//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17: A long way to fall 
// Story: Long Far Gone 
// by A-P-A 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot, Equestria. 6:02am 01/06/1000 AN

Princess Celestia watched her sisters moon dip out of sight from one of her favourite balcony spots. The morning air was crisp and fresh, it's chilly touch stimulating her tired muscles. She was worried. She was worried for her little ponies. She was worried for her continental neighbours and for the very planet she called home.

The solar diarch had awoken to the frantic cries of a mare just outside her chambers. Screams of pure pain and agony akin to somepony being burned alive. Rushing to the scene, she found none other that her little sister, who was writhing and twitching as she rolled around on the hard marble floor. Minutes passed by, her guards dared not approach somepony so powerful while they were in such a fearful state. One wrong move and she risked endangering not only her sisters life, but the lives of all those in the immediate vicinity. Celestia had made attempts to call out, to relieve her sister of whatever wicked ailment was at play. All of her attempts ended in failure, leaving Luna in a worse state than she began. Eventually she began to show signs of coherence and, after a further while, had stopped whimpering as well. She simply sat in the middle of the hall, eyes trained on the floor and a hoof mashing the carpet to the beat of her heart.

"This is all my fault..."

Luna's words cut deep, leaving her elder sibling both confused and alarmed.

"What is your fault Lu-lu?"

"Everything that's happened sister, it's all been my fault..."

Celestia placed a hoof on her younger siblings withers, offering what little comfort could be claimed from the action. 

"You have done nothing wrong Lu-lu, nothing at all. Is this about what the griffon king said to you earlier?"

Luna remained silent, her gaze fixated on a small spot at her hooves. A single tear bled out of her eye and rolled down her muzzle, leaving a streak of damp fur in it's wake. It hit the ground with a soft pat. She held something within her left foreleg, snuggled close to her chest.

"No sister, it's about Mathew."

"Mathew is fine Luna, you said it yourself. Now let-"

"How can you say that!" Interjected the night princess, turning on her sister with hateful eyes. 

"Luna, calm down. Okay? Now tell me what happened and then we'll go to the medical wing."

A shiver of anger shot down Luna's spine, stiffening her resolve.

"His planet, his home. I took them away from him, I destroyed his loved ones..."

Celestia just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Something was going on here, something she couldn't yet see.

"Luna, you did none of those things. Now who told you these lies?"

"I saw it sister, with my own two eyes. One moment they were there, the next they weren't. I-I didn't believe it at first, but the more I saw the more it became clear to me..."

"Dearest sister, our friends home world is far beyond even our own reach. You couldn't have made a difference to what happened if you tried, so it was nothing to do with you..."

Luna removed her hoof from her chest, pulling out the object she had nestled there. It was a small rectangle, silver and flat. Blue lights danced across it's surface, shimmering and reflecting.

"Then explain this..."

Celestia was about to respond when her sister blinked out of existence, a waft of magic following in her wake. Her eyes slowly fell, focusing in on the strange contraption that had dropped onto the carpet. She instantly recognized it as Mathews 'datapad', the strange and infinitely fascinating device that her new friend had used for much of his presentation the previous day. She quickly dismissed her guards and made haste towards the private balcony just off the castles east wing. That lead her up to the present.

The data-pad still floated unassumingly in the golden glow of Celestia's magic, it's shining glass surface reflecting the rising sun at her back. Luna seemed so certain when she relinquished the technology, yet the solar princess failed to see the connection. All she knew is that something had occurred last night, something that caused their extra-equistrial visitor to leave the castle in a hurry, and something that controlled and manipulated her sister. She wouldn't allow her ignorance to continue.

"Come on... Stupid thing! Turn on!"

Her attempts to use the alien device had proven fruitless. She was certain she saw Mathew using the pad with his 'fingers', and he simply dragged the slender appendages across the glass surface to bring it to life. Unfortunately her hooves were incapable of rousing the dormant knowledge, her magic too was useless. Then, a sudden thought struck her mind. Slowly and carefully she raised the pad up to her muzzle and placed the tip of her nose on the screen. 

