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                           Flux                            
                       -by Nurzhan-                        
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              Chapter 1: Upon Shooting Stars               
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Chapter 1: Upon Shooting Stars
Lunchtime rolled around in Ponyville, and so far; for Twilight Sparkle, it seemed like the perfect, relaxing, minimally-life-threatening, spring day. Just outside town, among a field of freshly bloomed flowers, the princess laid on a stereotypical red and white checkered blanket surrounded by her friends, wicker picnic baskets, good food, and sweet lemonade. Taking a bite from her vegetable sandwich, Twilight hoped she and her friends would have a day without harrowing events.
There would be no escapees from Tartarus draining ponies of their magic. There would be no chaotic god-like beings upsetting the balance of harmony. There would be no changeling queens devouring the love of her brother. And, it goes without saying. There would be no space monsters falling from the sky. Twilight Sparkle's train of thought suddenly derailed after that odd space monster notion. After a moment of over analyzing, she simply shrugged it off as a moment of insanity, and once again boarded that previously derailed train of thought. Yes, just one day of peace was all she wanted. “I hope that’s not too much to ask for...” Twilight took a swig of lemonade to chase down the sandwich.
“Ask fer what, sugar cube?" Applejack curiously asked.
“Oh nothing, Applejack. I'm just thinking out loud.”
“I know! I know!” interjected an exuberant Pinkie Pie waving around a hoof covered in blue cupcake frosting. “Ooo! Frosting!” The pink pony’s tongue rolled out her mouth and licked up the cupcake residue before she continued in a much more serious tone, “Twilight wants to ask the space aliens something.”
Twilight’s right eye twitched as she began to have an inner argument with herself. Pinkie Pie couldn't read minds. At least, Twilight didn't think so at first. Then she began to entertain the notion that Pinkie Pie could, in fact, read minds. How she could do that, Twilight had no idea. Perhaps Pinkie Pie was an alien herself and able to use telepathy to manipulate the minds around her. It would certainly explain a lot. Realizing her sanity was about to go off the deep end, Twilight immediately halted her thought process, and instead, imagined happy thoughts to delay her descent into madness.
“Aliens?! Where?!” Rainbow Dash looked quickly from side to side, likely in search of space monsters to beat up.
Visibly shaken, Fluttershy asked, “Sp-sp-space Aliens? Do you think they e-eat ponies?” She covered her head with her front hooves and whimpered.
Rarity let out a lady-like giggle. “Don’t be silly, darlings. There is no such thing as space aliens.”
“Really, Rarity? Of all the things that have happened to us in the past couple years, space aliens are beyond the scope of your imagination?” Twilight sighed before continuing, “Either way, if there are sapient life forms that have the ability to traverse the stars, they’re probably benevolent, supremely intelligent, and wise. Much like Princess Celestia. Not simple-minded beasts who would try to eat us.”
“Are ya suggest’n Princess Celestia’s from nother planet?”
Twilight joked, “Well. I suppose anything is possible, Applejack.” At her remark, the group of friends burst out into a fit of laughter.
Escaping the cover of the clouds, the sun revealed itself in all its majestic glory. “Wait a minute…” Twilight muttered while glancing at the sun, realizing something was off. The sun definitely wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Confused, Twilight looked in the direction of where it should be, and to her bewilderment, found a second sun in the sky. As Twilight’s mind attempted to make sense of what she was witnessing, she glanced at the imposter sun, then to the original, then back to the imposter, then to the original yet again. “Someone’s trying to ruin my day…” Twilight's right eye twitched once again. “Is anyone else seeing this?!”
“See what, Twilight dear?” Rarity took a sip from her glass of lemonade.
Twilight pointed out the two suns. “That!”
“Whoa, double suns…” Chewed gem fragments fell from Spike’s mouth as he spoke.
“Ah woke up early this mornin ta watch tha sunrise. Ah only saw one sun come up over tha horizon. Ah bet all ma apples, Discord’s up t'his usual shenanigans.”
“All your apples? I’ll take that bet!” Rainbow Dash snickered.
“Who’s to say Princess Celestia doesn’t dabble in the occasional mischief? Why does everypony always blame me when something out of the ordinary happens? Hmm?” said a familiar and not particularly wanted voice.
Heads turned to find Discord sitting on a lawn chair, wearing sunglasses, and drinking lemonade through a crazy straw. With all eyes on him, he looked behind himself, then forward again. “What’s everypony looking at?”
“Discord!” Everyone shouted in perfect unison, including Discord himself.
“You fix the sky right now, mister!” demanded Pinky Pie, getting right up into Discord’s face.
Discord snapped his finger-like digits. Immediately, a balloon appeared and started blowing away in the breeze.
“Hey! Come back! I wanna draw a smiley face on you!” With teeth, Pinky Pie pulled out a marker from her mane. Then she carelessly hopped off, chasing after the fleeting balloon.
“As much as I want to take credit, this isn’t my doing.” Discord took a long swig of lemonade through his crazy straw.
Rarity accused Discord, “You’ve betrayed us before, and recently, I might add. Forgive me if I’m finding it hard to believe you.” All but Fluttershy, and, of course, Discord, nodded in agreement with the unicorn's statement.
Fluttershy spoke up in defense of her wily friend, “Guys, don’t be so harsh on him. Discord has worked really hard to reconcile himself since the Tirek incident. If he says he didn’t do it, then I believe him.” Why Fluttershy always trusted the Spirit of Chaos so wholeheartedly, Twilight presumed she would never know.
