Twilight sat inside the hangar, waiting for the massive doors above to open once again. It had been a few hours since Banshee Squadron left the base in search for that alien craft flying around Vanhoover. She had hoped Fireteam Topaz would have returned by now. After all, there was much to be done and she had yet to eat dinner. Her stomach grumbled and roared, garnering curious glances from the several ponies surrounding her. Nopony said anything of course, but she could see and hear the repressed snickers judging from the way they returned her ginger smiles with grins wider than usual.
A small gathering of ponies eagerly awaited the arrival of the arcane assisted carriage—the one which Twilight still struggled to find a proper name for. Flanking the alicorn’s left, Shining Armor stood about as diligently as a pony who left his family behind could. Years in the Royal Guard treated his posture well, granting him a proud and majestic stance while he waited patiently. Beside him stood Zecora whose glistening blue eyes did the nervous movements for her. The stoic manner in which she sat on her rump betrayed the visible discomfort on her face.
Flanking Twilight’s right was the head of the Biology Division, who eagerly joined the group with a set of gurneys and two of her personnel, both equally uncomfortable with the idea of lugging bodies out of the carriage. The emerald mare was a bit of a mystery to Twilight. She had presented herself quite professionally through her letters requesting more autopsy material, but the mare beside her hadn’t reflected at all what Twilight would think to be a scientist.
Sky Lance’s cutie mark—two spears of black clouds—seemed to contradict her profession. Not that Twilight had any qualms about it. In fact, she enjoyed the rather extensive lab reports on the sectoid’s organs and other scientific jargon even she didn’t quite understand. The rapid rate in which her work was done was astonishing to say the least.
Strangely, it was around these ponies Twilight became conscious of her height. She was nowhere near as tall as Celestia in terms of physical stature, but she realized now that she had to look down at those she sat beside and even the few who passed by. She wondered what called for such a drastic change. Roughly fifteen years as an alicorn and it had seemed that the physical effects were beginning to kick in.
A loud clang echoed in the hangar and a column of light peered through the circular hole opening up. Rainbow Dash lowered herself gingerly, head turning back and forth while pegasi and griffons alike cleared the way. Her magenta eyes met Twilight’s.
“Glad to see us?” She waved a hoof, increasing her speed slightly. The carriage hovered wondrously above the cold metal floors, a calming whirring sound emanating from the arcane coils.
“Very!” Twilight beamed as Rainbow landed and began to unstrap herself from the transport. Fireteam Topaz sat groggy and tired in the back of the carriage, but thankfully, everyone was unharmed.
“Good work everyone,” Twilight said with a smile. A smile which slowly faded as Sky Lance’s assistant pulled out three bodies stuffed into the nearest corner of the carriage as they had hoped the bodies would fall out in the middle of their flight. We need a storage compartment for that.
“Yep,” Gilda said with a confident grin, fluttering her wings as she exited the carriage. “That’s what we’re aiming for.”
Twilight smiled and faced Ethan. He slung his rifle balanced on his back and stepped out gingerly. Brisk Bolt came out with a grimace on his face, granting Twilight a quick salute before following Thunderlane. The alicorn returned her gaze to the young white feathered griffon.
“Thank you,” Twilight said. Ethan cocked his head. “For saving the zebra. Where is she?”
“In the back,” Ethan replied. He turned to her, watching as she trembled, eyes darting all over the hangar, full of a mixture of panic and curiosity. The sight of Zecora managed to ease her only slightly. Zecora extended a hoof, which the mare gingerly took, smiling and speaking in that exotic tongue of hers.
It took a moment, but the zebra pounced on Zecora, embracing her in a teary eyed hug, speaking through exhausted breaths while her voice cracked and she gave a laugh of what Twilight assumed to be relief.
“You did good,” Twilight remarked. Ethan stiffened up.
“It was the right thing to do,” He said. He looked up at the regal princess. “Right?”
“Right,” Twilight nodded. She looked over to her older brother, waving a forehoof for him to come over. “Shining Armor and I were thinking.”
“Given your performance on the mission,” Shining Armor continued. “I think it’s safe to say that Private Ethan doesn’t really roll off the tongue very well.”
“Perhaps, Corporal Ethan sounds better?” Twilight said with a smirk.
“Am I…” He paused, looking back at his squadmates. What remained besides Brisk Bolt, who vanished behind the massive hangar bay door. Gilda chortled, motioning for the young griffon to turn and face Twilight.
“I believe the Royal Guard would call it,” Twilight tapped a hoof against her chin. “A promotion?”
Ethan’s face glowed, eyes meeting both Shining’s and Twilight’s in disbelief. “I-I was just doing my job.”
“A job you’ve done rather well!” Twilight clopped a hoof on the ground. “I wish we could be a little more ceremonious, but I’m sure your friends will be begging for a celebration.”
“There’s a lot on everypony’s plate at the moment.” Shining Armor said. His horn glowed, hovering an encase metal insignia. Ethan grasped it in his talons with adoration equivalent to a filly acing her math test.
“I’d say you should stop by the lounge sometime tonight,” Twilight said. “I’m sure a certain somepony would be willing to help out. You’re the youngest in Gilda’s group right? Try to keep the place clean.”
Ethan shook his head rapidly. “O-of course!”
“Dismissed.” Twilight watched as Ethan strode off to Gilda, who put an arm around his neck as they left the hangar with Thunderlane at their side.
The alicorn turned to Zecora, free from the embrace of the unknown zebra mare, who soaked in the sights of the hangar. Her eyes glistened more from the pure wonder of technologies around her and no more from the tears which had ran down her cheeks. She garnered the attention of only a hoof-ful of the maintenance workers, but other than that, she remained largely unnoticed by the busier inhabitants. Twilight was thankful for that. She did not want too much attention on their new striped friend.
Twilight could not help but to grimace at the sight of the poor mare. She shook like a dog stuck in the rain, but her breathing managed to pace itself back to normal. Her eyes met Twilight’s, scanning the alicorn cautiously. She bowed her head slightly.
Twilight waved a forehoof. “Please. There’s no need for that.”
The mare’s ear flicked. She may have lacked understanding, but she hesitantly rose her head, her eyes trying to decide whether she could actually look Twilight in the eye again or if she should keep her vision confined to the ground. Her head turned to Zecora instead.
“Will she be okay?” Twilight asked.
Zecora nodded taking the zebra’s hoof gently. “She has suffered and endured I cannot deny. I recommend the medical bay with Fluttershy and I.”
“Whatever she needs,” Twilight said. “We’ll provide for her.”
The alicorn faced Shining Armor. “Relay a message to Applejack. Provide her and The Brothers whatever materials needed to make their upgrade to the chariot. I want it ready within the hour.”
“Of course sis,” Shining Armor nodded. “Want me to get the replacement too? I think Rainbow needs some time off.”
“Yeah,” Twilight fixed her gaze on Rainbow Dash. She breathed heavily and dripped with sweat, but remained steadfast in the presence of other pegasi. They might not have noticed it, but Twilight could see the exhaustion in her eyes. “Get Night Glider prepped for flight.”
***
The griffons around Lone roared with laughter, boisterous and gaining the attention of those not involved with the party taking place in the dead center of the lounge. Truth be told, the ‘party’ was only supposed to consist of a young griffon named Ethan and his griffon compatriots. However, unexpectedly, not only had Pinkie Pie been informed that a celebration was in order, but half of the group Cherry Pop seemed to favor so much had caught wind of it. The group of wingless griffons and earth ponies strolled on in like they were already friends with Gilda and the rest of her cast.
Of course, it garnered a bit of hostility initially, but the assumed leader of Cherry’s band of misfits, a black feathered griffon by the name of Eva, paid for drinks. While her crew and Gilda’s managed to get along well, Eva hardly spoke a word. She just watched as ponies and griffons exchanged stories of their exploits back in their homeland before disaster struck. Lone could only do the same as Pinkie Pie later moved in with a cart full of all kinds of goods.
Lone wondered how Pinkie managed to bring them all the food and sweets that she did. It was like there was a secret giant bakery facility somewhere in Harmony Headquarters. He was not complaining by any means though; she made one hell of an apple fritter and Lone knew he’d die happy having tasted one of her blueberry pies.
“Watch out!” Gilda shouted. A silver tin flew across the three joined tables, Pinkie Pie ducking just in time to avoid it. Her eyes were small pinpricks of blue, sweat beading down her forehead as she tried to maintain a nervous smile.
There were several reasons Lone steered clear of the lounge. Drunk griffons were on the top of that list. If he witnessed a group of rambunctious drunkards such as the many who surrounded him and had no clue about what caused the attacks on Manehattan, he would have blamed it on the griffons he sat with. Several tables around them lay empty and most ponies took to other facilities, voicing their displeasure in a way that made Lone sink into his seat and try to avoid all the glares coming his way.
“Uh...” Pinkie Pie’s eyes darted around the tables. “M-more snacks! I-I-I’ll be right back!”
She ran off, completely ignored by everyone. More laughs erupted and the burly griffon beside Lone pounded on the table before giving him a hard slug to the shoulder.
Ethan, the griffon of the hour, raised a mug into the air. The other griffons around him clumsily brought all their mugs to his, dropping large clumps of alcohol onto the floor and staining the young griffon’s feathers. They all cheered appraisals and incoherent shouts before taking sips.
“Remind me again why I thought this would be a good idea?” Lone asked, rubbing the bruise starting to form on his shoulder. Cherry raised an eyebrow.
