"This is Lieutenant Killswitch to Mother Bird, Lieutenant Killswitch to Mother Bird. I am currently approaching the bogey, do you copy?" said the maroon unicorn with the cold, grey eyes in a gravely voice to a visor jutting out from under his neck with a red holo-screen. Currently, he was on a train in the middle of the desert, and still heading deeper into it. His commanding officer, Captain Iron Hoof, had sent him to scout out an anomaly in the middle of the Samarea Desert. Killswitch had been equipped with the highest technology available for this mission, but he didn't know why. All he knew was that, one, this mission was to be kept completely under wraps, and two, he wanted to see his little filly again. Her mother, Orchid Dew, was killed in an accident while Killswitch was away on a mission for the Equestrian Armed Forces, a relatively new branch, leaving him to be the only one to care for his five year old filly Night Breeze.
Killswitch reached into a pocket on his technological suit and pulled out a picture of two ponies. One of them was himself, his black mane flowing perfectly with his smile that now seemed distant and unreal. The other pony was a beautiful mare of a baby blue color, whose cerulean hair was highlighted with a light purple streak on the bottom. To him, the only thing that kept him going was her smile and Night Breeze. He hadn't broken the news to her yet in the whole year since it had happened, but he knew he had to at some point.
"Roger that, Lieutenant." suddenly replied the visor, which now had a circle labeled HQ on the holo-screen. "You should be meeting up with the bogey momentarily. Prepare for tram uncovering. Mother Bird out." The audio was cut, and the circle blinked out of existence. Not long after, the sides of the tram began to crawl back into the roof and showed Killswitch a breathtaking sight.
In front of him stood a large facility with red lights peppering the stretched out dome. A donut shaped structure stood at the base of the dome. Killswitch absentmindedly stepped out onto the desert sands in awe of the building that stood before him. Almost immediately, the door to the facility opened for him, the breeze coming out from inside singing a song of coolness and refreshment. He stepped inside, then wasted no time in trying to find the way to the dome.
"Mother Bird, I am inside the bogey, I repeat, I am inside the bogey. Do you copy?" Killswitch said into his visor. All that came back was static. Not a good sign for him, but Killswitch continued on. However, he only took a single step before an old stallion's voice from behind him said, "And where are you going, Lieutenant?"
Killswitch turned around and snapped to attention. "Captain Iron Hoof, sir!" Iron Hoof waved his right hoof, which was covered in metal, and said, "At ease, soldier. Do you know why you're here?" The lieutenant shook his head and yelled, "No, sir!"
"It's because we didn't get rid of you last time!" came a shrill mare's voice. Out walked a completely white unicorn, her eyes even having a silver coloring to them. "And why put off tomorrow what you can do today? Oh, what joy it'll be, getting rid of you! You'll soon be reunited with your dear wife…"
Killswitch's ears twitched. "What the hell is going on, how do you know what happened to my wife?!" The other two ponies just sat there, the mare having a devilish smirk on her face. It took a few seconds, but it finally clicked in his head.
"So you're the fuckin' reason my filly is without a mother?" he snarled. The white unicorn laughed and said, "Oh, and how joyful her screams were! They were so wonderful!" Suddenly, she stopped giggling and put on a serious face. Slowly, she trotted up to Killswitch and said, "I haven't even introduced myself! Oh, how rude of me! My name is Unity, and I head the Church of Unitology in far-off Canterlot!"
This only brought more growls out of the soldier. He whipped an SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle, the most advanced assault rifle available to the EAF, up and put the three barrels against Unity's forehead, saying, "Y'know, I've learned never to trust a religious nut. Now I know why." The mare only chuckled some more and said, "Well, you can't trust anypony these days… not even to protect your dear filly…"
Killswitch lowered his gun. "What have you done to her?" he asked. Unity turned her back to him and said, "Oh, she's fine for now. Unless, you know, somepony were to accidentally hit a button…" She levitated a remote control with a small blue button on it out from Iron Hoof's uniform, then started to let it drop before catching it as it nearly hit the ground, making Killswitch all the more anxious.
"You see," Unity explained, "I'm also the head of a group called The Circle, a band of Unitologists who've decided to take action and both help the Marker start Convergence and to silence those who speak against us." She dropped the remote completely, letting it clatter to the ground on its back.