In a flash, Discord’s lawn chair and drink disappeared. Suddenly, his mismatched wings spread, and he began hovering above the ground. Over his head, a glowing halo appeared. “Fluttershy is right. I’m completely innocent.” After a moment, his halo slipped down around his neck and began choking him. He struggled physically for a few seconds before snapping his finger-like digits, resulting in the attacking halo to disappear.
“You’re not helping your case!” Twilight exclaimed as Discord took a moment to catch his breath.
Suddenly wearing a black and white striped convict's outfit, Discord pointed to the sky. “Oh? Am I on trial? Perhaps you should all look at that second sun in the sky.”
They all looked at the sky to witness the imposter sun begin to shrink in size. At the same time, a rogue ball of light split off from the primary source and began descending at an incredible speed like a shooting star. After a moment, whatever it was, broke the sound barrier with a resounding sonic boom. All glass in the area shattered. Lemonade was spilled. Sunglasses were ruined. And judging from the screams of surprise that came from the direction of Ponyville, all the windows in town must have been shattered as well.
For a short, hair-raising moment, the shooting star looked like it was heading straight for the group of friends. Fortunately, the flying object passed by overhead. Little more than a flaming blur, Twilight could just barely make out some of the more prominent features of the object. One thing was for sure. It most certainly didn’t look like anything she had ever seen before. Which was surprising, considering Twilight Sparkle had seen her share of meteorites in her many studies of astronomy. Her first assessment, from appearances, was that it didn’t look to be naturally formed like a typical meteor. It was angular and streamlined as if designed by someone or something to be aerodynamic. Not only that, but some of the fire coming off it looked as if it were being generated by the object itself, as a form of propulsion.
Rainbow Dash tossed aside broken sunglasses. “It’s going towards the Everfree Forest!” She sounded more excited than usual. This wasn’t surprising, considering the thing in question was moving just as fast, or possibly even faster than anyone had ever seen the Wonderbolt academic fly, an impressive feat in itself.
Twilight was captivated by the display, and judging from the expressions everyone was making. Her friends were too. As the strange object got closer to the Everfree Forest, and the ground, the fiery propulsion from its backside cut out. The object instead shot torrents of fire forward, causing the thing to rapidly slow down before disappearing beyond the tree line in the distance.
After a moment of dumbfounded silence, Rainbow Dash spoke first, “That was so,” she squealed like a fangirl while doing a back flip in the air, “awesome! Did you guys see how fast it was going?! I’m going after it!”
Before the overly eager pegasus could fly off, Twilight Sparkle shouted, “Rainbow Dash, stop!”
Doing as told, Rainbow looked back and complained, “But why?!”
Twilight Sparkle went into lecture mode, “Several reasons. Firstly, that thing went down in the Everfree Forest, which is a dangerous place by itself. Secondly, to elaborate on my first point, a large band of unruly diamond dogs set up camp in the forest recently. So we need to stick together so we have safety in numbers. Thirdly-”
Rainbow Dash interjected, “Safety in numbers. I got it! Come on, guys.” Giving her friends a chance to catch up, she landed and started walking towards the forest.
Twilight huffed and whipped her tail. “How dare she interrupt my lecture! I’ll have to give her a lecture about interrupting lectures later!"
Discord’s convict outfit disappeared. “Ooo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo… This should be good.” He followed after Rainbow Dash while eating popcorn out of a bag that had suddenly manifested in his paw.
Spike followed after Rainbow Dash and Discord. “This is so cool! It’s just like in my comic books! I bet that was some kind of alien spacecraft.”
Twilight was conflicted. On one hoof, she was beyond curious about the strange, otherworldly object and what amazing secrets it might contain. On the other hoof, it could be dangerous in the Everfree Forest, especially considering the diamond dogs. She was really looking forward to a safe and relaxing day, not a perilous and stressful one.
“Umm, Twilight?”
“Yes, Fluttershy?”
“I’m worried about the animals in the forest. Do you think that thing is dangerous?”
Twilight’s curiosity won over her resolve. “If it is, we’ll put a stop to it. Let’s go; I’m sure we’ll be fine, as long as we all stick together.”
“Okay, if you think so.” Fluttershy responded, timidly.
Applejack trotted over to Rainbow Dash and then maintained the pegasi’s pace. They were followed shortly after by Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle. “Ah wonder if aliens like apples?” Applejack asked.
“Too bad you’re giving all your apples to me.” Rainbow Dash looked over at Applejack, grinning.
“Wipe that stupid grin off yer face. That weren’t a real bet. Ya never put anything on the table.”
“Well, what do you want?” Rainbow Dash inquired, maintaining the grin.
“Do ya think ah just fell off the apple cart?! Ah’m not gonna bet for somethin if ah already know ah lost.” Applejack whipped her tail, then looked back towards Rarity. Having gained some distance from her friend, Applejack had to holler, “Comin, Rarity?!”
“You all go ahead! I’m going to pack up the picnic! It would be unbecoming of a lady to leave this mess just laying around! I’ll join up with you all later!”
Four ponies, a baby dragon, and one supposedly reformed Spirit of Chaos expressed their gratitude to Rarity, then continued on their way towards the mystical Everfree Forest in search of a supposed extraterrestrial craft.
