Author's Note

Let me know if you spotted any mistakes, and don't be afraid to make suggestions for me :)

First Contact

Early The Next Day…

LCpl Red Hot stared tiredly out the Humvee's window at the raging snowstorm engulfing him and his squad, the howling wind nearly drowning out all other sounds and the darkness making visibility more than terrible. The storm hadn’t relented since it began yesterday after the… event. While brief moments of calm would occasionally break through, the storm always surged back with renewed fury. Eventually, it forced the base to lower the Shield’s power significantly, lest the Pillars shatter into countless violent shards.

“All squads, this is Lead-1. Initiating another radio check—report in numerical order,” the radio crackled before falling silent.

Rubbing his sleep-deprived eyes Red Hot grabbed the Humvee’s radio with a hoof, “Lead-1, this is Lead-2 reporting in.”

He listened as the other six Humvees behind him responded through their respective radios, their voices tinged with varying levels of exhaustion—some sounding even more tired than he felt. Not that it was surprising, he supposed. After what happened yesterday, he’d be shocked if anyone managed to get a decent night’s sleep.

“All right, boys, I know it’s been a long drive, but hang in there just a little longer. We should be reaching the border in about an hour. Lead-1 out.”

The radio fell silent once more, leaving Red Hot alone with his thoughts. His mind drifted to his family, and a relieved sigh escaped his lips. During yesterday’s chaos, he hadn’t even had time to think about them until he was preparing to lie down for the night. When he finally did, fear gripped him, imagining the worst had happened to them. The news certainly didn’t paint a comforting picture, after all.

He had been so happy—oh, so happy—when his mother finally picked up the phone and he heard her voice. It was as if a crushing boulder had been lifted from his chest, allowing him to breathe for a moment. He shed many grateful tears once his mother told him reassured him that everything was fine and that the rest of his family was safe. Red Hot took a deep breath as he felt anxiety begin to worm its way back under his skin, filling him with doubts and fears about the mission he and his squad were tasked with.

“You guys want to hear a joke?” he heard his squadmate, Alan, say from the seat behind him.

“Mmm, shoot,” he heard his driver, Iron Sight, reply.

“Olives.”

Red Hot furrowed his brows at the punchline, confusion in its purest form filling his mind. “Huh..?” he uttered, the word doing an injustice at portraying just how lost on the joke he was. If it even was a joke.

“Y’know? Olives?”

“Alan, what the fuck are you talking about?” his fourth squadmate, Feather Weight, exclaimed in equal confusion.

“I don’t know! I’m just trying to lighten the dogshit vibe you guys got going on here. It’s like I’m standing in a cemetery,” he grumbled.

Iron sighed, shaking his head, “I’m going to have to report you to Ruben for that.”

Now Alan looked confused, “Who’s Ruben?”

Red Hot saw Iron grin, like a psychopath seeing a child walking alone at night, “Ruben these nuts on your face! Ahaaaa!”

Like a racist joke on comedy night, the Humvee erupted with laughter and boisterous exclamations as Red Hot and his squad howled at the flawlessly delivered punchline. Their laughter almost caused Iron to veer off the road, but he caught himself before they did.

“Okay, I’ll admit, that was pretty good,” Alan said once their laughter died down.

“Yeah, it sure was, haha,” Iron Sight said with a smile.

A brief, comfortable silence settled over the group after the joke. The rushing wind and the steady hum of the Humvee's engine, once unsettling, now felt oddly soothing. After a couple of seconds, Alan spoke again to ask the question that’s been on his mind for the duration of the trip.

“What do you think we’ll find out there?”

Red Hot shrugged, “I don’t know. From what I heard, the Atlantic is just… gone now. Like It wasn’t even there in the first place.”

Iron Sight hummed in agreement, “So, whatever’s out there—if anything’s out there—we’ll be part of the ones making first contact,” he said, his voice tinged with dread.

Red Hot snorted, “You make it sound like we’re gonna run into the Covenant or something.”

