//------------------------------// // Dawn of the hunter // Story: Fall of Stafleet: Shooting Stars // by Alchemystudent //------------------------------// Elyon looked at the row of books before her, a soft smile on her lips as she put the last one away, "Organizing, my queen?" "Caleb?" asked Elyon as she looked down at the messy haired man below her, "Yes. Dark Wizard, a new friend I met, asked me to put these books about the Heart of Worlds incident away. Apparently he said it was such a big event that it needed to be catalogued and stored." "You done?" asked Caleb, picking up a book. "Almost, there is just two more books I need to put away," Elyon said. "Fall of Starfleet?" asked Caleb as he looked at the book in his hand, "I don't remember-" "The world that Samus was going to if I had let Nerissa have her way. The one that Nerissa believed would've broken her." Elyon said, taking the book. "Do you believed she would've broken?" Caleb asked. Elyon shook her head, "I don't know. There was a good chance of it happening, and I could almost feel it happen when I first saw it. But..." "But?" Caleb asked. Elyon put a hand to her chin, "I have been looking that world from time to time, and things seemed to have changed. The ponies I believed to have been monsters are revealing more about themselves, and when I read that book, I saw something...unique." "Define Unique," Caleb said. "Unique in that it seemed that someone started to care, that their world started to brighten because someone cared enough to bring out the inner light and fix the mistake that I thought the world was," Elyon said, sitting on a table. As she looked down, she saw a new book, "Hmmm?" "What?" "Shooting Stars?" Elyon read out loud as she opened the book. A surge of black and red magic appeared in an empty field, showing a black coated stallion landing, his red mane flowing in the wind as he slowly got up and creacked his neck. “Ready for your second chance, Sweetie?” A white mare with a blue mane appeared behind him,”I’ll help you this time, see if things actually work out.” The stallion smiled, looking behind him,”Thanks, Honeybun. This time, things’ll be different.” (In another time, in another place) A large, orange space ship floated through multiverse space, nearing its destination when a black shield caused it to bounce away. The ship was flung through the multiverse to a very dark star. WARNING: Magical interference detected, magical interference detected. The ship’s single occupant, a purple armored being, grunted,"What’s-?" She gasped as she felt parts of her body change. Explosions erupted around the ship. Her red helmet turned and watched as the ship rocked back and forth. She felt the presence of a dark shadow as it appeared before her. She aimed a single bluish-green armcannon at it "Samus Aran, excellent.." The shadow said, pushing out tendrils into her, causing Samus to gasp in shock as several orbs spilled out of her and into the planet her ship was falling towards. Samus screamed as her ship flew over an orchard of apple trees and landed on a field, crashing through several trees. Samus coughed as she got out of the ship, her armor changing into a yellow suit with small shoulder pads and a red helm. Her single hand with a green orb on the back reached up and pulled away some of the debris. Samus looked into her visor,"Damage report!" Meanwhile, on an apple farm nearby, "It's finally happened!" Granny Smith shouted as she watched the UFO fly into her fields,"Gala told us this would happen again, but we didn't listen!" She shook her fist at the air. On a far off island, in a castle with Discord's grinning face, several trees in the shapes of ponies waited. The orbs from Samus' armor fell into them, causing their eyes to glow a deep red. Fall of Starfleet: Shooting Stars Applejack ran from the nearby trees, hearing Granny Smith call out, "What's going on? What do ya mean it’s... what in tarnation? A ship?" she asked herself, watching the dot crash into the forest. "Another ship?" Applejack asked herself, "Granny, you just get back into the house, and Ah'll check it out." Granny held out her hand,”Careful! Don’t know what could be inside!” Applejack frowned, flashbacks of what happened the last time an alien landed went through her mind,”Ah’ll be fine.” She ran towards the area of the ship. (The time, three days before the one year anniversary of Twilight's death. a few months after the incident with Dark King) “Damage report: Ship massively damaged, fires on decks one through four. Engines off line, hull breaches on the side, unable to hold shields for very longer. Recommend bailing out before ship blows.” Samus ran far ahead, growling as the ship exploded in front of her, leaving a broken space ship on the ground with a broken hull, broken engines, and a dim light on the inside of the cockpit,"Fuck, I'm gonna have to fix this." "Another problem," Her computer said,"You may want to sit down and do your breathing exercises." Samus blinked as she sat down and began to breathe, fearing the next words her computer would say. "The following have been removed from your suit:" The side of Canterlot Castle exploded as a brown alicorn stallion with a purple mane walked in. "Missiles." Several guards were thrown aside as a grey alicorn mare with a green mane walked through. She looked at them all with a sad stare. "Super Missiles." A smaller grey alicorn stallion stomped through the area, causing small explosions in his wake. A grin came onto his face. "Bombs." A large explosion occurred as an alicorn mare watched, a tear coming to her eye,"What am I doing?" She asked herself. "Power Bombs." A blue alicorn mare smiled as she strung up a couple of Unicornicopians in her electrical lasso, before whipping her rope, cracking their necks. "Grapple Beam." A skinny alicorn stallion laughed maniacally as he spun in the air, cutting through several pegasi, before landing and whipping his yellow mane around. "Screw Attack, Space Jump." A rainbow colored alicorn sped through several ponies, smirking as she watched their bones crack. "Speed Booster." An orange maned yellow coated alicorn mare drove her burning hoof through a guard. "Varia Suit." A purple coated alicorn phased her hoof through a stallion, then pulled out his heart, "Wave Beam." An alicorn laughed as he fired several straight shots at the guards, "Spazer Beam." An alicorn breathed frost as he walked through the halls, freezing the ground and the Unicornicopians he walked through. "Ice Beam." A green alicorn mare sat back, looking at a row of ponies before firing a burst of magic through them. A cruel smile came across her face as she watched the Unicornicopians scream in pain. "Plasma Beam." A blue alicorn mare with a light blue mane and tail walked through, several ponies being crushed as her horn glowed. She stopped as Princess Luna stood in front of her. Luna looked on in shock as the mare stood taller than her, even though the alicorn was a quadruped. "Gravity Suit." The stallion at the throne room could barely speak before Celestia as his upper jaw and hand were removed in an instant. A white alicorn mare with a flowing pink mane and tail stood in front of him. The mare looked up at the,"They let children rule?" She asked, looking at Celestia,"Things certainly have changed." "Hyper Beam." Luna stepped back from the creature, her eyes looking to the fallen soldiers and then back to the alicorn. Her eyes were narrowed in anger and rage, "Who are you and-" "Why have you trespassed into this castle?" Celestia asked, her ears flickering to the sounds of ponies dying, "What is happening? What are you doing, and why did you call me a child?" "Queen Morning Dawn of the Alicorns of Light." The white alicorn looked at Celestia,"You are a child compared to us. We are asserting our rule over this vile place. We want the world to know that we have returned from our slumber," She looked over the castle,"And we will free you from these annoyances that plague your ponies, as long as you hand over rule to me and my sister." Nightmare frowned,"Don't do this, Child, there are so few of us true alicorns left, and I’d rather not create a martyr." Her horn glowed. If Celestia was intimidated by the speech, she did not show. Instead, she leaned down on her knees and crossed her arms, "And what will you do with these... annoyances, should I hand over control?" "That would be the best option, if you don't want to die. That will let me destroy these invaders personally." Dawn said, walking up to her and looking down into her eyes,"I'd rather not kill you, we true alicorns are endangered, and I want to keep you alive; however, your subjects will have to bow to my will, and worship us as the gods we truly are." "I do not wish these ponies to treat me as a god, nor should they have to bow to you. They have a free will and spirit. Also, I do not want the invaders to die, simply see another path," Celestia said. “Do you not understand how we are gods?" Dawn said,"We are immortal, we are powerful, we are wise. If we let these ponies see us as normal, then they will underestimate us, rebel against us, see us as weak! Do you understand? You have god-like power, you should accept it and call yourself what you are!" Celestia got off from her throne and floated down. Then she narrowed her eyes at the mare, "I may have the powers of a god, but I have never wished to be seen as one. I believed that you can do more with the open hand than a fist. It's why I wanted to be called princess, not a queen." They were interrupted by the sound of a single punch. The night princess flew into the throne room, being caught by Dawn’s magic and slammed in front of Celestia,"Our new abilities are