Equestria Girls Alter: Warframe

/

“Again!” Hayden shouted as Rainbow Dash charged at him with closed fists. She swung her fists in quick succession at almost lighting fast speeds much to the amazement of her friends. The Tenno smiled as he quickly defended himself by blocking each of her blows with the correct block positions. Her attacks made contact with his armor while also creating a mini sonic boom as her fist landed; doubling the damage she was creating. Hayden smiled as she has since improved her physical capabilities once they started training seriously. She definitely was a more close combat fighter as her quick attacks and reflexes have proven, truthfully the Tenno could have swore that she was getting faster. However, not wanting to be outdone Hayden decided to activate Volt’s ability ‘Speed’ in order to keep up with her attacks. It didn’t take long before the two became a blur as the rest of the team watched with awe as Pinkie and Fluttershy cheered on for their friend.

“Hee-yah!” a quick change in her combo, Rainbow Dash ended her barrage with a powerful roundhouse kick that both took Hayden off guard and broke it. Now seeing an opening the girl smirked as she followed up with another kick straight into the chest of the Tenno before sending him flying into the wall behind him. Her friends cheered as she dusted herself off, “So? Was that better than last time?”

Hayden, slowly getting up from the ground mumbled a small ‘ow’ before responding to the girl, “Yup, you have vastly improved since I first taught you the Grim Fury combat stance. Honestly, how fast you adapted the style to your way of fighting is actually quite scary, and that’s not even mentioning how fast you were attacking. I’ve seen a few other Tenno use the same stance but none has ever reached the speed you were going at right now. I say you’re tied on the power department when I compare you and Applejack with each other.”

“Oh please, I’m sure I made you dent that wall harder than she did,” Rainbow said with tinge of arrogance until the girl in question spoke up.

“Well, sugar cube…correct me if I’m wrong but ah’m sure it took me less punches and kicks to send poor Hayden flying into the wall.”

“Pfft…whatever,” Rainbow said as she walked towards her friends and joined them as the last of them stepped into the ring for their close combat test.

“I guess it’s my turn then,” Twilight said as she took a deep calming breath to cool her nerves as she pulled out her weapon of choice; the Bo staff. She was training with a specific stance for this weapon and practiced it a bit before Hayden brought them together for simulated combat training. Though she was quite worried for the Tenno as he had to play the role of the punching bag she was still surprised how he still managed to get back up despite all the damage done to him, “Uhm…Hayden are you sure you don’t want to take a break? I mean you really took a serious beating from Rainbow Dash, not to mention from everyone else.”

“Twi, if you knew the dangerous situations I been through, you should know that this is nothing compared to those said situations.”

“Well I did get a taste of it when you brought us on that sneaking mission,” The violet girl said with a deadpan voice which slightly ticked off the Tenno.

“Right…right…” Hayden said while biting his tongue to avoid saying something snarky. Getting up from the ground he stretched a bit as he took out a Bo Staff of his own, “Anyway, time for your test. As you might recall, the stance I taught you that works with this weapon is called Flailing Branch; it’s a stance that uses lifting strikes and whirlwind combos to batter down your opponents.”

“I am well aware. I’m ready when you are.”

“Good, now come at me as you would an enemy. I expect no holding back as I won’t be either…okay maybe just a little bit since I don’t want to accidently kill you,” Hayden said with a little chuckle as he twirled his staff effortlessly. This however didn’t stop Twilight from gulping as she took her stance, “Now…begin!”

Quickly, the two ran at each other as their weapons clashed against each other with a loud ‘clack’. Shortly, the two broke away from the clash and quickly began to use the various attacks that went with the stance. They both started with the battered thread combo as their attacks collided with each other, but Hayden proved to be slightly stronger as his strikes had more force within them, “Don’t always expect to overpower your opponent Twilight. Recognizing the difference in strengths can help you form a plan around them,” Hayden said as he immediately knock’s the girl’s weapon into the air before delivering a solid kick that sent her tumbling back a few feet.

“Ow…” Twilight groaned a bit in pain as her weapon ‘clacked’ onto the floor in front of her.

“It’s good to see that you know the attacks of the stance, but it’s not enough to beat an enemy who surpasses you in raw strength; fight smarter, not harder. I been told this many times myself and I learned it the hard way when I ran into Vay Hek himself.”

“Right, I can do this!” Twilight said as she pumped herself up before picking her weapon back up, “I’m ready!”

“Alright, again!” The Tenno shouted as they both charged at each other yet again. Their weapons clashed once again but this time Twilight took his word and focused less on trying to overpower him. Instead she attempted to deflect his strikes in order to throw him off balance. However, it was easier said than done as the Tenno wasn’t thrown off easy and has great control over the force of his weapon. To makes matters worse it seemed that she was making little headway as he immediately changed his attack into a thrust that took Twilight off guard before stopping close to her forehead, “Better…but deflection tactics only work if your opponent is giving it their all in their attacks as they are more vulnerable to missed strikes especially ones wielding heavy weapons,” Hayden pulled his weapon back as Twilight finally released the breath she was unintentionally holding, “Moreover, don’t expect your opponent to commit to the same attack that is coming to a stalemate. Just like you, they are also finding ways to get around attacks or catch you off guard; you just need to beat them to the punch.”

Twilight nodded as she tightly gripped her weapon before taking a deep breath, “Okay…I think I got this.”

“No thinking, either you got this or not. There is no between,” Hayden said strictly as he tapped his staff on the ground.

“R-Right! I can do this! I know I can!”

“Better, now…again!” Hayden shouted as the battle started up again. This time Twilight fought with more vigor and energy as she repeated her first move before switching up with another combo that ended with a sweeping move that forced Hayden to hop back to avoid being tripped up. The Tenno smirked as he put more effort into defending himself from Twilight’s attacks as she went on the offensive. Her technique improved as she was trying to catch him off guard with specific attacks unique to the stance. Dodging and avoiding her strikes Hayden chose his attacks carefully as he made a few thrusts into her assault which forced her to stop and avoid the attack before trying to regain the pressure she was piling onto the Tenno, “Suddenly, I feel like I should have used the Wu-kong frame for this sparring session.” Hayden thought to himself as he parried Twilight’s thrust and went for a sweeping attack.

