Evan was having the time of his life. Whizzing around the underground, leaping ledge to ledge, across great gorges or collapsing tunnel floors, all the while keeping the terrified little pony on his back safe and secure. Being a bit overweight nerd back home he had always scoffed at the more athletically inclined as posers and normies, in no small part due to the silent jeering they made at the sight of him, yet now he cursed his foolish former self. If only someone had explained to him this feeling that words failed to describe, to teach him this excitement. Granted he was inhabiting (or was it controlling given how transference worked?) an alien ninja robot now. One that seemed to be incapable of tiring out, with what he could feel as a suggestive nudge that must have been some on board computer plotting out his path through the dark. He felt exhilarated all the same. He lamented how he had despised the gym rats of his old world, if he had known or they communicated this… this joy of movement, the air rushing past as he dominated and owned the harsh landscape below him, perhaps he might not have given up on himself so easily.
But now he felt free, and soon so would his escort. After the littlest princes had calmed down from her panic attack resulting from her brush with death, she elaborated on her situation with him. Most of which he had already figured out from context. She was cadence, this was her wedding day, and she was stuck in the crystal mines beneath the city while an army of evil shapeshifters tried to take over the city with a plan that was so tactically unsound it would sent sun tzu rolling in his grave. That last bit might have been less her and more outsider knowledge he’d picked up while reading up on the brony phenomenon but whatever. He knew this being more a fan of brony content than the actual show itself mind you but watch enough reviews of transformers four and you’ve basically seen transformers four after all. So, he knew where he was vaguely in the show’s timeline, not that he could be one hundred percent however, it being a kids cartoon and all with even the fans disagreeing on the canon order of some episodes. Given how Cadance’s biology deviated from her originally quadruped counterpart he couldn’t be certain of any order being set in stone yet. Be it as broadcast or otherwise.
Regardless he understood the current situation, save the princess, slay the dragon, save what you love by destroying what you hate, standard fantasy story. First, they just needed to get out of the caves. Fortunately, they were already well on their way, scaling shear cliffs in seconds, and sprinting through maze after maze. The poor pony must have been absolutely baffled at how her rescuer seemed to never make a wrong turn. Evan simply smirked internally at the thought, after all he was just following the directions. After he had finally coaxed the little mare onto his back a series of icons became evident in the corners of his vision; heath and shield bars traced his upper right while an energy bar slowly filled in the lowest portion of the same side. He frowned at the values of his bars, a solid one hundred each, so he was starting all over again. Getting XP to unlock the rest of his abilities alone was going to be a hassle, but he’d cross that bridge when needed. On the left the map materialized as normal in the upper corner, just below it another health bar formed, this one labelled “rescue target” an accompanying extraction icon appearing in the far distance of his vision. He’d began rushing towards that icon for several minutes by now, wondering just how lost the poor girl had gotten to be so many thousands of meters below the surface. But they were making good time as it was and would hopefully reach their journeys end in just about an hour, if they weren’t so suddenly interrupted.
***
Cadence hung on for dear life, her new silent companion rushing through the maze-like caverns at near supersonic speed. She wondered and marveled in equal measure just how he was able to so deftly maneuver the subterranean networks but figured as a resident of the structure below he must have been part of whatever group had built the place, using some memory of its original route as a guide. She recalled back to high-school history again, this time to what little they had covered concerning ancient Scryptians, ponies who believed in a strange word-based pantheon. Using word-magic for practically everything they also had a habit of inscribing words of protection to trigger traps and other defences to protect the maze-like tombs of their leaders. Maybe they’d picked up the habit from whatever civilization her carrier once hailed from? Who knows? Maybe twilight would be able to coax some answers from him once this was all over, after they’d found a way to properly communicate of course.
“AAAHHHHHH!”
A scream sounded though the dark tunnels breaking her train of thought. Cadance’s trusty stead halting in his movements to find the source of the sound. his head darted around in the dark trying in vain to catch the many echoes of the cry and pinpoint its origin. Fortunately, pegasi aren’t lauded for their hearing for nothing, and cadence herself originally being born as one had years of practise discerning the smallest whisper from confessing lovers in the distance. A quick swivel of her pony hears quickly located the source to which she tapped her companions’ shoulder and pointed in its direction. “There that way!” but he hesitated, “Look if somepony else is stuck down here we have to help them, they might be more victims of the changelings that can help us fight back.”
Needing no other prompt, the stallion took off with the same vigour as before speeding towards their hopeful ally. Though cadence could feel him tense slightly under her. The metal muscles that powered his supernatural agility readying for a fight as his head turned and scanned with increased frequency, searching for an ambush. It hadn’t occurred to her that it might have been a trap. One last act of cruelty by the insectoid menace to give her some glimmer of hope for rescue only to deliver her final humiliation alone and scared in the dark.
