The Pilots of the Storm Dancerby Green-VenomChaptersChapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 1Chapter 2Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 3“You need my body to create a new body?“ Apple Bloom asked unsurely. “How’s that supposed to work?“ “My old body was designed to survive space, but it‘s not suited for this planet. I need your body as a reference to create something more compatible.“ “Is it dangerous? Also, why should I help you? You could do Celestia knows what to my body.“ “It’s potentially dangerous for me, but you should be safe during the procedure.“ I-ris replied calmly. “As for helping me, view it as a repayment. I saved your life during our last encounter by removing the nano-gel from your lungs… Additionally, I see no reason to answer any questions towards someone who doesn’t bother to assist me…“ “Are you trying to blackmail me?“ “You don’t need any intel from my side for your survival, so I would say that it’s not blackmail. I can promise however that you’ll be safe and that you’re body won’t be affected or modified in any way…“ Apple Bloom sat down for a while, contemplating her choices. She remembered her glowing blue eyes she now sees every time she looks into a mirror, and finally made her choice. She needed an answer. “Fine, but if I die during this, I’m going to find a way to come back and haunt you…“ With those words, she carefully stepped into the nano-gel as instructed, carefully swimming toward the middle of the blue pool. “What now?“ Suddenly her body began to tingle, both on the inside and outside. “I activated the nano-gel in your blood. Brace yourself, this might hurt.“ “What!“ was all Apple Bloom managed to exclaim before her head exploded in pain, and she slowly lost consciousness. “Activating breathing support… Innitiating reconstruction… Commencing construction of new form…“ Warning: ~~Host~~“Apple Bloom“ == status: unconscious. Ensure safety _SetPriority = high End_ Continuing procedure… Modifying form… ??? Apple Bloom slowly awoke, her head feeling like a squashed apple. “Why did I trust that guy?“ she mumbled to herself, slowly standing up. At last, she was still alive, so at least that part of the promise was held up. Looking around she found herself in a strange metal room, completely empty of any decorations, with nothing but a double door in the back, and a large window at the front. She then noticed that she was lying on top is some kind of glowing circular panel which was softly humming. The moment she stepped off it to take a look outside the window, it immediately stopped glowing, slowly going dark. Ignoring it for now, she looked outside, seeing many treetops, as she was overlooking the everfree forest. She could even spot Poniville in the distance. Wait a minute! She could overlook the everfree forest? “Oh, you’re finally awake. You’ve been unconscious for a while, sorry for that. I’ve overestimated your pain tolerance…“ I-ris suddenly said, his voice once again coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. “I’m late. My sister will kill me when she finds out that I sneaked away without telling her…“ “I can protect you…“ “Not literally idiot! I mean that she’s probably very mad… I need to leave now!“ “Understood. I assume you wish to postpone any questions you have towards me?“ “Yea, but I’ll be coming back for that.“ “Understood, you know where to find me.“ Apple Bloom simply nodded, before pausing. “Say… how do I leave exactly?“ As a reply cables suddenly descended from the ceiling, wrapping around her, dragging her through a hole in the ceiling, all the while she was screaming and kicking. “AAAAAAAAAAAA!“ After a few seconds of screaming, Apple Bloom slowly but surely realized that she could feel soft grass under her hoofs, and the screaming slowly but surely calmed down. Carefully opening her eyes, she managed to just make out a punch of cables disappearing back into the mouth of a metal pony. A giant metal pony, which was looming above her, larger than the trees of the forest. Its form resembled a pony in full battle armor, dark protective plates covering its main silver body. A helmet covered the head and a large visor-shaped window where the eyes should be. She slowly realized that it resembled the window of the so-called room she had been in earlier. Had she just been inside that thing's head? Upon closer inspection, she realized that just like the helmet the rest of the armor was not separate plating, but fused to the main body. “I-ris? Is that you?“ she finally managed to squeak out, frozen in fear as she looked up at the giant machine. For some reason, she suddenly felt like screaming again. “Affirmative. It appears you were unprepared for the proportions of this form…“ “You could say that…“ she replied, allowing herself to carefully relax. “What will you do now?“ “I will rest now little Bloom. The construction of this new body took a lot of energy, and I need to refill my energy cells. After that I might finish the final modifications to this form…“ The ground rumbled softly as the behemoth slowly lay down onto its barrel. “This reminds me, didn’t you have pressing plans earlier?“ Apple Bloom flinched upon receiving the reminder. “Right, need to go! See you later!“ As the filly rushed back towards the farm, she had the feeling that this trip had given her more questions than answers. There was one thing she knew for sure, however. Ponyville had some kind of giant… what did he call himself again? A yes, a robot. Ponyville had a giant robot as a neighbor now, and her destiny has somehow become irreversibly intertwined with it. Author's Note Next chapter should slowly but surely introduce the giant robot action, like promised in the story description. As always, feedback is highly sought after… Chapter 4“Apple Bloom, could you please take those sunglasses off? The class has started.“ Apple Bloom flinched upon hearing those words, being snapped out of her thoughts about I-ris. “Well I… no not really…“ she bit her lip, trying to think of something. “It’s a medical condition…“ Technically not a lie. “A medical condition?“ Cheerilee repeated unsurely. “I wasn’t informed of something like that…“ “Wait, I’ve got a paper…“ Digging through her saddlebag, she fished out the doctor's certificate, handing it to her teacher, who quickly read through it. “I’m sorry Apple Bloom, I see now why you would want to wear those.“ she finally replied, regarding her with a mix of pity and worry. “Tell me if you need anything, alright?“ Apple Bloom simply nodded, quickly checking if the sunglasses were still hiding her glowing eyes, as her classmates started whispering towards each other. She did her best to ignore it. The rest of the class passed without incident, but she knew it wouldn’t last. During recess, it finally happened. As she walked into the courtyard, she was approached by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “What was that about a medical condition earlier? Did you finally find out why you’re still a blankflank?“ Apple Bloom continued walking, trying to ignore them. “Hey, I’m talking to you.“ Apple Bloom was forced to stop when Silver Spoon cut her off before she got surrounded by the two fillies. Nervously looking around, she backed off, as she was forced into a corner. “Leave me alone!“ “What? We’re only asking a question…“ Silver Spoon responded. “What’s up with your eyes blank flank?“ “I won’t tell you…“ “Are you sure?“ Diamond Tiara slowly approached her. Stress level passing maximum safety level… Scanning for potential hostiles… Two crosshairs suddenly appeared in Apple Bloom‘s vision, marking Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Targets found. Engage? “Yes…“ Firing authorization granted… Long ranged guided missile initiated… Striking targets in T-34-33-32-31… “…I’m sure of that. Leave me alone!“ Diamond Tiara simply reached out with her hoof as a response, ready to snatch them off the Apple filly. …29-28-27… Suddenly Diamond Tiara was pulled back, preventing her from grabbing the sunglasses. “Didn’t you hear her?! She wants to be left alone!“ Scootaloo repeated, shooting the bullies angry looks, as she let go of Diamond Tiara’s tail. Sweetie Belle wasn’t far behind, quickly stepping between Apple Bloom and the bullies. …21-20-19… “Uh, girls?“ Silver Spoon suddenly spoke up. “What is that?“ She pointed at a small object rapidly approaching them, fire trailing behind. Whatever it was, it was quickly getting closer. …16-15-14… “It’s heading for us! Everypony run!“ Apple Bloom‘s eyes fell upon the countdown which had appeared in her vision, before glancing at the crosshairs marking Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Realization of what she had done slowly dawned upon her. …10-9-8… Seeing her friends running away with the bullies, she quickly stopped them. “The other way!“ she ordered without thinking. “It’s not here for us.“ …5-4-3… The object passed above the Crusaders' heads before a loud explosion shook them to their cores. Apple Bloom felt like her stomach was rotting. Muffled sounds entered her ears, but they wouldn’t make sense to her, everything blurring into a senseless mismatch. At some point, a hospital carriage had appeared, when did that happen? She didn’t know, nor did she care honestly. All she knew were the same four words, constantly repeating in a single, looping sentence. “This is my fault…“ A few medics rushed passed her, carrying a stretcher between them. A bleeding body lying on it. “This is my fault…“ Single tears slowly streamed down her cheeks. A medic appeared next to her, guiding her away. She followed without resistance, obeying like some kind of machine. “This is my fault…“ A second stretcher passed her, carrying a different body this time. Was it still breathing? “You knew…“ Apple Bloom flinched, looking up to find her friends, carrying faces with unreadable emotions. “You knew it wasn’t coming for us… How did you know?