No Pony's Sky

Everything vanished behind a curtain of shimmering crimson light. An ear splitting scream of energy wracked the alicorn mare’s senses and she panicked, leaping forward into the side of a large tree. The thick trunk absorbed the impact easily and she bounced off and landed on the ground.

Twilight Sparkle staggered to her feet, just as another blast of raw energy slammed into her side. Already, she could feel her weakened shields give out and the brutal attack began to punch through her suit. Before it could do any more damage, she managed to place the tree in between her and her attacker.

Her lungs worked in overtime, sucking down oxygen as fast as her life support system could pump it into her helmet. Twilight took stock of her current situation and she did not like what she saw. Her suit’s entire left side bore a brutal scar tracing along her flank. Lined with flakes of ablative skin, they fluttered gently in the toxic wind. Already, she could hear a stomping growing louder as her hunter came closer.

She swallowed the lump growing in her throat when she realized how close the attack had come to removing her wing. Steeling herself, she peeked around her cover briefly, just long enough to take a peek at the sentinel chasing her. A four-legged mechanical beast trudged over the rough terrain as if it were nothing. Its blocky head swiveled in her direction, sensing even the tiniest bit of her exposed self.

The following laser blast clipped the tree she hid behind and burned away a section of bark. Twilight had luckily ducked away just in time, avoiding the attack entirely; but every second she wasted, meant the sentinel grew closer. She couldn’t out run or fly over, as she would present too tempting a target. That leaves only one option.

Twilight Sparkle held up her multi-tool in a nimbus of light and flicked the firing selector to its bolt caster setting. Unlike the precise cutting nature of its mining laser, the multi-tool’s energy projectile attachment served more as a powerful defensive weapon. Its ability to unleash a flurry of potent plasma bolts seemed suitable for her current situation and she readied herself for the confrontation about to take place.

The harsh stomping steadily increased in volume and an electronic buzzing filled the air. Taking a deep breath, the alicorn mare popped out of cover and opened fire. At a range of a dozen meters, she couldn’t miss. Every energy bolt flew true and slammed into the quadrupedal sentinel, which emitted an angry, computerized scream as it staggered back. Eyes narrowed in focus, Twilight kept the trigger depressed, dumping her weapon’s entire clip into the machine.

With a click, the multi-tool ran dry and Twilight spun around to put more distance between her and the quadruped, reloading as she ran. The sentinel lumbered after her, but emptying an entire clip of energy bolts seemed to have done some damage. It moved much slower than before, and she could hear the whining of overstressed machinery.

Galloping through the trees, Twilight ducked under a low hanging branch and she burst out into the open. Off to her left, she spotted a series of boulders thick enough to provide cover and she angled in to take advantage of the terrain. She had just about reached them when the quadruped noisily broke through the tree line. I won’t make it!

In desperation, the alicorn pony dug her hooves deep into the earth, spinning around as she brought the multi-tool up. As soon as she lined up the sights on the damaged sentinel, she squeezed down on the weapon’s trigger. A swarm of glowing blue projectiles spewed forth, peppering the quadruped. Sparks sprayed out of damaged joints, and several pieces of armor went spiraling away in the air, knocked free by the barrage.

The sentinel’s head turned towards her and she had no trouble picking up on a blood-red light growing brighter on its face even through the cerulean plasma storm from her weapon. Twilight’s eyes widened and time seemed to slow. Exposed without any cover, all she could focus on was the energy lance powering up to fire at her.

Just when Twilight thought she was done for, one of her plasma bolts punched through the sentinel’s weakened armor and triggered a chain reaction throughout its power systems. The sentinel released a final anguished cry before it blew apart in a short-lived flash.

Violet eyes stared down the sights of her multi-tool still aimed where the quadrupedal sentinel stood only moments before. Her chest heaved in and out and her legs wobbled slightly, threatening to collapse. Easing the weapon away, she calmed down enough to plan her next course of action.

I need to get out of here. She took a step in the direction of her ship when two alert icons came flying into view. Twilight may have forgotten about the two flying sentinel’s but they hadn’t forgotten about her. Once they cleared the treetops, both of them immediately opened fire, peppering the area around her.

Twilight brought her multi-tool up and returned fire. Her weapon had better accuracy at range, so she simultaneously backed up as she focused on the closer sentinel. She precisely placed shot after shot into the flier’s nose, and just before her clip went dry, it exploded into a cloud of burnt electronics and elemental titanium.

She quickly reloaded and swung her weapon towards the second sentinel. Just as she was about to squeeze the trigger, her right rear leg stepped back and felt nothing but empty air. Twilight tried to catch herself, but she couldn’t slow her momentum enough and with a short cry of surprise, she tumbled over the edge.

Her world spun around. Blue, white, and brown blurred together as she fell. Wings spread out wide, she flapped hard, trying to halt her decent. Twilight’s mind panicked, but she remembered the lessons drilled into her by Rainbow Dash during her flying lessons. Calm down… lean back… steady my wings… and there! She rolled backwards and her wings finally caught the air, allowing her to pull up and land on all four hooves.

Glancing around, Twilight took stock in the fissure she had fallen into. Small clusters of glowing alien fauna intermittently spaced broke up the long shadows cast by the tall rocky walls. It provided good cover and she trotted over to stand behind a particularly thick stalagmite. Aiming back up at the opening of the crevice, she could hear the flying sentinel growing closer. Her ears swiveled around and locked in on the whirling and buzzing as it approached her hiding spot.

She readied herself to blast the flier the moment it cleared the lip of the fissure when something massive slammed into the ground somewhere nearby. The impact shook Twilight hard enough to make her stumble and she had to put a forehoof out against the stalagmite to keep from falling. Oh dear Celestia, I didn’t get it in time, she thought as a colossal shadow loomed over her.

Twilight Sparkle didn’t even bother to look up. Instead, she took off immediately, using her powerful hind legs to accelerate around next bend of the crevice. Behind her, a hellish light filled every nook and cranny, searing away the shadows. A roaring in her ears threatened to blow out her speakers, but she had reacted in time to avoid the attack.

Galloping along the rocky floor, she sped around each twist and turn. Whenever the alicorn encountered a fork along her path, she chose whichever one angled more towards her ship. From somewhere above and behind her, a heavy clunking filled the air, reminding the little pony that she was still being hunted.

The distance timer next to her ship’s location dropped lower and lower, and Twilight took a chance at flying. Flaring her wings wide, she flapped hard and shot into the sky. Before she could present herself as a target, she dove low, placing a hill between her and the sentinels. Her ship came into view around the next bend and her hopes soared. I’m almost there!

She waited until the last possible second before pulling up and landing at a brisk trot. Twilight synced with the ship, opening the canopy just in time to leap into it. Throwing her harness on, she powered up the ship’s thrusters and launched herself into the air. Her forehooves gripped the controls, and she swung her ship’s nose around before keying the engines at full blast.

Twilight Sparkle glanced out the side of her cockpit and she spotted a towering bipedal sentinel, slowly trudging after her just before she shot over the next ridge. Staring forward once more, she slowly sat back into her seat, letting her breathing fall to a more manageable level. That was close. She glanced at the scar alongside her suit, already mulling over ideas on how to patch it. That was way too close.