RUINS OF CANTERLOT, CALIFORNIA
June 4, 2770
A small, geometric object wafted in between the crumbling husks that made up this artificial canyon, the dirt-encrusted remains of what was once the fifteenth largest city in the nation. Centuries ago, Canterlot had once been a vital, booming town, filled with millions of humans and technology as far as the eye could see. Now, all that remained were memories of a once-great civilization, brought low by the events that had occurred centuries ago.
The geometric object knew about this as it darted to and fro amongst the rusting hulks of cars, bypassing the scrub that grew where streets once stood and occasionally spooking the few animals that laid claim to the sand-scoured wreckage. It was clearly searching for something, though a casual observer could not discern what, exactly it or its purpose was. Periodically, it would fire a conical beam of light from its lens, as if prospecting for whatever it was searching for in this memorial to a civilization long gone.
After a few minutes of floating down what was probably the main thoroughfare, scanning the wrecked cars and shattered storefronts, the object finally came to a stop, hovering over a large, glassy crater. Baked into it was the vague shape of a human being.
⟪Is it possible?⟫ the object said aloud in a soft, girlish voice, though no speaker grille seemed to be available. After a few seconds, the object expanded into a blue ball of energy, its component parts swirling around it like electrons in an atomic shell. After a few more seconds, it retracted to its original shape.
⟪Found you!⟫ the object giggled, releasing a blast of energy as it vanished.
~*~
⟪Hey, wake up!⟫ a voice cooed. ⟪Wake up, Guardian!⟫
Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes and sat up. She felt like she’d suffered the worst hangover ever, because the dream she had––
She looked around. She was in the middle of what looked like the corner of 14th and Steeplechase … but everything looked wrong. Broken. Abandoned.
“What the fuck?” she voiced, as she finally noticed what she was wearing: a mishmash of leather, body armor and gloves. A second later, it dawned on her that she was wearing a mask – no, a helmet of some kind. She reached up to feel something covering it. By guess, it was a hood. She pushed the hood back, then felt around her head for the helmet’s seals….
⟪It worked! Hey, you’re alive! I did it!⟫ Sunset turned in the direction of the voice to find an object floating in the air. It looked like one of those drones that Twilight occasionally used in one of her experiments, except … it didn’t seem to have a propeller, or any other kind of method to keep it airborne. If so, how was it doing that?
At that point, the back of Sunset’s head began to itch. She began to fumble around for the helmet’s seals once more....
⟪Don’t do that!⟫ the voice called out again, and Sunset turned, in surprise, to the only thing that could have spoken: the weird drone thing next to her. It’s blue diamond-like lens flickered on and off briefly as if it seemingly blinked, and it spoke again: ⟪Look, it’s not safe here. This is dog territory – well, most of the world is, actually, but this area’s one of th–-⟫
“You can talk?” Sunset gasped. “What are you?”
⟪Oh, that’s right! Whoopsie, my bad,⟫ the drone said, floating down to about where they were face to lens. ⟪Now, lemme see if I remember that speech Dinklebot said we all had to say to KinderGuardi … oh, here it is!⟫ The strange drone seemed to take on a more serious tone, more akin to a girl reading lines from a textbook. ⟪I’m a Ghost. Actually, now I’m your Ghost. And, well … you…. Well, you’ve been dead a long time. So there’s a lot of things that you’re not going to understand.⟫
“Dead?” Sunset asked just before a loud howl split the air.
⟪Oh, man – it’s the dogs!⟫ the Ghost replied. ⟪Look, we gotta get out of here!⟫ The Ghost spun on its axis, seemingly looking left and right. ⟪There! Head that way – we can hide out in that building!⟫ With a slight movement, the Ghost gestured in a direction and Sunset looked, to see a burnt-out husk of a building a block away. The windows were shattered, cars were stacked around it as if they were some sort of barrier, and everything was carbon-scored and sandblasted. The barest hints of a sign could be read on the building’s facade: CA T RL T M LLS AL .
Sunset stood up, then started running towards the building. Surprisingly, she felt lighter and faster, as if she were in perfect shape. Granted, she wasn’t overweight or anything like that, but she was certainly no Rainbow Dash….
Rainbow! Where’s she? Or…. Sunset suddenly recalled the Ghost’s words: that’d she’d been dead for a very long time. The impossibility of her being resurrected being impossible alone, if that was true, then … how long was long? Everything around her had the look of buildings abandoned for a long time. But in the scope of human – and pony – lives, “dead a long time” could be somewhere between a small span of years to centuries. Rainbow could be––
Her brain felt like it seared for a second, then reached into nothing. There were no memories there, nothing beyond names and basic descriptions of people she knew: Rainbow. Twilight. Applejack. Pinkie. Rarity. Fluttershy. Flash – the lone guy that came to mind. What did it mean and who were they? Was Flash her boyfriend? Or her brother, or….
