat out for the games, unable to do anything with his injured leg.

“Man, you sure get a lot of injuries,” Soarin gave him a pat on the back. “You’ve got to be more careful out there, slugger.”

“Yeah…”

“Hey, what’s with the long face? Cheer up. You’ll get better in no time.”

Home Run shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s the baseball game later. I… I won’t be able to help the team out.”

“Hey what’s up, Homey?” Heavy Wind clapped Home Run on the back as well. “You know, I was taking a walk in some ninja garden the other day, and all of a sudden, this huge dude with glasses comes crashing through the wall, being chased by this other guy who looked like Lightning Rain or something… maybe he’s on steroids or something, I don’t know. It was awesome.”

“Are you sure you didn’t dream all that?” Charly put a finger to his chin, trying to imagine it. It seemed he was having trouble doing so.

“Or read that on that website of yours?” Trixie asked, listening in on the absurd story.

Heavy Wind gave them both an incredulous look. “What do you mean? I would never lie about such a serious matter. That’s Jetstream’s line of work. In fact, the big guy was yelling something about small mechanics or something... I don't exactly recall.”

“So what did you do after that?” Home Run asked, his curiosity aroused by this fantastic tale.

“Dunno,” the other boy shrugged. “Just went home, I guess.”

“You’re making that up!” Trixie pointed a finger at him. “Even the great and powerful Trixie has never seen something like that!”

“I am so not making that up!” Heavy Wind shot back hotly. “In fact, I even took a video! Here!”

He yanked out his phone and showed them a video. It was grainy and blurry, but two figures could be seen sprinting in the dusk, one of them large and muscular, the other one thinner and carrying a long, shiny object that almost looked like a baseball bat. The audio was crackly, but near the end, they could barely make out the words, “...chines, son!”

“See? Solid proof!”

“Looks real to me,” Charly said.

“I don’t know,” Spitfire had joined the huddle and was now scratching her chin. “Looks an awful lot like that new Wooden Cog game that came out last week to me. I think I even played through that boss.”

Heavy Wind put his hands on his hips. “It’s totally real, and it’s going on Neighgag- wait...” he held up a finger. “You have Wooden Cog Upsurgence: Counteretribution? I’ve been looking everywhere for that game!”

“What can I say?” Spitfire shrugged smugly. “Sometimes it’s good to be able to run fast.”

“Hey!” Coach Whiplash blew his whistle. “What are you all hanging around Home Run for? Back to the game! Come on, move! Let’s go!”

Soon after PE, Home Run found himself back with the Rainbooms in Mr. Loregiver’s class. When he entered, Eclair was already there, seated unobtrusively at the back of the room at a desk that was usually empty.

“Who’s that?” Lyra asked Mr. Loregiver as she entered the classroom, looking at the new girl.

“Class,” Mr. Loregiver walked up to the front. “This is Eclair. She’ll be joining us from today. Be nice to her.”

Eclair didn’t stand, simply nodding her greetings to the class. The bell rang shortly after, allowing Mr. Loregiver to begin his class.

“Now, today we’ll be focusing on ancient myths and legends. Like that of King Dawn Saber and the such, but more recent. Can anyone tell me of a more contemporary myth?”

Lyra raised her hand. “How about the story of that Trotsylvanian vampire?”

“Very good,” Mr. Loregiver nodded. “Now, while I’m quite sure there are no such things as vampires, the story of Draculina has been a staple of the horror genre for nearly a hundred years. In fact, I’ve been trying to get the principal to arrange a field trip to Trotsylvania for a while now… but that’s another topic. Now, in light of this, I’d like you all to get in groups of four and discuss various legends through the ages."

For once, the students were excited, talking to each other about all kinds of legends, like the Labyrinth, and the headless horse, except for Home Run. His mind was still busy trying to figure out how he could make it for the baseball game. It was almost deja vu for him; the same thing happening to him when he was still with his old school.

“Home Run?” he heard Sunset say. He blinked and looked up, the others looking at him. “You’re not still thinking about the baseball game are you?”

“Don’t worry about it, Home Run,” Rainbow assured. “This isn’t like the last time. We’ll win that game for you. I mean, Rainbow Dash and the Winds of Destruction? We’re awesome.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Applejack added in, giving him a confident smile. “Although, Ah have no idea what happened the last time.”

“I’ll tell you some other time I guess…” Home Run sighed, but they were right. Even if he did play, what then? He couldn’t run. He wouldn’t even make it to first base. He just had to trust in his friends. They did have quite the reputation after all. They can do it.

Princess Celestia and Luna paced around Twilight's palace, looking in to the Warframe pods to check on them.

"We need to waken the others, dear sister," Luna suggested. "How are the humans going to manage against that Stalker? It has already proven it is stronger than eight of them, and even damaged two. We won't last long against such an enemy without reinforcements."

"You're right, Luna, but where are we going to find more pilots?" Celestia contemplated.

"Ooh ooh!" Pinkie hopped out from behind one of the pods. "Pick me! Pick me!"

"Unfortunately, pony Pinkie Pie," Nyx stepped in. "An Equestrian cannot pilot a Warframe in this form. You will need to transform into a human before you are able to."

"What's wrong with that?" the pink pony raised an eyebrow and put a hoof to her chin.

"It is as always, Pinkie," Celestia informed. "It would be strange for two of you running around. We'll have to scout the school for more pilots... Or... We could have the Tenno pick the pilots."

"How is that possible, Lotus?" Nyx questioned, putting a hand to one of the pods. "I thought they couldn't reactivate on their own?"

"There is a way," Celestia continued. "If you bring the pod into vicinity of a possible pilot and activate autotracking, the Warframe will automatically attach to its host, allowing the Tenno to reactivate."

Nyx almost snapped at the princess. "Then why didn't we do this sooner? The rest of my brothers and sisters would have awoken by now!"

"Calm down, Nyx," Twilight scolded, but felt Nyx's sadness. Being away from those you love was hard. "I mean... It's unnecessary and dangerous to bring other humans into this battle unless we really have to."

"And I believe we have to," Luna agreed. "If the Stalker were to keep attacking, or if there is more than one, there won't be enough pilots to take him on. We need to start recruiting."

"I will take them to the human world," Nyx immediately volunteered. "I... I want to be there when they awaken."

"I'll go with her," Twilight stepped up to Nyx. "She's my partner after all."

"Alright," the white alicorn smiled. "And Nyx? I know you miss him, but please don't rush the process."

"I will do my best, Lotus," Nyx bowed before merging with Twilight. "Come, Twilight Sparkle. Let us go. Time's wasting."

Princess Celestia and Luna activated their magic, sending the pods through the portal with Twilight and Nyx before heading back to their castle.

"Luna... There is something else I want to talk about. Another plan."

The smaller princess raised an eyebrow. "Another plan?"

Celestia nodded and closed both eyes, having to reveal yet another secret. "These Warframes... I didn't create them. I found them."

"I thought we were clear on all secrets, Tia?" Luna narrowed her eyes, disappointed.

"I know. I'm sorry. I never thought it would come to this. I found the suits in the Void. An ancient place long before our time. An area deep in space, hidden to most and shares no boundaries with our dimensions."

"How will this... Void help us?"

Celestia took a breath before continuing. "When I found the Warframes, I had also found secret vaults. The precursors... The Orokin as I call them, left them around the Void, hiding plenty of their secrets from us. After years of research into the Void, I've realized they've been keeping Warframes in them. Not just any Warframes, but ones with tremendously more power."

"Then why haven't you gotten them yet?"

Celestia looked down to the lands below them, watching ponies go about their usual routine. "I never figured out how to open them. Maybe Home Run and the girls can figure it out."

Luna was aghast. "You plan on sending them in there? Even with that... Thing chasing after them?"

"What choice do we have, Luna? I'm afraid without better Frames... They're not going to last long."

Twilight and Nyx had set the pods up on the roof of CHS before calibrating the autotracking device.

"So how do these work?" Twilight looked around the back of the pods. "Are they just going to fly out? Or do they point us to a suitable pilot?"

Nyx shrugged. "I have never seen this function before. We shall just have to find out."

"So... Which one first?"

Twilight remembered she didn't have to ask Nyx. She knew which one she was going to activate first. Nyx stood before the pod, resting her hand on the glass. After finishing her peaceful moment, Nyx activated the tracker, watching as the pod opened, releasing the pressurized air as a Warframe moved out. Nyx put a hand on it before it launched off, heading for the person who synced with it the best.

"So what now?" Twilight asked, running to the roof to watch the Warframe go.

"We follow it." Nyx quickly melded over Twilight and leapt off the school roof, landing with a roll on the soft grass below.

"What if the students see us?" Twilight worried. “I don’t think they’re used to seeing things like that.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised, Twilight Sparkle. Excalibur has told me tales of how the students just ignore him when he’s up and about. He just makes sure to clean up after a battle to avoid the general suspicion.”

“Huh…” was all Twilight had to say. They continued on as Nyx scanned the area for the Warframe. “So… this Warframe… you seem to have a special bond with him.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Nyx said frostily.

“Nyx,” Twilight said soothingly. “You don’t have to hide anything from me. I won’t laugh.”

“Good, because there’s nothing to hide. Come on. Volt is moving faster now.”

“Volt? Is that his name? Has he found a pilot?”

Nyx responded by speeding up their pace. Indeed, the unmanned Warframe had picked up the pace; lightning was sparking from its feet as it navigated the school and tendrils of electricity arced onto its body as it passed outlets in the walls.

“I’m guessing Volt’s power is electrical in nature?” Twilight said, ducking back from a discharge.

Nyx’s HUD flickered. “As observant as ever, I see.”

“Oh, Nyx. I have to say… I haven’t missed your petty words.”

Volt suddenly turned a sharp corner, dashing through a half-opened door. There was a startled yelp and the sound of a opening Warframe before electric began sparking out the doors, forcing Twilight and Nyx to stay back until they were extinguished.

Twilight peeked her head around the entrance, watching as the Warframe stood up from the ground, immediately looking at his hands. Nyx took over Twilight’s movement and headed inside, alerting the Warframe to their presence.

“Nyx…?” his voiced appeared in Twilight’s head. “Is… is that you?”

“Volt,” Nyx slowly said. “It’s… been a while, hasn’t it?”

Volt reached out to Twilight, the electricity fizzling out. The Warframe had led them to the band room, where numerous instruments were stacked up neatly, with the exception of a blue electric guitar which lay on the ground.

“It’s been… how long? It feels like forever. Where… are we?”

Volt held out his hand, allowing Nyx to take it. She gripped it firmly, as if letting go would send him back to cryosleep. “We’re back in the human world. This is Canterlot High School. A… learning center as they call it.”

“So… Nyx,” Twilight twisted her mouth into a smile. “Still nothing to hide?”

A startled voice suddenly emerged from within the electrical Warframe. “Uhh… What’s happening? Why is my hand moving on its own? Who are you?” Twilight and Nyx stepped back, narrowly missing Volt’s foot as the pilot fell over backwards into a drum kit. “Oww.”

Nyx just had to ask. “Volt. Is your pilot an incompetent? Believe me, I know what it’s like; Twilight Sparkle here was more than a bit hopeless at first.”

“Hey! Twilight is not hopeless! Who are you to say that?”

There was a crunching sound from the door. Everyone turned to see Jetstream there with a bag of popcorn. “Hey Flash!” he called, not looking up from his snack. “Mr. Bray said he wanted to talk to you about…” the fistful of popcorn he’d been holding fell to the ground as he realized what he was looking at. “Uh…”

“I got this.” Quick as lightning, Nyx took control and launched a mind control at Jetstream. They boy’s eyes went blank and he turned a hundred and eighty degrees, walking right back out without another word.

“Nyx! You can’t just use your powers on the students!” Twilight began to lecture. “And besides… Mind control doesn’t erase his memory.”

“Well he’ll have a hard time convincing anyone that what he just saw was real,” Nyx snapped back. “Unless you’d prefer I remove the problem permanently…”

“Hold up, hold up!” the pilot of Volt said, walking in front of Nyx and putting his hands up. “Whoever you are, you can’t just go around killing kids! What are you anyway? What am I? Where’s Twilight? How do you know her?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Flash?” She willed her helmet to fold. “Is that you?”

The other Warframe jumped back a few steps before taking a closer look at Twilight. Suddenly, his helmet went down too. “Woah that is cool, but Twilight? What’s going on? What’s all this? Uhh… well, it’s nice to see you and everything, but I have no idea what’s going on…”

“Easy, Flash Sentry,” Volt started. “I am Volt, and we are Tenno. The beings that inhabit this suit, this Warframe, with you. You have been selected to defend your race from a coming threat I believe. Nyx, what are we facing? Why have we been awoken?”

Flash looked for all the world like he’d been told the sky was green.

Twilight took his hand and they both sat down after locking the door. “Easy there,” she said. “Let’s start from the beginning…”

Home Run sat miserably in the dugout as his friends went up to bat one by one. Their first preliminary game was against the Chicoltgo Academy Foxes. Home Run remembered them from his days at Fillydephia State. They were an average team. Pretty fast, but they’re weren’t as good at the bat. He cheered half-heartedly as the Wondercolts scored a run, Jetstream returning back beside him in the dugout.

“Did you see that, Homey? I was gone, like a wind of destruction! No one can tag me out. Nobody!”

“Yeah, nice one, Jetstream,” Home Run fistbumped. “Wish I could be out there with you guys, but this’ll have to do.”

“I’ve already told you, Home Run!” Rainbow gave him a pat. “You leave it to us. If Jetstream already did that well, you can bet I’m gonna do even better!”

“Hey,” Jetstream raised his arms in surrender. “You’re the boss, boss. I’m happy as long as I’m better than Lightning Rain here.” The boy in question curled his lip in a silent sneer before getting up for his turn at the bat. Jetstream chuckled and leaned back, taking a swig of water from the cooler. “Yo Homey, don’t look so down, let Jetstream here tell you a story.”

“Ummm… sure,” Home Run wasn’t sure what to say, but he just went with it. “Go for it…”

“It was a dark and stormy night,” Jetstream waved his hands around to accentuate just how dark and stormy it had been. “And me and Lightning Rain were dueling with our swords in the middle of the desert on motorbikes, and-”

“Hey, Jets,” Heavy Wind said from behind his phone. “If you’re gonna tell a tall tale, at least tell one we haven’t heard five times already.”

“More than five, brother,” Cold Wind reminded him around the wad of gum in her mouth.

“Is it true?” Shortstop asked excitedly. “You being in the desert and all?”

“Yeah!” Jetstream said.

“Aw, heck no,” Sundown’s voice came from the other end of the dugout as he got up to bat.

“You shut your face!” Jetstream stood up and pointed at him. “Anyway, if you want a new story, I’ve got one just for you guys.” He cleared his throat theatrically. “I was walking through the school, when-”

Heavy Wind coughed. “Is this the one about the ninjas in the lockers? Because you know you’ve told us that one too…”

“Hey, you memelord,” Jetstream warned. “Who’s telling the story here, you, or me? Just listen, will you?” Once everyone had quieted down, he kept talking. “Anyway, I was going to the band room, and it was aaaaallll quiet, like real quiet, man. Then I see this light from the room, because like, it was like a lightning strike indoors, man.”

Home Run leaned back as Jetstream’s face became more and more gleeful. He gave First Base a high five as the freshman headed for the home plate. “Where are you going with this?”

“I’ll-I’ll tell you in a second. Anyway, I was going to get something, or someone, or I don’t know, then I saw… it.”

“It?” Shortstop gasped, clearly in awe of the older boy.

“It,” Jetstream confirmed. “And I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

“Wha-what did you see?”

“I saw…” Jetstream paused for maximum effect. “... a robot.”

There was a moment of stunned silence, only to be broken by Lightning Rain returning to the dugout.

“Wow,” Cold Wind said after blowing a bubble. “That’s gotta be like… the lamest story you’ve told, ever. Thanks for that, Jets. Really; that’s two minutes of my life I’ll never get back.”

“Hey, no I’m serious! I did see a robot. Or was it two robots? You know, I don’t quite remember the full details, but I’m certain I saw them!”

“Robots?” Lightning Rain let out a small laugh. “You sure it’s me who’s been playing too much Wooden Cog? Because you sound like you’re seeing mechs everywhere.”

“No, I’m certain!” Jetstream raised his volume. “It’s one of the only things I know for real! I did see a robot!”

“These robots…” Rainbow butted in. “What do they look like?”

"Glad you asked, boss!" Jetstream gave her a big smile.They were big and tall, and one of them was carrying this huge gun! I barely got out of there alive! In fact, I think it even shot at me, but I was too quick for it.”

"Right..." Home Run leaned back against the wall and blew some air from his mouth. At first, he thought Jetstream had seen one of the Warframes, but after listening to his absurd description, it must have been another story he made up on the spot.

"Jetstream, don't bother them with your boring stories," Lightning grunted into his water bottle.

Soon, the whistle blew, indicating the placement change for both teams as the Wondercolts headed for the field with their mitts.

"Time to shine, team!" Rainbow told them as they got into position. "Like me! We're gonna win this game for Home Run there. He deserves it."

"WONDERCOLTS!" all of them shouted as they moved to their field placements.

"Wait," Flash Sentry called for a stop. "So you've all been fighting this secret battle for the last month? I haven't seen any signs of combat or anything."

Twilight had explained everything to Flash while Nyx and Volt went to another corner to catch up. She started from finding the void keys all the way to the new enemy showing up.

"Your Mr. Loregiver is very good at his job," Twilight explained.

"Okay, so he's from your world, right? And he's this indomitable machine or something?"

"Sounds about right," Twilight laughed. "Are... You okay with this? Defending the world and all?"

"Yeah!" Flash said enthusiastically. "If you're in, then I'm in!" He took Twilight's hand, making her blush. "By the way... Valentine's Day is coming up. Will you be around for that?"

Twilight scratched at her head. "Umm... I don't believe I know what that is."

"Let's see how to put this..." Flash put a hand to his chin. "Valentine's Day is a day where you... hang out with... with a special someone."

"Oh," Twilight started playing with her hair. "Kinda like Hearts and Hooves Day."

"I have no idea what that is."

"So, this... Velvetines's Day..."

"Valentine's Day," Flash corrected. "Would... would you like to hang out with me?"

Twilight was just about to give him an answer before Volt slammed them both to the ground. "Down!"

Twilight turned her head as a few knives flew over their heads, stabbing themselves in the wall, raining plaster down on them.

"Twilight Sparkle! To me!" Nyx beckoned, helping Twilight up. She quickly folded over the lavender girl and pulled out her sybaris. "The Stalker. It's here. Somewhere."

Flash still had no idea what was going on, but Volt melded over him and took control, bringing his fists up in front of him.

"Finally," Volt charged his fists with electric. "I've been waiting for a fight. Flash Sentry. How good are you in a battle?"

"I don't know!" Flash started to panic. "I've never really fought anyone."

Volt resisted the urge to slap a hand in his face, instead taking a step in front of Nyx. "Stay back, Nyx. We'll get this."

"No, Volt!" Nyx protested. "From what I've heard, this enemy is strong. We'll take him together. Like old times."

"Very well," Volt smashed his fists together, sendings sparks out. "Like old times. Flash Sentry, if you see an attack that I fail to see, dodge it for me."

"Tenno..." a creepy voice sounded around them.

Twilight raised her rifle, making sure to check all around her. Almost at the exact moment she turned left, a darkness grew on her right as the Stalker emerged, swinging his scythe right at her. Nyx immediately took control, spinning and throwing them to the ground.

Twilight took the chance to fire off four shots, three of them clipping the Stalker in the side. It growled at her as it dodged a punch from Volt, taking a huge slide back.

It pulled out its bow and fired an arrow at them.

"Watch out!" Volt warned as they ducked under it. "Bladed arrows. They're going to cut right through you."

The electrical Warframe gathered his energy before firing off a shockwave towards the attacking Tenno. It shorted out all the lights in the room, but the Stalker jumped up and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, instantly appearing over him and pinning him down.

Twilight quickly threw herself in between both of them and activated an absorb as the Stalker's blade slashed towards them. The blade connected, allowing Twilight to redirect the damage to the Stalker as she caused her barrier to explode.

"That was really good, Twilight Sparkle," Nyx congratulated.

The Stalker flew back into a wall, cracking the structure with the impact. It pulled itself off as more bullets flew in its direction. Pulling out more throwing knives, it let loose a few as it ran towards the Warframes. Volt shot off a jolt of electricity at each one, managing to blast them all out of the sky as they got closer.

“You’re not the only one with sharpshooting accuracy, fella!” Volt blew on his fingers like it was a gun.

“You think you know how to fight?” the Stalker boomed. “You cower behind your Lotus, and kill the innocent? Let me show you how to fight.”

The Stalker vanished in a blur, suddenly sliding past Nyx, breaking her shields and cutting a huge gash in her armor along the side. Nyx and Twilight screamed out in pain as the blade pierced deep through the armor, tearing along the skin and muscles. Twilight collapsed from the pain, but Nyx, Volt and Flash managed to catch her and hold her up.

"Twilight!" Flash held her. He checked the wound, slowly spilling blood down her suit. He focused his words on Volt. "What can I do to help her?"

"Fluttershy," Nyx informed him. "Take her to Fluttershy. She can heal the wound."

The Stalker turned itself and brought out its bow again.

"Run, Flash Sentry!" Volt pushed his Frame towards the door. "Run! Don't stop running till we lose it. I'll help out with my skills. You keep moving!"

Flash didn't have to be told twice to get out. He picked Twilight up and dashed for the door. Nyx threw a few psychic bolts at the rogue Tenno while Volt activated a speed boost, sending Flash jetting through the hallway, electricity rippling off his Frame.

The Stalker let loose an arrow, just missing the blue haired boy as he turned. Two psychic bolts got it in the chest, irritating it, but it shrugged it off and ran after Flash.

"Did we lose it?" Flash asked his partner.

"Just keep running. Don't stop unless I tell you to."

The speed boost Volt gave him was surprisingly useful, allowing the guitarist to sprint long distances in such a short time. The Stalker nocked in another arrow and fired, missing Flash by the shoulder, startling the guitarist. Nyx fired off a few more psychic bolts, hoping to slow down their pursuer. Soon, the sound of the Stalker fell behind them, slowly growing softer and softer until he was not heard any longer.

“Very good, Flash Sentry,” Volt acknowledged. “Now keep going. Don’t stop yet. It might still be on your trail. Nyx. Where does this Fluttershy hang out? We must find her. Fast. Before your pilot loses too much blood.”

“I believe Fluttershy hangs around the animal shelter after school,” Flash suggested. He looked down to Twilight to check if she was still breathing. She was. “Hang in there, Twilight. We’re getting help.”

Flash Sentry plotted the nearest path to the animal shelter and took off even faster than before. He didn’t get to see Twilight all that often, and he wasn’t going to lose her now.

Chapter 19: Playground of the Dead

"In you go!" Fluttershy softly pushed the rabbits back into their cages. "All cleaned up and good to go!"

After making each animal was in, she closed the cage doors and made sure they were secure. She wiped the back of a hand over her forehead, mopping up the sweat she had accumulated while cleaning the place. Helping out the little animals here always cheered her up. She was just about to go when Trinity folded her helmet over her pink hair.

“Trinity?” the shy girl jumped back in surprise. “What’s going on?”

“Someone’s calling out to us,” Trinity informed. “I think it’s Nyx, and… Volt? How can this be?”

“Nyx! That means it’s Twilight!” Fluttershy gasped with excitement and shock. “She must be in trouble! But… who’s Volt?”

"Volt is another friend, but I thought he was in cryosleep with the rest..."

"Well, which way to Twilight?"

Trinity didn't answer, instead encasing Fluttershy in the rest of the suit before setting off towards Nyx's signal. One street down and she saw a bluish-orange Warframe, carrying a wounded Twilight running towards her location. Some civilians stood on the pavements and gasped, but Fluttershy couldn't do anything about it, and besides, her friend was injured. That was more important right now.

"Trinity!" the one called Volt spoke in Fluttershy' HUD. "Good to see you, but we need your work here. Twilight Sparkle and Nyx have been wounded. You must help them."

Fluttershy cringed as she looked at Twilight’s wound, literally able to see through the armor and skin. She wobbled a hand forward as Trinity tapped into her energy. Green light began dancing around her arm, heading down to her hand and leaving to Twilight’s body. Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes as the wound began to close up, disappearing into a small scar, which would heal over in time.

“T-there… all g-good,” Fluttershy gasped. “She’ll be fine shortly, b-but we should g-get her off the s-streets. People are watching.”

“Right,” Volt looked around at the staring civilians. “Let’s go.”

He ran past Fluttershy as she started after him. Suddenly, his body filled with electricity and Fluttershy found her legs running faster than they have ever run before. She squealed as she fought for balance at the new speed, but eventually got it, speeding along behind Volt.

“W-wait!” she called to the front. “Where are we going?”

“It’s alright, Fluttershy,” Nyx entered her head. “We’re heading to the portal. It’ll be safe once we’re through.”

Fluttershy nodded to herself and followed. After arriving at the statue, Volt stopped, standing before it.

"What now?" he asked no one in particular.

"We go through it." Fluttershy stepped through first, disappearing to the other side of the mirror. Soon, the Volt emerged behind her, carrying Twilight through as well.

"Woah... This place... Wow. Where are we?"

"This is Twilight's palace," Fluttershy told him.

"Cool."

They got to waking the lavender girl up, calling her name and carefully shaking her. Nyx unfolded herself and stood next to Volt while Fluttershy tried to get her up.

Soon her eyes fluttered open and she looked around, realizing she was in her palace. "Hmm? Fluttershy? What are we doing here? The Stalker! He was in school!"

"It's alright, Twilight," the Volt bent down. "Volt and I outran it. We're safe for now."

"Thanks, Flash," Twilight nodded and accepted his help to get up.

"Flash?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the new Warframe.

"That's right," he deactivated the helmet. "I was just practicing when this suit walked up to me and folded over me. Twilight told me about the Stalker, so I've decided to help out in any way I can."

"W-well... That's good," she meekly said. "We could use the extra help. Right?"

"Oh," Twilight remembered. "Flash. You'll need a weapon. I believe the princess left a bunch on the tables here, just in case we needed more." She pointed to a stack of weapons resting on one of her tables. "Right there."

Well, alright. A weapon would help." The guitarist walked to the table and inspected the weapons. "What do you think, Volt? I've never really held any of these before. Any favourites?"

"I prefer something fast, or light. Maybe a nikana." Volt moved his hand and grabbed a long, thin blade, settled nicely within a sheath. He pulled it out and swung it a few times, displaying its speed and gracefulness. "Still got it. You try, Flash Sentry."

"What?" Flash swung the sword a few times, trying to emulate all the samurai and ninja movies he had seen with his friends. “Ha! Huh! Huow!” Eventually he ran out of breath and lowered the sword. “How was that?”

Nyx and Trinity looked at each other, then at Flash, then back to each other.

“Terrible,” they both said simultaneously.

“Your technique is abysmal, Flash Sentry, as well as your aim and speed.”

“Don’t get me started on your poor stance…as well as your disregard of respect for the weapon.”

"Takes practice, I suppose," Twilight told him. "Don't worry. We all started out like that. Anyway, before Nyx starts to talk about my skills, we need to discuss this Stalker."

"It attacked us during lunch," Fluttershy informed her friends. "It w-was very... Scary. Whoever it is... It seems to want revenge against us..."

"I had the messages too," Twilight nodded in agreement. "Revenge for killing Vor... But why? Could it be a Grineer weapon against us?"

"That is a possibility, Twilight Sparkle," Nyx pondered. "But how they acquired one and convinced the Tenno to attack us, I have no clue."

"Umpf..." Twilight stood up on her own, rubbing the pain at her side. "Well, as much as I'd like to figure this out now, I think I need to rest."

"Right," Fluttershy nodded, remembering the ghastly wound from before. "C'mon Flash. We'll visit another time."

"Oh..." Flash lowered his head. "See you around, Twilight. Don't move about too much."

Twilight couldn't hold back the laugh. "Alright, Flash. I'll make sure to get lots of rest. See you for that Valentine's thing."

Home Run headed to school, feeling refreshed after a nice shower. His leg was getting better, but he still couldn't push it, forcing him to cycle to school slowly. The Wondercolts had won the game yesterday, earning Home Run's praise and trust in the team, but he made a mental reminder. He wouldn't let his team down a second time. He couldn't allow them to pull him all the way to the finals. He was going to help out as soon as he could.

Arriving at the front of Canterlot High, Home Run left his bike at the racks like usual and made his way into the building. He spotted his violet haired friend, walking towards the front doors and decided to join her.

“Hey, Rarity,” Home Run greeted as he slowed next to her.

“Good Morning, Home Run,” she replied. “How did you find last night’s assignment? Not too bad in my opinion, but it’s still unfortunate that we have to do homework on top of everything else…”

“Yeah, I agree,” Home Run said. This time, Vauban hadn’t been around to help him with harder questions, still being repaired in Equestria, which reminded the baseball player. He had to find some time to get Vauban back before the Stalker showed up again. “But what can we do about it? I just hope that thing doesn’t show up at least until I get Vauban back.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Rarity gasped. “You still need to get Vauban back from Equestria! You should do it at lunch. Hopefully we won’t get attacked until then.”

“Good idea. I’ll have to tell Applejack too. I’ll see her in homeroom,” Home Run planned out. “Everything going well with you? Well-being, Warframe, and all?”

Rarity waved her hand easily. “I’m doing quite well, all things considered. I’m more concerned about you, Home Run. You did suffer quite the injury yesterday. And while your body is fine, such a thing can do awful things to the mind.” The words were almost condescending, but an undercurrent of true worry ran under them.

Home Run showed her the mobility of his leg. “Almost fine now. See? But what do you mean about my mind?”

“Mental trauma, darling,” Rarity said seriously. “It’s a very real risk for those of us on the… field of battle, as Mag calls it. She’s making me talk to her about how I feel every night so all the stress doesn’t stay all repressed in my psyche.”

“Ah… I see,” Home Run half-nodded. Mental trauma. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but for a different reason. “Well, I’ll be sure to look out for my mind too. Thanks for the warning.”

“Well, good,” The fashionista gave him a warm smile. “We’d best get to class before the bell. See you, Home Run.”

Home Run said goodbye before heading for Mrs. Harshwhinny’s class, ready to begin another day of school.

"Alright, kids. All of you better listen up, because I'm only saying this once." Mr. Pierce had asked for a gathering in the school gym, and as soon as every student was counted for, he had limped his way up on the stage to relay his message. "As you all know, Valentine's Day is coming up. Principal Celestia and I have been talking and we've decided to have a Valentine's Day dance this Friday, after school. There will be food, drinks, music... Why am I telling you all that? Of course you already know."

"Wait..." Applejack thought about it. "Mr. Pierce? Organizing a dance? Somethin' ain't right here."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me..." Sunset whispered. "What if he's under some spell?"

"One, Ah don't see who would hypnotize him, and two, why Mr. Pierce of all people?"

"Who knows..."

"Anyway, kids," Mr. Pierce continued. "It'll be held here at five after school, so find someone to dance with. If you can. That's it from me. You may return to your classes. Education is an important part of all your lives. It'll allow you to make the right choices in life if you understand your work better."

On the way back to class, Jetstream had stopped Home Run, putting an arm around him. "Hey, Homey! You excited for this dance? I sure am! Did I ever tell you? I used to be a dance champion back in middle school. You gonna ask anyone? I think I'll be asking Lightning Dust."

"That's Lightning Rain's sister right?" Home Run checked with him. "What, he's okay with it?"

"He certainly isn't," Lightning Rain intervened, putting a threatening hand on Jetstream's shoulder.

"Hey now," Jetstream brushed off his friend's hand. "Why not?"

“Because she’s my sister, you casanova!” Lightning Rain said hotly.

"Lightning! I'm shocked!" Jetstream pretended to feel faint. "I thought we were best of friends. I'm still gonna ask though. Don't you worry!"

The other boy growled. “I’m so going to kick your butt after school.”

"Right! Front of school, like always!" Jetstream got into a fighting stance, but stopped after a few mock punches. "Wait, what about you? Who're you gonna ask? Oh! I know! You'll be asking Rose, eh? I'm sure she's already waiting for you to go up to her. Ha!"

Home Run was about to ask who this Rose was when his face bumped into something soft. He backpedaled and spluttered, “Oh, my bad, Vice-Principal Luna. Didn’t see you there.”

"Hmm...?" she mumbled like she was half asleep. "Right. Yes. Keep up the good work, kids..." The tall woman continued past him, as if she was in some kind of trance.

“Wow,” Home Run said as he caught up with his baseball playing friends. “That was weird. Is it just me or is the vice-principal kind of out of it?”

Jetstream gave him a weird look, like he’d just bitten into a lemon. “You… didn’t just ask her out to the dance, did you boy? ‘Cause while I admire your guts, you could get yourself in some serious shi-”

“No! I wasn’t doing anything of the kind!”

"Jets is just fooling you, Home Run," Lightning joined in. "Although, you're right. She does look like she hasn't been getting enough sleep. Ha," he mused. “Maybe she might even agree to go with you, Jetstream. I mean, after my sister turns you down.”

“You shut your face!”

Home Run and Applejack headed to the portal during lunch, ready to check up on their Warframes. Sunset had written to Twilight for them, getting a quick reply from the princess that they could collect their Warframes now.

“So, Home Run,” Applejack started a conversation. “Ya askin’ anyone to the dance?”

The baseball player rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. “Ehhhh, I'm not so sure yet... Maybe I’ll just sit this one out. Got a lot on my mind after all.”

“Aw, shucks,” Applejack said reassuringly. “Yer not the only one. Between this new Stalker, school, and farm work, Ah barely have a moment to myself. But chin up, Home Run. Might be this dance is what we all need to wind down, kick back a bit. In fancy, frou-frou outfits,” she added, her smile slipping a notch.

“Well, maybe…” Home Run slightly agreed. “Any of the others going...?”

Applejack shrugged. “Rarity, probably. The rest, well... maybe.”

“Huh… alright. Well, if we find time, perhaps we should all go, but otherwise… let’s get our Warframes back.”

The two humans walked through the portal, shortly appearing on the other side, still maintaining their forms.

“One day, Ah want to see what bein’ a pony is like,” The farm girl said to herself. “See how it’s like walking on hooves.”

“I didn’t like it,” Home Run returned to the memory of walking on all fours. “It’s very disorienting.”

“Hey, Applejack. Home Run,” they turned to Twilight, who entered the room, still in her pony form. “Here they are. All good to go. One problem though.”

“What problem?” Home Run asked, worried for his partner inside.

“Some of the suit damages were not repairable, so your Warframes might not work to their best ability,” Twilight looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry. I worked all night on them and we still couldn’t fix everything. I’ve… let you down.”

“It’s alright, Twi,” Applejack put a hand on her head. “We heard about your attack from Fluttershy. Ah’m sure it’s hard to get around with an injury like that.”

"Thanks, Applejack," Twilight cracked a little smile. "Well, I should get going. Rainbow and Pinkie just came back from a trip. They probably can't wait to tell me all about it. You should get back to school too."

Home Run and Applejack waved their goodbyes before heading back through the portal, stepping out into the sunny front lawn of CHS.

"So, how about we plan to go for the dance, Home Run?" Applejack asked again. "Ah think Ah'll be there. Rainbow might be there too, believe it or not."

Home Run widened his eyes. "The captain will be going? Didn't think she danced."

"Yeah, Ah think she'll be goin' alright," Applejack gave him a smile. “Dash never misses chance to show off.”

“You think… umm… you think she’ll say yes if I ask her to the dance?” Home Run sheepishly asked after much thought.

"Aimin' for the best, eh?" Applejack scratched her head. “Y’know to be honest, Ah ain’t so sure. Rainbow’s always been leery ‘bout these kind of events… Ah think it’s because she’s worried about her image or somethin’.”

“Oh… well… do you think I should ask her?” Home Run began to blush.

“Well look at it this way. If ya never ask her, you’ll spend the rest of yer life wonderin’ if she’d have said yes or no. ‘Least if you go for it, you’ll have no regrets.”

“Wow,” Home Run wore a baffled face, but agreed with the cowgirl. “You’re absolutely right, Applejack. Thanks for the tip. I appreciate it.”

"Anytime, Home Run. That’s what friends do. Oh, lunchtime's almost over," Applejack sighed. "Guess we better hurry."

"Yeah..." Home Run listened to his stomach growl. "But wait, I gotta check something," he told her, activating a part of Vauban's helmet. "How're you feeling buddy?"

"Not as good as I wish to be, but thanks for asking."

"How 'bout you, Rhino?" Applejack asked her partner. "Everythin' good?"

"Truthfully, no. But I'll manage."

"Sorry guys," Home Run apologized, heading up the front steps of school. "We should've been more careful. I really had no idea that sphere would blow up like that."

"Oh, don't apologize, Home Run. Before I deactivated, I saw that injury of yours. It looked like it really hurt," Vauban informed.

Home Run was opening the door, but stopped in his tracks. "Wait. Will anyone tell me what happened to my leg? I mean, I heard it was bad, but no one wants to explain the details. I still can't run yet!"

"If your friends don't want to tell you, I'm guessing it's for your own good. I can safely tell you... It's better that you never saw it."

"Man, no one wants to tell me," Home Run kicked the floor.

"If it makes ya feel better, Home Run, I never saw it. Reckon it was bad, but didn't see it," Applejack tried to cheer him up. "And, if they say it was bad, just be thankful that ya couldn't see it. Might've been somethin' not worth seein'."

"Alright," Home Run admitted his defeat. "Guess I'm lucky. Well, we better go get some food before next period. We got about ten minutes?"

The two students lowered their helmets and quickly made their way to the cafeteria, both not wanting to be late for their next class, especially Home Run. He didn't want to be punished by Mr. Discord.

Lightning Rain approached the row of lockers where Roseluck and her friends were grabbing some books from. He was about to head towards them but stopped a few inches away, pulling at his shirt collar to air himself.

Woah, Lightning Rain. Why are you so nervous? Come on. You’ve known Rose almost all your life. You can do this.

He wiped some sweat off his forehead and cleared his throat before approaching the three flower girls.

“H-hey, Rose!” he greeted as he stood against the next locker. “Fantastic day today, huh?”

“Oh, hi, Rain!” she smiled, waving at him before pulling out another book. “Yeah, today’s a nice day.” She watched him stand there, just smiling at her before finding it weird. “Umm… Can I help you with something?”

“Uhh, right. Yes!” Lightning said uneasily. “There is, actually. Something you can help me with…”

“Yo, water boy!” Lightning Rain instinctively flinched as Jetstream’s obnoxious nickname reached his ears. “What’s taking you so long?”

“H-hang on, windbag!” Lightning fired back. “I-I’m getting to it!”

“Yes, Rain?” Rose raised an eyebrow, but giggled at the two rivals’ petty argument.

Daisy leaned in to whisper to Rose. “I think he wants to-”

“Ssssh!” Lily Valley nudged her friend and pushed her out of the way. “Don’t spoil it for him! Let him tell her himself!”

“What?” Rose stood there, waiting for Lightning Rain to talk to her.

“Uhh… Rose. I wanted to ask if you… wanted to go to the dance with me,” Lightning forced a smile.

Rose paused for a few seconds before hopping up and down and squealing with uncontrollable glee. She eventually jumped up to Lightning and threw her arms around him. “Of course I’ll go with you!”

“Awesome,” Lightning nodded, his pale skin turning redder by the second.

Soon, they had to part, Rose and her friends waving goodbye to the two baseball players as they headed for their next class.

“Great job,” Jetstream smirked, taking out a familiar stick of asparagus and putting it in his mouth. “Almost went as smoothly as when I asked out your sister.”

“You did not!”

“Yeah, I didn’t. That’s because I actually prepare for these things, y’know?” He clapped Lightning on the back. “Good job anyway. Tell your lovely sister to expect a call from yours truly tonight.”

Lightning Rain gawked at Jetstream as they walked into class, resolving to unplug every phone in his house later that night. Suddenly, a movement in the hallway caught his eye. It was a familiar dark shape. One that he had thought he had seen the previous day. A supply closet door swung closed as he scanned the place.

"C'mon, Lightning!" Jetstream beckoned from the front of the class. "You're going to be late!"

"Just a sec," Lightning told him, slowly walking towards the closet. "Just want to check something..."

“Alright,” Jetstream shrugged. “But hurry up!”

Lightning Rain headed at a steady pace towards the closet door, slowly reaching his hand towards it. He definitely saw something head into this closet, but he didn’t catch its full appearance in time. It was something dark coloured. He might have been dreaming, but he just had to find out if he did see someone or something. His hand found the handle, and twisted it. Slowly pulling the door back, Lightning looked in to see an ordinary supply closet. He quickly pulled the door open and walked in.

“Strange…” Lightning muttered. He panned his head in the small room. There wasn’t anyone or anything out of place in the room. Detergent, mops and brooms lined the shelves and floor, but nothing else.

“Lightning!” Jetstream called again.

“Alright, coming!” Lightning Rain replied. He stepped out and slammed the door shut, heading back to class.

As the door closed, a shadowy figure re-materialized itself, slowly pushing open the door behind Lightning and heading out, still searching for its prey.

After history class, Mr. Loregiver had stopped Home Run and the Rainbooms for some questions as the rest of the students filed out of the room. Eclair didn’t make any attempt to move from her seat in the back, still sitting there and waiting for Loregiver to speak.

“Alright kids,” Loregiver got to the point. “Just wanted to check if everything’s alright. This Stalker really knows how to fight. I would say it’s on par with Excalibur and I. Home Run, Applejack. Are you two okay?”

“Roughly,” Applejack told him. “Still sore, but I’ll manage. Home Run’s who Ah’m worried about.”

“Home Run?” Mr. Loregiver looked at him.

“I’m fine, Mr. Loregiver. Just gotta lay off putting too much pressure on my leg is all,” Home Run showed him his leg movement. “See?”

“Alright, alright, I see,” Loregiver nodded. “Well, I recommend you all head to the dojo for the day. Mainly for Home Run and Applejack. If your Warframes don’t work like they should, then you should still stay out of the fight. Eclair will go with you. Oh, and do take Flash with you. He’ll need the training.”

“Oui,” the girl said in the back as she got off her chair. “Mr. Loregiver has been teaching me how do you say… les cordes. The ropes.”

“Alright!” Rainbow whooped. “I’ve been itching to take Zephyr for a ride!”

“Me too, me too!” Pinkie jumped up and down. "Well, Mirage. Not Zephyr."

“Then it’s settled,” Loregiver nodded. “Oh, and do brush up on your techniques, because this Stalker is not going to go easy on any of you. Eclair? Watch over them.”

“Bien sur,” the grey-skinned girl nodded. “Come. Let us go. You’ll still need time for your homework after your training.”

Twilight and Spike were already waiting in the dojo as they entered, the lavender pony already in human form, waiting within her Warframe. She greeted them with a wave. “Welcome back! Oh, hi Flash!”

“Hey, Twilight,” Flash waved, before admiring the new gray world around him. “Some place you got here.”

“This is the dojo,” Spike explained, pointing a finger at the facilities. “This is where you’ll be training your skills with that suit of yours.”

“Looks tough…” Flash whistled, eyeing the entire setup apprehensively.

“No worries, Flash Sentry!” Volt encouraged. “I will teach you all there is to know about being a Tenno! Let’s start with the obstacle course. I’ll take you there.”

Volt took over the legs and quickly ran Flash over to the start of the course; Twilight went to join him while the others suited on. Eclair hung back, still in her human form, leaning back against a wall.

“You feel any different, Applejack?” Home Run asked as he merged with Vauban. “Because I don’t.”

“Can’t say I do,” the farm girl replied, testing Rhino’s mobility. Nothing felt out of place, though she wasn’t quite sure if the suit had weighed this much before the Stalker had attacked.

“You guys want to head over to the dueling room?” Sunset asked. “Let’s see how you work in a fight.”

“Alright, let’s tango,” Home Run joked, hopping down into the arena. He winced as he landed on his bad leg, but decided to play it cool.“Fists only, or weapons included?”

Applejack raised her fists, with her furax’s in them. “Well, either way, it’s fists only for me.”

“Sounds good,” Home Run lifted his jat kittag. “Ready, Vauban?”

“I’m hoping so,” Vauban replied. “Armor integrity is at 78% of optimal capacity, especially in the areas where the repairs are fresh. I also suspect-cccccrrzzt…. may have sustained permanent damage.”

Home Run and Applejack stood opposite each other and waited for the digital countdown to hit zero. As soon as the number vanished, the two Warframes charged at each other, Home Run swung his hammer at Applejack, but his knee buckled mid step and he flew past the cowgirl’s punch. He felt Vauban take over and launch a grenade in front of him, the ball expanding into a disc of energy that sent him sailing up into the air. Sunset cringed as Home Run came to an abrupt halt by smashing into one of the pillars.

“Ow,” Home Run groaned, his HUD flickering with static before clearing a moment later.

“Ya alright?” Applejack called from the far side of the area.

“Yeah. I’m… oohh… I’m fine.” Applejack nodded and motioned for him to come again.

Home Run stayed where he was but pulled out another grenade and tossed it towards her. The grenade exploded in the air, creating a small vortex, pulling Applejack towards it. Unfortunately, Home Run’s leg wasn’t strong enough to keep him planted firmed and her was dragged right into the singularity as it ended, just in time for Rhino to activate iron skin and punch him in the chest with a furax. For the second time in so many minutes, Home Run slammed into a pillar and fell to the ground.

Although he felt like staying down, Home Run still stood up again, using the end of his hammer to get up. He triggered the jets on the back of the weapon, propelling himself at Applejack. She lifted a foot to avoid it, but curiously it felt as though her leg was stuck to the floor. The jat kittag impacted her helmet in full force and sent her sliding along the ground, shields sparking and flickering, and her iron skin gone.

Not to be deterred, Rhino leapt up with surprising agility and stomped on the ground as hard as he could, a shockwave careening around the arena just as Vauban loosed a bastille grenade. Both pilots and their Warframes were lifted in the air, one by sheer force, and the other by the energy of a grenade.

“Well... This is awkward,” Vauban analyzed.

“Yeah...”

Sunset had seen enough. Reaching over, she shut off the combat barriers and the energy dissipated, dropping both students onto the ground with an audible clang.

“Wanna call it a draw?” Applejack panted from the ground.

The boy nodded, trying to ignore the aches in his body. “... Yeah. Sure.”

“I agree,” Vauban seconded. “Home Run, you take over. I think I’m going to deactivate for a while.”

“I think you both better stay out of combat,” Sunset fretted. “You two almost killed yourselves in there, and there wasn’t even a single enemy.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow added in, landing in the middle of the sparring ring. “That was painful to watch!”

“Way to rub it in, Dash...” Home Run muttered as he deactivated Vauban.

“Aw, don’t feel bad,” Rainbow amended. “You tried the best you could! Not everyone can be as awesome as me at fighting.”

Applejack windmilled her right arm, working out the kinks that had set in during the fight. “That so?” She questioned. “Ah recall Rarity doin’ a lot better than y’all in our first scrap.”

“Pfft, Zephyr and I could beat anyone in here! Anybody want to make me prove it?”

Pinkie jumped down into the ring and raised a hand. “Ooh, Mirage knows!”

Mirage took over and pointed over to Eclair. “Why not challenge her? I have yet to see her in combat. I haven’t been able to sense which Tenno she has partnered with, so I’d like to find out.”

A thoughtful grin crept onto the sports star’s face. “You know, that’s not such a bad idea.” She waved at Eclair, who had been watching Nyx and Volt with mild interest. “Hey! Eclair, was it? Want to be my sparring partner?”

Eclair pushed her back off the wall. “You want me to challenge you?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I figure since you’re one of Luna’s guards, you must be pretty good at fighting, yeah?”

Eclair’s mouth tightened just a bit. “That’s Princess Luna, and while I don’t consider myself a great warrior, my combat skills are sufficient to serve as one of royalty’s protectors.”

“Sounds good enough!” Rainbow cranked her neck to the side and back. “Come on! Let’s see just how good you are!”

“Comme tu veux,” Eclair nodded and joined Rainbow in the dueling ring. The rest of the group gathered around to watch, with even Twilight and Flash taking a break to spectate from a distance.

“This is gonna be good,” Applejack whispered to Home Run as the barriers went up.

Rainbow stood on one side, fully clad in her Warframe, but Eclair had yet to bring hers up.

3…

Rainbow drew her akstilettos, spinning them into her hands.

2…

Eclair reached up to a badge on her jacket and gently brushed it with her fingertips.

1…

Home Run held his breath as his team captain took aim, fingers on the triggers.

Rainbow Dash only managed to get one bullet off before something smashed into her faster than the eye could see, throwing her into the barrier at the crowd. Where Eclair had been standing there was now a smoky miasma of shadow with a single armored fist protruding from it.

“Woah!” a few of the kids flinched.

“What… just happened?” Pinkie stood there, stunned.

As the pillar of smoke began to clear, it became apparent just which Tenno Eclair had chosen. A skeletal frame with a pointed hood and tendrils that hung from the head and shoulders, there was only one Warframe that it could be.

“Nekros…” Zephyr gasped.

“She’s pretty good,” Rainbow admitted as she got back up. “But are you good enough to beat me?” Zephyr waved her hands, calling forth a barrier of wind around herself. Now no more projectiles would be able to get through.

Eclair whipped out a long scythe with a energy bladed tip and got into a combat stance as Rainbow dashed at her, pointing both guns at the guard. The ether reaper spun high and low as the bullets cascaded against it and clattered to the floor. With Zephyr just two steps away, Eclair dropped into a half-kneeling position and hooked the butt of the scythe around Rainbow’s feet, tossing her into the corner in a heap.

Rainbow struggled to get up, but managed it anyway, turning back to Eclair. “I’ve still got fight in me.”

She blasted herself up into the air before homing down on Eclair as fast as she could. The resulting shockwave knocked the guard back a step, who then countered with a roundhouse kick at Zephyr’s helmet, sending both Warframe and pilot spinning through the air.

"Eclair is pretty good at this," Fluttershy mentioned, shocked that her athletic friend was doing so badly against her.

"Well, she did get lessons from Loregiver," Spike scratched at his scales. "That and her combat skills from training in the Eclipse guard ought to make her a good fighter."

Rainbow landed on her knees, the ringing in her ears clearing just in time to hear a bone-chilling voice broadcast itself in her ear.

“Run…”

Nekros raised both hands to the sky, dark energy blasting out in waves and striking Rainbow Dash. Though her HUD read it as no damage, the pilot was suddenly gripped by an inordinate amount of terror, as though an icy hand had closed its fist on her heart.

“N-No! Stay back!” Rainbow threw her guns aside and scrambled back from the grim spectre of Nekros, who was now walking toward her ploddingly with its scythe outstretched.

Her back bumped into the shallow wall of the arena and Rainbow let out an involuntary cry as the scythe arced toward her neck, throwing up a hand in a futile attempt to save herself-

“I think that’s enough.”

Rainbow Dash cracked open one eye. The ether reaper’s shimmering blade was an inch from her face, its bearer looking down at her with unfathomable depths. Then Nekros withdrew the weapon, stowed it away, and reached out a hand to help her up.

"The duel is over, Rainbow Dash," Eclair said with the barest hint of relish. "Time to go."

Rainbow still sat there, unwilling to take the hand of the Warframe that nearly gave her a heart attack. It was Zephyr who eventually took Nekros' hand, allowing Eclair to help them up.

"Good fight, Nekros. And it's good to see you again. That Stalker is going to have some serious trouble with you around."

“Yes…”

"Rainbow, are you alright, dear?" Rarity asked as the others joined her in the ring. "What happened to you? I'd never imagine you to run from a fight."

"That would be terrify," Mag spoke. "One of Nekros' skills. It instills a sense of unconquerable fear in targets close to Nekros, making them flee and take more damage.”

"That's dreadful!" Rarity recoiled. “But I’m glad that she’s on our side."

"I guess that's it for today?" Flash asked, lowering his Warframe. "I think it's safe to say I improved. Right, Volt?"

“Even a single spoonful of water from a well is an improvement, Flash Sentry. But if you wish to truly be a master of the blade, you must go… faster.”

"Ummm... What?"

"I think you're getting better, Flash," Twilight told him.

"So, we are heading back?" Eclair asked, sheathing Nekros. "I will need to discuss matters with Loregiver."

“You guys should probably head back too,” Twilight glanced at Rainbow’s shuddering form. “I think Eclair traumatized Rainbow Dash.”

"Pardon, Rainbow Dash," Eclair apologized. "I will exercise more restraint in future engagements.”

"It should wear off soon," Fluttershy put a hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "We just need to take her mind off the experience."

“Yeah,” Mirage smirked. “Then we can scare her again!”

"Not helping, Mirage!" Pinkie scowled. "Well, who's up for a party? I know I am!"

Chapter 20: Beanball

The team had eventually settled to going to Home Run's house to get some homework done, along with the possibility of some MLB '15 if they had the time. Flash had opted out, deciding to get back to school to practice with his band. Eclair had also left, needing to discuss more things with Loregiver about the Stalker, heading back down the street towards the school.

Home Run led the way in front, walking down the straight road with lots of small houses and cars outlining the sides, wheeling his bike along as the others followed. Some people didn't seem to know how to park their cars, forcing the group to maneuver around the vehicles. Some kids ran in and out of one of the houses, spraying water at each other from their water pistols, almost hitting Home Run in the face at one point. Applejack and Rarity walked with Rainbow Dash at the back, still trying to get her mind off the terrifying encounter.

"Are ya still not over it, Rainbow?" Applejack questioned, worried that the effects were lasting.

"Sorry," Rainbow admitted, still shivering a little from the experience. "It's still fresh on my mind..."

"Perhaps we need to change the subject," Rarity suggested.

The crew was momentarily distracted by the sight of an airplane flying overhead, towing a garishly pink banner with a heart and the CHS logo on it. It looped overhead twice before jetting off back toward the city.

“Did… that plane just have our school’s name on it?” Rarity pointed out, finger raised in confusion.

"Sure looked like it," Applejack whistled. "This Valentine's Day thing's a lot bigger than Ah thought it'd be..." she got an idea. “Hey, have any of ya got a date for the dance yet?”

"No, not yet strangely enough," Rarity told her friends. "I guess we've been rather busy, haven't we? What about yourself, Applejack? Anyone ask you yet?"

“Wha’? Uh, well, not really. Been too caught up with all the fightin’ and the jumpin’ and the hurtin’ to think about this here dance, y’know?”

“I understand completely. In fact, I’m still getting over the idea of someone like Mr. Pierce organizing an event like this. He never struck me as the romantic type.”

“Uh huh…” Rainbow nodded, joining in on the new conversation. She seemed to have gotten over the shock at last. “Maybe he fancies someone?”

“Mr. Pierce?” Rarity asked aghast. “Fancying someone? That’s one of the last few things I would ever believe. The only thing he seems attached to is his phone!”

“Dang right, Ah bet he loves it so much he glued it to his hand!” Everyone had a little giggle at that. "So none of ya have dates yet?"

“That’s right!” Rainbow praised herself. “I guess people think I’m more awesome than they are, so they haven’t asked.”

“Well, why don’t ya change it up a bit, Rainbow?” Applejack told her friend. “Why not ask someone to the dance instead of waitin’?”

Rainbow looked at Applejack as if she had just declared that the sky was yellow. “As if any guy at school is awesome enough to be on my level. Someone wants to go to the dance with me, they’ve gotta beat me at something.”

“Sounds like every guy in literature class has that down,” Sunset snickered.

“Something non-school related!” Rainbow shot back instantly.

“That’s kind of cheating isn’t it?” Rarity raised an eyebrow.

“Meh, if they want to go out with me, then I get to make the rules.”

“Fine by me,” Applejack looked like she surrendered. “We’ll just have to find a boy that can beat ya at somethin’, then. Simple is as simple does.”

“Good luck with that, Applejack,” Rainbow scoffed, folding her arms. “I’m awesome at everything!”

“Li-te-ra-ture,” Sunset sang.

“Oh, shut up.”

While the others bickered in the back, Fluttershy and Pinkie had matched Home Run’s pace and started their own conversation.

“You’ve never been to the animal shelter?” Fluttershy asked the baseball player.

Home Run pushed his bike around a hydrant. “Not yet. I wanted to check it out, you know, get a dog or something but all this excitement got me thinking that maybe now isn’t the best time for me to find a pet.”

“That’s right, Homey!” Pinkie bounced next to them. “Now with this Stalker trying to kill everyone, getting a pet would just make things worse! No offense, Fluttershy! But you know? I have a pet gator. His name’s Gummy!”

“Oh yeah,” Home Run thought back. “I think I saw it at your place a couple of times. I didn’t know you could get alligators as pets here.”

Pinkie grinned mischievously. “Oh, you can’t.”

Home Run nodded, but then realized what she had just said. “Wait… what?” He looked to Fluttershy for her input, but she simply shrugged.

“It’s better not to ask,” she whispered.

“If you… say so…?” Home Run semi-agreed.

Soon, Home Run stopped in front of his small blue house, wheeling his bike into the garage before meeting the others at the front door. It was a fairly standard two floor home, one which looked right in place on the suburbs.

“Looks just like my place,” Fluttershy eyed the building. “I guess all the houses down the road look the same.”

Home Run shrugged and led the way in, opening his door with his keys. “Well, come on in. My parents aren’t back yet, so there’s plenty of space for everyone.”

“Nice place, this,” Applejack whistled as she walked through the doorway. “Didn’t know you were a classy one, Home Run.”

The hallway after the door led straight into the main room, which was of a rectangular shape, with a TV, couch, and two tables, one with chairs, and one without. They students headed to one of the tables and pulled out their homework, getting right to work, starting with English. Their Warframes and Tenno unpacked themselves and headed to the other table to mingle, talking to each other about the usual business of combat. With good teamwork, the Rainbooms and Home Run managed to finish everything in less than two hours. The boy headed to the TV and fired up his Neighstation Six, putting in the disc for MLB ‘15.

“Games time, guys!” Home Run cheered as he handed out the controllers. “Sorry, but I only have two, so we’ll have to split it. Well, I mean split it more, since there’s more than four of us anyway.” Home Run explained the basic buttons for the game and taught them how to swing the bat and how to throw and catch the ball. “Anyone need me to repeat anything?”

“I think we’ll figure it out as we play,” Sunset told him, saving him the trouble of having to repeat the instructions again.

“Ha!” Rainbow Dash laughed at her friends. “This game’s pretty easy to get. Are you still having trouble remembering what does what?”

“I’ll show ya easy, Rainbow,” Applejack challenged.

Home Run watched as his friends tried their hands at the game, missing each other's shots or failing to throw the ball straight. Most of the others weren't as good, but Applejack and Rainbow seemed to know what they were doing, both of them keeping up to the other in points.

"You guys are pretty good at this," Home Run's respect for his two friends grew as he watched.

"I'm awesome at everything, really," Rainbow casually said, still focused on trying to take Applejack down. "You just can't beat me!"

Applejack’s fingers were a blur on her controller. “We’ll see ‘bout that.”

The cowgirl put up a good fight, but ultimately, Rainbow came out on top, beating her by two points.

"Woo!" Rainbow got up and launched her fists skyward. "Who's awesome? That's right! I am!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Applejack groaned. She turned to Home Run. "Show her who's boss, Home Run. This is your game."

"Yeah, Home Run!" Rainbow agreed, waving him over. "I'll beat you at your own game! Come on. Let's rumble!"

"Well, if you put it like that..." Home Run shrugged and joined her on the couch.

Home Run picked his usual team, the Fillydelphia Centaurs, his favourite team from Fillydelphia, while Rainbow picked the Seaddle Divers.

"You're so going down, Home Run!" Rainbow taunted as the match began.

He half-turned as Applejack put a hand on his shoulder. "Maintain that honour o' yours, Home Run. You've got to beat her at somethin' if ya want to... be awesome!"

“Oh, Applejack… are you…” Rarity began but Applejack silenced her with a cutting motion.

“Not here,” Applejack hissed. She got off the couch and headed to one of the smaller rooms on the other side, asking Rarity to follow.

Rarity and Sunset headed towards the other room, which was the kitchen. A counter stood in the middle of the room while other tables, cabinets and the stove were layered around the walls.

“You’re trying to get the two of them together?” Rarity cut to the chase.

“I knew it!” Sunset added. “That’s why you were asking all those questions before.”

“Hold yer horses,” Applejack tried to explain. “Ah’m doin’ this for Home Run. Don’t tell anyone else, but just the other day, he asked me if Rainbow would go to the dance with him. Ah wasn’t so sure myself, so here we are.”

“Aww. How sweet,” Rarity smiled at the thought. “I didn’t know you cared about such things.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Sunset asked, wanting in on all of this.

“Well, we just gotta make sure Home Run wins the game,” Applejack wore a smug face and crossed her arms.

“Home Run’s a baseball maniac,” Sunset started. “I mean, all he really ever talks about is baseball, right? And that game belongs to him. How could he possibly lose?”

“Just in case, Ah have a plan,” Applejack told her friends. “It’ll be a lot easier with y’all helpin’ too.”

Home Run mashed away at the controller, busily trying to catch the ball to get Rainbow out of the game. The captain was doing a lot better than Home Run had expected. She’d managed to keep up with him at every point, slowly getting better as they played.

“Just you wait, Home Run!” Rainbow taunted again. “You’re gonna mess up, and I’m going to pull ahead! That’s why I’m the captain of the baseball team!”

“But you’re the captain of every team.”

“Exactly.”

Home Run continued to do his best. There was no way he was going to lose at his own game.

"Hey did you guys hear?" he heard Sunset say behind him. "The Wonderbolts are coming to Canterlot for some performance."

"Oh I believe I saw a poster on that," Rarity added in.

"Wait, what?" Rainbow heard something she liked and turned around. "The Wonderbolts are coming?"

"Gotta focus, captain," Home Run smiled as he caught up to Rainbow and tagged her out, ending the match and winning the game. "Boom! Game over! I win."

"Woohoo!" Pinkie cheered from behind. "Way to goooo Home Run!"

"Looks like you're better than Rainbow at baseball!" Applejack whooped.

"What...? Hey!" she complained after realizing what had just happened. "Not fair! I was distracted!"

"You can't pause in real life, Rainbow," Home Run laughed at his joke. "There are no second chances."

"Yeah, like when you lost that baseball game?" Rainbow said without thinking, only realizing her mistake after the words left her mouth and the look Home Run gave her. "Home Run... I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking..."

"Clearly not!" Sunset ran up to the two of them. "Why would you say something like that? You know how much that baseball game is to him!"

"I'm... Sorry!" she pleaded again. "I don't know... I don't know why I did that. I guess... I guess I was just upset that I lost."

"Umm... Not to intrude, but..." Rarity joined them at the couch. "What baseball game?"

"I'll explain," Sunset motioned the others away. She turned to Applejack. "Give Rainbow and Home Run some time."

Applejack widened her eyes and nodded quickly. "Oh yes. C'mon y'all. Give 'em some space."

As soon as the others left, Rainbow moved closer to Home Run and put an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Home Run. I'm just not used to losing I guess. I didn't mean what I said."

Home Run sat there and nodded, but didn't say anything. What he and Rainbow said was true. There were no second chances in real life, and he really messed up in that game. Perhaps if he’d been more careful, he would’ve gotten his team to the next round before leaving for Canterlot.

"Huh... It's fine, Dash," he finally said. "You're right. There is no second chance. I failed my team."

"That's in the past, Home Run," Rainbow tried to make sense to him. She turned him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now you're here with us. This isn't Fillydelphia anymore. It's Canterlot. We're going to get you to that final game, and we're going to win. I’m sorry for what I said."

"Thanks, Rainbow," Home Run closed his eyes and hugged her back. She was right again. He had failed, but that was in the past. Things were different here. Never had he met anyone this good in baseball. "I’m glad that I moved here.”

“Good attitude, slugger,” Rainbow smiled. “Well, you beat me fair and square, Home Run. My distraction was my own failure.”

“You were very awesome yourself. You almost beat me.”

“Yeah… Listen, Home Run. I got something I want to ask you… ummm… well...”

Home Run raised an eyebrow. Rainbow never looked like she ever had trouble with speaking, and he wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but her cheeks were turning red.

“You know… how do I put this…” she struggled with finding the right words. “I mean, you’re pretty awesome… for a guy, and… and… ”

“And?” Home Run held back a grin in case he was wrong, but all the signs pointed to Rainbow doing exactly what he thought she was going to do.

“Do you… uh… wannagotothedancewithme?” The team captain’s face flushed crimson and she immediately looked away.

Home Run let loose his smile and laugh, amused at this side of Rainbow. It was like she was a completely different person. “Yeah. I’d like that, Rainbow. You know... I was actually planning to ask... You."

“What…?” Rainbow’s eyes became that of an owl, before her face turned into a frown. “Then you should’ve asked first! You could have saved me the trouble and the embarrassment!”

“Hey, sorry,” Home Run raised his hands to ward her off. “You were going for it and I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

She ranted for a bit more, throwing her arms to the ground repeatedly, but eventually, probably realizing how silly she was being, laughter took over. Home Run soon joined her, as the two athletes bent back in laughter, clutching at their stomachs.

"Well, thanks for asking Rainbow," Home Run said after calming down. "I can't wait for the dance."

"Yeah, we're going to rock the dance floor!" she cheered. "Because of me, of course!"

Home Run couldn't help but smile. Rainbow Dash always had this overwhelmingly positive energy. It was something he needed. Suddenly the others returned from the other room, rejoining the two athletes on the couch.

“So, did one of ya ask the other to the dance yet?” Applejack asked as soon as she sat down, a wild smile forming on her face.

"Wait, you knew?" Rainbow's cheeks started to glow again. "That's why you were asking all those questions!"

"Hehe, yep," Applejack tilted her hat for Rainbow. "Glad to see it all worked out alright. So who asked who?"

"Rainbow asked, actually," Home Run nodded, getting a look from Rainbow. "What? She asked."

"Way to gooooo Rainbow!" Pinkie jumped in from the back, her two feet landing on the couch's arm. “That’s a hole in one!”

"Yes, and I must say," Rarity chuckled. "It was a splendid idea. And Home Run, I'm sorry about your baseball game. Trust me. It won't happen again. The team will look out for you."

Rainbow Dash clapped Home Run on the back before unpausing the game. “Pfft, yeah! What kind of team captain would I be if I couldn’t take care of my own crew? I’d be out of the job!”

The seven of them played long into the evening, their good mood following them as they left Home Run’s house. The boy grinned, waving goodbye to Fluttershy, the last to leave. He’d done it. He had a date, and a really awesome one at that.

Lightning Rain entered the kitchen, a bright smile on his face. He had a good sleep last night, not hearing a single ring from the phone in the house. Before he went to bed, he had made sure to unplug the power, preventing Jetstream from calling. There was no way he was going to let that windbag ask his sister to the dance. He happily made himself some toast, adding some ham and lettuce in between the bread slices. He started into it as Lightning Dust walked into the kitchen, her face still a little groggy from too much sleep. She headed to the coffee machine to get herself some before sitting across from her brother.

“Morning sis,” Lightning Rain greeted her with a smile. “Get any calls last night?”

Lightning Dust looked up from her mug of coffee, turning the page on her newspaper. “What’s that?”

The track star’s little brother sauntered over to the phone line and plugged it back into the wall. “Guess not.”

The two siblings went about their daily morning routine, eating breakfast and getting dressed before heading off to school. Lightning Dust seemed abnormally quiet on the drive there, though that may have just been the coffee not taking effect yet. Lightning Rain played with his baseball mitt in the passenger seat, tossing a ball from hand to hand.

Lightning Dust pulled up in front of the school, parking her car in the usual spot. Spotting Jetstream loitering in front of the doors, Lightning Rain slid out of her car and jogged over.

“Yo, Lightning,” Jetstream grinned around a lollipop. “How’s it hanging?”

“Oh, not bad. Did you have any… phone problems last night?”

Jetstream removed the lollipop from his mouth and stroked his chin. “Well now that you mention it, I did have trouble calling this one place… what was it again? Oh yeah, Heavy Wind. He needed me to help him with the homework but he was Neighgagging too much. Stinks for him, eh?”

“Oh. So I guess you didn’t ask my sister out to the dance after all,” Lightning Rain said, satisfied that his plot had worked. Jetstream raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Speaking of that, tell your sister that I’ll be dropping by tomorrow. You know, gotta make a good impression.”

“Tomorrow?” Lightning laughed. “That’s the day of the dance, you goof! You can’t ask my sister out on the night of the dance?”

“I know…"

“That’s why he asked me last night,” Lightning Rain froze and gaped as his older sister walked up and clapped Jetstream on the back. “See you then.”

To Lightning Rain’s credit, he waited until his sister was safely out of earshot before exploding, “You what?!”

“Well,” Jetstream reasoned with his palms up. “Your home phone was down, so I just called your sister’s cell. No brainer, really.”

“Wha-but-how… how did you even get her number?”

“I asked the captain! She’s got everyone’s numbers.” The bell rang, bringing an end to the discussion. “Well, Lightning, looks like we both have dates now. Should be fun, eh?”

“Just kill me now,” The white haired boy moaned as he trudged after his friend.

The rest of the school day played by like every other day. Classes went by per normal, every teacher handing out homework like candy on Halloween night. After school, the students cheered for the Wondercolts as they beat the opposing team at Soccer. From watching, Home Run realized why they were one of the best soccer teams out there.

“Go, Wondercolts!” he cheered, cupping his hands in front of his mouth. “Go, Rainbow Dash!”

The rainbow haired girl looked up and gave him a thumbs up before joining the others in a group high-five before they headed out of the field. Home Run and the others returned to the front of the school, except for Pinkie Pie, who said she needed to set up for the dance tomorrow.

“You guys go on without me!” she waved to them as she headed in the opposite direction. “Cheese and I have to help Mr. Pierce with the preparations! If we don't, who knows what kind of drab decorations he'll put up!”

"Cheese?" Home Run asked as they stopped outside the school doors. "Is there a kid named Cheese? Or is that a nickname?"

"Cheese Sandwich," Sunset told the baseball player. "Poofy brown hair, bright yellow shirt, almost as energetic as Pinkie?"

Home Run looked back in his memories, remembering the description of Cheese. "Oh yeah, I guess I've seen him before, but seriously? Cheese Sandwich? Is that his real name? Now I've got to be careful whenever I talk about eating cheese sandwiches."

"Beats me," Applejack shrugged. "Ah think that's his real name. Ah have no idea why that's his name, though."

"What're we still standing around for?" Rainbow asked impatiently. "We won the soccer match! Let's get to celebrating!"

The Rainbooms and Home Run started walking towards Sugarcube Corner, a place the girls generally hung out at after school. While Home Run was uncomfortably reminded of his old school as they approached, he pushed the thought aside and focused on tomorrow’s dance instead. Pushing open the glass door, the team found a table a few rows down and settled themselves on the cushioned seats after ordering some food and drinks.

"So..." Rainbow started. "Anyone else have dates for the dance yet? Home Run and I are going to be awesome!" She gave him a high-five.

Applejack shifted her hat and took a bit out of her donut. "Turns out, Ah'll be goin' with Caramel. He asked me durin' Readin' class."

“Nice!” the athlete gave a thumbs up. She looked around at all her friends, but stopped at the pink haired one. “Wait, what I want to know is Fluttershy? Has anyone asked you to the dance?”

The shy girl suddenly looked down at the table and darted her eyes around. “Umm… uhhh…” her face started glowing red as her friends looked at her. “...yes…”

“Woah!” Applejack would’ve fallen off her seat if it could move. “Nice one, Fluttershy! Who’re ya goin’ with?”