“ Apple Bloom fell quiet, biting her lip, as she glanced at the smoking crater where the weapon had struck. Guilt was still heavily eating away at her stomach as she silently watched, how the carriage raced off, to rush Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to the hospital. “Girls… I have to show you something…“ Some time later… A unicorn walked around the smoldering crater, wearing protective gear as he scanned the ground with his magic. Not too long ago, some kind of attack had occurred here, and two fillies were injured in the process. He tried not to think too hard about it, but it still disturbed him deeply. Why would anypony… no… anycreature take such senseless acts of brutality? It wasn’t even an attack of a predator seeking to feed, just an attack out of the blue with no motives whatsoever. “I found something!“ The stallion looked up, upon hearing his college’s shout. Turning around, he found a unicorn mare in similar protective clothes holding up a small vial with something inside. Walking closer to take a look at the evidence he saw that it was some kind of blue glowing substance… Author's Note Another chapter. As always, there’s a bounty on feedback, so if you have any, leave them in the comment section. It helps keeping my motivation up. 🙂 Chapter 5“It’s gone!“ Applejack could only watch in disbelief, the now mostly empty crater looming in front of her, and the blue goo only a small puddle at the bottom. “What is gone?“ Twilight asked, joining her side, glancing into the crater herself. “Wasn’t this the goo you were talking about?“ “There used to be a lot more last time…“ “I’m sure it has some form of logical explanation. It probably seeped into the ground or something.“ “A lake that large can’t simply seep away over a few days Twilight. Something happened over here…“ “How large are we talking about?“ “Half of your castle could’ve fit inside it.“ Twilight froze, looking at the crater once more. “Well… I’m still sure there’s still some kind of logical explanation. We simply need to investigate a bit…“ Taking a few vials from her saddlebag she carefully climbed down. “In a few days, we should have a clearer image of what we’re dealing with…“ With those words, she scooped up a bit of the goo into the first vial. “I got the feeling this isn’t the thing you wanted to show us?“ Scootaloo panted, running for her life. “Not the time Scoots!“ Sweetie Belle retorted, quickly dodging to the side, to avoid the jaws of the manticore that was chasing them. “We’re almost there girls!“ Apple Bloom shouted, running ahead, her blue glowing eyes fixated onto a point only she could see. “You have to trust me for what I’m about to do…“ “I don’t know… You realize we’re running straight towards a cliff do you?“ “I do! Quick, after me!“ with those words she doubled her speed, before jumping headfirst, straight off the cliff. The other two fillies and even the manticore came to a scattering halt, watching after the apple filly in baffled surprise. “That was the plan?“ Sweetie Belle. “I’m honestly not sure how that’s supposed to help…“ “I think it’s stupid.“ Scootaloo agreed. The manticore didn’t say anything. A rumbling broke the silence, as something big placed itself between them and the sun, dropping them into the shadows. Blue light washed over them, and a large visor came into view, observing the fillies, before the rest of the giant head rose above the cliff. The manticore decided then and there that it was time to run, no longer being the largest creature on the field. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle weren’t so lucky, long metal cables shooting out of the behemoth's mouth, and wrapping themselves around the two fillies. They could only scream, and close their eyes to avoid witnessing how they were pulled into their presumed end. “AAAAAAAAAAH!“ *gasp* “AAAAAAAAAAH!“ Apple Bloom chuckled to herself as she watched her two friends being brought into the room by the metal cables, the two of them still screaming, and clutching to each other in terror as they were gently lowered toward the ground, before the cables disappeared again, returning towards wherever they resided when not forcefully relocating ponies. “Don’t worry girls, I had the exact same reaction when this first happened to me…“ “Shut up Apple Bloom!“ Scootaloo retorted. “We’re dead and not supposed to talk! AAAAAAAAAAH!“ The Screaming continued for a good minute before it slowly fell silent. “Hold it, Sweetie Belle… There’s something stupid going on, and I’m trying to figure out what…“ “Girls, calm down, we’re safe!“ Apple Bloom tried again, now that her friends had calmed down. “This was the thing I wanted to show you…“ “You wanted to show us what it’s like being eaten alive?“ “No, I wanted you to meet someone.“ Now calm enough to assess this situation, the pair of recently relocated fillies assessed their surroundings. “Where are we?“ “You’re inside a giant robot.“ Apple Bloom replied. “Welcome inside I-ris…“ Author's Note Not sure about how I feel about this chapter. I hope the pacing isn’t off… Chapter 6*Stomp!* *Stomp!* *Stomp!* The Crusaders looked out of the robot‘s bridge window, the one which looked like a visor from the outside. Heavy silence was hanging in the air, none of the Crusaders feeling like being the first to speak up. Apple Bloom’s sunglasses were lying towards the side, revealing her glowing eyes for everyone present to see. “Soo…“ Scootaloo finally broke the silence, sighting. “This was quite the conservation, wasn’t it? Might as well get the questions out of the way?“ Apple Bloom simply nodded, mentioning with her hoof to continue. “Did you attack Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?“ “I ordered the attack…“ Apple Bloom simply mumbled. “It was an accident. I didn‘t mean for them to get hurt…“ Silence again. “Can we trust I-ris?“ “He hasn’t done anything so far to mark him as distrustful… although to be fair, he hasn’t done anything yet to prove that he is trustworthy. It’s a neutral relationship, but I don’t think he’s evil. He’s always been nice so far.“ “What about the attack on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? Wasn’t he technically part of it?“ “He assumed they were hostile and a threat. Since he didn’t have any reference points other than my order to engage, he simply went with it.“ Sweetie Belle decided to finally say something herself. “How are we going to tell the adults?“ The other fillies stared at her. “I mean…“ she mumbled nervously. “Is this really something we should keep a secret? We’re dealing with a giant alien machine…“ “I do not wish for my existence to be made public.“ I-ris spoke up, even if only Apple Bloom could hear him. Relaying those words to the others, Scootaloo frowned. “Why? Is there something you’re trying to hide?“ “Yes, myself.“ Apple Bloom chuckled. “What’s so funny?“ BOUM! I-ris‘s head whirled around so fast, that the Crusaders inside stumbled. BOUM! BOUM! RED ALERT! I-ris‘s voice suddenly boomed inside her head, sending ripples of pain through it. ORBITAL THREAT DETECTED! GET READY FOR A POTENTIAL COMBAT SCENARIO! “What is going on!?“ Sweetie Bell screamed in panic, covering down in fear. “It’s coming from outside!“ Scootaloo responded, running to the bridge window to look outside. The other Crusaders quickly joined her side. Outside the world was ending. The sky had turned red and seemed to be burning. Rocks the size of entire castles were falling from the sky around them, sending debris and fire into the sky like erupting volcanoes upon impact. I-ris decided then and there that it was time to move. Cables descended from the ceiling, quickly winding themselves around the Crusaders, holding them securely in place as they formed into some form of makeshift harness. With his passengers secured the robot started running. The stomping from earlier turned into thundering as I-ris leaped away from the scene, further than any being of its weight should be able to, the falling rocks from the sky impacting around them, as he dashed left and right in an effort to not get hit. As they continued to flee, Apple Bloom felt a soft thug at the back of her mind. Looking down, she realized that she was once again above the circular panel she had woken up on the first time she had been inside the robot, and the panel was glowing, slowly but surely becoming brighter, and more intense, as the tugging at the back of her mind became unbearable. Then, she felt it. Almost like a second pair of eyes had opened, she could feel the robot around her. Countless components she couldn’t even hope to comprehend moving in synchrony all around her to achieve the movements of the iron colossus they were in. She could feel the debris that was flying around them, many almost three times her size, yet harmlessly bouncing off the robot‘s thick iron plates. Pilot integration == true set manual control = true Harmonizing systems… Control will be transfered in 3… 2… 1… The robot suddenly stumbled at the unexpected change of pilot, ungracefully faceplanting into the ground, and coming to a slithering halt, tearing long trenches into the ground below. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but this isn’t the moment to take manual control…“ I-ris commented in an annoyed tone. “You have 0 training and we’re in a dangerous scenario…“ Apple Bloom merely managed to groan, as she stood up. The robot also got to its hoves in perfect synchrony. “Wait a moment!“ Scootaloo suddenly exclaimed, being the first to notice. “You can control this thing?