The Greater Good

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The Greater Good
Chapter 3 – New Home
By Deathstrike666
Thx to Tresviri For Proof Reading
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Twilight and the rest of the Elements of Harmony were all currently on a train towards Canterlot. Just nearly an hour ago Twilight received a letter from Princess Celestia, summoning them all for an important assignment but didn’t give them too many details.

“What do you think they would look like”, wondered Rarity, “Hopefully they don’t look hideous”

“Why do ya'll always obsess over a creature's looks?”, asked Applejack, “Ah'm only more concerned with the assignment we're gonna' been given”.

“Yeah”, agreed Rainbow Dash, “My bet is that is has something to do with those falling objects”.

“Of course it does Rainbow”, said Twilight while face hoofing, “What else could this be about?”

Rainbow Dash started to think and used one of her hooves to rub her rainbow mane. She opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted.

“Do you think that they like parties? Maybe we should throw them a party? Ooo... I hope that they like parties? What kind party should we have? A welcome to Equestia party or a first contact party maybe a we want to be friends party?”, said Pinkie Pie at hyper speed but before anypony could respond she vanished into the overhead compartments.

“Should ah even ask”, said Applejack to the rest of the group still looking up at the compartments.

“I think it would be best not too”, replied Twilight.

“I just hope that they are friendly”, said Fluttershy.

Pinkies head suddenly appeared from under the table scaring everypony and making them fall of their seats, “I hope that they're not big meanies either.”

“Pinkie don’t scare us like that”, said Rarity getting back onto her seat.

“Ok”, replied Pinkie with a big grin on her face. She then pulled the rest of body and four large crates out from under the table.

“What are those?”, asked Twilight pointing at the crates.

“These”, replied Pinkie also pointing at the crates, “These are one of my piles of emergency party supplies that I have stashed over Equestria. Can’t be too careful when it comes to parties”

“Pinkie can you take a situation seriously for once in your life”, said Twilight annoyed, “We are about to come into contact with the first alien race ever and all you can think about is parties”.

“But Twilight, a party could be a good idea”, said Rarity, “It could show them that we are a peaceful race”.

Suddenly the train started to slow down with a low screech of the brakes. A few seconds later it had stopped outside Canterlot Station. When the six ponies got off the train they were immediately greeted by two royal guards.

“We’re here to take you to the Princess”, said one of the guards, “Follow us”.

The two guards turned around and started walking towards to castle. The six mares followed closely behind them, what surprised them the most was that everypony was going around minding their own business like nothing had happened.
They followed the two guards until they reached to doors to the throne room where they stopped and told them to entre. When they entered there was only Princesses in the room waiting for them.

“I’m glad you all could make it on such short notice”, said Celestia.

“What is going on?”, asked Twilight slightly confused, “Does it have to do with the falling objects?”.

“Yes is does, Twilight”, replied Celestia, “Luna and I have already been to see what it is”.

“Did you find anything awesome?”, asked Rainbow Dash with excitement in her eyes.

“No Rainbow”, said Celestia causing the excitement in Rainbow’s eyes to quickly vanish.

“What did you find?”, asked Twilight, curious now.

“We found Bipedal creatures. They call themselves the Imperial Guard and we spoke to their leader, Angus, about how they got here”, said Celestia, “He also said that the object was a spaceship”.

“How did they get here?”, asked Rarity.

“He told us that it was by accident and that they should all be dead”, said Luna.

“Dead”, replied the six mares startled by the last part of the sentence.

“Well their spaceship was badly damaged during a battle they were in over a planet”, said Celestia, “So they decided to sacrifice themselves to destroy one of their enemies spaceships”.

“And how did that make them arrive here?”, asked Twilight.

“Well they said that their Warp Drive had exploded causing a rip in space and time”, replied Celestia, “Sucking both their spaceship and an enemy spaceship in with it”.

“That would a rip in space and time would explain that space anomaly I saw last night”, said Twilight, “But what do you need us for?”

“I want you six to go and stay with them and try and become their friends”, said Celestia, “But do be careful with what you do to them”.

