Chapters Can't stay asleep forever... Even if you are plugged into a computer. My sensors all flicked on, and slowly my boot up system ran it's course. Before I knew it, I was now wide awake, and a message flashed in my screen.
'Time to awaken, eat, and prepare for departure, 682.' It said. Everyone of us got the same message. My standard limbs attached, before I dropped from my stasis pod. Looking around, my sensors picked up all my 'brothers' and 'sisters' being released from their stasis pods as well. We all then fell in line as our commander appeared on the screen over the door.
"Excellent." He started. "Your all awake. Before your departure down to Lyra-985E, You should be aware that you have a trouble maker among you. We haven't nailed down exactly who it may be yet; But we have tracked them to this ship. If and when this trouble maker is found, shoot on sight." He smiled smugly. I've always hated that smile. "Now then, your orders are, Land on the planet, scout for any possible resources, investigate any wildlife you find. And if it's inhabited, kill the natives." He ordered.
"Sir, yes sir!" We droned. Our mechanical voices coming out of our visors, as his imaged faded and we made our way to the ship's galley. I must explain. We are Protogen. A bio-engineered species meant for deep space exploration, and a variety of different roles. From mechanics, welders, and biologists, to soldiers and scouts like myself. I'm a simple scout. Most of us are based on Sergals, another bio-engineered species. But some of us are based on others, depending on our role. Mine, as a scout, makes me a wolf. Downside to being bio-engineered cyborg like beings is we're basically slaves.
As we entered the galley, we each grabbed a tray and put them out for our ships cook. One by one she shoveled the slop they called food onto our trays, and one by one, we sat. Our visors slid open, exposing what was left of our faces and mouths. Our eyes are strictly built in to our visors, so we don't really have faces. Sadly we do still need to eat. Just because we're a cyborg species, doesn't mean we don't eat. As I ate the flavorless slop, I reflected on what I knew.
I, 682, am an experimental Protogen. I was built by the Seras Corporation back on Earth, in an attempt to create a new and improved protogen. Faster reflexes, more sapient thinking(mostly by adding human brains), but with a more domesticated appeal. Supposed to make us seem more... approachable, and friendly. Shortly after my 'batch' was christened, we were found to be too inquisitive. Our canine nature mixed with human brains gave us, and them an unexpected surprise.
Memories. We began to remember our past lives. Who we once were. Some willingly complied and 'forgot'. Others rebelled. Those who remained, but didn't forget, like myself, hid in plain sight. We were found, one by one; And summarily executed.
As I finished my slop, I stood up and dropped my plate into the dirty bin. With nothing to do until drop time I went over what we knew out Lyra-985E. Earth like planet in the Lyra constellation, oxygen like atmosphere, only planet orbiting a dwarf star unlike any ever seen before, with a single moon.
Wow... that was it? No wonder they're sending us down to investigate. Making my way down to the quartermaster, I prepared my equipment. Armor, weapons, IFAK(abbreviated for Individual First Aid Kit), and my bag. Looking through it I find a Mylar tarp, about a months worth of dried food(With MUCH more flavor than that slop in the galley), a water filter, and a sleeping bag. Figures I'd find a solar charger.
As I set my gear in my place on the drop ship, I go around the main transport. "On Patrol" as I like to say. Making my way into the engine bay, I study what I needed to know. All the engineer protogen going around, making sure everything is in top shape. Our ship, from what I learned ran on anti-matter. I needed to cover my tracks... Looking around, I found a bunch of small chucks in a suspension chamber. A small piece, no bigger than a medical pill would work. If this one piece comes into contact with matter, like the edges of the chamber, it'll cause a cascade effect and they'll destroy each other violently.
Perfect. I purposefully 'bumped' into a fellow protogen, knocking a cylinder over and discreetly knocking it off under the anti-matter engine. While disconnected, the suspension chambers last 36 hours. Assuming nobody finds what I did, that's how long I have until this whole vessel goes supernova, and creates a second sun over this unsuspecting planet.
"Sorry" I say, giving a salute. "My mistake sir. I wasn't looking where I was looking."
"Shouldn't you be heading for the drop ship Scout?" He said with irritation. "You drop in 15 minutes. Get to it!"
"Sir, yes sir!" I salute again, jogging off. I made it to the drop ship with 10 minutes to spare. Now this drop ship also runs on anti-matter... but I don't want to make a 35 megaton nuclear blast on the surface of the planet... I may not have a choice... Shit... sneaking into a soldier's back, I found a pound brick of semtex. Amazing that we still use this stuff.
Thank god for the net... Oh the things you can learn. I had one more jury rigged blasting cap hidden away in a secret compartment on my chest plate. Quickly rigging the stuff for detonation and hiding it carefully, I made my way back to my seat, and buckled in just as the rest of my squad filed in.
"682? since when are you early?" Our chief biologist asked. "Your usually dragging your tail."
"Maybe I'm excited to actually scout something new?" I reply blandly. "Nobody has ever been to this star system before. Feels good to be the spearhead for once." I lie through my teeth.
"This is your captain speaking. We're preparing for drop down to a forested zone on the planet Lyra-985E. I hope you all packed accordingly. Welcome to the lift from hell." The loudspeaker droned, followed quickly by a loud 'Thunk" from outside the hull as we all felt our stomachs shoot up into our necks. Our drop ship fell into the planets atmosphere and the turbulence was astounding. Sure I've felt this a dozen times and then some, but it never ceases to amaze me. Looking around, my sensors pick up a light shift. Switching to what would be considered normal eyesight, Through the windows we can see the flames on the edge of our ship, light up the interior with an orange hue.
"As the Captain said. Welcome to the lift to hell 682!" My lieutenant chuckled. I shrugged him off and discreetly checked my HUD. As I did so, I flicked the switch to detonate the planted bomb in the engine compartment. It went off with a mighty boom, destabilizing the ship violently. Alarms blared, shouting warnings about engine failure, Loss of control on the left flank, sending us off course. I sure several of my crew mates died when they hit their heads in the initial destabilization.
Looking out the window, I see we're trailing black smoke, and shakily headed for a thick forest at the base of a mountain. I was hoping to survive but... I might not... Bugger...
"God forgive me" I whisper as I switch on the music app in my ear piece, blasting my usual metal into my ear.
***==============***
Ponyville. A homey little town. Home to approximately 400 ponies, one being Princess Twilight Sparkle. It was a wonderful day as she sat in her school office grading papers. She so loved her work; She'd give up being a princess if she could, so she could continue to teach. Her day was going swimmingly. At least until her friends burst in dragging a shaking Pinkie Pie behind them.
"T-T-T-Twiiiiiiiliiiiiiight!" Pinkie called out, shaking worse than a hypothermic pony. "F-f-f-f-f-f-faaaalllllliiiiinnnnggg!" she said pointing out the window. Just as Twilight turned around, the whole school shook with a mighty boom. The sound loud enough to rattle her window, and give everypony on her side of the school tinnitus.