“ Slowly lifting her hoof, and waving it in front of her face, Apple Bloom watched in awe, how the robot copied her movements. “I think so…“ BOUM! The robot stumbled back, as one of the meteors hit the ground a few meters in front of them. A meteor that moved. Taking an additional step back, the Crusaders watched in horror, how the supposed meteor stood up, revealing that it was actually a giant creature, almost as tall as the robot itself. It was shaped like a wolf but had a scorpion tail, and instead of fur was made out of black, rock-like material. Green veins grew through its skin, pulsing softly. As it got onto its legs, it spotted them, snarling dangerously as it faced the robot. “You also know how to fight in this thing…“ Scootaloo asked, nervously looking at the beast in front of them. “…right?“ “Either way I suggest you learn quickly.“ I-ris replied calmly, staring down the other giant, meteors raining down around them, many of them revealing to be more of these giant creatures. “Cause I can say with a 97% guarantee that this is the easy part…“ Author's Note Since the Crusaders are currently at an all time low and the trust is heavily damaged, I decided that it’s a good time to drop the invasion onto them… Bad sense of priorities? No idea, you tell me please, I’m simply trying to get something to work. 😅 Chapter 7 This private announcement is for all royal guards, military, and law enforcement officers of Equestria. I Princess Celestia hereby declare a status of national crisis. This is an emergency message. Approximately 20 minutes ago, an event we have labeled “Strom“ has transpired all across Equestria and likely beyond. During this event, mysterious meteor-like bodies have rained down from space. These meteors are however creatures of giant proportions, with a size comparable to an Ursa Major and not the usual rocks that can be found during meteor showers. These creatures are extremely dangerous and extremely powerful and should be avoided at all costs. We currently lack any intel on them and have no information other than that they’re hostile. I instruct all guards to initiate a lockdown immediately, as well as to raise a shield above the settlements they’re stationed in within the next 5 minutes and secure the settlements from these giant creatures. Everyone outside of any secured zone once the shield is up is to be declared as death. Everyone civilian who tries to leave the secured zone is to be stopped. If they manage to leave anyway they’re also to be declared as dead and should not be retrieved. Any settlement without guards is to be considered lost and their inhabitants death. We lack the capabilities to repel the current threat, and if you fail to secure your area there will be no help coming for you. I repeat, we lack the capability to repel the current threat. Secure your area immediately and devote all your resources towards surviving the storm. Once you’ve secured your area, take inventory of your supplies, particularly food, water, and medical supplies. We don’t know how long it will take until we get the situation under control, so your resources should be carefully managed and rationed. Further instructions will follow. Ensure communication lines are kept up so that orders can be obtained once the initial shock has worn down. Good luck and may harmony protect you… Princess Celestia sighted, as she sent out the message, watching the hundreds of communication spells fly out of the balcony window, before spreading out aiming for the countless settlements all over Equestria. She knew that many would never be read, but there was nothing she could do about it. She felt so helpless… As slowly stepped out onto the balcony, she could see the shield surrounding Canterlot shimmering softly and standing strong. Celestia could see some of the monsters outside the protective barrier. Most of them were walking around in the distance, but some were directly outside the shield, aggressively pounding on it, trying to get inside, before giving up and leaving. It turned out the Changeling invasion had been a hidden blessing after all. If it weren’t for them attacking, they would’ve never decided to look into improving the shield spell. This was the only reason why were alive right now. As she watched another one of these monsters try to break inside she felt how Luna stepped next to her, silently watching alongside the older alicorn. “How do you feel?“ Luna finally asked, breaking the silence. “I declared hundreds, no thousands of ponies' death Luna! I can’t do anything about them and many of the smaller settlements will probably fall within the next 24 hours once they run out of magic to keep the shields up, causing even more to die!“ she snapped back angrily. “How am I supposed to feel?!“ She sighed, feeling her legs shake, but refused to break down. She was glad her subjects couldn’t see her in this state. “I… I don’t think the elements will be enough to solve this one…“ a single tear escaped her eye. “There’s nothing you could’ve done…“ Luna tried to comfort her, laying her wing across her sister‘s back. “Harmony, I doubt even someone like Discord could’ve done something.“ “I still gave the orders… I decided on a brim that thousands of ponies should die and the rest should live.“ “At last the rest will survive…“ Celestia let out a pained chuckle, openly crying now, but she didn’t care. “We don’t know that Luna… We don’t know that…“ Author's Note And so it begins… (Looking for constructive criticism. hit me with your worst or best depending on your politeness level, every bit helps. 🙃) Chapter 84 weeks later Apple Bloom yawned, as she slowly rose from her bunk, blinking a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes. Soft sunlight was shining in through a window, indicating the beginning of a new day. No birds, however. There hadn’t been any birds singing for quite a while now. Looking around she saw that she was the first to wake up. Nothing unusual there. As a former farmer, she always rose early. As she headed for the door, she walked past the bunks of her friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were sleeping in one of the double beds. They had been with her from the very beginning ever since the Storm started. The second bunk housed the newer members of the team, Button Mash and Rumble. Be it destiny or dumb luck, the robot had run into the two shortly after the Strom had started. Both of them had been outside of the shield when Ponyville went into lockdown, and the girls had decided to bring them inside the safety of the machine since Ponyville was no longer an option. She internally sighed as she thought back towards Ponyville. The place they used to call home, and the place that had been denied to them ever since the Strom fell across Equestria. She still clearly remembers the day when they tried to return home, and failed. Upon seeing I-ris, the citizens of Ponyville panicked, and Twilight had engaged them. Even the robot couldn’t withstand the full force of alicorn magic over a long time, especially when they couldn’t return fire not wishing to hurt anypony. I-ris had refused to return ever since that incident, stubbornly avoiding the town like the plague and the fillies knew that it was suicidal to attempt to make the journey without the robot’s protection, so until he proved to be more cooperative they were stuck. Pushing these thoughts aside she decided to take the elevator. It was too early to walk the stairs, and there was no emergency. A bit later the elevator doors opened, and she stepped onto the bridge, a now all too familiar room. A large windshield opened up to the world in front of her revealing a barren landscape, devoted of any non-plant life. A single gargantuan monster could be seen in the distance, but it hadn’t noticed the robot so far. Whatever stealth tech Button had implemented into the robot seemed to be working. She would never understand how the colt was capable of implementing video game tech into the real world, but I-ris seemed to be capable of understanding his ramblings, and the two generally worked well together, so she wouldn’t complain as long as it worked. She was simply glad that the attacks in the middle of the night were over now, allowing for some proper night rest, instead of having to rush to the bridge in the middle of the night. Shaking her head, Apple Bloom focused back on the present. “System check?“ the filly asked, more out of routine than anything. Due to her strengthening connection to I-ris she was getting a lot better at sensing when something was off. She still needed the piloting platform to do anything outside of basic sensing, but her skill was improving which proved to be advantageous. A sudden pain flared through her stomach, making her stumble. Well, most things were of advantage. The fact that the shared senses included pain was not one of them. “Well, all systems are alright, except for the kitchen, which is currently on fire.“ I-ris decided to finally speak up. “On a related note, Sweetie Belle is awake…“ “Sorry…“ Sweetie Belle smiled awkwardly, standing next to a smoldering cooking pot, the fire having been extinguished not too long ago. “I really thought I got it this time…“ Apple Bloom facehoved “Seriously? We’re low on food as it is, now we need to go scavenging again, and that means leaving the robot… You know, out there where giant monsters are wandering around?“ Sweetie Belle’s ears dropped. “I’m really sorry, but I wanted to be useful somehow… You and I-ris are keeping the monsters away, Scootaloo and Rumble are scavenging outside for supplies in the abandoned towns, and Button is maintaining and upgrading the robot.