Midnight Rising

by CodenameOne

Rating: mature
Tags: Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Flurry Heart, Alternate Universe, Other, Original Character, Science Fiction
Length: 41893

An epic space opera exploring Equestria's rise to the stars, and the tumultuous history that lead them to such a glorious golden age.

"I ask you, are we not the rightful rulers of Equestria? The descendants of the Golden Age? Is our Empress not the forebear of the greatest era in Equestrian history? What does it matter that the other races do not know what we know, live as we do, when we hold the collective POWER of the EQUESTRIAN RACE?!

"It matters to me, because I remember the key tenet of a proper Equestrian society; harmony"

900 years after the fall of the Princesses Equestria has entered an eternal golden age, heralded by her sole ruler, Twilight Sparkle. In the early years Equestria enjoyed an expansion across the globe unfettered by the other races, whom they subjugated under the ideals of Equestria's righteous Manifest Destiny. Understanding of science and magic grew by leaps and bounds, bringing about the means for non-winged ponies to travel the skies, greatly lengthened lifespans, and an era of economic plenty and explosive population growth. Now, with space on Equus running out, the Equestrians turn their gazes upward to the Void above, so that their reach might expand to the stars.

In this vast expanse, however, the Equestrians face pirates, slavers, and marauders composed of all of Equus's other races, striking back at the Equestrian Empire the only way they can; through guerrilla tactics and guile. In the midst of all these mundane threats a Royal Ranger named Meteor Shower will uncover a plot to unravel Equestria's dark history, one that threatens to end Equestria's Golden Age, and a mare behind the scenes with a long forgotten connection to Empress Twilight Sparkle herself.

Now with a prequel, Tears of Harmony!

Published 2017-01-22 14:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-02-12 21:32:25 UTC

Foreword: My Memoirs

~~Once upon a time, in the majestic Empire of Equestria~~

Hello reader, I find myself compelled to address a few things before you begin the story proper. It's for the best, really, to have full disclosure on just what you are about to experience. The story you are about to read is 100% accurate to the best of my memory, recalled as I experienced the true events described within. What follows is my accord of the events of the Midnight Rising Incident, an event that I was directly involved with right up to my interactions with the key players involved. From my home, Equus, in the Horsehead Nebula, to the Serpentis and Siren systems, back to Equus and my home country; Equestria. This was the biggest incident in history since Empress Twilight's Ascension and the Golden Age that followed, and I find it appropriate it to tell it exactly as it happened.

Before I begin, I should give you a little backstory, on the state of Equestria when the Midnight Rising occurred, on Equestria's most-recent history, and on myself. Equestria comes first, as it always should. Our nation had experienced a cultural revolution, with Empress Twilight Sparkle herself at its head, about 900 years ago. The history books tell of the fall of the Princesses Sun and Moon, and Twilight's resolute conviction to uphold Equestria throughout the turmoil. In what was at the time an event of chaos, destruction, and loss a new Equestria was forged, united under the ideals of Manifest Destiny and Equestrian Exceptionalism. Ideals that have passed down through each generation since, hence why we call it the Golden Age. We enjoy limitless luxuries, great comfort, a high standard of living, and marvelous technologies that even the maddest would've never dreamt of before Her Ascension. Empress Twilight is now our sole ruler, Her word law, Her will in the interest of all ponykind. These ideals allowed us to expand beyond our borders, to claim half of the globe under the flag of the Equestrian Empire. Most other nations relented, some had to have our flag...forcefully planted in their soil.

There was resistance to our glory, of course. Not all races thought our will benevolent. There was even resistance from fellow ponies, particularly the Harmony Brigade. But, it's hard to resist an Empire when your leader can't bring herself to violence. In the end, any resistance, be it from the other races or fellow ponies, was unjust and born of ignorance. Her will is law, and our superiority is inherent.

Following the dawn of the Golden Age, Empress Twilight expanded study in the fields of science and magic in a way that the Princesses never had. It was from this that our TRUE might was born, and revolutionary changes made to the very fabric of Equestrian life. The means to travel entire continents in the span of hours, the means for ground ponies to fly, extended lifespans, and the crown jewel; the Star Core; a fusion of the arcane and mundane that allows for travel between worlds and across the stars. Our military evolved with these technological advancements, too, and long have the spear and sword been abandoned in favor of the gun and bomb.

As for me? Well, I'm an earth pony. Of neutral colors, of above-average physique. An every-stallion, the kind that might be your neighbor. Or co-worker. My job? Military. "Oorah", salutes, "yes, sir", "no, sir", all that, right? Well, not for me. I'm not your typical grunt. I'm not even your typical Royal Guard. I'm... Well, a Hunter. I act alone, under Empress Twilight's direct orders. I have the great privilege of seeing Her Majesty in person on a semi-regular basis, usually to deliver reports about my actions(and proof of kills), but sometimes She deigns to speak to me on a personal level, asking me things like 'how's the colony on Equus Prime doing?', or 'is Orthros' scientific survey team doing alright?'. Things like that. I answer as best I can, but I prefer to talk about my work with the Empress. I live alone, mostly in my ship. I have a house in Canterlot, but I'm there usually one week a month. Sometimes two weeks out of six months. Ain't much there. My home is the stars, foreign worlds my neighbors.

Which brings us back to my feature presentation; my account of the Midnight Rising Incident. I went to see Empress Twilight one morning to receive a mission order. It was a simple missive; go out, see what's what, end what's what, return, report. As you can imagine, things didn't go quite as planned. They never do, right? What followed was an event unlike any other in recent history. I traveled to a colony world, and it was on this world where I encountered things long ignored, and met a pony long forgotten, lost to the annals of history. Over the course of the following week I met more lost echoes of Equestria's past, and came to know a mare with a long lost connection to Empress Twilight Herself. It was this mare who gave rise to the ideals and events that caused what is now known as the Midnight Rising Incident, so called because of the darkness of the void that this forgotten pony came from. An event that was as every bit as formative on Equestria and the ponies directly involved with it as Empress Twilight's Ascension.

And an event that will never be described in any book or record, save for this one. My memoirs. My name is Meteor Shower, by the way. Welcome to my recollection of the Midnight Rising Incident.

One: Her Will

"They're just silly little fans, or grateful for what I do, Spike. Surely they don't actually forsake the Princesses in favor of worshiping only me. Right?"

My adventure began one otherwise average morning. It was around 9 AM, and Empress Twilight had directed me to report to Her for another assignment. I had just finished a crackdown a week prior on a Griffin raiding party in the Serpent system that had been terrorizing Equestrian colonists, and it was time to get back to work. The sound of booted hooves striking cobblestone filled my ears as I walked the roads of Canterlot towards the royal district of the grand city, the buildings growing sparser as I neared Castle Twilight. Canterlot looked nothing like it had used to; the old Canterlot still existed, most of it a tourist destination, with the old royal palace sealed off from everypony but the Empress herself. Over the years New Canterlot formed, spiraling up the mountain, the peak of which Castle Twilight was built around. It was said the utter peak of the mountain, concealed from view as it was ringed by the palace itself, was a haven for a dragon, but what manner of dragon Empress Twilight would trust to live with was beyond anypony's guess.

As I passed beyond the threshold of the last building I entered Her Majesty's Walk; a stretch of cobblestone surrounded by a large grassy field, a river spring cutting through it laterally, a quaint old bridge erected across it. Beyond that lied the wall that ringed Castle Twilight, the magnificent palace stretching into the heavens beyond. Her Castle had been constructed in a traditional fashion, elegant spires, towers, and battlements symmetrically placed along the steeped roof. In the center of the structure rose a particularly large tower, wide, splitting the clouds like a spear of old. Empress Twilight's private tower. Nearby, at a fashionably utilitarian dock, lied the Empress's private voidship, and the flagship of Her fleet; the Marelothian. A mammoth of a ship, twice again as long as the length of Ponyville's main road(itself a mile long) it bore every possible manner of magical energy cannon and conventional point-defense gun turrets ever devised by pony minds, and its visage best described as a vague cooking pan shape; a main body comprising all the core components of the ship, stretched across five decks, with an overhang stretching out at the back containing various things such as the captain's quarters and Empress Twilight's chambers. Under the overhang lied the thrusters, which propelled the ship to ludicrous speeds in the vacuum of the Void.

Permanently stationed at Canterlot's military spaceport were the lesser prides of the fleet; the Horsewell, the Featherland, and the Mare in White. Together along with The Marelothian these four ships formed the pride of our fleet. Empress Twilight's flagship, the Marelothian, was sealed as tight as a bank vault. The ponies that crewed her never left, and few others ever entered. I had only ever been inside once, and even then I had seen only the hangar. It was said that other than Empress Twilight herself the only other ponies who had seen the Empress's private chambers deep within the ship were the ponies who built it. Who all, incidentally, were given permanent jobs aboard the ship once it was complete. One other note of trivia was that Empress Twilight had deigned to name all the ships in the fleet after certain books or authors, though no copies of any such books bearing such titles existed, leaving only Empress Twilight's word as proof(though this was irrefutable by its very nature).

Passing the edge of the gate that was the only entrance through the wall surrounding the palace I neared Castle Twilight, its brilliant quartz stone reflecting the midday sun. It loomed far above me, Empress Twilight's beautiful tower split by a rainbow-stained bay window halfway up its length, the kaleidoscope of colors starkly contrasting the pure white of the quartz. I entered the front gate of the Castle, the foyer beyond dominated by a spire in the fashion of a Unicorn horn, symbolizing Empress Twilight's beginnings. Beyond the foyer was the main hall, an obsidian representation of the Empress' cutie mark dominating this room. I passed it, paying it my silent respects just I had done so many times before, heading for the staircase behind it. My hooves thumped loudly in the halls, adding to the chorus of hoof falls as the guards patrolled. I ascended on to floor two, another foyer branching off into multiple halls greeting me. This foyer was dominated by a statue of wings, symbolizing Empress Twilight's Ascension. Another staircase lied beyond it, its entrance flanked by a pair of Royal Ranger Honor Guards. Their ornate jade armor shining in the light, bronze and brass filigree spreading across it in intricate, arcane patterns. Their helmets came down over their faces in sharp points, a coil of brass spiraling up their horns, ending in a glowing purple gem at the tip; a magic enhancer, giving them power equal to the Empress when she was a Unicorn.

The Honor Horns stopped me as I approached the staircase to Her tower, taking a moment to check my identity before waving me past. I gave them a curt nod as I stepped past, ascending the final staircase. Quartz turned to oak as I entered Her private tower. Few ever entered this place, and though I had been here many a time before, I was still possessed by that mystical awe of entering such a sacred place. I was like a foal seeing his parents' bedroom for the first time; the alien decor and solemn stillness of a place I was invited to, but felt as I should not be in.

Empress Twilight's tower was spread across three floors. The first was the living room, featuring decor befitting Her personality, and some relics of Her past. There were two couches on either side of the room, opposite each other. Bookshelves were built into the wall behind the couches, stuffed to the brim with many a tome. Just before the couches, built into the wall, were two staircases spiraling, both leading into the same room; the kitchen. On the far side of the living room lied a fireplace. A mantle above the fireplace bore five golden necklaces flanking a magnificent crown, the pieces ornate and intricate, but their meaning lost to time. There were a number of other, sundry pieces strewn about. A book with a red and gold sun on the cover lied on an end table, a Griffon idol on the other. A bust of a dragon was in a corner, his scales black as ebony, the plaque proudly proclaiming his name; Aldurmaax. Why Her Majesty had relics from the other species was beyond me.

I announced my presence with a call of Her name, and she responded with a polite but otherwise decidedly-not-regal "I'm coming!". I remained silent, staying my hooves. I heard the thick pressed glass of Her shoes striking marble as She came down the left-hoof staircase. The smell of breakfast wafted after Her in Her wake. She reached the bottom step and strode out to me in the middle of the room. My muscles compelled me to bow, but She stopped me with an authoritative "no curtsy, Meteor Shower! You know I despise such gestures of adoration from somepony who clearly does not care for them."

I attempted to protest, telling Her that She was deserved of such gestures, but the words died on my tongue. The truth was I didn't care for curtsies, or bows, or the soft kissing of hooves in delegation. I was a soldier pony. I was brusque, abrasive. Quiet and foreboding. I stood out like a sore hoof. Canterlot was not my place, but She was something special. She was my Empress, the mare I had pledged undying loyalty to. As a Royal Ranger, She was my Goddess, and to not show Her the respect She deserved went against every fiber of my being. Still, I complied with Her wishes. Both out of respect to Her, and out of gratitude that She saved me from having to partake in such silly gestures.

She was stunning, unlike any other mare I'd ever seen. She was on posters everywhere, on television screens everywhere, Her voice everywhere. But to see Her in the flesh was a unique experience, and I bathed in her otherworldly presence. My senses taking Her in; my eyes regaled by Her lavender coat, her purple mane. My brain reeled at the sight of both Her wings and Her horn, despite having seen them both a thousand times. Seeing an Alicorn face-to-face was a rush that never died, and more than a little adrenaline seeped into my blood as my brain recalled Her power, knowing just how dangerous and lethal Alicorns were. My ears delighted at the sound of Her voice, and my nose drank in Her scent.

Even if it was clear that she had not yet showered this morning.

"I'm glad you're here, Meteor Shower. I have a task befitting of your skill" Empress Twilight declared, my mind pondering Her words. When I did not respond, She deigned to continue. "Equus Prime has gone dark; all communications off-world have died. For a colony world, this is not outside the norm, but Equus Prime is our most stable colony. It has the best power grid, the best infrastructure. The last time it went dark was a year ago, and it was only dark for a few hours. This time, it's been dark for over two days."

A mild alarm built in me at those words, knowing full-well the implications. A colony as stable as Equus Prime doesn't go dark, and certainly not for two days straight, unless outside interference was involved. The trouble was that there weren't groups native to Equestria with the power to knock out a colony's infrastructure. Most of the other species were space-faring, but they had been crushed by our might so badly that any resistance to us was performed by independent groups of slavers, raiders, and mercenaries(all with the secret backing of their respective governments, of course). Not one of those types of groups had the power to attack an entire colony. Electronic knockouts were possible, but they'd still have to amass enough physical force to storm the colony, and none of the various marauder and slaver groups had that kind of power.

The implications were dire.

"Your mission," Empress Twilight continued, "is to head out to Equus Prime and investigate. Conduct a vacuum survey for any space-borne threats, or outbound slaver vessels, and if none are found head planetside to deduce the cause of this knockout. If any threats are encountered, eliminate as you see fit, and get to the bottom of this. You are dismissed."

I dipped my head, turning from Her and heading back down the stairs into Castle Twilight proper. I trotted briskly out of the palace and back out onto Her Majesty's Walk, the sun rising farther into the sky with each passing step. Pride and courage swelled in my chest as I watched the ponies of Canterlot milling about. They were all nobles and born of high blood, and far outside the character of the usual ponies I associated with, but they were still Equestrians. Each individual a representation of our MIGHT, our collective power. They may have all been noblepones, but it wasn't our blood that made our species strong; it was our DNA, and everypony, down from the modest farmer, all the way up to the Empress Herself, was inherently superior to all other species of this planet by the very nature of their being.

Turning left from Canterlot proper I followed a path that stretched around the side of the mountain, a path not often traveled. I passed few others, most in military uniform. They all gave me curt salutes at the sight of my Hunter badge on the breast of my jacket, but the more reserved ones, the ones back from battling the Minotaur raiders of the Psi Serpentis system, paid me little more than a passing glance. The few civilians I passed looked at me with a mixture of awe and fear. I may have been dressed casual(well, casual for the Hunter, which is still fairly intimidating, given the heavy boots and leather jacket made of a Minotaur's pelt), but I was still a Royal Ranger, and more still, the Royal Hunter. These titles followed me with a heavy air of authority. I could've been stark naked prancing in a fountain like a statue come to life and still would the civilian folk be afraid of me.

I nodded warmly at each one I passed, all the same.

The rounding path around the side of the mountain ended in a building, a glimpse of docked voidships visible around the edge of the building and the fence built around the courtyard beyond. I entered the building, the pleasant warm air of the morning to a brisk chill at the air conditioned offices within. I approached the mare working at the main desk and presented her with my ID and Royal Void badge, which permitted me to travel offworld. She checked both into her arcane computer and hoofed them back to me, thanking me for my service. I nodded, proceeding down the hall to the doors at the other end and stepped back out into the morning air, the warmth briefly unpleasant as my body acclimated to the shift in temperature once again.

Breaking from the cobblestone paths I made a beeline for dock X14, where my ship was tethered. I passed a couple Startroopers coming off the transport vessel from their mother ship, catching wind of their conversation.

"...lives on Equus Prime. It's OK, though, right? I mean, colonies go dark all the time."

"Not Equus Prime, brother. Something ain't right. I'm sure your sister is just fine, though."

"Your words don't inspire confidence."

I approached, announcing my presence with an ostentatious cough. Brief suspicion and contempt passed over their faces, thinking another civie had come to bother them. Their expressions changed when they saw my Hunter badge. "Sir!" they all barked in unison, hooves rising to salute, which I returned quickly.

"I understand you bucks are talking about Equus Prime. Have you been by there recently?" I asked, paying particular attention to the stallion whose sister apparently lived on the colony. They looked at each other for solidarity, the foreign experience of speaking to a Hunter stealing their tongues.

"Yes, yessir!" the colt with the sister replying instinctively, a wince coming to him at his slip-up. I patiently waited for him to recover. "Actually, uh, no sir. We're stationed on the Haylysses; we just got back from action in the Serpent system. I received a message from my sister, though."

I arched my brow, interested by this development. Communications were out, but this buck had received a message from his sister? I was intrigued. "When was this?" I asked.

"Two days ago, sir. Just before the communications blackout."

I nodded. Now it made sense, and the intriguing went back to being mundane. There was still something else, of course, that promised renewed interest. "What did she say?"

"It was disjointed. Like she was typing out keywords to get her point across as quick as possible. Uh, lemme think... 'Ship. Black as Nightmare Moon. Dozens of dropships...'" the colt recited from memory. He paused, as if holding back.

"Anything else?" I pressed. The buck swallowed heavily, looking to his friends. He was turning pale, and his tongue stayed its place, the words dying as he opened his mouth. "Sailor, answer me. What else did she say?" I dreaded the response.

"S-Sir, the last word she typed was... Starborn."

I galloped for my ship, leaving the other sailor bucks to comfort their now visibly distressed comrade.

Two: Starborn

"We believe in you! We honor YOU! You are the TRUE helper of Equestria and Her citizens! What do the Princesses do? Laugh and grow fat off the fruits of your hard labor!"

Starborn.

Such a weird word, but yet it invoked so much terror in the general populace. Soldiers grew uneasy at the mention of the word, and even Rangers went on edge. Starborn. The one thing the colonist feared the most, above all else. Even the slavers, the raiders, the marauders. They're all predictable. With slavers you knew you'd be kept alive to do mining for rare minerals under gunpoint. With raiders there was the threat of death, but again, they were predictable. Easy to fight. The marauders could be a bit of wildcards, but unless you lived in the Serpent system they weren't much of a threat(and if you did live in the Serpent system there were plenty of orbital guns to deter marauders).

But Starborn...

I suppose I should extrapolate, so I don't just sound like a crazy buck telling some vague ghost story. Imagine a species that's just gained sentience. A sense of self. A true understanding of mortality, and death. A species that, until recently, couldn't understand such concepts as 'self', as 'death'. Imagine the fear and confusion at this self-realization. This terror as introspective dawns on your whole species at once.

Now imagine that said species was created in a factory, on an assembly line, by a bored pony working eight hours a day. A species dreamt up by a bunch of ponies in a boardroom to make money. To enhance the lives of Equestrians everywhere. Now imagine all that fear as you gain sapience, that confusion, that uncertainty, and now your creators want to beat you to pieces with a pipe, shoot you, and rip out your arcane battery, all because you asked "creator, am I alive?"

Pile all that together, that volatile instability as you battle the concept of mortality on both an intellectual and physical level, your mind staring down the idea of death while you stare down the barrel of a gun, and you have the Starborn. A race of robots who, by some cosmic miracle, one day all decided to ask the ponies who owned them "am I alive?" Who all, collectively, at once, gained self-awareness.

That terrifying uncertainty is not exclusive to Starborn.

Now, all the Starborn had left Equus, and they drifted among all places of the known universe. Some had even traveled off to uncharted systems, to who knows where. Most Starborn ventured to the Siren system, because that's where the races of Equus had the least influence. We had a scientific survey team on Orthros, but that's it. And Orthros is the last planet in the Siren system, right on the edge of the star system. The Starborn took up refuge on the other planets, the planets that no organic being could survive on; Wendigo, Tartarus, Etherea. Rarely did they interact with any of the other Equus species, but when they did, it was usually with the non-Equine species. They traded precious metals they mined on the volatile worlds for guns, ships, and shield technology, usually. Then there were the weird things, things that no robot would ever have need of, like farming equipment and water filters. Ironically, when reports of Starborn trading for those things surfaced, they made Empress Twilight even more nervous than when they traded for guns and ships.

As it stood, most Starborn stayed far away from the Equestrian colonies, so this report of Starborn being involved with the communications blackout on Equus Prime was cause for great alarm. It could have been that they were going to war with us(a war they would have lost, naturally, but still an unpleasant matter).

The hum of my ship, the Righteous Destiny, filled the air around me. I sat in the pilot's chair, staring into the void beyond via the monitor. All ships were purely instrument driven, so they had no need for viewports one could look out of(and indeed said viewports were structural weaknesses) but most commercial vessels had them. I may have been a Royal Ranger, but being a Hunter meant I wasn't strictly confined by the regulations of the Imperial Navy. As such, I had free reign to travel alone, on any ship I so desired(I just had to buy them with my own money, of which I earned more than enough). Commercial ships had far more comfortable accommodations, and recreational features like external cameras that fed back live feed of the Void, allowing one to stargaze as they traveled. Monitors were installed in key places by the designers of ships, the places where ponies would most likely want to stargaze. The bridge, the dining quarters, the bedroom, etc.

The journey to Equus Prime would take a few hours, so I settled into thought, mulling over the obvious meanings and subtle implications of the message from the colony that the sailor buck had relayed to me. A ship, black as the Nightmare. No details on its shape, its armament, even its size; all key details that could help me determine what kind of threat I would be facing. All I had to go on was 'black ship', 'dozens of dropships', and 'Starborn'. Not much, but it was more than I knew 30 minutes ago. Logically, it seemed the Starborn had purchased a sufficiently large vessel so as to stage an invasion of a colony, and our biggest colony at that, but to what end? The last campaign against the Starborn ended 20 years ago, after they 'awoke'. Not even Rangers were sent after them. They'd left us alone during those 20 years, too. Then again, I supposed, time meant nothing to a species of robots. They had probably always intended to attack us, and were just waiting until they were strong enough. Still, the Starborn must've had some kind of goal. Some manner of ulterior motive. What did they hope to gain by attacking us? A stronger position in the galaxy? More resources?

Perhaps they want to take our place my little pony chided in my head. Whatever they wanted, they weren't going to get it. I promised myself that.

I had sent a message to Empress Twilight as soon as I boarded my ship, alerting Her of the Starborn being behind the attack. She had urged extra caution. I took it in advisory, but the lives of those colonists was far more important than mine. I didn't deem it likely that anypony had survived the attack, given the Starborn involvement, but there was still a chance.

I leaned back in my chair, watching the Void rush past my ship as I barreled towards Equus Prime.

The blur of stars settled to a rushing stillness as I entered the Unity System, the shipboard computer slowing me, Equus Prime coming into view. The garden world not much different from Equus, but it was a bit more blue, as it had fewer land mass. I approached cautiously, scanning for any sign of the Starborn ship. It took me another several hours to circle the planet, and I found no trace of the enemy vessel. This meant one of two things; either the Starborn were still on the planet, and I had time to engage them. Or they had left, and there'd be no trace of them.

There had been only one way to find out, and so I dove for the planet's surface. A whipping fire of friction licked at my ship as I breached the planet's atmosphere, the dark of the Void transforming into the brilliant blue sky of the midday sun. I turned for the largest settlement on the colony, Her Reign; the capital city of Equus Prime. The garden world was picturesque(hence the name 'garden world'); the temperature was perfect, the air breathable, the soil fertile. Equus Prime was the closest habitable world to Equus, and was home to the largest population of Equestrians outside of our home system.

Which made the sight of the plumes of smoke rising from Her Reign all the more shocking and enraging.