A picture filled the glass surface, forcing her tennis ball sized eyes to cross. It was a photo of Mathew himself, standing proudly atop a worn stone structure. She could see bits of machinery poking through the chipped and cracked surface, which resembled the concrete that held Canterlot in it's place. Mathew looked no different from when she had last laid eyes on him, his armour was still the gleaming deep blue she was used to seeing, complete with the gold trim and mesmerizing flame display. Even though he wore his helmet, Celestia knew he was smiling. He brandished his faithful sword in one hand, while he held aloft a... Something?

She had no idea what it was. It shared Mathew's body structure yes, but that's where the similarities ended. It seemed to be completely formed of metal, excluding the milky substance that glowed at it's waist. The fan shaped structure that was must have been it's head had little in the way of a face, only a single, evil looking eye that glowed blood red. What ever it was it scared her, and she made a mental note to ask Mathew the next time she saw him. If there ever was a next time.

Celestia was so fixated on the strange machine that she almost forgot what she was doing, she shook her head to clear away any unsavoury thoughts before returning to the data-pad. A small arrow at the bottom of the image prompted her to drag upwards, so she did just that. The image on the screen changed once more, showing an idyllic countryside view. Overlaying the photograph was a large number of folders, resembling the files used in the treasury to store taxes. There was one labeled photos, another simply entitled 'stuff' and one near the bottom that had a games tag. There was also a circle showing something resembling a camera, with another to it's left displaying a device for which she had no name. This one was blinking red, inviting her to press it. Her nose pushed the little icon precariously, opening whatever Mathew wanted her to see. 

The top of the page read 'Audio logs', and the latest entry was addressed to her.

"For princesses Celestia and Luna, urgent." She read aloud.

The capitalised text was followed by a string of meaningless numbers and finally an arrow to play the message. Time to find out what's going on...

"Hello princess, or princesses, depending on who's listening. It's ghost here, coming with a rather unsettling development. I was forced to wake Mathew from his sleep early this morning due to heavy increase in cognitive activity, activity so strong it would cause a normal brain a serious amount of damage. Had it continued any longer he would have run the risk of muscle spasms, spasms which would have resulted in unregulated light release. That however, is not the most worrying part."

"When he awoke, he immediatly stated that we needed to vacate the planet as soon as possible, and when I asked him why he simply replied with 'because it's not safe anymore'. Now, I'm well aware that your species, more specifically princess Luna, has the rather unique ability to enter ones dream state and converse with them. If you are watching this princess know that I mean no disrespect and I am most certainly not accusing you of damaging my guardians brain. But I must know if this ability is shared by others. The only words I was able to proclaim from Mathew were a string of unformated mumbles that consisted mostly of the words 'Nightmare' and 'Moon', not exclusively in that order. If either of you has any insight then please use this device to contact me. Do not under any circumstance attempt to contact my guardian, he is in a very fragile state and I do not wish to spark any sort of conflict. Best of luck to both of you. Ghost out."   

Celestia sat in silence as the audio ended, she didn't know what to to think. Even after a millennia that decrepid husk of a being was still running rampant around her nation, and she was powerless to stop it. Not only was the situation out of her control, it had also reached much further than anypony could have anticipated, and she, in her thousands of years of wisdom, had failed to see it. Was she, the diarch of the sun and the everlasting ruler of Equestria, really that dense?

Celestia allowed her eyes to drift apwards, the fading glints of millions of stars reflecting off her wide pupils. She scanned the sky for any sign of movement, anything to confirm there was still time to reverse the present. Nothing. The princess sighed, how was she going to explain this to an entire country of nervous ponies...

Long Far Gone, Equis orbit. 6:46am 01/06/1000 AN

"Cloak engaged, that should stop anyone down there from picking up on us." 

Mathew's ghost floated lazily at the helm of their impromptu base of operations, scanning the stars for any kind of movement. Nothing. The small construct sighed in relief, maybe they still had some time. 

"I wouldn't worry for your reclaimers safety 'ghost', this ship was designed to resist an entire fleet of vessels and emerge victorious. I doubt it will faulter out of the blue."

Exuberant was close by, monitoring radio waves and other signals.

"That's not what I'm worried about, that planet is covered in towns and cities, cities that our enemies would take great pleasure in levelling. If the darkness chooses to show face, how can we be certain their interests won't stray from us?"

The monitor looked up from the holo-display, processing her college's question.

"You needn't worry about the equines safety, they are tougher than they are willing to show. I have great experience with their kind and the way their minds work. Hopefully they haven't diverted to far from their roots."