Twilight struggled to regain her balance and quickly noticed the incoming attack. Desperately, she made a small hop that caused her to fall on her back but she managed to get back on her feet and deflect an incoming thrust from Hayden; allowing her to get close. Drawing strength from both the void and her magic she opened palm pushed the Tenno with great force that nearly caused him to stumble after knocking him away a few feet, “Let’s kick up the difficulty!” Hayden shouted as his body sparked up with white energy as he used the ‘speed’ ability again. The purple girl mentally said ‘uh oh’ as she steeled herself for the next attack from the powered up Hayden. However, nothing could prepare her for the blinding fast bullet of a man that came at her and clashed his weapon against hers. The increased speed added more force to his strikes and made his follow up attacks a near blur which made it hard to defend against.

“The training wheels are off Twilight, think fast and act even faster!” Hayden shouted as he pushed the girl back with his successive strikes. Twilight felt her arms getting weaker as she barely defended against each strong hit but then she remembered that deflection would be best in this situation. Acting quickly she smacked Hayden’s next strike to the side which thankfully caused the Tenno to be thrown off balance due to the increase force. Unable to recover in time Hayden was assaulted by a full rising falls combo from Twilight before she ended it with the autumn leaf combo that hit home on the Tenno’s cranium.

Twilight’s friends cheered as Hayden immediately became dazed and unable to defend himself as the girl gently poked him with her staff and caused him to fall over.

*Ding, Ding, Ding*

“That’s it the session is over on the account that the operator-got knocked the fuck out,” Ordis said through the speakers as Twilight look over the unmoving body of the Tenno.

“Uh oh…did I hit him too hard? Maybe I shouldn’t have aimed for the cranium,” Twilight said to herself as her friends joined her on the sparring ring to look over his body.

“Ooooh…do you think he’s okay?” Pinkie asked with worry as she gently moved Hayden’s arm.

“Well he did say that he has taken worse, so…maybe?” Rainbow Dash added while not knowing what to actually do.

“He may have said that but a hard knock to the noggin is enough to put anyone to sleep,” Applejack said with her own worried look.

“You don’t think he suffered a c-concussion?” Fluttershy said with fear in her voice which by extension filled Twilight a sense of guilt.

“I hope not, we need him if we’re going survive the upcoming assault on whatever base Sunset is hiding in,” Rarity said as she resisted the urge to bite her thumb.

“Not to mention our only ticket back home,” Spike added as he sniffed the helmet of the Warframe and picked up faint smell of dried blood, “Uh…is it bad that I can smell blood on his helmet?” Everyone froze in shock at this news but Twilight remembered that Hayden isn’t in the frame.

“W-wait! Hayden should be fine! He isn’t really inside the Warframe so he probably didn’t even feel it!” Twilight exclaimed in an attempt to reassure everyone and herself. Suddenly, the door to the room opened as the actual real body stumbled into the room before falling forward onto the ground.

*Hayden!* they all shouted as they scrambled over to the Tenno as they turned him over as his helmet peeled away like a banana.

“Ow…Twilight?” Hayden said with a slight pained expression.

“Y-Yes?”

“I felt that all the way to my pod…didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Uh…thanks?”

The Tenno gave a single thumb up, “That’s all…ow…maybe I’m a better teacher than I thought? Whooo…” Hayden trailed off before passing out much to the panic of the girls and Spike.

“Its okay girls, the operator is simply out cold and not dead. He’ll be out of action for a while but let’s hope the call to action doesn’t knock on our door,” Ordis said optimistically as an email popped into his systems, “Hmm? Oh! I received an email from The Lotus. It must be the armor that the operator requested for you,” The cephalon went silent for a few moments in order to read the mail as suddenly sheets of paper were phased into existence and gently fell to the floor, “Uh…are these blueprints?” Ordis said as Applejack walked over and picked one of the sheets off the ground.

“Eeyup…these are blueprints alright,” The cowgirl said as she examined the paper closely, “Says here that’s it’s going to take at least a day to completely build them,” The rest of her friends were about to complain until a certain Tenno beat them to the punch.

“WWWHHHHAAATTT!!!!!” Hayden said with an ear splitting shout as he suddenly woke up from his head injury. Everyone was surprised at this as the Tenno got up and walked over to Applejack and snatched the blueprint from her hand to look at it for himself. The young man looked like he wanted to explode as he quickly took a deep breath to attempt to calm himself but it failed, “Out of all days I have to wait for something to be built this isn’t one of them!”

The girls could do nothing but watch the angry Tenno rant on and on despite waking up from a head injury. There was something amusing to see the sudden shift from being out cold to being suddenly awake and raving like a madman. Twilight herself gave a sigh of relief as the Tenno continue to yell at the air in rage which was annoying for sure but at least he was still alive and well, if not extremely furious for the fact he’ll need to pay platinum to get their armor done and ready for today. Needless to say, now would be a good time for a break.

/

Location: Tethys Base

“I will tear this entire base into pieces if it means finding her! I want this entire base on lockdown and zero chance of escape for her! My entire research depends on her! I mean sure I already have some samples already and can clone a couple more tubemen but she is the main component, so if any of you find her bring her back alive! I don’t care how many of you die in the process just have her tied and by my feet before the day is over now go!” Tyl Regor was beyond furious ever since he woke up and discovered Sunset has escaped from her cell. Of course since he’s completely livid the entire Grineer force stationed on the base scrambled like ants. This left the researcher alone with the General Sargas Ruk, “Rrah!!!” Regor roared in anger as he punched a nearby wall and dented it.

“I’ve never seen you so angry before Regor. But from what you told me you it’s also reasonable.”

“General…can you imagine being stronger than you already are? The power of the Tenno within our soldiers and within us? Her D.N.A. is the key to total supremacy of this entire system and beyond not to mention the prevention of the decline of our race.”

“You’re onto something special Regor. I’ve seen the Tenno fight and fallen to them a couple of times through their powers. They are powerful warriors and to have their strength in our soldiers is a brilliant idea. Your Salamander report even proves that they can match the Tenno in power.”

