Invictus Forward Operating Base Alpha, Also Known As Appleloosa, Three days later

Invictus glanced to his map of what the Enemy Commanders had labeled ‘Equestria’. Invictus had already pinned several potential targets for assault and capture: The city of Manehatten, which would be good for setting up his naval forces. Which also went for Vanhoover, though Las Pegasus seemed better, if only for the river leading up to ‘Canterlot’, which was the highest priority target. And a bonus was that there was a small settlement known only as ‘Rock Farm’ which would likely be a large mass deposit for his war machine.

Invictus nodded, settling to take Las Pegasus, while capturing the Rock Farm along the way. He sent some fabricators, plus an armed escort of five Dox Bots, to capture the farm. A small thought process flickered through his computing processor regarding the Natives turning hostile, or that the farm would be well guarded. Considering this possibility, Invictus ordered up a couple of land and air scouts, set to scout out the farm just in case.

Finished with that task, he queued up fifteen basic tanks to head towards Baltimare, a coastal city that was along the way to Manehatten. While also important, and a very capable naval port, it’s geographical landscape would not aid much in the assault- nor the defense. At most, he will scavenge it for mass later.

The tanks he was sending were tasked only with recon - they would not attack directly, since it was likely that the city would be somewhat defended. That task done, Invictus turned his attention to his main base, back beyond Macintosh Hills. He brought the idle base back to life, Fabricator Bots moving from place to place, producing more factories, which would in turn produce more soldiers for his war effort. Putting the base on a temporary automatic mode, Invictus decided to tap into some of the radio frequencies.

He had discovered these frequencies during his battle with the Captain, the ruined husk of his remains still containing some of the codes for the radio. Invictus activated one.

“.....Remember, the Invictus Commander could attack the city at any time. The defense of Baltimare, Las Pegasus, and Manehatten are some of our top priorities, besides Ponyville and Canterlot.” A voice said on the frequency, “Should you spot any of his forces, send an alert, and pull back to the city defensive line. Over and out.”

Invictus processed this information, noticing that his tank squadron was nearing some recently discovered blips on the radar. He sent an order to the tanks to hold position, as his processors began formulating a plan of attack.

“Threat Level: Unknown.” The Voice said, relating to Invictus what would be the best information he could get. “Weapon type: Unknown. Possible attack vector: Unknown. Not enough information to process a complete victory chance.”

Invictus sighed, sending his tanks to surround the blips, hopefully staying out of sight range. He then sent some bombers over to engage. It was, according to his data banks, a simple riot extermination tactic: smoke out the enemy and bring them to the firing lines.

As the bombers flew towards their target, with Invictus using the on board camera to observe, the blips soon were within sight range of the bombers.

Unlike Invictus’s previous expectations, it was two static units. The first one was very simplistic in design, a simple tower with a large cylinder turret attached to the top, with barrels loaded with what appeared to be surface-to-air missiles. The other one was similar, with a simplistic tower as its base. But instead of a cylinder, two laser guns on each side sat, pointing towards the bombers.

Invictus processed this information in a second, before attempting to disengage. However, it was too late, as the Missile Tower locked on, and launched a stream of missiles, blasting the closest bomber to pieces. He sent his tanks in, hoping to save a few of the bombers by destroying the missile turret. But as soon as the tanks were in range, the second turret let loose two laser blasts, turning the first and second tank into a charred husk.

He pulled his tanks out, knowing that they were not as fragile as the bombers, and sacrificed the bombers to allow the tanks to escape. As he observed, one bomber let loose it's volley, destroying the missile turret easily. Astonished at how brittle the tower was, Invictus paused, costing the lives of the last two bombers, destroyed by the Laser Tower. Invictus catalogued this new information for later use, having his remaining tanks continue on with their mission.

Baltimare Defense Headquarters

“Sir!” The Intelligence Officer manning the radar began, “Ten enemy tanks have pushed past the first line!” Captain Bulwark nodded, shifting his eyes over to one of the patrols near the blips currently heading towards the city on his map. Keeping his eyes there, the Commander suit he wore selected the squad.