“ The unicorn filly sad down, head dropping in sorrow. “All I do is take up space and eat…“ Apple Bloom internally winced. “Not this topic again…“ “Sweetie Belle, you know that’s not true. You’re helping where you can…“ The unicorn filly simply sighted, and started cleaning up the mess she created. Apple Bloom looked at her for a moment before turning back towards the door. “I will wake up the rest. There’s a village not too far from here, maybe we can find something useful as we haven’t been there yet.“ She gave Sweetie Belle a soft smile. “Be sure to be on the bridge for departure in 30 minutes alright? We’ll put this right, no damage done.“ Sweetie Belle simply nodded, silently continuing her work. BRRRRRRT! The monster screeched in agony, as it was ripped apart by small metal fragments traveling at supersonic speeds. Stumbling a bit it managed to run a few more meters, before collapsing, joining the other corpses on the ground. While every single one of these creatures was almost twice the size of an adult pony, they stood no chance against the hunter, a giant metal behemoth that was towering above the village. A single chaingun was mounted on its shoulder, the barrel of the weapon still glowing red from usage. “I don’t know what types of video games you used to play, but they must’ve included some serious violence.“ “It has nothing to do with violence.“ Button Mash protested. “I simply think chainguns are badass.“ “I second that!“ Scootaloo stepped away from the control console with a wide grin, before looking at Apple Bloom. “Did we get all of them?“ “Yes that was it, I-ris can’t sense any more monsters in town. It should be safe to look around, but we should hurry before something potentially bigger comes around to check in on the commotion…“ Rumble nodded, throwing over his saddlebag. “On it. Let’s start with the pharmacy, we desperately need more medical so anything we can get should be useful. I-ris can deal with figuring out what‘s what.“ Scootaloo nodded, following him into the elevator. “I also saw a supermarket.“ she added. “There should be food down there.“ A bit later silence filled the bridge, all the remaining foals carefully looking out the window as a subtle tension filled the air. These missions were always the most dangerous, and despite I-ris‘s sensors, there was always the risk that he could’ve missed something. After a while they could see the pegasi, aiming toward the pharmacy in a quick trot. “Marco!“ Sweetie Belle quickly pressed some buttons on the radio. “Polo! The connection is stable.“ “Alright, we’re going in then… Wish us luck!“ Silence again. When it was finally broken, only Apple Bloom could hear it. “DUCK! Some son on a gun has been ghosting! Call them back now! There‘s still something out there, and it's avoiding my sensors!“ Author's Note A little timescip fast forward, but I have some flashbacks planned to shine some light into the moments directly after the Strom. (Gotta keep the mystery up… 😉) As always I’m still looking for criticism and/or feedback. Chapter 1Author's Note My second attempt of writing a story on this site after years of stasis without hearing from me. Let’s see how it will go this time… —Green Venom back again (Since I apparently can’t fully let go of this awesome fandom. 😅) Chapter 1 A star falls from heaven. Silently, with nobody but the moon to watch, the thing broke the atmosphere as it tumbled towards the ground below, thrusters roaring, hull on fire. Soon the inevitable crash could be heard echoing across the landscape as the battle against gravity was finally lost. Silence slowly returned and the world moved on, ignoring the event which had transpired. One pair of eyes however would remember it, and soon seek out this mystery. The next day… “Are you sure this is the way towards where that thing came down?“ Applejack gave her sister a questioning glance as she walked after Apple Bloom, cautiously inspecting her surrounding. While she trusted her sister when it comes to the Everfree forest due to her regular visits to Zecora, she still wasn’t fully comfortable with the place. “We have been walking for a while now…“ “I know I saw something fall down around here. I hope it's a meteor or something.“ Apple Bloom replied with an excited bounce in her step. “To bad Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell are out of town, they’re totally missing out.“ Applejack chuckled. “Alright Sugarcube, even if something fell from the sky, I highly doubt it’s a meteor. It’s more likely that some pegasus transport lost part of their cargo. They nevertheless will probably appreciate it when we return it to them…“ “You’re right, it’s not a meteor… at last I don’t think it’s one…“ Apple Bloom agreed, suddenly stopping dead in her tracks. “What do you mean?“ Applejack asked confused, although she already had a suspicion about her sister’s sudden change of demeanor. As she joined her sister‘s side, she too stopped, as they together looked down at a large crash site. They had found the so-called meteor. A large pile of scrap and metal was found at the bottom of a large crater and burned-down plants in the area suggested that there had been a fire not too long ago. Curiously enough, the crater was filled with some kind of fluid, almost like some form of lake. Only that in this case, it wasn’t water that filled it up, but something blue. The scrap metal mentioned earlier freely floated around in it… Wanting to get a better look, Applebloom curiously approached the strange phenomenon, carefully climbing down the crater. “Careful Apple Bloom!“ Applejack called after her, glancing at the steep slope of the crater’s edge in worry. To late. Apple Bloom yelped in terror, as the ground below her gave way and she was sent tumbling down in a small avalanche of loose pebbles. Before she knew it, she crashed onto the cold metal where she remained, dazed. She shifted a bit, trying to get up, but for some reason the metal underneath her shifted alongside her, slowly giving way under the filly’s weight. “APPLE BLOOM! Are you alright?!“ The filly slowly lifted her head, seeing her sister climbing down after her in a hurry. That was the last thing she saw, before the pile she was lying on collapsed, and she felt herself falling again, accompanied by the sound of thumbing metal and loud splashing. With that her world turned blue, the liquid they had seen earlier slowly surrounding her. Whereas there had only been a small amount visible from the edge of the crater, there had been an entire sea hidden beneath, the crater being much deeper than you would assume, when looking at it from the surface. She coughed as she felt the stuff entering her mouth and nose, but each gasp for air was only rewarded with her swallowing more of the stuff. Flailing around in panic, she tried to find her way back to air, but all she could see was blue. The fluid was barely translucent, throwing a blue filter over her vision and making it increasingly hard to navigate. As she swallowed more of the liquid, she felt how her last bubbles of precious air escaped her lips, when she suddenly felt a strong grab on her leg and was pulled back to the safety of dry land moments later. Then everything went black. New vessel detected. Potential host? Scanning… Organic nature… potentially biology compatible… Main vessel compromised… mobility compromised… Update directive: Continue search for energy source to restore main vessel… Transferring data to host… Passiving immune system… Warning! Host vitals instabile! Scanning for error… Error found, cleansing host‘s organs… Apple Bloom awoke through violent coughing, blue fluids being forced out of her lips. As she continued to clear the hostile substance out of her lungs, she saw Applejack out of the corner of her eye, caring a look of worry and relief as she was immediately there to support her little sister. “Thank Celestia! Are you alright?“ “I think I swallowed some of that stuff…“ she replied, whimpering. “I wanna go home…“ Applejack shook her head. “Sorry sugar cube, but I’m bringing you to hospital first.“ Apple Bloom merely nodded as she was pulled onto her sister’s back, staring into the distance as the elder mare galloped toward Ponyville. Later “Is she alright?“ Nurse Redheart nervously bit her lip at Applejack‘s question. “Honestly? I have no idea… This is truly a unique condition I’ve never encountered before. I can however tell you what we know so far…“ Applejack nodded, forcing herself to remain calm despite the worry gnawing at her insides. “First of all, the substance doesn’t seem to be harmful in any way. While it’s visibly present in her bloodstream, it behaves passively and seems neither toxic nor acidic.“ Applejack nodded in relief. “What else?“ “There seems to be no immune response. This is not a normal reaction, considering that a foreign substance is inside her body. We have yet to figure out if the immune system is being repressed, or if it’s simply not bothered…“ Nurse Redheart took a deep breath. “As for the final thing… The ingestion of whatever substance she has swallowed had didn’t go completely without symptoms, and had a single, but still somewhat major impact upon her physic.“ “Didn’t you say that it wasn’t harmful?“ Applejack asked upset. “It’s not!“ the Nurse quickly corrected. “But while it’s not harmful, it’s a symptom nevertheless. You see, the substance reacts with magic energy, and starts giving off light when exposed to it.“ “I’m not sure if I understand… how exactly does this affect her physic?“ “Honestly, I think it’s best if I simply showed you.“ With that she opened the door allowing Applejack to see her sister, who was lying in a hospital bed, silently staring at her reflection in a small mirror, but looked up, upon hearing her sister entering. Applejack silently gasped upon seeing her Apple Bloom’s current condition. The eyes staring back at her were no longer the usual orange color she was used to. Instead, her entire eye, iris, pupil, and all, were now glowing in a soft blue.