“Uh, because it’s the first real successful mission since we all got here?” Cherry took a sip from his mug. Lone frowned. “Seriously, I thought us hangin’ out would make you loosen up a bit. Why can’t you be less of a square?”
Lone huffed. “I’m not a square!”
“Really?” Gilda raised an eyebrow. “How long’s that Dreamtail Whiskey been sittin’ in that mug of yours?”
“I’m not thirsty.” Lone said a matter-of-factly, crossing his hooves and leaning back into his chair. It definitely sounded better than I think Pinkie misheard my request for some cider over all of your yelling.
“Right,” Cherry said with a smirk.
“How can you call me a square?” Lone pointed his hoof at Cherry’s mug. “You’re the only one drinking water!”
“Yeah, but I at least slapped some protein in my system.” The tan stallion pointed a hoof at the bone sitting on his plate. Lone felt his nose wrinkle and stomach churn. “What? Might be griffon food, but it’s some good stuff!”
“You’re disgusting.” Lone shook his head.
“It’s natural.”
“Ponies are vegetarian. That’s natural.”
“Not this pony.”
Lone furrowed his brow. Who knew how bad of an influence Cherry’s griffon friends had on him and the other earth ponies that were allegedly part of the same clique. Lone took a look around the table and sure enough; even the ponies were taking a liking to the carnivorous cuisine. Lone was not sure what sickened him more; the sheer fact that they were eating it, or the smiles spread on their faces while they did.
It was times like these Lone would rather be in the barracks, sitting on his bunk and reading a good book. He would not consider himself to be antisocial, but he would admit that he had spent most of his first week and half of the second with his muzzle deep in books. The Library facility was hardly anything compared to Canterlot’s Royal Palace, but Commander Sparkle had supposedly chosen most of the books herself. Lone wouldn’t deny that she had wondrous taste.
She had tomes ranging from standard literary fiction to zebra philosophy. In the late hours of the night, Lone had spent his time there, skimming through the various drabble before finding a true gem among the rest and each time he had found them in the section the mighty alicorn would frequent when she too found that sleep eluded her.
Their conversations were brief, but that’s the fault of Lone Shadow. It was not that she was imposing by any means. Lone would see her, stand at attention and wait stiffly until she left with her set of books for the night, usually on military strategy and the generals of old. Even if she ordered him to relax, Lone would rigidly make his way down the aisles and search.
It was only recently that Lone had begun to frequent the lounge with the enigmatic and rather spasmodic Cherry Pop, the fifth squadmate who had a thing for griffons with missing wings. Lone had not gotten drunk per se, but he did hate the guilt of waking up late for roll calls.
“This is ridiculous,” Lone muttered. “With the way you guys are celebrating, you’d think we actually won the war already.”
Eva took a sip from her mug, wincing as she put it back down on the table. “Better to have the good times now. Never know how bad things are gonna get in the future.”
Lone’s ear twitched at the statement. He understood, but at the same time could not get behind the notion of celebrating as crazy as the griffons were. It was just a promotion after all. There was bound to be more than just Ethan’s. Lone knew next to nothing about griffon celebratory customs, but for the sake of the ponies given janitorial duties and Pinkie Pie, he hoped this was the equivalent of Ethan getting his first stripes and their next celebration would be a little more dialed back.
“It’s always doom and gloom with ya,” Cherry remarked. “Why dontcha relax a little bit?”
Lone let out a sigh. “I’ll go relax in the barracks. At least Solemn and Rime can keep their crap under control.”
“Have fun,” Cherry said. “I know we will!”
***
The buzzing machines and the way the workponies did so little actual work made Solemn’s skin crawl. Maybe it was her mother’s personality rubbing off on her, but she didn’t like the idea of machines doing much of the work. Solemn made her way through the factory floor, eyes watching the conveyor belts and the sturdy metal arms tasked with the assembly weapons and arms. The mechanical proficiency of the assembly lines was astonishing, sending sparks flying and completing their designated items in a matter of seconds.
It was off-putting how devoid of actual life the facility was. There were the occasional ponies working on the terminals which operated the assembly lines, griffons operating forklifts and moving things around without any real purpose and even zebras just hanging out nearby. Solemn did not want to think about just how stagnant everything would be in the other workshops in Engineering. She chalked it up to it being fairly late in the shift.
Solemn’s routine was fairly simple; wake up, meet with Rime, eat, check up on Mom and find some way to make herself useful when everything else was done. Most days were spent doing various jobs with Rime and reminiscing on her life back in Manehattan. She missed the fresh air, but welcomed the safety of the underground facilities. It took a little getting used to, waking up later in the day, but that was the peril of the Fireteam Rotation Protocol.
It was a sound idea. At least one fireteam was required to be active at certain intervals throughout the day. In the case of Solemn’s fireteam, Valor, their shift stretched from evening to midnight.
Solemn continued down the engineering hub, her hooves clopping silently among the roars of machines. Her ears fell flat against her head in a poor attempt to block out the growing sound of whirring machinery. She didn’t know how her mother could work in an environment like this for as long as she did; hearing the surrounding mechanics and having to yell constantly over them when a pony was just in front of her.
The rear of the facility was home to a maintenance lift and a set of stairs beside it, both leading to an overlooking hallway, one way leading to the rest of the workshops and the other leading to a stockroom. Chances were, given the time, her mother would be in the stockroom once again, getting materials ready for the next foremare.
As the platform for the lift lowered, the head of engineering—or at least one of them—sullenly stared blankly at her hooves. The rancher hat on her head was scratchy and tattered along the brim, casting a shadow over her morose emerald eyes. As Solemn stepped forward, she raised her head and both of their eyes met. Applejack ‘s expression shifted, her somber eyes still exhausted, but her lips curled into a friendly grin.
“Howdy,” She said simply. The platform stopped and the two ponies stepped on. “Here fer yer ma?”
“Of course,” Solemn replied. The lift raised rather quickly, although now Solemn began to wonder why the mare had not just used the stairs instead. Applejack’s pace matched her own as the two stepped off the platform and followed the signs leading to the rear end of the engineering facility.
“I admire her y’know.” Applejack spoke as the two turned the corner and the machinery behind them faded, becoming echoes reverberating through the hall. “Good mare. Definitely knows how to keep th’ ponies workin’ better than I can. Gotta admit, ‘m always sad t’see her shift end.”
Solemn nodded. “I’d call it her special talent.”
“S’a good one. Wish more ponies would stop relyin’ on them machines and do more of the work themselves. I mean I get that Flim ‘n Flam got that stuff runnin’ damn near perfect, but even those things make mistakes.”
“It saves time right?”
“Yeah, but…” Applejack looked up to the ceiling for a moment before returning her gaze forward. “I guess I’m more of a hooves-on type o’ gal.”
Solemn nodded, but said nothing more. The two approached the sliding double doors, the sign above completely pristine and clearly stating storage in bold white letters. Applejack tapped a hoof on the button resting on the door panel and with a clunky hiss, the doors slid open.
“You know,” Applejack said with a grimace as she entered the room. “Your shift is over. Why don’tcha let Big Mac take care o’ the rest?”
Solemn Vigil entered after the orange mare, her ears finally stopping their ringing from all the mechanical arms and welding equipment. Of course, her mother; the devoted and oh so stubborn Overnight Vigil had been working her flank to the bone in the rear room of the Engineering stockrooms, fetching several boxes full of spare parts and the like for the next series of engineers. Sweat began to bead on her forehead as she maintained a cool, unstrained face with a ginger smile.
“No worries!” She asserted, slowly levitating the boxes down and letting them fall onto the cart she had prepared. They fell with a loud series of bangs and clattering of the internals of the boxes. “Nothing I wouldn’t be able to handle.”
Solemn shook her head. Her mother’s messy blue mane held a matte sheen, contrasting from her glistening purple coat. She walked in a posture most ponies would consider strange, slightly slouched and taking only the smallest steps. She ignored the worried glances Applejack kept giving her, and proceeded to huff and wipe the sweat from her forehead. Classic mom.
“Yer mother ought t’know when ‘nough is enough.” The orange mare said with a smile. Solemn reluctantly returned the gesture, forcing her lips to curve upward. Applejack didn’t seem to notice and if she did, she hadn’t made it known. Instead she brushed her messy mane from her eyes and readjusted the light crimson band wrapped around the upper portion of her hoof. “The Brothers and I are happy t’have motivated and driven ponies around. But she needs t’know her limit.”
“Sounds about right.” Solemn remarked. She gave her mother a wave of the hoof as Applejack took over the cart, and left the room, the door sliding to a close behind her.
“So,” Her mother smiled candidly, sitting on her haunches. Solemn trotted before her and sat in front of her. “Any news?”
“They assigned me to a fireteam already,” Solemn said simply. Her mother frowned. “I’m to act as their field medic. Doubt I’ll be seeing much action though. After all, The Wonderbolts are back to full capacity, with Soarin back in good health and they found a replacement for Dazzle. Plus Topaz apparently nailed their last mission flawlessly. If anything I doubt my squad will be put out so soon.”
Overnight shook her head. Was it disappointment in her eyes? “You should have taken a spot in the medical bay.”
Solemn rubbed the side of her head. Not this again.
“Rime and I were put in the same squad,” Solemn said, pushing her glasses up her muzzle. “It’s not like I’m gonna see action right off the bat. There’s plenty of soldiers here and I doubt that I would even be considered substituting somepony else in another fireteam.”