Sunlight trickled down through the thick green canopies of the Everfree Forest. With the winter months having come and gone, new growth was everywhere. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Discord, Fluttershy, and Spike followed the lead of Rainbow Dash. Who had previously, flown ahead to determine which direction the object had gone down. Fortunately, she had the common sense not to get too close without her friends.
Roughly an hour ago, shortly after they had entered the forest, the adventuring party heard several more sonic booms. Because of the thick canopies, no one on the ground could have seen what was causing the glass shattering sound waves. All ponies that could fly ascended above the trees to watch. To their amazement, they witnessed countless fiery objects falling like rain upon the expanse of the land. One such object went down somewhere in the Apple Family Orchard. Once informed, Applejack, although concerned, decided to stay with the group. She figured Big Mac could handle any trouble the object brought with it.
Despite all the commotion in the skies earlier, the initial excitement was starting to die down. Pesky vines, thick exposed roots, ferns, and various other undergrowth significantly hindered the party’s moving speed, and Twilight’s friends were beginning to get restless.
“I’m purtty sure we already passed that there tree. Are ya positive this is tha right way, Rainbow?”
“For the last time, Applejack. Yes, this is the right way!” Rainbow Dash pushed out her chest and took on a heroic pose. “I’m an excellent scout. Can't you tell from my pose?”
“We’re definitely lost...” Applejack muttered under her breath.
Rainbow Dash’s chest deflated. “What did you say?”
“Oh, nothin. Nothin at all. Keep on leadin us in circles.”
Rainbow huffed and whipped her tail. She opened her mouth to likely retort but was interrupted by Twilight Sparkle. “Quit bickering, you two!” About to go into yet another one of her famous lectures, Twilight Sparkle stopped in her tracks, like everyone else, when shouting and pained howling echoed throughout the woods.
Suddenly, two hulking diamond dogs appeared from the brush. One carried a crude battle ax, the other held an alien looking device in his paws. Both wore rusty iron armor splattered with blood. Something was off though. Their eyes glowed an ominous red and judging from the distressed looks on their ugly faces, they weren’t expecting Twilight and her friends. One such friend, by the name of Fluttershy, screamed in terror as she hastily made her escape in the exact opposite direction of the red-eyed dogs. Discord followed after the spooked pegasus. From the nonchalant way he carried himself, Twilight doubted he was all that scared. Perhaps he only wanted to protect his first ever friend. The princess was worried for Fluttershy, but a greater issue, the menacing diamond dogs, demanded her attention.
”Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash yelled. Naturally concerned for her friend, she moved to follow, but Applejack stopped her.
“Let er go, Rainbow. Can’t believe ah’m sayin this, but she’ll be safer with Discord fer now.” Applejack reassured.
Rainbow merely nodded and turned to face the diamond dogs. She took on a fighting stance while Applejack and Twilight both followed suit. Even Spike picked up a stick and bravely prepared himself for battle.
“Pack Leader Dagar will reward us well for your heads, little ponies.” The dog with the battle ax raised his weapon. Looking ready to pounce, the diamond dog hesitated when another pained howl, this one sounding much closer than the previous ones, echoed throughout the forest.
Followed by the sounds of unseen entities moving hastily through the undergrowth, a third diamond dog appeared behind the previous two. “Run! Monster is too strong! Get leader!”
The sound of heavy footfalls followed the emergence of a fourth, much larger biped: a being with a heavily muscled body structure, resembling that of a male minotaur without horns. This newcomer wore what looked like an extremely flexible suit. Much like a chameleon, the suit seemed to actively mimic the forest terrain in color. It was unlike anything Twilight had ever seen before, and it just about covered every part of the creature’s body, including its hands. Upon its feet were chameleon-like boots. Which Twilight figured were made of metal, but she couldn’t be sure without further examination. Over the torso part of the suit was a vest, covered with many pockets, and made of similar color altering material. To complete the intimidating visage, the large creature wore a helmet with a featureless faceplate. The helmet appeared to be made of the same material of the creature's boots but had no visible gaps for breathing or seeing through. Yet, the creature didn’t seem hindered by a lack of oxygen or sight. In fact, it was impossible to tell, from appearances, whether or not there was anything made of flesh and bone behind all the apparel. It could have been a construct or golem, powered by magic.
“Where dog-men going? Kaz not done with you.” The towering being had a deep beastly voice. Despite having no visible orifice to talk through, his voice, although gruff, was clearly understood.
One of the diamond dogs howled as the monstrous creature got a hand on him. Before the dog could even struggle against the monster’s grip, he was brutally slammed against a nearby tree. Bits of wooden shrapnel flew in almost every direction.
“Stay awhile.” The monstrous being released his grip on the then unconscious diamond dog. The dog’s broken body slid down to the ground, revealing a gaping indentation in the tree; a testament to the being’s no doubt, immense strength.
The monster turned to the two remaining dogs. One fled, the other lifted his battle ax above his head and attempted to bring it down upon the monster.
With no hesitation whatsoever, the monster caught the ax blade in the palm of his hand. At the same time, his other hand formed a fist and met the diamond dog’s face with stunning force. Broken teeth were scattered on the forest floor as the dog was knocked back an impressive distance. He hit the ground like a sack of potatoes fired out of a cannon. Needless to say, the dog was either dead or close to it. With his opposition incapacitated or fleeing, Kaz, what the monster had called himself, turned to the group of ponies. “You want fight Kaz too?”
