> En Taro, Equestria
>  by Saacsa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> En Taro, Earth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is love?" I suddenly asked the black haired individual at my side. I was expecting a smart ass answer, or something like 'baby, don't hurt me'. But instead, I got one simple word that pretty much summed it up.

"Strange." He retorted after stroking his goatee for a minute.

"I can toast to that one." I said and clinked the rim of my Dos Equis bottle against his before taking another, rather large, swig. 

"What brought that on?" He asked while trying, and failing, to adjust his choking tie to a comfortable position under his long hair. 

"I told you that a bow-tie would have been more comfortable." I said, ignoring his questioned intentionally. I gave a light smirk, "Besides, bow-ties are cool." I said as he wrestled with it for a second, before finally getting frustrated and yanking it off of his neck.

"Yeah. But hey, you know me, stubborn as a mule." He said, clearly wanting to drag out the small talk as much as possible. "And you also know that I prefer the classics." He smirked.

"Yeah, I know you a little too well." I said and rummaged around my tuxedo's pocket until my fingers grasped the object of my search. "Here." I said and held out the small bow-tie. "I brought a spare for this exact reason." He reached out and grabbed it, then moved it towards his neck.

"Thanks" He said and fixed it to his tuxedo. Luckily, I had brought along a clip on, so it was low maintenance, but still looked fancy enough for the occasion. He adjusted it until he thought it to be as comfortable as possible, then sighed in relief.

"Now that, is better."  He said with satisfaction.

"I bet." I said, then let out a nostalgic chuckle before changing the subject. "Who would've thought it, eh?" I asked, turning my head towards my average set friend, "Charlie, of all people." I said and crossed my arms  while staring back off into space.

"I know. She was an amazing pilot, but apparently not such an amazing foot soldier." He replied.

"Watch it, if you're not careful she'll haunt you for that." I chortled and took another swig, "It's odd how lucky and successful she was all the time... Until she just wasn't." I sighed, "I shouldn't have let her do this alone. I should have been there to at least check her weapons..." I said gritted my teeth to fight the tears.

"Hey, it's not your fault. She was gone before you even knew about her mission." He retorted in an attempt to make me feel better.

"Yeah..." There was a moment of tense silence before a light knock shattered it like fragile glass.

"Yeah?" I answered instantly with accidental edge to my voice, but the person on the other side of the door ignored it.

"It's time for the visitations." The lightly distant voice said. Both my best friend and I downed the last of our drinks and sighed deeply. Our resistant bodies and minds were overpowered by our will to see our friend off. We got up from the strangely comfortable wooden seats at the back of the church and ambled to the door that would let into us the main room. I let out a large exhale as I turned the knob and light flooded into the dimly lit room.

People lined the rows and rows of cushioned, red benches, filling the church with quiet murmurs and soft sniffles. The rows lead all the way up to the closed coffin in the center of the stage. Next to it, a picture of a teenage girl sat. She looked about fifteen, but I knew better. This picture was taken when she was eighteen. Her hair was about shoulder length, almost entirely black, save for the parts where she dyed it red, and was extremely curly. A cute smile adorned average sized lips and she appeared to be having fun. But again, I knew better. Her eyes said that she was bored out of her mind.

Below, on the front bench, there were two empty seats next the the space between rows that were clearly meant for the only two people not seated. Us. Not because we were family members, but because we were two of the pall-bearers. We made our way to the empty seats and planted ourselves on the cushions. A tall, lanky, middle aged man clad in black robes with a small, white square resting in front of his neck stepped onto the stage next to the coffin, clearing his throat before beginning his speech.

"Charlie was a brave soul filled with kindness, virtue, and spirit. There is no doubt in my mind that she is with God now." I felt skepticism rise in me, but I held my tongue tightly. This was neither the time nor the place. "I believe her friends, teammates, and fellow soldiers would love to speak a few words."

"Teammates and fellow soldiers mean the same thing." My friend muttered so lowly that only I could hear it, making me smile halfheartedly as we approached the stage. We climbed up the stairs and stood in front of the coffin as well as the fifty or more people dressed in black.

"He said most of what I got. Have fun, Tommy." My friend said my nickname with a teasing smirk and hopped off of the stage. I silently cursed him with my glare but turned to face the crowd regardless.

"Charlie is... was an amazing woman, and everything the preacher said. Best one I ever knew. She was a wonderful pilot who saved many people-" I started my final words for Charlie, but was interrupted when a young man about the age of seventeen with a neon sign kicked in the door.

"But how many did she murder?" He asked venomously. My heart dropped. Not for the ruining of Charlie's funeral, nor the ignorance of the young man, but for the man himself. I hoped that this wouldn't happen, that the police and our fellow soldiers could hold back all of the ignorant bastards. That it wouldn't come to this. I saw my friend sneaking around behind him. I knew what was about to happen, so I decided to keep the kid busy while my friend made his way behind him.

"She killed who she had to. To ensure the safety of you and every other citizen of Earth." I said. My friend was right behind him now. The protester opened his mouth to combat my logic, but in a flash of silver, he was on the ground. The entire room gasped, save for me. I sighed in relief. Because instead of hearing the tell tale sound of a knife slitting flesh open, my ears met with the sound of dull steel against a skull. My friend spat on the back of the offending kids' head and sheathed his knife.

"Disgusting." He said and walked back over to the wall and leaned back on it. Everyone clapped lightly, realizing that he had only knocked the kid out cold. It brought a smile to my face.

"Thanks, Ty." I said, just glad that he didn't kill the ignorant kid. He merely nodded. We finished up the funeral and, a few hours later, I was driving Ty and myself home. It was dark at this point, and the stars seemed to sparkle in the black night sky, making it shimmer with an untold beauty. I had a gut feeling that, on one of those stars, Charlie was smiling back at me. Then a flash of cyan and silver caught my eyes, causing me to get my friends' attention with a tap.

"What?" He asked. I pointed to the light. Right as it blinked out of existence. My luck. "What?" He repeated with a little more irritation.

"There was a strange light. It disappeared about the same time you looked up." I said, still staring at where the flash had occurred.

"It was probably just a shooting star." He said and looked over at me with a light smirk. "Make a wish." He joked, inciting a small chuckle from me.

"I wish we could see Charlie again." I sighed.

"Agreed." Ty said and looked back to the road, then his eyes widened as he jumped at the wheel. I cried out and slammed the brakes as he turned sharply. It was the worst thing we could have done. But hey, we were panicking. It sent us flipping into the offending object on the road, causing a splatter of blood that seemed to be lighter than human and an unearthly cry of anguish. There was a flash of cyan from outside that mixed with a brighter orange. The heat inside the crashed vehicle became intense right before it exploded.
Careful what you wish for, huh?


~~~


Far above the Terran homeworld, the massive Carrier dubbed Ulrezaj's Reverence hovered. It's extreme size made it slow, but able to store up to thirty fast-moving interceptors. It's large size was not the only stunning sight about it, for it was built to the design of the greatest minds of the Tal'darim. It had two massive crescents on either side, encompassing the large hanger bay that glowed a deep green, like the rest of the lights on the ship. It's body pointed outward and eventually converged on a single point, the three horizontal breaks in the hull allowed the Protoss High Archon, captian of the ship, to merge his power with that of the other Templars and Archons, resulting in a massive Purification Beam that could wipe a planet away without a trace. Complete obliteration.

It was the capital ship of the Tal'darim fleet as well as the prized gem of their conclave because of the technology put into it. Which combined both Void Ray and Carrier. It's might was measured by the broken and twisted husks of Terran Battlecruisers littering the space around it.

"Tal'darim Void Ray 203 reporting. There is Zerg activity on the planet." The Void Ray's pilot said through a crystalline communicator.

"Understood." Prepare for the purification of the planets life forms." Ulrezaj's Reverence's captains' voice came back through the crystal. There was a slight pause on the other side of the crystal.

"By Adun! You really mean to-" Void Ray 203 was cut off by the fury filled voice of the High Archon.

"Yes! We must enact our revenge on that ignorant Raynor! They must be purified, if not for the Zerg infestation, then for the Terran one." The voice spoke with finality.

"Yes, Executor." The Void Ray's pilot spoke before descending into the atmosphere with a shuttle carrying one Dragoon, a fallen comrade of his.

"Talandar, are you prepared for what you must do?"

"As ever, old friend." The robotic Dragoon chuckled, "Three times now. I wonder if this should be my last." The Void Ray pilot let that line the heavy silence. He began to track one of the natives vehicles, but his camouflage wavered. Due to its almost instantaneous return, he dismissed it as a fault in his crystals.

The shuttle dropped the Dragoon behind the vehicle. The Void Ray began to charge it's cyan obliteration crystals, but quickly decided that, since he scanned no Zerg lifeforms aboard, his true mission was safe to proceed. So he switched to the orange teleportation crystals. A Zergling came running out in front of the vehicle, causing it to swerve, flip, and crash into the vicious creature, sending the bright red blood everywhere. It's horrid cry filled the air as it's wretched life came to a halt.

The Void Ray's readings told the pilot that the creatures inside the vehicle were far from dead. He charged his teleportation crystals and unleashed a rusty orange energy beam the same time that Talandar released his own cyan photon blast. The two forces clashed into each other above their target, causing a large explosion. Though there was nothing left but a massive crater, the Void Ray's pilot smiled in satisfaction, for his Void Ray still detected their life signals.

"Void Ray 203, what was that?" The High Archons voice came through his crystalline communicator.

"Just having... What do the Terran's call it... Fun? Yes. Fun." The pilot smirked to himself, (but not literally, due to his lack of a mouth) happy that the High Archon had not caught onto his plan.

"Careful what you say, Void Ray 203. Statements such as that can get you executed. Do not forget, you are still a Dark Prelate." The High Archon warned.

"Yes, Executor." The pilot instantly replied and geared in his warp drive, locking onto the coordinates of the native's he had just teleported.

"Good. Now, make your way back to the Carrier so we may purify this planet." The voice said with satisfaction.

"Yes, Executor." The Void Ray pilot said, then flipped a few switches, zapping Talandar onto his own ship and setting it on a course for the planet the Chosen were sent to.

"Executor." The pilot said.

"What?" He demanded.

"My burdens weigh heavily upon me." He said and initiated warp drive. His Void Ray blasted past the massive Carrier and to the location of the people who's lives he had saved. They had appeared on a planet with the name Equis.

Good, The prelate thought, Everything is going according to plan. He activated his ice crystals for systematic cryo sleep and laid back, for it was to be a long travel.

======================= 

"A fool." The High Archon's voice scoffed.

"Do we proceed after him?" One of his subordinates asked.

"No. He shall walk his own path of destruction. We have more pressing matters to attend to." He said and began to course his already flowing energies into the main cannon. "Fellow Archons and Templars, lend me your power to Purify this planet of the vile Terran and Zerg infestation!" He commanded. More power surged through him and into the main cannon. A massive red ball began to form at the tip of the Carrier. Energy swirled its way down the barrel, feeding the already massive ball until it was the size of the planet they were Purifying.

"This power... It's... It's.... Overwhelming!" He said, being the first time he has had the pleasure of Purifying a planet. He threw all of the massive energy forward, sending the ball into a beam that crashed through, and quickly incinerated the planet. Leaving not even ash. He sat back down in his arm chair in the center room, looking rather winded.

"Earth. The first planet that I, High Archon Dejunda, Purified aboard the Ulrezaj's Reverence." He said, "Today is a day to remember." He added and locked the moment in his brain, hoping to never forget.
> The Beginning Of The End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Awaken, Terran life form." A doubled over voice found it's way into my head.

"What?" I groaned. My eyes fluttered open, then widened when they caught my surroundings. I hopped to my feet and looked around, getting a better take of my situation. I was in a large, crystalline cavern that seemed to stretch for miles in each direction but one with no exit in sight. Countless outcrops of stone and crystal made odd formations, but gave the place character regardless. There was a massive stone at the end of what seemed to be a path. It looked to be engraved, but I could not make out any of said carving from my distance. I was about to go and examine the stone, but then remembered the voice.

"Terran..?" But that would mean it knows of the Brood Wars. I gasped, "Protoss! You're a little far from the Koprulu sector. What the hell are you doing out here?" 

"I come to seek aid." The voice said. At this point, I assumed it to be just a very lucid dream. Or I was dead. Hopefully the former.

"Am I dead?" I asked, wanting conformation.

"No." The voice was quick to answer.

"Ah. So then just crazy, right?" Sarcasm invaded my voice as I crossed my arms.

"No. Merely resting." He answered.

"So I'm asleep then." I deadpanned.

"Precisely." It answered. Good. The former was correct.

"Better than being dead, I suppose." I said, "So, who are you?" I questioned. "I mean, how am I even still alive?"

"I am a Dark Templar under the guise of a Tal'darim Void Ray pilot. The one that saved you and your companion from the Purification of your planet." The voice said.

"I suppose that I should thank you, but I'm still focusing on what is going on. For instance, What is a 'Dark Templar'? What is a 'Void Ray'? And what is a 'Tal'darim'?" I fired out the questions. It had been a few years since the Brood War campaign launched by the United Earth Directorate had failed. I hadn't been among Dugalle's men, and none of them were very talkative after that. Not that I could blame them, honestly. Being hunted to the last by the creatures of nightmares will do that to people. If this was a dream, however, I was at least going to see how good my subconcious could make things up. 

"The Dark Templars are warriors that severed our psionic communal link that bound us to the Khala, which is the Protoss's main religion. A Void Ray is a mechanical war device designed by the Khalai and the Dark Templars. It is built around a prismatic core, which serves as a virtually eternal power source. It is able to switch between different beams. Some of pure annihilation, and some of  transportation. I used the latter to save your lives. And, lastly, the Tal'darim are a race of Protoss that, like us, separated from the Khala. But, unlike us, they are very hostile to anyone who stands in their way." He finished his list of answers.

"Okay... What does 'Purification' mean?" I asked.

"Hmm... I suppose your vernacular is the same as the Terran's, so you maybe more familiar with the phrase I heard from a friendly Terran force that was in a similar situation." The voice said, then cleared its throat, "'We bombed the donkey balls off that shit." I stood there for a few seconds, running those words over in my head countless times. Finally I came to a reasonable reaction. I laughed. No, no. I exploded in laughter. I laughed so hard that I collapsed on the ground, wheezing out as much laughter as I could manage. My sides could dogfight with any Wraith and come out on top.

"Truly, you are an interesting human. You laugh when you find out the news of your planets obliteration." The Templar said with intrigue as I continued through my laughing fit while clutching my ribs with a blood red face. Finally, I managed to cease my laughter and stand up, wiping a pseudo tear from my smiling face with a deep breath.

"Alright, I think I've got it. And no, it was just your... word choice that made me burst into laughter." I said, still trying to calm down.

"What's wrong with 'bomb the donkey'-" He started, but I quickly cut him off the second that I felt the laughter begin to rise within me.

"Just say 'blew it up.' I chuckled, then the fact that my entire planet was obliterated sunk in. It made my knees weak. Then I realized that I was still dreaming, or, at least I thought I was. Which made me not so shaky. A real Rollercoaster.

"I'm dreaming. I'll wake up any minute and this weird situation will cease to be." I said casually.

"Yes, you are dreaming. But I do not lie about any of this, nor am I a figure of your imagination." He said.

"Got any proof?" I asked.

"When you wake up. You shall know." Was his cryptic answer. I sighed.

"Well, when do I?" I asked.

"Shortly. But you must believe me. This is real, and I know that you and your comrades are special." He said. I sighed again.

"Alright. Let's say for a second that this is all real. Of course I would be sad about my planets demise, but it's not as if it's feasible. Look, we've got a fleet of Battlecruisers in or-"

"No. You do not. You do not have anything more than smoldering slag and ash. For that, I am truly sorry." He cut in, but the finality and genuine sorrow in his voice was malleable. It gave me pause.

"Hm. I'm sorry, can I get your name?" That gave him pause.

"Odd. The more I scan you, the more you seem to be Terran in both mental and physical aspects. I'll have to bring this up next time that I meet with Raynor and his troops." He mumbled to himself. "My name, is Zeratul."

"What are you talking about? Where the hell am I? Who is Raynor?" I asked, getting more frustrated by the second

"You are in a dreamlike state, visiting one of my memories that I, as well as my enemies, are absent in.  Raynor is a Terran... Friend of mine." He explained, "Now quickly, we haven't much time. I did not send you here because of my good intentions, it was foretold in a prophecy that you, your friend, and another would be the saviors of the Protoss and Equin races as well as personal warriors to the Xel'Naga."

"I would say that's cliche, but I have no clue about you guys or an 'Equin'. Where did you find this prophecy?"  I asked.

"Upon a fragment of the Xel'Naga's Prophecy. Behind you is what you seek." He said. I turned around to view the massive stone that I had noticed before. But it was closer now. Much closer. Like, in my face closer. I fell back on my butt and looked back up at the stone. I hate to admit it, but this is getting too real...

Engravings were scrawled all across its surface. Some depicting ancient warriors and others vile beasts. But one caught my eyes. It was a section with three individuals. One that looked like me, another that looked, faintly, like Ty, and the last was a horse-like creature with a curly mane. We were all standing silhouetted in the sunset over the corpses of the vile beasts, all having looks of victory in our stances. Floating behind us were three figures of alien-like creatures with glowing cyan eyes.

"But what about-" I was about to ask, before I felt a small tap on the back of my head.

"You will wake now." It spoke.

"So it is you!!!" I heard a rather familiar voice and steeled myself in pure reflex. I'm glad I did, because the next second I was knocked out of my dream state and into a brand new world.


~~~


Luna sat upon her balcony, unable to shake that gut feeling that something horrible was on its way.

"Is something troubling you, sister?" A sweet voice came from behind her, signaling Celestia's presence as she walked up and sat beside her sister. Luna opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and shook her head.

"Nothing." She said.

"Lying is unbecoming of you, Lulu." Celestia said, "Do not think you are alone, I feel it as well. Something is headed to Equestria. For better or for worse..."

"I hope for the former, sister." Luna said, visibly brightening. On the inside, however, she could not shake the feeling of evil in the pit of her stomach. Celestia put a comforting hoof on her sisters back.

"I am going to take my leave. Take care of the night, Lulu." Celestia said and got up.

"And you the sunrise, Tia." Luna said as Celestia walked back into the castle. Luna let out a sigh and looked up to the sky. A teal aura spiraled up her horn as she rearranged the night sky to her liking. But one stubborn star refused to move where she wanted it to. She focused more of her power, but the stubborn thing just kept moving towards the Northern Ice Plains, instead of above Hoofington. She tried to focus even farther, but was unable to because of a deep, foreboding feeling. As the star got closer, she realized that it was not a star, but a meteor that was out of her control. A pang of panic ran through her. Even though this was a normal occurrence, it did not feel right to the princess of the night.

She shook her head to rid it of the thoughts, and eventually retired inside of the castle. She went to the Royal Archives for a late night cram of battle magic that she feared she may have to use.


~~~


Celestia walked down the long, marbled corridors that were sparsely lit by torches, deep within thought. She nodded to the occasional on-duty guard while making her way to her own chambers. The royal Alicorn was immortal and her power made it were she did not need sleep, but occasionally, she preferred to go into the dream world. To escape her worries and problems, even for a moment. She eventually reached her chamber doors and entered them after a brief nod to her Royal Guards. She closed the doors and then, with a deep sigh, sagged her head. She strode over to her bed and flopped down on it, but as soon as she closed her eyes, a voice sounded from outside.

"Urgent news for the Princess." Shining Armor's voice sounded from behind the thick doors. Said doors swung open to reveal a determined white stallion with a differently hued blue mane. "Princess." His demeanor changed when he saw her ragged face. Usually it was stotic and expressionless, save for the motherly smile. Now it was depressed and worn, her age showing clearly in her eyes.

"What is it, Shining?" She asked, shaking the stallion from his observations.

"Right. A comet crashed into the Northern Ice Plains." He stated.

"That's close to the Crystal Empire! Is everypony okay?" She asked, suddenly worried.

"As of now, yes. But, I thought you should know. I've got a bad gut feeling about all of this." He stated. The princess nodded and then rested her head on the pillow of her bed.

"Yes. Thank you and good night, Shining." She said. The last thing she heard before drifting into a dreamless sleep, was the closing of heavy oak doors.


~~~


"You are coming into orbit, Drone 122343." The Drone's master, The Queen of Blades, sent the message into its brain.

"Understood." It thought back and prepared its carapace for the landing. It felt a strange tugging, and instantly thought it to be a Protoss Dark Archon trying to control it. The Drone resisted with all of its willpower and, eventually, the tugging stopped. The Drone was able to think highly of itself for a few minutes, at least until it landed. The impact threw snow all around it, but the snow settled after a few minutes.

"Drone 122343. Morph Hatchery." Kerrigan's voice came into the Drone's mind. A brief emotion of pride for the Swarm welled within the Drone's mind before it planted itself into the ground and used its back to create an embryo around itself. The embryo swelled to the point of being several stories high, then exploded, revealing a three story high building that looked more like a growth than anything. A greyish material began to spread out over the ground, covering it entirely when it came into contact. A larva swam down and out of the tube of the Hatchery and immediately turned into a Drone egg.

"And so it begins..." The unmistakable voice spoke, ending on a dark chuckle.


~~~


A hyper, pink mare hopped down the main avenue of Ponyville alongside a lavender mare. They were laughing and sharing stories about their various exploits around town when all of the sudden, the pink mares' entire body shuddered.

"Ohhh! We got a DOOZY coming on, Twilight." The pink mares sweet, sing-song voice said, inciting a giggle from the lavender mare.

"Well, I just hope this one's as good as the last one." She laughed.


~~~


"Hey, Matt. Aren't we suppose to be in warp by now?" A middle aged man with long hair and a scruffy beard said from across the Bridge.

"Yes... But the system's seem to be malfunctioning." A sharply dressed young man said while frantically typing up things on the control board.

"Have ya tried rebooting the systematic coding for the warp drive?" A short, chubby man with a robotic claw for a left hand said as he walked in from the door that led to the Armory.

"Twice." Matt said, annoyance clear in his voice.

"What about checking to see if the coding is right in the first place?" Raynor deadpanned. Matt blushed furiously and then turned around to check it out.

"Nice one, Hotshot." The clawed man said with a laugh. Raynor smirked.

"Whoa... This is odd... How did the Protoss get their coding into here? And these coordinates! They are beyond the Fringe Worlds!" Horner exclaimed with shock, his previous embarrassment far behind him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up there, Sparky. Beyond Fringe Worlds?" Swann asked.

"Protoss?" Raynor asked vaguely, his interests elsewhere as he rubbed the scruff on his chin.

"Yes! Beyond Fringe Worlds! And yeah, Jimmy, Protoss." Horner said, waving Raynor off with a hand.

"What's your angle, Zeratul..." Raynor muttered to himself

"What was that, Cowboy?" Swann asked.

"Nothing. Matt. Kick us into warp and head towards the the coordinates put in by the Protoss." Jim said, taking control and walking over to the map.

"Are you sure about that?" Matt asked quizzically. Raynor laughed and swiped over the map.

"Positive." He said, "Adjutant, give me base information on these coordinates." A robotic female face with tubes around it appeared on the map and began to speak in a robotic voice.

"Planet status: Habitable. Planet Class: Unidentified. Planet Natives: Unidentified. Planet Name: Equis. That is all of the information that I possess on this." The Adjutant said.

"Well at least we wont have to wear our helmets." Swann laughed heartily.

"Yeah, but we still have no clue what the natives are like..." Horner said.

"Don't worry about it, Matt. We'll come out armed, but peacefully." Raynor said as Matt kicked up the warp drive.

"Warping on my mark."  He said then raised a hand with five fingers up. "Buckle up." He said and put a finger down, "Four, three, two," When he reached the last finger, he made his hand into a fist, "Mark!" He said and the ship lurched forward and shot off into warp speed.

"It's going to take a few days. This planet is pretty far away." Matt said, walking over to his friends.

"How far, exactly?" Swann asked.

"Far enough for it to take a few days going light speed." Matt responded and walked towards the door that led to the Cantina. "How about I buy you guys a drink?" He offered.

"Hell, I'm in." Swann laughed.

"Yeah..." Raynor responded, still not really focused. He got up and headed out of the Bridge and to the Cantina, but not before he glanced back at the planet surrounded in Protoss coding. "I hope you know what you're doing, Zeratul." He said and closed the door.
> Chocolate Skies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I awoke with a start, the first thing catching my eyes being a rather colorful tree. The second thing was a four foot tall, bewildered, light brown horse with a curly black and red mane. And the third was another knocked out human that I recognized as Ty.

"What the hell?" Was my dazed reply. I broke her little state of confusion and she let out a small smile.

"I wind up halfway across the god damn universe, and I still can't manage to get away from you two." She said with a light giggle. My mind was still a little loopy, so I asked another question.

"The fuck are you?" I was met with a hoof to the head and an annoyed growl.

"It's Charlie." She said with irritation. Now, however, I was fully awake. A multitude of emotions ran through my head, but one topped them all. Relief. I jumped off of the ground and tackled my late friend with an enormous hug and tears in my eyes.

"Tom... I can't... breathe!" She struggled out. I realized what I was doing and quickly hopped back as my own confusion kicked in.

"I thought you were dead! We held the funeral and everything! And why the hell are you a horse?" I asked, then noticed a small appendage protruding from her forehead.

"I'm a Unicorn. Difference. And you guys buried me without a body? What the hell?!" She asked, outraged.

"You're a Unicorn! Holy shit, this is awesome! I'll have to take you to Scotland sometime." I mused with a laugh. She gave me a deadpan expression before chuckling herself. "And for the whole funeral thing, we needed some sort of closure." I said. The human beside me began to stir.

"Ugh, five more minutes..." He groaned out. Charlie deadpanned and gave me a sideways glance.

"I got this." She said and walked... Trotted over to him. "Wake," She raised her hoof in the air, "Up!" She commanded before bringing it down on his head. He shot awake, reaching for where his knife would normally be, but couldn't find it (for obvious reasons) and decided to put interest in the offending mare. He almost took a lunge at her, but was stopped by calming, yet unsettling, onyx eyes. And the fact that she was a Unicorn. He gave her a look of confusion, squinted his eyes, then shook his head before turning to me.

"What did you slip in my drink?" He asked, inciting a growl from Charlie and a laugh from me.

"Nothing, buddy. And you mean to tell me that Zeratul didn't explain things to ya?" I asked. He gave me a questioning look, then poked Charlie in the cheek with curiosity, causing her a fair amount of annoyance.

"So... This is real?" He asked.

"As real as my hoof up your ass if you don't quit poking me!" Charlie threatened. He cringed and then got a curious look in his eyes. He got closer to Charlie, squinting his eyes and searching for something. His face lit up and his mouth creased outward into a massive smile.

"CHARLIE!" He exclaimed with joy, tackling her to the ground in a hug very similar to mine.

"Twice... In... One... Day!" Charlie had the words nearly squeezed out of her. Ty dropped her and quickly backed away with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry." He nervously chuckled, then looked over to me. "But seriously, the fuck's a 'Zeratul'?" He asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by Charlie.

"A name. A Protoss name." She said.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"He didn't just drop me off in the middle of nowhere without at least a half-assed explanation on what he is and where I'm going." She laughed.

"So he brought you here and made you a Unicorn?" Ty asked, receiving a nod. "And, uh, Protoss? As in some of those things Dugalle ran into in the Koprulu?"

"Well, yes and no." Charlie answered, "The other alien beings were called the Zerg. They were the particularly nasty ones, however that doesn't mean it's okay to piss the Protoss off. Their tech is way more advanced than even our most sophisticated prototypes."

"I see you didn't cut class at the Academy." I chuckled.

"Hey! Why'd he drop me in the middle of bum-fuck Egypt without tellin' me anything!?" Ty's southern accent kicked in, which happens whenever he gets pissed.

