//------------------------------//
// Return 
// Story: The Guardian's story 
// by Lon35hadow 
//------------------------------//

	As I looked at the burning landscape from the view of my ship, I had only one thought: who did this?

Isn't it obvious? Cybis asked in my thoughts. Either some pyromaniac, or he's here and decided to torch a lace to send a message.

"Ghosts, where are we?" I asked, and the three Ghosts appeared.

"The place that's burning is the Everfree," Nolandroid replied. "I doubt it's Oryx; I still have access to those positioning satellites we had launched, and he'd probably destroy them. Still, I'm also getting readings of a non-Guardian ship that resembles the profile of the Dreadnaught."

I sighed. "Tower still there?"

"No, but I am picking up a signal from it's location. Might be a bunker. Ponyville's still there too."

"Then it looks like we're heading there," I said before I had the ship make sit's way to where the Tower used to be, transmatting onto the green where the Tower used to be, then splitting back to three.

Cybis knelt down, and Dinklebot did a scan of the area. "This grass is three years old, so I'd say maybe to ten years we've been gone, given the lack of noticeable debris," the Ghost replied.

"I'm picking up a strong amount of Darkness in Canterlot," Tara said. "Actually, all around here. This and Ponyville are the only places with  Light that's at the point where it's worth mentioning."

"Well, where else is there Light here?" Rhino asked.

"If I said, then this and Ponyville wouldn't be the only places worth mentioning," Tara replied, getting an amused eyeroll from me.

"There a bunker beneath here?" I asked.

"Deep scans suggest so," Noland replied. "It'd explain why there's such a strong presence of Light, especially if I'm right about the bunker's contents."

"Anyway we can access it from out here?" Cybis asked before his head turned to the right towards Canterlot. "Soon, preferably."

I looked in the direction he was looking, and saw the tell tale green of a Hive portal. "I'm working on mapping what I can. The bunker under us is just one in an apparent system, but the entrance isn't here."

"Damn it," Rhino muttered. "What's our ammo look like, then?"

"Not good," Cybis replied. "We were planning on having some downtime when we got back. We have thirty primary blocks, fifteen secondary, and three heavy."

I sighed. "Okay, we divide by three then," I said. "Stick to one weapon, and cover Noland while he's mapping the tunnels. Use heavy only if you have to, and Supers after that."

The other two Guardians nodded. "Right," they said.

"Tara, Dinkle, see what com frequencies are still around. If any of the Guardian ones are still there, broadcast a distress signal."

"Roger," the two said as they vanished in a small flash of light for each.

"Any idea on the amount of tombships?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" Cybis asked. "They can deploy as many as they want from it. The only limit is how many it can deploy at a time."

"I'm seeing ten," Rhino said, looking through a sniper rifle. "In short, we're screwed if they pump out everything they can per second. . .Even if we use pulse rifles like Bad Juju."

"Shit," I said. "We'll hold out as long as we can. "Anything that regenerates ammo out of Light or makes it own is what we use."

"Figured as much," Cybis said as a Bad Juju materialized in his hands, and an Invective on his back.

"May as well go out with a damned bang," Rhino said as what I recognized from Displaced Oryx's description as the year three Raid scout rifle appeared in the Titan's hands, Ice breaker across his back.

"I hear that," I said, and my old friend, Another Nitc with luck in the chamber, firefly, and as it was modified to have a third attribute, double tab, appeared in my hand, Invective on my back. "Let's show these fuckers who they're messing with."

"OOHRAH!" the two shouted.

"Ghosts: shader change to Lunar elegy. If we're dying, it'll be in our colors."