The Smallest Invasion

No matter how much they own, no matter how much they destroy, no matter how big their reach becomes, some people always just want more. And will do anything to get it. On the planet Earth, the Quaesitum Conglomerate was heralded by such a brand of humans. The far-reaching corporation was one that pilfered and plundered all they could and thought nothing of the lives ruined in the process.

Their methods were so barbaric even Earth abhorred doing business with them, forcing them to spread their efforts to the stars. In Alpha Centuri, on a planet with all the right conditions for life, they had just strip mined it into oblivion. Every rock, every mineral, every scrap of worth ruthlessly consumed for the name of greed, with only a barren wasteland left behind. Even the core of the planet itself was gutted by their desire, leaving a hollow, unstable husk of its former self.

It had been a planet that was about to become the cradle for life itself. Basic compounds beginning to turn into multi-cellular forms. But they did not care. They took a few samples for research as biological weapons, while the rest was smothered beneath a haze of pollution and radioactivity. When the samples proved to be only useful for life, not death, they were discarded like everything else they thought was worthless.

And now, with the planet barren, they turned their gaze elsewhere to fuel their never-ending hunger. There were no more fresh, new planets for them to plunder, with those suitable having been blocked off by more sensible, compassionate people long ago. So, if the Universe could not sustain their hunger, then they decided to go elsewhere.

Using advanced technology, they fractured the nature of reality itself to create a portal to another world. A twisting, unstable portal, but they did not care. They sent through a probe to observe. It sent back only a few pictures, the last being trapped in sudden darkness, before it went silent. The few it did send though showed a vast, red forest, one made of thick, broad trees unlike anything on Earth. Boulders the size of buildings littered the landscape, while a thick, unidentifiable undergrowth choked the forest floor. It was so thick and constricting, they could barely see anything past that.

Considering the unfamiliar terrain and sudden destruction of their probe, it was dangerous. But for the company, and the unscrupulous people that worked for it, they did not care. A team of one hundred was assembled, and they boldly stepped through the portal, mining equipment in hand. They felt powerful, unstoppable, like they were giants that loomed over all the worlds, which were their domain.

But they had no idea just how small and insignificant they really were...

Chapter One: Celestia

When the blinding light and twisting nausea of the portal cleared for the bold colonists, they found themselves in a bizarre land. The group of one hundred was situated on a spongy, soft ground that stretched out like the crest of hill in the terrain. Each crest was about half of their height. On either side of them were similar crests, and more after that, forming a continuous pattern of peaks and valleys, over and over again. To their front was a similar pattern, except perpendicular to the first.

As for the ground beneath their feet, it was red, and unlike anything they had felt before. Each ‘peak’ was made up of a solid chunk of the slightly soft material, with chips and aberrations throughout it. It looked like rough, uneven stone, yet felt far too soft for it. Embedded in it were massive chunks of stone like junk, each the size of their body, if not bigger. Like everything else they were roughly coloured and uneven, with a greenish-grey colour.

Despite the bizarre ground, they were definitely in a forest however, for stretching around them was a vast forest greater than anything they had ever imagined. It was no forest of trees, but vast, leaf-less spires that stretched several hundred metres up. They had to crane their necks just to take it all in! Each was as broad as a greatwood with a vast trunk that even if they all lined up, they wouldn’t be able to wrap their hands around. But it was made of no wood, instead formed from the very same red that built the ground beneath them. It was rougher, with clearly defined bulges, looking almost segmented. It was also not straight like a greatwood either, with them all at twisted angles, some going horizontal before stretching up to the sky. Irrespective of its size however, the tips danced and swayed in a powerful breeze, the entire vastness of it swaying from side to side. The constant motion and movement cast them in an even changing pattern of light, making it feel like dusk.

The forest stretched out around them as far as they could see. Between the trees were broad passageways, yet it was all so thick, they couldn’t see anything past it. They could just catch glimpses of the strange, grey sky. They thought they could see golden yellow clouds, but they were blurred from distance so they couldn’t properly make it out.

But even without the vast tree-trunks, visibility would be difficult, for the ground was simply littered with ... stuff. A word with little definition, yet fitting, considering how what surrounded them had little definition or consistency either. Vast boulders, and long strands wider than their bodies, all choking the land.

The vast, strange sight, it simply took their breath away. They gasped at it all ... only to cough and choke on the foul air. While the probe reported it was breathable, and was to them, it still smelled foul. A damp, musty odour that choked the air around them, as if the entire land was waterlogged, and left to dry in the sun. With it was a sharp, acidic tang that smelt like sweat, although no creatures were in sight in the strange land. Immediately they put on their gas masks, breathing the sweet, artificial air deeply.