"I dunno." I shrugged, "Apparently, we're part of some ancient alien prophecy." Charlie's eyebrow cocked.

"What does that even mean?" The light brown mare queried.

"What did that Protoss explain to you?" I asked Charlie.

"Not a thing. You two being here was a surprise, for example. The only things he told me were his race and where I was going. Along with some information about the planet." She said. I nodded.

"Well, here is another surprise, we're are suppose to save his race as well as the race of the 'Equins', whatever that means, and be personal warrior's to an ancient race of aliens called the Xel' Naga." I explained. Charlie's expression grew dark.

"The ponies are in trouble?" She asked.

"Ponies?" Ty questioned, but was ignored.

"Apparently." I responded. She steeled her jaw and I caught a flash of defiance in her eyes.

"So, why didn't he explain anything to you?" She asked Ty.

"Hell if I know." He grumbled

"We'll just have to ask him when he gets here." I stated, earning a confused glance from Charlie.

"He never told me he was coming here." She said.

"Why?" I asked, getting the deadpan stare.

"Like I know that too." She laced sarcasm into her voice.

"Good point." I said.

"Hey, guys. How about we focus on priorities? Why the hell is Charlie a Unicorn, and where the fuck are we?!" Ty stated.

"Because my body was to damaged to be saved, only my soul was able to be kept. Zeratul saved my soul and crafted me a body to fit in with this planet. My only question is why he didn't do the same with you two." She thought the last part aloud. "Oh, and we are in a place called Equestria."

"The Prophecy Stone did contain the image of two humans and a pony." I said. She gave me another confused look.

"He had a stone and everything? According to known Protoss lore, certain prophecies can even be a threat to the very universe." She said.

"Okay, enough about all of this weird prophecy shit. Charlie, how about you give us a tour of this new world?" Ty asked. Charlie brightened, happy to be off the subject of our predicament. But one thing itched at the back of my mind once before surfacing. My face went pale. That dream... It was reality.

"Guys... I have some bad news." I said, earning two raised eyebrows.

"Out with it." Ty said.

"It's gone." I stated blankly.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"Earth... Our planet. It's gone." I clarified.

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Ty asked.

"Destroyed. Blown up. Obliterated. Or as that protoss liked to put it, Purified." I farther clarified. Ty's face went as pale as mine and Charlie's eyes misted over slightly. Our knees hit the ground, almost collectively, as I began to retch. 

"You better be fucking with us..." Ty said the empty threat.

"I... I don't think that he is." Charlie said, trying to absorb the shock from the massive bombshell. Ty straightened up and took a deep breathe.

"Well, this is ass, but we're still together. The three of us." He pulled us in a hug. I don't know how long we stayed like that, softly crying amongst ourselves at the loss of all our friends and family. So much death... I intend to find out why.

"He's right. It's gone and there is nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to adjust on this one. After we save it, of course." I stated. Both Charlie and Ty nodded, then Ty reverted to his previous question.

"So, Charlie. How about that tour?" He asked. A smile spread across the mares' face.

"Sounds good to me. I have made a few friends in the week I have been here and even found a place to stay." She said and got up, beginning to walk towards a small town in the distance. We followed in suit.

"How did you find us?" I asked. She lightly chuckled.

"A friend of mine told me that two strange creatures had appeared at the edge of the outskirts of town. Naturally, I decided to check it out." She said.

"Without any weapons?" I asked. She reached over and unzipped a saddle bag. From it, she drew a mini crossbow that looked like it could be strapped to her hoof and a knife. The curious thing about the crossbow was that it had no trigger, but rather some small tubular device ending in a small ball. I assumed that it was the firing mechanism.

"What do you take me for?" She rhetorically asked before putting her weapons away. "The more I think about it, the more I think that you guys should meet Fluttershy first... She is the one who told me about you, after all." She said, reasoning with herself before changing course to a nearby cottage that was surrounded by nature

"What kinda name is 'Fluttershy'?" Ty asked with genuine confusion. To this, Charlie let out a hearty laugh.

"You'll find out soon enough. I just need to get introductions out of the way so she doesn't freak out as soon as she sees you." She explained. Ty gave a questioning look, but left it at that.

"Also, a little forewarning, my name here is Chocolate Skies." She said. Ty and I both exchanged glances, but decided it wasn't worth pursuing. We soon came up to a bridge that led to the quaint little place and crossed it, walking up to the door. Charlie gave a light knock that was followed by a soft 'eep' from inside. The door slowly creaked open and one aqua-green eye peeked out.

"C-Can I help- Oh! Chocolate Skies!" The timid mare exclaimed and opened her door, jumping to hug Charlie. When she caught sight of us, however, she immediately let out a small 'eep' of terror and tried to flee back into the house. But she was stopped by the door, which had been suddenly slammed shut by Charlie.

"Fluttershy, I would like you to calm down and say hello to my friends." Charlie calmly stated to the now cowering buttery Pegasus. Ty and I exchanged unsure glances again, but then took turns introducing ourselves. I was first, kneeling down to her level and extending my hand.

"Hey there. It's okay, I won't hurt you." I tried. She simply whimpered and curled into an even denser ball. 

Is it horrible that I find this completely adorable?

I sat down and began to gently stroke her mane, letting my fingers flow through the pink strands with ease. At first, she tensed and even stopped trembling, completely frozen in fear. I began to let out soft 'shhhh's' as I did my work. The small mare slowly began to relax, and even lifted her head to look at my face, which had adopted a calming look with slow blinks.

"We won't hurt you. My name is Tom, and this is Ty." I said, indicating both of us with my hands. Ty bent down and waved lightly.

"Hey there." He said softly.

"H-H-Hi..." She said, her voice barely audible. It was a start, at least. Now I get why her name is Fluttershy. She really stayed true to it. Now that introductions were out of the way, we got all got up and Fluttershy opened the door to her home.

"W-Would you c-come in?" She asked, still rather quiet. We grinned and nodded, entering her quaint little cottage with Charlie trailing behind Fluttershy, presumably to block any escape attempts. I was met with two odd combinations when I entered the small place. Firstly, it was full, and I mean FULL, of animals. Ranging from birds to frogs to rodents and even a bear. A freaking bear! Secondly, it smelled clean. As in, no poop or filthy animal smells. It actually had an air of lavender to it. Ty's favorite scent. 

Okay, back to the bear. I froze mid-step.

"Um... Fluttershy? Are you aware of the bear in your home?" I asked in a hushed, but urgent tone. Fluttershy let out a light giggle and walked passed me and, to my horror, straight at the bear.

"Well, of course!" She said and leapt into the air. She was going to land on the bears face, but she was caught in mid-air by a flap of her wings and instead landed on top of its head. She nuzzled him and began to scratch behind its ear, inciting, of all things, a purr. The massive animal then began to thump his foot until the attention was taken away. "Don't worry! Harry is a friendly bear." She said sweetly and got down from his shoulders. I felt a light tap on my foot before looking down to find a rather pissed off looking bunny glaring at me.

"Angel Bunny," Fluttershy chided, "Be nice to Chocolate Skies' friends.'' The rabbit gave all of us one last glare before hopping away to do something wicked.

Probably plot our murders. A friendly bear and an evil rabbit... What the actual fuck is this place?

We all took seats on the couch and chairs, making ourselves comfortable.

"So, um, Chocolate? Are you going to tell me about your friends? That is, if you're okay with it." She asked, hiding behind her mane again. Charlie let out a small laugh.

"It's why we're here, 'Shy." She said and began her explanation. She told her about us, our old lives, our planet, our culture, and even gave up her true identity. She did manage to omit the little factoid that we would need to save the planet in the near future. We didn't want a full blown panic, after all.

"Whoa. So, after the, um, government of your people subdued the threat, it wasn't nearly their biggest problem." Fluttershy said, appalled at the aspect. We merely nodded. "Twilight would be in love with a chance to learn about your species." She said, more of a suggestion than anything else. "But something sounds familiar about those 'Protoss' and 'Zerg' beings. I think I've heard Rainbow Dash mention them before." She scratched her chin with a fetlock. I gave Ty and Charlie both a sidelong look.

That could mean so many things... I just hope we didn't land in the middle of the aliens home system.

"I was going to take them to the library first, but I figured I should introduce them to you beforehand, so you wouldn't freak out when Twilight calls everypony to the library." Charlie said.

"How do you know she will call everypony to the library?" Fluttershy asked. To this, Charlie deadpanned.

"She's kinda predictable, 'Shy. She'll probably send a letter to the Princess, informing her of the situation, and then we'll all go to Canterlot." Charlie predicted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. This planet has a Monarchy?" I asked.

"Diarchy, actually. There are two Princesses, Celestia and Luna who... Actually, I'll let Twilight handle that one. She loves teaching almost as much as learning." Charlie laughed.

"Sounds like an egghead." Ty commented with a smirk, earning a chuckle from each of us, though Fluttershy's was more of a soft giggle.

"Chocola- Charlie?" Fluttershy corrected herself, "Why did you lie when you got here?" She asked.

"Everypony would think I was nuts if I told them what I told you without any proof. I'd wind up like Screwball. Minus the barking." She said, "It was easier to just lie, besides, I thought of it to be a new start. I could pursue my real talent, art, instead of getting mauled by random aliens." She laughed. Fluttershy nodded in understanding.

"But still, Applejack won't be proud." She remarked.

"Yeah, I know, but she'll understand." Charlie sighed, then brightened. "Alright! How about I take you guys to go meet Twilight?" She said, changing the subject. We nodded and got up, exiting the room.


~~~


The Lunar Diarch was suddenly disturbed by the impact of a door against a wall.

"Dusty Tome? Where is she?" A familiar, posh voice, albeit laced with irritation, sounded. Luna peeked out from behind the bookshelf in front of her, taking in the scene. Prince Blueblood, who's face was etched with fatigue, was questioning the older librarian. The old stallion simply pointed a hoof in her direction.

"She's been there all night." The stallion said in a voice that reminded her of Deckherd Cain's, a character in one of her favorite video games, Ponablo. Her sister always said that the antics were a waste of time, but she never tried to stop Luna. They made her happy. 

Blueblood just growled before turning and heading in Luna's direction. She internally groaned, hating the arrogant stallion's very existence. And that was rare, for the Princess of the Night loved almost everything. Luna composed herself before stepping out from behind the bookshelf, only to be met with Blueblood's irritated face in hers.

"I hope you have a good explanation for the meteor last night." He growled, "It has caused nothing but paperwork for myself and the other royals!"

"It was out of my control." She stated simply.

"A lot of things are. Including your other half." He spoke venomously, inciting a pang of anger and a ruffling of feathers from the Lunar Princess. A soft, but hateful voice spoke in the back of her head.

Let me handle this... I will end him and all like him. The malevolent voice spoke.

No. You will not take hold again. Luna thought back, getting only an amused snort in response.

"I'll have you know, that thing is quite under control." She said and then glared down at the large stallion, making him seem so much smaller. This intimidated the rude royal as well as she hoped.

"G-Good! Or else I'll see that Auntie banishes you back to the moon!" He stated heatedly before running off. Luna shook her head in disgust.

"The world would be a lot better off if stallions like him didn't exist." Dusty Tome's voice said from the side. Luna was caught off guard by this statement, for she always thought the librarian to be humble and gentle. Although, she did nod in response.

"Yes, I agree." She said.

"A scroll came in for you." He mentioned, peaking the Diarch's interest and levitating it over to her.

"Why did you not tell me before?" Luna asked, grabbing the scroll with her own magic.

"I noticed you were in the battle magic section. The letter was marked for top priority, but was sealed with the seal of a war major." He said, "I got the feeling that you would need what you learned." He added.

"Thank you." She said and removed the seal. She opened the envelop and began to read the letter.



Dear Princess Luna,

It saddens me to say that we require your expertise on the battlefield once more. A meteor struck down in the Northern Ice Plains late last night, but it carried an alien substance and, I dare say, race to our planet. They are NOT friendly. They are ferocious and do not care for their own well being (much like Changelings), nor that of others. As I write this letter, we are preparing for another attack. Wish us luck.

Signed, General Stone Kiss.

PS, I sent this to you, and not Celestia, because I know your skills in combat dwarf that of your sisters'.



The princess frowned and set off on a walk to the throne room, but not before bidding the librarian adieu and telling him to prepare. This new revelation has confirmed her terrible gut feeling from the night before.


~~~


"So, when are we suppose to get to this new planet?" Jim Raynor asked the well dressed individual to his right.

"Three days time, the same time you asked four hours ago." Matt said with a swirl of his drink. Raynor nodded and went back to studying his own. "Why are you so interested in this anyway? Is it because the Protoss hacked us?" Horner asked.

"There's only one Protoss that I know who can hack the Hyperion's controls and put those coordinates in without triggering any alarms. If it's who I think it is, there is more to this than we know." He said.

"Jim, we don't know anything. Why do you feel obligated to do this?" Horner asked, causing Raynor to tighten his grip on his glass.

"I don't. I just don't want the old fool doing anything alone." Jim said with finality and knocked back his drink.
> First Blood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walk through town was rather easy, although the looks we got were strange. I don't blame them, though. Hell, if two creatures I had never seen before were just waltzing down the street of my home town, I'd be giving them strange looks too. We eventually reached the library, where Fluttershy lightly knocked on the door.

"Coming!" A voice sing-songed from inside, though it sounded more like a child's voice to me. A male child's voice. Maybe this Twilight Sparkle was just a flamboyant colt. Now that would be pretty funny. I heard something similar to claws hitting wood before the sound of a door knob being turned reached my ears. The door swung open and, believe it or fucking not, a tiny, purple and green lizard was there. Now, let me just elaborate for a second. Flamboyant male Lizard named Twilight Sparkle. 

Man, what the fuck even is this place?

"Fluttershy! Chocolate!" He said with a large, greeting smile, then caught sight of us. "And... Um... Want to tell me about it?" He asked with confusion.

"Yeah, Spike." Charlie said. Okay, not a flamboyant male Lizard named Twilight Sparkle.

Still, it was a talking Lizard.

"Mind if we come in?" Charlie finished her thought.

"Not at all." He said absentmindedly, still working that brain of his to figure us out. "Are they dangerous?" He asked as we stepped through the doorway. At this, Ty and I both laughed heartily.

"These two softies? Pssh, nah." Charlie joked. "As long as you don't piss them off, anyways." She muttered. Spike raised an eyebrow, but let us pass. Inside was a massive library with a staircase leading up to another room. This was awesome, it was like one of those really cool tree houses that those guys build in that one show.

"Where's Twilight?" Charlie asked.

"Basement. She's doing some sort of experiment." He said with a nonchalant wave of his claw.

"Thanks, little buddy." She responded. Charlie led us to a small door on the opposite side of the tree/library. She opened it and proceeded through, the rest of us trailing behind, though Ty and I had to duck a little as to not smack our heads.

"Twilight?" Charlie called down the steps. I heard a small yelp, a breaking glass, and a rather audible sigh of frustration.

"SPIKE!" A intelligent, albeit pissed off, female voice yelled from the depths of the basement. One freaky purple flash later, a lavender Unicorn with purple and hot pink streaks in her, rather disheveled, royal blue mane appeared. This startled both Ty and I, prompting us to fall on our asses.

"I thought I specifically said, NO visi-" She cut herself off as her huge, yet strangely adorable, eyes fell on the girls. Her attitude was instantly changed from 'I'm going to kill the little ass munching lizard', to 'Hello, best of friends! How was your day?'. Luckily, freaky purple butt hadn't spotted us yet because we were hidden behind two, four foot tall, technicolor ponies. I know how it sounds, but hey, we weren't visible to her yet.

"I'll be in the kitchen." The bipedal lizard commented. 

Smart guy. Getting out before the shit hit the fan.

"Fluttershy! Chocolate Skies! What brings you two by?" The purple Unicorn asked with an air of friendliness. Charlie and Fluttershy each cast one another unsure looks, then moved to the side, revealing Ty and I. Her eyes went wide and I could almost see the cogs working in her head. So I decided it would be funny to break those cogs.

"Hey there, you come here often?" I smirked suggestively. Then a shit-eating grin spread across my face as half of her jaw hung limp and her eyebrows raised in disbelief. Her face froze that way. It was rather hilarious, until a hoof, which I discovered was much harder than a hand, smacked the back of my head.

"Ouch! Okay, I kinda deserved that." I admitted, trying to throw my headache back into my minds deep recesses by rubbing my temples. Fluttershy had walked up to the teleporting Unicorn and timidly poked her, letting out a small 'eep' as Twilight swayed back, then forth again, remaining completely stiff. Then, out of nowhere, a hyper pink pony exploded out of a bookshelf, sending the hardcover knowledge flying across the room, yet missing all of us somehow.

"Wowza! I think you broke her!" The pink pony said rapidly, not giving my heart time to recover. The new arrival walked. . . Trotted over to the purple pony, who still had the broken face on, and started making strange faces herself. Ty and I both cast each other looks of confusion before turning back to the scene in front of us. The pink mare stretched her lips back with her hooves, revealing a set of, oddly omnivoric, teeth and stuck her tongue out through them. She wiggled the large pink muscle while making strange noises. The expressions, the way these ponies talked, it was all a little TOO human. And I mean come on, omnivores? Horses are suppose to be herbivores! I took the chance to examine the other ponies teeth whenever they flashed, yet all of them were herbivores. I made a mental note to question the pink demon later.

This whole world was beginning to freak me the hell out. I wished I could just go home, despite my knowledge of there not being a home to go back to. It really was a crushing fact, and I'm surprised the other two got over it so quickly. If they even did, considering the weight of the fact. They probably just shoved it to the back of their minds and locked it away until later. Regardless, we all had to get over it to save that damn pony-planet and, maybe, make a life there. I could only hope that they were faring better mentally than me.

Back to the weird world of pony. Out of seemingly nowhere, the pink mare grabbed a bucket of icy water. With her hooves. While I was getting my mind fucked from left to right, the spontaneous arrival doused Twilight. The resounding screech told me just how cold that water was.

"Pinkie!" She stamped her hoof in outrage.

"Yeeeessss?" Pinkie drew out with the most innocent face I'd ever seen.

"Why did you do that!?" She asked with intense irritation.

"Because the new guys over there broke you!" She said with a chipper bounce, then drew in an inflating breath that made her rise off of the ground.

"Dude, are you weirded out yet?" Ty leaned to my ear and asked.

"Bro, I've been weirded out since that orange beam smacked us." I remarked, getting a small chuckle and nod.

"Right. Sorry, Pinkie." The Unicorn apologized after a deep breath.

"No probably wobbly!" Pinkie responded happily. She was like the pure element of no fucks.

"Which brings the real question," She said, eyeing us suspiciously, "What are you and why are you here?" She demanded.

"That's two."  My friend responded, "And who." He added. I could feel his smirk as fiery eyes locked onto him. He shrugged and opened his mouth to continue.

"Quit while you're ahead." I warned, relieved when his jaw closed. Twilight offered us her couch, which we gladly sat upon.

"Want to answer those questions?" I asked Ty, shifting under the tongue action. 

I got a groan in response from my friend

"Wait until the other girls are here!" Twilight exclaimed and bolted up the stairs. She came back down said stairs with a purple hue adorning her horn, a floating scroll, a floating quill, and a floating inkwell.

The actual fuck?

I could only imagine my face as it contorted to uncharted areas. A weak 'huh' was all that escaped my lips as the purple Unicorn looked around the room.

"Magic. It's the most powerful element here. It pretty much holds everything together and totally makes up for the lack of technology." Charlie said, reading my mind. It probably only increased my growing confusion. She must've noticed because she added, "You'll get a more in-depth explanation later." It calmed me down a little, allowing the expulsion of those thoughts.

"Spiiiike!" Twilight suddenly called. The lizard thing walked back into the room with the up-most casual chill. This guy could be such a bro.

"Yes, Twilight?" The little guy asked with obvious bordem.

"Take a letter. I need Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity at the library ASAP!" She said, dumping the floating material down on the little lizard like an avalanche.

"Yes ma'am." Was the muffled response. Fifteen awkward minutes and a very confusing flaming immolation of paper later, three resounding knocks echoed in the room. I have never in my 21 years had I seen purple move that fast. The door swung open and three new ponies were ushered in. I immediately knew which one Rainbow Dash was. Her polychromatic mane gave it away pretty quickly.

"What they hay, Twi?!" An annoyed southern voice came from the orange mare who was holding her stetson to her blonde mane to ensure that it was not thrown off by the force the purple mare was implicating. The other mares became very aware of us when they saw our forms. It took a second for them to react, but when they did, it was priceless. 

The white mare fainted, the orange one charged me, and the rainbow Pegasus bolted towards Ty. I saw Ty redirect the momentum of the Pegasus blur with a swift kick to the jaw. She was out before the fight began. The orange mare pulled a 180 when she was within kicking distance. She cocked her legs back and shot them out, barely missing mine, which would have undoubtedly left me with at least a broken leg, as I threw myself in the air. The combat adrenaline that pumped around my veins allowed me to catch that air and throw my body forward, doing a successful front flip over the startled mare. The millisecond that my feet felt the ground beneath them, I killed my momentum with a swift 180 and planted the fiberglass tip of my boot into the bottom of her jaw, throwing her into a back-flip. She was out before she hit the ground.

As it turns out, yellow is faster than purple. Fluttershy was by Rainbow Dash in the blink of an eye. I saw a light purple aura wash over Ty and myself, then fizzle and dissipate. I whipped my head to Twilight, who was as dumbfounded as she was horrified. My rushing adrenaline let my mind discover a million different possibilities in two seconds, but coming up with one main conclusion. Danger. Ty must've sensed my fears, because I felt a hand on my shoulder. The muscles in my body relaxed and I forced my adrenaline down, clearing my head for rational thought.

"They're still breathing..." A soft, yet relieved voice came from behind me. I breathed a small sigh of relief that we didn't put too much force into our kicks, after all, ponies probably had weaker bones than us, being smaller and all. My relief was thrown out the window when I was forcefully turned around by a yellow hoof. My protests were silenced by a pair of normally soft, aqua eyes filled with fury.

Uh-oh

"How DARE you!" She accused, having me frozen in place with her fiery glare. "You assaulted and hurt my friends! That is NOT okay!" She yelled. A a small bit of fire flared within me due to this accusation.

Easy, Tiger. We don't need to have that blood on our hands.

I unclenched my fists and took a deep breath, deciding that my brain was right.

"Your friends rushed us, I'm sorry we had to incapacitate them." I calmly breathed out.

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED THEM!!!" She screamed

"'Shy." Charlie's cautious voice came from the side, throwing Fluttershy's fury-filled eyes to the brown Unicorn, who cringed under the heated gaze. "The girls are still alive, there's nothing else they could've done. Remember what we told you, we were trained for that kind of thing." She pointed out. Shy dropped her hoof from my shoulder and sat down on the couch wordlessly, her pink mane casting a dark shadow across her face and not allowing me to see her expression. Silent treatment. Wonderful. She tilted her head to where her furious eyes landed on me.

"Hurt them again," They switched to Ty, "and I'll end you both." She threatened, freezing the blood in my veins with that icy voice. Or not so silent treatment, which I think I would've preferred. Note to self, don't piss Fluttershy off. 

A simple, albeit fearful, nod was all it took to wash the cold rage out of her eyes.

"Chocolate, can you get me three buckets of cold water? Spike, take a letter." Twilight said, "Tell the princesses-"

"Actually, let us explain ourselves to all of you before you tell your leaders." Ty said. Smart man. I'm pretty sure our first impression didn't blow over so well. Twilight stopped and turned back to me.

"That's a good idea." She admitted and sat on her haunches. "Do tell."

"I said everyone." He reminded.

"Everypony." She attempted to correct.

"Technically with Spike here, it is everyone." Pinkie chirped. Twilight opened her mouth to retaliate, but found Pinkie's logic a little too solid and, instead, resorted to a small grumble. Charlie walked back into the room, majeeking three buckets of sloshing ice water. Charlie proceeded to throw the water all over the clocked out ponies, waking them instantly.

"Whosawhatzit?!" The rainbow one shouted as she shot up.

"Ugh, mah bucking head." The orange mare grumbled as she sat up.

Really? Bucking?

The rather shrill, ear piercing screech was all I heard from the white Unicorn.

"Are those... Monsters gone?" She asked shakily. Too easy. When her frightened orbs landed on me, I simply smirked and said:

"Boo." She fainted. Again.

6 o'clock. A hoof struck the back of my head. Again.

"Ouch! You're gonna give me a bald spot." I grumbled, inciting a chuckle from Ty.

"God forbid." He joked. Another bucket teleported above the dramatic mare and drenched her, warranting another ear piercing screech.

"Yes, they're still here and if you faint again, you'll be falling a lot longer than you would prefer." Twilight threatened, prompting the white Unicorn to gulp audibly, then sit.

"That everybody?" I asked.

"Everypony." The white one tried to correct.

"Been through that, you're wrong and he's right." Twilight commented in her laconic manner. The white mare took a huff of indigence, then sat down hesitantly.

"Now, if you would, please give us a crash course on yourselves." The lavender Unicorn said after somehow conjuring a quill, ink, and parchment out of nowhere.

"Well..." The sound of scratching on parchment filled the room.

She's really going to do this, isn't she?

"Us humans are mad geniuses." I said, summing us up in one sentence as she scribbled it down. Presumably word for word. I wasn't about to reveal our faults, considering we just popped up out of nowhere and knocked out two of her best friends. Twilight raised an eyebrow, obviously curious to the phrases meaning.

"What I mean is, we're extremely creative. Despite our limitations, our species has overcame countless challenges and adapted accordingly to them. We have faced a multitude of consequences due to some rather unwise decisions, but always toughed it out and pulled through in the end. I say mad geniuses mainly because of our adaptability and what we are willing to do to overcome those challenges presented. And despite every challenge and hardship, we usually come out on top. Apex on the food chain, and all that jazz." I said, pausing to let Twilight finish her scribbles. When she dotted her last period, the purple mare looked up at me.

"That it?" She asked skeptically.

"Well, I did memorize an entire biography before getting teleported here against my will." Sarcasm coated my voice.

"Just how did you get here, darling?" The white unicorns voice floated to me. Twilight was still slightly aggravated at my quip, causing me to smirk.

"Still fuzzy on the details myself." I shrugged, "The guy who did it plans to tell us when he gets here." I added, inciting multiple gasps throughout the room.

"There are more of you?" Twilight asked.

"Yes... Well, no... Actually, not anymore. The guy who sent us here was an alien, I guess." I partially explained.

"As in, out of country? What other sentient beings reside on your planet?" Twilight questioned.

"No. As in, off of world. And we didn't in the first place and sure as hell don't anymore." I answered with a dry chuckle.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her eyes and voice showing innocent concern.

"We don't exactly have a planet anymore." Ty said for me without emotion. Several more gasps found my ears.

"So. . . Y'all two are the last of yer race?" Applejack's southern voice flowed in the air with empathy.

"Sadly." I said simply. Twilight frowned and rolled her scroll up with her majeek, laying it on a nearby table and majeeking another one. She dipped the quill in the ink, and wrote a short letter. She rolled up said letter and floated it past her sad, concerned looking friends. Spike immediately grabbed it from her majeekal grasp and exhaled a shoot of green fire, instantly immolating the paper in a plume of smoke that seemed to fly out of the window.

I hate this planet.

"H-How d-did it ha-happen?" Fluttershy's tender voice was barely heard, a sharp contrast from her lethal tone just minutes ago.

"Aliens similar to the one that transported us here. They had apparently found more aliens of a different species, and decided that the only way to get rid of them was to 'Purify' our planet. And by 'purify', I mean completely obliterate." I explained, inciting even more gasps.

"I'm so very sorry dear. . . That must be awful." Rarity's voice shown with concern. And when I say 'shown', I mean exploded in a flurry of awesome fireworks. She really had a flare the for dramatic.

"It all sounds a little familiar, just who are these aliens anyway?" Rainbow Dash piped up.