a wonder to behold." She looked down at the mare,"That is no way to act. You have power, flaunt it! Show your subjects that you are a goddess and you deserve respect!" Dawn frowned,"Tell me your name, child." "LUNA!" Celestia shouted as she watched her sister being thrown into the throne room. Looking down at her sister and then back to her, "I am Celestia von Solaris, and this this my sister. Who are you?" Luna struggled to get back to her feet, before falling back down. Nightmare teleported next to Dawn,"As I said, I am Queen Morning Dawn, and this is my sister Princess Nightmare." Dawn said,"You should understand your power, and let your subjects worship you as they should. I will take my leave for now, and give you time to think for a bit. If you join us, I will make you a high-ranking general, and I will treat you with respect." "Finally doing what I want, Sister?" Nightmare asked, frowning at Dawn. "Night, I told you I just wanted to assert my power and prove my godliness to the little alicorns! I just wanted to strike fear in these ponies!" Dawn glared at her,"I heard what you said, yes, I will go after the Champions of Harmony and the Corvid first so the princesses won't be martyrs! Yes, I am aware of Conquest! No, I don't want to kill them yet! It's called fear-mongering!" "Yes, but I understand that you are a hot-head who never listens to me." Night said, glaring back,"I come up with an idea, only for you to shoot it down and make up your own plan. Who was the tactician in this family again?" "You, but who knows how to run a government!?" Dawn shouted. "You, but Mom always said I should rein you in before you murder everypony." Night said simply. "Mom said I should correct you when you're wrong, and walk my own path, which is what I am doing, Sister!" Dawn looked at Celestia,"Younger sisters." Celestia smiled at Luna as she helped her sister to her feet, "Yes, they can be quite a handful. Perhaps if your weren't a pony killi-" "What is going on here!" Grand Ruler shouted as he entered the room, having just washed his hair. He looked around, seeing the alicorns, and blinked,”So, a new threat eh!?” He grinned, walking up to Morning Dawn. Luna chuckled to herself a little at seeing this, coughing a little as she looked up at Celestia,”HE doesn’t stand a chance.” Celestia calmly nodded. “So, what? You gonna gloat some more!? I should let you know that I am Grand Ruler, and I have the best army in United Equestria!” Morning Dawn raised an eyebrow at this,”You’re kidding right?” “Yes! Give me a minute to bring Lightning here, and we’ll wait for your monster!” “How about I kill you now?” Dawn said with a frown. Grand Ruler blinked, before stepping back,”Well, I, er, that is, if you do, you’d, er, go against every good villain in existence!” Dawn walked slowly towards him. “Oh, crap. Uniforce!” He raised his arms up and fired a single blue beam of light at her... to no effect. “I cannot believe I’m being accosted by an invader who blasphemes by wearing three horns." Her legs produced blades of light as she flew at Ruler to cut deep into his sides and then into his horns, making them spark from the damage. Then she vanished only to reappear to punch him in the back  of the head. As he laid on the ground, she planted her hoof on his back,"I will give you time to think about this, Child." She said, looking back up at Celestia, or rather glaring behind her, before she and Nightmare teleported away with the rest of their race. Goldwin appeared behind Celestia,"Take Luna and see me in your quarters." he whispered in her ear. He was inexplicably grinning. Celestia nodded, "Luna come." "Yes, let attendants handle the moron." Luna said, smiling at the fetal Unicornicopian, before following Godwin. Goldwin lead them to Celestia's quarters. His body began to change shape, into a familiar draconequus,"After I explain this, you might want to warn your Elements." Discord said with a smile “What?!" Luna stood back,"He's, but when, how!? When did-" "I'll explain later," Celestia said, before turning to her lover. "I'll tell them.” Discord chuckled at Luna's reaction before snapping his fingers, making a theatre appear. He sat them down into nice comfy seats and gave them buckets of popcorn as a projector showed a group of alicorns fighting, "Long ago, while your parents were toddlers, there were two factions of alicorns:Those of light, who thought themselves gods and ruled with an iron hoof, and those of darkness, who thought their ponies should be free to rule themselves. As you could probably guess, they went to war over these viewpoints. How droll.” Discord rolled his eyes. “ They continually fought each other until I," A mini-Discord appeared,"came along and, thinking that the alicorns of light were boring, decided to fight them myself. I was a brash kid back then.." Discord was fighting Morning Dawn on screen, "Then, since I was so young and inexperienced, I decided to trap them, not something I’d do now, mainly because I realized I couldn't defeat them." It showed Discord turning the alicorns into trees,"I put them on Isle Valhalla in a palace of my own making so they wouldn't break out because of some wacky villain. Apparently, some wacky villain decided to break them out." Celestia put a hand to her chin, "But who could've released them. And why and how? Did you put up barriers to stop... they faded when you had to go on that little trip to search for the darkness, didn't it?" "What?" Luna asked. "Discord’s death was all an act. He was actually on a mission from me to hunt down this impending darkness that I felt was coming," Celestia said. " "Of course! my barriers were supposed to be up for 1,105 years! But..." He frowned,"That time came and went, no thanks to you two stoning me the first time! However, I had no worries initially, because everyone forgot about them, until now." "I see, " Luna said, putting it under 'things to have a long talk with her sister later' "it is strange, that the dictators represented light in this fight. Discord looked at Luna,"Well, sometimes light can keep you on the straight path, but darkness can allow you to face the unknown." He emphasized this with a light emanating from a chain in one hand, and a dark ball of wild energy in another. Luna nodded and lower her head, "You are r-" she mumbled her words about him being right as if it burned her tongue. “Come again?” Discord leaned in to Luna’s face. “You’re ri-” Luna coughed. “One more time?” Discord brought out a microphone. “You’re right.” Luna said finally, before glaring at Discord. “Eee!” Discord gave Luna a hug,”Now we’re starting our first steps to friendship!” He held her sideways,”We’ll be two peas in a pod!” “I want out.” The unamused alicorn growled. "Are there any more books on them? do you know their names?" Celestia interrupted, looking to Discord. “You may be able to find something on them in Starswirl's old library. I can also tell you that they were using powers that they never had before. As for their names, well, it wouldn’t be very fun if I told you, now is it?” Discord gave a wink Luna growled"So all we know is that they are all extremely powerful and nearly unbeatable. What do you think she mean by the Corvid?" Luna asked. "Are they not extinct in this time?" Discord put a claw to his chin,"There might be one more Corvid than you'd think, if she’s called that." He smiled,"But you'll have to find that out on your own!" "One more..." Celestia whispered to herself. Luna looked back to the throne room, "I wonder if he has finished crying yet." "Great," the Unicornicopian guard said, placing his hands on his hips as he watched Grand Ruler cry while rocking in a fetal position,"This is just embarrassing!" He leaned down,"I better get you to a hospital, my...  liege." Samus  gave a low growl, shaking her head,"No." She muttered,"No." She roared,"Not again!” She shouted into the heavens,”That’s it!” She spun and tried to punch a random tree knocking it down in one punch Applejack watched the tree fell down. She looked at Samus, noting her strange armor and space ship. Her eyes glared at her. Samus looked at her,”Oh, was that your-” she was interrupted by Applejack "Ah don't know who the buck you are, but if you want a fight so bad, Ah can oblige ya!" and with that, she punched Samus in the helmet. Samus gasped and removed her suit, revealing a yellow coated mare dressed in a blue suit, and  she let Applejack hit her in the face,(Didn't want her to hurt her hand too badly) She thought before smirking as she moved her head with the fists,"Oh, you don't know who you're dealing with!" Samus punched her in the stomach. When Samus punched her, Applejack fell onto her back and then bucked her in the stomach to knock her into a tree. Getting up from the floor,”Sugacube, you don’t know who you’re dealing with!” Applejack flicked her nose and waved her hand to Samus, beckoning her to get some. Samus spat out a leaf, before getting up and cracking her knuckles, and then punched Applejack into another tree. Applejack let out a grunt as she hit the tree, leaving a giant wound in the bark. When she looked back, she growled, "Rosemary! That was the tree my sister planted you bitch!" rushing in, she punched Samsu twice in the gut and then uppercutted her. Apple Bloom stopped walking by and watched as the two squared off. Samus leaned back and sputtered,"How can you- never mind!" She punched her twice in the chest before kneeing her in the chin. The knee to her chin made Applejack stumble back. Looking up, her eyes narrowed in anger and then proceeded to roundhouse the side of Samus three times, before spinning around, planting her hands onto the ground and bucking Samsu into the chest and through some