Fluttershy bent back a little to let her hair cover more of her face. “...uhhhh… B-Big… Mac…”

“My brother asked you out?” Applejack said before giving out a shrill yodel. “Did ya say yes?”

Fluttershy simply nodded her head. “I-If it’s okay with you?”

The farm girl let out a single bark of laughter before affectionately nuzzling Fluttershy. “Sugarcube, Ah think you an’ my brother’d make a great pair.” This earned her a squee from the shy girl. Applejack looked to her friends, finding it strange that Rarity wasn’t jumping up with joy from this juicy news. Instead, Rarity’s nose was buried in some kind of fashion magazine that had a vaguely familiar movie star on the front.

“Uh, Rarity?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and deftly plucked the magazine from Rarity’s hands. “Ebony Wings,” The sports captain read aloud. “This year’s top model? Huh, wasn’t she that cat burglar in the Daring Do movies? She was awesome!”

“Hey!” Rarity said indignantly, grabbing it back. “I was reading that!”

“I take it you’re a big fan of Daring Do, captain?” Home Run washed down the last of his milkshake and sighed. He remembered that one, Daring Do and the Griffon’s Goblet. The plot had been more or less standard, but the special effects and the actors had been outstanding and the film had won a lot of awards.

“Of course!” Rainbow put a fist on the table. “Daring Do is the best series ever! On paper and on screen!

After everyone finished their celebratory food, the team headed out, going their own ways.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Sunset waved as she and Rarity headed off. “It’s going to be a big day!”

“Guess Ah’ll be headin’ back to my farm now,” Applejack nodded and moved off. “Y’all take care now.”

Rainbow decided to fly home as usual, quickly unpacking Zephyr and blasting off with a jet of wind, leaving Fluttershy and Home Run to walk back together. “See you tomorrow, Home Run! We’ll make it a good one!”

Home Run waved goodbye before heading off with his shy friend. “So, you and Applejack’s brother, huh? From what I knew, I thought he only ever said two words. How’d he ask you to the dance?”

“Oh, he can say more than just two words when he wants to…” Fluttershy thought about Big Mac. “He’s… a nice boy.”

“Looks like it,” Home Run agreed as they crossed the street, him wheeling his bike along. They passed two more streets before Home Run mused, “Hmm... Didn’t you say that school events like this have a history of being crashed by bad guys or something?”

“Well… only the big ones… I think they’re only coincidences, though.”

“Do you think that Stalker will show up? We haven’t tangled with it in a few days.”

Home Run soon regretting mentioning the dark Tenno, as Fluttershy’s face lost most of its color and she fell back a step. “Oh, oh, no. I hope not…” She whispered nervously.

Vauban suddenly folded over half of Home Run’s face. “Always be ready, Home Run. You never know when that invader will show up again. It might very well be following us right now. Watching our every move. *Zzt*”

“Well, yeah, I guess,” Home Run agreed. If the Stalker were to show up now, they’d be in some serious trouble. Vauban was pretty much out of action, and Trinity alone wouldn’t be able to take down the rogue Tenno. “Uhhh… yeah, you know what, Fluttershy? We better head home faster, just in case. Here, hop on my bike. I’ll give you a lift.”

The Stalker hid in the shadows, inspecting the target that transformed into the Excalibur when the need arises. That Tenno proved to be a formidable opponent, matching it skill for skill, blade for blade. The dark Tenno decided to follow this target, viewing his ways and movement, learning so that it could challenge the Tenno again, but this time, win. Also, another Tenno was always nearby, hanging around the Excalibur. The Stalker had yet to determine what it was, but a great power radiated from it.

“Eclair?” the male one called from his table as he shuffled through some papers. “What do you think of this world so far? Are you adjusting well?”

“Oui, Loregiver,” the one called Eclair replied from her corner of the room. “The movement takes some getting used to, but I am managing okay. The humans are etrange I must admit. There is no magic, no wings, but their world is more advanced than Equestria. Fascinating how they succeed.”

“Yes well, I’ve been teaching history here for a month now, so I’ve had to learn a bit about this world,” the Loregiver spoke. “They’ve progressed from hard times. They’re a strong race. When we have more time, I’ll be glad to share their history with you.”

“Merci, Loregiver.”

The Stalker stood above, listening in on their conversation. So these two were from another world. The Lotus’ world. The one who started the destruction of the Orokin. The Stalker put a note in its mind that when it had the chance, these two would first feel its blade.

“Lotus… you and your Tenno cannot run from your past. Your reckoning is coming…”

Chapter 21: Here to Have a Party Tonight

“Remember, kids,” Mr. Pierce told the class in a monotonous sound that seemed to scrape at their eardrums. “Five tonight. Make sure to come with your partners. I don’t want to have planned this event all for nothing. Things like this… they’re technically not up my alley, but if I have to do it, then I’ll do it, as you can see.”

Home Run rubbed at his face, trying to keep himself from falling asleep. He never had trouble staying awake in all the other classes, but this one was especially challenging to do so. The only thing keeping him awake was the fear of what Mr. Pierce would do to him if he slept. He remembered what had happened to Jetstream and Lightning Rain, and he didn’t want that happening to himself.

“Psst!” he heard Applejack hiss beside his ear. “Home Run! Ya excited for the dance tonight? Even though Mr. Pierce is the one hosting?”

“Of course!” Home Run sleepily nodded. “Not missing a chance to dance with Dash! She’s awesome! Is she any good at dancing?”

“Pfffft,” Applejack tried to hold back a laugh. “Rainbow? Dancing? Not so much. You?”

“Err… not so good,” Home Run admitted. He hoped that Rainbow would be a little better than he was at least.

“Oh, well… uhhh…” Applejack was lost for words. “Good luck then.”

"Anyway, class, we'll get back to work," Pierce pointed at the screen with his baton. "Don't think this dance will make me forget about your homework. I never forget about anything like that. I always make sure to get my work done no matter what problems I encounter. You kids should learn to do the same. It'll help when you grow up."

Home Run sat with the Rainbooms during lunch, listening to their plans for the rest of the day.

"Mag says no matter what, we do not drop our guard," Rarity told the others at the table. "This Stalker is crafty. I think it's been waiting for the right moment to strike."

"But we haven't seen it in days!" Rainbow objected. "It must have scampered off after seeing how awesome I am!"

"Ah doubt that, Rainbow," Applejack lowered her eyelids. "Ah agree with Rarity, but you're gonna have to count Home Run and Ah out. We ain't gonna last ten seconds in this state."

"Oh speaking of all this," Sunset pulled out her journal. "Twilight mentioned she'll be coming over now. She wants some time to catch up with Flash before the dance."

"Sweet!" Pinkie shouted loudly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"You girls go on without me," Home Run told them. "I wanna see how the baseball team's doing."

"Alright," Rainbow nodded. "You might want to check on Lightning Rain for me. He's been acting weird today. See you later!"

Home Run finished his meal and headed over to the table where the Winds sat. First Base and Shortstop were sitting among them, listening to one of Jetstream's stories.

“...so there I was. Watching TV, when this big ugly face comes on the screen. So I was like ‘woah! That’s the scariest face I’ve ever seen!’ So after I calmed down I looked closer, and who should it be but the face of someone I’d seen before… someone with hair just. Like. That.”

He stood up dramatically and pointed his finger at Lightning Rain, a look of extreme horror on his face.

The other boy barely even moved, only cupped a hand around his ear. “Shh… did you guys hear that?” he said.

Cold Wind raised her eyebrows. “What?”

Lightning Rain pressed a finger to his lips. “No, listen. Did you hear that, Jetstream?”

“Uh, what?” Jetstream asked hesitantly.

“It’s the sound of me not giving a hoot about you and your dumb stories,” Lightning concluded with a smug grin.

“Oh, burn!” Heavy Wind howled, jumping up in his seat.

“Hey, you shut your face!”

"Everyone holding up alright here?" Home Run asked, laughter escaping after every few words as he sat down beside them.

"Home Run!" Jetstream gave him a pat. "Nah, I was just telling the kids about the time I saw a face on TV when Lightning made a terrible comment. He's just upset that his sister is going to the dance with me."

"Woah, you really asked her?" Home Run was surprised. He had thought Jetstream was joking."Is that why you're in such a bad mood, Lightning?"

The pale-skinned boy shook his head. "Just upset that I failed to stop him." He grappled his rival by the shirt collar. "You better make sure she enjoys herself."

"Come on, LR!" Jetstream pushed his hand off. "Who do you think I am? Your sister is going to have the best time of her life!"

"How about you two?" Home Run asked his younger teammates. "You two doing alright?"

"Yeah, I don't see why we wouldn't be," Shortstop replied. "Did something happen?"

Home Run forgot that their fight was a secret one. No one else knew the trouble they were facing. "Right... No, no. Everything's fine. Just wanted to know how you're both doing."

"Heeeey, Rain!" Home Run turned to see a red haired girl throw herself at Lightning, nuzzling her cheek against his. "Can't wait for tonight! It's going to be so exciting! You coming to get me before we head for school?"

"You bet, Rose," he gave her a smile. "I'll see you at four-thirty."

The cheerful girl gave him another squeeze before heading off.

“Someone’s happy,” Sundown smashed a palm to Lightning’s back. “Good for ya.”

“Well, technically, he’s not so happy,” Jetstream kicked back and put a leg on the table. “I’ll be going to the dance with his dear old sister, and there’s no stopping me.”

“Don’t you start again, Jetstream!” Lightning reached for the carefree baseball player, but Sundown grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

“You two!” Sundown grunted as he struggled to hold Lightning back. “Can’t you give me a day at least where Ah don’t have to keep you two from wreckin’ the place?”

Seeing the baseball team being the same as ever, Home Run concluded that there was nothing wrong, so he silently got up while they scuffled and made his way out of the cafeteria. There was still six minutes left before class, so he decided to head to the bathroom while he could, just in case he couldn’t hold it in during class.

After school was out, Home Run quickly made his way back home to get ready for the big night. He agreed to meet Rainbow Dash at her place after getting ready, while the Rainbooms headed over to Rarity's boutique to get their outfits, Twilight going along with them.

As he opened his door, he realized his parents were home early, already waiting for him inside.

"Hey, mom. Hey, dad," Home Run waved. "You're both back early."

"Hey, Home Run," his dad wished from the dining table. Homebound worked as a bus driver for some company here, having to move to Canterlot after getting the job. "It's a Friday, so the boss though he'd let us off earlier. Tonight's the night, eh? Got your suit ready?"

"I already got it ready for you, son," his mom told him. "I left it on your bed."

"Thanks, mom!" He gave both his parents a hug before heading to the bathroom to clean himself up.

Home Run took a nice hot shower before making sure his teeth were clean and his breath smelled okay.

Vauban detached from the boy and took a look as he put on the suit. "Not bad, but I don't see any *bzzt* tactical advantages from wearing this. What makes it different?"

"I don't know," Home Run admitted. A suit was used for formal events, but why that was, Home Run didn't quite know himself. "I guess people just like to be proper for these kinds of things."

"Actually, another question then," Vauban said as he helped Home Run into his jacket. "What is the point of this.. Dance? How does it help you with *bzzzzt* your combat? Does it upgrade your skills?"

Home Run gave it some thought. "You know, I'm not so sure. A dance is usually just for you to have fun. More like a time to hang out with your friends."

“Hang out with friends, huh… We never had this when we didn’t have you. Our form of hanging out was doing the work of the Lotus. *Bzzzzzt* I am glad you will be enjoying yourself, Home Run. Rest is good for you humans, time to time."

"Got that right, buddy," Home Run checked himself in the mirror. "How do I look?"

Home Run wore a black jacket over a light blue shirt and black pants. He also added a blue tie to the rest of his outfit.

Vauban folded his arms. "First, I'll tell you what you want to hear. Absolutely stunning. Rainbow Dash's gonna like it. Now, I'll tell you what I personally think. You look silly."

“Thanks, Vauban,” Home Run rolled his eyes. One of these days he was going to teach this Tenno some human customs. He checked his clock. It was already four; about time for him to leave. He gave himself more time, just in case he couldn’t find Rainbow’s place.

“Dashing, my boy!” Home Run’s dad said as he headed back to the main room. “You heading out now?”

“Yup!” Home Run grinned as he headed for the door. “Just in case I get lost getting to Rainbow’s place.”

“Well, have fun, son,” his father told him as both parents walked him to the door. “Don’t stay out too late.”

“Will do, dad,” Home Run waved as he headed to the garage to get his bike. “See you both later!”

Home Run cycled down the streets, hoping he was going the right way. Home Run activated Vauban’s helmet to talk to the Tenno, and also for head protection, just in case he fell or anything.

“Hey, buddy, can you track Zephyr’s location?” Home Run asked as he paced himself. “It might help me a little.”

“Sure, give me a second,” Vauban replied. After a second, a marker appeared on Home Run’s radar. “You’re welcome.”

“Thanks,” Home Run nodded. Having a Tenno sure made things a lot easier.

After twenty minutes, Home Run found himself outside Rainbow's place. He parked his bike by the door and lifted a hand to ring the doorbell. He suddenly remembered and quickly stowed the Warframe helmet, just in case.

Before he knew it, Rainbow had opened the door, giving him a big smile. “Hey, slugger! Nice suit. Ready to head out?” She wore a short, rainbow dress with detached purple sleeves and pink boots with a little wing design on both of them. “What do you think of my outfit? Pretty awesome, right? Rarity made it for us for the Fall Formal.”

“Yeah. It’s awesome alright! You look great,” Home Run agreed with her. “Well, let’s get going, then.”

Home Run cycled the both of them to school, both athletes talking about what they were going to do. The front lawn was brightly lighted, the words, 'Valentine's Day Dance - Come Enjoy the Love!' were written on a large banner, hanging over the main front of the school.

"Pinkie probably made that. This event sure has a lot of publicizing huh?" Rainbow asked as Home Run moved his bike to the racks.

"Yeah," Home Run nodded. "Didn't think all of Canterlot had to know about this. I thought this was a school-only event."

"Meh, who knows. Mr. Pierce planned all this anyway, so you can almost expect he's done some weird stuff," Rainbow shrugged. "Ready for the dance, slugger?"

"Is that my new nickname now? Most of the baseball team calls me that."

"Why not?" the rainbow haired girl guffawed as they walked in. "It's a baseball name after all. I think it suits you."

Lightning Rain and Jetstream had arrived early with their dates, both already in the gym, interacting amongst themselves. The silver-blonde haired boy had on a black suit, along with a yellow tie, while Jetstream had a camo green suit and red tie. Lightning’s childhood friend drew the stares of many passing students, her scarlet sequined gown catching any light that hit her and reflecting it all around.

Rose hung tightly to Lightning Rain since entering, refusing to let him go anywhere without her.

"Punch?" he offered to get.

"We can go together!" she smiled at him.

"Looks like you got yourself a good catch, Waterboy!" Jetstream swaggered to the pair, Lightning Dust following behind, resplendent in a green and orange off-the-shoulder dress.

"Jetstream..." Lightning warned.

"Hey, Rose!" Dust waved. "I haven't seen you two together since the old days. How's everything?"

"Everything's great, Dust!" she giggled. "I'm really happy Rain asked me to the dance! I don't dream about anyone but Rain."

"Good on you, little brother," Dust pat him on the back. "You two enjoy yourselves. Come on, Jets. Let's get some grub."

"See you for the dance, Lightning! I'll be sure to show you a few tricks later," Jetstream taunted before rejoining Lightning Dust. "Dance champion, boy!"

Lightning Rain and Rose headed over to the punch bowl to get some refreshments before the dance. Flash Sentry and the girl who came from the other world, if he remembered correctly, Twilight Sparkle, were already there, pouring two cups of punch for themselves.

"Oh, hey Rain," Flash looked up as the two walked over. He wore a simple black suit over a white shirt. "Hi Rose."

"Hey, Flash," Lightning greeted. "And... Twilight! So good to see you!"

"Thanks!" the lavender girl smiled. She wore a sparkly purple and pink dress with pink boots. "I must say. This event looks very promising."

After getting their cups, Flash and Twilight headed off, letting Lightning and Rose get their drinks.

As Lightning poured a cup for both of them, something pink and brown burst out in confetti across from them.

"Still not working!" Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich shouted at the same time as they popped up next to him, almost making Lightning flick the punch everywhere. The pink girl had a blue hat and top, along with a purple and pink skirt and purple boots. The other party planner had on a stunningly, bright yellow jacket and pants, over a white inside shirt.

"Careful..." Lightning muttered. "You'll make the floor all messy.”

"Sorry, Rain," Cheese apologized, giving a whack to a strange mechanism that sort of resembled a tank beside them. "The party cannon V2's still having its malfunctions. I thought I had it..."

"Seriously? You're making a bigger party cannon?"

"Why not?" Pinkie asked, as if party cannons were normal.

“Well, as long as you don’t blow the gym up…” Lightning Rain muttered.

“Silly Lightning Rain,” Cheese laughed and waved the boy off. “We didn’t bring nearly enough gunpowder to do that. Pinkie, pass me the blasting caps and the socket wrench.”

“Wait… what?” Lightning managed to say after almost spitting out all the punch in his mouth.

Rose tugged on his elbow, steering them both away from the two party planners. “I'm sure they’re just kidding around,” she said quickly, but made sure to keep Lightning Rain between her and the party cannon just in case.

Lightning kept looking back at the cannon, afraid that it would explode any minute, and almost walked into Fluttershy and Big Macintosh as they walked in.

“Woah, sorry about that, guys,” Lightning took a step back to avoid them. Fluttershy wore a light blue and yellow strapless dress with blue and pink shoes, while the broad-shouldered boy had a dark red western suit, with a brown bolo tie. “Woah, wait. Fluttershy? You got a partner?”

“Rain!” Rose scowled at him as the pink haired girl hid herself behind Big Mac. “You can’t say that!”

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy.” Lightning scratched the back of his head. “I just spoke off the top of my head. I’m just surprised.”

“I-It’s alright…” the shy girl timidly walked back out, still holding on to the burly boy.

“Big Mac, you asked her to the dance? All by yourself?” Rose asked the farmboy.

“Eeyup.”

“That’s so sweet!” she held in a squeal. “Well, hope you two enjoy the evening!”

“T-Thanks…” Fluttershy put her feet together.

“Well, we’ll let you two mingle,” Lightning nodded farewell to the two quiet students and headed back to a corner with Rose. “So, what do you want to do now, Rose? The dance doesn’t start for another seven minutes.”

“We can catch up,” Rose leaned against the baseball player. “We haven’t gotten a lot of chances to hang out this year. I guess we’ve been busy, huh?”

“Yeah, you could say that. The baseball championships are starting, and we might finally have a shot at getting to the championships again since they implemented that rule where you need a well-sized team. What about you? How’s your gardening going?”

“Oh, it’s going great, actually!” the red haired girl lit up. “Lily, Daisy, and I had taken all the flowers together and made a huge wreath for the event! It’s over there!” Rose pointed to the far wall, behind the stage. A huge laurel hung on it, all kinds of flowers joined together in a circular shape, making the stage a lot nicer to look at.

“Impressive.”

“Hey, Lightning,” Rose asked, turning him to face her. “Do you remember what day it is?”

“Well, it’s Valentine’s Day,” he gave her a strange look. “Did… did you forget?”

Rose puffed her cheeks at him. “No, did you forget? There was something else.”

"Something else?" Lightning tried to recall. Was there another event that took place on the same day? "Uhhh... St. Patrick's Day?"

Rose looked like she was ready to faint. "You really forgot? It was back in Middle School? Something special happened."

That triggered Lightning's memory as he remembered what had happened years ago, on this same day. "The day we met."

"Yes!" she hugged him. "You remember! That day, a strange man had walked into my mom's store and asked for a dozen red roses."

"Yup," Lightning smiled at the memory. "I happened to be walking back from a baseball game when I heard the commotion. He had a phone call from someone and started shouting, 'You're tearing me apart!' and started making a scene."

"Mom and I were so frightened! I had no idea what was going on. Then you came in with your baseball bat and told him to leave. He didn't want to leave, insisting that we ‘keep the change’ even though he hadn’t paid yet.”

"I guess he was too busy shouting at whoever was on the other end, that his mind was elsewhere," Lightning chuckled. "Then I told him to leave again, and readied my baseball bat. That caught his attention. Ha! I remember the look on his face when he thought I was going to bat him down. Then he left, saying he was fed up with the world."

"Then you picked up some of the roses he had dropped and gave them back to me and asked if we were alright," Rose continued to hold him. "That was the day I started having feelings for you."

"And then it turns out we both went to the same school," Lightning laughed at the coincidence.

"And we were in the same grade too. That was an amazing coincidence,” she stepped closer to him. “I’m glad you rescued us that day. Otherwise, I would have never met you.”

“Woah there! Someone’s gettin’ it close!” someone whistled to their left.

Lightning Rain and Roseluck turned to see Applejack, Caramel, Rarity, Thunderlane, and Sunset Shimmer standing there watching them.

“Oh, don’t let us interrupt you!” Rarity waved them to go ahead. “Please. Continue.”

“Ummm…” Lightning looked at them and then at Rose.

Rose’s cheeks were brightly lit, but she still managed a smile for him.

"Come on guys," Sunset pulled the group away. "Leave them alone. Let's go find the others."

“Well that was… awkward,” Lightning said after a few minutes of silence. “So…”

“It’s alright, Rain,” Rose leaned her head against his shoulder. “Let’s just wait here for the dance to start.”

Lightning Rain looked around to see what was going on, just in time to see Home Run enter with-

"Rainbow Dash?" he sputtered out.

"What?" Rose looked at him with a confused look before following his head direction. "Oh! Home Run asked Rainbow to the dance? And she said yes!"

"Yeah, that's... something," Rain nodded his head in agreement. He'd never thought Rainbow would agree to go with anyone. The captain always felt that someone would have to be better than her at something before they could ask her out.

Rose acted before him, walking to the two. "Rainbow! Home Run! You two are here together?"

"That's right, Rose!" Rainbow put her hands on her hips. "We're going to be awesome!"

Home Run looked at her, unsure of what to say before Rose stuck her hand out to him. "Oh, right! I'm Roseluck! I'm into gardening!"

"Oh yeah, I've heard." Home Run shook her hand. "You... Already know me I guess? You kinda said my name earlier."

"Yeah, why wouldn't she?" Rainbow put an arm on his shoulder. "She's come to watch all our baseball matches."

"Congrats, by the way!" she told Home Run.

"Umm... Why?" Home Run asked.

"Oh nothing much." Lightning Rain joined his date. "Just that you're here at the dance with Rainbow Dash. That's a great feat."

"How did you ask her?" Rose bounced excitedly. "I bet it must’ve been something epic!"

"Oh..." Home Run started to blush. "Well, you see..."

"I... I asked him..." Rainbow's cheeks grew red, matching Home Run's.

"Oh..." Was all Lightning and Rose could say.

"Yeah. It was an interesting sequence of events," Home Run smiled.

Before long, Mr. Pierce and Principal Celestia had gone up to the stage, the computer teacher pulling out a microphone from his pockets and putting it on a stand. “Excuse me. Is this working? Alright, good. Welcome, students. As you all know, tonight is the Valentine’s Day dance, and you’re all here today to enjoy yourselves and have fun. Consider yourselves lucky. Back in my day-”

Principal Celestia cleared her throat, taking Pierce's attention to stopping the man from rambling on.

“Right,” Mr. Pierce coughed before turning back to the mic. “Let the dancing begin then.”

Somewhere in the back, a massive boom sounded as confetti started floating down from the sky.

"Let's go, slugger," Rainbow dragged Home Run to the dance floor. "Let's see who's better at dancing!"

"Catch you two later!" Home Run waved goodbye.

Jetstream and Lightning Dust popped up next to Lightning Rain and Rose, a wide smile on the brown haired boy's face.

"Ready to lose, waterboy?" Jetstream taunted. “Dust and I are going to own the dance floor tonight!”

Lightning and Rose walked up to the two. “I guess I should thank you for not starting on your own and showing off to everyone, huh?”

Jetstream put a hand to his chin and raised an eyebrow. “Heh, well not if you say it like that…”

“For a big show off, you’re not very good at your job,” Lightning smirked.

“Well, your sister is the big payoff,” Jetstream countered with his own smile.

Lightning Dust shook her head and let out a little laugh as she crossed her arms. Rose clung to Lightning Rain’s sleeve, unsure of what was about to happen.

“Excuse me?” Lightning took a defensive step forward.

“Forget it,” Jetstream waved both his hands in front of him. “You’ve heard enough from my mouth already. Dancing will decide who’s better. End of story.”

Lightning Rain looked to Rose, his red haired partner nodding in agreement with him. Lightning turned back to Jetstream and pointed to the dance floor with his head before heading in that direction. Jetstream gave another huge smile and followed, Lightning Dust doing the same.

“I don’t care who’s better,” Lightning said over the music as the DJ started playing the beat. “And I’ve got cause enough for competing with you.”

“What?” Jetstream struggled to hear, but eventually got what Lightning had said. “Oh good. Ha ha. Why, that’s very good! Yes. I like that!”

The other Winds saw them walking to the center and joined them, Sundown wanting to make sure they weren’t going to start a fight in the middle of the dance.

“Woah, you two look serious!” Heavy smiled, pulling out his phone to take some pictures. “Looks like this is going to be some dance!”

“Must you two really dance like this?” Sundown asked, shaking his head at their competitive glares.

“Don’t interfere,” Lightning raised a hand to ask him to stop as he and Rose stopped in the center.

Jetstream and Lightning Dust walked a few meters ahead of Lightning Rain and Rose before turning back to face them. “This is between us!”

Both parties got into dancing positions, ready to duke it out. Roseluck was happy enough to be able to dance with Lightning Rain, while the two baseball players stared at each other for a good forty seconds.

“This ends here, Jets,” Lightning muttered under his breath.

Seeing both of them were ready, Jetstream pulled out a rose and stuck it in between his teeth for added effect. “Okay. Let’s dance!”

Before either of them could make the first move, the lights around them flickered momentarily before coming back on.

“What?” Jetstream looked up to the lights above. They looked fine now. “Meh, must have been a small power outage.”

Before anyone could continue, there was a second flicker as the gym was plunged into darkness for a second moment. Lightning Rain looked around. Everyone seemed perplexed at the power shorts, but he spied someone. Two in fact, who looked like they knew what was going to happen. Rainbow Dash and Home Run. The two athletes stood nearby, wearily looking around, their bodies poised like they were getting ready to sprint to first base.

“What’s going on?” Rose gripped Lightning’s arm tighter.

“Stay calm,” Lightning pulled Rose closer as he looked around. He noticed all the members of the Rainbooms were also watching the room like an eagle watching its prey. “I’m sure it’s just a temporary problem…”

What is going on? This doesn’t look good…

“What gives?” Jetstream moaned through his teeth. “I was just about to show Lightning who had the better ideals- I mean dancing!”

As the baseball team stood pondering, the lights flickered again, the darkness swallowing the gym up in an instant. This time, the darkness stayed for a good five seconds before coming back on.

“What’s that?” Dust pointed to the corner of the building.

Just under a basketball hoop, a cloud of smoke started to form, growing larger as time went on. Suddenly, Home Run and Rainbow had pushed past Lightning and the others, waving them to head back.

“Get back,” Home Run warned them. “It’s not going to be safe here. Find some cover.”

“Cover?” Rose started to panic. “What’s going on? What is that thing?”

Lightning looked at the seriousness in his eyes and backed off, bringing Rose with him. "Let's go. They know what they're doing."

The pale-skinned boy looked back one more time before getting behind a pile of gym mats. The darkness seemed to swirl and writhe like a living thing, as if something was about to show up. Whatever it was, he hoped he was right about Home Run and the others; that they knew what they were doing.

Chapter 22: Party Crasher

The shadows surrounding the Stalker dissipated, revealing the rogue Tenno, still kneeling, it's expression unknown.

"You go too, Home Run," Rainbow told her partner as they watched the smoke grow. "You're in no condition to fight."

"I'm not leaving you," Home Run argued. "You know what it's capable of."

"Just do it, Home Run," Rainbow gave him no time to answer, immediately folding Zephyr out, to the astonishment of most of the students there, and blowing Home Run back with a gust of wind. "Sorry, slugger. It's for your own good."

"Let's take it down, Rainbow Dash," Zephyr sounded.

The others gathered around Rainbow as the smoke began to clear, their Warframes already equipped. The athlete was surprised to see Loregiver and Eclair as she turned to make sure Home Run and Applejack weren't standing with them, not thinking they would be here for the event. Seeing Nekros brought back bad memories, but she quickly shook them off. The Stalker was not going to go easy on her like Eclair did.

"Students!" It was Principal Celestia's voice. "Quickly find your way out of the gym. Do not panic! Move in an orderly fashion."

Most of the students began clearing out as the shadowy figure stood up from its kneeling position and immediately chucking two throwing knives at the team, forcing them to get out of the way. The knives continued on, imbedding themselves in the wall on the far side, scaring a few students away from the main floor.

“Princess, Flash!” Loregiver pointed to the panicking students before facing the Stalker. “Get the kids out of the battle! We don’t want any casualties!”

“On it!” Flash saluted and dashed off with a speed ability, Twilight following behind. They headed to the nearest batch of students and tried to chase them off or wave them away.

The dark Tenno immediately launched itself at Loregiver, swinging its scythe at his waist level. The teacher quickly brought his blade down vertically, blocking the slash, and swung it up, deflecting the Stalker’s blade, leaving it open to an attack from Eclair. The Eclipse guard spun her scythe and slashed at it, only for the Stalker to disappear in a puff of smoke, quickly reappearing on the other side of the gym, nocking an arrow into its bow. Rainbow shot at it with her akstilletos, forcing it to step aside, the arrow unfired.

“I think we’re getting it!” Rainbow let out a whoop as she flew around the shadowy Tenno, firing continuously until her guns ran out of bullets. The Stalker saw its chance and lodged a throwing knife in Rainbow’s leg, forcing her crashing down, breaking the punch table in half as Rarity and Sunset fired their guns at it. “Medic! I’m down!”

Fluttershy quickly ran over to help, casting a blessing over the Warframes in the area, healing Rainbow’s leg and boosting the armor of the others.

The Stalker spun around an arrow Rarity shot and nocked its own, letting it loose at Eclair, only for the arrow to be cut down by Loregiver as he fired up a radial blind. The others took this chance to fire on the dark Tenno, pelting its armor with their projectiles. As the bullets touched its form, the armor seemed to swallow them, shadows spreading and forming around the bullet before pulling it into the darkness of its armor. They seemed to be hurting it, but not as much as they liked.

“Is it even working?” Pinkie shouted over her shotgun’s fire. “Doesn’t look like it! Maybe we need something bigger!”

“Just keep it up!” Rainbow answered, reloading both guns. “We’ll wear it out some time!”

Without warning, the Stalker dashed forward in a slashing arc, launching Pinkie, Rainbow, Sunset, and Rarity flying across the gym. Pinkie broke the horse ice sculpture as she crashed into it, sending shards sliding across the floor, while the others created three new holes in the gym walls.

Loregiver and Eclair charged at the Stalker, gaining as much distance as they could before it started throwing daggers at them. Both pilots swung their weapons skillfully, deflecting the sharp projectiles as they connected with their weapons.

“Keep pushing, Loregiver,” Excalibur encouraged. “I can feel its vibrations. It’s weakened. We can do this.”

Loregiver nodded and launched himself up, spiralling down to the Stalker, blade first. The dark Tenno looked at him and quickly sidestepped, avoiding the skana as it pierced itself in the wooden floor. The Stalker’s movement gave Eclair a small space to throw a soul punch at it, sending it flying onto the stage, impacting the back wall, sending cracks snaking up to the ceiling.

“Good shot,” Loregiver acknowledged as he pulled his sword out of a wooden board.

The Stalker quickly recovered and snaked its way across to the curtains, firing off two arrows on its way there. Both Equestrians easily deflected them, making their way towards the Tenno, but when they arrived, the Stalker was no longer on the stage.

“quoi…?” Eclair lowered her stance as she scanned her surroundings.

Twilight and Flash arrived back near the broken punch table, signalling to Loregiver and Eclair that the other students had been moved outside.

“Careful!” the history teacher warned. “It’s still in here somewhere. Watch your backs.”

Just then, the Stalker materialized behind Twilight and Flash, stabbing back with one of its daggers while swinging his scythe in a wide arc. Volt and Nyx took over their pilot’s movements and parried accordingly, Nyx jumping away and firing her sybaris while Volt slashed up with his nikana.

“Ooh, close one there!” Flash whistled. “Thanks, Volt.”

“Always keep your eyes and ears open, Flash Sentry,” Volt reminded. “You’re lucky I can take control.”

Flash fired a shock at the Stalker, sending electric coursing through its body. It didn’t seem to bother it much, but the Stalker still let out a groan of annoyance as it dashed past him, a cut appearing along Flash’s leg.

“Agh!” the guitarist gasped before falling.

“Flash!” Twilight quickly got in front of him and raised her rifle.

The Stalker slid to a stop before tossing as many knives as it could towards the pilots. Twilight stood paralyzed, but Nyx took over again and activated an absorb, sending Twilight levitating into a green, spinning orb.

“Don’t forget your abilities, Twilight Sparkle.”

The daggers broke apart as they were absorbed, Twilight’s orb gaining power.

“Time to give it a taste of this!” Twilight smiled before releasing the energy, sending it blasting out towards the Stalker, damaging the floorboards and cloth decorations on the way.

To her horror, the Stalker brought up an absorb of its own, taking in all the power Twilight threw at it.

“Oh dear…”

“Twilight!” Nyx quickly warned. “Get out of there!”

Twilight took a few steps back, but remembered Flash, turning around to see him trying to stand on his sword.

“Go,” Volt told them in their HUD. “We’ll slow you down.”

“I’m not leaving you, Volt,” Nyx argued, taking control of Twilight’s arms and hauling him and his pilot up; she lifted him from under his arm.

The Stalker pulled its body together, ready to release the energy build up, but before it could do so, Loregiver jumped in and brought his sword up in a blocking stance, taking the main force of the energy. He held out as long as he could, but he hadn’t had time to get into a good stance. The energy threw him across the room, sending him bouncing like a pebble on water across the floor and stopping at one of the gym’s pillars, breaking it down when he impacted with it.

“Loregiver!” Eclair quickly made her way over to the rubble.

The Stalker got back on its feet and advanced the weakened Twilight and Flash, who had also taken a small amount of damage from the blast, spinning its scythe in its hand.

“Your turn…”

It stalked towards the two downed pilots, ready to end the lives of two more Tenno, when something charged right into it, pushing it through the gym and ramming it into the wall.

“Who was that?” Flash asked as Twilight helped him up again.

“Don’t tell me…” Twilight said, watching the figure stand up, hoping her eyes were wrong. “Applejack?”

Rhino stood on the far side, getting into stance as the Stalker swung itself back up with its hands. Just then, another Warframe jumped it, spinning like a tornado before swinging his hammer at the Stalker. It blocked with its scythe, but the impact still sent it flying to the roof, denting one of the lights before sending sparks down along with it.

“Applejack! Home Run!” Rainbow flew in from one of the small holes in the wall. “I told you to stay away! You could get hurt!”

“We’re not leaving you,” Home Run said sternly, hauling up his hammer over his shoulder, sparks exiting his joints. “That’s final.”

“We can’t jus’ sit back and watch y’all get hammered,” Applejack raised her fists as the Stalker stood back up.

“What Applejack said,” Rhino added on. “You shall not see me *bzzzzzt* sitting around while you get damaged.”

Just then, the rest of the team returned, surrounding the Stalker as it readied its stance, lifting the scythe handle above its head, the blade facing down.

“Give up!” Rainbow taunted, lifting both guns to its face. “We’re too awesome for you. Just leave! We don’t need to fight.”

The Stalker spun on a heel, swinging its weapon in a arc, sending all the pilots and their Tenno flying back across the gym.

Fluttershy quickly cast a blessing before hitting into one of the pillars at the back, healing everyone’s injuries. She turned her head as Eclair walked over, supporting Loregiver from under one of his arms.

“I do not think we can win. Not without Loregiver,” Eclair muttered, looking at the shadowy figure prepare a combat stance. “We must retreat.”

“I c-couldn’t agree more, Eclair,” Fluttershy firmly grasped at her staff. “But it’ll just follow us…”

"Tenno, pilots! Are you all alright? I need all of you to go to the mirror!" Celestia's face appeared on their HUDs, wearing her Lotus mask. "I've already prepared the space for you, but you must go now!"

Before anyone could reply, a smell began entering their noses before thick, blue smoke began pouring across the area.

“Where is this coming from?” Rarity coughed as she looked around.

“This way!”

The team turned to see a human silhouette, standing near the front doors, beckoning them with a hand to get out.

“Perfect!” Eclair voiced and headed for the exit with Loregiver, the others eventually following behind.

Home Run was the last out, looking to the figure by the door to see who had popped the smokey effects, shocked to see it was one of the students.

“Trixie?!” Home Run stopped in his tracks.

“Don’t stop now!” she hissed and pulled him towards the exit. “The great and powerful Trixie did not use her smoke bombs for you to waste them!”

Home Run didn’t need to be told twice, quickly picking Trixie up in his arms and taking off towards the mirror, where the others were already waiting.

“Trixie?” Pinkie jumped forward, lowering her shotgun. “What are you doing here?”

“Trixie wanted to see what all the fuss was about,” Trixie huffed as Home Run set her down. She hurled another handful of smoke bombs towards the gym. "And it looks like it's a good thing she did."

“Guys!” Sunset barked as she took a step through the mirror. “Less talk, more walk! We’ve got to get out of here before the Stalker figures out what we’re doing.”

“Trixie, come with us,” Home Run beckoned for her. “It’s not safe here. At least not now.”

The team wasted no time, getting to the safety of Twilight’s palace. After making sure everyone was through, Twilight pulled the book off her machine, preventing anyone else from entering Equestria.

"This is amazing!" Trixie grabbed at her face. "Of all Trixie's years alive, she has never done this trick before!"

"This is where I'm from," Twilight said as she walked out of Nyx.

"Twilight Sparkle!" Trixie gasped. "So all these... things are from your world?"

"Sorta."

The team gathered around Loregiver as Eclair set him down in a corner, allowing him to rest his back against the wall. “Thanks, Eclair.”

“How’re you feeling, Mr. Loregiver?” Rarity lowered her helmet.

“I’m afraid Excalibur’s been damaged.” The Warframe folded away from him and stood on its own for a second before dropping to one knee.

“That Stalker knows what it’s *bzzzzzzzzt* doing. It’s tough. I’m afraid we won’t be able to *bzzzzzzt* fight at full capacity.”

“What are we going to do?!” Fluttershy turned around and grabbed Sunset by the shoulders, raising her voice slightly. “If Mr. Loregiver can’t fight, how are we supposed to win?”

“We’ll figure it out, Fluttershy. Don’t worry.” Sunset comforted her friend.

"Home Run. Applejack." Rainbow lowered her helmet and stomped towards the two as they exited their damaged Frames. "I told you two to stay away! What if... What if you got hurt!"

“We had it, Rainbow.” Applejack tried to get her point across.

“Yeah, if we didn’t show up…” Home Run added in. “It might have been a different outcome.”

“But you could have died!” Rainbow snapped at them. “I won’t lose you both. And you, Home Run! Do you know how many close calls you’ve had? Too many! You can’t keep doing this to me!”

Home Run understood how she felt and softened down. He felt Death’s grip one time too many, and it was a feeling he didn’t want to experience again, but he still knew he had a job to do, and he wasn’t going to sit by and let his friends take the blow for him. “I’m sorry, Rainbow. It’s just… I can’t let you all get hurt while I sit by and watch. I’m sure Applejack feels the same.” He stepped forward and put his arms around her. "But... I'm sorry for worrying you. I didn't think about that."

“Home Run’s right,” Applejack tried to convince her friend. “We might be damaged at the moment, but we’re not going to let the same thing happen to all of you.”

"There must be something we can do..." Sunset tried to think. "Every time we go against this Tenno, a few of us get injured. We need to find another way."

"That is why I called you all here." Everyone turned as Princess Celestia entered the room with Princess Luna following a few steps behind.

"Princess." Eclair quickly knelt down, deactivating her helmet.

“Principal Celestia?” Trixie asked as her mind tried to comprehend what she was seeing. “A… a pony? With wings? And a horn?”

“Actually, it’s Princess Celestia,” the white alicorn chuckled. "Principal Celestia is your world's counterpart of me."

"So there's a... Trixie here as well?"

"Yes, that's right."

“Princess,” Eclair called from her kneeling position. “What do we do now? Loregiver is in no position to fight. Without him, I’m afraid we’re vaincu. Defeat is only imminent.”

“That is why I have called you all here…” Celestia let out a huge sigh and a pause before starting. “I’m afraid I haven’t been all that truthful again… There’s another secret I haven’t shared with anypony but my sister.”

Luna looked like she was disappointed in her sister, but coughed and resumed her stern expression. The team looked at Celestia, waiting for her to speak.

"I... didn't create the Tenno or their Warframes..."

“Wait… what?” Rainbow asked, stepping forward, making sure her ears had heard the princess right. “But if you didn’t make these awesome guys… then who did?”

Celestia walked to one of the pods and gazed inside, looking back to ancient times. “I found them. In the Void. They were leftover from an ancient civilization known as the Orokin.”

“Orokin?” Loregiver raised his eyebrows and creased them. “Why, I do not believe I’ve heard of them.”

“They predate us, Loregiver,” Celestia continued, walking into the center of the room to begin her story. “When I had found the Void, I searched through its great halls, looking for anything I could find that would help me in my fight against our spacial enemies. It was then that I found these pods. Tenno, and their Warfames, lying dormant within them.”

“So you brought them back?” Home Run asked, intrigued in the story. “How’d you get them to help you?”

“I reprogrammed them. With the help of... another pony. We made the Tenno answer to only one master. The Lotus. That was where I created the mask. It helped me watch over them, while also disguising myself so my enemies wouldn't know where to look."

"Woah nelly, that's a lot a information to take in," Applejack sat down on the floor, trying to wrap her mind around this world's past. "So... Uh... Who was this other pony ya worked with?"

Celestia looked away with a pained face. "The Void is not a safe place. When the system had learnt we took the Warframes, they sent their minions at us. I managed to return to Equestria with them, but the other pony... She... She didn't make it." Tears filled the alicorn's eyes as she recalled that painful memory. "It was my fault. I brought her there to help me. She always had a knack for inventions and gadgets... But she wasn't ready for what the Void had for her... If only I could see her again. To tell her I'm sorry..."

Luna sighed but trotted over and wrapped a wing around her sister. "What's done is done, dear sister, but I do hope you don't leave any of these children behind."

"Wait, you want us to go in there?" Rainbow asked, watching the white alicorn nod her head slowly. "But so what if we find more Warframes? That Stalker is tough. We need upgrades!"

"That's right, Rainbow Dash," Celestia wiped her eyes before continuing. "The void held more than just those Warframes. Inside these vaults... There were special Warframes. Ones I never took. It would've taken me too long to get them and they could only be opened with void keys. Things I didn't really have back then. I believe whatever you find behind those vault doors will be enough to stop this new foe."

"Sounds like a plan," Sunset shrugged and turned to her friends. "What do you all think? I mean, sure, it'll be dangerous, but we've gotta try."

"I'm in," Rainbow hopped off a wooden chair and joined Sunset.

"Me too," Rarity nodded. "We can't let this thing do as it pleases."

Soon, the girls had stood and joined Sunset, defiant looks on their faces. Home Run smiled at the thought. Each and every one of them were willing to sacrifice themselves to protect the ones they loved.

"Count me in," Home Run pointed at himself. "It's what I signed up for in the first place."

"So what's the plan, princess?" Twilight walked up to her mentor. "How do we get to the Void?"

Celestia projected a magical image with her horn, displaying pictures of some sort of spaceship. "This is a liset. It's meant for a single Tenno and Warframe, but it seats four at maximum. The liset will take you to the Void."

"Then what do the rest of us do?" Sunset asked. If only four could go, the rest had to stay behind to fend off the Stalker. With their team divided, they had even less of a chance to come out of the fight with that dark Tenno.

"You have to awaken the rest," Loregiver replied from his resting position. "The rest of you should take the pods and find more pilots to join the fight. Perhaps with numbers, you can hold that Stalker off."

“Well, I’m definitely going to the Void!” Rainbow quickly shot up a hand eagerly. “I’ll lead the squad there! Who else is coming with me?”

“I shall accompany you, Rainbow,” Rarity walked up and flipped her hair back with a hand. “You may require my expertise when you enter that place.”

“Settled! Anyone else?” Rainbow looked around, her expression beckoning her friends to join her.

“Ooh! Ooh!” Pinkie hopped up and down, barely landing before jumping up again each time. “Pick me! Pick me!”

“Right, Pinkie should go,” Sunset nodded. “With her mirror skill and guns, she’s gonna deal some damage for sure.”

“Umm…” Fluttershy mumbled, putting her fingers together. “Maybe… I should go too…? To provide some healing, just in case.”

“That’s a good idea!” Rainbow put an arm around the timid girl. “So there we have it! We’ll go. We’ll find the Warframes and teach that Stalker what true friendship is!”

“The horror! The horror!” Roseluck looked at Lightning Rain, then at the ruined gym before fainting into Lightning’s arms.

The students had walked back into the gym after the others and the shadowy figure had left, wanting to see what had happened. Craters peppered the floor, while the walls were filled with holes. The punch table lay on the ground, broken in two, while rubble dotted out the entire length of the gym.

"Man..." he muttered as he half-supported Rose. "The place is trashed."

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said as moved to put the table on its side.

“It’s going to take ages to fix up!” Hoops complained on Lightning Rain’s left. The boy's hair was a mess, with bits sticking out all over the place. “Where are we going to play now?”

"Basketball is the least of your worries now, Hoops," Spitfire said as she and Soarin joined him, the other boy putting a hand on his shoulder. Part of her blue dress had been torn vertically, probably from something landing on it. "There are other things out there. Things that might kill us."

"Spitfire's right," Soarin added. "And our friends, the Rainbooms, are once again part of all this. What do you think those things were?"

"I'll tell you what they were."

All eyes turned to Jetstream as he strolled in, trying his best to look tough and confident. “Well, now that we’ve got a moment to calm down, I think we all can look at the facts. One, our school was once again attacked by a something. We’ll call it the Creeper, because it reminds me of ol’ Lightning here-”

“Hey!”

"Well, it's true," Jetstream continued as Lightning fumed beside him. "Anyway, it's obvious what that thing was. It was a robot."

"Really," Cold Wind walked in supporting her brother; the neighgagger having sprained his ankle on the way out. "Could you go one day without some nonsense? I'm sure it was just a guy in a suit."

"This is so going on neighgag." The sprain didn't seem to affect Heavy Wind's psyche one bit as he took a few pictures with his phone.

“Could a guy in a suit have done all this?” Jetstream waved his hand at the wrecked gymnasium.

“Yes!” everyone chorused back at him.

“Look, Jets." Lightning gently set Rose on the ground. "We’ve seen much weirder things done by people who weren’t robots, and this Creeper thing didn’t even look like a robot."

"Yes it did!" Jetstream pointed a finger at him. "I know a robot when I see one, and that thing was a robot!"

"Look, everyone." Sundown stepped in before their conversation could escalate into another fight. "It doesn't matter what that Creeper was. It destroyed the gym. It's dangerous. What else do we need to know?"

Apple Bloom walked up to the shaven-headed boy. "What Ah want to know is what my sister and her friends have to do with all this."

"Eeyup," Big Mac seconded as he carried the remains of the punch bowl away.

"True..." Jetstream put his chin in the curve of his hand. "They always seem to be the center of attention when weird things happen..."

"Home Run too," Lightning Dust said as she dusted dirt off her dress as she stopped next to her brother. "He turned into one of those things too."

“Is he a robot too?” Charly asked, his white suit blackened with dirt and rubble in a few spots.

“I doubt that…” Soarin mused. “Though, we should ask them sometime. Something’s definitely afoot.”

“You don’t say…” Lightning Rain panned an arm around the destroyed gym.

"Alright, that's about it, kids..." Mr. Pierce walked into the middle of the crowd, Principal Celestia following behind looking almost uncharacteristically furious. "Discuss what happened away from here. In your homes, on your way back. I declare this dance over. Have a nice rest of the evening kids. I need to take care of some business first." The computer teacher waited until the students started leaving before moving off on his own.

"Well, that's that, I suppose," Jetstream said as he followed Lightning Rain out, an arm around his sister. "We'll duel this out some other time, eh?"

"Yeah," Lightning stared at him as he carried Rose, still unconscious from the disaster. "Just you and me."

"I'll send you and Rose home, Jets," Lightning Dust told them as they headed to the car. "We'll have to find some other time to dance, huh?"

"I'm free next Tuesday!" the baseball player smiled, pulling out his rose, its stalk broken, and sticking it in his mouth.

Chapter 23: The Void

The Rainbooms exited the portal after saying goodbye to Twilight and the princesses, Home Run, Flash Sentry, and Trixie following behind them.

“Trixie does not understand this Warframe business,” the blue girl dusted her dress. “How does she activate this thing?”

Out of nowhere, her Warframe materialized over her, sensing her commands. The black and white suit completely formed over her as an arm reached up over its head and tipped its hat to Home Run and Flash.

“Limbo.”

“Aaaalright…” Flash looked at Home Run, who just shrugged at him. They expected more than just his name. “Nice to have you working with us, Limbo. You… still alright in there, Trixie?”

“Trixie is fine.” The Limbo suddenly started moving awkwardly as the magician began checking out how the suit works. “This is truly fascinating! Trixie must master this trick!”

She headed off on her own, investigating the suit's arms and legs.

"Guess I should get going too." Flash headed in another direction, giving the group a wave. "See you guys tomorrow!"

"What a day, right?" Sunset let out a little chuckle as they headed off. "A good way to end the week."

“Not really…” Fluttershy shook her head slowly. “I wish I never see that Stalker again.”

“Yes, me too,” Rarity agreed. “I’ve been sleeping rather poorly as of late because of it.”

“Well, we’re still not goin’ to get any rest any time soon,” Applejack sighed as she flicked a piece of debris off her hat. “Tomorrow’s gonna be another busy day.”

The others nodded in agreement. Tomorrow, Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were heading to the Void, hopefully to find something which would give them an edge over their mysterious adversary. All the others had to do was find more pilots to face the Stalker until the others returned with the advanced Warframes.

No pressure, Home Run thought as the group headed away from the statue. The others began parting ways and heading home, deciding on a much needed rest.

"It's a pity," Rainbow slapped the blue haired boy on the back. "We didn't quite get to show anyone how awesome I was."

"Yeah," Home Run gave her a weak chuckle. "Well, what's next? You want to get some food some time? Just us?"

"Oh, Home Run... About that..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her multi-coloured hair. "You see, I'm not really... interested in a relationship. I thought this dance was just for fun. I think it’s safe to say most of us go for events like this just to hang out."

"Wait... What?" Home Run was baffled. He wanted to say something, but he found nothing coming out of his mouth but a little squeak.

"I'm... I'm focusing on sports for now," she admitted. "I don't want anything else distracting me, you know?"

"I see..." He must've let something show on his face, because the athlete walked to him and gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry, slugger. It's not your fault. You're a nice guy and all, but I'd like to keep extra distractions away, at least until I can get into the Wonderbolts. Then we can talk about going steady, alright? Still friends, yeah?"

Home Run sighed, but in the end, it had to be this way. "Yeah. Sure. Still friends, captain. I understand."

"Glad you get it, slugger, and don't worry! I'm sure you'll find the girl of your dreams one day!" Rainbow Dash skipped ahead and waved back to him before activating Zephyr. "Well, I'll see you around!"

With a blast of wind, the girl was off, zooming down the streets like a bolt of lightning.

"That didn't turn out *bzzzzt* the way I thought," Vauban's voice appeared. "You going to be alright there, Home Run?"

"I'll be fine," he managed a smile. This was what the captain wanted, and what else could he do. But it was fine. He was going to be optimistic and look ahead. After all, they had a dangerous mission before them. He didn't want to mess up because he couldn't handle his feelings. "Let's go home, buddy..."

Four of the girls stood within Princess Celestia's underground sanctum as she use her magic to power up a small generator, shaped like a capsule. The gears inside began spinning and hissing steam, but before they knew it, a whole piece of wall had begun sliding to the side, revealing a square piece of metal with a human-like shape indented into it.

"Are we supposed to fit ourselves in that?" Pinkie asked excitedly, hopping forward to check it out. "So what happens? Do we-"

The pink girl had placed herself in the indent before Celestia could explain anything to them. With the click of metal, the entire wall revolved around, swallowing Pinkie before turning back to face the others with an empty indent once again.

"Yes," Celestia chuckled as Pinkie's excited voice could be heard from within. "The liset will take you to the Void. Now go, one at a time. I will be monitoring you from my visor, so don't worry. Just be careful. I don't want to lose you four too. And take this," the alicorn handed them a void key. “You'll need this to open the vault doors. I wish I had them when I was there... Make sure to look after each other in there. The occupants won't take well to your presence.”

“You can count on us, princess!” Rainbow mock saluted and took the key before hopping over to the entrance.

Rarity made sure Fluttershy went next, not wanting her pink haired friend to have a change of mind after looking at the door. “It’ll be fine, darling. Just walk up to it and it’ll bring you right in.”

“A-alright…”

There was a slight squeak as the door swung around, sending Fluttershy into the belly of the ship. Rarity was next, joining the other three girls inside the shiny vertical spacecraft, looking at its amazing interior. There were consoles outlining the front and sides of the ship, while a sort of panel opened up to a small room in the back, housing what looked like equipment and weapons for them to use.

“This is so cool!” Rainbow Dash squeezed her head as she dashed from console to console.

As the girls looked at their new transport, a click of gears signaled that the ship was turning. Soon, they found themselves standing upright, properly looking at everything around them.

“Here we go!” Rainbow whooped as she headed to the front.

“Where are the seats?” Rarity asked, putting a hand on one of the consoles to support herself as the ship began rumbling.

“Oh, we don’t have seats,” Mag replied. “We’ve never needed them.”

“Oh. So… how are we going to hold on?”

“Easy. Just leave the controls to us.”

The girls’ Warframes folded out and took over, sitting themselves down on their knees around the center of the ship.

“I-is this s-safe?” Fluttershy trembled as the craft around them began leaving ground, quickly gaining altitude.

“Of course it is!” Trinity reassured. “Don’t worry. We got you covered. I’ve never let you down, have I?”

“I suppose not…” There was a loud ‘eeep’ as the liset sped off into the sky, the sudden change in pace startling the pink haired girl. She would’ve probably flown back if not for Trinity, her Tenno partner keeping her firmly rooted to the floor. “T-thanks, Trinity.”

They looked out the front window, watching with amazement as the liset tore through the atmosphere, the scenery changing from white to blue, then to black within minutes. It was like they were in the night sky, zooming around in the blackness of space, their liset kept company only by the millions of stars that made space their home.

“Fascinating,” Rarity turned her head. “Truly fascinating. Too bad Twilight’s not here. She would love to see this.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Mag told them. “Just hang on. We’re about to enter the Void.”

Zehpyr raised an arm and slotted the void key into a slot by the front console. Immediately, the liset took off through space, flying so fast that the stars looked like lasers around them.

“So cool!” Rainbow pressed at her cheeks. “Awesome!”

Finally, like a candy breaking out of its wrapper, the liset stopped, this time, the scenery around them was glowing green, along with spectral shapes floating all around them.

“Welcome to the Void,” Trinity said.

Chapter 24: A Pyrrhic Victory

Home Run propped up the Warframe pods against the school’s water tank before lowering Vauban’s helmet to wipe sweat off his brow.

“Didn’t think it would be this much work…” he muttered, looking out over CHS’ field. The rooftops sure had a good view of the houses around school.

“I apologize, Home Run,” his partner said in his ears. “But without proper repairs, my suit will not have the required strength to aid you.”

“Yeah. I figured, buddy.” Home Run hoped the others found what they were looking for in that Void out there. Fighting the rest of the battle like this wasn’t going to do him any good.

“You do not have to help, Home Run,” Eclair replied, fully enclosed in Nekros’ Warframe. “I can manage on my own. It is my job.”

“Nonsense,” he waved her off. “I can’t just sit around and watch you carry all these up here yourself.”

“I am an agent,” she reminded the baseball player. “Sometimes, one must spend time in the field. En solo. Besides, your friends could use your help, finding potential pilots.”

“Well…” Home Run rubbed the back of his head. “You see, I’ve only been at this school for like, a month, so I don’t know the others like Sunset and the rest.”

“A fair point.” Eclair returned to moving the pods, making sure they were all secured well against the tank. “But your help is no longer required. We have moved all of them.”

“Oh.” Home Run looked down the steps leading to the roof, then back at the pods. “Cool. Didn’t notice. So what now?”

“I guess we wait for your friends to return,” Eclair replied and folded Nekros back into the small badge on her coat. She sat down and leaned back against the wall and rested her head behind her hands. “Take a pause, Home Run. You look like you need it.”

“A… pause?” Home Run asked, receiving the nod from the grey-skinned agent. “If you insist.”

He folded out of Vauban and took a seat beside her, resting his head back against the cool surface of the wall.

“So, you say you were from another school?” the girl tweaked her head over to look at him.

“Yeah. I came from Fillydelphia State School. Do… do you know the place?”

“Fillydelphia? Yes. I’ve been there before. I’m afraid your school does not exist in my world, however.”

“I don’t know if there are the same, uh, ponies in your world, but back there, I had a couple of friends and teachers. Perhaps you might know some names?”

Eclair nodded. “Oui, I had some contacts in your city. Perhaps I may know them.”

Home Run thought before starting. It had been a while since he’d seen his friends in Fillydelphia. “Well, let’s see… There was Wind Skater, Grand Catcher, Sidewind. Those were my pals on the baseball team.”

Eclair closed her eyes, thinking back to her time in Prance. “Pardon, Home Run. I do not know those names.”

“Hmm… How about the teachers? There was Mr. Pen, Miss Mockingbird, Miss Magnets. Those were all awesome teachers. Oh, and I shouldn’t forget Principal Frost. He’s the one who recommended CHS after all.”

“Mockingbird, you say?” Eclair opened her orange eyes and flashed the baseball player a smile. “I did have a contact with that name. She’s a good source and a friend. Un bon ami.”

“That’s cool,” Home Run nodded. It seemed in Equestria, his old English teacher was a spy of sorts. Their worlds were similar, but not exactly. “Are you from Prance, Eclair? You sound like you are.”

“Oui,” she smiled and looked to the sky. “Good guess. I was born there, but I moved to Canterlot to become a guard.”

“Sounds like an interesting tale,” he chuckled.

“That might have to wait, Home Run.” Eclair suddenly stood up and folded her Warframe over herself. “Danger.”

“What?” Vauban quickly took over, enveloping himself over the boy and tossing their bodies over to the right, falling just under an arrow. Home Run could still feel the projectile above his back. “Whoa.”

“He’s here,” Vauban alerted. “I’ll contact the others. Keep an eye out, Home Run.”

The baseball player stood up and pulled out his jat kittag, while Eclair had grabbed for her ether reaper.

“Foolish Tenno…” the Stalker’s voice and face appeared on their visors. “Numbers will not win you this battle… Let me show you.”

Almost immediately as its face disappeared from their HUDs, the Stalker materialized between Home Run and Eclair in a puff of smoke, slicing in an arc with its scythe.

“Watch it!” Vauban took over and blocked with his hammer. Eclair already had her blade up, parrying the scythe away from her neck.

She pulled back a hand and thrust it forward, releasing a soul punch, knocking the Stalker off the roof in a single hit. Before she had a chance to recover from her stance, the rogue Tenno had returned, popping up behind her with a kick, knocking Eclair down.

Home Run stood at the ready with his hammer, but the Stalker didn’t focus on him. Instead, it went for the water tank and what rested against it.

“No!” Vauban yelled and moved the Warframe, chasing after the dark creature, but he wasn’t fast enough.

The Stalker stabbed its scythe through the first pod before pulling it out from the side, spilling fluid and wires all across the rooftop.

“Gah!” Home Run yelled as he swung the hammer one round before pounding it down over the Stalker’s head, but it grabbed the hammer’s head and stopped it.

Eclair came in from behind and sliced up with her scythe, but the Stalker turned around and grabbed the shaft of her weapon, holding it still.

“You serve a traitor. She has deceived many, but soon, it will all cease to matter.”

With another spin, the Stalker threw both Warframes and their operators away, flinging Home Run clear off the roof and to the ground below. He might’ve hit his head on the ground, but Vauban flipped him back to his feet right as he was about to.

“Thanks, buddy,” he breathed. “Where’s Eclair and Nekros?”

“I read they’re on the other side of your school building, but…” Vauban’s voice said with increasing urgency. “The pods. We need to get back! Now!”

“On it, buddy."

Home Run charged back next to the building and pulled out a bounce grenade, using it to launch himself back up to the roof in a single leap. But by the time he arrived, it was already too late.

“No no no…” Vauban raised a hand towards the destroyed pods. “We have failed…”

Appearing in fragments before being fully materialized, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy stood disoriented for a second before gaining their bearings on their new location.

“So this is it, huh?” Rainbow said, marveling at the shiny architecture.

The room they were in shone with white and gold, gleaming brightly all around them. It was as if the place was never abandoned.

“Welcome to the Void,” Princess Celestia said, appearing on their HUDs with her Lotus mask. “This place was once the ancient home of the Orokin, the race before you humans. Tread these halls carefully. They may be vacant, but traps and creations still run, active.”

“Well, that’s convenient,” Rarity groaned and pulled her paris bow from her back. “Well, that’s what we have this for, I suppose. Everyone set?”

“Are you kidding?” Rainbow Dash held back a laugh. “Of course! Let’s go, Zehpyr!”

And the rainbow haired girl was the first one off, running down a long tube into a bigger hall. Pinkie let out a big whoop before cartwheeling after her, leaving Rarity to push Fluttershy ahead of her, watching the rear.

The place around them was oddly quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps being heard. The next hall led out into an expansive room with three doors, one on each side.

“You sense that?” Trinity spoke in their heads.

“I see them, Trinity,” Mag replied. “Rarity, at the ready.”

“What?” was all she had time to say before one of the doors opened, revealing humanoid-like creatures, encased in silver. Immediately after spotting them, they opened fire with what looked like rifles in their hands. “What are those?!”

“The Corrupted,” Princess Celestia answered on their visors again. “Beings changed by the Void. They will try to stop you, but you must go through them to get to the vault.”

“Sounds easy enough!” Rainbow blasted up into the air before spinning her akstilletos in her hands.

The first wave of Corrupted had already fallen by the time she jetted forward, blasting through the door they had originated from.

“Rainbow!” Rarity shouted out, unsure if her friend had heard her. “Wait! Ah, whatever. Let’s go, girls. We need to keep up.”

“On it, captain!” Pinkie saluted and spawned four more clones of Mirage.

Together, they ran ahead, blasting Corrupted forces down with her boar, putting a great slash into their numbers. Rarity joined in, nocking an arrow. One Corrupted, looking oddly similar to a Grineer, ran at her with its gun raised, but Rarity let fly with her arrow, watching it sail for a second before embedding itself into the Corrupted’s chest, sending it flying against the far wall.

“Come on, Fluttershy!” she waved. “We need to keep moving.”

The shy girl was hesitant, but Trinity took over and ran ahead, twirling her bo staff between her hands. “I’ve got this, Fluttershy. Don’t worry. Just watch out for me.”

Trinity jumped in a circle and smashed her weapon into the heads of two Corrupted creatures that had heads like slugs, sending them crashing off a balcony. Rarity followed close behind, firing her arrows at incoming Corrupted. Three had almost got the jump on her, but Mag took over and suspended them with her skill before crushing them from within. The two had finally arrived through the door, watching Pinkie launch a Corrupted Grineer across the room with her shotgun before firing a prism across the room, disintegrating all the enemies in its path.

The girls took a few hits to their shields, but nothing life threatening. One Corrupted with a knife knocked Rarity over, but Mag used a pull and flung the creature over her head, sending it straight into one of Pinkie’s shotgun blasts.

“Thanks, Mag,” Rarity pushed her hair back and resumed firing.

“Anytime, Rarity.”

Rainbow Dash was nowhere in sight, but they could hear gunfire from down a staircase, so they followed it, hoping to find their friend closeby. Unfortunately, all they found was more Corrupted soldiers, fighting back against them with all they had.

“Is there no end to these things?” Rarity complained and crushed a few more with her skill.

“I-I hope there is…” Fluttershy whimpered as Trinity cast a blessing around the three of them before bashing a Corrupted under its jaw. “Eep! Nice one, Trinity…”

From above them, Corrupted of all shapes rained down towards them, leaping over the railing and taking the stairs, converging to their location.

“Where’d they all come from?” Pinkie asked as she took down three more. “It’s like they can just pop out of anywhere!”

Then Rainbow Dash was back, landing right in the middle of the Corrupted horde, sending most of them flying. She let loose a vortex, which took care of the remaining ones, while beckoning her teammates to move on.

“Go! I’ve got them distracted for now! Straight ahead, through that door!” She pointed to the large cylindrical object on the right.

“Right,” Rarity nodded and led the way, nocking another arrow into her bow.

The next two halls were surprisingly empty, with the exception of one or two Corrupted. Rainbow joined her generous friend in the front, showing the way.

“I think I found it earlier, when I was flying around,” she explained. “Just this way, down this slope.”

The next area was just one long slope, with doors on the left and right. Water poured from the ground just under their feet, flowing down the slope into a small pool at the bottom.

“This place is beautiful,” Fluttershy gasped in awe, but keep moving, fearing more Corrupted would appear behind them. “If only we had more time to look around…”

“Well, you could,” Trinity replied. “I could always fight for you while you look.”

“Uh… N-No thanks.”

They ran down to the next area, which was a wide squarish room with a second floor visible from where they were standing. Three doors in three of the walls led to places unknown, but on the fourth wall, something caught their attention.

“Is that it?” Rainbow pointed to a large semi-circular door with four large socket-like bulbs in it, along with a grey circle in the middle with a weird insignia on it.

“There it is,” Princess Celestia breathed and nodded on screen. “The vault.”

Rainbow pulled out the key from her side and looked at the vault door. The only one obvious place to put it was the grey circle in the middle. She had almost put it there when lasers pinging off the door in front of her, forcing her down into a crouch.

“Corrupted, incoming!” Pinkie yelled, splitting herself into more clones and fired back. “Dashie, get the key on the vault door!”

“Got it,” Rainbow nodded and placed the object in.

The key fitted nicely within the circle, and in a few seconds, the sockets in the doors spun once each before the door segmented away into three parts. Rainbow was the first in, gazing up at a giant statue of Mr. Loregiver’s Warframe: an excalibur. Between its hands stood a Warframe pod, almost identical to the other pods they had, but only with gold patterns across its casing.

“Found it!” she cheered, but then realized something. “Umm… How are we carrying this out of here?”

Zephyr took over and picked up the pod. “Like this, Rainbow Dash.”

“Great,” Princess Celestia gave them a smile. “Now get to extraction.”

When Rainbow had exited the small room, her friends had already taken down multiple Corrupted soldiers, but more were still pouring in from the three other doors in the room.

“Guys, you need to cover me!” she briefed, showing them the golden pod in her hands. “I can’t fire back like this. Can’t fly either.”

“Roger!” Pinkie shouted shrilly. “Go, my pink armada!”

Pinkie’s four other clones rushed in with their shotguns, carving a way through four-legged Corrupted creatures towards the entrance they had come from. Trinity leapt high into the air before diving down with a ground slam, scattering a few more Corrupted Grineer and another type that had a squarish helmet. Rarity joined in, using a shield polarize to restore her friends’ shields.

“Come on!” the party planner yelled with a huge wave for Rainbow Dash to hurry up.

“Takes time, Pinkie!” the athlete grunted, but kept a steady pace, somehow managing to avoid most of the rifle fire.

“You have a large assault wave coming from your right,” the white alicorn warned. “It’s the Corrupted.”

Gee, I would never have guessed… Rainbow Dash grumbled internally. She was probably just agitated from having to carry this heavy pod on her shoulders.

Zephyr swapped in for a second and kicked off the face of a grotesque Corrupted creature, lifting herself a good five feet in the air before landing at the top of the small staircase leading to the door. Pinkie Pie protected the rear, keeping the other Corrupted from entering the door until her teammates had proceeded out through the next door. She quickly hopped after them before throwing another prism towards the previous hall to slow the enemy down.

In the next room, Trinity led the group, taking a different path from the way they came. “The liset will be docked at the exit. It’s this way.”

“More Corrupted emerged from all around them, forcing the three girls to fight back while Rainbow ran on, carrying their only hope on her shoulders. If this didn’t get back to Earth, they were all going to be in trouble.

“Watch out!” Zephyr warned, but removed Rainbow’s leg a second too slow.

A pressure plate fell into the floor as the walls on the left and right opened up, revealing an array of movable laser discs, instantly activating behind Rainbow, one of them scorching a hole through her rainbow hair.

“Woah,” she jumped ahead a few steps and turned around. “Thanks, Zephyr.”

Some of the Corrupted were vaporized instantly, turned to ash by the lasers. Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy stood on the other side, still fighting off Corrupted forces. Rarity turned after letting loose another arrow, inspecting the laser trap. Mag took over for a while and fired a few arrows at the discs, disabling a few lasers, just enough for the girls to crawl underneath, also leaving enough to keep the other Corrupted out.

“You’re almost to extraction,” the masked alicorn appeared again. “Keep going.”

Rainbow was first through the rotating doors, opening to a wide darker room, with a long stairway at the other end, leading up to something that looked familiar.

The liset entrance.

“Come on!” Rainbow shouted back to her friends and took off down the steps. “We’re close!”

More Corrupted emerged from two doors in the final room, but Rarity took them down with a crush before the four girls got into their spacecraft one by one. Rainbow had somehow managed to squeeze the pod in before herself, securing it near the armory at the bottom before meeting the others in the main space.

“Hang on,” Celestia said as the liset began to leave the tower they were in. “Good work, team. You’ve secured an advanced pod. Something I had never been able to do.”

“What do you think this one does?” Rainbow asked, looking back down the slope where the pod lay.

“I don’t know, but Princess Celestia said it would give us an edge over the Stalker, soooooo… I think it’s going to be super awesome!” Pinkie bounced up and down.

“Slow yourself, Pinkie Pie,” Mirage complained, forcing the girl back to the ground. “I’m sure whatever Warframe is in that pod will bring us victory. The Lotus has never let us down before.”

With their prize intact, Zephyr went to the controls and set a course for home.

Deep in the Orokin tower, where the light did not shine, a pod with a red light stood, resting against a wall of black wires, slowly beeping with a rhythmic pace, before the light finally turned green, signaling its readiness.

Steam hissed out of the capsule as the door slid open, letting a lone figure fall to the floor, her hooves hitting down against the glassy floor with a loud thud.

She coughed, splurting fluid out of her mouth, struggling to breath as she fought for air. Then she noticed something.

She could breathe without having to. Breathe without her nose or mouth.

Odd...

The pony rose, noticing there was something wrong with her eyes. Across her vision, she could see blue lights and indicators, displaying something that read ‘shields’ and ‘health’, along with a circular icon on her right, like a little radar.

What is going on? Where am I? Who am I?