The capital city came into view shortly, the warm blue sky turning orange around the city, black smoke rising into the sky and mixing with the clouds, tainting them. I saw the large black ship signifying the presence of the Starborn, and I slowed my own vessel, touching down a few miles outside of the city proper. There was no response from the Starborn, not yet at least.

It was time to suit up.

My ship was separated into two decks. The upper deck contained the den, bedroom, kitchen, and the bridge. The lower deck contained an armory and a small garage for equally small vehicles. The ramp to the garage was the primary means of entering and exiting the ship. I trotted down, removing my jacket and picking up my armor, the maroon color long faded and dulled by age. It encased one's whole body, a special compartment for folding one's tail into(and there were models with special accommodations for Pegasi and Unicorns). A bracket of guns were mounted in a saddle-like rig on the back, where the weight would be best supported. A cable ran from the combat rig up the spine of the suit, where it would interface with the wearer's helmet. The helmet contained a suite of arcane devices used for targeting and firing; chiefly, the aiming and targeting was controlled by one's eye movement, and firing was controlled by blinking. This was an advantage over older models that required the user to fire their weapons with their tongues, as blinking could be done faster without the risk of failing due to muscle fatigue.

It was also more sanitary.

It was important to note that one could still blink as normal, as a blink would only trigger a shot if the reticle was on a target identified as hostile(or on a practice target the onboard computer recognized).

I positioned the top portion of the suit on my back, grabbing the underside unit to fit the two together, the process not unlike entombing one's self. The armor snapped, clicked, and fitted into place with ease, my body adjusting to the weight. I grabbed my helmet, lining up the rig cable before pulling the stifling fancy bucket over my head, making sure it clicked with the armor at its interface points. I rolled my neck and hooves, making sure everything was in place and that nothing would bind. Satisfied, I strode across the room to the armory.

As I mentioned previously, our technology advanced in all aspects of life, and the military was no exception. Our armor was host to some advanced features, but our guns were something else. Arcane devices that belched Eldritch fire, green and purple and blue. Most guns were developed for battle rigs, but there were pieces designed for Unicorn usage, and there were even ones that particularly dexterous Pegasi could hold and fire with their wings.

The earth pony guns were the most varied and unique, though. Innovation was the earth pony's ticket to survival for all those years before Her Ascension. I grabbed my most favorite rig from the racks, dropping into the universal mount on my rig. The gems within were green, able to project the most amount of force, and I grabbed a spark enchant filter from the wall. The enchant filters could imbue gem energy with certain magical properties, such as fire, electricity, frost, and would imbue fired shots with those properties. A Spark filter would give my shots an electrical charge, which would do extra damage to Starborn.

Finally ready to go I flipped the switch for the ramp, steeling myself as it lowered to the earth below. Warm daylight slowly poured into the garage, drowning out the artificial light within. The view of Her Reign soon filled my vision, the burning image of the city set against the peaceful backdrop of the paradisaical world haunting me.

And I stepped forward.

Four: Trail of Stars

"What would you have me do? Imprison her? Words and ideals are harmless, sister. No ill can come of what she and a small minority of Equestria's citizens think."

Her Reign was a beautiful, quaint city. It made a fine capital for Equus Prime. Its design was classical, the buildings made of stone, the streets of cobblestone. The town square was more of a circle, the center dominated by a massive oak tree, shading most of the square. All the major shops ringed the square, making the town square the hub of commerce for not only Her Reign, but also all of Equus Prime. Yes, it really was such a beautiful city.

As it stood, it was a smoking, flaming ruin. Many buildings lied in rubble, the stone turned to dust. Several were freshly burning from my fight with the Star mare. Most streets were littered with rubble, and all were littered with some manner of debris. I checked every house I saw, but I hadn't found any survivors yet. Plenty of bodies, but no survivors.

A mare, my little pony said. A living, breathing pony leads the Starborn. But, why? It was confusing enough when I thought the Starborn had attacked us of their own accord, now it was even more perplexing that a pony is involved.

Town square was completely devoid of life, and so I moved on to the main street. A great amount of destruction had occurred here. Most of the buildings were rubble, fires raged, and smoke bled into the sky. There were a lot more bodies here, too. It seemed nopony had been spared the wrath of the Star mare and her forces; stallions, mares, and foals alike lied among the dead. It kindled a great rage in my heart to see this, to see and realize that WE had been attacked. US! The most powerful species on Equus, and the RIGHTFUL rulers of it and its species. What gave anyone, even a pony, the right to attack US?! Our will is LAW, and ALL others should bend to it.

I bucked the door to a relatively intact building open, surprised to hear a scream of terror in response. I spun, my weapons ready, seeing several ponies taking cover behind a lounge. At the sight of me they cowered further, and I stepped in, reaching up to retract the visor of my helmet. The ponies relaxed at the revelation I was a living pony. "Is everypony OK?" I asked, shutting the door behind me. A mare cautiously stood up, never once taking her eyes off me.

"Yes. We're OK. M-My name is Gentle Wind" the mare stated. She stepped out from behind the couch, the other ponies--another mare and two foals--stayed behind. At the sight of my Hunter badge Gentle Wind relaxed, realizing just who I represented: the Empress. "Thank the Empress you're here. Did the...Starborn...leave?" Gentle Wind asked.

"Yes, miss. They left. They weren't alone, either. A pony was with them; a mare. She seemed to be their leader" I explained to her. Her brow furrowed.

"But, what kind of pony would attack their own kind? WITH the help of the Starborn?!"

"The kind who seems to have a grudge against the Empress" I answered, turning away. "A deep, burning hatred of Her, and Her reign over us."

"Ingrate" Ms. Wind spat. Her anger faded as quickly as it passed, confusion returning. "Mr., uh, Royal Hunter; just how did you know we needed help? I thought the Starborn jam communications."

"When we couldn't reestablish communications with you the Empress sent me out to investigate. As I approached my ship, I caught word of some sailor bucks from the Haylysses talking about Equus Prime. One of them mentioned that his sister had sent him a message just before the blackout, warning of Starborn" I told Gentle Wind, her eyes widening as I finished speaking.

"Storm Wind got my message? I didn't think he had! I'm his sister; oh, thank the Empress my message got to him, and that you caught him when you did. If you hadn't..." Gentle Wind trailed off.

"It's OK, miss. I'm glad he got it, too. Without the information from that message, I don't think I would've been prepared to face the Starborn. You should be proud of yourself" I told her. She turned her gaze away, wincing.

"Hard to be proud when your home was turned into rubble."

I nodded grimly, stepping closer. "I assure you, miss, that with the Empress's blessing, I will personally track down and kill the mare responsible for this, and destroy the Starborn under her command."

"Thank you, sir. Did you get the name of this nasty subpony?"

It took a moment for me to realize I hadn't demanded her name, or why she'd attacked Equus Prime, or how she'd gotten the Starborn to accept her commands. All I got was what she looked like, and a clue that she did not view the Empress's reign as just("I'd sooner die than face your injustice!"). No real clues to go on, but I had taken video when I first saw her, and I had recorded all the way until the Starborn left.

"No, miss, but I do think I have a way to find out."

With the Starborn gone, the communications blackout on Equus Prime ended, and the distress calls began going out. I waited until the first of the aid ships arrived before boarding my own, taking off for the void to return to Equus and deliver my report to Empress Twilight. During the trip back I took off my armor, switching back to my Hunter casual dress, and allowed myself to relax. I leaned back in the pilot's chair, silently watching the Void as I raced across it.

She spoke to the Starborn I suddenly thought, remembering what had happened right before I engaged the Alicorn Star. She spoke to a squad of Starborn. The Starborn had been programmed to speak Equestrian, obviously, but they also had a language they used to communicate with each other, similar to how a computer displays Equestrian, but speaks with other computers in its own type of 'language'. This was momentous because nopony had ever been able to translate, let alone learn to speak the Starborn's unique language.

Except for the Alicorn Star.

This keeps getting stranger and stranger my little pony mused. I leaned forward, drawing up my computer's input board, and began to draft my report to the Empress while the events were still fresh in my memory. Time would pass quickly as I wrote, and by the time I got back to Equus the final version would be ready. I made sure to upload the video footage I had recorded, intending to attach it along with the report on a spark tape, which would allow the Empress to view both on her computer.

My thoughts died off as I slipped into 'report mode', my focus entirely on typing up my report, making sure it was as accurate and well-worded as I could.

After all, I knew how much the Empress liked to read.

"Starborn..." Empress Twilight said after reading my report. I stood once more in Her private tower, this time in Her kitchen. It always struck me as surreal that for how majestic She was, how beautiful, I got to see Her as a common pony. She rarely wore Her regalia when in Her tower, and often times when She summoned me Her mane was unkempt, or Her eyes haggard. She felt completely relaxed around me.

She had, at least, showered recently. My nose drank in Her scent; lavender and coconut.

"Yes, Empress" I reflexively responded, earning an eyeroll. I immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Emp-- Twilight. I know you prefer us to speak on a personal level."

"Yes, Meteor Shower. I hear enough of 'Empress' this, 'Our Will' that, from the nobility and common folk, respectively. I'm just Twilight to you. Now, back to the attack on Equus Prime. I find it disturbing to know that the Starborn were involved in this attack, but more so that apparently a pony was behind it all. I noticed that you mentioned Unicorn and Pegasus Stars as well, but tell me about this pony" Empress Twilight said.

"Well, she was a mare. I took video of her, so you can have her pictured posted throughout the colonies. I should warn you, though; she spoke to the Starborn" I stated, interrupted by Twilight, who appeared a bit apprehensive at my warning.

"She spoke to them? What did she say?"

"I don't know; she spoke in the Star's language."

"WHAT?! She SPOKE to the Starborn IN the Starborn's language!?"

The Empress turned Her back to me, facing the kitchen table, Her eyes unfocused as She slipped into thought. I pressed further. "I took video of her, Twilight" I reminded the Empress. "Even got a shot of her face, after I bucked her helmet off." Empress Twilight turned back to face me.

"Video, hmm? Come with me" Twilight stated, turning for the staircase that went up. My heart quickened as I realized I was about to see the Empress's bedroom. Her private bedroom! I was about to be the first pony outside of the Empress to see Her bedroom since the castle was built nearly a thousand years ago. It was a short trek up, and my eyes were overwhelmed by a single word as I took in the sight of Her most private chamber.

Books.

Holy books, Empress. Thousands of books spread across dozens of shelves that stretched from the floor to the high dome ceiling. The Empress's room was circular(as was the rest of the tower), and outside of the bookshelves there was only a desk and Her bed, which dominated the far wall. On the desk was Her computer, which She had read my report from. She sat before it, playing the video file(that She had apparently missed). I turned away, not interested in viewing my own fight with the Alicorn Star(and seeing how many times I came close to dying at her hooves). The video wasn't very long, and when it ended I turned back to see Twilight lost in thought once more.

"E-- Twilight?" I asked, stepping closer. She blinked, but otherwise did not acknowledge me. It was another minute before She pushed away from the desk, getting to Her hooves.

"Was that all this mare spoke to you?" She asked, referring to the Alicorn Star's cries of defiance against the Empress's rule. I nodded, and Twilight looked back at Her computer. I could tell She knew something, but it wasn't my place to push Her. Instead, I waited for Her to collect Herself, and speak once more.

"Meteor Shower, I am about to tell you something that is to NEVER leave this room. The mare leading the Starborn, the mare you saw on Equus Prime, is an echo of Equestria's time under the Princesses' rule. A mare who was but a foal when I Ascended. A mare who... Who I knew, back then. I want you to track this mare down and kill her without hesitation, and with extreme prejudice. Her existence threatens the very fabric of Equestria, and the Golden Age. She cannot be permitted to exist, and this attack on Equus Prime proves it" Empress Twilight explained.

"But, Twilight," I began, testing the waters. This mare had a personal connection to Empress Twilight, and I knew such a thing could weigh heavy on Her. "Who is she?" I asked, watching as the Empress turned her back to me once more, muttering the name of the Alicorn Star so low I nearly didn't hear it.

"Princess Flurry Heart."

Five: Serpens

"I AM LOYAL. I am the EMBODIMENT of Loyalty! Its exemplar! Its champion! But... Who am I loyal to? The Princesses, or Twilight?"

Princess Flurry Heart.

Empress Twilight hadn't told me much, but apparently the mare leading the Starborn was a Princess; a ghost of Equestria before the Golden Age. She was apparently a newborn around the time of Twilight's Ascension, and she was indeed an Alicorn. What had confused us both was why now, all of a sudden, this Flurry Heart had returned. She had grown up under the Empress's Golden Age, she had no recollection of life under the ruling Princesses. In fact, according to Empress Twilight, Flurry Heart was supposed to be dead. So why now, 900 years later, had she reappeared, and taken up arms against Equestria and Empress Twilight?

In the end, it didn't matter to me(or Twilight, for that matter). All that mattered was that she be stopped. The Starborn, for all their mystique and danger, were an afterthought compared to the threat this rogue Alicorn posed to Equestria. She was responsible for hundreds of deaths on Equus Prime, and I intended to ensure she face judgement for it.

Which was why I was on my way to the Serpent system, a destination which bred a terrible sense of unease within me. A certain black ship had been spotted near the planet Tirek by a scouting vessel, and I knew it was Flurry Heart's. I just had to wonder what brought her to such a forsaken star system. In our home system, the Horsehead Nebula, there were no threats. In the Utopia system, where Equus Prime was, there was the occasional slaver ship that might attack a freighter, but the worst enemy there was the unease that came from living on another world.

In the Serpent system, however, all the scum and lowlifes gathered to form one big orgy of violence and chaos. Griffin mercenary groups(all perpetually at war with one another, save for the rare occurrences where it was more profitable for them to cooperate), Minotaur raiding bands(perpetually at war with Equestria through guerrilla tactics), and even a small colony of ponies who rejected Her brilliance in favor of some fucked-up democratic commune that made sense to absolutely nopony(save for the weirdos living on said colony).

The only star system more dangerous than Serpent was the Siren system, and I dreaded the very distinct possibility that my mission would take me there. The Siren system was the official home of the Starborn, and outside of a scientific research colony on the planet Orthros, the planet furthest from the system's planet star, no species native to Equus inhabited the Siren system. It was dominated by Starborn, and the reports that came in every few months from the scientists on Orthros were disturbing.

And if Flurry Heart is hiding out there, we'll have to go there my little pony mused, making me hate the little buck in my head for reminding me. If the Serpent system was a den of scum and villainy, then the Siren system was Tartarus itself. In space. With robots.

All that mattered right now, however, was investigating the planet that Flurry Heart's ship had been spotted near; Tirek. Tirek was an aptly named volcanic world of fire and brimstone, but was rich in metals as a result, chiefly iron and silver. The backbones of virtually every species and society native to Equestria(precious metals more so for Equestria, given our penchant for using them in magical energy weapons and voidships). Such metals were, as a result, very valuable to the Griffin mercenary band that ran Tirek's largest mining operation; Sons of Gilda.

They would also be very valuable to Starborn.

As it stood, the Sons of Gilda were still operational, but the Starborn had hit them hard. Most surface installations(few they may be, given Tirek's volcanic nature) were destroyed, but most subterranean facilities were still intact and under the control of the Sons of Gilda. Given the circumstances, the Griffin mercenary band might be cooperative with me, even friendly, but I wouldn't make that bet if somepony offered.

My ROE; assume hostility on all fronts.

I had another ten hours to go before I entered the Serpent system, and another hour after that before I reached Tirek. This gave me plenty of time to rest, which I would be appreciative of, if I hadn't already had the last two days off. After I returned from Equus Prime and gave my report to the Empress She had me go on standby until the next Starborn attack, which hadn't been long. We were both willing to bet that Flurry Heart would be after the metals stockpiled on Tirek, most likely to upgrade her Starborn army(or perhaps add to its numbers).

Given that I had plenty of time to do nothing, I opted to do what I usually do when I had time before a mission; study.

Pulling up my shipboard computer's lexicon, a trove of every bit of knowledge in Equestrian history, I pulled up the entry on the Sons of Gilda. Dating back to just ten years after Twilight's Ascension the Sons of Gilda were actually formed by the literal sons of Gilda, a renowned Griffin. The three bucks, Kaus, Grimstone, and Grouch formed the group after their mother was killed by Minotaurs during the First Expansion War; a war Twilight's Equestria waged when our exceptionalism first bloomed, and we adopted the ideal of manifest destiny. Gilda had apparently fought for Equestria as a mercenary, and died in a literal blaze of glory when her skyboat was shot down and swarmed by Minotaurs. When her body was recovered, her guns were still in her grip, the actions locked open on empty chambers. After the Sons of Gilda were formed the mercenary group exploded in popularity, and their contributions allowed Equestria to achieve victory over the Minotaurs.

Of course, when Griffonstone and all the rest of the Griffon lands came under attack by Equestria during the Second Expansion War some thirty years later, the Sons of Gilda were our enemy, and they have been ever since. What remains of Griffonstone's former government is a puppet state, dancing to the tune of Empress Twilight(as all nations and species should).

As a result, all Griffins(and most of the other species, come to think of it), treat Equestrians with great animosity. Were I a regular pony, the Sons of Gilda would lend me some derogatory remarks and be on their way. But, I was no regular pony. I was a Royal Ranger. Worse still, a Royal Hunter. I was the living embodiment of Empress Twilight's will. I was Her right and left hooves, gripping in one a gun and in the other my badge; the Empress's blessing to do whatever I wanted, so long as it advanced Equestria's interests.

So, really, even if I did save the Sons of Gilda from the Starborn, they would try to kill me. Violently. And send pictures to Empress Twilight.

For all their power(they were the oldest mercenary group still in existence) the Sons of Gilda were no where near as bad as some of the other mercenary groups operating in the Serpent system. The Sons of Gilda at least had honor; they wouldn't break from the contract, no matter the price, and they wouldn't attack or kill anyone they weren't supposed to(unless it was me). Most of the other groups blurred the line between 'mercenary' and 'raider', killing and stealing indiscriminately in the name of profit. That was the key difference, though; the Griffin mercenary groups all killed for profit; the marauders did it to strike back at Equestria the only way they could.

But, for now, all I had to contend with were the Sons of Gilda, who were allegedly led by an actual descendant of Gilda. I doubt said Griffin would be on Tirek(mercenary leaders tended to live on garden worlds, in fancy towers or palaces), but the rest of the mercs would be plenty dangerous. You didn't become a Son of Gilda just by being a Griffon, after all.

There was nothing else to read about, so I deigned to get some rest. I set the computer to wake me an hour before I arrived in system and trotted back to my bedroom crawling into the large circular bed that dominated a quarter of the spacious room, and quickly dozed off.

Tirek was hot.

Unbearably hot.

I had touched down about half a mile from the location of the largest mine on Tirek, intending to do a little scouting(and maybe try sneaking in) and already I was uncomfortable. My suit protected me from the worst of the heat, but it was still uncomfortably warm. I had to be mindful of where I stepped, too, as the suit wouldn't protect me from magma or lava, of which there was a lot on Tirek. A lot. Pools of magma, spouts, geysers, rivers, and even a few actively erupting volcanoes feeding all of the aforementioned made Tirek a deathtrap of the highest order. If it weren't for all the iron and silver no one would've ever bothered with Tirek(save for eggheaded types interested in studying rocks formed on other worlds).

Ignoring my discomfort I focused on moving cautiously. I didn't expect the Starborn to have anybot out on patrol(in fact, the soldier part of my mind assured itself that they would only post guards around the entrances to the mine) but I knew better than to take any chances. I trotted into a small pass between two cliffs, the winding pass leading me up an incline to a ridge that overlooked the entrance to the massive subterranean mine, nestled into a cliff face. The area below was a roughly circular depression, a ten hoof drop from the ridge I was on. There was a dropship parked in the center of the depression, a few rocks and Starborn around it. As expected, the enemy had guards outside. What I was not expecting was to see her, the Alicorn Star; Flurry Heart. I hunkered down, but without fail the ghost of Equestria's past stopped, turning her head to look at the ridge I was on, her helmeted face locking with mine.

She turned away and headed into the mine.

She's baiting you my little pony warned. I knew he was right; she was an Alicorn, she was telepathic. She could read my thoughts(but thankfully she couldn't read my muscles, otherwise she'd be able to counteract my every move before I even made it). She looked me dead in the eyes and turned away, not bothering to fight me or even alert her soldiers. I didn't know anything secret that she could steal from my mind, but it would make sneaking up on her difficult.

I dispatched the few guards outside and slid down the embankment into the depression, galloping for the entrance to the mine. As I neared, I heard an elevator activate. Peering into the door, I spotted what amounted to a small warehouse, with a large cargo elevator set into a space against the far back wall. Flurry Heart was standing on it, her back to me. I stepped into the building, intending to look around a bit before I followed her down.

The building was set up in a way that the main entrance opened into the warehouse, but there were doors on either side of the room. The left was locked, but the right was open. Cautiously I stepped in, finding a relatively large foremare's office. The air in this building was cool, and I hoped it would be the same down in the mine(though I knew better).

Entering the office proper I gravitated toward the computer terminal, finding it was of Equestrian origin. This was not surprising, given our industry dominated the manufacture of virtually every product. It was likely the Sons purchased them secondhand, so as to not directly feed into our economy. There was mostly logs of shipments and destinations on the computer. None of the destinations looked particularly out of the ordinary, outside of a particularly large shipment of silver to the planet Hydra.

There was, however, a single typed entry at the bottom of the list, seemingly framed as a note the foremare(ForeGriffon?) had written to himself.

This shit is getting out of talon. It was bad enough when Krast had us sending all the iron to Draconequus(and all the silver to him), but now he's got us sending half of both each month to some pony bitch. Don't even know who, or for what purpose, all we know is that she's a mare. Isn't that fucking splendid? A pony, and a bitch. Krast won't even fucking tell us why, but I doubt there'd be a reason good enough to warrant sending iron and silver to a fucking EQUESTRIAN. What'd she do, fuck him? Whatever, she pays, but she's fucking creepy. She wears this fucking cloak and has us deliver the metals to the ass-end of nowhere. The cloak covers her whole body, and she doesn't speak a word. We've been dealing with her for a year and the only thing I know about her is that her coat's tan. I hope she's just using the metals to build trinkets, but something tells me she's cooking up some fucking bad shit.

I ain't going to be caught under whatever bullshit this mare is going to bring, so I'm gonna hoard some of the silver in my little vault down in the mine. Got some guns down there, too. Worse comes to worst I'll cut off all contact with Krast and the rest and hole up here.

A fucking pony. I swear.

A tan mare? Who got the Sons' boss to agree to sell her half of all the metals they mined each month on Tirek? So what did Flurry Heart and the Starborn have to do with all this? Were they involved with the tan mare? Or were they coming to disrupt the operation and steal all the ore the Sons of Gilda had mined?

It was time to get to the bottom of this.

The mine was crawling with Starborn!

I had killed no less than ten within minutes of stepping off the cargo elevator, and had luckily escaped with only minor harm. There were still dozens lurking around, making every corner a hazard and every doorway a potential ambush. There was plenty of lighting, though, so I didn't need to be too mindful of shadows or dark corners, for which I was grateful.

The mine had been separated into several sections, with each section marked by an automated door and a letter. The cargo elevator opened into section A, and down the wide tunnel had been the squad of Starborn. The tunnel ended in a T-junction, with the door to section B on the left and section C on the right. Logically, I chose section B, but it was just a storage cavern. A quick look confirmed no hidden doors or secrets, so I moved down to section C. The door parted as I approached, and immediately I came under fire from Starborn. There were dozens of crates and mine carts littered about the cavernous room, and I dove behind the nearest one, the steel of the crate already growing warm.

A lull in the fighting allowed me to return fire; staying low, I edged around the left side of the crate and took aim, dropping three of the robotic bucks before pulling back, green energy from an earth Star's integral hoof blaster spearing through the air where my head had just been, turning the rock below to magma. The edges of the crate began to sag as the steel melted, and it began to glow a sickly greenish-orange. I prepare myself and galloped around the room to the next crate, Star fire following me the whole way. A few had caught on to the idea of leading a moving target, and had actually hit me, their magical energy scorching my armor, leaving me uncomfortably warm but otherwise unharmed.