"What in the world is that!? Starlight called, pointing to what appeared to be a meteor falling from the sky. It was clearly on fire, trailing black smoke as it fell to the mountains to the east; The far side of the Everfree Forest. "Why is it turning?" Starlight barked over the ringing in her ears.
"I dont know..." Twilight answered as she watching the object fall into the forest, sending up a mighty plume of dirt, fire and smoke, followed by what appeared to be grey glass like clouds spreading out in all directions like an expanding dome. It was a humid day in Ponyville, and even in the Everfree. She realized she was looking at an explosive shock wave.
"GET DOWN!!!!" Twilight yelled in her canterlot voice, loud enough for the whole school to hear. Everypony in the room instantly dropped belly first to the floor as all the windows facing the meteor were suddenly blown in, shattering into thousands of pieces each. Some doors were blown off their hinges, Pegasi in the air were blown down and/or away. When it was over, looking out, all Twilight saw was dirt and smoke rising from the Everfree.
"Rainbow!" Twilight called, snapping the pegasus to her hooves. "I need you to check the pegasi! Make sure they're all okay."
"You got it Twi!" The pegasus said with a salute, before dashing off out the window.
"AJ, Go check on the town. I want a damage report before sundown!" The princess ordered.
"Consider it done sugar cube." Applejack said confidently, galloping out.
"Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Lock down the school. Make sure everycreature is safe!" Twilight ordered.
"Done darling" Rarity tittered, taking the other two mares with her.
"Starlight, Your with me." Twilight said, her eyes turning back to the scene outside.
"And where are WE going?" Starlight asked.
"To see what just happened." Twilight said, grabbing her saddlebags. "Get your gear. We leave in 3 minutes."
Author's Note
I really hope this works. I dabbled in the furry fandom before the pony fandom. I'm hoping I can actually FINISH this one... Anyway, Lyra is a real star constellation, you can look it up.
Edit(3/09): changed 5 kiloton to 35 megaton.Protogen . Credit to the artist.
As Twilight and Starlight wandered deeper into the forest, they speculated on what they might find. Thinking it may just be a large crater, or something similar. Twilight, for her part was grateful Spike was in Canterlot visiting her family.
"We may need to fly Starlight. We'll never get to the end of the forest at this rate." Twilight suggested, spreading her wings. Starlights horn lit up, encompassing her in the same light blue glow as her horn. Both took to the skies, and began to fly straight to the ever rising smoke column.
"Twi! Wait up!" came a familiar raspy voice, followed by several pegasi. "Hope ya don't mind. The Wonderbolts wanted to tag along."
"It's fine Rainbow. It's their job" Twilight said, everypony falling into a V flying pattern next to the princess. As they flew closer to the rising smoke, they began to notice chucks of earth that look like they were tossed into the forest. The occasional tree was on fire, and the closer they got, the more the fires they found.
"What in Celestia's name is that!? "Starlight whispered in awe, pointing at what appeared to be wreckage sticking out of the earth. Looking closer, the saw a figure hobble out, carrying a smaller figure, before collapsing
***===========***
*Reboot*
*Damage to visor detected*
*Left ear damaged*
*Left leg damaged. Find replacement*
*Finding replacements... Parts located*
*Major Concussion sustained. Visit Med-bay ASAP*
*Ribs Cracked and Broken, Respiratory damage sustained*
*Left kidney damaged. Removal required*
*Reboot complete*
I awoke with a start, noticing the left side of my visor was cracked. Nothing that can't be repaired... Then the warning messages flashed again. Damage here and there, I noticed it was getting harder to breathe. Never expected to come out of this alive. Starting a quick scan, I searched for any other survivors. Only 1... a rookie. 753. He was just barely hanging on. Kit was fresh out of basic training. This was his first mission. Unstrapping myself, I hop over to him and unlatch him. Currently unconscious, he was dead weight, but I needed to get him out.
Sure I tried to start a failed rebellion against our masters, but... you ever have a fight with your own morals? This was the first time I've ever felt it... I wanted to free my people... Bio-engineered or not. I just never thought I'd have to kill them to work my way up... until today I was VERY careful about my attacks. Very picky about my targets but this... This kt didn't deserve this. He didn't know any better.
Pulling him to the door, I pull on the red emergency release latch. My vision began to spin... Whoa, I'm on the ceiling.... Quickly focusing, I pulled the Rookie Coyote out of the wreckage... and that was as far as I got before collapsing into unconsciousness again. A red exclamation point inside a triangle appeared, flashing on the front of my visor as I passed out.
*Error*
*Reboot required*
*Damage Sustained*
*Reboot cannot be complete until damage is repaired*
***===========***
"Princess... there appears to be..." Spitfire started, watching the scene of two bipedal creatures hobbling out of the wreckage.
"I don't believe it... Lets go see if they need anything!" Twilight called out. "We should probably get them to a doctor!" She barked as she dove down to the wreck. Landing next to the two forms, she could clearly now see that they were... part machine? "How is this possible?" Twilight asked herself.
"Twi, we gonna gawk or get them somewhere safe? We don't know if there's anything volatile in there that could still explode." Starlight said with a hint of urgency, lifting the smaller of the two beings.
"Why are those symbols flashing on their masks?" Soarin' asked nopony in particular.
"Wonderbolts, salvage what you can, search for any survivors!" Rainbow yelled out as Twilight placed the larger of the two beings on her back. "Twi, I'm goin' inside to see what I can find."
"Good Rainbow. Get on it, but don't stay too long. We don't know when or if this thing might blow." Twilight ordered.
As the Wonderbolts split into two teams, one searching inside, the other out, Twilight and Starlight teleported to the Ponyville hospital with the two strange beings. Quickly, but clumsily trotting in, Twilight called out "We need a doctor here!"
"Princess... This is a hospital. For ponies and other creatures. Pets go to the Vet." She said irritably. Starlight was visibly seething.
"Listen new girl!" Starlight barked in annoyance. "You see these two creatures!? They're clearly wearing armor! Buck, we just pulled them out of the wreckage of an airship!" Starlight growled as red smoke emerged from her horn.
"Calm down please." A dark brown stallion with a stethoscope around his neck appeared in the reception hall. "We'll take them to the ER. Please place them on the gurneys." Twilight and Starlight both placed the apparent aliens on the designated gurneys and let the doctor Take them in his magic. "And Olive, Be nicer to patients. Just because you got called in doesn't mean you get to act like a witch. We'll talk about this more later."
Twilight still couldn't believe it... The day started so well. Sitting in her office, to a giant explosion, now here she was, delivering a pair of alien species to a hospital...
***===========***
"So Rainbow... How many does that make? 30?" Fleetfoot asked as she dragged out another body.
