SPARK WARS

by AverageSMILEnjoyer

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Changelings, Science Fiction, Fallout, Violence, Alternate Universe, Star Wars, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 6305

An old evil once defeated has returned from a distant past and now lurks in the shadows, preparing to deliver its ultimate blow.

Galaxy is in great danger.

An old evil once defeated has returned from a distant past and now lurks in the shadows, preparing to deliver its ultimate blow.

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My entry for Bicyclette's 2021 Science Fiction Contest .

Dark mode is recommended for reading, along with wide-screen/landscape mode.

Published 2022-01-10 07:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-01-10 07:00:01 UTC

Once upon a time...

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Once upon a time,
In a magical world of Equestria...

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SPARK WARS

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It is a period of peace. At its center is New Equis, a Galactical Homeworld of many species and creatures which worship above else friendship, unity, and prosperity.

Ruled by the Twilight Order, New Equis has invited many worlds and their occupants to live together in harmony. And in the span of a few thousand years, peace has spread out all throughout the galaxy.

An evil force once known as the Black Empire, lurks in the shadows, plotting and preparing to seize this place of wonders, and establish fear and despair in their stead.

The Twilight Order does no longer recognize the Empire as a threat. Only Princess Lavender dares to leave the safety of her homeworld on board of a spaceship Tanequine IV, in hope of learning the fate of the once dreaded foe.

The Princess and hooful of her most loyal agents have searched far and wide for the scattered forces. Instead, they found the Black Empire almost in its former strength, ready to launch its next vicious attack.

Through magic and sorcery, Princess Lavender learned the Empire’s intentions and obtained detailed plans of an upcoming siege. She then fled to warn New Equis of the danger.

Unfortunately, the sinister faction noticed Princess Lavender's intrusion, and is now chasing her with Empire's own flagship, The Daughter.

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/ \ |>--(XXX)--<| \ /

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WHAM

From a radiant flash, a spaceship appeared in the black expanse of cosmos. An orange gas planet could be seen in the background, filling the dark expanse with reflected sunlight.

The shape of the Equestrian scouting ship resembled a large polished white pill, with a single yellow stripe across its hull. It drifted throughout the cosmos thanks to four large thrusters that shot out blue scorching plasma into the space behind it.

Numerous long rods were protruding from its shell, which were still sparking with powerful magic from the teleportation the ship just went through. At once they started to retrieve into the ship, and clicked with the hull when finished.

At the back of the ship, just between the thrusters, a meter large round chamber opened up and out of its depths flew out several black discs into the space behind the Tanequine, and as the discs sailed towards some unseen target, the ship continued its run for the planet below.

WHOOSH

Right on time, the Daughter emerged from green swirling depths of the hyperspace.

The Daughter was a giant monstrosity formed from a numerous mess of long sharp wings protruding from all sides of some unseen center, twisting in sharp angles around it like limbs of an enormous insect beast. Each wing was long and sharp enough it could easily cut the pill ship in two, and was littered with thousands of holes, each four times larger than Tanequine itself.

Daughter was black as the starry background behind it, leaving only void where stars should have been. It would have been invisible to the naked eye, were it not for green glowing orbs levitating in the center of each and every hole in the ship's wings.

BLAM

BOOM

KABOOM

ZAPP FZZZT FHOOSH

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Before the vortex behind Daughter could even close, the black discs exploded right under its hull, and Tanequine fired all the lasers, rockets and plasma it had on the monstrosity to cover its escape.

The trap didn't even scratch the Daughter's shields which flashed with transparent lime field around the entire structure with each blow, and the black monstrosity, undisturbed, continued its way towards the small ship.

Tanequine, thanks to Equestrian engineering, flew at an impressive speed, and for a moment it seemed the ship would simply fly away.

But then, the Daughter returned fire.

A single orb in one of the Daughter's wings cracked with energy.

ZAP

In an instant, the two ships were connected with a bright green beam.

