Chapters My name is Twilight Sparkle, and today is the day I die.
It began 14 years ago, on the day I received my cutie-mark. The day the first sonic rainboom in over a thousand years was performed. The day of Second Impact.
It started as any other—the sun was shining, the birds were singing and I was skipping down the road with my parents. We were going to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns so I could take the entrance exam. I was so excited; so naive of the pain that was to follow.
When we reached the examination room, I grew nervous. I had studied day and night for weeks; ever since I saw Princess Celestia raise the sun at the Summer Sun Celebration. The examiners looked with on poorly disguised disdain as I attempted to pass the test—to magically hatch a dragon egg. I can still feel their critical, disapproving stares to this day. Cracking under the pressure, I panicked. I couldn't complete the task. In my heart, I knew I was going to fail.
Suddenly, a burst of magic spread across the land. In Cloudsdale, a Pegasus had achieved the speed necessary to perform the mythical Sonic Rainboom. As the magic infused rainbow spread across the land and struck the tower, I felt something in me give way—I felt my mind accept magic in its most pure form. My horn lit up with uncontrollable arcane energies; rogue magic whipping around the tower, warping the very nature of reality. The egg hatches, the dragon within growing tall, bursting throught the celing. My own parents are transformed into houseplants, and the examiners floated into the air. I was unstoppable, uncontrollable. I was terrified.
Then, everything stops, and I find the Princess herself standing over me, speaking.
"Twilight Sparkle, I'd like to make you my own personal protégé here at the school." I will never forget those words. I was so happy, I had passed the exam and I had my cutie mark—a purple star, representing magic. My special talent was magic. It was the best day of my life.
And then the world ended.
Second Impact, they called it. The official story was that a meteorite struck the Great Southern Ice Cap, instantly melting the ice and radically altering the axis of the planet. Sea levels rose dramatically, climate became uncontrollable, earthquakes tore up the land. Coastal cities such as Manehatten sank beneath the waves, whilst the Pegasus city of Cloudsdale was ripped apart, cloud by cloud, rainbow by rainbow, by the raging storms. It took Celestia five years to rebalance the alignment of sun, moon and earth and to restore order to the land. Five years of chaos, of death, of destruction. By the end of it, the death toll was estimated in the tens of millions—over half of our population. The other races were just as badly affected, if not worse; all were scarred by the horrors of the Second Impact.
I didn't know any of this at the time. All I knew was fear, fear and a sense of falling. When Second Impact struck, the city of Canterlot, pearched high on the side of a mountain, was destroyed. The city slid down the mountain, many of the fair towers that it was famous for collapsing into rubble, including the tower I was in. It was so sudden. One moment I was on top of the world, the next digging myself out of the rubble. Aside from the Princess, I was the only survivor from that tower. Not my parents, not even the dragon that I had just hatched had survived. In one dark and terrible moment, my life had been taken from me.
They used to say necessity was the mother of invention. Second Impact taught us differently. Survival is the mother of invention. In the years following Second Impact, pony kind experienced a surge in knowledge and invention. We achieved more technological progress during the 10 years after Secong Impact than throughout one thousand years of peace and harmony. New forms of transport, better building materials and practices, new weapons, computers, medicine: we learned and developed so much in our attempt to survive, to overcome. The height of our technological progress was the city of Canterlot-2, our new capital after the original fell, built at the base of the Canterhorn, upon the runis of the original Canterlot. Each building made of steel and concrete; towers stretching into the air, powered by electricity. It was a home to hundreds of thousands of displaced citizens.
The Princess fomeraly adopted me afterwards, but the disaster kept her busy, so I never saw hide nor tail of her. Instead of teaching me the intracies of magic, I was left to my own devices, and in the chaos of rebuilding civilisation that meant staying out of the way as much as possible. Eventually I was passed back on to my former foalsitter, Princess Cadance, but even she had to leave me eventually, called away on government business. I was left in the hooves of a friend of hers, Lord Fancy Pants, who resided far away from Canterlot-2 in the town of Hoofington, which had survived Second Impact mostly unscathed, but as kind as he was, the noble Unicorn didn't want a child and didn't know how to raise one, so I spent most of my time alone in my room, unloved apart from my books. That is, until I received a very special letter from Princess Celestia...
Author's Note
Thanks to Inky Jay for proofreading.
Chapter 1: I can't pilot that!
Twilight Sparkle
I wandered down the empty and unfamiliar streets of Canterlot-2, lost and alone. Where was Cadance? I wondered to myself. I looked uneasily at a flashing, electronic street sign advising me to evacuate to the nearest shelter, but being a newcomer to the city I didn't know where they were. Well, relitive newcomer. The last time I had been in Canterlot-2 it was still under construction, and I was just a filly.
All public transport had halted, leading me to my lost state, whilst the phone boxes merely rerouted my calls to an automatic server. I sighed and looked at the letter Princess Celestia sent to me for the hundredth time. There was three parts to it, a formal summons from the Princess, an informal letter from Cadance and a photo of her—even though I already knew what she looked like. What I didn't understand was why she felt the need to draw a red arrow pointing at her flank. Not only was it a little inappropriate, but I wasn't into that. I think. Although come to think of it, Cadance was quite nice to look at.
Something across the street caught my eye. Looking up, I saw a hazy figure in the distance. Another pony, dark blue in colouration. I was about to call out to her, but a loud noise from behind the hills distracted me, and by the time I looked back, the figure was gone. Must have been my imagination, I thought. The loud noise repeated itself, and this time I felt the earth move beneath my hooves. Looking back at the hills, my jaw dropped. There was the Equestrian Military, a proud and mighty organisation, in full retreat from a monster straight out of my nightmares. Literally from my nightmares. That, that thing, huge and equine shaped—if not for the absent head—had been haunting my dreams ever since the Second Impact. I saw the military open fire on it; explosions rippling across its enormous, skyscraper-tall body, forcing it back a step. For a brief moment I thought they had defeated the beast, but when the smoke cleared, it stepped forward and retaliated, a laser firing from a red gem located on its chest. The laser swung round, incinerating all that it touched—sky chariots, tanks, even the ground itself was subject to it's power.
A screeching noise caught my attention and turning around, I saw a ponyless carriage (a rather peculiar invention), with a familiar pink alicorn inside.
"Cadance!" I cried out happily, bounding over to her.
"It's been too long, Twilight," Cadance said, nuzzling my head. "Sorry I am late, I got caught up. Now get in before that thing gets here, the Princess needs you."
"Princess Celestia... Needs me?" I asked, incredulous.