The older mare pursed her lips. It was a weak excuse and Solemn knew as much. No matter which angle she looked at it, her life was on the line and eventually she would be called on for a special mission. Field medic may have been a bit of a stretch for her, but Solemn knew that those were in short supply. If the constant posters ushering ponies to join in combat roles were any indication, then The Initiative was lacking any real volunteers.
In a way, as Aegis and Swift Step aided her training, she felt the Commander may as well have just chosen her combat role out of a hat. Solemn’s medical training had been fairly limited to accommodate the rigorous combat training, but she had learned enough to at least keep somepony alive for long enough to get them back to base. At least that’s what she hoped she was capable of. There was no way for her to know for sure until it was actually time to work her magic.
Overnight levitated her glasses from her muzzle and gave her eyes a weary rub. “Well at least we’re safe here for the time being right?”
“Mom,” Solemn managed a smile. “Technically, you’re not even supposed to be here. They had a safe house ready for you in Canterlot. You would have had the same level of security we do down here.”
“But here I am,” She responded. Her lips curled into a smile. “Somepony has to look over you.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Safe.
Silence overtook the two.
“I love you Solemn,” the violet mare said.
“Love you too mom.”
“Fireteam Valor to the armory! Fireteam Valor to the armory!”
Overnight Vigil stopped, her face turning grim. Her pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks. “N-not anytime soon huh?”
Solemn Vigil stood and hugged her mother. The embrace was tight, almost squeezing and crushing Solemn’s ribs. “I’ll be safe, I promise.”
“Go and make me proud.”
***
5 Minutes Earlier
“Commander!” Vapour shouted. “We’ve got a visual!”
The craft sped away, flying at speeds Air Strike would have thought impossible.
“Air Strike!” Vapour called, her voice right inside Air Strike’s ear. “Don’t lose that thing!”
It was big. Air Strike didn’t know what she expected. The flying disc cut through the air with such grace and agility, she had begun to doubt that there was anything living inside and that the craft was completely autonomous. The iridescent exterior caught glints of the sun, flashing into Air Stike’s eyes. Blue Bell fell behind, followed by Vapor Trail, whose eyes followed Air Strike’s astonishingly lightning fast pace. Lightning Dust zipped by, trying to match pace with Air Strike’s mechanical marvels, but ultimately fell behind with the rest.
Air Strike furrowed her brow, willing her wings to increase speed, while keeping an eye on their monitors. She was bordering the crimson line, verging on an energy overload. Even at the breakneck speeds, plowing through clouds and struggling to keep herself on course, the alien ship soared faster with relative ease.
Vanhoover’s cityscape glittered far below as the sun began to touch the horizon. Air Strike began to wonder just how many ponies were watching the desperate chase and what might have become of them if the alien ship were to crash in the city.
Out of the city, out of the city. The words repeated themselves in her head as she trained her eyes back on the alien craft. There was something wrong. A distortion around the back face of the craft, and the surrounding clouds pulling closer together as it began to slow and a glow of green manifested.
BWOMP!
“MOVE IT!”
Air Strike’s heart jumped in her throat, her eyes and head following the path of the volatile ball of emerald electricity. It sailed past her and the rest of The Banshees before expanding vastly and rapidly. Air Strike’s mechanical wings propelled her forward absentmindedly as she kept her sights on the rest of her squad. The pegasi scrambled in panic as the outer rim of the explosion seared their tails and shocked their armor. They sped up as much as they could, matching Air Strike’s slower pace.
“Banshees!” Vapour roared through the radio. “Open fire!”
“Try to get it away from the city!” Shining Armor demanded.
“Can’t promise anything sir!” Lightning Dust shouted.
Air Strike’s visor lit up, the crosshairs of her targeting system tracing its way to the alien ship’s center of mass, flashing yellow. The ship’s cannon aimed again, charging it’s necromantic ball of death and Air Strike grit her teeth as hard as she could without breaking them. She maneuvered as smooth as possible, strafing and weaving between her comrades as to not delay the lock-on.
Green!
Whooooosh!
The missiles all released in rapid succession, trails of smoke shooting from behind as they whirled around each other, edging closer and closer to the craft.
BOOOOOM!
It’s still moving! The cloud of fire and smoke cleared as the ponies followed the ship, completely intact and displaying no signs of damage.
“Keep firing!” Vapour ordered. Each pony released a wave of explosive death, the automatic targeting systems trying to maintain their line of fire with each missile shot. They each danced around each other as the projectiles tracked their target.
Whooooosh!
BOOOOOM!
Smoke erupted off the side of the craft, tearing a small hole in the hull. It faltered in its path before dipping down, a trail of smoke, dust and debris as it sped toward the city. Air Strike’s heart stopped at the sight of its projected flight path granted via her helmet’s heads-up display.
“Oh no,” She breathed, stopping beside her fellow Banshees.
“Luna…” Vapour’s voice died as the ship plowed through one of the various skyscrapers dotting the cityscape. Air Strike could hear the cries and shrieks of the ponies below, albeit faintly. It was still enough to cause her body to stiffen up as the ship careened and bounced off of another building; glass, concrete, and a mix of wood and metal tumbling off towards the ground.
“We have to help them!” Air Strike wanted to say. Her voice caught in her throat as she slowly drifted forward, brushing clouds out of the way and still trying to figure out what to do. A plume of smoke shot out from one of the blocks, a residential district judging from the smaller structures compared to the initial skyscrapers the ship crashed into.
“Banshee Squadron,” Twilight’s voice called out. Her voice was low, disappointed Air Strike believed. More than just that. Defeated. “Get down there. Aid whoever you can until Fireteam Valor arrives. I have word from Princess Luna; the Royal Guard will be arriving in less than ten minutes. They’ll help who they can outside of the crash zone. Keep everypony away from the crash site.”
“ETA two hours until Fireteam Valor arrives.” Shining Armor noted.
“Affirmative,” Air Strike managed.
“Alright guys,” Vapour Trail flew ahead of the pegasi, turning to face them all. “You heard her. Save who you can!”
“This is bad,” Blue Bell muttered, slowly bringing herself forward. “This is so bad!”
“Keep it together.” Lightning Dust ordered. “Two hours. And then some. We can get a lot done in that time.”
Air Strike shook her head. This was bad. But Lightning Dust was right. Two plus hours meant they could potentially clear the whole landing zone for Fireteam Valor. They could even begin assisting civilians before the Royal Guard arrived. She did not know what Banshee Squadron would do exactly, but she willed her wings to bring her forward, following Vapour Trail into the thick of the devastation.
***
“You must be our plus one.” The silver stallion extended his hoof. “I’m Aegis. Squad leader.”
Solemn watched with a mix of fear and apprehension as Rime took the hoof into her own. “Rime Runner.”
It was a firm hoofshake and nothing more. Aegis released his grip and planted his hoof on the ground, as did Rime. Her fiery amber eyes remained calm, scanning Aegis as if to see if he was worthy of leading the squad. The sheer bulkiness of her armor lended itself to her dominating presence; green plating layered over top the standard issue Harmony vest.
“Cherry!” A tan stallion called, raising his hoof. “Glad I’m not the only earth pony around here anymore. Was starting to think the commander was punishing me.”
Aegis frowned. “Every squad has one. The loudmouth jackass I mean. You’ll get used to it.”
“Right,” Rime nodded. She slipped her hooves into their respective boots, stopping just short of her upper legs. Aegis trotted back to his locker, several articles of armor held up high in his hornglow.
“That went better than I thought it would,” Solemn sighed. Rime raised an eyebrow in response. “Was half expecting a huff here and a puff there.”
“You know me better than that.” Rime frowned. She wiggled her R.A.A.G.S. onto her torso, the two arms springing to life as the body straps secured themselves. The normally thin arms wore dense green plating, similar in nature to the armor Rime adorned. They raised themselves and began to tie her long pale blue and silver highlighted mane into a modest bun. “There were some ponies I didn’t like in the Coast Guard, but those were the ponies I had to work with.”
Her mechanical arms picked up a helmet and slid it over her head, a golden visor above two circular components on both sides of where her muzzle would be. The additional armor plating along the top of the head made it look rather heavy and uncomfortable, although Rime wore it without any complaints. The visor did not seem to leave a lot of side vision as well. It was streamlined and focused, allowing the wearer to see only what was ahead of them. Granted Rime’s weapon of choice, Solemn could see why she chose the helmet.
The helmet Solemn would be wearing allowed for a good bit of visual awareness, the golden visor encompassing most of the face, stopping just above the tip of her muzzle. Two side panels, one with a camera and the other with what she assumed would have been a flashlight.
Not even a week after she had been given her locker, full of all of her armor and respective equipment, the damn thing broke on her. She trusted her horn more when it came to light sources, though truth be told, she did not want to head to engineering and tell the ponies she broke a helmet that may have equated to hundreds of bits worth of equipment.
Thankfully, she was not the only pony who saw the logic of visual awareness. Aegis and Lone Shadow picked out the same helmets, sliding them overtop their heads and taking deep breaths as if to test if they could still breath underneath the armored helm.
Swift Step was opposed to the idea of helmets initially, but upon hearing what happened in greater detail, she slipped one on. It’s visor was divided in half by a steely ring, giving her an insectoid appearance. The space for her muzzle was home to a slight divot, though its purpose was lost to Solemn.
“Of all missions,” Swift muttered under her breath. She slipped on her helmet, taking great care to keep her mane from getting caught onto its components. “This is just great.”