"45 now..." She grunted. "Mind going to Canterlot and getting a chariot for all these?" Rainbow grunted. "Unless you feel like dragging them to Ponyville one at a time."
"Do it Fleet" Spitfire ordered. "Crash, we need to talk. Now." The captain said, gesturing away from the wreck. Rainbow followed obediently.
"Yes, Ma'am?" Rainbow asked.
"Rainbow, today you randomly assumed command right in front of me, and in front of a crown princess. I don't care how buddy buddy you are with the Royals. For that I'm giving you two weeks of KP. Understand?" Spitfire growled.
"Yes, Ma'am. I understand. It won't happen again." RD answered carefully with a salute.
"That being said, You took charge when I was completely dumbfounded and clueless as to what to do. That's why I'm not revoking your leave. You start KP next week. And I want reports on those two." The captain ordered. "Dismissed. Get back too it."
"Yes Ma'am!"
***=============***
"Captain! The drop ship just suffered catastrophic failure and has crash landed!" A blue uniformed Protogen said.
"How many survivors!?" The captain asked. "I want status reports as the develop!"
"Unknown at this moment ma'am."
"Damn it..." The captain said, slamming her fist into the armrest.
"Engineering to Bridge!" The intercomm barked.
"Go ahead engineering." Answered the captain.
"We seem to be missing a canister of Anti-matter ma'am!" Said the chief engineer.
"How long have they been disconnected!?" She asked in alarm.
"3 hours ma'am. We're searching everywhere in Engineering. It has to be down here somewhere."
"Either find it or we all die." she hissed with venom.
"Yes ma'am. Engineering out!" The comm beeped, and shut off.
"What the hell else can go wrong today?" The captain asked herself, putting a hand to her head in exasperation.
"Ma'am?" Another protogen crew member spoke up. This one in green.
"What now?" she groaned, rotating her chair to face the comms station.
"Our deep space transmitter... it's... it's malfunctioning ma'am. We can't contact anybody until its repaired." The nervous female protogen stated, avoiding eye contact.
"Was it sabotage?" The captain asked.
"No ma'am." She replied hastily. "Space debris impacted it."
"Then get a repair crew on it pronto." The captain growled.
"Yes ma'am." The comms protogen replied before turning around and getting back to work.
***=============***
Soarin wandered the crashed ship near aimlessly. He couldn't help, like most of the Wonderbolts, but wonder, what had happened? What is this? Who were they? Did they come in peace? Or to take over? Where did they come from? As he wandered, he found what appeared mangled metal on the floor. Careful as to where his hooves went, he entered what appeared to be the engine room. Inside he saw damage from what appeared to be an explosion, underneath a large cylinder holding a black, glowing, spherical object, levitating in the middle. It appeared to be about the size of a pony curled up in the fetal position. Looking below, he saw a bar of light going from red to green.
"Captain!" he called. "I think I found something!"
"Whatcha got Clipper?" Spitfire asked as she galloped into the room. "Whoa... Did they let Tirek loose in here or something?"
"That's not what bothers me ma'am." Soarin answered before pointing a hoof at the glowing black ball, and the bar of light beneath it. They both looked in curiosity, before the farthest green light blinked out.
"We need the princess to see this..." Spitfire said quietly. Soarin could only nod, dumbfounded. "I'm going to check on the bodies. See what Rapid Fire has to report."
"Yes Ma'am... Should I... s-stay here?" He asked nervously, receiving a nod. Spitfire walked back out, careful of the sharp pieces of metal laying around.
"What do you have to report Fire?" Spitire asked the white stallion, who seemed to be bent over a piece of mangled ship, wretching his stomach up. Poor guy just had a spicy lunch too.
"C-Captain... Excuse me." he said, spitting out the taste of spicy bile. "We count 48 of these strange creatures... they all seem to be dead... We tried to remove the armor from one of their legs... t-the whole leg came off ma'am. L-like a broken foals toy." he stammered, turning green again.
"If there's any sheets, cover them up..." Spitfire ordered, Rapid Fire nodded and dashed off. Looking up, She saw an entire platoon of Royal guard flying in with Princess Luna, all dragging large wagons. "About bucking time... Princess." Spitfire bowed.
"Well met Captain Spitfire. My word... When Lieutenant Fleetfoot told me what happened I could not believe it; And now that I see it... I still don't believe it... a machine from the stars..." She said aghast. Looking down, her eyes widened. "Even a new race of beings..."
"Captain!" Soarin called out. "Another bar just went away ma'am!"
Spitfire and Luna both galloped inside to see what Soarin meant. Sure enough, under the cylinder, a second block of brighter green went away.
"They seem to disappear at 1 bar every half hour... At this rate... It's going to go away... in 12 hours." Soarin said, fear creeping into his voice.
"The big question is... What happens when it runs out?" Spitfire asked.
"Indeed" Luna replied. "Load up what we can. Bodies too."
***==========***
"What in the world are these things?" The head nurse asked with fright.
"I wish I knew nurse. Whatever this helmet it... it appears to be surgically implanted onto them... Same with the legs, arms and tail..." The doctor nervously replied. "Nurse... Do you know a glass repair spell?" he asked.
"Of course sir?" The nurse asked.
"Good. Do it on that... helmet... thing." The brown stallion ordered. She complied without hesitation, while Doctor Stable reset the strange beings ribs. Fortunately the chest plate was removable so Doctor Stable can carefully open up the creature's chest. Looking inside he examined the being. "Interesting. Definately biological, but there are traces of machine in here... Whatever they are, they have had all these mechanical bits are melded nearly perfectly into the nervous system..."
"Doctor! The helmet thing just lit up... its glowing" The nurse said in alarm.
"What?!" Doctor Stable shouted in shock. "How did they get off the anesthesia?!" He shouted, as the speaker on the front of the mask began to let out static, followed by noise. The cardiometer went from a steady rhythm, to wild and erratic.