“Why do we need to be careful?”, asked Twilight puzzled.

“Angrus told us that they hate anything that isn’t one of them”, replied Celestia, “And he also said that if they weren’t in their current situation they would all be killing us without a seconds thought”.

The six gasped at what they just heard, Fluttershy is particular nearly fainted.

“W-Why would they do such a thing?”, asked Fluttershy nervously still trying not to faint.

“Angrus said they come from a galaxy that has been at war for the past ten-thousand years”, replied Celestia, “He also said that survival was no birth right and had to be fought for”.

The reply pushed the timid mare over edge, Fluttershy fainted but before she hit the floor Rarity and Applejack quickly caught her.

“She’ll be alright”, said Applejack gently lowering Fluttershy to the ground, “She always faints at that kind of subjects”

“Ok then”, said Celestia, “I already have several guards keeping an eye on them. And you will need this”.

Celestia’s horn started glowing and suddenly a scroll appeared in front of her. The scroll levitated over to Twilight before she caught it in her own purple aurora.

“What’s this?”, asked Twilight.

“It is a message for Angrus telling him that I want you lot to be staying with them”, replied Celestia, “You will leave tomorrow morning and I wish you the best of luck, my little ponies”.

With that the six mares left with Applejack carrying the fainted Fluttershy on her back.

++++++

The sun was beginning to set when the guardsmen finally started bringing all the supplies to the area that Celestia is allowing them to stay. All of the guardsmen were following a white unicorn with a blue mane and encased in purple armor. It took them several hours to reach a small clearing between a forest and the steep mountain slope where there was a large cave entrance. Directly above them they could see the city of Canterlot coming out of the mountain, defying all lore’s of physics.

“Were here”, said the white unicorn stopping at the entrance of the cave.

“Right then”, said Angrus to the unicorn them turning back to the guardsmen, “Men set up a perimeter and a fire, after that well all need nights rest. Jenkins, I want you and four other guardsmen keeping a lookout, alternating with other guardsmen every hour.”

Every guardsman saluted before they all split up to get on their duties. Angrus walked over to the commissar who was looking up at the city of Canterlot.

“This is a fine mess we have gotten into this time”, said the commissar not taking his gaze away from the city, “Trapped on a world far from the emperor with no way of escape and having to live with xenos”

“Well at least they are not trying to kill us, commissar Vrax”, said Angrus also looking at Canterlot, “Well, not yet”.

“There is one thing that still troubles me”, said Vrax turning his head to Angrus.

“And what is that?”, questioned Angrus also turning his head.

“If we managed to survive, then how many of the blasted heretics did to?”, said Vrax.

Angrus started to think. He never really thought about it until now.

“Let’s just pray that it isn’t any at all”, replied Angrus after a few seconds, “But as we know that won’t be true”.

“Indeed”, said Vrax.

“Is there anything that my men can help you with?”, asked the white unicorn behind them.

“We don’t need help from you xenos”, said Angrus calmly.

“Ok then”, said the unicorn, “And can you stop calling me xenos? Just call me Shining”

“I will call you whatever I want, xenos”, replied Angrus with a slightly angered tone in his voice.

“I still don’t trust them”, whispered Vrax so that Shining couldn’t hear it.

“I know you don’t”, whispered Angrus, “But we have to if we want to survive”

“They’re too friendly in my opinion”, whispered Vrax glancing back to Shining, by now Shining started to wonder what all the quiet taking was actually about, “How can any xenos be so willing to let aliens live with them”

“I don’t know why they are so friendly but let’s just use this fact to our advantage”, whispered Angrus, “Now it looks like it is getting late we be getting some rest”

Commissar Vrax nodded in agreement before saluting Angrus and walking off to where his sleeping arrangement were, which was nothing more than a sleeping bag and an old pillow on the cave floor.

‘This is going to get much weirder’, thought Angrus while walking to his sleeping bag.

++++++

Nightfall had descended on Appleloosa. Most ponies were sound asleep or just about to go to bed. Scattered on the outskirts of the town several ponies were walking around.

“I hate being on night watch”, said a blown stallion earth pony with green hair, “Nothing interesting ever happens and I have to sleep through the day”.

