Flamelight had been sitting in his living room for a few hours, just thinking. He was contemplating what to do with the alien currently living on the hill not too far from his home, and had not managed to come up with any solutions that wouldn't end with him getting hurt.
Well, the alien technically hadn't been living there. She had been inside a large orange and black machine for the last few hours. What she had been doing in there was unknown to the stallion.
He wasn't even sure it was a female to begin with. Its voice certainly sounded feminine, but everything else about her showed nothing about its gender. Unless he was corrected, he figured he would just settle on called it a 'she'.
It wasn't long before he was interrupted by a sound. His head shot up, him fearing the worst, but when the sound came through again he quickly realised what it was. He hadn't eaten for many hours and it seemed his stomach wasn't happy about that.
Shaking his head a bit, the pegasus jumped down from the couch he had been sitting on and trotted off into the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat that would keep his belly quiet.
As his search went on for something substantial, his mind began to wander once again. His thoughts quickly switched to the alien on the hill, this time pondering on what she would eat. He wasn't sure if she even needed to eat in the first place, but if she did, what would she need to live?
His train of thought came to a halt when he opened another cupboard and found a fairly large bag of pasta. Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed the bag and got a kettle filled with water going.
While waiting for the water to boil, he heard a noise from his living room. A sound he really didn't want to hear. Someone was knocking on the door, much harder than what was needed. Slowly, he poked his head around the door frame, looking over at the front door. It was a solid piece of wood, so he couldn't see what was on the other side, but he could guess from the repeated heavy banging that it wasn't someone he wanted to see.
In the end, however, he decided that it wasn't a good idea to ignore it, especially if it turned out to be someone important. And so, as quietly as possible, he crept up to the window in the living room and peered out towards the door. His heart skipped a beat when he saw who it was.
There, standing tall, was the alien. She was still hitting the door, seemingly oblivious to the pony watching her. At her shoulder, her Ghost turned its eye to look at the suddenly moving curtains. It gave him a look over before turning to the alien.
“Uh, Kalis...” It said, bringing the alien's head around to look over at it, and in doing so, at Flamelight.
“Oh. Hey, pony, I need to talk with you,” she said, pulling her arm away from the door.
The stallion's eyes shrank down as the alien's eyes met his own. He locked up in fear, barely registering the question.
“Goddammit, I thought we were through this,” she muttered, taking a step towards the window, “Hey! Wake up already!”
The poor pegasus yelled in fright when his mind switched back to reality. He vision was entirely taken by black and orange armour.
“Listen, I don't have much time right now. I have managed to contact my team and they are on their way right now, but we need somewhere for Kervis and the other ponies to stay for the night. I was hoping that you would be willing to let them stay here” She explained, still watching him.
“I... wha?” Was the pony's only response. His mind was entirely taken by the fact that there were even more aliens coming right here.
“Dude, they have a kid with them. For fuck's sake are you really going to leave a kid to sleep outside?” The alien said, her voice giving away her clearly growing anger.
“W-wait a minute, your team... took ponies?” Flame asked, looking at the luminous faceplate of the being before him.
“They came of their own free will. Now are you going to let them stay or not?”
“Well, uh, you see, um”
“Jesus Christ what is it with you? What if Kervis stays away and you just let the ponies stay here? Would that be okay?”
Flamelight flinched back at the tone of voice being directed at him, but he managed to get a small nod out.
“Finally, some progress,” she said, stepping back a little, “I'll bring the ponies here when they all arrive, okay?”
The petrified stallion didn't even respond to the question, instead settling on just staring at her in a trance like state. The alien just sighed and shook her head, walking away at a brisk pace from the small home.
- - -
The flight towards the coordinates given by Kalis had been pretty quiet for Exodus. Breeze had gone to sleep not long after the radio conversation and had slept like a log since then, and Exodus' Ghost had been surveying the various energies that surrounded them.
The Warlock gave a small console at his right a quick look, the display reading the distance to the waypoint given. Two-hundred and thirty two miles, still some distance to go.
He set the Galliot to autopilot and got up, walking back into the rear of the ship, rousing the small pony from his sleep with his footsteps.
“Oh, hey -yawn- Exodus, are we nearly there?” He asked, his eyes half closed.
“Not yet, I'm afraid. Still have a couple of hundred miles before we get there, you may aswell get some more sleep,” the guardian replied, looking over at the colt.
“Nah, I don't want to sleep through the entire thing... especially since you wouldn't have anyone to talk to,”
Exodus gave a chuckle at that, “Don't worry about me, I'm fine with not talking to anybody for the duration of the trip.”