"No, Princess Blueblood does," Cadance replied sarcastically, rolling her ees. This took me back a bit, since the Cadance I knew was the furthest thing from sarcastic. Looking over her, I noticed that she wasn't wearing her royal regalia, but instead a tight fitting jacket that accentuated her curves. Cadance must have noticed me looking. "Like what you see?" she asked with a wink.
"You've changed," I said. Tact wasn't a word that had been used to describe me. Thankfully, Cadance merely laughed at this.
"It has been five years since I last saw you, Twilight, so of course I've changed. Even you have changed—you're no longer the adorable filly I remember, but a fully grown mare now. Speaking of which, is there a special somepony in your life? Mare or stallion?" she asked with another wink.
"Cadance!" I said, aghast at her. Again she laughed good naturedly at me. What has happened in these past five years? I quietly asked myself. And what about Celestia? It's been ten years since I last saw her. My musing was brought short as the monster came into sight again. Earlier, I had been too far away to get a proper sense of scale, but up close it had to have been one of the largest things I had ever seen, towering over many—but not all—of the skyscrapers in the city.
"Shit!" Cadance swore, swerving to avoid the thing's laser as it tore up the road. "Not this way!" The chariot swung round and returned the way we had just come. She grinned at me. "That was close. I still have two payments left on this thing." I frowned at this. Surely as a princess, she could afford a chariot outright. I asked her this. Again, tact is not my strong point.
"I'm not a princess anymore, Twilight," Cadance said with a frown. She gave me a look that even I could understand. She didn't want to talk about it. I decided to change the subject.
"What... What is that thing anyway?" I asked, pointing back at the monster.
"An Angel. Codenamed Sachiel. I'll tell you more later. Ah, we have arrived!" Cadance announced, pulling up to a cliff face. I looked at her questioningly. Cadance merely winked at me and honked the horn. Slowly, the cliff face rose up, revealing a tunnel. My jaw dropped for what felt like the hundredth time that day. We drove down the tunnel, past an automated security gate and onto a large lift. Cadance reached into the back of the chariot and retrieved a brown envelope. "Whoops, almost forgot to give you this," she said, handing the envelope to me before climbing out of the car.
"Employee's booklet, your security card and a declaration of secrecy—I am going to need you to sign that," she said as the lift moved downwards into a large cavern.
"Wow, you have an actual geofront?" I said in wonder of the sight in front of me. The natural cavern was now officially the largest thing I had ever seen, with a lake and a small pyramid shaped facility located at the bottom and the skyscrapers of Canterlot-2 hanging from the ceiling above me. It was so huge that I was unable to take it in all at once.
"Twilight Sparkle, welcome to Nerv."
We wandered several gleaming steel corridors, twisting this way and that. Eventually I came to the conclusion that Cadance was lost. Just as I was about to ask her this, a brown stallion wearing a lab coat approached us.
"Lost again, Cadance?" he asked with a frown, before looking at me. "Is this her?"
"Doctor! How are you? Twilight Sparkle, meet our Head of Research and Development, Doctor Whooves. Don't worry, he's always grumpy."
"Quite. Well come along now, we don't have all day." With that he turned and walked down a corridor. As we followed him I continued reading the handbook Cadance had given me. It wasn't that interesting, being a guide to how the chain of command worked, operating procedures and actions to take during an emergency and so on, but very little about what Nerv did. I asked this out loud.
"You'll see," the Doctor said with a small smile. Eventually we came to a large, darkened chamber. We were walking on a gangway over some sort of fluid, but in the low light I couldn't tell what. Suddenly, lights flared up, revealing a huge robotic head, eqiune in nature, but not in detail, partially submerged beneath a strange, orange fluid. I fell on my rump in surprise, letting out a small scream.
"Twilight Sparkle, this is Evangelion unit 01, codenamed 'MAGIC'," the Doctor announced, a hint of pride colouring his grumpy demeanour. "You're its pilot."
"What! I can't pilot that!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"You have to," said a new voice. Looking up, I saw Princess Celestia stood on a balcony overhead. Instinctively I bowed my head before her. "The Eva’s were made to fight the Angels and MAGIC was made for you, Twilight Sparkle. It is the only thing that can kill that Angel on the surface and you are the one who will pilot it."
"But I have never seen one before! I've never even heard of the Angels or the Evangelions! How can you expect me to go up there and fight?" I protested. Celestia held my eye for a moment, before turning away.
"Very well, if Twilight can't pilot it, Luna will have to," the Princess declared. Cadance and the Doctor gasped.
"But your highness—" Cadance began, but a look from Celestia cut her off. There was a moment's silence and then a gurney appeared. As it passed me I saw that its inhabitant was a dark blue mare, the same age as myself. It couldn't be the figure from before, could it? I thought to myself. Looking down at her I too gasped in shock, for the mare was heavily injured, wrapped up in bandages. Suddenly there was a rumble that shook the room.
"The Angel begins its attack," Celestia reported calmly, not breaking eye contact. Another rumble, louder than the first shook the room, causing the gurney to collapse, its inhabitant rolling out. I stared in shock- the dark blue mare was an alicorn! I rushed over to her—Luna, the Princess had called her. When I reached her, I noticed that she was barely conscious, her injuries restricting her movement. There was no way she could stand, let alone fight. Another rumble struck the room, followed by a sharp crack as part of the ceiling gave way to a pile of rubble—rubble that was headed towards Luna and myself! Shield spell, shield spell! I thought, but in my terror I couldn't cast it. I stared in horror at the falling rubble. I thought I was going to die. I closed my eyes.
There was a crack above my head. Looking up, instead of rubble I found my line of sight blocked by a large, metal, purple hoof. My eyes followed it along it's length, where it descended into the pool alongside the robotic head. The Evangelion had protected me.
"That's not possible!" the Doctor exclaimed, falling to his rump. "There's no power, no pilot! It shouldn't be able to move!"
I ignored him, staring at Celestia. She had enough power to stop the rubble, yet she didn't even move. That meant she either didn't care or she knew the Evangelion would move to protect us.
"Is this the only reason you summoned me?" I asked of the Princess, pointing at MAGIC. She nodded once. My eyes widened in realisation. If I didn't pilot it, I would be sent away. Away from Celestia, away from Cadance, away from Luna. And most importantly, I wouldn't find out why Sachiel and a dozen other monsters had been haunting my dreams for the last 14 years. "Then I'll do it."
The Evangelion was a huge beast, easily as large as the Angel rampaging on the surface. It superfically resembled a purple unicorn, with thick, blocky armour plates over it's legs, flanks and barrel. It was mane less, and the horn was a rectangular block instead of a cone. Over the armour plates on it's flanks, a large replica of my own cutie mark—a purple star surrounded by five smaller, white stars and backed by a larger white star—had been painted on, and underneath it were the words "EVA 01 MAGIC".
