To: The Chairman of the UNSC Oversight Sub-Committee
From: The Director of Project FreelancerDear Chairman,
The Meta is of no concern to my program and thus should be of no concern to this investigation. I am confident that my Recovery Agents will resolve that matter in due time. You seem to be operating under the illusion that Project Freelancer does not take proper care of the resources and assets you so generously provide us. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
I am if anything a careful man; thus, that you think I would just allow my ships to go missing without any way of tracking them is absurd to me. Project Freelancer keeps detailed, real-time records of all of our ships’ travel logs. Perhaps it would bring you some peace of mind to know that I personally intend to see that all of Project Freelancer’s property is returned to its rightful owner.
As the ageless ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia had seen millennia worth of horrors the likes of which her ponies could scarcely imagine. This still did not make the sight before her any easier to bear. The pure white alicorn walked through the smouldering remains of Dodge City as all around her guardsponies in iron armor and volunteers from the outlying farms solemnly gathered the dead. Soldiers and civilians alike were laid down and placed under white sheets.
Ponies looked up at her as she passed and Celestia called upon millennia of practice to keep the deep, cutting pain from showing on her face. Celestia put the deathly quiet of Dodge City behind her for that of the wood just beyond its perimeter. Finally, she emerged upon a hilltop on the edge of the great clearing where the origin of all of this lay. The crater holding the twisted metal husk of a ship had once been the sole blight on the otherwise perfect field of green around it. Now, it was all burned with very few green patches remaining.
There were fewer tents and guards surrounding the alien craft now, and no researchers at all. The only high-ranking scientist left now was Arcane Star, who hadn’t even been present in Dodge City when the attack came. Unbeknownst to Celestia, he had been discreetly summoned to Canterlot by none other than Princess Luna so that she might continue to poke around where she shouldn’t. The sun princess allowed an annoyed huff to escape as she walked toward a large tent near the ship. It only figured that Luna’s scheming ultimately ended up bringing some good.
Princess Celestia took a breath as she approached the guard in front of the large tent that had a giant red cross painted across it. She was deeply upset by all that had transpired, but she knew better than to take her anger out on her poor sister. Luna simply didn’t know any better, and if the universe was kind, she would remain that way.
“Your Highness,” the pegasus in armor saluted. Celestia couldn’t help but notice that his eyes briefly darted in the direction of the ship.
Princess Celestia knew it was more harmless now than it had been before the attack, but she couldn’t fault the stallion for still being nervous around it. Especially with the unsettling new… addition to its hull.
“Private,” Celestia motioned for the soldier to be at ease before continuing, “I understand that the patient I wished to speak to is inside.”
“The one who actually saw the attacker and isn’t too spell-shocked to speak?” The soldier stepped aside for the princess to enter. “Bed nine, Your Highness.”
Attacker. Princess Celestia remembered the last time her ponies had suffered losses in such numbers and that had been at the claws of hundreds of Griffin raiders. How could only one attacker short of a dragon have caused so much damage?
Celestia gave her thanks before entering the medical tent. As was the case with the research tents, it was made much bigger on the inside by various spatial compression enchantments. Medical ponies worked diligently around beds of the injured, each one’s wounds more grisly than the last. Celestia had ensured that the ponies working in this tent knew she was coming, and that they should not waste time groveling before her as ponies were often wont to do. Still, many of the doctors and nurses couldn’t stop themselves from looking to their princess like sad, lost foals.
When Celestia finally reached bed nine at the end of the first row, she drew the curtain around it to give her and the pony she was about to speak with some privacy. Private Sunny Side lay on her stomach on the medical bed, her white coat would have caused her to blend in with the clean white sheets had it not been for the the cuts, scrapes and parts of her coat that had been charred. Unlike the others, Sunny’s injuries were relatively minor. Half of her face was buried in the white pillow and her eyes were shut tightly.
The princess knew why. She’d read the reports on Sunny and what had happened. Her father Iron Side—the only parent she had—was killed in the conflict between the attacker and the first wave of soldiers. And then there was her sister: Bright Side, a foal who didn’t even have her cutie mark yet, was being fed through a tube in another medical tent. Celestia swallowed a lump in her throat; she knew what it felt like to lose a sister.
Sunny Side must have heard Celestia approach, as she opened her eyes and slowly sat up. The young mare’s eyes were red and the Princess didn’t miss the stains on her cheeks and pillow. She studied the princess uncomprehendingly, looking simply broken. Although the princess had come to question her about what she saw, Celestia knew what was needed right now. Sunny slowly and unsurely raised her less damaged hoof in what Celestia soon realized was supposed to be a salute, but the Princess lowered the appendage with a touch of her own.
She then wrapped a wing around the small broken pony and held her close. Sunny remained stiff and uncertain at first, but with wordless encouragement from the Princess, Sunny gave herself to the hug. The pair remained that way for several minutes, during which Sunny gave way to tears again.
Finally, Sunny settled down, and Celestia released her and looked at her with all of the warmth of the sun. Somehow, the gesture actually seemed to restore a bit of confidence in the mare on the hospital bed, making Princess Celestia decide to proceed with their talk.
“Now Sunny, do you think you can tell me about the attack?”
Sunny sniffled and nodded. “Yes, Your High…”
“There’s no need for that, Sunny. You can talk to me any way you feel comfortable.”
Sunny looked away briefly before continuing, “Well… I was with Tome Reader when we heard the alarm bells. Captain Javelin Spear sent a small group to Dodge City to see what was going on and… they didn’t come back. Then we heard blasts coming from the first checkpoint and the Captain sent a pegasi squad overhead to see what had happened and… they were all dead...
“That’s when it came…”
Celestia nodded. “I know this is hard, but can you tell me as much as you can about it? What it looks like, what it’s capable of...”
“It was an alien… I think. It looked like the one we found on the ship, but it was different. Bigger.” Sunny hugged herself. “It moved fast. Way too fast for something that big. A-and it was powerful. It had shields that covered its body like a second layer of armor and it had a big, bladed weapon that shot fire.
“It was smart too. It could change the color of its armor to blend in with its surroundings, and used that to disappear into the woods and ambush us from different sides.” Sunny shut her eyes tightly again.