“Who knows, maybe we will,” Feather Weight replied. “Talking about all this sure as hell makes it sound like we aren’t on Earth anymore.”

“Relax, man,” Alan said with a laid-back grin. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

CRASH!

At the deafening crash, all four squad members snapped their heads toward the windshield. Time seemed to slow, and they watched in horror as the convoy’s 9,000-pound lead Humvee—which was 3-5 meters ahead of them—hurtled backward through the air, its front end twisted and shattered beyond recognition.

“LOOK OUT!” Red Hot screamed at the top of his lungs, adrenaline and fear coursing through his veins.

Iron Sight yanked the wheel to the left, but his reaction came too late. The lead Humvee plummeted onto them, slamming down with a deafening crash that flattened their engine bay. The impact brought their vehicle to an abrupt, bone-jarring halt, and Red Hot’s helmeted head snapped back against the seat’s headrest, leaving him dazed from the whiplash.

“Lead-2! Lead-2, are you okay!? What the hell happened!?”

“Hey, why are we stopping?”

“The fuck’s going on up there?”

“Lead-1, do you copy? Lead-1, please respond!”

A cacophony of frantic voices blared through the radio, mingling with the ringing in Red Hot’s ears as he clutched his head in pain, his eyes squeezed shut. Blinking rapidly to regain focus, he forced his gaze forward. Lead-1’s Humvee loomed above his own, its hard top still intact as it continued to press down on them. The occupants inside were noticeably disorientated and dazed, and Red Hot thought he saw some blood dripping down onto the windshield.

“Everybody out, now!” Iron Sight ordered before opening his door and jumping out.

Red Hot gave a sharp nod before seizing the radio, “Lead-2 to all units! Lead-1 has been engaged and is out of commission! Mount your weapons and get your asses up here now!” he said before jumping out of the Humvee.

The biting cold struck Red Hot like a brutal slap, cutting through even his thick fur coat without mercy. Ignoring the discomfort, he reached for his A-Colt 933, slung securely over his shoulders. With a practiced motion, he flipped off the safety, the weapon responding with a faint hum and a flash of bright white light.

The growing roar of engines snapped his attention to the Humvees rolling up beside him, their chained tires crunching through the snow. The gunners atop each vehicle were already locked and scanning the terrain ahead with their aetherium-powered machine guns. As the soldiers inside dismounted and fanned out, Red Hot sprinted toward them.

“Hey! You guys help Lead-1 get out of that Humvee.” Red Hot pointed at the gunner, “You stay in that gunner!” he said before sprinting over to his squad, his hooves slipping a bit in the snow.

As he moved in front of his Humvee, Red Hot spotted the rest of the convoy halted along the road’s shoulders. The Humvees were positioned defensively, their gunners poised and ready. Soldiers, both human and pony, had exited their Humvees and crouched next to them, their weapons pointed at something ahead on the road.

Peering down the road, Red Hot’s eyes locked onto a figure standing just a few meters away. Its form was equine, but unlike anything he'd seen before. Two glowing green eyes pierced through the blizzard, purple wisps swirling from them like smoke. A curved, crimson horn gleamed fiercely against the dark, cold snowstorm. And draped over its black, windswept coat was a regal red and white cape that fluttered in the harsh winds.

“Identify yourself!” Red Hot heard Iron Sight scream over the loud winds.

The figure remained unmoving, either not hearing him or simply ignoring him. Hesitantly, Iron Sight rose to his hind legs and slowly approached the figure.

“Do you need help?! Are you lost?! What’s your name?!” Iron Sight continued to shout.

The figure remained silent, only staring at Iron Sight as he approached. Once Iron Sight was only a meter away he spoke again.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” he finally asked.

Silence was once again his reply. Though, he noticed a bit of curiosity and intrigue in the pony’s(?) face.