"That's just it, when I was down there I made many observations into their military command line and strategies. I even went as far as to watch a regiment of guards train. Their tactics seemed reminiscent of ancient human marching lines, the kind of power play designed to intimidate your enemy. At least that's what I thought. I waited for them to break rank or rush for cover behind the many nearly crates, but they didn't. They stayed completely immobile!"

Exuberant seemed puzzled by this, and seemed to pass into a state of deep thought.

"I'm unsure of how far back my creators sent them in terms of military inquisition, but that seems a little too primitive. Are you sure you simply didn't catch them at a bad time?"

"Well, after watching them attempt to walk in rows for a long period, I approached the commanding officer to enquire whether they had been rehearsing for some sort of historical march. He said that they were training, actual battle training. Some of the guards he claimed to be the 'best fighters on Equis' were struggling to load arrows! Mathew could have killed all thirty of them with his bare hands before the even realised what was happening! Those are not warriors that would be able to stand up to the darkness, in any of it's forms."

Ghost drifted out of the captains chair to continue his rant.

"I made an inspection of their armoury as well. They only recently seem to have developed a crude form of hoof mounted crossbow, yet they stood proudly by it when I asked of it's combat merit. I just don't understand it! How can a race of beings that have a full understanding of modern physics and mathematics be so behind in everything else. It's like the technology is deliberately being suppressed, despite the knowledge to create it already existing!"

"That's because it is ghost."

The little light turned to face his companion, confusion now visible in his squinted features.

"How so?"

"Magic. Magic is the reason. Like I explained to your reclaimer earlier, the precursors gifted all of ponykind with magic as part of their initiation into the galaxy. They quickly adopted their stunning and exceedingly powerful new abilities into everyday life, shuffling aside things like space flight and weapons development in favour of learning more about their new powers. With every day spent on magic their knowledge of the subject increased exponentially, but at the cost of other important fields. Their magic became a crutch."

"When they finally worked out how to use magic to leave their world, the first thing they ran into was a battle group of human starships. They assumed it was magic, and attempted to manipulate it. Obviously to little effect. This was a cycle that continued right up until the activation of the rings. Not a single pony constructed vessel was ever recorded, they used the human's ships and weapons, or they simply teleported from here to there. Of course when they were placed on Equis, my creators didn't want them somehow escaping again, so the arcane signature was both dimmed and bound to the planet. Your guardian is quite possibly the last being in the universe to effectively  use that power. Without losing mental stability of course."

"Huh, well then." Replied ghost, gazing out at the passing planet below.

"I wouldn't worry to much though, even without modern technology and tactics I'm sure they can still put up a good fight. This is magic we're discussing after all."

The conversation was about to go further when a door at the back of the room slid open, and a dishevelled looking Mathew stumbled out. A large number of fluorescent eyes locked onto him, only two of which showed actual emotion. There was an uncomfortable silence as the guardian approached his ghost.

"Hey..." He said nonchalantly, taking a seat in the shipmasters chair.

Exuberant glided across the bridge, coming to a rest a few feet away from her reclaimer.

"Hello reclaimer, I trust you found the message I left in that device."

Mathew nodded, showing little sign that he cared.

"Did it... Help?"

"Your message? No. Maria's however..."

The human slumped in his seat, resting his helmeted head in his hand. 

"Let's just say I'm indifferent, for right now. I'd rather focus on getting things done, maybe after that I'll be able think about it in more depth."

Ghost felt the urge to warn him about his dismissive attitude, but decided against it. Once they were fully prepared for what was to come, he would be able to confront his guardian.

"Well, I'm glad your at least willing to cooperate. For there is much to be done and not much time to do it!"

Mathew glanced up, adopting a more serious stance. 

"Show me."

With a nod, Exuberant opened the bridge holo projecter suite, summoning a three dimensional display of the planets surface. He could see a small model of Canterlot, hanging gracefully from the cliff side. He felt a twang of guilt run through him, but quickly banished those thoughts. The map began to move, flickering blue landscape flying past at impossible speeds. The geography began to change, leaving the sloping equestrian hills behind in exchange for rugged mountains and jagged cliffs. Even through the hologram, Mathew could tell the climate was rough. He watched as the map began to slow, and then come to a stop completely. 

