//------------------------------// // Chapter 28: An Adorable Invasion // Story: A Forgotten Trooper // by TheIronPone035 //------------------------------// The next morning... Strider cracked open his eyelids, the drowsiness of sleep quick to vanish from him. He stood up and stretched, making sure to loosen his muscles while he still had the increased maneuverability of only wearing the blackish grey body glove. That wasn't an excuse to waste any time however, and the trooper was quick to re-equip his white clone armor. Much to his annoyance, certain areas still had the lingering stench of eggs on it, but he could only ignore it until he got used to it. With his armor securely back on his body, finishing up with the helmet, Strider was ready for another rotation of work. He pressed down on a red button, watching as the large blast doors of the transportation bay parted, allowing sunlight to flow through the gunship once again. Strider picked up the rusty red toolbox from its spot on the bay's floor, gave it a quick shake which rattled the tools inside, and hopped down from the transportation bay. As his boots met dirt, he began walking around the base of the ship towards the starboard side of the ship. The clone still didn't know how the left wing was gonna get back on the gunship, so he decided that he'd fix the right wing first. However, once he rounded the corner of the ship and the wing came into view, he spotted something alongside it. "What the heck is that?" Strider questioned out loud, not knowing what he was looking at. It appeared to be a spherical white creature with exaggerated eyes and four see-through wings, its insect green eyes locking onto him while a smile formed on its body. It didn't look dangerous, but something in the back of Strider's mind, along with protocol, told him to remain on guard and careful. Strider was tempted to unholster his blaster, but decided against it incase the creature saw it as an attack. Instead, he slowly set the tool box down and grabbed a hammer from within its contents, approaching the creature with extreme caution. If it had fangs, then it didn't show them, content with simply keeping a smile and watching him. Strider gripped the hammer tightly as he approached the creature. He was ready to take a swing, but decided to take a more peaceful introduction first. Who knows, maybe it'll just leave him alone if he just asked. This place definity radiates that sense of forgiveness, and this creature didn't look like an exception. "Uh, hey there... What are you doing over here? If you're in the care of Fluttershy than you've gotta stay by the cottage." Strider stated. The creature looked up at his visor with confusion in its eyes. "Well, you're sort of in my work area. I don't want to end up hurting you by accident." Strider exclaimed. The creature stared at him for a few more seconds, before it seemed to get the picture. It flapped its little wings and took off towards Fluttershy's cottage, its smile still on clear display. Clearly the little encounter hadn't dampened its mood in the slightest. Strider lowered the hammer, glad that the creature left him to work. Deciding to ask Fluttershy about it later, the trooper returned to the spot where he'd left the toolbox and dropped the hammer back into it. He picked the box up and carried it over towards a spot on the gunship he'd picked out last rotation. He'd already fascened a ladder to the wall so he could climb up right to the wing, which is exactly what he did. It didn't take him long to arrive on the top of the ship, the toolbox being carefully set down on the wing. Yet, before Strider could even so much as touch a tool from the box, the sound of a door being smashed open caused him to spin around and focus on Fluttershy's cottage. Right as his eyes locked on the newly thrown open front door, a massive herd of those creatures he'd just encountered had busted right out of the building. Strider watched as the massive ball of small creatures barrel its way down the path and slam right into a stunned Fluttershy and her friends. Apparently, they'd been stationed in front of the cottage prior and had chosen a bad spot to stand. They were quickly overrun by the creatures, the entire scene being witnessed due to his vantage point. "What in Kamino's name have I missed!?" Strider questioned out loud, thoughts about repairing the ship shoehorned onto a mental datapad for later use. Not wasting any time, Strider slid down the ladder and un-holstered his blaster, priming it as he ran. The creatures had surrounded the group of mares completely, forcing Strider to shoulder charge through a wave of them in order to reach them. "What's going on?" Strider demanded from the group. Twilight Sparkle smacked a pink creature away from her tail before stepping forwards; "We might have a Parasprite infestation on our hooves." "Parasprite?" Strider questioned, looking up at the swarm. "Don't worry, I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash claimed, setting a pair of goggles over her eyes before taking off into the sky. The cyan pegasus spun around in the air at serious high speeds, creating a makeshift tornado that sucked the Parasprites into it. However, some Parasprites managed to escape the tornados wrath, taking off towards Ponyville. Strider spotted this and quickly aimed his blaster up at them, his finger pulling the trigger without remorse. A few blue plasma bolts shot through the air, but the size of the little creatures and their random movements made each one miss its desired target. The trooper was ready to fire again, but Fluttershy pushed the blasters barrel down at the last second, sending the fired plasma bolt plowing into the ground. "What are you doing?" Strider asked, breaking Fluttershy's hold on the blaster. "Even if these creatures are bothersome, you shouldn't hurt them just for being themselves. They don't know what they're doing is wrong." Fluttershy claimed. Strider grumbled under his breath, but lowered the blaster, semi-content with the answer. That was, until Pinkie Pie trotted up towards the still spinning