"The Protoss and the Zerg, and Fluttershy tells me you're familiar with them." I crossed my arms, cocking an eyebrow when her face went completely slack-jawed.

"No friggin' way. I don't believe you." She turned to Twilight, "Look, Twi, if this is some sorta prank, it's not very well thought out. It's not like you."

"Rainbow... This isn't me. Fluttershy found these two at the edge of the Everfree." The purple Unicorn turned back towards me, "Are you absolutely sure he was a Protoss?"

"He came to me in a dream with a prophecy stone and his name was Zeratul. It sounds pretty Protossy to me." I commented. At that, Rainbow froze and looked at Twilight with alarm in her features. Twilight returned the look, her brow creasing with worry. "Why, what are they to you ponies?" I glanced around the room to see Pinkie literally deflating, like a ballon. Applejack and Fluttershy looked equally confused as the other, while Rarity was just staring at us. No, our... clothes?

"A game." Rainbow said, struck dumb by this revelation. "It's... It's just a really awesome game. They can't really be real, right Twi?"

"As Starswirl the Bearded once said, 'Anything is possible.'." She turned to lock eyes with her normally hyper, pink friend. "Pinkie, you've been uncharacteristically quite. What's your take on all this?" Pinkie looked down at her hooves, and back up at Twilight with what I would classify as 1.21 gigawatts of sorrowful. Her mane was flat and darkened, with large tears welling in both pitiful blue eyes.

"War is coming," She sniffled sadly, "In all it's glory..." She laid down, placing her hooves over her head. "And all it's horror." With a shudder, Pinkie Pie began to weep. Everyone in the room looked at the pink mare with one emotion, terror. My blood froze like ice. This was by no means normal, if the others reactions were anything to go by. The sudden shock passed, and all of her friends flocked to her side, Charlie included. 

"Come on now, Pinkie." Applejack comforted her softly, "I know you really love that game an' all, but they've never come for us before right? Why would they now?" 

"It's not like they wouldn't have had the chance if they were real." Rainbow added, "I mean, they were both super advanced in their own ways."

"I'm afraid it may not be that simple, girls." Twilight shook her head solemnly, "There are infinite reasons for them to have passed us by or intentionally ignored us. Pinkie could be very, very right." The grim statement was pierced by Ty, of all people.

"Fuck that."

Ah, that's more like it.

"Excuse me?" Rarity seemed taken aback by this.

"Seriously, fuck that." He stated again, "There are infinite reasons for both, but we can't dwell on that. We can't dwell on the fact that it's coming here. Now. We can't dwell on whether or not they've come before We can't dwell. We have to do. I may not have read every UED report, but I know that these things aren't invincible. They bleed, just like anyone else."

"And just like General Hurricane said," Rainbow's tomboy tone cut through, "If it bleeds, we can kill it."

Uh, okay Dutch.

"W-w-ww-we-eee?" Fluttershy eeped.

Yeah... Not you.

"Uh, only if you want to 'Shy." Rainbow amended after seeing her friend under such duress. 

"Fuck that too." Ty spouted off once again, only this time Pinkie giggled and brightened her mood slightly.

"What." Was the collective sound coming out of six mares mouths, one lizards, and one other humans.

"Look, we can't afford to be divided in any sense. War is fought differently where we're from." He knelt down to eye level with the ponies in the room, "None of you have to be on the front lines if you really don't want to, but there's a place for you somewhere for you to defend your home. Your country. Your world. There's so much more you can do besides pull a trigger to make a difference." He finished, actually earning smiles from the other ponies in the room. 

Well, I'll be damned. I put my hand on Ty's back to thank him for calming them down. Out of nowhere, a bright flash of yellow and white consumed my vision. I raised an eyebrow before turning to the left and seeing a very pissed off, albeit dumbstruck, alabaster winged Unicorn with a  multicolored mane and tail flowing in a non-existent breeze. She was planted to the ground in a battle position, ready to take on anything. Did I care to mention her horn was pointed directly at me? Next to her, there was another winged Unicorn, although just as pissed and confused, it was the exact opposite in color scheme. It had a midnight blue coat and a swirling, universe-like mane and tail that you could get lost in for eternity. These contrasted greatly against her counterpart. They were both truly stunning, although they didn’t look very friendly.

“Creatures! What sorcery hath thou wrought?” The blue one demanded in a loud, feminine voice.

“Sorry honey, tricks are for kids.” Ty’s smartass comment cut in from the side. A glower that could topple armies landed on his smirking face as a teal aura spiraled up the blue Alicorns horn.

"Do not get smart with I, mortal.” She spat venomously. Jeez, if looks could kill then Ty would be paste.

“Princess Luna, wait!" Twilight tried to call out, but it was too late. With a growl, she blasted a teal orb from her horn and right at me.



30 Minutes Earlier



Celestia sat by a crackling fire, a soft smile etched on her features as she flipped through an old photo album.

Equestrian society. My little ponies have gone a long way. She thought as she flipped from a small, impoverished family to a bright and happy one, beaming in the rays of her sun.

But at what cost? A malevolent voice defiled her thoughts. She scowled and shook her head, trying to get rid of the being she had come to know as Malevolent Radiance, who merely chuckled.

 Must you be so contrary? You know you can’t get rid of me with a simple shake of the head. Radiance’s voice seeped like poison.

If only it were so easy. Celestia thought with a dead expression.

At least you still have a sense of humor. Malevolent commented with a smirk, or at least as close as she could get, being a thought. Celestia ignored said comment and went back to looking over her album.

 You know Nightmare and I should be ruling with iron hooves! The manifested thought accused.

 There is nothing I’d love to see more. Celestia replied dryly, flipping another page, although not really paying attention to the colorful images.

  And we would be if our masters never left. Radiance spoke venomously. Celestia’s next, admittedly unpleasant, thought was interrupted by a small poof as a letter with Twilight’s seal floated down to her hooves.

 Your pet calls. The voice mocked.

As does your cage. Celestia said, sick of the thought. She used a small portion of her magic to temporarily lock the creature away, only drawing a small chuckle from it as it faded. Celestia frowned lightly, then grasped the scroll in her magic. She wondered what on Equis Twilight had sent her a letter for. The Princess had already received a friendship letter last afternoon. She broke the seal and unraveled it, scanning over the information within with worry.



    Dear Princess Celestia,
I’m not sure how to put this, but I’ll just be blunt. Aliens have invaded. And not the out-of-country kind. Apparently, one of my new friends I mentioned yesterday, Chocolate Skies, knows the two creatures from somewhere and have brought them to the library for a small explanation on their race. I have documented the… Knowledge and stored it safely in my drawer. I have reason to believe that they’re dangerous, although passive aggressive. To worsen the situation, they are now lacking in a planet. You read that right, their planet no longer exists. The final two of their kind. I am also afraid that they could become volitile at any moment. They defended themselves quite well against Applejack and Rainbow Dash. To the point where we would all likely not survive should they wish it. Please, come with Princess Luna as soon as you are able.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.



Celestia got up quickly and walked to the door, her swift hoofsteps clipping and clopping against the granite floor of her small office. She stopped and opened her mental link to Luna in order to tell her of the news.

   Sister, meet me in Twilight’s library as quickly as possible. There is a serious matter to which we must attend. She then closed the link that was established when the Great Ones descended, and pushed open her bedroom’s door.

“Solar?” She called to her favorite Elite Royal Guard, and occasional bed companion.

“Yes, your majesty?” He asked in his deep and fiery voice. Celestia stopped, shivering slightly. There was just something about his tonic voice that set her nerves ablaze and filled her with excitement. Despite being a creature of massive power who has been around for at least four millennia, Celestia still felt a child-like thrill of adventure around the stallion. Like they had some secret code that no other being knew about, only for the two of them to share. Mischievous secrets and flaring passions mixed when they looked in each others eyes. 

“There is a personal matter my sister and I must attend to. If you would, please ensure that the other guards know not to attack any strange creatures that may roam the Palace when we return.” Her voice had been trained to handle many things, but worry would always undercut her tone when her little ponies were in danger.

“Yes ma’am, I’ll get to it immediately.” He said, then softened his expression and made sure there were no other guards around. “Is something wrong, Sunshine?” He asked with care.

“Don’t call me ma’am, Solar. It makes me feel old.” She chuckled, purposefully dodging the question.

“It’s a good thing that I can make you feel young just as easily.” Solar replied with a playful smirk painting his muzzle. Now, there are few things, very few things, in this world that can make the Solar Alicorn’s judgement become clouded. One of those things is hormones. Another would be emotion. Due to the sun being so fiery, and not just in a literal sense, it’s princess developed some rather uncontrollable flares of emotion because of her direct connection to the ball of energy. The last of these things would be Solar Flare, her current, as society these days called it, coltfriend. He had a strange effect on her that the princess had never experienced, making her basically putty in his hooves and he didn’t even realize it. When something happens that just so happens to combine all three of those things, the Solar princesses mind turns to mush.

“S-Solar Flare, now i-is hardly the time.” She said, attempting to be equally as playful, but only ending up as a flustered, stuttering fool.

“Why yes, I believe you’re right,” Solar replied with a mocking tone, “You said something about having a ‘personal matter’ to attend to, didn’t you?” He teased. Celestia cursed at herself under her breath for forgetting that. “Do not worry, I’ll inform the rest of the guard.” He laughed lightly before beginning to trot away.

“And Solar?” Celestia stopped him, the flaring passion in her mind throwing some rational thought away.

“Ye-” He was interrupted when Celestia aggressively met his lips with hers. The Unicorn guard was momentarily shocked, but instantly recovered and returned the deep kiss. No tongue found its way to either pair of lips, but they did not need the pink muscle, for the amount of passion in the kiss was too great to ruin with a make-out session. Celestia eventually broke the kiss, looking less tense than before, but quite a bit more seductive.

“You’ll get the rest of that later.” She cooed softly into his ear with a sultry voice. He nodded and gulped, turning around and starting to try and trot off his arousal. Celestia quickly shook her head, casting a small spell to reduce her body’s temperature which gave her the equivalent of a cold shower, minus the wet mane and fur.

 How does he get in my head like that? She thought after her mind had made way for rational thought.

Easy, you’re in love, Celly. A familiar voice floated through her head, much to her chagrin. The solar diarch hated the word love, it wasn’t true. It was just some illusion to hide behind when the real world came knocking.

 Lulu, you know how I feel about that word. Celestia thought after she got over her initial freakout that Luna had figured her and Solar out. Besides, Solar is just a friend. Celestia caught her mistake as soon as she made it, cursing at herself yet again for her ignorance. She could practically feel her sisters smirk.

 Who said anything about Solar? Luna thought victoriously. 

 A-Are you prepared to leave for Twilight’s? Celestia replied, deciding to dodge the question. Luna chuckled, concluding to leave her sister alone on the matter, for now.

Yes. Though, could you tell me what's going on?

Aliens have come to Equis. They could be very dangerous, and they are with Twilight and her friends at this very moment. Celestia stated grimly.

Well, I'm going in horns blazing to incapacitate. I suggest you do the same, dear Tia. Luna offered. 

Teleporting in 5... Celestia finished her countdown, then teleported to Twilight's, ready for the worst.


15 Minutes Prior


Luna sighed and rubbed her right temple with her hoof, trying to ease her stress, but to no avail.

 I wonder if Mareijuanna is still around... She thought absentmindedly, It’s one Tartarus of a stress reliever.

As is letting your emotions free. A very tempting voice scratched at her mind.

 You really don’t know when to give up, do you? The lunar diarch scowled.

Persistence is key, my dear puppet. Poison dripped from her last word.

 I am no longer your puppet. Luna growled.

 Are you certain? Nightmare said cryptically.

 Positive. Was Luna’s firm reply. It seemed to shut the nightmare up, or the thought was letting her dwell on what it said.

Sister, meet me in Twilight’s library as quickly as possible. There is a serious matter to which we must attend. Celestia’s thoughts interrupted her argument with her alter ego.

Luna stood up and walked out of the throne room, not really paying any attention to the soft clip of her armored hooves against the marble, nor the stotic guards outside of the throne room. Anxiety rose with every step of her hooves in her mission to find her personal guards barracks, throwing her thoughts back to that letter and wondering if Celestia calling upon her was a coincidence.  She lost track of the short amount of time as she trotted, alone and lost in thought.

She came upon the barracks and pushed the door open, the first thing hitting her being the music. She stepped inside, humming the song in tune with the one they were playing, her favorite, and examining the rowdy crowd. Her rowdy crowd. They had made some personal changes and flares to the inside of the barracks-turned-bar. Half of her guard were the specially modified Thestrals, or the more ignorant term, Bat Ponies, that she only took on very key missions that required their talents.

The Thestrals were unique, each of them having increased speed, enhanced vision (which didn’t make much sense to the princess, but it was an effective ability to have nonetheless), three times the hearing of a normal pony, and a killer sixth sense that allowed them to sense objects and others around them. The origin of Thestrals was only known by Luna, Celestia, and the Thestrals themselves. They were all normal foals once, ones who got their cutie marks early and each showed an outstanding aptitude for doing the nigh impossible. They always pushed themselves to be better, never giving in to anything. Not only were they physically magnificent, their intellect and willpower shined above all others of their age group. Another trait these ponies all shared was their cutie mark had a single bat wing behind it, no matter what the original cutie mark was. This signified their destiny to be one of the elite Thestral guards. They accepted the destiny with honor, being very mature for their younger age.

Their only fault lies with the fact that all of their extra perks were fed by Psions, instead of Mana. Psions, unlike the life force of Mana, were inherently destructive and mischievous. While both could have serious consequences if they are fully drained, Psions have a much lower threshold than Mana. If one were to exhaust their Mana completely, they would die. However, that is nearly impossible as one is more likely to faint before that can be accomplished. If one uses too many Psions, the same effect happens. Unfortunately, when Psions replenish too many too fast, it can have a permanently corrupting effect on the individual. Luna had lost many Thestrals to this in the war with her sister, much as she had lost herself.

Thestrals are very rare, sadly. Only appearing maybe once every five to ten years. The silver lining was the process they go through to change them. It made them never age past thirty years old. That process was Celestia and Luna combining their magics with the elements of harmony and blasting the small filly/colt. The process ages them, at most, fifteen years, and gives them bat wings. If they are Unicorn, the spell simply removes their horn and gives them bat wings. They are still able to use magic, but not as effectively. If they are Pegasus, their wings shed their feathers and mutate into bat wings. Unfortunately, when Luna was banished, the Thestrals had stopped appearing. Fortunately, all Thestrals have accepted their destiny and never have fought back. Luna could automatically detect when and where a Thestral foal was born due to her special connection to the mindscape.

In any case, the Thestrals were separated by everyponies choice when it came to the bedding. Mostly due to the fact that their wings can eviscerate a normal pony. But occasionally, a normal pony would pair up with a Bat Pony for a night. That was before their modifications, however, now since the “Bat Half” of the barracks had been turned into a bar. The Thestrals now hung from the rafters when they decided to get some shut eye, which forced them into their lovers beds instead of the other way around.

The walls were painted an even darker shade of midnight blue than her coat, but dotted with miniscule white specks that seemed to glow in the virtually black void of the room. The painted stars all lead up to a massive moon in the center of the roof that glowed brighter than all of the other stars, a beautiful portrait of the lunar princess in all her glory, with a bat wing that crossed a Pegasus wing behind her as a symbol of unity under their princess. Loyal to the very end. It was a magnificent set up done by the, now Nieghgermeister and Vodclop drinking, ponies of her night. The place was the same as it always was, alive with laughs and jovial shouts. Yet, as soon as she had entered, they caught sight of their princess and offered Luna a few drinks. She politely declined and raised a hoof to quiet her rowdy guardians of the night. They all stifled their laughs and sat their drinks on the tables, giving her the maximum amount of respect they could give. Even the music seemed to quiet at the Diarch’s will, becoming little more than a dramatic background piece.

“My faithful warriors of the moon,” She addressed her guards affectionately, being much more attached to them than Celestia was to hers. “I will be gone for a short period of time, when I return, do not attack any strange creatures that might roam the palace. Merely ask them for the royal seal. Now, while I am away…” She trailed off with a mischievous gleam in her eye, “Try not to get in too much trouble.” She finished, earning smirks and chuckles all around. All of the pony guards thanked their princess for the forewarning and turned back to their friends, chatting and resuming their drinking. Luna drank in the chilled air of the room and opened up a communication link with her sister, catching her last thought and immediately knowing who she was thinking about. After all, her and Solar Flare weren’t exactly a secret, but it was adorable for Celestia to think that their “secret” relationship was under wraps. Plus, Luna thought it was one of the last things keeping her sister happy.

 Easy, you’re in love, Celly. The lunar diarch smirked, lightly chuckling at the reaction she would receive from this.

  Lulu, you know how I feel about that word. Celestia thought after Luna had already caught an emotion of panic.

 Besides, Solar is just a friend. That only increased the midnight Alicorns mirth, Celestia digging herself deeper into the hole.

Who said anything about Solar? Luna thought victoriously. 

A-Are you prepared to leave for Twilight’s? Celestia replied, deciding to dodge the question. Luna chuckled, concluding to leave her sister alone on the matter, for now.

Yes. Though, could you tell me what's going on?

Aliens have come to Equis. They could be very dangerous, and they are with Twilight and her friends at this very moment. Celestia stated grimly.

Well, I'm going in horns blazing to incapacitate. I suggest you do the same, dear Tia. Luna offered.