"Ẇ̷̲̝̄͛̅̽h̸̻̒̽̈͌ǫ̴̱͙̆̂̈́̌͜ ̵̟̲͕̙̠͂ạ̸̙̦̒R̷̥͓͔̈́̏͂̎ę̴̛̰̲̜́͐͝ ̶̢͔̾̒́̚Y̵͙̰͒o̷̞̲͂͂̊̆Ū̵͕̖̗͎͝?̴̰͚̜̬͆͐!̵͓̅̍͑̀ ̷̙̼͍̱͌̒̈͋͝W̶̧͔̒͊͘h̶̞͍͙͍͗̌͛̂ë̷̬́̄͝ͅȓ̴̛͎̪̅e̵̢̲̥͓̼̿ ̷̛̝A̶͈̗̳̲͌M̴̲͚͕̂̌ͅ ̸̻͙̙̗̘̽̍̿I̷̮̤͍̣̓͑̿̉̚!̸̘̣̆͒͐̍?̷̟̪̦͍͉̆͠ ̸̡̼̠͂̉̾Ẃ̸̠̳̮̯͗̂̀̀ḣ̷̟̯͇͒͊͐͜Ą̵̝̻͍̻̀̋̄t̵͓̭̳̋̋ ̶̞̆̓ä̷̩̏̓R̴̗̭͔̹͐̔ê̴͖͉͕̫̟̏͠ ̶̨̻̭̩͑͒Y̶̲̟͋̒͜ǫ̴̹̺͆͑̀͗͗Ü̶͇̽ ̵͇̼̤͌͒͊D̴̝̈́ȍ̸̧̳̐I̷͕̿͆͘n̷͉̰̈́G̷̹̿ ̵̫̰̘̺̒̅̉T̶̻͓̈́͂͗ơ̶̤̫̒͊͑̄ ̵̞̔̍̏̏m̷̪̮̐̓E̸͓̲̺͕̊̂̈̕ͅ?̴̗̓̊̋͝ " Barked the creature.
"Nurse, hit it with more anesthesia." The doctor ordered. "Please calm down. I'm trying to help you"
"Ỳ̸̛͇̫̮̔o̴̩͈͋͆̾Ư̵̪͇̻̘͋̈́̇͑ ̸͚̙̝̬͝M̷̰̤̥͚͔̿͂͠u̶̪̔͑͆̓͜S̷̡̺͕̟͆͜T̴̺͙̔̆͌̌͜ ̶̦̗̯̓Û̸̢̢̥͔̾n̶̪͐͊͝d̴̢̤͍̩̱̋́̎̒͝ȩ̶̨̠̬̻̾r̶̘̓̑͂̈́S̶̛̭Ṱ̷͉̰̥̥͋A̸͎̠̲̫̿̈́̆̆͝ͅN̶̛̫͎̣̑̐͜͜D̵̖̫̙̄̄̈́͌̔!̵̳͎͆̍̚ ̶̫̗͊̋͜Î̷̘̹͍̻̳Ṅ̷̲͆̒̓ ̸̘͎̪͍͇̅͛̅͐1̶̨̮̤̔̓̇2̷͓͍̼͌̈́͋̈́͠ ̸̛̰̭͓̥̎̓ͅH̴̥̥͌͗ͅÓ̸͔̹̭͍̖̑̓̈́Ǔ̵͍̗̿͛̓R̸̦̚s̵̯͈̳̞̾̕ ̶̡͕̳̎̍Ṱ̸̇̾̇̚h̶͍͗ě̶̬̭͆̔̍R̴̦͓͇̻̓͊̑̐͘E̸̡͉̩͓̭͂ ̷̛̹̗͙̜̊͆̍W̶̱͒̆͘i̷͎͂l̵͓̣̯̟͑l̸͇̲̄̋͛̓̆ ̶̠̰̬̮̍͑̆̈B̶͔̮͚̦̃̈́̌̉͝ͅḛ̵̣̬̲̊̓̐͝͠ ̸̨͈͎̖̥́̀͑̈̀à̴̗̬͇͉͌̍̽͝ͅ ̷̠̩̃̐̓̍͝M̵̀́̀̇͌͜Ā̶̤̬̟s̶̹͉̒̾̕s̷͎̤̆͊̉͝s̵̢̖̜̓͂̈͝-̵̧̣̱̩͎̾̋i̸͇̗̘̅̎ṽ̶̮̪̞̍͆ḙ̵͉̑̂̂ ̸͙̆Ȅ̶͉̜͚͈̇́́̌x̷̼̩͚̮̀̀p̵̢̙̖̂̑̀̈͝l̶̗͕͖̣̍̅o̴̡͇̿̍͑̚S̴̖̞̗̼͛̊̚͝͝Ȉ̶ͅǪ̷̺͕͖̙̈́̆̚Ņ̷̡̼̈́̉́͛!̶͔̹̹̩̃̐̈́̉̍ ̸̧̻̞͂ͅ" The voice came out again.
"We don't understand you. I'm sorry." The nurse pleaded as she floated the needle into it biological right arm. The thrashing began to slow, before stopping altogether. The cardiometer fell back into a steady beat with his heart. "What's the damage to this being doctor? Do we even know it's gender?" She asked.
"I don't... ugh... fine. Can you look for me?" The doctor asked as he continued his work. The nurse tentatively adjusted her glasses as she walked down to where the genitalia should be. After a quick look around, she had her answer.
"It's a male. Definitely a male." She said with a blush.
"Good to know." Doctor Stable said. stitching the hole he made in the chest. "Now help me with his concussion."
***==========***
*Ribs set, 5 months required for full healing*
*Left Kidney removed*
*Concussion healing*
*Limbs still required*
*Anesthesia detected. Entering Sleep Mode*
*New Language detected. Setting Translator to learn new language in Sleep Mode*
*Left ear permanently damaged. 60%*
***=========***
Twilight couldn't help but pace in the lobby. Here she was with a new race of beings at her hooves, who fell from the skies, with knowledge beyond comprehension! Yet there was a chance they may not survive due to the extensive injuries.
"Twilight you need to calm down." Starlight reassured. "I'm sure they'll be alright... Whatever they are."
"I hope your right Starlight." Twilight responded distantly. "I hope Rainbow is okay at the wreck..."
The nurses came and went with patients, most with injuries from the explosion earlier that day. Twilight was so preoccupied in her thoughts that she never noticed the large alabaster mare walk in.
"Goodness Twilight. Last time I saw you like this was when you were letting dear Starlight 'graduate'." she said with a gentle chuckle.
"Princess!!!" Everypony in the waiting room said as they bowed as best they could.
"None of that please ponies. This visit is off the books." Princess Celestia said gently. "Now Twilight, what happened here? All of Canterlot heard the explosion." She said as a purple and green drake flew in, making a beeline for the smaller princess.
"All we know princess," Starlight interupted. "is what seemed like a meteor fell from the sky and crash landed on the eastern edge of the Everfree. Near the cliff sides." She explained. "When we got there, we found a smoldering wreckage of what looked like a starship. Right out of those bit store novels or comics. As we got closer, we saw a door open and two creatures hobbled out, we brought them straight here."
Twilight finally cut in. "We left Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts at the wreckage. We're waiting on word from the doctor on the two we brought in." She said, visibly relaxing. As she finally sat down, a nurse poked her head out.
"Princess?" she called, attracting both Twilight and Celestia's attention. "We're moving your patients to post op, and recovery." The nurse said. "You can all come visit now." Turning around, she guided the 3 ponies and one dragon to the recovery room in question.
Upon entering the room, The ponies watched the doctor take his notes, before administering an antibiotic to the IV drip. He turned, nodding in acknowledgement of the Princesses, and went back to work. On the recovery beds, hooked up to all manner of machines, were two canine like beings, still partially in armor and helmets. Both still unconscious.
