//------------------------------// // Xam'd At The Dawn of War // Story: Fragile Crystals // by Peridork //------------------------------// “Celestia, you are the light and the sound, you bring the sun upon our unworthy faces and for that I thank you. I will spread your light over the world and I won’t rest until my mission is done. To prove my devotion, I follow the prescribed Celestial rituals.” Silver Spoon had waited for this moment for a very long time. To even see their Princess and be inside her private chamber where she spoke to her most trusted associates and delegates was a complete and utter honor. The halls of the Princess glowed with a green light as the large green crystal floated in the middle of the chamber, the ceremony of a child soldier, one of the Princess’ royal envoys had begun. There was just one more part. Celestia broke off a small piece of the crystal and handed it towards the small filly. Celestia looked saddened because she knew was was coming, always a new pony and a new crystal, yet it was always the same result. Silver Spoon swallowed the crystal. *** Twilight trotted around her room trying to take care of an ongoro seed. She laughed quietly while giving it the magic necessary to bring it to life. Ongoro seeds bloomed into creatures that were the guardians of her tribe of ponies. She left the Crystal Kingdom years ago and these seeds were one of the few things she had from her homeland. She always had a connection with the little things, they seemed to flock to her like she was their own fairy queen and they were her knights. She looked out the window of the ship she was currently on, the Perigee. *** Luna was relaxing in her captain’s chambers in the Perigee itself. She had gotten it in the last war, after Celestia and her had a final falling out in regards of how a proper country should be run. Luna thought respect gained through sheer strength was right, but Celestia thought using a bit of restraint and using religious fervor to fix her mistakes was an acceptable answer. And that was seventeen years ago, maybe more. When you were an alicorn time was a fleeting moment shaped by memories and those memories were not the best to dwell on. Luna was currently reading poetry that was very appropriate on a day like today. “I’ll show you things your eyes have never seen, your smile like a lake in the sun. Like a flower blooming in spring. Sitting on your throne, inscribed with a sun, skin bathed in twilight. At times I’d raise a lamp and take my place as your sister. This pendants release the lights of Friendship which your eyes will never truly see. One who doesn't live for my sake, a child of this country, will bear this fire inside and freeze...” “These poems make me wonder if my dear sister has seen the signs of the coming battle. One thing about alicorns is that we think of the short term as unimportant and the long term being sacred...right I get it. But I won’t lose sleep over it...” She continued to stare outside when a Celestial ship came straight out of a cloud bank. She quickly grabbed the nearest radio and quickly sent a message through the ship’s wires. “Anyone there?” A blue male pegasus quickly picked up. He used to be a Wonderbolt years before but after the civil war started frivolous jobs like the Wonderbolts soon fell by the wayside and he found himself out of a job. Luna had felt a twinge of pity when he showed up begging for any job to feed himself. She gave him the best job she could find. The pilot of the Perigee. “Yeah? “Soarin’ what is our current position?” “Zebrican Sea, flying north to Appleloosa. Why do you ask, Princess?” “Check behind us 30 lengths.” “Celestial ships?” Soarin’ remembered the last time their little crew of this postal ship met the Sun Princess' lapdogs. “In that case, I can go back to bed. You know this isn’t normally when I’m up. I just put the moon to rest. I’m going to bed soon as well. One question, how many ships are there?” “Let’s see... twenty ships. That isn't that bad.” The radar suddenly flashed with more blips than the pegasus could believe. “No there is a lot more than twenty, Princess.” *** Twilight walked down to the general quarters. She woke up Braeburn by kicking him in the stomach. She always thought that that was the most efficient spot to kick the earth pony. Braeburn was one of the Apple Clan, a widely spread strain of earth ponies with members in every city and in every level of government. Braeburn was one of the unlucky Apples who fell too close to the apple tree. “Hey! I was having a nice dream there, Twilight. What was that for?” Twilight didn't answer and then the ship’s alarm blared. *** “We must investigate international activity over these waters. Under Article 13 of Equestrian Law, if you break any laws, we are permitted to use force.” The enemy ships didn’t respond. Like