“Indeed, but we must tread carefully. She may not have her armor on but she can still use her powers and is quite crafty. She may prove troublesome and might bring unwanted attention so we must prepare ourselves for a possible attack from the Tenno forces.”

“Of course, they’re honor bound to save their own from death. I wouldn’t expect any less from them, so I thought ahead and made some preparations just in case they come.”

“Good…as for me I’ll make do with the remaining samples I have to make more Salamanders…and perhaps something more,” Regor felt a smile creep on his face as an insidious idea popped into his head, “Yes…yes…I know exactly what to do.”

Sargas looked at his fellow Grineer with a slightly perturbed look as the way he trailed off with his words was unsettling in its own way. However, he was also curious what the researcher could possibly cook up in his lab, “Do what you need to do Regor, for the glory of the Grineer Empire!”

“Yes, for the empire,” Regor said with a dry tone of voice as Sargas left him alone, “*Sigh* Things are going to escalate from here on out I just know it…hmm…I better start working on my secret weapon now if I’m going to perfect it for later use,” Tyl Regor took another breath to calm his nerves as he made his leave from the room, “You can run all you want Tenno…but we’ll find you and any sort of mercy I have will be gone as I make sure the next procedure is as painful as possible,” With this said he punched another wall in anger as he headed towards the direction of the docks.

/

Elsewhere, deep in the base, Sunset Shimmer was doing the only thing she could in order to stay hidden from view; crawling in the vents. The girl heard the base go on high alert for her and sighed as she knew her escape won’t be easy as she’s going to need to avoid the Grineer soldiers looking for her around the base. Thankfully, she doesn’t need to worry about Tyl Regor hunting her down, but Sargas definitely somebody she’s got to look out for as the large armored man as he looks just as brutal as Regor.

“Okay…I’m stuck on a base on high alert, without the crown, and waiting to be rescued by what I hoped to be those Tenno I keep being mistaken for. Well…I could wait here out of sight for help to arrive but I need to get that crown back. But how in the world am I going to get past that security? Not to mention Regor? *Sigh* I don’t think I’ll be able to at this point, but I might as well get a feeling for my surroundings while I’m here,” Reaffirming her objective Sunset started crawling through the vents once again…a movement that she has gotten used to by this point.

/

Hayden grumbled to himself as another set of armor was complete as he placed in another order for a variant meant for a different girl. Once the construction project started to get moving the Tenno would immediately shove over one hundred platinum into the compartment; that super charged the machine into speeding up and making the armor in record time. Each set completed made Hayden feel deader on the inside as it took him a long time to gather so much of the prized material but here he is using them like they were going out of fashion. The girls looked at the Tenno with worry as they can hear him mumbling to himself, “Uhm…Hayden are you okay?” Twilight asked carefully but winced as the man growled.

However the Tenno quickly caught this and sighed, “Sorry, this is one of those things that simply urks me time to time, and if you’re going to ask why forget it. I’ll just go on a rant so it’s best not to go there.”

“Okay…so whose armor is whose?”

“They’re colored coated to match the Warframe that each of you have power similar to. These armors should provide some quality defense and provide a shield that should protect you from most damage before it gets blown out from continuous damage. Should that happen, find cover until it regenerates as it is your first line of defense against your enemies. Also according to the Lotus, these armors should additionally increase the power of your abilities,” Hayden picked up one of the armor’s colored in grey to cyan color which matched Nyx’s color scheme and tossed it over to Twilight, “This one is yours Twi. It’s more lightly armored compared to your friends but the shield generation on it should match the original Nyx Warframe.”

Twilight took the suit in hand and realized that it’s going to be a bit skin tight but noticed the armor plates covering parts of the legs, chest, back, arms, and neck. In hindsight it kinda looks like a pajama onesie as it looked to be baggy despite the flesh like material on the rest of it; it even came with its own footwear, “So…I just put it on?”

“In your current body suit I would say yes, but uh…remove your foot wear first. You should be in your socks as I doubt it would be comfortable to wear two shoes at once.”

“Right…” Twilight said unsurely as she removed her foot wear which wasn’t part of her suit. “Okay, here goes nothing…” The purple girl said with an unsure voice as she stepped into the feet of the suit which surprisingly felt comfortable as she stuck her arms through the sleeves but after that she was confused as there was no way to zip up the back end of armor, “Wait how do I cover up the back end of the armor?”

Hayden, instead of responding merely pulled out three fingers and started counting down. Everyone was confused by this until suddenly the baggy armor glowed to life with green lights as it immediately covered her back side and retracted all the baggy parts of the armor into one form fitting suit. Twilight was about to say something but then more flesh like mass popped out of her back and covered her head which caused her to freak out a bit until it quickly formed a smooth teardrop shaped helmet that both covered her entire head and hair.

“Huh, that’s pretty much how I imagine that wearing a Warframe looks like if it was an actual suit,” Hayden commented as Twilight began looking at her body in mild panic until she realizes that she’s completely fine.

“I uhm…fine? Whoa…this feels strange,” Twilight said as a hud appeared on her helmet showing her life signs and how much shield she has.

“Looking good Twilight,” Hayden said as he took some amusement from her examination of her own physical form.

“Now that’s cool! Where’s my suit?” Rainbow Dash said as she beamed with excitement at the idea of wearing the outfit assigned to her. Soon the other girls are questioning about their armors and Hayden was all too happy to give them their specifically made suit.

Applejack was the most surprised about her armor as it more bulky and heavier than the others. Putting it on, it repeated the same process of sealing itself onto her body and creating her helmet, and in just a few seconds she basically looked like the female equivalent to Rhino if such a thing existed, “Hoo-wee, I feel powerful in this thing!”

Pinkie’s follow suit and she let a shiver as the entire armor covered her body. It was a strange feeling that she doesn’t dislike but now she can see why Twilight reacted the way she did. Her armor was lightly padded to maintain flexibility but armored in the right places so she won’t be vulnerable. Like the Warframe it was based off of it sported a two tone color of pink while the more armored parts sported a bone color as her helmet sported a jester like look, “Whoa, I feel like I can break more than physics!” She said with an unseen smile as she made a little spin.

