Two possibilities exist:
Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not.
Both are equally terrifying.
-Arthur C. Clarke
X-COM: EQUESTRIA UNKNOWN
chapter one
Streaks of light arced through the night, descending through the upper atmosphere. Quickly they turned into long, dazzling fireballs, racing towards the skylines of Greater Wingford, Gryphonia. Concurrently, similar streaks made their way toward different cities around the world, in all the different countries. One such fireball made a shattering boom as it hit the Main Street of Greater Wingford. The gryphons dotting the street recoiled in horror, turning to curiosity and amazement as the smoke cleared. This was no meteor shower- a strange metallic black-and-green pod now sat, perfectly intact, on the street. The gryphons slowly approached the pod, some taking pictures with their phones. None noticed the small light activating atop the pod.
Suddenly the pod extended, revealing nozzles gushing a thick green smoke. The gryphons panicked, turning tail and running, flying, or a combination of the two away as fast as they could. The pod seemed to sense this and poured more gas, its lights growing more intense. The gryphons found themselves being pulled back toward the pod. They screamed as they vanished into the smoke- and screamed no more.
Nations of Equus Council, Canterlot
“The recent attack on multiple cities throughout Equus does not correspond to any Equusian group or technology. It does, however, correspond with the immense increase of worldwide “alien sightings”. Therefore, we are forced to conclude that the recent incursion was of an extraterrestrial origin.” Celestia finished, her snout creased with consternation.
“If this theory proves to be true, then there is no force on Equus that can stop these… aliens.” Queen Chrysalis responded. Looks, varying from approval to distaste, radiated through the Council. It had been recently formed, and despite the Council’s best efforts xenophobia still lined the background of the meeting, particularly at the Changelings and their fledgeling monarchy.
“We cannot defeat the extraterrestrial threat discussed without intense collaboration. What’s more, the public cannot know at large that they are in a global war. This collaboration must be covert. It also must be elite- I recommend the best soldiers and leaders of the world. Even then they shall be only rookies in the battle against these extraterrestrials at large… The odds are stacked against us immensely, but there is the chance, and we damn won’t let it go.” the gryphonian king concluded, to thundering applause.
“Then it is settled.” the dragon ruler (the nation was not of the qualities of a kingdom) finished. “In light of the recent extraterrestrial incursion, this council of nations has convened to approve the activation of the XCOM project.”
“Who shall lead this first, and last line of defense?” the Minotaur king inquired. A vote occurred, balancing one another’s qualities with their successes. Finally they came to a conclusion.
“It is decided. Princess Luna of the Equestrian Diarchy will oversee and command XCOM's tactical and strategic operations. She will be reckoned, along with the entire XCOM project, by this council of nations. Should the project become a failure, the only option is to shut down and surrender to the invaders.” the Gryphonian king stated. He was a de-facto leader of the council, having formed it with Equestria jointly. “Keep in mind that your actions, and the actions of XCOM at large, will affect the future of Equus as we know it. We urge you to keep this in mind as you proceed.” he added.
“Good luck, Commander.”
One week later
Ponyville; Golden Oaks Library
“You… you want me to do what?” Twilight asked, disbelief through her voice. The pure-white alicorn did not falter in her concerned stare.
“You have proven time and time again to be the greatest hero of Equestria with your closest friends. This is no longer a matter of saving Equestria- this is a matter of saving Equus. We are not forcing you to do this, Twilight. But keep in mind that we will be severely impeded in our fight against the aliens if you do not choose to assist us.” Celestia clarified. Twilight considered for a moment.
“I’ve saved Canterlot from the changelings, pacified roaring beasts, protected Princess Luna and you from dangerous forces, and now we must cast aside our differences to save ourselves.” Twilight almost chuckled at the sudden turnaround in international views on one another. “I will accept this. But, please remember this- if the aliens want peace then we will give them peace. I refuse to exterminate their force out of revenge.” Twilight stated, voice firm. Celestia nodded.