Chapter 3“You need my body to create a new body?“ Apple Bloom asked unsurely. “How’s that supposed to work?“ “My old body was designed to survive space, but it‘s not suited for this planet. I need your body as a reference to create something more compatible.“ “Is it dangerous? Also, why should I help you? You could do Celestia knows what to my body.“ “It’s potentially dangerous for me, but you should be safe during the procedure.“ I-ris replied calmly. “As for helping me, view it as a repayment. I saved your life during our last encounter by removing the nano-gel from your lungs… Additionally, I see no reason to answer any questions towards someone who doesn’t bother to assist me…“ “Are you trying to blackmail me?“ “You don’t need any intel from my side for your survival, so I would say that it’s not blackmail. I can promise however that you’ll be safe and that you’re body won’t be affected or modified in any way…“ Apple Bloom sat down for a while, contemplating her choices. She remembered her glowing blue eyes she now sees every time she looks into a mirror, and finally made her choice. She needed an answer. “Fine, but if I die during this, I’m going to find a way to come back and haunt you…“ With those words, she carefully stepped into the nano-gel as instructed, carefully swimming toward the middle of the blue pool. “What now?“ Suddenly her body began to tingle, both on the inside and outside. “I activated the nano-gel in your blood. Brace yourself, this might hurt.“ “What!“ was all Apple Bloom managed to exclaim before her head exploded in pain, and she slowly lost consciousness. “Activating breathing support… Innitiating reconstruction… Commencing construction of new form…“ Warning: ~~Host~~“Apple Bloom“ == status: unconscious. Ensure safety _SetPriority = high End_ Continuing procedure… Modifying form… ??? Apple Bloom slowly awoke, her head feeling like a squashed apple. “Why did I trust that guy?“ she mumbled to herself, slowly standing up. At last, she was still alive, so at least that part of the promise was held up. Looking around she found herself in a strange metal room, completely empty of any decorations, with nothing but a double door in the back, and a large window at the front. She then noticed that she was lying on top is some kind of glowing circular panel which was softly humming. The moment she stepped off it to take a look outside the window, it immediately stopped glowing, slowly going dark. Ignoring it for now, she looked outside, seeing many treetops, as she was overlooking the everfree forest. She could even spot Poniville in the distance. Wait a minute! She could overlook the everfree forest? “Oh, you’re finally awake. You’ve been unconscious for a while, sorry for that. I’ve overestimated your pain tolerance…“ I-ris suddenly said, his voice once again coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. “I’m late. My sister will kill me when she finds out that I sneaked away without telling her…“ “I can protect you…“ “Not literally idiot! I mean that she’s probably very mad… I need to leave now!“ “Understood. I assume you wish to postpone any questions you have towards me?“ “Yea, but I’ll be coming back for that.“ “Understood, you know where to find me.“ Apple Bloom simply nodded, before pausing. “Say… how do I leave exactly?“ As a reply cables suddenly descended from the ceiling, wrapping around her, dragging her through a hole in the ceiling, all the while she was screaming and kicking. “AAAAAAAAAAAA!“ After a few seconds of screaming, Apple Bloom slowly but surely realized that she could feel soft grass under her hoofs, and the screaming slowly but surely calmed down. Carefully opening her eyes, she managed to just make out a punch of cables disappearing back into the mouth of a metal pony. A giant metal pony, which was looming above her, larger than the trees of the forest. Its form resembled a pony in full battle armor, dark protective plates covering its main silver body. A helmet covered the head and a large visor-shaped window where the eyes should be. She slowly realized that it resembled the window of the so-called room she had been in earlier. Had she just been inside that thing's head? Upon closer inspection, she realized that just like the helmet the rest of the armor was not separate plating, but fused to the main body. “I-ris? Is that you?“ she finally managed to squeak out, frozen in fear as she looked up at the giant machine. For some reason, she suddenly felt like screaming again. “Affirmative. It appears you were unprepared for the proportions of this form…“ “You could say that…“ she replied, allowing herself to carefully relax. “What will you do now?“ “I will rest now little Bloom. The construction of this new body took a lot of energy, and I need to refill my energy cells. After that I might finish the final modifications to this form…“ The ground rumbled softly as the behemoth slowly lay down onto its barrel. “This reminds me, didn’t you have pressing plans earlier?“ Apple Bloom flinched upon receiving the reminder. “Right, need to go! See you later!“ As the filly rushed back towards the farm, she had the feeling that this trip had given her more questions than answers. There was one thing she knew for sure, however. Ponyville had some kind of giant… what did he call himself again? A yes, a robot. Ponyville had a giant robot as a neighbor now, and her destiny has somehow become irreversibly intertwined with it. Author's Note Next chapter should slowly but surely introduce the giant robot action, like promised in the story description. As always, feedback is highly sought after…
Chapter 4“Apple Bloom, could you please take those sunglasses off? The class has started.“ Apple Bloom flinched upon hearing those words, being snapped out of her thoughts about I-ris. “Well I… no not really…“ she bit her lip, trying to think of something. “It’s a medical condition…“ Technically not a lie. “A medical condition?“ Cheerilee repeated unsurely. “I wasn’t informed of something like that…“ “Wait, I’ve got a paper…“ Digging through her saddlebag, she fished out the doctor's certificate, handing it to her teacher, who quickly read through it. “I’m sorry Apple Bloom, I see now why you would want to wear those.“ she finally replied, regarding her with a mix of pity and worry. “Tell me if you need anything, alright?“ Apple Bloom simply nodded, quickly checking if the sunglasses were still hiding her glowing eyes, as her classmates started whispering towards each other. She did her best to ignore it. The rest of the class passed without incident, but she knew it wouldn’t last. During recess, it finally happened. As she walked into the courtyard, she was approached by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “What was that about a medical condition earlier? Did you finally find out why you’re still a blankflank?“ Apple Bloom continued walking, trying to ignore them. “Hey, I’m talking to you.“ Apple Bloom was forced to stop when Silver Spoon cut her off before she got surrounded by the two fillies. Nervously looking around, she backed off, as she was forced into a corner. “Leave me alone!“ “What? We’re only asking a question…“ Silver Spoon responded. “What’s up with your eyes blank flank?“ “I won’t tell you…“ “Are you sure?“ Diamond Tiara slowly approached her. Stress level passing maximum safety level… Scanning for potential hostiles… Two crosshairs suddenly appeared in Apple Bloom‘s vision, marking Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Targets found. Engage? “Yes…“ Firing authorization granted… Long ranged guided missile initiated… Striking targets in T-34-33-32-31… “…I’m sure of that. Leave me alone!“ Diamond Tiara simply reached out with her hoof as a response, ready to snatch them off the Apple filly. …29-28-27… Suddenly Diamond Tiara was pulled back, preventing her from grabbing the sunglasses. “Didn’t you hear her?! She wants to be left alone!“ Scootaloo repeated, shooting the bullies angry looks, as she let go of Diamond Tiara’s tail. Sweetie Belle wasn’t far behind, quickly stepping between Apple Bloom and the bullies. …21-20-19… “Uh, girls?“ Silver Spoon suddenly spoke up. “What is that?“ She pointed at a small object rapidly approaching them, fire trailing behind. Whatever it was, it was quickly getting closer. …16-15-14… “It’s heading for us! Everypony run!“ Apple Bloom‘s eyes fell upon the countdown which had appeared in her vision, before glancing at the crosshairs marking Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Realization of what she had done slowly dawned upon her. …10-9-8… Seeing her friends running away with the bullies, she quickly stopped them. “The other way!“ she ordered without thinking. “It’s not here for us.“ …5-4-3… The object passed above the Crusaders' heads before a loud explosion shook them to their cores. Apple Bloom felt like her stomach was rotting. Muffled sounds entered her ears, but they wouldn’t make sense to her, everything blurring into a senseless mismatch. At some point, a hospital carriage had appeared, when did that happen? She didn’t know, nor did she care honestly. All she knew were the same four words, constantly repeating in a single, looping sentence. “This is my fault…“ A few medics rushed passed her, carrying a stretcher between them. A bleeding body lying on it. “This is my fault…“ Single tears slowly streamed down her cheeks. A medic appeared next to her, guiding her away. She followed without resistance, obeying like some kind of machine. “This is my fault…“ A second stretcher passed her, carrying a different body this time. Was it still breathing? “You knew…“ Apple Bloom flinched, looking up to find her friends, carrying faces with unreadable emotions. “You knew it wasn’t coming for us… How did you know?“ Apple Bloom fell quiet, biting her lip, as she glanced at the smoking crater where the weapon had struck. Guilt was still heavily eating away at her stomach as she silently watched, how the carriage raced off, to rush Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to the hospital. “Girls… I have to show you something…“ Some time later… A unicorn walked around the smoldering crater, wearing protective gear as he scanned the ground with his magic. Not too long ago, some kind of attack had occurred here, and two fillies were injured in the process. He tried not to think too hard about it, but it still disturbed him deeply. Why would anypony… no… anycreature take such senseless acts of brutality? It wasn’t even an attack of a predator seeking to feed, just an attack out of the blue with no motives whatsoever. “I found something!“ The stallion looked up, upon hearing his college’s shout. Turning around, he found a unicorn mare in similar protective clothes holding up a small vial with something inside. Walking closer to take a look at the evidence he saw that it was some kind of blue glowing substance… Author's Note Another chapter. As always, there’s a bounty on feedback, so if you have any, leave them in the comment section. It helps keeping my motivation up. 🙂