"D-don't do it! P-please… she's all that I have left!" he begged. He knew that it was completely against everything he knew to give in to the enemy, but there was more at stake here. Unity merely nodded and said, "Alright then… oops!" The unicorn threw the remote behind her, and a faint beep was heard.
Killswitch was devastated. His own little filly, his little Night Breeze, was now gone. He swung the pulse rifle up and shouted, "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" He then pulled the trigger, filling the air with the sound of gunfire.
Once he emptied the clip, Killswitch looked back up. The two ponies were completely unharmed. He opened up the back end of the gun and pulled the cylindrical magazine out. Blanks. His weapon was loaded with blanks. Even more enraged, he threw the mag away and pulled a live one out of his back pocket, a piece of paper falling out with it.
Reloading the assault rifle caused a red holographic display to pop up on the side of his vision that showed the number 100 on it. 100 rounds, just enough to kill the two ponies. "I've got live rounds now! Make a move and you're dead!" Killswitch shouted. Iron Hoof, about to step forward, put his hoof back down gently and said, "I'm afraid that won't be necessary."
A hoof suddenly came down on the back of Killswitch's head, causing him to drop his weapon. Another one shoved him to the ground, and the cold barrel of a pistol push up against the back of his neck. As his eyes shrank in fear, Unity walked up to him and said, "That pistol against your neck is known as a Divet, and the thing holding it against your head is known as a human. Strange things, really. They act very much like us, as they hold a high regard for the lives of their friends and family. Unlike us, though, all humans will kill anything that puts their loved ones in harm's way, not just those in the military."
"I'll fucking kill each and every one of you, EVERY SINGLE ONE!" Killswitch yelled. He didn't care what was holding a pistol against his neck. The mare in front of him was a monster, and he'd be sure to take her down with him. Unity chuckled when she saw the determination in his eyes and said, "Oh, there's no way you're getting out of this one. You've got so many guns trained on you, you'd think you were red and white! Now, this is where we say goodbye. You are hereby dishonorably discharged from the Equestrian Armed Forces, Lieutenant Killswitch."
Suddenly, a small breeze blew a piece of paper in front of Killswitch. It was the same picture of him and Orchid Dew, smiling away at some long gone entertainment. Well… thought the maroon stallion with the cold, grey eyes, …I guess I'm going to be seeing her sooner than I thought…
Then, the air filled once more with gunfire, and all was silent a moment later.
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER AND THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR DEAD SPACE 3
"Ellie? Ellie…" said CEC Engineer Isaac Clarke as he fell away into the Convergence Vortex. He had just caught the transmission that Ellie Langford, his girlfriend, had sent out before she had shocked off to Earth, her job done. However, Isaac had to be left behind, bits of the planet known as Tau Volantis falling past him into the vortex. The destruction of the Brethren Moon had left it unstable, causing it to spin around faster and faster. It was sucking things up, but there was no known place to put them. Isaac just let himself float into the vortex before falling unconscious.
When he came to, Isaac saw something he thought he'd never see again: a blue sky. He slowly sat up, his Engineering RIG activating the helmet sequence and covering his face with pieces of brownish-yellow metal. Three eye slits glowed a neon blue when the whole helmet was in place, and a screen popped up in front of him. It was a RIGLINK video feed, but he didn't know whose it was.
"That's odd…" the engineer said to himself. It showed a man in black armor holding a pistol to the back of another person that wore a Special Forces RIG, whose eye slits were red. He was breathing heavy, but he eventually shouted out, "I'll fucking kill each and every one of you, EVERY SINGLE ONE!"
Off the screen, a woman gave a slight laugh and said, "Oh, there's no way you're getting out of this one. You've got so many guns trained on you, you'd think you were red and white! Now, this is where we say goodbye. You are hereby dishonorably discharged from the Equestrian Armed Forces, Lieutenant Killswitch."
Just as a shot rang out and the RIGLINK cut, Isaac yelled, "CARVER, NO!" He was too late, though. He couldn't connect back to who he suspected was his partner in crime on Tau Volantis, John Carver. Isaac groaned and kicked a tree, causing a few woodland creatures to scurry away and someone in hiding to give a little scream, along with some leaves rustling.