It really had been made for me.
I settled into the seat of the entry plug, my new 'plug suit' clinging tightly to my body, leaving little to the imagination if Cadance's approving wink was any indication, depsite having spent all day naked. I heard Doctor Whooves blare out orders over a loudspeaker, but I ignored it, focusing on my breathing. Suddenly, the entry plug moved, sliding into the back of the Eva’s equine shaped head. The plug began to fill up with the same orange liquid the rest of the Eva was submerged in. I briefly panicked, believing I was going to drown, but Cadance's voice came to my ear.
"Don't worry, Twilight. You can breathe the LCL just fine." I let go of the breath I was holding, choked on the LCL going down my throat and discovered that I could, in fact, breathe. It must be some form of liquid breathing, I thought. Curious.
"It smells like blood," I said, getting used to the sensation of being submerged.
"Twilight," Cadance said, her face appearing on a small view screen. "Are you ready?" I nodded. "Then prepare for launch in 5...4...3....2...1...launch!" suddenly the MAGIC shot upwards at an increadible speed, through a hole in the ceiling and out into the middle of the city. I looked around, seeing that night had fallen, the moon high in the sky. I gulped as the looked at it, the Mare in the Moon looking back down at me. "Twilight—don't think about anything, just concentrate on walking for now." I did as Cadance said, thinking about lifting a hoof. The Eva lifted a hoof... And fell flat on its face. "Twilight! Twilight, are you okay?"
"Ugh. Yes, I'm fine." I felt like I had just face planted onto the road. I suppose I just had. I managed to pick myself up and tried a few tentative steps. This time I didn't fall over. Within moments I was walking down the street. This is quite easy, actually I thought to myself. I turned a corner and stopped. There it was, Sachiel, the monster from my dreams. It had the vague shape of a pony, but the limbs were too long and spinderly, like an insect's, and it had no head, its face instead ocupying its chest. White pauldrons stuck out of its shoulders, contrasting with its black skin. A glowing red orb protruded from its chest just below its face.
"Use the prog knife Twilight!" Cadance yelled. Reaching up with a hoof larger than most houses, I pulled off the blunt rectangular horn, extending it into a knife, which vibrated faster than my eye could follow, making it appear to glimmer in the moonlight. Before I could use it however, the Angel knocked it out of my hoof and smacked me in the head, knocking me back to the floor. It put a hoof on my—the Eva’s head and grabbed my arm—the Eva’s arm with its other hoof and pulled.
"My arm!" I screamed, clutching at it from inside the entry plug. I had never felt such pain before. My arm felt like it was going to come off. I could see it streaching away from in the light of the cockpit, as if an unseen force was pulling at it. I heard a cracking noise and I screamed as the Eva’s arm snapped. My own arm hung limply, throbbing with pain. Blinking away tears, I saw Cadance's face moving, talking to me.
"—light! The pain isn't real! Your arm is fine, you're just feeling what the MAGIC feels!"
I looked up and saw a red lance slide out of Sachiel's elbow, before shooting back in and out of its hoof into the Eva's face. Blinding pain shot through my head, causing me to scream again. Down came the lance again. Again I screamed. And again and again, over and over, until I blacked out to the sound of Cadance's voice.
"—ight! Can you hear me Twilight? Twil—"
Author's Note
Thanks to Inky Jay for proofreading.
Chapter 2: An unfamiliar ceiling
Twilight Sparkle
I awoke with a gasp. What a terrifying nightmare, I thought to myself, staring at the ceiling. Lying in my bed, I reviewed the dream. So much pain and anger, blood and rage. And that scream of pure, primal fear! But why can I not remember any details? I continued to stare at the ceiling, when a small nagging feeling came over me, the feeling that something was wrong. I decided to count the white tiles on the ceiling ti pass the time when something occurred to me. That's not my ceiling! This isn't my room! Sitting up, I looked around at the gleaming white room in panic, trying to work out where I was. Some medical equipment in a corner caught my eye. A hospital? Suddenly the full weight of last night's memories hit me. I swayed in the bed, clutching my head and my arm as the phantom memory of pain throbbed through me.
The door slid open, Luna walking in. Distracted from my thoughts, I stared at the dark blue alicorn. She was the same height as me, her ethereal mane blowing in a nonexistent breeze. One of her wings was bound in a sling. She's beautiful I thought as she approached, a blush colouring my cheeks.
"We see that you are well, " Luna said, the force of her shout nearly blowing me back. I stared in shock at her voice. There was no emotion in it—no compassion, no friendliness, no concern, nothing. It couldn't even be described as cold. It was just empty. Empty and loud, like she didn't know what emotions were and made up for it in volume. "Come with us, The Princess wishes to speak to you. "
"Princess Celestia? What does she want?" I asked, pulling myself out of the bed.
"You are to be debriefed on your battle with the angel two nights ago. "
"Two nights ago? You mean I have been asleep for an entire day?"
"Yes. "
We walked out of the room and down the corridor in silence. A dozen questions filled my mind, but every time I looked at the Alicorn and her emotionless, doll-like face, they disappeared. I contented myself with examining her. She stood at the same height as me, although her horn was longer. Her slender legs and long, thin wings gave her an appearance of fragility, whilst her finely curved flanks—I snapped my head forwards, a blush reddening my face. Luna gave no indication that she had noticed my behaviour. Slowly, my eyes turned back to her. Her mane was a lighter blue than her coat, whilst her cutie mark occupied her entire flank, a cresent moon on a field of stars. I wondered what it meant.
The corridor came to an end, a lift waiting for us. We walked in, Luna selecting the top most button. Side by side we stood, the awkward silence persisting as the lift rose to the top floor. The door opened and we walked out into a large, open room. Its only feature was a desk in the middle, behind which sat Celestia. Luna and myself bowed in sync as we approached the desk.
"Thank you Luna, you may go now," Celestia dismissed the blue Alicorn. When she had gone, she turned to me. "Now then, Twilight Sparkle. Tell me, what happened two nights ago?" I took a deep breath and recounted what happened that night.
"-ight! Can you hear me Twilight? Twil-" Cadance screamed, her voice fading in and out as I hung on to the edge of consciousness. I am going to die, I thought. I am going to die, crushed by this monster. It's not fair! I didn't get to learn anything and now I am going to die! I felt anger stir in my heart, my thoughts twisting with hatred towards the monster that was trying to kill me. I will not let this abomination kill me! Suddenly, I felt the MAGIC move, its broken arm lifting up and grabbing the red lance before it could strike again. I didn't do that! It moved by itself, just like back in the hanger! I looked on in amazement as the Eva picked itself up, still holding the lance and roared defiantly at the angel. The MAGIC threw the Angel backwards, before swinging a hoof at its face. An octagonal wall of light blocked the kick.