Rainbow Dash said an ‘Oh Yeah’ as her suit covered her body. Unlike the others, Rainbow’s suit doesn’t have the same armor plates as the others in order to keep her lightweight. Her arms sported the same wing like form as the Zephyr Warframe though her suit made it less feather like and more solid as the rest of her body was designed to cut through the air with its sleek design. Her helmet also followed this design as it didn’t take the bird like design but instead replaced with a sleek small winged jet like design, “Alright! This suit almost makes me feel like a Pegasus again!” She shouted with joy before leaping into the air and hitting her head on the ceiling, “Ow…maybe I should’ve waited until we we’re in a more open room before trying to fly.”

Fluttershy was the most nervous of her friends when it came to putting on the suit as she wasn’t sure she was mentally prepared for the suddenness of it all. The black red suit had more armor plates than the most of her friends with the exception of Applejack. Nervously she put on the suit as her friends did but once the suit shrank to fit her body she gave out an ‘eep’ with a flushed expression on her face that was quickly covered up when her helmet formed, “I don’t know how to feel about this…” she said shyly as she tried to cover herself.

Rarity was the last as she slipped on into her suit. Navy blue all around and lightly armored to boot, the girl looked on with awe as the suit did its job and fit itself to her frame. As this was happening she had a confident smirk on her face as the helmet covered her beautiful features, “Oh my, it fits snuggly. I always had ideas to make a suit similar to this but I didn’t go through with it because it only caters to a small group of ponies. All in all, how do I look?” She said striking a pose that caused Spike to howl in excitement.

Hayden could only laugh at the Kubrow as the dragon turned canine immediately realized what he just did and began to hide his face in shame, “Oh that was priceless…” the Tenno said as he wiped a non-existent tear from his face, “Anyway, these suits should have enhanced your physical attributes so you can leap as far as I can and protect you from most environmental hazards. Let’s give them a little test run in the training room shall we?” The girls agreed to this idea as they too thought they need some time to get used to their strengthen physical finesse or in Rainbow Dash’s case; a reason to go buck wild, “Good, now let’s go and have some fun. Because to be perfectly honest I like to mess around with these powers as well.” Hayden said with playful shrug.

“Uh…operator?”

“Yes Ordis?”

“Please be gentle with the training room…I’m not sure I handle so many Tenno powers being activated at once.”

“I’ll be mindful Ordis.”

“Thank you operator.”

Quick break aside, the group returned to the training room to test out the suits and enhanced powers given to the girls. Needless to say, the room was left in shambles as more of their powers were unlocked. Hayden did his best to minimize the damage and help the girls understand the new powers. It took another hour to get the girls used to their additional abilities and newly found acrobatic skills. All in all, the suits work like they’re supposed too and now Hayden could rest a little easier knowing that he did the best he can to prepare them for the battle ahead. He taught them gunplay, rifle training, ability training, and close combat training based on his own experiences. After all the chaos that was caused by the test the group took another break to rest and recoup, during this break, Hayden pulled out data profiles on the various Grineer found around Saturn. He especially gave warnings about General Sargas Ruk as the man was more tank than man. The Tenno briefly gave them a story on how he first met the armored general and how he had a hard time trying to hurt the man. He told them where to aim when they meet him but if they find themselves being overwhelmed then they should run.

“Unlike Regor, Sargas holds some kind of warrior honor system but he is still without mercy. Knowing Tyl Regor he might have got his help, so we may end up fighting both of them at the same time,” The thought was terrifying to the Tenno as he recalled a similar situation with Captain Vor and Lt. Lich Krill, but if he had to compare Regor and Ruk seemed more dangerous in his eyes. He explained more on the best weapons to use against them but then suddenly the learning session was interrupted by a call from Cressa, “Put her on Ordis,” Hayden said with a commanding tone as the Cephalon did what he asked.

“Tenno! We found the origin of the signal and it’s on Tethys! We have already started mobilizing our attack forces. We need you to do your part of the plan, so bring your squad and do what you need to do!” The female Grineer said as she noticed the girls, “So these are the rookies? I see you have them suited up as well, but armor means nothing if there is no skill behind it. No doubt the Tenno already explained to you how big this operation is going to be, so stay aware of your surroundings and stick together. I already told the Tenno to watch over you young bloods so don’t do anything reckless to make his life hard. Anyway, get to the base as fast as you can Tenno, more of your kind are already making their way and I need everyone to play their part; Cressa out.”

“You heard her girls. Your first taste of a large scale battle is going to happen now. Steady your nerves because we’re about to make history. Ordis! Get this ship to Tethys as soon as possible!”

“Right away operator!”

Quickly and with haste the ship pointed to a single direction in space and immediately flew in that direction. Twilight and her friends along the way did their best to keep their composure as this wasn’t the first all out war battle they participated in, but that was against changelings and no one died. Twilight herself was unsure that they could handle the horrors of war as they are going to see things that may disturb them or worse. Looking over to her friends the girl spoke to her friends, “Everypony, we’re about to head into a battle that we have never seen before. I’m going to be honest we’re going to see people die and there is nothing we’ll be able to do about it. All we can do is look out for each other and cover each other the best we can, Hayden is here to look over us but we can’t rely on him forever. He trained us for a reason and that reason is because he has complete faith in us. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie and I have seen how dangerous the Grineer are and was nearly killed if it wasn’t for some quick thinking. Teamwork is the only way we’re going to get out of this alive and get back home. So keep your wits about you and don’t panic, remember the training Hayden has given us and everything will be fine.”

*Right*

“Now let’s do this for not just Equestria but Hayden’s world as well!”

*Yeah!*

“Nice speech and all Twilight but we aren’t there yet…okay now we are,” The Tenno said with a dry tone of voice as the ship found itself in a space battle as multiple Steel Meridan ships are attacking the giant battle ship base Tethys, “Eeyup that’s a space battle if I ever saw one. Ordis, sneak us in and prepare the landing craft.”