Chapter 5“It’s gone!“ Applejack could only watch in disbelief, the now mostly empty crater looming in front of her, and the blue goo only a small puddle at the bottom. “What is gone?“ Twilight asked, joining her side, glancing into the crater herself. “Wasn’t this the goo you were talking about?“ “There used to be a lot more last time…“ “I’m sure it has some form of logical explanation. It probably seeped into the ground or something.“ “A lake that large can’t simply seep away over a few days Twilight. Something happened over here…“ “How large are we talking about?“ “Half of your castle could’ve fit inside it.“ Twilight froze, looking at the crater once more. “Well… I’m still sure there’s still some kind of logical explanation. We simply need to investigate a bit…“ Taking a few vials from her saddlebag she carefully climbed down. “In a few days, we should have a clearer image of what we’re dealing with…“ With those words, she scooped up a bit of the goo into the first vial. “I got the feeling this isn’t the thing you wanted to show us?“ Scootaloo panted, running for her life. “Not the time Scoots!“ Sweetie Belle retorted, quickly dodging to the side, to avoid the jaws of the manticore that was chasing them. “We’re almost there girls!“ Apple Bloom shouted, running ahead, her blue glowing eyes fixated onto a point only she could see. “You have to trust me for what I’m about to do…“ “I don’t know… You realize we’re running straight towards a cliff do you?“ “I do! Quick, after me!“ with those words she doubled her speed, before jumping headfirst, straight off the cliff. The other two fillies and even the manticore came to a scattering halt, watching after the apple filly in baffled surprise. “That was the plan?“ Sweetie Belle. “I’m honestly not sure how that’s supposed to help…“ “I think it’s stupid.“ Scootaloo agreed. The manticore didn’t say anything. A rumbling broke the silence, as something big placed itself between them and the sun, dropping them into the shadows. Blue light washed over them, and a large visor came into view, observing the fillies, before the rest of the giant head rose above the cliff. The manticore decided then and there that it was time to run, no longer being the largest creature on the field. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle weren’t so lucky, long metal cables shooting out of the behemoth's mouth, and wrapping themselves around the two fillies. They could only scream, and close their eyes to avoid witnessing how they were pulled into their presumed end. “AAAAAAAAAAH!“ *gasp* “AAAAAAAAAAH!“ Apple Bloom chuckled to herself as she watched her two friends being brought into the room by the metal cables, the two of them still screaming, and clutching to each other in terror as they were gently lowered toward the ground, before the cables disappeared again, returning towards wherever they resided when not forcefully relocating ponies. “Don’t worry girls, I had the exact same reaction when this first happened to me…“ “Shut up Apple Bloom!“ Scootaloo retorted. “We’re dead and not supposed to talk! AAAAAAAAAAH!“ The Screaming continued for a good minute before it slowly fell silent. “Hold it, Sweetie Belle… There’s something stupid going on, and I’m trying to figure out what…“ “Girls, calm down, we’re safe!“ Apple Bloom tried again, now that her friends had calmed down. “This was the thing I wanted to show you…“ “You wanted to show us what it’s like being eaten alive?“ “No, I wanted you to meet someone.“ Now calm enough to assess this situation, the pair of recently relocated fillies assessed their surroundings. “Where are we?“ “You’re inside a giant robot.“ Apple Bloom replied. “Welcome inside I-ris…“ Author's Note Not sure about how I feel about this chapter. I hope the pacing isn’t off…
Chapter 6*Stomp!* *Stomp!* *Stomp!* The Crusaders looked out of the robot‘s bridge window, the one which looked like a visor from the outside. Heavy silence was hanging in the air, none of the Crusaders feeling like being the first to speak up. Apple Bloom’s sunglasses were lying towards the side, revealing her glowing eyes for everyone present to see. “Soo…“ Scootaloo finally broke the silence, sighting. “This was quite the conservation, wasn’t it? Might as well get the questions out of the way?“ Apple Bloom simply nodded, mentioning with her hoof to continue. “Did you attack Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?“ “I ordered the attack…“ Apple Bloom simply mumbled. “It was an accident. I didn‘t mean for them to get hurt…“ Silence again. “Can we trust I-ris?“ “He hasn’t done anything so far to mark him as distrustful… although to be fair, he hasn’t done anything yet to prove that he is trustworthy. It’s a neutral relationship, but I don’t think he’s evil. He’s always been nice so far.“ “What about the attack on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? Wasn’t he technically part of it?“ “He assumed they were hostile and a threat. Since he didn’t have any reference points other than my order to engage, he simply went with it.“ Sweetie Belle decided to finally say something herself. “How are we going to tell the adults?“ The other fillies stared at her. “I mean…“ she mumbled nervously. “Is this really something we should keep a secret? We’re dealing with a giant alien machine…“ “I do not wish for my existence to be made public.“ I-ris spoke up, even if only Apple Bloom could hear him. Relaying those words to the others, Scootaloo frowned. “Why? Is there something you’re trying to hide?“ “Yes, myself.“ Apple Bloom chuckled. “What’s so funny?“ BOUM! I-ris‘s head whirled around so fast, that the Crusaders inside stumbled. BOUM! BOUM! RED ALERT! I-ris‘s voice suddenly boomed inside her head, sending ripples of pain through it. ORBITAL THREAT DETECTED! GET READY FOR A POTENTIAL COMBAT SCENARIO! “What is going on!?“ Sweetie Bell screamed in panic, covering down in fear. “It’s coming from outside!“ Scootaloo responded, running to the bridge window to look outside. The other Crusaders quickly joined her side. Outside the world was ending. The sky had turned red and seemed to be burning. Rocks the size of entire castles were falling from the sky around them, sending debris and fire into the sky like erupting volcanoes upon impact. I-ris decided then and there that it was time to move. Cables descended from the ceiling, quickly winding themselves around the Crusaders, holding them securely in place as they formed into some form of makeshift harness. With his passengers secured the robot started running. The stomping from earlier turned into thundering as I-ris leaped away from the scene, further than any being of its weight should be able to, the falling rocks from the sky impacting around them, as he dashed left and right in an effort to not get hit. As they continued to flee, Apple Bloom felt a soft thug at the back of her mind. Looking down, she realized that she was once again above the circular panel she had woken up on the first time she had been inside the robot, and the panel was glowing, slowly but surely becoming brighter, and more intense, as the tugging at the back of her mind became unbearable. Then, she felt it. Almost like a second pair of eyes had opened, she could feel the robot around her. Countless components she couldn’t even hope to comprehend moving in synchrony all around her to achieve the movements of the iron colossus they were in. She could feel the debris that was flying around them, many almost three times her size, yet harmlessly bouncing off the robot‘s thick iron plates. Pilot integration == true set manual control = true Harmonizing systems… Control will be transfered in 3… 2… 1… The robot suddenly stumbled at the unexpected change of pilot, ungracefully faceplanting into the ground, and coming to a slithering halt, tearing long trenches into the ground below. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but this isn’t the moment to take manual control…“ I-ris commented in an annoyed tone. “You have 0 training and we’re in a dangerous scenario…“ Apple Bloom merely managed to groan, as she stood up. The robot also got to its hoves in perfect synchrony. “Wait a moment!“ Scootaloo suddenly exclaimed, being the first to notice. “You can control this thing?“ Slowly lifting her hoof, and waving it in front of her face, Apple Bloom watched in awe, how the robot copied her movements. “I think so…“ BOUM! The robot stumbled back, as one of the meteors hit the ground a few meters in front of them. A meteor that moved. Taking an additional step back, the Crusaders watched in horror, how the supposed meteor stood up, revealing that it was actually a giant creature, almost as tall as the robot itself. It was shaped like a wolf but had a scorpion tail, and instead of fur was made out of black, rock-like material. Green veins grew through its skin, pulsing softly. As it got onto its legs, it spotted them, snarling dangerously as it faced the robot. “You also know how to fight in this thing…“ Scootaloo asked, nervously looking at the beast in front of them. “…right?“ “Either way I suggest you learn quickly.“ I-ris replied calmly, staring down the other giant, meteors raining down around them, many of them revealing to be more of these giant creatures. “Cause I can say with a 97% guarantee that this is the easy part…“ Author's Note Since the Crusaders are currently at an all time low and the trust is heavily damaged, I decided that it’s a good time to drop the invasion onto them… Bad sense of priorities? No idea, you tell me please, I’m simply trying to get something to work. 😅