"An Absolute Terror field!" I heard the Doctor yell in shock over the headset. "Nothing can penetrate an A.T field!" I ignored him and watched as the MAGIC rose up on its—our? —hind legs and swung down, impacting on the glowing wall with a mighty crack. As the Eva leaned back again, I saw an A.T field start to form around our—its? —front hooves. When we came down, the wall of light shattered underneath the blow. Once more we struck and this time there was nothing to prevent our attack. Blue blood flowed down the street as we stared at the gory mess of muscle and bone beneath us, the Angel's pulverised meat sticking to our hooves. At some point during the fight, we had become as one. Now that fight was over, I regained control of the Eva. Panting heavily, something caught my eye. In one of the buildings, the MAGIC's reflection could be seen—the armour plating over the face broken, revealing a large, grotesque, organic eye swirling around in its socket. Suddenly it stopped and fixated upon me, staring into my soul.
I screamed, fear overtaking my mind and driving me into unconsciousness.
I finished my report, emotionally exhausted. Did that really happen? a small part of myself asked, unable to come to terms with what had happened. Throughout the retelling, Celestia had remained impassive, not speaking, not moving, eyes focused on my face. Finally, she spoke.
"Thank you Twilight, that will be all." I stared in shock. No congratulations, no thank you? Not even a 'how are you?' She was my adoptive mother, after all. I caught the look in her eye and bowed, quickly leaving the room. I managed to make it to the lift before I collapsed, sobbing, tears dripping down my face. The lift pinged and the door slid open, revealing Cadance.
"Oh, Twilight," She murmured, picking me up and placing me on her back. I must have passed out, for the next thing I remember is waking up in another bed, this room small and cosy compared to the large clinical room I had first woken up in. Another unfamiliar ceiling, I thought to myself. A clock on the wall told me it was early evening, whilst a grumble from my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten in nearly two days. Falling out of bed, I wandered out of the door and made it to a kitchen, where Cadance was eating.
"Good evening, sleepy head!" she called out in a sing song voice. I grunted some sort of reply at her causing her to laugh. "If you're hungry, help yourself—I made soup." I raised an eyebrow at this—Cadance had never been able to cook. Peering into the pot and the black sludge within, I summarised that she still couldn't. Putting the pot down, I hunted though the cupboards until I found some cereal.
"Maybe I should cook from now on," I said, sitting across from her at the table.
"What's wrong with my cooking?" Cadance asked, an indignant look on her face.
"How about, everything?" I deadpanned back. We shared a laugh at this. I suddenly noticed the can she was drinking from. "Is that hard cider?" I asked, incredulous. I had never known Cadance to drink before. She took an over dramatic swig, before slamming it on the table.
"Yep!" She replied letting out a small burp. "Want some?" I shook my head and she carried on drinking. We settled into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the sound of eating. After a short while, Cadance took my hoof in hers and looked me in the eye.
"You did well."
Later that evening, I twisted and turned in my new bed, but every time I closed my eyes, the grotesque eye of the MAGIC would fill my mind, preventing any chance of sleep. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't sleep. I climbed out of bed and wandered into the apartment.
"Twilight?" A groggy and slightly drunken voice called out from across the hall.
"I'm just going for a walk," I called back. Snores answered me. I smiled and tip-toed my way out of the apartment, into the cool night air. Picking a direction at random, I trotted down the street, only paying enough attention so I wouldn't get lost. After a short while of aimless wandering, I stopped outside a brightly lit shop. The Sugarcube Corner? I noticed that it was still open, even at this late hour. Since I had a few bits on me and was still feeling peckish, I wandered into the faux gingerbread house.
Inside was a brightly lit cafe, with a counter displaying fresh cakes and sweets. The only other person in the room was a pink earth pony with cotton candy hair. She had her back to me and was currently gorging on an ice cream sundae almost the same size as her. I watched in fascination as a series of twitches coursed through her body, culminating in her turning around and seeing me. She gave a gasp of surprise and rushed over to me, enveloping me in a big hug.
"I've never seen you before and if I've never seen you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and if you're new, that means you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, so I thought, I know, I'll be your friend!" the pink pony rambled on, crushing me in her hug.
"Can't breathe!" I gasped out. The pink pony dropped me, looking apologetic.
"Sorry, but I was so happy to make a new friend. I'm Pinkie Pie! Want a cupcake?" she said, bouncing around the room. I was feeling exhausted just looking at her.
"Twilight Sparkle." I frowned as she helped herself to the cupcakes behind the counter. "Are you allowed to do that?"
"Don't worry, I work here. Here you go, on the house!" she said, passing me half a dozen cupcakes. I bit into one and was overwhelmed by the sugary goodness. It was like eating happiness itself. I told Pinkie this, which pleased her greatly.
"I'm glad you like it, 'cause making ponies happy is my special talent!" she said, pointing at her flank, which had three party balloons as her cutie-mark. Her ear twitched a couple of times. "Uh oh, my pinkie sense is telling me someone's unhappy. Why don't you tell auntie Pinkie about it?" she said guiding me to the table.
"I ... I am not sure I can. I made a promise to keep it secret." I said, thinking of the declaration of secrecy I had signed.
"Pish-posh. If it bothers you, I can make a pinkie promise not to tell any one. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Despite the silliness of the promise, there was a certain seriousness to it as well. I took a gamble and told her everything. Losing my family at Second Impact, my adoption and subsequent abandonment by the Princess, and how even Cadance left me, the events of the past few days, everything. At the end of it, I looked up and saw a rather surprising sight. Pinkie's hair had deflated, for want of a better word, and was now hanging flat. There was a dark, somber expression in her face.
"Sachiel was in my nightmares too. I am glad you killed it," she said quietly.
"What? How?" I asked, incredulous.
"You said you got your cutie-mark on the day of Second Impact?" I nodded an affirmative. "So did I. I saw the rainboom and it made me happy, truly happy for the first time in my life. And from that moment I knew I had to make everyone feel the same happiness I did. Then Second Impact happened. We were poor farmers—so poor that I had to work, removing rocks from the fields so it could be ploughed." Pinkie gave a small laugh. "I did it so much, that for a while I thought it was a rock farm! When Second Impact happened, we were hit by a drought. I didn't know it at the time, but there wasn't much food. My parents gave it all to my sisters and myself. All I knew was that I had to keep everyone happy and laughing. My parents died of starvation, smiles on their faces. That was when the nightmares started. And I knew, just knew, that the monsters in my nightmares caused Second Impact, that they killed my parents." I stared in horror. Everyone had a Second Impact story, but to hear one like this, in the bright cheery setting of the bakery, from this hyperactive, laughing pink pony, was just too much. I held her hoof in mine and we just sat there, in companionable silence.