“RAMPAGE!!!- er…right away operator.” The cephalon then maneuvered the ship through the battlefield as various ships are destroyed by both sides. The girls could only watch in shock and awe as missiles and laser fire whizzed through the open space as the entire ship avoided the crossfire. They saw another ship that looked exactly the same as Hayden’s and immediately assumed it belonged to another Tenno. The other Orbiter deployed their landing craft which charged into battle. Meanwhile the ship they’re in took a sneakier route that lead under the great battle ship, “I am close as I’m able to get operator. Please depart as soon as you can as I’m not sure how long I can stay here before they notice us and-kill us all!”

“Right, ladies I have already converted some of my rather impressive weapons to non-lethal variants of themselves, so let’s get you armed and ready to fight,” Hayden said with an unseen smile, “But if that isn’t enough…Excalibur should give us an edge.”

/

Sometime later the group found themselves crawling through the vents after successfully infiltrating the battle ship. Eventually, the group stumbled upon a grate and after checking to see anyone was around kicked out the grate and jumped down from the opening. The Tenno was the first to drop to the ground without a problem, but his allies had less success in sticking the landing. Hayden sighed as he got a call from Cressa, “Tenno, what’s your status?”

“We managed to sneak in successively I doubt they know we’re here.”

“Good, no doubt you’ll run into some stray soldiers down there thanks to the chaos we’re causing up here. Anyway your objective is to locate and destroy Regor’s research and find the person who sent the distress call. If you run into Tyl Regor or Sargas Ruk along the way then you have full permission to terminate them if you can. We’ll draw the main forces away, but I’m not sure how much damage the giant ship can take so stay on your toes Tenno.”

“Will do,” Hayden ended the call as he turned to his new friends.

“What’s the word Hayden?” Rainbow Dash asked as she played around with her dual furlis.

“The word is that we need to find Sunset Shimmer, and locate Tyl Regor’s research in order to destroy it and prevent him from creating more Tubemen.”

“Sounds like a plan but where do we start?” Twilight asked before being interrupted by a gunshot.

Hayden had shot a nearby fan with his Vasto before holstering it, “I know the way, Ordis has already marked several Tenno-like life signs on the ship. He should be sending the data to your helmets now,” True to his words yellow and white marking appeared on their helmets to let them know which direction those objects of interest are and how far they are.

“Oh wow! Now I can see where they are now as well!” The purple girl said in surprise as she quickly noticed that one of the objective markers is moving slowly, “Hey look! One of the markers is moving. That must be Sunset Shimmer!”

“And the unmoving ones must be the new Tubemen Regor is working on. Shit…I see five of them; if they are awakened then this entire cluster fuck is really going to hit the fan,” Hayden cursed as suddenly Pinkie appeared before him and punched him in the gut, “Ack! Guh…w-what was that for?!”

“I told you no swearing!” she shouted with an angry expression.

Hayden recovered from the blow while a small bit of anger boiled up within him but he let it subside for now, “N-Not the time! Anyway we should locate Sunset before she runs into trouble.”

“You’re right, let’s mobilize now!” Twilight said in confidence as her friends agreed.

“That’s what I like to hear, alright let’s do this girls!”

“And guy,” Spike quickly interjected which slightly killed the mood.

“Right, anyway let’s just do this,” Hayden said with an annoyed look on his face as he jumped through the hole left behind after he shot the fan out. The others followed him down the same hole, making the same length drop but this time sticking the landing. They ended up in a large room that had three doors that lead different directions. Following the marked target on their screens they headed left and ended up in a corridor. Carefully, they silently stalked through the hall as Spike sniffed the air just to see if he can pick up on the scent on any nearby Grineer but had a hard time separating the smell of industry from the metal men.

“Ugh…I’m starting to wish I didn’t have a sensitive nose.” Spike complained as his ears suddenly picked up on some metallic footsteps heading their way, “Guys, we have some guys heading in our direction!”

“Where?!” Hayden asked in urgency in his voice.

“From the door ahead of us, uh…sounds like there are two of them.”

“Just two and nobody else?”

“None that I can hear.”

“Then Hekky here can take care of them,” Hayden said with a sinister smile as he pulled out his famed Hek shotgun and aimed it at the door in front of them. No sooner than he did two Grineer soldiers ran through the door in a hurry only to jump back in surprise as they quickly noticed Hayden aiming straight at them.

(“Shit!”)

(“Fuck!”)

With that being their last words Hayden pulled the trigger and blew the two away as a giant hole appeared where their torso used to be, “Heh, and that’s why this gun is my favorite,” Hayden said with a smile as the rest of his allies looked at him with a perturbed look.

“I don’t know…that seemed a bit overkill,” Rainbow Dash said as she saw the carnage for herself.

“This? Overkill? Maybe…if the explosive rounds kicked in.”

“Explosive?!”

“…Aw…son of a…never mind,” Hayden said as he felt like slapping himself as he again forget to remove the explosive rounds to his gun, “Let’s just keep moving…”

Making their way through the door and the next room. The group thankfully found most of the areas little in troops as most of them are at the front lines. They managed to sneak by most of them but in the situations that they couldn’t avoid confrontation the girls quickly incapacitated them with their non-lethal variant of their weapons. A few close calls later they ended up much closer to their target.

“She’s in the next room, but she stopped moving. I hope she’s okay,” Twilight said as she saw the marked position on the radar.

“Only you would be worried about a thief Twilight…scratch that only you and Fluttershy would be,” Rainbow Dash said with a rather annoyed voice.

“She’s been through a lot Rainbow Dash. It doesn’t matter if she stole crown anymore, she was used as an unwilling donor of D.N.A. to fuel a madman’s plan. If anything she must be humbled by now.”

“…eh I can’t argue with that. I mean I never met the girl but she must have a selfish reason for taking the crown in the first place.”

“I hate to say it too Twilight but Rainbow Dash has a point.” Rarity added with a little bit of unsureness in her voice.

“*Sigh* Look you guys can deal with her when you meet her okay? Besides anyone who has to spend a few days with Regor must have dropped any motive for stealing anyway,” Hayden said as he just finished a call from Cressa, “Besides we’re running short on time here.”

“How so?” Applejack asked with concern.

“Our guys attacking from space are taking heavy causalities. If things progress any worse than they are now then they’re going to retreat and leave only the Tenno to finish up the mission.”