“Take this more seriously Slowstride, at least it is better than you sitting on your ass doing absolutely nothing”, said a grey stallion earth pony with dark red hair.

“Come on Nightrunner, I like being lazy”, said Slowstride, “Besides all that we are doing is just walking around the town. Nothing ever-”

“What’s that”, said Nightrunner cutting off Slowstride and pointing into the thick expanses of the night desert.

In the low light of the moon Nightrunner and Slowstride could see the outlines of black bi-pedal silhouettes with glowing red eyes, moving quickly towards the town. All of them looked identical for two of them, the first one looked like the others but only a bit bigger while the other looked like a gargantuan spider.

“Do you think it is a stampede?”, asked Slowstride.

“Don’t think so”, replied Nightrunner, “There isn’t enough of them and they look more organized”.

“What do you think it is then?”, worried Slowstride.

“Don’t know”, said Nightrunner, “But I think that you should go and rin-”.

Before Nightrunner could finish there was a flash of light from the spider looking silhouette. Suddenly they were sent flying when the bell tower behind them exploded into pieces of shrapnel. Everypony quickly ran outside to see what the loud noise was but this just made them more vulnerable.

Just as somepony went to help the two ponies up more banging noises started, but not as loud as the first. Before anypony could find where it was coming from a silhouette jumped out of the shadows towards the nearest ponies. It grabbed a mare around the neck with its left hand and brought the pony up to his eye level, everypony else just froze in shock at the sudden attack. The mare looked into the creatures glowing red eyes and could feel its warm breath coming from a metal grate where its mouth should be. Feeling its cold grip on her slowly tighten she started to struggle, seeing this the creature just started laughing at the mare’s despite attempts to get it to release its grip.

Its laughing suddenly stopped when it brought a weird looking sword, which was boxy on one side and had metal teeth coming out of the other, up to the pony’s stomach. The creature pressed a button on the side causing the teeth to start spinning with a loud never-ending screech and then forced the sword onto the dangling pony. The mare started screaming in pain as the spinning teeth started ripping through her stomach and internal organs, splattering blood and shattered bones over the creature’s face and chest. The raging teeth tore through the other side of the mare and the lower half of her body fell to the floor, already by then the mare had died, the creature then flung the top half away and started looking at the frozen ponies.

When the mare’s body hit the floor everypony stopped staring and where now chaotically running around trying to escape from the bipedal horror but by now others had stepped out of the shadows. Some of them charged in like the first but others were standing back holding weaponry that looked like some sort of gun.

One stallion was looking behind him to make sure that none of the horrors were chasing him when he ran straight into one of the ones standing back. The impact knocked the stallion back a little bit, it felt like running into a stone wall. When he looked up the creature it was holding the weapon down at his head, the stallion could only blackness up the guns barrel and the creatures gazing red eyes. The creature pulled the trigger, firing the rocket propelled shell into the stallion’s eye. In a blink of a second of entering his eye, the stallions head and most of his upper body exploded into small pieces of red mush, leaving nothing but an empty space where the front of his body once was.

“Are you alright?”, asked Nightrunner trying to help Slowstride up.

“No”, replied Slowstride in a pain, he had one of his front hooves grasping his chest where a giant blood covered splinter from the tower sticking out of him, “What are those things?”

“I don’t know. I have never seen anything like it before”, replied Nightrunner carefully lifting Slowstride onto his back, “But I know one thing, we have to get the buck out of here.

Nightrunner quickly started galloping towards the edge of the town, trying to be careful not to cause any more injury to Slowstride. The creatures were too busy violently killing the other ponies to notice their escape.

Nightrunner stopped behind a couple of boulders a fair way away from Appleloosa, he carefully laid Slowstride against a boulder. Looking back at the town he could see many of the building had been destroyed or were currently on fire, he could also hear the distant sound of their attacker’s weapons and screaming ponies.

“How many other do you think made it out?”, asked Slowstride weakly.

“I don’t know”, said Nightrunner sadly, “We have to tell the Princesses about what has happened and get you fixed up”.