Chapters Scootaloo heard a far and distant voice, but couldn't make out the words. She was in complete darkness, nothing but herself as the voice grew closer.
"....scootaloo.....scootaloo..." The voice repeated and repeated growing closer and louder.
Scootaloo wanted to run, to hide in the darkness, but her hooves wouldn't move. She couldn't feel anything but the fear in her head.
"...scootaloo....scootaloo...."
The voice continued to grow, not only in volume, but in familiarity. Scootaloo couldn't run, couldn't fight, memories of what happened after the artifact played that message ran through her mind. Prince Blueblood taking control of Equestria....Changlings attacking Canterlot in bigger numbers....The strange creatures forming from ash.... running....running
"SCOOTALOO!" Apple Bloom screamed into Scootaloo's ear.
Scootaloo awoke screaming, jumping, and flopping on the floor. She stood rubbing her forhead with a hoof looking around the terminal they were stuck in until the imperial crews checked their ship and cargo.
"What? Are we leaving?" Scootaloo said still a little dazed.
"Yeah, c'mon."
"Wait were's Sweetie Belle?"
"She's already at the ship silly, now c'mon."
Apple Bloom started to walk towards hanger three, Scootaloo following behind
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sweetie Belle watched as the last of the imperial checking crew left her ship. Well her's, Scootaloo's, and Apple Bloom's ship, but still. An officer came toward her, her horn magically holding a dossier of their cargo. Sweetie hated the imperial forces, not only for there terrible gray uniforms, but how they came to be. No one else cared if Celestia and Luna had known about those creatures that took Canterlot in one fell swoop. They justed wanted their Princesses back to end Bluebloods rule.
"Well ma'am, everything checks out." She didn't even look up from the dossier as she spoke. "You're free to go."
"Thanks." Sweetie made sure to say it with as much sarcasm as she could muster, but the officer was already gone by then.
Sweetie wanted to punch every last imperial pony she could, they thought they could do anything in those gray uniforms. She'd like to see them stay in those uniforms with both princesses and the elements of harmony fight them. The only promblem was finding Celestia from where ever Blueblood hid her, Luna was fighting, Rainbow Dash was fighting. Pinkie was fighting in her own way. What did she call herself? Sweetie couldn't remember. She wish she could find where Twilight went missing. She wished she knew why her sister Rarity, and Applejack, didn't fight back. Fluttershy was understandable, having the most successful hospital in Equestria, but Rarity and Applejack did nothing to fight back. Nothing.
That's what she and her friends where doing, nothing. Sure they were aiding in the fight, dropping off supplies to the Lunar forces, but that was about it. Maybe she did know why some didn't fight the imperial forces. Sweetie started walking up the ramp leading into the Crusader, A ballon of about 30 ft in length with a hanger/cargo hold on the bottom, a command/beds on top, and engine in the back, it wasn't the biggest airship out there, but it was fast, manervable, and theirs. Sweetie carefully moved through the cargo hold, she wasn't planning to be pinned underneath all these boxes, not again. Finally she reached the hanger her favorite part of the lower ship, not for the space, not that it had any, just very little of it, and what space it had was covered with grease, oil, bits and peices of the new fighter they had, "Orange Lighting" The name made her laugh, only Scootaloo would use her code name as a ship name too. Speaking of code names.
Sweetie lifted a hoof to her headset pushed a button, and climbed the ladder leading up to the command section.
"SweetEyes, to RedTail, come in."
"RedTail here over."
"Have you found Orange Lighting yet?"
"Eup."
"On your way?"
"Eup. Got the engines warm?"
"On it."
"Roger."
"Roger, out."
Sweetie reached the command section lifted her hoof again to press the button to turn off her comm. Heading to the engine she was glad they had covers over the ladders, she hated trying to climb those when they were in flight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sweetie was going through her lift off check list again, when Apple Bloom came up the ladder.
"Is she ready?"
"Yeah. Also your tool boxes fell over again."
"Dang it! Thought I tied it down this time."
Apple Bloom left for the engine leaving Sweetie alone at the wheel. She didn't mind it, it was usally like this before take off. Scootaloo down in the hanger checking on her bird, making sure every nut was down tight, Apple Bloom in the engine tying her toolbox down tight, making sure the zapapple fuel was steady, and keeping the engine core functioning correctly. All Sweetie had to do was keep them up and flying straight.
"Crusader to air tower is the sky clear."
"Air tower to crusader sky is clear. I repeat sky is clear."
Sweetie pressed the comm button on the dashboard. "Sky is clear. Prepare for liftoff."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sky is clear. Prepare for liftoff."
Scootaloo didn't bother to know why Sweetie annouced it everytime they were about to take off. She was pretty sure the vibrations from the engines would let everyone onboard know that the Crusader was taking off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sky is clear. Prepare for liftoff."
Apple Bloom finished tying off her toolbox to the wall. Walked over to the zapapple fuel tank, flipped the switch allowing zapapple fuel to power the engine for lift and momentum. The core came to life, vibrating and spinning to achieve full power. Apple Bloom felt the thrust of the engines coming online, the gravitational force trying to pull them back down to the soil. She loved it. It was the closest thing she or any earth pony could get to flying with wings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apple Bloom looked over the cards in her hooves at the other two. Sweetie had five cards this round, Scootaloo had two, and she had three.
"One king." Sweetie said as she placed a card faced down on the pile.
"B.S." Scootaloo called with a smerk on her face.
Sweetie magically flipped the card over face up to show that it was a king.
"Ha, now you have to take the whole pile this time Scoots."
"Ugh."
Scootaloo reached to grab the whole pile of cards in the middle of the table, when the comm on the dashboard turned on.
"....You're in a pr.....or you will be bor...."
Apple Bloom got to the dashboard, removed a panal, and crawled inside. She muttered to herself as she fixed the comm wires.
"...get a new fighter, but new wires are a little to much!"
Sweetie looked towards Scootaloo who just shook her head. After a few moments the static faded enough so that they could here what was being said.
"Attention airship Crusader. You are flying in a restricted area. This is your finally warning, turn back now or be boarded by orders of the Imperial Military."
Sweetie raced to the wheel, while Scootaloo raced back down the ladder to the Orange Lighting, while Apple Bloom raced to the left side of the command section, lifted another panal, and slid inside to operate the turret up top. Sweetie started to turn the Crusader around when the clouds below them parted enough that she could see what remained of Appleloosa. She couldn't believe it. Appleloosa was a beautiful city, one of the few cities that didn't relocated after Blueblood took control of Equestria.
Now it was a pile of rubble, and fire. Sweetie didn't understand what could have happened to it, the Imperial Military might be the largest military in Equestia, but they didn't have any real offensive weapons or attack. Nor could the Lunar Forces do this, not with Luna as their leader. Sweetie just couldn't look away from it, she'd seen fighting and death before, but this...this was something different. It didn't have the same feeling to it.
The Orange Lighting zoomed pass the command section bring Sweetie out of her trance and back to turning the Crusader around. Sweetie couldn't help but look at Orange Lighting as it zoomed by, not only did it bring her back, but the new fighter seemed different from the other ones she'd seen, v-shaped, wings slighted downward from where Scootaloo sat by twenty degrees, engines sticking out from the wings back.
It looked exactly like all the other's she'd seen, but still...A harpoon crashed through the roof of the bed section through the floor and hooked itself there. The Crusader lurged forward trying to break free of the harpoon to no avail. A second harpoon whizzed past the front of the Crusader, flying towards the ground. Apple Bloom started to fire the turret at the harpoon holding them in place. Another harpoon shot threw the engines, shaking Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom tried again to shoot the harpoon's with the turret, but a third one shot through it and the dashboard, nearly killing Sweetie Belle. Two more harpoons were shot at them hooking themselves in the ballon. Apple Bloom started crawling out of the turret controls.
"What the hell! They're suppose to warn us before they shoot us!"
"Apple Bloom can you..."
The harpoons started pulling the Crusader up into the jaws of an Imperial Command class airship.
"Damn it, where's Scootaloo!"
Apple Bloom looked out the window to see Scootaloo having a dog fight with three Imperial fighter ships.
"Damn it! What do we do Sweetie?"
"I don't know!"
Hoofsteps were pounding on the outside of the command/bed sections, Imperial forces were trying to get in. Apple Bloom grabbed a wrech that was lying on the ground, while Sweeite grabbed a frying pan. Both of them heard the hoofsteps move towards the ladder leading to the engine, where they could see a small blue flame cutting through the metal. Sweetie looked outside, seeing that Scootaloo was still out there fighting the Imperial forces when they all knew they had lost. Apple Bloom seemed to have seen it to, because she got to the comm.
"Scootaloo run! They have the Crusader! Just run!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scootaloo flew over the ship completely ingoring Apple Bloom's warning, she coudn't just let her friends get caught by Imperial forces, not like this, they didn't do anything wrong. She had to get them out some how she just needed to think. Shots whizzed by her as the last Imperal fighter stayed on her tail. She couldn't shake this one no matter how hard she tried. She flipped back around to see the Crusader already in the Imperial ship with troops trying to make there way in. Then it hit her there was nothing she could do. The Imperial Command ships had to many turrets for her to dogde, get her friends, and leave before she was shot down. "Just run!" Scootaloo looked up at the Crusader one last time, she watched as the imperial forces made their way into the ship, she knew what would happen, she knew it wouldn't turn out if she attempted to rescue them. "Just run!" Scootaloo flew west, punching the gas as hard as she could.
Two days. Apple Bloom didn't know why she kept track of the time she and Sweetie spent in this cell, but it had been two days. Two days of nothing but the dark, quiet cell, six terrible meals, little sleep, and a lot of tears. She knew it would have been stupid for Scootaloo to try and rescue them, knew it was terrible she wished Scootaloo was here with them. She only wanted to know if Scootaloo was alive right now and not shot down and dead somewhere out there. Multiple hoofsteps were coming down the hall, Apple Bloom guess it was time for breakfast. She wondered what it would be this time, maybe some blue goop today, maybe some pink. Sweetie sturred next to her as the door opened on the other side of their cell. What did they want? Have they reached a city were they'll be tried in court. Oh how she would enjoy that court, with the comm records showing that they fired on their ship without notice, without a proper warning, they wouldn't be here long.
The door to their cell opened, light flooded in blinding Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, a pair of hooves grabbed both of them and dragged them threw the doors, halls, and stairs of the ship. Sweetie Belle tried to figure out where they were taking her and Apple Bloom, but she couldn't keep track or even know what half of the floors were designed for. Finally they stopped at a closed door, while one of the troops raised their hoof to the scanner, Sweetie realized that it was an elevator that they came to. She noticed the guards holding her, they looked sad, depressed. Sweetie wanted to care for them, but after what they did to her ship, and the beaten they gave her and Apple Bloom when they brought them on board, she just couldn't forgive them no matter how sad or depressed they looked. The elevator doors opened and the guards threw her and Apple Bloom in, turned their backs, and walked off as the doors closed. Apple Bloom stood and walked to the doors.
"Ha, ya stupid foals! I knew ya couldn't do anything but let us go! HA!"
"Apple Bloom!"
"Well sorry Sweetie, but you know they can't do nothing to us."
"I know that, but still don't push it! We don't know where we even are yet."
"Don't worry will find out soon enough, then we can find Scootaloo and..."
Apple Bloom sank to the floor, realization finally hitting her. The Crusader was gone. No matter how it was repaired, no matter how much nicer or faster it was, it was still gone. Sweetie put a comferting hoof around her friends shoulder.
"What are we gonna do Sweetie? The Crusader's gone and what chance to we have of finding Scootaloo when we have nothing."
"Don't worry Apple Bloom." Sweetie patted Apple Bloom's back, "We'll figure something out."
The doors of the evelator opened, causing Sweetie and Apple Bloom to roll onto their backs.
"Get up!"
Two imperial troops grabbed and lifted them up to face the Captian of the airship. Light brown fur, brown mane, gray captian uniform. All of that was expected, but what Sweetie didn't expect was the kindness in his eyes.
"Gentlelmen, if you please."
The two guards let go, walked into the elevator, and left them alone with the captian. Sweetie knew something was wrong, no matter what the captain of a ship always had at least two guards with them, always.