Twilight Sparkle was terrified. She had never witnessed such a display of violence before, and a diamond dog couldn’t even get through the material of Kaz’s suit with a damned battle ax. Fighting this creature would be ludicrous. The only option she could think of was to turn tail and run. Maybe they could outrun the bloodthirsty monster. He was massive in size and probably very heavy. There was no way he could keep up with fleeing ponies, but when she tried to yell at her friends to flee, she couldn’t find her voice. She wanted to run, but her legs felt like jelly. All she could do was stand there and wait for her imminent demise.
“I’ll fight you, monster!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Her wings buzzed away, lifting her off the ground. She then made boxing motions at the air with her front hooves.
Rainbow, you idiot! Twilight Sparkle wanted to shout, but the words wouldn’t escape her.
“Hur hur hur… Kaz like you, kid. You got spunk. Kaz give you free shot.” Kaz opened a panel to some kind of wrist mounted device. His fingers tapped the surface of the strange device before closing the panel. Suddenly, Kaz’s helmet began to glow. Then, amazingly, it appeared to retreat into an earpiece in one of Kaz’s strange-looking ears. Without a helmet, the being that stood before the group of ponies seemed to be but flesh and bone.
Without the concealment provided by his helmet, Kaz was a savage-looking creature. He had hairless and rough gray skin. Half his face was covered with black tattoos, somewhat elegant in their own strange way. His ugly mug, however, was anything but. The monster’s facial features, like his personality and voice, were beast-like in nature. He looked like an unnatural cross between a reptile, a canine, and an ape. Bestial and sharp-looking teeth were contained by a stubby snout with four reptile-like nostrils. His narrowed yellow eyes reminded Twilight somewhat of her baby dragon assistant's, but far more hardened. His pointed ears were unlike that of a pony. They resided on the sides of his head and were swept back, resembling that of an ape’s.
Kaz produced a cigar from one of the many pockets of his vest and placed it in his mouth. From another pocket, he pulled out a worn lighter and lit the cigar before putting the lighter back in his vest.  “Come at me, Cloudbutt.” Smoke was expelled from his four nostrils as he taunted Rainbow Dash.
Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash was never one to back down from a challenge, and the hotheaded pegasus certainly wasn’t ready to start now. “Here I come!” Rainbow bolted through the air at Kaz like rainbow streaked lightning, back hooves first.
Kaz stumbled backward ever so slightly when Rainbow Dash made contact on his exposed face. “Not bad, kid. Now it Kaz’s turn.” Astonishingly, there were no signs of pain in his voice. Before Rainbow Dash could even move her hoof away from the monster’s face, he grabbed her leg with one hand, then swung the poor pegasus in a circle over his head. He was about to slam her into the ground before Twilight found her voice and yelled, “Stop!” at the top of her lungs.
Amazingly, Kaz stopped. Rainbow Dash, looking dazed, just hung there in the monster’s grip. “Okay, Kaz stop.” He said before simply releasing Rainbow from his grip. She fell to the forest floor with a thud.  Exhaling more smoke, Kaz took the cigar, somehow undisturbed by Rainbow’s attack, from his mouth, and tapped ash off the tip. He displayed enough manners not to get any remnants of burnt tobacco on Rainbow Dash, who lay by his boots. He then returned the cigar to his mouth and resumed smoking. “You guys know where Kaz’s friends are? Everything here look same to Kaz. Kaz think he lost.”
“Ya have friends?!” Applejack exclaimed.
Kaz was bad enough, but the thought that there could be more of these brutish creatures wandering around Equestria was downright terrifying. Although, the fact that Twilight and her friends weren’t dead yet, thanks to Kaz’s mercy, somewhat calmed Twilight to the point she wasn’t completely immobilized by fear.
“Why hard to believe Kaz have friends!? Kaz make good friend! Kaz would be Kaz’s friend!”
“Calm down, fella. We’re all jus a lil worked up from all that’s happened. We ain't never seen a creature like ya before.” Surprisingly calm, Applejack was the mature one as always.
“You talk funny, Applebutt.” Kaz stated, ironically.
“Ah talk funny?! Yer language skills are atrocious!”
“What you say?! Kaz talk good! You talk atro-o... atro... art... You talk weird! Why you no talk normal like Cloudbutt, and why Sparklebutt no talk much, Applebutt?”
“Ma whole family talks like me. It’s not weird ‘round here. And stop callin me Applebutt! Mah name’s Applejack.” Applejack pointed back at Twilight. “And that there’s Princess Twilight Sparkle, not Sparklebutt. Show some respect.”
Twilight had a million questions buzzing about in her mind, but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a simple, “Hi.” and a nervous laugh. After that, she just stared awkwardly at Kaz.
“Okay, If you say so, Applebutt.”
Applejack glared at the big disrespectful monster.
Rainbow Dash, after being swung around like a rag doll, regained some of her composure. She stumbled to her hooves, obviously still a little dizzy. “Hey, you’ve got some quick moves for such a big guy.” The pegasus used her wings to hover off the forest floor. When she was eye level with Kaz, she extended her hoof. “You can call me Rainbow Dash, bro.”
Kaz just stared at Rainbow Dash’s extended hoof for a long awkward moment. Until finally he asked, “You think Kaz is your brother?”
“Yeah! You seem like a cool guy!”