of the trees. Samus grunted as she got up, pushing some of the trees off, and rolled her shoulders. She growled as she ran at Applejack, and proceeded to do a spinning back kick into AJ's side, before doing a spinning back fist into her face, then Samus punched Applejack in the stomach three times before sending two fists into her torso. Applejack winced in pain from the series of blows and hits. Taking a step back, she blocked a few more of Samus's punches and then began to roundhouse her, watching her own kick get intercepted by Samus. The two had their legs lock for a few seconds, allow the two to lock eyes on each other. Applejack then smirked as she disengaged her leg from her and then shoulder rammed Samus, grabbed her and side kicked Samsu into the air and landing in a lake. Then Applejack ran at the lake and leapt into the water. Samus swam towards Applejack, her fists in front of her as she grabbed Applejack and wrestled her across the lake. As Applejack and Samus wrestle, the mare pulled her head back and began to head Samus repeatedly. Their struggled and wrestling in the water began to splash the water around in huge waves, getting much of the soil and ground wet. Apple Bloom watched the battle in awe, running up and climbing a tree to get a better view,”So cool!” Then she heard a noise. She looked down to see her elder brother looking very stern The struggle then ended with Applejack sliding across the water and onto the beach, where she go back up. Smirking, she said, "So, was that round 2 or one? Because I lost count.” Samus walked out onto the beach, spitting out water,"I don't know either!" She jumped up and punched at Applejack as the other mare began to get up. Applejack grabbed the punch and then  threw her through another tree and charged at her. Delivering a flurry of blows and punches and kicks, matching Samus for a bit as the began to trade blows. Apple Bloom cheered on her sister as she sat on Big Mac’s shoulders. Samus growled as the fists began to blur in a fit of intense speed. She could just barely hear the cheers of who she assumed to be the mare's little sister until she was backed up near a cellar. After blocking one last punch, Applejack leapt up and and did a flying roundhouse into Samus's chest, sending her flying back into the cellar. Growling, she leapt into the cellar after Samus. Finding a bottle, she smirked, "Bet ya getting very tired, ain't ya," she said, drinking the bottle slowly, enjoying the taste. Samus took one of the bottles that fell onto her as she slammed into one of the crates, and opened it by smashing the cap against the box,"Not at all." She drank it,"Mmm, this is good." Applejack didn't notice the buzz she was getting as she popped the top of her next bottle, and then in one gulp chugged the drink down, "Yeah, Apple family best. Ain't known a mare or stallion alive that can resist its *Hic* taste." Lazily she threw a punch, only to miss Samus and grabbed another bottle behind her. Then she pulled it away ,"Take this for instance, I remember when pop made it. Said Ah should drink it when I meet a good sparring buddy!" she chugged that one and began to sway back and forth Samus laughed as she began to drink,"I like your pop! You know, I heard that if you fight for a while, your constitution goes down the crapper!" She wobbled a little. "Really, Ah don't...Ah don't," she fell to her butt, another bottle landing in her open hand, "Don't believe it for a minute. Ah had been fighting you for a minute... or thirty and Ah feel as strong as ever, "with another swig,she looked at Samus, "Why wuz we fighting?" Samus shook her head as she drank some more before falling next to AJ,"I'm not sure..." "You know, my paw has always said, when you forget the fighting, it's cause you drinkin. And Ah don't know, but ah think we fought into the secret stash of the cider. You know, the booze! The stuff we reserve for weddings, reunions, and those little things that happen every year, what ya call em?" Samus hiccuped,"Birthdays? I don't know." She took another bottle,"I think you have to make some more, we're about to run out!" Some time later, Rainbow Dash flew over the destruction,"What the hey happened here?" She asked herself, before hearing the singing from the secret cider stash. Apple Bloom called from down below,”Applejack had this really awesome fight with this alien!” Rainbow blinked,”Alien!?” She flew down towards the singing. "Oh,hey Dashie," Applejack slurred as the pegasus entered the now empty bottle filled cellar. "Ah was just drinking and boozing with me good friend... Badass!” Samus hiccuped as she rocked back forth with Applejack,"Actually, it's Samus Aran, but Badass works too!" Rainbow looked around, grabbing the last bottle,"And you didn't invite me?" she said, before popping the cap and taking a drink,"Seriously!" Applejack laughed out loud, "Well, it because there wasn't enough for you! Now, you can come on back later and maybe we might have another fight and the bottles will come back, ain’t that right, Badass?” Samus nodded,"Yeah, they'll just magically appear!" Dash shook her head,"Well, I wouldn't be able to get drunk, anyway. How about you sober up and come to the library, we've got an emergency Element meeting." She said, taking off,"I wish I was a part of that fight..." she mumbled under her breath. Applejack nodded, "Right, Ah think ah'll go see Carrot Top and" she slurred a little, "And go catch up. Come on Samus, you need her drink too." Samus muttered as she got up,"Carrot Top? The unfunny guy from the holotapes?!” Carrot Top sighed as she looked at her farm. It had felt lonely and she wanted to go out and do more. There were so many ponies she knew that needed her, and she wanted to be with them. As she sighed, she heard, "Yo Carrot!" Applejack said "Need two of your hangover cures. Now!" "Sure!" Carrot said, walking to her house, "Oh, and is that a new friend of yours?" "Yep, the name is Samus! She’s a great you know... things." she said as Carrot came back with two drinks. "Here we are!". Applejack quickly drank her’s down, "Ughh, nasty. Thanks." Samus stared at the color,”It’s green.” She shook her head and drank it. She  coughed for a few seconds,"Damn, what is this thing made of!?" "Lemon Juice, Razzleberry, and two drops of lazylilly essence. So, don't operate heavy machinery for a while," Carrot Top said. "Well, I have a suit of high-tech powered armor, does that count?" Samus joked. She looked at Applejack,"I'll go with you on that emergency, I can't resist the sound of danger." "You sound like a friend of mine," Applejack smirked as she led Samus down the path towards the Golden Oaks Memorial library. The two walked down the road to Ponyville(Who came up with that name? Samus asked herself). However,Samus' ears twitched before looking behind her,"I feel like I'm being watched." "HELLO!" The big pair of blue eyes said. Samus gasped as she stepped back,"Sweet heavens, where did you come from!?" "A rock farm," The pink pony said. bouncing around Samus, "So, Applejack who is your new friend? I'm Pinkie Pie!" "This is Samus Aran." Applejack said watching Pinkie bounce, then she noticed Pinkie's back. "Pinkie where's your-" "So, after this meeting is done, I am going to have to throw you an awesome party," Pinkie said, smiling up a storm "Pinkie Pie? Apt name." Samus muttered,"Sure, I don't mind a random party." She looked at Applejack,"Something up?" "I was wondering where her wings were," Applejack said. Pinkie smiled and bounced away, "Oh, they were itchy so I took them off!" Samus frowned,”Wings aren’t something you can just-” A loud scream came from their right. "What was that?!" Applejack asked, looking to the scream. Applejack looked to the distance and noticed that it was just outside of Ponyville, “It came from there!” Pinkie Pie felt her thigh and arm, "Huh, that's new. Never felt that one" she said, bouncing off towards the sound of the scream. Samus’ suit appeared in a flash of light,”Let’s go!” She ran off with them. As they wan to the sound of the screaming, and pleading, they made their way to the outskirts of town, a few miles away from Sweet Apple Acres. As they neared the house, Applejack mutter, "That's Lightning' s house, but what could-" "No, please, don't!" screamed Starla. Pinkie eyes went wide as she realized what was happening. Applejack just growled and ran through the open door. Her emerald eyes looked over the carnage of the room, where strewn about was torn clothes, and broken arrows. She also saw some blood, and  upstairs she could hear the voice of Lightning Dawn screaming out an attack, only to scream in pain and a wall break. Following her lead, the three mares ran upstairs to the room of the Unicornicopians and gasped. Lighting was down on the floor, chains binding him while he watched helplessly at Starla. The white unicornicopian cried as she was violated by the being on top, "What the-" "Oh hi!" the rapist said, his black coat contrasting with his red mane. With a flap of his wings, he said, "I will talk in a minute, got to finish up here!" he moaned, finishing off his victim. Sitting on the bed, he smiled and waved, "Hi there, the name is Dark Conquest. I came..." After a few minutes, Applejack snarled, "And?" "And I also arrived on your little dimension to introduce myself to world's champion. Now let's see, you must be Abbigail Jacqueline the Third, formerly of the Element of Honesty and overall annoyance with her little self--determination. You must be Pinkamena Diane Pie, formerly of Laughter... though that is a bit of a misnomer now... isn't it? And you," he pointed to Samus, and smiled, breathing in deeply as if he was smelling the most delicious thing ever. Samus