I glanced at a clock and saw that it was nearly dawn. "I need to be getting back home," I said apologetically. "Thank you Pinkie, for the cupcakes and... and for listening to me. You are a good friend. No, you are the best friend I have ever had." Pinkie perked up at this, returning to her bubbly, happy personality. The sudden change was a little jarring.
"And thank you too, Twilight! You will come and see me again, right?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-OW!" We shared a laugh at my clumsiness and said our goodbyes. I returned to Cadance's apartment—my home now, I suppose —with a light heart and slipped into my bed. For the first time in years, I slept peacefully.
Author's Note
Thanks to Inky Jay for proofreading.
Chapter 3: Too close for comfort
Twilight Sparkle
I sat in the entry plug, panting heavily, the LCL bubbling from my mouth. A line of explosions ripped their way down the street, passing my hiding place behind the tower. Suddenly, I moved, standing up and staring at the Angel in front of me. I raised the hoof of the MAGIC, admiring the rifle attachment as I waited for the cross hairs to align. We pulled the trigger, causing explosions to rip the Angel apart, blue blood pouring from its wounds. Another one materialised behind it, causing us to dive behind another building, just avoiding the blinding laser that vaporised the part of the street we had just been standing on. Rising out of cover we returned fire, destroying this Angel. Two for two, we thought. Suddenly our sensors detected another angel behind us. I'm exposed! I panicked, spinning round, firing a burst of shots at it. They all went wide, impacting on the hills behind it. The gem on its chest glowed before it fired a laser at me. The world went black, then red, dark script hovering in front of me.
SIMULATION ENDED
I sighed as the plug drained of LCL, hiccuping as I breathed in air for the first time in two hours. A hatch above me opened, revealing the stoic expression of Doctor Whooves.
"That's enough today, Miss Sparkle," he said, offering a hoof, which I gladly took. "Octavia, what was her synch ratio?"
"40%, sir," replied a grey Earth Pony with a pink treble clef for a cutie mark and a matching bow-tie, passing me a towel.
"Not bad, very good for a beginner, although nowhere near the 90% you achieved in your first battle with the Angel."
"Doctor, what do you mean by synch ratio? I've heard you talk about it several times, but no one has explained it to me," I asked, attempting to dry my mane. The Doctor looked at me in surprise.
"I keep forgetting you've only been with us a week. A synch ratio is simply a measure of how synchronised you are with the Eva. For example, myself and Octavia here. We are two separate minds in two separate bodies. Our thoughts and actions are wholly independent of each other. This would be described as a synch ratio of 0%. Now when you are in the Eva, the LCL allows the flow of thoughts, actions and emotions between the two of you. As the synch ratio rises, so too does the strength of your connection."
"So at 100%, I what, bond permanently with the Eva? Isn't that dangerous?"
"Yes and no. The bond is only as permanent as you allow it to be—the moment you decide to be an individual again you desynchronise and separate. But that is all hypothetical, as there are plenty of safeguards that prevent full synch- your plug suit for one. It creates interference between your body and the LCL, limiting the synch ratio to 95% at most- and since you survived at 90%, I don't think there's anything for you to worry about."
I frowned at this. Synching at 90% had been unpleasant. I had lost all sense of identity—we were MAGIC and we had been made to fight Angels. That was what our existence had boiled down to during the fight—a mere weapon of war. In truth, the event had only caused my nightmares to grow worse; to the point where I was beginning to develop insomnia, although thankfully Sachiel had vanished from them. If it wasn't for Pinkie and our blossoming friendship, I would have probably lost my mind by now. I kept these concerns to myself, however. Turning to leave, I headed towards the changing rooms where I could shower off the strange orange liquid.
"Oh, Miss Sparkle, one moment," the Doctor said, rooting through his desk. He pulled out a plastic card. "I forgot to give this to Luna earlier. It's her new security card. Could you pass it on to her?" I nodded enthusiastically and he gave me directions to Luna's apartment. Somehow I managed to leave the room without skipping. I now knew where the mysterious alicorn lived and I had an excuse to visit her. I had a feeling today would be a good day.
I skipped down the street, eleated at the thought of meeting Luna. The mere thought of the beautiful and mysterious Alicorn sent my heart rate skywards and I had to stop a moment just to calm down. At least I am not a Pegasus with one of their infamous wingboners, I chuckled to myself. That thought caused me to pause. Why am I so attracted to her? I have never shown indications of, well, liking mares before. But then again, the only thing I have ever shown true enthusiasm was for books. Maybe I have always been like this? I shrugged, realising that I had been standing in the street for several minutes.
Continuing my journey with the faint blush of embarrassment on my cheeks, I approached the district Luna's apartment was located in. I frowned, looking around at the area. This can't be right. This area looks really run down and derelict in places. But according to a street sign (after I looked past some rather vulgar graffiti) I realised that I was headed the right way. With trepidation I walked along the streets, before arriving at an imposing tower block. According to the Doctor, Luna lived on the 12th floor, and judging from the yellow tape, the lifts weren't working. I sighed and began the long climb up the stairs.
Eventually I reached the 12th floor and began to walk down the corridor, past some more vulgar graffiti. How could Luna live here? How could Celestia let anypony live here? I quickly reached Luna's apartment and stared in shock—the mail slot was crammed full of letters, flyers and leaflets. Luna hadn't sorted, or even bothered to collect her mail in quite some time. I rang the doorbell, or at least I attempted to, but no sound emerged. Must be broken, I thought. Like everything else round here. I decided to knock, but on the first tap the door swung open.
"Hello?" I called out into the dark corridor. "Luna, are you home?" Silence greeted me. Well, I suppose I could leave the card on a desk for her. I will see her at work anyway. Bolstered by this thought, I crept into her home. The first thing I noticed was the dirt. Every surface, including the floor, was covered in a thick layer of grime, only broken where Luna's hoofsteps had fallen. I tried to match these oases of cleanliness, but I could still feel my hooves stick to the floor. Now I know why some ponies insist on wearing shoes.
As I wandered into the apartment, I came into what must be the main room. It was sparse, with only a bed, a bedside cabinet and an empty bookshelf. I looked at the bookshelf with a touch of sadness in my heart. Books are such wonderful things! How can she not own any? Maybe I can lend her some of mine? I trotted over to the cabinet, stepping over piles of bloody bandages that littered the floor, with the intention of leaving the security card there and leaving. As I drew closer, an object on the cabinet drew my eye. In truth, it was the only personal possession on display—a midnight blue tiara, similar to the gold one Cadance used to wear. I picked it up, examining it. Does this mean Luna is royalty? But if so, why does she live in this tip?