"Why did you not remove their armor?" Princess Celestia asked curiously.
Setting down his clipboard, Doctor Stable turned to the ponies. "Because they're surgically attached. Literally. We found wires leading from the helmet to the optic nerves, and those led to the brain. Same with the legs, arms and tails. All can be removed." He explained darkly. "I don't know where you found these beings Princess Twilight, but... I won't lie. They frighten me. They're clearly mammalian, breathe the same air, eat the same food, et cetera. Both are also male; Whatever they are. The larger one woke up, I guess, mid surgery. Began babbling in some strange language that also sounded like static." Then he pointed to the larger of the two. "That one. His... face, I guess lit up and has been doing that ever since."
All the ponies walked over and saw, on the shiny black glass like surface, strange symbols were flashing. The same Triangle symbol, what looked like horizontal lighting bolts, and a clock.
"Huh... I wonder if he's trying to communicate like that." Spike pondered.
Chuckling, Doctor stable spoke up. "I doubt it. It's been flashing those same pictures since we put him back on the anesthesia."
"Though I wouldn't put it passed them to use pictographs until one of us learns the other's language" Added Celestia. "If they're smart enough to build a ship to travel between stars, Language must not be that big of a deal." A sudden mechanical coughing sound erupted from the smaller being.
***============***
*Reboot complete*
*Major Damage sustained. Internal Bleeding detected. Requires immediate medical attention*
*Pulminary Edema detected. Requires immediate draining*
*Urgent medical attention required*
*Cerebral edema Detected.*
*Heart palpitations detected*
Warning messages flashed in 753's HUD repeatedly as he suddenly felt it very hard to breath. As he coughed, fluid spewed out his mouth, splashing the inside of his helmet. He suddenly heard a beeping go from steady to rapid. he realised that was his own heart... He was in a medical ward! Last thing he remembered was the drop ship crash landing, then black. Now here he was, laying on a medical bed.
He listened as a strange voice began yelling gibberish, and his medical bed was pushed out and into a hallway. It was a brief transit between rooms as he now felt his sensors overloaded with light. He listened as the cardiometer became even more crazy in it's beeping, then to just one long beep. His visor flashed again.
*Cardiac Arrest. Shutting down in 3...*
* 2 *
* 1 *
*Shutting down*
***==========***
"No, no, NO!" Doctor Stable shouted. "Defib! NOW!"
Nurse Tenderheart Quickly pushed over the defibrillator as Doctor Stable got the creatures chest ready. "Charging!" she called.
Doctor Stable took the paddles in his magic, rubbing them together. "Three, Two, One, CLEAR!" he called, pressing the paddles to the sides of the creatures heart. An electric whine, followed by a soft 'Thump' was heart as the creature's chest shot up. Looking at the cardiometer, he called "Again!"
"Charging!" The nurse yelled.
Doctor stable repeated the process, only to be met with the same result. Again and again they tried, through 5 charges and 5 shocks; The poor being wouldn't resuscitate.
"Come on... Celestia damn it!" Doctor Stable barked.
Nurse Tenderheart put her hoof over Doctor Stable's withers, trying to reassure him, and comfort him.
"Time of death... 4:23 PM." Doctor Stable said solemnly, before covering the being in a white sheet. Nurse Tenderheart walked out of the room, a single tear dropping from her eye.
***========***
Princess Twilight, Celestia, Starlight Glimmer, and Spike all sat together, in the same recovery room; waiting patiently for word of the patient. As they sat, the nurse walked in. A sad look adorned her face.
"I'm sorry... we couldn't save him." She said quietly, before quietly exiting the room. The room became heavy, and silent. The only sound being the cardiometer, steadily beeping away.
"So... how many more are there?" Spike asked. He may have been young, but he understood what death was.
"This may just be the last one Spike." Starlight answered quietly.
Author's Note
Don't expect regular updates. I'll update when I can. I'm honestly flying by the seat of my pants right now so bear with me. Revisions may be done later. I was honestly surprised when I saw how long this chapter became.
As Applejack finished going around Ponyville, she had collected a list of all the damages. Still, she wondered how Twilight and Starlight were. Wondering what they found, and what could possibly cause such a blast. For mere kicks, she figured she'd wander around and double check the town. Just as she began her second round, She saw a rainbow trail emerge from the over the forest, headed for the hospital. Figuring Rainbow was headed for Twilight, She galloped as fast as her legs could carry her.
As AJ ran, she noticed the Wonderbolts, A platoon of guards pulling carts, and Princess Luna, all also headed for the hospital. Picking up the pace, She galloped as hard as the Running of the Leaves all those years ago. As she galloped, she noticed a crack in the town fountain, stopped, and noted in down; Then carried on, not stopping until she reached the hospital's front door. Dashing in, she overheard RD telling the Princesses what she and the Wonderbolts found.
"You think it may be counting down?" Starlight asked. "It could be levitating in that chamber for a reason."
"What might be countin' down Sug'?" AJ interrupted, panting. Twilight explained to AJ everything that had been happening throughout the day, even that of the small alien being that died nearly 30 minutes ago. "Shoot... Y'all mean to say aliens are real? And that what we saw was their spaceship crashing?" she asked disbelievingly.
" 'Fraid so AJ." Starlight said.
"You think they have any ray guns Twilight?" Spike asked enthusiastically, making everypony else smile as they rolled their eyes.
"I don't know Spike. Maybe they do, Maybe they don't." Twilight said, unsure. "Only way we can tell is if that one in the Recovery ward wakes up."
"We do hope he is well..." Luna added, concerned. When word of this got out, all of Equestria would be flipped on it's head. On a more personal level, Luna's world had especially been tossed around. She controlled the moon and stars, yet here she sat, with proof that there was life beyond Equis in a room just down the hall. She began to wonder if everything was all worth it. Was all her work for naught? Was Celestia's? Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hooves galloping towards her.
"Princesses!" Nurse Redheart barked. "Your patient! He's awake!"
***===========***
*Reboot complete*
*Left Ear permanently damaged. Currently functioning at 60%*
*Left arm damaged. Find replacement. Priority medium*
*Left leg damaged. Find replacement. Priority Urgent*
*Left Kidney removed. Recommend Rest period of 1 month.*
*Punctured Lung repaired. Recommend rest period of 2 months*
*Broken/Cracked ribs repaired. Recommend rest period of 4 months*
*Concussion in Healing process. Recommend rest period of 1 month*
*Visor repaired. Activating Visual sensors....*
*Visual sensors functioning at 100%*
*Translation program at 35%*
*Voice module error*
My right ear twitched as I heard what sounded like the clapping of coconuts... Huh... Since when am I on R&R? Odd. Wait... Translation program? I have one of those? Well I was designed as a domesticated security guard of sorts, so it makes sense that I would be able to quickly learn and understand new languages. I wonder what language it picked up.
lifting my right arm, I noticed I couldn't. Huh... Odd. Turning my head, I saw the most unusual things. What appeared to be a small white horse, with a nurse's cap on her head, a stethoscope around her neck, and a red cross surrounded by little hearts on her flank, just before her pink tail. Wow... This planet must have been colonized LONG before we got here... Then why did they send us down here? Were we sent to squash a rebellion?