Once again, Kaz displayed terrifying speed when he grabbed Rainbow Dash and pulled her into what could have been described as a hug. At least, Twilight hoped it was a hug, and not a death squeeze.
“You make Kaz so happy, Mister Rainbow Dash. Kaz always wanted a little brother. Now Kaz have one!” Maintaining the hug, Kaz stroked Rainbow Dash’s multi-colored mane with one of his hands.
Rainbow Dash’s cheeks turned beet red. “I’m a girl!”
“Huh?” Kaz stretched out his arms in front of him while still holding the embarrassed pegasus. He looked Rainbow Dash up and down with his narrowed, reptile-like eyes. “If you not boy, why you talk and act like one?”
“That’s just my personality!”
“Oh, Kaz get it now. You like the ladies.” Kaz winked at Rainbow Dash.
Applejack collapsed and started rolling around on the forest floor, laughing uncontrollably.
Twilight didn’t think it was possible, but Rainbow’s cheeks turned an even darker shade of red. The obviously offended pegasus squirmed in Kaz’s hands. Voice breaking, a very upset Rainbow Dash defended herself, “How dare you! I like stallions!”
Kaz carefully set Rainbow Dash on the ground. “Kaz sorry, miss Dash. Kaz no mean to offend you. Kaz friends always tell Kaz not to make assumptions. Assumptions get Kaz in trouble… Can Kaz still be your bro?”
Cheeks returning to their normal shade of cyan, Rainbow Dash sighed as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Fine, as long as we’re clear… bro.” Once again, Rainbow extended her hoof at Kaz.
“Thank you, little sis! Kaz happy again!” The big alien fist bumped the pegasi’s hoof.
Spike waddled over to Kaz's side and tugged on his suit pants. “Hi, I’m Spike the dragon. Are you a space alien, Mister Kaz?”
Exhaling cigar smoke, Kaz looked down at the significantly smaller dragon. “Kaz not alien. Kaz is Kaz. You alien, tiny purple lizard man.”
“But you do have a spaceship, right?” Spike looked up at Kaz; teeth bared and beaming.
“It not my spaceship. It Ro’s. Captain Ro just lets Kaz ride in it.”
Nothing made sense to Twilight Sparkle anymore. Her mind was racing a million miles an hour. She kept thinking back to earlier at the picnic when she had said that beings with the ability to traverse the stars wouldn’t be simpleminded beasts. Yet, here was Kaz, a simpleton to put it lightly. Was he some kind of a pet of more intelligent aliens? Or was he smarter than he let on?
Suddenly, a rock, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, hit Kaz on the side of his head. Displaying no signs of pain, he simply turned his head towards the direction the rock had come from. “Sputnik! Oh is Kaz happy to see you! Look, Kaz make new friends!”
Presumably the thrower of the rock, a significantly smaller entity with a long tail, jumped down from a tree branch. This little guy was roughly the size of Spike, but far thinner, even with the sleek alien suit and helmet he wore.
Seeming to ignore Twilight and her friends, Sputnik pointed accusingly at Kaz. “You big stupid oaf!“ His voice was masculine, but not nearly as deep as his associate. Sputnik traversed quickly across the forest floor. His movements were similar to that of a small, agile monkey. He climbed up Kaz and perched himself on the larger alien’s shoulder. “Kaz, how many times do I have to tell you?!” The tiny alien smacked the back of Kaz’s head with his tiny hand. “Don’t wander off! And why were you not responding over comms? Did you turn on mute again?”
“Oh, is that why no one was talking?” Kaz opened the panel to his wrist device. After a few quick finger movements across the surface, Kaz closed the panel and said, “Kaz hear the voices again.”
Sputnik looked around at the broken bodies of diamond dogs. “Did you do this?!”
“Yeah, Kaz do that.”
Sputnik facepalmed, or rather, helmet palmed. “These creatures are wearing armor. They were wielding weapons. Crude, primitive weapons, and armor, but weapons and armor none the less. They must have had at least a semblance of intelligence.” Sputnik huffed, “Our first encounter with a sentient alien race, and you greeted them with violence! We’ve been on this planet for less than two hours, and you’ve already initiated an interspecies war. What am I going to do with you, Kaz?”
“They attack Kaz first! Kaz no mean to start interspecies war...”
Somehow, through the jumbled mess buzzing about in her mind, Twilight formed enough of a train of thought to express a complete sentence vocally. In defense of Kaz, she blurted out, “I-Its all true. Those Diamond Dogs were hostile. They would've killed us, given the chance. Kaz saved us.”
The monkey-like creature hid partially behind Kaz’s head. “That thing can talk galactic common! It must be a mutant, bred to kill by the Galactic Dominion. Quick Kaz, blast them! Blast them all before they self-destruct!”
“Does Kaz have to?” Kaz picked up Rainbow Dash again. “Kaz just make new sister! Isn’t that right little sis Rainbow Dash?” Kaz expelled a puff of smoke in Rainbow Dash’s face, causing her to cough.
“Err… um…” Rainbow looked at Twilight for confirmation. Twilight in return motioned for pegasus to continue. “Yeah! We’re siblings in everything but blood!”
“Kaz! You put that thing down right now!” Sputnik yelled.
Doing as told, Kaz put Rainbow Dash down on the forest floor. The pegasus rebelliously stuck her tongue out at Sputnik before taking her place beside her closest friends.