“Did anypony try to initiate contact with it? I know that the alien recovered from the ship was able to speak with Arcane Star.”
“Tome Reader tried speaking with it when it first entered the clearing, but I don’t think it could talk. It just… growled at her before it…” Sunny shivered and Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder, reminding the young pony that she was still there.
“What happened after?”
“The first thing it did after… after the battle was go to the ship. I couldn’t see exactly what it was doing from where I was, but when it came back there was something different about it. It moved faster. It was always fast but the way it moved afterwards was like… have you ever seen one of those silent films where the ponies all seem to be... sped up?”
Celestia nodded and gently urged Sunny to continue.
“After I was sure it was gone I ran back to the city. I don’t remember what I was trying to accomplish, I just ran. But… it was there. Going from house to house and… a-and Bright...”
This was the part of the reports that Celestia didn’t understand. Whatever this thing was, it had killed the soldiers stationed around Dodge City simply because they were between it and the ship. It didn’t make sense for this attacker to seemingly go out of its way to kill the ponies in the ship’s immediate vicinity.
Sunny must have been able to tell what Celestia was thinking, because then she added, “It looked like the thing was… searching.”
Deciding she’d heard all she needed, Celestia put her hoof on Sunny’s. “Thank you, Sunny Side. You’ve been very brave.”
Celestia’s words only caused Sunny to sulk. “No I haven’t.”
“Of course you have. You survived an incredibly vicious attack…”
“And how do you think I did that?”
Celestia looked at the mare, beginning to understand as she continued. “The only reason I’m alive is because I played dead! When the first attack knocked me off my hooves I didn’t get back up. I just… lay there in the dirt and prayed that the monster wouldn’t get me, while all around me my friends fought and…” the tail end of Sunny’s rant became a whimper.
Celestia gave Sunny’s hoof a light squeeze. “Sunny, you can’t blame yourself for what happened to your comrades. There’s nothing you could have done to change the way things turned out. It wasn’t your fault.”
Celestia’s words didn’t seem to make Sunny feel much better. Regardless, she nodded in response. Celestia removed her hoof from Sunny’s and stood.
“Now get some rest.” With that, Celestia turned and left Sunny to her bed.
After taking some time to talk to the medical staff—during which she was informed the patients were soon to be moved to hospitals in nearby towns—Celestia left the tent and took a moment to collect herself. She looked around at the destruction throughout the clearing, visualizing the battle. No, battle was the wrong word. Slaughter seemed more fitting. Celestia’s eyes soon fell on the ship at the center of it all, more specifically the large gashes in the hull. Looking to be carved into the metal by the claws of some terrible beast were four words.
We Are The Meta
Celestia knew to fear the worst when she first laid eyes on the ship, but this was beyond anything she expected. This is nothing like last time...
The landscape Rainbow Dash looked out upon was a mess of pink, blue, purple, yellow and every color in the visible spectrum. Rainbow liked to think of herself as a pony who appreciated color. It was in her name for Celestia’s sake! Regardless, the fields of colorful flowers and the excessive presence of rainbows in the skies above was enough to give Rainbow Dash a headache. Despite the overabundance of visual stimulation, Rainbow Dash recognized several of the buildings in front of her and gasped.
“This is Ponyville!”
She looked up at the black-armored biped standing beside her. Tex looked out at the saccharine landscape before looking down at Rainbow Dash. “You sure?”
“Yeah. It looks like Discord vomited all over it, but we’re definitely just outside of West Ponyville!” Rainbow Dash looked around some more before looking back up at Tex. “So how do we find O’Malley?”
“Our best bet is to find Pinkie Pie herself. Any idea where she might be?”
Rainbow Dash looked out at the colorful street in front of her, this time with a look of determination. “Follow me!”
With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash lifted off the ground and took off, making sure to fly slow enough for her partner to keep up, but not too slow. To her surprise, Tex actually matched her speed as she ran along the ground beside the blue pegasus.
As the pair ran further and further into the overly bright and colorful town, they started to see ponies milling about. Something was weird about them, though. They were definitely ponies, but their eyes were smaller and they had more pronounced snouts. They also appeared to be happy to a fault, every single one of them waved at Rainbow Dash and Tex as they passed. The fact that they were so close to what Rainbow Dash knew to be ponies and yet were just not quite there was a little unsettling. This was namely why Rainbow Dash started to fly faster when it seemed like they were about to start a musical number.
Finally, after avoiding the scarily happy ponies, Rainbow Dash and Tex arrived at Sugarcube Corner. It looked mostly the same as it did in real life with the notable exception of a colorful sign above the door that read “Pinkie’s Howse.” Tex and Rainbow Dash entered the gingerbread structure, only to find it empty.
“Hello? Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash called out. “It’s me, your awesome friend Rainbow Dash! Me and Tex are here to kick some M.I. flank!”
While Rainbow Dash continued yelling for Pinkie, Tex searched the building thoroughly and efficiently. Eventually, the Freelancer and the pony rendezvoused in the center of the establishment.
“Alright, where else would she be?” Tex asked.
At that moment the pair heard the creak of the front door opening and the clopping of hooves on a hardwood floor as someone stepped in.
“Oh! Hello, Rainbow Dash!” the voice wasn’t Pinkie’s. Instead, it was one that made Rainbow’s heart nearly stop.
Turning around, Rainbow saw an incredibly familiar unicorn mare standing in the doorway. Even though she looked as different as the other ponies here, Rainbow could recognize that dorky purple manecut anywhere.
“Twilight?” Without even thinking, Rainbow Dash raced forward and hugged the friend she thought she’d lost. It wasn’t until that moment that Rainbow remembered just how worried she was about her friend, and tried to choke back a tear now that she was finally back safe and sound.
“Yes. I am Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight spoke in a weird, disjointed way that made Rainbow Dash pull out of the hug and give the purple mare a quizzical look. “I am super-duper smart. I love reading and using big words without telling other ponies what they mean!”
“Uh… Twilight? Why are you acting weird?” Right after the words left her mouth, Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Did the aliens do something to you while you were gone? Are you infected with an M.I. as well?”