"I can see you're a cautious one." The captian spoke to Sweetie as he poured himself a glass of applecider. "Can I offer you gals anything, applecider, water, milk."
Sweetie knew he was trying to play with them, trying to get them into a position he wanted them in.
"No thanks, we're fine."
The captian walked to a bench that overlooked a window. They were heading towards a city, but Sweetie couldn't see what city, they were still to far away.
"What's going to happen." Apple Bloom spoke with a cold tone in her voice.
The captian swirled his applecider. Sweetie could see that he was trying to say something in a nice way.
"I guess that there is no way around this." He drank the rest of his cider, sucked in a breath, and exhaled. "You two were caught on Imperial controled grounds. You were warned to leave and you started to, we were going to let you leave until we scanned your little fighter ship." He drank some cider, turned his head and started and Sweetie and Apple Bloom. "Your fighter ship is the newest model of the v-class fighter ships, given to your airship as a payment from one of your customers. When you got this ship did you notice anything odd about it?"
"Well we don't know. We're not the ones who fly the dang thing."
The Captian put his empty glass down, and walked towards the window staring at the approaching city.
"It contains some sort of signal that we traced when we arrived to Appleloosa. We traced the signal to something flying away towards the south. We were about to give chase when your airship appeared, we gave you the warning to leave, and then we saw your fighter ship, scanned it, and found a similar signal in it."
Apple Bloom stood with shock at what the captian was implying.
"How could you think that we could do that!"
"I knew you couldn't and wouldn't do it, but protocols dictated my actions. Your fighter had a similar signal to the thing that we presume to be the cause of Appleloosa's fall."
Apple Bloom seemed to rage at the captians words. "PROTOCOLS DICTATED YOUR ACTIONS MY ASS! YOU COULD'VE ASKED US FOR BOARDING PERMISSION! YOU COULD'VE EXAMINED OUR FIGHTER!"
"Apple Bloom..."
"Not now Sweetie I'm going to teach this little...."
The elevator door opened, showing four guards standing there, shoulder mounted guns armed and aimed at them.
The captian looked at Apple Bloom with a look of uter apologe. "Your family always did have brash anger issues."
"You're accussing us of attacking a city, or having to do something with its destruction."
"Not me, but Prince BlueBlood. He's ordering that you two be taken to different cities for your trials."
"What?"
"I'm sorry Miss Belle."
"Sorry? Sorry!"
"Miss Bloom please, let me finish. Miss Belle you will be dropped off at New Ponyville, were you will be tried and hopefully returned to your sister."
Sweetie nearly started to cry, returned to her sister, he made it seem like she was just a lost package.
"Miss Bloom, you will be taken to New Canterlot for your trial."
Neither one of them spoke, both stood still from the shock.
"Now I'm sorry," He waved a hoof towards the four guards. "but Miss Bloom you will be taken back down."
"Like hell I will!"
Apple Bloom kicked one of the guards in the chest, throwing him back hitting the elevator door. The three other guards fired their SG's. Each magical enhanced crystal shot acting like an electric charge, sending Apple Bloom into a state of fidgets. Two guards grabbed Sweetie before she could react, dragging her to the elevator.
Sweetie Belle didn't know how much time had pass since she left the Imperial Command ship. She just remebers being pulled off the ship, being forced into a closed chariot. From there time seemed to have lost all meaning. She barely paid attention during her trial, not that it was fair anyway, Sweetie could tell that everyone in the room was told a different story then from what really happened. One that made her look terrible in their eyes.
The door opened revealing two stallions dressed in white.
"Get up."
Sweetie complied, having little strength left in her. She followed them down the hall, memories of the past few days running through her head. Was Apple Bloom alright? Was Scootaloo? Sweetie held back a tear, not wanting to show her sadness to these ponies. They walked her down a hallway leading through several rooms with large windows, each containing several of Equestria's smartest ponies working on figuring out the humans technology. As they reached the end of the hallway, a door opened on the left side revealing a room with a white floor, and three large windows making up the walls. Sweetie reconized the shape as the pyramid structure that indicated were to find the Imperial R&D Department in New Ponyville. The two stallions didn't move from the door, Sweetie couldn't tell why, they should be releasing her to her sis... The two stallions grabbed her and threw her into the room, sealing the door as she hit the floor, Sweetie got up and looked back to see that the door perfectly matched the white wall.
"Hello!" Sweetie hastily looked around the room trying to find another way out. "Hello? Am I free to go?"
No one answered. Sweetie walked towards one of the giant windows, she assumed that there was some sort of door here. She scanned, pressed, and doubled check each panal of glass she could reach, not one of them budged an inch. Sweetie could see other ponies walking about their day, couldn't they see or hear her.
"HELLO! PLEASE SOMEPONY HELP ME! I'M TRAPPED IN THIS ROOM! HELLO!"
Sweetie screamed at the top of her lungs, while waving her arms frantically, trying to get someponies attention. Nothing, not one of them looked at her direction. Not one of them seemed to have even heard her screams. She fell to her side collapsing under all the stress, worry, and fear that built up over the past few days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Royal Guards walked Apple Bloom down a hallway in New Canterlot. They didn't speak, or show any acknowledgement that she was there. She still couldn't believe how good these guys were at their job, it still freaked her out a little. One of the guards opened a door at the end of the hall, where Prince Blueblood sat reading a map of Equestria and moving peices around. Two guards walked her into the room while the rest of them waited outside.
"Leave us."
"Sir."
The two guards left, leaving Apple Bloom feeling exposed. She couldn't explain it, but she knew that there was other guards watching.
"Well it finally looks like I have all the peices I need."
"What are ya talking about?"
Blueblood stood, and walked to the window looking over New Canterlot. Apple Bloom looked at the multiple maps on the table. One was of Equestria showing the divided powers, to the east was the Imperial Military, to the west was the Lunar Forces, the north was the tatered remains of the Griffion Empire, and the South was the netural power, The Crystal Empire, and in the Everfree forest making the boundery for the mid-west. The forest formed a shape that circled in on itself from the east to the north, it made it to where the south boundery was, and went along the north boundery, west ward till it reached the Zebra's land, after that they didn't know where it went.
"Do you know the current situation of this little war?"
"Well...you and the Lunar forces are fighting, the Crystal Empire is netural, and those creatures have the mid-west. Also the Griffion Empire is in shatters."
"Well you know the current situation of Equestria, but I ment the war between me and what's left of the Elements of Harmony."
"What do ya mean 'what's left?' They're still out there."
Blueblood turn around, a questioning look in his eyes. "And what dear Bloom are they doing?"
"Well....well, uh..."
"Exactly my point. Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow have either gone or are fighting againts me, while Fluttershy works peacefully with the Imperial Goverment. Your sister Applejack acts like she's fine with us, but she gives free zapapple fuel to the Lunar Forces. And little miss Rarity, I can only image what rumors and strings she's been able to attach to the royals of New Ponyville and Canterlot."
He moved back to the table sitting oppesite of Apple Bloom.
"For years I thought I would never get any type of advantage over those two, until you and your little ship flew over Appleloosa."
Apple Bloom stood still trying to comprehand what Blueblood was saying. How could she and...oh no. No, no, no.
Blueblood smiled at seeing the realization on Apple Bloom's face.
"Oh, yes Miss Bloom. With the capture of you and Miss Belle, I finally have a way to bring in Rarity and Applejack..."
"How? You just captured us, and told you men that we would be let go."
"No, I said that Miss Belle would be let go, after she gets...redefined." A wicked smile grew on Bluebloods face.
"What do you mean 'redefined?' What have you done with her. If you hurt her..."
Two guards wearing red armor appeared out of no where and grabbed Apple Bloom before she could even take a step towards Blueblood.
"Ah, there's that family attitude." Blueblood chuckled as he moved closer to Apple Bloom, who tried in vain to escape the grasped of the two red guards, "Oh how I'd love to see you fight against my power."
"What power! You barely have a hold on your Imperial Military."
"Oh, but after we crack the secret of the humans technology, we will be unstoppable."
Blueblood brought a hoof to Apple Blooms face, holding it in place staring right into his eyes.
"Your family will gladly support our cause after the details of Appleloosa are released to the public."
"What makes you say that. They'll give you nothing after hearing you attacked our ship without proper warning you son of a bitch!" Apple Bloom spat in Bluebloods face.
Blueblood let go of Apple Blooms face, wiped her spit from his, then smacked Apple Bloom across the face. Apple Bloom brought her face back up to face Blueblood, a trickle of blood ran from her nose.
"You basterd."
"I'd watch that mouth of yours young lady. Miss Belle might have a chance to go home, but you don't have that luxury."
Apple Bloom didn't speak, part from fear of what he ment, and part of fear of him hitting her again.
"That's better." Blueblood moved back towards the table, having his back to Apple Bloom, "Take her to the room we have prepared, and make sure no one talks to her."
"Yes your Excellence."
The guards started pulling her to the door. Apple Bloom fought as hard as she could, wanting so desperately to get free and sock on on Blueblood, but the red guards had a firm grip on her.
"YOU LOUSY SON OF A"
The doors closed before Apple Bloom could finish her sentence. Blueblood signed, moving a figure on the table to a new location.
"I have to wonder Miss Jack, how quickly will you believe my men's report, or how loudly you'll want revenge on Luna."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sweetie lost track of how many days she has spent in this chamber, a week, maybe two? She didn't care at this point, she only wanted it to end, to speak to another pony. Again Sweetie tried, with little effort, to bang on the window. Multiple times she's tried to get the attention of those ponies, she didn't know why she kept trying, it was a waste of energy. Sweetie slumped to the floor, just wanting to escape this place. This place of pain. Sweetie watched the crowds go through their day, completly unaware of what happened to her and her friends.
A tear rolled down her face followed by a river. Sweetie couldn't hold it back anymore, she tried not to think about what was happening to the others. She couldn't stop the images running through her head. Scootaloo dead from the Orange Lighting crashing in the middle of nowhere, or Scootaloo being interagated by the Imperial Military for info about the figher. Apple Bloom oh, Sweetie couldn't imagen what Apple Bloom was going through, was she trapped like her, or was she with Applejack? What about Rarity, did she know what was happening to her, did she even care? Its been a long time since Sweetie spoke with Rarity. She knew that she left Rarity in a bad mood over that stupid argument over...she couldn't even remember anymore.
A pegasus pony walked by, stopping near the park that was in front of the building. Sweetie lifted herself up, and was just staring at this pegasus, who Sweetie never saw before in her life, but she felt familer. Sweetie looked into her eyes, those eyes of a caring mother looking at her daughter...Sweetie shook her head and looked back at the pegasus. Yes, yes she was looking at Sweetie, looking at her with a sadness in her eyes. Sweetie stared at the pink maine and tail, the white body, and purple eyes. She gave Sweetie a calming effect just by starring at her. Sweetie didn't know how long she stood their, but she was glad that she didn't leave to soon, but eventually she left Sweetie, alone in that chamber.
Sweetie almost fell back down, when a presence came from behind her. She turned around to see a mare in a white nurse outfit standing in the middle of the room, Sweetie didn't hear the door open, or her hoofsteps on the floor. Something was off about this nurse, Sweetie looked into her eyes, a cold shiver ran down her spine. The nurse had no life in her eyes, they were just empty, her light pink face just a blank.
"H...hello?"
The nurse didn't respond. Sweetie slowly walked around the nurse, but stopped when she saw the side of the nurse. No cutie mark, but that wasn't what got Sweetie's attention. The shadow on the legs shocked Sweetie, lights...lights that seemed to be embeded into the skin...it...it was a ponified creature. Sweetie started backing up into the wall, fear ran through her blood. Memories ran through her head.
The image from the artifact dissappeared....something drew everyone's attention....Apple Bloom tried to get a good look at what everyone else was staring at....an ear splitting scream....figures appearing out of little flakes like ash....running...running....screaming.....Sweetie and Scootaloo were hiding underneth a turned over fruitcart....Apple Bloom found them....a foot that was skin and bone with lights embeded into it flipped the cart....a six foot tall creature screamed at them with a cold dead stare from the light in the eyes....another creature came and fought with the first creature....the seconded creature defeated the first, then stared at them
"Come with me little ones. I'll keep you safe."
The mouth didn't move, but they didn't challege it...running into the train with creatures running after them....getting to ponyville safely....Blueblood challege Celestia and Luna, yelling that they knew what these creatures were....fighting....