Having adjusted to the worldand accounted for their numbers, they tried to figure out what to do. The ground, while strange, didn’t seem very profitable for mining. But, far out to their front and just glimpsed through the sea of trees was a dark grey mountain. It loomed far taller than anything mountain on Earth, and stretched far and wide. It was so vast they could barely understand it. It looked to be dozens, if not hundreds of kilometres away, but it was the only feature they could see.

And so, they set off into the unknown, their only thoughts being to pillage the virgin land they found themselves in. As the miners needed some time to get their gear in order, they split into two. A smaller, scout group of forty travelled ahead at the front, while the rest hung back a few hundred metres from them.

One thing was certain though, the going was tough. The terrain was just so ragged and uneven, forcing them to surmount rise after rise just to push ahead. The normal terrain (if it could be called that) beneath their feet was bad enough, but the detritus scattered at random, that was worse. It was a random collection of unidentifiable objects with no rhyme or reason, their only unifying aspect being their vast size. A few scouts started discussing the possibility if this was a cosmic dumping ground for objects sucked through errant wormholes.

Long strands with scales across the surface laid haphazardly across the ground, stretching for what felt like kilometres on either side of them. Each was just a bit thicker than they were wide, making them seem like fallen logs. But they definitely didn’t look like any tree around them and were curved too. They were of different colours, some blue, some yellow, but a vast majority was a brilliant, shining white. They could barely go for a few steps without coming across one.

Large boulders several times their size dotted the landscape, forcing them to walk in the shadows of the strange stone. They were dark greyish brown and had a rough surface that looked like it could crumble at any second. A few tried to break them apart, yet found them to be as tough as stone. When they tried to take them for chemical analysis, they received the bizarre report that it was similar to dust. They just chalked it up to faulty instruments and kept going.

Yet looming largest of all were the roughly cube like monuments carelessly dotted around the land. Each was vast, simply vast, stretching up with a scale far greater than the Great Pyramids. Its surface was rough, with countless holes and caverns dotting it and leading to places unknown. The colour was not always consistent, some monuments were yellowish brown, others strange, bright colours. A heady, stale aroma wafted from it, making them thankful for their gas masks. Dotted around the base were smaller boulders made from the same material, looking as if they were knocked free during a great impact. Some thought they were meteors. But if they were, then why the strange shape, why the lack of charring, and how was the land not obliterated by such a forceful impact?

They did not know. They did not know many things about the strange land around them. But they did not feel fear, only bravado and confidence. Each of them were armed with a powerful rifle, chambered with rounds filled with plasma. Just one round would be enough to vaporise any terrible beast they came across. They felt invincible. Yet they were anything but...

The day was like any other for Princess Celestia. It started with putting up the Sun one more time over her kingdom of Canterlot, the fresh rays of sunlight dancing across her iridescent mane. A few other duties called to her in the early morning, preparation, talking with friends and advisors, catching up on the state of affairs. It was now late in the morning, and she strode through the opulent halls of her castle, bowing and greeting to all the ponies that she passed.

Her dazzling, pure white fur almost glowed in the sunlight, with not a speck of dirt muddying its beauty. Her wings laid furled across her back, while her horn glowed slightly as she telekinetically held a stack of papers in front. As she walked through the halls towards her throne she read through the reports. Various matters involving the kingdom, not particulary interesting, but stuff she had to read regardless. Entering the throne room, her golden hoof shoes sunk slightly into the plush red carpet as she clopped towards her throne.

Each hoof was covered with a golden clip on shoe. And while her fur might’ve been perfectly clean, the shoes were anything but. Having worn them for oh so long, the underside was covered with grime and muck. Celestia had been meaning to clean them for a while yet could never find the time to do so. Some was dirt from outside, but a lot of it was from the carpet. As she headed for the throne she could see the dirt and gunk in it, even from her lofty position. Dust, dirt, pony fur and even some crumbs of food.

“Somepony should really give this carpet a wash...” she thought as she continued heading towards the throne. She started to approach the very first step...

It started with a tremble. A tremor lurching through the uneven ground beneath the colonists’ feet that made the treetops sway from side to side. They looked amongst each other unceasingly, calling out to each other, wondering if it was an earthquake. But any such notion was dispelled with another pound ripped through the ground with even greater intensity. And then another. And then another.

Louder and louder, stronger and stronger they grew, leaving them barely able to think over the deafening crack of whatever it was. The main group, currently working their way around a colossal cube, scattered and ran for any shelter. Another pound sent them flying into the air a few feet before ripping them back down again, while a gust of wind blasted through the trees and scattered those who hadn’t found shelter. Only a few found cover, while the rest lurched uneasily, desperate for somewhere to hide. The air started to grow warmer, mustier, while the sky darkened, but they couldn’t see anything through the trees. There was nothing but twisting trees and a grey sky, what was going on?!