“Those two the ponies from Manehattan?” Rime asked. Solemn only nodded in response.
She could not help but to agree with Swift’s comment. Manehattan was something of a turning point in everypony’s lives. It went to show that no matter how peaceful one was, there were those who wanted to bring harm. It was a concept Solemn was not foreign to, but it was one she had never wished to see on such a grand scale.
“Is it normal to have second thoughts?” Solemn asked. She meant to keep the question to herself.
“Was like that my first run with the Coast Guard,” Rime said. The gold of her visor dissipated, revealing her calm features. “First time is usually the hardest from my experience.”
Solemn drew in a deep breath, staring at her helmet like it was another pony entirely. It was like a rite of passage just to be able to get it on. Solemn’s magic enveloped her glasses and lifted them into her locker, before turning back to the bench which held her head protector. She felt no suffocation as it rested on her head and her breathing resonated in her ears.
“You’ll do fine,” Aegis said. “Three Royal Guards, a pony from the Coast Guard and a loudmouth merc placed in this squad because the commander doesn’t completely trust letting his band loose together? Chances of success seem pretty high, assuming everypony follows orders.”
“If anything, you could just think of this as a big escort mission on our part,” Lone said, adjusting the strap of his shotgun and letting it rest on his back. The crimson contrast of his armor greatly complimented his near black coat and mane. “I mean, having one field medic is better than having none right?”
Solemn felt only slightly relieved. “Thanks, I guess.”
“Don’t worry,” Rime said, her eyes softening from their normally harsh demeanor. “I got your back. What are friends for?”
The barrack doors slid open, an anxious Commander Sparkle and unnaturally collected Shining Armor stepping inside, eliciting a salute from Aegis and Swift Step. Solemn could feel something akin to disapproval at her lack of acknowledging authority.
“Ponies,” Commander Sparkle spoke after clearing her throat. “As you know, you’ll be heading into Vanhoover for this one.”
“The affected area is the West End District,” Shining Armor continued. A smile formed on his lips at the sight of the battle ready ponies. “One of the alien ships was shot down and crash landed, destroying several blocks of the city. The damage is...it’s not looking good.”
The Commander grimaced. Solemn did the same.
“This mission is of utmost importance. There could be civilians in the area.” Twilight drew in a deep breath. “Your priority is the alien craft, but also the safety of any and all ponies who may be caught in the crossfire. You’ll be sending them to Night Glider for extraction.”
“Understood commander.” Aegis acknowledged.
“This is a big mission. Probably one of the most important ones we’ll ever have before we can truly take the fight to the aliens.” Commander Sparkle said. “I want minimal damage done to the alien craft.”
“Of course commander.”
“Good luck ponies.” Commander Sparkle said weakly. “I know you won’t let me down.”
Before leaving, Shining Armor cast a final glance at the squad of ponies. “You guys know you could have put the helmets on before you actually got there right?”
***
“Was it this bad in Manehattan?” Cherry asked as the carriage swirled around the ruined city blocks. Solemn pursed her lips. When Manehattan was attacked, at least most of the city remained intact.
The sprawling metropolis that was Vanhoover was hardly recognizable. The glass towers that once gleamed from the shining rays of the sun were replaced with smoke plumes, tainting the skies and blotting out any celestial light. Buildings which may have been home to families became home to twisted scraps of metal, wrecked moreso from the taller, damaged towers around them than the crash landing of the alien ship. Granted it was only one stretch of a block that was wrecked the most by the landing, Solemn could not shake the feeling of pure terror as Night Glider drew the carriage closer.
Her mind flooded back to Manehattan. The city had recovered faster than she expected, recovering the alien pods and all the bodies in order to try and get the city running back to an optimal level. Solemn gave it another month or two before The Manehattan Incident never happened. Ponies would ask about it and there would be no damage to show for it.
“This is way worse,” Swift Step answered.
“At least in Manehattan everypony had an idea of where to start cleaning up the mess,” Aegis commented.
A streak of blue glowed from the streets down below, rising up before taking the shape of a heavily suited pegasus. Solemn’s eyes scanned her wings, watching the astounding spectacle of their brilliant blue aura allowing her to fly without flapping them.
“Got a clear place for me to land?” Night Glider asked, shouting over the roaring winds and trying to maneuver around towers of smoke.
The armored pegasus shook her head. “A few places, but nowhere close to the alien craft. The rubble’s really heavy nearby. We sighted a few hostiles in the area. Probably what’s left of the crew.”
“Thanks for the info.” Night Glider slowed the carriage and began to lower herself. “Alright guys, I’m gonna try and set us down as close to the ship as possible.”
Nopony said anything in response. Instead, they all looked down at the chaos unfolding below. A crash louder than thunder boomed just below them. A brick apartment met it’s fate, tumbling down and sending smoke through the maze of buildings.
What the hell are we getting ourselves into? Solemn’s breath caught in her throat. Night Glider lowered the carriage, careful to avoid the plumes of towering smoke and cautiously avoided the various piles of junk and debris before the carriage lurched and rocked heavily. Aegis leapt out, followed by Swift Step and Lone Shadow. Cherry Pop crept out carefully, eyes stuck on the forming smoke clouds and raging fires in the buildings above.
Solemn Vigil stood up, but her hooves were planted firmly on the carriage’s floors. Rime’s hoof prodded Solemn’s flank, urging her to move forward, although at a snail’s pace. When her hooves met the jagged, rough surface of the black concrete, she could hardly move any further.
Streets were barren of anything other than slabs of broken concrete, shattered glass, and destroyed wagons and carriages. She preferred the sight of ponies stuck in leathery emerald prisons enveloping their bodies instead of their charred and broken bodies scattered across the streets, even if there were no more than a small hoof-ful of them. Stray sheets of paper drifted low to the ground, one such sheet catching onto Solemn’s hooves. She crumpled it with her magic before letting the ball bounce noisily down the street behind her.
Even with her helmet’s air filtration systems, Solemn’s throat and lungs burned mildly. Everywhere she looked was a twisted and hellish mimicry of what Equestria should have been. Looking at the devastation from above was dreadful, but actually standing in the nightmare was abysmal. The cackling laughter of fires and the twisted heaps of metal and concrete made Solemn want to tuck tail and hunker down in the sky carriage with Night Glider.
“Solemn,” Aegis shook her already shivering form with a steady and firm hoof. From underneath the golden visor, she could see the uncertainty in his eyes. The way they could not completely stay connected to her own and the way he breathed heavily despite no arduous actions asserted his anxiety. “Keep it together.”
“Y-yessir.” She drew in a deep breath. The eyes of her squadmates bore into her, full of something akin to shame or disappointment. She was unsure which, if either. Her legs had not stopped shaking, but she took a ginger step forward, closer to her squad. Rime stood to Solemn’s side, her R.A.A.G.S. maintaining a steady grip on her machine gun.
“You’re gonna be fine,” She said, lowering her gun and turning to her lifelong friend. “You remember the training don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Solemn sighed. She scanned the surrounding area. At least there won’t be any ponies trying to kill me this time.
“Commander,” Aegis placed a hoof against his armored ear. “We’re in the city, you reading us?”
“Loud and clear,” Twilight answered. “Lightning Dust will be your eyes in the sky.”
“Affirmative,” Aegis levitated his rifle, pulling back the receiver. “Can she point us in the right direction?”
“I’ve got eyes on the alien ship,” Lightning Dust’s coarse voice rose up. “It’s a few...erm..seven blocks down from your current position.”
“Fireteam Valor,” Twilight spoke again. “Your priority is the crashed alien ship, but keep an eye and ear out for any civilians. Point them back to Night Glider for extraction.”
“Got it.” Aegis lowered his hoof.
“How’re we gonna do this?” Cherry asked, voice fraught with concern. “Seven blocks is a long way.”
He pointed a hoof further down the street. “I mean, look. Taking the direct route is out of the question.”
“Then we work our way around through the buildings,” Aegis said. He looked up at the surrounding structures. The principle seemed to be ‘the shorter the building, the higher the chance of it being mostly intact’. “There’s six of us...We could split up, cover the left and right.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Lone asked. “Lotta these buildings don’t look stable.”
“You wanna climb that three story tall wall of junk down the street?” Lone shook his head. “Then cutting through the buildings and alleys is the only option. Lone, Swift, with me. Cherry, Rime, Solemn, take the left, we’ll cut to the right. If there’s a clearing in all the debris, we’ll meet up there.”
Solemn winced as she threw her hoof up against her forehead and stiffened up. “Yessir.”
***
Twilight shook her head, taking her eyes away from the screens. “Oh, this is a disaster.”
Through their silence, Twilight could feel the other ponies watching agree. It was only a small section of the city, and yet as the Fireteam split up and tried to find their way around the roadblock, it was as if a portal to Tartarus opened up.
“That crash was out of their control,” Shining Armor tried to reassure. “There was nothing The Banshees could have done to prevent the craft from crashing into the city.”
“There’s no way we could have quarantined this. I should have asked Luna how to deal with this situation! Oh, I’m so stupid! Now everypony is going to know about the aliens, assuming they didn’t know already and everypony is going to panic, what do I do?”
Twilight paced back and forth, hooves clopping noisily against the cold floors. Her mind reeled, tossing out all logic and reason. Her fears and potential judgements of the council plagued her thoughts, spreading like a virus. She dreaded the meeting she and the princess would have about this event, her heart thumping in her throat and her hooves trembling the more and more she thought about it.