The nurse was face to face with Sweetie Belle, her hoof raised to Sweetie's head. The hoof transformed into some sort of grappling thing that gripped Sweeties head tight. Sweetie couldn't move out of fear, a needle came out of the center of the hoof. Sweetie's mind ran at a thousand miles per hour, the needle came towards her left eye, she couldn't move...couldn't stop the creature. The needle slowly entered her eye, pain ran through her spine, the room went dark.
"Scootaloo run! They have the Crusader! Just run!"
The message ran over and over in Scootaloo's mind. The image of the Crusader being pulled into the jaws of the Imperial Command ship wouldn't leave her alone. She felt sick by the fact she just left her friends, just left them in the hands of the Imperial Military. She knew they warned them to leave, she knew they wouldn't do much harm to her friends, but she still didn't know how they were doing or where they were.
A dark figure appeared in the thick fog, it was massive, Scootaloo couldn't get an exact size on it, but she'd have to say it was 60 ft in length, a wingspan of about 85 ft, and a height of 22 ft. Scootaloo couldn't get her head around the shape of it. An angled front of about 30 degress, and a back with a tail with an angle about five feet from the tip of the tail, and what appears to be propelers on the wings with some small fire at the ends of the wings. It vanished into the fog, Scootaloo wanted to chase it, wanted to figure out what it was.
The NavPointRadar brought her attention back to flying. Tara City was less then three hundred meters away, Scootaloo turned Orange Lighting in a SouthWest direction, heading towards a docking port that she could access even if the Imperial Military had put a price on her head.
"This is Orange Lighting to Tara City, requesting docking permission to land and refuel."
"Tara City to Orange Lighting permission granted, head to docking station three."
Scootaloo knew she didn't have to responed, the stallion working the air tower never really cared about what or who came in. Just as long as they gave him a good report when his superiors wanted a comm recorded brought to them. Scootaloo brought the Orange Lighting to dock three, lowered the landing gear, and landed with a little jump. Lowering the cockpit to the floor, Scootaloo opened the cask and walked out to see the dock nearly empty of ponies, more importantly dock working ponies. Scootaloo found the lack of dock workers troublesome, sure there was a thick fog, but it shouldn't have any affect on working conditions.
A group of ponies came out of the city and headed to a ship.
"But daddy..."
"No buts. We have to get out of here before it happens again."
"But mommy."
Another pony came sprinting out of the city lugging two cases.
"Mommies here. Mommies here."
A little filly ran to her mother and gripped her in a tight hug.
"Mommy."
"Yes, yes I'm here, everything's alright."
"No everything is not alright! If we don't get out of here in," He lifted his left hoof to look at a watch, "five minutes we'll get stuck in it again."
"Excuse me!"
The family jumped at the sound of Scootaloo's voice.
"Oh...oh sorry if we disturbed you but," He looked at his watch again, "we have to get going."
"I was just wondering where everyone is."
They looked at each other with a confussed look on their faces.
The mother looked at Scootaloo, "You don't know?"
"Know what?"
The father looked at his wife and daughter, "You two get on the shuttle."
"But daddy."
"No buts, go with your mother."
"Come on sweetie."
"But."
"Go on, I'll be on soon."
"Don't get caught daddy."
"I won't. Now go on."
The mother and daughter got onto the E-class shuttle. The father looked around nervously.
"Have you heard about Appleloosa."
"Yeah."
"Do you know what happened."
"Yeah, the whole city was destroyed."
"But do you know by who."
"No?''
"Well we don't either, but the thing that did...it's coming here!"
The fear in his eyes told a tale to Scootaloo, a tale of horror and destruction.
"What happened?"
"A message came on all the vids and comms. Warning us that we had a hour to leave the city without moving any of the human artifacts. None of us knew what to do, some left, the rest stayed. All of us questioned our choice before the attack, the way it spoke and...and the things face....before we knew what was happening a ship that we'd never seen before comes out from the south and just flies right past the defense cannons. The Imperial fighters were fighting it, then...then it just blew them right out of the sky, all of them. Then soldiers got onto rooftops and tried to shoot it down....then the city was on fire...screaming, terror, running."
"Hey, hey take it easy."
"Sorry, it's just it was so horrible.''
"It's okay. So this creature sent another message through the city."
"Yeah that was...Oh good Celestia!"
"What?"
"It's been an hour I...I got to go."
Scootaloo nodded her head and watched as he got into the shuttle, lifted off, and vanished into the fog. Scootaloo stayed standing there for a few minutes obsorbing the information she just recieved. A creature that could destroy a city! Scootaloo couldn't believe it, neither side had the tech to do that.
"Move aside."
An Imperial troop came to Scootaloo's side. pushing her back to her ship, which had a nozzel attached to the fuel tank. An Imperial shuttle came into the dock, and lowered a door. A platoon of troops came marching out of the city each carring something under a blanket.
Warning us that we had a hour to leave the city without moving any of the human artifacts.
Scootaloo felt a tremor of fear, eyes glued to the foggy sky looking for the ship...the ship she pasted on her way here. Scootaloo backed into her landing gear in shock. she was just a few feet away from the creatures ship. She looked back up to the Imperial shuttle loading the last of its cargo. The four enginees ignited with zapapple fuel lifting the block of a shuttle into the air. Scootaloo barely saw the flash of a bright light seconds before the shuttle erupted into a flying fire ball, crashing into the city wall and falling 300 feet to the ground, bits and pieces of the shuttle fell onto the dock. Scootaloo hid underneth the Orange Lighting, waiting for the last shrapnel fell onto the dock. Scootaloo stuck her head out from underneth the wing of her fighter to see the large shadow she saw earlier, approaching the dock. Wind blew everywhere as it came to land, again Scootaloo was in shock by the mere size of it, and the sound deafing her ears.
Two large propellers a top the ends of the winds, three feet of metal leading down to two small fires. An 85 foot wingspan filled the entire docking port just barely a few feet away from Scootaloo. As the wind started to die down the fog slowly crept back into the dock. The side of the ship popped out and slid to the back, revealing an interior of lights, wires, and a six foot tall creature. Scootaloo couldn't stop staring at it, no face or skin, just a full suit of armor and an aurora of authority and power. It stepped down to the dock, the sound of metal on metal echoed in the silence.
"A....a full suit of metal?"
Scootaloo couldn't believe it, the royal guards had a chest and head pieces made of metal and it took them years of training in order to wear them as long as they do. It stopped near the front of its ship, turned its head towards Scootaloo. Her heart stopped, she couldn't see a face, but behind that visor that filled a fourth of the helment she was positive that the creature, no.....human was scanning her, picking her a part piece by piece.
"Halt right there!"
Five Imperial troops appeared out of the city wall, barely visible in the fog. They all had their SG's pointed at the human, even from this distance Scootaloo could tell that they were shaking with fear. The human continued to walk towards the city.
"Halt! Don't move!"
"Stand down, walk away, and you won't be harmed."
A shiver went down their spines from the coldness in its voice.
"You don't have the power, or ability to fight me. Stand down, and I'll let you live."
Silence, no sounds, no muttering, breathing, or beating. Just silence. The human took a step forward, one of the troops fired his SG, then the other four fired. All the shots made contact with the human, but Scootaloo knew it wouldn't do any good the human had a full metal armor suit not a single hole to reveal any skin. The SG crystal's used a type of magic to surround the crystal, and launch it at a high velocity. When the magic shot makes contacted with skin it sends an electric charge into the body, a few shots will stun, a whole bunch can kill.
Each troop fired till the SG's overheated, everyone stood still from shock as the human grabbed something from his hip, it was about half the size of a SG.
"Such a waste."
Five loud, sharp bangs rang in the air, five small clank's followed. The five Imperial troops dropped like a sack of rocks. The human put the thing back at his waste, walked over the troops, and dissappeared into the foggy city. Scootaloo found herself staring at the city for some time. She just couldn't tear herself away from what just happened, the human just killed five ponies without hesitation.
Time seemed to have disappeared from the world, Scootaloo couldn't tell how long she stayed under the Orange Lighting. Lights from the human ship got her attention, Scootaloo walked towards the ship, despite the warnings in her head. Scootaloo halted just before entering the side of the ship. The metal seemed to have a dark, sinister look, but it also seemed like it wanted to protect something. Images and words flowed through screens all placed inside the ship, Scootaloo couldn't help herself, she stepped into the ship looking around for...well she didn't really know.
Static broke the silence.
"Don't do it Featherwings! We don't know what else it's capable of!"
"You guys did nothing when Appleloosa was attacked! I won't let Tara City have the same faith!"
"Damn it! If I have to shoot you down.."
Scootaloo heard the sound of an approaching fighter ship. Eight shots she heard from the fighters eight crystal canon, four made contact with the ship.
"Ya see! It's not in it's ship, we can destroy it, and the creature will be left in the city under our mercy!"
A choir of cheers came through the comms.
".....didn't even dent it you idiot!"
Static filled Scootaloo's ears as the comm was disabled. Scootaloo stood still, listening for anymore sounds in the silent foggy sky. Nothing. How much damage could this ship take? Scootaloo didn't plan on finding out. She was about to leave when an image of a round object made her pause. Scootaloo approached a terminal, a round image with some text to the side filled the screen. Scootaloo skimmed through the text.
Lunar Station...lock down protocols...travel beam located...
"Travel beam?"
Travel beam located at 36°10′30″N 115°08′11″W. Security cameras pick up activity by the locals digging it up. There's a massive military presences, I have to find a way to lure most of them away from the beam, I can't risk fighting them at the site. I don't know how much damage time has done to it.
Scootaloo didn't need to read anymore, she grabbed a pencil out from her bag and started downloading the information to her fighter. If she could get this to the Lunar Forces...
"Hey you."
Scootaloo looked towards the front of the ship.
"Ya you on my ship."
Fear ran down Scootaloo's back. It knew she was on the ship!
"Your doing a very dangerous thing. When I find you, you'll regret it."
Scootaloo dropped the pencil, checked that the download was finished, ran back outside, and was half way back to her ship when a giant explosion rocked her to the floor. Crumbling metal, shattering glass, and the screams of ponies filled the air. Scootaloo ran to the small room that the docking station supervisor used when working. She slammed the door shut and locked the door. Hiding under the desk she could hear more fighters fly over the docking station, each firing their canons at the human ship. The sound of propellers told Scootaloo that the human was back on his ship. She peek her head just above the desk to look out the window. Several fighter ships could be seen through the thinning fog, the human ship lifted off from the docking station, heading south, when three fighters came towards it in an attack formation. They fired on the human ship, leaving little to no damage. The human ship turned on a sharp dime, following the three fighters back into the group of ships, Scootaloo couldn't here any of the sounds of the battle, but she could see the number of pony fighters decrease fast, while the human ship seemed to fly like they weren't even firing at it. Two destroyer class Imperial airships were approaching from the city, moving to intercept the human ship. Scootaloo didn't want to watch it any more, she knew nothing of their technology could match that of the human. She left the room, headed to her fighter, unhooked the nozzle, enter the cockpit seat, and raised it into the rest of the fighter. Scootaloo looked one last time into the dogfight, it had moved towards the city, rockets, fire, and destroyed buildings could be seen now that the fog had lifted. One destroyer was gone, the other was falling into the city, and the human ship was laying siege to Tara City.
"Tara City to all fighter ships we need..."
Scootaloo shut the comm off, she didn't want to hear, or see any more of this. She ignited the engines, lifting the Orange Lighting a few feet of the docking port she was on, she looked down to her right trying to see the remains of the Imperial shuttle. There it was, crushed metal and fire. Scootaloo turned the fighter to the right, heading west she left Tara City heading for Las Pegasus and the Lunar Forces.
Sweetie Belle shifted under the blanket of her bed, not wanting to get up, not wanting to wake back in that...wait, bed? Sweetie opened her eyes to see her room back in Ponyville. Ponyville! Sweetie hurdled herself out of the bed, tossing the blanket to the floor, and found that she was in her room in Rarity's Boutique.
"W...w...wha....how?"