usual, the Sun Princess’ ships never answered the Perigee. Soarin’ sighed. “No response.” Luna entered the bridge. Her walk to the bridge from her personal quarters was uneventful, but she was fuming because of those blasted ships. “These Celestial ships ignore Equestrian Law, Soarin’. The last time anypony spoke of a united Equestria was years ago. It’s six hundred lengths til we reach Ponyville free zone airspace. Even if they go full speed we’ll be right behind them.Find the nearest dock, we don’t want to be caught in the magical bombing.” “Yes, Princess.” Luna used a nearby radio to contact Braeburn. “Get Twilight up! Send her on ahead!” “She’s already up here in the bridge, ma’am. Is she okay? She kinda kicked me in the stomach hard enough that I don’t think I’m saying anything she might misconstrue...” The hangar doors opened and the beam kayak Twilight was on was ready for launch. The beam kayaks were similar in design to those newer modeled chariots. The makers of said chariots were the brothers Flim and Flam, Their “motor company” used the techniques learned from building the Super Cider Squeezy 6000 and combined it with pegasus aerodynamics. The fuel was red skystone that was found mainly in the Crystal Empire and other pockets in Terra. The plan was to give non-pegasi the chance to see the sky like their pegasi friends did. The pair were ultimately successful. *** Derpy Hooves, the ship’s cartographer finally spoke up. “Ponyville has a medium-sized dock.” Luna glanced at the gray pegasus mare and grabbed the radio. “They’ll hit it in ten minutes. Follow my sister’s ships at full speed, Twilight! Go northeast to Ponyville!” Braeburn carefully yelled to Twilight as he gripped a nearby lever which was set to launch Twilight into the sky. “Ready when you are!” “Don’t do anything stupid! Just look ahead and fly! Get to Ponyville, look around, and come straight back.” Luna broke down and finally used the Royal Canterlot Voice. “And remember don’t pick up any strange creatures. Remember what happened last time!” Braeburn smiled innocently as he pulled the lever into a downward position.”Have a nice trip!” Twilight and her beam kayak were launched into the sky. She flew toward Ponyville; her beam kayak trailing a rainbow streak through the sky. *** The radio crackled out its message. “skies above Ponyville...maintain public order...” In Sugarcube Corner, a very miffed orange pegasus woke up and was quickly getting ready for school. She was currently trying to find her saddlebags and yell at her mother at the same exact time.” “What the heck! I asked you to wake me up. Did you even try?” Her mother, a poofy pink maned earth pony answered back. “Of course I tried! Don’t blame me you sleep like a log, Miss Sleepyhead. Plus you just looked so happy. I couldn't force myself to wake you up. ” Pinkie giggled quietly to herself while Scootaloo just looked at her crazy mother. “I have my reasons for being tired.” Scootaloo grumbled. “Your lunch is on the table. Don’t forget it! And take Fluttershy’s...that mare needs to eat sometime.” Pinkie went back to baking cupcakes. Scootaloo turned on the water to the sink in order to brush her teeth, but all that came out was a strange purple mixture. “Mom! Call the plumber I think we have magical discharge in our water again.” “But, I thought I just fixed it! Let the water run for a few seconds. That worked for me...” Scootaloo looks at the carefully prepared meal her mom made. A cupcake with white frosting hid the surprise of a gooey chocolate center and the least important part of the meal was a daisy sandwich. “Sorry, Fluttershy. I can’t bring you your lunch as well. She quickly ran off without taking the lunch. She threw all of her things into her scooter and began to go towards the train station for the field trip to the Canterlot museum, but her scooter suddenly lost a wheel and she crashed into the ground. *** “Remember to take your... hey Scootaloo? That little...” Pinkie sighed. It was always something with her daughter sometimes she was reckless...other times she didn’t listen to her parents. She was a handful alright but she could never hate her daughter. She was a mother and her instincts were more important than her current feelings. Pinkie ran out of the house to meet Scootaloo at the school but they ran into each other while Scootaloo was trying to fix her scooter's broken wheel. “Scootaloo! Take this to our pink butterfly.” Pinkie threw the lunch to her orange daughter. “Mom, I’m gonna be late for the trip!” Scootaloo caught it and began complaining about the burden of going to the cottage. “You Pinkie Promised. And you can’t go back on a Pinkie Promise...or else I will ground you.” “Are you sure this separation is good for you? You know grounding isn’t as fun when you could just jump out of thin air and scare me half to