growled, running in front of Starla and shooting her armcannon at Conquest, who dodged to the back wall, before snickering,"Dark Conquest? What, was Evil Tyranny taken?" She frowned, firing on him again,"My name is Samus Aran." "Evil Tyranny is my uncle," Conquest rolled to the side and stood in front of Lightning Dawn, pulling his pants up, "Oh, I know who you are. I have seen you before, a few times. You are positively brimming with my most favorite energy of all!" "What do you mean energy?" Applejack looked at him, bringing her fists up. "Hatred of course. It's what brought me to this little dimension of yours, it's pure and unadulterated hate that just plumes from every corner. It's like a banquet in here. Of course Samus would know all about that. Well, that's what the girls say of course. Samus charged her beam with yellow energy,"What are you talking about? What girls?" "Oh, the girls that had an unfortunate run in with you. You don't know the amount of blood on you-" "Shut up!" Applejack said, standing with Samus, "Ah don't know what you are going on about, but unless you have some proof on ya, Ah am going to kick your ass for lying." "Fine ,fine," Conquest said, waving his hand, "Besides, sammy over there looks like she wants to add to her big kill count, don't ya?" Samus gave a low growl,"You don't know a damn thing about me." "I know more than you think, sweetie cakes," Conquest smiled. "But, right now, I don't want to fight. I just wanted to get little Thundar out and play for a bit. I was gonna take Starla, but I will take my consolation prize!" he then reached down and picked up Lightning. "What are you-" "No, Lightning!" shouted Starla as she began to pull away from Pinkie, just as Conquest disappeared in a blinding flash of dark magic. (He named his dick? What a weenie.) Samus thought to herself before looking at Starla and kneeling down to wrap an arm around her. Starla said nothing, leaning into the shoulder of Samus, letting out whimpers as she rubbed her face. In between her whimpers she could barely say, "My, fault, my fault. So weak..." Pinkie slid  close to Starla and held her as well, letting the unicorpian cry. Taking her pink hand, he gently rubbed Starla's back. "It's going ok. It's not your fault at all. It's not." Applejack frowned and put her hat over eyes and snarled. Samus looked down at her armcannon,"We'll get back at him." She whispered,"Let's get you cleaned up, and take you to the hospital." "Thank you," Starla whimpered, just before finally falling asleep. Applejack growled, saying "No one deserved that." "Come on, I know where it is," Pinkie said, calmly. she helped Samsu carry her out. Samus frowned,"You knew this Lightning?" she asked as she went towards the hospital,"And who this poor girl was?” Pinkie was unusually quiet, with allowed Applejack to talk, "Lightning Dawn was the Supreme Allied commander in chief, just right below the dictator of our country, Grand Ruler. He is this supposed super being called an Enticorn, and head of our team Starfleet. We never got a long well. And Starla there... is his wife," Applejack looked over and sighed. "Ah have other opinions of her, but right now Ah think it would be disgusting if Ah said them." Samus nodded,"Of course." Then the buzzword registered in her mind,"Dictator?" "What else do ya call the guy who comes into your country, forces you to look like this, tells you that your beliefs are flat out wrong, that they are trying to protect you and they aren't bossing you around even though they constantly remind you that they are the superior breed by fact, and marries your princess just to make sure he has all of the power?" Applejack asked, the venom obivous in her voice. "Okay, that right there tells me that this guy's bad news." Samus let the doctors take Starla,"I read about evil dictators like that in the history books: They never last long." She looked at Applejack,"I can take this guy out if you want? Along with stopping that Conquest guy and getting your princess back to power. All it requires is starting a little rebellion." "And what, get all of Unicornicopia on our hides? Celestia married him so we wouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves. And Ah have a feeling we are going to need to focus on kicking this guy's can. We need to get Starfleet on our side," Applejack said. "And killing Grand Ruler ain't gonna do it." Pinkie Pie looked back, "Girls, I... I am going stay with Starla for a bit and make sure she's ok. You go to that meeting." "Are you sure?" Applejack asked. Pinkie Pie nodded, "Go.' Samus nodded,"Do what you need to do," She looked at Applejack as she walked with her,"Alright. Seems like a bullshit government thing, but I'll deal with that. Fighting Conquest will be the first priority. Is there anything else about this world I should know about?" "Let's see, our world sun and moon is controlled by two alicorns, we have a third princess who is in an empire not too far off, and we didn't always look like this," she said, flexing her fingers. Samus nodded,"I've noticed. Your bodies don't exactly look natural. Speaking of which," She looked at herself at a passing by window,"Ah! Why my hair green!?" She looked back at Applejack,"Freak out over my appearance over, carry on." "There are two teams that you need to know about there-" Applejack began but was interrupted by a white unicorn. "My word, Applejack, a new companion and you did not introduce me? Greetings miss," Rarity smiled, and then gave a curtsy, "My name is Rarity Belle, and you are?" Samus held out her hand,"Samus Aran, I am a space bounty hunter. I heard you have an emergency?" "Well, I was told that there was a meeting in the library from Celestia about some events that happened yesterday. That is what I was heading for, and what were you doing Applejack?" Rarity asked. "Telling her a little about the planet," Applejack said. Rarity smiled, "I see, well, allow me. Since it seems that Pinkie is not here. Why?" "She is busy with a friend, I'll tell you more later," Applejack said looking away. Rarity nodded i understanding, "Well, there are two teams. Starfleet, which is a big military organization that we 'joined', and then there are the bearers, which consists of myself, Applejack, Rainbow Dash- a pegasus that you will meet-, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy." "She is coming, right?" Applejack asked. Rarity shook her head sadly." "Is there a reason why she won't?" Samus asked. "Her husband," Rarity said plainly. "Her husband keeps being overprotective of her, keeping her locked up," Applejack said. "Oh..." Samus turned,"Where does she live? I'll... convince this guy to let her go." Rarity smirked, along Applejack. The two looked back at each other, (Where's she from again?) Rarity whispered. (Alien ship, crashed landed back home,) Applejack whispered. (So it would be technically a kidnapping?) Rarity whispered back. Applejack nodded (Yeah, but how long could we keep the lie up?) (Talk it over later,) Rarity said before walking along with Samus, "In a cottage on the outside of town." she said as they neared the library. Inside of a metal pyramid, a mare sat naked in a fetal position. She breathed in before getting up, causing the lights to come on. The purple alicorn looked around, covering her eyes before they adjusted, and she saw  the trees surrounded by large metal walls pulsating with green lines. She then felt her body,"I'm whole again!?" She looked over her purple body, and starburst cutie mark,”But... how!?” "Twilight Sparkle," A voice came from above. Twilight looked up and saw a large blue bird looking down at her,"This world is in grave danger." Twilight got up and looked around at the field,"Where am I? Who are you? Are you the one who made me whole?" "You are in a place eons old, filled with ancient technology." The bird said,"I am a Corvid spirit, sent here to give you aid. I have brought your emotions and logic together prematurely in order to combat the changes in this universe." "Changes?" Twilight asked. "Changes that would have killed your emotions before you could come back. However, this was too soon." The Corvid said,"You are only at 10% of your power." Twilight gasped. She breathed in, and attempted to use telekinesis on a small rock,"My magic is weak! Is there anyway I can get it back?" She looked up with worried eyes. "Yes, I have already figured a way for you to get stronger, but that is something you must find out on your own." The Corvid said with a smile. Twilight walked around,"Now you're sounding like Celestia." Twilight said with a smile,"Not that that's a bad thing." She removed some foliage, and looked at a door. "I will give you access to this structure." The Corvid said, making the door slide open,"There is a lifepod I want you to recover before you leave. One more thing," The Corvid floated down and put a claw on Twilight's back,"Go to Luna and Trixie first, not your friends." Twilight spun around,"Why-" She blinked, noticing that he was gone,"Where...?" She sighed, turning and walking through the door. She looked around and noticed various life pods, many with skeletons inside,"These are pony-shaped. How long ago was this place made?" She asked herself, before noticing one pod with power flowing through it. She walked over and waved her hand over it to wipe off the condensation, and gasped,"She's alive!" Luna stepped out of the meeting room with Celestia, a hand on her chin, "There is one other thing that bothers me, sister." "And what is that?" Celestia asked. "Conquest," Luna sad. "Morning Star mentioned Conquest, who is he?" "I don't know. And that has me worried," Celestia said, walking to a window. "What kind of threat would