A mirror atop a desk caught Sweetie's attention. As she approached she saw a pony who, if you looked at her, wouldn't even be allowed in the Boutique. Her mane and tail were about three inches long, her face dirty from sweat, oil, and a few specs of blood. Her whole form was covered with scars, all healed. Sweetie turned her body to the side, looking closely at her cutie mark. The microphone brought forward the memories of the day she got it.
Pinkie had just landed in Appleloosa, the Crusader, which at the time was unnamed. Made Sweetie and her friends stare with amazement. She, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Snips, Snails, even Twist, had all gathered to see what Pinkie had asked them there.
"So!" Pinkie said while wearing a giant smile on her face.
"Are...are you sure you want us, Pinkie?" Twist seemed to want to hide in her skin.
"Well of course! I got to get you guys in the know how to fly this thing, then we can get a bigger one invite all our friends and have the party on the fly!" Pinkie rolled on the dirt, laughing at her own joke.
Sweetie found it sad that's the only real thing she remembers from that day, other then singing so long and loud that she had the entire team standing in awe. A figure stood to the right of Sweetie in the mirror. As Sweetie stared at it, it was her back before all this happened. Her curly main and tail, her smooth white skin, sweet innocent eyes that saw the world as another adventure. Sweetie held back a tear for her lost childhood, and her lost of the bond she had with Rarity. The image faded away revealing a door in the back. Sweetie turned to see her room gone, replaced by a hallway. She looked back to see the mirror gone to, replaced with a wall. The wall started pushing Sweetie closer to the door. Sweetie dug her hooves into the floor trying to stop her forced approach to the door, with no avail. The door opened as Sweetie approached it, a blinding light followed by Sweetie stopping, she listened carefully for any noise, nothing. Sweetie opened her eyes to see no room, no hallway, nothing but endless water a few inches below her.
"It's alright Sweetie, nothing will happen to you."
Sweetie spun on all fours, facing the figure who spoke. A figure that bent light to give it shape.
"Who are you? What are you? What is this place?"
"I am Ilos. I am a memory of a dead race," Walls rose from the water, surrounding Sweetie and Ilos, "and this is a memory of a lost soul."
Tanks appeared from the floor, wires and tubes contenting them to the ceiling. All were opened and dark, except for one. A figure approached the tank wearing a suit of armor. Sweetie couldn't make out the face of the figure, but she knew it was a human. The silhouette was tall, rigid, and smooth. The tank opened the glass door, water spilled onto the floor, the figure inside fell to the floor barely catching itself before it hit.
"Do you know me."
The thing on the floor looked up to the thing standing.
"You are my creator, my blueprint, and my enemy."
The thing on the floor stood up on two legs, Sweetie could tell them apart due to the first one wearing armor, and the second one was naked. Sweetie was just glad she couldn't see them very well.
"Do you understand my goal."
"You want to destroy the delta beacon that's disappeared. You also want to protect the life on this planet. To prevent it from being like your world and the world of the Vero."
"Good."
"Why make one of me."
"Because we are equally matched. You have my DNA for your model, you have my experience and fighting skills."
"And you think that if you couldn't find the beacon, then I could."
"No. I believe that you can live longer then me, and that you have a certain attachment to the beacon that will let you know when it's uncovered by the local life."
''And you believe that they'll find the beacon."
"It's in their nature. They're drawn to the unknown.''
The scene dissolved back into the water, leaving Sweetie alone with Ilos.
"What was that?"
"A memory."
"A memory..."
Darkness surrounded Sweetie, leaving her floating in an empty space. Ilos spoke in a faint and distant voice.
"In due time Sweetie Belle."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apple Bloom watched the Imperial airships come and go from New Canterlot from the window in her 'room'. Apple Bloom sat waiting for Blueblood to call her up again. It's been over a week since Blueblood call her up to his room, Apple Bloom couldn't remember how many times she's been called up over the past few weeks. At first it was a near hourly thing, then it became daily, and now weekly. The door opened revealing a Royal Guard standing in the door frame.
"His Excellence request your presence."
He didn't even wait for Apple Bloom to respond before he closed the door. She knew it wasn't a real request, that was just a formality. Apple Bloom turned from the window walked into the bedroom and put on the only outfit that she had in this terrible place. She hated putting this thing on, not only did it feel tight around her belly, and made her neck irritable, but she felt just ridiculousness wearing a maid outfit.
Apple Bloom noticed two new things when she walked into Blueblood's room, one there was a bunch of computers and wires, and two no Blueblood. Apple Bloom didn't care if she had to wear the maids outfit all week if she could have that week with no Blueblood, not that Apple Bloom wanted him dead, just removed from power. She knew the routine, dust the furniture, wipe the windows, replace the bed sheets, vacuum the floor, and mop the bathroom. Apple Bloom knew it took her about three hours when Blueblood was here, but today it was only about an hour. She figured when someone wasn't in the room mumbling, plotting, and looking at you weird every time you walked in, time seems to fly by, and to her surprise, she even cleaned the bathroom. Apple Bloom looked at the clock.
"Only 4:27! Wow I need to...."
The doors blew opened as Blueblood slammed his way in. Apple Bloom didn't know what put him in this mood, but she knew it had something to do with her. He marched towards Apple Bloom, making her back up into a corner trying to make herself as small as possible. When he was within reach of her, he raised his hoof, bringing it down into Apple Bloom's face, causing blood to trickle out of her nose.
"How did you contact that thing!"
"What th.."
Blueblood brought his hoof down again, making the blood run thicker.
"Who did you contact!"
"I..I didn..."
Blueblood beat her three more times, each time making the blood run thicker out of each nostril, and a river of tears run out of her eyes.
"Don't lie to me! I know you had to of contacted someone! Was it your friend Scootaloo! Or was it some other pony! Answer me!"
Apple Bloom could barely hold back the tears and pain in her voice to speak.
"I..I..."
Blueblood lifted Apple Bloom with magic, opening the doors to his bedroom. He threw her onto the bed, chains magically appearing around her hooves and the bed post, locking her in place.
"I...I...I don't..."
"You don't know what's happening?"
Apple Bloom just nodded fearing the anger in Blueblood's voice.
"What's happening is that some creature is destroying city after city, and the only thing connecting it to us is you and your stupid little friends!" Blueblood beat her some more, aiming for the gut instead of the face, "The signal on your fighter ship was that of the creature found to be the destroyer of Appleloosa, Tara City, and now New Ponyville!"
Apple Bloom grew numb at these words, barely feeling the beatings that she took. New Ponyville was destroyed by the creature that destroyed Appleloosa and Tara City! Sweetie Belle was in New Ponyville, did she escape? Is she safe? Is Scootaloo safe? Apple Bloom didn't want to think about it, but if the creature...no it had no reason to attack them, they didn't do anything.
"You are as annoying as your bloody sister. You won't give me the answers I want, and she won't stop giving zapapple fuel to the Lunar Forces."
Blueblood looked over Apple Bloom, watching her struggle against the chains, desperately trying to get away from him. She didn't understand, no one understands, except the humans. They had wars just like the one he was having now, forces fighting for control of the people, but they didn't have his place, they didn't have to fight four different forces at once, but they did take control when they won, they took what they wanted. He moved to the bottom of the bed glaring at Apple Bloom. She was the piece he needed to remove, but he couldn't just kill her, not like the humans described in their stories. No he couldn't kill her, but he could destroy her, remove the one thing she could never get back. Sweetie was being retrained. Scootaloo was being hunted. Apple Bloom needed to be shattered beyond repair. Blueblood looked into Apple Bloom's eyes, a beast had awoken from within him, and Apple Bloom could see it in his eyes. She tried to escape, rattling the chains, opening her mouth to scream, but Blueblood kept her quiet by stuffing a ball in her mouth. She could breathe, but she couldn't scream.
A frantic knock came from the door.
"Your Excellence it's here!"
Apple Bloom saw Blueblood open the door, ready to shout at who was behind it. When he was interrupted by a light pink mare with cherry blossom hair wearing a white nurse outfit, was kissing him so tightly Apple Bloom thought she was trying suck out his soul. The nurse raised a hoof to Blueblood's shoulder, still kissing him deeply. When she released him, he stood frozen from what Apple Bloom thought was shock, but he didn't move, he just fell onto the ground unconscious. The nurse moved to Apple Bloom's face, blocking the only light in the room. Apple Bloom franticly tried to escape, wishing that Blueblood would wake up, or that those red armor guards would appear out of nowhere. No one came, and she couldn't scream. Apple Bloom felt several different points of contact with her head, her eyes opened on their own command. She could see the blue lights embedded in the pony, just like those creatures that took the mid-west of Equestria. A needle came towards her left eye, Apple Bloom tried to force her body to move, or to shut her eyes. They all ignored her commands.
New Ponyville 20 hours before the attack
Sweetie Belle felt crushed under a rock. Her left eyes itched like crazy, nearly driving her insane. Slowly Sweetie lifted herself off the white floor. Light blinded her as she opened her eyes. Ponies had filled the streets, walking to and fro. Sweetie fell back onto the ground, wanting to go back to sleep, though she wasn't sure if that last thing was sleep, but she'd take that over watching these ponies again.
414 tiles. That's how many tiles there were on the wall and floor. Sweetie couldn't get back to sleep, she was tired, but her mind seemed to run a hundred miles an hour. Sweetie couldn't rest. She looked back out the giant window, and decided she'd make her own fun. Sweetie stuck her face to the window panel and started moving side to side, then she started voicing conversations she could see the ponies having.
"I'm wearing a suit and tie. I'm a very important stallion.
Oh, that's really interesting. I'm a classy mare.
Well would you..."
Sweetie got board of this and went back to making faces at the crowd of ponies. Sweetie was sticking her tongue to her nose while squishing the right side of her face into the window panel, when she noticed the mane of a pony she thought she would never have seen again, her sister Rarity. Sweetie looked at her sister wishing so bad that she could teleport out of this room.
A stallion approached Rarity, sitting beside her on a bench. Sweetie couldn't see their lips, but she could read their body language. Rarity seemed to regret the meeting, but something pushed her to it, while the stallion seemed like he had something, something that he wanted. Rarity looked around nervously wanted to hide from something. The stallion moved in closer to Rarity, whispered something in her ear, Rarity agreed wanting the meeting to be over with, he whispered something else, something that made Rarity tense up, Sweetie Belle could see that her sister was thinking about saying no. Rarity nodded yes, her shoulders and head drooping down. The stallion whispered one last thing, then walked back into the mid-day crowd. Rarity stayed sitting on the bench for a few minutes before she left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rarity's Boutique 10 hours before the attack
Rarity checked the clock for the tenth time in fifteen minutes. She couldn't focus on anything but the clock, waiting for it to count down to 10:00 p.m. Rarity put the pin down, the string away, the manikin back in the closet, and put the jewels in the chest. A knock came from the front door. Rarity's heart stopped, he was here already! Oh she couldn't do it, couldn't...
"Miss Rarity, please open the door! I need to talk to you about you know what!"
Rarity's heart started pumping again, it wasn't him.
"Oh thank Celestia."
Rarity magically opened the door while closing the curtain to her newest dress. An Imperial captain walked in, his shirt was all wrinkled, and his hat was sideways. Rarity almost wished it was the other stallion.
"Miss Rarity you have to come with me!"
"Why?"
"So you can get your sister back!"
Rarity froze in place, sweat started to roll down her face.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do Miss Rarity," He closed the door, locking it after it shut, "I know that you've been digging up information to find what happened to Sweetie Belle. I know you've made certain deals with the royalty of New Ponyville, and I know the deal you made with the janitor of the R&D Department."
"Janitor!"
"Yes Miss Rarity, a janitor."
"He told me..."
"I...I know what he told you," He went to the window searching everywhere he could look through the window, "We need to talk somewhere safer."
"Well there's no one here."
"No! Not here. Not safe."
Rarity watched him carefully as he walked around the Boutique searching everything he could see. He stopped at a desk, grabbed a pencil and started writing on a paper Rarity had out for a new dress design. He folded the paper and left it on the desk.
"Meet me at the location."