Teleporting in 5... Luna finished the countdown with her sister, then teleported to Twilight's, ready for the worst.


~~~


Commander Jim Raynor sat alone at the Cantina bar, swirling and staring at the brown liquor in his glass. Staring through the slightly transparent liquid, through the stained glass, through the metal of the bar, and even through the deep bowels of his ship. Much was on the scarred veterans mind, but the priority wasn’t the current malfunction in Hanger Bay 6,  nor was it his armor that had been crushed to save his life. It wasn’t the headhunters scattered across the sector after him, hell, it wasn’t even Mengsk’s head on a pike. No, all paled in comparison to his dominating thoughts. The thoughts of confusion and uncertainty. Jim Raynor did not like to throw his troops around like guinea pigs. He absolutely hating putting his men into situations which he didn’t even know what they were to be up against. Raynor never thought as his men as units, but as Terran beings. It made it a lot harder when they died on the battlefield, but at least less died due to teamwork, which made Raynor’s Raiders twice as effective as any other militant group.

Why did Zeratul want them on this distant planet? What was out there? But most importantly, why did he not tell me himself? Raynor hadn’t seen much, if any, of the Dark Prelate since Char, and that was a few years ago. So why had the Templar just decided to send him to the edge of the Universe?

“Jim!” Matthew Horner’s voice finally shattered Raynor’s train of thought, leaving it broken but not forgotten.

“Huh?” The hardened veteran was broken from his stupor by his best friend.

“What’s gnawing at you?” Matt asked with concern, pulling a stool of his own up to the bar and popping open the top on his own can of beer.

“Nothing.” Raynor lied, not even looking up at Horner from his drink.

“If you won’t tell me, then don’t tell a bottle.” Matt responded, taking a swing from his drink.

“Hypocrite.” Jim scoffed. Matt rolled his eyes and smirked, setting his can down.

“But I can control myself,” Matt pointed out, “You can’t.” He added as Jim reached for the bottle. Matt wrapped his fingers around the neck of the container of alcohol, holding it in place.

“Matt,” Raynor warned, “you’re on thin ice here.”

“Then we’ll both break it.” Matt stood his ground. Jim momentarily glared up at his best friend, meeting an unwavering, steely gaze. Raynor broke the staring match first, chortling and taking his hand away from the bottle.

“I knew I picked the right man to run this little outfit when I’m gone. I don’t know what I’d do without ya.” Jim laughed, causing Matt to smirk.

“Get yourself killed?” Matt joked. Jim chuckled, absentmindedly staring back into space.

“Let’s get going, Swann should have your armor ready by now.” Matt said, standing up and offering Raynor his hand. Raynor stared at the appendage for a minute, thinking it over. Reaching a conclusion, he slapped his hand to Matt’s and gripped, pulling himself up and nodding to his friend as they dropped hands. They then made their way to Swann’s in idle chat, blissfully unaware of they hell they were heading into.


~ ~ ~


“General Stone Kiss!” A military pony demanded as he strode into the tent. It was set up neatly at first, but time and accidents had left it more worn and tattered. Frays spread across it’s edges and the flaps no longer held tight, but fluttered in the breeze instead. Inside, the cloth housed multiple swords and spears, with both mouth and hoof activated crossbows on the opposite wall. Stone Kiss hovered over a table with a map spread across the top of it in the center of the tent, looking over it while in deep, strategic thought.

“Sir!” The military pony insisted, breaking the brown Unicorn from his trance and getting a glare immediately.

“What?!” Irritation poured from the grey-maned generals voice.

“We are being overrun by forces in the East!” The pony informed, much too use to Stone Kiss’s tone for it to bother him. If the pony wasn’t being smug, he was being irritated. Though he did have his moments of kindness. The General was loyal and honest, never letting his unit get blamed for something that didn’t happen or was done by another unit, which happened much more than it should have. He was a very admirable pony, even if he was a little arrogant. Stone Kiss frowned deeper than usual, then slammed his hoof down hard on the map.

“Pull back, regroup, and strike. Hard and fast. Don’t let them get them regroup.” Stone Kiss said through gritted teeth.

‘With all due respect, sir. I-” The pony’s next thought was interrupted rather violently by a jagged spike that ripped through his head. Stone Kiss’s eyes widened and he hit the deck just in time as dozens of similar spikes ripped the tent apart. Stone Kiss rolled to the side, grabbing a sword and crossbow in his magical aura. He flung his head up and sent an arrow careening towards his attackers. The arrow slammed into a large, serpentine-like beast’s skull, causing it’s brains to be expelled out of the other side of it’s head before dropping to the ground with a dull thud.

A smaller, flesh-colored beast with wings (that obviously could never be used to fly) that reminded the General highly of a Changeling, bounded over his fallen companion, rancid teeth bared. Stone kiss gave it a swift dental check up. He kicked the, now toothless, creatures body away and fired an arrow at another one while simultaneously cleaving one of the serpentine creatures in half. The ground under the general began to crumble, causing him to teleport a few feet away as the ground where he had previously been erupted in a shower of dirt, acid, and carapace.

The new creature was twice his size and it was like a mutated turtle. It’s head sunk into its hard carapace, from which two large, curved sickles of armored flesh protruded. Four bladed legs let the towering creature scuttle around like some sort of crab. The terrifying beast let out a primal roar and spewed a fountain of acid at the General. Stone Kiss nimbly dodged the spray, turning on his hoof to fire three arrows at the thing. All bounced off harmlessly. He silently cursed and dodged another acid spray, but had to teleport when coming too close to one of the serpents so he could avoid the fate of his lieutenant. He did a flip over a Changeling-like creature and drilled his hind hooves into a serpentine beast, planting two arrows into its skull at point blank. He jumped off the corpse and bounded over the war table, heading straight for the turtle-like creature.

Stone Kiss side-stepped a volley of spikes, and had to duck under a shoot of acid, but he finally teleported in front of the beast, grabbing another sword in his aura and dropping the crossbow. The beast swung one of its sickle-like appendages and roared in rage as Stone Kiss parried it and tried to cut through its armor. His blade pinged harmlessly off of the hard carapace. Stone Kiss swore under his breath as he parried another swing, having to teleport to the side to avoid another acid spray. He side stepped a few more spikes, letting them embed themselves into the heavily armored creature. The creature cried out in pain, the spikes finding a weaker spot in the armor. Stone Kiss smirked and flipped over the creature, it’s only disadvantage being where it could not turn well. He planted one sword on it’s armored back to help with his momentum and drilled the other into its side when he landed, causing the thing to cry in agony as cold metal twisted into its flesh. He flipped around a flailing sickle and sank his other blade into its roaring mouth, cutting it off with a sickening squelch.

The General pulled the blade from it’s mouth, but was slightly disappointed when it was half melted. Regardless, he smiled in victory, but that short lived smile faded when Stone Kiss turned around and came face to face with a miniature sea of creatures. He groaned, grabbing another sword and dropping his while bringing a crossbow up. He narrowed his eyes at the writhing mass of creatures that had yet to attack.

If I’m going out, I’m going to take some of the bucking bastards with me. He thought. Stone Kiss was about to charge, but a voice rang through his head and stopped him in his tracks.

 I like that. His eyes widened and he stumbled forward slightly at the voice. It was doubled over, but obviously still feminine. It spoke of lethal prowess, and more than a little arrogance in the generals mind at least. It was disturbingly similar to the antagonists voice in a video game Princess Luna had introduced years ago. In fact, it was nearly the same. Now that the soldier thought about it, those creatures looked exactly like the ones from the game as well, unnerving him greatly.We are doing this, whether you like it or not. The voice added in a threatening manner. Stone Kiss finally recollected himself, frowning before replying to the voice in his head.

If I’m dying, then I’m gonna die fighting. He thought evenly.

Gallant, but who said anything about death? The voice responded, clearly familiar with the situation. We’re going to infest you, make you one of us. You’ll be stronger, faster, and quite a bit more adept in your psionic abilities. Stone Kiss began to ponder the situation. Consensually assimilate with an alien race that massacred his FOB, or be forced against his will to assimilate with an alien race that massacred his FOB.

What’s the catch? He asked.

You’ll be free of your mortal chains, but you will also be bound to the Swarm. She stated. Another similarity the the game. This was getting much too strange for coincidence. Then again, there was always the option of fighting his way out. It was an easy choice knowing that he would be helping the enemy with the first two choices. He threw his head skyward and shot out a spell to warn the princesses. Always the hard way. Then again, I never was much of a diplomat. The voice said, sounding disappointed. There was a small pause, then the miniature sea of beasts surged towards the lone pony.

Showing no hesitation or fear, Stone Kiss fired three arrows into the crowd, each taking out a changeling-like creature. He jumped over the downed bodies and sent serpent and changeling-like beasts heads’ alike rolling. Literally. His shadow moved in a fluid motion, dodging spikes and claws alike as his blades cleaved the air, yet still not being able to keep up with the acrobatic stallion. A mutated turtle swung a sickle appendage at Stone Kiss, causing him to duck and drive one of the blades into its throat. The creature was dead before it hit the ground. He attempted to pull his blade from the beasts gurgling windpipe, but the acid had disintegrated the steel much like his other blade.

Stone Kiss frowned and threw the ruined blade to the ground. Another turtle-like creature burst from the dirt, giving the general an idea. He smirked and concentrated his magic on the beast, searching deep into its mind. The Unicorn found one mental link that was full of brainwave traffic and severed it, attaching it to his own brainwave frequency. It was an advanced form of Unicorn magic, only very few ponies knew of its existence, and even less could use it. Stone Kiss was one of the lucky few. The general then flipped himself up onto its back, the process taking less than three seconds. He placed his hind hooves in the crevices between the creatures shell and sickle appendages, successfully mounting the beast. He smirked and pressed his hooves down, causing the creature to spray acid all over its former comrades.

The acid soaked creatures squealed in agony, melting into the ground. In Stone Kiss’s triumphant cry, he forgot an important aspect of his mount. It couldn’t turn very well. A volley of spikes impacted on the beasts side, followed by another to its face, downing it.  Stone Kiss lost grip and fell to the ground, his magic aura failing. He coughed twice, looking up to see a carapaced biped.

It was wearing what looked like a pair of heels, but they were attached to its green and purple skin. Its body curved perfectly, hips meeting with her thin waist and melding together. Trailing up, he noticed two bulbous objects protruding from its chest. They fused with its body, albeit being strange, Stone Kiss thought they were highly attractive. Two massive boned wings came from its back, both stained with blood and instilling an emotion that the general had not felt in years. Fear. The only purpose they could serve would be two deadly weapons. His eyes then found its face. It was without a doubt beautiful to any species that would gaze upon it. But Stone Kiss soon feared that every species might get to experience said beauty. Its features were soft and young, but its eyes shone back at him the death of trillions, chilling his very core. Its mane was long and bone-like, stretching down half of its back in a wild manner. It was a bi-pedal form of the games antagonist.

“Why must you all be so difficult?” The rhetorical voice from his head obviously belonged to this… Mare. Whatever she was. “No matter. One last chance, Stone Kiss,” She held out her five-diggetted claw, “Join us in the Swarm, or we will assimilate you.”

"Go to Tartarus." He spat.

Kerrigan smiled a cruel smile.
> Princesses, Explanations, and Infections
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the blue orb sped towards me, I assumed it to be a majeek attack. So, I did the only reasonable thing I could think of and dodged it, just in time to duck under a yellow bolt from the alabaster Alicorn.

“You take Sunbutt, I got Lunarass!” I yelled to Ty. I received a cry of rage from both of the winged Unicorns as they fired again, trying, and miserably failing, to hit us. Finally, I reached the one I was suppose to attack, who was on her hindhooves. Smart girl, matching your opponents advantages like that.

How does she balance without toes, though? Eh, fuck it. I'm gonna go with majeek.

She shot out her left armored hoof to intercept my face. I sidestepped inside her guard and tried to sweep under her legs, but was countered when she slammed her hoof down in front of my foot, stopping it dead. She smirked and threw her right hoof into my jaw with a rather painful uppercut. It wasn’t meant for anything besides showing off.

Cocky cobalt cunt.

I put my own guard up, willing the skilled Alicorn to come at me. She lurched forward, charging me with her horn. I did a quick, twisting sidestep and tried to bring my elbow down on the back of her neck, but she teleported out of the way, causing me to stumble. I felt an armored hoof strike my ass, throwing my already stumbling body on the ground. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment at her chuckle and growled as I hopped back to my feet. I turned a 180 on my heel to see her charging me.

“Fool me once, shame on you…” I muttered, attempting to roundhouse her. She teleported out of the way and right into my trap. “Fool me twice…” I followed through,  planting my foot to the ground as she appeared in front of me. When she opened her eyes, I shut them right back with a hard kick to the jaw. She cried out in pain and stumbled back, glaring up at me with a smirk.

“You’re skilled. I like that.” She spoke, wiping a drop of blood from her muzzle. “We’ll have to do this again some time.” She added before charging me again.

She must be crazy!

I judged the time for when I’d need to roundhouse, but was caught off guard when she boosted forward with her wings. I barely had time to dodge the impaling horn, but it still managed to rip my clothing. I thought I heard an overdramatic gasp in the background, but I was too intuned into the fight to care too much. Still, I silently cursed at the loss of my nice tux, though I carried on regardlessly with a hard kick to her underside. She grunted in pain and surprise. Probably due to the fact that I got another hit on her. Then I planted my heel into the ground and threw my weight behind my fist for a massive sucker-punch to the jaw. It was meant to shatter the thing, but only caused her to fly back in surprise. She wiped some more of the blood from her lips with her hoof, then let out a small chuckle.

“Oh, you are a fun one.” She was about to strike again, but a wave of purple spread through the room, followed by Twilight’s voice yelling,

“STOP!” My opponent stopped and looked over my shoulder, raising her eyebrow. I did not take my eyes off of the blue Alicorn.

“Can we please be reasonable and go five minutes without trying to kill somepony?!” She asked in exasperation. I sighed, lowering my guard and extended my hand to my previous opponent. She redirected her raised eyebrow to me, increasing the look of confusion upon her features.

“I’d like to get at least a half assed explanation on my new home before I go around kicking everyone’s asses.” I urged. She frowned slightly, then smirked. She extended her hoof and allowed me to grasp it, but I was put off by a similar application of grip for the appendage. I shook off the disturbance, narrowing it down to just some more damn majeek. I heard Twilight sigh in relief, and plop down on her couch.

“Tom.” I said, pumping the blue Alicorns hoof.

“Luna.” She responded with a similar pump.

I can really get use to this one. Once you get past the battle-craziness, of course.

I looked over to Ty and saw he was shaking the hoof of his opponent as well, though she looked a little more worse for wear than her counterpart.

“Ty.” He said, sporting half of a smirk.

“Celestia.” The white Alicorn scowled. "Twilight, I know you said these aliens were volitile, but all of you seem alright."

"Yes," Luna broke in, "The only danger they seem to pose is when threatened. If it wasn't an emergency, please tone down the urgency in your letters. I'd like to avoid instances like these." She passively scolded. Twilight had the decency to look ashamed, at least.

"Sorry, Princesses, and sorry Tom, Ty." She bowed her head towards each of us respectively.

“Now, let’s get this going as a diplomatic negotiation.” Luna said, going to what I can only describe as a royal composure.

“I don’t think ‘diplomat’ would be a good title for us.” Ty said with a mirthless laugh. Celestia frowned.

“And why is that?” She asked. Well, more of demanded.

“Princess, you may want to look at this.” Twilight said timely, levitating the same scroll she had been writing on when we had explained ourselves. Celestia took the scroll, unraveling it and walking closer to Luna so she could read it too. Or to get away from Ty. Probably both. As they read, their frowns slowly deepened. As I was wondering what exactly Twilight had written about us, a single thought crossed through my mind.

Ty just kicked a princesses ass. And I just sucker-punched one. Well shit. This isn’t going to end well. When the two finished reading, they looked up at us.

“This explains a lot, but it still doesn’t explain one thing.” Celestia said.

“Indeed, how’re you two immune to magic?” Luna asked.

“We’re immune?” I asked, getting a nod from them in response.

“That’s kickass!” Ty exclaimed.

“You mean you don’t recall using a spell to make yourselves invulnerable to our magic?” Twilight asked.

“We didn’t have magic on our planet. Well, not magic like yours, anyway.” I explained.

“It could’ve been that weird orange flash.” Ty offered.

“Orange flash?” Luna asked.

“Yeah, it’s what got us here.” I explained farther.

“Sister, could it have been Unicorn magic?” Luna asked Celestia.

“Not likely. I do not sense any on them." She responded. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all three stepped forward.

"Princess Luna..." Twilight began, but was immediately overtaken by Rainbow.

"What's the deal with the Protoss and the Zerg?" She demanded. Twilight flashed her a look of urgency, but Dash ignored it. Luna, for her part, looked shocked for all of two seconds, before adopting a scolding look.

"Now is hardly the time for video game gossip, Rainbow Dash." 

"It's not a game anymore." I commented, "The Protoss were the ones that wasted our planet before they sent us here." Both Alicorns froze at that, while Rainbow looked half proud that she'd been justified, and the other half still worried about what was to come.

"Luna..." Celestia casted a sidelong look at her sister, whos' head sunk. 

"This... Can't be right. Tell me, humans, everything you know of the Protoss and Zerg." Luna demanded. I really wasn't keen on being an ass this time, I could understand where she was coming from. I mean, you make a game, then suddenly find out it's reality? That's shocking enough to make me hold back my smart ass mouth.

"I dunno, Tom, she doesn't seem to know what the magic word is." But not enough for Ty, apparently My palm reached my face almost as fast as Charlie's hoof reached the back of Ty's head. Almost.

"Princess Luna," My newly bodied friend coughed, "I may be your best lead on this. But first," She turned to face four confused, multicolored mares, one dopey pink pony, and one softly smiling yellow one. "I must apologize to my friends. I'm sure you've all been wondering how I know Tom and Ty. They are my best friends." Dead silence. Fluttershy politely coughed, snapping the other girls from their shock. 

"But dear," Rarity finally said something, "You only just met them. Not to sound rude, but haven't we been your friends longer? Even if by only a few days." 

"I've known them since we were all kids. My real name is Charlie, and I am a United Earth Directorate Wraith Pilot. I'm sorry I lied to everyone. I know being scared of the nut house is no excuse-" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pinkie shudder, then heard her mutter something along the lines of 'It sounds like a pretty good excuse to me.' "So, I won't offer anything except an apology." The group was silent for a moment, but Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie both walked over to hug her warmly.

"Well, sugarcube, Ah'm not a big fan ah bein lied ta." Applejack started sternly, but then her voice softened, "But Ah can understand where yer comin' from. You were in a bad situation, and ya made do with what ya had." 

"Yeah," Twilight smiled, "One day we can warm up some cocoa and you can tell us all about what happened." The rest of the girls flocked over to join the group hug. Well awe, that's adorable as fuck.

"This is very touching, and I hate to be the one to break it up, but this is very urgent." Luna softly urged. Our chocolaty friend turned back to face the Alicorns, breaking away from her new friends. 

"Yes, you're right." Charlie sniffed, wiping a tear that had surfaced. "I, unlike those two," She very disrespectfully nodded back at us, "have actually read the field reports from the Brood War campaign." Luna only got paler, while
holding up a hoof to quiet Charlie.

"The fact that you know that term alone means the worst." The lunar princess sighed mournfully. "You took control of the Overmind, but it could not last. Just as us ponies did in my virtual reality." 

Jeez, I thought it was dead silent before.

"It means we need to shore up our defenses and keep vigilant until the beasts rear their ugly heads.” Celestia commented, “In the meantime, we’d like to know more about you.” She directed her gaze to us.

“What would you like to know?” I asked, leaning back into the cushion and putting my hands behind my head.

“What are your intentions in Equestria?” Celestia asked warily.

“Hopefully, to make a life here, and help with the oncoming war.” I answered.

“Even though you are…” Luna searched for the right word.

“Different?” I offered, getting a nod in response.

“Hey now, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Ty chuckled, bringing his fingers to bare, “I’d hate to lose these babies.” I caught a sideways glance from Charlie directed at him.

“Another thing about us humans, if we absolutely have to, we adapt and evolve to our new habitats.” I said.

“I can’t help but feel there's more to this story. Why are you meeting here with one of the dangerous aliens who destroyed your planet?” Luna pondered.

I sighed, “You are correct. I didn’t want to cause pandemonium, but-”

“Pondemonium.” Ty joked.

“I can no-” I stopped, finally registering what Ty had said, and deadpanned to his laughing form. “No… Just… Just no.” I looked back over to Luna. “I can no longer hide anything. Apparently, Charlie, Ty, and I here are suppose to save your planet, as cliche as it sounds. A dark prelate named Zeratul came to me in a dream with a prophecy, as... uh, cliche as it sounds. He also saved Ty, Charlie, and I from some pretty gruesome fates, so I'm pretty chill with him." Luna was shocked once more, but soon adopted a look of giddiness, of all things. I glanced to Celestia to catch the hint of a smile on her face, only adding to my mounting confusion.

“That, dear sister, is one character I'm glad you created.” Celestia giggled.

"I don't deny that it will be... nice to meet him. Though, this Zeratul will not be one of my creation. That, I think, adds to the wonder of this." Luna finished. Celestia opened her mouth to speak again, but cut herself off when the two Alicorn’s horns’ glowed white, causing them to get panicked looks.

“Luna, we must return to Canterlot at once.” She said. Luna hesitated slightly, glancing back to us with concern before nodding.

“Yes, we must.” She said before they both ‘ported out.

“Well, that was strange.” Ty commented.

“Indeed. So, what now?” I asked everyone there. Pinkie answered immediately.

“We throw you a super-duper-luper-kuper-juber magical ‘Welcome To Ponyville/Equestria Make Yourselves At Home While You Wait For Some Alien To Tell You How To Save Our Apparently Doomed Planet’ party! :D” She exclaimed in one breath.

How in Sam hell…

“Don’t worry about it, sugar-cube. Down that path lies madness.” Applejack warned upon seeing my face. I shook my head and locked that memory in the dungeon.

“Pinkie, you might want to leave most of that out of the banner.” Twilight cautiously suggested.

“Okie-Dokie-Lokie! What should I leave?”

“How about just ‘Welcome To Ponyville’, darling? It shouldn’t cause TOO much panic.” Rarity threw in.

“How much panic are we going to cause?” Ty asked.

“It shouldn’t be that much, considering how use to strange things these ponies have gotten.” Charlie said, finally breaking her silence. "Well, at least in Ponyville, anyways." She added.

“Cool.” I said, causing more silence.

“So… What now?” Ty wondered.

“Well, you’ll need a place to stay…” Twilight trailed off.

“Where did Charlie live when she got here?” I asked, much too quickly for my own liking. Ty must’ve noticed because he smirked.

“Uh, at mah house, sugar-cube.” Awkwardness leaked from AJ’s voice. She must’ve caught my slip too. I blushed and decided not to mention it again. Ever.

“Do you mind if we crash there?” And Ty saves my ass yet again.

“Yer lucky we’ve got so many spare rooms in tha farmhouse.” Applejack said, “Though, harvest is coming up tha day after tomorrow, and Ah would might appreciate some help.”

“I’ve got some farming experience from back home, and I know Ty does.” I gestured to the smiling man beside me. “Besides, we couldn’t just freeload like that.” That cause all of them but Twilight to smile.

“At least we know you aren’t evil…” Fluttershy said.

“Or if you are, you can definitely hide it.” Rainbow said, crossing her hooves.
“Ohtheycouldn’tbeevilcauseiftheywereeviltheywouldhavealreadyattackedandwe’dbedeadand-!” Pinkie’s grammar defying stunt was ground to a halt by Twilight unceremoniously shoving a hoof in her mouth

That should have broken teeth... NO... No. Madness.

“On a different subject, darling, now that I see these creatures are sapient, their fashion sense is so… Extraordinary! Quite magnificent, if I do say so myself.” Rarity said.

“Cool, you can slobber over Ty later, but for now we should probably go get settled in at AJ’s.” I said, getting a hearty laugh from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, a look from Ty, and a incredulous huff from Rarity that followed a blush.

“A lady does not drool over stallions.” She said, her nose held high.

“Whatever you say, diamondbutt.” I idly commented.

"What is with you and these 'butts'? What even is a butt?" She demanded, getting a nicker/cough from Charlie. 

"Its, uh, one of our words for flank." She half smirked at Rarity's now flushed face. I started walking to the door and purposefully ignored her indignant harrumphs.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted. Oh god, here we go. “One of you can stay here.” I looked back at her sheepish grin, then deadpanned over to Ty, who was currently giving me ‘the look’, then my gaze went to a smirking Charlie. I looked back to Twilight and jerked my head at Ty, who paled.

“Sorry, Twilight. We just got to a new planet. We gotta stick together.” I said. As much as I would have loved to throw Ty under the bus, what I said was true. He breathed a sigh of relief as Twilight’s face fell.

“Well Ah hope you two don’t mind being close. Ah only have one room left.” Applejack said, causing both me and Ty to grimace.

“Is it at least a bunk-bed?” I asked.

“A wut?” I sighed, then shrugged.

“We had to share beds before when we were younger. We’re not strangers to it, so we’ll be fine.”

“No homo, though.” Ty quickly added.

“Well yeah. You may have the ladies all hanging off your arm, but you just ugly.” I laughed, inciting more laughter from my new companions.

“But I bet I get more-”

“Ty!” Charlie cut him off, “There’s a time and a place for everything, dude.” She deadpanned. He just shrugged.

“Y’all two seem pretty keen on that shruggin’.” Applejack said. To that, we both grinned and shrugged again, getting a facehoof in response.

“So,” I clapped my hands together, “New place, huh? How about we go get settled?” I said with a warm smile, getting one from Applejack herself. "At least til the aliens get here." And it falls right back down. God, I'm an ass.

“Ah reckon so.” She said and turned tail towards the door. We both followed her out into the town, getting more stares. I was tempted to snap and slap a bitch, but I quickly realized that the lack of nicotine was kicking in and that would have been a very bad idea. So I pulled out my trusty dip can and began to pack it. Loudly. And to the Skyrim theme. Gotta have a little class, after all. Ty took the incentive and did the same. Mid-pack, I stopped.

“Oh my god if they don’t have tobacco here I’m going to be so pissed.” I said, getting Ty to freeze as well.

“I might have to lock myself up for a few days to make sure I don’t accidentally kill anyone.” He said, then continued to pack, “But I figure with our rather country host, we’ll have no problem finding some.” We both pinched our respective dips, me wintergreen and him straight, for anyone who happens to care, and popped them in our lips, sighing in relief.

“What’s that fancy stuff y’all got there?” Applejack asked, falling back beside us. Of course, we both groaned.

“Fuuuuck, you guys don’t have tobacco here, do you?” I asked.

“To-what-now?” She asked in response, getting Ty and I both to hang our heads.

“It’s a plant that you can turn into a multitude of things. Dip, Cigarettes, or Chew, are the three mostly used by industry for money. All three are highly addictive, but they have a calming effect. If you go too long without it, you began to get angered easily. Fortunately, I just get snappy and a little shaky. Unfortunately, Ty here gets psychopathic.” I said, rather melancholic.

“That’s not good.” Applejack stated obviously.

“No, it’s not.” I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Well, we need to break our bad habits at some point. Might as well be on our new cleanly slated planet.”

“Relatively clean, anyway. Y’all did just knock Dashie and me around. Not ta mention tha Princesses too.” Buzz Killington pointed out.

“Speaking of which, how did you handle your princess?” I asked Ty, to which he simply chuckled.

“She was really strong, but she didn’t know how to fight. I got hit once or twice, but they were just glancing blows. In other words, I kicked her ass. You?” He asked.

“Mine was more difficult. She shared her sisters strength, for the most part. But she enjoyed the fight, wanting to make it last. She never really used many killing blows, but she managed to knock me on my ass a few times. Embarrassing, but if I had a little more time I could’ve taken her.” I shrugged, getting Applejack to pass us a sly grin.

“Iffin' y'all weren't immune ta magic, ya wouldn't be here right now." Knowing it would irk her, Ty and I shrugged again. She shook her head and said, "Jus' bein' honest, is all."

"Yeah, you're probably right." I nodded sagely, expelling the accumulated dip spit onto the ground. Applejack recoiled at that, the look of horror etched into her features.

“The chemicals in the dip don’t agree with us,” I said, Ty punctuating my statement with a spit, “We’ll puke if we swallow it.”

“Uh-huh…” AJ slowly answered, unsure of our lip cookies.

“Be glad we don’t smoke. Ty use to. It leaves you with an ungodly stench and devastates your lungs.” I said, jerking my thumb to the fellow in question.

“Yeah, I had to quit so the high altitude combined with my asthma would actually let me breathe.” He said.

“Yer asthma ain’t gonna be a problem, is it?” Applejack asked hesitantly.

“Nah,” Ty shook his head, “It’s not bad enough for me to need an inhaler.” 

“I think she meant if it was contagious.” I said at her frown.

“Well no. You mean ponies don’t have asthma?” He asked, clearly shocked.

“Nope.” Applejack stated.

“Well shit.” He kicked some dust up and spat again. "Don't worry, it's genetic." We fell back into silence as we continued our trek down the old dirt road, breaking it with the occasional spit. The scenery was truly outstanding. There were grey trees lining our path, all lightly rustling their naked branches at the small, bone chilling breeze that caressed my skin. The birds were small and colorful, chirping their pretty little tones in the late Autumn air as a nearby brook babbled its own tune. Peace seemed to reign in this new world. For now, at least. Finally, we came up a hill and peered over it. Beyond was the biggest apple orchard in existence.

Holy mother of Johnny Appleseed.

“Bro…” Ty paused, his jaw slack in awe, “Apples.” He stated in simple wonder, gazing down upon the divine, red orbs. Applejack laughed and slapped me on the back, causing me to do the worst possible thing in existence.

I swallowed my entire dip.


~~~


Luna and Celestia reappeared in the castle, walking briskly towards the hall that split in two and led to their respective guards’ barracks.

“Luna, meet me with your highest ranking general in the war room.” Celestia said, not even breaking stride as she made the trip to her guards.

“Stone Kiss… I pray we make it in time.” Luna muttered grimly before disappearing and reappearing in her guards barracks, causing a respectful silence to settle.

“Night Stride, step forth.” She ordered. A small Thestral sporting a smirk confidently strode to her princess.

“Yes, mi’lady?” She bowed.

“Something has happened to the general of the Crystal Empire. Celestia and Solar Flare are going to discuss what will happen next with us.” Luna informed, causing her guardians to adopt serious looks. Most of them knew Stone Kiss as a kindly, yet stern, Day Guard whom had helped them get through the changes of coming back out of hiding when the Night Guard’s princess had come back. They were highly grateful to him and would do nearly anything to help the grisly stallion if they could.

“Is there anything we can do, mi’lady?” One of the other guards, Dark Sage, rumbled.

"Not yet, Sage. But fear not, after I meet with my sister, we should be off to assist him.” Luna responded, causing the Thestral to grunt in frustration.

“I am sorry, mi’lady. I speak for us all when I say he’s helped us many times, and we’d like to repay the favor.” He said.

“I understand.” She said and turned towards to the door, “Come, Night Stride. Everypony else, prepare for the worst, because it is coming. I suggest you all go and get a copy of Ponycraft for your personal computers.”  With that, Luna teleported Night Stride and herself to the throne room. She walked over to her throne and lightly pressed her hoof to the center of the moon. The moon pressed in, turning clockwise with her hoof and grinding gears together. Soon, a large slab was pulled back from the center of the throne room to reveal a spiral staircase leading downward.

"What did you mean by that last comment, Princess?" Night Stride asked, following her princess. Curiosity was masked by her sense of duty as they descended down the torchlit depths. 

"The game I know you love, is a reality." Luna paused to look back at her elite guard. "I met three aliens in Ponyville, their planet was destroyed by the Protoss. I assume a renegade faction. I'll tell you more at the debriefing in the Crystal Empire, for now, let's get to Celestia." Eventually, they made it to a large, oaken door. Luna lit her horn up, illuminating a small hole on the side of the entrance. She gently slid the appendage in and shot off a magic bolt into the slot. The door slowly creaked open, allowing the Princess and her general to enter the large room. Solar Flare and Celestia were already there, saving them from waiting longer than need be.

“Sister, are you aware of the situation?” Luna asked as they stepped up to the dusty map table.

"I know as much as you do, Luna, likely less.” Celestia answered, clearing the thick layer of dust from the old table. “We know Stone Kiss is in trouble. We also know him and his guard were stationed outside of the Crystal Empire.” Celestia said, informing the two previously ignorant ponies of the situation. Luna's blood froze at the returning memory of the generals letter.

“Celestia, I’m afraid the Zerg may already be on the surface of Equis." Her voice trembled lightly.

“How do you know?” Celestia’s voice was determined not to believe the statement, and her guards looked one part horrified, and the other confused. Luna opened her personal hammerspace and withdrew a scroll from the aether.

“Stone Kiss sent me a letter this morning. I did not think of it as relevant until now.” Luna said, floating the thing to Celestia. The alabaster Alicorn took the scroll and read through it, a frown slowly spreading across her features. "I only recently put two and two together."

“You should have told me of this as soon as you received it.” Celestia said, her voice only slightly changing, but Luna could tell it was a scold.

“You’re correct, sister. I am sorry.”

“I'm glad we understand each other. Now, I believe immediate assistance must be sent to the Crystal Empire. Solar Flare, rally the Solar Royal Guard and get them ready for a long trip. We shall meet you there.” Celestia ordered.

“Night Stride, you do the same with my Lunar Guardians.” Luna said with a soft smile.

“Yes, mi’lady.” They both respectively said and bowed before making their way back to their own barracks. They were likely full of questions, however they were trained to wrangle their curiosity. Celestia let out a sigh and sagged her body.

“Luna… I don’t understand..? What could the Great Ones possibly achieve in coming back?” She said, her voice hollow. Luna draped a wing over Celestia’s back in an attempt to comfort her.

“I don’t know, sister, I don’t know…”


~~~


“Where are you?”

“Who are you?”

“What are you?”

“What are you becoming?”

“What have you become?”

“What have you lost?”

“What will you lose?”

“Who will you lose?”

Questions. Incessant, nagging questions. Never halting. Never stopping. Just the same maddening whispers constantly repeating themselves over and over and over.

“Who are you?”

“What are you?”

“Where are you?”

Inside Stone Kiss, he was screaming, but nopony could hear him. If he could use his horn, he could kill himself. If he could use his hooves, he could run away. If he could use his voice, he could talk and be some sort of company for himself. He could yell for help, but nopony would help him. He just couldn’t see how he could go on like this. But as it was, the former general of the Crystal Empire could only suffer the onslaught of question after question.

“What are you?”

“Who are you?”

He could answer none. The stifling hate that permeated his cage made the creep around the chrysalis thrive. The Sunken Colonies and Spore Crawlers on said creep had their spines and fungus glands enlarged for more power. Stone Kiss was thinking, the only thing he could do in the tartarus-hole that he now resided in.

“Where are you?”

Each thought fed his pit of rage.

“What will you lose?”

He thought of his family. His wife whom he would never hold again, his colt he would never see again, his filly he would never be able to tuck into bed again.

“What have you lost?”

A single tear slipped from his clenched eyes, then they snapped open, revealing a bright yellow glow with smokey tendrils escaping them. He let out a primal roar, the only sound to ever be emitted inside a chrysalis, and moved.

For my colt. He slammed his hoof against the side of the chrysalis.

“Who will you lose?”

For my filly. He repeated the process with his other hoof.

“Can you save them?”

For my… He reared his head back.

“Can you save yourself?”

Wife! He slammed his horn into the embryo, causing it to burst and spew him out onto the creep. The general struggled to his newly chitinous hindhooves in the regenerative goo, forming a bipedal standpoint, and released another roar, one that was interrupted by a spike plunging through his recently plated chest. He staggered for a moment, moving his spiked hoof to his chest and lightly poking the tentacle to test if it was real or not. When it made contact, his eyes narrowed.

I will not die here. Not like this. He closed his eyes and concentrated all of his ability into his horn. His will, his anger, his sorrow, his pain; all of it flowed into the jagged appendage. He slowly began to rise from the ground, but never noticed that even one hoof had left it. He snapped his eyes back open as they flooded with a sickly green power; tendrils of energy seeped out from his body.

Over every place the power snaked, creep withered and writhed as it was obliterated. The green cloud of death spread three meters in every direction, killing anything and everything it touched, then slammed back into Stone Kiss’s infected body. His floating form curled into a ball before throwing his limbs out into the shape of a star and letting the burning power explode forth, demolishing everything in sight. The smoking ground was left with the stench of burnt flesh and rotten death. Slowly, Stone Kiss was lowered back onto the glassy surface. As he looked out upon the death and destruction, his eyes widened and a single, final question came to his mind.

What have I become..?