The pony didn't reply to that. Instead, he sat up and looked around the ship's interior, “So what are your friends like?”
“Well, they are quite a bit different to me I can tell you that much. Kalis is an Exo, like me, but she is a Hunter. Kervis, however, is a human Titan.”
“Hunter? Titan? Why are they called that?”
“Don't worry, I am getting to that,” Exodus said before continuing, “Each guardian is given their class when they are reborn, the process of bringing a long dead person back to life using the light of the Traveller. After that, it is the process of training. Kervis is the most experienced of the three of us, what with him being around for over two years, and he was the one who trained me and Kalis in how to use our abilities effectively.”
Breeze looked like he was still confused, “But that doesn't really explain what they are like...”
“Well, as for personalities, that is for you to learn. I will say now that neither of them are bad people. They have both made mistakes, but they are still good. They may look a little intimidating at first, but I'm sure that you will come to like them in time.”
“I'll take your word for it then I guess. How long will it be before we get there?”
“About half an hour, hope the trip doesn't bore you too much,” Exodus said, moving over to a new console.
“It won't, just sitting here is entertaining enough,” the colt said with a smile, giving his tail a flick.
“Fair enough, let me know if you need anything,”
- - -
Sleep hadn't come easy for Lemon, but she eventually found an hour's rest, the hum of the electronics and engines helping her to stay asleep. When she had awoken, she almost thought she hadn't gone to sleep at all. Kervis was still sitting in his seat, his Ghost beside him, and the consoles flashed before him in various colours.
She gave a small yawn as she got up and had a look around the small interior of the ship. The Ghost heard this and turned to face her.
“Sleep well?” It asked, flying closer to the mare.
She was still slightly wary of it, but had come to the conclusion a while ago that it couldn't hurt her, even if Kervis wasn't there to stop it.
“Yeah, kinda. Difficult sleeping after all that happened,” She replied.
“Understandable. I'm surprised you are still in a good state of mind after what you saw. I feel like most other ponies that made it out of there will have PTSD for some time,” The machine commented, its segments spinning a couple of times.
“I'm not sure what PTSD is but Kervis being there helped me stay... sane,”
“Oh? I would think that a strange alien fighting within a few feet of you would have the opposite reaction,” The Ghost said.
“Maybe so, but knowing that he was trying to get me out of there really helped. He's a nice... uh,”
“Person,”
“Right, person. He's a nice person, isn't he?”
“He tries to be,” The Ghost started, looking over at the Titan in question, “He can come off as a more stone hearted person at times, but deep down he is like all guardians. He just wants to help,”
Lemon followed its gaze to look at the human. He hadn't moved since she woke up.
“Is he okay? He isn't moving much,” she asked.
“Fast asleep. The exertion from the fight took a lot out of him.”
The Ghost turned back to look at the mare, “I would be interested in learning some things about your world. None of the Ghosts in this world know any more than I do, and so it would help to have an idea of what it is like here.”
“Oh, sure. What sort of stuff did you want to know?”
“Everything that you would deem important,”
Lemon groaned, this was going to be a long flight.
- - -
Things were not at all calm in the Canterlot castle. Guards were running to and fro delivering messages. Up in one of the many towers, Celestia and her sister were having a conversation.
“But sister, these reports say everything we need to know. Kidnapping and murder? How could we possibly allow them to go free?” Luna exclaimed, leaping up from her sitting position.
“Because the reports are not reliable enough to go hunting for the two beings that caused all of this. I would rather wait and see if they are actually a threat.” Celestia responded, a cup of tea in her magic.
“How could you say that? You yourself saw the carnage left at the minotaur arena and the two foster parents are in hysteria searching for their colt. Those two have caused enough problems, there is no reason to let them cause more!”
“The minotaurs have been known for slave fighting since long before your return, and those foster parents, while the situation is problematic, shouldn't need to worry themselves so much. We'll make sure that Breeze is returned to them quickly.” Celestia calmly explained, take a sip from her cup.
Luna was about to start shouting yet again when a guard burst through the door, “Your majesties, two new objects have been detected flying at an incredible speed towards Manehattan! What should we do?”
“That's them!” Luna said, focusing her gaze on her sister, “We can't let them escape, this could be our only chance!”
“Luna!” Celestia was now standing, a stern look on her face, “You are not thinking straight. One of them managed to kill off nearly every minotaur guard in that arena. What do you think two of them are capable of? I will not put my ponies in harm's way to satisfy your want for their capture.”
