Equestria: The Crystal War

Equestria was in ruin. It had been 30 years since Starnet took over, raining down the nuclear bombs with the intent of wiping out the Equestrian race. And it nearly succeeded. But one stallion, Braveheart, led most ponies to safety within the Stables. The Stables were fallout shelters that the ponies used to survive until the nuclear fire subsided. When it had, they emerged from these shelters to find a new threat. Starnet had built machines to hunt down the survivors of the nuclear bombs. Terminators and Hunter Killers patrolled the ruins of Equestria, searching and destroying any surviving ponies. To combat the machines, a resistance rose up. Led by Braveheart’s adopted daughter, Velvet Remedy, the Resistance has made significant progress in bringing down Starnet. 10 years after the destruction of the T-800 factory, the Resistance has set up a base in the depths of the charred and burned White Tail Woods.

Velvet Remedy was sitting in her quarters in the Resistance base, checking over her guns. She was cleaning barrels, polishing scopes, checking ammo, among other tasks. Her wounds from the T-800 factory in Skynet Central had healed, leaving facial scars. Remedy wore a General’s emblem on her uniform. A knock came from her door.

“Come in,” Remedy said. The door opened with a loud creaking, and Braveheart walked inside. He wore a Lieutenant General’s emblem on his torn and patched up uniform.

“Hey Remedy,” he said. Upon hearing her father’s voice, Remedy looked up from her weapon maintenance. Braveheart gave his daughter a warm smile and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. It made a loud clang, but neither pony flinched. Remedy stood up and walked up to her father. They wrapped their hooves around each other in a tight embrace, then held it there for a moment. Remedy broke the hug. She and Braveheart sat down at the table. Remedy looked into her father’s eyes. Despite not being able to age beyond a point, Braveheart started to look old to Remedy. Most would say it was exhaustion from the war. Remedy thought otherwise. She believed it was from his experiences before Starnet even took over. The Rainbow Factory, Pinkamena in her basement, followed by her murder, the second Changeling attack, the Dazzling takeover in the human world, his wife’s death at Sombra’s hooves at the former Crystal Empire, his discovery of Adagio Dazzle’s Pizza’s history, and his enlightenment after meeting Celestia and Luna’s spirits. Braveheart had told Remedy his entire life story during the wait for the fallout to subside from the nuclear fire. His mechanical right front hoof and mechanical wings were proof of his experiences. And Velvet Remedy, she was only here because Braveheart had saved her from the Rainbow Factory years before. Remedy was taken there when her house was ransacked and her parents were killed. She was under forced labor, until Braveheart saved her. When Starnet first took over, Braveheart saved her again as the bombs fell. Now, 40 years later, here they were, about to end this destructive war against Starnet.

“You’ve grown so much,” Braveheart said. “It seems like only yesterday you were a little filly, living with everypony else in the Stables.” Remedy smiled, then it quickly faded.

“Those were better days,” Remedy sighed. “The machines may have taken over, but at least we were safe.”

“True,” Braveheart agreed. “But we had to leave when we did. Otherwise, the machines would have found us regardless.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Remedy said. “I just want this fighting to end.”

“We all do, baby,” Braveheart said. “Nothing good ever comes out of it.” Remedy’s face fell. She put a hoof over her heart. “What is it, Remedy?” Braveheart asked.

“I can’t stop thinking about Pinkamena,” Remedy said. “Her sacrifice to save me.” Braveheart sighed.

“Yeah, me neither,” he said. “We were good friends before Starnet took over. Except for that one time.” Braveheart clenched his robotic hoof. Remedy looked up.

“Dad, what if we don’t succeed?” she asked, worried. “What if Starnet isn’t stopped, and the Resistance falls?” Braveheart was silent for a moment.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “But I do know we can’t fail.” Remedy nodded. Another knock came from the door.

“It’s open,” Remedy said. The door opened, and Rainbow Dash walked in. Dash had grown older with the war. Her flying abilities had faltered slightly, rendering her unable to perform a rainboom, but her senses were as sharp as ever. She was a resilient lieutenant under Remedy’s command, and was Littlepip’s firearms instructor.

“General,” Dash said. “The Resistance is waiting for you. We’re all ready for the attack on Starnet’s central core.”

“I’ll be right there,” Remedy said. Dash nodded and left the room. Braveheart and Remedy stood up, slinging their rifles around their shoulders. Braveheart put his mechanical hoof on his daughter’s shoulder. Remedy nodded with a smile, and the two left the room for the hangar.

Rainbow Dash walked around the hangar, making sure preparations for the attack were in order. Remedy walked into the hangar with Braveheart, and the troops stopped what they were doing and saluted to them. Remedy stepped up onto a plane ladder and faced the troops.