Applejack huffed and whipped her tail. Twilight had rarely seen Applejack look as furious as she did now. “Hey, ya space varment! We ain’t things, or its, or mutants. We’re ponies, and we won’t stand fer yer insults!”
Spike looked visibly shaken. “Twilight, c-can ponies really self-destruct?”
“Don’t be absurd, Spike.”
“Okay, if you’re not Dominion mutants, then please, help me understand. We’re on an uncharted planet in an unknown galaxy, and you just so happen to speak Galactic Common? Coincidence? I think not.”
“Galactic Common? We’re all speakin Equestrian, ya spiteful lil varment.” Applejack’s voice had a bite to it.”
The tiny alien didn’t take kindly to Applejack’s insulting words. “That’s it! Kaz, If you won’t kill these monstrosities, then I’ll do it myself!” From his perch on Kaz’s shoulder, the tiny alien looked down at Kaz’s back, then stopped in his tracks. “Kaz…?” Sputnik’s tone had changed drastically.
“What now?” Kaz asked.
“Where’s your J43?”
“Kaz’s what?”
“Your plasma rifle? Where is it?.”
“It not there?”
“You lost it, didn’t you…”
Suddenly maniacal laughter echoed throughout the forest. From the brush, the biggest diamond dog Twilight had ever laid eyes on, showed himself. At his side were at least a dozen more vicious looking diamond dogs. All with a red glow in their eyes, barbaric weapons in their paws, and crude metal armor on their flesh.
The larger dog was truly a terrifying sight to behold. No doubt the leader, the dog wore a vest covered in bones and a multiple of rare jewels, sewn into the fabric. Upon his head, was a large jawless skull of some dastardly monster he must have slain. But that wasn’t the scariest part of the diamond dog leader. In his paws was an alien looking device. The same device Twilight had seen carried away by the lackey who now stood next to him. The dog who had run away from Kaz earlier.
From the look on Kaz’s face, and the fact that he wasn’t charging headlong at the diamond dogs, Twilight quickly put two and two together. The device was Kaz’s misplaced plasma rifle. She didn’t know what rifle meant, but she knew what plasma was, and the damage it could do if it were superheated. If Kaz was being cautious, no doubt, it was some sort of alien weapon.
“Pitiful whelps, I am Dagar, leader of the Bloodtooth Pack.” Dagar’s raspy voice dripped with malice. “Behold! The gods have granted me a weapon to smite my foes. No more shall we scrounge for scraps while our enemies indulge in riches. With this weapon, all of Equestria will bow before my might!”
“What is plan, Sputnik?” Kaz inquired. There was no response from the tiny alien. He was nowhere to be found. “Sputnik…?”
From what Twilight Sparkle knew about diamond dog tactics, given the option, diamond dogs always attacked the most threatening target first, much like a pack of feral wolves. The leader’s glowing red eyes passed by Kaz and settled on Twilight. “Ah, what do we have here? An alicorn princess? Here in my forest? I’m flattered that royalty would come to visit me.” With a madcap grin on his face, he pointed the plasma rifle at the princess. “You die first.”
She was the most threatening target? Fear overtook Twilight again. She had a few last resort spells for a situation like this, but when she attempted to concentrate on casting a spell, her horn wouldn’t even so much as glow. Her mind raced even faster at the realization she was too scared to even use her magic.
Obviously, the so-called plasma rifle was a dangerous and powerful weapon. Otherwise, the leader wouldn’t be flaunting it as he was. Filled with unrelenting fear, Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes and braced herself for the worse.
Loud blasts in rapid succession followed. It was unlike anything Twilight ever had the displeasure of hearing. The terrible noise lasted for the longest fifteen seconds of Twilight Sparkle’s far too short life. Then, just as fast as it started, the blasts cut out. What quickly followed was a raspy howl of pain, the sound of something being chucked at the ground, and then a steady and constant hissing noise. That’s when Twilight smelled it, a sickening scent that she would never forget; the burning of living flesh. Yet, it couldn’t have been her flesh, she felt no pain.
Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes cautiously. The first thing she saw was Kaz standing directly in front of her, his face scrunched up and frowning, and cigar somehow still in his mouth. Grunting painfully, he collapsed to his knees as the cigar fell from his lips. Then he simply let his body fall into the dirt next to the smoldering cigar. That’s when Twilight saw the source of that horrible smell. Still sizzling wounds covered Kaz’s back. Plasma had eaten away his protective suit like it was made of paper, searing the flesh beneath. It was a gruesome sight to behold, but there wasn’t much blood. The wounds were cauterized by the sheer heat of the superheated plasma.
Twilight Sparkle hadn’t known Kaz for very long, but he displayed kindness to her friends and herself in that short time. He even sacrificed himself to save somepony he hardly knew. He may have been violent, but he didn’t deserve such a fate. In her mind, no one deserved to be burned alive, not even the diamond dog that did this to him.
Twilight first looked to her friends to make sure they weren’t hurt. Then she turned her eyes to the monster that tried to kill her. The unholy weapon laid on the ground, venting bluish glowing gas. As for Dagar, he no longer had front paws, just cauterized stumps. As he stood there, howling in agony, the second largest diamond dog of the pack stepped forward. He knocked Dagar’s skull hat off, and then bashed the suffering pack leader’s head in with a large bone-mace. Blood and brain matter splattered across Dagar’s executioner and various plants in the area. With a gaping hole in his head, Dagar fell over as life drained from what was left of his face. Twilight Sparkle lost her lunch from watching the violent and bloody display of diamond dog diplomacy.