"So. What am I looking at?" He asked, scrutinising the projection.

In response, Exuberant highlighted a small area with a red circle.

"This installation has many underlying substructures that manage everything from the artificial weather patterns to the planets gravity it's self. Most of these structures have remained completely undetected by the local fauna thanks to countless procedures and defence protocols keeping them away. Up until recently, these procedures were managed by a central ancilla, a monitor, much like myself. Unfortunately, this AI has reached a point in her development in which she can be considered 'rampant', and has lifted many of the security measures surrounding her installation without knowledge."

Mathew gazed at the map with a tactical eye, memorising every little detail of the landscape.

"And what do you want me to do about that? Convince her to stop?"

"No... As much as it would be beneficial to have her as an ally, she is well past the point of no return. 255 Everlasting Truth must be eliminated from the field, and soon."

"Woah, hang on!" Interrupted the human, staring at her in disbelief. "There must be an easier way to do this. If this AI controls as much as you say she does, the how do you expect us to even get close to that facility. Surely she'll just kill us on sight."

"It won't be easy reclaimer, but we do have the element of surprise on our side! In her rampant state, Truth has been diverting most of her forces to within the structure. My orbital scans show that many of her 'units' are engaged in skirmishes with the local life forms. She won't be expecting you, and taking advantage of that will be the key to victory."

"So, you want us to break into this ancient facility full of angry robots, and kill the biggest robot we can find? Where have I heard that one before..."

"I doubt you'll find any robots in there, but essentially, yes. You'll need to locate her cortex, the center of her mind, and either disconnect her from the system or destroy the core. I've sent your ancilla a copy of the structures layout, but I must warn you. Try to avoid contact with the locals, they seem to have formed some sort of attachment to the forerunner technology, almost as if they are worshiping it. No doubt they will see your prescence as hostile, so be careful where you stray. You must also hurry, we are running low on time as it is and I do not wish to waste what little we have left

Mathew curtly nodded, standing from the captains chair. 

"You keep saying we're running low on time, and I can see how this crazy AI might be a bit of a concern, but if she's been like this for a while then why is it such an issue now?"

"It's not her we're worried about." Stated ghost, speaking up for the first time since his guardians arrival. "Everlasting Truth is in possession of a weapon, one that could prove devastating if controlled by someone that understands how to use it."

"Go on..."

The map dissipated, and in it's place a familiar looking hologram appeared. It's wings were spread proudly, and Mathew audibly gulped.

"That's... One of those things is... Here?"

"Yes reclaimer, and it is very capable of destroying everything on this world. You must remain thankful that Truth is too rampant to operate it. Otherwise we would be looking at a very different situation."

Mathew took a step back. Even in hologram form the guardian was intimidating.

"But if Truth can't use it, then who will?"

"The collective mind. That's who."

The hunter felt himself tense, shivers of discomfort running through him like spikes of ice.

"You mean, collective mind as in... Vex?"

Exuberant and ghost nodded in tandem, the former looking up at the holographic monstrosity.

"Yes reclaimer, the Vex."

Mathew's mind raced, countless possibilities storming through his conscience. Why would those machines come here? What threat was a single lost guardian to their never ending onslaught? Words failed him as he attempted to come up with a logical reason. 

"But... Wh-" 

*CRACK*

An earth shattering rumble pieced the ship, sending it's one bipedal occupant tumbling to the floor. The lights dimmed, flickering on and off as a hundred blue eyes raced around. Mathew stumbled to his feet, but fell upwards as the ships gravity was thrown for a loop. Everything that wasn't tied down began to float around the bridge. 

"What's happening!" Yelled the hunter, twisting to avoid a floating control console.

"We've been hit by some sort of EMP! I can't get a log on the system status!"

Exuberant rushed past ghost, who was pulsing madly in an attempt to get a reading. She used her tractor beam to pull a section of panel from the command suite, trying desperately to divert any alternate power. After a few tense moments, the holographic display flickered to life.

"Oh dear... The ship's drives have failed, we are without thrust!"

As if to emphasise her point, the hull groaned under the gravitational strain of Equis, tilting downwards towards the planet.

"Is it a system failure?!"

Mathew attempted to dodge an incoming cargo crate, but was smacked to the side, landing on the bay windows of the bridge.

"No, the ship's systems are in perfect condition! This is coming from further a field."