"H-hello?" I asked, noticing the error in my Voice module. My voice came out all... distorted and static-y. No wonder she screamed and ran out of the room. Well... That happened. Gently pushing myself up, I noticed an IV needle sticking out of my right arm. My left leg was missing just below the knee, and my left handpaw was malfunctioning beyond repair. Reaching over with my right arm, I undid the latch attaching my left leg to my waist, causing the leg to fall to the floor with a metallic clank. It was then I noticed that same clapping noise. Strange. Looking up, I was quite surprised. There were a bunch more of the small horses, and two large horses. All looking at me in confusion and surprise.
Tilting my head in confusion, I lifted my right arm in a gentle wave of 'hello'. A small winged lizard, standing on the back of a small, purple horned horse, waved back. But... Why did the white and blue horses have jewelry? From what appeared to be tiaras, giant necklaces, My scanners showed that the White horse wore gold, while the smaller blue one wore Obsidian. strange but whatever.
"Hello?" My distorted voice came out again. "I am 682. Have you seen my brothers around?" I asked calmly, trying to seem as small a threat as possible. What came out of their mouths sounded alot like neighing and whinnying, with a musical quality to it... what the hell? My translator set to work, detecting actual words like 'friend' and 'hospital'; but that was all. Pity. I noticed a small pinkish horned pony begin to physically turn green, pointing a hoof at my discarded leg. I shrug and hop down onto my good leg, leaning against the wall for support.
I was surprised when an alert appeared on my HUD.
*Warning. 9 hours until drop ship anti-matter core detonation!*
Bugger... Looking down at my right wrist mounted computer, I tell my headset to give off the Prime audio pulses. Waves of sound basically. Not loud enough to hurt or stun. Just to tell them something.
The pulsing sound bursts were designed to see which beings of a new planet were intelligent. If they were, they would add a final number. Starting with two pulses, then three, five, when I hit seven, I saw the small purple and pink ones eyes widen, and begin whinnying and neighing excitedly to the others in the room. I wish I knew what they were saying in whole but I only caught words like 'Communication' and 'Prime'. I decided to stop at the eleventh pulse, and waited on them to respond.
I was pleasantly surprised this time when the pink one's horn lit up and begin imitating the same pulsing sound... thirteen pulses; Good. Waving the pink and purple ones over, I pointed at my black visor. Images appeared, such as a vague outline of a Protogen. Then I added an x with two slash marks. Trying to convey that there were two of us. They looked at each other and I couldn't help but notice the solemn looks as one spoke. Again, I don't entirely know what they said; but the sad looks and the word 'Gone' was heard in my ear.
Dammit... 753... I'm sorry little brother...
The word 'Name' popped up in my earpiece. I shook my head as my ears lowered. I pointed at a crutch looking item leaning against the wall. Who knew these beings had telekinesis? Placing it under my left arm, I asked them to take me to my fallen friend. Turning around, they led me to an operating room with a being, slightly shorter than me under a white sheet. Lifting the sheet, I asked my sensors to scan him. Poor kit drowned in his own lungs, and was bleeding from the heart... seems their doctor missed a piece of shrapnel. I don't blame them. Opening my visor, I tug at the release mechanism for my voice module. Ripping it out, I opened his. Our major body parts, such as limbs and our mechanics, voice modules for example, are all interchangeable. Pulling out his voice module, I installed it into my visor and closed it.
*New voice module detected. Setting for user 682...*
*Installation complete*
Leaning down and pointing back at my visor, I show the outline of my drop ship falling and crashing. Then a countdown clock. The purple one began to look worried as she tilted her head in confusion. Making the countdown clock reach zero, it showed the drop ship turning into a giant mushroom cloud. I added the sound effect of an explosion for extra emphasis.
They began to look panicky and scared, looking back especially and a small blue horse with a rainbow colored hairdo... Probably the strangest thing I've seen all day. I then pointed back at my visor, regaining their attention. I showed again, the outline of a Protogen, this time I emulated damaged limbs. They watched in attention as I showed them that my limbs were removable. They escorted me outside, much to the irritation of a bown horse with a stethoscope around his neck.
As I hobbled out, I saw eight wagons, all but two were full of dead bodies. I quickly found a replacement arm, much to the natives disgust, then a new leg. I watched, surprised as the purple horse literally vanished in a pop of purple light, only to reappear a moment later with my damaged leg. I tossed the crutch to the brown doctor horse, and began to look around.
Horses with horns, wings, three with both, and alot more with neither... Where the hell did we land? Pointing at my visor, I gestured to the crashed ship outline. Then I physically pointed in almost every direction. The blue and rainbow colored one pointed to the forest in the east. I couldn't help myself, and took off into the forest. I had to get that core as far away from this town as I could.
***==========***
"Hey wait! Come back!" Twilight yelled, taking to the sky, followed quickly by Celestia, Starlight, R.D and AJ. Luna however stayed to give orders to the guards that the wagons must be taken to Canterlot for study before flying off.
Twilight did her best to keep up but more often than not found herself flying ahead of the being, fresh out of surgery and recovery. Quickly figuring she could guide him, She stayed ahead and corrected his course, astounded at how quickly he could run, and how easy he seemed to be running despite cardio damage, according to the doctor's report anyway. Another thing that seemed astounding was how he never lost pace, or slowed down for a breath. Even AppleJack slowed to a stop to breathe; only to be picked up by Luna. As the group moved through the woods, AppleJack and Celestia both finally saw the smoking wreckage; at a clear loss for words.
"Fascinating, isn't it sister?" Luna asked. "I have heard rumors of groups that say there is life beyond our world, but to see irrefutable proof... I'm still at a loss." She said with hesitant excitement.
"But I still wonder what has caused our visitor to run back here. Could the guards have missed something in their sweep?" The white alicorn responded, her voice a mix of curiosity and fear.
"He said that it's going to explode soon." Starlight answered, levitating next to them.
"What makes you say that? I never heard him say anything." Rainbow skeptically butt in. "Besides, how can he speak or even see with that mask on?"
"I don't understand either Rainbow. But he can see." Celestia said, stopping the argument before it could gain anymore ground. "But I am still wondering as to how you know that Starlight."
"Pictographs" She responded calmly. "His mask can show pictures. And one was of that space ship, a countdown clock, and a big explosion." At this, Rainbows eyes suddenly went wide as plates, her pupils shrank to pinpricks, and her ears shot back.