Luna would no doubt be infuriated with what was happening so far. She would call upon the most hellish of nightmares as punishment, or have Twilight replaced with somepony who actually knew what they were doing, probably having Shining Armor take command and swap positions. Maybe she would banish Twilight entirely or…
No. Twilight sat on her haunches and closed her eyes, placing a hoof to her chest and drawing in a deep breath. I need to focus.
As she extended her hoof, she released her breath and opened her eyes. She straightened her posture, sitting tall before the monitors as she watched her soldiers traverse what may have been hell on Equestria.
“Be careful in there Valor,” Twilight said. “Lightning Dust, keep them updated. Air Strike, how’s the rest of the city looking?”
“Panicked ma’am,” She grunted. Twilight heard the raspy breathing of another pony, more than likely a rescued civilian. “Police are trying to get things under control and I’ve got eyes on several Royal Guard transports coming in. Taking a pony to a safe zone now.”
“Good. Keep at it.” Twilight released another sigh. “Vapour Trail, how’s everything on your end?”
“I think the aliens were transporting something. There’s a group of them transporting some glowy yellow stuff.”
A supply ship perhaps? If it was, then they may as well have just struck gold. Perhaps some good could come out of what happened in Vanhoover. The science and engineering teams would no doubt have to be on standby once the materials from the craft were recovered. A part of Twilight was jealous they would be granted the opportunity to discover and make tremendous breakthroughs in their respective fields. She had to admit, her own excitement managed to overlap her previous fears by just a small margin.
“Keep me updated on the situation,” Twilight ordered.
“What do you think it could be?” Shining asked. “The ‘glowy stuff’?”
“I don’t really know,” Twilight admitted. “Resources? A fuel source? Whatever it is, I’ll let the research teams figure it out.”
***
“This is some fucked up shit,” Cherry Pop remarked, aiming his shotgun down the shadowy halls. Vulgarity aside, Solemn Vigil could not help but to agree. Shadows flickered and moved on their own from the corners of her eyes. The blue glow of her horn did little to put her mind at ease, neither did having Cherry lead the group through the halls of the apartment and having Rime cover their rears. They crept cautiously through the bland grey hall towards the a warm orange glow at its end.
“Not gonna lie,” he spoke. “Never thought this would be my first assignment out of HQ. I was expecting a nice quiet farmhouse full of several aliens. Something tame.”
“I hear you,” Rime said.
Same here. Solemn agreed mentally.
Cherry hugged the wall, stopping short of the rim of the hole. He looked back at Solemn and Rime.
“I’m heading in.” He leapt into the open and the robotic arms threw up his shotgun, scanning the room before gesturing Solemn and Rime. “How the hell do you figure a hole in the wall and a fire started in this place?”
“Ponies do anything to get out of a sticky situation,” Rime answered, raising her machinegun.
The answer raised more questions than anything else. The first of which would be the necessity of starting a fire in the complex’s laundry room. There were no scorch marks tagging the walls and there was no sign of any struggles against the aliens, and yet the ponies decided a fire would be the best course of action in a building relatively unaffected by the impromptu crash landing. Machines still ran on their various cycles, washing or drying clothes noisily as their respective machines shook in their stationary positions.
Solemn clung close to the wall, the fire’s radiance singing her fur on the right side of her body. Sweat beaded down her head as she approached the end of the room, where a massive wound in the wall allowed smoke to exit and permeate to the rest of the city.
“Cherry,” Solemn let out a yelp as Aegis’s voice called out through the radio. “How’re you guys holding up?”
“Solemn might need a change of pants,” He chided.
Rime spun around, eyes narrowed from behind her visor. “Step off.”
“Right.” Cherry pursed his lips. “So far, so good.”
“Keep it together guys. Let’s see if we can find a place to group up.”
“Aye aye.”
Cherry put his hoof on the ground, earning a deadpanned glare from Rime. He rolled his eyes. “Really? It was just a joke.”
“It’s fine,” Solemn said. Regardless, Rime did not look too pleased. Solemn pursed her lips. “Let’s keep it moving, I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.”
The alley was a smoke-filled hall, home to dumpsters and surprisingly less rubble and debris than the streets themselves. To the right of Solemn, an exit leading to the devastated streets presented itself, dust and stray papers still following the breeze. They were hardly even two blocks from where they started out originally and Solemn wished the streets would be clear enough for the whole squad to continue down the street and towards the crashed alien vessel.
“Whoa!” Cherry raised his shotgun, the robotic trigger finger readying itself before the stallion pointing the barrel up and shot. A stallion and a mare at the end of the alley shot up from behind a set of trash cans, eyes wide and pupils the size of pinpricks.
“W-w-wait!” The stallion threw himself in front of the mare Solemn presumed to be his wife. His curly mane bounced with each step and his whole form trembled at the sight of Solemn and her squadmates.“P-please, don’t hurt us!”
“We won’t,” Rime said, although she kept her machine gun trained on the two. Solemn used her magic to bring it down. The earth pony did not seem to notice. “We’re here to help.”
The stallion remained stiff, backing up and forcing the mare to cower against the wall, whimpering as she lowered herself and shut her eyes. A pearl necklace shook around her neck and strands of her light amber mane fell out of place, stray strands sticking to the sweat covering her forehead and partially covering the flower placed over her ear. She shivered, pitifully. The dress she wore was ruined, rapidly collecting dirt and grime. Solemn opened her mouth to speak, hoping she could bring the mare some comfort.
She stopped herself.
“Solemn?” Rime furrowed her brow. The stallion stiffened and put a hoof back on the cowering mare. Her aim was shaky, but Solemn tried her best to keep rifle trained on the mare.
“The hell are you doing?” Cherry asked.
“Private Vigil,” Shining Armor rang in. “Stand down now.”
“Look at her flank.” She readjusted her arcane grip on her weapon, still trying to steady her aim. There was no cutie mark, but dark marks formed just underneath her dress, hardly covered by the dirtied fabric. The discoloration even formed along the upper, partially covered portions of her hooves.“ Not just her flank. Hooves too. There’s something wrong.”
Cherry was next to raise his gun, the robotic arms maintaining a steady aim as the stallion’s eyes deadpanned down the sights. The stallion defending the mare recoiled, eyes bouncing from soldier to soldier. He had a cutie mark—scissors cutting a crimson ribbon.
Solemn bit her lip, the pain overruled by the panic starting to envelop her. Her aim had not steadied at all, instead worsening and shaking.
“Stop please!” The defending stallion begged. “She—”
“Step aside now!” Cherry ordered. “There’s no way she could be this old and still not have a cutie mark.”
The stallion stared, mouth agape. “I’ve known Lily my whole life! She’s been through hell! First Manehattan, now this! Please! Just let us go!”
Lily rose behind him, wincing at the accusations being thrown her way.
“Central?” Rime radioed.
“We’ve done nothing wrong!”
Lily reached back, ruffling her dress slightly. Her head whipped around in an unnaturally swift motion, her mouth holding a grey and black metal object. It’s central chamber glowed green.
Solemn’s magic took hold of the stallion, shoving him against the side of the alley, between two dumpsters.
BLAM!
A puff of green and blue exploded where the mare once was, eliciting a shrill shriek from the mare. Solemn backed away, her magic struggling to find the stallion hidden inside the cloud.
He ran out on his own, sputtering and coughing before dropping on his stomach, writhing and wheezing. He kept his eyes shut, crawling towards the squad of ponies.
“Y-you killed her!” He managed through the wheezing. He turned back, eyes opening slowly to the lingering cloud unaffected by the winds. Solemn could see the anger subside, his body relaxing slightly. “W-what?”
The squad of ponies stood, staring at the cloud watching as it dissipated into the air. The limp body of Lily rested motionless, dress soaked in golden blood. Solemn waited for her true form to reveal itself, perhaps a new breed of feral changelings or an illusion cast by an unseen unicorn. None of her suspicions would prove true in the end. The pony remained, eyes shifted to lizard-like slits instead of her original beady gold eyes.
The stallion on the ground sputtered and coughed violently, heaving and snapping the group out of their trance, bringing Solemn’s attention to him
She knelt down beside him, her horn beginning to glow and her aura surrounding the stallion. The aura quickly diffused around him and immediately, his fit subsided. His eyes glistened, watering along the rims.
“I don’t understand.” He wiped his eyes with a hoof. Solemn helped him stand, although he shook and fell back on his haunches. He shook his head and stared at the ground. “I don’t understand.”
Solemn’s looked to Cherry and Rime, both standing still as statues.
“Commander,” Rime breathed. Her mouth hung agape, unable to finish her sentence.
“We saw,” Twilight responded sullenly. “Get moving to the crash site. Be wary of anypony you come across. Civilians are still a top priority.”
Rime dropped her hoof. Cherry turned to the alley’s exit.
“Through the apartment and down the street,” Solemn told the stallion. “You’ll find a pony waiting for you there.”
He had no response. Instead, he looked with teary eyes and nodded solemnly. Solemn Vigil did not look back to see what became of the stallion as she followed her squadmates.
***
“Lightning,” Aegis began. “How’s the streets looking?”
“Should be a straight run once you’re outside of that apartment building,” she answered. “Be on the lookout for glowing canisters. The Commander wants us to try and recover them.”
“Understood.”
Lone winced as glass crunched under his hooves. The kitchen was almost undisturbed, save for a few shifted bowls, plates and fresh salad laying in a mess on the kitchen island. The windows had all blown in, sending glass in every direction, most out on the wood floors and others hiding in the carpets of the living room.