Chapter 7 This private announcement is for all royal guards, military, and law enforcement officers of Equestria. I Princess Celestia hereby declare a status of national crisis. This is an emergency message. Approximately 20 minutes ago, an event we have labeled “Strom“ has transpired all across Equestria and likely beyond. During this event, mysterious meteor-like bodies have rained down from space. These meteors are however creatures of giant proportions, with a size comparable to an Ursa Major and not the usual rocks that can be found during meteor showers. These creatures are extremely dangerous and extremely powerful and should be avoided at all costs. We currently lack any intel on them and have no information other than that they’re hostile. I instruct all guards to initiate a lockdown immediately, as well as to raise a shield above the settlements they’re stationed in within the next 5 minutes and secure the settlements from these giant creatures. Everyone outside of any secured zone once the shield is up is to be declared as death. Everyone civilian who tries to leave the secured zone is to be stopped. If they manage to leave anyway they’re also to be declared as dead and should not be retrieved. Any settlement without guards is to be considered lost and their inhabitants death. We lack the capabilities to repel the current threat, and if you fail to secure your area there will be no help coming for you. I repeat, we lack the capability to repel the current threat. Secure your area immediately and devote all your resources towards surviving the storm. Once you’ve secured your area, take inventory of your supplies, particularly food, water, and medical supplies. We don’t know how long it will take until we get the situation under control, so your resources should be carefully managed and rationed. Further instructions will follow. Ensure communication lines are kept up so that orders can be obtained once the initial shock has worn down. Good luck and may harmony protect you… Princess Celestia sighted, as she sent out the message, watching the hundreds of communication spells fly out of the balcony window, before spreading out aiming for the countless settlements all over Equestria. She knew that many would never be read, but there was nothing she could do about it. She felt so helpless… As slowly stepped out onto the balcony, she could see the shield surrounding Canterlot shimmering softly and standing strong. Celestia could see some of the monsters outside the protective barrier. Most of them were walking around in the distance, but some were directly outside the shield, aggressively pounding on it, trying to get inside, before giving up and leaving. It turned out the Changeling invasion had been a hidden blessing after all. If it weren’t for them attacking, they would’ve never decided to look into improving the shield spell. This was the only reason why were alive right now. As she watched another one of these monsters try to break inside she felt how Luna stepped next to her, silently watching alongside the older alicorn. “How do you feel?“ Luna finally asked, breaking the silence. “I declared hundreds, no thousands of ponies' death Luna! I can’t do anything about them and many of the smaller settlements will probably fall within the next 24 hours once they run out of magic to keep the shields up, causing even more to die!“ she snapped back angrily. “How am I supposed to feel?!“ She sighed, feeling her legs shake, but refused to break down. She was glad her subjects couldn’t see her in this state. “I… I don’t think the elements will be enough to solve this one…“ a single tear escaped her eye. “There’s nothing you could’ve done…“ Luna tried to comfort her, laying her wing across her sister‘s back. “Harmony, I doubt even someone like Discord could’ve done something.“ “I still gave the orders… I decided on a brim that thousands of ponies should die and the rest should live.“ “At last the rest will survive…“ Celestia let out a pained chuckle, openly crying now, but she didn’t care. “We don’t know that Luna… We don’t know that…“ Author's Note And so it begins… (Looking for constructive criticism. hit me with your worst or best depending on your politeness level, every bit helps. 🙃)
Chapter 84 weeks later Apple Bloom yawned, as she slowly rose from her bunk, blinking a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes. Soft sunlight was shining in through a window, indicating the beginning of a new day. No birds, however. There hadn’t been any birds singing for quite a while now. Looking around she saw that she was the first to wake up. Nothing unusual there. As a former farmer, she always rose early. As she headed for the door, she walked past the bunks of her friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were sleeping in one of the double beds. They had been with her from the very beginning ever since the Storm started. The second bunk housed the newer members of the team, Button Mash and Rumble. Be it destiny or dumb luck, the robot had run into the two shortly after the Strom had started. Both of them had been outside of the shield when Ponyville went into lockdown, and the girls had decided to bring them inside the safety of the machine since Ponyville was no longer an option. She internally sighed as she thought back towards Ponyville. The place they used to call home, and the place that had been denied to them ever since the Strom fell across Equestria. She still clearly remembers the day when they tried to return home, and failed. Upon seeing I-ris, the citizens of Ponyville panicked, and Twilight had engaged them. Even the robot couldn’t withstand the full force of alicorn magic over a long time, especially when they couldn’t return fire not wishing to hurt anypony. I-ris had refused to return ever since that incident, stubbornly avoiding the town like the plague and the fillies knew that it was suicidal to attempt to make the journey without the robot’s protection, so until he proved to be more cooperative they were stuck. Pushing these thoughts aside she decided to take the elevator. It was too early to walk the stairs, and there was no emergency. A bit later the elevator doors opened, and she stepped onto the bridge, a now all too familiar room. A large windshield opened up to the world in front of her revealing a barren landscape, devoted of any non-plant life. A single gargantuan monster could be seen in the distance, but it hadn’t noticed the robot so far. Whatever stealth tech Button had implemented into the robot seemed to be working. She would never understand how the colt was capable of implementing video game tech into the real world, but I-ris seemed to be capable of understanding his ramblings, and the two generally worked well together, so she wouldn’t complain as long as it worked. She was simply glad that the attacks in the middle of the night were over now, allowing for some proper night rest, instead of having to rush to the bridge in the middle of the night. Shaking her head, Apple Bloom focused back on the present. “System check?“ the filly asked, more out of routine than anything. Due to her strengthening connection to I-ris she was getting a lot better at sensing when something was off. She still needed the piloting platform to do anything outside of basic sensing, but her skill was improving which proved to be advantageous. A sudden pain flared through her stomach, making her stumble. Well, most things were of advantage. The fact that the shared senses included pain was not one of them. “Well, all systems are alright, except for the kitchen, which is currently on fire.“ I-ris decided to finally speak up. “On a related note, Sweetie Belle is awake…“ “Sorry…“ Sweetie Belle smiled awkwardly, standing next to a smoldering cooking pot, the fire having been extinguished not too long ago. “I really thought I got it this time…“ Apple Bloom facehoved “Seriously? We’re low on food as it is, now we need to go scavenging again, and that means leaving the robot… You know, out there where giant monsters are wandering around?“ Sweetie Belle’s ears dropped. “I’m really sorry, but I wanted to be useful somehow… You and I-ris are keeping the monsters away, Scootaloo and Rumble are scavenging outside for supplies in the abandoned towns, and Button is maintaining and upgrading the robot.“ The unicorn filly sad down, head dropping in sorrow. “All I do is take up space and eat…“ Apple Bloom internally winced. “Not this topic again…“ “Sweetie Belle, you know that’s not true. You’re helping where you can…“ The unicorn filly simply sighted, and started cleaning up the mess she created. Apple Bloom looked at her for a moment before turning back towards the door. “I will wake up the rest. There’s a village not too far from here, maybe we can find something useful as we haven’t been there yet.“ She gave Sweetie Belle a soft smile. “Be sure to be on the bridge for departure in 30 minutes alright? We’ll put this right, no damage done.“ Sweetie Belle simply nodded, silently continuing her work. BRRRRRRT! The monster screeched in agony, as it was ripped apart by small metal fragments traveling at supersonic speeds. Stumbling a bit it managed to run a few more meters, before collapsing, joining the other corpses on the ground. While every single one of these creatures was almost twice the size of an adult pony, they stood no chance against the hunter, a giant metal behemoth that was towering above the village. A single chaingun was mounted on its shoulder, the barrel of the weapon still glowing red from usage. “I don’t know what types of video games you used to play, but they must’ve included some serious violence.“ “It has nothing to do with violence.“ Button Mash protested. “I simply think chainguns are badass.“ “I second that!“ Scootaloo stepped away from the control console with a wide grin, before looking at Apple Bloom. “Did we get all of them?“ “Yes that was it, I-ris can’t sense any more monsters in town. It should be safe to look around, but we should hurry before something potentially bigger comes around to check in on the commotion…“ Rumble nodded, throwing over his saddlebag. “On it. Let’s start with the pharmacy, we desperately need more medical so anything we can get should be useful. I-ris can deal with figuring out what‘s what.“ Scootaloo nodded, following him into the elevator. “I also saw a supermarket.“ she added. “There should be food down there.“ A bit later silence filled the bridge, all the remaining foals carefully looking out the window as a subtle tension filled the air. These missions were always the most dangerous, and despite I-ris‘s sensors, there was always the risk that he could’ve missed something. After a while they could see the pegasi, aiming toward the pharmacy in a quick trot. “Marco!“ Sweetie Belle quickly pressed some buttons on the radio. “Polo! The connection is stable.“ “Alright, we’re going in then… Wish us luck!“ Silence again. When it was finally broken, only Apple Bloom could hear it. “DUCK! Some son on a gun has been ghosting! Call them back now! There‘s still something out there, and it's avoiding my sensors!“ Author's Note A little timescip fast forward, but I have some flashbacks planned to shine some light into the moments directly after the Strom. (Gotta keep the mystery up… 😉) As always I’m still looking for criticism and/or feedback.
