Prologue: Lost Loves
"This is Lieutenant Killswitch to Mother Bird, Lieutenant Killswitch to Mother Bird. I am currently approaching the bogey, do you copy?" said the maroon unicorn with the cold, grey eyes in a gravely voice to a visor jutting out from under his neck with a red holo-screen. Currently, he was on a train in the middle of the desert, and still heading deeper into it. His commanding officer, Captain Iron Hoof, had sent him to scout out an anomaly in the middle of the Samarea Desert. Killswitch had been equipped with the highest technology available for this mission, but he didn't know why. All he knew was that, one, this mission was to be kept completely under wraps, and two, he wanted to see his little filly again. Her mother, Orchid Dew, was killed in an accident while Killswitch was away on a mission for the Equestrian Armed Forces, a relatively new branch, leaving him to be the only one to care for his five year old filly Night Breeze.
Killswitch reached into a pocket on his technological suit and pulled out a picture of two ponies. One of them was himself, his black mane flowing perfectly with his smile that now seemed distant and unreal. The other pony was a beautiful mare of a baby blue color, whose cerulean hair was highlighted with a light purple streak on the bottom. To him, the only thing that kept him going was her smile and Night Breeze. He hadn't broken the news to her yet in the whole year since it had happened, but he knew he had to at some point.
"Roger that, Lieutenant." suddenly replied the visor, which now had a circle labeled HQ on the holo-screen. "You should be meeting up with the bogey momentarily. Prepare for tram uncovering. Mother Bird out." The audio was cut, and the circle blinked out of existence. Not long after, the sides of the tram began to crawl back into the roof and showed Killswitch a breathtaking sight.
In front of him stood a large facility with red lights peppering the stretched out dome. A donut shaped structure stood at the base of the dome. Killswitch absentmindedly stepped out onto the desert sands in awe of the building that stood before him. Almost immediately, the door to the facility opened for him, the breeze coming out from inside singing a song of coolness and refreshment. He stepped inside, then wasted no time in trying to find the way to the dome.
"Mother Bird, I am inside the bogey, I repeat, I am inside the bogey. Do you copy?" Killswitch said into his visor. All that came back was static. Not a good sign for him, but Killswitch continued on. However, he only took a single step before an old stallion's voice from behind him said, "And where are you going, Lieutenant?"
Killswitch turned around and snapped to attention. "Captain Iron Hoof, sir!" Iron Hoof waved his right hoof, which was covered in metal, and said, "At ease, soldier. Do you know why you're here?" The lieutenant shook his head and yelled, "No, sir!"
"It's because we didn't get rid of you last time!" came a shrill mare's voice. Out walked a completely white unicorn, her eyes even having a silver coloring to them. "And why put off tomorrow what you can do today? Oh, what joy it'll be, getting rid of you! You'll soon be reunited with your dear wife…"
Killswitch's ears twitched. "What the hell is going on, how do you know what happened to my wife?!" The other two ponies just sat there, the mare having a devilish smirk on her face. It took a few seconds, but it finally clicked in his head.
"So you're the fuckin' reason my filly is without a mother?" he snarled. The white unicorn laughed and said, "Oh, and how joyful her screams were! They were so wonderful!" Suddenly, she stopped giggling and put on a serious face. Slowly, she trotted up to Killswitch and said, "I haven't even introduced myself! Oh, how rude of me! My name is Unity, and I head the Church of Unitology in far-off Canterlot!"
This only brought more growls out of the soldier. He whipped an SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle, the most advanced assault rifle available to the EAF, up and put the three barrels against Unity's forehead, saying, "Y'know, I've learned never to trust a religious nut. Now I know why." The mare only chuckled some more and said, "Well, you can't trust anypony these days… not even to protect your dear filly…"
Killswitch lowered his gun. "What have you done to her?" he asked. Unity turned her back to him and said, "Oh, she's fine for now. Unless, you know, somepony were to accidentally hit a button…" She levitated a remote control with a small blue button on it out from Iron Hoof's uniform, then started to let it drop before catching it as it nearly hit the ground, making Killswitch all the more anxious.
"You see," Unity explained, "I'm also the head of a group called The Circle, a band of Unitologists who've decided to take action and both help the Marker start Convergence and to silence those who speak against us." She dropped the remote completely, letting it clatter to the ground on its back.
"D-don't do it! P-please… she's all that I have left!" he begged. He knew that it was completely against everything he knew to give in to the enemy, but there was more at stake here. Unity merely nodded and said, "Alright then… oops!" The unicorn threw the remote behind her, and a faint beep was heard.
Killswitch was devastated. His own little filly, his little Night Breeze, was now gone. He swung the pulse rifle up and shouted, "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" He then pulled the trigger, filling the air with the sound of gunfire.
Once he emptied the clip, Killswitch looked back up. The two ponies were completely unharmed. He opened up the back end of the gun and pulled the cylindrical magazine out. Blanks. His weapon was loaded with blanks. Even more enraged, he threw the mag away and pulled a live one out of his back pocket, a piece of paper falling out with it.
Reloading the assault rifle caused a red holographic display to pop up on the side of his vision that showed the number 100 on it. 100 rounds, just enough to kill the two ponies. "I've got live rounds now! Make a move and you're dead!" Killswitch shouted. Iron Hoof, about to step forward, put his hoof back down gently and said, "I'm afraid that won't be necessary."
A hoof suddenly came down on the back of Killswitch's head, causing him to drop his weapon. Another one shoved him to the ground, and the cold barrel of a pistol push up against the back of his neck. As his eyes shrank in fear, Unity walked up to him and said, "That pistol against your neck is known as a Divet, and the thing holding it against your head is known as a human. Strange things, really. They act very much like us, as they hold a high regard for the lives of their friends and family. Unlike us, though, all humans will kill anything that puts their loved ones in harm's way, not just those in the military."
"I'll fucking kill each and every one of you, EVERY SINGLE ONE!" Killswitch yelled. He didn't care what was holding a pistol against his neck. The mare in front of him was a monster, and he'd be sure to take her down with him. Unity chuckled when she saw the determination in his eyes and said, "Oh, there's no way you're getting out of this one. You've got so many guns trained on you, you'd think you were red and white! Now, this is where we say goodbye. You are hereby dishonorably discharged from the Equestrian Armed Forces, Lieutenant Killswitch."
Suddenly, a small breeze blew a piece of paper in front of Killswitch. It was the same picture of him and Orchid Dew, smiling away at some long gone entertainment. Well… thought the maroon stallion with the cold, grey eyes, …I guess I'm going to be seeing her sooner than I thought…
Then, the air filled once more with gunfire, and all was silent a moment later.