“Dagar is no longer fit to rule.” With Dagar’s bloodied and lifeless body at his hind paws, the murderous hulking dog pointed to himself, “I, Graul, pack leader now.” The other dogs kneeled and lowered their heads. It was a display of respect for their new leader. “Rise, my brothers! We outnumber these pathetic ponies! Bring me their heads so I can place them on spikes in front of Ponyville.” The pack leader then pointed at Spike, “Kill that plump baby dragon too. I’ll have him for supper.”
At that last remark, Spike whimpered and hid behind Twilight. “Twilight! Do something!” he cried as tears ran down his chubby cheeks.
As the pack of bloodthirsty diamond dogs circled, Rainbow Dash and Applejack bravely took on fighting stances, preparing for the worst.
“Twi, ya best come up with a plan fast like. We’re all in a heap of trouble ere if ya don’t.” Applejack’s voice had an underlying fear behind it. Something that the farmer pony rarely displayed.
“Yeah! And I can’t miss my training at the Wonderbolt Academy this weekend!” Rainbow's voice betrayed her fear as well.
Twilight Sparkle was running out of options. The diamond dogs were closing in fast, and they had already blocked off all possible escape paths by ground. As she wiped the excess vomit from her lips, an idea struck her. It was so simple, she could hit herself for not thinking of it quicker. “If we can’t go through them, then we’ll go over them!” Twilight spread her wings and commanded a sobbing Spike onto her back. “Rainbow Dash, carry Applejack! We’ll take to the sky!”
“Alright!” Rainbow Dash spread her wings. Then she hovered over to Applejack, preparing to pick her up.
“Good thi-” Before Applejack could even finish what she was trying to say, Pack Leader Graul closed the distance and slammed his bone-mace into Rainbow Dash’s side with a sickening crack. Wing mangled, Rainbow screamed out in agony, then collapsed on top of the apple farmer. Applejack lost her balance from the unexpected weight and the two tumbled over to the ground next to Kaz’s body.
     Helpless, Twilight watched in horror as Graul raised his bone-mace and prepared to finish off her friends like he did the previous pack leader. To Twilight, it seemed like all hope was lost, but just before Graul’s bone-mace made contact with Rainbow Dash’s head, Kaz’s hand shot forth and wrapped around the pack leader’s ankle. He then yanked the dog off his hind paws, saving Twilight’s friends at the very last moment. Kaz rolled over and attempted to smash Graul’s face in with his elbow, but the pack leader was too fast and rolled out the way before jumping to his hind paws. The pack leader quickly backed up and put himself between his diamond dog lackeys and Kaz. The large alien rose from the ground and roared, “You hurt little sis Rainbow Dash! Now YOU die!”
“Kill the monster! Kill the Princess! Kill them all!” Graul’s voice displayed a hint of worry.
Two dogs closed in on Twilight Sparkle. Their faces expressed their deep hatred as they attempted to run her through with spears. Somehow Twilight managed to jump out of the way of the spear thrusts, but her hoof caught an exposed root, and she tripped and fell to the ground with Spike still on her back. Noticing Twilight’s predicament, Kaz grabbed a nearby dog and tossed him at the two pack mates that were assaulting Twilight. What followed was a neck-breaking crack as the thrown dog collided with his allies headfirst. All three dogs fell over next to Twilight and Spike. Out of immediate danger for a short moment, Twilight quickly managed to get up, command Spike to get on her back, and move closer to her friends. The two dogs pushed their dead pack mate off of them, picked up their spears, and rose to their hind paws.
Rainbow Dash attempted to get up, but the pain from her mangled wing proved too much for her, and she fell back down, crying out in agony. “Rainbow, don’t ya move! Yer injured somethin fierce!” Applejack exclaimed, clutching her anguished friend in her forelegs.
By Twilight’s count, eleven of the bloodthirsty dogs, including Graul, were still in tip top shape. All of them looked eager to prove themselves in battle as they surrounded Kaz, Twilight, and her friends. Even with Kaz back into the fray, things didn’t look good, but for some insane reason, Kaz didn’t look worried at all. Kaz tapped his wrist-mounted device and a protective helmet formed around his head. “Who first?” he taunted.
The two Diamond dogs that had been knocked down earlier charged in and thrusted their spears at Kaz. They made contact with his chest, but the spearheads shattered against Kaz’s suit. He grabbed the two dogs, then bashed their skulls into each other. Their heads burst open in a grotesque display.
“Idiots! Get him in the back where there’s less armor!” Graul barked.
Doing as told, Two more dogs approached from behind, and a third charged at Kaz from the front in an attempt to distract Kaz long enough for his pack-mates to stab the towering alien in the back. Kaz displayed far too much experience to be fooled by such a tactic. He just took the hit from the front, allowing his suit to shatter the blade of a rusty ax. Just before the dogs from behind managed to strike, Kaz spun around and backhanded one dog in the face, knocking teeth out and breaking a jaw bone. The other dropped his weapon and howled in pain when Kaz punched him in the stomach where the dog had no armor. He vomited up blood as he collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. No doubt Kaz’s strike had ruptured more than a few of the dog’s internal organs.
