Planetside: Equestria
A FanFiction Crossover of Planetside 2 and My Little Pony, By Psychedelica
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Sony Online Entertainment or Hasbro and do not seek profit from this work. It is created solely for my enjoyment and that of any readers. Have a nice day, and here's a cookie.
"Enemy Reaver at 10 o' clock!" crackled through the headset of veteran Scythe pilot Aaron Lawson, squad leader of Bravo Squad of the AGONY outfit for the Vanu Sovereignty.
"Roger. Acquiring target," he replied. He quickly flipped his fighter upside down and dove in an inverted loop-the-loop, coming up underneath the startled New Conglomerate pilot's aircraft. A quick touch of a holographic button and his Scythe spat laser fire into his opponent's belly, tearing through nano armor like tissue paper. He turned to the side a few degrees to avoid the explosion; only rookies made that mistake. Better to stay alive a little longer than look like a badass and waste resources. Thankfully, Rebirthing technology let them make the same, often lethal mistake twice, although it was preferred that they didn't need to do so.
On the ground, a fresh recruit in a Sunderer chanced a look at a viewscreen just in time to see the kill. He hesitated for a second, then thumbed his microphone: "Sweet kill, Bravo Leader."
Aaron sighed, then curtly returned the transmission: "Thank you, Delta six." Inwardly he shook his head; too many young people were being sent to the front lines. It was necessary due to the Vanu Sovereignty's drastically lower population compared to the other factions, but it still weighed heavily on his soul to send young men and women, some barely out of school, to fight in a deadlocked bloodbath. Even if they never permanently died (he was eternally grateful to the pact that required the use of Rebirthing machines in any theater of war), the mental scars caused by the conflict were too deep for anyone to handle. They couldn't even commit suicide to escape from the carnage, as they'd simply be reconstructed in a few seconds more depressed and bitter than ever.
Aaron shook the thoughts from his head; he needed to stay alert. Noticing an enemy Galaxy pop up on his HUD, he banked to the East and began pursuit.
In a tech lab far away, Vanu scientists were milling about a large object inside a force shield, prodding it with various devices. One lab-coated technician was even blasting it with a hair dryer, while an assistant furiously scribbled down notes in shorthand according to the techie's dictations. The combined noise from all the activity was near-deafening, so much so that nobody heard the Terran Republic Infiltrator decloak and toss on a spare lab jacket, while pulling on a full-head mask. The espionage agent inconspicuously strolled over to the device, pretending to be thinking about the artifact. When he was withing touching distance, a hand grabbed his arm. He looked over; an angry, mustachioed man glared back.
The lead technician, Geoff, was having a particularly bad day. Not only had his pet cat bitten him on the ear as he woke up, he had tripped over the damn animal as he tried to get up, causing him to fall face-first into a dresser and leave an ugly bruise on his forehead the size of a golf ball. To top it off, his supply of coffee had been stolen by some researcher or another, and nobody was willing to confess to the deed. And now, some stranger was attempting to touch the new find without permission. With an angry grunt, he grabbed the interloper's arm. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Don't you know this is restricted for non-personnel?"
The infiltrator simply stared right into the technician's eyes. Without breaking eye contact, he slipped his knife from his sleeve and silently stabbed the unfortunate man in the throat, simultaneously flipping Geoff's collar up and pretending to walk with him to a nearby bench. He carefully sat the dead man down so it looked like he was resting, then returned to his previous position. It was so artfully done that nobody spared him a glance. Working quickly, he opened a small panel and was about to cut every wire in sight, when a small blue button caught his eye. Curiously, he pressed it, and was rewarded with a slight humming sound, which quickly began to grow in volume. The researchers looked up at the device, which was now loud enough to distort the hologram projectors' lenses. The infiltrator cloaked and ran off at top speed, leaving his disguise behind. Behind him, the humming rose to a deafening roar, and the device rocketed into the sky until it reached subspace, where it began to fall again...
Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Applejack was setting up in the market square. The Apple family pies were famous across the town, and some said that even the nobles often considered traveling to the homely little place for a taste of the superb cooking. As Applejack began to erect the framework of the stall, a familiar white unicorn made her way through the growing crowd, her gait that of a high-class individual. At first sight, one might think that she was snobbish or aloof, but to those who knew her, Rarity Belle was one of the most un-upper class-like members of the upper class. Instead of being condescending to those less fortunate, she actively gave her money and possessions away like candy, and was one of the top donators to local and national charities.