Before Rarity could respond the Imperial captain unlocked the door, walked out, and left Rarity alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Safe house 1 hour before the attack
Rarity knew something was wrong. The air had a sense of doom in it. The imperial troops walked in groups, each looking like they've just seen a ghost. A tv screen turned on in a window, street lights started to flicker on. Rarity was glad that the power was back on, she wasn't looking forward to walking in the dark, not that she didn't like it, she just didn't like the city in the dark. Rarity halted as a group of little fillies and foals were running down the street, each racing the other back home. Rarity flashed back to the many sisterhooves specials she ran with Sweetie in Ponyville, hearing the laughter of the little colts brought a tear to her eye. Rarity marched her way down the street, staring at the pyramid shaped R&D Department as she approached the building that the imperial captain was waiting for her.
Rarity knocked on the door, almost immediately the door opened, revealing the very distressed Imperial captain from earlier.
"Good, come in."
Rarity walked in and noticed four desk stuck together that held papers, maps, and a bunch of notes.
"What's this?"
The captain closed the door.
"A theory."
"Of what?"
"The humans targets."
Rarity seemed dumbfound.
"A...a human?"
"Yes a human."
The captain moved past Rarity, moving to the opposite side of the group of tables.
"We think that the first attack that couldn't be completely understood was Appleloosa, right."
"Well of course!"
"Well you're wrong. Along with three fourths of Equestria. The first attack was in the Griffon Empire." He pointed with his hoof to the top of the map, and many different newsletters from different griffon cities, "The human started attacking the griffons first."
"Ok wait how do you know it's a 'human'. Also how does knowing were the 'human' attacked first have to do with getting Sweetie Belle out of that building."
"The pattern."
"Pattern?"
"Yes, the pattern! As the human attacks each city," He pointed to several red circles on the north of the map and to the circle that surrounded Appleloosa, "it has a pattern. First it takes out the defense canons on the city walls, and a message went through each city exactly one hour before each attack," Rarity lifted several newsletters from the griffon empire, each stating that the defense canons were offline either hours or minutes before a message ran through all means of communication, "One hour Miss Rarity. One hour."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rarity looked over the papers, maps, and newsletters all had the same evidence but something didn't fit.
"But we didn't get the message, nor have we been..."
"Because they didn't let you know."
"What?"
"The Imperial Military. They haven't let it out that the canons are offline, and they caused the blackout until the message came and went."
"But how..."
"I'm a captain Miss Rarity, I know just about everything that happens in this city when I'm stationed here."
"So when the power came back on..."
"The message stopped. Miss Rarity it's coming here."
"Wait how do you know what it is! It could be one of those creatures, or some griffon soldiers!"
"The pattern Miss Rarity. The pattern! Those creatures aren't attacking the cities, due to the fact that whatever it is, it's targeting the R&D Departments of those cities, mainly those that have great success in cracking the human's technology. Now I know of only one species that could possibly be able to located, target, and immobilize a city."
Rarity's heart stopped, the thought sinking in. A human. A human! A human that would attack cities....
"No. No! It's coming here! Oh sweet Celestia we...we.."
"Miss Rarity calm down."
"Calm down! Calm down! A human is on it's way here to destroy that building and my little sister!''
"No, not your sister Miss Rarity. Just the information that we collected about the humans."
"That doesn't help! The Appleloosa R&D Department was destroyed, and most of the griffons R&D Departments. We have to get Sweetie Belle out now!"
Rarity stormed towards the door ready to bust it off it's hinges, when the captain tackled her to the floor.
"Get off me!"
"Miss Rarity please! Listen to me!"
"Why!"
"Because I'm the only one who can get your sister out!"
Rarity stopped struggling against the captain. Tears ran down her face.
"How! You don't let the people know what's happening or offer any..."
"Miss Rarity did it ever occur to you that I may be a captain, but I'm not in charge of everything here."
"Well...I..."
"Exactly. Now if you will listen I do have a plan to get your sister out."
Rarity sat up, wiping the tears from her checks.
"My men know my theory, most agree, but none will turn us in. Not after learning what Blueblood did to them."
"What? What did he do?"
"He declared them dead in the system."
"What?"
"Blueblood declared that Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo died back in Appleloosa when their airship was caught in the fight to defend the city."
"How do you know?"
"They were on my command ship, well Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were, Miss Scootaloo is still somewhere."
"What do you mean they were on your ship?"
"We arrived to answer a distress call from Appleloosa, but we where to late to help. Though we did find a strange signal and ship leaving to the south, then your sister's ship arrived just a few minutes after. We told them to leave, and they were, but their fighter ship had the same signal." The captain lowered his head, breathing deeply to hold back his sadness, "We fired upon their ship, hauling it in. Scootaloo escaped, and we were ordered to bring Sweetie and Apple Bloom to question them. That change after a few hours, Blueblood wanted them in separate cities. I dropped off Sweetie Belle first to this city, then I took Apple Bloom to New Canterlot, then...then this happened."
Rarity's tears started to stream back down again. The captain sat down next to her, putting his hoof over her shoulder.
"How can I trust you? After what Blueblood did to Celestia, and the war he's declared on Luna. How can I trust a pony I don't even know?"
"Now listen to me. Your sister is alive in that building across the street. She's behind all that glass just staring out at the ponies walking down this street day after day after day. When the human attacks my men will close down the street, and allow the human access to the building. After he is done destroying or taking the data you and I will go and get your sister out of that room."
"That doesn't answer my question."
He turned Rarity's face to look him in the eyes, those deep blue eyes.
"In this life I'm Captain Hooves of the Imperial Military. In my past life I was a house doctor known as Doctor Hooves."
Rarity sat watching the R&D Department building across the street, daydreaming about getting Sweetie out of that building, but the 'human' kept creeping up in her mind. Rarity still didn't want to believe it, it couldn't be a human, it had to be the Lunar Forces they must have found some sort of human ship that they learned to fly, and now they were attacking the Imperial Military for control of Equestria. Which Rarity didn't mind if Luna ruled, she'd to be better then Blueblood, she just wanted to get her little sister back.
Mr. Hooves walked into the room still talking on his comm.
"Are you positive corporal? Alright then start the blockade of the target zone. Sargent are the others in place? Alright turn back to the main comm channel and keep me in the loop."
"It's here?"
"Yes Miss Rarity it's here."
Rarity's head shot up towards the sky, looking for any sign of the massive ship she could see in her mind. A giant massive ship twice the size of a command ship, an entire army in it just waiting to drop on top of them. Rarity could make out a sound in the distance, she and Mr. Hooves turned towards the sound. No shape or lights could be seen, but it could be heard. Rarity couldn't name it, either a few propellers spinning at a very fast rate, or several propellers spinning at once, along with a small high pitched noise.
"Hold them back Sargent. Keep the crowd off the street. I don't care what..."
The air vibrated, ears deafened themselves. Rarity saw two small fires outside the window, each wide apart. The few trees that were in the street blew backwards away from a central point a few feet away from the R&D Department. A shape could be seen from the lights on the street. Rarity couldn't make it out, at one end it was angled to the right with nothing in front, while the other end was angled to the right with something in front of it. The two small fires disappeared and the noise came to a stop.
Everything seemed to stand still. Rarity couldn't hear anything, not even her own heartbeat. A figure walked to the building, halting at the door. It stood on two legs, a large shape on its back. The door opened and the creature walked in. When the door closed the air was breathable again, and Rarity's heart started beating again.
"Ok. Now we wait Miss Rarity."
"Now we wait."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's going on!"
Captain Hooves continued to ignore Rarity until they got to the door leading into the street. As he entered he looked to his left watching as Imperial troops held back a mob of furious ponies. A magic barrier formed around the troops, but Captain Hooves knew it wouldn't last for long. He needed to get the rest of the Imperial Military in the city to his position if his plan was going to survive. Captain Hooves took Rarity to the R&D Department.
"Really Mr. Hooves! What is going on!"
An Imperial Sargent came forward.
"Captain sir, They've breached docking station three."
"Damn! Where are the troops."
"Unknown sir."
"What..."
"Sargent tell all forces to hold positions, but if they fall, tell them to get here asap."
"Yes sir.''
"Mr. Hooves! What is..."
The doors to the R&D Department swooshed opened, frozen air flowed out of the building.
"Miss Rarity, you need to get your sister out."
"Wh...what?" Rarity stared down the dark entrance, fear consuming her eyes.
"You need to get your sister out now, while I keep the city at bay."
"But...but that....that thing!"
"It won't hurt you. It's deep underneath the building finding all of its technology. Your sister is in the room across that wall in here."
"But...how?"
"That's up to you, Miss Rarity. Best of luck."
Captain Hooves pushed Rarity into the building, and closed the door. Captain Hooves walked to his Sargent, equipping his SG to his left shoulder.
"Sargent."
"Yes sir."
"Get the unicorns to make a dome to protect this sector."
"Yes sir."
As his Sargent left to carry out his order a Lance Corporal approached.
"Captain sir."
"Yes Lance Corporal."
"There's an emergency call for you. Their code is Delta Foxtrot 38 Echo."
Captain Hooves nodded and accepted the phone from the Lance Corporal.
"Well, looks like you have things under control."
An empty bottle shattered against the ground behind Captain Hooves.
"Oh yeah, completely under control. Why don't you come on down Derpy, I'm sure these ponies would love to get to know you."
"Hey! Code names, remember."
"Derpy, I'm alone and can't possible remember every single code name I'm given."
"Well looks like you won't be alone for long."
"What do you mean."
"The south barrier is taking a real beating."
"Damn! Lance Corporal!"
"Yes sir."
Captain Hooves handed the phone back to the Lance Corporal.
"She's your eyes in the sky. Keep me updated on the cities situation."
"Yes sir."
"Sargent!"
"Yes sir."
"You're with me."
Together Captain Hooves and his Sargent headed towards the south barrier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rarity fought little against the Captain's hooves pushing her in, and watched the light vanish, leaving her alone in the dark. Little light came from the bulbs in the ceiling, giving the area a dark presence. Rarity walked almost blind through the room trying to find some sort of light panel. There against the wall to her right, a flicker of some small light. Rarity hastily made her way over, and tripped over something about half way over. She didn't take the time to see what she had tripped over, or to question what type of liquid she fell in. Rarity made it to the console where the small blue light flickered on and off in a rotating circle motion. Rarity pressed her hoof against it, and closed her eyes as blinding light filled the room. After a few moments her eyes adjusted to the light and Rarity turned around to see multiple dead bodies of scientist, guards, and other ponies. Pools of blood covered the floor, and the walls bled from red slashes. Rarity noticed a slosh of red dripping from her mane, and the body of a mare with it's head flipped around facing her.
Rarity stood frozen as she stared into those cold lifeless rose colored eyes. When Rarity got out of this place she was going to have to kill Mr. Hooves. Complete bull that the thing wouldn't kill her if it found her up here, but she couldn't leave Sweetie Belle here either. A circular door grabbed Rarity's attention. A quick looked further down the wall told her that this door was the right one as all the others were rectangular. Rarity carefully made her way around the bodies and blood to the door, it wouldn't open as she approached, nor when she pressed the panel on the side. Rarity knew magic would be useless, she didn't have the right understanding about how these types of doors opened. She looked back towards the bodies and noticed that all of them were wearing an I.D badge, she looked back towards the panel wondering if she needed to....
"No." Rarity silently whispered to herself.
She could barely look at the bodies, yet alone touch anything from them. A loud noise from below shook her bones. Rarity didn't know how she knew, she just knew that the thing was coming back up. Rarity looked around desperately for some sort of hiding spot, the room had none, and she was pretty sure that the rest of the doors needed an I.D. badge to. Rarity lit up her horn with magic, and as quickly as she could she lifted the I.D. badges one by one to the panel until she heard the ping that opened the door.
As Rarity entered she noticed how insanely white the whole room was. White floor tiles and wall tiles, along with three giant windows. Different groups of Imperial troops marched around the street and the weird ship. A huge magical barrier filled the night sky as groups of pegasi attempted to bust through. Sobbing brought Rarity back to what she came here to do, she looked around and noticed Sweetie Belle had pressed herself into a corner.
"Sweetie Belle, it's alright now. Your sister Rarity is here."
Sweetie continued to sob in the corner. Rarity slowly walked towards her sister, not wanting to make Sweetie do something rash.
"Sweetie, please stop crying. I'm here now, there's no reason to cry now."
Rarity was only a few feet away when Sweetie turned around and lunged at her, grabbing Rarity by the neck and chest, Sweetie marched Rarity back into the wall, just a few feet from the opened door.
"Sweetie.....what..."