ZAP ZAP

First and second shots overpowered the ship's shields, and the third had hit. Hard.

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/ \ |>--(XXX)--<| \ /

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Ground shook, lights suddenly went out and moments later red emergency ones lit up.

Alarm broke out on the deck of Tanequine. Moments later, all the passengers on board started preparing for boarding.

Small multicolored equines who were the Tanequine's most numerous inhabitants, were arming themselves with blasters, sabers and spare emergency personal shields.

Some of them had wings and flew around ordering their comrades, some had horns and helped equipping everyone with armor and helmets via a levitating field originating from their foreheads, and some had neither, those took the best shields and saddles brimming with weaponry.

The little equines weren't the only ones preparing themselves for the upcoming battle. All over the ship, an army of robotic creatures started activating.

They took on various forms, be it a simple floating sphere broadcasting orders, or a large behemoth rolling through the corridors on three wheeled legs. A black panel was embedded in the middle of each of the metal beast's chests, displaying in yellow letters a name of the cybernetic creature occupying the mechanism.

Armed with a phaser, a saber, or a holographic shield, these metallic creatures were meant to take the blunt of any incoming onslaught. And if they were to be destroyed, the one controlling it could easily exit the body and wirelessly transit themselves into a new one.

CRASH

"Oh dear! Did you hear that B3-Z3? That must have been the main reactor! We are all doomed!"

"Hssssst..."

As all aboard were shouting orders and running around, one odd pair consisting of a smaller grey robot and a black, bug-like pony, was parading throughout the white corridors of the ship.

The robot had T-L6-Cogsworth displayed on his chest display. It had three-arms sticking out into different directions from its body, which was hovering above ground thanks to a thruster in the center. And it had three eye-cameras on top, each on a jointed stalk, free to turn around anywhere independently.

Instead of weapons, this one was equipped with three fingers on each of his three arms, as to better fulfill his profession.

"Help? I am a butler! I have no weapons! And you are a walking over-glorified server!" Cogsworth exclaimed, his three eyes turning frantically all around as if the invaders would bust through the walls of the ship at any moment.

The other one though looked a lot like an equine, but instead of having a smooth colorful hide like the rest of the crew, B3-Z3 had a black metal shell covering its body. It had black dagger-like horn on top of its head, two antennae in the place of its ears, and single colored cyan eyes.

CLONK

"Oh no! What was that?!"

"Hsssst."

"A 'tractor beam'?"

"Hsssst!"

"What?! What do you mean 'boarded'?"

"Hsssst!"

"Oh no! They are coming right here!? Right for us? We are doomed! We are absolutely positively doomed!"

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/ \ |>--(XXX)--<| \ /

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The heavily damaged Tanequine came to a complete halt. The formerly active thrusters were now only a mess of molten scrap with a line of scorched metal scarring the path the green beam took. The ship was left unable to either run or fight. An easy prey for the Daughter.

A green telekinetic field now enveloped the smaller ship, which was then slowly pulled towards the looming behemoth.

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/ \ |>--(XXX)--<| \ /

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The equine soldiers, now dressed in white helmets and black heat-resistant vests, were running throughout the corridors of the Tanequine IV to reach and secure all entrance points inside of the ship.

At one of those places, several soldiers had positioned themselves at both sides of a corridor ending in a single blast door. Unicorns at the very back levitated blasters above their heads and pointed them at the door. Few earthponies were in the front, equipped with a set of blasters mounted by their sides. And similarly, the pegasi were gently hovering near the ceiling, also equipped with the saddle-mounted blasters and aiming at the entrance from a higher angle.

Right at that moment, a single large mech rolled through the middle of the corridor. It went past all the equines and only stopped and positioned itself between the earthponies upfront.

Its chest between the robot's two mighty arms opened and revealed what seemed to be a crystal orb. It started glowing, and instantly, a forcefield dome manifested around the mech, blocking the corridor and protecting all the soldiers behind it from harm.