⟪Quickly! Into the building!⟫ The shout from the Ghost brought Sunset’s attention back to the here and now. With a burst of speed, she pushed forward into the darkness of the great building without looking back, though she could hear the howls behind her increase.
After a few steps, she moved into darkness. The Ghost ahead of her began to glow with a soft white light. ⟪We need to keep quiet,⟫ the Ghost advised. ⟪A building this big is probably a major dog warren. Let’s see if we can get into the central core of the building – I should be able to power up the systems … assuming that’s still possible, that is.⟫
Sunset and the Ghost moved on, moving quietly and carefully through the building. Something crunched underneath the soles of Sunset’s boots, and the visor of her helmet was giving her telemetry feeds: her health status at top, represented by a white bar, with a compass rose of sorts to the bar’s left representing movement of some kind, if the red wedges were accurate. The thing was, it should have been completely new to her: but it wasn’t. Strangely, it felt completely natural to her, as if she’d been doing this her whole life.
Or if I’d been born – or reborn – to do it. “Uh, Ghost?” she ventured.
The Ghost replied, but not in the way Sunset had expected. ⟪Okay, you stay here. There’s a central power junction right over there, and I’m going to turn it on – once that’s done, we’ll get our bearings and proceed from there, okay?⟫
“Is that a good idea? If this is a warren….”
⟪Relax, Guardian! I got this!⟫ The Ghost moved forward, grunting in a low tone, ⟪Geez, only alive again for a few minutes and they think they know everything. Darn KinderGuardians….⟫ The light that the Ghost provided went out as it approached a larger geometric shape, and after a few minutes, there was a loud hum, and after a few minutes, the lights flickered on.
What they revealed would have once made Sunset very ill. As it was, at the moment it put Sunset on alert, as her hand immediately went to her side as if she was reaching for a gun. Another action I’m not used to. What’s going on?
However, it paled before what spread out before her: the central geometric structure before her turned out to be the building’s central fountain, and surrounding it – and just everything around it – were bones. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of bones. And if that wasn’t enough, many of them were human as well. Too many, Sunset thought.
And then the howls came. Much louder, and from every direction. She could see creatures in armor, cloaks and sashes, wielding knives and guns, looking like a motley of pirates. But the illusion ended when one pointed a gun at her and opened fire
The Ghost rushed over to Sunset’s side. ⟪I think we wore out our welcome here! Quick, up the stairs!⟫ Sunset didn’t need further urging and as blasts of electric energy pulsed around her she raced up the rusting escalator, stomping through layers of aged bones and the remains of people long gone from the world.
Sunset raced down the promenade, passing storefronts from a time long past. Part of her mind wondered if she’d ever spent time in these stores, as many of them looked passingly famil––
“Oh, Sunset, darling, you look absolutely marvelous in that shirt!”
“Thanks, Rares. I appreciate you going shopping with me for a new outfit for my date with Flash tomorrow.”
–-iar. Still, she pushed on, gunfire erupting around her.
⟪There! Ahead of us!⟫ The Ghost used a tight beam of light to point towards a skeleton ahead. Dressed in the ragged remains of what had been his uniform, he had been exposed to the elements over countless years by the broken skylight window above him. Next to him, however, was a beaten up, but still intact case.
The Ghost floated next to the case. ⟪This … this is modern technology! Nothing more than a few years old! Why’s it here?⟫ The Ghost looked up at Sunset, explaining ⟪This is a weapons crate – it’s used for Guardians on long patrol, which means that there was a Guardian here in the relatively recent past.⟫ The Ghost then looked where they’d been, noting the dogs coming towards them. ⟪You might want to open it. Meanwhile, I’m going to scan for some more technology.⟫
Sunset didn’t argue. She popped open the case, revealing what looked to be an assault rifle, and a sniper rifle.
⟪Wow, looks like a Omolon Pulsar MSe and a Hakke Pompeii LR-2. Good stuff. You know, I–-⟫
“Not right now,” Sunset ordered, and the Ghost shut up. Sunset quickly slipped the sniper rifle around her back, just as some of the electric gunfire from the diamond dogs started to erupt around her.
⟪Quick, or we’re done f–-⟫ The Ghost suddenly became dumbfounded. ⟪How…?⟫ It seemed to blink. ⟪Wait – you know how to fight? And good, too!⟫
Sure enough, the moment she got her hands on the pulse rifle, Sunset loaded it and fired, three rounds leaving the muzzle and tearing across the space, right into the head of a diamond dog. WIth a spray of blood, he went down, much to the surprise of his companions, who weren’t used to a target that could fight back. But that didn’t last long as Sunset began racing forward towards her quarry, then hit the ground and slid, raking gunfire across the two surprised diamond dogs – that moment of surprise turned out to be a fatal mistake.