Luna's jaw had dropped midway through the lecture, and she was left standing dumbstruck before her sister.
“Tia, I-”
“No, Luna. No excuses. I think you need to go find somewhere to cool off. We can talk about this when your mind is in a reasonable state.” Turning to the guard, Celestia continued, “Send a small squad to Manehattan and alert the guards stationed there. Do not attempt to approach them without me there.”
“As you wish, your highness,”
- - -
“Well, we are coming up on the coordinates Kalis gave us,” Kervis said as he looked over the various readings being displayed before him.
“Oh, that didn't take as long as I thought it would,” Lemon commented, walking up beside the Titan.
“I pushed the atmospheric engines a bit harder than normal, didn't want to get there late,” Kervis said. Seeing no reason to continue flying himself, he moved the control of the ship to his Ghost.
“Ah, I guess it would be rude to arrive late to something like this,”
“That it would,”
The ship swung around when it came within line of sight with a small home near some hills. Upon one of the hills lay a ship that Kervis was all too familiar with.
“There she is, get ready to go down there,” Kervis said, standing up and looking over at his Ghost.
“Teleporting you now, see you down there,” The Ghost said as Lemon and Kervis became shrouded in light once more. When the light dissapated they were standing before the ship they had seen on the camera feed. It was far larger than it looked from a bird's eye view.
Before they could take a step forward, a voice called out to them.
“Took you long enough! You get stuck in traffic?”
Kervis turned to find Kalis standing to the left of her ship with a hand on her hip. She had her helmet off revealing the amused expression she so easily pulled off. The Titan could never understand how an Exo was even capable of doing something so lifelike.
“Sorry I couldn't get here quick enough for your liking. I think I nearly burned my engines out just trying to get here,” Kervis replied, taking off his own helmet.
“Ah you know I'm just messing with ya. Who's the pony?”
At this, the Titan stepped aside giving Kalis a full look at the yellow mare that had slinked behind him during their conversation.
“This is Lemon, only just managed to get her out of there,” he explained to the Hunter before him.
“Heh, pretty cute,” she said before looking up at him, “I have a place for them to stay while we figure this out. Want me to show you where or are you good?”
“Up to Lemon really. You want to go to the house or stay with me?” Kervis asked.
“Um... what would you think would be best?” She questioned in turn. She had been giving Kalis nervous looks, apparently not comfortable with how the guardian looked.
“Honestly? I wouldn't mind you staying here, but if you aren't comfortable being here then I won't hold anything against you if you decide to go to the house,”
“If you want me to stay here then I guess I can do that,” Lemon said quietly, her eyes locked on the Hunter.
It didn't take long for the Hunter in question to notice the increased attention she was getting, “Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, you know... I know I look weird but I'm just like Kervis on the inside.”
“Well... if you say so, and if Kervis is okay with you then you can't be all that bad,”
“How about I leave you two here and go check on Exodus? Normally he is the first one to arrive to things like this,” Kervis asked as he put his helmet back on.
“Sounds fine by me, I can watch this one,” Kalis agreed.
“She isn't the one I want watched,”
“Hey!”
Kervis wasn't listening at that point, what with him being on his ship already. The silence that ensued was just as awkward as it may have seemed. Kalis was leaning against her ship grumbling various insults towards a certain human, most of which flew right over Lemon's head. Lemon had decided to just sit down and focus her attention on the black and orange ship near her. It was like nothing she had ever seen. The machinery required to even build something like that was far beyond her imagination.
“You see something you like?” Kalis asked, noticing the curious stare the mare was giving her ship.
“Oh, I was just trying to figure out how it could have been constructed. I'm not exactly very knowledgeable about machines, but I find looking at them fascinating.”
“Heh, my Ghost would be a better conversation partner for things like that. I have never cared about how things worked, I just care about whether they do their job or not,”
“Well then could I speak with it? I would love to even vaguely understand how it works,” Lemon had grown a small smile at the turn of events, quickly starting to like the robotic human that she had feared only minutes ago.
“Sure, if he wants to then I don't see why not. Ghost?”
Kalis looked to her shoulder as the small white robot appeared, “I don't have any problems with sharing unclassified information. What sort of stuff would you like to know?”
“Um, as much as you are willing to tell,”
- - -
“Exodus, where are you?” Kervis asked into the microphone. He had been trying for a little while to contact his team mate but had no luck as of yet.