“Excellent, my student. I apologize for the jarring transition, but you must become accompanied with the XCOM base. We… cannot afford to waste time. Please hurry in packing your bags. Take Spike with you- he is a liability if he starts to wonder where you have gone. Farewell for now.” Celestia teleported away in a burst of magic, leaving behind a small card. Twilight picked it up and examined it.
One XCOM identification card- Rk. Twilight Sparkle, OPID 001
Do not present to anypony but government officials and the Ponyville train station ticketmaster
Spike had crept into the room while the discussion took place. Casting a knowing glance at him, she packed a couple loaned gems from Rarity.
“Come on Spike, we’re going on a trip. Don’t tell anyone..”
42 km west from Canterlot
XCOM initial base
“How… how did they build this base.. this fast?” Twilight asked herself, awed at the functional underground complex that had sprung up in the space of a week. A hard-hatted minotaur nearby hefted a large section of concrete and pushed it into the dirt wall as a construction pony magically fused it with the rest, inadvertently answering Twilight’s question. She continued through the Mission Control- stopping to see Luna conversing with a dark brown, uniformed pony- and reached the Officer Training School. There was Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, surprisingly enough.
“Where’s Rarity?” Twilight asked. Rainbow’s brow furrowed.
“Didn't’ want to fight on the front lines.” Applejack answered. “Went for base personnel instead.” Twilight knew Rarity- she wouldn’t want to fight directly, and base personnel meant helping indirectly. But what about Fluttershy?
“I-i studied the Laws of Automatons in school... “ Fluttershy trailed off. “Zeroth law: an automaton can kill a pony if it means saving many, many ponies.” she said, seemingly sensing Twilight’s mental question. “And here, we’re the automatons, and those aliens are the pony we kill…” she finished, ending with a quiet “eep” at the thought. Almost on cue, the intercom announced the beginning of training sessions. Here they’d be in the frying pan, and then into the fire…
18 days later
XCOM base, Mission Control
The Hologlobe that lay in the center of the Mission Control pulsed as alarms blared. Luna took the intercom system.
“Attention XCOM operatives, alien abductions in progress. Get your gear and hit the Skyranger. This is our first mission, and it’ll be our first success!” she ordered. As soon as the intercom died, the Mane Six, known internally as Strike Team One, grabbed their armor, holstered their pistols, and hefted their assault rifles. As the cameras tracked them to the skyranger, Luna’s second, Central Officer Bradford, turned to face her.
“Commander, there are two different abductions in progress and we can only respond to one- Strike Two hasn’t finished training. Which will you choose?” he inquired. Luna swallowed as she faced the Hologlobe. Equestria (XCOM was an international organization; they were merely based in the Equestrian continent) was offering 200 thousand bits; whereas the Minotaur Kingdom was offering researchers specialized in xenobiology, a field that had sprung up as fast as the base had. Luna silently pointed her hoof at the Minotaur continent. Bradford nodded and turned to the comm link connected to the Skyranger’s pilot.
Strike-One walked down the hall in unison. They were silent externally but swirling internally; Dash was patriotic, Fluttershy was regretful, Pinkie was Pinkie, Applejack just felt a need to defend her world, and Twilight was unsure, of both her opinion of XCOM and the fate of the world at large. They entered the Skyranger and silently contemplated each other as the troop carrying aircraft lifted off and shot through the launch tunnel toward the Minotaur Kingdom.
Cap Town
Minotaur Kingdoms
Midnight
The Skyranger set down with a gentle thump, its rear ramp folding down. Strike-One stepped out, rifles pointed in all directions. Seeing nothing there, they began to move. Dash took the initiative, dashing forward into half-cover behind a crate. Applejack and Fluttershy took the more cautious route, moving into nearby full-cover barrels and overwatching the area with their rifles. Pinkie Pie pulled to the side behind a bench. In each operative’s earpiece, Luna’s voice rang out.