As she stood up, another bullet whizzed past her ear, and she could hear the sizzle of ozone as the round passed by. She looked, and the distance, another diamond dog was taking aim. Another round was fired, and this one hit Sunset, knocking her back. She could feel the suit pump something into her to dull the pain and heal the wound as the self-repairing nanites began to fix the damage to her armor – And how the hell do I know all this?
Another round moved past her and Sunset moved into action. Diving behind what had once been a set of benches, she swapped out one rifle for the other, and took quick aim. She pulled the trigger on the Pompeii, with a soft sound, the round blasted through the air, hitting the diamond dog square in the head and sending another corpse back to the ground.
Sunset stood up, turned…
...and a second later, a flash of turquoise energy erupted from her hand, turning into a knife buried into the diamond dog that was about to sneak up on her Ghost.
⟪Wait…. Did you just…?⟫ The Ghost turned to look at the dead diamond dog beneath ⟪You just threw a Light Knife – but that shouldn’t be possible for your development yet!⟫ The Ghost seemed to groan. ⟪I knew I should’ve paid more attention to Dinkle or Nolan’s datastreams, but I spent too much time reading old Earth literature…. I’m such a moron….⟫
Sunset, meanwhile, slung the sniper rifle back into its position and removed the pulse rifle from its magnetic holsters with a natural ease that confused her. “Look, I want answers to some questions, but we’re not going to get any if we get killed here. Find us a way out of here.”
⟪Roger that!⟫ the AI chirped. The Ghost glittered for a bit, then said, ⟪There’s a shuttle on the roof. Getting a basic signal from its navcomp, but no other data. I wonder where its Guardian went?⟫
Gunshots began around them, and Sunset returned fire. “Worry about that later – find us a way to the roof!” That being done, they raced down the pathway, returning fire as they went. More and more diamond dogs showed up, and the building started to echo with their howls. Sunset solved that by adding grenades to her arsenal, though to the Ghost’s surprise, she’d shown some uniqueness there as well.
⟪That’s not possible!⟫ the Ghost yelped. ⟪You are not scientifically possible!⟫
“Look, Twilight,” Sunset said on automatic.
⟪Who?⟫
“Look, nevermind. What are you talking about?” As Sunset lobbed another grenade. It detonated, leaving a small swarm of miniature homing missiles which targeted a half-dozen dogs with lethal success, sending bodies flying.
⟪You threw a lightknife earlier, but it didn’t look like any kind of energy I’ve ever seen before. And now you just threw a swarm grenade – but you’re clearly a Gunslinger class!⟫
“Not making any sense.” Sunset emptied her last rounds into another diamond dog, then dumped her magazine, quickly pulling another white module from underneath her cloak and slapping it into place.
⟪Look – you threw a knife earlier, which is the sign of a Gunslinger. But the grenade type is that of a Bladedancer, which is a totally different specialty for hunters! It takes practically a lifetime to master one. Two’s practically impossible!⟫
“Have you found a way to the roof yet?”
⟪Not yet.⟫
“Keep looking!”
~*~
Finally, after running through half the wreckage of the upper floors and some agile maneuvers – the Ghost cheerfully referred to them as “jumping puzzles”, which Sunset did not appreciate, given she was the one jumping while gunfire blazed around her – the finally made it to the remains of the building’s administrative section and one of the few intact areas leading to the doorway.
After busting down the doors, what they found did not improve matters at all. The remains of a huge battle had occurred in the small location, and the battle had occurred some time ago, given the rotting condition of the diamond dog bodies. But most shocking was what was in the center of the decomposing battlefield: broken weapons, a heavily-damaged Ghost, and next to it, as if trying to protect the AI with all its life was an armored….
“Pony?” Sunset gasped, Images flickered in her mind, dark images that made her wince in pain, forcing her to close her eyes to ward it off.
⟪A True,⟫ the Ghost said sadly as it poked at the armored corpse with a shaft of light. ⟪A titan, too – must’ve been here, looking for something.⟫
“A True?” Sunset parroted.
With a motion that seemed to emulate a nod, the Ghost continued. ⟪Trues are the ponies who sided with mankind when the Taken Queen invaded. They were instrumental in saving most of the humans that were Taken, and indirectly responsible for the creation of the Awoken. They helped build the City, and are mankind’s most fervent allies.⟫
“The Awoken? The City?”