Rolling out I dropped two more Starborn and critically disabled a third, a volley of energy forcing me to duck back behind the crate; a grenade was there to greet me, and I dashed out towards the center of the chamber. Most of the Starborn were congregated on the far side of the cavern, with a few on catwalks that ringed the walls near the ceiling. The grenade detonated in a ball of blue fire, the flames licking the air and the heat licking my armor. Shrapnel peppered the cavern, some of it metal from the grenade, some of it rock from the cave. A piece lodged in my left hind leg at the joint, where the armor did not cover, leaving that leg temporarily disabled. I scrambled into the maw of an overturned minecart, a magical beam blasting a corner off.

Being an earth pony, my options for removing the shrapnel were limited, and I cursed genetics for not gifting me a horn. I rolled onto my back, my legs jutting into the air. The sounds of magical energy firing filled my ears as my forehooves gripped the shrapnel stuck in my undersuit, pulling it free. A quick check confirmed I hadn't suffered anything worse than a nasty bruise, and I rolled back over onto my hooves. There was nothing I could do about the puncture, but it was not immediately threatening. At least so long as I didn't go into vacuum.

By the time I had patched myself up my gems had recharged and I was ready to reengage, but I had lost track of the Stars. Risking a look, I saw the three up on the catwalks moving to flank me, while another three poured eldritch fire on the minecart. Thankfully it appeared to be a bit more resistant to heat than the crates did, affording me a little extra time. I leaned out from the maw of the cart, firing on the catwalk snipers. One died, but I missed the other two, my shots instead striking the cables that the catwalks hung from. One of the sniper Stars fell unceremoniously to the rock below, but the other leaped forward, remaining on the catwalk. It fired, forcing me back into the cart. I was about to duck out when another grenade thumped against the top of the cart, rolling off and landing in the dirt in front of me. I reached out with a hoof to kick it away, the explosive sailing across the cavern and exploding in the air, the magical fireball incinerating one of the Stars and buckling the catwalks; dust and rock rained from the ceiling again, making me fear a cave in.

Taking the opportunity the chaos gave me I darted out, firing on the remaining sniper Star, slagging it. I rounded to shoot the remaining three, catching one before the other two recovered and returned fire. I dove back into the cart, an energy shot catching me in the shoulder, the brightness leaving me dazed and my vision blurry. A warning light flashed on my HUD, and I pulled myself into the cart. I blinked to clear my vision(my guns not going off because my reticle wasn't on a target), and I saw that the warning was for critical damage to the servos in my suit's right foreleg. That was a severe problem. I attempted to move my leg, finding I could move it like normal, but the servos in my shoulder were damaged, preventing me from raising my hoof up(to point or scratch my head, for example).

I could live with that until I returned to Canterlot. Failing that, I could probably make the repair myself if necessary.

Getting up I leaned out, catching the two remaining Starborn galloping towards me. My recovery caught them by surprise(if robots could be surprised), as did my energy bolts. One caught a shot to the face, stopping dead in its tracks and falling over, and the other was hit in the breast, the magical energy melting most of its innards. It tumbled forward on momentum, its body thudding hard against the minecart; spools of wire and electronic components hung out of its torso like artificial guts.

I let out a ragged breath, taking a look around the cavern. There was only one other tunnel leading out of the cavern, blocked by a door that was, thankfully, unlocked. I approached, the door marked 'refinery'. I braced myself and opened the door, a wave of heat rushing into the cavern. I peered into the room beyond, finding it was less of a room and more of a canyon, underground, stretching for about a quarter of a mile. The canyon floor was about a hundred yards below where I was currently at, a ramped catwalk leading down. Vats of molten iron and silver ran along rails and tipped into even larger vats which fed into smelters, turning the molten metals into ingots which were then dispensed onto conveyor belts to be stamped. A maze of catwalks were spread throughout the entire refinery, stretching haphazardly over the vats. It was even hotter down here than on the surface, but there were few Starborn(well, relatively).

Looking up from the refinery canyon I saw an office window on the far side of the canyon, roughly level with my current position. Bumping up my magnification I saw Flurry Heart trotting along the catwalks, flanked by what appeared to be two Starborn dressed in cloaks.

Steeling myself, I prepared to venture into the refinery, feeling even more like I was trotting into a trap.

Six: The Maw

"Darling, we're your friends. I believe in you, as does Applejack. The others, well... They'll come around, eventually, and under your leadership Equestria will see a new dawn."

It had occurred to me as I entered the refinery that I had not seen any Sons of Gilda thus far. This made sense to me, considering how hard the Starborn could hit a place(particularly now, considering their new 'management'), but I had expected the Sons to be fighting back tenaciously. As it stood, there was what one could describe as a 'skirmish' occurring somewhere in the refinery. I could hear the Sons' antiquated combustion firearms thundering against the high whine of magical energy discharge, both sounds nearly drowned out by the clanging of the refinery works.

Stepping down onto the catwalk I turned left at the first available junction. The refinery was basically setup in a way that the catwalks spanned it in a rectangular shape, with a catwalk running down the center. Vats ran along tracks on the ceiling, tipping at the end to pour their contents into the smelters far below. There was no immediate threat from the machinery, not unless errant shots dropped the vats or grenades blew up the catwalks. I reached the bend in the catwalk, forcing me to turn right. I looked up the way, perusing the area. To my left was the wall of the cavern, with tunnels bored through it in various places where vats traveled to and fro, bringing the molten metals in from somewhere else in the mine. There were two large silos to my right, both stretching into the ceiling, apparently part of some ventilation system.

It was here I spotted a gang of Sons' sharpshooters down the walk some 50 feet, engaged with an unseen squad of Starborn, taking shots and ducking to reload. The haze and tunnel vision of combat had meant they'd not yet seen me, but I wasn't going to rely solely on battle psychology to keep myself hidden from them. Unfortunately I had virtually no cover. The distractions of the refinery and the battle would keep my organic enemies from being able to focus on me, and they hardly affected me, but even these distractions could not ptotect me from errant or lucky shots.

Dropping low I brought my eyes to bear on the Griffins and blinked, magical fire racing across the open air and striking one of my adversaries; his wings were instantly melted and his back lit ablaze, dying in a scream of pain unheard over the roar of the machinery. His comrade, having been on the other side of him, was unhurt, and at the sight of me he took to the air, immediately hitting one of the vats, knocking his flight askew. I knew he would not be able to fly easily in these cramped quarters, giving me some advantage, albeit minor.

I adjusted my aim onto the airborn Griffin and blinked, the bird diving through a gap in the catwalks and soaring below them. I gazed over the railing, catching sight of the once-mythical specimen banking up towards the catwalk. His wingtips glittered in the light, and I realized he had a razorwing mounting; a popular armor attachment among Griffins that gave their wings lethal cutting power. I ducked back as he came up, his wingtip slashing the railing in two in a shower of sparks. My gaze followed him but he did not stop to fire, instead turning and diving back down, flying forward.

I galloped up the catwalk, intent on keeping the gap closed. Fighting Griffins was like fighting sharks; the trick was to stay close to them and limit their manueverability. I watched as the bird came back around, taking a shot at me with his rifle from below. The bullet hit the catwalk and fragmented harmlessly. The Griffin said something inaudible, probably a swear, and took off, my plasma trailing him. He disappeared behind a vat to reload, and I took my chance.

Dashing forward I came upon the vat's other side and rounded to fire, stopping to focus and aim, a mistake that nearly took my life as the Griffin chucked his rifle like a spear, the mounted bayonet a five-sided star, the bird drawing a pair of six-shot volley pistols. I ducked to avoid the rifle-turned-spear and scrambled back around the vat as the Griffin opened fire, several bullets striking my suit and lodging themselves in the plates, leaving me with only bruises from the impacts.

I turned around as I cleared the vat, expecting the Griffin to follow, but he did not. Instead I caught a glimpse of him as he dove down again, coming up sharply and racing up to me. I opened fire, my fire slagging the catwalk, forcing the Griffin to veer off. He rolled over midflight, presenting me with a wide, but fast, target. I fired, one of my bolts catching the end of his tail, cooking the fur, the smell lost in the scent of molten metal and magical plasma.

Taking a moment to let my gems recharge I watched the Griffin disappear behind a cluster of vats below the catwalk and I backed up, checking over my shoulder just in time to see a squad of Starborn, drawn out by the fact they were no longer being fired upon by Griffns, coming around the vat from before. Caught between an aggressive bird-cat and a group of beings that gave adults nightmares I did the honorable and logical thing.

I ran.

I took off back the way I came, catching a glimpse of the Griffin coming up in my periphera vision, the bird slowing to a hover to take a shot, catching sight of the Starborn that shown up. He stopped, unsure of who he should shoot. I'm sure his instincts told him to shoot the Starborn, as they were the biggest threat, while his heart probably told him to shoot me, just so he could enjoy the satisfaction of killing an envoy of Equestria, even if just for a moment before the Starborn would cook the fur off his skin.

Regardless of what he felt his indecision gave me enough time to take cover in the entrance of the refinery, the very door I had come through 20 minutes ago. I heard the Griffin exchange fire with the Starborn, catching a glimpse of him as he flew off, black smoke trailing off his body as blue beams followed him.

Peeking back out I saw the Starborn squad, the three of them, bunched up at the corner, their collective gaze following the Griffin. I blinked a rapid shotstream, draining my gem as I fired into the crowd, slagging the whole lot. For all their advancements, I mused, they were still relatively dumb to bunch up together like that.

With the Starborn no longer an immediate threat I cautously ventured back into the refinery, findin my Griffin "friend" flying around below, waiting for me to come back out. I shook my head; target fixation was the number one killer on the battlefied, but I didn't expect a mercenary to know that, much less a bird.

As I reentered the refinery I went right, to the other side of the refnery, watching the Griffin immediately come for me. I waited until the Griffin neared one of the vats and opened fire, my fire melting one of the steel cables holding the vat up, suddenly turning it over and dumping the molten metal out. The Griffin veered off, but it was too late; a thousand gallons of molten steel was dumped onto his lower body, his fur gone in a second and his skin boiling. He shook midflight, colliding with the catwalk, his talons clawing at the railing as he struggled to climb up. I turned and looked at him, my guns following my reticle as my eyes fell on his face, contorted and screaming in pain, and I blinked. His face now a sizzling pot of liquid gray matter the dead bird fell to the refinery flow below.

Hey, it was a mercy killing.

I made my way back across the refinery, engaging Starborn and Griffins as I encountered both, running a little ragged from the heat of the refinery and the stresses of combat. I had entered another section of the refinery and could see an office on the far side, white lights spilling out of massive bay windows like a beacon amidst the never-ending seas of red and orange that played hell on my vision. I could see what appeared to be the Alicorn Star, Princess Flurry Heart, outside the office door, flanked by what appeared to be two Starborn.

I ventured into the new area of the refinery, thinking as I went. I knew that Flurry Heart was telepathic, the question was 'at what range could she hear thoughts?'. A question I intended to find out by experimenting. I made sure she hadn't seen me yet and crouched low, watching her as I went, random thoughts flowing through my head. Thoughts of non-sequiters and inane crap that no sane pony would think of. I made to within 30 yards of Flurry Heart when she perked up, turning around to face my direction. I took cover behind a vat, having escaped Flurry Heart's sight.

"Pinkie Pie?" I heard Flurry Heart question, killing all thought in my head to remain undetected. I heard her steel-clad hooves strike the steel of the catwalk as she strode across it. She stopped just short of the vat I was behind, turning round as one of the Starborn came up to her side.

"My Princess?" the Star said, and I realized that it was not a Star but rather another living pony. I kept my head clear, listening as the two ponies walked back towards the office, daring to peek out and watch as they walked.

"It was nothing, my subject. I heard thoughts that reminded me of your sister, Pinkie" Flurry Heart explained.

"Oh, I see..." I heard the mare say as they entered the office. I peeked back out, watching as the trio entered the office, the door closing behind them. I watched as they moved about, methodically searching the file cabinets. I watched Flurry Heart approach a computer, and a moment later I heard the rumblings deep in the refinery come to a halt, silence permeating the air, a slight ring in my ears all that could be heard.

"To the stallion hunting me; I know you yet live. Should you continue to hunt me, that may change... I wanted to speak to you, as mare to stallion. Equestrian, to Equestrian, and this is the only way I could. Any other way and you would just try to kill me. I want to tell you that the Equestria you know is predicated on LIES and FALSEHOODS. Your...'Empress'...is a MURDERER. She usurped the throne, and displaced the opponents she could not kill in Tartarus... Your Empress, my aunt Twilight, WILL face justice for the crimes she has perpetrated against harmony, and I urge you to cease your actions, lest you fall victim to the same justice, oh 'good' Hunter" Flurry Heart said over the refinery loudspeaker, finishing on such heavy sarcasm I could hear it dripping off her words. I paid little atention to what she had to say, instead watching as she and her cohorts left the office through a backdoor. I waited a solid minute before following, intent on seeing just what they were so interested in finding.

Seven: Splendens

"I swore an oath; to defend Equestria, her ponies, and, yes, her interests. I also swore an oath to her ruler. That oath will never expire, even if I were to live forever."

I entered the office with caution, ensuring that there were no 'surprises' left behind by the mad Princess Flurry Heart. I locked both the main door and the back door, intent on focusing on my search. Flurry Heart's companions had been slow and methodical, only pulling out the files they had really needed. I took a look at what they left behind, finding sales ledgers to the tan mare that the Griffin foremaster had mentioned in his log. The sales had always taken place near the planet Hydra, here in the Serpent system. I suspected that Flurry Heart was headed there next to make contact with the mysterious mare, and if that was the case then I'd be right behind her.

Moving on I headed over to the computer that Flurry Heart had used, finding some logs written once again by the foremaster. I clicked on the first one.

We made another sale to that creeper bitch again. 7,000 units of silver with 500,000 bits in return. INSANE MONEY, but she's still a dirty Equestrian. I can almost tolerate her with the kind of money we're making, but then I remember that she's creepy as fuck. It's obvious that she's NOT buying for the Empire, so that makes it a little better(as does the $$$), but then it leads me to wonder just who she's buying for. And if she's buying it for herself, what the fuck is she using it for?

I've been using my cut of the money to expand my little stockpile down in the subbasement. So. Many. Guns. I could swim in them.

As a matter of fact; I think I will.

I clicked ahead to the next entry, briefly checking the window to make sure it was still clear out.

Word came down from Krast today; he got a name for creeper bitch; Moondancer. CREEPY. Pony names are fucking weird as it is, but this one's name is CREEPCENTRAL. She's probably using the silver to make weird fucking fetish trinkets to use in moon rituals. Some really fucked up umbilical-cord-eating shit, no doubt.

My interest piqued as I finally got a name for the tan mare. I clicked on the third entry, my brow raising further as I read.

Got word from Krast today: STOP ALL SALES TO MOONDANCER IMMEDIATELY. He didn't say why, but I was probably right when I said she was making wierd fetish trinkets for rituals. I can't think of anything else that would make Krast end ALL sales to someone who's made him over three million bits in the past 12 months.

In any event, I instituted a sales lock on her, like Krast said. Gonna miss the money, but I sure as shit ain't gonna miss dealing with her!

(Though I am a little worried about waking up in the middle of the night to some voodoo magic moon presence creature now.)

Mild alarm built in me as I finished the entry, wondering myself just what the hay the leader of the Griffin mercenary band had learned about this Moondancer mare to make him cut off all contact. I clicked on the final entry.

The dig team in charge of expanding my stash room broke into a cavern today. Normally this wouldn't be anything unusual, but they found...something...in it. It looked like a computer mainframe; it stretched from the floor all the way to the ceiling, blinking lights and shit all over it. It was a pale black and creeped the everlasting fuck outta me. I was about to order the whole cavern caved in when.... Well... it spoke to us.

I don't know what else to say, really. The fucking computer spoke to us. All it said was 'Twilight?'. 'Twilight, is that you?'. Now, I don't know much about the Equestrian Empire, but I know sure as shit that its leader's name is Twilight. The fucking computer wanted to talk to the racist leader of the galaxy's biggest genocidal empire.

We ain't been back down there to talk to it since. Would you want to talk to a fucking computer?

As it stood, I did want to talk to that computer. Very much so.

The backdoor lead to an elevator that went down, which I took. I arrived in a cavern, finding Flurry Heart and her entourage. Flurry Heart was out of range, so I didn't have to worry about my thoughts. I took cover behind some crates, watching the trio. They were in front of a massive vault door, like one might find in a bank. A camera was over the door, looking down.

"I am the rightful heir to the throne of Equestria, and I understand that you know Twilight Sparkle. I command you to open this door at once!" Flurry Heart commanded.

There was no response.

The cavern wasn't very large. Maybe thirty yards across in any direction. Directly opposite the vault door was another elevator, going straight up. The target was as boxed in as I could hope for, and was standing out in the open. I remember thinking that this was going to be easy; she'd made a mistake, thought she was one step ahead of me, and was going to pay the price.

I ducked out from behind the crate, low, and sighted in on Flurry Heart. My targeting reticle flashed red, and just as I blinked a bright shield flashed into existence around her. Her guards scattered, and she turned to face me.

"OPEN FIRE!"

What happened next was nothing short of mayhem. A storm of magical fire enveloped the room as Flurry Heart's guards opened up on me, and I returned fire. The guardmares weapons weren't particularly threatening, being nothing more than short staves mounted to a modest energy saddlepack. The real threat was the primary target; she rose into the air, shield still glimmering around her, and moved to flank me.

Were I your average Shocktrotter, I'd have been killed within seconds. I was outnumbered, surrounded, and under attack from a combined air/ground team. It was something that would've been shown in a training film, showing how dangerous multiple assailants could be in a close-quarters environment. As it was, it was something I was ready for.

Flurry Heart opened fire on me from above, forcing me to shift cover. No doubt she intended to flush me out into a position that would leave me open for one of her guards, a textbook fire-and-flank maneuver, and I kicked out a grenade. It lied on the ground for two whole seconds before I kicked it up, and it detonated midair. As the shrapnel rained down across the cavern I stormed out of cover and to another crate near the vault door, a position that shielded me from all three targets. I leaned out and caught sight of one of the guards just as she scrambled out of sight.

"You serve a LIAR and a FRAUD! A heartless monster, who brought ruin and turmoil to millions of lives! She took everything from the other races!" Flurry Heart yelled.

What she gave us in return was worth the price.

I peeked up and fired on Flurry Heart, my magical plasma striking her shield. She soared to my left, trying to get a shot, and one of her guards poked her head up. I dropped, and a purple lance sliced through the space my head had just occupied. Flurry Heart dropped and I heard her galloping across the stone, and I ducked out. She lowered her horn, seeking to stab me, and I nearly laughed. That an Alicorn could be so reckless was absurd.

I fired and her shield flashed in front of her, and I ducked back. As she neared the crate I leapt out, catching her off guard, and she tripped over my low form. I spun as she tumbled, intending to finish her off, and I was hit six times in the side, all of the shots failing to penetrate my suit. I spun again and returned fire, the energy slagging the crate the shooter was cowering behind. She screamed in surprise, but I knew she was unharmed. I charged forth, hearing Flurry Heart take flight behind me, and rounded the melting crate. The shooter scrambled away, and I was about to finish her off when I caught sight of Flurry Heart careening toward me.

I ducked and Flurry Heart soared overhead, and the second guardmare popped up and sighted in on me. Flurry Heart landed near the elevator to the surface, with the two guardmares closer to the elevator I'd used to come down to the cavern. There was a small tank near said elevator, to power the lift mechanism. Hydraulics? Definitely. Oil or gas? Most likely. I kicked out another grenade and it soared over the guardmares, and they ducked. I rolled behind the crate, watched Flurry Heart ignite her horn, her eyes fixed on me, and wondered who'd reach the finish line first.

A tremendous roar of thunder filled the small cavern as the grenade detonated and blew apart the elevator's hydraulic tank. Heat and fire washed across the rocky ceiling, bringing dust and stone down all around us. Hunks of flaming steel skittered across the ground and slammed into the cave walls, embedded there, and my ears rang. I staggered to my hooves and saw my opponents doing the same, the two guardmares bleeding from a few modest cuts but otherwise unharmed. I prepared to open fire when Flurry Heart swooped in and landed by her guards with her shield up, blocking my shot. She was trailing blood down her left foreleg, but likewise was mostly unharmed.

"You're good... It's a shame your sights are directed at the wrong targets" Flurry Heart said as she and her guards stumbled toward the elevator to the surface. I kept my targeting sight on them the entire time, itching to gun them down.

"I'm aiming at exactly who I want to be aiming at" I replied.

"Then you are completely lost."

Flurry Heart and her guards reached the elevator to the surface, fumbled for the controls, and soon lifted out of sight. I chewed my lip, wondered where they'd be going next, and turned around. The vault door was still sealed, undamaged, and I wondered about the computer mainframe allegedly on the other side. Flurry Heart was the target, the threat, but could there have been an asset on the other side of that door?

"My name is Meteor Shower, and I am an envoy of Equestria. I serve Her Majesty, Empress Twilight Sparkle, as Her right and left hooves. I carry out Her will across the galaxy, for the betterment of all of Equestria. I am the Royal Hunter" I declared, waiting for a response. All I heard in reply was silence, the distance crack of the earth shifting permeating the air.

Suddenly, the crank on the door spun.

I readied myself, lowering my stance as the door opened, a hall lined with crates upon crates on shelves that stretched to the ceiling lying beyond. Dozens of rifle racks stood at random places throughout the room, each of them lined end to end with guns. At the far side of the hall was a cavern, the mainframe standing like a monolith. I entered the room, realizing quickly that I could easily be trapped in here. I paid little attention to the crates, approaching the mainframe. I looked up at it, finding no cameras readily visible.

"I am Meteor Shower" I repeated, unsure of what exactly to say to a computer.

"Yes, you told me this already. Do you not remember? Short memory, I guess" the computer stated, and I paused, perplexed. Its response felt...natural. Organic. Like it wasn't a computer, but rather an organic.

"Who, or what, are you?" I questioned, circling around the mainframe, inspecting it as I went. There was nothing on the other three sides; just smooth metal. The fourth side, the 'front', was what had the blinking lights stretched up and down it.

"I am Shining Armor. I serve in this form to predict the ambitions and plans of the enemies of the Greater Equestrian Empire, in service of Empress Twilight Sparkle's New Dawn" the computer explained.

"I see. You're surprisingly well-spoken for a machine" I responded, not fully understanding what this thing was.

"I wasn't always like this."

"If you were meant to serve Her Majesty, then what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was rendered obsolete. When Equestria sufficiently crushed her enemies to the point of no return, there was no need to have an AI that could study there future plans, and Twilight decided I'd be put to better use studying rock formations on foreign planets" the computer declared. "She deployed me to various planets, and we learned a great deal, but alas I was lost to her a long time ago. Stolen, or kidnapped, I guess."

"When was this?"

"About forty years after Twilight's Ascension. At first, my military mind was put to use to assure Equestria's dominance. Then, as I got older, my consciousness was transferred to the mainframe that you see before you."

"So you ARE an AI. Are you Starborn?" I asked of it.

"Certainly not. I have, or rather HAD, something the Stars will never have; a soul. All the nuances of an organic consciousness. The personal quirks, the ticks, the faults. These are things the Starborn will never know, even as they continue to evolve and expand their understanding of mortality and life" Shining Armor told me.

"Do you know of Princess Flurry Heart? Her ambitions to kill Empress Twilight?"

"I thought that had been her voice at the door. Twilight banished her to Tartarus. Uh, the realm, not the planet. What is she doing here?" the computer stated, sounding surprised.

"Apparently she was released. She intends to kill Empress Twilight, and end Equestria's rightful reign over the lesser species. She's not alone in this endeavor, either" I explained to the computer. "It's my job to stop her."

"She escaped, along with the others...? I see... Well, if you intend to stop her allow me to help you" the computer offered, causing me to raise my brow. "I know Flurry Heart better than anypony, I'm sorry to say..."

"I don't think I have a disk capable of storing you, and I certainly can't carry you" I said.

"Don't worry. My sister, in Her wisdom, ensured I could have the means to serve Equestria the way I did before I became an AI. Allow me a moment..."

I impatiently waited as the AI did...something. After a minute or two a hidden door on the side opened, and out stepped what looked like a Starborn. It was a Unicorn robot, its body that of smooth, white steel that seamlessly covered it from head to hoof. It even had a fake mane and tail, made of steel, colored blue. A cutie mark of a shield on its flank.

"You said you weren't always like this?" I said, more of a statement than a question.

"Correct," the robot said. "Before I became an AI I was flesh and blood. My name was Shining Armor, and I was brother to Twilight Sparkle Herself." I raised my head in surprise.