death like when I broke a Pinkie Promise and you showed up inside a mirror to scold me...” “I’m not the one doing bad, she is.” Pinkie kicked a hoof. She still remembered how Fluttershy became distant once the Lunar Republic military came to Ponyville. She tried to talk to her about it, but Fluttershy always changed the topic into a more peaceful one. It was like she was hiding something. “Okay then, I’m going. Be careful in work today! I only have one mom, but Ponyville has an entire Cake family to help you with Sugarcube Corner.” Scootaloo placed her helmet on her head and tightened the straps and took a running start to start rolling towards the horizon. Pinkie waved to her child. “Be careful and keep your eyes on the road. We don’t want another elder claiming you ran over them.” Scootaloo went full speed to the cottage where Fluttershy lived, while ships converged on Ponyville. *** In Sweet Apple Acres the weekly karate club was meeting right before the class trip. Applebloom was the leader of today’s discussion. The club was formed after a cutie mark search had ended. Applebloom realized that she enjoyed the exercise and the CMC had formed the club because they realized that maybe in the future, knowing martial arts would be useful. And with the war between the Alicorn Sisters in full swing...the foals were getting close to military recruitment age. “My sister says concentration is the most important thing. You must face your opponent head on, and without hesitation make their body a part of your own. She learned that from when she was in the last war. Sweetie Belle!” A white unicorn with a pink and purple mane hopped up on the makeshift stage made of scrap boards and elbow grease. “Yep!” “Let’s spar. Try, try again my sister always says and maybe today we’ll get our cutie marks in karate!” The two ponies stood opposite each other waiting for the chance to strike. Applebloom struck first but she was easily countered by Sweetie, who grabbed the hoof of Applebloom and in a surprising display of strength, flipped the farm pony onto her back. “Sweetie y’all did it again, why oh why are you an angel? I wish I could tell you how I feel about you.” The others cheered. Applebloom was blushing fiercely and tried to compose herself. “As I said, there are no winners or losers in competition. Alright everypony, I think that’s it for today. Y’all don’t wanna miss the class trip, right?” “Time to go Sweetie!” Rarity called from the edge of the Apple Family’s property. Rarity had told Sweetie that she was going to see her off on the train because it was her little sister’s first field trip. *** Scootaloo found the shortcut to the cottage and almost ran over Angel Bunny who quickly shook a fist before hopping off “Didn’t Fluttershy tell you anything about crossing the street?” Scootaloo yelled back at the bunny. *** “I can totally take a few minutes to mess with mom.” Scootaloo ran off into the shortcut that she knew of. She knew it was somewhere around here, it just wasn't always marked as a road... . A few minutes later, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom walked right near her scooter. “Hey Sweetie, is that your friend’s scooter?” Rarity raised an eyebrow at the scooter. It was just so tacky. In her opinion, it needed a few gemstones and a personal basket that was colored with colors that were reminiscent of the colors of Scootaloo’s coat and mane. “Maybe I can use that idea later in my dress designs..." “Yep, but I wonder why its out here of all places.” Applebloom replied to Rarity’s question with a hint of disbelief. Applebloom counted the number of times Scootaloo had been late to class and if today was like the others, her friend was going to be late again. She knew that she could win a bet with those odds. “I bet it has to do with her parents. They have been going through a rough patch.” Sweetie remembered all the talks she and Scootaloo had about her orange friend’s strange home life. “Our friend is always late.” Applebloom grinned. She knew that Sweetie couldn’t resist a bet. Now if she would only take the hint... “If she’s on time, you owe me a milkshake.” The white filly took the bait. Applebloom smiled at her luck. She wanted another apple fritter. She could just get it from her family, but it was so much sweeter when could get it in a competition. “And if she’s not you owe me an apple fritter and apple soda.” Sweetie fumed. The CMC’s all had a competitive streak in them. But she believed in Scootaloo. The orange pegasus would definitely get to the train on time. Rarity placed a hoof on her little sister. “Calm down Sweetie, don’t let that farmer get you down.” Sweetie sighed and walked on towards the train station. “Yeah, Rarity, I know.” *** Scootaloo had been lost for a good two minutes and finally found the correct way to Fluttershy’s cottage. It