“Oh, right…” Tex muttered. Rainbow Dash turned to Tex, looking for an explanation. “That’s not really your friend. We’re inside Pinkie Pie’s mind, remember? That’s just her mental image of Twilight!”
“My favorite books are really long and don’t have any pictures!” Twilight’s doppelganger happily proclaimed.
“Oh…” Rainbow Dash shifted away from the shadow of her friend, a painful lump forming in her throat as she realized that the real Twilight was still lost somewhere on an alien world. Rainbow then swallowed, forcing the lump down as she remembered what she was here to do. “Twilight, I need you to use that big brain of yours and think carefully: Where is Pinkie Pie right now?”
Fake Twilight’s eyes widened in understanding. “You’re from the outside… Princess Pinkie Pie told us you were coming!”
Rainbow tried to ignore the title that preceded Pinkie’s name. She realized she’d just have to accept the fact that a lot of things here weren’t going to make much sense.
“Princess Pinkie told us to tell you that if you need to find her, look for her at the place where your friendship began!”
“Aw, a riddle? I hate those,” Rainbow Dash groaned.
“I love them! It gives me a chance to use my thinker box!”
“Okay, just think: Where did you first meet Pinkie Pie?” Tex asked.
Rainbow squinted and put a hoof to her chin. “That’s the thing: the place where we arrived is where I met Pinks for the first time. She pretty much glomped me as soon as I set hoof into Ponyville. Wouldn’t stop going on about how I was new and she was going to throw me a party,” Rainbow smiled. The memory always made her a little happy. “She’s learned a lot about personal space since then.”
If Tex was amused by the story at all, she gave no indication of such. Instead, she merely paced back and forth. “That’s sweet and all, but that doesn’t help us one damn bit!”
Although Rainbow didn’t appreciate Tex raining on her little nostalgia trip, the Freelancer had a point. Silence prevailed in Sugarcube Corner as the pair continued brainstorming.
“She didn’t say ‘where you first met,’ she said ‘where your friendship began!’” Tex finally exclaimed.
Rainbow’s ears perked up and a smile appeared on her face. “I know where we have to go!”
The team of about half a dozen Blues all stood crowded around a crate at the foot of the Wind Power Facility’s outer wall. Among them stood a Freelancer, two more Blues and a small purple pony. It was quiet as the captain in blue armor with white detail looked around at each of the gathered men (and one mare). The most pervasive sound was that of the nearby tide rolling in and out.
“Okay, listen up! Agent Washington and the guys with him have agreed to help us take the Reds’ flag!” Reynard Vaez announced, resulting in a resounding cheer from the gathered Blues.
“In exchange for giving us use of the computer once your team has control of the facility,” Washington sternly reminded him.
Twilight wasn't sure why Washington seemed so suspicious of Reynard not holding up his end of the bargain. In fact, the Blue CO had been so concerned about the opposite happening that Twilight had reassured him the only way she knew how.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Twilight had said, going through the motions. Although Reynard couldn't have understood the full gravity of a Pinkie Promise, the act of simply performing it seemed to reassure him that they would get the flag for him no matter what.
“Now, I know the addition of Agent Washington and the Blues with him gives us a tactical edge against the Reds…” Reynard continued, bringing Twilight back to the present.
“Well… I don’t know about that,” Church said.
“Yeah… Church is a pretty bad shot,” Caboose stated.
“To say nothing of Caboose’s team killing spree…”
“At least Caboose can actually hit something,” was what Twilight wanted to say. The snarky remark was just on the tip of her tongue, but the unicorn held it back. She instead opted for a simple shake of her head. This team’s bickering already sidetracked them enough on a regular basis without Twilight adding to it.
“Right. Anyway, the Reds are still really well set up, so even with the additional help we’re going to need a good plan to get in there,” Reynard then brought out a large, rolled up paper, unfurled it, and placed it down on the crate the Blues were all gathered around. Twilight realized it was a map of the facility, with various points of interest marked with red ink.
“Now according to scouts, a portion of the wall on the southwest side of the main building has collapsed,” Reynard pointed out the spot on the map he was referring to.
“That wasn’t the case when we were here before,” Church noted. “How do you think it happened?”
“According to the scouts, it looked like someone had once tried to eat the wall some time ago, and completely ruined its structural integrity,” Reynard explained. “It would be an ideal place to sneak in, but the area is guarded well enough that the Reds would see us coming.”
“That’s why I suggest that you and your team create a diversion on the east side while my team and I get in through the southwest wall,” Washington suggested. “If you keep them busy long enough, we can slip in and out with the flag without the Reds even noticing.”
“Sounds like a solid enough plan,” Church said.
Reynard gave an affirmative grunt. “One more thing everyone should know: apparently the Reds just got their hands on some sort of experimental new weapon from Command. Everyone be careful.” Reynard then turned to address his men. “Samson, I want you in the Warthog with me. Rowan and Copeland, I want you guys on top of the east bunker…”
As Reynard continued giving more attack orders to his own troops, Washington, Twilight, Church and Caboose all walked away from the others to work out their end of the plan.
“So, where do we fit into this plan?” Twilight asked.
“I just want you three to cover me in case the Reds get wise to what we’re doing,” Washington stated before turning to face Church and Caboose. “And if what you both say about each other’s abilities is accurate, we’d better hope that doesn’t happen.”
“Hey! My aim is just fine!” Church said irritably.
“Yeah, it’s just that I’ve yet to see you actually hit anything with the sniper rifle without me barking,” Twilight pointed out.
At Washington’s confused head tilt, Church just said, “Trust me, it makes sense in context… sort of.”
Twilight’s ears perked up as a thought occurred to her. One that she’d considered earlier, admittedly, but never voiced. “If you have so much trouble using the sniper rifle Church, why not just use a different weapon?”
Church seemed about to argue the point, but then he looked down at the sniper rifle in his hands and sighed. “Fuck it. It’s not like my aim’s going to get any worse.” Church turned to face Caboose. “Hey Caboose, do you wanna trade?”
Caboose whirled around at a surprising speed. “Do you have a holo Charizard?”