THUD! A large purple thing fell from the tree Isaac kicked and hit the ground hard. Isaac jumped back and reached for his 211-V Plasma Cutter, only to find out that it was missing. "Damnit!" he yelled, pointing his left hand at the purple thing and priming his Stasis module, a low hum coming from it.
Suddenly, the thing groaned and tried to stand up. Isaac saw that it had four legs, a snout, abnormally large eyes, and… a horn? He wiped his visor, thinking there was something on it. However, when he looked again, the horn was still on the animal, now back on its feet. Isaac knew unicorns didn't exist, but there it was, standing in front of him, exhibiting major signs of a fear reaction. Nevertheless, the unicorn stood as straight as it could, still trembling, and asked, "What… what are you?"
That was the final straw for Isaac. "Stay back, don't you dare move!" he yelled. The creature stood still. "Alright," he continued, "wh-what the hell are you?!"
Finally, the unicorn spoke again. "Well, I'm a unicorn. My name is Twilight Sparkle." She stuck a hoof out at Isaac, who rejected the offer. "Unicorns aren't real, you can't be a unicorn!" he shouted, as if to convince himself of that simple fact. Is the Marker doing this to me again? the engineer thought to himself. Twilight nervously chuckled and said, "Well… they are, and I am. Let me show it to you."
Suddenly, before Isaac could react, he was enveloped in a lavender aura and lifted up off the ground. He flailed around, but to no avail. "H-hey, put me down!" he yelled, trying to use his suit's boosters to land on the ground. Twilight slowly lowered him until he was a few inches off of the ground, then released her magic grip. Isaac stumbled a bit before saying, "That proves nothing, you're probably using a Kinesis module. Magic isn't real either. Besides, I can do that too." He aimed his left hand at a stick on the ground, which instantly flew to his hand and stayed there, pointing in the same direction Isaac was. He then aimed at a tree in the distance and willed the artificial gravity field to fire the stick at it. Instead, it dropped to the ground in front of him.
"What…?" Isaac muttered, turning his arm over and inspecting the Kinesis module. He saw the metal partly crushed and groaned. "Goddamnit, it broke! And there's no place to get it fixed in… wherever the fuck this place is!"
Twilight cautiously trotted up to Isaac and looked at the Kinesis module, then cast a spell that covered it in the same lavender aura. Suddenly, the metal pieces started to shudder and shake, and the module began repairing itself. Isaac gazed in awe at what he was seeing. "How are you doing that?" he asked, and the lavender unicorn replied, "I told you that magic existed."
Soon, the whole piece was fixed, and Twilight said, "Try it now." Isaac picked the stick back up and once again willed the artificial gravity field to fire the stick at a closer tree. Not only did it fire, but the module had become so powerful that the stick had left a sizable hole in the trunk. "Woah…" whispered the engineer, whose helmet started to fold back into his RIG. He turned to Twilight and asked, "How did you do that?" The unicorn simply said, "Magic."
Before Isaac could respond, though, a small red holo-display popped up in front of him. In the middle was scrolling text that read "Transmission Intercepted". From a speaker on the outside of Isaac's suit, the woman's voice from before said, "You heard what she said! There was remnants of a Convergence event found over the Everfree half an hour ago! We've either got a Marker or an unexpected visitor on our hands and hooves! Arm yourselves to the teeth and carry out the necessary procedures!" The holo-display then blinked out of existence, leaving the engineer staring where it had been.
"What… what was that?" Twilight asked. Isaac shook his head and said, "Twilight Sparkle… that was a warning. We have to get out of here now, quickly and without raising an alarm! What's the nearest town?" The unicorn stood up straight, the fear leaving her, and said, "Well, I can take you to my library in Ponyville. How about that?"
Isaac nearly started to argue about the fact that the town was called Ponyville, but there were more pressing matters on his mind. "Good, we can go through this forest. Let's go." As he started walking into the Everfree Forest, Twilight called, "But sir, we can't go in there! There's a lot of dangerous animals in there!" When no answer came, she followed after the strange man in the metal suit and said, "This is a very bad idea, you know!"
"Stick around!" he called back. "I'm full of bad ideas!"
