//-------------------------------------------------------// The War for Earth -by Robert Emerald Fountain- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Gearing Up and Launch //-------------------------------------------------------// Gearing Up and Launch A week had passed since the evacuees had been rescued. Captain Christina supplied the ship's schematics to Thorax, who organized a crew to rebuild it. During the reconstruction, a decision was made to name the ship the Inkstar, and equip it with shields and weapons. The first time, the ship was built on the ground and it launched by taking off like a plane. Now, it was being built in orbit. The crew would blast up on a rocket and then board from the Equestrian Space Station. The Young Six trained the crew members in space battle tactics so they would know what to do if they were shot at again, whether they were in space, in the air, or on the ground. The Space Force soldiers began warming up as well, by shooting at targets and doing hand-in-hand drills to make sure they were ready to help with pushing back the humans. During training, Walker informed everyone about some of the weapons that the humans would likely be using. These included two different rifles, a handgun that fired plasma bolts, a rocket launcher, and something called a "needler", which was a large handgun that fired needles made of crystal. Finally, after three weeks of training and deciding which weapons everybody would be using, soldiers bid farewell to loved ones, boarded flights to the nearest shuttle pad, and prepared for the journey to Earth. For safety purposes, all of the crew members' children would be taken to a safe place on Earth before their parents went to battle. At the launchpad, the Space Force soldiers and the Inkstar crew boarded rockets to reach the ESS and then head for Earth. At T-Minus zero, the shuttles lifted off and began ascending into the sky. Two hours after lift-off, the shuttles were docked and the crews made their way to the ships. Each of the Young Six commanded a squadron consisting of their own species, and Flurry Heart was "Gold Leader", meaning she was leading the Equestrian Space Force. Before going to warp, all of the soldiers checked in. "This is Gold Leader. All soldiers report in.", said Flurry. "Ponies standing by.", said Sandbar. "Changelings standing by.", said Ocellus. "Hippogriffs standing by.", said Silverstream. "Griffins standing by.", said Gallus. "Yaks standing by.", said Yona. "Dragons standing by.", said Smolder. "Inklings standing by.", said Captain Christina. "Octarians standing by.", said Octavio. "Salmonlings standing by.", said Admiral Kyle. "Warp speed on my mark. Five, four, three, two, one, MARK!", cried Flurry. Engines fired brightly and the ships zoomed into deep space, bound for Earth. //-------------------------------------------------------// Forcing back the Humans //-------------------------------------------------------// Forcing back the Humans Two hours after going to warp speed, the soldiers arrived in Earth's orbit. They immediately picked up signals from human defenses and got into battle position. Flurry ordered the Equestrian Space Force to surround the Inkstar as a swarm like wasps protecting their nest. As the ships passed through the entry corridor; human weapons began flying towards them and they quickly opened fire to defend themselves. When they broke through the clouds, they saw that they had come down directly over a human base. Becka quickly calculated the location of Splatsville and had everyone follow the GPS coordinates. "Fly as fast as you can. Dodge any flak that gets in the way, and shoot down any pilots.", said Walker. All of the ships turned toward Splatsville and broke through the barrage of firepower to get as far away as possible. After touching down in the center of town, Callie, Marie, and Becka took their children to a care center and told their parents to watch over them before joining the fight to hold off the humans. Once Aaron, Athena, Iris, Michael, Sally, and Jerome were safely inside with Lizzie and her siblings, Taylor and his new brother and sister, and Jacob, Callie and Marie rushed back to get their weapons, join back up with Walker, Mike, and Andrew, and defend their homelands. Some of the Equestrians took to the air in their ships while the rest of them, the Squidbeak Splatoon, the Octarians, and the Salmonlings readied themselves for the ground battle. The waiting soldiers emerged from their bunkers and joined up with their commanding officers, and everyone opened fire. Walker gave some tips to the ground troops since he knew a good amount of detail on the weapons that the humans were wielding. Prior to coming into battle, Flurry had made everyone agree not to kill anyone, only to subdue them. So, all of the pilots had their weapons set on stun. The dragons left many soldiers with nasty burns from their flame breath, and the yaks dealt heavy damage by charging forth and knocking soldiers down. This left many of the humans with broken bones. The griffins and the hippogriffs dealt large cuts with their sharp talons, and the changelings used their slime to restrain humans in place so they couldn't move. The ponies made up the air force and dropped giant balloons full of paint into the large groups of soldiers. The Inklings, Octarians, and Salmonlings did not hold back on how much ink they shot. They left numerous humans covered in it and having to clean off their helmets. Eventually, the battle outside Splatsville ended with the humans unable to see where they were going, due to the