The Ponyville lake was a lot more chocolatey than Rainbow Dash remembered. Dipping her hoof in and helping herself to a taste confirmed that the water was indeed liquid chocolate. She wasn’t sure how the rainbow waterfall that seemingly fell from nowhere transformed into chocolate upon touching the lake, but Rainbow remembered just whose mindscape she was in. The grassy fields along the lake were filled with colorful flowers that Rainbow Dash had recently learned were actually candy.
“I don’t see her. You sure this is the right place?” Tex asked, stepping up beside Rainbow Dash to survey the lake.
“This was where Pinkie and I actually hung out together for the first time. Sure, she chased me all across Ponyville before I actually agreed to it, but once I finally let her talk to me we found out we have a lot in common!”
“That’s right, Dashie!” a high-pitched yet somehow regal voice spoke behind them.
Rainbow Dash and Tex turned and looked up to the sky in awe as once again they saw a sight they did not expect. Gliding down towards them was the majestic form of a vivid pink alicorn dressed in rather delicious looking pastry-inspired regalia. The noble creature landed gracefully before Tex and Rainbow and folded her bright pink wings.
“It was at this moment that you finally allowed yourself to accept my friendship, Dashie. And that’s why this place is special to me…” the pink alicorn said in Pinkie Pie’s voice.
Rainbow Dash and Tex were immobile. “P-Pinkie?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “This is your mental image of yourself?”
“Not always… sometimes I have a mustache!” alicorn-Pinkie exclaimed, twirling a strand of black hair above her lip.
“Alright, this is getting to be too much,” Tex sighed. “Just tell us where Omega is so we can get out of here already!”
“Ooh! You mean my new super-awesome best friend O’Malley? He spends most of his time with me. He seems really angry all the time and that makes me sad, so I follow him around and try to make him happy!” Pinkie’s smile grew even wider.
“In fact, that’s why I led you here! O’Malley said he was so happy that you two were coming here to see him, and that he couldn’t wait to throw you your surprise party!”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Uh oh…”
“Surprise, you fools! Mwa ha ha ha!” A dark, translucent figure in black armor suddenly appeared beside Tex and Rainbow, laughing maniacally. Pinkie joined in too, but there was much more innocence to her laughter than O’Malley’s.
“Finally! You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you… Allison.” O’Malley took a few steps closer to Tex and Rainbow Dash, who both assumed fighting stances while Pinkie looked on with a naive smile on her face
Just as it looked like O’Malley was ready to throw down with Tex, the A.I. turned M.I. suddenly threw himself to his knees. “Please get me out of here, Tex! It’s horrible! She keeps trying to… be friends with me! Everything here is so bright and cheerful, and she spells her signs wrong on purpose! Everything’s a joke to her!”
“Almost everything…” Pinkie said with an uncharacteristic calmness that made Rainbow Dash take her eyes off of her enemy and look at Pinkie Pie with interest. Unfortunately, Pinkie didn’t elaborate on her statement, and O’Malley continued.
“If you just get me out of here, you and I can escape this infernal planet of foolish equines!” O’Malley exclaimed, standing back up. “Once we are free of this world, our plan to enslave the Sangheili aliens can come to fruition! Isn’t that all you wanted?”
Rainbow then looked up at Tex, realization finally dawning on her: If they were really working together before arriving on Equestria, why weren’t they now? Unless... they still were.
“All I wanted was to get you, Gamma and myself far away from Church, and for once I actually succeeded,” Tex said. “Though, I suppose I could help you out this one last time, for old times sake!”
Tex then swiftly pulled out her pistol, leveled it at O’Malley and pulled the trigger.
“Hrrrrk! Bleeeaaaah…” O’Malley’s dark form collapsed to the ground and lay still.
“Huh. Anypony else think that was a little anti-climatic?” Rainbow asked. “We didn’t even have a proper final battle!”
Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie. The ridiculous alicorn actually looked a little sad.
“Aw, cheer up Pinks. We did it! We got that thing out of your head! When Tex and I get out of here, we can have a big party to celebrate!” Rainbow turned to Tex. “Uh, how do we get out of…”
Rainbow trailed off when she found herself staring directly down the barrel of Tex’s pistol.
“The same way he did.” Tex then pulled the trigger and Rainbow Dash’s senses were overcome by a bright light and high-pitched ringing.
From his position on top of the decaying concrete wall, Church was able to see into the Wind Power Facility proper. Memories of storming the place when O’Malley was in control of it came flooding back. Beside him, Twilight was standing upright with her forelegs resting on the waist high concrete that served as a guardrail, taking in the sights of the facility. She looked at the concrete bunkers on the east and west sides, the transformers connected by power lines just beyond them and, of course, the towering iron windmill that was the centerpiece. All was quiet save for the low ominous creaking of the windmill as it spun within the confines of the large metal ring holding it in place.
Church looked down at the rifle in his hands. Like its original owner, Caboose’s assault rifle was very dense in comparison to Church’s sniper, but its comparatively shorter length made the weight more evenly balanced.
“Oh my God! CHURCH! YOU’RE HUGE!”
Both Church and Twilight twisted their heads to look to Church’s left, where Caboose stood staring at the man in cobalt armor through the scope of his sniper rifle despite being right next to him.
“Stop screaming, moron. This is supposed to be a stealth mission,” Church said.
“Okay!” Caboose whisper-yelled. “I am going to yell very quietly about HOW BIG YOU ARE! You should diet!”
“Just stop looking through the scope, Caboose,” Twilight calmly said, a sigh giving away her annoyance.
“Yeah, before you kill someone. Like me. Again,” Church said.
“You should still diet…”
The group then heard the sound of a Warthog engine as below them Reynard and another of his soldiers drove through the entryway of the wall followed by several more Blue soldiers on foot. Soon, the three of them could hear the distant cracks of gunfire as Reynard opened up on the Reds from his position on the Warthog turret and the battle commenced as they returned fire.
“It’s started,” Washington said as he appeared behind the trio and began making his way along the wall. “Keep your heads down and follow me.”
The group moved west along the outer wall, the sounds of distant battle providing the soundtrack. Soon, the group was on the west side of the facility and was moving south along the wall towards a bunker connected to the windmill by a series of wires. Right as the four approached the stairs leading to the entrance to the concrete structure, a pair of Red soldiers suddenly appeared and began firing at Reynard’s soldiers across the lot below. Washington raised a closed fist signaling the others to stop.