"Ahem ," came Luna's impossibly loud and emotionless voice from immediately behind me. I gave a shriek of surprise and jumped a full foot into the air, coming down on top of Luna. We lay there, sprawled on top of each other, staring at each other in shock and silence. The first thing I noticed was that her fur and mane were wet—she must have just stepped out of the shower. The tips of our horns were just touching, a highly intimate position for unicorns, and I felt the underside of my hips rub against her wet, graciously curved underbelly, sending signals of pleasure to my brain as our teats rubbed against each other. This awkward, sexual contact continued for several more moments, the intimate positions sending my heart racing despite her emotionless, impassive stare. I felt a heat bloom in my chest and between my hips and a faint blush coloured my cheeks. By Celestia, what is this I am feeling? Is it...Love? Attraction? Lust? Eventually, I felt Luna's body shift beneath mine, causing me to jump up off her. I back peddled away, almost tripping over a bandage in my haste.
"I'msorryIdidn'tmeantobargeinbutthedoorwasunlockedandtheDoctorsentmetogiveyouyoursecuritycardandIamsorrygottogobye!" I said at hyperspeed, throwing the security card at her face and bolting out of the door as fast as my legs could carry me.
I didn't stop running until I reached the Sugarcube Corner. Seeing the warm glow of the bakery calmed me and I wandered in. Looking around, I saw that Pinkie was absent, but the proprietor, Mrs Cake, was behind the counter. Going up to her, I asked for the sugariest cake they had, before sitting down at a table in the corner.
"Is Pinkie around?" I asked as Mrs Cake brought the treat over.
"No dear, it's her day off. Why, is there something you need?"
I bit into the cake, feeling the sugar soothing my emotions. "Not really. I just had a bit of an odd day."
"Well, why don't you tell me about it, dear? It might help to get it of your chest."
"To be honest, its kinda embarrassing and personal." I said blushing, thinking about Luna.
"Oh don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"Okay. Well, I think that I discovered that I might possibly be attracted to mares," I began, but quickly stopped as Mrs Cake's smile grew forced.
"I see. Oh I do believe I left some muffins in the oven!" she said, dashing off to the kitchen to rescue her 'muffins'. I sighed, finished my cake, left a tip and walked out. Maybe Cadance, the Alicorn of love, could help me? I wondered. No, it will be too awkward. I've barely seen her in five years. I just wouldn't feel comfortable speaking to her about it. And yet I felt comfortable talking to Mrs Cake, a near stranger?
I reached the apartment block, confused thoughts swirling around my head, when I heard a yell above me. Looking up, I caught a view of Cadance's underbelly as she flew down from our apartment. Once again, I was glad that I wasn't a Pegasus, as staring at her finely curved flanks from this angle would have given me another wingboner. I was also both thankful for and annoyed with the natural illusion that all ponies used to obscure their privates. Definitely not talking to Cadance about this, I thought. Hang on a moment, Cadance doesn't fly anywhere, she prefers to walk. Something's wrong. As Cadance landed on the ground besides me she indicated to her chariot.
"Good, you're here. Come on, Nerv has detected another Angel headed this way."
I sat once again in the entry plug of the EVA, watching as the Angel approached, floating horizontally along the ground. This Angel was easily as huge as the last one, but where Sachiel had resembled a pony, this one, codenamed Shamsel, looked like a giant purple stallionhood, with a flat, leaf shaped head on top. I failed to stifle a giggle at its shape, especially in the light of the personal revelations I had gone through today. It was like the Angels were unhappy with my newfound sexual preference. Another giggle burst through my lips.
"Focus, Miss Sparkle," the Doctor's voice said from his place in the command centre. I nodded. There was no time for silliness—that Angel was a threat to everypony in Canterlot. "Do you recognise it?"
"Yes, Doctor," I replied. "This one was in my nightmares too." A thought struck me. Maybe this is why I am attracted to mares. It would make sense, considering that I have been haunted by a giant phallic shaped being ever since I was a filly. Oh, where's a therapist when I need one.
"Interesting. Yet I can not fathom why you would know of these beings before hand. Not even we are familiar with their forms."
Celestia, who had been a silent observer to all this, suddenly spoke. "It is close enough. Begin the attack. Stop it before it reaches the city." The Eva and I surged forwards at this, our synch ratio rising. We raised the rifle attached to our hoof and fired. A ripple of explosions appeared across its body, causing it to turn its attention away from the city and towards us. It reared up, standing erect, it's head rotating to stay horizontal to the ground, revealing a red gem—it's core—on it's throat. A pair of glowing purple tentacles shot out, forming arms. Suddenly they lashed out, striking us in the chest and sending us flying backwards, the shock separating our consciences from each other.
Great, I am going to be tentacle raped by a giant penis, I thought sarcastically, shaking my head so I could begin to synchronise with the Eva. A flash of pink caught my eye and looking over I saw something that stopped my heart. Hiding behind one of MAGIC's hooves was Pinkie! I nearly crushed her! Oh no! I can't move from this position, the Angel will get her! I lay there, frozen in place, undecided on what to do.
"Twilight!" Cadance suddenly spoke. "Open the entry plug! She will be safe in there!" I nodded in realisation. The safest place around here was inside the Eva itself! I quickly obeyed her command and opened the entry plug. Standing up, I called out to Pinkie. She saw me and hurriedly climbed in, slipping into the LCL beside me.
"Twilight! Ohmygosh I was out walking in the hills when suddenly it was all rargh and you were all nuh uh and it was all like wibbly-wobbly with those tentacles—I have a toy like that—then you were all whoosh and I thought I was going to go splat but my knee got itchy and that means I have to stand still and I did and you missed me and now I am in this strange fluid yet I can still breathe and what's up with that and—"
"Oh sweet Celestia someone please shut her up!" came the Doctor's voice from over the vidscreen.
"—and I said, oatmeal? Are you crazy?" Pinkie carried on rambling. Thankfully, before either of them could begin another tirade, the Angel attacked, a bright tentacle whipping it's way towards me, wrapping itself around the hoof with the rifle attachment. It squeezed, turning the rifle into scrap metal.
"Buck this!" I said, reaching up for the prog knife in the mane of the Eva, synchronising as I did so. We slashed down at the tentacle, cutting it off.
Ooh, this is weird, A group of decidedly pink thoughts and emotions said.