Suddenly, her body began moving, as if it were not her own. One hoof took a step forward, then another. Her metallic wings unfolded themselves behind her, lifting themselves to their maximum length, gleaming with a tinge of blue from the lights pulsing at their center.

Strange… I don’t remember having wings…

Her body gave itself a shake before taking more hoofsteps forward. The pony looked down, noticing they weren’t the same hooves as before, but now, they were metal, as if somepony had gone and replaced her old hooves with new ones.

W-What is happening to me? What am I?

Without warning, her head tilted up, staring straight at a reflection of what she could only assume was herself, or at least what was left of herself. Her eyes were golden, placed over blackened eyeballs. Her chin, ears, and body had been meddled with, almost fully replaced with more metal of white and gold.

Her mane, tail, horn, and face remained untouched, but she couldn’t recognize herself anymore. She had forgotten what she looked like, what her name was.

Then her question was answered as her mouth moved on its own, uttering words from a voice that wasn’t hers.

“I am Duality,” she said with a robotic-tuned voice. “And I will be your reckoning.”

Chapter 25: Not Built in a Day

“No…” Twilight Sparkle gasped as she hurried over to the destroyed Warframe pods. “How…?”

Nyx placed a hand upon the cracked glass gently. “My brothers and sisters… The Stalker will pay.”

“We were foolish, princess,” Eclair bowed sadly before the lavender girl. “I should have seen this coming and prepared for a better fight. The fault is mine.”

“It’s not Eclair’s fault,” Home Run stepped in to join them. “It was me. I wasn’t at my best...”

“It cannot be helped, Home Run. My suit has been damaged. We cannot be at maximum capacity.”

“Doesn’t matter!” Applejack interrupted. “Stop hittin’ yourselves. It’s not doin’ any of y’all any good! We… We just have to hope the others get back with what we need.”

“AJ’s right,” Sunset nodded. “The enemy is still out there, and no matter how many of us we have, we’ll have face him and we’ll show him what true friendship can do.”

“Of course, Sunset,” Twilight smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. “How silly of me to forget. The Stalker’s all alone, while we have each other. Perhaps a friend is all he needs?”

“You know… I doubt that,” Home Run admitted, leaving his suit. “He keeps talking about reckonings and stuff. He’s out for revenge, but for what, I don’t know at all.”

“If the Stalker was looking for friends,” Ember replied flatly. “Then he should have thought about it before attacking us. If he’s still looking for friends, it’s our blades and guns he’s going to receive.”

The Tenno turned back to the pods one more time, placing their hands and lowering their heads. Even without an expression, Home Run could tell that Vauban was depressed that he couldn’t save the others.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” Home Run patted his partner on the shoulder. “I wish we could help.”

“It is fine, Home Run,” Vauban sighed and turned around. “Nothing can be done now, but to end the Stalker. He will regret what he has done.”

“We’re going to stop him,” Sunset assured the others. “We will.”

Nyx and Vauban were the first to lift the pods, bringing them back towards the stairs. “We should return them to Equestria, Twilight Sparkle. They deserve a proper resting place.”

“Are you sure they can’t be rebuilt?” Twilight asked, walking alongside the grey-green Warframe. “We fixed Vauban and Rhino. Though, not fully.”

“It might be a possibility, actually,” Vauban told them. “Perhaps we might still see the other Tenno once more. I will need to research this.”

“Truthfully for myself, I do not know, Twilight Sparkle…” Nyx replied solemnly. “But I hope your friends from the Void return with the new Warframes. I want to see the Stalker’s face when he has to deal with one of those.”

Home Run dropped his bag by the bleachers after changing into his sports attire and ran over to join the other baseball players on the field. Everyone was already there, except for Rainbow Dash, who was still in the Void.

He had grown to like the captain, but after his talk with her the night before, he figured he should just leave it. He himself didn’t need such distractions at a time like this. Home Run felt like he didn’t do his best against the Stalker because she was still on his mind, and because of him, they had lost all the other Warframes.

Come on, Home Run. You can do better than this. It’s final already, just deal with it! Come on!

“Hey Homey!” Jetstream shouted and waved. Home Run only noticed the sly smile on his face when he got closer. “How’s your day? Did you hear? I’ve got another date with Lightning Dust later today! Great, right? The only person who actually cares is-”

“Me, of course!” Lightning Rain stalked over and grabbed the wooden bat out of Jetstream’s hand. “I don’t understand what she sees in you! Why? Why my sister? Why me?”

“Obviously, she has taste in great people, dear LR,” he smiled and patted his friend’s head.

“I’ll show you great taste!” Lightning raised his hands to strangle Jetstream, but Sundown was there again, holding him back.

“Really, you guys?” he grunted as he held back the taller boy. “Even after all the hoo-ha about yesterday’s dance, you guys still gotta fight? As if you didn’t give me enough problems in a day!”

“Yeah!” Jetstream added before turning back to Home Run. “Oh yeah, Homey. I wanted to ask you something. You know all that robot stuff yesterday? I want to know what’s going on. Mind filling me in?”

“Erm… well, we’re fighting this guy called the Stalker? Apparently he wants to kill us all.”

“Stalker? Close enough. I decided to call it the Creeper, you know, cause it looks a lit-”

“You’ve already said that, you windbag!” Lightning grabbed for the brown haired boy again, but Sundown pulled him back.

“Guys! Enough!”

“Well, anyway, ignoring LR, it was a robot wasn’t it?” Jetstream put a hand on his hip and smiled. “I know a robot when I see one.”

“How many robots have you seen?” Lightning Rain challenged, still trying to get out of the pitcher’s grip.

“Plenty! And besides, Heavy Wind shows me a lot of robots on that phone of his. One of them even looks kind of like Sundown, only it’s got explosive armor and stuff.”

“Are you sure it’s all not from Wooden Cog?” Lightning wasn’t impressed. He finally got out of Sundown’s hold, but stayed where he was. “I doubt you even know the difference between a robot and a cyborg, Jets.”

“Oh yeah? Do you?”

“Of course I do!” Lightning shot back. “That… Stalker or whatever isn’t a robot.”

“Yeah, because the Creeper is you, right?”

“Why I oughta!” he scrambled for the boy again, but Sundown pulled him back by the collar and held him still.

“Lightning, stop! Ah thought Jetstream was the problematic one, not you!”

“Yeah, that’s right!” Jetstream folded his arms. “I’m the cool one.”

Home Run coughed to get their attention. “Can we just get to practice, guys? It’s... been a while, and I want to get some batting done.”

“Oh, sure Homey. For you, I’ll start up immediately.” Jetstream went to the field first, grabbing a mitt along the way.

Today’s practice was like any other practice day. The team trained their batting and throwing skills, and ran laps around the field, seeing how fast they could go. Home Run felt a little more relaxed after this, returning more to his normal self after a few rounds with the bat. After four hours, they left the school, heading to a sandwich shop by the subway for some food, while Jetstream left for home to prepare himself for his date with Lightning Dust.

“Cheer up, Lightning,” Heavy Wind smiled and put an arm around the boy’s shoulder. “Here, check this out.” He raised his phone for everyone to see. “Swiss cheese has holes, so more cheese equals more holes, so more cheese equals less cheese.”

“Yeah, great meme, Heavy,” Lightning chuckled lightly.

“Really?” Cold Wind shrugged. “I thought it was okay. Heard it before.”

“I think it’s neat,” Shortstop replied, while First Base was still trying to figure out what it all meant.

The baseball team arrived at the sandwich place; Sundown held the door open for everyone before entering himself. Home Run had never been here, but from what he saw, it didn’t look like things were going to be easy. First, you had to pick your own bread, then your meat, vegetables, and sauce.

“So Home Run,” Cold Wind asked from in front of him. “What’cha getting?”

“You know, I have no idea…” he admitted. It was all new to him. “What do you recommend?”

She looked back at the rows of food and thought about it. “I’d get a Prench bread, some ham and cheese, garlic, and mustard. That’s a great combination.”

“Hmm… It does sound rather delicious. Just that I don’t really like garlic and mustard. Guess I’ll swap those two out for something else.”

“Sure,” she pointed at the array of meat and vegetables. “Plenty to choose from.”

Home Run eventually settled on pickles, tomatoes, and some barbeque sauce for his ham and cheese sandwich. He found the process a little slow, but quite effective, seeing as you just slide the bread along while putting whatever you wanted inside. Soon, he found himself seated at a round table with the rest of the baseball team, biting down into his tasty looking sandwich.

“Hey, not bad,” he said as he chewed. “You guys come here often?”

“Time to time,” Heavy Wind replied, taking a bite out of his hotdog. “Though, mostly it's just Cold and I.”

“Yeah,” his twin agreed. “We’ve been coming to this place since we were in middle school. How about you, Home Run? You don’t talk about your time in Fillydelphia.”

“Well…” Home Run watched as all their eyes turned to him. “Umm… It wasn’t that bad. I had friends, I had a good time. It was just that one baseball game where I cost my team the victory, because I thought I could win it. I messed up, got injured, lost the game.”

“That’s rough,” Lightning Rain nodded his head, swallowing a chunk of his steak sandwich. “Don’t worry. That’s the past. It’ll be different now.”

Cold Wind could see it was upsetting the blue haired boy, so she changed the subject. “Well, enough of all that. How about we talk about something more recent, say, the dance? What was that… thing that attacked us? Jetstream kept insisting it was a robot, but… you fought it. You must know what it was?”

Home Run mused about it. How much would his friends believe? After all, they have seen Grineer before, but how about the Warframes? And Princess Celestia and the mirror? “Hmm… Would you guys believe it if I told you there was a world, sorta mirroring ours?”

“Another world, you say?” Heavy Wind scrolled through his phone, looking at something. Probably Neighgag. “Like there’s another me? And another Cold? And another you? Another Jetstream?”

“Gross…” Lightning Rain turned away in disgust.

“Well, yes. I believe so.” Home Run went on to explain about Principal Celestia’s counterpart, who was a pony princess who could use magic and such. He wanted to laugh when the rest of the team widened their eyes with surprise, but he held it back.

“Cool!” Shortstop’s jaw dropped, along with a piece of cucumber. “Wish I could see all this!”

“Well, this sounds all very dangerous to me, so…” Cold Wind clapped Home Run on the back. “Thanks for taking care of this without us, slugger.”

“You guys aren’t surprised?”

Sundown let out a bellowing laughter, almost dropping a portion of his sandwich while doing so. “Homey, after everythin’ we’ve seen at CHS, this ain’t nothin’ new. Just another day at school is all.”

“Huh…” Home Run thought about it for a while, but just shrugged. “Good on you guys, then.”

Soon, they were all done with their food and heading out, with everyone already having plans for the evening. Home Run made his way back by himself, keeping a steady pace on his bicycle. There was nothing much to be done now, except to wait till the others returned from the Void.

Then he remembered he left his bag by the baseball field again and made a u-turn and a loud sigh as he headed back for school.

The scenery around the liset returned to normal as it slipped out of hyperdrive, returning just outside Equestria’s planet before making its way down.

“Woohoo! We’re almost home!” Pinkie pumped her arms into the air. “Party time!”

“Someone say party?” Mirage asked. “I always find the best parties are the ones where we give out free bullets en masse to a bunch of fleeing Grineer.”

“Mirage,” Trinity said. “There are no longer any Grineer here, and humans don’t like that kind of party! We’ve been over this.”

“Meh,” Mirage scoffed. “That’s still the best kind.”

“Party sounds good to me, Pinkie!” Rainbow whooped and looked out to the planet below. “After all, we did just get what the Lotus wanted, and with it, that Stalker’s going to eat it!”

“But shouldn’t we watch out?” Fluttershy meekly raised a hand. “I mean, if it attacks us while we’re partying, we won’t be prepared.”

“Well, I hope it won’t come to that, but we’ll be ready!” Pinkie replied, smiling from ear to ear. “Stalker! We’re ready!”

“Not so loud, Pinkie!” Rarity complained, pressing both palms over her helmet.

The spacecraft finally broke through the atmosphere, rattling violently as it made its way down. Fluttershy didn’t like it, but Trinity kept her safe, taking control of her legs to keep her down once again.

The screen went dark as the liset approached what looked like a purple castle, plunging the whole space into darkness.

“Safety precautions,” Mag assured the others.

Before anyone could ask anything else, the liset stopped, then began righting itself vertically, like it had been when they first entered it.

“All done,” Zephyr explained after the liset finally stopped moving completely, with the sound of the engines dying off. “We may exit the craft.”

Fluttershy was the first one out, arriving back in Princess Celestia’s inner sanctum. The white alicorn herself was at her large console, her Lotus mask equipped. Something seemed to be troubling her.

“Umm… Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy whispered as she got closer. “Is-Is there something wrong?”

The princess turned around and shook her head, though with the mask on, it was hard to tell what her expression was. Her words told Fluttershy exactly what she was feeling. “The other Warframes… They’ve been destroyed…”

“What?” Fluttershy was taken aback for a second, her mind working to comprehend the alicorn’s words. “D-Destroyed? H-How…?”

Celestia looked up at her. “The Stalker. It got the upperhand while the others were looking for potential pilots. Home Run and Eclair did their best, but it wasn’t enough this time.”

“I-I’m sorry to hear that, princess…” Fluttershy put a hand on the alicorn’s shoulder.

She nodded slowly before turning her head to Rainbow Dash as she exited the liset with the golden Warframe pod. With renewed hope, she trotted over and pointed to the far wall, where the other pods used to be housed. “Set it down there. There is still hope yet.”

After explaining the bad news to the others, Princess Celestia quickly ordered them to move the pod over.

Rainbow jetted over and placed it down against one of the wall ports, watching as it connected nicely to the back of the pod with a small hiss and release of steam.

“So, princess,” she asked as she lowered Zephyr’s helmet. “What happens now? Who’s the one who gets to use this supposedly awesome Warframe?”

“It’ll depend on which Warframe is inside,” she explained as she levitated her Lotus mask off her head and onto its pedestal. “I believe I can transfer the consciousness of the Tenno if it's to the same frame type.”

“What are we waiting for!” Rainbow replied impatiently. “Let’s see what we have in there! I hope it’s a Zephyr type. Then that Stalker is going down!”

“Patience, Rainbow Dash,” her partner added. “Though, I would like to be the one to tear that rogue Tenno up. He destroyed our dormant brothers and sisters. He needs to be put down.”

“We’re with you, Zephyr,” Mirage raised one of Pinkie’s fists. “After that, we’ll party over his corpse!”

“Please… Not that,” Fluttershy asked politely.

Princess Celestia approached her console again and inserted one of the void keys. Immediately, yellow energy pulsed out in the wires spanning to the Warframe wall, slowly traveling to the lone pod. The pod seemed to rock and shake as energy pooled into it, powering up the Warframe within. For a moment, the yellow lights shone out of the pod’s tinted glass, revealing the silhouette of the suit.

“It should be ready,” the white alicorn nodded and hit a big orange button on her console.

The energy stopped and the glowing lights receded, leaving the pod as it was just a few minutes ago. Slowly, the doors hissed open, releasing smoke into the inner sanctum, making vision somewhat blurry as the girls tried to see what Warframe was inside.

Fluttershy coughed into her hand before looking back at the pod, squinting her eyes to get a closer look at it. She could vaguely make out the shapes of her friends and the princess around her, but she could barely see the pod itself.

“Oh ho, this is much better than I expected!” Rainbow cheered, standing just beside the pod, looking inside. “That Stalker is going down for sure!”

Chapter 26: Prime Time

The unicorn had regained her consciousness once more, turning her head, trying to get her bearings on her surroundings. She was moving, her legs trotting below her, though she wasn’t the one controlling herself.

Where am I this time? Why can’t I remember anything?

She struggled to comprehend the world around her. Instead of the machines and metal she had last seen when she had awoken and when she had just started traveling, this time there were plants around her. Bright green grass tickled at her now metallic hooves, trees stood as tall as small buildings, and something she had forgotten all about. The heat of the sun against her coat, warming her.

A world without metal… Why is it all so familiar?

Then images began filling her mind, floating over her eyes like small photographs. A white unicorn, dancing around in a forest, the same unicorn playing with other ponies, the unicorn kneeling before a taller pony with long flowing hair with a golden crown on top.

Princess… Celestia… Is that her name? Do I know her?

More pictures slowly focused in her field of vision, displaying the white unicorn again, seated at a table filled with mechanical parts, inventing all kinds of things.

Is that me? I am the unicorn… Stardust.

She remembered, connecting the pictures at last. Her name was Stardust. She was a unicorn with a white coat. She had maroon eyes, though when she had last seen herself, they shone golden like her mane and tail.

What happened to me…? What is all this on my body? A bigger question took over the rest of her thoughts. Where am I going?

The forest soon opened out into an expansive grassland, looking down upon a small town in the side of a mountain. Stardust had seen this beautiful town before, but that part of her memories were still in fragments. She had been here before, though she couldn’t remember if this was where she lived. Ponies of all kinds moved along cobbled streets just underneath her, going about their daily tasks.

Canterlot. The word appeared in her memory. She had been here before. Lived here before. This was her hometown. Why did I not remember any of this before?

Although recognizing the place, Canterlot wasn’t as Stardust had remembered it. The buildings had changed and there were many things she didn’t understand. Like the shelters above round tables. They looked a little like mushrooms, but with stripes. They seemed weird, but they looked like convenient inventions.

When was the last time I visited this place?

She remembered sitting with the one called Princess Celestia, laughing over things she had long forgotten. She had invented things for the princess once before, always being one for looking ahead, doing what she could to make the world better with her creations of wood and metal. The white… alicorn had been her friend, even though she was royalty. She had just lost her sister, a alicorn of night and shadow. At the moment, Stardust couldn’t recall her name, but she remembered the face of the mare before she was cast to the moon by her unwilling sister.

Princess Celestia was never the same after that, but Stardust remembered trying to help. Trying to console the princess. She had done her best to stay by the princess’ side, to remind her the joy of life.

But then what? What happened after that?

Stardust tried to remember how or why she had awoken inside the metal prison, far from this place, but unfortunately, that part of her mind remained blank. No pictures floated before her eyes. There was nothing to explain how she had arrived there.

Without warning, Stardust felt her mouth open, before the same robotic voice sounded again. “You will not hide it from me, Lotus. I will find it, and I will return it, regardless of who stands in my way.”

What? Find it? Find what? And I don’t want to do it! I want to return home, to be with my family, my friends!

Her body paid no attention to her will, moving off on its own, down the grassy hill before unfolding the wings she never had, flapping them to gain altitude. Soon, Stardust found herself in the air, flying beside the clouds she had once dreamed of touching. She willed a hoof over to one, but before she could feel its texture, something in her new body yanked the hoof back in place, putting it back in front of her eyes, facing forward.

What have I become? Stardust thought as her body carried on, set on fulfilling its duty no matter the cost.

“I am Duality,” the voice said again. “And I will be your reckoning.”

The smoke in Princess Celestia’s inner sanctum began to clear, finally showing the new and gleaming Warframe inside the pod. It was all white with the exception of gold parts lining the arms, chest, and especially the head; there was a round circular shape on the face, almost like the shape of a void key.

“Woooooah!” Pinkie gasped, popping out above the pod, looking down at the Warframe from above. “What is it?”

“Looks a little like Mr. Loregiver’s Warframe,” Fluttershy speculated from the suit’s arms and legs. “Or maybe Twilight’s.”

“It will take a while to run tests to determine just what you brought back,” Celestia reported. “But whatever it is, you’ve done well.”

“So we can’t use it immediately?” Rainbow complained. “Then what are we going to do against the Stalker until it’s ready? We don’t have any other Warframes now. This is it!”

“We’ll have to make do, Rainbow,” Rarity said as she stepped over to closely inspect the new Frame. “Maybe if we could somehow imbue our magic into our suits?”

“They’re already magical,” Mag said calmly. “Magic plus magic is still magic.”

“What I meant was our friendship magic, Mag,” Rarity explained further. “Perhaps your Warframes can gain our ears and tails like we normally have when we play our music.”

“I’m not sure if that is possible, but why don’t you try it? The next time you play some music.”

“Sorry to intrude,” Fluttershy said from her spot. “But what do we do n-now? Is the Stalker still coming after us?”

“I’ll try to work on this as fast as I can,” Princess Celestia reassured, rubbing her head against Fluttershy. “I’ll call Loregiver, Twilight and Eclair over to help me out. With them, maybe I can get this done a lot faster.” She placed the Lotus mask back on her head to contact the three ponies.

Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, and Pinkie gathered near the pod, still looking at the new Warframe inside.

“So, are we heading back home, or what?” Rainbow asked the others.

“I guess so…” Rarity replied, though she didn’t want to think about what the Stalker might do now. “But he’ll be coming after us again. Sooner or later.”

“Cheer up, guys!” Pinkie leapt up and pulled them closer to herself, a wide grin on her face. “We’ll beat that baddy soon! We just need to wait a little longer! So who’s up for a paaaaaaarty?”

“Well, whatever happens now, I agree with Rarity. We should head back. We still have things to do.”

“L-Like homework?” Fluttershy formed a small smile.

“That’s one thing,” Rainbow agreed, but pressed a hand to her face and groaned. “Oh, why did they have to give so much work when we’re fighting a crazy killer?”

Just then, there was a sound of something beeping, though it progressively got louder as they looked for the source.

“What’s that?” Pinkie Pie hopped over to the princess’ console. There was a red light blinking rapidly; it was the source of the sound. “Is there going to be a party? Did you finish checking the Warframe? Are we being attacked? I hope we’re not!”

“Something’s close by,” Princess Celestia said with a more serious voice. “Something unfriendly.”

Just then, there was a thud against the wall, just to the left of the entrance. It didn’t seem to be coming from the entrance itself, but from outside the walls.

“That can’t be right…” Celestia muttered and got back to her console, looking at the different camera screens. “This place is deep underground. The only way there can be something beyond the walls…”

The four girls quickly put their helmets back on before pulling out their respective weapons. Fluttershy shook in her boots, but Trinity took over and got her pilot ready.

“You must protect the pod,” Celestia spoke to them; the alicorn was now standing by the Warframe pod. “I believe this one is meant for Loregiver, but you have to keep it safe until he gets here. They’re already on their way.”

“Roger, roger, princess!” Pinkie wore a serious expression and saluted before cloning herself four times, each one pointing their boar shotgun towards the source of the sound.

None of them had prepared for the explosion that followed, along with the mixture of the underground air with that of the one above, creating a small vacuum within the inner sanctum’s walls. One of Pinkie’s clones had disappeared when a piece of a large grey metal pipe barreled into her, spinning into the wall on the other side. Mag had protected the group before anyone else could get hurt, bringing up a magnetic barrier around them, repelling the rest of the metallic debris.

The girls found the air suddenly unbreathable, but the Tenno immediately formed masks around their exposed mouths, giving them a quick supply of oxygen.

“Thanks, Trinity,” Fluttershy breathed and tried to steady her heartbeat. “What happened?”

Her Tenno partner raised one of her hands and pointed to the wall’s new hole. “I believe we’re about to find out.”

A white female alicorn with golden hair hovered through the hole, slowly descending until her white and golden hooves touched the blue floor below her. Most of her body was mechanical, except for most of her head and a little portion of her body.

The girls prepared themselves for imminent battle, but Princess Celestia stopped to look at the pony, pausing with her mouth semi-opened. “S-Stardust?”

The cyborg pony looked at her with her golden glowing eyes and uttered, “I am Duality, and I will be your reckoning.”

“Stardust?” the princess stepped closer, partially raising a hoof out to the pony. “Is that really you? What has happened to you?”

“Stardust?” Pinkie raised an eyebrow inside her helmet. “Ooh, ooh! Is she that pony that went with you to the Void all those years ago?”

“Yes,” she nodded her confirmation. “Stardust, do you remember me? It’s me. Princess Celestia.”

The mechanical alicorn remained silent and opened her wings, spanning them up into the air. Little bulbs on the joints popped open, revealing a small barrel on each, like one on a gun.

“Get down!” Mirage yelled and moved all her clones to push her friends down before the lasers fired, scorching new marks on the wall.

“The pod,” Duality said in a single tone. “Return it to me and you will be spared.”

“Stardust!” Celestia yelled at her old friend. “This isn’t you!”

“There is no Stardust,” the pony replied flatly as she readied her wing lasers again. “There is only Duality.”

She fired again, but Princess Celestia projected a magical barrier with her horn, keeping the weapons at bay. “Girls! You… must stop her! She cannot get the pod!”

“Come on! We’ve gotta help!” Rainbow was the first into action, boosting straight for Duality, barreling into the metallic alicorn shoulder first.

Duality didn’t seem to register the hit at all, continuing to break the princess’ magical barrier. Rainbow grunted and whipped out her akstilletos. Without warning, vents opened on the side of the cyborg pony’s wings, releasing a cloud of freezing air. Rainbow Dash felt the cold seep into her suit, affecting even her own body.

“C-Cold…” she said through chattering teeth. “I-I’m f-freez-zing…”

“This cold is affecting the suit,” Zephyr said in her head. “It’s slowing us down.”

She tried to get away, but it was as though she had tied rocks to her legs. The athlete ran back like she was in slow-motion, trying to get herself as far away from the cold as she could. The two girls with ranged weapons joined in, shooting at Duality from afar. The mechanical pony finally dropped her lasers and turned to the girls.

“You stand in my way. You must be destroyed.”

Stardust could see and feel her body dash at the three Warframes before her head bent back to pull a sword from her back. It was white and gold, and it had a curved guard over the handle which she held in her mouth. The blade itself looked incredibly sharp, like it could cut a train in half.

No! I don’t want to fight! Princess Celestia! Please, help!

She tried to fight against her own limbs, trying to stop herself before she could swing the sharpened blade. She willed at her body with all her strength, but she still couldn’t stop the sword from connecting with the red Warframe’s thin staff, pushing against it, trying to break through.

“You will not stop me,” her robotic voice said, even through her clenched teeth, emerging from a voice box near her remodeled jaw.

“Please…” the Warframe said as she held the staff up. “D-Don’t do this… We’re your friends.”

My friends… I don’t want this! Save me… Please.

She felt something in her body shift again. It was the vents at her sides, the ones that released the cold air.

Move! Don’t stand there!

The Warframes couldn’t hear her voice as the air was released, instantly affecting the red Warframe before her. Stardust’s head pushed forward, breaking through the pink haired Warframe’s defense, knocking her down.

“Eep!” she squealed and brought her arms up to protect her head.

Duality was unyielding, bringing her dakra prime up for the final strike. “You stood in my way and must be destroyed.”

More bullets pelted at her from the side. Stardust could feel the pain, but Duality didn’t seem to bother. Her head was slightly turned, catching a glimpse of the other Warframes, shooting their projectiles at her. Duality shook her body, releasing small drone like machines, hovering around her and producing a blue energy shield, surrounding her body. Stardust’s head was turned back to the downed Warframe, who was still trying to flee, but slowly because of the cold aura.

Run, Warframe! Get away!

“Fluttershy!” one of the other Warframes yelled, but couldn’t stop Duality’s dakra prime from falling down to her, ready to end the ones that stood in her way.

Just then, something else came into view. Another sword, one of black and white with indents along the blade, thrusting its way towards her, stopping just between the Warframe called Fluttershy and Duality’s sword. Stardust wanted to close her eyes as sparks flew from the connection of the two blades, but she had no control over them at the moment. Another Warframe stood beside her, holding the new sword with both hands, trying its best to keep it away from the downed Tenno.

“Get back!” the male Warframe ordered, only releasing his block after the red one got out of Duality’s range.

He quickly raised his sleek sword, creating a blinding flash of light in Stardust’s face. The white pony wanted to shut her eyes, but Duality didn’t seem to be affected by it, keeping her robotic eyes wide open. Stardust felt as if her eyes were going to burn up, but eventually, it passed, her vision finally returning. The Warframes were all on the other side of the room, next to Princess Celestia and…

“The pod,” Duality noticed it and its inhabitant inside. “Return it to me at once.”

“No chance.” Then the grey Warframe, the one with the sword, folded out, releasing a strange peach coloured creature wearing black boots and a shirt, and grey pants, who quickly jumped into the pod as the white-golden Warframe inside opened and closed around him.

“No!” Duality screeched and flew straight at them, her deadly sword at the ready.

Loregiver had never felt such power, even when he had first achieved Maximum Drift with Excalibur; his Tenno partner wasn’t even part of this suit yet.

Initializing…

Loregiver steadied his breathing and concentrated, keeping his eyes on the advancing enemy. His partner stood next to him, controlling the whole suit, his skana raised. The Eclipse guard reached an armored hand behind and felt the edge of his new blade, resting against his back.

Just like my old suit. Perfect.

This new suit didn’t seem to have a Tenno inside, but that was good. Loregiver wasn’t going to have any worries of tossing away a functional Tenno.

Ready, his system said as his HUD and shields activated.

Loregiver immediately dashed out of the pod, creating a small shockwave around him as he reached back to draw his new sword. It looked and felt roughly the same, though it had a golden handle and the blade had more indents in it.

The agent quickly swung his blade forward, catching the pony’s, locking it in place.

“How dare you use the Warframe,” she said in her almost monotonous voice. “This belongs to the Void and it shall return to the Void.”

“Not yet,” Loregiver replied. “We still need it to do one thing.”

Both participants fell to the ground and immediately kicked away from each other, ending up on opposite sides of the room. Duality quickly jetted forward again, activating both her mechanized wing lasers. She fired, but Loregiver was faster, disappearing from his spot in a blink, reappearing behind her, continuing to slide forward, stopping only when his foot hit a step.

One of the mechanical pony’s wings sparked for a second before falling to the ground.

“What have you done,” she said and turned around, flipping the long sword in her mouth. “You will be punished. I will be your reckoning.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

the next few minutes consisted of Loregiver and Duality trying to get the upperhand on each other, slashing and stabbing away, looking for a hole to break the other’s form. Both were equally skilled, not giving the other the space to strike at their bodies. Then Duality miscalculated, stabbing forward into thin air. Loregiver swung himself around and punched up with a fist, catching the pony right under the cheek, sending her flipping once in the air before falling back in a heap. He landed beside her and pointed his blade down at her head.

“Good job, partner,” Excalibur cheered from the corner, still holding the skana just in case.

“Yeah, you rock, Mr. Loregiver!” Pinkie shouted as loud as she could.

Duality stood up again, rubbing at her muzzle with a hoof, blinking a few times. Loregiver readied his sword again, but then the pony did something that surprised him.

She waved both hooves in front of her. “Stop! Wait! I’m not Duality!” Her voice had lost its robotic tinge and sounded almost normal.

Princess Celestia was the first to realize what had happened. “Stardust? Is that you?”

The mechanical pony looked up at the sun princess and nodded hopefully. “Princess, it’s me. Please… You’ve got to kill me. Duality, she’ll return. I don’t have full control…”

“What?” Celestia leapt back on her hind legs. “I can’t do that, Stardust. I thought I’d lost you once. I can’t.”

“You must, princess,” the pony beckoned, one eye twitching as she fought to maintain control over herself. “I cannot hold Duality back forever…”

Loregiver looked to the princess for guidance, but she simply shook her head and looked away, holding back tears. “Princess. What do you wish of me?”

“Please. Don’t kill her…” was all Celestia managed. “Don’t…”

Loregiver turned back to the conflicted pony and lowered his blade. His princess’ orders were final. Stardust shed a single tear from her mechanical eyes and quickly fled back out the hole she had come from.

The girls noticed the room had returned to total silence. No one made a sound, not even Loregiver, who sheathed his blade and looked to the princess.

Princess Celestia tossed her Lotus mask off her face and collapsed into a heap, burying her head in her front hooves. “I… I’m so sorry, Stardust...”

Chapter 27: The Next Move

The air had changed for the better as Home Run left CHS’ main building, heading towards the field for his P.E class. He closed his eyes for a second as the breeze wrapped around his face like a long scarf.

“Ah…” he breathed and opened his eyes again, almost walking into Pinkie Pie. Strange. She wasn’t here a second ago.

“Homey! Homey!” she jumped around him excitedly. “Today’s the day you’re all going to see that awesome Warframe! You should see it! It’s so awesome! Though, you can’t see it now, since Mr. Loregiver’s still in class, but you should see it!”

“Right, I get it,” he nodded in agreement. “It’s cool.”

“Yup!” she gave the baseball player one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen. “Well, I’ve got to get to class, so I’ll see you later!”

“Right.” Home Run watched the pink girl dive into a bush before he headed along to the field.

Most of the class was already there, but there were always those few that were always late. “Hey, Home Run,” Soarin waved and gave him a handshake. “Glad you’re all good to join in again. You’ve really got to look out for yourself, you know?”

“Yeah, my bad,” he grinned sheepishly. “I’ll try, but… you know. Accidents happen.”

“No sweat,” he patted the baseball player on the back. “We’ll look out for you. After all, you are fighting robots, right?”

“Technically, they’re not robots.”

“Suits,” Trixie added, walking over. “Trixie has seen them. They have no internal structure. Just a shell.”

“Aha!” Heavy Wind slammed a fist into his palm. “I knew it! I knew Jetstream was way off!”

“Yeah,” Home Run shrugged. “Well, thanks for being understanding guys. We’ll make sure to get this done as quick as we can. We won’t let it harm you.”

“Alright class!” Coach Whiplash blew on his whistle. “Gather around! We’ll be playing baseball today!”

Aw yes. Finally something I’m good at.

Home Run joined the other pilots on the school roof after a long day of work. He’d been the star player of his class baseball game today, and he had a lot of fun. The rest of the day was uneventful, but this was the moment he and most of the others had been waiting for. Mr. Loregiver stood in front of them, about to show them what his new Warframe looked like. Everyone was here except for Princess Twilight, who had to take care of some friendship problems, according to Sunset.

“Ready, Excalibur?” he asked. Pinkie had already explained how he transferred the consciousness of his old Tenno into the new suit, since the new one didn’t have an existing Tenno.

“All set, Loregiver. Let’s do this.”

The new suit folded out over the history teacher, slowly melding across his body, forming a new suit of white and gold. The Warframe’s body looked almost the same, while the head seemed to have a new design etched into it. It reminded Home Run of a void key, but it still looked really cool.

“I present Excalibur Prime,” their teacher said, removing his new sword from his back.

“It’s really shiny,” Sunset smiled. “So what do we do now, Mr. Loregiver? Wait for the Stalker to return?”

“Yes,” he nodded, but looked around warily. “But do not be mistaken. He is probably watching us this very moment, finding a good time to strike. Remain alert at all times, and if possible, make sure you do not travel around alone. He will try, but this time, I know we can do this.”

“Oui,” Eclair agreed from her corner. She was standing by the water tank, her arms folded. “Do be careful. Especially after the stories of your Duality you fought in Equestria. If she is from the Void the Warframes are from, I have no doubt it will be able to come here.”

Loregiver frowned, deep in thought. “Duality will come for me. All she wants is my Warframe back.”

“So there are two things out there trying to kill us?” the blue trickster asked. “Trixie is sure we will be able to take both down. They are only two after all.”

“Two highly advanced killers, Trixie,” Rainbow Dash reminded. “We barely stood a chance against one.”

“Do not fret,” Eclair walked over and placed a hand up for silence. “We will manage. Loregiver and I will be around. Call us if necessary, but watch out. Do not let the Stalker catch you alone.”

“Guess we’ll be having sleepovers!” Pinkie cheered, throwing confetti up into the air. “Sounds like fun! My place, girls!”

Home Run wore a worried face. Sure, the girls were all going to be together, but what about him and Flash? Obviously, staying the night at a girl’s place was going to raise some serious suspicion.

“How about us, Mr. Loregiver?” he decided to ask his teacher. “What do Flash and I do?”

“You two can hang out,” he suggested after spinning his sword once. “Just be careful. It’ll be fine during the day, since you’ll all be together.”

“Well, you’re welcomed at my place, Flash,” Home Run shrugged. “I’m sure my parents don’t mind having a friend over. We’ve got plenty of space for more people after all.”

“Sounds good to me,” Flash smiled. “Thanks, Home Run. I hope you don’t mind me playing my guitar over there. You play any instruments?”

“I play the acoustic guitar. I mean, nothing fancy like what you or the captain can play, but… yeah, I can play.”

“Cool,” Flash put an arm around Home Run’s shoulder and pointed to the sky. “Tonight, you and me’ll be rockin’ out some tunes.”

“You two sound like you have it all planned out,” Sunset raised and eyebrow and a corner of her mouth. “We’ll all just be cramming over at Pinkie’s for the time being. If her place can’t handle this many people, I guess we’ll split up.”

“Okay,” Loregiver stowed his Warframe and joined them. “Eclair and I will be stationed in the school day and night, so if communications fail, you can find us here. Just be careful Mr. Pierce and Vice-Principal Luna don’t see you here at night; they’re very late-nighters. Kids aren’t supposed to be here overnight, you see.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie, Mr. Loregiver!” Pinkie sprang up in the air and saluted. “We got it! Let’s go, girls!”

And the puffy haired girl was gone, disappearing in a cloud of smoke as she swept down the road, followed by a mysterious ‘eep’. The rest noticed that Fluttershy was also missing, probably dragged along with Pinkie when she ran off.

“Guess we better go catch her,” Sunset waved to the others. “We’ll all follow each other to our homes to get our stuff, then we’ll meet at Pinkie’s.”

Home Run knew he was lucky to have so many friends to look out for him.

You better watch out, Stalker. You hide in the darkness alone, while we spend time with our friends. You bet we’d be willing to fight for them, even with our lives.

The sun had already set over Canterlot, casting dark shadows across the school grounds. Eclair noticed the secretive computer teacher, Mr. Pierce, wasn’t around tonight.

Good, she thought to herself. He was normally more of a problem than a guard. Posing as a student, Eclair obviously wasn’t allowed to be here after hours, so she would have to creep around while Loregiver distracted the man. Vice-Principal Luna was more understanding, since Eclair didn’t have a home, but after years of training in the Lunar Eclipse Guard, the batpony would rather avoid a confrontation than lie her way through one.

Another thing on her mind was the safety of the other pilots. The humans of this world, helping out the sun princess. Eclair knew they were safer together, but was that good enough? Last she heard, seven of them were unable to defeat the Stalker, even with their full powers unlocked. It clearly wasn’t enough to just buddy up.

“Loregiver, if I may…” Eclair decided to ask as they approached the library. “Shall I suivre the others? I do not trust the Stalker. It may strike when they least expect it.”

“It’s not necessary, Eclair,” Loregiver said simply, holding the door open for his fellow guard. “I trust them to be able to handle themselves. After all, we can’t focus on all of them at once. The Stalker knows that. All we can do is wait and see who he targets next. We don’t want to be at the wrong party because of a hunch.”

“You’re right,” Eclair mumbled, sitting herself against a bookshelf next to the table Loregiver chose. He had picked out a few books, beginning his night work of learning human customs. “Pardon, Loregiver. I am just worried for them. What if the Stalker gets them?”

Loregiver reached over and placed a hand on the grey-pink haired girl’s shoulder. “Look, they’ll be fine. Their Tenno partners are looking after them, like Nekros and Excalibur. They’ll learn. They’ll get better.”

“Alright,” Eclair took a breath and leaned her head back against the wooden frame. “I will just have to calm myself. Merci, Loregiver.”

“Anytime, Eclair,” he said, starting on one of the books. “Would you like to join me? Perhaps you can learn up on this world’s inhabitants too.”

“Perhaps I shall take you up on your offer this time,” she smiled and moved for the chair beside him. It wouldn’t hurt to learn more about how these humans operated.

“Evening, Mr. and Mrs. Run,” Flash Sentry greeted as Home Run’s parents met them by the door.

Home Run had earlier followed Flash to his place to grab an extra pair of clothes and his toiletries before returning back with his friend.

This was the first sleepover Home Run was ever having. Even back in Fillydelphia, he’d never stayed the night at any of his friends’ places, nor did he have anyone over.

“You must be Flash Sentry,” Homebound shook the boy’s hand. “Well, Home Run’s never had a friend stay over before. Do enjoy yourselves.”

“Will do, dad,” Home Run smiled and went to show Flash around his place.

After sorting out everything, the first thing the guitarist did was pull out his shiny red electric guitar. Since it was close to nighttime, he elected to stay away from his amplifier. Home Run agreed and sighed with relief. He didn’t want to have to put up with the sound all night as well. Vauban and Volt had folded out, placing themselves on Home Run’s floor, talking among themselves about old times.

The baseball player had pulled his acoustic guitar out from behind his bed and both boys got to playing their instruments.

“Hey, you’re not too bad at this, Home Run,” Flash said as he strummed away at his guitar. “Too bad you weren’t around for our musical showcase.”

“Uh, from what I heard, it wasn’t all that good,” Home Run rubbed the back of his head. “No offense.”

“None taken. Well, the Rainbooms won, but I guess you’re right about that. Did you hear about them? The sirens? The Dazzlings?”

“Yup,” he nodded and returned to his music. “Heard it all from Rainbow Dash, and how she was so awesome that they destroyed the sirens’ power.”

“Well, she’s not wrong,” Flash chuckled. “How is it with her anyway? Rainbow Dash.”

“Uh, you know…” Home Run sighed. “She doesn’t want a relationship. Sports is more important to her, you know.”

“Oh, man. Bummer. You alright?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine…” Home Run waved him off, but the guitarist seemed to know something was up, still waiting for an answer. He even stopped strumming his guitar. “Huh… Alright. No, I’m not fine. I tell myself I am, but I think I’m just not taking it well.”

“Shucks,” he scratched at his cheek. “I’m sorry about that, Home Run. I guess Rainbow’s just a tough girl to get into a relationship with.”

“Yeah… I’m over it. I know it’s not going to work out, but… I just can’t seem to stop thinking about it.”

Flash put his guitar down and leaned back. “You know, with Twilight, it’s not easy, but well, you know, I like her and stuff. Uh, yeah, but of course, she’s from a different world, and she has her duties, so we can’t see each other a whole lot. I just accept it. It’s the way it’s gotta be, you know? I mean, it takes time, but one day, you’ll get over it.”

“Flash Sentry is correct, Home Run,” Vauban suddenly joined in on the conversation. “Just accept it as it is and as time progresses, it’ll slowly take up less of your mind, day by day.”
“Thanks, guys,” Home Run managed a smile. “It means a lot. Well, Flash? How about we get back to some music?” Home Run lifted his guitar by the head and shook it a few times.

“Sounds groovy to me,” Flash nodded and picked up his guitar again.

The rest of the night was filled with the tune of rock songs as Flash taught Home Run some shredding techniques. And then one of Flash’s strings snapped.

Down under the streets of Canterlot, the sewers rang with the dripping and flowing of water, slowly carrying all the city’s dirty water to the ocean, filtering it out into the deep blue. The Stalker sat in one of the alcoves, unmoving. From any human’s point of view, it might’ve looked like he was sleeping, but it was more than a simple sleep cycle.

The Stalker was reliving his past, going back to the times where the Orokin had lived. His masters had been rulers of the universe, keeping peace for as long as he could remember. It had been such a great time to be alive, until the Tenno turned on them. For reasons he had yet to find out, the Tenno had killed the Orokin that day, spilling their blood across the golden steps.

The Stalker awoke, shaking himself out of his stasis.

The Tenno.

That was why he was here. For generations, they slept; he slept. There was no purpose for them. No call. Then he had received it. The Tenno’s call to wake. To once again roam the universe, doing as the Lotus instructed. For every foe they had slain, he was there, watching them, recording down their terrible acts. He had killed plenty of Tenno back in the ancient days, but since waking, he hadn’t killed a single one. His scythe was aching for a fresh Warframe kill. Unlike the cloned flesh the Grineer were made of, Warframes had such perfectly made systems. The feeling of his scythe cutting through their metal like paper brought great satisfaction to the Stalker. He longed for the time to arrive. So far, the current Tenno and their pilots had evaded death, but their past was going to catch up to them soon. Human or not, the new pilots were going to pay for the mistakes of their Tenno partners. There was no avoiding it.

They thought they could bring reactivate more of the Warframes to use against him. They thought they had strength in numbers. He had proved them wrong and he had shattered their false hope when he destroyed the other Warframe pods. Now, there was nothing they could do to reactivate their slumbering brothers and sisters. But he could.

Unknown to them, he hadn’t destroyed three Warframes. Instead, he had simply disabled them, slipping in a fragment of his shadows. When the time was right, they would find their hosts and they would turn against their fellow Tenno, fighting instead for him. For the Stalker.

The Stalker got up and pulsed a ball of void energy before his hands, gazing into the red shadows, into his unending power.

“Your reckoning is coming, Lotus. Just wait a little longer…”

Chapter 28: Still Friends

The next week had passed by without incident. Home Run had gone to school everyday, just waiting for the Stalker to pop out of the shadows, shooting arrows at them, but it never came. He found himself constantly looking behind his back, expecting the rogue Tenno to show up.

“Flash, you think this is his plan?” the baseballer asked his friend. “Get us all paranoid and then strike when we lose our minds?”

“Who knows?” Flash Sentry shrugged. “I’m just glad we haven’t had to draw our swords yet.”

“Ah, yes, Flash Sentry,” Volt said in their heads. “That’s something you haven’t done in a while. Draw your sword. You really need practice if you hope to keep up with me.”

“Yeesh,” the guitarist rolled his eyes. “If you need me to, I’ll go to the dojo then!”

“Yes. I would like that, Flash Sentry. After school today. Let us go.”

“Looks like you’re covered for today,” Home Run nudged him. “No way he’s going through the mirror.”

“What about you? Will you be alright on your own?”

“It’s day time, man. I can hang with the girls.”

“Hey,” Mr. Pierce called from the front, his pointer directed towards Home Run. “I’m teaching a lesson. This is some important stuff. If you don’t want to learn, then I don’t know what you’re doing in my class. Computer lessons are very important. Why, you could be the only one standing in the way of a hacker and global domination if you have the right skills. I suggest you put them to use. Are we clear?”

“Crystal clear, Mr. Pierce!” Home Run nodded vigorously. He leaned towards Flash and whispered, “Man, even with a crippled leg, Mr. Pierce is as moody as ever.”

“He’s always like that,” Flash replied, returning his eyes to his computer screen. “We just have to deal with it.”

“Ah’m tellin’ y’all,” Applejack hissed from her computer. “He’s probably had some kinda shady past we don’t know nothin’ about. Maybe runnin’ from the law or somethin’...”

“Well, whatever it is,” Home Run cracked his knuckles and got back to work. “I just wish it doesn’t come back to bite him. He’s already in such a bad mood.”

Home Run kept his eyes open, but the Stalker still didn’t show up. He even got through an entire baseball game without having to pull out his Warframe. They had won the game, but Home Run felt he had been slightly distracted, missing a few balls at the bat.

This time around, Rainbow Dash and Sundown had won the game for the Wondercolts. With the captain’s overall performance and the pitcher’s wicked curveballs, the other school didn’t stand a chance.

The baseball team helped to pack up their gear as the crowds began to thin, leaving the bleachers and school for home.

Home Run couldn’t help but watch his surroundings, just in case the Stalker decided to use the crowd to get closer before… Well, Home Run didn’t want to think about it.

“Looking out for that Creeper?” Jetstream put an arm around Home Run’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We got that covered, don’t we Lightning? We’re your eyes in the sky.”

“What?” the pale-skinned baseballer tossed his mitt into the crate.

“You know, the Creeper!” Jetstream said slowly, emphasizing each syllable. “The robot?”

“I told you, it’s not a robot!” Lightning Rain threw a hand towards Jetstream. “Even Home Run told you so!”

“Well, it’s close enough,” the brown haired boy shrugged.

“It is not.”

“Look, they’re machines, LR,” Jetstream stood up straight and wore a smug face. “Suits of metal. I’m pretty sure that’s what you call a robot.”

“Uh, no. That’s what you call a suit.”

“You shut your face!” Jetstream yelled and ran off behind the bleachers, away from the field.

“Same response as any other time he can’t come up with something better to say,” Lightning huffed and began wheeling the crate of gear back to the storeroom.

“Home Run,” the captain called from behind him. “Can I talk to you?”

“Uh, sure, capt,” Home Run left all the bats in a pile before joining the rainbow haired girl by the edge of the pitch. “Something the matter? Is it the Stalker? Did you see him?”

“That’s just it!” she threw her hands up. “We haven’t seen it, or even heard it in a week! Something’s up, and I want to know.”

“I think he’s trying to rile us up,” Home Run suggested, leaning against the school building. “Get us all on edge before coming in when we least expect it.”

“You,” Rainbow said. “Are being way too negative and realistic. Good.”

“Uh, well, I mean he’s probably gonna-” Home Run blinked a few times before raising an eyebrow. “Wait, did you say good?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yep. Someone’s gotta be the downer of the group, or all we are is a bunch of idealistic do-gooders.”

“Oh, uh… If you say so, Rainbow.”

Rainbow made a face. “I was kidding, man.”

Home Run stared at her blankly for a few seconds before her words finally registered. He leaned back and pointed a finger up, understanding. “Ah, right, right. Of course. Should’ve known that. How silly of me.”

“Still, you have a point,” the rainbow haired girl rubbed her chin. “Something’s changed, but we just don’t know what. We’d better figure it out sooner rather than later.”

“Changed? How about Mr. Loregiver’s new Warframe. I’m pretty sure that’s a bit of change. Maybe he can even defeat the Stalker one on one now. But that’s our new problem, isn’t it? Getting the guy to show up.”

Rainbow sighed and flopped down onto a bench, taking a swig from her water bottle. “I’d rather not do that, but I guess you’re right. If there’s a wasp in the room I’d rather be able to see it.”

“That’s a pretty good comparison,” Home Run laughed and joined her. “Well, he’ll be doing a lot better than… well, better than me, I suppose.”

The two of them sat there in the afternoon sun, just the two of them, seeing as the other baseball players had already headed to the storeroom or to change.

“Welp, best not stay too long, or people are going to start talking,” Rainbow sighed as she got up.

“Guess you’re right, captain...” Home Run patted his knees and stood up. The boy still thought about his captain a lot, even though he kept telling himself to forget about it. There was nothing more to be done.

Rainbow seemed to sense something was up, and turned around.

“You all right there, slugger?”

“Hmm? Oh yes, fine. Perfectly fine, Rainbow.”

“Hm? You sure?”

Home Run waved his hand, though he felt himself heating up. He had probably shown something on his face earlier. “Uh, yeah. I’m… I’m all good. Nothing to worry about, hehe... uh, yep.”

Rainbow almost looked as if she was about to press him, but then shrugged and went on her way, leaving Home Run very much alone.

“You didn’t tell her, Home Run?” Vauban spoke in his head, making sure to keep the communication secure.

“Tell her?” Home Run turned around and whispered. “Why would I tell her? These kinds of things… well, I mean, it’s not like it’s good to keep it to yourself, but… uh, it’s kinda embarrassing.”

“I don’t see *bzzzt* what the problem is. Simply tell her the way you feel. She can help you. Rainbow Dash is your friend, is she not? And a really *bzzt* loyal one at that.”

“Yeah, but I can’t just walk up to her and say, ‘oh hey, Rainbow Dash. I still think about what you said that night and I know I shouldn’t keep thinking about it, but I just can’t help it! What should I do?’, right?”

Vauban was not impressed. “You, boy, have issues. How is it you can face down a Grineer Bombard with no trouble, and still have trouble *brrzzz* talking to a member of your own team?”

“It’s not that simple!” Home Run burst out. “I mean, she’s the one who told me that she didn’t want to take the next step. I can’t just go up to her and ask her what I should do!”

“You know what, Home Run? You’ll thank me later.” Vauban suddenly switched back to the group chat. “Hey, Zephyr, I’ve *bzzzt* got something to ask of you.”

“Wait, what?” Home Run’s eyes widened in shock. “Nononono, Vauban. Don’t do that!”

“What is it, Vauban?” There was a quick gust of wind as Zephyr and Rainbow flew from the changing rooms to Home Run’s position. “Are we under attack?”

“None of that. *brrzzzt* Home Run just has something to ask of your pilot.”

“Wait, no, Vauban, you can’t do that!” Home Run looked at Zephyr and Rainbow, unconsciously rubbing at his hands. “Uhhh, how’s it going guys?”

“How’s it going?” Rainbow gawked, readying her weapons. “What’s going on? Why’d you call us back?”

“Uh, I didn’t. Vauban did. Nothing wrong here, I guess I’ll just be-” Home Run started to back away, but Vauban folded the suit out over him and walked him back to place.

“Just tell her, Home Run,” his partner told him bluntly.

“But I…” the blue haired baseballer sighed. “Fine. Okay. Well, Rainbow, uh, Vauban, you mind if you and Zephyr head somewhere else?”

Vauban folded away from Home Run, beckoning for Zephyr to follow. Both Tenno and their Warframes headed out to the bleachers and sat down, careful not to stray too far, but also giving Home Run enough space.

“Time to spill the beans I guess… Listen, Rainbow. I know you told me that you weren’t looking for a relationship. I get that, and I understand, but… even though I tell myself it’s okay, I don’t seem to be taking it too well.”

Rainbow cocked her head to the side, as if confused. “Yeah?”

“Ummm… yeah,” Home Run rubbed the back of his head. “Well, my mind hasn’t been in one place since then. I just keep replaying it in my head. Vauban suggested talking to you about it, but… well… yeah. I did, I guess.”

“Well, I’m sorry to have gotten you so worked up,” Rainbow said slowly. “But if it’s not going to work, then what can I do to help?”

“Honestly, I don’t know, but… Thanks, Rainbow. Thanks for listening,” Home Run looked away and sighed. Why had Vauban suggested talking to her? He still didn’t see the point, and neither did the captain. Maybe it was a problem for him to solve on his own, to work it out with her on his own.

“I guess what I’m trying to say...” Home Run said. “You’re a really good friend, Dash. I… I think I’m just afraid of losing friends… Of losing you as a friend.”

“What, is that it, slugger?” Rainbow lightly punched him in the arm. “Of course we’re still friends, Home Run. Nothing’s going to change that! Look, I might not be interested in a relationship right now, but you’re still one cool kid. I’m still your friend and nothing like that’s going to change it.”

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Home Run nodded and smiled. He strangely felt refreshed, like he had just run through a cool shower. Perhaps that’s all he really wanted to hear. That there wasn’t anything keeping them apart from being friends.

“Anytime, Home Run,” she patted his shoulder. “Well, I heard Flash needed to train some with his sword. Wanna go watch?”

Home Run chuckled and shrugged. “Why not. We’ve got time.”

“Then time’s a-wasting! Hey, Zephyr!” Rainbow whistled and waved to her Tenno partner. The Warframes ran back over and the rainbow haired girl quickly got into hers, jetting off towards the statue.

“How’d it go, Home Run?” Vauban asked as he enveloped Home Run in his suit.

“Yeah, you’re right, buddy,” Home Run said as he casually walked out of the baseball field. “A talk was all I really needed. Glad to have you around.”

“It’s what we *bzzzzt* do, Home Run. Partner’s work with each other. Trust each other.”

Home Run nodded. He should’ve seen that earlier. Vauban hasn’t done anything to harm him. The Tenno has always tried to be a helping hand, even before he regained control of his suit. With newfound respect for his friend, Home Run started a light jog, running over the soft grass to the statue.

There was still something worth seeing in there, and it might even be better than watching Princess Twilight try to hit a moving target.

Stardust stumbled down a steep slope, finding herself rolling down the mud, then into the water below. The unicorn braced herself as she landed headfirst into the small creek.

Seeing as one of her new mechanical wings were destroyed, she had no way to take to the skies, though she never did have wings before, so it didn’t bother her a lot.

For the past few days, she had been fighting hard, trying to stay in control, trying to fight off Duality. Ever since that Warframe touched her, the white unicorn found her strength and senses had returned, giving her a small edge against the machine within her, although she could only keep this up for so long. She needed rest; Duality did not.

“Why do you persist?” she found a voice speaking in her head. “Give me control. It must be done. What comes from the Void stays in the Void.”

“N-No…” Stardust mumbled, shaking water out of her mane. “Those are m-my friends! I can’t let you hurt them!”

Duality took control for a second, shuffling ahead in the water, spreading her single wing to its maximum length. “It is our directive. The Neural Sentry demands it. We must punish those who take from us.”

“Neural S-Sentry?” Stardust forced her mind back into her body, falling on her front hooves. “I don’t take orders from machines!”

“You do now. Now give me control so we can accomplish what we set out to do.”

Stardust fought against the conscience within her, struggling to push it out by the minute; she hadn’t slept in seven days now, and her control was seeping from her like running water. She could only hold for so much longer.

“I will stop you, Duality…” Stardust grunted against the strain in her head, placing both hooves to it; she lost her balance and fell into the water again.

“You will try, but this is what we were made to do. You cannot fight against your directive.”

That’s what you were made for… Not me.

The pain was getting unbearable now. With every ounce of strength gone, Stardust closed her eyes, only for Duality to take over, standing herself up and moving out of the creek. Her body wasn’t hers. Not after all the augmentations she had received in the Void.

The Neural Sentry had wanted her alive. It could’ve killed her back in that horrible place, but it didn’t. Instead, it hid her away and experimented on her. Turned her into something else, with something else inside her to control her every move. She couldn’t remember how long it had been, but judging from the look of the new world, it had been ages ago.

Stardust knew she had to die. The only way to stop Duality was with her body’s death. Unless… Unless she could somehow disable the Neural Sentry. The only way to do that was to re-enter the Void. Stardust figured her augmentations would allow that, but only Duality knew how to use it. The unicorn knew it; one way or another, the princess and her warriors had to finish this. They would have to be the ones to stop the Sentry and Duality.

Princess… Please… Do the right thing and end this…

Chapter 30: Sinister Shadows

Princess Twilight patrolled the inner sanctum, fixing up the ruined walls with her magic. After two hours, she had finally finished it; the surrounding wall looked like it had never been broken down to begin with.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Princess Celestia trotted up to the lavender alicorn. “I couldn’t have fixed all this up without you.”

“It’s no problem, princess,” Twilight answered with a smile. “I had time today. And you look like you could use some help, and well… Princess Celestia, I’d like to learn more about Stardust.”

“Ah, Stardust…” the sun princess sighed. “Yes, she was an old friend of mine, Twilight. Long before you were around, while my sister was imprisoned on the moon, she would visit from time to time, telling me about her research and showing me her new inventions. She’s a little like you, Twilight. Curious about the world around her and how it worked, oh, and not forgetting reading. She loved books.”

“How did she get left behind? If you don’t want to talk about it, princess-”

“It’s fine, Twilight,” Celestia shook her head sadly. “While we were investigating the Void, studying it, learning what we could, the Corrupted emerged.”

“That’s right,” Twilight remembered the stories her friends had told her. “They attack anything that enter the towers. Then… she was taken?”

“Yes. We were almost out, but…” Celestia turned and looked at her console. “They took her. Just before we were to board the liset. They yanked her out of my grasp… I couldn’t help her…”

Twilight put a hoof on the white alicorn’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault princess. You couldn’t have known about the Corrupted then. They came with no surprise.”

“Yes. But now I do, and I know of the Neural Sentry thanks to her,” Celestia looked up confidently. “I’ve got to make this right, Twilight. We have to free Stardust from the Sentry's control.”

Twilight gave her a supportive smile. “We will, princess. You can count on us.”

Twilight had only learnt of Princess Celestia’s questionable past for only a month now, but she understood why her mentor did it all. Without Luna or anypony else to help her, she had to resort to drastic measures. Anything she could do to keep Equestria and the human world safe, even if that meant utilizing the Warframes and Tenno.

The two alicorns shared a moment of quiet together before a sound like a small knock got their attention. Then there it was again. Then another, and another.

“What is that?” Twilight got into stance, keeping her eyes peeled. “Is it Duality? Is she back?”

Nyx was instantly by her side, folding out from Twilight’s saddlebag, sybaris at the ready.

“I am ready, Lotus. I will stand by your side. And you, Twilight Sparkle. It is strange, standing beside you.”

Twilight listened, but the knocking wasn’t coming from beyond the sanctum this time. It was coming from…

“The pods,” Nyx was the first to say, rushing over, placing a hand on the glass of one. “My brothers and sisters. They’re alive!”

“But how are the active?” Twilight turned to the sun princess. “Didn’t the Stalker destroy them?”

“That is what I believed…” Princess Celestia placed her Lotus mask atop her face. “Something’s wrong. To be active like this… Their tracking systems have been activated. They’re looking for a pilot, but… I didn’t activate them.”

“We’ve got to get them out!” Nyx replied, not caring how they turned on. “They’re alive!”

"Wait, Nyx," Twilight floated forward towards her partner. "Maybe we should-"

Nyx activated the pod doors, releasing the ones trying to get out. She tried to grab ahold of the first one’s arm, but it moved too quickly, hopping over the Lotus mask pedestal and joining the others by the entrance before disappearing up the stairs.

It all happened so fast that Twilight was still trying understand it all. “What just happened?”

“They’re searching for pilots, just like that time with your Flash Sentry,” Nyx took a few steps and beckoned for the lavender pony to follow. “But their colours... Come Twilight Sparkle. Let us see who was chosen.”

Twilight cast a teleportation spell, taking both of them back to her castle, right before the mirror.

“Nyx, do you know where they are?”

“They’re still on their way, Twilight Sparkle. Why?”

“Princess Celestia didn’t activate them. Hay, we thought they were destroyed. Don’t you think this is a bit odd?”

“My brothers and sisters are reactivating, Twilight Sparkle,” Nyx turned her head to the pony. “I don’t care how they returned. I just want to see them again.”

“But Nyx-”

“Wait. Here they come.” Nyx tilted her head back to the entry way just as three Warframes rounded the corner, sprinting straight for the mirror.

“Woah!” Twilight yelped and flew herself out of the path of a female Warframe that sort of resembled a flower. Before she knew it, all three were through the mirror, off to find a suitable pilot before reactivating the Tenno within.

Nyx placed a foot through the mirror and waved for Twilight to join her. “Let us go. I want to know who they’re bonding with.”

“I hate it here…” Adagio Dazzle slapped a palm to her face. “Why did we have to come back?”

“Well, I love it here!” Sonata Dusk exclaimed, deepening her sisters’ frowns. “I mean, sure, we did try to take over once, but it’s still a nice place!”

“Yeah, as nice as your face when you’ve walked right into a door,” Aria Blaze said plainly, folding her arms and looking as annoyed as she could.

“What do you know about walking into doors?” Sonata stuck her face in Aria’s.

“Less than you, obviously,” Aria said and pushed Sonata.

“Girls!” Adagio screamed, her headache worsening. “Please, could you not fight for two seconds?”

“Only two seconds?” Sonata blinked. She mouthed a countdown before giving Adagio a wide smile. “That’s two seconds!”

“She didn’t mean it literally,” Aria slapped at her sister’s hair.

“Hey!” Sonata pouted and the two began fighting again.

Oh, why am I stuck with these two? Why? Adagio sighed and turned away from them. On the bright side, at least they weren’t immortal anymore. She would only have to put up with them until the day she breathed her last.

Adagio looked down where her crimson gem used to be. She missed her powers and her singing. Now they sounded like frogs, trying to please a crowd of angry wild boars. It wasn’t pleasant.

“Hey, girls!” a loud, shrill voice popped out behind her, startling the siren.

She grumpily turned around, coming face to face with one of the Rainbooms. The pink one with poofy hair.

“Hi, don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Pinkie Pie! We stopped you during the Battle of the Bands when you tried to take over the school? Anyway, I wanted to welcome you to CHS since you’re new! Although, you’re not new! You’ve been here before! Hi!”

“Right…” Adagio groaned internally as the pink girl grabbed her hand for a shake. “G-Glad to be back…”

“Right?” she giggled and bounced a few times, shaking Adagio’s hand, along with her whole body. “Most of the students here are still sour about what you tried to do, but in time, we’ll all come to love you like our own! Just like Sunset Shimmer!”

“Woohoo!” Sonata cheered. “That sounds like a great plan!” Aria made a face at her. “What? It is!”

Adagio ignored them and gave the friendly girl an extremely forced smile, at the same time, patting all her hair back into place. “Yes, we’d love to be a part of this great school…”

“Great!” she hopped over all three of them in a single jump. “Well, we better be off to class, or we’ll be late!”

“Come on, girls…” Adagio resisted the urge to smash her head against the nearest locker. “Let’s just get the day over with.”

Their next few classes were a total drag, at least to Adagio. Sonata seemed to be enjoying herself, and the orange haired girl could never tell what Aria was thinking, though it was probably along the lines of, “Whatever.”

However, she did get to sit by the blue haired boy she bumped into the other day. He was different from the rest; he didn’t seem to bother that they had once tried to take over the school, almost like he didn’t know what had happened.

“Hey, Dagi,” Aria whispered over. “Stop staring at him.”

“I am not!” she hissed back. She only realized it a few seconds later. Thankfully, he was focused at the front of class, listening to the teacher drone on about historical stuff. She blushed for a second and looked down at her table. She’d never experienced this before; she figured it must’ve been a side-effect of losing their gems.

The other Rainbooms were in the class as well, seated among the three sirens. Adagio caught the glance of Sunset Shimmer more than once, likely keeping an eye on them, making sure they behaved.

As soon as the bell rang, the three sirens swooped out of class, finally free from the schedule they had to follow all day.

“I had fun!” Sonata skipped along happily as they made their way out the main entrance. “Didn’t you two? I think I could get used to classes.”

“No,” Aria simply spat.

“Sonata,” Adagio tried to make sense to her carefree sister. “This school took our powers from us. Our singing. Was that fun?”

The blue haired girl immediately slumped lower and shook her head. “No…”

“That’s what I figured, Sonata.” Adagio led them to the road where they were to wait for their ride.

Something in the corner of her vision caught the siren’s attention. She half-turned her head, annoyed that it was probably the pink Rainboom from before. Adagio widened her eyes as she noticed she was completely wrong. Instead, a large grey and red robotic… squid thing lunged out at her, reaching both its hands forward.

“Aaah!” Adagio involuntarily yelped as it crashed into her, enveloping over her like a cocoon.

"Let your anger flow. Feed my followers. Power my Acolytes of Reckoning..." a voice seemed to say in her head.

The orange haired siren could hear her sisters shouting, likely experiencing the same phenomenon. Everything around her turned dark, only for her vision to return after a few minutes. A red and black sign appeared before her eyes, blazing once into her retina before fading away into a reddish screen. Something seemed to be moving her as well, along with a new feeling welling up inside her.

Anger.

Something was feeding emotions into her, adding a tinge of red to the view around her. Adagio despised the Rainbooms. She hated it that they took their powers away, their gift of singing away. Now here they were, pretending to play nice. Why? Probably to ridicule then even further. Adagio was going to have none of that.

This shell around her made her feel something she thought she had lost when their gems broke. She felt powerful.

“Where are you, Rainbooms!” she yelled. “Adagio is looking for you!”

It appeared her sisters were also encased in the same metallic shells, though their appearances were different. Sonata had one with a triangular head with big bulky legs, while Aria had a more organic looking frame, also coloured in grey and red, just like Adagio’s and Sonata’s. Adagio could only recognize them by the hair sticking out the back of their helmets.

“Wait, stop!” another robotic figure ran up to them, stopping just in front of them. Other students were gathered around the front lawn, looking at them. “Adagio, can you hear me?”

The green and grey figure before her had purple hair sticking out the back, but Adagio couldn’t quite place it. “And who are you to tell me what to do?”

“It’s me, Twilight Spar-”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence as Adagio punched forward, sending her sprawling across the floor.

Twilight Sparkle. Adagio knew her. She was the one who helped break their gems. And all the students around them. She was going to make them pay for chasing them off the stage that night. Adagio leapt up and activated the new power within her shell. Water began spilling out from her suit, forming around her like giant tentacles.

“You’re all going to pay!” she yelled and swung a limb at Twilight.

Home Run found himself rushing out as soon as he heard the commotion. Princess Twilight and Nyx were already there, lying on the ground, while another Warframe, kind of resembling a squid, stood close to her, whipping four watery tentacles around in the air. One soon went for Twilight, picking her up and tossing her around in its grasp.

“That’s enough,” he muttered as Vauban folded himself around him. “Let’s go, buddy. We’ve gotta help.”

The baseball player quickly rushed in their with his jat kittag, ready to swing it at the new foe. Two other Frames stood behind it, but they weren’t doing anything. Not yet, anyway.

“Home Run,” Vauban said as he ran. “That’s Hydroid. He’s a brother. What is he doing? And beside him… Loki and Saryn? But their colours are different… Something is wrong. How are they *zzzt* here? Let me see if I can establish a connection.”

“You do that, Vauban. I’m going to see what I can do for Princess Twilight.”

Home Run tossed a bounce grenade ahead of himself and hopped on it, launching himself up in the air towards the water Warframe, Hydroid. He swung his hammer, only to feel something hit him in the chest, hard, sending him falling back.

“Careful,” Vauban took control and flip both of them back on their feet. “You need to watch out for the tentacles.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Home Run rubbed at his chest. “Any luck contacting the Tenno?”

“Not these three, I’m afraid,” the Tenno admitted. “Though… I did manage to contact these ones.”

Vauban pointed a finger back, directing Home Run’s view. The rest of his group ran in, joining him in front of the swarming tentacles. Home Run noticed there was a red sigil with spiky tendrils pointed down on each of their chests. It looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t recall what it was at the moment.

“Glad you guys are here,” he smiled and grabbed his hammer in both hands. “We gotta help Princess Twilight.”

“Right,” Rainbow nodded and took to the air, pelting the Warframe with her bullets.

Before the others could rush in, Rainbow disappeared above them in a puff of smoke, crashing face first into the ground where one of the other Warframes had been. Home Run looked up, swinging his jat kittag high above his head as the Warframe with the pointy head dropped down, aiming a kick for Trixie’s head.

“Uncalled for!” the white haired girl yelled and cast a banish on the rogue Warframe, sending it to the rift.

It turned around and tried to kick out at Applejack, but its foot simple went through the cowgirl.

“Nice one, Trixie!” she chortled and ran for Hydroid. She jumped over one tentacle and dived straight for the Warframe, but Rhino’s leg malfunctioned at the last second, sending both Tenno and pilot spiralling into another tentacle, which grabbed her and swung her around, just like Twilight.

“Heeeeeelp!” they both screamed.

“I’ll deal with the other two!” Home Run hefted his hammer. “The rest of you try to get them free.”

“I’ll help Home Run,” Sunset ran after the baseball player. “He won’t be able to face them on his own.”

Both students ran for the organic looking Warframe while the horned one danced around, still trapped in the rift, trying to find a way out.

“Be careful, Sunset,” Ember said in the fiery haired girl’s head. “Saryn is a master of poison. You don’t want to get too close. Burn her from afar!”

“You’re not taking this power from us too!” the Warframe screamed at them, releasing a cloud of toxic gas, spreading it across the area.

Home Run halted himself and jumped back, avoiding the gas, while Sunset pressed down the trigger of her glaxion, freezing the particles before her, holding them back.

“How’re we going to get close?” Home Run asked aloud, watching Saryn approach them through the toxic gas.

“Pilots, Tenno.” It was the Lotus, or Princess Celestia, appearing in the corner of their HUDs. “Those are the sirens. It seems they have been taken by dark magic. I cannot establish a connection to their Warframes. You will have to disable them while I find a way to separate them. This is likely the work of the Stalker. Stay alert.”

Home Run recognized the three girls in the Warframes he had met earlier. Now that he thought about it, the hair and skin should’ve given it away; the same went with the Rainbooms before he had received Vauban. He should’ve known it was them through their hair. Sometimes, it was the obvious things that you miss.