“Whoa! What happened to his fingers?” Caboose whispered, thankfully remembering Church’s earlier demand not to yell.
The pair of Reds continued firing on the Blues below without even noticing the group right in their peripherals. Church figured it would have been an easy enough task for all of them to take the pair of Reds out before they realized there was a group of infiltrators only a few meters away. He then noticed the group of about three Reds on the platform attached to the main building just behind them, realizing that taking out the pair in front of them would draw all kinds of unwanted Red attention their way.
Washington had apparently made the same calculations himself as he motioned for the group to turn around and follow him down the flight of stone stairs leading to ground level. The group continued to follow the western wall toward the central building, but quickly found themselves facing the towering windmill.
“Wait,” Washington ordered as he again held up a fist. The windmill groaned as one of its blades slowly spun past the group of infiltrators. “Go!” Washington ordered after it passed, immediately jumping the gap.
Church gripped the assault rifle tightly as he jumped through the ring to the pavement below. He then heard the clop of hooves as Twilight followed behind him. As he and the purple unicorn were ready to follow Washington in the shadows of the west wall, they heard the distinct sound of armor clattering to the ground in a heap.
“Ow!”
Abruptly turning around, Church and Twilight saw Caboose lying flat on his face in the center of the windmill’s ring.
“I don’t know what happened. I probably tripped on my shoelaces,” Caboose said as he slowly pulled himself to his feet.
Church was about to call Caboose an idiot and remind him that they didn’t have shoelaces when he heard the low groaning creak of the windmill.
“Shit. Caboose! Move!”
“How can you think of dancing at a time like this?” Caboose said as the large metal windmill blade made its way toward him. “We can have a proper hoedown after this is over!”
Both Church and Twilight perfected the synchronized facepalm as the massive metal windmill blade gently scooped up Caboose and began to carry him up and away.
“Caboose! Jump!” Twilight urged through gritted teeth.
“I can’t! I’m too high up already!” Caboose exclaimed, starting to forget his ‘be quiet’ orders from before as the windmill lifted him ever higher. “Oh man! It’s so windy up here!”
“Forget him! He’s an acceptable loss!” Washington exclaimed, jerking his head in the direction of an obscure corner beyond a small cluster of rocks and palm trees: their destination.
“I was gonna say ‘beneficial’, but that works too,” Church said as he made to follow Washington with Twilight right behind him.
As the now trio made their way to the southwestern corner of the base, the rat-a-tat-tat of Reynard’s distant Warthog turret was abruptly cut off by a loud blast. Whatever it was, it sounded nothing like any ordinance that Church had ever heard. Turning to look to the source of the noise, Church saw that Reynard’s Warthog was in flames across the lot. The charred, limp body of the driver slid out of the vehicle and collapsed on the pavement.
“What in Celestia’s name was that?” Twilight exclaimed.
Church shrugged. “With my luck, we’ll probably find out…”
Captain Mike Mogar, more well known amongst his comrades as “The Rage,” stepped out onto the second story platforms outside of the main power plant. The sounds of Battle Rifles filled the air, punctuated by the occasional blast of a thrown grenade.
“The fuck’s goin’ on out here, son?” Mike impatiently asked the nearest Red soldier in his Jersey rasp.
“The Blues are attacking the east side of the facility, sir! It looks like the entire Goddamn team!” the Red soldier pointed off the platform in the direction of the battle.
Mike looked down at the small army of Blues below. A few were taking cover on top of and inside the east bunker while others were using their own Warthog as cover as they fought the Reds on the ground and on top of the platform alike. Mike immediately noticed that their Commander; Captain Reynard Vaez himself was manning the Warthog turret and was keeping the Reds on the ground quite effectively pinned down behind their concrete barricades.
A Red operating the nearest mounted turret to the battle took a well placed shot to the head, clumping to the ground as the other Reds on the platform loudly announced the fact that they had a man down.
“Guess I’m the only one who can get shit done around here!” Mike proclaimed as he reached behind his back and pulled up a heavy weapon.
The large drab green weapon was hoisted over the Rage’s shoulder as he stepped out onto the platform where the man operating the machine gun turret had just been hit.
“Let’s test out this bad boy!” Mike looked down the sights of the experimental weapon in his possession and aimed right for the Warthog Reynard Vaez was in. The short Red Captain held down the trigger and felt the heavy weapon in his grasp tremble as he charged up power.
Down below, Reynard noticed the targeting laser and looked up to see a steadily growing red light coming from the weapon in the hands of Mike.
“OOOOUGH” Reynard hopped off the Warthog turret just as a massive red laser incinerated the vehicle, reducing it to a flaming husk in a second.
“YEAH! How do you like that Reynard? YOU BITCH ASS BITCH!” Mike called down.
“Well, I don’t appreciate that, or the insinuation that I’m a bitch ass bitch!” Reynard called back before retreating to the east bunker.
Mike adjusted the experimental weapon’s weight on his shoulder as he looked down at the battlefield with satisfaction. As he surveyed the Blues’ positions and tried to decide on his next target a loud, terrified scream rose above the sounds of battle. While this wasn’t unusual, Mike was confused about the fact that the sound wasn’t actually coming from the battle. It was coming from high above.
Looking up to the source of the sound, Mike saw a single Blue soldier at the top of the central windmill, holding onto the completely vertical top blade for dear life. The man was very quickly unable to hold on as the windmill kept spinning and he found himself upside-down.
“STILL TOO HIGH! STILL TOO HIGH!” The Blue screamed in a funny, high-pitched voice as he fell and landed out of sight somewhere behind the windmill. “OKAY, THAT’S BETTER!”
Mike grunted and tilted his head. Now where had that guy come from? Mike turned around and looked across at the west end of the facility just in time to catch a glimpse of someone in cobalt blue armor disappear behind the west side of the main building.
“Son of a bitch, I knew it!” Mike exclaimed as he hastily turned around and made his way back into the power plant.
It was night time in the field outside the Whitetail Woods when Rainbow Dash returned from Pinkie’s mind. The rest of her friends were all lying around, some asleep and some simply trying to stave off boredom. Applejack was the first to notice she was back, and when the farm pony moved to greet her, the others followed suit.