“Voice command: Squadron Six, turn fifty degrees to your left, and begin marching forward at intercept speed. Toggle weapons to ‘Fire At Will’.” He ordered, the suit analyzing the command before sending it to the selected units. The squadron of KBots, six Peewees and four Hammers, stopped, reprganizing themselves towards their new destination, before marching forward once again, weapons primed and ready to fire.

“Enemy Units will be within sight in three...two….one. Contact!” The Intel Pony reported. “Enemy units have been re-identified as vehicle class tank units, similar to our own Stumpy’s!”

“Roger.” Bulwark nodded, observing as the KBots opened fire on the now identified targets, the Hammers slowing to a stop and popping open their cannons. The Peeweesran into the thick of it, their rapid fire plasma guns ripping into the sides of the tanks. The enemy tanks returned fire, the cannons on their tops blasting into the closest targets. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and the tanks were annihilated. All except one, which had turned and was retreating.

“That was only a recon squad I bet.” Bulwark said as the officers around him cheered, “I expect the main force to arrive pretty soon.” The cheering died down. “I want all guards on high alert! Increase our patrols and defensive weapons! Get those factories working!”

“Sir yes sir!” The ponies in the Command Center all cried in unison.

Invictus FOB

Invictus growled, increasing the production of his army. Baltimare had been more defended than he had expected, and thus would require a bigger force to annihilate. He considered his options carefully, before an alert pinged on his HUD. Bringing up the feed, he saw that his main base was under attack. He paused, taking in this information.

“How did they get there?” He growled, looking through the camera of a Fabricator Bot. Airborne bombers of a oddly familiar design flew back and forth across his base, while what were clearly anti-air craft shot missiles at his defenses, doing very little damage. His anti air turrets were targeting the bombers, but there was simply too many, and the turrets were overwhelmed in quite a beautiful explosion. As Invictus watched, something landed on top of the Fabricator unit he was watching the battle from.

Getting it to glance up, Invictus saw that it was a Air Transport, and it's clamps were already on the Bot, pulling it up into the sky.

Returning his attention to the battle, he saw that the bombers were pulling back for some reason, before he saw that most of the Extractors and Power Generators had been destroyed. Invictus growled, taking the remaining fabricator bots and rebuilding his economy.

With that underway, Invictus made sure to add much more Anti Air defense to the base he was currently in, before going back into the camera of the Fabricator Bot captured by the enemy.

It was flown past the mountains, towards a base that hadn't been there the previous day. Fabricator Aircraft flew over to the transport and the Fabricator Bot, emitting nanolathe towards the Bot in the transport.

Confused, Invictus watched on.

After a few moments, the camera feed was abruptly stopped, giving Invictus only an “Error” for confirmation that the unit had been reclaimed.

“What did they accomplish in that?” Invictus wondered, confused.

Macintosh Hills Air Base

“Well that wraps that up.” Iron Hoof muttered, looking at the Construction Bot he had captured, “Voice Command: Drop unit off at Canterlot.” The Atlas Transport took off once more, headed in the direction of Canterlot.

“Captain Iron Hoof,” A voice suddenly rang in the Captain’s old ears, “Our intelligence officers have just notified us that an attack was initiated on the Invictus main base. Is this your doing?”

“Yes, Captain Armor.” Iron Hoof replied, “But not only did I hamper his economy, I captured an enemy Construction KBot for analysis and study. It is headed towards Canterlot via Atlas as we speak.”

“Well, that is a good thing to acquire, but we have not sanctioned an attack on Invictus. Do not make a move without orders again, Captain.” The link was cut.

“Alright then. Voice Command to all structures within a ten meter radius of me: Activate Self-Destruct Protocols.”

A transport picked Iron Hoof up as the base he had created turned into a grave, explosions ripping through all of the base.

“Return to Las Pegasus.” He ordered, and the transport took him back to his operating zone.

“Now perhaps we can gain some actual Intel, besides just the name of our foe.” The seasoned captain grumbled.

Two Days Later,

The Four Captains reconvened, this time with Celestia as well, sitting in their respective seats.

“Well, after Captain Iron Hoof’s attack on Invictus’s Base, and the successful capture of an enemy Construction Unit, we have learned a great deal about our current foe.” Shining Armor began, pressing a button on the table.