Pinkie! You've synchronised with me! I cried out in our head. The pink thoughts laughed.
Twilight! You're purple! Well, I know you're purple, that's your colour, but now you are just purple! Purple thoughts! That's hilarious!
A sudden pain broke our communication. Looking, we—that is, myself, Pinkie and MAGIC—saw the Angel prepare for another attack with its remaining tentacle. It lashed towards us, but we felt a strange tingling in our body—itchy nose, twitchy ear, floppy tail. Almost by instinct, we dove out of the way.
What was that? We thought Pinkie sense! We replied. It predicts the future! We nodded with understanding. Armed with this new power, we were unstoppable. Raising the prog knife in a hoof, we charged towards the Angel, effortlessly dodging Shamshel's attacks—floppy hoof, jump, twitchy tail, duck. We reached the Angel unscathed, slipped in beneath its attack and plunged the knife into its core.
Silence reigned over the battlefield, the Eva and the Angel locked in place, two frozen statues against the setting sun. It was over, the Angel was dead and Canterlot-2 was safe. I sighed, desyncing from Pinkie and MAGIC. I looked at the pink pony, floating beside me in the plug and for the first time all day, I laughed, with not a care in the world.
Author's Note
Thanks to Inky Jay for proofreading.
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Chapter 4: If music be the food of love, play on (part 1)
Mi Amore Cadenza
I was woken from my drunken stupor by a shrill scream echoing around the apartment. I sighed, and made my way to Twilight’s room, where I found her in the throes of another nightmare—the third one this week. I laid down beside her, holding her head against my chest, whispering soothing words into her ears.
“Shh, shh, its okay, you’re safe, I’m here now.” I carried on whispering as she cried, her sobs muffled by my fur. Eventually, she exhausted herself back to sleep and I set her head down on the pillow. I looked at her, a smile tugging my lips. So beautiful, so brave. I thought. Oh Twilight, how I love you so. As kind and noble as your brother. I felt a familiar pain tug on my heart. No, don’t think of that . I left the bedroom and made my way to the kitchen, opening the fridge and retrieving one of the many cans of cider that filled it. I took a long draught, releasing a small burp at the end.
“Excuse me,” I giggled softly, the ache in my heart fading. I looked at the clock on the wall. 4 am. Damn, can’t turn up to work too drunk. Again. I quickly finished off the can and returned to bed, stumbling down the corridor. I’ll quit drinking soon , I promised myself, recognising the familiar lie for what it was. Slipping beneath the covers, I fell into a deep sleep, my dreams haunted by a familiar white stallion. Oh Shining...
Twilight and myself wandered through the impromptu worksite that had sprung up around the colossal corpse of Shamshel, Doctor Whooves babbling on about some science thing. Twilight seemed interested, so I tried to keep up with the conversation.
“I am amazed that the body is in perfect condition! We might be able to get a working S2 engine from it!” The Doctor rambled on, hooves flailing madly in excitement.
“An S2 engine? What’s that?” Twilight asked.
“The Super Solenoid, or S2, engine works on the theory of the same name that I devised just prior to Second Impact. It is essentially a naturally occurring organ that can potentially generate an infinite amount of energy—making the Angels virtually immortal. I've never been able to replicate it in a lab, but now that I have an undamaged specimen, I should be able to reverse engineer one. Or at least I would, if I was the one overseeing the project. Instead, it is being added to the Manehatten-3 project under the directions of my colleague, Dr Dark Matter.” There was a surprising amount of bitterness coming from the Doctor, but he quickly composed himself. “But just think of what we could achieve if we could replicate it—free, never ending energy!”
“Yes,” I replied dryly, “I can hear the coal companies screaming from here.” Whooves snorted and Twilight giggled, causing me to smile in return. It's good to see her laugh and act normal. I thought, remembering last night. We hadn't talked about it yet, or any of her other night terrors. We rounded a corner and saw Princess Celestia talking to a couple of Whooves’ assistants, who were quite clearly intimidated by the large Alicorn. The Doctor galloped off to rescue them, leaving Twilight and myself behind, an awkward silence developing.
“So, uh, do you want to talk about last night?” Twilight asked, surprising me.
“Only if you want to,” I replied neutrally. The silence stretched on as we just stood there, pawing the ground.
“Its the same dream,” Twilight said after a moment. “Every night, the same damn dream, for the past 15 years. And they are in it,” she said pointing at the dead angel ahead of us. “Why? Why are they in my dreams?”
“I don’t know, Twilight, I just don’t know,” I said, placing my foreleg around her neck and holding her close. But Shining knew, didn’t he? A traitorous part of my mind whispered. No, I whispered back, she must never know what happened to him. I will keep her safe.
“I think they’re warnings,” Twilight continued, oblivious to the turmoil within me. “I think another attack is going to happen soon. And I'm scared. Not of dying, but of failing, failing in front of the Princess.” Twilight looked at the tall white alicorn, who had not once sent a glance our way, too busy talking to Doctor Whooves, before looking back at me, tears in her eyes. “And most of all, I’m scared that she doesn't care for me.”
I wiped away her tears with a hoof. “Oh Twilight. Remember this—I will always care for you, no matter what,” I said, before kissing her lightly on the forehead. “Now enough of this crying, don’t you have a date to get to?”
Twilight stomped a foot in frustration. “Its not a date! Pinkie's just a good friend of mine, that's all.” I laughed at how easily she got wound up.
“Okay, okay, whatever you say. Either way, you're going to be late.” Twilight went wide-eyed at this, and shot off towards the exit, leaving me behind chuckling in her wake. After she had gone, I turned around, only to find myself face to face with Celestia herself. “Your highness!” I stammered out.
“Cadance. Walk with me,” She said, turning and walking away. I quickly caught up with her. We wandered down through the worksite in silence. “Tell me, do you really care for her?”
I stumbled, the question surprising me. “Yes, Princess. Deeply.”
“Good. Someone has to.”
“Do you?” I asked, wincing at the brashness of my own question.
“Do not forget yourself, Cadance. You are no longer a princess.” I lowered my head in shame, unwanted memories rising unbidden. “But to answer your question, no, I don’t. At least, no more than any other pony in Equestria. Maybe, in another time and place, I would have. But the last 14 years have been harsh on everyone.” We stopped, and I realised that we had simply walked in a circle, returning to where we had began. Celestia looked me in the eye. “Look after her, for she is more important than you realise.” A shiver ran up my spine as Celestia walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. More important than I realise? She makes Twilight sound like a tool, a playing piece. Is that all we are to her? And for what purpose? Oh auntie, what happened to make you so cold?