"Howdy, Rarity. How've y'all been lately?" asked the orange farm pony, who was laying a checkered tablecloth over the assembled stall with the help of her little sister, Apple Bloom.
The fashionista smiled warmly, somehow maintaining both a refined and friendly air at the same time."Simply marvelous, darling. What about the two of you?"
The smaller of the two sisters joined in, nearly bouncing with excitement: "We've been diggin' holes for th' new barn, an' cuttin' firewood, an' Big Mac said somethin' about a blue star last night, an' he asked Granny if she saw it too, an' she said that it was th' biggest an' brightest star she ever did see, 'cept when Princess Luna was feelin' right happy an' made th' whole night sky dance, an'-" Apple Bloom paused for breath, and was about to continue when Rarity gently covered the filly's mouth, chuckling quietly.
"That's quite the exciting week you've had, darling. Perhaps you'd best go along with Sweetie and Scootaloo; they said they'd be waiting for you at the clubhouse."
Apple Bloom's eyes went wide. "Darn it! Ah done forgot our secret meetin' today!" Immediately, she turned to Applejack. "Can Ah go, please, sis?"
The older farmer pretended to consider it for a moment. "Ah suppose so, but y'all stay out of trouble this time, ya' hear?" Her words didn't reach the filly, who had already run off. The orange mare sighed and smiled, shaking her head. "Kids these days. Next thing ya' know, they'll be wantin' to learn to skydive."
Rarity smiled, but it quickly disappeared, buried under a thoughtful look. "Applejack, that blue star... did you feel anything... unusual when you saw it?"
The farmer pushed her hat up on her head thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, Ah did feel a mite odd, kinda like somethin' was out of whack with nature."
Rarity nodded,
Aaron landed his Scythe alongside the rest of Bravo squad, then promptly took off for the assigned Sunderer. The others were all inside, and as he jumped in, they phased the nanite door shut and stepped on the gas. Their destination was a nearby Biodome, which had issued a distress call about being under attack from New Conglomerate forces.
They were almost there when the alien device hit the path ten meters in front of them. The driver slammed on the brakes, and the troop transport skidded out of control for a wild moment before tipping over with a thunderous crash. The nanite door phased away from the shock of impact. Bravo company climbed out of the downed vehicle, cursing before they noticed exactly what had blocked their path. More importantly, they noticed the eerie blue glow around it.
Then the world turned white, and they knew no more.
Bravo three, Evelyn Hart, was the first to wake. Immediately, she knew something was wrong. The sky was too blue, there was no massive steel object looming over her, and the world was silent except for a quiet murmuring and what sounded like boots on dirt. She blinked a couple times and shifted he head a few centimeters, which caused a quiet scream and a flapping sound. What the hell is going on here?, she thought.
Groaning, she sat up, and almost fell over again. Staring back at her was a gathering of small, quadrupedal creatures, all looking extremely nervous. To her right, the Sunderer lay, still on it's side but otherwise in good condition. To her left were the unmoving bodies of the remainder of Bravo Squad. Behind, as she turned her head, were more of the creatures.
A quiet cough to her side attracted her attention momentarily. One of her squadmates rolled over and coughed a few more times, then glanced up at her, and then the colorful beings. "Evelyn? What- *cough* what the shit is this? Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing things," he said, his voice a low rasp.
She shook her head slightly. "I'm not sure, Vladimir." Her voice was just as harsh as his. "But whatever's going on will have to wait until we can wake the rest of Bravo up." She stood shakily and walked to the nearest soldier, whom she recognized as Bravo Ten, checking his vitals on his suit's display. All of them were flatlined. She waited for the body to disappear, indicating Rebirthing. Two seconds passed. Then three. Soon, it became evident that something was seriously wrong. "Vlad. Rebirthing is down. Something serious must have happened."
Vladimir tried his radio, waited for a couple seconds, then shook his head. "I can't contact Command. We're too far away for even them to find us. I hate to say it, but anyone who dies now is going to stay that way."
Evelyn looked at the young man's body again. It seemed so much more real now.
