Story Scraps Part 2

Hey all! Sorry to be late, but I ended up having technical issues. My computer crashed on me multiple times, and I needed to find out if it's a hardware issue or not. Continuing on from Sunday's exploration into the dunes of Saddle Arabia, let's focus back on Equestria, and take a look at what would have been AJUO 3.

A Journey Unthought Of: Apocalyptica

At the end of Revival of Chaos, Janus manipulates Adam and Lyra Heartstrings into such a position that they successfully kill Discord. Only after he is dead does Janus realize that Discord's chaotic nature was keeping the universe inaccessible from an ancient power, and a malevolent one at that. Realizing that he only has four years of Equestria's time to prepare for it's arrival, he manipulates events further to bring together a Cosmic Paradigm, beings who represent abstract concepts that will prove instrumental in fighting back the darkness. These are Celestia and Luna (Light and Darkness), Cadence and Sunset Shimmer (Love and Hatred), and Zecora and Bunsen Burner (Nature and Science). Janus, however, is caught in a surprise attack on his citadel pocket dimension outside of time by dark tendrils, and is only able to destroy his timeline manipulating basin before it can use it, and to send out one psychic transmission across universes explaining his and the timeline's plight. This message reaches the Doctor (making his grand return), specifically the 11th Doctor during his last hoorah tour before and during the Series 6 Finale, where he thought he was going to die at Lake Silencio, Utah on April 22, 2011. Sensing Janus' urgency, he rushes back to the black hole cluster he fell into to get to the Equestrian timeline, and gently aligns with and enters the timestream, taking the Tardis straight to Ponyville.

Four years have passed since Revival of Chaos. Equestria is finally healing from the Changeling Scare, and the Royal Sisters are once again back in Canterlot. Cadence, who had been ruling in their stead along with Prince Shining Armor, happily steps down, as it will give her and her husband more time to focus on raising their growing little colt Janus (holup, wat?) In Ponyville, Adam and Lyra have been married for a little over three years, and have had a child, a daughter named Megan (Yes, the Megan from the G1.) Having never completed high school, Adam plies his basic mechanical knowledge and his Dominion Gauntlet's magic into becoming an employee at a local construction firm. It's a decent living, and his Foreman recognizes his abilities and willingness to learn, even if his fellow workers are still a bit skittish occasionally. Lyra continues her compositions, which bring in sporadic but decent income. Life is stable, and in a year or two Megan will be ready to start school. The issue of course being whether they homeschool or instead allow her to go to Cheerilee's school. It's a major point of contention for the two. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, after having served as Peace Ambassadors with Princesses Celestia and Luna, have returned to their lives and livelihoods. Rainbow Dash has become a Master Sargeant in the Wonderbolts. She could have progressed much higher up in the ranks by now, but she prefers to stay in the air, and not behind a desk, and has thus refused any further promotions, instead focusing on search and rescue operations, or testing experimental equipment like new high altitude or Arcanium enhanced flightsuits. Twilight, while posted in Canterlot and gaining experience as a diplomat, truly misses her time in Ponyville, which her Celestial student predecessor and diplomatic mentor Fancy Pants empathizes with. Her fellow, Serana Pryce, the second human brought to Equestria, has also missed Ponyville for Pinkie Pie's company, but also for not having enough time to visit with Celestia, who she still refers to as Tia out of habit. While she'd prefer to be a party organizer and coordinator like she was back on our Earth, she has gained a lot of practical experience from her time witnessing and taking minutes in some of Celestia's meetings both internally, and with the Dawn Compact Nations like the Griffons, Diamond Dogs, Minotaurs, Saddle Arabians, and others.

The day the Doctor arrives in Ponyville is the day that the Mane 6 meet up for the first time in over a year. While there is much to talk about, there is some waxing nostalgic for the past when they were all together, even if it was because there was a crisis of some kind to manage. The Doctor quickly arrives on the scene and is positively flummoxed that everything appears to be fine, although he is surprised to find Adam and Lyra present in this timeline again after having dropped them off in his and Adam's home timeline several years prior. All of the cast struggle with his regeneration initially, but quickly realize it definitely is the Doctor. The worry sets in when they begin to wonder why he's there. Heading back to the Tardis, the others following behind, the Doctor checks his instruments for abnormalities, and picks up a signal from the outer edge of the asteroid belt. A massive, artificial object is on rapid approach with trajectory towards Earth. Here the Doctor realizes that for once he, the Oncoming Storm, is the thunderhead; he is early, acting as herald to the dark things yet to come.