“This will be the end of Starnet’s global network,” she said. “We will finish what we started 20 years ago when this resistance was first formed. This day will mark victory for the Resistance, and defeat for Starnet. Now, let’s crush these machines at their core. Let’s go!” The troops cheered and ran to their transports. Braveheart, Velvet Remedy, Littlepip, and Rainbow Dash got into their helicopter transport. The aircraft took off from the hangar, and flew off to Canterlot, where Starnet’s central core was located. The aircraft engines roared loudly.

“General,” the pilot of Remedy’s chopper called. “Are you sure this is a good idea, going into Starnet’s core hot like this?”

“I want the machines to notice us so the bombers coming in from the south can get a clear shot,” Remedy explained. Braveheart finished putting on his electromagnet suit. Remedy’s suit linked to Braveheart’s, and Pip’s linked to Rainbow Dash’s.

“You ready kid?” Dash asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Pip nodded. A nearby explosion suddenly rocked the aircraft. Braveheart looked outside. The Resistance was coming up on Starnet’s central core. Plasma shots blasted by the helicopters, some hitting their mark. One of the choppers was blown from the sky, and it was sent careening down.

“This is it!” Remedy cried. “Call in the bombers!” Littlepip nodded and pressed a button on her wrist. Within seconds, a group of VTOL attack jets stormed below, dropping their payload. The bombs fell to their targets, and they detonated on impact. The explosions took out the main wall and security gate of the Starnet courtyard, sending rubble in all directions.

“Bombing run successful,” Spitfire reported as she led the jets away. “General Remedy, you are cleared for entry.”

“Copy that,” Remedy said. She and Braveheart connected their electromagnets and started their freefall. Rainbow Dash and Littlepip did the same. The rest of the ground troops dropped from the helicopters, following them down. The Terminators below couldn’t pinpoint the skydivers at their altitude, so they shot wildly in the air at the choppers. The helicopters turned tail and retreated to a safe area. Braveheart did a quick check of his equipment while in freefall. Twilight Sparkle, part of the infiltration team, came close.

“How you doing, Twilight?” Braveheart called over his radio.

“Doing fine,” Twilight replied. “Except that I lost my entire infiltration team. I need more troops.”

“Roger that,” Braveheart nodded. He tuned his radio to Littlepip and Velvet Remedy. “General, Major Sparkle has lost her entire team, leaving us without a way to shut down Starnet. I’m going with her with Littlepip.”

“All right,” Remedy agreed. “You be careful down there.”

“We will,” Braveheart assured. The skydivers were coming up fast on the ground.

“300 meters!” Rainbow Dash called out. “…200…100…NOW!” The Pegasi divers opened their wings and let loose their cargo. The Resistance fighters dropped onto the ground and began their assault. Terminators and Resistance soldiers alike were shot down in the laser fire. Braveheart and Pip followed Twilight around the warzone to a ventilation shaft. Twilight opened up the grate and put it aside.

“In here,” Twilight instructed. She crawled inside, followed by Braveheart, who was followed by Littlepip. Pip shut the grate behind her. The team crawled through the vents quietly, directed by Twilight’s tracker. After a time, Twilight stopped.

“Down here,” she said. She used her magic to open a grate below her and flew down. Braveheart linked up with Pip and flew down as well. They landed behind an unoccupied control panel, and Braveheart and Pip unlinked.

“What’s the plan?” Braveheart asked. Twilight pointed to specific areas.

“Place charges along the main power grid,” she said. “Destroy any Terminators you see. We’re leaving nothing behind.” She gave Braveheart and Pip each a bag of charges, and they slung them over their shoulders. An alarm suddenly sounded through the room.

“Time displacement equipment activated,” a computer voice said. “Preparing Unit 800 Model 101 for time departure.”

“If that Terminator goes through, it will try and reset the future,” Braveheart said. He gave Littlepip his charges. “I’m going to go stop it.” He ran off toward the time displacement equipment, tracking its location on his tracker. Twilight and Pip got to work placing the charges.

Braveheart ran through the facility, shooting down any Terminators in sight. He followed his tracker quickly, in fear of Starnet resetting the future. He got to a viewport window and saw the time displacement equipment. A Terminator resembling Twilight’s mother walked up to it. Braveheart knew he had no time to lose. He put a thermal imploder on the window, set it for 5 seconds, and ducked behind a crate. The charge exploded, sucking in air before expanding outward with fire, completely destroying the window. He extended his wings and bolted down to the Terminator. It whipped around and backhooved Braveheart out of the air. Braveheart dropped his weapons as he fell to the metal floor. The Terminator got an angry face and stormed towards Braveheart. It grabbed him and raised him high, then slammed him back onto the ground. It threw him across the room, and Braveheart hit the sloped wall. He landed next to his fallen pistol. The Terminator walked up, ready to kill him. Braveheart noticed his pistol, and used his magic to grab it. He stood up and stuck the barrel into the Terminator’s mouth. The Terminator grabbed his neck, and began to squeeze. Struggling to breathe, Braveheart tried to pry the Terminator’s hooves away. He inched the trigger closer to firing.