The table lit to life, revealing a map of Equestria. “For starters, Invictus is not a living creature. Rather, he is a machine, much like our own assault units. He currently has one objective: Hunt down the Commanders, and annihilate them.”

“And how did we learn that?” Bulwark asked.

“Simple.” Shining shrugged, “Invictus’s army has collections of data, which for Invictus, is his memory. All we know is that he seeks to destroy us because we use the Commander Suits. So civilians should be fine.”

That earned a sigh of relief from Celestia.

“What else have we learned?” Bulwark asked, wanting to learn as much as possible.

“Thanks to the KBot, we have learned somewhat of the Invictus Commander’s plan to attack us.” Shining replied, pressing a few buttons with his hoof. A series of ‘X’ marks appeared on the map. “Invictus plans to launch two simultaneous attacks, targeting Las Pegasus, Vanhoover, Manehatten, and once he has it surrounded, Canterlot itself.”

“I see… So a pincer attack of sorts.” Bulwark muttered.

“More like a noose.” Iron Hoof stated. “What of Baltimare and Fillydelphia?”

“He considers them not strategically important, and thus will merely take the cities and use them for resources.”

“What do you mean, ‘strategically important’?” Bulwark asked.

“Apparently, After destroying Canterlot, Invictus plans to fortify all of Equestria.”

“The targets make sense then.” Iron Hoof muttered, “Las Pegasus, Vanhoover, and Manehatten are all coastal cities, which would be important for naval control.”

“Then we should fortify those cities even more.” Bulwark nodded.

“Yes, though it's odd.” Iron Hoof muttered, “Why does he want us destroyed?”

“We already said we don't know, old timer.” Bulwark snorted.

“Perhaps he is from wherever our technology comes from?” Shining Armor suggested.

“How do you know about that information?” Celestia asked, shocked suddenly. The other captains looked to each other in confusion.

“Twilight told me about it when we were younger.” Shining replied, confused. “Why, was she not allowed to speak of it?”

“No, she was not. But I suppose she was younger, and didn't know better.” Celestia sighed, putting a hoof to her head.

“Celestia, what does Captain Armor mean?” Bulwark asked. The Princess of the Sun sighed, realizing she had to let them know.

“You must not speak of this outside this room. Understood?” They all nodded, confused. “The truth of it is… Ponies did not create the technology we have today. In fact, almost a thousand years ago, we found a bipedal Commander Suit buried underneath the mountain.”

The others looked to her, shocked.

“And that's not all,” Celestia continued, “The Suit was piloted by an unknown creature, which we still do not know of to this day. I believe it to be some sort of survivor of a Precursor civilization that lived in Equestria, long before ponies migrated here.”

“You speak of it as if it is still alive.” Bulwark noticed, “Is it?”

“Yes. It is what has been producing the majority of the Commander Suits we have today, and is hidden deep beneath the mountain.”

“Why did you hide it?” Iron Hoof asked.

“Because, if this one existed, what if there were more?” Celestia answered. “What if everyone knew, and, say, the griffons discovered one?”

Iron Hoof nodded. “We would be looking at a second Great War. Except this time, the Griffons also had the technology we do.”

Celestia nodded. “I have been sending ponies on top secret expeditions across the world, hoping to find one before anyone else does.”

“It makes sense.” Bulwark nodded. “Knowledge is Power. Guard it well.”

“So, Shining, what did you mean about it being from the same civilization?” Celestia turned to the Captain.

“What if these Precursors never fell? What if they simply left?” He asked.

“You mean they might be capable of space travel.” Celestia nodded.

“Exactly. So perhaps Invictus is here to reclaim his people’s technology?”

“It's a plausible theory.” Celestia nodded. “I will try to converse with the being inside the Commander Suit and see if it knows anything.” She replied, keeping a few secrets to herself.

“Very well. Now then, shall we return to our posts?” Shining asked, looking around. The others nodded, standing up.

“We will see you in the next meeting, Princess.” Bulwark saluted, before walking out.

The others did the same, before following him out. Celestia sighed, before exiting. As she walked out, a pony trotted up to her, a frantic look in his eyes.

“Your highness!” He gasped, coming to a stop in front of her, “A-a threat has been made against Canterlot!”