Deep in the Royal Science Division, in the Black Archive, where the most dangerous objects are cataloged and stored away from the world, a heavily damaged robotic alicorn sits dormant. Dormant it remains no longer. Swiftly activating, it reattaches the pieces to itself that had been on display or had fallen off in it's crash to Earth 55 years prior. It swiftly makes its way out of the Archive, past the caretaker Chekov the Diamond Dog, and heads to the upper floors of the facility. Ditzy Doo, still the RSD Director, is going over the latest budgetary requirements for the year with Lt. Swiftfeet, along with Dinky Doo, the mechanical pony Ditzy likes to affectionately refer to as her daughter. When the alarm sounds and everyone is notified of the escaped Archive object, the guards quickly secure any and all research staff and zone in on the target, opening fire when they do. Conventional weapons fire proves ineffective, and even when heavier ordnance intercepts the alicorn droid and attempts to hit it with an RPG, it fires low frequency infrared lasers to confuse the targeting system, sending it off course. Leaping beyond and above the explosion, the droid enters the Materials Lab, where it begins eating raw metals and ingots alike. Dinky Doo theorizes that it is attempting to repair itself, and that it may need a large source of power to complete it's restoration. Ditzy Doo immediately calls for the Arcanium Reactor to be locked down, with the Lieutenant going to directly oversee it sealed off. Even as he does so, he wonders why the droid has gone to such great lengths to avoid injuring or killing any personnel.

After gorging itself on all the materials it needs, the droid moves to the Arcanium Reactor just as anticipated. All forces are recalled as any weapons fire will prove ineffective or lead to collateral damage. Barrel, the lead chemist, does shoot a highly corrosive acid at it with a grenade launcher, which does have some initial effect, but then the droid deliberately either ejects or rips out the burning areas, and then eats those too. As the droid approaches the sealed reactor door, it looks directly into the camera, and it's eyes flash in a specific pattern five times. By the third time it happens, Lt. Swiftfeet recognizes the electric strobing as Morse Code (Horse Code is too stupid of a pun, and I'm too lazy to come up with a better name.) It's eyes flash "Stand Away From The Door." Seeing as they have no way to stop it, the Lieutenant tells everypony to do so. Lasers from the droid's eyes cut right through the door, and it pushes the reinforced door down. Coils emerge from underneath the plating in it's forelegs and from nodes near it's wing joints, which plug directly into the ports on the Arcanium Reactor with zero effort, like they were designed to do just that. As it begins to charge up and repair itself, it's form visibly begins reconfiguring with greater armor plating, and it's more natural looking wings turning into long wingspanned VTOL engines with bladed feathers on the exterior not unlike swords, it finally repairs its voice box, and says in the voice of Bunsen Burner "Good to see you Lieutenant. It's been some time. Now, however, there is no time left at all. He is coming. Prepare your defenses. I will prepare mine." The mechanoid Bunsen Burner teleports away to parts unknown, just as the surface telescopes report multiple objects streaking through the morning sky towards the planet.

Debris falls out of the sky, some metallic, some looking like dark crystalline structures, all of it as large as one to five stories tall. Canterlot does sustain some initial damage, but Arcanium powered shields are raised quickly enough that casualties are minor. The surrounding valley and countryside is not so fortunate. Debris even goes as far west as Ponyville's outskirts, with everyone seeking cover. The crystals hold a sinister power, gleaming purple and sickly green. Some begin to crack open and collapse, dust permeating the air and ground. Within the crystals are the forms of many different sentient terrestrial races, all of them dead. The crystals glow with a bright pulse, and the dead begin to rise.

Did I fail to mention that this was going to become a Heavy Teen/Mature story? Yeah, it does.