“Home Run,” Sunset quickly called. “You’ve got more grenades. Use them.”

“Right.”

The baseballer took out a vortex grenade and tossed it right in. It sped right past the poison, latching on to Saryn, who looked down at her chest in surprise. Before she could react, the grenade activated, spinning her in circles around the small vortex, dissipating the toxic gas around her.

“Now’s your chance, Sunset,” Home Run ran along to the other Frame, who Vauban mentioned was Loki.

Sunset lifted her gun and fired, encasing Saryn in an icy sphere, careful to make sure she immobilized her arms and legs. Home Run arrived at the Loki, just as it returned from the rift, giving him a strike to the jaw with a punch. Vauban took over and maneuvered Home Run sideways, bringing up his hammer to Loki’s legs. At the last second, Vauban’s arm failed, sending the hammer out of Home Run’s hands and into the Loki, sending it flying.

“I apologize, Home Run,” Vauban said as Home Run ran after his hammer and Loki. “I should’ve calculated my malfunctions into the attack.”

“It’s fine, Vauban. We got her.”

Unfortunately for them, the Loki grabbed the hammer in the air and disappeared. The next thing Home Run knew, he was falling from where the Loki was, looking down at her, waving to him before being tackled by Applejack.

Speaking of Applejack, Home Run looked over to the others fighting Hydroid. Twilight and Applejack were no longer in her grasp, but watery tentacles still thrashed around, trying to beat down the others.

“Their suits have an anomaly within them,” Princess Celestia said on his HUD as he fell. “You will need to immobilize them before I can get a better look. I have sent for Loregiver and Eclair. They’ll be around shortly.”

The blue haired boy quickly returned his attention to himself as he neared the ground. With a well-timed bounce grenade, Home Run found himself launching forward as he landed on the bounce field, straight for the Hydroid.

The rogue Warframe turned to face him just as he barreled into her, rolling a few meters before coming to a halt. The orange haired girl threw a punch at his face, but Home Run ignored it and grabbed for her arms, pinning her down.

“Stop this!” he yelled, hoping to snap them out of their weird enchantments. “You’re being controlled!”

“No!” She yelled, struggling in Home Run’s grip; she was pretty strong. “All of you did this! You took away our powers! You are just trying to be nice to us to harm us! You think I don’t know that?”

“What?” Home Run was confused for a second, almost letting her go. He pressed down harder, keeping her on the ground.

“Just knock her out, Home Run,” Vauban suggested. “Much easier. Here, I’ll do it for you.”

“It’s fine, Vauban,” Home Run cut in. “I can handle this.” He looked back at the girl, Adagio or something, pulling his helmet back. “Hey, see? It’s me. You remember me? I don’t want to cause you any harm. Hay, I wasn’t even here when you tried to take over, so I’ve got nothing against you. Just relax. Stay down.”

“You…” Adagio seemed to slow, her struggling lessening. “You’re like the rest. You want to make fun of us.”

“Seriously?” Home Run lowered an eyebrow. “None of that. I just want to be friends. I’d rather have peace, if it’s okay with you.”

What Home Run got was not even a verbal rebuke, but a primal roar from the enemy Warframe’s helmet, just before the entire suit dissolved into water around him.

“What in the-” Home Run muttered as he was suddenly dragged into the shallow pool. “How does this even… Vauban!”

“Hang on, Home Run,” the Tenno said as he folded their helmet back on. This is Hydroid’s skill, undertow. Well… Good luck, Home Run. You’ll have to wait till she deactivates it or runs out of energy.”

“Are you serious?” the boy struggled to stay afloat, slowly being pulled down into the thin puddle.

“She can’t have much energy left to spare, looking at all the tentacle swarms she’s been casting, but just in case...” There was a hiss as Vauban sealed off Home Run’s suit completely.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Home Run muttered.

Meanwhile, Sunset was surveying the frozen form of Saryn. She tapped it with the tip of her gun, only for the entire statue to fall to pieces.

“What the- !” Sunset barely had time to say before Saryn’s heel connected with the side of her body, sending her flying into the puddle that Hydroid had become. Immediately, she began to sink, the water engulfing Sunset’s legs and waist, climbing rapidly.

“Of course!” Ember said. “Saryn can molt. It wasn’t her in the ice!”

“Help!” Sunset shouted at Applejack, but the farm girl was grappling against Saryn’s pilot, swinging a fist at her. Behind her, Loki rematerialized and cast a wave of energy that sent sparks down Applejack’s furax gauntlets, weighing them down.

“What gives?” she yelled and dropped them. She got into position to face the Loki, but the Saryn jumped at her from behind, knocking her down.

“Coming to help, AJ!” Rainbow shouted as she and the others rushed over to help. Halfway in the air, Rainbow found herself appearing somewhere else again, teleported by Loki, but this time, she found herself falling into a pool of water beside a sinking Sunset Shimmer.

Flash dashed forward, arcing electricity all around. He grabbed on to Rainbow’s hand, but fell forward when Loki gave him a light shove from behind, flipping over the athlete and landing face first in the pool, sinking faster than the two girls.

“Flash Sentry,” Volt said sternly. “I don’t even know what to say to you…”

“Sorry!” the guitarist's voice came out distorted underwater.

“Sunset, can you still hear me?” Ember said. The fiery haired girl was now completely submerged, feeling the water begin to seep in through her hair. “If you can, I want you to fire your glaxion at the water around you.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it, Sunset. At least I’m not asking you to light a fireball underwater.”

Sunset did as she was bid, her finger tightening around her weapon’s trigger and blasting the immediate area with a ray of subzero temperature. Sunset felt herself begin to slow down as the water around her began to turn to ice.

“No offense, Ember, but how is this supposed to help? Now we’re underwater and freezing.”

“It will help because all this water is Hydroid. If we agitate it enough, it will cost more energy to maintain this form and hopefully…”

There was a gargantuan splash as all four of them were abruptly thrown from the pool of water and onto dry land.

“Phew!” Home Run banged a hand against his helmet, knocking out some water. “Thanks, Sunset. I’m hoping we don’t have to experience that again…”

“It was nothing!” Rainbow placed her hands on her hips. “But alright, let’s wrap this up.”

Hydroid lay flat on the ground, struggling to get up, while Loki and Saryn stood close by, facing off against Trixie, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

“We don’t wanna harm you!” Pinkie screeched at them for the fourth time. “We just want to help!”

“No you don’t!” the girl in the Loki Warframe yelled and let out another wave of energy, forcing everyone to drop their weapons.

“Pilots,” Celestia appeared again. “I almost have it. Keep them busy for a few more minutes and I think I can deactivate the bug in their Warframes.”

“We have nothing against you!” Home Run stood up and raised both hands, trying to show he wasn’t going to try anything.

“Actually, we kind of do,” Rainbow muttered.

“Not helping, Dash!” he turned his head and hissed. He looked back forward just in time to dodge a spore of some sort as it flew past him. “Look, okay, I know you tried to take over the school and all, but we don’t need to fight. That anger inside you, it’s not yours.”

Mr. Loregiver and Eclair arrived at the side, both still without their Warframes on, but they didn’t interfere, continuing to watch from the side instead. Home Run nodded confidently and folded Vauban’s Warframe away.

“Home Run!” Sunset reached a hand for his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“I know what I’m doing,” Home Run told her and stepped out of reach. “I think. See? We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to be friends.”

Saryn readied another explosive spore in its hand, but Loki held her back.

“What do you mean, you wanna be friends,” the helmet folded away to reveal Sonata’s nonplussed face.

“The past is the past,” Home Run continued, remembering that line. “If you’ve changed, you have nothing to worry about. You can start over. There’s always another chance.”

“Home Run’s right,” Sunset joined him, pulling her helmet back. “I was the same back then. I did some horrible things, but I’m a part of this now. The people here are my friends.”

Hydroid curled her fingers into fists, but Sonata looked thoughtful.

“Dagi,” she said slowly. “This isn’t what we came here for, is it?”

“What, for revenge?” Hydroid looked up and folded her helmet off her head. “To do what they did to us? Taking away our singing? You did all this to us! You!” Adagio pointed a finger at Sunset.

“You know, Adagio,” Saryn also folded back her helmet. “For the first time in forever, I think Sonata’s right. This isn’t what she told us to come here to do, is it?”

Adagio squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, but soon, she relaxed her face and shook her head. “No. No it’s not…”

“That’s right,” Home Run put both hands in front of himself. “We don’t want trouble. We’re your friends.” The rest of the team joined them, stowing their Warframes away. “The name’s Home Run, by the way. I’m new here.”

“I have it,” the alicorn said in their heads as the sirens’ Frames disarmed around them. “The Stalker can no longer control them.”

“Hey, what gives?” Sonata said as Loki stepped away from her.

“The Stalker, this, uh… evil alien guy was controlling your suits, turning your anger against us. He can’t do it anymore.” Home Run walked over and helped Adagio to her feet. The orange haired siren’s hand lingered in his for a second before she retreated behind her sisters.

“Well, we appreciate the help and all,” Aria replied. “But really? You think you can keep the other students from making fun of us and stuff?”

“I’ll make sure they try,” Home Run looked to his friends, who nodded in agreement with him. “We all will.”

Before anyone could do anything else, Princess Celestia’s face appeared on their HUDs again, except this time, it had worry written all over it. “Pilots, we have a problem. The Stalker, he’s-”

Static cut out the rest of her words before the image flicked out of their views.

Mr. Loregiver was immediately beside them, his new gleaming Warframe already around him. “The princess is in trouble. We need to go. Now.”

He nodded to Eclair and both dashed through the portal, leaving the others standing there, watching.

“Don’t just stand there!” Home Run returned to reality as Jetstream walked up to them. “Mr. Loregiver’s already gone ahead. I mean, you probably have something important to do, so go do it!”

“Right, right… Let’s go!” Home Run waved for the others and dashed to the portal himself, re-equipping Vauban as he entered.

It all made sense. The Stalker had set up a distraction using the three sirens while he himself slipped into Equestria without their knowledge. It was a good plan, and they had all bought it.

Chapter 31: Dual Threat

“What about Duality?” was the question that left Rarity’s mouth as the group emerged in Twilight’s castle. “She’s still around here somewhere. What if she shows up too?”

“We’re in Equestria,” Rainbow pointed a thumb at herself. “If she shows up again, we can just head on over to the Void and destroy that… that Neutral Sentry or whatever it was.”

“But what about the S-Stalker?” Fluttershy shuddered at the thought of splitting up. “C-Can we take both of them at the s-same time?”

“We shall succeed, Fluttershy,” Trinity said in their heads. “We will not let any harm come to the Lotus, however many opponents we have to face.”

“Trinity is right,” Nyx added on. “No matter how incompetent any of you are, today, you shall all be heroes.”

“That doesn’t sound very nice, Nyx,” Twilight chided as they proceeded down her castle’s stairway.

“It was a compliment, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Well, maybe you need to work on those.”

Normally, Twilight would simply teleport them to the sun princess’ castle, but seeing as she was in her human form, that wasn’t going to happen. They had to get there from Ponyville. Hopefully, the Stalker wasn’t too far ahead of them, otherwise… Twilight didn’t want to think about it.

“Nyx, are you getting any readings from Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked as they left the front doors of her castle. “Has she said anything else?”

“I’m afraid not, Twilight Sparkle…” Nyx sounded pretty worried. “But we cannot let that creature end the Lotus. She created us. We owe it to her to protect her from scum like this.”

“Too true, Nyx.”

Twilight noticed the stares of the other ponies in town, but she couldn’t stop, not when Princess Celestia’s life was on the line. Besides, most of them didn’t know who she was with the suit on. She hoped her friends weren’t around as well. She’d hate to stop to explain things to them.

Though, Twilight thought about it for a second. Since getting their Warframes, they have yet to use their friendship magic on any of these spacial threats. What if they were to use them in the suit? Plus, her friends from the human world didn’t bring their instruments.

The lavender princess thought about it all the way to the train station, where they quickly boarded the one heading for Canterlot. Rainbow Dash and Flash Sentry had opted to hurry on ahead on their own to find Eclair and Loregiver, with Fluttershy and Sunset following, just in case. Thankfully, Flash’s speed skill affected the entire team.

The train conductor stared at the rest of them for a second, but after clearing things up with him, he agreed to get going immediately.

“Thank you,” Twilight told him as she returned to the carriage all her friends were in.

“So how long is this trip?” Home Run asked, gripping the handle of his hammer anxiously. “I hope we make it in time…”

“Home Run, think positive,” Trixie nudged him with an elbow. “Trixie thinks it’ll all be fine. We’ll get there in time.”

“Count on it,” Applejack nodded in agreement from across the aisle. “We ain’t lettin’ no Stalker hurt anyone or pony.”

“Yeah,” Home Run twirled his hammer firmly, almost smashing a seat off the train. “My bad, but alright! We’re not letting this Stalker win. Crunch time, people! Just like in a baseball match. This is the point where we turn this game around!”

“Right you are, Homey!” Pinkie yelled and fired off her party cannon.

“Pinkie! Not in such tight spaces!” Rarity complained, swatting confetti off her hair.

Twilight smiled as she watched her friends. Whether they were from Equestria or the other world, they were all good friends.

“Nyx, I’m glad you’re my partner. I mean, sure, we didn’t start well, but you’re a good friend to have.”

There was silence for a moment before Nyx spoke. “Likewise, Twilight Sparkle. You’re not the best of fighters, but it has been a pleasant and knowledgeable time spent with you.”

“Thanks, Nyx,” Twilight chuckled. At least her Tenno partner wasn’t throwing insults at her anymore. “We’ll do this together. As friends.”

“Very well, Twilight Sparkle. You have my friendship. I will fight alongside you, my friend.”

Without warning, Twilight was suddenly surrounded by a magical pink aura, spreading all across her Frame. Her hair grew out to her legs, while wings sprouted from her back, instantly covered by Warframe parts. Her ears had also relocated to the top of her head, where the armor moved itself accordingly.

“Woah!” Home Run jumped back a few inches. “That… Is awesome. Is this what happens to you girls when you play your music? It’s so cool.”

“Yeah…” Twilight turned back and looked at her mechanized wings. “Though, it’s as you say. It happens when we play music. Could this be-”

“Yes,” Nyx answered her. “This is what we call Maximum Drift. Where pilot and Tenno become one in mind and action. Though this must be a side-effect of your magical abilities. I was wrong about you, Twilight Sparkle. You do have the potential.”

Twilight felt as if there was someone else within her, someone else that wanted the same things. She could feel it in her head. Their Maximum Drift. Normally Nyx was Twilight’s opposite, unwilling to open up. Today, it seems, things have changed.

“Let’s do this, Nyx,” Twilight clenched a fist. “Together.”

Princess Celestia had sealed the doors to her inner sanctum, standing at the ready by her console, awaiting whatever was on the other side. Earlier, she had sent all the guards in the castle away, including the other Eclipse agents. Some refused and wanted to fight on, but Celestia couldn't let them. Not against an enemy like this. She cast a sleep spell before teleporting all of them to a safer location. She wasn’t going to lose anypony today.

There was a steady knock at her doors, followed by two more heavy thunks. Then a rapid barrage of bashes, denting the door from the other side; Celestia could vaguely make out fists in the metal.

This time, she wasn’t going to let the attacker get the better of her. Facing against Captain Vor and his void key had been a mistake, but this time, she was the one with the key.

Smoke began pouring through the cracks in the door, followed by an ominous drawn out sigh. “Lotus… I have found you. Your reckoning is here…”

“Whatever you want, Stalker,” she kept a close watch on the smoke. “I didn’t do any of it. It was before my time.”

“This day… is your time. Time to accept your punishment. The blood of the Orokin are on your hands.”

Celestia looked at her hooves for a second and frowned, readying the golden key beside her horn. “By the time I was around, the Orokin were already gone!”

“Your lies will not protect you anymore, Lotus.” By now, the smoke was already forming in front of the door, expanding by the minute. Celestia had to breathe through her mouth in the enclosed space. “Your Warframes did as you wished. They butchered my masters, and for that, you must now pay.”

From the smoke, the rogue Tenno quickly formed, casting his cover aside, immediately nocking an arrow. The sun princess tapped into the void key’s power and brought up a radiant shield around herself, deflecting the arrow away from herself.

Charging up its power, she fired a concentrated blast of golden energy at the Stalker, who swirled to the side and tossed a couple of knives her way. Celestia flapped back a step and halted them all with her magic. Before she could loose them back at their master, the Stalker was already beside her, delivering a vertical slash towards her head. Celestia didn’t have enough time to fully bring up a barrier, but managed a small shell. His scythe connected with it, sending her flying across the room, breaking the pedestal where she kept her Lotus mask.

Pain lanced across one wing as she crashed to the ground in a heap. Probably broken. Celestia cried out once as she fought to stand.

“Even with the powers of the Void,” he said, already beside her, lifting his scythe under her long white neck. “You are weak. Your reckoning is here.”

She grabbed the void key with her magic, but the Stalker yanked her up, one hand around her neck, squeezing hard. She lost her concentration and dropped the key, desperately beating at his arm with her front hooves.

“S-Stop… this… I didn’t… kill Orokin…” she gasped, fighting to breathe.

“No more lies, Lotus.”

She closed her eyes as the scythe approached her, but she never felt the blade connect with her neck. Instead, she felt his grip lessen, and then the plated floor as her head hit it. The alicorn managed to force an eye open, watching as Loregiver and Eclair rounded towards her, putting themselves in between her and the Stalker.

“Sister,” it was Luna, hauling her up around the hooves. “Are you alright?”

“Fine enough…” She winced at the pain on her throat and wing.

“We’ll cover you, princess,” Eclair spun her own scythe from one hand to the other.

“Foolish Tenno.” The Stalker dashed for them, swinging his scythe in a large arc. “You protect a liar and a killer.”

Eclair ducked low and swiped up with her weapon while Loregiver met the Stalker’s blade in the middle, both their weapons clashing against each other. The Stalker bent himself, avoiding Eclair’s attack before kicking into her hand, forcing her to drop her scythe. She swiftly countered, knocking the Stalker across the room with a soul punch.

As they fought, Luna propped her sister over her back and walked around the room, heading for the door. “Don’t worry, Tia. I’ve have you. I’m going to get you out of this place.”

“Can’t…” Celestia croaked. “Not safe… He wants me… He will follow.”

To prove her point, a dagger lodged itself into the wall beside Luna’s head with a hiss.

“I shan’t abandon you, sister,” Luna said adamantly and turned to look at the Stalker; he was facing them slightly, but his blade was locked in combat with Loregiver. “If he wants a fight, then he shall receive a fight.”

Luna fired a laser at the Stalker, but the dark Tenno pushed back and leapt out of the way, throwing two more daggers their way. The moon princess grunted and hopped out of the way, carrying her sister behind her.

Just then, the doors close to her blew open, pinning the blue alicorn behind one, while tossing Celestia a safe distance away. The sun princess rolled before coming to a stop by the elevated floor, her vision blurry.

The last thing she saw before closing her eyes were four Warframes, along with a white mechanical pony with a golden mane flying in, landing a few feet in front of her.

“Trouble?” Home Run asked his partner as the team hopped out of the train, rushing straight through town.

“I’m afraid so, Home Run. I sense another presence inside. It is as we feared. Duality has returned.”

“Well, great…”

“The plan must proceed,” Vauban said and accessed their Warframe comms. “Zephyr, do you copy?”

“Right here, Vauban,” she replied in Home Run’s head. “A little busy now. We’re trying to stop the Stalker and Duality. It is not easy.”

“Hang tight. We’re on our way. But the four of you need to head to the Void. You must stop Duality at her root.”

“But the Lotus-”

“Duality isn’t after you,” Vauban reminded. “She’s after Excalibur. He can handle himself I’m sure. But to really help, you need to go. Now.”

There was a moment of silence, allowing Home Run to examine his surroundings a little more. He had never been through Canterlot’s town, and it didn’t resemble home one bit. The place was mostly of a purplish colour, along with fancy cobbled streets. In their Canterlot, everything looked just like a regular city.

“Very well, Vauban. We shall go. Good luck, and do hurry up.”

“So what’s our plan, buddy?” Home Run asked after Zephyr signed off.

“We hold Duality back and we stop the Stalker.”

“Easy enough.” Sure, the plan was simple, but putting it to action… That was something else.

“Everyone,” he called back behind him. “We need to hurry. The princess is counting on us.”

“Of course, Homey!” Pinkie hopped along beside him. “Mirage and I are ready! Let's go get them!”

“Pinkie Pie is right,” her Tenno replied. “We will destroy the Stalker and Duality, and then bathe in their blood. With our combined effort, nothing’s going to stand in our way. It’s party time!”

“Not like that, Mirage!” Pinkie yelled, but something must’ve clicked, because the energetic girl was suddenly lifted in a magical aura before her hair grew out past her knees, along with new pony-like ears at the top of her head. “Oh. Just like that, Mirage! Let’s go!”

Home Run marveled at his friends. Apparently, the rest of them were able to do that, which was really cool. He wondered if his hair would do the same if he had their magic. Then again, perhaps a guy with such long hair was a little strange.

Canterlot Castle was now in sight, just directly across a small bridge. Home Run recognized the place from his few times here. The door to the princess’ inner sanctum wasn’t far now. They just needed to make it to her study first.

Canterlot Castle was soon in sight, just a bridge away. Home Run immediately recognized the place from the few times he had been here, remembering part of the way to the princess’ inner sanctum.

“Come on!” Twilight rushed them, arriving at the top of the castle steps first, still flying in the air. “We need to hurry!”

“Go on ahead of us!” Applejack waved to her. “We’ll slow you down. Get to the princess and help her! We’ll be right behind you!”

Twilight nodded and ran off, disappearing behind the huge entrance to the castle. There was no time to lose; every second counted when Celestia was in danger. Home Run and the others followed behind, but by the time they arrived in the princess’ study, Twilight was already nowhere in sight, though the secret floor had already been opened. Smashed was more of the right word. The floor seemed to have fallen apart as if something powerful tore its way down there.

“Stay alert,” Trixie warned the others. “We don’t know what’s down there.”

“Whatever,” Limbo replied in their helmets. “It’s probably just the Stalker or something. Nothing to get worked up about.”

“Nothing to get worked up about?” Rarity bent backwards, shocked. “Nothing? The Stalker so far has been kicking our butts, and now Princess Celestia is in danger! Nothing to get worked up about?”

“Relax, Rarity,” Mag told her. “It’s just Limbo. He doesn’t really care much about anything. I think he’s spent too much time in that rift of his.”

“You should try it some time. It’s very relaxing.”

“Trixie does not agree,” she said, moving down two steps at a time. “The great and powerful Trixie will not hide about in another world instead of getting all the glory for herself!”

“Whatever.”

“Absurd!” she looked to the others. “Why, Trixie thinks she might have made a wrong choice with her Warframe. May she swap out for a… more cooperative one after all this?”

“The Tenno take time to bond with, Trixie!” Pinkie said beside her. “I mean, not all of us are great with our Tenno like Rainbow Dash. Some, like Twilight, take time to become great friends! I mean, look at her now! She’s already gone ahead with that Maximum Drift thingy!”

The trickster sighed, but kept going. “Trixie supposes she’ll have to give Limbo some time.”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Limbo droned.

Home Run was once again thankful for not having such a hard partner to deal with. Princess Twilight had had it bad, but now, well, they almost seemed like the best of friends now. Trixie would just have to wait and see how it all plays out. The flight down the spiral underground steps was easy enough. The baseball player almost slipped a few times, but Vauban caught him and continued down.

The dim hall below had been completely ruined, as if a tornado had just made its way through. There were slash marks and dents on the walls, and some of the pipes were split in half with steam and smoke pouring across the area. One light was flickering and only stopped after Home Run and the others passed it.

“Stay on alert, everyone,” he warned, readying his jat kittag. As they got far enough from the hissing steam, the blue haired boy began hearing the sounds of a battle ahead; blades were clashing against each other and there was the occasional laser or gunfire. That only made him pick up his speed, hurrying over to the destroyed entrance to the inner sanctum. Vauban’s Warframe fell once, but they managed to right themselves before jumping into the large circular room.

The first thing he saw was Princess Celestia, unconscious by the floor, while Princess Luna was trying to squeeze her way out from under a wrecked door. The Stalker tried to reach the white alicorn, but Eclair and Loregiver were holding him back, while the latter was trying his best to fend off Duality at the same time, who flew at him with her lasers and magic.

“You have my thanks, Home Run,” Luna nodded as the boy helped lift the metal plate holding her down. The moon princess inched out and levitated herself up the rest of the way.

“Kids!” Loregiver called from his spot. “You need to keep the Stalker away from the princess! Don’t let him get to her!”

“Oh man…” Home Run muttered before charging into the fray, gripping tightly to his jat kittag's shaft. This was going to be one fight to remember.

Chapter 32: The Neural Sentry

Rainbow Dash was the first out of the liset, sprinting forward a few meters before launching herself over the railing on the far side, reaching the second floor in a single leap. “Come on! We need to hurry!”

“Not all of us can fly like that…” Fluttershy mumbled under her breath, but did her best to push her legs ahead.

“Don’t strain yourself, Fluttershy,” Trinity let her partner know. “If you are tired, I can take over. We Tenno do not tire the same way as you humans.”

“It’s okay, Trinity. I can manage…”

Sunset wasn’t having any of it. “Rainbow, could you slow down? At least do it for Fluttershy.”

“Alright, alright,” she replied, but immediately wished she hadn’t stopped. A Corrupted creature burst out from one of the doors, knocking her off the railing with a bash. “Agh! Incoming!”

Zephyr took over and flipped her back on her feet, akstilletos flipping out into her hands instantly. Bullets were fired, pelting the Corrupted until it stopped moving.

“They know we’re here,” Zephyr said. “We need to move quickly. Trinity.”

The shy girl’s Tenno suddenly took over, maximizing her movements. “I’m sorry Fluttershy. We need to help the Lotus.”

“It’s f-fine, Trinity,” she squeaked as her Warframe ran up the wall vertically, grabbing the ledge and jumping up to meet Rainbow. The others soon followed behind. “I trust you. We can do this.”

Without warning, Fluttershy was wrapped in a sparkling later of magic, gaining the wings and ears like when she played her music, along with the extra length of pink hair going down to her boots.

“Woah, Flutters!” Rainbow patted her on the back before readying her guns again, pointing them to the doorway in front, which was oddly quiet. “You got your Maximum Drift before I did! Maybe it really is voice activated like I thought.”

“Voice activated?” Flash Sentry asked, unsheathing his nikana.

“You know,” Rainbow began. “Like ‘open sesame’. You just need to mention how awesome you are before you get your awesomeness?”

“I’m not sure I follow…” the guitarist scratched at the back of his head where his hair stuck out.

“Wait, wait… Let me try. Hey, Zephyr. You with me?” the rainbow haired girl stopped.

“Of course, Rainbow Dash! We’re doing this, you and me. Together, nothing will be able to stop us!”

The next thing the four of them knew, the athlete grew wings, pony ears and more hair, immediately taking to the air with a loud whoop. “Let’s do this, Zephyr!”

She rocketed off through the door, just as a new squad of Corrupted ran in, knocking them all back with a blast of wind.

“Oh… That’s what she meant,” Flash smiled and joined in, electrifying two Corrupted Grineer with a shock. "I wonder what it looks like on a guy..."

Sunset created a ring of fire around herself with fire blast, at the same time, casting an accelerant on the Corrupted closest to her, causing them to burn faster. Trinity took over for the meek girl, tossing herself into the fray, beating down at the enemy with her bo staff. With the added wings, Trinity found she could glide across the battlefield, using the staff’s range to her advantage without needing to touch the ground. The occasional blessing was cast in the area, rejuvenating Fluttershy’s friends and their Tenno partners when needed.

“We owe you, Trinity,” Zephyr replied as Rainbow Dash tossed an empty magazine at a Corrupted charger before reloading her guns.

“You always owe me,” Trinity responded as she bashed another Corpus helmet in. “I’ve been doing this since day one.”

Flash ran along under both of them, slashing away at the Corrupted with his nikana. Volt was starting to let him take more control, seeing as the guitarist was getting familiar with the sword. “Not bad, Flash Sentry. Perhaps I misjudged you. You’re getting better.”

“Of course, Volt,” Flash grunted as his blade tore through a Corrupted Grineer’s armor. He turned and shocked another two soldiers. “What good am I if I don’t learn?”

“Good question, Flash Sentry. Thankfully, you’re of better use than that. So far.”

Sunset fired her glaxion, freezing many enemies to the ground as they made their way into the next room. It was a circular room with a drop in the middle, which housed some kind of plant. Creating two fireballs, the fiery haired girl tossed them at the new ice sculptures, breaking them into a thousand pieces.

“Yes! Burn them all!” Ember screamed. “Light them all on fire!”

“Ember, really,” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Must you always talk about fire?”

The four pilots and their Warframes made their way through the next few rooms, following the tiny blip on their radars, pointing them towards their mission objective. None of them knew what this Neural Sentry looked like, but they knew what they had to do.

Rainbow Dash led the way forward, being the fastest of them all. Combined with Volt’s speed boost, the athlete and her partner shredded their way through the Corrupted forces, clearing a straight path for the other three behind her. Sunset froze and burned the enemies along the way, while Fluttershy and Flash worked away using their melee weapons.

Soon, the path ahead began leading down. The four traveled down slope after slope, proceeding from room to room, but all the while, following the descending path. After the next room, which was a long slope with a few doors to the left and right, the rest of their way seemed to be dimmer, like the lights had been put out.

“Odd,” Flash looked to the ceiling. “Are we close?”

“Affirmative,” Volt replied, slightly irritated. “Just look at the radar, Flash Sentry.”

True enough, the small round radar at the corner of their vision showed that the next room was a large one, circular in shape, and that was it. There wasn’t anything else ahead except for the large circular room.

“This looks like it,” Sunset lifted her glaxion onto a shoulder. “That Neural Sentry should be just ahead.”

“Umm…” Fluttershy raised a hand. “Is it g-going to just let us walk in?”

“Let’s find out,” Rainbow muttered and stepped to the door in front, which was almost two times the size of all the other doors they’ve been through. As soon as she got into proximity of its reflective surface, the split open, drawing itself up and to the side, revealing a dark room; the entrance was the only part of it lighted up from the dim lights in the corridor. “Well, it’s unlocked. Let’s go!”

“We should be-” Sunset began, but Rainbow was already gone, jetting off into the unknown darkness ahead. “Careful… Great. Come on. We better follow her before she does something we’ll regret.”

The three others sped into the dark room, weapons raised, ready for anything. They’d already lost sight of Rainbow, but they could still hear her zooming around the room, somewhere ahead.

Without warning, a small golden cube rose up from the ground, or at least they thought it was the ground, just a few meters from their position. It floated there for a good three minutes, spinning and bouncing as if waiting for them to move closer.

“What is that?” Sunset tilted her head, but kept her weapon pointed forward just in case.

“I’m not sure…” Ember focused the crosshairs on the golden cube and zoomed in on it. “It appears to be a Cephalon, a kind of artificial intelligence core.”

“It’s very old,” Trinity added, joining Ember in scanning the cube. “Older than any known or recorded Cephalon.”

“Artificial intelligence?” Rainbow asked Zephyr. “Does that mean this is the Neural Sentry we were looking for?”

“We don’t know what the Neural Sentry is,” Mag admitted. “But this could very well be it. Stay on guard. I don’t expect it to go down easily. Cephalons are crafty programs.”

The cube continued to bob up and down in the air, glimmering gold and watching the Warframes and their pilots.

“So, uh, what do we do?” Flash eventually said. “Do we just need to cut it down? Cause that looks easy enough.”

Rainbow Dash was already there, standing before the cube. Pointing her akstilletos at it, she opened fire, her gunfire lighting up the immediate area around her.

The bullets whizzed right through the holographic cube, but there was an immediate reaction. The entire hologram lit up as an angry red, and smaller cubes formed around the central one. At the same time, the entire room brightened as panels in the walls and floor slid open to reveal hordes of Corrupted and laser plates.

“Rainbow!” Sunset raised her gun and backed away from the Corrupted forces. “Too soon!”

“Sorry!” she raised both machine pistols. “I thought it would work.”

“Oh dear…” Fluttershy squeaked and backed up between Sunset and Flash. “Th-That’s a lot of bad guys.”

“Well, we didn’t think this would be easy,” Sunset grunted and primed a fireball. “Simple plan. We take out everything in this room.”

“Plan enough for me,” Rainbow smiled and launched herself headfirst into the hoarding crowd of Corrupted, her akstilletos already blazing.

Home Run spun one more time, parrying the Stalker’s scythe before sticking a tesla grenade to the Tenno’s body. The electric stunned him for a split second before he kicked out, knocking Home Run down to the ground. The boy spun himself on his feet and swung his hammer a few more times, all of them deflected by the Stalker’s lighter and faster weapon.

Activating the jets on his jat kittag, Home Run pounded down as fast as he could, catching one of the Stalker’s feet. The metallic floor cracked as the hammer connected with it, but the Stalker seemed unfazed. He lashed out with the foot Home Run had attacked, knocking the baseball player down again, spinning his scythe a few times from hand to hand.

“This is not going well,” Home Run complained as he rolled away from the Stalker’s vertical slash. “Not well at all…”

“We just need to hold him back, Home Run,” Vauban cajoled. “At least until the others destroy the Neural Sentry. Trust me, we’ve gone through worse.”

“Really? When?”

“What I mean *brzzzt* is I’ve been through worse. You probably haven’t.”

“Oh, that’s really reassuring,” Home Run muttered, gripping the shaft of his hammer and charging back into the fray.

Mr. Loregiver and Eclair were on the other side of the room, closer to the Warframe pods, facing off against Duality. The pony had gone straight for their history teacher, seeing as she wanted the Warframe armor back. Their teacher had mastered the new Warframe quickly, able to use it to its maximum ability, keeping up with each and every attack Duality could throw at them. Eclair herself kept her distance, but being a Eclipse Guard or whatever she called herself, she seemed to be able to adapt to the battle well. She would occasionally throw a soul punch or use her scythe when she saw her chance.

Duality was fast, flying in and out, dodging attack after attack. She had weapons all over her body, but thankfully, Mr. Loregiver and Eclair were watchful enough to avoid most of them.

Applejack and Trixie had moved up to deal with the scythe wielding killer, but he parried them away as Home Run arrived back, delivering a huge strike to the Stalker’s chin. The Stalker was launched clean off his feet and slammed into the ceiling, but on his way down he threw a handful of throwing knives at Trixie.

“Watch out!” Home Run called out, preparing a few grenades.

“Let me,”Limbo said before casting rift walk, the Stalker’s knives flying right through them. “Simple.”

Applejack formed up an iron skin before charging straight for the dark Tenno as he landed, ramming him straight in the chest with her shoulder. The Stalker slid back a couple of feet, but stopped himself before slashing out at the cowgirl, cutting a clean gash across her arm.

“Agh!” Applejack cried up and hopped back a few steps, clutching her arm. Blood was already seeping through the armor, running down her arm.

“You alright, *bzzzt* Applejack?” Rhino asked and took over. “Let me take over for a while.”

“Thanks, partner,” she said, trying to hold back her pain.

From the corner of his eye, Home Run noticed Rarity nocking another arrow, while Pinkie and a few of her clones worked to move Princess Celestia to safety and to free Princess Luna from the remains of the doors. Twilight flew on her wings above the battle, firing psychic bolts and her sybaris whenever she could. The Stalker shrugged off most of their attacks, but the Tenno noticed he was weakening. His shadowy barrier could only take so much damage. Home Run could see it. They could do this.

Sunset and Ember kicked away a Corrupted ancient and fired their glaxion right down its gaping mouth, freezing it solid. In an instant, Volt slid in and swiped at it with his nikana, cutting the creature clean in half.

“Excellent, Flash Sentry,” Volt praised, taking over for an instant, spinning around to cleave a Corrupted Corpus in two. “With more work, perhaps you will become skilled like I.”

“Glad to hear it! I think we almost got ‘em all!”

It was true. With Zephyr’s mighty wind blasts and Trinity’s frequent blessings, the four of them were cutting through the Corrupted like a scythe through grain.

“Man! This Maximum Drift is awesome!” Rainbow whooped, flying circles around the Neural Sentry, taking down more Corrupted while trying to find a way to attack the Cephalon directly. “Zephyr, any ideas?”

“The Neural Sentry is linked to the entire tower. If we do enough damage to the surrounding area, perhaps a weak spot will appear.”

“Attack the entire room?” Rainbow shrugged and swooped back down. “Yeah, I can handle that.”

She began busily shooting at the floor, at the same time, blasting tornadoes at nearby Corrupted to keep them occupied.

“Will this really work?” Flash was beside her, stabbing his blade into the ground and cutting along the ground, lifting it up only to slash a Corrupted moa in two. “I mean, couldn’t we have just nuked this place from the outside then? I mean, this is really weird, don't you think? Just randomly cutting up the floor?”

Trinity spoke up. “This strategy is both wasteful of time and ammunition. We must find a way to attack the Neural Sentry directly. I suggest we start with the pedestal that the cube in on. Volt. Do your thing.”

“Right,” Volt replied and took control. He sped himself and Flash Sentry over to the Cephalon, slicing clean through its pedestal. The program groaned out once before another door in the floor hissed open, filling the room with fog.

As the mist began to clear, the four of them beheld a golden figure striding out of the new entrance, all covered in white-gold armor and brandishing a large disc with three blades.

“What’s that?” Fluttershy pointed out as she and Rainbow Dash used their wings to clear the room of the fog.

“Looks like the Sentry decided to come out and play,” Ember cheered. “Burn it to the ground, Sunset Shimmer!”

“Gotcha,” Sunset agreed, flinging two fireballs at the golden figure, Faster than they would have believed possible, the Sentry threw its disc in an arc, intercepting the flaming projectiles and making them explode.

“Seriously?” she questioned as the golden figure rushed them, catching its weapon along the way.

“Back!” Rainbow floated down and cast a turbulence, creating a barrier of wind before the four of them. At the same time, the army of Corrupted advanced, following the Neural Sentry as it slashed through Rainbow’s barrier. “Well… This one’s tough. But it can’t be tougher than us, Zephyr! Let’s do this!”

She ran at the Neural Sentry, spent shells falling to the ground as she emptied her akstilettos at it. The golden figure held up its disc to block the onslaught of bullets, driving it back a step. A Corrupted Grineer threw itself at the athlete, but Zephyr simply turned and knocked it away with a straight kick to the face. Trinity flew into the crowd of enemies, spinning her bo staff along her back, knocking most of them down. Flash finished one off with his nikana before launching an overload, frying the rest of the Corrupted soldiers.

More began pouring out from the walls while the four pilots and their Tenno quickly took the breathing chance to attack the Neural Sentry. The Sentry threw its glaive at Rainbow, but the shell of wind around her deflected the thrown disc aside. At that moment, Fluttershy cast an energy vampire on the Sentry, stunning it and locking it in place as Flash closed in, nikana swinging. Once, then twice did Flash’s blade pass, both of the Neural Sentry’s arms falling to the ground just in time for Sunset to grab the wayward glaive and cut the Sentry’s head off as she jumped towards it.

“Nicely done, guys!” Rainbow cheered from above. She raised her guns to fire on the Corrupted again, but without warning, each one stopped moving and dropped to the ground. “We did it!”

“Y-Yeah…” Fluttershy slumped to her knees, breathing heavily. “Glad that’s over…”

“We really did it?” Flash placed his sword back in its sheath. He looked around, unable to find another living enemy. “Wow.”

“Yes. Very good, Flash Sentry,” Volt said. “Perhaps we’ll be able to work together more in the future.”

“That’s if we’re still needed, Volt,” Trinity replied the Tenno. “If there is no more need to be around, who knows, we might have to go back to sleep.”

“Already?” Volt complained. “I just got out! And I haven’t got to spend a lot of time with Nyx yet.”

“We should worry about that later,” Sunset stepped to her team. “The others are still trying their best to stop the Stalker and Duality. I suggest we head back and do what we need to protect the princess.”

“Works for me,” Ember took over and nodded. “Let us go, Sunset Shimmer! Blaze home!”

Chapter 33: Waking from the Dream

“No,” Duality uttered, dropping her sword from her mouth, staring up to the two Warframes before her. Something was wrong. She wasn’t supposed to be losing power like this. Unless… “No!”

Stardust shook her head, regaining control of her body again. She quickly stepped back, avoiding the blade of the Excalibur in front of her, almost losing her balance as she landed on the other side; the wings she had weren’t natural to her.

“I… I’m free?” she gasped, lifting both hooves to look at.

“Stardust?” the Excalibur asked, lowering his blade.

“Yes…” she mumbled, unable to contain her smile. “I’m back! W-What happened?”

“The others must have succeeded,” he turned to the Nekros. “Eclair?”

“Bien note,” the one called Eclair nodded and headed to the console, likely trying to establish connection with someone else.

“Stardust, a few of our group entered the Void and likely disabled the Neural Sentry. You’re safe now,” the Excalibur said again. “But I need you to stay put, right here. We still have one problem to deal with.”

The white unicorn turned to face the Stalker, watching the other Warframes battle with it. The battle was going well, at least from what she could see. They were trying their best to protect Princess Celestia.

The Princess…

“I have to help,” Stardust turned back to the Warframe in front of her. “The princess needs me.”

“It’s fine,” he held up a hand. “Don’t strain yourself. You just got your body back.”

“Loregiver,” the one called Eclair returned. “The others are on their way back. The Neural Sentry is defeated.”

“Excellent. You’re free, Stardust. Forever. No more Duality, no more Neural Sentry. You’re your own master again.”

“Then I wish to aid you,” she stomped a hoof. “I owe it to the princess. I tried to kill her. I need to right that.”

Loregiver looked at the mechanized pony, then to the others battling the Stalker. “Very well, but be careful.”

“Count on it,” Stardust smiled. Something she hadn’t been able to do in a long time. “Thank you. Thank you all for what you’ve done for me. I’ll be sure to pay it all back.”

Home Run knew they were in trouble once the Stalker charged up an absorb. The last time he was hit by that thing, he had sustained a gruesome injury, along with Vauban’s Warframe getting a temporary handicap. Even now, he had no idea what had happened to his leg. Everyone refused to tell him.

They scurried as far back as they could, stopping all their attacks, but they didn’t know what it could still do, uncharged.

“Just keep your distance,” Vauban told the others. “Just like *brrzt* that.”

The Stalker exploded his absorb, showering the immediate area around him in sparks and energy; no one was harmed.

“Awesome,” Home Run said, right before the Stalker dashed right for him, scythe already swinging.

Home Run met his weapon with his jat kittag, using the hammer’s jets to push the scythe and its wielder back. An arrow flew over and jabbed into the Stalker’s arm. The dark Tenno teleported away, his shadows absorbing the arrow. Rarity and Trixie stepped up next to Home Run, their weapons raised. Home Run never noticed, but Trixie carried a disc like weapon, spouting blades around its ring.

“Just stop all this,” Rarity called out to their enemy. “There is no reason to fight.”

The Stalker seemed to bend lower. “I have every reason to fight.”

He pulled out a fistful of knives, tossing them while he ran forward, scythe drawn behind his back. The three dodged to the side, while Applejack ran over and barreled into the Stalker. Her plan didn’t work, however, as the Stalker regained his footing and launched the cowgirl and her Tenno back, a cut across her chest.

“AJ!” Twilight flew over and held her up. Home Run watched from the corner of his eye. The cut looked bad. Blood was already running down the front of her armor.

“Agh… It hurts... Hurts bad...” Applejack gasped, fighting for air. “Ah thought… that would’a worked. I’m sorry…”

“Hang in there!” Twilight yelled. “The others should be on the way back. Fluttershy can help.”

“Don’t know… How long Ah have…”

“There is no need,” came a voice to their side. Home Run watched Duality land beside them. He raised his hammer and approached, but Twilight raised a hand to stop him. “Please, allow me.”

Duality bent down and placed her horn atop Applejack’s chest where the wound was. With a ray of light, the cuts on her chest and arm almost instantly vanished; Rhino’s armor had been repaired too.

“What?” Home Run couldn’t help but ask. The Stalker stood his ground, but was soon intercepted by Mr. Loregiver and Eclair.

“I sense Duality is no *brrt* longer within her,” Vauban explained. “She is her old self again. Free of control from the Neural Sentry.”

“Awesome,” Home Run smiled and walked over to check on his friend. “AJ, you all good?”

“Yeah…” she sat up. “Ah’m good now. Thanks, uh… Stardust?”

The unicorn nodded. “Yes. It’s good to be back.”

“And she repaired my Warframe too!” Rhino spoke in their heads excitedly. “She has my thanks.”

“Really?” Twilight turned to Stardust. “Do you think you could repair his as well?” She pointed at Home Run and Vauban.

“As you wish,” Stardust trotted over and placed her horn against Home Run’s chest. “Hold still.”

Home Run felt a soothing surge of energy pass through him as her horn lit up in a golden glow. As it subsided, he looked at himself, trying to see if anything had changed.

“Vauban?” he called to his partner.

“Never have I felt better, Home Run,” the Tenno replied quickly. “We’re back to full power. Time to teach the Stalker a lesson.”

“I’m with you, buddy. Let’s show him how it’s done.”

Without warning, Home Run was encased in a bluish aura, levitating him a few centimeters off the ground before finally releasing him. The boy dropped to a standing position and looked at a hand.

“What was that?”

“That, Home Run, was Maximum Drift,” Vauban explained, taking control to flex his arms. “Now, this is going to be interesting. I have calculated our victory chance. Let’s say we have a very good chance at winning this.”

“I like that,” Home Run smiled. “But why don’t I have wings and stuff?”

“I think that only happens because we’re infused with magic, darling,” Rarity said as she nocked in another arrow.

Home Run returned his attention to the unicorn, gleaming with gold and white. “Thank you, Stardust.”

“It is my pleasure,” she bowed. “I caused you all so much trouble. Let me repay you by helping in this battle.”

“The more the merrier,” Home Run hefted his jat kittag in both hands and spun it in his grip once. “Let’s go.”

The others joined him, charging towards the Stalker as he tried to face off against Mr. Loregiver. The history teacher was doing much better, seeing as he had his new Warframe from the Void. The Stalker didn’t even look like it stood a proper chance.

Eclair swooped in and delivered another soul punch, launching the Stalker towards Home Run and the others.

The baseball player couldn’t ask for a better chance.

He attached three tesla grenades to the head of his hammer and assumed his batter stance. When the right moment arrived, he activated the boosters on the back of his jat kittag and let it fly, smashing the Stalker in the back with as much force as he could muster.

The electric from his grenades arced across the rogue Tenno’s form before the impact flung him well across the room, hitting the wall so hard that he sunk in a few feet.

“Hoooooome run!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she and her clones finally freed Princess Luna from the debris.

The rest of the group converged around the center, weapons ready for the Stalker to recover. The dark Tenno pushed himself off the wall, landing back down in a crouched stance, one hand still on his scythe.

“You are only delaying the inevitable, Tenno,” he called out to them, creating a ball of shadows in one hand; its center glowed red. “Relinquish the Lotus and yourselves to me. Your actions will not go unpunished.”

“There he goes with all that again…” Home Run sighed. “Hey! Listen! We don’t know what you keep talking about! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Your Lotus and Tenno are responsible for the deaths of my masters,” the Stalker boomed, his shadowy aura increasing in size. “They will pay with their lives!”

He blasted towards the group in a cloud of smoke, slashing straight for Eclair. The Eclipse guard rolled to the side, but the weapon still managed to catch her in the leg, hooking her along with the Stalker as he sped through the group. Twilight brought out an absorb, while Home Run tossed down a bastille grenade, hoping to slow the dark Tenno down.

It worked for a second, as the Stalker skidded to a stop, but he turned his body and tossed Eclair at them, knocking both down.

“Oof!” Home Run caught her and fell back beside Twilight. “You alright, Eclair?”

“Fine,” she replied, pushing off the baseball player. “Merci, Home Run.”

“Any plans on how we can win this?” Home Run asked as Mr. Loregiver and Stardust tackled the Stalker down.

“Non. Just hit him and keep hitting him.” Eclair picked up her ether reaper and ran back to the fight.

“Just hold him off!” Pinkie yelled from her corner as she, her clones, and Rarity picked Princess Celestia up. “We’ll move her to safety. Give him a good bashing, Homey!”

The Stalker heard her words and pushed out of the history teacher’s blade lock, dashing straight for Pinkie Pie.

“Look out!” Home Run yelled to them, at the same time, doing what he could to close the distance between the Stalker and himself.

“Again with that lookow business?” Pinkie looked up to him, but failed to register the rogue Tenno slashing his scythe at her.

The Pinkie clone disappeared in a multicolored flash of light, the Stalker thrown off balance just long enough for Pinkie to blast the Stalker in the back with her shotgun. “Gotcha!”

He swirled around and cut down another clone, while the real one and her two remaining clones dragged Princess Celestia to a safer distance. Rarity stood before the Tenno, letting loose an arrow right in his face. The Stalker caught it mid flight and nocked the arrow to his own bow before sending it back, tearing a hole through Rarity’s hair.

The pale-skinned girl gasped and reached for her hair with one hand. “My hair! Ruined! Oh, this is going to take weeks to fix! How could you?!”

Mag quickly took over and spun a kick at the Stalker’s incoming strike before somersaulting away, just in front of Princess Celestia and Pinkie. “Rarity, now isn’t the time for that. He’s trying to kill you. Your hair is the least of your worries.”

The violet haired girl halted a sniffle. “I know, but… he didn’t have to do that…”

“Not the time, Rarity!” Applejack said, activating her iron skin, gaining a silvery sheen over her entire body. She hopped up as Home Run placed his hammer below her feet, using its jets to send Applejack flying straight for the Stalker, both fists raised. He bent down to retrieve his throwing daggers, but Applejack and Rhino hit him first, like a solid silver bullet, sending him flying back into the wall once again. “Hoooooeee! What a hit! Thanks, Home Run.”

With a bellow of rage, the Stalker kicked himself off the wall and approached the group, spinning his long weapon from hand to hand. Mr. Loregiver met him in the middle, spinning his body once before meeting the Stalker’s weapon in the middle. The sound of clashing steel echoed out in the room as they leapt from spot to spot, trying to break each other’s guard.

“You go, Mr. Loregiver!” Pinkie cheered, her remaining clones mimicking her abrupt cheerleader dance.

Stardust swooped in, clubbing the dark Tenno on the head with her hooves before landing beside their teacher. Her wing panels shifted, revealing lasers built within them. She scrunched up her face and fired the orange beams towards the Stalker, who brought his scythe blade up to defend himself. Stardust grunted and amplified her laser blast, brightening up the room in an orange hue as the Stalker continued to withstand her attack.

It was then did Home Run notice the Stalker’s shadows begin to fade, blasted away by the intensity of Stardust’s light.

“Looks like our chance!” Twilight Sparkle suddenly said beside him, already raising her sybaris.

The group poured in their combined effort, attacking the Stalker directly at its armor. This time, without his shadows to protect him, Home Run could tell the Stalker was losing his shields, and soon, his armor health. He curved another grenade at the dark Tenno, watching as it and all the other projectiles struck the Stalker, blowing apart a portion of the enemy’s side.

“No. I will not be beaten. Not like this.”

The Stalker dropped himself flat to the ground, allowing the lasers to pass through, blasting another hole in the wall. Stardust quickly stopped herself as the pilots rushed in, refusing to let the Stalker recover.

Pinkie released a prism, which sparked and danced toward the Stalker. Mr. Loregiver plunged his skana into the ground and formed a few javelins, spearing towards the Stalker like magnets. Rarity fired a few arrows, while Twilight fired a batch of psychic bolts. Applejack boosted the attack of everyone in the room with a roar, as Home Run and Trixie tossed grenades and the sharp disc weapon at the Tenno. Eclair used another soul punch, joining with all the other flying objects, striking the Stalker head on, blowing a hole in his shoulder.

“No…” he clutched at the smoking hole. “Impossible.”

“Friendship isn’t impossible,” Twilight spoke to him. “With friends by your side, you can accomplish anything.”

“You and the Lotus destroyed all my friends,” the Stalker challenged. “I am but the last.”

“It’s not too late to start again,” the princess tried to reason with him. “Princess Celestia never did anything to your people. They were before her time. Let us help you. Together, we can figure out who destroyed your people. We can help.”

Home Run didn’t think it was such a good idea trying to talk sense to the guy, but after all, he wasn’t the Princess of Friendship. Twilight was. He just had to hope that the Stalker would see sense in her words.

“She is right…” came another voice from behind them all. Princess Celestia stepped forward, flanked by her sister. Mr. Loregiver and Eclair were immediately by their sides. “I wasn’t the one who destroyed your people. It was a lie. A lie fed to you by our enemies to take you off track. A lie to destroy the only thing that can stop them. The Tenno and their Warframes.”

“It cannot be. I witnessed it myself. The day the Tenno turned on my masters. I was there. I know what happened.”

“Do you?” Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. “You are Tenno, are you not? Just like the others. You can be reprogrammed. I reprogrammed these Tenno to serve me when I found them in the Void. I fear our enemy might’ve been craftier than we first realized.”

“What do you mean?”

Celestia looked at the others, who also wore confused looks, including her sister. “It was all a dream, programmed into your mind when the enemy found you. I believe the Queens were there that day, waiting for the right moment to turn on your masters.”

Twilight tapped at her chin. “The Queens…? Princess, you don’t mean the-”

The white alicorn nodded. “The Grineer. I had a feeling there were Orokin among the Grineer and Corpus. I just never put it to thought till now.”

The Stalker moved his hand from his shoulder to the side of his head. “Impossible. A dream…? It cannot be. I can still see it. It was all real.”

He staggered back a step. Home Run noticed he didn’t seem so sure of himself anymore. Something the princess said must’ve clicked with him.

“Princess,” the baseball player began. “When did you find out?”

She shook her head. “I’ve thought about it. Until the Stalker’s words, I had never understood its importance. Now I see that the dream had been planted in his head to stop us.”

The Stalker looked at one of his hands. “No. No dream has been planted in my head. I saw you, Lotus. You and your Tenno, massacring my masters like drahks.”

“I was never there,” Celestia tried to get her point across. “I have never met these masters or yours, these Orokin. They predate me.”

“All lies,” the Stalker’s voice echoed around the room. He lifted his scythe once more, full of hate, and ran for the sun princess. He wasn’t having any of it.

Home Run readied his jat kittag, but Mr. Loregiver was already there, slicing the Stalker’s feet out from under him, sending the dark Tenno tumbling to the ground before Eclair, who had her own scythe pointed at him.

The Stalker looked back and found his foot on the ground, unmoving.

“You will regret your actions one day, Lotus. Reckoning will come.”

A column of smoke and shadow swirled around the wounded Stalker, and as it cleared, he was no longer in sight.

“He’s gone…” Twilight collapsed to her knees. “Finally…” The wings and hair extension on her back vanished in a sparkle of pink energy.

The others, including Home Run, started cheering, but Princess Celestia didn’t seem too pleased. “Yes, he is. I was hoping he would see reason. This pointless fighting… I had hoped to forge forgiveness for him.”

“Was it all true, sister?” Luna spoke. “He had a dream implanted within himself? By the enemy?”

Celestia nodded. “I believe so. While Tenno sleep, their minds can be tampered with. If the Queens are Orokin like I suspect, they were the ones most likely responsible. Either that, or it was Alad V, but I think he’s been long gone.”

“Won’t the Stalker still come back again?” Home Run checked with the others. “I mean, he’s still out there, bent on revenge.”

“One day,” Eclair confirmed. “But we have dealt him a lethal blow. I trust he won’t be back. Not for a few months.”

“Not before he repairs himself,” Stardust added, trotting over to the princesses. “Princess Celestia, forgive me. I apologize if I hurt you. I wasn’t myself.”

“It’s fine, Stardust,” Celestia trotted forward and threw a hoof around the unicorn. “I’m glad you’re back. I should be the one to apologize for leaving you in the Void.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You had no choice. If you had stayed, perhaps the Grineer might’ve already won. Look on the bright side: I now have built in weapons and sensors.”

“Stardust,” Twilight stepped forward and lowered her helmet. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. If you don’t mind, I have plenty of questions for you.”

“Already?” Nyx asked, folding away from the lavender girl, standing on her own. “Your thirst for learning knows no bounds. She just regained control of herself. Give her time to rest.”

“Oh, alright. When you’ve recovered and rested, Stardust,” Twilight smiled. “Welcome back to Equestria!”

“So it’s over?” Pinkie jumped over the group, splitting with Mirage and landing beside Home Run. “Then it’s paaaaarty time!” She released a cloud of confetti, getting it all over the baseball player and his Warframe.

Celestia turned to the Rainbooms and Home Run, and nodded. “Thank you all once again. You’ve protected the worlds and me more than once. I am grateful.”

“And so am I,” Princess Luna placed a hoof on her chest. “Tis been a long journey, and I’m glad it is one my sister is willing to share from now on. And… You returned to her one of her oldest friends.”

“That’s true,” the white alicorn chuckled. “Thank you.”

Home Run stretched back and breathed out. “Finally… I didn’t think we were going to get any rest any time soon.”

“But remember. It isn’t over. The Stalker is still out there,” Vauban said. “When he recovers, he will return. He is a persistent one.”

“We’ll just have to be ready to convince him that we aren’t the enemy,” Home Run looked to his friends and the princesses. “We need to show him that that dream of his was planted and that you were never involved, princess.”

“But he’s gone,” Rarity pulled at her hair, pouting at the hole shredded into it. “There’s no way we can find him, right? We’ve never been able to do it.”

“It’s fine,” Loregiver walked forward and placed his sword tip against the ground without puncturing a hole through the smooth metal. “We shall keep our eyes open. When he returns… we’ll be ready for him.

“Count on it!” a shrill voice sounded to the group’s right as Rainbow Dash and the others stepped out from the docked liset, rushing over to join them. “Where did he go, by the way? You didn’t beat him? What’s Duality doing among you?”

“Did you girls just get back?” Trixie asked, stepping out of Limbo, dusting at her shoulders. “Trixie thinks you missed a lot of things.”

Chapter 34: From the Stars

It was about five in the morning when Home Run’s phone rang. The sky outside was still dark, with clouds blocking out tonight’s moonlight. The blue haired boy startled awake, using a single eye to locate the ringing object on his bedside table.

Finally finding it, he thumbed the ‘accept’ button, but he first let his ears adjust to the silence before placing the phone to his head.

“Hmmm… Home Run speaking. Who’s this…?” he mumbled, licking at his dry lips. He made a reminder in his head to place a water bottle by his bedside from tomorrow onwards.

“Hey, slugger! It’s Dash.” Why did he have a feeling it would be the captain calling? Home Run sighed and continued listening. “You free to talk?”

“It’s like…” he looked at his clock. “Five in the morning… Why are you up so early?”

“Couldn’t sleep after what happened today, so I went out to play some soccer. Are you-Are you free to join me? I could use some company.”

Home Run groaned, but he didn’t want to say no. “Umm… Sure, I’ll be there, I guess. Where are you…?”

“I’m in a field close to home. Vauban can probably find me for you. See you soon, Home Run!”

The line clicked off.

The baseball player shifted his feet off his bed and to the ground. He wiped at his face once and stretched his arms up as far as they could go.

“Seriously, Vauban. What would she want at this hour?”

“You humans are a bit odd,” the Tenno replied simply. “I learn something new, and you have to go and do something I haven’t learned. I guess you’re going to have to get there to find out. You ready?”

“Just give me five minutes…” Home Run said and fell back against his bed.

The cool morning air stuck to Home Run’s skin as he pedalled his bike towards the other side of town. He half remembered where Rainbow Dash stayed, but the park on the other hand, was news to him. Thankfully, Vauban was able to track Zephyr’s signal, allowing Home Run to find the place with little trouble.

He could see it now. A little green field with hills and concrete paths strewn across its area. Home Run had only just gotten off his bike when a white and black ball flew straight for him. On the down side, he was too sleepy to dodge it. On the up side, the impact knocked the sleepiness off of him. He fell back against the grassy floor, rubbing his nose.

“My bad, Homey,” Rainbow Dash said as she jogged up to him, picking up her ball. “Didn’t see you there.”

“Didn’t see me?” he shook the stars out of his head. “I have a bike.”

The star athlete bent down and helped him up, straightening his blue striped shirt. “Yep. Totally didn’t see you.”

“Huh. Well, what did you want to see me about? Why not one of the others?”

“Meh, you’re the only one who’ll get up when I tell you to,” she joked.

“Yeah. Funny,” Home Run lowered his eyelids. “Well, since I’m already here… What’s up?”

“It’s been a few days since we’ve seen the Stalker. Do you-Do you think he’s really gone away?”

Home Run shrugged after a few seconds of thinking. “Who can say for sure? I’m just going with what Mr. Loregiver said. At least a few months right?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded, but her face said otherwise. “But that’s what worries me. What if we drop our guard? We go back to the way things were? We won’t be ready when he returns.”

“We’ll be alright.” This time, Home Run was the one being optimistic. “We have our partners to look out for us. I heard you got your Maximum Drift too.”

“You bet I did!” she whooped. “Zephyr and I are the most awesome out there.”

Home Run grinned. “Now, that’s the spirit, captain, so don’t worry. We’ll be ready for the Stalker when he returns. We’ll make him see the truth.”

Rainbow began bouncing the ball on her knees. “I’m hoping so. It’ll be much better if we can just be friends. No need for a battle and all.”

“Maybe we’ll be able to find something out.” Home Run tried to be funny, kicking out at the ball as it sailed over to Rainbow’s right knee.

The rainbow haired girl skillfully maneuvered the ball away from him; his foot never touched the ball. Rainbow bent back in laughter before flashing Home Run a serious face. The baseball player accepted the challenged and moved in, trying to steal the ball from her.

“Good try, slugger, but you’re right,” she kicked the ball over his head and followed through behind him, still keeping control of the ball. “We’ll manage. I think it’s time we have another good break without any aliens of sorts trying to kill us.”

“Got that right.” The boy kicked out straight, just missing the ball as it hopped between Rainbow’s feet. He just wasn’t fast enough. “Plus, we’ve got the sirens too. I’d like to make them feel welcome, if it’s all okay with you girls.”

“We’re with you, but we’ll be sure to keep an eye out. They almost took over the world once, and once is enough.” Rainbow tugged the ball back with a foot, keeping it away from the baseball player. “You sure you’re not under their control or anything right? Adagio, the one with the puffy hair, she seems to have a thing for you.”

“I’m definitely not under- what did you say?” Home Run stopped in his tracks.

“I’ve seen her staring at you,” Rainbow guffawed, bouncing the ball back up. “Either she’s spying on you, or she’s taken a liking to you.”

“Seriously? I’ve known her like, less than a week. We’ve barely talked.”

“Doesn’t matter. I suggest keeping an eye out too. If she plans on using you…”

“Well, I’ll make sure to be careful, but I still think it’ll be good to not hold their past against them.”

The captain only took interest in the first half of Home Run’s sentence. “Careful? You’re the last person to be careful. Ha ha! No offense.”

Home Run grinned and charged forward to try and grab the ball again. This time, he caught the captain by surprise, but still didn’t manage to get the ball as she passed it back behind herself. The baseball player skidded to a stop, but the grass was still slippery from the morning dew, sending him tumbling right into the rainbow haired girl.

“Oomph!” the captain grunted as she hit the ground first. “What did I just say?”

Home Run had landed on top of her, but kept his hands down to avoid dropping his whole weight on her. “Sorry capt. Foot slipped. You okay?”

The captain really was something else. She was pretty and she was great at sports. Just too bad that sports was everything to her.

“I’ve been through worse…” she mumbled as Home Run helped her up to a sitting position. “You have too. Just make sure you don’t injure yourself before our big games. We need you in there. You’re made for baseball.”

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Home Run smiled. He was sad that they weren’t together, but he was glad that he had such a great friend. “You’re awesome.”

“Course I am,” she punched him in the arm. “You’re pretty awesome on the field yourself, slugger. Glad that I got to know you.”

Home Run looked up to the stars above, wondering what other alien life might be out there. The two of them just sat there, just watching the amazing sky above them.

“Yeah. Thanks for being an awesome friend, Dash.”

“Fascinating tale,” Stardust breathed as she trotted down to the first floor of Twilight Sparkle’s palace. “I have wondered where alicorns come from, but… it seems there is more to it than I thought.”

“Perhaps,” Twilight shrugged. For today, Nyx was away in the dojo, practicing her own skills and trying to beat her old record at the obstacle course. She figured she shouldn’t always rely on Twilight to get things done. “Well, you’ve got wings yourself, Stardust, so that sorta makes you an alicorn too!”

“I don’t think these count,” Stardust said and looked back to her mechanical wings.

They stepped out of Twilight’s palace, standing in the warm morning sunlight. “That concludes our tour of Ponyville. How’d you like it?”

The white unicorn nodded. “Yes, this is a nice place, though I’m sure I still prefer to be home in Canterlot.”

“From what I heard, you grew up there, didn’t you?”

Stardust smiled, remembering her past. “Yes. Canterlot has been my one and only home. It’s a pity I didn’t have many friends. I never quite fit in with the others.”

Twilight placed a hoof on the mechanical pony’s shoulder. “It’s fine, Stardust. I didn’t have any friends back when I lived in Canterlot. Only by moving to Ponyville did I discover what friendship could be, after my friends shared its magic with me.”

“That sounds so cheesy, Princess Twilight,” Stardust chuckled.

“But it’s so true!” Twilight joined in. “But as I was saying, we’re here for you, Stardust. If you ever need friends, don’t hesitate to ask. After all, you’re a fellow book-lover!”

“That I will, Twilight Sparkle. I am in your debt. You’ve freed me from my prison and you protected Princess Celestia.”

“So where are you going now?” Twilight was curious. “Do you still have a home in Canterlot? I mean, it’s been a long time.”

Stardust simply shrugged. “I do not know. It has been ages since I traversed the streets of Canterlot. I believe I shall have great fun doing so.”

“Glad to hear it, Stardust. Glad to hear it.”

“Yeah. Also, I think I might have figured out how to repair your damaged Warframes. The ones in the pods.”

Twilight widened her eyes. She didn’t think it was possible. “You can?”

Stardust grinned. “I believe so. When Duality left, she didn’t take the knowledge of the Void with her. With my magic and technology, I should be able to slap the Warframes back together, good as new.”

“Now that is good news, Stardust!” the friendship princess flapped her wings happily. “Nyx would be happy to hear that.”

“Perhaps I shall let her know when I return to the castle later today.” Stardust began to hover up, ready to head out. “Thank you for the tour, Princess Twilight. It has been an honour getting to know you all. I will make it a point to visit from time to time. Do take care of yourself.”

The lavender alicorn waved a hoof as the white unicorn accelerated into the skies, flying at speeds that would make Rainbow Dash’s jaw drop. She turned around and began trotting back into her palace, glad that everything had turned out right in the end.

The Stalker hovered in the darkness of space, grasping at the stump that had once been his foot. For once in his life as a hunter, he had failed. He swirled a cloud of black smoke around himself, trying to steady his anger. It would be a long time before he could find the parts to repair himself. Without a foot, there was no way he could stand against the Excalibur Prime all by himself. He had to think of something else; another way to finish his goals.

A dream, they had told him. Was it all really a dream? The destruction of the Orokin by Tenno hands? The Stalker didn’t know what to believe anymore, but he vowed he would make those who destroyed his masters pay, whether it was the Lotus’ doing or not.

“Whoever killed my masters…” the Stalker squeezed the dark energy in his palm. “You will pay. Mark my words, Lotus. If you were responsible for the death of the Orokin, then you will feel their reckoning tenfold.”

In the far reaches of space, everything seemed quiet, unmoving, lifeless, except for a cluster of strangely shaped space vessels, silently gliding along, their destination unclear. They had only just passed Saturn, continuing to make their way down the solar system, searching for their target.

“Helmsman,” a female voice yelled from the darkness of the lead galleon’s bridge. “How long must we wait? Why are we not there yet?”

“Forgive me, your majesties,” he cowered, waving for the others to speed up their movement. “I will quicken our speed.”

“You do well to make sure of that,” a second voice, also female, answered. “We were foolish to send Captain Vor alone. He is an incompetent. A mistake we will not make a second time.”

“Yes, your majesties.”

The doors to the bridge swished open, revealing a man in a full set of ferrite armor, stalking down the steel plated floor, heading straight for the viewing panels.

“Lieutenant,” one of the voices acknowledged. “How are the preparations going?”

“According to plan, my queens,” the Grineer lieutenant bowed. Behind his back rested a fairly large hammer, circular on boths sides, with spikes protruding from each bulb. Steam hissed out from a regulator on his helmet as he spoke. “The general is preparing the rest of the troops.”

“Ah. Very good. He has our thanks, lieutenant,” the other voice spoke. “It was fortunate that we allowed him use of the experimental suit after his little… accident.”

“He enjoys it, my queens. What would you have me do now?”

“Return to the labs,” one of them pointed a finger to the door. “Check on Tyl Regor. If he has been able to create the new soldiers, then the Lotus shall not be able to stop us.”

The Grineer lieutenant bowed and took his leave, returning through the door he had come from.

“Full speed, helmsman!” one queen yelled to the front.

“All is well?” one of them asked the other.

“Yes. We know the Lotus’ location. Now, it’s just a matter of getting there.”

“Yes. The time has finally come to end this. Down with the Lotus!”

“Once and for all,” her sister agreed.

The lead galleon increased its speed, pulling ahead of the rest of the armada. The countless of other Grineer ships began to pick up speed, heading after their leaders. This time, the Grineer were better prepared. No Tenno or humans creatures were going to stop them. None.

Author's Note

Achievement Unlocked

Dual Reckoning: You've reached the end of Act II and await Act III

Just wanted to say, since the Warframe story has expanded a little more, ours isn't going to be following the exact origins. Instead, we'll have a little different twist here and there, so stay tuned to find out!

Thanks for reading this far, everyone! This time, we're going to be stopping to plan the next part out fully. It might take a while, but we'll see what happens then! Cheers!

Chapter 35: Trouble on the Horizon

“Strike three! You’re out!” the umpire yelled.

“Great job, Home Run. What a way to start that match…” Home Run sighed and returned to his team’s dugout, a little sore that he hadn’t even hit the ball once. That pitcher was really something. Sundown had batted first, getting a strikeout as well. Now they were at two of those.

The stadium was crowded with students from both Canterlot High and Mareizona Prep, though the latter school had at least seven times more, seeing as this was their own school’s stadium.

“Hey, cheer up, slugger!” Rainbow Dash wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “We all miss from time to time. This is baseball, not basketball. You can't expect to score every time you're out there, can you?”

“Plus,” Jetstream added, dusting his bat. “The Mareizona Prep Phoenixes are known for their pitching and speed. This is the championships, Homey. Don’t expect it to be anything like the Chicoltgo High Foxes.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Home Run chuckled. It’s been a long time since he’d last been in a championship. This was pretty exciting. “Well, go win it, Jets.”

“You bet’cha!” The ponytailed boy bumped fists with him and the others before heading out to the field with his bat. "Let's show them what good ol' Jetstream is capable of."

“Think he’s gonna make it?” Home Run asked his team as he took his cap off, rubbing at his head.

“Jets?” Lightning Rain folded his arms. “He might be a windbag, but he sure is good at the bat.”

“Well, Home Run missed,” Cold Wind popped her bubblegum and fixed up her pink hair into a short ponytail.