It was as if the ponies who lived there had vanished into thin air and burglars came in from every window, although there was nothing of any real value in any of the rooms. The same could be said about the other apartments they had entered in order to get through the building. The rooms which were not caved in were shaken, relatively untouched since everypony evacuated the area. Or died out on the streets. There was a lack of bodies, but the nagging feeling of ponies not surviving had crept up on Lone too many times tonight.
Blam!
Lone’s ears perked up and body tensed. The shotgun blast echoed through the silent burning streets. He turned to Swift and Aegis, both of whom were edging their way to the kitchen windows. Swift propped herself up on the counter while the robotic arms she wore set their sights on the streets below.
The street was clear, for the most part. Sparse blocks of cement and chunks of rubble were scattered through the block, but from what Lone could tell from the kitchen, the only obstruction had passed. A whole building toppled over. Lone could still barely believe it and it was right there in front of him.
Shouts followed the blast, lasting for only a second before the city fell silent, save for the sirens of medical ponies in the distance. Lone’s ears could not stop twitching. The silence made his mane crawl.
“Cherry?” Aegis hailed, keeping his eyes glued out of the fire escape window. “What’s going on?”
“We’re fine,” Cherry answered. Lone saw movement in a nearby alley across the street. Rime was the first to step outside, her machine gun pointed forwards and scanning the whole street for movement. Her eyes met Lone’s and she waved a hoof.
Solemn came out next, intrepid and practically stumbling her way next to Rime. Cherry popped out next, occasionally turning his head back towards the alley from which they emerged. The three wandered into the middle of the street, just before the apartment building.
“Aegis!” Cherry yelled, scratching the back of his head with a dirtied hoof. “We’ve got some major problems.”
“Great,” Aegis muttered. “Lay it on me.”
The three exchanged worried expressions, as if trying to silently decide who should tell the story. Solemn stepped forward in the end. “We came across a couple. The mare...she didn’t have a cutie mark. Before we know it, she pulls a gun out on us and Cherry took the shot. As of now, we don’t know if no cutie marks will be a recurring theme among them.”
Aegis frowned. Lone could see the look on his face and took note of how Swift bit her lip. No doubt they all had the same thoughts running in their minds.
“It’s blood,” Lone spoke up. “What color was it?”
“Puke green,” Cherry answered sitting down on his haunches. He looked down the street, ear swivelling like a radio satellite. “It wasn’t a pony. The aliens cooked up some pretty spooky shit.”
Not the words I’d use for it. Lone could hardly bring himself to believe it. Cherry was, to say the least, not exactly a pony Lone felt he could trust, but the report did come out of Solemn Vigil’s lips. The idea sent a shiver through his body.
Who knew how many ponies were not actually ponies? If what they said was true, and there was no reason to doubt it, then perhaps it would be easier to spot these ponies because of their lack of cutie marks.
“Let’s get down there with ‘em.” Aegis ripped open the fire escape window and climbed onto the cold metal platform. Lone followed, allowing his shotgun to rest on his back as he stepped down the rusted metal steps and carefully climbed down the rickety, rusted ladder. He released a sigh the moment his hooves touched the ground.
Swift floated herself gingerly, wings blowing up gusts of dust and sending pebbles and small rocks in Lone’s direction. She smiled apologetically.
“Should be a straight run,” Aegis said, pointing a hoof down the street. Two soft glows lit up the far end of the street, just barely visible through all of the smoke and dust. One was a flickering yellow light, flashing on and off, but far too low to be a traffic light. The other was blue, shimmering like the sun on an oceanic horizon. “Assuming we don’t have any surprises in the buildings. The ship shouldn’t have too many aliens. With the six of us, we probably have them outgunned.”
“Sound like pretty good odds,” Rime commented. “I don’t wanna go against Commander’s orders, but I think any civilians should wait until we clear out that crash site.”
Lone grimaced. While it made sense to minimize the danger, his mouth ran dry at the thought of waving off a civilian in desperate need of help. In the long stretch between them and the aliens’ crashed ship, who knew what could happen and who would wind up needing help. The chances of Fireteam Valor finding a pony in desperate need of assistance once the alien ship came into view would be slim. At least, that was what Lone thought.
“Coming down!”
Lightning Dust landed harshly, although her armor adequately braced her impact, absorbing most, if not all, of the rough landing. Each step she took was thunderous, the loud clangs of her armored hooves crashing down onto the pavement only slightly muffled through Lone’s helmet. Unlike the mare who guided them to the landing zone, this one had actual wings. Lone wondered if Air Strike’s were the product of a volunteer pony augmentation program or something along the lines.
“I spotted two ponies entering the alien craft,” She said, running a hoof through her mane. “I think they’re taking hostages.”
“Cutie marks?” Aegis asked.
“I couldn’t see from all the way up there.”
Each pony in Fireteam Valor remained silent.
“Only one way to find out,” Rime spoke up, threatening the silence. “Hostages or not, we should get to that ship.”
“Right.” Aegis turned to Lightning Dust, who removed her helmet and wiped sweat from her forehead. Lone feared her fur and skin would get caught in all that metal plating. “Are you going to be okay back here?”
Lightning nodded. “I’ll be fine. You guys go on ahead. If anypony needs bombs dropped, I’m your gal.” She looked up for a moment, watching a streak of blue dart across the sky and through the smoke. “Or Air Strike. She’ll rein ‘em in.”
As Lightning Dust gathered herself, Fireteam Valor made their way to the fallen alien craft, weapons drawn and scanning their surroundings. The silence, save for the clopping of hooves and crunching of pebbles, was unnerving. Like many things since the fireteam arrived, Lone felt his mane itch and invisible insects crawl all over his body, underneath his vest. Sweat began to build up in his helmet, soaking the internal pads and forcing his mane to stick annoyingly to his forehead.
Concrete ripped and tore up, trailing down the street and the bases of most of the buildings down the stretch of the right block were shattered, rubble blown inward. Looking at the devastation made Lone’s stomach twist into a knot. How many ponies had been on the streets when the ship crashed and how many ponies were struck from the trail of destruction it left behind? Ponies had to have been hurt, killed even. He was partially thankful for not being able to spot blood and spare body parts strewn on the streets.
They came upon a three way intersection, guns ready and trotting carefully. Lone’s ear twitched. He heard chirping. Not from birds, but something else.
“Cover!” Aegis whispered, darting for a downed block of thick concrete. Lone bolted beside him while Swift took to the crooked wagon just beside, hopping inside underneath the dust smitten canopy, the barrel of her rifle poking out slightly through the cracks of the wood.
“What do you see?” Swift asked.
“Two sectoids,” he answered. Swift’s barrel turned slightly. “Right next to that canister of glowing shit.”
Lone raised his head slightly. The two gray creatures blinked curiously at the canister as if they themselves had no idea of what it was. The top cover lifted, revealing an encased golden crystal, although it was hard to say if that was what it was inside. The base stood on four legs which twisted from the base piece and planted it firmly on the ground. The twisting of the top cap of the canister garnered the most attention from the aliens.
Just across the street was the crashed ship, digging into the interior of what Lone assumed to be a grocery store. The strange silver metal shimmered, breaches in the hull scorched and releasing embers. An iridescent field covered the entrance to the ship, but he could not see any farther than the doorway.
Lone’s eyes scanned the surrounding area, finding an alleyway he hoped he could use to cut into the grocery store and flank the aliens. Further to the right of the alley, Lone’s eyes met those of a colt. He shuddered from the inside of the doorframe of an apartment building, frozen, but low to the ground as to not be seen by the aliens.
“Aegis.” Lone pointed a hoof to the child, who shrunk back and crept back into the doorway.
“Shit.” The grizzled stallion looked over to Solemn, Cherry and Rime, each taking cover behind a thick slab of ruined concrete. “Help him back to Glider. Haul ass and get back here. Swift, go with him.”
“Yessir.” The barrel of her rifle wiggled its way out of the crack. Lone crept backwards and launched himself towards the now empty doorway. The colt yelped, stiffening up at the end of the hallway.
Swift brought herself beside Lone, the beige of her armor detracting from her angelic appearance in the colt’s eyes. She brought a hoof up to her helmet and her visor’s golden sheen disappeared. She approached, her arms lowering and folding behind her, still gripping her rifle. Lone rested his shotgun on his back.
“Hey,” Swift spoke in a voice that did not seem to be hers. She was soft and gentle, losing that experienced rasp she normally held. “We’re here to help.”
Lone scanned the colt, eyes falling on his flank. No cutie mark.
He cursed himself for even thinking what he did. The boy could not be an alien. They could not be that cruel. This may have been a war, but there were boundaries not to be crossed.
“Momma and Papa are in there!” The colt pointed a hoof at the door, smoke seeping out of the cracks of the frame.
“Watch the kid,” Lone said, stepping in front of the door. He hoped the fire wouldn’t be right there to greet him the moment the door slammed open. His horn lit up and a pulse of energy rippled against the door. It rattled and shook, but other than that, the door remained closed.
Lone bit his lip and tried again. Nothing. He looked over to Swift and the colt. She was trying to comfort him, kneeling down and speaking in hushed whispers. She managed to bring a soft smile onto his face. Swift’s helmet sat with the colt, mesmerising him as he rotated and took note of every inch of it.
Lone charged into the door, grunting as the wood snapped and he bounced back from the impact. He landed on his haunches and threw off his helmet before rubbing his horn. “Damn.”