Chapter 1Author's Note My second attempt of writing a story on this site after years of stasis without hearing from me. Let’s see how it will go this time… —Green Venom back again (Since I apparently can’t fully let go of this awesome fandom. 😅) Chapter 1 A star falls from heaven. Silently, with nobody but the moon to watch, the thing broke the atmosphere as it tumbled towards the ground below, thrusters roaring, hull on fire. Soon the inevitable crash could be heard echoing across the landscape as the battle against gravity was finally lost. Silence slowly returned and the world moved on, ignoring the event which had transpired. One pair of eyes however would remember it, and soon seek out this mystery. The next day… “Are you sure this is the way towards where that thing came down?“ Applejack gave her sister a questioning glance as she walked after Apple Bloom, cautiously inspecting her surrounding. While she trusted her sister when it comes to the Everfree forest due to her regular visits to Zecora, she still wasn’t fully comfortable with the place. “We have been walking for a while now…“ “I know I saw something fall down around here. I hope it's a meteor or something.“ Apple Bloom replied with an excited bounce in her step. “To bad Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell are out of town, they’re totally missing out.“ Applejack chuckled. “Alright Sugarcube, even if something fell from the sky, I highly doubt it’s a meteor. It’s more likely that some pegasus transport lost part of their cargo. They nevertheless will probably appreciate it when we return it to them…“ “You’re right, it’s not a meteor… at last I don’t think it’s one…“ Apple Bloom agreed, suddenly stopping dead in her tracks. “What do you mean?“ Applejack asked confused, although she already had a suspicion about her sister’s sudden change of demeanor. As she joined her sister‘s side, she too stopped, as they together looked down at a large crash site. They had found the so-called meteor. A large pile of scrap and metal was found at the bottom of a large crater and burned-down plants in the area suggested that there had been a fire not too long ago. Curiously enough, the crater was filled with some kind of fluid, almost like some form of lake. Only that in this case, it wasn’t water that filled it up, but something blue. The scrap metal mentioned earlier freely floated around in it… Wanting to get a better look, Applebloom curiously approached the strange phenomenon, carefully climbing down the crater. “Careful Apple Bloom!“ Applejack called after her, glancing at the steep slope of the crater’s edge in worry. To late. Apple Bloom yelped in terror, as the ground below her gave way and she was sent tumbling down in a small avalanche of loose pebbles. Before she knew it, she crashed onto the cold metal where she remained, dazed. She shifted a bit, trying to get up, but for some reason the metal underneath her shifted alongside her, slowly giving way under the filly’s weight. “APPLE BLOOM! Are you alright?!“ The filly slowly lifted her head, seeing her sister climbing down after her in a hurry. That was the last thing she saw, before the pile she was lying on collapsed, and she felt herself falling again, accompanied by the sound of thumbing metal and loud splashing. With that her world turned blue, the liquid they had seen earlier slowly surrounding her. Whereas there had only been a small amount visible from the edge of the crater, there had been an entire sea hidden beneath, the crater being much deeper than you would assume, when looking at it from the surface. She coughed as she felt the stuff entering her mouth and nose, but each gasp for air was only rewarded with her swallowing more of the stuff. Flailing around in panic, she tried to find her way back to air, but all she could see was blue. The fluid was barely translucent, throwing a blue filter over her vision and making it increasingly hard to navigate. As she swallowed more of the liquid, she felt how her last bubbles of precious air escaped her lips, when she suddenly felt a strong grab on her leg and was pulled back to the safety of dry land moments later. Then everything went black. New vessel detected. Potential host? Scanning… Organic nature… potentially biology compatible… Main vessel compromised… mobility compromised… Update directive: Continue search for energy source to restore main vessel… Transferring data to host… Passiving immune system… Warning! Host vitals instabile! Scanning for error… Error found, cleansing host‘s organs… Apple Bloom awoke through violent coughing, blue fluids being forced out of her lips. As she continued to clear the hostile substance out of her lungs, she saw Applejack out of the corner of her eye, caring a look of worry and relief as she was immediately there to support her little sister. “Thank Celestia! Are you alright?“ “I think I swallowed some of that stuff…“ she replied, whimpering. “I wanna go home…“ Applejack shook her head. “Sorry sugar cube, but I’m bringing you to hospital first.“ Apple Bloom merely nodded as she was pulled onto her sister’s back, staring into the distance as the elder mare galloped toward Ponyville. Later “Is she alright?“ Nurse Redheart nervously bit her lip at Applejack‘s question. “Honestly? I have no idea… This is truly a unique condition I’ve never encountered before. I can however tell you what we know so far…“ Applejack nodded, forcing herself to remain calm despite the worry gnawing at her insides. “First of all, the substance doesn’t seem to be harmful in any way. While it’s visibly present in her bloodstream, it behaves passively and seems neither toxic nor acidic.“ Applejack nodded in relief. “What else?“ “There seems to be no immune response. This is not a normal reaction, considering that a foreign substance is inside her body. We have yet to figure out if the immune system is being repressed, or if it’s simply not bothered…“ Nurse Redheart took a deep breath. “As for the final thing… The ingestion of whatever substance she has swallowed had didn’t go completely without symptoms, and had a single, but still somewhat major impact upon her physic.“ “Didn’t you say that it wasn’t harmful?“ Applejack asked upset. “It’s not!“ the Nurse quickly corrected. “But while it’s not harmful, it’s a symptom nevertheless. You see, the substance reacts with magic energy, and starts giving off light when exposed to it.“ “I’m not sure if I understand… how exactly does this affect her physic?“ “Honestly, I think it’s best if I simply showed you.“ With that she opened the door allowing Applejack to see her sister, who was lying in a hospital bed, silently staring at her reflection in a small mirror, but looked up, upon hearing her sister entering. Applejack silently gasped upon seeing her Apple Bloom’s current condition. The eyes staring back at her were no longer the usual orange color she was used to. Instead, her entire eye, iris, pupil, and all, were now glowing in a soft blue.