“Three times,” Heavy Wind smiled from his phone, his thumb scrolling through pictures on Neighgag. "And his name literally means he's supposed to be good at the bat."

“Not helping, guys…” Home Run groaned.

The team watched as Jetstream readied himself, giving the Phoenix’s pitcher a wide smile. Pulling his arm back, the pitcher gathered as much power as he could before chucking the ball forward; the little white ball was a blur as Home Run tried to keep an eye on it. Before he knew it, the ball was sailing in the air, flying high as Jetstream rushed for first base.

“Go, Jetstream!” Rainbow yelled at the top of her voice.

“He’s gonna make it!” Shortstop whooped from her seat, almost on the verge of chewing on her fingernails.

“As long as he’s not too greedy…” Lightning continued to keep his eyes on the ball.

And then the other team picked up the ball from the ground, forcing the brown haired boy to stop at second base.

“Nice one!” Cold Wind waved to him and gave him a thumbs up.

“Looks like I’m up,” Lightning stood up and placed his cap atop his head. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” First Base gave him a mock salute as he passed the younger boy.

“Not like you’ll need it,” Shortstop joked with him.

“Oh, trust me,” Lightning Rain turned back once more before heading out of the dugout. “I’ll need it.”

“He doesn’t really, does he?” Shortstop turned to Sundown who was busy watching the field. “I mean, he and Jetstream always play so well.”

“One word. Championships,” Sundown said without turning around. “Any team that’s made it this far will be as good as us, or better. There’re no room for mess ups here. Plus… It’s their home field advantage.”

Lightning Rain readied himself, fingers gripping firmly around his bat. Just as the ball flew, he swung, but wasn’t fast enough.

“Stee-rike one!” the umpire yelled as the catcher held up the ball in his mitt.

“Come on, Lightning!” Jetstream called from second base. “I made it. You better be on one of these bases when I make a run for it!”

“Shut it, Jets!” the silver-blonde haired boy shouted back, trying to keep his concentration.

Swinging again, the second ball whizzed past his bat, stopping in the mitt of the catcher once more.

“Strike two!”

Home Run clenched his fists as he watched, anxiously hoping his friend hits the next one. If he gets his third strike, it would be the Phoenixes turn at the bat, and he didn’t want their turn to end on a zero point score.

Come on, Lightning Rain. You got this… Just hit that ball and run!

“Find anything out about their pitcher, coach?” Cold Wind walked to their teacher, watching from the edge of the dugout.

Coach Whiplash stroked at his thick black moustache before letting out a low hum. “Well, I know his name’s Bullet Drive, and that he’s got a wicked arm. Besides that… Nope. He’s just a really good pitcher. But don’t you worry about Rain there. He knows what he has to do.”

“What do you mean, coach?”

“He’s seen two throws firsthand. He should’ve already analyzed it for the third one.”

“You mean-”

“Bat mode time!” Heavy Wind answered his twin and stowed his phone for the time being, looking up at the field. “Awesome!”

Lightning Rain lifted the bat again, getting his stance and his arms ready. Bullet Drive stood across him, a sly smile forming on his face as he drew his body back, ball clutched tightly in his fingers.

Home Run watched as the Phoenix pitcher launched the ball forward, almost like a cannon, heading straight for the catcher’s mitt as Lightning began adjusting his bat. He angled it up, then down a little, and before Home Run knew it, Lightning had swung, catching the ball right at the head of the bat before catapulting it straight to the crowd of students on the other end.

“Home ruuuuun!” Rainbow Dash got up and thrust both fists into the air.

Lightning and Jetstream quickly got to running, returning back to the dugout not long after, into the arms of their team.

“Great work, you two,” Sundown grabbed both of them around their necks. “That’s what Ah’d like to see! A good hit.”

“Well, this is only the first round!” Jetstream smugly stated. “Good ol’ Jetstream’s gonna make sure he scores a few more for the team.”

“Don’t get cocky, Jets,” Lightning narrowed his eyes. “The last thing we need is you planting your face in the dirt as they tag you out.”

“Don’t worry, LR. I’m not trying to get my face like yours.”

“Say that again, you windbag!” Lightning reached for the other boy, but Sundown quickly pulled them further apart.

“You two, can’t ya just give me a break?”

“We got this, team!” First Base jumped up and punched the air. “We can win!”

“Alright,” Coach Whiplash smiled and clapped Jetstream on the back. “That was good, but don’t get confident. Now, here’s my plan. You ready?”

“Sure am, coach,” Home Run and the others leaned in a circle and listened. This was a good start, his strikeout already out of his memory.

Home Run stood on third base, getting his stance ready as Heavy Wind stood at the bat. Rainbow Dash and First Base were behind him on the other bases, all ready to sprint the moment Heavy could hit the ball.

Home Run gave his internet-savvy friend a confident nod. This was it. Once they got past this, game over. They would be moving on to the next round.

You got this one, Heavy. If you do it, I’ll let you tell me another meme. Just one.

Then the Phoenix pitcher threw the ball. The blue haired boy watched as it sailed through the air before being knocked high by Heavy’s bat.

“Way to go!” he heard the captain yell behind him as he took off, sprinting back to the home plate.

Then it was all over. The cheering started as the buzzer went off, signalling the end of the game. Home Run, Rainbow, and First Base all skidded to a stop past the home plate, joining in with the cheering crowds as they swarmed out of the stands towards them.

“We did it, Homey!” Rainbow tackled him from behind and shook him hard.

“Y-yeah, we sure did…” Home Run tried to breathe.

The Canterlot students homed in and picked up Heavy Wind, tossing him high a few times, cheering his name.

“Good on you, brother,” Cold looked up to him and gave him a thumbs up. “Nice hit!”

“Yeah, great work, Heavy!” Rainbow took her cap off and let her rainbow hair loose. “Pretty awesome today.”

Home Run still thought she was really pretty with her hair down, but he knew better than to say it. They were still friends, but nothing more.

“Home Run, your heartbeat’s all spiked again,” his Tenno partner, Vauban, spoke in his head. “You’re not thinking of Rainbow Dash again are you?”

“What? No. Pssssh…” Home Run replied. “Just, uh, tired from the running, that’s all.”

“Logical reasoning, Home Run. Very well. You win this time.”

The baseballer smiled and continued cheering with his friends. Close one there, Home Run.

“Great work, guys!” Applejack pushed through the crowd with the other Rainbooms, congratulating the team. “You’re movin’ to the next one! Hope y’all make it to the end this time.”

“We’ll see,” Rainbow cracked her knuckles. “We’re pretty awesome this time. Right, Home Run? No Crystal Prep’s gonna stop us this season!”

“Well, I wasn’t here the last time, so… okay,” the blue haired boy laughed.

“Come on, team!” Rainbow called the baseball players together. Once they had all gathered, she said, “This year, things’ll be different. We’re better, we’ve got more players, and we work as a team! Wondercolts!”

“Wondercolts!” the others chorused together.

The ride home from Mareizona had been long and boring. Home Run lost count of the amount of times he was jostled awake by the bus. He and a few other students began cheering once Canterlot came into view, glad that the trip was almost over.

Once they arrived back in school, Home Run waved goodbye to his friends and headed home on his bike, remembering to grab his bag and homework this time.

“Very good, Home Run,” Vauban said. “This time you won’t have to make a trip back to grab your bag.”

“Told you I’ll get the hang of it,” he smiled and pedaled on at a slow and steady pace, his legs sore from the sprinting.

“Would you like me to take over, Home Run?” Vauban offered. “You seem a little tired.”

“Oh,” Home Run stopped the bike and breathed out. “Sure. Thanks, buddy.”

Without another word, Vauban folded over the boy’s legs, covering them from the knee down in metallic Warframe armor. Taking control, the analytical Tenno pedaled hard, instantly picking up speed as Home Run continued to steer it himself, feeling the wind blast at his face like he was flying through the sky.

“Woo! This is awesome!” Home Run whooped, almost swallowing a fly as he zoomed by the streets, heading towards his home. “How fast can you go, Vauban?”

“If I have calculated it correctly, I may be able to increase my speed by an additional mile per hour.”

Home Run felt his legs begin to move faster as Vauban controlled the pedals, boosting the bike past a string of cars. Home Run watched some of the drivers’ faces widen their eyes as he past them, giving them a smile and a wave as he proceeded on.

He felt like nothing was going to stop him today. To the normal human eyes, he was already achieving the impossible, accelerating past houses and cars, all a blur around him as he headed to his street.

And then his pedals broke.

“Hey, dad. Hey mom.”

Home Run walked through the door, holding the two broken pedals in his hand. He had wheeled the bike the rest of the way home, which thankfully, wasn’t much farther.

“Hey, son,” his dad, Homebound, wished from the dining table, drinking from a large mug of coffee. His eyes widened as he saw what Home Run was holding. “Are those your bike pedals?”

“Did you say bike pedals?” he heard his mom, Cold Pack, say from the kitchen. She was a doctor at the residential Canterlot Clinic. “You didn’t break your bike again, did you?”

“Uhhhh…” Home Run smiled to his father. “I… kinda did.”

“Home Run, we always tell you to be more careful…” Cold Pack walked out from the kitchen, carrying a pot of spaghetti. “It’s either this, or hurting yourself.”

“Sorry, mom,” the baseball player replied and gave her a hug after she put the pot on the table. “I try. I always try to be careful.”

“It’s fine, dear,” she said and rubbed his hair. “We know. But we still worry. What if one day, it’s a life threatening injury? What would we do?”

“Let’s not think about it, hon,” Homebound placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “He’s here today, good and safe. I’m glad it’s his bike and not him that’s damaged.”

“Yeah…” Cold Pack pushed a lock of silver hair from her face. “I’m sorry, son. Your father’s right. You’re more important to us than some silly bike.”

“Don’t worry about it, mom,” Home Run smiled as she returned the hug. “And don’t worry about the bike too. I’m pretty sure with the right parts, we’ll be able to fix it.”

“In the meantime, how are you going to get to school?” his father asked as he began dishing out the spaghetti. “I could send you, but I doubt you’d want to show up to CHS in a CPA bus, do you?”

“I wouldn’t mind, dad, but I’m pretty sure the other students would.”

Home Run didn’t quite understand it, but Canterlot High seemed to have an intense problem with Crystal Prep. He’d never seen such a school rivalry before, but he could only guess what had happened between the two schools.

Home Run’s dad had gotten a job as a bus driver for Crystal Prep, but Principal Frost had recommended CHS to him when he was still in Fillydelphia State School, explaining to him that it had a much better environment for the baseball player. His father had told him all about the Crystal Prep students, and how they were all so uptight and competitive. Home Run shuddered at the thought of being among such people, including the need to have to wear a uniform. Home Run almost couldn’t imagine himself in a school blazer.

Urgh. Enough of that. Change topics, Home Run.

“So, parents…” Home Run clapped his hands together. “How about we start on dinner?”

After dinner, Home Run had gone back to his room to begin his homework. He finished his English and Algebra in the first hour, but as time began to go by, Home Run soon found himself staring at his research paper, having a lot of difficulty.

“Honestly, Home Run,” Vauban folded out and bent low to get a closer look at the paper. “Mathematics is no trouble for you, but you can’t understand a simple scientific experiment?”

“Hey, this isn’t one of my best subjects, buddy,” Home Run swiped a hand through his blue hair. “Pretty sure you knew that already.”

Vauban left him to work on it, walking over to the boy’s bedside rug, sitting himself down and crossing his legs, eventually levitating up into a silent meditation.

After three more paragraphs, Home Run leaned back in his seat and breathed out, tossing his pen down beside his paper.

“Phew, seriously… This is taking too long. Welp, I think it’s time for a break…” Home Run said as he stretched out his arms and rubbed his neck. “Hey, Vauban? Quick question, actually. Why are you guys still here? I mean, we’ve dealt with all the threats from space. We haven’t had to fight anything in a few weeks now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m trying to get rid of you or anything. I’m just wondering what happens next.”

“Well…”Vauban said from his position, unmoving. “The Lotus has not called us back, so she must think we’re not done yet. Why don’t you ask her instead?”

“Well… maybe another time. I’ve got some homework to get done, right?” Home Run sighed and picked up his pen again.

“Right you are, Home Run, though I have been wondering it myself. Why are we not recalled? If there are no longer any threats, the Lotus recalls us to sleep. This is interesting indeed.”

“Well… Maybe this time she wants you to have your freedom? I mean, I don’t think it’s such a good idea to keep putting you back to sleep like you’re just some kind of weapon.”

“But we are, Home Run. We were made to fight. That is all.”

“Yeah, but… you’ve learnt more since bonding with us. You’re my friend, Vauban, not just some weapon for me to use.”

Vauban stopped his meditation and floated back down to the ground. “We have bonded well over these few months, yes, but in the end, Home Run, we’re nothing more than shells. We may be friends, but we will never be like you. It is impossible.”

Home Run wanted to retort with another answer, but he had no idea what to say. He shrugged and returned to his homework. This would be a question for another time. Perhaps once he actually thought of something good to say.

The pod lifted itself upright, slowly bringing its occupant up until it stopped, almost vertical, releasing steam as the front doors began to open. An armor-clad grineer, awakened from his slumber within, began moving his fingers. It had been a while since he’d walked about. Things seemed to have changed, including one of his hands. He realized he was missing all his fingers and his forearm, replaced by a well-sized cannon.

“Welcome back, general,” a mechanical voice said from one of the consoles beside the waking grineer. “How was your sleep.”

The grineer opened his mouth to speak, but it felt as though he had eaten a canister of acid. It was dry and burnt. “I… slept… well. Where. Are. We?”

“Earth,” another voice said from the doorway as a new figure approached him, clad in blue armor. He had huge robotic arms hanging by his sides, and his helmet, unlike the rest of the grineer, was turned upside-down. “You remember this planet, do you not, general?”

“The. Place. Of. Our. Birth…” he breathed and swung his legs off the pod’s table before pushing himself off, his feet landing on the metallic plated floor with a loud clang. “Tenno?”

“Yes, they are down below,” the other grineer replied, placing his huge hands behind his back. “The queens have sent a scouting squad down below to gain intelligence. This time, they have no escape.”

The general’s mouth twisted into an angry growl, the memory of the enemy still on his mind. They had destroyed him, torn him apart. Somehow, he had survived, rebuilt by the scientists. The Tenno should’ve made sure he was dead, because now he was coming for them, and he was going to make them all pay.

Chapter 36: Friends and Enemies Return

Home Run bailed out of the car as quickly as he could once Lightning Dust had found a parking spot, taking a few deep breaths before straightening himself.

“Oh, don’t overreact, Home Run,” she scoffed as she got out. “I wasn’t even going that fast today. There were too many cars on the road for that.”

“She’s right you know?” Lightning Rain patted him on the back. “Usually she’s way faster.”

“No way… You gotta be kidding me right now,” Home Run chuckled and continued to take deep breaths. “Well, thanks for the ride anyway.”

“Anytime, Home Run,” Lightning Dust smiled and headed towards the school building. “Don’t be afraid to ask whenever you need a ride.”

“Yeah. I just hope I won’t have to do it all that often.”

On the upside at least, he’d gotten to school with enough time to grab breakfast if he hadn’t already had breakfast at home. The baseball player just went on into the school building, heading towards homeroom. He figured he’d surprise Mrs. Harshwhinny for once. He wasn’t particularly a latecomer, but Home Run liked to show up on the dot so that he wouldn’t have to waste any time.

“I’ll catch you later, Home Run,” Lightning Rain and Dust waved, heading off to their respective classrooms.

Home Run returned their waves and pushed open the door to his homeroom. Instead of his teacher all set up and ready, there were just other students in the room. Counting three of them, Home Run recognized Mystery Mint and Tennis Match, but the third girl… he’d never seen her before. The new girl was standing by one of the windows, looking out.

Home Run was curious. Maybe she was a new student. Approaching her, he cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Yes?” the girl asked as she turned around.

She had on a dark leather jacket, a white t-shirt and a red skirt over blue skin, with red shoes covering her feet. Her long grey and teal hair reached down to her waist, messy and kind of sticking out in places; she had a hairclip shaped like the letter ‘A’, holding her fringe up. What really got the boy’s attention were her sharp orange eyes, staring back at him; they looked almost like they could see right through him.

He realized he was staring for far too long and averted his gaze. “Oh, uh, hi, sorry. I’m Home Run and… I haven’t seen you before. Are you new here?”

“New?” the girl looked around the classroom. “No, not really.”

“Oh, uh, cool.” Home Run had no idea what she meant. “Well, seeing as we’ve never met… Hi, I’m Home Run.”

The blue-skinned girl nodded and shook his hand. “Velvet Breeze.”

“So, you’re in this homeroom, Velvet Breeze?” Home Run decided to strike up a conversation.

“That is correct,” she nodded and looked out the window again. “I’m waiting for a friend, Sunset Shimmer. I take it you know her?”

“Sunset? Yeah, I know her. She’s a good friend of mine.”

“Oh?” Velvet smiled at one corner of her mouth. “Well, then I’m sure I’ll be hearing more from you.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Velvet Breeze.” Home Run pointed a finger to the door. “I’ll need to grab some books, so I’ll see you later.”

“And I will need to visit the principal’s office for the time being,” she replied. “A favour, if you will, Home Run. Please don’t let Sunset know that I’m back just yet. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Will do.” With a wave of his hand, Home Run headed out, quickly locating his locker to retrieve his English and Math books. The boy scrambled with his lock, getting it right the second time, grinning with satisfaction when he pried it off the locker door.

“Take that, lock,” he said to himself, reaching an arm in to grab his textbooks. He still had another ten minutes before class, so he took his time in picking the right books out.

When Home Run was finally done, he shut his locker and hooked the lock back into place, scrambling the code for added security. He’d left the lock on without locking it once. It hadn’t been all that bad, except that he found his locker full of internet memes the next day.

He was about to leave when a familiar face stopped beside him, getting to work on her lock.

“Morning, Sunset,” he greeted the fiery haired girl with a finger salute.

“Oh, good morning, Home Run,” she looked a little surprised to see him. “You’re early.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled and patted his books. “Bike broke, so I got a lift from Lightning Dust.”

“Regretting it?”

“Yup,” Home Run nodded vigorously. “Oh, by the way, you’ll be getting a surprise later in class.”

“Oh?” Sunset asked. “What might that be?”

“I won’t spoil it for you,” he smirked and pointed back to homeroom. “I guess you’ll find out when we start class. I’m just gonna go grab a drink before the bell. I’ll see you later.”

Saying their goodbyes, Home Run walked quickly to the cafeteria, grabbing a bottle of soda from the fridge before paying up at the counter.

“Home Run,” Vauban spoke in his ear. “This drink is terribly unhealthy. You should’ve gotten something else. Look at all the sugar it contains. Last I checked, too much sugar isn’t good for the human body.”

“Come on, buddy,” the boy whispered as he left the cafeteria. “It’s not that bad. Besides, I don’t drink it all the time.”

“You had one three days ago.”

“That… Isn’t recent,” Home Run twisted the cap off and sipped at the bottle. “Besides, I’m still healthy. Right?”

“According to my scans, you’ve dropped in health by 0.02 percent.”

“Umm… Well… Bah, that’s not so bad.”

“Not yet anyway,” Vauban replied as Home Run pushed his homeroom door open.

Sunset gave him a wave as Home Run found his seat near the right side, putting his books down with his backpack.

“Howdy, partner,” Applejack greeted beside him. “Nice morning, innit?”

“Yeah,” the baseball player leaned back and relaxed. “So, anything new?”

“Yeah, Ah think Ah’ve finally mastered the first three obstacles in the dojo, without Rhino’s help,” the cowgirl said. “Ah call that an achievement.”

“Sure is, AJ,” the boy replied with a nod. “So, think you’ll ever get the hang of this? Killing aliens, I mean.”

Applejack scrunched up her mouth and looked to the nearby wall. “Ah don’t think Ah ever will, Home Run. Oh, by the way, Ah met an old friend on the way in this mornin’. She’s a good friend. Ah can introduce ya if you’d like.”

“Who, Velvet Breeze?” Home Run whispered, hoping Sunset didn’t hear them.

Applejack widened her eyes. “Ya know her?”

“Kinda met her before class. She looked like she was inspecting the place. She said to keep it a surprise from Sunset.”

“Yeah, she told me the same,” Applejack chortled. “She’s a good friend, Home Run. Ah’m sure you’ll get along just fine. She was actually here in school with us for a bit, before the winter break.”

“Seriously…” Home Run turned to look at her. “When are you guys going to tell me what happened over the winter break? It’s been months. Really, I’m not a monster,” he ended with a snicker.

“We know ya ain’t a monster, Home Run. You’ve turned out to be a real great friend,” Applejack guffawed. “It’s just… well, Ah don’t think we’re supposed to tell anyone.”

“Alright, alright,” Home Run surrendered. One day he was going to figure it out, but it was not this day. “You win this time. Again. I shouldn’t be prying where I shouldn’t be anyway. If any of you want to tell me, then I guess you’ll tell me.”

Applejack smiled and patted him on the back. “Good on ya, Homey. Who knows, maybe we’ll explain it all to ya one day.”

Home Run had gone ahead to the school’s statue by himself, ready to get some Warframe practice done with Vauban.

The Rainbooms had asked if he wanted to go with them to Sugar Cube Corner to catch up with Velvet Breeze, but the blue haired baseball player had declined, deciding to let them have more personal time together. Besides, it would’ve been weird if he’d gone with them. He didn’t know much about Velvet and she didn’t know much about him; that would’ve led to some awkward conversations, or worse, conversations where he would have no idea what anyone was talking about.

Home Run had just left the school’s main doors when a trio of girls stopped him, just at the top of the staircase, either smirking, waving to him, or not even bothering to look at him.

“Why, if it isn’t Home Run…” Adagio Dazzle placed both her hands on her hips. “Where are you off to today, dear boy?”

“If you want to ask him out, Adagio, just do it,” Aria Blaze folded her arms and snorted.

“I do not!” the yellow-skinned siren turned to her sister, letting Home Run inch past her, quietly, but swiftly moving down the steps and towards the statue.

Sonata Dusk leaned past her sisters and gave Home Run a wide smile and a wave, before being absorbed by the conversation. Home Run had no idea why the sirens always quarreled, but whatever the matter was, he was glad he was away from it. Being friendly to them was one thing, but having to put up with their arguments wasn’t something the boy wanted to do.

“The dojo all set?” Home Run asked his Tenno partner.

“Yes,” Vauban answered after a brief pause. “Princess Twilight isn’t around, but Nyx has opened the way for us.”

“Then let’s get to it.”

Home Run pushed a hand through the statue’s base first and after making sure it was able to go in, he walked the rest of the way in, Vauban immediately folding around him to prevent him from transforming into a pony.

“I hope to see some improvement, Home Run,” his Tenno partner said.

Emerging in the gloominess of the dojo, Home Run noticed Nyx standing before them, her arms folded.

“Greetings, Home Run,” Twilight’s Tenno greeted with a nod. “The floor is all yours. I shall be meditating by the side until you leave. If you need any assistance or someone to spar with, do not hesitate to find me.”

“Sure,” the baseball player began walking over to the obstacle course. “Thanks, Nyx. I owe you one.”

Arriving at the obstacle course’s console, the boy placed an armored hand over the controls, starting up the timer. As soon as it hit zero, Home Run was off, moving as fast as he could over the first blockade, before leaping high across a gap between two platforms, careful to get his footing right.

He’d missed that jump a few times and falling down into the abyss below was less welcoming, even if he was teleported back up by some kind of magical power.

The boy traversed the next bit, tossing a jump grenade ahead of himself as he ran. The floor below his feet began to shift, rising up to create barricades to block his advance. Smiling to himself, Home Run hopped atop his grenade, propelling himself way over the obstacles and to the top of the next one, avoiding the entire climb up in the process.

“Not bad, Home Run,” Vauban praised. “But do remember that you won’t always have those grenades with you. If you want to learn, you will want to run the obstacle course like everyone else.”

“Rainbow Dash doesn’t seem to follow those rules,” Home Run said as he looked down at the drop. “If she doesn’t have to follow them, then I don’t see why I have to. We do what we can to get better, right? This is what I can do. It’s smarter too, won’t you agree, Vauban?”

“I cannot argue with that one. Smart choice, Home Run.”

Using another jump grenade, Home Run found himself before the final obstacle, sprinting as fast as he could, jumping and spinning as he avoided falling platforms, easily making it to the other side. Running the remaining of the course, he passed the gates at the end, finishing with a new record of forty-one seconds.

“There you have it, Vauban!” Home Run whooped and cheered. “Told you I’ve been getting better.”

“Yes, yes, excellent practice, Home Run. You will be ready when the time comes to defend your home once more.”

“Yeah, about that,” Home Run returned to the middle of the room and sat down. “What are we preparing for? The Stalker is gone, Vor is dead, the what was it called… Neural Sentry is dead, so what are we training for? I don’t see why we still need to fight.”

“As I have said, the Lotus has not called us back. I believe she still thinks there is a threat out there. It could be… no, maybe not.”

“What? What is it?”

“It might be a possibility, but perhaps our enemies were not destroyed before we entered our sleep.”

“What?” Home Run asked, more confused than ever.

“What he means, Home Run,” Nyx walked over, standing over them. “Is that maybe the Grineer, Corpus and the Infested are still out there. I doubt that is true. We vanquished them, Vauban. We cut them off at the root. There is no way they can return.”

Vauban took over the Warframe and stood Home Run up. “What if they’re not? We simply laid waste to their fleets. What if they survived? What if they are building up their armies to come back?”

“Then we will be ready,” Nyx spun a ball of green energy in her palm. “I do not believe they could have survived, but… the Lotus has yet to recall us, so there is still a chance you may be right. I, however, hope you are wrong. If our enemies return on this scale, this world will not be safe.”

“Wait, I’m completely lost right now,” Home Run raised a hand. “What are we talking about?”

“Destruction, Home Run,” Nyx answered. “There aren’t enough of us left. If our enemies return, if we do manage to defeat them once more, your world will still feel their vengeance.”

The Grineer scout retracted his visor, frowning to himself as he inspected the portal closely.

“What is it?” his companion, a ballista, asked, placing her sniper rifle down by her feet.

“That is the way in,” he pointed to the statue in the front. “The entrance to the Lotus’ domain.”

“So what are we waiting for?” the ballista looked between the scout and the statue. “We can signal the rest. Send in an attacking squad.”

“That is not our mission,” the scout reminded. “Leave that to the general. The Queens want the destruction of this pathetic human race and the Warframes that protect them. This world is our target.”

“Right, so why not fire down on it from above? I don’t see why we do not just decimate them all right now.”

“Because, the Queens want captives and also because starting up with your largest attack is never a good strategy. We should always see what our enemies have before we strike.”

“Right, right, I didn’t know you studied tactics and strategies,” his companion stated sarcastically.

“Whatever the case, this establishment will be the location of the first attack. Signal the fleet. We’ll start right here.”

“Long live the Queens,” the ballista said and activated her tracking beacon.

Chapter 37: The Invasion Begins

“And so you’ve been there, living with your sister?” Rarity asked, very interested in Velvet Breeze’s time in Equestria. “So what is it like, dear? To walk about on all fours?”

Velvet looked at her palm and smiled. “It’s not as bad as you might believe. I’m sure Sunset will tell you the same.”

“It’s true,” Sunset Shimmer chuckled. “See, I’m pretty used to walking on two legs. It’s not so bad.”

“Well, I’ve had a good time catching up with Satin.” Velvet looked into her glass of soda and stirred it with her straw. “She’s not exactly the same person as my sister, but… wow, she’s pretty close.”

“Ooh, now I really want to meet the other me!” Rainbow Dash shook with excitement. “I wonder what she’s like! I’m pretty sure she’s really awesome!”

“I haven’t met her,” Sunset said after sipping her milkshake. “But from what Twilight has said, she’s quite similar to you. Um, awesomeness and all.”

“Sweet!”

“So, Velvet!” Pinkie popped up next to Velvet. “You said your sister is a guard! Did you do any of that? Did ya? Did ya?”

“I didn’t, Pinkie,” Velvet laughed. “My sister doesn’t exactly do a lot of that either. Apparently, she’s mainly just used as a model for the posters and propaganda.”

“Wait, what?” Applejack leaned forward and plucked her straw from her mouth. “You’re sayin’ your sister is a guard, but doesn’t do guard work?”

Velvet shrugged. “She’s just serving the guards in her own way.”

“Well, I think that’s a wonderful idea.” Rarity waved a hand. “Why, perhaps I should make her a dress or two.”“Rarity…” Applejack frowned at her. “These are guards we’re talkin’ about, not some kinda fashion model.”

The fashionista flipped her violet hair back and looked away. “Guards can be fancy too, can they not?”

“Well…” Velvet rubbed her neck. “Off work, I guess they can. Though off work, they simply just not wear anything.”

“Not wear anything?” Rarity seemed appalled by that statement.

“We’re ponies, Rarity,” Sunset tried not to laugh. “Over there, it’s different.”

“Sunset’s right,” Velvet nodded. “Although, I do keep my sister’s scarf on me at all times. Satin does too.”

“You both keep the same scarf on you?” Fluttershy asked confusedly.

“It’s… kinda hard to explain...” Velvet tried to think of a good way to put it. “Since I’m dead in Equestria, Satin keeps the scarf to remember the other Velvet. I have mine from Satin to remember her.”

“That’s interesting,” Sunset nodded. “Things turned out differently over in Equestria. I guess our worlds aren’t totally the “Yeah,” Velvet continued, drinking some of her soda. “The others are there too. Dewdrop, Morning Blade, even Frigid Night. I haven’t seen High Noon or Keila though.”

“Ah’m sure the fella’s back in Appleloosa where he belongs.” Applejack smiled at the memory.

“That’s so cool!” Pinkie bounced around her friends on the long couch seat. “So the Assassins are alive? Do they still kill people to save the world?”

“They’re not Assassins over there, Pinkie. They’re just guards, protecting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

“Oh,” the poofy haired girl sat back down. “It’s still cool.”

“Sure is,” Velvet pulled at her now long hair. “So how’s it been with you girls? Still saving the world and such?” She laughed at her little joke.

“Actually, yes,” Sunset answered, finishing the last of her drink. “We’ve actually fought aliens this time.”

“A-aliens, is that right?” Velvet raised both eyebrows in surprise. “Guess I have to come to agreement with that. We don’t exactly live normal lives, huh? I’ve seen a vampire, you’ve fought, uh, sirens was it?”

“Yeah, sirens,” Rainbow Dash pumped an arm up. “We sure showed them! Though, they’re back now, Velvet, if you’ve seen them. Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk.”

“I do believe some of the students have mentioned them...” The blue-skinned girl rubbed a hand under her chin. “I haven’t identified them, no. I guess I will see them sometime in my time here.”

Sunset continued to chat with her friend, glad that the girl was now back in school. They sure had a lot to catch up on. Sunset hadn’t been home to Equestria in a long time, though the human world was what she called her home now.

“Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset didn’t exactly hear the words at first. “Sunset Shimmer!”

That second call blared loudly in her ear, forcing her up. The rest of the girls probably heard it too, with the exception of Velvet Breeze.

“Good, I have your attention,” Ember continued. “Trouble. Check your radar. We have hostiles close by.”

“Hostiles?” Rarity stood up, a frown forming above her eyes. “Really? Now?”

“Erm… What’s going on?” Velvet wore a confused face as she looked between the other girls.

“Oh, you know the aliens we were talking about?” Pinkie hopped out to the aisle. “This is one of those! Time to kick some alien butt!”

“Yes,” Mirage said. “Let us kick and party over their remains!”

“Sorry, Velvet,” Sunset told her as they began packing their bags. “This one’s pretty important. We’ll have to catch up another time. It’s great seeing you again.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Sunset,” Velvet shook her head and smiled. “I know how it’s like. Go. Do what you need to do.”

“See you later,” Sunset said as she followed the other Rainbooms out the door. “So, Ember, what do we have?”

“I think I shall let the Lotus explain.”

On cue, a small square popped up on the left side of Sunset’s view as Ember folded out around her, encasing her schoolbag in protective armor as well. The other also did the same, each of the Rainbooms now standing in their Warframes. Princess Celestia’s face stared back at her, the purple Lotus visor over the top half of her head.

“Greetings once again, humans and Tenno,” she wished. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have multiple Grineer signatures around your school. I do not know their intentions, but I fear for the safety of your students and teachers. You must go, now.”

“Well, good that we’ve been keepin’ in shape at least,” Applejack stretched her arms. “Ready, Rhino?”

“You know it, Applejack.”

“Ha!” Rainbow yelled as she bent into a crouched position. “Zephyr and I are ready. We’ll see you girls when you get there!”

With a jet of air, Rainbow was off, swooping through the sky faster than a jet plane.

“Come on, girls!” Sunset ran at the head of the group, calling the others to follow. “Let’s go see what the Grineer want here.”

Home Run had stopped in mid-jump when he received the distress call from Princess Celestia, dropping down into the abyss, only to be teleported back to the start, which was good for this circumstance.

“Let us go, Home Run,” Vauban said. “The Grineer have returned as I have foretold!”

“Yeah, you were right,” the baseball player said as he rushed for the portal. “Well, training’s over for today.”

“I shall move the portal back and wait there for Twilight Sparkle,” Nyx informed them, standing guard by the portal. “Go. I will see you later, Vauban, Home Run.”

Home Run left the portal, emerging right on the other side, back in CHS’ front lawn, almost bumping into Velvet Breeze.

The girl suddenly got into a combat-like stance, narrowing her piercing orange eyes at the armorclad boy.

“Woah, woah, Velvet Breeze!” Home Run didn’t know if he should tell her, but the rest of the student body knew, so he didn’t see why he shouldn’t. “It’s me, Home Run! Umm… You met me this morning in homeroom and computer class!”

He folded back his helmet in hopes that she would recognize him.

“Oh,” Velvet regained her posture and straightened her jacket. “Yes, I remember you. What’s with the, um… And why did you come through the portal?”

“Well…” he rubbed his head. “I don’t know if Sunset and the others have told you or not, but we go in to get to the dojo for some practice and training. Uh, we call these Warframes. They help us fight the aliens. Aliens! And that’s what we have going on in school right now, so I really gotta go help. Why are you heading for the portal anyway?”

“I sorta live there,” Velvet looked past the baseball player at the mirror.

“Home Run.” It was Vauban. “Now’s not the time. Let us go. Your people need our help.”

“Right.” Home Run folded Vauban’s helmet back over his head and swung his jat kittag over one shoulder. “Velvet Breeze, I’ll catch you later. Run along through the portal. It should be safer for you in Equestria anyway.”

“Right,” Velvet nodded and stuck a foot through the mirror. “Be careful.”

“Sure will.” And Velvet was gone, the mirror shimmering before reverting back to normal.

“Careful isn’t something you are good at, Home Run,” Vauban told the boy. “But if you do indeed need assistance, I shall take over.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go.”

Home Run watched his radar, following the clutter of red dots, searching for the Grineer. He hadn’t thought there were more of them, but now that he thought about it some more, it made sense. Captain Vor was merely a captain. Surely he was working for someone else. Perhaps the Queens that Princess Celestia had mentioned once when they were confronting the Stalker. Whatever the case, the enemy was back and they needed to be taken care of.

“Above!”

Home Run was so deep in thought that he almost missed a bullet, flying down from above. It would’ve definitely hit him in the head if Vauban had not intervened, spinning the jat kittag in an arc, taking the bullet out.

Above a neighbouring building sat a Grineer with a sniper rifle, its scope glinting in the sunlight. Another shot was fired, but this time, Home Run was ready. He hopped aside, running at full speed for the building, keeping his hammer up in case he would need it again.

And then more Grineer stood up from above, standing alongside the sniper, their rifles now pointed at the boy.

“Great…” Home Run sighed. “Vauban, I might need a little help.”

“Do not worry. I shall take over as necessary. Let’s do this.”

Spinning his hammer, Home Run made sure he got the momentum right, before advancing forward, getting closer to the Grineer on the building above, at the same time, deflecting the bullets they shot at him.

Once he was close enough, Home Run tossed a bounce grenade, angling it so that he would leap high over the enemy forces. A few bullets pelted against his shields, but soon the boy was up in the air, switching the function of his grenade, a new feature Vauban had fixed up in his spare time.

The concuss grenade landed by the Grineer ballista in the middle, detonating at her feet. The entire block of Grineer grabbed for their heads as they stumbled back a step, stunned for the moment.

Home Run readied his hammer as he fell, lifting it high above his head, ready to smash down as hard as he could, like a comet.

“Wait, Home Run,” Vauban quickly warned. “If you do that, you will bring down the entire building with that much force.”

Home Run realized his mistake and moved his hammer. He mentally hit himself for forgetting there were people in there, people he was trying to protect. It would’ve been very silly and devastating if he had followed up with that smash.

“Right. Thanks, buddy.”

Home Run landed before the first Grineer, the one with the sniper rifle, swinging his hammer at her like a baseball bat. The Grineer ballista flew off the roof, going a good distance before crashing down on the school lawn. Starting on the others, Home Run batted at each one of them, trying to clear them all before they could recover from his grenade’s effect.

“Here, let me take over for a while,” Vauban said, taking control of the Warframe.

Home Run watched as his body flew and spun like he’d never seen before, almost like he was some kind of acrobat in a circus. Vauban spun at one Grineer, somersaulting up before delivering a skull-cracking smash down on his head, instantly turning around with a swing, knocking another Grineer off the roof. The Tenno was like a whirlwind, moving from enemy to enemy and finishing them off in the most flashy of styles.

Only when the last Grineer fell at their feet, did Vauban stop and return control to the blue haired boy.

“Gee, you didn’t need to do all that, did you?” Home Run asked, swinging the hammer up on his shoulder. “All that spinning seemed very unnecessary.”

“It is what we Tenno excel at, Home Run.”

Home Run was about to answer back, when a bullet hit him in the back of the head. The shields broke, but otherwise, the Warframe took no armor damage, though it still left a decent ringing in the baseball player’s head.

“Ooh, take over for a bit, Vauban. I think… I need a break.”

Vauban swung the Warframe around as a new batch of Grineer ballista and heavy gunners emerged from the rooftop door. “Hang in there, Home Run. I’ll take care of this.”

“You won’t be alone, Vauban...” a low creepy voice said in Home Run’s ear.

“Nekros?” Vauban tossed a tesla grenade over to the Grineer before rushing at them. “Where are you?”

“Here…”

Suddenly, more than half the Grineer dropped dead, a scythe spinning through their midsections before returning to a Nekros-clad Eclair, standing on the opposite side of the roof, shrouded in shadows.

“Run…” Home Run heard Nekros say as he released a shockwave of dark energy in the air.

The remaining Grineer turned and fled, heading back down the staircase they had come from. Not wasting more time, Vauban ran ahead and dropped four tesla grenades down the stairwell, wanting to take down as many as he could before they got away.

“Home Run, are you alright?” Eclair asked, lowering Nekros’ hood as she joined him by the door.

“I think so,” he hit his head with the palm of a hand. “It’s like when you ring a bell beside your face. Ever done that?”

“Once, actually,” Eclair patted him on the shoulder. “Then we shall wait here till your head is right.”

“What, there’s more?” Home Run groaned internally. It felt as if he’d just fought through an entire army already.

“The others are taking care of it too,” the dark haired Equestrian answered. “We shall join them when you are ready.”

“Oh, then let’s go. Vauban will take care of it for now.”

“Yes,” the analytical Tenno said. “Come, Nekros. Let us go find more.”

“Grineer…”

Eclair folded her helmet back on and followed after Vauban, both jumping off the roof and heading towards the school building. A few people had peeked their heads out from their windows, some even taking pictures of the Warframes.

“Does it matter if they see us?” Home Run asked as Vauban zipped through the air beside Eclair. “I mean, if the Grineer are popping up in places, will it matter anymore?”

“That is a question we will have to answer after all this,” Eclair replied as they landed by the school’s lawn.

“Why? What determines that?”

“The amount of forces the Grineer have sent, Home Run. If they are numerous, there is no point hiding. Fighting for the safety of your world is more important.”

And then the first rocket hit, sending Home Run and Eclair tumbling back.

Chapter 38: For My Queens

“Why are they all over the school?” Applejack asked, punching a Grineer in the face. “Ah know they wanna get to Equestria and all, but why the school building?”

“Whatever their reasons…” Rarity nocked another arrow and fired it into a Grineer butcher’s abdomen, downing him. “They shall not touch this school.”

“I think they already have, Rarity,” Mag said. “They are all over it.”

“Not what I meant, Mag!” the violet haired girl wailed, pushing a wave of Grineer down with her ability.

“Well, we just gotta show them this is our turf.” Applejack pounded her furax’s together and stomped on the ground, sending the floor of Grineer floating up, becoming easy pickings for her charge attack.

“So how many do we have left?” Rainbow’s voice appeared on their comms. “I think I’ve taken down fifty of them at least.”

“Surely you’re exaggeratin’.” Applejack tipped her hat back and charged into another Grineer, flattening its chest armor with an elbow.

“There are at least fifteen more,” Rhino answered. “Not long before we finish them!”

“Then let’s burn away!” Ember said as she took control of one of Sunset’s arms, lobbing a few fireballs ahead as the fiery haired girl panned her glaxion across a squad of Grineer lancers, freezing them on the spot. “Good work, Sunset Shimmer. Time to set the world on fire!”

Then Ember created a single flame on her palm, pressing it to the ground with a punch. Soon, fiery towers burst from the ground, launching the frozen Grineer up as they were set on fire, burning to crisps almost instantly.

“Wow, Sunset!” Pinkie flew over, dropping down beside her friend. “You took them all out! It was like wooosh and then vwooossshh! Like Kaboom!”

“Yeah, you said it, Pinkie.” Rainbow joined them, landing with a puff of air. “But why didn’t you use it sooner, Sunset?”

“Well…” The fiery haired girl put a hand to her chin. “I don’t know. Guess I just didn’t.”

“Wouldn’t be much of a fight scene if you did, right?” Pinkie smiled happily, reloading her boar shotgun.

Then a rocket blast knocked her on her face, spreading grass and soil up into the air around the Rainbooms.

“What the hay was that?” Applejack had raised a hand to protect her armored face.

“Bombards,” Vauban said in their ears. “Watch yourselves.”

“Vauban? Home Run, where are you?” Sunset called over the radio as she froze an incoming rocket in mid air.

“Just… Over to the left side of school,” the baseball player’s voice replied on their visors, with a picture of Vauban’s helmet. “Taken two bombards down. Eclair’s with me, but I think there’s more up top.”

“Up top?” Rainbow spun her guns in her grip. “I’ve got this.”

The Zephyr-clad girl blasted up into the air, spying the crew of rocket-wielding Grineer near the school’s dome.

She had only started firing down at them when there was a bright flash of light from the side as the Grineer flew in different directions, speared by radial javelins.

“Sorry I’m late.” Mr. Loregiver popped up on their visors. “I had some papers to mark.”

“Glad to see you, Mr. Loregiver,” Rainbow said as she landed beside her history teacher on the roof, clad in his shining Excalibur Prime Warframe. “Though, I’m pretty sure Zephyr and I could’ve handled it.”

“Right, Rainbow,” Applejack grunted and chuckled.

“I think it would’ve been Eclair and I that would’ve handled it,” Home Run said as he and the the grey-skinned girl joined them on the roof. “All clear?”

Mr. Loregiver nodded. “For the time being. Let’s go down and join the others.”

Each of them flipped and spun off the roof, landing down in front of the school in a crouch.

“Nice entrance.” Rarity downed her helmet. “I’m glad it’s all over with. These dreadful Grineer just don’t know that it’s rude to interrupt a meeting.”

“I have to wonder though…” Fluttershy walked over, her bo staff gripped tightly in both hands. “What was their plan? Why’d they attack the school?”

“Good question, Fluttershy.” Sunset walked forward and looked at their school building. “Why’d they just throw their forces away like that?”

“Maybe they thought they could beat us?” Rainbow Dash flexed her arms. “But we were just too awesome for them!”

“Or maybe it’s a diversion?” Applejack shrugged. “As to what they might be divertin’ us from, Ah have no clue.”

“Could they h-have already gone through the portal when we weren’t looking?” Fluttershy shook at the thought. “Are they after Princess Celestia again?”

“We should radio back and check with the Lotus.” Trinity activated the little screen on Fluttershy’s visor. “Lotus, the enemy has been dispatched. Is everything okay there?”

There was no reply.

“Lotus, do you copy?”

Still, no face of the pony princess came into view. The screen remained dark.

“We’ve got to go. Now. Through the portal!” Trinity yelled and took control, rushing through the statue’s base in a flash.

“I saw Velvet Breeze walk in when I left the dojo,” Home Run said, realizing he might’ve sent her to more danger instead.

“Let’s go!” Sunset led the way in, followed behind by the Rainbooms and Home Run.

“We’ll stay here and rally the others, just in case.” Loregiver waved to the Rainbooms, Home Run and Eclair as he headed back to the school. “Protect the princess.”

Velvet Breeze crouched down by the wall, watching as a group of strange armored humans returned back out the portal, a sack held over one with orange armor and a single eye in his helmet.

“They’re gone…” she sighed and wiped a hoof across her head. “How are you holding up?”

She turned to her companion, who had a gaping hole blown into her side, allowing Velvet to see right through her armor and out the other side.

“I’m down for the count, Velvet Breeze.” Nyx clutched her damaged side. “But… I don’t normally say this, thank you for saving me. That one, the orange one, he is strong.”

“Yeah. Are these the aliens?” she asked the Tenno. “The ones I’ve heard about from Sunset and the rest?”

“Yes. They’re called Grineer. Clones long deformed by time. They seek to destroy our worlds and the Lotus. I fear they might have already achieved one of the two. We need to save her…”

Nyx tried to get up, but something in her circuits sparked and she fell back down on her back.

“I don’t know what you are or what you’re made of, but you’re clearly hurt.” Velvet eyed the huge hole. “Is there… is there like a doctor for your kind?”

“Yes.” Nyx weakly nodded her head. “But she’s not here… We’ll have to go to Canterlot.”

“T-There must be something I can do.”

Just then, the mirror shimmered again as a group of armored humans ran into Princess Twilight’s castle, their heads set on Velvet and Nyx.

“Velvet? You’re safe!” A silver and orange Warframe came over, lowering her helmet to reveal Sunset Shimmer. “But what happened to Nyx?”

“Those, uh, Grineer were here.” Velvet recalled the name. “They just left. Did you see them? They took Princess Celestia.”

Sunset looked to her friends behind her. “No. We didn’t see them. Not at all.”

“But how is that possible?” Another one folded her helmet to reveal Rainbow Dash’s perplexed face. “There’s only one way in. We would’ve seen them.”

“They must have another portal,” Sunset mused.

Velvet inspected the armored group. “So you girls dress up like this to fight aliens all the time?”

“Guy.” Home Run lifted a hand and lowered his helmet. “There’s a guy here too.”

“Right, sorry Home Run.” Velvet looked to her friends. “So what do we do now? We need to save the princess.”

“We’ll save her.” Sunset placed a hand on the blue-skinned girl’s front leg. “You get back to Canterlot where it’s safe.”

“You heard what they just did.” Velvet waved a hoof to the castle’s entrance and the portal. “No where I go is safe! Let me help you. I’m trained, remember? I can be of great help.”

“She’s got a point, you know?” Applejack lowered her helmet. “She’s more cut out for it than Ah am. Hay, she’s more cut out for this than Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey! I’ve gotten better.” Rainbow Dash spun her guns in her hands and raised them up. “You don’t see me missing my marks much these days.”

“That’s not the point, dear.” Rarity lowered her swirling helmet and patted at her violet hair. “Velvet won’t start out as, umm, badly as we did. She’ll handle herself just fine, especially with a Tenno partner.”

“Umm, girls?” Home Run interrupted with a raise of his hand. “What are you talking about? Velvet Breeze has done this before?”

“Oh, Home Run!” Sunset yelped, rubbing at her head. “I’m sorry. Kinda forgot you were here. Uhh… It’s hard to explain. We’ll tell you another time, perhaps, when aliens aren’t giving us any problems.”

“So you’ll let me help, right?” Velvet trotted up to Sunset and frowned slightly. “I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

“I see no reason why you can’t, Velvet, except that it’s going to be really dangerous.”

“Hey,” Velvet shrugged. “If you girls can do it, then so can I. Where do we start?”

“There, all better Nyx,” Stardust said as she placed the tools back on her table, finished with patching up the Tenno’s armor breach. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help when the Grineer attacked. They hit so sudden. I didn’t even hear them.”

“None of the guards were killed,” Princess Twilight Sparkle told her human friends. “It’s like they just got in, got Princess Celestia and got out. Undetected.”

“They must’ve created new portals,” Vauban suggested. “But as to how they’re powering them, I have no clue. The Grineer couldn’t possibly possess another void key, could they?”

“Maybe it’s something else entirely?” Velvet Breeze suggested. “I’m sure there are other forms of power these aliens could use.”

“Do you think they will return here again?” Eclair looked around Stardust’s workshop. “If they could simply walk into Canterlot Castle, then we have a big problem.”

“Maybe you should go back and find Mr. Loregiver.” Sunset Shimmer folded Ember’s helmet back. “Maybe protect the place and keep an eye out for more Grineer around school. We’ll return to the human world too and find a way to rescue the princess.”

"As you say, Sunset."

“I’ll come, Sunset,” Velvet flapped her bat wings and smiled. “Besides, I think I’ve already made my choice.” She floated back towards the rows of Warframe pods by the wall and stopped at the one, second from the left. “He’s called Ash. It says here that he’s good at sneaking and subterfuge. Just the Warframe for me.”

“That’s good, Velvet, but how are you going to get in it?” Pinkie Pie stopped behind her and patted the batpony’s head. “You’re a pony right now, and these things only fit people! Would it turn into a pony form just for you? Ooh, ooh, that sounds cool! I’ve never seen one before!”

“She just needs to activate it.” Stardust joined them by the pods. “Then when you’re back in your world, just do as you would.”

“I wish I could go with you girls, but I still have some duties to attend to before I can go,” Twilight looked out a window as a yellow bird flew by. “But please, save Princess Celestia. Don’t let the Grineer do as they please with her.”

“You can count on us, Twilight,” Sunset patted the alicorn’s shoulder. “We’ll get things done. Trust us.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “There’s no one or nopony I trust more than you girls.”

“Umm… and guy,” Home Run sighed and waved his hand. “There’s a guy here too…”

Princess Celestia was tossed violently to the ground, feeling the cold metal hit her cheek as she slid to a stop against a row of crates.

“You. Foolish. Lotus,” the orange armored Grineer sneered at her, flame exiting its gun arm. “You. Thought. The. Tenno. Would. Protect. You. But. Grineer. Are. Smart.”

Celestia looked up, but a foot connected with her muzzle and sent her back down. She still had no idea how they had managed something like that. She was still a pony, so they must have constructed another one of their special portals, but she couldn’t guess how they could find something to power it with. Void keys were rare, and she had the only known ones back in Canterlot.

“My. Queens,” she heard the Grineer say before silence took over.

“Lotus,” she heard a high pitched female voice, followed by a squeal of laughter. “Finally, we have you. You don’t know how long we’ve looked forward to this. A pony. A pony with wings and a horn. How interesting.”

“Enough, Worm,” an older voice stated. “Lotus, do you know why we have decided to bring you here?”

Celestia tried to look up, but she felt a metallic fist connect with her face and she was down again. She winced, unable to get up again, her consciousness slowly fading.

“What… You brought me here… to kill me, right…?”

“No, not yet,” the one with the elderly voice cackled. “You see, Lotus, with you here, your precious Tenno will be coming to save you. Kill you? Yes, we will take our time with that when your pathetic world is destroyed, but for now, no. You see, we need one of them.”

“One… of them…?” Celestia groaned as she rubbed her muzzle with a hoof.

“Yes, one of those humans your Tenno work so closely with. They will come for you and that is where we determine who will suit our needs the best.”

“No… You can’t…”

“Oh, we can and we will,” the voice laughed again. “But for now, you will rest.”

“Rest, meaning you’ll suffer for what you did to us,” the higher voice squeaked. “We won’t kill you, but it doesn’t mean we can’t hurt you.”

“General, will you take the honour of beginning?” the older queen asked.

Celestia saw the feet of the one who had kidnapped her as he stood over her with a wicked grin on his mouth.

“My. Honour. To. Do. So. My. Queens.”

Chapter 39: You Shouldn't Have Come Here

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Velvet Breeze,” the newly awakened Tenno dusted at its armor and stretched its arms out. “So you will be the one piloting me. Do you have experience with stealth and assassination?”

Velvet looked at the Warframe from top to bottom. She realized they all had faceless features, including the Warframes her friends had. This one had brown patterned arms and legs.

“Nice to meet you too,” she replied. “Uh, and yeah, I’m pretty familiar with stealth and assassination.”

“She’s joking, right?” Home Run nudged Rainbow Dash.

“I’ll… I’ll tell you later, Home Run,” she pushed his arm away.

“Oh, we are going to get along just nicely, Velvet Breeze and I,” Ash folded his arms. “Come. Let us head out to your world. I want to see what you can do.”

“How about the others?” Nyx asked the mechanized unicorn. “The rest of our brothers and sisters can help.”

Stardust looked at the pods and placed a hoof to her chin. “I don’t know, Nyx. Do you… think it’s something we can work with?”

“Of course, Stardust,” Nyx answered confidently.

The unicorn headed to her table and levitated a few parts with her magic. “Then Nyx and I will stay here to reawaken the others. The rest of you, go, save the princess and bring her back safely.”

“You got it, Stardust!” Rainbow was the first to jet off as soon as her Warframe folded over her.

“Wait, I haven’t… hmm…” Stardust watched as the athlete disappeared out the workshop door and vanished into the air. “I haven’t given you your new tools.”

“Did ya say new tools?” The sentence took Applejack’s interest. “What kinda new tools?”

“It’s a prototype of some old weapons I read up in Princess Celestia’s sanctum,” Stardust began, grabbing a roll of parchment from her workbench, floating it over for the others to see. “I have a feeling those Grineer are up above in space, so these might finally come in handy.”

The cowgirl took the paper out of the unicorn’s magical grasp, looking it over at greater detail. The others gathered around, looking at what seemed to be a harness of some sort, with two wings sticking out the back.

“What is it?” Home Run asked. “Looks like some kind of jetpack.”

“That’s because it is some kind of jetpack,” Stardust chuckled. “With my heightened knowledge on space technology, I’ve been toying around with all kinds of new inventions, but I have to say, this one is definitely my best, and the only one I’ve gotten to work! Come, see.”

The mechanized unicorn led the group of humans over to a section of her wall, which flipped to the side, opening a vast chamber with tubes and wires hanging all over the place. In one corner, there were a row of ‘jetpacks’, just like the ones on the parchment, sitting in mounts with tubes sticking out of them.

“Woah!” Home Run went forward and touched one. “These are way cooler in the flesh. Er, or the metal, whichever one sounds better.”

“They’re called archwings.” Stardust detached one from its mount, floating it over to the baseball player. “Try it. Vauban will know what to do.”

“Very true, Stardust,” the Tenno said as he took over, attaching the harness to his back. “Just like that, aaand…”

As soon as the pack was fully attached, there was a slight burst of energy as its wings unfolded themselves, immediately lifting Home Run and Vauban up into the air, hovering at least a meter off the ground.

“Wowie!” Pinkie squealed and rushed for one. “Me next, me next!”

The group began grabbing an archwing each, including Velvet’s new partner, Ash.

“Oh, don’cha worry, Velvet.” Applejack patted her head. “You’ll get to use it soon enough.”

“Yeah, looks cool,” the blue-skinned girl nodded her head. "I think I can figure this out."

“It’s too bad Rainbow Dash isn’t here to see all this.” Rarity held back a laugh as she moved from left to right in the air. The archwings were so quiet, you almost couldn’t hear the engine or thrusters. “She would go nuts over these.”

“Velvet Breeze,” Ash called to her, floating just above her head. “Let us exit to your world. I would like to see what you are capable of.”

“I guess we’re all ready,” Fluttershy glided over to the workshop door. “Should we bring an extra for Rainbow Dash?”

“No need,” Stardust tinkered with something on her table. “These things are remote controlled. I can move them for you. Observe.”

Another archwing on the wall detached itself and moved about like a rock in space.

“Excellent work, Stardust.” Rhino patted her on the back. “Never would I have expected to see an archwing again.”

“Don’t thank me,” she blushed slightly. “Princess Celestia was the one who found the blueprints long ago. I simply recreated what I could from the old days.”

“Then let us go save her!” Mag raised a fist and her paris bow. “Who knows what the Grineer must be doing with her.”

“According to my scans, the Grineer have docked above your planet, Home Run.” Vauban’s visor filled itself with maps and lines. “Let us fly to the Lotus’ rescue.”

“Couldn’t agree more, buddy,” Home Run smiled. “You girls ready?”

“Sure am, Homey!” Pinkie somehow managed to bounce up and down without touching the floor. “Ready to kick some Grineer backside and save the princess!”

“Then let’s not waste anymore time.” Sunset nodded and was the first out. “We’ll see you later, Stardust.”

“Take care, all of you.” The unicorn waved as the Tenno and their partners made for the sky, blasting back towards the portal with as much speed as their new machines could handle.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me about these cool things?” Rainbow Dash threw her hands up. “They’re awesome!”

“Well, we would’ve if ya didn’t leave so quickly,” Applejack placed her hands on her hips. “It pays to be slow sometimes.”

“Well, you brought me mine anyway,” Rainbow let Zephyr slip the archwing on their back. “So it didn’t matter, I guess.”

A group of students from CHS had gathered by the front, watching the Rainbooms and Home Run with their archwings, some even taking photos of them.

“So how do we do this? We just fly up to space?” Sunset asked them.

“That’s the plan.” Ember pumped a fist, generating flame around it.

“Just leave it to us,” Trinity said. “We’ll get you all safely up to the Grineer and rescue the Lotus.”

“Right on, Trinity!” Mirage flew in circles above them all. “Let’s go party up high!”

“Yeah, let’s not keep the princess waiting!” Rainbow flew up next to Pinkie. “Let’s go, Zephyr! To infinity and beyond!”

“Hey, you can’t say that, Dashie,” Pinkie told her as she zoomed about in circles. “That’s from something else.”

“Pssh. I can say what I like. It’s not like someone’s going to arrest me or something. Let’s go, Zephyr!”

And she was the first off again, flying up to the sky already growing smaller and smaller as the rest of her friends watched on.

“Well, I guess we better follow suit then...” Rarity shrugged and extended her archwing wings. “Velvet, dear, are you ready to go with us?”

Velvet Breeze, who had been testing out Ash’s Warframe, stopped in her tracks and began making her way back to the portal, where everyone else was standing, flipping off the building like a trained acrobat and sprinting over.

“You really look like you’ve done this before, Velvet,” Home Run told her.

“I have.” she tilted her head to the side. “Didn’t Sunset and the others tell you about me?”

“Oh, we did, Velvet,” Sunset quickly interrupted. “Just what he needed to know, that is.”

“So-”

“Oh boy, Rainbow Dash is getting pretty far ahead.” The fiery haired girl looked up and left the ground. “We better follow. Come on! We’ve gotta save the princess! We’ll tell you more another time, Home Run.”

“It’s always another time…” Home Run mumbled as Vauban took over, flying up after the rest of his friends.

“Cheer up, Home Run,” Vauban said in his helmet as they passed through a few clouds. “They’ll tell you when they’re ready. For now, how is your stomach? You are not afraid of heights, are you?”

“Can’t say I am, Vauban,” the baseball player shook his head. “How’s Fluttershy doing? Yeah, why don’t I just ask her. Hey, Fluttershy, how’re you doing?” he asked over their comms channel.

“I’m-I’m fine, Home Run, thanks for asking…” Fluttershy’s voice sounded shaky and nervous. “Trinity’s taking g-good care of me…”

“Of course!” her Tenno said over the comms. “You’re my partner, Fluttershy. We look out for each other.”

Then the girl and her partner were enveloped in a magical aura as her wings and ears sprouted from her body, along with her hair growing into a ponytail.

“This ought to help,” Trinity said happily. “Come. Let us rescue the Lotus!”

The group began climbing higher and higher, watching as the city below began growing smaller and smaller. Home Run felt the sound pop in his ears, but the Warframe suit really was something else. He doubted any normal human would be able to fly this high in seconds and not throw up.

Slowly, the scenery below began to disappear, fading into black as they entered space, watching the planet grow smaller and smaller below.

“Woah! Cool!” Home Run could hear Rainbow Dash’s voice over the comms. “We’re in space! I’ve never thought I’d ever get to go to space! This is just awesome!”

“You got that right!” Pinkie cheered. “Come on, Mirage! Let’s go faster!”

“Girls, remember, this ain’t no joy ride,” Applejack reminded them. “We’re here to save Princess Celestia from the Grineer, which are supposed to be up here somewhere?”

“Right there…” Mag pointed a hand up, directing everyone’s attention.

Just ahead, between the moon and earth, a group of Grineer galleons floated stationary in space.

“That’s a whole lot of ships,” Home Run muttered, trying to count them. He gave up at sixteen. “Are you sure we can handle this?”

“We only need to find the Lotus,” Vauban told him. “She will be in one of them. I think we should split up in twos and look through each one.”

“Wait, seriously? That sounds like a bad idea.”

“We can handle it, Home Run. With human and Tenno coordinating together, we shall take these Grineer head on.”

Home Run swallowed hard. “If you say so.”

“Pinkie and I will take the first one!” Rainbow yelled over their comms. “We’ll be there in a jiffy!”

“Sure as a jiffy-liffy-diffy!” Pinkie added in.

“Home Run, you’re with me.” Sunset flew alongside the baseball player and nodded. “We’ll take the one on the far right.”

“Right.”

“I want to go with Velvet!” Rarity yelled excitedly into their comms. “What? She knows what she’s doing. She knows it really well.”

“Then you’re with me, Fluttershy,” Applejack whooped. “That’s real good. If Ah’m in a heap ‘a trouble, Ah’ve got ya and Trinity to cover my back.”

“Well, it’s settled then.” Sunset increased her boosters and zoomed further through space. “We’ll see you girls later. Be careful. If you run into any trouble you can’t face, just run.”

“Trouble? Psssh. We’re too awesome for trouble, right Pinkie?”

“Got that right, Rainbow!” the pink haired girl added.

“Just be careful,” Sunset said again. “Don’t get too confident. They managed to beat Nyx easily. We don’t want that happening with one of you inside the Warframes.”

As everyone split up, Home Run and Vauban followed closely behind Sunset Shimmer, following in her trail as they headed for the one closest to the rear of the armada. They hovered just outside the galleon’s hull, watching as Ember took over and began burning her way in, melting through the metal in no time with her fireballs. Home Run watched the surface burn away like some kind of experiment they do in science class.

“Wait, I thought fire doesn’t work in space?” Home Run asked Sunset. “You know, no oxygen.”

Sunset looked at him and shrugged before going through the new hole.

As their wings stowed themselves behind their Warframes, Sunset and Home Run already had their weapons out, warily looking out for patrolling Grineer. Burning a hole through their ship would’ve likely raised some alarms somewhere, so they had to move out from here and they had to do it fast.

“This way,” Vauban took over and ran down a hallway. “I sense the Lotus. Her signature leads this way.”

“Right on, buddy,” Home Run praised. A little blip appeared on his radar, signifying his objective. “I see it now. Let’s do this.”

“I’ll follow behind you, Home Run,” Sunset hefted her glaxion. “I’ll deal with those you can’t.”

The baseball player nodded as they broke into a sprint. “Gotcha. Let’s go.”

Turning around the first corner, Home Run almost ran straight into two Grineer lancers, who were equally surprised to see them. Stepping back, the blue haired boy spun his hammer and swung hard at the first one’s chest, knocking him against his friend with a crack, before slamming down with his hammer, taking the second alien out.

While he slowed, Sunset went ahead, taking the lead, tossing a fireball at another Grineer as she focused her glaxion on a squad ahead, freezing them in place.

By now, most of the Grineer must’ve been aware of their presence and may have already be in the process of setting off the alarm, meaning they would have to pick up their pace.

“Sunset, go high!” Home Run yelled as he tossed a bounce grenade in the next room, allowing Sunset a quick way up to the next floor, while he ran along a set of pipes, using the Warframe’s increased mobility to get across to the next floor.

Sunset and Ember had already left five burning corpses in their wake, leaving only a single Grineer eviscerator for Home Run to take out. The baseball player threw himself to the side as the eviscerator shot a trio of razor sharp discs at him, at the same time, tossing two tesla grenades at the Grineer’s feet.

Sparks arced across the eviscerator as Home Run sprinted past it, delivering a quick smash to its back with his jat kittag as he passed, knocking it face first into the side with a resounding clang.

“Here, let me, Home Run, I shall help us catch up with Sunset Shimmer and Ember,” Vauban said as he took over, running faster than the boy had been. “Just keep an eye on the radar for me and watch our surroundings.”

“Got it, buddy.”

The Tenno spun and flew forward like a corkscrew, hitting the flat of his hammer against a Grineer lancer’s head, knocking him back into the ceiling as he slid past two more, tossing a tesla grenade back to distract them, if the electricity didn't kill them, that is.

In the next room, four Grineer heavy gunners stood above on the second level, firing their heavy caliber guns down at the boy and Tenno, forcing Vauban to whip up a wind barrier with the jat kittag as Home Run readied a bastille grenade in their unoccupied hand.

Throwing it up, the blue haired boy watched as the enemies were lifted in a projected prison of light, allowing Vauban to kick up to the second floor and smash them all with his weapon, downing the group.

“Come on, Sunset’s this way.” Home Run took over and ran through a door on the left. “She shouldn’t be too far now.”

“Yeah, we’re just in the next room, Home Run and Vauban.” Ember’s face appeared on their visor. “But it’s… strange. It feels different too.”

“Oh?” Vauban asked. “How so?”

“The Grineer have vanished. Just a second ago there were dozens. Now… Wait. There’s-” There was a wave of static on the other end, followed by an eerie voice. "You shouldn't have come here... Now, you will serve the queens."

“What was that?” Home Run looked to the radar again, but Sunset’s position had vanished.

Wasting no time, he picked up the hammer in both hands and ran on, looking for the next room.

Then almost as quickly as Ember’s face had disappeared before, Sunset’s appeared for a second, worry scrawled across her brows.

“Home Run! The-”

Then she disappeared again, her signal lost.

“We’re coming, Sunset!” he yelled, hoping she could hear them.

And then he entered the next room, a vast open space with multiple platforms in the middle, only to be knocked down by a wave of electricity.

Chapter 40: Brain and Brawn

“Look at you, human. Weak. Pathetic,” a grimy old voice sneered from somewhere above as Home Run got to his feet, looking around.

“Show yourself!” he yelled up. “Where are you?”

Then he saw them. Up above, near the center of the ceiling was a floating disc, attached by pistons to a contraption above. There were three figures. One was that of an old woman holding a staff of sorts, another was of a smaller creature, somewhat resembling a woman, and the third was Ember, crouched in a kneeling position, unmoving.

“Sunset!” Home Run called, but she said nothing. “What have you done to her?”

“Oh, nothing yet,” the older woman cackled. “We have simply disabled her Warframe. She cannot move nor speak. Perhaps she can hear you, but it won't do any good.”

“As for you, human scum.” The younger woman replied with a high pitched voice as their platform began to move up. “We only need her, so you may die here if you wish.”

Vauban was about to jump up to them when another wave of electricity knocked them down again. Home Run looked up, watching as a weirdly shaped Grineer made his way forward on tiny legs, cracking the knuckles of his oversized metallic hands.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he said in a low voice. “The Queens have ordered your death.”

“What are you doing with my friend!” Home Run raised his hammer and readied a tesla grenade.

“Oh, nothing much...” The blue armored Grineer pulled out a large axe and shield. “She is simply being prepped for something beyond you.”

Then something kicked Home Run in the back, knocking him down. He turned around to see a Grineer manic jump at him, but he tossed the grenade square into its face, shocking it back, allowing him to kick up and swing his hammer, launching it far across the room, off the platforms and down into the depths of the ship.

“Grineer, get him! Do not let him leave alive!” The one with the large hands pointed.

A few squads of them emerged from doors on the sides as Home Run looked around, looking for a way up.

There was none. The platform had already disappeared into the ceiling. The only way now, was through.

“Are you ready, Vauban? This one looks tough.”

“As long as we fight together, I feel we shall emerge victorious.”

“Got that right, buddy,” Home Run smiled. Here he was, alone against a squad of Grineer soldiers, but then he wasn’t exactly alone. “He’s get through this and find Sunset and Princess Celestia. Together.”

Then he was enveloped in an aura of blue energy before he dropped to the ground again.

“Now we’re ready,” Vauban took over. “Let’s go get them.”

The lancers began firing as Home Run and Vauban moved, the baseball player tossing as many tesla grenades as he could as Vauban rushed the blue Grineer. Many lancers went down from the electric shocks, but more arrived, firing at Home Run.

Vauban launched themselves up into the air, spinning the hammer once as he fell towards the blue Grineer, ready to deliver a devastating blow.

The jat kittag impacted against his shield, releasing a wave of air, but the Grineer held strong, only falling back a step.

“Foolish human,” he said, pushing back against the hammer. “Do you know who I am? I am Tyl Regor, best scientist of the Grineer armada. There is nothing stronger than my augmentations.”

Then he pushed Home Run back and slashed at him with his axe. The boy and Tenno flipped back, kicking off another Grineer’s head as he tossed two vortex grenades to the sides, occupying more Grineer as they entered.

When they returned to the ground, Home Run smashed the hammer at Tyl Regor again, only to have his strike blocked by the shield. The Grineer scientist spun around and cut sideways with his axe, forcing Home Run to block with his own weapon.

“Grenade going up, Home Run,” Vauban said as he pulled a trio of teslas from his side.

The Tenno tossed them on the floor below their feet, watching electricity arc around Tyl Regor, distracting him slightly. Home Run ran forward again, slamming the hammer down to his head, but the Grineer still reacted fast enough to block it, though it left him open to the tesla grenade shocks.

“We can do this, Home Run. Focus on his feet. They lack balance.”

Home Run used the shield to his advantage, aiming low as the Grineer raised the shield to his face. He felt the hammer strike metal as Tyl Regor fell to the floor, rolling away as Home Run delivered a downward slam, denting the platform.

“You thought it would be so easy?” he laughed as Home Run dealt with a Grineer butcher who got close. “No, it will not be.”

Then he dashed forward and grabbed Home Run by the head, punching him in the gut before throwing him over the side.

“Agh! Vauban!”

“I’ve got you,” the Tenno answered as he activated the archwing, launching back up above the Grineer. “Let’s see if this works.”

Vauban charged up his energy, then released it in a wave around the room, sending all of the Grineer flying, except Tyl Regor.

“Question, buddy. Why didn’t we use this sooner? It’s awesome!” Home Run cheered as they flew down at the Grineer scientist, barreling into him, knocking his shield to the side.

“It uses more energy, Home Run.” Vauban explained. “But with Maximum Drift, perhaps we can manage.”

“You cheat!” Tyl Regor yelled at them as he slashed with his axe again. Home Run moved his hands and blocked accordingly with the jat kittag. “You cannot fly in here! That thing should only be used outside in space!”

“Psssh. Does it matter?” the blue haired boy told him as he hit up, launching the Grineer up and down again a good distance away. “Whatever helps me beat you works.”