“This is for my past,” he choked. He fired his gun, the blast tearing through the Terminator’s skull. It immediately released its grip on Braveheart, who stumbled back, breathing hard. The Terminator fell onto its side, its head blown inside out. Braveheart sheathed his pistol and picked up his rifle and slung it over his shoulder. His radio erupted with static and voice.

“This is Major Twilight Sparkle,” the radio cried out. “Braveheart, the charges are set. We’re back outside, and we’re suffering heavy casualties.” Braveheart focused his magic and teleported outside. He found his way to his daughter, who was with Littlepip and Twilight.

“Get clear!” Remedy cried over her radio. “Fall back!” The troops followed Remedy away from the warzone. Braveheart and Twilight stayed put. They had to wait until the Resistance fighters were clear before detonating. Terminators started to come closer to their hiding places. The Terminators gained ground on them quickly. Twilight looked over from her hiding place behind a fallen armored truck. Braveheart was ducked behind a destroyed helicopter.

“Do it.” Braveheart nodded. Twilight pulled out her detonator and flicked the switch. Braveheart focused hard and projected a force field around himself. Twilight did the same. A faint boom came from within the facility, and a split second later, the entire plaza erupted in a glorious flash of flame. The blast sent the unsuspecting Terminators flying. It took all of Braveheart’s and Twilight’s willpower to keep their magic shields up. The blast created a mushroom cloud and a shockwave that spread for a mile in diameter. Across Equestria, Terminators shut down, falling to the ground with a loud clatter. Aerial HKs plummeted to the ground, disabled, some exploding on impact. HK tanks stopped rolling and firing, leaving them vulnerable to the Resistance explosives. When the dust and smoke finally settled, Braveheart and Twilight dispersed their force fields. They dropped to the charred ground, exhausted. Braveheart struggled to stand up, but he managed to do so. He hobbled over to Twilight and helped her up.

“It’s over,” he whispered. “It’s all finally over.” The two fighters limped back to the Resistance Base. As they did, a light passed over them. Twilight had fallen unconscious. Braveheart looked up to see a Resistance helicopter overhead. Pegasus ponies dropped from the chopper, and landed in front of Braveheart and Twilight. Two of them took Twilight in their hooves and flew back up to the helicopter. Braveheart tried to fly up, but his left wing suddenly sparked and broke in half. Two Pegasi, Raindrops and Cloudchaser, caught him before he fell, and carried him up to the chopper.

“Thanks for that,” Braveheart said. The two Pegasi saluted with a nod. Braveheart looked to his left, and saw his daughter in the chopper. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, tears in her eyes.

“I’m so happy you’re OK,” she said. “I thought…” Braveheart stopped her with a tight hug, which Remedy quickly returned.

“It’s over, Velvet,” he whispered. “The war is over. Equestria is free.” The helicopter flew away as another flew back to the site. The carrier was transporting the search and destroy team. Their final mission was to shut down any still-functional machines at the site. The carrier heli landed about 100 yards from the site, and the pony soldiers continued on hoof. They wore gas masks to guard against the lingering toxic fumes from the explosion. They took cautious steps through the site, wary of still-functional machines. A young mare, a unicorn with a pure white coat and bright blue eyes and a yellow mane and tail, mane in a braid and tail hanging free, walked into the obliterated core building. Her cutie mark was a bright blue drop of water with a sparkle in the center.

“Be careful in there, Private Soul,” a stallion team member called from nearby.

“Yes sir, Sergeant,” the mare said. She carefully advanced into the facility. This mare’s name was Pure Soul.

The Starnet Central Core was black and charred, instead of the prior silver and white gleam; a result of the earlier detonation. Sparks flew from busted control panels and wiring, creating brief light. Pure Soul flicked on her rifle mounted light and shone it in front of her. She lit up a couple of flares, tossing them to her sides. The flares lit up the control room of the core. Disabled Terminators lay dead-eyed on the ground in piles near the destroyed walls. Terminator appendages were scattered throughout the facility. Soul kept alert. She followed a trail of parts down a flight of steps. She stepped inside of a scathed, but intact ball shaped room. In the center was a large ring shaped device that went from ceiling to floor. She walked up a small staircase to the device, where a control panel stood. She slid away her gun and inspected the control panel. The device appeared to be time displacement equipment. She hacked into the control panel and powered on the equipment. The lights in the room turned on, and the time equipment gave off a heavy but quiet hum. Soul got a hopeful look in her eyes. She had wanted to escape this place the moment she was put into the Resistance. She hated violence, and hated the war. Now, she had a chance to live a life she always wanted. She inspected the machine further. Any nonorganic material would not pass through the time field. This was her opportunity to change her life, but she knew she had to destroy any evidence that she had gone through.