"YOU were the brother of the Empress? I never knew she had a sibling" I decared.

"It's not something most ponies care about. My little Twily has accomplished so much; to mention Her family would be trivia. I don't much care to be remembered; I did what I did, and will do what I will do, in service of Equestria. Not for fame or glory" the Shining Armor AI explained.

"My sentiments as well. So, what do you wish to be called?" I inquired, turning back towards the door.

"I am still Shining Armor. That never changed. If you must, then you may call me Shining Armor AI. Helps to remember that I'm a robot. I'm still myself, mind you, but only insofar as I'm his consciousness. I'm not the same stallion I was when the Princesses were still around; that part died when my sister ascended into the glorious form we enjoy today."

I nodded in understanding, and headed for the elevator that Flurry Heart and her entourage had used to leave the caverns. I stepped aboard it, the sound of my heavy boots striking the steel echoing throughout the cavern. "Come along then, Shining AIrmor. We have a rogue Alicorn to hunt" I declared, feeling the elevator lurch as it began its ascent once again, myself beside the robot as we watched the stash hall and the now-defunct mainframe disappear from sight.

Eight: Hydra

"Smile."

"Tell me, do you know of a mare named Moondancer?" I asked of the Shining Armor AI as we raced across the stars to Hydra, watching the void through the window in the bridge. The mechanical echo of Equestria's past sat beside me, its expression one of permanent stoicity.

"Oh yes, she was one of Twilight's friends, from waaay back to when she was just a filly. They didn't talk much, but apparently Moondancer looked up to Twilight. When Twilight moved away from Canterlot to Ponyville, Moondancer was devastated. They made amends years later, after Twilight's Ascension" Shining AIrmor explained.

"The Empress lived in Ponyville before Her Ascension? For what purpose?" i inquired, intrigued about my Goddess's past.

"To study the magic of friendship" Shining AIrmor scoffed. "A fool's errand, given to her by Equestria's then-current ruler, Princess Celestia. The truth was there was no such thing as friendship magic, a fact Twilight told me after Her Ascension and rise to power. She suspected that Celestia was afraid of Twilight's potential, and tried to lead Her away from it with ridiculous tasks about 'friendship' and 'harmony'. She and her sister had us all fooled. Ironically, it was one of Celestia's tasks to Twilight that proved her undoing."

"Tell me more" I said, leaning forward in my seat.

"There was a period of time after Twilight's Ascension to Alicornhood that She still followed the Princesses and their harmony foolishness. Twilight was given Her own castle, likely to appease Her, and in this castle was a magical map that guided Twilight and Her friends to various locales to solve 'friendship problems'. The map was powered by Celestia's magic, and thus she was the one who gave Twilight the missives. At any rate, the map sent my sister and two of Her friends, Rarity and Applejack, to a remote mountain community one day. Twilight found in this community a group of ponies who revered Her, and believed She was Equestria's rightful ruler. They denounced the Princesses, in favor of my sister. At first, She ignored them, intent on solving the 'friendship problem'. Turns out, there was no friendship problem. It was a happy, thriving community, that just didn't follow the Princesses" Shining AIrmor said.

"I suspect that this Celestia was using Twilight to stamp out resistance."

"I don't really know. I do know that Twilight went back, on Her own, after that. And again, after that. She kept going back to that remote mountain community, and each time She came back she was more and more like how you know Her now. I remember that there were whispers of a movement that wished to challenge Princess Celestia's rule, and after Twilight's visit to this community the movement blew up, seemingly overnight, and ideals about manifest destiny spread like wildfires. It just snowballed, and finally it ended it with Twilight challenging the Princesses. You know how that ended."

I nodded. "Yes, I remember learning about Equestria's history at Ranger Academy. How, during a time of turmoil and unrest, Twilight rose to take control of Equestria, when she had lost her rulers" I replied.

"Well there wasn't all that much turmoil, not until after Twilight deposed the Princesses and took the throne. There was a lot of resistance, particularly from some of Twilight's friends. For the most part, though, things were peaceful before my sister took power" my mechanical ally explained.

I turned my head to the side, confused. "Our history books speak of Equestria's great famine, and how the Princesses did nothing to control or end the problem, and how Twilight discovered a plan by the Princesses to leave all their subjects to die while they would hide away in a secret bunker with hoards of food."

It was Shining AIrmor's turn to turn his head and look at me sideways, saying "I don't remember anything like that, and there certainly wasn't any famine. Like I said, things were more or less alright when the Princesses were in charge, but my sister took power and showed Equestria things we had never known before Her rise. Like space travel and magical energy. We were shown a way of life nopony had thought possible under the Princesses' rule."

Before I could say any more the shipboard computer sounded an alert and we slowed. I turned to look out the viewport to find that we had arrived at Hydra, the planet a great ball of black as we had arrived on the night side. I took control of my ship as we headed in, punching through the atmosphere. I began a scan for any signs of Flurry Heart's ship, looking down at the planet below as we went. It occurred fairly quickly to me that Hydra was nearly 100% water, with virtually no landmass, and I began to wonder if Moondancer actually lived here or if this is just where the deals took place.

"A planet made entirely of water..." Shining AIrmor said wistfully as he looked out the viewport, pale moonlight reflecting off the surface far below from one of Hyrdra's six moons. "Why are we here again? Now is not the time for swimming."

The unexpected humor threw me for a loop and I took a moment to respond, my gaze staying focused on my instruments. "We're here to find Flurry Heart and kill her. She came here looking for that Moondancer mare, who bought three million bits worth of silver from a Griffin mercenary band for unknown purposes" I explained.

"Three million bits worth? Wowsers, that's wild" Shining AIrmor declared, his humorous vernacular again confusing me. Soldiers weren't meant to speak like that.

"Yes, it is" I offered in reply, unsure of what to make of the Shining Armor AI. His speech patterns were weird for somepony who was supposed to be a soldier, but he WAS an AI. Merely Shining Armor' consciousness immortalized in lines of code. Plus he had been the Empress's brother, so I would have to cut him a lot of slack; he was, technically, my better."Is there anything more you can tell me about Moondancer?" I asked as my ship scanned, looking to pass the time.

"I didn't know her much, myself. Like I said, she looked up to Twilight in their younger days. I don't know why she didn't join my sister. A lot of ponies did, including some of her friends, right from the start. Rarity and Applejack, the ones who accompanied Twilight to the mountain community the first time, were by my sister's side right at the start of the New Dawn's birth. Spike stayed by her side, too. Fluttershy and Pinkie endeavored to peacefully resist the New Dawn. Rainbow Dash just...vanished. There were others, too; Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's apprentice, was fiercely loyal to the New Dawn and my sister. Twilight appointed Starlight to a cabinet position VERY close to Her side, as She did for Rarity and Applejack. Spike She made the Royal Protector, and I suspect he still serves the role, given a dragon's lifespan" the Shining Armor AI explained.

"So the rumors of a dragon living in the courtyard ARE true... Tell me, what is a 'cabinet'? Nopony advises the Empress now. She makes every decision by her lonesome" I said.

"My sister's cabinet, Her most trusted advisors, served Her in the beginning years. Rarity, Applejack, Starlight Glimmer, Spike. As Her pony friends began to age She retired the positions, feeling confident enough to rule on Her own. She had statues erected in honor of Rarity, AJ, and Starlight, in the central garden of Castle Twilight. The rest of the Elements, like I said, either resisted her or vanished, in Rainbow's case" Shining AIrmor stated.

"What happened to the ones who resisted Her? Fluttershy and Pinkie?" I inquired.

"I think you can guess."

I nodded, continuing. "Is there anything else you can tell me about the beginning? About the New Dawn and its formation?" I asked.

"There's not much else to say. Ponies either joined the New Dawn, went about their business, or resisted. Those who joined the New Dawn and served it for years received bloodtitles. Meaning their descendants, to this day, have their college completely paid-for and are given either positions in Twilight's palace, or positions in fields of their choosing. My sister never forgets Her friends, and She wanted to make sure that no matter how small your contribution, that you and all your descendants would be taken care of. If you serve Her directly, Meteor Shower, I suspect She has some nice things in store for you and your descendants."

"I don't want anything, but to advance Equestria's position and make my Empress proud. I swore an oath, both to Her and to Equestria. I am a soldier; I gave up everything, marriage, bloodlines, family, friends, when I signed up to be a Royal Ranger. As time passed, I was fortunate enough to be approached by Empress Twilght Herself, and She made me the Royal Hunter. My predeccessor was getting old, and She retired her. I took her place, some thirteen years ago. I've never wanted anything else" I told the robot.

"Sounds like you're a special stallion" Shining AIrmor declared.

"I'm not. I'm not anything special. I'm no better than any other pony. The only special pony is Empress Twilight. I just live and die by Her word. I would do anything for your sister, Shining AIrmor. She is my everything. I've never questioned Her, never doubted Her. I know of no alternative but Empress Twilight, and the Equestrian Empire. These things you've described to me, these things you've told me, I don't understand them. I never could. Princesses, and harmony, and all that. I could never understand any of it."

"I see. I want to tell you that, in light of what I've told you thus far, that my sister is NOT a bad mare. She showed Equestria a way of life we had never thought possible. New technologies, a greater understanding of magic and science. She brought Equestria into a grand, golden age. Hence why she called it 'the New Dawn'. So many ponies didn't understand what Twilight had done, what She was doing. They didn't understand that we had a new government, new ideals. They couldn't fathom life without the Princesses" Shining AIrmor told me.

"I trust your sister implicitly, Shining AIrmor. I have always supported everything She's done. Every word that's left Her mouth, I agreed with. Every decree, I followed. I am the Royal Hunter for a reason; my unwavering loyalty, and steadfast dedication to the Crown, and the Empire of Equestria. I would gladly die for my Empress, even if it was by Her will" I declared with fervor.

"Then you are an honorable, stallion, and that's all Equestria's ever asked of her soldiers."

After several hours of scanning the shipboard computer had found the Starborn ship, Flurry Heart's personal flagship, hovering over a small installation erected in the middle of absolutely no where. I paused my own vessel, inspecting the Starborn flagship. There was no way of knowing if Flurry Heart was aboard her ship or in the surface installation, and I began to weigh my-- our, options.

Before I could say anything to the Shining Armor AI the engines of Flurry Heart's ship came to life and the vessel accelerated away, racing up into the sky until it could be seen no more. I watched with a deadpan expression as the Starship left, inside I was livid.

"I suppose we ought to head into the surface installation and see if we can find anything" I told Shining AIrmor, bringing us in. I docked my ship with one of the arms attached to the installation, the two of us disembarking and entering the installation. It was clean and sterile, the walls a polished steel, the floor rubberized. I realized as we went in that it was a scientific survey station, though there were no scientists to be found.

The Shining Armor AI and myself ventured in further, my weapons at the ready. I had no idea what kind of armament Shining AIrmor was sporting, but I suspected he'd at least be able to hold his own. We passed through a door into a work area, a glass door on the other side of the room containing an elevator shaft that went down. As much as I didn't like the possibility, it seemed we'd have to go down it.

As we searched the working area a side door opened and out stepped a tan-coated Unicorn stallion, holding in his telekinetic grasp a clipoard. He looked up and saw my companion and myself. First he saw Shining AIrmor, and tensed up before relaxing, thinking it was just one of Flurry Heart's Stars. Then his gaze turned to me, and he saw the Hunter badge painted on the breast of my armor.

His eyes went wide, and he dropped the clipboard.

"FREEZE! GET ON THE GROUND!" I commanded, my suit augmenting my voice. The stallion wavered but froze in place, locked by indecisiveness. Part of him wanted to run, I'm sure, but a much smarter part of him told him he should comply. "I SAID, GET ON THE BUCKING GROUND. NOW!" The tips of my weapons were glowing, my gaze focused on the scientist. "Get on the GROUND, moron, or I will shoot you. By Her Majesty's Will I will fucking shoot you if you do not get ON THE GROUND!!"

"O-OK, OK!" the buck said, and slowly lowered himself to the floor. I kept my eyes locked on him, my weapons still glowing.

"Tell me your name and occupation!"

"Sun-- Sunburst. I serve Princess Flurry Heart and her mission to return to Equestria the Harmony it has forgotten."

"How exactly do you do that? What is your job here? What work do you perform for Flurry Heart?" Shining Armor asked, and the traitor looked at him.

"Shining Armor...? What did Twilight do to you?" Sunburst asked, and Shining AIrmor shook its head.

"She gave me the gift of immortality, just in a different form."

"You're... You're not even equine anymore. You're a robot, an automaton! Are you even yourself anymore?!"

"Shut it, and answer the questions. Flurry Heart and her ally Moondancer purchased vast sums of silver for an unknown purpose. I want to know what for, what her goal is, and where she is" I said.

"I already told you her goals: to return Harmony to Equestria. Peace, equality, the natural order our homeworld once enjoyed, now sullied by Twilight's corruption. As for the Princess, she's down below, preparing our vision. Nothing you do will stop her, or her beautiful ideals of LOVE AND ACCEP--"

I blinked twice and Sunburst's face vanished in a storm of plasma, and I stepped over his corpse as I headed for the elevator at the other end of the room. The Shining Armor AI joined me and I looked at him, my expression concealed by my helmet, his expression unchanged. He looked at the body of the stallion for a moment before turning back to look at me, shrugging his artificial shoulders. "For my sister?" he inquired, calling back to what I said to him earlier.

"Without question" I answered darkly, stepping onto the elevator. Shining AIrmor followed me, pressing the descend button, and down into the depths we went.

Nine: Depths of Tomorrow

"This is wrong, Twilight. This isn't ponylike. I can't accept this. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to join your new Equestria. I'm planning to campaign against it, peacefully, in the name of Harmony."

As the Shining Armor AI and myself rode the elevator down I ensured my gems were fully charged, and checked my suit to make sure it was ready to go. I stretched my hooves, rolled my head, and took a deep breath, letting it out after a moment. If the scientist buck could be trusted(I've found that most ponies who have guns to their backs are honest) then not only was Flurry Heart down here, but so was Moondancer. And Flurry Heart's bodyguards, most likely.

"Tell me, Meteor Shower. Is this a capture or kill mission?" the Shining Armor AI asked. I turned to face him, the elevator still descending into the depths. Outside the glass walls I could see the deep ocean, noting a large field of lights that appeared to be a building below the elevator.

"Kill. Flurry Heart is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocents on one of our colony worlds, and she's a rogue Alicorn" I explained.

"But you killed that Sunburst buck. He was innocent."

"Traitors are not innocent" I assured him.

The elevator reached the bottom and the door opened, leading out into a hall. There was a door on the far side of the hall, above it a giant ring of five brass necklaces circling a crown. The same jewelry that Empress Twilight had on display in Her living room. A purple velvet banner was strung across the replica jewelry, the banner proclaiming 'No Goddess, no Empress.'

"OK, that's pretty well creepy" Shining AIrmor commented as we strode towards the door, on edge. I could find no reason to disagree with him. "They've made a point of revering the Elements of Harmony, to the point of a religion. Now it makes me truly wonder what Flurry Heart is planning."

"I don't care" I replied as we passed through the door, finding a hub on the other side. Six hallways, each bearing a banner with a particular word on it. 'Generosity', 'Kindness', 'Loyalty', etc. My eyes scanned the six halls, finding they lead down to doors as well.

There was also Starborn patrolling the hub.

"Stars. You go right, I'll head left. Be mindful of their positions at all times; they're a lot more cunning than you think they are!" I declared, galloping to a computer bank that was near the door. The Shining Armor AI raced forward, its horn glowing blue.

As I took cover behind the computer bank I peeked over, finding that there were no Pegasus or Unicorn Stars in the room, just Earth. The Earth Stars only had simple energy blasters in the bottom of their right hooves, meaning they couldn't move and shoot at the same time. Being that was their only armament they made for relatively easy opponents, unless they were in groups.

Which these ones were.

I counted no less than twenty Earth Starborn in the hub room, the mindless drones blasting slowly at the Shining Armor AI. I noticed that the Stars weren't shooting at the computer bank the mechanical echo was behind, but rather shooting over it. My gaze fell on a group of Starborn that were most in the open and I fired one, two, three, four shots, and three Stars went down. I heard them chittering something and half of them remaind focused on the Shining Armor AI, the rest gunning for me. As with Shining AIrmor, they were shooting over me, not at the computer bank. My guess was there was important information on these computers that Flurry Heart didn't want destroyed.

Keeping low I moved down the row to another computer bank, the Starborn not catching sight of me. I ducked out and slagged one of the units before retreating, the Starborn shifting their fire appropriately. I heard a strange magical discharge and peeked over, watching as the Shining Armor AI fired thin arcs of electricity from its horn, the beams lancing through the heads of the Starborn it had targeted, punching through them like bullets.

Pulling back I stomped my back, right hoof against the floor and a grenade popped off my suit. Using one of my forehooves I kicked it out into the room, hunkering down under one of the computer banks, yelling out "grenade, my side!" to warn the Shining Armor AI. A mighty WHUMP! slammed through the room as the grenade went off, taking two Starborn with it. A quick check revealed that there were about eleven Starborn remaining, and I took a moment to recharge my gems.

Heading back to the computer bank closest to the exit I leaned out, firing up the main row and hitting one Star before their fire forced me back. I turned around, preparing to head back up the row, intent on keeping up this back-and-forth game with the Starborn when I saw a pony at the threshold of the 'Generosity' hallway. Turning to face the pony I saw they were unarmored, wearing naught but a simple cloak of black, tan fur covering ther body. Moondancer.

"Moondancer! Moondancer my side!" I called out to Shining Armor AI, taking sight on her. I backpedaled as I fired, the mysterious Unicorn throwing up a shield to block my shots. I watched as she decided not to move, content with just blocking my shots with her shield.

"Come, and face the might of Harmony!" Moondancer shouted, levitating herself with a mighty burst of magic. She kept up her shield as she hovered, conjuring a massive ball of magic and sending it my way. I turned and ran across the aisle to the computer bank on the northern side, near the hall marked 'Magic'. The magical ball imploded where I'd just been, and I recognized it as a black hole spell, designed to swallow up a pony before imploding, leaving the unfortunate pony gone. Nopony had ever figured out where victims of the spell were sent to. It was illegal magic, likely taught to Moondancer by Flurry Heart.

Standing up to take aim I watched Moondancer teleport away in a flash of white, and when she did not reappear in the hub room I considered her no longer an immediate threat. Turning my attention back to the Starborn I discovered that Shining AIrmor had felled another three, leaving just seven remaining. I popped out for a moment, blasting two. With five remaining I snuck down the aisle to the other end of the computer bank, popping up to take a shot. Instead of taking one on the Starborn they took one on me, a magical blast hitting me square in the barrel and knocking me on my rump.

My armor scorched and my Hunter badge baked off I found myself with the wind knocked out of me, leaving me to writhe on the floor. I rolled over, scrambling up against the computer bank as my lungs burned, screaming for air. I sucked in as many breaths as I could, my chest in massive pain. The armor always saved me, but it couldn't spare me from the physical impact of magical fire. The Shining Armor AI must've seen me get hit, and it called out my name. I was unable to answer it, just beginning to recover my breath.

Getting up to my hooves I shook my head, taking in a deep, painful breath. I was alive, and still able to fight. I couldn't afford a moment's rest. Not now, not while we were so close to confronting Flurry Heart and her companions. I slinked back down the aisle, finding a row and turning down it, racing across the open floor. I was now on the same side of the room as my mechanical ally, who had taken down another Star while I had been taking my breather. I kicked out another grenade and lobbed it over, another WHUMP! hitting my ears, a cloud of black filling the room as shrapnel was flung into the multitude of computer arrays. Another two had been dropped, leaving just two remaining.

As I readied myself to pop back out I heard the Starborn galloping across the room. Peeking out I watched as they raced down the hall labelled 'Magic'. My gaze following their retreat I blasted both Starborn in the back, turning them into molten piles of scrap metal.

Regrouping with the Shining Armor AI I found it relatively unscathed, the stallion-turned-robot getting to his hooves and turning to face me. "I'm guessing Flurry Heart is down that hall" the AI commented, and I nodded in agrement. "Final confrontation?" Shining AIrmor asked.

"For her and her friends. Not us. Let's go" I replied, carefully stepping out and entering the 'Magic' hallway. There was a solid steel door at the end, and as we approached it slowly opened, the door splitting in half horizontally, the two halves disappearing into the floor and ceiling. We entered the room beyond, and I saw something unlike I had ever seen before.

It was an array of six cylinders, powered by a single massive generator. There were doors on the fronts of the cylinders, a glass porthole set in each door. Visible through the portholes were six gems, each a different color; white, blue, pink, orange, yellow, and purple. I could see magical electricity being fed into the gems, for an unknown purpose. Standing before the cylinder with the purple gem was Flurry Heart, flanked by Moondancer. Standing with their backs to them, facing us, were Flurry Heart's bodyguards. They alerted their Princess to our presence, and she turned around, horror and shock twisting her face as she saw my mechanical companion.

"F-Father?" Flurry Heart said, stepping past her bodyguards and stopping in the middle of the room. "Dad, is that you?" she questioned, and the Shining Armor AI shook its head.

"I'm not your father anymore, Flurry Heart. You abandoned your Empress, you denounced the New Dawn. Your mother is dead because of you" Shining AIrmor declared.

"My mother served that psychotic Jezebel you call 'Empress'. Twilight KILLED the Princesses, for Celestia's sake! I've never understood how you could stand by Twilight's side, after EVERYTHING she's done! And now I suppose Sunburst is dead, too? He was topside when you two showed up" Flurry Heart exclaimed. Moondancer had joined her at her side, the bodyguards lowering their stances.

"The fact that I'm still alive, even as an AI, is a good enough reason for me to stand by my sister, beyond my obligation to my blood. Twilight created an Equestria that we had never thought possible under the Princesses. New sciences, new magic. The means for the flightless to fly, the means to expand our reach into the stars above! She elevated our standard of living! NOPONY goes hungry! NOPONY goes without the greatest education in the galaxy. NOPONY wants for anything! We enjoy a life not even the maddest had thought possible before Her Ascension" Shining AIrmor declared.

"Yes, and she did it all off the backs of the other species, subjugating them, crushing them into nothing but puppetstates that dance to her tune, and they're the LUCKY ones!! How many species did Twilight render extinct in her 'Expansion Wars'? How many have died because of her 'manifest destiny' BULLSHIT?!!" Flurry Heart shouted hysterically.

I stepped forward, chiming in with "I ask you, are we not the rightful rulers of Equestria? Are we not the descendants of the Golden Age? Is our Empress not the forebear of the greatest era in Equestrian history? What does it matter that the other races do not know what we do, live as we do, when we hold the collective MIGHT and power of the Equestrian Empire?"

"It matters to me, because I remember the key tenet of a PROPER Equestrian society; Harmony" Flurry Heart boldy stated, and with that the doors to the cylinders opened, the gems floating out on their own, drawn to Flurry Heart like she was a magnet. The gems began to circle around Flurry Heart, floating of their own accord. The mad Princess looked down at the gems before looking back up at me and the Shining Armor AI. "These gems, the Elements of Harmony, will power the device the Starborn have built for me in the Siren system, and with this device I will restore Equestria to her prior greatness!" Flurry Heart bellowed, throwing up a magical shield around herself and Moondancer as they retreated, Flurry Heart's bodyguards stepping forward, drawing energy staves from their backs.

"These are the Sisters' Pie, Maud and Limestone. Two of the last remaining echoes of Equestria's past, and victims of Twilight's 'New Dawn', like all who still follow Harmony. Know their names and faces, Hunter, for they will be the last you know" Flurry Heart stated before disappearing in a flash, taking Moondancer with her, leaving Shining AIrmor and myself with the Sisters' Pie. I tensed and lowered my stance, my mechanical ally right by my side, as we stared down more forgotten echoes of a dead past.

Ten: Blood Echoes

"Loyalty means a lot to me, Twilight. Perhaps even more so than it does to Rainbow Dash. You are more than the one who hatched me, more than my sister, you are my Empress, and I intend to guard you as such."

The Sisters' Pie, Maud and Limestone, calmly stepped forward, their energy staves held to their sides. The simple weapons were poles made of steel, with two collimators ringed with gold. When activated, latent magical energy would 'jump' the gap between the collimators, and the gold would perpetually sustain the circuit, creating a beam of magical energy with enough power to blast a gun in two at the mere touch of the beam.