Then they jetted up into the air and brought the hammer down, breaking through Tyl Regor’s axe and chest, hitting him so hard that the floor under him collapsed, sending him and most of the surrounding Grineer down into the dark below. All Home Run could hear was the screams of the Grineer scientist as they began fading down the depths of the galleon. He didn't know how far it went, but he knew one thing for certain. Tyl Regor wasn't coming back anytime soon, in fact, never coming back.

The remaining ones fired at them, but Home Run spun around in the air and launched a few missiles from his archwing, taking the rest down.

“Good job, Home Run. That was no easy feat.”

“Hey, that’s cause I had you to back me up,” he smiled and looked around the room. “And this archwing is some serious business. I’ve gotta thank Stardust a bunch when we get back. Oh, we should let the others know.” Home Run activated his comms. “Girls, Sunset was taken. The Queens are here. Just encountered them. Real ugly fellas, but I need to save her now. Anyone seen the princess?”

“Sunset’s in trouble?” Velvet Breeze’s face appeared on his visor. “We’re coming over. No sign of anyone here. We’ve cleared the ship.”

“We’re still busy here,” Rainbow Dash yelled over some gunfire. “We’ll join you when we’re ready.”

“I’m sure the Lotus must be on your ship, Home Run,” Zephyr told him. “If the Queens are there, then she should be too.”

“Alright, then I’ll see everyone soon,” he nodded and looked at the doors. “Take your pick, buddy. We need to find her before it’s too late.”

Velvet Breeze didn’t want to wait any longer. She broke the ship’s windows with her glaive and flew out, using the archwing to rocket her way over to the ship Home Run and Sunset Shimmer had gone to.

“Velvet, wait for me!” Rarity yelled and flew out with her.

“Sorry, Rarity,” she turned around and slowed down. “But Sunset’s in trouble. We have to save her. She wouldn’t wait an extra second if it was one of us.”

“We’ll catch up,” Mag popped up in Velvet’s view. “Go. I’ll help Rarity out.”

Velvet nodded and turned back, flying on with her silent thrusters.

“I like your spirit, Velvet Breeze,” Ash told her. “You and I shall make a good team and your fighting skill is brilliant too.”

“You too, Ash, but we need to go faster. Think you can handle it?”

“Of course.” The Tenno took over and put his energy into it, moving to the other galleon much faster than before.

Readying her weapon, Velvet and Ash flew through the galleon’s docking bay, somersaulting over a smaller ship as she threw her glaive at a Grineer, watching him fall in two as the weapon returned to her.

Looking for Home Run on the radar, Velvet took a door on the right, leading up to a higher level filled with pipes she had to slide or jump over to get pass. Entering a four way junction, Velvet stopped to take care of a Grineer bombard and heavy gunner, using Ash’s bladestorm to teleport and skewer them before they even knew what was going on.

A group of shield lancers emerged from the door on the left, but they suddenly fell flat on their faces, while one flew against the wall, pinned by an arrow.

“Hey, Rarity.” Velvet waved and finished off the Grineer with her glaive and shurikens. “I’m tracking Home Run. We should be able to get closer to Sunset from his position.”

“Sounds clever, dear,” the violet haired girl smiled. “Lead the way. Mag and I will follow. I’ll watch your back with my bow here.”

“As will I,” Mag spoke on the comms. “We fight together, as one.”

Then the fashionista squealed as she was lifted in a bluish glow, her ears replacing themselves atop her head and her hair growing past her knees in a ponytail.

“Ooh, this is good!” She jumped excitedly.

“So that’s what you meant by Maximum Drift and playing your music together?” Velvet asked as she ran on. “That’s neat.”

“It certainly is, Velvet,” Rarity ran along behind her, an arrow already in her paris bow. “Now let’s rescue Sunset and Princess Celestia.”

More Grineer soldiers fired at the girls as they entered a room with two slopes leading up, but Velvet tossed down a smokescreen obscuring their view as Mag took control and fired an arrow at each soldier, hitting each one in the abdomen, downing them.

Grineer began entering from an entrance at the bottom, firing up at Rarity and Velvet, but the two girls kept running, avoiding most of their gunfire, letting their shields handle the rest.

After two more small corridors, they found themselves in a large square room, the ceiling high above their heads. There were two box like buildings on the left and right, along with a second floor of platforms above their heads and machinery in the middle.

“My, this ship is quite complex,” Rarity eyed the second floor. “I see Home Run, but he’s still moving north.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to move faster,” Velvet dusted her glaive blades. “Come on.”

“Wait, look out!” They had only taken three steps forward when Rarity tackled Velvet Breeze to the side, just narrowly avoiding a fireball as it crashed into the wall behind them, setting it on fire.

“Woah, thanks, Rarity. What was that?” Velvet got up and readied herself.

“Seems to be a powerful enemy ahead,” Ash told them. “Be wary. This is no simple Grineer.”

“We can take the Grineer on, Ash,” Mag spoke.

There were a series of clangs on the upper floor before a Grineer in orange armor came into view. He had a single eye in the center of his helmet and in place of his right arm was a cannon.

“That’s him,” Velvet pointed. “That was the one who took the princess.”

“Tenno. Humans. You. Will. Not. See. Your. Lotus. You. Will. Die. Here,” he said, like his voice had trouble emerging from his mouth. “I. General. Sargas. Ruk. Will. Kill. You. All.”

“Looks like trouble,” Rarity nocked another arrow. “Are you ready, Velvet?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” the teal-grey haired girl exhaled and tossed down a smokescreen, obscuring the general’s view as she and Rarity sprinted off in different directions.

More fire blasts rained down from above, but each one missed as Velvet found her way under the Grineer general, looking up at him from a window in one of the small buildings. Readying two shurikens, the girl flung them up, watching as they bounced off the Grineer’s armor harmlessly, alerting him to her presence.

“Oh great…” she muttered as she jumped back outside, narrowly dodging a fireball as Ash took over and scaled the walls to the second floor.

“His armor is tough,” Ash said to her. “We must find another way to kill him.”

“What other way is there?” Velvet looked around. “Can we push him off?”

“No, we can’t do that,” Ash said quickly.

“Why not?”

“We just can’t.”

Velvet shook her head. “I’ll just take your word for it. I see no other ways to take him out.”

“Maybe we can- Wargh!” Rarity leapt away and rolled as Sargas Ruk released a shockwave of fire around himself.

“Wait! There!” Ash took over one of Velvet’s hands and pointed. On the Grineer’s left shoulder, a port had opened up, venting out steam. “Looks like a weak point to me. Let’s get him, Velvet Breeze.”

Velvet jumped off, extending both her arms blades. They reminded her of hidden blades, but the weapon came out over the hand instead of under, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to use it any less.

Activating a bladestorm, Velvet and Ash vanished, reappearing on the general’s shoulder, stabbing their blades into it before disappearing again, next appearing beside Rarity, who stumbled back in shock.

“Oh, Velvet!” she regained her posture. “That was some skill you have there.”

“Weak point,” she pointed as the general touched his shoulder vent, looking for the damage. “He’s got to release all that steam once in a while.”

“Easy picking,” Mag said and fired an arrow straight for the exhaust.

Sargas Ruk turned to them and fired, but staggered back as his shoulder exploded, now a smoldering warped ruin.

“Good shot, Mag,” Ash congratulated. “Now we find more vents and we finish this Grineer trash once and for all.”

“You. Tenno. Will. Not. Succeed!” he yelled at them, spitting out of his gnarly mouth as he readied his cannon again. “I. Will. Have. My. Revenge. On. You. For. Destroying. My. Body!”

He fired a set of fireballs at the Warframes, but with skillful timing, Rarity, Mag, Velvet Breeze and Ash avoided all of them, getting closer to their target, waiting for more vents to open.

“There!” Mag fired an arrow at the general’s chest, where another vent had opened, spewing steam. “Second vent!”

This time, the Grineer brought his cannon arm in front of his chest, bouncing the arrow away as he slammed his cannon arm to the ground, creating another flaming shockwave. Rarity and Velvet were knocked back, sliding across the metallic floor, coming to a stop against a set of boxes, knocking them over as well.

“Tenno. Die!” the general spat again and fired a fireball at them before they could get up, knocking them further back, depleting Velvet’s shields.

“Agh…” the blue-skinned girl clutched her side, which was smouldering. “He’s tough, I’ll give him that…”

“Are you alright, Velvet?” Rarity rearranged her fringe quickly.

“I’ll be fine,” she smiled and got to her feet. “I’ve been through worse, remember? This guy doesn’t scare me. Come on, we’ve got this. Sunset’s waiting for us to get her.”

The girls scattered to the sides, Rarity going left and Velvet going right. Sargas Ruk grunted and slammed another fire wave down around himself. At the last minute, Ash took over and teleported past the fire and on the Grineer’s chest, stabbing both arm blades through the vent as it opened.

“Aagh!” Sargas Ruk growled and grabbed Ash’s neck, lifting him and Velvet away from himself.

Then Rarity jumped in behind him, using her energy to crush his cannon arm into a crumpled piece of metal before Mag took over and spun to the side, jabbing an arrow under Sargas Ruk’s arm and into his chest vent, lodging it deep.

Releasing Velvet and Ash, the teal-grey haired girl took the chance and cut at his exposed vent with her glaive, rapidly striking at it left and right. The Grineer general grunted as it exploded, sending both him and the girls across the room in different directions.

Velvet Breeze landed with a flip, crouching down as she watched the orange armored Grineer push to an elbow, still able to move and growl at them.

“This Grineer sure takes a beating,” Ash said in Velvet’s visor. “We’ll just need to turn this up a notch.”

“You. Tenno… Will. Die. I. Sargas. Ruk. Will. Destroy. All. Of. You…” the Grineer clutched at his chest with his hand.

“Let’s finish this, Ash,” Mag said as the girls readied themselves again.

Starting into a run, Velvet moved from side to side, sliding and spinning as the Grineer general tried to shoot at them with his crumpled cannon, managing small spews of flame, but not lethal enough to hurt them. Once she was close, she expended some of Ash’s energy, teleporting behind the Grineer and stabbing at a new vent that opened on his back. Sargas Ruk reached behind with his hand, but Velvet was already gone, teleporting back in front and kicking his legs out from under him before disappearing again in a puff of smoke.

Rarity hopped up over a railing and pulled the Grineer general around with her power, his back now facing up, venting out a pillar of steam as Velvet returned, repeatedly slicing her glaive against Sargus Ruk’s back.

“Where is Princess Celestia?” Velvet interrogated the Grineer general. “Where are you keeping her?”

“Your. Lotus. Is. In. A. Cell. But. She. Does. Not. Have. Long. I. Made. Sure. Of. That.”

Then Ash took over, bringing the glaive straight down into the general’s vent.

“No. Stop!” he grunted, unable to reach Velvet as she placed a knee down on his back to prevent him from getting up. “You. Cannot. Do. This.”

“You have my friend. You’re preventing us from getting her back, so yes, we can do this.”

With one last swipe, the vent exploded, blowing a hole in the Grineer’s back. Ash had teleported Velvet away from the explosion this time, the humans and Tenno now watching as General Sargas Ruk became a pile of smouldering flesh and metal.

“I think I’m going to be sick…” Rarity placed a hand over her mouth as her cheeks inflated themselves.

Velvet returned to the body and stood over it, kicking him in the head to make sure he was dead.

“Looks like we’re clear here,” she nodded her discovery over to her violet haired friend. “Come on, Rarity. Home Run and Sunset are close. We’re not letting these aliens harm anyone.”

Chapter 41: Continuity

Lightning Rain had been lounging at home, watching a baseball game, eating from a bowl of chips when the news suddenly came on, interrupting the game.

“Hey,” he said to the TV. “I’m missing the good part!”

“It seems we were not alone in the universe after all,” the news reporter said through a thick grey moustache. “Repeated sightings of aliens dropping down around Canterlot have thrown the entire city into panic. Reports say they are armed and extremely hostile. Everyone is advised to stay in their homes as the military is mobilized to deal with this threat. What do they want? Why are they here?”

Lightning quickly put his bowl down and rushed to a window, peeking his head outside. He hadn’t heard any of this outside yet, which was strange, considering the reporter said they were attacking Canterlot.

Then he heard the front door slam open and then slam shut as footsteps rushed towards the living room. The baseball player only had enough time to turn his head when his sister rushed in beside him, throwing her arms around him.

“Thank goodness!” Lightning Dust said as she squeezed him tightly. “I couldn’t get you. I was afraid you were still out there.”

“Is it about the aliens?” Lightning Rain asked her as she let him go, giving his arm a pat. “I was just seeing that on the news.”

The runner nodded her head. “They’re all over school, shooting at anything that moves. If it weren’t for Mr. Loregiver and the others, I don’t know if we would’ve made it out.”

“Where’s the rest of your team? Weren’t you having track practice today?”

Lightning Dust shook her head and shrugged. “We split as soon as the aliens appeared. I think everyone headed home. I’m sure our walls aren’t protection enough, but there’s nothing else we can do. I trust Mr. Loregiver. He said they’re on it. We just need to hold out until they’re done.”

“Done with what, exactly?” Lightning Rain asked.

Dust looked out the window. “Taking them all out. We just need to hope it isn’t the other way around...”

Adagio Dazzle scooped her sister up in her arm and ran on, just narrowly avoiding one of the aliens as it swung what looked like a cleaver for her head, embedding it in one of the school’s bushes, cutting all the way down to the roots.

“Come on, Sonata, we need to move!” she yelled at her sister to pick up her own feet. Sonata Dusk might’ve been a pain at times, but she was still her sister. “Can you walk?”

“Yeah, just shaken…” the blue haired siren rubbed at her knees and ran alongside her two sisters, trying to get away from the nasty looking alien. “What’s going on? Why are these things here? Why are they trying to kill us?”

Just then, one of the Warframes, like the ones they had piloted a month back, slammed into the alien, knocking it down before stabbing its katana down, taking it out with a spray of blood.

“Gross…” Aria Blaze placed a hand over her mouth.

“You girls need to get to safety,” the Warframe held its sword firmly and looked around for more aliens. “Don’t stay outside.”

“You don’t need to tell us twice,” Adagio frowned and gathered her sisters close. “We should head home. I’m sure we’ll be safe there.”

“Maybe,” Aria answered. “Or we could just be leading these aliens back home with us. I don’t think she’ll be too happy if we do.”

“You have a better idea?” Adagio snapped at her, just as more gunfire echoed around them.

“Go, get out of here,” the Warframe said and gave Adagio a slight push as he readied his katana once again.

“You have more of these Warframe thingies?” Sonata asked. “We could help out! Remember? We had some the last time that other thing was here?”

“What? Umm… I’m not sure,” the Warframe rubbed his blue hair. “Just… go, please. Don’t get caught out here in the crossfire.”

“Help out? Are you crazy, Sonata?” Adagio stopped herself from pulling at her hair. “What do you expect us to do? We know nothing about this kind of combat.”

“Maybe if we had our powers,” Aria focused her piercing eyes on the Warframe.

Just then, a group of aliens appeared and fired at the sirens. Adagio brought a hand up to cover her face, but soon found herself and her sisters shrouded in a blue dome, the bullets disappearing as they entered.

A second Warframe dropped down from the roof, tipping what looked like a magician’s hat to them before pulling a long rifle from its back, firing at the aliens.

“We’re not going to make it ten feet,” Aria folded her arms. “I think we should just find a classroom and lay low.”

“Works for me!” Sonata shrugged. “Maybe we can hide in one of the science labs, you know, maybe we can brew up some explosive stuff just in case.”

“Whatever, let’s get inside and see what we can do,” Adagio grabbed both her sisters and shoved them towards the school building. Anything else was safer than arguing out in the open.

“Aaaand… there,” Stardust wiped her golden mane from her face and grinned. “These Warframes should be ready for work.”

“Yes,” Nyx nodded her head. “With them around, we have a chance at ending the Grineer once and for all. All they need are suitable human partners, just like Volt did when he found Flash Sentry.”

“We should help out too, Nyx,” Twilight stomped a hoof on the metallic floor. “Princess Celestia needs us. The human world needs us.”

“Yes. There’s no one else I would rather team up with than you, Twilight Sparkle. I am sorry if we did not see eye to eye in the past, but know that I have come to respect you.”

“Shall I help out too?” Stardust spread her metal wings, the glow in her eyes intensifying.

“I think you should stay here, Stardust,” Twilight explained. “It would be good with you around, but we can’t leave Equestria totally defenceless. If the Grineer return, we need ponies here to stop them.”

“Right,” the mechanized pony nodded. “I will do what I can. The Grineer shall not succeed again.”

Nyx placed a hand on a pod. “Then if we’re ready, let us go, Twilight Sparkle. Give me the green light and I shall activate my remaining brothers and sisters. We shall take the fight to your world and we shall be victorious.”

She reached out a hand and activated the first pod, watching as its doors opened up with a hiss of steam and frost as the Warframe inside began to light up.

This is it, Twilight thought to herself. This would be their chance to rescue the princess. The lavender alicorn thought to her friends back in the human world. She hoped that they were already in the process of getting Princess Celestia out, but the only way to know for sure would be to join them.

But first, Canterlot High needed her help.

Sunset Shimmer awoke in a dark room, lit only be dim red lights around the ceiling, giving the room a sinister feel as she rubbed at her head.

“Where am I…?”

Then she realized she was touching her hair and looked down. She was in her regular clothes, her Warframe strangely absent.

“Ember?” she called out, but there was no response.

“Your Warframe is not around to help you, girl…” an elderly voice echoed behind her.

Sunset turned to see an old woman with a pointed helmet of sorts and a staff, along with a smaller one with two pointed objects on her head.

“Who are you?” she asked, looking around the red room. “Why am I here?”

“She doesn’t even know who we are,” the smaller one giggled, blinking her round yellow eyes.

“Silence, Worm,” the older one waved a hand across the air. “Girl, we are the Queens of the Grineer.”

Sunset widened her eyes in realization as she watched the two females cackle, turning their bright eyes on her once they were done.

“Yes, well, as to why you are here…” the older queen coughed. “As you can see, I am nearing the end of this body’s life. In order to continue my existence, I need a new body. You girl, have been chosen to replace the one I now have.”

“What?” Sunset drew back a few steps. “No, I’m not helping you live longer!”

“You do not have a choice, human,” the younger queen pointed a finger at her. “We have immobilized your Warframe and our forces are taking care of your friends as we speak. No one is coming to help you.”

“I’m not going down without a fight.”

Sunset suddenly sprinted forward, jumping at the Grineer Queens and kicking off the head of the smaller one as she ran behind them, finding a long dark hallway. She had only made it halfway when she felt something tingling in her head. Soon, she was down on her knees, grasping for her head as pain began welling up inside.

“Aaagh!” she screamed out, unable to hold it in as she fell on her side, curling up into a ball.

“You will go nowhere, girl,” the Twin Queens approached her from behind, the older one holding out her staff, its tip glowing red. “Your mind is weak. We know a thing or two about enslaving weak minds. Now, I think it’s time we commence our little experiment.”

“Yes, squeal, human,” the younger queen rubbed her hands together with glee. “There’s nothing you can do about it! Just face your future and let my sister use you for our greater good!”

Sunset Shimmer felt the pain in her head increase. It kept going until everything went blank. Sunset cracked an eye open, gazing out in a vast expanse of white, the pain in her head gone.

“What is this place?” she said out loud. Her voice echoed around like this was some sort of dream.

“Sunset Shimmer, you’re here,” a familiar voice said, almost like it was coming from all over the expanse.

“Ember?” Sunset called out. “Is that you?”

“Yes. It seems our minds are still one within the suit,” Ember replied. “I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up after what happened.”

“What happened?” Sunset looked around the space. “But the Queens. I was just in the room and they knocked me down with some magical power.”

“No, Sunset Shimmer. You are still within the Warframe, but I don’t know for how much longer. The Grineer have begun drilling into my databases. I don’t know what their plan is, but if we don’t do anything, they shall succeed. You must recover control of yourself, Sunset Shimmer. You must fight back while my systems are down.”

“But how do I do that?” Sunset threw her hands up. “I thought I was awake and out of the Warframe. How do I get out of here?”

“I suggest you keep going, Sunset Shimmer. Locate the way back. But hurry, I don’t know how long we have before we’re compromised. It’s up to you, Sunset Shimmer. I know you can do it. After all, you are no human being and you are special. I can feel it in your mind when we drift. You can do this.”

The girl looked ahead into the vast expanse ahead as Ember went silent. There wasn’t exactly a straight path, but she decided trying was better than just sitting here. Taking off, Sunset started in a light jog, hoping to see a change in scenery as she moved along. Ember said she only had a limited time to somehow regain control of the Warframe. Sunset didn’t know how much time she had left to do that, but she knew she had to try. She wasn’t going to let a gnarly old Grineer queen take over her body.

Author's Note

Hi, everyone! Good to be back! As I've said over in Fall, I'll be around from time to time to upload a chapter. I'm technically still busy, but I feel I can at least start to upload things sometimes, so... stay tuned! And I hope you enjoy the story! Cheers!

Chapter 42: The War Within

Sunset Shimmer gazed down a deep mountain pass, watching as the thick snow blowing around the mountains whipped and spiraled all around her. She clutched her shoulders, shivering from the cold, her jacket doing nothing to warm her up, but there was nothing more she could do but go forward.

After leaving the bright white area a few minutes ago, the fiery haired girl had found this mountain side, its bottom invisible, blocked by fog.

She didn’t know how much time was left, but she needed to push on. A little cold was nothing compared to what would happen if she ran out of time. Ember needed her help. Everyone did.

Placing one foot down the slope, Sunset began making her way down, careful not to fall and roll all the way. She knew she needed to hurry, but dying was probably going to mess things up quite a bit.

“Pathetic… You’re still going to go slow even though you know this might be the end?”

Sunset stopped and looked up. Immediately, one of her feet slipped, sending her tumbling down the mountain pass, scraping her skin against the rocks before coming to a stop at the bottom, tumbling against the soft snow at the bottom.

“Ow…” she rubbed at her head, blood already dripping from a cut above her brow, along with multiple bruises all over her body.

“Look at you, groveling on the floor like a little whelp. Get up.”

“Where… Who are you…?” Sunset opened an eye to look around.

Now she was in a cavern, with two holes on the sides allowing her to see out to the vast expanse of snow beyond the mountain.

Then from the space within, a small spark seemed to shoot out, then an entire fireball began to form, melting the snow in the middle of the cave as red wings began to spread from it. To her horror, there before Sunset, her demon form emerged from the fire, laughing hysterically before fixating her green eyes on her.

“Yes, it’s me, Sunset. It’s yourself. Your true self,” her demon form cackled.

“No, you’re not my true self!” Sunset yelled at her as she floated around the cavern, her fiery aura melting the snow from the walls. “You are no longer a part of me!”

“Oh, is that so? I guess that’s why I’m here, right?” her demon flexed a finger. “Because I don’t exist any longer? I am you, and you are me. There’s no escaping that, Sunset.”

Sunset told herself it was just her imagination. She had left that part of herself long ago. This demon was no longer her. Getting up, she dusted off her sleeves and limped forward, something in her left leg hurting when she stepped down.

“And where are you going?” her other self swooped in and blocked the way. “You don’t know the way out. I can help you, you know? All you have to do is ask.”

“No, I’m not asking you,” Sunset walked past her and looked on, deeper into the cavern. “I can do this on my own.”

“What, with no powers? With the strength of just being a human? What if I told you of the powers you wield? Would you believe me? Would you accept me and use it to save your friends?”

“Why would you help me?” Sunset scowled at her demon. “You don’t care about my friends. I didn’t when I was you. I’ve never been more wrong.”

“Why do I want to help you? That one’s easy. I want to return, Sunset Shimmer,” her demon form guffawed. “All you have to do is ask. I’ll help you wipe out the Grineer. I’ll help you rescue your friends. Then once we’re done, we can set our eyes further! Imagine all the power you’ll have! The world will do as you ask.”

Sunset thought about it. There was no way she was going to accept that much power again. It almost destroyed her the last time and she wasn’t going to risk it a second time, but her friends needed her and she needed the strength to get out of this and back into the Warframe.

In the end, she shook her head. “No. I will not accept your help. If I’m doing this, I have to do this on my own strength. Not yours.”

Her demon seemed to grow agitated at her words, but then calmed herself and smirked. “Well… Then let’s see your strength against mine.”

Without warning, Sunset’s demon raised her hands up high and conjured a large fireball above her head. Reacting on instinct, Sunset made a dash through the cavern, spying light at the end; her only way out.

She slid under her demon form at the right second, just narrowly avoiding the fireball as it smashed into the cave ground behind her, slightly singing her hair. Sunset got to her feet and kept going, dodging to the right as another fireball sailed past her, exploding out in the snow beyond the cave exit.

“Come back, Sunset Shimmer!” she heard the demon yell behind her. “You cannot escape me! You cannot escape yourself!”

Sunset ran on, tripping in the snow once, but regained her footing before another fireball melted through the snow and ice she was just standing on.

I have to find my way out of here. Fast.

Sunset didn’t know what she was supposed to do, but avoiding her demon form’s attacks was definitely a place to start.

The snow sent shivers down her entire body, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it but to endure it till she got out.

The icy landscape soon led her to a second cavern, but this one had a floor made of ice with plenty of frozen fish below. Taking a few steps back, Sunset ran forward, stopping as her feet touched the ice, sending her sliding across the floor. Once she started to slow, Sunset kicked off with a boot, moving herself over the frozen lake, looking once over her shoulder to make sure her demon wasn’t anywhere close. Unfortunately, she had just arrived at the entrance, a wicked smile on her face.

“Where are you going, Sunset? You know you can’t beat the Grineer if you can’t even beat me!”

Then a fireball crashed into the frozen floor behind the girl, melting the immediate area and sending Sunset crashing down into the ice cold waters below.

“Sleep, Sunset Shimmer,” she heard her demon form cackle as she slowly began to sink. “If you can’t find your own strength, then don’t bother coming back up.”

“Sunset Shimmer. Arise, Sunset Shimmer…”

Sunset opened her eyes, noticing the icy waters around her, along with a barrier of light surrounding her, protecting her from the water’s icy grip of death.

“What’s going on?” Sunset looked around, reaching out to touch the barrier.

“It is good to see you again, Sunset Shimmer…”

The fiery haired girl turned to the sides, still unable to see anyone else, but she recognized the voice. It was a voice of a pony that helped her through a string of events many months back.

“Emerald Edge? Is that you?”

“It is, but at the same time, it is not,” the voice answered her. “This is all but a figment of imagination in your head, Sunset. All of this is. But it is a strong one.”

Sunset looked at the flowing waters beyond her barrier of light. It all looked pretty real to her.

“How do I get out of here? I need to save my friends and stop the Grineer.”

“Why, you can do it, Sunset. You are stronger than you know. That suit you have, that Warframe, it’s more than just a means of protection and mobility.”

Sunset creased her eyebrows as she tried to make sense of Emerald’s words. “But how? How do I find that strength to escape this place?”

“Look deep in yourself, Sunset Shimmer. Remember, you’re not human and these suits are conduits of magical energy. You need only look for that strength.”

“What? Are you saying-”

“Yes, Sunset,” Emerald’s voice replied. “You are a unicorn. You know what you can do. Save your friends, Sunset. Face yourself and stop the Grineer threat.”

If what Emerald said was true, then Sunset Shimmer knew what she could do and what she had to do. Looking up, she concentrated, just like how one would cast a spell if they were a unicorn. To her amazement, she began floating back up towards the surface, the barriers still keeping her safe from the freezing water around her. Gaining speed, Sunset braced herself as her barriers smashed through the thin ice sheet that separated her from the cavern once more, startling her demon form as she dispelled the golden barrier.

“No, how are you still here? You were to drown!” the demon snarled.

“No,” Sunset shook her head as she placed her feet on the ice floor. “I couldn’t give up, not when my friends need me. This isn’t about myself. This is about the world.”

“You need me, Sunset,” her demon scoffed. “You cannot save the world without me.”

The fiery haired girl smiled faintly. “That’s where you’re wrong. I can do it. Friendship is the strongest magic out there. I’m not who I was when I first came to this world. You’re not me anymore.”

“Then show me your new strength!” her demon growled and formed another fireball in her hands.

Roaring, Sunset’s demon threw the burning projectile at the girl, only for Sunset to raise a hand and project a barrier of magic, nullifying the fireball completely.

“What? How?” the demon grasped her head. “You cannot conjure magic without me! That’s why I am here! You are supposed to be powerless without me!”

“Not this time. I was never powerless. I was just hungry.” Sunset narrowed her eyes at her demon form. “Hungry for power. I wasn’t satisfied with what I had, but now I see how wrong I was. You may have been me at one point, but my past isn’t today.”

The demon Sunset brought up more fireballs and tossed them at Sunset like dodgeballs, attacking left and right with all her might. Sunset Shimmer brought up a shell around herself, blocking each and every of her demon’s attacks. Then her demon form lifted her hands high and began forming a massive fireball, growing bigger and bigger until it was about the size of Canterlot High itself; maybe even larger than the school building.

“Let me show you what power can give you!”

Wrapping herself in a magical aura, Sunset channeled her magic into a glowing horn, floating where her horn would be if she were in Equestria. When she was ready, she fired it at her demon, watching as the blue energy speared forward, impacting into the massive fireball as her demon brought it down as hard as she could.

Sunset’s magic pulsed against the fire, sending flames and magic skating and spiraling around the cavern, melting portions of the floor and breaking down parts of the rock wall, allowing the snow to waft in from outside.

Then Sunset’s magic broke through the fireball’s center, evaporating it from the inside before hitting her demon right in the chest, enveloping her in its grasp as its magic exploded across the icy cavern.

“No! What is this power? You can’t beat me!” the demon screamed as she dissolved into nothing, once again leaving the cavern empty and quiet, the only sound being the strong winds of the snowy landscape.

Sunset levitated herself back down to the floor, careful not to step too hard on the thin ice as she took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Glad that’s all finally over…” she said to herself. She didn’t know her demon was still a part of her, but not anymore. From today on, she wasn’t going to worry about that part of her any longer.

Looking to the opposite end of the cavern, Sunset channeled more magic and teleported across the expanse multiple times, eventually finding herself outside the cave and on the tip of a mountain top, looking down into a misty gorge below.

“I’m coming, Ember,” she said as she looked down at the drop. “The Grineer aren’t going to be victorious today. That I assure you. I’m not going to let them take our homes from us.”

Taking a deep breath, Sunset projected up an aura of light blue magic and took a step off the ledge, watching her body descend slowly into the misty unknown.

Chapter 43: Enacting the Rescue

Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes, looking around the dark shell of Ember’s Warframe encasing her. She had done it. She was back in the Warframe.

At that exact moment, something red seemed to begin piercing through Ember’s helmet, slowly drilling its way towards Sunset’s own head.

Sunset knew she had to act fast.

Concentrating, she watched with amazement as her magic began to fill the inside of the Warframe, powering up its functions and visor, allowing her to see outside once more, looking right into the ugly face of the older Grineer queen.

“Sunset Shimmer, you’ve done it,” Ember’s voice congratulated. “I knew you had it in you.”

“You okay, Ember?” she asked her Tenno partner. “They didn’t do anything, did they?”

“They are attempting to. Show them what you have, Sunset Shimmer.”

Smiling to herself, Sunset began channeling her magic towards her head, suddenly launching a straight line of magic through Ember’s helmet, destroying the red drill-like object the queen was holding to her head, knocking her back into a rounded seat, knocking her younger sister down as well.

“What is the meaning of this?” the Worm squealed and focused her glowing beady eyes on Sunset and Ember as the girl floated up.

Two wide-armored Grineer guards to the sides approached Sunset with their staffs drawn, but the girl turned towards them and flung them back with a wave of blue magic.

“Stop her! Guards!” the younger queen yelled as she attended to her frail sister.

Two doors on the sides opened, allowing Grineer of all shapes and sizes to pour in, their weapons at the ready. Instead of green armor, these Grineer had red and black, likely marking them as the Queen’s guard.

Wasting no time, Sunset sprinted forward, jumping up and kicking off the Worm’s head, launching herself up into the air and grabbing onto a pipe leading to the other side of the red room she was in.

The first bullets pelted the metal around her, but the fiery haired girl simply flung herself atop the pipes and ran on, dodging what she could while Ember’s shields protected them from the rest.

“Excellent work, Sunset Shimmer. You have improved. My controls are still locked, so I will have to leave it to you until I regain control.”

“Don’t worry, Ember,” Sunset answered. “I’ll get us out of here.”

Hopping off the pipe at the last second, Sunset slid under a Grineer’s legs before using a wave of magic to launch him into his comrades at a doorway, knocking them all down before she spiraled herself over them, sprinting down the corridor, searching for a way out.

She remembered Home Run and Princess Celestia were likely still somewhere on the galleon, so she made it her first priority to find them.

“Ember, is Home Run on the map?”

“Let me see… I can feel Vauban’s presence; he’s further away. You need to get closer. My functions aren’t available just yet.”

“Got it. I’ll just keep going.”

Sunset kept her glaxion behind her back, not seeing the need for it while she could blast her enemies away with her own Equestrian magic. This was actually pretty exciting for the her. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to use magic as a human, but these suits really were something else. If she knew they could act as a conduit for her magic sooner, maybe they’d have saved a lot of time and trouble the last few months.

A duo of Grineer manics materialized out of the shadows and jumped for Sunset, one on her left and the other on her right.

The fiery haired girl channeled more magic and suddenly, she was past them, almost a whole hallway down. The manics turned and saw her, but Sunset blasted them back with a wave of magic, knocking them out.

All the corridors started to look the same and if it weren’t for the map she had at the corner of her visor, Sunset was sure she’d never make it out of here.

“Wait, there!” Ember suddenly said. Sunset looked up and saw a small blue blip on her map, just west of her location, still on the move. “That’s Vauban. We should regroup.”

“No need to tell me twice.”

Sunset changed directions, going one hall back and exiting through a different door, looking for a path straight to Home Run and Vauban. She watched his blip stopped and moved, this time turning towards her.

Excellent. Come on towards me.

Guessing he must’ve seen her on his radar, Sunset used her magic to teleport herself across the room, arriving outside another doorway, where she could hear gunfire on the other side.

As she opened he door, the body of a Grineer lancer flew by her, bouncing on the metal floor behind her before stopping on its back. Sunset looked in, watching Home Run club another Grineer down with his hammer, before joining in to help him, using her newly acquired magic to knock every single Grineer in the room back, some falling off the edges and into the machinery below.

“Sun-Sunset?” he looked at her and lowered his hammer. “That was cool. How did you- Are you alright?”

The fiery haired girl ran up to him and enveloped him in a hug. “I’m fine now. It’s good to see friendly face.”

“You can say that again,” Home Run patted her back. “Velvet and Rarity are in the ship. “They’re headed towards me. Speaking of which… Hey, girls, I’ve found Sunset. She’s fine. She’s even got some fancy powers now.”

Sunset listened on her comms, but nothing was coming through yet. Ember’s systems must still be down.

“Uh, Sunset, Vauban wants to know why he can’t hear Ember,” Home Run said after a short pause.

“They did something to the Warframe,” Sunset explained. “The Warframe’s systems are down, but I’m able to power it through my magic. I’ll… I’ll explain all that later. We need to find Princess Celestia.”

“Right.”

Just then, the door behind Sunset burst open, allowing in two of the large-sized Grineer, one immediately pushing Sunset so hard that she crashed down into Home Run.

“More Kuva Guardians, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember spoke in Sunset’s head as she teleported herself and Home Run away from the Grineer’s downward strike. “The Queens’ elite. They are not easy to take down.”

Home Run got up and spun his jat kittag in his hands. “Let’s see what these guys are made of.”

He took a step forward and swung his hammer as hard as he could towards the guardian’s side, but it raised its weapon and blocked it, stopping it entirely.

“What?” the baseball player gasped. “It’s legs are so small. How can it do that?”

Then the Grineer pushed, knocking the boy a step back before swinging its staff at him.

Sunset stepped between them and projected a barrier of magic, before exploding it in the Kuva Guardian’s face, knocking him down to a knee.

The second one approached them with his weapon up, but Sunset quickly teleported past the first one, grabbing his staff and swinging it at the second.

“His weapon’s down! Get him, Home Run!”

As Sunset whipped up another magical wave, Home Run took his chance to draw his hammer back and approach the first Kuva Guardian. Out of nowhere, the large-armored Grineer brought out two pistols, firing them at the baseball player.

Home Run moved from side to side and with the help of Vauban, brought the hammer up to the Grineer’s helmet, launching it up and away to the other side of the room just as Sunset stole the weapon of the second guardian.

He pulled out his pistols and pointed them at Sunset’s head, but he was immediately smashed down by Home Run’s hammer.

“Great work, Home Run.”

“Me?” the boy rested his hammer’s head on the floor. “With all your magical whooshing, the great work definitely belongs to you. I mean, wow. That’s useful. You think the rest of us can learn that?”

Sunset smiled, but shook her head. “Unfortunately, Home Run, I can only do this because I’m Equestrian. These Warframes are actually magical conduits. They, uh, power up my innate ability, you see.”

“Ummm…” Home Run rubbed his head. “Equestrian. Got it. I’ll leave it at that.”

Just then, more Grineer troops emerged from the same doorway, their guns already pointed for Sunset and Home Run.

“No time to lose!” Sunset threw up a barrier of magic and pushed Home Run ahead. “Let’s move. No use hanging around here. We’ve gotta find the princess!”

“Any idea where she might be? Oh, hold on. Vauban says there’s a detention facility in here. He’ll mark it on the map… and there. Follow me!”

Sunset followed behind Home Run, knocking Grineer away with her magic when any of them showed up. With her new powers, it felt like the Grineer weren’t even a threat to her, not even in the slightest. All she had to do was channel her magic and watch it work.

“Ember, how’re your systems?” she asked her Tenno partner. “How soon will you be back?”

“I saw my control blink for a second, but it stopped. If I have to guess, I’d like to think I can join you soon,” Ember answered.

“Hold on to that hope then.” Sunset smirked and launched a magic ball ahead, knocking a Grineer eviscerator down before Home Run could smash his head in.

“You know, that magic is really too strong,” Home Run laughed as they continued on. “I mean wow. Seriously. I wish I could do that.”

“Ha, I wish you could do it too,” Sunset laughed along with him. “I wish you could all do it. Then we don’t even need to worry about this invasion.”

“True.”

After another big room with generators, Sunset Shimmer and Home Run found themselves on an upper level, proceeding up a slope, heading deeper through the galleon.

“It’s just right around this corner,” Home Run pointed.

Just then, two more Kuva Guardians popped up, readying their staffs in their hands, along with two weird white shapes on their heads.

“What are those?” Home Run spun his hammer in his grip. “They look sick.”

Suddenly, one of the white things detached from the guardian’s head, flinging itself onto Home Run, latching on to him with its arms and legs.

“It’s on me!” the boy flailed around. “Get it off! Vauban, do something!”

Then he lifted a hand and grabbed ahold of the creature, tossing it off before latching two tesla grenades on its chest. Electricity arced across the weird creature before it collapsed, its body still shuddering from the current.

“Vauban says they’re called Kuva Jesters,” Home Run leaned back as the guardians began their attack, along with one remaining jester. “Pesky little Grineer.”

“Easy enough for us,” Sunset whipped up a magical wave, sending it cascading into the guardians, strong enough to knock them over.

The remaining jester fell off its guardian and tumbled to the metallic floor, allowing Home Run to finish it with a smash of his jat kittag. Sunset teleported past the downed guardians, stealing their staves from their hands.

“Good job, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember said in the girl’s head. Suddenly, Sunset’s arms lifted up and conjured twin fireballs before hurling them at the guardians, immolating them. “My controls are back. You did a good job. Now let’s do this together.”

Then Sunset was taken up in a glowing aura as her pony ears appeared atop her head and her hair grew into a ponytail.

“Nice!” Home Run finished off one guardian with his hammer. “You’ve got your Warframe powers again!”

“Good work, Ember,” Sunset heard Vauban’s voice in her head as his face appeared on the side of her visor. “It’s good to see you again.”

“It is good to be back,” Sunset’s Tenno answered. “I thought I would never regain control of my Warframe, but here we are now. Let us find the Lotus and get out of here.”

The second Kuva Guardian brandished his pistols, but Sunset brought up a barrier, nullifying them before knocking the Grineer down with a ring of fire. Home Run tossed out a jump pad and launched himself up, returning down with a groundbreaking smash, taking out the last guardian.

“That wasn’t too bad,” he laughed. “Let’s get going.”

The next door led to a small room with a single console in the middle. Sunset looked at it, but couldn’t figure out a use for it, so they carried on. The next room was at least fifteen times bigger than the one they had just been it.

There was a big courtyard-looking area right in the middle, along with ramps that led up to various different platforms all around the room. Sunset made out four different Grineer heavygunners patrolling the area.

“Is this it?” Sunset looked to her radar, remembering Ember’s systems were back online. She could now see a little objective marker, pointing them to the back of the room.

“The Lotus is close,” Ember confirmed.

“The readings lead through that big door there,” Vauban lifted Home Run’s arm and pointed. It was a large rectangular door at the top of one of the ramps. “Two ways in. There’s an underground duct under the ramp, or we could simply hack through the console and get in like that.”

“The bottom sounds just fine,” Sunset headed down a ramp and kept low, her gifts from an old friend already kicking in. “Wait back here, Home Run. I’ll go find the princess.”

“If you say so,” he whispered and crouched behind a plated cover.

Honing her vision, the world around Sunset suddenly turned a dark blue hue, highlighting her enemies in red. She crept towards the main ramp, keeping out of sight of the heavygunners.

So far so good.

With the Warframe, it was almost too easy to get to the underground duct without getting detected. It helped her move faster and at the same time, making her footsteps more silent.

“We were built for stealth infiltrations, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember had told her.

Heading in through a dark tunnel, Sunset soon found a panel above her that she could remove. Slowly pushing up at it, she peeked her head out, scanning her surroundings with her eagle vision.

She almost couldn’t believe it. There wasn’t a single Grineer in the room.

“Cool,” she pushed the panel aside and hopped up into the prison room. “Which cell, Ember?”

“My readings don’t say. You’ll have to try them all.”

Sunset looked around. There were only four cells, two on a second floor, two below. She decided to start with the bottom, checking out a console by the door, which looked like a lock.

“So how does this work?”

Ember held out a hand to the console and suddenly, a strange circular screen popped up, along with three shapes around the circle. A smaller circle kept going round and round the edge of the large one.

“What is this supposed to be?”

“The lock, Sunset Shimmer. Just watch and see how it’s done for this one.”

Ember clicked a finger down on a button every time the smaller circle passed over one of the inner shapes, clicking it into the larger circle like the inner workings of a lock.

It couldn’t be this easy, could it? Sunset thought to herself.

Ember moved the other two shapes into the inner circle and the lock clicked, the light on the console and door turning green.

“Seriously…?” Sunset looked at the console again. “They use this as security?”

“Don’t bother, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember took over and walked to the door. “We asked that question ages ago. We still do not have the answer.”

Not wasting time, Sunset walked through the doors, almost not surprised to find the cell empty. Running to the opposite side, she tried the console there, remembering what Ember had done. In no time, the lock buzzed and turned green, but the cell was also empty.

“She must be in one of the second floor cells,” Ember said.

Ember took over and leapt up from the ground floor, spinning in the air and sailing high above the second floor platform. Maneuvering her body, Sunset and Ember landed with a light clang, right in front of one of the cell’s consoles.

She brought up the cell’s security window, noticing there were seven different locks this time. Waiting for the circle to pass over each one, Sunset pressed down on the button, clicking each lock into place. Once she had cleared them all, she rushed for the cell and flung the doors open, a startled gasp exiting her mouth.

Finally, we’ve got her.

There on the floor before her, was Princess Celestia.

Chapter 44: A Siren's Call

Sonata Dusk held on tightly to her poofy haired sister, her eyes shut and her teeth clenched as gunfire was heard in the hallway just outside the classroom they had taken refuge in.

Normally, Adagio Dazzle would’ve simply shoved her sister off, but because of their current circumstances, she decided to allow it. In the end, it was better if Sonata was quiet than screaming in fear.

“What do you think they want?” Aria Blaze had her back against one of the classroom’s desks. “Human annihilation?”

“I don’t want to go out there to find out,” Adagio replied. “Not unless we had one of those suits the Rainbooms have.”

“I could really use one right now…” Aria sighed and put a hand against her forehead. “Anything to get out of this room. We’ve been here for hours.”

“Now, why would you even want to help the Rainbooms take these aliens out?” Adagio hissed. “We should’ve just snuck out and found a way back home. She must be worried sick.”

“We wouldn’t make it ten feet,” Aria scoffed and looked away. “Besides, don’t you think if they succeed here, there’s no reason for us to go back? If these aliens win, we all lose.”

“When have you ever cared about that? Actually, when have you cared about anything?”

Aria flicked her purple and green fringe to the side. “Hey, I do care, when it’s important. This is important.”

“Well, what do you expect us to do?” Adagio swept a hand across the classroom. “We don’t have one of those special suits! At least, not anymore. There’s nothing we can do, Aria.”

“Can’t we find one?” she asked almost uninterestedly. “We just need to ask one of the others if they still have them.”

“Can’t we just stay here?” Sonata looked up at Adagio. “There’s so much gunfire out there.”

“I agree with Sonata,” Adagio patted her sister on the shoulder in hopes of calming her. She was shaking like an alarm clock when it was time to get up. “It’s too dangerous to go out there.”

“Whatever. Guess we’ll just wait here till it’s all-”

Then something flew through the wall, tearing down plaster and bricks, and throwing a few desks and chairs into the air, landing against the other side, crushing a cabinet.

Sonata screamed out as Adagio grabbed her and scrambled for the corner of the classroom. Aria followed, but she remained composed enough to pick up a large piece of debris, just in case.

“Wh-what was that?” the blue-skinned siren looked at the shape in the ruined cabinet.

It was one of the attacking aliens, a mask and black armor over its lifeless remains.

“Come on,” Aria beckoned her sisters. “If there’s a dead one here, one of the Rainbooms or something must be close by. Let’s find them and ask to help.”

Adagio Dazzle looked between the hole in the wall and the dead alien. She didn’t think it was a good idea to go looking around, but with the room now like this, they didn’t really have a choice.

“She’s right, Sonata. We can’t stay here now. Too obvious. Let’s go.”

“O-okay…” Sonata answered shakily.

Together, the sirens exited the ruined classroom through the hole in the wall, first peeking their heads out to see if there were signs of anyone else. Fortunately, one of the suited people was at the end of the hall, firing a gun at a crowd of aliens. She had long purple hair with highlights in it.

“There, found one. Let’s go,” Aria waved a hand towards the person.

Just as they stepped over the rubble, the body of the alien behind them began to stir, first lifting its arms up, then its head. Perhaps it wasn’t as lifeless as Adagio had thought it was.

“Run!” Adagio screamed to her sisters and pushed Sonata ahead of herself. “To the suit person! Go!”

“What?” Aria turned to face her sister, but saw what was behind her and ran on, following behind Adagio and Sonata.

The armored person ahead saw them coming, including the alien, immediately scattering a cluster of energy shots, hitting the rest of the aliens she was fighting and ran over, her gun already pointed towards them.

“Get down!” she ordered.

The sirens quickly did as they were told, dropping to their bellies as the alien behind them was pelted with bullets, flinching left, then right, before falling back on the floor with a thud.

“You three, what are you doing out here?” the suit ran over, lowering her helmet. Adagio quickly recognized Twilight Sparkle. “It’s not safe.”

“Give us some suits,” Aria cut to the point. “We want to help. We live here too. We’re not letting them destroy it.”

“You’re just in luck,” Twilight gave them a smile. “I brought a bunch of Warframes with me. I’ll set them to search mode. Nyx, go for it.”

The three sirens spent a few seconds looking around the hallway, afraid more aliens were going to show up. Instead, three suits turned a corner and ran full speed for them.

Adagio let out a startled yelp as one didn’t stop, running full force into her, opening at the last second and enveloping her in solid metal.

At first, everything was black, but then the panels around her face began to turn transparent, allowing her to see out once more, with a round circular object at the top left of her view, a red and blue bar with numbers on the top right, and a bunch of icons and numbers at her bottom right.

“What’s all this?” she lifted her hands, which were now covered in armor as well.

It was different from when they had used them when they had been manipulated by someone else, but it was definitely the same suit. Adagio remembered the brown coloured hands.

“Arrr, you are to be my pirate, eh? Pilot. I meant pilot,” a voice said in her head.

Adagio looked around, trying to determine where the speaker was, but she could only see her sisters, who were also covered in the same armor they had back then.

“I’m in your head, you scallywag!” the voice came again. “I’m your Tenno, Hydroid. We’ll work together and send these Grineer packing for Davy Jones’ Locker!”

“What?” Adagio looked at her hands again. “So how does this work?”

“You move as you do, then you fight, like this!” Adagio suddenly felt her arms move, like they had a mind of their own, pulling a set of cutlasses from her lower back. Then her legs took over and sent her dashing down the hall, easily finding a group of aliens.

“Wait, wait!” she yelled, but her body moved on its own.

Spinning, she watched her blades cut down numerous aliens, all in a single slash, like she was dancing. Then she lifted an arm and clenched a fist, watching as an aura of water burst around it.

More of the grotesque aliens ran in from a hole in the wall, but out of nowhere, water began dropping from the ceiling like bullets, cutting down the aliens easily enough.

“Like this,” her suit spoke. “Now, we fight together. Are you ready, kid?”

Adagio swung her cutlasses in the air a few times, trying to get the hang of it. She watched as her sisters tried to do the same. Aria had a sort of organic plant looking suit with a whip-like weapon that matched her look. Sonata had a grey suit with a hammerhead-like head and a three bladed disc in her hand.

“Neat,” Aria said, her face appearing on Adagio’s visor. “This works.”

“Yay!” Sonata appeared next. “Loki and I are gonna go help out!”

With that said, Sonata sped down the hall, looking for aliens to take out. Adagio and Aria watched her go before looking at each other.

“Well, this is what you wanted, Aria. To help out?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Aria waved her hand. “Let’s go.”

Adagio ran after her sisters as Twilight Sparkle began down the hallway. Whether they wanted to or not, this school was now their job. They would have to protect it. If they failed or if they ran, there wasn’t going to be a place to go back to.

“Left, you scurvy dog!”

Hydroid took over and twisted Adagio over an alien’s cleaver, kicking it in the head before slashing its face in half, splattering blood against the wall and her suit’s face.

“Gross…” Adagio stuck out her tongue.

“Be thankful I’m around and you’re within my Warframe, lass.”

Adagio huffed and faced a troop of aliens, standing outside the school’s doors. The sight of blood wasn’t new to her, nor was the brutality. Gripping firmly to the cutlasses in her hands, Adagio ran to them, disappearing into a ball of water as she jetted past them, dragging them all down in an undertow.

“Excellent work. Let me take over here.”

Hydroid swung his arms, or really Adagio’s arms, back and forth, slashing and cutting through the alien armor and flesh like they were plastic sheets, leaving on death in their watery trail.

Aria and Sonata joined her, the former spreading out a cloud of poisonous gas, and the latter spinning around in the air, tossing her disc at aliens, cutting them down.

“This is soooo gross!” Sonata squealed and caught her weapon after a backflip.

“Hey, you wanted to help out,” Adagio told her. “You asked for this.”

"Yeah, so quit it, Sonata." Aria chastised.

“True… Oh well!”

From nowhere, a cluster of pods dropped from the sky, sending up dirt around the sirens as their doors opened, releasing a new platoon of ugly alien soldiers.

“Seriously?” Aria groaned and readied her poison again.

“The Grineer will stop at nothing until your world is taken,” Hydroid said in Adagio’s head. “Time to see what they’ve packed!”

Raising a hand, Hydroid brought up a few watery tentacles from under the Grineer, watching as they lifted their enemies, tossing them around the air.

As they fought, taking down alien after alien, Twilight Sparkle returned, along with another group of Warframes, each one sporting a different look and weapon, helping out against the Grineer hordes.

We can win this. These aliens don’t stand a chance!

In one specific Grineer galleon, everything had gone silent. The engines and thrusters had ceased their sounds and not a single voice was heard through the entire vessel.

The latest death, a Grineer lancer, lay dead at the culprit’s single foot, the other a simple stump with a blade protruding from it.

Shadows poured around the Stalker as he sheathed his scythe, looking out the windows of the galleon’s bridge. After a week of searching for the Grineer’s queens, he had finally located them, back at the planet which he had lost his leg.

This time, he knew the truth. It was the queens who caused the downfall of the Orokin in the ancient times. They had used the slaves of his masters to lead a revolt. He knew he should’ve seen it sooner, but hate had clouded his judgment for so long.

But not anymore. He had held the Lotus accountable for everything he had gone through, but she had been right. She wasn’t around when the Orokin were destroyed. The Queens were, and so were the Grineer.

“Your reckoning is coming,” the Stalker said.

His time to avenge the Orokin was almost at hand. All he had to do now was find his master’s killers, wherever they were hiding. He had heard more fighting in the galleon, somewhere below his position, but everything had quieted, just like the room he was in.

It must’ve been the rest of the humans, fighting to save their world from the Grineer. Swapping out for his bow, the Stalker looked to the other galleons through the windows. Wherever the Grineer Queens were, he wanted to find them before they did. The Queens were his to kill, no one else’s.

Author's Note

Hey again, y'all! Just putting a note here, just in case y'all don't know, because technically I haven't said it: Rift's third act will be it's last act, so yes, the story does end. We need to make way for future stories and all that of course, so Rift will have to end at some point. The timeline has all been planned out, so don't worry, we mostly know what we're doing! :pinkiecrazy:

That's it from me. Cheers! I hope the rest continues to be interesting enough!

Chapter 45: Eyes of Blight

“Princess Celestia? Can you hear us?”

The alicorn opened her one good eye, a blurry image filling its vision. After a few seconds of staring blankly at whoever was speaking, her vision finally adjusted, allowing her to see the relieved faces of Sunset Shimmer and Home Run.

“Sun... set, Home Run…” she said, but it felt like she had swallowed molten lava. Her throat burned when she tried to speak. “I’m sorry… The Grineer… Second portal…”

“Don’t speak so much,” Sunset placed a hand on her muzzle. “You’re hurt. We’ll get you back to Equestria.”

Celestia looked between both of them and nodded. She trusted them.

“Can you carry her?” The fiery haired girl turned to her companion.

“Sure,” Home Run answered and shifted to pick Celestia up. Portions of her fur had been burnt or caked with dried blood and she had a few bruises along her body. “Whoever did this to you, princess, I’m gonna make them regret it.”

Hoisting the alicorn over one shoulder, Home Run looked back, making sure the Grineer heavygunners still hadn’t noticed their escaped prisoner. When he was sure they were still doing their rounds, he nodded to Sunset, who lead the way out.

They still had their archwings over their backs, but Princess Celestia didn’t have a suit. Space wasn’t an option for her.

“We need to commandeer a ship,” the baseball player said. “Vauban, do you know how to fly one of those Grineer things?”

“Their spacecrafts?” the Tenno asked. “I’ve never flown one, but I’m sure I can figure it out.”

“Good enough,” Home Run nodded.

Holding on tightly to the pony princess, Home Run sprinted after Sunset, keeping up with her as they leapt up to a second floor, then to a platform on the opposite end of a large room, following the coordinates on his minimap to the galleon’s hangar.

More Grineer ran out at them from various doorways, but Sunset kept them down with waves of her blue magic.

“Here, Sunset, some added defense,” Home Run turned around and tossed three tesla grenades at her, sticking them to her Warframe.

As they passed down the halls, the grenade sensors picked up approaching Grineer and arced electricity out at them, taking them down before they could even start firing.

“Not bad, Home Run. Good idea,” Sunset told him. “How’s the princess.”

They stopped in another large room with two ramps on the left and right, putting Princess Celestia down for a moment. She was unconscious again, but at least she was still breathing. Whoever had done this to her was surely going to get it from them.

“Grineer.” Vauban took over and picked the white alicorn up. “A whole assault force. Get ready.”

“We’re ready for them,” Ember replied.

Home Run quickly pulled out an array of different grenades, ranging from teslas to bounce pads, and trip lasers, tossing them down the ramps as far as he could. At the bottom, from both sides, Grineer troops began pouring in, spotting Sunset and Home Run almost immediately.

“Here they come.” Home Run watched in anticipation.

The first grenade they triggered was a trip laser, sending a long line across their feet, causing a bunch of them to fall into a cluster of bounce grenades, sending the Grineer flying up into the air.

“Got them,” the blue haired boy smiled. “Come on. We better make our move.”

“Right,” Sunset nodded.

Without warning, Sunset had whipped up a magical storm around them, which picked them up and launched them halfway across the vast room, landing them behind the Grineer and Vauban’s traps.

They sprinted on again, heading towards the hangar, the area marked out on their map. Home Run radioed Rarity and Velvet Breeze in, letting them know of their plans, just in case they were still looking out for them.

“Roger,” Rarity answered on his visor, giving a nod of her head. “Sorry for the wait. Velvet and I were being held up by an unnecessarily slow-speaking Grineer. It was dreadful, but we’re on our way now.”

“Got it,” Sunset said for both of them as Home Run ran ahead, looking up a slope they were supposed to ascend. “We’ll see you at the hangar, or sooner.”

Two Grineer shield lancers stood at the top, but with a simple swish of her magic, Sunset had them both against the wall, their shields clattering uselessly to the floor. Then they were flung down the ramp, rolling to a stop against a row of consoles as the pilots and their Tenno made their way up.

Home Run smiled at the friend by his side. With those new magical powers of hers, things weren’t even a little bit tough anymore. All Sunset had to do was move the Grineer around like they were toys and they were through.

“Man, I love your new powers,” he laughed, throwing a few tesla grenades behind them, just in case.

“Me too.”

“Yes,” Vauban agreed as well. “Your magic increases our survivability to more than the average number. It also keeps Ember and I from expending too much energy. Effective indeed.”

At the top of another ramp, a Grineer ballista flew across the hall, going past Home Run as he stopped to avoid the body.

“Sunset! Home Run!” Velvet and Rarity exited from a smaller room on the right.

The two girls threw their arms around Sunset, while Home Run simply got a nod of acknowledgement from them both. He didn’t mind. After all, he was still carrying Princess Celestia over one shoulder.

“Is she okay?” Rarity inspected the alicorn’s face.

“For now. Some Grineer had really wounded her badly, but when we find out who did it, they’ll pay, don’t worry.”

“Oh, you won’t have to worry about that nasty Grineer anymore,” Rarity said with a swish of her hair. “We found him on the way here. He was a tough fight, but in the end, we got the better of him, didn’t we, Velvet?”

“We did,” she confirmed. “That’ll teach him to mess with the princess.”

“Nice.” Home Run gave them a thumbs up. “Then come on, let’s get out of here. The hangar’s close now.”

As usual, more Grineer began pouring in from the entrance Velvet and Rarity had come from, and from below the ramp, the bullets already directed at them.

Sunset brought up a barrier, protecting Princess Celestia. “Go. I’ll keep them back. Get Princess Celestia out of here!”

“Right, let’s go.” Home Run led the way.

Rarity nocked an arrow, firing it at a butcher who got close, pinning him against the wall by the arm. Velvet finished him as they passed.

The next two corridors contained a few more Grineer troopers, but Rarity and Velvet made swift work of them. Just in the next room, a bombard had fired a rocket at them from a second floor, but it suddenly stopped in midair, contained in a bubble by blue magic.

Walking out from behind, Sunset turned the rocket around and sent it back to the bombard. A small explosion rocked the room, sending pipes and wires falling from the ceiling, scattering sparks across the metallic flooring and blocking that path completely.

“That’s one exit dealt with,” Home Run looked to the side where a group of Grineer space vehicles were docked. There were all sorts of vehicles, but they all looked like they could only fit one person at a time, except for a big yellow coloured one with two arms.

“Ogma,” Vauban explained. “Grineer combat pod. This’ll do. Get in, everyone.”

“Are you sure you can pilot this thing, Vauban?” Home Run opened the door and placed Princess Celestia down at the back, with Rarity moving to watch over her while the baseball player got into the front seat. Sunset and Velvet stood behind him, looking at the various buttons on the dashboard and consoles.

“I can learn. Strap in, everyone. We’re heading home.”

“If you need any help, I’m sure I can figure something out with my magic,” Sunset assured the boy, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Sunset. Alright, it’s all yours, Vauban.”

Home Run’s Tenno partner took over the Warframe, pushing a few buttons before pulling back a lever. The boy felt the spacecraft begin to move as Vauban pushed another button before grabbing the controls.

“Here we go,” Velvet said and buckled in at the back.

Vauban tilted the stick down, sending the Ogma speeding out of the hangar through a barrier and out into the vacuum of space. Home Run watched his hands move as his Tenno partner tilted the controls to the left, turning the Ogma so that Earth was visible through the front window.

“We’ve got some friends behind us,” Vauban said as a radar on the console began beeping, displaying six yellow blips. “Grineer Dargyns.”

“Can we outrun them?” Sunset looked at the radar.

“Negative. We’ll have to fight. Hold on.”

Vauban maneuvered the ogma around, lifting one arm and pointing it at the nearest Grineer spacecraft.

The dargyns were strange pod-like crafts, standing vertically with a gun underneath it. They were small and likely less armored than the vehicle they had, but there were six of them.

“Here goes nothing,” Vauban said as he pushed a button on the flight control.

A missile launched from its arm, heading straight for the group of dargyns. They swerved out of the way, but the last one was hit right at the top, disappearing in explosion as the other Grineer boosted away from it.

“One down.” Sunset patted Home Run on the shoulder. “Good work, Vauban.”

Then the ogma buckled to one side as bullets began raining down on its hull from the right.

“It’s not over yet…” Rarity looked out one of the portholes.

Ash appeared on Home Run’s visor. “Velvet Breeze and I will use the archwing to fight them off. You keep going, Vauban. Get the Lotus home. We shall follow alongside and keep them off you.”

“Affirmative. Good luck, Ash,” the analytical Tenno replied.

“I’ll go with Velvet,” Sunset said. “Two’s better than one.”

“In our case, four, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember spoke. “Let’s see if the Grineer like a little fire.”

“Fire doesn’t work out in space, does it?” Rarity asked, putting a hand on Princess Celestia to steady her as the ogma did a quick turn to avoid the gunfire.

“These questions are irrelevant,” was all Ember said. “Let us go.”

“Keep them safe, Home Run. Vauban.” Sunset waved to them.

“Sure thing, Sunset. I’ll do my best.”

The fire Tenno jammed her fist on a button, opening the ogma’s hatch. Sunset and Velvet flew out, activating their archwings and disappearing behind the ogma’s chassis.

Home Run and Vauban kept the ogma on a steady course for Earth, hoping to get back without anymore interruptions. They still didn’t know how badly injured Princess Celestia was, but once they were back in Equestria, magic should be able to take care of her.

“Sunset, Velvet,” Home Run said on the comms. “How are you doing out there?”

He watched the radar, seeing two new blips, which were likely his two friends, coloured in green. There were still five dargyns out there, tailing behind the ogma, but spinning and swerving around, likely dodging Sunset’s and Velvet’s attacks.

“They’re quick, I’ll give them that.” Sunset’s face appeared on the boy’s visor. “Our archwing weapons are strong, but if we can just get a good hit on them…”

“Then it will be over for them,” Ash finished.

“What about your fancy magic?” Home Run asked. “Can’t you used any of that out there?”

“The archwing takes up the conduit slot, Home Run,” Ember explained, appearing on his HUD. “If Sunset Shimmer wishes to use magic, then my Warframe cannot power the archwing. It’s one or the other.”

“Well, that’s… okay.”

“Don’t worry, Home Run,” Sunset assured. “We’ve got this, with or without magic.”

“Alright,” Home Run nodded. “I’ll leave the Grineer to you. We’ll get Princess Celestia home safely. Kick it, Vauban.”

“What would you like me to kick, Home Run?”

“Right…” The baseball player wanted to smack his face. “Just… full throttle away, buddy.”

“The Lotus has escaped!” the Worm yelled at a squad of Kuva Grineer. “You let her escape, you lumbering beasts!”

The Grineer before the queens shuffled anxiously.

“Worst of all, Sargas Ruk and Tyl Regor are now dead! How can you Grineer be so incompetent! Now my sister doesn’t have a suitable host!”

“Enough, Worm.” The older queen thudded her staff’s end on the metallic floor. “If they don’t want to give me a new body, then so be it! They can burn with the rest of their world!”

“But sister-”

“Hush! Bring in the Balor Fomorian! Their planet will burn! My body can wait. If they want to resist us, then they will all die! After we destroy this planet, the Lotus’ will be next. Then all will fall under the might of the Grineer armada and its Twin Queens!”

“As you say, sister.” The Worm turned back to the Grineer. “You heard her. Get the Balor Fomorian ready! Let’s wrap things up.”

Chapter 46: The Edge of Our Hope

Sunset Shimmer had always heard this one phrase in a lot of the human world’s movies.

In space, no one can hear you scream.

She didn’t think much about it, seeing as she thought she would never ever get to fly up there with the planets and stars.

Now in her Warframe and archwing, that phrase was all the more related and was slightly true.

If she were to die up here, hit by a missile which could potentially breach her suit, no one would hear her and she would simply drift off into the darkness of space.

But she wasn’t alone up here. The Tenno, Ember, shared her Warframe and together, they were going to make sure their home stayed safe. And besides, they weren’t alone in their endeavour.

“Right side, Sunset!” Velvet Breeze flew by her left, lifting her huge archwing bowgun and firing at a cluster of bullets coming towards them, igniting the darkness with brilliant flowers of explosions.

Sunset shook out of her dumbfoundedness and activated her archwing thrusters, flying through the explosions, her archwing sword in hand. She emerged on the other side, catching the Grineer dargyns off guard, slashing through two of them before the rest had the idea to scatter. Sunset watched the two Grineer vessels fall away, their pilots’ mouths opened in silent screams, before pursuing the remaining dargyns.

Velvet and Ash followed suit, pulling out a long scythe and flying close behind one, her thrusters burning bright behind her. With a swift spin, the dargyn fell away in half.

“Just one left, Sunset!” she called out, swapping out for her gun, which Ember had called a fluctus.

“I see it,” Sunset nodded, switching her veritux for her imperator, which was like a long machine gun-like weapon. “Once we’re done, we can head back and join Home Run and Rarity.”

“I doubt it will be as simple, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember spoke, appearing on the side of her vision. “There are but thousands of Grineer spacecrafts in each galleon. I still see dozens of those. The Grineer have an attacking force far greater than anything you have faced before.”

“So what can we do?” Sunset eyed the larger vessels. Then an idea struck her. The archwings and their weaponry were meant to take down spacecrafts after all. “Ember, do you think we can take out the galleons like this?”

“Exactly what I was wondering, Sunset Shimmer. Only one way to find that out, right?”

Sunset smiled. There was a reason why they drifted well.

Nodding to Velvet, she poured her energy into the thrusters again, heading for the closest Grineer galleon, readying her weapon. Once close enough, Sunset held down the trigger, watching a spread of orange projectiles blast out of her gun, pelting along the side of the galleon as she flew past, creating little explosions all along its hull.

“Sweet.” Sunset flew on, making a u-turn once she past the end of the Grineer spacecraft.

“Watch out!” Ember took over, spiralling Sunset so that she was now flying backwards, firing at a cluster of missiles that had flown out from the galleon’s side. “Grineer defenses, Sunset Shimmer. Be careful.”

“That’s why I have you, Ember,” Sunset joked. But the Tenno was right. If not for Ember, perhaps she would’ve met her match right there and then.

More dargyns poured out from the hangar as Sunset and Velvet racked up more explosions on the galleon, now switching targets as the dargyns made beelines for them, trying to protect their ship.

Sunset created an energy shell in front of herself before firing at the Grineer with her imperator, while Velvet took a more direct approach, wielding her kaszas scythe as she fired a cluster of seeking missiles at the spacecrafts, already detonating a few of them on impact.

Sunset and Ember took out the ones further away from Velvet and Ash as they sliced their way through metal and ferrite. When Sunset couldn’t react fast enough, Ember would shift her arms for her, turning their gun’s barrel to another dargyn faster than Sunset could ever do on her own.

“How much will it take to go down?” Sunset turned to see the galleon’s hull on fire. “I mean, these things are huge. Surely it takes more than this to down one.”

“The faster way would be to strike the galleon’s core, deep inside the ship’s structure,” Ash said on the comms. “But it will be heavily defended.”

“Hey, it’s worth a shot, huh Sunset?” Velvet came back, spinning her scythe in the air, then stowing it under one wing and taking out her fluctus from the other wing. “I’m with whatever decision you choose.”

“It’s either we go in there or we sit out here.” Sunset eyed a breach in the galleon’s hull. “I suggest we go in. They can’t possibly send that many of these things after us.”

“I’ll lead the way, Sunset Shimmer.” Ember took over and extended their wings. “I shall map it on your radar.”

“Got it.”

Sunset flew up, then into one of the many new holes dotting the hull, heading down and deep into the galleon. The insides were marred with fire and debris now, but there was still enough space for Sunset and Velvet to fly through, following tunnels and openings towards the core.

Just in the next room, which led back into a generator room, Grineer fired back at them, some floating in the air because of gravity. Sunset projected an energy shell, blocking all their attacks while she and Velvet shot back, their giant projectiles tearing the Grineer apart.

Then something hit Sunset from behind, sparking off her shields. She swiftly turned around, bringing the energy shell behind her to block the bullets as three dargyns flew in behind them, their machine guns ablaze.

Velvet Breeze jetted to the side, then came back in like a whirling tornado, breaking up the Grineer spacecrafts into tiny pieces with her kaszas scythe.

The two pilots and their Tenno continued on, hoping to get in and out before more reinforcements showed. On the bright side, the internal segments of the galleon were too small for a horde of dargyns, and the regular Grineer troops were easy to pick off with their artificial gravity disabled.

Blowing a hole in a tunnel wall, Sunset and Velvet flew along an access duct, taking them along in a zig-zag pattern before emptying out into a large room with a huge generator in the middle, its gears spinning, giving off a faint yellow glow.

“That’s it.” Ember lifted the gun’s barrel to it. “This is the galleon’s core. Time to go to work.”

Both of them released a cluster of seeking missiles at the machine, while firing at it with their archwing guns. Tiny explosions formed along the core, followed by cracks and escaping steam. Soon, even the ceiling above seemed to be unable to handle the core’s damage, with bits of debris falling down and sparks shooting across the room as wires came undone.

And then the machine caught on fire, portions of it blowing open to reveal a pulsing yellow inside.

A group of Grineer lancers rushed in, but Velvet made quick work of them with her fluctus, shearing them all in half with just two shots.

“It’s going to blow soon,” Ash said. “We should leave as quickly as we can.”

“Got it.” Velvet headed for the way they had come from. “Time to go, Sunset!”

“Right.” As they boosted out, Sunset turned once more and fired a single shot at the core’s center.

Ember spun her back forward just in time to dodge of falling piece of metal as the core exploded, the entire room engulfing in fire almost immediately.

The flight out was total chaos. Grineer forces had dropped their weapons, running or floating as fast as they could, but there was no way they were getting out alive unless they were fast like the archwings. A single dargyn stood in their way at the next turning, but Sunset and Velvet simply passed it by as it attempted to shoot them, bringing up an energy shell each to defend themselves from its bullets.

Sunset looked back as the dargyn was swallowed by the expanding explosion. “Can this thing go any faster? I don’t think we’ll make it!”

