Initiating automated daily functionality check for PROJECT BULWARK, day: [703,188]
Connecting…
Connected: Testing…
Primary node: ONLINE
Relay node 1: OFFLINE
Relay node 2: OFFLINE
Relay node 3: OFFLINE
Relay node 4: OFFLINE
Relay node 5: ONLINE
Relay node 6: OFFLINE
System at 35% operational capacity, please activate two additional nodes for minimum functionality.
Information insufficient to lower threat level, remain threat level [BLACK]

Initiating automated daily functionality check for PROJECT BULWARK, day: [703,189]
Connecting…
Connected: Testing…
Primary node: ONLINE
Relay node 1: OFFLINE
Relay node 2: OFFLINE
Relay node 3: OFFLINE
Relay node 4: OFFLINE
Relay node 5: ONLINE
Relay node 6: OFFLINE
System at 35% operational capacity, please activate two additional nodes for minimum functionality.
WARNING: Relay Node 5 occupied by [CANNOT VERIFY IFF TAG]
Threat level: [BLACK], assume designation [HOSTILE]
Sending message to [CANNOT VERIFY IFF TAG]
Message content: Representatives of [CANNOT VERIFY IFF TAG], you have one standard year (365 days) to cease occupation of Relay Node 5. Failure to comply will be met with severe consequences.
Sending…
Sending…
Sent
Activating Contender…
ONLINE
Initiating countdown
[365:00:00:00]
[364:23:59:59]

<01010100 01101000 01100101 01111001>

SYS: Connection Established
BULWARK ADMIN [Type=Query]: Why have I been activated?
CENTCOM [Type=Response]: Unknown entities have assumed control of relay node 5, scans indicate that primary entity is 33.33% hostile by genetic makeup, multiple secondary entities are 75-90% hostile by genetic makeup.
BULWARK ADMIN [Type=Acknowledgement]: Understood, CENTCOM, can confirm DELIVERANCE: Countdown has begun, awaiting hostile acknowledgment.
CENTCOM [Type=Confirmation]: Excellent, proceed according to protocol.
SYS: Connection Terminated

<01100001 01110010 01100101>

Twilight Sparkle had awoken at exactly six in the morning, as she did every morning, having elected to stay in the Crystal Empire following the defeat of Sombra, both to support her brother and sister in law and to study this lost culture, she was quite excited to see what the day had in store for her. Sure she missed Spike and her friends, but it was a small sacrifice when compared to the chance to research and document a civilization that had been all but forgotten by the rest of the world. The week and a half she had already spent here was not wasted, she had been exploring every nook and cranny of the castle, writing down everything she found. What she had not expected this morning was the quartet of guards who had arrived at her door and informed her that something strange had been found below the grand library.

But she wasn’t exactly complaining.

“Let’s get this door open!” an officer, Lieutenant Winters, called out.
Twilight looked on in awe as eight unicorns and nearly two dozen earth ponies attempted with rope and magic to pull open the massive onyx hatch at the end of the hallway; it looked to be seven feet wide and 10 feet tall with massive hinges on the left side and a guide track cut into the floor for it to swing open on. She followed Cadence over to the Lieutenant to ask what was going on, but he cut her off as she opened her mouth.”Ms. Sparkle, Princess Cadence, the librarians were clearing out the lower levels when they encountered this, according to them this hallway was not present before the Empire returned. From what I’ve seen, that appears to be true, the entrance is covered in engraved charms, pretty complex ones at that, from what we can tell they made the hallway and door completely undetectable.”
Cadence looked at him with concern, “Could it be something left by Sombra?”
“Unlikely Ma’am, this is unlike anything I’ve ever seen”
“Have you tried teleporting past it?” Twilight interjected.
Winters got a frustrated look on his face, the kind of frustrated where you are confronted by a problem you just can’t figure out. “Affirmative, with no success”
Twilight’s eyes widened slightly, “The teleport bounced?”
“Negative, more like the caster can feel the empty space beyond the door, but the spell won’t recognize it, so there’s no place we can even try teleporting to.”
“That’s… concerning.”
Cadence looked towards the struggling ponies, “Ok, well then, have them stop pulling on it, they don’t seem to be accomplishing anything”
As Winters called off the guards cadence and Twilight approached the door, wary of any traps, after a time Cadence spoke up, “I’ve got nothing, what do you think, Twilight?”.
Twilight jumped a little, having been lost in observation, “Well, this is onyx, can’t tell how thick or if it’s covering anything. I can tell you that it’s heavy, well secured, and…” she briefly lit up her horn, “covered in enough enchantments that I doubt even Princess Luna could break it down.”
Cadence raised her hoof to the door, “So it’s pretty stur-” as soon as her hoof made contact with the smooth black surface all light in the hallway cut out, except for a harsh white glow now emanating from previously hidden lines in the door and the glowing blue symbol of a heart.