Sweetie Belle's skin started to change colors from white to a light pink as an ash type material flew from the air onto the figure. When the ash was done collecting onto the figure it had grown to Rarity's height with a light pink skin, a cherry blossom mane, and cold, lifeless eyes. The hoof that was pressing on Rarity's chest lifted up to her face where several stick like things morphed out of the hoof and gripped Rarity's head holding her still. A needle emerged from the center of the hoof and made it's way into Rarity's right eye. Pain rocked though Rarity's head and body, completely immobilizing her in place. Rarity, with all her leftover strength yelled at the top of her lungs, before darkness consumed her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Captain Hooves stood staring at the human's ship, his mind still trying to wrap around it. 60 ft in length, a wingspan of 86.5 ft, and a height of 22.7 ft, with the power of a destroyer class air ship in a ship that would pass as a giant shuttle.
"Captain sir."
"Yes Corporal."
"We've lost two more docking stations, and lost contact with Delta squad."
Captain Hooves merely nodded his head in response. The mob was getting worse. Out of the thousands of soldiers that were stationed here, they barely had over two hundred.
"Move it PFC Light! We need to reinforce the west side!"
"Yes sir!"
Two troops ran past. Captain Hooves watched them go, wishing he could get them out of here in one piece. A crack appeared on the west side as a group of earth ponies kicked at the barrier. After a few seconds the crack disappeared and a unicorn was moved to the temporary medical building. Captain Hooves looked back to the R&D Department worrying about Rarity and Sweetie Belle, it felt just like yesterday that he had just been over to the Boutique to check on a sick Sweetie Belle. Now the memories came flooding back, visits to different houses to check on fillies, foals, mares and stallions who didn't need to go to the hospital.
"Hard to believe that was fifteen years ago."
A scream came from the building. Captain Hooves didn't waste a seconded, he was already at the door scanning his I.D. badge by the time six troops came to him. The doors swooshed opened and two ponies entered the building, followed by the other four, then by Captain Hooves. Blood stained the floors and walls along with bodies of guards, scientist, and civilians.
"What the hell?"
"Quiet Private. Keep your eyes opened."
"Yes sir."
"Opened door. Right side."
"Copy."
Two troops entered the opened door and looked around the white room.
"Clear."
"Got a body."
Captain Hooves entered the room to see Rarity set against the wall with a small tear of blood rolling down her right eye, and blood all along her right side. He put his hoof against her neck and felt a pulse.
"She's alive," Captain Hooves looked over to the two troops with him, "Go get a medic."
"Yes sir."
Captain Hooves looked around the room, no other body, no Sweetie Belle. He past the opened door to see the remaining four troops starting to move down the hall, not one giving any notice of a little filly. Rarity stirred a little. He looked out past the windows to see the crowd of ponies continue to pound the barrier, and fighters flew by shooting at the barrier. Captain Hooves reached into his jacket and pulled out a small device, pressed the center button causing it to light up, and placed it in Rarity's hoof. He moved in close to Rarity's ear.
"Listen to me Miss Rarity. You will get out of here just fine. Just don't let go of the beacon, and you'll be just fine, and can start looking for your sister again."
Rarity didn't move. A soldier poked his head around the door.
"Sir, the elevator is moving."
"What floor?"
"Forty-two sir."
Captain Hooves let go of Rarity's hoof, watched the beacon fall and land by her side. He moved out of the room and looked to his left, his men stood ready with there SG's pointed towards the elevators. Captain Hooves started giving the order for his men to move back outside, when a body of a mare caught his eyes. Blossom colored mane, light pink skin, eyes wide opened with fear. Captain Hooves moved in close to her and lifted her main out of her face, looking into the cold, lifeless eyes on such a beautiful face.
"So young."
Captain Hooves placed a hoof on her neck out of habit. He was starting to move it when he felt a pulse, a few seconds later another pulse. He looked at the blood pool that she was in, it didn't seem to match her body. Another pulse.
"We got a live one over..."
Captain Hooves felt a hoof at his throat, he looked down to see it belonged to the mare. He stared into those lifeless eyes as her pulse quicken. Memories flooded his mind.
Standing in the crowd in Canterlot waiting to see the biggest discovery in Equestria's history....Lyra touching the artifact, the lights forming around the crowd....the message....the creatures....the world went back to normal....a figure stood on the outside of the crowd....it lifted a pony by the throat....blood flew through the air....the creature produced a loud blood churning scream....more appeared out of thin air....running through the Everfree forest wearing the first model of the current SG, screaming with other ponies, his first mission with the Imperial Military....watching those creatures slaughtering troops by the hundreds....closing his wound with leafs, trying not to pass out....stumbling back to a town he didn't know....finding out he was gone for five years....
The troops yelled at the mare to lower her hoof, but Captain Hooves barely heard them as he stared into those lifeless eyes as a needle slowly entered his throat. He knew it was happening at a regular pace, but it went so slowly in and through his throat. It didn't penetrate anything vital, and Captain Hooves was starting to wonder if he really would die when the needle expanded to three times it's size in his throat and sprouted even more needles ripping their way through his throat. His men started screaming and shooting, the mare moved to use Captain Hooves as a shield. The troops started to move to him, the mare brought the hoof out of his throat, taking with it half of his throat and ran to the door. Captain Hooves fell to the ground watching the creature flee from the SG rounds flying to it as more troops blocked the door from the outside. The air started to get thick, blood covered the floor, his men were shaking him, trying to get him to answer them.
The world started to fade out, voices blurred into a drone of echoes, three thuds shook Captain Hooves back into the world. His men were either fleeing from something behind him, falling to the floor, or on the floor bleeding and dying. The pink mare was leaping through the crowd of Imperial troops to escape. A metal boot fell in front of his face. From far away the metal looked rough with gaps and little bends, but up close it was smooth, the bends and angles of the metal seemed to mimic the humans foot, and the gaps gave it room to bend at the joints. Another round of thuds ran through his bones, three white trails flew through the air towards the fleeing pink mare. Imperial troops stood watching as the human chased after the mare, none of them noticing the magic barrier was falling to pieces. The world started to fade again until nothing but a black abyss filled the world, and everything went silent.
Apple Bloom was running....running through a forest....the Everfree forest....breathing getting difficult....Apple Bloom looked down, she was bleeding real bad....she couldn't go on....she couldn't....this wasn't her, she didn't walk on two legs or look like this....a voice ranged in her ears....
"You need to get up, follow the trail of your squad, and kill that cybernetic mutant before it takes control of the shard!"
The voice was deep and echoed through Apple Bloom's mind.
"Why don't you help us! You fight better then all of us!"
Apple Bloom was running again....pain ran through her body with every step....a weird thing appeared in the distatance....a vehicle, a crawler, Apple Bloom didn't know how she knew what it was....an opening in the ground swallowed her....
"I will help you, but I have more then four humans to worry about."
Darkness surrounded Apple Bloom....the cold stone at her feet told her were to go....blood continued to run down her side....pain ran through her with every step....a light....the light of the shard....voices....voices of her team, her squad....Apple Bloom gripped the pistol tight in her hands....hands? What?....Apple Bloom saw the mutant who looked just like her....but it wasn't her....it raised it's hands, one held a pistol, the other was empty....one gun shot, a needle morphed out of it's hand....her two squad mates fell....Apple Bloom screamed raising her pistol....
"Kill it, and disable the shard how ever you can."
Apple Bloom stood over the mutant, watching it disintegrate into ash....she was at the shard, pressing panels, moving buttons....no, no the other....other....light started to fade....the pain was getting dull....Apple Bloom pressed one more button....she fell to the ground, watching the cave go dark.
Apple Bloom's brain felt like it was crawling out of her eye. She didn't know how long she'd been sleeping, if she could call it sleep. Apple Bloom lifted the blanket over her face, hoping to hide from the light as she opened her eyes. It didn't work, the light still blinded her through the blanket. Apple Bloom finally stopped trying to fight it, she lifted the blanket up, and awoke to see that she was still in Bluebloods room, the doors still wide opened from when that thing left, and Blueblood still unconscious or dead on the floor. Apple Bloom crawled backwards until she hit the bedpost. Minutes crawled by until Apple Bloom finally moved off the bed, staying as far away from Blueblood as possible, until she made it out the doors. From there she closed and locked the doors. The air felt stiff and raw. Something bad happened while Apple Bloom was asleep, shadows danced across the wall, she looked at the clock 2:09 p.m. The sun should be high in the sky by now, and shadows shouldn't be dancing. Outside the window was a world Apple Bloom didn't understand.
New Canterlot, capitol of the Imperial Democracy, was burning to the ground. Skyscrapers were toppled over, the streets filled with rubble, smoke replacing the air, and a shadow of a strange ship could be seen flying away while three command ships fell into the city, rouge fighters flew through the smoke filled air trying to find lost ponies. Apple Bloom backed up into the wall, fear corsing through her vains. When did this happen? Why did it happen? Was it because of her? Of course not! She didn't do anything wrong!
Apple Bloom put her head to her chest, and lowered herself to her knees. Tears flowed down like a river. It was to much, to much lost, to much pain. First Pinkie left the Crusader, then Snail, Snips, and Twist. Now Scootaloo and Sweetie were lost too, along with all those innocent ponies that thing has killed through it's rain of destruction. Was it all their fault? Did the signal in the Orange Lighting have anything to do with this? Apple Bloom raised herself off the floor, blinking the tears away. Apple Bloom moved towards the window, looking down as the city burned to the ground, Apple Bloom watched the fire dance through the buildings. She couldn't stand wondering if she or her friends were responsible for these attacks. Apple Bloom turned to look back at the bedroom doors thinking about checking on Blueblood when an image of her face on a computer drew her attention.
Apple Bloom
Younger sister of Applejack, President of Sweet Apple Acres, and Big McIntosh, CEO of Sweet Apple Acres
Occupation: Smuggler Mechanic with Sweetie Belle, Pilot, and Scootaloo, Fighter
Current status: Dead after eye witness report from Captain Hooves and his crew after discovery of Lunar Forces attack on Appleloosa. Captain Hooves declared that he saw a small air ship falling into the city as the suspects were fleeing from the crime.
The image changed from her to Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle
Younger sister of Rarity, owner of Rarity's Boutique, and daughter of Magnum and Violet Shine
Occuptaion: Smuggler Pilot with Scootaloo, Fighter, and Apple Bloom, Mechanic
Current status: Dead after eye witness report from Captain Hooves and his crew after discovery of Lunar Forces attack on Appleloosa. Captain Hooves declared that he saw a small air ship falling into the city as the suspects were fleeing from the crime.
The image changed to Scootaloo.
Scootaloo
Orphan
Occuptaion: Smuggler Fighter with Sweetie Belle, Pilot, and Apple Bloom, Mechanic
Current Status: Dead after eye witness report from Captain Hooves and his crew after discovery of Lunar Forces attack on Appleloosa. Captain Hooves declared that he saw a small air ship falling into the city as the suspects were fleeing from the crime.
A thud came from the bedroom doors, followed by Bluebloods muffled voice.
"Apple Bloom! I'll kill you, you bitch!"
The doors continued to thud and shake as Blueblood tried to escape. Apple Bloom didn't waste a second, she burst down the doors leading into the hallway, to the stairs, and down five flights of stairs. Apple Bloom rushed into the hall and fell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Something poked at her side, while a small trickle of water ran past her hoof. Apple Bloom slowly opened her eyes as they tried to stay shut from the pain. The maid outfit started to rip as she stood, it got caught on a rod when she fell. Apple Bloom let it tear open, and threw the rest of it to the side. Small little cuts ran all over her body, with little drops of blood forming. Apple Bloom looked up the hole that she fell through. It was carved out of the side of the building, wires, pipes, and other things were scattered or dangling. Apple Bloom couldn't tell how far she fell, parts of the floors were torn and bent to badly, but she'd have to esteemate about three floors.
A shuttle flew by blowing all the air towards the building. Apple Bloom ducked behind a piece of rubble while flying objects flew past her head. Apple Bloom raised her head over the pile of rubble to yell at the shuttle when a door from up above her was blown off its hinges.
"Sir, we have to leave!"
"Not until I get my hooves around that little bitch!"
"But sir..."
"No buts! Find me that little brat now!"
"....Yes sir."