be noticeable by an alicorn god that she would give out his name as a warning to us." "Perhaps it wasn't a warning, but a list of opponents, "Luna said. "Then he is on our watch as well. IF she gave him a name, then she sees him as an enemy," Celestia said. " He might even be the darkness-" "What darkness?" Luna asked, and heard Celestia sigh. "About a few years ago, before Equestria blew up, me and Discord felt something. A darkness that lied beyond our world, one that was getting bigger and swiftly approaching." "I assume that this is after you and Discord began your secret love affair? You will have to tell me more about that as well," Luna said with a frown. Celestia nodded, "I decided to send him out to investigate it. Covertly of course and that is why it looked like he died. I will tell you more later. For now...I  want you to get your little team together and work to overthrow Grand Ruler. I have a feeling we need to remove Grand Ruler from the playing field if we are to beat either Conquest or these alicorns.” She left Luna to go to her room. As Luna entered her room, Twilight's voice came out from a chair within the shadows,"So, planning a little rebellion?" "Who's there," Luna turned around and saw Twilight sitting there. Her eyes narrowed as she began to let her horn glow, "No illusion magic. Your aura is exactly the same. Twilight Sparkle? How?! How can this be? You are dead. I saw you bloody corpse myself!!!" Twilight's eyes shined in the dark,"I'm not too sure myself, but I'm here now, though not at my full strength." She smiled,"But if you're starting a rebellion, count me in, I even know of a nice place we can use as a base." "I am planning on one, and we can use an extra hand. I am glad to have you on our side. Just know, you being this... you will not see your friends for a while." "Of course." Twilight nodded,"I know that in my weakened state, they would worry too much about me. This is for the best." Luna sat down, "I am glad you understand." she then levitated to Twilight some tea, "So, tell me about this base." "Well, I woke up in this pyramid that contained tons of ancient technology. This thing that called itself a Corvid said it helped revive me and then it gave me control of the facility. I have yet to explore a lot of it, but I have seen strange things in there like a keyboard attached to a screen, a sort of laser pistol, and a lifepod containing an alicorn mare." Twilight explained, sipping her tea,"That mare is interesting, I wonder if you could access her dream." "How interesting is she?" Luna asked. "What did you discover." "Well, she looks normal, but I took a look at her console, and the pod said that she was asleep for 10,000 years." Twilight explained,"Her coat's strangely feathery, and her horn is slightly curved. The odd thing is that she's pale colored with a black mane. I couldn't see if she had a cutie mark though." "10,000 years is indeed well before my time, even further back than my mother. I will go and check her dreams. Now what else can you tell me about this base, defenses and such." "It's made out of some strange, tough metal. I also found a battery of some turrets plus a rocket gatling cannon." Twilight said,"Those will have to be fixed up, though." "And I trust you are looking forward to fixing those, are you not?" Luna asked with a coy smile. Twilight squealed,"Oh, yes!" She grinned,"I can't wait to work on the technology in there!" "Very well," Luna said getting up. "Tomorrow, you will show me this base and we can tidy it up. Afterwards, we gather the team. I will have to show you their dossiers of course. I think you will like them." Twilight nodded as she walked to the window,"I would love that." Luna put her hand onto her shoulder, "Your friends will be fine without your aid for now Twilight. They are quite strong." Twilight sighed,"I still wish I could stand with them now. I feel like I'm abandoning them in their greatest time of need. Who else could help them?" Samus knocked on the door to the cottage,"Special Delivery!" The door opened to reveal Rhymey,”Yes?” “Is Fluttershy home?” Samus asked. “Well, yes she is, but I’m afraid she can’t come out, if that’s what you’re asking.” Rhymey said with a false smile. He held his Ward Sword behind his back, thinking to himself(I do not know this mare, she may be a new enemy. Hmph, I’ll destroy her  easily if that’s the case.) Samus frowned, stepping closer,”I don’t think you understand, she needs to be out with her friends, it’s quite urgent.” Rhymey frowned,”Look, she’s very shy, and very fragile.” His eyes bore into hers(You’ll be under my spell in less than 10 seconds, then you’ll leave.) Samus took another step,”I’m pretty sure she can steel her resolve for her companions. Now, let her go.” Rhymey smirked,”You don’t want her to come with you.” “Yes I do.” Samus said, her eyes narrowing. Rhymey’s smile faded,”Um, stop.” He said, stepping backward. “Let. Her. Go.” Samus said, stomping forward, backing Rhymey up again. “Um, run, I’m a very high ranking soldier of Unicornicopia, I’m quite strong!” Rhymey said(Why isn’t it working!?) “And I’m a bounty hunter. I don’t give a shit. Let her go.” Samus glared at him,”Or do I have to get nasty?” (No! No one has  this much willpower in them! Even Applejack fell after 30 minutes, what’s with this mare!?) Rhymey panted heavily,”Do you understand what I-I-I’ve done!? I’ve saved this world several times!” “I’ve destroyed a space pirate base, saved the galaxy from a space poison, darkness, and space parasites. I also prevented a space dragon from creating a plague of black holes to destroy the galaxy, and an evil clone of myself from devastating everything in existence. Your point?” Samus stared straight into his eyes. Rhymey’s eyes became filled with fear as he whipped out the sword from behind his back, and swung at her,”Die!” Samus grabbed the sword inches from her face with two of her left fingers,”No.” She broke the sword. Rhymey gasped in fear as Samus drew closer, backing him to the wall,”No, please, I’m sorry, don’t kill me!” Samus’ eyes narrowed,”You’re not worth killing.” Rhymey’s eyes widened in shock,”What!? How dare-” He was stopped as Samus picked him up by the collar. “Where is she?” Samus said. “Upstairs, in her room.” Rhymey said immediately. “Good!” Samus said with a smile and then dropped him on his behind. Samus turned and walked towards the stairs, leaving Rhymey seething(Who is she? Being able to resist my spell!? I’ll show her.) He slowly got up and snuck up behind Samus, before the huntress spun to look at him. This caused Rhymey to step back towards a corner, and curl up,”I’ll stay here.” he said in a high-pitched voice. Samus gave an affirmative nod, before walking up the stairs. She smelled the air around her, catching the scent of a particular perfume from a door to the left. She knocked on it. “Excuse me, little one, I’ll be right back.” Fluttershy’s quiet voice came from the door. The door slowly opened to reveal Fluttershy’s face,”Yes?” “Hi, I’ve come on the behalf of your friends.” Samus said with a smile, before a squeaking came from Fluttershy’s room. A small yellow squirrel with bunny ears ran by Fluttershy’s legs and up to Samus,”Pyonchi!” She smiled as she picked it up,”You must’ve fallen off of the ship.” She petted it. Fluttershy smiled,”Oh, he’s yours? You must be Ms. Aran.” She walked out,”Um, my friends need me?” Samus nodded,”Yeah, let’s just say I’m kidnapping you from the idiot.” Fluttershy blinked,”What did you do-” She then heard the sound of whimpering from kitchen. “Scared him somehow.” Samus shrugged,”Must be that mind control he was trying on me.” “Oh my!” Fluttershy gasped. “Yeah. Come on.” Samus said, gently taking Fluttershy’s hand. "Oh no, help me. Eeeeeeeee!" Fluttershy screamed as Samus ran to the town. Rainbow Dash flew alongside Samus and looked oddly at her, "Well, didn’t expect to see you here, and rescuing Fluttershy." Dash said. Fluttershy smiled at Dash, 'OH hello Rainbow Dash. I am being kidnapped by this girl. Could you save me?" "Sure," Dash held out her arms and the yellow mare leapt into Dash's arms with a giggle. "Well, as long as I am here, might as well fly her to the meeting. Hey lady, you didn't need to kidnapp her." Dash then whispered (Yes you did, thanks) Then she looked to the civilians, "It's ok. It was a misunderstanding. This girl thought Flutters was in trouble. So pay no attention to us!!" Samus raised her hands up,"Yep, I'm terribly sorry, it is merely my duty as a knight to help ponies! Those instincts tend to take over!" She whispered(No problem.) She said as she followed Rainbow Dash. After a few minutes of flying, Fluttershy blushed and said, "You can put me down now." "Huh? Oh yeah!" Dash chuckled as she placed Fluttershy down. "So, who is our new visitor?" Fluttershy asked, playing with her mane a little, "I don't think I have seen her around. "Well, Applejack said that her name is Samus and she comes from Space. they apparently had a cool fight that I missed out on!" Dash growled. "Oh,. my name is Fluttershy, hello," Fluttershy said. (Shy is right. How do these ponies come up with these names!?)"Hey." Samus said with a smile,"I'm Samus Aran, a bounty hunter. By the way," She looked behind her,"Your 'husband''s been hypnotizing you, that language of his isn't natural. You might want to stay away from him, or try to divorce him." "Ha! I knew it!" Dash smirked. "I knew there was something wrong with him?" "Hypnotizing, how?" Fluttershy then shook her head. "And I would divorce him, but I can't." "OH, don't tell me you still love him," Dash grumbled. Fluttershy shook her head, "No, I mean I legally can't." "He's using his rhymes as a means of getting