~~~


"Interesting..." The lone form of Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, sat upon her throne of bones. She laughed menacingly to herself as she stroked a chittering Zergling. "I think you'll be a fun toy.


~~~


“Large burst of psionic power emanating from the planet Equis. Class Eleven. Immediate renavigation recommended.” The adjutant's robotic voice warned the entire ship. Jim Raynor’s head snapped up and he began a swift jog to the bridge, Matt following closely behind, as they had returned from the Armory some time ago.

“Jimmy, what are you doing?” Matt asked worriedly. Raynor ignored the smaller captain and began to question the adjutant.

“Is it Kerrigan?” He asked.

“Identity ‘Queen of Blade’s’, not relevant.” Jim scoffed, moving to the frontal console.

“Matt, is there any way we can get there faster?” Jim demanded.

“No sir. We’re moving at light speed’s terminal velocity.” Matt informed, inciting Jim to slam his fist on the metal, then grimace in pain.

“Can we get rid of some useless scraps?” Jim asked, making Matt chuckle.

“Unless you want to throw those useless Medivacs out, no.” The younger man smirked.

“Hey!” Swann’s voice came over a speaker, “Don’t you talk about our Medi-Bessies like that!” The small bit of comic relief allowed Jim to calm down. Chuckling and shaking his head, he turned back to the female robot.

“Adjutant. Keep course steady. Is there anything else you know about this psionic disturbance?” He asked.

“It appears to be… Invalid information banks.”

“Seriously? Give me something useful!”

“Negative.” The grisly veteran ground his teeth.

“Jim, calm down.” Matt said, getting Jimmy to take a deep breath before walking over towards the console and pressed a button. Swann’s large face appeared on the bridge.

“Yeah, Cowboy?”

“Swann, prepare our forces for the worst.” Jim said fiercely, causing his pudgy friend to smirk.

“You got it, Hotshot.”
> The Attack And Recuperation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Death ensued.

...

...

...

...

...

...

Not literally, of course, but metaphorically. My face paled in the horrid realization of what exactly just happened.

“Um, bro? You alri-?”

“I swallowed my dip.” I croaked. His response was to promptly fall on his ass and laugh it off proper. “You know, actually, I think I’m gonna be-” Then it hit me.

I am so fucked.

As bile was unceremoniously ejected from my gullet, Ty’s laughter escalated to the point of near inaudible wheezes. Until he gagged for a minute, then paled himself. I would have laughed, but the amount of swirling fluid currently being forcibly expelled from my stomach was rather restricting. He soon joined me in my projectile vomiting, coating the grass in acidic bile. Applejack was in stark horror at our upchucking, but I wasn’t really paying any attention as my vomit paused.

“Oh… God!” It started again, forcing me to my knees, then stopped for a second. “This… is… *hurl*... the… WORST THING EVERRRR!” My R’s rolled into the next vomit as I began a slow crawl to AJ.

“Please… *hurl* help me!” In her panicked state, the orange mare kicked my fucking lights out.


~ ~ ~


“Come on, Celly. Let’s go to where Stone had detonated his beacon.” Luna said softly. The older sister slowly nodded and walked with her kin up to the throne room. 

“Fly or Teleport?” Celestia asked upon the secret chambers closing.

“I fear we must go there immediately.” Luna said with a worried grimace

“I agree. Let’s depart.” Her sister said, undoubtedly sharing the Lunar Princesses thoughts. The two teleported to the glorious towers of the Crystal Empire, and with them, horror. Ponies screamed, galloped about, and bucked the occasional monster in the face before getting ripped to pieces. Amongst the bloodbath, was a Royal Guard company. Specifically, Princess Cadence’s. Captain Shining Armor was there, shouting orders, directing the evacuation, and setting up defenses against the unstable horde of evil. Celestia shot down to accompany the group, as Luna steeled her gaze and shot down with her sister. With a single flash, she produced a long, thin blade that shone silver like the moon, and carved three Zerglings in two with a single slash. The guard that she had saved stared in awe for a second but quickly saluted and went to fight more. Luna reverted back to the Royal Canterlot Voice for but a moment.

“Hear ye! Flee, my little ponies! Flee! Thou shant fight these creatures and come out alive!” At being told this, all of the remaining civilians began to follow Shining’s evacuation orders, while the soldiers began a retreat.

“Princess Luna!” Shining Armor called.

“Captain Shining Armor, retreat as quickly as thou can! The Crystal Empire is lost!” Luna said, then realized that the beasts were not attacking her nor her sister. She frowned for a minute, before cutting swathes through more Zerg units, who continued to ignore her efforts. Princess Luna, after splitting a Hyrdalisk down the middle, heard a familiar scream. 

“Whisper! Glass! Get out of he-AGH!” The voice of Velvet Rose came to her ears. With a look to the side, she darted off into the fray in search of the screaming mare and crying foals. She could clearly make out the voices she knew so well, and she hoped to Faust they were okay. She sliced through a Zergling and came upon a horrid sight. An Ultralisk, bleeding and seething with rage was already bringing down his large bladed tusk down onto a dark red mare.

“NO!” Luna cried, but it was too late and the mare she’d know for years was cut in half before her very eyes. Luna charged her horn in a fit of rage, and blew the Ultralisk apart in one blast. She ran to her friend, with her crying foals hovering over her. 

“Velvet…” Luna said, seeing the mare smile, then choke a little on blood.

“Don’t worry, Lulu… I’m half the mare I use to be… After all…” She chortled, a line of red running from her lips. Luna chuckled lightly.

“Not even a twenty meter alien can get you down, can it?” She asked with a fake smile.

“I’m afraid… This time it’s permanent…” She coughed more blood, "Lulu… Can I ask you a favor?” She asked.

“Anything.” Luna said passionately.

“With… With Stone Kiss dead… Our foals have nopony… Could you… Maybe look after them?” She struggled with every word, and Luna knew her time was soon. 

“Yes, old friend, I will.” She said, stroking Velvet’s mane as she passed to the next life. Finally, Luna stood, picking the foals up in her magic and putting them on her back, which she covered with her wings. After five more minutes of fighting (more slaughtering on Luna and Celestia’s parts), the ponies were evacuated and the Crystal Empire lost. At the camp, Luna and Celestia set up massive protection spells, so not even the foul beasts could get through. Then they sent letters to their respective generals detailing their situation and location. Luna then put the shocked foals in her tent, even though they had already passed out she set up a magic alarm clock that could only be activated by her magic. That done, Luna approached Celestia, but the latter spoke first.

"Luna, what are we to do?" She sought guidance. "Could we possibly retake the Empire?" Luna shook her head softly. 

"I’m more worried about their possible leader… Oh Faust, I hope I’m wrong…” After a moment of silence, Luna shook her head and continued. “Sister, I think it best I return to Ponyville to retrieve the two offworlders. They could be useful.” Celestia thought for a minute, then nodded.

“Do so and return soon, Lulu.” With that, Luna was gone.


~ ~ ~


I awoke to an absolutely splitting headache. Also, it was night out. Which I wouldn’t have minded so much, but we had shit to do. To top it off, Ty was spooning me. Fuck. My. Life. I groaned, trying to get out of bed, that is, until I felt something warm poke my back. Ohgodwhy!

“Mm, Courtney…” Ty moaned in his sleep.

NOPE! I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE!

I immediately let off a scream that my parents could probably hear in the afterlife. Ty snapped awake and used his feet to propel me out of the bed and onto the wooden floor.

“Fallen!” I shouted his old nickname as I was scrambling up. I turned back to find him in a combat stance, his kielbasa standing proud.

“What’d you scream for?!” He yelled, causing me to give him a flat look
and point down. He did so and trailed back up to me, giving an eye twitch. He blinked a few times before saying, “Why the fuck are we naked?!”

“Fuck if I know!” Suddenly, hoofsteps began to gallop at the door, which was then thrown open.

“Why are we naked?!” I instantly questioned.

“Cause…” She said, her eyes trailing down to our prime salami’s and a blush forming on her cheeks. “Why are y’alls… ahem… out?” She awkwardly asked.

“They’re always out. It’s a human thing.” Ty said heatedly.

“They weren’t out when Ah had ta knock y’all senseless.” She countered.

“Hey!” I defended, “It was cold outside.” Applejack opened her mouth to combat my words, but was cut off by my voice. “Another thing! Why the hell did you knock us out?!” I asked, my memory still befuddled.

“Ya mean y’all don’t remember? Ya swallowed yer dip thingy-ma-jiger.” She said, causing me to pale in remembrance.

“Never. Again.” My voice was small, getting an even tinnier nod from Ty.

“Applejack?” A small, tired voice asked “What’s goin’ on?”

“Applebloom! Avert yer eyes!” She rushed to one side of the hall.

“Why?” Charlie’s voice asked before barging in and stopping abruptly at our naked forms. Her eyes widened as she slowly backed out with a blush forming across her face. 

“Nope! Nope, nope, nope, nope…” She trailed down the hall, continuing her nopes. 

“Chocolate!” AJ called, moving to the other side of the door.

“HOLY SMOKES!” A small, yellow filly jumped on the tips of her hooves as her hair stood on end, then ran down the other hall.    

We just mentally scarred a small child for the rest of her life. Before I could retaliate, a large, red stallion looked inside to see what the commotion was all about. He had a similar reaction to Charlie, except he looked us up and down, then responded with a hearty, “Eeyup!” then turned and walked out, causing Ty and I to raise our eyebrows at the display. 

“Big Macintosh!” Applejack whined, moving back across the door and allowing an elderly green mare to look in. She gazed at us with level eyes and shrugged.

“Meh, Ah’ve had bigger.” And kept on walking. Ty and I both ground our teeth at that. Applejack rushed back into the room.

“PUT YER COCKS BACK INTO THEIR SHEATHS!” She roared.

“WE DON’T HAVE COCK SHEATHS!” Ty roared back.

“Well that can be amended.” Luna said from behind, a now pale, Applejack with a bemused smirk. Ty looked up and casually replied,

“I’m not into horses,” With a shrug.

If Applejack gets any paler, we’re gonna need a casket. Luna offered a shrug of her own and continued over Applejack.

“They have a habit of growing on you.” She said, shutting the door behind her. Her horn lit up again and coated the room in some teal light that slowly dissipated.

“Let’s get down to business.” She said.

“Whoa, whoa. Last time somebody told me that and I was naked, the cops had a freaking field day.” Ty said, “Let us get some clothes on and then we’ll talk about those plans.”

God knows we need to… Ty and I shifted around the room, thankfully finding our old clothes in a corner. When we were comfortable, we turned around and crossed our arms.

“What all do you know about the Protoss.” It was more of a demand, really. One that caused Luna to sigh deeply.

“Everything.” She paused, “Or so I think…” Ty and I each arched an eyebrow.

“I created them in a video game.” Luna said, dragging me back to the situation at hand.

“So Toy Story gone wrong?” I broke in.

“I do not understand that reference.” Was her reply that caused my arms to fall.

Fuckin’ ponies, man.

“Wait, you guys have the tech for video games but not weapons more advanced than a crossbow or sword?” I asked.

“After a thousand year reign of peace, my sister felt as if she did not need to focus on weapon development. Though we would be able to import steam powered weaponry from the Griffons, Goblins, and Minotaurs.” She said.

“Well, you should probably do that. Advanced weapons are very helpful.”

“I will look into that.” She said, then picked up where she left off. “Regardlessly, the Protoss are pure in the aspect of form. The Great Ones created the Protoss as such and the Zerg as the purity of essence-”

“Zerg? This really is Toy Story gone wrong.” I said, getting a chuckle from Ty. There was an annoyed pause from Luna, before I waved her to continue.

“The ponies are supposedly thousands of years in the future and caught between the two struggling races." She explained.

“That’s disturbing, it's exactly like what happened in the Koprulu.” Ty said, furrowing his brow in, probably, the same thought process as me.

“Not nearly as what I have witnessed today.” She said, a shadow falling over her face. “The Zerg are here. Now. If that means what I think it does, it is a blessing disguised as a curse.”

“What are the Zerg?” I asked.

“Pinnacles of evolution. Constantly growing, evolving, bettering themselves. Death and destruction follow easily in their wake. They only have three things residing within their minds: Kill anything not Zerg, obey their master, and conquer the universe. If anything is supremely powerful, they attempt to assimilate into their own forms.” Luna frowned.

“How is that a blessing?” I asked.

“Because it’s the offspring of the Great Ones, not them themselves. If the Great Ones had appeared, I doubt we would be having this conversation.” She said darkly.

“What I want to know is how your video game actually happened, and where we fit in now.” Ty said, drawing a pause from Luna.

“I… Do not know. All I do know is that you two were in the UED before your… Transition to this world, and I’d like your expertise on the matter.”

“Don’t you have more qualified peo-... ponies for that? Like, uh, generals?” I asked, crossing my arms again.

“We do, but I’d just like to access the combat styles of another species. Any help would benefit us against this foe.” An evil smile formed on my face.

“So you’d like to hear a story, eh? Let me tell you about the Death Star, Pandora…” And thus, I spewed as much random bullshit from my cake hole as I could from every sci-fi flick and video game I’ve ever watched/played. My tale drug on for almost an hour, Ty watching with amusement etched in his features and the Lunar Princess being ensnared by every detail. “... And after the One Ring was destroyed, Asgard fell to the Batman, causing worldwide panic and Installation 304’s, Earth’s, creation.” Silence fell for a few minutes, then Luna applauded, a twinkle in her eye.

“Oh yes! We’ll make use of this as the Locusts did the Necromongers! With any luck, it will have the same result as when Ka D’Argo led them against the Reavers!” She laughed with elation.

Holy fuck, she bought it.

“In the meantime, I must return to our Forward Operating Base. I suggest you accompany me-” Translation, come with me or I’ll drag you, “so you may tell my sister of your history. She would be most intrigued.” Her horn flared and the magic around the room lifted. “We will have to return by train, for long distance teleports are taxing by themselves, let alone with two others.” She said and opened the door, walking past a shock still Applejack. We followed. How long has she been out there? Eh, fuck it.

“We gotta get back before the day after tomorrow. We promised we’d help with the harvest. Besides, it’s the least we can do for traumatizing poor AJ here.” I said, patting her stetson as I walked past. Since it was night outside, it was also colder than a witches tit in a brass bra. I crossed my arms over my chest to ensure my nipples wouldn’t kill a deer, (fucking things probably talked here too) and proceeded with Luna and Ty to the train station. Oddly enough, trains run at fuck it’s early in the morning, so we were spared being stuck in the nipply weather for too long. On the Friendship fucking Express, Luna was constantly discussing and relating battle strategies to our ‘heritage’. It was quite amusing, and kept our improv on its toes. Finally, we got a little reprise from her, because she kinda zoned out.

“So,” Ty whispered next to me, “The Sontarans peace loving nation was obliterated by the fearsome Teletubies?” I responded with laughter. When I didn’t stop, he added, “What are we going to tell Sunbutt?” When I eventually recuperated, I said,

“The actual truth.” A pause.

“Are you sure fucking with our new rulers is a good idea?”

“... No?” Ty shrugged at my response.

“I’m down.”

We're going to get beheaded. The rest of the ride was dark and quiet, Luna’s glowing horn being the only source of light in the train car. Creepily, her eyes were glazed. Then again, I was in a world of creepy right now, so I wasn’t too focused on her. When we pulled into the Canterlot train station, I got an idea. A glorious idea.

We exited the train, Luna forgoing her freaky vegetative state, and proceeded down the nearly empty city streets. When we rounded a corner, I looked over at Luna.

“Hey, wouldn’t we get there faster if we flew?” I asked, getting a strange look from Ty and her both.

“Do you not require wings for that?” Luna asked.

“We have wings.” I replied.

“We do?” Ty questioned, prompting me to simply point at Luna’s, who simply blushed. Though, without missing a beat, she covered her tracks with a small smirk.

“So you are the one into ponies.” She said, shifting her previous blush to me. 

“W-What?! No, no! I was suggesting we ride you into the night and-” My newfound friend and Ty both increased their smirks. “I’m going to shut up now.” Ty chuckled.

“To answer your question, yes. But I have a better idea. Also, it would be a good idea to refrain from asking to ride on the backs of our subjects. That has become a rather… Lewd activity among them.” I nodded, then suddenly my stomach lurched forward and my world closed around me. When it reopened, I was in a tent with some Unicorn stallion and Sunbutt.

“Fuuuuck.” I heard the groan sound beside me.

“Yes, teleportation has those… disorienting effects the first time. It should be more smooth the next time.” Luna’s voice found my spinning head.

No fucking kidding. Brain, you in check?

*Vomits*

Jimmies?

…

Heart?

OH DEAR GOD WHY THE HELL IS THIS HAPPENING HOLY SHIT WHERE ARE WE WHAT’S GOING ON-

Everything seems to be in order. With all things checked, I groaned and stood, as the endeavor had somehow forced me to my knees without me realizing.

“I thought you said long distance teleports were taxing?” I looked to Luna, who’s bedraggled mane was now actual hair. It was a light, relaxing blue that was sported by a small, tired looking, lighter blue Alicorn. "And that we were immune to magic?"

“Yes…” She breathed, “It is. I shall recover with a hot meal, sleep, and some time. As for the magic, I farther examined the charges within your bodies and found that only harmful magic is negated. Harmful magic consists of psions, while positive magic uses mana. Though, with both of your permissions, I'd like to study your immunity further."

“Alright. That’s fine and dandy, but how are we suppose to help AJ with her harvest?” I asked.

“I am sorry,” Sunbutt stepped in. “But you will not be able to.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she added, “A few ponies will be sent in your places. We understand you have military background, and we could use another pair of heads.” Luna’s tired form adopted a look of excitement from practically nowhere.

“Yes! Tell her about the exploits of your ancestors!” She exclaimed, clopping her hooves together. I raised an eyebrow and turned to the Solar Princess.

“Our major wars have been going on for just about forever, but let me just tell you the story of the UED..." And so I gave her every accurate detail I could remember about the foundation. All the while, Celestia listened intensely, as her sister looked on incredulously.

“B-But… H-How?” Luna sputtered, when I had finished, making a small smirk break my stony face.

“Luna? You alright? Dalek got your tongue?”

“And Naboo!” She exclaimed.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked, cocking my eyebrow and wiping the shit eating grin from my face.

“But… But what about Queen Elsa’s two thousand year winter used to freeze out the hundred-century reign of the Hippies brutal dictatorship?!” I increased the look of mock confusion on my face.

“I think you should take that meal and sleep right about now.” I said with concern, getting her to flash a pleading look at Celestia, who simply nodded with a motherly smile. Luna hung her head and exited the tent, allowing Ty and I a much deserved snicker. Our years and years of ancient American studies in the arts had paid off.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Celestia mock scolded with a chuckle. I shrugged with a smirk.

“I’m not always a nice person.” Finished it off with another snicker. I just now noticed the interior of the tent we were in. Including Sunbutt and Luna, there was seven of us. One of the others was ultimately the awesomest pony I’ve ever seen, with nearly black fur and mane, slate blue eyes with slitted pupils, fangs, and actual bat wings. The other two were both Unicorns: a white one with Twilight’s ass tattoo on his armor and a multi-hued blue mane, and another white one with golden armor and a fiery looking mane.

“Alright, enough with the pleasantries,” The white stallion with Twilight Sparkle’s ass tattoo on his armor said, “From what you say, you two were in the military back on your world. Do you have any experience with… Taking lives?” He asked, trying to size us up.

“Yes.” I nodded grimly.

“Before and after enlistment.” Ty added with a haunted look in his eyes. I put my hand on his shoulder.

“The past is the past, man. We got a new world, who could ask for a cleaner slate.” I said. Ty was deeply disturbed by his own actions before his enlistment into the military, of course it was an accident… But he’s never forgiven himself for it.

“Yeah…” He wanted to combat it, but at the same time, he wouldn’t talk about it in front of others. Or maybe he just didn’t see a point to have the same conversation with me for the hundredth time. Probably both.

“Sounds like a story.” Celestia’s little smile never faltered, but her voice changed to one of empathy. 

“For another time,” I calmly said, turning my attention back to them, “But now, there are more pressing matters.”

“Indeed. Shining Armor, present the map.” Celestia said, getting the blue maned stallion to levitate a large scroll to the larger table seated in the center of the tent. He spread it out, placing a paperweight on each corner, and lit up his horn. The action caused the map to rise and form a 3-D image of the terrain. He pointed just north of a rather green country, which was subsequently just south of a white one. White means ice. Or snow.

“We are currently here, just below the Crystal Empire, but just above Equestria. The… Enemy, has three forward operating bases, with one massive stronghold, according to our scouts.” He marked off the places on the map, “Unfortunately, any scouts we send out come back wounded, if at all, so we can no longer scout out anything.”

“Whoa, hold up.” I interrupted, getting an indignant silence for my troubles, “If you don’t have scouts, we’ll be in the dark.” The white stallion opened his mouth to combat me, but I guessed what he was going to say and beat him to the punch. “I’m not saying send them to their deaths, I’m saying scout better.”

“Then how do you propose we... scout better?” The Unicorn asked, not without venom.

“I’ll be making sure they stay alive.” Nailed it. “Show me your scouting routes.” He mumbled some unpleasantries, but complied, pointing to the bases.

“We get our pegasi as close to the enemy base as possible-”

“How?” I asked, getting a glare in response.

“... We fly them in until they come under fire.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Is this guy fucking serious?!

“Are you fucking serious?!” Ty, forever the bro. “That's the definition of sending people to their deaths!” I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to soothe the savage beast.

“What he means is, you need to rethink your methods.” Of course, I was raging inside, but I couldn’t afford to lose my head right now.

“You have my attention, human, how do we scout?” I grinned, back in my good ole’ RTS frame of mind. They drilled this into us at the UED Academy, and for good reason. I circled the scouts with my finger and slowly examined the battlefield.

Those trees could work... Hm, no, there's no cover between the hill and them. They'd be torn to shreds. How about... There! My all seeing eyes dominated the 3-D map, scanning, searching, looking for a place where scouts could quietly observe the enemy’s movements without chance of detection. Finally, they came to rest on a small outcropping just outside of the enemies range, letting a smile creep onto my face.

“There.” I pointed, “Fly your whitest, due to the snow, scouts in under the cover of the blizzards to this outcropping. Keep a steady flow of information this way.” I drew a line back to the base. The stallion looked over my methods with a furrowed brow, then slowly smiled.

“Now I see what you meant, Princess.” He said, then extended his hoof to us. “Captain Shining Armor, Knight and Husband of the Crystal Empire’s very own Princess Cadence.”

Well, good sir, I do believe we’ve been had. I slowly moved to shake it, feeling the ponies in the room silently looking at me with a newfound respect.

“Thomas Mustaine.” I felt Ty’s stifled laugh. Luckily, no one else caught it. “Sergeant in the United Earth Directorate Space Force.” With a solid pump, it was Ty’s turn for introductions.

“Ty Hetfield, Sergeant in the same boat, ship rather, as Tom here.” He said

"Aren't a boat and a ship the same thing?” Shining asked. 

“Right.” Ty groaned, “Charlie mentioned a ‘lack of technology’.”

“Do you know what an airship is?” I asked, thankfully getting a nod from him.

“Okay, think of a flatter, sleeker, more compact one of those that goes about a hundred times faster than your fastest airship.” I could tell that just the thought astounds the poor guy, the wide eyed step back made it all too obvious. "It can also transform into a walking machine of bullets and death in just under one second"

“You’re bluffing.” The mare with the bat wings stepped in.

“Oh really?” Ty laughed, “Why would we?” 

“To seem more powerful than you really are.” She didn’t miss a beat. Remembering my physical proof, I started to pat myself down for my wallet, which contained a photo of my very first flight. I found it where it always is, my back pocket. Before I could retrieve it, however, there was a razor sharp hook at my throat. Firmly attached to the bat chicks wing. I met her steely gaze and held it with as much defiance as possible, just to spite her.

Okay, not the awesomest pony I'd ever seen.

“Dark Stride!” Celestia barked, softly but with enough authority to carry. Effective. I met her gaze once more, a hint of amusement in my eyes and hesitation in hers. It took her a moment, but she complied, her wary gaze still on me.

“I apologize, Princess.”

“It’s quite alright. You are dismissed, take care of my sister.” The Thestral nodded once, attempting to maintain an ounce of dignity.

“Oh, and before you go…” Ty said casually, “Try that again, to either of us, and I’ll rip that wing hook off and sodomize you with it.” A tense silence deafened the room, even the good Princess being too shocked to reply. Nightstride’s wings flared out, her tail swishing aggressively. I could practically feel her teeth grinding.

“Was that a threat?” She quietly seethed.

“Nah, just a promise.” Ty’s casual smile and tone never faltered, but I knew he was angry. His gaze leaked venom and I could practically smell the ozone. Before she could get anything else in, a sharp glance from Celestia ushered her out.

“I know you’re not from around here Sargent Ty," She started carefully,  “But I would appreciate if you would not harass my subjects.” She finished condescendingly.

Uh oh.

“And I would appreciate it if these ponies wouldn’t threaten us.” Some venom began to seep into Ty’s voice, causing Celestia’s leftmost guard to jump in.

“You are a part of her Majesty’s kingdom and-!”

“I am a part of my own god damn kingdom.” Ty barked abruptly.

You should probably stop this...

“Auntiiiieeee.” A particularly snobby voice violated my brain from outside the tent. In walked a stark white stallion with a blonde mane, his head held high and nose pointed to the sky. The closed eyed Unicorn strode like he was important, his gleaming golden armor clinking with every step. A gorgeous, glistening gem in a ghastly gorge of grey and…

Was that alliteration? Uh, what the fuck? Anyway… I’ve never wanted to punch someone so hard in my life.

“I was told to- UGH! Auntie, I knew you had a thing for pets, but did a Manticore puke these… THINGS up?!” He stamped his golden plated hoof.

...I take it back, NOW I’ve never wanted to punch someone so hard in my life.

“What was that?” Ty more of stated, than anything else. The ice in his anger was as solid as it was cold.

“Well, at least you taught it Equin.” He waved his hoof.

“Call me ‘it’ again, and I’ll gut you where you stand, you pretentious fuckbag.” I would have stepped between the two as the guards tensed farther, but I didn’t feel like getting murdered in the crossfire. The stallion didn’t even seem fazed by Ty’s threats, just leveling his gaze and turning to Celestia.

“Please, Auntie, call off-”

“PRINCE BLUEBLOOD!” Celestia exclaimed.

Appropriate name... For a pretentious fuckbag.

“If you would apologize to our guests,” She continued, “Sargent Ty Hetfield here will undoubtedly do the same.” She said, knowing exactly the right words to emphasis for her point to get across. To say that I admired her wordplay would be an understatement. Slowly, the pair of testosterone fueled males stared each other down. Eventually, Blueblood cut the thick silence with a very regal (and totally not sincere) apology.

“I, Prince Blueblood, hereby apologize to the offended creature, Ty Hetfield.” He sneered, prompting Ty to clench his fists and grind his teeth. 

“And I, Sargent Ty Hetfield of the UED Space Force, hereby apologize to the offended animal, Blueblood.” He said through clenched teeth.

“That’s Prince Blueblood to you, beast!” The white stain snarled, his nose held high in the air.

“Fine by me, royal blood spills all the same.” Ty started down his nose at the snobby royal.

“Alright you two, calm down. I don’t feel like scraping either of you up.”I said, getting rather tense myself.

“I agree.” Celestia stated sternly, getting both of the males to shut up. “Now then, Ty, I’m afraid to say that you may have just made your job a bit more difficult.”

“And how is that?” He said, still trying to calm down.

“Prince Blueblood is your co-worker.”


~ ~ ~


The voices had been silenced, but Stone kiss could still hear them. Feel them. With a cold grip on his infected heart, he bolted through the frigid night air faster than her ever thought possible. His hooves beat the ground twice as fast as an Earth Ponies, making the Unicorn run swifter than any Pegasus could fly. It would have been an exhilarating experience, if not for the organic dreads reminding him of how he ran so fast. But not even his new transformation was at the top of his priorities. No, he was worried.

“Have to see them…” He panted, “Need to make sure they are safe...The Crystal Empire… Has surely fallen… To those… Beasts.” He said, trying to assure himself between breaths. He wasn’t as assured as he would have hoped.

“By the Goddesses… How far did those creatures take me?” He said, already having put at least three miles behind him.

His legs didn’t even burn.

Despite his disturbing new physiology, the general managed to repress a shudder. He worried what else had changed, both inside and out. Besides his hard carapace and new built in weapons, of course. And that he basically overloaded his magic, which should have killed him, but he didn’t even feel a hint of exhaustion from it. It was different somehow, like he could no longer access his mana pool. Only the psions that weaved through his body were accessible. This worried him immensely. If the very thing that powered life no longer coursed through his veins, was he dead? At least his regenerative abilities made up for him no longer being able to heal with magic. The exhaustion was even different, though his muscles weren’t tearing, pulling, or even being worked. He felt as if he were a machine. Bio-engineered death. He felt powerful. But with that power came worry. Worry of hurting those closest to him, hurting his allies, or even wishing the fate of hopeless death upon his enemies. He terrified himself. He was of Kerrigan as well, if not more intensely. He remembered the horrifying quadruped-turned-biped from that accursed game and his time in the Chrysalis. How Princess Luna would have known was beyond his comprehension, but what really confused him was her lack of warning. Maybe it was a subtle warning? A message from the stars? Stone Kiss did not know, but what he did know is that he had questions for the Lunar Princess, and hopefully she had the answers. Finally, he came one of the snowdrifts that overlooked the Crystal Empire, and an even colder vice gripped his beating heart.

The Crystal Empire had indeed fallen. It was still a bloodbath down there, but the Zerglings were making short work of that. With their tongues. If the images showed to him in the Chrysalis weren’t twice as horrible, he would retch. As it stood, though, he could only watch in stark horror as his home was infected. The thing he had spent his entire life trying to protect was now being violated by tendrils of organic cruelty. Eventually shaking himself from his revere, he gritted his teeth and made a vow to decimate the entire Swarm. He took a step forward, only to lock eyes with a distant figure, sitting on a fleshy throne with an obvious smirk etched into her face.

You’re welcome to try, little pony, Her dark voice chuckled in his head, causing him to jump, But you will fail. She leaned forward, the deaths of trillions of innocents visible in her eyes even from a mile away. Run. Run, little pony, run to your Princesses and make your plans, but they will fail… And you will all die. She ended with a cold laugh, leaning back into her throne. Stone Kiss ran without hesitation, as fast as he could to follow the map she had implanted into his mind. He wanted to warn them, but that was useless. He’d seen Kerrigan’s powers through the Chrysalis. He’d seen the oncoming storm, and he was certain they could not weather it alone. Not Griffons, nor Diamond Dogs, not even Dragons could help them fight this threat. They needed something bigger. Something better.

Something Terran.

He knew it was nearly impossible, but the Princesses have performed miracles before. He would need to go to them as quickly as he could, but it was imperative that he check on his family. He had to believe that they had gotten out, it was the only thing that kept him going. He would find his wife and apologize for everything he’s ever done wrong and everything he hadn’t, find his foals and assure them that they would be okay, and to find his friends so he could beat the Tartarus out of them for making him join. If the general was not terrified, he would have chuckled at the thought.

He came up to a massive yellow dome with hints of blue enchantments, promising death if touched. Inside, nervous and traumatized guards patrolled, looking for the slightest sign of trouble. Could he even approach without having enough arrows impaled in him to make him look like a porcupine? He was not sure, but he had to try.

“Soldiers!” He shouted, slowly approaching with feigned exhaustion. They all instantly pointed their crossbows in his direction. 

...Or not. Alright, time for the old me. 

“Don’t you point those pigstickers at me unless you feel like pulling the trigger, Maggots!” He shouted, straightening up. One of them slowly lowered his bow, cocking his head and trying to peer through the yellow shield.

“General?” Upon that realization, the pony on the other side of the barrier began to shout quick and decisive orders, getting the obvious greenies to lower their crossbows, albeit hesitantly. Then a Pegasus darted deeper into the camp.

“Stone Kiss… I thought you had fallen when the Forward Operating Base was lost. How did you get out?” The other pony, whom he’d identified as his old friend, Spear Shaft, asked with a step forward.

“Shaft, do you know if my family is alright?” Stone questioned, that cold vice coming back in full force.

“I-I don’t know. I’ve been guarding the perimeter since we lost the Crystal Empire.” He said, getting Stone Kiss to sigh and hang his head.

“Thanks anyway, old friend. As for what happened…” He said and stepped into the light of the barrier. The greenies brought their crossbows to bear, shaking in fear, but Spear just gasped.

“Stone Kiss…”

“They got me, Shaft. They transfigured my genetics, changed me in every way… Except mentally. They didn’t break my will.” 

“Did you lead them here?” Shaft asked warily, getting a scoff from the general.

“No. I am no fool, and neither is the Queen of Blades. She, their leader, already knows the location.” He said.

“Stone Kiss!” Cried a familiar voice from the sky. He looked up to see Celestia descending, worry tugging at the corners of her face, unnoticeable to anyone but her oldest friend. With a soft smile he called back,

“Do not be alarmed, your highness. I am safe, but misshapen.” He watched her relief be chased away by confusion.

“What do you mean?” She asked as he stepped back into the shadows.

“Before you see me, prepare yourself. The Zerg have physically altered me.” He warned, making the Princess adopt a wary expression. He stepped back into the light, getting even Celestia’s pokerface to crack as she covered her mouth with her hoof.

“Oh my…” She said quietly, trying to grasp words. 

“I know what you’re thinking, and no. They couldn’t break my mind.” He said, “Though my body…” He turned over a hoof, examining a small pocket from which he could extend a chitinous blade. The yellow light opened in front of him, and he looked up in time to get a face-full of white fur. Stone Kiss hesitated, but when Celestia didn’t let go, he returned the hug.

“Come home, old friend.” She whispered and stepped aside, letting him slowly walk through the bubble. She followed in his wake, closing the bubble back up. He turned and faced his Princess with a worried look. 

“Where is my family?”
> League of Cheaters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ty and I came to a stop, panting heavily with our hands on our knees.

“God… Damn… That… Bitch… Can… Fly!” I exclaimed before planting my knees in the grass. A small pomf barely registered over my, admittedly slow, train of thoughts. They proceeded as such:

1: Oh, hey grass. You’re soft.

2: And not very tasty.

3: But really comfy.

4: And kinda itchy.

5: But really comfy.

“Whew, I… haven’t… ran like that… since basic.” I slurred, getting up.

“I… know… right…” Ty panted out.

“Alright, let’s… whew… finish this little race.” I said and bolted off. Ty quickly followed, but shook his head while muttering:

“We’re such losers.” To which I responded,

“I’m not a loser, I’m a wiiiieeennneerrr!” And took off even faster. I heard him laugh as he caught up. Finally, we saw the white mass of fur ahead of us. She was talking to something that resembled a pony. It’s ears twitched towards us right before it’s head. When it saw us, its eyes shot up at the speed of a bullet. Muttering something under its breath, it strode towards us with an air of awe. From where I was currently standing, I examined the broader individual and discerned it to be a male. It was obviously equine in origin, but something had morphed him into something more.

“They really are…” The thing said upon closer inspection of us, “Terran.” He breathed the word, getting a sharp intake of breath from me.

“Yeah,” I nodded my head, “The last of the United Earth Directorate. Provided there aren't still some hunkered down in the Koprulu.” The hope in his eyes faded and he scoffed. 

“Only two? Should’ve known. Damn my luck.” He spat. "And for the record, the only ones left in Koprulu from your Earth Directorate are slaves to Kerrigan." 

“Stone Kiss, these are our new minds on the war at hoof-” 

“Princess, with all due respect, this is no war. This is systematic slaughter. The only reason we’re still alive is because they want us to be. Their leader thrives on fear, and they are more than capable of instilling it. Without more advanced weaponry, I know we shall be doomed.” Stone Kiss said.

Now that sentence got me thinking. About a way we could possibly save this damned place, along with our own asses. The idea was brilliant, a testament to my genius. I could definitely prove our worth on this planet. All I had to do was open my mouth, take a deep breath, and-

“The fuck are you?” Ty asked. -And I lost it. Great. Thanks man.

“I am General Stone Kiss, former leader of the late Forward Operating Base outside of the Crystal Empire.” They blathered on, ignorant of the fact that my train of thought officially pulled a Borderlands 2. “Now, I am but a mutated, pony-zerg hybrid. A successful mutation, I may add.” He said.

“Successful?” Celestia asked, to which Stone Kiss gave a stiff nod.

“You would weep if you saw a failed one.” He stated grimly, “In any case, I must see my family, then speak to Luna.”

“You should speak with Luna first, she knows where your family is,” Celestia said, “And you will be accompanied by these two.” She nodded at us, and before we could protest, she added, “Think of it as an exercise in trust. Meet back in the War Tent when you are done. And Stone Kiss… My condolences.” She said and disappeared in a flash. I could feel the infected stallions heart skip a beat.

“I hope she was referring to my new form…” He shook his head, “I don’t suppose either of you know where Luna is?” We both shrugged.

“Last I heard, she was getting a hot meal and some rest.” An unconscious smirk wormed its way onto my face.

“Stone,” Another guard came from our left, “I can take you to her tent. You may want another soldier escorting you anyway.” 

“Thank you, Shaft.” Ty and I both shared a look and light chortle

“Anytime, old friend.” Shaft started to walk away, us following behind.

“So, from where do you two hail?” Stone Kiss asked.

“Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, born and raised.” I answered, Ty nodded.

“Where is that?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I do know that it is dust now, though. Or that’s what the Protoss said, anyway.” 

“Protoss?” Stone questioned, brow now raised in excitement.

“Yeah, Protoss guy. Said he was a Dark Templar and sent us here to ‘save the planet’, as cliche as it sounds.” I said. 

“A Dark Templar...” He lit up. “Oh, Zeratul you clever bastard! If Zeratul is coming, we may just have a chance.” He laughed in elation.

“Why is that?” I asked after a moment. 

“You’ll have to see for yourselves when he arrives.” Stone Kiss shrugged with a grin. Eventually, we reached a large, dark blue tent, Luna’s tramp-stamp emblazoned on the side. Inside, some soft snores sounded…

I think pony land is really getting to me. I’m frightened from forceful and freakishly- OH GOD MAKE IT STOP!

“Tom, you alright?” Ty asked, getting me to shake 

“Alliteration’s an annoying asshole.” I said, rubbing my temple as he laughed.

Please make it stop!

“Princess Luna?” Shaft quietly called into the tent. Some ruffling sounded, a hushed curse, and soon Luna was standing outside, smirking at Ty and I.

“That was, admittedly, a good prank. I owe you.” She flashed a mischievous wink our way.

“Princess.” Stone Kiss interrupted, getting Luna to fall shock still. “We must speak, for I have many questions.” She turned to him and gasped, a look of sorrow etched into her eyes.

“Yes… Yes we do.” She croaked.

“But first, my family?” The Lunar Princess' face fell even farther into despair as her head hung.

“I’m sorry, Stone… I was able to save your foals, but… I was not fast enough for Velvet Rose.” She choked. Stone Kiss gritted his teeth, trying to hold back tears.

“Was it… At least painless?” He asked.

“You were in the Chrysalis, you know as well as I do how the Zerg are.” Luna sighed, getting tears to leak from Stone Kiss. “Go to your foals, they need you.” She said, looking at him firmly. “And Stone?” She softened, “I’m so, so sorry.” He paused long enough to thank her in a quiet voice before going into the tent. 

“The bugs have ruined many innocent lives today.” I said, clenching my fists. “I’m glad I wore my boots.”

Epic one-liner=Complete.

“I fear you may need more than a boot for these beasts.” She said. That reminded of of a totally good idea that could possibly save all of existence, the one Ty had earlier made me lose due to his completely unnecessary question of what the ever-loving fuck Stone Kiss was. I mean, it was a good question, but it still made me lose this awesome thought.

“Unfortunately, the only thing we have is some snobby royal bastard as our ‘fellow general’.” Ty said.

God damn it!

I gritted my teeth, sighing bitterly. There went the thought. Again.

“What was his name?” Luna questioned warily.

“Oh, I don’t remember. Bloodbath, Bluebutt, Blueback…”

“Blueblood?” Luna asked, obviously hopping she was wrong. It was a shame that she wasn’t.

“Yeah! Blueballs.” Ty exclaimed.

“I must talk with Celestia about this,” She frowned, “We can not have him in our army in such a vital war.”

“Good luck, she seemed pretty adamant about keeping him in. Despite his… redeeming qualities.” I detested, “If he gets anyone killed out of stupidity or cowardice, I can’t promise he’ll make it back home. A pony like him doesn’t exactly come off as regretful.” 

“Do not kill him, no matter what. His face when Tia exiles him will be well worth it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. Luna scrunched up her face in thought, then said:

“Imagine you’re a child again, one that, no matter how bad you mess up, your mother does not punish you and continues to love you unconditionally. Now, imagine it’s been that way for 25 years.” She paused, a dramatic one accented by Ty’s whistle. “Now, imagine one day you mess up. Bad. You’ll think nothing of it, think yourself to be invincible. Then, your mother tells you that if you ever step hoof on her property again, she’ll execute you.” An evil smile crept onto Ty’s face, then soon faded to worry.

“Will it be worth the deaths he causes?” Ty asked, getting Luna's smile to drop.

Buzz Killington much?

“No…” Luna sighed, “But I’m afraid it’s the only thing that will let Celly see what kind of a monster he is.” She said with finality. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be there when Stone’s foals awake. They may not recognize him at first.” She said, striding back into her tent. I broke the silence.

“So, ‘bout that time, huh?” I asked.

“Cliche split up?” Ty smirked.

“What could possibly go wrong?” I completed the forbidden ritual with a smile. Ty just shook his head and sighed.

“Fate’s gonna murder us.” He chuckled as his feet moved to a random direction. Mine soon did the same.