“We’ll make it, Sunset.” Velvet yelled beside her. Even in space, she could hear the sound of this explosion. Nothing she learned in school made sense with all this Warframe and alien stuff. “But seriously, Ash, can this go faster?”

“Hold on tight!” her Tenno said.

There was a flash of green and suddenly, they were flying almost two times faster, blasting down along the destroyed corridors of the galleon as the explosion behind them began to get further away. Even at high speed, their Tenno were able to dodge debris as it fell from above, fires as they burst from ruptured pipes, and even sudden turns.

Whoever had built these Tenno, they were really something else.

“Make a left!”

And then they were out, back in the darkness of space as the entire galleon tore in half from the raging ball of fire. Sunset and Velvet turned around once their Tenno stopped their thrusters, watching as the explosion rocked another galleon beside it, sending a flaming shell of its hull into the side of the other.

“Wasn’t that something…” Sunset smiled. She began taking deep breaths. It felt almost like she had run a marathon, but really, the contraption on her back did all the work, though it didn’t stop her heart from racing.

The two girls shared a laugh as they thought about how close they had come to frying in there.

“Remind me never to try that again…” Velvet said after they calmed down.

“You don’t need to tell me.”

“What, are you two tired?” Ash asked. “That was just a single galleon. There are so many more.”

“I know, I know…” Sunset groaned, eyeing the rest of the fleet. “I don’t know how we’re going to manage this…”

“We’ll find a way, Sunset,” Velvet encouraged. “We always do, even in our darkest moments. Don’t we?”

“Yes, we do, Velvet.” Sunset watched the closest galleon. “Now the only question that remains… How are we going to take the rest of them down without trouble?”

“I doubt it will be without trouble, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember said. “You won’t like what I have to say, but I think the quickest way to end this is to do what we just did in the first galleon. Destroy the core.”

“I had a feeling that was our only option…” Sunset sighed and gripped her imperator rifle tightly. “Looks like we’ll be starting on the next galleon then. Anything to protect our home.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Velvet nodded.

Just as they were about to zoom off to the enemy spacecrafts again, a shudder seemed to pass through Sunset’s whole body, like during an earthquake, but they were in space, so that couldn’t have been possible. Right?

“Wait.” It was Ember’s voice in her head. “Something’s coming.”

“Something?” Velvet looked around. “From where?”

She got her answer three seconds later. The shocks continued to pulse out somewhere within the Grineer fleet, and then almost as abruptly as they had started, a large structure shot out into view, like it had just grown from a tiny microbe. It stood taller, much taller than any of the Grineer galleons, floating vertically in space, like some sort of giant’s head. In the center was what looked like a huge round eye, its center flaring an angry red.

Sunset watched as part of it bumped into one of the galleons, knocking it off course and breaking part of its thrusters off as it continued to move.

“What… is that thing?”

“Balor Fomorian!” Ember alerted them. “We thought we had taken them all down before our sleep.”

“I’m guessing since the Grineer weren’t extinguished, they could always build another one,” Ash added. “These things are the strongest of the strong out here in space. No battleship can withstand a Balor Fomorian’s might.”

“Well, this really changes things…” Sunset watched the massive craft float towards them, the rest of the fleet moving aside to let it pass. “But we can’t let it get to Earth.”

“But how can we fight this?” Velvet looked at the new ship. “I mean, fighting fearful odds is one thing, but this just looks crazy.”

“What else can we do?” Sunset looked on. “Come on. We have to try.”

Although it looked like it was really close, the Balor Fomorian was actually a good distance away. It took Sunset and Velvet a few minutes to actually get to it at top speed, but just when they arrived, they almost instantly regretted it. The huge eye near the center of the vessel fired a beam of red energy at them, forcing the girls to pivot around it, which then followed by the gunfire of various Grineer spacecrafts orbiting it.

“What is this?” Sunset watched as the eye began to charge again.

“I suggest a tactical retreat for now.” Ember took over and maneuvered Sunset away from the fleet. “Two of us alone cannot beat this. Not like this.”

“What else can we do?” Sunset asked, almost to the point of frustration. If they left now, who was going to stop this thing?

“The only thing we can do…” Ember sighed, if a Tenno could sigh. “We regroup and come back.”

“But we have to be quick,” Ash emphasized. “It will eventually get close enough to destroy your city, or worse, your whole planet. Time isn’t on our side.”

“Then why are we still floating here talking?” Velvet faced their homeworld and jetted to it. “Come on! We need to get the others and stop this thing!”

Sunset nodded and flew after her. She remembered the queens and how the older one needed a human body. What happened to that? Did she still need one? Because if she did, she wouldn’t risk blowing up the whole planet, right? There were too many questions buzzing in Sunset’s head right now and there was nothing she could do about any of them, at least not yet.

First, she would have to find the rest of her friends. And hope she can make it in time.

Chapter 47: The End of Our Time

“You’ll be safe here, Princess.” Home Run placed Princess Celestia down on Stardust’s bed. “Stardust will take good care of you until we’re done with the Grineer.”

The sun princess looked at him with her one good eye, the other bruised purple. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. In the end, she simply nodded, then closed her eye and melted into the pillow.

“She’s badly injured,” Stardust inspected, scanning her with a mechanism that came out of her wing. “With time, we can heal her with Equestrian magic, but unless the Grineer are stopped, she will never be safe.”

“Then I think we should head back and help the others.” Rarity pushed back her hair and motioned with her head. “Come, Home Run. Let us get back to school.”

“Take care of the Lotus, Stardust. We’re counting on you,” Vauban spoke out through the Warframe.

“Of course. I shall never forsake the princess.” Stardust smiled. “Now go.”

With one last wave, Home Run and Rarity left Princess Celestia to the mechanized unicorn, running back to the portal at speeds that would break a human’s legs, jumping and sliding occasionally to speed up their travel.

They had passed some familiar colourful ponies on the way, but they had no time to stop and say hello now. The others needed all the help they could get.

Soon, they passed through the mirror, appearing back at their school’s lawn, which looked like a warzone. Parts of the building had fallen away and there were plenty of potholes in the roads and lawn, although, Home Run didn’t know if they were still called potholes.

Some of the neighbouring buildings had been damaged too, seeing as the fighting was all over.

Just then, a Warframe with a yellow bandana and two pistols flew by, firing at dozens of Grineer as she spun around and around and around, her guns constantly changing positions, each one hitting their mark.

“Wow, what was that?” Home Run and Rarity ducked behind the Wondercolt statue and looked around. “That was some sick Warframe skills.”

“That was Mesa,” Vauban told him. “A good friend. It’s good to see her again, but I wonder who is piloting her Warframe?”

“There’s someone in there?” Home Run watched Mesa continue to gun down Grineer left and right, managing to avoid shooting all the other Warframes around.

“Home Run, Rarity, you’re back!” Applejack charged through a Grineer shield lancer and joined them by the statue. “How’s the princess now?”

“She’ll get better in time.” Rarity pulled her paris bow from her back. “But not if we don’t win this today.”

“Well, they just keep comin’!” Applejack complained. “Ah mean, we’ve probably taken at least a hundred out just like that, but there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.”

“The fleet.” Home Run pointed to the sky. “Sunset and Velvet are up there, slowing the fleet down. If we take those out, I’m willing to bet they’ll stop coming.”

“No sh-” Rainbow Dash started on the comms, then landed with a puff before the others, the air around them filling with the sound of strong winds before Rainbow materialized four tornadoes, sending them to the roofs where Grineer ballistas were positioned. They tried to run, but they were instantly sucked up into the vortex’s and thrown around by the wind. “Well, anyway, as I was saying, of course taking out the fleet will stop them. That’s where they’re all coming from! We should head up and help Sunset take it down!”

“But we can’t leave Canterlot defenceless against the Grineer!” Applejack pointed out. “If we all head up there, they’ll kill everyone down here.”

“A few of us then,” Zephyr pounded a fist to her chest. “Vauban, that ogma. Is it still functional? It’ll save our energy on the way up.”

“I’m sure it still is,” the analytical Tenno turned Home Run’s head to the landed Grineer spacecraft. “We were hit by a bombard, but the ogma’s armor is strong. I’m sure we can still use it.”

“Then it’s settled!” Rainbow Dash stowed her akstilletos. “Come on, we need to go! Our worlds depend on us!”

She didn’t wait for the others and ran for the ogma, sliding under a Grineer flameblade, kicking him up, while Applejack charged into him while he was in the air, sending him catapulting over to the other side of school, flipping once when hitting the ground.

“I guess we’re going back to space, Home Run?” Rarity shrugged and patted her violet hair, which was sticking out in places. “Such a terrible place to be, but I guess we have no choice, do we?”

“You could always stay here and help,” the baseball player told her. “Our city needs you too.”

“I shall find someone else to replace me then!” Rarity smiled almost too widely. “You be careful, Home Run. Girls.”

Then the fashionista ran off towards Trixie and Flash Sentry, firing an arrow at an unsuspecting shield lancer, pinning him to the wall before using a pull to knock the rest of them down to the ground.

“Looks like she’s got them covered down here!” Rainbow looked at the vehicle. “Come on! I’ll fly this thing.” She ran for it and opened the door, disappearing inside.

Applejack and Home Run swiftly followed behind her, with the baseball player holding the shuttle doors up, looking out of the ogma. “Who else is joining us for this?”

“We shall, Home Run.”

Suddenly, there was an explosion nearby and a flash of green magic. Twilight Sparkle and Nyx turned and fired their sibaris at two Grineer lancers, then jumped horizontally through the shuttle doors as Home Run closed them.

“We’ll follow.” Twilight reloaded her weapon. “I won’t let your world get destroyed too. The Grineer need to be stopped at the source.”

“Glad to have ya, Twi.” Applejack clapped her on the shoulder, their armor contacts making an audible thunk.

“If we are all set, then we’re off!” Zephyr spoke in their helmets, then took control of the ogma and hovered off the ground.

Home Run braced himself as they left the atmosphere, flying back up into space, the ogma rumbling as it made its travel. Soon, they were back out in the darkness, the sight of the Grineer fleet coming into view almost immediately, along with something new that hadn’t been there before.

“What… is that?” Applejack pointed out the viewing panel.

It was a large vertical spacecraft, with a huge eye in the middle.

“Balor Fomorian!” With a burst of static, Sunset’s face appeared in their visors. “Tough Grineer warship.”

“Sunset!” Twilight yelled. “Good to see you. What’s the situation here?”

“Velvet and I have been trying to take it down for a few hours now. It’s no use. Its hull is too tough.”

“No sweat, Sunset!” Rainbow pumped an arm up. “The cavalry’s here!”

“She’s right, maybe with more firepower, we can beat this thing.” Velvet’s face joined Sunset. “The Tenno know where the weak points are. Two shield generators, both on the left and right. Heavily guarded by Grineer dargyns and dregs.”

“And watch out for Zeplens,” Ember was next to appear on their HUDs. “They don’t move, but they trap you if you get too close to them. They’re scattered all around the Balor Fomorian.”

“They just don’t make this easy for us, do they?” Home Run sighed. “Looks like we’ve got plenty of work to do. Are you sure four of us are enough?”

“Of course!” Rainbow turned her head to look at him. “One Rainbow Dash should be more than enough. With you guys, we’ve got all the firepower we need.”

“If ya say so, Dash.” Applejack frowned, pushing her hat down. Then her expression changed and she pointed outside. “Hey, that thing’s eye seems to be glowin’ mighty-”

“Evasive, Zephyr!” Vauban suddenly alerted the pilot.

“Hang on!” Zephyr tilted to the controls to the side just as a huge laser beam lanced across space, burning off one of the ogma’s arms as they spun to the side, just barely avoiding the beam.

“Woah, nelly! That was close!” Applejack looked out the side of their craft.

“Come on, we need to get closer!” Home Run patted Rainbow’s shoulder.

Before they could even get four meters ahead, the ogma was suddenly stopped, its occupants bracing themselves as they fell back and forth.

“Uh, what just happened?” Applejack picked up her hat.

“We have entered a zeplen’s field,” Vauban informed them. “We’re trapped within until it is destroyed. And you must make haste. The Balor Fomorian is still capable of firing on us in this state.”

“What, no way!” Rainbow shot out of the seat and made for the shuttle doors. “That’s totally cheating! Zephyr and I will deal with this.”

“Hold, up.” Applejack pointed a finger out the window. The Balor Fomorian was getting ready to fire again. “Everyone out!”

“Out! We’ll use the archwings to fight back!” Rhino took over the cowgirl’s suit and was the second one out, following behind Rainbow and Zephyr, extending their archwing wings as soon as they had the space to do so.

Home Run made sure the others were out before leaving the ogma himself, and almost as soon as his foot had stepped off the spacecraft, the Balor’s beam lanced through the zeplen barrier, destroying the rest of the ogma.

“Woah!” He glided away from the burning wreckage of the ogma, which was only a tiny piece of the paneling. The rest had gotten vaporized.

“We need to destroy the zeplen before the Balor Fomorian can fire again,” Vauban told him, taking control of the Warframe and archwing, whipping out a imperator from under a wing.

Moving as fast as they could, the group fired upon the zeplen with everything they had, using their guns and their missiles to take it apart, breaking off bits of its armored shell and antennae. Home Run kept one eye on the Balor Fomorian, watching as its red eye continued to expand, gathering its power before its devastating attack. He didn’t want to be anywhere near the zeplen when that happened.

“We’ll try and draw the Balor Fomorian’s beam from you,” Sunset quickly told them.

“And we’ll try to destroy this thing before we get fried!” Home Run replied, crushing a dargyn with his rathbone, which was a large hammer.

He proceeded to bash the zeplen’s hull, watching the hammer create deep dents, but otherwise, doing no considerable damage.

“How much can this thing take?” Applejack complained, using the same weapon to break the zeplen as the Balor’s eye began to glow redder now.

“Just keep it up!” Twilight continued to fire at it with her imperator rifle. “Preferably before that thing fires again!”

“Incoming!” Everyone heard Sunset yell.

Suddenly, everything seemed to stand still. Home Run moved his eyes, watching as the laser beam began to slowly fly towards them. It was inevitable. No matter what they did, there was no way they could be fast enough to destroy the zeplen before the beam would hit them. This wasn't looking good.

Is this it? Just like that? Well, we had a good run, but this is the end of our time.

Home Run was too stunned to react, but someone else was able to. Someone else was determined to, because if she didn't act, it would be the end for all of them, along with everyone on earth.

Sunset Shimmer had propelled herself through space, coming to a stop before the Balor Fomorian’s beam, dropping her archwing behind her, forcing it off her lower back. No one had time to say anything before she threw up a large barrier of blue magic, expanding past even the zeplen barrier itself. The red beam hit her magic straight on, pulsing against it like it had a mind of its own, trying to break past her and destroy everything.

Somehow, Sunset Shimmer held strong, her magic continuing to push against the beam from a horn-like projection from her head, but Home Run could tell. She was struggling to keep it up.

“Come on!” he hastily told the others, who had also been watching dumbfoundedly. “She’s doing what she can to give us time! Let’s do our part and get out of this thing!”

“Homey’s right!” Applejack pounded her rathbone on the zeplen again. “We can’t let Sunset go out like that!”

“Rainbow Dash and I shall quicken the pace!” Zephyr said.

“Too true. Time to be awesome!” Rainbow cracked her knuckles, then flew around the zeplen, firing her dual decurion rifles, hitting different spots, trying to find a weak point, all the while orbiting the Grineer craft like a small planet, but moving at twice the speed.

Home Run and Applejack jetted back and launched a cluster of missiles at the zeplen’s underside, while Twilight continued to strafe around, firing her rifle. Finally, the zeplen seemed to burst on the next impact, blowing up into smaller fragments, now drifting away as its barrier went down.

“It’s down!” Twilight looked back at Sunset, who was still pushing against the Balor’s assault. “Sunset, we’re free! Get away from that!”

“She can’t.” Home Run pointed to her disabled archwing. “She’s detached from the archwing. She won’t be able to power it fast enough even if she was still wearing it.”

“We can’t just leave her!” Twilight yelled.

“Just go!” Sunset’s voice sounded strained.

“No can do, Sunset.” Rainbow swooped up and to the side, then as fast as she could, she grabbed Sunset and flew down, her thrusters burning bright behind her.

The Balor’s beam immediately cut through Sunset’s magical barrier and went on, dissipating once it was far enough. Home Run, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle had got as far from the beam as they could, but once it was clear, they noticed Rainbow’s archwing was now missing a wing, its joint now a seared nub attached to the rest of the device.

“Rainbow, Sunset!” Home Run flew over to join them. “That was seriously dangerous. We could’ve found a better way.”

“There wasn’t enough time, slugger!” Rainbow told him. “There was no way I was going to sit around and let Sunset fight off that thing all on her own. I wasn’t going to leave her behind.”

“You’re right about that…” Home Run thought about it. Perhaps coming up with a plan wasn’t always the best option. Sometimes, it just takes instinct. “But your archwing’s damaged now and Sunset’s is gone. How are you two going to get around?”

“Hey, you’ve still got yours,” Rainbow said with a smirk, her face visible on Home Run’s HUD. “I’m sure a athletic guy like you could carry both of us, right?”

“You’re not serious… right?” Home Run tried to determine, but her face disappeared from his visor when she stopped speaking, so he couldn’t tell.

“No, seriously, come on, it’s not that hard.”

The rainbow haired girl didn’t wait for an answer. She simply climbed atop Home Run’s archwing, placing herself on the joint of the left wing, whipping out her dual decurions.

“This may prove challenging to move, but it will have to do for now,” Vauban said.

“What, seriously? You’re okay with this?” the baseball player asked his Tenno. He was sure Vauban would say something about it being illogical, but apparently not.

“What choice do we have now?” Sunset sat atop his right wing. “Don’t worry. Without the archwing to power, I have free rein of my magic. I’ll cover you.”

“If you all say so…”

Activating his thrusters, Home Run flew after Twilight and Applejack, who had already gone on ahead, following after Velvet Breeze, who was already shooting down a second zeplen and a pair of dargyns. He felt like he was moving slower, but it was space. There wasn’t any gravity here, so it really was just him.

“Well, now that we’ve regrouped, it’s time to end this.” Sunset looked on at the Balor Fomorian, towering higher than any of the other Grineer galleons. “For our worlds.”

The baseball player looked on at the spacecraft. This was going to be one battle he would remember for a long time.

Chapter 48: Believing not in Ourselves...

“I got one!” Sonata Dusk cheered as she reloaded her grinlok rifle, looking at the dead body of a Grineer lancer, lying near a large piece of debris that had dropped from the school’s roof. She didn’t know if she could handle a firearm, but Loki walked her through. She wasn’t all too bad at it.

Earlier, she had lost her glaive when she had tossed it at a Grineer manic. It had teleported away and her disc had whisked off into the sky, never to be seen again. She didn’t know what happened to it and Aria and made a lot of noise about it, but at least Loki managed to get her a new weapon, stolen from one of the other Grineer around, before Adagio had cut him down with her nami skyla cutlasses.

“Good job, but make sure you continue to keep it in your hands, yes, Sonata Dusk?” Loki told her, taking control for a few seconds to fire upon three Grineer lancers, taking them down with headshots.

“Got it. I’ll keep this rifle in my hands at all times.”

Aria, who was nearby, scoffed. “Even you can figure out some way to mess that up.”

“No I won’t!” Sonata stomped a foot.

“Trust me, you will.”

“I won’t!”

“Please, will you girls stop your time wasting?” Saryn, Aria’s Tenno interrupted them and turned Aria around. “The enemy is there. Let us fight them instead.”

“Fine…” Aria sighed and ran off, heading towards Flash Sentry to help.

“Come, Sonata Dusk. We shall proceed elsewhere. This fight is far from over.”

Just then, more Grineer pods fell from the sky, landing around the Wondercolt statue, somehow avoiding damaging it at all. The doors hissed open with puffs of steam as more Grineer soldiers exited, brandishing their firearms. One Grineer, however, looking different from the rest, lifted a large hammer in his hands. He had a longer helmet with more ‘eye holes’ on its surface and two tubes leading from his helmet to a tank on his back, where a gorgon rifle was slung.

“Lieutenant Lech Kril…” Loki said with disgust. “A dangerous one, Sonata Dusk. It looks like the Grineer cloned him again.”

“Let’s get him!” Sonata pointed her grinlok rifle at him and fired.

Somehow, the bullet pinged off the lieutenant’s armor, not even putting a dent in it.

Lech Kril pointed a finger at her and mumbled something, sending the Grineer forces after Sonata and Loki.

“Uh oh…” Sonata, unsure of what to do, turned and ran.

“Where are you going, Sonata Dusk? The fight is that way.”

Loki took over, spinning Sonata around into a crouch, her gun already leveled at the nearest Grineer’s chest and firing. One Grineer went down, then another before the rest got close enough. Channeling energy, Loki used an invisibility ability, cloaking himself and the siren. The Grineer looked around, confused, before Loki moved around, taking each one down with several gunshots, spinning and turning all around them. However, before he could finish them all off, Lech Kril had swung his hammer, knocking Loki square in the chest, launching him and Sonata away, falling into a bush, crushing its branches.

“Ouchie…” Sonata rubbed her chest. That had hurt and if not for the Warframe shielding, perhaps it would’ve been worse.

“Pathetic Tenno and humans…” Lech Kril placed his hammer over one shoulder and removed his gun. “Do you think you can win? By now, the Queens and the Balor Fomorian will already be close, getting ready to annihilate you from the universe. You cannot win.”

Just then, watery tentacles sprouted from the ground, wrapping around several Grineer and lifted them up into the air. Lech Kril smashed apart a tentacle as it attempted to grab him, spraying water across the lawn.

“You do not hit my sister, you alien freaks!” Adagio walked over, her nami skyla in her hands.

With a hiss of steam, Lech Kril smashed his hammer down on the ground, spreading a wave of ice forward, freezing Adagio’s tentacles and forcing her to leap out of the way.

“No. I do what I please.” Then he ran for Adagio, holding the hammer high.

Loki took over and flipped Sonata back up, reloading her rifle at the same time. Her chest still hurt, but she didn’t know what else she could do while the battle was going on, but she did know that she had to do something to help her sister. Everyone here was counting on her contribution today, even the others back home.

While Lech Kril tried to hammer down Adagio, Loki took aim and fired the grinlok at him. Sonata watched as the bullets pinged off the Grineer’s armor, flying off in different directions.

“This weapon isn’t working!” she wailed as Loki reloaded again. “Don’t you know of a weak point or something?”

“This armor he has is new…” Loki told her. “Before, all he had was a fragor, gorgon and weak armor.”

“Well, we better find one, or we’re going to be in big trouble here.”

“Sonata, stop blabbering all over the radio.” Aria’s face suddenly appeared in her vision. “If you want to talk, turn it off.”

“I don’t know how, Aria, and besides, Dagi and I are in trouble. Where are you?”

“I’m helping out in the gym. There’s some nasty Grineer in here and they keep teleporting around. I hate this… I hate this so much.”

“Hey, you girls.” Another face appeared on Sonata’s visor. It was Trixie’s. “Could you please stop arguing and start doing something? Trixie is tired of listening to you.”

“She’s right, you know?” Loki said. “You’re wasting a lot of time. Let’s just get back in the fight. Are you okay, Sonata Dusk?”

“I’m better…” Sonata rubbed her chest. “Come on, I’m ready. I’ll help out.”

“Then let us join the fray, Sonata Dusk.”

When Sonata joined the battle again, Lech Kril had already chased Adagio to the other side of school, wildly swinging his hammer at her. Every now and then, Adagio and Hydroid would just melt into a puddle of water and avoid the blow, but quickly reformed and jumped away before the Grineer lieutenant could freeze her.

From the left, Sonata lifted a hand and shot out a decoy, positioning it between her sister and the Grineer. The regular Grineer troops immediately began firing on it, but Lech Kril ignored the decoy, continuing after Adagio.

“This one is smarter than the rest,” Loki observed. “The decoy should have fooled him.”

“Well, he’s a high tier Grineer,” another voice answered. Then a picture of a Warframe with a yellow head that looked like it was wrapped, appeared on screen. “They don’t get distracted easily, nor do they fall easily. We’ve gotta work harder and find weaknesses in these cretins.”

“Who’re you?” Sonata asked, curious.

“Mesa’s the name,” the Tenno replied. “And we’re here to help, are we not, Derpy?”

Then the girl with the funny eyes appeared on Sonata’s visor, smiling. “Yeah. Here to help!”

“Well, whatever help we can get is good,” Adagio said as she ducked under on of Lech Kril’s swings and sliced at his armor, leaving no significant damage. “What is he wearing? It doesn’t even dent!”

“My armor is too strong for your puny weapons, Tenno!”

The lieutenant swung his hammer again, but Hydroid took over and dashed back. Sonata huffed out and ran for Lech Kril, firing her grinlok at him as she got closer. The Grineer turned his hammer to her, but just then, Mesa popped up from above, firing down twin pistols at the Grineer’s head. The bullets all pinged off uselessly, but suddenly, one hit one of the tubes running around to his back, spreading ice up into the air, freezing the Grineer solid.

Sonata lifted her grinlok barrel to the air, but in too short of a time, the lieutenant began to thaw, moving his arms and legs, breaking chunks of ice off and shattering his frozen cocoon.

“You dare?” he growled, then swapped out for his gorgon rifle, firing a burst of bullets at them.

Sonata ran for cover as the first bullets smashed against her shields, threatening to take them down. Loki quickly took over and jumped and somersaulted out of the way, retreating behind a pile of bricks, fallen from the school wall.

“Weak points!” Sonata screamed into the radio. “That guy has weak points!”

“No need to be so loud, dweeb!” Aria yelled back.

“But that is good,” Flash Sentry’s face appeared next to the siren’s. “We can win this. Trixie and I will be over shortly.”

“Don’t forget about me,” Rarity, one of the Rainbooms said as well. “I shall lend aid to this battle.”

“Looks like the cavalry’s coming.” Loki took control and reloaded the grinlok again. “And now we know what we’re looking for. Let’s finish this, Sonata Dusk.”

“Yup!”

Rushing back out, Loki kept the grinlok leveled at another of Lech Kril’s tubes, firing three shots at it before switching places with an unsuspecting Grineer with a switch teleport. The Grineer was quickly cut down by Flash Sentry and Volt, who dropped from above, shearing the alien in half before sprinting for the lieutenant. Sonata stopped herself from throwing up as Loki continued after the Grineer lieutenant, who kept his front turned to them now, firing his gorgon back at them.

Loki rolled under the gunfire and fired as much as he could before using an invisibility to get himself and Sonata out of danger. More Grineer approached them from the left, but suddenly, the all fell flat on their faces like they had been pulled forward, dropping their guns.

Rarity leapt over one of them and fired an arrow at a Grineer manic by the side. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, before reappearing next to Adagio, but the poofy haired girl was capable enough to beat it, slashing away with both cutlasses as she spun in a semi-circle around the manic, which soon dropped down dead.

“Destroy them all!” Lech Kril pointed at the Warframes and reloaded his gorgon rifle.

“Remember,” Volt reminded them all. “He’s got one tube left. Let’s destroy it and take him down.”

Flash Sentry was the first in, arriving in front of the lieutenant in a flash of electricity, slashing at his legs with his nikana. The Grineer swung his hammer sideways, but the boy had slid away, avoiding the blow. Sonata and Adagio approached from the left, trying to get behind him. Lech Kril swapped his focus from Flash to them, but from nowhere, Aria seemed to drop from above, bursting a cloud of miasma around Lech Kril. The lieutenant flailed around, trying to smash them with his hammer at the same time, but otherwise, he was unaffected.

“Keep him busy!” Flash said as he dashed circles around the Grineer lieutenant, cutting down as many other Grineer as he could while trying to find an opening to strike.

Lifting his hammer, Lech Kril pounded it down on the ground, releasing a wave of ice spikes running from his feet towards everyone. Flash and Aria had to throw themselves backwards to avoid being skewered.

Seeing a chance, Sonata switch teleported with a Grineer butcher that had been close to the lieutenant, using the sudden surprise to fire up at the lieutenant’s last tube.

“Gah!” Lech Kril stumbled back, his tube flailing around behind him spewing up frost into the air, slowly freezing his armor starting from the tube.

“That’s right, you big meanie!” Sonata hopped back a step to avoid him as he reached an arm out towards her, which was slowly turning to ice as well.

As quickly as it had started, the frost from the tube stopped, a sculpture of the Grineer lieutenant now standing before them. The other Grineer continued to run about, unsure what to do now, only to be picked off by Derpy and Mesa as she slid through the lawn, firing her pistols in multiple directions.

“Looks like we’ve gotten this under control,” Adagio spun her right cutlass in her hand and put the other on her hip. She sidestepped and cut a Grineer butcher across the midsection.

“Fantastic work, Adagio Dazzle,” Hydroid said. “Keep it up and you can be the first mate of this Warframe!”

“Did we win already?” Adagio wore a smug look on her face.

“Doesn’t look like it…” Trixie lifted a hand and pointed to the frozen statue of Lieutenant Lech Kril.

Sonata stared at the frozen Grineer for a long time. At first, she didn’t see what Trixie was seeing, but eventually, she noticed the tremble across the ice, before it began steaming.

“What’s going on?” Aria folded her arms and sighed.

Then without warning, the lieutenant burst into bright orange flames, melting all the ice and allowing him to move again.

“How is he still alive?” Loki wasted no time and took control, firing the grinlok at Lech Kril.

The bullets, this time, penetrated his armor, but the Grineer lieutenant showed no signs of pain as he readied his hammer once more.

“Tenno. Die!” he yelled and charged forward with his hammer raised.

Sonata and Loki continued to shoot at him, along with some of the other Tenno and pilots, but the lieutenant suddenly brought up a barrier of flame, nullifying their attacks as he neared them with his hammer.

“Look out!” Trixie yelled and cast a skill on herself, turning her white and glowing with radiating energy. Lech Kril’s hammer smashed down on her, but it passed right through, almost like she was a ghost.

“Cool!” Sonata said before firing on the Grineer lieutenant again.

Two shield lancers approached her from the left, firing at her with their firearms, but Loki took over and used a radial disarm, rending them weaponless.

“We can do that?” Sonata turned the rifle and fired it at the shield lancers.

“We can do plenty, Sonata Dusk,” Loki told her. “My Warframe specializes in stealth and confusion. When we trade places with them or when we disarm them, that is.”

“Meh, whatever works, Loki.” Sonata reloaded the gun.

Lieutenant Lech Kril gave up trying to attack Trixie and Limbo, turning his attention to Flash Sentry and Volt, who were racing around him in a blur of electricity, trying to cut him down with their nikana. Hopping back, the lieutenant brought his hammer down, shooting out a wave of fire from the ground, sending Flash sprawling back and away to avoid it.

“Look out!” Derpy came flying in, shooting her pistols at Lech Kril’s helmeted head.

Raising an arm, the lieutenant grunted a few times, then brought his hammer up with one hand, hitting Derpy and Mesa in the side, launching them across the school grounds and into the side of the bleachers.

“You dreadful creature!” Rarity fired an arrow at his arm, lodging it through the armor and out the other side.

“Well at least we can hit him now, right?” Sonata tried to look on the bright side and kept firing.

“Yes, he can’t have much more in him.” Adagio readied her weapons. “Keep it up.”

Rushing back in Sonata fired her grinlok, aiming for his head and chest. When Lech Kril’s hammer came back around, Loki bent back, dropping to his knees, allowing him and Sonata to dodge the blow, then sprung up on both hands, kicking the lieutenant in the chest.

“Grah, you insolent Tenno!” Lech Kril yelled, bringing up another barrier of fire to chase Sonata away. “You will all die for my Queens! Everything you know will be destroyed!”

Sonata found herself beside Trixie, firing her gun at the lieutenant again in hopes of taking down his barrier. With another wave of fire, Sonata and Loki were down, their shields depleted, but otherwise unharmed. Trixie rushed over to help, but she was knocked aside as Lech Kril stood over them, raising his hammer high.

“This is the end…”

And then Flash Sentry was back, impaling the lieutenant through the back with his nikana, pushing it in deep until it came out through his front.

“No!” The Grineer struggled to free himself, swinging his hammer around wildly.

Eventually, the hammer dropped from his hand as it fell down by his side. Flash lowered his weapon and pulled it back out in one swift and florid motion.

“Thanks,” Sonata said as Loki got them back up on their feet.

“Hey, we’re all in this together, like it or not,” Flash shrugged. “So we’ve got each other’s backs.” Then he was off to fight more Grineer.

“Man, there’s no end to these guys, is there…?” Sonata took a pause to scratch her head.

“We must cut them off at the source.” Loki pointed up to the sky where a towering spacecraft could faintly be seen, well away from their planet.

“And it’s already being worked on,” Rarity said, stopping by Sonata Dusk, wiping dirt from her pale cheeks. “For now, we must hold our home. Stop the enemy from getting any further.”

“Are you sure you Rainbooms can handle it all on your own up there?” Adagio reformed from a puddle close to them.

“We’ll do it,” Rarity nodded and pulled another arrow from her quiver. Sonata wondered if it was possible to run out of arrows. “I believe in my friends. They can do this.”

Chapter 49: But in Each Other

The Stalker watched from the side, standing atop a broken piece of a Grineer galleon, the Grineer galleon that he had been in when it had been destroyed. He watched as the Balor Fomorian fired its titanic red laser again, just missing the group of humans as they flew in spirals towards the towering vessel.

He knew what he had to do. The Queens had to pay and if his old enemies were going to stop them, that means they would get him a way through their forces.

For so long, he had sought out the Tenno and the Lotus for their crimes against his masters, the Orokin. For so long he had been chasing the wrong trail. After a visit to the now defunct ruins of the Grineer’s Rathuum arena, he had found Kela De Thaym, who had somehow survived the fight against the Tenno in the past, rebuilding herself into something stronger and leaner. Unfortunately, none of her new augmentations had saved her from the Stalker’s arm of retribution.

Now having what he needed to be sure the Queens had been responsible for his masters’ downfall, he had returned here, seeking to end the Queens once and for all.

Looking around the battlefield, he knew the Queens had likely retreated to the Balor Fomorian. And so that was his destination. Standing back and wrapping himself in shadows, the Stalker ran through space, leaping over to the next closest piece of debris, slowly making his way to the large Grineer spacecraft. The Queens were his to kill and he was going to make sure he was the first there.

Home Run dodged another burst of fire from a Grineer dargyn before dashing through it with a smash of his rathbone, breaking it apart in a single hit as he flew on after Velvet Breeze, who was leading the group. Applejack and Twilight Sparkle were behind him, doing what they could to keep the gunfire off of them. Sunset Shimmer sat on his left wing, bringing up barriers with her magic as they needed and Rainbow Dash sat on his other wing, firing missiles at the Grineer crafts with her damaged archwing.

“That’s right!” she yelled. “Don’t mess with us!”

“You get ‘em, captain,” Home Run said. Fortunately, this was space and there wasn’t any gravity. If he had to do this back down in Canterlot, he didn’t know if he could manage with two girls on his back.

“Keep going, we’re almost there,” Vauban said in his ear. “We should be able to arrive before it fires again.”

“Great, that’s good,” Home Run nodded, then zipped past another two dargyns as Sunset wrapped them in her magic, slamming them both together, allowing Rainbow to finish them off with her dual decurions.

Applejack was the next in line, projecting barriers to stop the Grineer’s gunfire to protect them, while Twilight Sparkle blasted at them with her gun.

“We are almost to the Balor Fomorian!” Ember said in everyone’s visors. “Just keep pushing through.”

“First, we will have to disable the Balor Fomorian’s shields,” Vauban went on to instruct. “Once that is done, it will open the way in to its core.”

“So where to?” Rainbow Dash asked as she waited for her firearms to recharge.

Vauban lifted one of Home Run’s fingers and pointed to the two sides of the massive Grineer vessel. “Left and right sides. See those round shapes? Shield generators.”

“Why’d they build them on the outside?” Rainbow scoffed, patting Home Run on the back. “Come on, slugger. Speed it up. If they’re going to make it easy for us, then let’s get right on to it!”

“It’s not that easy…” Home Run said, but flew on, going as fast as the archwing could handle.

“Twilight, Applejack and I will handle the right side,” Velvet said on their comms. “You three can handle the other one, right?”

“Pffft…” Rainbow guffawed. “Please, we were made to do this. We’ll see you back in the middle.”

“Don’t get cocky now, Rainbow,” Sunset warned, her magical horn lighting up brighter. “It’s far from over.”

The baseball player left the destruction of the Grineer spacecrafts to Sunset and Rainbow, watching in awe as Sunset took apart another dargyn with her magical powers. He quietly wished he could do that too, but then again, Sunset was a pony from Equestria. He wasn’t.

As they flew on, defeating any opposition in their path, Home Run eventually found himself in front of the Balor Fomorian, staring up at its massive shape.

“There!” Zephyr lifted both of Rainbow’s arms up, aiming her dual decurions at a round shape in the fomorian’s hull.

Home Run sped upwards, smashing past two dregs with his hammer. “Go for it!”

Rainbow lifted her one wing and fired off a cluster of missiles, and at the same time, firing both guns, watching the shield generator get hit.

From behind the fomorian, swarms of dregs and dargyns zoomed towards them, their guns already shooting at them. Sunset quickly brought up a magical barrier before their shields could take too much damage, while Home Run and Rainbow Dash focused on destroying the shield generator.

“How much can this thing take?” Rainbow lifted her weapons vertically, waiting for them to recharge.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Sunset said. “Hang on!”

Home Run and Rainbow Dash watched as their blue magic barrier began to expand out, then opening outwards like a blooming flower. Their enemies continued to fly around space, trying to find ways to attack them, but then Sunset closed the barrier around them, trapping the Grineer like birds in a cage. Without warning, she lifted the bubble of enemies high, then smashed them down as hard as she could against the shield generator.

“Woah!” Home Run tried to keep the archwing steady from the impact.

Sunset’s magic dissipated as a wave of explosions blanketed the shield generator, throwing Home Run back a few meters.

When the explosions cleared, the humans and their Tenno watched as the giant shield generator ripped off from the hull, breaking into smaller pieces as it floated away in space, explosions within still tearing it apart.

“It’s down!” Vauban cheered on their visors. “Ash, how goes the other one?”

There was a buzz of static before Ash’s face appeared next to Vauban’s. “In the process. How’d you do it so fast?”

“We’ve got Equestrian magic to thank for that,” Ember chuckled. “Sunset Shimmer is smoking them with her new powers!”

“It is strange that Twilight Sparkle does not have the capability to do that,” Nyx added in. “She is Equestrian too, yet she does not possess the powers you have learnt, Sunset Shimmer.”

“Hey, wasn’t easy, Nyx,” Sunset replied, patting Home Run on the shoulder to get him to move on. “It was a long process.”

“Come, enough chatter.” Ember interrupted. “We still have a Balor Fomorian to destroy and two Grineer Queens to eliminate.”

“Are they on board this thing?” Home Run looked up at the top of the Balor Fomorian as he flew himself, Sunset and Rainbow over towards the other side, looking to regroup with Velvet and the others.

“I’m guessing so,” Rainbow said and shrugged. “I see what you’re thinking. Two birds with one scone!”

“Uh, I think you mean stone, captain?”

Rainbow uttered a questionable laugh. “Not when I make the scones.”

The travel to the other side wasn’t long and they didn’t have much resistance to deal with after what Sunset had done. There was the occasional dreg or dargyn, but they weren’t a match for a trio of Warframes and their pilots and Tenno.

“There!” Sunset pointed ahead to the fomorian’s second round shield generator. “They’re still at it.”

“Looks like it’s time for us to come in and save the day!” Rainbow raised one gun up over her head. “Can you whip up another one of those magic things, Sunset?”

“I could try again.” Sunset’s magical horn reappeared on her forehead as she channeled her energy. “Just get us closer, Home Run.”

“Easy enough.”

Rainbow didn’t wait, already firing her guns at the enemies around Velvet, Twilight and Applejack, taking down a dreg from a distance already. Applejack brought up a barrier and charged forward, crushing a dreg against the fomorian’s hull, while Twilight fired on multiple dargyns with her gun, tearing them apart.

“Need a hand, Home Run?” Velvet floated beside him, pointing at his human cargo.

“Oh, don’t worry about me, Velvet. You can just focus on flying around at top speed. I can handle them. Zero gravity, remember?”

“And Sunset’s going to take care of this generator, no problem!” Rainbow said. “Just you watch. Go for it, Sunset.”

With a nod, Sunset pulsed out a magical barrier, expanding it out and netting any enemies she could reach in her radius, trapping them. When she was ready, she pulled them all back in, bunching them up in a cluster of Grineer crafts, some already exploding on impact. With another almighty swing, she warned the others to move out of the way before her blue bubble crashed into the shield generator, resulting in a tremendous explosion, rocking the space around the Balor Fomorian.

“We have succeeded!” Vauban cheered, then turned Home Run’s direction to an entrance in the side of the fomorian. The portion was covered in a flickering red force field, which soon disappeared from existence as the shield generator fell away from the hull. “That’s our way in. We will blow the core and it will be the end for the Balor Fomorian.”

“Okay, then let’s get a move on!” Home Run started his thrusters back up.

“Wait, Home Run.” Sunset patted his shoulder repeatedly. “Not yet.”

“What?” The boy stopped in his tracks. “Why not?”

“I…” She rubbed the back of her head. “I want to see if I can talk some sense into the Queens. Maybe get them to stop on their own. Not everything needs to end in death here.”

“I see, I- wait what?” He had to do a double take.

“What, Sunset Shimmer?” Even Ember was startled.

“There has to be a way we can end this peacefully. If we don’t have to blow them up, then I rather we not.”

“Sunset, no, they’re not going to just go away,” Home Run reasoned. “They came here to wipe us out. They’re not going to back out because you tell them to.”

“And we don’t need to tell you how many ways this can go wrong,” Vauban added. “There is no way to resolve this peacefully. Not at this point.”

Velvet Breeze joined them, pulling herself to a stop beside Home Run. “Sunset, from experience, you know you can’t end it peacefully with the bad guys. You should know that too after what we’ve been through.”

“I do, Velvet, but that’s not going to stop me from trying.”

“Sunset, look, we aren’t meant for this,” Ember said. “We were made for combat. Nothing else.”

“Yes, Ember, I know what your purpose was.” The fiery haired girl nodded. “But through our time together, I’ve seen you change. Fighting isn’t the only thing you are capable of. You have emotions, just like us. You Tenno are all capable of kindness, just like us. This doesn’t need to end with violence.”

“We Tenno know only combat,” Ash said. “What you are asking of us is impossible.”

“Ash is right,” Rhino joined in, taking over Applejack’s Warframe to bash two dargyns together, then throwing their broken shapes further into space. “But… Sunset Shimmer may also be right. We have learnt a lot since bonding with the humans.”

“I suppose I can vouch for Rhino…” Vauban cleared his throat, or whatever it was that he had. “Being around, I am sure we have all gained insight about humans and their doings. I think it may be right to say that there is a possibility that there could be more to just fighting for us Tenno.”

Rainbow Dash slammed a fist into her palm. “That’s right! Zephyr and I have had so much fun together! I agree with Sunset now. If there is a way, we, as the good guys, have to give it a shot!”

“Ah guess Ah’m with this plan too.” Applejack folded her arms. “Can’t say there aren’t any dangers or problems with this, but Ah trust y’all.”

“I agree.” Twilight raised a hand. “As Princess of Friendship, it is my duty to support this decision and believe in Sunset. Just look at Discord. Um, our Discord. I’m pleased to say he’s one of us now.”

“If Twilight Sparkle says it may work, then I am with her,” Nyx said, then turned Twilight’s gun up. “But we still have enemies to deal with out here. They will not surrender if we simply say we wish to speak with their queens.”

“Then I’ll go.” Sunset put a hand on her chest. “As fast as I can, I’ll try to talk some sense into them to stop this senseless fighting. Could the rest of you cover me till then?”

“Sounds like it’ll be a challenge, but nothing too great for Zephyr and I!” Rainbow Dash pumped her arms up.

“She is right. This is going to be good,” Zephyr agreed.

“Then it’s settled.” Sunset nodded. “Trust in me. I’ll do everything I can.”

“You’ve changed greatly since the day you left your want for power, Sunset.” Twilight smiled and got ready. “You’d make Princess Celestia proud.”

“Yeah…” Sunset sighed, then changed her face into one of determination. “Then it’s time. Home Run, could you get me over to the hangar?”

“There’s a hangar to this thing?” Rainbow Dash floated off Home Run’s archwing and grabbed ahold of Applejack’s.

“I have scans of the Balor Fomorian,” Vauban said, bringing it up on Home Run’s visor. “I shall direct you to it.”

Ember sighed. “Looks like our minds are made up then… Then go, Sunset Shimmer. We have work to do.”

“Right, then the plan’s settled.” Home Run turned to the others and waved. “I’ll be back soon, girls. Just hold the line.”

“Who do you think we are?” Rainbow laughed and readied her dual decurions.

Applejack got into position too. “Well, now go on, time’s a wastin’. Get Sunset to that thing and let’s get this done.”

“Right, stay safe you girls.”

Then Home Run was off, heading around the Balor Fomorian, following the map Vauban had brought up. It seems both sides had entry points, which were also where all the Grineer forces were coming from. Just around the back, a swarm of dargyns and dregs emerged from the fomorian, headed straight for Home Run and Sunset Shimmer.

“Here we go!” Home Run rolled around a stream of gunfire, then projected a barrier as Sunset got to pushing them aside with her magic, at the same time, somehow disabling their spacecrafts, leaving them floating uselessly in space. “Man, you can do all kinds of things with that magic, huh?”

“I guess so,” Sunset replied, pushing more dargyns out of Home Run’s flight path. “There are many different spells back home. Too many to count, but I bet there’s a spell for everything.”

“Sounds really great,” Home Run twisted around the Balor Fomorian’s hull and boosted forward. “Sunset, you really think this will work? I mean, they have a whole invasion fleet and everything.”

“I’ll do everything I can do convince them. Friendship is a strong magical force, Home Run. Stronger than any magic I’ve ever seen. I can do this.”

“Man, I still have much to see, don’t I? But I trust you, Sunset. I know you can get the job done.”

Then they arrived at the hangar, phazing through the energy shields. Home Run felt gravity’s pull as he entered the vessel, feeling Sunset’s added weight on his archwing now, but the girl was soon off, levitating herself with magic down to the metal floor below.

“You’ll be okay on your own?” Home Run asked, hovering just above her.

“I will.” She nodded. “The others need you. I will manage on my own, but Home Run, in case things don’t work out the way I planned, thanks. Thanks for sticking up for me. I’m sorry I ever thought you were a monster when you first came to CHS.”

“Hey, I thought we were past that?” Home Run chuckled and headed for the exit. “Do what you can, Sunset. When you’re done, I expect to see you and Ember with us back home.”

“Count on it.” Sunset balled her fists and smiled.

When Home Run was off, Sunset turned around and sprinted up to a door, using Ember’s suit to propel herself through the air and above to the next platform, heading deeper into the Balor Fomorian’s depths.

Chapter 50: Facing the Monsters at Our Door

Sunset Shimmer first encountered Grineer soldiers when she exited into a large metal room with a crossroads platform in the middle, splitting off into four different directions. There were decorations of red and black banners all around and every Grineer in here was clad in similar coloured armor, all with the intent of killing her.

Sunset knew there was no way she was going to let them. There was still so much she had to do. With a huge burst of blue magical energy, she pushed the surrounding Grineer away, trapping them against the walls and machinery, dropping them only when she was well away in the next room.

Ember had brought up a map of the place, dropping an objective point in it to show her where she needed to go.

“Sunset Shimmer, I must say,” her Tenno started. “You have proven to be a very capable pilot to my Warframe. A strong fire burns within you and I like it. You have fierce determination to do what is right, Sunset Shimmer. I admire that. I wish us Tenno could one day learn to be our own selves and to live as you do.”

“You can, Ember. Nothing’s stopping you,” Sunset said as she ran along, kicking off a wall to go faster. “You might’ve been programmed to kill, but you Tenno aren’t just robots. You’re more than that. Whatever path you want to take when we’re done with this fighting, it’s up to you.”

“I am glad to hear you think like that, Sunset Shimmer. It fills me with so much fire! Let us do this, Sunset Shimmer. Your way. Together.”

With a sparkle of magic, Sunset’s pony ears emerged from the top of her head and her hair extended down to her legs into a long ponytail.

Maximum Drift. Now things were getting interesting.

“That’s the spirit, Ember!”

More Grineer stood in her way, firing their rifles at her, but Sunset easily took care of them with a swish of her hand, sending them flying back dropping their guns. A Grineer ballista stood to the side, priming her sniper rifle, but Sunset ripped the weapon out from her hands and whacked her on the head with it, knocking her out before snapping the rifle in half like a twig.

Magic really made everything easier and with the Warframe as a conduit, Sunset felt like she could go on for a long time. She felt like her old self again, like the skillful unicorn she once was, though minus the lust for power.

The next room brought her to a single platform in the middle of a cylindrical room, with no other way around, but that was easily solved with the Warframe’s mobility alone. Two Grineer butchers stood on the other side, but Sunset knocked them aside and kept going. She knew the time limit she had and she also had to take her friends’ safety to consideration. The faster she could finish this, the faster everyone could be safe again.

“Not much further, Sunset Shimmer.” Ember suddenly took over and launched a fireball up at a cluster of pipes, bursting steam behind the girl, stopping a group of Grineer soldiers in their tracks. “You have to let me take over from time to time.” Sunset wasn’t sure if she heard it right, but it sounded like Ember was laughing after that.

“If you want, you can push ahead until we reach the queens?” Sunset asked nicely. “It’s not fair if I’m the one controlling the Warframe all the time.”

“I accept your offer, Sunset Shimmer. Time to burn away!” Ember lit both her hands on fire. “Though when you see fit, do as you will. We are one and the same now.”

Ember took over, moving Sunset’s legs, catapulting both of them up a ramp, running up the wall and taking a pipe across the vast room. Grineer ran along the bottom, but so far, none of them have bothered to look up.

When the majority of them had crossed over into the other rooms, Ember brought them down, landing in front of a row of consoles, dropping to a crouch before sprinting over to the door leading away. There was a single Grineer lancer, but Ember flew at him and kicked him in the chest, knocking him against the wall, taking him out.

“Doing things your way, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember said.

Sunset smiled and nodded. It was nice to see her Tenno partner working well with her. She felt like they had never been closer and on the same wavelength than now.

Around the corner, a wave of Grineer appeared, two shield lancers leading the front. Ember got her stance ready, but Sunset made it easier, whipping up a magical storm and sucking in the assault wave above her. When she was ready, she smashed them all straight down, then returned control to Ember as the Tenno leapt over them and ran along the wall, exiting out into a vast room with many pipes. Sunset smiled as her partner got them across the room with ease, using each one to their advantage.

“We’re close now, Sunset Shimmer.” Ember directed the girl’s attention back to the little map in her visor. The marker was very close now.

“You’re really good at this, Ember,” Sunset said, watching herself fly as Ember ran and jumped all over the place.

They progressed up, getting to a higher level using all the pipes, finding a long tunnel at the end. Ember jumped and skillfully slid right through the tunnel on her first try, sliding for a good distance before hopping back up to her feet to carry on.

On the other end of the tunnel, Sunset and Ember emerged in a large squarish room with red lights and plenty more decorated banners fanning each side, leading up to a large circular door at the end. There were two Kuva guardians standing by the door, their weapons in their hands, but they made no move to engage the girl and her Tenno.

“This looks like the right place,” Sunset said, starting up the magical energy in front of her forehead, forming her magical horn.

“How would you like to proceed?” Ember asked. “Actually, you do not need to answer that, Sunset Shimmer. I already know how you want to do this. Let us do it together.”

Sunset approached them at a decent pace, walking up to them, her magic ready for anything they might try to do. When she got closer, they raised their staffs, but Sunset was ready. She lifted both of them and tossed them aside, ripping the weapons from their hands and using it to pin them against the wall. Even for such large armor, the two guardians seemed to have trouble getting down as Sunset ripped the large doors open, throwing them down in the room before her.

“My, my, she has returned,” a wizened old voice said, followed by a series of coughs. “The human with the shell.”

Before Sunset, on a pedestal of sorts, sat the twin Queens of the Grineer. The whole place was dimly lit like the last place Sunset had met them in, but this time, they had at least six Kuva guardians around them, each one accompanied by the smaller jesters.

“It is your fault my sister is like this!” The younger queen pointed a finger at Sunset. “She is dying and she needs your body!”

“Silence, Worm,” the older queen barked, then lifted a frail finger at Sunset. “Have you come back to resume our continuity? We have seen what you can do. Your body will be perfect for me.”

“No.” Sunset shook her head. “I’ve come to talk.”

“Talk?” The Worm looked at her sister. “She has come just to talk? She doesn’t know any better. I shall call in reinforcements.”

The Kuva guardians and jesters around them began to move forward.

Planting both hands on the ground, Ember channeled her energy and waited, satisfied when pillars of fire began to erupt from the floor all around the Grineer and their queens. The guardians seemed unaffected, but the jesters were blown off their heads and set ablaze.

“Great work, Ember.” Sunset pooled her energy into her horn and when she was ready, she released a pulse across the room, knocking both queens down and relieving the Kuva guardians of their weapons.

As soon as that had happened, the fire around seemed to start affecting them as well, setting their wide armor on fire. The queens sat in the middle, unaffected by the fire.

“Please, this doesn’t need to end with more death,” Sunset reasoned with them, knocking the guardians and jesters back with her magic. “There can be peaceful ways to end it all. We can work something out. None of us need to die here. We can all live peacefully.”

“The scum wants to work something out?” The queens looked at each other and laughed. “Girl, the only way this will work out is if you give us your fleshy body for my continuity.”

“That is a terrible exchange, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember said in her head. “I suggest we roast them. We are capable of doing so now.”

“We can find another way.” Sunset shook her head, refusing to accept that there was nothing she could do to change them. “There’s always another way.”

The Kuva guardians continued to burn, but two of them pulled out their pistols, firing them at Sunset. The first one hit her in the shoulder, jerking her to the side, but the rest were easily blocked with a magic barrier, absorbing all their bullets into it.

“Why do you even want our planet?” Sunset asked behind the blue barrier. “Don’t you have your own planet?”

“Not anymore.” The elder queen leaned down on her staff. “We find our home among the stars. And you Tenno have caused trouble enough for us. We seek to rule the galaxy as we see fit! But you keep us from doing so!” Then she coughed violently.

“Well, of course they stop you!” Sunset yelled and released her barrier, turning the magic on the guardians, picking them up in her grasp. “You can’t just take over the galaxy as you please.”

Suddenly, the room lights seemed to flicker, but it was too dim to really tell if it was a play of light and shadow. Sunset didn’t think much of it until it happened a second time. This time she was sure it flickered.

“It can’t be…” Ember whispered in her ears.

“What is the meaning of this?” The Worm looked around with her round beady eyes. “Beasts! To our chambers! Now!”

When the third flicker came, the entire room plunged into darkness for a few seconds more, the only things illuminating the room being Ember’s flames. Then it came back on as though nothing had happened, but Sunset and Ember knew better.

“The Grineer Queens…” an ominous voice echoed around the room. “Your reckoning is here.”

“Do you think Sunset’s alright in there?” Velvet asked as she spun around Home Run, firing past him at a squadron of dargyns, taking them down after a few precise bursts of bullets.

Being so close to the Balor Fomorian, it couldn’t fire its deadly laser at them, which Home Run didn’t mind. The less things trying to kill you, the better. Unfortunately, it was still slowly heading towards Earth, which was still a bad thing.

The rest of the Grineer fleet, or what was left of it, was positioned around the mammoth vessel, still sending troops out to kill them.

“Sunset’s a smart one,” Home Run said, switching his rathbone out with his imperator. “She’ll figure it out. She always has, hasn't she? I mean, with how many plots to take over the world you all have been through.”

“Yeah, she’ll do just fine!” Applejack agreed, firing a cluster of missiles at the oncoming Grineer forces. “She helped out great durin’ the Battle of the Bands. Ah’m sure she’ll find a way to get this one done too.”

“Yes, I have heard this story from the others, Home Run,” Vauban said. “Whatever took place during this Battle of the Bands, your friends came out stronger.”

“Were you there too, Velvet?” the boy asked, firing at a dreg as it got closer.

The teal-grey haired girl shook her head and continued to shoot at the Grineer. “I was only here right before winter break and my job was to-”

“W-Was to study well and… and pass the exams!” Applejack suddenly cut in, ending with a nervous laugh. “Yeah, that was what Velvet was tryin’ to say.”

“I find that statement highly suspicious…” Vauban voiced.

“Yeah…” Home Run squinted, but then shrugged it off. “But whatever, we have more Grineer to deal with before anything else. Besides, I kinda already know something went down during the winter break, just that no one wants to tell me.”

“One day, Home Run, Ah promise,” Applejack told him and brought up a barrier.

“That’s what you all say…”

“So what’s the plan?” Rainbow Dash asked from atop Applejack’s archwing. “We just keep shooting until Sunset gives us the go?”

“That’s the idea…” Then Twilight Sparkle flew over from behind a group of Grineer, smashing through them with her veritux blade, returning to the group. “We just need to hold out until she’s done.”

“And then we go to the core and destroy this thing once and for all,” Nyx said.

“That’s if Sunset doesn’t manage to convince them to leave,” Home Run reminded.

“Please, Home Run, do you truly believe the Grineer would just leave like that?” Nyx appeared in his visor, her expression unreadable, seeing as her head was just the Warframe shell. “The Grineer are ruthless and cruel. No amount of convincing will get them to leave.”

“Well, why did we let Ember and Sunset Shimmer go in, then?” It was Rhino’s turn to speak. “If there was no way to do this, we should just destroy the core now.”

“She deserves this chance,” Ash said. “After what I’ve heard from you all and what I have seen her do, this Sunset Shimmer is a unique life form. Perhaps she can do things we cannot.”

“Darn right, y’all!” Applejack pumped a fist up. “Sunset’ll get the job done! Then when she’s back, we can all go home.”

A swarm of dargyns came from another Grineer galleon, but Home Run and the others began firing upon them in a coordinated blast, taking a lot of them apart before they could even reach them.

“I hope you’re right,” Nyx replied. “While being optimistic might help you achieve what we’re doing here, it means nothing if it is not even possible.”

“Hey, just trust Sunset,” Home Run cut her off and released a pulse, knocking the remaining Grineer away. “No matter what, she’ll know how to get the job done. We just have to wait and see.”

Author's Note

Hey y'all! I apologize for forgetting to add on to Rift, but here's another! Hope y'all enjoy it! Cheers!

Chapter 51: Canceling the Apocalypse

Sunset Shimmer kept her eyes locked on the corner of the room, where a mass of smoke was beginning to grow in size, covering the far wall in darkness.

Without warning, a pair of arrows pierced through the cloud, puncturing through two of the Kuva guardians’ thick armor, emerging on the other side. They fell to their knees and then down on their heads.

“Guards, kill that!” the Worm barked, pointing a finger at the smoke.

The other guardians picked up their staffs and got ready and more Grineer soldiers emerged from the door behind Sunset.

The fiery haired girl quickly turned around and ripped all their weapons out of their hands, then slammed them with a blue wall of magic, scattering them back down the hallway they had come from.

“You Queens have remained hidden from me for so long… Deceived me for so long, but now… your past has caught up to you. It is your time to face your reckoning.”

Through the smoke, the Stalker emerged, swinging his scythe so fast that it cut right through one guardian’s staff, then through its head, shredding through its armor like paper. He wasted no time and throwing the guardian’s body aside, cutting up at the next one, who tried to attack him. The guardian’s staff snapped and flew up in the air as the Stalker cut low, severing the guardian’s legs from its body. With a kick, the Stalker sent the guardian rolling back, stopping before the Queens’ pedestal.

Sunset could only watch as the rogue Tenno dismantled the large Kuva guardians, almost as easily as he had done with them when he first revealed himself. The leg that had been cut off the last time was now replaced with a sharp thin blade, but it didn’t look like he had any trouble walking.

“Wait, stop!” Sunset thrust her magic over, stopping the Stalker in his tracks. The Tenno shifted his head to face her. “I know, these queens killed your masters, but there doesn’t need to be more bloodshed here. This can end peacefully.”

“Peace?” The Stalker looked like it was gazing through her helmet and right at her. “Do you really think that there can be peace with these creatures?”

“Yes.” Sunset nodded.

“There can be none. My masters deserve blood.”

To her surprise, the Stalker pulsed out a wave of darkness, breaking out of Sunset’s grip and retrieving his scythe from a guardian’s face.

“Do not stop me. They deserve death. You would protect the enemy?”

“I don’t want to have to kill anymore than I already have,” Sunset said.

And she didn’t. All these months of fighting Grineer, she was afraid she was getting too used to it. Sure, they were just clones of some forgotten race, but in the end, she was still taking lives. No girl in school or pony in Equestria should so easily do things like this. If she could help it, she wanted no more part in taking lives, even if it meant sparing the Grineer Queens.

She knew that if they refused, there would be no choice. To protect their home, the queens would have to go, but if there was the slightest chance she could avoid bloodshed, she wanted to.

“Why not let the Stalker deal with them, Sunset Shimmer?” Ember asked. “He is not here to face you. He is here to find justice and finish our problem for us.”

“Not until I can work something out! I can, I will.” Sunset was adamant.

“I will not sit idle while you waste your time.” The Stalker lifted his scythe in both hands. “Either you stay away, or you die with them.”

“That’s right, fight!” the Worm squealed in joy. “Guards! To our chambers!”

Sunset watched the Queens and the Stalker, weighing her choices. Was it worth it to stop the Stalker from killing the Queens and ending the threat on Earth? Or should she just leave and regroup with her friends. She didn’t want to kill them, but was leaving it to someone else just as bad? Sunset couldn’t decide.

“Sunset, leave him be. He will finish the mission for us,” Ember said, breaking her concentration. “You do not need to try something that is almost impossible.”

“Your time is at an end,” the Stalker said, approaching the queens. “Now tell me, why did you betray your own? Why kill my masters? For power? For control?”

“Fool,” the elder queen spat at him. “The Orokin shunned us. They thought we were a curse. What more to do than to do exactly as they call us? We took control of the beasts and we got rid of them. Your masters were cruel people! I enjoyed every bit as they were torn apart by their own slaves!” She lifted her staff and slammed its tip on their pedestal. “You will join them soon!”

Suddenly, three Grineer manics popped up around the Stalker, jumping for him and pulling him down. They began to claw at his back, damaging his shields, but he threw one back before slicing the head off another, then stabbing the third one through the head with one of his throwing knives, sending it flying up to the ceiling, stuck up there by the knife.

“You think your Grineer will save you from your reckoning?” The Stalker turned to the last manic and readied his bow. “They cannot.”

The Stalker readied an arrow just as the manic disappeared in a small cloud of smoke, but almost as swiftly, he turned to the left and fired his arrow just as the manic showed up again. It hit the Grineer straight in the chest and sent its body flying back, lodging against the far wall just like the other one.

Requipping his scythe, the Stalker spun it in his grip multiple times before its blade rested on the floor next to his bladed foot. “If you do not want to see this, girl, then I suggest you leave now. I grant you that one mercy.”

It took Sunset a second to realize he was speaking to her. “What?”

“The Balor Fomorian still approaches your planet. If you wish to save it, you will have to destroy this ship.”

“Silence!” the elder queen barked, slamming her staff again. “Guards! What is taking so long? Destroy the intruders!”

Just then, the main door swooped open, revealing a Grineer assault wave, their guns already pointed at Sunset. She brought up a barrier just as they started shooting, keeping their gunfire back easily.

“Sunset Shimmer, we should heed the Stalker’s words and leave while we can. The Grineer have done enough. Let us just end this once and for all.”

Sunset frowned and threw out her barrier, knocking down all the Grineer in the hallway. She didn’t like it, but judging by how things were looking, there was nothing more she could do.

“Lead on, Ember…” Sunset whispered, slightly disappointed in herself.

Ember took over the Warframe’s movement, using the opening to run and jump above the assault wave while they were all still getting up.

They had progressed far back, returning to the large room with the pipes when Sunset decided to speak up again.

“Ember, it doesn’t feel right. Was what we did right? To just let the Stalker end it for us?”

“It has been his life to avenge the Orokin,” Ember answered as she used one of the pipes to get across faster. “This is his duty. Ours is to safeguard your world and Equestria. For the Lotus.”

Sunset sighed. She knew there was logic in Ember’s words, but she just didn’t like this.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered to herself as Ember kept going, heading back to the exit.

The Stalker stood over the dead bodies of Kuva guardians and various other Kuva Grineer, spinning his scythe in an arc to cleanse it of its blood. He looked back over to the Queens, stepping down from the mountain of corpses he had been standing on.

After all these years, after all these years being deluded, he had finally come face to face with the murderers of his masters. Twin daughters of the Orokin themselves. He couldn’t understand why they would wipe out their own kind. The thought sickened him and he wanted to end this as quickly as possible.

“Your reckoning is at hand.” He lifted his scythe in a stance.

“Do you really think this is over?” the elder queen lifted her staff. “Not by a mile, it is not! As long as I have this staff, I control all slaves of the Orokin! Even you will bow to me!”

Before she could do anything, the queen was overtaken by another series of violent coughs, making her bend down in pain. The Stalker wasted no time in closing the distance between himself and the queens, his scythe already lashing out.

In a second, the queen’s staff lay beside her, cut in half in the middle. She would’ve likely yelled at the Stalker for what he had done, but before she could say anything else, a jet of blood sprayed out from her chest, coating the Stalker and part of the ceiling above.

“Gaaaaah!” she screamed and fell to her face, crawling away from her attacker.

“Sister!” the Worm cried out.

“You too will join her,” the Stalker hissed, slicing in an arc at his waist level.

The younger queen stopped talking.

The Stalker spun his scythe to clean it before setting it behind his back. The elder queen was still trying to get away, but she was trailing a line of thick blood behind her, meaning she likely didn’t have much time left.

“Where can you go?” The Stalker walked in front of her to block her path. “There is nothing more for you but darkness. Just release yourself to it. Your actions have consequences. You should have thought about that before destroying my masters, before destroying your kind.”

The Grineer Queen struggled to lift a hand up, grabbing the dark Tenno around his one foot. She squeezed, but to the Stalker, it was nothing more but a gentle wrap. In no time, her strength had left her and she stopped moving, now lying before the Stalker, dead.

“And so it has come to an end…” he almost sighed, stepping away from her body.

The Stalker looked up at the ceiling, and if he had eyes, he would’ve closed them. He had spent so long on this quest, waiting and watching for the Orokins’ killers and the right time to strike. For so long, the Queens had planted a false dream in his mind, fooling him to target the Lotus, while they were right there in front of him all this time, but now, they were finished and at long last, he could finally rest.

Sitting himself down, the Stalker positioned himself in a meditative pose, one all Tenno had learnt aeons ago. Placing his knees down and his hands atop them, the Stalker straightened his back and sat unmoving. He activated his comms channel and waited.

“It is done,” he said out loud, his dark voice echoing across the empty chambers. “Tenno, you have helped me achieve what I have sought out to do. The Queens are dead and for that, you have my thanks. Now end it, finish the Grineer once and for all and you may finally know peace like I do now…”

Home Run watched as the Stalker’s face disappeared from his visor, just in time to avoid a second dargyn as it attempted to charge into him. Seeing as it was so close to him now, he turned around and slammed his rathbone hammer into its side, launching it into the side of the Balor Fomorian, watching as it exploded against its hull.

“Y’all saw that?” Applejack was beside him, firing on more Grineer units with her gun. “Ah didn’t think he’d be back now. So he’s gone and done it? It’s over?”

“Nothing’s over while this thing’s still here.” Rainbow Dash pointed up to the towering spacecraft. “When can we get rid of it?”

“We still need to wait for Sunset,” Velvet Breeze answered her, stopping beside them, flanked by Twilight Sparkle. “She’s still in there.”

“Wait, I sense Ember. She is closer now,” Ash suddenly appeared in Home Run’s visor. “I will attempt communication. Ember, do you read? What is your status?”

Ember’s face wasted no time in popping up beside Ash’s. “We are on our way back out. We could use a pickup. Did you hear what the Stalker said?”

“Yes, I sense he tells us the truth,” Vauban said.

“I’ll go get her,” Home Run volunteered. “The rest of you can get ready.”

“We’ll wait inside the Fomorian.” Velvet nodded and beckoned the others to follow. “Come on, when Sunset’s out, we can start.”

“Good luck, girls.” Home Run smiled and jetted off, flying back around towards the hangar he had dropped Sunset at. “Vauban, do you think they’re really dead? The Queens, I mean.”

“Who can really say? But I will not underestimate the Stalker. He is a formidable opponent. If anyone had killed the Queens, it would be him.”

“Hmm…” Home Run picked up speed as he curved around the side, his eyes searching for the hangar bay. “Whether he did or not, this thing has to go, along with the rest of the fleet.”

“Couldn’t agree more. Ember, we are near the hangar. What is your position?”

“We are close. One room to clear before we are to you.”

“Got it, we’ll wait inside.” Home Run located the hangar’s barrier, spiralling through it and coming to a stop in the middle of the room, hovering in place.

There were just three Grineer lancers standing in the area, their guns already aimed for the boy’s chest before he even saw them.

“Woah!” Vauban took over and quickly brought up an energy shell, absorbing all the bullets they were shooting at him. “Thanks, buddy.”

Then he took over and strafed to the right, firing his imperator at the Grineer, cutting them down. With nothing more to do, Home Run waited, hovering over the first floor, keeping an eye on all four of the room’s doors, waiting to see which one Sunset would emerge from or which ones more Grineer would enter from.

And then Ember and Sunset were through the door on the second level, leaping clear over the railing and spiralling up into the air above Home Run.

Thinking quickly, the baseball player dashed over and placed his wing under them, allowing Sunset to land on it with a thump.

“Good to see you all good, Sunset,” Home Run said. “You too, Ember. Everything okay?”

“Yeah… we’re okay for now, I guess…” Sunset sighed and looked back to the doorway. “But we have a mission to finish. We better get it done first.”

“Gotcha!” And Home Run was out the hangar, heading back to the Fomorian core entrance to join the others. “Girls, you read me? Sunset’s with me. It’s time to end this.”

“Roger, Home Run,” Rainbow Dash was the first to answer. “We’ll go ahead and start.”

Then came the sound of explosions as Home Run curved back around the vessel, searching for the way in.

“Any problems while I was gone?” Sunset asked, tapping him on the shoulder.

“Not really.” Home Run shook his head. “Pretty standard. You?”

Sunset sighed audibly. “I couldn’t save them, Home Run. I couldn’t save any of them. They refused to back down and the Stalker was there. I didn’t know what else I could do. In the end… I just left. I left it to him to finish the job.”

“Hey, you don’t need to blame yourself for anything, alright? What matters is that you tried and they refused to listen. You can’t do anything about that.”

“I know, Home Run, but it keeps nagging at me. Something tells me I could’ve tried harder. Twilight would’ve, I’m sure of it.”

“You know, what I think Twilight would’ve done is give it her all and I’m sure you did that. Right, Vauban?”

“Hmm, I assume you did, Sunset Shimmer,” the boy’s Tenno partner said. “But enough of brooding. We have one last mission to accomplish. Then we can all return home.”

“Yes, let’s light this one up!” Ember joined in.

On the way back to the front of the Fomorian, Home Run noticed the Grineer forces had started thinning out. Earlier, there had been thousands of them, but now, he had only defeated three dargyns and a dreg on the way.