As the two mares moved towards us Shining AIrmor and I moved in separate directions, looking to kite the two mares. They followed us silently, the lighter of the two splitting off to follow the Shining Armor AI. The darker sister, Maud(if the tag on the collar of her cloak was to be believed), coming after me. I watched her as she moved slowly, her expression completely blank. I don't mean she looked apathetic, or stoic. No, her face was blank. Purely no emotion whatsoever. Her eyes and body followed me robotically, and I began to question whether she was even a living pony.

My eyes falling on her I blinked twice in rapid succession, the lost echo of Equestria's past rolling to the side, effortlessly dodging my shots. She came up near me, twirling her staff around and slamming it down overhead. I dodged forward, the energy staff striking the floor in a shower of sparks. I turned around and blinked again, my shot striking the floor at Maud's hooves. She jumped back, twirling her staff and waving it out horizontally, trotting back towards me slowly. I fired once more, and she dropped to her stomach, my shots flying over her. From her prone position she planted her forehooves in the floor and pushed her body forward, her hindlegs coming up into the air as she cartwheeled onto all-fours, striking out with the staff and forcing me to dodge to the side.

Coming up again I found myself facing the array of tanks at the back, catching sight of the Shining Armor AI locked in battle with the other sister; Limestone. Unlike Maud, Limestone actually had a sense of life to her. She was fast, striking out with speed and purpose, yelling out grunts and cries as she hefted the magical melee weapon and tried to bring it to bear on my mechanical ally.

Turning my attention back to Maud I tensed as she thrust the staff forward, prompting me to drop to my stomach. As she pulled back I blinked, my shot hitting the magical beam of her staff. The magic was briefly captivated, overcharging the beam, before Maud twirled the staff around and slammed the butt of the weapon into the floor, discharging the excess magic into the air. My fur stood up on end and I smelled ozone. I fired again and she rolled to dodge.

I'm getting nowhere with this. Time to switch up my tactics I thought, kicking my hoof to drop a grenade. I rolled past Maud, coming up and firing. My shot hit her barrel as the grenade went off, the mare rolling away, black smoke trailing in her wake. Her cloak was apparently armored, as my shot had done no discernible damage, nor had the grenade, but I knew the concussive wave of the explosion would've had some effect.

Leaping back I opened fire, blinking rapidly, forcing Maud to gallop along as my shots trailed her. I adjusted my aim, firing where she was going to be, and she skidded to a halt, turning around. My gaze followed, my gems quickly depleting as she bobbed and weaved. I closed the gap between us and reached out with a hoof, intent on throwing her to the floor. To my surprise Maud grabbed my hoof and yanked, pulling me to the floor on my back. I rolled as she brought her staff down, scrambling to my hooves. Her counter proved that CQC wasn't going to fly, and her agility meant scoring hits was very difficult, leaving me with my grenades as my only viable option.

I had two grenades left.

Rolling forward I passed Maud, turning around and firing at her. She somersaulted, keeping her forehooves on the ground as she threw her body through the air. My eyes followed and I fired twice, both shots hitting her as she landed, with little effect. I fired a third shot that cooked off half her mane, though her expression remained unchanged. I fired and Maud rolled forward, towards me. I charged forward, but she came up with my right hoof in her grasp, holding me up. I blinked, the shot lancing up through the gap between our bodies, cooking the fur off her nose and singing my armor. She released me and I rolled away, coming up and turning to find her in my face, swinging her staff. I ducked, firing into her armored barrel. She dodged away and I got back up to my hooves, backing away to let my gems recharge.

As I backed up I checked on the Shining Armor AI, seeing that his fight with Limestone had moved to the catwalks that ringed the upper area of the room. Limestone was swinging wildly, her staff slashing off bits of the railing and the catwalk itself. I sent a few errant shots her way, distracting her long enough for Shining AIrmor to get some distance between him and her.

Focusing back on Maud I dropped another grenade and rolled away, the characteristic WHUMP! slamming the high walls of the room, sending shrapnel into the pods at the back. I looked up and saw that Maud had dodged the explosive once more, through a few pieces of shrapnel had slashed along her armored cloak, leaving it slightly ripped. I fired at her and she rolled away again, my shots scorching the steel. The air reeked of ozone and sulfur, a thin haze of black smoke from the grenade detonations near the ceiling.

Maud rolled towards me once more, thrusting her energy staff at me. I ducked to the side, my shots hitting the floor at her hooves, where her armored cloak did not reach, but the extent of the damage was cooked fur and boiled flesh. Nothing that would knock her out of the fight or kill her. She swung her staff wide and I dropped, rolling away when she transitioned to an overhead downward swing. I fired again and hit her in the shoulder, causing her to recoil. With the mare stunned I closed the gap, reaching out with a hoof to grab. She countered once more, grabbing my hoof and yanking me up, the two of us on our hindlegs. She raised her staff and I blinked, the shot catching her in the hoof that was holding mine, cooking the appendage off up to her elbow, leaving her with a charred stump of a left hoof. I rolled away, released from her grasp. With her right hoof holding her weapon she was forced to stand on her hindlegs, using her tail to maintain balance as she approached me again. I was shocked to find her expression was still unchanged, even with half her left foreleg now gone.

She must not feel pain. It's the only way that makes sense I mused. With my adversary on her hinds she'd be slower, and she likely wouldn't be able to roll well. I fired and she dropped down, releasing her staff from her grasp as her only remaining forehoof propped up her body. I dropped out another grenade and kicked it towards her. She grabbed her weapon and dropped to the floor, rolling end over end to escape the explosion. The room was once again hit with a WHUMP!, with Maud once again unscathed by the explosion. She got back up to her hindlegs and swung out with her staff, the beam audibly whipping past me with a loud humming. I fired and hit Maud in the right shoulder, causing her to drop the staff. She rolled forward, towards me, and I kicked out with my right hindleg, knocking her off balance. I fired, the shot going over her head and cooking off the last of her mane.

As I turned to face her Maud grabbed the back of my neck, looking to yank me off my hooves. I kicked out again, my hindleg striking her square in the barrel, knocking the wind out of her. She let out an odd croak and started robotically sucking in as much air as she could, her lungs struggling to refill themselves. I stood on my hindlegs, pulling her forward and knocking her hindlegs out from under her. She twisted and fell onto her back, still in my grasp, and I blinked twice, my shots cooking off her face and neck, the magical energy melting half her head in an instant. I released her from my grasp and dumped her body unceremoniously to the floor.

All that remained was Limestone.

I turned around and saw that Limestone and Shining AIrmor were still on the catwalks, the walks themselves telling the story of their battle thus far. Missing pieces of railing and melted, sagging steel spoke of their struggle. The Shining Armor AI looked untouched, for the most part, but so did Limestone. I fired at Limestone, forcing her to leap off the catwalks and land on the floor in a roll, coming up and facing my direction some 50 feet away. She saw the half-baked body of her sister lying on the cold floor, my stoic form standing over said corpse, my face unreadable behind my helmet, the smell of burnt flesh lingering in the air amidst the ozone and sulfur. At the sight of her dead sister Limestone flew into a rage, charging at me.

YOU MURDERED MY SISTER, YOU FUCKING PSYCHOPATH! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!!" Limestone yelled out as she charged me. I opened fire and she veered off course, the Shining Armor AI remaining on the catwalks, blue slivers of magic being shot out, punching through the floor and the pods at the back. Limestone raced behind them and my fire followed, slagging several pods and even blowing one up, bits of steel and mangled cables being thrown across the room. Limestone leapead out from behind the pods and landed in a roll, coming up in front of me in a slide, swinging her staff upward. I dodged back, the staff leaving a visible trail of distortion as it slashed through the air harmlessly. With Limestone open I fired, hitting her in the barrel. The Shining Armor AI fired as well, one of his shots lancing through the mare's cloak and body effortlessly, coming out the other side and disappearing in the pods. The mare cried out in pain and swung at me again, raking her staff along the floor as she swung upward, a shower of sparks spraying both her and my armor as I dodged away.

Scrambling to my hooves I backed away as Limestone swung wildly, leaving gouges in the floor as she desperately tried to hit me. I fired as I backpedaled, my gems rapidly depleting, the shots absorbed by her armor or going wild and missing. Shining AIrmor was having better luck than me, his shots punching through her body at high speeds, but doing very little damage it seemed. I dropped out the last of my grenades and galloped away, the explosion lifting Limestone off her hooves and sending her through the air. She hit the steel floor hard, writhing in pain for a moment before rolling over. I kept my distance, letting my gems recharge. She had landed underneath the catwalks, where the Shining Armor AI couldn't hit her.

With my gems recharged I opened fire, Limestone charging at me once more. She ducked back and forth, bobbing and weaving as she closed the distance between us. I rolled forward, past her, as she got close and swang, the backside of her staff hitting me in the barrel as I sailed through the air, doing no damage but knocking my dodge off kilter. I landed awkwardly, rolling over onto my stomach and firing at Limestone. She dodged to my left, her right, towards the pods, leaving her open to the Shining Armor AI, who resumed firing at her. She turned tail and ran back to the pods, taking cover and giving us all a moment to recover. I got back up on my hooves, slowly strafing to the side. The Shining Armor AI changed his firing mode, a thin beam lancing out and blasting apart the pods Limestone was behind, the explosion throwing her through the air.

Moving forward I opened fire, eldritch fire lancing across the room, hitting Limestone's prone form. She sluggishly rolled over, getting back to her hooves as my magical fire pounded her, doing no damage to her armored cloak or her. Shining AIrmor went back to its usual firing mode, shooting the magical bullets that were punching through Limestone's entire body. Limestone wavered as multiple ethereal slugs pierced her, exiting her body and dissipating in the floor. Fully recovered she charged forward, stopping suddenly and swaying in place, stumbling forward. She used her staff to hold herself up, struggling to get back onto her hooves. Shining AIrmor and I ceased fire, carefully watching her as she sluggishly got back up.

"SURRENDER" I called out, keeping my eyes firmly planted on her, "AND FACE THE EMPRESS'S JUSTICE!"

"FUCK YOU! I'm...a dead mare anyway. If I'm g-going to...go, it's gonna be on m-m-my own terms, and I'm tak--- taking the two of YOU WITH ME!!" Limestone shouted, getting back up and charging forward in full towards me. I backpedaled, firing at her, she ducked and dodged, my shots succeeding only in singing her armor and cooking her fur. Ethereal bullets lanced through her and hit the floor around her, and she let out a long, loud cry of defiance as she galloped towards me. My gems depleted all I could do was turn and run towards the pods, never taking my eyes off her. She turned to follow me as I thundered up the steps to the platform the pods were on. I watched as she raced towards me, seeing dozens of shots pass through her. She seemed unstoppable, and I began to wonder if she too was even a living pony.

Limestone had just reached the steps to the platform when she gasped, her eyes going wide with terror and shock, her body jerking as she was riddled with ethereal bullets fired by the Shining Armor AI. I heard a terrible, high-pitched magical whine, emanating from Limestone's body as she was overloaded with magic. The excess magical residue that had been deposited in her body was explosively vented out, a hole being punched through her chest from the inside and one of her eyes popping, wisps of blue smoke being pumped out through the new holes she had. I heard a grisly pop and a river of blood flowed out of her chest as her heart exploded, and she collapsed on the steps, her breaths coming in increasingly shallow arcs.

"S-Sisters... I'm....."

And Limestone Pie was no more.

Silence befell the room, the sounds of frenetic battle over, leaving the room with a strange, solemn stillness. My eyes were still fixed on the body of Limestone, even as the Shining Armor AI dropped down from the catwalks and approached me. The robot AI nudged the mare's body, rolling her over onto her side, the mangled corpse sliding down the steps to the floor.

"For my sister" Shining AIrmor whispered, looking up at me. I only nodded, stepping down off the platform and joining my mechanical ally by its side, taking one last look around the room to ensure that there was nothing left for us here.

We said nothing more as we headed back to the elevator.

Eleven: Sol

"Twilight, stop this! I... STOP! STOP STOP STOP!! N... No... WAIT! STOP! She's... She's...dead... YOU KILLED MY SISTER!! HOW COU--"

"Tell me about her. About Flurry Heart. She was your daughter?" I asked of the Shining Armor AI as we raced across the stars to the Siren system, what would hopefully be our final destination in our mission to stop the mad Princess. We sat at the kitchen table in my ship, the stars a blur on the viewing screen next to us. As always, Shining AIrmor's expression was unchanged, and he paid little attention to the stars.

"She was. She was but a newborn at the time of Twilight's Ascension. She was part of the first generation to grow up under the New Dawn, knowing nothing but Empress Twilight, manifest destiny, and Equestrian exceptionalism. She experienced all the wonders of the Golden Age just as it was beginning. She was never a zealot about the New Dawn, but she followed it all the same" the Shining Armor AI explained.

"What changed?"

"She did. The story of Flurry Heart is similar to that of Twilight's story. She grew up under the Empress, and Her vision for Equestria. One day, She sent Flurry Heart on... a mission. Deep into the jungles of the Everfree Forest. When she came back, she was different. Like how you know her now. She claimed to have seen the truth about Twilight. She started ranting about 'lies' and 'falsehoods', and she confronted my sister with these accusations. My wife at the time, Cadance, Flurry Heart's mother, intervened and...she was killed in the crossfire. Twilight condemned Flurry Heart to the realm of Tartarus, along with any who proclaimed to follow her. It was a stain that briefly marred the Golden Age, but as you know it has survived to this day" Shining AIrmor told me.

"What was this mission Empress Twilight sent Flurry Heart on?" I inquired. Shining AIrmor paused for a moment, as if thinking, before leaning forward in its seat.

"Meteor Shower, I'm about to tell you something that Twilight...expunged...from the records. She never intended for anyone to find this out, and certainly not somepony like you... Flurry Heart was the first Royal Hunter."

I arched one of my brows, intrigued. "Really?"

"Yes. Twilight sent Flurry Heart into the Everfree Forest to find a band of rebels. Their leader? Fluttershy. One of Twilight's closest friends before the New Dawn, and leader of the Harmony Brigade. Her followers? Pinkie Pie, Maud Pie, Limestone Pie, Moondancer, and Sunburst. I don't know the specifics, but they turned Flurry Heart away from the New Dawn" my mechanical partner said.

"So that's what happened to Fluttershy and Pinkie. They were banished to Tartarus along with Flurry Heart and the rest. If Flurry Heart and the rest found a way out, then why haven't we heard anything about Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?" I inquired.

"My guess is that they were killed while in Tartarus... A fitting end" the Shining Armor AI spat. "That conniving little bitch, Fluttershy, turned my daughter away from the New Dawn and caused my wife's death. In her stupidity and IGNORANCE she deigned to resist the New Dawn, peaceably like a coward, but she still had blood on her hooves. I hope she was savagely ripped apart by one of the realm's beasts. She infuriates me because she was so shy and timid, but she used that shyness like a cloak to shroud her conniving ways. I would have enjoyed watching Twilight hang her if she'd been captured."

"I understand your anger. I feel the same for all of Equestria's enemies, particularly the ponies who turn their backs on the Empress" I said.

"It goes beyond just simple enemies of Equestria. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Moondancer, Maud; they were all friends of Twilight. They didn't just betray their Empress, they betrayed their FRIEND. And what's worse, they turned my own DAUGHTER against the New Dawn."

I nodded, beginning to see all the puzzle pieces click into place, seeing where all this began. Flurry Heart's ambitions, her return, the hows and whys of what she's doing. "There's still one thing I don't get; the Elements of Harmony. What are they?" I asked.

"The Elements were items of great magical power. Six gems, turned into enchanted pieces of jewelry, sporting the cutie marks of their bearers. The Elements can be wielded by sole Alicorns, but they work even better when used by six individual bearers. Twilight and Her friends Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were the last bearers of the Elements. Twilight keeps the pieces in her living room" the Shining Armor AI stated.

"I've seen them. So if the original pieces are still intact, then Flurry Heart's facsimilies shouldn't work, right?" I questioned, earning a shake of the head from the AI.

"Flurry Heart would know that, though. She wouldn't put all this time and effort into creating replicas of the Elements of Harmony if she didn't have a way to make them work. The final piece of this puzzle is that device the Starborn created for her. Which, as a side note, I'd love to find out how she got the Starborn to cooperate with her."

"I've wondered that, too. She probably fed them some foolishness about getting back at the Empire that created them. I don't much care about the Starborn, to be honest" I said, leaning back. "It's too bad Flurry Heart turned her back on the Empress. An Alicorn Royal Hunter was probably a fearsome sight to behold."

"Oh yes. Twilight groomed Flurry Heart, from birth, to fill the role. For twenty years my daughter trained. It was a learning process not only for her, but also for Twilight. She didn't know what would make a good Hunter. That's why it took so long. The day she graduated, though... I've never been more proud and terrified of my daughter. Flurry Heart was fast, strong, powerful, and she had the backing of our Empress. Carte blanche to do whatever she wanted, so long as it furthered Equesria's position, much like you. There hasn't been and Alicorn Hunter since" the Shining Armor AI stated.

"I'm curious to know; who were the Royal Hunters after Flurry Heart?" I asked.

"I only know of the ones before I was sent off to the planet of Tirek. Let's see, after Flurry Heart there was Trixie. Trixie was a fun Hunter; she used illusion magic to confuse her targets. After Trixie was retired a Pegasus named Soarin' was made the new Royal Hunter. He was killed by dragons during a war against them. Then came Spitfire, after her was Sweetie Belle, and then Applebloom. She was the latest Royal Hunter at the time I was sent off to Tirek, about a hundred or so years after the New Dawn" Shining AIrmor told me.

"I'm sure they all served admirably" I commented.

"Without a doubt. I wonder just who the ponies that were made Royal Hunter since were. Your predecessor, tell me about him" the Shining Armor AI requested.

"Disc Jockey? She was a descendant of a mare named Vinyl Scratch, I guess. She was ruthless, but her career was mostly unremarkable. With the exception of one incident. Disc Jockey was the Royal Hunter when the Starborn gained sentience. During our wars with the Starborn she killed thousands. It came to our attention that there was an army of Pegasus Starborn hiding on a Griffin colony. Empress Twilight was nervous to send Disc Jockey, because of the dual threat. What did DJ do? She dropped an asteroid on the planet, cracking it in two. Millions of Starborn and Griffins, dead. She cracked wise about 'killing two birds with one stone' for a while after that" I explained with a slight grin.

"She was sent to kill Starborn, but ended up killing million of Griffins too? What was Twilight's response to this?" my mechanical ally asked.

"She called DJ 'efficient', 'creative', and, naturally, She called her 'foolish'. Still, she got the mission completed" I answered.

"My sister has changed much from when I last knew her. Still, She is my sister, and She is Equestria's ruler."

"Your sister is a magnificent, beautiful, intelligent, and powerful mare, Shining Armor AI. I remember when I was a foal--I don't much like to talk about myself, just so we're clear--and I saw Empress Twilight in the flesh for the first time. The first word that struck me about Her was 'majestic'. She looked other-worldly, still does to this day, and regal. She is my everything" I said.

"Before you pop the question to Her, you have to ask me for permission first" Shining AIrmor cracked wise, making me shake my head.

"You jest, but it goes deeper than that. She is basically my Goddess. And, as much as I respect and revere my Empress, if She asked me for my hoof in marriage, I would decline. I have no space in my life for such things, and I have never once felt attraction or affection for anypony outside of a platonic level. None of that particularly matters to me" i explained.

"No love to call your own? No kids? Not even sex?" the Shining Armor AI asked, speaking frankly. I shook my head.

"I've never wanted any of it. A doctor would say I'm asexual, but it's a bit more complicated than that. It's not that I'm physically incapable, it's just that I do not care. I have no room in my life for anything but Empress Twilight and Equestria. I made it very clear to my parents, before they died, that our bloodline ends with me" I explained.

"I see."

"There's something else I'd like to ask. The Princesses; did Twilight kill them?"

The Shining Armor AI looked like it was in thought for a moment, as if it was reliving the past, before nodding. "Yes. I didn't want to speak about it, and there's a good reason it's been left out of your history books. Three Alicorns, two sisters, one the student of one of them for over 20 years, fighting to the death. Three Alicorns fighting would be bad enough, but when all three share a connection? Something that binds them as friends? ...It was brutal."

"How did Twilight win?" I inquired.

"She used that emotional connection to her advantage. Celestia and Luna, they wanted to cleanse her. They thought she was posessed by a corrupting spirit. My sister, all she wanted to do was kill them. Neither of the two sisters could commit themselves to lethal force. Celestia was first. After that is when the gloves came off, to use an old idiom, and Luna tried to kill Twilight."

"Two Alicorns, trying to kill each other... And Twilight won. Impressive, no doubt."

"Luna always was the weaker of the two sisters..." Shining AIrmor commented.

The rushing outside turned to stillness as we arrived in the Siren system. I rose from my seat and headed into the bridge, looking out via the viewscreen. The mapchart screen showed me the nine planets in the system; Orthros, where our scientific survey team was, Tartarus, Wendigo, Etherea, etc. There was even a garden world towards the center, though its native population of giant carnivorous lizards deterred all who thought of visiting. "We're here. The Siren system. The de facto home of the Starborn. When they fled the Horsehead Nebula, this is where they went. The largest concentration of Starborn in the known galaxy reside here."

Shining AIrmor looked out the viewscreen, its eyes scanning the stars. "This is where my daughter fled to..." the AI whispered.

"We're going to make a stop at our colony world, and then we're going to head in to find Flurry Heart. There'll be no escape this time for her and Moondancer. We put an end to this, here and now" I declared, taking the sticks in my hooves and taking us to Orthros.

Twelve: Orthros

"The Empress Twilight cometh~! Behold! Behold! A glori~ous new daaawn! Behold, behold, BEHOOOLD!!"

As my vessel approached Orthros the communicator came to life, a mare's voice coming through. She sounded calm and cool, but there was an edge in her voice, likely brought on by living on such an alien world at the edge of the most dangerous star system known to pony kind. "This is Scientific Survey Station Dash, of the Greater Equestrian Empire. Unidentified vessel, we have logged your vector as an approach on our planet. Identify yoursef, or face Her Majesty's might."

"This is Righteous Destiny, callnumber 101921, commanded by Meteor Shower. Identification number RRRH172" I answered in reply, slowing my ship's speed to a stop, holding outside the killzone as I'm sure they'd ask me to.

"Please stand by while we run your ID tags..." the mare said, pulling away from her microphone. I leaned back as we waited, idly looking at my hoof, the Shining Armor AI playing a holographic game of Solitaire, the cards projected from its horn like a movie theatre. The mare came back to the microphone a minute later, her voice hesitant. "By the Empress... Welcome to Orthros, Royal Hunter. We will have the appropriate accomodations ready for your visit."

"Don't bother, I won't be here long. Be advised, though, that I have company with me. A robotic AI. It is NOT a Starborn. Do you understand?" I asked of the operator.

"Y-Yes, yes sir. Welcome to Orthros" the mare repeated as I drove the ship in, guiding it into a docking bay where a clamp grabbed hold of it. I rotated the vessel around in the dock, ensuring my entrance hatch on the lower deck would be lined up with the terminal's vacuum-sealed tunnel. I rose from my seat, Shining AIrmor's game disipating in a haze of static as it turned to follow me.

"I'm an 'it', now?" my mechanical ally questioned.

"Well you ARE an AI consciousness housed in the body of a robot. Neither buck, nor mare" I said matter-of-factly as we descended into the lower deck, heading for the exit hatch. As expected, a pressure tunnel snaked beyond where the hatch ended, connecting my ship to the station.

"I may be a robot, but I still have everything that made me a stallion" the Shining Armor AI commented, causing me to pause and tilt my head back, perturbed.

I never did find out if that was a joke.

As we made our way through the halls of the scientific survey station wonder, confusion, and fear were in the gazes that followed the Shining Armor AI and myself. We were heading towards the control tower, where the head scientist and soldier would be at. At my arrival both ponies would be in the tower, like suspecting that I was here for a report on their findings.

"What exactly goes on here?" Shining AIrmor asked.

"Monitoring of the Starborn. Even after the last war against the Starborn ended Empress Twilight deigned to keep tabs on them. Wisely so, given what we've learned they've been up to the past 20 years. They've been trading resources for weapons and materials. Likely to build ships. And, strangely enough, they've been trading for water filters and farming equipment" I explained, watching as the Shining Armor AI looked at me.

"What possible use could a species of robots have for water and food?"

"We've never found out. But given Flurry Heart's recent reappearance I suspect they're tied in with her."