“What happened? Did you get rid of O’Malley?” Applejack asked.
Rainbow Dash was unable to keep the proud smile from her face as she brushed a hoof across her chest. “Yeah, I tracked him down through Pinkie’s mind—not an easy task, by the way. You guys should see the place—and Tex finished him off… y’know, with my help!”
“And... where is Tex now?” Fluttershy asked nervously.
“I dunno. She knocked me out of Pinkie’s mind. She should’ve been right behind me.”
Fluttershy carefully fluttered over to the still tied up pink pony. “Um… Pinkie? Are all of the M.I.s gone?”
“I think so. I don’t hear anymore voices telling me to murder all of my friends!” Pinkie said with a smile. Applejack shrugged and began to untie the ropes holding Pinkie.
“If the Omega M.I. has been taken care of, then my job here is done,” Sunset Shimmer said as she took a step toward the group. “I just need to take care of a few loose ends and we’re good to go.”
Rarity approached Sunset Shimmer with a sleepy Spike on her back. “Um, exactly what loose ends are you talking about?”
“Namely, I need to use a purge spell on the M.I. that I created based on Rainbow Dash, seeing as its existence is still illegal and all.”
“Aw, I liked her! She was cool,” Rainbow Dash lamented. She wasn’t sure why, but all of her friends were suddenly looking at her. The looks of joy and relief on their faces when they learned Pinkie was okay were slowly fading away as they continued to stare.
Then she saw Rainbow Dash standing with the rest of her friends: the real Rainbow Dash.
“No…” the tiny, transparent Rainbow’s voice cracked at the realization of what was about to happen.
But... she was the real Rainbow Dash. She was sure of it! She turned to her friends. Each of them were looking at her with folded back ears. Rarity was biting her lower lip and Applejack’s jaw was slowly drifting open.
“Don’t worry, it will be quite painless. All I have to do is erase the magical data I wrote on these gemstones.” Sunset Shimmer reached into her saddle bag and produced a small pile of colorful stones shining with an ethereal quality.
“Girls... don’t let her kill me, I-I’m your friend!” Rainbow Dash floated over to Applejack. The farm pony couldn’t bring herself to look into the M.I.’s eyes. “A-Applejack! We still haven’t settled who’s the most daring pony!”
Rainbow moved to Fluttershy next. “Fluttershy! Please! You’ve been my friend longer than anypony. I always protected you when you were in trouble. Please, I need you to protect me now…”
Sunset Shimmer’s horn began to glow. The glowing gemstones began to react.
Fluttershy’s eyes began to glisten. “I-I’m sorry,” she sobbed. She closed her eyes and just kept repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”
Rainbow could feel pieces of herself start to disappear. It was like her body was going numb one part at a time. Rainbow’s mind started to race as she looked around at her friends frantically. Her eyes finally rested on a certain pink pony.
“Pinkie Pie… you’re one of my best friends ever! Deciding to give our friendship a chance that day at the lake was one of the best choices I’ve ever made!” Rainbow Dash’s voice became a soft whimper, and then a sob. “Please…”
Pinkie Pie just looked at her. She wasn’t smiling. Rainbow Dash choked back another sob. Each of her friends looked at her with sad eyes filled with pity, yet none of them moved to help her. Because I’m not Rainbow Dash. Sunset Shimmer said this would be painless, so why did that realization hurt so much? Sunset Shimmer…
Rainbow turned around and glared at the unicorn. Sunset Shimmer’s horn was still glowing and she looked down at the multicolored gemstones with nothing but indifference on her face as she put them out one-by-one.
“You!” The tiny spectral Rainbow Dash flew up in front of Sunset Shimmer and glared at the unicorn. Rainbow’s voice began to tremble in time with her flickering image, “What gives you the right?! Why do you get to decide if I live or not?”
“Me?” Sunset Shimmer sneered, looking up at Rainbow for the first time since beginning to erase her. “You only exist because I made you. Now I’m just unmaking you!”
Almost all of her was numb now. The pony turned back towards… towards… just who were all of those ponies over there? And why were they looking at her with such sadness? She was so confused… so scared, and she didn’t even know why. Come to think of it, she suddenly wasn’t even entirely sure who she was. The pony tried to recall her name but couldn’t. Rare… Raspberry… no, that’s not right. Not right. She decided to go and talk to the group of ponies. Maybe if she learned who they were, she would be able to…
Just like that, the small M.I. disappeared, and the gemstones her data was written on were as dull and lifeless as ordinary rocks.
“See what I mean by ‘problems’?” Sunset Shimmer said as she gathered her bags and left the clearing.
It was a few minutes before the five mares and baby dragon could actually move again. It was suddenly very apparent why the very existence of M.I.s had been made forbidden so many years ago. Finally, the group left the clearing and made their way towards Ponyville, not a word spoken between them.
As they departed, none of them noticed the small envelope drift down from the sky and land not far from where they once stood.
The tranquil silence of the dark clearing was broken as a gray pegasus tried to land and collided with the ground instead. Derpy slowly pulled herself to her hooves and shook her head back and forth, her gold eyes spinning independently of one another in their sockets. The mailmare took a look around the clearing. She was sure she had seen a small group of ponies down here a few moments ago, but she was all alone.
After surveying the the area a little longer, Derpy spotted her objective: a lone letter sitting in the grass a few feet away. After adjusting her saddle-bag, the wall-eyed mailmare trotted over to the troublesome piece of mail and looked down at it.
“You almost got away, but you should’ve known: No letter gets away while Derpy Hooves is on the job!”
Derpy reached a hoof out to the letter, but a gust of wind blew it out of her reach, nearly causing Derpy to lose her balance and fall over as she struggled to reach it.
“Hey!” Derpy forced her eyes to straighten as she raced after the object of her ire. “Come…” Derpy grabbed at the envelope again, “Here!” She actually lost her balance that time, falling on her face with her posterior sticking high in the air.
Derpy’s brow furrowed over her uneven eyes as a growl escaped her. “Get in my bag right now or I’ll rip you up and stuff you into other envelopes! YOU WILL BE EATEN BY YOUR OWN KIND!”