wasn’t her fault for going the wrong way. It was the fault of whoever built the stupid path. “I knew all that stubbornness I have would come in handy.” Scootaloo galloped to the door of the cottage. She almost opened the front door of the cottage, but was interrupted by Golden Harvest. Golden Harvest, ever since the last carrot harvest, had had a bad back and she was resolute that only Fluttershy was able to give the required care to her back. The alternative was to wait in a military hospital for hours. “Is the doctor up yet?” Golden Harvest had been waiting since sunrise. “She’ll be up soon just wait a little longer.” Scootaloo walked through the critter-filled house. Since the ponies of Ponyville trust the quiet mare more than the new military doctors, Fluttershy had been pulling double duty of being an animal caretaker and a medical doctor. It was a burden on the quiet mare and every once in awhile she would collapse on the spot and be unresponsive for a day or two. “Wake up, Mom.” Scootaloo opened the office door and was shocked. All of the neat piles she made a few days ago were ruined. It looked like a tornado had uprooted all of the office supplies and thrown them about the room. And in the middle of the chaos slept her pegasus mother. The snoring coming from the mare was consistent and she moved slowly in her sleep. “Mom! Get up. Golden Harvest is here again. Hey, butterfly!” Scootaloo waved her hoof in front of the yellow mare’s face. Nothing. This called for the emergency maneuver.She plugged Fluttershy’s nose with her hoof and waited. Slowly, Fluttershy began to panic as she realized that she couldn't breathe. She woke up with a quiet shout. Scootaloo smirked. “I guess you're up now. I’m coming back later so clean up a bit.” She said it like a ritual, like without those words the ceremony of the morning awakening would not be completed correctly. “I owe you one.” Fluttershy wiped her eyes. She looked like a mess. Her pink hair was disheveled and bags were under her eyes because of sleep deprivation. “You sure do, Dr. Tired.” “You know how bad I am without coffee.” Fluttershy yawned and tried to get up to make herself a pot of coffee. She felt like coffee was the only thing that kept her awake now. “Mom, Red Mark’s disciplinary squad is coming by later. Be careful,you don’t want another bad mark on your clinic here.” Fluttershy cringed at the memory of that stallion. It was a memory best forgotten. The boorish brute terrified all of her animals that she had to close the clinic for an entire week to calm down her animal friends. “Scootaloo, remember what I told you before? Kindness without thought is just charity. You need to believe that your kindness will change the world.” Scootaloo knew what was coming next. Her mom always had some sort of weird saying. Both of them said the final line. “Think about it!” “Well, I’m going, mom.” Scootaloo ran off and briefly called back to Golden Harvest. “She’ll be with you soon.” Golden Harvest happily waved back at the orange pegasus. Scootaloo quickly headed off towards the train station. She looked at the sky and realized that she was going to be one of the last ponies on the bus. “Horsefeathers, I’m so late!” *** Xam’d At the Dawn of War *** “After six o’ clock no unauthorized ponies or chariots past Sixth Street.” The bells rung as the line of young ponies boarded the train.The conductor continually called out ‘Next!’ as more and more ponies showed them their hoof bands while he checked the list for students. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were arguing. “She’s super late.” Sweetie Belle was worried. Normally Scootaloo was only a little late. Today she was almost fifteen minutes late. If she didn’t hurry up the train would leave without her. “Y’all know how she is with school trips. I bet she isn’t even coming. I’ve won this bet.” The yellow earth pony was restless. She absolutely hated waiting. It was against her nature to just wait for something. If she had her way she would try to find a way to find her cutie mark instantly. It was the same with waiting in lines. Sweetie Belle playfully mocked her friend.”No winners or losers in competitions... Remember that when I win this.” “Gah, what you say sometimes...” Another filly in line was unfamiliar to the rest of the class. Silver Spoon was ready for her mission given to her by the Celestial Princess. “It is your will to create, and my live to give in the purpose of ours. A purpose years in the making, repeated over and over in different locations. May this time also create a X’amd.” *** Scootaloo could see the bus. She was going as fast as she could before the bus could leave her pile of awesomeness behind. Sweetie saw her coming from a couple yards. “Scoots!” Applebloom was shocked. She had been so close to getting a free apple fritter. “I told you