After a few more shouts of orders and hoofsteps of the present equines, it all came to an eerily silence.

They now all waited.

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/ \ |>--(XXX)--<| \ /

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Tanequine IV slowly drifted towards the depths of the Daughter.

The giant holey wings of the behemoth were now already reaching far into the distance, and along with the green orbs cracking menacingly with energy at the smaller ship's presence, it left no means of escape.

Finally, as the ship moved close enough, the Daughter fully revealed itself.

The body of the ominous flagship showed itself to be an oval mess of vaguely organic looking black alloy, resembling an enormous black cocoon long miles across. There was no system in how the ship was built. There were strange knobs and niches traveling all around over the surface and over each other, keeping the shape of an ellipse.

The other noticeable extrusions were the wings which looked made out of much more polished metal and pierced directly from the cocoon.

In the silence of the space, an open entrance revealed itself at the bottom of the Daughter's body. A large hole, not even properly centered in the middle of the body, yet still large enough to swallow Tanequine whole.

Slowly but surely, Tanequine IV was pulled towards the opening by the green glow surrounding it.

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/ \ |>--(XXX)--<| \ /

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CRANK

All the soldiers in the airlock corridor looked around themselves in fear and anticipation. They all traced their blasters directly at the center of the door, and waited in a heavy silence.

And waited...

And waited.

*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-*

Suddenly, a sharp green light protruded through the airlock door. Several moments later the light moved to the right, leaving behind a trail of melted metal. Enemy has just begun to cut through the door, giving all the soldiers on the other side a clear countdown to their inevitable encounter.

*-ZZZZZZZZZZZZ-*

The light met the first corner.

The mech at the front remained impassive to the incoming battle, but its one arm filled with many gunbarrels started spinning around.

*-ZZZZZZZZZZZZ-*

The light cut through its third corner without slowing down.

The earthponies equipped with stronger personal shields, checked with their holographic sights to make sure they wouldn't miss their mark.

*-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZT*

The light cut through the last corner and met the glowing trail at last.

Silence followed.

Then the cutout hole began to fall. Each and every soldier in the room traced the slowly opening way. The moment a gap appeared at the top, the door's fall suddenly halted and two black balls jumped out.

An earthpony at front yelled a warning.

But it was too late.

BOOM

The black orbs impacted with the shield and exploded in a green wave that passed through and fried all the electronics in the single machine, destroying both the mech and its virtual occupant.

The blast caught the equines so off-guard that before they could recover, they were already under a barrage of piercing green beams.

Zap!

Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap!
Zap! Pew! Zap!

Pew!

Two pegasi were first to go down. One got hit in the wing and the other in the side several times. The green beams cut straight through them like a piece of paper and managed to scorch the walls on the other side.

The earthponies were lucky to be equipped with stronger shields and managed to retreat along with their injured pegasi as the unicorns created a secondary barrier.

Orders of retreat were yelled by one of the unicorns at the back, trying to keep up the shield which was already straining from the barrage from the other side of the room.

With haste the defenders vacated the hallway and soon were instead replaced by their pursuers.

Black equine figures now filled the corridor. Flying, walking, crawling, all in overwhelming numbers. Each was covered in thick black armor with a small jetpack on their backs, which of those who flew were kept afloat by green plasma shooting out from it.

Their heads were covered by black helmets which hid their faces, along with their muzzle covering sticking out like an armored triangle ending in the helmet's filter. The only place on them which wasn’t covered by the pitch black armor were two green straight lines in place of their eyes, glowing menacingly.

Unlike the ponies, the offensive force lacked any conventional weaponry. Instead, each and every one of them was equipped with dagger-like horns on top of their helmets from which green lasers shot down the corridor.

Zap!

One black soldier fearlessly pushed through to the frontline, firing green beams towards the retreating equines.

PEW!