"Further a field?! How?"

"I believe I have an answer to that reclaimer!"

Exuberant looked to be having an actual fight with the stations power supply, trying desperately to keep it active.

"The Guardian that Everlasting Truth is currently occupying was designed as an assault class. It was mainly used in ship to ship combat, and an electromagnetic pulse generator was one of it's many features. She must have found it while attempting to reach other systems, and the diameter of the attack will span the entire planet until it is deactivated! Unfortunately I am not well equipped enough to combat the effects..."

"Wait? That things responsible for this?"

"Yes reclaimer, and if we cannot shut it off soon..."

Another groan shook the massive Supercarrier, sending Mathew tumbling off the window and towards the other side of the bridge. As he passed Exuberant, he grabbed hold of the holopanel, swinging round to her left.

"So what you're saying is, we now have another reason to get rid of that crazy AI and her behemoth robot?"

"Essentially yes."

"Well then! Ghost prep the vision, we need to get down there asap!"

Ghost just clicked in confusion.

"Uh, Mathew. Your ship is currently inoperable, as are all the other craft on board."

The guardians eyes widened under his visor.

"Not all the craft..."

The duo turned to Exuberant, who had forgone her attempts to revive the console in the name of fixing one of the slipspace pads.

"I think I have a way to get you down there, but it will require a direct line of sight, one which is fast approaching! You'll also need weapons!"

Mathew gave her a deadpan look and pointed a thumb at the scout rifle and carbine that were attached to his back.

"I've got plenty of weapons!"

"They are insufficient. Most require electronic regulators and optics, barring maybe your combat sword. I suggest you allow me to provide you with more effective replacements."

"But won't they just be busted as well?"

"No, forerunner weaponry and ship systems are designed to negate the effects of the Guardians electromagnetic pulse, preventing accidental compromise of vital systems via friendly engagement. In other words, these ones will work even if you were to stand right next to the generator! Isn't that great!"

"Yeah, now where are they?"

"I'll just be a moment!"

Exuberant shot a few more beams at the base of the teleporter, forcing it to reactivate. An unstable looking rift crackled in it's projector, mixing shades of unhealthy purple and red with the usual blue.

"It's to unstable for us to enter, but small items should be able to make it through!"

On cue, a pair of angular weapons flew through the opening, sailing across the room towards Mathew, who caught them in his hands. As he did so, another quake rocked the ship, sending him flying backwards. Luckily a lone sentinel was there to catch him.

"Woah! Um, thanks."

He took one of the weapons in hand, marvelling at it's almost metaphysical nature. It split apart within his grasp, shards of possessed metal spiralling around his wrist, before reforming into it's original state.

"What are... These?"

"What you hold there is a  Z-250 Directed Energy Engagement Weapon, or 'lightrifle' for short. It's a long range weapon that was a common part of most forerunner arsenals, and will provide sustained fire effectively over a distance of nearly a kilometre!"

"So it's a fancy scout rifle?"

"Well- Um, I think it's a bit more than-"

"And judging by the design this one looks like an over qualified shotgun."

Exuberant scoffed as the guardian inspected the sleek grey weapon.

"That's not just a mere shotgun! It's a very capable medium range assault weapon that fires a spread of deadly hard light projectiles!"

"So it's a shotgun..."

"No! It's-"

*CRACK*

The shudder once again threatened to throw Mathew across the bridge, but he was held in place by the drone behind him.

"We don't have time for this!" Interrupted ghost, transmattimg both guns to his collapsed space inventory. 

"Yes, unfortunately time is lacking. At our current rate, I calculate we will enter the atmosphere in just under and hour. Without our protective shielding, the ship will most likely suffer catastrophic damage apon reentry, maybe even burn up entirely."

"So we need to move! How are you getting us down there?"

"I'll explain when we arrive, follow me!"

Exuberant punctuated her statement by blasting out the bridge doors and away down the access corridor, ghost hot on her tail. Mathew remained stationary, having no way of propelling himself.

"Uh, guys? How am I supposed to- Gah!"

He was cut short as the Sentinel holding him in place speared him in the back, carrying him out of the bridge at unsafe speeds, most likely towards his certain doom. The human watched as corridors flashed by, resigning himself to his fate. 

'There better be some good loot for this shit...'