Attacks by the recently raised increase in the confusion, and panic sets in. Those they find living the dead attack. Those they find dead they vomit up crystalline powder onto, which slowly begins to grow onto the deceased, reanimating them. Those recently dead still retain their higher functions and even memories of their past lives and loved ones, which they use to either entrap or manipulate the living. Granny Smith, having died just a few months prior, is among these. Big Mac and Cheerilee (or, spoilers, the pseudonym of the Changeling Hive Queen Candidate Falena) try to get Apple Bloom and Scootaloo away from the hordes by sequestering them in the barn, not understanding what's going on. The Changeling Hive, which had been peacefully relocated underneath the Apple farm, begins its own fight with subterranean invaders, and Changeling Queen Papillon asks for Falena's help in defense of the Hive. Cheerilee answers the call, leaving the three alone in the barn. As the hordes of dead converge on the barn, and Granny Smith taunts them more and more, Big Mac tells Apple Bloom to go with Scootaloo on her motorized bike into town, where hopefully a stand is being made against the zombies. Serving as a distraction for the horde, Big Mac covers the two's escape, both terrified and in tears.

In the Everfree, Zecora begins her own fight against the undead, calling on her powers over nature to try and slow the tide via plant formations, acids, and summoning localized thunderstorms to destroy them. She too is forced to retreat to Ponyville. Deeper in the interior, in the buried human vessel Vanguard, the flesh and blood Bunsen Burner watches the onslaught of meteor showers, followed by the dead rising, and knows that everyone on the planet's surface will be lost if action is not taken now. Having spent the last four years with the Maiden studying and repairing Vanguard, the both of them decide to reactivate the ship, and begin priming the launch sequence.

In Ponyville, a stand is being made against the death horde. Twilight returns to the Golden Oak Library, where she begins looking through all her books and quickly packing what she can with Spike's help. A faint singing is heard from the crystal sliver that Celestia had gifted to Twilight on what she thought would be her death in Revival of Chaos, and feeling it's significant she takes it with her too. Rainbow Dash flies off as fast as she can to Wonderbolts command to report in. The place is in disarray, as zombified pegasi have landed on the training grounds and are already beginning to convert as many as they can. Seeing no other option, Rainbow takes a powerful pegasi magic enhancing suit for herself, and retreats back to Ponyville.

In Canterlot, Shining Armor begins to coordinate a defensive plan against the zombies, while Lt. Swiftfeet and Ditzy Doo engage Siege Mode. The dead begin blasting/digging into the mountain to try and get to the civilians, forcing them to engage continuity plans, evacuating the Royal Family and the citizens via a long range teleport network. Transport is slow, but the evacuated are now in a bunker on the outskirts of Appleloosa, far out of harms way. Feeling there's no other choice, Flash Sentry releases Sunset Shimmer from her confinement, who holds off the undead with walls of magical flames. The Princesses, meanwhile, engage in no-holds-bar combat with the undead on the surface, crushing, burning, and vaporizing them. It seems as if the tide is turning with their help.

In the upper atmosphere, the mechanoid Bunsen Burner watches as from out of the cold black of space approaches a massive ship covered in crystals. The droid remotely activates several defensive railgun batteries left over from the period before humanity's extinction, and opens fire with those that still function. All he can hope for is that he can slow the ship, or whittle away at its shields enough that it will be vulnerable when it enters Earth's atmosphere. More pieces of crystal break off, and as if guided by some external force rocket away to other parts of the continent, and then to other continents still. Using the railguns as a distraction, the droid gains physical access to the ship, and fumes to itself that he will be taking back command of his vessel.

The ship descends to linger just above Canterlot, blocking out the sun with its size. The dead look up and begin praising the arrival of their master and lord. The Regalia, Equestria's capitol airship, is launched to try and throw some damage at the vessel, but its shields absorb anything they dish out. With a single point laser burst, the dark vessel pierces the onboard Arcanium Reactor, spectacularly obliterating the vessel, and killing all onboard. The remaining armed forces are broken and demoralized, which the dead capitalize on, forcing a retreat. Shining Armor, in desperation, heads down to the RSD for one last piece of tech that could help: Project AEGIS. The Princesses, seeing the insurmountable odds, attempt one last gambit. Celestia flies out of the atmosphere towards the sun, while Luna distracts the vessel with conjured black holes and laser bursts. From out of the vessel drops a single pony, which the dead bow to. The dark skinned, curved horned pony silently makes his way into Canterlot Castle.