"Oh buck... it's going to explode!" Rainbow said in a panic, and took off towards the ship.
As Rainbow flew towards the ship, the new being cleared the ledge leading into the crater the ship left on it's impact. Hopping down, he slid down the hill and headed towards the open hatch on the side, following the rainbow trail in the air leading to the engine room in the back. The light bar beneath was 1/4th gone, and shrinking. Rainbow looked over at the creature, then at the small cylinder.
"Is that what's going to explode?" She asked hesitantly, as the other ponies carefully entered the room. Tapping his mask, he inclined his head or all to see. Images appeared of the small black ball making the ship fly, but then changed. If the small ball touched the sides of its chamber, it would explode. If it touched a pony's hoof or magic, it would explode.
"So what should we do?" AJ asked nervously. "I don't much like bein' in the same room as somethin' that's about to go explode..."
The ponies watched as he gently pulled wires and carefully lifted the cylinder out of it's pocket, only to set it down on a level part of the floor. Pointing at his visor, some images appear of a map, and a pen. Celestia responded by producing a map of Equestria, and a quill with an ink pot. Shocked but otherwise still moving, the visitor opened the map, then shrugged pointing at random spots on the map.
"We are here." Luna said, pointing to the far side of the patch of green near the middle. Watching the new being crouch and appear to think, he then pointed to the cylinder. His visor showed a mushroom cloud, and then drew a circle around the location that Luna indicated; Then cross-thatched everything within the circle. Ponyville, Everfree Forest, Canterlot, White Tail Wood, Cantershade, all were within the circle.
"Are you saying... that if that goes off... ALL of this will be destroyed?" Starlight asked, visibly shaking; Receiving only a nod in response. "H-how much longer do we have?"
His visor lit up again. This time, a twelve hour clock with a red line lining it. By the circle, it had 8 hours and 20 minutes remaining.
"Captain, we have a report on survivors." Droned a protogen as she tapped away on her tablet.
"Well don't keep me in suspense. How many?" The captain asked impatiently, rhythmically tapping on her armrest.
"Just one ma'am. I can't get a lock on where they are, exactly, or what their designation number is; But I do know they survived." She explained.
"What about what caused the drop ship to crash?"
"No idea ma'am. Only that there is the ship's core is currently disconnected and rapidly loosing power." Answered the engineer.
"Any progress on finding that missing anti-matter core?" The captain asked nervously.
"None yet ma'am."
"Fuck!!!! Can anything else go fucking wrong today?!" She yelled, throwing her tablet across the bridge.
***============***
Twilight sat in wonder as the visitor wandered around the crashed ship, obviously looking for something; but what? She couldn't tell. Every now and then, he'd stop, examine something, and then shake his head. Only to move on to something else. Who is this visitor? Where did he come from? Why was he here? All questions running through her mind, unable to be answered. It was driving her mad!
"Twilight?" a voice softly asked, spooking the alicorn almost out of her wings.
"GAH!!! Starlight? What's up?" The young princess asked from the shock. "If you want to go home for the night you can."
"No thanks." Starlight answered. "You seem like you need the rest. You've been on your tip hooves all day with this. Maybe it's time you called it a day." She suggested just as a guard walked into the crashed vessel.
"Pardon the interruption ladies. But the remaining element bearers have arrived" He droned, the days effects having taken a clear tole on him.
"Of course lieutenant, show them in, and head on back to town. You look like you need the rest." Twilight said with a small smile.
"Thank you Princess." He said with a bow, standing aside to let the Element Bearers inside.
"In fact... all day guards are dismissed, and bring in my Night Guard" Luna added, still watching the strange being as he tinkered around. As the guards left, Twilight informed her friends of the days events. As it continued on, the being suddenly seemed to brighten up. The being dashed towards the glass cylinder, picking it up gently, then opened what appeared to be a round door leading into a small chamber. Inside he placed the cylinder, and a few blocks of what appeared to be clay. 'I wonder what he's doing...' Luna thought to herself.
***=============***
I couldn't believe my eyes! One of the space pods was still functioning! They're escape pods pretty much. If a landing was botched for whatever reason, the remaining crew climbed inside and it would launch those who remained back up to the host ship. Now you'd think that a small pod like this may not have the thrust needed to reach escape velocity, but give us a break. We use Anti-matter as a fuel. We stopped using solid rocket boosters over a century ago. Okay... so... a small pod... I did the math in my head and found it should take around 9 minutes to get back to the host ship... I added three pounds of semtex to the container.
I really hope They don't come back... my creators. I downloaded all my memories, and the things I learned from my creators into a small memory drive. Hopefully I can make someway to upload it to every Protogen... Show them the truth. We all were linked together through an internet. Back in the day, it was called 'The Cloud'. Where everyone shared every, little, thing... with everyone...
My ears twitched as I heard a humming over the speech of the locals. Looking back I saw the tall white horse in gold regalia, her horn shining with a golden light. Walking out, I followed her gaze... The sun itself was also shining with the same yellow light, and slowly fall below the horizon. I could not believe my sensors... Did... did that mean?
Looking back, I saw the blue horse's horn also aglow with blue light. Looking up again, I saw the moon, enveloped in blue light... Oh sweet mercy these two being controlled the two celestial bodies!!! No wonder the planet's readings made little sense! These two beings... Was I looking at deities embodied!? A voice shook me from my disbelief.
"Remarkable?" it said. Looking back I saw a small white horned horse with a purple curly mane and tail. She nodded towards the sky. "Remarkable isn't it?" she repeated. Once again in shock, I checked out my translator. 95% complete! Only one way to find out.
"I've never seen anything like it." I tried. My voice coming out in a near perfect replication of their whinnying noises.
"You can speak our language!?" The purple horse exclaimed loudly. "I have SO many questions for you!!! Where are you from? Why are you here? How many more are there? What is your world-" she exclaimed before a pink hoof met her mouth.
"Calm down Twilight. He's still busy." The pink one said. Shaking my head, I looked back at the canister of anti-matter... the battery meter continued to drop. Bit by bit. The timer kept ticking down. I had to get that core out of here.
"Excuse me." I said as I walked by. I typed onto the holographic keypad to set the pod to launch in 1 hour, and wired the semtex to detonate in 72 minutes. That should get us plenty of time to get out of here. "EXCUSE ME!" I shouted over their conversations. "We have over 1 hour to get away from here. We are no longer in serious danger, but I suggest we leave. You may return in the morning to salvage what you please." I explained. As I walked out, I listened to the creatures speak.
"Princesses, if what he says is true, we must evacuate." Said a strange looking native in dark blue armor. Both the tall horses, Princesses, nodded. All the armored beings mobilized, and gathered the un-armored natives, and began to file out of the drop ship and into the forest. I stayed behind a while longer to gather some more supplies. My weapons, and gear amazingly survived the crash, along with most of the other landing party supplies. Gathering mine, I ran to catch up with the beings in the woods.