“Jesus Christ, don't tell me you need us to get you out of something again. I swear if you've fallen in another pit I'll-”
He paused as a rattling sound crept through the speakers above him, after a second or two, a voice sounded through them.
“Sorry! Sorry, I was doing something and couldn't hear the mic. What's up?”
“Where are you? Me and Kalis are waiting on you. And what exactly are you doing that needs you to go away from your comms?”
“I've been showing the little one how some of the ship systems worked. He's a curious one I'll give him that,”
“Right. Well, how long will you be?” Kervis asked, shaking his head slightly at the Warlock's behaviour. His mood always changed when he got into explanations of things that he used.
“About five minutes, providing this one doesn't want to know anything else,”
“Good, we'll see you soon,”
The Titan jabbed a couple of buttons and stood back sighing, “Alright Ghost, send me back.” His request was answered instantly, leaving him standing beside Kalis' ship once more. Kalis and Lemon had apparently not got very far in communicating as the mare was wandering around the outside of the Inquisitor firing questions at the ghost that flew alongside her.
“Guessing she wasn't too keen on you, huh?” Kervis asked, walking over to his fellow guardian.
“Is it really that surprising? I doubt she was all to happy with you either until you got her out of there,” Kalis responded.
“Yeah, poor girl. Exodus will be a couple more minutes. He got into one of his explanations again,”
“Ah,” Was Kalis' only reply. He didn't need to say any more than that for her to understand.
They idly talked for a while, watching the yellow mare circle the ship in fascination. Kervis was almost certain that what the Ghost was saying had no meaning to her, but she seemed happy, so he didn't say anything about it. After three minutes a distant roar pulled them out of their conversations.
“Damn, can he be any fucking louder?” Kalis asked.
“Wouldn't doubt it knowing that ship. You may want to get up in the air, I'm sure we aren't the only ones who can hear that.” Kervis said, standing straight.
“Yeah, good point. Ghost, we need to get up there.”
“No problem,” The Ghost called out as he teleported Kalis onboard the Inquisitor and fired up its engines. Kervis quickly grabbed Lemon and pulled her away as the ship began its ascent.
Lemon gave a look over in the direction of the noise, only to see a small blue dot getting ever closer.
“What is that, another ship?” She asked, wriggling free from the Titan's hold.
“Yeah, Exodus' one. We told him those engines were nothing but trouble but he always just waved it off.”
With the speed that he was flying, it wasn't long before the Warlock's ship reach them, the engines winding down as he slowed the huge ship. After a few moments of waiting, Exodus appeared before them, a small blue pony hiding behind his legs.
“I know that you wanted to get here quickly but I didn't know you wanted the entire planet to find that out too,” Kervis commented as he walked over the robed Exo.
“Hey, you seemed like you wanted me here quickly, so here I am. Good to see you again,”
“Likewise,”
“Hey Kalis, we alright?” Kervis asked into his short range comms.
“Uhhhh,” Kalis started, instantly causing worry for the two guardians that could hear her, “We got a problem,”
“What sort of problem?” Exodus asked, his previous mood disappearing,
“Like, a something that shouldn't be possible problem. You gotta get up here and see this,”
The Titan and Warlock gave each other a look before turning to their respective Ghosts. They and their companions were sent straight to their ships, allowing them to quickly fly up to the height the Inquisitor had reached.
But they were in no way ready for what they saw.
- - -
Morning Dew was a simple pony with simple dreams; she had always wanted to become a scientist, to help others with her research and inventions. But no length of research could have prepared her for what she had seen that day.
Her family and her had been sitting enjoying a homemade dinner, when screams began to grow from outside the walls of her home. Her father, who was getting slow in his age, went over to the window, but didn't say anything. Even from her sitting position at the table she could see the look of terror that dawned on his face.
“Dew, get everyone downstairs to the basement,” He commanded, finally looking away from the glass.
“But Daddy, we only just-”
“Now Dew! Go!” Her father yelled, pushing his daughter towards the staircase.
“But why do we-”
She wasn't able to finish. As the words left her lips a huge explosion rocked the home. The wall around the front door was slammed through by something much bigger than it and the debris had hit them all in various places.
In a daze, she tried to focus her eyes upon the new mass before her, but failed to make out what the shape was. While she couldn't see things solidly, she could still see colour. When she recognised the colours of her father, she crawled over to him, tears streaming down her face.
But before she could reach him, a new sound emanated from behind her. The clicking of metal was heard before yet another explosion.
It was the last thing she heard.