guys I’d make it!” Scootaloo tossed her scooter in the student bike racks and galloped towards the the other Crusaders. “I win! What were you waiting for me?” Sweetie Belle beamed at her pegasus friend. Applebloom mumbled quietly to herself. “If y’all gonna come on a trip, come earlier.” Scootaloo barely heard her friend. “What’s that mean, Applebloom?” “It means that Applebloom owes me a milkshake.” Sweetie Belle giggled at Applebloom’s attitude. “Okay I’ll get you one.” Applebloom turned to Scootaloo. “Scoots, get in line. It’s not your problem. Its my fault for doubting your speed.” Scootaloo got in line behind Silver Spoon. When it was the gray filly’s turn to move she didn’t and it surprised Scootaloo a little, but she didn’t think much of it. Scootaloo looked up towards the sky. “There sure are a lot of planes today.” The conductor called for the next in line and Scootaloo encouraged Silver Spoon with a push.”Hoof band?” Silver Spoon didn’t answer. The conductor sighed deeply.”Well fine then miss, you can’t get on the train without one.” Scootaloo budged in front of the line and provided a distraction for Silver Spoon. “Hey you get back in line.” The conductor yelled at Scootaloo in order for him to get her attention. Scootaloo smiled sweetly at the old stallion. I hope you let me in without one. You trust me, right?” “Your hoof band?” Scootaloo grinned sheepishly at the conductor and ruffled her hair with a hoof. “I, uh, dropped it on the way here. I got my identification in my saddlebags.” Silver Spoon looked down and noticed that that orange pegasus had dropped her arm band in front of her. “She must be helping me.” “I’ll let you on this train just this once." Scootaloo nodded and boarded the train without another word. Silver Spoon showed the conductor the armband that that orange pegasus had dropped. “Next time put it on your left hoof! That’s it, 38 accounted for!”The train began to move slowly and surely towards Canterlot. *** Applebloom whispered at her unusually quiet friend.”Scoots, what the heck was all of that?” Sweetie nudged her friends and pointed a hoof at the gray filly in the front of the train “Is she a transfer student?” “No clue. Maybe she’s a refugee from one of those larger cities that was bombed by the Celestials. Scoots, don’t get any ideas about that new student. Remember your last love interest.” “What are you looking at me for? It is not my fault I’m just too awesome for my own good.” Scootaloo smiled nonchalantly. Applebloom rolled her eyes.”Whatever.” Sweetie blushed heavily. “Scootaloo...” Scootaloo waved happily at Silver Spoon who quickly smiled back. *** “Free Zone fighters are now crossing into the 29th line. Civilian chariots are not permitted within 13 lengths until 2 pm. This is the latest report from the Ponyville military base... This is the Lunar Republic’s Free Zone Defense Cable. Ponyville is clear for today. The Free Zone’s defense line is protecting you.” Scootaloo stared blankly outside the window until she noticed something strange. “Celestial ships? What are they doing here?” *** The military base had been on emergency status since the morning. Scouts had told the commanders about a heavy Celestial presence in the area. The attack was imminent. “Report?” “Unidentified crafts approaching 29th line from the direction of the Zebrican Sea. About 30 of them.” “Checking actions against all flight plans.” A light brown earth pony stood at the helm of the command center's base of operations. He wondered on days like today why he didn't stay on Sweet Apple Acres payroll. "Oh wait that was almost ten years ago." Caramel groaned. He knew that accepting the general officer position would be a pain, but this took the cake. He had to stay calm. If he didn't, the ponies under his command were going to figure out that something was wrong. “Let’s be safe. Send Lunar Ships to defense positions. An invasion on a day like this...This place isn’t a Lunar Republic colony, it’s a neutral city.” “The planes aren't on any schedules!” “Hulls are confirmed. New models from the Celestial government!” Caramel was even more worried. If they were here...he knew what was in their hulls. The weapons that were created a decade ago. “Buck my life! This is a civilian enclave. Send word to the guard. Say that I allow force. We will definitely need it.” *** “Abundant water, beautiful greenery, according to the revision to the Constitution, due to the severity of the casualties from the war, from now on, we must preserve the peace of this island with our own hands...” Silver Spoon was ready. she grabbed the trigger of the organic bomb from her saddlebags. The group was finally at the Ponyville museum, right outside of town. It was just far away enough that small ponies couldn’t walk there as easily. It was a perfect location for a demonstration of the power