“Heavy casualties? Ooo…that doesn’t sound good,” Pinkie said with a sadden look on her face.

“They’re good men and they’ll be remembered fondly, but not by us if we don’t finish up this mission soon.”

“Sheesh…no pressure or anything.”

“Let’s just move on,” Twilight said with absolution. Everyone agreed as they made their way into the next room. Once they entered the room they saw nothing substantial but the readings said Sunset Shimmer is indeed in this room, “Umm…Sunset? Are you in here?” Twilight shouted in order to get the girl’s attention.

Thankfully it did, “Huh? Twilight?” Spoke the voice as a flame haired girl appeared through the grating.

“Oh thank goodness you’re okay. How are you feeling?”

Sunset was taken aback by the girl’s concern, “Uh…fine? You…you were worried about me? Even though I stole the crown from you?”

“That doesn’t matter right now. We’re here to rescue you.”

“Rescue…me,” Sunset repeated the two words for a brief moment as if it was something foreign to her, “Heh, how ironic…me being saved by the pony I wronged,” She said as she kicked the grating off the vent and dropped down to meet the team, “Though I have to ask…what’s with the suits?”

“This? Uh, long story short this is supposed to protect us from harm and amplify our new powers.”

“You too huh?” Sunset said as she created a ball of fire in her hands which alerted everyone. She messed with it for a while before tossing it to the side, “Anyway thanks for coming to my rescue. That metal freak has been using me to create his stupid soldiers and well…I still got the bandages to prove it,” Moving the sleeves on her suit she made everyone gasp in horror and shock as they saw the various bandages and stitching that covered her arms, “I was almost rescued by another guy but that stupid Regor snuck up on him and cut his head off. *Sigh* man I feel sorry for that guy.”

“Umm…yeah that would be me,” Hayden spoke up catching Sunset off guard.

“Wait what?! No you’re lying, nobody can come back after having their head chopped off! Besides you’re wearing completely different armor compared to the other guy!”

“Not unless you’re a Tenno then you’ll be surprised what we can accomplish.”

“I still don’t believe you.”

“Look it’s a long explanation and we don’t have the time to go into detail right now. Anyway do you still have the crown these girls are looking for?”

“Yeah! Do you?!” Rainbow Dash chimed in with a shout.

“Uh…no I…lost it…”

*What?!*

“It wasn’t on accident mind you! That stupid metal man took it away from me, it’s on his ship right now, but I couldn’t get to it because of some kind security system.”

“Security system? Meh, I can handle it but the fact it’s on his ship just makes our job much easier.”

Sunset looked at the Tenno with confusion, “How so?”

“Because we need to destroy Tyl Regor’s research and his remaining tubemen. So considering everything important right now is in one place just makes life easier for all of us,” Hayden explained as he adjusted the marks on his display, “So buckle up sunny, things are going to hectic.”

“Why’s that Hayden?” Twilight asked in confusion as they did a pretty good job getting by without raising the already blaring alarm further.

“Because the route we’re heading through is going to be thick with those metal heads. We cannot avoid an encounter even if we tried. It doesn’t help that our chances of running into Regor and Ruk are pretty high, but if we’re lucky the Tenno sent into the thick of the fight are keeping them busy. Time is of the essence and the guys in our way are out of it,” The Tenno checked his gun and ammo reserves before cocking it.

Sunset looked back at Twilight with a miffed expression, “How come you and your friends managed to find a capable fighter that was able to train you in less than three days while I got stuck with a crazy guy who’s planning to raise an army?”

The purple girl shrugged, “Well it helps to have friends.”

Sunset narrows her eyes before mumbling under her breath, “Lucky…”

“Enough talking ladies, because the real fun is about to start…well fun for me as the rest of you are against killing,” The girls nodded with the exception of Sunset as she only whistled. Exiting the room they took another path and eventually ended up at a large door with two control panels that glowed yellow. Hayden quickly explained how these work and had one of the girls press a button on the panel as he went to the other one and did the same. With a click, the door opened and unexpectedly a large explosive wave staggered the group as the war torn scene finally revealed itself in full. Waves upon waves of Grineer are fighting back the Steel Meridian forces. The girls stood at shock and awe at the sheer number of the forces fighting as the bodies began to pile up.

“W-We h-have to g-get t-through them?!” Fluttershy managed to stutter out.

“Eeyup…” Was all Hayden can say as his trigger finger grew itchy.

“But we can’t take them all on! We’ll be overwhelmed!” Sunset shouted as she looked at the Tenno as if he lost his mind.

“Ah hate to agree, but she ain’t wrong,” Applejack agreed despite the protection her armor gives.

“Not getting cold feet are you? And here I thought I made you girls honorary Tenno,” Hayden said playfully, “Besides…it’s feels like Tuesday all over again.”

*What?!*

“We’re going to cut through that army. While we’re at it we’ll thin the enemy’s numbers to give our friends a fighting chance. However, once we start going this death train has no stops so everybody I need you keep moving until you hit that door up ahead. Applejack you have abilities similar to rhino so you and I will lead the charge.”

“W-What?! Me?”

“Come on cowgirl, you are an unstoppable force and immovable object wrapped up into one body. Now are you with me or not?”

“I’m with you.”

“What? I couldn’t hear you!”

“I said I’m with you!”

“Louder!”

“I’m with you!”

“Then charge!!!!”

“Yee-ha!!!” Applejack shouted in excitement as her brown suit suddenly became coated in a metal like shell as she took off straight into battle. Hayden smiled as he holstered his weapon and created the exalted blade before giving off a war cry of his own.

“RAMPAGE!!!” he shouted with energy before running off to join her. The girls looked at each before deciding they didn’t want to be left behind and rushed after them. To many of the girls surprise the blitzkrieg tactic worked as many of their enemies were caught off guard by the spearheaded assault as Hayden and Applejack pretty much pulverized all in their path as the girl pushed away and trampled all in her path while the battle crazed Tenno was slicing those unlucky enough not to be pushed to the ground. Some grineer attempted to fire upon the group but found themselves being shot at from above courtesy of Rainbow Dash. Pinkie threw what many could consider a disco ball at another group of enemies, but instead of killing them it forced the soldiers to dance against their wills. Rarity confiscated many of their firearms by using her magnetic abilities to snatch them from their hands and forcing them to attack by using their batons, however this was thwarted when Fluttershy drained their energy and their will to fight. Twilight and Sunset both started some chaos with the former causing the remaining opposing forces to attack each other barehanded while the latter set the world on fire as eruptions blasted away the distracted enemies. As for Spike, he just tried to keep up as the chaos happened all around him.