***
The tenno let the pony slide as silently as possible from his back, they had neared the source of the disturbing cry approaching from a nearby overhang, he wanted a good look at what he was dealing with. Laying prone against the stone Evan peaked over the edge to a novel sight. Twilight sparkle, her distinct coat and mane colors making her unmistakeable, being cornered by three changelings. The snarling bug-horses were just as humanoid as their equine counterparts, sporting hole riddled hooves and tri-fingered hands ending in vicious claws. He wondered why she didn’t just fly away. ‘oh riiiight!’ he realized, ‘this is season three, she didn’t get those until just before Tirek in season… five I think? What was season four again?’
Another scream of pain echoed through the cave once more as the unicorn’s hastily constructed shield was struck by sustained beams of assault from her aggressors. A quick gasp erupted from his left, his tiny royal ally looking at him in an intense stare of worry and fear for her friend, “Do something! Please?” she ordered in a harsh whisper. He turned sharply back to the task at hand, there would be time to worry about the villains of tomorrow, tomorrow. First, he needed to save today for there to be a tomorrow. A quick scan of the area with his advanced orokin systems showed no more contacts and automatically marked the three insectoid shapeshifters as hostiles. He silently leapt from the ledge. Landing with a loud thud just as the lavender mares shield broke, her would be murderers turning their undivided attention to the intrusion.
Each of the chitin shelled invaders was suitably grotesque, like if a pony had been fused with a xenomorph in some unholy union of science and a devil’s miracle. He found it ironic that the one truly ‘evil’ race in the franchise was given so demonic a visage only to be later so easily redeemed. Still he was in a Warframe and this was war. They bared their fangs and lowered to a fighting stance; Evan hadn’t moved since his epic superhero landing waiting for his opponents to make the first move. Caution was best here, as while the changelings were too short to pose any real physical threat, he still didn’t know what the creatures were capable of mystically. Each had a horn therefor each had magic. Evan was unarmed, his only offensive option was his slash dash, he needed to know what he was dealing with here.
One of the bugs released a guttural snarl and charged the silent intruder. A quick cast faster than a blink brought the giant warrior to face his foe, and his arm through its chest. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘that’s gnarly.’ The other two took a step back to avoid the emerald splatter of their fallen comrade. One outright bolted for a nearby crack in the cave wall, hoping for escape. The other glanced back at his cowardly cohort and instead chose to stand his ground, charging his horn with arcane might. Evan watched in fascination as the energies gathered from the jagged tip flowing along blood vessel like lines under the chitin, traveling down its neck and arms before finally collecting in its clawed palms to be unleashed. Oh. ‘Evasive maneuvers!’
Moving with lightning finesse he dodged each volley of green fire as the lone creature tried desperately to destroy its enemy. Evan weaved right, watching the eyes of his opponent like a goalie in a soccer match trying to predict where the player will shoot from. He smirked inwardly and used an old trick he hadn’t needed since he played the sport as a child. He feinted left then just as his opponent made the cast, its arcane light blinding him for a split second, then charged right with his full force curving his energy imbued appendage deep into the insect’s ribcage. He could feel its heartbeat in his hand, the creature looked at him in pure agonized fear, he made it quick.
***
The stallion’s slaughtering of the would-be assailants was merciless. Cadence could only watch in shocked horror as the warrior went about his grisly purpose. At the fall of the second he quickly glanced to twilight, reminding the alicorn of her momentarily forgotten friend, and then raced off down the passage after the final fleeing felon. She rushed to twilights side, charging what little energy she had left to try and heal her cuts and bruises.
The purple unicorn tried to swat the princesses help away with her hand mumbling incoherently “No. No more, please stop.”
“Twilight please let me help you! Your bleeding.”
“Cadance?” she asked shakily, “Is that you? Really you?”
She cradled her friend gently “Its ok, I get it. She tricked me too.”
A scream followed by a sickening thwack echoed through the cavern, the five fingered alien having knocked the changeling with enough force to definitely break something.
“You know we could’ve asked him how to get out of here right?” Twilight interjected. The mysterious stallion stopped in his posturing over his defeated foe, startled. He began shaking the clearly lifeless insect vainly attempting to rouse him back to consciousness. The recovering mares watched the embarrassing display with half lidded glares before Twilight interrupted.
“So, who’s your friend?”
“Just a little something I dug up from the basement.” She chortled.
“huh?”
“I’ll explain later, so where was that changeling going you think?”
Unfortunately, Twilight was as clueless as Cadance in this, though it did prompt their ally to shift his attention from the apparent corpse of his would-be informant to said crevasse.
***
Evan shifted and scrapped his nimble form through the crystal wall, finally reaching the other side to reveal something he’d never have expected.
The ex-human brightened with elation at the sight. A thing as familiar and welcoming as his own front porch, a Liset. Its manta-ray like design lodged in a massive outgrowth of crystal yet seemed intact.
The ponies followed him, the still recovering Twilight leaning on her former babysitter, and were shocked to silence as he placed his outstretched hand to the ancient objects hull his energies coaxing the strange thing to life. The engine sputtered, its lights flicked, and as the boarding ramp slowly lowered a voice echoed through the cave, “Operator! I thought I’d lost you, welcome back!”
Evan advanced into the ship. ‘Its good to be back Ordis. I missed you too.’