in your head." Samus said,"Some species rhyme naturally as a way of speaking, however others can rhyme to get what they want, like a lover or a soldier. It's not an often used form of hypnosis, but it's very effective on the less-trained. I only know about it because my caretakers, the Chozo, told me ways of detecting and combating it." She clenched her fists,"Figures, in a dictatorship like this, it's not easy to make choices.." "Ok, that is awesome,' Dash said. Then looked at Fluttershy, "What do you mean, legally?" "Divorced isn't looked well upon in United Equestria. As in it's very illegal," Fluttershy said. "I need to prove it that he is doing it." "If he's high-ranking, then it's unlikely we could prove it without a kangaroo court ruling in his favor." Samus growled, before looking at the library,"And that's a literal tree house." "Yep," Rainbow Dash smiled as she walked up, "The Golden Oaks Memorial Library! They wanted to build a statue here, but Mayor Mare said it wa better to have a library here instead," she said as she opened the door. As the door opened, they saw Applejack leaning against the wall, Rarity was sitting on a cushion, with a seat for Dash and Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie followed in, "How is she?" Applejack asked. "The doctors did what they could, she's asleep right now. They did what they could, cleaned her up and ran some tests. They said they'll find out more later," Pinkie said, sitting down, her mane looking a little limp. "Who, Pinkie?" Rarity asked. Before Pinkie could say more, a blinding sun flash appeared in the room. After a moment, Celestia appeared, "My little ponies. I am glad that you are here. There is much to be discuss here, alone." Her eyes then looked to Samus as she stepped in, "And you are." Samus covered her eyes at the flash before looking at Celestia,"Holy cow! Wavy mane of pastel hair, wings, unicorn horn, royal attire, you are either a goddess of femininity, or you're the princess." She saluted,"Samus Aran, bounty hunter. Heard you wanted an emergency meeting, figured I could help." "Princess Celestia," Celestia said, shaking Samus hand. Then she looked to the others sitting there, and sighed when she saw a missing spot. "My ponies, there is a grave matter we must discuss." "Is it about a guy named Dark Conquest?" Samus asked, sitting at the wall with her arms crossed. "Dark Conquest?" Celestia asked, her mind thinking back to Dawn’s words. "Yeah, he's this black alicorn that appeared last night and attacked Starla," Applejack said. Rarity looked at her friend, "Is she alright?" "She meant 'attacked’," Pinkie said, looking away. A look of horror came to Rarity’s eyes as she gasped, “That monster!” "He also kidnapped Lighting Dawn," Applejack said. Celestia put a hand to her chin, "This is troubling, because this stallion was not what I wanted to talk about. Samus crossed her arms and leaned against the wall,"Okay then, what is it?" "Several hours ago, Canterlot Castle was attacked by small herd of alicorns, each possessing a powerful ability," Celestia then used her magic to create a hologram of the alicorns. "Oh my, was anyone hurt?" Fluttershy asked. Celestia frowned and nodded, "Many lives were lost." "What do they want?" Applejack asked. "To prove their dominance over us." Samus looked at the alicorns,"Okay, I know what's going on." She looked at Celestia,"These alicorns must have my suit's abilities." She looked around the room,"When I got here, I was attacked by some strange force that took my suit's upgrades away from me, now I know where they went." She growled,"You definitely need my help, I know how my suit's abilities work." "Do you have an idea what this force was, Samus?" Celestia asked, her hand on her chin. "I'm afraid I don't. The thing was in shadow and it had hooves, but that's all I can say." Samus frowned. Celestia nodded, "I see. And now onto what you saw. This, Dark Conquest?" "He appeared several hours ago and took Lighting, said he wanted to introduce himself to us." "It could mean that he is preparing an attack on us all," Celestia said. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Bucking great, now we have to deal with homicidal alicorns and Conquest. The day is getting better." "It is hard, we don't know where these alicorns are or when they will strike. The same is to be said of Conquest. Samus, would you mind staying here and helping them fight the alicorns the moment you find yout anything you can? Perhaps by working together, we can make both our lives easier." Pinkie wanted to say something, then she looked to the empty pillow and sighted. Samus smiled,"Of course I'll help!" She looked at Pinkie,"Is something wrong?" "Um, nothing, just thinking." She let out a sighe. Celestia stood op, "Let me know if you can find any of these alicorns. I have to prepare in case of a war." and with that, she vanished. Applejack put her hand on Pinkie's shoulder, "Ah know Pinkie. Ah know. Samus looked at them, and frowned,(I know that look in her eyes, the look of someone who's seen too much of death and war. This is why we shouldn’t force people into a war.) “Well, Ah guess that means Samus is staying for a while," Applejack looked to Samsu, "Got a place or a job in mind?" "Oh, I could help, but first need to get my cannon and... "Um, we also have a problem," Fluttershy said. Dash nodded, "Rhymey has mind control powers and has been using it on her." "What?" Rarity exclaimed. Samus looked at them,"Yeah, that Rhymey guy's been using a hypnosis trick on her, and possibly you as well." She looked at Applejack,"Well, my ship's damaged, so I'll need someplace else to stay until I can fix it, as for job? Do you have any bounty hunting guilds?" "Mind control? On us?" Rarity asked herself. "Probably explains a lot," Dash said. Then she thought for a moment, and shook her head, "No, he wouldn't." "Nope, no guilds like that," Applejack said. "Damn, guess I better find a..." She gulped, fear in her eyes,"Normal job." "Oh, I can help with that!" Pinkie cheered. "Wait, are we really just planning on letting Fluttershy go back to asswipe and get mind rape?" Rainbow Dash asked. Applejack looked to Samus, "Can you do something, at least until we can expose him?” Samus thought for a moment,"Well, we could either fake her death, give him some sort of truth potion, or we pretend that she's on a family emergency." "We can't fake the death," Pinkie said, "Not unless we find a changeling with really good acting skills." "That leaves us with potion or emergency," Applejack said. Dash then smiled, "Think we can convinced Starfleet that Samus is related to her?" "What?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, we can find a home for Samsu, and say that Fluttershy is keeping an eye on her. Grand Poobah doesn't get wind that a bounty hunter is here and Fluttershy is safe." "Well, I can forge documents if you'd like." Samus said with a smile. They nodded in agreement as they began to help Samus. Lighting Dawn woke up on a bed, a collar around his neck, "So, I had this room setup for your wife...but I think you will do." Conquest said, walking to the commander. “Honey, he looks so cute scared.” An unfamiliar mare stood to the side of the doorway, licking her lips. “I bet it feels good, don’t it, Sweetie.” Conquest looked behind him,”All that fear feeding into you.” He looked at Lightning, and cocked his head,”You know, I think this time’s going to be fun.” "What do you mean?" whispered Lighting as he was thrown to the bed. Conquest slid his hand down Lighting’s pants, "Quite simply, I have a new toy." Buddy Rose wiped his forehead as he watered his plants, muttering to himself as he picked up his watering can and smiled at the little flower,”Well, it looks like my little girl’s plant’s is looking perfectly healthy!” “Buddy Rose.” Rhymey’s voice snarled. Buddy sighed, looking up at the stallion,”What?” “We need to talk. I’ve already go Dyno and Myte ready to head to Canterlot.” Rhymey said, looking back at the treebrary as Samus left with the other Elements, and shuddered,”There’s an invader in our midsts.” Buddy pushed up his glasses,”Are you sure you really need me this time?” He looked back at his house,”I want to be here when my dau- niece comes home this time.” “I don’t care, Rose.” Rhymey snarled,”We have to go, now!” Buddy sighed,”Alright.” Twilight held the dossier in her hand as she knocked on the front door. She adjusted her suit and tie. She pushed up her sunglasses,"Ms. Raindrops Sunshower?" The door opened and there stood a little jasmine unicorn colt, "Um, you looking for my big sis..." he looked at Twilight, and then her mane, and suit. Then he backed away in fear, "Raindrops!!!!! Zombies! Like I told you!!!!" "Zombies don't exist," Raindrops said, flying down to the bottom stairs. "You want something?" Twilight chuckled as she entered the house,"I get that zombie comment a lot. Ponies seem to think I look like our Princess Twilight Sparkle!" She looked at Raindrops, holding a letter with Luna's seal,"We need to talk." Raindrops's eyes opened wide when she looked at the letter, "It's time? We're starting now?" she shook her head in disbelief and nodded, "Snails,can you tell Mom and Pop I'm taking a job in Manehatten, and I’ll will be there for a while." "Sure," Snails said, and then looked down the stairs, "You going to be all right?" Raindrops nodded, "Yeah. I'll be back one day, don't worry little guy." Turning to look back at Twilight, she said, "Ok, let's talk." Raindrops Sunshower: Age: 22 Residence: Ponyville Talent: Rain Skill: Unusual strength for a pegasus, suspect Earth Pony DNA. Usually is blunt, but seems to be strong. Twilight walked through the carrot fields,"Carrot Top? We need to talk, in private." She held Luna's seal. "In private?" Carrot said, looking back at her house, "Come in please.” Twilight walked in, giving the letter to Carrot Top, then taking some carrot juice,"I'm sure you know what this' meeting's about, right? You don't mind leaving your farm for a while?" Carrot Top shook her head, "Not at all. there are ponies who need me and I have to be there." Carrot Top Age:22 Cutie mark: Carrots Job: Farmer Skills:Herbology, Always helpful to a fault. As Cheerilee sat alone at her desk, Twilight walked in. She gasped,"Oh my gosh! You're grading papers! I-I don't want to get in the way of the country’s educational system! I-I'll leave this here!" She placed the letter on her desk. "No, go ahead, I was finished anyway," she said, laying the last paper down, and frowning. Twilight looked behind her,"Something wrong?" "Take a look at my latest history reports from my students. We just got new textbooks today and I was told that they have the updated history," Cheerilee said, handing them to Twilight. 