She pulled up a nearby T-800. Its head was blown inside out, but it could still be hacked. She programmed the machine to reset the machine and attempt to pass through itself. Since it had exposed endoskeleton, it would destroy itself and the time displacement equipment when it did. The machine walked up to the control panel and set the time the mare wanted to go. August 14, 2011. She removed all of her equipment, armor, and clothing, and stepped up to the center of the machine. The reprogrammed Terminator pressed a few buttons, and the time displacement equipment activated. Three rings began to rotate around each other, creating a ball outline. Soul rose into the air as a ball of energy surrounded her. Lightning started to fly from the energy ball, but the room absorbed it, powering the machine further. The rings spun faster and faster, until the energy ball disappeared, taking the mare with it. The machine cooled down, and the Terminator reprogrammed the time equipment to go again. The Terminator walked into the machine, and it activated. The sequence repeated, but the exposed endoskeleton absorbed the electricity from the energy ball, causing the machine to overload. It started to spark and flare up with electricity. The search and destroy team Sergeant walked into the room, and saw the malfunctioning machine. He ran outside.

“Everypony get off the site!” he cried out. “The time displacement equipment is going to blow!” The team ran fast from the site, getting to a safe distance. The time equipment sparked a final time, then exploded into an inferno. Dust and rubble shot from the underground bunker, creating a black cloud. The huge explosion left a deep crater on the site, leaving nothing behind from Starnet’s central core.

~~~

Date: August 14, 2011. Location: Ponyvillle. Time: 11:39 PM. The small town of Ponyville was quiet in the night. Princess Luna had raised the moon three hours earlier as dusk fell. Up north, Canterlot was ablaze with activity. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor of the Royal Guard had just gotten married in the city, and the reception was in full swing into the night. Most ponies from Ponyville were attending the ceremony, leaving the town nearly deserted. In the town square, electricity suddenly started to fly. The winds picked up around the lightning, blowing around loose leaves and objects. The lightning intensified as a ball of electricity formed in the center of the square. A bright flash erupted from the lightning, then everything was still. Pure Soul lay on her side in the middle of town square. In pain from her time travel, she groaned as she tried to get up. She stood up with difficulty and stretched her aching muscles. She recovered quickly, and took a deep breath of the fresh night air, free of nuclear fallout. She smiled and thought to herself. This would be the beginning of her new life, in a war free Equestria she always dreamed of.

~~~15 Months Later~~~

Pure Soul was happy. She and her husband, Valiant Effort, had settled down in Ponyville as a newly married couple. Valiant was a Pegasus stallion with a tan coat and a brown mane and tail. His cutie mark was a silver broadsword with a short cross guard. He was preparing dinner for his wife, because she was 8 months pregnant with a foal. There was suddenly a knock on the door. Valiant stopped what he was doing and walked over to the door. He opened it to see Derpy Hooves, the mailpony, standing there with a troubled look on her face and an envelope in her hoof.

“It’s from the Princess herself,” Derpy said. “It’s extremely important. Everypony in Equestria has gotten this.”

“Thank you, Derpy,” Valiant said with a nod. Derpy gave a weak smile and flew off to deliver the rest of the letters. Valiant closed the door and looked at the envelope. It had the royal insignia on it.

“What does it say?” Pure Soul asked. Valiant extended his wrist mounted blade and cut the letter open. He took out the paper inside and read it aloud.

“Dear subjects of Equestria,

I’m afraid an ancient evil has reawaken in the Frozen North. Thought to have been defeated over 1000 years ago, King Sombra, tyrant of the Crystal Empire, has returned. He has already begun to enslave his own subjects and amass an army to bring ruin to Equestria. I ask that everypony on the attached list prepare themselves. I regret to inform that war has come to Equestria. If you do not have an attached list, you must still help. Do whatever you can to help the cause. Join together to make clothes, plant and grow food, make weapons and equipment, anything to help the war effort. I will not force anypony to do this, but I highly encourage it. Help return peace to Equestria.
-Princess Celestia”

Pure Soul’s face fell. She had left her old life to pursue a new one, free of war. Now, war has found her again. She looked at her husband with a sad look.

“You aren’t going back, are you?” she asked. “I’m afraid.” Valiant Effort barred his teeth and extended his blade. He stabbed it into the letter and cut it up. He threw the pieces on the floor. He gave his wife an assuring look.

“I resigned from the service to be with you,” he said, sitting down next to her on the couch. “I’m not going anywhere. We’ll do what we can, but after you’ve recovered.” Soul smiled warmly, and laid her head on Valiant’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said. With Sombra’s return, Equestria’s fate was uncertain. However, one thing was certain. War made its way to Equestria, and it planned to ruin peace.