tornado with a pair of symbols. The symbols broke free of the strings they were attached to and flew into the tornado, disrupting Rainbow's flow and breaking the formation up. The next thing they all knew, the entire swarm of Parasprites were free and flying towards Ponyville. Strider and the others quickly took off towards town themselves, some residents already beginning to panic once the Parasprites began eating their crops and food right before their very eyes. Several ponies watched in abstract horror as the food they were either selling or eating was gobbled up right in front of them by the Parasprites. Some were eaten by a couple of them, whilst others were able to eat while items in one large bite. Strider and the group stood in the middle of the panic filled street, watching as ponies screamed and hid their food. One stallion however was watching as a group of Parasprites eat up a crate full of pears, a smile upon their face. "How are we suppose'd ta round up all of these critters before the Princess arrives?" Applejack questioned, watching a few Parasprites eat up a basket of muffins which had been carried by Derpy, who looked down in confusion as to what happened to her food. Before anyone could answer Applejack, the orange farm pony's eyes widened as she realized something. "Mah apples!" She cried before taking off towards her family's farm. Twilight frantically looked around, before an idea popped into her mind. "I know! I'll just cast a spell to make them stop eating all the food!" She claimed, igniting the spell a split second later. Several slightly transparent pink rings flew through the air, causing each Parasprite that it touched to halt what it was doing completely. Some stopped mid bite, others simply stared at each other in confusion, but they did all stop eating every scrap of food in sight. Strider glanced down at a basket that had a single apple inside as well as a Parasprite. After a few seconds of sniffing (albeit without a nose), it appeared to of worked. Before the group could sigh with relief, the Parasprite ate the basket instead, spitting out the apple with content. Strider face palmed, shaking his head. Turns out Twilight's spell had just made them change their metabolism, a.k.a. raw materials were now on their snack list. But before he could say anything to Twilight, a thought shot through his mind. The gunship. "Oh no, oh no no no. If they eat the gunship then my way back to the G.A.R.'s gone!" Strider stated, his hands instantly clenching the DC-15s tightly. Yet right before Strider could rush off, Fluttershy stopped him by standing in his way. "Please, don't hurt them." She begged. "Fluttershy, if they eat that ship, then there will be even worse problems in the future. Sometimes, the only way to keep something away, is to make it." Strider countered, leaving the group of ponies in the dust as he sprinted off down the street. If Strider was fast enough then he might be able to get a better vantage point. He just had to get back before they ate through the ship's mainframe, then he'd have a fighting chance. As Strider passed a cart that had been half devoured, he spotted a cowering Apple Bloom. She was desperately trying to shove Parasprites off her bow, the fabric having clear spots that had already been chomped out. Strider quickly aimed his blaster up, careful to not get Apple Bloom in his line of fire. Then, he pulled the trigger. A blue bolt shot from the chamber and through the air right against one of the Parasprites wings. The Parasprite fell to the ground, clutching its hurt wing with one of its legs, before fleeing with the others down the street. Strider knelt down next to Apple Bloom and extended out his hand. "You alright?" "Yeah," Apple Bloom claimed, letting Strider help her to her hooves. "They just went after mah bow." Strider looked around at the streets which were full of Parasprites. How could Apple Bloom get out of here? Luckily, the answer was quick to arrive, in the form an an entrance to an alleyway. "Apple Bloom, see if you can hide in there until the Parasprites are out of town. Hopefully they'll just overlook you and search for something else. But if they do, I need you to run as fast as you can to the nearest safe building, understood?" Strider instructed. Apple Bloom nodded, glancing both ways before bolting towards the alleyway Strider had pointed out. He watched as Apple Bloom faded from his sights before he resumed his sprint towards the gunship. Hopefully he still had time. Strider reached the top of a hill just in time to see a rather sizable pack of Parasprites advancing towards the L.A.A.T. Strider fired a lone bolt at the pack, causing the creatures to scramble away. With the new time he'd bought, Strider made a mad dash to the gunship. He holstered his DC-15s, knowing it wouldn't be enough. He needed something bigger. Strider ripped opened the cargo hold and grabbed the Z-6. He dragged the rotary blaster cannon out of the cargo hold and spun around, ready to unload a round of plasma on any critters that wanted to take a bite out of his hard work. Right on cue, the massive ball of Parasprites from before emerged from the hills. They approached rapidly, eyeing the gunship with a single purpose in mind. But they also spotted the clone, slowing to a halt before the armored trooper. Strider didn't know if they were wondering what he was holding, or what he was doing, but he didn't really care. He aimed up at the swarm with the intent of blasting them into the next star system, but Fluttershy's words caused his hand to falter mid press on the handle. "HEY! LISTEN UP!" Strider shouted out to the Parasprites, whose eyes quickly locked onto him. "IF YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT ADDING THIS SHIP TO YOUR LUNCH MENU! THEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME FIRST!" Strider proclaimed. "AND I AM NOT GOING OUT WITHOUT A BANG!" When the Parasprites didn't leave, Strider primed the Z-6. "So be it... " With those final words said, Strider activated the Z-6, spraying a wave of plasma bolts directly into the swarm.