A stray yellow blast from the opposing force struck him. The soldier fell over with a glowing molten hole in his chest. The two green lines in his visor went as dark as the rest of his black armor.

His body was stepped over and replaced by five more of the black figures.

Many soldiers of the Black Empire were shot dead in the initial push into the ship as the two sides exchanged green beams and gold projectiles, but each loss was counterweighted by more pouring through the opening into the ship.

By sheer numbers and overwhelming barrage of green lasers, the attackers swiftly pushed back the defenders deeper through the ship’s hallways.

Soon, only the soldiers of the Black Empire remained within the airlock corridor, with blasts of laserfire sounding from further on in the Tanequine IV. Few stragglers remained back to check and make sure that none of the defeated lived.

Then, a squadron of six more soldiers walked inside the now quiet corridor in a much more organized manner. They arrived in two rows of soldiers, then stepped to the sides and bowed to the large figure that followed them through.

It was a tall imposing figure. Towering over all other beings in the corridor. A long black cloak covered most of its body including a hood that hid its face from view behind a veil of darkness. The rest of its body was hidden in similar fashion. Only its two forelegs were visible, covered by the same black armor of the Black Empire.

One of the Empire's soldiers that was in the initial push stepped towards the figure and bowed.

"Lady Invader," The soldier spoke in a flat and emotionless tone, "The Equestrians took heavy losses and are retreating."

“...Excellent...” The figure's voice rang all around like a deathly whisper, only vaguely feminine. Her voice frequently cut off with long pauses, as if she was constantly out of breath, “...Proceed to the bridge... ...capture all officers... ...prioritize the captain...”

"As you command, your highness." The soldier replied and walked off to fulfill the command.

Without a word spoken, the soldiers by the sides who stood idle, now flanked the large figure and began escorting it through the ship.

Not a single one of the group paid attention to the bodies and scorch marks littering the hallways.

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/ \ |>--(XXX)--<| \ /

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The fight was very much in full swing.

The defenders had a natural advantage of knowing the place, and having the time to prepare traps and choke points in the narrow corridors of The Tanequine IV.

At one of such choke points the defenders had an enormous advantage and managed to hold off the whole invading force. One giant mech effortlessly held back the entire army by gunning down anything that tried to pass through the corridor in front of it, while shrugging off any retaliation thanks to the shield dome around it blocking the hallway.

The ponies assisting it stood behind and occasionally levitated any grenades the attackers threw their way back where it came from, as now they were ready for it.

zap!

A blast of green fire came out of the corridor.

urrrRATATATATA

The mech's arm roared in response.

The ponies had nowhere else to run, as the corridor they currently resided in was the final position before the command bridge itself, where the majority of the leadership and non-combatant staff laid in hope of a miracle. The mech and the ponies were their final line of defense.

Another grenade flew across the room.

The unicorns in the room were just about to levitate the thing as always, but suddenly the black ball was enveloped by a green field of its own which moved it around and a shield on top of it.

urrrRATATATATA

The large mech of course opened fire at the incoming danger, unfortunately, its weapon’s spread was too great to hit the grenade effectively, and when it did, the green shield around the grenade absorbed the impact.

As a last resort the machine began to back up, but by then it was too late and the grenade went off too close.

BOOM

With the same results, the mech went dark with only the occupant managing to evacuate at the last moment. However, without the mech the defenders were once again terribly outnumbered and it wasn’t too long before the sound of blasts and beams filled the corridor.

Once again, the victory went to the attackers and the defenders had to fall back to a more defensible position in the command bridge itself.

With the firefight going on deeper and deeper down the corridor, a new figure responsible for the shielded grenade, showed itself.

A mechanical figure came around a corner from where the Black Empire’s forces started pouring in. It was slim, slightly taller, and encompassed in polished dark metal the Empire was known for. The most noticeable feature on the individual were the two pairs of green round eyes instead of the straight lines of the others. The second pair of glowing eyes then were on the bottom of its head, on each side of its jaw, separated by a sleek muzzle and pair of metallic fangs.