Their question was given a horrible, horrible answer when they were instantly eclipsed, their whole reality falling into shadow. In instinct, they tossed their heads skywards and looked on stunned at a massive, golden disc. For but a moment, time seemed to slow. It was a massive construct looming far ahead, stretching out farther than they could understand or comprehend. A solid disc of pure gold that stretched out one and half kilometres to them. It was not a pure surface, but marked with furrows and grooves as deep as a valley to them, and chunks of unidentifiable mess. It was simply caked in filth, crumbs and there, strands of errant fur, while a sheen of dirt adhered it all to the golden surface.

But that was not what they were thinking of. Instead, they screamed in raw terror as it descended upon them like an apocalyptic meteor. In mere seconds it fell from its lofty heights and screamed towards them. It consumed their sky, wind rushed down across them and blew out anyone who wasn’t in their paltry shelter. The tops of the trees dimpled beneath its presence!

A tiny, insignificant scream rang out as they all expressed their terror, before it was silenced with a crunch and pound as it slammed into the carpet. All they were and ever hoped to be, simply removed from reality by a single step of Princess Celestia. They were not merely crushed nor flattened, but obliterated, turned to dust beneath her immense weight.

For the scout group just ahead them, they screamed as they watched a colossal meteor arc down through the sky. With a roar of wind it slammed into the ground, the shockwave blasting them all backwards like an explosion. It was so sudden they could barely prepare! One moment there was nothing but red trees, the next, a golden monument landed right before them, stretching high into the sky. It stretched so high they couldn’t see anything else, just a tower of gold, looming larger than any skyscraper or mountain. For one moment, the group, having been knocked to the ground, stared up in awe-stricken silence upon the monument.

Another trembling pound, and then it started to lift. The heel lifted upwards first, creating a dark cavern beneath her tread before the rest of the tower raised with it. Another roaring scream of wind heralded its departure as the air rushed into the massive wake left in its absence. Debris and specks were sucked upwards in the wake.

And worst of all, people.

For those who weren’t in shelter, the wind plucked them up like the specks they were and whisked them away, screaming. Ten people simply removed in the blink of an eye. They careened through the red forest, it all blurring around them in tumultuous chaos. Through what felt like kilometres they arced through the air, but specks of dust in the wind. Three never landed again, slamming into the tree-trunks mid-flight. They were killed in an instant, splattering like grapes with their viscera lost in the red colour. A chorus of wet, fleshy ‘pops’ that were instantly drowned out by the wind. They weren’t even killed by her hoof, but the mere wind left in its wake.

For the rest however, they sailed through the air, able to watch the golden disc ascend into the sky. But they did not follow, instead coming down and tumbling to a stop in the crater left in its wake. What were tall trees were knocked flat, with the world just horizontal tree-trunks. Getting up, they tried to run...

Before a shadow fell over them once more, and another golden disc fell from the sky, erasing them instantly.

Celestia felt not a thing as she strode towards her throne. Not itches, no specks of liquid smeared across her shoe, for those she crushed were no larger than the detritus already present. Just two steps and sixty were erased from reality. Their whole lives and ambition, leading to them becoming nothing more than an addition to the grime on her shoes.

As her hoof-shoes went through the air following the fateful step, the tiniest splatters of red could be glimpsed on it. Nothing more than a pinprick, a tiny glimpse of colour amongst the yellow, brown and grey. But even that was erased in but an instant as it came down upon the carpet again.

As her shoes clicked against the stone as she ascended the stairs, they did not even leave smears behind. Ascending the last few steps, she rested upon her throne, readying herself for the day as she flicked through her reports.
Just another day for the Princess.

For the humans however, their entire world was shattered. Slowly, they picked themselves up off the ground, nursing their wounds from the shockwaves. Some barked out over the radio, calling for the miners, but they got no answer. There was no doubt as to what happened to them, for they saw where it landed.

The worst of it all was the suddenness. Little warning and then bam, half of them gone. They didn’t even see Celestia, as her bulk was obscured by the carpet. For them, two unexplained golden discs descended from the sky and wiped out half of their entire group, before disappearing just as fast.

They doubled back to the main group, finding nothing but a vast crater the size of a city for them. No sign of life, or their equipment, could be found. Knowing that mining was now impossible, they knew they needed help. Using a miniature portal too small for even them, they sent back a distress call to Earth, asking for reinforcements. They hurriedly complied, quickly opening up another portal to send more through. For those already there, they expected them to appear before them. The portal wasn’t entirely accurate, with an error of a few kilometres, but that would be close enough, right?

But they had no idea of their scale. So, when the portal did arrive, they would find themselves somewhere else entirely...