⟪I know there’s a lot of things you don’t understand right now, Guardian, but trust me, I promise that it will all be clearer once we reach the city.⟫ The Ghost looked down at the fallen titan, then back at Sunset. ⟪Guardian, please take his Ghost – we’ll need it to override the security locks on the ship upstairs.⟫
“Sure,” Sunset replied. Picking up the Ghost felt more like she was touching a dead body than all the bones she’d run through earlier or even the fetid cadavers around her, and she couldn’t help but shudder at that. “Can’t we bring him back to life? I mean, if you brought me back to life….”
⟪Ghosts can only bring back their Guardians and only their Guardians,⟫ the AI explained, ⟪and once a Ghost is dead, so is its Guardian.⟫ There was a sad tone in the Ghost’s voice, and Sunset felt sympathy for the little robot. It had, after all, seen one of its own dead, and that was never a good thing.
⟪The door’s this way, Guardian – let’s get out of here.⟫
~*~
Once they reached the roof, Sunset was only mildly surprised to find a starship – a Kestrel EX model, the Ghost had explained – sitting on the roof. Roughly about the size of an executive jet she’d seen at South Canterlot Airfield, the ship seemed more real than life and a sign of how much her life had changed in the past hour.
The Ghost zapped the ship repeatedly with a beam. ⟪There – code’s been reset, and the ship is now yours. It’s gonna be a tight fit, though since it was set for a True body, but you can get that overhauled once we get to the–-⟫
A roar split the air, and both human and AI turned around. Crawling out of the door was a massive alpha dog, with several of its flunkies right behind. The dog meant business, and no sooner than it climbed up did it start firing both its shock pistols at the pair.
The Ghost vanished immediately. ⟪Take cover – the transmat system looks like it was damaged and it would take too long to lower the gangplank. I can get this thing fixed in a jiffy, but you’re going to have to take cover.⟫
Sunset, meanwhile, acted on instinct: standing up and looking at the alpha without a trace of fear, she pulled one arm back as she held the other forward. A bow of energy suddenly appeared in her hand, and with the flow of a practiced archer, she let the blast fly, quickly followed by two more.
The first bolt hit the alpha, tethering it to the doorway enclosure. The second one slammed him back, bowling some of his lackeys backwards and down the stairs. But the third one hit true, burning through the alpha and turning him into a cloud of turquoise elctromist.
⟪YOU’RE A NIGHTSTALKER, TOO?!⟫ the Ghost gasped. ⟪And this was supposed to be the easy job….⟫ A second later, something beeped. ⟪There, transmat’s fixed. Bringing you in!⟫
Sunset felt the tingle of energy surround her, and a second later, the outside had turned into the very cramped insides, with her in a near fetal position. “This is not comfortable,” she complained.
⟪Best we can do at the moment. I’ll fly us to the City, since you’re somewhat … incapacitated.⟫ The command inputted, the Kestrel floated up, away from the building and the enraged diamond dogs firing everything they had at the ship’s hull.
“Is there anything we can do to stop these things?”
⟪Kestrels were civilian ships,⟫ the Ghost explained. ⟪They didn’t come with armaments of any kind, so destroying the building will be hard.⟫ A pause. ⟪Unless….⟫
“Unless what?”
⟪I can rig the NLS drive to overload, and it will act as a sort of bomb. But if I do, we’ll only have reserve power onboard. That should be enough to get us back to the City, but we’ll have to go scrounging for a drive later. Plus, it’ll pretty much level the town. HIstory says this place was hit with a nuke back during the First War, but it seems pretty intact–-⟫
“Do what you have to do,” Sunset said softly from her uncomfortable position. “There’s nothing left for me here anyway.”
~*~
The ship climbed miles above the sky and well out of the range of dog fire. When it was high enough, a slot opened up underneath the ship and an object the size of a car tire fell towards earth, the object flickering with varying energies. The Kestrel moved on its way, and NLS drive hit the building, crashing amongst the few dogs shaking their paws at the retreating ship.
There was a flash of bright light, and for the second time in its history, a mushroom cloud climbed over Canterlot. But this time the energy dome enveloped the city, stretching out for miles in each direction, incinerating everything and every creature within its path. A massive wall of white noise blasted in all directions, shaking various settlements of varying species that lived nearby.
Finally, the light and heat vanished and all that could be seen for miles around was nothing but black glass, a “black glass parking lot”, as military theorists had referred to the concept centuries past. But now, this massive field of melted fulgurite would forever be the resting place of the hundreds of thousands who had died in Canterlot on that fateful day in the past and the dark creatures that had been slain even now.
In the end, as nighttime came and the moon started to climb over the sky, silence came over the place once known as Canterlot – a fitting final silence for a city whose remains had long been disturbed.