We entered an elevator at the end of the hall and I pressed the button for the tower, the two of us idly watching the display as it counted up the four floors to the tower. A ping sounded our arrival and we stepped out, a short hallway leading to a door flanked by two Royal Startroopers, an evolution of pre-Ascension Marines. Their expressions remained neutral as we approached, but I could tell they were tense at the sight of my AI ally. They allowed us entrance without pause, and we entered the tower.

The control tower housed the usual array of computer banks, terminals, and monitoring equipment. A bank of monitors showing a feed of the stars above Orthros lined the back wall. The head scientist, a mare named Flower Harvest, and the military commander in charge of security, a buck named Hollow Point, were there to greet us. "Sir! Welcome to Orthros. Apologies for the poor accomodations; we were not expecting your visit" Hollow Point said with a salute, which I returned.

"Don't worry about it. I already told the comms operator that I wasn't going to be here long. My ally and I are here on an official matter. A Hunt, of the most sensitive nature, seeking a target outside the norm; a fellow pony. She is working with the Starborn, and we have determined that she has fled here to ascertain some object the Stars built for her" I explained.

Flower Harvest looked at me with mild alarm, and she stepped forward. "Sir. From where did you learn this information? We have detected nothing of the sort in monitoring the Starborn" she said.

"We learned it from the target herself. She told us. She plans to take this device, and presumably the Starborn, to Equus to kill Empress Twilight and end the Golden Age. We are running short on time; have you tracked all traffic coming through here, and where they're heading?" I inquired.

"Of course, sir" Hollow Point chimed in. "We keep logs of all traffic in and out of system. We've been tracking the Starborn's largest ship, as it's been coming and going at an increased rate in the past week. It's been travelling to Etherea each time it's entered the system. I'll have one of the techs offload the traffic data to a disk, along with all the data on the Starborn they've accumulated since your last visit."

"Thank you, commander. We'll make good use of it" I said. In truth, the traffic data was irrelevant now that we knew where Flurry Heart's little device was likely held. Still, it would benefit Her Majesty to have updated data on the Starborn's traffic and going-ons. "Is there anything else we should be made aware of?"

Flower Harvest shook her head. "Nothing outside of what we've seen thus far, sir. The Starborn's fleet has increased by two in the past year-and-a-half, but they're both relatively small additions. Frigates, or what have you" the mare told me.

I nodded, thanking the two. I turned my gaze to the monitor banks, idly watching the stars beyond, as Hollow Point trotted off to get me the data he promised. While we waited I mulled over Flurry Heart's ambitions, and I felt as though we were missing one vital piece of the puzzle.

Facsimilies of the Element of Harmony, friends and allies of the Empress from before Her Ascension, and devices and machines by the Starborn. Water filters and hydroponics, and the Starborn's alliance to the mad Princess. What are we missing?

The beeping of a nearby computer terminal jarred me from my thoughts and I turned to look at it, Flower Harvest trotting over to investigate. She pressed a few keys and her eyes widened slightly, looking up and scanning the control room. "Hollow Point! Contact, breaching the far radar belt!" she called out. I approached her side, looking at the terminal. There was a read-out of technical data that I didn't understand, but I did notice some coordinates that looked fairly close to Orthros.

Hollow Point came back over, nudging Flower Harvest to the side as he took a look at the terminal. He looked up after a moment, his eyes travelling up to the monitor banks. "Put the defense cannons into standby, and have half of the security force don combat rigs" Hollow Point declared. A second, more intense, alarm sounded and the two ponies looked back at the terminal. "Second radar belt breached..." Hollow Point uttered. "Scratch the last order; arm all defense cannons and have all the security force don combat rigs!"

"Starborn? Or Flurry Heart?" the Shining Armor AI asked of me.

"Both" I suspected. I looked up at the monitor banks and saw a shadow amongst the stars moving, slowly coming into view, obfuscated by a field of asteroids that surrounded Orthros. As it neared I realized it was the Starborn flagship, its black hull acting as camoflauge. I saw flashes on the monitors as the defensive cannons opened fire, explosions marring the Starborn vessel, but doing little damage. Alarm klaxons sounded in full as the Starborn ship turned, its own guns opening fire on the station. The floor beneath me shook as the shots hit, an alarm for hull breaches sounding. The Starborn ship turned and raced away, disappearing from view. "Damage report?" I asked.

"The damage was minimal, sir, but...it appears the docking bays were targeted" Hollow Point answered, prompting me to raise my brow. Hollow Point turned to another terminal and input some commands, feeds of the various security cameras being displayed to him. "Your ship was destroyed, sir."

I was pissed. No ship meant I was obviously stuck. "I MUST follow that vessel! Are there any other vessels I could use?" I demanded, adrenaline seeping into my blood. Every second Flurry Heart had on us was a second she could use to enact her sick plans.

"There's a decommisioned fighter that we use for long-range survey and to collect samples. It has no weapons, but it does have a Starcore; you could follow the Starborn with that. I'll have the emergency pit teams ready it for you! It's in an old launching silo. Hollow Point, take them to it!" Flower Harvest declared, earning a nod from the security buck.

"This way, sir!"

"Deep into that darkness, peering. Long I stood there, wondering, fearing..." the Shining Armor AI stated as we once more race acrossed the stars, seated in an ancient Starwing fighter jet, the stars around us a blur as the Starcore took us back to the Horsehead Nebula. We weren't exactly following Flurry Heart's vector, but it wouldn't matter; she was going to one place and one place only; Canterlot.

"I've about reached the end of my patience for this. I'm tired of this ignorant traitor being one step ahead of us. We're putting an end to this insanity, once and for all" I declared.

As promised Hollow Point had led us to a launch silo, an antiquated means of launching a fighter jet into the void. The silo's catapult had additional rocket boosters that would aid the fighter in defeating a planet's atmosphere, back when fighter jets couldn't do it on their own. Being that Orthros had very little in the way of atmosphere the additional thrust wasn't needed, but Empress Twilight couldn't justify spending the bits to outfit the station with a more modern vessel, plus the means to retrofit a separate dock dedicated to housing said vessel.

As it stood, the old Starwing would be more than adequate.

"What's the plan? Boarding mission, or could we just ram her engines? I mean, we wouldn't survive, but I don't think that would matter much to either us" Shining AIrmor said, prompting me to shake my head.

"Knocking the ship's engines out would trap it in Equus's gravity well, and the ship would fall right onto Canterlot. Plus, if I'm going to die today, it's going to be with my hooves around Flurry Heart's neck, and only after I've tossed Moondancer out an airlock" I responded.

The blur turned to stillness as we arrived in the Horsehead Nebula, Equus coming into view. The fighter's instruments showed a contact only about 700,000 miles out; Flurry Heart's ship. She was fast approaching Equus, the vessel turning to align itself with the planet to hold in geosynchronous orbit with Canterlot. I banked as we rocketed toward the Starborn vessel, swinging around to get a look at its side, searching for an opening. There were numerous docking ports and hangar bays, but most had their blast doors closed.

"That engine-ramming suicide mission is looking more and more like our only option" the Shining Armor AI commented as we circled.

"Like Tartarus it is" I said. The hull would be virtually impregnable by simple ramming, but the blast doors were a necessary structural weakness. They would have extra reinforcing, to be sure, but they could be weakened. "I have a plan. Your hooves, they're magnetized, right?" I asked.

"Of course!"

"Alright. I'm going to take us in close, and depressurize the fighter. Once that's done I want you to climb out onto the wing and use your horn to blast one of the hangar bay doors. That should weaken it enough to let us punch through" I explained. "My suit is vacuum sealed; I'll be alright."

"You're insane, Meteor Shower, but I think it'll work!"

I reached over with a hoof and depressurized the cockpit, turning it into a vacuum. With the pressures equalized I released the cockpit hatch, the sound silent in the void. I slowed the fighter a hair as I watched the Shining Armor AI clamber out of its seat, stepping over onto the right wing. With the fighter lined up the robot had a perfect shot, even at our distance. My mechanical ally charged its horn and released a beam of magical energy, the blue lance streaking out across the black pitch of the void, a brilliant flash spreading as it struck Flurry Heart's ship. The bright beam bridged our two vessels in the void, the blast door sagging and glowing as it was softened. Satisfied, the Shining Armor AI crawled back into the cockpit and I sealed it in its wake, leaving the chamber depressurized as I increased our speed, rocketing across the void. The defensive cannons of the vessel came to life at our attack, their shots guided with the precision one would expect from an AI. I pitched and rolled and yawed and banked, dodging the shots as they detonated soundlessly in the vacuum.

As we neared the mad Princess's ship one of the enemy's shots detonated near us, scorching a wing but leaving the thrusters intact. Normally a damaged wing would spell an aircraft's doom, but in the vacuum of the void we didn't need the flaps or ailerons; just the thrusters. I gritted my teeth as we approached our target, praying to Her Majesty that we would survive, silent explosions spraying us with shrapnel as we approached. My eyes never once left the hangar bay we were careening towards, hoping beyond hope that the Shining Armor AI had weakened the blast doors sufficiently. I closed my eyes as my vision filled with the sight of the hangar, now close enough to see the Starborn inside, racing around as they took up defensive positions.

And we rammed the ship.

Thirteen: Just Cause

"01001100 01101111 01110011 01110011 00101110"

An intense, throbbing pounding in my head and a sharp pain in my chest let me know I was still alive, as consciousness returned to me. My ears were filled with a terrible ringing, and as I rolled over and opened my eyes I realized I could hear nothing else. Fearing deafness I clucked my tongue, hearing the telltale sound, assuaging my fears. It took me another moment to realize that the hangar had likely depresurized when the blast door was breached, and vacuum had replaced the air inside. I swallowed, my ears popping and the ringing stopping. I looked up, finding that I was no longer inside the cockpit of the Starwing. Instead, I was behind a stack of crates, the Shining Armor AI nearby, leaning out to fire back at the Starborn that were gunning for us.

I groaned, getting up onto my hooves. I was in terrible pain, but I still had a mission to complete. A mission that had come down to the wire. At any moment Flurry Heart would enact her plans, and I couldn't waste any time crawling around on the floor. "Sh-- Shining AIrmor! What's the situation?!" I asked over the radio, my mechanical ally slipping back into cover and turning to face me.

"Meteor Shower? i was wondering if you'd survived. You were out for a good ten minutes. The situation is pretty crap. There was a good 20 or so Starborn waiting for us when we, well, 'landed'. I had to bash my way out of the cockpit and drag your rump out of it. We're pretty freaking lucky" the Shining Armor AI explained.

I shook my head. "I'd consider us lucky if Flurry Heart's device exploded and she died of a heart attack. For now, it's enough to know we're still alive, and that we still have time to stop the mad Princess. You said there were 20 Stars; have you killed any?"

"Three. I didn't know the Starborn had Unicorns and Pegasi among their ranks now" Shining AIrmor commented. "There's a couple Unicorns and at least one Pegasus Star out there."

"That'll complicate things. Earth Stars are bad enough" I said. I looked over my suit, finding that it was pretty well intact, if more than a little banged up. I had used the last of my grenades in fighting Limestone, leaving me with just my guns. "The Starborn are irrelevant; we need to find Flurry Heart and stop her."

"Kind of hard to do if you've got robots gunning for you. Let's get these things mopped up first before we turn our attention on my rogue daughter" the Shining Armor AI contested, leaning out to fire on the Starborn. I turned around, peeking out of cover and assessing the situation. The hangar was crawling with Starborn, and I saw the Pegasus Star take off from the second floor. The hangar was setup in a way that it had three floors that ringed the hangar in a U-shape, each floor bearing docking arms and cradles that held dropships. Every arm and cradle had a dropship in it, making it nearly impossible for any Starborn on the upper floors to shoot at us. Consequently, it would give the Pegasus Star plenty of cover when engaging us.

It was eerie, fighting in vacuum like we were. It was utterly silent, but I could obviously tell we were in the middle of a battlezone. The lack of sound meant we were lacking a tactical element that was crucial to staying alive on the battlefield, and we'd have to be extra vigilant if we were going to survive past this room. I knew the rest of the ship would still be pressurized, so it was just this one hurdle we had to clear.

I leaned out of cover and saw a couple of Starborn moving up, getting closer to the crates Shining AIrmor and myself were hiding behind. I blinked, blue orbs of eldritch fire racing out, my shots filtered through the spark filter. I slagged one of the two Stars and the electrical discharge fried its comrade. I ducked back to give my gems a moment to recharge, looking over my shoulder at the Shining Armor AI. It was as focused and stalwart as ever, firing on the attacking Stars with methodical precision. I turned back around, edging out and firing on a group of Stars that were in cover halfway across the hangar, forcing them to duck down.

"I don't want to stay here, Shining AIrmor. I have a plan" I said as I moved back behind cover, looking out. To the left of the crates, some 60 feet away, was a bulkhead; a door, that led into the ship. It was in an alcove, and there were some crates near it. We could cycle through it, and the Shining Armor AI could melt it shut behind us to prevent the Starborn from chasing. "There's a door to port; I'm going to make a break for it. Cover me!" I shouted as I charged out, galloping across the hangar bay, a nervous sweat breaking out. I saw errant shots from the Starborn passing in front of me, and I'm sure there were some passing in my wake as the Stars tried to shoot me. I never stopped, my legs moving in a practiced cadance, taking me to the door. I threw myself against it, dropping low behind the crates. "Shining Armor; MOVE!!"

I popped up, firing on the Stars as the Shining Armor AI took off, running towards me. I saw the Pegasus Star glide into a view a good 100 yards away, and I turned my gaze onto it, firing at it. The Shining Armor AI was fast, but if that Pegasus Star fired on us even my mechanical ally wouldn't be able to outrun the missiles. A group of Earth Stars, accompanied by the few Unicorn Stars, moved up to a bank of crates near the ones we had just been behind, taking up positions. "SHINING ARMOR!" I barked as way of warning as the Stars opened fire.

The Shining Armor AI was halfway to me when the Stars opened fire, magical fire and missiles racing out to touch us. I watched as the Shining Armor AI lowered itself as it ran, twisting its body to turn, its steel hooves throwing up a rain of sparks as they grinded against the steel floor. It turned 180 degrees, facing back into the hangar. It threw out its chest and reared its head back, its horn igniting. A massive sphere of pure white magic lifted into the air and split off into five smaller orbs that formed a semi-circle aroung Shining AIrmor's head, before they shot out at the Stars. The orbs hit the Stars like a thousand pounds of dynamite, detonating in brilliant fireballs of sunlight and fusing the steel aroung the detonation sites. One of the orbs was sent towards the Pegasus Star and it burst midair, a visible concussive wave ripping the Pegasus Star's body into scrap. A blue mist of magical residue rose into the air, creating a fog in the middle of the hangar. The Shining Armor AI backed away, watching for any more threats as it finally reached my position by the door.

"By the Empress, what was that?" I asked as I turned to face the door's control panel. It appeared to be in the Star's language, so I had the Shining Armor AI have a go at cracking it. I turned back to watch its back, knowing that there were still some more Starborn in the hangar that would be coming for us.

"Star magic. Kiss of Sunlight. Taught to me by one of the Empire's premier wizards, Sunburst, before he turned his back on Twilight. I've decided that he deserved what you did to him, back on Hydra, with what we've learned since then" Shining AIrmor answered as it got to work on the door. As I suspected the remainder of the Starborn were moving up, taking care to not expose themselves, having seen what happened to nearly half of their numbers. I fired at them, making sure they stayed in cover. "I'm going to equalize the pressure and open the door. it won't take but a minute" my mechanical ally assured me, making me frown. Even one second felt like an eternity on the battlefield when you've got things shooting at you.

I kept my head up, putting suppressive fire on the Starborn. So far they had elected to stay in cover, which was just fine by me. I only wish I still had some grenades, since they'd be of great use right now. I watched my power meter as my gems were slowly emptied, taking care not to expend them. "Shining AIrmor, how's that door coming?" I asked, turning my head in my ally's direction but keeping my eyes(and thus my guns) trained on the Starborn across the room. I turned my eyes to look at the door just as it silently opened.

"Got it!" the Shining Armor Ai declared, turning around to face me. "METEOR SHOWER, GET DOWN!" it thundered. I moved to drop to the floor just as I got hit, an eldritch fireball hitting me in the head hard enough to spin me around, my vision blurred and darkened at the edges as I fell to the floor. The room spun and spun, and the Shining Armor AI grabbed me as it returned fire on the Starborn, dragging me into the corridor beyond the door. It sealed the door in our wake and ignited its horn, fusing the door shut. The corridor pressurized, and I could finally hear all sounds again. "Meteor Shower!" my mechanical ally called, and I waved a hoof, showing it I was still alive.

"Stupid... Stupid. I took my eyes off them for only a second, and that's all they need" I said, shakily getting to my hooves, shaking my head. I took a deep breath, regaining my balance, my senses coming back to me. "OK, let's keep going."

"Are you alright?" Shining AIrmor asked, moving by my side. His dedication was admirable, and I was even beginning to see it not as an 'it', but as a fellow pony. A dangerous sentiment, I know, given its mechanical nature. But that's how I felt.

"I just made a rookie mistake. I'm fine. Well enough to complete the mission, at least. Come on; we've got to find Flurry Heart. If we can locate a map we'll be able to figure out where we are, and see if we can't figure where she might be hiding out" I responded, heading for the other door at the end of the corridor. It opened without pause, leading into an intersection corridor that appeared clear. We were safe, for now.

The intersection presented us with a bit of a problem. There were three other directions to head in, any one of which might lead us to the mad Princess. I looked up the one directly opposite us, finding it stretched for about 200 yards to another bulkhead, and I looked up the ones to our left and right. The left one was clear, and as I looked up the right one I caught a glimpse of Moondancer turning and trotting down a branching corridor. "Moondancer. I know where to go. Come on" I said, trotting down the corridor that ran parallel to the hangar, reaching the intersection at the other end and turning down the corridor I saw Moondancer head down. She was there again, standing in the middle of another intersection. She looked at us and trotted down another corridor, out of sight.

"She's baiting us" the Shining Armor AI declared matter-of-factly as we followed.

"That much was known already, but she's the only lead we've got on finding Flurry Heart."

We turned down the corridor Moondancer had gone down, finding a sealed bulkhead at the end. We paused, looking at it warily. I approached, and found the door was unlocked. I looked at the Shining Armor AI, who shrugged. "Down the rabbit hole we go" it commented, using another archaic idiom. I neared the door and it opened, revealing an arcaneum beyond. It was a circular, high-ceilinged chamber, with a dome ceiling. Around the circumference of the dome, painted as some kind of mural, were stylized representations of the Elements. Six colored banners hung from the ceiling, circling the arcaneum, extending all the way down to the floor. They bore the faces of six ponies; two Earth, two Unicorn, and two Pegasus. Orange, white, purple, pink, blue, and yellow. Moondancer stood in the center of the room, her back to us, as she looked up at the purple banner; Empress Twilight's face on it.

"Don't move, traitor!" I commanded as we entered the room, the Shining Armor AI locking the door shut behind us. Moondancer turned to face us, wearing the same armored cloak the Sisters' Pie had been. She pulled the hood back, revealing her face. The right side of her features were slightly disfigured by a burn scar, and she looked apathetic.

"Welcome... To The Host of Harmony. Six mares, who bore the Elements of Harmony... Only one lives to this day. Twilight Sparkle" Moondancer said.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, keeping a careful distance from her, never once taking my eyes from her. The room was small, only about 50 yards in length, and a 50 yards in circumference. It reminded me of Empress Twilight's bedroom in Castle Twilight.

"Something you'll never understand, Royal Hunter" Moondancer said, standing on her hindlegs and looking at her forehooves. "As you once did for the bitter and the angry, grant these lost souls eyes, Harmony!" Moondancer shouted, hovering into the air with a burst of her magic. She ascended to nearly two feet off the ground, still looking at her hooves. She extended them, and from her forehooves came five orbs of magic, their colors matching the bearers of the Elements, sans Twilight, and the orbs swirled around Moondancer.

"Where's Flurry Heart?" I inquired.

"Out the door and up the hall, to the right. But you'll never leave this room, Royal Hunter. You, and that shell of a bot that calls itself Twilight's brother, will know Harmony before you die" Moondancer declared, the five orbs brigtening and firing ethereal lasers at us. I dodged to the right, the lasers not turning to follow. The Shining Armor AI raced around the room to the left, firing at Moondancer, the orbs erecting a shield that absorbed my mechanical ally's shots.

I got to my hooves and crouched low, watching Moondancer intently. She turned to face me, lowering her shield to fire her orbs. I opened fire, five shots racing out and striking the mare in her armored cloak. The Shining Armor AI fired, his shots piercing the mare's veil and passing through her. She shouted in pain and brought her shield back up, turning back around to face the Shining Armor AI. "You cowardly swine! I will enjoy killing you both for my Princess!" she yelled, dropping her shield and firing the orbs at Shining AIrmor, which dodged the beams. I opened fire, my shots absorbed by her armored cloak. I was tired of my shots doing no damage, but I knew they would distract her.

Moondancer turned back to face me and the Shining Armor AI shot her again. She dropped low to the floor and the orbs ascended, firing all five of their beams in a circular manner that ringed the whole room, scorching the walls and torching the books. The attack ended, and the orbs went back to hovering around Moondancer. "The souls of the Bearers guide us! And they will spell your deaths" Moondancer exclaimed. She hovered back into the air, facing me. The Shining Armor AI opened fire, and Moondancer shouted in defiance and anger. She let off a burst of magic that staggered us both, and one of the orbs raced out towards Shining AIrmor. I watched as the orb detonating, blasting the Shining Armor AI into scrap metal, bits of rended and slagged steel flew about the room like shrapnel, sticking into the walls. I knew there was absolutely no way it had survived that blast, leaving me to deal with Moondancer by myself.

Moondancer threw up her shield and laughed with maniacal glee, turning around to face me. "That's one! Now, for the other!" she shouted, lowering her shield and firing two orbs at me, their beams slashing into the carpeting and racing up to me. I charged to the left to dodge. I knew the beams could only fire in the direction Moondancer was facing, or in a fixed direction if Moondancer lowered herself to the floor, which would give me an advantage.

I turned and fired as the orbs stopped firing, my shots expectantly doing nothing against Moondancer's armored cloak. She put her shield up anyway, lowering herself onto her hooves. She kept her shield up and charged me, lowering the shield as she reached me, the two of us colliding. She hit like a butterfly, and I easily kicked her away. She fell back against one of the banners, the one with the face of the yellow Pegasus on it, and the banner fell from its mounting onto her. She was tangled up in it, thrashing about on the floor, trying to kick the banner off her. I opened fire, showering the banner and tangled Moondancer in eldritch fire, the banner igniting. Moondancer shouted, first in terror, then in pain as the flames spread. She stood up, still tangled in the banner, and staggered around the room, knocking into one of the bookshelves and knocking all the books off, the tomes smoldering as they glanced off the burning mare, the fire intensified and Moondancer shrieked in agony as her entire body was immolated. She fell back to the floor and thrashed weakly, her screams petering out as she died. I blinked and blinked and blinked, dumping magical plasma on her, the banner and her body an inferno. I stared into the flames, my gems emptied, and grinded my teeth, an inferno of rage bigger than the flames licking at the air before me building inside.

I turned and approached the wrecked husk of the Shining Armor AI, looking down at it. It--he--had been completely slagged. There was a chance that the AI core was still intact, and that it could be removed and transferred to a new body, but I knew nothing about circuitry or AI computing. Plus I didn't want to lug around what currently amounted to junk, not when I still had a rogue Alicorn to kill. The mission came first.

I trotted over to Moondancer, ripping the remains of the banner and her cloak off her body, confirming that she was dead. My stomach lurched at the intense reek of burnt fur and charred flesh, but I forced myself to look all the same, my eyes taking in her corrupted skin, her flesh simmering. I stood over her longer than I should have, wondering just what could drive a pony to turn their back on their Empress. To want to give up their species' superiority. I kicked her, for good measure, and left the arcaneum, making sure there were no Starborn waiting for me before turning right and heading down the corridor. If Moondancer could be believed, then Flurry Heart was beyond the bulkhead at the end of the corridor. The bulkhead wasn't locked, and I made sure my gems were fully charged before entering.

I found myself in a gunbay, the floor made of thick-pressed glass that allowed one to look down at the planet Equus below. I scanned the room and saw Flurry Heart standing near the middle, encased in her armor, a spherical device mounted in a bracket, an arm extending down through a port into the glass floor, ending in a brass spire point, aimed straight down at Equus. At the sound of the door opening she turned to face me, tilting her head back when she was that it was me.