ink covering their helmets' visors. They raised their flag and retreated. Then, everyone turned their attention to Inkopolis. The battle was twice as intense here, with the Commander, Angus, having his soldiers shoot at the inklings with needlers. Agents 3, 4, and 8, along with Jenny and Rosa instantly became livid and started shooting the needlers out of soldiers' hands, which startled every single one of them and left them confused why marine life would fight this hard. Seeing an opportunity, Callie charged forward and flung a wave of ink on to the humans' Commander with her Splat Roller. Then, Marie followed up behind her and tackled the Commander with a single shot from her Charger. Then, Captain Christina and the Agents surrounded him. "Take us to your leader, RIGHT NOW!", yelled Christina as the Agents held Angus up. "You have left me with no choice. Follow us.", said Angus sadly as he regained his footing. //-------------------------------------------------------// Meeting the Leader //-------------------------------------------------------// Meeting the Leader The troops were led to the base that they had initially flown in on, and the Commander opened the door. Everyone was led inside and they made their way to the central room where the humans' leader, whose name was Braxton, was getting ready to lay out plans for another attack. "Sir, we have company.", said Commander Angus. Braxton looked up in annoyance and saw the angry troops. "Why are you marine creatures not returning to the ocean where you belong?", he hissed. "We can't do that. Inklings and Octarians die instantly if they touch saltwater. It's part of how we have evolved over the years.", said Callie. The Agents raised their splattershots as a warning. Then, Becka stepped up and presented Braxton with documentation on the anatomy for all of the new land creatures. Upon reading through the papers, Braxton was shocked. He turned pale before looking up with remorse in his eyes. "Please, how can I repay you? I'll do anything. Just don't arrest me.", he pleaded. "You will start off by freeing the hostages that you took in the beginning. Then you will repair the damages to our cities.", snapped Marie. "I understand, Marie Cuttlefish. I have heard about both you and your cousin, Callie, and I am deeply sorry for endangering your children. Could I perhaps strike a deal to ally with you and your new friends after the damage has been cleaned up?", said Braxton in acceptance. "Consider it done.", said Callie. Braxton called all of his soldiers back to the base and said the war was called off. They freed the prisoners without any argument, and then repaired the damages from their first strikes on Inkopolis and Splatsville. In the end, a peace treaty was signed between everyone, including the Equestrians, and a new project was hatched. The new project included forming a galactic defense force. This included the humans along with Equus, the Inklings, the Octarians, and the Salmonlings. In the months that followed, the humans taught their new allies how to use their weapons and several space stations were built to help protect against alien attacks. When the needler was demonstrated, a shocking fact was revealed. If enough needles stuck into the victim, they set off a chain reaction and vaporized the victim. Once all of the training was finished for the Galactic Defense Force, the Equestrians returned home to Equus, along with bringing some of their new weapons so they could build their own and recruit members. The members were quick to apply and they were accepted faster than they could be issued their uniforms. //-------------------------------------------------------// Visiting Equus Again //-------------------------------------------------------// Visiting Equus Again Sixteen years after the Galactic Defense Force was formed, both Earth and Equus had protected each other from hostile aliens hundreds of times. Flurry Heart and the Young Six were chilling at their base one summer day when they got a call from Thorax on the ESS. "We have some visitors who are on their way to see you.", he said. Flurry acknowledged the message and she told everyone to look presentable for the visitors. When the visitors knocked on the door, Flurry let them in. Suddenly, she and her friends were astonished. They were face to face with seven individuals they recognized from the Inkstar. In a split second, it was hugs and smiles for them all. Lizzie, Angelo, and Jacob even had three more inklings with them. "This is my boyfriend, Leo.", said Lizzie as she introduced them to a handsome inkling with bluish green tentacles and green eyes. "This is my girlfriend, Elizabeth.", said Angelo as he introduced them to a sweet inkling girl with dark blue tentacles and red eyes. "My girlfriend's name is Allison.", said Jacob as he introduced them to an octoling girl with magenta eyes and tentacles as red as a ruby. Just then, Taylor pulled out his high school diploma. "Congratulations, graduate.", said Smolder. Atari did not yet have a partner, but she was happy for Lizzie and Angelo. "Mom says some of you helped her on the day of our birth.", said Tamaki. "Is that true?", asked Takara. "It certainly is, you two. I was the one who delivered you.", answered Flurry. The twins were shocked. Taylor nodded his head to tell them that Flurry was right. The visit went very well and Twilight got to meet the three new faces. Eventually, the allies boarded their ship back to Earth. The Galactic Defense soldiers continued to watch each other's backs for decades to come, and they all lived happily ever after.