It briefly looked down the corridor before turning around and leaving. Off to change the tides of the battle in different parts of the ship.

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The battle was not over yet, but when the fight reached the bridge of Tanequine IV, it was swiftly overrun by the Empire's troops and the ponies were forced to surrender.

Those who didn’t fight were herded together by the wall and kept under a close watch by their capturers, who in the meantime scanned the bridge’s systems for information.

That’s when Lady Invader entered the bridge, along with her entourage.

On the sight of her, the captain of Tanequine IV jumped up from the captured group. "What is the meaning of this!" The unicorn yelled, "Who are you and what do you want! This is a peaceful envoy on the way to—"

"...Save your breath for screaming..." The hooded figure turned towards him.

The pony shivered.

Two black troops dragged the shocked stallion away from the herd, some protested but none stepped out of line to help him.

The stallion was deposited at Invader's hooves and was forced to look up into the dark void of her hood.

"I..."

"...You have taken something from me..." The imposing figure cut him off, "...I want to know what it is... ...and I want it back..."

The captain shook, "I-I don't know what you mean! T-Tanequine—"

"...Do not bother..." Invader cut him off, "...I can smell your lies..." Then she as if took a whiff, "...And your fear... ...is empowering..."

The captain shook like a leaf, "I-I... I have my o-orders..."

"...So do I..." The imposing figure stepped closer to him, to which the captain started struggling against the two black soldiers. "...But do not worry... ...For soon...” Lady Invader leaned towards his face. Close enough for the light of the room to show him what was hidden under the hood.

"...I shall know..."

The captain's eyes widened in terror and he began struggling even harder. The ponies in the room could only look away.

...Everything...

And then the screaming began.

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"B3-Z3? B3-Z3! Where are you? Where are you, you walking can of compressed hassle?"

The battle was over, with the Empire's black troops being the clear victors. Few pockets of resistance were still keeping a hold in several corridors, but they were all quickly succumbing to the might of the Black Empire.

The duo of mechanical creatures, B3-Z3 and T-L6-Cogsworth, got separated in one of those firefights, where a silent corridor turned into an exchange of deadly blasts in a single moment.

"Well, at least I wasn't wrong about being doomed... This time." Cogsworth commented.

The mech's three eyes twitched all around him, trying to keep up with all possible directions an enemy could jump out of. "Hnnngh... I knew I shouldn't have taken a job on a spaceship, or any ships for that matter. Death and doom at any corner, I say!"

He floated behind another corridor which looked safe, "It may have not been a miscalculation in the spark drive, nor an accident in the engine room, nor a violent mutiny, but the moment I drop my guard for a second and relax, BLAM! Space invaders! My dear! I hope I'll get out of this in one piece."

Suddenly several blasts sounded just a corridor away.

"Ack!" Cogsworth panicked and flew into the closest door which conveniently opened for him.

"Hnnngh!" Cogsworth whined again, "Now B3-Z3, this isn't time for hide and seek!"

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Elsewhere on the ship, B3-Z3 was occupied inside a rather dark corridor on the less frequently used parts of the ship, farthest from the airlocks and the bridge. A place where the Empire's forces hadn't had the time to reach yet.

B3-Z3 and another pony were currently next to each other, with the drone's horn alight with green magic and directly touching the other's forehead.

The other pony was an earthpony mare. She wore purple robes which hid her form, with the only decoration being a drawing of a parchment depicting a six pointed star, on both of her sides. The mare's face clued on the lavender color of her hide underneath, and her mane and tail poked from underneath the robe, showing more shades of purple with a single pink streak of hair though the middle.

Both had closed eyes in concentration, fully focused on whatever arcane ritual they were participating in.

Suddenly the black mech's horn stopped glowing. The mare's eyes rolled up in her head and she dropped on the floor. B3-Z3 then stood there above the mare's unconscious body.