After five minutes of pure destruction the group eventually made it to their destination of the other side and looked back to see their work. Piles upon piles of bodies lay on the ground either dead or unconscious as some still danced while others punched themselves in the face only adding to the body count. Cheers could be heard from the Steel Meridian army as they thanked the team before heading off to their destination. Spike and the girls were panting in exhaustion once it was all over since they never did something that wasted all the energy before.

“Oh hell yeah! I was waiting for a moment to pull off that rampage all day, and considering the carnage we left behind…well I say we did more than thin the herd as I don’t think we left anybody standing,” Hayden said happily as he admired the work they did, “Honestly, I think this is the reason why The Lotus doesn’t let more than a squad of four into battle. If this is the type of damage we can do together then I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up destroying this entire ship.”

“Yeah…I think I rather avoid that if that’s okay with you Hayden,” Twilight finally said as her breath returned to her.

“Heh, then let’s hope we don’t run into another army,” The group took a small pause to catch their breath and regain their senses before moving onward. Many minor combat encounters later the group finally closed on the marked location and found themselves in front of a large ship parked in the docks.

“We’re here…” Hayden said as he stared the personal ship of Tyl Regor, “And it’s surprisingly unguarded too…that’s not a good sign.”

“Well even if it’s a trap we might as well finish the job. Besides as long as Regor, and Ruk aren’t here then it gives us less things to worry about,” Rainbow Dash said with confidence.

“Not wrong there…but just to be safe. Applejack, Twilight your with me, the rest of you stay out here and keep watch,” Hayden commanded which didn’t sit well with Rainbow Dash but she understood why they needed to stay outside.

“Be careful in there guys, and Hayden…just call and we’ll come rushing in.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. You girls just keep an eye out for trouble.”

“Will do.”

With nothing left to be said Hayden along with the two girls entered the empty ship. With them gone the remaining girls and boy decided to get to know each other, “So…Sunset you used to be a student of Princess Celestia?” asked Spike as he looked at her with a raised brow.

“Eeeyup…”

“So what happened?” Rainbow Dash cut in with a hint of venom in her voice.

Sunset sighed as she knew that the loyalty fueled Pegasus would despise her more for her criminal actions, “We…didn’t agree on a certain subject and well…I simply left and go on my own.”

“Well that’s vague; you aren’t trying to hide something from us are you?”

“No no its…just something stupid really.”

“Try us, we seen many things today and honestly I doubt your excuse is going to be anything but surprising.” Rarity said with a dry tone in her voice.

“*Sigh* Well…long story short my pride blinded me to the lessons Celestia was trying to teach me. Honestly, I actually thought some of her lessons were a waste of time including the one about friendship and all that jazz. My thought process at the time was that I needed no one but myself as I felt my power alone is all I needed. But then she cut me loose and well…here I am now.”

“Yes…here you are. Scarred and used as a test subject for another ruffian’s ambitions that will spell doom for this world should it get out of hand,” Sunset has no words as she knew that it was indeed all her fault that this world is at risk. Granted she wanted a position of power in this world and had an entire world domination plan in the works, but that was quickly dashed when the people in this world had her at their mercy. She wouldn’t admit it, but when her D.N.A was being harvested she indeed wished that somebody would come by and save her but deep down she knew that nobody would save her as she had nobody to rely on. Her wish was almost granted in the form of Hayden, but his defeat killed her hopes at the time.

“You know Sunset, you and Twilight are more alike than you think,” Spike said breaking the girl out of her trance.

“R-Really? How so?”

“Well…before she became to Ponyville she was obsessed with her studies and also thought making friends was a waste of time.”

“But then she met us, and Nightmare Moon showed up causing us to work together and become friends in the span of one adventure,” Pinkie added as she bounced around.

“Indeed, and we only became closer as time passed,” Rarity said as she tried to give a warm smile but her helmet obscured the gesture.

“And we always looked out for each other, giving each other support and at times learning lessons together,” Fluttershy continued.

“We may get on each other’s nerves time to time again and it might cause our friendship to waver a bit, but we always stick together through the thick and thin,” Rainbow Dash said while crossing her arms.

“It’s because we understand each other that allows our friendship to last. You wouldn’t believe the amount of ponies I met since I came to Ponyville and they’re all nice people. Princess Celestia wanted you to experience these things for yourself so you can have a life outside of your studies and not be isolated from the world,” Spike finished as Sunset quietly absorbed all they have said.

Truth be told she didn’t know how to feel right now as she partially hated the fact she was compared to Twilight who was more successful than her, but their words hold water. The fact that the second chosen student of Princess Celestia was once like her was a big surprise though. But unlike her she found friends to rely on and became a better person because of it. Considering all the horrible things she was subjected to she can at least say it was a humbling experience but can she really turn over a new leaf? While she is still unsure of the entire subject of friendship itself she at least is a bit more open to the idea as they did come here to rescue her despite stealing the element of magic.

“I see…I’ll…think about what you said,” Sunset said as she walked away from the group and simply sat down a few feet away from the group, “Maybe…I should give it a chance…”

/

Location: Tyl Regor’s Ship.

“So this is the security system Sunset was having trouble with,” Hayden said as he stared down the normal bio-scanner that he has seen many times before.

“So how are we going to get past it? You gonna use some sort of hacking thing?” Applejack said as she marveled at the rustic looking tech.

“Something like that…” Hayden replied as he pulled out his Vasto and shot the scanning eye; destroying it and deactivating the barrier in one go. Twilight and Applejack looked at him with a surprised look before the Tenno explained how did that work, “Yeah…for some reason the security field’s power is connected to the scanner so destroying the scanner will kill the barrier. I don’t know why that works but it does,” Hayden proceeded to move into the room with the two girls shrugging before following him in.