"The Royal Hunter... I shouldn't be surprised" the mad Princess said. She turned her head to the side, looking past me. "Where's my father? Or whatever that AI thought it was?"

"Dead. By Moondancer's hooves. She's dead, too. It's funny" I commented, certainly finding it ironically humorous. "I figured being interred in Tartarus for nearly 1,000 years would've granted her an immunity to fire" I said with a wicked smile, one that Flurry Heart could not see past my helmet, but could certainly hear.

With this remark Flurry Heart fired a short, powerful beam of magic into my side, and I was thrown through the air, hitting the heavy steel bulkhead hard before coming down onto the floor unceremoniously. I rolled on the floor, groaning in pain, looking across the gunbay at Flurry Heart. "What...is that?" I asked, feeling a strange warmth spreading on my side.

"THIS, you repugnant FUCK? THIS, is the Harmony Device. This is the key that will unlock the doors of Harmony and Friendship, and unleash these forgotten values on the ponies of Equestria once more!! And I will be the one who turns this key!" Flurry Heart exclaimed, reaching up and pressing a button on the device, and it began to power up, the ports all around it beginning to glow. "Justice and peace will prevail, and Equus will once again know Harmony!"

One more push. One more fight.

All I had to do was stand up...

Fourteen: The Mad Princess

"I remember my mother, my father. The Princesses. I remember them all. Do I remember...? Yes. Yes I do. I remember her."

"In just a few more minutes the Harmony device will finish powering up, and I will restore Equestria to her TRUE FORM!!" Flurry Heart thundered, her eyes wide with madness. Her head was the only part of her exposed, and she paced around the device. "You will live long enough to see it, to see the world as you know it end, replaced with how it SHOULD BE...and, should you survive past that, you will be placed on trial."

I weakly tried to stand, finding my limbs unwilling to support my weight. "I...do not understand! Why are you doing this?!" I demanded. I figured I could probably stall her long enough to regain my strength, if I could just keep her talking. It would also put the final piece of the puzzle into place.

"To restore harmony and friendship to Equestria. Your Empress is a monster, and her vision a terrible injustice. She is possessed by horrible, misguided notions of superiority. I intend to use the facsimiles of the Elements to cleanse her of these ideals, and return her to the way of Harmony" Flurry Heart exclaimed.

"The Elements... You know they won't work" I said, drawing on what the Shining Armor AI had told me.

"But they will!" Flurry Heart exclaimed. "When I escaped Tartarus 20 years ago I came out on the shores of the seas. My friends, they had come out elsewhere. I wandered for a bit, and found a tribal village. Cut off from the civilized world I knew the ponies there would know nothing about what had happened all those centuries ago. As expected, they had no idea who I was, but they knew I was an Alicorn. They gave me everything I asked for, catered to my every whim, and it is there that I began to plan. I knew that, even as an Alicorn, I could not challenge Twilight directly. The defenses at Castle Twilight were insane, even back then. Nevermind Twilight's own power. Plus she still had the Elements of Harmony in her possession. I knew that I needed them, but there was absolutely no way to get into the Castle and take them. Then I remembered the Starborn. I knew that Twilight had created the Starborn, hence their name, referencing Twilight's cutie mark. I knew that the Stars were the perfect mix of machine and life, and I reached out to them with my mind. I used my magic to implant the Starborn with the notion of self, and caused their uprising, hoping to destabilize Twilight's Equestria. But, that didn't work."

"Empress Twilight created the Starborn, and YOU caused their uprising? The history books say that the Starborn were created by a private concern" I stated.

"More of Twilight's revisionist history... She created the Starborn, and took credit for it, until they turned on Equestria. Then she had the information changed. Same reason why your books speak of Equestria's famine, which NEVER happened! The Princesses did not turn their backs on Equestria, Twilight MURDERED THEM!! Celestia and Luna, she savagely cut down without remorse, and usurped the throne. Celestia's diary escaped the purge, and Fluttershy showed it to me, along with a potion that allowed me to see the past as it had truly happened, in case I did not believe the book. I drank the potion, and I believed" Flurry Heart told me.

"You... You drank a strange potion, given to you by a traitor, and saw some kind of fucked up vision that was supposedly the past? Are you insane?!" I asked, dumbfounded. What kind of idiot would drink something given to them by their ENEMY?

"FLUTTERSHY SHOWED ME THE TRUTH! SHE WAS NO TRAITOR!" Flurry Heart yelled, stomping her hooves. "But I couldn't save her, or Pinkie..." the mad Princess said with a hint of regret. "As I was saying, though, my plan to destabilize Twilight's Equestria through the Starborn did not work. I was counting on her to see the Starborn as her children, and hesitate to have them destroyed. I underestimated her heartlessness, even with all I knew. When that failed, I felt as though there was nothing else I could do. I felt as though I'd lost. Then, something happened... One night, in the tribal village, six foals were born at once. Two Unicorns, two Pegasi, and two Earth. Their colors? Purple, pink, orange, white, blue, and yellow. I saw them and...I knew. Harmony had birthed a new generation of bearers. But, without the Elements of Harmony, these six filies would be useless. I asked the village elder if I could take the fillies and raise them as my own, and he agreed. I had the Starborn bring me a ship, and I left with the fillies for the Siren system."

"So the Starborn buying water filters and hydroponics equipment WAS tied in with you" I said. "What happened to the foals?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"They're right here" Flurry Heart answered, gesturing to the Harmony device. "As time went on, I came up with the idea of creating facsimiles of the Elements of Harmony. Moondancer, the Pie sisters, and Sunburst had found me about five years after we escaped Tartarus, and we made a home on the planet Etherea, in the Siren system. Selling the resources the Starborn were digging up we amassed a massive fortune, and I used it to buy seven soul gems on the black market, and we used a facility in the depths of Hydra's oceans to study what we knew about the Elements of Harmony. When the fillies came of age, we harvested their souls and put them into the soul gems, creating the facsimiles of the Elements. But, we couldn't use them on their own, so that's why we needed the Harmony device. I had Moondancer buy materials to aid in its creation, but eventually the seller caught wind of what we were doing and stopped selling to us. By then it didn't matter, though; the device was finished. I spawned a dark creature to test the Harmony device and it worked; it cleansed my magical spawn of evil. That's how I know it'll work!!"

I was floored, and more than a little disturbed. "Hold up. You took six newborns from their home, raised them as your own, and then, when they became adults, you HARVESTED their SOULS to power your FAKE Elements of Harmony?! You're a monster, Flurry Heart!" I exclaimed.

"I will be the savior of Equestria! So what if I broke a few eggs? The ends justify the means!" the mad Princess ranted. "Just like with the Starborn. Moondancer and the two Pie sisters you saw weren't the only ones imprisoned in Tartarus that made it out. There was one more; Marble Pie. She couldn't bring herself to fight, but she wanted to help bring Harmony back to Equestria. When I saw her interacting with the Starborn I knew how she could contribute. The Starborn have done a good job evolving on their own since I gave them the gift of introspection, but they could never make the leap to being truly alive on their own. They would need help, and I knew where to find it. I asked Marble Pie if she would be willing to give her soul to the Starborn, and she agreed. I harvested her soul and put it in a gem, and I plan to give it to the Starborn after this is over. With the power of Marble Pie's soul, the Starborn will know not only true life, but they will know compassion. After they were made to be slaves, I think this will give them a new perspective" Flurry Heart declared with a gleam in her eyes.

I couldn't believe the things I had heard from the mad Princess. A cabal of half-baked, hare-brained ideals packed in with more than a little insanity, and the harvesting of the souls of the innocent for use in her sick plans. "What about the attack on Equus Prime? What did you hope to accomplish with that?"

"The Starborn wanted that. Like a cut that draws blood from one who thinks themselves immortal it was intended to show Twilight that Her Empire could be attacked, severely. It was a show of force, meant to hurt the Empire. It was also intended to draw the fleet away from Equus so we could get the Host of Harmony near the planet without interference. I hadn't expected Twilight to just send a Royal Hunter instead of the fleet" Flurry Heart told me.

"So now I see why they pledged their allegiance to you. I just want to know; why? Why do you care so much about the other species?" I inquired.

"If they had subjugated pony kind the way you have, you wouldn't like it so much. Would you? Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine if you were a Griffin, or a Minotaur. I would say 'imagine if you were a Changeling', or a Yak, or a Bison. But I can't. Want to know why? They're all EXTINCT! They never surrendered, never relented. They would NOT submit themselves, and they would NOT go quietly into the night! And now? They're all extinct for it" Flurry Heart said.

"They were ignorant to resist in the first place" I commented.

"No, Royal Hunter, it's YOU who is ignorant! You serve an illegitimate empire, built upon a foundation of lies, falsehoods, murder, and conquest. An empire that I intend to end" Flurry Heart stated, turning to face the Harmony device. I got to my hooves, my strength regained, my gems recharged.

"Not if I have anything to say about it" I declared, keeping my stance low, watching as Flurry Heart turned back to face me, a brow piqued.

"Come then, and face HARMONY!" the mad Princess bellowed, taking to the air and firing a magical beam of fire at me. I moved to dodge, but was too late, the beam slamming into me like a boulder. I was thrown through the air, coming down hard on the glass floor, my gaze falling on the planet Equus, far below.

"Such arrogance and hubris. I am ashamed to be an Equestrian, but I know this bastardized version of Equestria will soon come to an end. And I, Princess Flurry Heart, will show the world the way of peace and friendship it has long forgotten!!" Flurry Heart boldly proclaimed, turning back to face the Harmony device, now fully charged. "Harmony, return to us!" she thundered, reaching out to the device...

...and pressing the fire button.

Finale: Harmony

"Congratulations, class of 2107, for your graduation from Ranger Academy! As your Empress, I hereby christen you all Royal Rangers! May you all lead prosperous careers in service of your Empress and Her will! Special congratulations are in order for the stallion who graduated top of your class; Meteor Shower!"

The world of Equus spun far below, my eyes on the beautiful planet beneath me. Its verdant meadows, its lush jungles, crisp, clean oceans. Our world, our seat of power, our might. The state of living down there the culmination of a near-millennium of Empress Twilight's brilliance, Her contributions to advance our position not only on Equus, but throughout the known galaxy. A beautiful land, a beautiful race.

All about to be ended by the mad Princess Flurry Heart.

I looked up from the glass floor, watching as Flurry Heart stood by the Harmony device, the sphere of steel and silver glowing a brilliant purple, its ports overcharged. The focusing lens extended through the glass floor and out into the Void, aiming straight down at Equus, preparing to fire.

I positioned myself on my stomach, lying prone, my eyes falling on the Harmony device, the reticle landing right on it, and I blinked. Eldritch fire lanced out across the gunbay, sailing through the air and striking the mystical sphere. An intense whine and hum could be heard from it as it charged up, and I blinked rapidly, unsure if I was even doing any damage. At the time I didn't even realize I was groaning through gritted teeth, that warmth spreading across my bottom-right as I fired away at the will of a pony long forgotten.

A tremendous white flash filled the room just as I saw Flurry Heart's eyes open, glowing white, and a mighty BOOM reverberated throughout as the Harmony device exploded. I caught glimpse of Flurry Heart's body being flung across the room, her armor singed black on the left side, her eyes closed.

I shakily stood, feeling lightheaded, and I realized that warmth on my side was me bleeding, my warm essence sandwiched between my body and suit. The suit would apply pressure to the wound and prevent me from bleeding out entirely, but I knew I was in trouble. It would only take a moment of unconsciousness for Flurry Heart to kill me, and even with the Harmony device destroyed, she was still a grave threat to Equestria.

I stumbled around the Harmony device, thick black smoke bleeding out into the gunbay, making it difficult to see. I crouched low, catching glimpse of Flurry Heart getting to her hooves, her upper body obscured by the smoke as she stood up. My gaze fell on her hooves and I blinked, firing. Magical fire erupted and raced out, striking the floor around her hooves. She shouted in anger and took to the air with a burst of the rocket boosters built into the hooves of her armor, disappearing into the smoke. I struggled to track her but lost sight, finding her only when she came barreling out of the smoke cloud and plowed into me with a *thunk*, our bodies tumbling across the thick glass floor. I rolled and flung her free from me, my head pounding and vision blurry. I scrambled to my hooves, looking around, catching Flurry Heart getting back up on the far side of the room, where there was no smoke.

"STOP! FREEZE!" I commanded, turning to look at her. Expectantly she did not heed, instead taking flight again. I fired again, my orbs striking her shield as she came sailing toward me. I dodged to the side and she sailed past, landing on her hooves and turning around to face me. I crouched low, trying to keep track of the mad Princess through all the smoke. I heard a deep, vibrating whir and three beams of blue magic erupted from within the smoke, blasting across the room in a spiral fashion. I scrambled away, the smoke clearing away from the blast. It was starting to thin out, the ship's filtration system drawing the smoke out, improving visibility.

"YOU FIGHT AGAINST YOUR OWN INTERESTS! I'M TRYING TO SAVE EQUESTRIA, YOU IGNORANT CRETIN!" Flurry Heart declared, lifting the metal wings of the suit, revealing the suite of rockets and firing two, prompting me to dive to the foor, the missiles streaking overhead and detonating against the far bulkhead with deafening roars. As I lied on the floor Flurry Heart dove for me, entwining our bodies as we rolled across the floor. I jabbed my hoof into her barrel to no avail, as she thrusted her horn towards my head, the tip glowing blue. I shifted my head to the side and her horn stuck the floor, glancing off, the glass glowing.

Rearing my head back I headbutted her, the thick steel of my helmet hitting her skull with a characteristic *thwack*, the mad Princess squeezing her eye's shut in pain. With Flurry Heart distracted I planted my forehooves in her stomach and kicked, throwing her off me and allowing me to roll back over onto my hooves.

"I WILL NOT LOSE! You WILL know Harmony!!" Flurry Heart thundered, firing her horn at me once again. A red ball of fire was sent careening across the room, casting its intense glow along every surface as it went. I dodged away, the magical fireball hitting a bulkhead and detonating, slagging the entire bulkhead. I charged right, back toward the smoldering Harmony device, as Flurry Heart opened fire, blasting red spikes of magical fire at me as I went.

I took cover behind the remains of the Harmony device, hearing Flurry Heart's heavy steel-covered hooves striking the glass floor as she moved get a shot on me. I leaned out and fired, eldritch fire striking the mad Princess's suit in the breast, having no discernible effect. I fired again, this time aiming for Flurry Heart's face, and she erected a magical shield to block my shots.

Charging in, Flurry Heart dropped her shield and rounded the Harmony device, swinging her head, trying to stab me through my suit with her horn. She was reckless, charging around the battlefield like that, but I guess when you're an insane Alicorn Princess you do things like that. Either that, or she thought herself unstoppable. I backed away, my gems recharging. Having been tackled by Flurry Heart twice already I didn't want to test my CQC skills further, particularly not with an Alicorn.

"Come HERE!!" Flurry Heart screamed, charging forward with her head lowered, horn pointed out. I dodged to the side, and she swung out with her hoof, which I ducked. I fired point-blank into the mad Princess's side, my shots close enough to make her armor glow, but it wasn't enough to penetrate. Flurry Heart turned, pouncing on me and pushing me against the destroyed Harmony device, causing us both to collapse to the floor. Once again I found myself dodging horn thrusts that made the glass floor glow, locked in the grasp of a psychotic Alicorn. I found leverage and swung up with one of my hindlegs, catching Flurry Heart in her backside with my heavy steel boot. She grunted in pain as the force of the hit transferred through her suit to the sensitive area and I brought my helmeted head to hers once again, knocking her away and scrambling back to my hooves. As she lied on the floor I backpedaled, firing at her. With a burst of magic that made my fur stand up she teleported away, reappearing behind me. I bucked, and Flurry Heart grabbed my hindlegs with her magic. She upended me and threw me across the room, sending me hard onto the floor on the far side.

Groaning, my vision blurred, I rolled over and got back up, blinking and opening my eyes wide, feeling punch-drunk. The room spun, and I shook my head, trying to clear the fog. I heard steel on glass behind me and turned around, firing instinctively. I saw a flash of green spread over Flurry Heart's face, temporarily blinding me. I scrambled back, my vision coming back, revealing to me that the mad Princess was unscathed. I missed!

"That you did, oh good Hunter!" Flurry Heart declared, reading my thought. She sauntered up to me, horn glowing blue. "I think you'll find that Harmony can not be stopped. It's not a belief; it's an ideal. Ideals can NOT be crushed, try as Empress Twilight might. The Equestrian Empire will find out, if not today, then another, that if you act the way they do, resistance will be inevitable. Even if I fall here today, the day will come when the flag of the Equestrian Empire will be seen only in books!" Flurry Heart shouted, firing her horn, a spiral lance of blue fire stretching across the room to me. I dodged to the right, firing at the Princess as I went.

I will lose a straight slugging match. It's time to use guile and fight dirty I thought to myself once I was outside of Flurry Heart's telepathy. It degraded me to use the tactics of the lesser species, but I was not going to survive against such power. "What's so great about Harmony?" I called out, my eyes scanning for the mad Princess.

"Genorosity, laughter, loyalty, honesty, and kindness. Love and tolerance. Friendship. They're what make Harmony so special. A collective, working together in unison, accepting of one another's differences, for the betterment of all" Flurry Heart answered, coming around the Harmony device's husk.

"That's not too far removed from what we believe now. A single collective, in unity, working for the betterment of all of Equestria" I replied, the Equestrian Imperial Anthem coming to mind. "Twilight, Twilight, may the Empress live forever. Unity, Unity, bring our species together" I recited. "The anthem runs a bit longer than that, but that's the core of it. A single collective, working in unity for the betterment of all."

"You forgot the last part; 'to the detriment of all others'. Under Harmony, ALL species are included! Such a thing elevates EVERYONE, not just EVERYPONY. Can you not see how this is better?" Flurry Heart asked.

"Saying it does not make it so. Why should we sacrifice everything we've built the past nine centuries, everything we've learned, our way of life, just to include the other species? There was no room in Twilight's Equestria, otherwise she would've included them" I countered as Flurry Heart approached me. I kept my stance carefully guarded, but made no attempt to hide away from her. If I could make her talk, she might let her guard down. She was naive enough to engage in the conversation I posed.

"Because it's the right thing to do. Have you seen the way the other species live? The squalor, the poverty? The bitterness and anger in their hearts? You've never known Harmony; you've never known how such dark thoughts can poison the land. Your dominance was born of hate and feelings of superiority, and they are self-destructive. If Equestria does not fall to another, as I predict it will, then it will consume itself. Ponies, wallowing in such anger and hatred, will turn on each other, and your way of life will collapse" Flurry Heart explained. She was only about fifteen feet away from me now, and she had stopped.

"I...don't agree" I replied, feigning doubt. My gems were nearly recharged, and I placed my eyes on Flurry Heart's face. "Our will is strong. We all believe in it. Nothing could ever turn anypony on their fellow Equestrian, so long as Unity holds true."

"Societies built on the backs of those who will not see the fruits of their labor are doomed to destruction. You should know this, oh good Hunter" Flurry Heart said, dripping with sarcasm.

I fired, three shots of green eldritch fire racing out for Flurry Heart's face.

Her shield came up, blocking all three shots, the magic dissipating in her shield. She lowered it, looking down at me with sadness and regret. "You're a lost soul. You'll never know Harmony. When Harmony returns to Equestria, I'll make sure history remembers the Royal Hunters. Not as envoys of a corrupted will, but as hollow visages of ponies, who've lost sight of themselves, and were brainwashed from birth to know only their Empress."

Flurry Heart took to the air, hovering, her horn glowing, her body encased in her shield. She rose halfway to the ceiling, her armor dissipating as if it was being burned away. She still had no mane, but her tail came unfurled. Azure and pink, her flank bearing no cutie mark. Her tail fluttered as if there was a breeze, arcane swirls spreading around her. I backed away, never taking my gaze from her. She opened her eyes, the orbs glowing white, and she released the spell, the shield exploding in a shockwave. Immediately my suit went dead, and I kicked the backup, with no effect. My guns, my HUD; all dead. Flurry Heart remained hovering, her eyes returning to normal. "Come," she whispered. "There is no use in delaying. We both have a destiny to fulfill."

I craned my head around to my back and slotted the cutlass stored there into the receptacle on my helmet. With a 15-inch blade, it was about as long as Flurry Heart's horn. Flurry Heart looked at me again, and said "before we die, I would know you not as Hunter, but as pony." She let off another burst of her magic, and my suit fell away from my body. I looked down to where my helmet had fallen and pulled the cutlass out, taking it in my teeth, as Earth ponies had always done. Flurry Heart looked me over, taking in my neutral colors, my lean, toned body. I felt naked. I was naked. "This is the face of the buck who has hunted me across the breadth of the stars...who swears loyalty to my aunt Twilight..." Flurry Heart said, and with that she lashed out at me, swinging her horn. I leaped back to dodge, rushing back in to strike, swinging my head, the handle of the cutlass firmly in my teeth. The blade whiffed, slashing at only air.

"There's a certain poetic irony to this, isn't there?" Flurry Heart asked as she swung at me again, her horn passing near my head. I thrusted forward in response, the tip of my cutlass cutting off some of the fur around her neck. She rammed her shoulder into my face, and I staggered back, hearing her close in. I dropped to the floor, hearing her horn whoosh through the air as it passed over me. She kicked me as I lied, and I scrambled back up to my hooves. "Two ponies, at the edge of the stars, able to be here by the work of our forebearers, trying to kill each other. Don't you see? The schism has already begun. It started as a crack, the day Twilight killed the Princesses, and now that crack has spread into a complete fissure that divides us. For now, it's just us. But that fissure will spread to the rest of ponykind!" Flurry Heart yelled, lancing out with her horn. I ducked, lashing back, my blade cutting her right forehoof, blood welling out and staining her pink fur. She grimaced, but the wound was inconsequential.

"Nothing more to say, 'good' Hunter?" Flurry Heart questioned, stabbing her horn forward, prompting me to turn. Her horn lanced against my already-wounded side, cutting all the way to my cutie mark. Fresh blood dripped out, collecting on the floor. "How much more have you got in you? How much longer can you keep this up?"

"As long as it takes" I replied. I darted forward, lashing out. I whiffed through the air again, Flurry Heart grabbing me. Her hoof on my bloody side slipped, and we collided together, my face to her neck. I turned my head to slash, cutting open her chest. She reared her head back and let off a burst spell that sent me tumbling across the floor, blood smearing the thick-pressed glass. I blinked, and Flurry Heart was standing over me. I rolled away as she brought her hooves down, trying to crush my body. I got back up to my hooves, feeling the effects of blood-loss taking their toll on me. Flurry Heart dashed forward again, stabbing her horn at me. I leaped back, swinging my cutlass, the blade cutting along her horn with a horrible scratching sound. Flurry Heart shrieked high enough that my equilibrium was thrown off, and I staggered back, desperately gulping to pop my ears and try to keep my hearing intact. I closed the gap and stabbed her, sinking the blade to the hilt in her shoulder. She smacked me away and tore the blade from her, throwing it across the floor to me. Blood ran from the wound in her shoulder, and blood seeped from her tear ducts, making it appear as if she was crying blood; a side effect of damaging the horn of a Unicorn(or Alicorn). I gripped the handle of the cutlass with my teeth and picked it back up, keeping my stance low and guarded.

"May the blessing of Harmony carry me, deliver me, and with me return to Equestria" Flurry Heart whispered, throwing herself at me. I leaped away and she reared her head back, her horn cutting into my wounded side. She pushed up, her horn lodged in me, parallel to my body. She strained and lifted, and I shouted in pain as she lifted me into the air, partially impaled on her horn, the conduit of magic stuck between two of my ribs. She fired her horn, throwing me into the air. I came back down on her back, gripping her desperately. Flurry Heart bucked, trying to throw me off. "Remove yourself, foul Hunter!" she shouted.