~~~


“Adjutant, pull up a geographical scan of the planet’s surface where the explosion went off.” Jim Raynor ordered, pressing a few buttons.

“Scanning… Scanning… Geographical scan complete.” The AI said, pulling up an image of the landscape. 

“My god…” He breathed, wide eyes gazing upon the smoldering ruins of what could only be a Zerg Hive Cluster.

“Jim…” Matt said hesitantly.

“I know. But… By god if the Zerg are here, there has to be an indigenous population.” He gestured to the scene before them, “And some powerful ones at that.”

“Adjutant, scan multiple areas within 3,000 miles of that blast.” Matt said.

“Scanning… Scanning… Scanning…” 

“Jimmy, are you sure it’s worth it?” Matt asked.

“Matt… First we blast Kerrigan with the artifact, but it does nothing. Then she drops off of the grid and we get coordinates from Zeratul to a planet with Zerg on it? One that, not long after we initiate travel, has a class 11 psionic explosion take place? The artifact may have originally been a failure, but maybe we were just missing a piece…” Raynor said. 

"Is that piece worth the lives of everyone on board?" Matt narrowed his eyes.

"This again? Matt, this is more than us. This is the whole universe at stake! I gave you your choice, follow me into hell or don't. I won't judge you, no matter what you choose." Raynor adopted much of the same look.

“Scan complete. Showing map now. Life signs detected in lighted areas.” A mass of multiple maps came up, the lighted ones taking precedence. They displayed steel armored beings walking through an obvious encampment.

“Are those… Tents?” Horner asked, getting a smile from Jim.

“And... horses?" He laughed, “It looks as if they’re in medieval style armor, though.” Raynor contemplated, “I just hope they can survive one more day.” He shook his head grimly.


~~~


Ty walked through the bustling camp, attempting to find the neighborhood douche, Blueballs. And, of course, lose his stalker. Do these ponies realize they suck at sneaking? He thought, putting a hand in his pocket and fingering a knife he’d plucked from the war room. He turned into a small alcove, hidden from view, and then further hid himself. He didn’t have to wait long for the sound of wing flaps turning into hoofsteps to reach his ears. He pulled out the knife and held it close, waiting for the pony to come into view, when she did, he silently stepped out and pressed the knife into her wings’ joint, earning a yelp.

“Scream, and you lose it. Tell me why you’re stalking me, or you lose it.” He said darkly.

“T-To s-see if you were a-as you s-said!” She all but moaned. Ty drew back quickly.

“Was that turning you on?” He asked flatly. She took a deep breath and turned around.

“Yes, Pegasus or Thestral wings are highly sensitive.” She smirked.

“So what is it you want?” Ty asked, venom lacing his voice.

“You.” She purred, knocking the knife from his hand as she jumped on top of him.

Oh god, every fucking world is the same.

“You know...” He started darkly, “I eviscerated the last person who tried to rape me.” 

“Kinky…” She breathily giggled, moving a hoof to his-

“NOPE!” He exclaimed and bitchslapped her so hard she flew off of him. She hit the ground with a dull thud, clearly knocked out. “Sick bitch.” He spat. He had a half second warning of wing flaps before a sharp pain hit the back of his head and he was out like a light. As he lost consciousness, he silently hoped his best friend wasn’t being stabbed.


~~~


I was dreading my encounter with Blueballs. I did NOT want to deal with another high and mighty prick, like I had to deal with back on Earth. Earth, it was a worthy topic to dwell on. I mean, could Ty and I possibly adjust and make a life here? We’d already pissed off the rulers and apparent deity's of this place. I guess high school was right in the “Most Likely to Get Kicked Out of a Foreign Nation.” balot. There was one person who didn’t put us up for that, though. Charlie. Oh yeah, and that one really creepy chick who had a crush on Ty. But Charlie is the focus here. She’s the girl I could always count on, the one who’d never let me down, the one who’d be there for me when no one else could, the one I… but things were different now. For one, Charlie was a horse. And for two, I made peace with it when we buried her. My thoughts were rudely interrupted by stumbling into a very lavish tent. 

“This thing must be white silk and sewn together by 24 karrot gold with a needle pulled precariously from Celestia’s anus. With flaming teezers. On her period. With a-”

“ENOUGH!” A snobbish voice screamed.

“Oh shit, I said that out loud.”

“Yes you did, you ruffian! And I challenge thee to a duel at high noon on the ‘morrow!” Blueballs walked up to me, proceeding to slap me in the face with a white glove. Why the fuck do horses have gloves? 

>Awhellnaw.jpg

“For the honor of Princess Cel-” Was as far as he got before I decked him in the muzzle.

“Slap me again, and your nose isn’t the only thing that will break.” I growled, “And if you want to duel, we’ll be doing it now. Not after I cool off.” I snarled, offering a hand. He glared and got up on his own, not even breaking eye contact as he swiftly ordered his guards to get two pristine swords. Which got me thinking about that idea I’d had. The one that met our requirements for defeating this Zerg threat.

“Insult Celestia again, you filthy dog, and I’ll-” A firm backhand shut Blueballs up.

“God damn it! Why is it that whenever I get this god damn idea, somebody’s gotta open their fucking mouths?!” I roared, getting some strange glances, which turned to looks of grateful curiosity as they noticed Blueblood on the ground. His guards arrived back, carrying two gorgeous swords, gems embedded into their golden hilts and sun gleaming from their silver blades. As I looked upon these beauties, I scoffed. Now, I know a thing or two about swords. And, while these were showfully crafted, they were meant for just that. Show.

“Excuse me, sir, may I borrow your sword?” I asked the nearest guard. He was so surprised he had to step back, but handed me the sword regardless. A broadsword, steel, perfectly weighted. 

Say what you will about them, but these Equestrians make damn good broadswords.

I tested the blades edge, it slightly nicking my finger, then swung it a few times to get a good feel for it.

“Are you quite done yet?” Blueblood complained, brandishing his own sabre.

Sabre, more range and quicker movement, but my bi-ped body should counter that. I have more power and weight, I so got this.

Blueblood slowly rose to his hindhooves.

...Still a horse! Sic em!

Blueblood and I began to circle one another, daring the other to strike first.

"Your mother is a hamster, and your father smells of elderberries.” I said casually, throwing him off guard. I lunged in and attacked, barely nicking his cheek as he dodged. He swiped backwards wildly, trying, and failing, to hit me. “Your brother a hermaphrodite and your sister your brother, you inbred fuck!” I yelled getting him to pause long enough for me to dash forwards and cut into his side. He gasped and sidestepped, his sabre almost taking my ass off as he brought it down.

“Don’t dare slader my family, you damn dirty ape!” He flared his nostrils, getting me to point a finger at him and gasp dramatically.

“That’s racist!” I yelled and threw myself back at him. He dodged quite nicely, I’ll admit, even managing to get a few pieces of hair in his counter. “Bitch, I main Fiora!” I yelled and lunged at him with a burst of speed, ripostes and clashes echoing in an epic blade waltz. Finally, with one trip-strike, I exclaimed, “And Darius!” I yelled, jumping up in the air and bringing my sword down. He tried to block with his sabre in a fit of panic, but my larger, heavier, actual steel blade cut straight through it like butter. Ah, basic physical science, slam something really strong into something weaker and it snaps like a twig. Just before he got decimated by my guillotine, his horn lit up, apprehending my sword and therefore canceling my crippling strike. 

League is love, League is life. That game survived damn near 500 years, it desereves the respect.

He flung my blade to the side, holding me in the air with a smirk. 

“Looks like I win, monkey boy.” He said, running me through with his broken sabre. Agony arced through my body, setting my nerves on fire.

He missed my vitals, it looks like. I hope I don’t bleed out.

“But… I don’t even… Play Wukong…” I muttered, falling limply to the ground.

“I, Prince Blueblood, claim victory over the grounds of-” He started, but was interrupted by a brave guard. 

“Cheating with magic?” She asked, getting him to fumble, a crushing blow to his ego.

Hey… When did the world start disappearing?

“Blueblood!” Celestia’s booming voice cut through the light fuzz in my ears. I saw her fly in like a cyclone, causing a nearby leaf to nimbly strike Blueblood’s outer decoy of calm. 

“Auntie-” He smoothly tried.

“What have you done?” Celestia demanded, her anger clear in her low tone. Blueblood shrunk under her gaze, quivering.

“I-I-I w-was d-defending your honor!” He sputtered. She merely pointed to her tent down the way with her wing.

“We will talk later. As of now, this man requires medical attention.”

Thank you! 

Blueblood hung his head and trudged towards Celestia’s tent. Celestia barked fading orders, and the last thing I remembered before waking was being picked up.
> The Warning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stone Kiss… Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Luna asked, getting the infected General to sigh and nod his head. He feared the worst when his foals awoke. Seeing one of the beasts that butchered their mother standing over them would be rather traumatic. Luna had come inside moments ago, silently watching the General smile lovingly at his foals. He pictured Red Blade and himself practicing with wooden swords, then himself and Glass Whisper enjoying ‘tea’ at a small table surrounded by stuffed animals. His pleasant memories were soon destroyed at the sight of an Ultralisk ripping his wife in two. The foals sobbed next to Velvet’s corpse, frozen in fear. In that moment, the stereotypical colt/filly behavior didn’t matter, only the sorrow felt from their mother's passing and the pure terror of the Zerg.

The Hive Mind was a funny thing, it was very complex and equally as clever, but only had one chink. Find the right brainwave frequency and you know everything. Every little bit of thought and command ever issued was stuck in the neural pathways, pathways that were a lot easier to navigate and find when you were infected. Stone kiss could feel every ounce of rage and hate inside that Ultralisk, its Queen demanded the blood of that mare. It's only remorse being that it died before seeing the life fade from her eyes. Stone Kiss vowed that he would do everything he could to defeat the Zerg, and butcher the Queen of Blades. She would die at his hooves, and his alone.

Luna charged her horn and wisps floated down to the foals’ heads. They slowly fluttered their eyes open, groaning lightly as they set up.

“Red, Glass…” Stone kiss cooed lightly, both of the foals rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

“Daddy?” Glass whispered, turning around and locking eyes with the infected stallion. Her scream ripped through the entire camp.


~~~


I awoke again in the rocky place of Zeratul’s mind.

“So, Zeratul, there has to be something important going on if you brought me here.” I stated offhandedly. 

“Indeed there is.” He said, a large monitor appearing in the room. A truly massive ship in a vaguely anchor-esque shape plunged through space, stars whipping by it at the speed of light. “This is the Hyperion. A Terran Battlecruiser, perhaps the most dangerous of its kind, captained by James Raynor, a friend. It will arrive here shortly after I do, and bring with it the technology to give the ponies a fighting chance.” The picture then shifted to three smaller Battlecruisers, ones with red decals. “Unfortunately, they are being trailed by a trio of Dominion Battlecruisers, led by their Emperor. They seek to destroy Raynor and the Queen of Blades, and will inevitably enslave the Equines. They would use them to try, and of course, fail, to hold back the horde of Zerg. You’ll have three hours to prepare defenses with the Terrans to fend off the Dominion.” Another picture appeared of an alien-like ship, echo images of it fading into space as it moved. “My friend, Talandar, and I shall arrive before any of them. Two hours earlier, to be exact. We have a probe aboard to help strengthen defense against the Zerg while you and James Raynor handle the Dominion.” He finished.

“It sounds like you’ve been planning this for quite some time.” I nodded, my brow crinkling at the news. Those names seem familiar, if only barely.

“Indeed I have. The Dominion were unexpected, I admit, but we can handle them regardless.”

“And if we can’t?”

“Then the Zerg overrun this place and we’ll all see the Void.” He answered without hesitation. 

“Alright, I guess we’ll try our damndest.” I crossed my arms, “Now, I have a few questions.”

“I will answer as well as I can.”

“What happened to Charlie back on Earth?” 

“A Zergling from an Expeditionary Brood. That reminds me, you must get her to your location. She is an imperative part of the prophecy.” 

“Okay. Next question, who are the Xel’Naga?” I asked, apparently catching him off-guard due to his pause. 

“The creators of the Universe. And the inevitable destroyers of it. The crafters of everything we were, are, and ever will be. All of history has been predetermined by them. The only way to see into the future is through their will, or prophecies written upon certain stone tablets.” Zeratul explained.

“I was never one for fate, personally. Though, I would prefer if this was the outcome.” I mused with a nod towards the ‘Prophecy Stone’.

“Agreed. Now, on to a very pressing matter. Your condition.” His statement made me shift uncomfortably. 

“Yeah, I know. Blueblood ran me through and I’m dying of bloodloss.”

“Indeed, he missed your vitals, if only by a hair.”

“I suppose I should count myself lucky.”

“Not just yet, you lost a considerable amount of blood. You can not hope to function without more.” I could feel Zeratul “shake” his head.

“Never that easy.” I shook my own.

“No. However, your friend shares your blood type.” 

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon enough, once he hears the news.”

“I fear not, he dreams as we speak.” I frowned deeply.

“Napping as always.” At the moment of my scoff, a very childlike screech of terror ripped my dreamscape apart.


~~~


Ty was awoken by a scream that could only be that of a little girl. He tried to stand, but quickly found that he was bound and gagged, with a rather splitting headache attacking his senses.

Well shit.

“You know…” The sultry voice from earlier made itself known, “You hit me fairly hard. My sister here had to…” She pressed her lips uncomfortably close to his ear, her breath caressing his genitals in a way his uncle just couldn’t. “Repay the favor.”

“Yes. I did.” Another voice jumped in, furthering his worry. Another hoof curled over his shoulder and the new voice spoke.

“What do you think, Shiver, who gets first go?” One stepped in front of him, revealing a Bat Pony laced up in a corset, black and red socks going all the way up to her flanks. She was giving him the bedroom eyes, her hoof trailing his naked thigh up-

-NAKED?! NOPE! He suddenly jerked his body to the side, realizing, by a rather loose and waving appendage, that he was very much naked. At least the chairs front legs had snapped.

“Silver!” The other cried in warning, but it was too late. Ty touched his still bound (and still naked) feet to the ground, using them to launch himself forward. His hard head collided with her softer skull, resulting in a satisfying crunch. Pain lanced through his skull, but he ignored it as she went down hard. Shiver gasped, looking in stark horror at her quiet sister.

“Silver!” She tried to rush to her sisters side, but Ty tripped her. Shiver gasped and tumbled forward, her head striking the beds corner frame and knocking her out cold.

“Next time, get a sleeping bag, you fucking plebs.” Ty tried to say, looking from would-be rapist to would-be rapist. But it came out as “Ne phine, ge a heepin agh, yo ucking leds.” He sighed and shook his head. Same on every planet. He thought before trying to caterpillar his way out of the tent. He crawled and worked his way to the flap, grinning and mumbling through the gag in victory. As his head poked through, he looked around at all the previously bustling ponies, all frozen in place, just staring at him.

Ohgodwhy

“MMMMPH!” He yelled over the gag, snapping a few ponies back to reality. They drug him from the tent, his naked body getting roughed up by the dirt.

“What the hell is that..?” One asked. Ty furrowed his brow and grunted, teething the ball gag.

“...We should probably untie… Him.” A mare said, a blush lighting her face.

“Hmm mm!” He muffled out a thanks as they did just that, taking out the ball-gag and untying him.