Upon entering the room the group was met with five large tubes; all containing the tubemen Salamanders, “Yikes…I know I only seen it through the camera but these things are even more terrifying up close,” Twilight said as she closely observed the suspended beings.

“Best not poke the sleeping rattlesnake Twi. The last thing we need are these monsters breathing down our necks.”

“Not that I have anything to say about it,” Hayden said as he walked up to the nearby computer and noticed a metal trinket sitting by, “Hey, is this the element you girls were looking for?” The Tenno said as he picked up the tiara and showed it to them.

Twilight’s eyes lit up, “Yes! That’s the Element of Magic! It’s a powerful artifact that we used to help protect our home along with the other elements.”

“Then it’s safer in your hands then mine,” Hayden said as he placed the tiara in the girl’s hands, “Don’t lose it this time,” The Tenno said in a semi-jokingly manner before turning his attention back to computer, “Now to make sure Regor can’t use this research anymore,” Hayden then pulled out a cipher and injected it into a port on the machine. The computer roared to life as countless data files are deleted thus ruining any chance of it being used again. Once the last file was deleted Hayden pulled out the cipher before proceeding to use it as a blunt object to destroy the screen of the machine as all the tubes powered down. However, what Hayden wasn’t expecting was a sudden transmission call.

“Hello Tenno…” It was Tyl Regor and to the Tenno’s surprise he didn’t sound angry at all.

“Regor…I erased all your files and killed the life support on your tubemen. Your plan is officially dismantled you metal head.”

“So you think. I always have a backup plan Tenno and I knew that you’ll come to destroy my research again, so I came up with some counter measures.”

“Ergh…of course you do. Because that would have been too easy now wouldn’t it?”

“Ah… then you understand what comes next then?”

“*Sigh* Girls, we need to move now!”

“You know me so well…”

Twilight and Applejack were at first confused by Hayden’s urgency to move but once they saw the tubes activate once again and open they fully understood why they needed to leave. Running away as fast as they can the trio left the room and ran down a nearby hall as animalistic roars and cries were heard behind them. The salamanders were awakened and they already knew who their prey is. Hayden knew that fighting the hybrid monsters inside the corridors of the ship would be a bad idea due to the limited space available to them. Thankfully the exit to the ship wasn’t too far ahead but of course he had to warn everyone who was waiting outside. So when they neared the exit Hayden shouted, “Everyone get ready, we have some Salamanders on our tail!”

Voices of surprise were heard but of course by the time they knew what was going on. Hayden, Twilight, and Applejack already exited the ship just as a fireball shot out after them. The girls quickly went on guard just as the first Salamander showed up and saw the group. It hissed just as the girls fired upon it. They managed to score a few hits in before the monster got out of the way and the rest of sisters joined in.

“Holy cow! You really brought the party!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she did her best o avoid the animalistic strikes from the one who targeted her.

“Regor set a trap and well now we have to deal with these things personally,” Hayden said with frustration as he pulled out his exalted blade and started going on the offensive, “Applejack! Use your stomp!”

Nearly dodging an attack, Applejack was at first confused by the request but then remembered the power the Tenno told her, “Right, coming right up!” Charging her power to her feet the girl raised her foot into the air and slammed it into the ground. The shockwave vibrated through the ground and picked up three of the salamanders off the ground and froze them in mid air while the others avoided the attack by jumping to higher ground.

Deciding to push the advantage that was created Hayden called out to Twilight, Sunset, and Rarity to focus fire on the ones caught in the stomp. They quickly responded and joined the Tenno in the combined assault as they blasted the three monsters with the combination of the exalted blade strikes, psychic bolts, fireballs, and Polarizing bolts mixed with magnetize bolts. The combined attack did serious damage to the creatures; nearly killing them in the process. Once their frozen free fall finally ended they fell to the ground with a hard thud. Hayden was nearly surprised at the amount of damage they caused to the sturdy monsters.

“Whaddya know…teamwork really does make the dream work!” He said with a smile as he knew that they had the advantage. The remaining two roared and both used the world on fire ability at the same time, causing multiple fire pillars to erupt out of the ground, “Shit, spoke too soon!” Hayden shouted as he turns to his team, “Everybody fall back! We’re going to need more breathing room if we’re going to take on these things!” Some of the girls agreed while Applejack and Rainbow Dash disagreed, thinking they can finish off the weakened ones but quickly changed their minds when a column of fire erupted in front of them and around the down bodies of the other salamanders in an effort to protect them.

Running back they headed back to the hanger’s entrance but to their surprise the doors opened and a missile was fired at them. The group quickly avoided the attack and once they recovered they were met with the imposing figures of both Tyl Regor and Sargas Ruk.

“Why hello Tenno…” Regor said sinisterly as he brandishes his signature weapons, “I see you’re having fun with my new tubemen. Though it seems you like to play rough considering that you and your friends already downed three of them. It would seem my creations will need a durability boost but I say that will be a quick fix considering you found my lost property.”

“The girl doesn’t belong to you Regor!”

“I’m afraid you don’t have much choice in the matter…” Regor said as all five salamanders appeared behind the team.

“Surrender Tenno! You have no hope of winning this fight!” Ruk shouted as he readies his weapons.

“Heh, I remember you saying that on our first encounter Ruk. Last I checked I killed you, so I say we have a pretty good chance of winning,” The general growled in anger before Regor stepped in.

“Oh if you only knew what I have in store for you and this entire system Tenno,” Regor then pressed an unseen button on the back of his head which suddenly caused his ship to roar to life and leave the hanger in a hurry. Hayden and the gang was confused by this but before the Tenno could get a word out he was blindsided by the Grineer’s shield as he rammed into him with a rocket propelled charge, “This ends now Tenno!”

Hayden in response to this surprise attack grabbed his shield and in an incredible feat of strength managed to push himself off the madman as he rolled to the ground just as Regor stopped his charge, “That’s my line asshat…” Hayden said as he took a battle ready stance. As this was going on the girls and Spike were left to deal with Sargas Ruk and the Salamanders as they too got ready for battle themselves. A decisive battle is about to take place and the fate of two worlds are on the line.

/