of the Sun. She slowly got up from her seat. *** The CMC’s had just become comfortable in their seats. Sweetie was pulling onto one of Scootaloo’s wings. “Come on Scootaloo. When do you think we’ll get to Canterlot?” “You know, I could have caught up with you if you had went on ahead. But, you know we could still be friends...even if you do wait for me.” “Your mother told me to watch out for you. So I will wait as long as I want.” Sweetie huffed and crossed her arms. Silver Spoon brought the trigger down on the explosive package containing a hiruko, a stone containing the essence of a X’amd. Xam'd were living weapons taking the soul of a pony and changing it into a machine with logical reasoning skills. There were always failures, those that let their strong emotions of hate and loneliness automatically turned to stone. They needed a reason to live. Living was the highest form of harmony known to ponykind. The weapons who survived were graced by the Sun Princess herself with special powers. The lower forms who were not chosen by the stone and forced into the form by science were called Ponyform weapons. They were incomplete forms of perfection. The bus exploded sending debris and students flying into the street. The destruction spread until it covered an entire city block. Scootaloo hit the ground hard and rolled; her pegasi natural athleticism helped cushion her fall. Her first thought was of Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo tried to regain the air that had been forced out of her lungs when she hit the ground. Everything looked wrong. The train was in disarray and they were only a few miles from Ponyville. She looked around for Sweetie Belle but she couldn't find her. “Sweetie?” She noticed a blinding light coming from the epicenter of the blast. Scootaloo limped towards the light slowly, but before she could get too close it reacted to her presence and gently touched her right hoof. She was unnerved by the light until the pain started. The nearest feeling she could think of that the pain felt like was that of tiny bugs crawling right under her skin. Applebloom found her right away. “Scootaloo? Are you okay? Where’s Sweetie Belle?” "I'm...f-fine" Scootaloo gritted her teeth and headed off with Applebloom to search for their other friend. Both of them found Sweetie huddled up in a fetal position suffering from mental shock. Applebloom tried to touch Sweetie but she shied away from her friend. Sweetie began to sob heavily. “Why is this happening to us? I've been a good pony...” Scootaloo had to ask the obvious question. “Is she okay?” “I’ll carry her to the hospital” Applebloom had a determined look in her face. Scootaloo was worried about the rest of the city. “Maybe somepony is attacking Ponyville.” “Don’t joke about that. Y’all know that the adults would take care of any attack. My sister would personally make these ponies pay for what they've done. Anyway, I thought we purged those extremist Celestials a long time ago. Don’t you get it? It must be the new Celestial government.” Scootaloo saw from her peripheral vision Silver Spoon limping slowly away from the scene of the crime. Scootaloo had to talk to that filly. She wanted to learn why she had done this. “Scootaloo, stop being crazy! Get away from that filly! Come back here now... Scootaloo...Listen to me, please?” *** Scootaloo finally cornered the unknown filly after chasing her for a few hundred yards. Suddenly the pain started back up again. This time it was worse. A large pressure was trying to get out of her leg. When she looked back down at her leg she was surprised to see a large blue crystal pulsating like it was alive sticking right out of her fur. Scootaloo chuckled darkly. Her mind tried to find something that she could say. Finally she found the best comeback she could think of while being under stress. “At least it doesn’t clash badly with my coat color.” Then as soon as it appeared, it disappeared straight into her leg. There wasn't even a scratch or blood where it had been. It had completely healed over. The only thing to show that it still existed was a dull pain in her right leg. “What in the name of Tartarus is going on?” She guessed that the gray filly could explain what just happened. Scootaloo crouched down and poked the unknown filly to see if she was still alive. She pushed the gray filly and when she did that she saw that her newest acquaintance was covered in green blood. “Green blood? Is she a Changeling? She is a Changeling right? Mom said Changelings have green blood and it makes sense, they are bugs right?” Silver Spoon smiled weakly at that nice pegasus. “Sorry to mix you into this. I really think that we could have been great friends...I’m Silver Spoon, by the way. Who are you?” Silver Spoon waited for an answer while coughing up blood. The explosion had taken a lot