“Advance throughout the area as one unit, clearing any aliens you see. Make sure that you don’t take unnecessary chances.” she ordered, the earpieces going silent once more. Twilight moved last, into cover near Fluttershy. She steadied her rifle and panned about with it in hoof. Footsteps suddenly sounded around the corner of a building ahead, and all of Strike-One tensed.
Two small grey bipeds, with large heads and black eyes, rounded the corner. As they spotted Strike-One, they chittered and dashed for cover in front of the building. Dash was the first to engage, aiming at one of the bipeds- the colloquial name from pod attacks was “Sectoid”- and fired. The kickback threw her aim, only clipping the Sectoid’s arm. It hissed and ducked behind its cover. The second sectoid then emerged just after Dash fired and aimed its right arm at her.
The white-and-green plasma pistol mounted there let loose a vicious stream of green plasma, going straight through her cover and burning a clear hole in Dash’s armor. The Sectoid failed to duck in time, and was killed by a three-round burst of headshots by Twilight. The second Sectoid aimed its pistol and fired at Applejack, whose cover stopped the shots from hitting her. Pinkie pulled her rifle from her side position and set it to full auto, taking down the Sectoid quickly. The rifle let a dismal click as it emptied of ammo. Pinkie dropped the clip and jammed a fresh one in.
“Don’t waste that much ammo, OP-004. You only have so much.” Luna warned. Pinkie nodded, somehow conveying the point across the radio. With the two Sectoids down, Strike-One advanced again, Pinkie, Dash, and Applejack heading behind an empty water tank. Fluttershy and Twilight moved to a crate behind them and readied their weapons. Four Sectoids were ahead somewhere, based on the footsteps and chittering. Dash and Applejack burst into the building, surprising the Sectoids. Pinkie fired through the window of the building, clipping a Sectoid which then fell to Twilight’s fire. Fluttershy had not fired yet, and seemed reluctant to do so. Dash, true to her name, galloped to point-blank of a Sectoid, blasting it with her rifle. This earned her a near miss from a plasma pistol, only dodged by her sudden hover. Applejack finished the Sectoid off with a grenade, Dash ducking and covering.
The last Sectoid seemed different from the rest. It had a more reddish skin and a veinier head. It dashed for cover and flipped a switch on its plasma pistol, letting loose a continuous stream of fire. Applejack pulled out but Dash was flushed from her cover. The sectoid adjusted its aim, before getting a faceful of cream. Fluttershy was livid.
“How.. how DARE you try to kill my friend?!” she demanded the alien, her Stare boring into its eyes. It almost seemed nonchalant before projecting a purple stream from its head into Fluttershy’s forehead. She twitched slightly before turning to the broken window and sending a burst out of her rifle at Pinkie. While the body armor did little to stop plasma, it was well suited to bullets, and it only bruised Pinkie at that range.
“It.. it appears that Fluttershy is under a mind control.. I did not foresee this!” Luna stated, struggling to keep her cool. The mind-controlled mare advanced through the building and let another stream of automatic fire report from her weapon. This burst was aimed at Applejack, and again failed in penetrating her armor. Not-Fluttershy looked displeased, before grabbing a small green sphere from her backpack. Strike-One realized her- or rather the Sectoid’s- plan.
“GRENADE! GET AWAY!” Applejack screamed as she dove for cover. Dash flattened herself on the ground, Twilight ducked behind her crate, and Pinkie hid within her empty rifle clip. Not-Fluttershy pulled her grenade into the air before it exploded in a brilliant burst, obscuring her. When the smoke cleared Fluttershy wasn’t there. The alien chittered again but was cut off by Dash grabbing her pistol and dumping four rounds into its head. It chittered no more.
“G-good work, Strike-One..” Luna said, disturbed by how easily Fluttershy fell to the alien’s control. “Return to the Skyranger. Sensors confirm that was the last of them.”
The silent contemplation of before was replaced with uneasy stares as the Skyranger flew home in the early morning, one seat empty.
end of chapter