After finally grabbing the slippery piece of mail and stuffing it into her saddlebag, Derpy’s eyes widened and she glanced around. She thought she’d felt another’s presence as she… lost her cool there. Fortunately, Derpy was spared the embarrassment and ridicule that usually came with her moments of oafishness. Satisfied that no one saw her clumsy display or her subsequent breakdown, Derpy flapped her wings and took to the sky with a content smile on her face.
Still, something about what happened made her feel uneasy. Derpy usually never got so angry…
Trees and green hills whooshed past as Arcane Star looked forlornly out the window of the Friendship Express. His focus was on what lay ahead, and not once did he look back. There was nothing left for him in Canterlot now.
When Arcane Star had first been summoned to Canterlot by Princess Luna the other night, he thought it a blessing despite the fact that it pulled him away from his very important work. After his meeting with Princess Luna (the clandestine nature of which struck him as odd), a messenger had told Luna something, and the night alicorn had then told him to take a few days off in the capital before returning to Dodge City.
This finally gave him a chance to spend much needed time with his foals, something he regrettably had neglected to do over the course of his career searching Equestria for signs of alien life. Arcane Star had been overjoyed with the prospect of seeing little Helium and Choo Choo, and expected his older girl Moondancer might like to see him too. Those feelings left him when his ex-wife, Golden Heart, opened the door and immediately frowned.
“They’re my foals too, Goldie!” Arcane Star exclaimed when the pink mare with a red mane and a bright yellow heart on her flank denied him entry to what was once his home.
“You certainly didn’t seem to think so when you left us for months at a time!” Goldie retorted. The resentful glare she had given him was like a spear to the gut.
Arcane Star remembered the years he’d spent searching the Crystal Mountains in the North for the remnants of an ancient alien race said to have been ponykind’s precursors. He never did find those ancient ruins though, and payed for it with his reputation and now his marriage. Even as the mare he loved made it clear she didn’t want him in her life anymore, a part of him still wanted to go back and find those lost ruins. It was what his cutie mark was telling him.
“You’re right, I should have been there for you, but I’m here now,” Arcane pleaded.
“Until you leave again to keep chasing fantasies,” Goldie remarked bitterly.
He wanted to argue the point, but she was right. He was still to return to Dodge City in short order. Despite his joy and honor at having been hoofpicked by the princesses for this job, he wished it didn’t have to be so secretive. Arcane had half a mind to abandon the oaths he swore to Celestia and Luna both to tell Goldie everything he’d been doing for the past week. He had all of his research and notes on the ship locked away in his briefcase. All he would have to do was open it and show her, and she would know what he was doing was real.
“Please. The foals need their father,” was all Arcane said.
“You should have thought of that when you were their father.”
The sound of the door slamming in his face still echoed in his mind as Arcane Star continued to stare out of the train’s window into the darkness of night. Princess Luna had said he could stay in Canterlot, but Arcane Star instead opted to return to the crash site. It was all he had left now.
A deafening crash and a jarring lurch of the train violently interrupted Arcane Star’s thoughts as he was thrown from his seat along with the passengers around him. Various bags fell from the overhead compartments, and as Arcane Star shook off the disorientation, he spotted his briefcase in the pile of dislodged luggage. Immediately Arcane Star grabbed it and made sure that the magical locks that protected the classified information inside were still intact.
The ponies around him were murmuring anxiously. A glance outside the window confirmed Arcane Star’s theory: the train was no longer moving.
“Sweet Celestia, the engine’s on its side!” a turquoise mare one row down had opened a window and was leaning out of it to look toward the front of the train.
Before Arcane Star could say anything in response, the same mare suddenly let out a loud, horrified scream. This was followed by a low, otherworldly growl unlike anything Arcane Star had heard as an armored hand burst through the window and grabbed him. Arcane instinctively grabbed his briefcase and held on tightly as he was painfully pulled through the broken glass and flung onto the ground.
His whole body stinging from the bleeding cuts all over it, Arcane Star turned over on the ground and looked up at his attacker: another alien. If the one they found on board the ship was big, then this one was massive! It moved towards him like a feral animal in armor identical to the other’s in all but a few details, the most prominent of which was the large, dome-like helmet. Additionally, Arcane Star noticed the pattern on its armor was the train tracks he’d just been traveling along. At least, until a wave of color washed over the creature’s armor, changing it to white with brown details.
Arcane Star considered running before he remembered that this thing had just stopped a speeding train. Instead, he simply shut his eyes as the monstrous being grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground with a single arm. Arcane Star hung limply in the creature’s grasp, preparing himself for whatever might come next. When nothing more happened, Arcane Star allowed his eyes to open and found his own terrified face staring back at him in the reflection of the monster’s helmet.
Looking past the beast that held him, Arcane Star saw the other passengers on the train. They were completely frozen, looking at him with eyes as wide and terrified as his own. The towering creature brought him closer.... and then Arcane Star heard a voice. Then another. Then another.
Where is it? Where is it?
The A.I.
The Omega A.I.
Where is it?
Where? Where is it?
Where’s Omega?
Despite the paralyzing fear, Arcane Star laughed. It was a nervous and awkward noise. “W-would you believe you’re not the first alien to ask me that?”
The monster let out another unnatural snarl as it tossed him aside. Arcane hit the ground painfully, coughing as he struggled for breath. He then looked up at the monster as it produced a large weapon with a horrifying twisted blade. The voices that spoke before were silent, but the message was clear.
Arcane Star looked at the briefcase that had been dragged out of the train with him and thought of his last conversation with Goldie.
“I could’ve traded that information for my life earlier,” Arcane Star started, glaring defiantly up at the monster. “What makes you think I’ll do it now?”
The inequine sound that came from the monster indicated it did not like his response. Unfortunately, Arcane Star realized his mistake as the creature followed his gaze and slowly moved toward his briefcase. The magical locks that kept it tightly sealed were only openable with a precise spell sequence that only Arcane Star and the Princesses knew, but this apparently wasn’t a problem for the monster. It picked up the case and tore it in half like a piece of paper, its contents spilling on the ground.
The monster looked down at the various files: records of the crashed ship; his experiments with the Omega M.I.; a transcript of his conversation with the alien in black armor. When he’d told her where to find Omega.