Growing nervous from their silence, Iron Sight spoke in a more commanding tone. “Do you hear me?! Identify yourse-”

Red Hot’s breath caught in his throat as a wave of pure fear washed over him. His eyes locked onto his squadmate, now engulfed in a menacing red aura, slowly rising off the ground. His gaze flicked to the figure, noting how its crimson horn pulsed with the same eerie red glow. As if sensing his terror, the creature’s gaze snapped down to him, its lips curling into a maniacal smirk. Without warning, the horn flared brightly, the air around it crackling with dark energy.

Instantly, the sound of Iron Sight’s screams filled the air, and Red Hot looked up to see his squadmate’s head and limbs slowly and forcefully being pulled apart. With a fleshy rip, Iron Sight’s body fell to the floor, dark red blood squirting and pooling out of the places his head and limbs should be. As if that wasn’t enough, the figure then creepily danced the ripped limbs and head around in the air before its horn flared once again, and the ripped parts burst into green flames. The flame was incredibly hot to the point where Red Hot could feel it from where he was standing. Once the flame died down, only ash remained of what once was Iron Sight’s head and legs.

Everyone remained frozen in fear, their minds unable to comprehend the eldritch horror they just witnessed. Red Hot’s heart hammered in his chest and his hooves shook uncontrollably as he kept his weapon aimed at the… thing. The thing took a step forward, and the silence was shattered by the deafening rattle of machine gun fire.

Red Hot couldn’t tell who fired first, but it didn’t matter. He was quick to join the relentless barrage, his own white lasers racing down the street alongside the others. Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the ground, and Red Hot's eyes widened as a plume of black smoke shot toward one of the Humvees, sending it hurtling through the air like the lead Humvee before it, the gunner being violently ejected and thrown away.

What followed next was a massacre the likes of which had never been seen before. Humvees were thrown around like they weighed nothing and soldiers were cut down with merciless ease. Whether they were burnt to ash by green flames, ripped to pieces, or literally cut down into small, fleshy chunks didn’t seem to bother or faze the thing as it simply kept going.

Agonized screams and panicked shouts filled the air as white lasers whizzed by Red Hot, everyone’s training forgotten in an attempt to simply survive the thing’s onslaught.

Diving under a Humvee that managed to land on its wheels, Red Hot covered his ears to try and drown out his comrade's screams of terror and the squelching of flesh as it plopped down on the ground.

Eventually, silence engulfed the scene, the only sounds now being the howling wind and Red Hot’s frantic breathing. He covered his mouth with his hoof, struggling to calm himself as he tried to breathe quietly through his nose. His body trembled with terror, and his tail curled tightly beneath him. He waited, waited for what felt like an eternity, but nothing came.

Suddenly, the Humvee he was under was enveloped in a red aura and slowly lifted off him. Red Hot's eyes watered with fearful tears, and his pants were soaked with more than just melted snow as he gazed up at the face looming through the plume of black smoke.

The face cackled at Red Hot’s pitiful state before lazily tossing the Humvee away and enveloping Red Hot in its red grip.

“NO! PLEASE! DON’T!” Red Hot shrieked as he desperately pawed at the snow in an attempt to keep himself grounded.

“NO! PLEASE, GOD HELP ME! ANYTHING, I’LL DO ANYTHING!”

If God was listening, He remained silent.

Red Hot suddenly felt his limbs and head begin to tear apart, just like his squadmate before him. He clenched his eyes shut and screamed, the agony overwhelming him as his muscles and bones were stretched beyond their limits. His head throbbed with excruciating pain, and he felt his spinal cord being slowly wrenched, inch by agonizing inch.

A deafening roar echoed in his ears, and without warning, he was dropped to the ground with a harsh thud, his back aching from the fall. The sound of fluttering wings filled the air before hooves landed on either side of him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and was met with the sight of pink fur looming above him. As he craned his neck upward, he saw a mare’s face gazing down at him, concern evident in her expression.