That was the scene Cogsworth floated onto.

"Oh sweet Binary, B3-Z3!" Cogsworth gasped as the black mechanical drone turned towards him, "Y-you... You've killed the princess!"

"Hsssst." B3-Z3 hissed.

Cogsworth's three eyes tilted, "W-What important mission? The ship is being overtaken by some mean mannered space invaders and all you can think of is some server maintenance?" He turned around and closed the entrance into the room by pressing one of the many blinking lights on the wall, "I had hoped we could just hole up somewhere and wait till this whole thing blows over, but now?" Cogsworth started panicking, "Oh nonononoNO! There is no way we can return to the bridge, and that is the safest place on the ship! Oh no, oh what now?"

B3-Z3 meanwhile walked off from the rambling mech. He quickly trotted through a corridor and vanished behind a corner.

"Oh dear, oh my... Being shot by space invaders, or getting jettisoned out of the airlock by treason— W-wait! Where are you going? Don't leave me behind!" Cogsworth called out and flew through the corridor after him.

He found B3-Z3 connected to a panel in an inconspicuously looking wall. The drone's horn was inserted to his forehead inside a dataport wall socket. The opening was seemingly far too narrow and a completely different shape than the drone’s appendage, but the horn fit nonetheless. Only slightly glowing in green magic.

"However..." Cogsworth stopped when an idea popped into his spherical head, "Perhaps we could surrender! Now that you murdered the princess in cold blood, surely they shall be more lenient towards us." His eyes perked up, "Maybe they will even let us join them! Yes! That's how it works out in space, no? Ah! You even look similarly to them! Even better!"

Then Cogsworth's eyes all narrowed at the drone working at the panel, "Wait a moment, you are one of them! You are a spy, aren't you!" He pointed accusingly at B3-Z3 with one of his arms, "Have you perhaps planned this all along? Have you faked your loyalty? Gained our trust and then assassinated the princess as your friends invaded the ship? How about our friendship? Have you faked that too? Am I just a tool to you!? Does our relationship mean nothing to you?!”

Then he leaned in with his three eyes and begged, “Can you vouch for me?”

"Hssst." B3-Z3 finally hissed back.

"A traitor?" Cogsworth stared at it, "Well of course we are traitors. You killed the bloody princess!"

At that moment, the drone extracted its horn. The wall split in two and revealed a small cockpit filled with dozens of buttons, levers, and blinking lights.

"An escape pod?" Cogsworth noted, "Well, I suppose that is not the worst idea— Ah! Alright, alright! I am moving!" He floated when B3-Z3 pushed him inside, "Am I now a hostage?"

The door closed behind them and the two made their way towards the front of the confined space.

The grey mech scanned the large console in front of him until his eyes stumbled upon a large red button with a label 'LAUNCH', "Ah!" He exclaimed and pressed it.

A short countdown showed itself on the console, which Cogsworth attentively observed.

"Wait..." Cogsworth paused, "Won't they just shoot us down?"

"Hsssst." B3-Z3 hissed in response.

Cotsworth's eye-cameras all turned around at the drone in shock, "Well that's not very reassuring!"

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Tanequine IV was still fully docked within the black cocoon’s hangar hole. Though it could still be seen from the outside as the giant opening lacked any closing mechanism which would trap the smaller ship inside.

At that moment, a part of the lower section of Tanequine IV split apart, revealing dozens of round modules docked within it.

In a second, the engines of one module ignited, propelling it and its inhabitants away from the ship and through deep space.

The launch of the escape pod however did not go unnoticed. As the module sailed away from Daughter, all the green glowing orbs in its wings the module passed by, began tracking its movement. It would only take one to decide to fire and the escape pod would be vaporized.

Yet, none of them have.

And so the module sailed off into the distance, its target being the yellow giant beneath.