With his latest victims incapacitated, Kaz turned around to face the dog holding little more than a bladeless handle. With a horrified look upon his face, urine flowed down the dog's legs. “Run back to mommy.” In response to Kaz’s words, the dog turned tail and ran, whimpering like a scared puppy.
In a bloody display, Graul’s bone-mace hit the back of the fleeing dog’s head. “If anyone even thinks of running, I’ll kill them myself!” Despite Graul’s threatening words, there was obviously disorder in the ranks. The pack’s morality seemed to be dropping as Kaz continued to dispatch dogs with his deadly fists.
Diamond dogs were dropping like flies before Kaz’s might. It wasn’t long until just four remained, including Pack Leader Graul. “Attack him together! He can’t fend us all off at once!” The dogs surrounded Kaz, then charged at him from all sides. Two diamond dogs came in from Kaz’s left and right and thrusted spears at him. Kaz caught both of the spears with each of his hands, then yanked the weapons out of their grip. In a few quick motions, he impressively used the commandeered weapons to pierce cleanly through the skulls of the two dogs. At the same time, a third dog brought a large bone-sword down upon Kaz’s head. The bone-sword shattered against his helmet. In response to the attack, Kaz headbutted the dog in the face, smashing his snout in.”
Pack Leader Graul came in from behind and slammed his bone-mace into Kaz’s exposed and wounded flesh. Kaz grunted as he stumbled forward ever so slightly from the blow to his back. He turned around just as Graul swung his bone-mace a second time. Kaz absorbed the blow with the palm of his hand, then yanked the bone-mace from Graul’s grip, and tossed the weapon at a tree. The bone-mace embedded itself into the trunk.
In a blur, Kaz’s hands shot forth and wrapped around Graul’s throat. He effortlessly lifted the large dog off the ground.
“I yield! I yield! You’re too strong! We could use someone strong like you on our side. You should join us! I’ll even make you pack leader! Just don’t kill me!” Graul begged like a coward.
    Kaz growled menacingly. “You hurt little sis Rainbow Dash! You tried to hurt her friends!” His fingers dug into the dog’s throat. The dog thrashed in Kaz’s vice like grip, but to no avail.
    “I’m sorry! If you let me go, I’ll never harm another pony for as long as I live! I swear!”
    “Kaz tired of your voice.” Kaz’s fingers pierced the dog's throat and dug in. Blood flowed from the wound like running water as the towering alien ripped Graul’s tongue from his throat. Kaz released Graul, and the dog fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding neck. He gurgled, unable to even scream. Putting Pack Leader Graul out of his misery, Kaz crushed the dog’s head beneath his boot.
With no more opposition, Kaz dropped the disembodied tongue on Graul’s mess of a corpse. Then he walked over to his plasma rifle, which was no longer venting gas and used a strap attached to the rifle to sling the weapon over his back.
   Twilight Sparkle found herself surrounded by death. The forest floor was littered with Kaz’s handy work, and the air was thick with the smell of copper. There was so much blood, more blood than Twilight had ever seen in one place. It was stuck in her coat and all over her friends. What she had witnessed today seeped into her mind, and into her soul, like the blood flowing from the dead that surrounded her. She wanted to crawl into a hole and cry like she had never cried before, but she couldn’t. Her friends needed her. Rainbow Dash needed her. The pegasus was severely injured, and hours away from the closest hospital.
   Rainbow Dash had already slipped into unconsciousness from her excruciating pain and blood loss. “Twi, we need to get her ta a hospital now.” Applejack clutched the pegasus in her forelegs, covered in her friend’s blood.
   “Doc Haught is one of the finest doctors from our galaxy. Let us take her back to our starship. It’s not far from here.” Once again, Sputnik was back on Kaz’s shoulder.
     “Ya wanted ta kill us a few minutes ago. Ain’t ya afraid we’ll self-destruct or somethin?” Applejack asked.
Sputnik’s helmet retreated into an earpiece, revealing his true identity. He wasn’t just monkey-like, he was a monkey, a squirrel monkey to be exact. “I’m not stupid. If you bunch could self-destruct, at least one of you would've done it by now. Plus, you wouldn’t be so utterly useless in a fight.”
“This coming from someone who ran away and hid at the first sign of trouble!” Twilight argued.
“Have you seen me?! I’m a foot and a half tall. What use would I be in a fight with those overgrown mutts?”
     “What about that awful plasma doohickey ya were gonna use ta blast us with?” Applejack asked.
     “It was a bluff! I couldn’t actually handle the kickback of that weapon, much less have the strength to aim it. I was hoping to scare you all away.”
   “Then why should we trust you?” Twilight asked the tiny monkey.
“Because, from the rate she’s bleeding out, your friend doesn’t have much time. We’re her only chance at survival.”
Sputnik was right, Twilight and her friends couldn’t get Rainbow Dash to the hospital in time, and for some reason she was still cut off from the use of her magic. So the princess gave in. “Okay, lead the way…”
“You sure we can trust them, Twilight?” Spike asked from Twilight’s back.
“We don’t have much of a choice. Rainbow needs help now!”
“Wise decision. Kaz, would you carry her?” Sputnik said.
“Anything for little sis.” Kaz walked over to the injured pegasus and carefully picked her up.
“Kaz, I never thought your negligence to maintain your weapon would save us one day.” Sputnik stated.
“What you mean?”
“It overheated and melted that beast’s paws off.”
“That was Kaz plan all along.”
“Sure it was…”