They turned and went back into the staircase. Apple Bloom released the breath that she'd been holding onto. Blueblood was looking for her, the city was in ruins, and she had no idea what to do. Apple Bloom looked to her left and right, trying to pick a direction to go.
"Enie mini miny moe, catch a manticore by the toe, if it howls let it go, enie mini miny moe."
Her hoof ended pointing to the left, so Apple Bloom went towards the left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apple Bloom kicked down a door in frustration. She didn't know how many doors she opened or tried to open. Oh yeah, too many! Light flicked on and off down the hall, with no windows, clocks, or other ponies. Not to mention that the hallway itself was in complete shambles, pieces of the ceiling and walls all over the place. The building groaned, and metal creaked. Apple Bloom moved her head side to side, waiting to see what was about to unfold.
"So he finally left, huh."
Two hoofsteps echoed from a small hole to her left.
"Yeah, finally."
"So what did that mare do to him?"
"Honestly I don't know. I just heard him screaming through the floor, came down and found all his honor guards in the room off to the side, and Blueblood lock in his room ready to blow the building to even more pieces."
"Damn, sucks to be her."
''Yeah, no kidding, but I don't think she killed those guards."
"No, my money's on the creature."
"Definitely."
The two ponies walked down the hall, their hoofsteps getting dimmer and dimmer. Apple Bloom let out a breath, relieved that Blueblood had left the city, but now he wanted her for what ever he thought she'd did. Apple Bloom started to move back down the hall, she had to get out of this city, and fast. Apple Bloom moved to a door on her right and lightly pushed in. The floor collapsed beneath her hooves, Apple Bloom just barely managed to push the door in and grab the floor inside.
"What was that!"
The ponies were coming back towards her. Apple Bloom struggled to get herself into the door frame. Wood cracked down the hall, they were getting closer. Apple Bloom starting kicking the air with her back hooves, her front hooves started to slip.
"Oh no, no, no, no." Apple Bloom said in a hushed whisper.
Her back legs managed to land on a pipe that had been bent out of shape, and Apple Bloom jumped into the door frame causing the pipe to fall to the floor. Two royal guards barely came into view of the hole.
"Damn, this hole place is falling apart."
"We have to get out of here."
"But what about the..."
"We've been through about twelve floors and found no one. Lets get out of here.''
"...Fine, lets go."
They left the edge of the hole, disappearing down the hall. Apple Bloom sat catching her breath, feeling the blood run down her hooves from the door frame. Apple Bloom looked around the abandoned office wondering what happened while she was asleep. After a few moments Apple Bloom jumped down the hole and continued to walk the endless halls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apple Bloom kicked the door off it's hinges finally getting annoyed at the endless maze of halls filled with rubble. Apple Bloom made her way down the stairs, kicking the door along the way. Moon light filled Apple Bloom's eyes as she entered the ground floor of the building, tears rolled down her face as she walked through the remains of the door. A slight breeze blew through New Canterlot, causing the smoke to blow to the east, and the fires to burn a little brighter. Apple Bloom carefully walked across the remains of the city.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sweetie Belle wriggled inside the small sewer pipe as a rat crawled over her back hooves. Regretting her choice to crawl through the sewers, Sweetie continued forward until she saw a small light ahead.
"Finally!"
Sweetie picked up her pace, crawling as fast as she could until a gate blocked her way.
"OH COME ON!"
Sweetie used her rage at the whole situation to blow the gate away with magic. The boom echoed across the giant room followed by the gate splashing into the water below. As the room became quiet, Sweetie could hear multiple voices, but not what they were saying, she used magic to slide herself out of the small pipe, and lift herself to the nearest platform. The room was huge with light coming from some old bulbs, tall things jetting out of the walls all the way down into the depths of the water below, and metal walkways that either connected to each other or to the things jetting out of the wall were rusted and crumbling. Sweetie never heard of a room like this one, mostly made of stone, but it was huge more massive than anypony had....
"Yes." A whisper silently said.
Sweetie twisted around trying to find the source of the voice, but found no one. The platform she was on was alone with no walkway connecting to anything. Sweetie really wished she could learn to teleport herself, she lifted herself towards the nearest walkway that had been twisted and torn. As Sweetie made her way through the jungle of twisted metal and an aimless direction, she wondered what was happening on the surface, she couldn't understand what the voices were saying, nor could she go back through that pipe, not just because of the rats, but the huge walking metal suit that hide some sort of creature was back there plus all the dead bodies. Sweetie saw what that thing did to those ponies, heard the three deep booms that would lead to a head or body imploding. Sweetie hoped that Rarity was alright, she couldn't stand the thought of, no Rarity would be fine, she had no reason to even come close to the R&D Department, unless....The ceiling collapsed in a fiery explosion, Sweetie brought a magic barrier to protect herself as the remains of a fighter fell into the water below along with parts of the ceiling. A deep and loud force barraged Sweetie's ears as a huge crowd of ponies shot SG's at each other, yelled, and kicked. A few ponies fell into the hole, each yelling as they fell, but some were either pegasus or unicorns and were able to save themselves, but the earth ponies were left to fall into the water below. Sweetie didn't dare fly herself through the hole, no matter how much the moon's light and fresh air begged her to join them, the large crowd of violent ponies and echoes of the screaming, kept her down.
The bubble protecting Sweetie dissolved, leaving a cicle of rubble around her. Sweetie continued to walk in her earlier direction leaving behind the hole to the outside, but not the sounds of the surface. The screams and yells of the ponies above echoed to a point were it was worst then being at the actual hole. Sweetie tried to ignore the sounds, but they hurdled towards her ears pounding her brain. Sweetie looked up to see that the path she took lead to a stone wall blocking her way, she brought up and lowered her front hooves on the ground in frustration at the complex maze of this place, when a dull thud of metal caught her ears. She was standing on some sort of metal panel embeded into the stone, Sweetie had seen mutiple things of metal in the stone, and along the walls in straight vertical lines, but what caught her attention was the hollow echo behind it. Sweetie knock her hooves into the metal again, and again the hollow echo followed, she moved of the metal panel onto the stone floor, she couldn't hear an echo, but when she kicked the stone wall it was a dead thud when compared to the low thud of the stone floor.
Sweetie looked closely examined the wall and floor, and found different tool marks. The wall had mutiple virtical lines, while the floor had a bunch of tiny holes. Sweetie's left eye became agitated and irritable. As she scratched the sewer became filled with mutiple little dots that started to connect to one another until they had change the sewer into a city that had no ceiling with the water gone, and most of the stone floor Sweetie could walk on became a skyline. Vehicals, shaped like Spike's hand with the thumb sticking out, flew through the city. Two figures stood on the corner looking towards the setting sun.
"So this is the last city of our people, and it will fall without a single fight." The low dull voice of a male cut into Sweetie's ears.
"What can we do? These alicorns have attacked us when we're attacking ourselves. We have to pull back to the Lunar Station and fight the cybernectic mutants before we lose this fight."
"We've already lost Keria. We lost when we let our home world die, we lost when the Veros let the brutes free, we lost when the elites got in our ranks."
"Can't you stop acting like we have nothing left!"
"What do we have left! We've been to two worlds that can support our people and each time the local's have fought us, and each time the mutants have been there. The only good thing about this world is that there's no brutes here, so no loss of the local life."
"Please the elite mutants will..."
"Will kill us, but let the local life grow, it's in their programming."
The female looked down into the streets below, she seemed to be thinking deeply about her next words.
"You were suppose to be the savior of our people, but you will just let us die."
"I'm no savior, nor no hero. I'm a man who was forced to lead and live long beyond my life. I remember the day I was forced to leave Earth, and forced to leave Veros, but I will not be forced to die without a fight." He looked towards the Keria, "Your people may think of me and my squad as saviors, as wise leaders, but we are just four people who have nothing to live for."
"So you won't help us."
"Oh we've already set plans in motion.
He walked towards and through Sweetie Belle, continuing along the walkway until he turned out of sight. Keria stood leaning against the railing, staring out into the nearly faded sunset.
The scene dissappeared back into lines and dots until Sweetie was back in the abandoned city that had been turned into a sewer.
Las Pegasus
Rain drenched the Orange Lighting as it flew through the late night sky. The small engine of the fighter had been running non stop for the past few days, and Scootaloo knew she'd spend a few days trying to get the cooling systems back to normal, but she didn't care. All Scootaloo wanted to do was hide under a rock everytime that creatures voice ran through her head.
"When I find you, you'll regret it."
The voice scared her alright, not as bad as what the human would or could do to her, but something was off. Scootaloo couldn't put her hoof on it, but something was off about the voice.
The NavPointRadar brought Scootaloo back to her situation, Las Pegasus was about ten minutes away.
"Orange Lighting to Las Pegasus, requesting permission to land."
Nothing but static responded.
"Orange Lighting to Las Pegasus, requesting permission to land."
Static filled the silence again as Scootaloo waiting for a response.
"Orange Lighting to Las Pegasus, requesting permission to land!"
A chill ran down Scootaloo's spine as she continued to approach Las Pegasus. Scootaloo switched between several different comm channels, repeating the same message into each channel. Lighting streamed past the Orange Lighting as the storm worsened. Scootaloo knew something bad had happen to Las Pegasus, but she had to land or risk critical damage by the lighting. Blue lights from a landing platform above the city drew Scootaloo's attention, and as she brought the Orange Lighting down on the platform the symbol of the Lunar Forces became visible on the platform, the upside down silver crescent moon, dark blue winds on the sides, and the white star in the middle, brought an ease to Scootaloo's mind as the Orange Lighting rocked a little as it touched down. The rain continued to pumbel down unto the city. Scootaloo wished she had a helmet to keep the rain off her head not that it would drag her hair down into her eyes, like she had any, Scootaloo just didn't want rain splashing in her eyes. Lighting flashed into the top of the building closely followed by the boom of thunder. The cockpit lowered Scootaloo down to the platform, and raised back up once she had gotton off. Scootaloo ran through the rain nearly blind as she shut her eyes to keep the rain out until she ran inside.
Shaking her head to get rid of the water, Scootaloo noticed how quiet it was inside the terminal, she looked back to see the doors close dampening the sound of the storm. The lights were still on, and the consels were active. Another chill ran down Scootaloo's spine.
"Something bad happened."
Scootaloo slowly made her way through the room closely examining everything she could see, nothing seemed damaged, or out of place, take away the missing ponies and everything is normal. Scootaloo made her way to the door leading into a locker room with the lockers partly filled with local police gear, a few helmets, some shirts, and a few boots. Scootaloo thought about putting on the different gear, but then realized that they weren't the same size, and she could only image who's hooves have been in the boots. So Scotaloo took her chances and walked back out into the terminal and walked to the stairs, where a stallion tackled her to the floor. Scootaloo tried to wriggle her way free, but his weight kept her down.
"Who are you?"
"Scootaloo!"
"What are you doing here?"
"Get off of me and I'll tell you!"
"Yeah right, let you go so you can attack me? Nice try."
"Why would I attack you!"
"Don't play games with me! Now tell me why you're here!"
Scootaloo managed to wriggle herself so that her right wing was directly under the stallion's face, and flipped it about his face. The stallion lepted back a few feet feeling his face with his hooves, and freaking out more than anypony should. Scootaloo lifted herself a few feet away from the ceiling watching the stallion finally calm down.
"I knew it! You were just here to attack me!"
"What no!"
"Then why did you attack me!"
"I only flapped my wing at you, and I did it to get you off of me!"
The stallion looked around the terminal, noticed the open security locker room, and vanished inside. After a few minutes he came back outside wearing a mitch match of Lunar Forces gear, coat to long, boots to big, and a hat too small. The stallion seemed to have forgoten all about Scootaloo flying just below the ceiling as he went back down the stairs muttering to himself.
"Now it can't get me, now it can't get me, now it can't get me!"
Another few minutes passed without a single breath being taken as Scootaloo stayed below the ceiling, waiting for something to happen. Nothing. Scootaloo slowly lowered herself to the floor, ready to pop back up should she need to, the cold floor sucked the heat from Scootaloo's hooves as she made her way back to the door where she entered. As she approached the door it didn't move out of her way or did the light above the door turn green, it remained red. Scootaloo felt a prensence behind her, she turned to see nothing but an empty terminal room staring at her. Scootaloo wished she was as good as Apple Bloom at this electrical wiring stuff, then she wouldn't have to leave the terminal, but no she had to go and find the main control room somewhere in the floors below.