Swift cast her sight on Lone, worry in her eyes. Sweat dampened his brow and dripped from the orange tips of his mane. He wiped his head with a hoof and shook his head.
“Door is stubborn.” Lone faced it again, horn charging up. With all his arcane might, he pushed against the door.
It slid open only slightly. He could see the object obstructing the door, although just barely. Smoke poured out from the room and surprisingly there was no response. Given the lack of one, the colt’s parents were either gone, or gone. Lone’s horn flared again. He would at least try to find out what happened before Swift brought him to Night Glider.
He stopped, his throat tightening. No, something grasping his throat. He struggled to breathe, his horn failing him as the invisible force lifted him up onto his hind legs.
“Shadow?” Swift rose up, her mechanical arms bracing her rifle. Darkness clouded the outer rim of Lone’s vision. He clawed at his throat desperately, slamming down against whatever it was that held him.
“Swift!” Twilight boomed. “Something’s got a hold of him!”
Lone coughed and sputtered, the form of what was holding him shimmering with each hit landed. Swift brought the butt of her rifle down on the creature, allowing it to reveal itself. The grip tightened, as the smooth metallic surface of a tendril. The glowing amber eyes of the creature floating in place stared deep into Lone’s being. The several other tentacles began to wrap around Lone’s body and hooves, all of them squeezing with the same intensity as the one around his throat. The metallic squid would have probably laughed at his feeble attempts to loosen its grip.
Fwip! Fwip!
“Ah!” Swift yelped. Lone grimaced and shut his eyes, a deep burning sensation erupting at his side. He tried once again to focus his magic, though he was on his last legs. The air he so desperately needed was slowly becoming unnecessary.
“S-stop!” Swift shouted.
Bratatat!
A puff of gas erupted around Lone before he dropped onto the ground, consciousness fading quickly. He sucked in as much air as his lungs would allow before his whole throat burned and his eyes forced themselves shut.
Lone crawled, though he could not say in which direction. Swift’s helping hoof extended and Lone desperately grabbed it. She dragged him out of the cloud, granting him a moment to breathe. Although weak, his magic grasped his shotgun and aimed at the end of the hallway.
Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!
Swift knelt beside Lone, dropping her rifle and rummaging through her saddle packs fishing for a medkit.
“OhCelestiaOhCelestiaOhCelestia,” She repeated frantically, eyes drifting to the gas cloud, stagnated by nothing in particular. She gasped once she pulled out the small white spray gun and pulled the trigger, eliciting another puff, although bright blue and less deadly than the one he was in moments ago.
Lone gasped for air, sucking everything in and let his head fall onto the floor. His throat and lungs still burned, but he was glad to be able to actually breathe.
“Oh thank the goddess!” He sighed, still taking in breaths. “I don’t know how much more I could have taken!”
Swift looked to the now empty hall. The mangled corpse of the colt lay sprawled, a metal device still grasped in its mouth. Behind it, the twisted remains of the metal squid which nearly choked the life out of Lone.
“Oh shit.” Lone breathed. “Oh shit.”
“T-t-that was a colt,” Swift muttered. “I-I swear! I swear that was a colt! I killed him!”
“No!” Lone grabbed Swift by the shoulder. She looked down at him, panic in her eyes and breathing sporadic. “That wasn’t a colt. That was a monster.”
“No, Lone!” Swift shook her head. “I just killed him! He was a kid! I just...I just…”
The two ponies’ ear twitched at the sound of shouting and gunfire outside of the building. Swift looked back at the corpse on the ground. Golden blood seeped out of his wounds and his eyes were reduced to lizard-like slits.
Lone tilted his head to the exit. “I’ll be fine. I just need a minute. Go help them.”
“I can’t just leave you,” Swift said, calming herself through panicked breaths. “I’ve gotta take care of that wound.”
Lone looked down at his wound. Thankfully, the vest took a vast majority of the shot, but he bled profusely, even after the healing gas had done its magic. Swift removed her saddle packs and pulled out bandages.
“Talk to me,” she ordered, pulling out a whole slew of medical supplies and laying them out beside Lone.
“Pardon?”
“I can’t focus very well,” she explained, her robotic arms getting a thick canister full of what tiny white spongy pellets. No amount of training adequately prepared Lone for this kind of a procedure. “I just killed an alien that looked like a kid and I nearly watched some floating squid choke you to death. Forgive me for not exactly having a clear head. So I’ll just say it again. Talk to me.”
“Sorry,” Lone frowned. He looked Swift in the eyes, noting the worry as she readied the canister just beside his wound. “Uhh...Ever thought about having a vacation around here?”
“That’s not a very comforting thought.” She shoved the canister into the wound, eliciting a yelp from Lone.
***
BLAM!
Cherry felt a smile creep on his face as he shoved high octane chaos into the sectoid’s stupid little mug. Serves it right for locking up at the sight of him and the other four in his fireteam. The other sectoids scrambled, scampering to the nearest block of cover. Cherry ducked down and cast his smile towards Rime.
“See that?”
“Hard to have missed it.” She said simply before rising up.
Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka!
Fwip! Fwip!
“Dammit!” Rime crouched, escaping the green bolts. “Pretty big crew for a ship that small!”
There were about six sectoids in total, five now that one of them had a hole (or several) embedded in its skull. They each moved like roaches, crawling around, even before they had noticed Fireteam Valor and speaking in strange chirps and clicks.
Cherry expected to make short work of the rest of the ship’s crew, knowing full and well that despite the roughly even numbers, Fireteam Valor was packed with enough arms to barge into Lord Flatbeak’s castle and blast those huge double doors to the treasury. He would have entertained the thought further had more bolts of green sailed over his head.
It was a sporadic movement, but Cherry threw himself up, aiming down the barrel of his shotgun, despite his helmet’s visor muddying up his vision slightly. Long range may not have worked, but he was willing to give it a chance. He took aim at a sectoid taking cover behind the chunk of metal from the damaged ship.
Blam!
“Well,” Cherry said, ducking down once again. “It was worth a try.”
“Seriously?” Rime rolled her eyes.
“They’re falling back!” Aegis shouted. His horn glowed, levitating his rifle and laying down a wide cone of fire.
“Cherry move up!” Twilight ordered. “Keep them pinned! You can flank the one right ahead of Aegis.”
He looked to Rime, something akin to worry in his eyes.
“I’ve got you covered,” She said, mechanical arms bringing up her machine gun as she stood and took aim.
It was arguably the fastest he had ever moved in his life. Cherry’s hooves carried him over the ruined block of concrete, vaulting over it with finesse he hardly knew he had and galloped full speed to a stray sheet of alien metal, the sectoid he was designated to kill under the heavy gunfire. Rime’s bullets stopped and a second after, the sectoid brought up its arm, surprised to find Cherry standing across the street and behind its cover.
As if to curse him, it released a pained and defeated screech.
Blam!
It fell, swallowed by a cloud of thickening golden ichor which blew in the wind. Cherry was not afraid of a little bit of blood, but there was a lot of it from the thing. Aegis moved up, taking aim further down the street at an untouched bench, where a sectoid peeked its head slightly.
A second took cover behind a faded green trash bin and a third on the other side of the same trash bin. Cherry moved back, ducking behind a newsstand.
“Heads up!” Rime shouted, her arms dropping her massive machine gun and gripping the cylindrical green thing on her back. It extended, taking a longer form and the sights popped up. She didn’t need much time to take aim.
Whoooosh!
Cherry recoiled, dropping to his chest and put his hooves over his already covered ear plates.
BOOM!
A wave of heat and fire washed over Cherry and his ears rang like crazy. He rolled on his back and caught his breath, staring up at the darkening crimson sky. His own breathing seemed distant and alien. He closed his eyes and groaned, getting up and sitting on his rump, taking off his helmet and rubbing his head. The burning in his lungs was not nearly enough to annoy him. He wanted his damn hearing back.
A shadow crept before him. He hoped it was an angel coming to take him away from all of this.
“Are you okay?”
Nope. Just Solemn.
“Ears are ringin’ like shit!” Cherry said. Did he shout? It was hard to tell. Judging from the way Solemn recoiled and pulled back, both eyebrows raised underneath her clear visor, Cherry probably just roared like a lion. “Sorry!”
Solemn cracked a smile. That was a good sign right?
She offered a hoof, which Cherry took. Once on his hooves, his R.A.A.G.S. took hold of his helmet on the ground and slipped it back over his head. Strangely, it felt good to have it on. He felt safer.
“Luna,” Cherry said, glancing at the raging fire. The mangled corpses of the sectoids were strewn like gory confetti, and their previous points of cover was reduced to nothing more than ash. “A little bit of overkill dontcha think?”
Rime walked leisurely, machine gun in her graspers. “Orders were to kill ‘em right?”
“I think.”
“They’re dead now,” Rime shrugged. “Better that way.”
Rime joined Aegis, who slowly approached the alien craft.
Cherry looked to Solemn. “She always like that?”
“You get used to it.” she sighed.
“Focus!” Aegis shouted. He beckoned towards the outer hull of the alien ship. Cherry took position right beside the iridescent field in place of an entrance. Another, more obscure field lay just ahead. “Last of the sectoids ran off in there from the rear. Cherry, get that field down. Rime, Solemn, cover him.”
“Is this safe?” Cherry asked, having to force himself an inch forward.
Rime kicked a rock through the first field,bouncing off the second one in the doorway.
“Looks pretty good,” Rime said. “If the rock’s okay, you should be fine.”