Having ensured that all other staff and members of the family have left, Princess Cadence makes her way down to the RSD on the last elevator down. Something lands on the elevator's roof, and begins to slice open the metal with dark magic. Before she teleports herself and young Janus further into the facility, she sees the face of the dark lord and her heart runs cold with fear. He stalks after them regardless, seeming to constantly know where they are. Any guards that stand in his way are turned to mince meat, and converted to his dark cause. Finally, they track the Princess and her colt to the teleportation chamber. Sunset Shimmer arrives to destroy the undead guards, and attempts to take him one-on-one, but even with all her power is overwhelmed. Before a killing blow can be struck, Shining Armor arrives, wearing the Armored Equine Gear, Integrated Skeleton, a thick plated, Arcanium powered suit. With it's power and armament, he blows the top half of the dark lord's skull clean off. Flash Sentry picks up the wounded Sunset Shimmer and retreats through the portal, with the young Royal Family not far behind. Suddenly, arcane tentacles lash out and drag the young Janus away from his parents. From out of the stump where the dark lord's head had been emerges the older form of Janus, pleading with Shining and Cadence to stop him, as he can't control his own body anymore. The dark lord's loosely hanging jaw laughs as it begins to mend and cover over Janus' face once again. The younger Janus, terrified, reflexively stops time, but the dark lord resists its effects and slits the child's throat. Shining Armor, driven mad with grief and rage, rushes the murderer of his child, forcing him back and back, while Cadence tries to heal her child's wound. The wound proves to be corrupted by dark magic, and will not heal. The young Janus is dead.

From up above, smashing through marble, rock, and metal, the mechanoid Bunsen Burner slams into the dark lord, yelling his name as he does, "Sombra!" Grinding the dark lord against the wall, he uses the ailerons on his wings to slice his head off like a pair of scissors. He then yells for the royal couple to go before he regenerates, and that he will destroy the portal to ensure their escape. Cadence has to force her husband through the portal, as he is too overcome with fury to listen or not take revenge. While he was distracted, the droid's own head is removed from his shoulders, dragging his spine along behind him. For the first time Sombra speaks. There is no victory for Bunsen or anyone else. This is the end of all things. Existence will at last have peace when it joins with the void, where his own master will remake everything with its own grand design. The droid's head reactivates, and blasts Sombra right in the eyes with his eye lasers. Levitating itself with its own magic, the droid concedes this may be the end of all races, but that they will force him to take every damned inch, and only when they can fight no longer. The droid's body, operating independent of the head, reconfigures its chest mounted reactor into a massive Arcanium bomb, and holds onto the dark lord in a dead man's grip. The head teleports away, while the body detonates, destroying the RSD and everything left in it.

Up above, in the vacuum of space, after the destruction of the Regalia, Celestia flies to the sun orbiting the Earth and gets as close as she can. She then begins to draw power from it, holding as much as she can, and then drawing a little more. Finally, when she's ready, she flies back to Earth at the speed of light. It takes a single second. As she burns up from the energy, the ship's shields are sabotaged by a program the mechanoid Bunsen Burner uploaded, and they disintegrate. Luna holds the ship in place and warps weapons fire away from Celestia with dozens of black holes surrounding the ship. The gigantic solar laser that is Celestia strikes the ship, blasting a hole straight through it. She does not reappear after the laser ceases. Badly crippled, but still operational, the ship floats above Canterlot as the city falls apart, each stone disk and plaza slamming down onto the ones below, until the mountain is practically wiped clean of the city's presence. Canterlot is no more. Emerging from the rubble, Sombra plans to use the ship to blast the surface of the planet bare. Off in the distance, however, rises a gigantic mass of metal. After nearly 1500 years of being grounded, Vanguard rises from the earth once more. It's forward battery of railguns and missiles open up on the ship, while a massive plasma launcher on the topside of the ship begins to charge up. Teleporting himself aboard the ship, Sombra flies it away from the ruined capitol city of Equestria. Luna searches for her sister, but finds no trace of her. Vanguard turns towards Ponyville to clean up the undead and rescue any survivors.

To Be Continued in another post, hopefully tomorrow.