"Well this aught to be fun."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scootaloo slumpt up against a wall, exhausted from searching all these floors for the main control room, she looked up at the floor number a few feet down the hall. Eighteen, the eighteth floor of this stupid building and still no control room. Scootaloo knocked her head against the wall at the huge search still left in front of her. Scootaloo decicded to take a break and head up to the twenty-second floor and grab something to eat.
When Scootaloo opened the doors to the cafeteria a wave of burnt everything flooded her nose and making her eyes water.
"Ugh, what happened here."
Scootaloo walked into the cafeteria and started sweating from the heat radiating from the room. Black walls, and a melted kitchten were the only things that welcomed her. Scootaloo's stomached growled at the sight of all the lost food. A warm red glow started to grow from the melted kitchen, as Scootaloo approach it grew into a raging inferno consuming the kitchen, walls ceiling, everything. Scootaloo flug herself though the doors as the fire attached itself to her tail and the doors sealed themselves. Scootaloo felt the fire moving towards her as she tried to find something to help put it out, as in an answer to her needs a stallion wearing Lunar Forces armor stood facing her with a fire extinaguisher pointed at her direction. Scootaloo moved herself so that the stallion had a clear shot at the fire as it scorched her flank.
After the cool feeling of the extinaguisher went away Scotaloo check the damaged done by the fire. Her tail was completely gone, nothing was left but some burn marks on her flank.
"Thank you, mister."
Scootaloo turned to face her saivor. He was a light grey stallion with a dark blue mane and tail, almost like luna's, and he's eyes were almost like sapphires. He wore Lunar Forces Military gear helmet, boots, jacket, and a SG on his left shoulder.
"You're welcome." He threw the fire exinaguisher to the side and brought himself back onto all four of his hooves. "Are you the pilot of the Orange Lighting?"
"Yes, why didn't you respond..."
''Did you let the doors close!"
"Y...yes?"
"Damn it!"
The staillion started pacing up and down the hall.
"What?"
"What? What! We're trapped in this city, that's what!"
Scootaloo took a step back from the stallion as he took a deep breath.
"Look I'm sorry, but I'd just had a lot on my mind lately."
"It's ok, now tell me what's so wrong with the doors closing up, all we need to do is just find the main control room for the building and we can get it working again."
"No that won't work."
"Why not."
"Because the whole cities on lock down so any conventional means are useless, unless..."
"Unless...?"
The stallion walked down the hall and to the stairs, Scootaloo followed him as they made there way to the lower level.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey mister."
They stopped half waw down the seventh level to the next set of stairs. The stallion barely turned his head towards her.
"What?"
"I just wanted to know a few things."
He turned around to face her, "Well what do you want to know?"
"First of what's your name? I mean you can't really expect me to follow you if I don't know you, right?"
"Blue Moon."
"Ok, now what happened here? Isn't this the local police building, so were is everypony?"
Blue Moon closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.
"Have you heard about what's happening to the Imperial cities."
Scootaloo didn't like the lower tone in his voice, "Yes."
"Well imagine all that chaos, all that fear, but on a much lower level, no strange ships, no strange creatures, no destroyed cities, but the entire city just slowly falls into chaos. Then add small groups of changelings searching the city for something, and when you try to attack them or defend yourself that they have more powerful weapons that can punch right through our magic barriers and take us out faster than anything we've seen before, then you can get the picture of what happened here."
A silence thickened in the hallway as Scootaloo took in the information. An entire city crumbling into chaos with no outside force. Scootaloo didn't know what to think, or say, she just stood there with her eyes wide open. Blue Moon turned back around and started walking down the hallway. Scootaloo shook off her shock and manage to catch up with him.
"Hey listen..."
"No I know you didn't mean anything by it, it's just....I can't really believe it. Luna had a plan to try and stop this, and we thought it worked."
"What Luna had a plan and you didn't..."
Blue Moon stopped and turned around.
"Of course not! When those things attacked Canterlot everypony was confused and fearful, but Celestia and Luna knew excatly what to do to proctect the trainstation from those things. Sure everyone was confused about what just happened, but we would've been just fine if Blueblood didn't start the riot in Ponyville, and taken Celestia hostage and locked her up somewhere."
Blue Moon turned to face a door, opened it, and walked in. Scootaloo entered to see a makeshift command center with maps of the city, each drawn with different colors, lines, and circles.
"But that's not our biggest promblem right now."
"Well what is?"
"Getting control back to the city," Blue Moon pointed to a green circle on a map, ''this is the city center. With in lies the means of giving control back to the other stations which in turn, will allow us to at least get the city into a more controled state, after that I don't know." Blue Moon's voice dropped to a whisper.
Scootaloo approached him and layed a comferting hoof on his shoulder.
"Don't worry you'll...."
Scootaloo looked past Blue Moon to see a figure in the shadow of the room lying on the floor.
"Who's that?"
Blue Moon turned his head to look at what Scootaloo was pointing at.
"A friend of mine."
Scootaloo lowered her hoof and looked back to the map.
"So why does the city center have all the control again?"
"It's standered protocol when an enemy has control of a city section. I know not the best system, but we never really planned on being attacked."
The figured moved its head slighty as it tried to get a better view of the two voices.
"If we go through section 4 we can make our way through the apartment complex, and with luck, not come across the gangs of ponies who raid our storage buildings."
"Well why would we avoid ponies? Don't they want the city back in order? And why would they raid your supply buildings?"
"Well Miss Scootaloo, we've trie to get the city back up and running."
The figure slowly lifted itself off the ground not wanting to give itself away before it attacked.
"We don't really know why ponies keep raiding our supply buildings. All the changelings left a few days ago."
"Well maybe if you..."
The figure jump towards Blue Moon hoping to take him with one go, but Blue Moon ducked under the figure, brought a hoof up to it's gut, and threw it into the wall. Scootaloo had barely turned to face Blue Moon when he had already thrown the figure to the wall. The figure grunted as it smacked against the wall, and struggled to stand up on it's own hooves. Scootaloo took a few steps away from Blue Mooon.
"Why did you....did he....how?"
"Scootaloo please calm down."
"Calm down! Your friend just tried to attack you and you threw him against the wall!"
The figure grunted again as it tried to stand on its own. Scootaloo moved to help it back up when the clouds parted just enough to let the moon light fill the room. Blue Moon raised it's head towards Scootaloo, opening his mouth wide open to scream at Scootaloo, trying to get her out of the shock of seeing his face, when the imposter raised a hoof and knocked Scootaloo across the room.
Scootaloo looked over to see Blue Moon one place a hoof on the fallen Blue Moon. The Blue Moon on the ground stopped struggling and flopped onto the floor. Then the other Blue Moon started to walk towards Scootaloo. Scootaloo tried to crawl backwards, but a wall was blocking her. Scootaloo looked to her left, a way to the door that would lead her out this room and back to the endless maze of floors. As Scootaloo started to move a hoof grabbed her by the chest and pinned her against the floor, Scootaloo looked up to see the saphire eyes of Blue Moon morph into a pair of ruby lifeless eyes.
"Section four, and through the apartments."
The figure whispered to Scootaloo as it brought a hoof to Scootaloo's face, multiple stick like things morphed out and grabbed Scootaloo's head as a needle lowered itself into Scootaloo's left eye.
"Section four, and through the apartments."
The figure whisperes again before the world went dark.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. She lifted the tarp covering the artifact. Weird elongated triangler shape, check. Weird metal structure, shining in the light, check. Lyra put the tarp back down, excitment rushing through her and her crew.
"Lyra! Leave the artifact alone."
She almost jumped into the air. "Sorry, Solarray, but I just had to make sure it was still here."
"Really, Lyra, you act like it will disapear or something." Solarray rubbed a hoof across his face.
Lyra couldn't blame him, after they got the artifact up from the dig site, she's been near it ever since.
"Come on." He started to pull her away, pointing at two royal guards, "You two, make sure no one gets to close."
"Sir!"
"Come on Ray, we're in the Canterlot castle. No one's gonna see the artifact till tomorrow."
"In which time you can sleep."
"I don't need to sleep Ray, I'm fine." Her body seemed to prove her wrong, swaying on her tired legs.
"Right.'' Opening a door he lead her into a bed. "You're not tired at all. You're just stubbered."
Solarray laid her down, pulled the covers over her, turned and walked out the door, shutting and locking it behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Groups of ponies were hustling and bustling about, setting up the artifact. Days of planning and setting were about to be revealed to Canterlot. Lyra and Solarray were anxiously awaiting as crowds of curious ponies gathered to see what had this part of Canterlot closed down for so long. Solar kept looking into the crowd, and at the princesses.
A hoof tapped her shoulder, causing her to jump into the air.
"Oh! Sorry."
Lyra turned around to see Prince Blueblood standing behind her.
''Prince Blueblood! What are you doing here?"
"I was wondering if I could have a...sneak peak at the artifact."
Lyra knew he wasn't asking, but how he said it seemed to imply he wanted to see it to confirm something his been asking or wondering for a long time. She caught him giving a side glance where the princesses sat. A scowl appeared for about a seconded, but it clearly stated he disliked something about his aunt. Was he hoping to find some answers? Or did already know something about the artifact? Lyra didn't have to guess at what books the royalty had hidden in their homes.
Solarray seemed to have over heard the conversation. "I'm sorry Prince Blueblood, but you'll just have to wait like everyone else."
Blueblood gave Ray a look of anger? Fear? Lyra couldn't be sure, it bearly lasted a second. Blueblood looked to both of them, clearly beaten.
"Very well, sorry for wasting your time." He turned and walked to the stands.
Lyra kept starring at where he had vanished. A feeling of unease ran through her. What was he so interested in? What did he know about the artifacted? She hated this, more questions then answers, but not after they figure out the artifact. They weren't to sure how to really start, but they all felt that the micro-lights is where they should start.
"...Lyra? Lyra are you alright?"
Solarray's voice brought her out of her train of thought. "Huh, what?"
"It's time!"
"What!... Now!?"
"Yes now!"
If there was ever a moment in Lyra's life that she wished she could just disappear off the face of Equestria, it was now. Sweet started rolling down her whole body, her breathe started to shorten. Basically she was about to die from nerves, or fear, she really couldn't decide which one would due her in first.
"Calm down Lyra, all you need to do is repeat what you did the first time."
"Ray, I don't know what or how I did it the first time. I just touched it and the micro-lights came on!"
"Well touch it again, or use your magic! Just...just do something."
He gave her a little push foward, then started explaining to the public what they found, how they found it, and what she was about to do.
"Ladies and Gentlecoats, what you see before you is an object from long before our time, maybe even the alicorn's time...."
His voice seemed to be getter futher and futher away. She felt all their eyes watching her, all of them anxious, nervous. Just waiting to see what would happen. Lyra had to admint, she was anxious to. What would happen this time? Would she get any more infomation? Would the micro-lights show her something? She knew there was only one way to find out, but she didn't know where to start. The first time she just touched it and the lights came on, seemlessly flowing through the strange metal. Wait...there on the other side, a flashing light. As she approached, it looked like the lights had written something.
System online....Warning power at 47%.....Warning corrupted systems detected.....Replaying video
Before Lyra could say what she had read the artifact's top lifted up and extended about two feet. Everyone stared at the towering object, lights started to appear on the ground, just little dots that started connecting to each other. Growing and changing....changing....no that wasn't the right word. Altering the landscape from Canterlot to, well Lyra didn't know where to. The new area looked to be made of the same material as the artifact. A room as big as the anti-chamber in the castle, holes in the roof and walls leading to what Lyra thought was the night sky.
"Jack what do we do?"
A group of creatures Lyra never saw before emerge from nowhere, heading towards the artifact. She couldn't see their faces due what she assumed were either clothes or armor.
"We find the old cryo chamber, and release subject one."
"Release subject one? Listen Jack not to rain on your parade, but we don't even know where the first cryo chamber is, or if subject one is as powerful as the rumors say he is." A female of the creatures walked in front of what Lyra assumed was Jack.
"She's right Jack, we'd have a better chance of fighting these alicorns then finding that cryo chamber" The biggest shadow came foward joining the group.