'Equestria was founded 6000 years ago by the three tribes who got along perfectly because they wanted to live together' 'Princess Platinum led the three tribes to the new land, she was a brave leader who loved her friends.' 'Celestia came into power 1010 years ago, before she inducted her lover to the team.' "Changed history. According to the new books the unification of the three tribes never happened. The wars of the past never existed, and we never had to face against the cold of the Windigos. It doesn't even mention the time before Equestria! No Meg'an, no Majesty, not even such a word about Terra! IT's like they rewrote our past just to make it acceptable to them and make us Equestrians look like peaceful loving little ponies that never had a tough time in our lives! I know we aren't perfect, and as a teacher I want my students to learn about our past... warts and all." A frown creased her face, "But that wasn't the worst. I asked my children to write a report about what they think their talent means and what they think about their future. From my oldes students, the usual :I m going to be an alicorn like Twilight, Entomology, a singer. But, my Unicornicopian students?" she handed Twilight a paper 'I just want to serve Starfleet.' 'I don't want to change, I am fine with the way things are now.' 'I don't want anything new, I would rather be a part of Starfleet.' "It's all the same..." Cheerilee said frowning. Twilight crumpled up the paper in barely contained rage,"That monster, brainwashing our children." She looked at Cheerilee, taking off her sunglasses,"We're going to make him pay." Cheerilee smiled, "I hope that means we have a plan." Blackcherry Punch Age: 22 Occupation: Teacher Cutie mark: Three flowers skill: lockpicking, laws, agility, seduction, talking, and a few others. Also can talk to ponies well. Twilight looked at her dossier, before looking on the building before her,"No." She said, putting it away,"I can't risk making them orphans." She then heard two Unicornicopians walk by her,"This the place?" "Yeah, with that wall-eyed pegasus. We need to... correct her." Twilight frowned, walking back, and knocking both of their heads together, before walking up to the door and knocking on it. The door opened to reveal a little gray-purple unicorn with blonde mane, "Oh, are you an angel? Are you gonna help protect mommy?" she asked. Twilight leaned down to her level, thinking for a moment,"... Yes, I'm an angel, come to see your Mom." "Yay!!!" Dinky bounced up and down as she ran off to shout "Momma! A Twilight angel is here to see you." Derpy flew down the stairs, "Dinky, what do you mean by a Twilight angel?" she looked up at Twilight. "Sorry ma’am, Dinky is convinced that Twilight is a guardian angel, watching over all of Ponyville. Please come on in and have a seat." Twilight chuckled as she sat down,"It's quite alright, I tend to be mistaken for the late great Princess Twilight a lot!" She looked up at Ditzy,"Ditzy, have you had Unicornicopians come here before?" Ditzy placed a muffin down with some hot chocolate and then nodded, "Sometimes. Like when my husband died and they wanted to take Dinky away. Or when they came over because they wanted to fix me. They would've too if Dash hadn't told them off. They just keep wanting to take over my life, and all I want to do is raise my daughters." Twilight sighed,"Okay, because I came across them on the way here." She frowned as she placed the letter on the coffee table,"I don't want to do this, but it's your choice." Ditzy picked up the letter, and nodded, "I knew this was going to happen. I have been kind of preparing myself for it." she looked up the stairs where Dinky was. "I know it's going to be hard, and I hate myself for it, but I have to do this so my daughter can have a happy life and we can life in peace. Sparkler is old enough, she can protect her." Ditzy said, closing the letter. Then she looked up, "Excuse me." She walked up the stairs, and saw Dinky snuggling herself in bed, "Momma! Why do you look sad?" "Because I have to leave you for a bit, little muffin," Ditzy said, running a hand through her daughter's man and smiling softly. "I have to go and save the kingdom, but don't tell anypony. Ok?" "You mean you are gonna be a super cool secret agent?" Dinky asked, smiling. Ditzy nodded, "Yes, muffin." "Yay!" Dinky said, hugging her mom "Don't worry momma, I'll keep an eye on the house and Sparkler while you are gone." Ditzy nodded, "I know you will." she gave her daughter a farewell hug and then kissed her little girl on he forehead, "Night." Ditzy "Derpy" Do A.K.A Muffins a.k.a she of many names Age: 30 Job: Mailmare Cutie mark: Bubbles Skill: Able to read the wind currents. Comforting Twilight sat at the gazebo, listening to the melody played by the unicorn. When the green unicorn finished, she clapped,"I always loved your compositions." "Thanks," Lyra smiled, " It's called 'Secret love'" turning to look at the new comer, she asked, "So, why did you come, more than just listen to my music Twilight held the letter in her hand as she leaned against the rail,"I figured you'd be interested in this. Though, it's your decision, Ms. Heartstrings." Lyra took the letter and then smiled, "When do I start?" Lyra HEartstings Age:22 Talent: music Skill: Cryptozoology, myth learning, Song telling. Twilight looked up at the train station, before turning to the five as they gathered,”I need to gather our sixth.” “Wait!” Lyra stopped her,”Who are you, really?” Twilight blinked,”What do you mean?” Raindrops crossed her arms,”You’ve gathered us here, expecting us to follow you, but we have no idea who you are!” Twilight sighed,”I’m afraid I can’t tell you here.” “Why?” Ditzy asked. “What, are you Twilight Sparkle in disguise?” Raindrops asked. Twilight blinked,”Um, oh look, it’s the train!” She turned and ran off. Lighting crawled out from the dungeon he was in, to the front of the HQ. His lower body was sore all over and his genitals had bruises and bite marks from the night before. as he walked, he looked outside to see Conquest standing on a stage. The black alicorn looked over his shoulder and winked at Lighting, "Time for a show." My name is conquest and by request I am going to test you little soul You have never deal with me I'm the worst thing since Boll you see! Generals! A white unicorn with a red mane walked through a portal, she slung her man back and smiled. A black stallion with a flowing robe stood next to her, followed by a lizard folk stallion. His name is Conquest And he's her by request You think he's acting, But he's not. Conquest strode across the stage, spinning his microphone. My name is Conquest And I will test You soul, heart, and the rest I am the force, the Shape I am the big bad that makes you shake I am the top, the sword, the end I am the bgging and the end More than a love and more than a friend Conquest began to lead out a mare wearing a blue hood and cape, her grey face smiling. I am the power, of pure desire! My magic, will make you higher Than you ever will be before So follow me before I kill your stupid hopes and dreams See, I am the best. Titan stepped forward, then he slunk back into the shadow. is name is Conquest And he's her by request You think hes acting, But he's not. The white mare with a blue mane and dressed in a long white dress walked out and gave Conquest a kiss on the cheek. My name is Conquest And Here is the rest Come and see the best There is nothing but Hell And you will love it well I am a killer and the source The worship me of course I am your nightmare I am the end of your wit There is no question, I am it! I know what you have been waiting for You won't have to wait any more Because you see I am the beginning and your end That's what you need to know about the best My name is Conquest time to put you to the test. From the shadows on the balcony of Conquest’s fortress, a figure watches him, her hands intertwined. Luna stepped to the blue alicorn and placed her hoof onto it, "Tell me, my friend, what are you dreaming of?" she asked, letting her horn glow. Luna would find herself inside a large fortress of metal, where the alicorn mare began to walk the streets,"Dr. Theia." Another pony came up to her,"Can I have your autograph? You're my hero!" The mare smiled,"Sure." She began to write her name before looking behind her,"Is everything alright out there, invader of dreams?" "Pardon me, I did not mean to be an invader. But an observer," Luna said, stepping forward. "Your name is Dr. Theia, i assume?" “Yes," Theia said,"And you are? Why do you look like that?" She asked. Luna bowed, "Princess Luna Solaris of Equestria. I