“So, Silver and Shiver are at it again?” One of the stallions asked. Ty looked at him like he was nuts. “I mean, they’ve well earned their nickname, the Kink Sisters.” He laughed.

“They tried to RAPE me. That’s not a kink, that’s fucked off, dude.” The stallion hardened his face.

“They’ve never gone that far before. How did you escape?” 

“I’ve been in that situation before. They’re out cold, maybe dead.” He shook his head. The stallion bolted into the tent, then came out a few seconds later with Ty’s clothes. 

“Put them on, we need to go see the Princess.” He said. While Ty complied, the stallion spoke again. “They’re alive. I teleported them to the medical tent with a note. Unfortunately, I had no time to take off their… Outfits.” Ty snorted with a laugh, “I figured it was punishment enough for what they tried to do to you.” 

“You can’t punish a rapist enough.” Ty shook his head.

“If you haven’t noticed, we’re at war. I don’t know what you are, but you’re obviously sapient, so you must know what war is.” At Ty’s nod, the stallion continued, “We need every able-bodied soldier we can get. Therefore, we merely punish the ones who do wrong. No matter the scale.” Ty was speechless.

I’m actually kind of glad they wanted our help. They sure as hell need it.

“Alright. I suppose that makes sense in your mind.” He scoffed, Ty’d been getting more and more irritable, his inner psycho even began to whisper thoughts at him. All because these damn ponies didn’t have tobacco here.

“Do you have a better idea?” 

“Multiple. Now, you said we’re going to see Celestia? Let’s get to it.” Ty stated briskly. The stallion grumbled a little, then lit his horn. Before Ty could stop the pony, he was on his knees and the world was spinning around him.

“Ty! Good, there’s been an emergency. I’ll send you to Tom immediately.” Celestia’s voice dug through the gravel filling his ears.

“Ehmerga… Wha-?” Another golden flash later, he was flat on his face in a white room.

“Good to see you finally-” The raspy voice of his brother in arms was cut off by Ty violently vomiting. “...Nurse?” Tom called. A small white mare appeared in the room, and gasped at Ty’s form. “Don’t worry, Celestia no doubt sent him. Would you kindly take that out of my room?” Ty’s vision began to fade, and then he passed out.


~~~


“Really, dude?” I asked Ty’s prone form, rolling my eyes. “Best friend’s dying, you’re the only one who can save him, and you’re passed out on the floor.” I laughed a little, “Just like old times…” Luckily, Ty didn’t stay knocked out too long.

“Urgh…” He groaned, slowly sitting up and putting his back to the wall. “What’s this god damn ‘emergency’? I’m too nicotine deprived to put up with this bullshit.” Honestly, I wished he hadn’t brought up the current deprivation, because I was suffering too.

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” I grumbled, “Anyway, so Blueballs penetrated me with his shaft so now I’m dying of bloodloss. You’ve got the same blood type as me, and it's only way for my organs not to shut down.”

“...So the typical Tuesday?”

“Ya got it.” 

“What is the meaning of this!?” I recognized the voice of my irritable doctor before I saw him. The brown stallion narrowed his eyes at us.

“Yo, hook me up so I can transfuse my blood over to him before he dies. Thanks man, you’re the best.” Ty put on a shit-eating grin.

“I see. In that case, do you have any diseases?” The doctor turned his gaze to Ty.

“Nah, clean as a whistle.” Ty smiled. The doctor only gave him a flat look.

“Whistles are very, very dirty.” He replied in a similar tone. Magic spiraled up his horn and the two of us were enveloped in his magical aura. I felt my veins suddenly fill, and my body became much more active.

“Whoa…” Ty and I both said at once. His was more drained, while mine became active. The unicorn shook his head and blinked a few times. 

“The princess warned me of the protective barrier in place, I’m glad it realized the magic was using mana instead of psions.” 

"What if it didn't?" Ty asked, to which the doctor actually shrugged.

“Well, thanks and all, but this means I can go, right?” I asked.

“Yes, you’re clear to roam the base.” He said as I got up and stretched, “But Celestia mentioned something about needing the two of you back at HQ.”

“If it involves Blueblood, prepare your morgue.” I walked out of the room.

“Or Shiver and Silver.” Ty followed up with malice before leaving after me.

“Shiver and Silver?” I questioned. He shoved his hands in his pockets, fiddling with his knife.

“Would be rapists.” He mumbled. I nodded my head swiftly.

“Ah.”

“Yeah.”

“So did a screaming child wake you up too?” 

“Mhm.”

“Think we should should check it out?” He paused.

“...Right after we deal with the Kink Sisters and Blueballs.” Ty nodded.

“Alright.” I shrugged as we approached Celestia’s tent. “Hey, Sunbutt! You home?” I asked and peaked through the flaps of the tent, seeing her sitting down with a cup of tea.

“Come in, both of you.” Celestia stated calmly. I looked over to my best friend and shrugged, then we walked in. We took seats and waited for her to speak, occasionally glancing at one another.

“Thank you both for coming. I was… Heartbroken when I found out the truth. My adopted nephew…” She choked back a sob, then took a deep breath. “I am sorry for what he’s done to you, Tom. It won’t happen again.”

“Then he’s dead?” I asked.

“Exiled.” She shook her head.

“Where is he now?”

“Traveling South in the Forbidden Jungles.” She sighed painfully, “I understand if you want revenge, but think through it. We have a war on our doorstep, and the resources to track him down would be too much.”

“Can’t you just teleport us where you teleported him?” I asked quickly.

“I could, but I wouldn’t be able to get you back.” 

“This can’t possibly come back to bite us in the ass.” Ty facepalmed. 

“I am aware, but the Forbidden Jungles are the most dangerous places on our planet.” Celestia closed her eyes. “He will surely meet his end there.” Her melancholy tone was our cue to leave, but I still had one thing left to take care of.

“Celestia, I’m not here just to find Blueblood. I have information.” I said.

“Oh?” She looked up, obviously relieved for the distraction. 

“Yes, there are more like us coming and some that aren’t.” I stated. She furrowed her brow.

“You said you were the last of your kind, explain what you mean.” 

“Eh, I said something more along the lines of 'last survivors of our planet'. These guys were in a different part of the universe, they're called Terrans. Unfortunately, the friendlies are being tailed by some not-so-friendlies. The Protoss that sent us here and his brother in arms, Talandar, will be here… Shit, how long have we been here?” I asked.

“Two days.” Celestia responded.

“Then tomorrow, at some point the Protoss will arrive to help fend off the Zerg, two hours later, the friendly Terrans will show up, three hours after that, the not-so-friendly Terrans show up. Before those three hours are up, we need a reasonable defense set up to defend against these “Dominion” troops.” I summed up what Zeratul told me.

“Very well. I shall make the necessary arrangements.” Celestia said, then closed her eyes and began to focus.

“Oh, and one more thing.” She cracked one eyelid to glance at me. “Charlie needs to be here ASAP.” She nodded and quickly unfurled a scroll, jotted a few things down, and sent it off. Not five minutes later, a rather disheveled Charlie appeared with a small pop. She looked wildly around the room, then her gaze fell on us and she relaxed.

“I shoulda known this had something to do with you two… Oh my god! Tom, what happened to you?!” She fretted when she saw my bandaged torso.

“Got penetrated by Blueballs. The first time always hurts. I’m all better now though.” She promptly smacked the back of my head.

“Ow! Okay you’re not helping the hurty stuff.” I groaned, she giggled. “Gah, Ty, you can handle recap this time.”

“I almost got raped, he got stabbed, we need you for a prophecy or we’re boned.” He said, then turned to me. “How was that?”

“Good enough.” 

“Never can get a break, can I?” Charlie shook her head and I scoffed.

“Yeah, you’re the one that gets it sooo rough.” She deadpanned towards me.

“I got eaten, thrown into another body that doesn’t even resemble my own, and I don’t even know how to have sex in this thing. You tell me, who got the short end of the stick here?” Blushes sprang out across the room, causing Celestia to politely cough.

“In any case, I believe we should go check up on Luna, Stone Kiss, and his foals. One of which I believe screamed not too long ago.” She got up to leave.

“You mean you didn’t rush over?” I asked, causing her to giggle lightly.

“Luna is more than capable of handling any situation. Now, let’s be off.” 

"Hold on," Ty raised his hand. "I've got a matter to address too. These 'Kink Sisters'?" Celestia grimaced, "Yeah, well they tried to rape me earlier and I was wondering if you were gonna banish them too. Because if you are, just give me their whereabouts and I'll do my own little banishing."

"Sergeant, I understand where you are coming from on this. However, Shiver and Shiver are both very... Skilled and determined ponies. I encourage you to show them mercy. They don't know how to act when they like somepony. It usually ends up much of the same way. The other ponies they like, usually don't resist after they're tied up. Most likely, they did not understand that you did not want to participate, until it was too late." Celestia could be a very persuasive pony.

"...Alright, I'll take it into consideration and at least hear them out first." Ty sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not going to bitch about it if I can fix it."

Did he just..? Huh. That's new. He's usually wayyy more stubborn. I'll be happy with just alliteration, thank you.

"Thank you. I have no doubts you put them in the infirmary, the pony who brought you here told me everything." Celestia smiled. 

"Don't mention it." Ty grumbled, "Let's go check out that scream." 


~~~


“Your majesty, we have locked onto the warp location for Raynor’s Raiders.” A marine in bulky armor reported.

“Excellent… Equis. I never thought I would get to conquer that planet. We have more to fear there than anyone knows. Make sure our soldiers know the cost.” Arcturus Mengsk demanded, turning to look back into the abyss of Space racing beside him. It had been a long time since he had ventured from the capital, and even longer since he had left the planet. It would seem that this opportunity had lined up perfectly for him.

“Jim Raynor, Xel’Naga Queen, I come for you.” He let out a deep and dark laughter, echoing through the fabric of space around him for all to hear.
> The Calm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I parted the tent flaps to see two small foals in the forearms of that carapaced pony from earlier. Luna looked at me and split her face with a smile. 

“Ah, the pranksters have arrived just in time for the happy reunion.” She giggled lightly. The foals turned to look at us, and their eyes sparked with interest.

“Whoa!” The male exclaimed, “These guys are different from the other ones! They look like hairless monkeys!”

“Wow, you’re right they do!” The little bitc-... girl responded. I saw Ty give Luna an excruciatingly flat look.

“I’ll let that one slide, kids.” I crossed my arms, and every single thing in that room went quiet. “What?” I was genuinely confused as to what I said.

“Thomas, can I speak with you outside for a moment.” Luna ruffled her feathers.

“Sure?” I smiled uncomfortably.

“Looks like you’re the one-” Ty was roughly silenced by Charlie’s hoof on the back of his skull. “Ouch! What the hell Charlie?!” He exclaimed.

“Hush. He’s about to find out what he did wrong.” She smirked as everybody else glared me out of the tent. Now, if anyone else had said that, it wouldn’t have bothered me. But I believed I had just fucked up. As we crossed the barrier of the tent, Luna whipped around on me.

“I know it seemed insulting when they called you a monkey, but it’s twice as insulting to be called baby goat meat!” She shouted, bringing the ever-embarrassing stares back to the forefront of my mind. Oh, that makes sense. Is that what ‘kids’ means in this world?

“What?! I called them kids, not mutton. Where I’m from, kids means the same thing as filly or colt would for you! It’s just gender neutral!” I defended erratically.

“Tom,” Luna rubbed the bridge of her muzzle, “Mutton is adult lamb meat. I suggest you apologize either way, clear things up a bit?”

“Ya know, that’s a good idea. I’d rather them not think me to be that insultive.” I pulled the tent-flap open, and was greeted by a very angry, very glowey pair of eyes staring down a snout at me. I widened my eyes and froze in place. 

“Explain why you spoke to my foals that way.” He commanded. I felt true, genuine fear crawl up my spine, igniting my built-in ‘Get the fuck outta here’ system. I shook my head, then brought my eyes up to meet his with an apologetic look. Looking back, it was really the only thing I could’ve done to save my life. Without hindsight, however, I did it because I really did want to apologize.

“I’m sorry, where I come from ‘kids’ is a word to describe somebody's young offspring. It’s a non-offensive, gender-neutral term to me. I apologize for what I said regardless.” I bowed my head.

“Don’t look so defeated, human.” Stone Kiss softened his features, smiling at me, “You didn’t know what it meant to us.” He turned that smile right around and back upside down, “Apologize to the foals.” 

Without missing a beat, I turned and slammed my upperbody into a bow facing the children.

“Gomen'nasai!” And I stayed there.

“Nerd.” I heard Ty state lamely, as Charlie giggled softly.

“That’s how we say sorry.” She chimed in. 

“Don’t lie to the children, Charlie.” Ty shook his head softly, and took another smack from Charlie.

“Well, in any case, I’m glad you two are okay.” She smiled softly at the foals in the room before turning to the Hybrid father, “Stone Kiss, I don’t want to open fresh wounds. If we’re all in this together, I’d like to know how you became what you are. I won't ask you to do it now, but whenever you feel like you can talk about it again, I’m always ready to listen.” 

“I appreciate it, friend. I will tell you when the other members of our war are here, I’ll have some time to cope with my words then. For now, I’d like to spend some time with my foals. Tomorrow, maybe we’ll all have more answers.” He smiled softly, embracing his two foals.

“Maybe so, it would be a fantastic thing.” Celestia spoke with a smile.

“Goodnight, everyone.” I smiled towards the foals, “Good to meet you two. Sorry, again, for earlier.”

“It’s okay, monkey.” The boy smiled.

“Yeah, we forgive you.” The girl giggled lightly. 

“Too. Cute.” I said behind gritted teeth. Man I really don’t like kids. Or foals, as the politically correct term is. As we exited the tent, Luna turned towards us.

“I'll lead you three towards your tent.” She said before turning towards the right and continuing through the encampment. On our way, I saw crying foals clinging to the mothers. I saw the silent, haunted faces of once brave stallions exposed to the horrors of this alien force. I saw death, dismemberment, and despair all across the camp. What I saw was more than that though, it was the cause behind it all. War.  The pink demon was right. It was here, in all its glory, and all its horror, it had indeed befallen this hapless race, and it was going to be a great and terrible one. 

"So, what happened to that, 'Stone Kiss', was it?" Charlie asked, looking towards Luna. 

"The Zerg infested him. I am convinced he is not under their thrall, but I know not why." She shook her head.

"Are you sure letting him roam free is a good idea?" I asked, getting a sigh back from the Lunar Princess.

"No, but I am sure he could easily kill any guards I leave with him. Not that he would if he's still himself, but he has become immensely powerful. He himself may not even realize it yet." Ty and I shared a glance.

"Well," Luna pointed to a nondescript tent, "That's it, make yourselves comfortable and get some rest. It may be your last chance to for some time." She turned and took to the skies, leaving us in front of the rather average tent.

"And then there were three." Ty smirked.

"Yeah," I sighed, the events of the past two days finally catching up with me. Has it really only been two days? Fuck, man. "Let's follow the ladys' order, huh?" I strode into the tent, and froze in my tracks. The inside of the tent was complete with a living room that had two couches, a fireplace, and what looked like an absolute dinosaur of a computer. There were two separate rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a whole fucking upstairs. My entire mood did a 180, and I was soon skipping my way out of the tent with a massive smile plastered on my face. I caught Charlie's smirk, and Ty's raised eyebrow in my vision, "It's bigger on the inside~!" I sing-songed. Ty cocked his other eyebrow, managing to look somewhat surprised. 

"You would say that, nerd." Charlie chuckled and pushed past me, into the newly dubbed TARDTENT... Uh, maybe I'll stick with TARDIS. 

"I gotta see this shit." Ty soon followed her, and I couldn't just let them go alone. The inside of our new temporary home graced my visage once more. Rather, it would have, if Ty wasn't stopped right in front of the door. Me bumping into his back shocked him out of his revere.

"Bro... It's... It's..." He stuttered out.

"Yeah, man. It sure is-"

"Smaller on the outside." I gave him a swift Charlie. Speaking of... I scanned the living room and connected kitchen, to find her pressing the computers power button. If that thing can even be called a computer.

"Charlie, why aren't you absolutely amazed by this?" She turned towards me with a little giggle.

"The girls found me around White Tail Woods while they were camping. Every single tent in Equestria comes standard with a dimensional warp enchantment." She explained as she finished the computers boot up sequence. She pulled up a game with a few clicks, and I walked over to examine it.

"That's pretty cool. Ponies: 1. White People: 0." Ty joked, earning chuckles from the both of us. I took a closer look at the screen before me, and saw a picture of three beings. One super teched out pony, one mutated pony that reminded me of Stone Kiss, and a bipedal alien with only eyes upon its face. The words Ponycraft were splayed across the top.

"So, this is the game that Luna made." I confirmed, getting a nod from Charlie. "Well, to be honest, I was unconscious a couple of hours ago. I'm not that tired, so get that thing started. I'll whip up some dinner, and we can see what we've got in store."

"My blood got drained, I'm going to bed." Ty sighed, the days events finally catching up to him.

"Alright man, I'll put some in the fridge for ya, and take some notes." I waved him on.

"And you ARE going to read those notes tomorrow, got it?" Charlie shot him a severe look.

"Yeah, yeah, mom. I got it." He yawned, working his way over to one of the rooms in the corner. He turned the knob, and I walked over to the kitchen. As he clicked the door shut, I started the stoves eye. I grabbed a pan, and tossed a little oil in it. Ty grumbled something inaudible and walked right back out of the room.

"There's the bathroom, if y'all need it." He muttered something about 50/50, and proceeded to the other room. I laughed a little, and shook my head as I walked over to the fridge. Imagine my surprise, as I find meat inside when I opened it. 

"Uh, Charlie..?" I questioned.

"What's the matter? Forget how to cook?" She quipped a little too quickly.

"As if. I just don't know if I'm gonna be cooking one of your friends or not." That got her attention as she trotted over. She rolled her eyes upon seeing the fresh meat.

"Why would I be friends with a chicken, dude? That's Fluttershy's thing." She scoffed, turning to walk back to the computer.

"So this thing couldn't talk?" I questioned again, "Also, aren't you a herbivore now?" She turned and flashed some kanines that I had somehow missed.

"Zeratul would be castrated the moment I saw him, and I think he knew that." She cocked her head in thought for a moment, "Provided he has a dick in the first place."

"Oh... So, could the chick-"

"No! The chickens can't talk here, man!" She fumed, "You really think it'd be sitting in a fridge if it talked?" 

"I mean I've seen weirder in the past couple of days sooooo..." When she realized I was just fucking with her, she turned her nose and went back to doing something actually important. I decided it was about time to do the same, and started whipping up some pan-seared chicken with some mashed potatoes. Loaded, minus bacon, cause we weren't gods or anything.

I finished up the meal and called for Charlie. As she walked in, I turned to her and held up a banana. By the way her face fell as I began speaking, she already knew where this was going. "You might wanna add this, or you'll get a Charlie Hor-" I caught some mashed potatoes in my mouth. And by some, I mean she threw a fuckin' snowball of it with magic. Her triumphant smirk stayed on her face as she made her plate. I finished off the offending starch that covered half my face, and made my own plate. A La Carte.

"Not gonna eat any mashe-" Aaaand, drumstick to the mouth. After a few seconds of gnawing the poultry from the bone, she took it out of her mouth.

"How'd my cock taste?" I teased before she could respond, getting her to shove the rest of the bone in my mouth. 

"You tell me, jackass." She giggled, trotting back to the computer. 

"It's a little tangy." I grinned and joined her, food in one hand, and a notepad in the other. That's how we spent the rest of that night before all hell broke loose, Charlie playing a game and me taking notes. We made quips, and snacked on dinner until the sun rose.


~~~


Deep within the ground of the frozen wasteland, a humming hive thrived. It's chitinous purple plating was a tell tale sign to every spacefaring race amist the cosmos. A sign that no other life form on that planet would survive. Upon her marrow filled throne, Kerrigan tapped her index claw as a multilegged abomination slithered from a tunnel below the room.

"My queen. Have encountered problem with equine mutation. Unfit for Swarm adaptation. Too much like Protoss strains tested in past. Recommend immediate abandonment of planet. Waste of resources. However, two prime specimens are required, unharmed. Both Alicorn, both posses great potential." It's deep voice managed to click as it tapped it's spindly claws. 

"Abathur, don't tell me your scared of the little ponies? Worry not. They may be linked to the Protoss, but they're nowhere near that level." She leaned back in her throne, "Besides, even if they were, we would still crush them. They're prey animals, and they play their part rather well." She remembered her slaughter of the crystal city, and how they all would flee before the might of her swarm, save for the two Alicorns. "I remember how you spared those equines, I will not let them be harmed if it can be helped.

"Thank you, my queen. What of the two Terrans?" The creature, Abathur, asked. 

"Let them be," She scoffed, "They are nothing. That pony we mutated, however, he is rather interesting." The corners of her lips lifted to a cruel smirk. "Start morphing the larva, I want to erase that domed base."


~~~


Blueblood was many things. A gentleman, a scholar, a master of arts and crafts, and most recently, he was alone.

Or so he wished.

In his current state, shambling through the bowels of this fetid jungle, his leg caught on a thorn. It tore a bloody gash across his once pristine coat, garnering a curse from him.

"Oh, blast that damnable monkey straight to Tartarus!" He spat, stomping his hoof in the muck.

"Damnable..?" A playful voice danced across his ears, but it was not the one he normally recognized as the master of chaos'. A cold chill ran down his spine as he saw twin glowing eyes, staring at him from beyond a nearby bush. Their ominous red light soon blinked and seemed to disappear. The distinct sound of a monkey laughing began to echo off the trees, and the voice spoke again, "Little prince, so far from home. What shall you do now?" It echoed.

"When you're stuck," Blueblood's pupils shrank as he felt his hooves begin to sink in the mud.

"When you're poisoned," The cut on his leg began to throb, and the panic started to set upon the poor stallion. He tried to rear back, but to no avail. His hooves were too deep.

"When you're all alone." The voice laughed menacingly. Suddenly, a monkeys face materialized in front of Blueblood's horrified visage. It's deep, crimson eyes piercing into the hapless nobles very soul. 

"What, will you do then?" It begged the question from the deepest fibers of his being. 

"I... I..." Blueblood shook viciously in the muck. Be it a moment of clarity amist the panic filling his body, or an act of Faust herself, he spoke clearly and confidently. "I will apologize."

The monkey was silent, but it's horridly crooked smile soon began to fall. It's eyebrow cocked, and a genuine smile cracked it's face.