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A group of black soldiers entered the bridge, dragging with them a barely conscious pony. "Your highness, we found this pony in the hallways, unconscious." The front one announced in an identical emotionless tone.

Lady Invader turned towards the newcomers, her gaze immediately fell upon the purple earthpony who just now slowly began to wake up.

"...Ah..." The imposing figure sighed in recognition, "...Princess Lavender... ...I presume..." She then briefly faced the small herd of survivors of the bridge, some of which were nursing the captain of the ship who was still unconscious from her earlier interrogation, "...Me and your captain... ...had a lovely... ...conversation... ...about you..."

Invader then turned back to the lavender mare, which the black troops took as a sign and dragged the pony towards her, "...Unfortunately... ...he has been... ...not as... ...informed... ...as I have hoped..."

Just then the pony truly took in her surroundings. The mare looked up in fear and confusion, "W-Who are you?" She tried to struggle, but then noticed that she was held by two soldiers by her sides, "W-What do you want with me?"

"...That... ...I am certain you are well... ...aware of..." Lady Invader replied with a sense of amusement in her voice. "...And if not..." She leaned in. All the ponies in the room looked away, as they have already seen what follows, "...We shall find out... ...together..."

"...Now..." Lady Invader gave a sign and the soldiers stepped away. "...Tell me..."

The moment the Princess looked up into Invader’s hood, the same sight was presented to her. There was a helmet underneath that hood, composed of a wall of hexagonal pattern which made the mare uneasy. Suddenly, green points of light manifested in each of the surfaces like irises inside of an eye and immediately pointed towards the pony.

At that exact moment, a terrible headache engulfed the mare.

...What have you learned...

First came the whispers.

Thousands of quiet voices invaded the mare’s own thoughts, whispering, searching, and crawling through every cranny and every memory of her mind. All growing more agitated and restless with each moment the voices did not find what they wanted.

The mare was only vaguely aware of her own voice expressing her displeasure amongst the thousands that she drowned in.

At once, everything stopped. The mare dropped to the ground, gasping audibly before rolling to her side, unconscious yet again.

Lady Invader stood there looking straight ahead, contemplating what she had learned. Or what she has failed to learn.

"...Clever..." She growled.

Lady Invader turned around and began to walk out of the room, "...Return to the ship... ...we are done here..."

"As you order, your highness." A soldier by her bowed, "What shall we do with the survivors?"

She spared them a glance, "...Take them aboard..."

Some ponies who heard her response sighed in relief, and they hung on a hope that they might just survive the encounter.

"...Food..." Invader breathed out as she continued on her way out. Speaking loudly enough for all of them to hear. "...is hard to come by... ...after all..."

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"Now B3-Z3, I do realize that the escape module may have been our only option, but have you perhaps considered our vehicle might have a slight issue with landing... on a gas giant?"

"Hisss..."

"Well, your slight miscalculation got us doomed!"

The escape pod has just barrelled through into the planet's atmosphere, and it was when the flames of the re-entry subdued, the two machines realized their vehicle was unable to land on air.

In panic, Cogsworth mashed every visible button in the console before him, which was made difficult by everything rolling around, but at least he kept himself upright with the thruster beneath his body. B3-Z3 was not so fortunate and was tumbling around behind the floating mech in the fast rotating escape pod.

"Reeeeeee!" The black mech exclaimed with his limited vocabulary.

But no matter what the two tried to do, the pod kept uncontrollably descending into the depths below in a spectacular manner.

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A pair of slitted eyes observed the falling object in the sky. A trail of black smoke could be clearly seen through an orange tinted display, which quickly identified the source.

The escape pod has quickly shortened the distance between itself and the observer, spinning uncontrollably. It's trajectory led it on a fast vertical decline.

The orange display tilted downwards, revealing four tall pillars hovering in place on a quad of four thrusters. A stream of blue plasma shot out of its sides periodically as the thing was trying to keep itself upright and stable. The top had a rod sticking out and metal rings surrounding it.