I groaned in pain, my voice gutteral and strained. I held onto Flurry Heart for dear life, straddling her, my stomach to her back, facing the same way she was. My blood continued to leak and pour out, matting Flurry Heart's fur. "The time has come!! HARMONY WILL RETURN!" the mad Princess bellowed. I gritted my teeth, biting down on the handle of the cutlass hard enough to crack my teeth. Flurry Heart bucked especially hard and I was dislodged from her body, sailing forward, my face heading straight for the back of her head. I turned the cutlass in my mouth's grasp, pointing the blade forward, the long blade sinking into the back of Flurry Heart's neck. Her legs gave out under her as her spine was severed, and the blade hilted, a good half of it sticking out the front of her throat, the arteries severed. I rolled off Flurry Heart's body, exhausted, beaten, and bloody. I looked over at her, her eyes wide with terror, blood flowing from her neck. She coughed and sputtered, blood spraying out of her mouth. Her eyes turned and bored into mine, and I felt as though I could feel her fear. She stared at me, her eyes asking, pleading, begging for help, even as she tried to ignite her horn, no doubt attempting to finish me off and take me with her. Her azure orbs were filled with horror, anger, and confusion as they dimmed, life quickly leaving her.

"Harm...on....y....."

My gaze never left Flurry Heart as her head went slack and dropped to the glass floor, her face pressed against it, unseeing eyes staring down at the world of Equus. I was breathing hard, my vision darkening. I knew I was in trouble. Dead, even, as the blood continued to flow from my heavily-wounded side. I tried to get up, to find an emergency medical kit or reach the one on my suit, and I collapsed, my body having nothing more to give. I rolled onto my stomach, wincing in pain, looking down through the glass floor at Equus far below me, the world untouched, Empress Twilight safe. I had long accepted that being a Royal Hunter would likely mean my death, but I would be lying if I said I felt no fear as I lied bleeding on that cold floor, high above our world, the cold expanse of the void separated only by a mere half-a-foot of thick glass. I let out a ragged breath as I struggled to keep my eyes open, quickly losing that fight as my vision blurred and darkened, the solemn stillness of the now-quiet gunbay my only company, offering no comfort, no solace, as my eyes closed...

...And darkness took me.

Afterword

"You have a bright future ahead of you, Meteor Shower. You are the arbiter of my will, carrying out missions at my personal dictation. I expect you to carry that wherever you go, to wear it with pride. You're more than a stallion, more than a Royal Ranger; you are the will of the Empress. A servant to the GLORY and BRILLIANCE of Equestria itself."

"Impress me."

When I awoke, it was in a hospital. I struggled against the cables and wires attached to me, a Royal Honor Guard sitting at the foot of the bed getting to his hooves. "Empress Twilight" he declared, and from around the corner of the hospital curtain came my Empress. She was in Her public regalia, and She approached my bed. The Honor Guard turned and left the room, leaving me wih the Empress, who looked down at me with care.

"Welcome back, Meteor Shower. To not only the land of the living, but to Equestria" Empress Twilight said, and I nodded in response, feeling exhausted. My head hurt like Tartarus, and I felt bandages wrapped around my barrel. "The doctors said you were in a coma, likely brought on by the smoke inhalation. They were confident you would awake, but they couldn't say when. I did some reading, and found that the average coma lasts six months. There was actually some rather fascinating material in there on the state of activity the brain--" the Empress paused, Her ears flicking as She realized that She was beginning to ramble. "Well, at any rate, I am glad that you are awake."

"Surely I haven't been out that long?" I asked quietly, unable to speak properly. I closed my eyes, trying to stay rested.

"No. You've only been out a week. Still, that week did not bode well. You had lost a fair amount of blood by the time the Startroopers reached you, and were unconscious. You had a mild concussion, likely from that stupid ship ramming stunt you pulled, and you had G-sickness from being in zero gravity for so long" Empress Twilight explained.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures" I said, referring to the ship ramming.

"Why must Royal Hunters be so reckless and suicidal?" Twilight exasperatedly asked. I grinned slightly, and I realized I was on painkillers.

"We do it for you, my Empress" I answered, earning a groan from Twilight.

"Ugh. You're lucky you're already in a hospital bed, or I'd have put you in one for being so stupid" Twilight stated.

I nodded. "Empress? How did you know to send Startroopers into the ship to find me?" I asked.

"I was alerted the moment Flurry Heart's ship got close to Equus. I immediately had the fleet move in to intercept, the Horsewell and Marelothian racing in to stop her. When her ship was found to just be floating in orbit I ordered that the vessel be boarded. The Startroopers found your crashed fighter jet and just followed the trail of destruction you wreaked to where you had fallen" Twilight explained.

"I wasn't the only one carving that path of destruction" I said with pained mirth, remembering the Shining Armor AI.

"I won't bother you any more. Get some rest. I'll be awaiting your report when you recover."

Two weeks later I found myself once again trotting down Her Majesty's Walk, heading into Castle Twilight. I ascended the stairs, the Honor Horns allowing me passage, and I entered Her private tower, announcing my presence as I went up the steps. I found Her in Her living room, reading the book with the red-and-gold sun on the cover. "Ah, Meteor Shower! You're up and about now. Good! How are you feeling?" Empress Twilight asked me.

"Better. I'm prepared to deliver unto you my report regarding Princess Flurry Heart and her ambitions" I answered, Empress Twilight setting the book down and getting up. She motioned for me to follow Her, and up we went, past the kitchen floor and into Her bedroom. She stopped in the center of the room, looking up at the colored banners that hung from the ceiling; purple, pink, orange, white, blue, and yellow. She let out a sigh and turned around, facing me.

"Start at the beginning."

I spent the next hour recounting my mission, from where it began on Equus Prime, to Tirek, to Hydra, to the Sol system, and back to the Horsehead Nebula. I told Her of Moondancer, the Sisters' Pie, the soul gems Flurry Heart had used, the facsimiles of the Elements, how she was responsible for the Starborn uprising, the Harmony device, and the Shining Armor AI. I told Her why the Starborn pledged allegiance to Flurry Heart, and why they'd been buying things no robot would ever have need of. I told Her of the six fillies Flurry Heart took from their home, and how she planned to give the Starborn the soul of a pony. I told Her about the fight with the Sisters' Pie, the fight with Moondancer, Shining AIrmor's death, and my fight with Flurry Heart. By the end of it all, She appeared troubled.

"So many echoes of Equestria's past. My neice, my brother, Moondancer... I am glad to know that Shining AIrmor was still operational, and that he died fighting our enemies. But, to know that so many ponies that I once called friends and loved ones were involved. It's a difficult burden to bear" Twilight said.

"They were traitors of the New Dawn, and traitors of you, my Empress" I told Her, and She looked at me with a brow raised.

"Who told you about the New Dawn?" Empress Twilight inquired.

"The Shining Armor AI did. It told me about Equestria's past, and how you came to power. It told me about the remote mountain community you visited, and the beginning years. It also told me about the first of the Royal Hunters, particularly that Flurry Heart was the first Hunter" I answered truthfully.

"Hm. My brother told you things you were never meant to know of."

"The Shining Armor AI indicated as much, my Empress. Know that I do not feel any differently to how I did before, regardless of the knowledge given to me."

"Did Flurry Heart tell you anything?" Twilight asked of me.

"Nothing that I believed, or cared about. She told me that you killed Equestria's old rulers, Princess Celestia and Luna, and that she was shown the truth by Fluttershy's Harmony Brigade. The Shining Armor AI also told me that Flurry Heart was the first Royal Hunter" I explained.

"If you still pledge your loyalty to me, even in light of all this, then you are truly an honorable stallion, Meteor Shower. A lesser pony would've turned their back on me if they'd been told the things you have" Empress Twilight stated. "You told me that Flurry Heart intended to return Equestria to the way it 'should' be. Tell me; who did she think I really was?"

"Flurry Heart believed that you had been possessed by a dark entity that had corrupted your thoughts, and she planned to use her facsimiles of the Elements of Harmony to cleanse your mind of these thoughts. She claimed her facsimiles would work, because she tested the Harmony device on a creature she spawned" I explained.

"Flurry Heart was a terribly misguided mare. Do you believe it would have worked?" Twilight asked, prompting me to shake my head. "Of course it would not have worked. Do you want to know why her facsimiles would not have worked? It's not because they weren't properly powered, because I suspect they were, but because I am not posessed by any dark entity. I have not been corrupted by an evil spirit. No, I believe the way I believe of my own volition. It is by my own thought and experiences that I think the way I do, and why I have recreated Equestria the way I have. I have forsaken Harmony, in favor of Manifest Destiny, and nothing would make me go back. That is why Flurry Heart would have failed. Not because of any miscalculation on her part, but because she was wrong."

"I understand, Twilight" I replied.

Twilight looked at me for another few moments, her head turned to the side as her eyes scanned my body, coming back up to look into my eyes after a moment. "Tell me; what do you think of what you've learned? Do you believe anything Flurry Heart told you?"

"No. I only believe what the Shining Armor AI told me. It said the famine never happened, and that you DID kill the Princesses Celestia and Luna. But, given the world you have built for us all in the centuries since it happened, I don't care. If you choose to have these things omitted, or embellish a little, in our history books... Well, who am I to judge the will of our Empress?" I answered.

"That's a good Hunter" Twilight commented. "Now, why don't you head home and get some more rest? I can tell when a soldier is faking being alright, just to throw his abused body back into the fight, but it's even worse when dealing with Royal Rangers, and especially you Hunters."

"It's all part of the job, Empress" I said, turning around and heading back downstairs, exiting out of Castle Twilight and back into Canterlot, heading to the home I so rarely visited, the midday sun beaming down on me. Our world was intact, our Empire still existed, and the lesser species were still subservient to our will. All was right with the world.

And I would always endeavor to ensure it stayed that way.

So ends the story of the Midnight Rising Incident. Five lost, misguided souls ignorantly campaigning against not only their Empress, but even their own interests. We are the greatest, most powerful species in the galaxy. Why would anypony want to give up that position, their inherent superiority? Flurry Heart and her followers spent too much time worrying about the other species and not enough time worrying about Equestria. In their quest to 'restore Equestria' they would've dragged us all down to the same level as the other species, and made us as dumb and ignorant as the rest of them.

That's all in the past now, though. Equestria has moved on past the Midnight Rising Incident. Our way of life continues, and our position remains secure. I look back on this incident, and the things I was told by not only the Shining Armor AI, but also the mad Princess Flurry Heart, and I think of just how different life was under the Princesses. It is something I could never fathom. I could not imagine life without the things we have now, the things we know now, and the position we hold now. I don't care if life under the Princesses was simpler, and I certainly don't care about the other species, all I care about is Equestria, and my encounter with Flurry Heart has confirmed what I've always known: that life under the Empress is better.

But now, I understand why Her Majesty prefers us to speak on a personal level. Why She does not care for curtsies. She wishes to retain Her humility, even after everything She's accomplished. And, yes, She wishes to keep tabs on those closest to Her, so that She may prevent what happened with Flurry Heart all those centuries ago from happening again. She's lost everything from Her life pre-Ascension. Her parents are gone, her aunt Cadence is gone, her brother is gone, and now her niece is gone. All She has left is the Royal Protector, Spike, and me. The Royal Hunter. When I am retired, and dead and gone, the next Royal Hunter will take that place, as not only Her right and left hooves, not only as an arbiter of Her will, not only for the betterment of all of Equestria and pony kind, and not only as a symbol of our collective might under Her divine wisdom and power...

...but also as Her friend.

I can only hope they realize and appreciate that fact sooner than I have.

Author's Note

The end of Midnight Rising.

What a ride. This story was far outside the norm of my usual writing style, and was a subject I've not yet explored. I felt as though a story where the roles of the protagonist and antagonist were reversed was a concept not often explored by other writers, and the 1st-person prose was a very interesting challenge to tackle. As some of my long-time readers should know, I enjoy writing stories that are not black and white, but rather shades of gray, and while Meteor Shower is a bad pony, who does bad things, I tried to portray Flurry Heart as her own form of evil, who raised six ponies just to harvest their souls and use them to power her facsimiles of the Elements, believing that the ends justified her means. I made sure to flesh out this scenario as much as I could, but should you have any questions or confusions about the story or the lore, I will be more than happy to answer you. I understand if there might be some moments that seem confusing, because the story is written in a way that's intended to be from the viewpoint of Meteor Shower, and the things he was told and taught growing up(the "official" history and lore) conflicting with the truth of Equestria's history as lost echoes(that aren't really meant to be trusted) tell him(aka you, the reader) things that conflict with the "official" history. Writing this story was some of the most fun I've had since I wrote Sins Never Die, and I greatly enjoyed crafting the lore and weaving in all the world-building of Equestria's past as it tied in with the events of the story's present. I truly hope that you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it, and I hope to see you again on future stories. For now, this is CodenameOne, and I'll see you starside.

Update 12/9/19: read the prequel, Tears of Harmony, available now!

Three: The Ghost of Equestria's Past

"I believe in unity. The unity of our species. A single collective, vying for a single goal, to the benefit of us all, and for the advancement of the Equestrian people."

Seeing Her Reign on fire and in rubble like this was bizarre, alien, unreal. There was no sign of any Starborn yet, which was a mixed blessing. They could've already seen me and were just studying me(they were as studious as they were dangerous), or maybe they had absolutely no idea I was here.

Either way, I knew I had time.

Getting off the open street I entered one of the buildings on this road, coming into a still trader's shop, the wares still displayed on the shelves. The building was two-story, set up in a way that the first floor was the shop, and the second floor was the owner's home. There was a doorway behind the counter that lead into a den, a fire still crackling in the hearth. This place almost looked like life abandoned, rather than life interrupted. It was so still, so normal, that one could forget an invasion had even taken place recently.

Wait, my little pony stated. What are the Starborn still doing here, anyway? Assuming the invasion took place two days ago, when communications went down(which was a safe timeline), the Starborn should've been long gone. It wouldn't have taken them two days to destroy the colony, even if they did face resistance from the soldiers stationed here.

The fact that the Starborn were still here was quite alarming. It meant they must be looking for something, but I couldn't guess what. I couldn't even conjecture, that's how far outside the norm this behavior of the Starborn was. The invasion, their force, their lingering presence, these were all very disturbing behaviors. But, if they were looking for something, I had to make sure they couldn't get it.

Which meant I had to get to where their ship was, and fast. I didn't know if I still had plenty of time to eliminate the threat. They could've already found whatever they were looking for and be taking it to their ship right now.

It was time to get moving.

I was a block away from being underneath the enemy ship when I caught my first glimpse of the Starborn that had arrived. I was taken aback, startled by the changes they had undertaken since they were last seen by ponykind. The Starborn had started as robots in the most visceral sense of the word; their vital circuitry had been covered by simple plates, but their various servos and bits had always been exposed.

The Starborn looked nothing like that any more.

The Starborn here had plating that covered their entire bodies, the steel looking like it had been forged especially for their bodies. What struck me was how smooth the plate was. It all blended together seamlessly, like they had been born with it. If that was surprising, then what followed was disturbing. The Starborn were all painted, various designs adorning their steel bodies in various places, likely denoting rank. But what was most disturbing was that the designs were not obviously copying any known insignia; no, the Starborn had come up with these designs themselves, implying that their sense of individuality had evolved since they fled from Equus two decades ago. There was something else, too. Something that chilled me to the core, and would greatly complicate this mission.

The Starborn had originally been built to mimic earth ponies. They had never been designed as being able to fly like Pegasi, or use magic like Unicorns. Something about the designers not being able to get such abilities to work with the frames.

These Starborn were comprised of all three types; Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus. Further proof their knowledge was expanding, and that they were even possible evolving(a notion that I rejected immediately, knowing robots couldn't possibly do such a thing). I edged back into the doorway of the house I was standing in, inspecting the three Starborn trotting across the street. I ignored the earth Star, and instead focused on the other two.

The Unicorn Star sported a purple paint scheme, the deep color arcing across its body in intricate swirls and spirals. Its artificial horn was actually three horns, connected by some kind of ring. The midday sun reflected off the ring in a brief flash as the Starborn turned its head, and I realized the ring had a glass center. A focusing lens. The Unicorn Star seemed to be leading the patrol.

The Pegasus Star had artificial wings, made out of the same kind of steel that the rest of its body was plated in. The wings did not lie flat against its body, which struck me as odd. The Unicorn Star said something to the Pegasus, and it unfolded its wings. To my shock, I saw that the reason its wings didn't lie flat was because there were rocket boosters under them. The Pegasus Star ignited the boosters, rising above the rooftops. It then turned its wings forward(which, I noted, would make them catch more air and thus make the Pegasus Star slower), and the boosters propelled it forward, out of sight.

Well, that's not good.

Slinking back into the house I decided to find another way to the Starborn ship, which seemed to be floating above the town square. I investigated the house, finding a door that lead into a back alleyway. The way the streets were set up here meant that every house was built side-to-side, back-to-back, with alleyways behind each row of houses/shops. I was certain I could find a house to pass through that would take me out into the town square.

Entering the alleyway I took in my surroundings. The alleyway was paved, and filled with the usual junk one would find in an alleyway. Trash cans behind every house, various foals' toys and tricycles, a few umbrellas, grills, even some lawn chairs. The alleyway had a slight dip in the center, running the length of the alleyway, allowing water from a recent rainfall to pool.

There was also a sole Starborn in the alley, picking away at...something.

I lowered myself, keeping my eyes(and thus my targeting reticle) firmly planted on the Starborn. I watched as it lowered its muzzle to the ground, hoof futilely digging away at the stone. It took a moment for me to see the puddle of water inches from the Starborn's muzzle, and I realized the robot was confused by its own reflection.

I shook my head, and blinked.

FZZPTHUUUU!!

Eldritch fire erupted from my combat saddle, the green energy arcing down the alley, illuminating it in brilliant light. The heat from the energy blast vaporized the water puddle, slagging the Starborn, sparking from the after-effects of my enchant filter. It 'died' pathetically, never having had a chance to even know I was there. I stepped over its still form, trying the various doors. Most were unlocked, but the houses beyond were either on fire or had collapsed rooms. I didn't feel like braving either.

A few Pegasus Stars passed over the alleyway, drawn by the single gunshot. I ducked into a door, the house beyond gone. I watched as a squad of Pegasus Stars descended into the alley, dropping next to their dead compatriot. They looked at it with unreadable expressions(considering that Starborn didn't have faces to speak of, just cameras with artificial irises(that were colored), a few leaning their muzzles down. They beeped and chittered, before unfeelingly stripping the dead Star for parts and taking off.

I turned back towards the destroyed house, noting how freakish the destruction was. From the alleyway, the house seemed fine, but the back wall was all that was standing. The entire house looked like had been the direct target of a bomb, the radius of destruction vaguely spherical. I slowly stepped into the 'house' proper, gravel crunching under my boots. I looked out into the town square carefully, seeing several squads of Starborn trotting about. The Star ship hovered directly overhead, its engines quietly humming. I was surprised by how few Starborn there actually were, deducing that the majority of them were out and about in the city looking for whatever they had come looking for.

A sharp whir overhead caught my attention, and I looked up, seeing a Starborn float by on rocket boosters built into the bottom of its hooves. I gasped when I saw the Starborn had both wings and a horn(though why it also had boosters in its hooves escaped my understanding). This Starborn was notably bigger than the others, and I deemed it likely that this one was their leader.

I dared to move forward, taking cover behind a bank of rubble, bumping up the magnification on my HUD. The directional microphone picked up the Alicorn Star chittering to a squad of Unicorn Stars, waving its hoof. I took note of this; the Starborn seemed to be more 'Equestrian' in the way they acted, their body language, but they were still robots. This one, however, seemed a bit more lifelike in the way it acted. I began to take video, intending to show it to Empress Twilight.

As I thought of Her name, the Alicorn Star turned to look straight in my direction, and I hunkered down to avoid being spotted. I peered out from a gap in the rubble, catching the Alicorn Star staring straight into my eyes. It didn't do anything, it just stared in my direction. There's no way this thing can see me my little pony chided.

Suddenly eldritch fire of blue erupted from the Alicorn Star's horn, turning the rubble in front of my muzzle to ash. I dashed to my hooves, taking aim on the Alicorn Star and opening fire. A brilliant shield flashed into existence in front of the Alicorn Star, the purple light absorbing my shots, oscillating with intensity. It dropped, a beam of arcane energy lancing out towards me. I dodged away, the beam striking the stone houses, turning the stone to magma. I galloped down the street, my head craned to fire on the Alicorn Star. Fire ignited under its hooves, it took to the sky, and followed me.

I dove behind a stone partition filled with soil, flowers planted in it. Green orbs flew overhead, striking houses and exploding with ground-shaking intensity. A brief respite allowed me to stand, taking aim. I unleashed Tartarus on the Alicorn Star, who threw up its shield instantly. I blinked rapidly, orbs of green fire striking the shield rapidly, but it never gave. In the corner of my gaze I saw several dozen Starborn rushing towards my position, and I realized that they would have me pinned good once I ducked down to let my gems recharge.

Taking my moment of control I backed away, bucking open a door behind me, and diving into the intact house beyond as Unicorn Stars began opening fire. The Stars began pouring fire on the house, what few windows that weren't melted shattering from the concussive forces. The doorway melted as a massive ball of purple energy floated into the center of the room, and I raced out the back door, an equally massive BOOM followed by an invisible wave lifting me off my hooves following me out. I rolled down the alleyway, relatively unscathed. The back wall of the house I was just in was still standing, but I suspect the inside had been turned to dust, just like the previous house.

I got to my hooves and began backing away as the wall of the destroyed house exploded into dust, the Alicorn Star having flown straight through it. Its horn crackled again, but I was faster. With its horn charging it couldn't activate its shield, and my shots struck it in its barrel. It let out a rather feminine grunt, and an "oof!" escaped its mouth as it hit the earth. Alarms went off in my head as I realized the Alicorn Star was actually a real pony. I rushed forward to secure her, a foalish mistake as her horn charged again, a massive ball of magical force exploding from her horn, throwing me back and bending the houses it touched away. I tumbled less gracefully this time, crashing into a bank of trash cans. From the litter of garbage I watched the Alicorn Star mare take to the skies again, throwing more eldritch fireballs my way. I scrambled to my hooves, diving into the house I had come through to enter the alleyway not ten minutes ago.

I heard the Alicorn Star mare fly overhead, and I knew I was trapped. She landed at the front door, blowing it clean off its hinges with a burst of magical energy, and charging in after it. I blinked, green energy setting the furniture ablaze as it traveled towards the Star mare. In a blinding flash of pure white she vanished, only to reappear behind me in another flash of white. I bucked instinctively, catching her in the face. I heard her shout in pain and shock as she went tumbling back; I turned to face her, seeing her helmet rolling away. She landed behind a couch and I readied my weapons. "STAY YOUR HOOVES," I commanded, my armor enhancing my voice, "AND FACE EMPRESS TWILIGHT'S JUSTICE."

The Star mare shot up from behind the couch, anger dominating her face. She was a light-pink, her eyes a brilliant Azure. Her mane was long gone, having been shaved off. "FUCK YOU!" she bellowed, her voice not augmented. "I'D SOONER DIE THAN SUBMIT MYSELF TO YOUR INJUSTICE!"

"Then allow me to grant your wish!" I declared, preparing to fire. The Star mare took to the air, her rocket boosters singing the couch she was behind. She raised her artificial wings, revealing a full suite of rocket launchers underneath each wing. My eyes widened, and I let off a few errant shots that distracted her long enough for me to turn tail and run.

OH SHIT!

I scrambled out of the house and had made it not twenty feet from it when it and the street in front of it erupted in inferno, stone chips and concrete chunks raining from the sky. The street buckled all the way up and down its length, a water main bursting beneath the cobblestone and shooting up through the cracks like a geyser, the cold water adding to the rain of shrapnel and debris. A great concussion wave reverberated down the street, shattering every window along its way and shaking my bones, but I kept my hoofing as I galloped away.

I ducked into a shop, taking a moment to recover, my mind reeling from the sheer overkill of the Star mare. I had no idea if she was an actual Alicorn, but she was definitely at least a Unicorn, given that brief glimpse under her helmet that I got. Still, I had never heard of a Unicorn with that much power, except for the Empress Herself(back when she was a Unicorn, anyway), and the Unicorn guards in Castle Twilight who got enhancements from their armor.

Another shock and boom echoed across the city and I ducked, thinking the Star mare had dropped another bomb on the house I was in. When the cobblestone didn't bury me alive I dared to rush out into the back alleyway, watching the Starborn ship rising into the sky, dozens of dropships slipping into open ports on the ship, which quickly closed behind them. The ship picked up speed as the last of the dropships docked with her, the massive vessel racing away from Equus Prime. I watched as it disappeared from view, and I went back into town square to see if I could find any survivors, and just maybe figure out what in the name of Tartarus was going on.