In my visor I watched the countdown timer tick away. 50 minutes on the pod, 57 on the explosives... Shaking my head again, I listened to the natives converse.
"Twilight, what do you think his kind want with us?" The small, white horned one asked.
"I don't know Rare." The one named Twilight replied. I decided to answer.
"I don't want anything from you or this world except asylum. I'm escaping a slave's life." I said bluntly, my translator reworking my words to their language.
"You were a slave?!" The pink one named Starlight asked incredulously. "A slave how?"
"I am a bio-engineered race of being called a Protogen, designed for deep space travel and exploration. Because we, as a race, were created, our creators never once thought of us as equals. We were always thought of as tools or toys. Expendable because if we died, they could just make more." I said coldly. "I however, am the last of one particular experiment. They designed me to be faster, and smarter. What they did not anticipate was how fast we could learn. We learned our history, their history, everything. We did everything in our power to expose our creators, and revolt. Those who didn't resist and submitted, were spared; But only AFTER their memories were wiped." Looking at their faces, I saw disbelief, sadness, and horror.
"Those of us who continued to fight began to do so in more violent ways. One by one we were found, and exterminated. I am the last." I said sadly. "I seek asylum from my Masters. I wish to live my life as I see fit. Not as they tell me to and die needlessly for a glory seeker to take credit for discovering some new species of sandworm... I beg of you, and your Rulers... I mean no harm." I plead as we walked past the ruins of an ancient fortress. The two princesses seemed to consider my plea.
"We will discuss this in the morning." The darker one said. I nodded in response. Time seemed to fly by as we entered the town again.
"Twilight? Will you be willing to give our guest a place to stay?" The white Princess asked.
"Of course Celestia." Twilight responded, before the white one, Celestia, leaned down and whispered something into her ear. "Of course. I'll see to it."
"Thank you. I know you'll do a fantastic-" Celestia smiled before she was cut off.
"Guys! Look!" The rainbow colored one shouted, pointing to the forest. The timer on my visor had hit zero for the capsule, and just under 7 minutes for the bombs. Focusing back out to the forest, sure enough, a Light followed by a low thrumming noise rose into the sky.
"What is that?" The blue horse asked me.
"Me, destroying my only way home, and sending a message to my Masters." I said quietly.
"What message?" The white one, Celestia, asked.
"Goodbye" I answered, making a devious smirk appear on my face mask.
***==========****
"Captain! An escape pod has just lifted out of the drop ship!" A blue colored Protogen shouted. The captain swiveled in her chair.
"So someone did survive! Open the hangar doors, and let them aboard. How many are in the pod?" She asked.
"I don't know ma'am. The scanner isn't picking up anything, but the scales inside are reading a weight of about 145 pounds." he responded dutifully.
"I'll go down to the hangar and get a report personally. What's their E.T.A?" The captain asked as she got up and walked to the elevator.
"Less than five minutes Captain."
As the captain traversed her ship to the hangar, she had a sudden realization.
"Son of a bitch!" She shouted. Tapping an ear piece, she called "Captain to engineering!"
"Engineering here Captain. We still haven't-" The chief engineer started.
"The damn capsule is UNDER the goddamned Anti-matter drive! Get it!" She yelled.
"Yes Captain!" Came the dutiful response.
The captain then ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the hangar. Running past many Protogen and Humans as they went about their jobs, occasionally bumping into and knocking over some experiment or notepad. She entered the hangar just as the doors closed, sealing the pod inside. She ran up to it, the security personnel on edge, ready for anything kept their weapons low. As she opened the hatch, inside was an Anti-matter core, roughly 3 feet tall. On the plexi-glass outer casing, were the words 'With love, I hope I never see you again. 682. See you in Hell.' Underneath, a few bricks of plastic explosive, with a timer counting down. 5 seconds remained.
"Aw shit..." She was all she could say, before the bombs went off.
The anti-matter cylinders were built robust, but not robust enough. The blast shook the container so hard that the anti-matter held in suspension, was suddenly jostled around. However it wasn't the suspension that failed, but the internal battery that held the suspension did fail. Security crew that ran in after the bomb went off, practically liquefying the Captain, watched as the anti-matter core suddenly split in two, and travel to the opposite sides of the container. A brilliant white light filled the hangar as the pod exploded violently.
****=============****
I watched the sky, same as all the natives, ponies, around me. They watched in wonder as the sky suddenly had a new star, only to shrink away, and in an eye blink, grow into a sun. Night had turned to day. Ponies everywhere came out to view the spectacle. Many began to wonder if this was a stunt pulled by the two deities. Many more even pulled out cameras and take photos. The spectacle was not to last however as the brilliant blue white light gave out a fiery red hue, then slowly faded away. Leaving only moonlight and starlight to illuminate the night.
I hung my head. I had just killed about 200 people... And all these ponies witnessed it, even if they don't realize it. I knelt before the two deities, hoping to give the impression of my surrender.
"I forfeit myself to your custody. I beg of you to hear my plea for asylum." I pleaded.
"And why should we grant that asylum?" Celestia asked, her face perfectly stoic.
"Because they WILL return. I was dropped here with specific orders to exterminate the local population, and make this planet ready for colonization." I responded, never leaving my kneel. I never saw their faces.
"And what will you give us in return?" The smaller princess asked.
"I can teach you how to fight back and repel them." I said grimly. "They will not hesitate to destroy you. My Masters hate it when their power is challenged, and will do everything from a simple smear, to outright assassination. I apologize, sincerely. They are coming back. And they will return ready for a fight."
"How long do we have?" Twilight asked me.
"About two months. Maybe three if we're lucky." I answered. The princesses seemed to consider my words. "Again, I apologize, but this was my plan from the start. You being here, both made it easier, and more complicated. I want to help you. My masters history is known for this. Many centuries ago, the colonized new continents on their homeworld, made treaties with the locals, then broke those treaties. Forced the locals off their land, and colonized that land. They often took locals from across the world, and used them as slaves." I explained.
"When a war was fought to stop those atrocities, they lost. However, they began a new plot. They wouldn't enslave just one group. They began to slowly, over the years enslave everybody. In many ways. From controlling medicine, to guaranteeing set wages. Eugenics, to prevent the birth of 'undesirables', Even biological warfare; engineering new diseases and unleashing them upon an unsuspecting population. Anything to keep their power and fortunes. As far as I know, I'm the only one who threatens that. I'm sorry but I have a purpose to stay alive. And that is to bring down my former masters. Even if it means destroying myself. " I said, resolute.
Author's Note
I'm not sure how I like this chapter, so I'll leave it up to you. Should I rewrite it and draw it out more? Or roll with it? I've had this written for a while but never posted because... What I just said. I'll wait 5 days for a majority answer in the comments below.