out of her. “I’m Scootaloo.” “Scootaloo, what a pretty name. It's okay. You'll be blessed by the Sun Princess. I'm jealous of you right now. Along with our equine memories of harmony, you are a Xam’d.” Silver Spoon reached up and bumped a hoof on Scootaloo’s head. When she lifted her hoof, Scootaloo had a small red gem similar to her blue one she saw earlier on her head. Then the weird feelings happened again. A white mask with red and green highlighting where her eyes would be, stretched across her face and it scared her to no end. She tried to pull it off her face but to no avail, it was secured to face like a second face. *** Applebloom wrapped Sweetie Belle’s injuries after she had found a first aid kit from the destroyed bus. “This is an emergency. Wait here Sweetie, I’m gonna help our classmates.” A military car pulled up and a stern pony hopped out and called out to his troops. “All units, get off. Get the injured ponies on the chariot. If they are too hurt, unicorns are ordered to levitate them onto the chariot.” He continued to trot around asking ponies if any injured ponies had been on the train. “I need to check the passenger list of the train. Anypony with armbands needs to show them to me now! *** Twilight had been flying for a long time and was pretty tired. When she was about to turn around, she heard the telepathic cry of a newly formed Xam'd. She flew towards the newborn cry. *** Soarin’ called out through the ship wide radio system. “We are a few miles out from Ponyville.” Braeburn had gotten onto the bridge and was sitting in one of the extra chairs. He had been thinking deeply for the last couple of minutes, finally he spoke up. “ Isn't Ponyville a pretty much neutral zone? It’s strange they would be attacking this tiny town.” The crew of the Perigee were shocked to see Twilight scoop towards the Ponyville museum. Luna was worried. “What is that idiot doing?” Soarin’ spoke calmly. “She just wants to scout out what's ahead.” “Are you ponies crazy? Do you remember the last time she did something like this? Call her kayak. Get her on magical communications." Luna grabbed the radio in her magic. “Twilight, you are not alone. You have friends who care about you. You need the power of friendship to be a crazy pony. Without them you just have a death wish.” Twilight didn't heed Luna's words and blasted off in a rainbow wake. *** Scootaloo was whimpering. The power of the stone was changing her body. The gem had sent out orange lines that looked like snakes all around her arm. Then she felt it, her arm had changed. The influence of the stone had turned her dark orange leg into an abomination. An arm with actual fingers was where her leg was before. It was a brilliant white with some orange markings that only hinted at the filly trapped inside. Her tiny wings also had a transformation. The stubby things had become sharp because they had become covered in the goop that the crystal had covered her with.Then the goop finally completed her transformation by covering her entire body. Her back legs became similar to those that diamond dogs had. It gave her the ability to stand on her hind legs without difficulty. The transformation was complete when her body had accepted the stone and she stared at the world through her mask. Without the orange lines on her arms, legs, and head she was as white as Sweetie Belle and her sister. *** Applebloom was terrified she had ran past all the destruction and death only run into that thing.She tried to find Scootaloo and she saw her running near here, but this thing appeared out of nowhere. “What is that thing?” Her legs locked up in fear. A guardspony’s voice snapped Applebloom out of her frozen stance.”Get the the injured to safety!” Applebloom noticed Sweetie Belle galloping straight towards her. She angrily turned towards her friend. “Sweetie! I told you to wait!” “But what about Scootaloo?” “I don’t know. Just turn around and run because that thing,” Applebloom pointed at the white diamond dog thing. “is probably angry and we don’t want to be near it when it attacks.” The soldier charged up his horn and shot off a few magic bolts. Scootaloo didn’t dodge and was hit full force by the blasts and was thrown into a nearby wall. The soldier breathed a sigh of relief. That thing was too similar to those Ponyform weapons the Celestial government used. Sweetie Belle heard the voice of Scootaloo in her head. “I don’t want to die. I want to be with my friends and live here peacefully in Ponyville.” Sweetie turned her head and stared at the creature. “Scootaloo?” *** The Celestial Ships arrived in Ponyville, ready to drop off their cargo. The ships were under orders to find and capture the X’amd. The signal had been located in the museum district. But first they had to test out the strength of the creature. “Release the Ponyform weapon”