appear like this thanks to the manipulations of a dictator." "A dictator?" Theia asked. She frowned,"How long have we been asleep?" "What was the last thing that you remember?" The dream shifted to a burning forest, where black metal creatures came down from the heavens, shooting lasers at several alicorns,"They were called Reapers." Theia said,"We tried everything we could to stop them, but there were too many. The last survivors were placed in pods to preserve our civilization." Luna gave a sad look,” It has been many melinna past your time. Because I do not remember these reapers." Luna said. "Your pod is the only one alive I am afraid." Theia gasped, her eyes watering,"No..." She sighed,"Then for my people, I must go on. In my pod, press the code 0435, and then hit the blue button. That will wake me up." "I will. Tell me, what do they call your race? You resemble alicorns, but are quite feathery," Luna asked. Theia smiled,"We have had many names, Watchers, Observers, Protheans, you may call us whatever you'd like." Luna nodded as she began to get out of the dream world, "I must warn you, the world you enter is not pleasant." Theia smiled,"I can handle it." Luna woke up and input the code next to the pod. The pod opened up with a hiss, allowing the figure inside to wake up and sit up. She looked at Luna and planted a big kiss on her lips, before pulling away,"Thank you, I need to learn how to actually speak your language." Luna blushed, "Not the first time I kissed a mare, so it was not...unpleasant." Theia chuckled,"Well, thank you." Carrot Top stepped into the room and saw the alicorn, "What on-" "I will introduce you all after Trixie arrives" Luna said with a smile Twilight smiled as she walked towards the wagon,"One more." She then smelled something,"Smoke?" She looked behind her,"Neigh Orleans!" she ran to the wagon, knocking frantically,"Trixie!" When Abra opened the door, she punched him out,"Trixie, Neigh Orleans is on fire!" She pulled off her sunglasses and removed her suit to reveal a purple suit of armor that seemed to breath on her. Pink lines began to pulsate along the lines of the armor as her body flexed it's plated wings,"Send the putz your resignation letter and let's go!" Trixie got up from her chair, and stammered,"Twilight Sparkle? But how? When? Armor?" Trixie nodded and dropped he resignation letter and put on her hat and cape in a dramatic fashion, "What is the rush?" "Neigh Orleans is under attack!" Twilight shouted,"I'll explain everything on the way!" "Mother, sisters!" Trixie gasped and ran out ahead of Twilight, "When we are done saving Trixie's family, we are going to have words!!! "Yes, lots of words, and maybe some hugging." Twilight said, running alongside Trixie,"Another problem is that I'm only at 10% power, which means I won't be all that helpful." Trixie smiled, "Then that means, that Trixie is better. HAHA!" she laughed. Then looked to Twilight, "But you can still be helpful. Think you are powerful enough for a locator spell?" "Yeah, yeah, gloat." Twilight muttered. She smiled at Trixie,"How do you think I found you? Who do you want to look for?" Trixie plucked out a hair from her mane, "Cast it on this, it will lead us to my mother and sisters." Twilight nodded as she cast the spell on the hair, before elbowing a minotaur in her way. "Just us, against a whole city full of monsters and beasts. Sounds fun," Trixie lightly chuckled a she began to ran Twilight gave a nervous chuckle,"Yeah, everything's going to be just fine!" She stopped as a boar came up in front of them,"Uh-oh, Trixie, give me a piece of rope!" Trixie smirked as she handed Twilight a long rope. "Boar's magic requires friction on the hooves, much like a match, so," Twilight said, pulling the rope, letting the boar trip,"We trip them up, no more invincibility!" "Trixie always believed it to be in the momentum.” Trixie said with a confused look. "That's actually a myth perpetuated by the boar’s to create the illusion of total invincibility." Twilight said running with Trixie,"Most just don't realize that there's more to their magic than momentum, it's actually kickstarted by the friction of their hooves." "Oh, ain’t we just smart!" Trixie said with a roll of her eyes. "Help us!" shouted some children in a school building that was on fire. "Oh,. buck! "Find your family, I'll sav-" Twilight was about to say before a blue alicorn stallion with a white mane and tail appeared. "Allow me." the stallion said as he went to the school building,"Save your family." He charged his horn, firing an ice beam into the flames, dousing them,"I am a kind god, I won't allow my ponies to die." Twilight blinked,"Okay." "Trixie did not just see that, did she?" Twilight shook her head,"Whatever, he helped us, let's go find your family!" She said, before turning and running off. Trixie nodded, and ran. After a few feet, they saw her house, "Mother, sisters!" "Trixie?" asked Hazel. Twilight ran to them,"We need to get you all out of here!" Trixie ignited her horn, "Think you got enough magic to lift this?" Twilight nodded,"Probably." She grunted, trying to use her magic, until an orange glow appeared, helping take the rubble off. Twilight blinked, turning around and seeing an orange alicorn with a yellow mane and tail next to two minotaurs with melted insides. "Greetings, sister." The alicorn said,"I'm Convection, and I'm so glad to see another God, there are so few of us left." Hazel got up and looked at the alicorn, "What on earth?" Trixie began to help her family out, getting her sister's out. For a moment, she growled when she pulled a mare who looked like her with a chess cutie mark. The mare growled ad swatted Trixie's hand away. Trixie then looked up ,"Convection? I had never heard of you." "Has our legend not reached this far? I am an Alicorn of Light, my dear," Convection said with a smile,"I am one of your gods, and I and my friend Frost have just helped this city, you should be thankful. Please, feel free to bow to our amazing brilliance." Twilight frowned at Trixie's sister,"You're welcome" She looked at Convection,"We're not bowing to you." "You don't have to, Sister, you're one of us!" Convection said,"Join us, and be one with the gods." "I'm not a god." Twilight growled. "Trixie agrees, this mare is no god. This mare is... a sham. These wings are but an illusion, so, if you will on your way? Me and her have some adventuring to take are of an my family to help. Convection growled,"Knave, don't you think I can tell one of my own species!?" Twilight shook her head,"No, Trixie's right, I am a..." She shot a quick glare at Trixie,"Sham." her voice growled. Convection sighed,"Fine, if you don't wish to join us, then I shall let you be. At the very least, acknowledge our godhood and bow to us." Trixie frowned and grabbed Twilight, pulling her down, "Oh yes, we acknowledge you as gods. We think you are some of the most powerful beings we met. We respect you. Twilight muttered,"Thanks." She said reluctantly. "Thank you." Convection looked at Twilight,"Take this time to think about your placement, Child. Will you join us or not is all up to you." She turned,"I must put this city under the protection of the Alicorns of Light." "And how will you do that? Trixie asked "Simple, I will talk to the mayor and explain to her that she is to bow to Queen Morning Dawn, not Princess Celestia." Convection said,"Or that blasphemer Celesto." Twilight frowned,"And if she doesn't?" "Then she will die." Convection said, her hooves bursting into flames,"Simple, no?" "Yes, very simple, may me and my family go, ma’am?" Trixie asked. "Go." Convection said,"if you must." Twilight panted as she watched Trixie talk to her family,"Darn, I really hated bowing to her." She muttered to herself. Trixie finished talking, giving her mother directions to Ponyville. Then she turned to look at Twilight, "For what's it worth... Trixie despised every minute of that." Twilight turned away,"It's just... I wanted to stop her at that moment, but I couldn't. I was... weak." She sighed,"Come on, I need to show you our base." She looked at Trixie,"I don't know how I came back to life, but I do know what I need to do: Stop Grand Ruler." "It's ok," Trixie frowned, "I hated to admit I was weak, to anything or anypony. Even to that. It's why I jumped at the chance to fight back.And you are right, we need to stop Grand Ruler. Trixie doesn't think there is enough power in the world to stop the two of us" then she pulled back, "Base?" Twilight nodded,"Let me show you!" She took Trixie by the hand and ran her into a dense forest and then into an opening facing a large black pyramid,"This! I woke up in this and then I was given complete control over it! Come on, let's go inside!" A mare watched over the city of Canterlot from her office, her hands around her back,"You say that the Alicorns have taken Neigh Orleans?" The Equestrian mare behind her nodded,"Yes Ma'am, and this creature known as Dark Conquest has taken a minor town off the coast as his consolation prize, at least according to intel." The mare's red eye blazed in the reflection,"Grand Ruler's power is weakening, I can see. His failure two days ago just proved my suspicions: He is unfit for a military rule." She turned to the soldier,"Send word to my troops, our operations will begin soon enough. We shall take what is ours." "Yes General." The mare said, before disappearing. The General frowned,"In a war, somepony has to fill in the messiah role." She sat down at her desk, the name General North Star was on the front,"I will be glad to be the hero that Equestria needs, and free this world from the tyranny of gods like Grand Ruler, even if I have to kill everypony who stands in my way."