The display then zoomed out, showing that the escape pod's descent led it directly between the four floating pillars.

Then the pod finally passed by.

A net of lightning manifested between all of the pillars at once. As the pod barrelled through, the lightning latched onto the hull of the speeding vehicle and visibly slowed it down. Though, the pod still flew right by them and the lightning stretched out after it far below the level of the pillars. Just as when it seemed it wouldn't be enough and the lightning would let the escape pod fall into the endless depths below, the pillars managed to slow it down to a near halt and then levitate it back up right into the center of it all.

When the pod settled, the pillars' bottom shined and a square grid of light manifested at the bottom, joining all the pillars together. Next there was a wave of energy and the grid transformed into a blue transparent platform.

The lightning cut off.

THUD

The escape pod fell on the azure platform and settled there after rolling a moment. Finally, the pod has settled down.

The display was let down, and revealed itself to be an electronic binocular held within a clawed limb. The pair of slitted eyes which till now observed the falling object stayed briefly locked onto the scene, until one of the clawed limbs lifted and waved towards the escape pod.

Next there was the sound of roaring engines as a small fleet of vehicles closed in on the now captured escape pod.

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/ \ |>--(XXX)--<| \ /

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Lady Invader entered the helm of the Daughter's command deck. Wide metal door split into two parts before her, and opened the way.

There was a long wide path leading across a large dark room. Black walls surrounded everything, with only dim green lights illuminating the insides with their ominous glow.

"The Equestrians hide their escape pods, your Highness. We were unable to scan the ship or otherwise secure them before one launched. But you'll be happy to hear its launch revealed their locations and we secured several more groups of ponies attempting to hide in the rest."

Invader walked across, closely followed by an officer escort. Safe for Invader, all the officers revealed the true face of the Black Empire's species.

Their bodies were hidden by official uniforms, only disrupted by a pair of insectoid wings on their backs. But their faces were clearly covered by a black chitin along with hooves filled with holes through and through. All of their eyes were green, but filled with far more intelligence than the front soldiers which invaded the Tanequine IV.

"...How... ...did it escape..." Invader spoke slowly.

The group walked in a row, as the path through the room was flanked by four drops into the ground, marked only by a single green highlight. Two hexagonal holes were by the entrance, filled with blinking lights. But then there were two large elliptical drops, full of machinery and panels, and black chitined crew of the empire which was busy with maintenance and communication with the rest of the ship.

One of the closest officers caught up with the hooded figure upfront, just as the path widened enough. "The sentries have orders not to fire upon friendly units, your highness. There has been a friendly signature detected on board."

The escort arrived at the front of the command deck, where a wall filled with circular windows allowed an outside view. There were two large front windows near the center, flanked by smaller, more numerous windows. Together the view outside made it feel like looking through the eyes of a giant insect.

"...That drone..." Invader said in recollection. She stepped towards one of the windows up ahead and took a look at the yellow planet on the other side.

"...Release an infiltrator..." Lady Invader finally answered, "...The traitor... ...cannot escape us…"

The officers bowed, "As you command, your highness." Then they left the way they came, across the path.

None of the workers present paid the retreating group any mind, and kept busy with their own tasks.

Same for Lady Invader, who gazed through the window. Contemplating about her next move.

Author's Note

Hi!
Thanks for reading my short story! Hope you liked it, and didn't think it was too short, unoriginal, or plethora of other reasons to never show this story to the world a certain someone keeps whispering into my ear.

I would have punched them into the face a long time ago... but unfortunately that certain someone is me and they are armed with anxiety, so...

Either way, I had to get this story out. It's healthy for me. I was told that publishing one will make everything easier afterwards.

Like pulling off a bandage. Or ripping out a tooth. Though I don't like the latter allegory. That would make smiling little bit awkward.

This contest seemed like a good opportunity too. Even though I don't care much for winning. A smile is all I am after.

After all, it's healthy to smile.