"So you will. You will find many horrifying and evil creatures in the Forbidden Jungles," It's eyes changed from red to blue, "but I am not one of them. My name is Abu." It moved back, taking a light bow. "And I, will be your mentor, pony."


~~~


Celestia ticked away the seconds with the clock, much too restless to sleep as she strategized with her sister. 

"Sister," The aforementioned princess jogged Celestia back to the present, and away from the droning clock. "It is nearly impossible to plan around the Zerg without the Protoss and Terran here. We need to strengthen our barriers, it's the only way to keep them out and stall for the time being." 

"Luna," Celestia cooed softly, draping a wing over her sister. "I love you, more than you'll ever know. Whatever may come our way..." She trailed off, but the Lunar Princess wasn't having any of it.

"No, sister." She pulled away, shaking her head, "We will not fail. I know these beings. I know Zeratul will come, and I know he will help us. Their version of Neighnor will come, and he will help. The Zerg will come, and they will be slaughtered to the last." She smiled triumphantly, then looked to her sister's still downtrodden face. She softened, and nuzzled her sister, "We'll get through this, Celly. I love you too."
> High Winds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

An urgent voice startled me from my exhaust induced slumber on the desk, my back aching from a terrible night of sleep. I couldn't make out what the voice said, but I could see Sunbutt right over the top of me. Ty was already awake and just starting to gear up, while Charlie was in a similar circumstance.

"Tom, it's almost time. Zeratul will be here within the hour." Celestia told me, prompting me to get up. 

"Ugh, alright. Gimme a minute to wake up." I stated groggily, shaking the haze from my mind. I stood and got ready, then met my friends, old and new, outside the tent. However, Stone Kiss was nowhere to be found.

"...assuming they'll land directly inside the camp, wherever Ty and Tom may be at the time of their arrival." I caught the ass end of the conversation, provided by Luna.

"Yeah, that sounds about right, considering we haven't heard about where they'll be landing yet." I added anyway. 

"Well, I suppose it's a waiting game." Ty sighed, shaking his head. "Wish I had my peashooter-" My eyes lit up like it was fucking Christmas night, "-and a couple of bottle to blast."

"Ty, you bloody brilliant bastard!" I saluted the man for reminding me of what kept slipping my mind. I turned my attention to the princesses, "So, have you Equestrians ever heard of something called gunpowder?" Their eyebrows twitched, almost simultaneously even. 

"Hmm. I think not. What is it?" Celestia asked, earning a smile from me.

"Picture an explosive powder. It has huge potential, if used correctly. Like, say, loading it into a metal tube or casing with a lead slug on top. The idea is, you pull a trigger, and a firing mechanism ignites the powder and propels the slug at high velocities. I'm sure the Terran's have a few examples with them. I'm surprised they weren't in your game." I explained.

"Why you gotta get all smart on us like that, Donnie?" Charlie shook her head.

"I... Thought your name was Thomas?" Celestia pondered. Ty and I shared a look, a simultaneous sigh, and perhaps even a simultaneous thought.

Fuckin' ponies, man.

"You shut your cellar door!" I exclaimed, wagging a finger at Sunbutt.

"Sister, the blast powder we use for fireworks could work for this." Luna continued, completely disregarding our banter. 

"Yes, we'll have to get a basic, hoof-compatible prototype designed and learn more when the Terran's arrive."  Celestia snapped back to reality. 

Suddenly, a deep rumble shook the ground, startling everyone gathered. Some more ponies in the surrounding tents began to filter out, combat ready with determined looks on their faces. 

"Are they here already?" Ty cocked an eyebrow, "Whoa, talk about speaking of the devil." He chuckled. A gasp from a nearby Pegasus guard caught my attention, his next words making my veins run cold with dread.

"There's... So many..." His fear-filled awe did little for my confidence. Almost as if he was resigned to the end. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to hear him, because everyone turned to look at the cliffs to our left. I could barely see the snowy mountain tops under the absolutey absurd tsunami of purple chitin writhing down it, and directly towards us.

"By Faust..." Celestia breathed, but Luna sprung into action, throwing a rather large ball of magic directly into the shield dome. The solar diarch soon joined her, and the already glowing barrier tripled in brightness. It gained an almost solid opulence, shielding us from even the sight of the horrifying monsters.

"Rally to your positions, mares and stallions! Prepare for the enemy!" Luna belted out in her stupidly loud voice.

I swear, that mare has a megaphone in her chest. I thought, moving towards the nearest front.

"Tom, where are you going?" Charlie asked, lifting a hoof to follow.

"To war." Ty answered for me, falling in step. "Wherever we are, the Protoss show up. So we need to be on the front lines." Ty spoke with grim determination, patting the hilt of his broadsword as we walked further ahead.

"We shall join you, as the Zerg seem to avoid us entirely, we will be of great help." Luna said, flapping her wings in the air beside me. A twin flap from my other side confirmed that Celestia had been thinking the same thing. I briskly strode through the camp, towards the direction we saw the horde decending. Upon reaching the edge of the camp, we found defensive battlements and shield ponies lining the entire hundred meter expanse between the tents and the protective barrier. Just beyond the aforementioned wall of light, I could see the wave of gnashing tooth and blade crash ever closer. Time seemed to stretch on forever, but eventually they reached the shield. Luna and Celestia both cringed immediately under the stress, prompting some nearby guards to join their magic to the force field. Hundreds upon hundreds of Zerglings and Hydralisks slammed into the barrier, instantly turning to ash the moment they made contact.

"That's pretty wicked." Ty nodded appreciatively.

"It will not hold forever." A nearby voice, one I recognized as Shining Armor, said as he trotted over. "However, we shall aid the princesses as long as we are able." He finished, earning a hoorah from his stallions as they all fired magical beams towards the roof of the dome. It had an immediately calming effect to both princesses, enough to allow them to speak once more.

"Thank you, Shining, and thank all of you." She gestured to the other soldiers. "Reinforcements are coming, rest assured." She added. Not long after that, the struggle started again, only this time it affected more than just the two Princesses. Unicorns all over the field began to grit their teeth, and suddenly the ponies were worried. Their magic, it wasn't going to be enough. And that in itself, was enough to worry me.

Then, our ray of hope cut through the clouds, raining bright blue photon blasts in on the horde below. The odd, dual crescent ship displayed an after-image of itself as it sailed through the air towards the barrier. 

"Get ready, my little ponies! The shield will soon fall!" Celestia called out to her troops. Right before the ship reached her shield, the entire dome flickered and was extinguished.

Thankfully, the horde had been dramatically thinned down from nearly twenty minutes of suicidal charging. Zeratul’s ship pulled a slick 180 and dropped six friendlies on the field. Three zealots, two stalkers, and what I recognized as the Purifier Talandar. The reinforcements helped the ponies quickly purge the remaining Zerg from the front lines, but more soon poured in to take their places. Even so, the new arrivals did an absolutely brilliant job of tearing the enemy apart. 

Zeratul’s ship soon hovered above us, before turning directly upright and powering down. A bipedal alien with two glowing, green eyes soon phased into reality with two little robotic probes, and every single being stood in absolute awe. 

"It is good to finally meet you all, though I do wish it were under better circumstance." He strode forward, his probes going to warp in defensive buildings. "I would like to come to know all that are here, but I fear for now we have more pressing matters to deal with." 

"Agreed," Luna shook her head, then smiled brightly. "We have a large amount of minerals near the center of the camp, if you'd like to send a probe over there. We've also set up perimeters for your pylons and areas for your photon cannons." She finished, not without a small amount of glee.

"Interesting," All of this seemed to make the dark prelate pause. "How do you know so much about our structures?" 

"As I'm sure Luna would love to explain," Celestia interjected, earning a sidelong look of pure murder from her sister, "You are correct, we do have more pressing matters at hoof." Luna let it go under the severity of the situation, which likewise brought Zeratul back from his ponderings.

"Luna, was it?" He gestured a hand towards the blue Alicorn, who nodded. "Please, show me the way to your mineral fields." At her swift nod, he continued, "I will let my Executor aboard the Void Seeker know about the defensible positions you established, for now, let us depart." They began to walk away, with Luna and Celestia having a silent conversation with their eyes. I won't pretend to know how the two ancient beings did it, I just know it was done. When they finally broke eye contact, Celestia took off towards the front line, and the rest of us followed suit. 

I remembered the mention of Zeratul’s Executor, and looked towards the Protoss units. The probes were busy at work, setting up two large rifts in space and time per four small rifts in space and freaking time. I assumed they were Pylons and Photon Cannons, from the crash course last night. That would make the most sense. However, as the four smaller rifts opened before the bigger rifts, I was proven wrong. Photon Cannons phased in, and they immediately began providing relief for the Protoss warriors and Equestrian soldiers alike. My eyes trailed up to see two hovering warp prisms, panels extended and rotating. They were coated in a thick layer of shield that the Unicorn guards, who rotated out with the fatigued ones, had conjured.

"Well, I'd say 'just like old times', or something like that, but this is a first." I smirked at my two friends.

"That it is, buddy. That, it suuure is." Ty whistled, obviously impressed. The larger rifts finally opened, revealing gateways. The two masses of gleaming and golden garish garrisons granted... I inwardly sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Fuck it, I need a distraction.

"So, I know this is probably reckless..." I began, receiving slightly alarmed looks.

"Noooo." Charlie tried to warn.

"And we're suppose to stay safe and all that pansy shit..." I continued, getting a mischievous grin from Ty, and more protest from an increasingly worried Charlie.

"NO! No, no, no, no, no-!"

"-Buuuuuut..." I drew my sword, my grin gleaming with it against the iridescent back lights of portals.

"Thomas I sweat to Go-!"

"LEEEEROOOOOOOYYYYYY" Pause for effect while the entirety of the camp, and a few of our new friends, stare at you like you're an idiot...

...

"God damn it." I heard Charlie groan, but paid her little mind.

...

"JEEEENNNNNKKKKIIIINNNNSSSSS!!!! I charged forth, as it was the only appropriate course of action that could follow such glory.

Probably alone, but hey, that's the price you pay for doing awesome shit you never thought you'd get the chance to do.

I barreled past the steadily active Gateway's and Photon Cannons, though a glance to my sides proved both of my friends were...

Well. Bigger dicks than I thought they were.

A glance over my shoulder revealed a groaning Charlie, head in hoof, and Ty's shaking head. That grin never left his face. My head swiveled back forward in time to nod at Talandar, who twirled around me to impale a pouncing Zergling with his wrist blade. I followed his lead, then hefted the creature off of my blade so I could begin the fray in earnest.


~ ~ ~


"-see, the Great Ones are the same as your 'Xel-Naga'." Luna rolled the word off of her tongue, as if tasting it.

"Yes..." Zeratul replied, cupping his chin with a hand. "It would seem so. I wonder why your kind has been kept a secret for all this time." He mused, more to himself than anyone else.

"I do not know, nor shall I try and understand the ways of the Great Ones. They are as magnificent as they were terrible." Luna bowed her head, pawing at the ground.

"Terrible? The Xel-Naga?" Zeratul questioned, "They are beings of immense power. Gods, even. However, they have always been benevolent to us Protoss." Luna snorted.

"Well, I suppose there is a difference in universes after all." 

"You mean besides the names?" The quip came from none other than Stone Kiss, his voice approaching from behind the two. Luna rolled her eyes as Zeratul looked back, too surprised to act.

"Oh would you-" Zeratul snapped out of his shock, cutting Luna off by disappearing in a tuft of black smoke. The ethereal coils sent the lunar diarch into an abrupt coughing fit, right as Zeratul appeared behind Stone Kiss, blade drawn.

The infected general was quick to respond, his heightened senses kicking into overdrive as he reared forward. He delivered a swift buck to the middle of the dark prelate's arm, staggering his bladed downswing. By the time Luna reopened her eyes, Zeratul was clutching his arm, and Stone Kiss was facing him, hunched in a combat stance.

"GENERAL STONE KISS, STAND DOWN!" Luna had read the situation perfectly, and received both a curt nod and relieved smile from Stone. She knew that by addressing the infected stallion as a ranking soldier, one whom she had direct control, Zeratul would hesitate. In this, she was not mistaken. 

"Apologies, Princess." Stone Kiss bowed, his tone level, "I was merely defending myself."

"The infested are not to be trusted. They are deceitful to the core, you should know this, Luna La'Moon." The Protoss warrior warned, "Why is it here?" 

"Friend Zeratul, please. He is not like Kerritsgan, he is a friend." Seeing the dark prelate would retaliate, Stone Kiss broke in.

"It is true, my body may have been corrupted, but I am pure." Zeratul gave a skeptical glance over to Luna, that being the only time he had looked away from Stone.

"Perhaps..." The Protoss remained silent for a moment, "Only time will tell of your taint, forsaken one." He added warily.

"So..." Luna broke the tense silence, "Tea and strategy?" 


~ ~ ~


Ty watched his brother in arms run wildly at the field as he laughed like a madman, with a smile on his face. Not your ordinary, everyday smile either. No, this was the shit eatingest of shiteating grins good ole Ty could possibly have plastered across his mug. He gave his old friend time to look back with a bewildered expression, before nudging a still groaning Charlie. 

"Yeah, but we should help the idiot, huh?" He remarked.

"Yeah..." Charlie trailed off, looking up to see Tom decapitate another Zergling, before tripping and falling flat on his face. Normally, in a battlefield this would mean death. Normally, the soldier isn't Tom. Who could let themselves get murdered after pulling a stunt like that?

Oh yeah. Leroy Jenkins.

"In just a feeeew more seconds." Charlie smiled to herself, seeing Tom roll away from some Hydralisk spines. He deftly leapt to his feet, and went right  back down to dodge a swinging Hydralisk claw. He slid, and turned on a damn near dime, raising his sword swiftly and slicing through the beasts back. "He's got this long enough for us to get the message across."

"Which is?" Ty would not, or in this case could not wipe the grin from his face.

"Don't be an idiot." She sighed.

"Wait... Me or him?" 

"It's him or I." Charlie shook her head, then whistled loud enough to get the other ponies attentions. "Alright ponies, we've all played the game. We know what to expect, and you all likely have your orders. Move it, moooove it!" She ushered, snapping them back to reality. "That goes for us too," She glanced sideways at Ty, "Let's make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Charlie said before taking off towards their friend in a dead sprint, Ty close behind.


~ ~ ~


Celestia, the great immortal Goddess of the Sun, Princess of Equestria and one of the most powerful beings on the planet, was completely and utterly stupified.

"That idiot is going to get himself killed..." She murmured to herself, flying high above the battlefield to blast incoming Mutalisks. The Pegasi were appreciating her help, along with the few Scouts and Corsairs that the Protoss had warped in. Far below the hovering Alicorn, the battle waged. Ponies fought tooth and hoof to repel the invaders, side by side with the Protoss in reasonable battle formations. Earth Ponies up front with the Zealots, Thestrals and Dark Templar tearing into the Zerg flanks with wild abandon, Unicorns hurling magical death with the Dragoon's slamming Zerg ranks with their own photon blasts. The slapdash forces had even taken the skies for their own, with the help of Celestia.

Then, there was the human.

"MY NAME IS INIGO MONTYOYA, YOU KILLED MY FATHER PREPARE TO DIE!" She heard him shout the obscure reference as he dove headlong into battle. Shaking her head, she thought to herself, Isn't it Ineighgo? Either way, he was surprisingly agile and ruthless, despite his admittedly comidic antics. 

"Luna," She spoke through her link, "The Zerg forces are dwindling. We may not need the Terran's to finish this battle. How is it going on your end?"


~ ~ ~


"Better, now that Zeratul and Stone aren't trying to kill each other." Luna rolled her eyes, "I do wish they would stop just staring though. It's rather unnerving." She suppressed a shudder.

"Let's just be glad they are both alive and here, dear sister." Luna snorted.

"Easy for you to say, you're not dealing with them. They've barely spoken, Tia!"

"Princess?" Stone Kiss’s voice broke her thoughts, snapping her back to reality. They both were looking at her, Zeratul's face an unreadable mask, though that was mostly due to his lack of facial features. 

"Yes?" Luna queried.

"Zeratul and I have come to an agreement." Luna nearly choked.

"W-What? When? More importantly, how?" She sputtered. Stone adopted a wry smile.

"Why, Princess, anypony with enough psions can perform telepathy. Kerritsgan, for example. The real life Kerrigan can as well. You and your sister aren't the only two." He closed his jaw and cocked his head at her, "See?" Luna physically jumped, alarmed that her link wasn't even a secret to the general.

"How long have you known? Have you been listening in?!" The Princess was slightly indignant.

"Faust, no!" He exclaimed, I've only recently... Ahem, aquired the psions required."

I do not mean to intrude, but we have pressing matters at hand. Zeratul’s voice echoed in Luna's mind.

"Lulu, what's going on?" Celestia just barged right back in.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Luna exclaimed, shooting dirty looks at the two present.

"I see the royal Canterlot voice still works in telepathy." Stone Kiss mused upon seeing Zeratul shake his head. 

"Quite." Luna remarked shortly, "Can we be on to business?" 

"Yes," Zeratul broke in, his head finally cleared. "That would be wise. We have much to discuss." 

"Sorry Tia, I'll explain later. Focus on driving those abominations back." She received only an indignant huff in response. 

"What, praytell, have you two been 'discussing'.?" Luna queried.

"The fate of the Queen of Blades." Zeratul replied, "We disagree on what must be done."

"She must die." Stone Kiss's tone brokered no argument. Zeratul, however, was not intimidated.

"She must live. The fate of the very universe hangs in the balance." He stated cryptically. 

"That bitch killed my wife, destroyed my city, and made me into an abomination!" Stone Kiss slammed his hoof on the table, a crack splitting the solid crystal. "Universe be damned, she will die." He narrowed his eyes at Zeratul, his very voice dangerous.

"She has done so to countless systems and peoples. I do not mean to be insensitive, but you are far from the only one." Zeratul took a breath, "I am sorry for your loss, I truly am. However, I refuse to doom all of existence for revenge." Stone's glare never once softened, the hatred in his heart refusing to falter.

"I refuse to believe in some paltry stonework telling the fate of the universe." He scoffed, "I will avenge my wife."

"You would doom the entirety of existence for your own gain?" Zeratul shook his head, turning to Luna. "Your majesty, please see reason."

"There is no reason in blindly following faith!" Stone exclaimed.

"Nor is there any in seeking petty revenge." Zeratul replied cooly. Luna sighed. This was going to be a long discussion.


~ ~ ~


"Sir, we're being followed." Matt Horner stated, getting an alarmed look in response.

"Dominion?" Jim Raynor asked warily. The captain just gave him a solemn nod. "Damn it!" His fist slammed onto the table, knocking his whiskey to the ground. It rolled away, forgotten by the commander of Raynor's Raiders in wake of the news. Matt and Jim hurried from the Cantina to the Bridge, worry creasing both of their features.

"Matt, after we land, how long do we have until they get there?" Jim asked.

"Not long enough, sir. Three hours, tops." Matt stated briskly.

"How many of them?" 

"Three." Matt paused, "One is bigger than the other two. Likely Mengsk’s flagship." Raynor froze, then let a light chuckle escape despite himself. 

"I don't know if I should be worried, or count myself lucky. Who knows," He continued forward, "We may get to kill two birds with one stone here, Matt."

"Maybe," Horner muttered under his breath, "Or maybe we'll all die..." He mused bitterly and shook his head, then followed the receeding form of his commander down the hall.


~ ~ ~


"Iisha." The dual toned voice of Kerrigan, Queen of Blades echoed through the pulsating Hive.

"Yes, my queen?" A grey, serpent-esque creature slithered down from an opening atop the roof of the throne room. She hung by her tail, seemingly still connected to the ceiling, and clasped her sleek claws together.

"Why is that base not part of the Hive yet?" The question was clearly rhetorical, though the beady eyed creature was compelled to answer her Queen. 

"The Protoss-"

"Iisha." The Queens tone dipped to dangerous levels, "I want that base gone, and the Alicorns in my hands." Her eyes began to glow with cruelty. "I will have what I want, do we understand each other?" The creature known as Iisha gulped audibly.

"Yes, my queen."
> Discussions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goddamnit I'm good. I thought to myself as I sliced a Zerglings throat, then swiftly dodged a Roach's incoming acid spray. Talandar, the other Protoss warriors, the ponies, and I were making short work of the Zerg forces. With any luck, we wouldn't even need the Terran's to push back the tide.

Of course, luck is not my virtue.

A Hydralisk decided it was high time somebody put a stop to my antics by tripping me with its tail. I managed to slice it in the face on the way down, blinding it, but that didn't stop a Zergling from pouncing onto my prone form. It's gnashing teeth bore down onto me, but in a flash of steel, it's head rolled along the ground next to mine.

Then again, with friends like mine, luck could eat a dick.

"Ya know, one day," Ty extended a hand to help me up, which I gladly took, "You're gonna bite it, doing some stupid shit like that." I gave him a smirk.

"Hey, buddy, that's what I've got you and Charlie for." I said as I got back to my feet.

"We aren't gonna be here forever, ya know." Charlie commented as she released a crossbow bolt into the maw of a Roach.

"You tell that to Zeratul and his rocks." I chuckled, flicking the blood from my blade. The Zerg seemed to be thinning out, thankfully, and the Protoss were settling to a more permanent foothold. When three Zealots rushed past us from the Gateway's, I turned away from the battlefield and to my companions. "So, things seem handled here. Should we go check on Zeratul and Luna?" A large thump sounded behind me, and I turned on a heel and extended my blade, only for it to be stopped in a glowing, golden aura. 

"Please," Celestia smiled, "Save it for the Zerg." She released my blade, and I quickly sheathed it.

"Shit, sorry Sunbutt." I scratched the back of my head, "I thought you were an enemy." 

"No harm done." She commented idly. I briefly pondered if she would ever mention her little nickname, but soon realized that it wasn't worth the time. Either she would tell me to stop, or I'd keep having fun. "Though, you are correct. I would very much like to go check on the deliberations." She furrowed her brow. We began the brisk trek back to the tent city, a myriad of forces rushing past us and towards the front. It wasn't long before we got to the central War Tent, however we could hear the heated voices before we entered the flaps.

"-care! Think about your foals, Stone!" Luna exclaimed as we parted the entrance. The tense silence that followed was not one cause by us. Stone, Luna, and Zeratul sat at a large, cracked, crystal roundtable. Night Stride was behind her princess, casting a glare at Ty, who returned it with blatant enthusiasm. Solar Flare merely nodded at us as we entered, his stoic mask unbreaking. 

"Do not bring them into this, Luna." Stone all but growled. "They're motherless because of that wretch!"

"If Raynor and Kerrigan have the same relationship as Neighnor and Kerritsgan," Luna looked towards Zeratul, who gave a curt nod. "Then you'd be doing this alone, Stone." She heaved a great sigh, "You would perish, new form or not."

"You don't know that!" Stone Kiss protested, though he seemed to be losing a bit of his fire. "You just don't know for sure..." Celestia cleared her throat, getting Luna and Zeratul to look up at us while Stone maintained a downcast glare.

"I hate to interrupt," Celestia began, "But if I'm not mistaken, Stone Kiss wishes to hunt down the Queen of these abominations?"

"Yes." Stone replied.

"That is very brave, General. However, Luna is mistaken. You will not be alone." She stated, earning alarmed looks from everyone present. 

"Sister-" Luna's protest was cut off by Celestia raising her hoof.

"You are Zerg now, correct?" She stated, more than asked.

"More or less." The infected stallion murmured. 

"And you were very efficient in mind control magic as a Unicorn, correct?"

"...Where are you going with this, your majesty?" Stone peered up at the white alicorn, who merely smiled.

"I can get you close to one of the outlying Hive Clusters..." She trailed off, and realization dawned on everyone present. "However, keep in mind, we will not be able to assist you to the fullest of our abilities." The reactions were vastly varied. I smirked softly at the clever plan, Charlie looked a little worried, Stone smiled broadly, Luna remained unreadable, Stride continued to glare at Ty, Solar never broke his mask, Zeratul was not happy, if his furrowed brow was any indication, and Ty was confused.

Looks like somebody skipped out on reading his notes.

"Yes! If I had only one drone, I could fight her on a level field!" The fire rose back up from within the infected stallion.

"You mean to give this creature a Hive? I do not understand the faith you place within him." Zeratul shook his head, and Stone snorted, shooting him a dirty look.

"I don't understand the faith you place in those rocks." He scoffed, then turned back to Celestia. "This could give us the edge we need. Not only to defeat the Zerg, but this 'Dominion' as well."

"The disadvantages of an allied hive aside," Zeratul continued undeterred, with Stone rolling his eyes at the prelate's blatant sarcasm, "I believe we are more than a match for the enemy."

"It pays to be over prepared, dear Prelate." Celestia countered, her gaze unyielding. 

"Alright, alright. Everyone's dick is on the table, right?" I asked, gathering scathing glares from the majority present, my friends and Zeratul excluded. I took it as a sign to continue, unabated. "I say we let him have his army. I don't know the specifics of why this 'Kerrigan' must live or die, and frankly, I don't care. I trust Stone Kiss's character." Stone smiled softly, while Zeratul raised a single eyebrow. "I also trust Zeratul’s wisdom. Whatever is written in these stones will come to pass, regardless of our actions. The only thing I am concerned with is the safety of this planet and it's populous. If that means Stone is corrupted and needs to be put down, we can do so after the immediate threat is handled. You want the shiny pile of shit, or the dull one?" I directed my last comment to Zeratul, who merely leaned back and clasped his hands together.

"Very well." He eventually spoke, "Gods damn me, I may come to regret this. However, I may be mistaken on my paranoia as a whole. Only time shall tell." 

"So it's agreed?" Stone spoke eagerly, "I long to have her dead." Celestia frowned slightly at this, her head cocked to the side.

"Only one stipulation, my trusted general." She let that hang for a few seconds, "You must not kill her outright. I have some questions of my own that I shall not be denied." Stone Kiss frowned at this, contemplating something within his own head.

"Fine." He finally said, "I will do my best to show restraint, princess." Celestia smiled her warm, motherly smile.

"That is all I can ask of you." She replied.

"Good, good. I'm glad we got that settled." Ty broke in, "Now, how about we get ready for the other members of our little party?"

"Certainly, I am eager to meet this James Raynor." Luna rolled the name around her mouth, as if tasting it. 

"Do not forget the enemies who tail him, Princess." Zeratul warned, "They are ruthless and underhanded. Their leader will stop at nothing to have what he desires." Celestia chewed her lip, then opened her mouth to say something. However, she was cut off by a soldier bursting through the tent flaps, panting wildly.

"Your majesty! We have a problem!" He was panicked, the whites of his eyes clearly visible. 

"What is it, Corporal Candid Cheer?" Celestia asked. 

Can I get one fucking break from this alliteration bullshit, ponyland?!

"It's the Zerg! They're coming at us again, with the same, if not more, forces!" He sputtered. Celestia swore and flared her nostrils. With a strong beat of her wings, she shot past us and out of the tent, Solar galloping not far behind. We moved to follow, but were stopped by Zeratul's sagely voice.

"Hold a moment." I turned back to look at his raised hand with my eyebrow mimicking the gesture. "You three must stay safe. The prophecy may be written upon stone, but it is not written in stone." I snorted, and looked over to Ty to see amusement written clearly across his face.

"You have cameras on the battlefield, right?" I asked, getting a nod in response. "Check the footage from about twenty minutes ago. Go on, I'll wait." I crossed my arms and propped myself on a structural support, a grin plastered across my face. He pulled out a small, triangular device and placed it upon the table. He pressed down on a small crystal and-

"-ENNKINNNS" Everyone present jumped, startled from the abrupt audio. A large, green hologram of the battlefield earlier appeared above the table, and showed me running haphazardly into the fray. Zeratul looked up at me, unamused, and received a cheeky wink for his trouble.

His eye actually twitched.

With that, I turned and strode out of the tent, middle finger held high at his protests.


~ ~ ~


Twilight Sparkle fidgeted in her seat, her hoof running over her Element.

"Remind me again why we are doing this?" Rarity piped up nevously, eyeing the passing landscape with longing.

"It's like Ty said," Rainbow's raspy voice sounded from inside of the bag she was rummaging around in. "We all have a place out there, even if we're not all on the battlefield itself."

"She's right, sugarcube." Applejack said, "Hay, Ah reckon y'all could do wonders for tha militaries armor. And Flutters here would be a blessin' in the medical field." The farm pony rested a foreleg over the timid Pegasus, who had been shivering in place for most of the ride. She gave Applejack a thankful smile despite herself.

"I suppose you're right, I just hope everypony comes out alright." Rarity resigned.

Twilight frowned, letting off a small sigh.


~ ~ ~


"Sir, we're approaching the planet now. Our new biotech reactors let us reach our destination early. How would you like to proceed?" Matt Horner asked over the brisk click-clacks of keys along the control console.

"Adjutant, bring up the long range scanners and let's see what shape these equines are in." Jim Raynor commanded. A holographic image expanded across the holotable, depicting Zeratul's ship and Protoss fortifications backing the native race against an onslaught of Zerg. The sight caused a smirk to tug at the corner of the commanders lips. "Good, Zeratul's already here. And he brought friends, how nice of him." He mused.

"Commander, we're picking up Terran readings on the surface!" A redshirt called from his post, causing Jim to scowl.

"What? Did the Dominion beat us here?!" Raynor raged.

"Negative, sir," Another man called, "We're only picking up two biosignatures." The commanders brow furrowed and his lips pursed.

"Give me a visual." He ordered, and the screen showed two Terrans jogging towards the Protoss defenses from inside the camp. 

"Jim, they're not wearing any armor. What's going on?" Horner chimed in, his brow furrowed and his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

"I don't know." James Raynor scratched his chin, "But I intend to find out." The holotable flashed red, and the adjutant's robotic voice filled the room.

"Alert, Zerg attack wave commencing on native camp and Protoss allies." Jim opened his mouth to give an order, but the adjutant cut him off with yet another red flash. "Warning, class eleven psionic entity proximity alert! Recommend immediate disengagment!"

"Like hell..." Jim scoffed under his breath, "Helmsman, take us in. Let's give our new friends some backup." 


~ ~ ~


Princess Celestia shot past the battlements her Protoss allies had erected, and used her magic to cut a large swath through the approaching mass of Zerg.

It did little to cripple the horde, but every bit counted now. She was running low on her reserves.

She summoned her age old golden halberd, and gleaming golden armor, already fastened onto herself. Just before she threw herself into the fray, her very sun was blotted out, and a deafening boom rang out far above her.

The Zerg horde was consumed in fire and explosions as pure, unadulterated death rained from the sky. Celestia, jaw agape, looked up to see a massive Battlecruiser with familiar letters emblazoned on the side. 

"The Hyperion." She breathed, watching in awe as the instrument of destruction shelled the horde before her.

Not long after it had begun, the salvo ceased. 

The horde was little more than craters and body parts at this point, though the acrid stench of blood and burning corpses clung to the air. Celestia obvserved the destroyed battlefield with a level glare. She then turned away, and come face to face with two awestruck humans. They seemed to catch her expression, Tom being the one to ask.

"What's wrong, Sunbutt?" Even in her discomforted state, the nickname merely rolled off her back. She closed her eyes and exhaled softly, bowing her head. 

"This destruction... It's honestly frightening. I worry for my little ponies." She brought her head back up and opened her eyes to meet Tom's steely grey ones. "Promise me this, Terrans. You will not let this happen to my subjects." Ty's jaw set firmly, and a flicker of uncertainty passed through Tom's eyes.

"Princess... I can't." He sagged his shoulders, "No solemn vow I make could speak for any other Terran coming to this planet. I'll do my best to make sure that this," He gestured towards the field of death, "Never happens to any of them. But that's all I can do." Celestia let out a deep, shuddering sigh, and began to walk back to the camp, breifly pausing between the two of them. 

"You're right. I'm sorry for putting the two of you on the spot like that." She resumed her walk, "Let's get ready for their dropship."


~ ~ ~


Arcturus Mengsk sat upon his throne aboard his flagship, the Bucephalus, idly tapping his fingers on the sculpted lion head that made up the armrest. He was glad to have it back from the hands of his traitorous son, Valerian. I guess it runs in the family. He thought, reminiscing his strained relationship with his own father. His cold, calculating eyes fell upon his men, all bustling about the bridge in preparation for what was to come.

"Report." His voice cut through their incessant chatter.

"Sir, we are due to arrive in precisely seventeen minutes and forty two seconds." The man working his navigation array answered briskly.

"Thank you, Corporal Kane." His voice carried no warmth, only satisfaction. "Bring up images of the planet on the holotable." Two clicks later, and Mengsk was rewarded with the sight of the Hyperion in orbit over a shimmering ball of blue and green. "Zoom." He commanded.

The image changed to one of a smoldering battlefield, Zerg bodies torn asunder and flung around with little grace. A pure white Alicorn was walking away from it and past two armorless Terrans, heading towards a sea of Protoss battlements and pony tents. A soft smile graced his lips.

"My, my. Princess Celestia." He chuckled, "You haven't aged a day. A shame you won't remember me." He turned towards another man, his newly annoited acting general.

"Callus, prep an elite guard squad." His eyes drifted back towards the image of burning Zerg bodies, "I have a sneaking suspicion that somebody needs our help." He could not help the wicked smile that spread across his features.