Later that afternoon, I stood in an observation booth within Nerv headquarters, many miles below the surface. Before me was a large hangar, in which an EVA—Unit 00, codenamed MOON—stood. Tall and equine shaped, as with Twilight's eva, the prototype EVA had a few differences. Where Twilight's was purple, MOON was grey, and it had no cutie mark. It also lacked the horn module Twilight's had. Overall, the prototype EVA gave of a sense of incompleatness, as if it hadn't been finished. Its repairs had been compleated, and Luna was fit enought to attempt to pilot it once more. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of the last performance. I thought, thinking back to the disaster one month ago.
“Okay, initiate start up sequence,” the Doctor commanded to his assistants. The MOON’s eyes lit up with a green glow as the entry plug containing Luna was inserted to the back of its head. The Princess and I stood stock still as it took one step forwards, then another and another.
"The synch ratio is spiking!" called one of the Doctors assistants, a white unicorn with a spikiy blue mane and red sunglasses—Vinyl Scratch, I think she is called. "It's all over the place—we've lost contact with the pilot! the EVA is going beserk!"
The Doctor began screaming orders, but I could only watch in horror as the MOON slowly, casually and deliberatly lifted a hoof and kicked the observation booth, denting the solid steel wall and cracking the reinforced glass. It roared and struck out again and again, trying to crush Celestia, who just stood there, staring impassively. The room began to fill with orange foam, hardening on contact with the air and restricting the movements of the MOON. Suddenly, the entry plug ejected itself, flying out of the EVA and slamming into a wall, crumpling under the impact.
"LUNA!" Celestia screamed, her face showing the first emotion I had seen on it in months—fear. She galloped out of the room, reappearing a few minutes later in the hanger. Ignoring the now deactivated Eva trapped in the rapidly solidifying foam, she dashed over to the crumpled entry plug and ripped off the door with her magic, pulling a bloody body out of the hatch, cradling it until the paramedics arrived.
"And end the test. Well done, everybody, the test was successful," the Doctor announced, bringing me out of my reminiscences. I looked around and realised that the test had gone off without a hitch whilst I was lost in my memories.
"So Luna can return to active service now?" I asked, the Doctor nodding a confirmation. Good , I thought, Twilight won't have to fight alone anymore . No sooner than I had finished speaking alarms began ringing thought the base. There are no drills booked today, which means...
"There's an Angel approaching!" Octavia said, confirming my fears.
"Are you okay?" I asked Twilight as she changed into her plug suit. She nodded, but still looked unhappy. "Did your date go well?"
"It wasn't a date!" Twilight all but screamed at me, causing me to laugh. "Yeah, it went fine," she said, sighing.
"But..."
"Pinkie is leaving town for a couple of weeks. She said she couldn't tell me where she was going—it's a surprise, apparently."
"Well, two weeks isn't that long, and I am sure that she had a good reason to keep it from you." Twilight nodded at my words, just as Luna walked in.
"Congratulations on passing your synch test, Luna!" Twilight called out, startling the blue alicorn. "Here, I got you a gift." She began to pull out a brightly coloured parcel from her saddlebags.
"A gift? " Luna said, clutching the parcel with a confused expression on her face. "We have never recieved a gift before. "
"Are you going to open it?" I prompted. Luna quickly tore off the paper to reveal a large book.
"It's a biography of Star Swirl the Bearded!" Twilight exclaimed happily.
Oh Twilight, you and your books. I thought to myself. Although I was surprised to learn that despite all your reading, the only spell you know is you telekinesis . My eyes wandered down to her rather fine looking flank. Especially since magic is supposed to be your special talent . I suppose the lack of a proper teacher didn't help, even after civilisation was restored.
I looked back up, noticing that Twilight was still talking animatedly to the bewildered alicorn. I took notice of Twilight's expression, how close she was standing and a myriad of other visual clues. Ah, so that's how it is , I thought to myself. Twilight is infatuated with Luna! I almost giggled with delight. This was something I could help with. Turning away slightly to hide my actions, I cast one of my signature love spells—nothing major, just enough to give things a slight push in the right direction. Celestia did order me to look after Twilight, after all.
Turning back, I was met with a surprising sight—Luna had embraced Twilight in a hug. Maybe my spell was stronger than I thought, or perhaps Luna was also attracted to Twilight.
"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, " Luna bellowed.
"You're welcome," stuttered Twilight, flattening her ears.
"Come on you two," I said, "into the EVAs now." They nodded and left for the hanger, whilst I headed to the command center.
Upon reaching the command center, I looked around. Up on one wall was a large view screen with feeds from both EVAs, their entry plugs and from various cameras around the city. In front of the screen was a bank of computers connected straight to the MAGI- a group of three AI's who managed the day to day runing of Equestria among other things. Sat at the computers were Vinyl and Octavia—they seem to do everything around here. We can't be paying them enough —with Doctor Whooves looking over their shoulders. Behind us, up on a balcony, was the Princess, aloof and indecipherable.
I took my position besides Whooves and looked up at the screen, which was displaying an image of the latest Angel- codenamed Ramiel. Where do we get these names from? I wondered, before gasping in surprise at its colossal size. The previous angels had been large, yes, but roughly the same size as an EVA, or a medium sized skyscraper. Ramiel, however, was easily half the size of Canterlot-2, a huge mirror-blue octahedron, hanging in the air, defying the laws of gravity. How can we beat this one? I despaired.
"What's the plan, Princess?" I asked.
"Twilight ascends to the surface first, to probe for weaknesses and hold it off, whilst we equip the MOON with a rifle. Once Luna is ready, she will join Twilight on the surface and move into a support position."
I nodded, accepting the simple, bare bones plan for what it was—without proper intel, we were at a distinct disadvantage.
"Launching the MAGIC in 5...4...3...2...1...launch," Octavia said. Moments later, we saw the MAGIC appear on the surface several miles above us. Twilight dashed out of cover, opening fire with her rifle only for the shots to become blocked by an A.T field.
"I'm detecting a large energy spike," Vinyl informed us. I watched with a fascination that quickly gave way to horror as Ramiel fired a laser at Twilight, striking her EVA in the chest. Her scream of pain echoed around the command center as the LCL in the entry plug boiled.
"Activate emergency teleport!" I ordered. "Bring her back down here now!" A bright flash indicated that my order had been followed. I glanced at the screen showing the inside of the MAGIC's entry plug, an unconscious Twilight floating in it, parts of her fur burned off.
A motion on the main screen caught my attention. A drill had extended from the base of the Angel, and was currently digging its way through the earth. I did a quick calculation in my head and came to a terrifying conclusion.
"It's right above us," Octavia said, echoing my thoughts. "And it's coming straight down."