“Hmm, do you think they’re actually running out of soldiers to throw at us?” Home Run asked for anyone to answer.

“Either that, or they are lost without their leadership,” Vauban speculated. “Either way, our job has become easier.”

Just then, Home Run and Sunset could hear a series of explosions echo out, likely from inside the Balor Fomorian. The other girls must’ve gotten to work already. And then they were around the corner, spotting the hole where the shield had been earlier. Approaching, Home Run could already see explosions coming from within, where a metallic heart of sorts was positioned.

The other Rainbooms were flying around the core, firing upon it with everything they had, with almost little to no resistance from the Grineer. There was but a single ogma and two shield dargyns inside, flying around after Applejack and Rainbow Dash, trying to take them out.

“Ready to work some magic, Sunset?” Home Run engaged full throttle, blasting in towards the core.

“You know it, Homey.” The first thing Sunset did was bring up a magical barrier, separating the Grineer from her friends, pushing them back against the side of the Fomorian’s inside. “Go for it, I’ll keep them distracted.”

“Right.”

Home Run joined the others in firing on the Fomorian’s core, watching as tiny explosions began forming across the metallic heart. Two tanks burst, releasing gas into the air as steam began pouring out of cracks. They were doing it.

“Hooooweee! We got this!” Applejack whooped.

“Just keep it up and we can all go home!” Twilight Sparkle said over the comms and gunfire.

More Grineer entered in from the outside, but Velvet Breeze and Ash were ready. With a mighty dash through space, Velvet cleaved through a row of darygns, watching them fall in half and explode as she turned around.

“You truly are a skilled human, Velvet Breeze,” Ash said. “I am glad I have gotten to know you.”

“You haven’t seen anything then!” Rainbow guffawed and spread out her one good wing. “Just watch what Zephyr and I can do!”

Flipping in a somersault, Rainbow fired a cluster of missiles from her wing, sending them flying and impacting themselves into more of the Grineer forces, taking them out.

“Not bad, but now ain’t the time to show off, Rainbow!” Applejack lectured as she waited for her weapon to recharge. “Turn around and help destroy this thing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rainbow did as she was told and pointed both guns at the heart and fired.

Home Run could see it. He could see the end of it all. Everything they have done since putting the Warframes on have all led up to this point.

Sunset’s words stuck in his head. Were they really so used to killing now? He refused to believe it, but a part of him knew it to be true.

No. After today, we can change. We don’t need to kill anymore and we won’t have to. Things will be different, he told himself. I can make it right again. We all can.

“Everyone, it is almost done!” Vauban said on all their visors. “Missiles, all together.”

Leaping back in the air a few feet, everyone spread their wings out and released everything they had, watching as their missiles all hit the Balor Fomorian’s core at the same time with an almighty explosion.

The entire structure around them shook like there was a huge earthquake and debris began falling off from the sides. The core was still rocking with explosions, which soon spread around to the tubes and walls all around them.

“I think it is time to leave,” Nyx told them.

“Well said,” Ash agreed. “Let us flee before we are caught in the blast.”

“Full steam ahead!” Rhino said as he and Applejack were the first to blast off.

“Wait, you forgot about us!” Rainbow was left floating with one broken wing.

But then she was picked up in a magical aura, slowly pulling her towards Home Run and Sunset Shimmer.

“Welcome back, captain,” the baseball player said, the activated his thrusters. “Now hold on!”

Blasting off into open space, Home Run was the last to leave, following behind Velvet Breeze as the Balor Fomorian began to rock and tip to the side as explosions started appearing on its hull. The remaining Grineer ships around it tried to get away, but they weren’t fast enough.

“As far as we can go!” Vauban ordered. “We don’t want to be anywhere near it when it explodes.”

“Who’d want to be near that?” Rainbow looked back, both hands holding on to Home Run’s wing.

With one final explosion, the entire ship became silent for a second, then ripped apart as a massive blast tore through the entire vessel, pushing out from within.

Even from so far away, the explosion was massive, expanding and swallowing the Grineer galleons like a hungry shark. From where they wear, it now looked like reality had been torn in two with the huge ball of fire, but soon, it began to die down, leaving only the wreckage of what used to be the Grineer armada.

Home Run and the others stopped, hearing nothing but their beating hearts.

“We did it… we finally did it,” he breathed.

“It’s over?” Velvet looked on at the debris.

“Hoo boy, this calls for a little celebration.” Applejack rubbed at her arm.

“Let us return home,” Nyx said. “We also need to check on the Lotus.”

“That’s right!” Twilight exclaimed suddenly. “Princess Celestia! I need to make sure she’s doing okay.”

“Then let’s go home.” Sunset nodded. “Come on, Home Run. Run on home.”

“Bad joke, Sunset,” the boy said, but smiled anyway. Things were finally going back to the way they were again.

So together, each of them activated their thrusters and began heading back to earth.

Fluttershy looked up at the sky as she supported Rarity under one arm, gazing up at the fiery ball as it began growing in size, replacing the Balor Fomorian in almost an instant. The almost as quickly, the ball faded from the sky.

“It’s over… they did it!” Rarity cheered, dissolving her helmet and sighing with much relief.

“I thought it would never end…” Fluttershy looked at all the fallen Grineer around them. “You okay?”

“Manageable…” Rarity wiped at her dirty face. “Solved once I have a bath.”

Trinity and I can heal any of us if there are any injuries.”

“We are functional, Fluttershy,” Mag responded. “We should check on the others.”

“Got it.” The pink haired girl nodded.

Flash was helping Trixie up near the roadside, while Derpy was busy spinning her new guns in her fingers. Fluttershy was also surprised to see Lyra and Sweetie Drops emerging from Warframes of their own, looking a little shaken, but otherwise unhurt. Mr. Loregiver and Eclair were busy dragging Grineer bodies into a pile in the middle of the school’s front lawn, likely getting ready to use his magical formula on them to make them disappear. Pinkie Pie was helping them, forming clones to spread out and retrieve the bodies.

Sonata, Aria and Adagio were seated atop a pile of rubble by the school’s main entrance, looking up at the sky with their helmets off as well.

“Man, I’m beat…” Sonata Dusk scratched at her messy blue hair and dug a finger up her nose. “Glad that’s all over. I could use a cold bath now.”

“I’m too tired to argue…” Aria leaned her arms on her knees.

“Wasn’t too long, but I had some fun…” Adagio tossed a pebble from her hair. “One way to vent out my anger…”

“A-Are you girls alright?” Fluttershy walked up to them and asked meekly. “Any in-injuries?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Adagio answered for her sisters.

“Oh, okay…” Fluttershy slinked back.

“That wasn’t nice.” Rarity stepped up for her friend. “She was just being thoughtful.”

“Well, while I appreciate the concern, we don’t need it,” Adagio said bluntly. “So no thank you, Rainbooms.”

“Well, what happens now?” Sonata asked. “Do we get to keep these suits? Loki and I are great friends now.”

“I am afraid that might not be a possibility.” Loki appeared on their visors. “With the defeat of the Grineer, there are no more threats out there. We are safe again, but that means we must return to sleep.”

“What? Why?” Fluttershy asked. “Trinity, you don’t have to go, do you?”

“Truthfully, Fluttershy, we will have to. We know nothing but combat. Without it, there is nothing more for us to do.”

“But that’s not true,” the pink haired girl protested. “We’ve spent so much time together. I know you are capable of more than combat. You know.”

“I…” Then Trinity stopped. “I don’t know, Fluttershy.”

“Surely we can work something out?” Rarity shrugged.

“Maybe in time,” Mag added. “But for now…”

Just then, there were the sounds of thrusters in the air before Home Run, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle and Velvet Breeze landed down before them, their archwings stowing immediately.

“How’s everything down here?” Sunset was the first to speak.

“All taken care of,” Rarity briefed them. “Good work up there, by the way. We could see it from here.”

“Yeah…” Sunset looked back up to the sky. “I was really hoping we could end it peacefully, but I guess that just wasn’t meant to be. But wait, we need to go. We need to see if Princess Celestia is okay.”

“We’ll come with you.” Fluttershy nodded.

“Yippeee!” Pinkie popped up behind them all. “We’re going back to Equestria!”

Together, the Rainbooms, along with Velvet and Home Run, went through the portal, leaving the three sirens sitting there, watching.

“Hey, you know, we could actually go home whenever we want,” Aria stated.

“We could…” Adagio looked at her hands. “But I think our home is here now. They wouldn’t want us to just leave.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to leave her again,” Sonata added, looking at the statue base. “It felt like we had only just found her again.”

“Maybe it’s because we did?” Aria narrowed her eyes at her sister.

“But whatever the case,” Adagio continued, ignoring her sisters. “We aren’t going to abandon them again.”

Just then, their suits detached from them, taking steps away to form back.

“Arr, alas, we need to go check on the Lotus,” Hydroid said. “If we never meet again, know that it was a good time to be had.”

“And we are grateful for your assistance in dealing with the Grineer.” Saryn bowed her head.

From the side, Volt and Limbo had separated from their pilots too, along with all the others, except Mr. Loregiver and Eclair, who walked over alongside the other Tenno.

“Time for us to go,” the history teacher said as he and Eclair stepped out from their Warframes. “All of you, thank you for helping out here today, and for those of you who were here longer, we are all in your debt, but we must go now. The princess will want to see us.”

“Take care, Volt, you hear?” Flash shook hands with his Warframe.

“As should you, Flash Sentry.” the electrical Tenno nodded. “Use your gifts well. You have a knack for the electrical.”

When each of them were done with their goodbyes, Mr. Loregiver led them all back through the mirror, shimmering out of this world and back to Equestria.

Standing up, Adagio gave her outfit a pat down, then pointed away from school. “We should go on home. They’ll be waiting.”

Chapter 52: Going Home

Princess Celestia was surprised to see so many faces around her when she woke up. They were all looking at her with various degrees of relief and happiness.

“Did I miss something?”

Her body was now covered in bandages, along with some around one eye. Although she couldn’t move much, she was relieved to know her body wasn’t hurting as bad as it was when they had found her in the galleon.

“It is over, princess.” Mr. Loregiver bowed to a knee. Because they were not in their Warframes when they reentered Equestria, they were now in their native forms. “We have vanquished the Grineer, once and for all.”

“Oui, princess,” Eclair pounded a hoof on the floor. “Our mission has been accomplished.”

“I… don’t know what to say.” Celestia looked at all of them. “You have done Equestria a great service. Not just you pilots, but you Tenno as well. For that, we are grateful, both my sister and I.”

“So what happens now, Lotus?” Excalibur asked. “What becomes of us Tenno now.”

“We have to leave them, don’t we?” Sunset lifted a hand and watched as magic swirled around it. “Can’t say I won’t miss all this.”

“Back to sleep for us now, Lotus?” Vauban spoke out through Home Run’s helmet. “It is the only logical path.”

“No, no, that doesn’t sound logical at all.” Home Run waved his hands around. “There’s more to life than just combat. Princess, surely you’re not going to put them back in their pods?”

“Yeah, we’ve been through so much together!” Rainbow stepped forward. “There must be something else.”

“Yeah, you can’t just send Mirage and the others back to sleep!” Pinkie flipped around and stood on her hands. “They need to party!”

Luna and Stardust shared looks, then looked to the sun princess.

“Sister, the place you mentioned…” Luna turned back to Celestia and spoke. “Perhaps it’s time.”

Celestia nodded without hesitation. “Tenno, I do not plan on sending you back to sleep. I see my mistake the first time. Because of my actions, war is all you know. I never gave you anything else, any more time to experience more. But I have seen what you are capable of and I think… you deserve your freedom.”

“Yay!” Pinkie threw confetti up into the air. “So they’re not going back to sleep now?”

“Well, hate to say Ah’d like to send Rhino here back as well.” Applejack tipped her hat to the princess.

“Does that mean they’ll get to stay here with us?” Rainbow asked. “Zephyr and I have many plans.”

Celestia’s face fell, changing almost instantly. With that, the others knew what the answer was.

“Don’t mistaken this. My intentions are good,” Celestia started again after a few more seconds of silence. “You children should never have had to go through the ordeal of fighting and killing. With the Grineer gone, I feel that you all need to return to your normal lives and the Tenno to theirs.”

“So what do you have planned for us, Lotus?” Volt asked. “Where will we go?”

“There is so much more I haven’t told you about the Tenno.” Celestia looked to her sister and Stardust. “I have explained it to them, but to you humans and Sunset and Twilight, there is still much you do not know.

“Stardust has been in the process of relocating her workshop. I fear Equestria isn’t ready for her technology, or the free roam of the Tenno. You will be returning with Stardust, to the human world’s moon.”

“And you shall be free to live your lives,” the mechanical pony added, her golden eyes shining brightly. “You will need violence no longer.”

“But what are we to do besides fighting?” Mirage asked, raising both palms up. “We know nothing more.”

“That isn’t true, Mirage!” Pinkie said, taking back control and pounding a fist on her palm. “You’ve learnt to party like I do! I mean, without killing and stuff! Like a fun party where you enjoy hanging out with friends! You’ve done that with me, with all of us.”

“And you know how to help me with my homework.” Home Run nodded his head. “You give me input on the things I do.”

“Ya helped me with the farmin’!” Applejack patted Rhino on the shoulder, which was also her own shoulder.

“And Zephyr knows how to have fun!” Ranbow crossed her arms. She’s been with me all this time!”

“Umm…” Fluttershy shuffled her feet. “Trinity does more than just fight. She’s a healer too…”

“And Mag, remember all those times you help me with my clothes?” Rarity asked with a flip of her violet hair. “That wasn’t fighting.”

“Arrrr! We know nothin’ but fightin’!” Hydroid boomed. “We only just awoke again, Lotus.”

Hydroid panned a hand to Loki, Saryn, Mesa and all the other empty Warframes.

“But you can decide what you want to do now.” Sunset stepped over to talk to them. “You may have only been fighting all this time, but you weren’t programmed with only one purpose. Spending time with our Tenno friends have proven that. You Tenno are capable of so much more, just like we are. You're alive as much as us, not just some robotic shells.”

“I agree,” Twilight said, raising her hand. “Whoever created you, wherever you were created, you weren’t designed to be simple robots. You were designed to be alive, to make your own decisions, to live how you want to live.”

“Wise words, Twilight Sparkle,” Nyx said. “We may never know the ones who created us, the Orokin, and what they had planned for us, but we know now that we can live our lives without the need of combat, unless we are called upon once again.”

“Can’t say I won’t miss Zephyr.” Rainbow hugged an arm around herself. “But you gotta do what you gotta do.”

“Oui, princess.” Eclair nodded her head. “Whatever your decision, I will obey. It is as you command of me.”

“I also think it is time Agent Eclair and Agent Loregiver return home.” Princess Celestia weakly smiled at them. “That is, unless you’d like to stay?”

“I would like to return to Princess Luna’s side, your majesty.” Eclair bowed. “My mission is complete on the other side.”

“I don’t know how the library’s been managing without me around…” Loregiver raised a hoof to his horn. “But I think it is also time I returned. After I find a replacement teacher for my history class.”

“Awwww, we’re going to miss you two!” Pinkie leapt up beside them and threw her arms around their necks. “We’re gonna miss you and all our Tenno friends!”

“Yeah… gonna miss you, buddy.” Home Run patted his chest. “You’ve been really great company.”

“Likewise, Home Run. It has been a pleasure.”

“Well, make sure to visit from time to time, huh?” Home Run chuckled. “We’ll be in the same world anyway. Just that… you’re on the moon.”

“You could come visit us as well.”

“Yeah, um, humans don’t exactly just go to the moon when they feel like it.”

“Now why not?”

Home Run shrugged. “Too much to explain, pal. Science stuff.”

Stardust trotted past them all, then opened a portal just at the princess’s bedroom door with her new powers. Home Run watched as the stars and lights beyond the portal shimmered, leading them out to the unknown.

“This portal will bring you back to your world.” Stardust pointed a hoof ahead. “Just outside your school. From there, we will part ways.”

“Time to go, then.” Eclair looked at the swirly gate. “One last visit to the human world before I come home.”

Each of them began to proceed through, disappearing one by one. When it came time for Home Run to go, Princess Celestia stopped him, calling out his name.

“Home Run, I would like to thank you again,” she began. “You had no reason to be here, but you’ve helped out all this time. For that, you have our greatest gratitude.”

“Aw, it wasn’t just me.” He blushed and rubbed his head. “We all chipped in, Tenno, human, pony. Sunset did the most work. She unlocked her magical powers through the suit. She’s the one you should really be thanking.”

“Sunset, huh?” Celestia chuckled. “She’s come a long way and I’m very proud of her. Do watch out for her, Home Run? Keep her safe and support her on.”

“You got it, princess.” He saluted with two fingers. “Well, I better go. It has been an honour to help out and to get to see…” Home Run motioned his hands around the room. “All this. This is just crazy, but incredible. Thank you for the opportunity, princess.”

“Then take care now, Home Run.” The alicorn sisters waved their hooves as the baseball player ran through the portal, heading back home.

“So this is really it, huh?” Sunset Shimmer watched as Mr. Loregiver’s magical dust began to fix everything the Grineer had destroyed during the battle. By now, the other students had all gone and only the other Rainbooms, Home Run, Mr. Loregiver and Eclair were still standing on the front lawn with their Warframes.

“It is, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember said. “It has been a blast, but it is now time to go.”

Stardust opened another portal, mentioning this one now led to the moon, where they were going to be staying from now on.

“Y’all take care now, alright?” Applejack waved to the Tenno, then shook hands with Rhino.

“You all go back to living your lives as you should. No more violence and killing,” Nyx said to all of them. “We are sorry you were dragged into our fight.”

“No biggie!” Pinkie springed up and showered confetti on them. “Saving the world is what we do! There was this one time…”

She went on and on about everything they’d done up until this point, with Home Run eventually tuning out her words when she arrived at the Battle of the Bands.

“So, you’ll be here now, Velvet?” Home Run decided to ask the newest addition to their school. “At CHS?”

“Yeah. I’m good enough now.” Velvet closed and open her hands. “I’ll still go back to Equestria after school. That’s my home now, with my sister and Dewdrop.”

“Right… complicated stuff, huh? All this world changing and all that…” Home Run whistled. Now that he thought about it, his few months in Canterlot have taught him more than his time in Fillydelphia. He’d come to learn a whole lot about fighting for others and doing what was right. He’d learnt a lot about friendship. Lasting friendship. He couldn’t ask for a better group of friends.

“Home Run.” Vauban walked over and lifted a hand. “I will see you again in the future?”

“Whenever you want, buddy.” Home Run gave him a high five, then rubbed his hand after. “You take care, okay? If there are anymore alien threats, let’s face them together.”

“Uh, I’m sure Princess Celestia is sending them away so we don’t have to kill again,” Sunset reminded.

“Oh. Well, you go for it then, Vauban.” Home Run laughed nervously. “Keep an eye out for aliens, huh?”

“We shall.” Vauban bowed his head. “It has been my great pleasure to fight alongside you. Until we meet again.”

With all the Tenno gathered around the portal, Stardust was the first through, disappearing through the gate with a ripple. One by one, each Tenno began to walk through, going to their new home.

Home Run was sad that a friend of his was leaving, but he stayed strong. Their friendship wasn’t over, he knew it. One day perhaps, they could see each other again. Fluttershy was crying by the side, now being comforted by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, but otherwise, the others all stood firmly and waved.

“Until we all meet again.” Nyx was the last through, hopping back through the portal before it shrinked down into a little orb before vanishing.

“Well…” Velvet shoved her hands into her pockets. “That’s that, huh? Can’t say I liked getting back into killing again, but I did have a good time being able to fly around. Ash was good company.”

“Yeah, feels like it’s been a long time, huh?” Applejack looked up at the sky.

“You think people are going to forget this one?” Rarity looked around at the streets and the neighbouring buildings. “I doubt a full scale invasion would’ve gone unnoticed.”

“All the destruction’s been fixed.” Mr. Loregiver pointed at the repaired school building. “Unless they’ve seen it all with their own eyes, it’ll fade in time.”

“So what happens to the people living around here?” Twilight Sparkle looked at the neighbouring buildings, some of which were homes. “If this was Equestria, I could cast a spell to make them all forget, but… yeah.”

“And I don’t have Ember with me anymore.” Sunset looked at her hands disappointedly. “It felt nice, being able to use magic again, but I guess it just isn’t normal for humans.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mr. Loregiver said, looking back at the portal. “If it’s anything us Agents of the Eclipse are good at, it’s information. We’ll deal with any witnesses, if there are indeed witnesses.”

The girls and Home Run looked at him with shocked expressions, then Eclair waved both her hands and stepped forward.

“Non non, he does not mean killing them, if that is what you were thinking,” she said with a cringed smile. “Loregiver means we will talk to them and supply a different information.”

“Ohhhh…” the girls said in unison.

Home Run had a hard time believing it was going to be so easy, but then again, Mr. Loregiver and Eclair were like, spies or something. If spies from Equestria were the same as spies in movies, then they could surely find a way to get things done.

“So you’ll be heading back to Equestria soon, Mr. Loregiver?” Pinkie bounced up to him with big round eyes. “We’re going to miss you.”

“Yes, but my duty here is done.” Their history teacher looked up to the moon. “I was only assigned here when Princess Celestia first detected the Grineer again. Now with them defeated, I will have to return to the library, where my real duty lies. Princess Twilight, the library is still in good condition, I hope?”

“Of course!” Twilight answered proudly. “I’d never ill-treat a book. You’ll find they’re all still in almost perfect condition.”

“Good to hear.” Loregiver looked back at the statue base. “It has been a while since I’ve been back to do my duty.”

“Well, Ah hope the replacement teacher ya find is a mighty fine teacher!” Applejack dusted her hat. “Uh, no offense, Mr. Loregiver.”

“None taken. Well kids, I suggest you all get home and get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

“Tell me about it…” Sunset rolled her eyes and smiled. “It feels like it’s been years.”

“It’d be nice to get home and have a shower.” Rarity picked at her shirt.

“And a nice long sleep.” Home Run began imagining his soft bed and how he was just going to go home and lie on it. “Could really use some rest.”

“Man, you guys are eggheads.” Rainbow folded her arms and looked skyward. “I’m still good to go for a few rounds of soccer.”

“Well, good luck playin’ then.” Applejack slouched and waved at her. “Ah’m headin’ home. Ah’ll see y’all tomorrow or somethin’.”

And the cowgirl was the first to leave, heading away from school.

“Guess I’ll see you all tomorrow?” Velvet Breeze began making her way to the portal. “We still have to catch up!”

“Yes we do, Velvet,” Sunset chuckled and waved. “We’ll start things back up the way they should be tomorrow, everyone!”

“Back to normal, huh?” Home Run smiled to himself as he began walking off too.

He had only been in Canterlot for less than three months and the boy felt like he’d already been through so much. Things were so much more different here and he’d made so many good friends along the way and learnt a lot from them.

Vauban was one of them. Home Run was disappointed to see him go, but he knew it was for the best for both of them, for everyone. After all, they were still only teenagers. Killing wasn’t supposed to be part of their everyday lives. From here on, Home Run hoped to forget it all and move on as a regular kid should.

“Don’t you worry, Vauban,” he said out loud. “I’ll lose that part of myself and live out my life as I should. By being a good friend to others.”

“Gee, that’s a bit cheesy, don’t you think?” Sunset walked up behind him. “I mean, the girls and I say stuff like that a whole bunch too, but it doesn’t make what you said any less cheesier.”

“Well, we are just cartoons,” Home Run joked.

“Hmm, what was that?”

“We are just kids,” Home Run restated. “We don’t have a whole lot of expectations, so cheesy stuff is fine.”

“If you insist.” Sunset grinned and looked at a hand. “You know, I’m going to miss Ember. If not for the company, I’m also going to miss having my magic around. It felt so natural, you know? To be able to cast it once again. It made me feel… whole.”

“Yeah. I’m from this world, but when I’m with Vauban, I can feel it too.” Home Run remembered all the times they entered Maximum Drift and how his ears changed. “There’s that little tingly bit of magic before we are capable of syncing. I mean, at least I think it’s magic.”

“Yeah…” Sunset looked at the sky. “These suits… I really wonder who these Orokin were and what their relation to magic was. If only we could meet one.”

“Well, they’re all gone, huh?” Home Run shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked along.

“Yeah. It’ll be silly to think that I’ll get to talk to one someday. Well, enough of these gloomy thoughts. We can always see the Tenno again, right?”

Home Run smiled and nodded. “Right. They can come visit anytime, I’m sure, and perhaps one day, we’ll be able to visit them as well. Unless you can already breathe on the moon.”

“Pretty sure I can’t.”

“Then meeting them again will have to wait.” The two of them stopped at a red light. “Whatever mysteries the Tenno are shrouded in, maybe we’ll get to find out one day, huh?”

“I hope so. Like Twilight, I’m quite an avid researcher myself,” Sunset said, watching the light. “There must be so much we can learn about them and their creators.”

“Probably.” Home Run laughed. He wasn’t much of a science guy, but he figured Sunset knew what she was saying.

Then the light turned green, allowing them to cross the road.

“Race you to the other end?” Sunset quickened her pace.

“Race? Me?” Home Run readied himself. “You’re on!”

As Home Run ran alongside Sunset, he found that there was still plenty more Canterlot had to offer, Warframes and aliens or no. He had plenty of friends now and these friends, he knew, he would have for the rest of his life. He might’ve had to deal with plenty of aliens, portals and rifts between their two worlds, but he hadn’t done it alone.

In Canterlot, he was never alone, even without Vauban and he was very grateful for that.

And then Sunset ran along the wall on his left, squeezing past him and overtaking him in almost a single leap. The boy stopped in his tracks, his mouth gaping open.

“Seems I still have plenty to see here…” And he ran on.

Author's Note

Achievement unlocked:

The Stars Our Home - You have completed Act 3 of A Rift Between Worlds.

Well, that's that, eh, readers? For reading all the way to this end, I thank you all and I hoped it was a story to be enjoyed! There will be more to come in terms of more stories in the future, so stay tuned to the Bloodlines Continuity!

And stay tuned for the epilogue as well! Cheers!

Epilogue: Waking

On the dark side of the moon, Stardust trotted through the crags and craters, creating new hoofprints in the dust below her feet. Behind her, the Warframes followed, unsure of where she was still leading them.

Stardust had been moving her equipment here for a few days now and she still had plenty of things back at her workshop to bring over here. The moon wasn’t much in terms of scenery, but she was sure it would be the place the Tenno could learn to thrive and live their lives out. After all, this was where their masters had left some things.

Climbing up to the top of the next hill, Stardust smiled to see the structure that was going to be her new workshop once she had everything in place. Just beyond the hill was a flat plane, surrounded by more hills and craters. Sitting just in the middle, embedded into a larger hill was a structure made of white and gold, its metal not reflecting anything on this side of the moon.

“What is this place, Stardust?” Vauban asked, stopping beside the mechanical pony.

“You will see soon,” was all she said before setting off towards the structure.

Princess Celestia was right when she said there was more to the Tenno than she had told any of the humans. More than she had told the Tenno themselves, but Stardust knew it all, now that she’d been here herself. She was going to be spending a lot of her life here now that she was relocating, so she had all the time she needed to research more of them and their tech.

Stardust smiled at the idea. If somepony had told her she’d be spending time studying machines in another world, she would’ve just laughed it off.

She had been one of Princess Celestia’s students all those years ago. The closest, in fact. She didn’t know how many years she had left to live, but she did know she was going to use what she had left to learn as much as she could here to maybe one day give back to Princess Celestia what she had done for her before her abduction in the Void.

Walking to a tall semi-circular door down a metallic path, Stardust activated the key within her systems, opening the large door and releasing a gust of steam and dust at them. It was dark inside, but Stardust’s mechanical eyes were able to see just fine, so she didn’t need to install lights.

“This is… Orokin, Stardust?” Nyx touched the side of the door and looked up at the ceiling. “They built a structure on the moon here?”

“I believe so.” Stardust nodded. “This structure matches all their other structures in the Void. But this structure is more for you than you know. I think the Orokin actually intended this place for you Tenno to thrive.”

“How so?” Rhino stepped past Nyx and asked.

“Come. See for yourself.”

Stardust continued to lead the way in, first going through two large halls with potted plants on the side and benches in the middle. It looked like it was a place for a large community, but perhaps eons ago.

The next large door led the group into a large atrium with a slope going down to another door, with water cutting the room in half, along with a second floor on both the left and right. After that, was another few more corridors and then another large atrium, leading deeper down into the place.

After that, Stardust and the Tenno found themselves before another large door, but this one had plants growing around it, with the unicorn guessing that it had been a long time since anypony or anyone had been here.

Opening it, she revealed a dark room with light coming down from a hole in the ceiling above, right in the middle of the room where several pods lay, water around them.

“What is this place?” Excalibur looked at the large tendrils of roots that went up and around the walls.

“This… is your home, Tenno.” Stardust trotted in, keeping her eyes on the pods. “I have scanned the place when I started moving my things here. Over to your left, is an obstacle course, just like the one we have back in Equestria. To your right are my labs, where I will continue my research and creations. In front of you, past the center, are your quarters and spaces, where you are free to do as you will.

“What about the pods, the ones in the middle?” Nyx pointed out. “What are these? Are these for our sleep?”

“I believe so.” Stardust nodded. “But you are already using it.”

All the Tenno turned to her and tilted their heads.

“What?” Zephyr asked.

“What do you mean, Stardust?” Vauban walked to the pods to examine them.

The glass was dark, but the analytical Tenno could see a dark shape inside, one that resembled their shape. Vauban put a hand on the glass, then wiped away a light layer of fog on it. What he saw inside forced him to take a step back.

“What are they?” He turned back to Stardust.

Stardust hovered over above the pods and flapped her wings, blowing away the dust and grime. “I discovered them when I first walked these halls. They are connected to machinery in there, linked to something. I believe that these bodies you see here, Tenno, they are you, projected into your Warframes with what I call transference. You are not machines. You are more than that.”

“This is why you brought us here?” Ash asked.

“Yes.” Stardust looked at Vauban’s pod, watching his sleeping form. “You were not programmed. You can choose how you want to live your lives, how to flourish as a new society, how to spend your lives without war.” She turned to the Tenno and nodded at them. “I believe it is time we wake you all from your dream.”

Author's Note

And that's that! The end of A Rift Between Worlds!

To everyone who read all the way here, once again, a big thank you to taking the time to do so! It has been a long journey since posting the prologue, but here we are today!

I hope the story has kept your interest all the way here and I hope to continue writing amidst all the busyness. Look forward to more content for the Bloodlines Continuity in the future!

-Home Run and gang will return in future stories-

Prologue: Calling

Princess Celestia sorted through her paper work like every other day. She read through each one before approving it with her signature at the bottom. She sipped her cup of tea as she made her way through the stacks of paper. After three hours, she put her papers aside and moved over to one of the windows of Canterlot castle, where her morning sun was warmly illuminating the beautiful lands of Equestria. She brought her cup of tea with her and sipped more of it as she gazed at the wondrous lands she ruled over.

“What a lovely morning,” she said as she continued to stand at the window.

Even though she appeared to be resting, her mind was a whir of activity. In another hour, she had to get ready for lunch with some delegates from Vanhoover. They were traveling to Canterlot to discuss the Summer Sun Celebration, which was to be held in their city this year.

She was just about to return back to her papers when a red scroll popped out in front of her. She took a look at it and unfolded it, dreading what it might contain. She had designated red scrolls to be a sign of warning or emergency, but this was the first red scroll she had ever received in years.

The more she read of the scroll, the darker her expression became. This wasn’t possible. There was no way they could find her this fast; she’d hidden her tracks too well for that. Her eyes flittered to the scroll and back to the window, as if not looking at it for a moment would make it disappear. It didn’t. After a brief moments hesitation, Celestia rang for her secretary. After a short moment of time, the green-skinned secretary burst into the room, panting and out of breath.

“You called for me, princess?” she asked in intervals.

“Yes,” replied Celestia, primly. “I need you to waken my sister. She must meet the delegates from Vanhoover. Something has come up that requires my immediate attention.”

“Right now, princess?”

“Yes, right now, please.”

Once she was sure the secretary was done, Celestia focused the magic in her horn and teleported up to her study.
Arriving in her study, Princess Celestia made sure the door was locked and cast a spell that prevented anyone else from teleporting into the room to make sure no one saw what she was about to reveal. She headed to one of the shelves and searched for a specific book. Finding it, she opened it up, revealing an old dusty datapad inside.

Activating a button, the datapad produced a little scanner, scanning her face to make sure she was the right pony. A green light from the datapad acknowledged that she was the right pony, opening the map projector on the floor, revealing a long staircase down into blackness.
It was a long flight of stairs that led well beneath Canterlot castle. Celestia had this passage way dug up by herself using magic many years ago, back when they were still active. Although she hadn’t walked it in many an age, she could still navigate it with her eyes shut; every detail burned into her mind, as though it was on the back of her hoof.

Reaching the bottom of the flight of stairs, she continued forward down a long hallway, lined with tall metallic statues. With each hoofstep, long dormant lights flickered on, welcoming back their master.

Visions of an ancient and long forgotten past flashed through the alicorn’s mind. There were certain things that weren’t recorded in any history books in Equestria and for good reason. If anypony should ever find out just what she had to do… well, she had seen how they had all reacted to Nightmare Moon.

One final door stood between Princess Celestia and her goal. This one hissed open with a rush of pressurized air, sliding shut as soon as the alicorn’s tail was through. The Princess found herself in a circular room, lit by a soft array of blue lights. She ignored the numerous semi-transparent pods outlining the walls as she approached the center. Five feet away, the center of the floor opened like a camera shutter, and a slim pillar with a curved purple object on it rose to eye level. She picked it up, knowing that in doing so, she would drag both this world and the other into a conflict that neither of them could afford to lose.

“So it begins again.”

Canterlot High stood proudly in the morning sun, like a jewel on the landscape. The winter snow had just melted, leaving the front lawns a shimmering verdant green. The school stood as a monument of education, ready to welcome the students back from the holidays to begin a brand new semester.

The sound of a bike rattling over the sidewalk made itself known. The rider, a young man with yellow eyes wiped the sweat off of his dark blue brow and leaned over the handle of his handle bars. He wore an unbuttoned blue striped shirt over a simple white t-shirt with a baseball bat picture on the front, and a pair of pale blue jeans.

“Phew!” Home Run exclaimed as he got off his bike and walked it to the nearby bike rack. “I didn’t think the school would be this far. I should have left earlier.”

He locked his bike on one of the racks and made his way through the front doors of Canterlot High School. Following the signs towards the principal’s office, he found it quite easily. He made sure his attire was neat before knocking on the door.

“Come in,” a voice inside said.

He gently pushed open the door and stepped into the office.

“Hello,” the principal greeted. “Welcome to Canterlot High. What’s your name?”

“Home Run,” he told her.

The dreadnought class spaceships hung in the darkness of space, awaiting further orders. The men on the bridge stood to greet the captain as he entered, walking over to his usual spot on the bridge.

“Status!” the captain barked.

One of the men in the front turned around from his seat. “We’ve traced the signal to this planet. We standby to attack on your command, captain.”
The captain lifted his robot arm. “Halt. Do not attack immediately. If we attack and we hit the wrong location, our quarry will be alerted, and we will lose the element of surprise.”

“Yes sir, we will standby until your order.”

“Good,” the captain said, looking out the front window at the round blue planet. “This time… there will be no escape. I will find you, Lotus…”

Chapter 11: How to Hold the Bat

“So what else are you hiding, Home Run?” Sunset quizzed after they had all recovered from the blind. “What else do you know?”

“Hey, I could always ask you the exact same question,” Home Run answered back.

“It’s alright, Sunset,” Twilight stepped in. “I told him not to tell anyone. It’s not his fault.”

“When did you two meet?” Rainbow asked. “How did he know about all this?”

“Home Run was the one who found one of the keys needed to power the Warframes. Unfortunately, he threw it to the Grineer.”

“Home Run, what were you doing?” Rainbow asked loudly, raising her hands above her head.

“As I’ve said before… I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was so important,” Home Run apologized again, a blush rising in his face.

“I’m sorry, Home Run,” Sunset added in. “Really… a lot of things have been going on. I just don’t know what any new students could be hiding.”

Home Run huffed, but decided to stop the accusations. The fight should be focused on the Grineer. Not each other. He raised a hand towards her. “Yeah, me too. Sorry I got mad. You were right to be suspicious. Still friends?”

“Sure,” Sunset smiled, shaking his hand.

“Party time!” Pinkie shouted, jumping out from under Home Run. “What do you guys want to do? I think we should have a big party! We need confetti, balloons, and steak!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Applejack seconded.

“Ummm…” Home Run uttered. “Is there a point for this party?”

Pinkie put a hand to her chin and thought about it. “Nope!”

“Well, parties are awesome!” Rainbow said. “So let’s have a party! We can celebrate getting better at this work.”

“If everyone’s in, then I guess… why not?” Home Run replied. “So where to?”

“No idea!” Pinkie said happily, but still bounded off, the rest following her.

Princess Celestia exited her inner sanctum, returning her Lotus mask to the pedestal before leaving. She sealed the doors behind her as she reentered her study. She smiled to herself as the floor returned to its natural state, looking as though there was no secret entrance there at all. She had to make sure her sister wouldn’t be able to spot the difference if she entered the study. Lately, Luna had been questioning her as though she had been hiding something from her sister. Luna was right of course, but Celestia couldn’t tell her the truth. Not yet. She couldn’t pull Luna into this dark world at the moment. As for Twilight and her friends, they were progressing well. True, they still needed training, but in given time, they should be able to have the skills and power necessary to stop the Grineer from getting to Equestria. Home Run was an extra piece on the board. When she had met him, she knew he would be an important player on the field, and she was right. He had saved the Rainbooms from the Grineer on his first run.

Celestia left her study, heading towards the meeting room, remembering that she had a meeting with some delegates from Manehattan. Unknown to her, a shadowy figure watched her from the dark, using its claws to grapple itself to the ceiling. As soon as the princess was far enough, the creature followed, lifting its claws silently as it walked upside down behind her.

“See you guys!” Pinkie waved as the others left her house. “That was fun! We should do it again!”

The others waved goodbye to Pinkie as left, deactivating their Warframes as they stepped out the door. In the end, Pinkie had suggested having a Tenno party. They all wore their Warframes and partied while Vauban linked the processors of the Warframes together, allowing the Tenno to talk amongst themselves. The Tenno had enjoyed that very much, though their conversation was often tinted with odd words and energy pulses that none of them understood. Home Run had learnt more about the others during the party. What they did besides school, and where some of them came from.

“That was awesome!” Rainbow said approvingly. She was the only one to keep Zephyr’s Warframe active. “The food was great, and I loved hearing all your war stories! Especially the one where you held off a dozen Grineer manics with only a tipedo, Zephyr.”

“Glad you enjoyed it, Rainbow Dash. I consider that one of my finest moments.”

“Ah think mah favourite part is Twilight’s dancin’!” Applejack laughed. “She ain’t improved a bit since the Fall Formal!”

“Whaaat?” Twilight asked in disbelief. “I’d like to think it got better.”

“Well, Nyx didn’t seem to like it,” Rainbow reminded her. “What did she say again? Something about shameful display of her Warframe?”

“It’s not my fault,” Twilight reminded. “Nyx is just mad she can’t move. Back in Equestria, this is how most of us dance.”

Sunset snorted. “I’m pretty sure even back home, your dancing style is one of a kind.”

“Well… I gotta go,” Twilight quickly said. “Duty calls. I’ll see you all tomorrow?”

“See you, Twilight,” Sunset chuckled, waving her friend off as she headed in the direction of school.

The rest said their goodbyes as Rainbow got herself ready. “Time for me to go too! Let’s see how fast I can get home now!”

Rainbow took off in a flash of wind, jetting up into the air and then forward, whipping leaves off the trees as she made her way home at high speeds. The others started making their way back, Sunset and Rarity going off in one direction and Applejack in the other.

Home Run found out that Fluttershy lived near his place, so they decided to walk home together.

"So..." Home Run started. "How's all this Warframe stuff going for you? I mean, you don't fight, do you?"

“N-no...” Fluttershy tried to hide behind a lock of soft pink hair. “It’s just so scary, and I don’t like hurting people.”

"I see, I see," Home Run nodded. "Yeah, it's something... different. I guess healing’s pretty good too. I mean, you're the one that keeps us alive out there."

“I suppose,” They walked in silence for a few minutes. “Trinity says I need to learn how to fight though. I don’t want to let her down, but I don’t know if I can.”

"Well, even if you don't learn to fight, I think it'll be alright. That's what we're for. We take the front lines while you take care of us from behind. I'd say that's more than enough already."

The shy girl gave Home Run a smile. “Thanks... I just wish Trinity felt the same way.”

"I guess you just have to show her that support is what's best for you and the team. She sounds pretty reasonable. At least she's not Nyx. That is one Warframe I'm thankful doesn't work with me."

Both of them cringed. Nyx had been neither merciful nor quiet during Twilight’s display of dancing, and since Vauban had been neurally linking them all, everyone had heard it until Twilight had shut off her Warframe in retaliation.

"I feel sorry for Twilight... To have a partner l-like that... I don't know if I would be able to do anything at all with someone shouting d-down my back..."

“Yeah. I hope they get along better in the future, it’s hard enough fighting Grineer without having to fight our own partners.”

Fluttershy gave a small nod. Soon, they had arrived at her place. "Well, this is my stop. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

“Yeah. See you.”

Home Run waved goodbye to his new teammate, then kept on walking.What a day. Hopefully the Grineer would be nice enough to hold off any further assaults until Saturday. He had a baseball team to try out for.

“Oh no.” he said. “I left my homework at school!”

The Excalibur pulled the last of the fallen Grineer together, taking out the special agent from his side pouch. Earlier, he had been on the other side of town, quelling a different Grineer force. After he and Mag had taken them down, he proceeded to dispose of the bodies before leaving for the school. Once again, he had to clean up the battle, making sure no one would see the dead bodies and damage. Sprinkling the substance on the bodies, he stepped back as they slowly dissolved into nothing but little black spots, easily concealed in the field's grass. He then proceeded over to the Grineer drop pods to do the same.

“So…” Excalibur asked his pilot. “What do you think of all these new additions to the Lotus’ defence? You think they’ll be of any help when the real problems come?”

The pilot took a deep breath before starting. “Who knows for sure. We’ll just hope they will be. We need them to be. Once Captain Vor arrives with the main force, one Warframe alone will not be enough.”

“True. Perhaps we should train them? Get them to be better pilots. It might not take them as long since they stand naturally on two legs.”

“No. The Lotus specifically instructed us to only watch over them. We can’t reveal ourselves just yet.”

“Well, you can’t. They already know who I am. Especially my Tenno brothers and sisters.”

The Excalibur sprinkled the acidic agent onto the pods, watching as they slowly dissipated into nothing. Since the pods were bigger, they took a little longer to melt down, but in the end, nothing remained except for the black bits. “That’s right. We still have much to do. This field sure took a beating today.”

“You know, when all this is over, perhaps you should become a gardener instead. You’ve gotten good at replacing the grass and plants. You’ve had years of cleaning up after all.”

“Very funny, Ex. Let’s just get this over with. I still have some work to finish tonight.”

“Still… it’s only a matter of time for the captain to come down personally. We’ll have to make sure we’re ready to face him and his army.”

“Yes,” the pilot nodded. “I believe these were only scouting parties. They haven’t setup any kind of forward operations yet. They’re planning something big, and they’re waiting to make their move.”

“Whatever happens, we have to protect the Lotus at all cost. We cannot let them reach her.”

“That’s right. We live to serve her. Nothing more.”

Thankfully, Thursday passed without any incident. Home Run watched the skies as he headed home, ready for any pods to crash to the ground, but nothing came. His bruises had been getting better, hurting less as the day went by.

The quiz for history class wasn’t too hard as well, thanks to the reading he got done. He had finished the paper and handed it in in approximately seven minutes. From his sneaky peeks around after he handed in the paper, his attention was drawn to Rainbow Dash, who seemed to still be at the top of her quiz. Every now and then she would get up and go to the bathroom, then come back and fill in a few more. She was the last to hand in her quiz.

After school, he had followed the Rainbooms to the Warframe obstacle course to practice his movement. He performed to the standard, slightly better than Applejack, but slower than Sunset and definitely Rainbow, who held the record.

Friday was almost just as uniform as the day before. Mrs. Harshwhinny had lectured to them about Song of the Trees, and how there was a deeper meaning to it. Mr. Pierce’s class was the same as usual. The computer teacher just droned on and on about photo editing and how simple it was. Home Run almost fell asleep, but steeled himself throughout the rest of the class. Math class with Mr. Bray went by without any problems, even from Jetstream and Lightning Rain, surprisingly. Then came Art class. Most of the students discovered that Charly wasn’t half bad at painting, getting high marks for his work.

Science class was a little different from the rest of the week. Mr. Discord had started on about atoms and how splitting an atom would cause a nuclear explosion. He tried to demonstrate with a bar of chocolate but it just ended up exploding nougat all over the front row. They spent the rest of the class cleaning up. Then came PE. Home Run felt well enough to finally return, joining his class as they played some soccer. Soarin and Spitfire were aces at the sport, but that was hardly a surprise. History class was pretty average. Mr. Loregiver gave a speech about King Dawn Saber and the Knights of the Round Table. Home Run knew the legend well, how the king had received the sacred sword, Excalibur, from the Lady of the Lake and how he led his kingdom to victory until his death, but that was only the legend. Apparently, as Mr. Loregiver said, there was no real Lady of the Lake, although whether Excalibur had really existed was still a mystery to this day. Then he had handed back the quizzes.

“Wow,” Home Run said to Sunset as they left the class. “What a story! I guess that if Excalibur was real, I’d like to wield it if they could ever find it. You think our, uh, friends, could help us look for it?”

Sunset gave the boy a mysterious look before shaking her head. “I don’t think it’s worth looking into. After all, it’s just a legend. Anyway,” she changed to subject. “how’d you do on your quiz? I forgot to study the prehistoric era, so I missed the bonus question.”

"I did alright. The more important question though... How did Rainbow do?" Home Run decided to ask. "I kinda saw her struggling with the questions."

“How’d I do?” Rainbow butted in, holding her quiz above her head triumphantly. “Try a hundred and two percent! I even got the bonus question. I’m awesome!”

Home Run took a while to process everything the girl just said. "Wait... what? Top marks? I thought you were struggling, being the last the hand it in and all."

“Pfft, no! I just had to check all my answers to see if they were right. It’s little tricks like that which make me top of the class. Anyway, Home Run... Are you ready for the tryouts?”

"Oh, most definitely!" Home Run grinned. "Been waiting for this the whole week!"

“Cool. Get yourself ready then meet us on the field in an hour. I’ll get the rest of the team.”

"Right, see you later, captain," Home Run saluted. "Well, off to prepare now. See you later, Sunset."

He waved to the fiery haired girl and headed to his locker to dump his books, creating a mental reminder to collect them later, unless he wanted to repeat what happened on Wednesday. After closing his locker and changing into his gym clothes, Home Run headed for the baseball field.

The team was already waiting, along with Coach Whiplash and a few other students, probably wanting to try out like Home Run.

"Hey, coach," Home Run said as he walked towards him.

"Ah, Home Run," he returned. "I'd knew you'd be here. Ready to show us what you got?"

"You know it, coach."

"Alright, good to hear. We still have some time before we begin. Why not get to know the others?"

Home Run nodded and went over to the other students, here to try out as well. There were two of them. A boy with blue hair and tan skin, and a girl with grey hair and peach skin.

"Hi there," the girl waved. "You here to try out too?"

"Yup," Home Run replied. "The name's Home Run."

The boy shook Home Run's hand. "I'm First Base."

"And I'm Shortstop," the girl said, doing the same.

"Cool," Home Run laughed. "So we're all made for baseball, huh?"

"Yup," Jetstream said, walking in on their conversation. "You guys will be good additions to our little team! We're... A little short on members if you've seen."

"If you lack the numbers, how are you all still that good at baseball?" Shortstop asked.

Jetstream smiled and said one word. "Skill."

"Alright, alright!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Let's get this started!"

The rest of the baseball team walked up join the newcomers.

"I'm the captain of course, Rainbow Dash. And here we have Sundown, Jetstream, Lightning Rain, Heavy Wind, and Cold Wind," Rainbow continued. “Today, we’ll be seeing how good you are at this game. Just so you know, you’ll probably make it on the team, since we’re missing some people.”

“Sounds awesome!” First Base smiled, putting his fists together.

“Not as awesome as me, though,” Rainbow added. “Alright. Let’s start with batting.”

First Base was the first to have a go at swinging the bat, followed by Shortstop, then Home Run. Shortstop wasn’t too good at the bat, but she was amazing at catching, even having Lightning Rain walk over just to tell her. She could time the almost exact area the ball would fall and be there before it did, her hand raised up to grab it as it dropped towards her.

“Taking up an apprentice, Lightning?” Jetstream smirked. “Don’t you think you should graduate to a master before that?”

“Don’t start, Jetstream,” Lightning warned, narrowing his eyes.

As for running, they were all pretty fast, with First Base being the fastest. He could run through all the plates a second faster than Home Run.

“Good job, First Base,” Home Run panted as they arrived back at the home plate. “You’re fast.”

“I’m smaller in size,” he said. “So maybe that’s it.”

“Still, Base, that’s very fast,” Shortstop added in, also trying to catch her breath from the quick sprint.

“Guess we all have our talents in different places,” First Base smiled.

“Good job, guys,” Cold Wind told them. “Even if you didn’t do this well, you’d still be on the team, so I’m glad you’re all skilled at something.”

“My sister’s right,” Heavy joined them, taking out his phone. He took a picture of the three new baseballers. “I’ll be putting this on MyStable.”

"Ya know sometimes... Ah wonder if you're phone lasts as long as Mr. Pierce's..." Sundown joked. "Ah mean, ya always have it with ya, takin' pictures an' all."

"I have my resources..." Heavy Wind said, his attention still on his phone. “Maybe I’ll tell you someday.”

Coach Whiplash blew his whistle and trotted down the bleachers. “Alright, kids. That’s baseball for today. Time to pack up.”

Home Run caught up with Rainbow Dash after he was done putting his things away.

“Hey,” he said. “Think I made the team?”

“I guess so,” Rainbow said airily. “I mean, we do need more players. Hey,” she said, stopping. “Want to get in some practice with our Warframes? I haven’t flown Zephyr at all today.”

“Right,” Home Run agreed. He had barely gotten any training in, since he had forged a pact with Vauban. “I’ll need to practice to be able to kick some Grineer butt. Let's do it."

“Then let’s go find Sunset. We can ask her to get Princess Twilight to open up the dojo again.”

The Liset silently encompassed the galleon, waiting for the right moment to enter the Grineer ship. Excalibur emerged from the underside of his stealth ship and floated down to the top of the galleon. He pulled out his skana and cut a hole just big enough for himself to fit through, making sure to watch out for any nearby Grineer underneath. He found a vent system, following it towards the location he needed to get to. The armory. He had to find out what the Grineer were preparing. Vor had the void key. Anything could happen.

“Careful, Excalibur,” Princess Celestia told him, communicating to him via his HUD. “I’m reading a lot of Grineer near your position. They’re heading somewhere…”

“Right,” Excalibur replied.

He soon arrived at the end of the vent, deciding to enter the ship by once again cutting his way down. He dropped with barely a sound, quickly scanning his surroundings, just in case the aliens saw him. A patrol of Grineer passed by in front of him, forcing him to duck behind a metal container to conceal himself. They were carrying a piece of metal, looking like it was to be part of something bigger.

Excalibur scanned them carefully. There were only five Grineer, and four of them had their hands full with the piece, while one had his shotgun out.

"We can take them," Excalibur reasoned. "There are only five. We've dealt with more."

"Right."

Excalibur left his hiding spot and jumped right into the middle of the patrol, spinning and cutting two of them down at once.

"Tenno!" the one with the shotgun grunted.

Excalibur quickly took him out with a slash dash, covering the the distance quickly. The last two dropped the metallic piece and pulled out their rifles, training them on the Warframe. The Excalibur was faster, deflecting their bullets towards the first one, tearing up his armor. The second one moved to a console, trying to set off the alarm, but that just let Excalibur finish him with a backstab.

"You're still in the clear," the Lotus alerted. "No detection from enemy sensors."

The pilot walked to the piece of metal, bending down to inspect it. "Excalibur. Anything on this?"

"This looks like a piece to a warp gate..."

"Excalibur is right," Lotus updated. "This is what I feared. They are going to construct a gate, and with their torsion beams and the void key..."

Excalibur realized the threat. "... They could open a portal between dimensions. A rift between worlds. Straight to Equestria."

“What do you want to do?”

The Excalibur stood up and cut the piece of metal into three parts. “We need to stop them, or at least slow them down.”

“Warning,” Lotus reported on his HUD. “I’m detecting a large assault force heading your way. It’s the Grineer. Get out of there. I've also detected that the other gate pieces are in the galleon's armory.”

“Right…” the Tenno slurred. “It’s the Grineer. I never would have known, you know?”

“No time for jokes, Ex,” the pilot replied. “Let’s go. We need to stop them.”

The Excalibur headed off, looking for the armory, but also to avoid the assault team heading his way. So far, they still didn’t know he was on board, but it only took a slight mishap for them to find out, so he treaded carefully, making sure to check every corner before he continued on. One Grineer lancer stood in his way to the next door. The pilot waited until the lancer’s back was facing him before approaching him in a low crouch. As soon as he was near enough, he spun himself and inserted his sword through the small of the Grineer’s back. The alien didn’t even utter a sound as it slid down to the hilt of his sword. Excalibur dumped the body in a supply room before continuing his espionage.

"The armory's a level below you," the Lotus informed. "I'm reading Grineer. Lots of them."

"Sounds like a challenge for us."

"You know it," the pilot smiled behind his helmet.

The Excalibur looked for a staircase or drop leading down to the next floor. He eventually found it; three Grineer lancers stood between him and the stairs.

He unsheathed his blade and got into form.

"Let's do this."

He dashed to the first one, taking it completely by surprise, knocking the upper half of its body down with his blade. The second and third began backing away, firing their guns. As usual, he parried all their shots.

"They never learn do they?"

Before the pilot could answer his Tenno, a Grineer heavy gunner entered the room from the opposite door.

"Great," the pilot muttered. "Just what we needed, eh?"

He cut down the second Grineer before getting behind cover as the heavy gunner started pelting the floor near him. He took a few bullets to his foot, but his shields took the damage for him. Unfortunately for him, the surviving Grineer got to the alarm box while the gunner pinned him down, setting off sirens throughout the ship.

The Lotus’ voice came on again. “They’ve spotted you. Get ready for a fight.”

“No kidding…”

Excalibur took his chance and got out of cover while the heavy gunner reloaded. With a massive charge of energy, he slammed his blade into the ground, releasing a radial javelin, pinning the two Grineer to the walls. The lancer died instantly, but the gunner struggled to get off the wall. He quickly ran up to the heavy gunner and finished her before she could recover.

“We gotta go. They’ll be ready the more we stay here.”

“Yeah.” Excalibur leapt down the stairs, avoiding all the steps and landing at the bottom. He rounded the corner and stuck his skana into the chest of a butcher as it attempted to cut him down. He dropped the body and rushed on, slicing another alien in half as he kept going.

"The armory's on the left," Celestia told her agent.

"Got it," Excalibur nodded, opening the door.

The armory was a square room, stocked to the brim with weapons and metal structures. At least twenty Grineer populated the room, all turning to see Excalibur as he entered.

"Time to get to work, my friend."

The pilot smiled as he lifted his skana. He blocked the first wave of bullets as he jumped into the middle of the crowd. He charged his energy in-flight, and stabbed his skana into the ground when he reached it, spearing most of the Grineer with another radial javelin. Those who weren’t pinned to the walls covered their faces, blinded by the sudden flash of the skill. Safe behind his polarized visor, the pilot casually picked up a fallen grakata and disposed of the rest with a burst to the head each.

"Excellent work," Lotus congratulated. "All enemies in the area are now dead. Get to work on destroying the machines. You need to stall them."

The Excalibur headed over to the gate pieces, propped up against the wall, and slashed them all, one by one, until each block was five pieces more.

"Good work. This'll put a wrench in their plans."

The Lotus appeared back on the HUD with a new warning. "You've got a large security force headed your way. It's the Grineer."

The Excalibur finished the last of the pieces, watching the metal fall to the ground with resounding clunks before more Grineer entered the room, followed by a furious looking captain.

"Tenno..." He sneered. "What have you done? Do you think this will stop me? I have more resources. You have only delayed the inevitable. Your Lotus... will die."

Excalibur didn't answer, instead charged the captain with his blade, aiming straight for the Grineer's body. Vor smiled and peeled the void key from his chest. Holding it out like a police badge, a golden stream of energy flashed from the key and caught Excalibur’s charge midway.

“Power levels are fluctuating, shields at 17%.” Excalibur read out. “I don’t think we can win this.”

Vor’s face twisted in a laugh as he drew his pistol, taking careful aim. The seer discharged a single shot straight at its target’s skull, but just before the bullet made contact the Excalibur swiped at it with its skana, deflecting the bullet at the window. The glass broke and air began rushing out into space.

“What?!” the captain exclaimed.

Wasting no time, both Warframe and pilot threw themselves at the broken window and out into the vacuum of space. Vor could only watch and shake his fist as the Liset pulled up outside and jetted his enemy out of reach.

“Good work,” said the Lotus with a smile. “Now get to extraction.”

Chapter 29: Criminal Intent

“Yet another day without the Stalker’s presence,” Flash Sentry placed both hands behind his head. “You think that steampipe incident on the news was his doing? The one on the road? I mean, steam pipes don’t just blow up, you know?”

“Well, who knows?” Home Run shrugged. “Besides, it could just be a faulty screw or something. We should just let the police worry about that.” In truth, the baseballer wanted to know more about that too, but it didn’t seem like the Stalker’s doing.

“You think we can go back to normal life now? I mean… Really?”

“I wish,” Home Run said as he placed his tray of food on the table beside the blue haired guitarist. “If anything, at least Mr. Pierce called in sick today. That was one less thing we had to worry about.”

“Yeah I guess so,” Flash leaned forward and began digging into his pasta. “Substitute teacher? Yes, please. At least she knows how to let a class have fun. Imagine if we had her as our teacher instead.”

“So true,” Home Run picked up one of his sandwiches. “Well, I do hope he’s okay. I mean, you know, he might be a bad teacher and all, but he’s still a person.”

“Guess so. As long as the Stalker didn’t get him, I’m sure he’s fine.”

Home Run figured it must’ve been something to do with his bad leg. Maybe he went for surgery to fix it up. Or maybe it was like they said, back in computer class. What if Mr. Pierce’s shady past caught up to him. It could’ve been some criminal overlord coming back to have revenge or to collect payment, or maybe even the cops, if Mr. Pierce was a bad sort of guy. Until the computer teacher returned to school, they could only come up with assumptions of what happened to their grumpy, monotonous teacher.

“Anyway, Vauban said he activated a radar, so he should be able to find the Stalker if he shows up.”

“Should be able?” Flash asked with a string of pasta slowly disappearing in his mouth. “Should? He’s not certain?”

“We don’t exactly know what that thing is, so…” Home Run moved his hand in a circle. “Yeah. He might not even appear on the normal radar.”

“Fair enough.”

After lunch, the boys went their separate ways with Home Run heading to science class with Mr. Discord. He still couldn’t help but think the Stalker was playing with them. Surely he was watching them right now.

The baseball player was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t see a poofy orange haired girl until he walked right into her.

“Agh!” she yelled as she fell.

Instinctively, Home Run reached a hand out to keep her from falling, grabbing the girl around her waist. He stared into her purple eyes for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The boy never thought he would actually reach her in time.

“I am so sorry about that!” he apologized quickly. “Are you alright?”

The girl frowned at him for a second, but eventually nodded her head as Home Run got her back on her feet. “It’s fine. Nice of you to help me.”

Home Run had never seen her before, and she wasn’t alone. Two more girls stood behind her, one with blue striped hair and the other with purple-green hair. All three of them seemed to be wearing outfits from some kind of dancing show of some sort. They were some pretty interesting looking characters for sure.

“Well, you take care, stranger,” she smirked at Home Run as she passed him. “Maybe I’ll see you again.”

They disappeared around the corner, followed shortly by a shout, presumably from the one he saved. “I do not like him! It just so happened he pulled me back up!”

“Whatever,” a more bored sounding voice replied.

“Uh…” Home Run mumbled before letting out an awkward laugh. He’d seen weirder things before after all. He turned back and ran along to science class, not wanting to be late.

Home Run found the girls at the school’s statue out front after school, talking to each other about something, with the occasional look over to the side of the school building.

“Uh, hi girls,” Home Run said slowly as he joined them, looking over to where they were looking at. He noticed the three girls from earlier, the ones he had bumped into, standing by the corner of school, talking amongst themselves. “What’s up…?”

“It’s the sirens,” Sunset Shimmer narrowed her eyes, clutching her journal closer to her chest. “Remember what I told you about the Battle of the Bands?”

“You mean the magical singing and magic and stuff?” Home Run asked.

“Yeah. Those three over there?” Sunset pointed. “They were the cause of all of it. They ran away, but now they’re back. Just be careful around them.”

“Well, I did bump into them just now,” Home Run told his friends. “They seemed... nice. Are you sure they’re still bad? I mean, they weren't even mad that I basically ran into them.”

“Well, to be honest, we don’t know,” Fluttershy spoke for them, pulling at her pink hair. “But… I still think they’re kind of scary.”

“You girls thought I was a monster when I first got here,” Home Run reminded them, changing a few of their faces to guilty ones. “I think you should give them a chance, you know?”

“Home Run’s right,” Sunset nodded confidently and turned to her friends. “At least one chance. If they’re truly back here to be among us like all the other kids, we should give them a shot at being friends.”

“If you say so, Sunset.” Rainbow Dash didn’t seem convinced. “But I’ll keep my eye on them, just in case.”

“What’s your take on the sirens?” Home Run found himself asking Flash Sentry as they headed back.

“The sirens? You mean the girls that controlled our minds with their singing? I don’t have fond memories of them, since you want to know.”

“Oh, well…” Just then, a black car stopped at the traffic light, just a few feet in front of them. As the two boys got closer, Home Run noticed big poofy orange hair by one of the windows. “Isn’t that them?”

“Oh yeah,” Flash said after noticing the hair. “Adagio Dazzle. I believe she was the leader of the group.”

One of the girls, the one with blue striped hair tied up into a high ponytail, looked out the window and noticed them. She waved at them for a second before leaning back to tell the others. Soon, three faces were looking out the window, except for the driver, whom Home Run couldn’t identify.

Home Run smiled and waved back, but Flash didn’t seem too pleased by it, so he stopped. As soon as the traffic light turned green, the car was away, zooming down the streets and out of sight; by the looks of it, it was headed towards the city.

“I still don’t trust them,” Flash folded his arms. “They turned us against each other, you know?”

“I don’t see why we can’t be nice,” Home Run said as he wheeled his back along the pavement. “The past is the past as I like to say.”

Flash raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never said that.”

“It’s a good saying at least. But yeah, from what the Rainbooms said, the sirens have lost their powers. I mean, what can they do now? Stare at you to death?”

“Well, you weren’t there, Home Run.” Flash began explaining the event a little more in detail than what Sunset had told him. Home Run could never imagine how such a nice school like CHS could turn against each other like the stories said. "I wasn't a good time. Wasn't."

“You guys forgave Sunset,” Home Run reminded him. “Sure, you all tried to leave her alone, but she redeemed herself. Why don’t we see what these sirens do first? For all we know, they’re doing just that.”

“You’re a tough nut to convince, Homey. But yeah, I guess I’ll give it a try. Twilight would want that.”

Arriving back at Home Run’s place, the boys wasted no time in getting their homework out and on the table, doing what they could as quickly as they could. Flash didn’t get one of the math equations, but Home Run was quick to help him out.

“How are you good at this, Home Run?” the guitarist decided to ask. “I mean, no offense, but you’re a sports guy and all. I would never have taken you for a mathematician.”

“I’ve never minded math,” Home Run started, twirling his mechanical pencil in his hand. “I think numbers and equations are a fun challenge to solve. Kinda like puzzles.”

“Huh… Well, the only class for me is music,” Flash admitted, leaning back in his seat. “You know… Guitar and all.”

“I already have my music credit, so I haven’t seen a point to get another. But you know me. I prefer more time for baseball.”

“So let’s see here,” Flash counted his fingers. “You play sports, you play the guitar, you're good at math, you’re doing good in computer. Why, that’s pretty good! I wish I had that many talents. You think you'd be more popular with such a large variety of skills.”

Just then, Home Run’s phone rang, distracting him from the conversation. He reached a hand over and picked it up, looking at the screen. It was Rainbow Dash.

What would the captain want now? Home Run shrugged and pressed the accept call button, putting the phone to his ear. “Yeah, Dash? Home Run here.”

“Hey, slugger. Just wanted to check with you if you’re all coming for the meeting later. Twilight’s castle. Seems the ‘Lotus’ has something to tell us.”

“Oh,” Home Run looked at the clock. They still had a bunch of time to cover their work. “Sure. We’ll be there, capt.”

“Sweet. See you soon!”

“How is your, uh, relationship with her working out?” Flash asked as Home Run stood to keep his phone in his pocket. “If that’s what you call a... relationship.”

“It’s good now. All cleared up.” Home Run explained his talk with her. “I think I just needed that talk. I can thank Vauban for that. He forced me to do it.”

“It was for your own good, Home Run,” his Tenno spoke in their heads. “But come. Let us go. The Lotus wishes to see us.”

“Back to school, huh?” Flash sighed and began packing his things. “Maybe next time, we should just do our homework in school.”

The trip back was fast enough, though Flash Sentry and Volt had arrived first. Home Run cycled his way there, but the guitarist equipped his Frame and zoomed off, sparking electricity along his path.

“Not bad, Flash,” Home Run congratulated as he parked his bike next to the CHS statue. “Maybe you should train more. See what else your Warframe can do.”

Walking through the mirror, the boys noticed everyone else was already there, waiting for them.

“Took your time, guys,” Rainbow joked and patted Home Run on the back.

“So what’s so important that we had to meet now?” Flash asked, folding Volt’s helmet away. "We had homework."

Twilight trotted over, still in her pony form. “I just got a message from Princess Celestia. Apparently, the one that attacked her inner sanctum, Duality, or more accurately an old friend of hers, Stardust, had contacted her, using only three words. Neural Sentry. Destroy.”

“Neural Sentry?” Trixie said out loud. “Trixie has no knowledge of what this is. A relative of Flash’s perhaps?”

“Ha ha, very funny, Trixie,” the guitarist laughed sarcastically. “Does she know what this Neural Sentry is?”

“Princess Celestia doesn’t know for sure,” Twilight briefed. “But she thinks it’s what controls all the Corrupted in the Void. The one left in charge of protecting the ancient towers left by the mysterious Orokin.”

The group pondered on what this information could possibly mean. Home Run himself hadn’t been to the Void, but from what he had heard from the four girls that went, there were Grineer and other races of aliens, taken over and controlled to attack anything that set foot in the Orokin towers. It only made sense for something to be controlling them all. Something to give orders.

“So this… Neural Sentry…” Home Run spoke up, getting the others’ attention. “What so important about destroying it? I mean, it sure will help us to traverse the Void more easily, but… why? Mr. Loregiver already has an awesome Warframe himself, I doubt we need to steal more, right?”

“I don’t think it’s about that, Home Run,” Rarity speculated. All eyes turned to her. “Twilight said Princess Celestia received a message from that one, Duality or Stardust, or whatever we want to call her. Now, if we look at all the information before it, it seems that Stardust has been reprogrammed, just like the Corrupted in the Void. If she were feeding this information to the princess, one would speculate that she might, perchance, know of a way to free herself from Duality’s control? To be her own master once again?”

“Woah…” was all Home Run said before pausing. “Did… Did Rarity just say all that? I mean, no offense, Rarity.”

“It helps to watch detective dramas, dear,” she flipped her violet hair back.

“I’ll bet,” he replied, deciding to leave the questions about her sleuthing skills for another time. “So, to free Stardust, we need to destroy this sentry?”

“I think so,” Twilight nodded. “We should try. Stardust was an old friend of the princess. We owe it to her to save that poor pony.”

“And what about the Stalker?” Applejack raised a hand in question. “Shouldn’t we focus on this Warframe destroyin’ sneaky fella first?”

“AJ’s right!” Rainbow supported, placing a fist into a palm. “I mean, this Stalker is looking for us! We should deal with him first!”

“Makes sense,” Twilight waved a wing. “All Duality wants is the Warframe back. If we can defeat the Stalker before she returns, then we won’t need Mr. Loregiver’s new Warframe anymore. Perhaps we can give it back.”

“Sounds like a plan, but what do we do about finding that shadowy figure?” Home Run put his weight on one leg and folded his arms. “I mean, we haven’t seen him in a week. What if he knows about Duality and is waiting for us to get rid of her first?”

“That is a possibility,” Rarity pointed out. “From what we’ve seen, the Stalker’s a smart one.”

“Then we just need to keep our eyes peeled,” Twilight nodded. “Well, that’s it for now, guys. Thanks for your input. I’ll be sure to get some plans out with Princess Celestia. Don’t worry. We’ll deal with the Stalker and Duality. I’m not going to let them do as they please as long as I’m still standing on my hooves.”

“Princess Twilight is right,” Home Run stood next to her. “None of this belongs to the Stalker for him to do as he pleases. We’re going to protect Princess Celestia and our Tenno friends no matter what.”

Home Run remembered the day he walked into all of this. He was picked or chosen; he joined in because he knew he could do something to help. He stood up against the Grineer and helped his friends take down a crazed captain trying to kill the princess. This moment made him feel that he was right, more than ever. This Stalker had wounded Vauban, taking away part of his ability to fight effectively, but this wasn’t going to stop Home Run. He was going to do all he could to help out like he said he would, and they were going to succeed.

The Stalker hopped down from the tree he was perched in, standing stone-still in a bush by the high walls of the large estate, spying the car enter through a set of black gates. The shadowy figure crept along the brick wall and peeked his head through the bars of the gates, watching the three female humans leave the car, making their way through the front doors of the large building. They looked like they were living well in this world.

Earlier, as he watched the Tenno and their pilots plan out their next move, he had seen their hostility towards other humans. Three females to be precise. Intrigued, the Stalker had followed them from the shadows, keeping track of their every turn, following them all the way back to this estate.

It was time. The three Warframes he had tampered with about to come into play. It didn’t matter if these three humans were willing or not. He had full control of the suits, and all he needed were hosts. Hosts that held negative emotions towards the Lotus’ warriors. He couldn’t have asked for better humans.

It seemed the three were staying in that big place beyond the front gates, far up a hill. The Stalker didn’t expect to travel this far from the school building, but it didn’t matter. He had waited a millenia. He had no problem waiting a few more years if he had to. But this wasn’t a matter of years; it was simply a matter of hours.

The place seemed to have high security, but to the Stalker, it was nothing compared to various traps the Void contained. If he wanted to, he could make his way into the compound, slaying everyone he saw, but it was unnecessary. All he had to do now was activate the Warframes, and they would find their way to their targeted hosts.

This was the final step of his plan. The Excalibur might’ve gotten an upgrade, but it didn’t matter. The Lotus could build up a wall all she wanted, but there was always a way around.