Two days later, Invictus Base

Invictus sighed as the last of the damages done by the surprise attack was finished. It had taken far too long for the repairs to be finished, impairing his schedule greatly. On the plus side, his forces previously sent to the Rock Farm had easily secured it, the organics residing there having been surrounded by a wall and trapped within their small household.

As the factories once more began producing combat units, a surge of unknown energy suddenly burst into existence ten meters to Invictus’s right. The Commander turned to stare down the odd energy that had burst into his base unexpectedly. Just in case of attack, he primed his Ubercharge.

What awaited his sight baffled his logic cores. A portal, though not attached to anything, floated in front of Invictus, the black vortex swirling lazily in the air. As he watched, three unknown organics in some form of advanced armor stepped out of the unexplainable portal, glancing around.

The one in the middle fixed its gaze on Invictus, it's massive and bulky black armor covered in odd trinkets and symbols. It stepped forward, the only organic part of it showing being its head, in the upper center of the armor.

“Greetings, Invictus.” It began, it's deep voice confirming it as male. “I am Ahzek Ahriman, your creator.”

Invictus took a moment to process this information, confusion and disbelief rippling across his logic cores.

“Impossible.” The Commander replied, staring down on the so called ‘creator’. “Calculation centers state that there is a zero point one percent chance of you being my creator.”

“Perhaps proof is required,” The ‘creator’, Ahriman, shrugged, “Invictus Command Module, activate memory files 3-44-9028.” Suddenly, Invictus’s vision was filled with new memories, showing the Command Unit his origins. After a few minutes of processing this, he turned his gaze down to Ahriman- no, the Creator.

“What is it you require, Creator?” He asked, amazed that this was his creator.

“I am only here to check up on you, and to reveal to you something.” The Creator replied, looking around. “Quite the base you have here.” He complimented, giving Invictus a surge of data that most would call ‘pride’.

“I thank you for the words, Creator.” Invictus replied. “So, what was it that the Creator wished to reveal to me?” He then realized that his vocabulary had changed drastically.

“The new voice emitter and new voice processing systems are a gift from me,” The Creator said, “As for what I wish to show you….” He held out his hand, and a image burst to life, showing a vast space filled with odd bubbles. “This is what is known as the multiverse, though I have modified the image so it does not show what the Multiverse truly looks like.”

“Why?” Invictus asked.

“So it doesn't overload your data processors.” The Creator explained, before continuing. “Anyway, within this multiverse are many beings like you, called Displaced. These Displaced are people taken from their own worlds and turned into a character from anything. They, like you, have been placed in different versions of Equestria, and drastically change the timeline of the universe.”

Invictus processed this. “And?”

“And they can travel to each other's universe by use of a token, which any Displaced can create.” Suddenly Invictus’s Thought processors re-analyzed something that the Creator had said.

“They are...like me?” He asked, cross referencing this information with what the voice had first told him.

“Yes.” The Creator nodded.

“Then are they what the Voice told me to annihilate?” Invictus asked, playing the audio.

“Find the others, rip apart their bases, and annihilate them.”

“Perhaps. What do your logic cores say?” The Creator asked.

Invictus processed the information, cross referencing the two things repeatedly, before finally coming to a conclusion.

“Yes, Creator. My mission is to annihilate them.”

“Then do what you must to achieve that goal. I am downloading the information about creating tokens to you now.” Suddenly, a pop-up appeared in Invictus’s vision. It looked like a letter. Opening it, Invictus suddenly saw lots of information flash across his eyes. Nodding, he commanded a Fabricator Bot to come over.

Once the bot arrived, Invictus grabbed it, before tossing it into the air. It vanished in the air.

“Then that's all I am here for.” The Creator nodded, turning around. “I shall occasionally check up on your progress, so do be ready for that.” He placed a small chip into Invictus’s head, before vanishing in a portal.

Invictus looked at the new data banks from the chip.

“New schematics available: Complete Bot Tech, and ATLAS Schematic downloaded.”

Author's Note

Sorry that the last bits seemed a bit rushed! I was kinda in a hurry to finish this chapter!

Anyways, Invictus is now open to crossovers! (Thigh they likely won't be posted here, since I don't want to confuse my readers all that much)

And what's going on in Canterlot?

Find out next time!