“No…”
The monster looked back at Arcane Star and gave a satisfied growl before raising its weapon. He closed his eyes and tried to come to terms with all that had happened in his life. He had more regrets than he could count. Despite everything she’d put him through, he hoped that Goldie wouldn’t blame herself for what was about to happen.
Suddenly, Arcane Star’s world was burning agony…. then nothing.
After entering the building through the collapsed wall, Washington led Church and Twilight down a hallway and turned right, bringing the group onto a platform overlooking the main room. The place was cavernous; the ceiling stretched high above them and several noisily humming power generators continued on into the depths of the structure. Directly below the trio was a fairly wide open area overlooking the generators from behind a chain link fence. Twilight guessed it was some kind of vehicle loading area, but it was completely empty save for one very important item in the center.
“Hey look, there’s the flag!” Twilight exclaimed, pointing out the pole with red cloth hanging from it in the middle of the room below.
“Alright, let’s get it!” Church exclaimed.
“Don’t bother, I see the computer terminal,” Washington said, walking over to a mounted computer screen off to the left, “just cover me until I find what we need and then we’ll get out of here.”
Church and Twilight followed Washington as the Freelancer’s fingers started dancing across the keyboard. A pit of worry filled Twilight’s gut.
“Wait, what about our deal with the local Blues?” Church asked.
“What about it?”
“We made a promise!” Twilight exclaimed, her disbelief clear in her ever increasing pitch.
“I only told Captain Vaez what he wanted to hear so he would help us,” Washington explained, not taking an eye off of the computer screen in front of him. Nevertheless, the Freelancer seemed to be aware that Twilight was giving him a hard, scrutinizing stare. “It’s not like the outcome of the battle here even matters anyway. Red and Blue are…”
“You fuckin’ bustas!” a high-pitched voice with an accent Twilight could not identify interrupted whatever Washington was about to say next.
A shorter man in red armor with white detail appeared on the platform to the left of the group gathered around the computer. To Twilight and Church’s immediate concern, the Red was holding some sort of large weapon over his shoulder. Washington on the other hand simply kept typing at the computer. Whatever weapon the Red was holding was making a high-pitched whine as a targeting laser appeared.
“Thought you could pull a fast one on ol’ Captain Mogar, huh? WELL LET’S SEE YOU TRY TO SNEAK PAST A LASER, BITCHES!”
As the front of Mogar’s weapon began to glow a bright red, Twilight leapt in front of Church and Washington and charged up her own horn. Mogar fired a bright red beam of light and plasma, and at the same time Twilight launched a bright purple beam of magic. The two beams met in the middle and the resulting explosion knocked everyone on the platform off of their feet and hooves.
Without a high-tech layer of armor to protect her, Twilight remained dazed on the ground while the others pulled themselves to their feet. She was just able to lift her head off the ground to see Church stand up behind her and level his assault rifle at a still struggling to stand Captain Mogar.
“Oh yeah? Well let’s see you try to sneak past hundreds of bullets! … Bitch!” Church added for good measure.
Mogar stood with just enough time to curse before Church opened fire. For a good several seconds the sound of automatic weapon fire was all there was inside the vast power plant. The flash of Church’s rifle muzzle caused shadows to dance on the walls and shiny shell casings fell to the floor by the dozen. Finally, the stream of gunfire stopped, replaced by the clicking sound of an empty magazine.
“... Seriously?” Twilight deadpanned from her spot on the floor.
Captain Mogar stood completely still and unscathed; the only red on his body was that of his armor. The cacophony of gunfire seconds earlier was contrasted by the pure, awkward silence. Although his face was obscured by a helmet like every other human she’d met thus far, Twilight could only imagine that the look on his face was one of pure stupefaction.
“Uh.. would you believe me if I said that both the sights on this and my sniper rifle are faulty?” Church asked.
Finally, Captain Mogar let out a laugh; a laugh that seemed equal parts deranged and genuinely happy to be alive. “Looks like your hundreds of bullets are no match for THE RAGE, MOTHAFUCKAS!”
Twilight swallowed nervously as the high-pitched whine of the Red captain’s weapon returned along with the targeting laser and the growing red light. She didn’t have the energy to block a second attack like that. Just as Mogar seemed ready to fire, a loud bang pierced the room as a perfectly straight trail of smoke pierced Mogar’s helmeted head. Then the Red captain collapsed to the ground in a bleeding, limp heap.
Church walked up to Captain Mogar’s body and gave it a kick. “Looks like the Rage just quit… life!” Church turned back toward Twilight, who was looking at him through lidded eyes. “Oh, let’s see you come up with something better!”
“Actually, I’m just trying to figure out where that shot came from,” Twilight said.
The purple pony suddenly heard a series of beeps in her ears as her radio headset came on.
“Hey, Church! I saw you were making a new best friend, so I went ahead and took care of that for you!” Caboose’s voice came through the ears of all present.
Church turned back around and looked out one of the windows in the hallway perpendicular to the platform they were standing on. On the far wall all the way across the facility outside was a familiar blue shape.
“Fucking. Bullshit!” Church then yelped as another sniper rifle shot grazed his left shoulder pad. “Aah! What the fuck, Caboose?”
“There was a fly on you. I got it. You’re welcome.”
Sure enough, Twilight spotted a dead fly on the floor near Church, and despite everything, Twilight actually found herself suppressing laughter. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to hide her smile or escaping snickers.
“Yeah, yeah. Hilarious,” Church deadpanned as Twilight continued to laugh at her friend’s… at his expense.
“Okay, I got it,” Washington’s stern voice caused Twilight to remember where she was and settle down as she and Church walked over to Washington and the computer.
“Did you find the travel logs from Tex’s ship?” Church asked.
“Even better.” Washington moved aside and gestured to the computer screen for the others to get a better look. “I found the coordinates and a slipspace drive we can use!”
Twilight stood on her hind legs beside Church, using the mounted display screen for support. Together, the pair looked at the screen that Washington had pulled up:
UNSC Shipyard 21A “Boneyard.”
> Status: Occupied
> UNSC Mother of Invention awaiting loading and re-fueling