To say she was beautiful would be an understatement—she was nothing short of angelic. Her stunning lavender eyes locked onto his, unblinking, and her silky, tricolor mane fluttered gently in the wind. She was an angel, there was no doubt about it. Maybe she was hear to guide him to the afterlife?

A growl echoed in his ears, and Red Hot snapped his head back to see the creature shaking its head before glaring at him and the angel. The sound of hooves clopping through the snow reached his ears, and when he glanced to his sides, he saw the angel flanked by more ponies. They wore gold armor, wielded spears, and had white and grey coats. All of them were led by a large ivory stallion with a blue-tinted mane.

“Leave Sombra! You cannot defeat us all in the weakened state that you’re in!” she bellowed in an unfamiliar language.

The smoke creature glared at Red Hot and the sudden entourage of ponies before grunting in frustration and disappearing into the ground. Red Hot breathed heavily before his gaze landed back on the angel above him. She looked back down at him with a small smile before stepping to the side.

Blinking, Red Hot sat up and touched his body, confirming that he was still alive—and most importantly, still whole.

“Are you okay?” he heard the angel ask in her language.

Standing on his hind legs, Red Hot stared down at her with a blank expression, stuck in shock as she backed away slightly in surprise, her gaze fixed on him.

“What..?”

She spoke once more, “Can you… understand me?”

Ignoring her incomprehensible words, Red Hot examined his savior. She was a tall, lithe, pink mare with a purple, magenta, and butter-colored mane and tail. She wore gold regalia and slippers on her hooves and her Talent Symbol was what appeared to be some sort of crystal heart.

Glancing at her flanks, Red Hot noticed a pair of wings. Was he not in shock, he was sure he’d react a little more at the impossibility of it. Shifting his gaze over to her head, he noticed a tiny tiara resting on her head just in front of her spiraled horn.

Said horn suddenly lit up with a cyan aura.

Reacting on pure instinct, Red Hot pulled out his sidearm, turned off the safety, and pointed it at her. “Hey! Stop!” he shouted fearfully.

Surprised by the outburst, the mare deactivated her horn and took a step back. In an instant, Red Hot was surrounded by a dozen stallions, each pointing sharp spears at him.

Red Hot looked around him with wild, panicked eyes, his mind struggling to catch up with all the events happening.

“What the fuck is this!? Where’d you fuckers even come from anyway! Fucking say something, damnit!” he screamed, erratically pointing his pistol at random stallions.

An opening in the stallion's formation abruptly formed, and Red Hot whipped his pistol around to point it at the same pink mare. She approached him slowly, her eyes filled with sorrow.

“Please, calm down! We’re only trying to help you!” she said sincerely.

Red Hot grunted and fired a laser into the sky, the loud crack making everyone flinch back. He pointed the gun back at her and screamed again.

“Back away!”

Her horn ignited again, and before Red Hot could pull the trigger, it was suddenly whisked away from his grasp. Red Hot gasped as his last weapon of self-defense was effortlessly torn from him, hot and wet tears streaming endlessly down his cheeks.

“What do you want from me?! I don’t have anything, please don’t hurt me!” Red Hot sobbed as he collapsed on his rear.

Then, he fell silent, the only sounds coming from him being his stifled sniffles and muffled sobs. “If you’re just gonna kill me, then make it quick,” he mumbled quietly.

Red Hot heard the sound of her horn igniting, and he prepared himself for the unimaginable pain. But, instead, he only felt a slight tickle in his brain before it quickly went away.

“Can… hear now?” he heard her say.

He looked up at her, his eyes red and puffy from the endless tears streaming down his face. “W-What?”

“Can hear me now?” she repeated.

Red Hot didn’t respond, only kept sobbing. Red Hot then felt two warm legs gently wrap around his body and hug him close. Red Hot returned the hug, burying his face into the mare’s mane as his crying continued.

“Shh, is okay now. No danger,” she cooed soothingly, rubbing his back.

Red Hot shook his head. It would never be okay. Nothing could ever save him from the horrible truth…

He was the only survivor...