The symbol flared for a moment before disappearing, suddenly the lights came back on, now red, casting everything in a menacing glow. A klaxon blared and the noise of locking pins receding could be heard before the massive door began to swing open. Quickly stepping back, everypony present watched the hatch’s slow progression; they could clearly see now that it was three feet of solid metal with a few inches of crystal on either side. Musty air came rushing out of the opening, stale and smelling of dust.

Everypony present stood for a moment, frozen in shock, the guards quickly recovered and rushed to place themselves between their Princess and the unknown. After a few moments of silence Lieutenant Winters pointed towards three guards, “You three, sweep and clear, maintain line of sight.” The group gave affirmations and entered the opened passage. Twilight waited nervously, glancing about.
“Clear!”
“Clear!”
“Room clear!”
A number of the remaining guards moved into the room, followed quickly by Twilight and Cadence. The room beyond was large and circular, with a high ceiling, the walls covered in maps and diagrams. In the center was a round table, completely featureless but made of the same onyx as the door, light shone clearly on it while most of the room was enshrouded in near darkness. High up on the wall directly opposite the door was a large carved snowflake, very similar to the one on the Empire’s flag, but sharper and with a ring encircling it, it was illuminated clearly, seemingly meant to draw the eye; Twilight looked around in awe, taking in the room.
“What is this place?”
The lieutenant blinked, seemingly shaken from his own observations, before turning to address her. “If I didn’t know any better ma’am I’d say it’s a war room.”
Twilight’s head snapped over to face him. “A war room, under the library? Wouldn’t Sombra keep something like that in the palace?”
“Indeed so ma’am, in fact we have ponies going through it right now.” He took a long look around, “Which is why this concerns me, it isn’t Sombra’s.”
As they spoke Cadence had begun to walk further into the room, as soon as she was within a hooflength of the strange table it lit up and a projection appeared on it, a three dimensional rendering of the empire, but it was off, bigger, with distinct walls around the city and large structures of unknown purpose tightly pressed together. If she had to guess she would have to say it was nearly triple the size of the actual city above them. Winters and Twilight quickly joined her, looking over the table, one tactically, one scholarly.
Cadence stared at the image in shock, “W-what is all this?”
“Some of the recon parties Captain armor and I deployed reported detecting building foundations outside the shield, but given the hostile weather and the sheer age of the site were unable to determine how old they were, or even if they actually existed.” Winters responded, eyes glued to the map. “One of the most important things to remember about this place is that it’s ancient, even compared to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” He finally looked at the mares beside him, “I think my instincts were right, this is a war room, but it’s probably older than Sombra.”

Suddenly the map vanished, the surface of the table going dark except for a stylized icon of a letter flanked by two gently pulsing arrows directly in front of Princess Cadence. Every pony in the room froze, the guards having long since abandoned examining the rest of the room in favor of the table. Cadence tentatively reached out a roof and touched the letter symbol, which promptly vanished and was replaced by a rectangular box that contained a short message, displayed in bland utilitarian script

Representatives of [CANNOT VERIFY IFF TAG], you have one standard year (365 days) to cease occupation of Relay Node 5. Failure to comply will be met with severe consequences.

Twilight’s blood ran cold, this was a clear and direct threat, an ultimatum, her racing thoughts were cut short as above the center of the table appeared a series of numbers.

[354:05:17:21]
[354:05:17:20]
[354:05:17:19]

Where mere moments before Twilight’s head had been full of racing thoughts now there was nothing but fear, no thought came to her. Lieutenant Winters was the one to finally break the oppressive silence.
“Well shit, that’s not good.”

<01110000 01101111 01110011 01110011 01100101 01110011 01110011 01100101 01100100>

<01101111 01100110>

SYS: Connection Established
CENTCOM [Type=Query]: SITREP?
BULWARK ADMIN [Type=Response]: Situation updated. Hostiles have received the message, tracking responses. Countdown continues. Preparations for [OPERATION PYRRHIC VICTORY] continue unabated.
CENTCOM [Type=Acknowledgement/Confirmation]: Understood, Contender, proceed
SYS: Connection Terminated

<01101110 01101111 00100000 01101101 01100001 01100111 01101001 01100011 00101110>

Initiating automated daily functionality check for PROJECT BULWARK, day: [703,200]
Connecting…
Connected: Testing…
Primary node: ONLINE
Relay node 1: OFFLINE
Relay node 2: OFFLINE
Relay node 3: OFFLINE
Relay node 4: OFFLINE
Relay node 5: ONLINE
Relay node 6: OFFLINE
System at 35% operational capacity, please activate two additional nodes for minimum functionality.
WARNING: Relay Node 5 occupied by [CANNOT VERIFY IFF TAG]
Threat level: [BLACK], assume designation [HOSTILE]

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long, I'm busy with school and all that shit. I'll try to upload more often but you know how it is.

Anyways, post your theories and thoughts in the comments, I love to see em!