“Where’s Lone?” Cherry asked, seeing all of his compatriots waiting for him to enter. “Couldn’t we just—”
“Just get in there!” Aegis shouted.
“Okay! Okay!” Cherry, although reluctantly, passed through the first field, feeling a short lived shock run through his body. Almost immediately, the doorway filled with yelling and desperate shouts as two ponies clambered out and cried for help. A mare and a stallion, both drenched in sweat and covered in dirt and grime.
“Help us!” The mare shouted. “We were stuck in the market, they’re right behind us!”
The stallion made the mistake of turning, facing the seemingly empty interior of the ship. For a moment, Cherry caught a glimpse of his flank. As luck would have it, he had stumbled across a grown stallion with no cutie mark. Without trying to look too suspicious, Cherry snuck a peek at the mare’s flank. Aside from looking plump and firm, she too was barren of a cutie mark. Dark marks spotted her body and her eyes shifted.
With a shove, the mare flew back against the shining walls of the ship and Cherry flung himself back before his arms readied his shotgun, bringing his sights up to the mare. Her eyes widened in terror.
BLAM!
Bratatatatatat!
The puff of poisonous gas erupted with the shrieks of the two ponies, sending a chill down his spine.
“I’m going in!” Cherry announced. Nopony had time to protest. Cherry, despite his helmet, held his breath and galloped into the doorway.
Cherry opened his eyes, the glass on the floor glowing as the alien machinery just barely clung to life. The dying lights segmenting the tubes faded only to come alive once again. The rest of the ship’s interior managed to hold up far better than the exterior. The spotless metallic walls boasted technology far beyond anything Cherry would be able to comprehend.
A cylindrical column of encased green sat in the far end of the interior, on an elevated platform. Some kind of computer rested at the edge of the platform, a display screen floating above the mass of metal.
“Oh sweet Celestia!” Twilight spoke in a amazement. “There’s so much we could learn from this!”
“Head down!” Shining Armor ordered.
And Cherry did exactly that. His eyes found the sectoid’s before Shining lit up his ears with his shouting. Cherry rolled over and backed up against a blocky module, home to a glowing orange crystal suspended just above it. There was no time to make sure if the object posed any threat. Cherry pulled back on the shotgun’s pump, frowning when there was no shell in the receiver.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” Cherry’s R.A.A.G.S. clumsily fed the shotgun more shells until the gun was at full capacity. He pumped once again and rested his head against the metallic module,eyes shut and breathing heavy. He shook his head. “Shake it off, you got this!”
He turned, facing the glowing crystal, moved down from its initial position at the top of the module. It glowed, radiating an almost blinding light. A physical form manifested, taking shape before Cherry’s eyes. A being of obsidian and gold stood, a bipedal creature with no defining features, sat for the glowing crystal directly in its midsection. An alien rifle materialized in its hand, the necromantic glow causing Cherry to shudder.
He locked up as the creature raised a hand and grabbed him by the neck. Cherry’s hooves left the ground, kicking and thrashing wildly. Cherry raised his shotgun, trying to get a good shot at the creature’s head.
It grabbed his arm, twisting and snapping the metal and shooting sparks from the wiring.
Bratatatatat!
As if the goddesses themselves were watching over him, Cherry dropped to the ground, the crystal being not extending the same grand gesture. It ran, darting for the nearest piece of cover while Cherry placed himself back against the thick metal block in the room. He looked towards the doorway, clear of gas and Solemn Vigil making her way inside, rifle ready and head low.
There was no possible way Cherry could complain. On one hoof, she just saved his life, but on the other, her quirky aim might have cost him his life.
He was still breathing, so that was a good sign.
Cherry gave her a nod of approval.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Solemn shoved herself behind the doorframe, but it was not enough. The flurry of green reduced the ship’s wall to a crumbled pile of rubble.
Fwip!
“Ah!”
Solemn dropped, crawling and kicking her way further back before Aegis’s magical field enveloped her and dragged her out of view.
Rime barged her way inside, the golden sheen on her visor obscuring what Cherry would have assumed to be a deathly glare. Her mechanical arms raised her lead cannon.
Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka!
The sectoids dropped, pained chirps and writhing in pain before expiring right before Cherry’s eyes. All that was left was the other one. Cherry looked down at his remaining mechanical limb, raising it with nothing more than his thoughts and clenching a fist. It extended outward and grabbed his shotgun, using his hoof to pull back on the pump.
“I’ve had just about enough of this place.”
Cherry rolled out from cover and took aim, the being lining up its shot.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Blam!
“Fuck!”
Apparently, hooves were not the best at stabilizing a high power firearm. Cherry rubbed his nose, feeling the blood trickling down his muzzle and staining his beige coat.
The light of the being’s crystal intensified before the physical form vaporized and dematerialized. Cherry huffed as the crystal shattered against the ground. He was so sure there would be at least a small piece of the gem he could potentially keep as a souvenir, but the moment he stood up, trying to stop the blood from trickling down any more, the gem vanished, becoming nothing more than dust in the wind.
Cherry turned to the doorway from which he had entered so recklessly. Solemn rested against the ship’s hull, treating herself to the best of her ability. Rime’s head turned between Cherry and Solemn, as if deciding who was the more important pony or friend.
He could see a mild tinge of regret as she turned away and trotted to Solemn. He could not blame her for that choice. After all, Solemn and her were solid friends. That and a pony could easily recover from a bloodied, or potentially broken, muzzle. A scorching wound to the ribs on the other hoof? Cherry was no medical expert like Solemn, but he knew the chances of survival were a bit of a gamble.
“I should be fine,” He heard her say. “Armor took most of the hit. Is Cherry alright?”
“I think I broke my nose,” Cherry answered, walking over while still holding a hoof up to his muzzle. Aegis knelt down, holding out bandages with his magic and remaining relatively calm. Rime stood on guard as she scanned the area for any more hostiles.
“Serves you right for jumping in without a second thought,” Rime said. Were it not for the helmet he wore, Cherry’s ears may have fallen flat. She turned, a jabbed a hoof at his chest. “Solemn could have died saving your reckless ass.”
“I thought it was just the two sectoids.” Cherry defended. “I could have killed them on my own if that thing didn’t just pop up. She didn’t have to come in! I could have taken that thing down on my own!”
“From what I saw, that thing was gonna snap your neck.” Rime remained steadfast.
“Guys!” Solemn yelled. “Quit it! It’s done, I’m fine. No need to fight.”
She let her head rest against the metal surface of the ship’s wall. “I just wanna go home.”
***
After Action Report:
Captain Aegis Solaire >>> Active
Sergeant Swift Step >>> Active
Corporal Lone Shadow >>> Wounded (12 Days)
Private Rime Runner >>> Active
Private Cherry Pop >>> Active
Private Solemn Vigil >>> Lightly Wounded (5 Days)
Alien bodies have been recovered.
Alien weapon fragments have been recovered.
Alien ship materials have been recovered.
Banshee Squadron Status:
Vapour Trail >>> Active (Aiding the Royal Guard)
Air Strike >>> Active (Aiding the Royal Guard)
Lightning Dust >>> Active
Blue Bell >>> Active
***
Twilight looked at the screens, allowing a sigh of relief to escape her lips. Her ponies would live no doubt. Initiative-grade medical technologies and spells were top of the line. The chances of a pony dying were low with a well versed arcane healer or just regular medical pony on the field.
“That material the aliens were guarding,” Starlight pointed a hoof towards the Swift Step’s camera feed. From the looks of it, she was carrying Lone Shadow on her back, while stepping out into the open street. She kept her gaze on the glowing canister, the crystal exposed and radiating some kind of energy. “We should look into that. See what’s so important about it.”
“Agreed,” Applejack said. “I reckon the engineerin’ team‘ll be real interested in that ship. Maybe Flim Flam can make sense of all that stuff.”
“Looks like you two will be busy for a little while.” Twilight stood, standing tall over her two friends. She had to admit. There was a tinge of jealousy as she soaked in the sheer scope of all the technologies the science and engineering divisions would be collecting. There was enough material to keep everypony in every facility busy for months.
“I’m sure Sky Lance would love to get her hooves on those new bodies,” Starlight noted. “With your permission Commander. I think it would be of utmost importance if we learn more about the alien’s infiltration units.”
Twilight felt her lips twitch. She wanted to deny the request, but in her heart knew Starlight was right. There was much to be gained from the aliens. As disgusting and gory as it would be. No doubt, Sky Lance would have no complaints. It was, of course, for scientific gain more than anything else.
“We’ll see what she can learn from them,” Twilight said simply. “For now let’s get Fireteam Valor back home.”
***
"Reports are pouring in from all over Vanhoover detailing the crash landing of an alien craft shot down by unknown elements. Officials claim the landing has led to devastated zones all around the West End District and destroying most of Elmwood Avenue. Royal Guards from Canterlot and authorities in the surrounding towns are aiding with the rescue efforts. Word has arrived that two or four unknown pegasi are aiding the Royal Guard, although many are reporting them to be sent by the Equestrian Bureau of Defense, but there has been no official word from the office.
"Reports claim a team of ponies entered the affected area shortly after the crash, similar to the same squad of ponies who cleared out Pearlhaven. Anypony with any further information on these ponies are asked to come to step forward and offer anything they can as to who these ponies are.
"Officials in Canterlot will address the situation shortly. For now, this is Lucy Song of the Equestrian News Broadcasting Network signing off. Tango will offer any new coverage when we return."